Great job getting your first post up and starting our online discussion. Now read through your classmates' responses. Pick one classmate to respond to. Explain why you agree or disagree with their assessment of McCain or Obama's campaign. When you refer to information you have read please cite your work.
Please post your response here so we can keep the original posts and the response posts separate and more manageable.
Take care and good luck! M. Aby
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29 comments:
Although I agree with the overall arguments Emily presents in her post, I feel she makes a few statements without sufficient evidence behind them.
She says that McCain’s decision to select Sarah Palin as his running mate was a very good one. I feel that the addition of Palin to the campaign was motivated by reasons other than her experience in national politics and that after the country begins to see beyond her physical appearance, hockey mom jokes, and anti-abortion/pro-gun stance this will become more evident (1). Palin is currently serving as a major media attention-grabber, distracting focus from Obama’s campaign and because of this, raising Republican support rates (2). But if or after the media frenzy fades, McCain’s numbers will probably drop again. I think Palin’s façade has already begun to fade. Some of her weak answers during the Charlie Gibson interview revealed her insufficient knowledge of international policy (2). She has only been a governor for two years and has no national experience (4). I feel Sarah Palin’s addition to the campaign was more of a publicity stunt than an attempt to select the most qualified candidate (5). Her success will be ultimately decided by American’s answer to the question: Would we want Sarah Palin as our President?
Emily also says that she feels Obama’s main campaign focus should be earning the vote of the older voters. I disagree with this statement as well. The focuses of Obama’s campaign should be uniting the Democratic party and re-earning some of the women’s support. These issues go hand in hand, because of the Hillary-or-bust mentality the Clinton campaign began to cultivate within its supporters. Obama should needs to make sure the Hillary supporters understand that voting based on platform should trump voting for based on their gender. Hillary Clinton needs to make up for her late pledge of support to Obama and rally her constituents for his campaign. Obama should also focus on revealing Palin’s lack of substance. The Republicans have already started to lose credibility after their recent ads accusing Democrats of belittling Palin were found to be a distortion of words (3).
(1) http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm
(2) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26676452/
(3) http://www.newsweek.com/id/158464
(4) http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1837523_1837531_1837528,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom
(5) http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837514,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-bottom
Lauren, you say you disagree with me that McCain’s choice for a running mate was a good one. Well Lauren, as you pointed out, she may lack leadership potential, but her pro-life, pro-second amendment views and good looks have captured the votes of many Americans at the polls. You say that all Americans have to do is see through the hype surrounding this woman whose “ physical appearance, hockey mom jokes, and anti-abortion/pro-gun stance” have garnered the votes of thousands, and all that will be left is a two-year governor with little leadership experience. While this is probably true, you have to remember that most of America is not like you, Lauren the wise, they don’t research the issues, they don’t know much about this election, and they certainly don’t take the time to look past the media hype. When they look at Sarah Palin, they see the surface of the woman that the media presents them; a down-to-earth mother and wife who has a mentally handicapped baby, a pregnant teenage daughter, and has fought tooth and nail for the issues she believes are important. There are so many Americans who feel they can identify with her in one way or another, that they won’t bother to consider the real issues. As long as the people running the advertising side of McCain’s campaign do their jobs, the “media frenzy” won’t die down, and McCain and Palin will have won themselves a seat in the White House, and in the election, winning is all that really matters.
While I too agree with most of your response Lauren, I have to ask, how does Obama plan to reduce gas prices as you claim in your post? According to his website, one of his plans is by getting a million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 (1). These goals are too optimistic and lofty. With the economy in decline and prices for everything on the rise, American’s can’t be expected to buy a new car, especially one that is expected to cost 10-20% more than a regular hybrid (4). (A regular 2008 hybrid will run upwards from 22,000 dollars, according to sources 3, 5, and 6 below). This solution of Obama's to lower gas prices is completely impractical, and if the American population can see past the "lower gas prices" headline too see how Obama plans to acheive that goal, they will realize that his methods are not going to work.
*For the first paragraph I used the second source below, as well as what I've heard in the news
1) www.barackobama.com
2)http://www.johnmccain.com/about/ governorpalin.htm
3) http://www.toyota.com/
4)http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ hybrid_sbs.shtml
5)http://www.gm.com/vehicles/res ults.jsp?bodyStyle=11&bodyStyle=12&bodyStyle=04&bodyStyle=05&bodyStyle=03&bodyStyle=13&bodyStyle=01&lowPrice=10000&highPrice=65000&fuel=HYBRID&
6) www.honda.com
Hey guys, it’s Emily Brink- thought I should say that because I was feeling uncreative the last time I made an entry since I was worried about getting to work on time, so I just thought I’d let you know that I changed my post name.
This is a response to Will’s post.
Hey Will, I agree with you when you say that it’s hard to attack a POW/Vietnam vet. But I also believe that neither candidate is gaining any brownie points in my mind for just attacking each other, period, so that must mean something for the rest of the moderates of America. From all the political ads I have seen on TV, there’s this one that stands out in my mind as the one where they say something along the lines of “This POW camp was McCain’s home before his [crazy mansions] that he has today” (www.johnmccain.com) after Obama made a reference to how many grand houses his opponent has; so they came back with a message that basically says, “Yeah? Well he deserves them as much as he deserves to be president! What have you got to show?” And this is a harsh way of showing Obama’s inexperience, maybe simply because he is younger.
I also agree with how you say McCain has played Obama’s inexperience to death- is there anyone who has any form of communication with the world who doesn’t know about that? And yet, Obama is still getting support from people. As I said in my first post, I can see so many young people gravitating towards him, which makes sense, because young people don’t have a lot of experience either, so maybe they are willing to forgive that aspect of Obama’s campaign. It could be because they are just proud, but it could also be something that seasoned politicians who campaign mainly for the benefit of themselves and their parties are failing to see (hm, has anyone figured out who I’ve decided to support in the election yet?)
