Election 2008

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Which City Are We In? Trail Takes Toll on Press, Too

18 months takes a toll on weary and addicted journalists

(Newser) - If you think you're tired of the election, just think about the reporters who've lived it nonstop for nearly two years. CNN's Candy Crowley tells the New Republic she falls asleep between events, pines for a mundane life and trips to the supermarket, and even resorts to leaving herself notes...

Why the Polls May Be Wrong
 Why the Polls May Be Wrong 
Oct 30, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

Why the Polls May Be Wrong

Use of cell phones, unexpected turnout could skew results

(Newser) - Opinion polls can be wrong—just look at Thomas Dewey in 1948 or even Barack Obama, who led Hillary Clinton before the New Hampshire primary but lost anyway. Reuters outlines some factors that could be skewing current results:
  • Turnout: Polls filter the results of phone surveys through models of who
...

Coleman Sues Franken in Minn. Senate Race

GOP incumbent says comedian rival's ads are defamatory, false

(Newser) - Minnesota's tight Senate race has turned litigious. Incumbent Norm Coleman sued opponent Al Franken today for character defamation, the Hill reports. Coleman’s campaign says ads claiming he is the “fourth most corrupt senator in Washington” are false and violate Minnesota campaign law. “Our ads are factual and...

Palin Coverage Negative by 18-1: Study

Conservative watchdog group cites "undeniable pattern of bias"

(Newser) - A study from a right-wing media watchdog says coverage of Sarah Palin on the big three TV networks has been overwhelmingly negative, Politico reports. NBC, CBS, and ABC broadcast 69 stories on Palin between September 29 and October 12, of which the Culture and Media Institute considered 37 negative, 30...

Economist : Obama Is Worth the Risk
 Economist: Obama 
 Is Worth the Risk 

ENDORSEMENT
Oct 30, 2008 4:33 PM CDT

Economist: Obama Is Worth the Risk

McCain was a great senator but a poor candidate

(Newser) - Barack Obama and John McCain are both great contenders, the Economist writes, but “the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence.” Given Obama’s inexperience and decidedly left-wing outlook, “voting for him is a risk. Yet it is...

'B' Hoaxer Avoids Jail Sentence
'B' Hoaxer Avoids Jail Sentence
Oct 30, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

'B' Hoaxer Avoids Jail Sentence

McCain volunteer who lied about mugging agrees to counseling

(Newser) - The woman who claimed a Barack Obama supporter carved a “B” into her cheek has agreed to probation and counseling and won't serve time, the AP reports. Ashley Todd was released from jail in Pittsburgh today, and her record will be scrubbed clean if she completes a psychiatric treatment...

Frampton's Obama Signs Stolen

Pro-GOP Cincinnati suburb unfriendly to naturalized citizen's Dem tendencies

(Newser) - Peter Frampton is ticked that vandals in his GOP-leaning Cincinnati suburb keep stealing his Barack Obama lawn signs, he tells the Enquirer. The British-born naturalized US citizen wore an Obama shirt at his last local concert in protest, and has installed security cameras. “They are frustrating my attempt to...

Obama Spot Snags 22% of Viewers

Buying time on all networks but ABC still misses most in major markets

(Newser) - Just about a fifth of watchers in big US media markets tuned in to last night’s Barack Obama infomercial, even though the spot aired on four of five major networks, the Chicago Tribune reports. The highest ratings were in Baltimore, where a little less than a third of families...

23% of Texans Say Obama Is Muslim

Fraction under mistaken impression much greater than 5-10% nationally: poll

(Newser) - Nearly a quarter of Texas voters still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim, the Houston Chronicle reports. Polling shows 23% of registered voters there buy internet-fueled rumors the Democrat is hiding his Islamic faith—compared to just 5-10% of voters nationwide. The same poll gives John McCain a comfortable lead...

Black Vote Puts Heat on Georgia Republican

Newly registered force Sen. Chambliss into unexpected dogfight

(Newser) - With Barack Obama’s candidacy driving record early-voter turnout in Georgia among African-Americans, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss is in an unexpected dogfight with Democrat Jim Martin, the New York Times reports. Though the Obama campaign stopped short of a full-court press for Georgia, it has spent months registering tens of...

