Amerikaanse Presidentsverkiezingen #42: 1e debat zit erop!

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Op maandag 29 september 2008 23:04 schreef Wheelgunner het volgende:

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Wow, dat is wel een van Obama's beste tot nu toe Jammer dat het in de media overschaduwd wordt door de crisis, zou hem veel punten kunnen opleveren.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 00:21 schreef Monolith het volgende:

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Vooral z'n visie op een duurzaam energiebeleid is er eentje waar wat mij betreft de Nederlandse politiek een voorbeeld aan zou kunnen nemen. In plaats van allerlei stupide heffingen en belastingen met een marginaal effect zou de overheid juist veel meer de technologische ontwikkeling moeten stimuleren aangezien dit het soort oplossingen levert dat wereldwijd zou kunnen worden toegepast en daarnaast gunstig is voor de Nederlandse economie.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 00:22 schreef sneakypete het volgende:

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Ze zouden natuurlijk ook kunnen boren ipv oorlogje voeren in het M-O.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 00:12 schreef Hephaistos. het volgende:
Debate camp

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 00:24 schreef Monolith het volgende:

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Mwoah, dat is ook maar een tijdelijke oplossing. Daarnaast is het volgens mij wel Obama die toch wat minder van het oorlogje voeren in het M-O is dan McCain.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 08:12 schreef Caesu het volgende:

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Obama heeft wel erg harde taal tegen Pakistan.

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"Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem."

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 09:55 schreef Montov het volgende:

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Schuld van Obama, maar laten we nu niet een schuldige aanwijzen. Country first, uiteraard.

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"Now is not the time to affix the blame. It's time to fix the problem. I would hope that all our leaders, all of them, can put aside short-term political goals and do what's in the best interests of the American people."

It was an utter farce of a call for political level-headedness. The very sentence before McCain uttered those words, he lambasted "Senator Obama and his allies in Congress" for infusing "unnecessary partisanship into the process."

Ten minutes later, the Republican National Committee blasted out an email with the following subject header: "Obama Stood By, Did Nothing, And Showed No Leadership On The Bailout Negotiations."

Ten minutes after that, McCain's economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin blamed Democrats in the Congress for foiling the bill.

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Op maandag 29 september 2008 23:45 schreef Caesu het volgende:
McCain was voor de bailout van kameraad Bush en Paulson.
maar z'n eigen partij dus niet meer.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 10:10 schreef Verbal het volgende:

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Precies: McCain: Now Is Not The Time For Blame, But I Blame Obama:
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V.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 10:10 schreef Verbal het volgende:

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Precies: McCain: Now Is Not The Time For Blame, But I Blame Obama:
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V.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 10:57 schreef Monolith het volgende:

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Is er eigenlijk ergens een overzicht te vinden van het stemgedrag naar partij over dit voorstel? Ik vraag me af of het wel zozeer de 'allies of Obama' zijn die hier tegen hebben gestemd.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:01 schreef Rock_de_Braziliaan het volgende:

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Het is echt te sneu voor woorden. Tenenkrommend.

John and Sarah No Fred and Ginger

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Gov. Palin and I agree that you don't announce that you're going to attack another country.

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Op zondag 28 september 2008 18:41 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Trouwens, zelfs inhoudelijk, op dat punt, slaat McCain wartaal uit. Er zit geen logica in. We zouden het doen, maar niet aankondigen, maar dan... kondig je het nu toch aan? Dan kondig je toch aan dat je het zou doen als het nodig is? Of...? Wartaal.

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Friends,

Everyone said the bill would pass. The masters of the universe were already making celebratory dinner reservations at Manhattan's finest restaurants. Personal shoppers in Dallas and Atlanta were dispatched to do the early Christmas gifting. Mad Men of Chicago and Miami were popping corks and toasting each other long before the morning latte run.

But what they didn't know was that hundreds of thousands of Americans woke up yesterday morning and decided it was time for revolt. The politicians never saw it coming. Millions of phone calls and emails hit Congress so hard it was as if Marshall Dillon, Elliot Ness and Dog the Bounty Hunter had descended on D.C. to stop the looting and arrest the thieves.

