Despite pastor Rick Warren swearing that John McCain was in a "cone of silence" during Barack Obama's hour-long portion of Saturday's faith forum at the Saddleback Church in California, McCain's staff confirms that the Arizona senator was in fact in his motorcade on the way to the forum during Obama's portion.
Why does this matter? Because McCain and Obama were asked identical questions under the pretense that whoever went second would not hear the answer of the candidate who went first.
So does that mean McCain cheated? Spokesman Nicole Wallace tells the New York Times no.
"The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous," Wallace told the paper.
But McCain played along with the cone shtick during the forum.
The first question Warren asked McCain: "Was the cone of silence comfortable that you were in just now?"
"I was trying to hear through the wall," McCain joked.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark's spokesman has said that the Democrat has yet to be invited to his party's convention next week, according to Steve Clemons at The Washington Note.
If the former NATO commander doesn't attend, his absence would come despite the theme of Wednesday's session, "Securing America's Future," which is echoes the name of his political action committee, Securing America.
The spokesman said that Clark would play any constructive role in the convention if he was asked.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) steered off message during his "Meet the Press" appearance on Sunday by trampling a talking point that has been cited by House Republicans.
Jindal, a former House member who is a top contender to be Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) running mate, criticized Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for his "all of the above" approach to energy.
"All of the above" is the House Republican slogan for addressing high gas prices, encompassing more energy production, encouraging efficiency, and increasing supply.
During his appearance on Sunday, Jindal said that McCain "has a long history of bucking his own party, his own president, whether it was fighting against earmarks, wasteful spending, and he's got a long tradition of standing on principle for what he believes is right. Unlike Sen. Obama, he's for all of the above when it comes to our energy solutions. You know, Sen. Obama's been out there saying he wants to increase taxes on coal, on natural gas. He said nuclear energy is not the right answer for America. He says that he doesn't want more domestic oil and gas production off our coast."
Barack Obama praised former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) during Saturday's Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency, saying the Georgia Democrat will have a voice in an Obama Administration.
Obama said he would not limit his circle of advisers, but named Nunn, a frequently rumored vice presidential pick, as one voice he will listen to on foreign policy.
"There are people like Sam Nunn, a Democrat, or [Sen.] Dick Lugar (Ind.), a Republican who I
Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) was released from a halfway house Friday morning and is now a free man, according to a report by the Columbus Dispatch.
At 7:30 Friday morning Ney left the halfway house in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he had been living since his release from a federal prison in Morgantown, W. Va. in February.
He served 17 of the 30 months he was sentenced to in January 2007 after pleading guilty in 2006 to corruption charges stemming from his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The Hill reported in March that Ney was working at Talk Radio News Service (TRNS), located in Columbus, Ohio, thanks to his longtime friend Ellen Ratner.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingirch (R-Ga.) has put put a light hearted video announcing a YouTube contest for his group American Solutions.
The contest challenges supporters to make a video demonstrating the groups "drill here, drill now, pay nothing" slogan. The winner of the contest will get a year of free gas.
The video starts with Gingrich catching one of his interns watching YouTube at work and later shows the intern doing the same to the former House Speaker.
Barack Obama and John McCain are locked in an on-air back-and-forth over McCain's alleged ties to a DHL downsize that put several thousand Ohioans out of work.
Obama today released a TV ad for Ohio highlighting McCain's role, outlined by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, in helping DHL purchase a U.S.-based shipping company, which could lead to a loss of over 8,000 Ohio jobs. Obama has also hit McCain on the alleged link in a radio ad, pointing to McCain Campaign Manager Rick Davis's employment as a lobbyist for DHL as well.
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Harry and Louise are back. The fictitious couple that starred in TV ads that helped kill President Clinton's healthcare reform plan in 1994 are returning to the airwaves for the 2008 campaign.
This time, though, they aren't speaking for the health insurance industry. On Tuesday, a diverse coalition of interest groups will debut the new Harry and Louise ads at a press conference in Washington.
Last time around, the middle-class couple was warning us that Clinton
Huck's Army, a grassroots group of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's (R) supporters, is threatening to withhold support for John McCain unless he selects Huckabee as a running mate or features him prominently at the Republican convention.
"WE WILL NOT VOTE FOR A MCCAIN TICKET UNLESS: 1) Mike Huckabee is the VP or 2) Mike Huckabee is the Keynote speaker at the National GOP Convention," the group wrote in an e-mail to supporters.
Huck's Army asked supporters to contact Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), seeking to influence McCain's choice through the Michigan lawmaker, who Huck's Army says has close ties to McCain.
"Fred is McCain's trusted friend and advisor.
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) will stump for their former rival Barack Obama Sunday.
Their joint appearance in Espanola, N.M., will mark the first time they've campaigned publicly together since Clinton ally James Carville called Richardson, a Cabinet official in Bill Clinton's administration, "Judas" for endorsing Obama during the Democratic primaries.
After the Obama event, they will attend a fundraiser together.
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