MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had sharp words for President Barack Obama's handling of foreign relations Saturday, saying that the president is "above" the world stage and acting too much as a "neutral arbiter" who uses only words to tell other nations what's right and what's wrong.

Referring to the first months of Obama's presidency, the former Republican presidential candidate said there's been a "dramatic shift," with that shift going in the wrong direction.

"America has always been a ardent supporter of democratic efforts and protecting and defending American values and western values," Romney said, "but this president seems intent to step back to - if you will - lift himself above the world stage and say we're not a player down there with everybody else between the democracies and the autocracies."

"Instead we're going to become the neutral arbiter," Romney continued. "We're going to be above everybody. Almost like the United Nations, sort of telling people what's right and what's wrong, instead of coming down firmly, solidly, and vehemently in favor of democracy."

Romney pointed to Obama's handling of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya's return to Brazil last week to illustrate one example of the president's poor judgment when it comes to world affairs.

"Honduras…tosses out their president who's trying to violate the constitution," Romney began. "This was a person who was a pro-[Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, anti-American president. And then they installed instead an acting president [Roberto Micheletti] who will follow a democratic process, [a] pro-U.S. individual. Barrack Obama comes out for the pro-Chavez president and says put him back in charge."

Romney was speaking at the biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Romney has been widely suspected to be laying groundwork for another run at the White House.

A few of his comments were aimed at the specific economic woes of Michigan - a state Romney's father governed.

Romney, and his wife Ann, heaped love on the state, saying he was "heartbroken" to see so many people out of a job but that it "doesn't have to be that way." He said one of the first things needed is a "Giuliani-style" cleanup of Detroit

One of the bigger applause lines of the night came when Romney said the state should do a few things to help attract more business folks, including lowering business taxes.

"Another thing to do would be to say we're going to make this a state which is a right to work state," he said to thunderous applause. "Of course the most convincing thing you could do would be to throw the democrats out of [the capital city of] Lansing."

The prison in Standish, Michigan, is slated for closure but would stay open if Guantanamo detainees are sent there.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Federal officials will travel to Standish, Michigan, on Thursday to tour a state prison that could be used to house terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. government officials said Wednesday.

Among those who will check out the facility, the officials said, will be representatives from the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons.

One administration official stressed no decision has been made about where to relocate Guantanamo detainees. Multiple options are under consideration. That official added Thursday's visit is simply to gather information about the prison.

Full story

(CNN)–Exit polling shows ninety-five percent of today's voters in Michigan feel the national economy is "not so good" or "poor." They voted for Barak Obama by a margin of 60 percent to 37 percent. Only 4 percent of today's voters in Michigan think the national economy is in good shape. They went 79 percent for McCain. The "excellent" category for the national economy got a zero percent response in Michigan.

Eighty-eight percent of Michigan's voters said the job situation in their area is "worse today." They went for Obama 62 percent to 36 percent. Only 10 percent called it "about the same." Sixty-six percent of these Michigan voters cast ballots for McCain

Michigan residents stand in line waiting to vote in the presidential election at the Coleman Young Community Center in Detroit.

(CNN) - Estimates on the longest voting lines in Detroit, Michigan were as high as 5 hours. Election Protection, a non-partisan voting watch dog group, reported a 5 hour, 1,000 person long line at Detroit's Beth Eden Baptist Church earlier on Election Day. They said it was largely due to understaffed polling stations. While state officials echo that lines were long, especially in the morning rush, they couldn't confirm voters waited 5 hours at this location. "We heard a report that 1000 people waited 5 hours but when we got there at 3:00 pm, there were 100 people inside, 100 people outside and they had waited two and a half hours," said Kelly Chesney, Spokeswoman for Michigan's Secretary of State. They expect lines to swell again as people get out of work and while most polls close statewide at 8pm ET, 4 of Michigan's western counties, Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee, are in the Central time zone and polls close there at 9pm ET (8pm CT). Voters still standing in line at 8pm will be allowed to cast their vote.

Updated 5:38 p.m.

Sen. Obama campaigned in East Lansing, Michigan at the beginning of this month.

(CNN) – A federal appeals court has agreed with a lower court and ordered the state of Michigan to add the names of 5,500 voters back onto the voters rolls.

Click here to read the appeals court's opinion

The names were purged when mail sent to the voters by local election officials was returned as undeliverable. Purging the names was permitted under Michigan law but violated the federal National Voter Registration Act which limits the circumstances under which a state may remove a voter from the rolls.

The appeals court explained that Michigan’s practice caused affected voters to “face wrongful disenfranchisement.”

Related: Lawsuit alleges Colorado voters illegally purged

Palin wants to keep trying in Michigan.

(CNN) – The McCain campaign decided this week that the battleground state of Michigan may be out of reach for the Republican ticket this year - a move that's drawn criticism from one prominent dissenter: VP nominee Sarah Palin.

Earlier: McCain cedes Michigan to Obama

In an interview with Fox News Friday the Republican vice presidential candidate appeared to be disappointed with the decision and said she still wants to take a stab at winning the state that hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate in two decades.

She also said she made her disagreement known to top campaign officials:

"I fired a quick e-mail and said, 'oh, come on! Do we have to call it there?' she said. " Todd and I would [be] happy to get to Michigan and walk through those plants [with] car manufacturers.

"We'd be so happy to get to speak with the people there in Michigan, who are hurting because the economy is hurting," she added. "Whatever we can do and whatever Todd and I can do in realizing what their challenges in that state are, as we can relate to them and connect with them and promise them that we won't let them down in the administration."

Earlier: Palin calls Obama comment 'reckless,' criticizes Couric

McCain aides told CNN Thursday Michigan increasingly appeared a long shot the Arizona senator and the campaign had decided to divert its resources there to other key battleground states. The latest CNN poll of polls in Michigan shows Obama with an 8 point lead in the state where the nation's economic woes have hit hard.

Related: McCain dropped $2 million before pulling up Michigan stake

But Palin maintained Friday she and McCain still have a shot there.

"I want to get back to Michigan, and I want to try," she said.

McCain pulled out of Michigan.

(CNN) – John McCain’s decision to pull out of Michigan prompted the state Republican Party chairman to issue a desperate plea Friday for donations to help fund political activities the presidential campaign would likely have shouldered.

“I won’t sugar coat it; the McCain Campaign’s decision to pull out of Michigan is a tough blow,” Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, wrote in an email fundraising solicitation to Republicans. “But we cannot let it deter us.”

The latest CNN poll of Michigan voters, released late last month, suggested Obama was holding on to his edge over McCain in the fight for the state’s 17 electoral votes. Among likely voters, Obama held a 5 point lead, 51 percent to 46 percent; among the larger sample of registered voters, the lead was 7 points. Obama had a 4 point advantage in the previous CNN poll in Michigan, conducted at the beginning of September.

Michigan has voted for the Democratic candidate in the last four presidential contests, though John Kerry's winning margin there over President Bush in 2004 was just 3 points.

McCain aides acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was shifting resources and money out of Michigan and directing them to states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maine, among others. Anuzis said that McCain’s decision not to contest the state “leaves a tremendous hole in our ground campaign that we must now fill” in its fight for congressional, judicial, and state-level candidates.

In a note to supporters posted on the state party’s Web site, Anuzis disputed the McCain camp’s assessment of the Republican ticket’s chances in the state. The McCain campaign, he wrote, believes that “Other states ‘today’ offer a better opportunity for the campaign and they decided to shift their strategy. We do NOT agree.

“Michigan Republicans kicked into overdrive last night. We had a series of conference calls and meetings with activists and donors, coming up with our own plan on how to implement a ‘Michigan strategy’ for McCain and the rest of our ticket,” he said. “We will have a revised plan in effect by next week and are NOT conceding an inch to the Obama campaign or any Democrats in Michigan. This is a battleground state, the numbers always tighten up and we will bring the McCain campaign back to Michigan by our own efforts statewide.”

McCain spent heavily on TV ads in Michigan.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) – John McCain’s presidential campaign spent nearly $2 million on television in Michigan during the month of September before deciding to pull up stakes and focus resources elsewhere.

Political advertising data compiled for CNN by TNSMI-Campaign Media Analysis Group also shows that in the final two weeks of the month alone, McCain spent more than $661,000 on TV ads in the state. Two-thirds of those commercials ran in the Detroit and Grand Rapids television markets.

