WASHINGTON (CNN) – Pennsylvania isn't the only state seeing a surge in newly-minted Democrats. North Carolina, which votes on May 6, has also seen its voter rolls expanding.
Republicans and Independents in Pennsylvania are signing up in droves to vote in the April 22 Democratic primary. Last week alone, more than 29,000 Pennsylvanians registered to vote as Democrats. More than four million Pennsylvanians are now registered as Democrats – a new state record.
Almost 90,000 new voters have signed up to vote in the North Carolina Democratic primary, which is semi-closed - meaning Democrats and unaffiliated voters can participate, but not Republicans.
Since the beginning of January, the number of registered Democrats in North Carolina has grown by over 40,000 voters, bringing the total number of Democrats in the state to 2,552,674. Almost half of those registered Democrats are African-American.
The tally of unaffiliated voters grew by more than 30,000. There are now 1.2 million unaffiliated voters in the state who can participate in either party’s primary.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/26/art.mccainla.ap.jpg caption="McCain parted ways with President Bush on two foreign policy issues in his speech Wednesday."] WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senator John McCain strongly defended President Bush’s strategies in Iraq and the war on terror Wednesday, and sharply rebuked his critics - but he clearly deviated from the president’s national security policy on two major issues.
Speaking before the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, he rejected the president’s determination to keep the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba open. He also said it was time to negotiate a new global warming treaty.
“We can’t torture or treat inhumanely suspected terrorists we have captured,” he said. “I believe we should close Guantanamo and work with our allies to forge a new international understanding on the disposition of dangerous detainees under our control.”
On global warming and the international treaty that President Bush abandoned after taking office, McCain said: “There is such a thing as international good citizenship.” He added: “We need a successor to the Kyoto Treaty, a cap-and-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically responsible manner.”
But on Iraq, the senator remained firm to the president’s approach. “It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible, and premature withdrawal,” he said.
The biting criticism of his two Democratic presidential challengers was hovering over those remarks – as well as several other passages in his speech - even though he didn’t mention either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama by name.
Related: Watch Bill Schneider's analysis of McCain's foreign policy speech
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/19/art.mcgovern.clinton.ap.jpg caption=" Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton, with George McGovern at the Johnson County Democrats' annual barbecue, 2007, in Iowa City, Iowa."]
It will be easier to elect a black man president than a woman.
Those are the words of former senator and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern. He's actually a Hillary Clinton supporter, but he says he feels that where this country stands today in its thinking, it's going to be harder to elect a woman. He also says, "I wish that weren't true... I'd love to see Hillary as president."
McGovern says he sometimes hears from men who don't think a woman is ready to assume the responsibilities of the top office in the land. Some worry it's "too big a job" for a woman or that she wouldn't be able to "handle those terrorists." McGovern says he rarely hears the same concerns about a black man.
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/26/art.chelsea2.gi.jpg caption="The student who questioned Chelsea Clinton on the Monica Lewinsky scandal said he meant no harm."](CNN) - The college student who appeared to upset Chelsea Clinton with a question on the Monica Lewinsky scandal said Wednesday he was merely giving the former first daughter an opportunity to show how strong her mother is.
Evan Strange, a Butler University student, told CBS he is a supporter of Hillary Clinton, and meant no harm with his question about the infamous White House scandal.
"Surprisingly, I am a supporter of Hillary, I love Hillary. But when I talk to my friends, one of their constant questions to me is, 'What makes her such a strong leader?', and they always bring up that scandal," Strange said in an appearance on the CBS Early Show.
"It’s not something I asked to cause trouble, it was to show those people what makes Hillary so strong, and was an opportunity for Chelsea to show all the doubters how strong Hillary is," he added.
At an event on Butler's campus Tuesday afternoon, Strange asked if the scandal had damaged Hillary Clinton's reputation. (Watch Chelsea's reaction)
Chelsea Clinton appeared taken aback by the question, saying, "Wow, you're the first person actually that's ever asked me that question in the, I don't know maybe, 70 college campuses I've now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business."
The crowd immediately cheered loudly at Chelsea's response, but Strange said Wednesday he was surprised with the answer.
"I can see where she'd get a little defensive because of the question, and just hearing Lewinsky over and over again I can see why she'd react that way, but I would liked to have heard her say something about her record, or something like that, instead of just dismissing the question," he said.
Though she has faced the glare of public life since she was a girl, Chelsea Clinton has contended with renewed press coverage after taking on a more prominent role in her mother's campaign earlier this year.
The Monica Lewinsky scandal made a brief return to the news last week, when newly-released White House schedules indicated Hillary Clinton was likely in the White House during at least 6 reported instances of encounters between her husband and the former White House intern.
Related: Evan Strange says he was shocked by Chelsea's reponse
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/03/26/art.gravel.gi.jpg caption="Former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel is switching parties."] WASHINGTON (CNN) – One-time Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Gravel announced Wednesday he is abandoning his political party and will run for the White House as a Libertarian.
Gravel, a former senator whose presidential campaign was never taken seriously by most political observers, made the proclamation in a message posted on his Web site.
“The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR,” Gravel said. “It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism - all of which I find anathema to my views.”
Despite his long shot bid, Gravel was successful in sharing a stage several times with the more established candidates during this election cycle. He used these nationally televised opportunities to rail against his opponents and highlight his opposition to the Iraq war. Gravel represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1981, and is best known for publishing the Pentagon Papers.
“I look forward to advancing my presidential candidacy within the Libertarian Party, which is considerably closer to my values, my foreign policy views and my domestic views,” Gravel said in the statement, in which he also solicited small dollar donations from supporters.
Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, who left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party in 2006, embraced Gravel’s decision.
"Just as Senator Gravel believes Democrats have lost touch with the American public, I too concluded Republicans had lost their core principles, and could no longer associate myself with the GOP,” Barr said in a statement posted on the Libertarian Party’s Web site. “While coming from opposite sides of the aisle, Senator Gravel and I definitely agree on the fundamental need for systemic change in our political system, and that the only way we have of effecting that change is by supporting and working in the Libertarian Party, which is the only political party in America that consistently works in word and deed to maximize individual liberty and minimize government power.”
The Libertarian Party will choose its presidential nominee at its national convention to be held in Denver in May.
- CNN Political Editor Mark Preston
(CNN) - Sen. John McCain emphasized collaboration with democratic allies in a foreign policy speech Wednesday.
"Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said. "We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies."
McCain called on the world's democracies to form a new global pact "to advance our values and defend our shared interests" when he addressed the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, California.
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