THE PRE-ELECTION FIGHT OF BARACK OBAMA and JOHN McCAIN for THE PRESIDENCY OF USA.

www.Apodimos.com

We inform our visitors-reader, of portal Online magazine Apodimos.com that is informing all Greeks, our Cypriote, Emigrant brothers with various information on U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain reached to end. For that reason we as Apodimos.com, will give some articles for studding to our visitors-reader of his portal Online of magazine, so they knew how the fight for the election of new chairman of USA developed. The articles on study are the below, Η Γερουσία εγκρίνει πακέτο μέτρων, Τηλεμαχία Ομπάμα - Μακέην σε θέματα εξωτερικής πολιτικής, Facts muddled in Mississippi McCain-Obama meeting, Senators Caught in Mortgage Fallout, California has largest number of minorities near hazardous waste, Dobbs: Campaign a lot of partisan nonsense, Manipulating racial identity to get out the vote, Poll: Views still differ sharply by race, Economists say shaky economy may last for a while, Younger US Voters Weigh In on Vice Presidential Debate, Palin criticizes Obama's ties to Wright, Ayers, McCain, Obama Vow to Help Middle Class Americans, Obama Attacks McCain on Health Care, Congress hears Lehman sought millions for execs, Exclusive: Obama to hit McCain on Keating Five, McCain, Obama go for jugular, McCain ad calls Obama 'dishonorable' ……. thus all Greek-American emigrants brothers they have a picture of development of pre-election fight Barack Obama and John McCain.

  

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   Φωνή της Αμερικής ▪ Greek

Η Γερουσία εγκρίνει πακέτο μέτρων

02-10-2008

Με 74 ψήφους υπέρ έναντι 25 η Αμερικανική Γερουσία ενέκρινε το πακέτο μέτρων για τη στήριξη του χρηματοπιστωτικού τομέα. Και οι δύο προεδρικοί υποψήφιοι Μπαράκ Ομπάμα και Τζον Μακέιν επέστρεψαν στην Ουάσιγκτον τη Τετάρτη για να συμμετάσχουν στην ψηφοφορία στη Γερουσία. Πρόκειται για αναθεωρημένο σχέδιο του αρχικού που απερρίφθη απ’ τη Βουλή τη Δευτέρα και χορηγεί μέχρι και 700 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια για την στήριξη του χρηματοπιστωτικού τομέα. Αλλά Δημοκρατικοί και Ρεπουμπλικανοί προσέθεσαν τροπολογίες που βοήθησαν στο να πείσουν τα μέλη της Γερουσίας να εγκρίνουν το πακέτο….. Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες κάντε ΚΛΙΚ στο http://www.voanews.com/greek/2008-10-02-voa2.cfm

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   Φωνή της Αμερικής ▪ Greek

Τηλεμαχία Ομπάμα - Μακέην σε θέματα εξωτερικής πολιτικής

Γιώργος Μπίστης

Ουάσιγκτον

02-10-2008

Η Αμερικανική εξωτερική πολιτική εξετάστηκε εκτενώς σε μία από τις τρεις τηλεμαχίες μεταξύ των υποψηφίων για την Προεδρία των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών, Γερουσιαστών Μπαράκ Ομπάμα, του Δημοκρατικού Κόμματος και Τζων Μακέην του Ρεπουμπλικανικού. Η πρώτη μεγάλη σύγκρουση απόψεων σημειώθηκε γύρω από τον πόλεμο στο Ιράκ.

Ο Γερουσιαστής Μακέην είπε ότι η πρόσφατη αποστολή εκεί πρόσθετων Αμερικανικών στρατευμάτων, την οποία ο ίδιος υποστήριξε ενώ ο αντίπαλός του την καταψήφισε, πέτυχε τον στόχο της.

Μακέην: «Η στρατηγική αυτή και ο στρατηγός που την εφαρμόζει σημειώνουν επιτυχία. Ο Γερουσιαστής Ομπάμα αρνείται να παραδεχθεί οποιαδήποτε επιτυχία μας».

Ομπάμα: «Αυτό δεν είναι αλήθεια».

Μακέην: «Τις τελευταίες μέρες οι Ιρακινοί θέσπισαν και εκλογικό νόμο».

Ομπάμα: «Όταν άρχισε ο πόλεμος, εσύ έλεγες ότι θα έληγε γρήγορα και εύκολα. Είχες πει επίσης ότι γνώριζες που ήταν κρυμμένα τα όπλα μαζικής καταστροφής. Αποδείχθηκες λανθασμένος. Είχες επίσης δηλώσει ότι θα μας υποδεχθούν ως απελευθερωτές. Κι αυτό ήταν λάθος»...........Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες κάντε ΚΛΙΚ στο http://www.voanews.com/greek/2008-10-02-voa1.cfm

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FactChecking Debate No. 1

September 27, 2008

Facts muddled in Mississippi McCain-Obama meeting.

