By Colin Benedict & Jenny Price All campaigns have them--recognizable people who are supposed to influence our vote simply because they're a fan of John

It seemed like a great way to counter Obamamania. Sen. John McCain would board a helicopter in New Orleans, skim quickly over the Gulf of Mexico and land on an oil rig - a made-for-TV moment to highlight his call for offshore drilling, an issue that Republicans believe will be a big winner in November.
Then came Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm that made a helicopter ride impossible. And then, improbably, a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city's French Quarter. The trip - originally planned for today - was off.
f taking office, should he be elected. But as the

TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT: Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, conducts a news conference Tuesday with a cityscape of Amman, Jordan, as a backdrop. With him were Sens. Jack Reed (left), Rhode Island Democrat, and Chuck Hagel, Nebraska Republican. (Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
d always laughed harder than anyone when he told it. His hoots covered a multitude of sins in the comedy shtick.
over health care - particularly their own.

ON Barack Obama’s first visit to Britain to celebrate the wedding of his half-sister Auma in 1996, he went on a pub crawl with the bridegroom,

by Judson Berger When Barack Obama embarks on his upcoming trip to Iraq and Afghanistan he will do so as part of a congressional delegation.

There's probably nobody looking forward to the weekend more than John McCain right now. As Barack Obama continues to charm the globe and world events seem