The pitch for putting some of the economic burden of $4-a-gallon gasoline on the oil industry served a dual purpose for Obama: It allowed him to talk up an economic issue, seen by many as a strength for Democrats and a weakness for Republicans, and at the same time respond to criticism from McCain that Obama’s opposition to offshore drilling leads to higher prices at the pump.

In linking McCain to the unpopular President Bush, Obama struck a theme from Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 campaign against President Jimmy Carter by asking a town-hall audience in St. Petersburg: “Do you think you are better off than you were four years ago or eight years ago? If you aren’t better off, can you afford another four years?”

I don’t know what the future holds for us citizens of the dear ole USA, but I do know that if our government were to put the kind of money in it’s own people as it has the war in Iraq, we would not be in the shape we are in today. We are over 7 TRILLION dollars in the rears that has gone to the war effort only to cripple the economy of our own country. In my opinion a 12 year old could run our country better than the Bush Administration has.

I don’t know if Obama is the answer for our problems or not, but I do know that another 4 years of a Bush yes man is death to our country, WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!

One guy told me that there were nothing but thieves and crack heads that lived there and he wasn’t leaving until he got every thing he could and clean up his lot. These people lived in older mobile homes and can’t get them insured so they lost everything as far as a home goes. It sounds like that the Insurance industry need a overhauling about its policy on old mobile homes. FEMA is suppose to step in, but we already know what a joke they are.

Who wins? Barack Obama? John McCain?

I’m not a democrat or republican and I believe I will vote on the best man for the job. I’m still someone that could have their vote changed by the time the November elections get here. I would be happy to go on a blogging campaign and support anyone of these fine fellers if they want to pay for my vote! I can be bought and it doesn’t take much! I would even take money to support Hillary Clinton if her campaign party made the right offer. So if any of you presidential candidates would like a blogger with several blogs to help promote your cause, feel free to send me an email: owlholler@hotmail.com and just put in the subject “Help for 2008 President” and I will be sure to get you a few votes for the elections in November. If you’re just a concerned American and really think our country needs one of these candidates in offfice, I will help you get your choice elected if you want to make be an offer by email.

I think there is a lot more people in Washington, DC that needs to be removed and just removing George Bush isn’t going to fix nothing. I am on a political campaign now that you don’t re-elect no politicial officials. So don’t vote for anyone that is currently serving a position in politics and if we can change the whole crowd, we can then get a breath of fresh air into the USA.

DNA analysis has confirmed that human remains found in an unspecified region of Iraq are those of missing Army Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin.

In a Sunday evening press conference, Staff Sergeant Maupin’s parents Keith and Carolyn said they were told of the news around around 1 p.m. Sunday.

“My heart sinks, but I know they can’t hurt him anymore,” Keith Maupin said.

Lt. Lee Packnett, an Army public affairs officer in Washington, confirmed that the Maupins were notified Sunday that their son’s remains had been identified. Packnett said an official statement about the identification would be released Monday.

“It hurts, it hurts,” Carolyn Maupin said outside the Yellow Ribbon Support Center in Union Township. “After you go through almost four years of hope, and then this is what happens, it’s like a let down,” Maupin continued.

20-year-old Maupin was captured on April 9, 2004 when his fuel convoy, part of the 724th Transportation Company, came under attack near the Baghdad International Airport. A week later, the Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles. On June 28, a video purporting to show his execution was released, but Army officials said the quality was so poor that it could not be verified.

Keith and Carolyn refused to believe it was their son, and the Army had listed him as missing-captured. The Maupins lobbied hard for the Army to continue listing their son as missing-captured, fearing that another designation would undermine efforts to find him.

Keith Maupin said the Army told him early on that there was only a 50 percent chance his son would be found alive. He said he doesn’t hold the Army responsible for his son’s death, but that he did hold the Army responsible for bringing his son home.

“I told them when we’d go up to the Pentagon, whether he walks off a plane or is carried off, you’re not going to leave him in Iraq like you did those guys in Vietnam,” Keith Maupin said.

Vigils were held throughout the Tri-State after Maupin went missing, and yellow ribbons went up immediately. For three years and eleven months, Maupin has been listed as missing.

Maupin was a 2001 graduate of Glen Este High School in Union Township and played on the football team. He then attended the University of Cincinnati for a year before joining the Army Reserves.

