US Elections News September 30, 2008

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US Elections News September 30, 2008 Compiled by the American Libraries in South Africa http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/irc.html This weekly service provides selected coverage of the 2008 US elections. Please note that these articles are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. *34 Days until Election Day (Nov.

4)* New eJournalUSA : The Candidates U.S. Department of State, October 2008 http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/1008.html Every presidential campaign is dramatic and historic, but as the fervor surrounding the 2008 election continues to build, U.S. voters and the rest of the world will want to consider the candidates 9 personal histories more closely.

What sort of people rise to the top in the U.S. political system, what are their attributes, their sensibilities, and their strengths? The First Presidential Debate: POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS Watch the first Presidential Debate online at: http://www.c-span.org/Politics/ Editorial: The First Debate New York Times, September 27, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/opinion/27sat1.html?ref=opinion The first presidential debate could not have come at a better time.

We were afraid that the serious question of picking a new president in a time of peril, at home and abroad, was going to disappear in a fog of sophomoric attack ads, substance-free shouting about change and patriotism, and ... more. less.

unrelenting political posturing. The debate was generally a relief from the campaign 9s nastiness. Both John McCain and Barack Obama worked to strike a more civil and substantive tone. Two candidates nearly even in first debate; McCain, Obama each had moments, avoided obvious blunders By Paul West, Baltimore Sun, September 26, 2008 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-analysisdebate0926,0,7593314.story Going into Friday night's debate, some argued that Barack Obama would come out ahead unless John McCain clearly dominated their faceoff, largely over foreign policy, his area of expertise. By that standard, Obama may have gained an advantage. McCain didn't blow him off the stage and, at least at the outset, when the audience may have been largest, McCain was somewhat less focused than his Democratic rival. But, overall, the 90-minute encounter was a lot like the exceedingly tight 2008 election: a nearly even contest between two closely matched candidates, each of whom had his moments and avoided obvious blunders. The Next Day, a New Debate on Who Won By Jim Rutenberg, New York Times, Published: September 27, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/us/politics/28react.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=12 22758063-my/F54QsxLBRKsxdJvUuPQ OXFORD, Miss. 4 The presidential campaigns roared out of here Saturday morning facing a task arguably as difficult, and as important, as the debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain itself: influencing the public perception of who won an encounter that produced no clear winner or loser&And it reflected a common belief in presidential politics: That many viewers base their judgment not necessarily on debate performance but on what they read and see in the days afterward. US rivals claim TV debate victory BBC News, 27 September 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7639103.stm Partial list below: A review of expert verdicts on the first 2008 presidential debate Writer Verdict McCain score Obama score Jim Geraghty, The National Review Barack Obama failed in his main task - looking ready to take over on 20 January. His answers were halting early on and he "let his irritation / exasperation / disbelief" show, "it wasn't quite the right tone". Anyone wavering on McCain will have been "reassured a great deal". In that sense it was a "major win" for him. **** * Kos, The Daily Kos Barack Obama was very effective. He proved he as well-versed on foreign leaders and countries, despite Mr McCain's continuous attacks that "Senator Obama doesn't understand / doesn't get it". The debate "reinforced Obama's fitness to be president". This was not a loss McCain needed bearing in mind his "lagging" poll numbers. * **** Michael Tomasky, The Guardian "I've never been quite this confused about a debate in a long time... I thought each acquitted himself well on the other fellow's terrain... I don't think Obama's win, if that's what it was, was so decisive that the McCain team can't reverse spin it." *** *** Gideon Rachman, Financial Times The exchanges on the financial crisis were "feeble in the extreme". McCain "became noticeably more confident and coherent, once the discussion switched to foreign policy". Obama was "relaxed, coherent and showed flashes of humour" and overall performed well. *** **** About 57 Million Tune In for Debate By Rebecca Dana, Wall St Journal, September 29, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122265152083984301.html?mod=googlenews_wsj About 57 million people watched John McCain and Barack Obama debate Friday night, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research&.This year's audience was just under the number that watched the first, and highest-rated, debate between John Kerry and George W. Bush in 2004. The most-watched presidential debate ever was the 1980 matchup between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter that drew more than 80 million viewers. The VP Debate: WHERE CAN YOU WATCH? CNN (via DsTV): Friday October 3rd http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/ " Live at 03:00 local South African time " Replays at 11:00 and 18:00 South African time The debate will run for 90 minutes. Concerns About Palin 9s Readiness as a Big Test Nears By Adam Nagourney, New York Times, Published: September 29, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/us/politics/30palin.html?ref=us A month after Gov. Sarah Palin joined Senator John McCain 9s ticket to a burst of excitement and anticipation among Republicans, she heads into a critical debate facing challenges from conservatives about her credentials, signs that her popularity is slipping and evidence that Republicans are worried about how much help she will be for Mr. McCain in November. Palin Gets Ready For Eagerly Awaited Debate With Biden By Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, September 30, 2008 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092903439.html Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin flew yesterday to Sedona, Ariz., where she will spend the next two days at Sen. John McCain's ranch preparing for Thursday's vice presidential debate, a potentially pivotal event in what has been a whirlwind since she joined the Republican ticket. Issue Focus: the Economy Candidates Try to Sidestep Fallout of Failed Vote; McCain, Obama Each Say Bailout Must Be Passed By Amy Chozick in Westminster, Colo., and Elizabeth Holmes in West Des Moines, Iowa, Wall St Journal, September 30, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122273145281488197.html?mod=googlenews_wsj John McCain and Barack Obama struggled to mitigate the political damage of the House rejection of the financial rescue package Monday, but it was unclear whether either would gain an edge in the finger-pointing. Both men had just the day before tepidly supported the plan, saying it was an unpleasant package but necessary for the health of the economy. Now, both face difficult political choices, as they try to balance appeals to the widespread anger over the "bailout" -- and the fear of letting markets continue to sink if it fails. Analysis: The Failure of the Bailout Bill By Chris Cillizza, The Fix, Washington Post, September 29, 2008 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/the_failure_of_the_financial.html?nav=rss_blog The failure of the financial bailout bill in the House is a classic example of an old adage: all politics is local. Despite the fact that President George W. Bush and the leadership of both parties lined up behind the bill, the rank and file of both parties -- particularly on the Republican side -- rebelled in light of polling that showed the American public is deeply skeptical about a planned $700 billion bailout for the financial industry&With just over one month left before the November election, politicians of both partisan stripes are concerned primarily about one thing: their own political futures. 'No' Votes Came From All Directions By June Kronholz, Sarah Lueck and Greg Hitt, Wall St Journal, September 30, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122273311165788291.html &One common strand that tied some of the diverse opponents together: a tough re- election fight. Eighteen of the 21 most vulnerable Republicans up for re-election, and 10 of the 15 Democrats in the closest races voted against the $700 billion financial rescue, illustrating the political hazards of bailing out Wall Street without offering an equally generous hand to taxpayers. Analysis: McCain 9s Bailout Gamble Looks Like a Bad Roll By Jonathan Allen, CQ Politics, September 29, 2008 http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002966228 After rolling the dice by personally indentifying himself with a $700 billion Wall Street bailout proposal last week, it appears Republican presidential nominee John McCain crapped out early Monday afternoon when the House of Representatives rejected the bill by a vote of 205-228. Latest Polls: Gallup Daily: Obama Maintains 8-Point Lead; Registered voters prefer Obama to McCain, 50% to 42% http://www.gallup.com/poll/110788/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Maintains-8Point-Lead.aspx Gallup Daily, September 29, 2008 &Today's report includes two full days of interviewing following Friday night's debate, both of which show Obama with a healthy advantage over McCain. Electoral Vote Predictor http://www.electoral-vote.com/ cThe Votemaster d, September 29, 2008 (updated daily) Obama 286 McCain 252 Strong Dem (175) Weak Dem (75) Barely Dem (36) Exactly tied (0) Barely GOP (89) Weak GOP (5) Strong GOP (158) 270 Electoral votes needed to win Plenty of Questions Still Remain in This Bifurcated Election By Stuart Rothenberg, for Real Clear Politics, September 29, 2008 http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/plenty_of_questions_still_rema.html Is the presidential race opening up for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), or is GOP Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in the middle of a comeback even as analysts note that the financial crisis is hurting the GOP? Are Democratic House and Senate candidates getting a bounce because of the crisis, or are Republican numbers on ballot tests around the country relatively steady? There is so much contradictory data out there 4 some of it seemingly illogical based on the recent news 4 that it 9s hard to know what to believe. Cell Phones and the 2008 Vote: An Update by Scott Keeter, Michael Dimock and Leah Christian, Pew Research Center for the People & the Press September 23, 2008 http://pewresearch.org/pubs/964/cell-phones-and-the-2008-vote-an-update &interest continues to grow in the question of whether public opinion polls that do not include cell phones are accurately measuring the relative levels of support for the two candidates&.In each of the surveys, there were only small, and not statistically significant, differences between presidential horserace estimates based on the combined interviews and estimates based on the landline surveys only. Yet a virtually identical pattern is seen across all three surveys: In each case, including cell phone interviews resulted in slightly more support for Obama and slightly less for McCain, a consistent difference of two-to-three points in the margin. Websites of the Week: In Quotes Google Labs http://labs.google.com/inquotes/ What did Obama and McCain say about&.? Insert your keyword and search recent statements made by the current presidential candidates. Voting America, United States Politics, 1840-2008 Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond http://americanpast.richmond.edu/voting / Voting America examines the evolution of presidential politics across the span of American history. The project offers a wide spectrum of cinematic visualizations of how Americans voted at the county level, from the beginning of the modern party system to the modern day. See historical developments in American voting patterns as thy moved across the political landscape. Further information: U.S. Elections 2008 (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to South Africa) http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/irc_elections2008.html Amy Bell Mulaudzi American Library United States Consulate General Cape Town, South Africa Tel. 27-21-702-7463 Fax 27-21-702-7307 Email: mulaudziab@state.gov Web: http://southafrica.usembassy.gov This email is Unclassified as defined by E.O. 12958

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