Presidential Issues
1/28/2010 | Politics, Presidential Issues
Obama Touted His Administration’s Anti-Lobbying Pledge, Even Though He’s Violated It
CNS News
In his State of the Union address Wednesday night, President Barack Obama returned to his campaign themes of ethics and transparency, touting his administration as an example of one that is setting new standards.
“That’s what I came to Washington to do,” Obama told a joint session of Congress and the nation Wednesday night. “That’s why – for the first time in history – my administration posts our White House visitors online. And that’s why we’ve excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.”
However, the Obama administration has come under scrutiny for violating that pledge. The Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-check Web site PolitiFact was quick to call Obama out regarding lobbyists.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)6/22/2009 | Governmental Control, Presidential Issues
Obama Closes Doors on Openness
Newsweek
As a senator, Barack Obama denounced the Bush administration for holding "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House. But last week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's "clean coal" policies. One reason: the disclosure of such records might impinge on privileged "presidential communications." The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure. Since Obama pledged on his first day in office to usher in a "new era" of openness, "nothing has changed," says David -Sobel, a lawyer who litigates FOIA cases. "For a president who said he was going to bring unprecedented transparency to government, you would certainly expect more than the recycling of old Bush secrecy policies."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchCliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle ForumTony Strickland, Taxpayer AdvocateLorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project3/10/2009 | U.S. Military, Radical Islam, Presidential Issues
Detainees Say They Planned Sept. 11
The New York Times
The five detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have filed a document with the military commission at the United States naval base there expressing pride at their accomplishment and accepting full responsibility for the killing of nearly 3,000 people. The document, which may be released publicly on Tuesday, uses the Arabic term for a consultative assembly in describing the five men as the “9/11 Shura Council,” and it says their actions were an offering to God, according to excerpts of the document that were read to a reporter by a government official who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. President Obama halted the military proceedings at Guantánamo in the first days after his inauguration, and the five men’s case is on hiatus until the government decides how it will proceed.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Zakariah Anani, Shoebat FoundationTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteMajor Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT PublicationsRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryJan Markell, President, Olive Tree MinistriesGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Kamal Saleem, Shoebat FoundationWalid Shoebat, President, Shoebat FoundationDavid Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com1/22/2009 | Presidential Issues
Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages
WashingtonPost.com
If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of the Obama administration looked more like the rotary-dial past. Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts. What does that mean in 21st-century terms? No Facebook to communicate with supporters. No outside e-mail log-ins. No instant messaging. Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)1/15/2009 | Presidential Issues
Bush set to say farewell to the nation
My Way News
WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush's farewell speech is more than a goodbye to the nation that elected him twice. It is his last chance in office to define his tumultuous presidency in his own, unfiltered terms - a mission that will keep his fire burning even after he fades off to a quieter life. Bush will say goodbye to the country Thursday night. He will follow the script of Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and many before them: Express thanks to the country and pride in the honor of serving, wish the next president well and outline what he considers to be the biggest challenges ahead. And there will be looking back. For presidents, parting thoughts are not about parting shots. This will be no different. But Bush is proud of his record and will go out defending it. In that sense, the goodbye address will underscore the competing accounts of his presidency one last time. Bush and his loyal backers see his record this way: He kept the country safe from attack after terrorism redefined his presidency, cut taxes, freed the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, reformed education, oversaw 52 straight months of job growth, acted decisively when the economy tanked, stuck to principle no matter what his poll numbers, retooled the military and improved federal crisis management after the worst U.S. natural disaster happened on his watch.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)12/30/2008 | Presidential Issues
