PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2008 WATCH:
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| THE WEEK THAT WAS.... | The week that was....- July 20, 2008: Barack Obama is visiting Afganistan; he had breakfast with US troops there, and then met with
President Hamid Karzai where he pledged continual aid to the country. This is the second day of Obama's international
tour which is meant to boost his foreign policy credentials.
- July 19, 2008: Obama landed in Kabul, Afganistan, the first stop on his tour of war zones, which will also include a
visit to Iraq. Officially Obama is visiting the regions as part of Congressional delegation, but it also a campaign tour and a response to
Reublican criticism, which claimed Obama has not visited the area in 900 days.
The contraversay surrounding Texas Sen. Phil Gramm's comments has ended; Gramm, who was McCain's campaign
co-chairman resigned from his position. Last week Gramm was criticized for calling"the United States had become a"nation of whiners" whose constant complaints about the U.S. economy show they
are in a"mental recession.""
- July 18, 2008: McCain launched a new TV ad that claimed that Obama changed his positions on Iraq to be elected President.
The ad which is the most critical of Obama's positions on Iraq comes just as he is embarking on a trip to Afganistan and Iraq.
The 30-second ad starts by saying:"Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hasn't been
to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. Positions that helped him win his nomination. Now Obama is
changing to help himself become president."
A new AP-Yahoo News poll claims that Obama supporters are much excited than McCain's; 38 percent to 9 percent.
McCain pledged to help revive the auto industry that has been hit hard by the country's economic woes.
Obama will meet with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 24, 2008.
- July 17, 2008: Obama's upcoming trip to Europe and the Middle East marks his his first"high profile" trip abroad
Obama will visit Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England, and possibly Iraq and Afghanistan in attempt to curb
criticism that he does not have enough foreign policy credentials. Obama will give speeches in historic settings usually reserved to past
presidents and will meet with foreign leaders.
Christian Evangelicals according to a new AP-Yahoo News poll are less excited than they were for George W.Bush in 2004. Bush garned 78 percent of
Evangelical support, while McCain only has 68 percent.
In a new interview with Glamour magazine, Obama claimed that what angers him the most is when his wife Michelle is criticized.
He called the attcks"infuriating," adding"If they have a difference with me on policy, they should debate me. Not her."
- July 16, 2008: John McCain announces at the NAACP national convention that he supports vouchers for private
schools
- July 15, 2008: Obama announced that he does not believe that the war in Iraq is the best route for protecting
the country, and and one of his top priorities would be ending the war"responsibly."
- July 14, 2008: In a New York Time Op-ed, Barack Obama outlined that he would consider sending 7,000 more troops/
two more brigades to Afghanistan to curb the resurgent Al-Quaida, while at the same time he would end the war in Iraq.
The New Yorker debuts a contraversial caricature cover with Obama dressed as a Muslim, and his wife,
Michelle dressed as an armed terrorist.
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| THE STATS | The Stats- July 17, 2008: According to a AP-Yahoo News poll, 30 percent view Michelle Obama favorably as opposed to 35
percent unfavorably. Although Cindy McCain garned a lower favorability rating, her unfavorable rating was also lower than
Michelle Obama's.
- July 16, 2008: According to Evans and Novak the Electoral College results will be Obama 273, McCain 265 -
Human Events
- July 16, 2008: Obama still faces a racial gap according to a new New York Times/CBS News poll.
83 percent of black respondents had a favorable view of Obama, while
only 31 percent of whites view Obama favorably.
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| HISTORIANS COMMENTS | Historians Comment- Tom Segev, Israel: Let's Make a Deal:
The senator may be surprised to discover how Americanized Israelis have become in recent decades: the American
Dream is now a central element of their identity. Most Israelis feel deeply dependent on America and will not risk
major policy differences with the United States. That means Obama may find them open to a new, more rational approach
to the Middle East's conflicts.
Obama has declared his support for Israel, and most Israelis believe him: they assume that no one can get elected
president of the United States today unless he or she is willing to put Israel's security near the top of
Washington's list of priorities. For many years, however, U.S. politicians have confused"support for Israel"
with support for the Israeli government. There's a difference, and Obama may be surprised to discover that
Israelis are actually much more reasonable than the hawkish parties who keep their coalition government in
office—or than the inflexible pro-Israel lobby in Washington.... -
Newsweek, 7-28-08 - Timothy Garton Ash: U.K.: Help Unite Our States:
First the good news: we are all Obamamaniacs now. In a recent Guardian/ICM poll, 53 percent of British respondents
said Barack Obama would make the best U.S. president, compared with just 11 percent for John McCain. That means
Obama is now the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat candidate for president. Then there's the bad news:
even in Britain, America's linguistic motherland and staunchest ally, nearly eight years of George W. Bush have
done huge damage to the United States' reputation and authority. This distrust has reinforced a deeper historical
trend. The old transatlantic West of the cold-war period is no longer cemented together by such an obvious common
enemy as the Red Army in the heart of Europe. So enthusiasm for Obama personally is equaled by skepticism about
his country. That means there's a lot of ground for him to make up....
