McCain urges free-market principles to reduce global warming
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 12:33 pm -By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago
PHOENIX - Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles.
In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at a Portland, Ore., wind turbine manufacturer, the presidential contender says expanded nuclear power must be considered to reduce carbon-fuel emissions. He also sets a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions to a level 60 percent below that emitted in 1990.
“For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction — toward machines, methods and industries that used oil and gas,” said McCain. “Enormous good came from that industrial growth, and we are all the beneficiaries of the national prosperity it built. But there were costs we weren’t counting, and often hardly noticed. And these terrible costs have added up now, in the atmosphere, in the oceans and all across the natural world.”
The Arizona senator promised to challenge China and India, two economic rivals that are fueling their challenge to U.S. market supremacy with heavily polluting fuels such as coal, gas and oil.
“For all of its historical disregard of environmental standards, it cannot have escaped the attention of the Chinese regime that China’s skies are dangerously polluted, its beautiful rivers are dying, its grasslands vanishing, its coastlines receding and its own glaciers melting,” said McCain.
He also took a swipe at President Bush, who balked at the beginning of his first term at signing the Kyoto global warming protocols. McCain said he would return to the negotiating table.
“I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the United States bears. I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges. I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and will lead with a different approach — an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation,” he said.
The language highlighted the political stakes for McCain, his party’s presumed nominee. His visit to Oregon came just days after the two leading Democratic contenders, Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, campaigned in the state.
Oregon is among the expected general election battlegrounds, and its Columbia and Hood rivers are playgrounds for many outdoorsmen and environmentalists.
Global warming also stands with abortion rights and an array of social causes as important issues to the evangelicals and Christian conservatives whom McCain hopes will bolster his political base this fall.
Democrats derided McCain’s record on the issue, noting contributions to his campaign from energy lobbyists, his recent proposal to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax as a means of making driving cheaper and some votes against alternate energy sources.
“Senator McCain’s campaign rhetoric on the environment means nothing when he’s willing to give his donors sweetheart deals and appoint right wing judges bent on gutting environmental regulations, which is one more reason he is the wrong choice for America’s future,” said a statement from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.
McCain has long expressed a belief in global warming, arguing that even if he is wrong, acting as if the planet’s temperature were increasing would only benefit the environment if scientists subsequently proved he was mistaken.
McCain traveled to the Pacific Northwest from Arizona, where he and his family spent Mother’s Day.
In his speech, he highlighted his personal experiences viewing evidence of glacial recession. He also cited evidence of a shift in animal migration patterns.
“You would think that if the polar bears, walruses, and sea birds have the good sense to respond to new conditions and new dangers, then humanity can respond as well,” he said.
McCain’s major solution is to implement a cap-and-trade program on carbon-fuel emissions, like a similar program in the Clean Air Act that was used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions that triggered acid rain.
Industries would be given emission targets, and those coming in under their limit could sell their surplus polluting capacity to companies unable to meet their target.
McCain wants the country to return to 2005 emission levels by 2012; 1990 levels by 2020; and to a level sixty percent below that by 2050.
“As never before, the market would reward any person or company that seeks to invent, improve, or acquire alternatives to carbon-based energy,” he said. “More likely, however, there will be some companies that need extra emissions rights, and they will be able to buy them. The system to meet these targets and timetables will give these companies extra time to adapt — and that is good economic policy………
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Barr to announce Libertarian White House bid
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 12:31 pm -By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr has announced that he’s running for president as a Libertarian.
His candidacy would be a wild card in the White House race and many believe it would hurt Republican Sen. John McCain.
Barr made the announcement Monday at a news conference. He first must win the Libertarian nomination at the party’s national convention that begins May 22. Party officials consider him a front-runner thanks to the national profile he developed as a Georgia congressman from 1995 to 2003.
Barr, 59, helped lead Bill Clinton’s impeachment. He quit the Republican Party two years ago, saying he had grown disillusioned with its failure to shrink government and its willingness to scale back civil liberties in fighting terrorism…….
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Today on the presidential campaign trail
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 12:28 pm -By The Associated Press
4 minutes ago
IN THE HEADLINES
Obama heading to Michigan, Florida … McCain acknowledges global warming and urges nuclear power to combat it… Clinton outwardly confident, even as hopes dim on candidacy … Bob Barr announces Libertarian White House bid.
___
Obama looks ahead to general election
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Barack Obama’s surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he focuses on a general election strategy with his primary race winding down.
It will be Obama’s first time in either state since signing a pledge nine months ago not to campaign in the two states that violated national party rules with early primaries. Obama will have to build relationships in the two critical general election battlegrounds if he wins the Democratic nomination.
