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Obama, McCain battle it out on last weekend before polls
Nov 2, 2008, 0:01 GMT
Washington - Leaving nothing to chance and taking no vote for granted, the two US presidential candidates kept up a frenetic pace Saturday as they plunged into the last weekend of campaigning before Tuesday's election.
Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama is increasing his lead over Republican rival John McCain as the campaign enters its final phase, according to a poll published Saturday by the Washington Post.
It said 53 per cent of the electorate would vote for Obama, compared to 44 per cent for McCain. Obama also led in several key states seen as decisive in the election.
McCain campaign manager Rick Davis predicted a 'comeback' in the final days, as both sides ramped up their advertising and volunteer operations and were backed up by several surrogate campaigners.
At a rally in Laramie, Wyoming, Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin. 'I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain,' Cheney said.
'John is a man who understands the danger facing America, he's a man who has looked into the face of evil and not flinched, he's a man who is comfortable with responsibility, and has been since he joined the armed forces at the age of 17.
'He has earned our support and confidence, and the time is now to make him commander in chief.'
In Pueblo, Colorado, Obama lashed out at the endorsement by Cheney, who he said 'came out of his undisclosed location' to hit the campaign trail.
'I'd like to congratulate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy,' Obama said. 'Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it. He served as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years.'
Cheney knows 'that with John McCain you get a twofer: George Bush's economic policy and Dick Cheney's foreign policy but that's a risk we cannot afford to take,' Obama said.
The Democratic candidate swept through Colorado, Nevada and Missouri - states that voted for Bush in 2004. Meanwhile, his vice presidential candidate Joe Biden campaigned in Indiana, another Republican stronghold, where he accused the McCain campaign of going 'way over the top.'
'It is disappointing. I never thought I'd see this from a McCain campaign. They're calling Barack Obama every name in the book ... I don't recall it being more personally vicious.'
McCain spent most of the day in Virginia, where a Democrat has not won the presidential vote since 1964, but where polls now show Obama leading.
The Republican candidate told cheering supporters: 'You know how important it is for us to win here. You know how important it is that we put this country in the right direction. I need your help for the next three days.'
Both campaigns claimed an edge in the early voting stakes in key battlegrounds including Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina, as well as absentee ballots cast in other states.
David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, claimed more than 40 per cent of the total expected voters had already cast ballots in states that allow early voting. Higher turnout historically helps Democrats in presidential elections.
On Monday, McCain plans rallies in seven different states.
Obama's campaign was also taking its message into the Republican heartland - with advertisements in McCain's home state of Arizona, as well as North Dakota and Georgia.
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Older Talkback
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In the final days of the campaign, John McCain needs to emphasize that Barack Obama would kill millions of jobs.
A former McCain rival and someone who knows how to build wealth:
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“It’s too late in the process to be unveiling new initiatives,” Romney says. “Instead, you focus on the consequences of an Obama presidency and the benefits of a McCain presidency. And frankly, in my lifetime, I don’t recall a more anti-job program than Barack Obama’s.”
McCain’s program creates jobs, Romney says, while Obama’s shrinks them.
“Boil it down in a way that people understand,” Romney says. “You don’t have to go through all the differences and the details. The headline is: Barack Obama will kill millions of jobs in America; John McCain will create millions of jobs in America.”
While the economic crisis has hurt McCain’s chances, “What caused this downturn was profligate borrowing in the mortgage market,” Romney observes. “And who’s been pushing that? Democrats and a lot of Republicans. And then, when it came to regulate that borrowing, Republicans wanted to regulate it and reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Democrats said no, just hand out the money. That’s what caused this downturn.”
In fact, “Republican Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire authored a bill to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Democrats blocked it,” Romney says. “This is Barney Frank trying to do the old two-step. This is the guy that led the charge to hand out mortgage money to people who couldn’t afford to pay. And it’s caused the crisis that we’re seeing. It’s just easy to say blame George Bush, and that’s what the Democrats are doing.”
Obama’s program would kill jobs because it would raise taxes on companies and entrepreneurships that create jobs, Romney says.
In addition, “Putting a penalty on employers that don’t provide a government-approved healthcare program kills jobs,” he says. “The card check program to unionize small business kills a lot of jobs, permanently. And John McCain’s program creates jobs.
Raising taxes in a recession is idiotic, that is exactly what Obama promises to do. Obama first defined rich as anyone making over 250,000. then $200,000. Biden said it was 150,000 and Richardson just said it was 120,000.... REMEMBER, Obama voted to raise taxes on people making $42,000 a year when he was in the senate.
This is the only way they will be able to pay for the trillions in new spending and the spreading the wealth around that they want to do. Obama is a social engineer and he will take your money to do what HE thinks is best with it.
is not McCain's strong suit and he's admitted it. He's into war.
