Category: Top Stories

Photo by: USA Today

It is not unknown that President Obama’s performance at the first debate was less than stellar; substantially decreasing the comfortable lead he once held in the polls.  In a USA Today/ Gallup poll released yesterday, it became evident that Governor Romney’s rise can be much attributed to women voters, particularly in swing states.  The poll was conducted between October 5-11 in the states of CO, FL, IA, MI, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA and WI, showing Romney only one point behind Obama.  The results being 49% of likely women voters stating they would re-elect the President if today were November 6^th and 48% stating they would elect the Governor, with a margin of error of -/+ 4-6%.

There has long been a considerable gender gap between the Democratic and Republican parties, essential for Democrats to get elected to the White House.  In the 2008 general election, Obama won with 13% more of the women’s vote, which he has little chance of re-election without.

Although Romney’s performance at the first debate exemplified a moderate Mitt that had gone missing over the past two years of campaigning, it must be remembered that this election will be detrimental for women’s issues.

Not only has the Romney/ Ryan ticket stated their opposition to a women’s choice, but will limit a women’s access to essential health care.  They will defund Planned Parenthood, an important source of preventative care, such as cancer screenings for those who cannot afford them.  Governor Romney has also refused to state his support for the Ledbetter Equal Pay Act, the first piece of legislation President Obama signed when he took office, allowing women to sue their employers when they are not being paid equally to men in the same position with the same experience.

It must be understood that this election is not just about having the ability to obfuscate your positions to obliteration, as Romney has proven he is so proficient at; but about the actual policies each candidate supports.  The implications of November 6^th will affect everyone, particularly women, and it is imperative that people realize what these consequences will be before casting their vote.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2012/10/15/swing-states-poll-women-voters-romney-obama/1634791/

*The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Tonight at Hofstra University the two candidates for President will face off in what could be characterized as the most anticipated rematches in modern debate history.

Coming off of a less than stellar performance in the first debate, President Obama will be attempting to rebound and seize back the momentum he allowed Mitt Romney to wrestle away from him in Denver.  Many aides have said that Obama will attempt to be more aggressive and avoid the perception that he is aloof or distant, as he looked in debate number one.  Vice President Biden attempted to show a more aggressive side of the ticket last week in his debate, but Obama will have to mimic it in order for the Democrats to regain the upper hand.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, will be attempting to repeat what was a masterful performance in the first debate.  However, Obama did not invoke many of the controversial aspects of Romney’s personal history.  His record at Bain Capitol and his comments about 47 percent of the electorate went unsaid.  This allowed him to hammer Obama on his record and not play defense at all.  One would expect Obama to be on offense a lot more in this debate.  This will force Romney to defend the comments and his wealth in a debate setting.

Almost 70 million people tuned in to watch the first encounter between these two men.  Normally there is a diminishing return on debates.  Chances are less will watch tonight, but that does not lessen the debate’s importance. There is just three weeks until Election Day and the polls have been tighter than ever.  Any nationally televised event is huge.  Look for both candidates to make a big play that could sway large swaths of the electorate.  The final push is on.

Photo by Frank Ross| BigGovernment.com

On Thursday, October 4, the day after the first presidential debate the George Mason chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held their first segment of their “What’s Your Stance” series leading up to the November 6 Presidential Election. Mason students met with Mike Everest, a member of the Fairfax NAACP chapter, and former Economics professor at the National Air College, who informed Mason students of the U.S.’ economic history from the 1950s to present day. He spoke at this event in order to share his thoughts on the current financial situation and further inform Mason students on different factors that are affecting not only the U.S. economy, but the Asian economy as well.

“When you think about economics, the first question at hand is where is the money in America?” said Everest.

Everest explained that to learn about the current economic situation, students should have a quick glance at the history of America’s economy. First, he explained that there have only been surpluses under two presidents in the history of our economy; the first being President Truman in 1947 and the second President Clinton in 1998. While using the Statistics of World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP, 1-2008 AD”, Angus Maddison, University of Groningen, and Everest explained that China had a history of economic power. Because China had a history of economic growth, Asian Americans had the most homeownership in America in 2000, 2007, and 2008 and were the leading graduates in 2000, and 2008.

“I wanted to hear President and Governor Romney discuss these issues [during] [the] [Presidential] [debate].” said Everest.

Everest’s concern about this topic is that the money is not in America but in Asia. Because of the Asian countries being a strong economic environment, economic analysis reports the Asian economy first followed by Europe and the U.S. on a daily basis according to Everest. Also, he believes that because the economic deficit did not occur instantly, it will not be able to be fixed instantly.

“The President and congress should be able to work together in order to help the economy.” said Everest.

Everest indicated a few factors of how the U.S. economy differed from President Clinton’s term to now. During the Clinton presidency, the U.S. did not go through any wars. During the Bush presidency, the 127.3 billion surplus turned into a 157.8 billion deficit by 2002 because of the war in Iraq.

In the final moments of the “What’s Your Stance Series”, Everest mentioned what he felt would get the U.S. in a better financial situation.

“We need to get out of war, create jobs at home, and have everyone pay taxes,” said Everest.

 

If you watched last week’s debate between President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney you may have notice that Obama did not bring up many arguments in his debate. In last night’s debate with Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan, the Vice President made many of the arguments that the president failed to make in his debate. Biden made an effort to improve the democratic stance within the debates from what is considered a “stumble” on Obama’s part by Karen Tumulty. As a result of this stumble poll numbers have moved slightly in the direction of the GOP ticket. Every criticism brought up by Ryan, Biden made sure to defend the Obama administration. He emphasized that the Republican Party is not concerned with the middle class and out of touch with average Americans.

While Biden approached the debate strong, Ryan on the other hand played it safe in an effort to avoid mistakes, which seems to be what the President decided to do in last week debate. Biden made reference to one of Gov. Romney’s controversial comments that were caught on videotape. He noted that the Republican presidential nominee suggested that the 47 percent of Americans who do not pay income taxes are government-dependent freeloaders who consider themselves victims. Biden gave a personal response to saying, “These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors.” Vice President Biden had far more experience than Ryan when it comes to debating on the national stage. When Ryan was only two years of age Biden was elected to Senate and has run for president twice in his career.

In next week’s debate something to look out for is President Obama’s approach and if it will be similar to Biden’s. Something else to look out for is whether Governor Romney takes a less aggressive approach, or goes on the attack.

The full article on the “Stumble” written by Karen Tumulty can be found at the following link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/in-vp-debate-biden-seeks-to-repair-damage-from-obamas-stumble/2012/10/11/f9c90942-13e5-11e2-bf18-a8a596df4bee_story.html

 

Seven-term Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan will make his national debate debut tonight as he steps on the same stage as the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden.

Ryan and Biden will only have this one encounter on a debate stage this election cycle.  Four years ago, Biden went toe-to-toe with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  Biden is a Washington veteran of over four decades and has run for president twice.  Thus, he is also a veteran of these debates.

Although Biden is widely known as gaffe prone, these incidents normally occur in smaller venues, not in well publicized, high profile events.  Biden has done his duty on the campaign trail as the attack dog in 2008 as well as this year.  So, Ryan can expect a similar aggressive style from Biden tonight.

Paul Ryan has made quite a name for himself in his 14 years in the House.  He became the chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2011 and has been a leader and advocate of a large-scale reform of America’s entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security).  While his House plan is not the same as Romney’s plan, you can be sure that Biden will attempt to tie his controversial proposal to the ticket as a whole.

There have been very few “moments” in VP debates.  One of most memorable was in 1988 when Sen. Lloyd Benson told Sen. Dan Quayle “You’re no Jack Kennedy.”  However, It was the Bush/Quayle ticket that eventually prevailed that year.  VP debates may sometimes garner a large audience, but their impact on the election as a whole is quite small.  Unless either man makes a giant mistake, the dynamic of the race will not change significantly.

Cover Photo Taken by: Jasmine Young (last debate watch)

The Second Debate Watch party will take place tomorrow in the J.C Atrium. There was a huge turnout at the first debate watch party last week.  Tomorrow’s debate will be between Vice- President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan. The topics for this debate are foreign and domestic policy. Moderating the debate is Martha Raddatz ABC news Chief Foreign Correspondent.

The debate will be divided into nine segments of approx. 10 minutes each which differs from the Presidential debate of six segments of 15 minutes each. Mason Votes hopes to see you tomorrow night. Pizza will be provided and for those interested in registering to vote forms will be available. The debate begins at 9:00 p.m. E.T.