Obama does have fresh ideas to bring to the table, but you’re also right in saying that the lipstick on a pig hurt him (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lipstick+on+a+pig&search_type=&aq=-1&oq=). I think it’s an offensive thing to say in general, because it suggests that a woman won’t do much to help McCain’s campaign – I’m really offended by it and I don’t even necessarily support McCain. To tell the truth, it makes me lose a lot of faith in Obama. I would say that it is weak comebacks like this that is beginning to cause Obama to fall a bit behind McCain in the polls; McCain’s ad wasn’t nearly so negative, but then it’s also true that he had time to contemplate what would be said in the commercial. I think Obama just spit out his insult to get a quick laugh from his Democratic followers, the ones he knows he won’t lose. He is going below the level of McCain’s ad about the POW camps – Obama just sounds a bit like a kid searching for a comeback for the sake of having a comeback, which I personally find really disappointing, because up until moments like this, I didn’t think Obama could give in to the pressure to just smear his opponent.
I think that you’re also right in saying that the candidates should bring the focus back to themselves (if that’s what you meant – that’s how I read it, anyway). Once one of the candidates is elected, pretty much everyone will forget about the VPs anyway (unless McCain dies in office or a VP shoots someone in a hunting accident again.)
And I disagree with your point about Obama reminding people of his roots. I don’t necessarily think Obama needs to remind people of his lower-class background; he’s already the Democratic candidate, and typically, lower-class people tend to support Democrats – he won’t really be converting any hard-core Republicans at this point, I believe. Maybe he’ll sway some moderates (like me), but unless you mean he should work on enchanting some rags-to-riches Horatio Alger-esque millionaire-Republicans, I doubt he’ll find much sympathy on the part of many conservatives.
However, I must add that I think you’re right in suggesting the potential VPs address each other rather than the potential presidents. If this had been the strategy from the start, the lipstick on a pig moment never would have happened, and Obama never would have offended people he has brought to his side of the spectrum for this election.
Here is my response to Kath’s post. You make a good point in your thoughts on how Obama can strengthen his campaign. His faith has come up many times and taken some low blows from the republican camp. Polls have shown that he does not do well among Christian Church goers and surely the controversy over his supposed Muslim faith plays a leading role in that. He has spoken out numerous times about this topic and each time expresses his Christian beliefs. I don’t know if there is much more Obama can do in this arena, people are always going to judge him and no matter how many times he denies being Muslim, it is in his background and unfortunately we live in a society where people just can’t get passed that. I also agree with your comment on how Obama has to be careful about what he says regarding Palin, which he has done a good job of so far. A CNN Election Center article, “Obama says Palin’s family off limits” notes his public speech about how he will not use Palin’s daughter or family situation to propel his campaign. He also stated that families should be off limits in politics. Obama has to be very careful about what he says; McCain’s choice of Palin put Obama in a sticky situation. He can’t attack her to directly because it could cost him the vote of American women (3). But he also can’t ignore her because of her mass media coverage. Many democrats that support Hilary Clinton are now following McCain because if his choice for VP. Obama’s strategy has been mainly to say that Palin is more of the same just like McCain. America needs a new set of ideas in Washington, Obama and Biden can bring them and be successful (1). To add to your argument, Obama should also keep running with the fact that most American’s belief Biden would make a better president than Palin if the circumstances ever arose (2). Overall, I agree with your thoughts on how Obama can strengthen his campaign and win in the November election.
1. “Behind Obama’s Palin Strategy” Time.com
2. “McCain closes the Gap With Obama” Washington Post
3. CNN.com election center news
This is in response to Katie B. when she was talking about how Obama should respond to Palin's nomination.
While I agree with what Obama should attack if he chooses to attack Palin, I think that he should pay attention to Palin. Palin has dramatically increased McCain's national poll numbers. She has appealed to conservatives who are a core Republican base (1). Secondly, she has appealed to women who were disappointed that Clinton did not receive the Democratic nomination (1). Now, one third of women, including hard-core Democrats, are planning to vote for McCain only because he choose Palin as his running mate (3). While some women agree with Palin's policies, others are not actually pro-life or pro-gun. Some women are deciding to vote on identity rather than policies (3).
The impact is much too large for Obama to ignore. Before Palin's nomination, Obama was leading in most polls, now he is either tied or falling behind McCain. If he doesn't respond to this issue he will be ignoring half of the presidential ticket. Female policy makers are working to reveal Palin's actual opinions on many issues (1). Democratic supporters also urged Obama to counter Palin's popularity (2). Like Katie, I think the key attack would include publicizing Palin's policies. Obama has already released an ad advertising Palin's views on abortion to try to indicate to female voters that Palin is decidedly against key feminist issues (4). I do not think that Obama would deserve any criticisms that he got from questioning Palin as a vice presidential candidate. Palin herself said during the primary season that Clinton was trying to gain exemption from attacks by being a woman and that she felt this brought difficulties to all female politicians (2). Many women are characterizing Palin as a strong woman (3). I think this indicates that if Obama attacks her experience and policies, she should be strong enough to answer his arguments.
(1)http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqpdfHACMTMrK9IGvhiTUwNW824wD937AT780
(2) http://www.gmanews.tv/story/120209/Palin-says-Obama-regrets-bypassing-Clinton
(3) http://www.newsweek.com/id/158893?tid=relatedcl
(4) http://www.newsweek.com/id/157541?tid=relatedcl
In response to Dana’s comment, I agree that Palin was a good choice as a vice presidential candidate for McCain. It has in fact attracted a wider population to his campaign, because the media has portrayed her as a down-to-earth mother that is capable of bringing reform to Washington. People who said before that they would reluctantly vote for McCain are now happy to vote for him because of the fresh look Palin has brought to the table (1). She gained much support from Christian and conservative voters because of her own beliefs combined with her reformist attitude (1). However, I don’t think McCain has come close to sealing the deal with Palin at his side. His slight lead that he had over Obama after the Republican convention is quickly shrinking (3). She appears to be some sort of a celebrity right now, as Obama was viewed before the conventions began. I think, like Dana said, Palin has effectively drawn new attention to McCain’s presidential race, but the hype is going to start wearing down. McCain has straight out lied about Palin, saying that she “never sought federal earmark money” for her state (1),when in fact her request for Alaska was the greatest in the country (1). McCain and Palin have also advocated themselves by bringing up Palin’s role in stopping the “bridge to nowhere” project, when in fact she supported it before she was against it (1). According to Obama, McCain is beginning to run a dishonest and “sleazy” campaign (2). One of their ads has falsely claimed that Obama wants to have sex education taught to kindergarteners (2). I think it is going to catch up with him, and that Obama will be able to win back some swing voters when Palin’s celebrity status dies down and her true values and achievements show through.
