Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign aired a 30-minute infomercial entitled "American Stories, American Solutions" Wednesday evening simultaneously on CBS, NBC, Fox, MSNBC, Univision, Black Entertainment Television, and TVOne.
ABC World News, the CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News all previewed the infomercial before it aired, and major newspapers cover it this morning. The Washington Post says Obama "blitzed the television airwaves" in the ad, in which he "offered details about his approach to issues such as housing, taxes, the Iraq war and energy policy." The program "ended with two minutes of live footage of Obama speaking to 20,000 cheering supporters in South Florida." USA Today says Obama strategist David Axelrod "said the campaign chose a 30-minute format to distinguish the ad from other political commercials. 'The airways are glutted with 30-second ads and it's hard to break through,' he said." The AP says the spot, "purchased at a cost that campaign aides put at roughly $4 million, not only marked Obama's attempt to seal his case with the electorate, but also underscored his enormous financial advantage in the race."
The ad is receiving very positive coverage this morning. The Politico called it a "smoothly produced infomercial" that "weaved together American iconography -- images of amber waves of grain, pickup trucks and American flags -- with portraits of iconic voters, testimonials from politicians and one business figure, footage of Obama speeches and direct appeals from the candidate." The Los Angeles Times says the spot "offered even the swiftest channel-flipper the chance to see Obama looking presidential." The New York Post says "the heavily hyped piece let Obama -- whom Republicans have tried to paint as 'different' and 'foreign' -- reinforce the notion that he's an everyman." The New York Daily News reports, "From its opening image of a rippling field of golden grain to shots of small-town U.S.A., Obama's epic echoed the style pioneered by Ronald Reagan's famous feel-good 'It's Morning in America' ads from his 1984 re-election campaign."
Speaking on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360", CNN analyst David Gergen, conceding that there were some elements of the video he could criticize, said, "At the risk of gushing, I must tell you overall it was extremely well done." On its website, ABC News reported ABC News' Chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said the infomercial "was worth 'just about every penny.'" In the Washington Post, television critic Tom Shales writes, "Somehow both poetic and practical, spiritual and sensible, the paid political broadcast...was a montage of montages, a series of seamlessly blended segments interweaving the stories of embattled Americans with visions of their deliverer, Guess Who."
McCain: Ad Highlight Obama's "Broken Promises" On Campaign Spending McClatchy says Sen. McCain "scoffed at the show." Addressing a Florida crowd, McCain said, "When you're watching this gauzy, feel-good commercial, just remember that it was paid for with broken promises." McCain elaborated on the point on CNN's Larry King Live, saying, "He signed a piece of paper back when he was a longshot candidate. He said, 'I will take public financing for the presidential campaign if John McCain will.' ... He didn't tell the American people the truth."
USA Today reports Sen. John McCain "criss-crossed Florida on Wednesday, trying to keep the state in the Republican column as some supporters worried about whether he can catch the better-funded Barack Obama." The Palm Beach Post adds McCain "invoked 'Joe the Plumber' in Miami and gave a national security speech in Tampa before flying to Palm Beach County and making a late-afternoon visit to Baron Sign Manufacturing. ... Virtually every scenario for a Republican victory depends on McCain winning Florida."
The New York Times reports Sen. Barack Obama "arranged for a show of unity by appearing with former President Bill Clinton at a late-night rally outside Orlando on Wednesday, the first time the two have campaigned together." The AP reports, "Portraying harmony like never before, Bill Clinton hailed Barack Obama on Wednesday, a power pairing designed to inspire Democrats already smelling victory." The Orlando Sentinel reports that before "an estimated 35,000 people at Osceola Heritage Park," Obama "took pains to praise Clinton -- with whom he's had a testy relationship -- saying 'nobody makes the case for change that works for the middle class quite like President Clinton.'"
