Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is scheduled make his first two major campaign appearances in Arizona on Friday.

The 2008 presidential race has at last reached its apex — it’s all downhill from here, folks. Pseudo-talk show pundit Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” on Tuesday threw his hat into both rings — he’s running as a Republican and as a Democrat.

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Ron Paul presented their respective Arizona campaign teams Friday, underscoring that the state will be in play during the 2008 election.

WASHINGTON - When Bill and Hillary Clinton take the stage Sunday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, it will be the launch of an active campaign for their former nemesis Barack Obama in the home stretch of the 2008 presidential race.

Democratic voters in Arizona still prefer Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York to Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for the 2008 presidential nomination, but the contest is tightening, according the latest Rocky Mountain Poll, which was released today.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tuesday's presidential election results showed the American voting public has not only become more permanently diverse in its makeup, but also in its mindset.

TUCSON - Congress must stand up to President Bush over funding for the Iraqi war that includes a timetable for withdrawal, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards told a rally in a labor union hall here Thursday.

LOS ANGELES - A group of people have gathered beside a gazebo in an outdoor park to discuss the presidential election. But the park isn't real, it's in the online virtual world of Second Life, where pixelated avatars fly around and interact with each other.

Perhaps it was because consultant Lee Atwater, a master of smear tactics and dirty tricks, came of age in South Carolina. Atwater later repented his tactics and before his death in 1991 apologized to his victims.

Arizona’s presidential preference election on Feb. 5 will feature at least 37 candidates, more than half of whom appear to be political jokers intent on juking state election rules simply to get their names on the official ballot.

NEW YORK - Being black doesn't necessarily mean White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama has a lock on black voters. In wooing a faithful Democratic constituency, Obama faces two-term New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the party front-runner who enjoys strong support in the black community.

NEW YORK - Starting her first full week as a presidential contender, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed confidence she can win the 2008 Democratic nomination. Clinton, speaking publicly for the first time since declaring her candidacy on her Web site, said Sunday she decided to run after doing a "thorough review" of the challenges facing the country.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama shared Sunday breakfast with American troops in Kabul ahead of an expected meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, a man Obama has criticized for not doing enough to rebuild his war-torn country.

With a blast at what he called John McCain's liberal leanings, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth launched his bid to oust the four-term incumbent senator in the Republican primary.

Sen. Barack Obama came to the Valley Monday to stump for fellow Democrats seeking to represent Arizona in Congress. But uppermost in the minds of many who came to hear him was his hinting on national television the previous day about a possible 2008 campaign for president.

Democrat Barack Obama brought the 2008 presidential campaign to the state’s airwaves during the weekend with a 30-second television commercial titled “Mother.”

CONCORD, N.H. — Just two days from the finish, President Barack Obama's campaign is mobilizing a massive get-out-the-vote effort aimed at carrying the Democrat to victory, as Republican Mitt Romney makes a late play for votes in Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania.

DETROIT - Al Gore made his debut in the 2008 presidential campaign Monday night, encouraging voters to back Barack Obama because "take it from me, elections matter."

BOSTON - This could make for one odd family reunion: Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Brad Pitt, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is related to Pitt's girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.

“The heat is on.” That’s not just a clever song hook from the movie “Beverly Hills Cop” (thanks to recording artist Glen Frey for that one).

WASHINGTON (AP) — He shows a fascination with science, an all-too deliberate decision-making demeanor, an adherence to logic and some pretty, ahem, prominent ears.

If he keeps his campaign promises, President-elect Barack Obama could increase the number of jobs in green energy, healthcare, government, education and small businesses, while decreasing the number of government contractor positions.

NEW YORK - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton embarked on a widely anticipated campaign for the White House on Saturday, a former first lady intent on becoming the first female president.

Once bitter rivals for the presidency, Mitt Romney and John McCain campaigned together as friends on Friday, one gearing up for a likely presidential bid and the other fighting to hold onto his seat in the U.S. Senate.