August 21, 2008
Election 2008: John McCain in the news
Biden is Dem fave for Obama running mate
CHICAGO - Sen. Joe Biden is emerging as the clear favorite among Democrats to be Barack Obama's running mate for his understanding of foreign policy in grave global times and his fighting spirit against the rival Republican ticket.
Giuliani the keynote speaker at GOP convention
WASHINGTON - By making Rudy Giuliani the Republican Convention's keynote speaker yesterday, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain hopes to lure independent voters, but might find the former New York City mayor also tends to draw controversy.
Pumping up brain power helps in aging process
The most depressing thing about getting older is that it can't be stopped. Or so we've been told. The aging process seems to be one of inevitable decline, the withering away of both body and mind.
James Klurfeld: Will political drama outstrip Olympics?
Like a lot of you, I've spent most of my evenings the past two weeks, late into the night, watching the summer Olympics from China.
Punchlines
Craig Ferguson, "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson": "Police in Denver are getting ready for the Democratic Convention in Denver. They're ordering the stun guns, the barbed wire, the plastic handcuffs - and that's just for Bill Clinton's room."
ON THE TRAIL
Democrat Barack Obama pledged to create millions of union jobs in alternative energy and end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas, using tough new populist language to convince voters that he is best positioned to lift the limping U.S. economy. Speaking yesterday in Martinsville, Va., Obama said Republican John McCain would follow the economic policies of the Bush administration if elected.
Press put favored 'maverick' McCain where he is
Observers of politics know they can count on at least one constant in presidential campaigns: Whenever the Republican candidate is down in the polls, he begins to complain about the media (Democrats do it sometimes too, but not nearly as often). But when that candidate is John McCain, one would be forgiven for believing the current race has descended into some parallel universe where everything is upside-down.
ON THE TRAIL
Barack Obama and John McCain are in a tight battle, with Obama capitalizing on concern over the economy and energy and McCain benefiting from his success in neutralizing the issue of the unpopular Iraq war. The latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows that Obama may have defused the issue of race, particularly among independents, who will form a crucial voting bloc. With the nominating conventions next week, Obama edges McCain 42 percent to 41 percent among registered voters.
Obama set to announce VP; Clinton a long shot
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama is poised to announce his running mate any day now, and all signs say it won't be Hillary Rodham Clinton - even though Clinton told supporters on Long Island just last week that she'd take the job if offered, two Democratic sources said.
Nation's moral failing
When presidential candidates agree, it seldom makes news. Sometimes it should. Appearing back-to-back Saturday in an unusual forum at Saddleback Church in California, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain were each asked to identify his - and the country's - greatest moral failure. Obama mentioned his teenage drug use, McCain his failed first marriage. It was when they turned to the nation's moral failure that the two, unbeknownst to each another, sang from the same hymnal.
Candidates differ sharply on Iraq course of action
ORLANDO, Fla. - John McCain told fellow veterans yesterday that his Democratic rival Barack Obama tried to legislate failure in Iraq and has refused to admit he erred when opposing the military increase there last year.
Les Payne: It's all about the oil, in this game
'We are all Georgians," declared Sen. John McCain, swearing his campaign loyalty, and perhaps one day our national blood and treasure - to the homeland of Josef Stalin.
Tom Ridge says Republicans wouldn't mind abortion-rights VP
CHICAGO - Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said yesterday he thinks Republicans would accept a vice presidential candidate who supports abortion rights.
Republicans could lose control of State Senate
ALBANY - Nearly 70 years of Republican domination of the State Senate could end after the fall elections - and with it would go Long Island's main power base in the Capitol since 1974.
On the trail
Democrats' stance against offshore drilling has shifted more, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaling yesterday her willingness to consider opening up more coastal areas to oil and gas exploration. In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Pelosi said opening portions of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling would be part of House Democrats' energy legislation.
Faith and hopefuls
LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain differed on abortion Saturday, with McCain saying a baby's human rights begin "at conception," while Obama restated his support for legalized abortion.
Priest takes center stage in controversy
One of James Lisante's tasks when he was in the minor seminary in the 1970s was to get a public figure to come speak each year. The one he remembers best was Frank Capra, the film director whose works included the Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life."
McCain and Obama choose different financial strategies
For the general election, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are operating under different financial scenarios of their own choosing.
Purpose-driven meet, greet
The Rev. Rick Warren is so prominent and respected that just being seen with him is a boon for any presidential candidate.
