S.A. Miller

Obama focuses on economy as nomination nears

Sen. Barack Obama kept his campaign focused on the economy Tuesday, warning a crowd of airline mechanics threatened with layoffs that presidential rival Sen. John McCain would leave them in the lurch the same way he said President Bush did during the last eight years. Published August 27, 2008

Clinton voters buck Obama’s bid

Barack Obama's bid for party unity at the Democratic National Convention is being challenged by angry supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton who refuse to let heal wounds from a brutal primary fight that their candidate lost. Published August 26, 2008

Obama reaches out to swing states

Obama struck a populist chord Sunday and sharpened attacks on his Republican rival for being well-heeled and out of touch, as he began a series of swing-state stops before accepting the Democratic presidential nomination later this week. Published August 26, 2008

Obama to outline contrast from foe

Sen. Barack Obama says his acceptance speech for the presidential nomination Thursday will not attempt soaring rhetoric but offer a "workmanlike" outline of policies that draw a stark distinction with Republican Sen. John McCain. Published August 26, 2008

Campaigns search for coveted crossovers

Forget soccer moms, security moms and NASCAR dads — the ultimate swing group this year may be the former party stalwarts each campaign is angling to poach from the other party, and chief among those are supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Published August 26, 2008

Biden seen as giving ticket gravitas

Sen. Barack Obama returned Saturday to the spot where he began his improbable presidential run to present his newly picked running mate. Published August 25, 2008

Obama introduces Sen. Biden as running mate

Sen. Barack Obama returned Saturday to the spot where he began his improbably presidential run to publicly present his newly picked running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden of Delaware, introducing him as a man with "a distinguished record and a fundamental decency" who will help lead the country in a new direction. Published August 23, 2008

Party boasts Western revival

If you did not know Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County - the most densely populated jurisdictions in solidly Republican Utah - had Democrat mayors, you will by the end of the Democratic National Convention in Denver next week. Published August 22, 2008

Obama gives nod to success of surge

Barack Obama, edging away from a long-held position, tacitly acknowledged the success of the Iraq troop-surge strategy during an appearance Tuesday before the country's largest organization of combat veterans. Published August 20, 2008

Obama’s serves up Southern strategy

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Georgia spent the weekend training more than 2,500 volunteers for a statewide push to register voters and boost Election Day turnout, a massive grass-roots mobilization that is part of the campaign's national strategy to drive up the mostly Democratic black vote and capture longtime Republican strongholds. Published August 19, 2008

Warner to deliver keynote address at convention

Sen. Barack Obama tapped Mark Warner to deliver the keynote address on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, boosting the former Virginia governor's run for U.S. Senate and the party's bid to steal the state from Republicans in the presidential race. Published August 14, 2008

McCain reminds voters of Obama’s ‘bitter’ gaffe

Sen. John McCain reminded Pennsylvanians Tuesday that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama said the state's small-town voters "cling to guns and religion" because they are "bitter," a gaffe that possibly contributed to Mr. Obama's loss in the state primary and might haunt his general election campaign in this battleground. Published August 13, 2008

Challengers render Franken run a joke

A lifetime of blue jokes and biting satire have proved a heavy load for Democrat Al Franken to carry in his U.S. Senate run, giving opponents an arsenal of potshots and even spurring a last-minute primary challenger who says the "Saturday Night Live" veteran is just too vulgar for Minnesotans. Published August 12, 2008

Michelle Obama courts vital military families

Michelle Obama told military wives faced with their husbands' multiple tours of duty, low military pay and health care concerns that help is on its way Wednesday, as the Democratic presidential candidate deployed his wife to court military families considered vital to flipping this historically Republican state. Published August 7, 2008

Democrats hit shutdown threat

Democratic leaders slammed Republicans on Monday for threatening to force a government shutdown this fall unless Congress lifts the ban on offshore oil drilling and for simultaneously demanding lawmakers return from the August recess to vote on more drilling. Published August 5, 2008

Rangel files for ethics probe of own actions

Rep. Charles B. Rangel took the unusual step Wednesday of filing an ethics complaint against himself, hoping an ethics probe will allay criticism he abused his office by using congressional stationery to solicit funds for a college center that bears his name. Published July 24, 2008

Energy legislation stalls on partisan bickering

Congress spun toward an impasse on energy legislation Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats talked past each other about how to cure America's gas-price woes. Published July 23, 2008

Gore introduces green challenge to U.S.

Former Vice President Al Gore harnessed his star power Thursday to push global warming to the forefront of election politics, challenging the nation to embark on an Apollo-style project to convert all electricity production to wind, solar and other renewable energy within 10 years. Published July 18, 2008

Capitol Hill hits low in ratings

Self-proclaimed Democrats - disgruntled by the failure of their party's leaders to keep key campaign promises - pushed Congress' job-approval rating to an all-time low in a Gallup Poll out Wednesday. Published July 17, 2008

Green groups bolster lobby against offshore drilling

Environmental groups are scrambling to shore up opposition in the Democrat-led Congress to more offshore oil drilling, countering the push for added domestic production by President Bush and voters pinched by rising gasoline prices. Published July 16, 2008