From TNR. Look at the favorability ratings - they HATED McCain. Obama's favorability went from 42 before the debate to 72 after. McCain dropped from 54 before to 50 after. But then look at the unfavorable rating. Obama's unfavorables dropped from 42 to 22. McCain's, however, rose from 34 to 48. And, this was a focus grouped that was undecided, but started out leaning towards Mccain.
As I type this, Stan Greenberg is briefing reporters on his focus group of undecided voters in Colorado. He said the respondents felt Obama "won" and that the results were "more decisive than either of the last two." That's a reference to Greenberg's previous focus groups, which also came away preferring Obama.
The most striking result came on the favorability ratings. Although the focus group was officially undecided, it leaned towards McCain. Here were the favorability-unfavorability ratings for each candidate at the start:
McCain: 54 favorable / 34 unfavorable
Obama: 42 favorable / 42 unfavorable
Here's what the ratings looked like after the debate:
Awesome line from Daschle on Olbermann: "2/3 of the American people think [McCain is] an angry candidate, and for 90 minutes, he tried to convince the other third."
Fifty-three percent of the uncommitted voters surveyed identified Democratic nominee Barack Obama as the winner of tonight's debate. Twenty-two percent said Republican rival John McCain won. Twenty-four percent saw the debate as a draw.
Focus Group of undecided independent voters conducted by Frank Luntz for Fox News:
Luntz: …none had made a decision to support Sen. Obama before the debate, but more than half supported after the debate. It was a good night for Barack Obama.
Another win for Obama. Clearly. The best word to describe McCain tonight is "cranky."
Tonight had to be a game-changer for McCain. It wasn't. He was on the defensive most of the night and led almost every answer with an attack on Obama. He took swipe after swipe at Obama, but those attacks didn't work.
There is a stark difference between these candidates. Obama can be a president for the 21st century. McCain is mired in the past and has no vision. Obama gave intelligent, well-reasoned answers to the questions. McCain spent too much time launching his attacks.
Started watching CNN's post-debate coverage. The pundits so badly wanted McCain to do well....they still like their old pal. But, they know him too well to understand how badly he comes across. One of the worst things they can say about Obama is that he was professorial and wonkish, which means Obama is very smart. Be nice to have a very smart president.
Also, I'm over these undecided voters. At this point, a lot of them seem to want to be on t.v.
UPDATE: Hillary Clinton is the Obama campaign's surrogate on CNN. She's doing an amazing job....very strong and not getting sucked into Wolf's stupid questions. She looks great -- and sounds great. She's excited about working with President Obama...and she means it.
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John McCain just spent the last 90 minutes sitting across from the next president of the United States, and he knew it. And he wasn't pleased.
McCain needed a game-changer, and he didn't get it. Obama was smart, calm, collected, even feisty when necessary - at his core, Obama was presidential. McCain was angry, annoyed, frustrated, and cocky. The snorts, the heavy breathing, the eye rolls. McCain didn't go on the attack enough to hurt Obama, and didn't come back home to his former maverick status enough to convince the middle that he's not a risk. Watching CNN, undecided women hate McCain. And they may very well be the group that decide this election.
Obama showed tonight, yet again, that he's the bright, hopeful future of our country. McCain showed that his time is past. There is simply no contest.
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10:26PM from Joe: On education, Obama has one of the best lines, our kids are not an interest group, they're our future. Again, he gave a solid answer...McCain, on the other hand, gives an agitated answer. Does McCain know that Sarah Palin's child has downs syndrome, not autism? He has mentioned Palin knows about autism twice...it's weird.
10:18PM from Rob: John McCain has spent his time in answering every question to attack Obama far more than articulating his own position - just like his TV spots. As McCain attacks Obama, his numbers go down - it's a failing tactic but it's clear that at this point all John McCain has nothing left - he's spent.
10:17PM from Joe: What's up with McCain's heavy breathing/snorts? He keeps making noises. He sounds very irritated. The start of every question starts with a swipe at Obama.
10:15PM from Jacki: John McCain is delusional. The average cost of a family health care plan is more than $12,500. It's $2000 more than that on the individual market. I have never ever ever heard of a comprehensive (read: decent benefit) plan that costs $5800 for a family. And I am buried in this information all day long. The whole argument was ridiculous. Obama's health care plan is exactly as he described it. McCain's plan is exactly as Obama described it. Atrocious and dangerous.
10:14PM from JOHN: I think McCain's eye-rolling is going to bite him after the debate when the YouTube videos come out. He's making far too many "I'm annoyed" facial gestures.
Substance alert: McCain is flat-out lying about Obama's health care plan. It is not government-run health care, and looks nothing like the Canadian system.
10:11 PM from Joe: Obama says he believes in the constitutional right to privacy. Where's John McCain on that one? And, Obama speaks out for equal pay for equal work. Nice pivot on this answer.
10:09PM from Joe: Yes, John McCain, elections do have consequences. But, McCain is really pissing off his base right now....they think he does have a litmus test for judges.
10:05PM from Joe; John McCain just admitted he's going to raise your taxes by taxing your health care benefits. That's a HUGE tax increase for most Americans.
10:00PM From John: I understand Joe the Plumber fought with McCain in the First World War.
9:58PM from Joe: Every McCain answer starts with an attack on Obama. Every one. He sounds angry and really frustrated. There is such a stark difference between these candidates. One has a vision...and one really is a cranky old man who can only look backwards.
McCain was wrong, however, when he said that 100% of his ads weren't negative. According to a recent study by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project, 100% of McCain's ads have been negative.
9:54PM from Joe: So McCain gets in a swipe about Obama's eloquence...he's been waiting for that one...and, like the other swipes, it didn't work. McCain doesn't know how to do that. He's sounded whiny and irritated. Obama has to school McCain on Colombia and the violent situation in that country.
9:50PM from John: Not to be catty, but McCain's makeup is horrible tonight. He has too much rouge on his cheeks, his lips are red, and the rest of the makeup is meant to soften his skin and make him look younger, but it just looks kind of creepy. And the belladonna eyes and the blinking. Yeesh.
9:49PM from John: George Bush and John McCain, separated at birth
9:47PM from John: Cockamamie?
9:44PM from John: Autism? Sarah Palin's child doesn't have autism? And I'm glad she can represent special needs parents, but what is she going to do about the economy and Iraq?
9:43PM from John: McCain says that Palin is a role model for women. The women in CNN's focus group don't appear to agree.
9:41PM from John: Oh God, McCain is going to have to defend Palin - this should be high theater.
9:40PM from John: After spending 5 minutes talking about Ayers, McCain said the election is really about taxes. Uh, no, it's about the economy. But if it were about taxes, then why is McCain talking about Ayers?
9:38PM from Joe: Obama explains who he does associate with. Your attacks say more about your campaign than it says about me. McCain is obsessed with Ayers. Obsessed. Obama is right - Ayers is the centerpiece of McCain's campaign.
9:37PM from Rob: Obama is staying on message and bringing it back to the American people - in spite of McCain obviously being rattled and grasping at straws. And watching the CNN meter it's obvious that uncommitted Ohio voters aren't buying it - particularly women.
9:36PM from Joe; Here he goes...McCain is snapping.. Invokes Ayers. Invokes ACORN. Obama notes Ayers has become the centerpiece of the McCain campaign.
9:33PM from Joe: McCain is proud of the people who come to his rallies. They're the most dedicated patriotic people...this is not his best performance. McCain cannot answer that question...but Obama pivots back to the issues.
9:32PM from Joe: Obama just laid it out. Obama explains why John Lewis spoke out...because the McCain/Palin crowds are yelling "kill him."
9:32PM from Joe: McCain -- waaaaahhhhhhhhh. Obama is mean. And Obama is spending a lot of money against me. McCain is obsessed with John Lewis.
