Exclusive - Wale disses Pras, Palin, Mccain

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At a freestyle in NYC's SOB's club, Wale does a freestyle dissing Pras from the Fugees, Mccain, and Sarah Palin - saying that he'll be damned if someone in an igloo is gonna run the country

Powell Bashes McCain

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"CBS News RAW:" After appearing on "Meet The Press," Colin Powell said Barack Obama "brings a fresh set of eyes," while McCain will simply "execute the Republican...

Poll: Voters souring on McCain, Obama stays steady

By ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the public's image of John McCain, it's as if somebody dialed the electricity down in the past month. For Barack Obama, the juice is still flowing.

People's regard for the Republican presidential nominee has deteriorated across-the-board since September, an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll showed Friday, with McCain losing ground in how favorably he's seen and in a long list of personal qualities voters seek in White House contenders.

Perceptions of Obama have improved or remained steady. Beyond views of the two rivals' character traits, McCain faces another problem — Obama is more trusted on the economy, the contest's commanding issue, including a 15-percentage-point edge for better grasping how the raging financial crisis is affecting people.

Obama's image has been sturdy even as voters' views of the overall campaign have tumbled downhill since September. The portion of people saying the contest excites them has sunk to 32 percent while those calling it frustrating have grown to 41 percent — and in both cases, six in 10 of those whose feelings have worsened are McCain backers.

Negative campaigning and a month of intense public focus on collapsing global economic and financial markets have not been kind to McCain. The new AP-Yahoo! News poll of likely voters, conducted this month by Knowledge Networks, shows more people viewing him favorably than unfavorably by just 5 percentage points, down from a 21-point difference in mid-September.

During the same period, Obama went the other way, increasing a 5-percentage-point net favorable rating to 15 points. Now, Obama is seen favorably by 57 percent and McCain by 52 percent — a close margin that masks the opposite direction the two rivals' ratings are heading.

"He kind of scared me," Leesa Zick, 48, an undecided Republican from Edwardsville, Ill., said of McCain's abrupt and short-lived suspension of his campaign last month during Capitol Hill talks on a financial package. "We need a president who can deal with multiple tasks. It seemed like it overwhelmed him."

For McCain, the poll's good news is that despite a difficult month, his public image is not dramatically worse than Obama's and in several areas remains better. The public still rates him higher than Obama for keeping America safe, working with both political parties, and being decisive, experienced and competent.

"He's more qualified than Obama, definitely, because of his experience and history, " said Richard Tosti, 67, a Republican from Rochester, N.Y.

Zick and Tosti are among about 2,000 people the AP-Yahoo! News poll has been tracking since November. By repeatedly questioning them, the survey has opened a detailed window on how individuals have reacted to the campaign's twists and turns.

Less than three weeks from Election Day, Obama has taken a solid lead over McCain in most national and swing-state polls. The AP-Yahoo! News survey underscores the morale problem McCain faces.

Obama supporters are more than twice as likely to say they're excited about the race and significantly more likely to say they're interested and hopeful. McCain backers, meanwhile, more often say they feel frustrated and helpless. Underscoring a period that has seen the rival candidates trade personal attacks, about a fifth of those backing each say they're angry.

"There's a lot of mudslinging, which I've never been a fan of," said Eric Juhl, 27, a Republican and McCain backer from Abilene, Kan. "And to me, the media seems pretty left-wing oriented. It's kind of frustrating."

A sour public mood is typical late in presidential campaigns as both sides' attacks accumulate, said University of Wisconsin political scientist and polling authority Charles Franklin. This year's disenchantment is probably magnified by worries about how the candidates would bolster the economy, he said.

Even so, Obama has staked out a clear advantage on economic concerns in the AP-Yahoo! News poll. The Illinois senator is trusted more than McCain to improve the economy by 54 percent to 44 percent, and to handle the financial crisis by 53 percent to 46 percent.

Obama also has a 56 percent to 41 percent advantage for understanding how the financial crisis affects people. Unhappily for McCain, six in 10 voters who may still change their minds, about as many independents and even one in 10 McCain backers prefer Obama on that question.

"To me his background indicates he'd be a little more sensitive to the middle class" in addressing economic problems, Peggy Chilton, 72, an independent from Los Angeles who hasn't decided on a candidate, said of Obama.

The numbers don't get better for McCain when it comes to personal traits.

Following debates between the two rivals in which the Arizona senator has appeared angry at times, 46 percent consider him hot-tempered, more than triple the 13 percent who say so about Obama.

"He'd be a little nerve-racking to have in the White House, jumping real fast," Darlene Finley, 48, an Obama-leaning independent from Ossineke, Mich., said of McCain. "When you're talking about war, that's something you don't want to do, jumping real fast."

Since September, McCain has lost ground on nearly every quality tested in the poll, including lower scores for being likable, decisive, honest, competent, intelligent and inspiring.

He's also lost ground for understanding ordinary peoples' problems, caring about "people like you" and improving America's international standing. Growing numbers even see him as supporting big business over the public interest and being influenced by lobbyists — despite repeated vows to do exactly the opposite.

Obama's ratings have stayed level since last month for most qualities tested, though he has shown some improvement in whether he's considered experienced and decisive.

Paralleling McCain's problems are similar ones faced by his running mate, Sarah Palin.

A month ago, more people said the Alaska governor made them more likely to vote for McCain than less likely by 14 percentage points. That gap is now down to 3 points — even as growing numbers say her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, makes them more inclined to support Obama.

The AP-Yahoo! News poll included 841 likely voters was conducted from Oct. 3-13 and has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Included were interviews with 373 people who initially said they were Democrats, 252 Republicans and 214 independents, for whom the margins of sampling error are plus or minus 5.1, 6.2 and 6.7 percentage points, respectively.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

———

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

———

On the Net:

Polling site: http://news.yahoo.com/polls

AP Top Stories

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Here's the latest news for Thursday October 16th: Helicopter crashes near Chicago, killing four people; Spanish judge questions three mechanics in plane crash investigation; Final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain; Asian markets tumble.

Dont Miss Final Presidential Debate Tonight!

Tonight's debate is make or break for John McCain and the Republicans. National Polls show Obama with a fourteen(14) point lead. And more support when it comes to who is trusted to resolve the Economic Crisis. McCain better have his Poly Grip and dentures in tight, cause Obama is going in for the kill tonight.

Seymour Chwast x Freshjive “McBush” T-shirt

Few have reached the heights of Seymour Chwast in the graphic design realm. Co-founder of Push Pin Studios with Milton Glaser and Edward Sorel, Chwast has created a special t-shirt for Freshjive titled “McBush” which plays into the current presidential race. Chwast’s rise started in the 1950s as the artist brought forth a style which emphasized “a playful expressive approach to type and layout based on revivalism… a radical alternative to the Swiss formalism at the time.” Furthermore, his sense of concept and design meshed with his humor-based approach would work well together as Push Pin Studio sought to re-vitalize the relationship of illustration and design. Chwast’s success have been widely documented in numerous publications with the artist taking an active stance in expressing his political and social views via his iconic style. This t-shirt available now, is the first of a few designs from Chwast for Freshjive’s “World Problems” collection of t-shirts. Proceeds from this shirt will be donated to the Barack Obama campaign.

Via: www.hypebeast.com

Diddy Blog #27 - McCain Calls Obama "That One!!!!" What The....

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Go to www.VoteForChange.com or RocktheVote.com NOW to register to vote!!!

KEATING ECONOMICS: John McCain & The Making of a Financial Crisis

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Learn more at http://www.keatingeconomics...

This Week -- Coupons, Election 2008 Offer, Select Mysteries on Sale, More

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Second 2008 Presidential Debate (Full Video)

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Full video of the second 2008 Presidential Debate with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

Visit C-SPAN's Debate Hub at: http://debatehub.c-span.org for embeddable debate video, interactive debate timeline, blog and Twitter roundup, word tree and more. Also check out our Debate Cam for a behind-the-scenes look at the debates -- click on our Debate Cam button on the right hand side of our Debate Hub page.

Diddy Blog #27 - John McCain Scares Me Even More Than Sarah Palin!!!

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Diddy addresses McCain's condescending remarks to Obama in the second debate...

Go to www.VoteForChange.com or RocktheVote.com NOW to register to vote!!!

AP poll: Obama takes a 7-point lead over McCain

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON - Barack Obama has surged to a seven-point lead over John McCain one month before the presidential election, lifted by voters who think the Democrat is better suited to lead the nation through its sudden financial crisis, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that underscores the mounting concerns of some McCain backers.

Likely voters now back Obama 48-41 percent over McCain, a dramatic shift from an AP-GfK survey that gave the Republican a slight edge nearly three weeks ago, before Wall Street collapsed and sent ripples across worldwide markets. On top of that, unrelated surveys show Obama beating McCain in several battlegrounds, including Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Iowa — four states critical in the state-by-state fight for the presidency.

Several GOP strategists close to McCain's campaign privately fret that his chances for victory are starting to slip away.

These Republicans, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid angering the campaign, point to several factors: Obama's gains nationally and in traditionally GOP states, no McCain boost from the first debate, McCain's struggles with economic issues as the financial crisis has unfolded and deepening public skepticism about his running mate, Sarah Palin.

They said McCain's options for shaking up the race are essentially limited to game-changing performances in the final presidential debates or in Palin's vice presidential debate Thursday night with Joe Biden. Short of that, they said, McCain can do little but hope Obama stumbles or an outside event breaks the GOP nominee's way.

Democrats hope Obama is starting to build a lasting lead.

"We have a light optimism," said David Redlawsk, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention who teaches political science at the University of Iowa. "We've already learned in the last several weeks that we can be whipsawed back very, very quickly."

Not all Republican insiders are pessimistic.

Obama's failure to achieve a double-digit lead and maintain it "has given a lot of hope to Republicans," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. Yet he also allowed, "You can't have a playing field that leans this heavily toward the Democrats and not be nervous."

The AP-GfK poll shows McCain faces substantial hurdles.

With the perilous financial situation at the forefront of voters' minds, 60 percent in the survey say it's more important to them to choose a president who would make the right economic decisions than a commander in chief who would make the right decisions on national security. Obama leads among economic voters, with 63 percent support, while McCain is ahead among security voters, with 73 percent.

Obama led McCain on the questions of who would best improve the economy and handle the financial crisis. The Democrat also was seen as more likely than the Republican to understand how the crisis effects the average person.

As the two senators prepared to vote late Wednesday on the administration's $700 billion bailout plan, 16 percent of likely voters said they thought McCain hurt negotiations over the proposal when he bolted back to Washington last week to get involved. Just 5 percent thought Obama did damage when he returned after a summons by President Bush to attend a White House meeting on the crisis.

Adding to McCain's woes, just 25 percent of likely voters say Palin has the right experience to be president if needed, a huge drop from 41 percent in the previous poll last month. She posted an enormous loss in confidence among Republicans; three in four had called her experienced enough before, but not even half say that now.

"If she was running the helm, she wouldn't know what she's doing," said Caitlyn Pardue, 60, a Republican from Rohnert Park, Calif., who decided last week that she probably would vote for Obama after determining that Palin "doesn't have the breadth of knowledge."

Outwardly, McCain's campaign expresses optimism, and aides say they expect the race to reset itself several more times.

But privately some advisers acknowledge the difficult seas he is trying to navigate as the economy dominates the race.

Seeking traction, McCain sought to change the story line as the week began by questioning Obama's character, particularly during a crisis.

"A vote for Sen. Obama will leave this country at risk," McCain said in a scathing speech.

Efforts also were under way Wednesday that suggested McCain and the Republican National Committee would start ramping up TV advertising — and going on the air in more media markets — to close the spending gap in Florida, Missouri and other key states. Industry officials say Obama is shelling out $13 million this week compared with $11 million by McCain and the RNC combined.

Meanwhile, it appears Obama may be padding his edge in the Electoral College vote count in battleground states.

Polls show he has started pulling away from McCain in pivotal vote-rich states that Democrat John Kerry won four years ago and that McCain has made targets this year, including Michigan and Pennsylvania. Surveys also show that Obama is a few percentage points or more ahead in Ohio and Florida, two critical states that Bush won four years ago and that McCain must retain to have any hope of winning the White House.

And, Obama is in strong position in longtime Republican states that are nontraditional battlegrounds, including Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina.

The AP-GfK poll involved telephone interviews of a nationwide sample of 1,160 adults, including 808 likely voters, from Saturday through Tuesday. Interviews were conducted on both landline and cell phones. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points, 3.4 percentage points for likely voters.

