Political news from CNN and others

Edwards recently said that while he is not interested in the vice presidency, he hasn't ruled it out if asked.

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s new information about the hunt for a running mate for Barack Obama.

A member of the Congressional Black Caucus who’s met with Obama’s vice-presidential screening team says she offered the names of former senators John Edwards and Sam Nunn — and was told they’re on the list. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan says when she mentioned that Al Gore is her favorite, the two members of Obama’s team smiled.

Kilpatrick wouldn’t say which names Obama’s team brought up.

Lawmakers who’ve been briefed say there are about 20 names on the prospective vice-presidential list, which is said to include current elected officials, former elected officials, and retired military generals.

Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas

CNN Washington Bureau

AP: Williams to do `Meet the Press’ Sunday
Top NBC anchorman Brian Williams will host the next “Meet the Press” but the network hasn’t chosen who will permanently replace Tim Russert, an NBC News spokeswoman said Thursday.

Washington Post: McCain Raises Money the Hard Way
John McCain’s campaign treated the news of Barack Obama abandoning the public financing system with the expected disdain, calling it evidence that Obama is “just another typical politician who will do and say whatever is most expedient for Barack Obama.”

Chicago Tribune: Without public funding, sky’s the limit for Obama
‘Raising a half-billion dollars is a very realistic figure for him,’ strategist says.

NY Times: For Bush, a New Town, a New Disaster, but Always the Memory of New Orleans
Try as he might, President Bush cannot escape the haunting memory of Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Bush toured flood-stricken areas here on Thursday, the latest in a string of disaster-zone visits he has made in his role as comforter in chief.

CNN: House approves war funding plan
Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would be funded into early 2009 under a compromise plan approved Thursday by the U.S. House.

CNN: Poll: Majority of Americans favor oil drilling in off-limits areas
A new Gallup poll suggests more than half of the country may support a proposal backed by President Bush and Sen. John McCain to allow states to authorize off-shore oil drilling, a practice currently banned by the federal government.

CNN: Schneider: Men could be the deciding factor
After the long, bruising primary battle with Hillary Clinton, a lot of Democrats were concerned Barack Obama would have a problem getting support from women, but the big surprise is that it could be men who become the deciding factor this election cycle.

CNN: Clyburn: Some House Democrats might not endorse Obama
House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Thursday he expects some Democratic legislators to hold back from endorsing Barack Obama because it could prove politically unwise in their congressional districts.

CNN: Deal clears way for wiretap-law overhaul
House and Senate leaders Thursday announced a new effort to overhaul U.S. wiretapping laws that appears likely to let telecommunications companies escape lawsuits over the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program.

Washington Times: McCain oil plan fosters reliance on Middle East
Sen. John McCain caps his weeklong push for U.S. energy independence with a trip Friday to Canada, but his own environmental plan discourages use of Canadian oil and drastically increases American reliance on oil from the Middle East and other potentially unfriendly places.

AP: Nunn, Edwards under consideration by Obama team
Former Sens. John Edwards and Sam Nunn are on a list of potential running mates for Democrat Barack Obama, a congresswoman said Thursday, one day after she met with the team Obama has reviewing possible candidates.

New York Daily News: Mike Bloomberg’s angling for attention from Obama and McCain in Florida
Mayor Bloomberg will be in Florida Friday to go fishing – with himself as the bait. Speaking to a Jewish group in the morning and standing with President Bush’s brother Jeb during an education summit at noon, Bloomberg will test his appeal in the presidential battleground as a high-profile endorser – or even a running mate – as he woos John McCain and Barack Obama from afar.

CNN: Ross Perot wants more focus on national debt
Ross Perot is jumping back into the political fray, this time with a stern warning that the country better start paying attention to the national debt.

NY Times: Obama’s Decision Is Biggest Threat Yet to Public Financing System
From the moment that the public financing system was created in the wake of the Watergate crisis, it was viewed as an imperfect way to rid politics of the excesses of special-interest money.

Washington Post: Public Financing Reform Languishes
Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) announcement today that he would forgo public financing for his general election campaign looks unlikely to spur congressional reform of the funding system, despite widespread concern that the current setup simply doesn’t work.

