All three morning trackers suggest that a week out from the national election, the polls have tightened. Rasmussen reports this morning:
Obama 51
McCain 46
The numbers couple of days have been at Rasmussen’s year-long high, 52-45. Rasmussen observes:
Obama’s five-point advantage is down from an eight-point lead yesterday but up a point from the lead he held a week ago. With today’s results, Obama has been ahead by four-to-eight points every single day for 32 straight days
‘Lets make History’ was the theme of the Hillary Clinton rally in Sunland Park, NM. Overall the rally was a success, at least in my opinion. In the Sunland Park community and the surrounding Borderland its easy to feel ignored and this event really made people feel ‘important’. I was impressed that they chose this community but it makes sense. Sunland Park has the second biggest voting block in Dona Ana County behind Las Cruces, and this community went heavily for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primaries.
I have been you tubing again. I just can’t seem to help myself. I wonder if there is a twelve step program.
I like this one very much. A true montage of our favorite moose killin’ hockey mama.
Elisabeth Hasselback, ‘Considered the last true “Survivor sweetheart” by many fans’ according to Reality TV World, introduced Sarah Palin in Tampa today. Amidst accusations of sexism aimed at Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and all it’s supporters, she embodied sexism in every fiber of her being.
The Hollywood Reporter has hinted that several producers are looking for the right vehicle for Sarah Palin, should she be “available” after the election.
Among the possibilities are:
A news program on Fox
“Red, White and Gucci”
An afternoon talk show
“The White Oprah”
Or a reality series featuring the entire Palin family
“Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”
Actually that one’s already taken.
I think that this is one of Obama’s best ads of the general election campaign.
The Anchorage Daily News has endorsed Barack Obama for president. The paper acknowledges that after 50 years of statehood, Alaska for the first time has put forward a serious candidate for national office and calls Palin’s nomination for vice president “a signal event” in the state’s history.
I don’t know if you have seen this, but I nearly fell out of my chair laughing on this one!
This evening, Research 2000/Daily Kos released a poll that put Democrat Becky Greenwald within 5 points of Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Latham.
This shouldn’t be a shocker in a district where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 8694 voters (a nearly 15,000 voter swing from 2006, when Republicans outnumber Democrats). This shouldn’t be a shocker in a district with a PVI of D+0.4. But this is not a typical race.
Yesterday evening I was sitting in a meeting with some folks. Everything was going great towards meeting our objectives till at the end when somebody dropped the Barney bomb.
“Barney Frank wants to cut Defense spending by 25%”..
Liberals, moderates, conservatives alike in that room, all knew what it meant..significant job losses in the defense and aerospace industry, the last surviving, yet flourishing bastion of American manufacturing. I was taken aback..when back at home later in the night, searched for Rep. Frank’s brilliant revelation..looks like the news spread like wildfire in the conservative blogs and media. So it did, sending a cold shriver in the military, defense and aerospace World…
In a meeting with the editorial board of The Standard-Times, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., also called for a 25 percent cut in military spending, saying the Pentagon has to start choosing from its many weapons programs, and that upper-income taxpayers are going to see an increase in what they are asked to pay.
The military cuts also mean getting out of Iraq sooner, he said.
“The people of Iraq want us out, and we want to stay over their objection,” he said. “It’s extraordinary.” The Maliki government in Iraq “can’t sell (the withdrawal deal with the U.S.) because it sounds like we’re going to stay too long.”
“I was teasing (U.S. Rep.) Jack Murtha (a key supporter of military budgets) and I said to him, ‘For the first time, somebody else has got a bill that’s almost as big as yours.’ We don’t need all these fancy new weapons. I think there needs to be additional review.”
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20081024/NEWS/810240332-1/NEWS10
Although he also talked about the cost reduction from getting out of Iraq but the cat is out of the bag and Republicans were already coming out of the woodwork…
Just the suggestion brought a prompt response from two Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, which is focused on equipping troops who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rep. John McHugh of New York and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland are the two lawmakers in line to replace the retiring Rep. Duncan Hunter of California as the committee’s Republican.
“Talking about a 25 percent spending reduction in the defense budget with troops on the ground is reckless and, if enacted, could have immediate and long-term consequences for America and those individuals who risk their lives daily to defend our nation,” McHugh said. “Rather than talking about dramatic spending reductions, we instead need to ensure that our baseline defense spending provides the necessary equipment, materiel, and force protection for our armed forces.”
Bartlett called Frank’s statement “grossly irresponsible.”
“A 25 percent cut in defense spending will endanger our troops deployed in harm’s way and America’s national security for years to come,” Bartlett said. “It’s even more astonishing considering that congressional Democratic leaders want to increase the deficit by spending twice as much, $300 billion, for a second stimulus package of domestic spending.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/24/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4544997.shtml
I know it is great news for some, as for them defense industry is the favorite evil bogeyman that is the root cause of everything from Iraq war to proverty in inner cities. On the flip side, things from Internet development to advanced aircraft materials owe their existence primarily to the defense spending.
American military currently is fighting in two war theaters. Both Obama and McCain agree on the fact that the military needs to expand with more warfighters. The logistical needs also include large scale replenishment of equipment, aircraft, rotorcraft, carriers et al which are suffering huge wear and tear, and losses from the two Wars. A 25% budget cut would have devastating effects in military readiness in the next years. Pentagon budget from 2010 is under scrutiny right now, and Frank’s statement doesn’t bore well for its future.
I cannot fathom why Barney Frank ten days before the election will make this great revelation. I know this diary will not be popular here, but I can tell you his statement fit squarely right with the anti military stereotype of the Democratic party. This will not go well in several corners of America.
Sorry didn’t mean to have this as my first diary at MM. But this had hit pretty close…