Barack Obama had this to say about news that the U.S. and Iraq have agreed to a 2011 withdrawal date for U.S. forces leaving Iraq, with combat troops withdrawing from Iraqi cities by next June:
"I am glad that the Administration has finally shifted to accepting a timetable for the removal of our combat troops from Iraq. Success in Iraq depends on an Iraqi government that is reconciling its differences and taking responsibility for its future, and a timetable is the best way to press the Iraqis to do just that. I welcome the growing convergence around this pragmatic and responsible position.
Barack Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs having some fun with the high level of anticipation for Obama's veep pick to get rolled out: "We may wait until Wednesday and do it right at the convention."
At the request of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) traveled to Georgia today to meet with its president, prime minister, and other leaders.
Both congressmen pledged support for U.S. Georgia in its conflict with Russia.
"We came here with the strong belief that Russian troops must leave Georgia as promised," Berman said.
Barack Obama's campaign will air a second ad on John McCain's uncertainty of how many houses he owns. The latest ad accuses McCain of practicing "country club economics."
"Maybe McCain thinks this economy is working--for folks like him," a narrator says. "But how are things working for you?"
Another Democrat facing a tough race is breaking from his party and emphasizing offshore oil drilling.
Freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) is going up with a new radio ad Friday, and it pointedly says that he differs from his leadership on the issue.
The announcer says Walz is "bucking his party leadership to create a real energy plan that gets something done."
"It expands offshore drilling," she says, pausing for effect, "and uses those royalty dollars to speed up our transition to clean energy, create jobs and make us energy independent."
Walz is one of several Democrats in a tough race who is emphasizing drilling, even as leadership has been cool to the idea. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) has notably become a drilling proponent during his Senate campaign.
Within hours of the 3 p.m. scare at the Centennial campaign office of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona, authorities announced that the powder was phony and that the writer appeared to be Marc Harold Ramsey.
The 39-year-old has been in jail since September, unable to post the $350,000 bond on charges of felony charges of menacing, harassment and assault on a peace officer, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office.
"He is a prolific writer of threatening letters," said U.S.Secret Service Agent Malcolm Wiley.
Democratic officials say that [Rep. Chet] Edwards was one of the few Democrats whose background was checked by [Barack] Obama's campaign, and he was a finalist for the job.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has frequently mentioned Edwards (D-Texas) as a strong potential running mate for Obama. Edwards seemed to be auditioning for the gig over the weekend, attacking John McCain's record on veterans issues during a Sunday conference call.
CNN is reporting that Barack Obama called each of person on his vice presidential short list Thursday night to inform them of who he has picked to be his running mate. It is not known who received those calls.
Obama told other potential running mates that they would not be selected during the preceding weeks. The Illinois Democrat is expected to announce his selection late Friday or early Saturday.
As Barack Obama prepares for his presidential nomination acceptance speech Thursday, he's getting questions over how it will compare to his widely praised 2004 convention address.
In an interview that aired Friday, Obama was asked by CBS's Harry Smith how he'll top that speech.
"Well, you know, I think it's a different time and a different place, obviously," Obama said. "Four years ago, when I spoke, I was speaking as somebody who was in a supportive role to the nominee. Because I was new, I was presenting my version of the American story. This time I'm the nominee. So it's a different -- different role."
Obama added that it's not completely written, but that he has "a pretty good sense of what I'm going to say."
"I suspect that that element of surprise that came about four years ago -- nobody had heard of me and then I come up and I give a, you know, a speech that was well-received -- I think that -- there's a special moment there that we're not going to recapture," he said. "At this point, people know that I can give a speech. And, you know, they'll see me coming."
Obama is scheduled to give the speech outdoors at Invesco Field in Denver on the final night of the Democratic convention.
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