CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla - Floridians love their coastline, and their economy relies pretty heavily on tourists who want to spend time on it. So when a new poll suggests 60% of them now back expanding off-shore drilling to help alleviate the pressure of high prices at the pump, it’s a sign that the idea has taken hold in the popular consciousness as a possible solution.

Does that explain Senator Barack Obama’s new claim yesterday that he would support such drilling as part of a broader energy solution?

Obama spent the last month ridiculing John McCain for backing more offshore oil production. In Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Obama said the proposal was useless. “It’s not going to provide short term relief, or medium term relief, or long term relief,” he said. “It won’t drop prices in this administration, or the next administration, or the administration after that.”

But after those blistering attacks on McCain, Obama told the Palm Beach Post he might just be open to the idea. “My interest is in making sure we’ve got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices,” he said. “If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage - I don’t want to be so rigid that we can’t get something done.”

He even suggested he was bowing to GOP pressure. “The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on drilling,” Obama said in the interview. “And so we don’t want gridlock. We want to get something done.”

Today, Obama denied any accusations of a flip-flop. “This wasn’t really a new position,” he told reporters — it’s realism. “What I don’t want to do is for the best to be the enemy of the good here,” said Obama. “If we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don’t like or the Democrats have to accept some that they don’t like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of energy independence, that’s something I am open to.”

It seems that the main distinction remaining between Obama and McCain on the issue is enthusaisum. “What I will not do, and this has always been my position, is to support a plan that suggests that drilling is the answer to our energy problems,” said Obama. But: “If we have a plan on the table that I think meets the goals that America has to set, and there are some things in there that I don’t like, then, obviously, that’s something that, you know, I would consider because that’s the nature of how we govern in a democracy.”

Republicans like Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have suggested that many congressional Democrats support drilling, but that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has kept legislation supporting oil exploration off the House floor to protect Obama. If Democrats were forced to vote on the issue, many of them might wind up in disagreement with their nominee.

But here in Florida, Obama seems to be giving them some wiggle room. “What I‘m interested in ultimately is going to be governing. And what that means is, is that we’re going to have to try to get things done,” he said. “At some point, people are going to have to make decisions, do we want to keep on arguing or are we going to get things done?”

TITUSVILLE, Fla - Barack Obama has often talked about reaching across the aisle during his administration — and prominent Republicans have even been mentioned as possibilities for cabinet positions. So what role would he offer his GOP rival John McCain if he becomes President?

Suffice it to say, we won’t be seeing a Defense Secretary McCain.

“See, you’re setting me up to get in trouble, right here,” Obama told a Floridian who asked where McCain might fit into an Obama administration. The question elicited a big smile from the candidate and a lot of laughter from the crowd.

“Senator McCain, I would have him serve in the role of loyal opposition, in the minority,” said Obama after a pause. “There’s an important function to be served there.  I mean it’s important to have an opposition that is keeping you on your toes and giving you a hard time and calling you out if you’re not doing what you say your gonna  to do.  That’s part of what is good about democracy.”

Obama’s Iraq trip partner Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, has been mentioned as a possible VP candidate, though Hagel’s people say he disagrees with Obama on nearly everything other than Iraq and is a very unlikely selection.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla - Barack Obama told reporters that John McCain waged a cynical campaign of distraction over the last week — which many political observers say McCain won by rattling Obama with negative ads that took him out of the race’s driver’s seat.

Taking questions from reporters for the first time since returning from his trip overseas, Obama continued to defend himself against his rival’s charge that he played the race card by telling Missouri crowds that McCain would use his different appearance to try to scare them into thinking he’s a risk. Racism, he said, wasn’t the “ism” he was alleging.

“In no way do I think that John McCain’s campaign was being racist,” he said. “I think they are cynical. I think they want to distract people from talking about the real issues.”

“The one thing we know about the team that John McCain’s assembled, because it’s a carryover from some of the folks that worked on Bush campaigns and some of the Republican campaigns in the past, is that they’re very good at negative campaigns. They’re not so good at governing,” said Obama. “We don’t take the skill of the Republicans in engaging in negative attacks lightly. We think it’s something that we’ve got to be mindful of. But what we also have confidence in is that the American people feel that we’re offering real solutions.”

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded by turning the charge around on the Illinois Senator. “The only ‘cynical’ candidate in this election is Barack Obama, who has opposed every element of John McCain’s comprehensive energy plan that includes additional oil drilling, affordable nuclear energy and gas tax relief for hardworking families,” he said in a statement

Obama also claimed recent accusations of arrogance in his campaign are just an invention of those McCain hatchet men. “I don’t know that there’s that perception. That’s something that’s being fed to the media by them. I get no sense that it’s taken,” he said. “I think what would be useful is to ask the question, what’s this based on. It’s not really clear exactly what it’s based on.”

