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For a candidate who has insinuated that Sen. John McCain is too old to handle the stress of the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama has a strange way of demonstrating his own abilities. He will provide an example of his own limitations on Friday, when he visits Columbus. It has been no secret thus far during the campaign that Obama does best in highly controlled, scripted appearances. He plans one for Friday, when he will go to Columbus — to appear at an invitation-only event for a limited number of senior citizens. Meanwhile, McCain has begun the series of “town hall”...

Senator Byrd In Step with West Virginians, Poll ShowsByrd Opposes Lieberman-Warner Global Warming Bill Rejected by Overwhelming Majority in Region For Release: June 6, 2008 Washington, DC - Senator Robert Byrd, who opposes America's Climate Security Act presently scheduled for a key Senate vote at 9 AM Friday, is in sync with a majority of West Virginians, says a poll released by the National Center for Public Policy Research. The survey found 64% of likely voters in mid-Atlantic states (WV, VA, MD, PA, NY, NJ and DE) oppose spending more for gasoline to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 71% oppose spending...

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama. McCain and Obama are very competitive nationally in the Rasmussen Reports...

Johnny Telvor was not happy about Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Not happy at all. Standing outside the sturdy courthouse in the sweltering heat of a West Virginia afternoon in the small town of Williamson, Telvor smoked a cigarette and bluntly gave his opinion of Obama's historic mission to be America's first black president. 'We'll end up slaves. We'll be made slaves just like they was once slaves,' he said. Telvor, a white Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in West Virginia's primary, said he planned to vote for Republican John McCain in November. 'At least he's an American,'...

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama.

Robert Byrd Endorses Obama Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and a one-time opponent of civil rights legislation, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday. Obama is vying to be the nation's first black president. Byrd's support comes almost a week after the Illinois senator's 41-point loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the longtime lawmaker's home state of West Virginia.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and a one-time opponent of civil rights legislation, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday. Obama is vying to be the nation's first black president. Byrd's support comes almost a week after the Illinois senator's 41-point loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the longtime lawmaker's home state of West Virginia. Byrd said he had no intention of getting involved while his state was in the midst of a primary. "But the stakes this November could not be higher," he said in a written...

A significant number of West Virginians (and some others in America) evidently take the view that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim. In a surpassingly depressing report from the coal-miner state on the eve of Tuesday's West Virginia primary, The Los Angeles Times noted voter views that go like this: "We do not need a Muslim to lead the good ole USA." It would not necessarily be so horrible if this well-spoken senator from Illinois were in fact Muslim. It turns out that most Muslims, like those in the country with the world's most Muslims (Indonesia),...

Even with Hillary Clinton’s wide margin win in the West Virginia primary, Barack Obama will be the Democrat standard bearer in November. However, Democrats may well have buyer’s remorse. Their rush to nominate Mr. Obama, the least vetted presidential candidate in memory, will likely cost them the fall election. The voters, who many believe, Mr. Obama needs for victory in November are trending to John McCain. Obviously, Team Obama is looking at a different trail to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. West Virginia is thought of as a reliably Democrat state. Democrat Governor Joe Manchin won...

LOS ANGELES — There is good news and bad news for Democrats in the wake of Tuesday’s voting in West Virginia and Mississippi. The good news is that Democrats are now three-for-three in the contests for open House seats, adding Mississippi to the list where a Democrat, albeit one running as pro-life and pro-gun, defeated his Republican opponent in a traditionally Republican, conservative district. The bad news is that Barack Obama, who has been crowned by the media as the "presumptive nominee" of the Democratic Party, got trounced in a state that every Democrat to be elected president in recent...

Hillary Wins West Virginia Click the pic to watch the video! Dunlap: "The media and the super delegates are abandoning in droves Hillary the Loser!" Jackie: "But she keeps winning!" Dunlap: "Jackie, you cannot stop rats from deserting the sinking ship!" Jackie: "What...that don't make no sense. Why are the rats deserting a sinking ship if the ship ain't sinkin?" Dunlap: "Rats are stupid."

