Leta Sarmiento

McCain's Honor

2008-11-02T13:50:00.001-08:00

A curiosity of this Presidential campaign has been the way former media idolaters of John McCain have suddenly turned on him. They now claim to be horrified by his choice of Sarah Palin, or by his ad hoc economic decision-making, or his TV ads, or something. Whom do they think they've been praising all these years?

The John McCain of this campaign is the same as he ever was. The former Navy pilot's politics has always been more personal than ideological. His core convictions are duty, honor and country. He has always been passionate to the point of being impulsive, an unguided policy missile until he locks on target. Then he can be tenacious, and sometimes moralistic. These traits have characterized the McCain candidacy for better or worse and, we suspect, would also mark his Presidency. What the media can't say with a straight face is that they are shocked by any of this; they should admit they've simply found a new romance in Barack Obama.

If the 2008 election were solely about character and experience, Mr. McCain would be winning in a walk. Few Presidential nominees have been better known or more admired. A McCain Presidency would have its surprises, but they would not be from personal vice or political scandal. His courage has been tested far more than most -- both in a personal sense in Vietnam, and in a political sense during the Iraq war.

Arguably the finest hour of Mr. McCain's career was his support for the Iraq surge at the height of the war's unpopularity. It was gratifying to see this virtue vindicated as he won the GOP nomination. But in an irony of history, his very far-sightedness on Iraq and the success of the surge have made national security seem less urgent as Election Day nears. His commanding edge over Mr. Obama as a Commander in Chief seems less compelling to many voters than do their current fears about the economy.

If Mr. McCain does lose, a President Obama would also now inherit a far more stable and pro-American Iraq thanks to the Republican's efforts and no thanks to Mr. Obama's antiwar opportunism. In a further irony if he loses, Mr. McCain would return to the Senate and do his utmost to support a President Obama's campaign in Afghanistan or against Iran. That favor would not be returned if Mr. McCain wins. This too is a sign of the Arizonan's honorable character.

Mr. McCain's bad luck is to be running in a year when character and experience aren't enough. His party is at a low public ebb and the financial system imploded only weeks before Election Day. The first problem he could overcome with his history as a GOP apostate. The second hasn't played to his strengths but has instead revealed his penchant for -- let's be charitable -- political wanderlust.

Looked at individually, most of Mr. McCain's economic proposals are sensibly conservative, and some are even bold. They are superior to Mr. Obama's, and if implemented would make a recession shallower and shorter. They are also politically braver, especially his support for free trade. His health-care plan in particular amounts to genuine "progressive" change in the sense that it would redistribute tax benefits from the well-to-do to the uninsured working class. Mr. Obama's health plan by contrast is one more incremental -- if larger than usual -- increase in government control. But Mr. McCain was never able, or willing, to explain the differences.

More broadly, he has never explained to fearful Americans how an economy with Republicans at the helm could fall into this ditch. His one-line explanation for the financial panic has been "greed and corruption" on Wall Street and Washington. Voters know that's simplistic and would have been open to a larger, and truer, argument.

Once the panic hit in September, Mr. McCain's penchant for hyperactivity was also less than reassuring. He suspended his campaign to lead the "bailout" talks without a clear idea of what he favored. He offered to bring all sides together but in the process made himself hostage to Nancy Pelosi and House Republicans. All of this let Mr. Obama pose, paradoxically, as the steadier hand, even if all he did was sit back and bow to Congressional Democrats.

In the final days, Mr. McCain has finally gained traction by pounding away on Mr. Obama's enormous tax increases. But this would be a far more powerful argument if it were linked to the larger challenges that the U.S. faces in a world of competition from China and India, or to the dangers of making the U.S. into a European welfare state. Without such an argument, millions of anxious voters may default to Mr. Obama's alluring if vague case for "change."

Mr. McCain's surprising choice of Governor Palin was another example of his brand of politics by personal instinct. The Alaska Governor has fired up the GOP base, and as a candidate she has been less embarrassing by far than Joe Biden. But it is also true that her performance in early interviews gave the media a chance to assail Mr. McCain's judgment and has diminished her own political standing. The campaign -- and Mr. McCain -- should have been better prepared for the media assault that always hits a GOP unknown.

Perhaps the best case for the McCain candidacy -- apart from national security -- is that he would be a check on what is likely to be an emboldened and dangerous left-wing Congress. He would surely work with Democrats on some things -- for the better perhaps on immigration, for the worse on energy "cap and trade" regulation. However, unlike President Bush, Mr. McCain wouldn't wait four years to use his veto pen.

In this difficult year, Mr. McCain has had the harder sale to make. His admirable personal tenacity has been better than his variable political argument. We'll find out Tuesday if biography trumps hope.

online.wsj.com

Campaigns Confident Ahead Of Election Day

2008-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

(CBS) With just two days before Election Day, top advisers to both Barack Obama and John McCain appear to be confident of their candidate's chances.

