Posts – Page 65 – Mason Votes

McCain and Palin to Speak in Fairfax

Presidential Candidate Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin will be speaking to a crowd of thousands today at Van Dyck Park. Mason Votes is embedding a Live Feed of the event on the front page. You can also see a larger version of the live feed at the McCain campaign website. The event is scheduled to begin at 11:00 p.m.

EDIT: Dignitaries at the McCain event are rumored to include Speaker of the House Bill Howell, Circuit Court Clerk John Frey, and 8th District Congressional Candidate Mark Ellmore. 10th District Congressman Frank Wolf and Senate candidate Jim Gilmore are also reported to be attending.

The Republican candidate was originally going to speak at Fairfax High School, however a lack of space and controversy over perceived partisanship forced the campaign to move the event last afternoon.

Though school policy states that “school buildings and grounds may not be used for campaign activities during school hours” Jack Dale, Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent, stated that he had planned the event due to its educational value.

School Board member Stuart D. Gibson was organizing an emergency meeting of the School Board to overturn Dale’s decision when the campaign announced the change in location.

“Due to the overwhelming response from voters in Virginia, the space at field house at Fairfax High School will no longer hold everyone who wants to attend this rally. We have had double the amount of people respond than we originally expected. In order to accommodate everyone, we need to move the event,” the campaign stated in a news release.

You can also see Mason Votes coverage of the event on Twitter.

EDIT: According to City of Fairfax Mayor Lederer, this is the largest turnout for a McCain rally so far.

See “Who Killed the Electric Car?” With Mason Expert.

The new Film Club at Mason has scheduled a series of films on campaign issues for the fall. The first film will be Who Killed the Electric Car?, dealing with transportation and energy.

The film will be played on Wednesday Sept. 10, in the Harris Theater, at 7:30 p.m.

The film will be followed by a discussion led by Edward Maibach, professor in the Department of Communication and director of the Center for Climate Change Communication.

The new Film Club is organized by Tommy Britt, assistant professor of film and video studies, in conjunction with the Office of Student Media and University Life.

How Can We Talk Politics at a Time Like This?

Tom Brady is out for the season. (And ESPN Page 2’s Bill Simmons deals admirably with the emailed fallout.)

This is no time to mourn a fallen American hero, though, not when four other Americans are sharpening their claws (or getting their campaign staff to do it) for the final two months of this rather protracted election season. We may not get to see Brady’s precision passing, but when even Larry King’s talk show is getting rowdy, I’m sure America’s favorite blood sport will provide numerous memorable moments.

It seems that everything is up in the air these days. Some polls show that women are moving over to the right due to McCain’s surprise choice running mate, others show the opposite, and with Tom Brady out for the season, who knows what is going to happen with anything this autumn. (Sorry, I digress. I’m upset. I hate Brady’s talent, mostly because I hate Belichick, but it’s hard to deny he’s a fantastic athlete to watch. Yes, politics…)

Astonishingly, it appears that McCain’s Rove-ian tactics are paying off. (CNN even has McCain ahead.) I say “astonishingly” because I thought the Republican Convention was rather lackluster — though, even as a “lefty,” I did find Fred Thompson’s speech recounting John McCain’s life story quite powerful, and who doesn’t get a rush out of an event that is constantly interrupted with raucous “U-S-A!” chanting? — and McCain’s choice of Palin has proven a little more contentious than many suspected.

But why, oh Lord, did Obama make his soon-to-be infamous pig and lipstick (and fish and “paper called change”) remarks? She worries me to my core, but you can’t ever let it look as though someone, no matter how frightening, has shaken you. It doesn’t look like Biden has fared much better.

Palin did make the mistake of ridiculing community organizers, a troubling gesture, but, still, Obama should have risen above it. (And, no, I don’t think he made a sexist statement. The whole pig-and-lipstick routine is as engraved into the American consciousness as baseball and apple pie. Though I guess baseball bats could be seen as phallic imagery, but pies — are pies sexist? I just thought they were delicious…)

And there’s no point us even getting into a tussle about it. In a day or two, someone will have said something else we can all misunderstand. I’ll save my strength for that fight.

On that note…

Palin is a time bomb that is going to blow up in the McCain campaign’s face. Mark my words.

The fuse is already burning — it started with a pregnant 17 year old (and how did McCain’s vetting team miss that?!), Palin poured a little fuel onto the fire with her ill-chosen community organizer taunt, issues have been raised about how the Republicans are packaging her faith, the Republican President of the Alaskan Senate asks “How can she be prepared to be vice president?”, her stance on the environment is disturbing, the aerial hunting is also disturbing, and this whole Bridge To Nowhere issue is becoming a bit of a fiasco. There’s more to come. There always is when you’re a new face on the celebrity scene. (Oh yes, Palin is now a celebrity… like Obama.)

Also, how much of a Maverick can you be when you find one of the most conservative politicians in the United States (and one of the least experienced — especially when McCain has been pounding away at Obama’s experience) to be your running mate? Sounds like someone was throwing a bone to the religious right and the NRA crowd. Voting with Bush 90% of the time, dancing to the tune of the GOP… This isn’t the John McCain I came to respect in 2000.