Barack Obama really didn't need a victory in West Virginia. He was already well on his way to wrapping up the Democratic nomination, and the 28 delegates at stake were not going to change that picture, no matter how that primary came out. But he should have competed there, if only to signal his awareness of its special place in Democratic history. Forty-eight years ago, it was West Virginia more than any other state that propelled John Kennedy into the White House. And it did so in a way that Obama should have wanted to emulate. Admittedly, I have a...

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arranged to meet with uncommitted superdelegates following her lopsided victory in the West Virginia primary, as her supporters argued that her appeal to some traditional Democratic voting blocks may change opinions despite the long odds against her... Governor Ed Rendell of pennsylvania, a Clinton supporter, said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday that "superdelegates have to have second thoughts" after West Virginia... The number of white Democratic voters who said that race influenced their choice Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the Clinton-Obama nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia...

Barack Obama is in hot pursuit of general election voters, hoping America won't notice he got his head handed to him in West Virginia. The Illinois senator virtually pretended the primary didn't happen Tuesday, with no election night speech or any public appearance at all after the polls closed and gave Hillary Rodham Clinton (web|news|bio) a more than 2-1 victory even though her candidacy is likely doomed. At Obama's Chicago headquarters, advisers said there was no reason to worry - West Virginia was demographically suited to Clinton and won't be part of their general election plans. It's also true that...

Tonight in West Virginia Hillary Clinton crushed Barack Obama 67%-26%. Obama is widely expected to win the Democratic Party nomination for president. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, won with a 76%-24% margin over five other candidates. Three of McCain's opponents dropped out of the race two months ago. The other two did not actually campaign in West Virginia.

If a tree falls in the forest when everybody expects it to fall, does it make a sound? Yes, says Hillary Clinton. It makes a deafening roar, says Hillary Clinton. SHE WON THE WEST VIRGINIA PRIMARY BY A KAZILLION PERCENTAGE POINTS TUESDAY NIGHT, AND THAT, SHE SAYS, HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING! Except the press doesn’t think so. The press is unimpressed. This may be the first time in election history in which the press has withdrawn from a race before the candidate. As John Harwood of the New York Times and CNBC said on MSNBC Tuesday several hours before the...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton routed Sen. Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary yesterday, scoring one of her most lopsided victories of the long campaign even as she continued to battle overwhelming odds in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton's easy victory in a state that has slipped away from Democrats in the past two elections added fresh ammunition to her claim that she is better positioned than Obama to capture critical swing states in November. But the primary win may have come too late to have a significant impact on the trajectory of a nomination battle in...

A confluence of groups customarily inclined toward Hillary Clinton was voting in the West Virginia primary, with less-educated, lower-income Southern whites predominating. Nonetheless there was room for criticism of Clinton -- and bringing "needed change," Barack Obama's trademark, was again the most-desired candidate trait. The Race Factor Racially motivated voting appeared to be running higher than usual: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. And only a third of those voters said they'd support Obama as the nominee against John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where...

Fox News projects HRC wins WV.

CBS/AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton has defeated Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, CBS News projects. CBS News exit polling shows that Clinton could win the state by a sizable margin. West Virginia Results Obama conceded defeat in advance in the state as he looked ahead to the Oregon primary later in the month and the campaign against Republican John McCain. Clinton won with nearly every demographic group, according to exit polls, including men, women, young voters, older voters, people earning less than $50,000 a year and those earning more than that. (See more exit poll analysis.) Obama won the...

A former University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer who taught that the U.S. government was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is running for Congress. Kevin Barrett says he will officially announce his challenge to Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind on Monday. Barrett says he will make the announcement before a Kind town hall meeting and then ask the congressman "some pointed questions." Barrett says he is running as a Libertarian and will be calling for an investigation into the terrorist attacks. He calls the official version of what happened a "load of hooey."Barrett is also urging voters to throw all Democrats...

