Bombings In India- linked to terrorist watch on New York Subways?

Today, group of heavily armed men stormed into some of india's luxury hotels, train stations, and tourist attractions at the nation's financial capital. A total of 78 have been killed so far, and more than 200 wounded. The gunmen had specifically targeted Americans and British tourists, and held them captive.

"The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terror attacks, often blamed on Muslim militants, including a series of blasts in July 2007 that killed 187 people.

Gunmen opened fire on two of the city's best known luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi. They also attacked the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station in southern Mumbai and Leopold's restaurant, a Mumbai landmark." see article.

Some have speculated this attack with a terror threat suspected on New York mass transit systems during the holiday season. I for one am actually considering that these events could be linked. I am sure that whether these two events are linked or not, the security will tighten in New York, especially as it is under terror watch.. American government leaders have already said that they are ready to support the Indian authorities in dealing with this problem. Please give me your thoughts on this..

Obama takes extreme care while choosing top officials

After the inaguration of former President Bill Clinton, the administration had a very bumpy start. Now, president elect Barack Obama is taking extreme care in choosing his top officials. So far, many of the chosen officials are former advisors and employees of former president Bill Clinton. It was their idea to try and investigate thoroughly on each applicant for the government jobs that Obama will be filling in shortly. Observers think that some candidates will think twice about applying for a position on Obama's team due to this extensive investigation.

"In addition to the already invasive FBI background check, the Obama team is requiring prospective candidates to complete a seven-page questionnaire that requires the disclosure of nearly every last private detail. In addition to the obvious questions involving past criminal history, candidates are asked about personal diaries, past blog posts, and the financial entanglements of extended family members." See article.
I think it is good that the Obama team is doing this research before appointing people to jobs. It shows that they are learning from the mistakes of former presidents and want to avoid making these mistakes now.




htp://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/22/obama.vetting/index.html

Troubles for Sarah Palin

I think it is ridiculous that Palin was BLAMED for McCain's loss. Granted he probably did lose because people didn't like that she wasn't experienced at all. BUT- McCain was the one who chose her as vice president- and she wasnt going to turn that offer down. His campaign advisors should have seen a loss coming after her nomination. They didn't, and now they are wrongfully accusing her for their loss.

Obama mulls over choosing Richardon or Clinton for Sec. of State

According to the Huffington Post, Barack Obama is currently choosing a secretary of state for his first term. He is deciding between formal primary rivals Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. The Huffington post also said that Barack Obama met with Hillary Clinton on Thursday November 13 and Bill Richardson on Friday November 14 to ask if they would accept his offer to be Secretary of State if he offered it to either of them. It is a rumor that he already has asked Senator Clinton if she would take this job- but this rumor has not been confirmed yet.

The looks of Obama's cabinet and administrative members is looking strong. He has already chosen some advisors of former president Bill Clinton, and is coming up with a "super star" team of experienced politicians. I think that he is especially trying to make allies of people he ran against during this long campaign for 2008 presidential race. Rumors say he might even ask John McCain to be on his team! I'm looking forward to seeing more cabinet choices in the near future.

Obama WON THE ELECTION!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday around 11 Pm, 4 states were projected as wins for candidate Barack Obama. Along with these states, another projection came, announcing Barack Obama' the winner of this election!

I wasn't surprised at this however, because after Ohio and Pennsylvania were declared "Blue" states for Obama, i knew that he would easily get 270 electoral votes by the end of the night. In fact, Barack Obama clinched well over 270 electoral votes- a count which ended up to be 349, while mccain ended up with 163 (not counting missouri and north carolina, in which the winner has not been determined yet.) For the popular vote, Obama won 52%- 46%, another clear win.

Former Pres. Bill Clinton on the campaign trail

Up until recently, Bill Clinton hasn't shown much of his support for Barack Obama. Obama was his wife Hillary Clinton's former opponent in the election, and despite his endorsement for Obama back in June, Bill Clinton has never really gone out to rally for him. On October 29th, the two came out to campaign together for the first time in Kissimmee, Florida to speak to a crowd of 35,000 people late in the evening.

