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click on each candidate to see today's news stories (caricatures by Linda Eddy)

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008

GENERAL NEWS HEADLINES with excerpts

VP debate tonight!

(9 pm ET)

Biden, Palin
face off for 90 minutes

Tonight's vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in St. Louis is the first opportunity that many Americans will have to pay sustained attention to Biden, whose first bid for the White House, in 1987, ended after he plagiarized the words and life story of British politician Neil Kinnock in a speech.

The focus, though, should be less on Biden's gaffes than on his judgment.

... A case in point is Iraq, where Biden has arguably been wrong four times: He voted against the Persian Gulf War in 1991, though it was entered into with allies in pursuit of the worthy goal of reversing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. He voted for the misguided 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. As Iraq erupted in sectarian violence, he promoted a dubious plan to carve it into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish entities with a weak central government. And he opposed last year's troop surge, which has helped stabilize the country.

About Palin: By choosing a virtual unknown as his running mate, McCain condensed the normal vetting process into the final weeks of the campaign. The only way to see whether Palin is up to the job is to take off the floats and let her into deep water. Tonight's debate is likely to be a key test of whether she can swim with the big fish. It should not be the last.

see also:

[HUMOR] A partial list of Gwen Ifill's questions for the VP debate

 

 

Palin plans to go after Biden on
foreign policy blunders and tax votes

Sarah Palin plans to go on the attack in tonight’s debate, hitting Joe Biden for what she will call his foreign policy blunders and penchant for adopting liberal positions on taxes and other issues, according to campaign officials involved in prepping her for tonight’s showdown.

... "This is going to finally put her back into a position where we see her like we saw her the first couple weeks,” a McCain official said. “She was herself. She was authentic, and people related to that. … Tonight, she’ll get into a rhythm. You’re going to see her in a way that you haven’t seen her yet.”

By contrast, Biden plans what an aide calls "a just-the-facts, prosecutorial approach laying out the case against McCain and defending Obama." The aide said Biden will be "keeping the eye on the target, which is McCain."
 

 

New McCain web video: "Embarrass"
Biden - ready to gaffe

 

Senate passes revised bailout bill full of 'sweeteners'
and sends it on to the House for Friday vote

This time, it comes back to the House loaded with billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and other sweeteners. They are meant to attract at least a dozen House members who voted against the measure Monday, when it failed, 228-205, triggering a record drop in the stock market.

Senators added the new items in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday, sending the beefed-up package back to the House for a showdown vote expected Friday...

... To some degree, at least, House GOP opposition appeared to be easing as the Senate added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.

House Republicans also welcomed a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market...

see also:

Senators who voted no

Full text of revised bill

Feds considering further interest rate cuts

 

CBS poll gives Obama 9-point lead over McCain

Senator Barack Obama is showing signs of gaining significant support among voters with less than five weeks left until Election Day, while Senator John McCain’s image has been damaged by his response to the financial crisis.

... The CBS News poll showed that Mr. Obama had a nine-percentage-point lead over Mr. McCain — 49 percent to 40 percent.

 

 

 

Jerome Corsi in Kenya to probe Obama ties

Also plans to meet with candidate's brother living in 6x9-foot shack

Corsi came at the invitation of Christian missionaries who contend the rise of Islam in the African nation has been spurred by an agreement Obama signed with Muslim leaders in an effort to elect Raila Odinga last December. Odinga lost the election but now shares power with the Kenyan president to appease Islamic leaders.

Corsi's highly critical book examining Obama's career, "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," remains on the New York Times best-seller list after its publication Aug. 1. The book was No. 1 on the list for four straight weeks after its launch.

Corsi plans to file daily dispatches [for WorldNetDaily.com] from Kenya for the next week.

 

 


 

THE CANDIDATES:

 

John McCain & Sarah Palin... today's headlines with excerpts

On small stage, Sarah Palin scored big debate wins

... a review of Palin's experience during her 2006 campaign for governor, when she engaged in a long series of debates with her opponents, suggests she is a more formidable adversary than is widely thought.

Unlike her opponent Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who has considerable presidential-level debate experience, Palin has never been involved in a debate where the questions were national and global in scope.

But she is familiar operating in a high-stakes debate environment against older, more seasoned pols who seemingly have better command of the issues.

Estimates show Palin assets top $1 million

Sarah Palin and her husband have pieced together a uniquely Alaskan income that reached comfortably into six figures even before she became governor, capitalizing on valuable fishing rights, a series of land deals and a patchwork of other ventures to build an above-average lifestyle.

Add up the couple's 2007 income and the estimated value of their property and investments and they appear to be worth at least $1.2 million.

