The National Republican Congressional Committee has unveiled a new Internet-only ad attacking the Democratic members of Congress for failing to respond to the Federal regulators’ concerns over financial impropriety at the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In particular, the ad singles out Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Barney Frank and Congresswomen Maxine Waters over their statements made at a 2004 Congressional oversight committee meeting.
The FBI and the DOJ have opened up investigations within the past month into the activities at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their report is due out next year.
In Washington State (link is to US Census demographic data), the latest Rasmussen Reports polls points to the same Obama trend that we have seen in other states. In Washington State, Senator Obama now leads Senator McCain 53% to 43%. The race at one point had been just four points.
Barack Obama has regained his solid lead over John McCain in Washington, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the state. The Democrat now leads his opponent 53% to 43%.
The race now resembles that of previous surveys before McCain managed to close the gap early last month following his surprise naming of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Support for the Democrat this month ties his previous high reached back in June.
Washington has cast its 11 Electoral College votes for Democratic candidates in each of the last five elections. In 2004, John Kerry took the state by a 53% to 46% margin.
The NRA has released the same ad in English, above, and in Spanish, below. The ad is a 45 second spot. The ad is running Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.
Nevada’s tremendous population growth has dramatically changed the state’s racial and ethnic picture beginning in 1980. The Hispanic population grew 131% between l980 and 1990 giving the state some 124,000 Hispanics by 1990 and it hasn’t stopped growing since. The booming job market in Nevada offered primarily poverty level or near- poverty level wages to many of these non-English speaking and unskilled workers. Since 2000, Nevada’s Hispanic population has grown by 65%, but the Hispanic electorate has grown by more than 100% as more and more immigrants become citizens. Today there are 600,000 Hispanics in Nevada. Hispanics make up about 11% of the Nevada electorate. They are about a quarter of the state’s 2.5 million population, according to the U.S. Census, but a large proportion are ineligible to vote because they are not citizens or are under 18. Those who are citizens and registered are overwhelmingly Democratic.
The latest Rasmussen Reports in the Silver State again reflects the trend in other battleground states. Senator Obama now leads where Senator McCain once led but a fortnight ago. In Nevada, Obama now leads 51% to 47%.
For the first time since July, Barack Obama has moved ahead of John McCain in Nevada.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Obama attracting 51% of the vote while McCain earns 47%. Last month, McCain had a three-point advantage in this key southwestern state.
McCain is viewed favorably by 54% of the state’s voters, Obama by 53%.
In New Hampshire (link is to US Census demographic data) in as many days, today’s Rasmussen Reports shows a collapse of support for Senator McCain. What has been a close and tightly competitive race in the Granite State, now has Senator Obama winning by a landslide margin of ten points. Obama leads 53% to 43%. This poll amounts to a 12 point swing since the last poll on September 24th and a complete change in the dynamics of the race in New Hampshire.
The last week and-a-half has brought plenty of discouraging news from around the nation for John McCain’s Presidential campaign and the latest polling from New Hampshire isn’t going to change that pattern. Barack Obama now enjoys a ten point lead in the Granite State.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in New Hampshire Obama attracting 53% of the vote while McCain earns 43%. This is the first time Obama has held a significant lead in the state since July and the first time he’s held a double digit lead since June. Polls in August and September showed the race to be a toss-up. In fact, less than two weeks ago, McCain was up by two points, 49% to 47%.
Obama is now viewed favorably by 60% of New Hampshire voters, McCain by 57%. Those figures reflect a six-point improvement for Obama and a three-point decline for McCain compared to the late September survey.
The Libertarian candidate Bob Barr today released this new campaign ad, their first of the campaign. It is a 30 second spot and hits both of the major national political parties for their failed policies.
The Obama campaign released this ad today, again using clips from last night’s Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis. The ad focuses on McCain’s healthcare proposals. It is a 30 second spot.
The McCain campaign has released a new ad this morning using clips from last night’s Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis. The ad is a 60 second spot.
Below is the entire text of the leaked diplomatic assessment on Senator Obama prepared by Political Staff of the British Embassy in Washington DC and signed off by the British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, with his own additional comments added and delivered to Downing Street in advance of Senator Obama’s visit to London in late July. These assessments are common practice of any diplomatic mission. They rarely, if ever, get leaked. The assessment was leaked yesterday to the UK Daily Telegraph.
This letter contains sensitive judgements. Please limit copying, and protect the contents carefully.
1. Ahead of Senator Obama’s visit to London next week, I thought it would be useful to give you a snapshot of his personality, politics and emerging policies.
Background and Personality
2. The key themes which are important in understanding Obama’s political makeup are the following:
- His struggle to understand his racial identity. His first book “Dreams from My Father” (1995) traces this struggle through Hawaii, New York, Chicago and Kenya. Raised by his white Kansas-born mother and her parents after his Kenyan father left, Obama made a conscious decision in the 1980s to choose his African-American identity – he worked as a community organiser in the poorest areas of Chicago, and went on to travel to Kenya to learn about his father. His decision after Harvard Law School to settle back in Chicago led to growing integration into the city’s black middle class culture and provided him with the political laboratory from which his career was launched;
Here are eight 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. The video of the debate is below and a link to the full transcript is below the fold.
Video of the Full Debate
Palin and Biden Are Cordial but Pointed
By Patrick Healy in the New York Times.
Gov. Sarah Palin used a steady grin, folksy manner and carefully scripted talking points to punch politely and persist politically at the vice-presidential debate on Thursday night, turning in a performance that her rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., sought to undermine with cordially delivered but pointed criticism.
You Betcha Sarah Palin can Debate
By Roger Simon writing for Politico.
Sarah Palin was supposed to fall off the stage at her vice presidential debate Thursday evening. Instead, she ended up dominating it.
She not only kept Joe Biden on the defensive for much of the debate, she not only repeatedly attacked Barack Obama, but she looked like she was enjoying herself while doing it.
She smiled. She faced the camera. She was warm. She was human. Gosh and golly, she even dropped a bunch of g’s.
“John McCain doesn’t tell one thing to one group and somethin’ else to another,” she said. “Those huge tax breaks aren’t comin’ to those huge multinational corporations.”
She went out of her way to talk in everyday terms, saying things like “I betcha” and “We have a heckuva opportunity to learn” and “Darn right we need tax relief.”
Palin Defies Critics and Delivers Punchy Performance in Debate
By Ewen MacAskill in the UK Guardian.
Sarah Palin defied the critics who have been mocking her all week to deliver a punchy, down-to-earth performance in her clash with Joe Biden in the first and only vice-presidential debate of the White House campaign.
Although she frequently betrayed nerves, rattling through words and ideas at speed, the Republican vice-presidential candidate dealt with the Wall Street meltdown, climate change, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and Darfur with more conviction than she demonstrated in recent, disastrous television interviews.
She grew in confidence during the 90-minute debate at Washington University, in St Louis, Missouri, and held her own with Biden, who is one of the most knowledgeable politicians in Washington on foreign policy as chairman of the senate foreign affairs committee.
In spite of his experience, her folksy, populist tone may have given her the edge with viewers.
