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Excerpt - Presidential debates are important -- and the first debate is the most important of all, establishing an arc of opinion that persists unless jarred loose by big mistakes or dramatic events. So whether this year's first presidential debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain is Friday night or postponed a few days, it may be the fall's most critical event. In the nine first debates since 1960, the perceived winner of the debate averaged a 4.2 point net swing in the Gallup poll. ~ snip ~

Democrats had dared Sen. John McCain to show leadership on the Wall Street crisis and he stepped up. He put his campaign on hold Wednesday and challenged Sen. Barack Obama to postpone Friday's debate, which Democrats had hoped to turn into a forum on failed Republican economic policies. Less than a month after he canceled the first night of the Republican National Convention, Mr. McCain again flashed his signature maverick style, declaring President Bush's proposed $700 billion bailout dead and, as he's done so often in the past, said he could help broker a bipartisan deal to cut through the...

State by state, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill). is showing signs of breaking open a presidential race that looked deadlocked through much of September. A new wave of polls released Wednesday showed decisive leads for Obama in the critical states of Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania. That follows noticeable progress in polls in Virginia, which had looked safe for Sen. John McCain, and Florida, which had looked promising for McCain. This is the first time that one of the candidates has dominated state polls in the most closely contested battlegrounds. Republican strategist Karl Rove had predicted this tectonic shift, writing at Rove.com...

Bailout Could Deepen Crisis, CBO Chief Says Asset Sales May Lead to Write-Downs, Insolvencies, Orszag Tells Congress By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 25, 2008; D04 The director of the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that the proposed Wall Street bailout could actually worsen the current financial crisis. During testimony before the House Budget Committee, Peter R. Orszag -- Congress's top bookkeeper -- said the bailout could expose the way companies are stowing toxic assets on their books, leading to greater problems. "Ironically, the intervention could even trigger additional failures of large institutions, because some institutions may...

Excerpt - There is a broad consensus that Congress must act to stave off deeper turmoil on Wall Street. Irrespective of the final agreement yet to be reached, there are several principles that must be part of a broader reform effort that begins this week and continues in the coming months. ~ snip ~ I've proposed a new Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), to launch a national effort to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. The original HOLC, launched in 1933, bought mortgages from failed banks and modified the terms so families could make affordable payments while keeping their homes. The...

The whole timing of this seems like a setup to me, that this thing blows up 2 weeks before the 1st Presidential Debate. I think a lot of left wing financier types from US and around the world like George Soros create this to get the election result they want and get cash to support their left wing causes and can blame it on so called Conservative Capitalism and Bush. Your Thoughts. Wouldn't you like to know who the short sellers and that set off this latest market chaos.

Okay, I don't know what the solution to this crisis is, but we all know that this bailout is NOT it. I've heard several people on these boards talk about this not being the time to stand up for our conservative beliefs, and I think that is b.s. This is the time when our conservatism is needed the most. We are about to fundamentally shape the nature of this country in a way that would make our founding fathers sick. This nation was founded on conservatism, though it was called "classic liberalism" at the time. Rolling over and accepting this...

On meeting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today in New York Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told the Republican VP candidate, "You're gorgeous!"

Excerpt - Karachi, 24 Sept. (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The alleged mastermind of last Saturday's deadly truck bombing of the Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has emerged. The suspect, Qari Zafar (photo), has become part of Al-Qaeda's hardline Takfiri inner circle. He enjoys the protection of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and is believed to be hiding out in the lawless South Waziristan tribal area of North West Frontier Province. Zafar is not only the suspected mastermind of the Marriot bomb blast, but has created a network which will shortly target strategic installations belonging to...

No big surprise here I guess...

Daimler is preparing to sell its remaining minority stake in ailing US carmaker Chrysler to private equity group Cerberus, in a move that would mark the final act of a 10-year-long combination. The German premium car group on Wednesday confirmed it was in talks with Cerberus, which bought the majority of Chrysler more than a year ago, about a sale of Daimler’s 19.9 per cent stake in the US company. Daimler declined to comment on further details and did not give any explanation about the reasons for a possible sale. Cerberus said it approached Daimler about a deal, but said...