If Obama truly wants a stronger Europe to forge a renewed strategic partnership with the United States in a world of
rising giants like China and India, he will need to start getting that message across to the man who will likely be
Britain's next prime minister. If such a message comes from Obama, he might even listen. Only a charismatic American
could persuade conservative Brits to become more European. -
Newsweek, 7-28-08 - Haider al-Mousawi, a history professor in the city of the holy city of Najaf on"What Iraqis Think of Barack":
"What is interesting is that a man who is not white is trying to be president. This is interesting because it is so
unique," says Haider al-Mousawi, a history professor in the city of the holy city of Najaf."His second name,
Hussein, is Arabic but that will make no difference because his father refused his religion and his name to get
what he wanted. This is the height of pragmatism and is standard in the United States. The person's interests
are above all other things." He continues:"Anyway, whether Obama or [Sen. John] McCain wins, the president is
just the figure who works on strategies run by the institutions that run America. The president is like a middleman." -
Newsweek, 7-20-08 - Mary Frances Berry, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania:
McCain Challenges Obama's Military Wisdom -
NPR, 7-16-08
- Julian Zelizer on"Romney's stock rising as possible McCain VP":
"They are two very different kinds of people. There is clearly a lot of tension between the two. But that never stops
anyone from joining into an alliance if they can win. And given the odds Republicans face and given the challenges
that McCain faces in winning, if Romney brings him that one asset that changes his odds, I think McCain would be more
than willing to enter into that alliance." -
Reuters, 7-15-08 - Gil Troy on"The first lady tightrope walk Unlike earlier presidential spouses, Michelle Obama and
Cindy McCain must emphasise both career and family to avoid criticism":
"Unfortunately for first ladies, the game is often more about un-favourability than favourability," Gil Troy, a
historian at McGill University and the author of Leading from the Centre: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents,
told me."They rarely deliver votes, but they have much more of a track record of alienating voters or losing voters.
So the first lady’s mission is to follow the political version of the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm." -
The Guardian, 7-15-08 - Duchess Harris, a professor who studies African American political history at Macalester College on"Scope wide at NAACP meetings":
Duchess Harris, a professor who studies African American political history at Macalester College in St. Paul,
agrees that McCain can appeal to black voters on policy."There are plenty of members of the black community who are
going to embrace his pro-life stance, who are going to embrace his anti-gay marriage stance, who are going to
embrace his fiscal conservatism, who are in the military and respect his service in the military," she says. -
USA Today, 7-14-08
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| ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL... | On the Campaign Trail....- Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, John McCain's campaign co-chairman upon to the Washington Times commenting about
his resignation:
"It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues
facing the country," Gramm said."That kind of distraction hurts not only Senator McCain's ability to present
concrete programs to deal with the country's problems, it hurts the country. To end this distraction and get on
with the real debate, I hereby step down as co-chair of the McCain campaign and join the growing number of rank-
and-file McCain supporters." -
- John McCain, July 18, 2008:
"I believe that we can modify Iranian behavior. We need to exhaust every possible option before we can ever consider
a military option. Americans have made great sacrifices and it has grieved us all."
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John McCain, Remarks to the 99th Annual NAACP Convention, July 16, 2008:
"Democrats in Congress, including my opponent, oppose the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. In remarks to the
American Federation of Teachers last weekend, Senator Obama dismissed public support for private school vouchers for
low-income Americans as,"tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice." All of that went over well with the
teachers union, but where does it leave families and their children who are stuck in failing schools?
Over the years, Americans have heard a lot of"tired rhetoric" about education. We've heard it in the endless
excuses of people who seem more concerned about their own position than about our children. We've heard it from
politicians who accept the status quo rather than stand up for real change in our public schools. Parents ask
only for schools that are safe, teachers who are competent, and diplomas that open doors of opportunity. When a
public system fails, repeatedly, to meet these minimal objectives, parents ask only for a choice in the education
of their children. Some parents may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private school. Many will
choose a charter school. No entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that
opportunity....
Under my reforms, moreover, parents will exercise freedom of choice in obtaining extra help for children who are
falling behind. As it is, federal aid to parents for tutoring for their children has to go through another bureaucracy.
They can't purchase the tutoring directly, without having to deal with the same education establishment that failed
their children in the first place. These needless restrictions will be removed, under my reforms. If a student needs
extra help, parents will be able to sign them up to get it, with direct public support....
