On the Campaign Trail:
Monday:
McCain/ Palin: New Mexico/ Florida
Obama/ Biden: North Carolina/ Delaware with no events scheduled
Tuesday:
McCain/ Palin: Tennessee/ Florida
Obama/ Biden: Tennessee/ Delaware with no events scheduled
Wednesday:
McCain/ Palin: Pennsylvania
Obama/ Biden: Indiana/ Florida
Thursday:
McCain/ Palin: Wisconsin
Obama/ Biden: Ohio/ Missouri
Friday:
McCain/ Palin: Wisconsin/ Ohio
Obama/ Biden: Ohio/ Missouri
Main Stories:
McCain Attack ad:
John McCain's campaign is released a new ad Monday taking aim at year-old comments from Barack Obama about the conflict in Afghanistan, calling them "dishonorable."
The ad comes as the Arizona senator's campaign aggressively steps up its attacks on Obama's readiness to be a commander-in-chief and raises questions about his background with only a month remain before voters weigh in.
"Who is Barack Obama? He says our troops in Afghanistan are ‘just air-raiding villages and killing civilians,’” the ad's announcer says. "How dishonorable."
The ad refers to an answer Obama gave at a August 2007 town hall meeting with New Hampshire voters, during which the Illinois senator was asked whether he had plans to shift U.S. troops out of Iraq to other terrorist hotspots like Afghanistan.
"We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there," Obama said of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
Those comments were immediately seized by GOP critics. The Republican National Committee sent out a press release shortly after the remarks calling them "offensive," and demanding he apologize. The McCain campaign has also highlighted the comments several times this campaign season. An AP Fact Check later reported Western forces had been killing civilians at a higher rate than insurgents.
"Congressional liberals voted repeatedly to cut off funding to our active troops," the ad also says. "Increasing the risk on their lives. How dangerous. Obama and congressional liberals."
The campaign says the ad will run nationally, though it did not reveal the extent of the buy.
Palin Makes Terrorist Connection to Obama:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday slammed Sen. Barack Obama's political relationship with a former anti-war radical, accusing him of associating "with terrorists who targeted their own country."
Palin's attack delivered on the McCain campaign's announcement that it would step up attacks on the Democratic presidential candidate with just a month left before the November general election.
"We see America as the greatest force for good in this world," Palin said at a fund-raising event in Colorado, adding, "Our opponent though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
Palin made similar comments later at a rally in Carson, California.
Obama's Chicago home is in the same neighborhood as Bill Ayers, a founder of the radical Weather Underground that was involved in several bombings in the early 1970s, including the Pentagon and the Capitol, and the two have met several times since Obama's 1995 campaign for an Illinois state senate seat.
Biden’s Mother In Law Died:
Joe Biden's spokesman said the Delaware senator would be canceling campaign events Monday and Tuesday in the wake of his mother-in-law's death Sunday.
"Other details will follow, but we appreciate everyone's respect for the family's privacy during this difficult time," wrote Biden spokesman David Wade.
Bonny Jacobs, Jill Biden's mother, had been sick for a long time and was living in a hospice.
Wade announced Saturday that Sunday and Monday's events were canceled after doctors told the family to stay close by. He said the family is now together at home in Wilmington.
The death comes the same day Biden's son Beau deploys with his National Guard unit to a mobilization station in Texas before a tour in Iraq.
RNC Seeks Audit on Obama Campaign Funds:
The fund-raising prowess of the Obama campaign may be put under a microscope, if the Republican National Committee has its way.
The RNC announced that it plans to file a complaint with the Federal Election Committee Monday that seeks an audit of the more than $450 million donated so far to Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
The complaint will address two issues highlighted in a recent Newsweek report about the Obama campaign’s fund-raising. First, the RNC will ask the federal agency responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws to audit and inquire into whether the Obama campaign accepted any money from foreign nationals, a contribution source prohibited under federal law.
“We believe that, based on the law, the Obama campaign has accepted contributions from foreign nationals and has knowingly done so through at least its failure to reasonably investigate where all this money is coming from,” RNC Chief Counsel Sean Cairncross told reporters Sunday.
The FEC defines foreign nationals as foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign corporations, foreign associations, foreign partnerships, individuals who are foreign citizens, and immigrants to the U.S. who do not have a “green card,” showing they are permanent residents or are lawfully admitted to the country.
Second, the RNC plans to ask for an audit of possible excessive contributions to the Democratic nominee. “The Obama campaign has a track record of accepting these,” Cairncross told reporters, referring to recent FEC requests directed at the Obama campaign to explain what appear to be multiple small donations from single donors listed in the campaign’s finance reports which violate the contribution limits when aggregated.
The Obama campaign was quick to turn the McCain camp's critical eye back onto McCain's own fund-raising. “Because of campaign finance issues, John McCain has had to return over $1.2 million to donors who potentially violated the law with their contributions," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement Sunday. "We look forward to a thorough investigation into whether John McCain’s campaign has returned all of the money it raised from foreign nationals," Burton added.
The Obama campaign also responded to the RNC's claims that it may have received some contributions prohibited by federal law. "Without accepting a dime from the Washington lobbyists or corporate PACs that have funded John McCain's campaign, our campaign has shattered fundraising records with donations from more than 2.5 million Americans. We have gone above and beyond the transparency requirements by disclosing our bundlers and the levels of contributions they raise. We constantly review our donors for any issues and while no organization is completely protected from internet fraud, we will continue to review our fundraising procedures to ensure that we are taking every available to step to root-out improper contributions,” Burton said.
Obama: McCain looking for distractions:
Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday charged that Sen. John McCain's campaign is launching "Swift boat-style attacks" on him instead of addressing the country's problems.
"Sen. McCain and his operatives are gambling that they can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance. They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up," Obama said at an event in Asheville, North Carolina.
