From the Wall Street Journal:
Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain head into their third and final presidential debate on Wednesday night amid renewed optimism about the economy. ...The two White House hopefuls meet Wednesday night following a huge gain in the stock market on Monday and mixed results on Tuesday that were spurred by a government plan to buy stakes in the largest U.S. banks. Even with markets rebounding ... Wednesday's scheduled topics of the economy and domestic policy will give the two men a much-watched platform to appeal to undecided voters. Wednesday's debate is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. The economy and domestic policy also dominated much of the first two debates as the financial crisis spread and markets seesawed. Each candidate will be allowed two-minute answers, followed by a five-minute discussion for each question. The rules also call for Obama and McCain to make two-minute closing statements. Obama's campaign -- which unveiled new proposals of its own on Monday -- called McCain's plans "a day late and 101 million middle-class families short," saying they won't give tax relief to 101 million families, including 97% of senior citizens. Obama's newest proposals include a partial moratorium on foreclosures and allowing withdrawals of as much as $10,000 from retirement accounts without a tax penalty for two years.
From the Toledo Blade:
With the wind whipping off Lake Erie behind him yesterday, Barack Obama added his endorsement to President Bush's plan to buy into struggling banks to help recover from a national credit crisis. He held his press conference at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon. He has been staying at the resort since Sunday night preparing for his debate tonight in New York with John McCain. Mr. Obama also took five questions from reporters before taking his multivehicle entourage through Oregon to the Chrysler Machining Plant in Perrysburg Township for a surprise meeting with shift-change workers. ...Mr. Obama said "the idea of injecting capital directly into banks is a good one," in response to Mr. Bush's proposal to have the government buy a $250 billion share of struggling banks. "It gives taxpayers a better chance of getting their money out potentially. It also gives the Treasury some more direct mechanisms to monitor and apply some ground rules to participating banks," Mr. Obama said. "But it is very important that there are some regulatory requirements ultimately that go with these injections of cash." He said the plan must crack down on "excessive CEO pay" and make sure the equity share acquired by the government is a good deal for taxpayers. ...At the 3 p.m. shift change at the Chrysler plant in Perrysburg Township, workers clumped around Mr. Obama, pumped his hand, got their pictures taken with him, and urged him on. Fred Hogue, 41, of Toledo, held Mr. Obama's hand in the air as he yelled, "Barack Obama - next president of the United States." "It's an exciting time for America right now. It's an exciting time for UAWs all over America," Mr. Hogue said. The UAW has endorsed Mr. Obama, and the union stewards were wearing Obama/Biden T-shirts.
From the Seattle Times:
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign said Tuesday its army of nationwide workers has registered millions of voters and Democrats now hold a 3.34 million voter edge in 13 battleground states. With voter-registration deadlines past in most key states, Obama's aides said data show that in 13 swing states there are 1.49 million more Democrats and 61,438 fewer Republicans registered than there were at the time of the 2004 general election. Obama's campaign said it's erased GOP advantages in Iowa and Nevada and dramatically increased its edges in Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Comments are closed for this post.
