Obama competitive against McCain with key voters

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 28, 6:14 AM ET


WASHINGTON - Barack Obama has done poorly in the Democratic primaries with women, Catholics and others who will be pivotal in this fall's presidential election. Yet early polling shows that with several of these groups, he's competitive when matched against Republican John McCain.

A look at voters who have been closely contested in recent presidential elections — or veered from one party to the other, making them true swing groups — shows a significant number have leaned toward Obama's rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the primaries. Besides women and Catholics, these include the elderly, the less educated and suburbanites, leading Clinton to argue that this makes her the Democrats' stronger candidate for the fall campaign.

Yet Obama's performance with these voters in the primaries doesn't necessarily mean he'd do poorly with them in the general election, assuming he nails down the last few convention delegates he needs to win the nomination.

Polls this month show the Illinois senator leading McCain among women, running even with him among Catholics and suburbanites and trailing him with people over age 65. Results vary by poll for those without college degrees. And though Obama trails decisively with a group that has shunned him against Clinton — whites who have not completed college — he's doing about the same with them as the past two Democratic presidential candidates.

Obama is doing well against McCain with groups he has dominated in the primaries. Polls show him ahead of the Arizona senator with young people and college graduates, though the results vary from poll to poll among independents.

To be sure, Obama's poor performance with some groups in the primaries cannot be ignored. His task of wooing them could be complicated by McCain's attempts to appeal to middle-of-the-road voters and by the strong emotions Obama's long-running competition with Clinton has aroused. In recent contests, only half her supporters have said they would vote for Obama against McCain in the fall.

"I won't vote, or I'll go for McCain," said Maureen Brown, 53, of Philadelphia, a Clinton supporter who said she thinks Obama is too inexperienced. "Our options are pretty bad."

Yet Election Day is more than five months away, with tons of campaign money yet to be spent trying to influence voters like Brown who by then will be more focused on party identification and issues than they are today.

Obama's aim won't necessarily be to win majorities with the swing groups Clinton has dominated. Rather, he'll want to do well enough with them that when combined with the well educated, blacks, the young and other groups that are his strength, he'll snare the electoral votes he needs.

Women have preferred Clinton over Obama by 7 percentage points in this year's Democratic primaries, according to exit polls of voters. But when matched against McCain this month, Obama was ahead among women by 5 points in the Gallup Poll, 13 points in a poll by Quinnipiac University and 20 points in a survey by CBS News and The New York Times.

"I don't think those women voting for Hillary Clinton in the primaries will find John McCain more attractive" than Obama, said Mark Watts, a Democratic pollster.

Women voted for John Kerry by just 3 points in the 2004 general election, but favored fellow Democrats Al Gore in 2000 and Bill Clinton in 1996 by larger margins.

White women are especially in play in November, and they have voted for Hillary Clinton over Obama by a decisive 24 points. Polling this month shows mixed results over whether Obama or McCain is ahead with this group.

They leaned solidly toward President Bush in 2004, split about evenly between Bush and Gore in 2000, and tilted slightly toward President Clinton in 1996.

In addition:

_Though Obama trails Hillary Clinton by 25 points among Catholics in the primaries, he and McCain are dividing them about evenly in national polls. Catholics, a quarter of the 2004 electorate, backed Bush narrowly that year, leaned slightly to Gore in 2000 and heavily toward President Clinton in 1996.

_Obama leads McCain slightly among suburban residents, though he narrowly trailed Hillary Clinton with these voters. This group was nearly half of all voters in 2004 and favored Bush slightly that year and in 2000, while President Clinton had the edge in 1996.

_People without college degrees are tilting toward Obama over McCain, even though they have preferred Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Whites who haven't finished college have favored Clinton over Obama in the primaries by 30 points, and prefer McCain over Obama, by up to 20 points in the Gallup Poll. Yet that's in the range of recent Democratic losses with this group — Bush won them by 23 points in 2004 and 17 points in 2000, while GOP candidate Bob Dole won them narrowly in 1996.

_Obama trails Clinton by 24 points among voters age 65 and older. McCain is well ahead of Obama in the Gallup and Quinnipiac polls, but they're about even in the CBS/Times poll. The elderly leaned by small margins toward Bush in 2004, Gore in 2000 and President Clinton in 1996.

