A break from the campaign trail
John McCain took a break from the campaign trail Sunday to catch his hometown Arizona Diamondbacks take on the New York Mets. The Associated Press reports McCain was was greeted with “subdued cheers and a smattering of boos” when he was shown on the stadium's big screen. At left is Diamondbacks Chief Executive Officer and managing partner Jeff Moorad. (AP Photo)
Polls: Race tightening in North Carolina
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/04/28/art.dempoll.ap.jpg caption=" A new CNN 'Poll of Polls' shows Obama gaining in North Carolina."](CNN) - It appears the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination is tightening up in North Carolina.
A new CNN poll of polls released Sunday suggests Senator Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has the support of 50 percent of likely Democratic primary voters in North Carolina, with 42 percent backing Senator Hillary Clinton, D-New York, and 8 percent still undecided.
This eight point Obama margin is down from a nine point lead Obama held in Saturday’s CNN poll of polls and down from his recent double digit lead in the state.
187 delegates are up for grabs when North Carolina and Indiana hold primaries on Tuesday.
The CNN poll of polls is an average of the latest surveys in the state.
Sunday Roundup: Dueling Candidates Edition
(CNN) - Presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have not been on the Sunday circuit simultaneously since February 3, two days before the Super Tuesday primaries. Fittingly, today they chose to sit down with two Sunday morning talk show hosts just two days before yet another major big day in the Democratic presidential nomination process, the Indiana and North Carolina primaries.
The rest of the Sunday circuit featured surrogates of the two campaigns to make a final push for their candidate before Tuesday’s vote.
(Full roundup after the jump)
Rangel says issue of religion will 'come back to haunt us'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/04/art.rangel.cnn.jpg caption="Rangel appeared on CNN's Late Edition."](CNN) - Hillary Clinton supporter Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, attacked the media coverage of Barack Obama’s former pastor on CNN’s “Late Edition”, blaming them for over-hyping the issue and implying that it could hurt the Democratic Party down the road.
“It's disgraceful that he has to make any explanation for anything,” the outspoken congressman told Wolf Blitzer. “The intrusion of the media and Republicans into the sacred relationship that worshipers have with their spiritual leaders, I think, is going to come back to haunt us.”
“To think that we have to go into the lives and the beliefs of rabbis and priests and ministers and imams is absolutely ridiculous,” he went on.
Rangel’s comments defending the privacy of Obama’s relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright goes against what even the Illinois senator has said about the issue. Last Sunday, Obama told Chris Wallace that it is a “legitimate political issue” and that he understands why people are discussing it.
Clinton: I'm not listening to economists on gas tax holiday
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/04/art.clintongastax.ap.jpg caption=" Clinton continues to push for a gas tax holiday."]INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) - In the face of criticism from a slate of economists who say her gas tax holiday plan would be ineffective or even harmful, Hillary Clinton said she wasn’t taking stock of their opinions and emphasized that this was a short-term fix that would primarily benefit long-distance drivers.
“I’m not going to put my lot in with economists,” Clinton told George Stephanopolous on ABC’s ‘This Week’ after he asked her to name a single economist supporting her plan. “If we actually did it right, if we had a president who used all the tools of the presidency, we would design it in such a way that it would be implemented effectively.”
Clinton said she didn’t understand the resistance her plan is getting since its intention is to provide relief.
Louisiana Democrat wins closely watched House race
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/04/art.la.ap.jpg caption="Don Cazayoux won a hard-fought race in Louisiana."](CNN) - Democrats on Sunday cheered a weekend special election in Louisiana, where a Democratic congressional candidate won a seat that has been held by Republicans for decades.
State Rep. Don Cazayoux beat Republican Woody Jenkins in the state's 6th Congressional District by a 49-to-46 percent margin Saturday. Both parties viewed the race as a potential bellwether of November's congressional races, with the national GOP pouring more than $1 million into the contest in an attempt to tie Cazayoux to national Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"Don Cazayoux's victory this evening proves once again that Americans across our country want real solutions and reject Republicans' negative attacks," Pelosi said in a written statement hailing the win.
National Democrats spent more than $1 million as well, airing television ads that questioned whether Jenkins - a newspaper publisher, former state legislator and well-known conservative activist - had paid all his taxes on time.
The contest was to replace U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, an 11-term Republican who resigned in February to become a lobbyist. The district, which includes capital city Baton Rouge and its surrounding parishes, has been held by the GOP since 1974.
Republicans use Obama as the bad guy in negative ads
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/POLITICS/05/04/obama.ads/art.obama.tues.gi.jpg caption="Republicans across the country are now airing ads attacking Sen. Barack Obama."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - Is Sen. Barack Obama the new Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Hillary Clinton or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich? For Republican candidates and political ad makers, the White House hopeful might very well be.
A review of political television advertising nationwide shows that Obama has played a starring role or has been mentioned in at least 9 GOP-inspired ads designed to undercut a Democratic candidate in recent months.
In previous elections, Republicans have used Kennedy and Clinton - especially in the South, where these two Northeast Democrats might not be as well received - in negative ads targeting congressional or state Democratic candidates.
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