Josh Marshall Of Talking Points Memo and Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left think that Senator McCain got Spain’s Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero mixed up with the Mexican guerrilla group, los Zapatistas. Who knew progressives played gotcha politics? After listening to the interview, theirs is a tempst in a teapot, much ado about nothing.
The interview in English was with Colombia’s Caracol Radio network on Latin American issues. At the 2:58 mark, the interviewer switches gears and asks McCain if he would be willing to meet with Spanish Prime Minister who goes by his maternal name, Zapatero, not common but not uncommon either, so do I for that matter. McCain responds that he would willing to meet with any leader that shares the American commitment to human rights and to democracy. The interviewer presses McCain again and McCain gives the same answer. I assume that definition would include Zapatero even though US-Spanish relations are frosty right now. Still, Spain and the United States largely share common goals in Latin America.
As a Latin American I’ll say this, McCain has a Latin American policy. He has been to region often, Obama not once. McCain has talked about Latin American issues throughout his career, Obama not so much. Obama in Berlin mentioned numerous countries from around the world. Not one was a Latin American country. As a Colombian, I appreciate McCain’s stance on the Colombian Free Trade Agreement and his support for the efforts of the Uribe government in combatting terrorism and the drug trade. That Obama was once willing to meet with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez who is taking Venezuela and other parts of the continent into an authoritarian socialist path is not something I am willing to overlook. On energy, McCain favours eliminating tariffs on sugar ethanol from Brazil; Obama wants to raise them. Again sugar ethanol produces a five-fold return on energy over corn ethanol. Brazil has been in the forefront of R&D investment in sugar ethanol (they started in 1973 after the first energy shock) and McCain would like to tap into that expertise. Obama is tied to corn ethanol interests. The only disagreement I have with McCain over Latin American policy would be concerning Cuba. I favour engagement, he does not. But ultimately the issues I care about most vis-a-vis Latin America are free trade, suppression of terrorism, curtailing the drug trade and containment of the hard left quartet of Chávez, Correa, Morales and Ortega. On these scores, it’s not even close.
While polls in much of the world favour Obama, there are two countries in Latin America that do not — Colombia and Venezuela.
And just in case it matters this is the headline about the McCain interview in both Venezuela and Colombia:
McCain “No me voy a sentar a hablar con el presidente Chávez”
Below the fold a report in Spanish from Venezuela’s Noticias 24: (more…)
A new ad from the Nader campaign. It is a 90 second spot and as with all Nader ads, it is Internet only. The ads are a bit too rough around the edge for my taste. It sounds like if it were for a punk rock band. Surely, he can do better.
Though last week’s Insider Advantage poll in Georgia had Senator McCain up by 18 points, it was likely slightly aggressive and an outlier. This week’s Rasmussen Reports poll in Georgia (link is to US Census demographic data) points to a clear and comfortable eleven point lead for Senator McCain over Senator Obama. McCain leads 54% to 43% with minimal support for native son Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate. McCain has a strong lead among men and among women.
John McCain has expanded his lead over Barack Obama in Georgia. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the state finds the Republican on top 54% to 43% (see crosstabs).
Last month, McCain held a seven-point lead in the Peach State. The race in Georgia has remained relatively steady since tracking began in March.
Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, who served in Congress as part of Georgia’s Congressional delegation, receives very little support from voters in the state.
Contrary to two previous recent polls that pointed to a narrow lead for Senator Obama, this Rasmussen Reports in the Garden state show a commanding 13 point lead for Senator Obama. In New Jersey (link to US Census Bureau Demographic Quick Facts), Obama has widened his lead over Senator McCain 55% to 42%.
New Jersey voters aren’t likely to see a lot of the Presidential candidates between now and Election Day. In fact, Barack Obama’s lead over John McCain is significant enough that Garden State voters may be even be spared the need to endure too many Presidential campaign commercials this year.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Jersey finds Obama attracting 55% of the vote while McCain earns just 42%. That’s a slightly bigger cushion than he enjoyed a month ago.
Both presidential candidates are viewed favorably by Garden State voters—60% have a favorable opinion of Obama while 58% say the same about McCain.
No surprise in the Constitution state, it’s Senator Obama over Senator McCain by 12 points. In today’s Connecticut (link is to US Census demographic data) poll from Rasmussen Reports, Obama leads 53% to 41% virtually unchanged since the June polls.
Barack Obama still has a solid hold on Connecticut where he leads John McCain 53% to 41% in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.
In August Obama led McCain 51% to 36%. A month earlier, it was a similar 52% to 35% race.
McCain’s support among GOP voters has increased to 85%, similar to Obama’s support among Democrats. Last month, the two were virtually tied among unaffiliated voters, but Obama now has the edge.
Perhaps Vermont (link is to US Census demographic data) should consider changing its state nickname to the “Blue Mountain” state from its current “Green Mountain” state one. It’s pretty clear that Vermont now holds the title of the bluest state in the nation surpassing Rhode Island. Once one of the most conservative states in the Union, Vermont has completely flipped. Vermont was one of two states to vote for President Hoover in 1932. It last voted GOP for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1988. Today’s Rasmussen Reports poll gives Senator Obama his widest lead over Senator McCain of any state so far. Obama leads by 24 points, 60% to 36%.
Howard Dean’s home state is a sure thing for Barack Obama come November, according to the first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in Vermont.
Obama leads his Republican opponent, John McCain, 60% to 36% (see crosstabs).
Nine out of 10 members of each party support their respective nominees, but unaffiliated voters back Obama 66% to 28%.
Forty-five percent (45%) of Vermont voters have a Very Favorable opinion of Obama. Just half that number feel that way about McCain. Twenty-seven percent (27%) have a Very Unfavorable view of the Republican versus 20% who say that of Obama.
La furia que me da al oir esto es cosa seria. Esta propaganda de la campaña del senador Barack Obama fue divulgada ayer y ha causado una polémica por tratar de usar las palabras del radiolocutor de ultra derecha Rush Limbaugh contra el senador McCain. La propaganda es de 30 segundos y se autodomina “dos caras” y habla de engaños. ¿Engaños? Los engaños son nitidamente del campo del senador Obama. Hay que recordar quien se parado contra su partido y con nosotros. Hay que recordar quien ha trabajado a lo largo de su carrera en el Senado por reformas al sistema migratorio y siempre de una forma digna y honradad. Y les recuerdo que el senador Obama votó por una muralla en la frontera. McCain se opusó.
The McCain campaign released this ad today for the Michigan market. It is a response ad to an ad from the Obama campaign that attacked McCain on the economy. This 30 second spot is positive. Obama’s ads are largely attack ads. From the Christian Science Monitor:
McCain goes negative and Obama does not — a pattern? No. It’s actually the opposite, according to a new study released today. The Wisconsin Advertising Project found that Obama went negative in 77 percent of his commercials last week while McCain’s were only 56 percent negative.
The McCain campaign released this ad today for the Ohio market. It is a response ad to an ad from the Obama campaign that attacked McCain on alternative energy. This 30 second spot is positive. Obama’s ads are largely attack ads. From the Christian Science Monitor:
McCain goes negative and Obama does not — a pattern? No. It’s actually the opposite, according to a new study released today. The Wisconsin Advertising Project found that Obama went negative in 77 percent of his commercials last week while McCain’s were only 56 percent negative.
