MidwestPolitics.com Election Blog

John McCain launched a salvo of criticisms at Barack Obama during a town hall meeting here today, continuing his drumbeat of attacks over the Democrat's opposition to off-shore drilling.

McCain brought the crowd of nearly 1,000 people that packed the Racine Civic Centre to its feet when he called for off-shore drilling.

"We must begin immediately in drilling off shore so we can get some of the oil that is off our own coast," McCain said to loud applause.

McCain said that while he supports development of alternative and renewable energies, he said America also needs to develop clean coal technologies and expand the use of nuclear power.

Following McCain's event, Racine-area Democratic state legislators took turns criticizing McCain's policies at Obama's nearby office before an animated crowd organizers pegged at about 120.

State Rep. Cory Mason said McCain's energy plan is "something that might work in 10 years," but "we need real leadership now."

He called on McCain to pull a TV ad featuring Britney Spears and Paris Hilton that charges Obama is more celebrity than substance and questions whether he is prepared to lead. Mason called the ad "desperate" and "dishonorable."

During a town hall meeting in Cedar Rapids today, Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama responded to John McCain's TV ad that called him a celebrity on par with the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

"I do have to ask my opponent: Is that the best you can come up with?" Obama said. "Is that what is worthy of the American people?"

Obama said McCain's campaign had lapsed into "predictable political attacks [and] demonstrably false statements" instead of dealing with issues like high gas prices.

Obama said McCain's energy plan would help oil companies more than it would help consumers and would continue "the same cycle of dependence on big oil that got us into this crisis."

He touted aspects of his energy plan: direct energy rebates to taxpayers, increased fuel efficiency standards, a crackdown on oil speculators, $150 billion over 10 years to create "a new American energy sector" and an increase in domestic production by pushing oil companies to drill on the 68 million leased acres that are going unused.

Afterwards, Iowa GOP chairman Stewart Iverson called some of Obama's energy plans "absolutely absurd."

"Senator Obama says he wants energy independence but he's criticized every step we've taken to drill offshore, in addition to opposing nuclear power," Iverson said. "We are all behind alternative energy, but something is wrong with the picture if we aren't utilizing all of this oil at our disposal."

Concrete mogul Marty Ozinga's companies racked up $59,000 in unpaid taxes over the last 20 years, according to documents provided to the Sun-Times by political operatives.

The tax liens have been filed against the Republican congressional candidate's companies in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Some are fines on his trucks that pour concrete in Chicago. ...

Most of Ozinga's late taxes appear to have eventually been paid.

Joe Trippi, a nationally-recognized consultant who helped lead the internet revolution in American politics, will be the primary media consultant for the Rob Hubler for Congress campaign, it was announced by the Hubler campaign.

Hubler, Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa's 5th district, said that Joe Trippi & Associates will advise his campaign on internet strategy and message development in addition to producing broadcast media ads.

"The American people are hungry for change, but more of the same divisive rhetoric and embarrassing headlines by Washington politicians like Steve King is not the answer," said Trippi. "If we want real change, we need grassroots candidates like Rob Hubler who will always put the people's interests first.

Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee are expected to unveil a $20 million investment in Hispanic voter mobilization Tuesday that targets most major battleground states. ... Targets will include Florida; Western states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico; and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, industrial battlegrounds with sizable Hispanic populations. The money will be spent on niche advertising and other outreach, along with mobilization efforts aimed at identifying, registering and turning out new Democratic voters.

The AFL-CIO begins a ramped-up campaign to define Sen. Barack Obama with union members and their families in battleground states, focusing heavily on working-class, swing union voters in OH, MI, PA and WI. The goal, per union officials, is to dispel the many rumors circulating about Obama via two new mailers, dropped today, that ask and answer still-looming questions about the candidate. The union will send the pieces to 600K swing voters living in the four critical battleground states. ... Union officials tell On Call that the mailers mark the launch of a massive August campaign to clearly define Obama for millions of union voters, and to contrast the Democrat's policies and plans with those of his GOP rival, John McCain.

