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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