RNC draft rips Bush's bailouts
The Washington Times
In what would amount to a slap in the face to a sitting Republican president and the party's Senate and House leaders, national GOP officials, including the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, are sponsoring a resolution opposing the resort to "socialist" means to save capitalism. "We can't be a party of small government, free markets and low taxes while supporting bailouts and nationalizing industries, which lead to big government, socialism and high taxes at the expense of individual liberty and freedoms," said Solomon Yue, a cosponsor of a resolution that would put the RNC -- the party's national governing body -- on the record as opposing the U.S. government bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Republican National Vice Chairman and constitutional law attorney James Bopp Jr. authored the resolution and is asking the rest of the 168 voting members of the committee to sign it.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)12/16/2008 | Presidential Issues
Obama Cabinet Is Shy on Southerners, Republicans
Bloomberg
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama has moved faster than any modern president-elect in selecting his Cabinet, scouring Wall Street, academia and the Senate to assemble a diverse team that has won bipartisan praise. “He has every basic entity within his government,” said U.S. Representative David Scott, a Georgia Democrat. “He’s got Jewish people, he’s got Protestants, he’s got white, black, you name it.” Republicans including Arizona Senator John McCain, Obama’s opponent in the presidential election, also have applauded his choices. Still, the Democrat’s star-studded roster lacks representatives from two groups: Southerners and the Republicans that he vowed to appoint during the campaign. Forty-two days since winning the presidency, Obama has picked 11 members of his Cabinet and 11 senior White House aides. That’s more than twice the number named by Bill Clinton at this point in his transition to the presidency. It also puts Obama ahead of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, according to the White House Transition Project.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)12/15/2008 | Character and Ethics, Presidential Issues
Emanuel, Blagojevich Aides Discussed Senate Seat
Barack Obama had begun thinking about his Senate successor even before the presidential election, and dispatched Rahm Emanuel days after the vote to contact aides of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to begin talking up Mr. Obama's preferred candidates, associates of Mr. Emanuel said this weekend. Mr. Emanuel, a congressman from Chicago, had been approached about being Mr. Obama's White House chief of staff the week before the election, though he hadn't yet officially decided to take the post. Nonetheless, the issue of Mr. Obama's Senate replacement was sensitive enough that senior Obama aides wanted to keep the matter within the circle of Illinois political figures, according to people familiar with campaign deliberations at the time. Among those in Mr. Obama's inner circle, Mr. Emanuel had one of the closest relationships to Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat. He had succeeded Mr. Blagojevich in 2002 to the House seat that covered Chicago's near north side. Mr. Emanuel didn't talk to Mr. Blagojevich directly about the matter, by phone or in person, according to people familiar with the matter. He spoke by phone with aides to the governor, those people say. Neither Mr. Emanuel nor representatives of the transition team would comment for this article.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteMike Gottfried, Founder, Team FocusRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkAlex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical SeminaryJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com12/5/2008 | Presidential Issues
Worker says 'Joe the Plumber' cover-up was forced upon her
The Columbus Dispatch
The state worker who unwittingly ran an improper child-support check on the man known as Joe the Plumber told lawmakers yesterday that a deputy director later "dictated" how she was supposed to cover it up. Vanessa Niekamp, an administrator for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' Office of Child Support and a 15-year state employee, said that when Deputy Director Doug Thompson came into her office, "He appeared very upset, his neck was bright red, and he was shaking. He closed my door." Thompson told her she must write an e-mail to the agency's information-security officer, and then "dictated word for word" what she wrote, Niekamp said. He also reminded her that she could be fired at any time, she said. "Within an hour, I took the rest of the day off -- again using my vacation time -- and went directly to the office of the inspector general. I told them everything I knew about what happened."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)12/4/2008 | Presidential Issues
Will Supreme Court take case on Obama's citizenship?
The Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to take up a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election. The meeting of justices will coincide with a vigil by the filer's supporters in Washington on the steps of the nation's highest court. The suit originally sought to stay the election, and was filed on behalf of Leo Donofrio against New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells. Legal experts say the appeal has little chance of succeeding, despite appearing on the court's schedule. Legal records show it is only the tip of an iceberg of nationwide efforts seeking to derail Obama's election over accusations that he either wasn't born a U.S. citizen or that he later renounced his citizenship in Indonesia. The Obama campaign has maintained that he was born in Hawaii, has an authentic birth certificate, and is a "natural-born" U.S. citizen. Hawaiian officials agree. Among those filing lawsuits is Alan Keyes, who lost to Obama in the 2004 Illinois Senate race. Keyes' suit seeks to halt certification of votes in California. Another suit by a Kentucky man seeks to have a federal judge review Obama's original birth certificate, which Hawaiian officials say is locked in a state vault.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)11/13/2008 | Presidential Issues, Race in America, Racial Intolerance
The Race About Race
The Bulletin
As Americans were dragged across the finish line on Nov. 4, concerns initially existed that Sen. Barack Obama's presidential ambitions could be derailed by the dreaded Bradley Effect - white voters saying publicly they'd vote for a black candidate, but privately voting for a white candidate instead. Such fears failed to materialize.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource NetworkWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New DestinyDavid Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com11/10/2008 | Presidential Issues
Obama to use executive orders for immediate impact
My Way News
WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas. John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own. "There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we'll see the president do that," Podesta said. "I think that he feels like he has a real mandate for change. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set." Podesta also said Obama is working to build a diverse Cabinet. That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents - part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against Republican John McCain. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been mentioned as a possible holdover.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)11/6/2008 | Pro-Family, Presidential Issues, Politics, Homosexuality
Post-Election National Conference Call
Conservative Commentators Reflect
Newsguests would like to welcome and thank our panel of national leaders and the members of the press for joining our teleconference call today. I'm Debbie Hamilton, president of Newsguest, and Felicia Horton, who's on the line, is our national media director. Newsguest.com is a public relations firm providing prepared guests on a wide variety of provocative topics to local, regional, and national media. The reason for our series of teleconference calls is to give the media the opportunity to hear the perspectives from top conservative leaders in the country. And today it is, of course, regarding the results of the 2008 presidential election. We ask that members of the press go ahead and ask questions but, importantly, because this conference call is being recorded, when asking a question, please announce your name and media organization and direct the question at one of our commentators by name. We do have the silent entry and exit on the line so as not to distract the call for the recording. Our commentators today are Connie Mackey, senior vice-president from Family Research Council Action, FRC Action; Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International; Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod; Marjorie [Deniselser], president of the Susan B. Anthony List; Ken Blackwell, chairman for the Coalition for a Conservative Majority and vice-chair of the 2008 Republican Platform Committee; and Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community ValuesAlan Chambers, President, Exodus InternationalRev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource NetworkWard Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights InstituteScott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus InternationalTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesLen Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy CouncilWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumTim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPactJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyTodd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the MasterMike Gottfried, Founder, Team FocusRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingLowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkAlex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical SeminaryJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.comPhyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle ForumChristopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy CentersDavid Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family InstituteRandy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus InternationalDavid Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com11/5/2008 | Presidential Issues
Audio from Press Call
Click here to download the mp3.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/28/2008 | Presidential Issues
Obama: Constitution Outdated
The Bulletin
Did the Supreme Court of the United States under Chief Justice Earl Warren err by not taking steps to redistribute wealth during the Civil Rights era? In a 2001 interview given to WBEZ, a Chicago public radio station, Barack Obama suggested the answered was yes. After praising the victories of the Civil Rights movement, Mr. Obama said, "But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and the more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society, and to that extent, as radical as, I think, people try to characterize the Warren court, it wasn't that radical; it didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers and the Constitution, as least as it's been interpreted." Mr. Obama defended the use of the Supreme Court, the least democratic of the three branches of government, to bring about economic change by arguing he could craft a "theoretical justification for it legally" and that he "could come up with a rationale for bringing about economic change through the courts." And where the Court refused to break free of the constitutional restraints placed on it, Mr. Obama argued community activists became too reliant on the court system to usher in civil rights change and such a reliance thwarted efforts to bring about "redistributive change."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/27/2008 | Presidential Issues
Group Puts Together Ads That Focus On Small Town Pa.
