October 15, 2008
NPR's analysts shared their instant take on tonight's debate in our live special. Below you'll find a general consensus that neither candidate knocked it out of the park, but that tonight was the best debate of the campaign.
NPR's Linda Wertheimer : "There was quite a bit of bickering... quite a bit of tit-for-tat... even though most American's say they don't like that. ... There was such a lot of tension between these two candidates that it was bothering me. ... The star of the debate -- The Plumber."
NPR's Mara Liasson : "I thought it was a pretty great debate. ... The gloves did come off tonight. McCain brought up Ayers and ACORN." McCain's attacks "didn't draw any blood. Obama was able to deflect all of them." More Liasson: "I think that format of sitting so close together made that tension more palpable. ... They really were talking to each other. My feeling is that it didn't change anything. ... Another win for Obama."
National Review 's Matt Continetti : "Neither candidate wanted to be there. Obama seemed distracted. ... At this point I think he is more focused on what he will do if he is actually elected. ... McCain was there and he was throwing everything, not just the kitchen sink but the refrigerator and detergent. ... I was wondering why he didn't do this earlier in the campaign.
The Washington Post 's EJ Dionne : "Voters don't like McCain's attack campaign, but in order to get Obama down he's got to attack him. ... I think McCain scored a lot of points with the people who are for him. I'm not sure that he scored any points with any of the ideological moderates."
NPR's Ron Elving : "Joe the Plumber is the new figure in the American political landscape. I think he is more successful than the average American. ... The table setting was a little more tension inducing. ... McCain had to bring it tonight, Obama seemed a little put out about that. The debate at times came across as "a bit petty. This was the most watchable and riveting debate we've had thus far."
-- Michael Olson
11:30 PM ET
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In the Illinois legislature, voting present is not that unusual. It can often be a procedural move and often is done as part of a broader strategy by one party or the other, or by a block of legislators on a particular issue. On the abortion vote that Sen. McCain mentions, Obama was one of several Senators who agreed to vote present at the request of Planned Parenthood and other groups supportive of abortion rights. Pam Sutherland, president and CEO of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, says Obama voted "present" at least seven times to provide cover to other abortion-rights supporters on such bills as the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act." Certain late term abortions were already banned, as Obama correctly stated.
-- David Schaper
10:28 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Here's Joe the plumber...
His name is Joe Wurzelbacher, and he confronted Obama on Sunday, when the candidate was going door-to-door in Toledo. Click here for the full exchange .
-- Sean Bowditch & Laurel Wamsley
UPDATE : Hey folks. Just merged Laurel's original post with mine. Sorry for the confusion.
Continue reading "In Case You're Wondering..." »
10:20 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain invoked "The Gang of 14" in tonight's debate. His "Gang" involvement is one of the most prominent examples of the senator bucking his party leadership, and it's one of the reasons McCain had a hard time attracting conservatives to his campaign during the primary. His mention of the gang might be the clearest sign that he is angling for support from independents as the campaign enters its final days. Here NPR's Mara Liasson compares McCain and Obama's bipartisan efforts.
-- Michael Olson
10:18 PM ET
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McCain says the average cost of a health plan is $5,800 and he'd give people a $5,000 tax credit to buy that plan. But the $5,000 credit is for families, and the average cost of a family insurance plan, according to the latest Kaiser/Health Research and Educational Trust survey, is $12,680.
-- Julie Rovner
10:14 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Yes, the diagnosis of autism is on the rise. However, as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts it: "It is unclear how much of this increase is due to changes in how we identify and classify ASDs in people, and how much is due to a true increase in prevalence."
The candidates talked about autism in the context of Gov. Palin's child. The prevalence of autism isn't a campaign issue -- they both agreed it was on the rise. The only parrying here was that Obama said an across-the-board federal spending freeze would prevent researchers from spending more money to understand autism. Of course that assumes that the National Institutes of Health would not be allowed to reallocate any of its funds -- not necessarily so.
-- Richard Harris
NOTE : Governor Palin's youngest child has Down Syndrome. In tonight's debate, the topic of autism came up in the context of discussing children with special needs.
10:11 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain's aggressive tone helped positioned him to say something he's probably been dying to say throughout the general election campaign:
Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you want to run against President Bush, you should have run 4 years ago.
The McCain campaign immediately circulated a YouTube video of the moment to reporters.
-- Michael Olson
10:10 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Obama says he'll save the average family $2,500 in premiums on health care through his cost-cutting measures. Every analyst who's looked at that other than the ones who wrote the plan say that's awfully optimistic.
McCain says he'll give every American family a $5,000 tax credit to help buy health insurance. That's true. Individuals, however, would only get $2,500. McCain also says he wants to put medical records "online," like the VA does. He means computerize them, not literally put them online for anyone to see. Obama wants to do that, too. In fact, the cost-cutting proposals of the McCain and Obama plans overlap considerably.
-- Julie Rovner
10:05 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Obama overstated the rate of impunity for Colombia trade unionist killings. He said there have been NO prosecutions, when in fact there were only ten convictions for such killings during the presidency of Alvaro Uribe, while there were more than 400 murders of Colombian unionists during that period.
-- David Welna
9:58 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Oil is a global commodity, so even if we stop purchasing it from the Middle East and Venezuela, those countries will still have a large influence on the prices we pay at the pump. If Saudi Arabia cut production, oil prices will rise everywhere, regardless of whether we are buying oil from the Saudis.
As for Sen. McCain's comment about nuclear power, 96 percent of transportation fuel is in the form of oil. Nuclear power plants generate electricity. Unless there is a rapid and wholesale shift to electric cars, a more abundant supply of electricity will have little impact on fuel for transportation. That can happen in the long run, but that kind of transition would take decades, not years.
Both candidates also spoke in favor of "Clean Coal." In fact, clean coal is a fuzzy buzzword. Coal, when burned, produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, which a major cause of global warming. "Clean Coal," as commonly defined, doesn't actually reduce this most important emission. "Clean Coal" plants are at best potentially ready to capture their carbon dioxide, if anyone can ever figure out an economical way to safely store that carbon dioxide rather than letting it to into the air.
For energy facts and figures, click here .
-- Richard Harris
9:57 PM ET
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John McCain said that VP hopeful Joe Biden had a plan to divide Iraq into three countries. That is not what Biden proposed. Here is an oped Biden wrote in the Washington Post about how his plan was to decentralize power in Iraq. He said it was not a partition plan. Click here for more.
-- Michele Keleman
9:53 PM ET
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The facts Sen. Obama cited about Bill Ayers are true. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) was a $50 million dollar effort to reform Chicago's beleaguered public schools, funded by Walter Annenberg, a close friend of Presidents Nixon and Reagan, who was Nixon's ambassador to Britain. Bill Ayers, a respected professor of education at the University of Illinois -- Chicago, was one of three school reform advocates who crafted the Chicago grant proposal, in an effort to tap into Annenberg's $500 million nationwide school reform effort.
Obama served chaired the board of the CAC from 1995 to 1999. Ayers was one of dozens of informal advisors to the CAC board from the Chicago school reform community. He served alongside conservative members of Chicago's civic and business community, who were firmly behind this school reform effort, as was then IL Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican, and GOP members of the state legislature. Tired of Chicago school officials and union leaders coming to the state capitol with their hands out for more money, the Republicans in fact were demanding radical reforms in Chicago Public Schools, like what was taking place under the Annenberg Challenge.
Furthermore, no Republicans in Chicago and Illinois raised any concerns about Ayers, his background, nor his involvement in the city's schools. In fact, even today, none of the outrage over Obama's ties to Ayers is coming from Republicans in Chicago or Illinois.
As for the allegation that Obama "launched his political career in Ayers' living room," Ayers did host in fall of 1995 a 'getting-to-know-you" coffee at his house, as Obama was preparing to run for the Illinois Senate. The event was organized by to introduce Obama to supporters of the incumbent state Sen. Alice Palmer, who had announced she would run for congress (she later changed her mind and Obama beat her in the primary). It was one of several such coffees held that day and week. It was not the launch of his campaign; it was not a fundraiser.
-- David Schaper
9:52 PM ET
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McCain finally starts unloading his campaign's negative messages: Ayers, ACORN. And Scheiffer cuts him off.
As for ACORN, Obama presents what you might call the narrowest possible view of his connections. The links are less than clear, given ACORN's complex organization. But for more details, go here .
-- Peter Overby
9:43 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain says he doesn't oppose federal funding for stem cell research. And it's true, he doesn't. But his aides have been VERY cagey about saying whether, as President, he would lift President Bush's current restrictions on funding for EMBRYONIC stem cell research, which McCain has voted for in the past. Here's an email sent to the journal Nature just yesterday from McCain's top domestic policy advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin:
John McCain has a clear voting record on supporting federal funding for stem cell research. As president, he will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research..... Where federal funds are used for stem cell research, Senator McCain believes clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress, and that any such research should be subject to strict federal guidelines.
For more info, click here .
