Tag: Barack Obama

Romney Looks Ahead to President Obama

Mitt Romney has now set his sights on President Obama and the general election with Tuesday’s sweep of Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

At a gathering in Washington, D.C. the following day, Mitt Romney made no mention of his primary opponents and took the opportunity to rail against the President.

In the week ahead of the primaries, influential Republicans such as Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, former President George H.W. Bush, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush all endorsed Romney, trying to put to an end what has been a divisive primary.

On CBS Wednesday morning, former Republican nominee, and one time Romney opponent, John McCain called on Rick Santorum to drop out of the race saying, “It’s clear that [Romney] is the nominee,” … “I hope Rick Santorum understands that it is time for a graceful exit.”

Despite calls for his exit Rick Santorum has vowed to persevere. The next primary is on April 24in Santorum’s home state of Pennsylvania in what Santorum himself has described as a “must win.”

Experts question whether Santorum has the money to soldier on for the next three weeks.

On Tuesday, President Obama took a swipe at Romney, mentioning for the first time the candidate by name and signaling that the White House believes that Romney will be the eventual nominee as well.

Mitt Romney needs 1,144 delegates in order to wrap up the nomination. In the unlikely event that Romney fails to reach 1,144 delegates then the candidates would go to a brokered convention in August.

The 2012 Republican Presidential Primaries

The presidential primary season is reaching its halfway point. On April 4 Mitt Romney swept the GOP presidential primaries in Maryland, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, bringing him another step closer to securing the Republican nomination and the general election in November.

With another three primaries now over, it’s a good time to look at the race for the Republican presidential nomination as it stands now.

Who won which states so far:

Mitt Romney – New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, Maine, Michigan, Arizona, Wyoming, Washington, Alaska, Ohio, Virginia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Idaho, Northern Marianas, Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, District of Columbia

Rick Santorum – Iowa, Missouri (non-binding primary), Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Dakota, Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana

Newt Gingrich – South Carolina, Georgia

Ron Paul – Virgin Islands

Latest delegate tally:

Mitt Romney – 655
Rick Santorum – 278
Newt Gingrich – 135
Ron Paul – 51

Though Romney boasts a clear lead, he still needs a total of 1,144 delegates to secure the nomination.

Also on Tuesday, President Obama formally clinched the Democratic nomination.

The next primaries will be held on April 24 with Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Delaware.

Sources:

The Washington Post, “Mitt Romney wins Wisconsin, Maryland, D.C. primaries”

Fox News, “Romney sweeps 3 primary contests, eyes general election battle”

2012 Presidential election schedule

Profile: Barack Obama

Photo courtesy of Ethan Bloch on flickr

Born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States. With a father from Kenya and a mother from Missouri, he was primarily raised by his grandmother.

In 1979 Obama attended Occidental College, then transferred to Columbia University where he graduated with a major in political science, with a specialty in international relations.

Obama also attended Harvard University, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated with a degree in law in 1991.

In 1996 he was first elected to the Illinois State Senate. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until successfully running for president in 2008.

He is the first African American U.S. president.

In October 2009 he won the Nobel Peace Prize, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

He is married to Michelle Obama, and has two daughters, Sasha and Malia. The First Family also has a dog named Bo.

Sources: BarackObama.com, The Washington Post

Paul wins University precinct, more than doubles 10 votes for Romney

Photo of University Hall, where the University precinct is located, taken one day following the election. (Jake McLernon)

Ron Paul won the new University precinct on Super Tuesday with a total of only 22 votes.

Mitt Romney, who was declared the state-wide Virginia winner on Wednesday, received 10 votes in the precinct in which registered on-campus students can cast their ballot. The two GOP rivals were the only candidates on the March 6 ballot.

The total of 32 ballots means roughly 3 percent of registered voters in the precinct participate in the Republican Primary. A total of 1,144 people had registered to vote in the precinct as of March 3, according to the State Board of Elections registrant counts.

“We’re very ecstatic about the results [of Paul winning],” said Sonia Jeffers, events coordinator for Mason’s Youth for Ron Paul group. “We can see how much his popularity and message has spread.”

Prior to Tuesday’s vote, Youth for Ron Paul helped organize advertising and carpooling to get students to Springfield, VA for the Feb. 29 Ron Paul “Leap Day” rally. The group also worked with Mason’s College Republicans to register voters on campus and set up a kiosk in Johnson Center to hand out pocket Constitutions and Ron Paul fact sheets, according to Jeffers.

But Jeffers was surprised by the overall turnout.

“Those numbers are shockingly low,” Jeffers said.

A lack of awareness of the University precinct among on-campus residents, according to some in the Mason community, could have been a factor.

Approximately 6,000 students live on-campus who would be eligible to vote at the precinct’s polling location in University Hall, as long as they are registered at their campus address. The rest of the university’s 33,320 students include a majority commuter population whose precincts would differ based on where they reside. Additionally, a portion of the campus’s residents, could have voted absentee and mailed in their ballot.

Jeffers, who said she hadn’t been politically active until her involvement with Youth for Ron Paul this year, didn’t know about the on-campus precinct until Election Day.

“I had no idea [the University precinct] existed,” said Jeffers. “I was surprised because I didn’t know there was a polling location on campus.”

Tuesday’s primary is the second time ballots have been cast in the University precinct. Established in summer 2011, the precinct was first functional for the Nov. 8 general election, where 76 ballots were cast.

A commuter student herself, Jeffers voted off-campus near her home and said she hoped that other students who didn’t vote on-campus had cast absentee ballots or voted at off-campus precincts. She said she also heard of at least four students who tried to vote at the University precinct but were unable to meet eligibility requirements.

Darren Kessler, a junior at Mason, said he didn’t vote on Tuesday at least In part because he couldn’t identify a candidate that he really liked.

“There’s not really a candidate that stands out that I like,” said Kessler. “[But the vote total] is kind of a crazy thing to hear.”

College of Health and Human Services Professor Naomi Gerber said she notices a big difference between students’ political engagement during this year’s election cycle versus 2008.

“Many [faculty members] have talked at the water cooler about the difference between now and four years ago,” said Gerber. “I walk around and I don’t see fliers or kiosks opening.”

In addition to a lack of student activity, no GOP candidate, in a field which also includes former Senator Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, has held a rally on campus since the election cycle began. Obama, the Democrat incumbent in November’s general election, last held a large event at Mason in the spring of 2010 addressing students on his health care initiative.

Although Jeffers said Paul’s rally in nearby Springfield drew great support —around 2,000 attendees according to reports—she hoped Paul would come to the Fairfax campus and speak at the Patriot Center where more students and community members might attend.

“We were trying really hard to get him to campus,” said Jeffers.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who holds the most delegates in the GOP field, came to Fairfax in late October. His rally, less than a mile from Mason’s main campus, was held to support Virginia state legislators prior to the Nov. 8 general election.

Calling voter turnout at the University precinct “pathetic,” Gerber said she is concerned because she considers the issue of engagement an important one.

A Maryland resident, Gerber said she recently received an email from a Maryland campaign person who was attempting to gather Marylanders to help “stimulate” voter registration in Virginia. She said this might suggest that voting apathy is a statewide issue.

“It seems like Virginia has been identified as a place where a lot of people don’t vote,” said Gerber, who added that she would love to see campus enthusiasm return to where it was in 2008 when both Democratic candidates, Senator Hillary Clinton and then-Senator Barack Obama, came to Mason’s campus prior to the election.

“There was so much energy and enthusiasm,” Gerber said. “It was palpable.”

This article was originally published on 3/9/2012 on Connect2Mason, George Mason University’s student online news source. It is by Adam Sylvain, C2M Managing Editor. The photo is of University Hall and is by Jake McLernon.

Students Respond to Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama Elected President of the United States

Barack Obama, senator from Illinois, has been elected to the Office President of the United States. Moments after Virginia’s Electoral College votes were called for Obama and the polls closed on the west coast, all major media organizations called the election in his favor.

In his concession speech, Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain said, “the American people have spoken and they have spoke clearly.” Boos erupted when Obama’s name was mentioned but McCain responded by holding up his hands in protest of their reaction. “His success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance,” said McCain of Obama.

After Obama was announced as the next president of the United States, an estimated 400 students gathered in an impromptu celebration rally outside Chesapeake. The rally moved across campus and gathered participants on it route to Presidents’ Park, Patriot Circle, and ending in the Johnson Center to hear Obama’s acceptance speech.

Students, many of whom were overcome with emotion, were screaming with excitement and chanting phrases such as “yes we can,” “Obama,” and “no more Bush.”

Live Video | Live Blog | Vote Vans | Student Reactions

Taking the Cost of Education out of Taxes – College Affordability Part 2

Tax credit programs allow those applicable for a credit to subtract the value from their annual tax payment, or claim it as a deduction. So if you were required to pay $5,000 in taxes this year and you received the $4,000 tax credit that Obama proposes for students, you would only have to pay $1,000 in taxes. Many politicians, including Obama, favor providing tax credits to college students in exchange for public service. However, some college administrators state that tax credit programs force an increase in overall student tuition.

Obama wants to increase tax credits, McCain states he wants to simplify them, but by simplify, does he mean eliminate? Find out in Part 2 of Mason Votes series on College Affordability.

A History of Candidate Positions on College Affordability – Part 1

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have had plenty to say about Wall Street and Main Street, but they have said little about how the economic situation makes it difficult for students who want to live on University Row. Though college students are expected to be a deciding factor in a number of states, including Virginia, the issue of college tuition barely shows up on both candidates’ radars.

This is Part 1 in a five part series on how the presidential candidates plan to help students pay for college. This section focuses on the College Cost Reduction Act and federal grants.

Final Debate Watch Party a Success

More than 200 people crowded into the Johnson Center Atrium to watch the third and final presidential debate between Candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. Leading into their final meeting, hopes were high that gloves would come off and answers would be pointed. Although there were moments where it seemed that such hopes would come to fruition, according to a Mason Votes poll, viewers came away disappointed.

Mason Votes’ polls also showed there was no clear overall debate winner. The complete live blog is available on the Mason Votes’ website.

Obama Rally at University of Mary Washington Draws Thousands

By Rachael Dickson

Fredericksburg, Virginia-Thousands of Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters cheered him on tonight as he spoke through the pouring rain at University of Mary Washington.

According to UMW student Peter Ceo, a College Democrats member, people started arriving at the event at 10 a.m., nine hours before the Democratic presidential nominee and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden, arrived.

“The line was well over half a mile long this morning,” Ceo said.

According to The Washington Post, Jay Snipes, chief of the University of Mary Washington police force, estimated that 12,000 people were at the rally and another 14,000 were unable to get in after the United States Secret Service stopped allowing people in around 5 p.m.

The large, diverse and fiercely loyal crowd withstood the afternoon’s high heat and humidity, which left many dehydrated. Though event volunteers passed out water bottles to the densely packed crowd, at least two attendees were observed taken away by emergency medical staff.

Later, when the sky opened up and it began to pour, the audience shielded itself with trash bags, jackets, Obama/Biden signs, blankets and whatever came to hand. Much of the press members took shelter, wrapping expensive cameras in ponchos as they retreated to a tent reserved for the traveling press or ducked under the risers.

Obama’s supporters took the opportunity to dance and sing in the rain to the music pumping out over the loud speakers, a mix of classics such as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and newer songs such as “Move Along” by the All-American Rejects.

The sun came out and dried out the crowd in time for a few preliminary speakers to give abbreviated speeches before Biden and Obama arrived. Fredericksburg’s state Sen. Edward Houck jazzed up the audience by leading cheers commenting on last night’s first presidential debate.

“Who won the debate last night?” Houck said, smiling at the crowd’s roaring answer of “Obama.” “The difference between Obama and McCain could not have been more obvious.”

He also commented on the importance of registering to vote, saying, “All across America we have the opportunity to reach out and touch the future.”

Raucous cheers greeted Biden and Obama as they walked out on the stage. Biden began the program to cheers of “Joe! Joe!” by talking about the differences between Obama and McCain at the debate.

“Last night McCain’s silence was definite,” Biden said. “You did not hear him say the words middle-class or working class once.”

Biden also criticized McCain’s foreign policy positions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We need more than a brave soldier,” Biden said. “We need a wise leader. And that’s Barack Obama.”

Obama cracked a joke to begin his speech.

“I know some of you got a little damp, and I’m deeply sorry,” he said. “Those of you wearing that special outfit, I would like to cover everyone’s dry cleaning bills tonight, but I can’t cause I got to use it on the campaign. So consider it one more modest effort to help the campaign.”

Later on in his speech, as another deluge of rain began, Obama took off his jacket after joking about his own dry-cleaning bills and then proceeded to continue speaking to the crowd for another ten minutes, without cover.

Obama also spoke on the debate, calling McCain “out-of-touch” and saying ““On issue after issue, you heard John McCain make the case for more of the same.”

He also joked about McCain’s use of “change” in recent political advertising by saying “Change is more than a slogan.”

Obama referred to McCain’s lack of mention of the words “middle-class” or “working-class” by saying “In 90 minutes, John McCain had a lot to say about me, but he had nothing to say to you…We need a president who will change the economy so it finally works for your family.”

Obama spoke of the American dream to succeed as well, saying, “In America, our destiny isn’t written for us, it’s written by us.”

After talking for almost half an hour, Obama said good night to the crowd, leaving the stage with Biden. The crowd dispersed quickly, eager to get to their dry cars and dry-cleaning bills.

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You can see Rachael Dickson’s photos of the event on the Mason Votes Flickr stream.