Sen. Obama praised his wife's DNC appearance.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama told an audience Tuesday his wife, Michelle, was "good" in her address Monday night and that her performance "puts a little pressure" on him.

"But I've always said I am not the star of the Obama family," The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said to a group of airline workers at a hangar in Kansas City. "I rank fourth after Malia, Sasha, and Michelle."

"I could not have been more proud of her," he said, adding, "as I said on television last night, she also looked cute, which doesn't hurt. Does not hurt."

Obama will accept the Democrats' presidential nomination during a speech at Invesco Field in Denver Thursday evening.

Hillary Clinton called Michelle Obama the day after her DNC speech.

(CNN) – Michelle Obama received a phone call after her widely praised speech Monday night — from Hillary Clinton.

The Obama campaign confirms the New York senator reached out to Mrs. Obama after her primetime address to the Democratic convention. The two did not connect, but Clinton left a message.

Clinton will address the convention herself in a highly anticipated speech Tuesday night.

Sen. Obama introduced Sen. Biden as his running mate Saturday.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNN) – Even though Joe Biden's foreign policy experience has been touted as one of the primary reasons he was tapped as the VP candidate, the man at the top of the ticket seemed to downplay the Deleware senator's most talked about credentials Monday, saying it's his roots that mattered to Obama most.

"People talk a lot about Joe's foreign policy experience," the Illinois senator told an audience of mostly undecided Republicans and Independents.

"And its true, he's chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he knows world leaders, he can be a wonderful counselor and adviser. People talk about all the experience he has in Washington, and that’s true he's been chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he helped pass the Violence Against Women Act, he helped pass the 1994 crime bill that put 100,000 more cops on the streets. He knows how to get things done in Washington."

"But you know the most important thing about Joe Biden?" Obama continued. "He's never forgotten where he came from. He's from a working class family that he still takes the train back every night to Delaware to spend it with his family."

The White House hopeful also brought up the fact that he's "gone through the tragedy of losing his first wife and his infant daughter in a car accident."

He added that Biden can relate to working class Americans because he's "gone through" what they've gone through.

Obama will accept his party's nomination at Invesco field, home of the Denver Broncos.

(CNN)–In addition to the acceptance speech he'll give from Denver's Invesco Field Thursday evening, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama will also make a live appearance via satellite to offer a few remarks Monday night at the conclusion of wife Michelle's speech.

Watch: A preview of the Democratic National Convention

In an e-mail to the campaign's traveling press Sunday night, spokeswoman Jen Psaki also noted that Obama will watch his wife's speech from Kansas City, Missouri, where he's scheduled to campaign the following day.

Psaki said the remarks he'll give will be "brief."

The stage is getting set for the Republican convention.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — The site of the 2008 Republican National Convention is one step closer to looking like it well the night presumptive GOP nominee John McCain officially accepts his party's nomination for president.

In a media walk-through of St. Paul, Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center, officials unveiled the stage and steps that lead to the position where McCain will speak.

Mike Miller, director of operations of the event site, said the platform itself is only four feet above the actual floor, which gives the area a more open feeling and "brings everything down closer to the people who are watching."

Friday will mark the end of the fourth week of construction in a six-week process. In the remaining weeks, construction workers will add camera platforms, chairs and delegation signs on the floor, carpet in the aisles, and various colored decorations.

Sen. Barack Obama speaks on his Iraq policy aboard his campaign plane headed to Missouri on Saturday.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama, speaking on board his campaign plane as it headed to St. Louis on Saturday, continued to defend his position on Iraq — and questioned reporters' parsing of his words.

"I am surprised at how … the press … I'm not trying to dump on you guys, but I'm surprised at how finely calibrated every single word was measured," Obama said.

"I wasn't saying anything that I hadn't said before. That I didn't say a year ago. Or when I was a U.S. senator. If you look at our position, it's been very consistent. The notion that we have to get out carefully has been a consistent position," he said.

"The belief that we have a national security interest in making sure Iraq is secure, I've been saying consistently," he added. Noting "the worst-case scenarios and the parade of horribles that has been trotted out by John McCain and others about genocide if we left," he said he has always reserved "the right to protect people from genocide."

"So a lot of these statements that I've made have been entirely consistent," Obama added.

