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WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (AFP) — John McCain and Sarah Palin cranked up a searing character assault on Barack Obama on Thursday, but another day of punishing losses on Wall Street further dented their White House hopes. The Republican nominee and his vice presidential running mate railed against Obama's personal honesty, but the deepening financial crisis played into the Democratic nominee's hands as he slammed Republican economic policies. Trailing badly in the polls just over three weeks before the November 4 election, McCain and Palin accused Obama of not telling the truth about the extent of his relationship with 1960s radical William...

Waukesha, Wisconsin -- In response to a broad question about how Barack Obama "got here" -- presumably got his lead -- John McCain didn't name Bill Ayers but spoke of him directly. McCain said "We don't care about an old washed up terrorist and his wife" who said earlier this decade that he wished they were more successful. (Several in the crowd chanted: "Yes we do!") McCain noted that Obama had referred to Ayers as "just a guy in his neighborhood," and said "we know that's not true. We need to know the full extent of that relationship to know...

McCain backers in Wis. say they don't trust polls WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) - Supporters waiting in line to see John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin in Waukesha say they don't believe recent polls that show Democrat Barack Obama leading by 10 points in Wisconsin. Alicia Thorson of Waukesha says she thinks the polls are fixed. The mother of 4 says she doesn't trust what she called the "liberal media." Thorson's 3-year-old and 7-year-old daughters were dressed like Palin outside the sports complex where McCain was to hold a noon town hall meeting. Kristi Czaplewski (CHAP-lew-skee) says she doesn't...

(MILWAUKEE) - John McCain and Sarah Palin were about halfway through a town hall meeting here when a man in the audience rose to be heard. “I'm mad! I'm really mad!” he shouted. “And what's gonna surprise you, it's not the economy. It's the Socialists taking over our country.” The crowd of several thousand erupted in thunderous cheers, as if many of their most underlying concerns had finally been verbalized. The man’s righteous anger set the tone for Palin, who fully embraced her role as the Republican ticket’s attack dog. Palin seemed to question Barack Obama’s character repeatedly and slammed...

Waukesha, Wisconsin -- In response to a broad question about how Barack Obama "got here" -- presumably got his lead -- John McCain didn't name Bill Ayers but spoke of him directly. McCain said "We don't care about an old washed up terrorist and his wife" who said earlier this decade that he wished they were more successful. (Several in the crowd chanted: "Yes we do!") McCain noted that Obama had referred to Ayers as "just a guy in his neighborhood," and said "we know that's not true. We need to know the full extent of that relationship to know...

When I decided to write a column about voter fraud, I first had planned to have some fun with it. After all, the publicized Milwaukee cases were hardly in a league with the rampant problems down in The Land of The Cubs. In 2000 here, some workers from Al Gore's national campaign office were caught offering free cigarettes to the homeless if they voted for the former vice president. Then there was the "you can't make this up" moment in 2004 when the sons of some prominent politicians were arrested for slashing the tires on vans belonging to a program...

Barack Obama has opened a double digit lead over John McCain in Wisconsin. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state—conducted the night before the second Presidential Debate—shows Obama attracting 54% of the vote while McCain earns 44%. That’s quite a change from a month ago when Obama held just a two-point advantage. Obama is viewed favorably by 58% of Wisconsin voters, McCain by 52%.

If the country ever needed new direction under a fresh, steady, calm president, this is the time. Sen. Barack Obama is the country's hope, the kind of promising, intelligent leader who comes along perhaps once in a generation. Obama is the best candidate for president. He has the vision, patience and fortitude to put America on a track to recovery after an eight-year run of financial irresponsibility, aggressive adventurism abroad and mismanagement, secrecy and dissembling on numerous fronts. The issues and the superiority of the Obama-Joe Biden team have become clearer than ever in the past few days. Obama spoke...

In Wisconsin's blue-collar Paper Valley, the Democrats are banking on an outpouring of volunteers while the Republicans are left with fear itself. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Mid-morning Saturday, the Republican headquarters here in the fiercely contested northeast corner of Wisconsin reflected the somnolent air of the half-empty indoor mall in which it was located. A few Republican stalwarts wandered by to pick up McCain-Palin lawn signs and other GOP campaign paraphernalia. A signboard on the wall announced the target of "878 Doors" on which to knock, but it was evident that most of the canvassing -- the lifeblood of grass-roots...

