Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from House, citing health

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) waves on U.S. Capitol steps in Washington December 2, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas

By Richard Cowan and James B. Kelleher

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO | Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:03pm EST

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been treated for bipolar disorder and is reportedly under investigation for possible misuse of campaign funds, resigned his seat on Wednesday, citing health reasons.

"My health issues and treatment regimen have become incompatible with service in the House of Representatives. Therefore, it is with great regret that I hereby resign ... effective today, in order to focus on restoring my health," the Chicago Democrat said in a letter to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.

Jackson, the 47-year-old son of civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson, also admitted to "my share of mistakes," in his two-page letter to Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

"I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," Jackson wrote.

Jackson has been in Congress since 1995 and easily won re-election in a heavily Democratic district earlier this month despite his ailment and the ethics questions hanging over him.

His resignation was not expected to result in any changes in the political balance of power of the U.S. House, which is controlled by Republicans. Voters in Jackson's district will now have to hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said he would propose a date for the election within five days.

"We know that Congressman Jackson is confronting health challenges, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time," Quinn said.

Jackson was treated for at least six weeks this summer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings, and has been on medical leave since June.

He has also been the subject of a House ethics committee probe over an alleged bribe offered by a Jackson supporter in 2008 to then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The bribe was said to be intended to entice Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Jackson has admitted to lobbying for the seat, but denied knowing about any money offered to Blagojevich, who has since been convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned.

INVESTIGATION

According to news reports citing unnamed sources, Jackson is also being investigated by the FBI over possible misuse of campaign money. The FBI has not confirmed the reports.

In his letter to Boehner on Wednesday, Jackson acknowledged a probe was underway and said he hoped it would not overshadow his years of public service.

"None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray I will be remembered for what I did right," Jackson wrote.

Emails and calls seeking comment on his resignation made to Jackson's Washington, D.C., and Chicago offices, as well as to the office of Jackson's father, were not immediately returned.

Ironically, Jackson was sent to Congress in 1995 after winning a special election triggered by the resignation of Representative Mel Reynolds, a Democrat convicted of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography.

Jackson, during his 17-year career in the House, was a reliable liberal vote, supporting increases in the minimum wage, the expansion of environmental regulations and gay rights and, in 2008, the bailout of the country's teetering financial system. He was also an early advocate of a strict timeline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Reacting to Jackson's resignation, most fellow Democrats sidestepped his ethics problems and focused on his years of service in Congress.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, said Jackson had "presented a fresh perspective on how we work together" during his years on Capitol Hill.

Representative Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther who said he remembered Jackson when he was a "child crawling on the floor" of his parents' house, urged patience.

"He hasn't been charged, indicted or convicted of any breach of the law," Rush told reporters at an afternoon press conference in Chicago.

"Give the man a chance to go through his process."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey, Nick Carey and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Todd Eastham)

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White House says didn't heavily edit Benghazi talking points

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE | Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:55pm EST

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House did not heavily alter talking points about the attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, an official said on Saturday.

"If there were adjustments made to them within the intelligence community, that's common, and that's something they would have done themselves," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters. "The only edit ... made by the White House was the factual edit as to how to refer to the facility."

After a closed-door hearing with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday, Republican Representative Peter King said that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about the September 11 attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement. King said they were edited before being cleared for use.

Rhodes said the White House, and also the State Department, changed references to the diplomatic facility as a "consulate," "because the consulate in Benghazi was not formally a consulate. Other than that we worked off the points that were provided by the intelligence community, so I can't speak to any other edits that may have been made."

The assault on the U.S. mission and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi has turned into a flash point between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans.

Republicans accuse the White House and in particular the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, of misleading the public just after the attack by suggesting the assault was a spontaneous act instead of a planned terrorist operation. The Obama administration denies misleading anyone and says it discussed information about the Benghazi tragedy as it came in.

"What I can say is those points, and what Susan said, indicated that we believed extremists were involved in this attack," Rhodes said.

When asked on Fox News on Saturday who might have made the edits, King said he did not know.

"That's why it's important to find out why it was done. It could be anywhere in the Defense Department, the State Department, the Justice Department, the White House," King said. "(We need) to find out why it was done, what the purpose of it was."

He added: "I have my own beliefs, that for whatever reasons, the administration honestly believes that the war against al Qaeda is pretty much over and that's the message that they wanted to present. But on the other hand, they may have some valid reason. I think we have to look at it."