-- Julie Rovner
9:36 PM ET
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Sen. McCain says Sen. Obama has requested a billion dollars in congressional earmarks, including $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in his hometown. In last week's debate, Sen. McCain alleged Obama had supported a billion dollars in earmarks. For FY 2009, Obama has not requested any earmarks. For this fiscal year, Sen. Obama has requested 112 earmarks totaling more than $330 million in taxpayer funds. This does include $3 Million to go toward a new projection system at the Adler Planetarium., a request made by a bipartisan coalition of Illinois members of Congress. As we reported last week, this isn't the kind of overhead projector you'd find in a school classroom. It is the system that projects the night sky on the Planetarium's domed ceiling in its sky theater. The current system is nearly 40 years old and breaking down, and can't currently show Jupiter. It is the most popular attraction at the Adler Planetarium, the first Planetarium in the US, and according to Planetarium officials, it is an effective science teaching tool.
-- David Schaper
9:33 PM ET
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McCain understates Obama's spending. He's not just spending more on negative ads, he's spending more on everything. That's because he opted out of public financing -- as McCain noted, but also as McCain did in the primaries. As noble as public financing might be, candidates will go without it when they can because it comes with spending limits.
-- Peter Overby
9:32 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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Barack Obama commended John McCain for standing up to the Bush administration on torture. McCain did insist that the armed forces follow the Army Field Manual guidelines on interrogation, and that did become law. But McCain gave in to the administration's insistence that U.S. officials not in the armed forces not be constrained by the Army Field Manual. This is widely regarded among human rights advocates as a capitulation, since even military officers can "sheep dip" by temporarily stepping out of their roles as members of the military to use interrogation techniques not permitted by the Army Field Manual.
-- David Welna
9:29 PM ET
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Obama says those subsidies are about $15 billion per year. I think it's closer to $12 billion. But he's correct that it's basically just pure profit to the companies and Democrats have been complaining about it since the Medicare Modernization Act (which boosted payments to entice more insurers to participate in Medicare) was passed in 2003.
-- Julie Rovner
UPDATE :
We project that 2008 MA (Medicare Advantage) payments will be 113 percent of FFS (fee-for-service, or traditional Medicare) spending. That means that in
2008 the Medicare program is paying about $10 billion more for the 21 percent of beneficiaries enrolled in MA plans than if they remained in FFS Medicare.
Click here for more information.
9:22 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain says we have to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. He's talking about the bill for foreign oil imports. Problem is, our top oil suppliers are actually countries considered friendly with the U.S. -- Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.
-- David Welna
9:21 PM ET
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McCain is talking about Obama wanting to raise taxes on "Joe the plumber". Obama says he'd offer a tax cut to 95 percent of Americans. He would only actually raise taxes on the top 5 percent by income.
There's a simple way to understand the tax policies. Obama's tax plan would be better for the bottom 80 percent of Americans by income. McCain's would favor the top 20 percent of Americans by income.
Obama believes in more of a wealth redistribution model. McCain supports more of a trickle down model: tax breaks to the wealthiest will boost the economy and help everybody.
-- Chris Arnold
9:19 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain just brought up the story of Joe the plumber -- a man who shouted questions to Obama while he was canvassing in Holland, Ohio on Sunday. Since most of us weren't there to witness the encounter, we thought we'd post an ABC transcription that was distributed by the Obama campaign after it happened... after the jump.
-- Thomas Pierce
Continue reading "Joe the Plumber, Revisited" »
9:17 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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McCain blames Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for starting the housing crisis that led to the economic crisis. The criticism is that they pushed too hard to let people of modest means buy homes. Yet McCain also says we should allow families to remain in homes and realize the American dream. Which way is it: let them stay in their homes, or these entities triggered the crisis by letting them buy those homes?
-- David Welna
9:12 PM ET
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10-15-2008
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The third and final presidential debate is under way. Stay tuned right here for live fact-checking.
9:08 PM ET
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We're down to the final presidential debate tonight -- and that means another NPR adventure in Twitterville.
As we've done for the previous debates, we'd like your help fact-checking the debates. If you hear the candidates say anything questionable and you have a URL for a primary source that disproves it, post it on Twitter and include the phrase #factcheck , including the pound sign at the start of the word. We'll monitor what you post and pass along any useful nuggets to our crack team of reporters fact-checking the debate. They'll blog the results here at Vox Politics and on our nprpolitics account on Twitter. If you don't use Twitter, feel free to post your fact-checks to this blog post instead.
Meanwhile, you can also take part in our "dial-test" experiment on Twitter tonight. We're interested in seeing how Twitter users react to the candidates' responses throughout the debate and graphing out those reactions. Here's how to participate:
Step 1: Follow @plodt on Twitter. The folks at plodt.com will be graphing the results, so you'll need to follow their Twitter account if you want your tweets to be included.
Step 2: Each time you want to rate a candidate's statement, format your tweet like these examples:
#dialtest *McCain 7.5* Good answer on protecting senior's pensions
or
#dialtest *Obama 7.0* Like what he said re: social security
By including #dialtest in your tweets, everyone will be able to follow along using this Twitter search page . And for those of you who are more visual, the tweets will be plotted on a graph in real time during the debate.This is all just a nutty little experiment on our part, so please take the results with a grain of salt. We're just interested in seeing how Twitter can be used to visualize public responses as the debate takes place.
See you on Twitter tonight!
-- Andy Carvin , aka acarvin on Twitter
2:30 PM ET
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October 7, 2008
As McCain said, Obama is number two in overall campaign money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Center for Responsive Politics puts Obama's receipts from Freddie and Fannie employees at $122,850. Christopher Dodd (D-CT, chair of the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee), got $133,900 from Freddie and Fannie employees and PACs, making him number one. Both totals are since 1998, although obviously Obama hasn't been in the Senate that long and raised his money much more swiftly.
The McCain campaign has made much of the fact that Obama asked former Fannie CEO Jim Johnson -- one of Washington's Democratic heavyweights -- to lead his VP search committee. Johnston bowed out after questions arose about his personal finances. The GOP has also tried to promote the idea of a close tie between Obama and Franklin Raines, who succeeded Johnson at Fannie and left under a cloud. It's a stretch, based on one line in a Washington Post story that Raines denies and even the reporter suggests has been overblown.
McCain's way down the money list -- $21,300 since 1989.
But McCain's campaign manager and longtime consultant, Rick Davis, is a cofounder of Davis Manafort, a lobbying firm. Freddie and Fannie hired Davis Manafort several years ago at $30,000 a month to run the Homeowners Alliance, essentially a front group to promote Fannie and Freddie's interests in DC. The alliance closed down in 2006, and Freddie hired DM directly at $15,000 a month.
Davis Manafort did not register to lobby for Freddie, and Freddie didn't carry the contract on its lobbying budget. Two sources told me that it was a no-work contract to establish a good connection with McCain, as he made the transition from simply a powerful senator to presidential candidate.
McCain's campaign points out that Davis stopped taking a salary or ownership distribution from Davis Manafort when he joined the campaign.
But he still has an equity stake in the firm.
-- Peter Overby
11:46 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Sen. Obama has spoken since the Democratic Convention of ending our dependence on Middle East oil in 10 years. That would be tough.
If we simply bought oil from countries outside the Persian Gulf, we would not escape the influence of the Middle East. That's because oil is a global commodity, so the global price is determined by all the major producers, regardless of who buys from whom.
The US imports more than half of its oil. Of that, 20 percent comes from the Middle East. So the Gulf provides about 10 percent of the oil we use. If we reduced consumption by 10 percent, we would still need to import plenty of oil. And, again, the Middle East has a big say in the global price of oil. Production levels in the Persian Gulf would still affect the amount we pay at the pump.
Drilling offshore of the United States wouldn't yield significant amounts of oil for about 10 years, and even then we could not expect to pump as much from those sources as is currently produced in the Persian Gulf. We could possibly increase global oil production by a few percent, so that would not have a large effect on the price of oil.
As we have recently seen, our oil consumption can go down -- as long as the price goes up enough. Sustained high oil prices could help us limit the amount of oil we consume, but it would not make consumers happy in the process.
Researchers are working on alternatives to oil, such as biofuels made from plant material. However, that requires building a whole new industry. And it will take decades, not years, to ramp up production. It's reasonable to assume we can produce about 30 percent of our fuel needs by 2030 with these alternative fuels -- but the industry is not a sure bet.
-- Richard Harris
11:37 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain repeated his claim that Obama voted to raise taxes 94 times. Factcheck calls that a misleading statistic :
It's true that most of the votes the GOP counts would either have increased taxes for some, or set budget targets calling for such increases. But by repeating their inflated 94-vote figure, the McCain campaign and the GOP falsely imply that Obama has pushed indiscriminately to raise taxes for nearly everybody. A closer look reveals that he's voted consistently to restore higher tax rates on upper-income taxpayers but not on middle- or low-income workers. That's consistent with what he's said he'd do as president, which is to raise taxes only on those making more than $250,000 a year.
-- Evie Stone
h/t msblog
11:16 PM ET
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Here's the instant take from NPR's live debate coverage on how the candidates fared.
Weekly Standard 's Matt Continetti : "I was struck by a few moments in this debate, where McCain, in trying to make a case for himself made a case for Obama." McCain mentioned "his hero Ronald Reagan" multiple times. "But at the end of the debate Obama made the Reagan case" by asking, "Are you better off?"
More Continetti, on speaking softly and carrying a big stick: "The problem is" that McCain's "initial response to the financial crisis was erratic. One moment he was saying 'the fundamentals are strong,' the next he is saying it is a mess. ... It was Obama who had the steady response in the financial crisis."
