He Said New Deal, Not Better Deal

           The Obama campaign’s economic policy is centered on the creation of jobs for the middle class and the redistribution of wealth via increased taxes for the upper class.  In order to create jobs Obama proposes the institution of a plan to invest $150 billion over the next ten years in an effort to produce new “green collar jobs.”  A side from these jobs Obama intends on producing infrastructure jobs by creating the National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank, by creating jobs in the sciences by doubling government funding for research, and y implementing several other government incentives involving tax brakes or government programs. The tax policy that Obama has created will increase taxes for those Americans who make more than $250,000 while decreasing taxes for all middle class Americans.  These two policies will be implemented supposedly to bring the Unites States back to its place at cornice of the world economy, but when compared with similar economic policy of prior administrations the economic policy of the Obama administration becomes questionable.

            All of these policies are remarkably similar to those set out in the new deal created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  As the United States economy pitches its way through the turbulence created by the burst Greenspan’s housing bubble and Bernanke’s commodity bubble the government’s push to save us form our foundering economy, which they created, may sound appealing.  However, it is very important to understand that the New deal of the FDR era was not created to grow the economy, but instead to force it to stagnate as this condition was preferable to the possibility of the spiraling economy reaching zero (Barone New New deal). 

            When employment reached the double digits in the during the end of the Hoover administration and the Roosevelt administration use of government funds to create jobs would most likely appear to be an attempt to jump start the economy, but was intended only to hold the united state economy in place.  This policy is coverable to the Obama campaign’s $150 billion plan to create five million new Jobs, or one of the other systems for employment that senator Obama has proposed.  Implementing this system would obviously produce jobs, but would not necessarily improve the economy beyond the jobs directly produced by this action.

            Obama’s redistribution tax policy is also comparable to the Hoover Roosevelt tax policies that were intend to use the wealth of those people to worked high income jobs to fund welfare.  While Obama does not intend on producing a welfare state, his plan is to increase upper class income taxes and provide government programs with the increased revenue.  It should of course be noted that Senator Obama once declared that the held so strongly to the Ideal government involvement in the redistribution of wealth that he would increase capital gains taxes even if it decreased government revenue (Barone New New deal).

            The economic policy of Barrack Obama is not what it appears to be, and should be regarded not as a economic savior, but a vehicle for social manipulation.  The plunges and leaps of the Unites States economy, the DOW was up over one thousand points last week, but down just over one thousand points for the last month, does not constitute a decimation of the United States economy, and doe not justify a government implemented economic ice age.  In the sate o the economy Barack Obama’s plan does not imply that he intends on growing the economy, instituting greater government control and forcing the economy to stagnate as he Implements more social control. 

 

Works Cited

Barone, Michael. "New New Deal No Better Than the Old One." New New Deal No Better Than the Old One By Michale Barone on National Review Online. 29 Oct. 2008. The National Review. 30 Oct. 2008 .

 

Obama For America. "Economy." Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need Econemy. Obama for America. 3 Nov. 2008 .

Obama For America. "Responsible Tax Cuts for Ordinary Americans." Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need Taxes. Obama for America. 3 Nov. 2008 .

 

 

Tina Fey crossing the line?

I think we all can admit that Tina Fey does as excellent job at impersonating Sarah Palin and making fun of her on SNL. She definitely looks very similar to the politician, she's got her twangy voice down, and the jokes are just hilarious. 

But have the skits gone to far? Many people feel differently, some say that it's just a skit, and it's SNL's job to make fun of such ideas, and there isn't really a personal attack. They also say that famous people should just get used to it, because the mockery is going to happen no matter what.

Others say that Palin has done this to herself,  because most of the stuff she has done makes it so easy for her to be made fun of (amNewYork).

In my opinion, I agree with both. I think that skits like those on SNL should not be taken so seriously or as personal attack, yet Palin is an easy target for SNL to make fun of. I also think that Fey's amazing impression of Palin could have even changed people's minds about Palin, and even have made people judge her. 

I also feel that Fey's impression has also helped the democrats. This could be because Americans knew so little about Palin before she was chosen as VP nominee, that many people found out information about Palin through the SNL mockery of her. 

Even if Fey's mockery of SNL doesn't change their mind about Sarah Palin in a negative way, the goof-ball image of her will always be remembered in American eyes. 

But mockery is always made of famous people, whether their a celebrity if politician, and it's not really a big deal. Even supporters may dislike mockery that make's fun of whoever their supporting. So it can't really hurt that much. 

So will Fey's mockery ruin McCain and Palin's chance to be in the White House. Overall, I'd say no, because people usually don't take SNL too seriously, but the skits may not really help them. There are a lot more important things to judge your potential president or vice president on than just the jokes that are made of them.  

Lottery Votes

A recent report came out that said in some states the chance that your vote would be the ultimate deciding vote that swings one president into the White House is as probable as winning the lottery.  Statisticians ran multiple computer simulations for voting situations all to answer the question of whether or not any single persons vote will make a difference.  It turns out in the majority of states, it's even more likely to win the lottery than to cast a deciding vote.  New Mexico had the most probable chance, 1 in 6.1 million.  States like Alabama and Oklahoma range from 1 in 12 billion to 1 in 20 billion.  While that seems impossible, a statistics professor at Columbia conceded, "We never like to say zero in statistics" (AP).

We could put Massachusetts easily up there with Alabama as a states where the chance is almost zero that anyone's vote would really matter.  But overall, what was the point of this experiment?  Campaigns go through all the time and trouble to advertise early voting and to promote voting amongst the youth, yet their encouragement is being directly contradicted by this study.  It's just reinforcing the thought that goes through most voters heads: I'm only one person, and my vote doesn't matter.  My vote won't end up deciding anything anyway.  Well the study sure makes it seem like it.  And anyways, the fact that the probability is decreasing is a sign that more people are likely to vote, which is positive.  It shouldn't be that there is a high chance that an average person has the election in their hands and I think regardless of who wins we'll see enough voter turnout in each state that we won't be focused on the probabilities.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/02/winning-lottery-deciding-election-odds/

McCain on SNL

McCain made a guest appearance on SNL this Saturday, where he is able to poke some fun with the current campaign. 

