BS: Popular Views on Obama

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 01:29 PM

Well, that's good to know, Sawz. I don't flog fear, as a rule--I am more in favor of intelligent analysis and personal courage in stating what one knows, sees, or thinks.

Sounds like you're borrowing my phrasebook again. Do let me have it back when you're done. I want to use some of its excoriating, scintillating, diamantine flourishes to expose the Know-Nothing party just over the hill. Well, a long way over the hill, now that I mention it.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 01:45 PM

The reason the Know-Nothing party don't know nothin' is 'cause they keep readin' the Daily.Kos. They don't get no insightful information that a way.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 03:14 PM

From the Editors of The New Republic:

The New Republic) This column was written by The Editors of The New Republic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The past eight years have been like watching a TV makeover show in reverse. We entered the Bush era a ravishing beauty attracting envious stares. We leave it a gum-smacking sad sack with split ends and an empty social calendar. Over the course of George W. Bush's second term, in particular, the images of our country have not just been unattractive but virtually apocalyptic: a major city destroyed; cars raining into the Mississippi from a crumbling bridge; swaths of exurbia dotted with foreclosed homes; a financial system in ruins; angry emotionalism flooding politics.

There are many causes of this bleak age, and not all of them can be laid at the feet of the president. But there's no doubt that Bush has run down the one engine capable of making our vast economic and physical infrastructure function properly: the federal government. He has disregarded the tenets that have guided the state since the Progressive Era--deference to disinterested expertise, an apolitical civil service, reliance on regulation to protect the common good. The ethos of the executive branch under his command has been one of "heckuva job" hackery and anti-intellectualism. So the next president will not just inherit an economic crisis, a health care crisis, an environmental crisis, an infrastructural crisis, and, oh yes, two wars, an overstretched military, and a looming Iranian threat. He will inherit a government weakened to the point that it has become ill-equipped to protect the well-being of its citizens.

It's hardly surprising that, as a matter of policy, we overwhelmingly prefer that Barack Obama win the prize of dealing with this mess. But it is his temperament and smarts that give us some hope that he can do more than manage the damage wrought by Bush--that he can actually take advantage of the once-in-a-century opportunity presented by the current crisis and transform the American state.

Any endorsement comes with doubts. We have our share. With a candidate lacking in experience, how can you not? We wish that he had greater fluency in the global economy and the financial system he will likely remake. In foreign policy, Obama's slender record offers few clues. At moments--for instance, during his shaky response to Russia's invasion of Georgia--we ourselves have had jitters.

But we also have hopes that Obama will govern as the person who revealed himself in this campaign. On the whole, he has turned in one of the more impressive performances in recent political history--demonstrating an ability to explain complex ideas in plainspoken English, impeccable managerial skills, evenness of temper, avoidance of sloppy errors, and pragmatism, not to mention that he can really deliver a speech.

If the John McCain of 2001 or 2002 were running, this might be a far closer call. At that time, this magazine considered McCain a truly great political figure. During the 2000 primaries, we endorsed Al Gore and John McCain, an unorthodox step for us. Better than anyone in Washington, McCain made the case against creeping income inequality and political corruption. Oftentimes, we found ourselves wishing that his Democratic counterparts spoke with such clarity. Indeed, a cover story we ran urged him to switch parties. We didn't expect that he would listen, but we didn't expect that he would transform himself into a Sean Hannity conservative, either. And we certainly failed to appreciate how his impulsiveness could lead him to such spectacularly bad decisions (Sarah Palin) and such a spectacularly incoherent campaign. The implosion of the old McCain, if he ever truly existed as we imagined, saddens us, not least because the candidate he's become is so poorly suited to the challenges of the moment.

Obama, by contrast, has the makings of a man who understands the times. In these pages, our colleague Cass R. Sunstein has described his governing style as "visionary minimalism." By this, he means Obama will work to achieve an ambitious agenda but will revise his opinion when the evidence dictates a different course. He is a sincere liberal but without the temperament of an ideologue. His health care and environmental plans are broadly progressive but make concessions to the free market and do not fit the platonic ideals of the left. He doesn't intend to create a single-payer system (alas) and expresses openness to nuclear power. His recent education rhetoric has incorporated the best of the reform movement.