One measure of financial health: While there is a home loan, Palin reported no personal credit card debt on her most recent financial report as Alaska governor.

A more complete picture will come when Palin outlines her personal finances in federal paperwork in coming days. It will include details of any mortgage debt and at least rough dollar totals for bank accounts and investments.

Comic fired for Palin rape jokes

A Boston women's shelter cut comedienne and Obama supporter Sandra Bernhard from its annual benefit after she said Sarah Palin would be gang-raped if she ever visited New York.

The comment was the latest in a series of remarks that have gotten liberals yanked off of websites or fired for making crude remarks involving Palin in defense of Obama.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation apologized for a column that said Palin was chosen to appease the Republican party's "rural," "unlettered" and "white trash" base and said that the vice-presidential nominee looked like a "porn actress." The writer was a Canadian columnist who previously has written the United States will one day invade Canada for its natural resources.

Ohio company offers 'Sara-Cuda' hunting bow

Lakota Industries Inc. announced its "Sarah-Cuda" bow Wednesday in honor of the Alaska governor's "lifelong passion for the sport of hunting."

The pink camouflage bow weighs 3.4 pounds and is designed to accommodate female hunters and archers. It retails for $590.

Lakota chief executive Dick Williamson said the bow also pays tribute to women who "bear the responsibility of family and work while strengthening the moral fiber of society."

The company will donate 10 percent of Sarah-Cuda proceeds to the National Association for Down Syndrome. Palin, 44, is a mother of five who gave birth earlier this year to a son with the genetic condition.

 

 

 

 

 

Barack Obama & Joe Biden... today's headlines with excerpts'

Obama leads in critical trio of states

The Democrat's support jumped to 50% or above in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania in Quinnipiac University surveys taken during the weekend — after the opening presidential debate and during Monday's dramatic stock market plunge as the House rejected a $700 billion financial bailout plan...

Obama's fishy $200 million in campaign contributions

An auditor for the Federal Election Commission is attempting to have his bosses seek a formal investigation into the collection by the Obama for President campaign of more than $200 million in potentially illegal political donations, including millions of dollars of illegal, foreign donations, and has sought a request for assistance from the Department of Justice or Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But the analyst's requests have largely been ignored. "I can't get anyone to move. I believe we are looking at a hijacking of our political system that makes the Clinton and Gore fundraising scandals pale in comparison. And no one here wants to touch it."...

Here is a quick look into 3 former Fannie Mae executives who have brought down Wall Street - all are connected to Obama's campaign

Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae.  Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae  when auditing discovered severe irregularities in Fannie Mae's accounting activities. At the time of his departure The Wall Street Journal noted, ' Raines, who long defended the company's accounting despite mounting evidence that it wasn't proper, issued a statement la te Tuesday conceding that 'mistakes were made' and saying he would assume responsibility as he had earlier promised. News reports indicate the company was under growing pressure from regulators to shake up its management in the wake of findings that the company's books ran afoul of generally accepted accounting principles for four years.'  Fannie Mae had to reduce its surplus by $9 billion.

Raines left with a 'golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. http://housingdoom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/ . The Government noted, 'The 101 charges reveal how the individuals improperly manipulated earnings to maximize their bonuses, while knowingly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls, misapplying over twenty accounting principles and misleading the regulator and the public. The Notice explains how they submitted six years of misleading and inaccurate accounting statements and inaccurate capital reports that enabled them to grow Fannie Mae in an unsafe and unsound manner.'  These charges were made in 2006.  The Court ordered Raines to return $50 Million Dollars he received in bonuses based on the miss-stated Fannie Mae profits.

Tim Howard -  Was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard 'was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a 'stable pattern of earnings' at Fannie. In everyday English - he was cooking the books.  The Government Investigation determined that, 'Chief Financial Officer, Tim Howard, failed to provide adequate oversight to key control and reporting functions within Fannie Mae,'

On June 16, 2006, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., asked the Justice Department to investigate his allegations that two former Fannie Mae executives lied to Congress in October 2004 when they denied manipulating the mortgage-finance giant's income statement to achieve management pay bonuses. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004.

Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million!

Jim Johnson -   A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO.   A look at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's May 2006 report on mismanagement and corruption inside Fannie Mae, and you'll see some interesting things about Johnson. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million.'   Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae. 

Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES:
Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD:
Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON:
Johnson
hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected
to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee
 

IF OBAMA PLANS ON CLEANING UP THE MESS - HIS ADVISORS HAVE THE EXPERTISE - THEY MADE THE MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE.   Would you trust the men who tore Wall Street down to build the New Wall Street ?

 

 

 

 

 

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