Carey Gillam

 It's been nearly five years since Monsanto Co. walked away from plans to commercialize wheat genetically altered to tolerate herbicide treatments.
    But leaders of the U.S. wheat industry continue to push for someone - anyone - to bring them new wheat techonology that can boost bushel counts.
    The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) said Thursday it was sending out more than 21,000 "petitions" to wheat producers around the United States to measure and document the level of support for biotech trait commercialization. NAWG hopes to convince biotech companies there is enough support to back what has been a controversial idea - bringing biotech to bread.
    Grower responses are requested by Jan. 19. 
    "We're convinced the support is there. This petition will either confirm or confront that belief," said NAWG CEO Daren Coppock.
    "By reading the petition and responding with their support, growers can help our industry show biotech companies that they are smart to make the commitment of time and resources and bring this tool to growers," Coppock added.
    U.S. wheat acres have been declining with many farmers converting acres to other crops.
    NAWG said it the industry needs wheat that is more tolerant of drought, heat and cold, more disease resistant, and wheat that uses nitrogen more efficiently.
    Monsanto shelved its biotech wheat project in May 2004 after an outpouring of opposition by environmentalists, farmers, consumers and religious groups, as well as foreign wheat buyers. Concerns include worries about possible human health hazards, increased weed resistance and fears Monsanto is gaining control over key world crops.

 KANSAS CITY - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius campaigned tirelessly on the trail for Barack Obama, but she won't be joining him in Washington.  

The Governor, who was an active surrogate for Obama on the campaign trail and at one point was considered as a potential vice presidential pick, said budget problems in her home state are too important.

After Sen. Joe Biden got the vp slot, Sebelius, who roiled state politics when she sidelined efforts to expand coal-fired power plants in the state, had been one of the names floated for the potential Secretary of Energy pick. 

But the Governor's office said over the weekend that Sebelius has requested that her name be removed from further consideration for a Cabinet position. 

"The possibility of joining President-elect Obama's team is exciting and compelling, but my service to the citizens who elected me is my top priority in these difficult times," Sebelius said in a statement.  

"The good news for Kansans is that we will soon have a partner in the White House working with us as we face our unprecedented economic challenges." 

Earlier Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has also said he had no interest in taking the position as head of the energy department, and Senator Jeff Bingaman, the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has also ruled himself out as energy secretary.

(UPDATED - adds McCain spokesman comment)

KANSAS CITY - Missouri voter Mary Kay Green has had enough.

The supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama filed a lawsuit this week over what she claims is dangerous "hate speech" coming from the rival campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Green, a 66-year-old grandmother and "semi-retired" civil rights attorney, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City this week accusing McCain, his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and their campaign manager Rick Davis of "intentionally, recklessly and irresponsibly" portraying Obama "as un-American, a terrorist by association,   and 'not like us,' a non-white individual."

Palin, Green alleges in her lawsuit, has at her rallies used false statements to work supporters "into a frenzy causing them to make death threats" against Obama.

The lawsuit claims that Green "suffers terror of the heart, anxiety and grave fear for the life of Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Barack Obama" because of the McCain campaign's efforts to invoke hatred against Obama.

A McCain spokesman said the charges were without merit.

"It's a great country -- anyone can file a lawsuit anytime on any matter, whether it has merit or not," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers. "As Sen. McCain explained in detail in last night's debate, charges like this have no merit. He will compare his record of setting the record straight to any of his overzealous or inappropriate supporters against Sen. Obama's any day."

Green is seeking damages of $6 million, "and prays that they cease and desist their reprehensible campaigning." She told Reuters that she will not drop the lawsuit unless McCain's camp repudiates the death threats and tones down the rhetoric.

"It is a federal crime to threaten the life or a presidential candidate ... they are participating in that crime," Green said.   

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria (McCain at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday)

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 22 - A Missouri car dealer has a message for Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama: Midwesterners love their guns.

Mark Muller, the owner of Max Motors in Butler, Missouri south of Kansas City, on Thursday said sales have soared at his auto and truck business since launching a promotion this week that promises buyers a $250 credit for a handgun or a $250 gas card with every purchase.

Every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and one old guy" has elected to take the gun, Muller said in an interview with Reuters. He recommends his customers select a Kel-Tec .380 pistol. 

"It's a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket," he said. 

Muller said he came up with the promotion after stewing over comments made last month by Obama at a fundraiser for his presidential campaign in San Francisco. The Illinois senator, who narrowly defeated Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in Missouri's primary, said that small-town Americans bitter over hard economic times sometimes "cling to guns and religion."

"We did it because of Barack Obama. He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive," said Muller.

