McCain vows to back changes to disabilities law

McCain vows to back changes to disabilities law

COTTONWOOD, Ariz. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain is pledging support for a proposal to expand protections for disabled people under an 18-year-old landmark civil rights law.

Speaking from Arizona by satellite to a disabilities forum in Columbus, Ohio, McCain said Saturday that revisions to the Americans With Disabilities Act must leave no doubt that it was intended to protect from any discrimination that's based on physical or mental disabilities.

The Supreme Court generally has exempted from the law's protection people with partial physical disabilities, as well as people with physical impairments that can be treated with medication or devices such as hearing aids.

"We must clarify the definition of a disability to assure full protection for those the law is intended to serve," said McCain, who was spending the weekend at his nearby northern Arizona getaway.

A month ago, the House passed a bill to extend protections to people who take medicine to control epilepsy, diabetes or cancer, or use prosthetic limbs. McCain, a co-sponsor of the 1990 law, said he intends to support a similar bill in the Senate.

McCain said blame for the narrowed scope of the law shouldn't be placed on the Supreme Court, but rather on Congress. "In all due respect, I would put the blame right back on us for not writing legislation that is strong enough and specific enough so that the Supreme Court wouldn't even have to consider these cases," McCain said.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was headed back to the United States from an international trip and didn't attend the forum, has said he supports the bill so that it could override court decisions that narrowed the law's scope. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, an Obama surrogate who helped write the 1990 law, also spoke at the forum.

"I have found him to be not only interested but also very much aware of the issues confronting the disability community," Harkin said in a phone interview after the forum. "I also find that he is very supportive of doing everything we can do to enhance the Americans with Disabilities Act."

The forum marked the anniversary of the law, which prohibits discrimination against the disabled in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.

The event also was aimed at giving presidential campaigns an opportunity to flesh out their positions on disability issues and at highlighting a voting bloc that is often ignored, said Rebecca Panoff, spokeswoman for the American Association of People with Disabilities, one of the advocacy groups that organized the forum.

"Some people aren't registered (to vote), because they aren't engaged in the political process because they don't feel they are being addressed," Panoff said, noting that there are 37 million people with disabilities who are eligible to vote in the United States.

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On the Net:

American Association of People With Disabilities: http://www.aapd.com/index.php

Cindy McCain, Like Others, Stands by Man

Cindy McCain, Like Others, Stands by Man

Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accompanied by his wife Cindy, speaks at a news conference in Toledo, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. 21,2008, to respond to allegations by the New York Times of impropriety with a female lobbyist in Toledo, Ohio. Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Cindy McCain did not hesitate as she stepped toward the microphone, taking her place in the history of political wives who stood by their men in the face of rumored or alleged marital infidelity.

"Well, obviously, I'm disappointed," she said, her voice low but clear and self-assured. "More importantly, my children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but disappoint the people of America. He's a man of great character."

She and her husband, likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain, emphatically denied suggestions in published reports that he had an affair with a lobbyist.

A coterie of wives has confronted the public pain of such an accusation. Smaller still is the band who, like Cindy McCain, have spoken out.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former first lady who is battling Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, memorably insisted to CBS's "60 Minutes" during the 1992 campaign, "I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette." She sat beside husband Bill.

And there was her cool demeanor, six years later, at the news conference where her husband declared of Monica Lewinsky: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

Mrs. Clinton made this barbed observation to the journalists who were present, "I'm pleased to see so many people in attendance who care about child care," a reference to the reason the news conference had been arranged.

Few political wives are considered strong women, said Stanley Renshon, a political psychologist at City University of New York.

"Hillary Clinton would certainly fit. Michelle Obama would certainly fit. Cindy McCain would certainly fit, from all indications," Renshon said. "You don't expect them to feel either shell-shocked or look like a deer caught in the headlights. It's not in their nature, because they're strong women."

Cindy McCain is certainly no shrinking violet. Just this week, she tweaked the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama for seeming to suggest she didn't have much pride in the United States until Obama's campaign gained steam.

"I'm proud of my country," she said in Wisconsin on Tuesday. "I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier."

On Thursday, Cindy McCain struck a balance between strident and shocked as she calmly helped her husband confront the allegations. She was no Hillary Clinton, but neither was she silent, like the wives of New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig. The first announced he was gay, the second said he was not.

