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Bailout plan coloring races in Congress

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Legislative wrangling on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout is affecting tight U.S. House of Representatives races, campaign observers and operatives say.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report noted 32 of 37 Republican congressmen locked in competitive races voted against the bailout measure this week, while 18 of 29 Democratic House members did the same, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Nick Jordan, a Republican running against Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore in Kansas, said the handling of the crisis is "another example" of how Washington has changed the incumbent rather than how he has changed Washington.

But those who voted against the bill also are getting knocked by campaign rivals, USA Today said.

"The inability (of) Congress to compromise because of a few very partisan ideologues has put this nation on the brink of 1929," Democrat Eric Massa said in an attack on Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl of New York, who opposed the bill.

Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report, told USA Today many congressional candidates aren't taking firm campaign stands until the debate plays out.

"We don't know what the fallout will be on Election Day," Gonzales said. "All the members are trying to balance doing the right thing versus doing nothing."

Early voting gaining popularity in U.S.

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Voting early rather than waiting for Election Day in November is gaining popularity across the United States, political trackers say

Paul Gronke, a researcher at the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Ore., ventures that one-in-three votes cast in the general elections this year will be cast early by mail or in person, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. That would be up from 14 percent in 2000.

Signs of that shift were evident Tuesday in Ohio, where a court ruled voters can register and vote the same day. College students in Columbus spent the night in tents so they could be at the front of the line; Akron voters queued up early as well, while in Cleveland, homeless people were driven from shelters to polling places, the Post said.

The trend to getting voting responsibilities out of the way ahead of time has been recognized by political campaign strategists, too.

"Every vote we get in early is one less to run down on Election Day," Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told the Post.

Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which keeps an eye on spending, spotted an ad from the Obama camp that targeted Ohio's early voters.

"It was engineered just for that purpose and it is the sort of thing you see campaigns doing more of," Tracey said to the Post.

U.S. enters Katrina bridge shootings case

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Justice Department officials say they have agreed to examine a 2005 New Orleans incident in which witnesses claim police shot and killed two unarmed men.

Four other people were injured in the incident on the Danziger Bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Survivors say police officers ambushed and opened fire on unarmed men while police officials claimed there was a firefight on the bridge, The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans reported Wednesday.

"As a result of this productive dialog and referral to us, the Civil Rights Division, FBI and our U.S. Attorney's Office will utilize as much time and resources as necessary to determine whether there are any prosecutable violations of federal criminal laws in this matter," Justice Department officials said in a statement.

Federal officials entered the case after Louisiana state district Judge Raymond Bigelow threw out an indictment of six current New Orleans police officers and one former officer on murder and attempted-murder charges in connection with the Danziger Bridge incident.

The New Orleans District Attorney's office is considering whether to appeal Bigelow's decision, The Times-Picayune reported.

GOP leaders urge McCain to attack Obama

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Some U.S. Republican Party officials are urging presidential nominee John McCain to step negative attacks on his Democratic opponent Barack Obama.

With recent polls showing McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, losing ground to Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in at least eight key battleground states, some state GOP chairmen say McCain should put relentless focus on Obama's relationships with controversial figures, the Washington Web site Politico reported Wednesday.

They hope McCain can shift the voters' focus from bad economic news -- which polls indicate Republicans are receiving most of the blame for -- back onto Obama's fitness as a person and a leader, Politico said.

Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark said he wants Obama's "troubling relationships" to be aired, adding, "I think those things will come up in Indiana again and they do have an impact on mainstream voters in Indiana."

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith told Politico he's urging the McCain campaign play up Obama's connections to his controversial former Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and to convicted Illinois state government influence peddler Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

General says U.S. has no designs on Africa

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The United States won't use its military presence in Africa to gain control of the continent's natural resources, the region's top U.S. military officer says.

"There is no hidden agenda," said Gen. William Ward, the head of the new unified U.S. military command for Africa, commonly referred to as Africom. "It is about working with the African nations to help them build their capacity."

Ward told the BBC assertions the United States intends to build large military bases in Africa are "myth and "absolutely not the case." Liberia has offered to host Africom, which has its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The United States forces will only be in Africa to provide training "in partnership with our African friends," he said.

Africom, initiated in February 2007 by the Bush administration as a way to focus on security issues on the continent, became fully operational Wednesday. Previously, responsibilities for Africa were split among various commands.

Mauro De-Lorenzo, a resident fellow for foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Voice of America he sees Africom as "a positive development."

"Africom is simply going to take over the programs and objectives that were previously carried out by three separate U.S military commands. And most governments won't notice much of a difference," he said. "The content of what they are engaging in with the United States is not going to change very much right now. And certainly citizens will not see anything new or surprising as a result of this."