The Obama and McCain campaigns have agreed to an unusual free-flowing format for the three televised presidential debates, which begin Friday, but the McCain camp fought for and won a much more structured approach for the questioning at the vice-presidential debate, advisers to both campaigns said Saturday.
Despite an intense effort to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, Senator John McCain is seen by voters as far less likely to bring change to Washington than Senator Barack Obama. He is widely viewed as a “typical Republican” who would continue or expand President Bush’s policies.
Once a reliable Democratic voting bloc, Catholics have emerged as a pivotal swing vote in recent presidential races. Evenly divided in a poll over the summer, Catholics make up about a quarter of the national electorate and about a third in the pivotal battleground states of Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Senator Obama knew what he was getting when he picked Senator Biden: A veteran of six terms in the Senate, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, an Irish Catholic with working-class roots, a guy who had twice been tested in the arena of presidential politics. And a human verbal wrecking crew.
The US electoral map is going to look very much like it has the past two elections. With the new-found enthusiasm in the Republican base, I think it is extremely unlikely that John McCain will lose much in the south. Barack Obama, on the other hand, will win the overwhelming majority of the northeast, and the Pacific coast.
In an interview with NBC, Senator Biden tried to walk the line between the staunch abortion-rights advocates in his party and his own religious beliefs. While he said he did not often talk about his faith, he said of those who disagree with him: “They believe in their faith and they believe in human life.”
Bill Clinton’s speech showed the fundamental difference between the two parties. Democrats say and, as far as I can tell, really believe that working Americans are getting a raw deal; Republicans, despite occasional attempts to sound sympathetic, basically believe that people have nothing to complain about.
Senator Obama’s nomination brought to an end an often-bitter two-year political struggle for the nomination with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who, standing on a packed convention floor electric with anticipation, moved to halt the roll call in progress so that the convention could nominate Mr. Obama by acclamation.
After making history as the first black presidential nominee of a major party, Senator Barack Obama took to the stage with his running mate Joseph R. Biden, Jr. after the veteran Delaware senator gave an impassioned acceptance address to run as his vice presidential pick.
George W. Bush’s remark in 2000 that America “stands alone right now in the world in terms of power” no longer rings true. Great shifts are apparent in global politics and Washington must increasingly compete for favour. This global uncertainty confronts senators Barack Obama and John McCain in their race for the White House.