The NY Times has a feature on billionaire Robert Wood Johnson IV's loyalty to the Republican party and his willingness to fork over millions. In fact, a hospitality suite at the RNC was named after him ("Woody Johnson Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008 Host Committee Private Lounge"). Apparently Johnson has a "willingness to engage in the hard slog of making hundreds of calls" to ask people like billionaire David Koch and Donald Trump, "to persuade [them] raise......

John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night, “Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do-nothing, me first, country second, Washington crowd: Change is coming... I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not. You know, I’ve been called a maverick, someone who marches to the beat of his own drum... I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for special interests. I don’t......

Today, Barack Obama has been campaigning in York, Pennsylvania. When asked whether, as Republicans charge, the Democrats or media has been sexist with its treatment of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Obama said (video below):Listen, if they want to work the refs, they are free to do so. I think the public can make their judgments about this. The notion that any questions about her work in Alaska is somehow not relevant to her......

Columbia University president Lee Bollinger confirmed that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will appear together at the university for a forum sponsored by ServiceNation. The Columbia Spectator describes ServiceNation as a "non-partisan coalition devoted to increasing the commitment of citizens to public service to 100 million people by 2010." The forum will be on September 11 evening (it is not a debate), and the candidates agreed not to campaign that day out of......

Senator John McCain was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the Republican party last night, but his running mate Sarah Palin took the convention hall by storm. The Governor of Alaska addressed the crowd and energized them by introducing herself and her family--and aggressively attacking Barack Obama:Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down......

Tonight is arguably the biggest night of the Republican National Convention, as it will be vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's first national campaign speech. Politico has five things to watch for, including how Palin will have to emphasize why she's experienced. Her aide said, "She will speak as a governor, a former mayor and someone with both hands on the steering wheel of America's energy economy. She will detail her record of shaking up the......

Like other Republicans these days, former mayor Rudy Giuliani defended John McCain's selection of running mate Sarah Palin. He told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, "We have the ticket in the right order. We have got the most experienced candidate on the top... We've got the younger candidate of the next generation on the bottom of the ticket... [Democrats have] got it kind of reversed. They got the guy with all the experience at the bottom of......

Senator Joe Lieberman addressed the Republican National Convention in St. Paul last night, heralding presidential candidate John McCain's record. The former vice presidential candidate in the 2000 election discussed his political affiliations, "What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this? I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party... John McCain’s whole life testifies to a great truth: Being a Democrat or a Republican is......

The Republican party may be trying to make the best of their Gustav-affected convention, but the news that vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant has thrown a lot of attention onto things other than why John McCain should be president. The NY Times says that the disclosure of Bristol Palin's pregnancy is "one of several revelations that called into question how well John McCain had screened her" (the others being her Troopergate......

Last night, the Republican National Convention got off to a subdued start as most of the focus was on Hurricane (now Tropical Storm) Gustav. First Lady Laura Bush and First Lady aspirant Cindy McCain asked for delegates and the country to extend aid to the affected region. While President Bush had to cancel his Monday night appearance, he will address the convention tonight via satellite at 9:30 p.m. EST. Other speakers will include former presidential......

John McCain has all but canceled tomorrow's first night of the Republican National Convention due to the expected severity of Hurricane Gustav's arrival along the Gulf Coast. "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans." Earlier in the day it had been announce that President Bush and Vice President Cheney would not be speaking at the convention as scheduled tomorrow so that......

With the first female on the Republican ticket, John McCain pulled off quite a feat by introducing Sarah Palin, first term Governor of Alaka, as his running mate. But with 66 days till the general election, the excitement of the choice will give way to many questions. The resounding feeling is that McCain was bold enogh for him to "reclaim his maverick image", but the pick has its risks. (One Republican operative tells the......

At today's rally where he introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain was apparently caught off guard by one supporter. According to the AP caption, he was "react[ing] as a supporter grasps his hand a bit aggressively," but we know our readers can do much better.......

Republican presidential John McCain surprised most everyone by selecting Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate. He said to the 44-year-old mother of five who joined him at an event in Dayton, Ohio, "I’m very happy today to spend my birthday with you, and to make a historic announcement in Dayton.” Palin is the first female vice presidential candidate in the Republican party. ...

Hoping to counter Barack Obama's post-DNC bounce in the polls, John McCain will reportedly announce who he has chosen for vice president at an event in Dayton, Ohio today at 12 p.m. NBC News says Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney are out, and CNN says that "sources point to Palin as McCain's running mate" (but CNN hasn't confirmed it). Palin would be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who is 44 and has only two......

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic party's presidential nomination in front of a reported crowd of 84,000 at Denver's Invesco Field, saying, "Tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land — enough!" He blamed President George W. Bush's "failed policies," and said, “America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.” Obama emphasized the economic hardships Americans have had......