Summary

v       Obama said McCain adviser Henry Kissinger backs talks with Iran “without preconditions,” but McCain disputed that. In fact, Kissinger did recently call for “high level” talks with Iran starting at the secretary of state level and said, “I do not believe that we can make conditions.” After the debate the McCain campaign issued a statement quoting Kissinger as saying he didn’t favor presidential talks with Iran.

v       Obama denied voting for a bill that called for increased taxes on “people” making as little as $42,000 a year, as McCain accused him of doing. McCain was right, though only for single taxpayers. A married couple would have had to make $83,000 to be affected by the vote, and anyway no such increase is in Obama’s tax plan.

v       McCain and Obama contradicted each other on what Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen said about troop withdrawals. Mullen said a time line for withdrawal could be “very dangerous” but was not talking specifically about “Obama’s plan,” as McCain maintained.

v       McCain tripped up on one of his signature issues – special appropriation “earmarks.” He said they had “tripled in the last five years,” when in fact they have decreased sharply.

v       Obama claimed Iraq “has” a $79 billion surplus. It once was projected to be as high as that. It’s now down to less than $60 billion.

v       McCain repeated his overstated claim that the U.S. pays $700 billion a year for oil to hostile nations. Imports are running at about $536 billion this year, and a third of it comes from Canada, Mexico and the U.K.

v       Obama said 95 percent of “the American people” would see a tax cut under his proposal. The actual figure is 81 percent of households.

v       Obama mischaracterized an aspect of McCain’s health care plan, saying “employers” would be taxed on the value of health benefits provided to workers. Employers wouldn’t, but the workers would. McCain also would grant workers up to a $5,000 tax credit per family to cover health insurance.

v       McCain misrepresented Obama's plan by claiming he'd be "handing the health care system over to the federal government." Obama would expand some government programs but would allow people to keep their current plans or chose from private ones, as well.

v       McCain claimed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had drafted a letter of resignation from the Army to be sent in case the 1944 D-Day landing at Normandy turned out to be a failure. Ike prepared a letter taking responsibility, but he didn’t mention resigning.

For full details, as well as other dubious claims and statements, please read our full Analysis section. ……..

For more information please click: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_debate_no_1.html

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   Washington

Senators Caught in Mortgage Fallout

By LESLIE WAYNE

Published: June 14, 2008

When Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota wanted a mortgage for his beach house, he turned to a Washington insider, James A. Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae, the government mortgage giant, who then put the senator in touch with Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.

The ensuing telephone call between Mr. Conrad and Mr. Mozilo led to two Countrywide mortgages, including one in which the company bent its rules to give Mr. Conrad a loan.

Those loans are now among a number of Countrywide mortgages at the center of an examination into whether a number of top politicians in Washington — members of Congress, the cabinet and celebrated advisers — received favorable deals from a company whose lax lending standards are at the center of the subprime mortgage crisis.

This week, Mr. Johnson, whom Mr. Conrad turned to for help, was forced to step down as head of Senator Barack Obama’s vice-presidential selection committee in part over Countrywide home mortgage loans that Mr. Johnson had received at favorable rates.

At the center of the scrutiny is Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program, also known as the “Friend of Angelo” program, in which Countrywide appeared to bend its lending rules for prominent people. Now, many of those receiving Countrywide home mortgages say they were not aware the company might have been working behind the scenes to give them favorable loan terms……

For more information please click: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/14/washington/14loans.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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    California Local

Archive for Thursday, April 12, 2007

California has largest number of minorities near hazardous waste

By Janet Wilson

April 12, 2007 in print edition B-1

California has the nation’s highest concentration of minorities living near hazardous waste facilities, according to a newly released study. Greater Los Angeles tops the nation with 1.2 million people living less than two miles from 17 such facilities, and 91% of them, or 1.1 million, are minorities. Statewide the figure was 81%.

The study, conducted by researchers at four universities for the United Church of Christ, examined census data for neighborhoods adjacent to 413 facilities nationwide that process or store hazardous chemical waste produced by refineries, metal plating shops, drycleaners and battery recyclers, among others.

Though about one-third of U.S. residents are nonwhite, more than half of the people living near such facilities were Latino, African American or Asian American, according to the report.

The cause is simple, said Robert Bullard, a sociologist at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia and lead author of the study, which updates a landmark report from two decades ago. “The most potent predictor of where these facilities are sited is not how much income you have; it’s race.

L.A. ranked first among major urban areas with the most people living near hazardous waste facilities. Oakland and Orange County placed fifth and sixth, respectively, with hazardous sites in Santa Ana and other minority neighborhoods.

The study also found that hazardous waste facilities were often clustered with other potentially dangerous industries, and that the rate of minority residents in areas with multiple hazards was even higher.