The last time Florida voted Democratic in a presidential election was during the 1996 election which brought Bill Clinton back into the white house. His presense on the campaign trial with Barack Obama could bring him victory in this key battleground state, and even in other states.

Obama's infomercial

I had my doubts about how Obama's 30 minute infomercial would turn out and effect the polls. It is too early to tell the effect of this video in national polls, but I was simply awed at the way the video was put together; no bashing of john McCain, and barack Obama could speak directly to the viewers. I was touched by the stories mentioned in the video, and saw the way Barack Obama would help
them put as president. This video was almost a closer to the case of why Barack should be chosen. I think and hope that Americans will feel
more comfortable imagining him in the white house now, and that they feel that he is the right one for the job. This infomercial should give him a lift in the polls, but may now be quite as much as he would have hoped.

Electoral Maps

I posted a website to see electoral maps throughout the election, but this page is even better. It shows what each state was before it changed, what is became, the delegate votes for Obama and McCain, and the RCP average at the time.
Here it is!

From these maps and the data, I have noticed some key changes which could account for the change in the electoral votes for each of the candidates. Earlier this month:
1) Florida was leaning Obama, and is now toss up- again!
2)Washington was leaning Obama, and is now solid Obama
3)Montana was leaning McCain, then solid McCain, and is now leaning McCain
4)Wisconsin and Michigan were leaning Obama, and are now solid Obama
5)Georgia was Solid McCain, and is now leaning McCain

These changes indicated one thing all around- McCain is not doing as well as he was earlier in the general election. Today, I heard that he is stepping up to the knotch in speaking more to the people about the issues and is getting to meet more people.
This IS what he needs to do- and WELL to get some of these states to back him once again.

Campaign Cash

Today it was announced that Barack Obama broke a record for money raised in one month of a campaign- $150 million dollars during the month of September! This money is half the amount John Kerry raised during his entire campaign. But where did Barack Obama get all of that money? And same with John McCain- we don't really know where he gets all his campaign money. So, I have found a page which shows details about each of the candidate's financial status- where they got the money, debt, spent, and raised. Check it out.

The presidential debate was much better this time around. The candidates both seemed as though they were more into the debate than during the last two rounds. I would have to give it to john mcCain for doing well in this debate, which was essential for him to come even close to closing the large gap between him and Barack Obama. Now, the polls have reflected John mcCain's victory in the debate, but Barack Obama in still winning by 6-7 points in the national polls.

John Mccain spoke more qgressively against Obama, and really tried to nail him on things he said which were wrong. This worked for him. What I didn't like was his erratic behavior/ expressions. They clearly displayed some sort of anger or frustration.. It just didn't look good to watch. I do believe though, that he slacked off a bit towards the end of the debate, causing an Obama victory for the second half.

Barack Obama kept his cool during the debate, but had to go on defense at many times. Be did make many strong points during the course of the evening, but didn't speak as well as he usually does.

One thing that struck out about this debate was that both the candidates actually answered the questions better, and that the answers were directed to each other, and not to the audience as it was in the past.

Palin Abused Her Power

This Friday, a report released that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as governor of Alaska to fire an official who was once married to her sister. This breaks the state ethics law, which prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain. The report also says that Sarah Palin allowed her husband, Todd Palin to use her resources as governor to pressure employees to fire Wooten.

The report was centered around the dismissal of Walter Monegen, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. This was because he had refused to fire Mike Wooten, the ex-husband of Palin's sister. Sarah Palin claimed that Walter Monegen was fired due to an arguement over a budget.

As much as the charges are serious, nowhere does it say in the 300 page report that sanctions or further investigation is necessary. Conservative Jonah Goldberg said,"it sounds to me that this was a political enterprise that came up with a compromise where they basically said, 'She broke no laws but they don't want to seem like a whitewash, because we have Obama supporters on the investigating parties.' So what we're going to do is say she did something wrong, even though she broke no law."

