Obama and Biden: Together Again for the First Time

I was reading this article and I found it extremely interesting that Obama and Biden took the stage in Greensboro to put down McCain's performance in the debate. “This was supposed to be John McCain’s turf and Barack Obama owned it last night.” Biden who said that the focus was mainly on foreign policy said this. Obama mentions that McCain never said the word middle class and never focused on the working people. For this very reason the Obama, campaign did a television ad that focuses on McCain not mentioning the middle class. The McCain representative Tucker Bounds said one last interesting remark that was made in this article. “Barack Obama has a selective memory because John McCain repeatedly pointed to Senator Obama’s vote in favor of higher taxes on families making just $42,000 a year, and his proposal for $860 billion in lavish new government spending which is a crushing burden on middle class families and the Main Street economy.” Right here in this statement it says that McCain is agreeing with Obama in that taxes are hurting the middle class and something should be done about it.The only thing that I read in this article that really disturbed me is that Biden and Obama have not really been campaigning with each other. They will be starting their campaign in Detroit. I do not know about you, but I think they should have been together campaigning a lot more often than just yesterday. It seems to me that the more you are together the better you can have things planned out.

Obama "wins" the debate

Misstatements and stumbles seem to be the downfall of John McCain.  The Obama website has been plastered with newspaper headlines claiming him to be the "winner" of the debate.  Time suggests he won based on his tactics and strategies, including: "...more knowledgable, and better suited to deal with the economic crisis and domestic problems the country faces."

Also found in the New York Times is the statement that "Obama dominated the economic portion of the debate."  This was CRUCIAL for Obama because of the current standings of our stock market and failing banks mortgage companies.  Personally, I believe it is going to come down to the economic and domestic issues when deciding the next president.  

Bailout Back in the Spotlight

Now that the debate is over, Senators Obama and McCain are back into the swing of things in a campaign that is strapped by the country's financial problems. McCain plans to return to Washington to attempt to achieve a bailout agreement.

The main issue of the night was, of course, the economy. As Barack Obama's communications director, Dan Pfeiffer put it,"The economy is the preeminent issue. If we went out and tried to talk about anything else, they’d probably riot at the event."

While democrats see the economy issue as the failings of the Bush administration, the republicans are trying to spin it as simply a choice between McCain and Obama. Obama backers will continue to point out McCain's "erratic" stance on the bailout agreements.

So what up for McCain within the next few days? Lindsey Graham, a close Senate backer of McCain gives her thoughts. "I think John needs to say we’ve avoided chaos here, but we’ve still got problems. And do we raise taxes? It’s got to be about taxes and spending. If we can convince people, ‘now’s the worst possible time to raise taxes’ and ‘when I say I’ll cut taxes, I mean it,’ we’ll do well."


Only time will tell for McCain and Palin as we draw closer and closer to November.

Assesment of the Debate

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/26/debate.friday/index.html

After much question about whether the debate would even happen, the two candidates finally squared off in an exchange that was supposed to be centered on foreign policy. However, much of the debate proved to be about the great economic crisis that our country is facing. For about half of the debate, the candidates actually looked like they were trying to avoid speaking to one another and had to be prompted several times by the moderator to respond to one another’s remarks. I would venture to say that since they seemed to be butting heads more frequently towards the end, that the next debate might be more confrontational.

Perhaps it was because this was a debate instead of a speech, but it did not seem as though Obama was delivering his words quite as eloquently as normal and McCain seemed to be speaking better than when delivering speeches from papers or a teleprompter. Throughout the debate, McCain seemed to try to highlight his experience by highlighting past events that he has been a part, frequently citing his record, and plainly saying that Obama “didn’t understand.” McCain also did a nice job of establishing an emotional connection with the electorate, especially veterans. However, Obama did do a nice job of proving that he was knowledgeable about foreign policy, although I think actual experience is more important.

Obama seemed to be cordial in that he did point out several times that he agreed with Senator McCain on part of an issue before proceeding in saying how he differed. His main method of attack on McCain was to refer to President Bush and Senator McCain as if they were one person making all of the same decisions. Overall, I think they were both pretty well-spoken and tried really hard to not let the debate get ugly. It seems that from last night’s debate, no one man really stood out more than the other to help undecided voters. It just puts even more pressure on Palin and Biden in their upcoming vice-presidential debate, as well as the remaining presidential debates.

Debate or Not?

In the beginning the question was, was there going to be a debate last night? That was decided 10 hours before the debate. John McCain decided to go to the University of Mississippi, but then return to Washington to work with the financial crisis that is occurring. Obama questioned why McCain couldn't take care of two things at once.