Washington Post 's EJ Dionne : I don't think that McCain shook the race up. ... There was a lot of speculation that in order to shake the race up McCain was going to get real personal." As VP nominee Sarah Palin has done on the trail recently. "You can't blame the Weather Underground for blowing up this economy. ... It is quite obvious that you can't turn a page on the finance crisis in this campaign."
NPR's Mara Liasson : "There wasn't any one moment that leapt out. ... Neither made big mistakes." McCain did "a pretty good job" of showing that he understood the economy.
More Liasson, on evasive answers by Obama and McCain: "There were a lot of moments where they launched into recycled chunks of stump speeches."
-- Michael Olson
11:10 PM ET
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The post-debate statements from the two campaigns are (unsurprisingly) both triumphant.
Barack Obama won a resounding victory in John McCain's favorite debate format because he made the case for change that will rebuild the middle class. The American people asked tough questions tonight, and only Barack Obama was is in touch with their struggles and offered clear and passionate answers about creating jobs, reducing health care costs, cutting taxes for 95% of working families, and responsibly ending the war in Iraq. John McCain was all over the map on the issues, and he is so angry about the state of his campaign that he referred to Barack Obama as 'that one' -- last time he couldn't look at Senator Obama, this time he couldn't say his name. The McCain campaign said, 'if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose,' and John McCain definitely lost tonight.
Tonight, John McCain won the debate. He was the only man who demonstrated he had the independence and strength to take on everything that's broken in Washington and on Wall Street. John McCain had a clear plan for improving the lives of Americans -- keeping them in their homes through his American Homeownership Resurgence Plan. From Barack Obama, we heard half-truths and contradictions between what he says and what he has done. He said he supported offshore drilling but has opposed it for months. He talked about tax cuts but he voted for higher taxes 94 times and promises increased taxes on small businesses. He talked about reducing the size of government but has proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in new government spending. Tonight, Barack Obama had an opportunity to level with the American people, but instead all we heard was more of the same.
-- Evie Stone
10:54 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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The Obama campaign's statement about the Planetarium money:
The non-profit Adler Planetarium is one of the leading astrological institutions in the Midwest that offers programs for students, scientists, and the public. Senator Obama is firmly committed to enhancing our nation's science education programming, and he joined a bipartisan coalition of Illinois Member of Congress including Senator Durbin and Congressmen Kirk, Jackson Jr., Davis, and Emanuel in requesting funding to enhance and restore the Planetarium. In a voluntary act of disclosure, Senator Obama disclosed all of the earmarks he requested in the U.S. Senate, he passed a law with Senator Coburn that creates a one-stop online database where taxpayers can see how their money is being spent, and he has since stopped requesting earmarks and cosponsored legislation that places a moratorium on earmark requests until proper oversight can be achieved.
The legitimacy of the request aside, we are pretty sure they should have said ASTRONOMICAL -- not ASTROLOGICAL. (For what it's worth, Obama is a Leo and McCain is a Virgo.) Somewhere, my Matter In The Universe professor's head is exploding...
-- Evie Stone
h/t Ron Elving
10:43 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Our intrepid librarian Barbara Van Woerkom notes a misquote from John McCain:
It's not "walk" softly or "talk" softly, like McCain said, but "Speak softly and carry a big stick", quoted by Theodore Roosevelt in a speech, April 2, 1903, Chicago. From the Columbia World of Quotations , via Bartleby.com
-- Evie Stone
10:42 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Health care has taken a higher profile in the campaign in recent days and the candidates took the opportunity to get in their slams at each other's plans in person.
Obama pointed out -- correctly -- that McCain's plan would tax employer-provided health benefits for the first time in addition to providing the tax credits McCain is so fond of talking about. But in saying "what one hand giveth, the other hand taketh away," Obama suggested that most people would come out even at best. In fact, most people who currently have employer-provided insurance would be better off -- at least at first -- because the tax credits; $2,500 for an individual and $5,000 for families, would in most cases be larger than the tax bills for current benefits. (McCain was guilty of suggesting several times that everyone would get a $5,000 credit; that's not the case). Tax analysts have pointed out, however, that because the tax credit would increase more slowly than health insurance premiums, over time its buying power would decline, and more people would end up with a tax liability on their employer-provided coverage, assuming their employers still provide coverage. At least two independent studies have found that 20 million people would no longer have employer-provided coverage after 10 years if Sen. McCain's plan were to become law.
McCain, for his part, accused Obama of injecting more government into the health care system. "He's...said government will do this and government will do that and then government will -- and he'll impose mandates. If you're a small business person, and you don't insure your employees, Senator Obama will fine you, will fine you. That's remarkable," said McCain. It's also not quite true. The smallest employers -- those with fewer than 10 workers -- would be totally exempt. Other small businesses would get significant tax credits to make that insurance more affordable.
-- Julie Rovner
10:40 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain was apparently referring to the 2005 energy bill, which he did vote against and Obama did vote for. It was in fact loaded with tax breaks and incentives for oil and gas companies, which is why Sen. McCain opposed it. The bill passed.
That said, the oil companies later said that they didn't end up benefiting from the tax cuts that were built into the energy bill for them. And the Congressional Research Service found that in the end, the oil companies ended up paying more taxes.
The bill also contained tax breaks for ethanol -- which is a fuel that Sen. Obama favored on behalf of the corn growers in Illinois. And it contained other money for alternative energy sources. However, the ethanol subsidy ended up encouraging farmers to grow corn for fuel instead of for food. And that played some role in the huge run-up in food prices -- exactly how much is debatable.
It also continued subsidies for nuclear power, wind and other alternatives, but did not effectively address global warming with measures such as a fuel-efficiency standard.
-- Richard Harris
10:35 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Obama is correct in saying that Al Qaeda is the strongest it has been since 2001, at least if you believe US intelligence estimates .
-- Michele Kelemen
10:33 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Obama said, "We're spending $10 billion dollars a month in Iraq, at a time when the Iraqis have a $79 billion dollar surplus -- $79 billion dollars."
Factcheck.org says it isn't so :
Biden said that Iraq had an "$80 billion surplus." The country was once projected to have as much as a $79 billion surplus, but no more. The Iraqis have $29 billion in the bank, and could have $47 billion to $59 billion by the end of the year, as we noted when Obama used the incorrect figure. A $21 billion supplemental spending bill, passed by the Iraqi legislature in August, knocked down the old projection.
-- Michael Olson
10:32 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain said the US has to advocate for Ukraine and Georgia's membership in NATO. This is an issue that has divided European allies.
-- Michele Kelemen
10:30 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Obama did in fact put out a statement about Russia in April. It's after the jump.
-- Michele Kelemen
Continue reading "Obama's Russia Record" »
10:26 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain criticized Obama for wanting to set a date for withdrawal from Iraq, but that is what the Iraqi government and the Bush administration are essentially doing right now.
On Darfur, Obama said we should be providing logistical support to the UN/AU force. The Bush administration has done that. As for setting up a no-fly zone, it may not be as easy as Obama suggests and some aid groups are worried about the prospect.
-- Michele Kelemen
10:19 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Steve Ellis of Taxpayers For Common Sense emails some background on that earmark request for the Chicago Planetarium.
In tonight's debate, Sen. McCain cited a $3M earmark Sen. Obama sought for a projector at a planetarium.
Here is the verbatim description from Sen. Obama's request:
"Adler Planetarium, to support replacement of its projector and related equipment, $3,000,000.
One of its most popular attractions and teaching tools at the Adler Planetarium is the Sky Theater. The projection equipment in this theater is 40 years old, and is no longer supported with parts or service by the manufacturer. It has begun to fail, leaving the theater dark and groups of school students and other interested museum-goers without this very valuable and exciting learning experience."
-- Evie Stone
h/t Overby
UPDATE : Twitter user tmcenroe points us to a page on Obama's Senate website detailing all the Senator's FY08 earmark requests. Re: the planetarium projector, tmcenroe writes "it's not exactly the Kodak your dad had..."
10:11 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain said that Obama would increase taxes on 50 percent of small business revenue. I think this may be true for revenue as a whole but it doesn't mean that 50 percent of small business owners would pay more. It also depends on what you consider small businesses. The Small Business Administration defines a small business as a company with fewer than 500 employees but I don't know where McCain gets his figures.
-- Jim Zarroli
10:03 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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"That one" -- McCain while pointing at Obama identifying who voted against the Bush-Cheney energy bill.
Unlike during the first debate McCain has been willing to look at Obama tonight. But he has studiously avoided saying anything that could be construed as flattery of his opponent.
-- Michael Olson
9:58 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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We're an hour into the debate, and this may be the longest interval all day with no mention of Bill Ayers or the Keating 5. Which, despite this civilized discussion, would be an hour in which the McCain campaign is off-message.
-- Peter Overby
9:57 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain says when people know there will be more oil prices will go down. Brazil discovered what are believed to be the world's third biggest reserves of oil undersea in April. Oil prices only climbed in the wake of that discovery.
-- David Welna
UPDATE : With regard to the eventual price effect when that oil does hit the market, our Richard Harris adds:
Offshore oil drilling would take many years to develop and would ultimately add less than 2 percent to the global oil supply. So it's a stretch to assert, as Sen. McCain did, that drilling will drive down the price of oil.