Last week Typical White Person Sen. Hillary Clingin' made an appeal to the bitter nature of her base, the HillAryan Nation. She talked about "how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me. I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on. . . . There's a pattern emerging here. . . . " Yes, Your Thighness, you do have a much broader base, as your poor pantsuit will attest. And yes, there is a pattern emerging here:...

Hillary Clinton has cruised to a crushing win over Barack Obama in West Virginia's primary, but did little to shake her rival's stranglehold on the Democratic White House race.Television network projections handed victory to the former first lady as soon as the polls closed, highlighting African-American Obama's struggle to win over white, working class voters who play a key role in general election swing states."You will never quit, and I won't either," Clinton told cheering supporters at her victory rally here on Tuesday."There are some who have wanted to cut this race short," Clinton said."I am more determined than ever...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton coasted to a large, but largely symbolic victory in working-class West Virginia on Tuesday, handing Barack Obama one of his worst defeats of the campaign but scarcely slowing his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination. The Associated Press made its call based on surveys of voters as they left the polls. Obama looked ahead to the Oregon primary later in the month and the general election campaign against Republican John McCain, but the defeat underscored his weakness among blue collar voters who will be pivotal in the fall. "This is our chance to...

WEST VIRGINIA SEC OF STATE WEBSITE. THINGS TO WATCH: Will Hillary convince Supers to let her get back in the race? Will Hillary cry? Will Howard Dean say something insane? Will Rev. Sharpton use the can of gasoline and matches I sent him and threaten to burn down the place? Will Robert KKK Byrd have the klan out to vote for the white candidate? Will Bill say something stupid or incendiary to sabotage her again? Will dishes be flying? Will Bill have an incident with a female while his evil wife gives a victory speech? Will Obama wear a...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, with talent on loan from G-d, at the cutting-edge of societal evolution, with half his brain tied behind his back — just to make it fair, the all-knowing, all-caring, all-sensing, all-feeling,...

CLEAR FORK, W.Va. - Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday compared her underdog quest for the White House to John F. Kennedy's 1960 campaign -- while her top strategist likened Barack Obama's sky-high confidence to George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" declaration. A Suffolk University poll Monday showed the former first lady leading Barack Obama by 36 points ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia primary -- which would be her biggest victory margin of the campaign. But analysts say a win tonight is likely to do little to erode Obama's lead in delegates, or stem the steady trickle of undecided superdelegates to the...

Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads—"Take Me Home," John Denver Them thar Wellesley girls is so country. Kinda like good ol' "can I git me a huntin' license here" John Kerry, nothing makes Hillary Clinton feel more at comfortable than to find herself among country folks. Thus it was entirely natural, and not at all a cynical campaign ploy, for Hillary to slip into some country vernacular when addressing a Mountain State gathering. Check out the video, aired on this evening's Hardball, of Hillary addressing a West...

West Virginia Democratic Primary Polls Open: 6:30 am ET Polls Close: 7:30 pm ET Delegates at Stake: 28 Barack Obama is in a commanding position to win the Democratic presidential nod. But he is the underdog in Tuesday's West Virginia primary. The state's gun-owning, church-going, and economically struggling small towns are ripe targets for Hillary Clinton, who has tended to outperform Obama with these groups. The former first couple has also put in more time on the ground than Obama. Sen. Clinton has held 14 events and former President Clinton has held 15. By contrast, Sen. Obama has only held...

On Today’s Show... While Hillary skunks him in the WV primary -- thanks to Operation Chaos -- Obama will hole-up in Rush's hometown of Cape Girardeau, MO. (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen Here) » Wash. Times: Obama's First General Election Stop: Missouri, Limbaugh Country Pearl of Wisdom: "How is it, feminists, that the only man in this whole race who has stood up for Hillary's right to fight the good fight to the bitter end is me, Rush Limbaugh? Why has the liberal male establishment thrown her under the bus?" Tweak the media: Is Obama campaigning in all 57 Islamic...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, with talent on loan from G-d, at the cutting-edge of societal evolution, with half his brain tied behind his back — just to make it fair, the all-knowing, all-caring, all-sensing, all-feeling,...

