[big campaign] '08 Daily News Clips - 10/28

From:jeff@progressiveaccountability.org To: jeff@progressiveaccountability.org Date: 2008-10-28 09:37 Subject: [big campaign] '08 Daily News Clips - 10/28

08 Election Daily News Clips October 28th, 2008 *Candidate Tracking:* ***All times in Eastern Standard Time 9:30am McCain and Palin: joint interview airs on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" 10:00am McCain and Palin: hold a joint "Road to Victory" rally at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania 1:15pm McCain and Palin: hold a joint "Road to Victory" rally at Memorial Park Stadium in Quakertown, Pennsylvania 5:15pm Palin: holds a "Road to Victory" rally at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 5:30pm McCain: holds a "Road to Victory" rally at The Crown Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina 9:00pm Palin: holds a "Road to Victory" rally at Penn State University in University Park, Pennsylvania *News** Clips:* MCCAIN NEWS *Lieberman: I've Talked To Doctors, McCain "Will Live To 85 At Least" (Huff Po 10/27/08)* By Seth Colter Walls "People say to me, oh jeez, he's 72 and he's got skin cancer," Lieberman said, adding: "I can tell you he's been in remission for eight years. Secondly, I talked -- because I get asked this question so much -- I talked to doctors and insurance actuaries. And they tell me based on McCain's age, his health, including skin cancer, he'll live till at least 85. And probably longer." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/27/lieberman-promises-voters_n_138278.html *ATTACK ON OBAMA POLICY: McCain Team Seizes On Syria Strike (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Michael D. Shear John McCain's campaign said Monday that the successful U.S. strike against a terrorist target in Syria would not have happened if Barack Obama had been president. In a sharply worded e-mail, McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said: "If Barack Obama had his way, U.S. forces would not have been in a position to launch this strike. So does Barack Obama support this action -- an action that would not even have been possible if his policies had been implemented?" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102703053.html?nav=rss_politics *McCain fights for comeback in hard-hit Ohio (AP 10/28/08)* By Ben Feller and David Espo CANTON, Ohio--Fading in the polls, John McCain fought Barack Obama for support in economically hard-hit Ohio on Monday, each man pledging to right the economy and turn the page on the Bush era in a state with an impressive record for picking presidents. Eight days from the election, however, Republicans looked and sounded increasingly like a party anticipating defeat, and possibly a substantial one. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/28/mccain_fights_for_comeback_in_hard_hit_ohio/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *McCain targets rural Pennsylvania (AP 10/28/08)* By Mike Glover Though he trails Democrat Barack Obama in the polls nationally and in Pennsylvania -- or maybe because of that -- McCain was sounding increasingly scrappy and referring to his rival as "the most liberal candidate to ever seek the presidency." McCain, who also campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, and Palin, were holding rallies Tuesday in Hershey and Quakertown before going their separate ways -- McCain to North Carolina, another contested state, while Palin stays in Pennsylvania. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/28/mccain_targets_rural_pennsylvania/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *McCain vows to shift from Bush's economic policies (AP 10/27/08)* By Mike Glover CLEVELAND--Republican John McCain promised to pivot from President Bush's economic policies and impose strict controls on government spending that would spur investor confidence and the stock market's recovery. "I will protect your savings and retirement accounts and get this stock market rising again," said McCain, after huddling with economic advisers and pledging a break with Bush administration policies. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/mccain_derisive_of_obama_in_battleground_states/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *In Final Stretch, Pitches Show Stark Contrasts (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Robert Barnes and Michael D. Shear PITTSBURGH, Oct. 27 -- The presidential candidates pursued votes in the same battleground states on Monday but entered their final week of persuasion with messages that could scarcely be more different in tone and substance...Sen. John McCain, campaigning in Ohio, made clear he would appeal to pocketbook concerns and depend on a tried-and-tested tactic of portraying his Democratic rival as a tax-and-spend liberal. He touted his experience and urged voters to look past Obama's speechmaking skills. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702954.html?nav=rss_politics *Candidates Zero In on Economy (WSJ 10/28/08)* By CHRISTOPHER COOPER and ELIZABETH HOLMES CANTON, Ohio -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama gave his "closing argument" for the campaign at a rally in this battleground state, linking the policies of Republican rival John McCain to those of the unpopular sitting president. Sen. McCain held his own event Monday in Cleveland, just 60 miles away, with a focus on economic policy. "The American people can trust me," Sen. McCain said. "My approach will lead to rising stock market prices, a stabilized housing market, economic growth and millions of new jobs." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122511927795272045.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy *McCain Plugs His Plan for Economic Recovery (WSJ blog 10/27/08)* By Elizabeth Holmes John McCain sought to remind voters Monday of the many facets of his economic polices by outlining once again his plans to buy up bad mortgages and lower taxes. The Republican presidential nominee didn't offer new proposals. Instead, he restated the policies he has developed over the course of the campaign. Half a dozen of his economic advisers stood behind him on stage as McCain vowed to "get this stock market rising again" while protecting voters' savings. The Arizona senator reiterated his plan to help Americans stay in their homes as well as create jobs to bring up the sagging economy. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/27/mccain-plugs-his-plan-for-economic-recovery/ *A Panel of Economic Advisers, Minus Two (NYT blog 10/27/08)* By Larry Rohter Notable for their absence were two people who were close advisers in the early phases of Mr. McCain's campaign: former Senator Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. Both have been shunted off to Siberia, not because of policy disagreements but as the result of gaffes that reflected badly on the Republican candidate. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/a-panel-of-economic-advisers-minus-two/#more-6911 *McCain tackles Obama on plan to 'spread the wealth' (LA Times 10/28/08)* By Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta Reporting from Pottsville, Pa., and Canton, Ohio -- Addressing a boisterous crowd in eastern Pennsylvania, John McCain said Monday that Barack Obama wanted to be "Redistributionist in Chief," putting a new twist on his warning that the Democrat intends to "spread the wealth around," as he told Joe the Plumber. McCain's new turn-of-phrase came after his campaign unearthed an obscure, 7-year-old radio interview in which Obama discussed the issue of wealth distribution as it related to the Supreme Court and its decisions under Chief Justice Earl Warren. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign28-2008oct28,0,2077697.story *McCain Campaign Cites Comments in 2001 on Courts in Attack on Obama (NYT 10/28/08)* By MICHAEL FALCONE The McCain campaign and Republicans on Monday seized on a seven-year-old interview that Senator Barack Obama gave about the courts and civil rights, contending it provided further evidence of Mr. Obama's extremist economic positions. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, pounced on the interview, which Mr. Obama gave on Chicago Public Radio in 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/us/politics/28wealth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin *ON THE TRAIL: McCain targets old Obama interview (CNN blog 10/27/08)* (CNN) -- John McCain campaigned in Dayton Ohio earlier Monday, during which he targeted a 7-year old interview with Barack Obama. "In a radio interview revealed today, he said that one of the quote - 'tragedies' of the civil rights movement is that it didn't bring about a redistribution of wealth in our society. He said, and I quote, 'One of the tragedies of the Civil Rights movement was because the Civil Rights movement became so court-focused I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change,'" McCain said. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/happening-now-mccain-in-dayton/ *McCain: Obama More Interested in 'Controlling Wealth Than Creating It' (WSJ blog 10/27/08)* By Elizabeth Holmes John McCain stepped up his spread-the-wealth attack on Barack Obama Monday, using comments the Democratic presidential candidate made in 2001. In 2001, when Obama was a member of the Illinois state senate, he gave an interview to Chicago Public Radioabout the U.S. Supreme Court when it was led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in the 1950s and 1960s. Obama made the argument that the court wasn't that radical and made the point that, during the Civil Rights movement, the Warren Court did not bring about "redistributive change." http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/27/mccain-obama-more-interested-in-controlling-wealth-than-creating-it/ *Joe the Plumber Plunges In for McCain (WSJ blog 10/27/08)* By Laura Meckler Perhaps to shield him from more questions along those lines, and to preserve his symbolic value, Wurzelbacher has not been on the trail with McCain. But on Tuesday, a day after McCain was in the area, Joe will make several stops in southern Ohio to promote the McCain message. That includes a news conference at a Dayton flag store, a stop at the Dublin Pub in Dayton, and visits to S&S Pools in Middletown, Hermann's Florist in Milford and a meet and greet with volunteers at the campaign headquarters in Hamilton County. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/27/joe-the-plumber-plunges-in-for-mccain/ *McCain was frank, garrulous and accessible -- and then he wasn't (LA Times 10/28/08)* By Maeve Reston It wasn't my intention, but I played a role in shutting down John McCain's Straight Talk Express....I had headed to the back of his bus with a small group of reporters, where as always McCain warmly motioned for us to squeeze in beside him on the couch. The questions meandered across more than a dozen topics, but I asked if he agreed with his advisor Carly Fiorina's recent statement that it was unfair for some health insurance companies to cover Viagra but not birth control -- because McCain generally opposed those kinds of mandates. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-maeve28-2008oct28,0,4427711.story *FACT CHECK: McCain persists in exaggerations (AP 10/27/08)* By BETH FOUHY NEW YORK (AP) -- A week from the presidential election, Republican John McCain is persisting in exaggerating and misrepresenting rival Barack Obama's tax and health-care plans. In his latest campaign stump speech, McCain portrays himself as a time-tested warrior who will fight passionately for the middle class as president. "These are hard times," he proclaims, promising to enact policies that will create new jobs, help people stay in their homes, and protect their retirement accounts. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5huxFz9UzzIQM5OrgZXnhWONwMp6wD94322H80 *GOP 'mavericks' concerned with McCain (Politico 10/27/08)* By ALEXANDER BURNS While John McCain's often-touted maverick tendencies have frequently gotten him into trouble with conservatives in his party, in the waning weeks of the election it's becoming clear that he's also got a problem with another Republican constituency: his fellow GOP mavericks. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14986.html *Latest Sign of Trouble for McCain: RNC Ads in Montana (WSJ blog 10/27/08)* By Laura Meckler How bad does the electoral map look for John McCain? Consider that the Republican National Committee begins advertising this week in Montana, a classic Republican state. Democrat Barack Obama has been running ads in Montana for months, hoping to put the state into play and has already spent some $2 million in the state. One recent poll, by Montana State University Billings, has him up by four percentage points. Other recent surveys have McCain up by single digits. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/27/latest-sign-of-trouble-for-mccain-rnc-ads-in-montana/ *McCain dials back Minn. ad buys in final week (AP 10/27/08)* By Brian Bakst According to an Associated Press examination of Twin Cities ad records, McCain has scaled back his presence by diluting previous ad buys. At his peak this month, the Arizona senator was spending more than a half-million dollars for a week's worth of ads on Twin Cities television. Until recently, Minnesota was one of the states where he was outspending Democrat Barack Obama on ads. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/mccain_dials_back_minn_ad_buys_in_final_week/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *McCain Staffer/Bundler Got Legislative Favor As Lobbyist (Huff Po 10/27/08) * By Seth Colter Walls John McCain has pledged that, if elected president, he will end the revolving door between the White House and lobbying shops. But his actions haven't always lived up to his rhetoric -- including an incident in 1999 when McCain added a clause to legislation that would benefit one of his former staffers and future campaign bundlers. According to a 1999 editorial in the Washington Post, America West lobbyist John Timmons -- a former legislative aide from McCain's Senate office -- was the driving force behind a "nonsensical" proposal to secure additional slots for his airline at Reagan National Airport. According to officials quoted by the paper, the Arizona-based company (which has since become part of US Airways) "would be the main beneficiary" of a clause inserted by McCain. The clause was worded in a way that could only benefit the single company. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/27/mccain-stafferbundler-got_n_138243.html *McCain pushed regulators for land swap, despite pledge (McClatchy 10/27/08) * By Greg Gordon WASHINGTON -- Years after he resurrected his political fortunes from the Keating Five savings and loan investigation, John McCain promoted an Arizona land swap that would've benefited a former mentor and partner of the scandal's central figure. The owners of the Spur Cross Ranch, a dramatic 2,154-acre tract of Sonoran desert just north of Phoenix, in the late 1990s sought to sell it to a developer who planned to build a premier golf course surrounded by 390 luxury homes. Nearby residents and environmentalists, however, wanted to preserve the area's unusual cacti, stone formations and hundreds of Hopi Indian tribal artifacts. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/54851.html PALIN NEWS * **Palin Rallies Crowd In Election Day Run-up (Leesburg Today 10/28/08)* By Kara Clark, Erika Jacobson & Samantha Bartram With chants of "Use Your Brain. Vote McCain" and "SAR-AH SAR-AH" filling the air, a crowd of thousands welcomed Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Leesburg Monday. Traffic crawled along Fort Evans Road as carloads flooded into JR's Festival Lakes, the venue for the mid-morning campaign rally in support of the presidential bid of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Lt. Wesley Thompson of the Leesburg Police Department said early estimates showed the crowd numbered around 6,500 individuals who braved the frosty air in support of the Republican presidential ticket. Representatives of the McCain campaign offered estimates of some 8,000 attendees at Monday's rally. http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2008/10/27/news/fp375palinrally102708.txt *Just how big a drag is Palin on the McCain campaign? (McClatchy 10/27/08)* By David Lightman WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin has become a drag on the Republican presidential ticket, the first time in recent political history that a running mate has made such a difference. Among many independents and moderate Republicans, she's raised serious questions about John McCain's judgment, become too much of a national punch line and reinforced concerns about McCain's age and health. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/54836.html *Palin reserved in reaction to Stevens' verdict (AP 10/27/08)* By Matt Apuzzo WASHINGTON--Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has crafted a corruption-busting image as part of her Republican vice presidential campaign, wasn't talking tough Monday after Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted in a corruption case. Palin did not call on Stevens to resign or drop out of his tight re-election race. "I'm confident Senator Stevens will do what's right for the people of Alaska," Palin said in a statement. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/palin_reserved_in_reaction_to_stevens_verdict/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *Stevens verdict: Palin reacts (CNN blog 10/27/08)* By Peter Hamby RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Sarah Palin said Monday Sen. Ted Stevens' guilty verdict "is a sad day for Alaska." "This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family," she said on the tarmac at Richmond International Airport. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight, and that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/stevens-verdict-palin-reacts/ *Palin promises to work with Israel's ambassador (AP 10/27/08)* By Matthew Barakat Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, also tried to burnish her foreign policy credentials by meeting here with Israel's ambassador to the United States, apologizing for the session's delay. "I look forward to hearing about your work with the Jewish Agency and all the plans that we have," Palin told Ambassador Sallai Meridor. "We'll be working together." She was apparently referring to the Jewish Agency for Israel, an organization of which Meridor was formerly chairman. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/palin_pins_gop_hopes_on_virginia/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS ***The Stevens Verdict (WaPo 10/28/08)* Editorial After a career in public service that began before Alaska was a state, and just a week before Alaska voters are to decide whether he should be elected to a seventh full term, Mr. Stevens now faces likely defeat and the prospect of jail time. And for what? The amount of freebies that Mr. Stevens accepted to renovate his Alaska "chalet" is significant, but the individual components -- a Viking grill, a vibrating Shiatsu massage lounger, a five-foot steel sculpture of migrating salmon -- underscore the petty needlessness of Mr. Stevens's crime. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702395.html?nav=rss_opinions *Obama's not 'new' (LA Times 10/28/08)* By Jonah Goldberg There's an old saying: The oldest word in American politics is "new." Only in that sense is there anything new to Barack Obama. Obama prefers the word "progressive" to "liberal" because it makes it sound like he's shedding old liberal ideas. But if he is, it's only to embrace older ones. America first encountered the vision Obama espouses under Woodrow Wilson, the first progressive president, and the first to openly disparage the U.S. Constitution as a hindrance to enlightened government. His new idea was to replace it with a "living constitution" that empowered government to evolve beyond that document's constraints. The Bill of Rights, lamented the progressives, inhibited what the government can do to people, but it failed to delineate what it must do for people. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg28-2008oct28,0,1793687.column *Why McCain Lost Me (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Anne Applebaum The larger point, though, is that if I'm not voting for McCain -- and, after a long struggle, I've realized that I can't -- maybe it's worth explaining why, for I suspect there are other independent voters who feel the same. Particularly because it's not his campaign, disjointed though that has been, that finally repulses me: It's his rapidly deteriorating, increasingly anti-intellectual, no longer even recognizably conservative Republican Party. His problems are not technical; they do not have to do with ads, fundraising or tactics, as some have suggested. They are institutional; they have to do with his colleagues, advisers and supporters. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702406.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns *A Choice and an Echo (NYT 10/28/08)* By BOB HERBERT This election is hardly over, despite the impulse of the pundits to write the McCain campaign's obituary. But Senator McCain has diminished his chances of winning the presidency in many ways, the most important of which was his failure to grasp the most significant new trend in American politics. With the country facing enormous problems (even before the meltdown of the credit and financial markets in recent months), the voters wanted more substance from their candidates. They wanted a greater sense of maturity and a more civil approach to campaigning. They were tired of the politics of personal destruction and the playbook that counseled "attack, attack, attack." Senator Obama was perfectly suited to this new approach. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/opinion/28herbert.html?pagewanted=print *Campaign on Empty (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Eugene Robinson It's hard to imagine that a McCain presidency could possibly be as scattered, irresponsible, uninspiring and intellectually bankrupt as the McCain campaign. It's even harder to imagine that Americans, at this crucial juncture, will take that risk. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702408.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns *A Voting Rights Disaster? (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Christopher Edley Jr. Suppose in your neighborhood there are 600 registered voters per machine, while across town there are only 120 per machine. (That's a 5 to 1 disparity, which is what exists in some places in Virginia today.) On Election Day, your line wraps around the block and looks to be a four-hour wait, while in other areas lines are nonexistent. This ought to be a crime. It amounts to a "time-tax" on your right to vote, and some of your neighbors will undoubtedly give up and go home. This scenario raises three questions: Nationwide, will it discourage tens of thousands, or untold millions? Which presidential candidate and down-ballot candidates might benefit from this "tax"? And what can be done in the next few days? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702405.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns *Commentary: ACORN's actions threaten integrity of voting (CNN 10/27/08)* By Tara Wall Not only are these acts egregious -- but could be considered racist. Re-registering minority voters not only puts the vote they cast in jeopardy, but works against the very system set up to prevent disenfranchisement, and signals that it is OK to cheat to win. It's the same liberal elitist notion that one can't expect black students to learn at the same level as white students -- thus the cries for lowering the bar of standards for blacks (what former Education Secretary Rod Paige called the bigotry of low expectations). Hey, what's a little cheating, the system isn't fair so black folks shouldn't be expected to play fair. Is ACORN suggesting that blacks have to cheat to get what they want or that Sen. Barack Obama (whom ACORN endorsed) can't win without cheating? http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/wall.acorn/index.html?eref=rss_politics *Commentary: ACORN issue not vote fraud, but vote suppression (CNN 10/27/08) * By Donna Brazile The real threat here is the Republican Party using attacks on ACORN as a calculated strategy to justify massive challenges to the votes cast in Democratic-leaning voting precincts on Election Day. And this is what is truly outrageous, but where is John McCain's concern when it comes to people being harassed at the voting booth? The same Republican Party shouting "Voter fraud!" is also furiously trying to prevent Ohio from registering voters at early voting sites and suing to shut down some early voting sites in Indiana. Just as the GOP will use the so-called "Bradley effect" to explain away voting irregularities it created through voter suppression, it will use allegations of voter fraud to cover its efforts of voter suppression. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/brazile.acorn/index.html?eref=rss_politics *Palin's Love Boats (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Richard Cohen The cruises were sponsored by the National Review and the Weekly Standard, journals of significant influence in conservative circles. The ships disgorged some top conservative editors and writers, who on two occasions were invited at the governor's mansion. Almost to a man, they were thunderstruck. What followed, once everyone returned to the lower 48, was a gusher of mush -- praise, love notes, sweet nothings and, altogether, the sort of mooning one does not usually hear from the likes of William Kristol, Fred Barnes, Rich Lowry, Dick Morris and my Post colleague Michael Gerson. In short order, important writers set themselves the task, in print and on television, of promoting Palin and, in the process, making perfect asses of themselves. They succeeded at both. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702438.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns BUSH NEWS *Bush Aide Fleischer Courts Jewish Vote for McCain (WSJ 10/28/08)* By JOEL MILLMAN LAS VEGAS -- Ari Fleischer used to joust daily with skeptical reporters over controversies like the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq. These days, the former White House spokesman has taken on a new challenge: selling John McCain to Jewish voters, who usually vote overwhelmingly Democratic. While Sen. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, has slipped in polls nationwide, his backers hope that gains among typically Democratic Jewish voters can make a difference, especially in swing states with large Jewish populations. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122515447324574523.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy OTHER NEWS *Global finance could lose $2.8 trillion in crisis (Reuters 10/28/08)* By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Elizabeth Piper TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - The global financial system could lose $2.8 trillion to the credit crisis, the Bank of England said on Tuesday, before an expected interest rate cut in the United States that others are poised to match. Governments have agreed to inject around $4 trillion into banks and markets to contain the worst financial crisis in 80 years, which has forced stock markets to tumble and banks out of business, hastening a recession in much of the world. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49N5VU20081028?