Romney Tracker

Romney Returns to Utah Stressing Conservative Values

By DAVID BURGER
Associated Press Writer

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made a commitment to conservative values Friday while reaffirming his connection to Utah during a rally at the Salt Palace.

Several hundred volunteers in the convention center called friends to solicit contributions for the Romney campaign.

"Holy cow," Romney told volunteers in a 10-minute speech during the six-hour fundraising effort. "We're making a lot of money."

The rally was one of more than 50 events across the country this week to build support at the grassroots level, Romney advisers said.

As Romney walked around kissing babies and shaking hands, callers received color-coded balloons for reaching certain goals. After 45 minutes, a fundraiser was close to receiving a green balloon for raising $10,000.

Romney and his campaign crew told volunteers that much of the money would be used to buy ads in early primary states, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. The adoring crowd listened to him talk about his leadership at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

He also talked about his respect for life and family values.

"Marriage comes before babies," Romney said.

Romney said he wants to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and defeat "jihadists" in the Middle East. He criticized Democratic presidential candidates while refusing to set a timeline to pull troops from Iraq.

"We're not going to turn left and follow Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards," he said.

Romney campaign aides barred reporters from attempting to interview the fundraisers.

Before the candidate arrived, his son, Josh, and Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert gave talking points to people making the calls. Herbert called Romney's candidacy the "Romney rocket."

Josh Romney recalled how hard it was to get money from his father when he was younger. After asking about 100 questions, the elder Romney only gave him half of what he wanted.

The crowd cheered when the son said Romney would put liberals like U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in knots by cutting government spending.

Romney's political director, Spencer Zwick, told the fundraisers to emphasize that low support in national polls was no indication of how well the candidate was doing in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"We are winning in those early primary states," Zwick said.

Romney Criticizes Democrats on Sex Ed

By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mitt Romney criticized his Democratic rivals Thursday for not rejecting the inclusion of gay-related issues in sex education for second-graders.

"Last night's debate was just the latest example of how out of touch the Democratic presidential candidates are with the American people," Romney said in a statement released by his campaign. "Not one candidate was uncomfortable with young children learning about same-sex marriage in the second grade."

"This is a subject that should be left to parents, not public school teachers," he said.

The Democrats were asked during a debate Wednesday night whether they would be comfortable with having a story about same-sex marriage read to their children as part of their school curriculum, as a second-grade teacher did last year in Lexington, Mass.

The top-tier Democratic candidates -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and John Edwards -- generally said they favor teaching children tolerance for others, including gays and lesbians. They did not expressly embrace or reject including the same-sex marriage as part of a second-grade curriculum.

Edwards, who has a 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, said he wants his children "to understand everything about the difficulties that gay and lesbian couples are faced with every day," but added that teaching such issues might be "a little tough."

Obama, who has daughters ages 6 and 9, said his wife has discussed same-sex marriage with their children and urged them "not to be afraid of people who are different."

Clinton said, "With respect to your individual children, that is such a matter of parental discretion ..."

In July, Romney criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for supporting age-appropriate sex education for children as young as kindergartners.

While governor of Massachusetts, Romney funded abstinence education over family planning and abortion services. But in 2002, he also checked "yes" in a Planned Parenthood questionnaire that asked: "Do you support the teaching of responsible, age-appropriate, factually accurate health and sexuality education, including information about both abstinence and contraception, in public schools?"

Romney opposes same-sex marriage. He has been questioned about his record on gay rights. Romney challenged Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1994, and in a letter he promised a gay Republican group he would be a stronger advocate for gays than his rival.

Romney May Spend More on Campaign

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mitt Romney, who once said donating to his presidential campaign would be a nightmare, told an audience Wednesday that the millions he is pouring into the race keep him free of special interests.

The former Massachusetts governor made the pronouncement amid a five-day California swing that includes 11 fundraisers, and just before a lobbying group's fundraiser for him in Washington. Romney also said he would likely contribute more to his campaign before the fundraising quarter ends Monday, although he declined to say how much.