9:30 PM from Joe: Great line from Obama that the American people care more about issues than their hurt feelings. The American people can't afford four more years of failed economic policy. Obama says lets talk about the economy and health care for the next three weeks. Good answer from Obama. He's acting presidential.
9:27PM from Joe: Scheiffer dares them to say what they've been saying to each other's faces: Yet, McCain says it has gotten tough. It has taken many turns that have become acceptable. McCain trashes John Lewis. How does that help him? McCain claims he repudiated every negative remark made by a GOPer, which is not true. McCain says Obama is mean. This answer is all over the place -- and he still hasn't addressed the lies being spewed by his campaign. McCain is whining about Obama's money, too. But he never brought up Ayers....
9:24PM from John: He's gonna blow!
9:23PM from John: Snap!
9:20PM from John: McCain is sitting there all creepy again. Oh, now McCain is claiming he's not George Bush. Too bad John McCain voted 95% of the time with George Bush. John McCain helped George Bush get elected, twice. If John McCain were his own man he wouldn't be constantly palling around with George Bush.
9:19PM from Joe: If McCain knows how to save so much money from defense, why hasn't he done it? McCain keeps telling us he knows how to do things that he hasn't done.
9:18PM from JOHN: McCain channeling Palin: "The catalyst for this housing crisis was the Fannie and Freddie Mae that caused subprime lending situations that now cause the housing market in America to collapse. I am convinced that until we reverse this continued decline in homeownership and put a floor under it and so the people have not only the hope and belief they can stay in their homes and realize the American dream, but that value will come up."
9:11PM from Joe: McCain seems intimidated by Obama. And, there goes that creepy laugh again. John notes that if Joe the Plumber is making $250,000, he's doing pretty well. And, the creepy McSmile comes back, too.
9:06PM from John: McCain didn't talk into the camera, Obama is. Oh my God, McCain is sitting there, hands folded, trying to smile. God he's trying not to explode.
9:05 PM from John: McCain is blinking a lot again.
8:58 PM: From Joe: Here we go...the last debate. I think we've liveblogged almost all 40 of the debates over the past year and a half. The big question is whether, on a day when the Dow dropped 733 and the country is distraught about the economy, John McCain decides to bring up bogus issues. And, the other question is whether McCain's friend, Bob Scheiffer, sets that up.
Game on a in few minutes...let's get started.
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Washington and Baghdad have reached a final agreement after months of talks on a pact that would require U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Wednesday....
Iraq said it had secured the right to prosecute U.S. soldiers for serious crimes under certain circumstances, an issue both sides had long said was holding up the pact.
So not only did Bush agree to "surrender," as John McCain and Sarah Palin call it, but he also agreed to give Iraq the right to prosecute US soldiers under some circumstances? Why does George Bush think our troops are criminals?
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At least Charlie Crist is being honest about something:
Florida's governor says his fellow Republicans may be exaggerating claims of voter fraud in the state.
Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday that he has confidence in Secretary of State Kurt Browning, who says there's only been a scattering of isolated incidents.
Crist said in the closing days of any campaign "there are some who sort of enjoy chaos." There may be more of that going on than fraud, he said.
I am a customer of both of your companies, and I can't get a decent cell signal in my house either.
I have AT&T;, same problem at my place and my parents. I ran for student council in grad school once, does that count for meriting an illegal bribe?
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The states where McCain is campaigning is dwindling. Cross Wisconsin -- and now Maine -- off the list. The RNC isn't spending any more money there -- and the RNC is basically McCain's cash lifeline these days. So, another blow to the McCain/Palin campaign. At this point, the GOP ticket is desperately trying to hold on to states won by Bush as Chuck Todd said this afternoon. Keep in mind, Todd's guest, Stephen Hayes, writes for the right wing National Review so it's especially fun to watch him admit the sad state of the Republicans.
For free? Move over Ted Stevens, John McCain is up to bat!