"That's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time," he said.
The comments come a day after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, claimed that Obama associated "with terrorists who targeted our own country."
The McCain campaign shot back on Sunday, saying its accusations are "true facts," and not "smears."
"The last four weeks of this election will be about whether the American people are willing to turn our economy and national security over to Barack Obama, a man with little record, questionable judgment, and ties to radical figures like unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement.
Palin’s Schedule Shows McCain On Defensive:
The McCain campaign announced Sarah Palin is set to make a stop in North Carolina Tuesday night, two days after the Republican VP candidate stumped in Nebraska — two reliably red states that haven't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in at least three decades.
Palin's most recent travel schedule is the latest indication Barack Obama and the nation's ailing economy have put John McCain on the defensive, even in states where the prospect of a Democratic win was unthinkable only four years ago.
Palin's visit to North Carolina comes as most recent polls of the state show Obama and McCain essentially in a dead heat there. A CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation poll of North Carolina last month showed the candidates dead even, while some recent polls have even suggested a slight Democratic lead. CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation will release a new North Carolina poll Tuesday morning.
Then there’s the unknown variable of an anticipated rise in turnout in the African-American community. In 2006 that voting bloc made up 26 percent of North Carolina's electorate, with 85 percent voting for Sen. John Kerry. Obama is expected to win an even higher percentage of the black vote this cycle, with a higher expected turnout as well.
"The North Carolina of today is far more diverse than the North Carolina of twenty or even ten years ago," CNN Senior Political Researcher Alan Silverleib said. "The state’s changing economy has attracted thousands of new voters willing to pull the lever for a Democratic nominee. Second, the state’s sizable African-American voting bloc is extremely energized by Obama’s candidacy. Third, the economic downturn has made Tar Heel voters — just like voters in the rest of the country — much more receptive to the Democratic message of change."
Palin's appearance in the state comes more than five months after McCain held his last public event there, delivering a speech in early May at Wake Forest on his vision for judicial appointments. The event came the same day as Indiana and North Carolina's Democratic primaries and was largely overshadowed by the still-ongoing battle between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton.
McCain-Palin spokesman Ben Porritt said Monday the campaign remains confident the Republican ticket will carry the state.
"This is a state that Barack Obama has put millions of dollars into," he said. "This is an opportunity to speak to our supporters there and makes sure they turn out."
Porritt also declined to say whether McCain has any plans to visit North Carolina before Election Day.
Obama and McCain Release Ads Before Debate:
Hours before they face each other on stage at the second presidential debate, John McCain and Barack Obama each accused the other of deliberate deception in new attack
"Who is Barack Obama?" asks the announcer in the new 30-second McCain spot, “Hypo.” The ad includes footage from a Missouri television station that reported "Obama's presidential campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading television ad."
The reporter on that story, John Mills, has since dialed back those allegations, telling a Missouri newspaper that "in the retelling of the story, it got out of control… If they think a group has put out a misleading ad, they’re basically going to call a press conference and say the ad is misleading. I’m sure the Republicans would do the same thing."
The narrator in the McCain ad continues by citing a string of Obama ads whose claims have drawn criticism from independent fact check organizations. "How hypocritical," says the narrator. "Obama's Social Security attack was called 'a falsehood.' His health care attack … 'misleading'. Obama's stem cell attack … 'not true'. Barack Obama. He promised better. He lied."
In “Subject,” the Obama camp continues to paint McCain as dishonest and out-of-touch, using a quote from an anonymous campaign aide to the Republican nominee that appeared in Monday’s Daily News: "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose."
“He’s out of ideas. Out of touch. And running out of time. But with no plan to lift our economy up, John McCain wants to tear Barack Obama down. With smears that have been proven false,” says the narrator in the 30-second spot.
"Why? McCain’s own campaign admits that if the election is about the economy, he’s going to lose,” continues the announcer, as an image of that Daily News quote flashes on the screen.
"But as Americans lose their jobs, homes and savings, it’s time for a President who’ll change the economy. Not change the subject."
The campaigns did not reveal the extent of their ad buys. The McCain camp said that “Hypo” would be “televised nationally”; the Obama team said “Subject” would air on national cable beginning Tuesday.
Newt Gingrich: McCain Facing “Crisis of His Career”:
John McCain faces the "crisis of his career," says former House Speak Newt Gingrich, who predicted the Republican nominee will lose the election unless he makes a public break from the economic bailout proposal.
In a column posted on the Web site of the conservative Human Events Tuesday, Gingrich says it is impossible for McCain to catch up in the national or state polls unless he taps into the anger many Americans feel toward the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street investment banks.
"If Senator McCain is not prepared to separate himself from the Bush-Paulson economic program, he has no opportunity to win," Gingrich writes. "The country is deeply fed up with the Bush presidency and angry about the Paulson bailout. If McCain is confused or uncertain about how bad this economic performance is, he will never get the country to listen to him."
Gingrich is the latest prominent conservative to criticize McCain for supporting the bill, which Congress passed last week. Speaking on CNN last week, radio host Glenn Beck said the Arizona senator will lose the election over the vote: I think he lost the election — there was a moment here for somebody here to rise up as a leader," Beck said.
The latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll confirms the majority of Americans remain deeply distrustful of the massive bailout package. According to the new survey released Tuesday, close to 60 percent say the plan will not treat taxpayers fairly, and more than half think the government will only get a little bit of the money back. More than half also said they don't think the government will spend the money properly.
"Just as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (as well as the House Republicans in 1994 with the Contract with America) created a large argument which led to a decisive result, so McCain has an opportunity to reach beyond the daily attacks and clever tactics and spend the last 28 days of this campaign making a large argument over America's future," Gingrich, a primary author of the 1994 Contract with America, also said.
But it may be impossible for McCain to publicly break with the president on the plan. The GOP nominee suspended his campaign two weeks ago to ensure the economic bailout package was passed. When he cast his vote for the bill last week, McCain said it was "significantly improved" from its original version and now included "strengthened protections and oversight" for taxpayers. Though the legislation did contain billions in earmarks, something McCain said he opposed.
McCain campaign aides have since said they are aiming to turn the narrative on the campaign trail away from the country's financial woes and the unpopular economic bailout — a strategy Gingrich sharply opposes.
"If McCain is prepared to declare that it is time for a fundamental change away from the failure of Bush-Paulson and away from the leftism of Obama …then he has a huge opportunity," Gingrich writes.
McCain: To Spend or Not to Spend?
Does John McCain recommend a spending freeze to help stabilize the economy, or want the government to purchase bad mortgages from struggling homeowners? Well, according to his answers during Tuesday night’s debate, both.
Early in the debate, McCain recommended that the federal government buy up bad mortgages from landowners and replace them with lower cost, fixed-rate mortgages, which he said would help keep Americans in their homes.
“I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of the homes at the diminished value of the homes and let people make those, make the payments and stay in their homes,” McCain said. “Is it expensive? Yes.”
But later in the debate, when asked what sacrifices the American people would need to make to help revive the economy, McCain recommended a “spending freeze.” The Republican nominee said the government should cut wasteful programs and eliminate earmarks.
“We're going to have to tell the American people that spending is going to have to be cut in America,” McCain said. “And I recommend a spending freeze that except for defense, veterans affairs and some other vital programs, we'll just have to have an across the board freeze.”
Palin Takes Questions From Reporters:
Shortly before John McCain and Barack Obama took the stage for the second presidential debate, Governor Palin ventured back behind the curtain that separates her from those who cover her every public move, accompanied by senior aides (and a campaign photographer, who chronicled the historic summit between the Republican vice presidential nominee and the reporters who trail her.)
Palin shook hands and chatted with journalists in the press section of her campaign plane. After a few minutes of niceties, it turned into an unscheduled press conference.
A few highlights from the rare question-and-answer session, which included comments on William Ayers, her husband’s decision to testify in the Alaska trooper investigation – and what she thinks of Tina Fey's Palin impression on Saturday Night Live.
Indictment Handed Down in Palin E-Mail Hacking Case:
A federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, has indicted the son of a Democratic state legislator for allegedly hacking into a personal e-mail account belonging to Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
David Kernell, 20, son of Memphis Democrat Mike Kernell, has turned himself into federal authorities for arrest and will be arraigned Wednesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley, the Department of Justice said.
Kernell was indicted on Tuesday by the grand jury on a single count of "intentionally accessing without authorization" the e-mail account of the Alaskan governor, the DOJ said. The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday.
Some of the contents of Palin's e-mail account were displayed briefly last month on the Internet. Although the displayed messages did not contain significant political disclosures, the McCain-Palin campaign issued a statement calling the incident "a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law."
McCain Mortgage Plan Shifts Costs to Taxpayers:
Under a mortgage rescue plan announced at the debate Tuesday night by Senator John McCain, much of the burden of paying to keep troubled borrowers in their homes will shift to taxpayers.
McCain's original plan called for lenders to write down the value of these mortgages, and take those losses. McCain unveiled the new $300 billion plan in response to the first question of the debate.
He said, "I would order the Secretary of Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes, at the diminished values of those homes, and let people make those - be able to make those payments and stay in their homes."
New York Times: McCain Campaign ‘Appalling’:
The New York Times issued a renewed scolding of John McCain in a sharply-worded editorial Wednesday morning, the latest salvo in the ongoing back-and-forth between the paper of record and the Arizona senator's White House bid.
"Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember," the Tuesday editorial said. "They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent’s record — into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. Senator Barack Obama has taken some cheap shots at Mr. McCain, but there is no comparison."
Those comments come two weeks after senior McCain advisors derided the New York Times, calling the news outlet "an Obama advocacy organization" in response to an article in the paper that reported McCain campaign manager Rick Davis was still profiting from failed mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
The Times, McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said then, “obscures its true intentions — to undermine the candidacy of John McCain and boost the candidacy of Barack Obama — under the cloak of objective journalism.”
Top McCain a
Cindy McCain: On the Attack:
Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, appears to have sharpened her attacks against Barack Obama on the campaign trail in the final stretch of the race for the White House.
One day after she told a Tennessee newspaper Obama is running the "dirtiest campaign in American history," Mrs. McCain criticized the Illinois senator for voting against a bill to fund troops in Iraq, a regular line of attack from her husband’s campaign.
“The day that Senator Obama cast a vote not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body, let me tell you,” she told a Pennsylvania crowd before introducing her husband and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin.
“I would suggest Senator Obama change shoes with me for just one day. I suggest he take a day and go watch our men and women deploying," she also said, to boisterous cheers from the campaign.
The vote Mrs. McCain is referencing came in May of 2007, when Obama was one of 14 senators who voted against a war-spending plan that would have provided emergency funds for American troops overseas.
National Rifle Association To Endorse McCain/Palin:
The National Rifle Association said Thursday it plans to endorse Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, citing Sen. Barack Obama's "anti-gun record."
"We will encourage gun owners, hunters and anyone who values freedom to vote McCain-Palin on November 4," Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's Executive Vice President, said in the statement.
Obama has been on poor terms with gun rights advocates, especially since his controversial remarks about rural residents of Pennsylvania were disclosed before the Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Obama lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton in that race despite investing substantial time campaigning in the battleground state.
The U.S. Supreme Court held for the first time in June of this year that the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects an individual right to own and carry a gun.
Obama Attack Ad:
Barack Obama's campaign is launching a new television ad that takes aim at John McCain's recently announced proposal to have the treasury buy Americans' bad mortgages.
"McCain would shift the burden from lenders to taxpayers, guaranteeing a loss of taxpayer money," the ad's narrator says.
"Who wins? The same lenders that caused the crisis in the first place."
Putting bad actors ahead of taxpayers? We can’t afford more of the same," the narrator also says.
McCain's original plan called for lenders to write down the value of the bad mortgages and take those losses. But the Republican presidential candidate unveiled a new $300 billion plan in response to the first question of Tuesday's presidential debate.
He said, "I would order the Secretary of Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes, at the diminished values of those homes, and let people make those - be able to make those payments and stay in their homes."
The government would convert failing mortgages into low-interest, FHA-insured loans.
See the ad here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/10/09/vo.ad.tested.obama.cnn
Obama Purchasing 30 Min. of Network Air Time:
Barack Obama is buying 30 minutes of airtime on the major television networks just days before the presidential election, the Obama campaign confirms.
Sources with the Obama campaign say half hour blocks have been purchased on Wednesday, October 29 on CBS and NBC. The campaign is also in negotiations with Fox, though that day will conflict with the World Series if there is a game 6.
The buy was first reported by the Hollywood reporter earlier Thursday.
Evan Tracey of Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN's consultant on ad spending, said it was unclear how much the blocs of air would cost, but noted 30 seconds alone in primetime usually runs between $80,000 and $125,000.
"This is a big platform, this is a big megaphone, the interest level is clearly there and people will watch," Tracey said.
Alaska Supreme Court Will Not Stop Palin Probe:
An investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner can proceed, Alaska's Supreme Court ruled Thursday, clearing the way for a Friday report to the state Legislature on the issue.
The justices rejected an effort to halt the probe by the Republican vice presidential nominee's allies in the Legislature, who called the investigation an attempt by partisan Democrats to sabotage the GOP ticket.
The justices unanimously upheld an Anchorage judge's ruling last week that dismissed the Republican lawsuit and upheld subpoenas for top Palin allies.
Palin Ethics Report Kept Secret:
Sworn to secrecy, Alaska lawmakers have begun reviewing a lengthy and politically sensitive investigative report focusing on whether Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her authority as governor.
The first-term Alaska governor has been accused of firing a state commissioner to settle a family dispute. But the report is also expected to touch on whether Palin's husband meddled in state affairs and whether her administration inappropriately accessed employee medical records.
The inquiry, approved by a legislative committee's bipartisan vote, began before Republican presidential nominee John McCain named Palin his running mate. Since then, the case has been dogged by accusations of political influence.
At their meeting Friday, lawmakers planned to vote to release the estimated 300-page report and some of the 1,000 or more pages of supporting documents. The 14-member legislative panel could recommend that the case be closed, that another committee continue to investigate, or that the matter be referred to criminal investigators.
In an effort to head off the report, McCain campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin released the campaign's own version of events. That report, which Griffin said was written by campaign staffers, says the Legislature has taken a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and one of her commissioners, and portrayed it as something inappropriate.
"The following document will prove Walt Monegan's dismissal was a result of his insubordination and budgetary clashes with Governor Palin and her administration," campaign officials wrote. "Trooper Wooten is a separate issue."
Biden Responds to Palin:
Joe Biden Thursday night told Sarah Palin not to lecture him on patriotism, after weeks of attacks mocking him for his statement the wealthy should be patriotic and pay higher taxes because not enough has been asked of them.
"Sarah Palin had great fun saying Joe Biden thinks paying taxes is patriotic. Well, let me tell you what Joe Biden thinks," the Delaware senator said at an outdoor rally. "Joe Biden thinks that anybody who takes millions of dollars offshore to avoid paying their fair share is unpatriotic."
The Obama-Biden campaign has accused John McCain of saying publicly he would close offshore banking loopholes, but saying otherwise in private.
"That is not patriotic and it will stop, it will stop in an Obama-Biden administration! Enough! I've had it up to here! Don't lecture me on patriotism," shouted Biden, getting drowned out by the applause of his supporters. "I'm dead tired of being taken advantage of. I'm getting tired of it."
Republican Backlash on McCain:
John McCain is facing a fresh round of anger from members of his own party deeply opposed to the Arizona senator's proposal for the federal government to purchase troubled mortgage loans.
The pointed backlash from several economic conservatives -- many of whom already distrust McCain's commitment to free-market principles -- couldn't come at a worse time for the Republican presidential nominee less than four weeks before Election Day as he stares at a significant deficit in national and state polls.
But at a time when McCain can't afford to worry about a lack of support from his party's base, several conservatives are openly criticizing the plan as a flagrant reward for reckless behavior among lenders.
In a sharply worded editorial on its Web site Thursday, the editors of The National Review -- an influential bastion of conservative thought -- derided the plan as "creating a level of moral hazard that is unacceptable" and called it a "gift to lenders who abandoned any sense of prudence during the boom years."
Prominent conservative blogger Michelle Malkin went one step further, calling the plan "rotten" and declaring on her blog, "We're Screwed '08."
More Attacks on McCain Health Care Plan:
With less than a month before Americans head to the polls, the liberal group Health Care for America Now released a series of ads Wednesday taking aim at Sen. John McCain and seven of his fellow Republican Congressional candidate’s health care plans.
“Under John McCain’s health care plan, 20 million people could lose insurance at work,” a woman who is battling cancer says. “He wants me to fight cancer and the insurance companies? Fine. I’ll take you both on.”
The group said it will spend $4.3 million on the 30-second TV and radio ads targeting McCain and seven congressional Republicans. The members of Congress will be personally targeted in their individual districts; ads attacking McCain will air in the crucial battleground state of Ohio.