To date, the venture capitalist has contributed $9 million to his campaign, nearly a quarter of his overall contributions.

"I don't like the fact that money has such an impact on politics, but this to me is a reason I'm investing at least as much as everybody else -- probably a little more," Romney told about 200 people in an airport hangar.

"I'm not beholden to any particular group for getting me into this race or for getting me elected. My family, that's the only one I'm really beholden to, they're the ones who let their inheritance slip away, dollar by dollar."

In noting that he had "contributed significantly to the campaign," Romney added: "I presume I will again."

Despite separating himself from special interest groups, Romney will be the beneficiary Thursday of a fundraiser held by the Dutko Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm. Among its members is Ron Kaufman, a former political adviser by President George H.W. Bush and one of Romney's top strategists.

An invitation to the event, posted online by Politico.com, read: "Thank you for joining me in supporting Governor Mitt Romney and committing to raise $1,000, individually or as part of a team, at Washington, D.C.'s, upcoming rally."

Asked about the invitation, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told The Associated Press: "Mitt Romney is an outsider who is not beholden to the special interests. By far, he is the single biggest contributor to his campaign."

Romney began his fundraising in January with an eye-popping $6.5 million haul at his first event, but at the time he told reporters that contributing to his campaign "would be akin to a nightmare." While saying he reserved the right to do so, and in fact having already done so by the time he made the comment, he explained he wanted to build a broad apparatus of donors.

Meanwhile, a new CNN/WMUR-TV poll in the early voting state of New Hampshire showed that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has pulled into a statistical dead heat with Romney, with Romney garnering 23 percent of the vote and Giuliani 22 percent. In July, Romney had a clear lead, 33 percent to Giuliani's 18 percent.

Romney dismissed the findings, telling reporters "the polls bounce up and down," but adding: "I'm pleased with the fact that a guy that was in the single digits is in the double digits and up there in the leading group, and I hope I can continue that throughout the process."

He also expressed optimism for the GOP as well as himself, telling the crowd, "The Democrats are looking strong right now but they're overplaying their hand. We're going to knock them out; don't worry. We're going to keep the White House."

The town-hall meeting was a noisy affair, as airplanes and helicopters took off from adjacent runways. Just across Long Beach Airport was the factory for the C-17, the Air Force cargo plane that has become a workhorse in the Iraq war.

One questioner asked Romney what he thought about his father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, saying in 1968 that he had dropped his support for the Vietnam War despite being subjected to "a brainwashing" by U.S. generals during a tour of Southeast Asia. The elder Romney suffered amid misguided questions about his mental health.

Mitt Romney said: "He didn't mean, literally, `brainwashed.' It was a metaphor, an expression, to suggest we weren't told the truth. ...He said to me, `In politics, being right too early is always a mistake.' But he didn't care. He was right too early."

Romney Cancels Weekend Campaigning After Falling Ill

Former Governor Mitt Romney is cancelling his presidential campaign schedule in South Carolina this weekend after getting sick during a rush to raise money before the end of the month.
   
Romney had cancelled an appearance Tuesday in Bakersfield, California, to recuperate, but now he's going to stay in Utah for the weekend after a stop there on Friday.

Aides say Romney picked up a cold during a busy span that saw him address a Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan last weekend and then head to the West Coast for five days of public and private events.

The quarter closes Monday, and all the presidential candidates have been trying to fill their coffers before they release their fundraising totals the middle of next month.

Romney: No Comment on Blackwater Killings Pending Investigation

By GLEN JOHNSON
AP Political Writer

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Monday he was troubled that private security guards working in Iraq for his top counterterrorism adviser have been accused of killing civilians.

But he said he would wait for the results of an investigation before deciding on a response.

Cofer Black, who joined the campaign in April as senior adviser on counterterrorism and national security, also is vice chairman of Blackwater USA, whose workers have been accused of killing up to 11 Iraqi civilians during a Sept. 16 firefight in central Baghdad square.

