Bush: GOP candidates will do 'just fine'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush says in a videotaped interview Republican candidates will do "just fine" in the November elections, despite adverse polls.
Asked on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" about the midterm elections, the president said, "I believe if our candidates stick with security and tell the American people we've got the plan to protect this country against those terrorists who want to hit us, and about the economy, we'll do just fine."
Bush also again rejected any complete withdrawal from Iraq, saying he could not think of any circumstance under which all U.S. troops would leave that country during his presidency.
Obama leaves door open for '08 run
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., again said Sunday he has not ruled out a run for the presidency in 2008.
In response to questions from Tim Russert on NBC News' "Meet the Press," Obama conceded he no longer considers a run out of the question, despite past statements he would not run for higher office in 2008.
Elected to the Senate in 2004, Obama has been attending events in the early primary states.
"It's fair to say you're thinking about running for president in 2008," Russert said.
"It's fair, yes," Obama replied. " ... I would say that I am still at the point where I have not made a decision to run for higher office, but it is true that I have thought about it over the last several months."
"So it sounds as if the door has opened a bit," Russert said.
"A bit," the senator said.
Failures cited in organ transplant system
RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the U.S. system for organ transplants, often does not detect or act on problems, a report says.
The Los Angeles Times said it found that, in instances of high organ failure and death rates, UNOS routinely keeps quiet about findings of investigations, leaving patients and families in the dark.
The Times conducted its own investigation of the little known agency.
The newspaper said UNOS has had to deal with a rising number of life-threatening lapses at facilities it oversees over the past year. The Times said after it uncovered failures at two centers in California, both programs suddenly closed.
The Times said it often takes a year or more for UNOS to take action when increasing failures occur. Also, UNOS officials have been missing signs of trouble, including transplant center statistics on its own Web site, the newspaper said.
UNOS, headquartered in Richmond, Va., receives $2 million from the federal government and about $23 million in fees from transplant centers annually.
Attempts to quell Baghdad violence fail
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Despite stepping up operations, the U.S. military has admitted that insurgency attacks in Baghdad are continuing to rise.
The Middle East Newsline said a significant increase in attacks occurred during the current Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
"Operation Together Forward," which was launched on Aug. 7, has been slowed by the protection of Shiite insurgents by the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, the report said.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the U.S-led coalition, said attacks in Baghdad have increased by 22 percent during the first three weeks of Ramadan.
