GOP win leaves Democrats shaken in Massachusetts

Scott Brown, a little-known Republican state senator, rode an old pickup truck and a growing sense of unease among independent voters to an extraordinary upset on Tuesday night when he was elected to fill the Senate seat that was long held by Edward M Kennedy in the overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts.

Brown defeated Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, who had been considered a favourite to win just over a month ago after she easily won the Democratic primary. With all precincts counted, Brown had 52 per cent of the vote to Coakley’s 47 per cent.

“Tonight the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken,” Brown told his supporters, standing in front of a backdrop that said “The People’s Seat”.

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Edward Kennedy, `Lion of United States Senate', dead

Senator Edward M Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the US Senate, died late Tuesday night. He was 77.

The death of Kennedy, who had been battling brain cancer, was announced Wednesday morning in a statement by the Kennedy family, which was already mourning the death of the senator’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver two weeks earlier.

President Barack Obama, whose nomination as the Democratic candidate for the top post was endorsed by Kennedy in 2008, said he was “heartbroken” at the loss of a friend.

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Michelle gets fashion honour in New York City

The fashion industry made it clear at its annual awards ceremony on Monday night that it’s looking to future stars to see it past the doldrums of the recession, shunning longtime favourites and honouring a largely new guard: Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang and Michelle Obama

The Council of Fashion Designers of America’s special tribute award went to the US First Lady, considered a new player in this world. Noting her “meteoric rise as a fashion icon,” CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg said Obama had “a unique look that balances the duality of her lives” in her roles as trusted adviser to her husband, President Barack Obama, and busy mother to their two daughters.

Although she was missing from the crowd at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, Ms Obama’s presence was felt throughout the star-studded ceremony, which included Heidi Klum and Blake Lively, both wearing Michael Kors, and Bradley Cooper in a Calvin Klein suit.

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Daughters in the White House

From Bill- Clinton to George W. Bush to the charismatic Barack Obama, the recent US Presidents have one thing in common — all have daughters and no sons.

While Bill Clinton has only one daughter, both George W.Bush and Barack Obama have two each.

In fact,go through the 17 men who have been either President or Vice-President since 1961 — from the era of John F.Kennedy to that of Obama and their daughters actually outnumber their sons, by 28 to 27.

It was nearly 16 years ago when Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea called the White House home. Chelsea went to a local school and had always tried to lead a normal life as the First Daughter.

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Renewal, Responsibility, Accountability

As a growing celebratory spirit began to consume the nation’s capital, President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared a “celebration of American renewal”.

“Behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible,” Obama said, in front of the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln.

Obama’s advisors began to give a taste of the inaugural address that he will deliver on Tuesday, saying it will emphasise the themes of responsibility and restoring public confidence.

In a series of appearances that culminated in the concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, Obama ventured across a city transformed into a miles-long block party, with tourists covered in Obama gear.

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Obama holds firm lead over McCain as battle for White House nears conclusion

The battle for the US presidency entered its final hours Monday, with polls showing Barack Obama holding a solid lead in his historic quest to become the first black US president while rival John McCain grasped for a last-minute upset.

On the last day of his 21month campaign for the White House, Obama told supporters in Jacksonville,Florida,he could win the longest, most expensive US presidential contest in history but only with their support.

"That's how we're gonna change this country – with your help," he told the crowd, amid chants of "O-bam-a, O-bam-a." "And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up, one minute, or one second in the next 24 hours … Not now. Not when so much is at stake."

McCain meanwhile was racing through seven states in a last campaign swing that ends Tuesday morning in a bid to persuade undecided voters that he, not his rival, was more qualified to lead the world's most powerful nation.

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24 hours left: Obama sees ‘righteous wind’

White House rivals Barack Obama and John McCain Sunday hurled themselves into a Herculean final 48 hours of campaigning before their date with destiny in the US presidential election.

Mr Obama on Sunday was on a three-city tour of Ohio — a crucial state for both the front-running Democrat and his Republican opponent after it decided the 2004 election in favour of President George W. Bush.

Mr McCain, following his own two-day bus odyssey around the rust-belt state, was stepping up the pace with his first midnight rally of the campaign, in Florida, following events in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

Entering the electrifying campaign’s final weekend, Mr Obama on Saturday promised a “new politics for a new time” and said he had a “righteous wind” at his back as he pursues his quest to become America’s first black President.