Late Saturday afternoon, McCain's campaign responded to Obama's comments.

In a statement, campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said, “We are all absolutely committed to ending this war, but on Thursday Barack Obama’s words indicated that he also shared John McCain’s commitment to securing the peace beforehand. What’s really puzzling is that Barack Obama still doesn’t understand that his words matter."

In North Dakota on Thursday, Obama denied that he's shying away from his proposed 16-month phased withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq, calling it "pure speculation" and adding that his "position has not changed."

However, he told reporters questioning his stance that he will "continue to refine" his policies as warranted.

Presumably unhappy with the media's coverage of his earlier statements on Iraq — and after the Republican National Committee issued attack emails asserting he's "reversed" his position — Obama called a second news conference later Thursday to reiterate that he is not changing his stance.

Watch: Obama clarifies his comments on Iraq

"We’re gonna try this again. Apparently I wasn't clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq. I have said throughout this campaign that this war was ill-conceived, that it was a strategic blunder and that it needs to come to an end," he said.

"I have also said that I would be deliberate and careful in how we got out, that we would bring our troops home at a pace of one to two brigades per month and that at that pace we would have our combat troops out in 16 months."

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Sen. Obama discussed his Iraq policy in North Dakota Thursday.

(CNN) — Call it take two.

Barack Obama held a second news conference with reporters in North Dakota Thursday, to deny any suggestions that he's changing his position on withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee opened his second go-around with reporters by saying, "We're going to try this again. Apparently I wasn't clear enough this morning on my position with respect to the war in Iraq. I have said throughout this campaign that this war was ill-conceived, that it was a strategic blunder and that it needs to come to an end."

The Illinois senator added, "I have also said that I would be deliberate and careful in how we got out, that we would bring our troops home at a pace of one to two brigades per month and that at that pace we would have our combat troops out in 16 months. That position has not changed."

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Obama campaigned in Colorado Thursday.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) — It’s been a rough week for the motorcycle unit of the Colorado Springs Police Department.

First, two officers were hurt last week when lightning struck between their motorcycles while on a training exercise. Then Wednesday night, another member of the same unit was hurt when he crashed while escorting Barack Obama’s motorcade.

Sgt. Tim Hogan tells CNN the officer went down when a van clipped his motorcycle as he tried to block traffic. He said the officer’s Kevlar vest and helmet took the brunt of the impact, keeping his injuries from being too serious.

Secret Service agents and paramedics tended to the officer, who was taken to Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs and later released.

Obama spoke with the officer at the hospital by phone.

“It turns out he’s OK,” Mr. Obama said at a fundraiser Wednesday night. “I called him and he said it’s all part of the job. He’s doing all right.”

The Democratic presidential candidate was in Colorado Springs delivering a speech on national service, visiting Peterson Air Force Base and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The accident happened as he was returning to the hotel where Obama attended a fundraiser.

In February, a Dallas Police officer was killed in an accident while protecting the motorcade of Sen. Hillary Clinton when his motorcycle crashed.

Sen. Obama plans to tour Europe and the Middle East this summer.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama plans to visit Europe and the Middle East this summer, his campaign announced Saturday morning.

The senator from Illinois and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will visit France, Germany, Israel, Jordan and Britain, his campaign says.

"This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security, and to consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we face," said Obama, in a statement released by his campaign.

"This will be an important opportunity to have an exchange of views with leaders in these countries about these and other issues that are critical to American national security — and global security — in the 21st century," he added.

Obama also intends to visit Iraq and Afghanistan this summer, he said in a phone interview with Radio Iowa. His campaign said no details would be announced in order to maintain "the highest levels of security."

But, he told Radio Iowa, "In Iraq, my goal is to talk to the Iraqi leadership about making political progress so that we can start phasing down our troops in Iraq, and obviously I want to congratulate the troops for the extraordinary work they've done in reducing violence there."

And, "in Afghanistan the situation, unfortunately, has not been improving," Obama told Radio Iowa. "On many measures, things have been getting a little bit worse so the key is to talk to our commanders on the ground and find out, what do we need to do to strengthen our efforts there? Our troops have performed magnificently, but we don't probably have enough troops there, and we've got to do a better job on the reconstruction side to build the infrastructure that's needed in that country to consolidate long-term gains."