Campaign officials for U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, said the first-term congressman is closing the fundraising gap with state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

Walberg banked about $1.2 million in the election cycle, with $364,000 raised in the second quarter, according to a statement.

The announcement came as a reply to reports that Schauer posted gains of more than $427,000 in the second quarter in his bid for the congressional seat, bringing his total to more than $1.3 million with more than $928,000 cash on hand.

Walberg had more than $855,000 cash on hand.

The weird thing in the Minnesota Senate race lately, though, has been Franken's way of defending himself: not by using humor but by turning deadly serious, even dour. If you'd just been dropped into Minneapolis from the deep Amazon, you'd think Coleman was the one with the sense of humor (a nauseatingly corny one, but still) and Franken was the uptight pol who couldn't take a joke. ... I tend to think gimmick/celebrity candidates too often err on the safe side, leading them to inadvertently reject the very rationales for their candidacies.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin's administrative committee voted unanimously this afternoon to strip a Racine County woman of her credentials as a Hillary Clinton delegate for the national convention, despite her pleas to keep her seat.

Following the vote, Debra Bartoshevich said in a phone call with WisPolitics the result was no surprise to her.

"This was all pre-planned, everyone came in with the notion that they weren't going to listen to my argument," she said.

DPW chair Joe Wineke said afterward that the outcome might have been different if Bartoshevich had admitted she'd made a mistake and added that she signed two different forms stating that she would support the party's nominee in the fall election.

"The bottom line is simple," Wineke said. "She has refused to support the nominee of the Democratic Party, and our state adminstrative committee ... felt that the person that should represent the 1st Congressional District for Hillary Clinton should be someone who backs the nominee -- as Hillary Clinton has requested."

The state party filed a formal complaint with the Democratic National Committee after Bartoshevich publicly stated her support earlier this summer for John McCain in this fall's presidential race. The national party then kicked the issue back to the state party for a vote.

Barack Obama was greeted by hordes of cheering Germans in Berlin, so John McCain made a point of meeting with area business owners over a lunch of bratwurst at the Schmidt Sausage Haus on the cobblestone streets of Columbus' trendy German Village.

"I'd love to give a speech in Germany, a political speech, a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States, rather than as a candidate for the office of the presidency," Mr. McCain said.

The Arizona senator then pushed his health-care proposals at champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's second national Livestrong Summit on the Ohio State University campus,

Q: (Referring to a story that Joe Klein wrote for Time magazine quoting McCain) You've already been buzzed about this today, but I wanted to run it by you again: "Sen. Obama would rather lose the war to win a political campaign." Sen. Obama responded, from Germany presumably, "I was disappointed by that language, we've had our disagreements.... I've never questioned, however, that he wants to make America safer. For him to suggest that somehow I'm less concerned about the safety of my wife and daughter than he is I think was unfortunate."

[McCain:] ... Sen. Obama, in my view, used, believes that this is a political issue. Anyone, any rational observer who observes Iraq knows that the surge has succeeded. It just has. The conditions on the ground are very clear. Sen. Obama refuses to acknowledge that it succeeded.

Sen. Obama went to the left to get the nomination of his party, and he used it very effectively. I called for an increase in the number of troops when it was the least popular thing to do and many people said that because I did that, that my political ambitions were at an end. Sen. Obama said that the surge would not work, has condemned it, and still will not acknowledge that the surge is working.

This is indicative of his view that this is a political issue. It's far more important than gaining nominations or not gaining nominations. It has to do with the security of this nation. And I believe that by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge -- much less his opposition to it -- shows that he would rather lose a war than a political campaign.