The presidential campaign remains tied, and our candidates are becoming desperate for some sort of gain. The ads and commercials have become increasingly negative (2). Dana has said that to draw appeal, Obama needs to stick to the real issues that were at hand at the beginning, and not on sladerous comments towards women, or Sarah Palin for that matter. I am in complete agreement with Dana on this. Since Palin has drawn so much support from women, Obama needs to be extremely careful about what he says about women and about Palin, so as not to offend any potential female voters. He instead should focus on his original issues, such as his pro-choice view, and through that attract more females. Dana also said that McCain and Palin should stick to their idea that they are reformers together. I think they should keep that up as well, because of the dissatisfaction with the white house today. They will continue to get the votes of the independents through this.
1.) http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12234753
2.)http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNxTApa2sQRu0Xx99P3jt2bEXw7gD9372U4G0
3.) http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=112971
I agree with Alec’s statement that McCain should shift his attention away from Palin before he is labeled as a hypocrite. After candidates make such bold advertisements, it opens up so many opportunities to be counterattacked. As Palin flashes across the media, Americans will begin to remember the ads comparing Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and wonder how she is any different. I also think the attention McCain and the media are giving Palin’s personal life could hinder McCain’s performance. Although it highlights her good looks, it also draws attention to her lack of experience in politics. I witnessed the documentary Sarah Palin Revealed on CNN this weekend, and for the first fifteen minutes all it discussed was Palin’s high school basketball career and how she wasn’t very good, but always did her best. It can be argued that by focusing on this it will capture people’s votes by promoting her American image, but I
personally find it to have the opposite effect. This type of media coverage only highlights her inexperience, only having been governor for two years. When Palin was finally forced to speak about politics in her ABC interview with Charles Gibson, she came off as ignorant on some things like the Bush Doctrine. It breeds questions like great, Palin is hardworking, but what has she done? McCain needs to watch for the same accusations to be made against his running mate as he made against Obama.
1. Documentary Sarah Palin Revealed
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/12/AR2008091201086.html
Just a reply to Emily's comment on mine. I was not saying that Obama was being mean saying "Lipstick on a Pig". He was talking about McCain's policy. "lipstick on a pig" is a common southern phrase. McCain has used it, too, talking about Hillary's policies last year. I was just saying that as an example that McCain is making Obama look sexist and twisting his meanings and Palin has become a real struggle for Obama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR8IhMMhe8w&feature=related
While I agree with everything Angel said, I think she overlooked some things that Obama needs to work on. She lists many about McCain, which are true, but only one about Obama. I agree with her when she mentioned that when McCain announced Palin as his choice for vice president, Obama lost some of the attention that was focused on him. I also agree that he needs to gain his momentum back. However, I believe that now he is going about it the wrong way. He is trying to get attention focused on him again mostly by attacking McCain (1). I know that it is a close race, and when it is this close, a lot of dirt gets thrown. I also know that McCain does the same thing. However I do not think that is the best way to bring the media’s attention back to Obama. A good example is the recent economic falter. Obama focuses mostly on criticizing McCain’s ideas (1). Instead of attacking what McCain is saying, he should be talking about what he will do to reverse this falter and prevent it from happening again if he is elected president. This goes along with one improvement that Angel did not mention, Obama needs to stop attacking so much and start backing up his ideas about important issues (2).
Angel also mentioned that Palin was shifting the attention from Obama, and I agree with that. And now he is trying to regain attention, specifically from women. This is definitely one area where he is doing well, not just attacking McCain. He had a “Women’s Week of Action” to focus on attracting women to his campaign (3). This helped him greatly, attracting the women’s group NOW, who emphasized that Palin is out of touch with women (3). This shows that Obama is working on the areas that many of us mentioned last week.
(1) “Obama Looks to Regain Momentum” by Dan Balz (washingtonpost.com)
(2) Salon.com
(3) “Faced with Palin, Women’s Groups to Turn to Obama” by Lois Romano (washingtonpost.com)
I agree with tiffany's comment that McCain is now in the lead, because of increasing support from women. Vice presidential choices aren't supposed to make much difference. Yet, Sarah Palin's impact is undeniable and extremely large. Twelve days ago, presidential election futures markets indicated that Barack Obama had a 62 percent probability of winning the elecion. By Sunday, Obama's probility had fallen to 46.5 percent with John McCain at 52.1 percent. I think it's great that a woman is finally on the ballot for vice president in a major party, but I don't think Gov. Palin is the right choice. Putting the former mayor of a town of 9000 with zero foreign policy experience only a heartbeat away from the presidency, a position of running a whole country is outrageous. I agree with Tiffany that Obama needs to increase his running mate's publicity. Senator Joe Biden has the experience that Governor Palin lacks. Senator biden is a senior United States Senator, he's a memeber and current chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he's worked on resolutions concerning the Yugoslav wars and Iraq War. If Obama would bring Biden more to the media, than I think that people would see that the Democratic party does have the experience to win the election.
I agree as well with Tiffany's comment that Obama needs to address the misinformations about him. The false rumors whether he is a christian or a muslim set out huge confusion to the people. This matter of religion can affect his votes from the religious commmity.
1)http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423443,00.html
2)http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-29-palinreax_N.htm
3)http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/clinton_vouches_1.html
4)http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22767392/
Hey Tiffany! I enjoyed reading your post and I found it interesting and informative. I thought you made good suggestions on what the candidates should do to improve their campaigns. When you remarked, “McCain should also defend Palin against attacks from the media about scandal and inexperience” I decided to investigate and see if he had done so. McCain obviously has a lot on his plate and a lot to deal with everyday and I was intrigued to find that he in fact had defended her. (1)Dealing with a scandal involving the National Enquirer McCain said, “The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it.” Being in the limelight I think it would be hard for him to pull off not defending her, and perhaps he only did to look credible. The fact that McCain picked Palin is clearly to get votes. (4)An article in time said, “he needs to close the gender gap. When you think about it, the real surprise about Sarah Palin's election as his running mate is that it's such a surprise.” I could not agree more with that statement. In my mind it makes perfect sense as to why he would pick her as his running-mate. I agree with your comments on how it has increased Mcain’s popularity with women.