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews *Broward schools help teens cast their first votes (Miami Herald 10/28/08)* BY ROBERT SAMUELS Broward County Public Schools for the past week has organized bus trips to take students from high schools to polling locations. Monday was the county's busiest day so far, with students from eight high schools voting. By Wednesday, hundreds of registered first-time voters from 38 schools will be bused. Officials at the Miami-Dade Public Schools knew of no similar program in their county. http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/744236.html *More Denver voters must wait to mail in: Officials say missing ballots -- now topping 18,000 -- on their way (Denver Post 10/28/08)* By Tim Hoover The number of Denver voters who hadn't received their mail-in ballots jumped Monday from 11,000 to 18,000, officials with the Denver Elections Division said. But the missing ballots should be delivered to mailboxes today and Wednesday, officials said. The missing ballots arrived at a postal facility in Denver on Monday from Sequoia Voting Systems Inc., the California company that had failed to ship them earlier this month. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10831515 *One more week to go: Whoever wins Ohio may have to wait (Columbus Dispatch 10/28/08)* By Mark Niquette Lost in the controversy this fall about ACORN and verifying voter registrations is the question that had dominated election debate for much of the year: touch-screen voting machine or paper ballot? As a result of concerns about the reliability of touch-screens and long lines at the polls, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ordered Franklin County and the 52 other counties using the electronic machines to make paper ballots available on Election Day. But while elections officials say it's difficult to predict how many voters will opt for a paper ballot, they plan to count them only after all the electronic votes are tallied -- meaning final vote totals could be delayed in some counties until early in the day after the election. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/28/paper.ART_ART_10-28-08_A1_SUBNML1.html?sid=101 *Provisional Ballots Get Uneven Treatment (WSJ 10/28/08)* By EVAN PEREZ WASHINGTON -- Provisional ballots, one of the fixes the government implemented following the disputed 2000 election, are often proving to be a poor substitute for the real thing. A 2002 law, the Help America Vote Act, requires states to issue provisional ballots to voters whose eligibility is uncertain when they arrive at the polling station. But in an election system that gives state and county officials wide discretion in managing elections, voters get varying treatment depending on where they live. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122515651921374669.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy *30 Florida counties won't follow state's voter ID suggestion (Miami Herald 10/28/08)* By Curtis Morgan and Charles Rabin Florida's Broward and Miami-Dade counties have announced that they will buck the state's recommendations for handling voters flagged by the controversial Florida Voter Verification Law on election day, streamlining the process to require less paperwork from challenged voters. The state's final unverified list, released Monday, leaves the voting status of more than 12,000 newly registered voters in limbo unless they can clear up identification mismatches in driver's license and Social Security databases. Miami-Dade ranked at the top of the list, with nearly a quarter of the so-called ''no match'' voters. Broward, with 13 percent, ranked No. 3, just behind Orange County. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/story/54858.html *Indiana official seeks criminal probe of ACORN (CNN blog 10/28/08)* By Martina Stewart (CNN) -- Indiana's secretary of state has requested a criminal investigation into the embattled community organizing group ACORN, which is accused of submitting hundreds of bogus voter registration forms in northern Lake County. The request is based on Secretary of State Todd Rokita's preliminary examination and analysis of 1,438 questionable voter registration applications ACORN submitted in the county, which includes the city of Gary. Rokita, a Republican, has concluded there is "significant, credible evidence" that ACORN violated Indiana and federal law. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/indiana-official-seeks-criminal-probe-of-acorn/ *Virginia has issue with some overseas ballots (CNN blog 10/27/08)* By Martina Stewart The ballots have fallen victim to the interplay between state and federal law and a rare set of factual circumstances. Federal law allows members of the U.S. military and other voters living overseas to vote in the general election using a federal write-in absentee ballot. The problem has been caused by the fact that when a Virginia voter decides to use the federal write-in absentee ballot both as a ballot to cast a vote and as an absentee ballot application, a separate Virginia law requires that the paperwork submitted by the voter include the address of the person acting as a witness for the voter. But here's the issue: neither the federal absentee write-in ballot itself nor its instructions mentions Virginia's requirement that the witness's address be included. In fact, the ballot form doesn't even have a space to write down the witness address which Virginia requires. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/virginia-set-to-decide-how-to-deal-with-problematic-overseas-ballots/ *NAACP sues Virginia governor over Election Day preparations (CNN blog 10/28/08)* (CNN) -- The Virginia branch of the NAACP sued Gov. Tim Kaine and state election officials on Monday, claiming that the state is "inadequately prepared" for the record number of voters expected to turn out in next week's presidential election. The complaint, filed Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Richmond, says state officials have not set up enough polling sites to keep up with the turnout. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/naacp-sues-virginia-governor-over-election-day-preparations/ *Lawsuit alleges voters in Colorado illegally purged from rolls (CNN blog 10/28/08)* By Martina Stewart (CNN) - A lawsuit was filed late last week against Mike Coffman, Colorado's Republican Secretary of State alleging that thousands of voters were purged from the battleground state's rolls in violation of federal law. "Legitimate voters should have their voices heard," Jenny Flanagan, the Executive Director of Colorado Common Cause, said in a statement. "By returning wrongfully purged voters to the list we can ensure their rights are protected," she added. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/lawsuit-alleges-voters-in-colorado-illegally-purged-from-rolls/ *Some voters 'purged' from voter rolls (CNN 10/27/08)* By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein Berry is one of more than 50,000 registered Georgia voters who have been "flagged" because of a computer mismatch in their personal identification information. At least 4,500 of those people are having their citizenship questioned and the burden is on them to prove eligibility to vote. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html?eref=rss_politics *A Georgia ruling (Politico blog 10/27/08)* By Ben Smith Democrats are on a bit of a roll in state and federal courts on voting issues. The latest ruling (.pdf) enjoins the Georgia Secretary of State from using an apparently flawed system for verifying voters' citizenship. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Another_court_win_for_the_Democrats.html?showall *N.H. Senate Race Illustrates The Dismal Climate for GOP (WaPo 10/28/08)* By Alec MacGillis This year, though, New Hampshire voters also appear to want change. It is a sign of how dismal the climate is for Republicans that Sununu, a rising GOP prospect at age 44, faces daunting odds despite a reputation as a capable, if not particularly charismatic, senator and a fiscally conservative profile that is a good fit for the state. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102703023.html?nav=rss_politics *Social conservatives fight for control of Republican Party (LA Times 10/28/08)* By Peter Wallsten Reporting from Washington -- The social conservatives and moderates who together boosted the Republican Party to dominance have begun a tense battle over the future of the GOP, with social conservatives already moving to seize control of the party's machinery and some vowing to limit John McCain's influence, even if he wins the presidency. In skirmishes around the country in recent months, evangelicals and others who believe Republicans have been too timid in fighting abortion, gay marriage and illegal immigration have won election to the party's national committee, in preparation for a fight over the direction and leadership of the party. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-gop28-2008oct28,0,3963149.story *U.S. Mulls Talks With Taliban in Bid to Quell Afghan Unrest (WSJ 10/28/08)* By YOCHI J. DREAZEN, SIOBHAN GORMAN and JAY SOLOMON WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is actively considering talks with elements of the Taliban, the armed Islamist group that once ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al Qaeda, in a major policy shift that would have been unthinkable a few months ago. Senior White House and military officials believe that engaging some levels of the Taliban -- while excluding top leaders -- could help reverse a pronounced downward spiral in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Both countries have been destabilized by a recent wave of violence. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122515124350674269.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy *US official says raid on Syria killed head of network that sent foreign fighters to Iraq (AP 10/27/08)* By ZEINA KARAM and HUSSEIN MALLA SUKKARIYEH, Syria (AP) -- A cross-border raid by U.S. special forces killed the al-Qaida-linked head of a Syrian network that smuggled fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq, an American counterterrorism official said Monday. Blood stained the earth in this border village as anguished Syrians buried relatives they said were killed in the U.S. helicopter attack Sunday. Some shouted anti-American slogans and carried banners reading "Down with Bush and the American enemy." The operation targeted the home of Abu Ghadiyah, the nickname for the leader of a key cell of foreign fighters in Iraq, the U.S. official told The Associated Press from Washington. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive intelligence. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SYRIA_US_RAID?SITE=ILROR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT *Al Qaeda was U.S. target in Syrian attack, official says (CNN 10/27/08)* WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military conducted a successful strike into Syria on Sunday to kill a suspected al Qaeda facilitator, a U.S. official said Monday. The American official, who would not be identified but who has access to U.S. intelligence, identified the intended target of the attack as "Abu Ghadiya," an Iraqi whose family the official said has been active in smuggling money, weapons and foreign fighters across the Syrian border into Iraq. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/27/syria.iraq/index.html?eref=rss_topstories *Osama bin Laden aide and Pentagon defense lawyer boycotting 2nd Gitmo trial (AP 10/27/08)* By DAVID McFADDEN GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- A Yemeni man accused of being Al-Qaida's former media director and his Pentagon-appointed lawyer refused to talk Monday, but their boycott didn't stop a military judge from beginning Guantanamo's second war crimes trial. Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, facing a possible life sentence, sat silently at his defense table in a tan prison jumpsuit. His lawyer, Air Force Maj. David Frakt, said al-Bahlul was boycotting Guantanamo's second war-crimes trial because he rejects a military attorney and has been barred from representing himself. Frakt then declared he would also remain silent while in the courtroom in respect of al-Bahlul's wishes. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_GUANTANAMO_MILITARY_TRIAL?SITE=ILROR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT *Stevens guilty on 7 counts, won't quit Senate race (AP 10/27/08)* By MATT APUZZO and JESSE J. HOLLAND WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ted Stevens, a pillar of the Senate for 40 years and the face of Alaska politics almost since statehood, was convicted of a seven-felony string of corruption charges Monday - found guilty of accepting a bonanza of home renovations and fancy trimmings from an oil executive and then lying about it. Unbowed, even defiant, Stevens accused prosecutors of blatant misconduct and said, "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have." http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STEVENS_TRIAL?SITE=CAGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT *Senator Convicted on Corruption Charges, Vows to Fight Verdict (ABC News 10/27/08)* By JASON RYAN, PIERRE THOMAS and THERESA COOK Though a jury in Washington, D.C. has convicted Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on federal corruption charges, casting doubt on the future of his 40-year political career, the senator maintains his innocence and blames the verdict on "prosecutorial misconduct." http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6088781&page=1 *Sen. Stevens' career cloudy after conviction (AP 10/28/08)* By MATT APUZZO and JESSE J. HOLLAND Stevens, who first entered the Senate in 1968, now faces Alaska's voters next week as a convicted felon - increasing the difficulty in a tough race against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. But the famously stubborn Stevens is not giving up, asking supporters in Alaska and the Senate to stand by him as he appeals his conviction. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STEVENS_TRIAL?SITE=VTBRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT *Stevens verdict likely to inch Dems closer to 'magic 60¡ä (CNN blog 10/27/08)* By Alexander Mooney (CNN) - Ted Steven's guilty verdict Monday afternoon could mean the end of the Alaska lawmaker's 40-year tenure in the Senate and serve to inch the already emboldened Democratic Party closer to 60 seats in the Senate, recent polls of the Alaska race suggest. In an Ivan Moore Research poll of the Alaska Senate race conducted earlier this month, entirely before the verdict was handed down, Stevens and Democratic challenger Mark Begich were statistically tied. Several other recent surveys have also suggested the race is neck-and-neck. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/27/stevens-verdict-more-bad-news-for-republicans/ POLLS *Barack Obama's Support is Broadly Based; John McCain Makes Up Ground on Economy (ABC News 10/27/08)* By GARY LANGER Obama last week held an almost identical, 18-point advantage on the economy -- but it's eased to 10 points in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll, its closest in a month. That narrowing on the economy has occurred disproportionately among movable voters, the roughly one in 10 who say they haven't made up their minds for sure. http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=6119708&page=1 *Poll: Obama with slight lead over McCain in NH (AP 10/27/08)* THE NUMBERS: 50 percent Barack Obama, 45 percent John McCain. OF INTEREST: A day after a Boston Globe poll showed Obama with a 15-percentage point lead in New Hampshire, the Marist College poll shows him with only a slight lead. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/poll_obama_with_slight_lead_over_mccain_in_nh/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories *Poll shows Obama, McCain about even in Missouri (AP 10/27/08)* THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama 48 percent, John McCain 47 percent. OF INTEREST: The poll shows the Obama and McCain roughly even in Missouri. More than half of those polled (52 percent) said they trusted Obama more to handle the economy, but a majority (53 percent) said they trusted McCain more to lead the battle against terrorism. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/27/poll_shows_obama_mccain_about_even_in_missouri/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories * * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. To post to this group, send to bigcampaign@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe, send email to bigcampaign-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com E-mail lori@progressiveaccountability.org with questions or concerns This is a list of individuals. It is not affiliated with any group or organization. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---