“There’s a piling on effect

Sue Briggum, vice president of federal public affairs for Waste Management, which operates several of the facilities examined in the study, including a landfill in Kettleman City, Calif., said the hazardous waste industry is heavily regulated for safety and provides an important recycling service.

Briggum, who served on a national environmental justice task force several years ago, acknowledged the problems highlighted by the study. “There’s no disputing the facts,” she said. But, she added, the industry and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have done a great deal in recent years to try to reduce emissions, beef up safety and address other concerns in affected neighborhoods.

Although low-income neighborhoods were much more likely to have hazardous waste facilities, some of the areas examined were quite affluent, including one in Seattle that is predominantly Asian, said study coauthor Robin Saha, a sociologist with the University of Montana………

For more information please click: http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/12/local/me-toxic12

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     /US

Dobbs: Campaign a lot of partisan nonsense

Lou Dobbs' commentary appears weekly on CNN.com.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Remember how excited everybody was just a short while ago that this presidential campaign was the first in 80 years to be wide open, without a president or vice president in the campaign?

Remember how excited we all were that American presidential politics had matured to the point that a woman and a black man were winning primary and caucus votes that allowed both to claim front-runner status?

Now Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are ensnared in petty racial and gender politics and that does neither of them credit.

But at least the ugly spectacle that Clinton and Obama created should serve as a reminder to all of us that group and identity politics have outlived their effectiveness and that pandering to socio-ethnocentric interest groups and special interests, whether as large as corporate America or as small as the construction company in a congressman's district, has no rightful place in 21st century American politics.

The Democratic and Republican candidates for president have done hardly better than President Bush and the Democratic-led Congress on the issue of the war in Iraq. The candidates trip over one another to bring more of our troops home faster than the other candidates, or refusing to withdraw our troops from Iraq until the job is done; policy choices not dissimilar to the simplistic White House's false choices in either staying the course or cutting and running.

But these presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, obviously would prefer not to discuss the war in Iraq in their campaigns, nor to state clearly whether they would secure our borders and ports as an absolute first condition before taking up the issue of immigration reform.

Both parties and nearly all of their candidates continue to drive false choices for the illegal immigration debate as well. The centrist and appropriate policy response to this crisis is to secure our borders and ports, and enforce current immigration laws…..

For more information please click: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/15/Dobbs.January16/index.html

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Manipulating racial identity to get out the vote

By Yun Xie | Published: September 18, 2008 - 06:35PM CT

As the election draws near, we are being bombarded with messages that are designed to either reinforce or blur our sense of social identity, drawing us to make alliances based on who we think we are and who we think we're not. Both Democrats and Republicans use what are called affirmational speeches and ads that reinforce our sense of identity and suggest that their candidates are ordinary people like us. For example, Governor Palin reminds us that she was a hockey mom, while Senator Obama talks about growing up in the Kansas heartland. They also remind us that we are nothing like their opposing candidate using what are termed negational messages. We are told that McCain lives an overprivileged and out-of-touch life in multiple homes, and we hear that Obama is an elitist who disrespects gun owners and religious folks.

Are these attempts to play with negational and affirmational conditions significant during elections? Historians and psychologists have long analyzed how people united either for a similar identity or against a shared enemy, but there has been no direct examination on presidential voting. Psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam Galinsky and Miguel Unzueta took advantage of the recent Democratic Presidential Primary to study the effects of identity manipulation on voting…..

For more information please click: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080918-manipulating-racial-identity-to-get-out-the-vote.html

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   Political news

Poll: Views still differ sharply by race

By CHARLES BABINGTON Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press

Sept. 22, 2008, 10:01AM

Phil Sandlin AP

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at a rally in Jacksonville, Fla. Saturday, Sept., 20, 2008, (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

WASHINGTON — Since the nation's birth, Americans have discussed race and avoided it, organized neighborhoods and political movements around it, and used it to divide and hurt people even as relations have improved dramatically since the days of slavery, Reconstruction and legal segregation.

Now, in what could be a historic year for a black presidential candidate, a new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll, conducted with Stanford University, shows just how wide a gap remains between whites and blacks.

It shows that a substantial portion of white Americans still harbor negative feelings toward blacks. It shows that blacks and whites disagree tremendously on how much racial prejudice exists, whose fault it is and how much influence blacks have in politics.

One result is that Barack Obama's path to the presidency is steeper than it would be if he were white.

Until now, social scientists have not closely examined racial sentiments on a nationwide scale at a moment when race is central to choosing the next president. The poll, which featured a large sample of Americans — more than 2,200 — and sophisticated survey techniques rarely used in media surveys, reflected the complexity, change and occasional contradictions of race relations.