"We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns," Muller said in the interview. "I've got a gun in my pocket right now. I have a rifle in my truck. We've got to shoot the coyotes out here, they're attacking our cows, our chickens. We're not clinging to nothing. We're just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want. This is the way it ought to be."

Muller said the dealership, which has as its logo a grimacing cowboy wielding a pistol, has sold more than 30 cars and trucks in the last three days, far more than its normal volume. Phone calls and inquiries on car purchases from people around the country have poured in, Muller said.

He's also had six protesters show up outside his business.

There may be more on the way because Muller said his next promotion is going to be a King James Bible for any car-buying Muslim. 

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/John Gress (Obama speaks to supporters in Iowa); Max Motors (Mark Muller)

For farmer Dennis Shields, the fate of his new wheat crop is largely out of his control. In this first week of May - some 45-60 days from harvest - whether or not Shields makes a tidy profit or suffers a painful loss this summer is all up to the weather.

"It all depends on June," said the 67-year-old Shields, who has been farming near Lindsborg, Kansas, more than 40 years.

If hot and dry weather settles into the U.S. Heartland as the newly emerging hard red winter wheat crop moves into the crucial grain filling period of development, kernels will likely shrivel and yield potential could shrink. But if mild conditions continue, the new crop could be a bin buster.

The crop is maturing later than normal this year with a more shallow root system due to late planting and a cooler-than-normal, wet spring, factors that have left the wheat crop more vulnerable than typical to the whims of weather.
"You get some 100-degree days ... you'll lose bushels and test weight will probably go down," said Bob Bennett, Kansas State University grain quality specialist.

Efforts to determine the production potential for the new U.S. winter wheat crop, in particular the crop in top U.S. producer Kansas, is a near-obsession this season with an assortment of food industry players, from farmers to bakers, and export merchandisers to Mexican millers. Record wheat prices and short stocks around the world have generated high interest in this year's wheat crop.

A group of more than 60 such industry representatives were taking part this week in a survey of hundreds of Kansas wheat fields as part of a Wheat Quality Council crop tour.

The tour will culminate on Thursday when participants come up with an estimated average yield and production tally for this year's Kansas winter wheat crop.

A year ago at this time, the crop was looking very healthy, aside from some pockets of freeze-damaged fields. But high hopes were dashed when late-season heavy rains washed out many fields. So this year, even though the crop appears mostly healthy, with the potential for good production, few are willing to start counting on the bushels yet.

"We are a long way from getting this crop into the bin," said ADM wheat quality specialist Dave Green.

The U.S. government will issue its first winter wheat production estimate on Friday.

LEAWOOD, Kan. - Freezing drizzle in this Kansas City suburb did not deter thousands of voters from waiting in long lines to attend a Democratic caucus in a middle school gym and choose between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
 
The turnout was so much bigger than expected that overwhelmed caucus workers scrambled to make room, and predicted the process would run hours longer than planned. Polls in Kansas, a state where Obama has family ties, were expected to close at 9:30 p.m. Central time.
 
The line of independents and Republicans looking to register as Democrats was longer than Democratic line itself.  Caucus organizers were having trouble figuring out how to count the thousands crammed into the gym and cafeteria.
 
Steve Gaffen, 56, of Leawood, Kan. said: "It is impressive to see how many independents and Republicans who were crossing over."
 
Gaffen and his wife said they were backing Clinton because "she has more experience and hopefully can get the economy back in line."

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo.- A group of Democratic leaders in Missouri on Monday said they were forming a "truth squad" to protect Sen. Barack Obama from attacks they anticipate coming from rival Hillary Clinton's campaign and other Obama opponents ahead of the Feb. 5 Democratic primary here.  

The move is similar to one Obama backers made in South Carolina ahead of that state's primary on Saturday, which Obama won handily.

Missouri state auditor Susan Montee and former Missouri Democratic Party Chair Joe Carmichael told reporters in a conference call that they and other state Democrats were issuing a challenge to the "false and negative campaigning" seen lately from the Clinton campaign.

The group said it wanted to counter in Missouri allegations that Obama does not truly support abortion rights, that he was supportive of a range of Republican policies dating from the Reagan era and former President Bill Clinton's assertion that Obama had gotten away with a "fairy tale" about his opposition to the war in Iraq. They also said another one by groups apart from the Clinton campaign that Obama was falsely presenting himself as Christian would be challenged if it resurfaced.

"Our primary goal is to make sure it doesn't happen here. The voters need to participate in this election based on the facts not based on negative attacks," said Carmichael. "That's why we're out front early... to say 'No' to the Clintons. Don't do it here, because we're ready."

