Campaign Notebook
Nader's choice may earn support from Green Party

DENNIS COOK / AP California investment adviser Peter Camejo speaks yesterday in Washington, D.C., after being chosen as a running mate by independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Camejo had been a contender for the Green Party's presidential nomination.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

Camejo, an investment adviser from Folsom, Calif., had been one of two leading contenders for the Green Party's presidential nomination. But he is little-known outside California, where he received about 3 percent of the vote as a candidate for governor during the 2003 recall drive that led to the ouster of Democrat Gray Davis and the election of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The announcement came before the Green Party convention, which begins tomorrow in Milwaukee. Nader, who ran as a Green candidate in 1996 and 2000, is not seeking the party's nomination, but he has pursued its endorsement.

Nader has been endorsed by the national Reform Party, which gives him access to the ballot in at least seven states.

Scientists join Kerry in criticism of Bush

DENVER — Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, backed by 48 Nobel Prize winners, yesterday criticized President Bush for allowing ideology rather than facts to determine science policies, and repeated his pledge to overturn the ban on federal funding of stem-cell research.

"We need a president who will once again embrace our tradition of looking toward the future and new discoveries with hope based on scientific facts, not fear," Sen. Kerry told hundreds who braved a cold rain to hear him speak at an outdoor amphitheater.

Stem-cell research gained renewed attention earlier this month after the death of former President Reagan, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. His family called for more research into the disease using stem cells.

In a letter endorsing Kerry, 48 scientists who have won the Nobel Prize said the Bush administration is undermining the nation's future by impeding medical advances, turning away scientific talent with its immigration practices and ignoring scientific consensus on global warming and other critical issues.

"Unlike previous administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, the Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the policy making that is so important to our collective welfare," the letter stated.

Bush promotes plan for premarital counseling
 
CINCINNATI — President Bush raised money for the Republican Party and promoted his proposal to offer premarital counseling to parents on welfare, in his 18th trip to Ohio, a key state in the battle for the White House.

"I think one of the smartest things we can do is to encourage families" by spending money on grants to states, faith-based organizations and community groups that "teach people what it means to be in a successful marriage," Bush told supporters at an alcohol- and drug-addiction services center.

Bush's $1.5 billion Healthy Marriage Initiative is part of welfare-reform legislation stalled in the Senate. The proposal ties healthier marriages to reducing drug use and other problems.

Bush's cash reserves far exceed Kerry's

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry is spending money almost as fast as he is collecting it, leaving him with less than half the cash reserves of President Bush and under pressure to continue a record fund-raising spree.

Kerry raised about $31 million last month and spent $32 million, finishing May with about $28 million in the bank, according to a campaign-finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Bush spent $22 million last month and started June with $63 million on hand, according to his latest FEC report.

Both candidates have been raising and spending money at a record pace. Each has poured tens of millions into ads in battleground states since Kerry emerged victorious from the Democratic primaries.

Kerry has set a party record with at least $148.5 million raised, including roughly $6 million in loans, and just under $121 million spent. Bush has set a presidential record with at least $218 million raised and $152 million spent.