For Republicans who have long dominated among men and whites, the place you start looking to capture votes from Democrats is those who have stayed with Hillary Clinton and culturally conservative Democrats, like working-class white voters, said GOP pollster Neil Newhouse.

In an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll last month, about a quarter of Clinton supporters and one in six white Democrats who have not finished college said they would back McCain should Obama be the Democratic nominee, with roughly a quarter of each undecided.

"That provides us with a target-rich environment," Newhouse said.

The exit poll data is based on responses from more than 44,000 voters in 33 states that have held Democratic primaries this year; nearly 14,000 people who voted nationally in 2004; about 13,000 who voted in 2000; and about 16,000 who voted in 1996. The margin of sampling error for each was plus or minus 1 percentage point, larger for some subgroups. Also included were figures from national polls conducted this month by Quinnipiac, Gallup , and CBS with the Times.

___

Associated Press Director of Surveys Trevor Tompson and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

Culver City-Laughlin tour bus crashes

1 dies, 21 hurt as Culver City-Laughlin tour bus crashes
The charter bus operated by Royal American veered from the highway into a dirt median, overturned and skidded 100 feet, officials say. A Los Angeles woman was ejected and died at the scene.

Firefighters stand beside a bus that crashed on Interstate 40 outside of Barstow, Ca., killing a female passenger. (Courtesy of the San Bernadino County Fire Department / May 17, 2008)



By Deborah Schoch Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2008

Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: One woman died and 21 others were injured when a tour bus en route from Culver City to Laughlin, Nev., overturned Saturday on an isolated stretch of Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert, officials said.

Six helicopters and at least nine emergency vehicles, some recruited from nearby military bases, shuttled injured passengers to area hospitals.

Eight of the victims were severely hurt and 13 others suffered minor to moderate injuries. Most or all were from West Los Angeles, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

Faith Creer, 31, of Los Angeles, died at the scene when she was ejected from the bus after it veered from the highway onto the dirt median, toppled on its side and skidded 100 feet, said CHP Officer Taj Johnson.


Fatal bus crash Photo Some passengers escaped by crawling through the frame of the shattered front windshield, aided by other passengers and drivers who pulled over at the scene, where temperatures soared to 101 degrees.

The identities of the others on the bus were not released, but San Bernardino County Fire Department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said they boarded the charter at Fox Hills Mall in Culver City. The bus was operated by Royal American Tours & Charter of Glendale, she said. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Creer's mother said her daughter was on a casino trip, and another relative said she was traveling with her husband.

The crash occurred shortly before 11 a.m. on the eastbound lanes of I-40 about 40 miles east of Barstow and 132 miles west of Laughlin.

The bus was traveling in the left lane about 70 mph when it drifted about 40 feet onto the dirt median, Johnson said. The speed limit is 70 mph on the stretch of highway.

"We don't know why he allowed it to drift," Johnson said. "The driver himself didn't know why it drifted."

As the driver tried steering back onto the pavement, the bus fishtailed, overturned and skidded on its side, Johnson said.

"It's pretty torn up," Martinez said. "It was laying on the driver's side. The front windshield was out."

Six passengers were admitted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, including four who were airlifted there, a hospital official said. One passenger was unharmed, officials said.

About 20 relatives and friends of the victims waited inside the hospital and near the emergency room Saturday evening. Some were crying. Others tried to comfort one another. Most said they were too anxious and emotional to talk.

Two more victims were at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, one in critical condition, the other stable. Three were at St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley.

Three other passengers were treated for minor injuries at Colorado River Medical Center in Needles, Calif.

Fort Irwin and the Marine Corps Logistics Base near Barstow sent rescue vehicles.

The eastbound lanes of I-40 were closed and traffic was diverted to side roads, Martinez said. The CHP is investigating the cause of the accident.

No other vehicles were involved.

Royal American Tours, founded in 2002 by Madanyan Enterprises Inc., transports passengers for tour operators, employers, casino trips, senior centers and other groups, according to the company website.

In December 2005, a Royal American bus filled with passengers burst into flames on Interstate 10 on its way to a casino in Indio, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The bus was destroyed, but no passengers were injured, the newspaper reported.

