IN THE HEADLINES
Obama and Biden plan post-convention bus tour of Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Michigan ... GOP 'war room' revs up as high-profile figures hit
airwaves to slam Obama ... Democrats plan heavy presence at GOP
convention, will greet delegates with Bush billboard
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Obama to tour battleground states after nomination
DENVER (AP) _ Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and running mate Joe
Biden will embark on a bus tour of battleground states Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Michigan later this week after he receives the Democratic
presidential nomination, his campaign announced Wednesday.
That nomination will formally come later Wednesday as delegates to
the Democratic National Convention crown Obama as the first black
nominee of a major political party.
Obama was due to arrive in the convention city Wednesday afternoon.
Former President Clinton was also set to deliver a prime-time
address to the convention, a day after his wife, Hillary Rodham
Clinton, sought to unify the party after a bitter primary season,
delivering the second part of a one-two punch.
Anticipating Wednesday night's focus on national security at the
Democratic National Convention, Republican John McCain contended in a
new TV ad that Obama showed he was "dangerously unprepared'' for the
White House when he described Iran as a "tiny'' nation that didn't
pose a serious threat.
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'War room' revs up with high-profile Republicans
DENVER (AP) _ The Republican "war room'' in Denver is not easy to
find, tucked away off an alley a mile or so from the convention hall.
There's a satellite truck in the parking lot. Inside, posters with
the GOP's convention tag line _ "A Mile High, an Inch Deep'' _
plaster the walls. There's not a gray hair to be found among the more
than two dozen party operatives. But there are pizza boxes, lots of
water and the occasional can of beer.
The war room staff knows reporters in Denver are hungry, and they're
eager to feed them.
From here comes a daily meal of GOP talking points, rapid reaction
and attention-grabbing interview opportunities from big names like
Mitt Romney.
Republicans are offering a stream of GOP counter-punchers _ former
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is Wednesday's biggest name _ in an
effort to inject themselves into coverage of the Democratic
convention.
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Democrats to be out in force at GOP meet
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Delegates to the Republican National Convention
who are traveling into downtown St. Paul next week will be treated to
a billboard-sized welcome from the other party.
The Democratic National Committee bought billboard space to display
a picture of John McCain embracing President Bush with the message,
"Does this look like change to you?''
"We're going to spend every day looking for every opportunity to
remind voters in the Twin Cities and across the country that a vote
for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush and his failed
policies,'' said Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the DNC.
That will include not just the billboard but posters on several bus
stops that serve the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
Joanna Burgos, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention,
didn't return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
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THE DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama talks to veterans and military families in Billings,
Mont.
Joe Biden accepts his party's nomination for vice president at the
Democratic Convention in Denver.
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THE REPUBLICANS
John McCain is in Arizona with no public schedule.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Let's be honest: Religion has been used and abused by politics.'' _
Jim Wallis, an evangelical and editor of Sojourners magazine.
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STAT OF THE DAY:
The party breakdown of Denver's registered voters: 1,018,000
Republican, 1,014,000 independent, 901,000 Democratic.