What is surprising to me about such politicians making appearances on SNL, is that they are able to step away from the campaign for a moment, and look at themselves the way the American public looks at them-but in a humorous way. I find it great that they are able to just make fun of themselves, which makes them more personable, in a way where the public can relate to them. It also makes the campaign a little more entertaining and interesting, as the drama and common ideas of the campaign are simply made fun of. And since politics is always so serious and even sometimes boring, who wouldn't find it a bit appealing to poke some fun at it?

Though McCain didn't write the jokes himself, it is still fun to watch him make fun of himself, Sarah Palin, and the current election. There were some pretty funny jokes in there too. And, I guess he wasn't that bad of an actor. 

"These final days have been the most essential," he said. "Barack Obama purchased airtime on three networks. We however, van only afford time on QVC."

"I would rather be on three major networks. But I'm a true maverick, a Republican without money."

Even Cindy McCain made a humorous appearance, doing what she does best- standing by her husband side, looking pretty. She made a cameo showing off 'McCain's fine gold".

And of course, Tina Fey does a very good job impersonating Palin, making off the side remarks of her future being president in 2012. 

McCain also makes fun of his relationship with Barack Obama. He chides about how Obama turned down Republican offers to hold town-hall styled debates. 

"This has been a historic campaign, so why not remember it with our line of collectable products? Such as 10 commemorative plates celebrating the 10 town hall debates between Senator Obama and myself. Oh, look, they're blank," (Politico)

In another skit McCain appears in during the same SNL episode, he talks about his campaign strategies. 

"I thought I might try a strategy called the 'Reverse Maverick'", he said. "That's where I do whatever anybody tells me. I don;t ask question, I just go with the flow. If that doesn't work, I go to the 'Double Maverick". That's there I go totally berserk and just freak everybody out. Even the regular mavericks." (New York Times)

See these videos for yourself:

Skit One (With Tina Fey as Sarah Palin)

Skit Two

Hand and Hand

We are always supposed to have church and government separate from each other. However, that has not been happening, with McCain recruiting church goers to help his campaign for the last 72 hours. Also protestants churches in 14 states have been giving brochures with issues of important meaning to the church such as gay marriages, and abortions and where each candidates stand in each issues. The flier also had information that Obama wanted to give sex education to children in kindergarten. This was a very controversial statement earlier on in the campaign when Obama stated he wanted little kindergarteners to know what a good touch bad touch was. I think this is actually a good idea because children should know that not every adult should touch children especially in certain ways. Now, the consequences of mixing church and government can be detrimental. With consequence of losing their tax exempt churches are still putting that aside and making their belief come together with our system of government. The U.S. conference of Bishop stated that catholic churches should not be encouraged to distribute a type of information towards a candidate and their beliefs in church. Church should not be mixed with politics even though obviously it is. With Republicans usually being Christian or Catholic and letting it know, we can see the clear line of connection.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081102/ap_on_el_pr/rel_campaign_churches;_ylt=As_oeWlSLDhCPOIrcRiN_9.yFz4D

48 Hours

Forty-eight hours left till we find out who our president. Let the nail biting and the leg twitching begin. With two days left the two candidates are making sure they are doing anything they can to get votes. With both candidates having voice recording messages stating that people should go and vote they are making their final push for the win. With Obama feeling more confident about winning he is still underlying the similarities between McCain and bush. McCain in the other hand feels that the polls will not have any indication of who will win the election on Tuesday. McCain has stated that the polls have been wrong before and can be wrong again this Tuesday. I hope this statement is false. Based on polls Obama has a significant lead and it will be a complete 180 if McCain wins. However, Obama is doing everything best in his power for that result not happen. He reached out to Oklahoma with his wife and two kids portraying a very happy American family. I think it is a very smart move that at the end of this battle he wants to introduce his girls. He wants to make sure that the image everyone sees at the end is one with him will see his normal, happy and American family.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081102/ts_afp/usvote_081102223818;_ylt=AlRJ1baU5LJwefc72FAS625h24cA

Foreign Perspective

            The United States place in the World economy has caused the economic trouble and the bailout to create international repercussions, along with international criticism.  The international criticism is often more telling of the American ideals than policy created by government.  When the economy of the United States began to decline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad describe the situation as the “end of capitalism.” Ahmadinejad stated the he believed that the “the reason of [the United Sates’] defeat is that they have forgotten God and piety.”  Iran’s Islamic faith, in Ahmadinejad’s view, is what allowed his country to prevail.  Although, the reason that Iran has not been affected by there recession in the United States is most likely the lack of foreign investors in Iran. President Ahmadinejad’s description was surprisingly fitting in light of the way that the Bush administration chose to deal wit the situation. 

            President Hugo Chavez was a major critic of the Bush administration’s attempt to run the government with a conservative economic policy, and at the same time support a bill for the government to spend $700,000 in backing for the economy, in essence nationalizing banking.  Chavez referred to President bush as “comrade” and remarked that, “Bush is to the left of me.”    While it is not necessarily true that Bush is to the left of Chavez it does point out the conflictions in President Bush’s policy and ideology, and is even more telling of the likely progression of the economic policy of the United States. 

            When both the liberal and conservative candidates for president, Barack Obama and John McCain, support the government correcting the mistakes of individuals, making the taxpayers financially responsible for other’s mistakes, there is an obvious turn in the financial roll of the government in the United States.  In terms only of economic policy the current choices between the two main parties are liberal and very liberal.  While the two party system crates the illusion at the two candidates have entirely opposing views, the remarks of President Chavez make it clear that both parties are becoming more liberal in their economic philosophy.

Works Cited

"Chavez says "Comrade Bush" turns left in crisis." World News, Financial News, Breaking US & International News Reuters.com. 15 Oct. 2008. Reuters. 2 Nov. 2008 .

"Iran Hails World Financial Crisis as 'End of Capitalism"" Breitbart.com. 15 Oct. 2008. Breitbart.com. 2 Nov. 2008 .

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Would you realize what Revolution is, call it Progress; and would you realize what Progress is, call it Tomorrow.
--Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
Volume II, Book I, Chapter XVII

In this campaign season, we've seen countless blends of politics and popular culture. On that note, I'd like to share a few videos that I've found. They're both campaign videos that use music from my favorite musical, Les Miserables. (I'm not sure how much sense it makes to those who aren't familiar with either the book or the musical, but hopefully you can get the general gist).

