MEDIA ALERT: Charmaine on FOX on Palin & Shepherd Smith Stalks Off the Set
Charmaine is Acela-ing to NYC this morning to appear on FOX this afternoon at 2pm. A train is faster than a plane on this route.
Charmaine in St. Paul for the RNC convention at the Xcel Energy Center
The topic is still evolving, but the bookers, media set-up pros, and Your Business Blogger(R) is predicting a Palin debate…not about Biden.
(Unless the interview is on Biden’s loss of his first wife and child in a tragic car accident decades ago when Biden was first elected as young 29 year-old senator. Biden accuses the other driver of drunk driving. Which is not true. The car accident was ruled, well, an accident. Biden is slandering the other driver.)
When Charmaine was in St. Paul for the GOP platform committee meetings and the convention, she did a number of media spots. The most interesting was her interview on FOX’s Strategy Room hosted by Shepherd Smith, who did not want to talk about abortion. Not at all. He got so miffed, he walked off the set.
Read Charmaine’s dispatch at the jump. About the oddest thing she’s ever seen.
Update: hit time is 2:20 and topics concern the financial crisis and People magazine — more at the jump.
AUL Action Convention Dispatch
September 8, 2008
Wow, what a week. I’m finally home after a non-stop week in Minneapolis at the GOP convention. At first, with the changes due to Hurricane Gustav, it looked like the week was going to be fairly low-key. But as you know, once the hurricane subsided, the feminist Left lost no time unleashing their own storm and going after Governor Palin on every front they could.
CNN rented an entire restaurant for the convention. And treated the talent rather nice — even the Pro-Lifers — feeding all the talking heads.
Let me be perfectly clear: there is ONE fundamental issue that has galvanized the Left’s attack on Governor Palin. One. And that is abortion. There are certainly other reasons, but the abortion issue is the one that creates the visceral hatred we are seeing, even on the cover of US Magazine, where her son, Trig is described as “afflicted” with Down Syndrome.
Gloria Steinem unleashed a particularly vicious attack in the Los Angeles Times, calling Palin, “the wrong woman”:
Palin’s value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality . . . she opposes gun control but supports government control of women’s wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves “abstinence-only” programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; . . .
These feminists simply cannot stand to see a woman defending life. And they know as well as we do the historic importance of this election. The Supreme Court is on the line and they will stop at nothing to destroy a woman who had the audacity to hold her baby with Down Syndrome up for all the world to see on Wednesday night.
Did you see the way she walked across the stage, grabbed hold of little Trig . . . and flipped him around in a confident “Mom-hold” so everyone could see his precious face? That was a beautiful moment.
The next night, I saw a very large, hand-written, sign across the stadium from where I was sitting that read: “A Special-Needs Mom for Palin!”
As President of AUL Action (AUL’s lobbying arm) I had some wonderful opportunities this week to talk about the life agenda in the media:
When I arrived Monday evening in Minneapolis, one of the first people I ran into in the lobby of the hotel was Andrea Mitchell. We had an interesting conversation about the undercurrents related to women in the debate over Gov. Palin’s nomination. Tuesday morning, Andrea’s team called and invited me to come on MSNBC to debate Jennifer Stockman, co-chair of the Republican Majority for Choice.
That evening, FoxNews.com, invited me to come on their new online streaming show, The Strategy Room, with Shepherd Smith. In the context of discussing Joe Lieberman’s speech, I commented that it was a very good thing that a “pro-abortion” politician like Lieberman had not been put on the GOP ticket. Shep got so angry over my assertion that Lieberman is “pro-abortion” . . . that he took his mike off and stalked off the set!
Then on Wednesday, I had the opportunity to debate Maria Echaveste, who was deputy chief of staff to Bill Clinton, on CNN Headline News.
Then, finally, on the last day of the convention, we capped off the week debating the head of NOW, Kim Gandy, on MSNBC’s Race for the White House (that video is available online).
Along the way, throughout the week, we also spent time talking with print reporters. You can read about a conversation that I had with Sarah Pulliam from Christianity Today at their website.
We also spent time on Radio Row, letting the talk show hosts of America know about the great work of AUL. I had a chance to talk on air with both Hugh Hewitt and Roger Hedgecock.
After a week of running hard, it has very good to be home and take a few breaths before diving back in first thing today. But let me assure you: your AUL team will be working with every fiber of energy we have to counter the Gloria Steinem’s of the world who falsely claim that abortion is a women’s issue.
Governor Palin’s nomination has put the life agenda at the forefront of the national agenda and this has opened up a remarkable opportunity for AUL to promote our mission of “changing law to protect human life.”
Thank you so much for standing with us — together we are making strides toward promoting a culture of life.
Yours for life,
Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President and CEO
AUL Action
Americans United for Life · 310 S. Peoria, Suite 300 · Chicago · IL · 60015
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”
Thomas Jefferson
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
(Washington, DC: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904) 359.
Be sure to bookmark AUL’s blog.
Here’s the backgrounder for today’s debate,
Hit time is 2:20. Topics are the candidates reaction to the markets, McCain’s new ad (below)
and the McCain People spread.
50 days – The (London) Daily Telegraph: ‘America’s Black Sunday: Experts warn of worst collapse in 50 years’
PLAYBOOK MINDMELD: This weekend’s banking meltdown shows that the Bear Stearns and Fannie-Freddie debacles weren’t isolated slides but the leading edge of an avalanche, and all the snow isn’t at the bottom of the mountain.
The employees carrying boxes of personal stuff out of Lehman Brothers’ Manhattan headquarters last night, live on CNBC, had to trudge past the idling black Town Cars of the lawyers and bosses. Police were doing crowd control as tourists gathered, waiting for a celebrity to emerge.
The crisis could lead to fundamental changes in the way the nation’s financial institutions operate and are regulated.
***This is no longer a Wall Street story but a MAIN STREET STORY: Car buyers, home shoppers and entrepreneurs will have even more trouble getting credit, the oil in the nation’s job machinery.
Historically huge two-column, six line banner headline in The Wall Street Journal: “Crisis on Wall Street as Lehman Brothers Totters, Merrill Lynch Is Sold, AIG Seeks to Raise Cash – Fed Will Expand Its Lending Arsenal in Bid to Calm Markets; Move Caps a Momentous Weekend for American Finance.”
The moving parts:
–Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy – Bloomberg News: “Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis it helped create in the biggest bankruptcy filing in history. The 158-year-old firm, which survived railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s, the Great Depression in the 1930s and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management a decade ago, has filed a Chapter 11 petition with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan today.”
–Bank of A buying Merrill for bargain-basement price – AP: “Bank of America Corp. said it is snapping up Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in an $50 billion all-stock transaction. The demise of the independent Wall Street institutions came as shock waves from the 14-month-old credit crisis roiled the U.S. financial system six months after the collapse of Bear Stearns. The world’s largest insurance company, American International Group Inc., also was forced into a restructuring.”
–Fed acts on Sunday night – NYT: “Even though the Federal Reserve refused to provide a financial backstop to potential buyers of Lehman Brothers, concerns over what may unfold in the market on Monday led it to dramatically loosen its standards on making emergency loans to major Wall Street investment banks. … In an obscure but highly important announcement late Sunday evening, the Fed said it would let Wall Street firms post as collateral much riskier assets — including equities, junk bonds, subprime mortgage-backed securities and even whole mortgages — in exchange for emergency loans through the Primary Dealer Credit Facility.”
–Major banks form $70 billion “collateralized borrowing facility” to provide liquidity to troubled institutions. Per their release: “A group of global commercial and investment banks, including Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, today initiated a series of actions to help enhance liquidity and mitigate the unprecedented volatility and other challenges affecting global equity and debt markets.”
–Reuters, 6:45 a.m. Eastern: “Global share prices sank on Monday after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, turning up the heat on financial market stress and prompting a sharp exit from risk across assets. The dollar also lost traction, with its recent rally abruptly stalled, setting the yen on track for its best daily performance since 2002. Reflecting a growing sense of panic, futures markets jumped to price in a more than 80 percent chance of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut to 1.75 percent at its meeting on Tuesday. U.S. stock market futures were down between 2.8 and 3.5 percent, pointing to a sharply lower open.”
DOW COULD OPEN DOWN 300.
On a special 8 p.m. live hour on Fox Business News, Eric Bolling asked whether Bank of America just put a “big fat bull’s eye” on its back by taking on Merrill Lynch’s questionable, non-transparent assets.
Roger Altman, former Deputy Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, said during CNBC’s three hours of Sunday night coverage that the weekend’s events are “historic … tragic .. disturbing,” producing a “very, very dangerous financial market environment” – the worst he’s seen since he started at Lehman 39 years ago.
THE PRESS AND THE CAMPAIGNS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO GRASP THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT’S UNFOLDING, EVEN THOUGH THE RED FLAGS HAVE BEEN POPPING UP SINCE THE PANIC SALE OF BEAR STEARNS IN MARCH. Officials who know the details of the risk — the potential taxpayer cost of the Fannie-Freddie takeover, for instance – have no incentive to talk about it.
OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES – One of them could clinch the election by being the first to come up with something specific and convincing. “This is the financial equivalent of Russia invading Georgia — an unexpected event that calls for leadership and direction,” says James Rickards, senior managing director for market intelligence at Omnis Inc., a research and analysis firm based in McLean, Va. “This is an opportunity for both candidates to go beyond their [comments on] administration action and show how they would stabilize the system on a more lasting basis.”
HAZARDS FOR THE CAMPAIGNS: They’re ill-prepared for a drastic change in the script eight weeks from the finish line. The candidates had hoped to put off their detailed prescriptions until they were in office, unrolling an economic agenda in conjunction with an address to the new Congress. Now, there’s no way to duck it.
–There’s huge downside risk for both. Troubled times could make voters less likely to take a chance on Obama. McCain could pay the price for the economic disruption on a Republican’s watch, or if he looks like he doesn’t have the energy and creativity to reassure a worried nation.
–The new president will be more constrained when he gets to Washington, in part because of the likely cost of the Fannie-Freed takeover. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “spent the cookie jar” with the takeover, a McCain adviser said, adding that Paulson was right to do so.
–The crisis crowds the candidates’ agendas in the stretch run, sapping time from the issues they think they can win on.
THE PLACE OBAMA and McCAIN MIGHT DIVERGE – John Harwood, on CNBC’s special live coverage Sunday night: “If one of them decides to support additional taxpayer exposure, that’s where you see the potential for a split.”
WHAT THE CAMPAIGNS ARE DOING FOR NOW – Saying the same things they’ve been saying, trying to meld the disaster into their existing messages:
— McCain aides say he plans to use the news to underscore the reform message that he began hammering at the Republican National Convention. “This is bad news for the country and yet another sign that we need to reform Wall Street,” a senior McCain official said. “The only way we can do that is by reforming Washington first. We will show McCain and Palin as the ticket that will take action on the economy and make sure the taxpayers aren’t stuck with the bill.”
–Obama aides say he will hammer the message that the market upheaval shows that the country can’t afford four more years of policies aligned with those of the current administration.
His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), was already scheduled to give a major speech at 11 a.m. Eastern today in St. Clair Shores in Macomb County, Mich., the home of the proverbial Reagan Democrats.
Politico’s Victoria McGRANE: “Joe Biden will deliver a high-profile address intended as the first attack in a sustained anti-McCain offensive in a speech called ‘Bush 44’ … The speech is touted as matching the aggressive new strategy the Obama campaign has promised to unleash in the remaining days of the campaign to counter the recent poll gains of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. … Next Monday, Biden will deliver another high-profile speech, this one a critique of McCain’s foreign policy views.”
The campaign’s preview: “The speech will lay out the bottom line reality of the choice we face on domestic issues here at home: that if you liked the last eight years of George W Bush, you’d absolutely love four years of John McCain. Joe Biden’s got unique standing because he’s known John McCain so well for so long, and he knows with every fiber of his being that John McCain is dead wrong on the issues families sit around the kitchen table worrying about. And in prosecuting the case, he’ll lay out a ‘just the facts’ prosecutorial case — just look at John McCain’s record to know exactly where he’d take America.
EXCERPTS FROM BIDEN’S PREPARED REMARKS: “We’ve seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original. If we forget this history, we’re going to be doomed to repeat it — with four more just like the last eight, or worse. If you’re ready for four more years of George Bush, John McCain is your man. Just as George Herbert Walker Bush was nicknamed ‘Bush 41’ and his son is known as ‘Bush 43,’ John McCain could easily become known as ‘Bush 44.’ The campaign a person runs says everything about the way they’ll govern. John McCain has decided to bet the house on the politics perfected by Karl Rove. Those tactics may be good at squeaking by in an election but they are bad if you want to lead one nation, indivisible.”
NEW OBAMA AD begins with clip of Senator McCain saying, “I will not take the low road to the highest office in this land.” Announcer: “What’s happened to John McCain?” Then quotes from Joe Klein (“one of the sleaziest ads”), E.J. Dionne (“truly vile”), New Republic (“dishonest smears”), etc. Announcer: “After voting with Bush 90 percent of the time, proposing the same disastrous economic policies, it seems deception is all he has left.” http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/honor_ad/
DAILY DAMIEN – DNC launches “Count the Lies
CNBC BOOMING – The (London) Independent: “CNBC, which this month celebrates its 10th anniversary, can apparently buck the dismal trends in the media because it is international – and because its target audience is largely the upmarket men whom advertisers still want to reach, even in recessionary times. For advertising purposes, the company says it only measures viewers who are in the top 20 per cent income bracket. … CNBC’s audience is measured daily in the States, and the channel has just had its best July figures for five years.”
CHICAGO POURS – Sun Times cover: “MORE RAIN, MORE PAIN” – Chicago Tribune: “Across a waterlogged Chicago region, the rain eased for the first time in more than two days on Sunday, and forecasters predicted several days of drier weather ahead. … [A]ccording to WGN-TV chief meteorologist Tom Skilling, showers are still possible Monday morning, especially near Lake Michigan. The drier weather arrives as Chicago set one record for rainfall in a calendar day, 6.64 inches on Saturday, and approached setting a record for the amount of September rainfall–in just the first two weeks of the month. Through early Sunday evening, 12.61 inches of rain had fallen at O’Hare International Airport this month. The record September, in 1961, saw 14.17 inches the entire month. This weekend’s rains alone were enough to cause widespread problems.”
MAPQUEST – Des Moines Register’s Thomas Bowman: “Democrat Barack Obama has established a double-digit lead over Republican John McCain in Iowa as the presidential race in this Midwestern battleground enters its critical fall stretch, according to The Des Moines Register’s latest Iowa Poll. The poll, taken in the wake of the parties’ national conventions, shows Obama favored by 52 percent of Iowa likely voters, compared to 40 percent for McCain.”
MINNESOTA BATTLEGROUND: “A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows that the race is now a dead heat between Barack Obama and John McCain, each supported by 45 percent of likely voters in the state.”
PUNDIT PREP – Salon’s WALTER SHAPIRO – “Race — and the race for Ohio
Politico’s Jeanne CUMMINGS says “Obama needs more cash”: “Barack Obama’s $66 million haul in August donations may set records but it’s only a down payment on the huge sums the Democratic presidential nominee must continue to collect in order to compete through the Nov. 4 election. Obama is attempting to become the first candidate to privately finance the general election phase of his campaign, and his August performance seems to be a good start. His announcement that he had $77 million in cash in the bank at the end of August came strikingly close to the roughly $85 million in taxpayer funds that Republican John McCain has to spend on the entire general election.”
CBS’ Scott Conroy – “The Real Sarah Palin Laughs Along With Tina Fey’s Impression”: “The true extent to which Palin-mania has come to dominate the TV news cycle hit home for me last night as I flipped through the channels on the Palin campaign’s charter flight from Reno to Denver. Within a period of about a half hour, I caught the much-anticipated debut of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night,” as well as separate Palin documentaries on MSNBC and CNN.
“Tina Fey was such a dead ringer for Palin that I was tempted to open the curtains that separate the governor and her staff from the media to make sure she was still on the plane and hadn’t managed to sneak off to Manhattan to appear live on the show. … According to her spokesperson Tracey Schmitt, the real Sarah Palin had a good laugh along with the press corps in the back of the plane and millions of Americans at home. ‘She thought it was quite funny, particularly because she once dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween,’ Schmitt said.”
WashTimes A1 – “Records show McCain more bipartisan,” by Stephen Dinan: “Sen. John McCain’s record of working with Democrats easily outstrips Sen. Barack Obama’s efforts with Republicans, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of their legislative records. Whether looking at bills they have led on or bills they have signed onto, Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama since the latter came to the Senate in 2005.
“In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party. Democrats made up 55 percent of his political partners over the last two Congresses, including on the tough issues of campaign finance and global warming. For Mr. Obama, Republicans were only 13 percent of his co-sponsors during his time in the Senate, and he had his biggest bipartisan successes on noncontroversial measures, such as issuing a postage stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.”
VINO! Rep. Vito Fossella looking for a way back on the ballot, perhaps as an independent – N.Y. Daily News: “Four months after a DWI arrest and revelations about an out-of-wedlock child forced him to forgo a run for reelection this fall, the shamefaced Staten Island Republican is looking for a way back on the ballot.”
VIDEO DU JOUR – CNN’s Mark Preston busts out the “Preston on Politics
ONLINE TODAY – ANDREW BREITBART, who writes the weekly column “Big Hollywood
CHATTER: Amber Wilkerson, the RNC’s deputy press secretary, was engaged Saturday night to Sterling Marchand, of the House Homeland Committee and George Washington Law.
LAZY SUNDAY: Brian Danza and Rob Saliterman ran a humid Queens half marathon yesterday, then navigated across a hazy Long Island Sound in a 22-foot outboard using Google maps on their Blackberries. The Garman wouldn’t start. They got service the whole time.
WILL BILL BURTON’S FIRSTBORN BE NAMED … Trent Edwards?
Also: MCCAIN-PALIN 2008 LAUNCHES NEW TV AD: “CRISIS”
For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office
Monday, September 15, 2008
703-650-5550
ARLINGTON, VA — Today, McCain-Palin 2008 released its latest television ad, entitled “Crisis.” With our economy in crisis, the ad highlights the McCain-Palin plan to protect life savings with tougher rules on Wall Street; to lower taxes to create new jobs; and to reduce gas prices with offshore drilling. With an economy in crisis, the American people cannot afford Barack Obama’s agenda of higher taxes, new bureaucracy and economic isolationism. The ad will air on national television.
VIEW THE AD HERE:
Script For “Crisis” (TV :30)
ANNCR: Our economy in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it.
Tougher rules on Wall Street to protect your life savings.
No special interest giveaways.
Lower taxes to create new jobs.
Offshore drilling to reduce gas prices.
McCain – Palin.
Leadership, experience, for the change we need.
JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.
AD FACTS: Script For “Crisis” (TV :30)
ANNCR: Our economy in crisis. Only proven reformers John McCain and Sarah Palin can fix it. Tougher rules on Wall Street to protect your life savings. No special interest giveaways.
· John McCain: “And Under My Reforms, All Aspects Of A CEO’s Pay, Including Any Severance Arrangements, Must Be Approved By Shareholders.” “In times of hardship and distress, we should be more vigilant than ever in holding corporate abuses to account, as in the case of the housing market. Americans are right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEO’s — in some cases, the very same CEO’s who helped to bring on these market troubles — bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders. Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another forty – or fifty million for the road. If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO’s pay, including any sever ance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders.” (John McCain, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 6/10/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Reform Our Mortgage And Financial Markets. “Fixing Fannie and Freddie, and reforming our mortgage and financial markets, is critical to getting the housing market and the entire economy moving again. A great deal of the savings and wealth of American families is wrapped up in the value of their homes. A house has traditionally been the wealth-building course to retirement. The housing industry employs millions of Americans. One of us, John McCain, said over two years ago, ‘If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose.'” (John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, Op-Ed, “We’ll Protect Taxpayers From More Bailouts,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Address The Role Speculation Is Playing In Energy Prices. “Congress already has investigations underway to examine this kind of wagering in our energy markets, unrelated to any kind of productive commerce, because it can distort the market, drive prices beyond rational limits, and put the investments and pensions of millions of Americans at risk. John McCain believes that where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.” (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Lexington Project: A Comprehensive Plan To Break Our Dependence On Foreign Oil,” Press Release, 6/25/08)
· John McCain Fought For Financial Transparency In Stock Option Expensing. “U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today offered an amendment to the Accounting Reform Bill that would require companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. His floor statement follows: ‘Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment that requires companies to record the stock options that they grant to their employees as an expense on their financial statements. If companies want to claim these expenses as a deduction for tax purposes, they ought to be noted as expenses on a company’s income statement. We must end the double standard for stock options.'” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “We Must End Double Standard For Stock Option,” Press Release, 7/11/02)
· John McCain Has Long Fought For “Transparency Of Our Financial Markets.” “As the incoming Chairman of the Commerce Committee, I plan to conduct rigorous oversight over those aspects of corporate governance that fall under the panel’s purview. I also plan to pursue further reforms that are desperately needed such as expensing stock options. We have an obvious, pressing obligation to investors to ensure the transparency of our financial markets. Reform is a process. It is not a one-time fight.” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “McCain Declares Reform Crusade Continues,” Press Release, 11/14/01)
ANNCR: Lower taxes to create new jobs.
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Keep Tax Rates Low. Entrepreneurs are at the heart of American innovation, growth and prosperity. Entrepreneurs create the ultimate job security — a new, better opportunity if your current job goes away. Entrepreneurs should not be taxed into submission. John McCain will keep the top tax rate at 35 percent, maintain the 15 percent rates on dividends and capital gains, and phase-out the Alternative Minimum Tax. Small businesses are the heart of job growth; raising taxes on them hurts every worker. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Cut Taxes For Middle Class Families. John McCain will phase out and eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) — a tax that will be paid nearly exclusively by 25 million middle class families. Repealing this onerous tax will save middle class families nearly $60 billion in a single year. Under John McCain’s plan, a middle class family with children set to pay the AMT will save an average of over $2,700 — a real tax cut for working families. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Double The Personal Exemption For Dependents. John McCain believes the tax code should be less of a burden on those, whether they are mothers and fathers or single parents, who are trying to raise a family. He proposes to raise the personal exemption for each dependent from $3,500 to $7,000. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Establish Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D. This reform will simplify the tax code, reward activity in the U.S., and make us more competitive with other countries. A permanent credit will provide an incentive to innovate and remove uncertainty. At a time when our companies need to be more competitive, we need to provide a permanent incentive to innovate, and remove the uncertainty now hanging over businesses as they make R&D investment decisions. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Allow First-Year Deduction, Or “Expensing”, Of Equipment And Technology Investments. American workers need the finest technologies to compete. Expensing of equipment and technology will provide an immediate boost to capital expenditures and reward investments in cutting-edge technologies. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Reduce The Federal Corporate Tax Rate To 25 Percent From 35 Percent. A lower corporate tax rate is essential to keeping good jobs in the United States. America was once a low-tax business environment, but as our trade partners lowered their rates, America failed to keep pace. We now have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, making America a less attractive place for companies to do business. American workers deserve the chance to make fine products here and sell them around the globe. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Ban Internet Taxes. John McCain has been a leader in keeping the Internet free of taxes. As President, he will seek a permanent ban on taxes that threaten this engine of economic growth and prosperity. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Ban New Cell Phone Taxes. John McCain understands that the same people that would tax e-mail will tax every text message — and even 911 calls. John McCain will prohibit new cellular telephone taxes. (McCain-Palin 2008, “John McCain’s Jobs For America Economic Plain,” Press Release, 7/7/08)
ANNCR: Offshore drilling to reduce gas prices. McCain – Palin. Leadership, experience, for the change we need. JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approved this message.
· John McCain And Governor Palin Will Expand Offshore Drilling To Reduce Gas Prices. McCain: “But I also believe that lifting the moratoria from offshore drilling or oil and natural gas exploration is something that we should place as a very high priority. And again, I don’t want to dictate to the states what they should do, but I think that the states can be provided with additional incentives such as a greater share of the revenues than is presently the case.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks At Press Availability, Arlington, VA, 6/16/08)
· CNN’s Frank Sesno: “Expectations Of More Production Can Send Prices Down.” FRANK SESNO: “Obama’s criticized McCain for saying more drilling would have a positive psychological impact. But there is psychology in energy markets, worries about soaring demand in China or supply disruptions in Nigeria send prices up. Expectations of more production can send prices down.” (CNN’s “Situation Room,” 6/26/08)
· Harvard Professor And Former Council Of Economic Advisors Chairman Martin Feldstein: “Increasing The Expected Future Supply Of Oil Would Also Reduce Today’s Price.” “Any policy that causes the expected future oil price to fall can cause the current price to fall, or to rise less than it would otherwise do. In other words, it is possible to bring down today’s price of oil with policies that will have their physical impact on oil demand or supply only in the future. For example, increases in government subsidies to develop technology that will make future cars more efficient, or tighter standards that gradually improve the gas mileage of the stock of cars, would lower the future demand for oil and therefore the price of oil today. Similarly, increasing the expected future supply of oil would also reduce today’s price. That fall in the current price would induce an immediate rise in oil consumption that would be matched by an increase in supply from the OPEC producers and others with some current excess capacity or available inventories. Any steps that can be taken now to increase the future supply of oil, or reduce the future demand for oil in the U.S. or elsewhere, can therefore lead both to lower prices and increased consumption today.” (Martin Feldstein, Op-Ed, “We Can Lower Oil Prices Now,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/1/08)
· BMO Financial Group Global Finance Strategist Andrew Busch Wrote That Long Term Solutions To Energy Such As Drilling Can Have A Short Term Affect On Markets. “We need longer term plans to solve the longer term energy problems of United States. In case you aren’t familiar with how markets react, a coherent, logical plan of action towards providing long term solutions will have a positive impact now on the price of energy. Why? Because it will shift the short term psychology of the market away from doom and gloom towards a light at the end of the tunnel scenario. We only need to look at President Bush’s lifting of the moratorium on off-shore drilling to see an example of this in the markets. Did this act significantly change the short term outlook for oil? No, but it changed the discussion on the subject at a time when it was needed. In turn, this aided the shift in market psychology back to some fundamentals like demand…..which is dro pping.” (Andrew Busch, ” Busch: Long Term Energy Plans Can Be Short Term Solutions,” CNBC’s “Guest Blog,” http://www.cnbc.com/id/25803361
· Omer Bhatti, The Head Trader At WorldSpreads, Said That The U.S. Offshore Drilling Plan Will Help Lower The Price Of Oil. OMER BHATTI (Head Sales Trader at WorldSpreads): “I think the offshore drilling plan that was agreed in the U.S. kind of helped the scenario to create that pullback scenario.” (CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange,” 7/28/08)
People mag spread:
At Home with John McCain
By Sandra Sobieraj Westfall
Originally posted Wednesday September 10, 2008 03:45 PM EDT
For all the political snickering over how many houses John McCain owns, his daughter Meghan, 23, says the heart of her family lies in just one place: The creek-side collection of cabins and sheds near Sedona, Ariz., where she and her siblings whiled away their weekends, holidays and summers.
“It’s a really beautiful part of my childhood because it’s so pure and so unjaded,” Meghan tells PEOPLE. There, the Budweiser is on tap (an homage to mom Cindy’s family beer empire) and the walls are hung with the children’s old artwork. “They’re everywhere. It’s really embarrassing,” says Meghan. “But my mom is obsessed with it all.”
In a series of recent interviews, Cindy and John McCain and their daughter Meghan opened up to PEOPLE about the joys, heartbreaks and everyday details of their life together with Bridget, 17, a junior in high school; Jack, 22, a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy; and Jimmy, 20, a Marine home between deployments to Iraq.
On Bonding with the Kids
Cindy: Meghan’s my artist and so I would try to nurture her painting. Jack and I built a racecar together. He and Jimmy and I learned to scuba dive together. And, Bridget and I both love computers. I’m kind of a tech-head that way. So she and I will play around together with art and music programs. Not games. Everything has to have an educational purpose.
John: Each of our children has different characteristics, talents, strengths and weaknesses. They’re all
different and they’re all close to each other – and I’m happy about that.
On Dad’s Soft Spots
Cindy: John’s soft with the boys in understanding their frustration, on occasion, with the military and that life. It is an abrupt change having to come out of a home, you know. He understands.
On Mom’s House Rules
Cindy: If you’re home and going [to be] out after midnight, you have to call and check in with me. I want to know you’re safe. Just because you’re 24 and on your own doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you. And if you use the car, fill it up when you’re done. It drives me nuts to find an empty gas tank and everyone gone.
On Jimmy’s Send-Off to Iraq Last Summer
Meghan: It was terrible … Everyone is standing around crying and they’re playing bagpipes. And it’s like, I equate bagpipes with funeral music … If my father is elected, there really should be some kind of beautiful ceremony or something that’s a little less morbid.
John: I just expressed my pride and my admonition that he try to stay safe. One thing about men and women in the military – they all think they are bulletproof. They are so brave.
On Cindy’s Painkiller Addiction in the Early 1990s
Meghan: I can remember seeing a news clip on TV about it when I was young and then our housekeeper turning off the TV … My mom’s been very open about it, how she got to that place, how she suffered with addiction, and got over it and went to rehab. Now, she still won’t take anything stronger than Tylenol or Advil. She doesn’t want to risk anything.
On Mom’s Silly Side
Meghan: She’s a perfectionist to some degree, but not nearly the way it’s been exaggerated. I wish people could really see my mom’s silly side. Sometimes I just like to shock her and say the dirtiest jokes I can possibly think of and she’s like, “Oh, Meghan!” I think she secretly enjoys them.
For more on the McCains – and a rare portrait of the extended family (including John’s three children from his first marriage) – pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.
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