Presidential Campaign 2008

Politicos paint it blue, but really, there are many hues in the Golden State.

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama took his first public steps toward building his new administration Thursday, received his first top-secret briefing on national security and accepted an invitation for his wife and him to visit President Bush and Laura Bush at the White House on Monday.

Paula Villescaz, 19, was a Democratic Convention delegate from Sacramento. She graduated from Mira Loma High School and is currently a sophomore at UC Berkeley. She blogged for Sacbee.com during the Democratic Convention. Now, she will be blogging on the upcoming General Election.

Clifton L. Yin, 22, was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He currently is working in the office of Assemblyman Bob Huff. He and his Democratic counterpart will be blogging on the upcoming election and focusing on issues that are important to younger voters. Clifton was born in California but lived with his family in Asia from age 7 until high school graduation. He returned to California to attend college at Claremont McKenna College, where he graduated in May 2007.

The news flashed on the TV over the bar, and Gregoire Tonoukouin shouted out, with a pump of his fist and a touch of a French accent, "Now ZAT is what we're talking about!"

WASHINGTON – A powerful new lobbying force is coming to town: Barack Obama's triumphant army of 3.1 million Internet-linked donors and volunteers.

BEIJING – From the cafes of Beirut to the villages of Kenya, much of the world viewed Sen. Barack Obama's electoral triumph as a transformative event that could repair the battered reputation of the United States, lift the aspirations of minorities everywhere and renew the chances for diplomacy rather than war.

"My 7-year-old daughter was jumping up and down when Obama won. She was counting the states when they turned blue and how much it was worth."

The day after Barack Obama was elected president, at least 33 more bankruptcies were filed in Sacramento. Foreclosures continued their assault on the region's housing market. And California's unemployment rate was still more than 7 percent.

President-elect Barack Obama will face some of the most daunting challenges that any new president has confronted since at least 1981, when America tumbled into a severe recession with its prestige ebbing around the world.

Early on Tuesday night there was an odd disconnect while watching the election returns. This country was on the brink of history, a coming moment evident for days and heavy with emotion for big parts of America.

Dr. Abraham McIntosh walked out of his polling place at Harkness (H.W.) Elementary in south Sacramento Tuesday, confident he had done his part to make history.

Years from now, many will remember where they were when first hearing the words: President Barack Obama.

Democrat Barack Obama's decisive presidential victory wasn't necessarily assisting liberal causes in California as the vote came in Tuesday night.

Local elections officials are calling for the largest voter turnout in more than 40 years.

In the Crayola color-box of American politics, if California is a basic "Blue," then the Bay Area county of Alameda – including the cities of Berkeley and Oakland – is surely a "Midnight Blue."

Outside the Pyramid Alehouse on 10th and K streets Thursday, it was hard not to notice the dapper DeLuz twins theatrically debating the great issues of our time.

DENVER – John McCain tried mightily Friday to reinvigorate his campaign in Colorado, a state he badly needs to win, barnstorming alongside local football legend John Elway and bashing Barack Obama as a dangerous spread-the-wealth advocate and untested potential commander in chief.

Forget Sacramento or San Francisco. The western front of the presidential battle is taking shape in northern Nevada cities such as Fernley that could decide the outcome in this swing state.

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama and John McCain each promise that as president they'd continue to transform the U.S. military into a bigger, more agile force that can tackle insurgencies and help allies thwart terrorism.

GREEN, Ohio – John McCain's campaign continued to hammer away at Barack Obama's economic plan Wednesday, with Sarah Palin calling him "Barack the Wealth Spreader."

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — "Make no mistake," Republican activist John Hancock told a John McCain rally in this St. Louis suburb, "this campaign is a referendum on socialism."

Entering campaign's final two weeks, Barack Obama leads John McCain by 50 percent to 42 percent and appears to be gaining strength on key issues despite a barrage of criticism from his rival, according to the first Ipsos/McClatchy poll taken since the final debate between the major candidates.

WASHINGTON – The ambitious spending and tax-cut plans that Barack Obama and John McCain are promising make no fiscal sense, experts say.

With Election Day just over two weeks away, whether the next president can improve America's standing in the world remains a central campaign concern.

Al Gutierrez and Ernie Recabaren have a pool game going at Sun City Lincoln Hills, but give them a nudge, and they'll dish a little on politics.

WASHINGTON – The furor over the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now's national voter registration drive exploded with new controversies Friday, including a call by Barack Obama for an independent prosecutor and the disclosure of a death threat against an ACORN worker.

WASHINGTON – The troubled presidential debate for third-party candidates scheduled for Sunday at Columbia University in New York was canceled Friday after none of the four candidates had committed to the event.

WASHINGTON – Republicans and their allies in the media and on the Internet are ramping up allegations that the liberal-leaning nonprofit voter registration group ACORN is trying to steal next month's presidential election for Democrat Barack Obama.