Les Misbarack | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Right now, on the eve of a ground-breaking election, the musical and the book both have a lot of relevance to our lives. We can find ourselves in all the different characters. We are the impoverished factory workers who are oppressed by their bosses. We are the homeless, begging the government to remember us. We are the wrongfully convicted, waiting for justice. And we are the impassioned students, who see the dawn of change on the horizon and are willing to fight for it.

To quote the musical, “it is time for us all to decide who we are.” We are students and workers, but when we vote, we become revolutionaries. We need to take the initiative, as Hugo’s characters do, to go out and make change in the world. People need to know that they will make a difference. We may not be building barricades in the streets, but we are making history.

Hugo was not just writing about the French Revolution. He was writing about the revolutions that happen constantly, and will continue to do so throughout the future. I’m sure he would be proud to see the way his words and his stories can still be applied to new generations. It has always been my belief that that was his goal. On Tuesday, it is our responsibility to see the vision through. We need to stand up for ourselves, for the people Hugo saw in all of us.

Theres a blogging community called Post Secret. Its a site where people mail in their secrets anonymously and anyone can go take a look. It has been featured in bestselling books, on numerous social networking websites and even in music videos such as "Move Along" by All American Rejects. 

I felt that this postcard represented what many people feel with this election. This election has been cited as the most important of the last hundred years, for not only is there the option of electing the oldest or first black president, this is the election that will decide the future of America. 

Among the postcards on this site, one was an anti-Obama postcard, this one speaks for itself. I find it interesting people would go to such new lows in showing their favoring of one candidate over another. This site is in essence a social networking cite, bringing people from all walks of like together. This site just allows people to do it unknown. 

In two days, the future of America will be known. We will make history with either candidate, and a new era will come regardless. Personally, its nice to know that other people share my feelings.

Dont Forget Pennsylvania

While Obama is at the moment enjoying a comfortable 7 point lead over McCain in a national poll on Pollster.com, the importance of the state of Pennyslvania still looms on the horizon. Pennsylvania is crucial for two major reasons. For starters, it has a lofty 21 electoral votes for whoever is wins the state. Secondly, in the words of Mark Siegel, who is the former Democratic Party executive, "Pennsylvania is America... to understand the voters there is to understand the country." These two factors go to show why Pennsylvania carries so much weight in the minds of the candidates.

While right now Obama is ahead in the Pennsylvania polls by a margin of approximately 8 points, the state is far from lost for McCain. Despite how the numbers are stacked against McCain, he still continues to fight for votes in the state. Also, according to Bob Maranto, a political scientist at Villanova, Obama's ivy league, elitist characterization is causing many Pennsylvania voters to be swayed into taking a closer look at Obama. The fact that many voters are now becoming unsure of Obama in this crucial state, this could spell trouble for Obama and success for McCain. Although, while Pennsylvania voters may be taking another close examination of Obama, it may be too little to late for McCain.

Sources:

Zito, Salena. "Closing the Deal", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/zito/s_596355.html. 2. November. 2008

Pollster.com- 2008 Election Polls, Trends, Charts and Analysis, http://www.pollster.com/, 2. November. 2008

Palin and fireworks

Theres a story on CNN today about a bonfire in the British town of Battle going out with a bang. 

Every year this town has a huge bonfire and political characters are favored to be blown up. This blowing up of some political figure has become a tradition, only with different people every year. This year, they chose Sarah Palin. 

"This year's creation was a rather unflattering depiction of the self-declared "hockey mom," a machine gun brandished in her muscular arms, bright red lipstick surrounding a grimacing smile and a moose at her side."

Making sure to not be one sided, there was another, smaller version of the float as Obama, wearing a military type helmet. 

They stated the point was not to offend anyone, saying that the chosen candidates were simply the most interesting. More interesting is that they did not have floats of McCain, supporting the idea that Palin is just as much a celebrity as Obama. This event is believed to have begun in 1646 and has seen politicians such as Tony Blair in recent years. 

Jerry Springer and Politics

The Jerry Springer show has been on television since 1991, he is a television talk show host. I just watched a program called the c-span (Campaign, 2008) on TV, which showed Jerry Springer talking about politics. He stated his view and shared his opinions of the ongoing election. Springer said that a president should always think twice before answering a question asked, and he/she should always consult his/her advisor. No successful president, according to Springer, directly answers a question with his or her opinion. Springer explained that questions today are always asked in isolation and not directly. The questions try to get more of what the candidate believes in than what the candidate is fighting for.

Jerry Springer also talked about how American citizens chose the “cooler” president. He referred to Kennedy as being cooler than Nixon, and Barack Obama being cooler than John McCain, and President Clinton being cooler than Al Gore. By referring to presidents as being cooler, Springer is trying to send out the message that a cooler president means that the he/she is trying to relate to the audience in as many issues as possible. “It is never a matter of confidence, it’s always a matter of who is cooler,” explained Springer. Such a point is obvious; Candidates should be looked up to as role models who are confident and wise. Instead, they are looked as “cool” president.

When asked about Palin, Springer said, “Sarah Palin is not ready to lead the United States of America.” He then asked the audience why most democrats criticize her? He believes that she is a good, smart, charismatic woman, and people should not make fun of her abilities. All she is trying to do is lead the country, people should accept that and not make fun of where she is heading.

For more information about the speech and the discussion, please visit www.clinton school.uasys.edu

 

Senator Durbin's daughter dies of Heart Condition

Senator Dick Durbin's daughter, Christine Durbin, died of a heart condition this Saturday. She was hospitalized for several weeks before he unfortunate death. Christine was only forty hears old when she passed away. She lived with her husband and son in a suburb in Washington. Christine worked for sixteen years in the department of agriculture emerging markets division in Washington. 

Palin Prank Called

How did a few Canadian comedians get Sarah Palin's phone number?

Palin became the victim of a prank call claiming to be the French President Sarkozy inviting her to go on hunting trips together and praising her as a political figure.  Palin reportedly did not know she was being put on, despite blatant efforts by the prank caller, a member of the Masked Avengers, a pair of Canadian comedians know for their prank calls to public figures (AP).

Palin is not the first to be pranked by the Masked Avengers.  In 2006, former French President Jaques Chirac was fooled into thinking he was being addressed by Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper (Wilson, OneNews).