One the other hand, Democrat Lanny Davis said, "The abuse of power finding is very serious for an elected executive," said Davis. "The Constitution and precedent suggest that abusing governmental power are grounds for impeaching a president. I suspect they would be grounds in Alaska. So the abuse of governmental power is a serious offense for an elected official."

Whether Republicans or Democrats are talking, analysts will agree that this investigation is something that could hurt John McCain's campaign, one that is already behind in the race.

This investigation shows how Sarah Palin BROKE the law as governor of alaska. There should be some further penalties for her, as abusing governmental powers is a reason for impeachment. Although this is not the most serious of crimes, it is still breaking the state ethics law. She should not be left unpenalized just because she is running for the second highest office position of this country.

http://voanews.com/english/2008-10-11-voa3.cfm

Debate 10/7

The debate from last night was much more exciting than the last one, and the candidates stepped it up a knotch. Barack Obama had excellent eye contact with the audience and watched John McCain very intently while he spoke. He kept a smile on his face throughout it, and appeared to be the more confident of the two candidates.

John McCain spoke better than last time, and made an effort to use past records to hold Barack Obama back. He was however nervous, and this could be seen in the way he was sitting, his facial expressions, and through what he was saying. What I didn't like though, was that he never answered some questions. Many of the times, he spoke around the topic, but not directly about it. One example of this was when asked to rank the topics of energy independence, education, and health care. Barack Obama recited his priorities and gave us reasons for his choices. John McCain on the other hand, said that all of them should be tackled at once. This answer clearly does not answer the question asked.

The polls will show the winners of the debate in the coming days- and I am rather confident that Obama's poll numbers will increase from it.

The debate was one I was very anxious to see, and kept me a little more interested than the last presidential debate. Sarah Palin did well, while speaking clearly and making excellent eye contact with the audience. What I noticed though, was that she had memorized everything she was going to say and that she wasn't speaking from her own knowledge. She didn't have a rebuttle a few times when asked if she had one, and tried to hide this by switching to the topic of energy. This didn't work for her, as she couldn't even try to disprove what senator joe biden was saying that was negative about her and john McCain's campaign. It also seemed that when she kept switching to the topic of energy that she didn't have answers to the questions the moderator was asking.

Joe biden had some weaknesses too; he didn't make good eye contact with the audience, and he stuttered at some times. He did speak well though while fighting against false statements palin made or just while giving his answers to the moderator's questions.

Overall, the debate well for both candidates, and I don't expect any big rise in the polls for either of the candidates. Being democratic, I guess I would easily find a win the the dem.- joe biden. Let's see how the next debate goes on Tuesday September 7!

Debate- 9/26

I would have to say that Friday's Presidential Debate was rather dull, and didn't effect me in any way. The candidates were both just answering the questions, and neither of them really gave a punch at the other. They didn't look at each other, nor did they really respond directly to each other. In my opinion, the undecided (uncommitted) voters probably still haven't made their choice on who they will support for president. Now, I am thinking that the Vice Presidential debate will spark new ideas and may be a little more exciting than the last debate. I expect that next weeks polls will be effected, based on whatever Sarah Palin and Joe Biden say. I am looking forward to watching it!

3rd Party Candidates

Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr, Alan Keyes, Ralph Nader. Who are all of these people? What do they have in common? What do we know about them?

These listed people are all know as third party candidates, and are all running in the 2008 presidential election. From the libertarian, green, independant, and various other minority parties, they have become nominees for president. Just like Barack Obama- just like John McCain. But why haven't we heard anything about them?

Because they are not favored by a majority of the American population, they are suddenly forgotten, ignored. None of them were seen at the debate yesterday, on the television election stations, or even written about in the newspaper.

I was wondering why they were given such mimimal attention. They are running for president, and even though they are not going to necessary get the majority of people's votes, they are still going to be on the ballot in November.

