Today on the presidential campaign trail

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - IN THE HEADLINES

Former Democratic VP nominee Lieberman backs Republican McCain ... Obama touts farm plans in Iowa ... Friends offer testimonials to help Clinton show softer side ... Iowa first lady Mari Culver backing Edwards ... Biden warns Musharraf of consequences for poor elections ... Iowa's Rep. King endorses Thompson

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Lieberman endorses McCain

HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. (AP) — Sen. John McCain, trying to keep momentum in this state's critical Republican primary race, brought in something unusual on Monday — an endorsement from the other party's former vice presidential nominee.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, said he had intended to wait until after the primaries to make a choice for the 2008 presidential race. But McCain asked for his support and no Democrat did.

Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he chose his longtime Senate colleague because he has the best shot of breaking partisan gridlock in Washington. Both men also support the war in Iraq.

Independents can vote in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8, and they are the people McCain is targeting, much as he did in winning the state's Republican primary in 2000 over George W. Bush.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said, "I have the greatest respect for Joe, but I simply have to disagree with his decision to endorse Senator McCain."

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Obama touts rural plans in Iowa

SPENCER, Iowa (AP) — Powerful interests in Washington have swayed a new farm bill toward big business, Democrat Barack Obama said Monday, campaigning in the most rural region of this crucial early voting state and promising to do better as president.

"Once again the lobbyists stepped in to make sure that big agribusinesses got the multimillion-dollar giveaways that they've come to count on," said Obama.

The issue is crucial in rural sections of the country because the new farm bill will set food and farm policy for the next five years, including subsidy levels farmers will receive. There's a home-state tie as well because Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin heads the Senate Agriculture Committee which crafted a farm bill.

Last summer, Obama held more than 30 hearings around the state getting grass-roots input before issuing a package of farm and rural development policies last fall. He was touting that package of proposals as he swept through northwest Iowa.

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Friends reveal Clinton's softer side

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Childhood friends and New York constituents offered emotional tributes to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton Monday as her campaign tried to show her softer side.

With just over two weeks until Iowa's leadoff caucuses Jan. 3, the former first lady has continued to battle the perception that she is cold, brittle and overly ambitious. To help warm up her image, her campaign launched a new Web site, thehillaryiknow.com, featuring interviews with 30 people from different aspects of her life attesting to her compassion, ready laugh and sense of humor.

Four friends stood at the New York senator's side Monday at a campaign event in a chilly barn outside Des Moines. One, childhood friend Betsy Ebeling, wiped away tears.

Clinton was expected to pack in a busy schedule of campaign appearances Monday and made the rounds on network and cable morning television shows. The effort comes as she continues to be locked in a tight three-way contest with Barack Obama and John Edwards in Iowa.

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Iowa first lady to back Edwards

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa first lady Mari Culver prefers Democrat John Edwards in his bid for the presidential nomination.

"I know John and Elizabeth very well," Mari Culver said Sunday in a telephone interview. "I've known them for some years and he's really got a compelling life story. He came from a very humble background."

Despite Mari Culver's endorsement, her husband, first-term Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, has made it clear that he will remain neutral to ensure a fair contest in Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses on Jan. 3.

Mari Culver was a trial lawyer before her husband won the state's top elected job, and she has made disadvantaged children and families a main cause of her tenure as first lady.

"He has been a true champion of the middle class and I share his interests," she said of Edwards. "He's right on the issues that matter most and I think he's got the vision and he's certainly got the most detailed plan."

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Biden warns Musharraf of consequences

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Presidential hopeful Joe Biden on Monday told Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf there will be consequences if his nation's elections are in any way shoddy.

Biden, chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, said he spoke with the embattled president by phone. Biden said U.S. aid may be in doubt if the upcoming elections don't meet expectations.

"I want to make it clear, for the United States of America to be willing to support Pakistan the way we have in the past, it rests on this transition to democracy being real. If this election is not fair and open, there will be consequences for it, in terms of our participating in aid," Biden said he told Musharraf.

Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency Saturday and said the crackdown had been to save Pakistan from a conspiracy rather than ensure his own political survival. The U.S.-backed leader imposed strict curbs on press freedom and replaced independent-minded judges with jurists friendlier to him. Musharraf, however, will allow parliamentary elections next month. His rivals are talking about a boycott.

Biden, a Delaware Democrat running for president, said on New Hampshire Public Radio that the situation is the result of President Bush taking a shortsighted view of the region.

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Iowa congressman backs Thompson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Rep. Steve King on Monday endorsed fellow Republican Fred Thompson for president.

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said in a statement that he looks forward to working with King leading up to the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and "into 2008 in support of the traditional conservative values he and I share."

King has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, and a recent measure he proposed to punish companies that hire illegal immigrants won Thompson's support.

"Congressman King's leadership in support of the sanctity of life and his efforts in the fight against illegal immigration have made him one of Iowa's great Republican leaders," Thompson said.

The endorsement came as Thompson began a six-day bus tour through the state.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois campaign in Iowa. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also have events in the state.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich meet with voters in New Hampshire.

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THE REPUBLICANS

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raises campaign cash in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani talk to voters in New Hampshire.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson campaigns in Iowa.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"On all the issues, you're never going to do anything about them unless you have a leader who can break through the partisan gridlock. The status quo in Washington is not working." — Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., in endorsing Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential race.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Seven percent of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters say they have some reservations about voting for a woman, according to an AP-Yahoo News survey.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_po/2008_race_rundown [link]