US Elections 2008 - 4

[acharya]

http://israelinsider.ning.com/profiles/blo...BlogPost%3A5935

[acharya]

Posted on Sun, Sep. 7, 2008
<b>The American Debate: It's little discussed, but Obama's race may be decider</b>

By Dick Polman
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->That factor is rarely discussed in polite political conversation. People tend to dance around it, talking instead about Obama's perceived inexperience, or his youth, or his perceived airs, or his liberal voting record. And racist sentiment rarely shows up in the polls, because a lot of people don't want to share their baser instincts with the pollsters; they'll save that instead for the privacy of the voting booth.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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[acharya]

<b>If Obama LosesRacism is the only reason McCain might beat him.</b> By Jacob Weisberg
Posted Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, at 12:02 AM ET

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->If it makes you feel better, you can rationalize Obama's missing 10-point lead on the basis of Clintonite sulkiness, his slowness in responding to attacks, or the concern that Obama may be too handsome, brilliant, and cool to be elected But let's be honest: If you break the numbers down, the reason Obama isn't ahead right now is that he trails badly among one group, older white voters. He does so for a simple reason: the color of his skin.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Such prejudice usually comes coded in distortions about Obama and his background. To the willfully ignorant, he is a secret Muslim married to a black-power radical. Or—thank you, Geraldine Ferraro—he only got where he is because of the special treatment accorded those lucky enough to be born with African blood . Some Jews assume Obama is insufficiently supportive of Israel in the way they assume other black politicians to be. To some white voters (14 percent in the CBS/New York Times poll), Obama is someone who, as president, would favor blacks over whites. Or he is an "elitist" who cannot understand ordinary (read: white) people because he isn't one of them. Or he is charged with playing the race card, or of accusing his opponents of racism, when he has strenuously avoided doing anything of the sort. We're just not comfortable with, you know, a Hawaiian.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Choosing John McCain, in particular, would herald the construction of a bridge to the 20th century—and not necessarily the last part of it, either. McCain represents a Cold War style of nationalism that doesn't get the shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics, the centrality of soft power in a multipolar world, or the transformative nature of digital technology. This is a matter of attitude as much as age<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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[acharya]

<b>Obama Will Lose</b>
From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Tue, 2008-09-02 20:41

A quote from Spengler in The Asia Times, 3 September 2008

Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech last week seemed vastly different from the stands of [Denver]’s Invesco Stadium than it did to the 40 million who saw it on television.<b> Melancholy hung like think smog over the reserved seats where I sat with Democratic Party staffers.</b> The crowd, of course, cheered mechanically at the tag lines, flourished placards, and even rose for the obligatory wave around the stadium. But its mood was sour. The air carried the acrid smell of defeat, and the crowd took shallow breaths. [...]

On television, Obama's spectacle might have looked like The Ten Commandments, but inside the stadium it felt like Night of the Living Dead. [...] <b>McCain doesn't have a tenth of Obama's synaptic fire-power, but he is a nasty old sailor who knows when to come about for a broadside. Given Obama's defensive, even wimpy selection of a running-mate, McCain's choice was obvious. He picked the available candidate most like himself: a maverick with impeccable reform credentials, a risk-seeking commercial fisherwoman and huntress married to a marathon snowmobile racer who carries a steelworkers union card.</b> The Democratic order of battle was to tie McCain to the Bush administration and attack McCain by attacking Bush. With Palin on the ticket, McCain has re-emerged as the maverick he really is. [...]
<b>
McCain has certified his authenticity for the voters. He's now the outsider, the reformer, the maverick, the war hero running next to the Alaskan amazon with a union steelworker spouse. </b>Obama, who styled himself an agent of change, took his image for granted, and attempted to ensure himself victory by doing the cautious thing. He is trapped in a losing position, and there is nothing he can do to get out of it.

[acharya]

Op-Ed Columnist
<b>Palin and McCain’s Shotgun Marriage</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->    "It's shocking to see that the American media is now starting to talk as if Barack Obama had already lost the election."
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As is nakedly evident, the speech’s central argument, that the 72-year-old McCain will magically morph into a powerful change agent as president, is a non sequitur. In his 26 years in Washington, most of it with a Republican in the White House and roughly half of it with Republicans in charge of Congress, he was better at lecturing his party about reform than leading a reform movement. G.O.P. corruption and governmental dysfunction only grew. So did his cynical flip-flops on the most destructive policies of the president who remained nameless Thursday night. (In the G.O.P., Bush love is now the second most popular love that dare not speak its name.)
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-acharya+Sep 7 2008, 01:29 AM-->QUOTE(acharya @ Sep 7 2008, 01:29 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->It had already caught my attention in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, where Republicans convened. The audience was noticeably whiter than the one at the Democratic Convention last week in Denver. [/size]
[right][snapback]87651[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Even the notable blacks like Rice, Powell etc were missing for GOP convention. Why?
McCain was asked this ...
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SCHIEFFER: I want to ask you about the composition of the…of the convention. There were 36 African American delegates out of 2300 plus delegates there. How can you survive as a party if you become just the party of white people?

