Daily Archives: Oct. 20, 2008

Why Powell’s endorsement is a big deal

Oct. 20, 20081:30 p.m.

Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama for president isn’t a big deal primarily because he is a Republican and former secretary of state for George W. Bush. It’s a big deal because Powell is so respected and influential among moderate Republicans and independents – the voters who are key to winning the election.
Powell said that his endorsement of Obama was “not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain.” But he believes that Obama is better suited to handle economic problems and to improve our nation’s world standing.
Powell did criticize the tone of McCain’s campaign and the tactics of GOP operatives who spread false rumors about Obama being a Muslim. And to his credit, Powell also stood up for Muslim-Americans. “Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?” Powell asked. There shouldn’t be.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (70)

McCain lost debate but won voters?

Oct. 20, 20081:27 p.m.

While viewers surveyed said overwhelmingly that Barack Obama “won” the final debate, John McCain’s campaign argues that the debate was a critical turning point for its candidate, the Washington Post’s The Fix blog reported. The campaign points to several opinion polls showing that McCain has cut into Obama’s lead by gaining support among white men.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (27)

Only a few states’ votes seem to count

Oct. 20, 20086:02 a.m.

All states get to vote in the presidential election, but you wouldn’t know it by the way Barack Obama and John McCain are focused on the Electoral College battleground states in these waning days. For its part, the Republican National Committee planned to spend $18 million in 18 days on ads in eight states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Missouri and Colorado. Meanwhile, Kansans and voters in the majority of other states feel like so much chopped liver.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (67)

Open thread 10/20

Oct. 20, 20086:01 a.m.

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (419)

Biden, Sebelius had different views of veep

Oct. 20, 20086:00 a.m.

In a New Yorker profile of Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, a discussion of Barack Obama’s vetting of Biden reveals that another contender “would be very happy,” in Obama’s words, “if I assigned them to reorganize the government.” That contender apparently was Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Biden rejected that possible assignment, also declining to act as a shadow secretary of state. Biden told the magazine he liked the model of Vice President Lyndon Johnson: “I would see one of my jobs as essentially being the president of the Senate in the sense of actually not presiding as much as interacting, continuing to interact, talking to Harry Reid every day or talking to Nancy Pelosi,” Biden said, referring to the Senate majority leader and the House speaker. “Johnson actually husbanded the relationships as vice president. He’d have senators down to his home. People knew – as they know about me now – that he understood politics in the broad terms of Congress, and he understood the detail of the legislation.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (8)