A new RNC ad is airing in key fall battlegrounds.

(CNN) – The Republican National Committee released a new ad hitting Barack Obama on economic policy, as the party began shifting some of its ad dollars to some of this year’s unexpected battlegrounds.

“Meltdown. Foreclosure. Pensions, savings wiped out,” says the announcer in the 30-second spot. “And now our nation considers elevating one of the least experienced people ever to run for president.

“Barack Obama: he hasn’t had executive experience. This crisis would be Obama’s first crisis. In this chair,” he says, over a shot of the president’s desk in the Oval Office.

The RNC’s independent expenditure unit confirmed that it is pulling its pro-McCain ads off the air in Maine and Wisconsin, re-directing the bulk of those resources to boosting advertising in a string of traditionally red states

Read the rest of this entry »

The Obama campaign launched a new ad Monday.

(CNN) – A day after the Dow Industrials index dropped nearly 800 points in reaction to the failure of the $700 billion bailout bill in the House of Representatives, economic issues are dominating the latest round of television ads in the presidential race.

The Obama campaign launched a new ad, “Same Path,” Monday. In the spot, Obama speaks directly to the public for nearly two minutes about the nation’s troubled economy and what Obama proposes to do about it.

“I know that that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. But not by driving down the very same path,” Obama says. “On taxes, John McCain and I have very different ideas,” he also says before detailing changes to the tax code that he would push for as president in order to help small and startup businesses, middle class families, and senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

The ad will air in “key states” nationally, according to a statement issued by the Obama campaign Tuesday.

While the Obama camp’s new ad details changes to the tax code Obama would advocate for if elected, the Republican National Committee’s new ad seeks to portray Obama’s tax policies and spending proposals as a potential fatal blow to the struggling economy.

The 30-second spot, “Worse,” begins with images of Wall Street while an announcer asks, “Can it get any worse?” The ad suggests things can get worse if Obama wins the White House. “New taxes. New spending. New debt. Barack Obama’s plan: It will make the problem worse,” an announcer says in the ad. The RNC says that “Worse” will air in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Indiana.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The convention hall fills with balloons after John McCain officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination. (Photo Credit: Mike Roselli/CNN)

Romney will speak at the RNC Wednesday night.

(CNN) — Former Massachusetts Sen. Mitt Romney appears to take a veiled shot at Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, in prepared remarks released ahead of his address to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night — comments the Obama campaign is calling a "pathetic GOP attack."

"Just like you, there has never been a day when I was not proud to be an American," Romney will tell Republican delegates according to advance excerpts released by the Republican National Committee.

The comments appear to be a not-so-subtle reference to Mrs. Obama's comment in February on the campaign trail when she declared, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country." Those comments were immediately criticized by Republicans and Michelle Obama later said she misspoke.

Barack Obama's campaign fired back at Romney's expected remarks Wednesday night, calling them, “as pathetic as [Romney's] failed presidential campaign.”

“Barack Obama has said that families are ‘off-limits’, and we thought that John McCain agreed," Obama adviser Anita Dunn said in a statement. "But tonight, John McCain’s handpicked attack dog, Mitt Romney, exposed the fake outrage that the Republicans have been peddling all week as the blatant hypocrisy that it is."

"The McCain team’s disgusting attack on Barack Obama's wife shows they would rather generate false outrage to distract from their own problems than talk about the issues facing the American people," Dunn also said. "Mitt Romney’s attack on a candidate’s wife is as pathetic as his failed presidential campaign."

Romney, believed to have been on McCain's shortlist for vice president, is slated to address the Republican convention Wednesday night.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – I want to raise a question: if Hollywood is a nest of liberals and Democrats, why is it that virtually every Hollywood celebrity-turned politician has been a Republican. I give you: Ronald Reagan, Fred Thompson, George Murphy, Sonny Bono, Fred Grandy, Arnold Schwarzenegger. How can this be?

The one exception I can think of: Cooter from the Dukes of Hazzard, Ben Jones.*

Sen. Obama deplaned in Chicago Saturday after a week-long vacation in Hawaii with his family.

(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential bid added more than 65,000 new donors and raised more than $51 million in the month of July, the Obama campaign said in a statement released Saturday.

“The 65,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to fundamentally change business as usual in Washington,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in the statement.

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, announced Friday that it raised $27 million in July. The Republican National Committee also announced Friday that it raised $26 million in the same timeframe and has received donations from more than a million donors during this election cycle.

The Obama campaign recently announced that it has surpassed the 2-million-donor mark and said Saturday that it currently has $65.8 million in cash on hand.

McCain and the RNC are well-positioned financially.

(CNN) — The Republican National Committee reported Friday it raised $26 million in July, a fundraising haul that nearly matches John McCain's campaign during the same timeframe, and had approximately $75 million cash on hand.

The RNC and the McCain campaign combined began the month of August with $96 million cash on hand, a total that may keep pace with Barack Obama and the relatively cash-strapped Democratic National Committee.

Earlier Friday, the McCain campaign announced it had raised $27 million in July, the presumptive Republican nominee’s largest one-month fundraising total to date. The campaign also said it had $21 million cash on hand, all of which must be spent before the party's convention in early September because of McCain's choice to accept federal campaign dollars. The Republican Party is free to spend its money through Election Day.

The RNC also announced Friday it had surpassed one million individual donors this election cycle, while the McCain campaign said 600,000 individuals had donated to the Arizona senator. Earlier this week, the Obama campaign announced it had passed the two million donor mark.

Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee have yet to announce their fundraising hauls for the month of July. For June, the Illinois senator's campaign reported raising $52 million with more than $72 million cash on hand. The DNC raised $22 million during that time period, all of which was available to spend.