“If I was presumptuous or taking this for granted, I wouldn’t be working this hard this week. I’m beat,” said Obama, laughing

ORLANDO, Fla — Barack Obama took his fight with John McCain back to elementary school, accusing his rival campaign of acting like a bunch of 5th graders calling names.

Speaking to volunteers at an Orlando phone bank, Obama ribbed McCain for taking the campaign into the gutter. “When we started this campaign, we were hoping for a more elevated debate. I mean, imagine — at a time when we face more challenges than at any time in our lifetime, these guys are running ads with Paris and Britney,” he said. “That’s frivolous. It’s desperate.”

Obama said the campaign tactics are a sign of a lack of imagination over at Team McCain. “It’s a sign that they don’t have anything to offer to the American people so they’re just going to try to call folks names like you did in 5th grade,” he said. “You remember that, back in 5th grade? You know, people’d be calling each other names and getting into these petty fights. We don’t have time for that.”

One might think that the Illinois Senator, who has two grade-school aged children himself, wouldn’t want to bring the freshness of youth to the 72-year old McCain, whose age is seen as a liability — although Obama did tell the crowd that McCain “wants to do the same old thing.” Never a bad idea to get the word “old” in a McCain riff.

Otherwise, it was a lovefest between Obama and his supporters, who he thanked for standing by him in good tiems and bad — and for helping him with those nasty internet rumors.

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ST PETERSBURG, Fla - A day after being accused by the McCain campaign of playing the race card, Barack Obama faced tough questions in Florida about his true commitment to the plight of African Americans and the implicit accusation that he hasn’t been black enough.

Delivering remarks on a new economic stimulus plan in Florida today, Obama was interrupted by a group of three young black men, who held up a sign reading “What About the Black Community, Obama?” and featuring the URL of Uhuru News - a left-wing pro-African organization. The chants of the three men and the subsequent attempts by the pro-Obama crowd to drown them out completely derailed the Illinois Senator, who was railing against special interests.

“Hold on a second, what’s happening?” he said — trying and failing to launch back into the speech as the audience began chanting “Yes We Can” to overpower the hecklers. “Excuse me young man, this is going to be a question and answer session, so you can ask a question later,” Obama told the most vocal of the protesters. “Just be courteous and you’ll have a chance to make your statement. Just relax.”

Calling the St Petersburg crowd “feisty,” Obama picked up where he left off; he later made good on his promise to give the man - Diop Olugbala, 31 - a chance to be heard.

“In the face of the numerous attacks that are made against the African community or the black community by the same US government that you aspire to lead” - such as subprime mortgages that target African Americans, the killing of Sean Bell in New York and the Jena 6 case, Olugbala said, “why is it that you have not had the ability to not one time speak to the interests and even speak on the behalf of the oppressed and exploited African community or Black community in this country?”

Obama seemed momentarily taken aback — as did the crowd, which began to boo. “Hold on a second, everybody. I want everybody to be respectful. That’s why we are having a town hall meeting. That’s democracy at work,” said Obama. “He asked a legitimate question so I want to give him an answer.”

To the heckler, he said “I think you are misinformed about when you say not one time. Every issue you’ve spoken about, I actually did speak out about.”

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The Clinton campaign is perfectly happy with the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee’s decision to seat all of Florida’s delegates as allocated by the January 29th primary, but to only give each delegate half a vote. Not so the committee’s ruling on Michigan

Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy made the following statement this evening:

“Today’s results are a victory for the people of Florida who will have a voice in selecting our Party’s nominee and will see its delegates seated at our party’s convention.  The decision by the Rules and Bylaws Committee honors the votes that were cast by the people of Florida and allocates the delegates accordingly.

We strongly object to the Committee’s decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan’s delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan.

The Committee awarded to Senator Obama not only the delegates won by Uncommitted, but four of the delegates won by Senator Clinton. This decision violates the bedrock principles of our democracy and our Party.

We reserve the right to challenge this decision before the Credentials Committee and appeal for a fair allocation of Michigan’s delegates that actually reflect the votes as they were cast.”

On a conference call yesterday, DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Committee Member and Clinton supporter Tina Fluornoy told reporters that the Clinton campaign has four goals for today’s committee meeting to decide what to do about seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan.

First, the campaign wants the popular vote from the two states to count in the official tally. Then, they’d like those results to be the basis for any delegate formulation - meaning no splitting the delegates 50-50. They’d also like the full delegations from both states seated at the convention, and for every delegate to be given a full vote.