When you talked about Biden I couldn’t help but agree with you one hundred percent. All the hype is about Sarah Palin, and Biden seems to be hiding out or something. You commented, “Positive information about the democratic running mate should be publicized. His experience and credentials should be information readily accessible to voters.” I chose to further investigate about Biden. I went to Biden’s website and decided to “Meet Joe.” Joe seems to be an experienced man. When comparing him to Palin he does seem quite plain, and drama free, yet his contributions to policy making are huge. Instead of hearing all about scandal, it’s refreshing to hear about the actual issues. (2) Working as a senator, he is a leader in foreign policy, fighting terrorism, and crime. He is also recognized as working cooperatively with Republicans on many issues. Also, Biden helps balance out Obama’s ticket. Biden is someone that many American’s can relate to. (3) In an article from Msnbc Biden’s American-ness is shown, “Out on the trail, through Iowa and Missouri so far this week, it has a daily dose of blue-collar Joey Biden from Scranton, PA. He's full of wisdom from his hardworking and devoted Irish Catholic parents.” This same article also expressed the point you made about how Palin is getting all the attention. It showed hope that Biden was doing his homework, and getting ready for the debate in one month.
(1)http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/09/03/politics/fromth...
(2) biden.senate.gov
(3)http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/10/1374824.aspx
(4)http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837510,00.html
Response to AJ Siiro.
You make a lot of good points about Barrack’s policies attracting the minority and low-wealth groups. I think you should clarify that he is just going to take away the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and meanwhile will continue them for the middle and lower classes. He is also going to eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 a year (1). McCain is just planning on making all the tax cuts permanent and cutting pork barrel spending and various programs to fund them. McCain is also planning on cutting taxes and giving benefits to businesses (2). I agree with you that those tax cuts do favor the wealthiest Americans, the way they were set up by the Bush administration.
I disagree that Obama can’t do much more. Polling data would show that McCain has only been gaining ground. “[Research 2000] and Hotline/Diageo give Barack Obama a narrow lead, while Rasmussen and Gallup both give John McCain a slight edge.” from Sept. 15 (3). That was unimaginable a month ago when Obama was far ahead. I think this is because Obama has been stagnate getting his policies out to voters who he should win. He has to tell those old people and workers that are drifting to McCain that his economic policies are more favorable to them. I do agree that Obama has to continue mobilizing the young and remind them to vote, but I think he has a lock on the minority groups for now.
I do agree that McCain must appeal to moderates. I think he should do that but also appeal to the conservatives. Palin’s influence on the campaign can’t last too much longer. The Palin pick has really energized those who found McCain not conservative enough, but they probably would have voted for him anyway. It is still good to sure up the base cause a lot of Americans follow that base.
Obama has started to jump back on McCain with more mortgage banks closing. He is making McCain look out of touch to Americans and has to continue to show his policies are better for the majority (4).
(1) http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/
(2) http://www.johnmccain.com/Issues/JobsforAmerica/relief.htm
(3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7617900.stm
(4) http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/16/candidates.wall.street/index.html
Anthony, I agree with you on most of your paper. We agree on the fact that Palin has, up to this point, increased the support for the Republican party. I also agree that right now Obama has the blue collar workers, and that he will probably have there support throughout the race (2). I also agree on the fact that there are some of the Clinton supporters that dislike Obama, and would rather vote Republican than see him in office. I found this poll on gallup.com which shows how about 28 percent of Clinton supporters would Republican over Democrat with Obama running (1). I think that you should have sited a source in your post about where you got that info, because it sounded a bit like you were just assuming that that would happen. I think that you should also add that McCain is in control of the big businesses, and that he will have control of those votes throughout the entire campaign up to the election. This is a vital section that is often overlooked, and I think that the white collar workers are as important I the election as the blue collar workers. I would like to conclude that although Obama has a lead now, they say it is still up for grabs (4).
On the issue of campaigns, I definitely agree that McCain needs to work on his image, and look strong, not some weak old guy. Also, he must try to avoid the war in Iraq, because his plan is not the idea that the majority wants to see happen, and he has already taken a strong stance on it. He should now try to back off of it and allow the voters to forget it, unless he has some miracle way of swaying everyone to his side. Also, I agree that some issues not related to policy will decide the election, like who the public would eat dinner with. However, I don’t think that his youth necessarily appeals to the public as much as his public speaking abilities, which helps to gain support for him. I would also like to add that Obama must also work on his image and look like he is capable for the presidency, like the fact that many people don’t even know that he is a Christian. That would gain support from many of the Christain moderates and religious Americans who think they might have to vote for McCain because of religion (3). Also, he must prove that he can get what he wants done and isn’t just making radical plans that he can’t enact.
But overall, I agree with your post.
Sources:
1) http://www.gallup.com/poll/105691/McCain-vs-Obama-28-Clinton-Backers-McCain.aspx
2) MPR poll:Obama leads, but contest is fluid
3) www.washingtonpost.com
4) www.salon.com/news.com
In response to Jaqi’s post:
I agree with most of your arguments, but I’d like to add that questioning Sarah Palin's record, experience, or policy positions is not sexist. If Obama wants to win back more female voters, he should emphasize his pro-woman policies, such as support for the Equal Pay Act, strengthening domestic violence laws, and his pro-choice views. He should also point out Palin is hardly a feminist because of her anti-abortion views and her opposition to comprehensive sex ed to deter women from voting for McCain based on the VP’s gender. He can still counter Palin without resorting to smear campaigns, and create more awareness about her actual views and record.
• http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues
• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?scp=6&sq=sarah%20palin&st=cse
Response to Erik V.