Obviously, no one would have tried to pull this off on McCain and have expected him to take it with good humor as it appears Palin has due to the fact that her campaign spokeswoman is openly and light-heartedly confirming that the call did take place.  It's hard to interpret whether they chose Palin because of her naivety, her close proximity to Canada, or the fact that she might be able to take a joke better than Obama might.  For all the rumors that countries outside the United States prefer Obama as the next American president, I see this as a beginning of Canadians warming up to Sarah Palin.  They wouldn't have prank called her if they didn't like her in some way to begin with.  This may be foreshadowing to Palin's popularity quickly catching up to Obama's.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27489929

Wilson, Tom. "Chirac falls for Canadian radio prank". oneNEWS. 29 January 2008.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411419/654597

Pop culture and Politics for real

Walking through Balfour last week, there was a open mic night going on. Whatever the club is that writes and recites poetry that was there. My favorite girl, the one who wrote the poema bout change was speaking. 

It amazed me how many students are unwilling to accept the current situation. People are so hungry for a better future here. College students especially, I feel they are the most responsive to the call for change, because by just being here, they are saying they deserve better. More kids than ever are growing up with the intention of going to college. 

The need for change is apparent even in clothing now. Graphic tshirts with sayings like Hugs not Drugs, Save our Planet, Love one another, or Recycle are the fashion now. Theres no better use of pop culture as propaganda than that. 

Back to Balfour, after that girl finished, four dancers started moving to a song. The song was Obama's "Yes We Can" speech, but not the Will.I.Am version. I was disappointed, for i rather like that song. It was just interesting to see though that people are starting to associate Obama with the word change. They are looking to him to provide us with a better opportunity to fix our world for the better. 

I left before the dancers finished, but the fact that they chose a speech instead of a popular song about change struck me as the culmination of this election. 

Is Obama's aunt an illegal immigrant?

Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango from Kenya is living in the Unites States and is facing some problem with immigration. Associates Press revealed that Obama's aunt speaks about living in the United States illegal in memoirs. It also claims that Zeituni is living in government houseing in Boston dispite the fact that the immigration judge denied her request for asylum four years ago. Zeituni not leaving the country wouldnt be a criminal act but an administration violation. CNN wasnt able to show her immigration status. Obama's campaign havent responded to CNN's comment. Zeiituni donated to Obama's campaign on different occasions and taken the titile as a "volunteer resident health advocate." The spokesperson for Obama's campaign says that Obama dosent know about the immigrant status of his aunt and that the necessary procedures would be taken.
I dont think that this issue would really impact Obama's campaign because its not a big issue. Then again it is close to election and it can be percieved in so many ways, with McCain finding every little thing to attach Obama it could be a bad positon for Obama. As long as it doesnt seem that Obama's aunt is not getting special treatment as someone who is in the country illegally, Obama's campaign wouldnt be affected. This can serve as another issue for his patriotism to be questioned because he is looked as a non-American.

Obama 'congradulates' McCain on Cheney Endorsement

Obama's target is the swing votes and he is very determined. Obama started with a morning rally in Henderson, Nevada and later went to Pueblo, Colorado and Springfield Missouri. Dick Cheney says that he will be voting for John McCain. Obama attacked Cheney for supporting McCain by endorsing him where he complimented McCain for receiving the endorsement. He also states that the endorsement didn’t come easy and he deserves it. According to Obama, “He knows that with John McCain, you get a twofer: George Bush's economic policy and Dick Cheney's foreign policy. But that's a risk we cannot afford to take." In other words, Obama says that McCain will have both qualities of both Bush and Cheney, whose policies and plans didn’t help America. So he is saying that McCain have qualities from two people who haven’t exactly steered America in the right path. In Nevada, Obama spoke about his tax plan defending it against "socialist" claims. Clinton joined Obama in Beckley, West Virginia where he supported and defended Obama's economic plans.
Biden says that he hopes that McCain end his campaign on a positive note because McCain is constantly attacking Obama. He feels that McCain is being personally vicious. Biden is holding events in Bowling Green, Ohio and Marion, Ohio. However, Palin went to Central Florida where she focused on financial concerns where many people are over the age of sixty five. Palin also shifted her focus to attacking Obama.
The election is so close and both McCain and Obama needs to step their game up because it now or never. At this point, attacking any candidate wouldn’t do much justice because it’s the time that should be taken to prove how worthy each candidate are. The toughest job for the candidates right now is to persuade the swing states to vote for them. I think that Obama took a better approach than Palin with his attacks at McCain. I think Palin was too harsh and Obama was more direct so it wouldn’t affect his image. But Palin on the other hand can impact voters by coming across too strong at her opponent.

A rose by any other name...

From the Huffington Post:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/01/mccains-name-nowhere-to-be-seen-at-palin-rally/

It seems that at a recent Palin rally in Florida today, there was apparently no official signage with the actual nominee's name.

Once again, we are confronted with the idea that this race is between Palin and Obama.

McCain's Last Stand

Everyone seems to think that Obama has the 2008 election locked up, and seeing McCain abandon states a few weeks ago showed nothing but despair for the Republican Party.  McCain has recently redirected his campaign to Pennsylvania, a likely Democratic voting state, but a state that many believe McCain has a chance to win.  The 21 electoral votes that Pennsylvania holds is now seen as an essential answer to any chance McCain has to winning the election.  Hillary Clinton campaign fundraiser Lynn Forester de Rothschild is quoted saying, "Pennsylvania is a conservative Democratic state, and John McCain can win it.  We are targeting independents and Democrats, and they're just not comfortable with Barack Obama's plan for America, because it's outside of the mainstream.  This is the most important thing I've done in politics.  The election could turn right here."  Hillary Clinton won Pennsylvania in the Democratic primaries because of Obama's inability to win over the working class whites in Pennsylvania, and because Pennsylvania doesn't partake in early voting, it gives McCain a little bit more time to attempt to persuade voters where Obama failed (Saslow, MSNBC).   Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe evaluated the situation by saying, "As unlikely as it is for them to succeed [in Pennsylvania], we've got to take that seriously, and we will."  

Aside from Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton won votes in the states with greater numbers of electoral votes, such as California, New York, Florida, and Ohio.  Therefore, there is something about Obama's campaign that didn't fit with all the Democratic voters. If McCain can somehow play to the crowds in a way that Obama couldn't, he may have a shot at winning it all.  And right now his focus is on Pennsylvania asserting that "We need to win in Pennsylvania on November the 4th."  It's his way of saying, I may be down, but I'm definitely not out.