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Sen. Obama praises the nation's mayors on Saturday in Miami, Florida.

(CNN)– Sen. Barack Obama took his campaign to Miami, Florida, on Saturday with a message to the nation's mayors: I'll be your ally in Washington, but Sen. John McCain will not.

Speaking to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate praised McCain's service to the country, but chastised him for not "proposing a strategy for American cities" hit hard by tough economic times.

"Because while Sen. McCain is a true patriot … he won't be that partner,” Obama said. “His priorities are very different from yours and mine … he isn't proposing a strategy for America's cities. Instead, he's calling for nearly $2 trillion in tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthiest Americans."
Obama also discussed McCain's trip to Iowa this week to see firsthand the effects of devastating flooding.

"Both Sen. McCain and I have traveled recently to the areas that have been devastated by floods. And I know that Sen. McCain felt as strongly as I did, feeling enormous sympathy for the victims of the recent flooding … And I'm sure they appreciated the sentiment, but they probably would have appreciated it even more if Sen. McCain hadn't opposed legislation to fund levees and flood control programs, which he considers pork."

Shortly after Obama's speech, the McCain campaign lashed out, saying the Illinois senator opposed and even voted against a bipartisan effort in the Senate by McCain, Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, to assure levees were fixed first.

"It is beyond the pale that Barack Obama would attack John McCain for actually trying to fix the problem and change the way Washington works. Barack Obama's willingness to continue the status quo pork-barrel politics in Washington, and then engage in political attacks that entirely disregard the facts, once again fundamentally shows that he's nothing more than a typical politician," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds in a press release.

At issue is the 2007 Water Resources Development Act, a $23 billion bill that funded levee and flood control programs along with dozens of other projects across the country, including Everglades and other habitat restoration, emergency water supply storage, lock and dam security and water
quality improvement.

The bill passed Congress, with Obama in favor and McCain opposed, although neither took part in the final vote. The measure was vetoed by President Bush as too expensive, but that veto was overridden, a first for the president. Neither McCain nor Obama participated in the overide vote. The
Senate votes were 91-4 for the first vote and 79-14 for the override.

During the initial debate on the bill in the Senate, Obama voted against an amendment, sponsored by Feingold and co-sponsored by McCain and others, that would have established a commission to prioritize water projects with flood control at the top of the list. Thirty-five Republicans joined 34 Democrats in rejecting the amendment. Although he was a co-sponsor, McCain did not vote on
the amendment. McCaskill, who was not a co-sponsor, voted in favor of it.

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CNN's Chris Welch has been covering Sen. Obama's campaign since the Illinois senator's win in Iowa's Democratic caucuses.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — What seemed to be a routine evening waiting for Barack Obama aboard his campaign plane turned into anything but when the cabin doors closed and the passengers were informed the aircraft would be taking off immediately — without the candidate.

The first sign something was amiss on the Thursday flight came when the pilot told those aboard — about 25 members of the media, a smaller group of Obama staffers and only a handful of Secret Service agents — that everyone was on board and that the plane would be departing for Obama's hometown of Chicago, Illinois, momentarily.

The press soon noticed there were far too few people aboard for a standard campaign flight. Something was different. It's fair to say that the term "everyone" was used a bit loosely — especially when the presumptive nominee appeared to be missing.

Full story

Related: Obama, Clinton hold talks at fellow senator's home

Sen. Barack Obama talks to veterans in Puerto Rico on Saturday morning.

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico (CNN) — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took their campaigns to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Saturday in an effort to woo voters before the June 1 primary.

There are 55 Democratic delegates up for grabs, though voters cannot take part in the general election in November.

Obama campaigned early Saturday at the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon, where he praised the nation's veterans before Memorial Day.

"It's fitting to be here today, not just because Memorial Day is around the corner but because Puerto Ricans are such an important part of the United States military. On this island and in Puerto Rican neighborhoods across America, you can go into almost any home and find a veteran living there or a photograph of a loved one in uniform hanging on the wall," he said.

Obama also took aim at Republican Sen. John McCain over his opposition to an update of the GI Bill. The legislation passed the Senate on Thursday afternoon by a 75-22 vote and passed the House this month by a similar margin. It proposes to essentially provide a full scholarship to in-state public universities for members of the military who have served for at least three years.