Today, Obama Campaign Surrogate Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) Further Lowered The Ceiling For Tax Cuts Under An Obama Administration To $120,000:
Gov. Bill Richardson: 'What Obama wants to do is, he is basically looking at $120,000 and under, among those that are in the middle class, and there is a tax cut for those.' (KOA-AM, Interview With Gov. Bill Richardson, 10/31/08)
Just A Few Days Ago, Biden Lowered The Ceiling For Tax Cuts To $150,000, Confirming What Obama Let Slip Earlier In The Campaign -- That Americans Would See Higher Taxes Starting At $150,000:
Obama Voted In Favor Of The Democrats' FY 2009 Budget Resolution.
FactCheck.org: The Budget Resolution Would Have Allowed Most Of The Provisions Of The 2001 And 2003 Tax Cuts To Expire, Effectively Raising Taxes On Those Making $41,500 In Total Income.
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In addition to raising taxes Obama wants to cut spending on programs like NASA and our military so he can create gigantic entitlement programs that will grow the size of government and drive the debt over our GDP, effectively rendering the US dollar worthless.
As a candidate, Barack Obama presents more questions than answers: questionable associations, rhetorical gymnastics, style over substance, questions over experience, even questions over eligibility and citizenship. But when it comes right down to it in the home stretch, it's all about meat & potato economic issues. As Clinton made his mantra 'It's the economy, stupid', so this election is turning on the perception of the candidates' views and plans regarding the current economic woes.
Recently, Obama was leading comfortably in the polls. But then 'Joe the Plumber' dropped out of the sky and breathed new life into the McCain Campaign. So what happened? Joe just asked a question. It was Obama's answer that woke people up and changed the dynamic of the campaign.
Obama revealed a socialist agenda. 'Spreading the Wealth' is his tax policy. (Conservatives view tax policy as a means to raise necessary revenue for necessary services. Liberals view tax policy as a means to raise necessary revenue, and to direct behavior. Socialists and Marxists view tax policy as a means to redistribute wealth and restructure society!) A large portion of Americans still find socialism distasteful.
Robbing from Peter to pay Paul may seem like a great idea to Paul. (And frighteningly, we have an increasing population of 'baby birds' sitting in their nest waiting with their mouths wide open.) But Peter may not think so highly of the concept. One might dismiss his objections as he has a vested interest, but the objective observer who is neither Peter nor Paul would have to acknowledge that Robin Hood is, in reality, no more than a thief.
So, was the 'Joe the Plumber' just an isolated statement that too much is being made of? Hardly. It was a crack in the armor that revealed the true core beliefs of Barack Obama, which had been well cloaked before they came to light with his answer to Joe.
Back in 2001, Obama lamented that the Constitution RESTRICTS Government and stands in the way of the REDISTRIBUTIVE change he'd like to make! The audio is SHOCKING and should be heard by every voter before heading to the polls. So here it is!
This is not surprising, given the Socialist, Marxist, and radical bent of so many of the cloud of questionable associates swirling around Barack Obama. While Ayers and Wright got the press, they are just the tip of the iceberg.
Is it coincidental that Obama is surrounded by such a motley crew of associates? Hardly. In his own words from his book 'Dreams of My Father':
To avoid being mistaken for a sellout,I chose my friends carefully.The more politically active black students.The foreign students.The Chicanos.The Marxist Professors and the structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets. You can hear the audio here
So, since COLLEGE he's sought out Marxists? And he chose his friends carefully? [...]
Obama is and always has been a radical socialist if not Marxist. It is who he is. It is his foundational core.
'Economics
is not McCain's strong suit and he's admitted it. He's into war.'
We are in a 2 front war against an enemy that has killed thousands of Americans so that might come in handy. However, Obama doesn't know anything about either.
is McCain's best suit, and thousands of American lives were lost in Iraq because they are there because of lies.
'is McCain's best suit,'
And Obama never met an islamist terrorist he doesn't want to surrender to.
'thousands of American lives were lost in Iraq because they are there because of lies.'
Whose lies? McCains?
Regardless, we would have lost Iraq if it had been up to Obama.
Gen. Petraeus doesn't think we've won in Iraq - guess you know something he doesn't, and you know darn well who perpetrated the 'lies'.
All the bitching, scratching and abusive behaviour of every writer on these M&C pages, is quite useless. OK, it makes good amusement pasting, copying, spouting angry support for one candidate or the other, blind loyalty to parties, abusive comments etc. - BUT WHAT A WASTE OF TIME.