* Illinois' 8th (New Rating: Democrat Favored. Previous Rating: Leans Democratic): [Republican Steve] Greenberg hasn't raised the kind of money needed to take on [two-term incumbent Dem Melissa] Bean in a suburban Chicago district that falls in a pricey media market. Bean's district historically has leaned Republican, but the congresswoman turned back a big-spending Republican challenger in 2006.
* Illinois' 11th (New Rating: Leans Democratic. Previous Rating: Democrat Favored): Republican Martin Ozinga III, a concrete company executive, has done a good job playing catch-up against Democratic state Sen. Debbie Halvorson ... CQ Politics still gives Halvorson the edge, but this race will be highly competitive.
* Illinois' 13th (New Rating: Republican Favored. Previous Rating: Safe Republican): Republican Rep. Judy Biggert , who has centrist GOP leanings, has been very politically secure in a mostly Republican-leaning district that includes Naperville, Bolingbrook and other suburbs southwest of Chicago. But she may need to keep an eye on Democratic businessman Scott Harper, who already has raised more money than 2006 Democratic nominee Joseph Shannon
* Minnesota's 2nd (New Rating: Republican Favored. Previous Rating: Safe Republican): Steve Sarvi is an Iraq War veteran and the former mayor of Watertown whose biography and experience make him a strong recruit for Democratic efforts to take over the 2nd District from three-term Rep. John Kline. ... [The DCCC] lists the 2nd District race as one of its 20 "Emerging Races," which means the party is keeping an eye on the race and will get involved if Sarvi meets certain criteria to prove the strength of his campaign. However, weak fundraising for Sarvi and overall demographics give Kline the advantage in holding the district.

Television advertising for the 2008 presidential general election got a late start by recent Michigan standards but presidential TV ads have become a consistent presence in recent weeks.

John McCain's television campaign began May 28th and spent $3.2 million by July 20th.

Barack Obama's TV campaign began June 20th and spent $2.7 million by July 28th.

In a preview of its likely role supporting McCain for the fall campaign, the Republican National Committee ran statewide ads supporting McCain from July 6-15, spending $963,000 during that period.

Arizona Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in Colorado; come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states, conducted in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com and released today.

Voters in each state say energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq. And by margins of 22 to 31 percentage points, voters in each state support offshore oil drilling, and by seven to 12-point margins, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.

Sen. McCain has picked up support in almost every group in every state, especially among independent voters and men voters. The Republican now leads Obama among independent voters in Michigan and Minnesota.

John McCain plans a visit to Ohio Thursday for a town hall meeting on cancer hosted by cycling great Lance Armstrong.

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will talk about his plan to address cancer and take questions from audience members. ...

Democrat Barack Obama also was invited but declined because of his week-long overseas trip.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul have ramped up plans for a local counterweight to the GOP's national convention in September.

Not content with a planned rally at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena on Sept. 2, the Paul forces now plan a three-day "Rally for the Republic" that will climax in a 10-hour extravaganza at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Paul's shadow convention (speakers include anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, shaggy haired cable personality Tucker Carlson, and Barry Goldwater Jr.,) will be a test of his new group's staying power and organizational mettle. Supporters have been encouraged to exploit state delegate rules to get appointed to, infiltrate and make themselves known at the national convention before decamping for the Target Center.

Just a few months ago, Al Franken had plenty of reasons to smile about his chances of unseating Minnesota’s Republican Sen. Norm Coleman .

Minnesotans oppose the war — and the president — that Coleman supported. Franken was doing his homework: he had entered the race early and was running a strong grass-roots campaign focused on local organizing and smaller-venue events.

And, in early June, he secured the DFL nomination at the state convention on the first ballot.

But costly mistakes in the campaign of former Saturday Night Live writer are now imperiling his chances of winning.

Poll trends in the past several weeks indicate that Coleman has increased his lead over Franken. Although the numbers have fluctuated, four of the last five polls show Coleman ahead of Franken - three by more than nine points. So now, CQ Politics is changing the rating on the race to Leans Republican from No Clear Favorite.