The Corporate Crime of the Century was halted by a vote of 228 to 205. It was rare and historic; no one could remember a time when a bill supported by the president and the leadership of both parties went down in defeat. That just never happens.

A lot of people are wondering why the right wing of the Republican Party joined with the left wing of the Democratic Party in voting down the thievery. Forty percent of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans voted against the bill.

Here's what happened:

The presidential race may still be close in the polls, but the Congressional races are pointing toward a landslide for the Democrats. Few dispute the prediction that the Republicans are in for a whoopin' on November 4th. Up to 30 Republican House seats could be lost in what would be a stunning repudiation of their agenda.

The Republican reps are so scared of losing their seats, when this "financial crisis" reared its head two weeks ago, they realized they had just been handed their one and only chance to separate themselves from Bush before the election, while doing something that would make them look like they were on the side of "the people."

Watching C-Span yesterday morning was one of the best comedy shows I'd seen in ages. There they were, one Republican after another who had backed the war and sunk the country into record debt, who had voted to kill every regulation that would have kept Wall Street in check -- there they were, now crying foul and standing up for the little guy! One after another, they stood at the microphone on the House floor and threw Bush under the bus, under the train (even though they had voted to kill off our nation's trains, too), heck, they would've thrown him under the rising waters of the Lower Ninth Ward if they could've conjured up another hurricane. You know how your dog acts when sprayed by a skunk? He howls and runs around trying to shake it off, rubbing and rolling himself on every piece of your carpet, trying to get rid of the stench. That's what it looked like on the Republican side of the aisle yesterday, and it was a sight to behold.

The 95 brave Dems who broke with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were the real heroes, just like those few who stood up and voted against the war in October of 2002. Watch the remarks from yesterday of Reps. Marcy Kaptur, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Dennis Kucinich. They spoke the truth.

The Dems who voted for the giveaway did so mostly because they were scared by the threats of Wall Street, that if the rich didn't get their handout, the market would go nuts and then it's bye-bye stock-based pension and retirement funds.

And guess what? That's exactly what Wall Street did! The largest, single-day drop in the Dow in the history of the New York Stock exchange. The news anchors last night screamed it out: Americans just lost 1.2 trillion dollars in the stock market!! It's a financial Pearl Harbor! The sky is falling! Bird flu! Killer Bees!

Of course, sane people know that nobody "lost" anything yesterday, that stocks go up and down and this too shall pass because the rich will now buy low, hold, then sell off, then buy low again.

But for now, Wall Street and its propaganda arm (the networks and media it owns) will continue to try and scare the bejesus out of you. It will be harder to get a loan. Some people will lose their jobs. A weak nation of wimps won't last long under this torture. Or will we? Is this our line in the sand?

Here's my guess: The Democratic leadership in the House secretly hoped all along that this lousy bill would go down. With Bush's proposals shredded, the Dems knew they could then write their own bill that favors the average American, not the upper 10% who were hoping for another kegger of gold.

So the ball is in the Democrats' hands. The gun from Wall Street remains at their head. Before they make their next move, let me tell you what the media kept silent about while this bill was being debated:

1. The bailout bill had NO enforcement provisions for the so-called oversight group that was going to monitor Wall Street's spending of the $700 billion;

2. It had NO penalties, fines or imprisonment for any executive who might steal any of the people's money;

3. It did NOTHING to force banks and lenders to rewrite people's mortgages to avoid foreclosures -- this bill would not have stopped ONE foreclosure!;

4. It had NO teeth anywhere in the entire piece of legislation, using words like "suggested" when referring to the government being paid back for the bailout;

5. Over 200 economists wrote to Congress and said this bill might actually WORSEN the "financial crisis" and cause even MORE of a meltdown.

Put a fork in this slab of pork. It's over. Now it is time for our side to state very clearly the laws WE want passed. I will send you my proposals later today. We've bought ourselves less than 72 hours.

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Op maandag 29 september 2008 15:54 schreef Klopkoek het volgende:
Van vier jaar geleden was deze wel leuk

Republicans for Fear

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:02 schreef AlanSmitheeJr het volgende:

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Rep: 133 tegen, 65 voor
Dem: 95 tegen, 140 voor

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:06 schreef Montov het volgende:
McCain, Palin, het wordt met de dag triester. http://marcambinder.theat(...)_question_and_it.php
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Dit is op de een of andere manier een soort van verdediging...

