Obama Leads in Superdelegates for First Time New York Times - United States The trump card Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton held in her faltering bid for president — her support among the superdelegates who can control the fate of the Democratic nomination — began slipping from her grasp on Friday as Senator Barack Obama moved into the lead on this front, with uncommitted delegates declaring their allegiance to him as others deserted her.
Check Point On McCain, Obama and a Hamas Link New York Times - United States Speaking at a news conference in New Jersey, Mr. McCain said he believed that comments made by a Hamas leader approving Mr. Obama’s candidacy were “a legitimate point of discussion,” and he went on to accuse Mr. Obama of agreeing to negotiate with the president of Iran, who on Wednesday referred to Israel as “a stinking corpse facing annihilation.” He described that as “a distinct difference between myself and Senator Obama.”
Obama erases Clinton's last lead: Superdelegates Chicago Tribune - United States Barack Obama seized the lead in the Democratic presidential race by every measure on Friday, as he shifted his fire from rival Hillary Clinton to ...
Obama Gives West Virginia the Cold Shoulder Newsweek - USA Faced with a place that stands no chance of becoming "Barack Obama country," then, Barack Obama is choosing not to go there. Better to keep expectations low ...
A super shift toward Obama Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis,MN,USA Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates on Friday, picking up the backing of five superdelegates, ...
US elections: Obama plans to declare victory Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom By Alex Spillius in Washington Barack Obama plans to declare victory in his marathon battle with Hillary Clinton shortly after polls close in Kentucky and ...
Despite their infighting, both Democratic presidential candidates would probably defeat the presumptive GOP nominee, the poll finds. Voters doubt McCain can handle the economy.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 2:00 PM PDT, May 9, 2008
Washington -- Although Democrats are still tangled in a fractious presidential primary, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would probably beat presumptive GOP nominee John McCain in the popular vote if the election were held now, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released today.
McCain remains competitive, but the poll identified one important vulnerability: Voters ranked him lowest among the three candidates on who could best handle the nation's economic problems, by far the most pressing concern for the public irrespective of party, gender or income.
Getting out is hard to do for any presidential candidate, doubly so when the name is Clinton. Hillary or Bill, graceful exits are not the Clinton style. Lose an election or an issue and they tend to dig in deeper.
So while Hillary's campaign game is almost up, while she can cling to the slightest chance of overtaking Barack Obama, she won't concede the Democratic presidential nomination.
It is pure guesswork, but consider what would be happening if the roles of Clinton and Obama were reversed, giving her an all but insurmountable lead. The party unity pressure on him to get out, if he hadn't already, would be far more intense than the suggestions that Clinton go. They'd be depicting him as a spoiler. Some of Clinton's people already see him that way - the first-term black senator who got in the way when Clinton was running on a strategy that presumed a quick victory.
Rumor has it that Hillary Clinton is struggling to save face by securing the vice presidential nomination.
In an effort to halt intra-Democratic partisan bloodletting, some, including The Atlantic's own Andrew Sullivan, have suggested that Barack Obama run for president with Hillary Clinton as his running mate. And it seems that some in the Obama camp are taking the idea seriously, so seriously that senior Obama advisors are reportedly weighing whether or not to take on Clinton's campaign debt -- including, amusingly enough, Clinton's campaign debt to herself. Note that Clinton has consistently argued that Obama is not ready for the rigors of the presidency, and not ready to take on America's rivals on the world stage. He is too green, he is too trusting. If Obama does indeed acquiesce to the Clintonites' desperate pleas for some kind of face-saving gesture, he will prove Clinton right.
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper
May 09, 2008 6:10 PM
While taking care to say the very question is premature, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, Friday indicated an openness to helping Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, with her millions in campaign debt.
Clinton's campaign debt is thought to be upwards of $10 million -- not including the $11.425 million she loaned her campaign from her personal funds. They are numbers perhaps not as immediately troubling as the 170 delegates by which she trails Obama in their race to the magic 2,025 delegate number to clinch the nomination -- but they are troubling numbers for her nonetheless.
By Alec MacGillis WOODBURN, Ore. -- Even as Hillary Clinton continued to campaign against him, criticizing his health care plan, Barack Obama took another step this afternoon toward extending an olive branch toward her so that she could "feel good" about the outcome of a Democratic nominating process that his campaign hopes to soon bring to an orderly and amicable close.