The New York Times had strongly suggested there was an inappropriate relationship between her husband, John McCain, and a female lobbyist, including favors for her clients. The Washington Post quickly published a similar story. The Times story also said top McCain aides became "convinced the relationship had become romantic."

At a news conference hours later, McCain denied any romantic relationship and insisted he had never done anything to betray the public trust.

Cindy McCain stood with her shoulder pressed against her husband's, watching him and his questioners intently, her expression pleasant and composed, as usual. Asked for her thoughts, she moved to the microphone without pause.

As she finished, her husband, obviously appreciative, said, "I should have had you conduct this." Cindy McCain smiled and briefly placed her hand on his arm.

The scene has played out time and again in politics, although the circumstances vary:

-Suzanne Craig stood silently as her husband, Larry, denied last summer that he had propositioned a man in the stall of an airport bathroom. Her expression was obscured by large sunglasses.

-Louisiana Rep. David Vitter apologized last summer after being linked to a Washington escort service. As reporters demanded to know whether he had any sexual relationship, his wife, Wendy, seized the podium, calling her husband "my best friend" and saying that forgiveness "is the right choice for me." Ironically, Wendy Vitter had predicted years ago that she would act more like knife-wielding Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary Clinton if her husband strayed.

-Carlita Kilpatrick, seated next to her husband, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, touched his knee as he publicly apologized to his family amid a scandal over intimate and sexually explicit text messages involving him and his top aide. "Yes, I am angry, I am hurt, and I am disappointed. But there is no question that I love my husband."

-Dina Matos McGreevey stood, obviously shell-shocked, next to her husband, then-Gov. McGreevey, as he announced in 2004 he was "a gay American" and would resign. He said later he stepped down rather than succumb to a $50 million blackmail threat from a male former lover. She wrote a tell-all book after they divorced.

-Lee Hart, after husband Gary Hart was linked to model Donna Rice during his presidential campaign, insisted to reporters in 1987: "When Gary says nothing happened, nothing happened."

How they responded "depends on the allegation, and it depends on the spouse," Renshon said.

Their comments are an important part of any candidate's response when such an accusation arises, he said.

"The allegation of infidelity is still a powerful allegation, and it remains powerful because it's about trust and responsibility, the idea that if you're cheating on your spouse, what can we expect of you in the presidency," he said.

McCain Seals GOP Nod As Romney Suspends

McCain Seals GOP Nod As Romney Suspends

Republican presidential hopeful former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney arrives in the parking lot of his campaign headquarters in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008. The day after his Super Tuesday wins in the West, Romney enjoyed his first night at home in a month and went to his office for a strategy session with aides. "Got some good sleep," said Romney, who vowed to stay in the race.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney will say at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country," Romney said.

McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mitt Romney will suspend his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination, The Associated Press has learned, effectively ceding the nomination to John McCain.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or (Barack) Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney planned to say in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters ... many of you right here in this room ... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."

McCain Pulls Ahead; Clinton, Obama Close

McCain Pulls Ahead; Clinton, Obama Close

With the glow from a television set cast on his face Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a telephone after the announcement of his strong majority showing in the California presidential primary at his election night command post in Phoenix, Tuesday night, Feb. 5, 2008. McCain's wife Cindy and his daughter Megan, left, stand behind him.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- John McCain earned himself a super Wednesday, a day to savor coast-to-coast primary victories that ratified him as the Republican front-runner, while Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama dug in after a night of divided spoils in a Democratic presidential contest that could stretch to the spring.

McCain, whose campaign once verged on collapse, piled up more delegates than his two rivals combined, pushing over the halfway mark on what's needed to clinch the nomination. His victories stretched from New York to California, the biggest prize. Still, Mitt Romney in the West and Mike Huckabee in the South proved to be go-to candidates for conservatives, and they vowed to press forward.

Clarity of any sort eluded the Democrats as campaigns turned to the next rounds - contests in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state Saturday and a larger series of primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on Tuesday.

More than 168 Democratic delegates are at stake Tuesday, a sizable prize in two states and a district that are normally afterthoughts in nomination contests. Clinton has been endorsed in Maryland by Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara Mikulski; Obama is backed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine,and is expected to do well in the largely black district.

"Senator Clinton has a lot of friends in Virginia," Kaine said in an interview, but "we're feeling pretty good" about Obama's Virginia chances. Republicans will award 116 delegates in the trio of races dubbed the Potomac Primary.

