As the election draws near with only a couple weeks to go, the news is surprisingly free of any important and/or new business. ACORN is being investigated for possible voter registration fraud in 10 different states. McCain is accusing the organization of trying to rig the election in favor of Democrats since they registered more Dems than Republicans, but there is no indication that these fake voters would ever show up at the polls. The main reason for the voter registration fraud is for people to keep their jobs, which depend on finding and registering 13 to 20 new voters every day.
Obama is telling voters that McCain has resorted to making stuff up about him, and that McCain would continue the war in Iraq without regard to financial cost, which has been a contributing factor to the country's economic crisis. McCain is slamming Obama for downplaying his relationship with William Ayers. Instead of remarking upon Ayers' change of character and prevalence on the education scene, Obama flatly denied that Ayers was involved in his campaign and McCain has seized on it.
As I said, not much that's new here. There hasn't been any major development that I can tell since Powell endorsed Obama. One thing I did notice was CNN's continuing tendency to talk more from Obama's side than McCain's. In one of the articles I used for this blog, McCain is constantly on defense while Obama's points are clearly laid out. Although I am in favor of Obama at this point, the lack of coverage on McCain frustrates me.
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Johnson, Sasha. " Obama: McCain would continue dangerous policies." CNN.com. 22 Oct 2008. CNN. 23 Oct 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/campaign.wrap/index.html>.
Lawrence, Chris. " Ex-ACORN worker: 'I paid the price' for voter registration fraud." CNN.com. 22 Oct 2008. CNN. 23 Oct 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/voter.fraud/index.html>.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
For grins and giggles
Just for fun--here's a quick YouTube clip making fun of McCain's wandering around the during one of the debates.
Trust me. Just watch it.
Trust me. Just watch it.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Colin Powell openly supports Barack Obama
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says he is voting for Barack Obama. (source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/colin.powell/index.html)
The most recent news in the presidential race? Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, has publicly endorsed candidate Barack Obama. Last Sunday, Powell announced on NBC that he plans to vote for Obama in the election, and praised Obama's character and ability to serve. CNN reports that Powell feels that both Obama and McCain are qualified to be president, but that Obama will bring change to the country that it desperately needs. Powell also commented on the ugliness of McCain's campaign, specifically about its "attempts to tie Obama to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers." (CNN) He believes it was too harsh and too narrow, and that it was unnecessary.
The kicker? If you didn't know, Colin Powell is a Republican. Obama is a Democrat.
Powell's endorsement may also sway some voters who were hesitant to vote for Obama because they felt he was not ready to be the nation's commander in chief, said Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst.
"It was extremely reassuring for this experienced military leader, a general, someone who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was secretary of state, to endorse Barack Obama and say, 'His world experience, his commitment and knowledge of national security are fine. You can vote for him without those kinds of reservations,' " Schneider said.
Doesn't seem to be much story-spinning here. The endorsement of Obama by a prominent member of the Republican party is creating quite the stir.-------------------------------------------------------------
"Colin Powell endorses Obama." CNN.com. 20 Oct 2008. CNN. 21 Oct 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/colin.powell/index.html>.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Week 6 wrap-up
OK, so there's nothing really major that was new this past week. Basically the race has become nasty even though the candidates promised that it would not; both Obama and McCain ignored the mediator's request in the last debate that they promise to tone down their rhetoric. Obama and Palin are fighting wild rumors on the internet with watchdog organizations trying to prevent their spread.
McCain has so far shown a lack of detail in talking about his plans for taxes and the economy in general, in comparison to Obama. Voters are still not comfortable with either candidate's plans, and Obama met Joe the plumber who asked if he would be punished with higher taxes under Obama's plan. The main issues with the tax plans are: McCain doesn't plan on giving tax breaks to the general population, but rather to big companies in the hope that they will stimulate the economy and the wealth will be spread back down to the rest of the population. Obama has promised not to increase taxes on anyone who makes $250k a year or less, but plans to impose higher taxes on people who make more than $250k a year and use that money to help support the general population. Voters don't like McCain's plan because it looks like he doesn't care about the average person and wants to help out the big companies who created today's economic problems in the first place. Voters don't like Obama's plan because it is extremely socialist, reminiscent of Robin Hood, taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. The main difference in their tax plans is that McCain claims he wants the average people to spread the wealth around (which they would do if they could, but given the current economic status I would say it's a moot point), and Obama wants the government to spread the wealth around (which, of course, the wealthy don't like because they want to keep their money, and the rest of society feels uneasy about because it means the government will have even more power).
There will be no more debates. It's time for voters to make their decision, with election day fast approaching. What changes we will see now in the campaign? What will be McCain's last stand, Obama's last stand? Which issue will be the determining factor in this presidential race?
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[posted late, on Oct. 22]
McCain has so far shown a lack of detail in talking about his plans for taxes and the economy in general, in comparison to Obama. Voters are still not comfortable with either candidate's plans, and Obama met Joe the plumber who asked if he would be punished with higher taxes under Obama's plan. The main issues with the tax plans are: McCain doesn't plan on giving tax breaks to the general population, but rather to big companies in the hope that they will stimulate the economy and the wealth will be spread back down to the rest of the population. Obama has promised not to increase taxes on anyone who makes $250k a year or less, but plans to impose higher taxes on people who make more than $250k a year and use that money to help support the general population. Voters don't like McCain's plan because it looks like he doesn't care about the average person and wants to help out the big companies who created today's economic problems in the first place. Voters don't like Obama's plan because it is extremely socialist, reminiscent of Robin Hood, taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. The main difference in their tax plans is that McCain claims he wants the average people to spread the wealth around (which they would do if they could, but given the current economic status I would say it's a moot point), and Obama wants the government to spread the wealth around (which, of course, the wealthy don't like because they want to keep their money, and the rest of society feels uneasy about because it means the government will have even more power).
There will be no more debates. It's time for voters to make their decision, with election day fast approaching. What changes we will see now in the campaign? What will be McCain's last stand, Obama's last stand? Which issue will be the determining factor in this presidential race?
----------------------------------------
[posted late, on Oct. 22]
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Candidates reach out to "Joe the plumber" in final debate
The main point of tension between Obama and McCain is currently their tax plans, with the economy looming in the minds of voters everywhere. America is extremely concerned about what will happen to their money.
In their final debate Wednesday night, both candidates made references to "Joe the plumber," a man whom Obama met while campaigning. Joe Wurzelbacher in Ohio asked Obama about his tax plan. Joe has been working for a plumbing business and wants to buy it, but he was concerned that Obama's tax plan would make him pay higher taxes onces he owned the business. Senator Obama replied that it's possible Joe would have to pay higher taxes like others who make $250,000 a year or more. He also said that it's better to lower taxes for the little guys (less than $250,000 a year) so they can invest in businesses like the plumbing company Joe wants to buy.
McCain said that Obama's plan would give the money to the government for them to spread the country's wealth around, while he intends to have citizens spread it around themselves. CNN remained pretty unbiased in this article, but in others I have read on CNN their political analysts think this was a weak spot for McCain. They don't believe this is the right time to promote power to the individual--citizens are angry and worried about the economy, their savings, and their future--that, at a time like this, Americans generally want to give their trust over to the government to let them deal with things.
I already know who I will vote for, and if you've been following my blog here you can probably guess who. It saddens me that the debates are over, but I've learned some interesting things about the candidates and have found even more strength in the candidate I was leaning toward from the very beginning.
----------------------------------------------
[posted late, on Oct. 21]
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In their final debate Wednesday night, both candidates made references to "Joe the plumber," a man whom Obama met while campaigning. Joe Wurzelbacher in Ohio asked Obama about his tax plan. Joe has been working for a plumbing business and wants to buy it, but he was concerned that Obama's tax plan would make him pay higher taxes onces he owned the business. Senator Obama replied that it's possible Joe would have to pay higher taxes like others who make $250,000 a year or more. He also said that it's better to lower taxes for the little guys (less than $250,000 a year) so they can invest in businesses like the plumbing company Joe wants to buy.
McCain said that Obama's plan would give the money to the government for them to spread the country's wealth around, while he intends to have citizens spread it around themselves. CNN remained pretty unbiased in this article, but in others I have read on CNN their political analysts think this was a weak spot for McCain. They don't believe this is the right time to promote power to the individual--citizens are angry and worried about the economy, their savings, and their future--that, at a time like this, Americans generally want to give their trust over to the government to let them deal with things.
I already know who I will vote for, and if you've been following my blog here you can probably guess who. It saddens me that the debates are over, but I've learned some interesting things about the candidates and have found even more strength in the candidate I was leaning toward from the very beginning.
----------------------------------------------
[posted late, on Oct. 21]
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Snow, Mary. " 'Joe the Plumber' happy to help candidates make point." CNN.com. 16 Oct 2008. CNN. 22 Oct 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/16/joe.plumber/index.html>.
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