By Tim Gaynor

President Barack Obama's signature battle to overhaul the United States' $2.5 trillion healthcare industry to extend coverage and lower costs for Americans has met fierce opposition from Republicans.

But a move by Democrat backers to exclude 12 million illegal immigrants from buying health coverage and restrict the participation of authorized migrants has drawn the ire of U.S. Hispanics -- a bloc that overwhelmingly turned out to vote for Obama in last year's election.

Hispanic lawmakers and activists are riled by the bill pushed in the U.S. Senate by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, which denies illegal immigrants the option to buy health insurance and places a five-year wait period on legal immigrants before they can access health benefits.

"When we effectively bar the immigrant community from buying private insurance, we force them further into the shadows of our society, and we relegate them to emergency room care ­at the highest cost to taxpayers," Rep. Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, told a conference call with reporters this week.

Obama has so far been popular with U.S. Hispanics. His backing for comprehensive immigration reform, which seeks to allow millions of illegal immigrants in good standing a chance to pay fines and become citizens, helped win him two-thirds of the Latino vote in last November's election.

But activists say the push to exclude undocumented workers from paying for healthcare -- even for their U.S. born children -- is testing support for Obama among Latinos, who make up 15 percent of the population and 9 percent of the electorate.

"The Latino vote was based on promises that a new administration would lead us out of the darkness and finally bring about immigration reform," said Lorena Colin of the Mexican American Coalition for Immigration Reform, a Chicago-based pro-immigrant grassroots group.

"Instead, we are seeing the administration allowing undocumented immigrants to become scapegoats and the targets of widespread derision and hate in the healthcare debate," she added.

Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr., meanwhile, the president of a prominent Hispanic evangelical network Esperanza said he was disillusioned with the Democrats, and warned that Hispanics voters would punish lawmakers who denied immigrants care in the midterm Congressional elections in 2010.

"All we can do at this point is look at each local election, one by one, and punish those individuals-regardless of their party-who deny rights to legal immigrants and children, as well as the poorest in our nation, the undocumented," he said.

Back from his overseas trip, President Barack Obama has spent this week as campaigner-in-chief.

Every day Obama has pushed lawmakers to approve an overhaul of the healthcare industry — the president’s top legislative priority.

And last night he made a quick trip up to New Jersey to do some political campaigning and inject some presidential charisma into Governor Jon Corzine’s struggling re-election campaign.

While Obama was stumping for Corzine, his vice president Joe Biden was on a similar mission — campaigning for the Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia,  Creigh Deeds.

The Virginia and New Jersey governor elections in November are among the first major contests since Obama took office in January and could be seen as barometers of his success in achieving his agenda.

Obama is also pressing Congress to pass healthcare legislation before its August recess.

After meeting Obama at the White House on Thursday, moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe said she urged the president to be patient. She told him it was “overly ambitious” to set an August deadline for Senate passage of the massive healthcare overhaul.

On Capitol HIll today, lawmakers keep pushing forward to make progress on their various healthcare bills after some late-night sessions yesterday.

Obama doesn’t have any public events on his schedule, but you never know…  

For more Reuters political coverage, click here.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (Obama speaks at rally for Corzine)

Democrats and Republicans each claim bragging rights in a U.S. congressional race billed as a referendum on President Barack Obama.
 
But political analysts said the special election to fill a vacant seat from New York in the House of Representatives was so close — and yet to be decided — no one has much cause to celebrate.
 
“It’s basically a tie. It’s like kissing your sister,” said Charlie Cook of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks congressional and presidential races.
 
As of Wednesday, a day after the election, Democrat Scott Murphy, a venture capitalist, held a lead of fewer than 70 votes over Republican New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco.
 
The race likely will be decided by absentee ballots.
 
“Regardless the final outcome, the fact that we closed a 21-point margin (in the polls) in eight weeks is a testament to the fact that the economic message that Scott Murphy carried resonated with voters and his message was support the president’s economic recovery plan,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen, head of the House Democratic campaign committee.
 
Republicans said the congressional district, though long Republican, went Democrat in recent years, including last November when Obama won it by 3 percentage points.
 