More whites apply positive attributes to blacks than negative ones, and blacks are even more generous in their descriptions of whites. Racial prejudice is lower among college-educated whites living outside the South. And many whites who think most blacks are somewhat lazy, violent or boastful are willing or even eager to vote for Obama over Republican John McCain, who is white.

The poll, however, shows that blacks and whites see racial discrimination in starkly different terms. When asked "how much discrimination against blacks" exists, 10 percent of whites said "a lot" and 45 percent said "some."

Among blacks, 57 percent said "a lot" and all but a fraction of the rest said "some."….

For more information please click:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/6015516.html

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Economists say shaky economy may last for a while

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - A growing number of economists believe the country is on the brink of — or already in — its first recession since 2001 and that it will be longer lasting. That's part of the latest outlook from forecasters in a survey being released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, also know by its acronym NABE.

Close to 69 percent of the economists think the economy has started or will enter a recession this year. That's up from 56 percent in a survey in May. "The general view is .... that this recession will be longer than the last two — lasting roughly one year, but relatively mild," the survey concluded. The 2001 recession started in March and ended in November. The one before that began in July 1990 and ended in March 1991.

Under one classic definition, a recession happens when the economy shrinks for two quarters in a row. The National Bureau of Economic Research, the recognized arbiters for dating recessions, uses a more complicated formula that takes into account such things as employment and income growth.

"Business economists have become more negative on the economic outlook for the next several quarters as a result of the tightness in credit markets and weakness in consumer spending, expecting growth to stall in the fourth quarter," said Chris Varvares, president-elect of the NABE and president of Macroeconomic Advisers.

For more information please click:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_bi_ge/wobbly_economy

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Younger US Voters Weigh In on Vice Presidential Debate

By Kane Farabaugh

St. Louis, Missouri

03 October 2008

Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted the debates between Vice Presidential candidates Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden. It is the only time the candidates will meet to debate before the November 4 elections. As VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports from St. Louis, much of the focus was on Governor Palin's performance, particularly among younger voters who are trying to make a decision about who they will vote for.

In a rare, warm October afternoon, students on the campus of Washington University of St. Louis compete in a friendly game of croquet.

Their loosely structured competition plays out just meters away from the site of one of the most talked-about Vice Presidential debates in U.S. history.

While none of these students managed to get a ticket to the event between Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Delaware Senator Joe Biden, the excitement of the occasion is not lost on Chris Riha.

"In my opinion this is now the most exciting debate of the four debates that are happening. So everyone I talked to is really energized by this," Riha said.

Riha is happy to keep playing his game and does not mind not having a ticket. He has already decided who he is voting for in November, something his croquet partner, Liz Kramer, says is typical among the students on this campus.

"It's going to be less to sway people who haven't decided but more to ground people that already have," said Kramer.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama typically does well on college campuses, where his message of change and his youthful demeanor attract younger voters.

Emma Lutz-McKenna managed to get tickets to this event through an environmental advocacy group. At the time the debate started, she considered herself an independent voter.

But there is a different narrative unfolding across town, on the campus of St. Louis University, where supporters of Governor Palin gathered for a debate party and rally at the school's arena.

"Every time I feel like I have my ideas as to which candidate I'd like to back something else comes up or the other one says something I am very excited about or very excited against, and so it's been very much the roller coaster," according to Lutz-McKenna……..

For more information please click: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-03-voa51.cfm

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Palin criticizes Obama's ties to Wright, Ayers

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin expanded her attack on Democrat Barack Obama's character Monday to include his relationship with an incendiary former pastor as well as his ties to 1960s-era radical Bill Ayers.

In the process, Palin toned down her description of the Obama-Ayers relationship after her weekend remarks were criticized as exaggerated, but at the same time she embarked on a discussion of Obama's relationship with his former paster, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., which Republican presidential candidate John McCain had signaled he did not want to be a part of his campaign.

In an interview with conservative The New York Times columnist William Kristol published Monday, the Alaska governor said there should be more discussion about Wright, Obama's pastor of 20 years at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. The Democratic candidate denounced Wright and severed ties with the church last spring after videotapes surfaced showing Wright making anti-American and anti-Semitic comments from the pulpit.

Wright had appeared to be off limits for the McCain campaign ever since McCain himself condemned the North Carolina Republican Party in April for an ad that called Obama "too extreme" because Wright was his pastor. He asked the party to take down the ad and said, "I'm making it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that there's no place for that kind of campaigning, and the American people don't want it."

When Kristol pressed Palin about Wright, she replied, "I don't know why that association isn't discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country." She continued, "To me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up."

At a morning rally in Florida, Palin kept up her criticism of Obama's ties to Ayers, a founder of the violent Weather Underground group blamed for several bombings during the Vietnam War era, when Obama was a child.

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_el_pr/palin

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McCain, Obama Vow to Help Middle Class Americans

By VOA News

03 October 2008

U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain reached out to average citizens Friday, saying their policies will best help the country's middle class.