You can already grasp the political benefits of this style. It's striking how many conservatives have complimented Obama, even those who oppose him. No less than Charles Krauthammer has declared that he possesses a "first-class intellect and a first-class temperament." His appeal to the right has everything to do with his detached style. Obama has even been described as a Burkean. Unlike Bush, he actually listens to those with whom he vehemently disagrees; and, in the course of debating John McCain, he frequently, and without hesitation, voiced agreement.

Now, braininess and a knack for riffing on Reinhold Niebuhr hardly guarantees a successful presidency. But this is a distinct moment with an economy that won't likely be healed by the simple application of off-the-shelf ideological prescriptions or a diminished government blanched of experts. In the middle of this recession, the national mood will run raw. Major policy changes, now inevitable, will exacerbate the anger.

Fortunately, Obama has a fetish for data and the company of social scientists, as Noam Scheiber has shown in his reporting. And, just as important, he has the soothing demeanor that might calm tempers and the gift for language that could make necessary, but not necessarily popular, policies more palatable. His election offers an opportunity to roll back the Bush legacy and perhaps--if he turns out to be the rare transformational president that occurs when man and moment meld--even restore us to our former beauty.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 03:14 PM

Obama widening lead over McCain, new poll indicates
Barack Obama is back up to his largest lead of the past month, 11 pts, over John McCain, according to the latest Gallup daily tracking poll.

Obama maintained 52 percent of support among registered voters, compared to 41 percent support for McCain.

It's the fourth time in the past two weeks that Obama's support in the daily poll has registered at 52 percent.

McCain's support also matches his low water mark in the poll.

The poll would seem to indicate McCain's message is not breaking through.

On the other hand, it's a poll. the actual vote is only two weeks away now, sowe might as well wait for that to see what Americans are really thinking.

The margin for error on this poll is +/- 2. And, as always, it is a national, not a state by state poll.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 08:52 AM

In other endorsement news, the editorial page of The Bryan-College Station Eagle, a newspaper in central Texas that has never backed a Democrat for president, has published an editorial in support of Obama's candidacy. The editorial begins:

In the past 50 years, The Eagle has never recommended a Democrat for president. We made no recommendations in 1960 and 1964 — when Texas' own Lyndon B. Johnson was on the Democratic ticket — nor did we in 1968 — although we did praise Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey's position on the Vietnam War. We did not in 1976 and 1980. In 1972, The Eagle recommend Richard Nixon, in 1984, Ronald Reagan. We recommended George H.W. Bush in 1988 and 1992 and his son in 2000. We recommended Bob Dole in 1996.

Four years ago, the Editorial Board couldn't recommend George W. Bush for a second term, but we also couldn't recommend Sen. John Kerry either, so we made no choice.
...(NYT)

"Every 20 or 30 years or so, a leader comes along who understands that change is necessary if the country is to survive and thrive. Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century and his cousin Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan -- these leaders have inspired us to rise to our better nature, to reach out to be the country we can be and, more important, must be.

Barack Obama is such a leader. He doesn't have all the answers, to be sure, but at least he is asking the right questions. While we would like more specificity on his plans as president, we are confident that he can lead us ever forward, casting aside the doubts and fears of recent years." (Excerpt from the editorial)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 09:55 AM

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, an informal adviser to Barack Obama for several months, is joining the Democratic nominee on the campaign trail.

Schmidt will appear today with Obama in the tightly contested state of Florida to talk about the economy. Although Schmidt announced his backing of Obama in Monday's Wall Street Journal, he has been advising the campaign on technology and clean-energy issues for most of the summer.

For years, Schmidt was a major Democratic fundraiser and high-profile supporter of Democratic candidates, notably 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore, who now serves as a senior adviser to Google.

But Schmidt has kept a low partisan profile during the 2008 campaign, offering up Mountain View's Google headquarters to all the presidential candidates for both parties during the primaries. Earlier in the year, he made supportive comments for energy independence plans proposed by both Obama and Hillary Clinton. Schmidt also showed up at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where he spoke to a group of bloggers whose convention-reporting headquarters were partly paid for by Google.

As Google grows, so does its interest in government. The Justice Department has yet to issue a ruling on Google's proposed ad-sharing deal with Yahoo, which some legislators believe would give Google too much control over online advertising rates. The company also has lobbied on issues such as Net neutrality; it opposes allowing
telecommunications companies to set different rates for slower or faster levels of Internet service.

A statement from Google said the company "of course remains neutral" in the presidential race. As for Schmidt, the statement continues, "he believes that it is time for a change in America. In addition, his personal views on technology and energy are similar to Senator Obama's." ... (Mercury News)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 09:59 AM

Yes, I don't see anyway Barack Obama can help but win at this point. The big losers in all of this, of course, are the American people.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 10:08 AM

Wrong again, Rig.

This must not be a regulation game--usually, you whiff that many times, you are sent back to the bench.

I invite you to name one particular impact of an Obama election that will be a loss tot he American people in one specific way.

Your nabobbery and generalized gloomery makes you sound like a dingbat. I know you are not a dingbat, but sometimes you sound like one. I'm just saying.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 07:10 AM

It seems to me that Obama sees himself as a world leader, and not the leader of the American people. I living up to the bench mark he has set for himself, I think he will sell his own country down the river.

                I've been accused of not being consistant by backing Hillary in the primary, and not backing Obama in the general election, because their stated objectives are very similar.

                The difference is, I see Hillary as one who would honestly try to bring those objectives to fruition, whereas Obama just says those things, and when he gets into office I expect his agenda to be very different. I don't trust him to carry out his promises to the people, and his behavior in the election reinforces those suspicions.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 09:07 AM

Well, at least you have voiced your misgiving, and I honor that. I would remark that the American president is of course a world leader to a large degree.

Your mistrust is another matter. I have no way of knowing what you are basing it on, but you might want to ask yourself if in some way you are projecting your own shortcomings or past disappointments in others on him?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 11:05 AM

There are a number of things. The way he handles things like this ACORN problem. Instead of admitting he was involved with ACORN but things have changed, because that's harder to explain, he just denys involvement.

                      Turning his back on public financing really puts the entire process in doubt. It's back to whoever has the most money wins.

                      But when he said he was going to leave the Office of Faith Based Initiatives open, I really lost all hope.

                      At this point, I'm just going to sit back and watch what happens.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: DougR
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 01:08 PM

Popular view? That's simple, isn't it? He's the messiah.   Right?

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 01:43 PM

It's unclear. At the Al Smith dinner he said he was Clark Kent!

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 22 Oct 08 - 05:07 PM

A new round of CNN polls in five red states has some very good news for Barack Obama: He's leading in four out of the five, with a huge lead in Virginia.

• Nevada: Obama 51%, McCain 46%, with a ±3.5% margin of error. Three weeks ago, Obama was up 51%-47%.

• North Carolina: Obama 51%, McCain 47%, with a ±4% margin of error. Two weeks ago, it was a 49%-49% tie.

• Ohio: Obama 50%, McCain 46%, with a ±3.5% margin of error. Two weeks ago, Obama was ahead 50%-47%.

• Virginia: Obama 54%, McCain 44%, outside of the ±4% margin of error. This is basically unchanged from Obama's 53%-43% lead a week ago.

• West Virginia: McCain 53%, Obama 44%, outside of the ±4% margin of error. A month ago, McCain was only up 50%-46%, so this is the one sliver of good news for him in here.

All five of these states voted twice for George W. Bush, and the four where Obama is ahead add up to 53 electoral votes. John McCain pretty much needs to hold on to all 53 of them, or else it will be exceedingly difficult for him to pull off a victory.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Sawzaw
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 10:46 AM

Secret of Obama tax planned revealed

I have learned how Barack Obama plans to cut taxes for 95% of the public, even though only 40% of people pay income taxes. The explanation came from a young man calling from an Obama phone bank, one of millions of such calls being made these days. Before we discussed the tax proposals, the college-age caller informed me that:

-Sarah Palin belongs to a church whose pastor believes in witchcraft, and that she is anti-Semitic.

-Obama will give me government-run health care and will pay for it, and all his other programs, by taxing the rich and corporations. When I pointed out that the wealthy already pay the majority of income taxes, and that corporations don't really pay taxes, that they -- for the most part -- simply pass those taxes on to consumers, he sounded confused, as though they were concepts he had never heard before.

-Under Obama's health plan I will be able to go to any doctor, including the most expensive specialists I can find, and the government will pay for it and all my other medical expenses, no matter how high the cost. Again, paid for by increased taxes only on the rich and corporations.

