Howard Stern in Harlem: voters like McCain policies but they're picking Obama

Howard Stern is nuts, but you can’t not watch him sometimes. It’s sorta like watching a brawl in the parking lot. Stern went to Harlem and asked people who they were voting for. Their responses—voting for Obama based on McCain’s positions—illustrate the power of branding. All major TV networks and most large circulation print journals have the Chris Matthews leg shivers for Obama. All I can say is it works and if Obama’s elected with Democrats at the helm in Congress, I hope you enjoy your tax increase. Note to Obama fans reading this: I'm expressing my opinion.  I will guarantee you there will be a tax increase and it won’t just be on the rich. Maybe you better ask Obama how he defines ‘middle class’ in terms of income. And like I always say, a Democrat never met a tax he didn't like. The sole exception is Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) who didn't like his own taxes so much he decided not to pay them. Predictably, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave Rangel a pass and he still serves on the committee that determines your tax laws.

Obama's economic theme a Democratic tradition

Around the dinner table a few nights ago we did a back and forth on the presidential candidates, and the economy was front and center. I reminded everyone the economy has always been the Democratic platform—whether things were good or bad you could count on that theme. We love to talk about Wall Street greed, but greed is a part of human nature, and especially when it comes to our personal economy. If that weren’t true, there’d be no rich people in Congress. Many liberals wail about corporate greed, but anyone with a 401k probably should cheer Wall Street on. Your personal fortune relies on Wall Street and more importantly, on all those small businesses and corporations that provide jobs. Unless you live in a socialist country where the government owns all the jobs. I searched for a few videos of past presidential campaigns just for fun and I  think you'll enjoy what I found.

Click to read more ...

Obama's 10 pt. lead on Washington Post poll raises questions, compared with other polls

A 10 pt. lead is definitely impressive for Sen. Barack Obama, so the Oct. 12 results from the Washington Post/ABC News poll warranted a closer look. There are so many polls now and none of them seem to sample in the same manner. Quite a few reflect a higher percentage of Democrats than Republicans, and some don’t even provide explanations. I’ve answered maybe one poll in my entire life; I hate being tied up on the phone with something like that. So naturally I’m always curious when it comes to poll respondents. The lead is curious when compared to Zogby, which has Obama up over Sen. John McCain 48-44 percent, and Rasmussen, which has Obama up 50-45 percent. But the description of the poll is curious and there's also a big difference in Democrat and Republican counts.

Click to read more ...

Hatchet jobs on McCain, Palin and Obama fill pulp and glossy tabloids

It’s that time of the election year again, and reportage sizzles like the video clip of Madonna doing her sexual gyrations just before she fell on her fanny. This month’s New York magazine has hatchet jobs on Sen. John McCain and an analysis of the mess Sen. Barack Obama will confront if he wins the presidency (after the two year reign of ineptitude displayed by a Democrat-led Congress). There are lurid tales about Palin and Obama in a popular tabloid, and the writers are not sympathetic.

Click to read more ...

Anchor does Rodney King as Townhall Presidential Debate approaches

There’s a wistful tone in an article at the CNN blog by anchor Campbell Brown as she asks our presidential candidates to stop the negative campaigning. You can tell she’s earnest, and there’s an echo of Rodney King’s famous, ‘Can we all just get along?” But the truth is the presidential election of 2008 is a race that has not only drawn record voter registrations. This race, beginning with the primaries, has evoked a verbal bullet spray of tipping points, from accusations of gender bias, media bias, age bias, racial bias and a governor from Alaska who reminds me very much of the enduring lead female character in the drama ‘Fargo.’ Toss in another vice president who thought Franklin D. Roosevelt talked to America about the stock market crash of 1929 on TV and you begin to feel a bit like you’re in a Woody Allen movie. On the top of one ticket and on the bottom of another are two basically unknown quantities in politics on the federal level. To ask for kindness may be a laudable goal, but to expect it is naïve. This election has as many twists and turns as a backcountry road during a blizzard and really isn't very different from past elections in that regard.

Click to read more ...

Trio of winners as Palin reclaims her brand, Biden sticks to his and Ifill does her job

Issues surrounding the Vice-Presidential debate at Washington University held potential for controversy—Gwen Ifill’s objectivity, Gov. Sarah Palin’s newcomer status and Sen. Joe Biden’s habit of exaggerating stories. That last is somewhat understandable. Biden is an excellent speaker and a great teller of tales. I don’t think last night’s debate had a single winner; in fact, all three participants were winners. The pitfalls for Palin and Ifill however were far riskier than Biden’s.

Click to read more ...

Why Palin and Biden should think about using term 'middle class' in debate

How would each of these pedestrians on a New York street describe themselves?Gov. Sarah Palin should think twice about using the term ‘middle class’ in her vice-presidential debate with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday, even though Sen. Barack Obama criticized Sen. John McCain for not referring to the middle class during the first presidential debate. McCain used the term ‘Main Street’ to refer to the populace.

Obama’s newest media narrative is his ability on the economy. But Gerald Prante, writing for the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, says ‘middle class’ is a term economists “[r]arely use.” Instead, they use the term ‘middle income’ and that’s still a little wiggly because that can either mean the 20 percent of households with income in the middle or sometimes, the 60 percent who are in the middle. Sounds confusing, but Prante gives a good explanation. Who, exactly, is the middle class?

Click to read more ...