Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis

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McCain's GOP critics in Arizona continue to press their case

By JACQUES BILLEAUD – 2 hours ago

PHOENIX (AP) — Sen. John McCain's status as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has done little to ease the criticism he faces from a small but vocal group of conservatives in his home state.

A week ago, Republican activists living in the same state legislative district as McCain rejected nearly all the names his campaign submitted as candidates to become delegates to the party's state convention on May 10.

Six people on McCain's slate eventually became delegates, said Rob Haney, the district's Republican chairman and McCain's most prominent critic in Arizona.

"The people who know him like him the least. He is a media darling, so the general population doesn't know his record — and conservatives do," Haney said, though noting he doesn't believe the development could derail McCain's campaign.

The group of conservatives has dogged McCain since he first ran for Congress in 1982, objecting to his views on illegal immigration and campaign finance, among other issues. They rallied around him during the "Keating Five" scandal but were turned off by his moderate positions in the 2000 presidential race.

While the group has at times been an embarrassment, McCain remains strong in Arizona. The latest polls show him with a sizable lead in the state in matchups against either of his two Democratic rivals....(Click here for remainder of article.)

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Clinton doesn't enjoy 'bitter' bounce

BY NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON | nia.henderson@newsday.com
9:49 PM EDT, April 15, 2008

PITTSBURGH - The "bitter" bounce Hillary Rodham Clinton was counting on to jump-start her flagging presidential campaign hasn't yet materialized, at least according to polls released Tuesday -- possibly dashing her hopes for blow-out wins in key states.

A Quinnipiac University poll gave Clinton a 50 percent to 44 percent edge over Barack Obama -- the same margin as a week ago -- and pollsters said there was no appreciable dip for Obama after his comments about blue-collar workers surfaced Friday.

A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll also shows trouble for Clinton in all three states with primaries in coming weeks, posing a challenge for her to rack up enough delegates and popular votes to break Obama's hold on the lead.

The Times/Bloomberg poll puts Clinton with just a five-point lead in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. In Indiana, where voters go to the polls May 6, Obama is up by five points. And the current Democratic front-runner has a 13-point edge in North Carolina, which holds its primary the same day....(Click here for remainder of article.)

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Republicans Just Can't Keep Their Mouths Shut

Talk about people who don’t know when they have it good and you are talking about Republicans. They have 2 Democratic contenders for president tearing each other to shreds and all the attention of the media focused on Barack Obama's remarks about the attitudes of small-town Pennsylvanians. All they have to do is sit on the sidelines and keep their mouths shut.

But nooooooo, not Republicans, they just can’t stand prosperity. Saturday night, at the Northern Kentucky 4th Congressional District Lincoln Day Dinner, Rep. Geoff Davis put his mouth in gear without engaging his brain and this came out:

"U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman."

He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

...(Click here for remainder of post.)

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