usdemocrats.com political news weblog October 28, 2008 back to weblog index
Rise in confidence spurs looser
lending -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fears about the impact of the credit crisis on the global economy subsided at least for a day, as financial institutions and investors cheered recent efforts by global central banks to stimulate lending. Central banks have lowered interest rates and directly injected capital into the banking system. Through one such method, the Federal Reserves Commercial Paper Funding Facility. the U.S. government began to buy up large amounts of company debt in an attempt to ease short-term financing concerns. General Electric Co. said it sold nearly $5 billion to the government Monday, according to the Financial Times. By David Goldman |
Election 2008: Your health
insurance at stake -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But in helping the 45 million uninsured, both Republican nominee John McCain and his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, could prompt radical changes in on-the-job insurance, which currently covers 164 million people. Both McCains and Obamas plans would move coverage in ways that changes the nature of the employer-sponsored system, said James Klein, head of the American Benefits Council, which represents larger employers. By Tami Luhby |
Iraq to submit changes to
U.S. security agreement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government approved several amendments that were necessary, essential and appropriate to the draft status-of-forces agreement, which would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after the U.N. mandate on their presence expires at the end of this year. The Iraqi government authorizes the
prime minister to bring up these amendments to the U.S. side
in order to reach a draft agreement that will preserve the fundamental
principles and the sovereignty of Iraq and its high interests,
al-Dabbagh said. |
Iraq rejects U.S. strike on
Syria -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh issued a statement calling on U.S. forces not to repeat such acts, which Syria said killed at least seven civilians. The Iraqi government rejects the
U.S. planes striking sites inside Syrian territories as part
of the policy of the Iraqi government and the permanent constitution
which does not allow the Iraqi territories to be a launching
pad or a passage for attack on the neighboring countries,
al-Dabbagh said. The Iraqi government has initiated an
investigation about the incident. |
McCain calls on convicted
senator to step down -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is clear that Sen. Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down. I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will be spurred by these events to redouble their efforts to end this kind of corruption once and for all, McCain said in a written statement issued by his campaign. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican
in the Senate, was convicted of seven counts of failing to disclose
about $250,000 in gifts and renovations to his house in Alaska,
paid for by the head of a large oil-services company in his state. |
Kennedy to return to Washington,
spokesman says -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather permitting, Senator Kennedy plans to leave Hyannis Port to spend time at his house in Washington later this afternoon. He hasnt been there for months and he thought this would be a good time to be back. He plans to return to the Cape for Thanksgiving, spokesman Anthony Coley said. Kennedy has not decided if he will attend the lame duck session of the Senate following next weeks elections, Coley said. The 76-year-old senator is not up for re-election this year. From Ted Barrett |
LAT/Bloomberg: Obama Leads
in Florida, Ohio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida: 50% to 43% Ohio: 49% to 40% In both states, Obama "has opened commanding leads over McCain among women, young people, first-time voters and blacks and other minorities." |
Cronkite/Eight Poll: McCain
Could Lose Arizona -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Said poll director Bruce Merrill: "Obama has been closing the gap by attracting independents and women to his campaign. McCain does well among conservative Democrats and evangelicals. Still, a week is a long time in a political campaign and anything can happen. Who wins will be determined by which candidate gets their supporters out to the polls on Election Day." These results are similar to two polls released yesterday that also showed a tight race in McCain's home state. |
Suffolk Poll: Obama Opens
Lead in Nevada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key finding: "The double-digit spread is a marked switch from just over a month ago, when a Suffolk University poll found a virtual dead heat between the two candidates in the Silver State. It's the first Nevada poll this year to find a double-digit lead for Obama." |
Mason-Dixon: Montana Is Close -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Hampshire: Obama 50%, McCain 39% North Carolina: Obama 47%, McCain 47% Montana: McCain 48%, Obama 44% "This Montana poll, in fact, comes just as we've learned that the Republican National Committee's independent expenditure arm will begin advertising there tomorrow. That's right, folks -- Montana is still in play, and the race there could even be closer than the poll suggests when 1) popular Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) is at the top of the ticket; 2) Sen. Max Baucus (D) is cruising to re-election; and 3) the state GOP there is in a mess." http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/28/mason-dixon_montana_is_close.html |
Early Voters Favor Obama -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/28/early_voters_favor_obama.html |
SurveyUSA: Obama Leads in
Ohio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two are tied at 47% each among voters who have not yet cast a ballot. However, among those who have already voted, Obama leads by 13 points. http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/28/surveyusa_obama_leads_in_ohio.html |
Datamar: Obama Leads By Five
in Florida -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Fox News Poll: Obama Keeps
Edge in Key Red States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colorado: Obama 50%, McCain 46% Florida: Obama 51%, McCain 47% Missouri: Obama 48%, McCain 47% North Carolina: McCain 49%, Obama 48% Ohio: Obama 49%, McCain 45% Virginia: Obama 51%, McCain 47% |