Maar sowieso, een kiezer vraagt wat over Pakistan, Palin geeft een antwoord waarmee ze instemt met het idee van Obama en tegen de aanpak van McCain, en vervolgens was dit een soort valstrik van de pers om haar in de val te lokken.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 10:10 schreef Verbal het volgende:

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Precies: McCain: Now Is Not The Time For Blame, But I Blame Obama:
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V.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:11 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Vraag aan John McCain: Osama bin Laden houdt een persconferentie in Teheran en geeft aan daar nog een dag of wat te chillen. Pak je 'm? Of roep je nu eenmaal niet om dat te doen? .

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:05 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Tenenkrommend?

John and Sarah No Fred and Ginger

://talkingpointsmemo.com/

Palin mag uitleggen waarom zij het eigenlijk niet eens is met Obama, maar McCain moet er deze keer wel bij zijn. Niet alleen geven beiden een non-antwoord, erger dan gebruikelijk voor politici, McCain is er ook om haar hand vast te houden en voor haar te antwoorden.

Tenenkrommend.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:39 schreef Woodpecker het volgende:
Whehehe

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:12 schreef Verbal het volgende:
Ik kreeg post van Michael Moore:
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Kan er iets kloppen van wat hij zegt?

V.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:05 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Tenenkrommend?

John and Sarah No Fred and Ginger

://talkingpointsmemo.com/

Palin mag uitleggen waarom zij het eigenlijk niet eens is met Obama, maar McCain moet er deze keer wel bij zijn. Niet alleen geven beiden een non-antwoord, erger dan gebruikelijk voor politici, McCain is er ook om haar hand vast te houden en voor haar te antwoorden.

Tenenkrommend.

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Dazzler2469 (9 minuten geleden)

Palin could be a vegetable and still be better than Sambo Obama.

Keep it a WHITE HOUSE 08!

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 14:12 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

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Sjee ... laatste commentaar bij dat filmpje
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Wat een domme mensen heb je toch, he

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 14:11 schreef Apache4U het volgende:
Daily Kos peilt vandaag 51% voor Obama en 41% McCain.
Wie waren er eigenlijk tijdens de primairies de meest betrouwbare opiniepeilers? Ik meen me te herinneren dat er een lijst was van welke peiler er het dichtst bij de uiteindelijke uitslag zat...

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 14:59 schreef Klopkoek het volgende:
Dit was the partisan speech waardoor het Bailoutplan is gefailed.

Dems for Bailout: Pelosi #1 "anything goes mentality"

Klote Pelmafiosi

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 14:59 schreef Klopkoek het volgende:
Dit was the partisan speech waardoor het Bailoutplan is gefailed.

Dems for Bailout: Pelosi #1 "anything goes mentality"

Klote Pelmafiosi

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 14:11 schreef Apache4U het volgende:
Daily Kos peilt vandaag 51% voor Obama en 41% McCain.
Wie waren er eigenlijk tijdens de primairies de meest betrouwbare opiniepeilers? Ik meen me te herinneren dat er een lijst was van welke peiler er het dichtst bij de uiteindelijke uitslag zat...

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 15:48 schreef AlanSmitheeJr het volgende:

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Dit is de lijst die 538 gebruikt om peilingen te wegen: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/search/label/pollster%20ratings

Die Daily Kos poll van Research 2000 staat dus ook behoorlijk hoog.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 11:05 schreef Monidique het volgende:

John and Sarah No Fred and Ginger

://talkingpointsmemo.com/

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Oh and "Sarah Failin'" is an awesome pick for a nickname.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 15:30 schreef Rock_de_Braziliaan het volgende:

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Het is een extreem slap excuus om tegen te stemmen.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 15:33 schreef ub40_bboy het volgende:

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Ohja de meerderheid van de republikeinen heeft tegengestemd omdat ze boos waren op Pelosi, onzin.

