Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > September > 23
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Biden to deliver major foreign policy speech in Cincinnati
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, who’s also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will deliver what the Obama-Biden campaign is calling a “major foreign policy address” on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Cincinnati.
The speech comes just two days before Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain face off in the first presidential debate on Friday, Sept. 26, at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The debate is to focus on foreign policy.
Attendance at Biden’s speech is by invitation.
Biden (pictured) will “assert that, as president, John McCain would likely repeat the worst excesses of the Bush administration’s foreign policy, leading an ineffectual war against al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and an endless war in Iraq, while ignoring many of the rising threats of the 21st century,” the Obama-Biden campaign said on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
The speech is expected to start at 11 a.m . and will be streamed live online at www.barackobama.com/live.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment |
Payday lending ballot issue falls short of signatures
Backers of a referendum on Ohio’s new law limiting payday lending interest rates have fallen short of the number of valid signatures needed to get the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Supporters of the ballot issue now have 10 days to submit additional signatures.
Brunner said that petitions to get the issue on the ballot had 185,729 valid signatures, short of the 241,366 required. That represents 6 percent of the votes cast in the 2006 governor’s race.
The backers fell short on a second requirement, also. They needed signatures equaling 3 percent of the ballots cast in the 2006 governor’s race in at least 44 counties. They met the 3 percent threshold in 33 counties.
A “yes” vote on the ballot issue would limit lenders to the new 28 percent interest cap while a “no” vote would allow lenders to keep the current 391 percent cap.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment |
Eye on Ohio: ‘Obama Destination ad’
By William Hershey
Dayton Daily News
THE AD: “Destination,” a 30-second TV ad
PRODUCER: Barack Obama campaign
WHERE TO SEE IT: National cable; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lYjyWlL5lo
SCRIPT:
Barack Obama: I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.
Announcer: Bermuda. It’s more than just a vacation destination for John McCain. McCain went to Bermuda and while he was there pledged to protect tax breaks for American corporations that hid their profits offshore. And grateful insurance executives and their lobbyists who benefit from the tax scheme, gave McCain $50,000. John McCain. He took a vacation, and so much more. And we get more of the same.
VIDEO: Opens with Obama and running mate Joe Biden campaigning, with smiles and sleeves rolled up, a couple of happy warriors on the campaign trail. Cuts to beach and ocean, with “BERMUDA” superimposed on the scene, just so viewers will know where they’re being taken. Island music is playing in the background. Next a cropped picture of John McCain in sunglasses crowds onto the screen. McCain’s mug then moves to the viewer’s left — not the candidate’s usual position - as a news story about McCain’s 2007 trip to Bermuda where he talked with business leaders flashes onto the right side. McCain’s picture gets bigger in the next shot, shown against the backdrop of a skyline in some city where his “executive” and “lobbyist” contributors are supposed to work. Ad then travels back to the beach, with McCain’s mug fading out and “We Can’t Afford More of the Same.”
ANALYSIS: As attack ads go, this is pretty straightforward and hits lots of hot buttons with voters worried about the economy and looking for scapegoats. The villains are familiar ones - corporations that do business offshore and a politician who is their friend and takes their campaign contributions.
The smoking gun is a copy of a story from The Royal Gazette, a Bermuda newspaper, reporting on McCain’s trip to the island in August of 2007.
“McCain pledges to protect Island’s insurance sector,” the headline blares. According to the lead of the story, McCain “has pledged to protect Bermuda’s international businesses if he is successful in his White House bid.” According to the report, McCain “said he understood the concerns of the insurance and reinsurance sectors about draft legislation proposing a clampdown on US business operations in so-called tax havens.”
In McCain’s own words: “The industry, the re-insurance that’s had such phenomenal success has been good for both nations. I would oppose any measures that upset that.” Interestingly - and not mentioned in the Obama ad - is another paragraph in the story that said earlier in the year Bermuda officials discussed the “tax haven legislation” with Obama’s fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
Rangel told the officials that Bermuda was not on the list of jurisdictions that could suffer from a “clampdown” on offshore U.S. operations. Still, the ad highlights a side of McCain - the internationalist and friend of international business - that doesn’t sell well in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and other battleground states where “global economy” amounts to fighting words. McCain took the trip at a time when his prospects for the nomination looked pretty dim so maybe he wasn’t thinking about how his Bermuda vacation would look to voters in Dayton, Detroit and Scranton. As the McCain campaign pointed out in its response to the ad, Obama’s not exactly a sworn enemy of international business. His campaign leases its Chicago campaign headquarters from Accenture, described by “The Hill” newspaper as “one of the nation’s most aggressive outsourcers.” Also, as the McCain campaign also pointed out, Obama has taken thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Accenture employees.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Eye on Ohio
Singer Carole King campaigning locally for Obama
Carole King may not sound like a natural supporter to send to rural Ohio to campaign for Barack Obama. But, the writer of songs such as “You Make me Feel Like a Natural Woman” and “You’ve Got a Friend” has launched a three day “Conversations for Change” tour on behalf of Senator Barack Obama today in Springfield.
