Race for '08: Barack Obama

WASHINGTON - Call it the Biden Buzz. Part of the noise comes from the reporters swarming around Sen. Joe Biden. Yet all the speculation about the Delaware lawmaker as a leading candidate for vice-presidential running mate may be saying a lot about what Barack Obama's campaign lacks.

LYNCHBURG, Virginia (AFP) - Barack Obama savaged his Republican rival John McCain for running a dishonorable campaign that aides to the Democrat said smacked of "reckless" desperation.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Democrat Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to create millions of union jobs in alternative energy and end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas, using tough new populist language to convince voters that he, not rival John McCain, is best positioned to lift the limping U.S. economy.

MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain dodged questions about their looming vice presidential picks on Wednesday as they renewed their battle over who has the best judgment on national security and the economy.

THE RACE: The presidential race nationally

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama stepped up his hard-edged ad campaign Wednesday, launching two tough commercials against Republican presidential rival John McCain.

Free Speech: Terrorism and oil aren't the only stand-out issues this year. A President Obama and Democratic Congress could empower a multimedia thought police whose long arms extend even to the Internet.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain told voters on Wednesday he is not challenging Barack Obama's patriotism in criticizing his call to pull out of Iraq, only the judgment of his Democratic rival.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The campaign of White House hopeful Barack Obama Wednesday warned his Republican foe John McCain would pursue a "reckless" and "trigger-happy" foreign policy, and shoot first and ask questions later.

WASHINGTON - The prospective running mates of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain focused on their day jobs or chores at home Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican John McCain grabbed the lead over Democrat Barack Obama in a new opinion poll Wednesday, as his campaign built steam with the White House race entering a pivotal phase.

McCain says he questions Obama's judgment, not his patriotism, on how to deal with Iraq war ... Former NY Mayor Giuliani to keynote GOP convention; other former McCain rivals also to speak ... Traveling by bus in Virginia, Obama pushes for more union jobs ... AFL-CIO jabs McCain on his economic record in new mailer

TITLE: "Three Times"

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican White House candidate John McCain on Wednesday denied he was questioning Barack Obama's patriotism, and accused his Democratic foe of getting "testy" over his attacks on Iraq.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

MIAMI - A man who authorities said kept an arsenal of weaponry and military gear pleaded not guilty Wednesday to threatening to assassinate both President Bush and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama and John McCain have burnished images as politicians who keep special interests at arms' length, yet there won't be much stiff-arming at their nominating conventions.

WASHINGTON - Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has consistently followed the government's instructions for keeping prohibited foreign money out of their presidential campaigns, and some of that banned money has slipped into Obama's campaign.

ORLANDO, Fla. - President Bush, nearing the end of two terms dominated by war, said Wednesday his decision to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq early last year brought security to a now resurgent nation and he criticized those who said his plan was flawed.

CHICAGO - An Indiana railroader, an Iowa mother and a Michigan truck driver are getting a moment at the Democratic convention to help portray Barack Obama as the people's champion and counter GOP characterizations of him as an out-of-touch celebrity.

WASHINGTON - When Barack Obama announces his choice for vice president, the real payoff may come during the next few months — one text message at a time.

WASHINGTON - The political landscape is littered with Democrats whose campaigns have been hurt by questions about their patriotism. Barack Obama wants to avoid the same fate.

WASHINGTON - Presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain plan to pull ads on Sept. 11 that criticize each other, a respite from the political fray to honor the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of September 11 victims' families appealed to White House hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama on Wednesday to suspend all campaigning on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks as a show of respect.

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Penny Pritzker was driving to Chicago's Midway Airport in June to meet Barack Obama when her cell phone rang.

CHICAGO - Sen. Joe Biden has emerged as the clear favorite among Democrats to be Barack Obama's running mate for his understanding of foreign policy in grave global times and his fighting spirit against the rival Republican ticket.

DETROIT - In an Aug. 18 story about United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger's comments about the presidential candidates, The Associated Press misstated when the UAW endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. The union endorsed Obama in June, not Monday.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Painted during the Democratic primary as weak on abortion rights, Barack Obama is now being portrayed by opponents of abortion as an extremist who literally supports killing babies.

THE RACE: The presidential race in Arizona.