Posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
With the U.S. presidential campaign headed into its final weekend, Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) made final pushes for votes, and analysts began looking ahead to the transition of administrations that will follow the November 4 vote. The Financial Times reports Obama’s campaign is sticking largely to its economic message as it enters the final few days of campaigning. The Los Angeles Times looks at McCain’s final days of campaigning in potential swing states Ohio and Florida, and says both candidates have sought to highlight differences in their economic plans.
A new CFR.org Daily Analysis looks at how foreign policy issues have played out over the course of the campaign, dominated in its later stages by the financial crisis. The article says despite the recent focus on economic concerns, questions of national security and U.S. global influence stayed in focus throughout the process. In a Newsweek cover story, CFR President Richard Haass presents a foreign policy plan for the next U.S. president.
PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow he plans to try to “facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and resolve the Kashmir crisis.” Obama also discussed his plan to send more troops to Afghanistan and said he will provide alternatives to farmers in the poppy trade there.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), Sen. John McCain’s runningmate, spoke broadly (CNN) about national security Thursday after meeting with a group of McCain campaign national security advisers. “It used to be we could place domestic and foreign concerns in more or less distinct categories — and choose a president according to which seemed the greater priority at the time. But the world has so drastically changed and those days are gone,” she said. “Even if a most immediate concern is economic, our recovery will still depend on leadership that can protect and advance our security and our vital interests in the world.”
Posted in Afghanistan, General Election, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told a Florida crowd that national security dangers lurk and should not be ignored amid the financial crisis. He mentioned as one potential crisis “the success of the Iranian regime in its program of acquiring nuclear weapons,” which he said could threaten Israel or spark “an uncontrollable nuclear arms race across the region.”
Separately, McCain said Wednesday he would increase revenue from offshore drilling (AP) for Florida and other coastal states.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Iran, Morning Update, Palestinian-Israeli | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 by campaign2008
“The price of oil is declining largely because of the market’s expectation of a broad recession that would lower demand. This is hardly a good sign of things to come, and should only add to our sense of urgency in gaining energy independence. When our economy recovers, and growth once again creates new demand, we could run into the same brick wall of rising oil and gasoline prices — and now is the time to make sure that doesn’t happen. In Washington, we can view this period of lower oil prices as just one more chance to make excuses — and on the problem of energy security, we’ve heard enough excuses. Or we can view it as an opportunity to finally confront the problem.”
–Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), in a policy address Wednesday in Ohio.View this Post
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said in a speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania that his administration would “lower the cost of energy within months” through domestic drilling and investment in alternative sources like nuclear, wind, and solar.
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will give a policy address on energy (NYT) Wednesday in Ohio.
The International Herald Tribune takes a look at how the two campaigns’ energy policies differ.
BLOGGERS: The Washington Post looks at international blog attention to the U.S. presidential campaign.
Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
The Miami Herald reports today that the economy is trumping U.S. policy toward Cuba as the most important important issue for voters in South Florida’s three congressional races:
In years past, Cuba has been a dominant issue and given the three hard-line Cuban-American Republicans an edge among like-minded, motivated voters. But with a faltering economy and increasingly diverse districts, the Cuba debate has largely receded to Spanish language radio as the candidates trade barbs on taxes, trade and fitness for office.
Incumbent Republican Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are all being challenged by Democratic candidates who have benefited from the support of young Cuban-American voters who are “weary of exile politics,” according to the report.
Politico also looks at these hotly-contested races today, and considers the possibility of an end to the decades of Republican support from the Cuban-American community in the area.
U.S.-Cuba policy hasn’t played a major role in the presidential race of late, either. The issue has barely come up since Cuban Independence Day in May 2008, when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) outlined their respective positions on policy toward Raul Castro’s regime.
For more on the presidential and vice-presidential candidates positions on U.S. policy toward Cuba, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the matter.
Posted in Cuba, Economy, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
Following a meeting with his economic advisers, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) touted his economic policy plans in a speech in Cleveland on Monday. “To incentivize investments, I have proposed that if you buy stock and hold it for a minimum of a year, your tax on that investment will be cut in half,” he said. He also promised to “make sure that the SEC enacts and enforces rules that keep our markets safe and competitive.”
In what has been billed as his “closing argument,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) also discussed his economic agenda in a speech Monday, highlighting his plan to create two million new jobs by rebuilding U.S. infrastructure.
ISRAEL: Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin met Monday with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor. According to Israeli officials, Palin and Meridor discussed U.S.-Israel relations and the nuclear threat from Iran.
Posted in Economy, General Election, Morning Update, Palestinian-Israeli | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) implied he is unconvinced the U.S. automobile industry needs $15 billion in government funding in addition to the $25 billion it has already been allotted. “Let’s get the $25 billion to them…to start with and see how that goes,” he said on Meet the Press Sunday.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech in Colorado on Sunday, repeated his vow to spend $15 billion on renewable sources of energy and to commit to restoring the country’s infrastructure. He said: “[I]f people ask how we’re going to pay for this, you tell them that if we can spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can spend some money to rebuild America.”
UN: The Washington Post looks at the mood in the United Nations around the U.S. election.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted on Friday, October 24th, 2008 by campaign2008
Following news of new statistics on U.S. jobless claims, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) outlined his economic agenda in a speech to supporters in Indianapolis on Thursday. Obama discussed his plan to create five million green jobs over the next decade-”jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators.”
Foreign Policy has created an “Electoral Map of the World” based on Gallup polls on the U.S. presidential election conducted in 70 countries.
Posted in Climate Change, Economy, Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
As stock market turmoil continued (AP) Wednesday, a panel of financial experts met in Chicago to discuss the implications of the financial crisis for world markets and the future of regulation.
The panel, sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, included Niall S. K. Booker (PDF), CEO of HSBC Finance Corporation and Deputy CEO of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. Booker said power is “shifting back from the West to the East.” World gross domestic product growth “will now be shared by other parts of the world,” he said, citing China’s financing of a large percentage of U.S. debt and profits for oil producing countries. In the coming years, Booker said, the West will have to save more and spend less. But, he said, that is “not a message politicians can deliver” this close to the election. The result of the election will likely have an impact on consumer confidence, Booker said, but he predicted a downturn over the next few quarters in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Kenneth Griffin, CEO of Citadel Investment Group, LLC, also said the greatest challenge facing the incoming administration will be the devastation of American consumer confidence. Washington need to “focus again on positives and less on pushing fear as a means of pushing through programs as a means to stabilize the market,” he said. Griffin said most forms of regulatory arbitrage are now dead, pointing to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and others, as regulated companies that still went bankrupt. “We need to keep in mind that it is our regulated entities that failed us first,” Griffin said.
Raghuram Rajan, professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, said he anticipates a “massive attempt at rethinking regulation. Rajan said an increase in regulation could set the stage for the next financial crisis.
A major problem, Rajan said, is that the United States seems to “have arrived at a sense that we have a god given right to avoid downturns.” He expressed skepticism about proposed economic stimulus programs, saying economic destruction is part of the capitalist process. In the near future, Rajan said, “let’s be prepared for some pain. Because some pain may actually be a good thing.”
Posted in Economy, General Election | 1 Comment »
Posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
In an interview with TIME, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said opportunities to negotiate with the Taliban should be “explored.”
The Democratic ticket met with its Senior Working Group on National Security on Wednesday. The group includes former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, former UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and former Sen. Sam Nunn, among others. At the event, Obama discussed his views on Afghanistan and Iraq.
The New York Times examines how the presidential candidates’ personal histories have shaped each of their views on the use of U.S. power.
Posted in Afghanistan, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
