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 News' Ryan Corsaro:

(KETTERING, OHIO) - While the Obama campaign denies using ageism as part of their campaign strategy, a document obtained by CBS News shows that they planned to use McCain’s last birthday in August to point out McCain’s age.

A memo reveals they planned to make an issue of his age beginning on Aug. 29, McCain’s 72nd birthday, “hoping to hit him on being so old.”

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From CBS News' Dean Reynolds:

(DES MOINES, IOWA) - The Obama campaign plane, which smells much better these days by the way, is alive with Halloween decorations now.

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(ST. LOUIS) - Recent political developments in the Midwest have not been promising for the Republicans. John McCain and Sarah Palin pulled out of Michigan early this month. Palin hasn’t visited Wisconsin in more than two weeks and hasn’t touched down in Minnesota in over a month.

But Iowa is one Big Ten state where the Republicans are still fighting hard. Palin holds rallies on Saturday in Sioux City and Des Moines, and McCain will follow in his running mate’s heels as he travels to Waterloo Saturday night.

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From CBS Radio Correspondent Barry Bagnato:

(AKRON, OHIO) A man pulls up to Chez Marchele, gets out with his wife, and sees an Obama sign in the window. "I don't know if I'm gonna vote this year," he tells the owner. He's tired of politics. Marchele Sneed puts down her clippers and slips into her second job, selling her customers on Barack Obama, "just giving them any information they need and how he stands on the issues."

Her neighborhood business here is part of a network of barbershops and beauty salons recruited to be Obama campaign "outposts." Located mainly in African-American neighborhoods, they deal directly with voters the Illinois Senator needs to win this important election state. "It's kind of the one-on-one attention you can give somebody just sitting in your chair," Sneed says. Her shop and the others helped register voters before the deadline passed. "My job now is to get them the information they need to make that final decision and also to let them know they can vote early."

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From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.) - The star of the final presidential debate was Joe Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber." John McCain mentioned Wurzelbacher tonight shortly after the debate began, and both he and Obama said his name more than 25 times during the 90-minute debate. How many times did the word Iraq come up? Six. How many times was the word economy used? 16.

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From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

(WARREN, OHIO) - Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, stood before a crowd in Warren at a Joe Biden rally this morning and made a prediction on what the back-and-forth conversation between Fox News commentators will be on election night.

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From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(MILWAUKEE) For the second time in three days, the McCain/Palin campaign on Wednesday issued a statement calling “inappropriate” a pre-rally speaker’s use of Barack Obama’s middle name “Hussein.”

In Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday, it was Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, dressed in his law enforcement uniform, who drew loud cheers at a Sarah Palin rally when he said, “On Nov. 4, let’s leave Barack Hussein Obama wondering what happened.”

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From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(NASHVILLE, TENN.) - Barack Obama's campaign has seized John McCain’s “that one” comment at the debate tonight, and are now using it to argue that McCain was uncomfortable and that he looked angry.

“It reminds you that McCain is sort of angry and agitated. He looked uncomfortable,” Robert Gibbs said in the spin room, “I guess the pillow seat wasn’t soft enough. He stood and walked around.”

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From CBS News' Dean Reynolds:

(NASHVILLE, TENN.) - After most of the previous 12 months covering Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, it was interesting, instructive and, well, relaxing to follow John McCain for the last few days. The differences between the two are striking.

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