"I don't understand why John McCain would side with George Bush and oppose our plan to make college more affordable for our veterans. … Putting a college degree within reach for our veterans isn't being too generous; it's the least we can do for our heroes," Obama said.

Shortly after Obama's remarks, the McCain campaign hit back.

"Barack Obama talks about helping veterans, but when the choice came between delivering for our military men and women and playing partisan politics, he decided politics was more important," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said Saturday.

Clinton, meanwhile, hosts a "Solutions for Puerto Rico's Families" town hall in Aguadilla on Saturday.

Clinton has done well among Hispanic voters in this year's primaries. She is expected to do well Puerto Rico's primary; Puerto Ricans make up a large swath of her New York constituency.

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Sen. Clinton listens during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday.

BRANDON, South Dakota (CNN) – Sen. Hillary Clinton said Friday that she regretted comments that evoked the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy as part of her explanation for why she was staying in the presidential race late into the primary season.

Earlier Friday afternoon, she told the editorial board of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said.

Clinton complained that "people have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa" and said that position "historically … makes no sense."

Later at an event in Brandon, South Dakota, she said, "earlier today, I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Sen. Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968, and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nominating primary contests that go into June. That's an historic fact.

Update: During an interview with Radio Isla Puerto Rico on Saturday, Barack Obama reacted to the Clinton RFK comment.

According to a quote released by the campaign, he said, “I have learned that when you are campaigning for as many months as Senator Clinton and I have been campaigning, sometimes you get careless in terms of the statements that you make and I think that is what happened here. Senator Clinton says that she did not intend any offense by it and I will take her at her word on that.”

Full story

Related video: Watch Sen. Clinton's comments to a SD newspaper's editorial board

Related video: Watch Brian Todd's report on Sen. Clinton's remarks Friday.

Barack Obama's campaign said they are campaigning in places to be competitive this fall.

(CNN) – Barack Obama’s campaign says the Democratic presidential hopeful is now focusing his attention on general election battleground states, with plans to appear in Missouri Tuesday and the announcement of his first campaign stops of the year in both Michigan and Florida.

“Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall,” Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday.

Voters in both Michigan and Florida went to the polls in January, but no delegates were awarded because of national party penalties for their early primary dates. None of the major presidential candidates campaigned in either swing state, and Obama did not appear on the ballot in Michigan. Hillary Clinton won both contests.

Obama will head to Macomb County, Michigan on Tuesday night and make two stops in the state the following day. He will also spend three days in Florida beginning on May 21, with planned campaign stops in Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Palm Beach County.

(CNN)–The spin wars are heating up.

Tonight won’t do much to change the delegate gap, say Barack Obama’s senior aides – and any day they break even makes it that much tougher for Clinton to make up the shortfall.

"We think we won a really big victory here tonight — it insures that regardless of what happens in Indiana that we are going to extend our delegate lead," senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters. "We have taken another big step down the road here… The important thing is that this was not a game changer, folks, in any way, shape or form."

Earlier in the week, Clinton had said a win in North Carolina could be a “game changer.”

But Deputy Communications Director Phil Singer reminded reporters that Barack Obama had said that Indiana might be the “tiebreaker,” given Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania and his expected win in North Carolina.

Indiana may not be in the win column at this point in the evening, but they say the exit polls out of both states Tuesday night have bolstered their electability argument: they show Obama’s supporters are more likely to support Clinton in the fall than vice versa.

At the heart of their thinking: Florida and Michigan. Together with Ohio, says the Clinton team, those three states are vital to any Democratic win – and the New York senator has claimed all three.

(CNN) — Barack Obama would not say Monday whether he thought fresh headline-grabbing statements from his former minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, could harm his presidential bid – and continued his effort to distance himself from the pastor’s controversial comments.

“I think certainly what the last three days indicate is that we're not coordinating with him,” he laughed. “He's obviously free to speak his mind, but I just want to emphasize he is my former pastor.

“Many of the statements he made both to trigger this initial controversy, and that he's made over the last couple days are not statements that I heard him make previously. They don't represent my views and they don't represent what this campaign is about. But he's obviously free to make those statements.”

Sen. Obama campaigned in Marion, Indiana Saturday.