Before McCain announced that he was going to be at the debate, Obama told reporters that on Friday morning he was on the phone with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and congressional leaders and believed that there was progress being made on the bailout deal.

I do believe that a bailout deal needs to be created and created soon. I also feel that the debate should still occur. There was only going to be a few hour breaking point that wasn't going to be spent on the bailout deal, and its not as if Congress works on this deal every single hour of the day anyways.

Erratic?

Barack Obama is tagging McCain with a new characteristic: erratic. McCain's actions the past couple weeks have brought the attack on. First, he said the fundamentals of the economy are strong then changed it to being in crisis. First, he opposed the bailout of AIG then supported it. First, he called for the firing of the SEC Chairman then called him a good man. First, he was suspending his campaign and postponing the debate, and now he is taking part in the debate tonight.
Obama and his campaign are sticking a label on McCain. To me it's reminiscent of 2004 when Kerry got stuck with the term "flip-flop." If Obama can pull off giving the image of an erratic hot-tempered old man to the American voter, it might just help him win the presidency, because erratic is not a characteristic people want in their president.

Obama benefits

I was looking at pollster.com today and something caught my eye right away. It was talking about the debate that is going to air tonight. They were talking about cancelling it. I guess there are issues about the economic crisis for the bailout proposal, which I have noticed a lot of students have blogged on. Right now no one is sure who will most likely succeed in the debate tonight, but I know that it will be a close one. Right now the standings are that Obama has an overall 46% and I believe McCain is overall at 42% in the national standings. There is a poll at pollster.com about who will benefit the most and according to the poll people believe that if the debate is cancelled Obama will benefit the most with a 52% but McCain will only benefit with 25%. 18% of the people come to believe that neither one of the candidates will benefit.
McCain has been refusing to debate tonight until there has been a deal compromised for the bailout. But Barack Obama still wants to debate, he says there are still issues they can debate and discuss.
I think the idea that McCain does not want to debate tonight shows that he is unable to handle multiple things at once. But then again Obama has compassion. I think he has compassion for what is happening with the bailout by showing he still wants to go ahead with the debate. Both candidates need this debate to help with their elections and campaigns. I do find it interesting though that many people believe Obama would benefit if it was cancelled, and the idea that he is the one that still wants to go through with it. Shouldn't it be the other way around?? Or does Obama just see the debate as another obstacle in his path to achieving the ultimate goal--The Presidency?

Remarks on the Economic Crisis

Remarks on the Economic Crisis

Last Friday Senator McCain proposed his plan for solving the economic crisis, and expressed his concerns for the bill the current administration is trying to pass. We are running out of time and something needs to be done (McCain, 2008). So what must be done to solve the current crisis involving this countries struggling economy?
Senator McCain believes that all parties must come together to solve this problem. Without the cooperation of Republicans, Democrats, and the current administration nothing will get done and time is running out. If something is not done soon the value of the dollar will continue to fall and credit will diminish. Senator McCain has proposed delaying Friday night’s debate until something is done about this crisis. Senator McCain believes by Monday morning something can be worked out to get the economy started back in the right direction.

McCain, Bush, and Obama Discuss Bailout Plan

Key lawmakers are confident that a multibillion-dollar bailout plan for Wall Street aimed at avoiding a national economic catastrophe is in the near future. President Bush brought John McCain and Barack Obama and many other national leaders together in hopes of reaching an agreement about this deal. He brought these two together to inform them and hope to get there approval. Bush would like them to carry this plan through to one of their terms.

If this plan would actually pass, them one of the candidates would have to follow through with this new plan. My concern is that it is not what the candidates had in mind. Will voters see it as a weakness that they are going to follow something that Bush has proposed? It seems like a complicated web of potential political benefits and consequences that could affect McCain. “McCain hoped voters would believe that he rose above politics to wade into successful, nitty-gritty dealmaking at a time of urgent crisis, but he risked being seen instead as either overly impulsive or politically craven, or both.”

Do you think this impulsive multibillion-dollar plan will affect the way John McCain and Barack Obama are viewed from now to the election? Will it help or hurt them?

McCain becoming Superman

John McCain is running to Washington to save the day! As if McCain is a superhero, he was trying to avoid his kryptonite-the debate-and rush to Washington to make changes to the plan about fixing the $700 billion debt. 

McCain does not believe "the plan on the table will pass as it stands now." He has five main changes he believes will make the plan better:

1. Greater Accountability-McCain believes that the board should be bipartisan and work together to fix the issue and provide oversight.

2. Path for taxpayers to recover the money-McCain thinks that the money should not go into a "black hole of debt."

3. Transparency in review of legislation-McCain believes that the American people should be able to read online and in the headlines to know exactly what is going on. 

