Tag: Obama

Tonight’s Presidential Debate to Be Aggressive

Tonight’s presidential debate is expected to be much more pointed than its predecessor. When asked recently when he was going to take off the gloves, Presidential Candidate John McCain answered, “How about Tuesday night?” And today, David Axelrod was reported by CNN as saying that Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is “prepared for a very aggressive debate.”

The debate, which begins at 9 p.m., will be shown in the Johnson Center Atrium. A pre-debate panel discussion featuring Mason Votes’ Aram Zucker-Scharff will begin at 8:30 p.m. During the debate, participate in Mason Votes’ interactive live blog.

Last Day to Register to Vote

Today, the last day to register to vote, over 100 students have registered or updated their registration on campus. Registration volunteers from Presidential Nominee Barack Obama’s campaign have been on campus everyday for weeks. According to those volunteers, students have been surrounding their registration table all morning; some have been experiencing problems contacting the Virginia State Board of Elections and came to the Obama volunteers instead.

Registered residential students who do not want to travel to their home polling center have the option of reregistering with their campus address or applying for an absentee ballot. Both application forms must be submitted by today.

“I knew that today was the last day to register. I had been contemplating whether to vote absentee ballot or reregister,” said freshman Ed Bennett. After discussing the options with his Father, Bennett decided to reregister today using his on campus address.

All voter registration forms must be postmarked today. Registration volunteers will be outside the Johnson Center until 4:30 p.m.

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.

Debate Watch Party a Success

By David L Pierce

Over a hundred George Mason University students watched the first televised presidential debate Friday night at a Debate Watch Party in the Johnson Center.

Although the debate was focused on foreign policy, the economy took center stage in the beginning.

Sen. Barack Obama felt optimistic about the governmental bailout plan, but questioned America’s position in the situation. “How did we get into this situation in the first place?” Obama asked.

Sen. John McCain said that corporate greed and lack of responsibility has led the country into the current financial crisis. “We’ve got to start also holding people accountable, and reward people who succeed,” McCain said.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were also major points of discussion in the debate.

Obama said that McCain was wrong in regards to the Iraq war. “You pretend like the war started in 2007,” Obama told McCain “the war started in 2003, and [when it started], you said it was going to be quick and easy.”

McCain said that Obama refused to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq. He also noted that the former leader of all U.S. troops in Iraq, General David Petraeus, among other officials, believed that Obama’s withdrawal plan was dangerous for America’s national security.

The two presidential candidates disagreed on how to handle threats such as Iran and North Korea.

“[We have a] fundamental difference of opinion,” McCain said in regards to having preconditions before meetings with rulers of threatening countries.

He also said that Obama’s viewpoint of not having preconditions when meeting with officials of countries like Iran was dangerous.

“There’s a difference between preconditions and preparation,” said Obama in response. “Of course we’ve got to do preparations, starting with low-level diplomatic talks.”

Students held mixed opinions about the debate at its conclusion.

Junior James Greenan thought that McCain did a better job in the debate, but missed a few opportunities with his opponent. “[McCain] could’ve pointed out more instances where Obama’s judgment was wrong,” said Greenan.

Freshman Samantha Markey said that both candidates were pretty even in regards to their performance. Junior Kaitlyn Burroughs thought Obama did better than McCain, but expressed concern for the level of discussion. “Both candidates have lots of room to work on,” Burroughs said.

The Debate Watch Party was sponsored by Mason Votes, Cox Communications, C-SPAN and the New Century College.

Read Mason Votes’ live blog of the debate.

Back in Business: McCain Agrees to Debate

By Christian Yingling

Caving to public and media pressure, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain has agreed to participate in tonight’s debate at the University of Mississippi.

This announcement comes over 48 hours after his controversial campaign suspension and request for the debate to be postponed until after the economic crisis has been fixed. Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama made an announcement Tuesday in response to McCain’s request stating that he would be at the debate even if McCain was not.

The two campaigns have agreed to move the debate to 9 p.m. and George Mason University’s pre-debate discussion will now begin at 8 p.m. Join Mason Votes, CSPAN, Cox Cable and Rock the Vote in the Johnson Center Atrium tonight for a pre and post debate discussion and a watch party of the debate itself. Free food will be provided.

Video: Obama to Continue with Debate

Obama: Debate to Continue, Will Not Suspend Campaign

Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama just finished a press conference responding to Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain’s campaign suspension and request for Friday’s debate to be postponed. In his statements, he rejected the idea that either a campaign suspension or debate postponement is necessary.

“It will be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once,” said Obama. “It’s more important than ever for us to present ourselves to the country.”

He did however offer his support and assistance to fellow legislators.

“If I can be helpful, then I am prepared to be anywhere anytime.” He does not, however want to “infuse Capitol Hill with presidential politics.”

It is not presently clear what McCain will do now that Obama plans to continue with the debate. Go to Twitter for Mason Vote’s live coverage of Obama’s press conference.

Presidential Debate Watch this Friday

By Noah Martin

The outcome of a televised debate is about more than a candidate’s response to the questions, so come to the Johnson Center atrium at George Mason University for a Debate Watch party this Friday to view Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) confront each other over issues of foreign policy and national security and hear detailed analysis from a panel of experts.

The debate itself begins at 9 p.m. but at 8 p.m. a panel comprised of Mason professors and representatives from local Republican and Democratic committees will discuss campaign issues. The panel will include Communications Professors Steve Klein and Stephen Farnsworth and New Century College professor of communication and rhetoric Janette Muir.

