A veteran US senator is calling for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton to abandon the race for the sake of the party, while rival Barack Obama has harvested an unexpected endorsement from a moderate Pennsylvania senator three weeks before the state primary.
Senator Patrick Leahy, an Obama supporter, chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee and six-term lawmaker from the tiny northeastern state of Vermont, became the first senior member of the upper chamber of the US Congress to publicly recommend Clinton drop out of the race.
"Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to. As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out," Leahy said in a statement issued on Friday.
Campaigning in Indiana, Clinton said Leahy was wrong.
"There are millions of reasons to continue this race: people in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina and all of the contests yet to come," Clinton said. "This is a very close race and clearly I believe strongly that everyone should have their voices heard and their votes counted."
Leahy said Obama's delegate lead appears to be insurmountable and noted the endorsement by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey signaled the race had clearly turned in Obama's favor.
The latest Gallup tracking poll, meanwhile, showed Obama with a 50-42 lead over Clinton. That ties his largest lead in the survey since early January.
Casey's endorsement was unexpected and could boost to Obama's standing with Catholic voters, who make up more than 30 percent of the state, and among working-class voters known as "Casey Democrats."
Campaigning in Pennsylvania, Obama said on Friday he would return the US to the more "traditional" foreign policy efforts of past presidents.
"The truth is that my foreign policy is actually a return to the traditional bipartisan realistic policy of George Bush's father, of John F. Kennedy, of, in some ways, Ronald Reagan, and it is George Bush that's been naive and it's people like John McCain and, unfortunately, some Democrats that have facilitated him acting in these naive ways that have caused us so much damage in our reputation around the world," he said.
Obama faced criticism in January from Clinton for saying Reagan changed the trajectory of US politics and that Republicans had been the party of ideas for the last decade or more.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS