Democratic team: Barack Obama with vice presidential candidate Joe Biden at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. Saturday. Post-debate polls show them gaining. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Obama inches ahead in tight race
The economy, plus questions among some conservatives about Sarah Palin, appear to be helping the Democrats.
By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer/ September 28, 2008 edition
Reporter Alexandra Marks talks about why Barack Obama is gaining in the polls after his first debate with John McCain.
Barack Obama has picked up steam.
Over the past two weeks he’s seen a small but steady rise in the polls. Immediately after the Republican Convention, the Illinois senator trailed his rival John McCain by three points in the various daily tracking polls. Senator Obama is now up by as many as six or seven points.
Pollsters say that’s in part because the vital independent voters are now shifting his way.
“There are still a substantial number of independents that are undecided, principally independent women,” says pollster John Zogby. “But as a group, they’ve begun to swing over to Obama, but not in large enough numbers yet to close the deal.”
Pundits point to a variety of reasons for the shift in the dynamics of the presidential race. First is the steady stream of bad economic news. Polls consistently show that voters think Democrats are better at handling the economy.
Then there’s the way Senator McCain reacted to the crisis. Initially calling the fundamentals of the economy strong, he then decided the crisis was so bad he needed to suspend his campaign, even calling for a postponement of the first presidential debate on Friday.
His campaign had hoped that would reinforce his stance as a leader that put the country first. But to many people it instead reinforced the notion that McCain could be impulsive and erratic.
There’s also the Sarah Palin factor.
She continues to energize the Republican base. But in her recent interview on CBS, the Alaska governor did not appear to have a grasp of a variety of issues.
That’s prompted some women conservative columnists, who once supported her, to call for her to step down for the good of the party.
Governor Palin’s favorability ratings among independents are also going down as her unfavorable ratings are on the rise.
“I’m not sure it’s gotten to the point where she’s hurting [McCain,] but she’s clearly not helping,” says political analyst Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Friday night’s debate in Oxford, Miss., which did happen despite McCain’s calls to have it postponed, has also helped Obama.
A number of postdebate polls show that most viewers thought the Illinois senator did a “better job.”
A USA Today/Gallup poll released Sunday also found that by a 52 percent to 35 percent margin, viewers thought Obama offered better proposals to solve the country’s problems.
“The economy is the issue that looks like it’s going to dictate this election,” says Darrell West, the director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “And Obama won those parts of the debate that he needed to win.”
McCain’s demeanor, particularly during the second part of the debate, may also have hurt him with some independent voters.
“There were times McCain came across as too angry,” says Mr. West. “That’s a style of delivery that’s going to scare some undecided voters, and it’s also a style that women don’t like, and there are more undecided women than men.”
Some analysts don’t believe the debate will impact that race all that much even though it highlighted the candidates’ differing visions.
“You saw a real difference in style and temperament, but you probably came out of the debate thinking very similarly to the way you went into the debate,” says Margie Omero of Momentum Analysis, a Democratic polling firm in Washington.
That’s in part because there were no big gaffes that the media will play over and over. But at the same time, Obama appeared to have reassured voters who had questions about his experience.
“Obama showed that he belonged there, he was on equal footing with the 72-year old war hero,” says pollster Zogby. “And there were no mistakes, no runs, no hits, no errors – which to me meant that Obama won on points.”
But this is a race that remains tight and can change. The tentative deal on an economic bailout package and how it’s finally resolved could again change the dynamics of the race. On NBC’s “Meet the Press” McCain’s camp was already claiming credit.
“Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached,” Stephen Schmidt, McCain’s top strategist, told Tom Brokaw.
“What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans,” Mr. Schmidt said.
Obama’s top strategist, David Axelrod, who was also on the show, called that claim “a little bit of fiction.”
“It isn’t clear what his role was,” he said. “The important thing is that the principles that Senator Obama outlined originally are now embraced, and taxpayers will be protected.”
With more than a month left to go, some pollsters say the race could go down to the wire.
“I’m still of the belief that this thing is going to be very close to the end,” says Zogby. “Then the [election] is going to break one way or the other in a big way.”
Comments
2. Haris Siddiqui | 09.28.08
**
Obama 50% (+2)
Mccain 42% (-1)
Barack Obama leads John McCain, 50% to 42%, among registered voters in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — just one point shy of his strongest showing of the year. (Gallup Poll)
3. bernard greene | 09.28.08
I THINK THAT NOBODY WON. THE REAL QUESTION THAT SHOULD BE ASKED IS “IF YOUR OPION OF THE ISSUES WAS CHANGED BY WHAT THE CANDIDATEDS SAID” MY ANSWER IS NO.
4. Jane | 09.28.08
This presidential race reminds me a lot of the tortoise and the hare fable. It will be interesting to see if McCain’s hot and heavy approach will be enough to help him cross the finish line first or if Obama’s slow, steady, evenness will win the race.
5. Jon | 09.28.08
America deserves more than what the Republicans have given us over the last eight years. No, Obama is not perfect and he is to some extent untested. I will however take a Harvard Law school graduate that is thoughtful and deliberate over a bottom of the class War School graduate with a bad temper. That is not cynicism, it is fact. Don’t reward eight years of incompetence. It is time for the “old solider” to start fading away.
6. Claire Twitty | 09.28.08
Many are talking about Biden having a tightrope to walk in the debate with Palin, not too aggressive but not to defer either. Obama walked the same tightrope. Had he appeared too aggressive toward McCain, an indisputed American Hero, it probably would have engendered a strident reaction from some independents. He did a good job.
8. Rick Long | 09.28.08
Senator Obama was the only potential President of the United States that I saw standing on that stage last night. He showed that his concerns were about the middle class and the working men and women of America, not the rich elite and CEOs who are currently robbing this country blind, the peopple Senator McCain has always favored.
9. Vito | 09.28.08
Lord, save us from another 4 years of these millionaire republican politicians, who don’t care a lick about the little guy. I’m voting democratic, for the sake of this country. Nuff said.
10. Jesse Blanchard | 09.28.08
McCain was supposed to win this debate. Foreign policy is his wheelhouse. However, it really should his weakness both in foreign policy and elsewhere. He’s so committed to some mistakes that he misses the big picture. So committed to Iraq he forgets Afganistan (and Osama). So committed to ‘earmarks’ he misses the ball on a 700 billion dollar bailout due to lack of oversight. This guy just runs in all the wrong directions and that was very evident during the debate.
12. Jim | 09.28.08
Dear Conservatives,
Please don’t type using all caps. Everywhere on the internet, I’ve seen comments on political news where someone posts a pro-McCain comment, usually containing errors of fact as well as grammar, in Caps Lock. Quit it. You make your party look out of touch, which is exactly what the Dems want. I’m a democrat, but I’d like to win this election without getting e-yelled at quite so much.
Thank you.
13. Mike | 09.28.08
We only need to get past the fact that Obama is black and that will be hard for some, he his however the best candidate for the job, the best educated and most important…a Democrat. Enough of the rich Republicans running the country into the ground while waving the pro life flag to get our attention off the real issues.
14. Bill | 09.28.08
McCain, although a respected war hero and public servant for many years, is no longer suited to be the President of the United States. His age has been a factor from the beginning, but it really came into play when he made an exceptionally dismal choice of appointing Sarah Palin as his running mate. Should he be elected and for whatever reason not live to finish his term, our Commander in Chief would end up being an air headed bimbo. That is a risk I’m not willing to take.
15. Lisa | 09.28.08
This Palin/Biden debate is going to be very interesting. I predicted Obama a great convention speech, and I was right. I predicted Palin a great convention speech and I was right. I predicted more or less a tie in the Obama/McCain debate, leaning slightly towards Obama, and I was right. And I predict an absolute bomb for Palin and a home run for Biden. We’ll see. It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure, so get your popcorn ready.
16. Sandra | 09.28.08
It’s a shame that Obama has to work so hard to beat such an unworthy candidate.
And I believe that the man that will become the 44th President of the United States is a man that has run the gauntlet through the American political system and has survived in the face of extreme adversity. He has shown courage under fire; has stayed calm through crisis, as a leader should; has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous lies and slurs by his opponents; and carries the slingshot of David against the Goliath of the good old boy Republican white male bastion. That man is someone I will be proud to have as my president, representing my country to the world. That man will help me to be proud to be an American once again. That man is Barack Obama. Thank you.
17. American Citizen | 09.28.08
Please, America, put the republican party out of business. We can’t survive another 8 years of republican’s running the White House. When you are in the voting booth remember: Lies leading up to Iraq war, Katrina, US attorney hiring scandal, Alberto Gonzales, Rumsfeld, deficit, unemployment, forclosures. All this mess happened under Bush’s administration and McCain was with him all the way.
18. John | 09.28.08
Debate - content versus style. Media-style wins. People-content is mean, style wins. Obama-change (what’s left in your pocket after his tax and spend way). McCain- a pragmatic realist- been there. Obama-a naive, yet untainted philosopher of hope-has never been there. Vote- Obama by a wide margin- for class president; McCain by a wide margin for leader of the nation. Outcome- media self promotes, sells more tv, prevails with its chosen candidate. Guess who that is…
19. Michael | 09.28.08
Well put Jon. Obama and Biden are far from perfect, but they are exponentially a better ticket than McCain and Palin. McCain used to be the “Maverick”, but now he’s the Republican Party’s tool, siding with Bush and company on the exploitative and failed policies of America. If you have seen any of Palin’s interviews, it’s clear that she knows very little of anything about running the country. I don’t know how America has allowed Bush to be president these last 8 years, but after two strikes, one more Republican President and we’re out.
20. Darcie in Philadelphia | 09.28.08
if Sarah palin is qualified to be president, then I should be chosen to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, after all I did serve on jury duty…. That makes me qualified, right??
21. Alexandra | 09.28.08
I’m not sure we were all watching the same debate. The one I watched had Obama rsponding with clear, specific answers; behaving with calm dignity and respect for the event, and keeping his attention on issues, not personal belittling. McCain responded with generalistic platitudes, name dropping (people and places … all of which had to do with international conflicts); behaving with snide, condescension, disrespect for the event and his colleague, anger and rudeness (talking over everyone else, including the moderator). In all, he is not someone I would want for the coach of my daughter’s soccer team, much less the national executive of my country. He needs to retire on his laurels, while he still has a few. As for his war record, yes — he was a prisoner of war and deserves our respect. However, I know many Vietnam Veterans — brave, courageous men and woman who still wear the scars of their experiences in that war. They are the quiet heroes I admire, never talking about their bravery or their sacrifices. They are our national heroes. I for one am getting a tad tired of McCain’s CONSTANT need to capitalize on the fact that he was a prisoner of war. I appreciate his sacrifice on behalf of our shared country..but that doesn’t mean we own him the Presidency.
22. Judy McCune | 09.28.08
McCain was very impatient and rude during the times when Obama was giving his answers during he debate. He showed a great defensiveness rather then patience and brains. He looked very ego based, trying to make Obama look like he didn’t have a clue.
This is the first I have watched of any of it, as the reports on politics as a whole are not entertaining to me.
I was very impressed with the strength and unwavering control, and his knowledge of the issues.
McCain reminded me of the look that cats get when they are attacking each other, or a wolf snarling.
I think the republican party has had pleanty of time to make the worst mess of our country that I have ever seen.
I have missed Clinton since he left office. I don’t care who hated him. Nor do I care about all the propaganda that made sure he got ousted. The democrates have repeatedly showed that they can run the government more securely then the republicans.
I don’t understand the workings of it all, but I do know that things were going much better with the democrats in power
23. Abdi | 09.28.08
Senator McCain overstates his experience in national security. He is not on the Senate Select committee on Intelligence nor on the Foreign Relations Committee which Biden chairs and Obama is a member. No wonder he is clinging to the old Cheney, Rumsfeld and neocon policies. He gets these ideas from no other than Joe Lieberman who wispers in his ear even in public. P.S. he admits that he doesn’t know much about the economy so we have to take his word that he is not qualified to get us out of this mess. I say this because I know the man.
24. Tangito | 09.28.08
I concur with the theory that the election will change in a very big way; the shift has already begun; Obama was down 3, now up 7 is signicant! Obama up ten points in ten days! The vice presidential debate will finalize the election when the American people see that Sarah Palin is not qualified to be on McCain’s ticket. In some regard, I feel sympathy for Mrs. Palin because McCain made a monster mistake by selecting her; another example of his poor judgement; who, then, will he choose for secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, ect.? It’s sinister and freightening to imagine!
Obmama proved his metal in the first debate, he did not go for a knockout punch but rather proved himself. That was brilliant strategy. His choice of Biden was also brilliant; senator Biden is qualified and prepared to take over, if the unthinkable should occur. Obama is prepared for the best and he is prepared for the worst. Brilliant strategy! He deserves to be President of the United States.
25. Darcie in Philadelphia | 09.28.08
just wait and see any day now the right wing republicans will bring up the “gay rights” issue as a last and truly pathetic attempt at swinging the vote. This is what they do, the will use this “trick” like they do every election. I just hope we are all smart enough to see this for what it really is : HATRED, DISGUST, and INTOLERANCE !!!!!
26. Ben | 09.28.08
as a Canadian, I can’t tell you how beautiful it is to see long list of pro-obama opinions on a christian website!
27. abram | 09.28.08
i enjoyed this write up. thanks. it’s time for america to wipe out the neocon image of patriotism and the flag… it’s time to start over with a real american..
28. Paul | 09.28.08
Biden is going to eat Palin alive. She does’t stand a chance. If McCain keeps her on the ticket, I will be voting for Obama. I might be doing that anyway.
McCain has one foot in the grave and the other on a bananna peel, and his V.P. thinks flying over the North Pole makes her an expert on Santa Claus?
It’s obvious that she is out of her league. Leave the politics to the men…we’re the ones that have to fight for this country.
Women just create problems…always have…and always will.
29. kerby dean | 09.28.08
Old McCain knows hes Forign policy or should I say the Repulicains Made the entire world mad at the Americans for their stupied war and she can see Russia.
30. ted | 09.28.08
A 10 point shift in national polls is not small. Republicans having to seriously defend in Missouri, Indiana, and North Carolina represents a sea change. I would say that this is Obama’s race to lose at this point.
Economics, on which he is seen as the stronger candidate, has become the critical issues.
And I think, or at least hope, there is a limit to the number of stunts–Palin, threatening not to attend the debate, etc.–that he can pull. Too much drama is not what one wants from a President in trying times.
Honesty helps as well, and that initial round of ugly campaign ads on lipstick and teaching kindergartners about sex education that McCain ran, hurt his reputation on that front as well.
31. john | 09.28.08
Obama for class president! He will deliver change, what’s left after his tax and spend philosophy. He is the most studied candidate I’ve ever seen, central casting could not have done better. The only problem is that he truly has NO experience of note. He is a typical absentee senator who has been running for office rather than creating significant legislation. However, give him his due he could prevail insomuch as he is the candidate of image, therefore, the candidate the media wants. My last post was removed within one minute. Let’s see how long this one lasts.
33. Pete Carapetyan | 09.28.08
As a centrist independent, neither McCain nor Obama impress me dramatically as Presidential material.
Sarah Palin, on the other hand frightens me to the point of distraction. She is either ignorant beyond belief or she is just trying to shred whatever respect there was remaining for the extremes of the right or left wingers.
Has anyone discussed the possibility that McCain might not really want this job and just accidentally won the nomination ? That he might have chosen Palin to torpedo his chances ? I can’t blame him, I wouldn’t want the job either.
34. Dan | 09.28.08
Obama should be up in the polls by 20%, the fact that he isn’t tells me Americans don’y by the act. Anyone can debate well. He is an intelligent guy but one that will do as his party tells him. McCain marches to the beat of a different drum. I would rather have a free thiker be our next commander-in-chief than a guy who stands up for what other people tell him to… Oh and by the way, the Dems agreed with the Bush bailout and have the majority in both houses so they were delaying the bill because they have no clue on what they are doing. Congress is a bunch of lawyers not economists. Paulson is a democrat so why the Bush bailout plan wasn’t passed last week is beyond me…
35. Dave | 09.28.08
As I recall, some news outlets reported McCain as a disruption to the Credit crisis budget deal, not the closer.
He blew off his interview with Letterman to “get back to Washington” and save the day, and instead was found upstairs with Katie Couric…hmmm, I guess he lied to Mr. Letterman?
Perhaps Mr. Schmidt was reporting on a different deal? Then there was the Keating scandal.
I don’t trust John McCain, or Sarah Palin. This ticket really scares me.
Vote Obama/Biden, please.
