All Blog Posts from From The Road

From CBS News' Michelle Levi:

(ORLANDO, FLA.)- "This notion that somehow I was playing the race card is ridiculous," Barack Obama told NPR today, responding to questions about his assertion this week that the McCain campaign is promoting suspicion by saying Obama "doesn’t look like all the presidents on the dollar bills."

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis criticized Obama yesterday writing in a memo that "Barack Obama has played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck." Thus began a debate about the role of race in this election, which has followed Obama to Florida today.

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From CBS News’ Fernando Suarez:

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- After campaigning in parts north in Indiana, Hillary Clinton made her way south to the Bluegrass State, home to this Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, and during her visit Clinton was definitely feeling the derby spirit.

At a campaign stop at her Kentucky headquarters in Louisville, Clinton arrived to cheering crowds who lined the streets waiting to get a glimpse of her. But this time the crowd may have noticed something different as Clinton emerged – a large, floppy, flowery hat. She was wearing the traditional headgear of women at the Kentucky Derby, which she will not be able to attend because of her campaign schedule. Instead, daughter Chelsea will represent the Clintons.

Clinton smiled and donned the hat for a few moments, but took it off to enter her headquarters and greet her Kentucky staff, no doubt because there was a horde of reporters and television cameras waiting inside.

Accessories or even full-blown outfits outside the normal daily wardrobe worn by the candidates are highly frowned upon by senior campaign staff. We only need to look as far back as 2004 to John Kerry, who was photographed and teased mercilessly for wearing what appeared to be a moon suit, but was in fact a sanitary outfit while he toured an aeronautics facility.

Clinton is often teased for her hairdo and pantsuits, so the last thing she needs is to parade around the country wearing a flowery hat. She did parade for a little while, however, and you can check out the video below.

From CBS News' Joy Lin:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Barraged by more questions about why he shouldn’t drop out, Mike Huckabee pointed out that his presence in the race kept Republicans in the news cycle while the Democrats battled for a nominee.

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From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

ANDERSON, S.C. -- After wrapping up a campaign speech and opening up the floor to questions, what Hillary Clinton did not expect was a voter who wanted to give the press a piece of her mind.

“We do not care about people’s color or their gender, we care about finding a leader!” said Kathy Adams, a lawyer from South Carolina, to strong applause.

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From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- At the CNN debate on Monday, Barack Obama blamed the media for perpetuating the issue of race in the presidential election. “I think the media, you know, has really been focused a lot on race as we move down to South Carolina. And I have to say that, as I travel around South Carolina, I am absolutely convinced that white, black, Latino, Asian, people want to move beyond our divisions.”

However, South Carolina voters continue to question Obama on the issue. At a town hall meeting in Rock Hill, South Carolina, an African American voter told Obama that her 77 year old father believes that a black man “will not be able to do anything in Washington to help us.” She wanted to know what she should tell her father.

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From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

DAYTONA, FLA. -- You can't always get what you want, even if you're America's mayor.

Rudy Giuliani ran an unscheduled lap in his campaign bus at the Daytona International Speedway yesterday, but that was as far as the road went.

After chatting up drivers and mechanics in the pit area of the empty speedway, Giuliani said he was promised he could go for a ride in a racecar, but was told he did not have the proper license.

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From CBS News' Aaron Lewis:

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. -- Off the beaten path in this South Carolina community, in a hall where Martin Luther King organized meetings at the height of the civil rights movement, John Edwards told voters that race is still a clear divisive issue in America.

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From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

NASHUA, N.H. -- Rudy Giuliani contends his pursuit for the GOP nomination is a strategy without precedent that he hopes will prolong his position as one of the Republican front-runners.

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From CBS News' Joy Lin:

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Mike Huckabee tonght stands by a 1992 survey he filled out in which he said AIDS patients should be quarantined.

“The one thing I feel like is important to note is that you stick by what you said,” said Huckabee. “I’m not going to go around changing my opinion on everything.”

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