Real Answers, Not Rhetoric!

Commentary: Give real answers on the economy

By Campbell Brown
CNN

NEW YORK (CNN) -- On the eve of the third and final debate, a plea to the presidential candidates: Please don't tell us that as president you are going to have to make some tough decisions.

Yes, you are. We get that. We know that. We're in the middle of a financial crisis that analysts keep telling us is unlike anything we've been through as a country since the Great Depression. Families are at this moment losing their savings, losing their homes, losing their jobs.

We understand that if elected president you are going to have to make some tough decisions. That was Barack Obama's answer at the first debate when he was asked what he would give up among all his proposals and promises, given the financial mess. Watch Campell ask for specifics »

His response was about as nonspecific an answer as I have ever heard. And he only gave that answer after he was asked the question by the moderator three times.

At the second debate, his answer was even less helpful. He ignored the question entirely, again talking in vague generalities. I assume Sen. Obama has a sense of the magnitude of the economic challenges we are facing, but those answers sound like they are coming from someone living in la-la land.

John McCain also tried to avoid the question at first and then fell back on a plan he had proposed in April, well before the financial crisis.

At the first debate it took three tries for Sen. McCain to answer, finally repeating his call for a freeze on all discretionary spending with a few exceptions. Whether you love or hate his idea, that is a separate debate, but compared to what we are getting from Obama, McCain at least has offered something concrete.

From both candidates, we need real answers. And please don't tell us that you are going to cut pork barrel spending and scrub the waste out of every bloated federal agency. I mean, name a political candidate who hasn't promised to cut the fat and eliminate waste in government. Please, no bull. Be straight with us, we can take it. Americans understand the stakes. Just give us brutal honesty, because so far we are not really getting it.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Drudge: Don’t believe the Dem hype

Pollster: Don’t believe the Dem hype

By Joe Dwinell & Jessica Fargen

The presidential race is still too close to call and could come down to the very last weekend before voters decide if they like or distrust Barack Obama, a national pollster predicts.

“I don’t think Obama has closed the deal yet,” pollster John Zogby told the Herald yesterday.

Zogby’s latest poll, released yesterday in conjunction with C-Span and Reuters, shows Obama and John McCain in a statistical dead heat, with the Illinois Democrat up 48-45 percent.

Zogby said the race mirrors the 1980 election, when voters didn’t embrace Ronald Reagan over then-President Jimmy Carter until just days before the election.

“The Sunday before the election the dam burst,” Zogby said of the 1980 tilt. “That’s when voters determined they were comfortable with Reagan.”

Now voters are wrestling with two senators with opposite resumes - Obama, at 47, the unknown, and the established 72-year-old McCain.

Zogby said he’s still hearing from moderates and non-partisan voters - what he calls “the big middle” - who are still shopping for a candidate.

“It still can break one way or the other,” Zogby says.

The Numbers

The three-day survey polled 1,220 likely voters - about 400 people a day. Zogby will continuously poll right up until the November election.

The latest poll numbers may reflect the bump that McCain received after his running mate, Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin sparred with Obama’s running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden during the first and only vice presidential debate last week.

The poll shows that the two White House contenders have no problem attracting support from their own parties.

Obama is winning 84 percent of the Democratic Party support and McCain has 85 percent of the GOP support, but Obama has the edge among sought-after Independent voters.

He leads McCain among independents, 48 percent to 39 percent, according to the poll.

Obama also has support from a slightly higher percent of conservative voters than McCain gets from liberal voters, but the advantage is small, according to the poll.

Pollsters surveyed 1,220 likely voters and asked approximately 39 questions. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

CNN's Glenn Beck: Voting against Obama doesn't make you a racist

By Glenn Beck
CNN.com

Editor's note: Glenn Beck is on CNN Headline News nightly at 7 and 9 ET and also is host of a conservative national radio talk show.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- With a little less than a month before the election, this week started with a re-examination of Barack Obama's association with William Ayers.

Voting against Barack Obama or Sarah Palin doesn't make someone a racist or sexist, according to Glenn Beck.

Whether holding a career-launching state Senate campaign event at the home of an unrepentant terrorist should disqualify you from the presidency is up to the people to decide. I tend to see it as a rather low bar to clear if you're going to run the world, but hey, that's just me.