(The story changes to consulate from conflict in fourth paragraph.)

(Reporting By Jeff Mason, Additional reporting by Doug Palmer in Washington, Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Walsh)

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U.S. leaders "not near finish line" on fiscal cliff talks: White House

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE | Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:37am EST

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders in the week after Thanksgiving to discuss ways to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of expiring tax cuts combined with massive spending reductions, the White House said on Saturday.

"Everyone expressed the desire to reach an agreement that reflected the shared goal of achieving a balanced approach to deficit reduction and that enabled the economy to continue to grow and create jobs," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters about Obama's meeting with top congressional leaders on Friday.

"There are a number of steps that I'm sure the president and leaders will consider but I don't want to characterize what that process will look like because we're not near the finish line, by any means," he said.

(Reporting By Jeff Mason; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Ex-Giffords aide Ron Barber wins Arizona House race

Congressman Ron Barber speaks at the press conference following the sentencing of Jared Loughner in the Federal Court House in Tucson, Arizona November 8, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Samantha Sais

By Jazmine Woodberry

TUCSON, Arizona | Sat Nov 17, 2012 7:47pm EST

TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Representative Ron Barber, a former aide to Gabrielle Giffords who was wounded alongside her in a deadly 2011 shooting, has won a full term in Congress after defeating Republican Martha McSally in a closely contested race.

Barber, 67, who won a special election in June to finish out Giffords' term, said McSally called him on Saturday morning to concede. They were running in the November 6 election to represent southeast Arizona in the state's redrawn 2nd Congressional District.

McSally confirmed on her Facebook page that she called Barber to "congratulate him on his victory."

The contest was too close to call on election night last week and officials have since counted tens of thousands of provisional ballots cast in the race, as the lead swung back and forth between the two candidates.

Barber had a 1,402-vote lead as of Friday night and he claimed victory as the last ballots were being counted. More than 285,000 votes were cast.

"It's been a long wait, but here we are," Barber told reporters on Saturday. "Ultimately, people saw a difference between us about the issues that are important."

In her Facebook message, McSally said: "While this particular battle is over, I still have a fire in my belly to make a difference and serve our community and country. I look forward to seeing where that call to duty takes me next."

Barber was shot in the face and thigh on January 8, 2011, when Jared Loughner opened fire at an event outside a Tucson supermarket where Giffords was meeting with constituents. Six people were killed in the shooting spree and 13 were wounded, including Giffords with a shot to the head.

Loughner, who had a history of psychiatric disorders, pleaded guilty in August in federal court to 19 charges, including murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced on November 8 to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Barber was the front-runner going into the race. Early votes and an endorsement from Giffords bolstered his campaign. McSally, 46, a retired Air Force colonel and combat pilot, emerged on election night with a lead that put her thousands of votes ahead.

That lead evaporated as the final ballots were counted.

The Republicans retained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 6 election.

(Additional reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix, Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Peter Cooney)

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White House 'has faith' in Allen

14 November 2012 Last updated at 09:51 GMT General John Allen has been credited with building good relations in Afghanistan US President Barack Obama has backed a senior general, despite reports that he exchanged "flirtatious" emails with Florida socialite Jill Kelley.

Spokesman Jay Carney said Mr Obama had "faith" in Gen John Allen, chosen to be the next Nato commander in Europe.

Harassment allegations by Mrs Kelley helped unmask an affair between CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell.

Gen Petraeus resigned on Friday. Gen Allen says he has done nothing wrong.

"I can tell you that the president thinks very highly of Gen Allen and his service to his country, as well as the job he has done in Afghanistan," spokesman Jay Carney said, in the first White House reaction since Gen Petraeus quit.

Continue reading the main story

He has great confidence in the acting CIA director, the secretary of defence and the defence department to carry out the missions he has asked of them”

End Quote Jay Carney White House spokesman He added that President Barack Obama was "very happy" with Gen Allen's service and record.

Mr Carney also asked reporters "not to extrapolate too broadly" about whether the cases involving Gen Petraeus and Gen Allen suggested a wider cultural problem within the US military.

"He has great confidence in the acting CIA director, the secretary of defence and the defence department to carry out the missions he has asked of them," Mr Carney added.

In his first public comments on the scandal, Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta said he fully supported Gen Allen.

"No-one should leap to any conclusions here. General Allen is doing an excellent job," Mr Panetta told a news conference in Australia.