-After my questions about Obama's connection to ACORN, and the numerous investigations into widespread ACORN voter fraud, that John McCain was trying to prevent students from voting. His evidence? He had heard that nugget on one Air America talk show. He sincerely believed it to be the moral equivalent to the numerous investigations into ACORN voter fraud.

-McCain's economic policies would be devastating. When asked if he knew anything about McCain's proposals, he admitted he did not.

-Obama will hire people to drive down "high" unemployment, although he was unaware of where unemployment current stands (6.1% in September) or that it is low by historical standards.

-Obama will increase employment by giving tax breaks for corporations to bring jobs back to America. When I said my understanding was that the tax break would be $3,000 per job and asked how many people he thought would be willing to work for $3,000 a year, he said he would. He apparently had no concept of how little money that would be.

-The stock market will tank further if McCain is elected. When I pointed out that the stock market is a forward-looking mechanism, and that at least some of the market's recent fall has been the result of pricing in an expected Obama victory, he simply continued to maintain the market would fall if McCain is elected.

Finally, I asked the troubling question about how Obama will ensure a tax break for 95% of people--despite the fact that about 40% don't pay income taxes. He struggled with that one for a while. Again, it seemed to be a foreign concept to him, like no one had ever raised the subject before. He stumbled through a series of answers. Obama would "give" the unemployed jobs so that they could pay taxes and get a tax break. When I reminded him that would only account for 6%, he--in a tribute to the American education system--said that Obama was really talking about the 55% difference between 95 and 40. I reminded him that Obama had specified 95%, not 55%. He replied that "Obama didn't really mean that." I asked if he, the caller, was really supporting a candidate who lied about something so important?

He told me to wait while he talked to his supervisor. I could overhear bits of a conversation in which he referred to me, rather politely, as "a difficult one." (At least he didn't call me THAT one.)When he returned to the phone, he informed me that Obama would reach the 95% figure by initiating taxes on the 40% who don't pay income taxes now, so that he could later give them their promised tax break.

I don't know which is scarier: that the young man knew so little about the policies of the candidate for whom he had volunteered to work, that the young man's supervisor apparently knew little more, or that the talking heads say that young people like him could determine this election.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 10:54 AM

RCP's national average has increased in favor of Mr. Obama to >7%:

Poll       Date             Obama (D) McCain (R) Spread
RCP Average 10/16 - 10/22 -- -- 50.1    42.7       Obama+7.4

A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 04:37 PM

GOP's Arne Carlson endorses Obama
The former governor said Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis.

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune

Last update: October 23, 2008 - 1:43 PM

David Brewster, Star Tribune


Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama today, saying Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis and criticizing Republicans for waging a mean-spirited campaign that has "been going down all these side roads."

Introduced to a standing ovation at the State Capitol by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, Carlson said his party had strayed from the moderate philosophies of past Republican leaders such as Ohio Sen. Robert Taft and President Dwight Eisenhower. "I consider myself a Republican maverick," Carlson said in explaining his endorsement of Obama.

"I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president," he said. "I would contend that it's the most important election of my lifetime."

Carlson also took aim at Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, saying that her controversial remarks of the past week, suggesting Obama may have anti-American views, had led him to endorse the Democratic nominee. After hearing Bachmann's comments, Carlson said he telephoned former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Minnesota Democrat, to tell him of his plan.

At one point, Carlson compared Bachmann's statements to the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator during the 1950s who helped define an era when the patriotism of many Americans was publicly questioned.

"I don't want Minnesota to continue to be seen in the national picture as some sort of a land that has these rather strange views -- we don't," he said.

The former governor said Obama's policies on the Iraq war, economic issues facing the middle class and alternative energy solutions meshed with his own views. "I think the disappointing part of the McCain campaign has been its inability to develop a national vision," he said.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 05:17 PM

Sawzaw, are you aware that income taxes are not the only taxes paid by American citizens? All citizens are taxed, and they are taxed heavily, because they pay taxes on just about everything they ever spend a buck on.

This includes the poor.

It is perfectly normal to provide some sort of tax relief to all people in a society no matter whether they qualify for income tax or not, because we ALL pay taxes, no matter how low our income is.

The only way you can not pay taxes is to disappear into the wilderness, vanish off the social records, and live by hunting and foraging and making your own clothes and building a hut for yourself in the woods out of sticks and underbrush.

The real level of taxation in North America now is about 40 cents on the dollar. Only about half of that is your income tax...the other half hits everybody, but they don't notice it as much because it is not all paid in one lump sum once a year. Therefore it's largely invisible to most people, but it's built into the price of everything you buy.