McCain camp says it raised $27M in July
WASHINGTON - The John McCain campaign Friday reported its best fundraising month since the Arizona senator became the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain's presidential campaign had no comment yesterday about a controversial book that attacks Barack Obama and many say is riddled with errors. Jerome Corsi's book, "The Obama Nation," depicts the Democratic candidate as a dangerous, radical figure filled with "black rage." The Obama campaign and its allies have criticized the book, citing dozens of assertions that they say are inaccurate. Corsi has espoused a number of unorthodox views, including claims that the federal government was untruthful about what caused New York's Twin Towers to collapse after being struck by hijacked jets on Sept. 11, 2001. Some independent groups, including Catholics United, also have called on McCain to condemn Corsi's book. McCain campaign spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said the campaign had no comment.
Deal gives Clinton roll call vote at convention
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton's die-hard supporters yesterday got their wish - her name will be placed in nomination at the party convention this month, a move Barack Obama hopes will win over her 18 million voters.
ON THE TRAIL
Barack Obama is hitting back at the author of "The Obama Nation," the book that argues he is a dangerous, radical candidate for president. The Obama campaign has written a 40-page rebuttal that criticizes author Jerome Corsi as "a discredited, fringe bigot" and his book as "rehashed lies." The book is a compilation of allegations and rumors about Obama - among them that he was raised a Muslim. In a statement in January, Obama's chief campaign spokesman said Obama "has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." Obama's rebuttal of Corsi's book is titled "Unfit For Publication" and was set to be posted on the Obama campaign's rumor-fighting Web site, FightTheSmears.com.
ON THE TRAIL
The U.S. presidential race is a tossup as Democrat Barack Obama has lost what was once an eight-point lead over Republican John McCain, according to a new poll. The Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press said yesterday that Obama now leads McCain 46 percent to 43 percent among registered voters, down from a 48 to 40 percent advantage Obama enjoyed in June. His lead had narrowed to five points in July, the survey said. Pew, a nonpartisan group, noted McCain's progress winning over core Republican voters, including white evangelical Protestants and white working class voters. By contrast, the poll said, Obama has made "little progress" expanding his support among Democrats over the past two months.
August 14: Nursing ethics, capping school spending, test score semantics, facing pain, ease up on Lisante
All nurses vow to respect rights
Cindy McCain treated for 'minor sprain' after handshake
WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain was treated for a "minor sprain" yesterday after someone at a campaign event in Michigan for her husband, Republican John McCain, shook her hand firmly.
Bush sends planes to Georgia with relief supplies
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush put the United States more firmly than ever on Georgia's side in its conflict with Russia yesterday, sending humanitarian aid on American military planes to help the embattled ex-Soviet republic and displaying growing impatience with Moscow's aggression.
ON THE TRAIL
A group of teenage girls walked into a Red Bank, N.J., diner yesterday to get food, and left with autographs from a potential first lady - Cindy McCain. John and Cindy McCain were traversing the Garden State yesterday, with each making fundraising and campaign stops. Cindy McCain spent the day in Republican-friendly Monmouth County. She had breakfast at a private home in Rumson, then stopped by the Broadway Diner in Red Bank, where she shook hands with a lunchtime crowd and talked to teenagers about school before autographing their napkins. Allyson Jablonski, a 15-year-old from Fair Haven, said it was a coincidence she and her friends ran into Cindy McCain, who was joined by state Sens. Bill Baroni and Jennifer Beck. "We just walked in there and somebody told us that she was going to come," said Jablonski, who said she supports John McCain despite not being old enough to vote. John McCain was to be in Teaneck for a big-ticket fundraiser yesterday evening. Tickets for McCain's event were $1,000 to $25,000. More than 500 people were expected to attend. John McCain won't eclipse the enormous fundraising advantage Democratic rival Barack Obama has built in New Jersey, but he is hoping to narrow the gap. "Sen. and Mrs. McCain ... have made it very clear New Jersey is in play in November," said Baroni, who chairs McCain's New Jersey campaign. "They are proving that by coming here and campaigning today."
McCain, Obama use Georgia comments to help their image
WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain quickly took a hard-line stand against Russia after it sent troops and tanks into the former Soviet state of Georgia. Democrat Barack Obama's initial condemnation of Russia was tempered by a call for diplomacy and restraint on all sides.