"He certainly has my continued confidence to lead our forces and to continue the fight."

Nomination on hold

Mr Panetta has already announced an investigation of Gen Allen and an examination of the 20,000-30,000 pages of emails and other messages to Mrs Kelley.

An anonymous senior US official who has read the emails told the Associated Press that the exchanges were relatively innocuous, even though they might be construed as unprofessional and flirty.

The official said the emails included pet names such as "sweetheart" and "dear", but did not suggest an affair or the exchange of classified information.

Gen Allen, 58, took over command of coalition forces in Afghanistan after David Petraeus moved to the CIA in 2011.

Currently commanding 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan, Gen Allen was due to face a confirmation hearing in the US Senate on Thursday for his new role as supreme commander of Nato forces in Europe.

That hearing has now been suspended at the request of Mr Panetta.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee said its members expected the change of command in Europe to take place no later than March 2013.

Web of emails

The expansion of the scandal to engulf Gen Allen follows a dramatic weekend in which details emerged of how the FBI discovered that CIA chief David Petraeus, 60, was conducting an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

In May, Mrs Kelley, a 37-year-old married woman described as a fixture on the social scene at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, alerted the FBI that she had been receiving anonymous and allegedly threatening emails.

She initially informed an acquaintance at the FBI, who has not been identified.

Continue reading the main story Early summer - Jill Kelley complains to FBI friend of harassing emails - government officialLate summer - FBI establish emails come from Paula Broadwell, and that she has had an affair with David Petraeus - government official21 Oct - FBI interview Ms Broadwell - government official22-29 Oct - FBI interview Gen Petraeus - FBI official6 Nov - FBI inform James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, of Petraeus affair. Mr Clapper speaks to Gen Petraeus7 Nov - Mr Clapper informs White House8 Nov - White House informs President Obama. He speaks to Gen Petraeus9 Nov - President Obama accepts Gen Petraeus' resignation. Congressional committees informed12 Nov - FBI searches Mrs Broadwell's homeIt appeared the communication was coming from a woman urging her to stay away from Gen Petraeus.

When the FBI began investigating, those emails were traced to Gen Petraeus' biographer Paula Broadwell, 40, who lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.

Her home was searched late on Monday, with up to 10 FBI agents scouring the property for about four hours.

They were seen leaving the house with desktop computers, a printer, a briefcase and several cardboard boxes.

In Florida, Mrs Kelley and her husband were reported to have been friends with Holly and David Petraeus for several years, but details emerging on Monday suggested that she was also close to Gen Allen.

Both Gen Petraeus and Gen Allen were said to have intervened in a custody dispute on behalf of Mrs Kelley's twin sister.

Gen Allen, a four-star Marine Corps general, succeeded David Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.

He was deputy commander of US Central Command (Centcom) before taking over in Afghanistan. He is also a veteran of the Iraq war.

Gen Petraeus's affair with Mrs Broadwell began after the general retired from the army and about two months after he became director of the CIA and ended about four months ago, according to one of his friends.

Gen Petraeus joined the CIA in September 2011 after heading international forces in Iraq and later in Afghanistan.

The spymaster had been due to testify before a closed-door congressional committee meeting about a 11 September 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.

Acting CIA director Michael Morell will testify in his place on Thursday, although Gen Petraeus may be called at a later date.

1. Threatening emails: Early in the summer, Jill Kelley complains to an FBI friend about being sent harassing emails. The FBI later establishes they came from Paula Broadwell, who co-authored a biography of Gen David Petraeus.

2. Affair: The FBI investigation also reveals emails between Mrs Broadwell - a married former military officer - and Gen Petraeus that indicate they were having an extra-marital affair.

3. Family friends: Jill Kelley and her husband, Scott, are family friends of Gen Petraeus and his wife, Holly. Officials say Mrs Broadwell saw Mrs Kelley as a rival for Gen Petraeus's attentions. However, there is no suggestion Mrs Kelley and Gen Petraeus had an affair.

4. "Inappropriate emails" investigated: The top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, is now being investigated for allegedly sending "inappropriate emails" to Jill Kelley. The FBI has referred the matter to the Pentagon. A senior official says up to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents are under review.

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House stays under Republican control

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON | Wed Nov 7, 2012 3:59am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may have been the most unpopular House of Representatives in modern times, but that did not stop voters on Tuesday from leaving it firmly in Republican hands, according to projections.

