One More Day

Who is the mysterious wild card of this presidential campaign? The one who has received undivided attention—in Saturday Night Live? Who is this person from the Arctic region? Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin has captured the attention of America and the general public finds this relatively new vice-presidential candidate quite intriguing, but celebrity, not politically intriguing. All eyes will be on Ms. Palin and Senator Biden tomorrow night at six p.m. when they face off in the first vice-presidential debate. Despite all the excitement and curiosity about the debate, “Not since Dan Quayle took the stage in 1988 have debate expectations for a major party candidate been as low as they will be on Thursday for Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.” Failure is expected. John McCain even tried to push for less time for discussion, knowing that Palin is not good with counteracting attacks. However, Palin’s past debate performance in her race for governor “shows a somewhat different persona from the one that has emerged since Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, named Ms. Palin as the vice-presidential nominee a month ago.” Even if Palin were to summon the debate confidence she had then, it will not aid the growing gap between McCain and Obama, nor help her falling approval ratings across the country and in her own state. What can be expected from the Palin tomorrow? A good show, maybe a few laughs, but definitely not any specificity or “engagement in a serious way in the pressing national and international issues of the day.”

It's All In The Name

Clearly the numerous protests to the $700 billion governmental "bailout" have had an effect on those presenting the proposal, for the Bush administration and other supporters of the plan are now looking for new ways to persuade Americans that financial aid is the proper course of action to take. While the plan remains the same, those in favor of the proposal are trying to sugar coat its name to avoid frustration among those who feel the plan is simply money out of the working man's pocket to save big business. Along with President Bush, Senator John McCain has also stated that it should be thought of as a "rescue" rather than a "bailout," but support of the plan is not only limited to the Republican party. Democrat and Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has stated that "This is no longer just a Wall Street crisis - it's an American crisis," in hopes of convincing his supporters that this investment would benefit all. By ending referral to the plan as a "bailout," those in favor aim to gain the trust of the masses and garner their support by instead convincing them to think of it as "a buy in, so that we can turn our economy around," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to do. While public opinion seems to be set at this point, the powers that be still feel like it can be altered enough to pass the proposal which they hope would save the United States economy from collapse.

Candidates play the blame game

The collapse of the $700 billion bailout plan was a major blow to Senator John McCain, who hours before the collapse, had bragged about his role in creating a coalition behind the rescue package. The Republican presidential candidate raised stakes for himself by halting his campaign last week and returning to Washington to support the bailout plan. So when the deal fell apart on the House floor on Monday, he was blamed by both supporters and opponents of the rescue plan. It did not help that a majority of McCain's Republicans had voted against the plan by a 2 to 1 ratio. McCain's first defense from the potential damage to his campaign was offense. In a media interview shortly after the vote, the Arizona senator started to blame his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, for infusing "...unnecessary partisanship into the process". Senator Obama responded to the jab with his own set of attacks, telling Congress, "Get this done, Democrats. Republicans, step up to the plate". Despite the blames from the McCain campaign, a CNN poll found that on the topic of who showed better judgment in the economic crisis, Obama leads McCain 49% to 43%. The bailout plan may have impacted both candidates negatively; still, analysts claim that McCain's campaign will feel the fallout far more than Obama. Ross Baker, political scientist at Rutgers University, summarizes, "There's nothing worse than prematurely claiming victory and then finding you've been handed a defeat. It's a sign of the impulsiveness that he's often been accused of."

Is Palin Ready?

As the Vice Presidential Debate grows near, the general focus is on Palin. With the disheartening Katie Couric interview on foriegn policy and the subsequent Saturday Night Live parody still fresh in memory, Palin must restore her legitimacy as a politician and as John McCain's running mate. As a New York Times article published this morning so aptly states, "she heads into a critical debate facing challenges from conservatives about her credentials, signs that her popularity is slipping and evidence that Republicans are worried about how much help she will be for Mr. McCain in November."
However, a new theory on the public's low expectations for Palin gives McCain's campaign some hope. Apparently, Palin's image as an "intellectual lightwhieght" could end up benefiting her in the debate, "lowering expectations for her so much that a mediocre performance in the debate could be hailed as a success." In this frame of mind, just one decent point by Palin could be considered a win. The only way is up, since she is walking into this debate with nothing to lose. It will be interesting to see if that is really the case.

