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Obama: Popular vote from FL meaningless

Fri, 23 May 2008 03:28:10 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Does the popular vote in Florida count for anything, we asked Sen. Barack Obama on the ride from Tampa to Orlando: "Look, I think it's fair to say that in all these races if I didnt campaign at all and this had just been a referendum on name recognition, Sen. Clinton would be the nominee. That's true in Iowa, that's true in practically every state we've won. It's pretty hard to make an argument that somehow you winning what is essentially a name recognition contest in Florida was a good measure of electoral strength there. It"s even tougher to make that argument in Michigan where my name wasn't even on the ballot.

He made no apologies for signing a pledge to boycott Florida: "Everybody signed that. It was voluntary in name only. Had we not agreed to that we would be in a position where on the one hand the DNC was telling you this won't count, on the other hand you've gone out of your way to offend the first two states where you know that it will count. I would hardly call that voluntary

Black, Jewish Tension Rises Again In Crown Heights

Thu, 22 May 2008 23:35:42 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: wcbstv.com

Police are mobilizing a massive presence in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in the wake of increased tension between black and Jewish communities.

Leaders from both communities have come together recently to preach cooperation among residents of the neighborhood where blacks and Hassidic Jews live side by side. But recent violence has showed that religion and race don't always mix.

"I definitely feel [like there's unrest] because I see it everyday. I'm around here a lot and that's what I'm hearing," said Crown Heights resident Anthony Rios.

Another resident, Joe Morgenstein, agreed, saying he hears "a lot of racial slurs all day" in the community.

Since 1991, when riots broke out after a 7-year-old black boy was killed by a Hassidic driver, Crown Heights has been hurt off-and-on by periodic tension. In the past month, 20-year-old Andrew Charles, who is black, was beaten up, and the suspect is Jewish.

Then last week, 16-year-old Alon Sherman, who is Jewish, had his jaw broken

Obama leads McCain in November match

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:05:50 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Democrat Barack Obama has opened an 8-point national lead on Republican John McCain as the U.S. presidential rivals turn their focus to a general election race, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Obama, who was tied with McCain in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup last month, moved to a 48 percent to 40 percent lead over the Arizona senator in May as he took command of his grueling Democratic presidential duel with rival Hillary Clinton.

The Illinois senator has not yet secured the Democratic presidential nomination to run against McCain in November.

The poll also found Obama expanded his lead over Clinton in the Democratic race to 26 percentage points, doubling his advantage from mid-April as Democrats begin to coalesce around Obama and prepare for the general election battle with McCain.

"Obama has been very resilient, bouncing back from rough periods and doing very well with independent voters," pollster John Zogby said

McCain restricts access to medical records

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:03:06 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: washingtontimes.com

As Americans kick off the first holiday weekend of the summer Friday, Sen. John McCain will release 400 pages of his medical records to a handpicked group of reporters who can neither photocopy nor keep the documents, illustrating the sensitivity the campaign places on the 71-year-old candidate's age and health.

The health of the certain Republican nominee, who bears large scars on his face and neck from surgery in 2000 to remove an invasive form of skin cancer, has been a question throughout the early part of the presidential campaign. For more than a year, Mr. McCain has repeatedly promised to release his recent medical records, but has yet to do so.

The McCain campaign has selected a handful of news organizations to review the records in a conference room at the Copper Wind Resort in Phoenix, near the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale. Reporters from all five major networks —CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox—will be allowed to take notes from the records