36. Raymond Paul | 09.28.08
If the election was about issues and content, then Barack Obama would be way ahead already, no contest. If the election was about truth and integrity, same thing, since for the informed it was clear that John McCain had trouble speaking truth, and his campaign has stooped to new lows in trying to “swift-boat” their opponent. I even believe too that if race were not a factor, again, no contest. Mr. Obama won the debate because he is winning on another front . . . that of personality and personal impressions. Barack was a perfect gentleman, showing the grace needed from a world leader, while John McCain’s angry ol’ **** manner, not even bothering once to show enough respect for his opponent to look at him, illustrates a man who will further polarize our nation and our world. It was obvious to me that Obama has strapped on the mantra of patience and poise, and will work to unify and heal the damage of the Bush debacle.
37. godblessed | 09.28.08
Why does Obama want to be president at all cost ? Is he genuine. Please remember to vote for a genuine individual , then American People would truly benefit. Thanks .
Don’t you think that the major US media set it up so that everything they publish or air are in favor of Barrack Obama ???!!!
What you do Not know about Obama could Hurt you . AND WHY JOE BIDEN LIED THAT HIS WIFE WAS KILLED BY A ” DRUNK ” DRIVER ? WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE FOR LYING THAT THE DRIVER WAS DRUNK ?McCain’s choice of Palin proves McCain to be very smart and keen. The world may prefer Obama because it would be easier for them to deal with In-Experienced Obama . Do we need Ethnic/Race Quota in US government ? I suppose that one has to earn the privilege . Does Obama deserve that !
Please keep Obama as Senator Here in Illinois;How could you guarantee that Obama would be a good president ? Thanks
Please Keep Senator Obama here for the state of Illinois. Thanks How could you guarantee that Obama would be a good president ? Thanks Dear People, when you think that you could not achieve some tasks or multiple tasks, please do Not think that nobody else could achieve since people are different , there are way smarter people out there and Sarah Palin are among them. Please do research in quantum, metaphysics about that truth. Obama could be Senator , at the best! Please vote for President McCain and Vice President Sarah Palin. Thanks. God Bless America Forever. — We must pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended upon us. St. Ignatius of Loyola
38. Joe Rotes | 09.28.08
John McCain (aka George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove - take your pick) has become a consumate liar. He frown and looks down on every one much like CHeney/Rumsfeld and has supported fat cats on Wall Street for ever with zero-regulation. He said the economy was doing fine and two days later said it a crisis and he is supsending his cmapaign.
God help America if we elect Palin/McCain — I am an independent voting for Obama. McCain selected Palin who is more a zoo-like-attraction than a qualified VP. It is an insult to all the excellent, hard working Republican candidates who were far more qualified. America does NOT need a cyncial McCain and an empty-headed Palin.
39. Texas Dem | 09.28.08
Obama clearly won the debate. He certainly has a better handle on the current mess and speaks with the country’s best interest in mind rather than speaking with political points in mind.
Regarding Palin, I am at a loss. Her recent and seldom interviews are just as comical as the Saturday Night Live skits. However, you tend to laugh at first and then you begin to pity her for she is obviously out of her league. McCain’s choice of Palin as a running mate is more than enough reason for any sane voter not to vote for him. Choosing Palin is irresponsible and is also offensive. She is obviously on the ticket to rally hard core right wing bible thumpers. She was also put on the ticket to attempt to rally women. The choice of Palin belittles both groups and speaks to McCains contempt for women and people of faith. How sad if either group falls for this pitiful choice.
41. Alex | 09.28.08
Obama is the man to lead America into the 21st century! To help the people of the world finally throw off the primitive mindset that has dominated mankind since the dawn of civilisation. This is a new dawn… GO OBAMA from New Zealand!
42. Richard Wagner | 09.28.08
McCain: the best replacement possible for both Bush and Cheney at the same time.
Obama: Americans can travel again all over the world and be proud of their Country and their President.
43. Brian Musah | 09.28.08
A very troubling side of McCaine has now clearly emerged- THE MAN IS A GAMBLER AT HEART. He gambled when he chose Palin; He gambled when he tried to postpone the very first election debate. Romours abound that the next trick out of the hat will be an announcement of Palin’s daughter’s wedding very close to the elction date. How long can these McCaine gimmicks go on? He has installed a clueless woman potentially a whisker away from the Presidency ( lets face it, McCaine is old );it was pathetic to see Palin gropping about in the dark when asked very basic questions during her most recent TV interviews. As Abraham Lincoln said: YOU CAN FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME; YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME , BUT YOU CANNOT FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME. McCaine and his advisors (former Busah advisors) should take note.
44. Lauri | 09.28.08
Posters:
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I am so grateful you are smart and clear about which candidate will be better able to get us out of the mess we are in, on every level: Barack Obama.
Hopefully, the voters who put Bush in office in 2004 have come to realize they made a terrible mistake and will now be wise enough to pull the lever for Obamaon/Biden on November 4th. If not, they will be responsible for bringing 4 more years of destruction to our country.
45. Mark | 09.28.08
What would Jesus think about a war that has needlessly killed more than 1,000,000 innocent people?
46. Brian Musah | 09.28.08
CORRECTION:
A very troubling side of McCaine has now clearly emerged- THE MAN IS A GAMBLER AT HEART. He gambled when he chose Palin; He gambled when he tried to postpone the very first election debate. Rumours abound that the next trick out of the bag will be an announcement of Palin’s daughter’s wedding very close to the election date. How long can these McCaine gimmicks go on? He has installed a clueless woman potentially a whisker away from the Presidency ( lets face it, McCaine is old );it was pathetic to see Palin gropping about in the dark when asked very basic questions during her most recent TV interviews. As Abraham Lincoln said: YOU CAN FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME; YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME , BUT YOU CANNOT FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME. McCaine and his advisors (former Bush advisors) should take note.
47. Marge Wood | 09.28.08
Gee… it looks like these readers are in the tank for Obama..or perhaps they are only posting the Obamo accolades as the website screens all the postings..drinking the koolaid of “I don’t care who he is as along as he is not a Republican”. This is scary. They guy is totally inexperienced with a socialist ideology…not the kind of change we need. While McCain is not the ideal candidate, he is clearly the better choice as he too wants change and is not a Bush surrogate. One look at Pelosi and Harry Reid and the way they have governed tell me that the democratic party cares only about power and stonewalling anything Republican. Its all a power grab and a bunch of posturing that attempts to fool the American people once again.
48. Spike | 09.28.08
America’s Bastille Day is coming because of the financial crisis. It arrives on Nov. 4, Election Day, when the George Bush and Republican Party are thrown out..
49. FairPlay | 09.28.08
i see this is a Love Obama comment place.I do not trust Obama and i am not afraid to say so.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Sunday his Republican rival deserves no credit for helping to forge a tentative agreement on the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.
Instead, Obama said he deserves credit for making sure the proposal includes safeguards for taxpayers.(that was already in the plan)but he wants credit.
not one of them deserves credit not Obama or Mccain. Obama will take credit when ever for what ever he wants even if he doesn’t deserves it.he sounds like a little kid.. hey hey he doesn’t get credit i do i do.. give me a brake. Some people have wrote that standing in a rain storm makes a good president if thats so then every tom **** and harry can be president. we have all been caught in a rain storm.He says he will talk to Iran’s president with no preconditions but with preparations. Well they mean the same thing. you guys are so into worshiping him you can’t see in front of your own face.I hope he does win and when things aren’t going the way you thought it would o you have only you to blame. Just remember he is not a God like so many think he is. He is man and he will lie and make mistakes no matter what you think.
50. John McMurray | 09.28.08
My message supporting McCann got wiped away in the middle of typing. Why? The Obama either volunteers or paid commenters are really hot today.
51. Common Sense | 09.28.08
I’ll take McCain’s experience over Obama’s naivite any day of the week. But then, I’ve always preferred doers to talkers.
52. Loke | 09.28.08
It is written here in one post:
“Barack Obama leads John McCain, 50% to 42%, among registered voters in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — just one point shy of his strongest showing of the year.”
But it seems simpler than that to me. There will be voter suppression in Ohio again, and in Florida, and probably in some other battleground states. And there will be vote-fixing via easy-to-rig electronic voting machines owned and operated by Republican-backed Diebold. So the fix is in.
But will it be enough? Enough to overcome Obama’s 8-point lead in the polls? Maybe not. It’s simple this time around because, as it was back in 1992 when Clinton dusted George Bush, Sr., it still is: The Economy, Stupid.
And voters overall are not interested in a third term for the “W” crew and their disastrous policies.
53. Charlene | 09.28.08
The world is shrinking! We are no longer “just Americans”. We need to get on with the relization that we should be world citizens with a leader who is intelligent, well educated and seeks diplomacy, not a cold war holdout, “war hero” relic of failed Republican aggression. Our domestic mess is on some levels,a mirror of our international arrogance. I can’t wait for Obama to turn this around!
54. MoreObs | 09.28.08
One of the things I am learning as I see these comments across the web, is that when you count up votes, you don’t clearly know why someone is voting the way they do. When reason seems clear to one side of an argument or another, one may seem shocked that anyone could vote otherwise.
When reading some of these comments, however, I think we get that granularity of the voters’ minds. So many of us bring such a diversity of past experiences and beliefs and behaviors, and connect with some things easier than others, so much so, that it can blur the reasonable, rational, assessment of any situation.
Years from now, it will probably be evident that voting for an old man who shows very poor judgment during a campaign, erratic decisions such as campaign suspension, not realizing some would see this as a person who can only concentrate on one thing at a time, going back on his word of not debating until an agreement was made, etc., is maybe not a good idea. Regardless of the principles involved, if McCain cannot conduct himself to a particular end in the campaign, even if you want to believe that your interests will be served, McCain may not have the capability to execute. And, if something should happen to him, he has given us, as his insurance policy, Sarah Palin, who, one must figure, with the best of preparations, has squandered away America’s courtesy to the newcomer with her unintelligible babbling on major affairs of state. Is this really the gamble that Americans are willing to take?
For some, indeed it is, because feelings, and background of each individual differs so much, and belief in your heros, or the people that “speak to you” can blind people so easily. And we’re all susceptible to this phenomenon, I will admit. But, in these times it is important to at least try to put some of those feelings aside to use the balance of reason in making the choices we face in November.
At this point, as bad as the last 8 years have been, I consider it extremely dangerous to vote for McCain the man, even if he is a “maverick.” Voting for him in support of the Republican ideals, maybe that’s justifiable, except, again, we’ve had 8 years of that approach, and it may be, as the tide flows in and out of the shore, time to do something different. Thank you.
OBAMA/BIDEN ‘08
55. FriedPork | 09.28.08
Obama is Strategic and Calm.
McCain is Tactical and erratic.
Obama wins on style and substance.
McCain loses on temperament.
VICTORY = OBAMA
56. curtis | 09.28.08
it is difficult for me to believe so many alleged intelligent people are falling for the obama line. he says the things you want to hear.
comfort or handout talk, your choice. common sense should tell you the programs he wants can not be done with out tax increases. you who support him must like giving your money to the government.
i am a democrat but this is one candidate i can not support.
my hope is some of you will do your research and then make a more informed choice.
c
57. Tony in NM | 09.28.08
Barack Obama’s calm presence and intelligent, thoughtful conduct makes me trust him much more than John McCain, who seems scarily erratic, obsessed, and unkind.
58. marget | 09.28.08
I would have voted for Biden for president but not Obama.One reason no Obama He does not know enough to be president.He is to staged.He is a actor. He promotes hate in every sense of the word.
59. john | 09.28.08
Question. What do you get when you combine the most liberal senator, the third most liberal senator, with the most worthless congress in memory? I don’t know, but the question is worth thinking about. It is good to remember that the current and popular “messengers of change” are also the architects of a huge amount of the mess we are in, most notably, the financial fiasco (Barny Frank and c.). By the way, for all of the knowledgeable and self appointed critics of Palin. Do ANY of you have the experience to critique her on substance rather than style. I doubt it. But, to paraphrase a saying “fifty million lemmings can’t be wrong.”
60. Chuck Glisson | 09.28.08
I would like to echo “American Citizens” pleed. American citizen asked you to remember the failures of “The Republicans” as a party when you choose a candidate, I ask you to remember the failures of John McCain the man. He graduated 5 from the bottom at an academy that he got into in the 1st place because his father was an admiral(Barack Obama graduated with distintion at HARVARD!, and he used his academics and college loans to get there!)
John McCain crashed 4 jets before he even made it to the battlefield! He is also a person of interest in a 1968 fire onboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Foestal that claimed the lives of 134 american sailors.
John McCain was caught and plead guilty of recieving bribes for political favors in the “Keeting Five” scandal. Let me be clear here, John McCain was recieving MONEY for his personnal use, if he ageed to pas legislation that droped restrictions so that banker Charles Keeting could run amuck. The same kind of restrictions that “The Repulicans” finally did manage to get removed, and a DIRECT CAUSE of the current BANKING AND WALL STREET FAILURES!
He has “Flip floped” on Torture, Senate Ethics Reform, and Tax Reform(yep, thats right, he changed his mind on making those big coorperations and billoinares pay THEIR FAIR SHARE of the tax burden).
Plus the man dosen’t know basic political or social geograthy(you know, where countries are located ON A MAP, not knowing what countries DON’T EXIST ANYMORE, or not knowing WHO is fighting and WHERE THEY ARE!)
He is susposed to solve the complex issues of the 21st century, yet he does not know how to operate a computer, or send or receive EMail?
Out of touch, corrupt, wreckless and irresponsible are NOT traits that I am looking for as positive qualities for President of the United States, how about YOU? Haven’t we had enough of this for the LAST 8 YEARS?
61. Coventina | 09.28.08
I am starting to think that if anyone, Republican or Independent….who still want McCain and Palin to win, must be very stubborn, and stubborn only. The choice is MOREthan clean now. There is nothing wrong with changing your mind! At election time, no one will know! 
62. john’s landing | 09.28.08
McCain’s ship is on fire. He lies, he’s mean, and he rolls the dice. What’s not to like?
His supporters have only one defense, to criticize their opponent. They never bring up the differences of policy.
Which tells me we need some free college in this land, because these folks are not grasping the fundamentals of politics. they are lost in rhetoric, which has no beginning and no end.
63. Steve in Austin | 09.28.08
It is so bad for Team R that they have taken to ripping off the Dem’s tag line (’Change’) and their candidate seems to be openly running against the policies of his own party. Truly bizarre, and certainly not to be believed or trusted. Glad to see Americans aren’t buying it this time around. Hope the USA can be pulled back from the brink after 8 years of mismanagement, abuse and outright crime at the highest levels.
64. Vijay | 09.28.08
CSM like most others in the media is attempting to influence independents in favor of Obama - the most egregious of course is the New York Times where blatant partisanship and outright slander is passed off as objective reporting. This report notes that “some women conservative columnists” are moving away from Palin while absurdly quoting Larry Sabato - a known liberal commentator (and a male) as an example! the inane quality of reporting knows no bounds
65. Michael Duffy | 09.28.08
I am open to considering voting for Obama in 4 or 8 years not now enough time to allow the real Obama to emerge. Obama could not wait to run becasue by then he would have had to establish some policy make votes and his radical liberalism would be exposed, perhaps. The country needs to go slow on this election. McCain will do no harm to the country and could turn out to be the hero we hope he is. On the other hand Obama has not answered any questions on Rezko a convicted internation felon that Obama has been associated with for over 20 years. The question of why would a radical like Ayers work so hard for so many years for Obama success and not expect something in return. Electing Obama leads legitamacy to a Religion of hate, Obama needs time to separate himself from 20 years of eating the propaganda of hate from his minister Wright. Obama has idelaized and taken favors and money from Rezko the felon who has ties to internaltion crooks, Ayers a radial opposed to everything good about America, Wright a preacher of the Gospel of hate. Obama needs time to establish his credinals. God help America. McD
66. Pete Carapetyan | 09.28.08
There are many posts here that seem to equate that voting for Obama is a form of gullibility or the like.
That seems to be a pretty extreme point of view. I have voted for many presidential candidates not really knowing how things would work out. There is no incontrovertible reason to have confidence in Obama, it’s a roll of the dice. His skills are largely unknown.
McCain on the other hand has shown me his executive skills in the choice of cartoon like VP, weird behavior around the debate and the bailout, etc. So if I vote against McCain as a known danger, and take a chance on Obama, I would appreciate it if I wasn’t insulted for being gullible or un-thinking. This IS a serious affair, and deserves serious thought.