De meerderheid van de republikeinen willen dat wallstreet opdraait voor de recovery en niet mainstreet. Ze willen een government insurance program opzetten net zoals de federal deposit insurance corporation.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 16:15 schreef Montov het volgende:

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Wat ik begreep is dat R2000 voornamelijk op staatniveau peilde, en nu landelijk is begonnen. Dus in hoeverre dat nog verandering brengt weet ik niet.

Maar Rasmussen staat weer op +6 voor Obama: 51% vs 45%
Dat is hetzelfde niveau als het hoogtepunt na de Democratische conventie. Dat doet me denken aan 4 jaar geleden: Bush bleef ook lange tijd op het niveau van de conventiebounce hangen van zo'n 6 punten. Begin oktober daalde die voorsprong tot 2 punten, na het eerste debat. Vervolgens bleef het tussen de 2 en de 4 punten schommelen. Uitiendelijk heeft kerry soms een voorsprong gehad van gemiddeld 2%, maar Bush had hoogtepunten van 6-8%

Ik zie veel overeenkomsten met de peilingen van vandaag, met Obama met de positieve cijfers zoals Bush die had, en ik hoop voor Obama dat dit gaat doorzetten.

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 22:28 schreef Perico het volgende:
Dit is de reden waarom Team Obama er niet gerust op is met Joe Biden.

Als hij weer eens in zijn hemd staat, te eerlijk wordt, en zo zijn positie ondermijnt:

Joe Biden: Hillary Clinton would've been better VP than me

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[Mother Jones: ]You not only have had combat experience in Vietnam, but you were also a prisoner of war. When you look at terrorism right now, with people like Osama bin Laden, do you have any reservations about watching strikes like that?

[John McCain: ]You could say, Look, is this guy, Laden, really the bad guy that's depicted? Most of us have never heard of him before. And where there is a parallel with Vietnam is: What's plan B? What do we do next? We sent our troops into Vietnam to protect the bases. Lyndon Johnson said, Only to protect the bases. Next thing you know.... Well, we've declared to the terrorists that we're going to strike them wherever they live. That's fine. But what's next? That's where there might be some comparison.

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his image as a courageous reformer has even led to speculation about a dark horse presidential candidacy in 2000. But critics say that image is carefully cultivated, and many accuse the press of going soft on McCain,

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 22:28 schreef Perico het volgende:
Dit is de reden waarom Team Obama er niet gerust op is met Joe Biden.

Als hij weer eens in zijn hemd staat, te eerlijk wordt, en zo zijn positie ondermijnt:

Joe Biden: Hillary Clinton would've been better VP than me

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We usually don't post Web ads, but this latest from the McCain campaign is so comically misleading that it really is a must-see:

The ad shows footage of Obama that's edited down to make him say this: "We've got the long-term fundamentals that will really make sure this economy grows."

The ad then suggests that this shows that Obama agrees with McCain's recent controversial claim that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

"Is Obama saying McCain's right?" the ad continues. "Or is Obama saying his own attacks are shameless? [Either way, Obama's a hypocrite.]"

It turns out, of course, that the Obama quote was torn out of context in a hilariously dishonest way. It comes from Obama's speech yesterday, in which he was discussing his prescriptions for the economy, and said...

"And then after this immediate problem, we've got the long-term fundamentals that will really make sure this economy grows. Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it but the American workers and small businesses that deserve it. As president I am going to eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups. That's how we'll grow our economy..."

In other words, the "long-term fundamentals" Obama was referring to were those of his own economic plan, not of the economy right now!

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 23:07 schreef Monidique het volgende:
John McCain.
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http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/

John McCain.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 08:31 schreef Klopkoek het volgende:
Hoe komen jullie toch die filmpjes tegen?

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 02:30 schreef Caesu het volgende:

Nearly unanimous vote for Obama = "split" on FOX

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Op dinsdag 30 september 2008 23:35 schreef Caesu het volgende:

McCain: I Might Suspend Again

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 02:30 schreef Caesu het volgende:

Nearly unanimous vote for Obama = "split" on FOX

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In an interview with CBS's Katie Couric that aired tonight on the Evening News, Sarah Palin declined to name any newspapers or magazines that she reads to keep up on world events.

