At a town hall meeting in Southwest Virginia this morning, Barack Obama described the 16 month long, 54 contest race for the Democratic nomination “historic” while praising Hillary Clinton as a worthy opponent.

The nation’s first African American candidate for president also shared his thoughts on his monumental feat. “I stand before you as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America. I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud of that, and I’m proud of America for giving me this opportunity because obviously we all know that it’s a sign of enormous growth in this country. But we’ve still got work to do. Just winning the nomination is not the endpoint. The end point isn’t even winning the general election. The endpoint is making your lives better. That’s the reason that we are in this, that’s why we’re in this auditorium here today,” he said.

The candidate also announced today that the DNC will adopt the Obama campaign’s policy on refusing contributions from federal registered lobbyists and PACs. Said Obama, “Going forward the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard, we will not take a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACS – we’re going to change how Washington works. They will not fund my party, they will not run our White House, and they will not drown out the voice of the American people when I am president of the United States of America.”

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Indianapolis, IN — One day after his campaign led a full frontal assault on the New York Times, Sen. John McCain said Friday that he is “moving on” and will no longer answer questions about his relationship with a Washington lobbyist.

“I don’t have any more comment about this issue. I had a press conference yesterday morning and I answered every question,” McCain said at a press conference following a town hall meeting in the Hoosier State. “I am moving on. I am talking about the issues and challenges of America and the big issues that Americans are concerned about. I addressed the issue. I addressed every question that was addressed to me. And I do not intend to discuss it further.”

Despite the fact that his campaign aggressively deployed surrogates Thursday who attacked the Times and sent an fundraising e-mail to supporters rebuking the paper as part of the “liberal attack machine,” McCain said his campaign is essentially declaring a cease fire.

“My campaign is not doing that anymore,” McCain said. “The fact is I won’t discuss (the issue) any more.”

McCain also confronted further ethics concerns that a number of his senior campaign advisers previously worked as lobbyists.

“The right to represent interests or groups of Americans is a constitutional right…I am proud of the record of many of my advisers,” he said. “These people have honorable records, they’re honorable people and I am proud to have them as part of my team.”

(more…)

“The allegations and malicious innuendo reported by the New York Times yesterday are completely and utterly false.  Alcalde & Fay’s relationship with Senator McCain has been professional, appropriate and consistent with his legislative, jurisdictional and constituent duties.  The story is based upon the fantasies of a disgruntled former campaign employee and is without foundation or merit.  Ms. Iseman is a hard working professional whose 18 year career has been exemplary and she has our full support.  It is beneath the dignity of a quality newspaper to participate in such a campaign of character assassination.”

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Toledo, OH — Sen. John McCain rebuked a New York Times report that he had an inappropriate relationship and did favors for a telecom lobbyist.

“I’m very disappointed in the article. And it’s not true,” McCain said during a 15-minute press conference, describing lobbyist Vicki Iseman as just a friend. “As it’s been pointed out, I’ve served this nation honorably for more than a half a century…at no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust.” (Video above)

His wife Cindy, who stood beside the Senator during the press conference, also came to her husband’s defense.

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“I’m very disappointed in the New York Times. And more importantly, my children and i not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family but disappoint the people of America,” she said. “He’s a man of great character.”

For more details….

Toledo, OH — The McCain campaign is pushing back HARD on the New York Times for finally running the long-awaited article–which we first learned about in December--alleging that Sen. McCain had an improper business and personal relationship with female lobbyist, Vicki Iseman.

Both McCain and Iseman deny a romantic relationship and the campaign says there is no evidence that McCain gave the lobbyist or her clients preferential treatment on Capitol Hill.

Campaign Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker released a written statement tonight: “It is a shame that the New York Times has lowered its standards to engage in a hit and run smear campaign. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the issues at stake in this election. Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career.”

Senior McCain campaign officials call the New York Times story (which contains a lot of innuendo) an “outrage” and are accusing the paper of a deliberate smear prompted by pressure from the New Republic (TNR) magazine–which was planning on running a critical story about the Times’ decision to originally bow to campaign pressure and withhold the article late last year. McCain campaign officials say they received phone calls from TNR two weeks ago asking for comment on the potential article.

Asked about the article upon arriving in Toledo, OH tonight–McCain personally had little to say on the story: “I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t comment.” His first press conference is scheduled for 9am Thursday morning.