If Barack Obama gives all the people under $250,000/year income a tax break, he will be doing nothing the least bit unusual in that respect...except in the view of someone who panders to a rich elite, in which case they won't like it, will they?

EVERYONE in Canada below a certain income threshold gets a tax rebate in the form of a GST refund (Goods and Services Tax), regardless of whether or not they pay any income tax. You know why? Because income tax is NOT the only form of taxation! Not even close. It's about half what most of us end up paying in taxes each year. NO ONE escapes paying taxes.

But you'd rather ignore that little detail, wouldn't you? It's inconvenient to your argument.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 23 Oct 08 - 08:52 PM

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thursday, October 23, 2008 -- 8:43 PM ET
-----

New York Times Editorial Board Endorses Obama for President

The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Senator
Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States,
stating: "We believe he has the will and the ability to forge
the broad political consensus that is essential to finding
solutions to this nation's problems."

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ron Davies
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:10 AM

Now that McCain has finally figured out he needs to appeal to the independents and undecideds--and as a result is strongly attacking the Bush admininstration, I hope the Obama campaign is readying an ad with long clips from the Republican debates---where McCain is praising GWB to the skies.

Just the contrast from one of those clips and a current McCain speech would be very instructive to independents.

Particularly regarding McCain's "steady hand at the helm".

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Bobert
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:28 AM

Yer rigtht, LH... All Americans do pay taxes and if you were to take all of them, including those which are hidden in the prices we pay for goods and services, we have a very regressive tax system which puts a massive burden on the poorest among US...

As for Obama's tax proprosals, they are purdy much straight forward and the reason that McCain and his shills are spending so much time attackiong Obama for them is because McCain sees them as one of Obama's strengths... That is Karl Rove politics... Attack the other guys strenght...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:57 AM

THe Times provides a long essay on their reasons for endorsing Obama.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 09:28 AM

Published: October 24, 2008
Filed at 9:11 a.m. ET

SALEM, N.H. (AP) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, a Republican, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president on Friday, citing the senator's steady leadership, good judgment and ability to unify Democrats, Republicans and independents.

''Sen. Obama is a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America's standing in the world,'' Weld said in a statement.

''We need a president who will lead based on our common values and Sen. Obama demonstrates an ability to unite and inspire. Throughout this campaign I've watched his steady leadership through trying times and I'm confident he is the best candidate to move our country forward,'' he said.

Weld joined other prominent Republicans endorsing Obama over GOP nominee John McCain in the campaign's final weeks, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson and Scott McClellan, former press secretary to President Bush.

Last year, Weld came to New Hampshire to campaign for another former Massachusetts governor, Republican Mitt Romney, who ended his bid for the presidential nomination in February.

Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. Before that, he was U.S. attorney for Massachusetts under President Reagan and was later led the criminal division of the Justice Department.

(NYT)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 11:19 AM

The Kansas City Star, The Miami Herald and the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., all influential newspapers in major battleground states, recommended Barack Obama for president in their Sunday editions.

The endorsements were part of what appears to be a groundswell among newspapers in favor of Obama over his rival John McCain.

The Star, the Herald and the News & Observer are owned by Sacramento, Calif.-based The McClatchy Co., but McClatchy does not dictate what recommendation its papers make in political contests.

McClatchy's Sacramento Bee also recommended Obama to its readers on Sunday. Other McClatchy newspapers that endorsed Sunday included the Bradenton Herald in Florida, the Olympian in Washington State, and the Idaho Statesman in Boise, Idaho.

What impact the newspapers' recommendations will have, of course, is unknown. The value of such endorsements is hotly debated in both news industry circles and among politicians.

Last week, Obama received the endorsements of the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. Editor & Publisher, a newspaper trade publication, reported Saturday that by its count newspapers endorsing Obama outnumbered those supporting McCain, 62 to 18.

Obama was endorsed last weekend by the Toledo Blade and the Dayton Daily News in Ohio.

Two major papers endorsed McCain on Saturday: the Tampa Tribune and the Dallas Morning News.

Here're links to some of the editorials. (Scroll down to mid-page).