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Pakistan using US anti-terror funds to prepare for war against India: Obama

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said that Pakistan is using US aid meant for the war on terror to “prepare for a war against India”. He will hold Islamabad accountable for these massive funds and increase pressure to bust terrorist safe havens if he becomes President, Obama said on Fox News.

“What we can do is stay focused on Afghanistan and put more pressure on the Pakistanis,” Obama said, adding the US was providing Pakistan military aid “without having enough strings attached”.

“So they’re using the military aid... Pakistan... They’re preparing for a war against India.

“What we say is, look, we’re going to provide them with additional military support, targeted at terrorists, and we’re going to help build their democracy.... We’ve wasted 10 billion dollars with Musharraf without holding them accountable for knocking out those safe havens.”

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Clintons share limelight with Obama

Rarely in the history of American political conventions has the losing side received so much time and attention as this week in Denver.

Barack Obama has been forced, by the clout Hillary Rodham Clinton showed in their primary battle and his need for her voters in his race against Republican John McCain, to allow the gathering of Democrats to look a lot like the Clinton Convention.

The first day, Monday, was dominated by day long deal making between the Clinton and Obama camps over ground rules for the nominating roll call.

The second day’s highlight was Clinton’s address. Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, designated the official convention keynote speaker, was just a footnote in television and newspaper reports.

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Obama not closing racial divide: poll

Americans are sharply divided by race ahead of the first presidential election in which a black candidate will represent a major party, a New York Times/CBS News poll showed on Tuesday,

The poll found that blacks and whites hold vastly different views of Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who would be the first black president, and are also divided on the state of race relations in the United States, the newspaper reported.

In the survey, 83 percent of blacks had a favorable opinion of Obama, compared with 31 percent of white voters.

Obama will face John McCain, a white Republican senator from Arizona, in the November 4 presidential election.

On the status of race relations, 59 percent of black respondents thought they were generally bad, compared with 34 percent of whites who thought the same way.

The nationwide telephone poll of 1,796 adults showed that 39 percent of blacks said there had been no real progress in recent years in getting rid of racial discrimination. Only 17 percent of whites said the same thing.

Twenty-seven percent of whites said too much had been made of problems facing black people, while half of blacks said not enough had been made of racial barriers faced by black people.

The poll was conducted July 7-14 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found Obama leading McCain by 50 percent to 42 percent among registered voters nationwide. The poll also had Obama with a 19-point lead over McCain on the economy, the issue topping the list of voter concerns.

The poll of 1,119 adults and 971 registered voters was conducted July 10 through 13. The results had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Obama meets Clinton in private

Likely U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama met privately with former rival Hillary Clinton on Thursday as the party sought to unite for the general election campaign after a long nomination battle.

"Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November," said a statement issued by the two campaigns.

Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on a flight to Chicago that the Illinois senator met with Clinton but he declined to disclose the location or details of what they discussed.

Obama had been scheduled to fly back to Chicago on Thursday evening after a rally in northern Virginia, but skipped the flight and slipped away from the reporters traveling with him in order to meet secretly with Clinton.

Gibbs denied media reports that the meeting took place at Clinton's home in Washington.

As Obama enjoyed his first campaign swing as the likely Democratic presidential nominee, some prominent supporters of Clinton launched an effort to pressure him to invite her to join his ticket as the No. 2 in the general election battle against Republican John McCain.

But Clinton distanced herself from the push and said the decision on a vice president was his alone to make.

Critics of Clinton have accused her of trying to force her way on to the ticket. An aide to the New York senator issued a statement trying to dispel that impression.

"While Senator Clinton has made clear throughout this process that she will do whatever she can to elect a Democrat to the White House, she is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her," said spokesman Phil Singer. "The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone."

Backers of an Obama-Clinton ticket believe it would be the best way to unify the Democratic Party after the hard-fought, 16-month race between the candidates.

Obama made history on Tuesday when he became the first black to win a U.S. major-party presidential nomination. Clinton would have been the first woman to do so.