"I think the allegations are very serious indeed and that there is an investigation which is under way," Romney told reporters in his first public comment on the case. "I don't want to prejudge what will happen from the investigation, but if the investigations go through in a legitimate and appropriate way, then I would expect an appropriate response."

He added, "Clearly, the allegations are troubling."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday that such killings are unacceptable and a threat to his country's sovereignty.

Earlier Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wrote to President Bush, seeking a report on the number of private security contractors in Iraq and the issuance of rules of engagement, similar to those under which U.S. armed forces operate.

"It is our government's obligation to ensure that security contractors in Iraq are subject to adequate and transparent oversight, and that their actions do not have a negative impact on our military's efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan," wrote Obama, a senator from Illinois.

Last week, Bush said he was saddened by the loss of civilian life and would await a report from the investigation before taking any action. The president also said the contractors operate under rules of engagement.

Romney met with reporters after addressing about 200 people amid a whirlwind five-day tour of California. The principal focus is fundraising, including an event Monday night at the home of eBay Chairman Meg Whitman, but Romney scheduled public events to help raise his profile in the state.

The pace has gotten to the candidate, who canceled a public event set for Tuesday in Bakersfield after coming down with a cold.

During the town-hall meeting, Romney played to the Silicon Valley crowd, some of whom work at nearby Google, Cisco Systems and Apple Inc.

At one point, the former Massachusetts governor spoke of his effort to provide every sixth-grader and beyond with an inexpensive laptop.

"I want our kids to know how to Google and Yahoo and everything else, so that when they do a report on George Washington, they don't have to go to the encyclopedia but they can go to Wikipedia and they can learn what's happening on an online basis as kids around the world are doing," he said.

The remark brought chuckles from the crowd, since Wikipedia has been criticized for the accuracy of some of the public contributions to its information-sharing Web site.

Romney also expressed interest in expanding the number of H-1B visas, which allow employers to seek temporary help from foreigners holding at least a bachelor's degree.

"H-1B visas are a great source of a brain magnet, if you will, bringing people into this country who have skill and experience from other countries," he said.

Lamenting that many foreign doctoral candidates must leave the country after graduation, Romney added: "I'd rather staple a green card to your diploma and say that if you can get a Ph.D. from one of our great institutions, we'd love you to stay here."

Romney also said technology from the Bay Area should be used to crack down on illegal immigration, Medicare waste and abuse, and to improve an array of antiquated federal services.

"I believe that one of things we have to do is take some of the innovation and technology that you're famous for here and finally apply it in Washington," he said to applause.

Romney Airs Ads Opposing Iranian President's Visit to New York

By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD, N.H.  --  Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama planned to air his first television ads in New Hampshire starting Tuesday, appealing to voters to believe his message of change.

In South Carolina, meanwhile, Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton began running a radio ad saying she has a record of looking out for all Americans. And Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney broadcast a radio ad in South Carolina and in Iowa opposing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York.

Obama's New Hampshire ad expands on his message that went up last week in Iowa, and on 50 signs placed around New Hampshire during the weekend that asked, "Do You Believe?" They were replaced Sunday with signs featuring Obama's campaign logo.

In the new TV ads, the first-term senator asks viewers to support his candidacy, plays up his non-Washington experience and tries to allay concerns about his relative lack of experience.

"In 20 years of public service, I've brought Democrats and Republicans together to solve problems that touch the lives of everyday people. I've taken on the drug and insurance companies and won," Obama says into the camera, focusing on a subject that rival John Edwards has emphasized.

Obama also takes a shot at Democratic front-runner Clinton, who voted to authorize the unpopular war in Iraq and has refused to apologize.

"I defied the politics of the moment and opposed the war in Iraq before it began," the Illinois senator says. "This is Barack Obama. I approve this message to ask you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington. I'm asking you to believe in yours."

Obama is the last of the top-polling candidates to go on the air in New Hampshire. Clinton and Edwards have been on television, as have New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd. Obama's ads are trying to shake up polling that has kept him in a solid, although distant, second-place spot.

Clinton's radio ad in South Carolina is running on more than two dozen predominantly black radio stations. Nearly half of the 2004 Democratic primary voters here were black.

"If you're stuck on a rooftop or stranded in the Superdome during a hurricane, you're invisible to this president even when you're on CNN," Clinton says in the 60-second ad, referring to New Orleans residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "Well, you are not invisible to me, and you should never be invisible to the president of the United States."

In the ad, an announcer says Clinton "has spent her life standing up for people others don't see" and has logged "35 years as a tireless advocate for children and families."

The release of the ad comes on the same day Clinton added her fifth major union endorsement. International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers President John J. Flynn said Monday that Clinton "has the strength and experience to deliver the chance America needs."

Romney's anti-Ahmadinejad radio ad seeks to capitalize on the opposition the Iranian president's visit has generated, especially among conservatives who view him as an advocate of terrorism. Ahmadinejad planned to speak and answer questions at a Columbia University forum Monday, followed by an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.

The ad reminds listeners that Romney, while governor of Massachusetts, opposed former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's 2006 visit to Harvard and refused to give Khatami a state police escort.

In the ad, which will also air in Florida later in the week, Romney says the United States should tighten sanctions against Iraq. He says he called on the United Nations to withdraw the invitation to Ahmadinejad to speak to the General Assembly.

"What we should be doing is indicting Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention," he said.

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Associated Press Writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this article.

Romney Challenges GOP to Put 'House in Order'

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mitt Romney bluntly challenged his own party to "put our own house in order" as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani assailed Democratic rivals while courting activists in a state that's now a player in the nomination march.

"Washington is failing us," Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said in remarks prepared for delivery Saturday, part of an effort to cast himself as an agent of change. "The blame doesn't all belong to the Democrats. We Republicans have to put our own house in order."

In his own prepared speech, McCain, the Arizona senator, lamented "a perilous time for our party but, far more important, a perilous time for our country" as he eviscerated the national security positions of the "leading Democratic presidential candidates" and renewed his call for resolve on Iraq.

A night earlier, Giuliani, the former New York mayor, earned boisterous bursts of applause, cheers and laughter as he repeatedly castigated the top Democrats by name, at one point asking rhetorically: "Do we go in the direction of much larger government, which is where Hillary (Rodham) Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards will take us, or do we go in the direction of ... giving people more control over their own lives?"

The trio was among seven GOP hopefuls addressing some 1,500 Michigan Republicans at a weekend retreat on a picturesque Lake Huron island three weeks after the Midwestern state moved its primaries to Jan. 15, making it one of the earliest states to hold contests in 2008.

Fred Thompson, the actor-politician, also was speaking Saturday while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is keeping the door slightly open to a possible late entry, also was on hand. Three underdog candidates were speaking; two others were absent.

The GOP race is one of the most volatile in a half century, with no clear front-runner four months before voting begins. Giuliani has an edge in national popularity polls but Thompson -- in the race just two weeks -- is giving chase. McCain is looking for momentum. Romney ranks behind them in national surveys, but he's leading in Iowa and New Hampshire, among the first states to vote.

Romney's speech, coupled with accompanying television ads and an open letter to party leaders, marks a shift for his campaign as he seeks to capitalize on discontent among Republicans about the direction the country is headed. With a sharp critique of the GOP, Romney is fully distancing himself from President Bush and Republicans who were in charge of the House and Senate until last fall. Bush's support is at a low mark as is Congress' job approval.

Forgoing the red-meat spiel typically served up to activists at such gatherings, Romney instead offered a sobering assessment of the party in which he argued that Republicans share the blame with Democrats for the nation's woes.

In an indictment of Republicans, he bemoaned excessive spending, insecure borders, and ethical lapses, and declared: "When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses. We've got to start acting like Republicans, not earmarking Republicans, not big government Republicans, but like Reagan Republicans and Teddy Roosevelt Republicans."