Evangelical Christians in Iowa, dominant in the state's Republican Party, have denied Sen. Charles E. Grassley his request for a place on the state's delegation to this summer's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Mr. Grassley may attend the party's Sept. 1-4 nominating convention in St. Paul, but not as a voting delegate.

With a majority of nine out of 17 members on the Iowa Republican central committee, religious conservatives made Iowa Christian Alliance President Steve Scheffler chairman of Iowa's 40-member delegation in a vote immediately after their state party convention July 12.

"The Republican Party of Iowa is moving significantly to the right on social issues," the just-ousted Iowa Republican National Committee member Steve Roberts told The Washington Times. "It hurts John McCain's chances to win this state."

We have the resources available in areas like ANWR and Colorado to lower oil costs and decrease our dependence on foreign oil. I joined my congressional colleagues traveling 3,500 miles to investigate for ourselves and to prove that if we started drilling today, no harm would be done to the wildlife and natural beauty of our nation.

Congress must provide relief for American families and small businesses now. They must bring energy legislation to the floor and allow us to drill here, drill now, so that we can pay less at the pump.

"Some in the Congress are flying to the ends of the world to promote drilling for oil that would have a minuscule effect on our energy crisis," he said. "This plan would have an immediate impact on the staggering $78 billion wasted annually in time and fuel as a result of traffic congestion in our cities."

Schultz, who was heavily lobbied by national Democrats to take the job, will have a broad role in the campaign -- overseeing the communications, research and speechwriting arms. ... The additions of Schultz and [campaign manager Stephanie] Shriock should help bring order and discipline to Franken's campaign and Barack Obama's presence at the top of the ticket should also provide a boost to the Democratic ticket.

In my mind, Schultz has three major tasks ahead of him, none of which have been done properly yet:

1. Institute a "zero-tolerance policy" against Norm Coleman's attacks. All attacks should be cleared up within 24 hours, whether that involves responding directly or getting the subject changed.
2. Re-introduce Al to Minnesotans. The first introduction was mired by irrelevant "scandals" dug up by Coleman to distract us from his own record.
3. Relentlessly turn the conversation to the issues, where Coleman is the most vulnerable.

Renier said no one knows the pain of losing a child like a mother, which influences her opinions on the war in Iraq.

"We've got a stupid-ass war going on in Iraq," she said. "Who do you think wants to get this thing over and done with and be done with the boys and their toys and all the nonsense? It's the mother."

People are starting to forget about the war and the daily dangers men and women in the U.S. armed forces face overseas, Renier said.

"The war started out on page one, and now it's on page four and five," she said. "I think we need to bring (Iraqi) troops here to train them because right now, their troops get to go home at night to their wife and kids. I think they need to sink or swim, but I think we've made a terrible mess of their country."

"Our country is in such dire straits and we are represented by someone who is so out of touch with the needs of this district and this state," Schauer said. "When I see Tim Walberg just blindly support this president on trade agreements or being in the pocket of the oil companies or being an obstructionist on solving the health care crisis, standing on the sidelines in the mortgage crisis, I just in good conscience can't sit on the sidelines knowing that I could be doing even more to get results for this district." ... If he's the winner in both August and November, Schauer said his top three priorities in Congress will be, "jobs, jobs, jobs." ...

"I'm going to Washington to be an advocate for my state. I'm going to be a pain in the neck to my leadership because I'm going to demand that Michigan gets its fair share," he said. "I'll work with members of our delegation, Democrats and Republicans. I have a history of working with folks across the aisle... to get things done."

We didn't want to change what was working. What was working was our message, and what was working was the grassroots approach. And we know that was working -- we saw in our primary, going against a well-funded opponent, we still won 81 percent of the vote. That was because of our grassroots effort.

As Barack Obama travels abroad, John McCain will visit battleground states.

The presumed Republican presidential nominee is lining up trips next week to Colorado, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania to emphasize jobs, energy and health care while Obama is in the Middle East and Europe.

