Obama vs. No One?
Sep 25, 12:30John McCain suspended his campaign activities today, saying that he wants to focus on the Wall Street crisis before campaigning again. The McCain camp said that this means he will not be participating in the long-awaited debate on Friday unless a solution is found by then.
The move has Obama and his supporters very mad, as they claim he is just trying to get out of the debate. Obama added that this is the best time to have a debate because it will show the American people how each candidate will deal with what is the worst American economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Of course both candidates disagree on the matter and no one can be proved to be right. There is speculation that McCain did this to stop dropping poll numbers due to the recent blame the GOP has taken due to the economy, but that is not certain. We are really at an interesting point in American history and it will be interesting to see the effect on the 2008 election.
Obama begins to attack again
Sep 17, 12:18With the recent troubles on Wall Street, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have finally gotten back to attacking McCain and the GOP. With the fall of three major investment banks this year, the Bush administration is taking a lot of heat, which in turn is having a negative effect on the Republican campaign.
The McCain campaign is not taking it sitting back though, as they continue to push the idea that he will bring the most change to the system. Obama, of course, disagrees. The Democratic candidate attacked McCain again on Monday as he spoke in front of an audience in Pueblo, Colorado. He has received a lot of scrutiny lately for not being aggressive enough, which many analysts believe is why McCain has caught up to Obama in the polls.
Obama is still trying to run a clean campaign, but at times he has to attack and it is very understandable why. The race is close and the attacks may be the best way to get an edge over the opposition at this point in the game.
Obama raises $66 million in August
Sep 15, 12:21With each passing month it seems like Obama’s fundraisers are getting better and better. In August, The young Senator broke his previous record with $66 million raised. His previous best was $55 million, which he raised in the midst of battle with Hilary Clinton in February. His main opponent may have changed, but the cash flow still hasn’t.
The campaign reported that more than have of the total came from new donors, which is always a good sign. It shows that his following is growing and more people are starting to believe in him. Of course this is partly predictable, since only two candidates remain now and the people who supported other candidates in the primaries often change their minds, but it is still a good thing to see.
At the end of August the campaign had $77 million on hand opposed to $66 million in July. Once more, Obama was able to raise more than McCain, but he will definitely need that since he has vowed to not use public funding like the Republican candidate is. Obama doesn’t want to use public funds because he feels that it is part of a broken system, one which he hopes to fix if he becomes president.
The quest for Virginia
Sep 11, 12:55From the get-go, Senator Barack Obama has believed that he could make Virginia to a blue state and he continues to pursue that goal as his campaign moves forward. He visited Norfork on Tuesday, where he spoke about education reform. Norfork has a large military population, which Obama definitely wants to attract.
The day before his Norfork visit, the Democrat visited southwest Virginia, which is perhaps the key to victory if he really wants to win the state. The region overwhelmingly voted for George Bush in 2004 and Obama will certainly need to get some of those votes in order to win the state.
Obama’s speech in the southwest focused on the coal industry, which many of the people in the area are a part of (as current or previous workers.) The candidate is trying diligently to win over the state, which would be a huge victory for his party in December.
McCain passes Obama in polls, not in electoral votes
Sep 9, 11:11In the most recent national polls, John McCain is showing a slight advantage over Senator Barack Obama, but the Democrat still holds the lead in Electoral College estimates. McCain currently has a lead of two points over Obama with 47 percent and the Illinois Senator is leading in electoral votes with 243 leaning towards him opposed to only 189 for his opponent.
The McCain campaign has picked up a lot of steam recently after a very successful convention and a lot of media coverage of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The lead is the first time the Republican campaign has polled higher than Obama.
Even though he currently seems to have the upper hand in the Electoral College, Obama knows that they will have to continue campaigning hard if they want to hold back McCain. It is turning into a really close race and we may be in store for quite a battle come November.
Obama and Clinton to have lunch
Sep 8, 11:57Senator Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton are scheduled to have a private lunch with each other on September 11th. Clinton invited the Democrat candidate after realizing that Obama would be in New York on Thursday for a joint appearance with his opponent, John McCain. The two candidates will be speaking about the September 11th attacks as the attacks are remembered on the 7th anniversary.
Democrats are hoping that the lunch shows another step towards unity between the Obama and Clinton camps. Both sides have already stated that they stand together, but many of Hilary Clinton’s supporters are still reluctant on following the Illinois Senator. Both Clintons spoke at the Democratic National Convention where they told voters that Obama was the real deal.
The Clintons continue to support Obama and along with this lunch they also have a few scheduled campaigning events coming up including an appearance by Hilary in Florida on Monday.
Palin to Attack Obama
Sep 3, 10:01Barack Obama may want to run a clean campaign, but his opponents certainly don’t care about that. Sarah Palin, who Obama just recently refrained from attacking, is reportedly attacking the Democratic candidate a lot in her latest speech at the Republican National Convention.
The speech has not been given yet, but excerpts have been released by the McCain campaign. She will be criticizing Obama’s lack of experience, while at the same time comparing it with her resume. One of the excerpts was of Palin comparing her job as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska to Obama as a community organizer back in the 80s.
It may seem like an unfair and not really important comparison, but the Republican campaign has showed that they are running a very aggressive campaign. Obama has received some scrutiny lately for not attacking more, but he is still staying away from the dirty game other than in brief attacks directed solely at McCain.
The Palin Debate: What It Means For Obama
Sep 3, 12:25Days after Sarah Palin was named as McCain’s running mate, news has spread that her 17-year-old, single daughter is pregnant. The news has had mixed reactions and the outcome of it is currently unknown, but it will certainly have an impact on the upcoming election in one way or another.
On one hand the evangelicals seem to be happy about the decision because Palin’s daughter is keeping the baby, showing that they are truly pro-life. Others claim that it shows Palin is a bad parent who can’t even look after her own kids, bringing up the question of how she could be the vice president of the country.
Some have gone as far as to suggest that Palin will be forced to withdraw and McCain will select another running mate. Of course such a move would prove very beneficial for Obama because the opposition would be in utter chaos. That possibility exists, but it is rare and most likely she won’t drop out. She may lose the Republicans votes, but she may also help them, it is really unclear at the moment.
Obama Continues to Focus on McCain
Aug 30, 11:36Barack Obama has continued to focus his attacks on John McCain even after Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican vice presidential candidate. At first the campaign did seem aggressive towards the new target, but in the latest advertisement Palin is shown, but never mentioned. Instead, the ads continue to focus on McCain and the similarities between him and Bush.
The announcer in the commercial speaks of how McCain stands for “no change”, voting with Bush 90 percent of the time. It also talks about how the Republican thinks the economy is currently strong and criticizes him for wanting to continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq.
Initially, a member of the Obama campaign did attack Palin (on her lack of experience), but Obama quickly quelled the movement as he continued to focus on his main opponent. In fact, Obama later went on to say a few good things about Palin as well.
Biden attacks McCain
Aug 27, 12:16Moments after accepting the vice president nomination, Joe Biden went on to praise Obama and attack their opponent. He told delegates that Obama would bring about affordable health care, equal pay for women, and an improved social security system. He then compared that to what he believes McCain would do, stressing that it would be the same things that the Bush administration has done all along.
Democrats have recently centered their attacks on comparing the failed policies of Bush and what McCain proposes to do. Biden also compared Obama and McCain’s positions on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as the economy.
The Democrats have begun to attack the opposition more after McCain moved closer in the polls earlier this week. The Democratic National Convention has seen many attacks on the Republicans and similar attacks can be expected in next week’s Republican National Convention.
