Connecticut becomes 3rd state to legalize gay marriage

In a 4-3 decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage, making Connecticut the third state in the union to legalize same sex marriage. It will be interesting to see if this has an effect on the national presidential election or, more tangibly, the local Prop 8 election, which the most recent poll shows leading by 5 percentage points, 47-42.

Crisis in America: Who Will Serve Our Country Best

America is seeing the biggest economic crisis ever since the Depression broke out. The question of financial stability with a vulnerable economy is the concern of the Presidential debates and most Americans. According to the Wall Street Journal, America’s GDP will be lowered significantly within the next few months. Companies finding it harder to maintain their average work force, citizens searching desperately for work and struggling to pay their bills are all shaping the pave for the future president to be inaugurated in an "economy in the midst of recession". The big question is which senator will better handle America’s devastating economic crisis!

(De)Regulation: The Overpowering Theme in the Presidential Election

It seems that the most accurate way to grasp the stance of candidates McCain and Obama on all of the important issues facing the nation, is to consider their contrasting views on government regulation. Often we associate regulation by the government in economic terms, but Obama has successfully showed the country that he will provide the leadership needed to regulate and ensure all rights of citizens. He made this clear on Tuesday's town hall meeting when he stated, "That is a fundamental difference that I have with Senator McCain. He believes in deregulation in every circumstance. That's what we've been going through for the last eight years. It hasn't worked, and we need fundamental change." The truth in Obama's response resonnates in the ears of worried Americans. Joe Klein of Time Magazine, writes, "...the public — worried at the beginning of the campaign, terrified now — is ready for greater government support and regulation..." This sentiment can be applied across the board to healthcare, education, environment and the economy. Obama's bold promises to ensure change and improvement in all of these arenas is revealing a promising outlook at the polls.

Abandoning the Issues

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the McCain campaign is certainly entering desperate times. New polls in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada now show Barack Obama leading in all seven of these crucial states as election day approaches.

With just over three weeks remaining in the race for the presidency, and an economy that continues to spiral downward, the McCain campaign has decided that the only way they can win the election is through aggressive personal attacks on Obama. Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported on this shift in strategy and quoted a senior Republican strategist as saying "we're going to get a little tougher. We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here." In the following few days, Sarah Palin began a series of harsh attacks tying Obama to former Weather Underground member William Ayers, and accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists."

Although last night's debate was generally cordial, the McCain campaign came out swinging again this morning when Cindy McCain invoked the service of her two sons, "the day that Sen. Obama cast a vote to not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body let me tell you." This follows a statement she made yesterday calling Obama's campaign "the dirtiest campaign in American history."

Townhall Transcript Reveals the Inner Man

Sometimes you have to read something to appreciate the finer points. last night’s townhall rendezvous with senators obama and mccain was a little like that.

While it was obvious that both presidential candidates wanted to avoid making gaffes (basically they succeeded) they did manage to show viewers the differences in how they would handle the economic crisis.

What leaps out from the page if you read the transcript is the difference in how the candidates use pronouns.

McCain says “I.” Obama says “we.”

Get to the Point Candidates

One of the biggest complaints of the first presidential debate was that the candidates did not give enough specificity. Last night’s debate held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, proved to give audiences more of the same vague, political rhetoric that did not offer tangible solutions. Although the candidates met in a town hall format, which actually, according to Adam Nagourney of the NY Times, “produced an often stifled encounter,” they did not answer the audience’s questions with personal, specific answers, relying on the same “straightjacket of talking points” as Tom Curry, national affairs writer of MSNBC phrases it. Instead of addressing how their own plan would benefit the economy without putting burdening it with more tax cuts, lost profits, and sacrifices the American people would have to make, McCain and Obama pointed fingers at the other, talking of the other’s role in this current financial crisis. Both candidates offered very different explanations as to why America is in the state it’s in.
This debate does not appear to be momentous for either candidate as the public continues to favor Obama in his 4.9% lead in the national polls. However McCain and Obama need to step up and offer the country leadership, straight-forward answers, and clear plans if either of them is to restore confidence in the American public.

Debate Fails To Deliver Predicted Mudslinging

If viewers of tonight's debate were expecting the mudslinging and character-questioning battle of wits that sources said it could be, they probably ended up a bit disappointed. For the most part, the town hall style debates stayed away from personal attacks, and instead focused on the ever present financial crisis. However, this did not mean the two candidates appeared friendly. Along with trying to pin him down as a newcomer with little experience, at one point John McCain even referred to Senator Obama as "that one" without mentioning his name. Barack instead chose to associate his opponent with the current President, stating that the current financial situation is "a final verdict of the failed economic policies of the last eight years, promoted by President Bush and strongly supported by Sen. McCain."
Lately Democrat Barack Obama has been ahead in the polls, and results of a CNN poll taken right after the debate aired backed this up, stating that 54% of those reported believed Obama had won the debate, reaffirming the belief that debates do not create opinions, but instead shape existing ones.