The award winning singer who has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide has several other local events planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
7:15 p.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King Supporter Home 500 North Fountain Avenue Springfield, OH
Wednesday, Sept. 24
9:00 a.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King Student Center at Urbana University 579 College Way Urbana, OH
10:45 a.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King Shelby County Democratic Party Office 118 North Main Street Sidney, OH
12:45 p.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King Westlake Lodge 1101 West Bank Road Celina, OH
2:30 p.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King 101 West Auglaize Street Wapakoneta, OH
4:15 p.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King Allen County Senior Center 118 East High Street Lima, OH
6:30 p.m. “Conversation for Change” with Carole King 135 North Detroit Street Bellefontaine, OH
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Obama vs. Biden on “Clean Coal” in Ohio
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Joe Biden, his vice presidential running mate, appear to have a difference on using “clean coal” to help solve Ohio’s and the nation’s energy problem.
It’s no surprise that Republican presidential candidate John McCain has taken note.
“His (Obama’s) running mate here in Ohio recently said that they weren’t supporting clean coal…,” McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Asked if the Obama-Biden campaign was against “clean coal,” Ohio spokesman Isaac Baker said “no.” David Wade, another Obama-Biden spokesman, added in a prepared statement that:
“This is yet another false attack from a dishonorable campaign. Senator McCain knows that Senator Obama and Senator Biden support clean coal technology. Senator Biden’s point is that China is building coal plants with outdated technology every day, and the United States needs to lead by developing clean coal technologies.”
“…If Senator McCain is so committed to clean coal, then why hasn’t he joined Senators Obama and Biden in announcing their support for the bipartisan energy proposal before the Senate today that would offer tax credits for clean coal projects? “
McCain didn’t make up Biden’s comments. Campaigning last week in Maumee, near Toledo, Biden was asked “Wind and solar are flourishing here in Ohio, so why are you supporting clean coal?”
“We’re not supporting clean coal,” Biden replied. Here’s a video of the exchange.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Crites: Cordray has too much PR
Republican Mike Crites criticized Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray on Tuesday, Sept. 23, saying the Democrat spends nearly 21 percent of his office operating budget to promote himself.
“This is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars from someone who claims to be a guardian of the public treasury,” Crites said.
Crites and Cordray are both running for attorney general.
Crites counted 31 people - eight in public affairs, 13 in community outreach, and 10 in community education - in Cordray’s office that contribute to the public relations promotion of the treasurer. Their combined salaries total $1.8 million, and average $59,000 a year.
Leesa Brown, spokeswoman for Cordray’s campaign, said, “He is counting in a way that benefits him. Obviously we don’t agree.”
Brown said Crites is including staff that train local public finance officers, run personal finance programs, offer credit repair workshops and advocate with local courts to use mediation in home foreclosure cases.
“There are not 31 people sitting around writing news releases, I can tell you that,” Brown said.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Casino issue faces challenge
Competing gambling interests are lodging a challenge to MyOhioNow, the committee that’s asking voters to amend the Ohio constitution to permit building a casino near Wilmington.
John Gilligan, a lawyer with Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn, said in a letter to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner that MyOhioNow, its principals and its petition circulating company failed to file required disclosure forms before they started gathering signatures to get the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Gilligan asked Brunner to reject the issue or hold a protest hearing. Brunner’s office spokesman said on Tuesday, Sept. 23, that officials are trying to schedule an expedited hearing.
Attorney Don McTigue, who represents MyOhioNow, said, “Our response is they clearly do not understand the law. This is a frivolous protest brought at the eleventh hour because they’re afraid they’ll lose at the ballot…We will be submitting a motion to dismiss, probably this afternoon.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Tony Hall to campaign for Obama in Dayton
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s “Faith, Family and Values” tour is coming to Dayton on Tuesday, Sept. 23, featuring former Dayton-area U.S. Rep. Tony Hall.
Hall (pictured) will lead a forum at 2:45 p.m. at the Dayton Cultural & RTA Transit Center, 40 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd., to discuss how Hall believes Obama’s faith “inspires his plans to strengthen Ohio’s families,” according to the Obama campaign. Attendance is by invitation.
The forum comes as a radio ad Hall did for the Matthew 25 Project endorsing Obama was to begin airing in Ohio. The project is a political action committee “organized to mobilize Catholic, Evangelical and diverse Christian voices for a new Christian witness in politics.”
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
Poll: McCain maintains lead in Ohio
Republican John McCain maintains a lead over Democrat Barack Obama in a new FOX News/Rasmussen Reports poll on the presidential race in Ohio, released Monday, Sept. 22.
McCain led 50-46 percent, about the same as the 48-45 percent lead the Republican had in Ohio last week.
The poll also measured support in four other battleground states. McCain led 51-46 percent in Florida and 50-48 percent in Virginia.
Obama led 51-44 percent in Michigan and 48-45 percent in Pennsylvania..
The poll results come against the backdrop of the continuing economic crisis and, in Ohio, a weak economy where unemployment now stands at 7.4 percent, the highest since 1992.
The poll was conducted on Sept. 21, 2008 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
For full poll results, click here.
