Election New’s

Democrats

Obama raises $19 million in quarter

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama raised more than $19 million this summer for the presidential primaries, holding his lead for now in the race for campaign cash though still trailing Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in national polls.

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton continued her swing through the Bay Area on Monday. The New York senator planned to eat breakfast in Tiburon and lunch in Lafayette.

In the afternoon, Clinton will be in Oakland, where she’ll announce her “Urban Agenda” at Laney Community College.

On Sunday, thousands of supporters packed the streets of downtown Oakland to hear Clinton speak.

The rally was just one of several events she attended during a fundraising swing through the area over the weekend. Meanwhile, according to a poll conducted by conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, Clinton is leading her main Democratic rival by a healthy margin in California.

A September poll by the institute shows her leading Barack Obama 41 percent to 23 percent among the state’s voters.

 REPUBLIACANS

Fred Thompson filled Al Gore’s vacated Senate seat in a 1994 special election, having held a variety of Capitol Hill jobs. He left the Senate in 2003 to concentrate on his film career.

A maverick sometimes at odds with his own party, John McCain made an unsuccessful White House bid in 2000. He is a champion of campaign finance reform. A vocal backer of President Bush’s troop increase in Iraq, he is becoming increasingly linked to an unpopular war.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain said in an interview published Saturday that he would prefer a Christian president over someone of a different faith, calling it “an important part of our qualifications to lead.”

In an interview with Beliefnet, a multi-denominational Web site that covers religion and spirituality, the Republican presidential hopeful was asked if a Muslim candidate could be a good president.

“I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles … personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith,” McCain said. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president.”

Later, McCain said, “I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values.”

Asked about Republican rivals Mitt Romney‘s Mormon faith, McCain said, “I think that Governor Romney’s religion should not, absolutely not, be a disqualifying factor when people consider his candidacy for president of the United States.”

The Arizona senator was also asked about the confusion over which Christian denomination he belongs to. “I was raised Episcopalian, I have attended the North Phoenix Baptist Church for many years and I am a Christian,” McCain said. He added that he has considered being baptized in the Baptist church, but he does not want to do it during the presidential race because “it might appear as if I was doing something that I otherwise wouldn’t do.”

NEW YORK – Rudy Giuliani has focused on November 2008 — and Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton — from the outset of his presidential bid with a strategy as uncertain as it is necessary.

“I’m not running against my Republican opponents. I’m running against the Democrats,” Giuliani insists as he brushes aside reality: before going toe-to-toe with that party’s nominee, he must win the GOP nod.

It’s a tall — though not impossible — order.

The former New York mayor with the messy personal life and moderate-to-liberal positions on social issues is an unorthodox choice given that conservative voters usually hold considerable sway in Republican primaries.

But since the year began and to the surprise of many party pundits, the politician whose identity is forever linked to 9/11, has maintained his strong-contender status.

Republican strategists attribute his staying power in no small part to his central argument to GOP voters desperate for victory next fall: He can win against a Democrat — and one in particular.

“I’m the only Republican candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton,” Giuliani often says.

Could be true.

But he’s got to capture his own party’s nomination first.

“There’s no question he is running a general election campaign and attempting to portray himself as the inevitable nominee,” said Ed Rollins, who advised President Reagan. “But, there’s still a hard battle ahead for the Republican nomination, and he has a long way to go.”

Consider that the race is remarkably fluid.

Giuliani still leads in national surveys but his advantage has eroded some over the past few months and since actor-politician Fred Thompson entered the race. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, leads in Iowa and is in a tight race with Giuliani in New Hampshire. Arizona Sen. John McCain still has a double-digit base of support nationally and appeals to independents who also are drawn to the ex-mayor.

While Giuliani is competing to varying degrees in early voting Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, he’s clearly taking a nontraditional — and untested — route to the nomination by making a stand in delegate-rich Florida on Jan. 29. It’s a gateway to the big-prize Feb. 5 primaries in California, New York and other states that Giuliani backers contend will be more amenable to a candidate of his ilk.

Perhaps more so than any other Republican rival, Thompson is a threat to the case Giuliani has been making. The Southerner is arguing, subtly thus far, that not only can he beat Clinton but that he also has conservative positions on cultural issues. But his first month as a candidate was hardly impressive.