I agree with Erik that Palin has brought more women to McCain’s side, but I don’t think it’s a significant figure. Poll numbers comparing gender to candidate preference show the same numbers of women supporters for McCain in mid-August as in early September, before and after his decision was announced (1). There was a slight dip in women supporters in late August rebounding up in early September, but that was only by two points, which, as Erik pointed out, is not a big difference.
I also don’t believe that the immigration issue will have as nearly a big effect on swaying voters as Erik thinks it will. When polled in early September on this question, "Which of the following issues will be MOST important to you when you decide how to vote for president:?", and the choices were the economy, the war in Iraq, Health Care, Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration, only 6% said that immigration would be a deciding factor, the most important being the economy with a 56% vote(2). I think Obama’s economic plan has secured the working class vote, and unless McCain makes a radical change in his policy, there’s nothing he can do to sway the votes.
I don’t want to be overly disagreeable though! I do agree with one of Erik’s polling statistics; gas prices definitely need to be lower…
1- Gallup.com
2-http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm
In response to Jessie Lieb:
When I was reading your post I noticed how similar our responses were. All I can say is that great minds think alike.
Like you I felt that Obama was having the most success among minorities, Hispanics and African Americans specifically. According to the August Washington Post survey, 92% of African Americans felt that Obama was the more concerned candidate (1). I feel that the reason for this overwhelming number is best explained to some degree by Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst. He says, "There's been a huge shift among African-American Democrats from Clinton to Obama. African-American Democrats used to be reluctant to support Obama because they didn't think a black man could be elected. Then Obama won Iowa and nearly won New Hampshire. Now they believe."(2) I believe that as the race has continued on and Barak has become the clear candidate of the party, African Americans have grown more willing to support him. I agree with you that Obama is still struggling to attract low wage workers. It is surprising to me that Hillary Clinton’s former base is so slow to support him. Like I previously noted in my post, Tom Edsall, political editor of the Huffington Post, notes that Hillary’s campaign is still being felt because she appealed specifically to that group of voters at Obama’s expense (3). A brief side note- I feel it is interesting to note that the Huffington Post, for which Edsall is an editor, is a liberal news website sometimes chided for having controversial statements on its blogs. I probably wouldn’t have realized this based on his positive statements about McCain in the article (3). Now back to the real information -a newer poll by the Washington Post reports that Obama leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 47 percent to 37 percent (4.) I think your reasoning that Obama needs to show a little more emotion is great. Low income white workers need to be convinced that Obama is passionate about the issues that matter most to them such as gas prices, health care and energy issues (1).
McCain’s success among the independents is something that I noticed as well. Information from a post RNC poll by Gallup reports that McCain now leads Democratic Sen. Barack Obama strongly among independents, 52 percent to 37 percent (5). Until the conventions, they had generally been split, but now it seems McCain is pulling away. I felt, like you, that his appeal to them is primarily based on his “Maverick” status. I think he will continue to lead in the independent polls unless like Mark Murray or NBC News says, “Obama is going to [need to] be successful in convincing independent swing voters that he does have these national-security [and] foreign-policy credentials…” (3). Your point that McCain will be more successful if he emphasizes that Obama still lacks these traits is good. While he continues to press this issue I agree that he must focus more on minority voters and women.
I think it will be interesting to see how polling data changes after the first debate. That will be a test of whether McCain’s experiences or Obama’s “fresh” new ideas, as you called them, appeal more to the American public.
1. Obama Leads, Pessimism Reigns Among Key Group- Washington Post
2. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/18/poll.2008/index.html
3. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/11/obama/print.html
4.http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/poll_obama_leading_by_10_point.php
5.http://www.nypost.com/seven/09092008/news/politics/independents_swing_behind_mccain__poll_128262.htm
Gracie, I agree with you on many of your points, although there are a few I disagree with. I definitely agree that Obama has the upper hand with the working class and that McCain should work to win more of them over. I agree with your points that he should emphasize his plan to lower gas prices as well as protect America from illegal immigration in order to gain more votes of the lower-wage workers (2). He needs to focus more on his support of alternative fuel and emission control (2). He can also point out that his energy plan to build 45 nuclear plants would create jobs for over 700,000 people, which would entice the working class (2). Also, his plans for immigration control would favor the working class (2). He stated about immigration reform, “I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our border first…then address other aspects of the problem (2).” McCain should also point out that while Obama supports minimum wage, one must realize this is harmful for small businesses (3). 98% of new business consists of small businesses which also create 2/3 of new jobs, so although raising the minimum wage seems like a good plan, McCain should point out its negative effects (3). I also believe choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate was a very wise decision because 46% would prefer Palin as vice president over 43% preferring Biden (1).
However, I disagree with you that McCain is doing a good job of distancing himself from George W. Bush. When asked in a poll, 47% felt that Obama is most likely to bring about change and 47% felt that McCain would continue to carry out Bush policies (1). Even though I agree with you that Obama needs to better ensure Americans of his political experience and ability to govern, I don’t think pointing out Biden’s experience is a good way to reassure Americans. Although 71% of people polled felt that Biden is qualified to be president should something happen to Obama, we need to keep in mind that we are not voting for Biden to become president, but Obama. I think if Obama were to say Biden’s experience would help him in office, this would only weaken Americans’ faith in Obama. I feel that statement would lead people to believe that even Obama himself isn’t confident enough in his experience. I’m not saying that presidents shouldn’t ask for advice and assistance, but I think to immediately turn to that as an option shows a weakness in decision making. Therefore, I think Obama should point out his experience, but shouldn’t use Biden’s experience as a crutch because I think a statement such as that would only hurt Obama.
1.http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08.htm
2.http://www.ontheissues.org/John_McCain.htm
3.http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm
In response to Anthony:
I was really interested in the section of your post that dealt with the issue of Palin and Clinton. This election has been quite the historic one as we have seen a race between a black man and white woman for candidacy, then a white woman on a Republican ticket. It certainly reflects a changing of society as our country continues its pattern of gradual democratization (1). Our country has had universal suffrage for adults for quite some time now; it is only natural that the leadership follows this trend.