67. Whodat? | 09.28.08
We don’t KNOW Obama….why should I trust him esp after reading stuff like this http://doyouknowobama.blogspot.com
68. Coventina | 09.28.08
Of course, Obama will win if the Republicans in congress don’t mess with the election system AGAIN. I was in Palm Beach county last election, and AT THE LAST MINUTE the poll locations were switched, only in the poor black areas. Interesting isn’t it…1000’s of blacks could not vote (Democrate-they said they were voting) because they did not know where to go!
I was also there when the chad system was messed up 8 years ago. It really was to, believe me! I had to ask for a new ticket because instead of choosing Democrate, my vote went to some other guy by accident. I don’t remember the name. No matter who is govenor there, Florida IS a Democrate state. But conspiracys change that, don’t be fooled to think it doesn’t, and hasn’t happened.
69. erik | 09.28.08
John McMurray,
Sure John, the Obama camp has hacked your actual computer to monitor and alter what your typing in real time… I hope you get some sleep tonight, its seems it was a long day or something because if you really believe what you are saying the election is the least of your worries… on that note please dont vote your crazy… Sorry but true
70. lucy2008 | 09.28.08
It is satisfying to see Senators Obama and Biden inch ahead. Obviously there is still a month to go and a long way to go to close the deal on Nov. 4th. However, watching Senator Obama over this last year and since the DNC is to watch a man who is leading a bottoms up campaign that unites so many different kinds of people. I am in awe.
Senator Obama won the debate and has shown himself to be presidential and Commander and Chief. He still has a way to go to bring in the independents and undecided in the battle states. All of us in our little way are helping (talking to friends and family and contributing $25 here or there). We all have a stake.
In contrast, Senator McCain has shown over and over that he doesn’t have the temperament and character to lead and be the president. He has shown us just Friday night that he can’t even turn and look at his opponent- speaking contemptuously and with condescention about his opponent. This is not the bearing of a president. He has shown that 26 yrs of experience in the Senate is not an advantage, but is really 26 yrs of poor Republican decision-making (including his neophyte VP choice) and gaming the bailout process and presidential debate. Mr. McCain and the Republicans have shown us in real time their moral disintigration and cynicism and their willingness to sell our country to the highest bidder and financial robber barons. Mr. McCain and the Republicans have shown us in real time how they are willing to use our mighty Treasure and Blood for a neocon war of choice and to smear America’s image abroad. This is the experience that Mr. McCain has shown us.
71. Amos | 09.28.08
I’m one of the independents and wasn’t sure who to vote for. John MCcain’s actions and debate performance has definitely helped me make up my mind. Barrack Obama would get my vote. His demeanor in the past few days have shown that he would show sound judgments in times of crisis. I’m very disappointed with MCcain’s coded message to appease to the conversative base and showing absolute disrespect to his co-nominee. Little eye contact was made - his body language was disrespectful to the American people.
72. Quietus Maximus | 09.28.08
The term debate is used too loosely for it to mean anything, especially when it comes to declaring a winner. Besides, when did we start treating the future of our country like the outcome of a football game? No matter what happens, we all win or lose together while the game itself will be quickly forgotten.
So what we were offered the other night are two different versions of reality, one of which each of us decides to accept as true. Within that context it is clear to me that John McCain has blinded himself to reality with the desire to win, whatever that may mean to him. He has failed to disassociate himself from the moral bankruptcy of his president and party. He has abandoned good sense, choosing to pander to lukewarm supporters with a vice presidential candidate who is so in over her head I can only feel embarrassment and shame on her behalf… and his. While I still carry my Republican card, I no longer recognize the party just as they no longer know who they are.
How this is still a contest absolutely escapes me, but I do know that the next president will have to deliver a miracle. I think Barack Obama understands that like John McCain never will.
73. Coventina | 09.28.08
Uhhh….to Spike: Bush will not get ‘thrown out’ until January, not November. And by then we will be in a depression like no other! So THANKS A LOT people who want greed in office instead of intelligence.
With Bush to veto anything the Dems give him to help us little people, we don’t stand a chance.
VOTE GREEN, VOTE SMART, VOTE OBAMA!
74. Check into It | 09.28.08
What a mess - Obama talks about change, the only change is higher taxes for all people, you think its only the rich, sorry no - if you have any money, your have any assets you are going to be taxed heavily.
Look at the debate, or even look at what Obama is offering he talks about the last 8 years, how its time for change, when he too plans to continue the last 8 years more of the same. Look at the candidates their plans or the lack there of and look at how they are handling themselves, not their campaigns and how they are going after the other party.
Obama has really shown he is more of all the same politics that has existed for more than the last 8 years - you know why it has been more than 8 years? Look at the voting record for the democrats - they have been the cause of the loss of jobs in America - more than the republicans, they are the cause something was not done about the economic crisis sooner, they are the cause of why gasoline prices got so high. Sure there is blame in each party - but really that is blame more of the congressmen and women.
Obama loves to pick on the war, chiding the usual it was going to be quick - it was - in case you forgot it was a very quick war. Getting out the extremists in each Iran, Iraq, and Pacistan has been difficult, but following UN rules we have to work together not just push what we want and desire. People speak about how this is a rich area for oil, yes it is, but the US barely gets any oil from this region less than 20%. We are not stealing from these people we are trying to secure the region and work with some very difficult people and making some real progress.
If you think this is just a bunch of republican rectoric then I encourage you to look into these things by doing some research on Snope and your favorite news service.
Remember our political system is made of of parties (rep, dem, and independants) and it is made up of (president, house of rep. and senate) no one group (pres, house, senate) has the power to make a sweeping change its group of policies and checks and approvals that get things to where they are. There are mistakes by all and I wish people would remember they are not perfect we all are human and make bad choices along the way. You should not follow a party you should check into what is going to make you, your family and your job safe.
Looks like a scary week ahead for Obama he has two possible litigations - one in process, and another according to Chicago new sources - Tony Rezko is likely to provide details that may lead to indictments for Rod Blagovich and Barack Obama. Some more things to look into this week.
In all the debate was not that strong by anyone, but you look at the demeanure and responses from McCain and you can see who is ready to lead, and who is just ready to chat…
75. Jamie | 09.28.08
Re: comment #6 (Claire Twitty)
“…McCain, an indisputed (sic) American Hero…”
I dispute whether dropping bombs on people makes one a hero.
76. Bill | 09.28.08
Barack Obama’s swashbuckling comments about taking out Al Qaeda leaders on Pakistani soil – with or without Pakistan’s consent has Bin Laden dancing with joy! What a great ruckus that will be. Perhaps he can get a face to face without preconditions with Bin Laden, Putin, and Ahmadinejad and tell them there is a new big gun in town. I sure that will convince them to adopt our way of thinking.
77. Eric | 09.28.08
McCain’s willingness to trash Bush in front of the country, after supporting him for 8 years sickens me. It was obviously just a dishonest trick to try to get votes. Bush and McCain are both Republicans, and Republican George Bush was appointed by Republicans to be president. Their agenda is the same. Republican president Bush appointed Paulson to his position. Bush and Paulson (who reportedly has over 700 million in personal wealth) are pushing the Bailout. Yet republicans are trying to spin this in the media against democrats. I only hope voters are smart enough to realize that the Republican owned media and Republican politicians have organized and are working on the same agenda to undermine the election and fool voters. It worked for them the past 2 years; I hope it doesn’t work again. Wasn’t it interesting that Republicans had Guliani speak after the debate instead of Palin? Republicans will try to get the christians to elect them again in Ohio and elsewhere. I remember churches had “vote republican” signs in their yards in Ohio last election to sway the vote. All Christians need to do is read the new testament and see how it says you have to take care of the poor people. Which party takes better care of the poor, and which party takes care of the super-wealthy? McCain couldn’t even figure out how many houses he owns in a recent interview.
78. GeraldD | 09.28.08
The Video FIVE Corrupt Government Officials and Several Former Fannie Mae Officials Don’t Want The American People To See:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace
If you agree, then pass it along To All Your Friends. Someone Needs TO Go TO Jail For This !!
79. Kristine | 09.28.08
Please do not feel bad for Sarah Palin. True, it is unlikely that she will become VP as she had hoped. But, she and her family are getting a lovely paid vacation across the nation. They’ve seen NYC and had Philly Cheesesteaks. I’m sure that they are having a lovely time. It’s like the movie American Vacation… Next stop - largest ball of twine.
80. erik | 09.28.08
godblessed,
At all costs?….. Please look at all of these gimmicks McCain has tried and how dangerous they have been. He wants to be the guy that takes big risks and be right, flying back to the carrier to find everybody ready to prop him up on his shoulders overjoyed because his courage has just saved the world. OK if that’s what you want I recommend buying Top Gun and watching it over and over again but for what we need at this time he is wrong plain and simple. We need intellect not ego, we need someone who can direct traffic effectively not someone building one way streets to nowhere.
81. Brianna | 09.28.08
“Dear Conservatives,
Please don’t type using all caps. Everywhere on the internet, I’ve seen comments on political news where someone posts a pro-McCain comment, usually containing errors of fact as well as grammar, in Caps Lock. Quit it. You make your party look out of touch, which is exactly what the Dems want. I’m a democrat, but I’d like to win this election without getting e-yelled at quite so much.
Thank you.”
Dear Jim,
Thanks for saying what I’ve been thinking for so long. You rock.
-Bri
82. LSG | 09.28.08
McCain is old and losing his grip on reality. I am not against the older set however in this case this man’s age comes to the forefront when he picks a person who is clearly incompetent to take the presidential seat if need be. That alone should scare everyone and reconsider voting Republican. I would much rather have a president who is clearly the more intelligent pick as we have suffered through eight years of complete ignorance. WAKE UP people - wouldn’t you rather have someone smart, in touch with reality of TODAY rather than an out in orbit, bombastic man who clearly is living in the past and can’t seem to get beyond it.
Really this is a NO Brainer……OBAMA/BIDEN for our next Presidential run…
83. Terry Hirneisen | 09.28.08
John McCain’s erratic behavior looks like a man that is desperate. Years ago he called the religious right agents of intolerance, but to get the nomination in 2008 he buddied up with this crew and even picked Annie Oakley as his VP candidate. Then in one breath he pronounces the fundamentals of the economy as sound and the next he must suspend his campaign and travel to Washington to prevent a complete economic meltdown. He has always been for deregulation because government is always the problem, but now he wants government oversight of the greedy bunch on Wall Street. I do not understand why the polls do not have Obama at 99.9%. Yes, he is a Harvard graduate that has a professorial tone. But did we not just have a president that graduated near the bottom of his class and was anything but professorial? That did not work out too well. And on a side note, I asked my wife how Sara Palin ever won a beauty contest. She said it was between her and a good looking moose and Sara shot the moose!
84. Julie Arizona | 09.28.08
Being from Arizona, I have watched John McCain over the years. He was never a favorite of mine, but I always felt he had our best interests at heart. I’m afraid that now he has become a puppet of his handlers. I think he has a serious health problem and would not be a good choice for president. He is old and tired and cranky - not the best choice for such a demanding job.
As a reader on another blog said “He is past his use by date”.
85. Cliff | 09.28.08
“How about a spending freeze?” That comment alone sealed the deal for me to vote for Barack Obama.
86. momma | 09.28.08
It is very interesting how the Republicans call Obama socialist. Isn’t it true that in socialist/communistic societies - it ends up with very poor and very rich classes? Not all the same, as there is no competition. Doesn’t it seem that in the Republican theory of creating tax breaks and so forth for the rich that in fact, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer like socialists. The middle class fall to the poor. This is exactly opposite of Obama. Obama is for not socialism, but not the middle class providing the taxes. Everyone paying an equal percentage. I think that sounds like democracy - not socialism.
87. Mike | 09.28.08
Somebody on this comments page just wrote about how calm McCain is under pressure?….. Are you blind or just unwilling to see the truth, he makes turn on a dime choices that are wrong half the time 50/50 is not an ideal trait for a leader. Its just a simple way of doing things, and the last thing this country is at this point is simple. If he is so calm could you let me know when he reinstated his campaign?…. Remember he suspended it?… Because he was going to save the country folks?… McCain should be in a movie Obama young and not so experienced smokes him when it comes down to the ideals of a true leader.
88. john | 09.28.08
Don’t be stupid! Hussein Obama doesn’t stand a chance! Republicans are doing this to mobilise their base to go to vote en masse, out of fear that a muslim, a demagouge, and of course a do nothing person with an antiamerican attitude could take power. He sees a chance to advance himself but he is wrong.Presidency is not part of affirmative action.
89. TheBookkeeper | 09.28.08
To save costs news should be one liners and then just leave plenty of room for comments. The comments are the real, the only, news in most stories. Congratulations to all the contributors.
90. Karl | 09.28.08
I know that we end up casting our vots for individuals like McCain and Obama - but what really happens is that we end up electing the front man for a political team. And in the case of McCain it is really just re-electing the same old right wing gang that have been the masterminds of the puppet W. McCain promises to be a maverick but he does seem to have sold his soul to the radical right wing fringe. And we can expect that Obama will have his own set of political operatives trying to put words/policies into his mouth as well. But I am getting the real sense that Obama and not McCain will have the intellect, steady hand, and intensity to be able to challenge his own set of “advisors” and strive for what is really best for the country. McCain seems like his script changes each day to just go along with his handlers without any pushback or thought about what the real issues or consequences will be. He has bought into thier rhetoric machine. This is not what we need in a new leader who must indeed clean up the mess of the Bush years.
91. Bhuyian | 09.28.08
NO Tax-Payors’ money should be spent to rescue the 17 Trillion Dollars Deficit created in 7 years after eating up 3 Trillion Dollars Surplus left by Bill Clinton. Let them be bought by the Oil companies helped by Bush-McCain and company.
92. Spencer | 09.28.08
hi Mcain is the man for the job. When you tax companys the less money to expand and create more american jobs. Obama says lets reduce taxs on people and tax more big companys. good but, as companys have less money they have to raisethere prices as to make up for the loss. leaving the people with the same amount of money as to begin with.
93. Sam Wiley | 09.28.08
I get all my polling from the Christian Science Monitor. It seems unbiased. Ha. I actually get all my polling from http://www.slander08.com. Like this little gem: http://slander08.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/obama-courting-white-supremacist-vote/
94. yummy pol | 09.28.08
I saw an angry old man, hungry for power, wanst to get in white house by any means. He does not put his country first. Even a moron would see thru that. selecting Sarah Palin was not country first but CAMPAIGN FIRST. Republicans think that by telling repeated lies, they can bury the truth. I have not seen a more dishonorable presidential campaign in my life than the one being run by Mr McCain. May God bless America and save her from 4 more yrs of republican torture.
95. Alley | 09.28.08
I’m sitting over here in Cape Town, South Africa, wondering why you are complicating matters. In 1994 we were given the chance to change things around, and we did. The other day we swore in a new president, coz we believe in CHANGE… whatever doesnt work. Don’t wait for the next election America, you might not get another chance as you have in BARACK OBAMA. Embrace change, VOTE OBAMA.
96. frank | 09.28.08
as you read from any comment section your going to read more and more about obama so if you are still undecided about who you are going to vote for you are welcome to join us few changed americans it doesn’t cost anything.so stop being a follower and become a leader:obama -biden
97. Paul Viel | 09.28.08
Years ago I took a journalism class and the thing that most impressed me was a project to take a major story and read the coverage in a liberal newspaper, a conservative newspaper and The Christian Science Monitor (CSM). What I found then and still find today is subjective accounts and placements in the paper of the news events except for CSM. CSM still follows the most important rule of news. Who, What, When, Where and How forgoing the subjective Why. It’s refreshing to see this still holds. Great article. If we really need to know what’s happening we can find it in CSM and discern the Why and meaning for ourselves. Thank you Christian Science Monitor.
98. ray reyns | 09.28.08
If you want to read a very succinct and intelligent comment read jon’s above. (#5).
I agree, this country deserves some intelligent leadership and the possibility to recover from one of the lowest points in American history. Just look at what we have right now. Is there anyone that needs it to get worse before realizing that the Republicans have given us incompetent leadership the last 8 years…..another 4 years would be the nail in the coffin. John McCain is scarily out of control…a perfect image of a man that has a deep inner feeling of insecurity that he tries to compensate for by being a bully.
he is too old.
too weak as a man.
fake.
dishonest.
scary and out of touch with just about everything as far as I can see.
dishonest and uncaring.
vote for the only chance left: Obama
99. Anne | 09.28.08
In the debate, it was clear that McCain could not address the questions directly. He did not have concrete plans, nor did he represent his positions honestly (stating for instance that he would give $5000 credit for health costs, while not stating that he would cut medical benefits). His answerse were often irrelevant and wandering.