Even the Republican National Committee weighed in with a sizable one day ad buy of more than $62,000 on Sept. 30, the last day of the month.

A McCain aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the strategy was to try and force Obama to spend money in the state. And the aide added that there was “always a shred of hope to be able to capitalize on an electorate that was experienced and frustrated with the Democratic leaders” in the state. The McCain aide noted that Obama had invested serious time and money in Michigan and pointed to the Illinois Democrat’s decision to use the state as the stage to unveil the endorsements of former Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. John Edwards.

In the month of September, Obama spent more than $2.3 million on ads in Michigan, while the Democratic National Committee accounted for another $262,000 on campaign commercials.

It was an expensive gamble for McCain, but with 17 electoral votes on the line the campaign thought it was worth it. Now, the focus for McCain will be to keep past Republican states such as Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia in the GOP column, while trying to flip New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin as well as grabbing an electoral vote from Maine.

John McCain and Sarah Palin held a joint campaign event in Michigan last month. (Getty Images)

(CNN) - A senior McCain adviser confirms to CNN that the campaign is "shifting resources" from Michigan to Ohio and Pennsylvania, and "opening up an offensive front” in Maine.

Michigan was always a long shot for John McCain, who lost the state to native son Mitt Romney in the Republican primary. A Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won there in two decades, since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 victory. But McCain had a surprisingly close showing in some polls, and made a significant time investment campaigning in the state this year.

The most recent CNN poll of polls in Michigan shows Obama with an 8 point lead in the state. (View more state polls)

Macomb County – home of the original Reagan Democrats - was one of the first stops for McCain and running mate Sarah Palin on their post-convention tour of battleground states; they held a town hall in Grand Rapids two weeks ago. (McCain lost Macomb County to Romney by more than 20 points)

Local republican officials told CNN they were thrilled to have Palin on the ticket, saying her accent and love for guns made her someone independents and Democrats uncomfortable with Obama could relate to.

But nowhere does the economy loom larger as an issue than in this hard-hit industrial state, suffering from a decade-long slump. The Obama campaign has tried to capitalize on the Democratic nominee’s polling advantage on the issue, running ads in the state that accuse McCain of not doing more to protect Michigan jobs. (Related: Obama stumps in Michigan Thursday)

As the campaign pulls resources from Michigan, it is ramping up its efforts in Maine, where Republican Senator Susan Collins is beating national trends in her re-election bid, holding a healthy double-digit lead, along with with a strong organization in the state.

A second McCain aide says that their polling shows that “Michigan isn’t even a long shot” - but the campaign is hoping to capture at least one of Maine’s 4 electoral votes, which are designated by congressional district. This year, "every electoral vote will count," says the aide.

Is an Obama ad that aired in Michigan accurate? Get the facts in this CNN Fact Check.

The Statement: In a television ad that began airing in Michigan on Sept. 24 from Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, the narrator says Republican Sen. John McCain "refused to support loan guarantees for the auto industry. But now he's telling a different story."

Get the facts!

The Facts: Government loans to the beleaguered U.S. auto industry were part of last year's energy bill in Congress, but were not funded. Obama has supported such loans. McCain has been quoted in Michigan media in recent weeks first expressing skepticism about the need for such federal loans, then saying he supported the program.

On Aug. 14, the Detroit News quoted McCain as saying that he feared loans to automakers might create a sense of doom around the companies. "I have heard many of these proposals, but I have also had meetings with the Big 3 automakers, and they are confident that with the new hybrids and flex-fuels and other technology advances ... they can succeed. So in all due respect, I worry a little bit about us predicting failure on the part of the automakers when they're struggling mightily," McCain said.

But in a commentary he wrote for the same newspaper on August 18, McCain said, "If the (auto) industry should need federal assistance, I will consider any reasonable proposal they develop that moves the industry to a more stable and prosperous future."

At a speech to auto workers at a General Motors plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, on Sept. 19, McCain stopped short of declaring outright support for federal loans. But he pledged his support to the auto industry. "I'm here to send a message to Washington and Wall Street. We are not going to leave the workers here in Michigan hung out to dry while we give billions in taxpayer dollars to Wall Street. It is time to get our auto industry back on its feet," he said, according to a transcript of his remarks posted on the McCain-Palin Web site.

The Verdict: Misleading. McCain's public comments on the issue have shifted. But while he expressed unease about the loans, in his published comments he has not "refused" to support them.

Could CNN's electoral map shift Wednesday? Check back at 4 pm for the answer.

(CNN) – Will the Democrats get Rocky Mountain high in Colorado?

The answer could determine who wins the race for the White House.

It's no coincidence Democrats decided to hold last month's presidential nominating convention in Denver. Colorado hasn't voted for the Democrats in a presidential election since 1992. But President Bush won the state by only 5 points over Senator John Kerry in 2004, the Democrats made major gains at the state level in the past two elections - and in this presidential election, the Obama campaign hopes to turn the state from red to blue.

Related: CNN's John King on Colorado's Latino voters - a key swing vote this fall

A state poll out earlier this week by Quinnipiac University put Barack Obama up four points over Republican rival John McCain. Today at 4 pm ET, we'll get a better sense of where the race in Colorado stands, as CNN, Time Magazine and the Opinion Research Corporation release brand new numbers on the race for the White House in the state - and CNN updates its Electoral Map.

Check out CNN's current electoral map

The poll will also include new state surveys on the battle for the presidency in Montana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Obama has the advantage in Michigan, according to a new CNN poll of polls.

(CNN) – An average of the latest polls in Michigan shows why the state continues to be a battleground in the fight for the presidency.

A new CNN poll of polls in Michigan, compiled Saturday, suggests Senator Barack Obama has a five point lead over Senator John McCain, 47 percent to 42 percent, with 11 percent of voters undecided.

Seventeen electoral votes are up for grabs in Michigan.

It seems the current financial crisis from Wall Street to Main Street will be a major factor in Michigan.

"The struggling economy could be Obama's trump card," noted CNN Senior Political Researcher Alan Silverleib. "Obama is doing slightly better in our Michigan poll of polls than in our national poll of polls in large part because Michigan is ground zero when it comes to the country's current economic hardship. The unsettling news from Wall Street over the last few days should play to Obama's advantage, especially in the Rust Belt."

Michigan's voted for the Democratic candidate in the last four presidential elections, but it was quite close last time around, with Senator John Kerry beating President Bush there by just three points.

The latest CNN poll of polls is an average of the three most recent surveys in Michigan. They are a Big Ten Batttleground poll conducted September 14-17, an EPIC/MRA survey taken on the same days, and a Marist poll conducted September 16-17.

UPDATE: The release of new ARG numbers this afternoon has tightened up the Michigan average by one point. Obama now leads McCain in the Michigan poll of polls by 4 points (47 to 43 percent). This morning's Michigan poll of polls showed Obama leading McCain by 5 points (47 to 42 percent).

Are people who have lost their homes to foreclosure in danger of losing their vote, as Biden said.

The Statement:

At a campaign stop Monday, Sept. 15, in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden said that Republican officials in Michigan have made comments "suggesting that anyone who lost their home in foreclosure should also lose their right to vote." "If you're worried about losing your home, you should vote," Biden said. "You should vote for the guys who are prepared to help you keep your home - not take it away."

Get the facts after the jump!

The Facts: The Michigan Messenger, a liberal-leaning online newspaper, reported in a Sept. 10 article that Republican officials in Macomb County, one of three counties comprising metro Detroit, were planning on using a list of foreclosed homes to try to disqualify people from voting.

"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli is quoted as telling the paper in a telephone interview.

Carabelli denies the quote. "The story is not true. I never said those things," he says in a written statement posted on the Michigan Republican Party's Web site. "The writer from the blog who spoke to me fabricated comments attributed to me. I did not say that, and I demand a retraction."

The paper is standing behind the story and the quote, based on the reporter's notes. A follow-up article did not mention any recording of the interview. Jefferson Morley, a former Washington Post editor and reporter and editorial director of the Center for Independent Media, which runs the paper, wrote on Sept. 12 that he edited the piece and has "never reported, edited or published a story that included fabricated quotes."

Verdict: IN DISPUTE

(CNN) - Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee went to court on Tuesday to block what they said were efforts by Republicans in the battleground state of Michigan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls in November.

