Obama Dismisses Possibility of Convention Discord

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The New York Sun

Senator Obama yesterday dismissed suggestions that the nominating convention could be marred by tensions between his supporters and the die-hard backers of Senator Clinton. At the same time, Mrs. Clinton was assuring her supporters in an online chat that she and Mr. Obama were “working together to make sure it’s a big success.” Neither directly answered questions about whether Mrs. Clinton’s name should be placed in nomination so that her backers could record their votes. “As is true in all conventions, we’re still working out the mechanics, the coordination,” Mr. Obama said. One such issue is whether there will be a convention roll call on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination, he said. “I’m letting our respective teams work out details,” he said. Asked if that meant he wouldn’t object to her name being placed in nomination and a vote taken, Mr. Obama said: “I didn’t say that. I said that they’re working it out.” Mrs. Clinton has not said whether she will seek a formal vote on her bid for the nomination. For the online chat on her Web site, she wrote that she and Mr. Obama will ensure Democrats are “fully unified.”

SCHUMER PUSHES OBAMA TO ‘ANSWER BACK HARD’ AT MCCAIN

Senator Schumer says Senator Obama should respond more aggressively to character attacks from the McCain campaign, which has run ads deriding him as a “celebrity” and comparing him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. “I would not be afraid to attack back,” the New York senator told Politico. He said Republicans are trying to tell voters that Mr. Obama is “not of us,” and that Mr. Obama should respond in kind. “I would answer back hard. What do you mean he’s not one of us? It’s John McCain who wears $500 shoes, has six houses, and comes from one of the richest families in his state,” Mr. Schumer said. “It’s Barack Obama who climbed up the hard way, and that’s why he wants middle-class tax cuts and better schools for our kids.” He added: “When they say, ‘He’s not one of us,’ you don’t say, ‘Here’s our plan on health care.'”

MAN IN FLORIDA CHARGED WITH THREATENING OBAMA

A man who authorities said was keeping weapons and military-style gear in his hotel room and car appeared in court yesterday on charges he threatened to assassinate Senator Obama. Raymond Hunter Geisel, 22, was arrested by the Secret Service on Saturday in Miami and was ordered held at a downtown detention center without bail by a federal magistrate. A Secret Service affidavit charges that Mr. Geisel made the threat during a training class for bail bondsmen in Miami in late July. According to a person in the 48-member class, Mr. Geisel allegedly referred to Mr. Obama with a racial epithet and continued, “If he gets elected, I’ll assassinate him myself.”

MCCAIN CAMP TO REVIEW BUNDLER DONATIONS

Senator McCain’s campaign began yesterday to review donations brought in by a prominent Florida businessman following disclosures that his business partner, a foreign national, also may have engaged in fund raising. The campaign sent a letter spelling out legal requirements to all donors who sent their contributions through Harry Sargeant III, the finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party. It’s illegal for foreigners to contribute their own money to U.S. campaigns. The New York Times reported yesterday that Mr. Sargeant allowed a longtime business partner, Mustafa Abu Naba’a, to bring in some $50,000 in donations since March from members of a single extended family, the Abdullahs, in California, along with several of their friends.

RICE SAYS COUNTRY WOULD BE SAFE UNDER OBAMA

Secretary of State Rice says America would be safe under a President Obama, potentially undermining arguments from Republicans that the presumptive Democratic nominee is weak on national security. “Oh, the United States will be fine,” Ms. Rice told Politico in an interview when asked about an Obama presidency. “I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe.” Ms. Rice, a Republican, has praised Mr. Obama’s trailblazing campaign but reiterated her support for Senator McCain.


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