While more than 18 incumbent House members from both parties were defeated, according to results available early on Wednesday, there was no obvious ideological or partisan pattern. Redrawn districts, as a result of the 2010 census, were responsible for some incumbent losses.

The results might disappoint those who had hoped for new and clear marching orders from voters on such issues as the deficit or immigration. Instead, they will get another divided Congress with deep divisions over pressing economic issues.

A contented House Speaker John Boehner told party faithful at an election-night rally that he and fellow Republicans had "offered solutions and the American people want solutions and tonight they responded by renewing our House Republican majority."

While Boehner said he would work with "any willing partner," he warned political opponents that he would continue battling Democratic moves to raise taxes on the rich.

"With this vote, the American people also made clear there's no mandate for raising tax rates," Boehner said.

The results could mean at least two more years of divided U.S. government as Democratic President Obama won re-election over Republican Mitt Romney and Democrats were projected to retain control of the Senate.

With the projected Republican win in the House, the partisan brand of politics the party practiced for the past two years appeared not to have seriously damaged its brand.

When the new House is sworn in next January, it will look much like the House that nearly brought about government shutdowns and a historic default on debt in 2011.

Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Republicans could now be situated to hold their majority in the House for quite some time. She spoke of a "structural advantage" the party holds "because of the way Republican voters are spread out over the country ... with strength in suburban and rural areas."

Binder added that unexpected "wave elections," such as the ones that swept Democrats into power in the House in 2006 and Republicans in 2010, while not the norm, could interrupt a party's long run in the majority.

The bitter partisanship in the 435-member chamber - a thorn in Obama's side - was thought to have contributed to record low public approval ratings of Congress that at one point dipped to 10 percent.

If voters did not like the overall tenor of Congress for the past two years, they seemed to remain satisfied with their individual members.

Election results were still coming in, but it appeared as if Boehner would preside over a House next year that is close to the 240 Republicans and 190 Democrats who now populate the chamber. Currently, there also are five vacancies.

With the outcome of several races still unknown, Republicans were holding at least 226 seats to the Democrats' 173.

But Republicans no longer will represent any northeastern U.S. congressional districts, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported. Republicans did, however, beef up their presence in southern states, the newspaper said.

FISCAL DEALMAKING AHEAD?

"The upshot is that the voters are saying to President Obama and Speaker Boehner: 'Go back to the bargaining table; finish the deal,'" said David Kendall, a senior fellow at Third Way, a centrist think tank in Washington.

Kendall was referring to the intensive negotiations Obama and Boehner held during the summer of 2011, which ultimately fell apart but were aimed at bringing around $4 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years.

Following that breakdown, many congressional leaders said that only the 2012 elections could settle the Democratic-Republican dispute over taxes and spending that stood in the way of an Obama-Boehner handshake.

On election night two years ago, the so-called Tea Party faction shook Washington's political establishment as conservative Republicans rode that small-government movement to a tidal wave victory.

Suddenly, skyrocketing federal debt, which Republicans said threatened to swamp the struggling economy and hamper job creation, dominated the national conversation.

It was in large part due to the Tea Party that Republicans wrested control of the House from then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats.

Two years later, voters displayed some fatigue with the Tea Party as some of the movement's stars were either defeated in their Senate bids or faced difficult re-election bids in the House.

Two of the highest-profile Tea Party activists in the House - Michelle Bachmann and Allen West - were struggling to keep their seats.

Freshman Representative Joe Walsh, a Tea Party favorite, lost his race against Democrat Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost both her legs in combat. The Illinois district is near Chicago, Obama's hometown.

Even so, Republicans were not expected to abandon the central tenets of Tea Party ideology, especially with other Tea Party activists, such as Steve King in Iowa, winning re-election.

"There will still be enough Republicans enamored by the Tea Party idea against raising taxes," said Youngstown State University political science professor Paul Sracic. "We're looking at a huge struggle in the lame-duck and next year," he said of the post-election session of Congress and the expected fights over tax policy in 2013.

STARS COME AND GO

Besides battling over taxes and spending, the Republican House and Democratic Senate likely will have an opportunity to clash over other large initiatives.

A senior Democratic aide said the Senate was likely to send the House an Obama jobs package that Republicans previously denounced. The aide said the Senate could also produce an immigration reform bill - if it could garner the "super-majority" necessary for all major bills - that would also present Republicans with problems.

