McCain vs. Obama: The tightening race
Posted: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 9:06 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Another national poll -- Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg -- shows the race tightening. “John McCain has begun rallying dispirited Republicans behind him, while Democratic rival Barack Obama has made scant progress building new support, leaving the presidential race statistically tied… The survey highlights Obama's vulnerability on the question of his readiness to lead the nation. Less than half of the registered voters polled think the first-term Illinois senator has the ‘right’ experience to be president, while 80% believe McCain, a four-term senator, does. The poll also illustrates some racial undercurrents that confront Obama as he strives to become the first African American president. Nine percent of voters say they would feel uncomfortable voting for a black candidate. Most voters say they know people who feel that way. About one in six say the country is not ready to elect a black president.”
“For now, voters favor Obama on the economy, the issue they rank as most important. Also, independents, a crucial swing bloc, are leaning toward Obama. And Obama's supporters remain more enthusiastic than McCain's, a sign that the Democratic candidate may be able to turn out more voters.”
The Washington Post wonders if both Obama and McCain have caused themselves a little heartburn on the contentious issue of abortion. "Obama's hesitant statement at the forum that defining the beginning of life is ‘above my pay grade’ took even some supporters by surprise. Since then, the National Right to Life Committee has challenged him on an obscure law that protects babies born alive after failed abortions, saying that his opposition to the measure in the Illinois state legislature proves he is an extremist.”
“McCain's performance at the forum seemed to hearten many conservatives, not only because of his firm, uncompromising stand against abortion but his broader appeals on global warming, genocide and the embrace of causes greater than self. But the clarity that McCain exhibited at Saddleback has been somewhat diminished with his suggestion that his running mate might favor abortion rights."
The New York Times fact-checks that charge from the National Right to Life Committee that Obama somehow supports infanticide. “In 2002, President Bush signed a federal ‘born alive’ law. The measure passed by sweeping majorities in Congress, with the support of many legislators who usually vote against legislation favored by groups seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Even organizations like the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, now known as Naral Pro-Choice America, did not oppose the bill. Mr. Obama has repeatedly said that he would have been willing to vote for such a measure in Illinois had it been identical to the federal statute. But ‘that was not the bill that was presented at the state level,’ he said Saturday. ‘What that bill also was doing was trying to undermine Roe v. Wade.’”
More: “But the Illinois proposal always had a companion bill. The accompanying legislation, called the Induced Infant Liability Act, would have allowed legal action ‘on the child’s behalf for damages, including costs of care to preserve and protect the life, health and safety of the child, punitive damages, and costs and attorney’s fees, against a hospital, health care facility or health care provider who harms or neglects the child or fails to provide medical care to the child after the child’s birth.’ Groups that favor abortion rights say that bill would have introduced the possibility that doctors could be sued for failing to take extraordinary measures to save the lives of pre-viable infants, those born so prematurely that they could not possibly survive. As a result, they argue, it is disingenuous of anti-abortion organizations to claim that Mr. Obama was moving to quash only a narrow and innocuous definitional bill identical to federal law.”
"Critics have questioned Obama's patriotism for months, whispering about why he didn't wear a flag pin on his lapel and contending he didn't put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Republican rival John McCain has asserted that Obama has placed his political self-interest ahead of his country's." There are several examples of when Democrats have fallen victim to the patriotism card (Dukakis, Kerry). "But playing the patriotism card doesn't guarantee a win." Opponents tried it against Clinton in 1992, but, "In the post-Cold War era, and with the economy sinking, national security became less of an issue, a turn that helped Clinton defeat Bush." (And just by shear impact of numbers, there was Ross Perot, who got 19% of the vote.)
Both candidates agreed not to air negative ads on September 11.