Anger Is Crowd’s Overarching Emotion at McCain Rally:
There were shouts of "Nobama" and "Socialist" at the mention of the Democratic presidential nominee. There were boos, middle fingers turned up and thumbs turned down as a media caravan moved through the crowd Thursday for a midday town hall gathering featuring John McCain and Sarah Palin.
"It is absolutely vital that you take it to Obama, that you hit him where it hits, there's a soft spot," said James T. Harris, a local radio talk show host, who urged the Republican nominee to use Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and others against him.
"We have the good Reverend Wright. We have [the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger. We have all of these shady characters that have surrounded him," Harris bellowed. "We have corruption here in Wisconsin and voting across the nation. I am begging you, sir. I am begging you. Take it to him."
Debate Coverage:
CNN Poll: Obama Won
A national poll of debate watchers suggests that Barack Obama won the second presidential debate.
Fifty-four percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey conducted after the debate ended said that Obama did the best job in the debate, with 30 percent saying John McCain performed better.
A majority, 54 percent, said Obama seemed to be the stronger leader during the debate, to 43 percent for McCain. By a greater than two to one margin — 65 percent to 28 percent — viewers thought Obama was more likeable during the debate.
"Obama had made some gains on the leadership issue even before the debate," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "McCain's advantage on leadership shrunk from 19 points in September to just five points this weekend. If Obama can use this debate to convince Americans that he is a stronger leader than McCain, he may be difficult to defeat."
A majority of debate watchers polled thought Obama was more intelligent, by a 57 percent to 25 percent margin over McCain. Twice as many debate watchers also thought Obama more clearly expressed than McCain, with 60 percent giving the nod to the Democratic nominee and 30 percent to his GOP opponent.
New York Times:
Senators John McCain and Barack Obama debated for 90 minutes on Tuesday night before a nation in economic crisis, each promising anxious Americans that he had the better plan and vision to lead the country through what both men said was the most dire financial situation since the Great Depression. The gravity of the moment and the somber setting — a town-hall-style meeting in front of 80 selected voters who, when not asking questions, watched in silence, not applauding or laughing — produced an often stifled encounter, largely absent of dramatic confrontations or the personal exchanges that dominated the campaign over the past several days. There was no indication that the debate did anything to change the course of a campaign that appeared to be moving in Mr. Obama’s direction.
Mr. McCain chose not to use the evening — the second of three scheduled debates — to attack Mr. Obama’s background or character. But in a moment that caught the attention of people in both parties, he appeared agitated in criticizing Mr. Obama for a Senate vote he cast, referring to his opponent only as “that one.”
Mr. Obama placed the blame for the financial crisis on deregulation and the lack of fiscal discipline under President Bush, whom he repeatedly linked to Mr. McCain. Mr. McCain, at every opportunity, presented his opponent as an advocate of spending and higher taxes, while presenting himself as pragmatic, willing to reach across the aisle and sometimes at odds with Mr. Bush.
Mr. McCain sought to break through by highlighting a proposal under which the Treasury Department would buy up mortgages that had gone bad, and in effect refinance them at prices homeowners could afford.
Arriving in Nashville for the debate, Mr. McCain was under pressure to alter the dynamic of the race, with polls giving Mr. Obama an advantage nationally and in most battleground states and just four weeks left until Election Day. There were no obvious dramatic breakthrough moments by Mr. McCain; indeed, although the two men pummeled back and forth, it was Mr. Obama who more consistently drew sharp contrasts between the voting records and campaign promises of the two.
Mr. McCain kept his distance from the types of attacks on Mr. Obama’s background and character begun in recent days by his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. Not only did he not mention Bill Ayers, the 1960s radical that the McCain campaign — and Ms. Palin in particular — has sought to link to Mr. Obama, he did not mention Ms. Palin once.
Instead, standing in what he has long described as his favorite campaign setting – a town hall meeting, though one set up under extraordinary strict restrictions that limited any interaction between candidates and voter — he seemed more the McCain of an earlier campaign, repeatedly presenting himself as the agent who could end partisan division in Washington. Again and again, he criticized Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, invoking the names of such Democratic senators as Edward M. Kennedy and Russ Feingold, as well as his friend Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, who ran for vice president as a Democrat in 2000 but this year, as an independent, has endorsed Mr. McCain.
“I have a clear record of bipartisanship,” he said “The situation today cries out for bipartisanship. Senator Obama has never taken on his leaders of his party on a single issue. And we need to reform.”
Washington post:
Winner: That One
After their second debate, both Barack Obama and John McCain shook hands with the Nashville audience of 80 uncommitted voters. Both were well-received. But Obama stayed longer, and with McCain out of the room, the affection from the swing voters increased. He was mobbed, patted, beamed at, embraced. One woman wiggled up next to him. At one point, about 15 voters posed for a group picture like it was the last day of camp. The "Nashville '08 Debate" T-shirts are in the mail.
These uncommitted voters wanted to be next to Barack Obama, and the adulation from the audience helps explain why he won the debate. In the post-debate polls on CNN and CBS, he was the clear winner, and he also won Fox's focus group.
Obama's likeability is good for him and bad for McCain, of course, but it also undercuts McCain's credibility. It exposes the picture McCain has been painting of Obama in the last few days as a caricature. Since McCain's slide in the polls, he has started personal attacks questioning Obama's character and values. "Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain asks on the stump and in his ads. Sarah Palin says Obama isn't from "regular" America. He's out of the mainstream, aides regularly say.
That cartoon version of Obama didn't show up for the 90-minute debate Tuesday. If it had, those audience members would have been waving garlic as they fled from the room rather than sticking around so they could tell their neighbors about it.