4. No Earmarks-McCain says that it is outrageous and unacceptable to favor companies from taxpayer dollars.

5. Wall Street Executives-McCain does not think that school teachers, small business owners, and farmers should pay taxes to make wall street executives have thicker wallets. 

Through these five changes, people can see McCain's challenger communication style. He shows offensive position, calling for a change, ideological center of the party, attacking the opponents record, and optimism for the future. McCain is showing people that he is ready and able to be president. He is telling everyone that he is willing to cross party lines to do what is right for American people. Through this speech, you can see that McCain really believes that he can be the Superman of the United States.

See this video at www.cnnpolitics.com

Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin Says Second Great Depression Could Be In Store

Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin said Wednesday that the United States could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress does not act on our current financial crisis. This comment was made while doing an interview with Katie Couric in New York. Palin was asked whether a Depression could result if Congress does not approve the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout proposal, she responded by saying, "Unfortunately, that is the road America may find itself on." Palin went on to say that the plan to solve our financial crisis did not necessarily have to be the proposed bailout plan, but that the plan did "need to be some form of bipartisan action to reform Wall Street."
The current financial situation that the United States is in is clearly serious. I believe it will take a bipartisan effort to get us back where we need to be. While the proposed bailout plan may very well work, I think some guidelines and restrictions need to be put on it. It should be assured that taxpayers will see some, if not all, of their money back, and that the often mentioned CEO's will not profit an excessive amount of money from this project. Also, while what John McCain is doing, in the sense of suspending his campaign to go back to Washington to help figure out the financial crisis can be seen as very noble, it would be I think very beneficial to the American people if somehow the debate this Friday could still occur. With so little time left until the election, it is ever important for the American people to know how the people that will be assuming the highest leadership roll in this country will handle our current issues.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNxTApa2sQRu0Xx99P3jt2bEXw7gD93DB3JG1

Not a Traditional Republican

I was sort of surprised today to hear Bill Clinton "stick up" for John McCain. This morning on Good Morning America, Clinton said he believes McCain’s move to suspend his campaign and push back Friday’s scheduled debate was made in “good faith” and not “because he’s afraid” to debate Barack Obama. He also said that over the course of the summer McCain requested 10-12 town hall meetings with Obama which were denied. This shows that he is not afraid of debating and that he is just looking for a way to "say to the American people, ‘Hey, I'm not a traditional Republican. And I do take this seriously.’ Because otherwise this makes it much, much more difficult for him to win because this is associated with lax regulation and the absence of economic activity in this period.”

Clinton applauded the joint statement issued by McCain and Obama, but warned the presidential candidates about the appearance of “playing politics” with the proposed financial market bailout package. I read the statement and was not really impressed. Everyone is talking about this statement and how great it is but I didn't think that it really said anything important. I think it is interesting that the joint statement is displayed prominently on the main page of McCain's website-- I looked on Obama's site and couldn't easily find it.

I definitely think that McCain is using the current financial situation to his advantage and "playing politics" a little bit, but I think it is smart and not necessarily wrong. Like Bill said, he needs to be vocal during this time to show everyone that he’s not the traditional Republican. If he doesn’t speak out and do drastic things, he will most likely be lumped with the current administration and blamed for this situation. What do you think?

Candidates to Meet to Discuss Economy

John McCain has proposed that the presidential debate scheduled for Friday be postponed, as well as all campaign activity suspended. Saying that the current financial situation required attention devoid of politics, McCain talked with his opponent and arranged a joint statement and a meeting in Washington to discuss the Wall Street crisis. McCain also went on to compare the current crisis to the one that followed the 9/11 attacks (the mere mention of which had to make Rudy Guiliani proud), saying that both parties must work together to reach a conclusion that helps the American people.

The move prompted both praise and criticism from the Republican Party. The opinions ranged from “brilliant positioning” that shows McCain can put politics aside and deal with a financial situation (one of his perceived weaknesses), to “the sort of ploy used in junior high elections” when someone is too afraid to debate. Another spin put on the move is that McCain is simply trying anything to divert the media attention from his sliding poll numbers. Whatever the motivation for the maneuver, any move that can draw the type of responses it has, from the same party no less, is bound to have an effect in the poll numbers. McCain just hopes it’s a positive effect.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13865.html

4 Easy Steps

The Obama campaign reaction to the bailout plan proposed by the Bush Administration and being considered by Congress has become increasingly focused over the past few days. Yesterday The New York Times reported on Obama’s Four Conditions:

1. A payback plan for taxpayers should the bailout succeed
2. A bipartisan group to provide oversight
3. Limits on the compensation of executives
4. Aid to struggling homeowners

The Times stated that "Mr. Obama was clearly seeking to come across as the leader of the opposition party at a time of national crisis" (Obama Says Bailout Should Include 4 Conditions). The Obama campaign is clearly taking advantage of its position as outsiders and using challenger communicative strategies in the process. It is distancing itself from the current administration and blaming it for the current fiscal debacle. The Obama campaign, in proposing a very detailed plan, has taken the offensive position on this issue. Moreover, the article reports Obama’s criticism of not the Bush administration but President Bush himself, calling out his "stubborn inflexibility" on the original proposal. Obama is clearly posturing for change for this coming election and creating a strong response for the moment when this issue will, undoubtedly, come up in this week’s debate.