This isn't funny. That would be an illegal corporate contribution to the McCain campaign. And it's bribery of a sitting US Senator. Especially after AT&T; admits that this is why they gave McCain the free goods - BECAUSE he's running for president. Are they mad? John McCain wasn't the Republican candidate yet - and even if he were, corporations can't donate free favors to his campaign - McCain was one of the many men running for the GOP nomination. (And did AT&T; and Verizon offer these donations to other presidential candidates - I'll bet lots of candidates don't get good cell coverage at one of their 12 homes.) McCain was a nobody, campaign-wise - how does his being simply a candidate justify AT&T; and Verizon giving him a huge illegal bribe? Are AT&T; and Verizon stupid?
No, they're very smart in fact. John McCain chaired the committee of jurisdiction, and now is one of the top Republicans, on their issues. So a bribe made a lot of sense, albeit completely criminal sense.
Oh, and guess what else? McCain's senior staff in his personal office and campaign have worked as hired lobbyists for AT&T; and Verizon. Surprise! From the Washington Post:
Early in 2007, just as her husband launched his presidential bid, Cindy McCain decided to resolve an old problem -- the lack of cellular telephone coverage on her remote 15-acre ranch near Sedona, nestled deep in a tree-lined canyon called Hidden Valley.
By the time Sen. John McCain's presidential bid was in full swing this summer, the ranch had wireless coverage from the two cellular companies most often used by campaign staff -- Verizon Wireless and AT&T.;
Verizon delivered a portable tower know as a "cell site on wheels" -- free of charge -- to Cindy McCain's property in June in response to an online request from Cindy McCain's staff early last year. Such devices are usually reserved for restoring service when cell coverage is knocked out during emergencies, such as hurricanes.
In July, AT&T; followed suit, wheeling in a portable tower for free to match Verizon's offer. "This is an unusual situation," said AT&T; spokeswoman Claudia B. Jones. "You can't have a presidential nominee in an area where there is not cell coverage."
Over the course of the past year, Cindy McCain had offered land for a permanent cell tower and Verizon embarked on an expensive process to meet her needs, hiring contractors and seeking county land-use permits even though few people other than the McCains would benefit from the tower.
Ethics lawyers said Cindy McCain's dealings with the wireless companies stand out because Sen. John McCain is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission and the telecommunications industry. He has been a leading advocate for industry-backed legislation, fighting regulations and taxes on telecommunications services.
McCain and his campaign have close ties to Verizon and AT&T;. Five campaign officials, including campaign manager Rick Davis, have worked as lobbyists for Verizon. Former McCain staffer Robert Fisher is an in-house lobbyist for Verizon and is volunteering for the campaign. Fisher, Verizon chief executive Ivan Seidenberg and company lobbyists have raised more than $1.3 million for McCain's presidential campaign and Verizon employees are among the top 20 corporate donors over McCain's political career, giving more than $155,000 to his campaigns.
McCain's Senate chief of staff Mark Buse, senior strategist Charles R. Black Jr., and several other campaign staffers have registered as AT&T; lobbyists in the past. AT&T; Executive Vice President Timothy McKone and AT&T; lobbyists have raised more than $2.3 million for McCain. AT&T; employees have donated more than $325,000 to McCain campaigns, putting the company in the No. 3 spot for career donations to McCain, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Bad news for John McCain: His campaign said if we keeping talking about the economic crisis, McCain will lose.
Well, the Dow dropped 8% today. So, we're still talking about the economic crisis. But, John McCain doesn't understand that this isn't politics for most Americans. People are talking about the economy because all of us don't own 12 house are extremely worried about the economic crisis.
