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PRESIDENTIAL WATCH
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(caricatures by
Linda Eddy)
Weekend Report, Sept. 20-21, 2008
GENERAL NEWS HEADLINES with excerpts
60,000 to Florida rally|
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin told wildly cheering,
flag-waving, chanting supporters that John McCain is "the only great
man in this race" and promised Sund "He won't say this, so I'll say it for him," the Alaska governor said in an almost confidential tone at the close of her first Florida stump speech. "There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you. John McCain wore the uniform of his country for 22 years -- talk about tough." ... "Sa-Rah! Sa-Rah!" they chanted at every mention of her name, applauding loudly and waiving tiny American flags that were distributed -- along with free water bottles -- by local volunteers. The fire chief estimated the crowd at 60,000. Gov. Sarah Palin reaches out to sign a giant lipstick. |
|
Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov., Sarah Palin, right, lets her daughter, Piper, 7, say a few words during her first public rally in The Villages, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. (AP Photos/Phelan M. Ebenhack) |
UK Daily
Mail: Sarah Palin is as popular as Diana
in the hearts of the American public
In
Palin they see optimism; in Obama cynicism.
In Palin they see pride in her country;
in Obama an element of shame...
...The
liberal elite of the East and West coasts despise her,
but middle Americans seem to have fallen for Palin as
the figurehead of a new kind of politics.
...while the East Coast intellectuals may sneer at her homespun ideology and lack of experience, these are the very credentials that are attracting an increasing number of middle Americans.
... as another mom in the audience put it: 'She justifies what we do every day. She does what we do, she lives like we do. She's just as flawed as we are. There are more American parents with unwed pregnant teenage children than American parents with Harvard graduates. She's real.'
... There is a growing sense that Obama and his wife, Michelle, are secretly condescending to ordinary folk, contemptuous of their smalltown ambitions and narrow horizons. ... there's a certain smugness about them, a superiority that alienates ordinary voters...
In the midst of U.S. financial crisis,
McCain and Obama gird for Friday's debate
Barack Obama and John McCain clash on Friday in the first of three crucial one-on-one debates, which have the potential to make or wreck their rival challenges for the White House.
The foes will clash at a rare moment of national peril, with the staggering US financial system spawning a global crisis, the stock market reeling and the life savings of millions of Americans in the balance.
Tens of millions of television viewers are expected to tune into the contest, in Oxford, Mississippi at 9 pm (0100 GMT) on Friday, five weeks before election day.
see also:
Pact on debates will let McCain and Obama spar
In debates, McCain has pleased or seethed
In the battle for Ohio’s 20 electoral votes, Republican presidential nominee John McCain holds a 48 percent to 42 percent lead over Democratic opponent Barack Obama.
... The Ohio News Organization — a cooperative formed this year by the state’s eight largest daily newspapers — commissioned the poll.
see also: Florida polls show McCain, Obama nearly tied
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain together spent $94 million in August, a record spree mostly aimed at about a dozen states that will probably decide their historic presidential contest.
Their campaign finance reports, filed before Saturday's midnight deadline, show that more than half of their $3-million-a-day spending rate was devoted to advertising...
Foreign banks may get U.S. bailout, too?
We have a
global
financial system"
In a change from the original proposal sent to Capitol Hill, foreign-based banks with big U.S. operations could qualify for the Treasury Department’s mortgage bailout, according to the fine print of an administration statement Saturday night.
The theory, according to a participant in the negotiations, is that if the goal is to solve a liquidity crisis, it makes no sense to exclude banks that do a lot of lending in the United States.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson confirmed the change on ABC's "This Week," telling George Stephanopoulos that coverage of foreign-based banks is "a distinction without a difference to the American people."
Nader, Barr & Paul: I told you so
While the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama have stepped gingerly around the financial crisis and the question of government intervention, third party candidates Bob Barr and Ralph Nader have shown no such compunction.
Instead they have embraced
the market meltdown, viewing it as a rare opportunity to
highlight bold economic positions and, perhaps as
important, claim credit for sounding the early warning
alarms...
THE CANDIDATES:
John McCain & Sarah Palin... today's headlines with excerpts
Al Franken shocks staff - pens SNL skit mocking McCain
Franken,
who hasn’t been a staff writer on the show for 13 years,
“phoned in” a spoof of McCain recording campaign ads in
an edit booth, said an NBC source. Seth Meyers, the
show’s current head writer, wrote it, but the sketch was
hatched by Franken, a longtime liberal satirist and
comedian.
... Franken’s input to the show blindsided his campaign staff, who have been forced to explain away some of the more crass and profane parts of his past writing and acting that have been used as fodder against him in a state known for its polite manners...
see also:
Palin family incest joked about on NBC (Saturday Night Live)
Palin to meet Kissinger, Karzai, Uribe on Tuesday in New York
A
campaign aide said on Saturday that Palin will meet with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, in
addition to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
The meetings will take place on the fringes of the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York...
