GOP defers to McCain on Alaska oil drilling
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MINNEAPOLIS - Republicans are putting John McCain's presidential prospects above their wish to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Members of the GOP platform committee voted yesterday to stick with an energy plank that does not mention drilling in the refuge, saying it would only highlight an area where they differ with the Arizona senator. McCain opposes drilling in that protected land, and some committee members said they would rather bring him around on the issue after he is in the White House than widen their disagreement now.
"He's not there yet," said delegate Jeff Grossman of Oregon. "Prudence would dictate that we leave the text as it is until our candidate catches up with us."
Delegates endorsed expanded drilling generally, both offshore and in Alaska, North Dakota, and Montana, and declared that the Alaskan refuge should not be off limits to the oil industry permanently.
McCain does not have to follow the platform and it is unclear whether he will give it much weight; presidential candidates often don't. But the 112-member committee working on the statement of party principles is trying not to stray too far from McCain's views, while also satisfying the conservative base.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Democratic National Committee bought billboard space to display a picture of John McCain embracing President Bush with the message: "Does this look like change to you?"
Joanna Burgos, the spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention, said the Democrats have every right to counter the Republican message but said she was unimpressed by the billboard.
"I think there's no doubt that Senator McCain offers the real kind of change America needs, and I think a billboard is not the way you're going to convince the American people otherwise," Burgos said.
Democrats also plan to distribute to reporters a multimedia press kit, which will include flash drives with an extensive catalog of McCain's record - histories of his votes, past statements, and other material Democrats want to highlight.
A team of two dozen Democratic fact checkers will send out rapid responses to every GOP speaker. In addition to the visual and multimedia cues, Democrats will hold daily press briefings in downtown St. Paul to counter the Republican message radiating from the Xcel Center, setting up a media center across the street.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Her husband, Barack Obama, wants to reform immigration policies and provide illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, she said. "We would have an immigration policy that brings 12 million people out of the shadows," she told cheering caucus members who shouted "Yes we can" in Spanish.
Hispanics could play a key role in the November election, especially in the West where the Obama campaign has been courting them. Researchers say that although Hispanics make up about 15 percent of the US population, about 9 percent of eligible Hispanic voters are registered to vote and only 6.5 percent do vote, a statistic Republicans and Democrats are trying to change.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
