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John McCain is expected to reveal his vice-presidential choice on Friday at a rally in the critical battleground state of Ohio. Mr McCain is seeking to blunt Barack Obama’s hopes of a bounce in the polls after he accepts the Democratic nomination in Denver tomorrow night. The Republican nominee’s move comes after a week in which he and his Republican surrogates have had significant success in inserting themselves aggressively into what was meant to be Mr Obama’s week. Republican guerrilla tactics and attack advertisements have forced the Democrat’s campaign to respond in kind. Mr McCain will appear at a midday...

Predicting a close election in November, former Bush Administration official and Ohio congressman Rob Portman called on Hoosiers to back Republican presidential candidate John McCain at rally Tuesday evening in Fishers. “He’s an authentic American hero and a common sense conservative,” Portman told the partisan crowd. Portman is on McCain’s short list of potential vice presidential running mates. A six-term congressman, he also served as the United States Trade Representative and most recently as President Bush’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, a post previously held by Gov. Mitch Daniels.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Ohio shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 47% to 40%. He also leads Hillary Clinton 47% to 42%. Last month, McCain led both Democrats by six percentage points. Former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman has been mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain. Eleven percent (11%) of the state’s voters say they’d be more likely to support the ticket with Portman on it while 19% hold the opposite view. Republicans are evenly divided. Among unaffiliated voters, 6% would be more likely to vote for McCain with Portman on the ticket and...

McCain Veepstakes: Portman Potential by John Gizzi Just before my interview with possible McCain running mate Rob Portman, former Office of Management and Budget and onetime Ohio congressman, I was at lunch with another Buckeye State Republican -- Rep. John Boehner. Boehner described his profile for an ideal running mate for John McCain. “Has to be younger than McCain,” Boehner said, amid chuckles, “a solid conservative, and someone people could see as President.” Taking it a step further, the top House Republican said that since the two major party nominees will both be U.S. Senators, it was less likely McCain...

More than one Beltway pundit has pegged Rob Portman as a potential vice presidential pick for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). It’s not hard to see why: Portman, 52, is relatively young, has served in the House and in both Bush administrations and hails from Ohio, the mother of all swing states. Portman deflected questions about his name being floated as a potential running mate for McCain. He didn’t take himself out of contention, but instead shifted the conversation to talk about his interest in running for Ohio governor or a U.S. Senate seat.

Former Ohio Congressman Rob Portman says he's not giving up on running for higher office. Portman is joining the Cincinnati law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. But he tells The Cincinnati Enquirer that the firm says he's free to continue traveling Ohio and laying the groundwork for a possible run for Ohio governor in 2010. Portman has started his own political action committee to finance his political trips around the state. He says other options include running against Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in 2012.

White House budget director Rob Portman is stepping down and will be replaced by former Iowa Republican congressman Jim Nussle, senior administration officials said today. The president is scheduled to make the formal announcement at the Roosevelt Room later this afternoon. Administration officials described the decision as motivated by Portman's desire to spend more time with his wife and three teen-aged children. Since returning to Washington as a congressman 14 years ago, Portman has been commuting weekly to his Cincinnati home, and his press secretary said he had tired of that. SNIP Still, the news of Portman's departure seemed to...

Portman, formerly the U.S. trade representative and a Republican congressman from Ohio, was nominated in April by President Bush to be director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was confirmed by the Senate and took office May 29. Portman released OMB's Mid-Session Review July 11 showing a 30 percent drop in the deficit figures forecast last February. He was interviewed July 12 by Insight section editor Robert J. Caldwell. For the first time in years, the news on budget deficits is good. To what do you attribute this? The tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 have been successful....

The US budget deficit is falling, but it is expected to rise again next year. Unfortunately Rob Portman, head of the Office of Management & Budget has fallen into the leftist trap of saying next year's rise is due to a slow in the growth of revenues. Huh? Revenues go up (albeit more slowly) and this causes the deficit to go up? Nope. Arithmetic does not work like that. If revenue goes up and the deficit goes up that can only be because expenditure is rising even faster. As ever, the deficit is caused by runaway expenditure. Quentin Langley is...

Young Miss Portman wishes to teach her future children a lesson in Judaism, but is meanwhile unable to find a Jewish hubby Can't stop making headlines: On Sunday Ynetnews reported that Natalie Portman is about to appear fully naked in her new feature film, and on Monday ContactMusic reports she is keen to teach her future children about her Jewish religion, even though she is still struggling to meet the right Jewish man. The Israeli-born star immigrated to the United States when she was a 3-year-old toddler. But sadly for Portman, she discovered that her interest in the ancient religion...