9:53 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain just said he'll give $5,000 to every American as a refundable tax credit on health insurance. In fact, it's $2,500 per person, or $5,000 per household.
-- David Welna
9:51 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain said Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill's sitting down to strike a deal on Social Security is a model for what to do now. Problem is, those two gents agreed to raise taxes to cover the Social Security gap...and McCain says on his campaign website he WON'T raise taxes to fix Social Security.
-- David Welna
9:48 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain puts earmarks at the top of his hit-list for cutting the budget. In fact, earmarks are a small percentage of what's called the discretionary budget -- as opposed to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which dwarf discretionary spending. Earmark totals have gone down dramatically the past two years, although they're bobbing back up now.
-- Peter Overby
9:46 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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@paulboccaccio Tweeted that Obama has been the second-highest recipient of donors from Fannie & Freddie employees.
Our Peter Overby confirms:
The Center for Responsive Politics puts Obama's receipts from Freddie and Fannie employees at $122,850. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, got $133,900 from Freddie and Fannie employees and PACs, making him number one. Both totals are since 1998, although obviously Obama hasn't been in the Senate that long.
-- Evie Stone
9:44 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Obama talked about AIG executives on a junket which was apparently true, but they were from the clean side of the company, the insurance side, not financial products division. That's an important distinction.
McCain says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lit the fire of the mortgage crisis. Most people would say that they played a part but there was much more to it than that. Securitization of mortgages played a big role because it meant mortgage servicers had no real incentive to impose strict credit standards on borrowers. And there were key players as well, like overly aggressive mortgage brokers.
-- Jim Zarroli
9:40 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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During tonight's debate McCain announced a new "Homeownership Resurgence Plan" aimed at helping families stay in their homes. His campaign quickly followed up on McCain's mention of the plan with an informational release. The gist:
The McCain Resurgence Plan would purchase mortgages directly from homeowners and mortgage servicers, and replace them with manageable, fixed-rate mortgages that will keep families in their homes. By purchasing the existing, failing mortgages the McCain resurgence plan will eliminate uncertainty over defaults, support the value of mortgage-backed derivatives and alleviate risks that are freezing financial markets.
You can read the full press release after the jump.
-- Evie Stone
Continue reading "McCain Unveils 'Homeownership Resurgence Plan'" »
9:30 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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McCain starts out his litany of reform with "working across the aisle with Sen. Feingold for campaign finance reform." That's absolutely true -- but it's not something he says to Republican audiences, since the GOP leadership fought the McCain-Feingold bill with everything they had.
-- Peter Overby
9:25 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Brokaw asked McCain about his potential choices for Treasury Secretary after Henry Paulson steps down.
McCain started out with joke-let that fell flat: "not you, Tom." Then he floated -- as he did last week -- investor Warren Buffet (with a nod to the fact that he's an Obama supporter) and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. (Our Peter Overby points out that McCain's former economic adviser Phil "Nation of Whiners " Gramm did not make that short list, cutting off a potential Obama talking point.)
Obama responded by agreeing that Buffet would be a good choice -- then was quick to reiterate that the billionaire investor is actually his supporter . The rest of Obama's answer dodged the Treasury Secretary question and stuck to his policy differences with McCain. For the record, here's roundup of Obama's Treasury prospects, courtesy of Bloomberg .
Obama has made it clear he would rely on former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin for advice in his choice. Rubin, according to people who have spoken with him, would have a short list of recommendations that includes New York Federal Reserve Bank President Tim Geithner, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Roger Altman, a Wall Street investment banker and former deputy Treasury secretary.
-- Evie Stone
9:09 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Here we go! Tonight's debate is a town hall format moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw. It's in a "theater in the round" style setting with the audience chairs encircling a bright red rug. As always, no cheering or outbursts will be permitted in the hall during the debate -- though, as Brokaw pointed out, those of you watching at home are free to scream and throw things as you see fit.
Stick with us throughout for fact checks and other observations.
-- Evie Stone
9:01 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Most market reports this week have us biting our nails, hiding out under the covers, and practicing very deep breathing. But at least one group of individuals--namely the Obama campaign--has reason to sing after reading a stock report. The Iowa Electronic Markets is reporting Obama's shares are trading at 77 cents in the Winner Take All market. That's up 10 cents since the first presidential debate and 20 cents in the last month.
At this point you're probably saying: What are the Iowa Electronic Markets? Well according to their website :
The Iowa Electronic Markets are operated by faculty at the University of Iowa Henry B. Tippie College of Business as part of our research and teaching mission. These markets are small-scale, real-money futures markets where contract payoffs depend on economic and political events such as elections.
And yes, you are trading with REAL money here. Accounts can be opened for $5 to $500 dollars to which the market can increase or--as we all well know--take away.
So, can McCain turn this particular market around after tonight's debate? Well, this morning the IEM reported the Republican candidate trading at 47.4 cents and his Democratic rival at 54.3 on the Vote Share market.
Take heart, be brave and jump into this market, anything is still possible in the 28 days between now and November 4th.
--Kyle Gassiott
5:09 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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Format is front and center as the candidates get set for tonight's town hall meeting at Belmont University in Nashville. It's typical for the campaigns to spend the day of the debate lowering the expectations for their own candidate and upping the ante for their opponent. The pressure is particularly keen on McCain, as by now the whole country seems to know the analogy: McCain is to Town Hall as Obama is to Big Rally.
With that in mind, the Obama campaign has brought this tradition into the video age with a montage of pundits (and McCain himself) pledging McCain's intimate-setting prowess:
--Laurel Wamsley
3:54 PM ET
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10- 7-2008
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The presidential candidates are prepping for another debate tonight - and once again, we'd like your help fact-checking their claims.
As we did during the Palin-Biden debate , we're challenging you to help us prove which claims are accurate and which ones aren't. If you hear something that sounds fishy, do some digging and find a primary source that sheds some light on the claim. Once you've found a source, send us the URL. The best way to get the information to us is to post it on Twitter and include the phrase #factcheck , including the pound sign at the start of the word. We'll monitor what you post on Twitter, and anyone else can follow along , too. We'll also be tweeting throughout the night at twitter.com/nprpolitics . We may even come up with some research assignments for you on-the-fly. And if you're not a member of Twitter, no worries - you can always post your research to this discussion thread instead.
We'll sort through your posts and pass them off to our reporters to investigate further. Be sure to check back to Vox Politics throughout the night to see the results - you may just see yourself getting a hat-tip from us.
-- Andy Carvin , aka acarvin on Twitter
11:15 AM ET
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10- 7-2008
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October 2, 2008
Palin said she wished she'd been able to veto some of that legislative spending, making it sound as if the legislature forced her to increase spending. I just talked to a couple of legislators who say HER budgets came to the legislature already significantly higher than previous budgets. Here are the budget numbers for her first two years ...2008 is her first budget year. For comparison, here are the past several years' budgets .
Also, she says she wants the state to divest its oil fund money from Darfur-involved countries. Yes... but her administration initially opposed it -- "mocked it," in the words of the bill's sponsor -- and came around to supporting it only late in the legislative session, when it was already de facto dead.
-- Martin Kaste
11:20 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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For those of you who just can't get enough, here's the whole Megillah in print.
Thanks, CNN!
-- Evie Stone
11:04 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Biden did misspeak at point when he talked about kicking Hezbollah out of Lebanon...he probably meant Syria.
Palin talked about making Middle East peace talks a priority, though McCain barely mentioned the peace process when he addressed AIPAC earlier this year, giving a speech that focused much more on Iran.
Palin also repeated a line that we often hear from candidates, but has never happened -- the idea of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.
-- Michele Kelemen
UPDATE : The Biden quote is as follows
When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said move NATO forces in there, fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it. Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel.
In his first reference, Biden should have said "when...we kicked Syria out of Lebanon" -- not Hezbollah. The rest of the statement is accurate; after Syria left Lebanon, Hezbollah stepped in to fill the power vacuum. Biden misspoke.
-- Evie Stone
11:03 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Sarah Palin did a tremendous amount of good tonight for herself; whether she did much good for the ticket is unclear. Joe Biden is experienced and he showed that tonight.
Palin came in with the lowest expectations and the most to prove. Tonight she gave an alternative image to the one people saw stumble with Katie Couric. She was extremely articulate and a great communicator. Her performance definitely brought about a sigh of relief for Republicans. They felt low coming into this debate, but they were very impressed by how she did tonight. Nonetheless, the debate may not have been a game-changer.
Democrats think that nothing changed tonight. Obama was in the lead coming into this debate, and they don't expect this debate to change that much.
--Mara Liasson
10:59 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Addressing some of our fact-check backlog -- wolkingsworld Tweeted early in the debate wondering about Biden's statement that Obama sounded the alarm two years ago about subprime mortgages.
Our fantastic reference librarian Mary Glendinning found this from The IRE Journal March 2006 - April 2006 (a publication of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc.):
...The reaction to our five-part series was swift. Citing the Tribune's report, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama called on the Senate Banking Committee to hold hearings on "the growing predatory practice of mortgage fraud."...
A Chicago Tribune article about Obama's call for a hearing is reproduced on Obama's website .
-- Evie Stone
10:54 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Shockingly, both campaigns are claiming victory in their post-debate statements.