Mike Duncan is touring key states.

(CNN)—Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan launched a three week “Victory 2008 Tour” Wednesday, aimed at catalyzing grassroots efforts for Republican candidates across the map by targeting key fall battleground states for the Presidential and Senate races.

The tour will travel to key states,’ including Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Florida, and North Carolina, where Duncan will meet with local GOP leaders to discuss the Republican strategy and work on increasing the party’s voter registration.

“I am excited to meet with the grassroots activists, state leaders, and enthusiastic volunteers who are devoting their time and energy to elect John McCain and Republicans nationwide this November,” Duncan said. “These are the individuals who will ensure Republican success on Election Day by carrying out our strategy and message surrounding John McCain’s positive vision for the future of our nation.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean embarked on his own cross-country tour last week to encourage voters to unite around Democratic candidates and presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Read the rest of this entry »

The RNC launched a new interactive website Friday.

(CNN)—The Republican National Committee is launching an interactive Web site Friday for voters to help develop the 2008 Republican Party platform by submitting comments and ideas.

“This Web site is really about you,” RNC Chairman Mike Duncan says in a video message on the site. “[It’s about] your ideas, your issues, and most important of all, your aspirations.”

Through the Web site, GOPPlatform2008.com, voters can submit suggestions and commentary covering a variety of issues including energy and gas prices, health care reform, national security, and jobs and economic growth. Voters can also view messages from others who have submitted commentary — including those from the platform committee co-chairmen, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Richard Burr.

McCarthy said they hope the site will evolve into a virtual town hall.

The Democratic National Committee is making face-to-face meetings the centerpiece of their platform initiative earlier this week: voters have been invited to attend meetings with platform committee members in every state.

"This process will empower Americans in all 50 states to make their voices heard as they help write the document that embodies our party's values and vision for the future,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who started "Operation Chaos"– an election-year bid to sabotage Democratic presidential hopes–has instructed his listeners to attend these meetings.

Watch Wolf Blitzer's interview with the RNC's Chairman.

(CNN) — The stage belongs to the Democrats on Thursday night at CNN's debate in Las Vegas.  But, Wolf Blitzer took some time to talk to Mike Duncan, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, about what the Republican Party plans to do to make sure Nevada is red in 2008. 

Watch Duncan discuss Democratic frontrunners Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, and former Sen. John Edwards on the eve of Thursday's debate.

Related: Poll: Clinton, Giuliani even in Nevada

Related: Showdown in Vegas

Clinton ad targets seniors

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) – Sen. Hillary Clinton launched a new television ad in Iowa and New Hampshire Monday designed to reach senior citizens.

In the 30-second spot, Clinton highlights her role as an advocate for the elderly by focusing on key issues of the demographic: Social Security and long term health insurance. Clinton asserts she is the candidate that has been with seniors “all along.”

The Republican National Committee immediately responded with a sharp critique of the New York Democrat’s ad.

“How can Senator Clinton claim to be there for you, when she won’t even give a straight answer on how to save Social Security? The one thing we know about Hillary Clinton and Social Security is that she was definitely there in the White House when Bill raised taxes on benefits and she was definitely there in the Senate when she refused to repeal it.”

— CNN New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Brooks is exactly the kind of voter the Republican Party can ill afford to lose. But in a foreboding omen for 2008, it may have already done just that.

The auto parts store worker from St. Charles, Mo., says he used to be a Republican but felt abandoned and is now an independent.

"For some reason or other, they didn't seem to be for the masses anymore," said Brooks, 59, citing a lack of help for middle-income earners. He said he voted for George W. Bush in 2000, thinking the Republican was "more middle of the road, for the people. Obviously I was incorrect."

Brooks is not alone. From coast to coast, independent voters tilt tellingly toward Democrats in their opposition to the Iraq war, their displeasure with Bush and their feeling that the country is moving in the wrong direction, according to data from recent
Associated Press-Ipsos polls.

That could be decisive in next year's contests for the White House and Congress, starting with the crucial early presidential primaries in New Hampshire.

The portion of that state's registered voters not enrolled in a political party has grown to 44 percent. While people can vote in either major party's primary, more are expected to choose the Democratic contest. That potentially would boost antiestablishment candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., while leaving the GOP race more in the hands of the party's traditional conservative voters.

National exit polls show that after leaning toward Republicans by 48 percent to 45 percent as recently as the 2002 elections, independents began shifting toward Democrats.

"This is a serious problem" for Republicans, says GOP pollster Neil Newhouse. "We didn't get where we are among independents overnight. The data does suggest that it's going to take us some time to earn those votes back."

McConnell has set the bar low for his party’s chances in 2008.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republicans are unlikely to win back control of the Senate in 2008, their Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, said Friday, gloomily predicting that "holding our own is about all we could hope for."

But McConnell didn't blame the low approval ratings of the Congress or the president or public rejection of the Iraq war for the anticipated poor showing by the GOP.

"The numbers are against us," he told reporters at a Capitol news conference, noting that 22 Republicans and just 12 Democrats are up for re-election this cycle. "It would take an extraordinarily good day to get back up to 50. So our goal is to stay roughly where we are.

"If we had a good day we might be able to get it back narrowly," he said. "But that's just a realistic assessment of where we are."

— CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan released a statement after Tuesday's Republican presidential debate:

"Two nights ago, we saw the Democrat presidential candidates get angry with each other as they fought to see who had flip-flopped on Iraq the worst, who would blame the President the most, and who would surrender first. Tonight, the Republicans talked about solutions in Iraq and how we win the War on Terror. The differences couldn't have been more stark, on that issue or any other. The Democrats want to assign blame and score political points; the Republicans have real solutions to our nation's challenges."