The Michigan Republican party has threatened its own legal action over the matter, accusing a liberal blog of fabricating the quote from a party official that prompted the Democratic suit.

The Michigan Messenger, a liberal blog, reported that Macomb County Republican chairman James Carabelli had told a contributor to their site that the party had a list of homes in foreclosure and would “make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses” – a comment he denies ever making.

The blog and its sponsor, the nonprofit Center for Independent Media, are standing by the story.

Obama general counsel Bob Bauer told reporters Tuesday that the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and three Michigan residents whose homes were in foreclosure had filed suit in federal court in the state, charging that the alleged comment, and other similar remarks by Republican officials in other states, indicated the GOP planned to practice a form of “voter caging” to prevent legal voters from casting ballots.

“It is an absolute attack on their right to vote,” said Bauer. “…This is a standard operating procedure within the Republican party that’s been under legal challenge.” He added that the suit would give them the ability to subpoena memos and e-mails to prove the allegation.

Caging is the practice of sending mass mailings marked with “do not forward” instructions to a list of addresses, and using any returned letters as the basis for challenging a voter who claims that address as their legal residence. Michigan law allows individuals who have lost their homes within two months of Election Day to cast a ballot in their old precinct.

Rep. Maxine Waters of California raised the same concern Wednesday at a hearing with FBI Director Robert Mueller – who said he would alert the Justice Department, but was not aware of any threats to block voter access.

Carabelli, the Republican official credited with the original comment, said the story was fabricated and had “irrevocably harmed” his reputation.

“It’s not true, and I want a full and complete retraction of the quote, and I am taking legal action to get it,” he said in a statement released by the Michigan Republican Party Tuesday. “Let me state, again and unequivocally, there is no such plan to use foreclosure lists to challenger voters, and I never said there was. This is a story line being pushed by one liberal blog, the Obama campaign, and their friends and operatives on the Left.”

A spokesman for the state party told CNN late Tuesday that they planned to send the Web site that published the story a cease and desist letter Wednesday morning. If the story was not retracted immediately, he said, the party was already planning a lawsuit against “anyone who’s perpetuated this fabricated story” with a list of defendants “as broad as possible” – including the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Catch Biden's event on CNN.com/live.

(CNN) - Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden is holding a campaign rally in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.

The latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll suggests the Democratic ticket is holding a narrow lead in that key battleground state.

Check out the event on CNN.com/Live

Update: This event has ended, but stay with CNN.com/live for all the day's events on the campaign trail.'

McCain and Palin are stumping on a ‘maverick’ message.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan (CNN) - At a large rally in Michigan on Friday, his first day campaigning after accepting the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain promised to upend the Washington status quo, arguing that the Democratic ticket doesn't have the chops to do so.

"That's why this ticket is the ticket to shake up Washington, because Sen. Obama doesn't have the strength to do it," McCain said. "He has never bucked his party on any issue. Never. If you want real reform, if you want real change, send the one's who've actually done it. Send the team of mavericks who aren't afraid to go to Washington and break some china."

Introducing McCain, running mate Sarah Palin boasted, "There is only one man in this election who has every really fought for you, and that man is John McCain."

Palin offered another call to turn Washington upside down.

"I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing, and today that ethics reform is the law and that's what we're going to bring to Washington," she said.

Palin again told the tale of how she put her predecessor's luxury jet up for sale on eBay. Although she did initially offer the plane up for auction on the web, there were no takers, and it was ultimately sold off through a private broker.

At the beginning of her remarks, the Alaska governor played to her "hockey mom" persona by holding up a Detroit Red Wings jersey in front of the boisterous crowd. She also thanked Michiganders for hosting her son Track when he was a senior in high school - Palin said he spent part of that year playing hockey just outside of Kalamazoo.

Sen. Obama is leading in Michigan according to a new poll.

(CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is leading in the battleground state of Michigan, according to a poll released Friday.

Obama leads Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, by 7 percentage points – 46 percent versus 39 percent. In the survey, 12 percent said they were unsure about their choice for president, 2 percent supported Ralph Nader, and 1 percent backed the Libertarian Party's Bob Barr.

The Detroit Free Press/Local 4 poll of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted August 17-20 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

CNN considers Michigan a toss-up state. Click here to see CNN's Electoral Map.

The CNN Election Express is heading across the country.

ABOARD THE CNN ELECTION EXPRESS IN ILLINOIS (CNN) - We’re heading west, making our way through what can safely be considered Obama Country.

The Democrat’s presumptive presidential nominee also has a day job, and that’s Senator from Illinois. Before that Barack Obama was a longtime state lawmaker here, and prior to that he was a community organizer in Chicago.

We’ve been driving through a number of crucial battleground states on our way from DC to Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention, but this isn’t one of them. Vice President Al Gore won Illinois by double digits in 2000, Senator John Kerry took the state by double digits four years ago, and Obama’s expected to easily win his home state this time around.

While there’s not that much electoral drama in Illinois, it’s a different story in the two states we just passed through. Indiana’s a traditional red state that Obama would like to turn blue. And Michigan’s a state that's gone for the Democrats in the past two presidential elections, but John McCain would like to turn it red.

“I appreciate the warm welcome to Indianapolis,” said John McCain on July 1, the last time he campaigned in Indiana. And if history’s any indicator, that’s what the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee should expect.

Indiana’s voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964. George W. Bush won the state and its 11 electoral votes by 21 points four years ago.

But Obama’s working hard to put Indiana in play. And he may get a helping hand from Evan Bayh. Indiana’s Democratic Senator is also the state’s former two term governor. Bayh considered his own run for the White House before supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) in the primaries. Now he’s firmly backing Obama and is considered to be on Obama’s short list as a candidate for running mate. The two men campaigned together in Indiana last week.

It’s a different story in Michigan.

“I’m confident I will carry the state of Michigan,” said the Senator from Arizona last month. And McCain’s working hard to make that happen. He campaigned in Michigan on Wednesday, and it’s a safe bet he’ll be back again and again between now and election day.

And Mitt Romney may help him.

The former Massachusetts Governor was McCain’s rival during the primaries, but now he’s a major backer, and considered to be on McCain’s short list as a candidate for running mate. Romney has roots in Michigan. He grew up there and his father was the state’s governor.

Michigan’s voted for the Democratic candidates in the past four presidential elections, but it’s been close recently. Four years ago Kerry narrowly won the state and its 17 electoral votes. This time around, Obama has a slight lead in the polls.

In each state we’ve passed through, we’ve stopped and listened to voters, to find out what’s on their minds. We’ll keep doing that on the road to Denver. So if you see us, please come out and say hello.

We’re headed west. Next stop, Iowa. Another battleground state.

In a way it’s like going home, since the CNN Election Express called Iowa home for the month of December and the first few days of January. The Iowa Caucuses seem like ancient history now, but the first contest in the primary calendar made Obama a winner, and by doing that Iowa voters changed the landscape of the race for the White House.

See you in Iowa.

Watch Sen. Obama's entire meeting with Marilyn Pace and her financial aid counselor.

(CNN) – Things got emotional during Sen. Barack Obama’s visit to a Michigan community college Tuesday.

Obama met individually with student Marilyn Pace, who is studying dental hygiene, and her financial aid counselor, Marcus McGrew, before speaking with a group of students at Wayne Community College in Taylor, Michigan.

Pace broke down in front of Obama and began crying after explaining the financial stresses she is facing while trying to get her education, help take care of her disabled father, and cope with the costs of commuting to school with the high price of gasoline.

WATCH Obama comforts crying student

“It sounds like you’re going to make it. You’re going to be fine,” Obama told Pace as she wiped away tears once McGrew explained his plan to finance Pace’s shortfall without additional debt. “We’re proud of you. You’re doing a great job. The key is just hanging in there,” he added.

Obama delivered a speech to a group of students at the community college after meeting with Pace. Stephanie Baker, whose daughter is studying full-time at another college and struggling academically, asked Obama what advice he would give her daughter.

“My main message to your daughter would be: stick with it,” Obama said. “Because the costs of not getting through school, not keeping your grades up are so much greater,” the presumptive Democratic nominee said. “There’s a million-dollar difference between the lifetime earnings of somebody who got a high school education and a college education. It is still the best investment that you can make,” Obama added.