Obama on the other hand, was direct, concrete, and thoughtful in his responses.
It’s more than clear who has the capacity to guide, inspire and lead our nation through this most challenging time.
100. Obamasux | 09.28.08
Obama said that McCain gave a ‘Katrina Like’ response to the bailout bill…well, what does that mean??? Obama did not give ANY response to the bailout!!! So who is he to say anything??
102. Yokefellows | 09.28.08
Here is an interesting little video about the party and the candidate behind the economic crash and burn. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH–o
103. maude arnold | 09.28.08
I find it interesting how negative are the comment as opposed to real differenc in issues and ideology..I suppose one’s life experiences bring each of us to the conluions we reach…I suspect when all the hype and money is spent we will continue to look in wrong places for solutions…here’s a thought , lets take the money spent on elections and bail outs…divide it between the people….that works for me…..
104. Bob L | 09.28.08
Great Comments!Thanks everybody.
This election is a simple intelligence test. If you look back over the last 8 years and conclude. Yeah, that’s it! We want more of the same for the good old USA. Then you just failed a life intelligence test. Stupid you.
Vote for McCain and what’s her name. And you will get what you wished for.
The most incredible thing is the fact that so many people still believe the Bush, Cheney disaster is a good thing…You figure..
105. Lolly | 09.28.08
Recently McCain has been comparing himself to Teddy Roosevelt when if we need a Roosevelt, it might be Franklin. I am sort of ashamed to say when he brought up being a prisioner of war in Vietnam, I sighed. When he told stories of the past leaders he’d learned from, I sighed. As honorable as his resolute steadfastness in the face of horrible circumstances is, perhaps in the the years ahead we need a leader who can negotiate. As admirable as his passion is, perhaps in the years ahead we could use a little calm and order in the face of crisis. As grateful as I am for past service, I want a president who understands the world has changed forever between computers, internet, 9-11, Iraq, globalization of trade and the current economic metldown.
107. David Diggs | 09.28.08
If you are an independent, you need to consider this.
Obama is little more than the Jimmy Carter on economics. The result was the worst economic period in recent history. Cconomists had to give it a new name “staglation”, i.e. stagnation and inflation. Obama, like Carter, tried “trickle up” economics. Obama, like Carter, raised wages, cut taxes on the middle class, raise capital gains. All with good intention of helping the middle class. The result was just the opposite. It was a very popular message, but it “trickle up” failed.
We ended up inflation and a stagnant economy, instead. Lack of capital caused big businesses not expand so they raised prices instead to increase their profits. Top companies stopped hiring so college grads couldn’t find jobs. Small businesses couldn’t pay the higher minimum wage so they let people go. Stagnation hurt everyone. Inflation hurt those on fixed income the most. To fight inflation, the fed had to raise interest rates making it harder for people to pay for college, buy cars, on houses. Seniors on social security had the hardest times. Hard times caused crime to go up. Is this the economy everyone wants?
Like I said, it was so bad economists had to invent a new word “staglation” and they had to confess that “trickle down” didn’t work but Regan’s “trickle down” did. Economists derided “trickle down” it violated common sense. They called it “voodoo” economics. But it worked. After it did they went of and wrote papers on the new “trickle down”, but renamed it “supply side”.
That’s the problem with people who don’t remember history; they are doomed to repeat it. And unfortunately, so many people in their 20s and 30s who never experienced the Carter years are falling for the same Carter ideas being handed out by Obama. They will be hurt badly. It’s sad.
In short, the very middle class Obama wants to help is going to be hurt the most by his “trickle up economic” plans.
– David Diggs
108. toocool | 09.28.08
you must be watching a differ debate becsuse all i hear what other president did,bush put us in thus mess,mccain said we were good,the said wehad a promblen make up your mind ordo you have one,what does being a ex-pow have do with getting out this mess that have put us in has to do getting out of this please tell me cause you havent said one thing to change my mind to vote for you,hope i can get a job, i like to be sec. of vetarn affaris because iam a ex-air force?
109. Chuck Glisson | 09.28.08
Why was my post removed? It Did not violate any of the rules. I will not waste my time putting forth ideas is The Christian sience monitor decides to operate in this manner, it was a “PRO Obama” post BTW, so all you PRO McCain posters can get off your self persecution high horse!
110. Plausible | 09.28.08
McCain pulled out every cheap thing he could in the debate: the veterans (whose care he has voted against), the allegation that Pakistan was a failed state (when it was actually had a democratically elected government), the phony Eisenhower letter (Eisenhower never wrote about resigning), the repeated lies and distortions of Obama’s record. Where Obama offered specifics, McCain mouthed platitudes. Where Obama spoke about the bailous, McCain acted as if the bailout were about government spending–not government regulation. Obama understands that it is going to take a smart, well-informed, level-headed president to get the U.S. out of the disastrous situations that the Bush administration will leave us in. McCain seems to think he can go by impulse. McCain looks scarier every day. Please vote for Obama, who has the makings of a great president.
111. AnonymousWoman | 09.28.08
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and EIGHT IS ENOUGH! Congrats to Barack Obama, aqnd he is THE MAN for the presidency. John Mccain stated that Obama isn’t ready to lead the country. How does he or anybody else know that. Obama IS ready, and his plan to lead our country into a new chapter is on point. John Mccain is going to rot out country to ****. If he (Mccain) beocmes president, I’M LEAVING!
112. LAS | 09.28.08
Loke,
So the biggest question now should be how large of a lead is necessary before it is impossible for this election to be stolen as it was in 2000 and 2004? I predict that if the polling is within 5% on election day (read that as a 5% Obama lead) that McCain will “win” the election. Even if Obama wins I predict that Ohio and Florida will be a mess.
113. frank | 09.28.08
if you are still wondering why obama is leading in the polls continue to read the comments.
114. NObama | 09.28.08
Obama doesn’t have that big of a lead. It all depends on which paper you read. Besides, anyone who couldn’t see that Obama will raise taxes for more then 47% of the country and the others would only get a rebate check is st*pid. VOTE MCCAIN Plus, I know of a town of about 4,000+ people who were NOT polled, so - those gallups are nothing to go by..
115. Joseph | 09.28.08
This is a Very DANGEROUS Situation. The fact that this man Obama is even at 20% in the polls. For 20 years this man has surrounded himself with separatist and hate groups. Just last week he threatened an unstable country who has nuclear weapons. Because this demon learned the craft of crowd manipulation he could wind up in a very powerful poaition. Attention– help this country and convince as many people as possible to vote Mccain who isnt perfect but has enough wisdom to keep the world affairs from exploding.
116. Mason | 09.28.08
#34 wrote “Paulson is a democrat…”
Uh, no, he is not. He worked in the Nixon administration. Please get your facts straight. Stop spreading falsehoods so that the public can get mad at the Democrats for heeding a national emergency to support a Republican administration proposal.
117. Sam | 09.28.08
Mr. McCain kept saying during the campaign, “Senator Obama does not really understand……” this and that, while in fact it seemed to me that he is the one that missed the point in most questions.
118. Paul Viel | 09.28.08
I just have to reply to comment #51. The doers versus talkers sounds good but I think it’s more like raking leaves. Senator John McCain appears to be raking hard leaves are flying all over and when he quits raking the leaves are still all over the yard (Motion is not always effective) while Senator Barack Obama rakes methodically all the leaves into a corner(Thoughtful action is efficient) and bags them himself.
Conclusion: All motion is not action nor is preparation and study before action is not always dragging one’s feet.
119. robert chapman | 09.28.08
Dear Editor, after viewing the first Presidential Debate on Friday September 26, 2008 I feel moved to share my opinion.
The impulse to declare a winner and a loser is unproductive. I think it is more useful to try to discern what the debate shows us about each candidate.
Senator John McCain clearly has had a lengthy career in the Senate and his remarks were larded with very personal memories and anecdotes.
It is my judgment that Senator McCain is overly focused on military matters and that he showed scant insight into the motivations and concerns of foreign leaders.
In terms of personal experience in foreign affairs, Senator Obama is clearly at a disadvantage to John McCain and this often showed through.
Senator Obama’s responses were lawyerly, easily followed and reflected what seems to be a deep desire to improve life for the average person.
In my opinion, Senator Obama’s performance did neither qualified nor disqualified him for the Presidency.
Senator McCain’s truculence, disrespect toward Barack Obama and his expression of foreign affairs in almost exclusively military terms leads me to conclude that Senator McCain is not qualified to fulfill the foreign policy functions of the US Presidency.
Robert Chapman
120. Drew | 09.28.08
I had to put a bleak spin on things, but does anybody, for one minute, think the GOP isn’t planning some “October Surprise” to steal yet another election? The voter suppression tactics have already started in a number of States, Florida being one of them. The GOP 527’s are s****ing the bottom of the barrel to dig up **** (and I mean **** - aka LIES) about Obama. And I would not, for one minute, put it past them to orchestrate some kind of terrorist attack, albeit a small one, the week prior to the election, just to shine a light on McCain’s only strong suite.
Am I paranoid? Nope…just aware of the tactics these fanatics are capable of.
121. Brighton Boy | 09.28.08
How can anyone believe anything that McCain says when he tells you Sarah will be “great V.P.” She can’t explain anything and is opposed to every idea of the last 2,000 years.
He should withdraw her from the race and stop making America the laughing spot of the world.
122. Ivan Gonzalez | 09.28.08
It seems to me that things could not be clearer. The fact that so many of my fellow Americans are still struggling with making up their minds regarding the choice for President shows how enfeebled we have become as a nation! It also puts me in mind, fearfully, of the old adage which says that “people get/have the leader they deserve!! Senator McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate, one heart beat away from the most powerful job in the world, shows a breath-taking cynicism and callous disregard for the country he pretends to love. His choice of silly, inarticulate, albeit rather charming, Palin shows more clearly than anything could that his greatest love and maybe his only love is himself. And as if to make matters worse, if that were possible, his inseperable buddy and advisor is Senator Joe Lieberman, the last Neo-Con standing whose whole raison d’etre, is to have America and Americans go to war on behalf of Israel. God save us. Prof. I. Gonzalez
123. frank | 09.28.08
geroge bush passport has just been taken away from him so he can’t travel abroad because it is said that he would be endangering the lives of the secret serviceman.
124. acdavis | 09.28.08
This is the first time I have read a commentary thread on the Monitor site. I am astonished (and heartened) to see that it is so pro-Obama.
For those who are talking about how the Monitor is ‘in the tank for Obama’ (where have I heard that before?), take a look at the threads on the NY Times site (the Times IS ‘in the tank for Obama’)–there’s a lot more anti-Obama sentiment there.
My conclusion is that the Monitor readers are, as a group, like me, disappointed that McCain’s choice of Palin makes a vote for Obama a ‘no-brainer’ (well . . . a vote for Palin would be a ‘no-brainer’ of another kind).
Sad to see McCain go down like this. I was sort of hoping he would make the choice hard for me.
125. Matt | 09.28.08
For a black man to win this race he is going to have to knock him out. He gave no ground in the debate, but he didn’t dominate it.
I love the fact that he is refusing to throw rocks at Palin as well. It shows he’s got class, there’s no need to kick her while she’s down.
Biden needs to wear his grandpa shoes on Thursday, and needs to be firm but charming. She will hang herself, and the final nail will be driven.
Sorry old rich republicans. Your day has passed….Can you hear that? The saints are marching in!
126. dottydo | 09.28.08
One of my friends said Obama talks like Captain Kirk from Star Trek, when he is out stumping on his own.
Now that is all anyone around me points out.
4 years of that alone seems like a really bad movie.
127. Matt | 09.28.08
For a black man to win this race he is going to have to knock him out. He gave no ground in the debate, but he didn’t dominate it.
I love the fact that he is refusing to throw rocks at Palin as well. It shows he’s got class, there’s no need to kick her while she’s down.
Biden needs to wear his grandpa shoes on Thursday, and needs to be firm but charming. She will hang herself, and the final nail will be driven.
Sorry old rich republicans. Your day has passed….Can you hear that? The saints are marching in!
128. karen | 09.28.08
John McCain: the ghost of Christmas past
Barack Obama: the ghost of Christmas future
Please, Sen. McCain, step aside and make room for the man with a vision.
Obama/Biden ‘08
129. Jack | 09.28.08
I am not an american.But am following the election very closely.
What surprises me after studying the candidates is why Obama does’nt have a 20 point lead ?
130. Keith | 09.28.08
Having a liberal President and a liberal Congress/Senate is a frightening thought. The liberals are the ones who gave us this housing debacle. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0
And now these same fools want to take over the health care system? No thanks!!!
131. Nekol | 09.28.08
Sandra,
I could not have ever said it better!!!
Obama/Biden ‘08 - ‘12
ps , my dad is a vietnam vet voting for Barack!!!
132. Carlos B | 09.28.08
The pundits are puzzling over why the polls show Obama came out ahead in the debate, whereas the pundits themselves are calling it either a tie or a marginal win for McCain. I have two hypotheses to help explain this disparity. First, I think most of us who appreciate Obama’s knowledge and intellect think he could have done better. McCain was at the top of his game, and his finesse may have taken Obama by surprise. At any rate, there were all sorts of points Obama could have scored while maintaining a dignified demeanor–particularly points that would have called attention to McCain’s impulsivity, in flying off to Washington, in immediately condemning Russia without confirming the facts of the case, and so on. But the second hypothesis, which only partly contradicts the first, is that the public is picking up on something the pundits tend to ignore. And I am getting this from many of the comments appearing in this series. They are seeing a side of John McCain they hadn’t seen before–an egotist, a name-dropper, a disrespecter of his opponent–and they aren’t liking it. This would fit with the well-substantiated view that voters pay less attention to issues and more attention to personality than do the political commentators. If the second hypothesis is right,then maybe Obama was wise in holding back. He will have two more opportunities to rattle McCain’s cage enough to get him to reveal his even less pleasant side, his tendency to fly into rage.
133. Michael | 09.28.08
This country has lost its mind!! Have any of you researched Obama’s economic plans. Punish business and you punish the “little guy” who works for the corporation, factory, or small business. Millionaires will always be millionaires. When a company decides not to expand or worse lay-off because of high corporate tax rates then who is going to suffer. I am so sick of the disingenuous pandering populism and demagoguery of the Democratic Party. Facts do not seem to matter and the media does not do it’s job. Why do Republicans take all the blame for these economic problems when much of it lies at the feet of Democrats. Fannie and Freddie are Democratic honey pots. Easy credit government guaranteed loans is not capitalism run amok but quite the opposite. Oil shortages, the list goes on!!! Ignorance rules the day. Stories of voter fraud by pro-democrat groups like ACORN are not being reported either. How can Obama lose when he has a billion dollar propaganda machine behind him. The fact that his poll numbers are not higher is a testament to the inherent wisdom of the American people.
134. Youreanidiot | 09.28.08
Hey Commonsense, learn how to spell. idiot. or were you to busy ‘doing’ things to learn? idiot.
135. Dennis | 09.28.08
Palin is not bookish or a wonk, she’s seem genuine, but not right for the job. She should gracefully step aside, and if done without rancor or pointing fingers, in other words, make it about herself, she would gain both respect and sympathy. McCain should then quickly select Lieberman.
His base would be upset, but stick with him. And the Lieberman/Biden debate would be decisive. If Palin wants McCain to be the next President, she should walk away - now.
136. Carmela | 09.28.08
Issues aside, roses to Obama. He has beautiful manners. Jim asked him to speak directly with John, and he did. He addressed him as John.
McCain would not look him in the eye. This was disrespectful.
Obama quickly adapted, and addressed McCain as Sen. McCain. Mark my words, Obama is our equal. I’m offended Sen. McCain never looked him in the eye, properly addressed Barack in the spirit of political debate, nor did as Jim asked him.
Barack has always exhibited beautiful manners and good sportsmanship, but he has also stepped up when necessary.
137. Carmela | 09.28.08
Correction:
Barack has always exhibited beautiful manners and good sportsmanship, but he has also stepped up and been tough, when necessary.
138. Doug Christian | 09.28.08
Notice the McCain supporter posts that complain about other comments not being posted. The site does not screen comments in a biased manner, it screens out “personal attacks” and foul language. It’s not a coincidence that the McCain supporter posts are being more heavily screened. Look at the ones that did make it through. Even those have a negative and even hateful tone. Please try to listen to the McCain supporters and try to see what is in their hearts. It is not Christian values. It is not faith, hope, joy or love. It is the fearful and angry mindset that can support pre-emptive war and general intolerance. Obama is the Christian choice.