Democrat Barack Obama has been sharply outspending Republican John McCain on TV ads in Wisconsin and other key presidential battlegrounds in recent weeks. That edge in firepower is one more obstacle for McCain to overcome as he seeks to bounce back in the contest's final month. Between Sept. 16 and 29, Obama outspent McCain on TV in Wisconsin by almost 2-to-1, according to figures provided by a northern Virginia firm that monitors political advertising, TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG. Obama spent $1,254,281 on local broadcast stations in the state. McCain spent $657,923. Obama has enjoyed a similar edge in other battlegrounds, after...

A Republican National Committee lawyer says one of the groups that recruited new voters in Milwaukee engaged in “systematic fraud.” The Associated Press said ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, hired at least seven convicted felons to register new voters. Their crimes included robbery and possessing cocaine. Earlier this year, Milwaukee officials discovered 49 cases in which employees of ACORN and the Community Voters’ Project allegedly submitted false voter registrations. They were dropped from the voter rolls, and a 21-year-old worker with the Voters’ Project was the first to be charged criminally this week. In April, the...

Obama focuses on tight races in Wisc., nearby states ELECTION '08 | Obama trying to lock up Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan October 2, 2008 BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Making his second appearance in Wisconsin in nine days, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama Wednesday renewed what could be called his "Putting out Fires Close to Home" tour. At one point, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan looked like relatively secure wins for Obama. Then, the polls tightened in those states, making each a toss-up. Most surveys show the Illinois senator leading McCain by three to four points in...

Former New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman has been tapped by Republican presidential nominee John McCain to co-chair a new campaign committee that will deal with voter fraud issues as the election nears. Rudman and his fellow co-chair, former Missouri Sen. John Danforth, told reporters on a conference call yesterday that voting and registration issues are already surfacing in many states, although New Hampshire was not among them. Rudman said that the election "ought to be decided by voters, not lawyers." The McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election Committee wants to ensure that "every qualified citizen has a right to vote in...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Hoping to shore up support in his suddenly undependable backyard, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama flew here Monday to talk about how he’d handle economic crises as president. Recent polls have shown that Wisconsin — once pretty solidly in Obama’s column — is now a statistical dead heat between Obama and Republican John McCain. “You all know that you hold this election in your hands,” Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat who said he worked on ethics legislation with Obama, told a crowd of about 6,000 cheering Obama fans in the arena next to Lambeau Field.

Green Bay, WI - Deriding opponent John McCain as a late convert to regulating Wall Street, Barack Obama used his speech here Monday to try to burnish his own reform credentials, vowing that as president he would attack abusive practices in Washington, from no-bid contracts to revolving-door lobbying. "The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has led us to a perilous moment," the Illinois Democrat told a crowd of several thousand at the Resch Center. "They said they wanted to let the market run free, but instead they let it run wild," said Obama, presumably...

Uncharacteristically low turnout for Barack Obama rally in Green Bay, Wisc. McCain/Palin drew 4,000 more supporters at same venue a week ago September 22, 2008 BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporter GREEN BAY, Wis. — Hoping to shore up support in his suddenly undependable backyard, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama flew here Monday to talk about how he’d handle economic crises as president. Recent polls have shown that Wisconsin — once pretty solidly in Obama’s column — is now a statistical dead heat between Obama and Republican John McCain. “You all know that you hold this election in your hands,”...

From Madison to the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin elections officials are reporting strong interest in absentee voting for this year's presidential race.In Madison, the city clerk's office is prepared for up to 40,000 voters to cast their ballots through the mail or in-person at clerk's offices instead of on Election Day. A record 25,000 did so in 2004 in the state capital. In the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, about 1,000 voters have made requests for absentee ballots to be mailed to them. That's about half as many requests the city clerk received in 2004 -- and absentee voting has yet...

McCain spoke to a crowd of approximately 11,000 and made pointed remarks regarding Obama. These two videos will take about 15 minutes to watch but they are well worth it. (Photo from Lancaster PA rally.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yg-CT6vlkg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYzOEksDhtA

Two years ago, I called for reform of this corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress did nothing. The Administration did nothing. Senator Obama did nothing, and actually profited from this system of abuse and scandal. While Fannie and Freddie were working to keep Congress away from their house of cards, Senator Obama was taking their money. He got more, in fact, than any other member of Congress, except for the Democratic chairmen of the committee that oversees them. And while Fannie Mae was betraying the public trust, somehow its former CEO had managed to gain my opponent's trust...

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