Source:

Slaslow, Eli. "True Believers in McCain flock to Pennsylvania".  MSNBC. 1 November 2008 Washingtonpost.com. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27482344/

Obamarama

Here is the 30 minute primetime special that Obama ran the other day.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/41886/obamas-prime-time-special

I actually quite enjoyed it. I thought it did a decent job of outlining some of his policies. He did not waste any time smearing McCain. In fact, I don't think McCain was mentioned once. I liked the fact that, for once, a politician was being positive about themselves rather than negative about their opponent. McCain, on the other hand, keeps spending more and more money on attack ads.

I think that Obama's use of technology to reach the people has been very commendable. I feel that it has helped him gain a lot of momentum, wheras John McCain appears to be stuck in the stone age. Obama has been able to reach thousands of people who might not know much about him otherwise.

I was initially worried that this special would cross the line from citizenship to consumerism, but it was actually very informative. There were moments where too much of the focus was on the narrative of the people being interviewed, but it could have been a lot worse. Even in the few instances when he veered off into the personal anecdotes, it always drifted back to the issues. I had a better understanding of how he was going to handle things.

I thought this was a rather remarkable response to the McCain "un-American" campaign. It made him seem very down-to-earth and human. The emphasis on Obama’s life as an “everyday American” was interesting, and probably very intentional.

On Tuesday, we will decide who will represent us as a nation. The choices we make as individuals will effectively determine our country’s future. We need to keep in mind that when politicians finally take the initiative to lay out policies, it is our duty to listen.

McCain Town Hall Format Disappears

The first incident that led to this was the angry man who told John McCain to hit Barack Obama “where it hurts." Then came the woman who called the Democratic nominee “an Arab.” And don’t forget the man who stood up before a packed crowd and said he was “scared” of an Obama presidency — nevermind the racially tinged cat calls and rounds of boos from McCain’s other gymnasium crowds.

Town Hall formats was supposed be the Republican nominee’s, John McCain's, favorite campaign forum, highlighting his shoot-from-the-hip style, his broad knowledge on a slew of issues and his irreverent wit. He loved it so much that he challenged Obama to a string of town hall debates. Of course now -- it has become a liability. He has not taken any questions from any of the audiences he has spoken in front of since October 10th, when he faced a belligerent crowd in Lakeville, Minnesota, that at times turned against him. The disappearance of the town hall format from McCain’s campaign is striking, political observers say, offering a vivid example of how a signature strength became a potential liability and was abandoned.

It is startling. Without using his signature strengths, McCain continues to slip slowly downward in the national polls (which at the time of posting is 50% Obama, 44.2% McCain; as reported on pollster.com). Even as he continues to campaign in these last few critical days, I believe this is just another piece of evidence to show that whoever is the next 'symbol' of the Republican Party, they will either scrap the Town Hall Meeting style all together or perhaps reorganize it.

“We want to fight, and I will fight,” McCain told supporters earlier this month in Minnesota. “But I will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments. I don’t mean to reduce your ferocity. ... I just mean to say, you have to be respectful.” The crowds ignored his plea.

Is Bailout really helping?

According to AOL the bailout is not really helping America as much as we thought it would. 

As it turns out, Wall Streeters are still getting paid bonuses with a portion of the money, with estimates running into seventy billion. If you do the math, thats ten percent of the bailout that should go to helping the economy, just going right back in their pockets. 

Also, AIG reportedly scheduled a lavish retreat for its employees, costing upwards of 400,000. This came right after it received the money from the bailout bill. There was another one planned soon after, but that was squashed right after the press got a hold of the story. 

On the bonuses point, some of the company's employees are receiving more money just to stay on for one year, shouldnt keeping their jobs be enough reward, especially when everyone else seems to be losing theirs?

What happens to the millions of dollars that was lost by failed CEO's? Well, they get to keep it, as compensation for what they made when it was working. 

As it turns out, banks can use the money any way they want to. There are no specifications as to what they must do with the money, so some are planning on buying up other banks instead of re-investing it back into the economy. They are not thinking of adding their millions to the lending pool so they can make more loans, they are thinking of using it for selfish terms. 

Whos the real money makers, well lawyers of course. They are making huge amounts on billable hours because of the bailout, not to mention representing the firms that are now having problems with regulators. 

A last push to deregulate

The White House is ready to pass a set of laws that have weakened the government before President Bush leaves office. The laws include the ones that didn’t work during the "Bush Era," and would be hard for the next president to fix. Some of the policies would be more flexible on private industries such as farms and other policies would help clear obstacles like activities that contribute to Global Warming. These laws can be undone through public opinion. The White House spokesman, Tony Fratto said that the White House is doing all it can that regulations last for a long time because it serves the best interest of the nation. There are so many new regulations considered and only a few are actually considered. Few regulations will be considered with President Bush diminishing role as president. This much activity in the White House has many lobbyists busy who fears that the industry wouldn’t be a priority so lobbyist are working hard to prevent that from happening. It's important to make sure that well established laws stay for a long time. However, I feel that Bush policies shouldn’t be trusted due chaos he brought during his presidency. Although, the laws are said to be based on public opinion some of the laws that are trying to be established are not being considered, but isn’t public opinion valuable? It's hard to realize that many of Bush's policies are getting deregulated, there should've been this much activity in The White House when Bush was president. I’m curious of what The White House is considering as laws that work; I don’t see any policies worth keeping. I don’t think the lobbyists should try to fix anything that hasn’t work because it’s the job of the new commander in chief to really fix the mess in The White House.

Palin gets the blame if McCain loses?

According to Politico, if McCain losses on Tuesday, his party is looking for a scapegoat. That scapegoat is Sarah Palin. McCain advisor's have labeled Palin as "a whack job", and a diva. She also apparently never takes advice from "the geniuses at the McCain campaign".

But, if Palin is so bad as a potential VP, then why did McCain choose her? If you're a 72 year old presidential candidate, wouldn't you choose your running mate with a little extra scrutiny and care for the sake of the future of the nation? Apparently, McCain didn't. He has even admitted that he "didn't know her well at all", when he made his decision.

But why? It wasn't like McCain was rushed, he wrapped up of his nominee decision by March, and didn't announce his decision until late August. Isn't that enough time to get to know your running mate? Isn't that enough time to investigate Palin's strengths, weaknesses, records, published accounts, and even talk to a few people to figure out that she was a whack job diva?