But privately, several aides concede that the campaign may be willing to compromise on the last of those goals in exchange for fully meeting the first one. They would, for instance, accept giving each pledged delegate a 2/3 or 1/2 vote if it comes down to that — so long as Clinton’s advantage in the popular vote in Michigan and Florida would be officially added to her vote count, giving her an undisputed lead there.

The thinking is that Clinton can’t catch up in pledged delegates no matter how favorably the committee views her arguments today. But she can force Democrats to acknowledge her as the popular vote leader — a status she already claims unofficially on the campaign trail. She’s already begun to call that measure more democratic than the delegate system, and Democrats have a sensitive spot for popular vote leaders after Al Gore won more in 2000 but still lost to George Bush’s superior electoral performance.

The Clinton camp believes a significant popular vote lead is something superdelegates will have to pay attention to; but even if they don’t, it allows Clinton to claim a certain kind of victory and save face at the end of this long primary season.

Clinton delegate master Harold Ickes says now that the Obama campaign has declared its willingness to seat delegations from Michigan and Florida at the Party Convention in August, the number of delegates once thought to be required to win the nomination is no longer operable.

“There’s an unwritten assumption that 2026 is the number to get the nomination. That could not at this point be further from the truth,” Ickes told reporters on a conference call. “Obama seems to have crossed the Rubicon, and is in favor of some resolution of Michigan and Florida. Until they are fully resolved, there is no fixed number for the nomination.”

“2210 is the high mark,” he said — referring to the number of delegates needed if the Michigan and Florida delegations are seated fully — “and it appears 2026 is the low mark. But that low mark is no longer in my view a reasonable number to even talk about.”

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee meets on May 31st to decide what to do about the two states. But Communications Director Howard Wolfson acknowledged that even if the Clinton campaign gets everything it wants from the committee, her path to the nomination still relies on convincing uncommitted superdelegates that she’s the stronger general election candidate.

“Senator Clinton is ahead in the popular vote. Senator Clinton has won the key swing states a Democrat has to win, she’s ahead in the key swing states in polling,” he said — pointing to new Quinnipiac polls showing her beating John McCain in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania while Obama wins only Pennsylvania and by a lesser margin. “She runs better against John McCain than Senator Obama in rural areas, and all of this adds up to the stronger candidate. And that’s a case we’re going to have to make.”

Wolfson also called Obama’s initial steps to being the Vice Presidential search “premature in the sense there’s no nominee yet,” and said he was unaware of any similar effort in the Clinton campaign.

Check out my notes on the rest of the conference call below.

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During his opening remarks at a Kissimmee, Florida, town hall meeting, Barack Obama noted his pledged delegate majority, but admitted the campaign was not quite over. There are, after all, three more contests in Montana, South Dakota and Puerto Rico, and neither Democrat has secured the 2026 delegates to secure the nomination.

Obama announced he would be campaigning Saturday in Puerto Rico, and will continue to hold events in the western states yet to vote. And, in his second Florida event of the day - his first swing through the state since September of last year - Obama said he hoped the Florida delegation would be seated.

Of course Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates when the state moved their primary contests before the DNC’s rules permitted. While Clinton contends the validated results could propel her closer to victory, the Obama campaign has stated they were just playing by the rules and so did not campaign in the two states.

“My hope is in a couple weeks time, that we’ve won some more elections, we’ve won some more delegates, we’ve gotten the Florida delegation seated so that they’re gonna be at the convention. And then we’re gonna have a convention in August and I’m gonna accept that nomination and then you and I together  - we’re gonna have to work hard to make sure that we win Florida, we win this general election, and then you and I together we’re gonna change the country and change the world,” he said confidently to applause.

BOCA RATON, Fla – Hillary Clinton returned to Florida for the first time since she declared victory there after the primary in January to argue that the results of that election should count – and the state’s delegates should be seated.

“The Democratic Party must count these votes,” she said to applause at the Century Village retirement community. “They should count them exactly as they were cast. Democracy demands no less.”

Her argument centered on three basic points –Democrats’ commitment to counting every vote, the injustice of punishing voters who did nothing themselves to deserve it, and the political implications of snubbing two key swing states – and she repeatedly raised the specter of the 2000 recount to drive her point home.

Recalling a few of her party’s historic fights to ensure the right to vote for women and minorities, Clinton said “both Senator Obama and myself have an obligation as potential Democratic nominees, in fact we all have an obligation as Democrats, to carry on this legacy and ensure that in our nominating process, that every voice is heard and every vote is counted.”

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