Rove addressed the NRA Convention Friday.

(CNN) — Karl Rove launched a wide-ranging attack on Barack Obama during a speech at the National Rifle Association Convention Friday, blasting him for his recent comments calling some small town American's "bitter," and suggesting the Illinois senator is an effete politician unable to connect with a broad swath of Americans.

The comments, received enthusiastically by the large crowd in Louisville, Kentucky, are a likely sign Obama's words at a San Francisco fundraiser last month may be a major Republican talking-point should he capture the Democratic Party's nomination.

“You know in the age of Barack Obama I don’t know exactly what to call you, because after all, as he said, because we’re bitter and economically anxious, we ‘cling to our guns and we cling to our faith," Rove told the crowd to laughter and cheers.

"You probably didn't know you hunted out of economic anxiety, and if gas was a $1.50 a gallon, you probably wouldn't be hunting," he continued. “You probably thought you hunted because you enjoyed the outdoors and companionship with family and friends.”

Rove, largely credited with orchestrating campaign strategies that painted former Democratic nominees Al Gore and John Kerry as out of touch with small town Americans, also cited Obama's recent primary losses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as evidence a large demographic is unwilling to vote for the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"We here have news for Barack Obama," Rove said. "The values of those people you diminished are the values of America. And those people don't like getting patronized, or viewed as an alien species, by a fellow who pretends to embody a new kind of politics, and especially by someone who wants to be president not of red states or blue states, but the United States."

Rove, who does not have an official role within John McCain's presidential campaign or at the Republican National Committee, also took Obama to task for recently wearing a flag pin.

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, picked up Friday where President Bush left off Thursday.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Sen. McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination, spar over U.S. foreign policy in what appears to be a preview of a possible general election match-up.

CNN's Jim Acosta reports on how Obama responded Friday to Pres. Bush's remarks in Israel a day earlier.

Dana Bash is out on the campaign trail with McCain.  She reports on how the Democratic Party has targeted McCain in the wake of Bush's controversial comments and Wolf Blitzer brings you McCain's latest salvo launched at Obama during the Arizona senator's speech Friday evening in Kentucky.

The California Supreme Court's historic ruling Thursday striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage may send shock waves through the 2008 presidential race that reverberate to the benefit of one candidate in particular.  Carol Costello takes a look at the politics of the gay rights issue.

It's Friday.  That means it's time for Jennifer Mikell's Trail Mix — a retrospective of the most memorable moments in the presidential race this week.

Finally, Wolf Blitzer recently sat down with both Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton.  In two special episodes of CNN=Politics Daily, watch Blitzer's entire interviews with the Democratic rivals.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily

Watch Huckabee's joke at the NRA Convention Friday. (starting at 0:50).

(CNN) – During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

Obama supports extending the assault weapons ban, limits on gun sales, and a national law against carrying concealed weapons, with exceptions for retired police and military personnel. John McCain – whose legislative record was awarded a C+ rating by the NRA in 2004, but has received a perfect score – will address the group later Friday afternoon. His speech will include remarks "on the issue of unconditional negotiation with state sponsors of terror" that aides tell CNN’s Dana Bash are a direct response to Obama’s comments earlier Friday.

UPDATE, 8:28 PM: Huckabee released the following statement regarding his comments Friday, according to the New York Times website:
During my speech at the N.R.A., a loud noise backstage, that sounded like a chair falling, distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama. I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention.
 

JUNCTION CITY, Oregon (CNN) – As Barack Obama and John McCain spent much of Friday sparring over foreign policy, Hillary Clinton quietly ignored them during an economic roundtable in an Oregon home, instead focusing her attacks on President Bush’s attempts to lower oil prices during his trip to Saudi Arabia.

“President Bush is over in Saudi Arabia having tea with the Saudi leaders trying to persuade them to either increase supply or lower prices. That’s his energy policy,” said Clinton. “I don’t think it’s good energy policy to depend upon the kindness of the Saudis and the other OPEC nations.”

Energy is a pillar of Clinton’s stump speech and at every rally she lays out a four point plan to lower gas prices. The most recent addition to the plan is her economically and environmentally controversial proposal to remove the gas tax this summer and have oil companies pay it.

“I think it’s very important that we do something more dramatic than having tea with the Saudis,” said Clinton. “The Saudis may decide, “Well we better do something to help out President Bush,” but that’s a short-term fix and it’s not going to have any long-term consequences.”

After meeting with the president, Saudi Arabian officials agreed to increase output but it’s unlikely that will be enough to impact oil prices.

At the end of the roundtable in Marvin and Sandy Mehlbrech’s Junction City home, Mrs. Mehlbrech begged Clinton to ignore calls for her to drop out of the race.

“Please stay in, please stay in,” Melbrech pleaded. “I know there’s so many people that are really behind you.”

Clinton said she was going to stay in the race, claiming that she is ahead in the popular vote – debatable because of the complicated method of counting states' votes as well at the controversy surrounding Michigan and Florida.

“I appreciate you saying that,” Clinton told Mrs. Melbrech. “We’re going to let everybody vote.”

(CNN) — John McCain’s campaign sent reporters footage of a 2006 interview between former Clinton State Department official Jamie Rubin and John McCain Friday which they said proved the presumptive Republican nominee had been quoted out of context in an op-ed claiming he advocated dialogue with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Rubin, a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, had made the claim in a piece published in Friday’s Washington Post. A clip of the exchange, which came during an interview Rubin conducted for Sky News, was published on the Huffington Post Web site.

At the time, said Rubin, McCain told him the United States would not be able to avoid a dialogue with Hamas, which had recently won a majority in Palestinian elections. "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another,” said the senator.

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McCain said Friday that Obama’s foreign policy was displayed naivete.

(CNN) — Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain swiftly responded to Barack Obama’s foreign policy criticism Friday, calling the Illinois senator’s positions “reckless,” saying Americans had “every reason to doubt” he could keep the country safe.

“Senator Obama claimed all I had to offer was the ‘naive and irresponsible belief’ that tough talk would cause Iran to give up its nuclear program. He should know better,” McCain told the audience at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Lousville, Kentucky. “I have some news for Senator Obama: Talking, not even with soaring rhetoric, [about] unconditional meetings with the man who calls Israel a ‘stinking corpse’ and arms terrorists who kill Americans will not convince Iran to give up its nuclear program. It is reckless to suggest that unconditional meetings will advance our interests.

“It would be a wonderful thing if we lived in a world where we don't have enemies. But that is not the world we live in, and until Senator Obama understands that reality, the American people have every reason to doubt whether he has the strength, judgment, and determination to keep us safe.”

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An Obama-Edwards ticket 'wont' happen.'

(CNN) — Seeing John Edwards and Barack Obama on the same stage earlier this week left political pundits buzzing: Could these two be an unbeatable presidential ticket?

They appeared to have natural chemistry — something Edwards and then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry seemed to lack in 2004 — and the former North Carolina senator remains popular among a key demographic that has been reluctant to support Obama — working class white voters.

But Edwards flatly said Friday, as he had before he endorsed a candidate, that he's not interested in making a second run for vice president.

"No," Edwards said in no uncertain terms on NBC's the Today show when asked about the possibility. "Won't happen.…It's just not something I am interested in."

As for another position in an Obama administration, specifically Attorney General, Edwards was decidedly more coy.

"I don't really want to get involved in that speculation," he said. "Right now we have to focus on getting Barack Obama elected to President of the United States, then we’ll worry about those things."

Edwards formally endorsed Obama Wednesday evening, the day after Clinton scored a 41 point victory over the Illinois senator in West Virginia. Edwards also said Friday the timing of his announcement was not specifically designed by the Obama campaign to direct the media coverage away from the New York senator's win.

"That's not true," he said. "I know it's not true because I am the one who made the decision about when to do this. I believe this was the right time to do it. I made a decision that the public should know at this point my view."

Blitzer: Obama hit back a day after Bush's speech.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama came out swinging against both President Bush and John McCain. At issue: the allegation that those who are willing to sit down with terrorists are no different than those who sought to appease Adolph Hitler in the lead-up to World War II. A day after President Bush’s speech in Jerusalem, Obama gave a tough speech of his own defending his record and then followed up with a lengthy news conference.

Obama’s political strategy is clearly designed to prevent the accusation from gaining credibility. Republicans have successfully raised questions about Democrats national security credibility over the years. Obama and his supporters who fanned out across the television networks want to make sure that those charges don’t have time to resonate.

I remember covering the 1988 presidential race between then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Mike Dukakis. The Democratic nominee was branded as weak on national security. He was ridiculed for wearing a helmet while on a tank. The picture clearly made him look silly. Even though he had emerged from the Democratic convention that summer way ahead of Bush in the national polls, he eventually lost the election in November.

Many Democrats learned an important lesson in the process. Once attacked, attack right back and don’t wait. Bill Clinton learned that lesson in 1992. It’s seems Obama has learned that lesson as well.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Republicans have changed their new slogan about change.

After losing a hotly-contested Mississippi congressional seat this week, their third straight special election defeat in a row, House GOP leaders planned a public relations offensive, including a rollout of a new agenda pegged to the slogan, "The Change You Deserve."

It turns out the phrase matched a tagline for the anti-depressant drug Effexor. As word of the similarity got out, Democrats had a field day ridiculing Republicans.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, told reporters Wednesday, "Democrats, not drugs, is what the American people need."

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, released a list of what he called the side effects of "Republican rule,” including “nausea because what they did to the economy makes people sick to their stomach."

Asked Thursday morning if he was planning to change the slogan, House Republican Leader John Boehner said "No. I think it's working just fine."

But in an e-mail later that afternoon from GOP Conference Chairman Adam Putnam to House Republicans, the new agenda had a new name — “The Change America Deserves.”

A memo sent out hours later from Boehner's political action committee to GOP candidates also included the new slogan.

Michelle Obama takes heat from Tennessee GOP.

The Tennessee Republican Party has set its sights on Michelle Obama – the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

A new web video highlights her controversial comment earlier this year, saying she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life." Obama later clarified the remark saying she meant she was proud of how Americans were engaging in the political process, and that she was always proud of her country.

Nonetheless, the GOP video replays her remark six times and mixes in commentary by people who live in Tennessee on why they're proud of America. The party says it's always been proud of this country, and it requested that state radio stations play patriotic music in honor of Michelle Obama's visit there yesterday.

The Obama campaign calls the attack "shameful”. It says that the Republican Party's "pathetic" attempts to use similar smear tactics have already failed in elections in Mississippi and Louisiana, and will fail again in November.

To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here

CNN Anchor Don Lemon talks politics with Ludacris and Tommy Lee

ATLANTA (CNN) — I’m not exactly sure how it happened. But yesterday I found myself involved in an intense discussion about politics in the middle of the newsroom with…. Wait for it…. rapper Ludacris and rocker Tommy Lee. The two men were here to promote their new reality show “Battleground Earth.” In the show both artists try to out green each other while trying to coax viewers into environmental consciousness.

Out of the gate I asked about green backlash. Many people feel like this entire “going green” movement has become more marketing than reality. They agreed that while people might see it that way, it’s not necessarily so, at least in their view.

Tommy Lee admits he’s not a political junkie — he says he rarely watches television or listens to news reports. So he had no opinion on the presidential candidates’ environmental policies. In fact, he had no opinions on any of their policies. “Man, tell you the truth, I only listen to music,” he said in front of the entire room and about four cameras. He seemed sincere. I didn’t press him.

Ludacris, however, was very opinionated. He very strongly said to me, “I support Barack Obama.” He is happy with Obama’s environmental policies, and keenly aware of just how much attention this election is garnering from the American people. But when I tried to press him on other issues like race, religion and HIV in the black community, he steered the conversation back to his stance on the environment. He did promise, however, to address those issues with me in another interview at another time. Smooth. Ludacris has come a long way in a short time: from rapper to social activist to environmental cheerleader.

As he and Tommy Lee walked off, entourage and reality TV cameras in tow, I thought to myself: if someone had told me at breakfast that I’d be talking with Tommy Lee and Ludacris later in the day about the environment and politics I would have called them a liar, which just goes to show, you never know. For hanging out just a bit with music superstars, I got mad props from my colleagues here at CNN.

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Watch part of Barack Obama's remarks Friday.

(CNN) – Barack Obama struck back hard at President Bush and John McCain Friday, accusing them of hypocrisy and of distorting his position on dialogue with nations hostile to the United States, telling a South Dakota crowd that “I’m running for president to change course, not to continue George Bush’s course.”

“I want to be perfectly clear with George Bush and John McCain, and with the people of South Dakota,” he said at a Watertown campaign stop. “If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate that I'm happy to have any time, any place and that is debate I will win because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for.”

In his comments before the Israeli Knesset Thursday, Bush seemed to equate the Illinois senator’s foreign policy views with those of Nazi appeasers in the years before World War II, though he did not mention any names. Obama strongly criticized the president for the remarks Friday, calling them “the kind of appalling attack that's divided our country and that alienates us from the world.”

On Friday, Obama also fired back at McCain for saying Thursday that the Democratic senator was not qualified to protect the nation. “[John McCain] talked about elevating the tone of debate in our country. He talked about reaching out in a bipartisan fashion to the other side. Then not an hour later he turned around and embraced George Bush's attack on Democrats,” said Obama, who called the Arizona senator’s Iran policy “naïve and irresponsible.”

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Stark endorsed Obama Friday.

(CNN) — California Rep. Pete Stark became the latest superdelegate to endorse Barack Obama Friday.

Stark, who has represented California's 13th District for 35 years, said Obama has "captured the imagination of Americans in a way we’ve not seen for decades."

“He’s inspired millions of young people to register to vote and join the ranks of our Democratic Party, he’s consistently opposed the war, he advocates universal health care, and he delivers a message that transcends party politics at the same time," Stark also said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. “I have the greatest respect for Senator Clinton and for her many years of service, but I believe the time has come to unify our party.”

By CNN's count, Obama now leads Clinton among superdelegates by 18, 292-274.

Hillary Clinton's campaign released a series of ads Friday.'

(CNN)— Hillary Clinton’s campaign released a series of positive ads in Oregon and Kentucky Friday, as the Democratic primary race continued its second straight week without a negative spot.

“What’s Right,” airing in Oregon, stresses her support for universal health care and her opposition to President Bush’s energy bill and No Child Left Behind education policy.

“In Washington, they talk about who's up and who's down,” the announcer says. “In Oregon, we care about what's right and what's wrong. She's been right when it matters… She'll be there when it counts.”

Clinton continues her appeal to the blue collar voters who have overwhelmingly supported her presidential bid with two new Kentucky spots that highlight her image as a fighter for the working class.

“The wealthy and the well connected have had a president. It's time the middle class had a president who will stand up for you,” Clinton says in “Partner.”

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Barack Obama expected to respond to Bush remarks later Friday.

(CNN)–CNN has confirmed that Barack Obama will respond directly to President Bush’s apparent criticism of his foreign policy vision, which includes a willingness to consider dialogue with Iran and other nations hostile to the United States. The Illinois senator’s response will come at a campaign event later Friday in South Dakota.

The news was first revealed by senior Obama foreign policy adviser Susan Rice on NBC Friday morning.

In an address before the Israeli Knesset Thursday, President Bush compared leaders who advocated dialogue with nations like Iran to politicians who appeased Nazi aggression in the years leading up to the Second World War.

Watch James Rubin's interview Friday.

(CNN) — John McCain’s campaign said Friday that claims by former State Department official Jamie Rubin that the presumptive Republican nominee had advocated unconditional dialogue with Hamas were misleading.

Rubin, who supports Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, wrote an op-ed in Friday’s Washington Post relating an interview he conducted with McCain on the British network Sky News shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in January 2006.

"Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?" Rubin asked.

McCain said the United States would not be able to avoid a dialogue with the Islamic militant group. "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another,” he said. “And I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice …

“But it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

The Arizona senator has criticized Barack Obama for both his willingness to speak with hostile nations like Iran, and repeatedly raised what he has described as Hamas’ approval of Obama’s candidacy.

On CNN’s American Morning, Rubin said McCain’s criticism of Obama’s position was “the ultimate flip-flop in American politics.”

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Hillary Clinton took aim at President Bush Thursday over his overseas comments.

RAPID CITY, South Dakota (CNN) – Hours after President Bush made an apparent swipe at Barack Obama’s foreign policy in a speech to the Israeli Knesset, Hillary Clinton seemed to come to his defense.

“President Bush's comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is both offensive and outrageous on the face of it, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy,” she told reporters in Rapid City, South Dakota Thursday. “This is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address and certainly to use an important moment like the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel to make a political point seems terribly misplaced; unfortunately, this is what we've come to expect from President Bush.

"There is a very clear difference between Democrats and Republicans on foreign policy and that difference will be evident once we take back the White House.

Bush had made a historical parallel between those willing to engage in dialogue with countries like Iran and pre-World War II appeasers. He did not mention any names, but it was widely viewed as an attack on Obama, who has said that move could be part of his foreign policy as president.

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Obama picked up several of Edwards' delegates Thursday.

(CNN) – At least six of John Edwards' pledged delegates in South Carolina will throw their support to Barack Obama following Edwards’ endorsement of the Democratic frontrunner, bringing the total number of delegates switching to Obama on Thursday to eight.

One Edwards delegate from Iowa, Machelle Crum, came out for Obama on Thursday morning, as did New Hampshire delegate Joshua Denton. Crum made the decision after receiving a phone call from Edwards supporters encouraging her to make the switch.

In South Carolina, Daniel Boan, Christine Brennan-Bond, Robert Groce, Susan Smith, Mike Evatt and Lauren Bilton — all elected as pledged delegates for Edwards following his third place finish in the primary there on January 29 — announced Thursday they will follow Edwards’ lead and pledge their support to Obama at the Democratic National Convention in August.

John Moylan, the Columbia attorney who directed Edwards’ campaign in the state and is now serving as an alternate delegate for Edwards, appeared on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday. He stated his support for Obama and hinted that more members of the Edwards delegation would follow later in the day.

“I didn't reach all eight of them, but I can tell you that at least six of the eight are prepared to endorse Senator Obama,” Moylan said this morning.

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Compiled by Jonathan Helman and Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

USA Today: In Final Contests, It's All About Momentum
If leading pledged delegate counts and the seating of Michigan and Florida delegates are the determining events for the nomination, what are the last few contests for? Bragging rights, momentum and symbolism.

Politico: Six ways the GOP can save itself
Things are so ugly for the members of the GOP right now, it’s worth pondering their political mortality: Put bluntly, can this party be saved?

Politico: McCain adviser ousted in conflict uproar
John McCain's campaign asked a prominent Republican consultant, Craig Shirley, to leave his official campaign role Thursday after a Politico inquiry about Shirley's dual role consulting for the campaign and for an independent "527″ group opposing the Democratic presidential candidates. The campaign also released a new conflict of interest policy barring such arrangements.

Washington Post: Bush May Have Lost Wealth During Presidency
President Bush's financial fortunes appear to have declined over the past seven years, with his family assets dropping as low as $6.5 million, according to disclosure forms released yesterday. Bush and his wife, Laura, were worth at least $9 million and as much as $24 million at the start of his term. The Bushes could still be worth as much as $20 million now, according to the financial documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics, which requires assets to be reported only within broad ranges.

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Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

* Sen. Hillary Clinton makes three stops in Oregon. She has a roundtable discussion in Springfield, makes a brief stop in Salem, and then holds a “Solutions for America” town hall meeting later in Portland.

* Sen. John McCain heads to a brief event in Vest Virginia and then travels to Kentucky for a speech. He ends the day in Newark, NJ.

* Sen. Barack Obama campaigns in South Dakota, first with former Sen. Tom Daschle at a town hall meeting about rural issues in Watertown. Later, former Sen. George McGovern joins Obama and Daschle at an early vote rally in Sioux Falls.