Official Admits Plumbing for Dirt on Joe - Barack Obama
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama, 2008 President
The Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Helen Jones-Kelly, said yesterday that she authorized a check of state computer records on Joe Wurzelbacher, Joe the Plumber, after the Holland, OH citizen became the focus of national attention after the third presidential debate. Jones-Kelley, a Democrat and supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, she donated the maximum $2,300 to his presidential campaign, denied any political motivation in ordering the search of Wurzelbacher’s child-support payment records. “Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight we often take a look at them,” she said.
Wurzelbacher has had the national press and Ohio local and state governments checking into his background ever since Sen. John McCain seized on comments Sen. Obama made in an impromptu meeting with Wurzelbacher two weeks ago. Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his tax plans and Obama responded that his tax policy was intended to “spread the wealth around.” McCain has used the remark to great affect on the campaign trail and mentioned the remarks and Wurzelbacher more than a dozen times in the third debate. Obama’s comments have served to inject energy into the McCain camp and have caused the Obama campaign to stumble a little in the homestretch, as questions about his tax policy and desire to redistribute wealth have become the focus of voter attention.
Jones-Kelly’s admission marks at least the fourth occasion in which Wurzelbacher’s records were accessed through state computer systems since McCain mentioned his conversation with Sen. Obama. The Ohio Inspector General, State Highway Patrol, and Attorney General’s office are all investigating various potential breaches of Wurzelbacher’s private records to determine if there was any political motivation to the inquiries. But it is clear that no one would have been looking into Wurzelbacher had he not questioned Sen. Obama and if his story was not potentially damaging to Obama’s campaign. The Obama campaign has a history of attempting to silence it’s criics, twice ordering supporters to call a Chicago radio station and protest segements discussing Obama’s work with unrepentant terrorist William Ayers. The Obama campaign’s belief in the power of the people apparently stops at a private citizen’s right to ask probing questions about Sen. Obama’s policies and history.
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Official Admits Plumbing for Dirt on Joe - Barack Obama
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama, 2008 President
The Director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Helen Jones-Kelly, said yesterday that she authorized a check of state computer records on Joe Wurzelbacher, Joe the Plumber, after the Holland, OH citizen became the focus of national attention after the third presidential debate. Jones-Kelley, a Democrat and supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, she donated the maximum $2,300 to his presidential campaign, denied any political motivation in ordering the search of Wurzelbacher’s child-support payment records. “Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight we often take a look at them,” she said.
Wurzelbacher has had the national press and Ohio local and state governments checking into his background ever since Sen. John McCain seized on comments Sen. Obama made in an impromptu meeting with Wurzelbacher two weeks ago. Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his tax plans and Obama responded that his tax policy was intended to “spread the wealth around.” McCain has used the remark to great affect on the campaign trail and mentioned the remarks and Wurzelbacher more than a dozen times in the third debate. Obama’s comments have served to inject energy into the McCain camp and have caused the Obama campaign to stumble a little in the homestretch, as questions about his tax policy and desire to redistribute wealth have become the focus of voter attention.
Jones-Kelly’s admission marks at least the fourth occasion in which Wurzelbacher’s records were accessed through state computer systems since McCain mentioned his conversation with Sen. Obama. The Ohio Inspector General, State Highway Patrol, and Attorney General’s office are all investigating various potential breaches of Wurzelbacher’s private records to determine if there was any political motivation to the inquiries. But it is clear that no one would have been looking into Wurzelbacher had he not questioned Sen. Obama and if his story was not potentially damaging to Obama’s campaign. The Obama campaign has a history of attempting to silence it’s criics, twice ordering supporters to call a Chicago radio station and protest segements discussing Obama’s work with unrepentant terrorist William Ayers. The Obama campaign’s belief in the power of the people apparently stops at a private citizen’s right to ask probing questions about Sen. Obama’s policies and history.
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Morning Buzz: Homestreeetch - Barack Obama
Penny Manis
AC360 Senior Producer
Hello! Can you believe it? We are 7 days away from our 2008 Election Day. I don’t know that we at CNN can contemplate what it’s like to walk in the door and not have all the campaign developments to monitor and report. What was life like before Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and Sarah Palin entered the fray?
Today our CNN poll of polls (a compilation of various polling out there compiled into one average that we use) shows that 51% of Americans prefer Obama, and 43% would vote for McCain. 6% are still unsure.
The candidates will battle it out in Pennsylvania and they start the day just 90 miles apart but you can bet they won’t be meeting up for lunch. John McCain teams up with Sarah Palin, this is the first time they are back on the trail together following reports of tensions between the Palin camp and McCain’s senior advisor group. How will they fare as a duet after 6 days apart?
Later in the day McCain heads south to North Carolina, a red state where Obama now holds a slight lead. McCain continues to hit Obama on taxes and warning that an Obama win means a liberal takeover in govt. His ad today called “Compare” underlines his point that Obama is ‘risky’ and he is “proven”.
Obama is trying to close the deal in Philly, a state where he holds a 10 point lead. He told crowds there yday “we cannot let up for day, or one minute or one second in the week’. His opponents say he is already measure the drapes at the WH but he insists that nothing can be taken for granted. Later in the day he moves south to Virginia to pick up there. He has a late rally tonight so in our newscast we’ll bump into it for you guys (every so often we get lucky with a late live event, yahoo). Of course, we’ll feature the other candidates for you also as they speak earlier in the day.
Meanwhile his running mate Joe Biden takes a swing through Florida gunning for those 27 electoral votes. Candy Crowley, Ed Henry, and our political panel will report and analyze all of the above tonight!
