Obama clears up Biden's remarks
The media took notice today as Sen. Obama did his best to clear up comments made by his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, this past Sunday at a fund-raising event in Seattle. Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying, "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking." The comments have been used by the McCain campaign to try and imply that Obama is not prepared to lead in this dangerous world, going back to their original attacks on his experience and how it would affect his leadership. Along with the post, The New York Times followed the story, reporting on how Obama took time during his campaigning today to defend the comments and ward off any misconceptions about what Biden was trying to say. “I think Joe, sometimes, engages in rhetorical flourishes," Obama said. He went on to explain that he is no more likely to be tested under those circumstances than his opponent Sen. McCain would be, doing his best to make it clear that Biden's core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, inheriting a handful of really big problems, no matter who it is.
The media took notice today as Sen. Obama did his best to clear up comments made by his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, this past Sunday at a fund-raising event in Seattle. Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying, "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking." The comments have been used by the McCain campaign to try and imply that Obama is not prepared to lead in this dangerous world, going back to their original attacks on his experience and how it would affect his leadership. Along with the post, The New York Times followed the story, reporting on how Obama took time during his campaigning today to defend the comments and ward off any misconceptions about what Biden was trying to say. “I think Joe, sometimes, engages in rhetorical flourishes," Obama said. He went on to explain that he is no more likely to be tested under those circumstances than his opponent Sen. McCain would be, doing his best to make it clear that Biden's core point was that the next administration is going to be tested, inheriting a handful of really big problems, no matter who it is.
McCain looks towards upset
In other news, the Los Angeles Times covered McCain as he spoke in New Hampshire, the state that launched his bid for the presidency eight years ago, and once again this year. While there, McCain used his upset primary victories in the state in both 2000 and 2008 to urge voters to ignore his sagging pole numbers and help put him into the white house. Over the years, McCain has spent a lot of time in the state and mentioned how "[he couldn't] think of any place [he'd] rather be than running an underdog campaign in the state of New Hampshire."
Tax Cuts and Al Queda
On the other side of the race, Obama was in Virginia, clearing up comments made by Biden, but also making a point to defend his tax policies. One of the major topics since the "Joe the plumer" debate, both campaigns have been criticizing one another's policies in this area. However, Obama made it clear once again that the Senator from Arizona had already voted against tax cuts for the wealthiest of americans once in the past, and was now calling out Obama as a socialist for wanting to make sure they did not get tax cuts under his policy. The McCain campaign had some clearing up of their own to do today, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, R. James Woolsey, a former CIA director who supports the Arizona Republican, made it clear that any endorsement by Al Queda of McCain was an obvious ploy to destroy the Senator's campaign, a "kiss of death," and in reality showed their support for Obama and a quicker removal of troops from Iraq.
Opinion
Tax Cuts and Al Queda
On the other side of the race, Obama was in Virginia, clearing up comments made by Biden, but also making a point to defend his tax policies. One of the major topics since the "Joe the plumer" debate, both campaigns have been criticizing one another's policies in this area. However, Obama made it clear once again that the Senator from Arizona had already voted against tax cuts for the wealthiest of americans once in the past, and was now calling out Obama as a socialist for wanting to make sure they did not get tax cuts under his policy. The McCain campaign had some clearing up of their own to do today, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, R. James Woolsey, a former CIA director who supports the Arizona Republican, made it clear that any endorsement by Al Queda of McCain was an obvious ploy to destroy the Senator's campaign, a "kiss of death," and in reality showed their support for Obama and a quicker removal of troops from Iraq.
Opinion
Out of all three newspapers, I would have to say that the Los Angeles Times did the best job with their coverage today. Although the Washington Post and the New York Times covered the clearing up of Biden's comments by Obama, I felt that they focused too much on the "he said, she said" aspect of the comments. As the media does all too often, especially in this political campaign, they focused on the bickering, and misinterpretation of the parties over one of the candidates words rather than on the more important issues. Although the LA Times did cover the Biden slip up, they also took the time to follow McCain and cover some important issues surrounding both campaigns rather than just one topic.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Froschauer
No comments:
Post a Comment