When the new House convenes in January, it will do so without a couple of its most colorful politicians: Former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, the Democrat who early in his career gained fame as the "boy mayor" of Cleveland, was defeated in a primary race earlier this year. Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican who is sometimes referred to as the father of the Tea Party movement, has retired.

But there will still be plenty of interesting characters in the new House, including Democratic Representative Charles Rangel. The 82-year-old congressman from New York City survived ethics charges in 2010 and won a 22nd two-year term on Tuesday.

House Democrats will await former Pelosi's decision on whether she will stay on as Democratic leader now that she has again failed to engineer her party's takeover of the House.

The new House could have one other bit of star power: Republican Paul Ryan, who was Romney's vice presidential running mate and who has made the federal budget the focus of his 14 years in the House, was easily reelected by voters in his southern Wisconsin district.

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz. Editing by Fred Barbash, Peter Cooney and Paul Simao)

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Americans vote after long and bitter campaign for White House

1 of 30. People line up to vote in the U.S. presidential election at a polling station set up for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in an art gallery at John Jay College in New York November 6, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Chip East

By Matt Spetalnick and John Whitesides

WASHINGTON | Tue Nov 6, 2012 12:31pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney battled down to the wire on Tuesday, mounting a last-minute Election Day drive to get their supporters to the polls in a handful of states that will decide the winner in a neck-and-neck race for the White House.

Capping a long and bitter campaign, Americans began casting their votes at polling stations across the country. At least 120 million people were expected to render judgment on whether to give Obama a second term or replace him with Romney.

Their decision will set the country's course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare and foreign policy challenges like the rise of China and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

National opinion polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual dead heat, although the Democratic incumbent has a slight advantage in several vital swing states - most notably Ohio - that could give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the state-by-state contest.

Romney, the multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm, would be the first Mormon president and one of the wealthiest Americans to occupy the White House. Obama, the first black president, is vying to be the first Democrat to win a second term since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Whichever candidate wins, a razor-thin margin would not bode well for the clear mandate needed to break the partisan gridlock in Washington.

Romney voted at a community center near his home in a Boston suburb, before dashing off for a pair of last-minute stops, including in Ohio. "I feel great about Ohio," he said when asked about a state that is considered a must-win for him.

Obama, settling into his hometown of Chicago, made a final pitch to morning commuters in battleground states that have been an almost obsessive focus of both campaigns seeking to map out their paths to victory. He also made a surprise visit to a Chicago campaign office.

"Four years ago, we had incredible turnout," Obama told a Miami radio station in a pre-recorded interview. "I know people were excited and energized about the prospect of making history, but we have to preserve the gains we've made and keep moving forward."

He called into a hip-hop music station in Tampa, Florida, in a final outreach to African-American supporters, saying that voting was "central to moving our community forward."

Fueled by record spending on negative ads, the battle between the two men was focused primarily on the lagging economic recovery and persistently high unemployment, but at times it also turned personal.

BOOSTING TURNOUT

As Americans headed to voting booths, campaign teams for both candidates worked the phones feverishly to mobilize supporters to cast their ballots.

Polls will begin to close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. EST (1900 p.m EDT) on Tuesday, with voting ending across the country over the next six hours.

The first results, by tradition, were tallied in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, both in New Hampshire, shortly after midnight (0100 a.m EDT). Obama and Romney each received five votes in Dixville Notch. In Hart's Location, Obama had 23 votes to nine for Romney and two for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

The close presidential race raises the prospect of a disputed outcome similar to the 2000 election, which ended with a U.S. Supreme Court decision favoring George W. Bush over Al Gore after legal challenges to the close vote in Florida. Both the Romney and Obama campaigns have assembled legal teams to deal with possible voting problems, challenges or recounts.

The balance of power in the U.S. Congress also will be at stake in Senate and House of Representatives races that could impact the outcome of "fiscal cliff" negotiations on spending cuts and tax increases, which kick in at the end of the year unless a deal is reached.

Obama's Democrats are now expected to narrowly hold their Senate majority, while Romney's Republicans are favored to retain House control.

Amid uncertainty over the U.S. election outcome, no major moves were expected in global financial markets while investors waited for the result. World stock markets edged slightly higher, and U.S. exchanges opened up modestly.

Despite the weak economy, Obama appeared in September to be cruising to a relatively easy win after a strong party convention and a series of stumbles by Romney, including a secretly recorded video showing the Republican writing off 47 percent of the electorate as government-dependent victims.