139. frank | 09.28.08
lets see how long it takes john mccain to realize obama has gotten it.who says age doesn’t matter.
140. Patrick | 09.28.08
From South Africa,
The world at larg and all outside of America we are waiting for the time start loving America again. The last 8 years have been one of the worst side America has shown. Please choose a president who will make us look at you more positively. A president who will make all of us see America as a leader of this world again. I watched the debate from here, it was 4am here but I had to stay up for it and Obama showed he is a leader to retore America as a true leader of th world.
God bless you American people and hope you all make the right choice
141. Sandra | 09.28.08
Commen Sense said: “I’ll take McCain’s experience over Obama’s naivite any day of the week. But then, I’ve always preferred doers to talkers.”
Hmmm, yes, McCain is a human doing, not a human being. Look at all he’s been doing - running around on a track to nowhere holding his blackberry, looking like he knows what he is doing. Yes he is doing alright. Walking but not talking. What a mystery. Who is John McCain, what will he do. Will he be ferried away to Cheyenne Mountain after one of his doings creates the holocaust.
I’ll take Obama’s leadership over McCain’s lack of it any day. I’ve always preferred people who talk, but then walk the talk.
142. Michael | 09.28.08
Oh yes and to “Loke”. 90% of acts of voter fraud are committed by pro-democratic organizations. There is a long history of voter fraud and the Democratic Party. They are experts at it. Get your conspiracies straight before you post.
143. Bill | 09.28.08
As a human being, a U.S. citizen, and a U.S. Navy veteran, I applaud John McCain’s service to our country. Further, I respect deeply his courage and strength which enabled him to survive his imprisonment as a POW of the North Vietnamese. Whether one believes that his imprisonment and survival make him a “war hero” or a tough, tenacious, lucky guy is a matter of individual judgment. In any event, no one owes McCain his or her vote because of McCain’s particular military experience.
Evaluating Obama and McCain, I have far better criteria to use in evaluating John McCain than his alleged “war hero” status — and he comes up way short of Barack Obama.
144. Jen | 09.28.08
I am one of those Independent voters who was excited about Sarah Palin in the beginning, but is now very much disappointed. It’s hard to tell if it’s just the editing from the largely liberal media or if Palin is in fact clueless about many of the issues facing this country. I will reserve my judgment until the vice presidential debate, but my feeling is that it will finally bury Palin. Unfortunately, I am not completely convinced that Obama would be right for the job either. While he is obviously a very intelligent and polished candidate, I am not sure that his ideas for “change” will be good for our broken economy.
I just wish we could bring back Hillary… if she were the Democratic nominee this would all be over. Moderate voters like myself would have someone that we not only trust but is also highly experienced in both foreign affairs and the economy.
145. Patrcia Leonard | 09.28.08
If the women of the United Sates want to band together and show the world that we are decisive and intellegent, then, let’s vote in John McCain and Sarah Palin. We sure do not have to agree about everything. One thing we can agree on..is..the Democrats threw Senator Hillary Clinton under the bus. We now have an opportunity to place one of our own in a powerful position and then the reality of a woman president in United States will be inches, not miles, closer.
146. Helen | 09.28.08
It is now totally clear to me that the only reason that Barack Obama is not coasting to victory is the colour of his skin.
Comments like ‘elitism’ etc are codes for racism.
But Americans are at heart , decent and right thinking people. In 1960 - the fact that JFK was an Irish Catholic nearly scuppered him - but enough decent American people ensured that he won.
As Teddy Kennedy lies seriously ill - the last thing, probably, that the Kennedy dynasty will have done, in the shape of Teddy - is to hand the torch to Barack Obama.
It has taken Teddy 28 years to endorse a candidate as he has done with Barack - also Ethel Kennedy, wife of his brother, Robert and Caroline Kennedy, jFK’s daughter. Please trust them and let their vision and truth on behalf of all American people live again in Barack.
147. JIm | 09.28.08
I think that Sarah Palin will help in getting out the fundamentalist christian vote that might not turn out otherwise for McCain. I don’t think that she is helping otherwise.
148. Scott | 09.28.08
Come on, you got to admit that Obama is a very smart guy. I like how he keeps his cool, and speaks with such intelligence. Forget “my party” …I’m voting for Obama.
149. JIm | 09.28.08
“45. Mark | 09.28.08
What would Jesus think about a war that has needlessly killed more than 1,000,000 innocent people?”
Unfortunately the abortion issue trumps this for many people, even though the government won’t be able to do anything with regards to abortion at this point other than making it slightly more difficult.
150. shelleybear | 09.28.08
Just one observation.
That lying sack of political dung McCain claiming he supports veterans.
http://community.livejournal.com/barackobama2008/138834.html features links to his political support, as well as lots of messages from other veterans.
Perhaps the next moderator will ask him if he wants to play a game of solitaire to pass the time of day.
151. shelleybear | 09.28.08
Loke,
No, the fix will not be in.
The Republicans have raped this country to such an extent that they are willing to hide for the next eight years.
152. jacksmith | 09.28.08
Bush, McCain can run. But they cant hide anymore.
What ever congress does to try and fix our stunning economic catastrophe needs to be done very carefully. Congress needs to take their time, and be sure of what they are doing. Whatever is done needs to be sharply focused at helping, and protecting the best interest of the ordinary Americans. In particular the vast American middle class. 700 billion dollars is a lot of the peoples money to spend to bail out a bunch of corrupt Bush loan sharks.
When have you ever known any government plan, or project to only cost what the government said it would. Remember the war in Iraq. Bush and his so-called advisers said it would only cost you about 80 billion dollars. But we now know that the war in Iraq will cost you, and your children, and your grand children over a trillion dollars, and still counting.
So if 80 billion can end up costing you over a trillion dollars. How much could 700 billion end up costing you. Any math wizards out there. I come up with 9 trillion…:-(
My fellow human beings, just as I warned you ahead of this catastrophic economic meltdown, I must now warn you that what is ahead has the potential to be even more catastrophic than what we are going through now. The worlds geopolitical landscape has been ***** trapped by the Bush McCain administration and their republican allies in congress. These ***** traps are poised to spring at any time.
Fortunately the Worlds Nations have been blessed with many excellent leaders (except the US) who have been careful, wise, strong, and self-restrained in dealing with the provocations, and antagonism’s of the Bush, McCain administration.
Barack Obama and the democrats are your best hope now. Tell your family, friends, and everyone you know to support them as best you can, and vote for them like your life, and the lives of your loved ones depends on it. Because it does. You will not survive 4 more years of Bush McCain.
JACK SMITH - WORKING CLASS…
155. Mad at McCain | 09.28.08
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I just can’t vote for McCain…He seemed like such a strong man until this past month. Why he would pick someone like Palin boggles my mind. I love that she is pro life and pro NRA, but she doesn’t seem to speak for herself…frustrating!!
156. Astoria | 09.28.08
It seems that people focus their energy on nitpicking every one of McCain’s mistakes and shortcomings and turns a blind eye to Obama.
For the record, Obama has indeed made mistakes and misinformed comments just as McCain has. Thing is, no one points them out and they get swept under the rug.
As for the debate, Obama failed to defend some key aspects when McCain addressed them. Granted he wasn’t as condescending and assinine, but it wasn’t a landslide victory
157. Patricia Leonard | 09.28.08
We as a people need to vote in John McCain and Sarah Palin. We know this will advance the cause of women across the world. If she becomes VP, then the reality of electing a woman as President of the United States is one step closer.
158. lorax2 | 09.28.08
A maverick is a castrated steer that exhibits erratic behavior by wandering away from the herd and getting lost. It can be rounded up and branded by anyone who finds it. If that is what McCain wishes to be, I think it is a fitting label and we should grant him his wish.
159. nigel holmes | 09.28.08
i was wondering how long it would take for a bridge of method to be constructed between the gutting of s&ls in the 80s, and the gutting of wall street investment banks, that method being to call off all oversight of their viking executives. well, my question is now answered, at about 30 years. obama says no payoff this time. he can afford to, because unlike mccain, he is not owned by the buccaneeers with the golden parachutes. lose this chance to take back your country and you are likely to lose the last of them. also, i happen to LIKE the bill of rights, and i want it BACK.
160. Jeff | 09.28.08
I think this election is very interesting down to 2 candidates. I still think that Obama will win because Mccain picked Palin.I do not think that Palin will be a good president if Mccain dies.
161. PAL | 09.28.08
John McCain and Sarah Palin are the clear choices. We need courage and leadership to get through this mess.
162. H.Jorge Silva | 09.28.08
This really is turning the page of history Great America which I will not know unless the distance of a click. But it always becomes the America of freedom and tolerance.
What this GOD bless America.
H. Jorge Silva
163. Peter, in New York | 09.28.08
Yes, America deserves to have a black for President. Yes, we need an energetic, knowledgeable and smart person to be the President. Yes, Obama won the debate despite the experts negating that fact.
And finally, yes, we need changes and we’ve made a lot of mistakes. The current economic crisis is the result of a normal economic cycle which brings on excesses, only to balance them out. We’ll get over that as we’ve got over others, there is no better way. We do fight Al Queda and other enemies of the free world, and we are doing so by bringing the fight to them, out of our harm’s way, instead of on our own turf.
But there is something more important here. A president is not supposed to be picked on debates, popular talk or romantic feelings. President should be the person who’ll lead this country to preserve our very freedoms, and our world leadership, especially in these hard economic and geopolitical times.
That person is John McCain. Why? Because contrary to what you are taught in the media, the President of the US is just a representative whose policies are necessarily those of the countless staffs of people that he surrounds himself with.
There is no such expert person who could successfully tend to all the problems the government is faced with. And the people whose philosophical ideas making this country different and better than the rest of them by expounding the principles on which the best of this world stand are the Republicans:
By giving people incentives to work hard so that we can have a living standard much better than those who don’t work. This is known as capitalism. Socialism, or too many social policies necessarily take these incentives away.
This proved itself over and over throughout the history. And by standing tall against the evil, uncompromisingly and persevere in that fight. That only can preserve our very freedoms and our way of life and it surely proved itself in the past and changed the world for the better. This stance did away with Nazism and communism and will ultimately do away with the terrorists as well.
164. Judy | 09.28.08
I truly think that if anyone can turn this mess around, it will be Obama/Biden. Both are intelligent, and I’ll take intelligence and common sense over John McCain’s experience any time. I’m happy to read that most of the comments are pro-Obama.
However, I absolutely distrust the whole voting apparatus in this country, and until we get it repaired, with paper backups, no intimidation at the polls, no removing folks from the rolls who are losing their homes, no “perfect match” disenfranchisement, etc., we will not have free and fair elections in this country, and we cannot call ourselves a democracy. I still can’t believe we have suffered for the past 8 years, in this country and throughout the world, because of problems with the voting apparatus. Fix it now, folks!!! Imagine what the world would look like today if Gore and Kerry had been president…..
And vote Obama-Biden. Even you think that your vote might not get counted, you never know!!
165. HawkinCA | 09.28.08
The debates seem to be all about image after they are all said and done. The first image that emerged from this debate was one of an angry old man who was more interested in tearing his opponent down while not even able to look the man in the eye. The second image was of a much more even headed courteous man who kept his cool and spoke intelligently of large themes which made him seem more Presidential. That is why the majority of Americans judged Obama the winner of the debate and is part of the reason why some undecideds have now swung into his camp. Ultimately this election is not really about Obama or McCain but rather about the philosophies of their parties. As a former Republican, now an Independent, I personally no longer trust the Republicans with the economy and will be voting for Obama.
166. Audrey Butcher | 09.28.08
I am a Republican woman farmer who sees that while McCain may once have done good work, he has a problem with controlling his temper. An example is all the derogatory things he said about Obama being not qualified. McCain has had three or four melanomas, which ordinarily lead to tumor after tumor. Yet he chose Sarah Palin as his vp, and she does not have a Harvard Law Education or anything comparable to the education and experience Barack Obama has. Sarah says she has respect for life but loves killing moose and sends her son off to war to come back in a body bag. It would be a good idea for her to go off shooting anything alive with Dick Cheney.
167. Paul | 09.28.08
Obama will win this hands down. Palin has made sure of that. It’s obvious that she’s used to wiggling her butt at the men of Alaska and getting her way.
It worked the night of the convention, but soon faded as soon as everyone figured out that she was just another dumb bimbo, using her looks to get ahead.
My little sister works for lens crafters and she said that women were coming in the next day ordering frames like palins…some with clear lenses for those women that didn’t need a prescription. Over a 1 week period 11 women came in and special ordered “Palin Frames” and only 3 have been picked up. That’s 8 pairs that have been sitting there for over a week. I guess it’s not so cool to be Palin after all.
168. mike | 09.28.08
OK.
How can the posts herre be 95% bush bashing when the race is much closer. I do not believe the current polls. They are manipulated at this important time to influence clear thinking. The only poll that counts is on November 4th. (November 5th for you democrats…. kidding yeash)
Couple of things. Keep an open mind on Sarah Palin until her debate. Its as if people think the Saturday night live skit is really how flighty she is. Really?
Next I would point out that George Bush is not on the ballot. Sorry to disappoint. Yes he has a higher approval rating that the do nothing democratic congress, who have been in positions of oversight and controling all the major committees that could have prevented the recent financial crisis.
Finally, to me this election comes down to the question, do you think Government programs can spend your money more wisely than you can. Don’t trade your liberty so easily. More people want to ride in the cart vs pull it. That is not the America I love.
169. Steven | 09.28.08
” 50. John McMurray | 09.28.08
My message supporting McCann got wiped away in the middle of typing. Why? The Obama either volunteers or paid commenters are really hot today. ”
uhhh John, take it from a computer programmer. It’s not possible for someone to wipe away comments while you are typing. You must have hit some key combination that wiped it out, or something else locally on your computer caused this.
170. Michael S | 09.28.08
The way i see it, if you dont have your mind made up by now your an idiot. As always the race will come down to electorial college votes and many of the states like Ohio and Florida are still very close. McCain is still up in some of the battleground states. You can blog and comment away, but those sates will always decide the race. That is the shame of it all.
As for Sarah Palin looking bad, I didn’t see that in her performance. If your’e running a successful business selling widgets, you probally will do a great job running another business selling gadgets. It’s the running a successful business part that counts not the product. I think John McCain has a much better chance at restoring our faith in government, than Obama Biden Pelosi and Reed. I’m not afraid of Obama and Biden it’s Pelosi and Reed I am afraid of. It’s tuff to even imagine what those two will do to what we pay in taxes. Obama will be beholden to them if he wins.
171. Sandy | 09.28.08
In response to “Common Sense” and his/her endorsement of McCain (post #51), I’d like to ask: is it “common sense” for McCain continue to defend rich people, promising more tax breaks to millionaires while thousands of middle and lower class families go bankrupt because of failed mortgages and outrageous medical bills? Is is “common sense” that college tuition is becoming so expensive that Americans either can’t afford it or are leading themselves into a lifetime of debt to give their children an education? We need to raise taxes on the wealthy to provide for a country that is really struggling. There should be no argument here: “Democracy” means doing the greatest good for the greatest number, not rewarding the greedy few who think they somehow work harder than other Americans and “deserve” nine beachfront summer homes (like McCain himself). Who is the elitist here, anyway?
172. no way no how no mccain | 09.28.08
Mccain straight out lied in his convention speech when he said that he would lower taxes for the common man while Obama would raise the taxes. Yes! Obama will raise taxes but not for the common man but for the wealthiest top 5% of the American people in which Mccain is included. And by the way political analysts agree that Obama’s tax policy is more beneficial for the common man because he is going to decrease taxes for 95% of Americans which has to include the common man because a common man is not 5% of the American population.
173. patti | 09.28.08
I totally agree with you John - Obama what a media creation and empty suit! Also, he totally lied re Kissinger during the debate as was proven yesterday when he was spoken to on the phone on Fox News. I’d like to see that in campaign ad. Quit blaming the Republicans and Bush for everything — don’t you realize who has had control of congress?? Bush wanted reform re Fanny M. and was rejected multiple times. The country is letting the media control this election. Look up Obama’s voting record, one of the worst in the Senate, just can vote “present”. He has spent most of his time running for President - he is the least qualified of any candidate ever.He memorizes very well & is articulate - what great reasons to elect a President. I think if people would just look at the two candidate’s records and past associations, the choice would be clear - McCain.
174. Sad | 09.28.08
Obama has no clue about money, he has been given money, given a house and has no expenses. So that makes him about the same as the average 5 year old in financial experience. His education is one of the things people are trying to check into and are being stonewalled, why is it that anything to do with this person is tied up in a legal stranglehold?
