Select2008 Blog - Comparing and tracking the 2008 presidential candidates

• Lexington | Michelle Obama’s America | Economist.com
  Michelle Obama falls somewhere between the two poles. Unlike Bill or Hillary, she has never hinted that she expects to be co-president. But unlike Mrs McCain, she criss-crosses the country making fiery speeches on her husband’s behalf.
  (tags: michelle cindy campaign select2008)
• Cindy’s Fortune: An Asset And A Liability, Politico: Cindy McCain’s Fortune Has Benefited Husband’s Career But Could Attract Unwanted Attention - CBS News
  In 2004, Republicans demanded fuller disclosure about the considerable fortune of Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

  Now, the GOP is reaping what it sowed.

  (tags: cindy fortune michelle select2008)
• Washington Wire - WSJ.com : In Colombia, Cindy McCain Speaks Out Against Mines
  Cindy McCain typically plays the smiling but silent wife when she appears with her husband before reporters. Today she found reason to step forward to speak of her concern over land mines.
  (tags: cindy mccain land_mines select2008)
• In Search of Cindy McCain | Newsweek.com
  She may be the next First Lady. But Cindy McCain hasn’t been living her life hoping and waiting for that day.
  (tags: cindy life select2008)

Popularity: 6% [?]

• Politics - Obama rejects proposed California gay marriage ban - sacbee.com
  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who previously said the issue of gay marriage should be left up to each state, has announced his opposition to a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages.
  (tags: obama gay marriage constutional amendment same-sex select2008 2008 presidential election)

Popularity: 6% [?]

• What Obama means for business - Jun. 23, 2008
  He slammed big companies and free trade in the primaries, but Barack Obama insists he just wants to show corporate America some tough love. We go behind the scenes to see how he plans to make the U.S. a land of opportunity once again.
  (tags: Obama select2008 economy commerce taxes nafta stimulus)
• Obama Defends His FISA Position | The Trail | washingtonpost.com
  Sen. Barack Obama defended his support for a Senate bill that would rewrite intelligence laws and effectively grant immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.
  (tags: Obama fisa warrantless wiretapping immunity intelligence homeland_security select2008)
• McCain backs Calif. gay marriage ban - San Jose Mercury News
  The sponsors of a ballot initiative that seeks to ban same-sex marriage in California say Republican presidential candidate John McCain has endorsed the measure.
  (tags: McCain California gay marriage constitutional amendment select2008 2008 presidential elections)
• Tales from the Trail » Blog Archive » Michelle Obama speaks to gay Democrats | Blogs | Reuters.com
  Michelle Obama won a standing ovation on Thursday when she paid a campaign visit to gay and lesbian Democratic activists to promote her husband Barack Obama’s presidential quest.
  (tags: Obama Michelle gay lesbian same-sex marriage doma states select2008)
• Political Radar: Defense of Marriage Act Splits ‘08ers
  As same-sex marriage was getting underway in California, the presidential candidates again found themselves on opposite sides of repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act (D.O.M.A.)
  (tags: Obama McCain same-sex marriage doma constitutional amendment select2008)
• In The News : Milwaukee County Labor Council AFL-CIO
  Obama opposes the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. He supports fair trade that protects jobs and workers.
  (tags: Obama colombia cafta free_trade fair select2008)
• Obama, Clinton Join Together in Show of Unity - washingtonpost.com
  Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton showered each other with praise yesterday in their first joint appearance since the end of the Democratic presidential primary season.
  (tags: Obama Clinton select2008 Democratic nominee)
• Obama supports supreme court reversal of gun ban | World news | The Guardian
  Barack Obama intensified his campaign to appeal to voters on the life-and-death issues of the American heartland yesterday by stepping away from his past support for gun control.
  (tags: Obama McCain gun control second_amendment dc vs. heller)
• Big Promises Bump Into Budget Realities - washingtonpost.com
  New President Won’t Have an Easy Time Paying for New Initiatives, Fiscal Experts Say
  (tags: Obama McCain tax_cuts taxes AMT income bush)
• Cutting Through The Candidates’ Rhetoric On Taxes - Horserace
  The big issue in the presidential campaign this week is fiscal policy, as John McCain and Barack Obama spar over whose economic plan will most benefit the country.
  (tags: Obama Mccain taxes tax_cuts amt estate tax death_tax corporate 2008 presidential elections)
• Obama’s Comments on Israel Stir Criticism in U.S. - NYTimes.com
  “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.”
  (tags: Obama israel jerusalem select2008)
• Campaign Memo - For Obama, a Pragmatist’s Shift Toward the Center - NYTimes.com
  Barack Obama has taken a stroll this week away from traditional liberal political positions, his path toward the political center marked by artful leaps and turns.
  (tags: Obama gun_control death_penalty second_amendment wiretapping intelligence 2008 presidential elections select2008)

Popularity: 9% [?]