It's No Stretch to Envision Election Tied Up in Court

Prospect of legal challenges to voting are hardly far-fetched

(Newser) - At long last, the election is almost over—or is it? After the Florida fiasco in 2000, it’s anyone’s guess as to how long legal wrangling over a close race could last, Adam Reilly writes in the Boston Phoenix. A likely target for post-election litigation is ACORN and...

Mock Her at Your Peril: Palin Speaks Real American

Accent 'dissed' by elites is same tune favored by humble, common-sense majority

(Newser) - The discomfort Sarah Palin causes in liberals, and even many conservatives, stems from a fundamental disconnect between the educated elite and real America, Michael Novak writes in the National Review. Solid, humble citizens hear a familiar ring to Palin’s oft-mocked accent: “The same guts. The same common sense....

Jews Favor Obama, Survey Says, But ...

... by a thinner margin than they supported fellow Dem Kerry in '04

(Newser) - Barack Obama has a big lead among Jewish voters, according to a survey by the American Jewish Committee. But his 57% support, to 30% for John McCain and 13% undecided, is “a bit lower than one would expect,” a group exec tells VOA News. At this time in...

Female Journalists Own This Election
Female Journalists Own This Election
OPINION
Oct 30, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

Female Journalists Own This Election

From Couric to Brown to Maddow, women have kicked butt in '08

(Newser) - This has been a banner election cycle for women, thanks to the Clinton and Palin candidacies and the heavy play given to "traditional 'women’s issues'" like health care. Maybe that’s why glass shards are falling from the ceiling around TV newsrooms, writes Rebecca Traister in Salon. “...

Obama 'Auntie' Lives in Boston Public Housing

Zeituni Onyango trying to stay out of campaign spotlight

(Newser) - Across town from Barack Obama’s Ivy League alma mater, his “Auntie Zeituni” has been living in a public-housing apartment decorated with photos of the Democrat. Zeituni Onyango—a tall, feisty woman Obama writes about meeting in Kenya—works for a stipend as a resident health advocate but made...

Mixed Reviews for the 'O Show'
 Mixed Reviews for the 'O Show' 
Pundit Roundup
Oct 30, 2008 10:23 AM CDT

Mixed Reviews for the 'O Show'

Some did, some didn't, making a headline tough to write

(Newser) - Barack Obama's half-hour TV pitch scored with writers on the left—though one found it embarrassing to admit to being seduced by an infomercial—while those on the right were turned off:
  • Saying it was hardly the "gauzy, feel-good commercial," McCain labeled it in advance, John Nichols of
...

Green Economy Will Be Obama's First Big Challenge

No easy task to convince Congress to sacrifice its own self-interest

(Newser) - What’s on the front burner for a hypothetical Obama administration? Most of Washington seems to be jockeying for spots in the Cabinet, but Joe Klein of Time points out that Barack Obama (or John McCain) will be the first president since FDR to inherit neither peace nor prosperity. Obama’...

Voting Could Get Ugly, Warn Watchdogs

Ballot denial, long lines likely in battleground states

(Newser) - With record-shattering turnout anticipated, voter-rights groups predict contentious voting in battleground states, where Republicans are accused of disenfranchising new voters—who are overwhelmingly Democrat. In Florida, a “no match, no vote” standard denies ballots to people whose registration info clashes with government records, an obstacle not unique to that...

Don't Let the Polls Dictate Your Vote: Rove
Don't Let the Polls Dictate Your Vote: Rove 
OPINION
Oct 30, 2008 8:14 AM CDT

Don't Let the Polls Dictate Your Vote: Rove

Don't let the polls dictate your vote, writes Bush's brain

(Newser) - With the explosion of polls in this presidential election—almost as many national polls this month as there were during all of 2004—there's a real risk that polls themselves will drive behavior in the voting booth, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal, urging voters not to let...

Is McCain Closing the Gap? Not Fast Enough: Silver

Republican picking up little to no ground

(Newser) - John McCain isn’t moving up on Barack Obama in the polls—at least not fast enough to be significant, writes statistics guru Nate Silver at his blog FiveThirtyEight.com. The Republican appears to be about six or seven points back. While he’s picked up maybe a point in...

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