“Jim Tedisco has closed the gap in a district that has come to exemplify Democratic dominance,” said Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Republican campaign committee.
 
“That is a testament to the strength of Jim’s campaign and the effectiveness of the Republican message of fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Sessions said.
 
Nathan Gonzales of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, said, “Both sides have reasons to be happy, but also reason to be a little disappointed.”
 
The seat has been open since January, when New York Governor David Paterson appointed Kirsten Gillibrand to the U.S. Senate.

Click here for more Reuters coverage.

Photo credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts (Obama points after signing the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 30 )

OTTAWA - As if he were out on the campaign trail again, Barack Obama gave a special thanks on Thursday to people who helped him win the 2008 U.S. presidential election — in Canada.
 
The president, on a visit to the United States’ northern neighbor, ended a news conference with Prime Minister Stephen Harper by thanking Canadians who came across the border to volunteer for his campaign.
 
“I want to also, by the way, thank some of the Canadians who came over the border to campaign for me,” he said, to laughter. “It was much appreciated.”
 
After the news conference, the president made a campaign-style trip to a local market where he shook hands with excited shoppers and looked for souvenirs for his daughters.
 
But Obama, whose whole trip lasted just several hours, did slip up a bit — campaign style — at the beginning of his remarks.
 
When saying it was good to be in Ottawa, he stumbled briefly, and started to say “Iowa.”

-Photo credit: Reuters/ Larry Downing (Obama waves after shopping at Ottawa market, February 19, 2009)

For everyone wondering whether John McCain would run for re-election to the U.S. Senate after that grueling presidential campaign — wonder no more.

 He’s in.  And he’s asking for help.

The Arizona Republican sent an email to supporters on Tuesday, making clear his intention to defend his Senate seat in 2010.

 ”The magnitude of the financial crisis that many American families are facing makes it clear to me that I want to continue to serve our country in the Senate,” McCain wrote.

McCain vowed to counter efforts by congressional Democrats who he said would increase spending and waste billion of taxpayers dollars.

“With so much at stake, now is not the time to step away from my work in the Senate,” he said.

The senator extended an invitation to supporters to join his  team and to contribute by “donating  $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or more to my re-election campaign.”

Photo credit:REUTERS/Mitch Dumke

WASHINGTON - Former Republican White House candidate John McCain said on Monday he wished he were taking the presidential oath of office but pledged his support to former rival Barack Obama instead.

McCain, speaking at a dinner in his honor on the eve of Obama’s swearing-in, reflected on his own career of military and public service when mentioning Tuesday’s inauguration.

“I would have preferred to have sworn again tomorrow the oath I first took more than 50 years ago,” he said.

“But it would be an act of stunning ingratitude were I to resent the decision of the American people or dismiss the privilege I still possess: the privilege of serving in some capacity the country that has been so good to me.”

McCain wished the president-elect well even as he said the two may continue to joust in the future.

“We will disagree now and again, but not always and not for personal reasons, and not, I assure you, over the purpose we share: the progress of the nation we love,” he said.

The Arizona senator and Obama, a former senator from Illinois, clashed repeatedly on the 2008 campaign trail over policy in often bitter exchanges. McCain gave a gracious concession speech, however, after his loss on Nov. 4 and met with Obama in Chicago after the election.

Click here for more Reuters political coverage

Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama speaks beside U.S. Sen. John McCain during the Bipartisan dinner honoring McCain in Washington on Jan. 19, 2009.

Looking for that perfect gift for the holidays?

Hillary Clinton’s mom, Dorothy Rodham, has a suggestion for you — a children’s book about her daughter.  For a slightly-higher-than-retail price you can even get the book autographed by Clinton and help her pay down her campaign debt.

The unique gift suggestion and campaign donation idea was sent around in an email from Dorothy Rodham entitled “A Perfect Gift.”

Here’s a copy of the email:

“I’m so proud of everything my daughter has accomplished and excited about what her future holds.

“Her life is full of amazing achievements, and her story has inspired millions of people, especially young girls, to achieve their dreams, no matter what they are.

