John McCain, the Republican Presidential nominee, has chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate. Here’s the email the campaign sent out:

I am honored to announce that I have chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as my choice for the Republican nominee for Vice President. As a father with three daughters, I can’t express how proud I am to choose the first female Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.

Sarah Palin is a trailblazer and a reformer. As the first female governor of Alaska, she challenged a corrupt system and has been a tireless advocate for reform - passing a landmark bill on ethics reform. She has taken on the old politics in Alaska and reformed the state’s energy industry. She rejects wasteful pork barrel spending. She’s fearless - exactly the type of leader I want at my side and the type of leadership we will bring to Washington.

My friends, together Sarah Palin and I make the strongest presidential ticket and I know that she joins me in asking for your support as we head into our Convention week in Minnesota. We’re shaking things up in this campaign - and Governor Palin and I are ready to bring real reform to Washington.

The polls indicate this will be a tight race as we head into the fall campaign against Senators Obama and Biden. I expect the polls to remain close all the way up to Election Day and that is why any help you can give today will go a long way to make history on November 4th.

You can be assured that as President and Vice President, Governor Palin and I will always put country before all else. We are ready to lead and I ask that you join our campaign today. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

John McCain

Here’s a really nice profile of Barack Obama from the DNC 2008

The Democratic Party announced today that they are making a huge change in their policy. The party is banning all contributions from lobbyists or special interest groups, in order to ensure fairness to the people within the party and the government. “The Democratic Party has to be the Party of ordinary Americans, not Washington lobbyists and special interests,” says an email from Howard Dean of the Democratic party. Indeed, this is a huge step forward in United States government, helping ensure that it by the people, for the people — not just for powerful groups who oftentimes go against the people.

Here’s an email that the Democratic Party sent out:

Dear Friend,

I wanted to drop you a quick note about a major policy change here at the Democratic Party.

As we move toward the general election, the Democratic Party has to be the Party of ordinary Americans, not Washington lobbyists and special interests. So, as of this morning, if you’re a federal lobbyist, or if you control political action committee donations, we won’t be accepting your contribution.

This is an unprecedented move for a political party to make — one that has sent shockwaves through Washington and has turned the debate on clean campaigns upside down. We’ve unilaterally agreed to shut lobbyists out of the process, and are we’re relying on people just like you.

Just imagine what hundreds of thousands of Americans donating $20, $30, or $50 at a time can accomplish together. Imagine the signal that it sends to anyone who looks at John McCain’s political machine and the special interest money it needs to fuel every move it makes.

We have a chance to change the way business is done in this country, and we’re taking the lead. Will you join us and make a contribution right now to help us elect Barack Obama?

http://www.democrats.org/nonlobbyists

I’ve written before about guys like Charlie Black and Rick Davis, lobbyists who are at the highest levels of McCain’s campaign. But they’re just the start — John McCain and the RNC suck up lobbyist money millions of dollars at a time.

In May, McCain had his best fundraising month of the campaign, and it was directly because he refuses to shut special interests out.

But we did, and we need your help. This is an example of the kind of White House Barack Obama would run. Make a contribution to help elect him:

http://www.democrats.org/nonlobbyists

I’ll be in touch later about our plans for the general election, but I wanted to let you know about our policy change right away.

Thanks,

Howard Dean

Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
The total number of delegates needed to secure the nomination is 2,118. Right now, Barack has the support of at least 2,179 delegates, which gives him a lock on the nomination.

Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee, but we’ve got huge challenges ahead as we build our organization for the general election.

John McCain has been running his general election campaign for months, and we have some catching up to do.

But one of the benefits of this historic primary season is that we had a chance to build our grassroots organization in all 50 states.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize volunteers everywhere and compete in places that Democrats have overlooked in the past.

Last night, Barack laid out the vision for where this campaign is headed.

Thank you,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Hillary Clinton has won the Kentucky Democratic primaries, beating rival Barack Obama by a margin of about 35 points. She captured about 65% of the vote, while Obama captured around 30%.

Barack Obama is expected to beat Hillary in the Oregon primaries. Less than 50% of the precincts have been counted, but media agencies have already begun calling Obama the winner.

Obama is leading in both delegates and superdelegates. CNN is currently counting Obama with 1,942 delegates, and Clinton with 1,cu758.