The former first lady did not immediately concede the race but told supporters in a letter on Wednesday she would hold an event on Saturday where she would formally back Obama.

Obama has not tipped his hand about whom he might pick as his running mate and when asked publicly about the option of choosing Clinton, he has praised her but emphasized his selection process would be deliberative and wide-ranging.

Clinton was seen as having promoted the idea of her becoming the vice presidential nominee when she told supporters in a conference call on Tuesday that she would be "open" to it if it would help her party win the White House.

Obama told reporters he appreciated the statement from Clinton's aide deferring to him on the running mate choice.

POTENTIAL VICE PRESIDENTIAL PICK

At the northern Virginia rally attended by 10,000 people, Obama shared the media spotlight with someone cited frequently by pundits as a potential running mate: Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.

Webb, who had remained neutral as Obama and Clinton battled for the nomination, gave the Illinois senator an emphatic endorsement as he introduced him.

"I'm honored to stand alongside this man, a man of great intellect who over the past 16 months has impressed all of us as he stood up to sometimes withering attacks with measured responses, unshakable composure," Webb said.

The decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War said Obama "has given all of us confidence in the steadiness that we want to see in a commander in chief."

In his Virginia speech, Obama said he hoped he and McCain could have a respectful debate about policy issues and keep the campaign from getting bogged down by "name-calling" and "scandal-mongering."

The Illinois senator told McCain of that wish when the presumptive Republican nominee called Obama to congratulate him on Wednesday.

"I said that I was looking forward to a civil, substantive debate on the issues. And he agreed," Obama said, adding they discussed McCain's idea of appearing jointly at town-hall style forums. Obama's campaign has said it is open to such formats and the two camps are exchanging views on options.

But Obama did not hold back from attacking McCain. At an event in southwestern Virginia earlier in the day, Obama likened his Republican rival's health care proposals to those of the unpopular President George W. Bush. He said McCain's ideas amounted to "Bush light."

McCain's campaign hit back, deriding Obama's attempts to cast himself as someone who could rise above party divisions.

"Barack Obama has no record of bipartisan success," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds, adding Obama had voted "in lock-step with his party on issues from tax relief to funding of the Iraq war.

King still roils U.S. politics 40 years after death

Forty years after Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death in a racially charged assassination, the civil rights leader is still roiling American politics.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate John McCain have both come to Memphis to mark King's April 4, 1968, death and try to shore up support among black voters attracted to Democrat Barack Obama.

Both have some fence-mending to do among African Americans, and both are expected to give speeches and appear at an NBC News event to talk about King's leadership role in the 1960s movement against segregation.

Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president and is getting overwhelming support for his candidacy from black voters, will mark the holiday but will do it in North Dakota, where he will address the state's Democratic convention.

He was invited to the NBC event but could not attend due to a prior commitment, his campaign said.

Clinton, flying overnight from California and due to arrive before dawn, was accused of injecting race into the campaign when her husband, President Bill Clinton, was viewed as denigrating Obama in the South Carolina primary in January.

Clinton, who would be the first woman to win the White House, is scrambling to try to win the Democratic presidential nomination from Obama in what increasing looks like a difficult battle for her. Obama or Clinton will face McCain in the November election.

WORK TO DO

McCain has some work to do to improve his standing among black voters. He skipped a Republican campaign debate last September that focused on African-American issues.

And Democrats have been pointing out that Arizona Sen. McCain, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted in 1983 against creating a federal holiday marking King's birthday.

The holiday was approved by a 338-90 vote and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law.

McCain told reporters this week that he had "learned that this individual was a transcendent figure in American history" and deserved to be honored.

He is to speak to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at a civil rights museum built at the old Lorraine Motel where King was gunned down.

Obama, on the other hand, has been criticized by revelations about some of the sermons given by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at Obama's Chicago church.

Wright, who has since retired, used inflammatory rhetoric from the pulpit, saying "God Damn America" as he railed against the country's history of racism.

Obama gave a well-received speech on race to try to allay concerns about why he sat in the pew all those years as Wright made outrageous statements.

Since those sermons came to light, some of Obama's supporters have suggested the Clinton campaign has been playing the race card against Obama.

This came up after Clinton said Wright would not be her pastor because of what he had said.

The McCain camp has declined to inject itself into the Wright controversy.

