Today on the presidential campaign trail
By The Associated Press

Monday, May 19, 2008 – 1 hour ago

IN THE HEADLINES

Longtime Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia endorses Obama ... McCain attacks Obama for saying Iran poses lesser threat than Soviets ... Not so fast, Clinton says to Obama — there's no nominee yet ... Poll: Clinton has wide lead in Kentucky; Obama ahead slightly in closer Oregon race ... Obama, angered by Tenn. GOP's handling of his wife's remarks, says 'Lay off my wife'

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Sen. Robert C. Byrd endorses Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and a one-time opponent of civil rights legislation, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday.

Obama is vying to be the nation's first black president.

Byrd's support comes almost a week after the Illinois senator's 41-point loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the longtime lawmaker's home state of West Virginia.

Byrd said he had no intention of getting involved while his state was in the midst of a primary. "But the stakes this November could not be higher," he said in a written statement.

Byrd said Obama has the qualities to end the Iraq war, which he has strongly opposed.

"I believe that Barack Obama is a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq, and to lead our nation at this challenging time in history," Byrd said.

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McCain attacks Obama over Iran comments

CHICAGO (AP) — Republican John McCain accused Democrat Barack Obama of inexperience and reckless judgment for saying Iran does not pose the same serious threat to the United States as the Soviet Union did in its day.

McCain made the attack Monday in Chicago, Obama's home turf.

"Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment. These are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess," McCain said in an appearance at the restaurant industry's annual meeting.

He was referring to comments Obama made Sunday in Pendleton, Ore.: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.'"

A video clip of Obama making the comments was distributed Monday by McCain's campaign.

McCain listed the dangers he sees from Iran: It provides deadly explosive devices used to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq, sponsors terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East and is committed to the destruction of Israel.

"The threat the government of Iran poses is anything but tiny," McCain said.

Responding to McCain, Obama told a town hall rally later Monday in Billings, Mont., "Let me be absolutely clear: Iran is a grave threat." But the Soviet Union posed an added threat, he said. "The Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons, and Iran doesn't have one."

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Clinton to Obama: There's no nominee yet

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday said her opponent Barack Obama may be getting a little ahead of himself in acting like the party's nominee before the final contests of the primary season are over.

Clinton and Obama are still set to face off in several more primaries, including two in Kentucky and Oregon on Tuesday, but Obama has been increasingly portraying himself as the nominee already facing Republican John McCain. Obama has scheduled appearances later this week in Iowa and Florida as he looks ahead to the swing states in the general election.

"You can declare yourself anything, but if you don't have the votes, it doesn't matter," Clinton said Monday in a satellite interview with an Oregon television station before a campaign appearance in Kentucky.

The former first lady trails Obama in the delegate count by such a margin that it is mathematically unlikely for her to overtake him in the remaining primaries, which end June 3 with Montana and South Dakota.

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Poll: Clinton leads in Ky.; Obama ahead in Ore.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton has a wide lead in Kentucky while rival Barack Obama is slightly ahead of her in Oregon, two polls show Monday on the eve of the states' primaries.

Clinton has more than a 25 point lead in Kentucky, 51 percent to 25 percent. The race is tighter in Oregon where Obama has 45 percent to Clinton's 41 percent.

In Kentucky, 43 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Obama and 43 percent had an unfavorable view, compared with 73 percent favorable and 15 percent unfavorable in Oregon. Forty-six percent of respondents in Kentucky said Clinton was more electable against McCain, compared with 39 percent for Obama.

Suffolk University conducted both surveys by telephone Saturday and Sunday. Each involved interviews with 600 likely Democratic voters and have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Obama tells Tenn.'s GOP: 'Lay off my wife'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama has a message for Tennessee's Republican Party: "Lay off my wife."

Obama, his party's presidential front-runner, and his wife, Michelle, were asked in an interview aired Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" about an online video last week by the state's GOP taking her to task for a comment some considered unpatriotic.

"The GOP, should I be the nominee, can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," Obama said. "If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful because that I find unacceptable, the notion that you start attacking my wife or my family."

He called the strategy "low class."

The video, posted on YouTube, centered on remarks Michelle Obama made while campaigning in Wisconsin last February, when she said: "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country."

The four-minute video replayed the remark six times, interspersing it with commentary by Tennesseans on why they are proud of America. In a news release that included a link to the video, Tennessee's GOP said "the Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America." It urged radio stations to play "patriotic music" during Michelle Obama's visit to Nashville last Thursday.

Michelle Obama later clarified the remark, saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process and that she had always been proud of her country.

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DAILY TRACK

Barack Obama holds a 16-point lead nationally over Hillary Rodham Clinton, 55 percent to 39 percent, in the Democratic presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

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THE DELEGATE BREAKDOWN

Barack Obama: 1,912

Hillary Rodham Clinton: 1,721

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THE DEMOCRATS

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds rallies in Maysville, Prestonsburg, Lexington and Louisville, Ky. Barack Obama talks to voters in Billings, Crow Agency and Bozeman, Mont.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain spoke to the National Restaurant Association in Chicago before stopping in Savannah, Ga.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"She's done really good. She's put up with me much more than I expected." — Democrat Barack Obama, speaking about his wife on ABC's "Good Morning America."

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Records from the Kentucky Board of Elections show that 53 percent of the state's registered voters are women.

Compiled by Ann Sanner.

