CURRENT NEWS ITEM: BUSH REVERSAL ON IRAQ DEADLINE GIVES OBAMA BREATHING ROOM

TOP - 50 RELEVANT BREAKING NEWS

1. Bush's Reversal on Iraq Deadline Gives Obama Flexibility

   By agreeing to a fixed deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, President Bush contradicted years of promises that he would never agree to anything but a "conditions-based" plan for phasing out the American military role there. But he may also have given President-elect Barack Obama ...

2. Bush may be giving Obama breathing room to fight global warming

   Recent moves by lame-duck officials, though frustrating to environmentalists, offer the president-elect time and political cover to deliberately craft rules on emissions, energy lobbyists say. President Bush could be forcing President-elect Barack Obama to act almost immediately to curb global warming, after years of the Bush administration fighting attempts to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Obama and Bush Discuss Plight of Carmakers, Progress and Bombings in Iraq

4. Bush Likely to Leave Decision on Iraq Diplomatic Post to Obama

   Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a decision on opening a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Iran probably will be left to the Obama administration.

5. On weekend before registration deadline, Dems say Obama volunteer effort at full tilt

   When George Cook went to the local barbershop in Hillside last Saturday morning he found a roomful of guys talking politics. A lot of them were already registered, so the grassroots organizer didn’t have to worry about signing anyone up - he just enjoyed the conversation, even filmed some of it for CNN. “Most politics in this town is local,” Cook said. “You usually don’t go into a barbershop here and hear guys talking about global warming, but it’s different this year.” The volunteer said he has registered about 40 or 50 people in Hillside in advance of the Oct. 14th voter registration deadline. That’s happening in a lot of places, in what this weekend will be a final push before next Tuesday with phone and foot-soldiers both official and unofficial.

6. Can Anyone Fix This Economy? New Poll Sizes Up McCain, Obama and Bush

   USA Today and Gallup are out with a new poll tonight. It asks Americans who they feel is up to the challenges of righting the economy. Americans are not enthusiastic about either candidate or for that matter President Bush. Here...

7. McCain to Obama: 'I am not President Bush.'

   'If you wanted to run against President Bush you should've run four years ago.'

8. New Obama Ad Ties McCain To Bush, McCain Ad Distances Himself

   Two new ads out today center on President Bush. In his latest spot, Barack Obama uses John McCain"s line from last night"s presidential debate, where he exclaimed, "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush." An announcer continues: "True, but you did vote with Bush 90% of the time. Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy, but almost nothing for the middle class - same as Bush. Keep spending ten billion a month in Iraq while our own economy struggles - same as Bush. You may not be George Bush, but ." The ad ends with an older quote from McCain: "I voted with the President over 90% of the time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues." Watch it: McCain"s new ad features the candidate speaking directly to the camera: "The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they? I'll make the next four better. Your savings, your job and your financial security are under siege. Washington is making it worse - bankrupting us with their spending. Telling us paying higher taxes is 'patriotic?" And sa ...

9. Bush Team Pushes Hard for Iraq Security Deal

   The draft allows U.S. troops to be tried in Iraqi courts for major crimes

10. Bush team pushes Iraq security deal

    The Bush administration has launched a lobbying campaign to persuade U.S. lawmakers and Iraqi politicians to support an agreement governing the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.

11. Ad Roundup: Barack Obama and John McCain Disagree About Whether McCain Is the Same as President Bush

    Ads include debate clips; the candidates disagree on whether McCain represents "more of the same."

12. Stateside: In Bush Stronghold, Obama Pulls Even With McCain

    Once-red North Carolina is now a raging battleground where Senator Barack Obama is seeking to expand his electoral map.

13. John McCain and Barack Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan

    Violence is down in Iraq, but voters are still asking questions about troop withdrawal.

14. Blog Buzz: Sarah Palin Shopping Spree Fallout, Barack Obama and John McCain Are Almost Even in AP Poll, McCain Attacks George W. Bush

    More backlash from Palin's $150,000 wardrobe tab, and McCain slams Bush in an interview.

15. Poll finds Obama strong with some Bush backers

    Barack Obama is ahead of John McCain among various groups that voted for President George W. Bush four years ago, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll found.

16. Biden Blasts McCain for Obama/Bush comparison

    ABC News' Matt Jaffe Reports: Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden Thursday night opened his outdoor evening rally at Raleigh's Meredith College – "site of the best mascot name in all of college sports": the Avenging Angels – by laughing...

17. NYT: Support for Obama among Bush backers

    Sen. Barack Obama is showing surprising strength among portions of the political coalition that returned President Bush to the White House four years ago.

18. Former Bush press secretary backs Obama

    NEW YORK (AP) -- Scott McClellan, President Bush's former press secretary who angered old colleagues with a tell-all book earlier this year, said Thursday he is backing Barack Obama for president....