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday nominated Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record) as the White House budget director, turning to a Washington insider and longtime friend as part of an effort to re-energize the administration and boost the president's record-low approval ratings. Bush said more changes are in the works under his new chief of staff, Joshua Bolten. "With a new man will come some changes," the president said. But he emphasized anew that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's job is safe, despite calls for his resignation from a half dozen retired military commanders. "I hear the voices...

CINCINNATI - The Cincinnati Enquirer endorsed Republican Jean Schmidt Sunday to fill former Rep. Rob Portman's seat in the 2nd Congressional District, saying she understands the district's needs and is better able to help meet them than her opponent. Schmidt will face Democrat Paul Hackett Tuesday in a special election to replace Portman, who left to become U.S. trade representative. Schmidt, a lifelong resident of Clermont County and a former state representative, knows how to make deals and has offered specific examples of projects and programs that would help the seven-county southern Ohio district, the newspaper said. The newspaper praised...

It's a fight to the finish to represent the Second District in Congress. In just three days voters in Ohio's Second Congressional District will choose a replacement for Rob Portman, who was recently appointed a US trade representative by the Bush administration. Both Republican Jean Schmidt and Democrat Paul Hackett were out in force Saturday, shaking hands hoping to get some last minute exposure before Tuesday. Whether on TV or even just driving around the Tri-state, it's hard to avoid mention of Tuesday's special election. The congressional race between Hackett and Schmidt is even getting the attention of the national...

``Star Wars'' star Natalie Portman is convinced her shaved head makes her look like a terrorist. The itty-bitty actress, 24, who lopped off her lush locks for the upcoming ``V for Vendetta,'' told Newsweek she suspects her chrome dome was the reason New York's finest pulled her over by the Midtown Tunnel the other day. ``I've never had that happen to me before,'' the Harvard grad confessed to the weekly news magazine. ``It's supposedly random . . . My registration was expired because I had been out of town, and it was my first day back. I'd been in Israel...

Hackett on attack in race He sets sights on Schmidt By Barry M. Horstman Post staff reporter When a Democratic Congressional Unity Breakfast can be handled quite easily at a table for three at a downtown Cincinnati restaurant, Paul Hackett needs look no further for evidence of just how uphill his campaign in the 2nd Congressional District will be this summer. Looking for something, anything to draw attention to the special Aug. 2 general election to replace former Rep. Rob Portman, Hackett met Thursday morning with two of the five candidates he defeated in last week's Democratic primary. The other...

Washington (The Daily Standard) - THE FIRST SALVOS have been fired in a trade war that is unlike any other. Not that all has been peace and quiet on the trade front until now. Opposition to the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) by America's inefficient but politically potent sugar beet producers and apparel makers has delayed congressional approval. Bob Zoellick, who negotiated that agreement before moving up to the number two spot in the State Department, is confident that opposition will be overcome, but at the moment it is a close-run thing. And remember jokes about world trade agreements...

McEwen and Schmidt are neck and neck. Schmidt tore up in Clermont County (around 3000), her home county. That is keeping her in this thing. McEwen won by a nice margin in Warren County (1500 or so), and Brown County (about 600). He and Schmidt are running neck and neck in Hamilton County (McEwen was winning by about 200). No results from Adams, Scioto, or Pike. Pat DeWine is in 4th. Schmidt has opened up a bit of a lead on WLWT, probably Clermont coming in.

McEwen leads, Brinkman, Schmidt, Dewine 5.44% reporting

Just wondering if there was any news so far this week. It seems as though things are very tight and getting nasty. DeWine seems to be attacking McEwen. Like I asked before, are the polls showing something? DeWine is attacking the check bouncing stuff. Brinkman's folks are attacking on the carpetbagging stuff and deservedly so. The Club for Growth is on the attack against Jean Schmidt for raising taxes during his stint in the Ohio House. I have said this before, but these Ohio state legislators crack me up. They ran promising not to raise taxes (remember all the Taxin...

Congressional race: Divide to conquer? With the vote so split up, the winning tally may be strikingly low By Barry M. Horstman Post staff reporter A seat in Congress - one of the most coveted prizes that American politics has to offer - could be won by fewer votes than it takes to get elected to student government at a decent-sized university in next week's special 2nd Congressional District election. With 11 Republican candidates and five Democrats - six, counting one running as a write-in - competing for the seat vacated by Rep. Rob Portman, an anticipated low turnout could...