At least he has five houses. And nice Italian leather shoes. (And someone called me an elitist — or a fashionista, I can’t remember — because I was wearing beat Chucks.)

So the choice comes down to a possible new Jimmy Carter (oh, and maybe the first African American President of the United States, lest we forget) and a Not-So-Much-A-Maverick, eh?

U-S-A!

My new American Hero — Anderson Cooper.

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr Coming to Mason

Press Release: George Mason University Professors With Election Expertise

George Mason University has just released a press release listing all the professors who are available to comment on the Presidential Election. The list is sorted by the professors area of expertise and lists names, contact information, and their areas of experience.

TIP SHEET: GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AVAILABLE TO COMMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ISSUES
September 4, 2008
Media Contact: James Greif, [email protected] 703-993-9118

Following are George Mason University faculty experts with knowledge in areas of the presidency and political campaigning.

CHARACTER, MORALITY AND APPEARANCE OF THE PRESIDENT

James Pfiffner
Professor in the School of Public Policy
Expertise: the U.S. presidency, American national government, public management
In addition to lecturing at the State, Justice and Defense Departments, Pfiffner has lectured at universities throughout the United States and Europe. He has written or edited 10 books on the presidency and American government and served in the director’s office of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Pfiffner is a decorated war veteran and has been listed in “Who’s Who in America” in 2000.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Peter Pober
Director, Forensics Team, and Associate Professor of Communication
Expertise: Public speaking, communication
Pober is the director of the nationally ranked forensics team and an expert in public speaking and presidential debates. He can discuss the importance of public speaking and communication in campaigning, and how public speaking can affect one’s image. He can also give tips on effective public speaking for someone in a leadership role.
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, 703-993-8815, [email protected]

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS

Jon Gould
Associate Professor and Director, Center for Justice, Law & Society
Expertise: presidential campaigns, campaign finance reform, international legal and electoral development
Gould served as counselor to the campaign manager of the Clinton/Gore 1996 presidential campaign, and on the legal staff of the 1988 Dukakis/Bentsen presidential campaign. He can provide details on political marketing and campaign strategy.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Allison Hayward
Assistant Professor of Law
Expertise: Election law, campaign finance law, constitutional law, ethics
Hayward has written broadly on campaign finance and election regulation, in both the academic and popular press. Previously Hayward practiced election law in California and in the District of Columbia. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the District of Columbia Bar, United States Supreme Court Bar and the Eastern District of California Bar.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Janette Muir
Associate Professor, New Century College
Expertise: Political campaigns, political advertising, first ladies
Muir can discuss the role of political communication in campaigns. She can also talk about political advertising and presidential ads, political debates, gender differences in communication and problems with media coverage. She is very interested in engaging citizens in critical thinking about political campaigns and helping them to become better informed voters. In January 2008, she will be taking a group of younger voters to the New Hampshire primaries to study youth engagement in politics.
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, 703-993-8815, [email protected]

Solon Simmons
Assistant Professor, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Expertise: Presidential and congressional elections, class and culture politics, third-party candidates, political views of college professors
Simmons has published widely regarding American elections, the role of outsider presidential candidates and the role of class and culture in politics. His academic interests include the discussion of values and political narratives in the television era as well as examination of the fault lines in American politics over the past half-century. He has also conducted a study of political views and political correctness of faculty members in U.S. colleges and universities. His research has been widely covered in national media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, “The Today Show”, NPR and “Meet the Press”.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY

Richard Norton Smith
Scholar-in-Residence of History and Public Policy
Expertise: Presidential history
Smith is a presidential historian and former head of six presidential libraries. He can discuss presidential trivia, trends and movements in presidential history, past elections, and most anything and everything related to the presidency.
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, 703-993-8815, [email protected]

RACE AND THE PRESIDENCY

Michael Fauntroy
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Expertise: Race and politics, black voting patterns, Republicans and the black vote, race and public policy, redistricting, Congress
Fauntroy is the author of the recently released book “Republicans and the Black Vote.” He teaches courses in urban policy and American government and specializes in race and American politics. Prior to joining the faculty at Mason, he was an analyst in American national government at the Congressional Research Service, where he provided research and consultations for members and committees of Congress. He was also a civil rights analyst at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where he conducted research on major civil rights issues.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Jeremy Mayer
Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy
Director, Masters of Public Policy Program Expertise: presidential elections, media, racial politics, foreign policy, public opinion
Mayer published a groundbreaking study, “Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns 1960-2000,” as well as articles and chapters on presidents and elections. Mayer has extensive media experience, appearing on national and international programs including “World News Tonight,” “The Newshour,” “Headline News” and CNBC. He has also given multiple lectures on behalf of the U.S. government on American politics in countries around the globe including Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Toni-Michelle Travis
Associate Professor of Government and Politics
Expertise: Race and gender issues in politics, Virginia and urban politics
Travis is the author of the annual “The Almanac of Virginia Politics. As a former Fellow at Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute, she conducted research on “The Evolving Color Line” which explores how the old black/white racial division has been changed by the arrival of non-European immigrants who are called “people of color.” She also co-authored “The Meaning of Difference,” which examines race, gender, social class, sexual orientation and disability. Travis has
served as a political analyst on Virginia and national politics on BBC World Service, C-SPAN, CNN, Fox Morning News and the Washington, D.C. affiliates of NBC, CBS and ABC.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