McCain made his remarks before an audience of about 500 General Motors employees in Warren.

"It's hard for me to tell states that they can't impose whatever standards they decide to impose," McCain said. "I want to see Rick (Wagoner, GM's CEO) sit down with the governor's and ask them what they need."

Wagoner said after the meeting that the company would prefer a national standard rather than state-by-state standards.

"We think the current CAFE standards are challenging and we'd like to focus on working on them," he said.

Chief Mark Rahr says someone painted a big red "X'' over an Obama campaign sign and wrote "wrong kind of change" below.

Over the Obama lettering on the front window, someone wrote "McCain" in white paint and "He's a vet" next to it.

Someone also wrote in red paint "Obama is funded by...." and the letters become illegible.

McCain can barely get conservatives excited enough to vote for him -- what are the chances of a few being so stoked that they'd trash Obama's headquarters?

Plus, do the profiles of "McCain supporter" and "political vandal" really match? How did they get away so quickly in their battery-powered wheelchairs? Who at the home left them unaccounted for?

Then again, the vandalism supposedly took place in mid-afternoon. Just in time to hit the 4:00 fish fry.

Remember how Dick Day said he didn't want to have his fate left in the hands of a 100 people when he dropped out of the 1st District endorsement race? Well, is seems that only about 100 people cared enough to donate to his campaign. (give or take)

The television ad is a biographical spot featuring the candidate talking about "his enthusiasm for work and serving the community." It also highlights his unconventionally-named Web site registered to the campaign at "Iamnotapolitician.com."

The ad is running on cable television in Will, Kankakee, Grundy and LaSalle Counties. It does not mention about his professional background as president of the Ozinga Bros. concrete company where he made $478,000 last year, according to his federal financial disclosure form.

... the presumptive GOP nominee began his full-throated case for school voucher programs and greater accountability, also returning fire at Obama for accusing him so using "tired rhetoric."

"Senator Obama dismissed public support for private school vouchers for low-income Americans as, 'tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice.' All of that went over well with the teachers union, but where does it leave families and their children who are stuck in failing schools?," McCain asked. "When a public system fails, repeatedly, to meet these minimal objectives, parents ask only for a choice in the education of their children. Some parents, some parents may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private school. Many will choose a charter school. No entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that opportunity."

McCain also attacked Obama for opposing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, a federal voucher program, and committed to expanding similar programs if he wins the White House.

"If I am elected president, school choice for all who want it, an expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, and alternative certification for teachers will be part of a serious agenda of education reform," he said to scattered applause.

He criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to Hurricane Katrina and promised to fix and then fully fund No Child Left Behind education programs that he characterized as "a good start." ... If nothing else, Mr. McCain won respect by making the appearance in front of an organization whose members lean heavily in support of his Democratic opponent.

So yes, we have to demand more responsibility from Washington. And yes we have to demand more responsibility from Wall Street. But we also have to demand more from ourselves. Now, I know some say I've been too tough on folks about this responsibility stuff. But I'm not going to stop talking about it. Because I believe that in the end, it doesn't matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch -- none of it will make any difference if we don't seize more responsibility in our own lives.

"That's how we'll truly honor those who came before us."

I'll be very interested to see if we get another "Obama Scolds Blacks" headline from media folks. ... I find those headlines depressing. It says a lot more about media, and possibly -- though I'm not sure of this -- the broader country, than it says about Obama's speech.

Jesse Ventura may be out of the picture, but the Independence Party still could be a factor in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota.

Dean Barkley, who was appointed by Gov. Ventura to fill out Paul Wellstone's term in the Senate after Wellstone died in a plane crash in 2002, told MinnPost Monday night that he will file Tuesday to run for Senate in the Independence Party primary.

"I'm not Jesse, but I have the same passion,'' said Barkley, who has been involved in several forms of the Independence Party movement since 1992

DFL 3rd Congressional District candidate Ashwin Madia reported a strong second-quarter fundraising figure of $692,940.