Instead, what they saw was a Democrat saying, "We will kill Bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida." He said he thought America was a force for good. Obama also got to repeat those elements of his biography—his mother's death from cancer and his modest upbringing—that contradict the image of him as a spooky alien.
McCain, meanwhile, did not take Sarah Palin's advice. He did not attack. He pressed Obama repeatedly on issues, but he didn't attack Obama's character. (Don't worry, he will again tomorrow.) McCain stressed that he had a record people could check, while Obama offered nothing but rhetoric. That's fine as far as it goes, but McCain needs more.
McCain is in a tough spot. He's behind. Obama has the momentum, and McCain needs to take it away. He didn't necessarily do poorly—and he did much better on foreign policy than on domestic matters. But McCain needed to change the dynamic. You could see him trying. He pressed Obama on his opposition to the surge, the penalty Obama would impose on those who didn't sign up for a health-care plan, even that he was speaking too long. But this was all small stuff. A town-hall debate is a hard place to change the dynamic, and yet there are few opportunities in the remaining 27 days where he has such a big chance.
Polls Lean in Obama’s Favor
Many of the political pundits have been saying for the past week that the Presidential Election is now Barack Obama’s to lose. The reason why a majority of those that are closely following this campaign are able to say that is because of the POLLS.
Here’s a break down of the key states that Senator Obama has gained a lead over Senator McCain during the past weeks. We’ll take you through all of the major battleground states to show you what the polls are showing now, vs. two weeks ago vs. one month ago. These polls are taken from averages at www.realclearpolitics.com. As you’re reading, keep in mind that the margin of error is generally 2-4 points.
Once you’ve checked out all of the polls numbers, try creating your own electoral map to see which candidate is going to get the 270 Electoral Votes needed to win the election. There is an interactive one here: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=1
National Average:
Today: Obama leads by 6.2
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 5.8
One month ago: Obama and McCain TIED.
Two months ago: Obama up by 3.2
Ohio (20 electoral votes):
Today: Obama leads by 3.1
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 2.0
One month ago: McCain up by 1.9
Two months ago: McCain up by 1.5
Pennsylvania (21 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 13.8
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 7.9
One month ago: Obama up by only 1.6
Two months ago: Obama up by 6.8
Michigan (17 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 8.2
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 7.0
One month ago: Obama up by 2.0
Two months ago: Obama up by 3.2
Note: The McCain campaign has now pulled much of their resources out of Mich.
Wisconsin (10 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 8.8
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 5.0
One month ago: Obama up by 2.7
Two months ago: Obama up by 7.2
New Hampshire (4 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 10.4
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 5.6
One month ago: Obama up by 3.3
Two months ago: Obama up by 1.4
Virginia (13 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 5.1
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 2.4
One month ago: McCain up by 1.4
Two months ago: McCain up by 0.6
Florida (27 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 3.1
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 3.0
One month ago: McCain up by 5.0
Two months ago: McCain up by 1.8
Missouri (11 EV):
Today: McCain leads by 0.4
Two weeks ago: McCain up by 1.7
One month ago: McCain up by 6.6
Two months ago: McCain up by 2.3
Colorado (9 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 4.0
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 4.4
One month ago: Obama up by 0.6
Two months ago: McCain up by 0.5
New Mexico (5 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 7.3
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 7.8
One month ago: Obama up by 3.8
Almost two months ago: Obama up by 1.0
Nevada (5 EV):
Today: Obama leads by 3.0
Two weeks ago: Obama up by 1.8
One month ago: McCain up by 1.0
Two months ago: Obama and McCain were TIED
Fact Checks:
McCains Proposed Health Care Tax Credit:
The Statement: At a campaign stop Saturday, Oct. 4, in Newport News, Virginia, Sen. Barack Obama discussed Sen. John McCain's health care plan. He argued that many people would lose their employer-provided health insurance, and would be left trying to buy health insurance plans for their families with the $5,000 tax credit the McCain plan offers. Obama said, "What Senator McCain doesn't tell you is that the average cost of a family health care plan these days is more than twice that much — $12,680. So where would that leave you? Broke."
The Facts: The figure Obama provided, $12,680, comes from a study published last month in the journal Health Affairs. That study found that "average annual premiums in 2008 are $4,704 for single coverage and $12,680 for family coverage."
That same study also reported the average cost workers pay for employer-provided health care coverage is $721 for singles and $3,354 for family coverage. The rest is covered by the employer. Those figures back up a conclusion from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center — that McCain's health plan, offering a tax credit of $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per family, initially would be a net tax cut for many. As the CNN Truth Squad has previously reported, the center calls McCain's health care plan a tax cut for virtually all Americans through 2013 and for the middle-class through 2018, which is as far as the center has projected. But the center says long-term, some of those benefits might erode if the tax credit did not keep up with costs of health care.
Obama, at his campaign stop, cited studies that suggest millions of Americans may lose their employer-provided health insurance under McCain's health plan. A study published in Health Affairs in September did estimate that 20 million people may lose employer-based coverage and take on other insurance coverage, and that plans would likely be "less generous." However, McCain says his plan would give people more options, increase competition, and lower costs.
It's impossible to say definitively whether millions of people would lose their health insurance under McCain's plan. And, how much it takes to leave someone "broke" depends on the family.
The Verdict: True. In the narrow set of circumstances Obama lays out, workers who lose employer-sponsored health insurance would need to spend "more than twice" the amount of McCain's tax credit in order to maintain the same plan they have today.
Does Obama Pal Around with Terrorists?
The Statement: Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin said Saturday, October 4, that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is "someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
The Facts: In making the charge at a fund-raising event in Englewood, Colorado, and a rally in Carson, California, Palin was referring at least in part to William Ayers, a 1960s radical. In both appearances, Palin cited a front-page article in Saturday's New York Times detailing the working relationship between Obama and Ayers.
