8 posts tagged “presidential election”

This from the Assoicated Press:

Another tactic Obama employs is to use McCain's words against him. He reads them aloud, pauses dramatically and chuckles with the crowd before making his point.

"Sen. McCain said, 'Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been 30 years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long-term about the future of the country,'" Obama said Friday in Dayton, Ohio.

"I couldn't agree more," Obama said. Then, smiling and in an incredulous tone, he added: "The only problem is that out of those 30 years, Sen. McCain was in Washington for 26 of them!" The crowd whooped and hollered.

Obama also is taking full advantage of the openings McCain presents.

Shortly after a McCain economic adviser dubbed the United States "a nation of whiners" in a "mental recession," Obama took to the stage in Fairfax, Va., on Thursday and used Phil Gramm's comments to portray McCain as out of touch.

"Let's be clear. This economic downturn is not in your head. It isn't whining to ask government to step in and give families some relief!" Obama said. Mixing humor with an attack, Obama added: "America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy!"

This audience ate up Obama's criticism of McCain — just like his crowds do every day.

• In 2004 41.4% of Georgia voters voted for Obama John Kerry. Those voters will go Obama.

• Most of the newly registered will vote Obama. The state Democrats are working hard to register new voters and get them to the polls.
  

• Most independents will vote Obama.

• At least 5% of the GOP will vote for Georgian (Libertarian Party Candidate) Bob Barr or stay home.

• Then there are the Obamacans...Republicans for Obama.
  

It’ll be close. We have our right wingnuts here who want you to believe it can't happen. Who are they trying to fool? Themselves maybe.

This from the NY Times:

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Injecting himself directly into the presidential campaign and speaking before one of its most crucial constituencies, Jewish voters, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Friday morning forcefully rejected what he called a “whisper campaign” in the Jewish community linking Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to Islam.

Mr. Bloomberg, who has been occasionally mentioned as a potential running mate for both Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, told an audience of Jewish residents here that rumors that Mr. Obama is a Muslim represent “wedge politics at its worst, and we have to reject it loudly, clearly and unequivocally.”

He added: “Let’s call those rumors what they are: lies.”

It sure took McCain long enough to reject this far right cult leader's remarks, and this was not even McCain's pastor. McCain finally decided he couldn't have it both ways, as Sen. Obama had already decided about Wright.

McCain Finally Rejects Hagee Backing as Nazi Remarks Surface - The Caucus - Politics - New York Time

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/20...

SAN JOSE—Senator John McCain rejected the endorsement on Thursday of the evangelical leader, the Rev. John C. Hagee, three stormy months after it was first announced as part of an effort to shore up Mr. McCain’s standing among Christian conservatives. The Rev. John C. Hagee (Photo: Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times) The rejection of Mr. Hagee’s endorsement occurred after another controversial sermon from the televangelist and pastor of Cornerstone, a mega-church in San Antonio, surfaced in which he argued that biblical verses made clear that Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust was part of God’s plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.

...and to think, this all began with hanging chads in 2000. I prefer paper and we should all dip our fingers in India ink to prove we have voted. It was good enough for Iraq.

Rep. Rush Holt to Push for Paper Ballots and Vote Count Audits for 2008 - AlterNet

http://www.alternet.org/election08/71...

A new effort to ensure the 2008 presidential election is held using verifiable paper ballots and random audits to ensure accurate vote counts is underway in Congress. Early next year, Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., will introduce the "Confidence in Voting Act of 2008," which would provide $500 million to counties and other election jurisdictions to replace controversial paperless electronic voting systems before the 2008 presidential election. The bill envisions voters using paper ballots that are marked by hand, or ballots that are printed on Election Day after voters use a computer to make their choices. An electronic scanner, like a standardized test, would then tally the ballots. The bill also provides $100 million for audits, where 3 percent of all paper ballots -- including absentee and early voting -- would be hand-counted to verify the electronic count before winners would be certified. Those audits would be public, according to the New Jersey congressman....

This is particularly interesting since the writer is a lifelong Republican. I have always had mixed feelings about what were the intentions of the writers of the Second Amendment. For example, does it give everyone the right to own a musket? Any weapon? How about atomic bombs? The courts did rule once against sawed-off shotguns which are probably illegal in most (or all) states. Why pick on that weapon if the Second Amendment protects all weapons, if that is the case?

Even though this case will decide the legal interpretation of a long-disputed Constitutional amendment, this will certainly not end the debate. It will likely only intensify the debate, as Roe v. Wade about abortion rights did three decades ago. Watch out for this issue to surface big time in the 2008 race for the White House.

Paul Helmke: The Most Significant Second Amendment Case In History - The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-he...

Over 30 years ago, the elected representatives on the DC City Council decided to enact a system of strict gun laws to help protect public safety. The people in DC strongly support these laws. The District's police strongly favor them as well.... As a lawyer and a lifelong Republican, I have deep respect for judicial precedent, for American history, and for a close reading of all the words in the Constitution. As one who served as Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana for 12 years, I also believe in the importance of local communities being able to pass the laws they believe will help keep them safe. These are common values we all share, and I am optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court shares them, as well.