Obama slams GOP on community organizer comments
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.obama0910.cnn.jpg caption="Obama hit the GOP over last week’s community organizer cracks."]WASHINGTON (CNN) – Barack Obama criticized his Republican presidential opponent, Senator John McCain, for not standing firm in his support for immigration reform in the face of opposition from his own party.
“I know Senator McCain used to buck his party by fighting for comprehensive reform – and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party’s nomination, he abandoned his stance, and said he wouldn’t even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote,” Obama told members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gathered in Washington.
“When it came time to write his party’s platform, comprehensive reform never made it in. So you’ve got to ask yourself: if Senator McCain won’t stand up to opponents of reform at his own convention, how can you trust him to stand up for change in Washington?”
McCain’s support for comprehensive immigration reform nearly killed his candidacy in 2007 and he later came out in favor of greater emphasis on securing the nation’s borders in any future legislation. Now, however, he references his fight for reform as a mark of his maverick credentials.
Obama also defended his role as a community organizer, something that was mocked by several speakers at the Republican Party convention, including vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
CNN=Politics Daily
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/23/art.cepd.cnn.jpg caption="CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team."]
(CNN) - The 2008 presidential race was fixated on lipstick, pigs, and gender politics for a second day on Wednesday.
In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Sen. Obama made a point of saying "enough is enough" while out on the campaign trail. Suzanne Malveaux reports on how the Obama campaign is responding to the "lipstick on a pig" controversy.
While Obama was pushing back during a campaign appearance in Virginia, the McCain-Palin ticket was also in Virginia, one of the fall battleground states, where they were greeted by their largest crowd to date. Ed Henry was there and reports on how women are responding to the GOP pairing.
Finally, Wolf Blitzer takes a closer look at Virginia and why it is in play this fall and Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider reports on a new CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation poll of Virginia and three other key battleground states.
Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.
Bill Clinton and Obama to campaign together this month
(CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama will campaign together in Florida later this month.
Graham calls on Obama to denounce 'abortion' comment
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.maclind0910.gi.jpg caption="Sen. Graham, center, has been one of Sen. McCain's most ardent supporters and outspoken surrogates throughout the election season."]
(CNN) - South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham – a major McCain surrogate – called on Barack Obama to condemn a comment by the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party that suggested Sarah Palin’s decision not to have an abortion led to her selection as the Republican VP nominee.
Earlier in the day, Carol Fowler told a Politico reporter that Palin’s addition to the ticket would not help John McCain attract women voters, and that he had picked a running mate "whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.”
Graham told reporters on a campaign conference call organized by the new “Palin Truth Squad” that only “only blinded partisan people” could fail to appreciate Palin’s qualifications, and said Obama needed to denounce Fowler’s remark.
Listen: Graham holds conference call with reporters
"I hope he will take this opportunity to step out and get this campaign back on track and reject this really outrageous, demeaning statement of someone who’s accomplished a lot in her life," said Graham.
Paul and Nader blast dominance of Dems, GOP
Watch Paul and Nader sound off on the two-party system.
(CNN) - Watch Rep. Ron Paul and Ralph Nader as they discuss what they think is wrong with the two-party political system and why they think third parties should get more attention in political dialogue.
Damon rips Palin, calls her 'terrifying'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.damon.gi.jpg caption="Matt Damon does not approve of Palin."]
(CNN) - Admirers say Sarah Palin's compelling narrative and working-mom credentials helped land her a spot on the Republican presidential ticket, but Hollywood star and Obama supporter Matt Damon said Monday the Alaska governor's story more resembles a "really bad Disney movie."
In a blunt interview with the Associated Press, the star of the Jason Bourne film series also said there was a good chance John McCain would die in his first term in office and the thought of a President Palin is "terrifying."
“It’s like a really bad Disney movie - the hockey mom…from Alaska, and she’s the president, and it’s like she’s facing down Vladimir Putin and using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink. And it’s absurd, it’s totally absurd, and I don't understand why people aren’t talking about how absurd it is," Damon said.
