By CAROLYN LOCHHEAD, San Francisco Chronicle
McCain, Obama focus campaign efforts on key states
FAIRFAX, Va. -- This week's lipstick brawl has masked the red-hot intensity of a shrinking presidential campaign battlefield as a flurry of post-convention polls show Republican John McCain starting to move ahead of Democrat Barack Obama for the first time nationally and gaining ground in key states.
Palin, plus husband, could push swing states to McCain, analysts say
WASHINGTON -- Democrats do not think that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's arrival in the enemy camp changes Sen. Barack Obama's path to the White House. As far as they're concerned, Republican John McCain's running mate is President Bush.As Obama told voters in Pennsylvania, "This race is not a personality contest."That bet is about to be tested.
The government's precarious fiscal affairs
WASHINGTON -- As the Bush administration proposes backstopping mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a $300 billion line of credit and Congress contemplates another economic stimulus, the question is who will bail out the government?
The Obama 'southern strategy'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sen. Barack Obama aims to reverse Republican Richard Nixon's famous "Southern Strategy" of appealing to white voters by increasing African American turnout to try to make inroads in the Republican stronghold. States are listed in descending order of their likelihood to swing Democratic this fall.
Can Obama win any former Confederate states?
WASHINGTON -- As the nation's first major party African American nominee for president, Democrat Barack Obama would be testing the audacity of hope in his effort to wrest large blocs of the old Confederacy from Republicans.
Vice presidential picks: What really matters?
WASHINGTON -- As Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain set about choosing their running mates, their vice presidential picks should come with a warning attached: Buyer beware.
Obama's and McCain's tax plans fall along party lines
WASHINGTON -- Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain offer voters a stark if orthodox choice on the economy, but according to experts, intense new budget pressures -- including military costs and health care spending -- could render economic orthodoxy outdated.
Old red-blue map may be redrawn on Election Day
WASHINGTON -- This year's unusual presidential election may toss out one more assumption: the old red-blue map that shows Democrats owning the two coasts, Republicans dominating the South and interior West, and a few battleground states picking the winner.
Ohio, Florida hold keys to general election victory
WASHINGTON -- The long fixation on race, gender, age and class in the Democratic primaries will soon spread to the general election as the Democratic nominee seeks the keys to the Republican kingdom: Ohio and Florida.Both states were hotly contested battlegrounds in 2000 and 2004 that gave George W. Bush two terms in the White House. Without them, Republicans lose the presidency.
Calculated guesses about Iraq await next U.S. president
WASHINGTON -- In little-noticed testimony last week, top military and diplomatic experts painted a vivid picture of how tight a bind the United States now finds itself in, how precarious is the position of U.S. soldiers and how difficult are the decisions the next president will face.