ANDERSON, Indiana (CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama flat out denied any possibility that he would accept a debate with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton prior to the next big round of primaries.

Shortly after maintaining he isn't "ducking" debates, the Illinois senator admitted the two Democratic rivals are "not going to have debates between now and Indiana."

Voters in both Indiana and North Carolina will head to the polls May 6.

Obama's comments came in an interview with FOX News' Chris Wallace set to air Sunday. Wallace first asked Obama why he was ducking another one-on-one meeting.

"I'm not ducking one. We've had 21," Obama said. "We want to make sure we're talking to as many folks possible on the ground taking questions from voters."

Clinton has repeatedly called on Obama to meet for another debate since their last meeting in Philadelphia on April 16.

Watch Obama's comments at a press conference Friday.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) – Democrat Barack Obama responded to the suggestion that some view him as an elitist by pointing to his closet.

At a press conference Friday, the Illinois senator was asked about the perception some voters may have that he comes across as an elitist who "looks too much like a GQ cover" to be able to relate to working class voters.

He first gestured to his clothing choice. "I think this is a fairly standard suit here, you know?" he said. "I haven't changed my approach to dressing too much.

"I basically buy five of the same suit, and then I patch them up and wear them repeatedly. I have four pairs of shoes. Recently I've taken to getting a haircut more frequently than I used to because my mother in law makes fun of me. So I don't think people are too worried about what I'm wearing."

He added he didn't feel the need to go out of his way to prove his "street cred as a down-to-earth guy" because, according to him, people who've known him long enough know that to be the case.

Watch Obama discuss his Pennsylvania primary loss on CNN Radio Wednesday.

(CNN) — Barack Obama said Wednesday he has a problem appealing to senior voters.

Assessing his loss in Pennsylvania, the Illinois senator said Tuesday's primary result was not primarily due to how working class Democrats voted — a voting bloc that has long supported Clinton over Obama — then with the decisions of older voters.

"I have to say if you look at and I know my staff has talked about this: If you look at the numbers, our problem has less to do with white working class voters, the problem is, to the extent there is a problem is with older voters," Obama told reporters. "They are very loyal to sen Clinton. And I think part of that is they've got a track record of voting for not just Sen. Clinton but also her husband."

"We need to make sure on issues that are important to them — like prescription drugs or pension and retirement security — that I've got a strong track record on those issues and very specific plans to make sure that they are getting the kinds of help that they need," he also said. "And if we do that effectively, which you know we have tried to do it in all the states."

Voters over 65 are among the most reliable members of Clinton's base, though exit polls out of Pennsylvania indicate Obama may be making inroads into this demographic.

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Former president Clinton campaigned for his wife in Pennsylvania recently.

(CNN) — On the eve of Tuesday’s critical Pennsylvania primary, former President Bill Clinton accused Barack Obama’s campaign of playing the race card against him.

After the phone interview with Delaware radio station WHYY Monday night, a stray comment of his on the issue was also recorded before he hung up: “I don’t think I should take any s*** from anybody on that, do you?”

The former president had been asked whether his remarks comparing Obama’s strong showing in South Carolina to that of Jesse Jackson in 1988 had been a mistake given their impact on his wife Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “No, I think that they played the race card on me,” said Clinton, “and we now know from memos from the campaign and everything that they planned to do it all along.”

“We were talking about South Carolina political history and this was used out of context and twisted for political purposes by the Obama campaign to try to breed resentment elsewhere. And you know, do I regret saying it? No. Do I regret that it was used that way? I certainly do. But you really got to go some to try to portray me as a racist.”

He added that the way Obama’s campaign had reacted was “disrespectful to Jesse Jackson” and that the former presidential candidate had told him he was not offended, and that “we all know what’s going on."

UPDATE: At a Pittsburgh press availability, Obama was asked about Clinton's charge that his campaign had drawn up plans to use 'the race card.'

“Hold on a second,’’ he said. “So former President Clinton dismissed my victory in South Carolina as being similar to Jesse Jackson and he is suggesting that somehow I had something to do with it? You better ask him what he meant by that. I have no idea what he meant. These were words that came out of his mouth. Not words that came out of mine.’’

Related video: Watch Obama respond to Bill Clinton's 'race card' comment