"You do the actuary tables, there's a 1-3 chance if not more, that McCain doesn't survive his first term and it will be President Palin," Damon also said, adding later "I think there's a really good chance Sarah Palin could be president, and I think that's a really scary thing, because I don't know anything about her, and I don't think in eight weeks I am going to know anything about her.”
Foot tapping protected by First Amendment, Craig's lawyer says
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.craig.gi.jpg caption="Craig's attorney said foot tapping may be protected by the First Amendment."]ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) - In an effort to persuade a three-judge panel to throw out Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea, his attorney suggested Wednesday that his foot tapping in an airport men's room may have been protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The Idaho Republican was arrested in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in June 2007, after an undercover police officer accused him of soliciting sex by using hand signals and tapping his foot in a bathroom stall.
Two months after his arrest, and without consulting a lawyer, Craig later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
In addition to suggesting that First Amendment may be involved, Craig's lawyer, Billy Martin, also argued before the Minnesota Court of Appeals panel that no one besides the arresting officer saw the hand signals and foot tapping, which would mean no one else was offended by the behavior and, thus, make the disorderly conduct charge invalid.
Happening Now: Biden in New Hampshire
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.cnnlive4.cnn.jpg caption="Watch Biden's event on CNN.com/live."](CNN) - Joe Biden is holding a campaign event in New Hampshire - a key battleground state this election cycle.
Watch Biden's event on CNN.com/live
UPDATE: This event has ended, but stay with CNN.com/live for all the day's events on the campaign trail.
CNN battleground polls: Race a dead heat in key states
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.obamava0910.ap.jpg caption="Sen. Obama campaigned in Virginia Wednesday."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) - New state polls indicate that the race for the White House remains a dead heat in four crucial battleground states that could determine the outcome of the election.
CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation polls for Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire and Virginia out Wednesday suggest the race between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain is statistically tied.
The survey has Illinois Senator Barack Obama up 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent, in Michigan and ahead by 6 points, 51 percent to 45 percent, in New Hampshire. Both states voted for Democrat John Kerry in the last presidential election.
The poll has Arizona Senator McCain up 5 points in Missouri, 50 percent to 45 percent, and leading by 4 points in Virginia, 50 percent to 46 percent. President Bush kept both states in the Republican column four years ago.
Virginia hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson took the state 44 years ago. But Obama is working hard to try and turn the red state blue: He's made numerous campaign stops there, including events Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
"The geographic patterns in Virginia are pretty much the same as in 2004, with one exception: In the area around Norfolk, Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach - a region John Kerry lost by four points - Obama appears to have a 13-point advantage. That's surprising for an area with several naval bases, and the headquarters of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. “Obama's getting about the same support in Northern Virginia that Kerry did four years ago,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But that wasn't enough to turn that state blue in 2004, and it's not enough in 2008. Obama needs to do better in Northern Virginia if he hopes to carry the state."
Biden: Second wife 'restored my life' after tragedy
Watch this clip from this weekend's CNN Presents special about Sen. Biden.
(CNN) - An emotional Joe Biden told CNN’s Amy Boudreau his wife Jill “restored my life” after the death of his wife and infant daughter in an accident.
“I asked her once not long before our wedding how she could marry me knowing how much –” the Delaware senator said said, and paused for several seconds.
“…Knowing how much I adored Neilia. And she didn’t hesitate. She said, quote, That’s the reason I can marry you, she told me. Anybody who loved that deeply once can do it again.
“That’s when I realized exactly how much Jill’s love had done for me – it had given me permission to be me again.”
Biden paused again to collect himself. “God, I’m sorry,” he said. “But she did, I mean she restored my life. I know that sounds corny but she really did.”
Watch Abby Boudreau’s full interview with the Democratic vice presidential nominee this weekend on CNN
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