2008 Woodie Awards
Bush urges student loan bill
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News
Obama discounts race as a factor in presidential election
1 WASHINGTON (AP) -Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Sunday that race is not the reason he is struggling to attract working-class votes and insisted he can win over uncommitted superdelegates by showing he is "best able to not just defeat John McCain, but also lead the country."
Speaking in a broadcast interview, Obama also brushed aside a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton to debate before the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. "I'm not ducking. We've had 21" debates, he said.
Trailing in delegates and the popular vote, Clinton has been stepping up the pressure on Obama for more debates before the upcoming primaries, which are crucial to her candidacy. She also has been reaching out to uncommitted Democratic superdelegates in hopes of capitalizing on her Pennsylvania primary victory.
Clinton's Pennsylvania victory was buoyed by support from working-class and white voters, but Obama dismissed the notion Sunday that race will be a factor in the presidential election.
"Is race still a factor in our society? Yes. I don't think anybody would deny that," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
"Is that going to be the determining factor in a general election? No, because I'm absolutely confident that the American people - what they're looking for is somebody who can solve their problems."
Bush prods Congress on student loan bill
2 WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Saturday that the credit crunch is threatening the availability of student loans. He said his administration is doing what it can to help with emergency loans but prodded Congress for authority to do more.
"A slowdown in the economy shouldn't mean a downturn in educational opportunities," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
He voiced support for a House-passed bill that would grant the Education Department greater temporary authority to provide loans to students unable to secure ones from banks or other lenders. A similar measure by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., is pending in the Senate.
1 WASHINGTON (AP) -Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Sunday that race is not the reason he is struggling to attract working-class votes and insisted he can win over uncommitted superdelegates by showing he is "best able to not just defeat John McCain, but also lead the country."
Speaking in a broadcast interview, Obama also brushed aside a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton to debate before the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. "I'm not ducking. We've had 21" debates, he said.
Trailing in delegates and the popular vote, Clinton has been stepping up the pressure on Obama for more debates before the upcoming primaries, which are crucial to her candidacy. She also has been reaching out to uncommitted Democratic superdelegates in hopes of capitalizing on her Pennsylvania primary victory.
Clinton's Pennsylvania victory was buoyed by support from working-class and white voters, but Obama dismissed the notion Sunday that race will be a factor in the presidential election.
"Is race still a factor in our society? Yes. I don't think anybody would deny that," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
"Is that going to be the determining factor in a general election? No, because I'm absolutely confident that the American people - what they're looking for is somebody who can solve their problems."
Bush prods Congress on student loan bill
2 WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Saturday that the credit crunch is threatening the availability of student loans. He said his administration is doing what it can to help with emergency loans but prodded Congress for authority to do more.
"A slowdown in the economy shouldn't mean a downturn in educational opportunities," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
He voiced support for a House-passed bill that would grant the Education Department greater temporary authority to provide loans to students unable to secure ones from banks or other lenders. A similar measure by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., is pending in the Senate.
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