Today on the presidential campaign trail

[June 28, 2008]  (AP) -- IN THE HEADLINES

Ex-rivals Obama, Clinton appear together in call for Democratic unity during fall election ... McCain blasts Obama over criticism his Supreme Court would roll back women's rights gains ... Recreate 68: Protesters split weeks before Democratic Convention

Obama, Clinton appeal together for Dem unity

UNITY, N.H. (AP) - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to turn the page on their bitter, history-making fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, declaring the next chapter is about beating Republican John McCain.

Choosing a small New Hampshire community aptly named Unity for their first joint appearance since the campaign ended, Obama and Clinton stood on a platform before thousands of cheering, shouting supporters on Friday and took turns praising each other and urging party solidarity. She called the nominee-in-waiting a standup guy and he declared: "She rocks. She rocks."

They came together in this hamlet where each won 107 votes in January's primary. Body language rivaled campaign rhetoric as attention-getter of the day. And a pair rendered distant by a marathon campaign acted like teammates, alternately exhorting the rank-and-file to put any recriminations behind them.

Clinton noted that they had stood "toe to toe" against each other in a primary season fight that began almost two years ago and declared the time has come to "stand shoulder to shoulder" against the GOP. They seemed equally determined to regain a White House that their party hasn't seen since her husband, President Clinton, left at the start of 2001.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. (John) McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," said Clinton, beseeching her supporters to join with Obama's "to create an unstoppable force for change we can all believe in."

In turn, Obama praised both Clinton and her husband as allies and pillars of the Democratic Party.

"We need them. We need them badly," Obama said. "Not just my campaign, but the American people need their service and their vision and their wisdom in the months and years to come because that's how we're going to bring about unity in the Democratic Party. And that's how we're going to bring about unity in America."

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McCain blasts Obama for women's rights criticism

LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - John McCain chastised Barack Obama and called for face-to-face town-hall meetings after being asked about a report that his rival claimed that if McCain is elected president, he will appoint a Supreme Court that rolls back gains in women's rights over the past 50 years.

"I respect Senator Obama and I admire his success, and I will conduct a respectful campaign," McCain said Friday after touring a General Motors factory here. "That kind of a statement or allegation is not worthy of Senator Obama or worthy of the debate that the American people want and deserve."

Reiterating his call for joint town-hall meetings, McCain added: "If Senator Obama wants to make a statement like that while we're both on stage or before a group of Americans, then I will be glad to respond to him. I think my record speaks clearly for itself."

McCain is an opponent of abortion, a stance that hurts him with some female voters and among Democratic constituencies.

The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, reported Thursday that Obama made the comment last week during a private meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

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Protesters split weeks before Dem Convention

DENVER (AP) - They adopted a bold name - Re-create 68 - promising a protesters' show of force like in Chicago 30 years ago when the Democratic National Convention comes to Denver in August.

But the Denver-based umbrella coalition ranging from anarchists to environmentalists has fractured in recent months. Prominent activists have split with Re-create 68 over its incendiary rhetoric and, according to some, its refusal to endorse nonviolent protest.

"My understanding was that there was some resistance to really settling on a commitment to non-violence," said Dana Balicki, whose group, Codepink, joined a new protest coalition for the convention.

Re-create 68 appeared shortly after Denver's selection as convention host. On its Web site, the group once vowed its protests here would make the 1968 clashes with police in Chicago "look like a small get-together."

The war in Iraq, government infringement of civil liberties and the environment dominated its message. The coalition once included Tent State University, a student organization that began at Rutgers University demanding that war funding be channeled to education, and Troops Out Now, a New York-based group.

Re-create 68 has since sought to tone down its rhetoric to appease would-be allies and critics. Its Web site has been edited to emphasize its members are drawing from the "optimism" of the 1968 protesters.

Co-founder Mark Cohen says the group's mission always was to "recreate" the spirit of political activism of the 1960s. The group says it opposes violence but reserves the right to "self-defense" during the Aug. 25-28 convention.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama speaks to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials at a conference in Washington.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain is in Washington to address the NALEO conference and is scheduled to meet with the presidents of Iraq and the Philippines.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"I respect Senator Obama and I admire his success, and I will conduct a respectful campaign." - John McCain, speaking Friday after touring a General Motors factory in Ohio.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Barack Obama wrote a personal check of $4,600 toward helping Hillary Rodham Clinton retire her campaign debt. That's $2,300 each for himself and his wife, Michelle, the maximum allowed under federal law.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner and Ronald Powers.

[Associated Press]

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