I think that these candidates should at least be given a chance to put their views out into the public along with the major party candidates. This way, they have a chance to reach the American public, and can be compared to in relation to the Democratic and Republican nominees. I understand that these 3rd party candidates are most likely not going to win, but they should at least be given a chance.

For those of you who are not affiliated with one political party as of now, I have found candidate profiles that can tell you about both Barack Obama and John McCain's opinions on issues, their history, and campaign information.
See: Barack Obama's profile
John McCain's profile

On both of these web pages, you can explore and find out latest news about the candidates as well as their most important issues.
This website seems, to me, an excellent way to find the truth about what each candidate is supporting, and most issues can be found on this page. People should learn more about both candidates before making opinions on which person they feel is the best to vote for.

Here is another website which would be good to check out. Just answer 12 questions to find the right candidate for you!

Both of these sites can help anyone unsure of which candidate they support to choose one. It can also show those of you who know which candidate you support WHY you do or don't agree with each candidate.

Clinton in the election

Hilary Clinton has been working on getting supporters for the Obama campagin. He has raised approximately $5 million for Barack Obama, and is continuously giving speeches for the campaign. What she isn't doing, however, is attacking Sarah Palin. In fact, she isn't coming into contact with her at all. I thought that this is rather strange.

The reason that Hillary Clinton isn't attacking Sarah Palin is because she believes that the people on the top of the presidential tickets are more important, and she doesn't want to turn the attention away from them. When asked about Governor Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton replied: "I don't think that's what this election is about." It is interesting to hear this, as I would have expected her to turn all her attacks towards Palin and how she isn't right to be Vice President. Instead, Senator Hillary Clinton only speaks positively about the Obama campaign and how he brings more to the table than John McCain does.

This is interesting to me in that Hillary Clinton is taking an active role in giving speeches supporting Obama and that she barely comments on Sarah Palin. What is good is that she is targeting white women who voted for her in the primaries. She efficiently proves to them that Barack Obama can bring them the change that they had hoped for with her.

With Obama and McCain in dead heat in election (according to Cnn's latest polls), the candidates ideas about how to fix the economy could be key in getting voters to support them. Today, wall street is in the worst situation it has been in since after 9/11, and the Dow is down 504 points. This is mostly because the Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, making it THE BIGGEST bankruptcy in history. Now, I think the candidates really need to focus on what is on people's minds most: the economy. It could be so clear cut. The candidate who finds the best way to improve this country's economic problem could become the next president of the United States.

Check this article to read more about How the candidates feel about the economy as of now.

Electoral Maps

Check out this really cool website comparing electoral maps from June 4, 2008- today.

These maps can show us how the opinions of some states have changed opinion- turning them from Democratic to Republican or Republican to Democratic. The maps are interesting, as they can show how the polls are changing every day, and how each state is being influenced by the candidates. For example, the state of New Mexico starts out as a "Weak McCain state", then a "Barely McCain" state, then a "Barely Obama" state, then back to a "Barely McCain" state, then finally a "Barely Obama state."

Here is another cool map:

This map is a cartogram depicting how many electoral votes each state has, the percentage for McCain, percentage for Obama, how the state voted in previous elections, which which party the state is (in majority), and whether it is a strongly or weakly supporting state of the candidate in that party. This map is important to really understand how important each state's vote is, and which are the states that the candidates would want to impact most.

Highs and Lows of the Campaign

Here are some charts that I found on www.electoral-vote.com, which show the highs and lows of the campaign, starting from May 2008. The charts include key events from May up until now- when Obama became the nominee, when Obama traveled abroad, when the Rick Warren interview took place, and when the DNC and RNC started.

Electoral College Graphs 2008

The graph above shows the current number of electoral votes for each candidate since Mar 22, The brown horizontal line shows the 270 electoral vote mark needed to be elected president. The gray vertical lines show the boundaries between the months.



The graph above shows the electoral votes again but omits the "barely" states. The electoral votes of a state only count in this graph if the candidate has a margin of 5% or more over his opponent.