• Obama Assails Remarks by McCain on Offshore Oil Drilling - NYTimes.com
  Senator Barack Obama took a poke at his Republican opponent on Tuesday, saying that for Senator John McCain to talk of a “psychological benefit” from expanded offshore drilling is to define that policy as a gimmick.
  (tags: Obama McCain Energy environment drilling oil policy 2008 presidential elections select2008)
• John McCain 2008 - John McCain for President
  Under the Lexington Project — named for the town where Americans asserted their independence once before, the US will commit to achieve strategic independence by 2025.
  (tags: McCain Lexington_project energy foreign_oil exploration oil_drilling clean_energy renewables select2008)
• Statement by John McCain on Today’s North Korea Announcement
  It is important to remember our goal has been the full, permanent and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That must remain our goal.
  (tags: McCain korea nuclear wmd foreign_affairs select2008)
• Statement by John McCain on Today’s Supreme Court Ruling on Second Amendment Rights
  I applaud this decision today’s Supreme Court decision on District of Columbia v. Heller on Second Amendment freedom in the United States.
  (tags: McCain second_amendment gun_control DC vs. Heller select2008)
• JOHN MCCAIN’S LEXINGTON PROJECT: A Comprehensive Plan To Break Our Dependence On Foreign Oil
  (tags: mccain energy independence clean_energy coal nuclear oil_drilling select2008)
• John McCain On Energy For A Secure Nation
  Today, John McCain Will Discuss How Our Dependence On Foreign Sources Of Oil Threatens Our National Security.
  (tags: McCain foreign_oil energy independence security hybrid clean_energy nuclear)

Popularity: 7% [?]

• McCain vs. Obama as Commander in Chief
  80% say John McCain can handle the responsibilities of this important role. Barack Obama lags well behind on the same measure, but does pass the 50% public confidence threshold.
  (tags: McCain Obama defense commander-in-chief select2008 2008 presidential elections)

Popularity: 7% [?]

• Obama’s War Chest Drives a 50-State Strategy - NYTimes.com
  Senator Barack Obama is planning extensive advertising and voter-turnout drives across the nation to capitalize on his expected fund-raising advantage over Senator McCain to force Republicans to compete in states they have not had to defend in decades.
  (tags: obama 2008 presidential elections select2008)
• Obama Hits McCain Over Flooding, Opening New Debate in Campaign - WSJ.com
  With communities in the Midwest still under water, Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday criticized Republican John McCain for opposing federal spending on flood prevention programs and opened a new debate in the White House race.
  (tags: Obama McCain flood prevention public_financing public_works infrastructure select2008 presidential election)

Popularity: 8% [?]

• Obama Rejects Public Financing - WSJ.com
  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama announced Thursday that he would become the first presidential candidate to forgo public financing of his general election campaign since the system was established three decades ago.
  (tags: Obama public_financing select2008 2008 presidential election)

Popularity: 8% [?]

• Romney Rides McCain’s Bus Now - WSJ.com
  In the three months since Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign, the former Republican candidate has reshaped himself again, this time into a fervent supporter of former rival John McCain.
  (tags: romney mccain vice-president republican 2008 presidential elections)
• Obama Begins Vice President Search - WSJ.com
  Likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama has begun a top-secret search for a running mate, fresh signs that the general election campaign is well under way and the primary race against Hillary Clinton is basically over.
  (tags: obama vice-president 2008 democratic primaries elections)

Popularity: 11% [?]

• For 2 Primaries, Win-Win, Lose-Lose and Win-Lose Scenarios - New York Times
  Well, not quite. But the Democratic presidential primaries taking place on Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana have more delegates up for grabs than any of the remaining contests.
  (tags: select2008 Indiana north_carolina obama clinton democratic primaries 2008)

Popularity: 12% [?]

AP: Obama Wins Guam Caucuses by 7 Votes | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

Sen. Barack Obama won the Democratic caucuses on Guam by seven votes over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, less than 0.2 percent of the vote in a spirited election that required an overnight hand count of the ballots, the Associated Press reported.

