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.
John McCain will attend a star-studded fundraiser in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Monday, when the Democrats will kick off their convention, reports the Washington Times.
The guest list at the Beverly Hilton event includes Robert Duvall, Angie Harmon, Jon Voight and Craig T. Nelson, the newspaper reports. Tickets are $500 for people under 35, and $1,000 for everyone else.
Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers told the newspaper: "We're proud to have such a broad cross-section of support in the Los Angeles area from people who share the firm belief that John McCain is the best prepared leader to move America forward."
Time's Mark Halperin is reporting that John McCain will choose former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) as his running mate.
Two Republican sources told Halperin that McCain has settled on his former rival but has yet to offer the job to him.
Romney was McCain's most serious competitor for the Republican presidential nomination. Romney's candidacy was championed by conservatives skeptical of McCain. Though Romney won contests over McCain and other GOP candidates in Nevada and Michigan, he ended his campaign after losing California and other large states to McCain in February. Romney said that he didn't want to give the Democratic presidential candidates an advantage heading into the general election.
John McCain's campaign last night jumped into the ad war over McCain's uncertainty of how many houses he owns.
Several hours after Barack Obama's campaign put out its own ad on the gaffe, McCain's campaign had readied its response, which focuses on Obama's ties to fundraiser, real estate developer, and convicted felon Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who raised money for Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate run and helped Obama buy his Chicago home.
Rezko is emerging as the primary comeback to liberal attacks over McCain's comment, as the Republican National Committee sought to highlight Obama's Rezko ties in a new website it launched yesterday, circulating a fact sheet about Obama and Rezko to reporters as well.
McCain's new TV ad will air in "key states," according to the McCain camp.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is blasting the Chinese government for arresting Chinese citizens who have applied for permits to protest at the Beijing Olympics.
"Instead of living up to their commitments it made to be allowed to host the Olympic Games, the Chinese government is using the Olympics as a justification to crackdown on peaceful human rights activists, censor foreign and domestic journalists, and displace Chinese individuals and families who have no legal recourse to protest the seizure of their homes or their land," Pelosi said in a statement released by her office last night.
"From media reports, we are now learning that the Chinese government-designated
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Republican Congressman Christopher Shays (Conn.) is trying to conjure the best of both presidential candidates, telling voters in a new ad that he combines the hope of Barack Obama and straight talk of John McCain.
"The hopefulness of Obama, the straight talk of McCain, it's what Christopher Shays has always stood for," the announcer begins, as the ad shows pictures of Obama and the word "hope," moving to a picture of McCain and "straight talk."
"He goes where the truth takes him, never afraid to take a stand or oppose his own party. In a sea of partisanship, Shays is different. It's not what is Republican or Democrat, it's what is right for America. Everyone has a congressman, we have Christopher Shays."
The Connecticut lawmaker, a moderate Republican, is facing a tough challenge from Democrat Jim Himes. Himes has raised over $2 million, while Shays has brought in $2.3 million.
Shays is currently the only Republican member of the Connecticut delegation after Democrats beat two of the state's House incumbents in 2006. Shays won narrowly in 2006, 51 percent to 48 percent.
Shays is following in Republican Sen. Gordon Smith's (Ore.) footsteps, who earlier in the cycle put out an ad linking himself with Obama on energy.
The American Issues Project, an independent conservative group, has launched a new television ad that highlights ties between Barack Obama and William Ayers, a former member of the subversive Weather Underground group.
"Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol
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The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched a website this afternoon dedicated to Barack Obama's ties to fundraiser, convicted felon, and real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko, looking to hit back as the Obama camp hammers John McCain for telling reporters he's not sure how many houses he and his wife own.
Obama's ties to Rezko, who raised money for Obama and helped the senator buy his Chicago home, have been a cornerstone of their response to the "houses" gaffe. The RNC sent an e-mail to reporters, dubbing the Rezko association "Obama's Housing Problem."
The website accuses Obama of hypocrisy in criticizing McCain's gaffe, offers links to news articles about Rezko and Obama, and alleges a "shady deal" between the two. Rezko and his wife purchased an adjacent plot of land to Obama's Chicago home from the same seller, then sold some of it to Obama, according to news reports. Rezko has also raised money for Obama's U.S. Senate campaign.
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