RELIGION AND POLITICS

Mark Rozell
Professor of Public Policy
Expertise: Virginia politics, executive privilege, Christian right politics, interest groups and the role of the media in politics
Rozell is the author of nine books and editor of 16 books on various aspects of American government. He has testified before Congress on several occasions on executive privilege issues and has lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

John Farina
Associate Professor, Religious Studies Department
Expertise: Religion as relates to contemporary society, politics, law, public affairs and history
As an attorney, Farina has practiced corporate and church-state law and published articles on current topics on law and religion. He is the author of “Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America” and “Great Spiritual Masters: Their Answers to Six of Life’s Questions.” He is currently writing “The Intelligible Sphere: Theory of Religion in Civil Society.”
Media Contact: Catherine Ferraro 703-993-8813, [email protected]

Hugh Heclo
Robinson Professor of Public Affairs
Expertise: Religion and politics, American democratic institutions, social welfare policy
Heclo is the author of “Is America a Christian Nation” and “Christianity and American Democracy.” He has received national awards for his books including “Comparative Public Policy” and “A Government of Strangers” He specializes in social welfare and can provide specific assessments of past and present presidential terms, specifically those of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

VOTERS AND VOTING

Bryan Caplan
Associate Professor of Economics
Expertise: voter irrationality, public choice and public finance
Bryan Caplan is author of “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies” and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute. Caplan’s articles have appeared in the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, the Journal of Law and Economics, Social Science Quarterly and numerous other outlets.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Michael McDonald
Assistant Professor, Government and Politics
Expertise: voting behavior, redistricting, Congress, American political development and political methodology
McDonald is a senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. His research shows that voter turnout is not declining, the ineligible population is rising. His research on redistricting warns of the uncompetitive nature of elections as a result of redistricting. McDonald has worked as a redistricting consultant for several states and has authored several articles and op-eds on voting and elections.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

Susan J. Tolchin
Professor of Public Policy
Expertise: voting trends, American electorate, Congressional ethics, the American presidency and women in Congress
Tolchin is the author of “The Angry American – How Voter Rage is Changing the Nation” and co-author of “Glass Houses: Congressional Ethics and the Politics of Venom.” She has appeared on many television and radio news programs including the “Today Show” and “Newshour with Jim Lehrer.” Her latest co-authored book is “A World Ignited – How Apostles of Ethnic, Religious and Racial Hatred Torch the Globe.”
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, [email protected]

About George Mason University
George Mason University, located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor near Washington, D.C., is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. With strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, information technology, biotechnology and health care, Mason prepares its students to succeed in the work force and meet the needs of the region and the world. Mason professors conduct groundbreaking research in areas such as cancer, climate change, information technology and the biosciences, and Mason’s Center for the Arts brings world-renowned artists, musicians and actors to its stage. Its School of Law is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 35 law schools in the United States.

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From: http://eagle.gmu.edu/newsroom/display.php?rid=651&keywords

Rock the Reaction – McCain’s Acceptance Speech

Rock the Reaction – Obama’s Acceptance Speech

Students React to McCain’s Acceptance Speech

John McCain Accepts Republican Nomination

by David L Pierce

Senator John McCain proudly accepted the Republican Presidential nomination Thursday night, September 4 2008 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

McCain thanked his family and supporters, and made it clear that he respected his Democratic running mates, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.). “There are big differences between us,” McCain explained, “but you have my respect and my admiration.”

Pro-choice protesters interrupted McCain as he introduced his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin. “Please, my dear friends,” McCain grinned, “don’t be diverted by the ground noise and the static!” He defended Palin’s experience, amid growing skepticism, by noting she ended corruption and balanced the state budget in Alaska.

McCain had harsh words for his own party, claiming that Americans lost trust in the Republican Party due to corruption, and promised a new party future. “The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan,” said McCain “is going back to basics.” He said he’d veto pork barrel earmarks and reveal its author. “I will make them famous,” McCain said, adding “you’ll know their names.”

He promised to lower taxes, cut government spending and develop a better healthcare system, while claiming Obama will do the opposite. The crowd applauded as McCain announced his energy plan, which included immediate offshore oil drilling, more nuclear power plants, and alternative energy sources. “Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power, but Americans know better than that.”

Foreign policy was also a major issue in McCain’s speech. “I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams,” McCain said “And I know how to stand up to those who don’t.” McCain explained that he hated war, and that he would use his experience to build an enduring peace.

McCain recalled his experience as a prisoner of war and praised his fellow American prisoners, explaining that they fought for him every day. “My country saved me and I cannot forget it,” McCain said. “I will fight for her as long as I draw a breath so help me God.”

At the conclusion of his speech, McCain’s and Sarah Palin’s families joined them on the stage. An endless sea of patriotic-colored confetti, balloons and beach balls fell from above. McCain passed Palin a beach ball after it bounced off of her head.