As much as any other group in America, the NAACP has been at the center of that great and honorable cause. I'm here
today as an admirer and a fellow American, an association that means more to me than any other. I am a candidate for
president who seeks your vote and hopes to earn it. But whether or not I win your support, I need your goodwill and
counsel. And should I succeed, I'll need it all the more. I have always believed in this country, in a good America,
a great America. But I have always known we can build a better America, where no place or person is left without hope
or opportunity by the sins of injustice or indifference. It would be among the great privileges of my life to work
with you in that cause.
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Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 99th Annual Convention of the NAACP, July 14, 2008:
And if I have the privilege of serving as your next President, I will stand up for you the same way that earlier
generations of Americans stood up for me - by fighting to ensure that every single one of us has the chance to make
it if we try. That means removing the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding that still exist in America. It
means fighting to eliminate discrimination from every corner of our country. It means changing hearts, and changing
minds, and making sure that every American is treated equally under the law....
That's how we'll truly honor those who came before us. Because I know that Thurgood Marshall did not argue Brown
versus Board of Education so that some of us could stop doing our jobs as parents. And I know that nine little
children did not walk through a schoolhouse door in Little Rock so that we could stand by and let our children
drop out of school and turn to gangs for the support they are not getting elsewhere. That's not the freedom they
fought so hard to achieve. That's not the America they gave so much to build. That's not the dream they had for
our children.
That's why if we're serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives, our own families,
and our own communities. That starts with providing the guidance our children need, turning off the TV, and putting
away the video games; attending those parent-teacher conferences, helping our children with their homework, and
setting a good example. It starts with teaching our daughters to never allow images on television to tell them what
they are worth; and teaching our sons to treat women with respect, and to realize that responsibility does not end
at conception; that what makes them men is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one. It starts
by being good neighbors and good citizens who are willing to volunteer in our communities - and to help our
synagogues and churches and community centers feed the hungry and care for the elderly. We all have to do our part
to lift up this country.
That's where change begins. And that, after all, is the true genius of America - not that America is, but that
America will be; not that we are perfect, but that we can make ourselves more perfect; that brick by brick,
calloused hand by calloused hand, people who love this country can change it. And that's our most enduring
responsibility - the responsibility to future generations. We have to change this country for them. We have to
leave them a planet that's cleaner, a nation that's safer, and a world that's more equal and more just.
So I'm grateful to you for all you've done for this campaign, but we've got work to do and we cannot rest.
And I know that if you put your shoulders to the wheel of history and take up the cause of perfecting our union
just as earlier generations of Americans did before you; if you take up the fight for opportunity and equality
and prosperity for all; if you march with me and fight with me, and get your friends registered to vote, and if
you stand with me this fall - then not only will we help close the responsibility deficit in this country,
and not only will we help achieve social justice and economic justice for all, but I will come back here next
year on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, and I will stand before you as the President of the United States
of America.
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Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Summit on Confronting New Threats, July 16, 2008:
We cannot wait any longer to protect the American people. I've made this a priority in the Senate, where I've worked
with Indiana's own Republican Senator Dick Lugar to pass a law accelerating our pursuit of loose nuclear materials.
And I'll lead a global effort to secure all loose nuclear materials around the world during my first term as
President....
To protect our national security, I'll bring together government, industry, and academia to determine the best ways
to guard the infrastructure that supports our power. Fortunately, right here at Purdue we have one of the country's
leading cyber programs. We need to prevent terrorists or spies from hacking into our national security networks.
We need to build the capacity to identify, isolate, and respond to any cyber-attack. And we need to develop new
standards for the cyber security that protects our most important infrastructure - from electrical grids to sewage
systems; from air traffic control to our markets....
That is the task that lies before us. We must never let down our guard, nor suffer another failure of imagination.
It's time for sustained and aggressive action - to take the offense against new dangers abroad, while shoring up our
defenses at home. As President, I will call on the excellence and expertise of men and women like the people here
today. And I will speak clearly and candidly with the American people about what can be done - what must be done -
to protect our country and our communities.
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Barack Obama in the New York Times Op-ed"My Plan for Iraq," July 14, 2008
The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq
presents an enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment of combat troops
that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term success in Iraq and the security interests of the
United States.
The differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it
began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the
fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do
with the 9/11 attacks. Since then, more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion. Our
military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown.
...But this is not a strategy for success — it is a strategy for staying that runs contrary to the will of the Iraqi
people, the American people and the security interests of the United States. That is why, on my first day in office,
I would give the military a new mission: ending this war.
...Ending the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where
the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has a safe haven. Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism,
and it never has been. As Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently pointed out,
we won't have sufficient resources to finish the job in Afghanistan until we reduce our commitment to Iraq...
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