Palin’s nomination came as a huge surprise to many Americans who were expecting someone such as Pawlenty, as Bjorn stated. Anthony, I agree with your statement that it is possible that her nomination was designed to win over some of the past Clinton supporters (2). In her speeches, I have noticed how she has employed a few of the same lines as Clinton, such as the one about breaking through the glass ceiling (3). These comments have rankled Clinton as I’m sure she is very unwilling to give up her “18 million cracks in the glass” to Palin (4). It is, however, almost amusing to compare these two women as I really think they share little in common once one gets past gender. This may be enough for strong feminists out there whose main goal is to add one more tangible title victory that proves gender equality. However, about 60% of former Clinton supporters now favour Obama, and about 31% state that Palin’s nomination has made it less likely for them to vote for McCain (2). I think that these statistics result from their differences. Clinton has had much experience in Washington and has built up a reputation as a very tough politician. Disregarding her success, or lack thereof, in projects such as universal health care during her husband’s tenure as president, she still is well-versed in how things work in Washington. On the other hand, Palin is much more down-to-earth as a hockey mom, PTA member, and mayor of Wasilla – a city that earned its place on the map about three weeks ago. Clinton is also a harsh debater and fierce attacker, while Palin has thus far managed to maintain a graceful demeanor during attack (4). NY Times contributer Patrick Healy even notes the difference between Clinton’s pantsuits and Palin’s skirts (4).
Some people say that Palin’s nomination has created the sub-contest of Clinton vs. the Palin Effect. It is a fact that this VP nomination has created waves through our country and her name and life story has become a common dinner-table discussion. In a way, she has succeeded where Clinton failed in getting her name on a presidential election ticket. However, many question whether Clinton will fight back and campaign enthusiastically for Obama or be more reserved in her support. Many experts say that she needs to walk a fine line between adequate and enthusiastic support because if he loses, she neither wants to be blamed for it nor go down with him. From Obama’s point of view, it may be unfavourable for him to throw too much of the electoral outcome to a Clinton-Palin “cat-fight”; rather he should concentrate on the Obama-McCain field where he still has a slight advantage. At the same time, there are a few issues that he wants brought up, such as the two likely Supreme Court vacancies in the next few years. With so many social issues on the table right now, there is great potential for some landmark cases in our near future. Obama certainly will want to allude to the possibilities that may stem from having an extreme social conservative in office (2).
(1) – Government in America – our textbook
(2) - http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB122099348086116259.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox
(3) – Palin’s first appearance with McCain after her nomination
(4) - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/us/politics/06web-healy.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Response to Oscar…
First things first I do agree that McCain does in fact have now have the lead with white women voters, because of the selection of Sarah Palin. Regarding the white vote in general McCain is leading by 17 points (1). In author Adam C. Smith’s article “Black ‘issue’ hangs over presidential polls” he states that in such states as Florida, Ohio, Colorado, and Virginia, a two points will make the difference in winning and losing the election. I also agree that McCain will have to up his campaign with the low wage citizens, I believe that these votes will up his chances in winning the general elections.
Second my question is how is it possible for McCain and Obama to be leading in the white women’s vote? You said that McCain has the vote with a three-point lead, but in your second paragraph you say that Obama is leading in that vote by 16 points.
1. http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/09/15/obama_race_campaign.html
Hi Amanda! I will be responding to your post. I agree with you on a lot that you said, but there is also information you gave that contradicts what I have read. I have been reading lately that Obama in fact doesn’t have the women’s vote. The numbers are close, but polls have showed that McCain has proven to be popular with the ladies, and choosing Palin as a running mate was a wise political move for him. Even though Obama’s comments about Palin referring her to “a lipstick wearing pig” have been said before, people have been turned off by the comment, and some are calling his campaign sexist. In a poll on September first, Obama was leading with the women vote, but the tables have turned and it is becoming an extremely close race. In a more recent poll McCain is leading Obama 50 to 42 percent.
I completely agree with you on the fact that McCain needs to gain popularity among the minority voters. He needs to gain their trust and have a secure plan for them so they can keep their jobs and have an income. I also agree with you that McCain is having a heard time relating to the “average citizen” which causes him to loose popularity among the younger generation of voters. Once again I 100% agree with you on the issue of Obama needing to put some substance behind his word, promises and plans. He has all these ideas, some of them really great ideas, but the people need to see and hear more about it and how it will be executed. The people need to be informed more on his stance and he needs to provide more background on certain issues. Also his experience in politics could be an issue, but he is a pretty big celebrity right now among the voters.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2022398/US-Elections-Barack-Obama-has-lost-women-'with-sexist-campaign'.html
http://americanresearchgroup.com/
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS248US250&q=women's+vote+mccain+or+obama&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=4&ct=title
In response to Kassie:
Kassie, we concur on many main points. I agree with your statement that Barack Obama has captured the support of African-Americans as well as Hispanics, as shown in the Gallup poll ‘Candidate Support By Race’; Obama leads among non-Hispanic blacks 89% to 7% (1). I also agree with your statement that Obama is ‘losing the women’s vote because of Sarah Palin’, but the assumption lacks supporting evidence. Another Gallup poll showed that as early as June 9-15, Obama only held 48% of the women’s vote and it has been holding around that percentage point, even after McCain chose Palin (2).
Your suggestion of Obama emphasizing Biden’s experience was extremely sound. Biden has been in Congress since 1972 and has aided in writing passing many important pieces of legislation, including the Violence Against Women Act (3). Biden is also the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a strength Obama should be using against critics of his inexperience in leadership positions. I also agree with you in believing that Obama must keep with his message of ‘Change’ and use his relative inexperience as a positive quality by emphasizing the importance of fresh policies and fresh faces in Washington.
1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/108040/Candidate-Support-Race.aspx
2. http://www.gallup.com/poll/108022/Candidate-Support-Gender.aspx
3. http://biden.senate.gov/senator/
Response to Megan W.