The Bulletin
If John McCain can win Pennsylvania, then he wins the White House, the latest banter from the Beltway goes. But with the presidential race tightening just days before the election, Pennsylvania holds the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and a West Chester-based grassroots organization is reminding Pennsylvania voters - many of whom live on the rolling countryside between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh - just how Sen. Barack Obama views small town America. "Sen. Obama, we are Pennsylvanians from small towns," an unidentified woman says before a number of faces appear in the ad questioning Mr. Obama's view of small-town Pennsylvania. Let Freedom Ring, a group dedicated to "constitutional government, economic freedom and traditional values," is airing the ad as part of a $5 million campaign to raise voter awareness.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/27/2008 | Presidential Issues
Media's Presidential Bias and Decline
ABC News
The traditional media are playing a very, very dangerous game -- with their readers, with the Constitution and with their own fates. The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling. And over the last few months I've found myself slowly moving from shaking my head at the obvious one-sided reporting, to actually shouting at the screen of my television and my laptop computer. But worst of all, for the last couple weeks, I've begun -- for the first time in my adult life -- to be embarrassed to admit what I do for a living. A few days ago, when asked by a new acquaintance what I did for a living, I replied that I was "a writer," because I couldn't bring myself to admit to a stranger that I'm a journalist.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/20/2008 | Presidential Issues
A Role for Parents in the Election
Townhall.Com
The Obama Campaign has infiltrated college and graduate school campuses throughout the United States. One day last week, on my way to class I was asked if I wanted to sign-up to volunteer for the Obama Campaign. On my way to my seat, I passed a student with an Obama button pinned to her shirt. Before my evening seminar, one of my fellow classmates handed out Obama bumper stickers. Even away from law school in the comfort of my home I am told that as a young person I should be voting for Obama. In a spoof of ads encouraging parents to talk to their children about drugs, smoking and sex, Penn Badgley and Blake Lively, stars of Gossip Girl, along with some other young people implore young people to, “talk to your parents about John McCain.” Sponsored by MoveOn.org, the ad opens with Badgley saying, “Mom, Dad, I found this in your room today,” as he holds up a trucker hat that reads, “Drill Baby Drill, McCain-Palin 2008.” It ends with Lively offering, “And if you’re ever out somewhere and you’re considering voting for McCain, just call me, and I’ll pick you up. No questions asked.”
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/20/2008 | Presidential Issues
McCain suggests Obama tax policies are socialist
Yahoo News
CONCORD, N.C. – Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Saturday accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of favoring a socialistic economic approach by supporting tax cuts and tax credits McCain says would merely shuffle wealth rather than creating it. "At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway." McCain, though, has a health care plan girded with a similar philosophy. He proposes providing individuals with a $5,000 tax credit to buy health insurance. He would pay for his plan, in part, by considering as taxable income the money their employer spends on their health coverage. McCain leveled his charge before a pair of appearances aimed at restoring his lead in critical battleground states. In both North Carolina and Virginia, where McCain was to speak later in the day, his campaign has surrendered its lead to Obama in various polls. President Bush, a Republican, won both states in 2004.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)10/20/2008 | Presidential Issues
Shock Poll: McCain Gets Within The Margin of Error
The Bulletin
Gallup's traditional likely voter model shows Sen. John McCain within two points of Sen. Barack Obama, well within the poll's margin of error. The three-day sampling shows Mr. Obama leading 49 percent to 47 percent. Among registered voters, Mr. Obama leads 49 to 43 percent. Obama Tells Supports: Don't Get 'Cocky' The morning after the last presidential debate, Mr. Obama cautioned his supporters not to get "cocky" and said there was still a lot to be done before the election on Nov. 4. "For those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky and think this is all set, I just say one word - I guess it's two words for you - New Hampshire," Mr. Obama said during a high-brow fundraiser in New York City. After winning the Iowa caucus, Mr. Obama hit a road bump when Sen. Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary a few days later. "I've been in these positions before where we are favored and the press starts getting carried away and we end up getting spanked ... and so we want to make sure we are closing strong, right through the tape." Ad Watch: McCain Targets Bush Mr. McCain is increasing his efforts to distance his campaign from President George W. Bush and released a new ad criticizing Mr. Bush and pledging to take the country in a new direction. "The last eight years haven't worked very well, have they?" Mr. McCain says in the new one-minute spot in which the Republican talks directly to voters. "I'll make the next four better."
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)