Hopefuls call for international response to Georgia crisis
Presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama yesterday called for a multipronged diplomatic effort to force Russia to withdraw from Georgia, saying Moscow's relationship with the rest of the world depends on it. Both candidates said Europe and other nations must be united against Russia's widening assault against Georgia, U.S.'s closest ally among the democratizing former Soviet republics. And they said NATO should reconsider its decision to withhold a "membership action plan" for Georgia. That decision "might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia," McCain said. Speaking in Pennsylvania, McCain said Russia appears intent on toppling the Georgian government rather than restoring the status quo. Obama also urged a multinational response but added the UN Security Council should play a major role in ending the crisis. He said the Security Council should pass a resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence, and urged a UN mediator to join French and Finnish foreign ministers in Georgia to try to end the fighting.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain won't eclipse the enormous fundraising advantage his Democratic rival has built in New Jersey, but he is hoping to narrow the gap a little when he and his wife visit the Garden State today. McCain will attend a private fundraiser in Bergen County, while his wife seeks votes in Monmouth County. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee plans to make an evening campaign swing through Teaneck, while wife Cindy attends a money-raising luncheon and makes campaign stops in Republican-friendly Monmouth. Today marks McCain's sixth visit to New Jersey since he declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination.
McCain: Obama tried to 'legislate failure' in Iraq
LAS VEGAS - Republican John McCain issued a scathing critique of Barack Obama's judgment and readiness to be commander in chief, telling a veterans' group yesterday his Democratic rival had tried to "legislate failure" in Iraq and placed his own ambition ahead of military success there.
LONG ISLAND: K. McManus, Vietnam POW
Two weeks before his Vietnam tour was to end, Air Force pilot Kevin McManus' fighter plane was shot down over Hanoi. For the next five years and eight months, his home was the North Vietnamese system of prisoner of war camps known as the "Hanoi Hilton," where he later recalled conditions were filthy and torture commonplace.
Diocese expels visiting priest
The Diocese of Rockville Centre has expelled a priest brought here for the last eight summers by Msgr. James Lisante without the diocese's knowledge, and who was suspended recently by his home diocese near Guam.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain's campaign began yesterday to review donations brought in by a Florida businessman following disclosures that his business partner, a foreign national, may have engaged in fundraising. The campaign is looking into hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to make sure they are appropriate, a spokesman said. The campaign sent a letter spelling out legal requirements to donors who sent contributions through Harry Sargeant III, finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party. It is illegal for foreigners to contribute their own money to U.S. campaigns. The New York Times reported yesterday that Sargeant allowed business partner Mustafa Abu Naba'a, to bring in $50,000 in donations since March from members of a single extended family in California and several of their friends.
McCain say Obama would forfeit Iraq war for big gov't
LIMA, Ohio - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said yesterday that Democrat Barack Obama would forfeit the war in Iraq as part of an agenda that also promotes big government and high taxes.
Obama taunts McCain over tire inflation take
ELKHART, Ind. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama yesterday taunted Republican John McCain for agreeing on the importance of keeping tires inflated as an energy-conservation measure after having joined the GOP in mocking the idea.
Punchlines
Craig Ferguson, "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson": "President Bush arrived in South Korea today, and they had to use water cannons to push back the protesters. This shows you the change in times. When Bill Clinton visited there, they used the same water cannons for the wet T-shirt contest."
James Klurfeld: Reading about the CIA doesn't inspire confidence
The review warned, "Don't take this book on vacation. It isn't summer reading. Too depressing. Too relentlessly negative. Save it for a cold winter night."
Obama blames GOP energy policies for economic woes
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Democrat Barack Obama blamed Republican energy policies for some of the nation's economic woes yesterday as his GOP rival John McCain advocated a large expansion of nuclear power.
Poll: Clinton paved way for first woman president
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton paved the way for the first woman president, a milestone that could be reached within the next eight years, according to a nationwide poll of women released yesterday.
McCain's new TV ad is critical of Bush and Obama
RAPID CITY, S.D. - John McCain conceded in a new television commercial yesterday that "we're worse off than we were four years ago," and said he is the candidate best positioned to usher in an era of change.
Simplexity: Where nothing is left to chance
Whoever made the sandwich Gavrilo Princip ate on June 28, 1914, has a lot to answer for. Princip had more on his mind than his lunch that day, of course. The young Bosnian was thinking about assassinating Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who had arrived in Sarajevo for a state visit.
ON THE TRAIL
Republican presidential candidate John McCain hopes to enhance his appeal to blue-collar voters and those in the Northern Plains with a visit to a giant motorcycle rally in South Dakota. He campaigned for votes yesterday at what amounts to an annual motorcyclists' Woodstock in Sturgis, S.D. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is billed as the largest of its kind in the world. It features nine nights of entertainment, with bands including Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and REO Speedwagon. Then to underscore his call for expanded nuclear power in the United States, McCain will tour a nuclear power plant in the battleground state of Michigan today. That trip comes a day after Democratic rival Barack Obama laid out his energy vision in a speech, also being delivered in Michigan. This is the final week for McCain and Obama to compete for the spotlight without having to share it with the Beijing Olympics. McCain started his week with a visit to the National Label Co. in Lafayette Hill, Pa. The 97-year-old family-owned business makes labels for an array of products, from medicines such as Tylenol to shampoos in the Suave family.