Hey Meg! I think your blog was wonderfully written, but I must respond! In your post you noted that, “Obama is going to have to be successful in convincing independent swing voters that he does have these national-security, and foreign-policy credentials”, however, due to the horrible week on Wall Street and the country’s recession, I think he must focus on economic issues. He must prove to voters that he has an detailed economic plan that will improve American’s life. In March, Obama laid out his general plan for the economy which includes regulating investment banks, mortgage brokers, and hedge funds (1). He must expand this plan and set out detail by detail what he will accomplish and how he will do it. Although Obama does not have much experience in the world of financial regulation, America is in dire need of help and change. He gave a speech on Monday saying that the United States is up against, “the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.” (1) The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 504.48 points on Monday, and 22.9% since October (2). Patrick Rizzo and Joe Bel Bruno of the Associated Press called Monday, “the worst day in seven years” (2). This proves that the citizens of this country need help. I believe that they will vote for whichever candidate will provide a better economic future. Obama should let foreign policy and national security take the backseat. He needs to focus on things such as the recession, unemployment, gas prices, etc. When things are good at home, people will worry about what is going on overseas. However, when things are not going so smoothly, like right now, people worry more about the domestic issue of the economy. The end to this “deep, dark recession” is no where in sight (2), so Obama will gain many votes with a detailed plan.
Megan, your post called McCain a “maverick”, but his support to temporarily abolish the Federal Gas Tax is anything but maverick. A maverick can be defined, as a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates (3). The majority of economists believe that the short tax holiday makes no sense, and that it would actually add to our deficit (4). McCain could raise his support among the white workers by 2/3 if he supports this (5), but that would mean he is just pandering for votes. A true maverick would not back something just so they could get more votes. He should do whatever is best for the country, not what is best for his popularity.
1. Article: “From Wall Street to the ballot box” Star Tribune
2. Article: “Worst day in seven years” Star Tribune
3. Definition: www.dictionary.com
4. Article: “Gasoline Taxes: User Fees or Pigouvian Levies?” www.taxfoundation.org
5. Article: “Obama leads, Pessimism reigns among key group” Washington Post
I agree with Molly on most of what she said about the Presidential Campaign. The winner will be whoever proposes the best fix to the economy, therefore winning the support of the 56% of the country whose concerns lie with the economy above all (1). I also agree with the fact that the choice of Sarah Palin is bringing more than just feminist support to the Republican Party. Her ability to manipulate the arguments against the morality of her family into a situation that many families can relate to added to her popularity (2). As the Today Show described when recalling people’s comments of Palin after the Republican Convention, “Palin was the most talked about person at the convention. She has the mind of a true conservative.” However I do not agree with her recommendation of McCain giving a speech telling what Bush did wrong, and what his differences are. McCain should mention the specific kinds of change he would bring, but he should leave out the part reminding everyone of Bush’s mistakes. Issues with Bush are still fresh in people’s minds, and revisiting this topic on national television would only fuel the anger many people feel towards the Republican Party, therefore creating more obstacles for McCain.
Sources:
1. http://www.pollingreport.com/
2. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-ledeall4 2008sep04,0,7127394.story?track=rss
In response to Savann:
I agree that Obama has the majority of the support from African Americans and Hispanics. I think some of the reason he has gain so much support is because the Democrats have a better record of dealing with policies in a way that benefits minorities. The problem is that even if Obama wins the minority vote, many white people are still unwilling to vote an African American into office (1). I disagree with the statement that Obama is popular among the white working class. The Boston Globe has called white, blue-collar workers “one of his biggest weaknesses,”(4).
Like Savann said, Obama is popular among youth but struggling to gain support from seniors, who have mostly supported McCain (2). The problem hasn't only been that older voters support McCain, or that most elders won't elect Obama, because he's black. The main problem is that most of the older voters were loyal to Clinton (2). Another problem is that the Obama campaigns use of technology to gain support from young voters has excluded the older voters who aren't glued to their computers and cellphones (2).
I also think that Obama should be more consistent on his stances with issues. However, The New Yorker published an article about how bloggers take his minor changes in opinion and call them “flip-flops (3). I think accusations about flip-flopping are usually blow out of proportion. I also think a person who is willing to change their opinion because he/she is thinking about the best policy option for the people and nation, should be put under less pressure to maintain a rigid and constant platform (3). The world changes and so do opinions and beliefs.
I think that the lower class has been neglected by both the Democrats and the Republicans. Obama has been trying to garner support from the middle-class, while the Republicans have traditionally had more support from the upper classes. I agree that Obama should try to gain support from unregistered is trying to appeal to the lower class. He is currently trying to appeal to blue-collar workers, but most of the states he is targeting were strong Clinton supporters, who are hesitant to vote for Obama (4). Yet, the support that could be gained from white, blue-collar voters could shift the polls in favor of Obama.
(1)http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/09/15/obama_race_campaign.html
(2)http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9902.html
(3)http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25673270/
(4)http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/06/citing_grim_jobs_report_obama_reaches_out_to_blue_collar_voters/
Hello Danaaa, I agree with you that Obama appeals to low wage workers because of his healthcare reform plan. The plan would cost about $1.6 trillion over 10 years, but the McCain would cost about $1.3 trillion over 10 years, so the costs are both extremely expensive with Obama’s plan being more costly (1). Obama’s plan is predicted to reduce the number of uninsured people by 18 million and by 34 million over the next 10 years (1). Many low wage workers with minimal or no insurance coverage will be happy to receive insurance through this plan. The problem with the plan is that it will not offer universal healthcare coverage even though Obama says it will, and the plan will increase the size of the federal government and put on more regulations (1).
I also agree that McCain’s choosing of, I assume you mean Sarah Palin if not then I’m sorry that but I have no clue who is Mary Palin sorry, was a bold move. I’m not sure it was a wise move because it may yet backfire on him with more controversies over her past being exploited. The choice of Sarah Palin as VP has increase McCain’s popularity and encouraged supporters to get into election with some excitement (2). McCain’s appeal to women was helped by Palin, but as more facts from her past and also her general stand on issues is clear, more women with Democratic beliefs are being alienated (2). According to recent polls Obama has the edge over women 49% to 42% (3). This poll may be biased or not wide enough of a selection, but is another source that may help show how close support for the two candidates are.