It appears Madia has slightly outraised his Republican opponent, state Rep. Erik Paulsen, who issued a press release last week saying he would report more than $600,000 for the quarter.

The new ad campaign, One Nation Left Behind, will be running in 16 markets in seven states including: Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, New Mexico, Virginia and Wisconsin, with a total expenditure of more than $5 million. Ads are also expected to run later this summer in Minnesota. Actress and children's book author Jamie Lee Curtis provides the voice of the ads that speak to Americans about the ominous state of America's public education system and urges them to become advocates for improving the country's schools. ...

To draw attention to America's sub-par education system, Strong American Schools has launched an advertising campaign, One Nation Left Behind, consisting of television, radio, print and online ads, in crucial states from now until November 2008. The ads will run in the following media markets, with a total expenditure of more than $5 million:

"As we approach the next century of social justice activism, we remain empowered and committed to a progressive agenda that demands fairness and prosperity for all. The convention's offerings underscore the point that we all must be engaged in that effort and that the NAACP has a place for everyone and every lifestyle."

"I single-handedly went up against the toughest lawyers in the city and won," said Muldrow, "But that's not important. What is important is that the NAACP has not been very effective in following up on enforcements of the cases won."

Muldrow thinks there should be a workshop at the convention to focus on getting what was won.

"There is still segregation in the schools. This conference needs to focus on our local history and let the younger generation know what was accomplished and help direct them into the future."

Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain today declared himself the underdog in Wisconsin and acknowledged he has a lot of work to do in the state with a string of polls showing him trailing Dem opponent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama by double digits. But McCain said voters typically don't start paying attention to the campaign until after Labor Day and likely aren't tuned in now during the middle of their summer vacations.

Speaking with WisPolitics and two other Wisconsin reporters on his Straight Talk Express bus following his appearance in Hudson today, he said his economic message of lower taxes, affordable health care and less government regulation can resonate with conservative Dems who helped Ronald Reagan -- who he called his hero -- carry the state in 1984, the last time a Republican did so.

He also dismissed efforts to link him to the policies of President Bush and predicted Wisconsin voters would see through it after his work on campaign finance reform with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton, and other issues.

"They know my record," he said.

"If we stay on our current course, the rapid growth of nations like China and India will rise about one-third by 2030. In that same year, Middle Eastern regimes will be sitting on 83 percent of our global oil reserves. Imagine that -- the very source of energy that fuels nearly all of our transportation, controlled almost entirely by some of the world's most unstable and undemocratic governments.

"This is not the future I want for America. We are not a country that places our fate in the hands of dictators and tyrants -- we are a nation that controls our own destiny. That's who we are. That's who we've always been."

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain fielded questions from female voters Friday in this western Wisconsin town on everything from addressing illegal immigration to whether Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will come out of retirement.

On the second one, he punted.

In an event his campaign billed as a women's town hall meeting, McCain met with an almost exclusively female audience to pitch pocketbook issues, his proposals for global warming and energy independence.

While the crowd gathered inside, liberal groups One Wisconsin Now and Citizen Action of Wisconsin protested across the street. OWN, as it has for other GOP events in the state, performed some street theater with two actors dressed in McCain and Bush masks with a giant rubber stamp that read "McSame" across the bottom. Citizen Action members held signs that read, "McCain's Healthcare Plan: Fend For Yourself" and "Bandages Not Bombs."

He'll arrive in the Twin Cities, from Michigan, sometime after 4 p.m. He'll wave to TV cameras and head to the McCain headquarters in St. Paul. It's expected that he'll be accompanied by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his spouse on the ride from the airport to the campaign headquarters. (No one is saying whether there'll be conversation about the vice presidency during the car ride.)

After shaking hands with supporters at the headquarters, McCain will do a Virginia town hall meeting, via telephone, at 6 p.m. Central time.

