Week #6, Blog #3, Wrap-Up

As we move into less than a month until election day we have seen the campaigns really heat up with the rhetoric and the 2nd Presidential debate this past week which we all saw in the Debate Watch 2008. At 1pm on 10/12/08 we can see that the race is beginning to come together. The top five issues for the week are as follows:

1. Obama's leading in Fox News poll

After the American people saw the 2nd debate we saw that the polls have indicated at this point that our next President of the United States will be Barack Obama. The talk that I have heard around campus is generally that most students are supportive of this choice but as I talk to family members and even some professors they are not looking forward to an Obama administration. This is also my opinion because Obama will raise taxes, increase government, and begin a transformation our of free-market capitalistic democracy into a government dictated form of socialism. I heard one veteran on a talk show this week say that he fought in World War II so that we would be able to enjoy the freedoms that we are guaranteed as Americans to have and electing Barack Obama to be President will just go further to diminish those freedoms. What a great point...

2. McCain is compared to George Wallace.

Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) compared Senator John McCain to former Governor of Alabama George Wallace who was a segregationist. Not only was this the only incorrect statement but he also said that the McCain campaign has run ads that only fuel the hatred and discontent that is in American culture today. I think that these statements were very inaccurate and Barack Obama has distanced himself from them because he knows that they are incorrect and not appropriate. On Meet the Press this morning former Congressman and current Office of Management and Budget Director Robert Portman said that the Obama campaign has run some of the most negative ads ever seem in a Presidential election. This is just another example of the kind of politics that we need to get away from. Let's talk about the facts and issues and eliminate the character assassinations.

3. Debate #2

John McCain and Barack Obama faced off for the 2nd time in a town-hall style debate this past Tuesday night. The debate was focused on the economy for about 2/3 of the night and foreign policy for the remaining 1/3 of the evening. This was McCain's chance to really close the gap in the polls and he failed to do so. The economy is not John McCain's top issue and this debate was focused on that issue for the majority of the duration. This hurt Senator McCain. When he can talk about working together across the aisle, being against wasted taxpayer dollars being used for unnecessary earmarks, national defense, and terrorism then he can win over Barack Obama. This debate did not focus on that and I think that truly hurt him and I don't know if there is enough time for him to recover before Election Day.

4. Palin abused Power.

A big headline this week was that Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor of Alaska by trying to lean on a state official to fire her ex-brother-in-law as a State Trooper. This certainly does not look good for the McCain campaign. I've heard different people say things such as if she can't be trusted as Governor of Alaska then why should we give her more power and trust as Vice-President of the United States. This is a good point but at some point in time everyone does something or makes a comment that they later regret. Bill Clinton is a great example when he lied to the American people in 1998 about having sexual relations with quote "that woman". Once again this issue is not something that is going to change my vote away from the McCain-Palin ticket because I believe that they can tackle the issues in a more meaningful way then the Obama-Biden ticket.

5. Clintons stop whining.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are going to start making joint appearances for the Obama-Biden ticket. Now that Bill and Hillary are done whining and complaining about losing the election they are going to go out there and do what they do best. They want to change the tone of what they have said about Obama and even Biden through-out the primary and now support him over the McCain-Palin ticket. It seems that they think that after 18 months of bashing they can fit in 1 month of supporting in order to get on Obama's good side in case he would win the White House. Please... This is pathetic... Don't say something if you don't mean it and don't change your mind just so you don't look like a failure... Hillary - Stay on the back row of the Senate chamber and earn that big salary for missing over 50% of the roll-call votes in the 110th Congress.

It's been an exciting week. Only about three weeks to go.