WATCH Obama’s college advice

After the event, the students, many of whom are studying dental hygiene like Pace, presented Obama with a gift. “On your campaign trail, we have to make sure you have a healthy mouth because we don’t want cavities in office,” a student told Obama as she presented him with an electronic toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and several more toothbrushes. “This is like a lifetime supply. Wow, this is perfect,” he said. “This is an outstanding gift,” he added after showing off his new dental wares to his aide, Reggie Love.

WATCH Obama gets a gift for his pearly whites

During his prepared remarks at the college, Obama detailed his proposals to make college more affordable including a $4000 tuition tax credit granted in exchange for performing 100 hours of community service, reforming the federal student loan system by requiring direct lending of federal loans, and increasing the maximum amount of federal Pell grants.

In a statement released prior to Obama’s remarks Tuesday, the McCain campaign highlighted the Arizona senator’s proposals to reform the federal unemployment insurance system and to strengthen community colleges and technical training.

Obama campaigns in Flint, Michigan on Monday.

(CNN) - As Barack Obama took to the trail in Michigan on Monday, the state's Republican party released a web ad needling him over his decision not to campaign in Michigan during the Democratic primary season - a line of attack Hillary Clinton warned of throughout her own presidential bid.

"Why did you boycott Michigan for so long?," the web ad asks. "You stiffed our voters."

The nearly two-minute long video proceeds to highlight Obama's "bitter" comments from a San Francisco fundraiser earlier this year.

"You insulted our way of life," the ad says, displaying assorted images of hunters and churchgoers.

A blog post on the Michigan GOP's Web site said the ad was created "to remind Michigan voters that when they wanted to hear from Barack Obama, he took every opportunity to thumb his nose at them."

In her push to have the disputed Michigan and Florida delegations seated in full, Clinton regularly argued that in a general election, Republicans would hammer Obama for his reluctance to do the same.

"If the Democrats send a message that we don't care about your votes, I'm sure John McCain and the Republicans would be happy to have them," Clinton said at a campaign stop in Detroit in March. "In fact, the Republicans will argue that Michigan and Florida voters shouldn't trust the Democrats to look out for them when we wont even listen to you."

Obama removed his name from the primary ballot in Michigan last year, a decision that led to a long-running debate with Hillary Clinton's campaign over the how to fairly count the votes from that state's unsanctioned Democratic contest.

Clinton won the uncontested Michigan vote in January with 55 percent of the vote, beating out "Uncommitted," which netted 40 percent. Earlier this month, the Democratic National Committee voted to seat the full Michigan delegation with half a vote each, allocating 69 delegate votes to Clinton and 59 to Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws
Committee on Saturday voted to seat all Michigan delegates to its convention, giving each a half-vote and dividing them to give Hillary Clinton a slight edge over Barack Obama.

The 19-8 vote gives 69 pledged delegates to Clinton and 59 to frontrunner Obama - each with half a vote because Michigan was penalized, like Florida, for moving its primary ahead in the campaign season.

Clinton adviser and RBC member Harold Ickes said, "Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the Credentials Committee."

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting was heated at times.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Representatives for the Clinton and Obama campaigns squared off over the Michigan delegate dilemma Saturday in front of an increasingly rowdy crowd on hand for the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting.

David Bonior laid out the Obama campaign's view: Michigan delegates should be counted - but only in a way that doesn't count. The Illinois senator's campaign has called for delegates to be divided evenly with half going to him and half to Hillary Clinton, who won the unsanctioned January 15 contest.

"Due to all these circumstances, the unfortunate reality is that this primary that happened on January 15 was not anything that came close to a normal primary election, and cannot allocate delegates in a normal fashion as a result," the former Michigan congressman said.

"This does not mean that Michigan should be not represented at the national convention - it does mean that the delegates should be split evenly between the two remaining candidates, out of simple fairness," said Bonior, who pointed to Clinton's statement in a fall 2007 interview that the vote in Michigan would not count.

Both candidates might be nearly in agreement on a Florida compromise but remain far apart on the Michigan contest. Former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard presented the Clinton campaign's view: the RBC may have treated the Michigan primary as if it would not count but nobody else had, including the media and the state's voters.

Delegates, Blanchard said, should be divided based on the result of that vote.

The fact that Obama's name did not appear on the Michigan ballot did not make the primary less legitimate, Blanchard argued.

"It doesn't make the election flawed. In my opinion, they had a flawed strategy," he said.

Several RBC members, including Donna Brazile, asked how the Michigan contest could be viewed as legitimate when many voters stayed home because they did not believe the primary counted, and no provision was made for counting write-in ballots any way other than "uncommitted."

"My momma taught me to play by the rules and respect those rules," said Brazile, who also serves as a CNN political analyst. "My mother taught me - and I'm sure your mother taught you - that when you decide to change the rules - middle of the game, end of the game - that is referred to as cheating."

Blanchard replied: "Hillary Clinton did play by the rules. She even went along with the pledge not to campaign there," and she - and her supporters - should not be penalized by any agreement that would diminish the value of her vote in any way.

With Washington under a tornado watch, a storm seemed to gather in the ballroom where the committee was meeting, too, as a crowd that won't be allowed to comment on the day's proceedings increasingly weighed in with cheers and boos after five hours of uninterrupted dialogue.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Michigan Senator Carl Levin used his time in front of the Rules and Bylaws Committee to attack New Hampshire's "privileged position" as the traditional first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

He also attacked the committee for ultimately granting New Hampshire a waiver that allowed it to maintain that status, despite a party plan designed to address complaints from other areas of the country.

Levin argued that Michigan had accepted the ruling that it would not be one of the four states allowed to hold its primary in January - objecting only when New Hampshire, which was not included in that group, was granted a waiver.

"[The committee] put us in the position of taking on the perpetual privilege [that] no state should have," Levin said.

"...We decided, we're not going to sit by and do nothing for another decade or two."

Levin is a longtime critic of the special status granted New Hampshire and Iowa, whose caucuses are the first presidential preference votes in the nation.

He criticized the Obama campaign for arguing that Michigan's pledged delegates should be split evenly between the Illinois senator and Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won the state's primary. But he also had sharp words for the Clinton campaign, which has said that delegates should be distributed based on the January vote, which would not result in the awarding of any delegates to Obama.

"We had a primary which was flawed, that's the bottom line," said Levin, arguing that state party chairman Mark Brewer's call for a 69-59 split between Clinton and Obama was the best option available.

RBC members - several of whom seconded his criticism of New Hampshire's status - pressed him on whether it would be fair to award delegates using any standard other than the results provided by voters.

"You're calling for a fair reflection of a flawed primary," complained Levin, who pointed out that the state had attempted to hold a new vote – and hinted that the dispute could wind up before the Democratic Party's Credentials Committee, which meets just before the party's presidential nominating convention in August.

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee meets in Washington, Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The chairman of Michigan's Democratic Party called on the national committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee to seat Michigan's full delegation with full voting rights, and divide the pledged delegates between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, 69-59.

RBC member Elaine Kamarck, a Clinton supporter, told Michigan party chair Mark Brewer the proposal was flawed.

"My problem is willy-nilly, arbitrary assignment of delegates when we actually had a legitimate vote," she said.

Brewer responded that the party had not followed any set guidelines in determining the split - but had reached this compromise because "we have to do something in this situation; we can't do nothing. I wish there were more, I wish it were better, but it's all we have."

The dispute over the seating of Michigan's delegates is a thornier dispute than the dilemma over Florida's delegation. Clinton was the only major candidate who did not remove her name from Michigan's primary ballot following the RBC's decision last summer.

She won 55 percent of the vote in the state's January primary but 40 percent of the voters in that contest chose an "uncommitted" option on Michigan's ballot.

Exit polls found that an overwhelming majority of voters who took advantage of that option supported Obama, with most of the rest in support of former Sen. John Edwards' presidential bid.

Democratic National Committee member Alexis Herman.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Alexis Herman, co-chair of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, made clear on Saturday that the 50 percent compromise –- which would reduce the delegate strength of both Michigan and Florida by half, and allow those that remain to be seated at the Democratic convention -– was on the table.

The national party stripped both states of all their delegates last year -– but the automatic penalty only required that these delegations be reduced by half.