Obama told supporters in Pennsylvania that his policies will help create millions of jobs and put more money in people's pockets. The Illinois senator charged that his Republican rival's policies will cost American jobs.

McCain Friday addressed supporters in Colorado and said he will restore trust and confidence in the government. The Arizona senator vowed to stabilize the U.S. financial markets and bring relief to homeowners who are struggling with dropping home values and bad loans.

Both McCain and Obama today also praised their running mates' performance Thursday during the only scheduled debate for the vice presidential candidates.

McCain said Alaska Governor Sarah Palin did a "magnificent" job. Obama said Delaware Senator Joe Biden's performance was "great."

The White House said President George Bush thought it was a "good debate" and that Palin faired very well.

A quick poll offered good news for both campaigns. A CBS poll said that 46 percent of uncommitted voters thought Biden won the debate, compared to 21 percent for Palin. But it also found that voters' opinions of Palin improved after her performance.

Palin and Biden clashed on a number of issues Thursday, including the economy, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and energy and foreign policy……

For more information please click: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-03-voa39.cfm

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Obama Attacks McCain on Health Care

By VOA News

04 October 2008

U.S. presidential nominee, Democrat Barack Obama, says his rival's health care plan is "radical" and could cause millions of Americans to lose their benefits.

Obama told a rally Saturday in the eastern state of Virginia that Republican presidential nominee John McCain will tax health care benefits. He also says the McCain plan will force many companies to stop offering health care to their employees.

Obama says his plan will offer Americans more choices and more protection.

Republican Party officials say Obama is lying.

McCain is in the Western state of Arizona and is scheduled to give a media interview Saturday.

With just one month to go before the U.S. presidential election, senior aides say the Republican candidate is also changing his campaign strategy.

They say McCain plans to focus more on his opponent's character and liberal political views.

A television advertisement that began airing Friday charges Obama has not been truthful about his tax policies……

For more information please click: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-04-voa16.cfm

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Congress hears Lehman sought millions for execs

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Days from becoming the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, Lehman Brothers steered millions to departing executives even while pleading for a federal rescue, Congress was told Monday.

As well, executives who feared for their bonuses in the company's last months were told not to worry, according to documents cited at a congressional hearing. One executive said he was embarrassed when employees suggested that Lehman executives forgo bonuses, and cracked: "I'm not sure what's in the water."

The first hearing into what caused the nation's financial markets to collapse last month, precipitating a $700 billion bailout, opened with finger-pointing and glimpses into internal company documents from Lehman's chaotic last hours.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the giant investment bank was "a company in which there was no accountability for failure." Lehman's collapse set off a panic that within days had President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asking Congress to pass the rescue plan for the financial sector.

Richard S. Fuld Jr., chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, declared to the committee "I take full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took." He defended his actions as "prudent and appropriate" based on information he had at the time.

"I feel horrible about what happened," he said.

Waxman questioned Fuld on whether it was true he took home some $480 million in compensation since 2000, and asked: "Is that fair?" Fuld took off his glasses, held them, and looked uncomfortable. He said his compensation was not quite that much. "We had a compensation committee that spent a tremendous amount of time making sure that the interests of the executives and the employees were aligned with shareholders," he said. Fuld said he took home over $300 million in those years — some $60 million in cash compensation……….

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081006/ap_on_go_co/meltdown_lehman

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Exclusive: Obama to hit McCain on Keating Five

Mike Allen Sun Oct 5, 11:09 PM ET

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Monday is launching a multimedia campaign to draw attention to the involvement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the “Keating Five” savings-and-loan scandal of 1989-91, which blemished McCain’s public image and set him on his course as a self-styled reformer.

Pushing back against what it calls McCain's “guilt-by-association” tactics, the Obama campaign overnight began e-mailing millions of supporters a link to a website, KeatingEconomics.com, which will have a 13-minute documentary on the scandal beginning at noon Eastern time on Monday. The e-mails urge recipients to pass the link on to friends.

The Obama campaign, including its surrogates appearing on radio and television, will argue that the deregulatory fervor that caused massive, cascading savings-and-loan collapses in the late ‘80s was pursued by McCain throughout his career, and helped cause the current credit crisis.

Obama-Biden communications director Dan Pfeiffer said: “While John McCain may want to turn the page on his erratic response to the current economic crisis, we think voters will find his involvement in a similar crisis to be particularly interesting. His involvement with Keating is a window into McCain’s economic past, present, and future.”

The sudden spate of personal attacks continued Monday, with McCain releasing an ad called "Dangerous": "Who is Barack Obama? He says our troops in Afghanistan are 'just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.' How dishonorable. Congressional liberals voted repeatedly to cut off funding to our active troops. Increasing the risk on their lives. How dangerous. Obama and Congressional liberals. Too risky for America."

Obama’s Keating offensive comes after McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spent two days telling voters, donors and reporters that Obama showed poor judgment in his relationship with the former radical William Ayers.

McCain’s campaign has vowed to make a major issue of Obama’s Chicago relationships in coming days, with a senior McCain official telling Politico that they are “the vehicle that allows us to question Obama’s truthfulness about his past and his plans for the future.”

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081006/pl_politico/14302;_ylt=At7J3Vs2OCXNmx60ygiowZJsnwcF

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McCain, Obama go for jugular

Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen Mon Oct 6, 10:12 AM ET

John McCain and Barack Obama are suddenly going for the jugular, whacking each other for shady relationships in the past and mental stability today.

At a rally in Florida this morning, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin brought up ties between Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and a former member of a '60s radical anti-war group, and said Obama has "a left-wing agenda."

"I’m afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country," Palin said in Clearwater, according to CBS News.

The Obama campaign meanwhile, has opened a new website and is posting a 13-minute documentary to resurrect his involvement in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal two decades ago.

The McCain campaign’s attacks, and Obama’s escalation, reflect a fluid race that has Republicans terrified and Democrats confident. Election Day is 29 days away but the campaigns know that most voters will make up their minds – and many will actually vote by mail – in the next two weeks.

In the past 24 hours, Obama has hit Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for "erratic" behavior during the market meltdown. And in an overnight e-mail to millions of supporters announcing a “Keating Economics” website and documentary, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe says: “The point of the film and the web site is that John McCain still hasn't learned his lesson. … Please forward this email to everyone you know.”

McCain, in turn, has hit Obama for his ties to former domestic terrorist William Ayers, and released an ad calling his opponent "dangerous" and "dishonorable" for a comment about Afghanistan………

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081006/pl_politico/14313;_ylt=An23wsxtpxKvLG8BbcdFScBsnwcF

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McCain ad calls Obama 'dishonorable'

Andy Barr Mon Oct 6, 8:38 AM ET

John McCain’s campaign launched a new television ad Monday calling Barack Obama “dishonorable" and "too risky."

The ad revisits Obama’s remark that troops in Afghanistan are “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians,” a line Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been repeating recently.

“How dishonorable,” the narrator says following a clip of Obama making the remark.

“Congressional liberals voted repeatedly to cut off funding to our active troops. Increasing the risk on their lives. How dangerous.”

“Obama and congressional liberals. Too risky for America.”

Obama made the remark during a campaign stop in New Hampshire in August 2007…….

For more information please click:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081006/pl_politico/14308;_ylt=AhKZ5yAbLeLAUX1dOFfwnfpsnwcF

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Insurance giant AIG's role in market crisis probed

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Executives at American International Group Inc. hid the full range of its risky financial products from auditors as losses mounted, according to documents released Tuesday by a congressional panel examining the chain of events that forced the government to bail out the conglomerate.

The panel sharply criticized AIG's former top executives, who cast blame on each other for the company's financial woes.

"You have cost my constituents and the taxpayers of this country $85 billion and run into the ground one of the most respected insurance companies in the history of our country," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. "You were just gambling billions, possibly trillions of dollars."

AIG, crippled by huge losses linked to mortgage defaults, was forced last month to accept an $85 billion government loan that gives the U.S. an 80 percent stake in the company.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., unveiled documents showing AIG executives hid the full extent of the firm's risky financial products from auditors, both outside and inside the firm, as losses mounted.

For instance, federal regulators at the Office of Thrift Supervision warned in March that "corporate oversight of AIG Financial Products ... lack critical elements of independence." At the same time, Pricewaterhouse Cooper confidentially warned the company that the "root cause" of its mounting problems was denying internal overseers in charge of limiting AIG's exposure access to what was going on in its highly leveraged financial products branch.

Waxman also released testimony from former AIG auditor Joseph St. Denis, who resigned after being blocked from giving his input on how the firm estimated its liabilities.

Three former AIG executives were summoned to appear before the hearing. One of them, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg — who ran AIG for 38 years until 2005 — canceled his appearance citing illness but submitted prepared testimony. In it, he blamed the company's financial woes on his successors, former CEOs Martin Sullivan and Robert Willumstad.

"When I left AIG, the company operated in 130 countries and employed approximately 92,000 people," Greenberg said. "Today, the company we built up over almost four decades has been virtually destroyed."……..

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_go_co/meltdown_aig

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Leading in the polls, Barack Obama hopes to cement his standing while John McCain is trying to turn his fortunes around in their second presidential debate -- with economic turmoil bordering on chaos suddenly serving as the backdrop.

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   Washington

Trailing Obama, McCain Hopes to Gain in Debate

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 7, 2008

Exchanges between the candidates have grown ever more acerbic with just four weeks to go until Election Day. Tuesday night's debate gives Republican McCain one of his last chances before a nationwide TV audience to halt the Democrat's momentum and convince voters he is capable of addressing the crisis in the credit, housing and stock markets.