Not to be outdone, the Clinton campaign on Monday announced its own effort to keep campaigning honest.

The "Rapid Responders," is a "national group of truth tellers who will respond to inaccurate or misleading attacks" directed at Hillary Clinton and her husband. The Rapid Responders will operate in all of the 22 states that will hold caucuses or primaries on February 5th.

Wherever and whenever her opponents misrepresent Hillary's positions in their states, the Rapid Responders will set the record straight, said Maricopa County (AZ) Supervisor Mary Rose Garrido Wilcox.

 A Jan 25. Rasmussen poll pegged Clinton with a 19 point lead over Barack Obama ahead of Missouri's Feb. 5 primary contest. The telephone survey showed Clinton earning 43 percent of the vote to Obama's 24 percent. 

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

 - Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Clinton and Obama during a debate in South Carolina.)

FORT MADISON, Iowa -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign rolled out a new television ad on Saturday dubbed "Hope,"  emphasizing the Illinois senator's pledge to fight against special interest influence in Washington, improve America's reputation abroad, and "bring a fractured people together."
 
The theme was pushed heavily not only by the candidate in his weekend stumping but also by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who joined Obama on Saturday to tell would-be voters his presidency would be "game-changing."
 
"We have an opportunity as a generation not just to restore American prestige and confidence but to take it to a whole new level," the governor told reporters while traveling on a bus through Iowa from one Obama campaign event to another. 
 
"He and I really believe in the power of hope," the governor said. "That is a thing that people build lives on." 
 
Obama, who has been dogged by concerns about his electability and relatively short stint of experience in government, fought back against those criticisms Saturday, saying he was the only Democrat that could beat any Republican next November. He said that while he may have less government experience than some of his rivals, he had the right kind of "life" experience to offer Americans hope for improvements in a range of social programs. 
 
He also offered a light-hearted spin. "I'm a black guy running for president named Barack Obama," he told a crowd in Fort Madison. "I  must be hopeful. I must have hope." 
 
The message seemed to resonate. One woman was overheard remarking to a friend afterward:  "I don't care how big his ears are, I think he'd make a great president."

-- Photo credit: Reuters/Keith Bedford

CLINTON, Iowa- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was feeling good after a day of non-stop campaigning across rural Iowa on Friday.

"It's all going well, don't you think?" Obama asked a group of traveling journalists after he drew repeated cheers at an evening rally here for his proposals to end the war in Iraq and improve the U.S. education system.

But some of those attending the rally were not so happy afterwards. While they were listening to Obama speak inside a local school, their cars were towed away.

According to a representative from the sheriff's department, there was confusion over a city snow ordinance that prohibits parking in certain areas before they are adequately plowed. Parts of the state were blanketed with snow over the last 24 hours.

For Wanda Hardwick, who brought her daughter to see Obama speak but ended up struggling to find a ride to pick up her car at an impound lot, the events turned an otherwise upbeat experience into a big disappointment.

"This was a big event. You think they (the police) would make an exception," she said. "This is just spiteful."

-- Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young

CORALVILLE, Iowa -- Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Friday launched a fresh assault against rival John Edwards over questions about campaign funding from corporate lobbyists, rolling out a new television advertisement on the issue.
 
"I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over," Obama says in the television spot.

The message dovetails with the Obama campaign's release of a letter from eight Iowans who said they supported John Edwards in the 2004 caucuses but are now supporting Obama because they're unhappy with multi-million-dollar ads supporting Edwards funded by what they described as "Washington lobbyists".  
 
Edwards has demanded one outside group tied to a former campaign manager, Alliance for a New America, not run $750,000 worth of ads supporting his presidential bid. But the Obama supporters argued that more than $2 million was being spent to help Edwards from outside groups.

But the Edwards campaign shot back with its own letter from three supporters who said they initially backed Obama but switched. "We were disappointed to learn that Senator Obama took $1.5 million from PACs and Washington lobbyists -- and only stopped taking their money days before entering the presidential race," they said.

Obama also leveled fresh criticism both at Pakistan's leader Pervez Musharraf and the Bush administration in the aftermath of the assassination of that country's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, saying the United States had to reassess its policies toward Pakistan.
 
"We have poured billions of dollars in support to President Musharraf... and he has not focused on dealing with the terrorist threat that is growing. That is where Al Qaeda is now," Obama told a crowd gathered in a school gymnasium in Willamsburg, Iowa. "I've insisted for many months that we should tell the government of Pakistan that No. 1 that they have to observe democratic practices. And No. 2 they have to get serious about going after Al Qaeda." 

-- Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young