Tag: Barack Obama (page 13)

The latest Ipsos/McClatchy poll has Sen. Barack Obama 7 points ahead of John McCain. Why? The economy and Sarah Palin.

First, voters are ever more anxious about the faltering economy and trust Obama by a 15-point margin over McCain to steer it. Second, their confidence that McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is qualified to step into the presidency if necessary has fallen sharply.

...Palin's sunk since her debate last week with Joe Biden. Before the debate, voters thought her qualified to be president by a margin of 48 percent to 44 percent. After the debate, she was seen as qualified by 43 percent, while those saying she's not qualified rose to 51 percent.

Post Debate Polls are coming in:

• CNN: Obama 54, McCain 30.

• CBS: Obama won among undecideds, 40% to 26%.

  Forty percent of the 516 uncommitted voters surveyed identified Barack Obama as tonight's winner; 26 percent said John McCain won, while 35 percent saw the debate as a draw. (As you might have noticed, these percentages add up to 101 percent; the reason for the additional percentage point is rounding of each of the individual totals.)

  After the debate, 68 percent of uncommitted voters said that they think Obama will make the right decisions on the economy, compared to 55 percent who said that before the debate. Fewer thought McCain would do so – 48 percent after the debate, and 41 percent before.

You know Obama won when even the right-wing blog Powerline says so.

Update: The full debate transcript is here.

In addition to the "That One" video, here's:

• "Health Care Should Be A Right"

• Extended health care answer

• Obama on Speaking Softly and Pakistan

• Final answer: "Opportunity" and "Modest means"

More...

Thankfully, it's over. It was a terrible debate format, Tom Brokaw disappointed, McCain was incoherent, snivelling and condescending. Obama appeared Presidential.

You Tube above is of McCain calling Obama "That One."

What did you think?

The Nashville debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain begins at 9pm ET on CNN. Big Tent Democrat, TChris, the TL Kid and I will be live-blogging.

The live blog stays below the fold so that it can be a bit wider than the front page allows. Just click on the "There's More" button or bookmark the permalink to go directly to it.

You can comment same as always in the comment section below. You also can send us live messages through the software. Only comments you post below will appear on the site.

We'll ll be putting up some polls during it to see how you think the candidates and questioners are doing. If comments reach 200, we'll start a new thread.[More...]

Last week on the day the Dow had its astounding 770 point loss, I asked how much can you afford to lose? I mentioned:

I don't have any investments, but my mother has a modest amount that is used to pay for her nursing home care. ... Today, she lost thousands.

Friday, the bailout agreement agreement passed and things have gotten worse. Yesterday and today she lost thousands more. All in so-called "large cap" (less-risky) stocks that supposedly always come back. I hope she lives that long.

I don't know many people who can lose such huge sums in a week and keep on trucking. Here's what I think it means for the election. [More...]

The new Wall St. Journal/NBC poll has Barack Obama and Joe Biden ahead of McCain/Palin by 49% to 43%.

This is a pretty astonishing drop for McCain:

Sen. McCain's support in rural areas and small towns, where he led by 21 points after his convention, has steadily dropped and he now has just a three-point edge.

As for Palin:

Half of all voters still say she is not qualified to be president if the need were to arise; just 41% say she is.

By contrast, Sen. Biden saw his numbers shoot up, with three out of four voters saying he is qualified to take over if need be -- up 10 percentage points from two weeks ago. Even 62% percent of McCain voters think he's qualified for the top job.

More...

Just another reason not to vote for McCain/Palin:

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.....Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled. Medicare spending for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 is estimated at $457.5 billion.

The cuts are how the McCain campaign claims its proposal is budget neutral and wouldn't cost taxpayers more money: [More...]

Sen. Barack Obama is fighting back against McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin's personal attacks against him. Sunday night he released a web video to supporters, criticizing his role in the "Keating V" scandal. The difference: Obama's ads and attack are true...and related to Mcain's political record.

The short video, being e-mailed to millions of Obama supporters, summarizes a 13-minute Web "documentary" that the campaign plans to distribute Monday, spokesman Tommy Vietor said. He said McCain's involvement with convicted thrift owner Charles Keating "is a window into McCain's economic past, present and future."

Here's a little history of the Keating V and McCain from an Arizona paper. You can watch the full 13 minute version here beginning at noon ET Monday. [More...]

Sarah Palin today on the campaign trail:

Palin told a group of donors at a private airport, "Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." She also said, "This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."

The Obama campaign called Palin's remarks offensive but not surprising in light of news stories detailing the campaign's come-from-behind offensive. "What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement.

More desperation to come. The New York Times reports McCain said yesterday at a rally in Pueblo, Colorado "the gloves will come off" against Obama Tuesday night. Meaning, during the debate and in the ads to follow.

Today's Presidential Polls:

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Comedian Sarah Silverman has a new video, The Great Schlep, urging young Jewish voters to go to Florida and convince their grandparents to vote for Sen. Barack Obama. (Viewer discretion advised for profanity.)

The Great Schlep's website has these talking points contrasting Obama and Biden with McCain and Palin. Topics oovered: [More...]