The town hall format at Belmont University will allow voters to ask questions while NBC's Tom Brokaw moderates. The candidates' third and last debate will be Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in Hempsted, N.Y.

If Tuesday night's confrontation echoes the most recent campaign exchanges, it could be far more personal and pointed than the two men's Sept. 26 encounter. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, has raised Obama's ties to 1960s-era radical William Ayers and to the Democrat's former pastor, the incendiary Rev. Jeremiah Wright. On Monday, McCain accused Obama of lying about the Republican senator's record, and asked, ''Who is the real Sen. Obama?''

Obama's campaign rolled out a video recounting McCain's involvement in the 1980s Keating Five savings and loan scandal, while Obama himself accused McCain of engaging in ''smear tactics'' to distract from economic issues.

Both nominees have condemned character attacks in the past, and some supporters are urging them to cool the rhetoric.

McCain in June told reporters, ''Americans are sick and tired of the personal attacks, the impugning of integrity'' in campaigns.

Obama told an Iowa crowd in January: ''We can't afford the same old partisan food fight. We can't afford a politics that's all about tearing opponents down instead of lifting the country up.''…………….

For more information please click: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Presidential-Debate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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Obama gaining in 5 battleground states, polls say

By Alan Silverleib

CNN Senior Political Researcher

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Polls in five key battleground states in the race for the White House released Tuesday suggest that Sen. Barack Obama is making major gains.

The CNN/Time magazine/Opinion Research Corp. polls of likely voters in Indiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin reflect a significant nationwide shift toward the Democratic presidential nominee.

Obama has made significant strides in New Hampshire, the state credited with reviving Sen. John McCain's Republican primary campaign in both 2000 and 2008.

Fifty-three percent of New Hampshire's likely voters are backing Obama, while 45 percent are supporting McCain. Obama held a lead of 5 percentage points in the last CNN New Hampshire poll, taken in early September.

Four years ago, Sen. John Kerry narrowly carried New Hampshire -- a one-time GOP stronghold. George W. Bush squeezed out a slender win by 1 percentage point in 2000. iReport.com: Are you in a battleground state? Share your story

In Indiana, 51 percent of likely voters say McCain is their choice for president, with 46 percent backing Obama, a Democratic senator from neighboring Illinois. Indiana went for Bush by 21 percentage points four years ago; Democrats have not carried Indiana since 1964. See the latest polling

In North Carolina, the two major party nominees are locked in a dead heat, with McCain and Obama each claiming the support of 49 percent of likely voters.

"Obama's strongest region is in the Raleigh/Durham area," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director. "McCain does best in Charlotte and the surrounding counties."

The last Democrat to carry North Carolina was Jimmy Carter, a Southerner, in 1976. The state's 15 electoral votes are considered critical for any successful Republican presidential campaign.

McCain trails Obama in Ohio; 50 percent of likely voters favor Obama, while 47 percent support the senator from Arizona. No Republican has won the White House without carrying the state.

"McCain has a 6-point lead in the Cincinnati area," Holland said. "But a GOP candidate normally needs to do better than that in southwestern Ohio in order to win the state. And overall, Obama actually has a 2-point edge among suburban communities across the state."……

For more information please click: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/07/battleground.poll/index.html

All About John McCain • Barack Obama

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McCain, Obama clash over economic crisis

08 October 2008

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Barack Obama and John McCain clashed repeatedly over the causes and cures for the worst economic crisis in 80 years Tuesday night in a debate in which Republican McCain called for sweeping action by the government to directly shield many homeowners from mortgage foreclosure.

"It's my proposal. It's not Sen. Obama's proposal, it's not President Bush's proposal," McCain said in the debate that he hoped could revive his fortunes in a presidential race trending toward his rival.

In one pointed confrontation on foreign policy, Obama bluntly challenged McCain's steadiness. "This is a guy who sang bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, who called for the annihilation of North Korea — that I don't think is an example of speaking softly."

That came after McCain accused him of foolishly threatening to invade Pakistan and said, "I'm not going to telegraph my punches, which is what Sen. Obama did."

The debate was the second of three between the two major party rivals, and the only one to feature a format in which voters seated a few feet away posed questions to the candidates.

They were polite, but the strain of the campaign showed. At one point, McCain referred to Obama as "that one," rather than speaking his name.

"It's good to be with you at a town hall meeting," McCain also jabbed at his rival, who has spurned the Republican's calls for numerous such joint appearances across the fall campaign.

They debated on a stage at Belmont University four weeks before Election Day in a race that has lately favored Obama, both in national polls and in surveys in pivotal battleground states.

Not surprisingly, many of the questions dealt with an economy in trouble.

Obama said the current crisis was the "final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years" that President Bush pursued and were "supported by Sen. McCain."