Palin said she read "all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years."

Asked by Couric three times to specifically name any publications, Palin kept speaking in general term.s

Is this just nervousness and a fear of naming a publication that will be politically problematic (say, a certain New York City broadsheet)?

Or has she simply not kept up with national papers and magazines?

http://www.politico.com/b(...)zines_she_reads.html

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 10:22 schreef Montov het volgende:

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 08:49 schreef Cith het volgende:

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lol die kerel die z'n hand opstak maar door z'n vrouw werd weggeslagen

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 08:49 schreef Cith het volgende:

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lol die kerel die z'n hand opstak maar door z'n vrouw werd weggeslagen

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 11:41 schreef Elfletterig het volgende:

in North Carolina (15) staat hij 0,7 procentpunten voor.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 11:53 schreef Montov het volgende:

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Volgens mij komt er deze week weer een peiling van de betrouwbare SurveyUSA. Vorige maand had die McCain op +20, dat was echter wel op het hoogtepunt van de conventionbounce. En ook R2000 had McCain op +17. Beide peilingen zijn nu te oud om mee te wegen in het gemiddelde, maar het is wel de laatste peiling van die twee peilers.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 08:49 schreef Cith het volgende:

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lol die kerel die z'n hand opstak maar door z'n vrouw werd weggeslagen

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 12:21 schreef NY_Giant het volgende:
Hoe kan het eigenlijk dat het in New Hampshire zo spannend is? De andere staten daar in de buurt zijn toch duidelijk democratisch. In 2000 is NH trouwens ook naar Bush gegaan.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 12:24 schreef Hephaistos. het volgende:

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Het is volgens mij een van de staten waar ze het grootste wantrouwen hebben tegenover een overheid. Die nummerborden met 'Live Free Or Die' zijn toch ook van New Hampshire?

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Past Debates Show a Confident Palin, at Times Fluent but Often Vague

Not since Dan Quayle took the stage in 1988 have debate expectations for a major party candidate been as low as they will be on Thursday for Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

A newcomer to the national scene, Ms. Palin has given little indication that she has been engaged in a serious way in the pressing national and international issues of the day.

But a review of a handful of her debate performances in the race for governor in 2006 shows a somewhat different persona from the one that has emerged since Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, named Ms. Palin as the vice-presidential nominee a month ago.

Ms. Palin, a former mayor who had become a whistle-blower about ethical misconduct in state government, held her own in those debates. (There were almost two dozen in the general election alone; she skipped some, and not all were recorded.)

She staked out a populist stance against oil companies and projected a fresh, down-to-earth face at a time when voters wanted change. That helped her soundly defeat Frank H. Murkowski, the unpopular Republican governor, in the primary and former Gov. Tony Knowles in the general election.

Her debating style was rarely confrontational, and she appeared confident. In contrast to today, when she seems unversed on several important issues, she demonstrated fluency on certain subjects, particularly oil and gas development.

But just as she does now, Ms. Palin often spoke in generalities and showed scant aptitude for developing arguments beyond a talking point or two. Her sentences were distinguished by their repetition of words, by the use of the phrase “here in Alaska” and for gaps. On paper, her sentences would have been difficult to diagram.

John Bitney, the policy director for her campaign for governor and the main person who helped prepare her for debates, said her repetition of words was “her way of running down the clock as her mind searches for where she wants to go.”

These tendencies could fuzz her meaning and lead her into linguistic cul-de-sacs. She often used less than her allotted time and ended her answers abruptly.

When questioned about the nuts and bolts of governing, Ms. Palin tended to avoid specifics and instead fell back on her core values: a broadly conservative philosophy and a can-do spirit.

“My attitude and my approaches towards dealing with the complexities of health care issues,” she said in an AARP debate in October 2006, “is a respectful and responsible approach, and it’s a positive approach. I don’t believe that the sky is falling here in Alaska.”

These patterns could help explain why the McCain campaign negotiated for less time for discussion in her debate Thursday with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware than the presidential candidates had in their debate last week.

Ms. Palin was not always at her best when questioned by her opponents in the governor’s race.

In the AARP debate, Mr. Knowles and Andrew Halcro, an independent, double-teamed her to press her about how she would pay for health care.

