Columbus (Ohio, US), Aug. 19 : US President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he had "no regrets" about supporting a proposal to build the "Ground Zero Mosque".

Replying to a question from the media at the end of a town hall meeting here, Obama said: "As a citizen and as president, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country."

CBS News further quoted him, as saying: "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances."

Columbus (Ohio, US), May 6 : Samuel `Joe the Plumber’ Wurzelbacher, who stumped for Senator John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign, is now a political player in Ohio.

According to the New York Daily News, Wurzelbacher won a seat on the local Republican Party committee in Toledo''s Lucas County.

He nabbed the seat, one of 400, with a 38-24 vote.

The group is responsible for selecting the county chairman and setting the party''s local agenda.

In 2008, Wurzelbacher was thrust into the spotlight when McCain referred to him as "Joe the Plumber" during a debate with then Senator Barack Obama.

Even though his name was not Joe, and he was not technically a plumber, he soon became a popular sound bite.

The Fox News/Rasmussen Reports’ latest Obama vs McCain opinion polls show that Barack Obama is currently leading in Colorado, Missouri, and North Carolina, while John McCain is having slim lead in Florida and Ohio.

Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio are battleground states. Let’s check out what the Fox News/Rasmussen Reports’ latest Obama vs McCain Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio polls show.

Colorado Poll —

The NBC/Mason-Dixon’s latest Obama vs McCain opinion polls show that John McCain is presently leading in the presidential race in Ohio and West Virginia, while Barack Obama is leading in Wisconsin.

Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, after having begged her speech writers to help her avoid the mention of “Joe the Plumber” on the campaign trail, referred to the Ohio plumber, for the third consecutive day, at a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

At an Obama/Biden election rally held at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Gymnasium Friday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a stirring stump speech for the Democratic ticket. She appealed to supporters, from her winning Ohio primary, to work for the election of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Rasmussen Reports’ latest Obama vs McCain opinion polls show that Barack Obama is presently leading John McCain in the states of Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Missouri, Colorado, and Nevada; and in Ohio, Obama and McCain are statistically tied.

The final presidential debate is over, but the upshots still continue with Republican John McCain criticizing Democratic rival Barack Obama on taxes - saying the country, and small businesses in particular, cannot afford Obama’s plans. McCain said the debate made clear that Obama wants to raise taxes on small firms that create most jobs.  

Zogby Interactive’s latest Obama vs McCain opinion polls show that Obama leads in Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, while McCain leads in Indiana and Ohio

Addressing nearly 1,000 high school students and union members at an amphitheater in downtown Warren, Democratic vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said on Tuesday that Republican John McCain is way short of any new ideas for a financially distraught nation; all he can offer is some negativity towards his presidential rival, Barack Obama.

Survey USA’s latest Obama vs McCain Ohio, Pennsylvania opinion polls show that Barack Obama is presently having a respectable lead over John McCain in the presidential race, in Ohio and Pennsylvania, which are crucial battleground states.

Playing the economy card yet another time, in his speech before about 3,000 supporters at Toledo downtown convention center, Senator Barack Obama proposed an addition of $60 billion in new tax breaks and other benefits to his economic stimulus plan. Outlining several costly new proposals, the Democratic presidential candidate urged Congress to act quickly after the election to provide the much-needed relief to the middle-class.

Obama spelled out the key elements of his additional economic recovery plan inclusive of the following:

The latest Obama vs McCain polls by Fox News/Rasmussen Reports show that Barack Obama is slightly ahead of John McCain, in the presidential race, in swing states.

According to the polls, Obama holds slim lead over McCain in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. Let’s check out what the latest Obama vs McCain polls, conducted in these states show.

Florida Poll —

Sen. Barack Obama is still holding lead over his republican adversary, Sen. John McCain in the latest Obama vs McCain Ohio polls. According to the polls, Obama is ahead of McCain in the presidential race, in Ohio.

Obama is leading in the latest OH opinion polls, conducted by Strategic Vision and Insider Advantage/PollPosition. Let’s check out what these latest McCain vs Obama polls say.

Defending their election procedures, election officials denied any wrongdoing with regard to the alleged illegal removal of voters from the rolls in six swing states - Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. This denial comes in response to a newspaper report that said tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from the rolls or kept from registering in these states.