Once again, Sarah Palin showed her fragile grasp of the Constitution when she claimed that media attacks on her violate her First Amendment right to attack Barack Obama. The problem is that the First Amendment deals with Congress passing laws regulating speech, not the media.
Many newspapers (and other news sources), including the Associated Press, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Denver Post reported last night that the Obama campaign has reached out to Illinois representative, and a veteran of Bill Clinton’s White House, Rahm Emanuel to feel out interest about becoming Obama’s Chief of Staff.
The presidential campaign of Barack Obama announced today that they are expanding their television advertising into Georgia, North Dakota, and John McCain’s home state of Arizona. This strategy is designed to put as many red states as possible into play, and force McCain to defend them.
The campaign said that they will be running the optimistic, “Something” ad in Arizona:
Hijack: (v) to steal, to rob, to seize by force or threat of force.
Americans, especially since 9/11, have become all too familiar with the word and the notion of hijacking. This is so true that if we were ever on a plane and someone stood up and shouted “We’re hijacking the plane!”, many passengers would rush the man and give him a thorough beating.
Two new Marist polls of Virginia and Colorado were released today, and each poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain. In Colorado, Obama leads McCain 52%-43% with registered voters and 51%-45% with likely voters. In Virginia, Obama leads 49%-43% with registered voters and 51%-47% with likely voters.
Both John McCain and Barack Obama put out statements after it was announced today that the nation’s GDP dropped for the first time in seven years, and that consumer spending has fallen to a 28 year low. Obama used the data to highlight the need for change, while the McCain camp pointed to it as a reason not to elect Obama.
In an interview that will air on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight, John McCain admitted that he doesn’t believe that Barack Obama is a socialist, but he does think that Obama is far left. Once again, McCain undercuts his own campaign’s message.
King asked McCain if he believes that Obama is a socialist. McCain answered, “No. But, I do believe — I do believe that he’s been in the far left of Americans politics. He has stated time after time that
Trailing in the polls with six days to go, the presidential campaign of John McCain has decided to revive the Obama associates with terrorists line, by criticizing the LA Times for not releasing a videotape of Obama at a 2003 farewell dinner for Rashid Khalidi. I guess this is their version of an October Surprise.
According to a new Quinnipiac University swing state poll, John McCain has been able to make up little ground on Barack Obama in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Ohio, McCain has made up five points, but Obama still leads 51%-42%. In Pennsylvania, McCain has made up one point. Obama leads 53%-41%.
Two new LA Times/ Bloomberg polls released today of Ohio and Florida show Barack Obama leading John McCain, 49%-40% in Ohio, and 50%-43% in Florida, but the most telling statistic might be that 7% of those asked thought that Obama was a Muslim.
The latest example of the fracture within the McCain /Palin campaign came this morning when an unnamed McCain advisor called Palin, “a whack job.” This comes after another member of the McCain campaign labeled her a diva who is only looking out for herself. It seems as if Sarah is no longer McCain’s favorite gimmick.
With only a week to go before the general election, the downward trend for John McCain continues. The new survey from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows Barack Obama leading McCain, 53%-38%. Interestingly, Obama also leads 53%-34% with early voters.
After Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on seven counts of corruption charges today, Alaska governor, and McCain running mate, Sarah Palin put out a statement distancing her from Stevens. The problem is that Palin headed up an organization dedicated to raising corporate money for Ted Stevens.
In Canton, OH today Barack Obama will lay out his closing argument to the voters about why they should support him. He will focus on the economy and change. Obama will ask Americans, “Will this country be better off four years from now?”
The news just came in. Obama served on an institution that not only included war criminals, but aided, abetted and protected war criminals.
We’re talking an institution more responsible for undermining democracy that ACORN, responsible for more bombings than 1000 incarnations of the Weathermen and with dozens of members more corrupt than Rezko ever was.
In Tampa, FL Sarah Palin launched into in attack on the media and Barack Obama. She claims that the media and Obama are acting like the race is over.
Probably the last thing John McCain wanted to do on NBC’s Meet the Press was defend the $150,000 spent on Sarah Palin’s clothing, but Tom Brokaw asked about it and after some fumbling McCain called Palin a role model to millions and said that the American people don’t care about her clothes.