The former Clinton cabinet official stressed that a full reinstatement wasn’t up for debate by the RBC, saying both states knew before they moved up their primary dates that there would be severe consequences for violating party rules -– and that the penalty had worked as intended, since no other contests were scheduled for January beyond the two unauthorized votes and the four sanctioned by the party.

"We had many states that wanted to violate the timing. We needed to send a very strong signal in order to prevent additional states from moving forward,” Herman said in her opening remarks.

Protesters voice their concerns outside the DNC headquarters on Capitol Hill in April.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Bleary-eyed Democrats failed to reach consensus early Saturday morning on a plan to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations - setting up a potentially explosive hearing later in the day between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on how to address this politically sensitive situation.

Members of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws panel convened for more than five hours behind closed doors Friday evening. The meeting ended at 1:30 a.m. ET Saturday - eight hours before the committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the matter.

Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton disagree over how best to address the situation of Michigan and Florida, which were penalized for holding their primaries early. The DNC sanctioned Michigan and Florida by excluding them from representation when the party nominates a candidate at the August convention.

"It was a full discussion," said Harold Ickes, a DNC Rules member from the District of Columbia who supports Clinton. "I think there was some agreement on some issues and still some disagreements on others."

The Democratic presidential hopefuls have both said they want the Florida and Michigan delegates to attend the convention, but Clinton's campaign is calling for the results of the primaries to be honored and the delegates awarded based on the results. This approach would help her chip away at Obama's lead in pledged delegates because handily won both states and would be awarded a greater share of the delegates.

Obama's campaign disagrees, saying that this is not reasonable because he followed the rules, took his name off of the Michigan ballot, and did not campaign in either state.

"Right now what we have to do is to figure our way through all of this and I believe we will," said Allan Katz, a DNC Rules member from Florida who supports Obama. "And I believe we will come up with something tomorrow. There will probably be a little sort of tussling but we are Democrats." Right now, with no Michigan or Florida delegates included, Obama leads Clinton by 202 delegates. He needs 42 more to clinch the nomination.

A potential compromise plan would be to have each state be penalized 50 percent of its delegate representation, but allow every delegate to attend the convention with a half vote.

The Rules committee will address two main issues at its hearing Saturday morning: how many delegates each state is allowed and how those delegates will be allocated between the two candidates.

"How do you recognize the people who didn't vote and how do you recognize the people that did vote and how do we at the same time maintain the integrity of the process," said Martha Fuller Clark, a DNC Rules member from New Hampshire and Obama supporter. "And there are no easy answers."

James Roosevelt, Jr., the DNC Rules committee co-chair from Massachusetts, described the meeting as "spirited because people on this committee have a strong feeling about the rules and about the importance of them." But he added, "It was not unpleasant or heated."

Roosevelt also predicted that a resolution will be reached, but said there would be dissenting votes.

"I can't predict that it will be unanimous," he said. "I do think that it will be unifying for the party."

WASHINGTON (CNN) - After weeks of planning by unions, women’s rights groups and others supporting Hillary Clinton's push to seat Florida and Michigan delegates at the Democratic convention this summer, supporters of the New York senator's presidential bid arrived in the nation’s capital by the busload Friday in advance of rallies outside Saturday's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting.

“I’m hoping we restore 100 percent of the delegates from both Michigan and Florida and the popular vote will also be restored,” said Karen Feldman, an organizer of the “Count Every Vote” rally. “...I firmly believe that in Florida that was the purest election we’ve ever had, and I think that those votes should stand where they are and should be counted the way they are.”

Florida Demands Representation, another sponsoring group pushing for the January 29 vote to be recognized by the national party, said Friday it was expecting 400 to 500 supporters to arrive by Saturday. “The Democratic party is in danger in Florida,” said organizer James Hannagan.

The seating of the Florida and Michigan delegations is a priority for Clinton, who won both unsanctioned contests and is currently trailing frontrunner Barack Obama by 202 delegates in the latest CNN count.

Hannagan said that if Clinton is not the Democratic nominee, some members of his forum will vote for McCain, write in Hillary’s name or not vote at all.

The Clinton campaign has tacitly encouraged pressure on RBC members meeting to resolve the controversy, but has denied any role in protests planned for Saturday.

Both Clinton and Obama supporters are planning to protest outside Saturday's RBC meeting in Washington.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Supporters of Barack Obama’s presidential bid are planning to demonstrate outside the Saturday meeting in Washington where Democratic officials are slated to debate the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegations at the party’s summer convention.

The move comes days after backers of Hillary Clinton’s White House run announced plans to converge on the Washington, D.C. hotel where members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee are meeting.

“Hillary Clinton's supporters are going to be bussing in protestors for the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting, so it's critical that we show up for the counter-protest,” wrote on organizer in a post on the Daily Kos Web site Tuesday morning.

Last week, the pro-Clinton Committee to Count Every Vote said it was organizing a day-long May 31 rally outside the RBC meeting.

“Our purpose is not to divide the party or attack the DNC or Senator Obama. Michigan and Florida, however, in addition to Hillary's strong support nationwide, cannot and must not be dismissed in DNC efforts to unify the party.”

The group said it was organizing buses to carry protestors to the meeting site, and could offer some overnight housing for those who could not afford to pay for accommodations.

Earlier this month, Clinton told a group of bloggers who support her candidacy that she encouraged efforts to lobby the committee.

“I thank you for zeroing in on the May 31 meeting. There will be a lot of activity around that meeting,” she said on a conference call, adding that it was “important your voices are heard” by DNC members.

A limited number of seats inside Saturday’s meeting were scheduled to be made available by the DNC at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday – but as of 10 minutes after the hour, all those seats had been claimed. Limited same-day registration will be available as space permits, according to the party’s Web site.

Those who make it inside will have to abide by strict guidelines banning “banners, posters, signs, handouts, and noisemakers of any kind” – and they won’t have a chance to weigh in, since there is no allowance for public comment.

Clinton’s campaign has pushed for both the Florida and Michigan delegations to be seated in full in accordance with the results of their January primaries, which were not sanctioned by the DNC because they were scheduled early in defiance of party instructions. Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the ballot in Michigan, and won both contests.

The DNC, state Democratic parties and both presidential campaigns have said that they are eager for a compromise that would allow both Florida and Michigan to send delegations to the party’s nominating convention in Denver – but all sides stress that the solution would have to be acceptable to both campaigns.

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod signaled in an interview last week that the Illinois senator might be willing to consider a compromise that would give a slight advantage to Clinton.

(CNN) - Senior Clinton adviser Harold Ickes said again today that his vote last summer to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates was not at odds with his current push to have full slates from both states seated at the Democratic convention.

On a conference call with reporters Thursday, Ickes said his 2007 vote had been intended to send a message to other states not to follow Florida and Michigan’s lead in scheduling their primaries before February – and by that measure, the decision had been a success.

"We started to invoke a full stripping of the delegates from those two states to send a very strong signal to other states that if they broke the window there would be very severe consequences," said Ickes, who added that both states had already been penalized because neither had benefited from the attention or campaign advertising revenue that would have accompanied a legitimate contested primary.

"Lessons were learned and now it is time for us to turn our attention to the general election and to make sure that these states - that we do everything to try to assure that these states are in the Democratic column," he said.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee will take up the issue May 31, and the Clinton campaign says it expects them to decide to seat both states’ delegations in full.

Both Bill Clinton and Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe have signaled in recent days that they would be willing to consider proposals that would cut the delegate voting power for Florida and Michigan by half, the same penalty the Republican Party has imposed on both states over the issue.

The number of delegates required to claim the Democratic nomination is currently 2,026. The Clinton campaign has said that in their view, that number is 2,210 – a figure that assumes the seating of full delegations from both Florida and Michigan. Today, Ickes said the number would depend on the Rules and Bylaws Committee’s decision at the end of the month.

(CNN) - Obama senior adviser David Axelrod says the Illinois senator’s campaign is “open to compromise” and willing to cede Hillary Clinton the advantage in talks over the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegations at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

"We are willing to go more than half way. We're willing to work to make sure that we can achieve a compromise," Axelrod tells National Public Radio’s Michele Norris in a Wednesday evening interview. "And I guess the question is: is Senator Clinton's campaign willing to do the same?"

Clinton spent Wednesday in Florida highlighting her push for full delegations from both states to be seated in accordance with their January votes, which were not sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee because of the early primary dates. Her campaign has charged the Obama team with blocking a compromise on the issue – a claim that campaign has denied.