I have placed the Obama-Ayers video up on my site.

Presidential debates are important -- and the first debate is the most important of all, establishing an arc of opinion that persists unless jarred loose by big mistakes or dramatic events. So whether this year's first presidential debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain is Friday night or postponed a few days, it may be the fall's most critical event. In the nine first debates since 1960, the perceived winner of the debate averaged a 4.2 point net swing in the Gallup poll. Mr. Obama fought hard to have the first clash devoted to foreign policy and the last...

Obama & DNC Hide Behind Legal Issues While Betraying Public in not Producing a Certified Copy of Obama’s “Vault” Birth Certificate and Oath of Allegiance Country is Headed to a Constitutional Crisis (Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania – 09/24/08) - Philip J. Berg, Esquire, the Attorney who filed suit against Barack H. Obama challenging Senator Obama’s lack of “qualifications” to serve as President of the United States, announced today that Obama and Democratic National Committee [DNC] filed a Joint Motion to Dismiss on the last day to file a response, for the obvious purpose of delaying Court action in the case of...

Strong quake jolts Xigaze of Tibet Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-09-25 11:26 A strong earthquake measuring 6.0on the Richter scale hit Zhongba County in Xigaze Prefecture at 9:47 am in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Thursday, the National Seismological Network said. No casualties were reported. It said the epicenter was 20 kilometers deep and was located at30.8 degrees north latitude and 83.6 degrees east longitude. Zhongba, a remote county near the China-Nepal border, is more than 4,700 meters above sea level and has a population of 18,000. The county has suffered many aftershocks after a 6.8-magnitude quake on Aug. 25. On...

David Broder, the Washington Post political editor who is considered the Dean of American political reporters told Trinity University students here that there is no such thing as 'media bias,' 1200 WOAI's Michael Board reports. "I have spent almost fifty years of my life covering campaigns with other people," Broder told 1200 WOAI news. "I don't think there is a serious problem with ideological or political bias." Broder's comments come as the issue of media bias has become a key issue in the Presidential race. John McCain's campaign manager called out the New York Times earlier this week, saying the...

This week in Colorado, it’s Barack Obama with a modest lead over John McCain. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds the Obama attracting 50% of the vote while McCain earns 47% (crosstabs available for Premium Members). A week ago, McCain had a two-point advantage. Over last four Colorado polls, each candidate has had a slight advantage twice and the two men have never been more than three percentage points apart. In fact, the race in Colorado has been close since tracking began back in February, with the biggest advantage for either candidate being Obama’s 49% to 42% edge in...

U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today launched the Coalition to Protect Coal Jobs. The coalition, a nationwide group including members of Congress, state government and other influential leaders, will spread the message about the importance of clean coal technology and the advantages of tapping the country's vast coal reserves. The group will also speak out to protect critical coal jobs when they come under attack from the most anti-American energy ticket in history. In addition to providing domestic energy, the coal industry is a critical part of the economy in several states. As part of John McCain's "all of...

John McCain has gained ground for the third straight month and now holds a slight two-point advantage over Barack Obama in the swing state of New Hampshire. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Granite State finds McCain attracting 49% of the vote while Obama earns 47%. A month ago, it was Obama by a point. At the moment, the presidential race in New Hampshire is a toss-up. Nationally, the race remains close in the Daily Presidential Tracking poll. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Obama voters say they will vote with enthusiasm for their candidate, a feeling shared by 68%...

This credit crisis is like the plague and nobody is safe yet By Roger Bootle Last Updated: 7:17PM BST 22 Sep 2008 Comments 112 | Comment on this article A year since the credit crunch burst upon an unsuspecting world, the big questions remain unanswered. Where are we now? Is it nearly over? And has understanding finally caught up with reality? The central banks' measures to return the money markets to normality by injecting massive amounts of liquidity have been at least partially successful. The spread of three-month interbank interest rates over the official policy rate - a useful indication...