All Blog Posts from From The Road

From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(NEW YORK) - Despite the fact she’s in Alaska, Sarah Palin is still driving conversation. At a forum on service at Columbia University tonight, which both John McCain and Barack Obama attended separately, McCain was asked to respond to Palin’s criticism of Obama’s community organizing days.

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From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(New York) In his first press conference since releasing a written statement through his spokesperson in support of Barack Obama's candidacy, former President Bill Clinton said he would campaign with his wife’s former opponent "whenever he asks."

“We had a good talk and he said he wanted me to campaign with him and I said I was eager to do so,” Clinton said at a press conference to announce his foundation's breakthrough on Malaria drug prices.

Clinton pointed out that Sen. Obama is currently gearing up for his overseas trip.

“He is busier than I am on politics anyway,” Clinton said. “I just told him whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready, so it is basically on their timetable.”

From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(WASHINGTON) John McCain and Barack Obama both adressed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in Washington, D.C. today, however, the two senators did not see each other. McCain took time at the top of his speech to point out the fact.

“I understand that my friend Senator Obama will, who I admire and respect a great deal, will be here after me,” McCain said. “I believe that both we could have stood here and responded to your questions of comments or views.”

Then ten minutes into his speech, McCain was interrupted by the first of four protestors.

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From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) John McCain heads to Washington, D.C. tonight after a two day trek through battleground Ohio. McCain wasted no time while in the state, holding town hall meetings in person and over the phone today as well as touring a General Motors plant and attending two fund-raisers. If that wasn’t enough, he also entertained the press aboard the Straight Talk Express.

On the campaign bus the conversation centered around Barack Obama. McCain fielded questions on his joint town hall proposals, saying the possibility of one seems “very very unlikely.” He was also asked if he believes Obama is an elitist, as Karl Rove has asserted.

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From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(WARREN, Ohio) As John McCain's Straight Talk Express pulled into the General Motors plant this morning, a handful of protestors had gathered on the street. Some wore Barack Obama T-shirts, while some held signs. Inside the plant at a town hall meeting the body language throughout the room was less than inviting.

Some of the tension may have been because of Senator Obama’s endorsement by the United Autoworkers and the AFL-CIO.

“I know that when I meet people here I know that not every one of them is going to vote for me,” McCain said.

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From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(CINCINNATI) At Xavier University in Cincinnati, Sen. John McCain hosted a town hall event for voters this afternoon. Among the many McCain supporters sat a woman wearing a navy blue “Hillary For President” hat.

The day before a much anticipated first campaign appearance by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, a new AP/Yahoo News poll released findings that over half of Clinton supporters are now backing Obama. However, there are still some former Clinton supporters shopping for a new candidate.

“I’m a registered Democrat looking for a presidential candidate,” the Clinton supporter told John McCain. “There are lots of women who feel now disenfranchised.”

McCain answered the voter by singing his own praise of Clinton, saying “all of us respect not only Senator Clinton but the race that she ran. She inspired millions of Americans and millions of American women and women all over the world.” He went on to say he appreciated being able to work with Clinton on the Armed Services Committee.

The voter neglected to say who she would be voting for, only that she wished Obama was at the town hall with McCain. She also said she felt compelled as a woman to question McCain’s positions on women’s rights and express her concern over his possible Supreme Court appointees.

For a candidate no longer running for president, Clinton still is very much in the minds of voters and tomorrow she will try to sway the remaining undecided toward her one-time rival.

From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(CINCINNATI) On the Straight Talk Express en route to his town hall event, Sen. John McCain took a moment to meet with reporters to discuss today’s Supreme Court ruling on the DC handgun case.

“Obviously I am very pleased about that decision,” he said. “We had filed an amicus brief with 54 other senators. So I am pleased with that ruling."

Sen. Barack Obama, who has a history of supporting gun control, also issued a statement today saying: “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view, and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.”

McCain said this is another example of Obama’s flip-flopping on issues. “It’s one in a long in a long series in reversals of positions. In a few days he has gone from opposing nuclear power, to not a proponent, to willing to explore,” McCain said aboard the bus. “I fully anticipate -- whether it be on his pledge on public financing of his position on the 2nd amendment or any other issues -- he is changing his positions.”

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From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

(CINCINNATI) A memo circulated by the McCain campaign Thursday morning calls for an end to partisan bickering and promotes putting the country before politics. In the same statement, the campaign hits the Bush Administration for having “disappointed many” and hits Sen. Obama for never putting “his career on the line for a cause greater than himself.”

The campaign memo goes on to highlight Sen. Obama’s decision to forego public financing and slams the presumptive Democratic nominee for frequent “present” votes in the Senate. It also aligns the Obama campaign with the same “old typical politics that have broken Washington.”

The McCain memo closes with these words: “We don't need to trade Republican partisanship for Democratic partisanship. We need to put our country first and put our politics second. That is what John McCain has done his whole life, and that is what he will do as President.”

From CBS News' Jamie Farnsworth:

Just as Barack Obama was calling President Bush and John McCain "dishonest" and "divisive" after they suggested yesterday Obama would appease terrorists, he was broadsided again, this time on the issue of gun control.

At the 137th Annual National Rifle Association Leadership Forum Meeting, in Louisville, Ky., Karl Rove was the first to go after Obama.

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