Palin spotlights special needs in first major policy speech

PITTSBURGH - Sarah Palin yesterday picked an issue close to her heart for her first major policy speech: special needs children.

Palin, whose 6-month-old son Trig has Down syndrome, told a crowd in Pittsburgh that the federal government should do more to help those children and their families, and give parents more choices.

"The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable," said Palin, who has said that, if elected, she would be an emissary for those families in the White House.

She did not cite which federal programs might be called on to give up $45 billion over five years to meet her proposal to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

"The law requires our public schools to serve children with special needs, but often the results fall far short of the service they need," she said. "Even worse, parents are left with no other options, except for the few families that can afford private instruction or therapy."

Later yesterday, the Alaska governor testified behind closed doors in a Missouri hotel about her firing of the state's public safety commissioner, the first time she has spoken at length or under oath about the lingering controversy. "She's been looking forward to this day," said Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein.

Whether that will happen remains uncertain. Investigations by the Alaska Personnel Board are normally secret and, though Palin has waived her privacy rights, others in her administration have not and the lead investigator has sought to keep the matter from playing out in the media.

The controversy surrounds Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, who says he was dismissed for resisting pressure to fire Palin's former brother-in-law, a state trooper involved in a messy divorce with the governor's sister.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

McCain, Obama returning to familiar turf for TV ads
Returning to their perceived strengths, John McCain's newest TV ad is on national security, while Barack Obama's is on domestic policy, specifically tax cuts for the middle class.

McCain's spot, set to air in battleground states, jumps on remarks that Obama's running mate made that the Democrat would be tested by an international crisis early in his presidency. The ad airs Joe Biden's comments - leaving out that he also reassured donors that enemies who tested Obama would quickly discover he has a "spine of steel" - over foreboding images of terrorists, tanks, and foreign leaders including Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

"It doesn't have to happen. Vote McCain," the announcer says.

Obama's ad, meanwhile, focuses on independent groups agreeing with him that his tax cut plans would mean three times the savings for most middle-class families. "Not sure who to believe on taxes?" the announcer asks over images of his campaign's online tax cut calculator. "Try this. Enter your income, marital status, number of kids. Then click. A nurse earning sixty grand? You get a thousand bucks under Obama. Under McCain, just one-fifty.

FOON RHEE

Obama campaign website targets McCain's robocalls
Hitting back at automated phone calls and other attacks from John McCain, Barack Obama's campaign yesterday launched a website where supporters can report new assaults - and get the campaign's defense.

In recent days, McCain and Republicans have launched robocalls on crime, abortion, and on Obama's association with 1970s radical William Ayers.

The website, Radar.BarackObama.com, "allows voters to report new attacks that pop up in their area - and get the facts about smears they've heard," the campaign said. The site is in addition to one it launched in June to rebut the flurry of what it called "smears" bouncing around the Internet.

FOON RHEE

Developer offers a way out if McCain wins the election
NEW YORK - A Manhattan developer is trying to lure buyers to his new condominium tower with a sales gimmick - an "Obama contingency clause" - aimed at Democrats.

Anyone who signs a purchase contract before Election Day can back out, no questions asked, if John McCain beats Barack Obama.

Developer Erik Ekstein said he got the idea after hearing from apartment hunters who said they won't be buying property at all if the Republican wins. Ekstein says an Obama presidency will be better for the economy.

ASSOCIATED PRESS