US Politics News

Watch Bill Clinton's speech from the Democratic Convention. Scroll down for text of his remarks and more video.

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, became the first African-American ever nominated for president by a major political party after delegates to the Democratic National Convention chose him as their standard-bearer Wednesday.

Hmmm. Shades of Watergate?

You'll recall that Cindy Sheehan, who has been heavily involved in antiwar politics since the death of her son Casey, recently qualified for the ballot in California, setting her up for a November race against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

She's attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and on Tuesday she returned to her room to find a man working on her phone, screwdriver in hand.

Aug 27 - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the inspiration behind a number of works of art being showcased in Denver, Colorado.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for more oil and gas drilling, lower taxes and a new system to finance the federal highway system during a stop here Tuesday.

"We know the failure of the United States to develop our own God-given natural resources has made us intolerably dependent on foreign oil," Cornyn, a Republican, told a crowd at a Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Petroleum Club.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, erstwhile presidential candidate and strident opponent of the Bush administration, gave the most spirited speech of the session Tuesday condemning the war, the economy and the Republicans

He was called C-2. Before becoming the presumptive Democratic candidate for vice president, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was given that simple code name for the ultra-secretive search being conducted by the highest echelon of advisers to Senator Barack Obama.

The arrests in this suspected "assassination plot" were reported on Tuesday. While it's unclear if the plot was actually credible, all four suspects are being held on either drug or weapons charges. Pictured above are Nathan Johnson (L) and Tharin Gartrell. Shawn Robert Adolph and Johnson's girlfriend, Natasha Gromek are the other two suspects.

FindingDulcinea profiles some of the key speakers at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, including biographical information and insight into why they will be speaking at the event.

The Democratic National Convention is a rally for the Democratic party, but the close race between Obama and Clinton has added a divisive element to the 2008 event.

Democrats to push Obama's blue collar roots; men arrested in Denver with rifles, ammo and walkie-talkies; Madonna compares McCain to Mugabe.

As many as 80 percent of Ohio's registered voters could turn out on Election Day, says the state's top election official.

Michelle Obama mixed the personal and the political Monday night in painting a picture of her husband, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, as a working-class advocate for the American dream who “will finally bring the change that we need.”

Well, this caught me by surprise, although perhaps I shouldn't be so taken aback. Though I wonder if statements like this by Rice, and an earlier one where she said that the country would be safe under Obama, are strictly meant to make sure she can get her job back at Stanford University.

The Obama team notified supporters that Sen. Joe Biden would be the Democratic candidate's running mate via text message early on Saturday, August 23.

A new Nebraska safe haven law is drawing criticism because of its expansive nature.

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama said Sunday he hoped a week of political speechmaking would persuade reluctant middle-class voters to swing behind his bid for the White House, while Republicans sought to stir discontent among Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters.

MoveOn.org has posted a statement on its site requesting that its members write the Associated Press over a piece titled "Analysis: Biden pick shows lack of confidence," written by Ron Fournier.

Working Americans, and that's most people, are experiencing the "big squeeze." In fact, they're trying to survive one of the most profound social and economic changes in our history. The middle class is disappearing, facing a decline in standards of living. So you'd hope politicians would confront this crisis head on and not just serenade struggling families with a chorus of sympathetic but meaningless sound bites.

As wages stagnate, prices are soaring. Economists call this pain the "misery index." It's a combination of the unemployment and inflation rates, and it's what politicians have in mind when they ask, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" The misery index is the highest it's been since George Bush's father became president, 17 years ago.

When it comes to feeling the misery index, however, you don't go to the economists or the politicians. You go to where regular people live. And that's what we have been doing on this broadcast for months now.

This week, we go to the city of the hour - Denver, the site of the Democratic National Convention. Nearly 75,000 people will gather in the Mile High City as Barack Obama makes history by becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party for president.

But outside the convention center doors, history of a different, more prosaic sort is being made. This year oil hit a record high - $147 a barrel when last year, it was less than half that - around $68. A loaf of bread is up 14% from last year, a dozen eggs is up 33%, and pizza makers have seen the cost of their cheese soar from $1.30 to $1.76. Flour used to make the dough has tripled in price. As these prices soar, the value of homes is sinking. One in three home buyers since 2003 now owe more than their property's estimated worth. Not only has home equity plummeted, so has the value of other holdings, like stocks and bonds and pensions, the investments families count on as a cushion during hard times.

So America's middle class, our "fearful families" as some people call them, is taking it on the chin. The history-making nominations aside, all the rhetoric from all the speakers at next week's Democratic Convention will be so much hot air above the Rockies unless the party comes to grip with how people are living and hurting today.

WHEN Pam Spaulding heard from two contributors to her blog, Pam’s House Blend, that they couldn’t afford to attend the Democratic National Convention, she knew that historic times called for creative measures.