The Gloves Are Off

It appears that tonight is the night when both candidates start swinging for a knockout. Although John McCain and Barack Obama started their campaigns with pledges to stick to the issues and avoid mudslinging, as the clock winds down, the attacks grow more viscous. As a New York Times article published yesterday states, "Mr. McCain made clear on Monday that he wanted to make the final month of the race a referendum on Mr. Obama’s character, background and leadership — a polite way of saying he intends to attack him on all fronts and create or reinforce doubts about him among as many voters as possible." His most recent jabs have included remarks about Obama's association with William Ayers and the pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. A speaker at a party event also "referred to the Democratic candidate as “Barack Hussein Obama.”"
However, the Obama campaign hasn't sat idly by and watched. They responded by releasing a thirteen minute video highlighting McCain's connection to the Keating Five scandal in 1980. With this rebuttal, Obama has reassured supporters that he has what it takes to fight back.
The recent, more aggressive strategies taken by both parties prove that at tonight's debate, both candidates will be on the offensive. However, the style of the debate may hamper what would otherwise be a more viscous rendezvous. Since the nominees will take questions directly from voters, they will have fewer chances to claw at each others' throats. Although Palin advised her running mate to "take the gloves off," McCain, along with Senator Obama, might have to wait a little longer.

Palin in the Spotlight

A recent article in Time said that vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin is more popular with male voters than with female voters. According to the article, polls reveal that 52 % of men favor Sarah Palin, compared to 42 % for women. Time explained in an article “Why Some Women Hate Sarah Palin” that women dislike Palin not because of her political agenda, but for her good looks and powerful persona. Interestingly, Palin seems to represent the modern woman. She has managed to get that brilliant career while raising a family. With a dashing smile, she is on her way to the White House. It is surprising that women do not praise her success. An article in the New York Times Magazine discussed how Palin’s entry into the election caused women to think about the sacrifices they made as wives and mothers. The writer brings up the question of whether it is possible for a woman to accomplish all of her goals without forsaking her family. In the case of Palin, perhaps it is possible. During the vice presidential debates last Thursday, Palin was approachable and energetic. According to an article from Politico, “Palin was a lot more direct in her attacks on Obama and a lot more simple.” Indeed, Palin seemed more natural behind the camera, drawing in the viewers. She is not the average “soccer mom,” and her experiences may not relate to the lives of some women. However, Palin took a chance by stepping into national politics, and her confidence gives a good chance of winning.

Party Vs Candidate

As the presidential election creeps upon us, more and more people are discussing who they will vote for. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a trend among the average, everyday American of simply voting for the party rather than the candidate. What's wrong with this? Well, it is a much too easy and naive way to go about choosing a leader for our country. Simply voting for one's party is a simple alternative to actually reading about the candidates and listening to them. I went around to many people at school, both democrats and republicans, and asked why they were voting for who they were voting for. One person responded with McCain. I asked why and he said, "I really could not tell you. I honestly don't really follow politics, but I'm not voting for a democrat, I can tell you that." Many other people had similar responses, that they were simply voting for their candidate because they would never vote for the opposing party. It terrifies me that this represents a large portion of our population. Why should people who have no knowledge about the issues at hand be taking this responsibility upon themselves? I realize that America is a democracy and that everyone has the right to vote, but individuals that are going to affect everyone else in the country by voting need to be educated on the issues. Being educated on the issues in this election is very important considering the economic crisis we are in and the international dilemmas at hand. People who are not willing to learn about these problems should not take the privilege to vote. It is inherent for the common American to realize what is at stake and take the time to really care about his or her country.

Less Than a Month Away!

The presidential election billed by many to be the most important in history is now only less than a month away. According to Karl Rove, the famous architect of the last two presidential victories, Obama would win today if the election were held today. Obama has appeared to have secured more states than McCain, but there are still a lot of states that are a toss up between the two nominees. Especially interesting are those swing states in the South like North Carolina. If Obama were to win one of those states he would be the first non-Southerner Democrat to win a Southern state. 

Election polls ebb and flow constantly and John McCain can easily regain the lead he enjoyed a couple of weeks ago but his strategy is going to need to change. According to his 2000 presidential campaign manager, McCain is going to need to return to a more moderate approach if he is going to win any "ticket splitters".

In addition to the presidential election, the situation for Republicans is even more precarious in the Senate, where there is now a strong possibility Democrats will capture that coveted 60 seat super-majority mark. Due the the recent fall in the economy many Republican incumbents are facing a lot of heat and are now expecting heavier losses than expected.  Not since the Reagan era has such situation occurred. 

Battles and Smear Tactics Start on the Campain Trail

On Saturday, just two days after the vice-presidential debates, Palin has begun associating Obama with terrorists. She has made comments such as:"Our opponent though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." at a fundraising event and a rally in Carson, California.

CNN has reported the man in question is Bill Ayers, the founder of the radical Weather Underground, which was responsible for several bombings in the early 1970s, including the Pentagon and the Capitol. Records show that he has met with Obama several times after 1995 when he received a seat in the Illinois senate. 

The Obama campaign has quickly denied such claims, stating that Obama and Ayers met while the latter was a professor and worked in a non-profit group trying to raise funds for school improvement projects and a charitable foundation. the Obama campain's spokesman Ben LaBolt said the two had not spoken over the phone or email since 2005 when Obama entered the US Senate, and only met once more than a year ago when they encountered each other on the streets of Chicago. 

Even the New York Times article that Palin referenced as a source of her information stated, "A review of records of the schools project and interviews with a dozen people who know both men, suggest that Mr. Obama, 47, has played down his contacts with Mr. Ayers, 63. But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.”

The Obama campaign is now fighting back against the McCain campaign, as noted by the Washington Post. Obama has said, the McCain Campain people "are gambling that [McCain] can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance. They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time." 

Also, Obama allies have warned the GOP that if he is going to use such tactics against the Democratic Presidential Candidate, then they may start reminding voters about McCain's ties to Charles Keating, a convicted savings and loan owner whose actions two decades ago triggered a Senate ethics investigation that involved McCain as one of the "Keating Five." (Washington Post)