Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Palin Probe Takes New Track

Palin Probe Takes New Track
By JOEL MILLMAN Wall Street Journal
SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

An official probe into allegations that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abused the powers of her office has broken into two tracks, complicating an issue that has become central to the presidential election.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in New York Wednesday after she and Republican Sen. John McCain met Ukrainian and Georgian presidents.

The Alaska legislature, which has been investigating whether Gov. Palin had improperly fired a state official over a personal matter, could issue results of its probe as early as mid-October, even though some key witnesses have declined to cooperate. A second investigation, sanctioned by the governor, is on a longer track, and could extend past the November election.

Since Gov. Palin was relatively unknown when Republican presidential nominee John McCain picked her as his running mate, the investigation has taken on added importance for voters. Gov. Palin had originally said she would cooperate with the legislative investigation, but appeared to backtrack after her vice-presidential nomination.

The McCain-Palin campaign on Tuesday pledged to fully cooperate with Tim Petumenos, an Anchorage, Alaska, attorney who was selected this week by the state executive branch's Personnel Board to head the second investigation. The governor's legal team argues that the ethics-oversight body has statutory jurisdiction over the case.

"The governor is an open book," said Taylor Griffin, a McCain-Palin campaign spokesman in Anchorage. "Gov. Palin has agreed to produce all documents, such as emails, and is working to schedule meetings" with Mr. Petumenos. Gov. Palin's husband, Todd Palin, is also willing to speak with the new investigator, as are other witnesses, he said.

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Palin Probe Takes New Track

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BREAKING NEWS! McCain seeks to delay Friday's debate

McCain seeks to delay Friday's debate
Candidate plans to return to Washington Thursday to deal with credit crisis

BREAKING NEWS
NBC, MSNBC and news services
September 24th, 2008

NEW YORK - Republican John McCain said Wednesday he is directing his staff to work with Democrat Barack Obama's campaign and the presidential debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

Obama's campaign says he is inclined to go ahead with Friday's presidential debate, even though his rival is calling for a delay.

In a statement, McCain said he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Clinton's Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.
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Meanwhile, the University of Mississippi, which is slated to host Friday's debate, issued a statement saying they are going forward with preparation.

"We expect the debate to occur as planned," university officials said.

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McCain seeks to delay Friday's debate

Economic fears give Obama a clear lead in poll

Economic fears give Obama a clear lead in poll
Survey gives Democrat a 9-point edge over McCain among likely voters
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen - Washington Post

Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll.

Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to 1973.

More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.

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Economic fears give Obama a clear lead in poll

Sydney: Alaskan pit-bull turns into yesterday's moose

Alaskan pit-bull turns into yesterday's moose
Sydney Morning Herald
September 25, 2008

The emails from American friends were despairing in the days after the Republican Party convention. Some were from Democratic Party workers who felt 2008 was starting to look like 2004, when John Kerry lost an election many considered he should have won.

Sarah Palin had dramatically changed the dynamics of the presidential campaign. She was the star of the convention, a pit-bull with lipstick - her self-description - who would vanquish the corrupt culture of Washington and install small town American values.

The more the media focused on her inexperience, on the failings of her governorship of Alaska, on her ignorance of foreign policy and on her kooky "family values" and biblical literalism, the more it seemed her popularity grew, and the more likely it seemed, once again, Democrats were heading for defeat.

In Europe, where Obama enraptured tens of thousands of people in Berlin and charmed leaders in France and Britain, commentators grew hysterical at the prospect of an Obama defeat.

Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian reacted with fury and despair at the Sarah Palin phenomenon and the apparent boost she gave the McCain campaign. He warned that if Americans rejected Obama, really bad things would happen.

"If Americans choose McCain, they will be turning their back on the rest of the world, choosing to show us four more years of the Bush-Cheney finger," he wrote. "And I predict a deeply unpleasant shift."

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Alaskan pit-bull turns into yesterday's moose