McCain adds Virginia lawmaker to VP list

RICHMOND, Va. — John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, according to The Associated Press.

Cantor, 45, chief deputy minority whip in the House, has been mentioned among several Republicans as a possible running mate for McCain. A Republican who declined to be identified said Cantor has been asked to submit documents but did not know what records were sought.

Cantor through a spokesman declined to comment. A McCain spokesman also had no comment.

Cantor has strong support among the party's conservatives, perhaps comforting a segment of the GOP base that has been reluctant to embrace McCain, who has often been at odds with members of his party on several issues, including a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research.

Cantor also is Jewish and is among Israel's most avid congressional supporters. His addition to the ticket could help the GOP win over Jewish votes.

Obama campaign agrees to debates

ORLANDO, Fla. — Barack Obama's campaign Saturday accepted an invitation for three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate as proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, leaving in doubt a series of town-hall style events proposed by Republican John McCain.

Although not ruling out a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate, Obama aides said this year's lengthy primary season and the McCain campaign's rejection of the Obama proposal led them to move toward the more limited proposal suggested by the national debate commission. McCain has not formally agreed to the commission-sponsored debates, but the McCain campaign said he plans to.

The first presidential debate is set for Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss. The others are scheduled for Oct. 7 and Oct. 15, with the vice-presidential debate Oct. 2.

McCain suggests caution as Bush visits Beijing

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain urged President Bush on Saturday to avoid saying anything "confrontational" to his Chinese hosts when he visits Beijing this week for the opening of the Olympics, lest he damage prospects for cooperation between the United States and China.

In an interview with The Washington Post, McCain advocated a cautious course for Bush, despite U.S. unhappiness with the Chinese crackdown on Tibet, complaints of repression of domestic dissidents and strained relations stemming from last week's breakdown of global trade talks in Geneva.

McCain, who condemned Russian behavior in the same interview, said some of China's actions are "also regrettable, but I don't think China is regressing the way that Russia is. We have a greater opportunity to work in a cooperative way with China."

McCain campaign cynical, not racist, Obama says

ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican candidate John McCain's presidential campaign is cynical, not racist, in its efforts to distract voters from real issues, Democratic rival Barack Obama said Saturday.

"In no way do I think that John McCain's campaign was being racist," Obama said in his first meeting with reporters since predicting McCain and other Republicans would try to scare voters because Obama looks unlike "all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

Obama spent a second day in Florida to speak to the National Urban League, the predominantly black group McCain addressed a day earlier. Obama defended his push to bolster the nation's schools and dismissed what he called McCain's "slim record on education."

Obama also used Florida — a state both sides see as central to victory in November — as the setting for a shift in policy on offshore oil drilling. While still opposed to expanding oil exploration and development on U.S. coastlines, he said he could reach compromise if drilling initiatives were part of a broad program aimed at energy independence.

Also

Platform writers for Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton worked Saturday in Cleveland as the Democratic Party developed a policy statement to promote nominee-in-waiting Obama and keep Clinton backers involved. The drafting committee heard Friday and Saturday from party regulars, policy experts and hard-luck Americans before beginning a draft of the platform, which goes before the full platform committee Aug. 9 in Pittsburgh.

Seattle Times news services