Suffolk Poll: Obama Ahead
in Florida -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key finding: "The poll also asked about all of those who waited in hours-long lines to vote early, and among early voters, Obama crushes McCain, 60 to 40 percent." |
Take Election Day off and
volunteer to make history -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Election Day off and volunteer to make history. Watch this video and sign up to help get out the vote on Tuesday, November 4th:
This election will be decided by what this grassroots movement can accomplish on Election Day. We have volunteer shifts to fill throughout the day -- make calls, knock on doors, and make sure your fellow voters get to the polls. No previous experience is required. Sign up now to take the day off and make history on November 4th: http://my.barackobama.com/taketheday Thanks, Jon Jon Carson P.S. -- This Wednesday, October 29th, supporters are gathering in homes across the country to watch Barack's 30-minute primetime presentation and make phone calls to voters in battleground states. Sign up to host or attend a Last Call for Change house party: http://my.barackobama.com/lastcallparty
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Polls: Obama Has Solid Lead
In Virginia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Last weekend, supporters like
you made 350,000 calls into battleground states, surpassing our
goal of 300,000. Let's keep it up. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John McCain is in Pennsylvania today, and we need your help there. Pennsylvania is the McCain campaign's best path to victory, so we have to do everything we can to make sure that on November 4th, voters there cast their votes for change. We've set a goal of making 100,000 calls in Pennsylvania today. Can you help us get there in this crucial battleground? Start calling PA voters now: http://my.barackobama.com/PAcalls Thanks, Nicole Nicole Aro P.S. -- This Wednesday, October 29th, supporters are gathering in homes across the country to watch Barack's 30-minute primetime presentation and make phone calls to voters in battleground states. Sign up today to host or attend a Last Call for Change house party: http://my.barackobama.com/lastcallparty
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John Fund: Do The Expose BEFORE
the Election This Year. Please -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=gaynorm&date=081028 |
Senate Race Roundup -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/RbE6TWILtFA/644070 |
2008 Senate Ratings -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Let's get right to it. With
one week before Election Day, these three great members of Congress
need your help right now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kirsten Gillibrand was one of the earliest volunteers in my first race for the Senate back in 2000 helping to organize Women for Hillary. In 2006, she unseated a Republican incumbent in upstate New York; now she faces a tough campaign in her first reelection. Pennsylvania's Paul Kanjorski is facing a barrage of negative attacks from Republicans desperate to win his seat. He's a great friend who works hard on behalf of the people in his district; now he needs our help. And Joe Sestak -- also from Pennsylvania -- is a retired admiral who worked in the White House during Bill's administration. Like Kirsten, he defeated a Republican in 2006, and we need to make sure he wins his race this year so he can continue to speak out for sensible national security policies on behalf of the men and women of our armed forces. These three friends have been on the front lines fighting for us, and with Barack Obama in the White House they can help put America back on the right path. But they're in three hotly contested races -- races we must win if we want to keep and expand our majority in the House. Make sure Kirsten, Paul, and Joe will be back in Congress next year. Make the difference for Kirsten, Paul, and Joe -- contribute directly to their campaigns today. After Barack Obama wins the White House, he's going to go to Congress and ask for support for his agenda -- the same agenda you and I have been working for. Every vote he can count on in Congress will make a difference to the millions of Americans who count on us for leadership. That's why it's so important that we make sure great Democrats like Kirsten, Paul, and Joe keep their seats in Congress and keep fighting every day for the American dream. The Republicans think they have a shot to win all three of these races, and they're dumping millions of dollars into the typical GOP playbook: negative attacks, negative attacks, and more negative attacks. If Kirsten, Paul, and Joe have the resources they need to fight back in the final seven days, I know they'll win. It's up to you to make sure they do. It's up to you -- make sure Kirsten, Paul,
and Joe can stand up to the Republican attack machine. Contribute
now to their campaigns. After all our hard work, we've almost reached our goal. With Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House and bigger Democratic majorities in Congress, we're going to achieve things that didn't seem possible just a few years ago. I'm so proud to have had the opportunity to work with you, and I know that your friendship and support will continue to make a difference for me and for America in the years to come. Thank you so much, Hillary |
C-SPAN Daily Alert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C-SPAN Highlights Tonight: Tomorrow: ********************************************************************** Tonight: Tomorrow: ********************************************************************** Tonight: Tomorrow: Tonight: Tomorrow: * Road to the White House - Sunday on C-SPAN
at 6:30pm ET * Newspaper Articles * Republican presidential candidate John McCain Tuesday became the first high-profile political figure to explicitly call on GOP Sen. Ted Stevens to resign as a result of his conviction on seven corruption-related felonies... - Full Story at www.c-span.org/capitolspotlight/ * Of the 34 Senate seats scheduled for
election in 2010, how many are now held by Republicans? - Answer
at www.c-span.org/capitolspotlight/ |
Eddie Izzard & Dennis
Kucinich -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inside the Political Studio: Eddie Izzard
and Congressman Dennis Kucinich share an unscripted, uncensored
discussion and Q & A about entertainment, politics and the
world at large.