Bailout Plan Meets with Skepticism

Bush addressed Congress Wednesday night and pushed for members to approve his administration's $700 billion bailout legislation, which is even meeting opposition from congressional members of his own party because of its intervention in the private sector. Under the proposal, the government will begin buying financial companies that are struggling in order to rescue the financial industry to prevent a severe recession and the increase in home foreclosures and unemployment.

The President also recently invited Senator McCain and Senator Obama as well as leaders of Congress to discuss the proposal and to persuade them to lend their support. Congress did propose and discuss some changes to the legislation, such as lowering the total cost and restricting the compensation of Wall Street executives. Democrats want to dramatically cut the cost of the legislation but allow the administration to come back to Congress if it needs more. This way some action can be taken quickly without the overwhelming cost of $700 billion all at once. Despite the progress made by Congress, it is still unclear when the final decisions and voting will take place.

Political Stunt

Today John McCain decided to suspend his campaign because he believes he needs to be in Washington to help pass the 700 billion dollar bailout. Many people are divided on what this actually mean? Many people in the media have come to the conclusion that McCain is going to Washington just because it will look good in the time of crisis. He and Senator Obama are both Senators and have a vote in the matter but that is about it. McCain going to Washington and suspending his campaign just to vote.

McCain also said today that if there isn't a bailout bill passed by Friday he would not be attending the Presidential Debate that is scheduled for Friday. This also makes it look more like a political stunt because going to Washington to vote is one thing but suspending your campaign and stating that the debate should be postponed looks like McCain is just playing politics. Its a risk that in the end is probably going to hurt him despite what his staff is telling him to do.

Obama said today that he would still be at the debate friday night and the debate committee stated it would happen Friday. What will happen if John McCain doesnt' show up? Something is going on in the McCain campaign and they can't find their voice right now so they are throwing all sorts of ideas out there day to day. What will happen next?

McCain Calls Off Dogs in Order to Help Economic Crisis

John McCain has decided to suspend his campaign Thursday in order to help negotiate a Wall Street bailout in Washington. McCain said he will leave the campaign trail after delivering an address to former President Clinton’s Global Initiative on Thursday morning. He canceled a Wednesday afternoon taping of The Late Show With David Letterman and a Thursday interview with FOX News. His campaign said he will suspend airing all ads and fundraising until Congress passes bailout legislation. He also asked that the debate scheduled for this Friday be postponed.

“America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system,” McCain said in mid-afternoon remarks to reporters in New York. “We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, every corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen.”

Obama disagrees with McCain, citing that President's will have to deal with more than one issue at a time and cannot put everything on hold in order to shore up one issue. Some political analysts state that McCain is making this move in order to stem his recent drop in the polls - which some credit this towards the economy.

I feel that this is the right thing to do in this situation, because of the fact that the economy of our country is much more important than campaigning or having a debate this Friday as opposed to next week. This example shows the selflessness of McCain, an important quality for any candidate in my opinion. The most important thing not only for our country, but the entire world right now, is to take care of our economy. If our economy collapses, the entire world economy will more than likely follow suit.

It's also nice to see that someone can put their self-interests aside in service to our country.

Red to Blue?

Obama has been spending significant amounts of time in Indiana during the campaign, something a Democratic nominee has not done in years. Obama has 32 field offices around the state and dozens of paid staffers. He spent 6 million dollars on television advertising in Indiana, leading up the May primary. Since June, Obama has spent 1.5 million on television advertising in Indiana. Obama has made 5 trips to Indiana since July and Biden is planning on visiting as well.
The McCain campaign does not seem to be concerned with Indiana switching over to a blue state. McCain has no field offices or full time paid staffers in the State. McCain has not even aired any ads to combat Obama’s ads. McCain is relying on Indiana’s historical conservative views.
I think McCain’s campaign needs to step it up in Indiana. He can’t just coast along to victory because history shows that does not always work. Hillary Clinton thought she had the Democratic nomination all wrapped up, but Obama proved her wrong. I don’t think McCain should underestimate Obama’s campaigning ability, especially with the poor economic condition and a Republican in the White House. However, I don’t think it will be that easy to turn Indiana to a Blue State. While Obama is popular Northwestern Indiana and other urban areas, he needs to focus on Democrats in rural areas and blue-collar workers, who were heavy supporters of Clinton. If McCain doesn’t act soon he could lose Indiana.

