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News Update Reports,News,Archive for September, 2008
Candidates talk economy at start of debate
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama said Friday the United States was facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama shake hands at the start of the debate.
His opponent, Sen. John McCain, said he was encouraged that Republicans and Democrats were working together to solve the crisis.
The first question in the debate was about the economy, even though the focus of the debate is supposed to be on foreign policy. The economy has dominated the campaign trail for the past two weeks.
Just hours ago, the fate of the debate was in limbo because it was unclear whether McCain would show up.
The Republican presidential candidate announced Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign to help forge legislation to save crippled U.S. financial markets.
McCain said he would not attend the debate unless Congress reached an agreement on the $700 billion bailout package.
McCain said Friday that enough progress has been made for him to attend the debate, even though Congress has not made a deal.
In the final hours before the debate, McCain and Obama separately checked out the stage at the debate site on the University of Mississippi campus.
After their walk-throughs, the candidates went to separate locations for some last-minute debate prep.
Outside the debate site, students and residents in Oxford said they were thrilled — and relieved — to find out that the debate was still on. The University of Mississippi said it invested $5.5 million in Friday night’s event.
Tonight, beginning 8 ET
McCain’s campaign said the Arizona senator would return to Washington after the debate. Obama issued a statement saying he plans to return, also. Full coverage of the debates
There’s a lot on the line for both sides. The election is just weeks away, and polls show Obama and McCain in a tight race.
According to CNN’s average of national polls, Obama holds a 5-point lead over McCain, 48 percent to 43 percent. The 9 percent of respondents who are undecided could swing the election either way.
Both campaigns played the expectations game Friday afternoon. Going into debates, campaigns try to lower expectations for their candidates while raising expectations for their opponents. Read more about the expectations
Senior McCain adviser Mike Salter tried to play down the expectations surrounding his candidate, saying McCain wanted only to “do well against a guy who is a pretty good debater, show presidential leadership and be able to speak directly to the American people about what he believes.”
The Obama camp, on the other hand, tried to build up the debate as a must-win for the Arizona Republican, arguing that the debate’s focus on national security and foreign affairs amounted to a “home field advantage” for McCain.
“If he slips up, makes a mistake or fails to deliver a game-changing performance, it will be a serious blow to his campaign. Given his unsteady performance this week, he desperately needs to win this debate in a big way in order to change the topic and get back to his home turf,” Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman, said in a memo.
Obama had contended all along that the debate should go on, saying the financial crisis made it even more important for the public to hear the candidate’s views.
The candidates’ running mates will not be in Mississippi to watch the debates.
Sen. Joe Biden, Obama’s VP pick, will watch the debate from his hotel room in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Biden told firefighters and their families at a fish fry in Cudahy, Wisconsin, on Friday that the debate is a “big deal” because it will illustrate a fundamental national security difference between the candidates.
“The fundamental difference between John and Barack and me and John is this: If you’re talking about security, it starts at home in addition to protecting our troops abroad and giving them everything they need.”
McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will watch the debate from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she is preparing for her debate with Biden on October 2 with a cadre of domestic and foreign policy advisers.
Thank You :: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/26/debate.mississippi/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Lawmakers: Give first black boxing champ a pardon
WASHINGTON (AP) – The first black heavyweight champion should be granted a presidential pardon for a racially motivated conviction 75 years ago that blemished his reputation and hurt his boxing career, the House recommended Friday.
Jack Johnson, at age 67 in this 1945 photo, before a boxing exhibiton in New York City.
Jack Johnson became world heavyweight champion in 1908, sparking a search for a white boxer, dubbed “the Great White Hope,” who could beat him.
In 1913, Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act which outlawed the transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes. Authorities had first unsuccessfully tried to charge Johnson over his relationship with a white woman who later became his wife.
They then found another white woman who testified that Johnson had transported her across state lines in violation of the Mann Act.
Johnson fled the country, returning in 1920 to serve nearly one year at Leavenworth. He tried to renew his boxing career after leaving prison, but never regained his title.
The House resolution, passed by voice, states that Johnson paved the way for black athletes to participate and succeed in integrated professional sports and that he was “wronged by a racially motivated conviction prompted by his success in the boxing ring and his relationships with white women.”
It urged the president to grant Johnson, who died in 1946, a posthumous pardon.
“He was a victim of the times and we need to set the record straight — clear his name — and recognize him for his groundbreaking contribution to the sport of boxing,” said Rep Peter King, R-N.Y., author of the resolution.
The measure now goes to the Senate, where Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a senator from Arizona, has a companion resolution.
Thank You :: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/26/pardon.request.ap/index.html