“There’s a wonderful book about her life I’d like to share with you. It’s called Hillary Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, and it is the perfect way to share my daughter’s story with a child you want to inspire.

“As you know, Hillary is still working hard to pay down the debt from her campaign, and I hope you’ll take this opportunity to help her out. With your contribution of $50, you will receive a copy of Dreams Taking Flight with a specially designed Hillary Clinton bookplate.

“And for that special person in your life, with a contribution of $250 or more, you will receive a book that’s personally signed by Hillary to him or her by name.

“I know you’re just as proud as I am of everything my daughter has achieved, and I want to thank you for everything you’ve done to support her!

“Thanks,

“Dorothy”

For more Reuters political news, please click here.

Picture credit: (Image emailed by Hillary Clinton for President campaign; book by Kathleen Krull, illustrations by Amy June Bates)

Today’s the deadline for the Big Three auto makers to present their recovery plan proposals to Congress in order to get a $25 billion bailout.

All eyes will be on Capitol Hill to see the reaction of top lawmakers after the plans are in place. GM, Ford and Chrysler hope to convince lawmakers to approve the $25 billion in low-cost loans to help them survive the current downturn.  The deadline comes as auto companies are due to release their November sales figures, which are expected to be low.

We all knew the economy had been in a slump, but stocks tumbled around the world after confirmation that the United States had entered recession in December 2007. The confirmation by the U.S. arbiter of recession plus a warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke triggered a sell-off on Wall Street which in turn sparked a domino-effect around the world.

Overseas the yen rallied to a five-week high against the dollar due in part to shaky stock markets.  Stocks in the U.S. were pegged to recover a bit on Tuesday, in part because of hopes for an auto industry bailout.

The economy will be on the minds of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden as they take part in a meeting in Philadelphia of the National Governors Association.

Obama and Biden will make comments at the beginning of the meeting then it is closed to the media. But they are expected to talk about ideas of how to fix the economy. Included will be discussions on how to improve infrastructure in the United States and how to work together on boosting the economy. 

Just when you thought the longest election in U.S. history was over — we have another vote, in Georgia. Voters will go to the polls for a runoff election between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. Chambliss is expected to win, which would mean Democrats would not be able to reach a 60-seat “super majority” that would enable them to pass legislation virtually at will.

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (Auto workers at Ford plant)
REUTERS/Tami Chappell (Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss at rally)

WASHINGTON - The anticipated record turnout of voters in Tuesday’s U.S. election did not materialize, with the percentage of eligible Americans casting ballots staying virtually the same as 2004, a report said on Thursday. 

The number of Americans voting is projected to reach between 126.5 million and 128.5 million, meaning the percentage who cast a ballot will be between 60.7 percent and 61.7 percent — roughly the same as in 2004, according to Curtis Gans of the Center for the Study of the American Electorate.
    
The lower-than-expected turnout was the result of a downturn in the number and percentage of Republican voters going to the polls, he said.
    
Predictions of high turnout were fueled by an increase in voter registrations and long lines at polling booths.
 
“But we failed to realize that the registration increase was driven by Democratic and independent registration and that the long lines at the polls were mostly populated by Democrats,” Gans said.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Danny Moloshok (Voters fill their ballots at St. Jerome Parish in Los Angeles on Nov. 4)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden gave a group of Cub Scouts an impromptu tour of his campaign aircraft, showing them the cockpit and handing out Halloween candy.

The young scouts, some of them wearing red plastic fireman hats, had been visiting firefighters at the airport when Biden, on a campaign swing through northern Florida, arrived with his entourage.

“Have you ever seen a big plane before, up close?,” the senator asked the boys. “You guys wanna come and see my plane? I’m gonna get in trouble but come on.”

When he introduced himself as Joe Biden, one of the boy’s said he had heard of him on television. “Yeah, I’m Barack Obama’s running mate,” replied the Delaware senator.

One by one, he took the boys into the cockpit to meet the pilot and see the controls and then posed for pictures with them.

When one of the boys pointed to candy in a basket and asked whether they were Biden’s snacks, the senator whispered, ‘You can sneak one if you want,” and then handed out the candy to the boys before leading them out.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.