But he chose her anyway, as said in Politico, "He wanted to close the 'enthusiasm gap' between himself and Barack Obama. He wanted to inject a little adrenaline into the Republican National Convention. He wanted to goose up the Republican base.

One main complaint McCain's campaign has against Palin is that she is not sticking to their script. But in truth, her real problem isn't that she can't take orders, the real problem is that she is not ready to take the position of VP.

Yet in comparison, McCain has been ready for this job, as he has plenty of political experience. He told once told a crowd in Miami:

"The next president won't have time to get used to the office, I've been tested, my friends, I've been tested."

I don't think this quote can necessarily be applicable to Palin's case.

In my opinion, having a bad running mate won't make you lose the election, but I don't think it will help you much. In this case, I believe Palin has slowed down McCain's campaign, whereas with different running mate, he may be in a closer position towards presidency. Therefore, McCain has no one to blame but himself if he loses, because in actuality, it was McCain himself who chose his running mate.

Palin 2012?

I have been watching the news the last few days and I cannot help but to think of what can possibly happen to the Republican Party if they fail at obtaining the White House in less than four days from now. This has been a very interesting election cycle: with many twists and turns from the Wright Controversy to Palin's nomination as the GOP Vice Presidential candidate. But even as McCain still remains optimistic (perhaps not realizing that there is a great amount of stress on him to even hold onto the safe Republican strongholds of the South and West) about his chances to win on Tuesday; can it really happen?

As I explained in the last post I put on here, the only way he can possibly pull off a victory is to win every single state that are both safe for Republicans and all the remaining swing states. He has already abandoned Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico to Obama and with each passing day, Obama continues to hold advantages in many important swing states like Florida and Ohio. Each passing day, the path to 270 seems all but impossible. While I did state that I am not ready to declare this election cycle for the Democrats, thus for Obama, we need to think about the implications of a Republican loss.

At this current moment if McCain lost, the Republican Party would most likely tear itself apart in an effort to reorganize itself. This is McCain's last chance or hurrah rather to obtain the Presidency and if he does loose on Tuesday, he will not be running again in 2012 -- he will just return to his position as a Senator from Arizona. With the person who had brought the Republicans so close yet not close enough, there will need to be a new generation of GOP leaders to emerge from the wake of the impending implosion (this is perhaps over dramatic but anything is possible with a McCain loss).

Governor Palin, who was an Washington and National political outsider until two months ago seems to be one of the many new GOP leaders who will continue the supposedly endless fight against the Democrats beyond 2008. Many of the old Republican guard believe that when McCain looses on Tuesday (again, if he does, which as I've read by numerous polling organizations seems to be quite certain of happening), they will blame Palin for dragging down the ticket. On ABC News, Palin stated she signaled she would remain on the national political scene no matter what happens Tuesday. "I'm not doing this for naught," she told ABC News.

Palin has split conservatives - some energized by her strong stand on social issues and others embarrassed by her halting interview performances - regardless of their personal feelings towards her, they all concur that her rallies have attracted numbers that a Republican party searching for female star power can't ignore. The Associated Press stated: "Palin's future will be a top item on the agenda at a meeting of national conservatives scheduled for next Thursday. Participants say Palin's role in the conservative movement, and as a 2012 contender if the GOP ticket loses, will be discussed." This will be interesting to see what comes out of this very important meeting -- as to whether Palin's role in the future of the GOP will be extensive or not.

The Media Has a Crush

            Ever since each of the candidates first spoke into microphone there have been allegations of the media favoring one candidate over the other.  In the democratic primaries there were many complaints that the media demonstrated a bias towards Barack Obama.  After the Republican National Convention, the starting point for the final section of the relay race to the presidency there has been one major, and recordable trend in the news; it favors Obama.  In this final leg there have been four times as many negative stories about McCain as positive, Barack Obama has received twice as many positive stories as McCain, and one half as many negative stories (Harris and VandeHei Hosed in the Press).

            Subsequent to a debate in April there was a general up roar that the ABC commentator had been attacking Barack Obama.   The debate featured 15 questions on politics and 13 questions on policy, making it more substantive than other debates, but because the questions seemed to be more aggressive to Obama rather than Clinton, regardless of the fact the questions were highly relevant for a presumptive nominee, they were perceived as an uncalled for attack on Senator Obama (Harris and VandeHei, Secret Weapon).   This creates a problem in perception of candidates in the media that is two fold.  Because the media had been Favoring Obama, any slight attack on him is seen as a major deviance from the normative positive reporting, and because it is such a large deviance from a positive portrayal it is also seen as a major attack.  In addition, the act of questioning the bias of the media its self has a massive loophole.  Questioning the media’s representation of a campaign, not always but usually, demonstrates a bias in favor of the candidates who is being misrepresented and therefore calls, and should call, the legitimacy of the accusation into question, yet some how accusations of bias against certain candidates are taken more seriously than others.  This paradox establishes the perfect conditions for a cascade of information favoring one candidate, but requires that the media have a particular bias, in this case towards Obama.

            There are several reasons why the media favors Barack Obama, not all of them his own doing.  A pew study found that 80% of journalists intended on voting for Barack Obama (Harris and VandeHei Hosed in the Press).   It is worth noting that these people are professionals and adults capable to detaching themselves from their beliefs for the sake of journalism.  It is also worth noting that they are predominantly democrats favoring a democrat.  As an example, Obama reporter Lee Cowan, who reports of NBC, admitted that he finds maintaining his objectivity hard, while reporting on Obama.   The media is weary of appearing to be racist, and in a simple twist of fate this has created an advantage for Senator Obama. As Harris and VandeHei put it, “[Barak Obama] has benefited from the idea that negative attacks that in a normal campaign would be commonplace in this year would carry an out-of-bounds racial subtext”(Hosed in the Press).  This is not to say that his race has never, and will never detract from the support that Obama receives for the populace, but an example of how it has benefitted him.   With these two reasons it is no surprise that many of the negative stories about Barack Obama have not stuck in the headlines.