(Excerpted from the Miasmi Herald)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 12:39 PM

THE POLL: Newsweek poll, national presidential race among registered voters nationwide.
THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama 53 percent, John McCain 40 percent.
OF INTEREST: Obama's lead is as strong among likely voters, 53-41. Obama appears to be consolidating his support across demographic groups, leading in every age group and among men as well as women. In a reversal from April, when McCain led Obama among working-class whites 53-35, the poll found Obama with 46 percent to McCain's 44 percent. The survey also found that 62 percent now say they have a favorable view of Obama, versus 32 percent who have an unfavorable view.
DETAILS: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from Oct. 22-23 by telephone with 1,204 adults and 1,092 registered voters. Sampling error margin plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all adults and 3.6 percentage points for registered voters.
MORE: http://www.newsweek.com

10/16 - 10/24        --        --        50.4        42.5        Obama +7.9 (RCP National average)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 12:58 PM

People are judging Obama by the color of his skin, and not the content of his character!

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Charley Noble
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 01:36 PM

Riginsling-

And what do you think they conclude by that? Would you care to clarify?

Amos-


The October 23rd poll in Maine indicated that Obama was leading in both districts of this state by over 20 points. Just 10 days ago the race appeared much closer. Then Palin and McCain made a swing through the State, and robo calls deluged prospective voters, and there was a subsequent surge for Obama.

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, however, appears not threatened by her Democratic challenger, Congressman Tom Allen; she still leads him in the poll by more than 20 points.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 01:54 PM

People are judging Obama by the color of his skin, and not the content of his character!

Could that possibly include Rig?

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 03:05 PM

Rig:

Your assessment of Obama's character has been shown over and over again to be misguided and inaccurate. It has led you to repeatedly make bitter, sometimes hateful-sounding remarks, some of which verge on racism, although I do not believe you are a racist. It is my impression that you are a thoughtful man, who understands the complex relationships between ideas and actions, and the clues of language to reveal character.

So I a little perplexed at your views. What I have seen of Obama is that he is practical, intelligent, idealistic and populist.

I would also add that he is not a simple person.

But what is it that leads you to these seemingly bizarre negative interpretations/?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 03:31 PM

To the Editor:

Thank you for your elegant, articulate and powerful editorial in support of Barack Obama. For many of us, this election has come to symbolize not only a vote for Mr. Obama versus John McCain, but also a vote for reason versus ignorance.

The blogs supporting Mr. McCain are filled with a rage and hatred so intense as to sear the page in front of me. The hatred whipped up at rallies and by some representatives has been truly appalling.

A vote for Mr. Obama is a vote for hope; a vote for Mr. McCain seems to have become a vote representing the worst of our extremists.

And I wonder why this should really be. They have been in power for 20 of the last 28 years.

Does anyone else wonder what the extreme right is so angry about?

Bonnie Rudner
Waban, Mass., Oct. 24, 2008

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Sawzaw
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 06:55 PM

Green Bay Press-Gazette endorses McCain

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Eight years ago on the eve of the presidential election, the economy was reeling from the collapse of the dot-com market. A recession either loomed or had already begun. The nation's voters had a chance to choose a moderate Arizona senator as their new president, but he didn't advance past the Republican primaries.

Now, another collapse, this time in the mortgage industry, has led to even greater economic uncertainty on election eve. It's no time to repeat past mistakes; this time voters must choose the candidate with the experience to lead us through the storm.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board endorses John McCain for president. There is nothing automatic or routine about this decision, even though this newspaper has usually picked the Republican candidate in recent decades. Our choice follows literally hours of the most heartfelt and deep discussions to accompany an endorsement in many years. In Barack Obama, the Democratic Party has its most compelling nominee in memory.

Strip away the politics, which seem to get nastier with every election cycle, and McCain is correct about Obama: "I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

In point of fact, both candidates are decent men who don't deserve the sordid attacks that have been launched against their records, their beliefs and their very characters. Sweep away the chaff, however, and the edge must go to McCain's long record of working for change and reaching across the aisle to achieve important results.

A senator since 1987, McCain was a major author of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. He opposed President Clinton's military intervention in Somalia, and he joined Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in working for campaign finance reform.

He was one of only two Republican senators to vote against the 2001 tax cuts favored by President Bush, although he reversed that stance in 2006 when the cuts were extended — noting accurately that opposing the extension was the same as raising taxes.

McCain led a group of 14 moderate senators who preserved the ability of senators to filibuster judicial nominees, but only in "extraordinary circumstances." Far from foiling the nomination of conservative judges, the compromise aided the confirmation votes for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.