Obama-Biden campaign manager David Plouffe:
Joe Biden won a clear victory tonight because he made a passionate case for change from the disastrous economic and foreign policies of the last eight years, and Sarah Palin defended them. While Governor Palin blindly supports John McCain's plan for more of the same policies that have devastated Main Street and let Wall Street run wild, Joe Biden spoke clearly and strongly about Barack Obama's plan for a tax cut for the middle class, health care that is affordable, and an end to the war in Iraq. Tonight, the American people saw why Barack Obama chose Joe Biden, a statesman from Scranton who clearly has the experience and knowledge to be a great Vice President.
Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on defense on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change. Governor Palin laid bare Barack Obama's record of voting to raise taxes, opposing the surge in Iraq, and proposing to meet unconditionally with the leaders of state sponsors of terror. The differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket could not have been clearer. The American people saw stark contrasts in style and worldview. They saw Joe Biden, a Washington insider and a 36-year Senator, and Governor Palin, a Washington outsider and a maverick reformer. Governor Palin was direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air.
-- Evie Stone
10:49 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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BIDEN:
Look, we have spent more money -- we spend more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we've spent on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country. Let me say it again. Three weeks in Iraq; seven years -- seven years, or six and a half years, in Afghanistan.
Senator Biden appears to be contrasting the spending on combat operations in Iraq with the spending on reconstruction and other diplomatic activities ("building that country"). Over seven years (not including FY 09), according to the Congressional Research Service, the United States has spent $11.8 billion on foreign aid and diplomatic operations in Afghanistan. The Pentagon in FY 08 has spent $145 billion in Iraq. This works out to about $8.4 billion per three week period.
-- Tom Gjelten
10:35 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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She says she cut taxes. Sort of. AK has no state income or sales tax to cut. She raised production taxes on oil producers. She suspended -- for one year -- Alaska's 8-cent-gal tax on gas.
I think that counts as a temporary tax cut.
-- Martin Kaste
10:33 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Both candidates talked about enforcing a no-fly zone in Darfur, though, as I understand it, the US military has not viewed this as a realistic option in a vast area of Western Sudan. Biden also threw out a death toll of thousands or tens of thousands, though there are no good numbers on that. Palin also talked about divesting from companies invested in Sudan. The US has sanctions on Sudan, so most of the divestment movement is from companies in China and Europe that do business with Sudan.
--Michele Kelemen
10:24 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Palin said Obama's tax plan would raise taxes on millions of small business owners. McCain has actually put the figure at 23 million. This is false, according to factcheck.org .
23 million is an old census number for ALL businesses -- most of which employ at least hundreds of people. In addition, most people who run small businesses do not file as individuals but as companies.
In fact, Obama's plan would raise taxes on couples making more than $250,000.
-- Frank Langfitt
10:21 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Sarah Studer, left, Sylvie Ofstie and Patrick Kenney react to comments as they fill out cards for 'Palin Bingo' at a debate watch party at a tavern in Seattle.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
NPR's own Linton Weeks wrote about possible debate-watching drinking games last week in honor of the first presidential face-off.
-- Nancy Cook
10:20 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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brent_maxwell Tweets:
Bosniak is right. Bosnian refers to a citizen of Bosnia & Herzegovina; Bosniak refers to a person of Bosnian ethnicity.
The CIA World Factbook says:
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
The Washington Post uses the term, but always defines it like this: Bosniaks, or Bosnian Muslims.
The Congress of North American Bosniaks uses that term as well.
-- Mary Glendinning
(title h/t Andy Carvin )
10:18 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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She got a delay in the deadline for her financial disclosure form with the FEC ... so we'll know for sure Monday.
As to whether she was middle-class during the Governor's race in 2006, this is what the Anchorage Daily News reports:
WASILLA - Sarah Palin and her husband have pieced together a uniquely Alaskan income that reached comfortably into six figures even before she became governor, capitalizing on valuable fishing rights, a series of land deals and a patchwork of other ventures to build an above-average lifestyle.
Add up the couple's 2007 income and the estimated value of their property and investments and they appear to be worth at least $1.2 million. That would make the Palins, like Democratic vice presidential rival Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, well-off but not nearly as wealthy as multimillionaire couples John and Cindy McCain and, to a lesser extent, Barack and Michelle Obama.
-- Martin Kaste
h/t OroroDC , me_crooks-smaller_normal , Sargent , toldorknown
10:12 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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General David McKiernan, the US commander in Afghanistan this week said "Afghanistan is not Iraq. .. What I don't think is needed -- the word I don't use in Afghanistan is the word surge."
On the other hand, speaking today, McKiernan said more troops should be rushed to Afghanistan "as quickly as possible." So while he doesn't believe in using the word surge because it resonates of Iraq, he does believe in rushing more troops to Afghanistan -- a surge by another name.
-- Tom Gjelten
10:08 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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On May 25, 2006 the House voted , 225-201, to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), marking the 12th time it had done so since 1995.
So, people supporting the ban would have voted against the bill.
Here are a handful from both sides of the country.
yes no not voting
-- Mary Glendinning
10:05 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Biden was misleading but not totally wrong on the tax ramifications of McCain's health care plan.
He taxes as income every one of you out there, every one of you listening who has a health care plan through your employer. That's how he raises $3.6 trillion on your -- taxing your health care benefit, to give you $5,000 plan, which, his website points out, will go straight to the insurance company. And then you're going to have to replace a $12,000 -- that's the average cost of the plan you get through your employer; it costs $12,000 -- you're going to have to pay -- replace $12,000 plan, because 20 million of you are going to be dropped.
McCain's plan WOULD tax the value of health benefits -- but for most people, the tax credit would offset that tax increase. The 20 million is the number of people who would be dropped by their employers according to a critique of the plan published in the policy journal Health Affairs.
-- Julie Rovner
10:01 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Obama did, early in the campaign, say he would sit down at a presidential level with leaders of Iran and other "rogue states," without preconditions. But he did not mention Ahmadinejad by name and.
Further, as Biden pointed out tonight, Ahmadinejad is not necessarily the most powerful person in Iran.
Biden was also right in saying that US allies, particularly in Europe, have been urging the US to open a dialogue with Iran.
-- Michele Kelemen
9:59 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Biden is hitting his sweet spot now that Ifill is taking it into foreign policy.
Was the deep inhale response to Palin's "We both love Israel" acceptable? Probably so long as he doesn't repeat and reuse a la Gore.
-- Michael Olson
9:57 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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The 300 billion figure refers to McCain's plan to reduce corporate income tax rates. McCain likes to say that US has world's second highest corporate tax rate.
Obama says that's true, until you count loopholes, which lower the EFFECTIVE tax rate.
McCain always says Obama's plan to raise taxes on the 250K-plus crowd would affect small businesses that file taxes as individuals. True, although factcheck says there are far fewer genuine businesses (with employees) that file as individuals.
The best source on the distribution of tax burden is the Tax Policy Center . Bottom line: 80 percent of country gets a bigger tax break under Obama's plan. The top 20 percent get a bigger break from McCain (and especially top 5, 1 , 0.1 percent).
The other argument Obama's camp makes is: if tax cuts are so good for job creation, why has job growth during the Bush presidency been 1/4 what it was under Clinton.
-- Scott Horsley
9:53 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Senator Biden says Iraq is running an $80 billion surplus. That's a bit of an exaggeration. The figure comes from the Government Accountability Office, which has reported that Iraq could have a nearly $80 billion budget surplus over four years based on projected oil revenues. But this is a four year figure. For 2008, the GAO estimates a budget surplus of between $38.2 billion to $50.3 billion
-- Tom Gjelten
9:51 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Here's what Biden said at the top of the debate:
Matter of fact, John recently wrote an article in a major magazine saying that he wants to do for the health care industry, deregulate it and let the free market move, like he did for the banking industry.
This has been chided by factcheck.org (and by me on our air ) as misleading. The comment in the magazine of the American Academy of Actuaries about banking referred to interstate use of ATMS (or at least so McCain's aides say).
More broadly, however, Biden is correct that McCain wants to significantly deregulate health care by allowing people to purchase individual health insurance policies across state lines -- thus depriving state insurance regulators of their ability to protect their own state residents. That bill -- originally introduced by Arizona Rep. John Shadegg, has been vehemently opposed by many state insurance commissioners, attorneys general, and consumer advocates.
-- Julie Rovner
9:40 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Palin talks about "breaking up a monopoly" of the big oil companies in AK. Not clear what she means by "monopoly," but she has pushed to get new companies (besides the big three already in AK) involved in the construction of a proposed new gas pipeline. That pipeline has not yet been built, and it's not clear it can get built without the expertise of the big three.
In broader terms, this is her record of "opposing" the oil companies:
Palin's predecessor, Governor Frank Murkowski, had negotiated a change to the state's production tax on oil. It was negotiated with the big three oil companies, then presented to the state legislature. (It wasn't a simple increase or decrease -- it was a change in how the tax was calculated, and the final result would depend on market prices, etc.) The legislature passed it (after contentious debate).
Later that year (fall 2006), the FBI raided several Republican legislators' offices, the first sign of what would become the VECO oil company bribery scandal. Palin was elected a couple months later. She re-opened the issue of the oil production tax, and it was raised slightly (though I think -- think -- they stuck with the same basic method of calculating it).
Really, the FBI did the heavy lifting, politically.
-- Martin Kaste
9:37 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Sarah Palin reiterated the familiar McCain campaign line about Barack Obama raising taxes on the middle-class.
As Biden correctly responded, Obama did vote for a non-binding budget resolution that provided guidelines that assumed the Bush tax cuts will sunset in 2011. That's not the same as voting for a tax increase. And Obama's current tax plan does call for tax cuts for everyone making less than $250,000 a year.
Factcheck.org has repeatedly taken McCain to task on this one. Here's their explanation :
The measure Obama supported contained a provision -- which is not part of his current tax proposals -- that would have increased the rate paid by those who have taxable income high enough to fall into the 25 percent tax bracket. The 25 percent rate would have increased to 28 percent, as it was before the Bush tax cuts. The effect would have been to increase taxes for a single taxpayer with as little as $32,550 in taxable income in 2008, after all deductions and exclusions from total annual earnings.
-- Evie Stone
9:27 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Sarah Palin said McCain's health care tax credit is budget neutral. That is NOT true. There is currently no budget estimate of the cost of McCain's plan, much to the consternation of McCain's top domestic policy advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former head of the (estimating agency) Congressional Budget Office.
-- Julie Rovner
UPDATE : The Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates the McCain plan would cost $141 billion in 2013.
9:22 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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For the first 15 minutes of the debate we are seeing a much different version of Gov. Sarah Palin than the one we have grown to know through Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson and Sean Hannity. This appears to be a Palin that is confident and able to hold her own.
No gaffes by Sen. Joe Biden either -- a bit tongue tied, but also on point.
-- Michael Olson
9:22 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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First smackdown from moderator Gwen Ifill. In response to her first question to the candidates, about they would each do as Vice President, both Biden and Palin provided lengthy discourses about the state of the US economy, complete with criticisms of the opposing presidential candidates' economic policies.
Before moving on, Ifill sternly pointed out that neither of them had answered the question. It's an early indication that she won't let these candidates get away with much tonight.
-- Evie Stone
9:09 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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The VP debate is officially under way, with the candidates meeting for a quick handshake onstage before they took to their podiums lecterns (h/t Michael Cullen ). In the first weird moment of the night, the mic picked up Sarah Palin saying to her opponent, "Nice to meet you. Can I call you Joe?"
Stick with Vox Politics throughout for fact-checks and other observations.
-- Evie Stone
8:59 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Moderator Gwen Ifill will attempt to elevate discourse and her injured ankle tonight during the Vice-Presidential candidate debate at Washington University in St. Louis.
Paul J. Richards AFP/Getty Images
-- Michael Olson
5:59 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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We video-watchers live in an ambivalent age--the SNL spoofs of vice-presidential debates of yore are nowhere to be found on YouTube, and not everything is up and running on Hulu yet.
So for fond memories from previous veep debates, we'll have to settle for the crazy originals. Here's a moment from the 1992 vice-presidential debate between Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and James Stockdale , who was Ross Perot's running mate (and who, like John McCain, spent years in a Vietnam prison camp).
If Biden and Palin want to strive for true veep chaos, they're going to have to compete with this:
For more from that '92 debate, click here to watch the opening statements. At 7:15 is the most famous moment--Stockdale's eternal existential questions: "Who am I? Why am I here?"
The Observer has a great roundup of of veep debate moments here .
--Laurel Wamsley
4:00 PM ET
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10- 2-2008
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Tonight we're going to do a little experiment; we'd like your help in fact-checking this evening's vice presidential debate.
As you watch the debate, we invite you to be on the lookout for any questionable claims made by Sen. Biden or Gov. Palin. For example, if one of them says something that runs counter to something you've heard them say in the past, you can help us out by tracking down a primary source for the original quote, like a transcript or video. Same thing if one of them cites a statistic: you can track down the original source and help us verify if it's accurate.
Once you've found the source, you can then get it to us by posting it to Twitter with the tag #factcheck included in your tweet. (If you're not a Twitter user, you can also post it in the comment thread below.) Our team will then use your suggestions as we investigate the candidates' claims.
Please be sure to check out the blog throughout the evening to see what transpires. We'll also be covering the debate on our Twitter account, @nprpolitics . We look forward to working with you tonight!
-- Andy Carvin (aka @acarvin on Twitter)
11:41 AM ET
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10- 2-2008
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The presidential spotlight shifts to the running mates tonight, amid signs that Sarah Palin's star is fading.
The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds a majority of Americans, 51%, now believe Palin is not qualified to be President. That's up from 39% shortly after the GOP convention.
Although Palin provided a huge jolt of energy to the Republican ticket when she was first chosen, doubts about her readiness have mounted in recent weeks, especially after a stumbling interview with CBS's Katie Couric, and a withering parody on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."
The Alaska Governor still enjoys strong support among social conservatives. "She's got guts. She's got experience. She's really an impressive woman," said Selena Heyer, a stay-at-home mother of four with another child on the way. Heyer brought her son Ambrose to a McCain-Palin rally in Columbus, OH this week.
John McCain is courting female voters today, with a "Women's Town Hall Meeting" in Denver.
--Scott Horsley
11:27 AM ET
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10- 2-2008
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September 26, 2008
The Obama campaign came into tonight's debate with a few goals they thought Senator Obama could achieve regardless of what kind of performance Senator McCain put in.
First, they wanted to see a more vigorous, more focused presentation from a candidate who was sometimes seen as too laconic during the primary debates. That also meant less lofty, less wordy, less professorial answers from Obama. On this point they seem to have succeeded. He gave clear, generally tight answers to questions (though his first answer to a simple question about whether he supports the financial bailout plan congress is working on was an exception). His phrasing was conversational: "Let's be clear about the numbers..." ; "You're using a hatchet when you should be using a scalpel"; and "being wildly liberal was mostly me voting against George W. Bush's policies."
The other test was simple: make it easier for any American who has doubts to be able to better picture Obama as President. As Commander-in-Chief. The campaign feels they succeded on that score as well.
-- Don Gonyea
11:33 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Hillary Clinton did not waste time releasing a statement of full-throated support for her onetime rival Barack Obama.
Tonight Barack Obama displayed beyond a doubt that he understands both the gravity of the financial crisis facing America, and the challenges we face in Iraq and around the world. Senator McCain offered only more of the same failed policies of the Bush Administration. America deserves better.
"I stood next to Barack Obama in 22 debates and tonight epitomized why millions are joining me in standing with him and working hard to ensure he is the next President of the United States.
Clinton and Obama had some civil and not-so-civil moments in their primary debate matchups, and there were some fears among Democrats (and hopes among the GOP?) that sour memories from the primary would hurt party unity in November. But Clinton rose to the occasion at the DNC in Denver, offering hearty praise for Obama, and she came through again tonight.
The statement is an especially significant gesture after a week in which Bill Clinton was accused of being a half-hearted advocate for the Democratic nominee.
-- Evie Stone
10:58 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker:
There was one man who was presidential tonight, that man was John McCain. There was another who was political, that was Barack Obama. John McCain won this debate and controlled the dialogue throughout, whether it was the economy, taxes, spending, Iraq or Iran. There was a leadership gap, a judgment gap, and a boldness gap on display tonight, a fact Barack Obama acknowledged when he said John McCain was right at least five times. Tonight's debate showed John McCain in command of the issues and presenting a clear agenda for America's future.
This was a clear victory for Barack Obama on John McCain's home turf. Senator McCain offered nothing but more of the same failed Bush policies, and Barack Obama made a forceful case for change in our economy and our foreign policy. While Senator McCain wants to keep giving huge tax cuts to corporations and said nothing about the challenges Americans are facing in their daily lives, Barack Obama will be a fierce advocate for tax cuts for the middle class, affordable health care, and a new energy economy that creates millions of jobs. While foreign policy was supposed to be John McCain's top issue, Barack Obama commanded that part of the debate with a clear call to responsibly end a misguided war in Iraq so that we can finish the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. John McCain needed a game-changer tonight, and by any measure he didn't get it.
-- Evie Stone
10:42 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain: Missile defense "was a major factor in the ending of the Cold War"
This is a debatable proposition. Some analysts say the United States was spending so much in defense spending (on missile defense and OTHER things) that the Soviet Union could not keep up, and its economy imploded as a result. But other Soviet experts say the USSR collapsed under its own weight.
-- Tom Gjelten
10:37 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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In the last minutes of the debate, the spin rooms assemble. As if conjured by Jim Lehrer's question about whether another 9/11 is possible, Rudy Giuliani emerges and sets up shop right next to our workspace, where he'll offer responses to the arguments made tonight. The bright TV lights are on him, a group of journalists huddles around, and we radio folk get ready for the post-debate special (on a member station near you, or streaming live from our website !).
For Obama, the spinning signs say Axelrod, Plouffe, Gibbs, and Douglass.
-- Laurel Wamsley
10:32 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Obama said that Russia has to remove itself from South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but the Europeans, who negotiated the six point peace plan between Russia and Georgia, don't have quite that clear a deal. The Russians did have "peacekeepers in the region beforehand" and they will remain.
McCain called Obama naive for calling on both sides to be calm. Even the Bush administration had been warning Georgia in the weeks leading up to this not to take the Russian bait. The Russians say they were responding to Georgian aggression against South Ossetia. McCain also seemed to suggest that Russia is behind the political turmoil inside Ukraine. That is possible, but these are states that are always at odds.