"It's time for change in Washington and change begins with us," Romney added.

Broadly, McCain sought underscore the security challenges the United States faces, saying: "The world Ronald Reagan faced was a dangerous one, but more stable than the world today."

He chastised his Democratic rivals for voting against military funding, questioning whether a war on terrorism existed and, at least in one case, advocating "unconditional negotiations with our worst enemies." He also pleaded for patience as the Iraq war continues and said: "To concede defeat -- as many leading Democrats now advocate -- would strengthen al-Qaida, empower Iran and other hostile powers in the Middle East, unleash a full-scale civil war in Iraq that could quite possibly provoke genocide there, and destabilize the entire region."

On just about every issue, Giuliani brought up Clinton, Obama and Edwards only to tear them down, much to the delight of his audience. He railed against the trio's "socialized medicine" health care proposals. He argued that they would raise taxes. And, he claimed "Democrats want to retreat" in the face of threats from terrorists.

To cap it off, Giuliani portrayed himself as the only Republican able to prevent a Democratic takeover of the White House, saying: "I have the best chance of defeating Hillary Clinton," a Democratic boogyman to the GOP who many assume will be the opposition party's nominee.

Romney Scolds GOP in National Ad

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Pre Writer

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scolding his party in a nationally broadcast ad Sunday and in an open letter to party leaders that asserts that the blame for Washington's dysfunction does not rest just with Democrats.

The 30-second ad, the same one he began running this week in New Hampshire, will air during NBC's Meet the Press, between appearances by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, whose new book, "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," blames the Bush administration for runaway spending.

The media push casts Romney as an agent of change, a recognition that even Republicans have grown weary of their government.

In the ad and in the letter, Romney wags his finger at the party, portraying Washington Republicans as riddled by scandal and profligate spending. Without naming them, he also distinguishes himself from President Bush and two of his main rivals on the subject of immigration.

"Washington is busy pointing fingers, assigning blame, and spending too much money. There is too much talk and too little action," he writes in his letter, which will appear in full page ads Monday in New Hampshire's Manchester Union-Leader and the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

"The blame, we must admit, does not belong to just one party. If we're going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order."

The ad was also scheduled to become part of Romney's regular ad rotation in Iowa on Saturday.

"We can't be like Democrats -- a party of big spending," he says in the ad and in his letter. "We can't pretend our borders are secure from illegal immigration. We can't have ethical standards that are a punch line for Jay Leno."

Romney Says He's No Hillary But Would Take a Page From Bill

By DAVID MERCER
Associated Press Writer

Mitt Romney tried to hammer home two messages at a campaign stop in eastern Illinois Friday: He isn't from Washington, and he isn't Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But he wouldn't mind stealing a page from her husband's political playbook.

While Romney trails Republican front-runners for the party's presidential nomination nationally, several polls show him ahead in New Hampshire and Iowa -- which are among the first states to hold primaries.

Those leads, Romney said, could give him the same sort of momentum Bill Clinton used to rise from the pack during his 1992 presidential election.

"The guys who get the nomination are not the people necessarily who are watching the national polls," the former Massachusetts governor told about 35 supporters during a stop at Willard Airport, just south of Champaign.

Romney also looked past his GOP competitors to Democratic heavyweight Hillary Clinton.

Romney said the New York senator would increase Americans' financial burden by raising taxes and called her health care plan a "big-government, Washington approach" that would force states down a single path toward reform.

"I've said let's let the states have federal funding with flexibility to create their own plans," Romney said. "You either believe in Washington or you believe in states, and I believe in states."

A spokesman for Clinton, an Illinois native, said her federally based plan would provide a number of health care choices.

"If you like your health insurance, you can keep it," Mo Elleithee said. "If you don't, or don't have health insurance, you can buy into whatever federal plan best suits your needs."

