GOP targets Murtha over 'racist' comment
(CNN) - The National Republican Campaign Committee is using some of its scarce resources to target one of the most senior Democrats in the House–Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania. A new campaign commercial released today uses video clips of Murtha’s recent comments about his Western Pennsylvania district being "a racist area" and "redneck."
The ad also includes a clip from a news conference where Murtha talks about civilians killed in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, saying U.S. Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." The ad ends by saying "Enough."
In an interview Oct. 15 with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Murtha predicted Sen. Barack Obama would win the state of Pennsylvania, but said that there was some hesitancy among voters in the western party of state, including the district he represents.
The paper posted video of the interview on its website, with Murtha saying, "There's no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area." Murtha apologized the next day, but Republicans seized on the remarks. Days later in an interview with a local television station, Murtha said his district years ago was “really redneck.”
Fact check: McCain tax cuts give $200 billion to corporations, $4 billion to oil companies?
The Statement:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, speaking in Canton, Ohio, on October 27, referred to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's tax plans and said, "It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies."
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ON THE TRAIL: McCain in North Carolina
(CNN) - John McCain held a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina earlier Tuesday.
ON THE TRAIL: Obama stumps in Virginia
(CNN) - Barack Obama held a campaign event in Harrisburg, Virginia this earlier Tuesday, during which he continued to deliver his "closing argument" speech.
"In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope," Obama said.
Fact check: Did Joe The Plumber say Obama's comment 'sounded like socialism'?
The Statement:
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, speaking at an October 27 rally in Leesburg, Virginia, referred to Barack Obama's October 12 conversation about tax policy with Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the citizen now known as "Joe the Plumber." She said Obama said he "wants to spread the wealth" and that "Joe the Plumber said to him, it sounded like socialism."
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Joe the Plumber backs McCain
(CNN) - The McCain campaign is getting some help from Joe the Plumber in the key battleground state of Ohio.
Campaigning with a McCain surrogate, former Congressman Rob Portman, Joe Wurzelbacher took aim at Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, saying he wanted to redistribute the wealth. He told reporters, “We’re not a socialist country. That bothers me. It scares me. That’s the reason why I came out here. I’m really scared for our country,” he said.
“John McCain is spreading an important message for all of us. For small businesses. That’s really important,” said Wurzelbacher.
He told reporters “I’m not going to sit here and tell you which way to vote” - but he may be working to influence voters. A campaign aide says it’s possible Wurzelbacher will campaign in states outside Ohio, including Pennsylvania. Wurzelbacher himself has not confirmed the possibility.
While McCain has never met Joe the Plumber, the two have spoken. McCain has scheduled a two-day bus tour in Ohio starting Thursday. Asked whether the two will hit the trail together, campaign spokesman Paul Lindsay said Wurzelbacher approached the campaign earlier this week offering to help, and that they are is “open to whatever Joe is comfortable doing.”
Palin calls for Stevens to resign
(CNN) - Sarah Palin said Tuesday Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens should resign his Senate seat, in a statement released hours after John McCain made a similar declaration.
The comments come a day after Palin would not say what she thought the best course of action for the recently convicted senator should be.
"After being found guilty on seven felony counts, I had hoped Senator Stevens would take the opportunity to do the statesman-like thing and erase the cloud that is covering his Senate seat," she said in the statement. "He has not done so. Alaskans are grateful for his decades of public service but the time has come for him to step aside. Even if elected on Tuesday, Senator Stevens should step aside to allow a special election to give Alaskans a real choice of who will serve them in Congress."
Polls show little movement for McCain in Pennsylvania
(CNN) - John McCain's campaign is banking its fortunes on a come-from-behind win in Pennsylvania, but a new CNN poll of polls of the Keystone state suggests the Arizona senator has made little progress there over the last week.
According to a statistical average of several recent Pennsylvania polls, Barack Obama holds a 10 point advantage over the Arizona senator, 52-42 percent. That's the same lead Obama held over McCain in a poll of polls of the state last week.
With traditional red states such as Virginia and Colorado looking increasingly out of reach for McCain, aides to the Arizona senator have all but said Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes are a must-win to keep Republican hopes of a White House win alive. Both McCain and Palin have held several campaign events in the state over the last week as Election Day inches closer, and the campaign has continued to heavily advertise on television there, even as it pares back spending in other states.
Meanwhile, a new CNN poll of polls out of Florida - another must-win state for McCain - shows the race there remains essentially a dead heat. Obama holds a single point advantage there, and recent polls suggest the race is tightening slightly. A poll of polls of the state last week showed Obama ahead by 3 points.
McCain: Don’t buy reports of GOP ticket friction
HERSHEY, Pa. (CNN) – John McCain unofficially declared this fair city a diva-free zone Tuesday.
In his first joint rally with running mate Sarah Palin since tension between their aides spilled into public view, McCain opened his remarks by declaring, “By the way, when two mavericks get together, you don’t agree on everything – but that’s fun!”
McCain has previously made similar comments at rallies about how he and Palin do not agree on everything, such as drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (McCain opposes, Palin supports).
But this time the comment had particular resonance with a large crowd here in Pennsylvania, coming just days after a McCain adviser privately charged to CNN that Palin is a “diva” who’s not staying on-message, while Palin advisers fired back that McCain aides botched her rollout to the American people.
Cafferty: Should Sen. Stevens resign his Senate seat?
Guess who's found himself in the express lane on the Bridge to Nowhere? Alaska senator Ted Stevens is now a convicted felon, another "public servant" who served himself instead of the public. Stevens was convicted on seven counts of fraud, for concealing more than $250,000 in personal gifts. He is the first sitting senator to go on trial in more than 20 years, and just the fifth in history to be convicted of a crime. Stevens is also running for re-election, and this arrogant, fraudulent felon says he's staying in the race and asking the people of Alaska to "Stand with me." Where you're going, Senator, no one is going to want to stand with you. And if you had any honor or decency about you, you'd get out of the race.
Alaska, one of the most conservative states in the Union, is playing a pivotal role in helping the Democrats in this year's election.
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