-- Michele Kelemen
10:29 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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A big chunk of The American Foreign Policy Establishment came out in support of engagement with Iran :
Five former U.S. secretaries of state said on Monday the next American administration should talk to Iran, a foe President George W. Bush has generally shunned as part of an "axis of evil." [...]
The five -- Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker and Henry Kissinger -- all said they favored talking to Iran as part of a strategy to stop Tehran's development of a nuclear weapons program.
Kissinger specifically came out in favor of negotiating with Iran "without conditions ."
The fact that McCain occasionally talks to Henry Kissinger is occasionally offered as evidence that McCain is hearing from a diverse group of foreign policy advisers. The fact that Kissinger advocates a course that McCain has derided as naive and irresponsible should be a huge clue as to whom McCain actually listens.
-- Loren Jenkins
10:21 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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These George Washington University students say yes .
As we know, North Korea suffered chronic food shortage due to series of drought and crop failures (also the fundamental flaw of the socialist system of collective farming). The articles says that average height difference is significant, as of 2005, the average height of people aged between 20 and 39 in North Korea is 154.9cm (5.08ft) for females and 165.6cm (5.43ft) for males, while the average height for the South Korean is 159.1cm (5.21ft) for females and 172.5cm (5.65ft) for males.
-- Evie Stone
h/t Tom Gjelten
10:17 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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While McCain thinks that he can lead an international coalition to impose sanctions on Iran, European countries tend to want to go through the UN Security Council first. The European Union follows UN sanctions and strengthens them, but many in Europe have business interests in Iran, which make bilateral sanctions much harder to do. Obama is correct in saying that meaningful sanctions would have to include Russia and China.
McCain quotes Obama as saying he would sit down with Ahmadinejad without preconditions. Obama did originally say that he would sit down with "Iranian leaders," though he has more recently talked about tough diplomacy, which could start with low level talks. And he pointed out correctly that the Bush administration recently sent a State Department official to a mutli-lateral meeting that included Iran.
-- Michele Kelemen
10:11 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain is frequently starting his rebuttals to Obama with some variation of "Senator Obama doesn't understand...."
Coincidence? We think not. McCain's dismissive tone about Obama's policy positions is a reminder of McCain's longer experience, and seems intended to make Obama look naive.
-- Evie Stone
10:04 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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While Obama and McCain debate whether or not they should speak in public about US military action inside Pakistan, it is important to note that Pakistan's new President Zardari (not Kadari as McCain said) made clear this week "we cannot allow our sovereignty to be violated by friends." Pakistan argues that any attack plays into the hands of terrorists.
-- Michele Kelemen
10:01 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Obama said "there was no al Qaeda in Iraq" when the war broke out there. There was, however, a Kurdish group known as Ansar al-Islam operating in a corner of Iraq not fully controlled by Saddam Hussein's regime. This is from the Wikipedia entry on Ansar :
Defense Intelligence Agency describing Ansar al-Islam as "an independent organization that receives assistance from al- Qa'ida, but is not a branch of the group."[3] It has however been established that the later leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi stayed in the Ansar al-Islam enclave in 2002/2003 [4].
The US military considers Ansar Al-Islam a "loose franchise" of AQ.
-- Tom Gjelten
9:57 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain says both Osama Bin Laden and General David Petraeus agree that Iraq is the "central battleground" in the war on terrorism. Osama has never said that. I'm not even sure Petraeus has.
-- Loren Jenkins
UPDATE : Tom Gjelten points out that the White House has made that argument .
9:55 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain: "that same strategy [IRAQ] will be applied in Afghanistan by this great general."
Petraeus, speaking today in Paris, contrasted the challenge in Afghanistan with the challenge in Iraq, saying the challenge in Afghanistan would be greater.
"In Iraq, you are rebuilding. In Afghanistan, you are building."
-- Tom Gjelten
9:52 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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One factual flub by Obama actually undercut his own argument.
In describing McCain's health plan, Obama said that employers would begin to pay taxes on the value of health benefits provided to their workers. Actually, the workers themselves would have to pay taxes on the value of benefits provided by their employers. Now, for most workers, that tax would be offset by a new tax credit McCain would also institute. Still, those with very generous benefits -- particularly union workers who have given up wage increases over the years in exchange for more generous health insurance -- could find themselves paying higher taxes as a result. Such benefits are currently provided on a tax-free basis.
-- Julie Rovner
9:50 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain said:
I have opposed the President on the way the Iraq war was conducted...the war was badly mishandled.
and
I went there in 2003...And came back and said this requires a fundamental change of strategy.
McCain here is speaking truthfully but he may be slightly exaggerating the degree to which he "opposed" the President on the way the war was conducted. In 2005, he said, "Some serious mistakes were made, but...I think we've got to stay the course here."
It is true that he was one of the first on Capitol Hill to argue that MORE troops were needed in Iraq ... at a time when Def Secy Rumsfeld and others were saying it was not necessary.
-- Tom Gjelten
9:48 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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McCain says after arguing for years that US had to change a losing strategy in Iraq, the US finally came up with a general (Petraeus) and a strategy "that has succeeded!"
That is a stretch. Not even Gen. Petraeus says the war has succeeded. He says it has vastly improved conditions on the ground but that these improvements are still "fragile" and therefore reversible.
-- Loren Jenkins
9:46 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Obama said basically that the home-owners who are struggling to pay their mortgages and at risk of foreclosure are at the heart of this whole financial mess and we need to help them too with this bailout.
But in just the past 2 days he backed away a bit from the most powerful proposal to help home-owners being pushed by democrats in Congress. The proposal is to give bankruptcy judges the power to restructure loans for home-owners who have decent jobs and didn't buy a house far beyond their means...but who borrowed a bit too much and/or got themselves into loans with high interest rates that they can't afford. Democrats like the idea. Republicans and the banking industry are strongly opposed. Obama says he's for it. But yesterday he said it needn't be included in this current bailout bill if it would slow it down. That surprised housing advocates who feel this is the best chance for getting the measure passed.
-- Chris Arnold
9:44 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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If one of Obama's goals was to be less lofty in his language -- and less wordy -- he seems to be doing that so far.
His language is pointed and direct. More so than in the primary debates. He is fact-checking McCain on the fly. And he's defending his liberal voting record in the Senate ("most liberal" in the Senate says McCain) by saying mostly he's gotten that liberal record by opposing the policies of George W. Bush.
-- Don Gonyea
9:41 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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A troupe of young'uns for McCain carry a small parade of McCain/Palin/various-Mississippi-Republicans signs across the front of the press file to outfit the spin rooms that are cordoned off to the side. A moment later, two young women in white shirts and orange ballcaps pass out what I thought were transcripts of the opening remarks. Instead the pale blue papers are McCain responses to Obama's arguments, passed out within minutes the applicable Obama statement.
The summary lines from the three McCain responses passed out so far:
-- Despite Barack Obama's claims, John McCain has a strong record of promoting reform and oversight of Wall Street.
-- Barack Obama too has been supportive of reducing tax cuts for businesses.
-- Barack Obama voted for the 2005 Energy Bill that included billions in tax breaks for oil companies.
Until these handouts appeared, it had been easy to forget that there are representatives from the campaigns in this room. In this big freezing tent, it feels like a press universe, with your TV playing all the stations at once -- Chris Wallace! Dana Bash! That guy I recognize! -- right in front of you.
-- Laurel Wamsley
9:37 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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The candidates are trading shots on their tax plans here. This is the breakdown according to the independent Tax Policy Center on what the plans would mean for Americans come tax time.
Basically, both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama have proposed lower overall , but their plans are very different.
Obama has proposed lower taxes for most Americans -- and would raise taxes for the richest
About 80 percent of American households get a break on their taxes. Only 10 percent see any actual tax increase.
McCain also would offer tax breaks, but the majority of the break would go to the richest Americans.
So... if you divide Americans into 5 groups by income... that middle fifth under Obama would get a $1100 tax cut in 09. Under McCain would get a $325 tax cut.
Now... when you look at the richest Americans there are big differences:
The top 1 percent of Americans next year:
Obama would raise their taxes by 7 percent - $94,000 dollars next year.
McCain would give them a tax cut of 3.7 percent or $50,000
For the Top .1 (1/10th) percent next year:
Under Obama they'd pay 9 percent more. $550,000 more in taxes next year.
Under McCain the top .1 percent would get a $290,000 tax cut.
-- Chris Arnold
CORRECTION : Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center emailed us that Chris misstated the percentage tax changes in the candidates' plans. He writes:
In fact, the percentage changes are changes in after-tax income, not changes in taxes. Thus, for example, Obamas plan would reduce the after-tax income of people in the top 1% of the income distribution by 7%. The percentage increase in their tax bills would be much larger.
9:31 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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So far that's three mentions of the Main Street/Wall Street thing in less than 15 minutes -- two from McCain, one from Obama.
Just saying.
-- Evie Stone
9:13 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Hundreds of press folks are in this white media filing tent adjacent to the Ford Center where the debate is happening. It's sub-arctic in here, so journalists are wearing their jackets and are hunched forward over their laptops. NPR's spot at the table is near CBS radio, Fox radio, and a network from France.
Jim Lehrer is on the 30 flat-screen TVs in this room, asking his audience at the debate hall for the debate to be absolutely silent, "taking names" if necessary.