As governor, Romney led Massachusetts to create a health care-coverage plan that, like Clinton's, requires people to get insurance. But he has said what works in Massachusetts, which has relatively low rates of uninsured people, might not work elsewhere.

Romney mentioned only one of his Republican competitors during the stop, calling actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson a potentially "powerful force" in the race.

Retired businessman Gene Lorch of Bloomington said at the airport that he decided in the spring to back Romney.

"I've not heard anything that's a negative to me," Lorch said. "And he's the only candidate that way to me."

On a day that took him from Indianapolis through eastern Illinois to Chicago, Romney said the Midwest holds the keys to the White House. The South will vote Republican, he said, and most of the coastal states are likely to vote for the Democrat's nominee.

"I'm a Midwesterner by my roots," he added.

Illinoisans showed their affinity for Romney during a presidential straw poll at this year's State Fair, giving him more than 40 percent of the 922 votes cast.

At a news conference in Chicago later Friday, Romney said his promise of reform appeals to Illinois voters.

"I believe that my message of bringing change to our party and change to Washington is connecting with voters here in Illinois and other states," he said.

And he said party faithful have been disappointed in some leaders' ethical lapses, though he wouldn't point to anyone specific. Romney's visit came the same day Republican U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, recently named one of the most corrupt members of Congress by a watchdog group, announced that he will not seek an eighth term.

Romney, who has been credited with rescuing the scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, also congratulated Chicago on being selected by the United States Olympic Committee as its bid city for the 2016 Olympic Games.

"This would be a great place to host Olympic games," he said.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll last week showed Thompson and former New York Mayor Rudy Giulani each have the support of 24 percent of Republicans. Romney, with 7 percent, also trails Sen. John McCain of Arizona, at 15 percent.

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Associated Press writer Karen Hawkins contributed to this report.

Romney, Thompson Camps Spar Over Campaign Finance Reform

A top adviser to Mitt Romney criticized rival Fred Thompson on Friday for his campaign finance reform efforts, triggering an exchange between the two Republican presidential contenders as they seek conservative support.

James Bopp Jr., a prominent free-speech advocate, lumped the former Tennessee senator with Sen. John McCain as he condemned the "McCain-Feingold-Thompson" law aimed at restricting the influence of special interest groups on the election process.

"There was no more adamant supporter of campaign finance reform and the regulation of political speech and issue ads that Sen. Thompson," Bopp wrote in a column for Townhall.com, a conservative Web meeting place. "His support was not reluctant; it was enthusiastic and repeated. He actively and enthusiastically supported regulation of and, ultimately, total prohibition of corporate and labor union issue ads, which he never viewed as a 'mistake.'"

While Romney aides have questioned Thompson vigor on the campaign trail, Bopp wrote: "Sen. Thompson devoted much energy in the Senate to gutting the First Amendment."

Thompson released a statement noting Romney's own efforts to curtail the influence of money in politics.

"Until he started running for President, Mitt Romney had a long history of supporting campaign finance reform and restrictions even more stringent than McCain-Feingold legislation," said the statement.

During a 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, Romney proposed eliminating political action committees, favored a spending cap for his race against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and supported publicly financing elections in part by imposing a 10 percent tax on those who self-finance their races.

Eight years later, during Romney's 2002 race for governor of Massachusetts, the former venture capitalist contributed $6.3 million to his campaign, or 64 percent of the total raised. In the first half of this year, he contributed $9 million to his presidential campaign and has refused to say if he has given more during the quarter that ends Sept. 30.

Romney's decision to focus on Thompson, who only entered the race this month, highlights their battle for the hearts and minds of conservative voters.

Earlier this year, Romney focused on McCain's authorship of the 2002 fundraising law.

"I favor transparency," Romney said in April while campaigning in New Hampshire. "Let people make contributions and report it on the Web site, so you know who's contributed to whom, but McCain-Feingold has not worked. It's hurt my party, it hurts First Amendment rights. I think it was a bad bill."