McCain's town-hall proposal rejected

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday rejected Republican rival John McCain's proposal for 10 joint town-hall appearances, offering instead to have one on the July 4 holiday.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said he offered to meet McCain in five joint appearances between now and the Nov. 4 election. One town-hall meeting, three traditional debates and an in-depth debate on foreign policy.

The McCain campaign said Obama's offer was to hold the single town hall on Independence Day, which likely would result in less attention because of the holiday. McCain called the Obama campaign's offer "a very disappointing response."

Dem convention hosts low on cash

DENVER — The host committee for the Democratic National Convention faces a possible shortfall of $15 million, complicating logistics for the August event and forcing it to postpone a media walk-through of the site scheduled for next week.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has asked the cash-strapped panel to raise $40.6 million by Monday to finance the event. Last month, the committee said it had just $25 million in cash, and it has failed to meet each of several fundraising deadlines since signing a contract with the DNC last year.

Host committee members have refused public comment on their fundraising. The convention is set for Aug. 25-28.

McCain slams ruling on detainees

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday denounced a Supreme Court decision that gave suspected terrorist detainees a right to seek their release in federal courts.

"I think it's one of the worst decisions in history," McCain said. "It opens up a whole new chapter and interpretation of our Constitution."

McCain is one of the authors of the 2006 Military Commissions Act, which set up procedures for the handling of detainees. The act denied the detainees access to federal courts. The Supreme Court on Thursday said that provision of the law violated the Constitution.

Speaking to about 1,500 people at a town-hall meeting in Pemberton, N.J., McCain attacked the decision, saying the law he helped write "made it very clear that these are enemy combatants, they are not citizens, they do not have the rights of citizens."

Also

Moore on politics: Filmmaker Michael Moore, who won an Academy Award for best documentary for the 2002 gun-control film "Bowling for Columbine," is coming out with a book, "Mike's Election Guide," a manual of mockery for the 2008 presidential election.

Father's Day gift? John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain, 23, changed her party affiliation from independent to Republican, saying, "I did this as a symbol of my commitment to my dad and to represent the faith I have in his ability to be an effective leader for our country."

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