Keywords: John McCain, Barack Obama, presidential candidates, president of the United States, campaign, blogs, reviews, first Black president, election 08
While there was plenty for bloggers to write about in the race for the White House this week, it was perhaps Republican nominee Sen. John McCain's assertion that the fundamentals of the American economy "are strong" that got the most attention in the blogosphere.
McCain made the comments while out stumping in Jacksonville, Fla. Though the speech appears on YouTube [you can watch it below], the transcript of his remarks, which are almost always posted on his campaign web site, was nowhere to be found.
McCain said: "You know that there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street. And it's … people are frightened by these events. Our economy, still … the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times. And I promise you, we will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street. We will reform government."
Here's a look at what some of the bloggers had to say in response to the senator's remarks:
Michael Cooper writes for the International Herald Tribune, the international arm of The New York Times. Cooper writes of how quickly McCain and his staffers worked to make an about-face over the initial remarks.
"With economic conditions worsening and voter anxiety on the rise, McCain has had to labor to get past the impression--fostered by his own admissions that the subject is not his strongest suit--that he lacks the experience and understanding to address the country's economic woes," Cooper writes. "In the most recent case, he first sought to explain away his remarks about the economy's fundamental soundness by saying he had been referring to American workers. But within hours his aides were scheduling television appearances so that he could try to erase the notion, being promoted aggressively by Democrats, that he was out of touch.
"His campaign also released the text of a speech he was delivering later Monday that included much starker language about the financial crisis, and by Tuesday it had produced a new advertisement asserting that his experience and leadership were necessary in a 'time of crisis.'"
Meanwhile, Dan Balz, a Washington Post blogger, says McCain may have a tough time rebounding from this misstatement simply because the senator is a self-professed economic novice.
Says Balz: "John McCain has a fundamentals problem. It is political as well as economic, and it remains the biggest obstacle standing between the Arizona senator and the White House. McCain didn't single-handedly create this problem but he made it worse Monday when, as Wall Street was melting down, he uttered words--'The fundamentals of our economy are strong'--that totally muddied the real message he meant to deliver. Barack Obama has hammered him at every stop since as a man out of touch with reality.
"Were McCain known as a student of the economy, this instance of a badly delivered statement would matter little. Because he is known as someone who is not, it matters plenty. McCain has responded by ratcheting up his rhetoric about cracking down on Wall Street and Washington. As with his Monday misstep, once again the message is mixed. Guns blazing, McCain is promising to ride into town to--oversee the creation of a commission to study the problem. He is speaking out in favor of regulation but against a history of opposing a heavy government hand. He has expressed his outrage, but what is the balance he would strike between the old and new McCain?"
Sam Youngman, a writer for The Hill, a nonpartisan newspaper that publishes information about Congress for members of Congress, demonstrated McCain's misstep by writing about the White House's refusal to back up McCain's statement. In the past, President Bush has said the economy, despite its recent struggles, remains "fundamentally strong." But not this time.
Youngman writes: "The White House on Wednesday refused to repeat earlier statements -- echoed this week by Republican presidential candidate John McCain -- that the fundamentals of the economy are strong even as a Wall Street crisis has deepened amid a major bankruptcy and another federal bailout.
"White House press secretary Dana Perino was asked repeatedly at the daily briefing Wednesday if the president continues to think, as he has said before, that the economy remains fundamentally strong. Sen. McCain (Ariz.) repeated the president's point Monday, after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, saying that 'the fundamentals of our economy are strong.'
"Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) seized on McCain's remark as evidence that the Arizona senator is out of touch and lacking in economic knowledge and appreciation of the degree of the current crisis.
"Perino would say only that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said 'that as he looks at our country and compares it with other countries, that we are in a position of strength to be able to deal with this crisis, and it's going to take us a while to work through it.'"
Obama
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama spent the better part of the week calling for tougher regulations on Wall Street while reclaiming his lead in the polls--sort of.
The Democratic nominee issued a statement Monday on his web site: "The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.
"I certainly don't fault Sen. McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It's a philosophy we've had for the last eight years--one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It's a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises. Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up--from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street.
"This country can't afford another four years of this failed philosophy. For years, I have consistently called for modernizing the rules of the road to suit a 21st century market--rules that would protect American investors and consumers. And I've called for policies that grow our economy and our middle-class together. That is the change I am calling for in this campaign, and that is the change I will bring as president."