Attacks on Palin or Campaigning for Hilary?

Bill Clinton stated that Democrats should avoid personal attacks on Palin. Democrats have been attacking Palin's experience because she has a thin resume. Karl Rove is a former Bush strategist, and he concluded that attacking a V.P. candidate has rarely proven effective in determining election outcomes. Bill Clinton stated several personal reasons why he likes Palin. Clinton feels that for the number two GOP spot she is a good candidate.

I get this impression that Bill Clinton thinks he is still campaigning for Hilary's run at office. I think it is a very obvious strategy when Bill Clinton focuses on gender during this presidential election. Bill Clinton is covertly attempting to increase Hilary's popularity and chance in the next election.

Bill also states he believes Hilary would have been a better choice as the Democratic V.P. candidate. Bill thinks she is most qualified due to her support throughout the country. I agree her support is strong and would have influenced the Democrats in a positive way. Placing Clinton as the 2008 V.P would have unified the party tremendously. I do not understand why Obama did not select Clinton as his V.P. because I believe he would have walked into office with little resistance.

VP Choice

While reading Wayne's "The Road to the White House 2008" I realized that I hardly knew anything about Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, compared to how much I knew about Sarah Palin. In chapter 6 Wayne talks about what factors play into a presidential candidate picking his vice president. Wayne says on page 181 that "picking an experienced, well-respected person who might have been or perhaps could become a candidate for the presidency sometime in the future usually suggests a willingness to delegate power as well as share some decisional responsibility." After doing some research, this sounds exactly like Obama's and Biden's situation. Biden was a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and is also considered very exerienced.

Wayne also talks about the political benefit that vice presidential choices bring. He says on page 182 that "occasionally, demographic variables are also considered such as gender and age." We all know that this sounds like McCain's choice of younger and female Sarah Palin.

One of the vice presidents biggest obligations is to take over the presidency if something happens to the president. I feel that it is irresponsible to pick someone who might have to take over the presidency based on demographics. Without a doubt, McCain could have found someone more ready for the presidency than Palin. I am not saying that she has no experience, but if she would have run for president this year, she would have been a joke. When it comes down to it, I would rather have Joe Biden as president over Sarah Palin.

For more information on Joe Biden, visit:
http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_joe.php

Smear ads turn against candidates

As of late, I have grown sick of the smear ads plastered on television sets around the state. Both Obama and McCain have seemed to stoop to new lows, throwing political punches left and right. This is a clear component of the General Election stage indicated in our book, and serves to educate the public about opponents, but they're seemingly going too far. Where some say that they are merely stating the facts, rather than smearing the other person, I somewhat disagree. There is a line that shouldn't be crossed; one that resides at the percentage of total ads that are dedicated to destroying someone else's credibility. Since being nominated by their respective parties, I have yet to see a political ad that merely discusses the issues. Since when have the deciding issues been on the back-burner? I am thoroughly disgusted with the current nature of our candidates appeal to get voters. Hopefully with about 40 days to go, things don't get much worse... but we all know they will.

Bill Clinton says Democrats should not attack Palin

Bill Clinton stated that Democrats should avoid personal attacks on Palin. Democrats have been attacking Palin's experience stating she has a think resume. Karl Rove is a former Bush strategist, and he concluded that attacking a vice president candidate has rarely proven effective. Bill Clinton stated several personal reasons why he likes Palin. Clinton feels that for the number two GOP spot she is a good candidate.

I get this impression that Bill Clinton thinks he is still campaigning for Hilary's run at office. I think it is a very obvious strategy when Bill Clinton focuses on gender during this presidential election. Bill thinks Hilary is still a better choice for the Democratic vice president candidate.

What Will Be The Deciding Factor?

Voters are still making up their minds and the pools have been pretty even lately. In the last week though, all that has been talked about has been the economy. And take a wild guess on who leads now. “A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks.” Could the economy be the deciding factor in this election? There is a good chance. Obama now leads by 5 points, which is not a substantial difference, but puts him ahead. People want to see change in the economy and Obama is offering that. It is definitely not easy to be the republican candidate right now, thanks to Bush. And to be honest, I give a lot of credit to McCain for making the election this close.