"Well obviously, any compromise is going to involve some give, and that means if there's something on the table, we're willing to consider it," Axelrod told NPR in the interview set to air Wednesday evening. “That may include us yielding more delegates than perhaps we would have, simply on the basis of the rules."

Obama now appears likely to finish the primary season with a delegate lead, including superdelegates, that would not disappear if both states’ delegations are seated based on the results of January’s contests, in which his name did not appear on the ballot in Michigan. Clinton won both primaries.

Clinton is making three campaign stops in Florida Wednesday.

BOCA RATON, Florida (CNN) – Making a last-gasp campaign swing through Florida on Wednesday - just ten days before the Democratic National Committee will decide the fates of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegations - Hillary Clinton forcefully pressed for the primary votes in those states to be counted "exactly as they were cast."

"It is well within the Democratic party rules to take this stand," she said, defending her position in front of a sizeable audience at a Boca Raton retirement community. "The rules clearly state that we can count all of these votes and seat all of delegates, pledged and unpledged if we so choose, and the rules laid out make clear the process for doing so."

It was Clinton’s first campaign stop in Florida since the night of the state’s primary on Jan. 29, and Clinton picked a suitable venue to make her case for counting every vote: Palm Beach County, ground zero of the politically-charged 2000 Florida recount.

"We believe the popular vote is the truest expression of your will," she said. "We believe it today just as we believed it back in 2000, when right here in Florida, you learned the hard way what happened when the votes aren’t counted and a candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner."

The New York senator made repeated allusions to the 2000 recount and proclaimed that the Democratic party, the party of civil rights, has a duty to count every vote to determine the true intent of the electorate. Moreover, she argued, counting the votes is a simple matter of American democracy.

“I have heard some say counting Florida and Michigan would be changing the rules,” she said. “I say not that not counting Florida and Michigan is changing a central governing rule of this country, that whenever we can understand the clear intent of the voters, their vote should be counted.”

She avoided criticizing Barack Obama directly, but Clinton tied Obama’s decision to remove his name from the Michigan primary ballot to the current predicament facing Democrats in Michigan and Florida.

“I know that Sen. Obama chose to remove his name from ballot in Michigan and that was his right,” Clinton said, “but his choice does not negate the votes of all those who turned out to cast their ballots, and we should not let that process rob all of you from your voices.”

“You didn’t break a single rule and you should not be punished for what happened beyond your control,” she added.

Earlier in the day, on a flight from Washington, D.C. to Florida, Clinton aides spoke to reporters and emphasized Florida’s general election importance, stressing their belief that Clinton, not Obama, would fare better in the state this fall against John McCain.

The campaign also revealed a new metric by which to gauge their late-blooming momentum this primary season: Since the end of February and excluding previous contests, said spokesman Mo Elleithee, Clinton has won more contests, more delegates and the overall popular vote.

Michigan Democrats have accepted a new compromise.

(CNN) – Michigan’s Democrats have accepted a compromise proposal in their latest attempt to ensure their state will be represented at this summer’s Democratic National Convention, CNN has confirmed.

The state party has voted to sign on to a plan devised a week-and-a-half ago by the working group seeking ways to end the impasse, including Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Sen. Carl Levin, Democratic National Committee Member Debbie Dingell and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger.

The group urged the Democratic National Committee to seat the Michigan delegation under a formula that would give a 10-delegate edge to Hillary Clinton, and allow all 157 delegates and superdelegates to be seated this summer.

Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the ballot in the state’s January contest, which she won with 55 percent of the vote. No delegates were awarded because of national party penalties on Michigan Democrats for moving up their primary date. Forty percent of January’s primary voters chose the “uncommitted” option on the ballot; a majority of those “uncommitted” delegates are backing Barack Obama.

Clinton’s campaign has said that the results of the January vote – which would give her an 18-delegate edge, 73-55 – should count. Obama’s campaign had said the delegates should be split evenly, 64-64. Another compromise plan submitted by DNC member Joel Ferguson – which would have given half a vote to each pledged delegate, and a full vote to each superdelegate – had been opposed by the Michigan working group.

Under the latest proposal adopted by the state party, which splits the difference between the Obama and Clinton proposals, the state’s 128 pledged delegates would be split 69-59, with the majority going to Hillary Clinton. Michigan Democrats has asked the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee – which meets at the end of the month – to consider the plan.

If both campaigns do not agree on the compromise, the issue will head to the DNC’s Credentials Committee for a resolution.

Watch Dean's interview with CNN's Don Lemon.

(CNN) – Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, set forth three principles that he thinks should govern any effort to reach a compromise regarding seating the Michigan and Florida delegations to his party’s nominating convention.

First, “we want to respect the voters who went to the polls,” Dean said. “It was politicians that made a mess of this - not the voters,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon Tuesday.
“Secondly, you have got to respect these two candidates,” Dean said of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. “You cannot change the rules at the end of the game and change the outcome.”

“Thirdly, you’ve got to respect the 48 states that followed the rules they way they were supposed to,” the former presidential candidate said.

“So there will be some sort of compromise in the Rules Committee on the 31 of May, I hope,” the DNC chair said. “But we don’t know what that compromise is going to look like right now.”

While Clinton and Obama have continued to battle for the Democratic nod, the DNC has run ads targeting Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, and Dean took the opportunity to take a shot or two at McCain Tuesday.

“He’s wrong on the courts. He’s wrong on Iraq. He’s wrong on the economy. He’s wrong on healthcare,” said Dean.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) - With less than a week to go until the critical primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, it's getting close to crunch time for Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Jessica Yellin reports on how Clinton and Obama are courting blue collar voters in Indiana and courting their party's superdelegates.

In an effort to dissuade the so-called "Reagan Democrats" from choosing Sen. John McCain in the general election, unions in several key states have already begun to target the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. Chief National Correspondent John King is out on the campaign trail with McCain. King explains what the unions are up to and what McCain intends to do to court a key group which both he and the Democrats will likely need to win the White House.

As Clinton and Obama continue to battle it out in the remaining primaries, their party has yet to resolve how to handle the delegations of Florida and Michigan - two states who held their primaries in violation of the Democratic National Committee's rules and were punished by being stripped of all their delegates to the nominating convention. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider reports on a new proposal by Michigan's congressional delegation to apportion the state's delegates between Clinton and Obama and allow the state's delegation to participate in the convention.

Clinton, Obama, and McCain have been trading barbs lately over who has the best plan to tackle rising gas prices. Dan Lothian reports on the proposals of the three candidates.

Finally, a union leader in Indiana gave Sen. Clinton an unusual introduction Wednesday. Watch Clinton be complimented for her "fortitude."

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily

(CNN) - Michigan’s Democrats have released another new proposal yesterday in their quest to ensure their state will be represented at this summer’s Democratic National Convention.

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Sen. Carl Levin, Democratic National Committee Member Debbie Dingell and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger – the working group that has been meeting to try to end the impasse - sent a letter to state party chair Mark Brewer Tuesday in which they urged the Democratic National Committee to seat the Michigan delegation under a formula that would give a 10-delegate edge to Hillary Clinton.

Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the ballot in the state’s January contest, which she won with 55 percent of the vote. No delegates were awarded because of national party penalties on Michigan Democrats for moving up their primary date. Forty percent of January’s primary voters chose the “uncommitted” option on the ballot; a majority of those “uncommitted” delegates are backing Barack Obama.

Clinton’s campaign has said that the results of the January vote – which would give her an 18-delegate edge, 73-55 – should count. Obama’s campaign had said the delegates should be split evenly, 64-64.

DNC member Joel Ferguson has called for a plan that would give half a vote to each pledged delegate and a full vote to each superdelegate. The committee said Tuesday they opposed this plan. Under their proposal, which splits the difference between the Obama and Clinton proposals, the state’s 128 pledged delegates would be split 69-59, with the majority going to Hillary Clinton.

If both campaigns do not agree on a compromise, the issue will head to the DNC’s Credentials Committee for a resolution.

(CNN) — The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee — which is tasked with ruling how to seat Florida and Michigan delegates at the party's summer convention — will meet next month to discuss the situation in Washington, D.C.

"The main item of business on the Committee’s agenda will be the consideration of two pending challenges," write committee co-chairs Alexis Herman and Jim Roosevelt Jr. in a memo sent to members Friday. "We hope you are able to attend this very important RBC meeting."