A spokesman for the McCain campaign confirmed the surprise visits tonight as well as hinted at as yet unannounced sessions between the Republican Party's surprise vice presidential pick and other foreign leaders...
McCain weekly radio address on economic crisis
MCCAIN:
Two years ago, I called for reform of this corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress did nothing. The Administration did nothing. Senator Obama did nothing, and actually profited from this system of abuse and scandal.
While Fannie and Freddie were working to keep Congress away from their house of cards, Senator Obama was taking their money. He got more, in fact, than any other member of Congress, except for the Democratic chairman of the committee that oversees them...
FBI serves search warrant against UT student in Palin e-mail case
The FBI is stepping up its investigation into the possibility that a University of Tennessee student hacked into the personal e-mail of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
A person who identified himself as a witness tells 10 News that agents with the FBI served a federal search warrant at the Fort Sanders residence of David Kernell early Sunday morning. Kernell lives in the Commons apartment complex at 1115 Highland Ave.
British minister says Palin is 'horrendous'
The
outburst from Communities Secretary Hazel Blears
threatens to undermine Prime Minister Gordon Brown's
determination for the British government to maintain a
neutral position in the US presidential election.
... "I just think there is so much anti-politics -- not just in this country but around the world," Blears said.
"One of the reasons why Sarah Palin has been such a phenomenon is because she's anti-politics, anti-Washington.
"Her politics are horrendous, but actually she's struck a chord with people -- 'I'm a maverick, I'm not part of those powerful people' -- and people identified with that."
Rep. Charlie Rangel calls Sarah Palin "disabled"
The
question was simple: Why are the Democrats so afraid of
Palin and her popularity?
The answer was astonishing.
"You got to be kind to the disabled," Rangel said.
That's right. The chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee called Palin disabled -- even when CBS 2 HD called him on it.
CBS reporter: "You got to be kind to the disabled?"
Rangel: "Yes."
CBS reporter: "She's disabled?"
Rangel: "There's no question about it politically. It's a nightmare to think that a person's foreign policy is based on their ability to look at Russia from where they live.
Republicans think Rangel's comments are insulting as well as shocking...
Barack Obama & Joe Biden... today's headlines with excerpts'
Poll:
Racial misgivings of whites an Obama issue
Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks—many calling them "lazy," "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.
The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004—about 2.5 percentage points.
see also:
Poll: White Democrats may pose problem for Obama
Race helps, hinders Obama, polls show
The discussion on race Obama didn't want
Obama in Florida, says McCain would gamble with retirement funds
Democrat Barack Obama accused Republican presidential rival John McCain on Saturday of wanting to gamble with the retirement savings and health care of Americans by subjecting them to the uncertainty of open markets.
Obama readies for first debate with McCain
Obama will leave Chicago on Tuesday to set up debate prep shop in the Tampa area, complete with a litany of advisors in tow.
Friday's debate in Mississippi focuses on foreign policy – and Greg Craig, one of Obama's top foreign policy advisors - will play the role of John McCain in mock debate situation.
David Axelrod, Obama's Senior Advisor, said that Obama started debate prep last week - mostly reading during down times on the campaign trail...
Obama heckled by African American protestors
For the second time in two months, Senator Obama was heckled by African American protestors during events in Florida.
Shortly after starting his remarks before a 7,000 person rally in Coral Gables, Friday, Obama was abruptly interrupted by a group of about 20 African American protestors.
The group of mostly men chanted and waved signs reading, "Obama endorsed by the KKK" and "Blacks against Obama."
... This wasn't the first time Obama was besieged by a racially infused protest by African Americans. At the beginning of August in St Petersburg, FL , Obama was similarly interrupted by a smaller group of protestors with signs saying, "What about the black community, Obama?"
Biden to Obama: hands off my guns!
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware sent a stern message to his boss, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois to keep his hands off Biden's guns.
As reported by ABC News and Fox News this afternoon, Biden was trying to reassure rural Virginia voters that they have nothing to fear about losing their Second Amendment rights under an Obama administration.
From ABC:"
I
guarantee you Barack Obama ain't taking my shotguns, so don't buy that
malarkey," Biden said Saturday at the United Mine Workers of America's
annual fish fry in Castlewood, Virginia. "Don't buy that malarkey.
They're going to start peddling that to you."
Biden told the crowd that he himself is a gun owner. "I got two," Biden said, "if he tries to fool with my Beretta, he's got a problem. I like that little over and under, you know? I'm not bad with it. So give me a break. Give me a break."
From Fox:
Biden has said he doesn’t hunt, but shoots skeet with the two shotguns. “I like that little over and under, you know? I’m not bad with it,” he said today
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