Perhaps this is the first election that cannot be easily predicted. There are so many factors that come into play when trying to predict the election. If you are looking at the polls, you come out with one set of results. If you look at racial biases you get a completely different set of results, and again a different sets looking at campaign visits. Can anyone predict this election?
And that seemed to be the main concerned all throughout this week. It's crunch-time for both campaigns. With election day only 2 days away, there are many concerns for the McCain campaign as to whether or not it is still possible to win. For the Obama supporters, many wonder if racial bias is somehow shadowing in many of the polls. Both are major concerns that can only be put to rest on Election night.
This week there has been a lot of talk about this election. It is the first time in eight years that we will be electing a non-incumbent president. So the vote and election seems all that more important.
The top five discussed objects this week were: 1) 270 to win 2) McCain does not equal Bush 3) Nervous Democrats... Jinxed election? 4) Final Push before Tuesday 5) SNL Factor
Sunday, November 2, 2008
McCain is not President Bush, but he does credit him
McCain has been distancing himself from the Bush Administration for weeks now. The Obama campaign has been framing every possible clip to associate McCain with President Bush and his administration. Looking President Bush's approval ratings, it's no wonder why McCain would want to distance himself. So why then, did McCain give President Bush credit? It was probably a last minute attempt to sway Pennsylvania. The Obama campaign would be proud for the way that the NY Times framed this article.
Accessed Sunday November 2 at Noon
Accessed Sunday November 2 at Noon
Friday, October 31, 2008
Hopeful Republicans. Nervous Democrats.
So most of the polls in the past weeks have put Obama winning on Tuesday. Butjust like what happens when they think they are going to win, and then don't.... some Obama fans fear that the exact same thing will happen this Election Day. Call it superstition or just being cautious, many are looking at the past two elections and think that it could be too good to be true. One concern that these poll watchers have is the idea of race in the polls. Some people might say that they are voting for Obama, when in reality they will be voting for McCain and just didn't want to seem racist.
This article frames the idea of the election in terms of desperation. Desperation that if things don't go as planned, the exact opposite could happen. In a reverse psychology kind of way, it is encouraging voters, liberal and conservative alike. For Democrats, its a way to ensure a win; for Republicans, its a chance at hope. But for Independent voters, it just makes it all the more confusing in a make or break situation.
This article frames the idea of the election in terms of desperation. Desperation that if things don't go as planned, the exact opposite could happen. In a reverse psychology kind of way, it is encouraging voters, liberal and conservative alike. For Democrats, its a way to ensure a win; for Republicans, its a chance at hope. But for Independent voters, it just makes it all the more confusing in a make or break situation.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
This week on the 'Times'
"I am not George Bush," McCain said to Obama at the last debate.
The Obama campaign seems to think differently, and it has been trying to associate McCain with President Bush in every way possible. The ideas and philosophies of the Republican party and President Bush that people have grown to fear have crept into Obama's rallies. One week left to go and he is speaking about the trickle down affect and how similar Bush and McCain really are. If Obama had such a lead, why is he resorting to negative rallying?
Another short article touched on Palin speaking out about her wardrobe. The article was framed so that appeared like this was the biggest thing bothering Palin, not the issues of the election, even though the article ended in her wanting to move on to the more important issues. Palin did state that the designer clothes that she has been wearing are all property of the Republican National Convention and she "[isn't taking them with her]."
Is it too late for McCain and Palin to pull ahead? One of the key things that everyone has been talking about when it comes to the election is the polls. For example, West Virigina, was originally a very strong McCain state with 11% over Obama in the polls. A recent poll came out placing Obama less than 6% behind McCain in WV (West Virginia Wesleyan College, Orion Media Poll). But according to the NY Times article, McCain stated that he "does not believe the polls" are showing him at a significant disadvantage. Is he trying to stay positive when he says that he is happy where his campaign is right now, or is he just relieved that he won't be president during this hard financial crisis.
Top stories that the New York Times has been covering this week are; 1. Obama's lead 2. Obama's sick grandmother 3. McCain's hopeful campaign 4. Palin's fashion 5. The Looming Economy
Accessed October 26, 2008 7:45 pm.
The Obama campaign seems to think differently, and it has been trying to associate McCain with President Bush in every way possible. The ideas and philosophies of the Republican party and President Bush that people have grown to fear have crept into Obama's rallies. One week left to go and he is speaking about the trickle down affect and how similar Bush and McCain really are. If Obama had such a lead, why is he resorting to negative rallying?
