It's Official: Hillary Named Top Diplomat

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Obama Apologizes To Nancy Reagan

WASHINGTON (AP) ~ President-elect Obama called Nancy Reagan on Friday to apologize for joking that she held seances in the White House.

At a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he had spoken with all the living presidents as he prepares to take office in January. Then he smiled and said, "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances."

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer when planning her husband's schedule, according to former White House chief of staff Donald T. Regan.

The 87-year-old former first lady had consulted with astrologers during her husband's presidency. But she did not hold conversations with the dead. It was Hillary Clinton who was linked to conversations with the dead.

Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the president-elect later called Mrs. Reagan "to apologize for the careless and offhanded remark." She said Obama "expressed his admiration and affection for Mrs. Reagan that so many Americans share, and they had a warm conversation."

It actually wasn't Nancy Reagan who was linked to conversations with the dead; it was Obama's top Democratic challenger for the presidency, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

In either case, use of the word "seance" might be overstated.

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Obama Struggles To Win Clinton Voters

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's support from backers of Hillary Rodham Clinton is stuck smack where it was in June, a poll showed Tuesday, a stunning lack of progress that is weakening him with members of the Democratic Party in the close presidential race.

An Associated Press-Yahoo News poll shows that among adults who backed his rival during their bitter primary campaign, 58 percent now support Obama. That is the same percentage who said so in June, when Clinton ended her bid and urged her backers to line up behind the Democratic senator from Illinois.

The poll shows that while Obama has gained ground among Clinton's supporters - 69 percent view him favorably now, up 9 percentage points from June - this has yet to translate into more of their support.

In part, this is because their positive views of Republican presidential nominee John McCain have also improved during this period.

Those supporting McCain have also edged up from 21 percent to 28 percent, with the number of undecided staying constant, the survey showed.

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Clinton Adviser Penn: Media 'Biggest loser'

CBSNews.com: Your former colleague Howard Wolfson argued that you all unintentionally paved the way for Palin by exposing some of the unfair media coverage that Hillary Clinton received. And, therefore, a lot of the media may now be treating Sarah Palin with kid gloves. Do you agree with that?

Mark Penn: Well, no, I think the people themselves saw unfair media coverage of Senator Clinton. I think if you go back, the polls reflected very clearly what "Saturday Night Live" crystallized in one of their mock debates about what was happening with the press. I think here the media is on very dangerous ground. I think that when you see them going through every single expense report that Governor Palin ever filed, if they don't do that for all four of the candidates, they're on very dangerous ground. I think the media so far has been the biggest loser in this race. And they continue to have growing credibility problems. And I think that that's a real problem growing out of this election. The media now, all of the media — not just Fox News, that was perceived as highly partisan — but all of the media is now being viewed as partisan in one way or another. And that is an unfortunate development.

CBSNews.com: So you think the media is being uniquely tough on Palin now?

Mark Penn: Well, I think that the media is doing the kinds of stories on Palin that they're not doing on the other candidates. And that's going to subject them to people concluding that they're giving her a tougher time. Now, the media defense would be, "Yeah, we looked at these other candidates who have been in public life at an earlier time." What happened here very clearly is that the controversy over Palin led to 37 million Americans tuning into a vice-presidential speech, something that is unprecedented, because they wanted to see for themselves. This is an election in which the voters are going to decide for themselves. The media has lost credibility with them.

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Pro-Hillary Group Rips Palin 'Misogynist Smears'

From The Hill ~ A women's group that hosted Hillary Rodham Clinton during an event at the Democratic convention last week is expressing outrage "against misogynist smears" directed at Sarah Palin (by the news media).

WomenCount, a nonprofit organization focused on women’s issues, released a statement on Tuesday titled "Sexism and Sarah Palin."

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Major Clinton Supporter Backs McCain

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — A major Hillary Clinton supporter and donor who traveled with the New York senator during the primary season is attending the Republican convention, and said in an interview Monday he is endorsing John McCain.

"Well I'm here to go from supporting Hillary, who I campaigned with, I campaigned with her husband, her daughter, her whole family, brothers, and the mother, over a period of months, big Hillary supporter, pretty big fundraiser for her, I'm here to support John McCain for president," John Coale told Newsweek's Tammy Haddad.

He said he made his decision "because I think John McCain is basically what Obama says he is and what Obama is not. McCain brings people together, he has an incredible record of integrity."

Coale is married to Fox analyst ad former CNN host Greta Van Susteren.

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Hillary Supporters Turn On Obama

From Assorted Sources ~ We knew it. That's what some of Hillary Clinton's most ardent supporters say privately now, after John McCain stunned the political world with his unorthodox choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, thus stealing the political play story from Barack Obama and empahsizing Obama's failure to pick Clinton as his running mate.

From liberal bloggers to unnamed friends of Hillary, the theme is the same: McCain stole Obama's thunder...Obama blundered when he didn't pick Hillary...Joe Biden isn't smart enough to face Palin and deal with her without putting his foot in his mouth....

"We knew it," posted one blogger on a national tv network site about a story showing Palin's selection had spurred McCain fundraising. "Obama gave them the opening, and they took it."

Democrat slime-tossers, meanwhile, are going after Palin and her family in attacks that, thus far, seem only to be further energizing Republicans and fueling even more enthusiasm for the small-town-mayor-turned-governor-turned-vice-presidential-nominee.

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Henry, Others Praise Clinton Speech

By Jim Myers/Washington Bureau, Tulsa World, In Denver ~ Oklahoma Democrats praised Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, predicting that it not only will unite the party but will make the case for a Barack Obama victory in November.

Clinton summoned the millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Obama to the White House, declaring her one-time rival is "my candidate and he must be our president." "We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare," said the former first lady.

"I thought Hillary's speech was very powerful," Gov. Brad Henry said. "I felt like she did exactly what she had to do to unite the party. I think she hit the nail on the head."

Read the entire article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/.

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Rice's New Campaign Manager Tied To Ultra-Liberal Gun-Grabber George Soros

Andrew Rice's new campaign manager has been an employee of ultra-liberal gun-grabber George Soros and has worked for the Democratic Party's most liberal candidates, a Republican group's spokesman said today.

“Bringing in the hired guns to run a nastier campaign tells me he’s in a tough spot and will stop at nothing to win," said Matt Pinnell, director of Oklahoma Victory 2008. "The addition of two former Clinton for President staffers is just the first of what we expect to be many extreme makeovers in Andrew Rice’s campaign. His message was rejected by members of his own party, so no doubt the next makeover will be a refining of his personal image: new issues and new values.”

Pinnell said the addition of Geri Prado and Phil Singer by Rice to his top campaign spots won't help Rice following his "lackluster" primary showing, in which he got 59 percent against an opponent who didn't campaign and spent no money.

Singer, Rice's new communications guru, Pinnell said, "is a veteran of personal attack politics, serving on Senator John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and as spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee before joining Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential campaign. During his time with the Clinton campaign, Singer made headlines for tying Senator Barack Obama to members of terrorist organization Weather Underground, which some observers called an attempt at 'swiftboating' Senator Obama.

Prado, Pinnell said, served as John Kerry’s New Mexico state director in 2004 and has a background in union organizing, having worked as the political director for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 105 in Colorado.

Said Pinnell: "Prado also worked in New Mexico for billionaire George Soros’ America Coming Together (ACT), which was recently fined $775,000 by the FEC for illegally financing its field activities, the third-largest fine by the FEC ever."

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Former Clinton Staffers Join Rice Campaign

Two former members of Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign staff have joined Andrew Rice's campaign for the U. S. Senate, Rice has announced.

Clinton's former deputy political director and a communications assistant are being brought in following Rice's lackluster showing in Tuesday's Democratic primary.

Rice said Geri Prado, former deputy national political and field director for the Clinton presidential campaign, and former New Mexico campaign director for John Kerry, has joined his staff as campaign manager.

"I'm excited to be a part of this organization," Prado said. "Andrew's story, his passion and his hard work in the State Senate are going to make him a great U.S. Senator who focuses on what is best for Oklahoma families."

Prado was Deputy Political Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in the 2006 cycle when Democrats won control of the Senate. Originally from Colorado, she has worked in states like Missouri, New Mexico and Colorado at all levels of campaigns.

Rice also brought on top communications operative Phil Singer as a communications consultant.

Singer was recently the Deputy Communications Director for Hillary Clinton for President and previously worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Sen. Charles Schumer as communications director.

Both join Oklahoma native Steve Patterson who is the campaign’s general consultant.

Patterson, originally from Alva, was a journalist in Oklahoma before working the last 28 years as a Chief of Staff and campaign manager for several Members of Congress from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas.

"I feel very fortunate to have these talented, experienced and dedicated campaign specialists on my team as we launch our stretch drive to victory on Nov. 4,” Rice said.

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Clinton Sets Exit, Puts Pressure On Obama

On the heels of a tete-a-tete with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton has set the time and place for her formal exit from the Democratic primary race.

The New York senator plans to drop out of the race at noon Saturday, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.. The announcement came Friday after some initial confusion over when and where Clinton would concede.

With the details in place, party leaders hope the rally — where Clinton plans to endorse Obama — will serve as an effective call for party unity.

The two Democrats apparently began mending fences when they met in private Thursday night.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a major Clinton supporter who hosted the meeting at her Washington, D.C., home, said the two emerged from the hour-long session “laughing.”

Most of what Obama and Clinton talked about stayed secret in the hours after their meeting, and only a short, cryptic campaign message gave any hint of what happened behind closed doors.

“Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November,” their campaigns said in a joint statement released late in the evening.

But Clinton supporters swiftly kicked up speculation that she’s being considered as Obama’s running mate, just hours after the campaign declared she’s not seeking the No. 2 spot.

Feinstein was promoting the “dream ticket” concept this morning.

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McCain Oklahoma Fundraising Surges

By Randy Krehbiel/Tulsa World ~ Oklahoma Republicans got out their checkbooks in April. Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain collected more than $450,000 from Oklahomans last month, more than doubling his total for the entire campaign cycle, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

McCain's April haul and revisions to earlier reports pushed his Oklahoma total to $925,037, compared with $383,916 just a month earlier when he trailed Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as fellow Republican Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race in February.

Uncharacteristically, contributions to Democratic candidates led those to Republicans throughout the past year. But McCain now leads both Clinton and Obama, and the GOP has pulled to within about $35,000 of the Democrats.

Read the entire story at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectID=12&articleID=20080523_16_A8_spancl904906.

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Jones Renews Challenge To Democrats

With the recent declaration by Senator Mike Morgan, a Democratic National Convention superdelegate, that he's supporting Barack Obama as his party's presidential nominee, Republican State Chairman Gary Jones renewed his challenge to other Democratic Party senators to declare if they support Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Said Jones: “Morgan has come clean, along with the governor, in showing their true liberal, big spending, big-government stripes. Now it’s time to hear where Nancy Riley, Charlie Laster, Richard Lerblance, Earl Garrison and the Lawton boys – Keith Erwin and Rick Wolfe – stand on the presidential race.

“I see where Senator Morgan believes Obama ‘will be a plus for legislative candidates across the country as the Democratic nominee,’ according to the Associated Press.

“Does that mean Senator Morgan will have Barack Obama come to Oklahoma to campaign on behalf of Nancy Riley, Richard Lerblance, Keith Erwin, Rick Wolfe and the rest of the Senate Democrat team?” Jones asked.

Jones then repeated his challenge to Democrat candidates to make public their presidential preference.

“If these Democrats want the voters in their districts to return or to send them to the Oklahoma Capitol, the voters deserve to know where they stand on the big issues like the presidency of our great nation” he said.

“Do they agree with Barack Obama on issues such as the right to bear arms?

“Do they stand with him on threatening the lives of unborn children?

“Do they share his many positions which undermine the American family?

“Would they raise taxes as much as Obama would?

“Do they aspire to be named the Most Liberal Senator in Oklahoma – as Obama is in the United States Senate?

“Do they think we should cut and run in the Middle East, and leave the sacrifices our brave young men and women have offered for naught?

“Would they accept the endorsement of Michael Moore, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, the ACLU and the Sierra Club?

“It’s time for Democrat candidates to shoot straight with their employers – the Oklahoma voters,” Jones concluded.

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Clinton Plays The Race Card

From USA Today ~ Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to continue her quest for the Democratic nomination, arguing she would be the stronger nominee because she appeals to a wider coalition of voters — including whites who have not supported Barack Obama in recent contests.

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA Today.

As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

The New York Times took note of Clinton's remarks: "As if the divisions between race and gender in the Democratic Party hadn’t been further exposed through Tuesday night’s exit polls — and by a very heated exchange on CNN between Donna Brazile and Paul Begala, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s interview with USA Today on Wednesday is further mining those tense depths."

Meanwhile, more tell Clinton it's over: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzCxvbe5Hg.

The Hill in Washington reported, "The tide turned against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as even some of her supporters said she should consider ending her White House bid. Some uncommitted Democratic superdelegates refused to meet with the beleaguered candidate when her campaign approached them in the hope of wooing them. Reps. Brad Miller (N.C.) and Lincoln Davis (Tenn.) said they were invited to meet Clinton but declined to attend."

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Clinton Cancels Wednesday Schedule

Hillary Clinton late Tuesday night cancelled her public schedule for Wednesday, including planned appearances on television network early morning shows.

The action seems to indicate Clinton will huddle with her advisers following her poor showing in Tuesday's Indiana and North Carolina primaries, where Barack Obama expanded his popular vote and delegate count leads over Clinton.

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Clinton Campaign Shoots Self In Foot

Hillary Clinton's campaign went after Barack Obama on gun control in Indiana and shot itself in the foot.

Politico has it cold: Sen. Hillary Clinton’s mailing attacking Sen. Barack Obama’s record on guns appears to include a striking visual gaffe: The image of the gun pictured on the face of the mailing is reversed, making it a nonexistent left-handed model of the Mauser 66 rifle.

To make matters worse, a prominent gun dealer said, it’s an expensive German gun with customized features that make it clearly European.

“The gun in the photo does not exist,” said Val Forgett III, president of Navy Arms in Martinsburg, W.Va. Forgett's company was Mauser’s agent in the United States when the gun was released, and it sold Mauser guns here again in the 1990s. “The bolt is facing to the left side of the receiver, making it a left-handed bolt action rifle, indicating whoever constructed and approved the mailer did not recognize the image has been reversed.”

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North Carolina Governor Backs Clinton

Raleigh, NC ~ Governor Mike Easley, a Democratic National Convention superdelegate, endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday, boosting her presidential bid a week before North Carolina May 6 primary.

Appearing onstage with Clinton and his wife, Mary, the two-term Democrat declared the New York senator “gets it.”

“It’s time for somebody to be in the White House who understands the challenges we face in this country,” Easley said, adding a gentle dig at rival Barack Obama’s signature slogan of hope.

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Democratic Party Fears Racial Divide

By Jonathan Weisman and Matthew Mosk/The Washington Post ~ The protracted and increasingly acrimonious fight for the Democratic presidential nomination is unnerving core constituencies -- African Americans and wealthy liberals -- who are becoming convinced that the party could suffer irreversible harm if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton maintains her sharp line of attack against Sen. Barack Obama.

'The damage is going to be irreparable'

Clinton's solid win in the Pennsylvania primary exposed a quandary for the party. Her backers may be convinced that only she can win the white, working-class voters that the Democratic nominee will need in the general election, but many African American leaders say a Clinton nomination -- handed to her by superdelegates -- would result in a disastrous breach with black voters.

"If this party is perceived by people as having gone into a back room somewhere and brokered a nominee, that would not be good for our party," House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.), the highest ranking African American in Congress, warned yesterday. "I'm telling you, if this continues on its current course, [the damage] is going to be irreparable."

That fear, plus a more general sense that Clinton's only route to victory would be through tearing down her opponent, has led even some black Democrats who are officially neutral in the race, such as Clyburn, to speak out.

Clinton's camp has a vastly different interpretation, arguing that the most recent primary demonstrated that Democrats remain very interested in seeing the contest continue.

"Pennsylvania did the job of calming any nerves that existed," said Clinton campaign spokesman Jay Carson. "It showed that the big states around the country think she's the best person to be president."

But that opinion is far from unanimous. More than 70 top Clinton donors wrote their first checks to Obama in March, campaign records show. Clinton's lead among superdelegates, a collection of almost 800 party leaders and elected officials, has slipped from 106 in December to 23 now, according to an Associated Press tally.

"If you have any, any kind of loyalty to the Democratic Party, perhaps you need to rethink your strategy and bow out gracefully in order to save this party from a disastrous end in November," Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.), an African American Obama supporter, said in an appeal to Clinton.

Clyburn accused Clinton and her husband yesterday of marginalizing black voters and opening a rift between her campaign and an African American Democratic base that strongly backed Bill Clinton's presidency. Some surrogates in her camp are trying to render Obama unelectable against the Republican nominee so she could run for the Democratic nomination in 2012, he suggested. The discussion flared up yet again when Bill Clinton suggested this week that Obama's campaign had played "the race card" after the former president compared the candidate to Jesse Jackson after the South Carolina primary.

"We keep talking as if it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter that Obama gets 92 percent of the black vote, because since he only got 35 percent of the white vote, he's in trouble," Clyburn said. "Well, Hillary Clinton only got 8 percent of the black vote. . . . It's almost saying black people don't matter. The only thing that matters is how white people respond. And that's what bothered me. I think I matter."

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Dan Boren Tells Clinton He's Not Ready To Commit

From NewsMax ~ Hillary Rodham Clinton, capitalizing on her Pennsylvania primary victory, reached out this week to uncommitted Democratic superdelegates.

"Her pitch was that she had just had a substantial victory in Pennsylvania and her campaign had raised quite a bit of money because of it," said Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma. "There wasn't a hard push or a hard sell. She asked me what are some of the things she needs to be talking about. I just told her the No. 1 issue is the economy."

Boren remains uncommitted but noted "it's really important to me how my district voted" (and in his case, that's) for Clinton.

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Superdelegate Henry Endorses Barack Obama

Governor Henry, a Democratic National Convention superdelegate, today endorsed Barack Obama for president. The endorsement immediately drew national attention on the cable television news shows and numerous Internet sites, including The Drudge Report.

It was a surprising, and unexpected, development in the race between Obama and Hillary Clinton and came on the heels of Clinton's win in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.

It's a surprise given Obama's record as the most liberal member of the U. S. Senate, and the fact he ran a distant second to Clinton in the Oklahoma presidential primary. It's unexpected, given Henry's earlier statement that he would not announce an endorsement until the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.

The announcement clearly was planned to follow immediately the Pennsylvania vote and was posted on Obama's campaign website, the same place the endorsements of OU President David Boren and former George U. S. Senator Sam Nunn were announced last week.

Henry called Obama an inspirational leader who can unite the country. He says the senator will be able to move beyond the divisiveness and partisanship that has characterized Washington politics.

The endorsement gives Obama the official support of 3 of Oklahoma's 10 superdelegates, while Clinton has the backing of 1 superdelegate. The rest are uncommitted.

The Henry endorsement is important for Obama; it continues a string of superdelegate endorsements for him and helps him rebuild whatever momentum he lost in Tuesday's loss to Clinton.

The endorsement comes on the same morning that The New York Times, which has endorsed Clinton, printed an editorial that came close to unendorsing her based on the tone of her "negative campaign."

Concludes the editorial: "It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs."

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