Asked by a reporter during a stop at a Mexican restaurant here whether he would be willing to use his huge war chest to help Clinton retire her campaign debts, as some have suggested, Obama demurred.
Senator Barack Obama praised his rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton, but wouldn’t go so far as to say he would make her one half of the much talked about Democratic “dream-ticket:”
“I have not won this nomination yet - it would be presumptuous of me to suggest that she is going to be my running mate while we are still actively running. . .we do not have this nomination locked up - so we are still competing. “
Obama was responding to a question tossed to him at a small town hall at Vernier Software & Technology, which sells science equipment to schools. He jokingly asked the questioner if he was put up to the question by the press in the back of the room. He praised Clinton calling her “an extraordinary candidate, and an extraordinary public servant.” He also added that she would be on any candidate’s “short list of vice-presidential candidates.”
Mr Edwards said Mr Obama had done well enough without his endorsement
Former Democratic US presidential hopeful John Edwards has said that Senator Barack Obama is now his party's "likely presidential nominee".
But he has stopped short of endorsing Mr Obama, saying that the value of endorsements is "greatly inflated". After Mr Obama's victory in this week's North Carolina primary and narrow loss in Indiana, observers say he is poised to win the nomination. But his rival Hillary Clinton has vowed to go on "until a nominee is chosen".
Economics 101: Obama vs. McCain Salon - USA In Oregon on Friday, Barack Obama delivered a short speech on the economy. His remarks were notable not because he debuted any fresh proposals (he didn't) but for the explicit pains the Senator from Illinois took to distinguish his economic platform from John McCain's -- as opposed to that other candidate still running for President, whose name escapes my memory, possibly because Obama did not mention it a single time during his speech.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.
Obama picked up the backing of five superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.
In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments.
Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.
Barack Obama had criticised former President Jimmy Carter for holding direct talks with Hamas
Tom Baldwin in Washington
One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.
Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.
“I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama closed in Friday on Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among superdelegates, the Democratic officials who hold the balance of power in determining the party's presidential nominee.
Sen. Barack Obama greets supporters Friday as he campaigns in Beaverton, Oregon.
The Obama campaign announced the support of seven superdelegates, including a previous Clinton backer.
Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono, New Mexico Democratic Party member Laurie Weahkee and South Carolina Democratic Party Vice Chair Wilber Lee Jeffcoat, announced they are backing the Illinois senator.
Other superdelegates that pledged their support to Obama on Friday include: California Democratic National Committee member Ed Espinoza; Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon told The Oregonian newspaper that he will support Obama's bid.
BEAVERTON, Oregon (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama turned his focus to a U.S. general election showdown with John McCain on Friday and said the Republican White House candidate would continue the "failed policies" of President George W. Bush.
Obama gathered momentum in his battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination with endorsements from seven more senior party figures and a labor union, as well as strong praise from former Democratic rival John Edwards.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of three more superdelegates on Friday, narrowing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's slim lead among elected Democratic officials.
With the endorsements of Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Donald Payne of New Jersey as well as John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees union, Obama, D-Ill., now has the support of 266 superdelegates, compared with Clinton's 271.5, according to the Associated Press. Payne had endorsed Clinton earlier.
Meanwhile, Clinton picked up the endorsement of Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., whose district went for Clinton, D-N.Y., by a two-to-one margin on April 22.
WAYNE, W.Va. — The location of Democrat Barack Obama's just-opened headquarters here says a lot about the challenges facing him and this community as voters prepare to go to the polls in Tuesday's primary. His office is across from the courthouse and next to a thrift shop. The torn awning over its door indicates the storefront used to be a restaurant.
Though the bell tower atop the courthouse gleams with a fresh coat of paint — the state colors of blue and gold — the rest of the town has the faded look of a community that has seen better days.
Four Democratic superdelegates have endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama as he moves closer to clinching the party's presidential nomination.
The endorsements take the Illinois senator to within five delegates of rival Hillary Clinton, who has always led among the ranks of the almost 800 Democrats and party officials who will decide the party's nominee.
The movement of the superdelegates to support Mr Obama came after he made a surprise visit to the Capitol on Thursday in what many political pundits saw as a victory lap of Congress staged to position him as the party's inevitable nominee.
Tuesday's primary election contests, where Mr Obama won by 14 points in North Carolina and only narrowly lost to the former first lady in Indiana, have been widely seen as a "game-changer" in the prolonged nomination battle.
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent | May 10, 2008
OBAMANIA has swept the US Congress after Barack Obama wandered through to find politicians from both sides of the aisle congratulating him on his almost-certain presidential nomination for the Democratic Party.
As the intrigue continues over Senator Obama's lengthy battle with Hillary Clinton for the nomination, the instincts of representatives in Congress indicated Senator Obama was on his way to the main campaign, and possibly the White House.
A huge mob of journalists swamped Senator Obama for a quote during his mosey through Congress, occasionally shouting "Mr President" to win his attention.
Just 24 earlier, Senator Clinton reportedly struggled to find a party official willing to meet her in Washington.
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama picked up more support Friday in his battle with rival Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination. Both candidates campaigned in Oregon, which holds a primary on May 20. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the U.S. presidential campaign from Washington.
Sen. Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with supporters in Beaverton, Oregon, 9 May 2008
Following his decisive victory in North Carolina on Tuesday and his narrow defeat in Indiana, Barack Obama has been shifting his focus away from Senator Clinton to the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain.
Obama took his campaign to Beaverton, Oregon, on Friday.
"We have a fundamental difference on our priorities for president," he said. "John McCain wants to continue George Bush's war in Iraq, losing thousands of lives and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to fight a war that is not making us safe. I want to end this war. I want to invest that money in America, in our roads and our bridges and our ports and our schools."
Superdelegates moving to Obama Boston Globe - United States Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 9, 2008 07:52 PM
The trickle of superdelegates moving to Barack Obama since his resounding win Tuesday in North Carolina turned into more of a torrent today, erasing Hillary Clinton's months-long lead and marking another milestone in his march to the Democratic presidential nomination.
After adding at least seven, Obama, with 270, has nearly pulled even with Clinton who has 272.5, according to the latest unofficial tally by the Associated Press. Little more than four months ago, on the eve of the primaries, she held a lead of 169 to 63.
The superdelegate count was the last measure on which Clinton led. They are the party leaders and elected officials who will almost certainly decide the nominee.
By Debbi Wilgoren Sen. Barack Obama picked up an endorsement Friday morning from the union representing federal employees -- and the personal support of its president, a superdelegate to this summer's Democratic convention.
Two Democratic lawmakers also announced they would cast their votes as superdelegates for Obama, further solidifying his lead over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle to become the Democratic presidential nominee.
"Senator Obama has proven he is able to energize young Americans, independents and even moderate Republicans to support his candidacy," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said in a statement. "I believe he represents our best hope of winning in November."
In his interview with Bill O'Reilly on FoxNews Channel last night, Sen. John McCain, right out the box, let loose the two charges he plans to hit Sen. Barack Obama hard with, 'inexperience' and 'judgment.'
It really wasn't anything different than what McCain, the all-but-official Republican presidential nominee, has said before about Obama.
It's significance is mainly in the fact that there's no message shift; it appears fixed. Polling has shown that Obama's relative inexperience in national politics is what most troubles many voters, particularly independents.
"What's his main weakness?" O'Reilly asked.
"Inexperience. I think inexperience and a lack of judgment and a record that shows that," McCain said.
Carl Hulse and David Herszenhorn, Washington May 10, 2008
A smiling Barack Obama came back to Washington, where he was given a warm reception by lawmakers. Photo: Getty Images
BARACK Obama began trying to rally the Democratic Party with a celebratory return to Congress.
Even as Hillary Clinton persisted with her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Obama received an enthusiastic reception on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday in an appearance staged to position him as the party's inevitable nominee. Some Republican lawmakers were among those who elbowed past colleagues to shake his hand.
Behind the scenes, there were new discussions between Senator Obama and the party leadership. Senior Democratic officials said he met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Democratic Party headquarters.
Senator Obama made no public effort to pressure Senator Clinton from the race, and in interviews with CNN and NBC News he praised her as a formidable candidate who could not yet be counted out.
About 40 hours ago, the klieg-baked TV anchors and commentators started shaking the sweat from their brows to declare that the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination was over.
Jim Rutenberg collects their election night wisdom in today'sNew York Times:
"We now know who the Democratic nominee's going to be, and no one's going to dispute it." —Tim Russert on MSNBC
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards on Friday declined to make an endorsement in the Democratic presidential battle, but said Barack Obama could unite the party and win in November.
In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Edwards said Obama appears set to win the nomination. The former North Carolina senator refused to say who he voted for in his state's primary this week, won by Obama.
