(CNN) – John McCain's campaign called on Barack Obama Tuesday to condemn a comment from one of his Senate supporters that the presumptive Republican nominee, a naval aviator during the Vietnam War, "was a fighter pilot who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit."
"What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground?" Sen. Jay Rockefeller said in an interview published in Tuesday's Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette. "He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues."
The McCain campaign issued a statement from supporter Orson Swindle, who called Rockefeller’s remarks a “smear against John McCain's character and military record” and called on Obama to denounce the "insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America's military."
"Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might," said the former Marine lieutenant colonel. "If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn't dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967."
Swindle was a prisoner of war in Vietnam with McCain.
This is the second time in four days the McCain campaign has called on Obama to condemn comments by a fellow Democrat.
(CNN) - They'll appear on the show–but they won't be singing. At least, not that we know of.
The hit TV series American Idol will broadcast a special edition Wednesday night to serve as a fundraiser for six charities. And the presidential candidates will be all be on hand, even if it is only via video tape.
Democrat Barack Obama's campaign confirmed Tuesday that the White House hopeful sent in a pre-taped video message encouraging viewers to make a donation to "help make this world a more just, more equal, and more hopeful place to live."
According to the script provided by the campaign, Obama also added that his two girls, Sasha and Malia, are "big American Idol fans." He also commended American Idol and said that "when ordinary people come together they can do extraordinary things," a common line from his stump speech.
Fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain are also expected to appear at some point during the broadcast.
Hillary Clinton's campaign hit the airwaves in Pennsylvania with five new ads Tuesday, including spots that feature two of the state's most high-profile Democrats - Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter - and one that plays up her roots in the state.
(Full scripts, as released by the Clinton campaign, after the jump)
FULL POST
(CNN) - Hillary Clinton predicted on Tuesday the recent controversy surrounding her top advisor's meeting with the Colombian government wouldn't prove damaging to her campaign, and suggested she dealt with the matter more definitively than Barack Obama did when he faced a similar situation.
"I don't think [it will hurt], because I think people want to know where I stand," Clinton said on CNN's American Morning, reiterating her opposition to a free trade agreement with the Colombians.
"I find it kind of curious, we took action, and I think it was appropriate," she continued. "Contrast that to Senator Obama's campaign where, as far as I know, nothing was ever done when one of his top economic advisers representing the campaign, unlike Mr. Penn who was not representing the campaign, but Mr. Obama's representative told the Canadian government basically not to pay any attention to what Senator Obama was saying about NAFTA."
The comments are in reference to her campaign's former chief strategist, Mark Penn, who resigned that post over the weekend after news surfaced he had met with the Colombian ambassador in his role as CEO of a P.R. firm to promote a free trade bill Clinton sharply criticizes.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Crossing paths with rival Barack Obama at a union event Tuesday morning, Hillary Clinton compared herself to the come-from-behind NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks.
“A few of you were up late watching that game last night,” she told a gathering of the Communications Workers of America in Washington, D.C. “Great comeback, right? My kind of outcome.”
The Jayhawks tied the Memphis Tigers with just 2.1 seconds left to go in regulation before scoring an overtime victory Monday night.
She said that the union members knew what it was like to go up against big odds: “You know what it’s like to be told to go away, to quit. I know a little something about that too,” she said, to cheers from the crowd.
Both Democratic candidates, who got a warm reception from the labor corwd, were addressing a union audience Tuesday for the first time since Clinton’s chief strategist, Mark Penn, resigned amid controversy, after helping Colombian leaders push for a free trade agreement she opposed.
(CNN) - Hillary Clinton is lucky Barack Obama didn't bite on her April Fools Day wager.
Appearing on the talk show Ellen Monday, the New York senator showed her bowling skills may be every bit as lacking as those of her chief rival. On a makeshift bowling alley on the show's set, Clinton missed the pins entirely on her first try, and only knocked out one on her second and final attempt.
Her bowling performance follows that of Obama, who scored only a 37 at a Pennsylvania bowling alley earlier this month. Obama later called that score "terrible," and joked, "My economic plan is better than my bowling," to which a fellow bowler quipped, "It has to be."
Clinton herself later ribbed Obama for the display, challenging him to a "bowl-off" for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"A bowling night. Right here in Pennsylvania. The winner take all," she said. "I'll even spot him two frames." Clinton quickly revealed that was an April Fools Day joke.
She told reporters later on her campaign plane she even has her own bowling ball, bag, and shoes from her days in the White House, though acknowledged she hasn't bowled since those days.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The emotional debate over the war will once again dominate presidential politics when all three candidates have opportunities to question the top U.S. general in Iraq during congressional hearings Tuesday.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the two rivals for the Democratic nomination, will share the spotlight when Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Iraq, testify.
McCain and Clinton will question Petraeus and Crocker - and possibly advocate their positions on whether U.S. troops should be withdrawn - when they appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning. McCain is the committee's top Republican.
Compiled by Jonathan Helman
CNN Washington Bureau
NY Times: With War in Senate Spotlight, Presidential Campaigns Converge in Washington
Three presidential candidates and two very different views of Iraq will be on full display on Tuesday as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Baghdad, testifies before the Senate in a marathon session of war and White House ambitions.
Washington Post: Aide's New Role Looks to Some Like the Old One
The question for some staff members of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign yesterday was why it had taken her so long to remove Mark J. Penn as its chief strategist.
WSJ: Next Hot Topic In U.S. Campaign: The Iran Question
Iran might end up sharing center stage when Gen. David Petraeus and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, testify Tuesday before Senate panels featuring the three presidential candidates.
NY Times: Obama’s Young Backers Twist Parents’ Arms
As the race for the Democratic presidential nomination continues, youthful volunteers for each candidate have been campaigning with bright-eyed brio, not only door-to-door but also at home. But the young supporters of Mr. Obama, who has captured a majority of under-30 primary voters, seem to be leading in the pestering sweepstakes. They send their parents the latest Obama YouTube videos, blog exhortations and “Tell Your Mama/Vote for Obama!” bumper stickers.
Compiled by Jonathan Helman, CNN Washington Bureau
Today, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are on Capital Hill. Clinton, McCain, and Obama will be in attendance during the hearing
*Hillary Clinton delivers remarks to the Communication Workers of America and amongst others holds a news conference to call for passage and funding of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act in Washington, DC
*John McCain attends a Vets for Freedom Rally in Washington, DC.
*Barack Obama delivers remarks to the Communication Workers of America in Washington, DC.
(CNN)—President Bush sent an urgent demand to Congress Monday telling them they must vote within 90 days on a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia - but a majority of Democrats are in opposition to the agreement, including presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on the candidates’ opposition to the bill and how the issue led to the resignation of Clinton’s top strategist, Mark Penn.
One day before General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are set to testify on Capitol Hill over progress in Iraq, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is again blasting Obama and Clinton for their troop withdrawal proposals. CNN’s Mary Snow reports from the campaign trail in Missouri on McCain’s remarks.
The Arizona senator also Monday that speculation surrounding Condoleezza Rice as his potential vice presidential running mate is news to him. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider explains where the speculation came from and what it could mean for McCain’s presidential run.
Finally: with less than three weeks to go before Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary, new polls show Obama seems to be gaining on Clinton in the critical state. CNN’s Dan Lothian has the details.
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