Looking for a bellwether group to focus on in the final week of the presidential race?
Look no further than white Catholics, who have gone for the winner in every single presidential election for which exit polling exists. That means that since 1972, the candidate for whom the majority of white Catholics cast their votes has — like clockwork — claimed the presidency.
Parsing the (Tracking) Poll: The White Catholic Weathervane – The Fix
American Jews favor Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama by a ratio of two-to-one, according to survey results being released Monday by researchers at New York University.
The data, taken from a nationwide poll conducted in early September, indicates that Jews as a group are 30 percent more likely than other white, non-Hispanic voters to support Obama.
Surprisingly, the poll found that gap widened to nearly 40% among Jews who rank Israel “very high” as a factor in their choice of candidate, indicating that Israel is a key issue for Jews across the political spectrum.
NYU poll: US Jews favor Obama 2:1 | America Decides 2008 | Jerusalem Post
I think this graph [of the stock market plunge] perfectly represents what we, as a country, are doing in the last weeks of the Presidential election. The level of vitriol is so high, the distrust and suspicion of each side for the other so intense, the accusations so wild, the fear and the fury so palpable, that I keep thinking that somewhere in a cave in Pakistan, with his laptop on his knees, Osama Bin Laden is laughing his ass off.
PEOPLE, we have all got to take it down a notch.
On the climate of hate in this election – Anna McDonnell : Mindful Mom
Last night, we didn’t even get as much as a “God Bless America” from our two candidates. So absent any of that, please permit me the following random observations: …
On Faith: Georgetown Blog
This pretty much sums up my opinion of last night’s debate.
I have no problem with this story, as opposed to the questionable one entitled “My Holiday With John McCain.” It will be published in the October 16 issue of Rolling Stone.
This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been
hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently
put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do
anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in
chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to
outrank his four-star father and grandfather.
t r u t h o u t | Make-Believe Maverick
Until John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, Obama attack ops — whether political action committees or their 501(c)4 partners — were struggling mightily to raise the kind of cash that fueled the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth smear machine in 2004.
More than $45 million poured into that effort to sink John Kerry’s campaign, mainly from the pockets of wealthy Bush backers. A review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign donations back in June of this year showed that the big Swift Boat donors — such as Ohio investor Carl H. Lindner and family, Dallas pharmacy magnate Harold C. Simmons, Texas homebuilder Bob Perry and oilman T. Boone Pickens — were putting their money elsewhere, either pouring it directly into the McCain campaign or sending it off to Republican Congressional races, the Republican Governors Association or Newt Gingrich’s PAC, American Solutions.
But all that changed when the evangelical pro-life Alaska governor stepped up to the podium in Minneapolis to accept the Republican nomination for vice-president.
Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama appeared on the “Late Show” with David Letterman in New York on Wednesday, a day after heated debate ignited over a “pig” remark some took as a slam against Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The following is a transcript of the “Late Show” interview.
Dave: “Let me ask you a question here. Have you ever actually put lipstick on a pig?”
…….
Transcript: Obama Sits Down With Letterman, Discusses Pigs – FOX News
by Bill 6 Comments
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has a collection of information about Gov. Palin’s religious background, apparent beliefs, and statements. In addition to the links on the front page, be sure to check the tabs at the top.
“Is this really who the Republican Party wants to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency? Given Sarah Palin’s lack of experience on every front and on nearly every issue, this Vice Presidential pick doesn’t show judgment: it shows political panic.”
~ Rep. Rahm Emanuel
With its obvious pandering to disaffected Hillaryites, I should think our many clear-minded, intelligent Republican friends would find this profoundly embarrassing.
How awful for them!
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has a good synopsis of Biden’s positions. http://pewforum.org/religion08/profile.php?CandidateID=9
I’m not sure I want to know who the real John McCain is. Probably the only way we’d ever find that out would be if the man was elected. Then we’d know for sure. I’d rather wonder. I wish Senator McCain no ill; that said, I hope he disappears from public life in one hell of a hurry.
McCain, Circa 2003 – Yahoo! News
Senator John McCain arrived late at his Senate office on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. “This is war,” he murmured to his aides. The sound of scrambling fighter planes rattled the windows, sending a tremor of panic through the room.
Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria….
A senior McCain aide confirmed yesterday that Romney and his wife, Ann, are among 20 couples McCain and his wife have invited for the weekend, along with Governor Charlie Crist of Florida and newly elected Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
But the aide insisted that the gathering “is a purely social visit” in a scenic part of Arizona.
Mr. Obama is now the prohibitive favorite. Tuesday night, he took at least 94 delegates to Mrs. Clinton’s 75 and leads the former First Lady by 176 delegates in the AP tabulation. He has 1,840 of the 2,025 delegates needed to win. Mr. Obama needs only 185 – or 38% – of the 486 outstanding delegates (217 to be elected in the six remaining contests, and 269 superdelegates yet to endorse a candidate). Mrs. Clinton needs 341, or 70% of those left to be awarded.
“Should God speak to you… how would you handle that?” asked reporter Natalie Jacobsen.
According to the Tribune, Romney laughed and replied, “I don’t recall God speaking to anyone since the time of Moses and the burning bush.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — which Romney is a practicing member of — believes that God has spoken to many who followed Moses. For example, the church believes God spoke to LDS founder Joseph Smith which allowed him to find the brass plates — which became the Book of Mormon.
Romney’s Remark Conflicts With Mormon Religion
Anything to keep people distracted from the REAL issues: war, the economy, the poor, health care…