"Michigan is hurting today. ... Let's face it, America is hurting today, and it's hurting badly, and we have a lot of work to do," the Republican presidential candidate said. ...

The town hall included tough questions from voters, including one who criticized McCain's commitment to free trade agreements and another who said he opposes Democrat Barack Obama but remains unenthusiastic about McCain because he originally opposed Bush administration tax cuts and supports measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

... the crowd of about 100 sat on their hands in stony silence throughout most of his speech, especially his lecture about the need for free trade -- a policy not embraced in this town.

The first question was from a man who urged a different point of view, saying that "what we need to do is control some of those trade issues going on. What we want is fair trade."

McCain again expressed his sympathy, but refused to back down on trade, instead singing the praise of the American spirit of innovation and an education system that he said can be repaired to effectively retrain displaced workers.

So why would Bloomberg, who's frequently been touted as a future presidential candidate, throw in his lot with this motley bunch? It's impossible to say for certain, but one intriguing possibility is Jesse Ventura. ... Might Bloomberg's visit be a hint that Ventura is actually serious about running and provide a jump-start to his fundraising efforts?

With Governor Jennifer Granholm's signatures Wednesday, Michigan became the last state to ratify the Great Lakes Compact and arguably became the first of the Great Lakes states to fully implement the proposal to limit withdrawals from the basin. With all eight states now on board, the language has to be adopted by Congress to make the plan enforceable.

The 12-bill package not only enacts the compact, which puts limits on how water can be transported out of the Great Lakes Basin without approval of all eight governors, but it places limits on how much water can be drawn out of surface and ground waters of the state to avoid affecting other users and the ecosystems those waters feed. Property owners will be able to determine whether they need a state permit for a proposed well through a new online water withdrawal assessment tool.

Though the agreement did not put as strict of limits on water use as some environmental groups had sought, the compact signing was broadly seen as a triumph for the state's waters.

Ohio was again the focus of the presidential contest Wednesday, with dueling events in Portsmouth sandwiched between another barrage of energy policy rhetoric.

Republican John McCain stopped in the southern Ohio city for a "town hall" event at Portsmouth High School hours after Gov. Ted Strickland held a rally of his own across the street.

The governor later joined former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack in criticizing the U.S. senator from Arizona's positions on energy policy, etc., during a news conference call sponsored by the campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

In between, the Ohio Republican Party parried with a response to Gov. Strickland's event delivered by Sen. John Carey (R-Wellston).

Providing the political undercurrent, as it has throughout this lengthy campaign cycle, was the high price of gasoline.

Is Barack Obama's website conducting an outlawed-in-Minnesota raffle? The Minnesota Gambling Control Board thinks giving new donors a chance to meet Obama backstage in Denver is worth investigating. The Strib's Randy Furst says only nonprofits, not campaigns, can conduct raffles in Minnesota. The raffle standard: it costs money to participate, it's based on luck of the draw, and something of value is at stake. Obama's campaign sounds like it will argue the winners won't be random.

"We did have some late entries into the parade that we weren't necessarily anticipating," he said. "The governor was one of them and he had let us know last Sunday that his schedule had changed and that he had decided to be a part of the parade. And that's wonderful. That's great for our town to have someone of the governor's position to come to Wooster and be a part of our parade. ... Since Boccieri is definitely in a contested race this fall, we felt it only right to extend that same type of offering out to Kirk Schuring -- if he wanted to be a member in somebody else's car, because we weren't allowing political candidates to be a dominating force in the parade.

Mostly, I was surprised at how the articulate and ambitious words of a child could spark so much, well, venom. That's right. Each of my correspondences came with varying (but unmistakable) degrees of age discrimination and political partisanship, most of which was directed at the author, not the issue. ... I've had plenty of contact with kids this age and there are many of them whose depth of knowledge, passion for issues and writing abilities are more than adequate to match up with any elected official. ... I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that this girl had less help writing her piece than most elected officials and candidates get with their submissions.