In response to Mr. Knowles, she mentioned “certificates of need” and said they had been inflexible, “creating an environment where a lot of folks are lacking the receiving of their health care that is needed in some of the areas, especially in some of our larger markets.” She added, “The State of Alaska needs to be looking specifically at that inflexibility that exists today in order to fill some of the market needs that are out there in Alaska in our larger markets.”

She then added, “I can’t tell you how much that will reduce monetarily our health care costs, but competition makes everyone better, it makes us work harder, it does allow reduction in costs, so addressing that is going to be a priority.”

Mr. Knowles was nonplussed, saying that he did not understand her answer and that Ms. Palin had missed the point.

Mr. Halcro asked how she would pay for critical health care programs.

“Well, the point there, Andrew,” she said, “is that these are critical, and again it’s a matter of prioritizing and it’s a matter of government understanding its proper role in public safety, is health care, so it’s a matter of priorities.”

Mr. Halcro called her answer “political gibberish.”

But other times, she gave direct answers that appealed directly to her audience. The candidates were asked in a debate on Aug. 17, 2006, by a rural resident via video whether they would restore a longevity bonus for senior citizens, a payment intended to keep them from leaving the state.

“No,” Mr. Murkowski said gruffly. John Binkley, a third candidate, said yes. Ms. Palin’s response was filled with emotion.

“Yes, our precious, precious elders,” she said, looking into the camera. “For those who were prematurely lopped off, I am so sorry that that has happened to you.”

But generally, her voice carried surprisingly little affect.

“In tone, manner and sometimes even language, she treated every issue exactly the same,” Michael Carey, the former editorial page editor of The Anchorage Daily News, wrote in an essay about Ms. Palin. “She gave no suggestion that some issues are of higher priority than others. Her voice was cheerful, up-tempo, optimistic, never off key but always in the same key.”

Perhaps her strength in debating was coming across like an average person who understood the average person’s needs and would not be expected to have detailed policy prescriptions.

She also neutralized some of her conservative social views. She said intelligent design should be taught in schools — along with evolution. She said she favored the teaching of abstinence — along with the teaching of sex education. “Let the kids debate both sides,” she said.

She was not a particularly aggressive debater, and she rarely took an opportunity to challenge her opponents. But when pressed, she could be tough. In a roundtable discussion in October on the “Bob and Mark Show,” Mr. Halcro suggested that Ms. Palin had not attended enough debates.

“It’s been a year today that I’ve been on the campaign trail,” Ms. Palin responded, “attending many, many more forums, more debates, than either one of you, Tony and Andrew, because I had a primary opponent. You know, you got to have the balls to take it on in the early part of a campaign, and not just go right to the big show.”

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Though an Experienced Debater, Biden Is Often Tripped Up by Spontaneity

With a single-word response, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. surprised and amused his listeners in the first Democratic primary debate, in April 2007. He was asked if he could be disciplined on the world stage and restrain his legendary loquaciousness.

“Yes,” he said.

No one expected Mr. Biden to stop there, but he did, leaving an expectant silence, until the audience caught the joke and burst into laughter.

He showed less restraint in a CNN/YouTube debate a few months later, when a gun owner asked where the candidates stood on gun control, saying he wanted to know if his “babies” would be safe. “This is my baby,” the man said on the video, showing off his Bushmaster AR-15.

“I’ll tell you what,” Mr. Biden replied. “If that is his baby, he needs help.”

The audience applauded enthusiastically, but Mr. Biden did not stop there.

He went on to deride the questioner, saying he incriminated himself because the man said he bought the gun while it was banned, then he questioned the man’s stability. “I don’t know that he is mentally qualified to own that gun,” he said in a gratuitous aside.

The Democrats held 26 debates during the primary season. Mr. Biden, of Delaware, participated in 14 of them before he dropped out of the race Jan. 3, after he came in fifth in the Iowa caucuses. That would seem to give him a huge advantage going into Thursday’s vice-presidential debate with Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, who has never debated on the national stage.