(CNN) – A Democratic National Committee spokeswoman confirms to CNN that the party has returned $45,000 to three Florida donors unhappy with the continuing uncertainty over the seating of that state's delegation at the party's presidential nominating convention this summer.

The move follows reports that some major Democratic donors from Florida and Michigan - the two states penalized by the party for moving their presidential primary votes to January - would look to have their donations returned if full delegations were not seated at the convention in Denver, or new votes held that would abide by DNC rules.

This week, Howard Dean met with Florida's Democratic congressional delegation and party leaders, and released joint statements with that group and with the Michigan committee looking to craft a resolution of the controversy in that state. Democratic state party leaders in both Florida and Michigan have announced that new votes are not logistically possible.

Michigan voters participated in the states primary on January 15.

(CNN) - Michigan Democrats will not to go to the polls again to choose a presidential nominee, even though the national party has refused to recognize the results of their vote in January, the party announced Friday.

"We have concluded that it is not practical to conduct such a primary or caucus," the state party's executive committee said in a written statement. But they added they will continue to work with the Democratic National Committee and elected officials to ensure that the state is represented at the party convention in Denver this August.

Michigan Democrats held their primary earlier than national party rules allowed. The Democratic Party responded by refusing to seat Michigan’s delegates at the convention.

Many Democratic candidates, including Sen. Barack Obama, removed their names from the Michigan ballot after the DNC’s decision, leaving Sen. Hillary Clinton as the only major contender in the state.

Clinton got 55 percent, while 40 percent of the state's voters opted for "uncommitted.”

Clinton said Friday the party had to find a way to avoid “disenfranchising” 600,000 Michigan voters. “Those votes have been cast…. So the Democratic party is going to have to come to grips with whether or not we want to be like the Republicans and disenfranchise people or whether we will stay true to the voting-rights record of this party.”

Stupak is proposing a new plan to seat Michigan's delegates.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak proposed a new plan on Monday to seat his state's Democratic delegates to the party's convention in August, factoring in both the results of the state's January primary and the total popular vote of all the primary contests nationwide.

In a proposal sent to Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Stupak proposed allotting 83 of Michigan's pledged delegates based on the January vote, while the state's remaining pledged delegates and superdelegates - 73 total - are to be awarded based on the nationwide vote.

The DNC stripped Michigan of its convention delegates late last year after the state moved up its primary to January 15. Under pressure from other early-voting states, most of the Democratic presidential candidates removed their name from the ballot there.

But Clinton opted to keep her name on the ballot and ultimately received 55 percent of the vote, compared to the 40 percent of the vote that went for "uncommitted."

Under Stupak's proposal, Clinton would receive 47 delegates based on her vote total, while Obama would be awarded 36 delegates based on that "uncommitted" result; the rest would be divided according to the nationwide popular vote total after all the primaries are completed.

 Full story

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Clinton was hoping a new primary in Michigan would add to her delegate count.

(CNN) – Michigan's State Senate adjourned Thursday without reaching an agreement to schedule a new Democratic primary on June 3.

The Legislature is now on recess for two weeks, and by the time lawmakers return, it will likely be too late to approve and organize a new vote.

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama also would have to sign off on the plan.

Obama's camp had expressed concern with the proposal, and Clinton blamed him for holding up the revote.

Michigan and Florida held primaries in January, but the Democratic National Committee stripped them of their delegates for scheduling their contests too early.

Full story

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana (CNN) – Hillary Clinton once again blasted Barack Obama over his reluctance to approve a primary re-vote in Michigan, asking reporters at a press conference Thursday why Obama is “afraid” of agreeing to a new contest there.

“I have, as the Democratic National Committee has, come out in favor of any effort to re-vote in Michigan,” she said. “I do not understand what senator Obama is afraid of.”

Clinton was asked if she is now pressing for new primaries in Florida and Michigan only because she is losing in the chase for pledged delegates.

“I would be in favor of fixing this problem no matter what my position,” she argued. “I have been consistently in favor of it. Remember I’m the one who kept my name on the ballot. I had no idea what the outcome would be.”

As she did in Detroit on Wednesday, Clinton predicted that leaving out voters from Michigan and Florida could put those states in Republican hands come November.

She also said winning the Democratic nomination without the voices of Michigan and Florida would raise “serious questions about legitimacy of that nominee.”

“The people of Michigan and their legislature made it very clear that they would proceed with a revote. Unfortunately, Sen. Obama’s campaign said no. Two out of three of us said yes. You’ll have to ask him what he’s afraid of.”

– CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Michigan’s latest primary proposal is running short on time.

(CNN) – A top Michigan Democrat reports that negotiators working to pass an 11th-hour plan for a re-vote in the state are increasingly frustrated with Barack Obama’s failure to either embrace the plan currently being considered, or propose an alternative.

Lawmakers are facing mounting pressure this evening to come up with an agreement before the legislature adjourns Thursday for a two-week recess.

“The Obama people are blocking it in the legislature,” the Democratic source tells CNN, who says that the group has repeatedly and unsuccessfully reached out to the campaign for input and cooperation.

The source says that Obama’s campaign has been asked to craft an alternative or to meet with the Clinton campaign to work out an acceptable compromise, but that those requests have been met with silence.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton disputes this account, though the campaign offers no specifics.

The Clinton campaign has been increasing its criticism of Obama for his failure to back a new primary that would meet national party requirements and allow a full Michigan delegation to be seated at the Democratic convention this summer.

Wednesday, Hillary Clinton made her first campaign appearance in Michigan this year, challenging Obama directly to back the seating of a full Michigan delegation.

Clinton won the January Michigan contest with 55 percent of the vote, but was awarded no delegates. She was the only major Democratic candidate to appear on the ballot; 40 percent of the party’s primary voters chose the “uncommitted” option instead.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who has been a major proponent of a new primary vote, told CNN Wednesday that his group of four unaligned Michigan politicians was hopeful that legislators would vote on the plan this evening or Thursday, which would allow the delegation to be seated “without a floor fight and without a credentials fight.”

But Michigan state Sen. Tupac Hunter, a major Obama supporter, says an “overwhelming majority” of members who support both candidates “find something or the other wrong with it and cannot support it in its current form. A new vote, he added, “does not look likely.”

“From where I sit there are no floating pieces to this,” said Hunter - nothing that can be changed that wouldn’t require a major alteration or abandonment of the current proposal. “I’m not sure how feasible it is at this point… there’s nothing I’ve seen or heard that would lead me to believe that there’s going to be an agreement.”

He called on the DNC Chairman Howard Dean to step in immediately and broker a compromise, to help avoid a “chaotic convention.”

“There’s a lot of hot rhetoric out there. Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton, they’re in the throes of a campaign, we understand that,” he said. “But the DNC needs to come in and calm the storm.”

–CNN's Jessica Yellin and Rebecca Sinderbrand

(Updated with Obama campaign reaction)

MILLERSVILLE, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Hillary Clinton has scheduled a last-minute campaign stop in Detroit for Wednesday morning, a move the campaign says will spotlight Michigan's efforts at a primary re-vote and keep the pressure on Barack Obama to consent to another election in the state.

The Wednesday morning event is billed as a routine "Solutions for America" campaign rally, but Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said the trip is intended to put the focus squarely on Obama, who has resisted agreeing to re-votes in Florida and Michigan.

"The ball is in Obama's court," Elleithee said. "Senator Obama is in the way, so she's going to go to Michigan to press the case personally." In a conference call held earlier in the day, Clinton aide Phil Singer also said the ball was in Obama's court.

"Why doesn't he go ahead and say, 'Let's do this'?" said Singer.

A draft proposal currently under consideration in Michigan calls for a new Democratic primary to be held on June 3, to be paid for with private money. That plan would have to be approved by the state legislature. The state Senate Majority Leader, a Republican, has said he will not give his support to any plan that does not have the consent of all the parties involved, including both presidential campaigns.

The Obama campaign on Tuesday again accused the Clinton campaign of attempting to change the rules late in the electoral game to garner delegates, saying it continued to harbor "valid concerns about the proposal" to hold another primary in June.

