[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/10/art.mccaintrip.ap.jpg caption=" McCain will head abroad next week."](CNN) - John McCain will lead a congressional delegation to Europe and the Middle East next week, his Senate office announced Monday.
McCain will visit Jerusalem, London, and Paris next Tuesday through Friday. He will be joined by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of the Arizona senator's presidential bid, and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Lieberman, a former Democrat, endorsed McCain late last year.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Justice Department will monitor primary voting in three Mississippi counties that have a history of alleged voting irregularities, it said Monday.
Federal authorities will monitor elections Tuesday in Bolivar, Jefferson Davis and Madison counties "to ensure compliance with federal voting rights statutes," said the department's Civil Rights Division.
Division attorneys will coordinate federal activities and stay in contact with local election officials, the DOJ said in a written statement.
Only two weeks ago the DOJ and Bolivar County settled a lawsuit involving alleged violations of a federal voting law. The court order, signed by a federal judge in Oxford, establishes procedures for the county to follow with regard to provisional ballots, known in Mississippi as affidavit ballots.
The Justice Department alleged Bolivar County had failed to provide a system which allowed voters to determine if their provisional ballots were counted. The rural county in the state's Delta region is about two-thirds black.
Jefferson Davis County, in rural south central Mississippi, is 40 percent white, 60 percent black.
Madison County, which includes Canton in central Mississippi, is 60 percent white and 40 percent black.
- CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/10/art.rovecnn.gi.jpg caption="Rove spoke at the University of Iowa Sunday."]
(CNN) - Former top Bush aide Karl Rove didn't get the friendliest of receptions at the University of Iowa Sunday, CNN affiliate KCRG reports.
Rove, who was paid $40,000 to speak at the University, was confronted with an at-times hostile crowd of 1,000, and was interrupted on several occasions.
At one point during the speech, Rove reportedly lashed out at some of the students, saying, "You got a chance to ask your questions later and make your stupid statements, let me make mine."
Police also were forced to remove two people after they tried to perform a citizen’s arrest on Rove for what they said were his crimes while a member of the Bush Administration.
At one point, a person asked Rove if he has ever shed a tear over the war in Iraq.
"I shed a lot of tears and I have been inspired by many of the people who feel their son or daughter should not have to die in vain," he replied.
Toward the end of the speech a member of the crowd yelled, "Can we have our $40,000 back?"
Rove replied, “No, you can't.”
Radio Iowa also reports one audience member told Rove that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann named him the "worst person ever."
"Ever?" Rove joked. "Yea, worse than Hitler, worse than Stalin, worse than Mao and worse than the person who introduced aluminum baseball bats."
Cameras were only allowed to film the beginning of the speech.
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
OLD FORGE, Pennsylvania (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton said she had no comment on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's possible involvement in a prostitution ring.
"I obviously am sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family," she told reporters after visiting with reporters in a local pizza parlor.
When asked whether Gov. Spitzer could survive politically she said "let's wait and see what comes out of the next few days. Right now I don't have any comment. I think it's appropriate to wish his family well and see how things develop."
- CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson
(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
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/POLITICS/03/10/spitzer/art.gov.spitzer.gi.jpg caption=" New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has admitted involvement in a prostitution ring, The New York Times reports."](CNN) - Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he "acted in way that violates his obligation to his family," speaking hours after the New York Times reported he told senior administration officials he had been involved in a prostitution ring.
"I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, to whom I promised better," he said.
He did not elaborate on the paper's claims and did not take any questions after making his statement.
"I am disappointed that I failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," he said
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/10/art.california.22.gi.jpg caption=" Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton participate in the televised CNN/LA Times/Politico Democratic Debate in January 2008."]
It's called chutzpah, and Hillary Clinton has it to spare. The woman who is behind Barack Obama in states won, pledged delegates and popular vote is suggesting she might consider putting Barack Obama on the Democratic ticket with her as her vice presidential candidate.
Since her wins in Texas and Ohio, Hillary Clinton has twice referenced the idea. And over the weekend, Bill Clinton chimed in saying that the pair would make "an almost unstoppable force." It's all very interesting since the odds are quite good Clinton will not be the nominee and Obama will.
In today's New York Daily News, columnist Michael Goodwin writes: "It's a dream team all right, as in dream on. It's a fantasy because, in the Clintons' pitch, naturally, she is on top of the ticket and Obama is her No. 2. That's rich of her, considering that Obama leads in both the delegate race and the popular vote. Forget those pesky voters – Hillary has declared herself the winner!"
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
Recent Comments