19. Former press secretary for Bush backs Obama

    Scott McClellan, President Bush's former press secretary who angered old colleagues with a tell-all book earlier this year, said Thursday he is backing Barack Obama for president.

20. McCain, Obama both target President Bush

    Sharply criticizing the president, the candidates try to tie the other to the economic policies of the current administration. John McCain and Barack Obama finally found something they could agree on Thursday: Both assailed George W. Bush, and each attempted to link the other to the economic policies of the unpopular president.

21. USA VOTE 2008: Former Bush spokesman will vote for Obama

    Scott McClellan, the former White House spokesman for President George W. Bush who strongly defended the US decision to go to war in Iraq, has announced that he will vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

22. Obama lumps McCain with Bush; McCain hits tax plan

    RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Democratic candidate Barack Obama is mocking his Republican rival, John McCain, for trying to distance himself from President Bush....

23. Obama: McCain, Bush 'have a whole lot in common'

    Sen. Barack Obama, who made tying Sen. John McCain to President Bush a centerpiece of his campaign for the White House, jumped on Mr. McCain's comment Sunday that he and the president "share a common philosophy."

24. Obama's 'closing argument' links McCain to Bush

    Barack Obama offered his closing argument in the race for the White House today as he returned to his message of hope for America and linked Republican rival John McCain to increasingly unpopular President George Bush.

25. Boxing promoter King: diverse Bush administration helped pave road for Obama

    By Ori Lewis TEL AVIV - The possibility that the United States will vote in a first black president next week is in no small part due to the opportunities President George W. Bush gave to blacks in senior government posts, boxing promoter Don King said on Monday. King, an erstwhile larger-than-life personality and probably the world’s [...]

26. 5 Battleground States Barack Obama Now Leads in That George W. Bush Won in 2004

    Obama is leading in several battleground states, some of which Bush solidly won in 2004.

27. Bush confident of Iraq troop deal

    US President George Bush says he is confident a deal on the future of US troops in Iraq will be approved despite amendments proposed by Baghdad.

28. Barack Obama's Iraq Stance Recalls Eisenhower's Cold War Eloquence

    Even old Ike had his moments of remarkable rhetoric.

29. Obama Says Negative GDP Direct Result Of Bush Economic Policies

    Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama reacted Thursday to the negative third-quarter GDP, blaming the 0.3 percent contraction on policies from the Bush Administration and warning that electing Republican rival John McCain would only worsen the situation.

30. IRAQ: Deadline looms for agreement on security pact

    US officials have warned that the window for agreeing on a security pact with Iraq is drawing to a close as Washington continues to examine amendments put forward by Baghdad.

31. Obama: GOP "Kidnapped" By Bush Administration

    Speaking with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, the Senator says he thinks many moderate Republicans are also "hungry for change" from the Bush years. Suggests the GOP has been "kidnapped by an incompetent, highly ideological subset" of the party. "I think there are a lot of Republican voters out there, self-identified, who actually think that what the Bush administration [...]

32. EU governments give automakers breathing room on emissions

    European governments have agreed to delay a deadline for car makers to comply with rules on emissions, ending months of gridlock but setting the stage for further negotiations with lawmakers over the final shape of the legislation.

33. McCain, Obama dash across Bush states

    Schwarzenegger joins the GOP nominee in Ohio, and Gore stumps for the Democrat in Florida, while Obama visits Indiana and Iowa -- all states won by the president in 2004. Fueled by emotional appeals from high-profile surrogates, John McCain and Barack Obama scoured for votes Friday across a wide swath of America as swarms of presidential partisans prepared for a final weekend push before election day.

34. Obama: McCain "Earned" Cheney's Praise Today, Was "Washington's Biggest Cheerleader for Going to War in Iraq"

    PUEBLO, COLO -- "Earlier today Dick Cheney came out of undisclosed location and he hit the campaign trail and he said that he is and I quote, 'delighted to support John McCain,'" Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said just now in...

35. If Obama Wins, Can He Really Leave Iraq?

    New Republic: There's no doubt that the financial crisis, job insecurity, and fundamental economic worries are the No. 1 issue in Tuesday's vote. But that raises a critical question: If Barack Obama is elected, will he have an antiwar mandate?

36. The Lone Ranger: Obama Should Revise His Schedule for Iraq Pull-Out

    If Barack Obama becomes US president, he should listen to his military advisers and revise his 16-month schedule for pulling US troops out of Iraq because that may be too soon, writes SPIEGEL ONLINE blogger .

37. Bush tells Obama: 'What an awesome night for you'

    U.S. President George W. Bush congratulated Barack Obama, whose dominant White House win was built on presenting himself as a change from the policies of the two-term Republican.

38. Bush Congratulates Obama

    From the AP: President Bush has called Barack Obama to congratulate him on winning the presidency. The two-term Republican president told the Illinois senator upon his historic win: "What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters." Barack Obama was elected the nation's first black president Tuesday night in dominant fashion, besting Republican John McCain. Bush promised [...]