"We have raised these concerns, as legislators in Michigan did today, and we're waiting to see if these issues can be resolved by the legislature," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

– CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

(CNN) - A proposal is taking shape for Michigan Democrats to hold a new presidential primary, a Democratic source close to the negotiations says, after the national Democratic Party refused to recognize the results of their first vote two months ago.

Under the proposal, the state of Michigan would hold a new primary on June 3, and the Democratic Party would reimburse the state for the cost of running the election, ensuring the state had the cash in hand before voting began.

The Democratic National Committee refused to recognize the results of the primary Michigan held on Jan. 15 because it allowed only four states – not including Michigan – to hold primaries before Feb. 5.

Many Democratic presidential contenders had their names taken off Michigan's ballot after the DNC decision, including Sen. Barack Obama. Sen. Hillary Clinton did not remove her name from the ballot, and won 55 percent of the vote. Some 40 percent of Michigan Democrats filed ballots declaring themselves "uncommitted."

The Michigan state legislature would have to push the plan through by next Thursday

Michigan voters wanting to cast ballots in the new primary would have to identify themselves as Democrats and certify that they did not vote in the state's Republican primary in January. Michigan normally does not require party identification in primary elections.

South Dakota is also slated to hold its Democratic primary June 3.

– CNN's John Roberts

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN)— The political world - inside and outside New York, Republican and Democratic - was rocked Monday by reports of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution ring.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Mary Snow reports on the Spitzer scandal and Kelli Arena reports on the ongoing criminal investigation into the prostitution ring that has ensnared Spitzer and his political career.

Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley is on the campaign trail in Jackson, Mississippi and reports on how Sen. Barack Obama has responded to the Clinton campaign's repeated suggestions that he would make a suitable vice presidential running mate to Sen. Clinton.

Suzanne Malveaux is also out on the trail in Pennsylvania - the next big delegate prize in the Democratic race.  But, before Pennsylvania's primaries, the Democratic Party is looking back to past primaries in Florida and Michigan.  Malveaux explains what the party may do to allow delegates from both states to participate in the convention and play a role in deciding whether Clinton or Obama will face off against Sen. John McCain.

Finally, Dana Bash reports on McCain's comments Monday about his health.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Watch Nelson's comments Monday.

(CNN)—Florida Sen. Bill Nelson warned the Democratic National Committee Monday that denying Florida and Michigan rights to a do-over would be a terrible mistake for the states and the Democratic Party.

“It would be a tragedy for America and especially for Florida,” Nelson told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer adding that his state still feels the effects of the controversial 2000 presidential election.

In an op-ed in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Nelson praised the 3.6 million Floridians who headed to the polls Jan. 29, and pushed for a speedy resolve by the DNC.

“With so much at stake, and the race so close, it's apparent to me that a new election in Florida is a fair way to provide both candidates with another chance to win needed delegates in a state that is certain to be pivotal in November,” Nelson wrote.

The Florida Senator’s proposed plan: a mail-in ballot which he says worked in Oregon for years. However, Nelson explained, one challenge would be signature fraud on voter registration cards.

–CNN’s Emily Sherman

Advisors to Obama and Clinton on Monday discussed the possibilities of re-voting in Florida and Michigan.

(CNN)— Controversy surrounding the results from Michigan and Florida’s primaries continued Monday as both Democratic campaigns make their pitches for how the Democratic National Committee should handle the situation.

Senior Clinton Campaign Adviser Ann Lewis told CNN in an interview Monday, the DNC should recognize and respect that such large numbers of Democrats came out to vote.

Michigan and Florida were stripped of their delegates when they scheduled their primaries before February in violation of DNC rules. However, given the unexpected close nature of the Democratic race some party leaders are calling for a ‘do-over’ in both states.

Barack Obama’s Communications Director Robert Gibbs told CNN’s John Roberts the Obama campaign is waiting to see what the DNC decides is ‘fair and reasonable.’

“We’ve said since the beginning that we unlike others would play by the rules that have been established,” Gibbs said in an apparent strike at the Clinton campaign.

None of the candidates campaigned in either state and Hillary Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the Michigan ballot.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said the decision is ultimately up to state leaders—assuming the Obama and Clinton campaigns feel the resolution is fair to both sides.

“I have to run these rules so that the losing side feels it’s been treated fairly,” Dean said on ABC’s “This Week,” adding that he has discussed possible solutions with Michigan Sen. Carl Levin and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.

Related: Ann Lewis says Michigan and Florida's votes should be recognized

Related: Robert Gibbs says the Obama campaign is playing by the rules

--CNN's Emily Sherman

(CNN) – Democratic leaders in Michigan and Florida suggested Sunday they might be moving toward a solution that would allow them to send voting delegates to the party’s presidential nominating convention this summer.

Both states lost that privilege when they scheduled their primaries before February, despite party instructions, and the major candidates did not campaign there in advance of the contests. State and national party leaders and representatives of both remaining presidential candidates have been meeting to try to resolve the dilemma of whether – and how – to ensure representation for the delegate-rich fall swing states.

On Sunday, the idea of a mail-in primary seemed to be gaining some traction, despite concerns over the security and cost of a new vote.

On CNN’s Late Edition, Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Claire McCaskill of Missouri - surrogates for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively - did not rule out the prospect. “We can't change (party) rules in the middle of this process,” McCaskill told anchor Wolf Blitzer, but added that if party leaders “come up with a fair way to redo this, whatever they decide, the Obama campaign will respect” the new process.

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Clinton supporter, weighed in against the idea. "I would resist a re-vote for a couple of major reasons," she said on Fox News Sunday. "Number one, the re-vote that's being talked about right now would be a mail-in ballot. And we have never conducted a mail-in ballot in Florida. And in an election that is this important, an experiment like that is - now is not the time to test that."

But Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who released a statement Friday that argued a second primary was impractical, said on ABC’s “This Week” that a mail-in vote was the only logical way to repeat the contest.

“Only a mail kind of a vote will work,” said Levin. “And there’s a lot of logistics which are involved in that which people are looking at right now to see if it is possible. If it is possible, I believe it should be considered.”

State leaders in both Michigan and Florida have expressed a reluctance to fund new Democratic contests. Levin said that he did not believe cost would be an obstacle to a re-vote: “If there’s a practical way to do it which people believe is secure and fair, I believe a couple of million dollars could be raised.”

Hillary Clinton was the only major candidate to appear on the ballot in Levin's home state Democratic primary in January; she won both the Florida and Michigan votes, and her campaign has argued that those results should stand.

On CBS's Face the Nation, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said he did not think cost would be an issue in Florida at all.

"Senator (Bill) Nelson and I have had some discussions which could lead to something fruitful, which is that the Florida party would be able to raise money,” said Dean. “They can take unlimited amount of money in Florida. I don't know if that's possible in Michigan or not, and there's some discussion of that too."

Nelson was the original proponent of the mail-in primary idea.

The state’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist, told ABC's "This Week" he would be willing to assist in ensuring a re-vote could take place in Florida.

Dean said the ultimate resolution of the potential crisis was up to state leaders – with the only stipulation that both Clinton and Barack Obama feel it is fair.

“I have to run these rules so that the losing side feels it’s been treated fairly,” Dean said on “This Week,” adding that he has discussed possible solutions with both Nelson and Levin.

–CNN's Peter Lanier contributed to this report

(CNN) - Michigan Sen. Carl Levin - one of the most powerful Democratic politicians in Michigan - has weighed in against a re-vote that would allow the state’s delegation to be seated at the party’s national convention this summer.

“Senator Levin doesn’t see at this time a practical and fair way to hold a ‘do-over’ election in Michigan given the immense financial and logistical hurdles, and in any event believes that a change in course would require acceptance by both candidates,” read a statement posted on his Senate Web site Friday.

Negotiations over a new vote - involving representatives from the state and national parties and the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - hit a snag Thursday when the Michigan Democratic party chairman Mark Brewer said that it could cost as much as $10 million.

Levin’s statement said that unless an agreement was reached before August, the decision would fall to the Credentials Committee that certifies delegates – with their ruling subject to appeal to the full convention.

Michigan and Florida lost their voting power as a result of Democratic National Committee penalties for their decision to hold their primaries in January, despite party instructions.

The major candidates all signed an agreement that they would not campaign in either state before those votes, and most withdrew their names from Michigan’s ballot, with the exception of Hillary Clinton, who won both contests.

Levin has not backed any presidential candidate this cycle.

–CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand