Palin nixed from Iran rally
(CNN) - Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has been uninvited from attending a rally against Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next week in New York, one day after Hillary Clinton nixed her appearance at the event because the Alaska governor was slated to be there.
“In order to keep the focus on Iranian threats and to ensure that this critical message not be obscured, the organizers of the rally have decided not to have any American political personalities appear,” the organizers, which include several Jewish groups, said in a statement.
In a statement, John McCain expressed disappointment over the decision.
"Governor Palin was pleased to accept an invitation to address this rally and show her resolve on this grave national security issue, regrettably that invitation has since been withdrawn under pressure from Democratic partisans," he said. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike to oppose Ahmadinejad's goal of a nuclear armed Iran. Senator Obama's campaign had the opportunity to join us. Senator Obama chose politics rather than the national interest."
A spokesman for the event, Glen Rosencrantz, would not confirm a Politico report that several high-profile Jewish Democrats had pressured the organization to nix Palin from the event.
But in a conference call with reporters Thursday, Ira Forman, the Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said his group strongly disapproved of Palin's invitation to the event.
“We have a presidential election where the McCain-Palin ticket want to use what’s supposed to be a very, very bipartisan-type of operation to, again, use it as a campaign event," he said.
Podcast: Negative campaign ads- are they facts or all fiction?
(CNN)— In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily, the ailing economy still dominates headlines — and remains front and center on the campaign trail. Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on Barack Obama’s criticism of John McCain’s position on the AIG bailout, while CNN’s Ed Henry has the details on the Arizona sentor’s attempt to discourage voters from taking their economic pain out on the Republican party.
Meanwhile: President Bush tried to ease American’s growing financial jitters Thursday, while many Democrats blamed Bush for the direction the economy has been taken in. CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano has the story.
Finally: It looks like an all out ad war between the Obama and McCain campaigns on the nation’s airwaves — but how fair are they fighting? CNN’s Howard Kurtz of Reliable Sources has been taking a look at the recent ads, and separates fact from fiction.
Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily
Pelosi urges Bush to take action in letter
(CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sending a letter to President Bush pressuring him to offer a "comprehensive and effective systemic response to ongoing market turmoil."
"We need to hear from you about a comprehensive and effective systemic response to ongoing market turmoil — one that will restore stability, grow our economy, create jobs, and insulate hardworking, middle-class Americans on Main Street from Wall Street’s crisis," Pelosi writes in the letter.
She also says Congress will be willing to stay on Capitol Hill beyond the target adjournment date of September 26 to deal with the problem.
Full letter after the jump
Biden defends the link between patriotism and higher taxes
AKRON, Ohio (CNN) – Hours after drawing Republican fire over a comment that those making more $250,000 per year will be expected to pay higher taxes because “it’s time to be patriotic,” Joe Biden told supporters in a small union hall Thursday afternoon that the wealthy are patriotic but “we have not asked anything of them.”
Earlier, John McCain and Sarah Palin seized on the original remark from Barack Obama’s running mate. “To the rest of America that's not patriotism,” said Palin at an Iowa rally. “Raising taxes is about killing jobs and hurting small businesses and making things worse." McCain called the comment “just plain dumb.”
Biden said both Obama and McCain are in favor of tax cuts - but the decision over who gets them is a question of values.
“Is it a higher value that [those making more than $250,000] get that tax cut?” Biden asked. “Or should we take that $130 billion and give it to families making less than $150,000 all the way down the ladder? What do you value? Tell me what you value.”
“The point I want to make to you,” Biden added, “is wealthy people are just as patriotic as poor people. We just have not asked anything of them.”
Republican congressman endorses Obama
(CNN) - Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, the Maryland Republican who lost a heated primary challenge earlier this year, said Friday he's endorsing Democrat Barack Obama's White House bid.
Gilchrest, who has served in the House for close to two decades, told a Maryland radio station Obama and his running mate Sen. Joe Biden have the experience needed for the job.
"My perspective is that the ticket is Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden that they have the breadth of experience, I think they are prudent, they are knowledgeable," he told WYPR. "We just can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat hazardous, which leads to recklessness."
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise: Gilchrest is a strong opponent of the Iraq war and has voted for a timeline for withdrawal. He's also endorsed the Democrat running to succeed him.
CNN's calls to Gilchrest's office went unanswered.
Obama strikes back over McCain AIG attacks
ESPANOLA, New Mexico (CNN) – The economy remained the focus Thursday as Barack Obama continued to criticize John McCain for not being consistent in his response to the staggering financial roller coaster this week.
Watch: 'McCain's stealing my lines,' Obama says
“On Tuesday, he said the government should stand aside and allow one of the nation’s largest insurers AIG, to collapse, I mean he said this in three different interviews despite the possibility that it would put millions of Americans at risk,” Obama told a crowd of thousands at a northern New Mexico rally. “But by Wednesday, he changed his mind. And today he accused me of not supporting what the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank did with AIG, despite no evidence whatsoever that that’s what I had said.”
Watch: Obama questions McCain's position on the AIG bailout
The McCain campaign seized on Obama’s comments Wednesday that not enough “details” were known about the “arrangement with AIG and the Federal Reserve” to criticize the Democratic nominee for not taking a solid position on the deal. Obama also said the deal “must not bail out the shareholders or management of AIG.”
Obama plans to meet with his “top” economic advisors tomorrow while he is in Miami to discuss further economic proposals. During his remarks here, Obama said he would work to pass what he called the “Homeowner and Financial Support Act” which would “establish a more stable and permanent solution” and help provide “liquidity” and “capital to the financial system.” This act would also help homeowners “restructure” mortgages to try and avoid foreclosure.
Fact Check: Does Obama want to raise taxes?
The Statement:
"First of all, Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes," McCain said in an interview on CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday, Sept. 16. "I'm not going to raise anybody's taxes ... ."
Get the facts after the jump!
McCain, Obama use Facebook to encourage voter registration
(CNN) – Election Day is still weeks away but both presidential campaigns are already ramping up their voter registration and turnout operations.
The McCain and Obama campaigns are both encouraging their supporters to make sure they’re registered to vote and to request absentee ballots. The push is taking place through e-mail and the campaigns’ Web site and even through new applications on Facebook which both campaigns have debuted in the last day.
“We need your help more than ever,” the Obama campaign said in a Facebook update Thursday which touted an updated version of the campaign’s application on the popular social networking site. The revised application is now headlined by a large module that allows users to check whether they are registered to vote, to request an absentee ballot, and to locate their polling place. The new module replicates functionality available on a Web site launched by the Obama campaign soon after the Republican convention.
The Obama camp’s effort to encourage registration and absentee voting on Facebook comes less than a day after the McCain camp rolled out its own application on the site to encourage its supporters to vote early or obtain absentee ballots.
“Now more than ever, your vote is critical,” the McCain-Palin update said. “Voting early, or with an absentee ballot, is the best way to avoid the long line on Election Day and get your vote counted.” The new McCain application takes users to a page on the campaign’s Web site where they can fill out a form to request an absentee ballot or register to vote.
Fact Check: Is Obama the most liberal U.S. senator?
The Statement:
The voiceover in a McCain campaign TV ad released in early September called Obama's "the Senate's most liberal." The ad included an image of the magazine National Journal, which labeled him the "most liberal senator in 2007." The "most liberal" claim has been repeated by McCain on the campaign trail.
Get the facts after the jump!
HAPPENING NOW: Obama in New Mexico
(CNN) - Barack Obama is holding a campaign rally in New, Mexico this hour - a key swing state this election. He was introduced by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, one of Obama's rivals in the Democratic primary race.
Watch the event on CNN.com/live
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