The Obama campaign is saying that John Edwards is preparing to endorse Sen. Barack Obama as the 2008 Democratic nominee and candidate for President.

The endorsement is set to take place at a rally tonight in Michigan.

John Edwards has said time and again that he was not ready to endorse any particular candidate, but he appears ready now to break his silence. Aides to Edwards say he is choosing Obama because he feels he would be best fit for the job, although he did heavily take into account his lack of experience when deciding whether or not to make this public endorsement.

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been courting Edwards for his vote in recent months.

More on this story as it develops.

Hillary Clinton is the winner of the West Virginia Democratic primaries, where she took 65% of the vote in a landslide victory over rival Barack Obama. News media and television networks were quick to project her as the winner, even with no official results tallied. Barack Obama has taken about 28% of the vote, still being tallied. Obama is leading Clinton, however, in the amount of primaries won, amount of delegates received, and amount of superdelegates pledged.

Hillary Clinton is using the results of this primary to show why she should remain in the race, after mounting pressure that she should withdraw.

This was sent on a campaign email:

After tonight’s tremendous victory here in West Virginia, it’s clear that the pundits declaring this race over have it all wrong. The voters in West Virginia spoke loud and clear — they want this contest to go on.

She is showing high hopes for future primaries. She states in the same email that she is “going to carry the energy of tonight’s victory into the next contests in Kentucky and Oregon…We’ve proved conventional wisdom wrong time and again in this race. We did it again tonight in West Virginia. Let’s keep going.”

Hillary Clinton is the winner of the Pennsylvania Democratic primaries, winning over Barack Obama an estimated 8 to 10 points.
This was a much needed win for the Clinton campaign. Although Hillary will get the majority of Pennsylvania’s delegates, Obama is still ahead in the overall count.
Now that the Pennsylvania primaries are over, the aggressive campaigning there by candidates will come to an end.
Not too long from now, prominent members of the Democratic party called superdelegates will vote for the Democratic Presidential nominee in the Democratic National Convention.

Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico and former Democratic presidential candidate (this election season), announced that he is endorsing Barack Obama for President. This may come across as a surprise to some due to his close ties with the Clintons. He was a member of former president Bill Clinton’s administration.

Here’s the full email Richardson sent out:

During the last year, I have shared with you my vision and hopes for this nation as we look to repair the damage of the last seven years. And you have shared your support, your ideas and your encouragement to my campaign. We have been through a lot together and that is why I wanted to tell you that, after careful and thoughtful deliberation, I have made a decision to endorse Barack Obama for President.We are blessed to have two great American leaders and great Democrats running for President. My affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver. It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall. The 1990’s were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward. Barack Obama will be a historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad.

Earlier this week, Senator Barack Obama gave an historic speech. that addressed the issue of race with the eloquence, sincerity, and optimism we have come to expect of him. He inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility. He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together.

As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants–specifically Hispanics– by too many in this country. Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences–and place blame on others not like them . We all know the real culprit — the disastrous economic policies of the Bush Administration!

Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race. He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans.

His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And, after nearly eight years of George W. Bush, we desperately need such a leader.

To reverse the disastrous policies of the last seven years, rebuild our economy, address the housing and mortgage crisis, bring our troops home from Iraq and restore America’s international standing, we need a President who can bring us together as a nation so we can confront our urgent challenges at home and abroad.

During the past year, I got to know Senator Obama as we campaigned against each other for the Presidency, and I felt a kinship with him because we both grew up between words, in a sense, living both abroad and here in America. In part because of these experiences, Barack and I share a deep sense of our nation’s special responsibilities in the world.

So, once again, thank you for all you have done for me and my campaign. I wanted to make sure you understood my reasons for my endorsement of Senator Obama. I know that you, no matter what your choice, will do so with the best interests of this nation, in your heart.

Sincerely,

Bill Richardson

Democratic New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announced today that he will resign from his position due to his discovered involvement in a prostitution network. Client 9, as he has been referred to, was confirmed to have paid $4300 for sex, plus more for food, hotels, transportation, etc.

The law and order governor was discovered via a federal wiretap during a federal investigation of the prostitution ring.

Spitzer has also lost his superdelegate status. He had pledged his vote to Hillary Clinton.

“I cannot allow for my private failings to disrupt the peoples’ work,” Spitzer said at a news conference in New York City. “Over the course of my public life, I have insisted - I believe correctly - that people take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.”