In the 1960s, Ayers was a founding member of the radical Weather Underground group that carried out a string of bombings of federal buildings, including the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol, in protest against the Vietnam War. The now-defunct group was labeled a "domestic terrorist group" by the FBI, and Ayers and his wife, Bernadine Dohrn — also a Weather Underground member — spent 10 years as fugitives in the 1970s. Federal charges against them were dropped due to FBI misconduct in gathering evidence against them, and they resurfaced in 1980. Both Ayers and Dohrn ultimately became university professors in Chicago, with Ayers, 63, now an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Obama's Chicago home is in the same neighborhood where Ayers and Dohrn live. Beginning in 1995, Ayers and Obama worked with the non-profit Chicago Annenberg Challenge on a huge school improvement project. The Annenberg Challenge was for cities to compete for $50 million grants to improve public education. Ayers fought to bring the grant to Chicago, and Obama was recruited onto the board. Also from 1999 through 2001 both were board members on the Woods Fund, a charitable foundation that gave money to various causes, including the Trinity United Church that Obama attended and Northwestern University Law Schools' Children and Family Justice Center, where Dohrn worked.
CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which the two men were involved.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN that after meeting Obama through the Annenberg project, Ayers hosted a campaign event for him that same year when then-Illinois state Sen. Alice Palmer, who planned to run for Congress, introduced the young community organizer as her chosen successor. LaBolt also said the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Obama came to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and last met more than a year ago when they encountered each other on the street in their Hyde Park neighborhood.
The extent of Obama's relationship with Ayers came up during the Democratic presidential primaries earlier this year, and Obama explained it by saying, "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood … the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago — when I was 8 years old — somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense."
The McCain campaign did not respond Saturday to a request for elaboration on Palin's use of the plural "terrorists."
Verdict: False. There is no indication that Ayers and Obama are now "palling around," or that they have had an ongoing relationship in the past three years. Also, there is nothing to suggest that Ayers is now involved in terrorist activity or that other Obama associates are.
Does McCain Support Tax-Havens for Corporations?
The Statement: In a campaign speech Friday, September 3 in Abington, Pennsylvania, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama said Republican Sen. John McCain supports helping businesses avoid paying taxes. "My opponent supports tax havens that let companies avoid paying taxes here in America — tax havens that cost $100 billion every year. (W)hat will work is shutting down those tax havens and closing corporate loopholes."
The Facts: During an August 2007 trip to Bermuda, McCain told the Royal Gazette newspaper, that country's sole daily, that he was against legislation in Congress designed to clamp down on U.S. businesses that establish offices overseas in so-called "tax havens". "The industry … that's had such phenomenal success, has been good for both nations — I would oppose any measures that would upset that," the paper quoted him as saying.
But in the past, McCain had spoken out against such practices. "More and more U.S. companies are using this highly profitable accounting scheme that allows a company to move its legal residence to offshore tax havens such as Bermuda, where there is no corporate income tax, and shield its profits from taxes," he said during a 2002 Senate debate. "I applaud efforts to discourage this practice."
On the campaign trail, McCain has called for lowering the corporate tax rate to encourage companies to keep their offices in the United States. "If you're a business person, and you can locate any place in the world, then, obviously, if you go to the country where it's 11 percent tax versus 35 percent, you're going to be able to create jobs, increase your business, make more investment," he said during the September 26 presidential debate. "I want to cut that business tax. I want to cut it so that businesses will remain in the United States of America and create jobs."
A report released in July by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said that some overseas banks help hide tax evasion "and add to the offshore abuses that cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $100 billion dollars each year." Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat, and ranking minority member Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, condemned the practice in a written statement.
The Verdict: True, but incomplete. McCain did say he opposed cracking down on the "havens" and the $100 billion figure Obama cited is true, according to a Senate report. But McCain had spoken out against the offshore banking practice in the past and he advocates cutting tax rates in the United States to make moving offshore less attractive.
Obama’s Health Care Plan:
The Statement: In the vice-presidential debate on Thursday, October 2, in St. Louis, Republican nominee Gov. Sarah Palin said Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama proposes "to mandate health care coverage and have (a) universal, government-run program. And unless you're pleased with the way the federal government has been running anything lately, I don't think that it's going to be real pleasing for Americans to consider health care being taken over by the feds."
The Facts: Obama's health care plan, as described on his campaign Web site, does include a government mandate that all children be covered by health insurance. Beyond that, while the plan is "universal" in the sense that it aims to make health care coverage available to every American, it is not "universal" in the sense that a government mandate would require coverage for every adult. On Saturday, October 4 at a rally in Newport News, Virginia, Obama said his goal is to provide "affordable, accessible health care for every single American."
The Obama plan would increase the federal government's role in health care by requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing or chronic conditions and requiring all employers other than very small businesses to offer coverage to their employees or pay part of the costs to cover them. But it would also include existing private insurance options, would use existing providers and plans and would allow people to choose their own doctors and methods of insurance. According to Obama's Web site, people who are pleased with their current health care coverage and happy with their current doctor will not have to change anything. Employers that cannot afford health care for their employees would be eligible for subsidies.
The plan does propose creating a National Health Insurance Exchange. While it is not clear exactly how the exchange would operate and who would oversee it, according to Obama's Web site people could use the exchange to choose a private plan or a new public plan similar to that offered to federal employees and members of Congress.
The Verdict: Mostly False. Obama's plan would increase government's role in health care, and mandate coverage for children, but would include existing health care systems and not mandate universal coverage. There is no evidence in the plan to support Palin's claim that health care would be "taken over by the feds."
McCain’s Plan Gives 200 Million No Relief?