There are an estimated 10-15% floaters or swingers, people who are undecided and not fully committed to any political party. With 240 million eligible voters and around 43% + or say 110 million not voting at all, that leaves about 130 million actual voters.
Floaters at a minimum 10% is 13 million people and THAT is more than enough to decide the result. Any higher and it is a landslide victory.
With the worst Presidential choice in US history, floaters simply do not know who to vote for. But because of the highly controversial circumstances relating to Obama, it is a certainty that these floaters will at the last minute vote for McCain.
Reason - mistrust of what Obama is and stands for, dislike of such a radical change and traditional conservative attitudes.
I would give it a probability of 0.9+.
Then PRESIDENT ELECT JOHN McCAIN it will be.
Go ahead all you committed Reps and Dems, chew each others balls off, it will make NO difference at all, YOU simply do not count, YOU are irrelevant. The FLOATERS will decide this election and McCain it will be. You can like it or lump it, cry your eyes out or commit Hara Kiri.
Have a nice bum-fight amongst yourselves until Tuesday, make the most of it, THEN take a bow to John Mac. Endure the pain, it will go away.
Hard life eh ? But it has been a lovely time for all you party fanatics over the past 12 months, biting and snarling at each other.
HA - HA - HA !
And you aren't wasting your time on this site???
Actually I've been sitting on the fence but what changed my mind was when I watched the charity dinner (forgot what it's for) when both candidates have to give a funny speech. I thought McCain was nervous and looked like a junior senator (that he really is), whereas Obama was composed, in control, and very much at ease.
While that's hardly a valid reason to choose a President, I really don't know how to differentiate between the 2 candidates anymore. What they say during the campaign is really meaningless, since they are not going to be held accountable for any of it (ala 'Read my lips...'). Also, everything they say is scripted by their writers anyway and may not be what they actually think. Seems like the only way to judge this is by their historical actions, or one's gut feeling. My gut feeling goes to Obama right now
win the war -so that all those trillions werent for nothing -throw money at those moslem people in iraq.
its cruccial we win war.
As a registered Republican and a conservative as well as a gay white man (and yes there is such a thing) I am jumping ship because I realize Obama will win. I do not wanna be part of a loser group, so there I officially declare I will vote for the Democratic candidate for president of the United States.
Funny if it is and funny if it isn't!
The war aside the people are going to vote to either remain a capitalist nation and a democracy within a republic or vote to make the biggest change the nation has ever undegone and that is to turn to socialism. Once its in place people it will never ever return to what it was unless there is bloodshed to do so. You make the choice. The nation of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Monroe etc. or the nation which resembles most european countries with tax rates of 70 or 80%. If you want to live like they do over there then yes by all means vote for change but you are not going to like it one bit. If you don't think Obama is going to raise taxes on middle income americans you have been gravely fooled my friends. When 'rich' corporations get their taxes raised guess what they do? They pass the cost on to you in the form of higher priced goods and services. If you don't see that as a tax increase you need to go back and take Econ 101. And do not forget that socialism is only one small step to communism. You say you don't think it could happen here? That my fellow americans is shear arrogance.
No it is this way. Obama wins you and I all lose and I am going to pose in the future on this forum to laugh at all you whining cry babies after you've all crapped your pants that I told you so.
The same old things have been said during every other campaign - the right against the left and vice versa. The U.S. is still standing, even if the last 8 years took an awful toll. Like the ups and downs of life - the country will survive.
It would appear that people just do not care or just do not allow themselves to hear anything bad about Obama. It is mass hysteria. The abandonment of rationality. I have talked to people until I was about to burst a blood vessel, shown videos, trotted out diagrams and frigging pie charts...
People have lost their minds in this country.
You say: 'No it is this way. Obama wins you and I all lose and I am going to pose in the future on this forum to laugh at all you whining cry babies after you've all crapped your pants that I told you so.'
Dave, we will not hear from you after the election. You are going to be so embarassed that you crapped your diaper, that you won't show up anywhere. So, sod off, poser.
Quoting McCain supporters makes you suspect. Oh I forgot who this was, you are already full of suspect and no one listens to you, you get nothing for all your spamming.
It sounds like there is a last ditch effort by the Republicans across the country to bring out more dirty tricks at the polling places, etc. And especially now anything McCain/Palin spouts out would definitely be suspect. Some one mentioned that McCain refused to air the campaign ad again showing the excerpt from a sermon by Rev. Wright. Well, someone better clue Gramps in because it has been airing hot and heavy!!!
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Carter B.Nov 2nd, 2008 - 00:11:25
McCain and Palin have definitely taken the low road in this campaign, and McCain wants to win at all costs. Well, I have a surprise for him, his attacks will probably be his down fall besides Palin.
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