1 post tagged “foreign tour”

 Obama Overseas, McCain Campaign, The Poll Truth, Mortgage Bill

Photo on the left is from LA Times front page 7/25/08. Obama appears before a crowd of 250,000 fans in Berlin.

Photo on the right:  Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. makes a campaign stop to talk with small business leaders, Thursday, July 24, 2008, at the Schmidt's Restaurant and Banquet Haus in Columbus, Ohio. At left is Dan Young, owner of Youngs Jersey Dairy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama’s obvious overseas success may be a triumph of visuals over substance; will it come back to haunt him? The panelists agree that this campaign should be a walk for a Democratic candidate, so why are the polls on McCain and Obama so close? McCain’s week has been as bad Obama’s has been good – by anyone’s standards, he and his campaign have floundered. And the mortgage bill: is it socializing the downside, a banker bailout, a necessity that even free marketers must go along with for fear of a complete US economic meltdown? **This week, we invite our bloggers to weigh in on the promised discussion of media bias **– which we promised but didn't get to during the program.

  Volunteer bloggers Andi and Marisa pulled these notable quotables from today's show -- feel free to use them in your blog but please remember to credit KCRW's Left, Right & Center:

Obama's Foreign Adventure 

Tony Blankley concluded that Obama "looked like the President of the United States" and is "dubious of McCain's ability to do the same". He added that "McCain was lucky to get as little coverage as he did this week...[because he] looked smaller and less presidential." 

Why is this Race so Close??—PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION!!!!!

Robert Scheer stated that “Republicans have brought us disaster, they betrayed conservatism, they’ve bankrupted our economy so there is a lot for a leftist, populist candidate to campaign on….we need to hear that voice from Obama.”

 Our allies abroad have heard Obama’s voice and are once again excited about American politics, they know we “ have an incredibly attractive candidate, this guy’s being cheered on as a rock star in Berlin, now THAT is a projection of American values!”

 Domestically speaking, Tony Blankley noted that “the more the public gets to know [Obama] the lower his numbers drop.” Blankley thinks “it’s a combination of skin color, his internationalism, his arrogance and the media coverage which says we’ve already selected a president for you” that is hindering Obama’s lead in the polls. Robert Scheer agreed with Tony Blankley’s statement that “there is a racial issue with Obama; the fact that he doesn’t have a white father.”

Mortgage Relief Bill 

Robert asks “How is this going to help people with their mortgages?” This is just a “bailout for the bankers, there has been no accountability….we’re losing control of our economy.”