Elections

BUTTE, Mont. - It was a family Fourth of July for Democrat Barack Obama as his wife, daughters, sister and other relatives helped him make an Independence Day play for this reliably conservative state.

WASHINGTON - Moving from celebrity to senator isn't exactly an untraveled path. But that doesn't mean comedian Al Franken, who is vying for a Senate seat in Minnesota, will coast to Capitol Hill on a wide, smooth road.

HELENA, Mont. - Only two Democratic presidential candidates have carried Montana since 1948. Barack Obama is betting he can do it in November.

The realization almost always prompts a double take, a moment of inspection, maybe even a debate: Is baby-faced Barack Obama, the symbol of a younger political generation, actually aging in front of us?

Obama and family celebrate Independence Day in red-state Montana ... Obama struggles to explain how his trip to Iraq could refine his policy on US presence there ... McCain calls campaign staff shake-up part of "natural evolution" ... Obama says 'mental distress' not valid for late-term abortions

FARGO, N.D. - Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

MEXICO CITY - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says "mental distress" should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.

FARGO, N.D. - It will be a red-state Fourth of July for Barack Obama, who hopes to find votes as well as fireworks in places that blue-state Democrats often bypass in presidential elections.

BUTTE, Montana - Barack Obama is celebrating the 4th of July in Butte, Montana, attending a parade and picnic. It's a state that usually gives its three electoral votes to a Republican. Only two Democrats have carried Montana since 1948. Republicans typically take it for granted and Democrats usually write if off. But this year, Obama is spending a sizeable amount of time and money to try to win it.

ATLANTA - Barack Obama's presidential campaign distanced itself Thursday from a mailer by Georgia Democratic Senate hopeful Vernon Jones that shows them together under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes we can."

DENVER - Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two people with knowledge of convention planning said Thursday.

FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama waded into controversy on Thursday over his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq, first saying he might "refine" his views but later declaring his stance had remained unchanged for more than a year.

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, home to Mexico's most revered icon, a stop likely aimed at Roman Catholics and Mexican-Americans voters in the United States.

Barack Obama's policy for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as stated on his Web site:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain took a veiled swipe at Democratic rival Barack Obama over trade on Thursday in the final leg of a Latin American trip aimed at showcasing the Arizona senator's foreign policy credentials.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama insisted Thursday he had not changed his plan to order immediate troop withdrawals from Iraq, despite earlier saying he might refine his policies.

July 4 (Bloomberg) -- The quadrennial discussion of an ``October surprise'' centers this year on whether an international crisis would overturn voter perceptions of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama or Republican contender John McCain.

FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama left open the possibility on Thursday of revising his 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq, saying he could "refine" his stance after he visits the country.

FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pushed deep into Republican territory in North Dakota on Thursday, saying he saw the potential for a significant political realignment in November's election.

BILOXI, Miss. - Roger Wicker leaned up against the rails of the oyster schooner Mike Sekul, enjoying the slight Mississippi Sound breeze and some scrumptious, bone-sucking ribs with his son McDaniel.

NAME — Ronnie Musgrove

NAME — Roger F. Wicker

WASHINGTON - They're the most fickle voters, and potentially the most powerful. Thus, with party nominations secure, John McCain and Barack Obama now are pushing toward the center to win them over.

Republican strategists are worried that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will make a very positive impression and burnish his international credentials when he takes his much-ballyhooed foreign trips in the coming weeks.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A local police officer involved in a motorcycle crash got a consolation prize Thursday — a chance to meet Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON - John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations Wednesday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

The AP-Yahoo News Poll is a unique study that will track the moods and opinions of a group of people throughout the presidential election campaign. The fifth wave of this study included re-interviews of 1,759 people between June 13-23 who were originally interviewed in November or early December. The extensive national survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, Calif., under the direction and supervision of AP's polling unit.

A recent AP-Yahoo News poll shows that 15 percent of the electorate — people who call themselves moderates and aren't solidly supporting a candidate — make up the persuadable middle.