Whatever one thinks of the Iraq war, there is no doubt that the troop surge of 2007 achieved its goals of reducing violence and American casualties there, and McCain supported that action from the beginning, even when many senators and presidential candidates were resisting the idea.

McCain also stood for the ideal that America does not condone or endorse torture, and he has questioned the long confinement of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. We are disappointed that he has backed away from those principled positions during the campaign and fervently hope he will revisit them once in office. These positions reflect McCain's understanding of the President's solemn authority to commit troops to battle. Certainly McCain's personal biography — in the military and Congress — gives him the edge when it comes to the matter of national security. And what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, is one of the most compelling reasons that John McCain is the more attractive candidate.

"I'm not running for president to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things, not the easy and needless things," McCain said as he launched his campaign in April 2007, reflecting the philosophy he has followed for two decades in Washington. Sen. Obama may one day be able to point to a similar record of achievement, but the plain fact is that he has served barely more than half of one term in the Senate. He is an eloquent speaker with great promise as a future leader.

But we also see in McCain someone who shares the bedrock positions of the Press-Gazette — that the government that governs least governs best, that the best tax relief occurs when government spends less, that the American dream is within reach to anyone willing to put in the necessary hard work and commitment. And that, finally, is why we support John McCain for president.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:21 PM

Thanks, Sawz. That is, at least, a coherent and articulate exposition of the virtues of a McCain presidency, and worth hearing.

I regret that in the last few months, my own impression of mcCain has not lived up to that reputation. This may just be the stress of the pressure-cooker lifestyale of a campaign. I don;'t know.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:42 PM

The Minneapolis Star Tribune also endorses Obama:

Editorial: Barack Obama for president
Last update: October 25, 2008 - 1:41 PM


Each presidential campaign is billed as more critical than the last. This election -- coming amid a global financial crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- truly finds the country at a crossroads.

Republican Sen. John McCain presents himself as a maverick, attempting to distance his agenda from the policies of the Bush administration. McCain is an American hero who has served his country with honor, often standing up for the causes he believed in despite intense political pressure.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama also promises reform and change. Since his passionate "Red State-Blue State'' speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama has staked out an optimistic vision of a more united America and a bipartisan approach to addressing problems in Washington.

With hope that he can deliver on that promise, Obama receives our endorsement.

This was a difficult decision because both candidates are flawed. Ideally Obama would have more experience and a long list of bipartisan accomplishments. Criticism that he has spent much of his time in the Senate running for the presidency is legitimate, and we were disturbed to see him break his pledge to abide by federal campaign spending limits.

McCain, whose campaign has lacked focus, made his most serious error in judgment with the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. McCain is well aware that the No. 1 qualification of a vice president should be readiness for the top job. Palin does not have the depth of experience to assure Americans she would be ready to run the country.

Obama's steady and analytical approach has stood out during the campaign. To make his vice presidential selection, Obama analyzed his own weaknesses and turned to Sen. Joe Biden, who offered deep foreign policy experience and the ability to assume the presidency if necessary.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 11:50 PM

Talk about elegant! The post before mine is Number 3333.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 09:57 AM

The attack on Sarah Palin makes the Obama campaign sound more elitist than ever, but the new ads coming out explaining how Obama wants to provide Social Security to illegal aliens ought to turn the tide.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Bobert
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 10:44 AM

Just who in the Obama camp is attacking Sarah Palin, Rigs??? The strategy is to leave the woman alone because she is her worst own enemy...

Okay, you might find a stray knoathead who supports Obama who hasn't gotten the memo but generalizing that the Obama camp is in the attack mode on Sarah Palin is just not part of the campaign... Period... And I should know because I am working in the campaign and Sarah Palin is someone we have been told to leave the heck alone when we are out canvassing...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 10:50 AM

See, Bobert, Rig is talking about Palin's inadvertent attacks on herself. He thinks she ought to be stopped. lol

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 12:07 PM

Rig:

Is there ANY substance to the claim that Obama wants to extend Social Security to illegal aliens? On what terms, if so. On what evidence?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 01:20 PM

http://www.factcheck.org/article447.html



"Summary
Republicans are tagging Democratic opponents across the country for wanting to "give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants." But nobody's proposing paying benefits to illegals, not until and unless they become US citizens or are granted legal status.