            There are several examples of stories that have fallen through the cracks that most likely would not have should they have not been about Obama. The most commonly questioned actions of Obama are his associations with Reverend Wright, William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.  Obama’s association with Reverend Wright was played down in a massively eloquent speech by in which he demonstrated the legitimacy of his association, but was also left alone in part because of the sensitivity of race.  Obama’s association with Bill Ayers, who once spoke violently about destroying America, and Bernadine Dohrn, who stated when describing the mason murders in 1969, "Dig it! First they killed those pigs and then they put a fork in their bellies. Wild!", has not received as much press attention as many speculate it would have were these people associated with another candidate.  The McCain Campaigns current focus on Pennsylvania should stir up a lot of interest in Obama’s opinion of the state in particular his comment,  “it's not surprising then [the people of small town Pennsylvania] get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."  Such slanderous classifications of American people would expectantly draw a large amount of attention, especially with the recent focus on the state of Pennsylvania, but have slipped through the screen of mass media in recent months even as the McCain campaign focuses on that state.

            It could be said that the McCain campaign is responsible for the negative media that represents it.  As the McCain campaign draws its final breaths the internal workings of the campaign begin to fall apart and provide a glut of substance for negative stories.  However, after the treatment that Hilary Clinton received, it is worth questioning whether or not the current mess in the McCain campaign was begot of his representation in the media.

Works Cited:

Harris, John F., and Jim VandeHei. "Obama's secret weapon: The media." Politico. 18 Apr. 2008. 29 Oct. 2008 .

Harris, John F., and Jim VandeHei. "Why McCain is getting hosed in the press." Politico. 28 Oct. 2008. 29 Oct. 2008 .

New emblem?

So i just got an email, saying New US Emblem?

According to Winograd and Hais, our generation is described as being optimistic about politics. We are described as believing in the power of our government to change things for the better. If this is true, then this email, send to me by my sister, also a millennial, is the opposite of what Millennial Makeover is proposing. I realize this is not true for all of our generation, however, I agree with the picture. I also think that our government is changing for the better though. Maybe because Ive been influenced by the description of our generation as positive, but I really believe that things are changing in our government.

These kinds of emails are sent about the net tens of thousands of times a day, but one can pretty much bet on the fact that this was sent by someone just on the cusp of our generation, or someone just older than the oldest of our generation. Whoever came up with this picture is pretty clever, for I myself would never have thought of this.

The fact this was sent through a form of mass communications is important because without the programs available to make this sort of this, no one outside a little circle would ever see it. Because of tools such as the internet, mass amounts of people can see it, and if theyre part of my generation, they are more likely to think they can change things.

The email was sent throughout the workplace of my sister, and then forwarded to whomever they know, and so on til it fizzes out. This email perfectly describes the cynicism we have discussed in class about older generations. Take a look!

McCains Blame Game again.

In a shocking (yeah right) turn of events, McCain is trying to degrade Obama's image to discourage voters from voting for him. 

The new story is that the Los Angeles Times is withholding a story, and by association protecting the candidate, about him  

"attending a 2003 party for a Palestinian-American professor and critic of Israel. The paper said it had written about the event in April and would not release the tape because of a promise to the source who provided it."

Although both candidates (McCain and Palin) are criticizing Obama's longtime friend who was said to have been at the party, McCain also has ties to Rashid Khalidi. This man has been accused of being a former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization, a position he has denied in the past. The interesting this tis that McCain has ties to this man also, through a group partially founded by Khalidi. This group has received over four hundred thousand dollars from an organization chaired by McCain.

To add to the controversy, Jamie Gold, the newspaper's reader's representative said this of the alleged cover up, 

"More than six months ago the Los Angeles Times published a detailed account of the events shown on the videotape,"

There are no details out in the open about the source used by the newspaper, and The Times has refused to respond to the criticism.

McCain, in his recently attained whiny stance, complained that the paper has become bias, and that by suppressing the article, they have openly endorsed Obama. 

This is just another tactic to discredit Obama and lend into peoples fears that he will possibly cause a World War III. This is why the younger generation is so sick of politics, this type of mudslinging is exhausting and childish. McCain needs to realize that the race is won, and not by him.

Six Days and Counting...

If you go over to the DailyKos, you will be provided, at no expense, a map of the United States with colored states according to voting predictions. It appears that Obama has already won this election. Even if he loses Florida, Penn., Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia, he will still come out on top as predicted by preliminary Red states. Carrying Illinois, New York, Michigan, the West coast, the Northeast and some of the Midwest, Obama is in good shape to still come out on top. Losing the states I mentioned, Obama would still win by a 276-262 margin. But losing by that close of a margin is still too optimistic for McCain. With only six days left and dwindling money, McCain should give some serious thought to some intense muckraking. Assuming McCain will carry Florida, he will still need to win Ohio and Pennsylvania, and hope for some key swing states to help him out, and fend off a realignment. 

Forclosures, For Real

As of late, foreclosures have been the recipients of much attention from the media, and there have been countless tragic stories of families struck hard by sub-prime mortgages. While these stories strike a cord with many Americans who are struggling right now, it is necessary to take a look at the whole story. In an article on Real Clear Politics, Steven Malanga asserts that there are some fallacies surrounding these troubling stories of foreclosures.

Malanga states that the news stories frequently "mischaracterize" the foreclosure problem we are facing. He claims that this "mischaracterization" stems from the idea featured in the article that "unanticipated personal reversals" and job losses are to blame. This doesn't add up to the "foreclosure mess we've seen" said Malanga. He claims that these unanticipated personal reversals occur even in "the best of times". He backs this point up by showing how in 2006 when the foreclosure troubles were just beginning, that a University of Texas study showed that the unemployment rate was "holding steady at 4.6%" which is quite low. Since, as Malanga states, the problem was not caused by job losses, then what has caused this foreclosure crisis? Apparently, in his words, "an end to the rise of home prices" is the real culprit.

This is an extremely interesting point that Malanga makes and it really goes to show how you can not just take the word of the media without looking deeper into the issue. This also leads me to wonder how exactly this will affect the election. If we have been mischaracterizing this major economic issue, then won't this just render some of the candidates' solutions and economic policies obsolete? For example, McCain's policy for handling sub-prime mortgages and home losses is to create government reforms and provide assistance for families struggling to make ends meet. This strategy would work best if the stories in the papers were completely accurate in their portrayal of the foreclosure crisis, but if what Malanga asserts is in fact accurate? Then this strategy will be like trying to plug a leak with a piece of bubble gum. This policy will work temporarily, but how long will we be able to support the families in most need? I fear that we wont be able to suppport them long enough because, as it appears to me, McCain's answer to the problem is more like a plan that will patch holes as they pop-up rather than fix the entire problem.

