Obama: No litmus test for chiefs
Barack Obama says that if elected president, he will not require that his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
Barack Obama says that if elected president, he will not require that his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
The Democratic presidential contender favors repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, which was instituted during Bill Clinton's administration.
He said his priority for the Joint Chiefs would be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy.
"I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff," the Illinois senator said in an interview with the Advocate, a gay newsmagazine. "But I think there's increasing recognition within the armed forces that this is a counterproductive strategy.
"We're spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need. That doesn't make us more safe."
- AP
Romney still has his eye on office
Republican Mitt Romney is still running - perhaps for vice president this fall or the White House in 2012 or 2016.
Two months after bowing out of the race, the former Massachusetts governor has become one of Sen. John McCain's biggest boosters, pledging to raise $15 million for his former rival and making the case for the presumptive nominee on talk shows and the campaign trail.
Romney traveled yesterday to Lancaster to campaign for McCain, who has wrapped up the nomination and faces no serious threat in Pennsylvania's primary.
In his first keynote speech to a GOP group on McCain's behalf, Romney touched on issues ranging from health care to same-sex marriage and the threat from "radical violent jihad."
He drew some of his strongest applause when he defended President Bush. "He has kept us safe these last years," said Romney, who told the group McCain would do the same.
He and McCain were once bitter rivals, but Romney now says any Republican would be honored to be the Arizona senator's running mate, and he included himself.
Would he be a good vice presidential candidate? Romney sidestepped the question.
"Right now, I am focusing on getting Sen. McCain the support he needs to win this election," he said. "He's got a lot of great people he can consider for the second spot."
- AP
Clinton ponders race and gender
One of the most intriguing questions of the Democratic presidential contest is whether being black is a net gain for Barack Obama, and whether being a woman is a net gain for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton offered no answer yesterday after a famous fan - rock star Elton John - suggested that her gender hurt her. The singer said he was "amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country" as he opened a concert Wednesday in New York City that raised $2.5 million for Clinton's campaign.
Clinton, asked yesterday whether she agreed with the notion that anti-female sentiment was impeding her battle against Obama, replied: "I don't know how I'd assess what role it's playing.
"I mean, look, you can't ignore the fact that gender and race are embodied in our two candidacies. We are who we are. And that produces reactions of all kinds in people."
- AP