Posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 by campaign2008
“I commend the military officers who presided over this trial and served on the hearing panel under difficult and unprecedented circumstances. They and all our Armed Forces continue to serve this country with valor in th
e fight against terrorism. That the Hamdan trial – the first military commission trial with a guilty verdict since 9/11 – took several years of legal challenges to secure a conviction for material support for terrorism underscores the dangerous flaws in the Administration’s legal framework. It’s time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and our Uniform Code of Military Justice. And while it is important to convict anyone who provides material support for terrorism, it is long past time to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and the terrorists who murdered nearly 3000 Americans.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a statement on Wednesday in response to the verdict in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan.
Posted in General Election, Quote of the Day, Terrorism | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Ahead of the Beijing Olympic games beginning next week, a public opinion study from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs looks at American attitudes toward rising China. The study, released Monday, surveyed 1,500 Americans around the country over two weeks in July. Some of the report’s key findings include:
- 64 percent of Americans favor U.S. cooperation and engagement with China, while 33 percent said the United States should work to inhibit China’s rise.
- 32 percent said they would support a U.S. military response if China were to invade Taiwan.
- The study finds Americans “wary” of Chinese economic advantage. 52 percent opposed U.S. financial or technological support for helping China or India cope with climate change.
To read the whole report, click here (PDF).
To learn about the presidential candidates’ approaches to U.S. policy toward rising China, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the topic.
Posted in China, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 by campaign2008
“[N]uclear power alone is not enough. Drilling alone is not enough. We need to do all this and more. That is why I am calling for an ‘all of the above’ approach. I am also calling on Congress to come back into session to deal with this pressing energy challenge.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in remarks Tuesday at a Michigan nuclear power plant.
“I will call on businesses, government, and the American people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15 percent by the end of the next decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption – and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Tuesday in Youngstown, Ohio.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) recast his energy plan on Monday in a major speech (PDF) in Lansing, Michigan. Obama said his “New Energy for America” plan includes measures to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and confront the problem of climate change.
- Under the plan, Obama would implement a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use the proceeds to provide a $1000 tax rebate for married couples and a $500 tax rebate for individuals. Those rebates would “offset the entire increase in gas prices for a working family over the next four months; or pay for the entire increase in winter heating bills for a typical family in a cold‐weather state,” Obama said.
- In an apparent shift of position, Obama said the United States should sell 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “for less expensive crude, which in the past has lowered gas prices within two weeks.” In July, Obama said he did not believe the United States should use that reserve supply.
- The plan also calls for a “Use it or Lose It” approach to existing oil company leases. Obama said he will tell oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres “they currently have access to but haven’t touched.” If they do not use those areas, “we should require them to give up their leases to someone who will,” he said.
- Obama briefly mentioned the use of nuclear energy, pledging to “find safer ways to use nuclear power and store nuclear waste.” The energy plan says Obama will “develop requirements to ensure that the waste stored at current reactor sites is contained using the most advanced” technology available.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will unveil his “New Energy for America” plan (Chicago Sun-Times) on Monday in Lansing, Michigan. Under the plan, Obama would grant a rebate to help Americans cope with high gas prices, seek to create five million new “green jobs,” and eliminate U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil in ten years, says the Obama campaign.
The Democratic Party will call the Iraq war a “strategic blunder” in its 2008 convention platform, NBC reports.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said President Bush should avoid confrontation with the Chinese during his trip to Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. “You don’t want to go over there and insult the Chinese,” he said. “It would not be good for our relations.”
Posted in China, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 by campaign2008
In a town hall meeting in Iowa on Thursday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) discussed his energy plan (Des Moines Register) and responded to news that Exxon Mobil made nearly $12 billion last quarter. “While big oil is making record profits, you are paying record prices at the pump, and our economy is leaving working people behind,” Obama said.
McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin used the release of GDP data on Thursday as an opportunity to promote free trade. “When 95% of the world’s consumers live outside our borders, it is crucial that we do everything we can to expand markets for American goods and level the playing field for American businesses and workers,” he said in a statement.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
A new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows the American public increasingly concerned about rising energy and food costs. The national survey, conducted July 23-27 among 1,503 adults, shows Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) did not gain significantly from his trip to the Middle East and Europe last week. The survey indicates voters are split on which candidate is better on foreign policy. 43 percent listed McCain, while 42 percent named Obama.
48 percent of voters still view Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as more capable than Obama of defending the country against a terrorist attack, but that lead has narrowed in the last month. In June, 55 percent selected McCain as better on terrorism. On Iraq, McCain has a slim 44 percent lead over Obama’s 41 percent.
Posted in General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
The Wall Street Journal is hosting an online debate on trade policy between an economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Daniel Tarullo, and an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Phillip Levy. Both have offered differed responses to collapse of the WTO talks in Geneva.In a Washington Post op-ed, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who advises McCain, assesses the changing conditions in Iraq and says a withdrawal from Iraq is not necessary to free forces for Afghanistan.
A new poll (LAT) shows a slim majority of Californians favoring increased drilling off their coast. McCain discussed his energy views with Colorado’s KRDO radio on Tuesday.
Obama praised the reauthorization on Tuesday of the global AIDS bill, which he said represents “a renewed and expanded commitment by the United States” to fight AIDS around the world.
Posted in Afghanistan, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 by campaign2008
Several of the world’s leading papers focused their news coverage today on the overwhelming response U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has garnered thus far on his tour of Europe. Germany’s Deutsche-Welle says Obama received a welcome the country “usually reserves for rock stars and soccer players.” Der Spiegel says the candidate displayed the full range of his charisma in a moving speech in which he invoked a transatlantic “shared destiny” and promised to restore U.S.-European relations. In a news analysis, the New York Times says Obama’s speech was vague on diplomatic specifics, but says the emotional response his tour has prompted represents Europe’s hope for a “more flexible, less ideological America.”
Today Obama heads to France and Britain. Salon looks at favorable French public opinion of Obama, though the AFP reports his French tour could be “low-key” compared to his reception in Germany. The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, previews his trip to Britain.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Obama’s presumptive opponent in the U.S. general election, has sought an answer to the press response Obama’s tour has prompted. In an interview with FOX News, McCain discussed his differences with Obama on Iraq policy and criticized Obama for making policy statements on Iraq and Afghanistan before actually leaving to visit those countries. The Washington Post says McCain may soon announce his selection for a vice presidential running mate in an attempt to win back media attention.
Meanwhile, pundits questioned whether Obama’s high profile trip would help or hurt him with American voters, particularly as new polls showed McCain gaining ground (LAT) in four potential swing states.
CFR’s Daniel Senor examines Obama’s trip to Iraq and Afghanistan in a new interview.
Posted in Europe, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) meets Friday with the Dalai Lama (Denver Post) in Aspen, Colorado.
AFGHANISTAN: Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) defended Sen. Barack Obama’s plan to redeploy troops to Afghanistan in a USA Today op-ed Thursday.
IRAQ: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), recently returned from a congressional delegation to the Middle East with Obama, called on both candidates to stop debating the success of the troop surge in Iraq and to “project forward” (AP).
LATINO VOTE: A new Pew poll surveys Hispanic voter attitudes toward the presidential race.
Posted in Afghanistan, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
