Elections 2008

WASHINGTON - John McCain and Barack Obama outlined steps to counter the faltering economy and plummeting stock market on Friday, fresh evidence of the dominant role of pocketbook issues in their race for the White House.

LAKEVILLE, Minn. - The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is acting to tamp it down. McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he described the Democrat as a "decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin acted "within proper and lawful authority" in removing the state's public safety commissioner, the McCain-Palin Republican presidential ticket said on Friday in response to a state report.

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee John McCain was booed at his own rally on Friday as he tried to rein in increasingly raw anger among supporters stunned by Democrat Barack Obama's lead in the polls.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) - An Alaska ethics inquiry found on Friday that U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin abused her power as the state's governor, casting a cloud over John McCain's controversial choice of running mate for the November 4 election.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AFP) - Investigators found vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her powers as Alaska governor, dealing another blow to Republican John McCain's struggling White House bid.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday welcomed a plan by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to buy equity in financial institutions if necessary to halt market turmoil.

WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain, trailing in polls and searching for a way to gain ground, assailed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday in a sharply worded TV ad that said: "When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied."

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrat Barack Obama on Friday soared 11 points ahead of Republican rival John McCain taking a double digit lead for the first time in a Newsweek poll amid deep concerns about the economy.

CLEVELAND - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said more than one person has whispered in her ear in Ohio that John McCain needs "to take the gloves off" in his campaign against Democrat Barack Obama. Before a friendly crowd of Republican fundraisers Friday, the Alaska governor did that herself.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Barack Obama is playing it safe. Leading in polls with 25 days to Election Day, the Democratic nominee is offering careful proposals to address the economic crisis while letting allies respond to John McCain's sharpest charges.

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (AFP) - Republican John McCain Friday urged his supporters to stop hurling abuse against Barack Obama at his rallies, saying he admired and respected his Democratic rival.

Accusations of voter fraud have hurled a giant mud ball into an already messy presidential campaign, with Republicans alleging that Democrat Barack Obama has close ties to an activist group accused of compiling fake registration forms, including ones for the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys — submitted in Nevada.

THE POLL: Fox News/Opinion Dynamics, national presidential race among registered voters

PHOENIX - A half sister of Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has died of Alzheimer's disease, the family announced.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday that Republican John McCain is trying to "take the lowest road to the highest office in America," with ads and rhetoric questioning Barack Obama's character and judgment.

WASHINGTON - As John McCain and Barack Obama vie to become president, certain fevered voices persist in saying they should not even be allowed to try.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - White House Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday that U.S. policymakers have the tools they need to address the deepening financial crisis but it is crucial that they use them right away.

Obama proposes tax breaks, loans for small business; McCain wants to halt retiree stock sales ... McCain hammers Obama in ad over his links to 1960s radical ... Obama says McCain stokes anger and division to 'rile up' people ... Alaska lawmakers discuss report on Palin abuse-of-power investigation ... Biden says McCain trying to distract voters with 'baseless' accusations

LAS VEGAS - Cindy Florez can't always remember the name of the man who will get her vote for president, but she knows his party and that's enough.

ASHBURN, Va. - As the presidential race revs up, political conversations in NFL locker rooms echo those in workplaces nationwide.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In the mythology of the last-chance campaign debate, the candidate trying to catch up strides out strong, gets tough with the other guy and delivers a performance that changes the race.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday accused Republican John McCain of trying to divide the country, but he let fellow Democrats handle harsher attacks while he kept his message mostly upbeat.

LA CROSSE, Wis. - John McCain proposed Friday that the elderly be allowed to hang on to the stocks in their retirement funds and not be forced to sell them in a bad market.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (AFP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama called for a global response to the deepening financial crisis Friday as ministers from the world's major wealthy democracies headed to Washington for emergency weekend talks.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday proposed a new loan program for small businesses, saying it would help stem job losses amid the deepening financial crisis.

LACROSSE, Wisconsin (AFP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain's campaign on Friday unveiled a new ad charging that Democrat Barack Obama associated with a "terrorist," and then "lied" about it.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday that global finance ministers must take coordinated steps to calm the upheaval in financial markets.

KITTANNING, Pa. - The steel mills and coal mines of western Pennsylvania helped fuel the nation's economic engine. Today, old factory shells and boarded-up storefronts stand as bleak reminders of those once-prosperous times.