I think that McCain did try to spice things up with the nomination of Palin. She certainly drew a lot of attention to the GOP ticket and increased the excitement of the election. I do agree that the candidates should try to tackle a new problem and show a new solution that would be cost efficient and productive and realistic. Many of the solutions to the issues are theoretical and do not have not been tested on a large or small scale and may be risky (4)
Not only Obama, but McCain has to stick to the true issue as well. Both candidates are attacking each other taking quotes out of context to try and break the other candidate. McCain used the lipstick comment in the past when talking about one of Hilary Clinton’s policies (5). The McCain campaign said that McCain was obviously referring to a policy while Obama was referring to Palin (5). It is an old saying according to Rep. Mike Huckabee and the Obama campaign accuses the McCain campaign of playing the gender role (5). The McCain campaign also launched an ad that accused Obama of not accomplishing an education related goal except for promoting “comprehensive sex education” to kindergarteners (6). In context, Obama supported “age appropriate” sex education (6). There will likely be many more attacks that only present some of the truth from both candidates as election times get nearer.
1) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122153768171141665.html
2)http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB122099348086116259.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox
3) http://www.gallup.com/poll/election2008.aspx
4) http://www.diffen.com/difference/Barack_Obama_vs_John_McCain
5) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/mccain-ad-obamas-lone-edu_n_125205.html
Jen, I agree with your post completely. I think McCains recent announcement that the economic situation is a 'crisis' targets the working class that McCain is competing with Obama for (1). However, according to 'Obama Leads, Pessimism reigns Among Key Group' showed that Obama led in lower class workers, they are predominately Hispanic and African American (2). McCain's speech on Tuesday could show that he is trying to appeal to the white working class Americans, where him and Obama have beem fairly close. A survey said McCain needs to increase his appeal, and then it may be possible to have an edge over Obama (2). He used his speech to empathize with Americans economic pains (1) which majority of people polled believe that Obama is the more empathetic candidate. The economy is a key to McCain winning the Presidency. A new poll released by NewRegister.Com on Market Watch said that 54% of small business's believe McCain will help them more than Obama by placing them on the economic agenda (compared to 38% respectively.) (3) I belive in the past few weeks McCain has targeted his appeal to the economic side of the campaign, and he is doing strongly in weathly businessmen and small businesses. He now is focusing in on the working class to improve their economic condition, and now he and Obama will have to battle their economic agendas which may be the biggest factor in who wins the Presidency.
(1) McCain Laboring to Hit Right Note on the Economy - New York Times
(2) Obama Leads, Pessimism Reigns Among Key Group
(3) MarketWatch; John McCain Better Prepared to Manage Overall Economy, According to New Register.com Survey
I agree with most of the statements made by Evan on his first post. Obama is doing a better job of distancing himself from Bush's way of handling the United States. He stated that Obama is making better economical and military plans for the United States (www.barackobama.com//issues). Obama is planning to take out some of the troops in Iraq and send them into Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban (www.barackobama.com//issues). Obama is making more than the half the money McCain is making giving more of advantage in television commercials and advertising.
I feel Evan could of added more about McCain because it said to talk about both the candidates and he made it seem like all talk about was how Obama was better than McCain. The question said to explain the sectors of people the candidates were doing good with and he only stated the Obama position. There is not much to agree or disagree about McCain because it is all against McCain statements. Evan will be better off next time if he talks about the whole question just not half of it making his arguments better.
HELLO CHE CHE GREENE...
I agree with most of what Chelsea but also had some things to add. On the issue of McCain nominating Palin as his Vice president; according to “The Week” magazine (1) that I received in the mail today, it states that McCain is now leading 52% to Obama’s 41% in the category of white women. This is a major swing is a big deal for McCain’s campaign. However, what we really need to ask ourselves as citizens is this; is a woman who was a mayor of a small Alaskan town and then a governor of Alaska for only 20 months ready to be second in command to the most powerful person on earth (2)?
I also agree with Chelsea that Obama has to appeal to the people more and not act so “God-like.” He needs to find a way to show the voters that he is just like them. I also agree that the economy is one of the major issues of this election. It is in every election, however, it is especially important in this one because of the recent financial failures on wall street. Senator Obama came into this race with the Iraq war as his platform, but now is switching his focus to the economic issues (3). This is a very good decision, because he may win some more independent voters this way, or even steal back some of the working class votes that McCain thought he had sealed up (3). Overall both candidates must find ways to appeal to groups that they are struggling with right now. This may seem obvious to say, and in fact it really is, however, it is true. They must find ways to gain the support of the voters who are not yet 100% set on their vote.
1. “The Week” magazine: “Why are democrats so worried?”
2. “The Week” magazine: “Is Palin ready to lead the world?”
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/us/politics/17obama.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin “Obama looks to shift focus of Campaign to Economy.”
In response to Kyle, I have to agree with his comment about the economy being the deciding factor. Whichever candidate sells their economic ideas better will probably win. Americans are getting scared with the way things are going right now. Companies everywhere are laying off employees or going bankrupt. Even the world-wide insurance company AIG is failing. The government is giving a Federal Reserve loan of $85-billion because the company was “too global and interconnected to fail”. (1) In McCain’s speech on the 17th, he said “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” multiple times. When explained himself later, though, he went back on his answer, saying what he really meant was that the “American workers are strong”.(2) To me, that makes him seem like he doesn’t think the situation is all that bad. Now, Obama has only 5 or so points ahead of McCain in regards to this issue. (3)
I also agree with Oscar’s statement on white women’s support for McCain. In the Washington Post polls done a few days ago, it showed that more white women then previously shown in earlier polls are leaning towards McCain. Now, it’s split pretty evenly between the candidates. 44% chose Obama, while 47% chose McCain, saying that “he could do more”. (3) I don’t think that having a strong, working woman as the vice president would hurt his chances with the white women voters either, although her views in themselves might be a little too extreme, putting some of the voters off. 78% of the Women who said that they’d vote for Hillary Clinton are now supporting Barrack Obama, although about 25% switched to McCain.(3) He must be doing something right to get that large of a percentage of Clinton supporters.
1.) “Why the Government Wouldn't Let AIG Fail” http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1841699,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-biztech
2.) “Sen. Obama Speaks In Golden, Col. on the Economy” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091601767.html?nav=hcmodule
3.)“In Poll, McCain Closes the Gap with Obama” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090801825.html
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