usdemocrats.com political news weblog
October 15, 2008
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usdemocrats.com political news weblog
October 15, 2008
back to weblog index
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State polls show Obama’s
strength -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. surveys released Wednesday include Virginia, where the numbers indicate that Democratic candidate Barack Obama holds a 10-point lead over the GOP’s McCain, 53 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters. President Bush won Virginia by 9 points over Senator John Kerry in 2004 and the state hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964. “Obama is winning men and women in Virginia, and is doing well across the state east of the Blue Ridge Mountains,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. It’s a similar story in Colorado,
a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat in the race for
the White House in 16 years. The new polls indicate Obama holds
a 4-point edge over McCain, 51 percent to 47 percent. |
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Foreign fighters shift from
Iraq to Afghanistan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “A lot of terrorists, (who) were busy in other places, have all been diverted to Afghanistan,” Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghanistan’s defense minister, said Tuesday. “The success of the coalition forces in Iraq, and also some other issues in some neighboring countries, have made it possible that there is a major increase in the foreign fighters.” The commander for NATO forces in Afghanistan said this month that more military presence is “needed as quickly as possible.” Speaking at the Pentagon on October 1,
Gen. David McKiernan said the additional military capability
is necessary because of “an increased number of (foreign)
fighters” coming into Afghanistan from Pakistan’s lawless
tribal regions. |
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Iraqi government expresses
‘concern’ over Odierno bribery suggestion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “These remarks seem to be sending an indirect hint towards the elected representatives in the Iraqi parliament who are exercising their rights and responsibilities to express their stances in a democratic way,” an Iraqi government statement said, referring to remarks attributed to Gen. Raymond Odierno by the Washington Post. Odierno, who recently took over as the top U.S. military official in Iraq, told the Washington Post Sunday that intelligence reports indicated Iran was bribing Iraqi officials in an attempt to undermine the status-of-forces agreement between the United States and Iraq. However, the general said he had no proof
of the bribes. |
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Fed chairman sees no quick
recovery -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bernanke, speaking before the Economic Club of New York, said he believes the steps taken by the Treasury Department, the Fed and Congress in recent weeks provide policymakers with the “tools” they need to fix the recent crisis in financial and credit markets. But those tools will not solve all the problems facing the economy immediately, he cautioned. “Stabilization of the financial markets is a critical first step, but even if they stabilize as we hope they will, broader economic recovery will not happen right away,” Bernanke said in his prepared remarks. “Economic activity had been decelerating even before the recent intensification of the crisis.” He also warned that the housing crisis
will continue to be a drag on the economy but again said that
“the problem was much broader than subprime lending.” |
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CNN map: Obama has votes to
win -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The new map indicates that Obama would capture states with 277 electoral votes, while the GOP’s John McCain would win states with 174 electoral votes, leaving 87 electoral votes in states up for grabs. Two hundred and seventy electoral votes are needed to win the presidency. The estimate that Obama would win 277 electoral votes is a change from CNN’s previous Electoral College Map from October 7, which indicated Obama would take 264 electoral votes. Obama moved over the 270 electoral vote threshold with a 13-vote pick-up that came from moving Virginia from a toss-up state to one that leans toward Obama. “Virginia hasn’t gone Democratic
in 44 years,” noted CNN Senior Political Researcher Alan
Silverleib. “But a number of polls — including our
own — now show Obama up double digits there. And, as the
map shows, if Obama holds that lead, it may be enough to put
him into the White House. Conversely, McCain really can’t
afford to lose Virginia’s 13 electoral votes. That state
is a key part of the Republican electoral coalition.” |
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Dow tumbles 700-plus points -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the second largest daily point loss ever, behind the 777-point loss on September 29. The NASDAQ composite closed down 8.5 percent
and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed down
9 percent from Friday’s close. |
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National Debt Clock Runs Out
of Digits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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90% Believe U.S. on Wrong
Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Poll gives debate to Obama -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said Obama did the best job in the debate, with 31 percent saying John McCain performed best. The poll also suggested that debate watchers’ favorable opinion of Obama rose during the debate, from 63 percent at the start of the debate to 66 percent at the end of the debate. The poll indicates that McCain’s favorables dropped, from 51 percent to 49 percent. The poll was conducted by telephone with
620 adult Americans who watched the debate. The audience for
this debate appears to be just a little bit more Democratic than
the U.S. population as a whole. Forty percent of debate-watchers
in this poll were Democrats and 30 percent Republicans. The survey’s
sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points. |
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FBI-led sting leads to cybercrime
arrests in Europe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (CNN) — Authorities in Europe backed by FBI cybersleuths have begun arresting computer criminals associated with a Web site devoted to hackers, thieves and fraudsters, federal law enforcement sources said Wednesday. At least 10 arrests are expected to be announced by officials in London and Washington Thursday. The round-up of cybercriminals comes following the shutdown of an Internet site known as “DarkMarket.” Authorities say the crime site provided a marketplace for buyers and sellers of stolen data including credit card numbers and personal information from identity thefts. The two-year FBI sting operation run by
agents from the Cyber Initiative and Resource Fusion Unit housed
in Pittsburgh was first disclosed by a German radio network after
German police arrested a credit card forger. |
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Senate Dems plan stimulus
bill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A similar proposal was blocked by Republicans shortly before Congress left Washington earlier this month but Democrats believe the worsening economic situation might force Republicans to support new spending. The proposal, outlined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at an event in his home state of Nevada, will incorporate ideas Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama unveiled in an economic address earlier this week, according to Jim Manley, an aide to Reid. It will include extended unemployment benefits, energy assistance to lower-income families, spending on roads and bridges, aid to financially strapped states, and changes in bankruptcy laws to make it easier for people to renegotiate their mortgages. Reid did not say how much it would cost. –From Ted Barrett, CNN Capitol Hill
Producer |
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Gergen: Three in a row for
Obama -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From CNN Contributor David Gergen John McCain had a very strong start in the first 30 minutes or so, and I thought that he was heading toward a debate victory — his first. But he veered off course in the middle as the conversation turned toward the negative quality of the campaign — and he became more and more the angry, older candidate, bringing back memories of the performance by Bob Dole back in 1996 that helped to doom his campaign. He also seemed to grow more tired over the course of the debate. Barack Obama had a good first answer about his economic plan then seemed flat for the rest of the first half hour. But then things picked up for him. During the assaults by McCain, he kept his cool — he never took the bait (rumors were heavy before the debate that McCain would try to goad him into losing his steadiness). Coming out of that second half hour, Obama became much stronger in the last third of the debate, scoring extremely well on health care, education, abortion, and the Supreme Court. McCain likely helped himself with his base tonight, but I doubt that he helped himself much with undecided voters. Overall, I would score Obama at an A minus for the night, and McCain at a B plus. It appears that Obama will come out of these debates with a general public perception that he has won three in a row. PS: A hearty salute to tonight's moderator, Bob Schieffer, he deserves an A plus. Filed under: Presidential Debate |
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Instant Debate Reaction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CNN poll of debate viewers: Obama 58%, McCain 31% CBS poll of uncommitted voters: Obama 53%, McCain 22% In addition, both focus groups of uncommitted voters on CNN and Fox News found Obama the winner. http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/15/instant_debate_reaction.html |
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Obama Breaks 270 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Of course, the Votemaster has had Obama above the necessary 270 votes for several weeks. Meanwhile, Karl Rove also forecasts an Obama win, 313 to 174 with 51 still up for grabs. The only states rated as "toss ups" were won by President Bush four years ago: Nevada, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina. http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/15/obama_breaks_270.html |
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InsiderAdvantage: Obama Ahead
in Key Red States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida: Obama 48%, McCain 44% Nevada: Obama 49%, McCain 46% North Carolina: Obama 48%, McCain 46% West Virginia: McCain 49%, Obama 47% |