"We feel good," Obama chief strategist David Axelrod said on CBS News' Face The Nation. "And it's not just the polls. It's the early voting that we've seen. About a third of the country is going to vote before Tuesday, and those numbers are coming in very strong for us and reversing some historical patterns. In states like North Carolina, it looks like as many as three million people may vote before Tuesday, and where that vote is coming from and the addition of so many new voters is something we're encouraged by.

"And the crowds we're seeing: I'm here in Springfield, Missouri, which is a traditionally Republican part of the state. We had a crowd of 40,000 people here last night, very enthusiastic crowd late at night. Three times as large as any crowd anybody has ever gotten here," he added. "And those things are encouraging, but we still have to win this thing. We have to vote and we can't be complacent. We have to fight to the end, and we will."

But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is one of McCain's staunchest supporters, gave host Bob Schieffer a different view:

"What we've seen in the last two weeks is very much a tightening of the race in the states that matter," Graham said. "I really believe that Senator Obama is the virtual incumbent. And if he's not at 50 percent today in North Carolina, he's not going to win. We see closing in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio. We have him under 50, in the margin of error. The intensity level in the last couple of weeks has been unbelievable on our side.

"I think the undecided voter in these key states will come our way. We're taking nothing for granted. We're campaigning hard," he added.

Of particular interest to both Graham and Axelrod is Pennsylvania. The state has gone for Democrats in the last four presidential elections, but the McCain campaign is fighting hard there for a Republican pickup, despite some poll numbers showing them well behind.

"The voter demographics in Pennsylvania [are] set up very much for the centrist candidate that Senator McCain is," Graham said. "Senator Obama is becoming more and more an out-of-the-mainstream, left-leaning economic candidate when it comes to redistribution of the wealth, and we see in our narratives that that is sticking, that people have a second look at Senator Obama in Pennsylvania, and they question his economic policies, his role of the court, and his experience to make us safe."

Axelrod points to a registration edge and organization as the keys to victory for his campaign.

"I feel good about what I see in Pennsylvania, starting with the fact that we have a registration edge that's twice as large as we had four years ago. It went from 300,000 in favor of Democrats to 600,000, so that right away gives me encouragement," Axelrod said. "I know that there have been a couple of late polls that suggest otherwise, but I've seen many more that work in our direction. And beyond which, I just feel, based on the organization we have on the ground, the reaction that we're getting, that we're going to do very well in Pennsylvania. We're going to work really hard at it."

On Election Day, in addition to the presidential race, there are several Senate seats up for grabs. Democrats appear likely to increase their advantage in the chamber, but Republicans look to minimize their losses. The heads of each party's campaign committees — Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and Republican Sen. John Ensign, Nev. — talked with Schieffer on Face The Nation.

Schumer said that he thinks Democrats will get a "whole bunch" of seats, but also that it's "unlikely" they will reach the magic number of 60 for a filibuster proof Democratic-controlled Senate.

"As for 60, that's very, very difficult. It's possible, but unlikely," he said. "And the reason is because the terrain is so tough. In other words, of the 11 contested states, none are deeply blue. A whole bunch are deeply red. So even though the wind is at our back, it's hard."

Ensign agreed the Democrats are poised for some pickups, but said that many races were close.

"There's no question that we are facing a fairly strong political headwind at this point," he said. "And the Democrats are poised to pick up some seats. The exact number we don't know, because there's so many races that are within the margin of error.

"There's six or seven races out there right now," said Ensign , "including the race in Louisiana, where the Democrats are defending down there. We have that race dead even now. So it's going to be an interesting night on election night."

Schieffer also asked Ensign and Schumer asked about specific senators in the news recently - one up for reelection and one who is not.

Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was convicted of seven charges this past week. Ensign said he thought Stevens should step down.

"I think it would have been better, first of all, for this to have happened last year. The Justice Department had the information. They should have done this last year, so the people of Alaska, if he was convicted, like he was, they could have had a clear choice between a Republican and a Democrat," he said. "Mark Begich couldn't have won that state if it would have been a clear choice between a Republican — a normal Republican running up there. The only way he can win — possibly win, is because Ted Stevens was convicted. I have said that it would be the best thing for Ted Stevens to step down and I said that last week."

Schumer, meanwhile, responded to speculation that Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent who endorsed and campaigns with McCain, would leave the Democratic caucus, or be kicked out.

"Leader Reid, who's a good friend of Joe's, has said we're not going to debate that, discuss it until after Tuesday, And I'm sticking with Leader Reid on that one," Schumer said. "So I'm waiting. We're going to wait until Wednesday to even discuss that, publicly or privately. There have been no discussions about it among our Senate leadership or in the caucus."

Ensign's response: "If Joe wants to leave the Democrat Party and join us, we'd welcome him with open arms."

cbsnews.com

Why we choose Barack Obama

2008-11-02T13:47:00.001-08:00

There are times when what is better for the community may fly in the face of individual wants and ideological comfort.

This year’s presidential race is one of those times.

There are many who admire the GOP nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona. He has given most of his life to his country. He fought in an unpopular war many years ago. The enemy captured, tortured and nearly killed him before he was able to return home to service in the Senate.

Now, he has offered himself for the highest position in our national government. As the standard bearer of the Republican Party, his platform reflects those interests of the party, which are in many ways are removed from agriburbs, such as the cities and towns of the Alabama Black Belt.

For example, McCain wants to make the Bush Administration’s tax cuts permanent. These cuts have hurt the U.S. economy by increasing the deficit and providing tax cuts — 45 percent of which went to the top 5 percent of earners in the U.S. On the other hand, most of the people in this area remain at the bottom 80 percent, which received only 22 percent of the Bush tax cuts.

McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, at one point, gave some hope that McCain would reach out to the common people by selecting a woman who was a former small-town mayor; a family person with the same common concerns as those of us who live in smaller cities across this county. But we have found her lacking in empathy and substance.

We have no illusions about the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama. He is not a savior of the poor and downtrodden. He is a part of the Democratic Party system that many see as too tied to government intervention in their lives.

But the policies advocated by Obama are more palatable and would benefit the people of the Alabama Black Belt more than those of McCain’s. For example, he would seek to have Bush’s tax cuts repealed and eliminate income taxes for people over 65 who earn $50,000 or less. Many elderly in Dallas County alone would benefit from that move.

Additionally, Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, who has helped Obama’s campaign, has said if elected, Obama would send a study group to this region to help us work out a solution to our future.

For those concerned about Obama’s lack of experience, we point to the choice of his running mate, Joe Biden, who has also given up much personally, though not in similar ways to McCain, in service to his country.

Obama speaks directly to small towns and the poor families — the makeup of this region of Alabama — as he talks about his plans and hope and a new day.

Because of these reasons, The Selma Times-Journal endorses Barack Obama for the presidency.

Zambian Opposition Against Release of Election Numbers

2008-11-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Zambia's main opposition party is asking officials to stop releasing the results of the country's presidential election, while renewing charges that the election was rigged.

Opposition leader Michael Sata's lead over acting President Rupiah Banda has narrowed to about 13,000 votes, as results from rural areas, where Mr. Banda has strong support, come in.

Sata stormed the country's election center in Lukasa Saturday and charged the voter rolls must have been inflated, saying that is the only way he could be leading Mr. Banda by so little.

Despite the complaints, an observer team from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) declared Saturday the elections were free and transparent.

So far, 137 of Zambia's 150 constituencies have reported results from Thursday's election to fill the seat of President Levy Mwanawasa, who died in August following a stroke.

Turnout for Thursday's vote appears to have been less than 50 percent, which election monitor Leshele Thoahlane of the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa characterized as low.

Sata campaigned as a champion of the poor, while Mr. Banda portrayed himself as someone who would continue the business-friendly policies of Mr. Mwanawasa.

Sata's supporters took to the streets after he lost Zambia's 2006 election to Mr. Mwanawasa. Sata blamed his loss in that poll on massive ballot-rigging. The results were later upheld.

voanews.com

Cooperation Hits a Snag

2008-11-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Syrians say the Oct. 26 U.S. commando raid across its border targeting a Qaeda smuggler came as a surprise, ruining what appeared to be a thaw in relations between the two countries. Just two months ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in New York with her Syrian counterpart, Walid Moalem, in the highest-level talks between the two nations since 2005. "She sat with us and said the United States wants to engage with Syria, wants to re-evaluate its relationship," Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Moustapha, told NEWSWEEK. "And suddenly this raid happens out of the blue."

But government documents and a recent comment by Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. David Petraeus suggest the United States had been signaling its frustration with Syria over border issues for some time. Counterterrorism sources say troops taking part in the raid killed a senior Qaeda operative known as Abu Ghadiyah, who allegedly helped smuggle scores of fighters into Iraq for suicide attacks and other operations. Three weeks ago at a meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army, Petraeus said the Abu Ghadiyah problem had been raised often with Damascus. "We have communicated that to them through interlocutors," he said, describing Abu Ghadiyah as a "major foreign fighter facilitator" operating in Syria with "varying degrees of freedom at different times."

A senior military officer told NEWSWEEK that the United States conveyed its message about Abu Ghadiyah to Syria through other countries in the region beginning early this year. Simultaneously, said the officer, who did not want to be named discussing sensitive issues, Petraeus requested permission from the Pentagon to travel to Damascus and meet directly with Syrian leaders. According to the officer, though, "so far the answer has been 'Not yet. Now is not the time'." All three agencies declined requests for comment.

newsweek.com