The Obama campaign announced a five-state tour over the next two weeks that includes stops in remaining primary states South Dakota and Oregon but is dominated by swing states where he hopes to run strong against Republican John McCain once the marathon Democratic race ends.
Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, even though he’s expected to lose badly on Tuesday to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in West Virginia. He’ll try to move on from the loss by campaigning in Missouri, a state that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.
On Wednesday, he plans to make two stops in Michigan — the swing Macomb County and the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids. He plans to spend three days starting May 21 in Florida, with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Miami. The area is a popular stop for political fundraising, but the Obama campaign says the candidate will mostly be appealing for votes.
____
Barr to announce Libertarian White House bid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr has announced that he’s running for president as a Libertarian.
His candidacy would be a wild card in the White House race.
Barr made the announcement Monday at a news conference. He first must win the Libertarian nomination at the party’s national convention that begins May 22. Party officials consider him a front-runner thanks to the national profile he developed as a Georgia congressman from 1995 to 2003.
Barr, 59, helped lead Bill Clinton’s impeachment. He quit the Republican Party two years ago, saying he had grown disillusioned with its failure to shrink government and its willingness to scale back civil liberties in fighting terrorism.
___
McCain urges free-market principles to reduce global warming
PHOENIX (AP) — Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles.
In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at a Portland, Ore., wind turbine manufacturer, the presidential contender says expanded nuclear power must be considered to reduce carbon-fuel emissions. He also sets a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions to a level 60 percent below that emitted in 1990.
“For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction — toward machines, methods and industries that used oil and gas,” said McCain. “Enormous good came from that industrial growth, and we are all the beneficiaries of the national prosperity it built. But there were costs we weren’t counting, and often hardly noticed. And these terrible costs have added up now, in the atmosphere, in the oceans and all across the natural world.”
The Arizona senator promised to challenge China and India, two economic rivals that are fueling their challenge to U.S. market supremacy with heavily polluting fuels such as coal, gas and oil.
“For all of its historical disregard of environmental standards, it cannot have escaped the attention of the Chinese regime that China’s skies are dangerously polluted, its beautiful rivers are dying, its grasslands vanishing, its coastlines receding and its own glaciers melting,” said McCain.
He also took a swipe at President Bush, who balked at the beginning of his first term at signing the Kyoto global warming protocols. McCain said he would return to the negotiating table.
“I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the United States bears. I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges. I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and will lead with a different approach — an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation,” he said.
___
Clinton outwardly confident, even as hopes dim
ELEANOR, W.Va. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton was just warming up the crowd in a cramped and muggy middle school gymnasium when she switched her pronouns.
“All the kitchen table issues that everybody talks to me about are ones that the next president can actually do something about,” Clinton said Sunday night, “if he actually cares about it.”
The word hung in the air only for a moment.
“More likely, if she cares about it,” she added.
Was it a dramatic turn of phrase or a slip of the tongue? A way to spotlight gender on Mother’s Day or a sign that the public doubts about her campaign have taken root?
West Virginia is expected to deliver Clinton a big win Tuesday, but her campaign is not as confident as it once was. In the week since Democratic rival Barack Obama trounced her in North Carolina, Clinton has been closely watched for signs that her campaign’s dwindling hopes have gotten to her.
For instance, she has eased off her pointed jabs at Obama. She has pledged anew that she would support the Democratic nominee “no matter what happens.”
On Sunday, daughter Chelsea introduced her in West Virginia. In the past, she has brought her mother to the stage as “the next president of the United States.” Sunday she added the word “hopefully.”
Clinton rejects any suggestion that she’s dropping out of the race. She used campaign stops Sunday to remind voters of women who didn’t give up in difficult situations, who fought for equal rights, broke into male-dominated professions and succeeded when others told them to quit.
She quoted Eleanor Roosevelt, telling supporters: “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know strong she is until she is in hot water.”
___
THE DEMOCRATS
Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigns in West Virginia. Barack Obama has events in West Virginia and Kentucky.
___
THE REPUBLICANS
John McCain speaks about global warming in Portland, Ore.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“I keep telling people, no Democrat has won the White House since 1916 without winning West Virginia.” — Hillary Rodham Clinton at a morning campaign stop at Tudor’s Biscuit World in Charleston, W.Va.
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STAT OF THE DAY:
Democrat Bill Clinton won West Virginia twice in the general election — in 1992 with about 48 percent and in 1996 with more than 51 percent. Republican George W. Bush also took the state twice — in 2000 with almost 52 percent and in 2004 with 56 percent.