Hillary Clinton is expected to win by big margins, her campaign is renewing the argument that if she leads in the popular vote, she should be the Democratic nominee. "Hillary is within striking distance of winning the popular vote nationwide -- a key part of our plan to win the nomination," campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a letter to supporters Sunday. "That means we need every last vote we can get in West Virginia on Tuesday and in the races to follow." West Virginia is also a key swing state. Bill Clinton won in 1992 and 1996, and George...

New polls Monday predicted landslide wins for Hillary Clinton in two looming primaries, despite pressure for her to cede to Barack Obama's mathematical stranglehold on the Democratic White House race. The former first lady, who is vowing to battle on even as Obama turns his sights on Republican presumptive nominee John McCain, led her foe by 36 points in the latest poll out of West Virginia, which votes Tuesday. In Kentucky, which holds its primary on May 20, Clinton was up 58 to 31 percent, in another poll suggesting Obama faces an uncomfortable two weeks. Huge wins for Clinton in...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Addressing criticism he expects this fall, Sen. Barack Obama emphasized his patriotism and support for a strong and humane military Monday, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton implored West Virginians to sustain her hopes of somehow denying him the Democratic presidential nomination. Obama expects Clinton to win Tuesday's primary in West Virginia, which has large numbers of working-class whites — a group that usually backs the former first lady — as well as a strong military tradition. He used his visit to Charleston to combat critics' claims that he is not particularly patriotic or ready to be commander...

(CNN) — Even as her campaign appears to be in its final stages, Hillary Clinton is headed for two sweeping victories in West Virginia and Kentucky, the next two states to weigh in on the prolonged Democratic presidential race. According to new polls released Monday, Clinton holds a 34 point lead in West Virginia and a 27 point lead in Kentucky. In West Virginia, which votes Tuesday, a Suffolk University Poll has Clinton drawing 60 percent of likely Democratic voters compared to Obama's 24 percent. That poll also shows Clinton holds a 70 percent approval rating among West Virginia’s Democratic...

He's campaigning in Charleston right now, and I can't help but notice he's wearing a flag pin on his lapel and has two huge American flags as his backdrop.

W Virginia keeps distance from Obama By Andrew Ward Published: May 11 2008 20:13 | Last updated: May 11 2008 20:13 Like most people in Mingo County, West Virginia, Leonard Simpson is a lifelong Democrat. But given a choice between Barack Obama and John McCain in November, the 67-year-old retired coalminer would vote Republican. “I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife’s an atheist,” said Mr Simpson, drawing on a cigarette outside the fire station in Williamson, a coalmining town of 3,400 people surrounded by lush wooded hillsides. EDITOR’S CHOICE Editorial comment: Obama profits not from Jeremiah -...

Democrats bristle at talking about this in plainer terms. They say Sen. Hillary Clinton has found her base -- the "working class." That's why she won in the Rust Belt primaries. That's her great hope in Kentucky and West Virginia. But calling Clinton's strategy one of kowtowing to the "working class" doesn't quite say it, does it? Isn't this just old-fashioned racism within the Democratic Party? When Hillary strategists say they are winning the "working class," they don't mean they are winning working people with a household income of, say, less than $50,000. All the exit polls show quite clearly...

Sen. Hillary Clinton's spokesman Howard Wolfson yesterday blasted Sen. Barack Obama for not spending much time in the Mountain State. I had a story in today's paper outlining the challenge West Virginia presents for Obama, who after picking up a bunch of superdelegates today, is now 156 away from securing the nomination under party rules. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's top aides yesterday accused Sen. Barack Obama of ignoring West Virginia, saying Democrats must win the state in the fall and using her 43-point poll lead there as evidence that her longshot bid deserves to run its course. "What is the...

As Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., avoids any real campaigning in West Virginia, the former president of the United States is out there ginning up resentments. Bill Clinton has the right to say whatever he wants, of course. But he's a smart man. Brilliant, even. He can do the math. He must know that it's quite improbable that his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will be the Democratic presidential nominee. So what purpose does it serve for him to barnstorm a state like West Virginia and tell rural voters that Obama and his elitist political/media cabal allies are mocking Appalachia? He's...

The next state on the Democratic primary schedule is, of course, West Virginia, which has Tuesday all to its amoeba-shaped self. Why is it, then, that Barack Obama has yet to book a single stop in, say, Shepherdstown, Charleston, Philippi, Sutton, Fayetteville, Fairlea or Bluefield--all of which have already hosted either Bill or Hillary Clinton? Because he has no chance of winning--and no one seems to care. Appearing on ABC's Nightline back in November 2007, Obama slipped into Bob Dole mode for this slightly overconfident assessment of his electoral chances: "Every place is Barack Obama country once Barack Obama's been...

"MOOREFIELD, W.VA. -- In Hardy County, Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2 to 1. But there is little enthusiasm for Barack Obama in this mountainside enclave, a portent of trouble for the Illinois senator in next week's West Virginia primary and the general election beyond."

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Despite a weakening position in the Democratic presidential nomination race, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is very popular among Democrats in West Virginia, the location of next primary, a survey showed on Friday. The poll by TSG consulting showed Clinton lead 63-23 percent over rival Sen. Barrack Obama of Illinois in West Virginia, said the Charleston Gazette, a West Virginia newspaper. The telephone poll of 300 Democratic and independent voters had an error margin of plus or minus 6 percent. TSG president Tom Susman said if that vote held true on May 13,the primary...

Even as she faces pressure from some to call her White House bid quits, Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead in West Virginia, according to a new poll released Friday. Clinton has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 percent to 23 percent, according to a new survey from the American Research Group.

Kennedy: No soup or VP slot for you TRIBUNE-REVIEW By Salena Zito Apparently, Sen. Ted Kennedy does not think Sen. Hillary Clinton has "real" leadership qualities or "is in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspiration(s) of the American people."

Obama trolls House, but Altmire remains neutral TRIBUNE-REVIEW By Salena Zito Rep. Jason Altmire said his baseline for a decision to endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton over Sen. Barack Obama would be if Clinton managed to reach somewhere close to a delegate tie with him when the primaries were over. "She earned her right to continue the campaign when she won in Pennsylvania and won my district," he said. Altmire said even after her loss in North Carolina and slim win in Indiana, she still has that right. "It's a long shot, I understand that, but I still want to give...

WASHINGTON - Apart from George McGovern, a plainspoken man who knows something about losing elections, not a single Democrat of national stature publicly urged Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday to end her campaign for the White House. They didn't have to. There was no shortage of other ways to signal, suggest, insinuate or instigate the same thing. And certainly no need to apply unseemly pressure to a historic political figure, a woman who has run a grueling race, won millions of votes and drawn uncounted numbers of new Democratic voters to the polls. Instead, many Democrats preferred to say softly...

At West Virginia rally, Clinton vows to fight on By David Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, May 8, 2008 CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Memo to those writing political obituaries for Hillary Clinton: She ain't done yet. Clinton sought to drive home that message to hundreds of cheering supporters at a rally here today, contending West Virginia will muzzle the pundits by giving her a resounding win on Tuesday over Barack Obama, whose victory Tuesday in North Carolina and strong showing in Indiana moved him closer to clinching the Democratic presidential nomination. "I know that according to the polls, I'm doing well here. But...

Barack Obama met with reporters Friday in Indianapolis and admitted the obvious: "We've had a rough couple of weeks. I won't deny that." The next couple of weeks will show just how rough. The roiling controversies -- over his remarks about rural voters and his ties to his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. -- have cast new doubts over the Illinois senator's ability to win over white working-class Democrats. Tuesday's two primaries will offer fresh data on his appeal. Sen. Obama is strongly favored in North Carolina, while Indiana is seen as a toss-up. If Hillary Clinton gets...