Obama energy plan: reserves, new drilling
LANSING, Mich. - Barack Obama put forward a broad energy plan yesterday designed to end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years and shore up his standing amid a tightening White House race and high-anxiety over gas prices.
Getting a firsthand feel in the pits . . . Proves to be quite a wild ride
Spend time with a pit crew at a NASCAR race, as I did yesterday, and you'll come away convinced of one thing: These guys have the weirdest working conditions.
Hillary Clinton roll-call vote unlikely at convention
In the end, it would make little sense to push a symbolic roll-call vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in three weeks as some suggested - especially since she's now due to deliver the keynote address, several of her home-state supporters said last week.
McCain, Obama running dead even over the weekend
WASHINGTON - Intensified attacks by Republican John McCain on the character of his Democratic opponent have coincided with Barack Obama losing a 9 percentage point advantage in a national poll, which showed the candidates running dead even over the weekend.
MMA combatives training a hit in military
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Not too long ago, GI Joe, a real American soldier involved in life-or-death combat in Iraq, brought down his attacker with a mixed martial arts technique and captured him. It wasn't too long ago that his only choice would have been to shoot - and kill - him.
Obama agrees to only 3 debates with McCain
WASHINGTON - Democratic candidate Barack Obama yesterday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.
Obama differs with some black groups over reparations
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.
Wal-Mart denies pressing workers to vote against Obama
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, denied a report yesterday that it had pressured employees to vote against Democrats in November because of worries that a bill the party supports would make it easier for workers to unionize.
ON THE TRAIL
Republican John McCain on Friday defended his campaign's new Web ad mocking Barack Obama as a presumptuous messianic figure, saying it was important to "display a sense of humor" in the presidential contest, The Associated Press reported. The new ad, with a voice-over calling Obama "The One," features clips of the Democratic contender appearing to describe himself and his presidential quest in grandiose terms - saying such things as, "This was the moment when the rise in the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal." The ad ends with Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea in the movie "The Ten Commandments." The ad wasn't set to air on any television stations, so the campaign was counting on it to attract viewers by circulating on the Web. Still, it was McCain's latest attempt to caricature his rival as an overweening but empty media phenomenon, coming on the heels of the campaign's new television ad juxtaposing Obama with lightweight celebrities Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan slammed the Web ad, saying McCain was "spending all of his time and the powerful platform he has on these sorts of juvenile antics." McCain insisted he was running a "respectful" campaign and brushed off complaints from critics and even some supporters that his tone had taken a sharply negative turn in recent days.
Obama makes pitch for $1,000 rebate checks
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Friday pushed for a windfall profits tax to fund $1,000 emergency rebate checks for consumers besieged by high energy costs, a counter to Republican rival John McCain's call for more offshore drilling in coastal states like Florida.
Paterson calls on U.S. help for deficit-ridden states
Referring to hardships in the Depression, Gov. David A. Paterson yesterday called for the federal government to help states mired in budget deficits and vowed New York would not exempt education and health care from possible spending cuts.
Sen. Barack Obama calls new Ludacris track 'offensive'
Barack Obama's presidential campaign says a new rhyme by supporter and rapper Ludacris is "outrageously offensive" to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Republican Sen. John McCain and President George W. Bush. The song brags about an Obama presidency being destiny. It uses an expletive to describe Clinton, calls Bush "mentally handicapped" and says McCain doesn't belong in "any chair unless he's paralyzed." The lyrics don't spare the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently apologized for making crude comments about Obama. "If you said it, then you meant it," intones the rapper. Obama's campaign blasted "Politics as Usual," which is on the "Gangsta Grillz: The Preview" mixtape with Atlanta spinner DJ Drama. "As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail statement Wednesday. "This song is not only outrageously offensive to Sen. Clinton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. McCain and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics."
McCain accuses Obama of playing the race card
WASHINGTON - John McCain accused Barack Obama of playing politics with race yesterday, raising the explosive issue after the first black candidate with a serious chance of winning the White House claimed Republicans will try to scare voters by saying he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."
GOP colleagues distance themselves from Sen. Ted Stevens
WASHINGTON - Several GOP colleagues of indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens distanced themselves politically yesterday by donating campaign contributions from him to charity.