But Romney rebounded in the first debate on October 3 in Denver, where his sure-footed criticism of the president and Obama's listless response started a slow rise for Romney in polls. Obama seemed to regain his footing in recent days at the head of federal relief efforts for victims of superstorm Sandy in the New York-New Jersey area.

The presidential contest is now likely to be determined by voter turnout - specifically, what combination of Republicans, Democrats and independent voters shows up at polling stations.

Weather could be a factor. Much of the nation was dry and mild, though rain was forecast later on Tuesday in the Southeast, including Florida, an important swing state.

Obama and Romney raced through seven battleground states on Monday to hammer home their final themes, urge supporters to get to the polls and woo the last remaining undecided voters.

'WE KNOW WHAT CHANGE LOOKS LIKE'

Obama focused on Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, the three Midwestern swing states that, barring surprises elsewhere, would ensure that he reaches the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Romney visited the must-win states of Florida, Virginia and Ohio before finishing in New Hampshire.

After two days of nearly around-the-clock travel, Obama wrapped up his final campaign tour in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday with a speech that hearkened back to his 2008 campaign.

"I came back to ask you to help us finish what we've started because this is where our movement for change began," he told a crowd of some 20,000 people. Obama wiped away tears as he reflected on those who had helped his campaign.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, ended Monday in Manchester, New Hampshire, the city where he started his campaign last year. "We're one day away from a fresh start," the hoarse-sounding candidate told a crowd of 12,000.

Obama ridiculed Romney's claims to be the candidate of change and said the challenger would be a rubber stamp for a conservative Tea Party agenda. "We know what change looks like, and what he's selling ain't it," he said in Columbus, Ohio.

Romney argued he was the candidate who could break the partisan gridlock in Washington and said four more years of Obama could mean another economic recession.

The common denominator for both candidates was Ohio. Without the state's 18 electoral votes, the path to victory becomes very narrow for Romney.

Polls have shown Obama with a small but steady lead in the state for months, sparked in part by his support for a federal bailout of the auto industry, which accounts for one of every eight jobs in Ohio, and by a strong state economy with an unemployment rate lower than the 7.9 percent national rate.

That undercut the central argument of Romney's campaign - that his business experience made him uniquely qualified to create jobs and lead an economic recovery.

Romney's aides hoped an 11th-hour visit on Tuesday could also boost his cause in Pennsylvania, a Democratic-leaning state that he has tried to put in play in recent weeks.

Obama fought back through the summer with ads criticizing Romney's experience at the private equity firm Bain Capital and portraying him as out of touch with ordinary Americans.

That was part of a barrage of advertising in the most heavily contested battleground states from both candidates and their party allies, who raised a combined $2 billion.

The rise of "Super PACs," unaffiliated outside groups that can spend unlimited sums on behalf of candidates, also helped fuel the record spending on political ads.

Obama voted in October by taking advantage of early voting procedures. Vice President Joe Biden stood patiently in a long line Tuesday to cast his ballot in his home state of Delaware.

"Oh, I'm feeling pretty good," Biden said when asked if he had any prediction, according to a pool report.

Asked whether this would be the last time he would vote for himself, he said with a grin: "No, I don't think so." The 69-year-old former U.S. senator, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the White House before becoming Obama's running mate, has not ruled out another run in 2016.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Chicago, Patricia Zengerle in Boston, Matt Spetalnick, Lisa Lambert and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by John Whitesides and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)

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Democrats need stronger Illinois showing to retake U.S. House

By Nick Carey

ROMEOVILLE, Illinois | Sat Nov 3, 2012 7:12pm EDT

ROMEOVILLE, Illinois (Reuters) - Democrats appear unlikely to regain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday despite a nationwide push, and a major reason could be disappointment in President Barack Obama's home state.

In Illinois, Democrats began this election year determined to reverse a Republican gain of four U.S. House seats in 2010 that gave them a majority of the Illinois delegation in a state considered solidly Democratic.

The powerful speaker of the Illinois state House, Michael Madigan, used the Democratic stranglehold on state government to redraw election districts after the 2010 Census in a way that would help Democratic candidates.

The strategy worked to an extent, putting Republicans on the defensive, and making six of the 18 Illinois congressional races competitive. They have attracted more than $45 million in outside spending.

Some political analysts say Democrats could gain three seats back from Republicans in Illinois, which would probably not be enough to return the national party back to power on Capitol Hill.