Obama just began giving his opening remarks, and this room is a flurry of people taking notes on laptops. Now McCain, sounding grave as he wishes Sen. Kennedy well, and thanks Haley Barbour and Ole Miss.
-- Laurel Wamsley
9:08 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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The first Presidential debate is under way. Moderator Jim Lehrer is leading with the economy. He explained in his introductory statement that the foreign policy topic of national security "by definition includes the global financial crisis."
Lehrer has asked the audience to refrain from cheers, applause, or noise of any kind during the debate.
-- Evie Stone
9:00 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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NPR's Corey Flintoff describes some of the topics the candidates will likely be asked about tonight. This debate will officially focus on foreign policy, but we suspect the economy will find its way onto the agenda somehow.
-- Evie Stone
7:59 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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The mood in Oxford is like a smaller version of an Ole Miss gameday, but with a bit more doubt in the air. Locals and students are excited, and people are filling the square to watch the debate on the big screen. (Students are filling the campus Grove, where Rock the Vote has had bands playing all day, and the sidewalks are lined with booths promoting clean coal or alternative energies, in addition to the student groups for Obama and McCain.) Folks described Oxford, and the rest of northern Mississippi, as essentially Republican, though Oxford in particular is seen as an open-minded place where people can talk about differing ideas.
I grabbed lunch of fried catfish and sweet potato casserole at Ajax Diner on the town square, and politics was all that anyone wanted to talk about. People walked up to me and asked to be interviewed, or volunteered their friends to talk to me, or said they'd been interviewed by Fox News last night.
Security around the debate hall is very tight, and while it's easy to get out, it takes a very long walk down Jackson Avenue to get back inside the bubble. I talked to some folks selling Obama wares outside a barbershop/bail bonds store with a big yellow sign proclaiming "Obama-Land", and a woman called after me, saying she had a song to sing about Obama.
Here she is, Pat Ford Bethel of Memphis, Tennessee:
-- Laurel Wamsley
7:44 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Tonight during the debate, your good pals here at Vox Politics will be fact-checking the candidates in real time with the help of NPR's beat reporters. Our posting will include but is not limited to: changes in rhetoric, mistakes, problems, half-truths, and truthful but controversial statements on a range of issues.
The debate starts at 9pm Eastern (that's 8pm Oxford, MS time). So while you're waiting for the fun to begin, you can prepare with a little reading: NPR's Linton Weeks got a political scientist, a fashion writer, and a TV critic to weigh in on what they're looking for from the candidates tonight.
Linton also provides a few guidelines for a debate drinking game (lemonade, of course). We'd add to his list that you should eat an entire lemon, peel and all, if either of the candidates compares the plight of Wall Street to that of Main Street -- the latest in a series of campaign cliches that makes us seriously consider chucking it all and becoming back-to-the-landers.
-- Evie Stone
6:02 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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On the subject of expectations-setting , Swampland reminds us of this Daily Show gem from 2004:
-- Evie Stone
5:02 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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Someone pulled the trigger a bit early on a McCain post-debate web ad. Ooops .
(h/t Chris Cillizza )
-- Michael Olson
3:24 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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The Obama campaign is circulating a remarkably un-subtle expectations-setting memo. The note quotes myriad news sources praising John McCain's debating chops and foreign policy expertise, along with some of their own special brand of analysis:
The centerpiece of John McCain's campaign has been his more than a quarter century of experience in Washington learning about and debating foreign policy. If he slips up, makes a mistake, or fails to deliver a game-changing performance, it will be a serious blow to his campaign. Given his unsteady performance this week, he desperately needs to win this debate in a big way in order to change the topic and get back to his home turf.
Along with raising the bar for McCain, the memo also lowers it for Obama -- quoting, among other things, an AP article describing Obama's debate style as "lifeless, aloof, and windy." (The whole Obama memo is after the jump.)
For a perspective on this that's not agenda-driven, check out Don Gonyea 's piece from today's Morning Edition comparing the candidates' styles in their primary debate performances.
-- Evie Stone
Continue reading "Obama Campaign: Barack Stinks at Debating" »
2:22 PM ET
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09-26-2008
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NPR has confirmed reports that McCain will attend tonight's debate.
-- Thomas Pierce
11:29 AM ET
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09-26-2008
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September 24, 2008
The McCain campaign nixed the senator's appearance on Letterman tonight so he could head back to DC to address the economic crisis. TV Week reports that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is appearing in McCain's absence.
Drudge reports that Letterman dropped a few cancellation-related zingers including this one:
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
Drudge added that in the middle of the show taping Letterman got word that McCain wasn't in DC, but "just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric." At that point Letterman cut over to the live video of the interview and said, "Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?"
-- Michael Olson
UPDATE : Letterman video after the jump.
Continue reading "Letterman Pokes McCain Over Cancellation" »
7:34 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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We just don't know if McCain will show up at Friday's debate. There is one person we know for sure who won't be there: Bob Barr. He just isn't popular enough for the Commission on Presidential Debates to invite him. Want to hear the Libertarian Presidential candidate respond in real-time to McCain (invited), Obama and debate moderator PBS' Jim Leher? Head over to the reason offices in DC. While there won't be major party candidates... there will be free booze .
-- Michael Olson
6:32 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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In a release, the Commission on Presidential Debates says the show must go on:
Oxford, Miss., September 24, 2008 - The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. this Friday, September 26. The plans for this forum have been underway for more than a year and a half. The CPD's mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled.It remains unclear what happens if McCain fails to appear. Will Obama debate himself? Or just chat with moderator Jim Lehrer? Will there be an empty podium like at the Republican primary debate at Morgan State University? (The Commission's rules on third party candidates require 15% in the polls for participation, and none of them currently meets that threshold.)
-- Evie Stone
5:47 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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Barack Obama held a news conference to respond to McCain's call to suspend campaigning and help Congress broker an economic rescue deal. Obama rejected McCain's suggestion that Friday night's debate be postponed:
It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess. And I think that it is -- it is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. I think there's no reason why we can't be constructive in helping to solve this problem and also tell the American people what we believe and where we stand and where we want to take the country.
So in my mind, actually, it's more important than ever that we present ourselves to the American people and try to describe where we want to take the country and where we want to take the economy, as well as dealing with some of the issues of foreign policy that were initially the subject of the debate.
Obama emphasized that he's taking the crisis seriously -- repeating several times that he's in frequent contact with the congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and saying he was willing to do whatever those luminaries thought would be most effective.
He played piously coy when pressed by reporters on whether he thought McCain was playing politics with the issue, responding that he had suggested the campaigns craft a joint statement before making any other decisions, and was surprised to hear that McCain had "gone on television to announce what he intended to do."
In short, as often happens in these situations, some of the greatest politicking on both sides is heralded by the cry "this is no time for politics!"
McCain aims for the perceived high road by calling for a suspension of campaigning and debates -- in a political effort to make Obama seem shallow and petty.
And Obama counters by saying he tried to work with McCain but his opponent went off and acted in his own self-interest anyway, and implies that McCain isn't up for the complicated task of the presidency -- in a political effort to make McCain seem shallow and self-serving.
Here's the whole presser, for your listening pleasure:
-- Evie Stone
4:40 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has issued a sharply-worded statement in response to McCain's call for both candidates to suspend campaigning to help broker the bailout plan -- possibly jeopardizing Friday's debate. The statement sounds better coming from Reid than it would from the Obama camp (though we assume the Obama folk had a role in crafting the release):
This is a critical time for our country. While I appreciate that both candidates have signaled their willingness to help, Congress and the Administration have a process in place to reach a solution to this unprecedented financial crisis.
I understand that the candidates are putting together a joint statement at Senator Obama's suggestion. But it would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy. If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op.
If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now.
House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-MA) had a pithier take, calling McCain's move "the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of football...or Marys."
-- Evie Stone
4:10 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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From NPR's Audie Cornish :
According to a 3:20 EDT phone conversation with Andy Mullins, executive assistant to Chancellor at the University of Mississippi, the school has heard the news reports BUT they have NOT been contacted by either campaign postponing or cancelling the debate. He says, "we are continuing to prepare just like the debate is going to occur."
We'll keep you posted as we learn more...
-- Evie Stone
3:47 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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John McCain has just told reporters (including NPR's David Greene , who helpfully passed along a recap of the remarks) that he plans to return to Washington tomorrow to work on the economic bailout plan. He said he doesn't believe there's a "consensus" on the bill and he doesn't think the current plan is likely to pass. McCain is calling on his opponent Barack Obama to come back to the Capitol as well.
McCain also said the first presidential debate -- scheduled for this Friday in Oxford, MS -- should be delayed until an economic package has passed.
(Neither McCain nor Obama is a member of the relevant committee, the Senate Banking Committee. Both Senators have missed the vast majority of their Senate votes this year.)
-- Evie Stone
UPDATE : Here's the audio of McCain's statement (courtesy of our pals at Planet Money ). Text is after the jump.
UPDATE 2 : McCain's campaign also says all campaign ads should be pulled until an agreement has been reached on the bailout plan. They are aiming to find a solution before the markets open Monday, and say if a deal is reached tomorrow the debate could still go forward.
Continue reading "McCain Calls for Postponing Debate" »
2:46 PM ET
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09-24-2008
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