I fear that this strategy will be unsuccesful and costly because according to Malanga, the real problem is home prices, which is a topic left out of McCain's plan. It just makes me wonder, if we fail to see the true cause of the problem, how exactly can we fix it?

Sources:

Malanga, Steven."Foreclosure Myths: Can the Media Handle the Truth?", Real Clear Politics, http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/10/foreclosure_myths_can_media_ha.html. 2. November. 2008

"Immediate Relief for American Families: Home Plan", McCain-Palin 2008, http://www.johnmccain.com/Issues/JobsforAmerica/relief.htm. 2. November. 2008

Obama 08'

With Election Day only six days away both candidates are doing anything in their power to make sure they get the number of votes needed to win the states. With Pennsylvania on the fence both candidates are seen targeting for their support. If you saw Obama’s documentary tonight and speech, you would see the hope and determination he has to make the United States a better place. Based on some polls Obama is winning four states that was once George Bush’s. This is such a big moment where a democrat has actually transformed red states to blue. The reason because they see that he wants change for the better. Based on an article written by Ron Fournier, and Trevor Thompson if Obama win he might actually win with a big lead. The run for presidency is not as tight as it was in the beginning and during the Republican convention. In the speech Obama targeted one particular state for his support and that was Florida. He kept on repeating Florida’s name and support in order to win this race. I think this is such a smart move; he is making people in Florida pay more attention and know that they have a power among other states.

Palin accuses Obama for having ties to a "radical professor" at Columbian University

Palin says that Obama has ties to Columbian University professor, Rashid, Khalidi; stating that he used to be the spokes person for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Of course Obama's website says that Palin's remarks are false. Palin feels that she is not negative campaigning but "calling someone out of their record.”But what does that means if it's not suppose to created bad media for Obama's campaign? Palin also states that Rashid Khalidi is another radical professor from the neighborhood who spent a lot of time with Obama.
However, the McCain campaign has repeatedly try to show that Obama has also has ties to the 1960's radical, William Ayers, founder of Weather Underground and a professor of Illinois. This just shows how desperate both McCain and Palin are in terms of their own campaign is not going well so the only thing left is to make their opponent, Barack Obama look bad. The Obama
The Obama campaign called Pallin’s remarks "recycled manufactured controversy from the McCain campaign to distract voters’ attention from John McCain support of President Bush. It also raises the question of why wasn't this issue brought to attention six months ago? The answer to that is that there's a week left from picking Obama who has an advantage and electing him as president.
Obama said McCain has spent the last few days calling him "every name in the book and don't know what's next. By the end of the week, he'll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten. I shared my peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Obama said.
McCain is just trying to distract voters because time is winding down to the election and he lost his advantage. All he has is Palin who looks more radical than Obama bringing up allegations now that the election is close. I’m sure it wouldn’t do much justice because the election is leading to Obama no matter what story she tells. It is weird that both McCain and Palin decide to bring up bad stories about Obama now, where was this earlier in the campaign? It just looks like a secret weapon gone badly.

Volunteer Much?

At this moment, volunteer offices across the state are extremely busy trying to get as many voters as they can for their candidate. The reason so many people have chose to get involved with this election is because they either felt inspired by Barack Obama or motivated by John McCain. This election has inspired citizens to become passionate about politics and also inspired international citizens to look more into the idea of American Politics. A lot of citizens are looking at this election as "the election" to get involved with. The reason being is that it is one of the most important events in which will change America forever. This election was not only about voting for who you think will make America a better, stronger nation. It was about speaking out, being socially active and being able to have your voice be heard by everyone. 

More and More Ads

According to USA today, Obama has spent over 230 million on television. He is now working on having thirty minute long ads which will air on CBS, NBC and Fox. According to the article, "The three 30-minute ads, which cost Obama nearly $1 million apiece, mark the first time in 16 years that a White House hopeful has aired commercials that length on broadcast networks." Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, is trying to target the states in which George Bush won during his campaign four years ago. McCain cannot compete with Obama when it comes to television ads and that is because Obama has spent way more money than McCain did. According to USA today, McCain has only spent about 84.1 million dollars so far on ads. If McCain wishes to persuade more voters to vote for him, he needs to step up and focus more on his television ads. For more information on this issue, visit Obama Ads Overwhelm TV presence of McCain. 

Second Guessing McCain's VP Choice

With Obama in the lead of the campaign, and not much time left to  ahead, McCain's party has been analyzing McCain's vice presidential choice. 

According to the New York Times,  McCain's party is analyzing whether McCain would be in a better position in the campaign now if Sarah Palin was not chosen as the VP.  Many Republicans and Democrats all say yes to such a question. 

When McCain was in the process of making his VP decision, they set aside the traditional standards for picking a running mate. For example they set aside the criteria of choosing someone who could deliver a battleground state.  What attracted McCain to select Palin were for reasons such as:

-Her reformer credentials supported his own, which would reinforce and strengthen his abilty to run against Washington. This could possibly appeal to moderate and independent voters. 

-Her social views would help McCain to mend his relations with Conservatives.

-She is a woman, which could potentially attract woman voters who previously supported Hillary Clinton, and to those who were upset as to how Barack Obama teated her when she was running.

Now, as it is less than a week before the election, only one of those hopes have come true- that Palin has attracted more Conservatives. 

Polls have shown that her support, especially from women and independent voters,  has been declining, and more and more people are saying that she is not qualified to be VP. People are also starting to judge McCain in a negative way for even choosing her as a running mate. 

Many people are also complaining that her lack of experience of ever experiencing a national campaign is also making things worse for McCain's party. The Republican National Committee has spend over $150,000 on clothes and accessories on Sarah Palin and her family.  This has caused tensions between Palin and McCain, as he seems to feel disappointed in how she has carried herself in the campaign. 

McCain had considered  Mitt Romney as a running mate, and his advisors had also pushed him to consider people such as Joseph I. Lieberman, and Tom Ridge. They all had there advantags and disadvantages, but many say that such consideration would have lead McCain to be in a better position in the campaign today. 

However, McCain is stuck with Palin now, and she will at least deliver one thing for him: the state of Alaska and all of its three Electoral College votes.