All Blog Posts from From The Road

By CBS News’ Director of Political Coverage Steve Chaggaris:

(WASHINGTON) – When former Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, became the first candidate to announce - two years ago - a 2008 presidential run, no one could have envisioned the ups-and-downs, the surprises and the history that would be made over the course of Campaign ’08. Here at CBS News, we chose eight talented producers in the summer of 2007 and sent them on the campaign trail to witness those twists-and-turns first-hand – to be our eyes and ears on the presidential campaigns.

Over the course of those 14 months, the off-air reporters, as we called them, watched that history unfold right in front of them: from Barack Obama's victory in January's Iowa caucuses and Hillary Clinton's insurmountable setback on Super Tuesday - which set the stage for Obama’s eventual nomination - to the battle of Republican heavyweights that resulted in the inevitable-to-improbable nomination of John McCain.

“It seems more like 14 years ago than 14 months,” said Scott Conroy, who was our producer covering Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin.

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From CBS Radio Correspondent Barry Bagnato:

(WEST MIFFLIN, PA.) So much is being made about racism in this race and the negatives, especially for Barack Obama the bigger story may be lost. This campaign is forcing groups such as labor unions to openly confront the issue because race preferences are threatening the union's political goals.

In United Steelworkers Union Local 2227's concrete block hall here, international Secretary-Treasury Jim English took the stage at a "Steel Blitz for Obama" rally. Teaming with the Pittsburgh Steelers, union leaders and activists are being bused around to train and motivate activists to go door-to-door. English's entire speech was about racism, not something you normally hear in these halls. "If we all do what we're supposed to do, five years, ten years from now, we won't be saying, I won't vote for somebody because of the color of their skin." Fading photos of Democratic Presidents from FDR to LBJ sagged from a wall. Referring to JFK, English said, "It was always a source of puzzlement to me that people said they wouldn't vote for him because he was Catholic. Well, history repeats itself, doesn't it?"

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By Michelle Levi and Steve Chaggaris



McCain holds a town hall meeting in Lima, Ohio at 11:30am today. He's expected to talk specifically about jobs and his campaign manager's lobbying connection to local employer DHL and subsequent job losses. Later, he'll attend a fundraiser outside Cincinnati.

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From CBS News' Michelle Levi and Steve Chaggaris:

Obama continues his European tour today in France with a closed meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris at 11am ET before speaking to reporters. Tomorrow, Obama concludes his foreign trip in London, England where he has a meetings with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, current Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative Party leader David Cameron. On Sunday, Obama will speak to the Unity Convention in Chicago.

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MoveOn.org launched their first in a series of anti-McCain ads today which argues that John McCain is not only similar to Bush -- he is worse.

The ads will air in what are described as "McCain-friendly" markets - New Mexico and Iowa for now - and may eventually go national.

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From CBS News' Aaron Lewis:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While waiting out a layover at Ronald Reagan National Airport this morning, a fellow producer pointed it out to me:

Rudy Giuliani for President t-shirts - CLEARANCE $2.99.

The display was sitting at the front of a souvenir store in Terminal C.

At only three bucks a pop, these shirts printed with Hizzoner's likeness will surely be priceless in the eyes of some obscure political memorabilia nut 20 years from now.

I couldn't help but wonder, though: with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton shirts prominently on display, it's only a matter of time before one of them gets the clearance rack treatment, too...

If you've visited this site before, you know that eight CBS News staffers have spent the last four months embedded with the major presidential campaigns. Traveling by bus, plane, rental car, and sometimes helicopter, these off-air reporters, armed with camcorders and laptops, captured the candidates from a unique perspective seldom seen in past races.

When the candidates left the stage, and the network pool cameras were turned off, our team kept rolling, recording intimate, unguarded, and often humorous moments with the White House hopefuls, the best of which is compiled below.

And check out our full "Scenes From The Road" video library for more.

From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. -- After claiming victory in the Florida primary, Senator Hillary Clinton made a trip back to her home in the South. She arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas, late last night, but was up early this morning, making a quick stop for breakfast at a local eatery called Kitchen Express, a small buffet-style restaurant with primarily African-American patrons.

But Clinton wasn't the only star of the show. Dwayne Turner, a.k.a. 'Belvis the Black Elvis,' came over to her and started singing: "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready now go Hillary go!"

"That is some suit, man," Clinton said.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- CBS News' John Bentley, who was embedded with the Fred Thompson campaign until yesterday, filed this Web-exclusive report on Thompson's exit from the White House race:

Joining David Letterman on the "Late Show," John Edwards spoke about the fireworks between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at Monday's South Carolina Democratic debate.

"What I was trying to do was represent the grownup wing of the Democratic party," Edwards said.

Letterman later asked the famously well-coiffed Edwards if he could mess up his hair.

"Has it ever been messed up?" Letterman asked.

Watch the video below to see what happened next: