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McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has been largely sequestered from the news media since her selection in late August. She has yet to have anything resembling a traditional news conference, where the full range of her knowledge and views can be explored. Her avoidance of questions and reliance on cue-card talking points in the one vice presidential debate did nothing to allay doubts about whether the 44-year-old governor of two years is capable of assuming the reins of the presidency. Her selection was but an act of political calculation by McCain.
The erstwhile appeal of "maverick" McCain, 72, has been further undercut by his tack to the right on the Bush tax cuts (which he initially resisted),
his newfound allegiance to the religious right (in 2000, he called its leaders "agents of intolerance") and the low tone of his campaign in recent weeks (with attempts to portray Obama as a "pal of terrorists").
While both candidates speak of "change," on the issue that matters most to Americans at this moment - the economy - there is no question about which
candidate's policies represents a distinct departure from the approach of
the last eight years. McCain's agenda largely reflects the orthodoxy of
deregulation and top-weighted tax cuts that defined Republican politics for
almost 30 years. McCain has poured forth more proposals to stimulate the
economy with cuts on capital gains taxes and allowing certain early
withdrawals on retirement accounts. He also has floated a plan to purchase
troubled mortgages to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their
homes.
Obama draws on some of the traditional Democratic themes: a more active
government role in regulating businesses and trade agreements, more tax
relief for the middle class, and stimulating the economy with public-works
projects.
Both candidates have been less than forthcoming about how their tax-cut and spending plans might be derailed if the economy continues to tank or the bailout proves less effective and more expensive than anticipated.
At the start of the year, it looked as if the war in Iraq might be the
defining issue of 2008. The United States has spent hundreds of billions of
dollars - and lost more than 4,100 troops - since President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq more than five years ago. McCain's stubborn insistence
on "victory" before withdrawal runs the danger of extending the quagmire.
Meanwhile, the threat of terrorism has not gone away. As Obama has noted, the invasion of Iraq diverted resources and attention from what should be the main front on terrorism: the rugged terrain along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where al Qaeda and, presumably, its leader, Osama bin Laden, retreated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Beyond Iraq, the president who walks into the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2009,
will need to rebuild alliances that have been frayed by the unilateralist
approach of the Bush White House. McCain has mocked Obama for his
willingness to open dialogue with Iran and other rogue nations, but, again,
the go-it-alone, world-opinion-be-damned approach of the past eight years
has not made us safer. The challenges of our times - curbing global warming, addressing the global economic crisis, combatting terrorism - require international cooperation.
Throughout a campaign that has been intense - and at some points ugly -
Obama has kept his composure and maintained a vision of optimism that has drawn an unparalleled wave of young people into the political process. His policies and his persona have offered hope to a nation that is deeply
polarized, swimming in debt, mired in war and ridden with anxiety. He taps
into that treasured American reservoir - patriotism - with his calls for
sacrifice and national service.
Barack Obama is the right president for these troubled times.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/17/EDLP13H6V9.DTL
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BY GREG MITCHELL, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER:
NEW YORK The Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for
newspaper endorsements, picking up 12 more papers in the past day, including the giant Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune on Friday afternoon. This brings his lead over McCain-Palin by this measure to
over 3-1 so far, at 51-16, including most of the major papers that have
decided so far. In contrast, John Kerry barely edged George W. Bush in
endorsements in 2004, by about 220 to 205.
The readership of the 51 newspapers backing Obama now stands at 6,299,363 daily circulation. He gained two biggies yesterday in The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle, and today picked up the Modesto Bee in addition to the L.A. Times, plus el Diario La Prensa and La Opinion.
The Columbian in Washington was an unexpected win for Obama, since the
newspaper endorsed President Bush in the 2004 election. Obama has now picked up at least seven "flip-flops" of this type.
