U.S. Campaign Reader

Here are a few articles from both the US and international media about the US Presidential race. Highlights of each article provided with a link to the full article.

McCain Wins Endorsement of Puerto Rico Democratic Activist
By John R. Emshwiller in the Wall Street Journal.

In an interview Thursday, Miguel D. Lausell, a Puerto Rican businessman and longtime Democratic activist and fund-raiser, came out for Sen. McCain. While he said he doesn’t agree with all the policy positions of the Republican candidate and his running mate, Sarah Palin, Mr. Lausell added: “I find McCain to be a sound person and a man with a track record. I know where he is coming from.” Mr. Lausell had been a major backer of Bill Clinton and served as a senior political adviser to Sen. Clinton’s unsuccessful bid this year for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Mr. Lausell said he feels Sen. Obama “doesn’t really regard the Hispanic community as important.”

¿Verdad? ¡No me digas! Of course, we are not. We are just a means to an end for Obama.

America Gripped by Politics of Fear. Bad News for the Prophet of Hope
By Timothy Garton Ash in the UK Guardian.

While Barack Obama still proclaims “the audacity of hope”, this is almost as true of his recent stump speeches as it is of John McCain’s. Sarah Palin aside, this election is now all about the fears of the “middle class” (a capacious category, in which more than 50% of Americans place themselves). It’s about “ordinary folks” worrying that they will lose their homes, their jobs, their healthcare and their savings.

But One Life to Give the IRS
By David Harsanyi for Real Clear Politics.

The Boston Tea Party be damned. This week, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden unleashed the most absurd remark of his illustrious career, claiming that taxes are “patriotic.”

Biden claims that wealthier Americans should pay more in taxes because “it’s time to be patriotic … time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”

Oh, the injustice of American society!

When, exactly, did taxation transform into a form of charity? Biden, it seems, has a difficult time differentiating between coercion and generosity.

Another day, another Biden gaffe. Just what does a 35 year member of the Senate running for Vice President have to do get coverage? Apparently put his foot in his mouth on a daily basis.

Former Secretary of State Albright in Kansas City to Promote Obama
By Steve Kraske in the Kansas City Star.

Question: Why are you so convinced that after four years as a senator that Obama is the right guy to lead the free world?

Answer: Because he really does have judgment and wisdom. He is somebody who has looked at the issues carefully.

I do think that he has a very forward-looking world view and a sense of what America is about. He also is really smart. He’s curious. He doesn’t act as if he knows everything. I have said this: I want a confident president, not a certain president. That confidence allows you to listen to views and form your opinion based on some principles.

Poll: GOP Brand Making Comeback
By David Paul Kuhn writing for Politico.

A new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports that independent voters have an equally favorable opinion of both parties, 50 to 49 percent, a one-point edge for the GOP. That compares to an 18-point Democratic advantage as recently as August, a wide gap that had generally held for more than a year.

Maybe it’s Sarah Palin who can raise from the dead.

Thousands Turn Out to See McCain-Palin in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin
From WLUK-TV.

“Raising taxes in a tough economy isn’t patriotic. It isn’t a badge of honor,” McCain said at a Republican rally in Ashwaubneon. “It’s just plain dumb.”

The line elicited the loudest applause of the night for the McCain, who spoke to a crowd that nearly filled the 11,000-seat Resch Center.

‘Sarah-mania’ Grips Central Florida Before Rally
By Joe Follick in the Gainesville Sun.

For years, the nation’s top Republican candidates have trekked to The Villages in Central Florida as a must-stop on the campaign trail. The retirement community of more than 80,000 residents has hosted President George W. Bush, Florida Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, presidential candidates including Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney and many others in recent years.

But local Republicans say this Sunday’s rally with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may be the largest ever.

“Sarah-mania has taken over here,” said Richard Cole, the chairman of the The Villages Republican Club of Sumter County.

Palin Changes Republican Image
From KION-TV (Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz, California)

Sarah Palin was virtually unknown around the country up until a few weeks ago but she is NOW a household name and many Republicans in Monterey County believe that Palin is responsible for revolutionizing the party.

David Finkelstein resident of Salinas said “I think her stand right or wrong she is honest and is comfortable with her position.”

John McCain Can’t Seem to Find his Economic Footing
By Noam N. Levey and Maeve Reston in the Los Angeles Times.

McCain’s reversals underscored the difficulty he has had in finding the right response to the deteriorating economy, the issue voters say is most important. The reversals also highlight the contradiction between McCain’s oft-repeated campaign message — that the federal government should largely stay out of the economy — and his new promises to help voters whose jobs, houses and retirement accounts are disappearing.

Bill Clinton Speaks out for Barack Obama, Well, Sort Of
No author noted in the Los Angeles Times.

“Well, the latest polls had Senator Obama up a little bit. And I think every– I– I think partly that’s a function of the current distress, economic distress because I think the more people worry about the current set of circumstances, the more likely they are to change parties. I have always said that I thought Senator Obama would win this election because two thirds of the American people are having trouble paying their bills.

“And because of Democratic registration is up and Republican registration is flat. And because he has offered some very specific and sensible economic reforms and healthcare reforms. And as I said, I’ve never concealed my admiration and affection for Senator McCain. I think he’s a great man. But, I think on the issues that matter to our future– the Obama/Biden team is– is more right. That’s what I believe. And I believe they’re gonna win.

“But, I think that– it will be competitive until the end. And our side has to work hard.”

Are they expecting him to do backflips?

Obama Gains in Polls as Financial Crisis Shifts Focus
By Kristin Jensen and Kim Chipman writing for Bloomberg News.

As global investors lost more than $3 trillion in market value this week, Barack Obama saw his own stock gaining among American voters.

The crisis rocking financial markets has upended the U.S. presidential campaign, taking the focus off Republican presidential nominee John McCain and moving the debate to Obama’s turf: the economy. The Democrat blamed both McCain and President George W. Bush for the turmoil, calling for more regulation and casting himself as the agent of change.

Recent Obama Ads More Negative Than Rival’s, Study Says
By Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post.

Seventy-seven percent of the Illinois Democrat’s commercials were negative during the week after the Republican National Convention, compared with 56 percent of the spots run by McCain.

Ken Goldstein, who directed the study by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, based at the University of Wisconsin, says the pattern was a reversal from earlier months, in which McCain’s advertising was consistently more negative than Obama’s.

“It suggests that the Sarah Palin pick and the newfound aggressiveness by McCain got into Obama’s head a little bit,” Goldstein said. “He was under great pressure to show some spine, be aggressive, fire back.”

The study found Obama limiting his television buys to 17 states and McCain airing spots in 15. For all the talk of an expanded electoral map, both campaigns are concentrating resources in traditional battlegrounds, with slightly more than half the total spent on advertising going to Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

From my blog, By The Fault.