John McCain Is 72 Years OLD!

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Friday August 29, 2008 · 5:27 AM PDT

2008/08/29 · 05:27

Today is John McCain’s 72nd birthday. If elected president in November he will be the oldest man to assume the office. Barack Obama is 47 years old.

From the beginning of the current campaign the press has been reluctant to talk about the issue of age. But as columnist and talk-radio host Bill Press has noted, McCain is doing a fine job all by himself in making age an issue in the campaign.

McCain has repeatedly referred to the nation of Czechoslovakia, which hasn’t existed since 1993. He has called Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin the president of Germany. He has talked about hostilities along the Iraq/Pakistan border, where no such border exists. He referred to the crisis in Darfur as being in Somalia when in fact it is in Sudan. He confused Sunnis and Shiites on a recent visit to Iraq. He can’t even remember how many homes he owns. Brit Hume of conservative Fox News charitably referred to McCain’s verbal stumbles as "senior moments."

ObamaElectionWatch

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Thursday August 28, 2008 · 7:09 AM PDT

2008/08/28 · 07:09

Nationwide there are 2.1 million American Indians of voting age. Native Americans make up only one percent of the total U.S. electorate.

Historically, American Indians have had very low rates of voter registration and turnout. On some American Indian reservations in the western United States as few as 10 percent of all eligible voters are registered.

But in several states the American Indian vote, if mobilized by the Obama campaign, could give a good boost to Obama's efforts to carry the state.

• The biggest target is New Mexico. There are 60,000 registered American Indian voters in the state of New Mexico, making up 9.5 percent of all voters. More than two thirds of those American Indians are registered as Democrats. Only 15 percent are registered Republicans.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Wednesday August 27, 2008 · 5:22 AM PDT

2008/08/27 · 05:22

The federal minimum wage is now $6.55 per hour. This will rise to $7.25 an hour in July 2009. Many states have their own minimum wage laws. In California, Massachusetts, and Washington, the minimum wage is $8 or more.

A worker employed at minimum wage who has a 40-hour workweek would earn $262 a week. On a yearly basis this amounts to $13,624. The official poverty rate in the United States for a four-person family is $20,614. Therein lies a powerful voting weapon for Barack Obama and Democratic candidates everywhere.

Minimum wage workers are concentrated in service industries. Fast-food workers, waitresses, car washers, hotel chamber maids, janitors, and retail clerks are some of the jobs where you will find large numbers of minimum wage workers. About half of all minimum wage workers are below the age of 25. More than 62 percent of the American workers who earn the minimum wage are women.

Throughout his legislative career John McCain has been a relentless opponent of raising the minimum wage. Without fail McCain has followed the wishes of industry while ignoring the economic interests of the nation’s lowest-income workers.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Tuesday August 26, 2008 · 8:29 AM PDT

2008/08/26 · 08:29

John McCain is fond of portraying himself as an environmentalist following in the footsteps of GOP President Teddy Roosevelt. But in fact McCain has a distinctly unfavorable record on environmental issues.

In 2007 McCain got a zero rating from the League of Conservation Voters because he missed every vote that the group deemed was important to the environment. McCain defended his absence when key environmental votes were taken with the excuse that he was running for president and that he was on the campaign trail. But Barack Obama, who was also on the campaign trail for much of 2007, managed to return to Washington to vote on many of the key environmental proposals.

McCain’s inferior, and in many cases hypocritical, environmental record needs to be exposed, particularly in battleground states such as Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, and New Hampshire where the environmental issue is very high on the list of voters’ concerns.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Monday August 25, 2008 · 2:06 PM PDT

2008/08/25 · 14:06

Given his age and the fact that there are more than 700,000 retirees living in his home state of Arizona, one would expect that McCain would be a strong supporter of the nation’s Medicare program for senior citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth.

McCain has a highly damaging voting record on Medicare and other healthcare programs for the elderly. This makes him extremely vulnerable to voting citizens who care about or depend on Medicare. Nationwide, there are 36 million senior citizens in this country and they tend to vote in much larger percentages than the rest of the electorate.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Friday August 22, 2008 · 5:45 AM PDT

2008/08/22 · 05:45

There are 24 million veterans in America today. Two million of these veterans served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A very large percentage of them will be voters this November. There is an equal number of veterans’ spouses and grown children who are deeply concerned about veterans issues and benefits. Here is a huge segment of the national electorate.

John McCain boasts that he takes "a back seat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans." But, in fact, he has a shoddy record of supporting the welfare of veterans. It is a matter of record that McCain has consistently opposed legislation that would help them.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Thursday August 21, 2008 · 8:25 AM PDT

2008/08/21 · 08:25

Since 1976, the U.S. government has provided billions of dollars each year to help low-income youngsters pay for college. But over a long career John McCain has cast at least 26 Senate votes that would weaken or undermine access to the Pell Grant program.

Today there are 2 million Hispanic youngsters in college and 15 million Hispanic children who have not reached college age. If elected president, John McCain’s opposition to the Pell Grant program would severely blight the higher education prospects of the children of 20 million Hispanic adults in the United States.

This fall, Hispanic parents and other Latino voters should use their immense numbers to deny the presidency to McCain.

A dedicated and well-organized voting bloc of 20 million Hispanic American citizens, all fully informed of the severe burdens John McCain’s pernicious policies are inflicting on millions of their children and grandchildren, could end the contest and finally deliver the White House to Barack Obama.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Wednesday August 20, 2008 · 4:05 AM PDT

2008/08/20 · 04:05

John McCain’s aim to cut all Amtrak funding would seriously harm the transportation needs of millions of voters particularly those in some key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, and Michigan.
Here is a useful political gift to the Obama campaign.

Today Amtrak serves over 28 million passengers a year on routes that crisscross the United States from east to west and from north to south. High gasoline prices are cutting into long-range automobile trips in the United States. As a result, Amtrak rail travel is experiencing its busiest year ever. This past July the number of Amtrak passengers was up 14 percent over the same month in 2007.

But this important passenger rail company is having difficulty meeting increasing demand for quality service. Congress has been unwilling to appropriate necessary funds for proper maintenance and upgraded equipment.

Over the years, one man has played a major role in blocking funding for Amtrak. This is Senator John McCain of Arizona, the GOP nominee for president of the United States.

ObamaElectionWatch

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Tuesday August 19, 2008 · 9:01 AM PDT

2008/08/19 · 09:01

When they speak of the term Appalachia, people are usually thinking of West Virginia, Kentucky, and eastern Tennessee. But the culture and economic conditions of the Appalachian region extend well into western Pennsylvania and southeastern sections of Ohio. All agree that these two states are important in this year’s presidential election. Under many scenarios the voter outcome in Ohio could either give or deny the White House to Barack Obama.

The 2004 election illustrates the importance of Ohio. In 2004 George W. Bush won the state of Ohio by 119,000 votes. Had John Kerry defeated Bush in Ohio, Kerry would have won the presidency.

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