Independents split evenly between Obama and McCain

By Kevin Rivoli (AP)

Jack Marshall says he\'s voting for Barack Obama this year. That\'s ominous news for John McCain.

\"I like Obama, he has fresh ideas on things,\" said Marshall, 59, an independent who hasn\'t backed a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton. \"McCain has George Bush\'s ideas on things, and I don\'t think that\'s such a hot deal right now.\"

Independents like Marshall, an unemployed chemist from Drexel Hill, Pa., are a quarter of voters right now. A recent Associated Press-GfK Poll showed them divided about evenly, 44 percent for Obama and 41 percent for McCain.

Some...

By Chris Miller (AP)

GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is keeping reporters at arms\' length in her campaign, but she had a very different approach as Alaska\'s new governor: She couldn\'t get enough of them.

Palin cultivated interviews with local and national journalists and welcomed them from as far away as London, earning time in the spotlight even before Republican presidential candidate John McCain selected her as his running mate.

That contrasts with the restricted access the McCain team imposed after Palin joined the GOP ticket, and the tone of the campaign\'s current criticism of...

By Paul Sancya (AP)

The debate season that has chewed up its moderators comes to a close Wednesday when John McCain and Barack Obama meet for the third time, with CBS News\' Bob Schieffer directing the discussion.

The veteran \"Face the Nation\" host won\'t telegraph what he will ask. But he said he will be seeking more details about their potential presidencies than have been evident so far.

\"By now we\'ve all heard their talking points,\" he said. \"We\'ve heard the general outlines of what they are talking about. The time has come to be a little more specific.\"

Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill...

By Jimmy May (AP)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Sunday accused the McCain campaign of trying to distract Americans from their economic woes by launching \"unbecoming personal attacks\" at Barack Obama.

Appearing at a boisterous rally near his childhood home, Biden said John McCain\'s campaign is desperate to change the subject from the financial crisis that has wiped out many Americans\' college and retirement savings. He said McCain has resorted to making \"ugly inferences\" about Obama in the waning days of the campaign.

\"Every single false charge, every single...

By Jae C. Hong (AP)

During an hourlong visit to a neighborhood of ranch-style and split-level homes near Toledo, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was repeatedly asked what he could do to help struggling families.

His answers ranged from tax cuts to aid for struggling auto companies to measures to reduce home foreclosures.

Denise Knisley, a 53-year-old grocery store employee, said she had been thinking about voting for the Democrat and definitely will after meeting him. The two talked for several minutes in her driveway, with Obama leaning against the open gate of a silver Jeep...

By Jimmy May (AP)

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden says the McCain campaign is trying to distract Americans from their economic woes by launching \"unbecoming personal attacks\" at Barack Obama.

Biden says John McCain doesn\'t have the right ideas to get the nation\'s economy back on track and has resorted to \"ugly inferences\" about Obama as the Republican presidential nominee tries to salvage his faltering campaign.

Biden made the comments Sunday at a boisterous campaign rally in his childhood home of Scranton. He was joined onstage by former President Clinton and Sen....

By Carolyn Kaster (AP)

Republican John McCain vowed Sunday to \"whip\" Democratic rival Barack Obama\'s \"you-know-what\" when the two presidential candidates meet Wednesday in their final televised debate.

McCain made that pledge as top advisers said he is weighing new economic proposals to help the nation weather the financial crisis. The Arizona senator refused to answer a reporter\'s question Sunday about what plans he might be considering.

Addressing several dozen volunteers at his campaign headquarters outside Washington, McCain promised some of his signature \"straight talk\" about the state...

By Evan Vucci (AP)

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, \"is gaining steam.\"

\"I am hopeful that tomorrow, the...

By Stephen Jaffe (AP)

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, \"is gaining steam.\"

\"I am hopeful that tomorrow, the...

By Gerald Herbert (AP)

Three weeks before the election, Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about John McCain\'s ability to mount a comeback, questioning his tactics and even his campaign\'s main thrust in a White House race increasingly focused on economic turmoil.

\"He has to make the case that he\'s different than Bush and better than Obama on the economy,\" said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one of more than a dozen prominent Republicans who in interviews during the past week expressed concern over the course of McCain\'s bid. \"If he doesn\'t win that case, it\'s all over, and it\'s...

By Evan Vucci (AP)

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, \"is gaining steam.\"

\"I am hopeful that tomorrow, the...

By Stephen Jaffe (AP)

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, \"is gaining steam.\"

\"I am hopeful that tomorrow, the...

By Carolyn Kaster (AP)

A top adviser to Republican John McCain said Sunday the presidential hopeful is weighing new economic proposals to help the nation weather the financial crisis.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said McCain was considering policy proposals that would cut taxes on investments.

\"I think it goes along the lines of now\'s the time to lower tax rates for investors, capital gains tax, dividend tax rates, to make sure that we can get the economy jump-started,\" Graham said on \"Face the Nation\" on CBS. \"It will be a very comprehensive approach to jump-start the economy by allowing...

By Michael Conroy (AP)

When it comes to choosing who represents them in Congress, many voters are experiencing deja vu.

Eleven congressional races _ in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Washington, New York, Florida, Nevada and North Carolina _ are rematches.

Melissa Hart, who once represented a western Pennsylvania district in steel country, is one of at three former Republican House members seeking to win back a seat lost in 2006, when Democrats gained control of the House. On the Democratic side, six challengers who lost to the now-Republican incumbent two years ago are...

By Paul Sancya (AP)

The debate season that has chewed up its moderators comes to a close Wednesday when John McCain and Barack Obama meet for the third time, with CBS News\' Bob Schieffer directing the discussion.

The veteran \"Face the Nation\" host won\'t telegraph what he will ask. But he said he will be seeking more details about their potential presidencies than have been evident so far.

\"By now we\'ve all heard their talking points,\" he said. \"We\'ve heard the general outlines of what they are talking about. The time has come to be a little more specific.\"

Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill...

By Mike Wintroath (AP)

When Bill and Hillary Clinton take the stage Sunday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, it will be the launch of an active campaign for their former nemesis Barack Obama in the home stretch of the 2008 presidential race.

The nation\'s best known and most powerful Democrats for nearly two decades, the former first couple is getting used to a new role: cheerleaders for Obama, who vanquished Hillary Clinton last spring in a Democratic primary contest for the ages.

Whatever recriminations the Clintons may still harbor from that long battle seem to have been nudged aside as they...

By Charles Rex Arbogast (AP)

Scraping for any advantage in the presidential campaign\'s waning days, John McCain and Barack Obama are introducing voters to a new cast of characters.

McCain would like people to know about a former 1960s radical and a corrupt government insider _ both with links to his Democratic opponent.

And Obama is raising the Republican candidate\'s connections to a disgraced savings and loan executive and a supporter of right-wing death squads.

Each candidate is trying to plant the idea that his opponent must be guilty of something if he has connections to such unsavory...

By Jonathan Hayward (AP)

The economic free fall gripping the nation may bring down one of the main environmental objectives: capping the greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming.

Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, and both presidential candidates, continue to rank tackling global warming as a chief goal next year. But the focus on stabilizing the economy probably will make it more difficult to pass a law to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. At the very least, it will push back when the reductions would have to start.

As one Republican senator put it, the green...

By Evan Agostini (AP)

Angelina Jolie isn\'t giving away who she\'s backing in the U.S. presidential election, but she does have good things to say about Barack Obama.

The actress and activist tells the German edition of Vanity Fair that the Democratic contender for president comes down on the same side of several issues that she does.

Asked if she finds Obama and his background an example to her family, she replies, \"Naturally that\'s good, but it\'s not a sufficient reason to vote for him.

\"Obama fights for international justice, he wants to militarily intervene in cases of genocide, and...

By Jonathan Hayward (AP)

Attempts to tackle global warming are being made more difficult by the spreading economic crisis even as Democratic congressional leaders say it\'s still a top goal for next year.

At the very least, fear of a prolonged economic downturn is expected to delay attempts by the United States to cap greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate as well as both presidential candidates say addressing climate change by imposing mandatory restrictions on heat-trapping pollution _ especially carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels _ remains...

By Javier Galeano (AP)

Fidel Castro says a \"profound racism\" in the United States will stop millions from voting for Barack Obama in next month\'s presidential election.

The ailing, 82-year-old former Cuban president says it is \"a miracle that the Democratic candidate hasn\'t suffered the same luck as (assassinated leaders) Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and others who harbored dreams of equality and justice.\"

Castro\'s written comments were published by state media Saturday. In them, he insists a \"profound racism\" exists in the U.S. and that millions of whites \"cannot reconcile themselves to...

By Mike Wintroath (AP)

When Bill and Hillary Clinton take the stage Sunday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, it will be the launch of an active campaign for their former nemesis Barack Obama in the home stretch of the 2008 presidential race.

The nation\'s best known and most powerful Democrats for nearly two decades, the former first couple is getting used to a new role: cheerleaders for Obama, who vanquished Hillary Clinton last spring in a Democratic primary contest for the ages.

Whatever recriminations the Clintons may still harbor from that long battle seem to have been nudged aside as they...

By Mike Wintroath (AP)

When Bill and Hillary Clinton take the stage Sunday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, it will be the launch of an active campaign for their former nemesis Barack Obama in the home stretch of the 2008 presidential race.

The nation\'s best known and most powerful Democrats for nearly two decades, the former first couple is getting used to a new role: cheerleaders for Obama, who vanquished Hillary Clinton last spring in a Democratic primary contest for the ages.

Whatever recriminations the Clintons may still harbor from that long battle seem to have been nudged aside as they...