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We now know that uber-lobbyist Bill Timmons is reportedly linked to Saddam Hussein. We also know that Bill Timmon was chosen by McCain to conduct a study in preparation for the presidential transition should McCain win. Some are now trying to claim that this doesn't make Timmons the head of the transition. Well, since the transition isn't appointed until after the election - that would be correct, but also irrelevant. Timmons has been the lead guy on the transition at this point, the guy who wrote the seminal document that is guiding McCain's entire transition should he win. And for McCain to select someone who was reportedly Saddam Hussein's lobbyist is, well, beyond creepy. (It also further a pattern of America's Worst Lobbyists working for McCain - McCain's own campaign manager took $2m from Fannie and Freddie, to many our own homegrown version of Saddam.) And even worse, for McCain to now not repudiate Timmons' help is even worse.
Breaking news: Secret Service investigating threat from Scranton Palin rally
Yes, that news should make Sarah Palin and her running mate, John McCain, very proud. They're really riling up their base to the point where the Secret Service has to again investigate a threat made by a Palin supporter:
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a threatening remark directed at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a political event in Scranton.
The agency followed up on a report in The Times-Tribune that a member of the crowd shouted, "Kill him!" after one mention of Mr. Obama's name during a rally Tuesday for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
The remark came while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd at the Riverfront Sports Complex. There is no indication Mr. Hackett or Mrs. Palin, who took the stage a half-hour later, heard the remark.
They didn't need to hear it. They incited it.
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Bob Schieffer, CBS chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation, is scheduled to moderate the third and final presidential debate on October 13. As moderator, Schieffer will be responsible for formulating the debate questions and following up after the candidates respond. However, Schieffer has described in the past his "golfing friendship" with President George W. Bush "during the 1990s" and has said, "It's always difficult to cover someone you know personally." These and other past statements by Schieffer raise the very question that Schieffer himself suggested: Can he perform the role of objective moderator given the "difficult[y]" of "cover[ing] someone you know personally"?
Ben Smith shares an email he just got from a Republican consultant. The consultant held a focus group in the Midwest, where he showed them a nasty nasty nasty anti-Obama ad, hitting him with the kitchen sink. The focus group believed everything, but they're voting for Obama anyway:
Reagan Dems and Independents. Call them blue-collar plus. Slightly more Target than Walmart. Yes, the spot worked. Yes, they believed the charges against Obama. Yes, they actually think he's too liberal, consorts with bad people and WON'T BE A GOOD PRESIDENT...but they STILL don't give a f***. They said right out, "He won't do anything better than McCain" but they're STILL voting for Obama.
The two most unreal moments of my professional life of watching focus groups:
54 year-old white male, voted Kerry '04, Bush '00, Dole '96, hunter, Nascar fan...hard for Obama said: "I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President."
The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. "Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."
I felt like I was taking crazy pills. I sat on the other side of the glass and realized...this really is the Apocalypse. The Seventh Seal is broken and its time for eight years of pure, delicious crazy....
"Moonves says [CBS's Bob] Schieffer is looked upon kindly at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue because his brother, John Thomas Schieffer, was ambassador to Australia (he was posted to Japan in February), and was partners with the future President Bush in the Texas Rangers."
Clearly, all the pressure is on John McCain in tonight's debate. But, the question for most of us is: Which John McCain will show up tonight? He's been so erratic lately, we'll have to watch to see.
In tonight’s debate, Chuck Todd of NBC News says, McCain needs to “figure out how to disqualify Barack Obama.” Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin writes, “McCain will have to produce a major memorable moment.” The NY Daily News says the debate is “do-or-die for McCain’s campaign.” However they put it, people agree, John McCain needs a game-changer.
On the big issues, this debate is one last chance for John McCain to do what he has failed to do throughout this entire campaign: explain to the American people how his economic policies would be any different at all than the failed Bush agenda he has supported every step of the way. It’s his last chance to somehow convince the American people that his erratic response to this economic crisis doesn’t disqualify him from being President.
Just this weekend, John McCain vowed to “whip Obama’s you-know-what” at the debate, and he’s indicated that he’ll use Bill Ayers to attack Barack Obama. Even though Senator McCain has said he doesn’t “give a damn” about Bill Ayers, his campaign has admitted that if he talks about the economy, he’ll lose.
