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Ya gotta hand it to them. The Associated Press knows how to cut out all the extraneous background noise and get right to the important issues of the day. Barack Obama will surely be in the center of the vortex of some of the most important decisions in the world during the next four years and even his preparations for taking office are vitally important as a marker to what he might do in office. There are wars and rumors of wars, disasters and relief efforts and historic decisions will soon be made. But no decision is so important, as...

401(k) early casualty of downturnRecession would jeopardize match made by employers DAVID PITT Associated Press Published: November 9, 2008 6:00 a.m. DES MOINES, Iowa – Retirement accounts already battered by a steep market decline might get hit again as several companies suspend or reduce their 401(k) match to save cash. **SNIP** Matching contributions average about 11 percent of a company’s profits, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 companies by the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America. **SNIP** “This is a recession-type of response. These employers are really up against it and they have to decide to cut somewhere...

OK. I'm not going to bother posting the article, since the next four years are going to be a constant Obama love-fest, and we're all going to get tired of 24/7/365 articles like this. Just an observation to Todd Lewan. Todd: Obama was elected because the stock market imploded just before the election, and the New Obama Government Media engineered pinning the blame on the Republicans. This was a lie. So, your entire article is a crock of bunny poo. Now, let's get to it, and start the list from this Ossociated Press piece. The Mighty Todd outs himself as...

"My image of America used to be a country run by the white people, but now it's changing," said 65-year-old taxidriver Kenji Doi, an Obama supporter, as he listened to a radio broadcast on the vote early Wednesday in Tokyo."

WASHINGTON – The government is investigating whether any laws were broken involving details about the disclosure that Barack Obama's aunt was living in the country illegally. The Associated Press learned late Friday learned that Obama's half aunt, who is from Kenya, was ordered to leave the United States years ago after an immigration judge denied her request for asylum. The woman, Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUHN on-YANG-oh), is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's late father. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked its inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility on Saturday to investigate whether...

A former secretary of state and supporter of Republican presidential nominee John McCain says that McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, isn't up to the task of taking over the presidency in a crisis but could become "adequate" if not "a genius in the job." Then again, added Lawrence Eagleburger, several other vice presidents were also not ready. And he said he was confident that Palin, Alaska's governor, was tough enough if called to serve. Eagleburger, who was secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, has been cited frequently by McCain as one of several seasoned diplomats and former Cabinet...

With days still to go in the White House race, backers of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin are talking her up as a possible contender in 2012, speculation that irritates other Republicans who contend she's a drag on the ticket and that her lightweight image — unfair or not — will be hard to shed. The Alaska governor has done little to quiet the talk. In fact, she fueled the discussion this week when she signaled that she will remain on the national political scene no matter what happens Tuesday. "I'm not doing this for naught," she said in an...

WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office. Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Barack Obama, gunning for a national landslide, now leads in four states won by President Bush in 2004 and is essentially tied with John McCain in two other Republican red states, according to new AP-GfK battleground polling.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Gov. Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment — a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 — emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Well, that mean ol' Sarah Palin ruined everything for the St. Louis Blues hockey team, darn it all. That's right the media's newest Cheney replacement must have been planning this monstrous attack on the Blues' goalie for weeks. Her next trick: world domination. At least this seems to be how MSNBC and the Associated Press feel about it all. What am I talking about? Well, Palin visited the Blues' arena to see a game on October 24 and it seems that Blues goalie Manny Legace tripped on the carpet that the team laid on the ice so that Palin and...

Gov. Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment — a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 — emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows. Beginning at the Republican National Convention in August, the McCain-Palin ticket has touted the pipeline as an example of how it would help America achieve energy independence. "We're building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline, which is North America's largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever, to flow those sources of energy...

WASHINGTON – First there was Joe the Plumber. Is Joe the Hothead next? Joe McCain said Friday he'll withdraw from campaign activities for his brother, GOP presidential nominee John McCain, after calling 911 to angrily complain about traffic. Joe McCain has apologized for making the call. The candidate's younger brother, who lives in Alexandria, Va., told Washington radio station WTOP he was returning from a campaign event in Philadelphia around 2 a.m. on Oct. 18 when he got stuck in traffic on Interstate 495 at the Wilson Bridge. Police say the call was made about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 21.

Banks borrowed in record amounts from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility over the past week, while investment banks drew loans at a slightly lower - but still brisk - pace, a fresh sign of the credit stresses bedeviling the country. The Fed's report, released yesterday, showed commercial banks averaged a record $105.8 billion in daily borrowing over the past week. That surpassed the old record - a daily average of $99.7 billion - from the prior week. On Wednesday alone, $107.5 billion was drawn, an all-time high. For the week ending Wednesday, investment firms drew $111.3 billion. That was...

Does vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin consider herself intellectual? You betcha! "And you have to be up on not only current events, but you have to understand the foundation of the issues that you're working on," Palin said in an interview with People magazine. "You can't just go on what is presented you." SNIP the Alaska governor told People that she has always been a "voracious reader" and named reading _ anything from biographies to historical works _ as her favorite thing along with her children and sports. SNIP Palin said if she and husband Todd had had a sixth...

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Republican Party decided to coordinate expenses with John McCain's presidential campaign, who knew it would be color coordinated. The Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 on clothing, hair styling, makeup and other "campaign accessories" in September for the McCain campaign after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the ticket as his running mate. The McCain campaign now says the clothing will go to a "charitable purpose" after the campaign. The expenses include $75,062 spent at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and $41,850 in St. Louis in early September. The committee also reported spending $4,100 for makeup and...

Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business. The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel. In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and...

05:27 PM CDT on Saturday, October 18, 2008 Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has had an at-times testy relationship with black leaders in her state. They say they've been ignored in their eforts to get more minorities hired in her administration. Now, as the presidential election nears, Alaska's black leaders say they're not surprised to see the Republican vice-presidential nominee at the center of the controversy over injecting the race issue into the campaign. Palin has repeatedly insisted that Barack Obama's former preacher, the inflammatory Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a legitimate issue even though...

"It's really been like you're going to a Ku Klux Klan rally," said Javis Odom, an Anchorage minister. "Gov. Palin is really showing her true colors on the national stage."..... . ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's black leaders say they're not surprised to see Gov. Sarah Palin at the center of the controversy over injecting the race issue into the presidential campaign. Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, has repeatedly insisted that Barack Obama's former preacher, the inflammatory Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a legitimate issue even though McCain himself has said it's out of bounds. "She has no sensitivity to...

Regardless of where you live or what your occupation is the story of Joe the plumber should be a wake up call for the middle class of this nation; not because of the socialist undertones of Senator Obama's 'Spread The Wealth' policies, but rather because of the reaction of his campaign, his surrogates and the fringe-left media to anyone that questions "The One"... ...But my favorite is from the SF Chronicle, a know left-wing publication, yet a nationally printed publication: