Hurricane Sandy Pushes Aside Presidential Politics

Hurricane Sandy, which struck the East Coast Monday night, threw the Eastern Seaboard into chaos. The states that were hit include New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington D.C., and more.

Due to the path that Hurricane Sandy followed, campaigning for the Presidential Election was put on hold one week before the presidential election.

President Barack Obama cancelled all campaign stops and events and flew back to the White House on Monday night. President Obama will be spending his day holding briefings and surveying the damage that has been done in the East Coast. He held a conference call with the governors and mayors of the states that were affected by Sandy.

Governor Chris Christie, Republican governor of New Jersey, praised the president for his efforts and response to the natural disaster. He stated, "It's been very good working with the president. He and his administration have been coordinating with us. It's been wonderful." Many Republicans expressed their dismay with Governor Christie for heavily praising the president a week before the election.

Mitt Romney also cancelled his campaign events to host a storm relief event in Ohio. The relief event was held in the same place where Romney had planned to hold a campaign rally. The 2,000 attendees were asked to bring canned goods to help with the emergency efforts for the East Coast.

This article was originally published on October 30, 2012, in the New York Times. The authors are Michael Barbaro and Michael D. Shear. This article was bias toward President Obama. Although the article spoke on both presidential candidates, President Obama was placed in a more positive light.

Richard Mourdock and the Damage Done

Richard Mourdock made some controversial comments about rape and pregnancy on a Tuesday night debate.

Richard Mourdock is a Republican and the treasurer of Indiana. During a debate on Tuesday night he made a comment about rape that sparked a lot of controversy amongst the Democratic party.

"You know, this is that issue that every candidate for federal or even state offices faces. And I have to certainly stand for life. I know that there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view. But I believe that life begins at conception. The exception I have to have on abortion is in that case-- of the life of the mother. I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something God intended to happen."

Above is the complete statement made by Mourdock. Democrats immediately accused him of saying that God intends for rape to happen. Some Republicans defended their party member, calling the Democrats accusations "ridiculous" while others called on him to apologize. "Richard and I,  along with millions of Americans-- including even Joe Donnelly-- believe that life is a gift from God. To try and construe his words as anything other than a restatement of that belief is irresponsible and ridiculous

Mourdock attempted to clarify his comments, stating, "God creates life, and that was my point."

Governor Mitt Romney immediately disavowed Mourdock's comments. This is very inconvenient for the Romney campaign because Governor Romney was featured in an ad for Mourdock that was released this week. "Governor Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock's comments, and they do not reflect his views," stated Romney spokeswoman, Andrea Saul.

In the past, the presidential candidate has been criticized for his stance on abortion. President Obama has also made a statement about Mourdock's comments.

"This is a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican president Mitt Romney would (feel) that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care," stated President Obama.

My source was the Washington Post. This article was originally posted on October 24, 2012 and was written by Aaron Blake. This article was unbiased and very informative.

ABC's This Week- Sunday October 21

On Sunday, October 2, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Senator Marco Rubio appeared on This Week. The topic of discussion was the policies of each candidate in the presidential election.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is a Democrat in Tampa, Florida.

Rahm Emanuel spoke about President Obama's policies in contrast to Governor Romney's policies. Emanuel pointed out that there have been 150,000 jobs, on average, created. Foreign policy and the capture and execution of Osama bin Laden were briefly mentioned. Mayor Emanuel defended the president's policies by stating, "The most important thing we have to do now is bring American troops home and battle for America's future, economically... We have to do what has worked in the past"

Mayor Emanuel accused Governor Romney of having Bush-like policies. "Mitt Romney wants to follow a set of policies that we have already seen the results, where the middle class lose and the first time in the last decade where the middle class actually lost their standard of living," stated Mayor Emanuel during the video conference.

Senator Marco Rubio is a Republican in Florida.

Marco Rubio accused Obama of giving up on establishing a plan for his next term. "The president has completely given up on outlining any sort of agenda for the future. What's his plan for the next four years?"

A chart was displayed during the video conference about private sector jobs. There were 156,800 private sector jobs created in Florida and 3,500 created in September. There was also a video clip of Obama using the term "Romnesia" to describe the candidate's inconsistent statements.

This Week broadcasted on Sunday, October 21, 2012 with host George Stephanopoulos. This discussion may not have a large impact on the election because it was simply two politicians speaking about their opinions on each candidate.

Obama Won on Key Points During the Debate

Last night was the second presidential debate and it was very interesting. The debate took place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The two presidential candidates were surrounded by a town-hall crowd. Some of the audience members asked the candidates questions about their policies and campaigns.

President Obama changed his strategy and came out on a much stronger note. The president's approach last night caught Governor Romney off guard. The mention of the auto bailout placed Romney on defense.

The topics ranged from equality between men and women in the workforce to gun laws. The most controversial statement of the night came during the discussion about the attack in Libya. Obama accused Romney of "playing politics" with the Benghazi incident. President Obama also admitted that he took full responsibility for the incident in Libya.

Romney did a substantial amount of interrupting the moderator and the president. He also continuously backtracked to topics that were no longer being discussed. However, Romney continued win the battle on the economy.

My source was Newsweek. The article was written by Brett O'Donnell and was published on October 17, 2012. This article was slightly bias. Obama was painted as the better candidate and there were less negative comments about him.

Hillary Clinton Takes the Blame for the Benghazi Attack

Hillary Clinton has announced that she will be stepping down from her position as Secretary of State after her first term.

Hillary Clinton has taken the blame for the attack in Libya. "I take resposibility. I'm the Secretary of State with 60,000-plus employees around the world. This is like a big family... It's painful, absolutely painful."

The State Department will be investigating the security breach in Libya to prevent a tragedy like this in the future.

For those of you that are not familiar with the attack, it occurred on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya. Initially, the attack was thought to be a protest that got out of hand, but more information was released and it was understood that this was a terrorist attack. Four American diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were murdered.

The attack in Benghazi has become a very important issue during the presidential election. It was mentioned by Representative Paul Ryan during the vice presidential debate. Ryan stated that the Obama administration ignored requests for more security. Joe Biden defended the Obama administration. The families of the four victims have requested that each campaign stop making the deaths a political issue.

My source was U.S. News and World Report. The article was written by Teresa Welsh and was published on October 16, 2012. This report seemed like it was leaning towards Obama slightly. There was still reliable information in the article.

Obama and Romney Battle for Electoral College

The presidential race for 2012 has always been relatively close between Romney and Obama, but now the gap is closing between them in the Electoral College.

 

Two weeks ago, President Obama was in the lead with 265 electoral votes and Governor Romney had 191 electoral votes. Obama currently is still in the lead with 201 electoral votes and Romney still has 191 electoral votes. To win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes.

The first presidential debate was the deciding factor in President Obama's significant drop in the Electoral College. President Obama's performance on October 3 caused the state of Ohio to become a tossup state once again.

However, these states are still considered tossups states:

1. Colorado- 9 electoral votes
2. Florida- 29 electoral votes
3. Iowa- 6 electoral votes
4. Michigan- 16 electoral votes
5. Nevada- 6 electoral votes
6. New Hampshire- 4 electoral votes
7. North Carolina- 15 electoral votes
8. Ohio- 18 electoral votes
9. Pennsylvania- 20 electoral votes
10. Virginia- 13 electoral votes
11. Wisconsin- 10 electoral votes

My source was USA Today. The article is by David Jackson and it was not bias. It was published on October 14, 2012.

Romney Refines Message on Taxes and Abortion

On Tuesday, October 9, Mitt Romney attempted to reassure the public that he would protect tax deductions for the middle class. He also claimed that he has no plans to limit abortion with new laws.

"There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," Romney stated to the editorial board of The Des Moines Register.

Romney's statement conflicted with the Republicans that do not support abortion. Some Republicans in Congress have sought to cut federal funding for abortions. Some of the bills that were proposed were even supported by Romney's running mate, Representative Paul Ryan.

Romney spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, made a statement that contradicted Romney. "Governor Romney would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life."

Romney also said he would protect tax deductions for the middle class. In Romney's tax cut plan, he wants to lower taxes with loss in revenue due to the closure of loopholes. However, he has not specified what loopholes he plans to close. This led many to believe that he would stop popular deductions for mortgage interest and chartiable donations.

This article was not bias. It provided views of both candidates with a specific focus on Mitt Romney. Romney's statement on abortion and taxes attracted some critical attention and will be examined very closely by the public as well as many politicians.

This article is from the New York Times and is by Trip Gabriel and Helene Cooper. It was published on October 9th, 2012.

Face the Nation 10/7

David Axelrod was a guest on yesterday's Face the Nation.

 

David Axelrod is an Obama campaign senior strategist. He spoke about the first presidential debate and the president's approach. Axelrod claims that the president entered the debate ready to answer questions on his policies whereas Governor Romney came to "deliver a performance".

"... He [Romney] said I want more teachers, I love teachers. It was just a few weeks ago when he stood on a platform and chastised the president for saying we needed more teachers. He said we don't need more teachers. We don't need more government..." stated Axelrod.

David Axelrod also spoke about the reasons why Obama did not mention the infamous 47 percent comment. The president did not feel the need to mention it because it has been talked about so much already. At the time, it would not have been appropriate to mention it.

In other news, the weekly job's report was released and it showed the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent.

My sources were Face the Nation, which broadcast every Sunday at 10:30 am, and Otus News (ABC news). Here is the full broadcast of Face the Nation, although I had some trouble loading the second half of the show.

Romney says "We're not seeing the real recovery"

On Monday, Ocotober 1, Mitt Romney was in Denver, Colorado to preview his message for the first presidential debate.

Tonight, at 9 pm the first presidential debate will air. This is a very important day for the presidential candidates because it gives the people a chance to see each candidate's ability to think on his feet.

Now, back to Romney's visit to Denver. The rally was Romney's last public event  before the presidential debate. On Monday, he spoke at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. During this rally, Romney said that the viewers of the presidential debate will be declaring a winner by measuring who throws the hardest punchest.

Lis Smith, spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, responded to Romney's comment, stating, "On Wednesday night, he will need more than 'zingers' and attacks on the president. He will need to honor his campaign's promises and get specific and tell the truth to the American people."

The GOP nominee also spoke about the president's economic management and his foreign policy. He stated, "This economy is not in recovery. We're not seeing the real recovery. The president's policies have not worked. He doesn't get that. We must get America growing again with a strong economy."

My source was the Washington Post. The article I used was by Philip Rucker and it was published on Ocotober 1, 2012. There was a slight bias in the article, however it was still very informational and reliable. You can click here to visit the article and learn more.