But perhaps the NY Times explained the peril of McCain’s negative strategy best this morning when they wrote: After several weeks in which the McCain campaign unleashed a series of strong political attacks on Mr. Obama, trying to tie him to a former 1960s radical, among other things, the poll found that more voters see Mr. McCain as waging a negative campaign than Mr. Obama. Six in 10 voters surveyed said that Mr. McCain had spent more time attacking Mr. Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Mr. Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking. [NYT/CBS Poll, NY Times 10/15/08]
Senator Obama is going to use the debate to discuss his plan for the economy. That’s what he’s been doing this entire campaign. And on Monday, he built on his proposals in a new Rescue Plan for the Middle Class. That’s the kind of steady leadership and real change Americans are looking for – not John McCain’s erratic handling of the crisis, his constant character attacks, and the same Bush policies that have failed us for eight years.
But after two debates in which John McCain didn’t mention the middle class once – and after his campaign declared openly that they want to turn the page on talking about the economy – the real question is not how many attacks McCain can land in the debate, but whether he can finally communicate a vision to turn this economy around.
And while McCain has promised to attack Obama in the debate, every minute that he ignores the economy and the middle class is not just a minute wasted but time spent on attacks that even some of those closest to him have said don’t work.
Over at Oxdown, Ari reports that, despite all the Republican's crocodile tears about voting, John McCain's so-called Clean Elections committee is stacked with Republicans who have been engaged in voter suppression. Yeah, the people who tried to prevent voters from voting are now going to make sure people get to vote. Huh???
The GOP has a different definition of clean elections than most of us. For them, it means stealing elections with no fingerprints. But, this time, they're being watched -- and busted:
Nearly a quarter of John McCain’s “Clean Election and Voter Fraud Committee,” chaired by Warren Rudman and John Danforth, have been involved in GOP voter suppression efforts and unfounded partisan claims of voter fraud. Of the 21 members of the committee, five have been engaging in these shady efforts.
It’s no surprise that Republicans engage in voter fraud. Watch what happened last week when “Clean Election and Voter Fraud Committee,” member Tom Davis tells an audience of reporters at the National Press Club last week that Republicans don’t suppress votes. The reaction? They laughed! A lot!
It is laughable. Voter suppression is a hallmark of GOP election strategy.
The punditry is in a frenzy explaining what John McCain needs to do tonight to change the trajectory of the election. This final debate won't really be that decisive. The traditional media is still playing the presidential race like it's a neck and neck horse race. It isn't.
Obama just has to be Obama tonight.
McCain's challenge is that he can't be McCain. He has to have solid economic ideas. He has to explain those ideas. He has to keep his cool. He can't be too nasty. He can't be erratic. But, McCain has already said he'll be on the attack. That nastiness -- and Sarah Palin -- got McCain into the precarious place he is right now. McCain will be McCain tonight:
When they meet in their final debate, it will be the last time voters see the candidates side-by-side before Election Day. The meeting comes on the heels of new economic prescriptions offered by both candidates over the past two days.
McCain's crucial job is to convince voters that he can handle the economy as he fights to keep his campaign on track after a rough-and-tumble week dominated by character attacks on Obama, which drowned out his own economic platforms. And while Obama has bought 30-minute ads, McCain likely can't afford that, so Wednesday gives the Arizona senator a key national forum to talk to voters.
Obama must turn in a steady performance to secure the confidence of working class voters, whom polls show have moved toward the Illinois senator as the economy consumes the nation's attention. New polls out Tuesday showed Democratic nominee gaining ground in several key swing states.
Republican McCain has the toughest job because voters partly blame the current administration for the economic problems.
McCain has the toughest job because McCain can't help being McCain.
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McCain is on the ropes. The big question is just how ugly he'll get tonight. It is a big question. McCain told everyone he'll get tough and be on the attack. But being on the attack has hurt McCain badly in the latest polls. This year, voters actually want answers and solutions. That reality completely undermines the standard GOP campaign playbook. People aren't falling for the negative stuff this year. And, that's all McCain and Palin have to offer.