If you are unhappy with the campaigns attacks at each candidate, just ignore them you writing here you reading and paying attention to them just gets them more time and play. Grow up people Obama is the worse candidate for president ever, no one could be worse. I do not care what color, race, creed or anything about the person, but he has no experience about the basics of life let alone govenment. He thinks there are 57 states, does not know how many people are in the house or senate, can’t stop saying “my muslim faith” yet claims “I had to leave my church”. He refuses to say the pledge, cover his heart, refuses to pay any attention to the flag. He treats people of the Jewish faith like garbage - saying bad things about them and Isreal. Anyone in the working class or in a uniform is told to stay away, don’t stand near the Obama, go stand behind the bus.
All these things are true, if you think not check on them.
175. Michael | 09.28.08
I found it amusing that #47 said that McCain “is not a bush surrogate”. McCain has been in the senate for 26 years and in that time he has changed from an independent thinker to a Republican puppet. There were times when agreed with his party as little as 67% of the time. Since Bush took office, he’s agreed with Republicans 90+% of the time, including 95% of the time last year and 100% thus far this year. This “Maverick” is long gone …
176. Neal | 09.28.08
Obama and Biden represent the calm reasoned approach. Their wisdom, while not perfect, is in distinct contrast to the Hail Mary passes gambler McCain is counting on. I used to respect the “Maverick” but he has changed. The lust for power and fame have corrupted him beyond redemption. Selling out to the Rovian lies and smears is the worst thing John McCain could be doing to the country right now. We have had eight years of that and it has split the nation horribly at a time when we need to be drawn together. And, that’s not to mention what the neocons have done to our standing in the world. Sarah Palin’s armagedon fantasies are quite sobering, considering McCain’s age and previous bouts with deadly cancer. America, do the right thing! Vote like your grandchildren’s futures depended on it. Vote Obama/Biden.
177. Big Daddy | 09.28.08
The fact that there are grown “men” on this blog that would even consider supporting Baroke Hussein Osama… opps I mean Obama is absolutely disgusting!
Obama has been a Senator for only 3 damn years… most of that spent campaigning for President! *** kind of qualification is that? NONE! He is a complete tool who does not deserve nor of value enough to wipe McCain’s A$$…!
Obama is a quazi-communist, reverse racist, power hungry PIG…! A vote for Obama is a vote for Osama! PERIOD!
178. Defeat Obama | 09.28.08
McCain looked Presidential. Obama looked like the College Professor that is trying to make you believe that Marxism can work if only given a chance. There’s less than 40 days to go and Obama is still lying about his record, and things that he said in the primary, but I know that American’s are smarter than that.
Here’s a clip from youtube that shows how we got into the mess that we are in and how Obama & Friends were part of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH–o
Help us show Obama the door, join us at http://DefeatObama.org !
179. Arye Michael Bender | 09.28.08
In the city where I live, Obama placards are seen in windows all over town. I have yet to see one for McCain. My absolutely unscientific conclusiion, is that Obama supporters are proud to display their allegiance, while those favoring McCain seem to be hiding theirs.
I look for an Obama landslide.
180. Michael S | 09.28.08
Change!! Nickles Dimes and pennies. That’s what you will be left with if you vote for Obama.
181. Dave Danenberg | 09.28.08
Obama is a snake in the grass, you people that are sucked in by him are nothing but fools! Take a look Sarah the VP has more experience then the ******* you want president? Wake up people!
Dave
182. Paul | 09.28.08
Obama is the only candidate that America needs in this hour of your nation’s severe crisis. He will serve US and the rest of this world in a positive way. So it is in the best interests of USA to elect Obama as its President without even an inkling of doubts. America CANNOT afford another 4 more years of disastrous Bush/Republican blunders. Its economy in tatters, its reputation and credibility in shreds.
Do you really want the folly of McCain/Palin administration to sink your country into greater depth of disaster and misery? Your kids and grandkids will really be punished for the next few generations to clean the huge mess if McGrief/Palin are put in charge. Please Wake up America !
I am an Australian and I do feel concerned about the welfare of US and its effect on the rest of this planet. Just consider who is best for humanity and avoid religious bias.
183. Check into It | 09.28.08
McCain at no point lied during the debate, check on the results his (McCain’s) responses about the taxes are 100% true! Obama is going to tax the heck out of everyone! We don’t need more government look at the mess they created now!
You say the rich people, why should anyone have to support someone else, America is the land of opportunity if you can become a sports star, a actor or actress, or become a leader of industry you can make a lot of money, maybe you create the next big thing in the world - you want to punish that? Are you crazy you want to end the American way and raise taxes - remember no taxation without representation, are we going backwards here?
184. Tim B, Dallas, TX | 09.28.08
Marge Wood: “the democratic party cares only about power and stonewalling anything Republican.”
Another Republican apologist who can’t get simple facts straight. Read carefully: the GOP minority broke the filibustering record for a full Senate session before they had even reached the halfway point. Shattered it, really. Democrats have performed pitifully this session but it’s not for any of the reasons you’ve been told by right wing hate media. And it’s cute that you capitalized Republican but not Democrat. That’ll show ‘em BUT GOOD!!!
185. Tom | 09.28.08
I’m amazed that 42% of registered voters would even consider McP-P after the last week.
186. George The W | 09.28.08
I see all you fools think obama is the way out of this mess,
you guys are all fools. I ripped you all off, took your rights
your wives and kids sent your pals to war and destroid your
economy. Now when iM OFF, im going to go back to where I came from.
Im going back to Afghanistan and celebrate with my virgins in
there. you fools lmfao, believed all I said, trusted my obvious lies
and complied with me to make my arabic nations richer and more powerful
than ever, lol, gave me eight years as the most powerful man in the world
and now act like you know what you are doing. fools
187. Fred | 09.28.08
It comes down to Americans asking themselves a fundimental question.
Which side of history do you want to be on?
The side that caused the problems and looks to the past….
….or the side that solves the problems and looks to the future?
188. Check into It | 09.28.08
The economy or anything that has happened during the term of any president is not the effect of that president, nothing happens that quickly in the political world.
The attacks on the US, caused by a lack of taking action on extreamists during Clinton’s term.
The economy, caused by degregulation voted on by all parties before Bush was elected, and encouraged by Alan Greenspan, not appointed by Bush.
If you want to do something about this economy mess the choice is clear do not vote for Obama, it will be a disaster for the economy - no matter how strong as McCain had said - a serious mistake can and has caused some strife and troubles.
Do your own analysis, I encourage you America!
189. Kuriakose Pulikeel | 09.28.08
McCain selected Sarah Palin as VP candidate. Ms Palin is great person but she has by now proved that her selection is like appointing a very smart High School student as chief project officer to re build the world trade center or joint chief of staff. McCain once said Iran is training Al Qaeda. Another time he said fundamentals of Economy are strong. Within a few days he said we are in deep trouble. He said country is first, so no campaign and no debate. Then he rushed to DC and came out empty handed after messing up even the band aid that Congress was about to approve. Then he rushed back to debate and repeated like a mantra that “SENATOR OBAMA DOES’NT UNDERSTAND”. There were no words in the 97 minute debate that defined any Maverick solution to the crisis
McCain has been the strongest advocate of deregulation and now wants to fire Cox for not regulating. Bush came out instantly defending Cox. Between Bush and Mavericks Americans have been driven to a total mess
Dear senator! We have already understood that you are a great patriot; Wants to do our best for America. But you are unable to make intelligent decisions. You may end up driving America to a greater disaster, unintentionally though, as you and Gov Palin are not up to the jobs you are seeking for. Soldiers go to war not to die but to win. Of course the country is first and the best way for you is not to pursue. Let Obama and Biden do the job
190. Aycee | 09.28.08
I find this obsession that the McCain camp has with “experience” a paradox.
We have seen what the Republicans call “experience” for the past 8 years. We have seen what the elite group of Republican “experienced” politicians have done to our Country. McCain would offer the same governance and experience as his friend and cohort, President Bush.
I want someone in the White House who does not fit this Republican “experienced” mold. I want a fresh face, someone who will put the needs of the middle and lower class ahead of the rich. I want someone who is level-headed and thinks things through then takes necessary action. I want someone who is in touch with the challenges that America faces and has the necessary SKILLS to lead our Country. That’s why, as a former independent voter, I’m voting for Obama in 2008.
191. JTA | 09.28.08
It’s nice to read so many articulate comments. I find it interesting that most of the comments supporting Obama deal with facts, while most of the comments supporting McCain accuse Obama of being a socialist and his supporters of drinking the “koolaid”.
I think the bottom line is that the republicans implemented their foreign policy proposals and economic plan between 2000 and 2004, leading us to where we are today. Clearly, the republican plan for this country has been a complete failure. Therefore, whether you are a democrat, republican or independent, you should realize that the republicans do not deserve to operate the levers of power.
If the democrats get into power and can’t fix some of the problems or get things pointed in the right direction, I’ll be the first to vote them out.
193. Brett | 09.28.08
Palin will eventually be the anchor which will drag the McCain campaign down. She can hide behind those glasses for only so long before the majority of undecided voters begin to see her for what she is; a small time politician with small time political talent and intellect with extremest views who is in way over her head. The buzz is gone and the CBS interview is just the beginning of the end.
194. Neena | 09.28.08
I am continually surprised in this election by how far my opinion of McCain has sunk. Although I always planned on voting for the democratic nominee, I thought McCain was the best choice of all the Repulican candidates. Boy was I wrong. After seeing Palin’s performances and McCain’s erradic and theatrical behavior this week, I feel as though this must be a wholly different man than I thought he was. His choice for VP is beyond reckless and shows his utter lack of care for the American people. This election should be FAR from close. I urge every Republican or Independant who cares about their country to carefully consider any vote for McCain. America would suffer irreparably in a McCain/Palin administration.
195. john | 09.28.08
Is there a difference between image and reality? Is “mean ole McCain” a projected set of concerns that exist even without McCain? Is just and true Obama a set of concerns that exist in the hearts of the self proclaimed true and just? I suggest a moment of silence to get acquainted to gravity. News break–Iran, China, Russia, Bin Laden and his crazy cast of characters, do not give one hoot about these petty and frankly self indulgent concerns. It’s time to smell the coffee and wake up. Is it wise to put the debate team captain in the position of being the captain of the ship?
196. JPMinNC | 09.28.08
Re #34 Dan’s “Anyone can debate well.” I disagree. Debating skills are a strong indication of how a president garners facts, analyzes issues, and interacts with others at the negotiating table. The role of the president is more than to give a pretty soliloquy now and then, as all the candidates have shown they can do. The important question is whether a president can confront other leaders, in the U.S. and around the world, and negotiate effectively on the part of the people he represents. In the first debate, McCain clearly showed that he couldn’t listen to his opponent and couldn’t look him in the eye. He showed that he was unable to find a single point of agreement, reducing every issue to the Bushesque “if you’re not with me, you’re against me” travesty of negotiation strategy. Any world leader would be sorely tempted to stomp out of the room when faced with such a puerile attitude, and near friends would be quickly turned to distant enemies, as Bush has done time and again. The fact that McCain would probably never trouble himself to think what MY interests are is almost secondary. As a president, he can’t even make it to the men’s room.
197. LAS | 09.28.08
All,
You know something has gone wrong with America when you read these blogs and you see the statements by both sides. You begin realize that the level of hate in this country has risen to amazing heights. Whether you believe that Obama or McCain is right for this country you must admit that the general attitude of the American populace has become one of complete disdain for the opinion of the “other guy”. I believe that the First Amendment has something to say about that. In the past we had political discourse. Yes, we had nasty campaigns and politicians told lies to get elected - but people agreed to disagree and America stood strong and resilient. Now, to paraphrase a news station that I listened to in the past, we get “All hate all the time”. How sad for us all. How did we go so wrong? How did we get so intolerant? The end of a great country.
198. Norris Hall | 09.28.08
If you want some real insight into the character of the man John McCain, read this article in the UK Daily Mail
It’s about his little known first wife and how they ended up getting a divorce.
It sounds like a soap opera
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html
199. tj | 09.28.08
Why are journalist pretending not to know that McCain’s ability to stay even has really just been McCain’s ability to throw up gimmick after gimmick. From Britney Spears to Sarah Palin to “suspending” his campaign McCain has consistently thrown up illusion after illusion. Take away the gimmicks that make for short term spikes and you have a race that has always been at about a 6 pt advantage for Obama.
200. Brad Soule | 09.28.08
I’m not usually one for commenting, but I have to ask the question: John Zogby is the only pollster you could get to discuss a horserace article? Really? Zogby polling is by all measures absolutely atrocious. If CSMonitor wants to fill a niche as the PBS of print news, you can do better than that.
201. nexus66 | 09.28.08
Mccain is an irresponsible person to have selected Sarah Palin as his Vice president of the USA and not for her inexperience but for her lack of education and basic knowledge of the world we live in.
Who will select a secretary to do a brain surgery!!! It is a gamble, Mccain is a gambler - USA future should not be decide on a gamble
202. joseph | 09.28.08
Hi
Americans you live in a great nation and you need to elect a meaning ful leader,not only for your country but for entire world, a leader who is thoughtful,visionary and can at least solve twenty first century problems with 21ts century solutions. there are so much at stake to let you son take the reighs of power when you know he is un fit to lead but b’se you’re fearful of the well gloomed neighbour’s son, who is better than your son and could do a superor.Its ok to ride on you previous record/experience but only if it’s important for the job in question I personally think the debate on friday was misunderstood for one of the candidate to narate what he knew about some of the questions and the other candidate demostrated he could find solutions by looking at a bigger picture.
.America should talk to every country out there , big or small rich or poor if it wants to demostate to world that it’s a force for the good, which i believe America can be and needs to be.
203. Ryan | 09.28.08
Peter in New York, you mentioned that the point of capitalism is to give people the incentive to work hard so that we can have a living standard much better than those who don’t work. I couldn’t agree more, hard work should be rewarded first. However, that’s not how our country works anymore, is it? Middle class jobs have been sold overseas wholesale in the last decade -with tax incentives no less! Under the guise of “global competitiveness” our jobs have been shipped to China, Mexico, and India. The people that spent their lives here in the states working hard DOING THE ACTUAL WORK have been dropped in the cacky to improve shareholders profits. We are now seeing the results of that greed. There is much talk of this current mortgage crisis happening because of unwise loan decisions, but very little mention of the reason all of those mortgages went into default.
How can America ever return to greatness without a firm industrial base?
The wealthy have looked out for their own interests since the beginning of wealth and how can you blame them? But there was also a time in this country when the wealthy looked out FOR this country and cared about her greatness. With a few exceptions, that time has passed.
We have all been given the chance to see a one party government. We have seen naked capitalism in all it’s glory and we have discovered that - it’s hard to buy groceries these days. It is hard to get to work, it is hard to find a job, it is hard to sell a house. Economic prosperity for the middle class is becoming a story of our parent’s times.
I was a very firm Republican in the 90’s, but i have seen so much greed, corruption, political spin and lies - I doubt I will ever vote GOP again.
OBAMA in 2008! Who can say how he will really do? I’ve already seen the alternative and I will take one last shot at hope in stead.
204. Saxxon Domela | 09.28.08
Watching the debate with two women was interesting. I thought McCain would have been thought the winner based on the testosterone factor. The two women with me said McCain had no answers and no solution, and he was far too aggressive. Its interesting that the polling after showed women, by a large margin, thought Obama had won the debate. Men were split 50/50. It seems like style mattered to men, substance to women.
205. jefflz | 09.28.08
McCain’s faltering campaign is due to: (1)the shift of emphasis of the issues to the economy and, (2) the voluminous evidence emerging daily that Palin is not qualified for the vice presidency, casting doubt on McCain’s judgment. McCain’s has also demonstrated erratic, high risk behavior by trying to cancel the recent debate and pretending to be an important player in the bailout negotiations. He seems almost desperate as he flails about trying to evade the Republican party mantle and to find a coherent message. This telegraphs his weakness to the undecided voter.
206. Bob | 09.28.08
I think we are fooling ourselves in thinking that democrat or republican parties are out for the working class. Sense the 1960’s we have never really seen any difference in political platforms. The same issues that plagued middle class Americans in the 1960’s plague us today. 30 years of unresolved issues by democrats and republicans. If you think our major political parties really want to fix these issues, they would have already done it by now. Maybe, just maybe the real power resides in the congress and they are using the presidential elections to deflect their incompetence in truly working towards a government for the people, by the people , and for a greater nation. Congress controls spending, Congress had to approve the war in Iraq, Congress, congress, Congress. People really need to pay attention to Congress on matters of Economic stability, and not the president. Right now we are just getting a huge “SHOW BY BOTH PARTIES”. The deomcratic members of congress did not even show up to a congressional proposal on the nations economic stability. I don’t show up to my job I get fired. Every person in congress should have been there. You cannot pin our economic issues on a presidential elections. Its crazy to do so.