Economy a Pressing Concern

It was another boiling day on Wall Street. With the promising $700-billion bailout rejected by Congress, the economic crisis is reaching its "heavy toll." Early this morning President Bush tried to persuade reluctant members of Congress that the measure “addresses the root cause of the financial crisis.” However, the final vote was “205 in favor and 228 against,” with only “one-third of House Republicans” supporting the bill. Adding to Wall Street’s woes, the Doe Jones Industrial Average went down by 778 points, and Wachovia Corp. "slid" by 82 percent after it was sold to Citigroup in a “deal brokered by the Federal Insurance Corporation.”
In the background of the crisis, presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama clashed on each other’s support of the bailout. McCain stated that he worked stealthily in “playing a constructive role in bringing everyone to the table,” while Obama “urged voters to consider McCain’s record of favoring deregulation” when choosing the best leader for the country.
During the first presidential debate last Friday, both candidates demonstrated their differences in economic approaches, with McCain stating that he would “cut spending” and “keep taxes low,” and Obama promising to introduce “energy independence” and not give tax cuts to big businesses. However, the candidates did not directly respond to what they would have to “give up for the rescue plan,” with McCain vaguely mentioning a “spending freeze.”
More talk about the economic crisis is sure to come back on Thursday, during the vice-presidential debate, but the picture does not seem like it will become clearer.

Make Room for the VP's

"I love the vice presidential debate; it's always the one I look forward to the most...The stakes are lower, so the candidates usually attack harder. It's much better political theater."

-Alan Schroeder, author of "Presidential Debates: 40 Years of High-Risk TV" and a journalism professor at Northeastern U.

I watched the presidential debate in an airport terminal before my flight to LA. I sat with strangers, and almost everyone present felt there had been no clear winner. Some were convinced by McCain's experience and readiness to lead while others felt Obama will be the best man to pull the nation out of its current slump. Many expressed disappointment that the economy was not discussed enough. I spoke with one gentleman who happened to be a Yale and Harvard Business graduate, who explained to me that neither candidate really had a plan yet for the economy in addition to his personal views. This gentleman has his own blog, and he does lean to the right. Just thought it was interesting to share with y'all a fellow blogger's work. 

Going back to the main topic, we're all in for a treat this week with the vice presidential debate. Vice presidential candidates tend to be looser and will express their views far more clearly than the presidential candidates. 

Both VP candidates have their work cut out for them, especially Palin, who's lack of experience and knowledge during interviews has made many on both sides skeptical of her abilities. She has until Thursday to "brush up", but Biden would be foolish to underestimate her, despite his strong experience and knowledge of foreign affairs. Biden, who seems to be frustrated by the lack of attention placed on him since Palin was announced as the Republican VP pick, also has to watch his tongue and his famous temper. 

The purpose of the presidential debate

"The debate featured a few good moments but no knock-out blows. McCain attacked Obama’s experience and Obama challenged McCain’s judgment. But both candidates left a lot out."
- Frank Sesno CNN special correspondent.
That being said, it is important to understand that the purpose of the presidential debates is not to determine a specific winner, but to instead clearly differentiate the stances of the two candidates on the issues.
According to political pundits on CNN, historically, people have not changed their minds on who they are going to vote for based on who wins or supposedly is said to have won the debate. This is obviously true after several of the expert reactions to the Bush - Kerry debates. In addition, the public reaction poll at the bottom of the screen during the live debate showed that democrats generally showed positive reaction when Obama was speaking and republicans generally showed positive reaction when McCain was speaking.
This debate specifically about foreign policy and the economy crisis simply confirmed voters reasons for supporting each candidates policies. Although McCain should have been stronger within this topic by clearly pointing out Obama's lack of experience, neither candidate seemed to stand out in this region. In terms of the economic crisis, neither of the candidates explained exactly what they are going to do because the fact remains that no one can call the solvency of the situation at the moment.
Through this and the future debates the American public can be assured however that, as was done yesterday, both the presidential and vice presidential candidates will prove there calm, structured, and consistent manner towards pre - discussed policy. This will only confirm voters ideas on why and for whom they are voting no matter what statistics or political pundits say.