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Politics : The Next President 2008 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (2003)	12/24/2007 11:36:54 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3215

Obama Says He'll Make Toys Safer By MIKE GLOVER Sunday, December 23, 2007 Email It Print It Take Action Read Article & Comments (4) Trackbacks(0) Post Your Comments As holiday shoppers hunted for safe toys Sunday, Democrat Barack Obama touted his plan for tighter regulation of Chinese-made playthings, millions of which have been recalled because of unsafe levels of lead. Obama said he would test to find toys with lead-based paint and ban those with even trace amounts of the substance. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks to local residents during a campaign stop, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, at Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Related Media: VIDEO: Political Profile: Barack Obama "Now don't get me wrong, as president I will work with China to keep harmful toys off our shelves," Obama said. "But I'll also immediately take steps to ensure that all toys are independently tested before they reach our shores and I'll significantly increase penalties on companies that break the rules." "The more toys we import from China, the more risk to our children," said Obama, an Illinois senator. "As president I will act with urgency to protect our children from being harmed by unsafe toys." Obama used a pre-Christmas swing through western Iowa to call for bolstering consumer protection efforts against toys from China; his campaign said up to 80 percent of the toys sold in America are made there. Background documents provided by the campaign said up to 400,000 children each year suffer some form of lead poisoning, underscoring the need for independent inspection of those toys. After the appearances, he was headed home to Chicago and joked about power-shopping on Christmas Eve. "I'm going to have to do all of mine tomorrow. It's going to be tough," Obama said. Iowa voters launch the presidential nominating season with precinct caucuses on Jan. 3, and most polls show Obama, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina locked in a tight, yet fluid, race. When Obama asked for the undecideds in the audience of about 200 to show their hands, roughly one-third did. Besides the promise of improved toy safety, the Democratic presidential candidate also argued for trade policies that are tougher and with more environmental standards and protections for workers. Still, Obama sought distinctions with rivals Clinton and Edwards, though he softened the edges a bit. On Saturday, Obama criticized Edwards, saying he didn't have the record to back up the populist rhetoric he uses on the campaign trail. Obama also said Edwards allowed an independent group to launch a $750,000 ad campaign for him in Iowa while decrying such practices on the stump. continued... 1 2 \| Full Article & Comments \| Next > townhall.com

To: calgal who wrote (2003)	12/25/2007 11:05:38 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3215

Romney Lashes Out at McCain in N.H. By GLEN JOHNSON Monday, December 24, 2007 Email It Print It Take Action Read Article & Comments (16) Trackbacks(0) Post Your Comments With John McCain on vacation and Rudy Giuliani occupied elsewhere in the state, Mitt Romney sought this weekend to close the deal with New Hampshire Republicans who remain undecided about his presidential candidacy. Romney fired away at McCain, repeatedly accusing the Arizona senator of failing "Reagan 101" by voting twice against Bush administration tax cuts. Romney also said McCain's past support for allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and work toward legal status amounted to amnesty. Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, joined by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., speaks during a news conference at a campaign stop Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 in Tuftonboro, N.H. (AP Photo/Joel Page) Related Media: VIDEO: Ann Romney "You know, right now Sen. McCain and I are both battling for your support and your vote. He's a good man, but we have differing views on this," Romney told a capacity crowd at the Peterborough Town House. McCain senior adviser Mark Salter shot back: "Welcome to Mitt Romney's bizarro world, in which everyone is guilty of his sins. He didn't support Ronald Reagan. He didn't support President Bush's tax cuts. ... New Hampshire is onto you, Mitt." Romney largely ignored Giuliani, telling reporters he was focusing on McCain rather than the former New York mayor because Giuliani had curtailed his campaigning here and polls showed his support flagging. A Boston Globe poll released Sunday bolstered Romney's analysis: McCain had pulled into a statistical dead heat after his campaign appeared all but dead this summer. Just 15 days before the primary, Romney had the support of 28 percent of likely voters, McCain 25 percent and Giuliani 14 percent. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. A similar poll last month had Romney at 32 percent, Giuliani in second at 20 percent and McCain in third at 17 percent. Romney has also lost the lead he held in Iowa, which kicks off the nominating process with its Jan. 3 caucuses, to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee has campaigned only sporadically in New Hampshire, which votes Jan. 8. "It's between Mitt Romney and John McCain," said Kelly Drew, a 43-year-old contracting company worker who attended a Romney event Saturday in North Conway. "If I could blend the both of them, it would be great." She cited Romney's talk of fiscal responsibility with McCain's sense of world affairs, although after Romney's presentation, she sought out the reporter who had interviewed her previously to say, "If you get to talk to Mr. Romney, ask him how he's going to pay for everything he just talked about." When faced with that question, Romney explains that he and his budget specialists have a plan to offset any new spending with equivalent cuts. Another pair of undecided voters at the same event, Mark and Kate Munroe of Concord, Mass., said they were leaning Romney's way but wanted to hear him directly. "We support somebody who supports our values and will bring the United States over the next four years to a better place," said Mark Munroe, 32, a commercial real estate broker who grew up in North Conway. During eight events over the course of three days, Romney traversed the state. At each stop, he was accompanied by his wife, Ann, as well as the state's senior U.S. senator, Judd Gregg. Gregg said he was backing Romney because he would inject a "can-do" spirit and sense of optimism to Washington. "This is going to be a very important election," Gregg told voters in Peterborough. "We in New Hampshire are playing a unique role, as we always do every four years, and the fact that you're here today reinforces why we have done so well playing that role." Ann Romney spoke of her husband's personal side and made overt references to their 38-year marriage. Both McCain and Giuliani have been divorced, a point of angst for some social conservatives. townhall.com