In many respects, Giuliani has little choice but to make the “I’m electable” argument.

“This is his best strategy for getting from here to there, given who he is, where he comes from, and where the minefields are,” said Stephen Hess, a George Washington University professor who has worked in several Republican administrations. “It’s out of necessity … unless he wants to recreate himself.”

Giuliani is a thrice-married candidate from the liberal bastion of New York who supports abortion and gay rights, and has a past record of backing gun control measures. All that may prove a tough sell for conservative primary voters.

So, he’s asking them to overlook what he doesn’t offer — right-leaning views on cultural issues they care about — for what he says he does offer: the best opportunity for Republicans to thwart another Clinton presidency.

Aides argue that GOP voters are seeking someone who encompasses the whole package, rather than casting their ballots on a single issue.

They also point to polls that show him winning in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with Clinton. But surveys 14 months before a general election are hardly predictive.

Still, relying on such polls, Giuliani claims to be the only Republican able to put in play Democratic-leaning states with lots of electoral votes, such as New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois.

“The reality is we need a candidate who can run in all 50 states,” Giuliani says. “I can.”

That theory, thus far, is just a theory.

Giuliani takes great care not to criticize his GOP rivals and sidesteps invitations to do so. He does, however, counter their charges. In the most high-profile case, Romney has accused Giuliani of reigning over a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants in New York. Giuliani, in turn, claimed Romney allowed such cities to flourish in Massachusetts as governor.

For weeks, Giuliani hammered, as far as Republicans are concerned, the ultimate trifecta of liberal bogeymen — the left-leaning interest group MoveOn.org, The New York Times and Clinton. He blasted MoveOn for buying an ad in the Times that assailed the top U.S. commander in Iraq, challenged Clinton to denounce it, and criticized the newspaper for slashing the price of it.

Giuliani would have his share of vulnerabilities as a general election candidate, not the least of which is his personal life.

A top Clinton backer recently suggested all that would be fair game. Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, referencing Giuliani’s marriages and estrangement from his two children, said: “There’s a lot that the rest of the country is going to get to know about Mayor Giuliani that the folks in New York City know.”

In that sense, Giuliani as the GOP nominee could actually end up being the Democrats’ greatest gift.  That’s all we have for now. Please check back later for more information. Thank You for coming and we hope to see you soon. Have a great night.- TNN Teen Nation News.

September 30th Today’s HeadLines

BAGHDAD – U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles over the weekend, officials said Sunday. The U.S. Embassy, meanwhile, joined a broad swath of Iraqi politicians — both Shiite and Sunni — in criticizing a nonbinding U.S. Senate resolution as a recipe for splitting the country along sectarian and ethnic lines.

NEW YORK – Wall Street is on surer footing than it was a month ago, but it enters the fourth quarter with many questions still unanswered about the health of the nation’s economy and corporations.

At this point, the credit markets have loosened up some, the Dow Jones industrial average is only about 100 points below its record, and investors appear to be more confident the Federal Reserve will do what it can to keep the economy from slipping into recession.

The third quarter, after all the tumult in the housing and credit markets this summer, ended with the Dow up 3.6 percent after the Federal Reserve lowered key interest rates.

 

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Marriage proposals have been displayed on billboards, announced on scoreboards and even written into newspaper crossword puzzles.

Kevin Weaver’s engagement to Karen Slusser got off to a smashing start — he painted his proposal on a car and drove it in a demolition derby.

“Every woman I know says she wants to announce it to the world when she gets engaged. I figured I’d announce it for her and make it well noted,” said Weaver, 34, of Danville.

 

Against all odds, Phillies reach playoffs

Win over Nats completes improbable comeback, edges Mets for NL East

PHILADELPHIA – Shane Victorino doused the fans with a fire hose, Brett Myers and Ryan Howard jumped into the stands to join the celebration and Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas sang “High Hopes” over the public address system.

Believe it, Philly. The Fightin’ Phils are going to the playoffs — just as Jimmy Rollins predicted way back in January.

“There’s only one more celebration to try and go for now and that’s the whole thing,” Howard said.

 

That’s all we have for today. Check back with TNN (Teen Nation News) for your latest updates. Thank you, and come back again soon.