The Sun 2008-10-30 Page13

theSun

13

| THURSDAY OCTOBER 30 2008

news without borders

McCain and Palin want corrupt senator to resign HERSHEY (Pennsylvania): US presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, urged fellow Republican Ted Stevens to resign on Tuesday after the veteran Alaska senator was convicted of corruption. Distancing herself from her former political ally after Monday’s verdict, which could help Democrats expand their control of the US Senate in the Nov 4 election, Palin called on Stevens to do the “statesman-like thing”. “The time has come for him to step aside. Even if elected on Tuesday, Senator Stevens should step aside to allow a special election to give Alaskans a real choice of who will serve them in Congress,” Palin said in a statement. With 40 years of service, Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate. He is also one of the most powerful Republicans and used his influence to

channel billions of dollars in federal spending to his state. Stevens, in a tight race for re-election, was found guilty on Monday on all seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms to hide more than US$250,000 (RM850,000) in home renovations and other gifts from an oil executive. Stevens has called the convictions unjust and said he plans to return to Alaska and resume campaigning against his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Over the past decade, Stevens worked closely with Palin during her time as mayor of the town of Wasilla and most recently as governor of Alaska. When the FBI first announced it was investigating Stevens, she urged him to come clean. In a separate statement, McCain said Stevens had broken the trust of Alaskans and should step down. “I hope that my colleagues in

the Senate will be spurred by these events to redouble their efforts to end this kind of corruption once and for all,” McCain said. He said it was a sign of the “health of our democracy” that Stevens was held to account for his conduct. – Reuters

Palin (left) and McCain wave to the crowd at a campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

REUTERSPIX

History in the air, Obama tells supporters NORFOLK (Virginia): Democrat Barack Obama geared up yesterday to deliver a presidential-style address to the nation on the final stretch of his electrifying White House campaign against John McCain. Upping the pace to an intense new level six days before next Tuesday’s election, Obama was to hold his first joint rally with former president Bill Clinton at a midnight event in Orlando, Florida. The Illinois senator, who at 47 is bidding to be America’s first black president, is riding high in the polls and Republican McCain is beset by reports of internal disarray between his aides and running mate Sarah Palin. In Virginia late Tuesday, Obama said history was in the air as he builds a double-digit poll lead in a state that last voted for a Democratic White House hopeful in 1964. In fact, as he campaigned in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley, Obama said the last Democratic presidential contender to come to the region

was the racist Stephen Douglas – Abraham Lincoln’s opponent before the 1861-1865 Civil War. “That’s a long distance to travel,” he said, while stressing in a now-daily warning against complacency: “Don’t think for one minute that power will concede without a fight. “We’re going to have to work like our future depends on it, because it does.” McCain, 72, was yesterday also campaigning in the Sunshine State, a pivotal battleground that decided the 2000 election in favour of President George W. Bush after a recount fiasco that went all the way to the Supreme Court. An estimated two million Floridians have voted early and queues have grown so lengthy that Governor Charlie Crist – a moderate Republican who is reportedly critical of McCain’s campaign – has extended balloting hours. Florida had appeared a lock for McCain not many weeks ago, but a Los Angeles Times poll late Tuesday had Obama ahead by 50-43%. It also had

Japanese town rooting for its namesake in election OBAMA (Japan): It may not quite be the party planned by Barack Obama’s home city of Chicago, but a Japanese town named Obama is pulling out the stops in the hope its adopted son will win the White House next week. This ancient fishing town of 32,000 people – Obama means “small shore” in Japanese – has been rooting for the Democratic senator from Illinois ever since he became a viable candidate for the American presidency. What started as a small, tonguein-cheek “Obama for Obama”

campaign has brought a rare media spotlight to this town on the Sea of Japan (East Sea) – and since turned into a townwide passion. Banners with Obama’s picture hang on lampposts across the town, where a statue of the senator clad in a Stars and Stripes necktie and a Japanese-style headband that says “I love Obama” now greets visitors. A year ago, the world of US politics was far from the minds of most residents here. But now they plan to hold a watch party on Nov 5, when the election results will come in. – AFP

Obama on 49% to McCain’s 40 in Ohio, another major toss-up state. The newspaper said that in both states, Obama “has opened commanding leads over McCain among women, young people, first-time voters and blacks and other minorities.” McCain is portraying Obama as an ultra-liberal politician plotting to raise taxes across the board. “Senator Obama is running to be redistributionist-in-chief, I’m running to be commanderin-chief,” he said. – AFP

Spend wisely and be selective pg 18