[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/15/art.mac2013ad.jm.jpg caption="Sen. McCain laid out a bold vision of what he intends to accomplish during his first term in a new web ad."]
(CNN) – On the same day that Sen. John McCain gave an ambitious speech laying out what he intends to accomplish by the end of his first term in office, his campaign released an accompanying Web ad dramatizing those hypothetical achievements.
“The year: 2013,” an announcer says as the words “2013” appear on screen. Then the ad goes through a laundry list of accomplishments McCain envisions: stabilizing the Middle East, reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism, strengthening border security, advancing energy independence, reforming wasteful spending by the federal government, delivering health care choice, and restoring economic confidence. “The year: 2013, the president: John McCain,” the announcer says as McCain’s image appears on screen.
McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, has been touring fall battleground states for the past several weeks while he lays out his policy proposals and reaches out to constituencies he will need to win the White House in November.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/24/electionbus1.jpg caption="CNN's Election Express has been criss-crossing America."] ABOARD THE ELECTION EXPRESS (CNN) - "This one is actually fun," says Dale Fountain, driver and captain of the Election Express.
Dale has been driving CNN's mobile bureau for over a year as it's crisscrossed the nation on the campaign trail. Eight debates, ten primaries, twenty-six states, and fifty thousand
miles later, what does he think?
"it's a great race. It's biggest election in my lifetime."
The Election Express was a warm newsroom in a freezing Iowa, a roving studio where Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama all sat down to be interviewed, and a mobile bureau that's helped CNN to cover this presidential primary with unparalleled depth.
Producer Josh Rubin gives an in depth tour of the Election Express, coming soon to a general election near you: See part 1 and part 2 of his behind-the-scenes peek.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/05/15/art.michelle.ap.jpg caption="Tennessee Republicans took aim at Michelle Obama Thursday."](CNN) – In a preview of the potential political onslaught Michelle Obama may face in the fall, the Tennessee Republican Party unveiled a new Web video Thursday that highlights her controversial comment earlier this year saying she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life."
The four-minute video coincides with Mrs. Obama's visit to the state for a Democratic Party event later Thursday. It features several Tennesseans saying why they are proud of America while repeatedly cutting to Mrs. Obama's comments.
"The Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America. To further honor the occasion of Mrs. Obama’s visit, the Tennessee Republican Party has requested the playing of patriotic music by radio stations across the state," said a statement on the party's Web site that accompanied the video.
"While Mrs. Obama has trouble being proud of the country where she earned degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School and then became a multi-millionaire, her husband makes statements that belittle average Americans’ response to the difficulties of life."
The Obama campaign called the attack "shameful."
"This is a shameful attempt to attack a woman who has repeatedly said she wouldn't be here without the opportunities and blessings of this nation," said Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan. "The Republican Party's pathetic attempts to use the same smear tactics to win elections have failed in Mississippi, failed in Louisiana, and will fail in November because the American people are looking for a positive vision of real change.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/16/art.blitzeriowa.cnn.jpg caption="Blitzer: Bush seemed to be suggesting that Democrats wouldn't be tough enough on terror"] WASHINGTON (CNN) - Whether it was deliberate or not, President Bush now has directly interfered in the Democratic presidential battle in this final stage of the nominating process. His Knesset speech in Jerusalem on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence was widely seen as raising serious last-minute warnings about Barack Obama’s foreign policy strategy.
“Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along,” he said, without referring to Obama by name. “We have heard this foolish delusion before.”
And then, the president dropped the bombshell – making the comparison to the appeasement of Hitler and the Nazis.
His remarks were seen as a direct condemnation of Obama’s assertion that he, as president, would be willing to meet directly with the leaders of Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela – among others.
There is no doubt that Obama’s critics, especially Republicans, want to raise questions about his readiness to be commander in chief. They think that his experience is limited. They also say that on many national security issues, he’s a blank slate.
So is he president’s assertion in Jerusalem his way of raising some flags even at this last moment? I don’t know. I do know that those kinds of pointed words don’t get into a carefully-drafted presidential speech without a lot of consideration and discussion.
Should the next U.S. president meet with the leaders of Iran, N. Korea, and Venezuela among others? Add your comment below or vote here. AOL breaks the vote down state-by-state.
John McCain peered into the future this morning... delivering a speech that looked ahead to what the U.S. and the world would be like in 4 years, after the first term of a McCain presidency.
Some of the highlights: he thinks the Iraq war will be won, Iraq will be a functioning democracy and violence there will be "spasmodic and much reduced." McCain believes the U.S. will have welcomed home most of its troops. He thinks the threat from al Qaeda and the Taliban won't yet be eliminated – even though bin Laden will be captured or killed. It's a pretty bold move to lay out objectives like this – gives critics a lot to measure you against.
In any case, John McCain seems to be one of the few things Republicans have going for them this fall.
To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here
BATH, South Dakota (CNN) – Campaigning in rural South Dakota – one of the last two states to hold a primary on June 3 – Hillary Clinton focused on agriculture Thursday, drawing parallels with the work she’s done with upstate New York farms and attacking John McCain for not supporting the bi-partisan Farm Bill passed today.
“The idea of getting to a legislative compromise on something as complex as the Farm Bill is a huge undertaking, but it was finally accomplished,” said Clinton from the porch of a farmhouse. “President Bush says he’ll veto this bill and Sen. McCain said he’d do exactly the same thing as President Bush. You know, they’re like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn’t amount to much change does it?”
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/US/05/15/same.sex.marriage/art.gay.marriage.gi.jpg caption="California's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - In a much-anticipated ruling issued Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.
Several gay and lesbian couples, along with the city of San Francisco and gay rights groups, sued to overturn state laws allowing only marriages between a man and a woman.
"There can be no doubt that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples, rather than denying it to all couples, is the equal protection remedy that is most consistent with our state's general legislative policy and preference," said the 120-page ruling.
Election Center: Find out where the candidates stand on same-sex marriage
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