The defense on Ayers from the Obama camp is that they're not friends -- Ayers was "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," as Obama said. This strikes me as a strange argument from the same campaign that ran Spanish-language ads attempting to disparage McCain by highlighting his "Republican friends" like Rush Limbaugh.

Besides the fact that Rush isn't a terrorist and had to be completely taken out of context in the attempt to smear him -- Limbaugh and McCain are best known for their adversarial relationship. Rush has spent the better part of a decade mocking him, most recently on the specific stance that was the focus of the commercial, immigration reform.

If Rush qualifies as McCain's friend, then William Ayers might as well be Barack Obama's fiancé.

But as The Associated Press claimed, even mentioning the association with Ayers, as Sarah Palin did in a speech earlier in the week, signifies a hidden "racial tinge." Is anyone else getting tired of this? Any and every time a question of Obama's history or record is asked, there is always someone to blame it on racism.

Remember, William Ayers is a pasty white guy like me. Shouldn't the fact that Palin is criticizing a white terrorist show that it's not his color -- but his terrorism -- that she's not fond of? Instead, the AP tries to make the case that voters will think Obama is "not like us" since "terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims." Right, because nothing dredges up visions of radical Muslims with box-cutters like a guy named Bill.

Just ridiculous.

That wasn't enough to convince Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who said, "He's 'not one of us'? That's racial. That's fear. They know they can't win on the issues, so the last resort they have is race and fear." He also added, "They are trying to throw out these codes."

I didn't know about the secret white person code language, but I'm hoping there's a secret handshake too.

Earlier, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said essentially the same thing: "I think the notion that, 'By the way, have any of you noticed that Barack Obama is part African-American?' -- that may be a factor. All of the code language, all that doesn't show up in polls and that may be a factor for some people."

Note to all white people -- remember to grab your secret racist decoder ring in each box of Cracker Jacks for Crackers.

The New York Observer found no shortage of New York politicians willing to go on the record with their accusations of racism:

"Racism is alive and well in this country, and McCain and Palin are trying to appeal to that and it's unfortunate." -- Rep. Ed Towns

"They are obviously playing on people's fears and prejudices in a desperate way. While not explicitly relating to race, they are clearly creating the opportunity for those inclined to come to those conclusions." -- State Sen. Bill Perkins

"If you have to remind people that Barack Obama is African-American, you have reached the bottom." -- State Sen. Kevin Parker

"Who exactly is Joe Six-Pack and who are these hockey moms? That's what I'd like to know. ... Is that supposed to be terminology that is of common ground to all Americans? I don't find that. It leaves a lot of people out." -- Rep. Yvette Clarke

It's worth noting that all of this comes from the same state and the same party as Hillary Clinton. If you're of the mindset that all Republicans are racist and therefore deserve these attacks, remember what happened to Hillary and her husband during the primaries. If the "first black president" can be vilified over claims of racism, what person that dares to criticize Obama can escape the same fate?

Charges of racism have even entered the financial meltdown. One recent criticism by conservatives has surrounded the Community Reinvestment Act. This act, passed in 1977 under Jimmy Carter and then strengthened by Bill Clinton, pressured mortgage companies to lend to those with poor credit and lower income. You might think that putting the government's endorsement of the loosening of lending standards under the microscope in the middle of a global financial crisis would be a no-brainer.

Well, not to House Financial Services Committee chair Barney Frank: "The bizarre notion that the Community Reinvestment Act ... somehow is the cause of the whole problem, [conservatives] don't mind that. ... They're aware that the affordable-housing goals of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [and] the Community Reinvestment Act [aim to help] poor people. And let's be honest, the fact that some poor people are black doesn't hurt either from their standpoint."

I guess when you're on record in July of this year saying "I think this is a case where Fannie and Freddie are fundamentally sound, that they are not in danger of going under," the only thing you can do is play the race card.

I'm not sure if this is the new kind of politics we were promised by Barack Obama, but I don't think it's the change most people have in mind. This random name-calling just winds up hurting legitimate claims of racism, which do exist. But they risk being taken far less seriously, if the constant crying of wolf continues.

The truth is, voting against Barack Obama doesn't make you a racist, just like voting against Sarah Palin doesn't make you a sexist. The vast majority of regular Americans understand that. If politicians could catch up and restrain themselves from trying to exploit our differences for their own gain -- we'd all be better off.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

CNN's Campbell Brown: Race-baiting wrong, but so is over-reaction

Campbell Brown says race is an unavoidable issue in the campaign, but both sides should be careful.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Look everybody, we all know we are in uncharted territory here. Never before has there been an African-American presidential nominee. So without question, race is going to be a part of the conversation.

