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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > September > 11
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Eye On Ohio: McCain’s ‘Education’ ad
By Laura Bischoff
Dayton Daily News
The ad: “Education,” 30 seconds
Producer: McCain campaign
Where to see it: In key markets in Ohio and other crucial states and online at DaytonDailyNews.com/eyeonohio
Script: (Announcer) “Education Week says Obama ‘hasn’t made a significant mark on education.’ That he’s ‘elusive’ on accountability. A ‘staunch defender of the existing public school monopoly.’
“Obama’s one accomplishment? Legislation to teach ‘comprehensive sex education’ to kindergartners. Learning about sex before learning to read?
“Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family.”
(John McCain): I’m John McCain and I approved this message.
Video: As childlike music plays in the background, a series of unflattering photos of Barack Obama appear over black and white school scenes such as lockers, a classroom of empty desks and school buses. When the announcer says “learning about sex before learning to read,” young children sitting at an art table come into focus in the background.
Analysis: This is a misleading attempt to scare families away from Obama. Parts of it are flat-out wrong. It claims that Obama’s one accomplishment for education is passing legislation to teach comprehensive sex education to Illinois kindergartners.
The 14-page bill passed out of committee in 2003 but never became law. The bill indicated “age appropriate” sex education based on medically accurate information should be taught in kindergarten through high school.
The first page mandated that pupils whose parents objected not be required to take any sex-ed, and it required school districts to emphasize abstinence as an effective means of preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
The bill did not hand down curriculum to school districts mandating that kindergartners learn about sex before learning to read. When Obama’s opponent tried to use this against him in his 2004 U.S. Senate race, Obama stressed that it was meant to protect young children from sexual predators by teaching them about good touch versus bad touch and give them basic information such as storks don’t bring babies.
“There is no curriculum out there — from a comprehensive sex-education standpoint or from an abstinence-only point of view — that teaches kindergartners to have sex. It doesn’t exist,” said Earl Pike, director of the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, which advocates for comprehensive sex-education programs.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, “It is shameful and downright perverse for the McCain campaign to use a bill that was written to protect young children from sexual predators as a recycled and discredited political attack against a father of two young girls.”
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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Obama pulls ahead in Ohio
Democrat Barack Obama has pulled ahead of Republican John McCain in Ohio in a new Quinnipiac University poll despite the help Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, has given McCain with some voters.
The poll, released on Thursday, Sept. 11, showed Obama ahead among likely voters in Ohio, 49-44 percent, compared to a 44-43 percent lead for Obama in an Aug. 26 poll which was a virtual dead heat.
The poll also showed Obama leading McCain, 48-45 percent in Pennsylvania, compared to a 49-42 percent lead on Aug. 26.
In Florida, McCain leads 50-43 percent in the new poll, compared to a 47-43 percent lead on Aug. 26.
It was the best showing for Obama in Ohio in three recent polls. A Fox News/Rasmussen poll taken on Sept. 7 showed McCain winning, 51-44 percent. A CNN/Time poll, taken Aug. 31-Sept. 2, showed Obama ahead, 47-45 percent, a virtual tie.
For full Quinnipiac poll results, click here.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said that voter worry about the economy may be a bigger factor in Ohio than Palin joining McCain’s ticket.
“Because of the pervasive sense of economic pessimism in Ohio, it may well be that Ohioans are less interested in the vice presidency than they are in the economy,” Brown said.
Obama also has overwhelming support among black voters - 95-3 percent - while McCain leads among white voters, 50-43 percent.
The poll was taken from Friday, Sept. 5, through Tuesday, Sept. 9. In Ohio, 1,367 likely voters were interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent.
In Florida, 1,032 voters were interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
In Pennsylvania, 1,001 voters were interviewed and the margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percent.