We'll be live-blogging the debate as we have almost every debate since this thing started early in 2007. It's almost over.
One piece of good, fun news via Scout Finch, the Great Schlep appears to be working.
I hear anger and frustration just about every time I have an email or call with my own mother who is retired, so this is a familiar story. As seniors look at the sorry state of their lifetime savings and pension plans with faltering companies, how could they even think of more of the same?
"Who isn't afraid of getting a 'Dear John' letter from GM saying your pension is in danger?" he asks. "You look at all these companies and what they are doing. We worked so hard to put them first, and it's just not right for them to be reneging."
The other men share the outrage, spitting out the names of corporations and their golden parachutes and lavish indulgences.
"I wasn't invited to the AIG spa weekend, were you?" one asks aloud. "You didn't get the manicure?" another asks.
"If we ran a household like they ran their company, you'd be bankrupt in five months."
The Sawdust Engineers should be an easy sweep for Republican presidential nominee John McCain. All five are Korean War veterans and registered Republicans. George W. Bush nailed every one of their votes. But three weeks before the election, only three of them are supporting McCain.
Sun City Center is in the hard-fought electoral quadrant in Florida known as the I-4 corridor, home to 43 percent of the state's voters. The Republican Party has always counted on the retirees here to deliver in bulk, but this year a more severe calculation is at play. To win Florida, McCain needs to capture a bigger slice of older voters than President Bush won in 2004 to offset the high numbers of young voters supporting Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.
"I'm ready for a change," says Ed Bearer, a retired public school teacher from Delaware who recently received a letter saying his wife's medical expenses may no longer be covered under his pension plan. "McCain turns me off. I can't explain it," he says. He's voting for Obama.
It won't bring back the cats and dogs but it's time business is touched with some level of accountability.
A federal judge Tuesday approved a $24 million settlement for owners of dogs and cats who were sickened or died after eating pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman clears the way for U.S. pet owners with claims to start receiving checks next year. A Canadian judge has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 3 to determine whether the settlement can also apply in that nation.
Under the deal, pet owners have until Nov. 24 to file claims.
The settlement is to compensate owners for many expenses, including: the cost of the food, medical and burial expenses for their animals, the value of the animals or the cost of replacement pets, checkups for animals who ate the food but did not get sick, replacing carpets ruined by sick pets, and time the owners took off work to seek treatment for their animals.
This is a very significant sign and not necessarily a good one for anyone. Obviously Western consumers are cutting back due to the credit crisis. This is a necessity but not a good sign for the US economy that relies on consumers shopping 24x7. Related to such cutbacks is a report from Rio Tinto (large mining corporation) that China is trimming its demand. They need to produce less, so need less, that much is easy to understand.
What is going to cause problems moving forward is China's already stressed out economy that requires adding new factories and hiring from the countryside. The growth in the economy has been thanks to ever-expanding export markets (where consumers have readily available money to buy) and money being pumped into feeding this giant factory machine. During this time China has struggled with often violent dissension in the countryside. When times are going well, it's easy enough to spread the cash around to throw at problems but it's less obvious how China will address a falling market. Less fast money and few jobs does not bode well for China's future. An unstable China is not going to be a positive development for China or the West.
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I've been waiting to see this since the weekend's Parade Magazine comparison John talked about. You can find the calculator here http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ and embedded (hopefully) below.
For 95% of Americans, their taxes will go down under Obama; if you make over $250,000, you'll pay more. But as Parade points out, if you're really, really, really, rich, John McCain will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. It's time Americans got to get their calculators out to see just how much more they'll save in taxes under Obama. Check out the Obama tax calculator site here and share it with your friends.
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AMERICAblog reader Andrew Byrne just did a cabaret of his songs at the Zipper Theater in Manhattan last week, and he wrote a song where he imagined a Palin presidency. Lisa Rothauser, who was a cast member of The Producers on Broadway, plays Sarah Palin.
