With mere hours until election day, a new story has sprung from the bowels of the media--Barack Obama's half-aunt is living in Boston, Massachusetts, illegally. "Zeituni Onyango, 56, referred to as "Aunti Zeituni" in Obama's memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request." Obama claims he did not know she was living here illegally. It is unclear whether someone from the McCain campaign could have leaked this information.
What's ironic about this situation is that Onyango's case is not a criminal offense, but it is likely to still have negative effects for Obama's campaign. It creates distrust, and only strengthens misconceptions about Obama himself. Many people staunchly believe he is a terrorist, that he might not even be an American citizen, or that he is an Arab.
"Onyango's refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States."
10 million? Really? If this is true, Onyango's situation is not uncommon, and shouldn't have drastic effects on Obama's reputation. But my guess is that it will anyway. This election is down to the nitty-gritty, the really nasty stuff right before the final vote, and voters will no doubt be thinking about this as they go to the polls.
Other issues this week included;
"AP: Obama's Kenyan half-aunt in Boston illegally." CNN.com. 1 Nov 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt.ap/index.html>.
Bash, Dana. " Palin's off-script comments irk McCain aides." CNN.com. 27 Oct 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/palin.tension/index.html>.
Brown, Campbell. " Commentary: Obama breaks promise on campaign finance." CNN.com. 29 Oct 2008. CNN. 30 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/campbell.brown.obama/index.html#cnnSTCText>.
Keck, Kristi. "Obama takes swipe at McCain adviser's health care comment." CNN.com. 28 Oct 2008. CNN. 28 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/campaign.wrap/index.html>.
Keck, Kristi. " Small business owners not sold on the candidates." CNN.com. 28 Oct 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/ohio.small.business/index.html>.
Other issues this week included;
- Palin making off-script comments defending the wardrobe controversy
The Republican National Committee went on a "$150,000 spending spree on clothing and accessories for the Palin family."Palin denounced talks of her wardrobe as "ridiculous" and declared emphatically: "Those clothes, they are not my property."
"Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased, I'm not taking them with me," she said at a rally in Tampa, Florida.
- Small business owners unsure who to trust
Some have said they dislike "Barack Obama's whole 'I'm going to take from the rich and give to the poor' Robin Hood attitude ... I am very offended by that. It smacks of socialism." Others have said they remember John McCain saying he doesn't understand the economy, and they agree he is not the best candidate to handle it.
- Obama smacks McCain's health care policy
Obama caught a McCain advisor saying that younger workers would stick with their employer's health plan, which would be better than what they would get with McCain's offered health care credit. Obama says this only serves to back up his argument that McCain's plan is not the best. - Obama makes campaign history with his 30-minute TV ad
Last Wednesday night, Obama launched a 30-minute television ad on five different networks declaring his final statements in the presidential race, using some of his huge lump of cash. CNN's Campbell Brown reminds readers of Obama's promise a year ago to take public funding, which he broke when he realized he could raise a lot more money on his own. The ad was so unprecedented that the first pitch of a World Series game was delayed for 15 minutes to accommodate it.
"AP: Obama's Kenyan half-aunt in Boston illegally." CNN.com. 1 Nov 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt.ap/index.html>.
Bash, Dana. " Palin's off-script comments irk McCain aides." CNN.com. 27 Oct 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/palin.tension/index.html>.
Brown, Campbell. " Commentary: Obama breaks promise on campaign finance." CNN.com. 29 Oct 2008. CNN. 30 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/campbell.brown.obama/index.html#cnnSTCText>.
Keck, Kristi. "Obama takes swipe at McCain adviser's health care comment." CNN.com. 28 Oct 2008. CNN. 28 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/campaign.wrap/index.html>.
Keck, Kristi. " Small business owners not sold on the candidates." CNN.com. 28 Oct 2008. CNN. 2 Nov 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/ohio.small.business/index.html>.
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