Obama Pays Parking Tickets 17 Years Late

Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP)

Rove spoke at an event arranged by the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a Democratic presidential hopeful, described Obama to the New York Observer in January as, among presidential candidates, "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Biden later apologized for his remarks.

After Biden's remarks, the Illinois senator cautioned that they could be taken as disparaging toward previous black presidential candidates, including Carol Moseley Braun, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

President Bush also referred to Obama as "an attractive guy, he's articulate" during a January interview on Fox News Channel.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) _ New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson traveled to Los Angeles this week to attend a bank dedication and raise money for his presidential bid _ a trip he did not disclose publicly.

That has upset some folks in his state.

Bob Johnson, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said Thursday that the governor should disclose when he leaves the state for a campaign event or official state business.

"Obviously I think that the governor, like the president, is a public official and when he travels by plane or car, the public needs to know how he is traveling and his destination," Johnson said.

Richardson, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, confirmed at a news conference on Thursday that he had attended three fundraisers in California a day earlier.

However, the governor's campaign considers fundraisers private and generally declines to provide information about them.

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