In the last five years, at least three tour buses owned by other companies have been involved in accidents in the desert, according to news reports.

At least one man died and more than 50 people were injured in March 2005 when a tour bus bound for an Indio casino collided with a fire engine on I-10.

Nineteen people were hurt in September 2004 when a Las Vegas-bound tour bus overturned in a thunderstorm on Interstate 15.

About 100 people were injured in March 2003 when a tour bus bound from Las Vegas to Los Angeles crashed into another bus in a construction zone along I-15.

deborah.schoch@latimes.com

Times staff writers Phil Willon, Jean-Paul Renaud and James S. Kim contributed to this report.

John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama

A Request from John Edwards

Obama Fights Back Against Bush-McCain

Obama Fights Back Against Bush-McCain

Raw Video: Man Attacks Bus Driver

Police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are searching for a man wearing a bandana, with his face covered, who boarded a city bus and brazenly attacked the driver, causing the bus to crash. (May 16)

MILWAUKEE - Someone attacked a Milwaukee bus driver at 60th and Silver Spring Wednesday afternoon.

The sheriff's department says the man got on the bus...asked the driver "remember me?” Then, the man started beating up the driver.

He then stepped on the driver's foot, which was on the gas pedal and turned the wheel. The bus veered across the street and hit a tree.

The driver received minor injuries.

The man who attacked him fled on foot.

He's described as 17 to 20 years old...wearing a red bandana and sweatshirt.

Edwards gives long-awaited endorsement to Obama

By CHUCK BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Democrat John Edwards is endorsing former rival Barack Obama, fresh signs of the party establishment embracing the likely nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her increasingly long-shot candidacy.

Edwards was to appear with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., as Obama campaigns in a critical general election battleground state, the Obama campaign said Wednesday.

The endorsement comes the day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in West Virginia. The loss highlighted Obama's work to win over the "Hillary Democrats" — white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in large numbers before he exited the race.

Clinton campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a written statement, "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over."

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and the 2004 vice presidential nominee, dropped out of the race in late January.

Both Obama and Clinton immediately asked Edwards for his endorsement, but he stayed mum for more than four months, even as the campaign focused on his home state in recent weeks.

Edwards considered making an endorsement in the weeks after leaving the campaign. People who talked to Edwards privately at the time said he was concerned about Obama's readiness for the presidency and his electability. Clinton worked harder to woo both Edwards and his wife and impressed them both, those Edwards confidants said, but Edwards would have had a hard time endorsing her after criticizing her so much during the primary.

A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn't authorized to talk to the media, said the former lawmaker wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Obama also signed on to Edwards' anti-poverty initiative, which he launched Tuesday with the goal of reducing poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

When he made his decision, Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers because he wanted to make sure that he personally talked to Clinton to give her the news, said the person close to him. Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, who has said she thinks Clinton has the superior health care plan, did not travel with him to Michigan and is not part of the endorsement.

David "Mudcat" Saunders, a chief adviser for Edwards on rural affairs during his presidential campaign, said the timing of the endorsement couldn't be better given Obama's resounding loss in West Virginia on Tuesday.

"For Barack Obama, I think he ought to kiss Johnny Edwards on the lips to kill this 41-point loss," he added. "The story is not going to be the 41-point loss. It's going to be Edwards' endorsement."

Edwards said in the past week that Obama would likely be the party's presidential nominee and that Clinton must be careful not to damage the party's prospects in November as she continues her campaign.

Edwards waged a scrappy underdog campaign for the Democratic nomination, always outshone by the historic nature of Obama possibly being the first black nominee and Clinton the first woman. But Edwards was considered their strongest contender, even as he balanced the rigors of the campaign with the personal blow of Elizabeth's returning breast cancer.

Edwards promoted progressive policy ideas and came in second to Obama in Iowa before coming in third in the following three contests and dropping out in New Orleans, the location a reminder of his attention to poverty.

Obama has a total of 1,887 delegates, leaving him just 139 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. Clinton has 1,718 delegates, according to the latest tally by The Associated Press.

Edwards has 19 pledged delegates won in three states: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most of the those delegates have already been selected, meaning they are technically free to support whomever they choose at the party's national convention, regardless of Edwards' endorsement.

___

Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington and Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report