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain visited The Tonight Show last night and chortled over his age with Jay Leno. McCain, who turns 72 on Friday, had jokes like, "My social security number is eight" and "You forgot to mention that I warned the people about the British coming." When Leno asked, "For $1 million, how many houses do you have?" McCain brought up his five years as a POW in Vietnam, "I didn't......

Photograph of Biden speaking while Obama listen at the rally in Springfield, IL by M. Spencer Green/AP Yesterday, the 2008 Democratic ticket appeared together for the first time in Springfield, Illinois. When Barack Obama introduced Joe Biden, he emphasized the Senator from Delware's roots, “He is still that scrappy kid from Scranton who beat the odds — the dedicated family man and committed Catholic who knows every conductor on that Amtrak train to Wilmington.”......

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has finally made his decision for his running mate and announced that he was selecting Senator Joseph Biden through a series of text messages that went out after 3:00 a.m. An e-mail--from Obama "himself"--later followed, saying, "I have some important news that I want to make official. I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate. Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago."...

Barack Obama has made his choice for his running mate, but told reporters, "I won't comment on anything else until I introduce our running mate to the world. That's all you're going to get out of me." Obama plans to kick off the VP announcement with a rally in Springfield, IL tomorrow afternoon. CNN reports that Obama did call "some people on his shortlist for the vice presidential slot Thursday night to tell them he......

As various national polls show Senator John McCain cutting Senator Barack Obama's lead for the presidential race, the Obama camp has unveiled an ad reminding voters that McCain has more than just one or two houses. Politico reported that when it asked how many homes McCain and his wife owned, McCain said, "I think — I'll have my staff get to you...It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you." When his staff......

Looks like Giuliani Time at the RNC is Giuliani Keynote Address Time. Today, it was revealed the former NYC mayor would give the keynote on September 2 (here's a full list of speakers). A former senior adviser to Giuliani explained the strategy to the Observer, "The battleground is always in the middle, it's not the party regulars on the left or the right but smack dab in the center. Yes, Rudy will help with the......

After earlier reports that Senator Barack Obama would be ready to announce his vice presidential running mate this week, now it seems that he may do so as soon as Wednesday. According to the NY Times, the focus is "mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware," (though there are hopes Obama will choose a female running mate, like Senator Hillary......

Well, according to the NY Times, he's busy with his consulting firm Giuliani Partners, working on his upcoming Republican National Convention appearance, and getting ready for next week's Democratic National Convention (to respond to any Dem statements). And he's not crying over the spilled milk of his presidential campaign. A former aide described Giuliani, post-New Hampshire, “Once the campaign was over, he was happy to let go. When the decision was made to concede, 90......

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani will speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, according to the NY Post. He has night two slot (Sept. 2) and will likely talk 9/11--presumptive nominee John McCain previously told the Post, "I've been with [Giuliani] a lot. I appreciate more than I could tell you his friendship and support. And that was steadfast throughout the primary. He's great American. He united America. I'll never forget that as long......

The Daily News reports that Hillary Clinton's Democratic National Convention appearance will be introduced not by former president Bill but daughter Chelsea. The former First Daughter was active in campaigning for her mother, winning kudos for her poise. And apparently it was Hillary's idea--a source said, "[Barack Obama] has a problem with Hillary's more fanatical women supporters, and this is a way to help with that." And in other campaign news, the a Financial Times......

Larry King has two interesting guests tonight: The main guest is JetBlue CEO Dave Barger, who will discuss his airline's changes as higher costs hit the airline industry. And more humorously, writer-director Adam McKay will also be on, to discuss the Paris Hilton response ad on Funny or Die. The ad was shot in the Hamptons--and Paris apparently memorized the entire script!......

After John McCain's campaign rolled out an ad criticizing Barack Obama, essentially equating him to "celeb" du jours Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, here's the Hilton family response: Kathy Hilton writes on Huffington Post, "It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their......

The presidential election will be here before we know it. And we'll know it because we'll have seen a hundred million attack ads from each side! Yesterday, the campaigns of both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama released sharp ads criticizing each other. McCain's camp compared Obama's rock star (Barackstar?) status with that of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. See it below: Obama's spokesman slammed the ad and the Democrat's team unveiled their response,......

With scuttlebutt suggesting Senator Barack Obama is unlikely to pick Senator Hillary Clinton as his running mate, Clinton's good friend Governor Jon Corzine said this morning that Clinton would be a "very strong" vice president. "Could she be president? Absolutely. Is she going to add something to the ticket? Yes." The Star-Ledger reports that Corzine, speaking on MSNBC, also thinks that Senator Joe Biden (Del.) is good choice. Biden, Senator Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Virgina......