Gary Tuchman is in Nevada today where officials say they expect more than half of registered voters to cast early. 30 states across the country have instituted this ‘early voting’ and in Las Vegas, you can go to your mall food court or JC Penney’s and choose the next President of the USA right after you buy a sandwich or new toaster. How about that? He’ll be live from one of these locations tonight and tell us who is coming out early and why.
I got an email from Gary very early this morning, he told me he ran into Sarah Palin’s brother, John McCain’s daughter, and the widow of Johnny Ramone all in the same calling center, trying to convince Nevada republicans to vote early. He insisted he wasn’t pulling my leg and really did run into them which would be a great part of his reporting- hmmmm I guess I’ll find out how gullible I am later tonight.
Asian and European markets bounced overnight (I guess what goes down must come up?) so maybe Wall Street will be in positive territory today. Let’s hope so as a poll we spotted this morning shows 9 out of 10 Americans say the economy is making them lose sleep, tossing and turning due to fear of paying bills, making mortgages etc. Eek. The stress of it all. We told Anderson the other day that we are counting on him to save the world and guide us through it all-at that point he ran back to his office and threw his cape on. Jes Kidding. Tune in at 10pet! See u then.
Voting problems? Call us - Obama,Barack
Adam Levine
CNN Supervising Producer
This election, CNN is running a voter hotline. We are already getting calls from around the country about problems and concerns that voters are having as they try to register, vote absentee, early vote or get information.
The hotline has generated over 10,000 calls so far and we’ve reported on some of those problems both on CNN and on the CNN Political Ticker
Of the top issues, a third of all of the problems called are about registration issues. After that, the next highest category is integrity issues which pertains to concerns people have about making sure their votes count. Absentee ballot issues make up 15% of the calls, problems with voting machines 9.5% and accessing poll locations have generated 9% of the calls.
We are hearing problems from around the country.
One of the more interesting confusions has arisen in Knoxville, TN where we got a number of calls from Barack Obama voters who were confused when they went to vote.
Apparently the summary screen that allows you to doublecheck your choices before you cast your ballot only lists the first three letters of the presidential candidate you voted for. If you voted for John McCain you would see ‘Elector for Joh’. If you voted for Barack Obama, it would say “Elector for Bar”.
The problem is that some voters were not sure if BAR stood for Barack Obama or the Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. Knox County election officials tell us that they regret the confusion but assure voters that ‘Bar’ means that you voted for Barack Obama. The problem is the font size and screen size crowding out the rest of the name.
So, if you have an issue voting or see a problem, give the CNN Voter Hotline a call at 1-866-GOCNN08 (1-866-462-6608.)
Joe the Plumber, Meet Tito the Builder - Barack Obama
Filed under: Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 President
Tito came onto the national stage last week when he showed up at a Virginia rally for McCain and started launching on the news media, demanding to know if he was going to be investigated too and that he had brought his papers.
Yesterday he made it official:
From townhall:
84% of all Americans agree with both Joe and Tito, which might be a reason that McCain is using the issue and Obama, hilariously, is saying that talking about the premier philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats on the role of the government in the economy, is “just a distraction”.
Perhaps Obama would rather we talk about Ayers, Wright, Rezko, and ACORN.
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Joe the Plumber, Meet Tito the Builder - Dem, Ill
Filed under: Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 President
Tito came onto the national stage last week when he showed up at a Virginia rally for McCain and started launching on the news media, demanding to know if he was going to be investigated too and that he had brought his papers.
Yesterday he made it official:
From townhall:
84% of all Americans agree with both Joe and Tito, which might be a reason that McCain is using the issue and Obama, hilariously, is saying that talking about the premier philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats on the role of the government in the economy, is “just a distraction”.
Perhaps Obama would rather we talk about Ayers, Wright, Rezko, and ACORN.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Joe the Plumber, Meet Tito the Builder - Barack Obama
Filed under: Barack Obama, John McCain, 2008 President
Tito came onto the national stage last week when he showed up at a Virginia rally for McCain and started launching on the news media, demanding to know if he was going to be investigated too and that he had brought his papers.
Yesterday he made it official:
From townhall:
84% of all Americans agree with both Joe and Tito, which might be a reason that McCain is using the issue and Obama, hilariously, is saying that talking about the premier philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats on the role of the government in the economy, is “just a distraction”.
Perhaps Obama would rather we talk about Ayers, Wright, Rezko, and ACORN.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Winning Clinton’s West Virginia Voters - Dem, Ill
Winning Clinton’s West Virginia Voters
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — It’s hard to find a place more Democratic than here in Mingo County, snug up against Kentucky in the southwestern corner of the state, where Mother Jones fought to unionize striking coalminers. In 2004, when President Bush trounced John Kerry by seven points in this state, Mingo voted 56 percent for Kerry. Of 19,391 registered voters, just 1,741 are Republicans.
The Endgame in Florida
ORLANDO — Florida provides the appropriate closing metaphor for the 2008 campaign. If John McCain were on a clear path to victory, there would be no campaign here at all. Yet there was McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, battling on Sunday across the state’s crucial central corridor in Tampa and Kissimmee. Come Wednesday, Bill Clinton will campaign with Barack Obama — the former president’s first joint appearance with the Democratic nominee — at an evening rally here.
GOP Senator Banks on Obama in Oregon Race - Barack Obama
GOP Senator Banks on Obama in Oregon Race
PORTLAND, Ore. — In the state where President Bush has his lowest popularity ratings in the nation, the incumbent Republican senator is reaching across the aisle and groping for the coattails of Barack Obama.
For Obama, a new cause for caution - Dem, Ill
For Obama, a new cause for caution
CONCORD, N.H. - Barack Obama has vaulted to a 15-point lead over John McCain in New Hampshire, according to a new Boston Globe poll, a significant gap in a state that McCain considers his second political home and has long been a swing state in the race for the White House…