Mrs Clinton's campaign is desperate to recover the psychological advantage which has swung heavily towards Mr Obama
By David Usborne in New York Friday, 9 May 2008
Amid warnings of civil war in her party, an indefatigable Hillary Clinton boarded her charter jet yesterday for back-to-back campaign appearances in no fewer than three primary states even as aides to her rival, Barack Obama, hinted quietly that he may choose to declare final victory within days.
While the US media have mostly pronounced the race for the Democratic presidential nomination effectively over, the Clinton camp is pursuing a two-pronged strategy to stay alive: challenging party rules and positing her superior electability. The candidate whose platform is called "Solutions for America" is now frantically seeking solutions for herself.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Perhaps Barack Obama's competitive juices need new outlets now that he has expanded his lead over Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
On a five-hour flight from Washington to Oregon late Thursday, the Illinois senator came to the back of his charter plane for a spirited word game against reporters, and it was clear he did not intend to lose.
In "Taboo," a player under time constraints must prompt teammates to guess words or names without using obvious hints. For instance, in giving clues for "equator," the player is penalized if he says "Earth," "center" or "line."
Obama and a half-dozen aides took on a team of journalists, mostly young TV network reporters who have traveled with him for months. The senator jumped in eagerly and often.
When his communications director Robert Gibbs gave the clue, "I've got a good," Obama called out, "vibration!"
"The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia," Jay Leno noted during his monologue Thursday night on "The Tonight Show." "Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale."
The political focus now does, indeed, shift to the Mountaineer State for its primary there next Tuesday. And then Kentucky and Oregon and Puerto Rico down to the very end in Montana on June 3 when springtime there is just weeks away.
McCain adviser says Obama is being hypocritical USA Today - USA The campaign day was near it close Thursday when Democratic contender Barack Obama said on CNN's Situation Room that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain was "losing his bearings." Obama's complaint: McCain had said several times that Hamas wants Obama to win in November. Obama said that was a "smear."
Sen. Barack Obama walks through the Dirksen Senate office building with his security detail at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
by Bill Gibson
Barack Obama promised a group of uncommitted superdelegates today that he would seat Florida's delegation at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
``He assured us that Florida delegates will be at the convention and they'll have their party hats on,'' reported South Florida Congressman Tim Mahoney, one of the uncommitted superdelegates.
This appears to be the first time Obama, the front-runner for the nomination, has made such a clear, definite promise. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the nomination, has made the pledge several times.
Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser in Washington, DC. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP
Barack Obama yesterday gave the clearest hint yet that he may consider Hillary Clinton as his vice-presidential running mate in the November election for the White House. With the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination close to finished as a contest, Obama began looking beyond his battles with Clinton to the one with the Republican John McCain.
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama predicted yesterday he could wrap up the Democratic presidential nomination within two weeks, potentially ending an exhausting 17-month campaign that has both re-energized and deeply divided his party.
But even as the Illinois Senator exuded confidence, enjoying a jovial backslapping return to Capitol Hill, Democrats were jolted as his rival Hillary Clinton appealed for support along racial lines.
Barack Obama and John McCain have pledged a civil campaign, but a war of words erupted yesterday over McCain's suggestion that the terrorist group Hamas prefers Obama for president.
Obama, taking a tougher line with the presumptive Republican nominee, said McCain was trying to smear him and was "losing his bearings."
"This is offensive and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics,' " Obama said in an interview yesterday with CNN.
"For him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination," the Democratic front-runner added.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen of Lake Stevens added his name Thursday to the growing list of Democratic superdelegates endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for the party's presidential nomination.
"I believe that Senator Obama is frankly the best candidate to turn our country's hopes for a better future into reality," Larsen said. "This week, Senator Obama has proven he is tough and resilient. He has shown he can take a pounding but come back and deliver to the public his message of hope and change."
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain reported earning $405,409 last year and paid $118,660 in taxes, according to tax returns released Friday that did not include many details of his wife's wealth.
The presumptive GOP nominee also reported income of $358,414 in 2006 and $96,933 in taxes paid.
McCain's reported total includes some income earned by his wife, Cindy, heiress to one of the nation's largest beer distributorships. She keeps many of her finances separate from her husband, an Arizona senator.
On his own, McCain earned $361,373 last year and $264,169 in 2006. McCain's earnings over the last two years are far less than what Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama reported.
