Tag: Barack Obama (page 12)

Hillary praises Obama's debate and says he's "3 for 3."

Wolf Blitzer asks her about McCain's quip that he isn't George Bush. She points out that McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time so he has contributed to the economic distress our country is going through.

When asked if she'd agree to be in Obama's cabinet, she said she wants to stay a Senator.

The third and final debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain begins at 9pm ET on CNN. Big Tent Democrat, TChris, the TL Kid and I will be live-blogging.

The live blog stays below the fold so that it can be a bit wider than the front page allows. Just click on the "There's More" button or bookmark the permalink to go directly to it.

You can comment same as always in the comment section below. You also can send us live messages through the software. Only comments you post below will appear on the site.

We'll add live polls so you can weigh in on how they are doing. [More...]

Obama campaign spokesperson David Plouffe:

“We came into the debate with two thirds of the American people thinking that John McCain is running a negative campaign, and Senator McCain spent 90 minutes trying to convince the other third. Once again, Barack Obama won a clear victory because he made the case for change for the middle class, while John McCain just had angry and negative attacks.

The final debate between Sen. Barack Obama and John McCain begins in less than two hours.

What will McCain do? Will he stay on issues or make a last minute sleaze attack on Obama?

How will Obama respond? How should he respond?

We'll all be here to live-blog the debate -- Big Tent Democrat, TChris, the TL Kid and me -- hope you will join us.

In the meantime, here's a place for your last minute debate thoughts.

Stocks fell again today as recession fear set in.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 700 points, giving back nearly all its record gain from Monday.

The Dow closed down 7.9 percent, or 733 points, at 8,578. That follows a loss of 77 points yesterday, which nearly wipes out Monday's 936-point gain. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was off 9 percent, with a 90-point decline, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 8.5 percent, losing 151 points.

More...

The CBS/New York Times poll released this afternoon has Sen. Barack Obama leading John McCain by a whopping 14 points.

Obama has increased his lead even more among independents.

The top two reasons: McCain's negative attacks on Obama and --you guessed it -- Sarah Palin.

The Obama-Biden ticket now leads the McCain-Palin ticket 53 percent to 39 percent among likely voters, a 14-point margin. One week ago, prior to the Town Hall debate that uncommitted voters saw as a win for Obama, that margin was just three points.

Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.

Full poll results are here (pdf.)

Sen. John McCain unveiled his new economic plan today. The chief points:

• A proposal to lower the tax rate on seniors who tap their IRAs and 401(k)'s after reaching 59-and-a-half years old. Under his proposal, which he estimated would cost the government about $36 billion, the first $50,000 of withdrawals would only be taxed at the 10 percent rate, his aides said.

• For those who sell stocks at a loss, McCain would increase the amount they can deduct from $3,000 to $15,000, making it less of a burden for those who need immediate cash to survive the economic downturn, his advisers said.

• Capital gains taxes would be cut in half, McCain said, for two years, from 15 percent to 7.5 percent. His aides said that would cost the federal government about $10 billion, but would provide an incentive to save and invest.

More below, including the Obama camp's response:

Welcome news today in the Washington Post: The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering alternatives to prison for non-violent, low level drug offenders as well as for some supervised release (parole) violators.

The commission's consideration of alternatives to incarceration reflects its determination to persuade Congress to ease federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws that contributed to explosive growth in the prison population. The laws were enacted in the mid-1980s, principally to address a crime epidemic related to crack cocaine. But in recent years, federal judges, public defenders and probation officials have argued that mandatory sentences imprison first-time offenders unnecessarily and disproportionately affect minorities.

Drug courts and adult developmental programs for parolees have worked in the state system. They are far more cost effective than prison: [More...]

Update: Mayhill Fowler at HuffPo has much more on Colorado, including the great photo above.

Public Policy Polling released a new Colorado poll (pdf) yesterday showing Sen. Barack Obama with a ten point lead over John McCain.

Obama leads John McCain 52-42, up from a seven point advantage in a PPP Colorado survey three weeks ago. With only 6% of voters undecided and just 6% of those with a current preference open to changing their minds McCain is basically in a situation right now where he will need to take every undecided voter and also every Obama supporter willing to consider changing their mind to have any chance at winning the state.

PPP says the Latino vote has propelled Obama to his surge, and similar trends are seen in New Mexcio and Nevada: [More...]

Newspaper editorials from the Heartland are beginning to roll in: Shorter version from this one in the Toledo Blade:: Walk and don't look back.

Sen. John McCain, by nature, has shown himself to be incapable of providing the American people with an optimistic vision of the future. Firmly rooted in the failed politics and policies of the past, he cannot guide us on a path he does not see.

More...

Florida's Jewish voters are not happy with Sarah Palin, and many who thought they might vote for McCain have now decided otherwise.

As one Jewish voter, Jamie Erenreich, puts it:

She finds so much about Palin objectionable that she almost doesn't know where to begin. There's the abortion issue, for one. Palin "wouldn't want anyone to have an abortion even for rape or incest," says Jamie. "Who is she to judge by telling me how to live my life and overturning the things women have worked so hard for?"

Equally disconcerting is Palin's seeming shallowness on some of the most pressing matters facing the country. "She doesn't know what she is talking about and makes it up as she goes along," says Jamie. "The fact that she had to be coached for two weeks [to prepare for the vice presidential debate] tells me she doesn't know anything. She just talks in circles."

Political scientists and polling data explain. [More...]

Newsweek released a new poll today. Sen. Barack Obama leads John McCain by 11 points, 52% to 41%.

The chief reason: the economy. Another: voter disapproval of Sarah Palin.

While 60 percent of voters think Palin would fit in well with their local community, only 39 percent of those surveyed say they believe McCain's running mate is qualified to serve as president, while 55 believe she is not.

Obama leads with almost every group of voters.

He now leads McCain among both men (54 percent to 40 percent) and women (50 percent to 41 percent). He now wins every age group of voters—including those over 65 years of age, who back him over McCain 49 to 43 percent.

88% of former Hillary supporters are now on board with Obama: [More...]