USA Today: McCain exports free-trade debate
John McCain visits a place Friday he has absolutely no chance of winning: Canada. While McCain said he is traveling to Ottawa, Ontario, the nation’s capital, to speak about free trade and other issues, this jaunt and prospective trips to the Middle East and Europe by Democrat Barack Obama are examples of how this year’s presidential campaign has gone global, political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said.

USA Today: Views on high court divide nominees
Sen. John McCain blasted the recent Supreme Court ruling that detainees at Guantanamo Bay may not be held indefinitely without court review. The Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”

LA Times: McCain stumps strategists by playing up his unpopular stance on free trade
The candidate may be trying to show that his convictions about NAFTA are independent of public opinion or that rival Barack Obama is ‘irresponsible’ to oppose the policy.

WSJ: Democrats Press McCain on Defense Deal
Democrats are taking fresh aim at Sen. John McCain’s role in the Air Force’s $40 billion tanker contract, saying he jeopardized thousands of U.S. jobs by helping steer the huge award to a European-designed competitor to Boeing Co.

CNNMoney.com Paulson: Wall Street reform needed now
Treasury chief again pushes for giving more powers to the Federal Reserve. But this time he stresses the need to act quickly.

CNNMoney.com: Saudi summit aims at oil prices
The world’s largest oil producer, worried the escalating cost of crude will dampen demand, is convening a special meeting on Sunday to seek solutions.

New York Daily News: Sharpton gets big gun to fend off feds
Facing an escalating federal probe into his charity’s finances, the Rev. Al Sharpton now has his own muscle: former Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter.

AP: White House threatens housing veto
The White House says President Bush would veto a foreclosure rescue the Senate began debating Thursday. Administration officials object to the federal government helping states buy foreclosed property and don’t like having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay for the rescue.

Bloomberg: Obama Revives Kennedy-Era Excitement for Democrats Mikva, Minow
The lives of Abner Mikva and Newton Minow have been intertwined since 1942, when they were 16 and competed for the editorship of their Milwaukee high-school newspaper. Now 82, they are still working together, energized by their latest passion: Barack Obama.

Washington Post: Pentagon’s 9/11 Memorial Puzzle; Public Access to Solemn Site Balanced Against Security Needs
When the nation’s first major 9/11 memorial is dedicated on the grounds of the Pentagon’s western side this September, it will change the iconic building into something it was not intended to be: a tourist destination.

AP: Senator questions Gates about GI electrocutions
A Pennsylvania senator sought assurance from the Pentagon on Thursday that it is taking action to prevent accidental electrocutions among U.S. troops in Iraq.

AP: Low approval rate for vets’ chemical tests claims
The Veterans Affairs Department has granted only 6 percent of health claims filed by veterans of secret Cold War chemical and germ warfare tests conducted by the Pentagon, according to figures obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

Washington Post: Medicare Pays, Even If Providers Do Not; Billions in Taxes Go Uncollected
Health-care providers are allowed to collect millions of dollars in federal Medicare payments each year despite owing the government more than $2 billion in back taxes, congressional investigators said yesterday.

CNNMoney.com: Healthcare biggest headache for small employers
The cost of health insurance continued its 20-year reign as the number-one issue worrying small-business owners, according to the latest edition of the Small-Business Problems and Priorities survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, released on Monday.

CNN: IRS trying to reach millions who haven’t filed for stimulus checks
The IRS says it’s still trying to reach some 5 million Americans — primarily seniors and veterans — who have not filed the tax returns needed to qualify for their stimulus checks.

CNN: Diplomats honor colleague who fought for PTSD treatment
U.S. diplomats Thursday honored one of their colleagues for demanding acceptance and treatment for the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) she developed during her service in Iraq.

AP: Senate still deadlocked over $50B global AIDS bill
At the White House on Thursday, President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two people behind a triumph of his administration, a program to fight the global AIDS pandemic. Down the street on Capitol Hill, a few Republican senators continued to block what would be a major expansion of that program.

AP: Hawaiian group demands restoration of the monarchy
Surrounded by royal guards and the occasional tourist, Her Majesty Mahealani Kahau and her government ministers hold court every day in a tent outside the palace of Hawaii’s last monarch, passing laws and discussing how to secure reparations for the Native Hawaiian people.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *