John McCain

MURRAY -- In a well-received speech in front of 300 western Kentucky Democrats, U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) said unseating his opponent should be a principle goal of those pushing for "change" in the federal government - a concern he aligned with both presidential candidates.

"If you want to change the culture in Washington, what better message can you send than to remove the biggest obstacle from changing the culture - to send Mitch McConnell packing," said Lunsford. "He is the quintessential poster boy of the old Washington politics."

"Change" is a principle buzzword this election cycle given its central usage by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and Senator, Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "Change" is also a staple term in Lunsford's rhetorical lexicon, yet at the Purchase Area Jefferson-Jackson dinner Lunsford did not attribute it solely to the man atop the Democratic ticket.

"There may be a lot Barack Obama and John McCain disagree on," said Lunsford. "One thing I have found that they both agree on is that both of them believe that we need to change the Washington culture."

Presumptive Republcian presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) appeared at a McCain Victory Fundraiser in Louisville on Saturday night that nearly broke the state's fundraising record.

The event's $2 million take nearly topped a state record, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, falling just short of the $2.1 million raked in by at a 2007 GOP fundraiser featuring President George W. Bush.

The $2 million in contributions collected will now be divided between the campaign of the guest of honor, the Republican Party of Kentucky, and national Republican organizations.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), has halved the lead of his Republican counterpart, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), in Kentucky.

A new poll by the New Jersey-based firm SurveyUSA shows McCain holding a 53 to 41 percent lead over Obama in Kentucky among 626 "likely voters." 4 percent of respondents indicated they would select an "other" candidate while 2 percent were undecided.

The poll was conducted from June 13 to June 16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.

The findings are the first presidential numbers released by SurveyUSA since a poll conducted just prior to Kentucky's May 20 Democratic presidential primary. Then, McCain showed a 56 to 32 percent advantage over Obama in a then-hypothetical general election match-up. At the time, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) was still very involved in the Democratic primary race against Obama. Earlier this month, she conceded to the Illinois Senator.13 percent of the 600 "registered" voters surveyed in that poll were "undecided."

After yesterday's 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court, are we only one justice away from a court sanctioned dictatorship?

LOUISVILLE -- As part of the national Democratic Party's effort to expand their operations to all fifty states, the Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) is aiming to implement a new get-out-the-vote effort in Kentucky that enlists party activists to campaign in their own neighborhoods. On Wednesday evening, KDP Chair Jennifer Moore told a meeting of the Metro Democratic Club in Louisville of the ‘Neighbor-to-Neighbor' program and the logic behind it.

"How would you rather hear from - a stranger or someone that you know?" Moore asked the crowd. "We are the best people to go and talk to our neighbors and tell our neighbors why we are a Democrat, why they should be a Democrat, and - most importantly - why they should vote a straight Democratic ticket in the fall."

"They are going to talk to you because they know you," added Moore. "That is a world of difference from a paid walker or a volunteer who doesn't live in that neighborhood going to that door."

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John Mccain (R-Ariz.), will return to Kentucky this month for a major fundraiser in Louisville.

The Mccain Victory Kentucky Committee -- chaired by former ambassador Cathy Bailey -- will hold the event on June 28 at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

McCain will be joined by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) at the fundraiser.

After hammering away at opponent Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) for days because of his opposition to increased domestic oil drilling, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) has turned his criticism on the issue to a newer, higher-profile target.

Speaking on the Senate floor today, McConnell sezied upon Tuesday comments made by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) during an appearance on cable channel MSNBC, when Obama said he would have preferred a "gradual adjustment" in gas prices.

"Yesterday we heard the Democrat nominee for President suggest that rising gas prices aren't the problem," said McConnell. "The problem, he suggested, is that they've gone up too fast. He said he would prefer a ‘gradual adjustment."

Another day, another topic that John McCain can't seem to separate himself from the President on.

Few of the rumored Vice Presidential picks the now-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), could add to his ticket would help him much in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in November, according to a new SurveyUSA poll.

SurveyUSA compiled public opinion figures on sixteen potential ticket match-ups from May 16 and May 18 - before Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) handed Obama a 35 point defeat in Kentucky on May 20 and prior to Obama's attainment of the requisite delegates to clinch the nomination.

The data was released yesterday.

With that said, Obama's numbers in the new poll linger around the 33 percent support he received in an earlier Lexington Herald-Leader match-up poll against presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.). In that poll, McCain received 58 percent support.

It was interesting while it lasted. For several weeks before Kentucky's May 20 primary, it seemed that a day did not pass without news of another presidential campaign office opening at some locale in the state. Now, with just over a week passed since Senator Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) overwhelming victory in Kentucky, there is utter silence on the presidential front.

As is the case in many of the states graced by the unexpected significance of their presidential primaries, the national campaigns have now come and gone from Kentucky, and only lingering yard signs and in-state volunteers remain.

Spokespersons from the national campaigns of both Clinton and Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have confirmed that all field offices opened in conjunction with their Kentucky efforts are now shuttered and all national staff have been pulled from the state.