It is unquestionable that the theme of this campaign has been, and will continue to be, change. Obama has a more Challenger Style than McCain does, and right now people are responding to that. Obama seems to have more energy, more of a fire when he speaks. He is very good at getting the crowd excited and involved, and he always seems to take an offensive position on issues. It is undeniable that he is a better orator that McCain. But McCain is making a very conscious effort to make people believe that he will bring change as well. On the video attached at the end of this post, you can hear McCain say: “Change is coming to a neighborhood near you.” So who will the American public believe? I’m not sure. But I do think that the candidate who can convey the message of change (especially economy change) and emphasize optimism for the future, will win the election.

You have to go to this website And then look for the video called: Economic woes boost Obama 2:41
The Website - http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/22/bts.obama.era.of.greed.cnn

Blah, blah, blah...

At this point in the election, just a few short days before the very first official Presidential debate, most U.S. citizens feel like they’ve heard it all; the same hot topics and their respective “stock speeches” are being recycled and reprocessed to better fit into numerous appearances, rallies, and interviews. Those speech writers can’t fool us--no matter how they try and rearrange the lexicon, certain key words reverberate in our ears.

Prompted by the Brooklyn Art Project, I headed to wordle.com and made an image summary of which words are used the most frequently on Obama and McCain’s blogs (the size of a word is relative to its recurrence). The results had some surprising effect--for myself, at least. I for one, didn’t know Barack cared so much about grandmothers…

addressing the audience

Who are Maccain and Obama Addressing ? Who is the audience ?
now after really studying about the campaigns and analysing the candidates speeches .. it really seems to me that they are not addressing us the public the American people, they are only addressing each other. To me it seems that each campaign feels that it's more important to address each other instead of us voters. When is the last time we have heard anything about the issues until today? When is the last time an ad actually spoke to you as opposed to speaking about the other guy?When are people going to stand up and say this has to stop NOW?

We have two candidates who break out a ruler and measure themselves on a daily basis as opposed to talking about what they plan on doing for the 4 years they are in office. I don't want to hear about innuendo on who slept with who, whose son is better in Iraq or any of that other garbage and neither should you.There are countless threads and postings about the issues yet none of them contain anything about what either one of these candidates plans to do. We talk about this being a forum to vent our frustrations but the frustrations people are talking about are meaningless!! Lipstick, age, black, white, Muslim, drugs etc.... None of that is going to correct the issues going on with this country. I don't care how well Obama speaks. I don't care if people think Palin is a milf and I don't care about Biden or Mccain's age. you should care about your country not being at war, or care about your country being economically prosperous.

I want is a week of the candidates speaking on the issues. Tell me what you think about the economy, Iraq/Afghanistan etc and other issues. PLease stop telling me about Mccain's vote in regards to being able to pass a school bus from 1977 or the fact that Obama has a Muslim sounding middle name or that Palin once said "Sambo" . Please for the sake of this country and its citizens...please address US and not each other. There are a lot more than 4 people voting in November and it's really not very humble of either candidates.
after reading chapter 6, i honestly dont think that these candidates know who the public is, and who their audiences are.

Leadership status of Economics

As both Wall Street and Main Street alike prepare to react and recover to the recent collapses of Freddie and Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers, and the federal bailout of AIG, Sen. McCain has an opening to make the case to the American people that he has the judgment to lead in tough economic times. Well before this catastrophe occured, Sen. McCain sought to reform both Freddie and Fannie because of fears that what has happened would happen.
I've got the chance the last few days to go over a few of the economic standings of both candidates because of my marco economics class. I feel that Obama has a strong hold for what we are going through economically and is very aggressive with his arguements. McCain doesn't seem to support that we are in need of drastic changes. He is aware of whats going on, but I just don't feel he can successfully do what needs to be done to help as a nation.

Obama voters increase with latest economic crisis

Barack Obama has surged to a 5 point lead over John McCain in the latest Gallup Daily poll. Following one of the most down weeks in Wall Street history, voters clearly doubt McCain's ability to steer the U.S. economy toward a recovery. Legislators will meet next week to push through a multi-pronged government rescue effort aimed at calming markets and restoring investor confidence. In the meantime, the Republican administration has essentially put free-market capitalism on a time out, bringing billions of dollars of private enterprise onto the U.S. balance sheet, and outlawing short sales of financial companies.We'll see next week if this last-gasp effort on behalf of regulators helps soothe the markets.
The way Obama has talked of the economic crisis has sawyed many voters and businesses throughout the nation. I had a chance to see a public announcement Obama made on youtube. It is just labeled as "Obama on Economic Crisis" at youtube.com. It showed several strenghs in his ideas as well as what he felt should be changed.