Another short article touched on Palin speaking out about her wardrobe. The article was framed so that appeared like this was the biggest thing bothering Palin, not the issues of the election, even though the article ended in her wanting to move on to the more important issues. Palin did state that the designer clothes that she has been wearing are all property of the Republican National Convention and she "[isn't taking them with her]."
Is it too late for McCain and Palin to pull ahead? One of the key things that everyone has been talking about when it comes to the election is the polls. For example, West Virigina, was originally a very strong McCain state with 11% over Obama in the polls. A recent poll came out placing Obama less than 6% behind McCain in WV (West Virginia Wesleyan College, Orion Media Poll). But according to the NY Times article, McCain stated that he "does not believe the polls" are showing him at a significant disadvantage. Is he trying to stay positive when he says that he is happy where his campaign is right now, or is he just relieved that he won't be president during this hard financial crisis.
Top stories that the New York Times has been covering this week are; 1. Obama's lead 2. Obama's sick grandmother 3. McCain's hopeful campaign 4. Palin's fashion 5. The Looming Economy
Accessed October 26, 2008 7:45 pm.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hope for McCain?
After first traveling to Liberty University over fall break, and then getting distracted by my senior thesis that is due in less than a week, I have unintentionally forgotten about blogging.
It isn't hard to see in the "liberal" news media that the McCain/Palin campaign is losing. There have been many recent news articles and polls suggesting that the election is basically over regardless of Obama leaving the campaign trail to visit his grandmother today. But is there hope in sight? The NY Times released an article yesterday that compared McCain's position to the position of Vice President Gore one week before the 2000 election. As many will recall, that race ended a very close one.
Regardless of this comparison, they point out that as November 4th grows closer, it will become even harder for McCain to close the gap and pull ahead. Many of the McCain supporters have thrown in the towel and decided that for 2008, this election is over. But for those optimists (and I am one of them) what objects are being watched? It is the states, issues, polls, and turnouts.
So to sum it up, here is what has to happen. In addition to the states that considered to be "red," McCain must hold on to and win Indiana, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. This will put him at 260 of the 270 votes to win. Then through a combination of other smaller states such as: Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Mexico, he could pull ahead. But it won't be an easy task to get all of those states in such a short period of time.
Another issue is the Biden factor, which many have predicted would show up during the race at some point or another. Recently he has made the remark that if Obama were to win the election, his presidency would be tested within the first month. I think one of the key factors here is that the Obama campaign has done nothing to rebut this critical remark. And with Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama, race once again rises to the forefront, which makes you wonder just how big of an issue race will be inside the ballot box on November 4th.
The final issue, the NY Times states that the Obama Campaign is not a bit worried about the turnout. But should they be? The McCain campaign has been studying just how hard it is for a first-time voter to go from registering to actually going to the polls on election day. This year, a great majority of voters say that they will vote for Obama. You can bet that the McCain/Palin ticket is hoping that it is just as hard for them as their studies predict, especially in areas where there are hours of long waiting just to vote.
Accessed October 24 at 3:30pm
It isn't hard to see in the "liberal" news media that the McCain/Palin campaign is losing. There have been many recent news articles and polls suggesting that the election is basically over regardless of Obama leaving the campaign trail to visit his grandmother today. But is there hope in sight? The NY Times released an article yesterday that compared McCain's position to the position of Vice President Gore one week before the 2000 election. As many will recall, that race ended a very close one.
Regardless of this comparison, they point out that as November 4th grows closer, it will become even harder for McCain to close the gap and pull ahead. Many of the McCain supporters have thrown in the towel and decided that for 2008, this election is over. But for those optimists (and I am one of them) what objects are being watched? It is the states, issues, polls, and turnouts.
So to sum it up, here is what has to happen. In addition to the states that considered to be "red," McCain must hold on to and win Indiana, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. This will put him at 260 of the 270 votes to win. Then through a combination of other smaller states such as: Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Mexico, he could pull ahead. But it won't be an easy task to get all of those states in such a short period of time.
Another issue is the Biden factor, which many have predicted would show up during the race at some point or another. Recently he has made the remark that if Obama were to win the election, his presidency would be tested within the first month. I think one of the key factors here is that the Obama campaign has done nothing to rebut this critical remark. And with Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama, race once again rises to the forefront, which makes you wonder just how big of an issue race will be inside the ballot box on November 4th.
