Latest Election News

Is Obama snubbing American Muslims?

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Weekly Poll

Barack Obama said he would not participate in the public financing system for presidential campaigns. Kenneth Vogel said in Politico that Obama will benefit from the decision because refusing the money, and spending limits that come with it, will give him a huge spending advantage over GOP rival John McCain. The move is a mixed bag for Obama, said John Harwood in CNBC's Political Capital blog, because he�ll take heat from McCain for breaking a promise to participate in the system. This hurts Obama, said Jim Geraghty in National Review Online, because it shows he makes promises he doesn�t plan to keep.

More Election News

Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Election Re-cap.

Jul 1, 2008 Measuring Barack Obama’s patriotism Is telling Americans to do better unpatriotic?

Jun 26, 2008 Scarlett Johansson’s one-way relationship with Barack Obama Barack Obama was cold to slam the door on Scarlett Johansson by publicly denying her claim that they had traded e-mails, said Actress Archives. Obama can afford to shrug off Johansson’s crush, said Hollyscoop. He already has plenty of celebrity votes, and ...

Jun 25, 2008 The first day in the rest of Hillary Clinton’s political life Hillary Clinton's return to the Senate after her run for the Democratic presidential nomination made her appear "larger than life," said Dana Milbank in The Washington Post. Yes, said Amie Parnes and Martin Kady in Politico, but the first day back is followed by the second . . .

Jun 25, 2008 Would a terrorist attack help McCain? Charlie Black, a strategist for John McCain, really blew it when he said that a terrorist attack would help McCain's presidential campaign, said Brian Montopoli in a CBS News blog, but he wasn't necessarily wrong. The idea that an attack would help McCain is “questionable at best,” said Jazz Shaw in The Moderate Voice blog . . .

Jun 19, 2008 Why Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain matter Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain both used appearances on ABC’s The View to smooth over a “campaign kerfuffle,” said Alessandra Stanley in the International Herald Tribune. Can’t we “stop treating the candidates’ spouses as embarrassing stereotypes”? said Michelle Cottle in a New Republic blog. Just because Cindy McCain and Bill Clinton . . .

Jun 19, 2008 What Barack Obama gains by refusing public campaign financing There is a good reason why Barack Obama changed his mind and turned down public campaign financing, said Kenneth Vogel in Politico. Now he can make better use of his record-breaking fundraising ability. But now he'll take heat from John McCain for "breaking his commitment," said John Harwood in a CNBC blog ...

Jun 19, 2008 The next president’s Iraq war If Iraqi politics grow murkier, said Barry Rosen in The Boston Globe, the next president might have to "substitute his own judgment for the ambiguous facts on the ground." So far, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has come up with a “realistic” plan, said David Ignatius in The Washington Post . . .

Jun 18, 2008 John McCain's bet on offshore oil Public anger over $4 gas cured John McCain of his aversion to offshore oil drilling, said The Wall Street Journal, and his support for lifting the ban could be useful against Barack Obama. It's a risky wager, said Charles Mahtesian and David Mark in Politico . . .

Jun 17, 2008 Will Al Gore’s endorsement help Barack Obama? Former vice president Al Gore withheld his support too long for it to mean much to Barack Obama, said Joe Gandelman in the blog The Moderate Voice. It can still help Obama unite the party after a divisive primary, said Don Frederick in a Los Angeles Times blog . . .

Jun 16, 2008 Ross Perot’s timely return Ross Perot has launched a Web site to call attention to the mounting deficit, as he did during the 1992 presidential campaign, said David Broder in The Washington Post, and he’s doing the nation a service. Let’s hope his charts do the trick again, said the Los Angeles Times ...

Jun 13, 2008 Michelle Obama, Fox News, and baby mamas Fox News was either racist or merely clueless when it labeled Michelle Obama as Barack Obama's "baby mama," said Joan Walsh in Salon. This is another case of "manufactured outrage" on the campaign trail, said James Joyner in the blog Outside the Beltway . . .

Jun 12, 2008 Vetting Obama’s VP vetters James Johnson stepped down as the head of Barack Obama’s vice presidential search team over alleged sweetheart mortgage deals, said The Wall Street Journal, adding to Obama’s “consistent pattern of bad judgment” in choosing friends. Unless your vetter is Dick Cheney, said John Cole in Balloon Juice, “the only thing that matters is who the VP choice will be” . . .

Jun 11, 2008 Election 2008: Bush vs. Carter? John McCain said that while rival Barack Obama is working to paint him as a continuation of Bush’s presidency, Obama would pick up where Jimmy Carter left off, said Jonathan Martin in Politico, and he has some “good reasons” to play the Carter card. Still, said Alex Koppelman in Salon, there are lots of voters too young to “get the joke as fully” . . .

Jun 9, 2008 Will Clinton help Obama beat McCain? Hillary Clinton said all the right things in her concession speech, said Andrew Malcolm in a Los Angeles Times blog, but she looked like she had "clenched teeth." Barack Obama will need her "upbeat support" to defeat John McCain, said John Farmer in the Houston Chronicle . . .

Jun 6, 2008 What Obama should do about the Clintons The first item on Barack Obama’s agenda as the new presumptive nominee, said the Ventura County Star in an editorial, is what to do about Hillary Clinton. The Obama campaign will embrace her enthusiastically, said Thomas Defrank in the New York Daily News, but her husband . . .

Jun 5, 2008 Debating McCain-Obama debates John McCain has challenged Barack Obama to a long series of town hall meetings, said Gail Collins in The New York Times, but, after the endless primary, "let's take a little breather." McCain loves town hall meetings, said Ben Armbruster in Think Progress, but he doesn't exactly "shine" in the format . . .

Jun 5, 2008 Should Obama make Clinton his running mate? After such a divisive Democratic primary, said Carl P. Leubsdorf in The Dallas Morning News, it would make sense for Barack Obama to “pick someone who backed Hillary Clinton,” and even more sense for him to pick Clinton herself. It’s still a bad idea, said David Yepsen in the Des Moines Register. “Her posturing is unseemly,” and . . .

Jun 5, 2008 Where Hillary Clinton went wrong Hillary Clinton did so many things wrong to blow her status as the best-known and best-financed Democratic presidential candidate, said USA Today, including running as an insider when voters wanted change. The litany of woulda, coulda, shoulda could go on forever, said The Washington Post, but . . .

Jun 4, 2008 What does Clinton want? Hillary Clinton said she isn’t dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination yet, even after rival Barack Obama clinched the nomination, said Dana Milbank in The Washington Post, and in fact she “spoke as if she were the victor.” Well, “Clintonologists know that Hillary is up to something,” said Maureen Dowd in The New York Times, and their theories include . . .

Jun 3, 2008 Will Clinton and Obama unite? Maybe after the last primary votes are cast Hillary Clinton will put party unity ahead of "her own burning desire to become president," said The Denver Post. "The question now is what role Clinton will play after Obama has formally secured the nomination," said Lou Cannon in The Washington Post . . .