Race-baiting doesn't have to be and yet it is happening in this campaign. Twice this week, surrogates for Republican candidate Sen. John McCain have made a point of calling Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Barack "Hussein" Obama.

The implication here is clear. It's foreign sounding. It's Muslim sounding. It's un-American sounding. It's dangerous-sounding. What it is, is race-baiting. And that is what is dangerous.

Inciting crowds, encouraging their angry outbursts, McCain supporters shouting "treason" and "terrorist" about Obama at these rallies -- that's dangerous. Earlier in the campaign, McCain denounced this stuff. He strongly denounced it. And today it requires a stronger response, a much stronger denunciation than a campaign-generated paper statement.

But let's also be careful here and use our heads. Some Obama supporters on the left are up in arms over something McCain said at the debate Tuesday night -- when he referred to Obama as, "that one."

McCain: It was an energy bill on the floor of the senate, loaded down with goodies. Billions for the oil companies. And it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? Might never know. That one.

Some people have interpreted that comment as having racial undertones. Give me a break.

I can hear my grandfather talking about one of his kids or grandkids as "that one." He used it a lot. Maybe it's a generational thing. Maybe it wasn't a term of endearment the way it was when my grandfather used it. Maybe McCain did mean to be disrespectful. But racist? I don't think so.

You know, we should be holding these candidates accountable for what they say during this campaign and hope that in these final days they do try to maintain a little dignity. But we've also got to check ourselves. We've got a responsibility, too, to not get over-heated. What we say matters, too.

Whoever wins this election, we are all going to have to rally around that person. Given what is happening to our economy, all that is going on in this country right now, none of us wants the next president to be a failure, whoever he may be. Do we?

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Obama's Plane Smells

October 7, 2008, 3:24 PM

Reporter's Notebook: Seeing How The Other Half Lives

Posted by Dean Reynolds| Comment at CBSnews.com

(CBS)

From CBS News' Dean Reynolds:

(NASHVILLE, TENN.) - After most of the previous 12 months covering Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, it was interesting, instructive and, well, relaxing to follow John McCain for the last few days. The differences between the two are striking.

Obama is the big time orator, McCain is the guy who struggles with a teleprompter or even note cards strategically placed nearby. Obama's crowds are larger, more enthusiastic. McCain's events are smaller, but to my eye, better choreographed. And now with the addition of Sarah Palin to some of his events, McCain can boast of crowds that match Obama's in energy.

There is an urgency to the McCain campaign now that I don't think was there before. Due to the fact that he is running second, no doubt, but it may also be because McCain has a finishing kick. Whatever the case, he is sharper on the stump than he was before. (Though I would suspect a candidate running behind would want to schedule two or three appearances per day, instead of the one McCain usually does.)

It is true that McCain enjoys taking questions from the audience in town hall-style settings. That doesn't mean he is the master of that kind of forum, it just means he's good at it. He likes to converse with voters. Obama does it well too, but seldom achieves that intangible bond with the people that all politicians crave -- or fake.

Behind the scenes, where the public is not allowed, there are other differences.

Obama's campaign schedule is fuller, more hectic and seemingly improvisational. The Obama aides who deal with the national reporters on the campaign plane are often overwhelmed, overworked and un-informed about where, when, why or how the candidate is moving about. Baggage calls are preposterously early with the explanation that it's all for security reasons.

If so, I would love to have someone from Obama's campaign explain why the entire press corps, the Secret Service, and the local police idled for two hours in a Miami hotel parking lot recently because there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. It was not an isolated case.

The national headquarters in Chicago airily dismisses complaints from journalists wondering why a schedule cannot be printed up or at least e-mailed in time to make coverage plans. Nor is there much sympathy for those of us who report for a newscast that airs in the early evening hours. Our shows place a premium on live reporting from the scene of campaign events. But this campaign can often be found in the air and flying around at the time the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" is broadcast. I suspect there is a feeling within the Obama campaign that the broadcast networks are less influential in the age of the internet and thus needn't be accomodated as in the days of yore. Even if it's true, they are only hurting themselves by dissing audiences that run in the tens of millions every night.