WORLD & NATION UPDATE: AT HOME
A crane that was removing steel beams to dismantle an old river bridge at Smithville, Texas, became overloaded and toppled yesterday, killing one worker and injuring another. The crane smashed into a raised basket where the two men were working, knocking one off and killing him, police said. The man, identified as James Michael Miles, 47, fell about 60 feet from the top of the bridge and landed on construction equipment. The bridge is about 75 feet above the Colorado Riverin central Texas. Several deadly crane accidents have occurred this year, including one in Houston this month that killed four workers. Crane-related deaths have also occurred in New York, Miami and Las Vegas. Texas led the nation with 26 crane-related fatalities in 2005 and 2006, federal statistics show.
ON THE TRAIL
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will hold two fundraisers to help Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pay off her presidential campaign debt. Richardson, who was UN ambassador and energy secretary under former President Bill Clinton, drew heat from some of the former first lady's supporters when he endorsed her rival Barack Obama in March during the Democratic presidential primaries. A Richardson spokesman said the fundraisers are part of the Democratic Party's effort to unify after the hard-fought primary. Both Richardson and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to attend the fundraisers, scheduled for Aug. 17 in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
McCain touts domestic drilling despite Obama criticism
Republican John McCain said more domestic oil drilling is needed as a solution to both high energy prices and a sluggish economy, as Democrat Barack Obama accused his opponent of offering ideas that have been tried and failed.
Obama's new TV ad raps McCain for taking "low road"
Barack Obama's campaign launched a new television ad last night declaring John McCain has taken the "low road" in the presidential campaign - a direct response to the Arizona senator's new television spot likening Obama to celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
John McCain may eye raising tax for Social Security
WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate John McCain's signal that he may be open to a higher payroll tax for Social Security, despite previous vows not to raise taxes of any kind, is drawing sharp rebukes from conservatives.
Docs say McCain's biopsy shows no evidence of cancer
Doctors say a biopsy shows no evidence of cancer in the skin removed from Republican Sen. John McCain's face.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain said yesterday he had a small patch of skin removed from his face and biopsied as part of a regular checkup with his dermatologist. "She said that I was doing fine," McCain, a three-time melanoma survivor, told reporters on a presidential campaign visit to an oil rig where he spoke briefly about his proposed energy plan. "She took a small little nick from my cheek, as she does regularly, and that will be biopsied just to make sure everything is fine." The Arizona senator underwent the procedure in Phoenix during a checkup he undergoes every three months. McCain urged Americans to stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen, particularly during the summer. "If you ever have any slight discoloration please go to your dermatologist or your doctor and get it checked out," he said. The fair-skinned Arizona senator, who suffered severe sun damage from his 5 1/2 years in Vietnamese prison camps, gets an in-depth skin cancer check every few months because of a medical history of dangerous melanomas.
Barack Obama meets with advisers on U.S. economic woes
WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama yesterday blamed "irresponsible decisions" by the Bush administration and Wall Street for the country's economic woes as government officials said the budget deficit would soar to record heights next year.
N.J. office for N.Y. campaign shows McCain strategy
John McCain stood at Rockefeller Center earlier this year and made a bold prediction: I will carry New York in the fall campaign, something no Republican has done since 1984.
Obama to meet Monday with domestic fiscal advisers
WASHINGTON - Presidential contender Barack Obama is pivoting from foreign policy to the economy at home.
Nassau Republicans lead Dems in fundraising
GOP CASHING UP: Who's tops in raising funds?
Les Payne: Is John McCain, messy maverick, qualified?
If elected president, Sen. John McCain promises to stage a press conference every week, a singular horror that, of itself, should be enough to doom his chances.
ON THE TRAIL
John McCain's campaign slammed Democratic rival Barack Obama for canceling a visit to wounded troops in Germany, contending Obama chose foreign leaders and cheering Europeans over "injured American heroes." Obama's campaign called the accusation "wildly inappropriate, saying he canceled the planned visit after officials told him a retired two-star general who is an adviser was considered campaign staff and "it would therefore be perceived as political." The Pentagon said the senator was never told not to visit. McCain, in an interview for ABC's "This Week," said "if I had been told by the Pentagon that I couldn't visit those troops, and I was there and wanted to be there, I guarantee you, there would have been a seismic event."
Time will tell how Obama trip plays among voters
LONDON - By almost every measure, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's overseas tour was a clear success, with meticulously planned and deftly executed events designed to beam back images to the United States of a politician comfortable on the world stage.
Have John McCain, GOP found a platform in $4-a-gallon gas?
WASHINGTON - Four dollar-a-gallon gas has done something few Republicans thought possible just a few months ago: given them hope.