He contended that Bush, McCain and others had favored deregulation of the financial industry, predicting that would "let markets run wild and prosperity would rain down on all of us. It didn't happen."

McCain's pledge to have the government help individual homeowners avoid foreclosure went beyond the details of the bailout that recently cleared Congress. The legislation allows but does not require Treasury to purchase mortgages directly. Obama has said previously that idea should be studied, and his campaign contended McCain's proposal was not a new one.

McCain's campaign issued a written statement that said the $300 billion cost of his initiative would be paid out of the $700 billion approved late last week.

"I would order the secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes, at the diminished value of those homes, and let people be able to make those payments and stay in their homes," he said.

"Is it expensive? Yes. But we all know, my friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy, and we've got to give some trust and confidence back to America."……..

For more information please click: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/presidential_debate

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McCain and Obama Debate Economic Recovery

By Brian Wagner

Nashville, Tennessee

08 October 2008

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama battled over economic recovery policies during the second presidential debate ahead of the November election. VOA's Brian Wagner reports from Nashville, Tennessee, where the candidates faced direct questions from voters.

For 90 minutes, Senator McCain and Senator Obama responded to questions from a group of undecided voters at Belmont University in Nashville. The so called "town hall" forum gave voters a chance to voice their concerns and ask the U.S. presidential candidates about the specific policies and positions they would bring to the White House, if elected in November.

The debate was moderated by journalist Tom Brokaw, who helped select the questions from voters in the audience and voters on the Internet.

Many of the questions focused on how the candidates would respond to the current economic crisis and combat rising unemployment and falling home prices.

Senator Obama said one of his first priorities would be to address financial problems in key banks and insurance companies, as well as problems facing average Americans.

"The middle class need a rescue package. That means tax cuts for the middle class. That means help for home owners, so they can stay in their homes," he said.

Senator McCain said falling real estate prices are affecting many Americans, and he proposed a government program to buy up bad home loans to boost the market.

"We all know, friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we are never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy. We have to give some trust and confidence back to America," McCain said.

Both candidates cited the toll that rising energy prices have had on the economy, and stressed the need for alternatives to foreign oil.

McCain said a crucial part of stimulating the economy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies. "Drilling offshore and [building] nuclear power [plants] are two vital elements of that. I have been supporting those, and I know how to fix this economy and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and stop sending $700 billion a year overseas," he said…..

For more information please click: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-07-voa63.cfm

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Obama, McCain lay out contrasts before undecided voters

08 October 2008

(CNN) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama hammered away at each other's judgment on the economy, domestic policy and foreign affairs as they faced off in their second presidential debate.

Obama tried to tie McCain to President Bush's "failed" policies, while McCain pushed his image as a "consistent reformer" at the debate, which took place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

The debate was set up as a town hall meeting, and the audience was made up of undecided voters.

Obama and McCain fielded questions from the crowd, Internet participants, and moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC News.

The candidates spoke directly to each other at times, but at other times they spoke as if their opponent were not on the same stage, a few feet away. Debate report card

In comparison to the first debate, Tuesday's event -- which came on the heels of several days of increasingly aggressive attacks from both sides -- took on a more contentious tone.

On foreign policy, McCain charged that Obama "does not understand" the country's national security challenges.

McCain said he knows how to handle foreign affairs and questioned Obama's ability to do so. Analysts weigh in on the debate »

"Sen. Obama was wrong about Iraq and the surge. He was wrong about Russia when they committed aggression against Georgia. And in his short career, he does not understand our national security challenges," McCain said. "We don't have time for on-the-job training, my friends."

McCain said the "challenge" facing a president considering using military force "is to know when to go in and when not."

"My judgment is something that I think I have a record to stand on," McCain said. Video highlights of key moments »

Obama shot back and questioned McCain's judgment in supporting the invasion of Iraq.

"When Sen. McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators," he said. "That was the wrong judgment, and it's been costly to us."

The candidates spent about 30 minutes of the debate focusing on foreign affairs. They spoke about the economy for about 45 minutes and spent 15 minutes discussing domestic issues. See scenes from the debate »

A national poll of debate watchers suggested that Obama won the presidential debate. Post-debate poll

Fifty-four percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released 30 minutes after the end of the debate said that Obama did the best job, while 30 percent said McCain performed better….

For more information please click: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/07/presidential.debate/index.html.

All About U.S. Presidential Election • John McCain • Barack Obama

 

We believe that our visitors-reader, of portal online magazine as Apodimos.com that all everywhere English-speaking Greek emigrant with the above articles which was for study, they remained satisfied. And they believe that the U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain that henceforth reached in to end, now with the vote of friend of American population of 4 NOVEMBER the one which becomes President of USA to helps in the resolution of subjects that concerns also Greece.