But his off-putting remark to the gun owner suggests that perhaps his “yes” answer to the question about self-discipline had been premature and that there are perils ahead for Mr. Biden on Thursday — both because of his tendency to go too far and the hazards of debating a woman.

A review of Mr. Biden’s debate performances shows him to be deeply knowledgeable across a range of topics, reflecting his nearly four decades in Washington, where he is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. Biden’s answers tend to gush forth and his voice is raspy, which lends his arguments an air of urgency. He also uses assertive phrases like, “the truth is,” or “folks, let me tell you,” which grab listeners by the lapel.

At the June 3 debate in New Hampshire, for example, he was asked to defend his vote to continue financing the war in Iraq, a vote sought by the White House and criticized by fellow Democrats as an open-ended commitment to the war. All the other Democrats on stage voted against it, including Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presidential nominee who has picked Mr. Biden as his running mate.

“I love these guys who tell you they’re going to stop the war,” Mr. Biden said of his fellow Democrats. “Let me tell you straight up the truth. The truth of the matter is, the only one that’s emboldened the enemy has been George Bush by his policies, not us funding the war.”

One danger for Mr. Biden on Thursday is that his habit of speaking authoritatively, of saying he possesses the truth, will come across as overbearing or condescending, particularly toward someone like Ms. Palin, who lacks his credentials. To try to guard against sounding sexist, he is sparring in practice sessions with Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan, who is playing the role of Ms. Palin.

The only other time a woman has appeared on the debate stage as part of a major-party ticket was in 1984, when Geraldine A. Ferraro, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, faced Vice President George Bush. One exchange might offer Mr. Biden a good lesson.

Mr. Bush had said, “Let me help you with the difference, Mrs. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon.” Ms. Ferraro instantly highlighted what she perceived as condescension: “I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.”

Mr. Bush underscored one of the hazards of debating a woman when he later gloated into an open microphone, “We tried to kick a little ass last night.”

The risk may be even greater for Mr. Biden. His innate exuberance and gusto in speaking without stopping for air can make him sound like he is clubbing his points — and his opponent.

He loves railing against the Republicans; he did so most memorably in an October debate in Philadelphia, when he said of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, “There’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11.”

The line was a huge hit, but again, Mr. Biden did not let it rest. Although the question had nothing to do with Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Biden milked it for 43 seconds more.

Other perils for Mr. Biden are unrelated to Ms. Palin.

He has a tendency to blurt out whatever is on his mind. Even as the vice-presidential nominee, Mr. Biden has veered off script, creating a series of flaps in recent days, from opposing the bailout of the American International Group, which Mr. Obama supported, to labeling as “terrible” an Obama campaign commercial against Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee.

Mr. Biden describes himself as blunt.

He was asked at a Dec. 13 debate in Iowa about whether some of his earlier comments — that Mr. Obama “is articulate and bright and clean,” for example — reflected a discomfort with the subject of race.

“It may be possible because I speak so bluntly that people misunderstand,” Mr. Biden said, defending his commitment to civil rights. Mr. Biden looked sad as Mr. Obama himself stepped in to vouch for him.

One of the consequences of a long time in the Senate is a long record of votes for which one can be held accountable, just as a consequence of a long primary can be a long record of attacks on allies. On Thursday, Mr. Biden may have to answer for both. See the debate of June 3, 2007, for how he twisted himself in knots over a vote for a 700-mile-long fence along the border with Mexico. And see Mr. Biden’s statement that votes against financing the Iraq war by other Democratic candidates, including Mr. Obama, amount to “cutting off support that will save the lives of thousands of American troops.”

Joseph A. Pika, a political scientist at the University of Delaware who has observed Mr. Biden over much of his career, said the senator was prone to making broad declarations — “We’ve got to level with the American people!” — then expounding with lengthy elaborations.

“He likes to hold forth,” Dr. Pika said. “Being an effective debater will require him to be disciplined and focused and to make his points punchier than is customarily his style.”

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 14:44 schreef ImmovableMind het volgende:
Op welke zender en op welk tijdstip kan ik dit geweldige debat gaan volgen?

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 11:44 schreef Reya het volgende:

[..]