The Statement:
At a campaign stop Friday, October 3, in Abington, Pennsylvania, Sen. Barack Obama argued his opponent, Sen. John McCain, is "out of touch." Obama asked, "How else could he come up with an economic plan that leaves out more than 100 million middle-class taxpayers from any relief whatsoever?"
The Facts:
CNN/Money reported last month that the Obama campaign "says it bases that number on McCain's proposal to increase the exemption tax filers take for dependents, and adds that it is the 'only middle-class tax cut' the Republican nominee has offered."
The CNN Truth Squad has previously reported that the Tax Policy Center — the nonpartisan agency whose figures the Obama campaign regularly cites — says some members of the middle class would also benefit from other parts of McCain's tax plan.
Obama's assertion also ignores McCain's health-care plan altogether, which is part of his tax plan. As the CNN Truth Squad has reported, the Tax Policy Center says virtually all Americans would come out ahead initially under McCain's health plan, and the middle class would benefit through 2018, which is far ahead as the center projected.
Len Burman, the center's director, told CNN Friday, if you include McCain's health plan, Obama's assertion is "patently untrue." And Burman said that while "something like 100 million people are not affected by the McCain individual income tax cuts," millions would benefit from the corporate tax cuts McCain proposes — "anyone who owns stock, and that includes retirees with modest pensions and 401(k)s."
In his remarks, Obama referred to McCain's "economic plan" — not solely to his plan for individual income taxes.
In Thursday night's debate, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, was even more off the mark, saying that under McCain's tax proposal, "100 million families, middle-class families, households to be precise, they got not a single change, they got not a single break in taxes." One hundred million "families" or "households" would include the vast majority of the U.S. population.
Verdict:
False. The Obama campaign bases its assertion on just one part of McCain's economic plan, while ignoring the tax consequences of the rest of the McCain plan.
Potential Impact of McCain’s Health Care Plan:
The Statement: During a campaign speech Wednesday, October 8, in Indianapolis, Indiana, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama criticized Republican opponent Sen. John McCain's health care plan. "Senator McCain didn't tell us about the studies that say his plan would cause 20 million Americans to lose their health insurance from their employer," Obama said.
The Facts: Obama is referring to one of the key elements of McCain's health care plan. McCain says his plan would eliminate the existing tax exemption for insurance premiums that are paid through employers. But in a major shift in how most Americans are covered, he would replace it with a health-insurance tax credit of $2,500 for individuals or $5,000 for families. The idea is that this money would allow workers to seek out and buy their own insurance.
"Eliminating the tax exclusion would greatly reduce the number of people who obtain health insurance through their employers," according to an analysis of McCain's plan by four professors from Columbia University, Harvard, Purdue and the University of Michigan, published on the Web site of the policy journal "Health Affairs." The analysis predicts "many employers would be quick to drop health benefits" because of such a change. It estimates that about 20 million people would lose their health coverage at work under the plan. But it says roughly that same number would enroll in "nongroup" coverage.
The McCain campaign says that "families will be able to choose the insurance provider that suits them best and the money would be sent directly to the insurance provider." The "Health Affairs" study says people likely would be able to find some nongroup coverage for less than they pay through their employers, but that this often would be because those plans offer less
coverage.
The Verdict: True, but incomplete. While the number of people analysts predict would lose coverage through their jobs is in line with the number Obama uses, most of those workers would not become uninsured under McCain's plan — they'd just get their health insurance in a different way.
Did McCain Say Iraq War Would Be Easy?
The Statement
Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said at the Oct. 7 presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee, that when Republican opponent Sen. John McCain "was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators."
The Facts
McCain repeatedly made comments like the ones Obama describes during the run-up to the March 20, 2003, invasion and in the days after.
On CNN's Larry King Live on Sept. 24, 2002, McCain said "I believe the success will be fairly easy." He said on CNN's Late Edition on Sept. 29, 2002 that "I believe that we can win an overwhelming victory in a very short period of time." He made the comments more than two weeks before the Senate voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refused to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions.
McCain also said, on MSNBC's Hardball on March 24, 2003, that "there's no doubt in my mind that once these people (the Saddam Hussein regime) are gone that we will be welcomed as liberators."
The Verdict: True.
Has Obama Never ‘Taken On” Democratic Leaders?
The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain said at the Oct. 7 presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee, that Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama has "never taken on his leaders of his party on a single issue."
The Facts
Congressional Quarterly examined Obama's votes in the Senate. According to the analysis, Obama has voted with the Democratic Party 96 percent of the time during his tenure in the Senate.
CQ — a non-partisan and highly respected journal of congressional affairs — says McCain has voted in line with the Republican Party 86 percent of the time. McCain's total number of votes is much larger, since he has been in the Senate since 1986, while Obama is in his first term.
CQ also looked at what it deemed to be "key" votes. That analysis found Obama voted with his party on 29 out of 30 votes, which came out to 97 percent of the time. For McCain, CQ said there have been 335 "key" votes over the years, and that he voted with his party on 266 of them — 79 percent of the time.
However, the journal noted instances when Obama voted outside the party. In 2005, Obama was one of only 18 Democrats to vote in favor of a business-backed bill to limit class action lawsuits by forcing the most-expensive into federal court. The majority of Democrats voted against the bill, which was opposed by consumer groups and the trial lawyers lobby.
The journal also noted that Obama sided with Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, who wanted greater disclosure of earmarks in an ethics bill, by voting against an attempt by Obama's home-state mentor, Democratic Whip Richard J. Durbin, to kill DeMint's disclosure amendment.
And, Obama has criticized leading Democrats, including former presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, for voting to authorize the Iraq war in 2002. However, many of those comments were made in the context of the Democratic primary campaign and that vote was prior to his time in the Senate.
Verdict: False. While McCain is correct that Obama has supported the Democratic leadership almost all of the time, to say he's never differed with them is not true.