Why Obama's Health Plan Is Better

Obama points out the big threat to growth in the next decade will be the rising cost of health care instead of oil or food prices. He also outlines the harmful effect of the rising health costs by explaining that they could push total employment costs up and wages and benefits down. This is the typical challenger strategy of calling for a change.
The news release then outlines that Obama’a proposal will modernize America’s current system of employer and government provided health, keeping what works well, and making the investments now that will lead to a more efficient medical system. By outlining the bright future after implementing Obama’s proposal, actually Obama’s campaign team is emphasizing optimism for the future.
However, Obama does not stop there. He continues with explaining his 5-step solutions to show the electorate that he’s not merely attacking the record just for the sake of attack; he could produce the desired changes for Americans, which establishes a positive leadership image for himself.
At the end of the news release, Obama criticizes Sen. McCain by saying that he constantly repeats his no-new-taxes promise on the campaign trail, proposes a big tax hike as the solution, which would raise taxes on workers who receive health benefits. Obviously, he’s using the strategy of attacking the record of his opponent to create doubt in the electorate about McCain. His campaign team even moves one step forward by pointing out that that study is conducted by University of Michigan economist to prove that that is an authentic and subjective attack. This shows us that Obama takes the offensive position on issues that are of great concern of the public.

Who are They Really Speaking To?

While reading chapter 6, I learned a lot about the actual speaking process, and kind of realized how brave a person must be in order to run for president. Not only for having to get up and speak in front of millions of people, but for also just putting themselves out there! When it comes to running for president both Obama and McCain are trying to get all the votes they can, meaning that they have to play out to all the different "audiences." The chief function is to simply pinpoint which issues should be, or would be better off coming up in a specific area! I can only imagine how hard it must be to make sure you dont say something wrong in a certain area, because then you have the worry of losing votes all together! Public speaking is very hard for me, so no one has to worry about me running for president ever~!

Indiana Getting Into the Swing of Things

Candidates may actually have to compete over Indiana's votes this election for the first time since 1964. Indiana has been seeing red ever since Lyndon B. Johnson took office, so we have always been in the bag for Republican candidates. However, a new poll released by J. Ann Selzer, of Selzer & Co. suggests that we are 47 percent Obama and only 44 percent McCain. This company has proven to be very accurate this year by pinpointing the Democratic candidate from the Iowa caucuses. Not a wide margin by any means, but definitely not red either. What's more is that Obama also leads in fundraising from Indiana with $1.9 million over McCain's $1.25 million.

Political analysts attribute this sudden shift to the rapid collapse of the manufacturing industry, which is a hefty chunk of Indiana's economy. As the primaries may have indicated with Indiana's election of Hillary Clinton, the choice is most likely economic. Obama is really focusing on economic issues for Indiana, thus utilizing both calling for change and attacking the record challenger strategies.

As election day approaches, Indiana could see more courting from both candidates for our tasty votes.

Obama's Aggressive Fundraising

"Even Obama's powerful Internet fundraising machine cannot raise all the money he needs for what will be the most expensive presidential campaign in history."

In a time of economic insecurity it is difficult for the American people to understand how our presidential candidates can raise and spend so much money for this election. The Chicago Tribune reports that this will be the "most expensive presidential campaign is history," and of course it will be with prices rising on potentially everything.

How is Barak Obama going to meet his October fundraising goal of $300 million? Although he has had a large percentage of his fundraising come from small donations through the internet, Obama is in need of more aggressive fundraising. Unfortunately this aggressive fundraising will consume a great amount of his campaign time, leaving him less time to focus on the working class people and spending more time in large cities with people who can afford to donate thousands and millions of dollars. For example in the last month Obama has attended several fundraisers in Miami, to Hollywood, to Chicago that had admission prices anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000 per person.

Obviously Obama needs the extra finances to keep up with the campaign expenses, but he already has most of the "big city" votes. He needs to be careful not to let his "small town" votes slip.

Aubree Walgamuth

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-obama-fundraising_websep22,0,5110978.story

90 seconds of truth (?)

One factor to keep in mind while voting is: what happens if the president’s duties get handed down to the vice-president? In this case, the fact of the matter is that it could potentially end up as either Palin or Biden as the president. The VP debate is coming up October 2. Each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to a topic, followed by a two minute discussion period. The format was set yesterday (9/20/08). Both parties have satisfied with how the VP debate is set. The candidates have less time than the presidential candidates to answer questions, as well as less time during the discussion period. The moderator is free to ask questions on any issue.