Rock_de_Braziliaan.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 15:04 schreef Apache4U het volgende:
Geen idee hoe betrouwbaar Real Clear Politics is en waar ze hun kaart op baseren:
http://www.realclearpolit(...)ma_vs_mccain/?map=10

OH,FL,NC,VA en CO naar Obama.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 14:23 schreef Apache4U het volgende:
Lijkt me erg stug, al zou het mooi zijn .

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 14:44 schreef ImmovableMind het volgende:
Op welke zender en op welk tijdstip kan ik dit geweldige debat gaan volgen?

quote:

NOS Amerika Kiest zendt het debat vrijdagochtend live uit op Nederland 1, vanaf 03.00 uur.

Strong

quote:

[We need] a plan that would extend expiring unemployment benefits. For those Americans who have lost their jobs and have been working hard to find a new one, but haven't found one yet. That's part of the change we need. And then after this immediate problem, we've got the long-term fundamentals that will really make sure this economy grows. Change means tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses that deserve it. As President I am going to eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 15:35 schreef Verbal het volgende:
De GOP gooit er maar weer eens een verdraaide spot tegenaan:

Strong

En wat Obama om die quote heen zei:
[..]

Schaamteloos

V.

quote:

AMSTERDAM - Zoekmachine Google helpt Amerikanen bij het maken van een keuze bij de presidentsverkiezingen. Google heeft een nieuwe tool gelanceerd, waarmee men citaten van bekende politici kan vergelijken.

Bij 'In Quotes' vergelijkt twee prominente Amerikaanse politici uit een samengestelde lijst waar je een onderwerp aan toe kunt voegen. Zo worden bijvoorbeeld de standpunten van de twee presidentskandidaten Obama en McCain met betrekking tot gezondheidszorg vergeleken.

Het is niet de eerste keer dat Google zich bezig houdt met politiek. Al eerder lanceerde het 'Google Moderator'. Hier kunnen gebruikers hun vraag stellen aan de presidentskandidaten waar andere gebruikers op kunnen stemmen.

Youtube

Youtube, eigendom van Google, organiseert samen met CNN de CNN/Youtube debates. Gebruikers van Youtube kunnen hun vraag opnemen en op Youtube plaatsen. De beste vragen worden gebruikt in het debat.

'In Quotes' is er nog niet in een Nederlandse versie. Wel kan men naast uitspraken van Amerikaanse politici citaten van invloedrijke Canadezen, Indiërs en Britten vergelijken.

quote:

Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 15:35 schreef Verbal het volgende:
De GOP gooit er maar weer eens een verdraaide spot tegenaan:

Strong

En wat Obama om die quote heen zei:
[..]

Schaamteloos

V.

quote:

Palin Says She Represents 'Joe Six-Pack'

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin portrayed herself Tuesday as a champion of everyday people while noting her family's stock portfolio took a $20,000 hit last week.
"It's time that normal Joe Six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency," the Republican vice presidential candidate told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

Palin said if she and John McCain win, they will "put government back on the side of the people of Joe Six-pack like me."

Palin said she and her husband, Todd, have been affected by the economic downturn.

"I know what Americans are going through," she said a day after a record 778-point plunge on Wall Street. "Todd and I, heck, we're going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don't like the idea of just an everyday, working-class American running for such an office."

Palin makes $125,000 yearly as governor, and her husband makes about $90,000 a year combined from his commercial fishing business and his part-time job as a production operator on the North Slope.

Palin said her husband's 401(k) retirement account lost probably $20,000 in the last week as the market dropped.

According to the most recent state financial disclosure forms, filed March 10, 2008, the Palins had about $164,699 in a private investment account and $198,102 in a separate retirement account.

"The relatively low number of investments that we have, looking at the hit that we're taking, probably $20,000 last week in his 401(k) plan that was hit. I'm thinking, geez, the rest of America, they're facing the exact same thing that we are," she said.

Palin was asked to clarify why things are tight for her family.

"It's just the great financial crisis that America is in, as our savings accounts also, and a 401(k), they're being hit," she said.

She didn't explain how her savings account was being affected.

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 16:04 schreef ub40_bboy het volgende:

[..]

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Op woensdag 1 oktober 2008 16:04 schreef ub40_bboy het volgende:

[..]