U.S. Edition
(CNN) – Monday night, Hillary Clinton will deliver the Top Ten list on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ on the reasons she loves America. Barack Obama had his own Top Ten on May 1. Clinton’s appearance was taped in North Carolina on Friday.
Why Hillary Clinton loves America:
10. We have more Dakotas than every other country combined.
9. Canadian bacon: soggy and chewy; American bacon: crisp and delicious!
8. Thanks to the Internet, I can order new pantsuits 24/7. There's your pantsuit joke, Dave. Are you happy now?
7. 232 years and not one cookie shortage.
6. TiVo.
5. Did I mention the soup? Mmm, soup.
4. Did you know former President Teddy Roosevelt was an American?
3. Where else can you get a car painted for $29.95?
2. Is this the part where I say, 'Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!'?
1. Apparently anyone can get a talk show.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) – John McCain, who consistently avoids commenting on the Democratic horserace, was forced to discuss the ongoing fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Monday when a voter asked him: “What scenario is best for you?”
McCain admitted he watches cable news coverage of the Demoratic race “like everybody else.”
“I observe with interest,” McCain answered. “I have heard one argument that says this that the competition between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama allows me a chance to establish roots, unite the party, et cetera.”
“And then I have heard the other argument on the other side, and I channel surf like every body else, that this is a chance for the Democrats to sign up new voters and invigorate their party,” he said. “I really have no opinion because I really have no influence on it.”
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MERRILLVILLE, Indiana (CNN) – Hillary Clinton returned to Indiana Monday afternoon, delivering her closing arguments before Tuesday’s primary contests and passionately defending the legislation she has proposed to make oil companies pay the gas tax this summer.
“I think you should have some immediate relief. In fact I think it’s a false choice – as my opponent and others have been trying to say, ‘Oh we can’t do anything in the short run to help people, we can only worry about what we do in the long run.’ People live in the short run,” Clinton told a packed firehouse in the northwestern corner of the state.
Clinton has been steadfastly outlining which issues she and Obama diverge on, namely, home foreclosures, health care and – primarily – the gas tax holiday.
“My opponent Sen. Obama disagrees with me, he wants you to pay [the gas tax], not the oil companies. And he’s always going on TV, and he’s always saying ‘oh you know, that’s just [saving] like $20’. Well you know, for a lot of people $20 is something,” said Clinton, adding that the Department of Energy figures the number is closer to $70 for the average household.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) - John McCain the presidential candidate suddenly sounded like the John McCain of 2005 on Monday, touting two pet issues that have generated considerable heartache among grassroots conservatives: the “Gang of 14” compromise and comprehensive immigration reform.
McCain brought up the “Gang of 14” saga unprompted at a town hall here, in advance of a major speech on judicial appointments he is set to deliver tomorrow in Winston-Salem.
“I know what bipartisanship is,” McCain said. “I am going to talk tomorrow again about our Gang of 14: seven Republicans, seven Democrats that got together rather than blow up the Senate, and we confirmed so many federal judges.”
In the spring of 2005, McCain and 13 other senators from both parties agreed on a compromise to avoid the so-called “nuclear option,” which would have curtailed the right of the minority to filibuster. Democrats had been filibustering to prevent the confirmation of three conservative judicial nominees named by President Bush.
McCain said he took pride in his votes to confirm Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, a line that drew applause from assembled members of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
(CNN) - Hillary Clinton and John McCain are hitting the late night TV circuit this week, their campaigns announced Monday.
Clinton will read the Top Ten List on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday night. The topic: The top ten things she loves about America.
Meanwhile John McCain will appear on Comedy Central's The Daily Show this Wednesday. This will be McCain's 13th appearance on that show, more than any other guest, according to the network.
Watch Carol Costello's report on the negative campaign ads.
(CNN)—Barack Obama is being slammed in a number of Republican campaign commercials having nothing to do with the Hillary Clinton or John McCain’s bid for the White House.
In the last week alone, Obama made cameo appearances in 8-10 Republican attack ads across the country, but what kind of effect, if any, is it having on the presidential race? CNN’s Carol Costello reports.
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The 16-month fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continues tomorrow in North Carolina and Indiana.
Obama leads Clinton in the polls in North Carolina, while the latest average of polls suggests Clinton is now slightly ahead in Indiana. If Obama can deliver a pair of wins, it would be a huge psychological boost for his campaign and could bring him one step closer to winning the nomination. If Clinton wins both, she'll still be behind but will think she's won the nomination.
The fact is that Obama continues to lead Clinton in everything except superdelegates where he has narrowed her lead to just 14. He leads in pledged delegates, popular vote and number of states won.
A new poll out also suggests that Obama has rebounded from some of the damage caused by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy.
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
Watch Laura Bush's press conference Monday.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – First Lady Laura Bush has spoken out before on Myanmar – mostly through written statements – but Monday's on-camera mini-news conference in the White House briefing room was a first. In the wake of Saturday's deadly cyclone in Myanmar - also known as Burma - Mrs. Bush did not mince words decrying the ruling military junta for its failure to adequately warn residents of the impending danger.
"The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs," Mrs. Bush said.
Aides to the First Lady say today's briefing room appearance was originally planned for Tuesday.
That's when President Bush is expected to sign legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel-Prize winning democracy activist currently under house arrest in Myanmar.
Officials say Mrs. Bush decided to push up her appearance, in light of the deadly cyclone over the weekend.
I keep hearing from very worried Democrats this constant refrain. The loser of the Democratic presidential contest – whether it’s Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton – will have an incredibly important role in determining whether a Democrat sits in the Oval Office next year or John McCain. It depends, they say, on how the loser loses.
Their thinking is shaped in part by the 1968 and 1980 Democratic presidential campaigns.
In 1968, Vice President Hubert Humphrey faced a very stiff challenge from Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. He had mobilized a lot of young people. It was a bitter contest that Humphrey eventually won. Many of McCarthy’s anti-Vietnam War supporters were depressed and never really jumped aboard the Humphrey bandwagon. Richard Nixon, the Republican, won the election that November.
In 1980, the incumbent Democrat, Jimmy Carter, faced a tough challenge from Senator Ted Kennedy for the party’s nomination. It, too, was a bitter contest that Carter eventually won. Many of Kennedy’s supporters could never warm up to Carter. There apparently had been too much bad blood. Ronald Reagan, the Republican challenger, won the election that November.
With that historic context, many Democratic leaders now are desperate that the current loser quickly moves on and winds up enthusiastically endorsing and working for the winning candidate. Will that happen? One way of guaranteeing that it will, of course, would be if the losing candidate winds up being the vice presidential running mate.
That is the proposal put forward by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Will that happen? My sense is that it will happen only if the winning candidate determines that that is the best of uniting the party and winning the election in November.
Watch Obama's comments Monday.
(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama made a case for his ultimate electability in the general election in response to a question by an undecided North Carolina voter on the day before the state’s primary.
Obama conceded that his campaign has faced challenges during the last month since the bright light of front-runner status has been shined on him by the media, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Republicans including Sen. John McCain, the GOP’s presumptive nominee.
“Once you’re a front-runner then it is, I think, the obligation of the candidates who are behind to try to whack you over the head and the press is happy to oblige,” he said only half jokingly. “There was a kitchen sink strategy employed,” he added.