Reference Source

quote:

He was referring to comments Obama made Sunday in Pendleton, Ore.: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.'"

I agree with Obama's statement.

quote:

Originally posted by Demerara_Guy:

quote:

He was referring to comments Obama made Sunday in Pendleton, Ore.: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.'"

I agree with Obama's statement.

Depending on how you look at it. Russia and China are definitely more formidable adversaries than any of those countries however, these smaller countries, with money and resource are setting examples to other that you can defy the "master" and still exists. The West has long thrived on the presumption that any nation who defies them, if not overthrown or invaded will, ecomonically and developmentally, be boxed in and pressured into submission. The danger of these smaller countries is them being able to establish a network of like-minded leaders who could eventually create an integrated model among themselves for both development and defense needs, thus shunting the agencies established and controlled by the big powers to throttle and influence their developments.

I see it as Obama wanting to loosen the reins while McCain wanting to keep or tighten the strangle.

Obama is both right and wrong. I think he is overlooking the religious aspect of the Iranian threat. As we all know these fanatics are willing to destroy the world for jihad in the name of Allah as it will bring them virgins in the afterlife.

quote:

Originally posted by BGurd_See:
Obama is both right and wrong. I think he is overlooking the religious aspect of the Iranian threat. As we all know these fanatics are willing to destroy the world for jihad in the name of Allah as it will bring them virgins in the afterlife.

You are correct, i missed that in my take. Iran is seeking to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world and rally muslims behind them. It want to be the nation that could stand up to the West.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Iran is seeking to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world and rally muslims behind them. It want to be the nation that could stand up to the West.

Our president said that Saddam Hussein/Iraq was trying to do that. Now we hear that Iran is trying to do that. So do we have to destroy the entire Islamic world to ensure that after each successive destruction of a Muslim nation that is "seeking to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world and rally Muslims behind them to stand up to the west" there will be no Muslim to continue that effort?

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Iran is seeking to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world and rally muslims behind them. It want to be the nation that could stand up to the West.

Our president said that Saddam Hussein/Iraq was trying to do that. Now we hear that Iran is trying to do that. So do we have to destroy the entire Islamic world to ensure that after each successive destruction of a Muslim nation that is "seeking to position itself as the leader of the Islamic world and rally Muslims behind them to stand up to the west" there will be no Muslim to continue that effort?

I always disagree with that assertion, that man was ruthless but definitely not Islamic. This is where I contend Iraq was a hugh strategic blunder in the containment of Islamic extremism. I believe they (Iran) have the right, but without threatening the existance of others.

Anyway, neither Obama nor McCain will find it easy to strike or to contain Iran, not with Iraq on the plate.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Anyway, neither Obama nor McCain will find it easy to strike or to contain Iran, not with Iraq on the plate.

When was the last time that Iran actually threatened another country?

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Anyway, neither Obama nor McCain will find it easy to strike or to contain Iran, not with Iraq on the plate.

When was the last time that Iran actually threatened another country?

I think it was last year, "wiping some other nation off the map", if my memory serves me correctly.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Anyway, neither Obama nor McCain will find it easy to strike or to contain Iran, not with Iraq on the plate.

When was the last time that Iran actually threatened another country?

I think it was last year, "wiping some other nation off the map", if my memory serves me correctly.

I didn't mean words. That is if you can trust the translators/comemtators. I meant action.

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

I think it was last year, "wiping some other nation off the map", if my memory serves me correctly.

I didn't mean words. That is if you can trust the translators/comemtators. I meant action.

Well, we can only go on words until we have something else. If it was just a translator issue, I never really saw Iran agressively tried to correct that. Infact, I saw an interview with Iranians in Iran speaking in English saying he cannot go around saying such things, it's just not diplomatic language.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:
Well, we can only go on words until we have something else. If it was just a translator issue, I never really saw Iran agressively tried to correct that. Infact, I saw an interview with Iranians in Iran speaking in English saying he cannot go around saying such things, it's just not diplomatic language.

People say lots of things to push buttons. The reality is that you will have to go way way back to find any case where Iran actually threatened another country.

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

I think it was last year, "wiping some other nation off the map", if my memory serves me correctly.

I didn't mean words. That is if you can trust the translators/comemtators. I meant action.

Well, we can only go on words until we have something else. If it was just a translator issue, I never really saw Iran agressively tried to correct that. Infact, I saw an interview with Iranians in Iran speaking in English saying he cannot go around saying such things, it's just not diplomatic language.

Hillary Clinton also said if she was president, Iran would be "obliterated" by the U.S. if they attack Israel.

If Iran continues build long range missiles that can carry nuclear warheads to American territory then we are back to square one. This to me, is no different from the nuclear threat the Soviet Union posed to the US during the cold war.

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

Originally posted by baseman:

quote:

Originally posted by ksazma:

quote:

I think it was last year, "wiping some other nation off the map", if my memory serves me correctly.

I didn't mean words. That is if you can trust the translators/comemtators. I meant action.

Well, we can only go on words until we have something else. If it was just a translator issue, I never really saw Iran agressively tried to correct that. Infact, I saw an interview with Iranians in Iran speaking in English saying he cannot go around saying such things, it's just not diplomatic language.

Hillary Clinton also said if she was president, Iran would be "obliterated" by the U.S. if they attack Israel.

Russia has a treaty to defend Iran if they are attacked..