President

Micah Spicer was just about seven years old when he first encountered the Clinton political dynasty. The occasion was a campaign trip through western Kentucky by former President Bill Clinton, during his 1996 re-election bid. Clinton stopped in Mayfield and Spicer’s hometown of Wingo, and Spicer got a handshake out of the visit.

In a rural community like Wingo, presidential politics often play out in newspapers and on television screens – not in your own town and rarely within handshaking distance. For Spicer, Clinton’s visit was significant and part of the reason the Clinton family has built a “nest of support” in western Kentucky.

“That’s special,” said Spicer. “I don’t remember a presidential candidate making a trip to western Kentucky other than the Clintons.”

Libertarian candidates for Senate and president will not be appearing at the annual Fancy Farm political speaking in western Kentucky this year, but not for lack of trying.

The campaign of Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Sonny Landham, of Ashland, dispatched a press release today announcing their request to secure a slot during the famous political forum had been denied by organizers.

A request for time for Libertarian presidential nominee, former U.S. Rep Bob Barr of Georgia, was also denied, according to Landham's release.

"With Congressional ratings at an all-time low and the voters of America crying out for a third option, it is disheartening to have such a fine institution and tradition as the Fancy Farm Picnic exclude these candidates from speaking to the voters of Kentucky," read the campaign release.

Gov. Steve BeshearPHILADELPHIA -- Though U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign has said it has the potential to perform strongly in traditionally red-leaning areas, Kentucky’s Democratic governor today suggested that Obama (D-Ill.) had work to do in his state.

“I think Obama’s main challenge for Kentucky is just to get better known to our people. He really hasn’t been to Kentucky to speak or to campaign,” Gov. Steve Beshear said when asked of the nominee’s ability to make inroads in the Bluegrass State.

“I’m hopeful we can get him there several times this fall so that people will see him up close and personal. And when they do, they’re going to be impressed with him and when they’re impressed with him they’re going to vote for him.”

MoveOn.org's latest nationwide campaign effort will incorporate two rallies in Kentucky this week, with Wednesday events planned at a gas station in Louisville and a Lexington park. 

The rallies are part of MoveOn.org's "Day of Action for an Oil-Free President" push, which seeks to connect presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) with oil company interests.

"Big Oil has a new candidate for president: their friend John McCain," reads an annoucement of the campaign on MoveOn.org's political action website. "With 21 oil lobbyists running his campaign, John McCain won't solve our energy crisis."

Supporters of MoveOn.org's cause will gather near a Chevron gas station at 1244 E. Broadway in Louisville at 5:30 pm on Wednesday and Triangle Park in Lexington at 5pm on the same day.

So much for our promise to liberate Iraq, not to occupy it, and not to cart off its riches.

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.

Until this year, all presidential nominees have accepted federal money and the restrictions that come with it.

What did Hillary Clinton say to Barack Obama to cause him to react in such a concerned way?

And why is Bill Clinton there looking for the fist bump?

Click here to view the winner and runner-ups from this week's cartoon caption contest.

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."