UPI NewsTrack TopNews July 24, 2008

Obama calls on world to unite

BERLIN, July 24 (UPI) -- Saying he knows his country isn't "perfect," U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama told a Berlin audience "this is our moment" to unite.

The junior Democratic senator from Illinois stood at the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park, buoyed by chants of "Obama, Obama, Obama" and applause for his call to defeat the ills plaguing the world.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment," Obama said. "I know my country has not perfected itself. At times we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes. And there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions. …

"The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our heart, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again."

Obama recalled the fall of the Berlin Wall and the early days of the Cold War, just steps from the sites were former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy delivered memorable anti-communist speeches. He used the backdrop for another call to arms.

"This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it," Obama said.

Polls: McCain gains in battleground states

HAMDEN, Conn., July 24 (UPI) -- Republican U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain has gained support in four key battleground states, polls indicate.

McCain, R-Ariz., who likely will face Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in November, leads Obama in Colorado, while narrowing the gap since June 26 in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, Quinnipiac University polls show.

In Colorado, McCain leads Obama 46 percent to 44 percent. In Michigan, Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 42 percent, while in Minnesota Obama narrowly leads McCain 46 percent to 44 percent. In Wisconsin, Obama leads McCain 50 percent to 39 percent.

"Senator Barack Obama's post-primary bubble hasn't burst, but it is leaking a bit. It's been a good month for Senator John McCain. His movement in these key states, not large except for Minnesota, jibes with the tightening we are seeing in the national polls," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"The good news for McCain is that he has improved his standing in Colorado and Michigan, two states that are critical to each man's strategy," Brown added.

The polls are based on surveys conducted July 14 to July 22. The maximum margin of error for the polls is about plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The state sample sizes range from 1,094 to 1,984 likely voters.

Pelosi: House won't validate Bush policy

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday rejected White House pressure on energy legislation, saying President Bush just wants his failed policies validated.

During her weekly conference call, Pelosi instead pushed for adoption of legislation freeing up the strategic oil reserve to push down gasoline prices and nixed expanded offshore oil drilling until oil companies use their already existing leases on some 68 million acres.

"I will not subscribe to a poor excuse for an energy policy that the administration is putting forth. The administration has failed in its energy policy," Pelosi said. "That's why we have $4 a gallon at the pump. The administration has failed in its economic policy. And now it wants to say but for drilling in protected areas offshore, our economy would be thriving and the price at the pump would be lower, when even the president himself has disassociated himself and has said there is no short-term fix and even drilling in these protected areas is not bringing it down."

Pelosi said she agrees with oilman T. Boone Pickens that we cannot drill our way out of the current supply-and-demand situation. She said more attention needs to be paid to alternative energy, including solar power.

Perino: Dems wasting time on energy bill

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The White House Thursday ridiculed efforts by Democrats to free up the U.S. strategic oil reserve, calling it a waste of time.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told the daily media briefing the administration is drafting a position statement on the overall issue of energy sufficiency.

Perino said the strategic oil reserve was set up to deal with emergencies and tapping into it now "doesn't seem like the best idea." Instead, she again urged Congress to adopt legislation that would open the way for further offshore drilling and tapping into the oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"The Outer Continental Shelf … has 18 billion barrels of oil; up in ANWR, 10.4 billion barrels and oil shale, 800 billion barrels. Compare that to 700 million barrels in the SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) and, I think, you can see why the math doesn't add up," Perino said.

Barr: War with Iran would be a disaster

WASHINGTON, Conn., July 24 (UPI) -- Bob Barr, the U.S. presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, said the Bush administration's diplomatic engagement with Iran is "long overdue."

Iran appears to be years away from possessing nuclear weapons, giving time for diplomacy to work, Barr said in a release. He said that war with Iran would be a disaster.

"American troops in Iraq would be at risk. U.S. citizens would be targeted for terrorist acts," he said. "Tehran could retaliate against Israel. Oil shipments would be disrupted, causing energy prices to soar even higher. Allied states in the Persian Gulf would be vulnerable to attack. Chances for democratic change in Iran would be set back."

A former Republican, Barr represented Georgia in Congress from 1995 to 2003, serving on the House Judiciary Committee and was known for his commitment to civil liberties.

Barr became a critic of the Bush administration when he left Congress and endorsed the Libertarian candidate for president in 2004.

Dolly weakening, soaking southern Texas

MIAMI, July 24 (UPI) -- President Bush issued a disaster declaration for parts of Texas Thursday as Tropical Storm Dolly weakened but still dumped drenching rains on south Texas.

At 1 p.m. CDT, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the former Category 2 hurricane was centered near the U.S.-Mexican border, about 30 miles northwest of Laredo, Texas. The system was moving west-northwest at 13 mph and was expected to weaken into a tropical depression Thursday night.

Sustained winds were 40 mph with higher gusts, and extended 85 miles from the storm's center.

A tropical storm warning from Brownsville to Port Aransas was discontinued.

Since hitting the coast Wednesday afternoon with 100 mph winds, Dolly has delivered as much as 12 inches of rain to the deep south of Texas and northern Mexico. Forecasters said isolated areas could receive up to 20 inches of rain.

Before the storm made landfall, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration Tuesday for 14 counties in the projected path. Bush followed up with a federal disaster declaration Thursday.

Wind and flood damage was reported on South Padre Island, which bore the first impact, but damage estimates weren't available early Thursday.

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