___

AP Director of Surveys Trevor Tompson, AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and AP writers Stephen Ohlemacher, Jim Kuhnhenn and Christine Simmons contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com

The debate is on; McCain agrees to participate

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer


Republican John McCain agreed to attend the first presidential debate Friday night even though Congress doesn't have a bailout deal, reversing an earlier decision to delay the event until Washington had taken action to address the crisis.

With less than 10 hours until the debate was scheduled to start, the McCain campaign announced that the Arizona senator would travel to the University of Mississippi. The campaign said that afterward McCain would return to Washington to continue working on the financial crisis.

Obama had always planned to attend the debate and was aboard his plane preparing to take off when McCain's announcement was made. McCain quickly moved to his own private aircraft and headed South with his wife and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his wife, Judith, on board.

The action contradicted the position McCain had taken Wednesday, when he announced, "I'm directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the Commission on Presidential Debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis."

McCain had also said he would suspend all campaign activities, but in reality the campaign just shifted to Washington while the work of trying to win the election went on.

McCain had taken a gamble with the move, trying to appear above politics and as a leader on an issue that had overshadowed the presidential campaign and given him trouble. But Democratic rival Barack Obama had not bowed to McCain's challenge, and instead questioned why the Republican nominee couldn't handle two things at once — the debate and involvement in the bailout negotiations.

An Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll out Friday just before McCain's announcement showed the public overwhelmingly wanted the candidates to debate, 60 percent to 22 percent, with the rest undecided.

By Friday morning, it appeared McCain was looking for a face-saving way to get to the debate even though a deal had not been reached. He met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, before heading to his campaign headquarters and issuing a statement that blamed others in Washington for the failure to reach an agreement.

"John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign was made in the hopes that politics could be set aside to address our economic crisis," the statement said. "In response, Americans saw a familiar spectacle in Washington. At a moment of crisis that threatened the economic security of American families, Washington played the blame game rather than work together to find a solution that would avert a collapse of financial markets without squandering hundreds of billions of taxpayers' money to bail out bankers and brokers who bet their fortunes on unsafe lending practices."

Just before McCain's announcement, Obama told reporters that he had spent Friday morning on the phone with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and congressional leaders and he was optimistic that progress was being made toward a bailout deal.

"At this point, my strong sense is that the best thing that I can do, rather than to inject presidential politics into these delicate negotiations, is to go down to Mississippi and explain to the American people what is going on and my vision for leading the country over the next four years," Obama told reporters aboard his campaign plane as they prepared to travel to Mississippi.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a McCain supporter, said the Republican made a "huge mistake" by even discussing canceling the debate.

"You can't just say, 'World, stop for a moment. I'm going to cancel everything,'" Huckabee told reporters Thursday night in Alabama before attending a benefit for the University of Mobile. He said it's more important for voters to hear from the presidential candidates than for them to huddle with fellow senators in Washington.

Both McCain and Obama had returned to Washington on Thursday at the urging of President Bush, who invited them to a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House. But a session aimed at showing unity in resolving the financial crisis broke up with conflicts in plain view.

McCain's campaign said the meeting "devolved into a contentious shouting match" and implied Obama was at fault — on a day when McCain said he was putting politics aside to focus on the nation's financial problems.

Democrats differed, saying the refusal of McCain and other Republicans to support the plan worked out by congressional negotiators was creating a road block.

"The insertion of presidential politics has not been helpful," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Friday.

When asked whether the meeting was a mistake, Obama replied, "I'm not sure it was as productive as it could have been. I think at this point it's important to just move forward."

___

Associated Press Writer Christopher Wills contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

University of Mississippi: http://www.olemiss.edu/debate

McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com

Obama: http://www.barackobama.com

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The Ladies On The View Rip On John McCain!

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Ladies was takin shots at McCain

Barack Obama & John McCain Fighting On Saints Row 2!

Obama: Lipstick Controversy a 'phony Outrage'

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Wednesday accused Republican John McCain's campaign of using 'lies and phony outrage' in claiming he used a sexist comment against vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. (Sept. 10)

Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin Puts Obama On Blast At The RNC! [Full 45 Min Speech]

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Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) at the Republican National Convention.

Palin’s Daughter...

Palin’s Daughter above... I will keep all comments to myself, besides this one...

GO OBAMA!!!

Diddy Says "John McCain Is Buggin The F*ck Out" For Selecting A Female From Alaska To Be His Vice President

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P. Diddy reports "John McCain...buggin' out!!!??? "