Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that Barack Obama is taking the right tack when it comes to Israel and Palestinian talks by not trying to dictate or pressure either side.
"What Israel has always feared is that a U.S. president would twist their arm to make them give up something that they thought would make them less secure," said Schumer on MSNBC Wednesday. "I think they had sort of that feeling with both Jimmy Carter and George Bush the first. They're not going to have any of that feeling with Barack Obama, because he understands the need for a strong Israel and he understands that Israel and the Palestinians have to come together to make that -- to make that peace."
Obama spent Wednesday in Israel, where he pledged support for the Jewish state, and in the West Bank, where he
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is telling John McCain to steer clear of a "boring, normal, mainstream Republican white guy" in his vice presidential selection.
"What I'm afraid of is that if Sen. McCain picks one more relatively boring, normal, mainstream Republican white guy who would be like, you know, a cookie cutter...he just makes the ticket seem boring compared to the level of energy and drive and excitement that Obama has," Gingrich says in an audio recording made Monday and posted on his website Wednesday.
"This fall there is going to be a lot of energy surrounding the Obama campaign, and we need to find ways to generate a substantial amount of energy around the McCain campaign. And an effective, dynamic, different kind of vice presidential nominee I think would make a difference."
The two possible Republican veeps who Gingrich thinks could make a difference are Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Gingrich said Palin "has a great reform reputation" and would "bring a level of excitement and uniqueness that people would have to stop and stay 'boy this is kind of intriguing, this is something new.'"
Gingrich also had very high praise for Jindal, but the Louisiana Republican took himself out of the running shortly after the recording was posted, saying, "I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cited testimony on the Senate floor Tuesday to make the case that excessive market speculation has driven up oil prices by 50 percent.
But the problem is that one of the experts he cited was discredited weeks ago by a Senate subcommittee, chaired by a senior Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.).
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) took to the floor Tuesday and pressed Reid to provide his source to make that claim since "that is the first time I had heard that figure."
Reid shot back: "Mr. President, I would say to my friend, if it is the first time you have heard it, with all due respect, you have not been listening to what has been going on on the Senate floor."
Reid continued: "I am not the only one who has said it. Many people have said it. I would be happy to place in the record -- and the first person we will place in the record is somebody who was a high-ranking official with the commodity futures trading organization, where he says it is 50 percent."
Reid citied Michael Greenberger, a former trade division director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in saying that prices have shot up 20 percent to 50 percent because of speculation.
But Levin's Senate Subcommittee on Investigations issued an unusual June report discrediting Greenberger's testimony on oil speculation, questioning 19 statements he made on the issue before the committee last month.
Republicans crowed on Wednesday about the report as they attacked a stalled Democratic bill that would rein in speculation on oil futures.
But Democratic aides said there are numerous other experts who back up the concerns that speculation is significantly affecting prices. For instance, Reid spokesman Rodell Mollineau pointed to a comment made by economist Mark Zandi, now a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain.
"The oil market has become a financial market. And it's affected by all kinds of speculators, momentum players, people just betting on prices increasing or falling, in this case, obviously, increasing," Zandi said on PBS last month. "And so they ran in quickly and drove up the price. And that clearly has played a role. I mean, you don't see a $10 move in the price of oil without some financial speculation involved, as well."
"I think the larger question is why are the Republicans now running away from an issue that they put in their own legislation," Mollineau said. "To answer my own question, they were never serious about actually passing energy legislation -- just having an issue to campaign on."
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has set aside $18 million more for ads in this year's House races, bringing its total ad kitty to $53 million, Swing State Project reports.
Here's the blog's list of House districts for which the money is reserved:
Ala. 2nd, Open (R): $598K
Ala. 5th, Open (D): $678K
Ariz. 8th, Rep. Giffords (D): $705K
Calif. 4th, Open (R) and Calif. 11th, Rep. McNerney (D): $2.03M
Fla. 18th, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R); Fla. 21st, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R); and Fla. 25th Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R): $1.4M
Idaho 1st, Rep. Sal (Ri): $349K
Ill. 10th, Rep. Kirk (D): $1.4M
Ill. 11th Rep. Weller (R): $1.6M
Ill. 14th Rep. Foster (D): $1.02M
La. 4th, Open (R): $714K
Mo. 6th Rep. Graves (R): $798K
Miss. 3rd, Rep. Childers (D): $1.06M
N.J. 3rd, Open (R): $1.7M
N.Y. 25th, Open (R); N.Y. 26th, Open (R); N.Y.-29 Rep. Kuhl (R): $2.7M
Wash 8th, Rep. Reichert (R): $949,000
Barack Obama claimed the Senate Banking Committee as his own Wednesday, despite not having a seat on the panel.
Explaining his commitment to Israel during a press conference in the country, Obama spoke of the Iran divestment bill that passed the Senate Banking Committee last week.
"Now, in terms of knowing my commitments, you don't have to just look at my words, you can look at my deeds," Obama said. "Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon."
Obama is the lead sponsor on the bill he mentions, but he does not have a seat on the committee chaired by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). The Illinois senator has seats on four other committees.
The bill was approved by the committee last week by a vote of 19-2.
In a new Spanish language radio ad, Barack Obama claims he didn't grow up with power or connections and that he never forgot his roots.
Obama's campaign announced the ad today on a conference call with Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.).
In it, a narrator says: "Some people have power and connections. But most of us have to make our own way through life. This is true even for the man who could become the next President
Barack Obama holds a statistically insignificant lead over John McCain in Virginia in a new Public Policy Polling survey.
Obama gets 46 percent to McCain's 44 percent. The poll has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points. Obama had led McCain 47 percent to 45 percent in PPP's June poll.
The Democrat leads among Hispanic Americans, blacks and younger voters, while McCain leads among white and older voters. Obama has a 1-point edge among both male and female voters.
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) is calling on radio stations and potential sponsors to "reconsider their association" with Michael Savage after the radio host called autism a "racket" on his show.
"I understand that shock jocks get the big bucks for being as obnoxious and controversial as possible
For the first time since 2004, a majority of U.S. citizens see America as winning the global war on terror President Bush declared in 2001, while fewer Americans than ever see terrorists as winning, a new poll has found.
According to recent data from Rasmussen Reports, 51 percent think the U.S. is winning, while 16 percent think terrorists are--an all-time low for that figure.
Opinion has fluctuated since Rasmussen began tracking it in April 2004, with confidence reaching a previous high of 51 percent in November and December of that year. Confidence reached 50 percent in late 2006, and has been reported as low as 31 percent by Rasmussen since then.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) denied that he will join the Republican ticket amid speculation that John McCain will soon announce his running mate.
"Well -- and let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I've got the job that I want," Jindal said on Fox News on Wednesday. "And I'll say again on air: I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president. I'm going to help Sen. McCain get elected, as governor of Louisiana.
He continued: "And I want to help him get elected. I think his positions on cutting taxes, securing our country on drilling and energy independence are the right positions for Louisiana, for America. I'll continue to support him as governor of Louisiana."
McCain, however, will fly to Jindal's state on Wednesday night, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Campaign officials confirmed McCain's trip but they did not offer any more details.
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