Immediately following the debate, panelists will give their impressions of each of the candidate’s performance and discuss them with the audience.

The debate watch is sponsored by Mason Votes, C-SPAN, Cox Communications and New Century College.

Albright Talks Foreign Policy at Mason

By David Pierce, courtesy of Broadside

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke at a foreign policy town hall meeting, sponsored by presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign, Saturday in Dewberry Hall. She was part of a three-person panel that included terrorism expert Richard Clarke and Rep. Jane Harman (D.-Calif.)

Albright, 71, introduced herself as a life-long scholar of national security policy and expressed her opinion about the current global scene. “I don’t think I have ever seen the world in such a mess and that is a diplomatic term,” Albrigh said.

Albright outlined major foreign policy issues that she felt the next president has to face once elected. She explained that the country needs to fight terrorism without creating more terrorists in the process, placing blame on the Bush administration. “Even former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said we were creating more terrorists,” Albright said, adding “not everybody who dislikes us is part of Al Qaeda.”

The former secretary of state claimed our nonproliferation system was broken. She said that the original agreement was that nations with nuclear arms should disarm, while those who do not have nuclear weapons should not acquire them. “Both sides of that bargain have been broken,” said Albright. She felt that the United States has not disarmed and that North Korea has exploded a nuclear weapon, both occurring while President Bush has been in office.

Albright also expressed concern regarding the negative aspects of globalization, especially the expanding gap between the rich and the poor. She felt that the recent financial crisis affecting the global stock market was of major concern to the next president, as well as the importance of talking to our enemies as a diplomatic tool.

“When President Obama suggests we talk to Iran, it is a sign of strength, not of weakness,” explained Albright. She had some advice for President Bush, “You don’t say to a country ‘I won’t talk to you until you do all of the things that we are actually going to talk about,’” said Albright, “which is what is going on now [in the Bush administration].”

Harman assured the audience of the capability of Senators Obama (D-Il.) and Joe Biden (D-Del.), if elected. “Democratic women and men understand security issues,” claimed Harman adding “It’s a slam dunk for Obama-Biden.” She also criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq. “We’ve had seven years to capture, or kill, Osama bin Laden,” said Harman, “[Instead we] went into Iraq, and took our eye off the ball.”

Clark began his speech by emphasizing the importance of Virginia in the 2008 general election. “This is the battleground state,” exclaimed Clarke, “We could be the pivot of this election.” He expressed his support for Obama by saying that he was right for calling for a troop withdrawal timetable, an action that was opposed by the White House. “The Bush administration just agreed to a withdrawal timetable with the Iraqi government,” said Clarke.

Albright and Clarke both criticized Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R.-Ariz.) “I very much want to see a confident president, rather than a certain president,” said Albright. Richard Clarke questioned McCain’s judgment. “When McCain was singing about bombing Iran,” Clarke said, “Obama was suggesting that we use something called diplomacy first.”

Questions were briefly accepted from the audience as the event neared conclusion. When asked about Republican claims that Obama does not have the experience required to become President, Albright immediately replied “I’ll start by saying they are totally wrong.” She further explained that Obama is a person of incredible judgment and wisdom. “He knows the difference between the Sunnis and the Shias [in Iraq],” said Albright, adding “he has also served very well on the foreign relations committee.”

Immediate feedback from audience members after the speech concluded was varied. Ian Cook, a Vienna resident, said “I was more taken by Richard Clarke.” Cook also expressed criticism of Albright’s support of Obama, saying that the other panelists supported the Democratic presidential nominee more than she did.

Jim Pflieger, a Fairfax resident, was very pleased with Albright’s speech. “I wish I could’ve gotten a CD of [her] speech to use it to convert independents over to Obama… She had a very convincing argument.”

When Oscar Ramirez, the Virginia policy director for the Obama campaign, asked at the beginning of the event if there were any undecided voters in the audience, three hands were raised. By the conclusion of the event, one of those voters claimed to have decided to vote for Senator Obama.

Madeleine Albright at Mason this Saturday

by Noah Martin

Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, U.S. Rep. Jane Harman and Richard Clarke, former chief counter-terrorism advisor to the U.S. National Security Counsel, will speak at the Foreign Policy Town Hall at George Mason University in Student Union Building I’s Patriot Lounge on Saturday at 7 p.m.. The speakers will address the foreign policy of the current administration and the topic of terrorism and counter-terrorism.

Albright was the 64^th Secretary of State. She was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office on January 23, 1997 becoming the first woman to hold the position. Prior to her role as Secretary of State, Albright served as the United States’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a member of President Bill Clinton’s Cabinet and representative to the National Security Council.

Harmen has represented California’s 36^th Congressional District since 1992. A seven term congresswoman, Ms. Harmen served for eight years on the House Intelligence Committee and is a recognized authority on issues of homeland security, counterterrorism, and intelligence.

Clarke has served in different capacities in the field of counter terrorism for the past four U.S. presidents. He served in the State Department for President Ronald Reagan, worked for President George H. W. Bush and served as the chief counter-terrorism advisor to the US National Security Counsel under Clinton, and President George W. Bush.

The event is sponsored by Students for Barack Obama and the Fairfax City Obama Campaign for Change and paid for by Campaign for Change, part of the Virginia Democratic Party.