These two maps are important to see, as they show us when the candidates were at their strongest, weakest, and how they are doing now. Overall, we can obiously see McCain's lag in the chart from mid-may through mid-august, as he had less electoral votes than Obama during these months. However,we can also see how John McCain has gained some momentum since the RNC. One rather surprising thing on this chart is that Obama's electoral votes increased during/after the RNC, then drastically decreased again during the month of September. McCain's electoral votes on the other hand decreased during the RNC itself, and increased during the month of September.

One thing that I noticed about this chart is that when one candidate is at his strongest, the other is at his weakest, so there is almost a mirror image shown in this chart. For instance, Obama's strongest point is when he traveled abroad, and this was equally McCain's worst point.

Source of charts: http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/ec_graph-2008.html

You want change- what are the candidates exactly going to do?

Source: The choice is about who will bring change
The Sunday Star- Ledger September 7, 2008
Page 18 Section 1

I read this article in sunday's paper- it relayed information on the DNC and RNC central themes- Change. It is a campaign slogan which has been used in Barack Obama's campaign since day one, but even John McCain made his acceptance speech with the intention of promoting the change he plans on bringing to the white house. The problem with this is that John McCain is talking about the change, but isn't telling us exactly what he plans to do about the problems. During Barack Obama's speech however, he spoke more directly about how he will solve the problems in the government.

Obama's Plans/ Message: Barack Obama's main plan is to reverse the policies of the last eight years during the Bush administration. He plans on making health care "afforable, accessible," giving every child a "world-class education" and recovering America's situation with other nations.

McCain Plan: McCain's plan is weak, as he has told us what he wants to change, but has not given solid examples of what HOW he plans to make all of this change happen. He has said that he wants to reject how past presidents have done things, but not how he is going to get rid of George Bush's policies.

This article was interesting, as it could show many voters which candiate they can rely on most- which one is letting them know their plans. This article impacts any voter who is wondering which candidate is going to give the the change they need- and HOW they will get it for them. I care about it- mainly because I always want to know what is coming ahead in the future. I agree with the author, who said that Barack Obama is describing his plans much clearer than John McCain, and that he has gone further than John McCain in informing his voters about his plan for change.

Campaign dispute over the flag

Source: The Sunday Star Ledger- September 7, 2008
page 10 section one

I read an article this morning in the newspaper, it told about a campaign dispute- over the American flag!

Barack Obama and John McCain recently agreed to appear together at a September 11th event at ground zero. At the republican airport rally for the McCain- Palin ticket, a radio newscaster announced to the crowd that veterans were going to give out small american flags that were discarded and rescued from Obama's DNC rally at the Invesco Field. He told the crowd that these flags were going to be thrown away or burned, and that they had been found in trash bags around garbage bins, and were given to the McCain campaign to rescue them.

The Democratic National Commitee and the Democratic convention said that these flags had actually been stolen by the McCain campain from the Invesco theater. Karen Finey, a Democratic National Commitee spokeswoman said that those flags had been waved proudly that night, and that instead of appreciating that, John McCain had took the left-over bunch of flags and made a political stunt questioning the patriotism of the democrats.

This story is very strange, and it is also humorous that a dispute would start out over the American Flag, something that should keep the country together. It would appeal to patriots in general, as it tries to show which party is more patriotic. I think it basically means that the struggle for the election has kept the parties so desperate for votes, that they are willing to stoop to the level of pulling ridiculous political accusations like this. I thought it was interesting to see that conflicts like this are arising amongst the parties and how they are trying to take votes from each other using childish methods.

90% Bush

When I was reading watching the DNC, I heard that John McCain supports George W. Bush over 90% of the time.
Is this really true??

McCain on Iraq

John McCain- I hate wars. When I become the president I will try to end wars, because they are so horrible. I want to stop having families from being separated because a son or daughter is fighting in another country. (This is a general idea of what he said, not quoted.)

I was thinking- how is he going to stop this when he is going to keep the troops in Iraq for the next 100 years???
He is only trying to make himself sound good.