The McCain folks are more helpful and generally friendly. The schedules are printed on actual books you can hold in your hand, read, and then plan accordingly. The press aides are more knowledgeable and useful to us in the news media. The events are designed with a better eye, and for the simple needs of the press corps. When he is available, John McCain is friendly and loquacious. Obama holds news conferences, but seldom banters with the reporters who've been following him for thousands of miles around the country. Go figure.

The McCain campaign plane is better than Obama's, which is cramped, uncomfortable and smells terrible most of the time. Somehow the McCain folks manage to keep their charter clean, even where the press is seated.

The other day in Albuquerque, N.M., the reporters were given almost no time to file their reports after McCain spoke. It was an important, aggressive speech, lambasting Obama's past associations. When we asked for more time to write up his remarks and prepare our reports, the campaign readily agreed to it. They understood.

Similar requests are often denied or ignored by the Obama campaign aides, apparently terrified that the candidate may have to wait 20 minutes to allow reporters to chronicle what he's just said. It's made all the more maddening when we are rushed to our buses only to sit and wait for 30 minutes or more because nobody seems to know when Obama is actually on the move.

Maybe none of this means much. Maybe a front-running campaign like Obama's that is focused solely on victory doesn't have the time to do the mundane things like print up schedules or attend to the needs of reporters.

But in politics, everything that goes around comes around.

Vice President John McCain!!!!

Brian Williams: McCain/Palin Shunning Him Because of Olbermann/Matthews

Newsbusters.org
In the latest news from the actions have consequences department, Brian Williams recently told David Letterman that the McCain camp is punishing him by not allowing him to interview Sarah Palin because the McCain camp is mad at MSNBC's extreme leftism as evinced by Chris "Thrill up my leg" Matthews and Keith Olbermann. Is Brian crying? There's no crying in broadcasting!

During his visit on The Late Show with David Letterman, Brian Williams admitted that he is the only network anchor that has yet to be granted an interview with Governor Palin but that he "cannot wait" to interview her.

As to why he has yet to be granted that interview, Williams thinks it's because the McCain camp is "unhappy" with the far left editorial leanings of NBC's cable outlet MSNBC.

“I’ve put a general invite out to the campaign,” Williams told Letterman. “I’ve asked them about it. We think it’s because they’re unhappy with our cable programming. But I’m here. I’m waiting.”

The list of transgressions are too many to number, but it should suffice to say that Olbermann joking about a National Review editor masturbating during the Palin debate or Chris Matthews wondering how the 'genius' Democratic governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, could have possibly been a convincing stand-in for Gov. Palin during Sen. Joe Biden's debate prep sessions are reasonable grounds for displeasure, to say the least, among McCain/Palin staffers.

NewsBusters senior editor Rich Noyes awarded the MRC "Worst of the Week" award last Tuesday to MSNBC for its biased coverage of the September 26 debate:

MSNBC may have dropped Chris Matthews as "news anchor" of major political news events, but he was a major presence during coverage of Friday's debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. Immediately following the debate and in a special Hardball that aired at midnight EDT, Matthews insulted John McCain as "troll-like" and insisted the Republican nominee showed "contempt" for Obama by looking at moderator Jim Lehrer instead.

But Obama was sensational, correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed: "He seemed to be a lot more genial than you might have expected. But, boy, he did show a command of foreign policy in terms of the nuts and bolts of it."

Tina Fey, Meet Sarah Palin as... Tina Fey

From Popeater

Watch your back, Tina Fey. Your doppelganger up there in Alaska is eyeing a chance to counterpunch all those barb-filled jokes in an upcoming "Saturday Night Live" appearance, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times.

After three buzz worthy "SNL" skits that at times turned her own words into the punchline, VP hopeful Sarah Palin could appear on the late-night show in the coming weeks to turn the tables and mock her tormentor in a spoof on Fey's American Express commercials, Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker is reporting.

This Saturday's show is a rerun, but on Thursday NBC will air the first of its "Weekend Update" specials in prime time. The next original "SNL'' show will be broadcast Oct. 18.

Although her impression has been a big hit with pundits and viewers, Fey has expressed her desire to drop the character as soon as possible.

"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5," she said at last month's Emmy Awards. "So, if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."

This should be fun, yeah?
Let's hope it happens!