At a rally in Denver, CO, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will seize on comment by John McCain this morning on Meet the Press that he and George W. Bush share a common philosophy.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe released a memo today that pointed out that the early voting statistics in North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Florida and Iowa. 20% of all early voting Colorado Democrats had never voted in an election before, and have an almost 300,000 new voter advantage in North Carolina.
WPXI is reporting that the story of a politically motivated attack against a McCain supporter in Pittsburgh is a hoax. Ashley Todd made up the story of mugging that turned into a political attack after the mugger noticed a McCain bumper sticker on her car.
At a rally today in Charleston, WV, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden took aim at John McCain’s recent criticism of the Bush administration, “John McCain is now attacking the Bush budget and fiscal policies. Folks, this is as crazy as the Sundance Kid attacking Butch Cassidy! They were in this together.”
Prominent Republican figure, and four-star General, Colin Powell, caused a big splash this past Sunday when he endorsed Barack Obama for president. But he’s not the only prominent Republican figure to offer an endorsement of Obama. Yesterday, former White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush, Scott McClellan, went on DL Hughley’s new CNN program “DL Hughely Breaks the News” and essentially gave Obama his official endorsement.
Director Ron Howard who to those of us of a certain age was Richie from Happy Days and to those with a bit more gray was Opie from The Andy Griffith Show has teamed up with former co-stars Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler to reprise his most famous roles in a pro-Obama video.
The latest Quinnipiac University poll of Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania was released today, and it finds that the economy has powered Obama to a double digit lead over John McCain in all three states. In Ohio, Obama leads 52%-38%. In Pennsylvania, the Democrat leads 53%-40%. McCain has narrowed the gap a little in Florida and trails, 49%-44%
Sarah Palin and John McCain were both interviewed on the NBC Nightly News tonight. Anchor Brian Williams asked Palin what she meant by Obama wanting to sit down with dictators without preconditions. Palin mentioned Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The problem is that Ahmadinejad isn’t a dictator.
The latest batch of CNN/Time swing state polls came out today, and they show that Obama has small leads in 3 states that George W. Bush carried in 2004 North Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio. He has a big 10 point lead in Virginia. Most telling is that the McCain campaign’s Bill Ayers and ACORN attacks against Barack Obama are not working.
The presidential campaign of Barack Obama has today unveiled a new robocall to counter the calls sponsored by John McCain and the RNC that link the Democrat to terrorists and terrorism. The calls slams McCain for using hateful and sleazy phone calls and mail.
Today the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released their latest national polls, which shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by 14 points, 52%-38% with registered voters. While voters are become more confident in Obama, they are questioning McCain’s judgment, and age, while Sarah Palin continues to drag the GOP ticket down.
In Reno, NV today Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made the argument that Obama is too inexperienced to handle a foreign policy crisis. She used Joe Biden’s the presidency doesn’t lend itself to on the job training line against Obama. I guess Palin’s point could also extend to inexperienced running mates of 72 year old presidential candidates.
Today on his radio show, Rush Limbaugh continued his attacks on Colin Powell. In Limbaugh’s mind Powell’s endorsement was about race, and pressure from the black elites in the Democratic Party. Limbaugh also made the claim that as Sec. of State, Powell damaged the Bush administration.
Two new Suffolk University polls of Ohio and Missouri released today show Barack Obama leading John McCain 51%-42% in Ohio, and the race statistically tied in Missouri, where McCain holds a 46%-45% lead. Interestingly, Joe the Plumber is now famous, but providing little help to McCain with voters.
It is well known that the selection by Democrats of Barack Hussein Obama to be their candidate in the fast approaching 2008 United States presidential election made history.
He is the first African-American presidential nominee, and – if polling continues as is – will be the first black president.
It is also well known that race, heritage, and religion have all reared their heads into the campaign in the ugliest, bigoted of fashions.
Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama today was not a big surprise. He has been hinting at it for months. The shock is in how deeply a man who was Secretary of State a few years ago has broken with his own party. Powell not only rejected McCain/Palin but the entire direction of the GOP.
In reaction to a piece that mentioned Cindy McCain’s pain killer addiction in today’s New York Times, her lawyer wrote to the paper and asked why they have not investigated Obama’s drug use, and why Obama hasn’t “rescued” his family from Kenya.