Clinton, Obama draw; McCain leads

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled to a draw on "Super Tuesday" and John McCain took charge of the Republican race in coast-to-coast presidential nominating battles in 24 U.S. states.

In their hard-fought Democratic duel, Obama won 13 states and Clinton took eight, ensuring a long and difficult battle for the nomination. Clinton's wins included the key prizes of California and New York on the biggest day of U.S. presidential voting before the November 4 election.

"There is one thing on this February night that we do not need the final results to know: Our time has come," Obama told cheering supporters in Chicago. "Our movement is real, and change is coming to America."

McCain won nine contests, including victories in California and the Northeast, to take a daunting lead in the Republican race. He captured a huge haul of the convention delegates who select the party's presidential nominee, taking several big states where delegates are granted on a winner-take-all basis.

Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee kept their hopes alive and vowed to fight on, but could face growing questions about the viability of their campaigns. Romney won seven states and Huckabee won five.

"Tonight, I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination," McCain told supporters in Scottsdale, Arizona. "And I don't really mind it one bit."

RACE SET TO CONTINUE

Obama and Huckabee win first 2008 vote

Barack Obama took a big step on Thursday toward becoming the first black U.S. president as his campaign for change caught fire in Iowa and swept him past Hillary Clinton in the opening Democratic nominating contest.

Republican underdog Mike Huckabee capped a stunning political rise to beat rival Mitt Romney in Iowa, despite being dramatically outspent by the wealthy former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist.

Obama, an Illinois senator, captured the first Democratic prize on the road to the White House with a comeback triumph over former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who edged out one-time front-runner Clinton for second. "We are choosing hope over fear, we are choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America," Obama, 46, told thousands of cheering, chanting and foot-stamping supporters.

Turnout among Democrats topped 220,000, smashing the previous record of 124,000 in 2004 -- testament to the high enthusiasm among Democrats heading into November's election.

For the winner in Iowa, the prize is valuable momentum and at least a temporary claim to the front-runner's slot in the battle to win the party's presidential nomination in the November election. All eyes now turn to New Hampshire, which holds the next contest on Tuesday and where Romney and Clinton will face high-pressure bids to revive their candidacies.

The third-place finish was a huge blow for Clinton, 60, the former first lady who a few months ago was considered in some quarters the almost certain Democratic nominee. She now faces immense pressure to turn around her campaign in New Hampshire over the next five days.

"Today we are sending a clear message that we are going to have change, and that change will be a Democratic president in the White House," Clinton, with husband and former President Bill Clinton at her shoulder, said in Des Moines.

Edwards, 54, who at one time led polls in Iowa and finished a strong second here during a failed 2004 presidential bid, also faces questions about the viability of his candidacy as he goes forward.

Obama's win effectively makes him the candidate to beat among Democrats, and a win next week in New Hampshire could put him in prime position to capture the nomination. After Nevada on January 19, the next big contest would be in South Carolina, where more than half of the voters in the Democratic primary are likely to be black.

Both Obama and Huckabee, 52, a former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister, once trailed better-known rivals Clinton and Romney in their race to be on the November election ballot.

But they rode a wave of grass-roots enthusiasm to victories by touting an outsider's message of change in Washington. The 2008 campaign is the most open presidential race in more than 50 years, with no sitting president or vice president seeking their party's nomination, and the Iowa contest was the most hotly contested in the state's history.

Obama finished with 38 percent of the vote, easily beating Edwards at 30 percent and Clinton at 29 percent. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson finished fourth at 2 percent.

Huckabee finished with 34 percent of the vote, ahead of Romney's 26 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were tied at 13 percent, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 10 percent.

For Republicans, Huckabee's upset reshaped a race where no candidate has been able to claim front-runner status. Iowa, where a sizable bloc of religious conservatives had fueled Huckabee's rapid rise, represented the best chance for the former Arkansas governor to break through with a win.

He will face tougher going in New Hampshire, where there are fewer evangelicals, and he has lingered well behind Romney and McCain in polls.

Romney, 60, a former governor of Massachusetts who has faced questions about his Mormon faith during the campaign, launched aggressive advertising campaigns against Huckabee and McCain in recent weeks.