Barack Obama Iowa Speech

Barack Obama, May 20, 2008

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.04.08

Obama, Huckabee win in Iowa.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee are now the frontrunners in the in the White House race after yesterday's caucuses in Iowa. Obama had the support of 38 percent of voters while Huckabee earned 34 percent. Falling behind Obama was John Edwards who came in second place and Senator Hillary Clinton who fell to third. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney trailed Huckabee and Fred Thompson took third place. Next week, the presidential hopefuls square off in the New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, two White House hopefuls are calling it quits after last night's results. Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are abandoning their bids for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both candidates received less than one percent in the Iowa caucuses.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is defending himself against accusations that he had a role in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Musharraf says Bhutto ignored government warnings, saying the former prime minister was informed of the threat to being at the park where she was killed last week. He also says he's not satisfied with the investigation into her death. A team of Scotland Yard investigators arrived in Islamabad today to help in the probe of her death.

There are more delays in store for space shuttle Atlantis. NASA says the shuttle will be grounded until late January, or more likely, February, to replace a suspect connector in the fuel tank. The connector is believed to be responsible for a series of launch postponements last month. NASA faces a 2010 deadline for retiring its three shuttles and completing the space station.

BARACK OBAMA WINS IN IOWA

Could Barack Obama actually become the first black president? If what happened Thursday night in Iowa is any indication, he could very well be on his way to fulfilling that goal.

The Illinois senator captured the first Democratic prize on the road to the White House with a comeback win over former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who edged out one-time front-runner Clinton for second.


"We are choosing hope over fear, we are choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America," Obama, 46, told thousands of cheering, chanting and foot-stamping supporters.


The third-place finish was a huge blow for Clinton, 60, the former first lady who a few months ago was considered in some quarters the almost certain Democratic nominee. She now faces immense pressure to turn around her campaign in New Hampshire over the next five days.


"Today we are sending a clear message that we are going to have change, and that change will be a Democratic president in the White House," Clinton, with husband and former President Bill Clinton at her shoulder, said in Des Moines.

Obama's win effectively makes him the candidate to beat among Democrats, and a win next week in New Hampshire could put him in prime position to capture the nomination. After Nevada on January 19, the next big contest would be in South Carolina, where more than half of the voters in the Democratic primary are likely to be black.


Obama finished with 38 percent of the vote, easily beating Edwards at 30 percent and Clinton at 29 percent. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson finished fourth at 2 percent.


Huckabee finished with 34 percent of the vote, ahead of Romney's 26 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were tied at 13 percent, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 10 percent.


Entrance polls showed Obama won big among young voters and even beat Clinton among women voters as his message of change resonated with voters.


Meanwhile on the Republican side ...

Mike Huckabee capped a stunning political rise to beat rival Mitt Romney in Iowa, despite being dramatically outspent by the wealthy former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist.


Both Obama and Huckabee, 52, a former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister, once trailed better-known rivals Clinton and Romney in their race to be on the November election ballot.


But they rode a wave of grass-roots enthusiasm to victories by touting an outsider's message of change in Washington.


"Tonight what we have seen is a new day in American politics," Huckabee, with actor and supporter Chuck Norris nearby, told cheering backers in Des Moines. "Tonight we proved that American politics is still in the hands of people like you."


The 2008 campaign is the most open presidential race in more than 50 years, with no sitting president or vice president seeking their party's nomination, and the Iowa contest was the most hotly contested in the state's history.


Turnout among Democrats topped 220,000, smashing the previous record of 124,000 in 2004 -- testament to the high enthusiasm among Democrats heading into November's election.


For the winner in Iowa, the prize is valuable momentum and at least a temporary claim to the front-runner's slot in the battle to win the party's presidential nomination in the November election.


All eyes now turn to New Hampshire, which holds the next contest on Tuesday and where Romney and Clinton will face high-pressure bids to revive their candidacies.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.02.08

Pakistan elections delayed.

Officials say parliamentary elections in Pakistan will be delayed. Members of The Election Commission of Pakistan says they'll be pushed back until February 18. Voting was supposed to take place on January 8. This comes following the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Since her death, the country has been filled with violence and rioting. Several election offices have been destroyed as a result of the riots.

With the Iowa caucuses right around the corner, one poll shows Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee are leading the way. The most recent poll out by the Des Moines Register shows Obama has the support of 32% surveyed while Senator Hillary Clinton is at 25%. Former Senator John Edwards is following close behind. The poll also shows Huckabee has a six point lead over Mitt Romney. But Iowa is still anyone's game, a large percent of voters are apparently undecided.

Violent riots and civil unrest is continuing in Nairobi, Kenya following the recent elections. At least 50 people, many of them children were found burned in a church fire there. Victims were apparently seeking refuge from the violence at the church. Riots erupted following the recent presidential election results. President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected, beating out Raila Odinga but a slim lead. At least 148 people have died since results were read.

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is apparently trying to appeal to Christian conservative voters. He's released a commercial in Iowa where he is standing in front of a Christian fish symbol. In the ad Huckabee is addressing the Iowa Christian Alliance, discussing his pro-life position on abortion. With the Iowa caucus tomorrow, he's looking to grab undecided voters.