Huckabee, who posted five Southern victories after being practically counted out of the contest, demurred when asked Wednesday if he'd be an irresistible running mate for McCain, the opponent he likes. "I still want to be the irresistible choice to be the president," he said on CBS' "The Early Show."

Despite his strong night, Huckabee trails both McCain and Romney in the delegate count. Other contenders took a pass for once on the morning-after talk shows.

Obama won 13 Super Tuesday states; Clinton, eight plus American Samoa. Clinton scored the advantage in delegates, bring her total to 845 to Obama's 765, by the latest accounting. The road ahead was long for the Democrats: It takes 2,025 delegates to claim their nomination.

Delegate tabulations continued Wednesday, possibly longer, and the victor in one race remained unsettled - the Democratic caucuses in New Mexico.

Clinton won the biggest state, California, capitalizing on backing from Hispanic voters. Obama scored victories in Alabama and Georgia on the strength of black support, and won a nail-biter in bellwether Missouri.

McCain's own victory in California dealt a crushing blow to his closest pursuer, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

"We've won some of the biggest states in the country," the Arizona senator told cheering supporters at a rally in Phoenix, hours before California fell his way. An underdog for months, he proclaimed himself the front-runner at last, and added. "I don't really mind it one bit."

In the competition that counted the most, the Arizona senator had 613 delegates, to 269 for Romney and 190 for Huckabee in incomplete counting. It takes 1,191 to win the GOP nomination.

Neither Democrat could plausibly claim an overall victory and didn't try.

"I look forward to continuing our campaign and our debate about how to leave this country better off for the next generation," Clinton said.

Obama told a boisterous election night rally in Chicago, "Our time has come. Our movement is real. And change is coming to America."

Polling place interviews with voters suggested subtle shifts in the political landscape.

For the first time this year, McCain ran first in a few states among self-identified Republicans. As usual, he was running strongly among independents. Romney was getting the votes of about four in 10 people who described themselves as conservative. McCain was winning about one-third of that group, and Huckabee about one in five.

Overall, Clinton was winning only a slight edge among women and white voters, groups that she had won handily in earlier contests, according to preliminary results from interviews with voters in 16 states leaving polling places.

Obama was collecting the overwhelming majority of votes cast by blacks - a factor in victories in Alabama and Georgia.

Clinton's continued strong appeal among Hispanics - she was winning nearly six in 10 of their votes - was a big factor in her California triumph, and in her victory in Arizona, too.

McCain, the early Republican front-runner whose campaign nearly unraveled six months ago, won in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Missouri, Delaware and his home state of Arizona - each of them winner-take-all primaries. He also pocketed victories in Oklahoma and Illinois.

Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, won a series of Bible Belt victories, in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee as well as his own home state. He also triumphed at the Republican West Virginia convention, and told The Associated Press in an interview he would campaign on. "The one way you can't win a race is to quit it, and until somebody beats me, I'm going to answer the bell for every round of this fight," he said.

Romney won a home state victory in Massachusetts. He also took Utah, where fellow Mormons supported his candidacy. His superior organization produced caucus victories in North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Alaska and Colorado, and he, too, breathed defiance. "We're going to go all the way to the convention. We're going to win this thing," he told supporters in Boston.

Democrats played out a historic struggle between two senators: Clinton, seeking to become the first female president, and Obama, hoping to become the first black to win the White House.

Clinton won at home in New York as well as in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arizona and Arkansas, where she was first lady for more than a decade. She also won the caucuses in American Samoa.

Obama won Connecticut, Georgia, Alabama, Delaware, Utah and his home state of Illinois. He prevailed in caucuses in North Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Idaho, Alaska and Colorado. His Missouri victory was so close in the vote total that there was no telling whether he or Clinton would end up with a majority of the state's 72 delegates.

Clinton had a 117-vote lead in New Mexico when the party shut its vote counting operation until 11 a.m. EST.

The allocation of delegates lagged the vote count by hours. That was particularly true for the Democrats, who divided theirs roughly in proportion to the popular vote.

Nine of the Republican contests were winner take all, and that was where McCain piled up his lead.

Alabama and Georgia gave Obama three straight Southern triumphs. Like last month's win in South Carolina, they were powered by black votes.

Democrats and Republicans alike said the economy was their most important issue. Democrats said the war in Iraq ranked second and health care third. Republican primary voters said immigration was second most important after the economy, followed by the war in Iraq.

The survey was conducted in 16 states by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and television networks.