"The Democrats are not going to take the House, the hill is simply too steep for them to climb," said Michael Mezey, a political science professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, an incumbent backed by the conservative Tea Party movement, was widely expected to lose to Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran featured at the Democratic National Convention, in a heavily Democratic district. Two other Republican incumbents, including the relatively moderate Judy Biggert in a suburban Chicago district, are in very tight races.

Democrats also could gain five seats in California, but the rest of the national map doesn't bode well for them.

Republicans used their victories in state legislatures and governors' races in 2010 elections to redraw voting districts in states such as North Carolina to offset the expected Democratic victories elsewhere.

Mezey expects Democrats will pick up "probably no less than five seats and certainly no more than 10," nationally, well short of the 25 seats they need to return to the majority of the 435-member House of Representatives.

"A BULWARK" AGAINST NANCY PELOSI

Unlike Joe Walsh, whose reputation as a Tea Party firebrand made him vulnerable to a challenge from Tammy Duckworth even before he made controversial remarks about abortion, Biggert is running as a bipartisan moderate.

The candidate repeatedly described herself as a compromiser when she spoke recently to senior citizens at the Tasty Waffle restaurant in Romeoville, a outer suburb of Chicago where strip malls mingle with open farmland.

Ken Scorza, 68, a retired independent, said he supports Biggert because "she is one of the few people who constantly reach across the aisle for the betterment of the country."

Appearing alongside Biggert was U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a senior House Republican from a neighboring district, who highlighted the threat of a Democratic majority.

"Can you imagine bringing Nancy Pelosi back?" he asked, referring to the Democratic House Minority leader whose name raises conservative hackles. "The bulwark against that is to send Judy Biggert back to Congress."

Biggert's opponent, scientist and former Democratic Rep. Bill Foster, describes her as an extreme politician. At a rally in Aurora, a Chicago suburb with a large Hispanic population, Foster said Biggert "sided with the Tea Party Congress" against the Dream Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.

"Bill Foster understands that a healthy middle class is crucial for America's economy," said Cassidy Alexander, a self-employed artist who attended the rally. "He is a scientist who makes rational decisions and that is really important to me."

That race alone has brought in $8 million in outside money, bringing a barrage of mostly negative television ads that often run back to back in the suburbs.

Obama won Biggert's strangely shaped district easily in 2008, making it more difficult for her to hold onto the seat.

Another tight race involves Republican Robert Dold, a freshman congressman from Chicago's North Shore, whose district was altered to include less of the Republican northern suburbs and more ethnically mixed neighborhoods nearer to Chicago. His race has attracted nearly $7.3 million in outside money.

DePaul's Mezey said Dold has a solid chance of fending off Democratic challenger Brad Schneider.

"If Dold does win, he'd have the singular honor of being the Republican in the House with the most Democratic district in the country," he said.

(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Greg McCune and Doina Chiacu)

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White House won't oppose new challenge to 2010 healthcare law

A delegate holds an ''Obama cares'' bumper sticker during the final session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 6, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi

By Jonathan Stempel

WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:03pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday cleared the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a lawsuit that challenges the 2010 healthcare overhaul on religious grounds, including a claim that it helps fund abortions.

Liberty University, a Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia, had challenged the individual mandate, which required Americans to obtain insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty, and a mandate requiring big employers to provide coverage for workers.

The school has said the law violates the First Amendment ban on the government's establishing or impeding the free exercise of religion, by forcing objecting purchasers to buy insurance that could subsidize abortion, and exempting some religions from the law.

It has also said the law violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee, and exceeds Congress' power to tax and spend and to regulate commerce.

In September 2011, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia said it lacked jurisdiction over Liberty's case because the federal Anti-Injunction Act banned lawsuits seeking to halt collection of a tax.

The Supreme Court concluded otherwise when it upheld the individual mandate in a 5-4 vote on June 28. Liberty then argued it deserved another chance to litigate because the 4th Circuit decision, which the Supreme Court did not review, was wrong.

In Wednesday's filing, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said Liberty's First Amendment and equal protection claims lack merit, but that the 4th Circuit never considered their merits.

"Under the circumstances of this case, (the government defendants) do not oppose further proceedings in the court of appeals to resolve them," he wrote.

Mathew Staver, a lawyer for Liberty, said in a phone interview: "We're very pleased with the Department of Justice's response, which we expected and which reflects the correct process that this case should follow."

The case is Liberty University et al v. Geithner et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 11-438.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

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