(tags: Obama Clinton Guam 2008 democratic primaries select2008)

Clinton mailing attacks Obama on guns l Ben Smith’s Blog - Politico.com

Hillary Clinton has re-opened her sharp attack on Barack Obama’s position on guns, with a mailer in Indiana that seeks to raise questions about him with both supporters and opponents of gun rights.

(tags: select2008 clinton obama gun_control second_amendment primaries)

Indiana Poses a Puzzle in the Primary Race - New York Times

It is hard to run for office across this state, mostly because there is no single Indiana.
Politically, culturally, economically, linguistically, there are at least three Indianas

(tags: Indiana select2008 obama clinton 2008 primaries)

ABC News: Michelle Obama: Mom First, Politics Second

Michelle Obama wants you to know she’s a mom first, political wife second.

(tags: obama first_lady select2008 glam)

Michelle Obama Solidifies Her Role in the Election - WSJ.com

With the Democratic presidential race wide open, Mrs. Obama, a 44-year-old Princeton- and Harvard Law-educated hospital executive, is assuming the same dominant role in Sen. Obama’s public life that she has in his private life.

(tags: obama first_lady select2008 glam)

25 of the World’s Most Inspiring Women l Michelle Obama

This devoted mother of two young girls, vice-president of community and external affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals, active board member of several organizations, and let’s not forget, leading supporter of her husband

(tags: obama select2008 first_lady glam)

Clinton Spurns “Elite” Economists on Gas Tax - New York Times

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Sunday dismissed the “elite opinion” of economists who criticized her gas tax proposal, using a term that has dogged rival Barack Obama in recent weeks.

(tags: clinton obama gas_tax select2008)

The contrasts of Cindy McCain — chicagotribune.com

The fuller portrait is complex. She’s worrying about her sons in the military, making sure her adopted Bangladeshi daughter is doing her homework and trying to stay healthy four years after a stroke.

(tags: Mccain first_lady select2008 glam)

Q&A: Cindy McCain - National Journal- msnbc.com

National Journal’s Linda Douglass spoke with Cindy McCain for the April 25 edition of “National Journal On Air.” This is a transcript of their conversation.

(tags: mccain first_lady select2008 glam)

Cindy McCain - The New York Times

Mrs. McCain limits her formal role in the campaign largely to retail politics, and has usually resisted taking policy positions, criticizing other candidates publicly or making comments about the current occupant of the White House.

(tags: mccain first_lady select2008 glam)

Wives of Candidates Compare Notes From Trail - New York Times

Tuesday it was the wives’ turn in the spotlight as Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney and Jeri Kehn Thompson talked about the rigors of the trail in what was billed as the first forum for spouses of the presidential candidates.

(tags: first_lady select2008 glam)

Profiles: The Other Obama: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Michelle Obama and the politics of candor.

(tags: obama first_lady select2008 glam)

Political Radar: Bill Clinton Tells North Carolina the Difference Between Hillary and Obama

Bill Clinton is getting tough on Sen. Barack Obama today, explaining the differences between his wife and her opponent as he visits with voters from the front porches of homes in Lenoir, Newton and other North Carolina communties.

(tags: clinton first_lady select2008 glam)

Clinton’s Camp Seeks Gentler Role for Ex-President - New York Times

Democrats inside and outside the Clinton campaign debated and in some cases bemoaned the degree to which former President Bill Clinton’s criticism of Senator Barack Obama last week had inflicted lasting damage on his wife’s presidential candidacy.

(tags: select2008 clinton first_lady glam)

David S. Broder - Clinton’s Tough Path - washingtonpost.com

Does the Clinton camp still see any realistic way she can deny Barack Obama the Democratic nomination without blowing up the party?

(tags: clinton obama superdelegates indiana nort_carolina 2008 democratic primaries)

Michelle Obama: Campaigning her way - USATODAY.com

(tags: obama first_lady 2008 democratic primaries select2008 glam)

First Lady in Waiting: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

As Barack gathers momentum, Michelle speaks candidly about America’s need for change, and a different kind of political marriage.

(tags: obama first_lady select2008 glam)

The 68th Annual International Best-Dressed List: Entertainment & Culture: vanityfair.com

(tags: obama first_lady awards select2008 glam)

Who Is Michelle Obama? | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com

Michelle has accepted the role of aspiring First Lady and the sometimes uncomfortable scrutiny that comes with it.

(tags: select2008 obama first_lady glam)

Popularity: 11% [?]