AP News, June 21st, 2007
They are not wealthy. Their home states are politically symbolic. Their occupations or their circumstances suggest salt of the earth.
Four contributors to Barack Obama's presidential campaign, chosen from among thousands of donors, will sit down for dinner with the Illinois senator next month at a Washington D.C., restaurant.
The two men and two women were announced as winners of a small donor solicitation campaign that was as much about raising money as it was about building a vast network of supporters from across the country who supplied biographical data and gave reasons for their support.
There's Michael Griffith, a miner from Nevada; Margaret Thomas-Jordan, a Louisiana mother of two whose husband is serving a 15-month tour in Iraq; Haile Rivera, a community activist and mentor from the Bronx in New York; and Jennifer Lasko, a Florida firefighter and paramedic who was a registered Republican until 2000.
Obama aides won't say how much money the solicitation raised and would only say that "thousands" responded to it. The campaign will pay the transportation and dinner costs for the four supporters.
The selection was not a drawing or a lottery, which could have created problems with some states' gaming laws. Instead, the campaign culled through the entries looking for diverse backgrounds and personal stories. Finalists were interviewed over the weekend and winners were notified on Sunday.
"The goal was to pull together a group of people who might otherwise not sit down and have dinner together," said campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Lasko, an Army officer until shortly before the first Persian Gulf War, said she has opposed the war in Iraq from the start.
"He has the best chance of overcoming the negativity of the political atmosphere in our country right now," she said of Obama.
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NEW YORK (AP) _ Former President Clinton on Thursday congratulated New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg _ for dropping his affiliation with the Republican Party.
"He's a very smart fellow and I suppose he just couldn't bear to be in the Republican Party anymore, which I thought showed good judgment on his part," Clinton told reporters at his foundation's news conference. "I don't have anything to say about him running for president, I've already got a candidate in that race."
On Tuesday, Bloomberg switched from the GOP to unaffiliated, a decision that fueled speculation the billionaire planned to run for president as an independent. Bloomberg insists he will serve out his term as mayor to 2009.
Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat before switching parties to run in 2001.
Pressed on whether a Bloomberg run would help or hurt his wife, Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former president said: "Since I think she'll be the best president, she will win against whoever runs. Once you've got a candidate there's no point speculating about anybody else unless you say something negative and our campaign is trying not to do that."
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WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrat Barack Obama on Thursday revealed the 113 budget items he has requested in the Senate _ known as "pet projects" or "pork" in the language of budget reform _ and challenged his fellow presidential candidates to do the same.
Obama's more than $300 million in earmark requests range from $33 million made along with other senators for a nationwide project to promote civics among students to $125,000 to add turn lanes and traffic lights at an intersection in rural Oregon, Ill.
"As a matter of transparency and good government, Obama thinks it's important that voters know who their candidates are, what their sources of income are and whether they have any potential conflicts," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "We would hope that other candidates follow suit in disclosing their earmarks as well."
Obama is the first Democratic presidential candidate to release his earmark requests. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is the only candidate besides Obama to release tax returns.
Republican John McCain's campaign responded to Obama's challenge by noting the Arizona senator doesn't have any earmark requests. "While we commend Senator Obama's forthrightness, it would be much better if he followed Senator McCain's lead and didn't request the earmarks in the first place," said McCain spokesman Brian Jones.
The campaigns of the four other senators running for president _ Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden and Republican Sam Brownback _ did not respond to a question about whether they would release their earmark requests.
Virtually all lawmakers say they have a right to use Congress' power of the purse to direct public money to their district and state. But the issue is that in recent years earmarking practices have risen sharply. In 2005, according to the White House budget office, there were 13,492 earmarks in appropriations bills totaling almost $19 billion.
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DETROIT (AP) _ Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Thursday that while he wants to increase auto fuel efficiency, he doesn't want to drive the struggling Detroit Three automakers out of business.
McCain said forcing higher fuel economy on the auto industry _ among them the Detroit Three of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group _ would not be his first choice.
"I would prefer to see it done voluntarily, myself," McCain said.
Back in Washington, senators reached agreement on a proposal to increase automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon, the first significant boost demanded of automakers in nearly 20 years.
Automakers are currently required to meet an average of 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for SUVs and small trucks. The car standard has not changed since 1989, though the truck requirements have been increased slightly by the Bush administration.
"We don't want to do anything that would kill any of the Big Three," said the Arizona senator.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ Singer Paul Simon hopes to keep Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd's presidential hopes from slip-sliding away.
Simon, half of the popular 1960s duo Simon and Garfunkel, will join Dodd for two days of a bus tour that the Connecticut senator is making across Iowa July 3-7. Simon will take part in stops in northern and western Iowa.
"Simon and Dodd have been close friends for many years and Simon has been a longtime Dodd supporter," said Taylor West, a spokeswoman for Dodd's Iowa campaign.
Simon grew up in New York City but now lives in Connecticut.
He'll join the senator as Dodd is registering in the low single digits in Iowa polls.
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Associated Press Writers Beth Fouhy in New York, David N. Goodman in Detroit and Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.
On the Net:
Complete list of Obama's earmark requests: http://obama.senate.gov/press/070621-obama_announces_3/