Dan Simmons, the athletic director at Glen Este, remembered Maupin as a quiet but hardworking backup player on the school’s football team.

“Matt was a selfless kid on the football field,” Simmons said. “He did whatever the coaches told him. He wasn’t a starter, but he made the other kids play harder.”

A month after his capture, Maupin was promoted to the rank of specialist. In April 2005, Maupin was promoted to sergeant.

When Carolyn Maupin was asked what the community could do to help her family during this time, she replied, “[Just] stay by our side and support us, that would be great.”

An 8:30 p.m. candlelight vigil was held at the Yellow Ribbon Support Center, which is located on South Eastgate Boulevard in Batavia.

Two U.S. soldiers remain missing in action in Iraq. Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old Iraqi-born reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., was abducted while visiting his Iraqi wife on Oct. 23, 2007, in Baghdad. Capt. Michael Speicher, a Navy pilot, has been missing since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer’s national convention in Denver.

In a written statement, Lewis said Obama’s campaign “represents the beginning of a new movement in American political history” and that he wants “to be on the side of the people.”

“After taking some time for serious reflection on this issue, I have decided that when I cast my vote as a superdelegate at the Democratic convention, it is my duty … to express the will of the people,” the statement said.

Lewis’ endorsement had been a coveted prize among the Democratic candidates thanks to his standing as one of the most prominent civil rights leaders of the 1960s.

“John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the civil rights movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support,” Obama said in a statement.

Clinton, questioned about Lewis during a satellite interview with Houston television station KTRK, said: “I understand he’s been under tremendous pressure. He’s been my friend. He will always be my friend. At the end of the day it’s not about who is supporting us, it’s about what we’re presenting, what our positions are, what our experiences and qualifications are and I think that voters are going to decide.”

Lewis first announced his Clinton endorsement in October and has appeared on her behalf on television and at events across the country, at one point accusing Obama supporters of trying to fan the flames of race against her. Clinton has frequently cited his support in trying to establish her credentials among minority voters, saying she saw her campaign as a continuation of his work.

But Lewis came under intense pressure to get behind Obama after his constituents supported the Illinois senator roughly 3-to-1 in Georgia’s Feb. 5 primary, and about 90 percent of black voters statewide voted for Obama, according to exit polls. The support among black voters nationwide to Obama’s candidacy mirrors Lewis’ Georgia district.

His change of heart follows a similar move by Rep. David Scott, a black Democrat who represents a neighboring district. It also comes a week after the Rev. Markel Hutchins, a young Atlanta minister, announced he would challenge Lewis in the Democratic congressional primary this summer.

Hutchins, 30, has seized on Lewis’ waffling in the presidential contest as evidence that the 68-year-old congressman is out of touch.

“Today’s announcement by Representative Lewis was clearly prompted by political expediency,” Hutchins said Wednesday. “It is time for a change. It is time to send somebody to Congress who is actually willing to represent the district.”

Earlier this month, Lewis’ office disputed media reports that he said he would switch candidates, or was at least reconsidering. But until Wednesday. Lewis refused to answer questions clarifying his position.

He said Wednesday afternoon he had called former President Clinton and Sen. Clinton but had not reached them.

Lewis’ announcement comes on the same day as another superdelegate, Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, endorsed Obama, citing the presidential hopeful’s record on trade.

The Obama campaign also said more than 1 million people have contributed to the campaign – a threshold crossed on Wednesday. Many donors have given $25 or $50, he said. The average donation is a little more than $100.

“We have funded this campaign at the grass-roots level,” campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters on a conference call. “It’s really built on the backs of the American people who are getting involved in this campaign. Most of the people giving us money are also volunteering.”

Dorgan said Obama has supported key trade issues. “He and I feel the same way. We both believe in trade and plenty of it. We just insist it that it be fair to our country – the rules be fair.”

NAFTA, the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, is unpopular with blue-collar workers whose votes are critical in the Democratic primary Tuesday in Ohio.

Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses since Super Tuesday, increased his advantage in the all-important delegate count and has attracted the support of his congressional colleagues. On Tuesday, he secured the endorsement of one-time presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

Clinton has been endorsed by 13 of her Senate colleagues, Obama 10.