207. Col Joseph Bento US ARMY RET | 09.28.08
Senator Obama is a reasoned individual displaying a great temperament for being President of the United States. Senator Mc Same is going to have to replace his knee if he keeps jerking it this much. On Monday our fundamentals are strong then lets drop everything and run to Washington so we can distract America from the issues. Mc Grumpy does not want the focus on I am now down nine(9) points in the polls and my campaign manager Rick Davis has been taking $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac. Look the other way and don’t ask my running mate any questions while she is in the cocoon we are keeping her in. Senator Obama has on his economic team Warren Buffet, Robert Reich, Paul Volcker all great advisers. Obama can also walk and chew gum at the same time which Mr. Lets delay on the debate until some day when America is not focused on the economic crisis my Republican cronies created. Run to George W. Mc Same and then tell us how you are not exactly the same as him. You were against the AIG bailout and then for it, you blamed Obama for it all and now want to work with him. Take your meds you are getting frenetic and tough to keep up with what you believe. Your ruses wont pull any more wool over the American electorate. To recap Senator Obama is the by far better choice for our economy and our country and its standing in the world. OBAMANOS! SI SE PUEDE! YES WE CAN AND WILL WIN IN November!
p.s. As a veteran I got a kick out of watching Mc Same try and make up ground with the veteran community during the debate. Research it and you will find he gets very low marks from us fellow veterans. Obama has authored good legislation for veterans and also supported the GI Bill while Mc Cain tried to derail it. Us veterans don’t forget those things Mc Same. Airborne!
208. Montani | 09.28.08
Let me see now, the McCain-Palin bashers are worried about Palin’s qualifications. These same people are supporting a man for president that by his own words stated he had visited all 57 states (there are 57 Islamic states)and a vice presidential candidate that said Franklin Roosevelt was president in 1929 and that Roosevelt appeared on television to explain his policy in 1929. Obama and his running mate may have went through college, but they are both stupid. I doubt either one knows the quick thinking and intelligence it takes to fly a fighter aircraft. I would surely rather have McCain and Palin defending this country than the two wuses on the democratic ticket.
209. Billy | 09.28.08
The tsunami is coming and the incarnate hope will fill the ballot boxes with the trust that this young man of color so richly deserves. Hope trumps fear………McCain is interested in the power but he and all the neo cons will soon find out the the love of power is one thing but the power of love is quite another!
As for Sarah Palin, Thursday will offer her the longest hour and a half of her life. I predict she will do herself in .
Biden doesn’t even have to show up
210. srfrgrl | 09.28.08
if obama gets in, armagedden will sure to follow. he is not qualified to lead our country and he has ties to muslim terrorists.ITS WILL BE THE END!!!!
211. Pamela Please America NO MCCAIN/PALIN | 09.28.08
McCain/Palin isn’t a good answer for America right now. My reason is McCain is a bitter old grouch and Palin doesn’t know anything.
212. Susanna | 09.28.08
We all need to pray for God’s will. May God’s will be done, because God will have the say so in the end.
213. Paul | 09.28.08
I am an Independent and after the first debate I believe that McCain is a better candidate among the choices we have. I know media is biased towards Obama and they are showing the debate as tie. But they forget every time where these two candidates started. McCain have to carry the burden left by Bush’s wrong policy that means Obama started with an upper hand at the beginning, not because of his talents but because of Bush’s fault. Now both candidates are tie because McCain is a better candidate and Obama’s fake shows can’t keep the lead given to him by Bush. It was very clear from the debate that Obama’s decisions on foreighn affairs will bring chaos in this world and in USA. Obama talks about middle class is all about getting votes because he does not have any concrete plan from where he will get the money for those plans. He talks about bringing more fedral control in health care and economy but he forgets first he has to clean the corruption comes with the fed regulations. I don’t like rich republicans but McCain is different, he is the right candidate to bring some real change because of his chracter and personality.
214. Aggrevated | 09.28.08
Why is it that American’s are so stupid? Have any of you actually read Obama’s Tax Plan? By the time you get to the person making less than $19,000 a year, they only get about $200 more than McCain’s plan. On the flip side, Obama’s plan will take jobs, and benefits away from workers because the people who give us those jobs will pay a SUBSTANTIAL amount of more taxes. I can GUARANTEE that if Obama is elected president, the economy will tank for sure, not just teeter on the edge. The “Fair Tax” proposal is the best idea going. Again, the Democrats have ya’ll convinced that it is a bad idea. When will people stop listening to the BS spun out of Washington and the media and figure things out for themselves. In case you missed it, Obama still doesn’t have origial ideas. He has never been to, nor met with the leaders of the foreign countries he claims to be able to deal with in terms of foreign policy. And his “humble” upbringing, that is a croc too! I will quit here before I get to ****** off.
215. Soren | 09.28.08
I have to say that Obama has re-awakened my sympathy for America - its people and all the things that it has to be proud of. That includes the people which I must say has grown on me through the hardships of the Bush years - I found it to be the most steadfast and yet hoping people one could wish for, if I’m permitted to generalize.
I have just one question: You who proposed voting for Obama in 4 or 8 years but not now - are you really sure you want to know what your country would look like by then as a result of choosing McCain? That said, I’m not sure what vision McCain has of the future, beyond Iraq, while Obama appears quite specific. It would make me happy if Americans voted for someone who can bring America safe to the future.
Finally, as someone who grew up in Finland, right next to Russia (yeah, I know, it gives me much foreign policy experience!) I have to say that diplomacy trumps threats of war every time. Peace is not won through wars, but through working for it, through constructing common interest in it.
216. Aggrevated | 09.28.08
I know I just posted, but another thought has come to me. Obama says he wants to build the economy from the bottom up by giving more tax breaks to the middle and lower middle class. Here is the problem, where is the middle and lower middle class going to get the money to affect the economy? Has previously stated, Obama’s tax plan merely gives a couple hundred dollars back to those making less than $19,000 a year. That is barely enough to pay bills, how is it going to do anything for the economy. One more point. If Obama thinks that “closing loop holes” in the business tax will keep businesses here in the US, ya’ll have another thing coming. Companies will leave faster because they will pay less taxes, less benefits, and get cheaper labor overseas. I will re-interate the point that American’s are stupid, and need to learn for themselves.
217. Melissa Robins | 09.28.08
The republican policies of zero regulation, tax cuts for the rich and letting the hedge funds and Oil companies run rough-shod have lead to the current crisis. Vote them out!
218. riverrat | 09.28.08
Mccain seems very arrogant and better than thou. His choice for VP has shone he is not putting country first. I love post #20.
219. smor | 09.28.08
@58: Margaret, what are you talking about? Obama promotes hate? Can you give examples?
220. smiling guy | 09.28.08
Reading these comments make me proud to be an American for a change. (Also an American for change!) CSM seems to have intelligent, thoughtful readers. I hope that smart people are in the majority on election day, too.
221. Bob | 09.28.08
I just posted as well. Sorry for blog hogging. Taxes are not the issue in the US. There are deeper issues impacting the economy. WallStreet reports unemployment is high, and productivity is high in the US. These are counter apposing statements. To achieve higher productivity either large investments in manufacturing automation are occurring, or jobs are being filled to improve manufacturing rates. Neither is happening in the US. So what is really driving the productivity rates so high in the US. Outsourcing overseas. Labor for US companies is now happening off-shore to US soil. Lowering taxes etc. will not do anything. When the numbers in WallStreet for Productivity are so high every quarter, Washington is very ignorant to the loss of middle class jobs. Everything in the supply chain for resource management is impacted. Inflated educational costs for jobs with deflated wages forces future workforces out of the competition. Students working towards education of middle class jobs see little or no ROI on the $50K college costs. Its a total trickle down effect. US companies inflict no-hire policies for jobs in the US, only approving overseas resources for cost savings. No amount of taxes proposed by either party come close to the huge savings US companies make in their on-shore no-hire policies. You can tax some of these companies way beyond the 42% middle class get charged selling off stocks, and the companies still make more profit than they did 10 years ago. I believe it is very important for all Americans to know that both Obama and McCain endorse reduction of world poverty campaigns which at its core is transference of wealth. Predominately the wealth from the US to other countries. I sit right now in Noida India as a US business man, looking at huge infrastructure projects funded by US workers. In my hometown of American Falls ID, we cannot get funding to upgrade our cities water treatment facilities. What the *** is wrong with this picture?
222. JTA | 09.28.08
srfrgrl:
Obama has ties to terrorists? That’s a mighty big accusation to make without citing a single fact to support it. Do you have any links to reputable news stories? I’ll be waiting but won’t hold my breath.
I have a feeling that you may let other people formulate your opinions for you.
223. eddie88 | 09.28.08
If all you on this site think we have this one in the bag…..you better think again, and while you are thinking…..think about those 58% of Hillary supporters who said they would not vote for Obama soon after the Convention, that number has not changed at all. It is still 58%….that (put into numbers) means over 40 million Hillary supporters are still unpersuaded. And listening lately to Bill & Hillary both, they themselves do not sound like they are totally on board.
224. Matt77 | 09.28.08
Vice presidential candidates should be chosen at least in part for their ability to run the country in the event of the president’s unhappy demise. That held especially true for the Republicans in 2008. John McCain is 72 years old. His father died of natural causes when he was 70. His grandfather died when he was 61. So, McCain chose Sarah Palin. Does she have the knowledge, experience and judgment necessary to run the country? In light of his choice, does he?
225. RightinMissouri | 09.28.08
If Obama did so well why did he spend half of his time agreeing with McCain?
“I think Senator McCain’s absolutely right that we need more responsibility…”
“Senator McCain is absolutely right that the earmarks process has been abused…”
“He’s also right that oftentimes lobbyists and special interests are the ones that are introducing these…requests…”
“John mentioned the fact that business taxes on paper are high in this country, and he’s absolutely right…”
“John is right we have to make cuts…”
“Senator McCain is absolutely right that the violence has been reduced as a consequence of the extraordinary sacrifice of our troops and our military families…”
“John — you’re absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say…”
“Senator McCain is absolutely right, we cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran…”
226. Chuck | 09.28.08
Timing is everything? Talk about failed policies of the Bush Administration. How much worse this Wall Street crash would have been if Bush had had his way and created un-regulated Social Security Accounts. The Grey Panthers and the AARP (what a bunch of looney liberals they are, huh? Just kidding) stopped the Bush Train Wreckers that time. “Voluntary” policing obviously doesn’t work. Then in one week we had McCain starting out by saying that the economy was fundamentally sound and then three days later he proclaimed we were in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and railed to say that “fundamentals” are workers who are sound. Sheesh… Give me a president who’s at least able to figure out when the s**t has hit the fan. Obama is that and a lot more. We need a smart president for a change.
227. Kevin Morgan | 09.28.08
I beleive that Zogby is right, except that he keeps moving the goal posts in his prediction. Two months ago I read a similar article citing Zogby except that then he thought the election was going to break then and that it would break for Obama. I believe that it already has, and that as we get down to the finish, Obama will maintain a lead above the margin. McCain will of course try to maintain that he wasn’t shamelessly exploiting the economic crisis, but the public isn’t fooled. The interesting thing is that the media refuses to call his stunt what it was. So we really have two factors- 1- McCain appears desperate and willing to use anything (including tragedy) to win, and he looks continually more and more out of touch. 2- The media is as out of touch with wha the public thinks as is McCain.
The wild card in this is that McCain/Schmidt have proven that they will do literally anything, take any gamble to win. They could still pull an obvious stunt and make it look like something noble simply because the media would still treat it with deference from the truth. Even then, the public won’t buy it, I predict.
228. Soren | 09.28.08
To #225: Well, one question in response to that is: Why did McCain not acknowledge the positions that they share to begin with, and instead try to make it look as if Obama was going to be denying that the sacrifices of the troops and their families made for less violence in Iraq, and all the other instances that you mention?
Was it because distorting and lying about Obama’s positions enabled McCain to say that Obama is naive and unfit? If you agree with that, one then has to ask if McCain would have been able to make that argument without bending the truth and lying?
229. pdiane | 09.28.08
Did you see the interview with Katie, go to google and check it out. Palin was absolutely ridiculous! How about that picture of her standing with the dead moose she shot in front of her 2 year old daughter? Isn’t that a mess? How Christian like? Isn’t that traumatic for a child? Who’s watching her baby? Doesn’t he miss her? Palin please go home and take the old guy with ya.
Why didn’t John look at Obama, was he afraid? Why is Obama at least 20 points ahead? Is it racism? probably. How did John’s injured wife and his children feel when he left her for a younger rich woman? How many houses do they own? You think they will give one of them to a family affected by the foreclosure crisis? There are so may questions to answer. Oh well.
230. Toni | 09.28.08
People supporting McCain always talk about koolaide, handouts, higher taxes, winning wars and empty suits. These generalizations feed right into the narrative of the failed past 8 years. No one would support Obama if he didn’t convey the actual feelings of people about the state of this nation. Someone posted that his supporters want handouts but the biggest handouts have been doled out by this administration to corporations and the culture of influence. Higher taxes. Don’t be fooled, higher taxes are a fact of life but what tax has been higher than 10 billion a month spent in Iraq and at what point will the war be won. If we had 10 billion a month to spend on building this nation, what are the possibilities? I’m a single parent, self employed, in the 25% tax braket. My child is in her last semester at Temple Univ (thank God). I am s t r u g g l i n g. My heath ins payment for two is $832.32 each month. $30/60 co pay. I don’t get a handout and I don’t want any but I desperately need healthcare reform. I don’t feel that most of the issues facing us and the world today should be handled with old ideas and policies. Obamas message and platform has resonated with me. I’ve listened to McCain and he sounds competent then crazy, skilled then devisive. To me he is too much of a gamble
231. Charles | 09.28.08
Obama agreed with McCain because those were “Motherhood and Apple Pie” statements that were a prologue to what he then went to say. Obama delivered thoughtful balanced proposals in a calm, steady and commanding manner.
McCain was at his best, but his best was not good enough. He has substance, but he is bogged down by his narrow tactical view, his ill-temper, and, let’s face it, his age.
I love my Dad, who is the same age as McCain. But I don’t want my Dad to drive his own car anymore, much less anyone else. And I don’t want McCain to steer the country in his impulsive and erratic manner. Our great nation needs, and deserves, Obama.
232. Hector | 09.28.08
hey rightinmissouri… you’re actually completely wrong. all of your quotes are taken out of context and obama goes to lengths to say that mccain doesnt practice what he preaches and how obama has taken concrete steps to actually accomplish the abstract ideals mccain babbles about.
233. RightinCA | 09.28.08
To the post #225.
To answer your questions… Because those are basic things, and it would be stupid to oppose as well as to repeat(in that case all Rep would call him a parrot) so in order to save time Obama was brave enough to point that they have similar views on some point. PLEASE don’t take parts of the conversation. He(Obama) always continued in the way of “BUT we have differences in…”
And if you would say that you don’t agree with the points you’ve listed above, that would be stupid, don’t you think.
I don’t think there is a perfect candidate, but I have big hope for Obama.
And when McCain chose Palin as VP, that was a final drop for me.
234. Adrienne | 09.29.08
#163, Peter in New York: “Yes, America deserves to have a black for President.” I’m not sure what that is even supposed to mean, but it sounds pretty condescending and rude to my ears.
Patricia Leonard: If Hillary had received the nomination from the Democrats, then I would be voting for her. My vote, however, would not have been because she is a woman, but because I felt she was the best choice for President.
If we vote for a woman based only on the fact that she is a woman, then we are truly doing a disservice to all women. Giving an unqualified woman the position of Vice President of the United States would do more damage than good. And the damage would not be limited to the women’s movement, but something that would affect the entire country.
How frustrated would you be if Hillary was the nominee, and you were hearing people say that they would never vote for her, just because she is a woman? What you’re doing here is essentially the same thing, just in reverse.
A vote *for* someone based only on their gender is just as poor a choice as a vote *against* someone based solely on their gender.
