Election Post #5

Two of the major swing states for the 2008 election are Colorado and Virginia. Both have previously been seen as strong republican supporters. This year this is a big change. Currently, Obama is leading in both states. Both Colorado and Virginia hold a key amount of electoral votes, and if Obama can secure these two, along with other critical swing states, I believe it is safe to say Obama has the election down. Colorado has become a major state of interest in the last month. McCain has slowed down in his campaigning there since the Republican national convention, and thus allowed Obama to move in. Obama now holds over 50 offices in Colorado, rivaling McCain’s measly 10. Obama is outspending McCain in advertising in both Colorado and Virginia, due to immense support base. It is looking like this election, Obama will turn critical states that have been labeled as “red states” for a long time. Swing states are important to the electoral process because it gives the people in those states a fair vote. Swing states can go either way, and every vote counts towards the view of the state as a whole. Other states that are so democratic or republican, such as Massachusetts, make a single person’s vote seem useless. If a republican votes for McCain in Massachusetts, they know they are going to lose due to the overwhelming democratic population, so it is almost as if the vote is wasted. Swing states preserve the feeling that every vote counts, and that everybody needs to go out and vote. It also bring political attention to the western states that would otherwise be ignored. The candidates will fight for their vote. This is why swing states greatly benefit the country’s electoral process.

Current Event #5

The race for the white house has been brought to Colorado this week, which has been a red state for the last 16 years. Obama is there to change that. McCain, on the other hand, is just as determined to keep Colorado voting republican. In the early campaign, McCain spent large amounts of his budget campaigning in the Colorado, but since the presidential conventions, spending in the area has lessened. Obama has begun to outspend McCain in advertising in this area, in hopes of gaining ground and eventually turning what seemed to be a safty state for the republican party. Obama has set up over 50 offices in the states, as opposed to McCain's 12. Local democrates note that a change in popular vote could happen this year, but it would be a very close call. Over the next week McCain will be finishing his appearances in this area and moving to other swing states, while Obama plans to hit Colorado full force and gain many new supporters. The vote in Colorado could be pivital in this election, and should the Democratic party gain control over this state, McCain could be out of the running for president. News stations will continue to cover the upcoming changes in Colorado, as the race for the white house comes down to its final week.

Election Post #4

I went to gallup.com to look at the polling information for the presidential race. Recent polls show that Obama has a 9 point lead over McCain, holding 51% of the polling votes, leaving McCain with a mere 42%. The polls predict that McCain is going to need to win all of the swing states to secure his victory in the 2008 election. The Virginia Senate race is basically decided at this point, with Warner holding a drastic lead over his republican opposer. Warner currently holds about 57% of the vote, while Gilmore has only 33%.

Polling has both positive and negative effects on the election. I believe that it is useful, giving the public a general idea of who is in the lead during the campaign. Some argue that the polls sway people to vote one way or the other, depending on who is ahead. They say that people who are not likely to vote will vote for their candidate if they are losing by a large margin. I believe that this is a good thing, encouraging more and more people to vote. I believe that overall polling helps during the campaign season.

I do believe that there is a percentage of error in the polling system, but I agree with experts that it cannot be much more than about 3%. With polls clearly showing Obama with a nine point lead, I believe that Obama truly has the upper hand in this election. The way that the polls are conducted to maintain the randomness and authnicity, with the random phone calls and door to door, seems to be enough to keep a real enough estimation of what is to come.

Current Event #4
Many experts across the country believe that the economy crisis in the United Stateswas only worsened by the government funded bailout plan. The plan was set to restablilize the country, and hopefully bring down the large rates in mortagesand loans, which has spurred up in the last months. The effect has been quite theopposite. Bank loans and mortages are harder to get than ever, and the intereston these loans are also rising at an alarming rate. Economic experts believe this is just the beginning problems to come due to the bailout plan, and they suggestthat the capitalist system should have tried to work thier problems out without thehelp of the federal government. I strongly disagree with many of these experts. The negative effects of the bailout plan were very probable, but the alternatewould have been much worse. Higher interest and stricter limits on loans is muchbetter than house forclosures, along with new families with no way of getting the money they need to start their family. Eventually, I do believe that the bailout plan will benefit America far more than hurt it. Given a couple of years for theeconomy to level out, our capitalist system will be restored to is former status.

Election Post #3

-My election post is based on the race for the Virginia Senate seat, between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore.
-Jim Gilmore is the republican candidate for the Virginia Senate. He has shown devotion to his country by volunteering for the United States Army, and even receiving honors after completing training at the Army Intelligence School and Defense Language Institute. After returning to Virginia, Gilmore received a degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He ran for Attorney General, won, and then later in 1997 won the race for Virginia Governor.
-Mark Warner, now running for the Virginia Senate seat as a democrat, served as the governor of Virginia for 2002-06. His administration recieved six billion dollars in budget shortfalls, which allowed him to place the largest investment in history into Virginia schools. Warner also put extra money into cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, which was suffering from immense pollution. Before Warner's run in politics, he displayed his leadership ability by co-founding a telecommunications company that would soon become NEXTEL.
-Currently Warner holds 58.6% of the polling votes, while Gilmore holds 30.4%
-The most pressing issues on this campaign trail are : energy, taxes, health care, and education

Current Event #3

While America has been facing a major crisis at home, the world has been following in this series of unfortunate events. The same weekend after the bailout plan was passed in Congress, European countries finally decided on how they would go about solving their own economic crisis. The European banking and financial institutions were headed in a downhill spiral, and debates had been ongoing for weeks over whether the counties should initiate a group rescue plan, or if every country should solve its own problems. Representatives from France and Germany strongly felt that each country's banking system had different needs, and therefore each country needed to instate different rescue plans to account for the different problems. That was the final decision last week, as Europe agreed to tackle its financial crisis in their own ways. This is good in some ways, and mathmatically at least some of the institutions should revive for other failed banks to fall back on; but in another way it is harder for the smaller European nations to devise a large scale rescue plan for their banks without the help of their larger neighbors. In the comming weeks we will see how this agreement plays out.

Current Event #2

The new economic crisis is putting a major strain on McCain's political campaign. Especially after the major bailout plan failed (which McCain full-heartedly supported and pushed to be passed) McCain's image has been ruined (well... not ruined, but he has lost some support). Obama has gained more of a lead since the 1st presidential debate, now ahead by a good few points. Obama has gained support by announcing that something must be done, but the $700 billion dollar plan will not help anybody, only affecting the taxpayers, and in a negative way. McCain has been trying to convince the public that the economic crisis will only worsen if Obama becomes president, saying that he will raise taxes for all Americans (even though Obama has been saying that he will cut taxes for 95% of Americans). The comming debates will be of crucial importance, as the economy will either worsen or pull out of its sudden slump. I currently agree with Obama, but my opinion is subject to change. We will see who is better suited for the Oval Office, but for now my confidence lies with Obama.