Economy takes first priority in Politics

As we all have heard, seen and experienced the economy is not what to used to be. Some of the most prestigous of companies have fallen and some even believe that this economic recession could be another depression in the United States. Presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Barrack Obama now have to come together and show their support in a bail out plan for the economy. The $700 billion dollar plan to get the economy back on track has many Americans as well as politicians worried about the outcome not only on the economic front but also on the future of the country.

On Wednesday, Senator Obama spoke about the bailout plan and the concerns of many Americans across the country, "I know many Americans share those concerns, but it is clear that this is what we must do right now to prevent a crisis from turning into a catastrophe." Democrats and Republics have come together under this issue and put differences behind them. Both candidates have issued political commercials that do not disclaim the other but speak on the issues that are arising with the economy and the ways that they plan to deal with the problems that will arise in the future.

When Senator Obama spoke about the plan he rarely spoke about Wall Street, instead saying that the plan was a necessary step to help the American economy from crumbling. The last bill that was issued on Monday did not pass mainly because many Americans were nervous about the plan and also about the money that they could lose. Senator Obama addressed these concerns of the people, he said, "If this is managed correctly, we will hopefully get most or all of our money back- we might even turn a profit on the government's investment-every penny of which will go directly back to you, the investor." The words of Senator Obama might not have persuaded all of the skeptics to vote for the bill but his words showed sincere concern that in my eyes made the American people more inclined to trust the bill.

But the crisis is still very real, especially for small business owners. Chad Moutray chief economist of the Small Business Administration said, "small businesses are sitting in their hands, either they can't get the capital or they don't want the capital. They read what is happening, and frankly they are scared." In America, small businesses in America account for half of the nation's output, with these companies too scared to invest or even have large companies not willing to give them loans is going to cause major problems throughout the countries business frontier.

The nation is scared of what is coming. There is no easy way out of this crisis or the government would have already taken it. The people have read and have seen through the stock market what kind of condition the country is in, small and large businesses alike are nervous to spend more money than they have to in fear that they might not get their money back. People across the country have to be secure in their investments as well as in the economy before they start to invest more into, the bailout plan might not be the best solution and may have some holes in but as Senator Obama said, this is a plan to "safeguard the American economy."

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/obama-sells-bailout-plan-to-skeptics/?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/business/smallbusiness/02sbiz.html?_r=1&hp&oref=login
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/business/02markets.html?ref=business

Another Flip/Flop Candidate?

Eight years ago the public nominated for a second term President George W. Bush over Senator John Kerry. Many saw Kerry as a politician who kept changing his ideas and positions, someone who would be unfit to lead the country because of his uncertainty. Today in 2008, American citizens may be dealing with another "unsure" candidate, John McCain.

McCain has never been looked at as having a strong economic background and his statements of how the economy was "strong" shows just how incompetent and uniformed McCain is about matters of national importance. Days later he flip/flopped his statement and stated that the economy's situation was in a "complete crisis."

This year the economy has fallen dramatically. Edward Yardeni, an investment strategist, said in yesterday's New York Times, "There's no end to this in sight." People are becoming increasingly aware of the crumbling stock market, especially since the fall of The American International Group, a massive insurance mogul. 

McCain needs to make his stance clear to the American people as well as what he plans to do in the future to keep the stock market from crashing. Today, people want to feel that their leaders know what they are feeling and to care enough to do something about it, for many McCain is not showing that he is sincerely worried about the condition of the market. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/18markets.html?pagewanted=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/us/politics/17mccain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=todayspaper&adxnnlx=1221674523-kOSjB8Am560zrNLe5qgOMw
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/business/17leonhardt.html?ref=business

Sara Palin: Asset or Diversion?

Since Vice President Nominee Sara Palin has come to the aid of John McCain his popularity has shot up. People are fascinated with the governor of Alaska because truth be told she was the last pick anyone thought would be made by McCain. So why did McCain choose his running mate? Well in my eyes I believe it was to raise the exact kind of awareness and fascination from the public that he is now receiving. In a recent statement Senator Obama remarked about McCain's policies and said that it was like, "putting lipstick on a pig." That McCain's policies are no different from President Bush's and that you can "put lipstick on a pig" but the reality of it is that the pig is still a pig. This statement that is a clear remark towards McCain's policies has now been construed to look like an insult to the Republican nominee's new Vice President pick, Sara Palin. Senator Obama has stated several times now that the statement was in fact not directed towards governor Palin and the media is trying to spin his words to make it look like an insult. Reading this article made me incredibly mad and uncomfortable because of two reasons. One, I feel that the media and the McCain party is spinning the Senator's words and meanings to get publicity. I think that it's wonderful that McCain chose a woman for his Vice President but I am starting to get the feeling that he chose her to not only get the votes from those women who voted for Hillary but to raise his popularity status.  The country is in awe that he chose her as his running mate and is eager to find out what she has to offer and that's legitimate, but I can't help but feel that his pick was nothing more than a publicity stunt, a way for him to be more recognized and a way to step out of Senator Obama's shadow. Senator Obama will have to be careful on how he phrases his statements from now on to not again attract this kind of attention. From the words of a true President, "We have real problems in this country right now and the American people are looking to us for answers, not distractions, no diversions, not manipulations." 

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/obama-responds-to-phony-outrage/?hp