The final issue, the NY Times states that the Obama Campaign is not a bit worried about the turnout. But should they be? The McCain campaign has been studying just how hard it is for a first-time voter to go from registering to actually going to the polls on election day. This year, a great majority of voters say that they will vote for Obama. You can bet that the McCain/Palin ticket is hoping that it is just as hard for them as their studies predict, especially in areas where there are hours of long waiting just to vote.
Accessed October 24 at 3:30pm
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Weekly Update
In the past couple of weeks, there have been many news articles to support the idea that McCain is decreasing in his popularity in the polls. This past week the articles have been focused on the second presidential debate, analysis of the debate, more updates on the economy, and the disheartening news about Sarah Palin's results of the "Troopergate scandal."
There was a lot of political talk. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go and work at Buckhannon's Republican Headquarters. Many of the people that I met at the headquarters seemed to be very close-minded on politics. I was a little disappointed that they seemed to be very close-minded and misquoted a lot of information. I didn't think to ask them what news source they had gotten their information from, but if I had to guess, it would be from word of mouth. On the same night at the Debate-Watch, people discussed the debate for a little bit afterwards, many people were talking about their predictions for who would win. Most thought that Barack Obama would win, probably as a result of information from more liberal news sources. Also, Shelley Moore Capito came to visit the school on Thursday evening in the Cat's Claw. At the tables before and after her presentation, friends started to talk about the political issues and the election.
The five top issues covered this week: 1)Debate 2)Economy 3)Trooper-gate 4)McCain's campaign 5)Obama's block by block approach
There was a lot of political talk. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to go and work at Buckhannon's Republican Headquarters. Many of the people that I met at the headquarters seemed to be very close-minded on politics. I was a little disappointed that they seemed to be very close-minded and misquoted a lot of information. I didn't think to ask them what news source they had gotten their information from, but if I had to guess, it would be from word of mouth. On the same night at the Debate-Watch, people discussed the debate for a little bit afterwards, many people were talking about their predictions for who would win. Most thought that Barack Obama would win, probably as a result of information from more liberal news sources. Also, Shelley Moore Capito came to visit the school on Thursday evening in the Cat's Claw. At the tables before and after her presentation, friends started to talk about the political issues and the election.
The five top issues covered this week: 1)Debate 2)Economy 3)Trooper-gate 4)McCain's campaign 5)Obama's block by block approach
Friday, October 10, 2008
Trooper Gate.. Ill Fate?
Accessed October 10 at 9:30pm
The top story tonight on the New York Times was an update on Palin's scandal in firing the public safety commissioner. The title was, "Panel Finds Palin Abused Authority in Firing State Official." The article calls attention to the fact that one of the reasons that she fired the commissioner was because of a family grudge. Very briefly does it mention that there were other reasons as well.
If you don't know the basic story, read on. While Palin was governor, her sister was going through a divorce with Trooper Michael Wooten (the "trooper" of the "troopergate"). There was evidence that supported the idea that Gov. Palin pushed the commissioner to fire her brother-in-law. When the commissior refused, she fired him (Walter Monegan).
The view that the NY Times portrays is that Palin abuses power that is not rightfully hers. What would she do as the vice-president? The update included information about the extensive report that the panel released this evening. The article also suggests that Palin has been less than cooperative since her nomination to the cnadidacy. The 1,000+ page report has been debated by a few Republican Alaskan politicians stating that it was an attack against Palin, but after the decline of the appeal, we could see this report published very soon.
The top story tonight on the New York Times was an update on Palin's scandal in firing the public safety commissioner. The title was, "Panel Finds Palin Abused Authority in Firing State Official." The article calls attention to the fact that one of the reasons that she fired the commissioner was because of a family grudge. Very briefly does it mention that there were other reasons as well.
If you don't know the basic story, read on. While Palin was governor, her sister was going through a divorce with Trooper Michael Wooten (the "trooper" of the "troopergate"). There was evidence that supported the idea that Gov. Palin pushed the commissioner to fire her brother-in-law. When the commissior refused, she fired him (Walter Monegan).
The view that the NY Times portrays is that Palin abuses power that is not rightfully hers. What would she do as the vice-president? The update included information about the extensive report that the panel released this evening. The article also suggests that Palin has been less than cooperative since her nomination to the cnadidacy. The 1,000+ page report has been debated by a few Republican Alaskan politicians stating that it was an attack against Palin, but after the decline of the appeal, we could see this report published very soon.
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