235. UTooSouthZone | 09.29.08
This is my first time on this website and I am surprised and elated to see how many of the posters have realized that Barack and Joe are the clear choice we need to run this country. Today I spent a few hours looking around online. I stumbled onto a YOU TUBE video posted by someone on CNN and ended up finding a dearth of videos that show clearly what kind of man John McCain is. If you get time, go there and type “John McCain Anger” and you’ll see what I mean. The other surprising thing is that there are a lot of Veterans who don’t believe in John’s message either. I even found a few videos of people who were in the military WITH John. The scary thing is that most of them said the thought of John as President was terrifying because he is hot headed and irrational a lot of the time. Those of you who “get it” about Barack Obama, keep spreading the message. We can’t let John and Sarah into the top political spots in our country. After the debacle that the last 8 years have been, we can’t afford to. OBAMA-BIDEN all the way!
236. UTooSouthZone | 09.29.08
In response to 225, maybe he agreed with McCain because on those few points, John actually gets it. Rather than try and say it’s bad he agreed with something that makes sense (does that mean you disagree with McCain?), it is my opinion it showed character and the ability and willingness to reach across the aisle or put aside differences and try to get along. All one needs to do is look even a little bit into John McCain’s past behavior and you’ll see a hothead who usually only listens to those whose opinions match his own. Stop trying to look for any excuse to tear down Barack Obama and investigate these matters a little more and, more importantly, ask yourself what your reservations are? Being a veteran and a prisoner of war does not mean John McCain will not a good President and those seem to be his big “qualifications” if the blogosphere is to be believed.
237. Sammy | 09.29.08
Open question:
Has anyone here read “The Obama Nation”. If yes, are you old enough to recognize the names mentioned throughout the book?
238. Sagar | 09.29.08
In Post #53 Charlene said:
“The world is shrinking! We are no longer “just Americans”. We need to get on with the relization that we should be world citizens with a leader who is intelligent, well educated and seeks diplomacy, not a cold war holdout, “war hero” relic of failed Republican aggression.
Amen! Thank you for that post.
239. Kevin | 09.29.08
Btw, for everyone so heavily democratic and far-right-wing liberal, that for all the not-so-intelligent remarks & cluelessness that Sarah Palin has shown thus far (not knowing John McCain’s actual stances on highly public issues & also for stating that becuase she can ’see’ Russia from her house in AK, that is why she has ‘foreign policy experience’ is very damaging to herself, John McCain & the Republican party on the whole; meanwhile Joe Biden’s remarks are quite idiotic in & of themselves as he had claimed during an interview with Katie Couric and ‘Discussing why President Bush should explain why it is necessary to help the financial industry, Biden said: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’” (Herbert Hoover was president when the market crashed in 1929 and radio, not television, was the medium of the day.)”
Style and substance at stake for Biden, Palin: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gXrJtJStxBNoYoSPRrybCP3Ai97AD93FUHC00
240. Kevin | 09.29.08
Btw, for everyone so heavily democratic and far-right-wing liberal, that for all the not-so-intelligent remarks & cluelessness that Sarah Palin has shown thus far (not knowing John McCain’s actual stances on highly public issues & also for stating that becuase she can ’see’ Russia from her house in AK, that is why she has ‘foreign policy experience’ is very damaging to herself, John McCain & the Republican party on the whole; meanwhile Joe Biden’s remarks are quite idiotic in & of themselves as he had claimed during an interview with Katie Couric and ‘Discussing why President Bush should explain why it is necessary to help the financial industry, Biden said: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’” (Herbert Hoover was president when the market crashed in 1929 and radio, not television, was the medium of the day.)”
Style and substance at stake for Biden, Palin: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gXrJtJStxBNoYoSPRrybCP3Ai97AD93FUHC00
241. Kevin | 09.29.08
Btw, for everyone so heavily democratic and far-right-wing liberal, that for all the not-so-intelligent remarks & cluelessness that Sarah Palin has shown thus far (not knowing John McCain’s actual stances on highly public issues & also for stating that becuase she can ’see’ Russia from her house in AK, that is why she has ‘foreign policy experience’ is very damaging to herself, John McCain & the Republican party on the whole; meanwhile Joe Biden’s remarks are quite idiotic in & of themselves as he had claimed during an interview with Katie Couric and ‘Discussing why President Bush should explain why it is necessary to help the financial industry, Biden said: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’” (Herbert Hoover was president when the market crashed in 1929 and radio, not television, was the medium of the day.)”
Style and substance at stake for Biden, Palin article by Associated Press as the resource that the quote was used from.
242. James | 09.29.08
“as a Canadian, I can’t tell you how beautiful it is to see long list of pro-obama opinions on a christian website!”
The CSM isn’t a Christian website. I’m an atheist and I am an avid reader of CSM simply because it is one of the few unbiased news outlets left in the United States.
It is heartwarming to see so many Obama supporters, though!
243. Jenny | 09.29.08
“as a Canadian, I can’t tell you how beautiful it is to see long list of pro-obama opinions on a christian website!”
CSM is not a Christian website. It is non-partisan and Christian only in name.
I’m a non-believer and I am an avid reader of CSM. It’s one of the most respected newspapers in the country and, as someone else pointed out, it is a bastion for journalistic integrity.
I’m with you on the majority of positive Obama opinions, though! It is indeed heartwarming.
244. Yobamanation08 | 09.29.08
Don’t you white racist pig ******* even THINK about voting against Obama! DON’T U EVEN THINK IT! If Obama loses I swear I will leave this god forsaken capitalist racist pig country, I swear to God, and I will NEVER come back!
Obama 08!
245. Wheaton | 09.29.08
Wow, Was comment 37 from Governor Palin? It is about as incoherent as her limited public comments. Truly, in contrast, it is heartwarming to read so many other clear and cogent comments in support of the Obama/Biden campaign in this neutral setting.
246. ted811 | 09.29.08
Obama is a pompus little puppy. He pretends to know America as he pretends to be someone who he is not. He pretends to be black when his mother means he is mixed race. With Obama, you may get change but it won’t be real. Did you see Obama with Bob Shieffer on Sunday morning? He said “LOOK” “LOOK” His attitude was, look, you greenhorn dummy. Look, it’s so obvious to those of us with a brain. Look, must you be so slow? Bob just took it from the pretentious brat. What does that mean Mr. Shieffer?
247. Mike | 09.29.08
The Democrats always have the trillions of surplus they left Bush and the spending Republicans are leaving a debt of 9 trillion. Then there is the choice of Palin to lead in the Congress, these very congressmen who have put forward the policies and actions resulting in our present state during the past eight years. It is difficult to see how anyone would want more of the same.
Mike
248. Ahmed M. Karadakhy | 09.29.08
Finally America deserves better than both McCain and Obama. I think that USA is at the threshold of a great and fast change, a change greater and faster than that brought the UNEXPECTED,that is to say an Afro-Amerhcan being the favored presidential candidate.
249. Siena | 09.29.08
Anyone else have the sense that there are 4-5 Obama web supporters posting to these “unbiased news organizations”? This is a vital feeding ground for Obama. Don’t be duped into believing that suddenly all good opinions have suddenly shifted to the Senator from Illinois. This is all part of Obama’s well-funded and well-orchestraded path to victory. Please do your research and make a sound judgement based on facts and not in the court of “public opinion”.
250. John Pedler | 09.29.08
For the great majority of us in Europe (who have no vote, you Americans decide for us who is to rule us!)it is plain as a pikestaff that McCain and Mme Palin are utterly unqualified for the Presidency & Vice Presidency.
In Mme Palin’s case it’s self-evident. In McCain’s case he brags incessantly about how he has experience of foreign and defence policy. But experience does not automatically qualify - Cheney & Rumsfeld had massive executive experience but they got us into Iraq with disastrous worldwide consequences, including that approaching $1 trillion dollars being a big part of the financial meltown.
McCain - with Vietnam and his years in the Senate behind him - was the US politician best placed to oppose even stop that war. But his “experience” counted for nothing - he voted for and enthusiastically supported what so obviously had the potential to become another “Vietnam” and indeed, to make Afghanistan a third “Vietnam” in one generation. It took little prescience to see that - even I did in 2002! please see our website http://www.dipconsult.eu for more about this election.
251. Paul G. Overend | 09.29.08
232. Hector wrote
” obama has taken concrete steps to actually accomplish the abstract ideals mccain babbles about.”
When exactly did Obama do anything except run for office and write a couple of books about himself? It is easy to avoid having your voting record become too much of a focus when you have not been in the last office you were elected to for very long and then spend half your time campaigning for the next step up.
252. bm | 09.29.08
Keith, on #130, the financial crisis in this country started with Ronald “Alzheimer” Reagan. It’s call deregulation…no oversight, which continued with the first Bush and finally passed under Clinton with a repubilcan controlled congress. America suffers with the condition of greedy narcissism which has affected the two main political parties.
253. Roger | 09.29.08
Want to get away from all the election hype, come visit us in Madison, Indiana for a great weekend getaway or a life time, you will be glad you did.
254. Sammy | 09.29.08
Guess noone has read the book. I agree with #249. I’ve been following the blogs for weeks and am coming to the realization that most liberals on these blogs don’t read or have lost their ability for critical thinking. America is beginning to look like Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. Oops, that right, history and experience are of no importance.
255. Richard | 09.29.08
Polls measuring the preferences of “likely to vote” voters are of interest. In view of the large number of disenfranchised voters since 2000, it would also be of interest to specify “likely to vote” and “likely to have that vote counted”.
256. Des Wilson | 09.29.08
I think McCain’s frustrations at not being able to get his viewpoint accross to the voters makes him sound at times like a village headmaster.That he also does not debate clean also makes look like a ‘dirty old man’.Let Obama keep his cool and he will continue to be better appreciated by the American people.
Des
257. Stephen Holtzman | 09.29.08
Is it possible that John McCain is suffering from chronic PTSD? Does that explain his impulsive behavior.
258. Dan | 09.29.08
Someone commented that they liked to hear that so many are making anti-conservative comments on a “Christian” web site. Christian Science is NOT Christian. It should be no wonder that anti-conservative blabber is eminating from nearly every mouth on this blog.
The Monitor is a mouthpiece for liberalism. Its membership is chock full of Hollywood and university elitist types that are totally out of touch with middle America.
I am so sick and tired of liberals who have little interest in their candidate’s views or platform - only in the golden lips of a say-nothing, do-nothing, rob-us-blind, “change agent” who is interested only in stealing what change you have left in your pocket.
Obama has never made a serious decision in his life, and when given the opportunity to do so he votes “present.” At least you know where McCain stands. I am not looking for eloquence I am looking for substance.
I am appauled at the audacity of those who question the experience of Palin (the bottom of a ticket) while supporting the top of a ticket that won’t be a heart beat away from president - HE WILL BE THE PRESIDENT! Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Stop looking at the Bush administration as the scape goat for the mess that the Democratic congress has put us in. Bush’s approval rating is poor, but it is exceeding that of the Democratic congress (the ones who make most of the decisions in this country).
259. Michael | 09.29.08
I would like to know why my posts were deleted. They were not offensive in any way. They only expressed an opinion in opposition to the majority of posters here. I guess they were a little too intelligent for the censures running this joke of a comments section. Remember there is nothing liberal about a leftists. If you are not pro-Obama do not waste your time posting here. Let them have there delusions.
260. Kate | 09.29.08
Re comment 145: There are plenty of smart, knowledgeable women that McCain could have chosen as his VP. There is no reason to vote for McCain/Palin just because she is a woman. If you were a Hillary supporter than to vote for Palin would be a huge insult to her. Palin is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Hillary on the issues. To say nothing of the fact that if something happened to McCain, which is entirely plausible given his age and health concerns, she is not even close to being ready to be president. She was chosen solely as a political move…again showing McCain as impulsive and erratic. Do we want the president of our country to have these characteristics?
261. Drs. William K. Gelok | 09.29.08
This republicans did no good to vote against te proposed bill. But the worst factor is that these republicans put Bush an McCain down. The behaviour of the democratic nays is even as shamefull. Well see what happens the next days , but that theres a crisis in government too is a thing thats obvious….!
262. Chuck Glisson | 09.30.08
John McCain was convicted of taking BRIBES, and and LOOKS AMERICA IN THE EYE AND TELLS ONE FACT CHECKED LIE AFTER ANOTHER.
Why would ANYONE with integrity vote for him? Oh yea, I forgot, they call you REPUBLICAN!
263. Diana | 09.30.08
I have been for Obama from the start. Now the more I see, the more convinced I am that I have chosen well. Thank you for letting me post a comment.
264. Victor | 10.01.08
Sara Palin not only does not know what answer to give for a question, but also appears not to understand the question!! Her intellectual grasp is very low. If this is McCain’s first decision as a presidential candidate, I do not want to try him as the president.
It is time for change. The Republicans have become prisoners of the so called ‘conservative’ orthodoxy of their own creation. They will have eight years to think how they should change their dogmatic, bull headed, mind set. There is nothing conservative about it.
265. Paula Redding | 10.01.08
Will somebody please tell me why anyone would vote for a man who wants to be President so badly that he would even consider nominating someone as ignorant as Sara Palin to be his running mate, to be one heartbeat from being President of the U.S.???? Is McCain stupid? No. Does he think he will live forever? I doubt it. The only answer I can come up with is that he is pandering to those people in the United States that he believes are too stupid to see the truth: that he wants to be President so badly that he is willing to say or do anything to be elected. Judging from the failure of the McCain supporters on this site to even write coherent, grammatically correct sentences with all the words spelled correctly, I see that he has found his audience.
266. Payday Loan Advocate | 10.02.08
The payday loan industry has recently been under siege by politicians from every party. The governors of Oregon, North Carolina, and Georgia completely banned the payday loan industry in their states. However, the decision to eliminate payday loans is not in the best interest of the people who live in those states. For example, in the state of Georgia, bankruptcy filings, bounced checks, and home foreclosures all suddenly increased after payday loans were banned. Although it’s been proven that the number of bankruptcy, bad checks, and foreclosures rise when cash advances are prohibited within a state, many governors of other states are attempting to pass the same anti-payday loan legislation. High-level politicians are hoping to eliminate payday loans from the entire United States. If this actually happens, it is quite plausible that there will be even more unemployment, debt, bankruptcy, and foreclosures in our already struggling economy.
267. not fooled | 10.03.08
You Democrats have been fooled so badly. With the American media firmly displaying their bias you have swallowed the lies, hype and distortions. Obama’s path has been mapped out for him for some time now. Obama will tax us all to death in ailing economy. Not a smart move for one who is so “astute” on the economy. If you trust his stance on foreign policy you must be a fool. His inexperience in dealing with rogue nations in a very dangerous world is very troubling. He was a U.S Senator for 143 days before he decided he wanted to be President. Give me McCain and Palin (real people with flaws) over this phony anyday. Let’s see if taxing capital gains puts people back to work like Obama wants to do. The President has very little to do with the American economy, good or bad, in a capitalistic free market economy. Clinton had the dotcoms. Bush wasn’t that lucky. Clinton passed NAFTA which hurt all American workers and drove jobs south of the border. This latest meltdown is a failure of Wall Street not the President of the United States. Obama’s economic advisors are from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Has anyone thought to have Obama answer for that. Ask Congressman Frank(D) to step down. He is primarily responsible for this mortgage crisis. He heads the committe which has oversight over Freddie and Fannie. Don’t believe everthing you read, and don’t read everything you want to believe. I will take a war hero who has served this country for 47 years anyday over a media hyped candidate with no experience running anything. He is the new “Manchurian” candidate it is plain to see. You can only liken Obama to Jimmy Carter and we know what we got with him. Obama has his audience too. The audience of the naive and easily influenced.
268. Chuck Glisson | 10.10.08
This goes out to “Not Fooled” at comment #267. Your TYPICAL Republican LIES are not going to work. A funny thing happened since the last presidential campaign and this one. A new generation of “Informed” voters came of age and a core group of older voters became “Better Informed”, leaving the typical “Rednecks” and “Beehive Hairdoo Hags” out in the cold with their A$$ backwords narrow minded view of the world!
Sory DUDE, but repeating lies, personnal smears, and false REINTERPRETATIONS OF THE BIBLE are not going to work this time. A WELL INFORMED public will not buy “Bridges to Nowhere” or the “Platform of Coruption and Lies” offered by Presidential hopeless Senator John McCain!
269. dawn | 10.15.08
I think that Obama should win because he has been the most considerent of the candidates.
270. celia | 10.15.08
many of the people should look past their racism to look at what a person really is and not to believe everything they hear. i don’t mean for anyone to get mad about what i write. i’m just a little country girl.
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1. joseph marcucilli | 09.28.08
McCain’s strategist said he resposible for what? Last I heard those conservatives in the house would not agree to this Bill .If I were Pelosi and she is forced to pass it without them she should label the Bill The Bush Bailout Bill.