"The charge is a mis-characterization of an amendment offered during debate of the immigration bill that passed the Senate last May with a healthy bi-partisan majority, 62-36. The amendment would change current law to prevent immigrants from getting credit toward future Social Security benefits from taxes paid before they have legal permission to work.

"The measure has become a popular campaign issue for Republicans, particularly incumbent House members who raise it against their Democratic challengers. We have counted 29 GOP ads attacking Democrats with various versions of this misleading claim. Similar misconceptions about the measure were spread as part of a chain e-mail last spring and summer."

Note the date: October 10, 2006

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 01:20 PM

Operation Expose: Obama Supports Driver's Licenses for Illegals
Contact: Pamela Geller, www.atlasshrugs.com, [e-mail], 516-426-7630

OPINION, October 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- 77% of Americans oppose giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens, but not Barack Obama. In two Democratic debates, he unequivocally endorsed giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens, empowering them with the gold standard of American I.D. cards. And as state Senator, he voted to train, license and insure illegal aliens to operate motor vehicles.

His stated reason? "To protect public safety." Apparently, Senator Obama was not impressed with the blow to public safety of 9/11. 13 of the 19 hijackers had driver's licenses, which were crucial to implementing their plot. Nor is he concerned about Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff's warning that granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens would undermine national security.

A new ad by The National Republic Trust PAC highlights Obama's radically out-of-the-mainstream position on driver's licenses for illegals. The ad notes that giving driver's licenses to illegals enables them to get government benefits, obtain a mortgage, board a plane, and even vote.

You can see the ad here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyocX-9_mo

And read more about the issue here.
http://nationalrepublicantrust.com/licensefactsheet.html

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 01:36 PM

this was the headline that didn't make the post


Obama Plans Tax Hike to Pay for Illegal Aliens' Health Care, Social Security and College Education

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 02:11 PM

Jaysus, RIg. What a bunch of arm-waving fear-mongering., Driver's licenses are the "gold standard of Citizen ID?" and are equal to admitting terrorists?

What happened to the notion that driver's licenses were issued when people demonstrated they were qualified to drive? Too old-fashioned an idea?

You guys are shouting from cloud cuckoo-land in my humble opinion, like a bunch of paranoids lined up at the balcony of a loony bin.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 02:34 PM

If 77 per cent of Americans really do prefer to have people driving round without licences or insurance, 77 per cent of American are, in this particular respect, nuts.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Amos
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:05 PM

Actually, come to think of it, the notion of uncoupling driver's license from approved identification papers is probably a healthy one. I remember as young lad how alien and bizarre the stories from Europe and Russia were of people being stopped and asked for their papers. It never occurred to me the time would come when it would be the rule in the US as well. Back then, the spirit of freedom was much less polluted in the land, and a human being was deemed innocent unless proven guilty--well, at least a white male human being in a small New England town.

It would be an honorable and fine thing to be able to return to such a state of innocence, but it is an unrealistic proposition.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:06 PM

The Iowa Independent endorses Obama.

"Pointing to his “steadfastness in the face of uncertainty, his clear-eyed vision for a more just America and his potential for rallying the country to do great things,â€쳌 The Des Moines Register’s editorial board has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama."

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:08 PM

The Des Moines Register, I mean. I read it in the Iowa Independent.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:10 PM

Published in Sunday's paper, The Register said an Obama presidency would work to strengthen the struggling middle class and would "bridge divisions and tackle problems."

The paper also pointed to the campaign of Republican John McCain, calling it erratic and disappointing.

The Register also called into question McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, saying she was "utterly unqualified to ascend to the presidency."

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:31 PM

"You guys are shouting from cloud cuckoo-land in my humble opinion, like a bunch of paranoids lined up at the balcony of a loony bin." Amos

I like "balcony", Amos, but I first read it as "the 'bedside' of a looney bin" and I like that even better. May its ideas wither away and die.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Alice
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 06:48 PM

The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News endorsed Obama on Oct. 25, 2008:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency — but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views on Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 06:48 PM

Alaska's biggest newspaper -Anchorage Daily News - has now endorsed Barack Obama. (No real surprise there - it is regarded as a liberal paper.)

As for McCain's running mate, it has this to say:

"Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency — but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation," the paper said.

"Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time," the paper concluded."