Later on Monday, before a group of supporters, Obama further conveyed the severity of the financial situation and reminded voters of McCain's stance that the economy is "fundamentally sound."
Polls were also showing a statistical dead heat between the two candidates. The Big Ten Battleground Poll, which looks at the "Big 10" university states of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, shows Obama having a slight lead in all states except Illinois, where he enjoys a 16-point lead, and Indiana, where McCain is leading by four points. The poll has a margin of error of four points, which is the most Obama is leading in those remaining six states.
And a Reuters poll this week showed Obama holding a 2-point lead over his opponent but still lagging when it comes to the economy. According to the poll, Obama leads McCain 47 percent to 45 percent among likely voters. But when it comes to the economy, Obama trails his opponent 47 to 45 percent.
"We're back to where we always thought we'd be--in a very competitive race," pollsterJohn Zogby told Reuters.
Last week, the two candidates were neck and neck in the polls; however, some analysts suggest the high of the Republican National Convention could be waning.
But Obama did manage to agree with his opponent on a major campaign issue this week: generic drugs. Both Obama and McCain agreed that expanding the use of low-cost generic drugs would be at the top of their agendas if elected in November, reports The Associated Press (AP).
"We know that expanding the use of generics and eliminating barriers to that goal must be a center point of any health-reform effort," Dora Hughes, a healthcare adviser to Obama, told AP.
While Obama didn't offer any specifics on how exactly he would increase the access to generic drugs, he is getting flack from one former drug-rehab patient: celebrity Lindsay Lohan.
Lohan offered to host Obama's star-studded fundraiser, a fundraiser that cost $28,500 a plate and netted the senator $7 million, but Obama never responded to her request. Lohan's father chimed in, urging Obama to "forget Lindsay's past."
"For Barack Obama to condemn my daughter for past indiscretions when he admitted to the exact same himself is indicative of what kind of president he would be," Michael Lohan told FOX News via e-mail Wednesday night. "His visions of a positive future for this country should be representative of a positive future for people as well. It is looking beyond the difficult times and letting go of the past. Obviously, Obama can do this for himself and not others, when in fact a good president should have hope for all."
Obama's response: "No comment."
Click here for the full International Herald Tribune story.
Posted: Tuesday, Oct 21, 2008
Presidential Candidates' Blogs: McCain Says Economy's Strong, Lohan's Father Slams Obama
Let me get this straight, Lohan's father says Obama "condemned" his daughter by not responding to her offer to host a fund raiser? Apparently narcissistic is a family trait.
jonscott williams
Posted: Tuesday, Oct 07, 2008
Presidential Candidates' Blogs: McCain Says Economy's Strong, Lohan's Father Slams Obama
I don't think it takes too much thought to understand that what McCain alluded to was that as a nation we have always rebounded in economic hard times - that is what is meant by fundamentally sound.
I don't believe supporting Obama for the presidency, given his background, past affiliations and lack of experience, however, is fundamentally sound.
Can understand your disappointment about the fundraiser for Obama, but there's an issue you may not have considered. Even though Obama has tried drugs in his youth, he did not have to attend rehab as far as we know. He's gotten so much flack from going to Rev. Wright's church even though he does not embrace all his thoughts. He and his campaign managers may have been trying to avoid more unfavorable publicity so close to the election - and not intended to hurt or disappoint you. No politician is going to be 100% perfect - on either side of the aisle. They are human and make mistakes like all of us here on this earth. So many false emails and rumors have come out about his past associations. Imagine the campaign is trying their best to steer clear of any negative issues coming up.
Please forgive him and remember that the Democratic Party has a long and documented history of reaching out to the forgotten and discriminated in our society.
Good luck & God's blessing in your life - now and in the future.
McCain clearly stated how far out of touch he is when it comes to the economy, plus the state of the American workers. Unemployment is at a record high, people are loosing everything and he states in his speach that American workers are doing great. Please tell me what country does he resides in?
The Employee Free Choice Act might be the most significant piece of labor legislation in the last 50 years, yet there is little to no discussion about it in the Presidential campaign. Barack Obama and John McCain have a fundamental difference of opinion - Obama says he would sign the bill into law, while McCain "strongly opposes" this bill, option to support an alternative called the "Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2007."
If Barack Obama becomes the next President and Congress remains Democratic, this could easily be one of the first pieces of legislation that becomes law in 2009, radically changing the process by which a union is organized.
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