Well, we are done with the final debate between the candidates and going down the home stretch towards Election Day. And it looks to me like McCain and his campaign are making every possible dumb move that can be made, and no Rovian tactic can help them. In fact, it is the Rove-like maneuvers that are hurting McCain/Palin in the eyes of the American people.
With Barack Obama opening up a wider and wider lead, both in national polls as well as state polls (even crucial swing states), and John McCain literally sinking quicker than the Titanic, the question must be asked: what happened to John McCain?
The mixed messages continue to fly out of the McCain campaign today. In Muncie, IN, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told reporters that she has no doubt that Barack Obama loves America. Didn’t she just call Obama a terrorist a couple of weeks ago?
Today, at the Miami, FL McCain rally, Cindy McCain revived her attack on Michelle Obama’s patriotism by saying, “And yes, I have always been proud of my country.” You can always tell when a political campaign is desperate because they try to resuscitate old attacks that they believe worked in the past.
Today, during a speech in Miami, FL, John McCain blamed Barack Obama for smearing Joe the Plumber. McCain claims that instead of answering Joe’s question Obama attacked him. The problem is that the Obama campaign hasn’t said anything about Joe the Plumber, and the attacks have been facts.
The latest AP-Yahoo News poll was released today and it confirms what many election watchers already know. John McCain’s negative campaign against Barack Obama has completely backfired. Carrying out a negative campaign when McCain isn’t well liked has resulted in Obama’s favorables going up, and McCain’s going down.
Ignoring all signs that their negative campaign against Barack Obama is backfiring, John McCain and the Republican Party continue to try to label their opponent as a terrorist by using robocalls in swing states like Virginia, Maine, Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina. There is also a direct mail piece from the Republican Party in Virginia that links Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden.
In an interview with Fox News today, John McCain hinted that he could be soon campaigning with Joe the Plumber. The problem for McCain is that his latest gimmick held a press conference today where he sounded less like a concerned middle class citizen, and more like an empty headed neo-con.
Ever the cautious candidate, Barack Obama warned his supporters at a fundraising breakfast today not to get too cocky about their lead over John McCain, but due to his lead, Obama does have a chance to extend his campaign into more red states, to potentially give himself a mandate and extend the Democratic congressional majority.
The latest CBS News poll of undecided voters finds that by a 53%-22% margin, they thought Obama won the debate. Twenty four percent thought that the debate was a draw. The CNN poll of voters watching the debate thought Obama won the debate 58%-31%. This means that according to the polls, Barack Obama swept the debates.
If you are wondering to yourself, who is Joe the Plumber and why does John McCain seem obsessed with him, join the club. Both candidates had a good debate performance, the difference is that Obama talked about the economy for the middle class while McCain talked about a guy who wants to buy a business.
have seen John McCain and Barack Obama debate twice before, but the stakes have never been higher for either candidate than they are for tonight’s third debate at Hofstra University. Here are five things to watch for during tonight’s debate on economic and domestic issues.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama took a break from preparing for the third presidential debate tomorrow night to explain that he is not involved with the voter registration group ACORN, “We’ve got the best voter registration and turnout and volunteer operation in politics right now and we don’t need ACORN’s help.”
Even though John McCain himself continues to say that Barack Obama is not a terrorist, his presidential campaign continues to press the Obama is a terrorist smear. The latest attack came from McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb who claims that Obama and Ayers are friends, so the Democrat does pal around with terrorists.
The latest Quinnipiac University/ Wall Street Journal/Washington Post swing state poll was released today, and it finds Barack Obama surging ahead of John McCain in the critical swing states of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The big news is that Obama now leads McCain with men in each state, and Sarah Palin has completely fallen apart.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden taped an interview with Terry Moran that will air on ABC’s Nightline tonight. Biden had some interesting things to say about the tactics being used by the McCain campaign, and the state of the economy.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama unveiled his economic rescue plan for the middle class in Toledo, Ohio today, and as Obama himself put it, “It’s a plan that begins with one word that’s on everyone’s mind, and it’s spelled J-O-B-S.”
At a campaign stop in Rochester, New Hampshire, today Joe Biden took the gloves off against Sarah Palin, by openly mocking her debate answer on the cause of global warming, and he repeated the campaign’s promise to end the Iraq war.
In an attempt to fire up some volunteers in Virginia, and his slumping presidential campaign, McCain promised, “We’re going to spend a lot of time and after I whip his you-know-what in this debate, we’re going to be going out 24/7.”
John McCain trails Barack Obama by an average of 13.8% in Pennsylvania. Democratic voter registration has jumped by half a million, and they now enjoy a 1.2 million voter edge in the state. Obama is outspending McCain by millions of dollars here, yet the McCain campaign vows to fight on in a state that they have little chance of winning.
Once again, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has issued a statement rejecting the remarks of one of his supporters. This time Pastor Arnold Conrad said during the invocation that he delivered before McCain’s speech in Davenport, Iowa that other gods, including Allah, are praying for an Obama win.
In a statement posted on his reelection website, former civil rights leader and current Democratic congressman John Lewis accused the presidential campaign of John McCain of playing with fire, and using tactics that are taking America down a dangerous path.
A bipartisan Alaska legislative panel has found that Sarah Palin Abuses her authority as governor in firing the state’s public safety commissioner. The report finds that she violated the public trust. We can now close the book on the Sarah Palin gamble. Palin now has no credibility, and has likely destroyed her own ticket.
For the past few days, I have been seeing signs that John McCain wasn’t comfortable with the insinuations that Barack Obama is a Muslim or a terrorist, and this evening at a Minnesota town hall meeting, he defended Obama when one of his supporters called him an Arab terrorist.
The stock market is suffering another triple digit loss today, but during a conference call with reporters, John McCain’s campaign manager Rick “The campaign isn’t about issues,” Davis said that the McCain campaign won’t be talking about the stock market everyday, because the campaign shouldn’t become a, “CNBC news show on the stock market.” Instead they spent their time trying to link Obama to the ACORN investigation.
While speaking in Chillicothe, Ohio, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama drew a sharp contrast with John McCain, by the turning the Republican’s Country First slogan against him by saying that the nation is in crisis, and it is time to put country ahead of politics.
Well, two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate down, one more presidential debate to go. It has been a busy past week in politics for me here in good ol’ St. Louis, MO. Last Thursday, we were the site of the highly-watched and scrutinized Biden-Palin debate. It was held right down the street from my house at Washington University. There is no need to go over the specifics of the debate now as it has been dissected over and over the past few days.
It is being reported that the presidential campaign of Barack Obama has purchased 30 minutes of primetime airtime to air a special at 8 pm Eastern and Pacific. Obama is also talking to NBC and Fox about buying airtime. The question is, is this a good idea?
While campaigning in Dayton, Ohio today, Barack Obama continued his attack on John McCain’s mortgage plan, by not only picking it apart but also called out McCain for shifting his position on the issue.
A new ad released by the Obama campaign today goes after John McCain’s new mortgage plan.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was on ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson tonight, where he directly addressed the recent attacks by Sarah Palin that accused him of palling around with former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers.
After William Platt II, the head of the Lehigh County GOP used Barack Obama’s middle name twice while talking about him before John McCain and Sarah Palin took the stage today in Bethlehem, PA, the McCain campaign put out a statement denouncing the tactic as a distraction from the real questions in the race.
The presidential campaign of John McCain continues to press the implication that Batack Obama is terrorist due to his association with a former member of the Weather Underground, Bill Ayers. Today, the McCain campaign put out a statement from John M. Murtagh whose home was firebombed by the radical group when he was nine years old, “Barack Obama’s friend tried to kill my family.”
While speaking at a rally at the Indiana State Fairgrounds today, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said that better days are ahead, and he criticized John McCain’s health care plan as radical and dangerous.
The latest CBS News and CNN post debate polls revealed that voters feel Barack Obama won the town hall debate with John McCain. In the CBS poll, 39% thought that Obama won the debate, and 35% thought that the debate was a draw. Only 27% thought that McCain won. The CNN poll gave Obama an even bigger victory by a margin of 54%-30%.
The second presidential debate in Nashville, TN played out much like the first debate. Republican John McCain focused on character and leadership, while Obama talked about issues and policy. In an election year where Americans want change and a new direction, McCain missed an opportunity to America exactly what he would do if elected president, while Obama took another step towards the White House.
As Barack Obama and John McCain get ready to square off in the second of three presidential debates, here are five things that you should keep an eye on as the evening unfolds. Town hall debates more than any other format rewards or punishes candidates based on personality and answers. The candidates better be ready to answer questions tonight.
The presidential campaign of Barack Obama engaged in a little bit of gamesmanship and expectation setting this morning ahead of tonight’s second presidential debate. Obama advisor said that they expect that McCain will launch his nastiest attacks yet, and lie about Obama’s record.
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll of Ohio released tonight, revealed that Barack Obama has taken a six point lead over John McCain in the state, 51%-45%. As with other swing states, concerns about the economy are propelling Obama to the advantage.
As the Dow dropped another 369 points today, the reaction of John McCain was to continue to attack Obama’s character. It is laughable that McCain accused Obama of not talking about his record, and trying to distract the voters, when the McCain strategy is to ignore the economic crisis, and his own record.
Sarah Palin continued her smear campaign against Barack Obama today by campaigning on the Ayers-Obama relationship while in Florida, and she told conservative columnist Bill Kristol that she plans on bringing up Rev. Wright. Every day that the McCain campaign wastes on smears is another day that they come closer to defeat.
While speaking to reporters in Long Beach, CA, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin denied an AP analysis of her recent remarks suggesting that Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers is akin to Obama palling around with terrorists were racially tinged.
At a rally in Asheville, NC today, Barack Obama will hammer John McCain for trying to turn the page on the economic crisis by distracting voters with Swiftboat style attacks against him.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune released a new Minnesota poll this morning, and it contains more bad news for John McCain, as Barack Obama now leads the Republican 55%-37% in a blue state that McCain had targeted to flip.
In their most desperate attempt to scare voters away from Barack Obama yet, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said of Obama, “This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.”
As we head into the final month of the presidential campaign, Barack Obama is launching a major attack on John McCain’s healthcare plan that includes speeches, four new TV ads, four new mailers, and radio ads in battleground states. Obama calls McCain’s plan radical and says millions could end up uninsured.
Once some House members who are up for reelection were given political cover, by a bill which contained minor improvements, they got in line and voted for the bailout/rescue bill by a margin of 263-171. Over 90 Republicans voted for the bill. The big question is what changed their minds?
While speaking in Abington, PA today, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama talked about jobs, the criticism from McCain/Palin that the Obama economic plan would kill jobs. Obama said that the McCain camp know something about killing jobs, because their policies kill jobs every day.
Two polls, one of uncommitted voters done by CBS, and one of debate watchers done by CNN say that Joe Biden won the debate against Sarah Palin. However it seems that the debate neither helped nor hurt either campaign.
The first and only vice presidential debate was filled with talk of policy by Joe Biden, and talking points from Sarah Palin. If there was any doubt left that this woman doesn’t belong on a national ticket in any capacity, that doubt was answered tonight. Palin may have scored style points, but Biden is the person Americans should trust in the White House.
Michigan was once a state that look like a possible McCain win, but the bad economy along with not selecting Mitt Romney as his running has forced the McCain campaign to shut down their advertising and ground operations there, and pin their hopes on states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, or Minnesota.
Rarely in the modern era has a vice presidential debate been the subject of so much attention and hype. So while you are watching the debate tonight, here are 5 things to keep you eye on while Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are mixing it up.
A new series of Time/CNN state polls confirms the growing trend towards Barack Obama. Obama now leads John McCain 51%-47% in Florida, 54-43% in Minnesota, 51%-47% in Nevada, 53%-44% in Virginia, and the two candidates are statistically tied in Missouri where Obama has a small 49%-48% lead.
Quinnipiac University’s polling institute released the results of their latest poll this morning (Wednesday). But this is no ordinary, generalized, national poll. Quinnipiac specifically polled the three biggest, most critical swing states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Here is what the poll results showed:
Florida: Obama up 49% to 43% pre-debate and 51% to 43% post-debate
Ohio: Obama up 49% to 42% pre-debate and 50% to 42% post-debate
