http://hosted.ap.org/…

Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain’s challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, “I think that’s a great idea.” In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

Obama’s reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he’s adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls. Advisers to the Illinois senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy, say Obama is reluctant to take chances or give McCain a high-profile stage now that Obama’s the front-runner.

On Saturday, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones.

“We’ve committed to the three debates on the table,” campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday in an interview. “It’s likely they will be the three appearances by the candidates this fall.”

Asked by The Associated Press if that meant Obama would not agree to any other debates, Psaki said, “We’re not saying that.” She said the McCain campaign had rejected Obama’s proposal for two joint town hall meetings.

McCain’s campaign disparaged Obama for backing off. McCain has not yet formally agreed to the commission-sponsored debates, but the McCain campaign says he plans to.

“We understand it might be beneath a worldwide celebrity of Barack Obama’s magnitude to appear at town hall meetings alongside John McCain and directly answer questions from the American people, but we hope he’ll reconsider,” spokesman Brian Rogers said.

The first debate planned by the commission is set for Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss., three weeks after the Republican National Convention concludes Sept. 4. The Democratic convention is scheduled for Aug. 25-28.

The other presidential debates are set for Oct. 7 and Oct. 15 and the vice presidential debate for Oct. 2.

A day after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination in early June, McCain challenged Obama to a series of 10 town hall meetings. The candidates’ campaigns began negotiations, telling reporters that they agreed in spirit to joint appearances.

When the idea first came up from the McCain campaign that May, Obama was still battling Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Obama said then: “Obviously, we would have to think through the logistics on that, but … if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain, that’s something that I am going to welcome.”

In June, Plouffe had suggested Obama-McCain meetings more along the lines of the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates. During Abraham Lincoln’s Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas in 1858, the candidates met seven times across Illinois. One spoke for an hour, the other for an hour and a half, and the first was allowed a half-hour rebuttal.

Plouffe said Saturday that Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois will be Obama’s representative in further discussions with the commission.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, established in 1987, sponsors and produces debates featuring the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the major parties. The nonprofit and nonpartisan organization has sponsored all the presidential debates since 1988.

Looks like more evidence that Obama is not what he’s been made out to be. If he was such a great speaker and an element for true change for this country I’d expect him speaking at every single venue made available to him. If his policies are solid and he’s confident in them why wouldn’t he want to go up against McCain? I know the reason. The same reason McCain and Obama don’t want to go up against Nader, Barr, Baldwin, or McKinney. They’d get ripped apart and made to look the fools they are.

This is in no way surprising. If I were full of it, had a cult of personality, and was without intellectual integrity… I’d do the same thing.

As for the “nonpartisan” Commission on Presidential Debates… how nonpartisan is it to only include 2 of the several candidates who can technically win the election? The two that happen to be in the 2 major parties?

TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French has re-recorded the band’s 1984 hit song “I Wanna Rock”, dubbing the new version “I Want Barack”. According to The Associated Press, French said that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has energized a new generation of voters who had lost interest in politics. French explained, “He has excited so many people. He has given sincere hope to people who have been out of the arena for years.”

French plays guitar on the track, which features vocals from a singer named Paulie Z.JAY JAY FRENCH AND FRIENDS. The guitarist added that this was not a TWISTED SISTER project because that band’s members were split on which candidates they supported.

The Obama camp did not immediately comment on the song, which is not the first in support of the candidate. BLACK EYED PEAS frontman Will.i.am has recorded two songs with accompanying videos in support of Obama.

French is a lifelong liberal Democrat whose mother campaigned for John F. Kennedy. The song has come out under the banner

That last image is a little creepy. Aren’t images of Christ often with the light beaming from behind too?

http://www.breitbart.com/…

Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers’ carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains.The initiative, to be announced by the railroad on Tuesday, is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles.

Amtrak officials insist their new procedures won’t hold up the flow of passengers.

“On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays,” Bill Rooney, the railroad’s vice president for security strategy and special operations, told The Associated Press.

Nor will the moves require passengers to arrive at stations far in advance, officials said. Passengers who are selected randomly for the screening will be delayed no more than a couple of minutes, Amtrak chief executive Alex Kummant said.

“We’re very conscious of the fact that you’re in an environment where commuters have minutes to go from train to train,” he said.

Concern about Amtrak security has been mounting since the 2004 bombings of commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people. Trains also have been bombed in London, where 52 people were killed in a series of blasts in 2005, most of them on subway trains, and in Mumbai, India, where 200 people were killed in 2006 on commuter trains. Russia also has had several bombings on subway, commuter and long-distance trains.

The new procedures draw heavily on measures being used in the New York City subways, Rooney said. That model has been upheld in court challenges, he noted.

Amtrak plans to roll out the new “mobile security teams” first on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, the railroad’s most heavily used route, before expanding them to the rest of the country.

The teams will show up unannounced at stations and set up baggage screening areas in front of boarding gates. Officers will randomly pull people out of line and wipe their bags with a special swab that is then put through a machine that detects explosives. If the machine detects anything, officers will open the bag for visual inspection.

Anybody who is selected for screening and refuses will not be allowed to board and their ticket will be refunded.

First planes, then buses, now trains… how long till our cars at tunnels and bridges? Then highways? Gotta love how they justify this partially because they (the taxpayers) subsidize their operations. How else could “that model [have] been upheld in court.”? I also love how they have to explicitly mention that since many people’s reaction to this news would be something to the affect: “They can’t do that!” Oh but they can… some guy in a black moo moo said so. It’s clearly justified by that one part in the Constitution… you know… Article 1 Section mumble mumble. Don’t pay any attention to that “4th Amendment” thing. Doesn’t say a thing about terrorists or trains. It’s nice of them that those “selected randomly for the screening will be delayed no more than a couple minutes.” Even though they say next that it takes but a few minutes to get train to train. I’m sure those who miss their train will be more than happy to do so to help ensure that they aren’t someone planning to blow up the train.

At least they’ll give you a refund. The NYC subway won’t if you refuse to a search. From my understanding explosive sniffing dogs are not also drug sniffing dogs. Is that because they can’t or they simply aren’t trained for both? How long till they show up with drug dogs in the train stations and subway?

I’ve started carrying around a digital camera and have been snapping photos of the cops in NYC when they are doing their psyops near Staten Island ferry and random police state things. I’m waiting to be stopped by the NYPD… from my understanding you aren’t supposed to tape cops on duty.