___
Compiled by Natasha T. Metzler…..
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Play of the Day: A breakfast surprise — Clinton
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 12:25 pm -11 minutes ago
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Doris Smith went downtown early Monday to see about getting tickets to Barack Obama’s rally. Advance seats were sold out, she said, and the only option was to stand in line for up two hours or more and hope for the best.
Disappointed, she decided instead to go for breakfast — and walked right into Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign stop.
“Oh, I didn’t want to do this,” Smith said, embarrassed, wearing an Obama T-shirt as Clinton walked into the restaurant. “I didn’t know she was going to be here.”
At Tudor’s Biscuit World, you can get just about anything on a biscuit. The Thundering Herd is a biscuit sandwich with sausage, egg and potatoes. The Peppi comes with pepperoni and cheese. Try the fried apple on a biscuit, the regulars said.
Clinton, however, passed up the biscuit counter. She signed autographs and posed for pictures with the mostly older clientele who gathered for a late Monday morning breakfast.
Smith, who lives in nearby Institute, said she liked Clinton but prefers Obama.
“We’ve got to get the Republicans out of there,” she said.
As Clinton left the building, Smith stepped up to shake her hand. She told the candidate that getting a Democrat in office was her priority.
“It’s been too long since we have,” Clinton agreed, touching Smith’s shoulder gently, and smiling.
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Obama heading to Michigan and Florida
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 12:24 pm -By CHARLES BABINGTON and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writers
22 minutes ago
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Barack Obama’s surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he focuses on a general election strategy with his primary race winding down.
It will be Obama’s first time in either state since signing a pledge nine months ago not to campaign in the two states that violated national party rules with early primaries. Obama will have to build relationships in the two critical general election battlegrounds if he wins the Democratic nomination.
The Obama campaign announced a five-state tour over the next two weeks that includes stops in remaining primary states South Dakota and Oregon but is dominated by swing states where he hopes to run strong against Republican John McCain once the marathon Democratic race ends.
Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, even though he’s expected to lose badly on Tuesday to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in West Virginia. He’ll try to move on from the loss by campaigning in Missouri, a state that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.
On Wednesday, he plans to make two stops in Michigan — the swing Macomb County and the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids. He plans to spend three days starting May 21 in Florida, with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Miami. The area is a popular stop for political fundraising, but the Obama campaign says the candidate will mostly be appealing for votes.
“Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “John McCain has gone unchallenged for far too long, and we’re going to make sure that voters in competitive states know the choice in this election between changing Washington and the third term of George Bush’s failed policies that McCain is offering.”
All the Democratic presidential candidates agreed on boycotting Michigan and Florida. Clinton won both states, but no delegates were awarded. Restoring the delegates is a major part of Clinton’s longshot strategy for the nomination.
As she campaigned in West Virginia on Mother’s Day, Clinton rejected any suggestion that she’s dropping out of the race. She used campaign stops to remind voters of women who didn’t give up in difficult situations, who fought for equal rights, broke into male-dominated professions and succeeded when others told them to quit.
She quoted Eleanor Roosevelt, telling supporters: “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know strong she is until she is in hot water.”
Earlier in the day, she read letters from supporters urging her not to give up, despite campaign math that’s nearly impossible to work out in her favor.
Looking only at West Virginia, this should be a confident time for the New York senator. She remains strong among working-class white voters, women and older Americans. Those demographics are expected to carry her to a triumph Tuesday and another in Kentucky next week.
But Obama has a commanding lead in pledged delegates and has erased her lead among superdelegates, the party leaders who can side with any candidate.
Clinton’s last best hope is to use strong showings in West Virginia and Kentucky to make the case that Obama is weak among key Democratic constituents.
“Why can’t Senator Obama beat Senator Clinton in West Virginia? Voters there have heard that he’s the presumptive nominee,” Clinton campaign strategist Howard Wolfson said on “Fox News Sunday.” “They’ve seen the great press he’s gotten in the past couple of days. Let’s let them decide. They have an opportunity. They want to end this on Tuesday, they’re perfectly capable of it.”
David Gergen, former White House adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, said in an AP Broadcast interview in San Francisco, “She says ‘full steam ahead,’ (but) her problem is that she’s running out of track.”
“She was the inevitable nominee and I think they misjudged what they were up against,” Gergen added. “Along comes this phenomenon named Barack Obama and upsets everybody’s calculations. The real problem in the (Clinton) campaign was that they weren’t adaptable, they were not able to change game plan right in the middle once it looked like they had a real fight on their hands.”
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