This event is a political fund raising
event for the Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee. The full
ticket price constitutes a political contribution to the committee.
|
Energy Issues High on Presidential
Candidates' Agendas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
FACTBOX: Presidential candidates
on energy issues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE49R5MK20081028 |
Turkish officials to meet
advisors of US presidential candidates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
In exactly one week, we have
a very real chance of electing Barack Obama the next President
of the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But we're not there yet. Yesterday in Canton, Ohio, Barack made a powerful case for why we need to keep fighting right through Election Day. Watch Barack's closing argument and make a donation of $5 or more to get every vote we need to win.
For the next week, we need to work like the future of our country depends on it -- because it does. We only have one opportunity to make history and get this country on a new path. And if we let up now, John McCain will win. Watch Barack's speech and make a donation of $5 or more now: https://donate.barackobama.com/keepfighting Thank you for everything you're doing to support this campaign in the final push, David David Plouffe |
Kennedy returns to Washington -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He hasnt been there for months and he thought this would be a good time to be back. He plans to return to the Cape (Cod) for Thanksgiving, spokesman Anthony Coley said. Kennedy has not decided if he will attend the lame duck session of the Senate following next weeks elections, Coley said. The 76-year-old Massachusetts senator is not up for re-election this year. In July, Kennedy made a dramatic visit
to the floor of the Senate to cast a vote to help break a deadlock
on an important Medicare bill. |
Barack Obama: Closing Argument
(Full Speech) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Gates: Brain drain
a threat to nuclear stability -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The weapons are very much safe and secure but their future security looks bleak as veteran nuclear weapons scientists retire, leaving behind younger scientists who have had limited or no involvement in the design or development of a nuclear weapon, Gates told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an anti-nuclear arms think tank in Washington. No one has designed a new nuclear weapon in the United States since 1980 and no one has built a new once since the early 1990s, he said. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq push Cold War thinking further back in the minds of many, Gates speech was designed to promote the continued need for a nuclear deterrence against nations that have such weapons or threaten to develop them. From CNN Pentagon Producer Mike Mount |
Dow soars 889 points -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was as much as 906 points higher shortly before the close, climbed 10.9 percent. It was the Dows second-biggest one-day point gain ever, following a 936-point rally two weeks ago. The percent gain was the sixth-biggest ever. The Standard & Poors 500 index gained 10.8 percent and the Nasdaq composite added 9.5 percent. The broad advance occurred as the two-day Federal Reserve meeting got under way, with a decision on interest rates expected Wednesday afternoon. Policymakers are widely expected to cut a key short-term interest rate. From Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com |
Kennedy to return to Washington,
spokesman says -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weather permitting, Senator Kennedy plans to leave Hyannis Port to spend time at his house in Washington later this afternoon. He hasnt been there for months and he thought this would be a good time to be back. He plans to return to the Cape for Thanksgiving, spokesman Anthony Coley said. Kennedy has not decided if he will attend the lame duck session of the Senate following next weeks elections, Coley said. The 76-year-old senator is not up for re-election this year. From Ted Barrett |
united states: Could the election
be stolen? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.mmorning.com/ArticleC.asp?Article=6301&CategoryID=7 |
Vote for Barack Obama -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Candidates Battle for Vote-Rich
Pennsylvania -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29campaign.html?ref=politics |