THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3; 2008
NEWS
5A
IRAQ WAR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An Iraqi soldier leads two blindfolded men in the Mansour neighborhood of western Bagnoa, Iraq, on Sunday. A force of the Iraqi army launched a search-raid campaign on Sunday in the Hay Dragh area of the Mansour neighborhood, capturing two wanted men with muffler arms and live ammunition, Iraqi army said.
Iraq forecasts policy changes after election
BY QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Iraq expects an American response to requested changes in a draft security pact soon after this week's U.S. presidential election, an aide to the prime minister said Sunday.
Another Iraqi official said the U.S. indicated it would accept all the proposed changes except one — greater Iraqi legal control over American soldiers and contractors.
Iraiqi lawmakers say the changes are essential in order to win parliamentary approval for the deal, which would keep American troops
Yassin Majeed said the U.S. response would come after Tuesday's vote so the president-elect — either Barack Obama or John McCain — could be briefed on the Iraqi proposals, which were submitted by Iraq's Cabinet last week.
in this country until 2012 and give the Iraqis a greater role in the conduct of U.S. military operations.
Parliament must approve the agreement before the year-end expiration of the U.N. mandate that allows coalition forces to operate here legally.
Without an agreement or a new U.N. mandate, the U.S. military would have to suspend its mission, and the U.S. military's future in Iraq would be up to the man who takes office in January.
McCain supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Obama opposed the invasion and said negotiations on a security agreement should be conducted as part of a "broader commitment" to begin withdrawing the troops. Obama's campaign Web site says the Democratic candidate believes the agreement also should be approved by Congress.
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Candidates battle in swing states
BY NEDRA PICKLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Barack Obama and John McCain uncorked massive get-out-the-vote operations in more than a dozen battleground states Sunday, millions of telephone calls, mailings and door-knockings in a frenzy, fitting climax to a record-shattering $1 billion campaign. Together, they'll spend about 8 dollars per presidential vote.
With just two days to go, most national polls show Obama ahead of McCain. State surveys suggest the Democrat's path to the requisite 270 electoral votes — and perhaps far beyond — is much easier to navigate than McCain's.
Obama exuded confidence,
"The last couple of days, I've been just feeling good," he told 80,000 gathered to hear him — and singer Bruce Springsteen — in Cleveland.
"The crowds seem to grow and everybody's got a smile on their face. You start thinking that maybe we might be able to win an election on November 4th."
All that's left now for the candidates is make sure people vote Tuesday — if they haven't already.
Polls show the six closest states are Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio. All were won by Bush and made competitive by Obama's record-shattering fundraising. The campaigns also are running aggressive ground games elsewhere, including Iowa, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia.
McCain
Indeed, Election Day is becoming a misnomer. About 27 mil
Obama
ing the Democratic primary. She is heard saying: "In the White House, there is no time for speeches and on-the-job training. Sen. McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign, and Sen. Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002."
"This is off the charts in some of these states," said Michael P. McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University.
one millionth home Sunday after a five-day push.
In a new TV ad, Obama highlighted Vice President Dick Cheney's support for McCain. The ad features Cheney, an extremely unpopular figure among the general public, at an event Saturday in Wyoming, saying: "I'm delighted to support John McCain."
McCain and the RNC dramatically ramped up their spending in the campaign's final days and now are matching Obama ad for ad, if not exceeding him, in key battleground markets in states such as Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
As the campaign closes, voters were being imundated with a crush of television ads and automated phone calls.
After months of planning, the Republican Party launched the last stage of its vaunted "72-hour program," when volunteers descend on competitive states for the final stretch. Democrats unleashed their "persuasion army" of backers scouring their own backyards to encourage people to back Obama in the campaign's waning hours.
Tuesday, Obama may already have too big of a head start in critical states like Nevada and Iowa, which Bush won four years ago.
His campaign reported that Saturday was its largest volunteer day, with more volunteers showing up to work the phones and walk neighborhood precincts than ever before in the campaign. Said Obama spokesman Bill Burton, "Our volunteers are completely engaged."
Not to be outdone, the Republican National Committee rolled out battleground phone calls that include Hillary Rodham Clinton's criticism of Obama dur-
McCain's crew says theirs are, too.
lion absentee and early votes were cast in 30 states as of Saturday night, more than ever. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in pre-Election Dav voting in key states.
Obama and McCain campaigned on each other's turf Sunday. Obama was in Ohio, a bellwether state Bush won four years ago and where polls show Obama tied or winning. McCain visited Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004. He trails in both.
That has Democrats — and even some Republicans — privately questioning whether McCain can overtake Obama, even if GOP loyalists turn out in droses on
"Ive been in a lot of campaigns. I know the momentum is there," McCain told supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania. Overall, polls show Obama winning or tied in more than a dozen or so states won by Bush while McCain trails in every Kerry state.
More than 10,000 Obama volunteers in Ohio were knocking on doors and planning to hit their
“There's no doubt that we've got an uphill battle,” said Rich Beeson, the RNC's political director. But, he said, "I'm not going into Election Day with any trepidation that they've put any state away" by banking early votes. "We still have a lot of voters that we can and will turn out."
The RNC reported making 5.4 million voter contacts last week, compared with 1.9 million in the same week in 2004, and it says it's volume has steadily increased since October began. Overall, it says 26 million voters have been contacted by volunteers over four months.
On Saturday alone, the RNC says an estimated 3 million voters were contacted by phone or in person, and it saw so many volunteers show up to help that in at least one state, Colorado, the party ran out of canvassing packets. Some 180,000 were gone by midday Saturday; more were printed.
McCain planned visits to media markets that hit battlegrounds Florida, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, and Nevada on Monday. A repeat trip to Pennsylvania also was slated before McCain returns home to Arizona.