I think the VP debate will be as crucial to voters to watch as the presidential debates. One of either the team Obama-Biden or team McCain-Palin will most likely being running the government in the near future. We as voters need to know not only where the presidential candidate stands, but also where their running mate stands. The American people would not like to be caught off guard because of some “peer pressure” in a major decision from one of the VP candidates. By watching the debate, the country will get a feel for where both Biden and Palin stand on many different issues. Do not forget to mark your calendars for October 2!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092001992.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

McCain Falls Behind Obama

According to CNN’s poll of polls released on Friday, Obama now leads McCain by three percentage points, 47-44. With McCain still leading in battleground states like Florida (by one point), Ohio (by one point), and Missouri (by four points), Obama is working hard to close the gaps, and succeeding.

Could it have anything to do with the economy?

McCain’s history of deregulation is not looking so hot now that the government is bailing out the financial institutions, which are now said to have needed more regulation in the first place. In Florida, Senator Obama said “There's only one candidate who's called himself 'fundamentally a deregulator' when deregulation is part of the problem." After McCain’s slip ups in the media involving the “fundamentals of the economy” at the beginning of the week, he has gone back and rethought his position, now stating that more controls are needed to prevent any more bankruptcies among major financial institutions.

According to the latest Gallup polls, last Sunday McCain was leading Obama 47-45 percent. After the economic turmoil of this week, Obama took the lead with 50 to McCain’s 44 percent. Obama has put McCain on the defensive on issues regarding the economy, and that is where he is likely to stay for some time now. Prepare to hear one major theme at the debate on Friday: The Economy

Age, is it an Issue?

Is McCain to old to be President?

"I am older than dirt and have more scars than Frankenstein," John McCain likes to say.

John McCain is 72 years old. He nearly lost his life in the Vietnam War, he had war injuries, he had malignant melanoma (one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer), and there were rumors at one time that he was crazy.

All in all no matter the age of a candidate, they may have been injured at war, may get severely sick, or even die at anytime from any sort of accident. "The point being: Electing a young person to the presidency is no guarantee that he or she will be healthy or stay healthy" (Simon, CBS News). For example, John Kennedy, at 43, had been sick since he was 13 with Addison's disease, an endocrine disorder. It was just kept from the public.

If McCain wins the campaign for President, he will be the oldest to be inaugurated into office. I believe it is a bit risky to have someone of his age to run, but then again, there will be a Vice President that shares the same views to back him up.

Biden a B.A.! Bush Adversary, that is

       In a speech on September 15th, Senator Joe Biden let his true feelings resound in Saint Clair Shores, MI.  He was not hesitant to compare G.W. Bush and John McCain.  He is quoted as saying, "Just as George Herbert Walker Bush was nicknamed "Bush 41" and his son is known as "Bush 43" John McCain could easily become known as "Bush 44".  He suggests that if we forget our history, we are going to have four more years repeat of the past eight years.  On the other hand, Biden is quick to follow up that he considered McCain a friend, but America needs more than a great soldier, Amercia needs a wise leader.  

     The significance of this speech is the mudslinging is just beginning.  The next month and a half are going to be cut-throat.  They have all established a voting posse who thinks the opponent is wrong for our country, it's the undecided voters they are attempting to convince.  Along with speeches, the attack television ads have increased in number.  Obama just released another ad claiming McCain as admitted he does not understand the economy.  Furthermore, it reveals who advises McCain, one of which being George Bush himself. 

http://www.barackobama.com/2008/09/15/remarks)by_senator_joe_biden_t.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPUuHCHRY4g&eurl=http://www.c-span.org/Politics/

John McCain: A deregulator asking for regulation?

John McCain has stated, not only in his campaign, but also throughout his time in Congress has stressed the importance of the government staying out of the private sector has now called for market regulation. The government recently gave $85 billion to financial giant AIG, a bailout that many said was a necessary evil. Many have argued that AIG, along with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brothers and others, took a market risk just like any other business in the private sector does on a regular basis. The economy cannot sustain itself if AIG went under, because AIG is involved in just about anything and everything worldwide.
John McCain is sticking to the term maverick, but this particular maverick stance could have political ramifications. John McCain has stated that he is a "deregulator", wanting smaller government, and wanting the government to stay away from the private sector. However, his recent proposal is diametric from that very stance. He has now called for the creation of the Mortgage and Financial Institution trust to create an early intervention system with the hopes of helping financial institutions avoid bankruptcy. Creating a trust, in which the government would regulate these financial institutions, does not shrink the size of government; it makes government larger. This particular issue is a tough one to tackle; because one on hand, John McCain cannot allow these institutions to go under and send the economy down the drain and on the other hand, he is going to have a tough time seeming more conservative when he is making government larger. The conservative vote has been a tough one for McCain to obtain, particularly because most conservatives believe John McCain is not conservative enough to be the Republican nominee for President. Obviously, the conservatives will select John McCain over Barack Obama if they choose to vote; but the problem would exacerbate if the conservatives chose not to vote.