McCAIN: We can’t. We can’t. I saw a bit of information the other day that by, I forgot, I think…don’t hold me to it, 2042 or something like that, white Americans will be in the minority in the population of this country. We can’t. We’ve got to reach out; we gotta do a better job. We have to have the Hispanic as well as the African American voters. I’ve traveled all over this country. I’ve been to places where there were literally no Republican votes. I have to convince them I’ll be the president of everybody. And the Republican party has a job to do. And frankly, it’s a job that also spills over into other issues. You’ve seen the generic ballot difference that we have…[..] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Even the notable blacks like Rice, Powell etc were missing for GOP convention. Why?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Rice was in Europe, Even Chenney skipped convention, Georgia issue, she skipped China O Closing for same reason. Powell due to health issue, i think his cancer problem.

[Guest]

7 things to watch as the fall race kicks off
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->5. Will Hillary really help?

Obama needs Hillary Clinton on the trail – less to offset Palin than to deliver working-class whites who became her base during the primaries.

Exactly how much she’ll be used is up in the air. Obama’s people have presented Clinton with a list of places and dates. She’s amenable – under two conditions. First, she refuses to be a “Sarah Palin attack dog,” according to a person close to her. <b>Second, she wants Obama campaign events to coincide with fundraisers to retire her $20 million-plus debt.</b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
HC could still be the king maker here.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Second, she wants Obama campaign events to coincide with fundraisers to retire her $20 million-plus debt. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
He did nothing to retire her debts, infacts both Obamas refused to receive phone from Clinton before and during convention.
So what you are seeing outside just for outside, Now BO is begging her to help him out.
She had already told him that she is very busy during fall. Don't underestimates Clintons, they are mad as hell being labeled as racist and ignored by BO's.

I think who ever wins, Clintons time is over. Now her supporters are pushing her for Senate Majority leader seat.

Anyway her supporters, GOTVs are working for CitizensforMcCain.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I think who ever wins, Clintons time is over. Now her supporters are pushing her for Senate Majority leader seat.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Can't happen, even in NY she's junior senator since Schummer has seniority. She can be destined to do greater things. Gore lost to Bush but he went on to win Oscar and Nobel and 8 years later, Bush's still shunned in his own party like some leper.

I think BO blew it by not asking her to be on ticket with him.

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Anyway her supporters, GOTVs are working for CitizensforMcCain. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is cutting nose to spite the face.

[Guest]

<b>link</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->“<b>I hope you guys are game,” he said, “because I haven’t been putting up with 19 months of airplanes and hotel food and missing my babies and my wife –- I didn’t put up for that stuff just to come in second. I don’t believe in coming in second. The American people can’t afford for us to come in second. We’ve got to win this thing and we’re going to win it with your help.”</b> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Obama told the $30,800-per-person attendees during Bon Jovi private fund raiser.
Compare this with 6 years of McCain in POW Hanoi Hilton.
This empty suit is completly arrogrant and empty.
Today radios are buzzing with "His Muslim faith" slip up..

[Guest]

<img src='http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff147/zochin/RCPSEPT808.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />


Actually tomorrow data will complete convention bump.

[Guest]

<b>Obama: Terror groups have 'legitimate claims'</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->JERUSALEM – The Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations have <b>"legitimate claims</b>" that are being "weakened" by the violence the terror groups carry out, Sen. Barack Obama stated in an interview today with the New York Times.

<b>Speaking with columnist David Brooks, Obama said the U.S. needs a foreign policy that "looks at the root causes of problems and dangers."</b>

The presidential candidate compared Hezbollah to Hamas, stating they both need to be compelled to understand that <b>"they're going down a blind alley with violence that weakens their legitimate claims."</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Just how liberals thinks. He will say same for Kashmir.

[acharya]

L'Express, France
<b>Obama and McCain Focus on the Economy</b>
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[acharya]

Radio Zamaneh, Iran
<b>Candidates Gear Up For Final Weeks</b>
By Kosar Nik Ahang
Translated By Elnaz Alimardani
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Colorado:</b>
McCain - 46%
Obama - 49%
<b>Florida:</b>
McCain: 48%
Obama: 48%
<b>Ohio:</b>
McCain: 51%
Obama: 44%
<b>Pennsylvania:</b>
McCain: 45%
Obama: 47%
<b>Virginia: </b>
McCain: 49%
Obama: 47%
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

This is from Rasmussen , I think next week it will give better trend, after both convention bounce stablize. This is without Bradley effect.
OHIO will go red.

[acharya]

Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
<b>An Angler Named Palin</b>
By N. Hofman
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[acharya]

A few tips for little Miss Congeniality 1984
By Connie Woodcock

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[acharya]

<b>Floundering in a sea of change</b>
<b>Floundering in a sea of change</b>
Palin attacks Obama

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[Guest]

A relatively unknown person from Alaska's making news with her letter on Palin
About Sarah Palin: A Letter From Anne Kilkenny