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The AP reports Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sara Palin both "accused the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday of protecting Barack Obama by withholding a videotape of the Democrat attending a 2003 party for a Palestinian-American professor and critic of Israel." The Times said it "had written about the event in April and would not release the tape because of a promise made to the source who provided it." The New York Times says the video shows a Chicago dinner for Khalidi, at which Obama spoke and where "other speakers likened Israel and Israelis to terrorists. The McCain campaign said the tape could show how Mr. Obama reacted to anti-Israel remarks." For her part, Palin said the newspaper "should win a Pulitzer Prize for 'kowtowing.'" The Washington Post says McCain compared Khalidi, who heads Columbia's Middle East Institute, "to a 'neo-Nazi'" in one of the interviews, and "also alleged that Vietnam War-era radical William Ayers had been at the banquet -- something that has not been reported by the Times -- adding to a growing flap over the release of the videotape." The New York Daily News reports that McCain "wasn't buying the L.A. Times' comeback that the mystery video was confidential source material. 'I'm not in the business about talking about media bias but what if there was a tape with John McCain with a neo-Nazi outfit being held by some media outlet?' McCain said. 'I think the treatment of the issue would be slightly different.'"
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports, "A fired staffer for an affiliate of" ACORN "testified Wednesday the organization was provided a 'donor list' from" Obama's campaign "in late 2007 for fundraising efforts. Anita Moncrief, a former Washington staffer for Project Vote, which she described as a sister organization of...ACORN, said her supervisor told her the list of campaign contributors came from the Obama campaign." The Philadelphia Inquirer adds Moncrief "gave a scathing, though at times vague, assessment of ACORN and its efforts to go into battleground states and help mostly minorities and the poor register to vote for the first time. The group, she said, barely trained its workers in how to register voters properly, and would fire employees if they did not meet a quota of 20 new voter applicants daily."
All national polls continue to show Barack Obama leading John McCain in the race for the White House. The size of Obama's lead, however, continues to vary in the different national surveys.
Four polls now show Obama leading by three points. The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,789 registered voters taken October 26-28 has two likely voter models one (based on past voting behavior and current intention to vote) shows Obama leading McCain 49%-46%, while the second (based on current intention to vote) shows Obama up 51%-44%.
The GWU/Battleground poll of 1,000 likely voters taken October 22-23 and October 26-28 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-46%, remaining steady for the last three days.
The Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll for October 29 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-47%, unchanged from the previous day.
The IBD /TIPP daily presidential tracking poll of 894 likely voters taken October 24-28 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-44%.
The C-Span/Zogby daily presidential tracking poll of 1,202 likely voters taken October 27-29 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-43%.
The Hotline/Diageo tracking poll of 878 likely voters taken October 26-28 shows Obama up 49%-42%.
The ABC News /Washington Post daily presidential tracking poll of 1,316 likely voters taken October 25-28 shows Obama leading McCain 52%-44%.
Noting the disparate results, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal that "there's no question Mr. McCain is in a difficult place. The last national poll that showed Mr. McCain ahead came out Sept. 25 and the 232 polls since then have all shown Mr. Obama leading. Only one time in the past 14 presidential elections has a candidate won the popular vote and the Electoral College after trailing in the Gallup Poll the week before the election: Ronald Reagan in 1980." However, "the question that matters is the margin. If Mr. McCain is down by 3%, his task is doable, if difficult. If he's down by 9%, his task is essentially impossible."
McCain Says He's "Two Or Three Or Four Points Down" McCain said on CNN's Larry King Live, "I know we're still the underdog. We're now two or three or four points down. And we've got six days to go to make that up. ... You know I love the underdog status. I just want to leave that status at the time the polls close."
Two Polls Show Obama Up In Florida A CNN /Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll of 747 likely Florida voters taken October 23-28 shows Obama leading McCain 51%-47%. An AP/GfK poll of 788 likely Florida voters taken October 22-26 shows Obama leading McCain 45%-43%.
McCain Up 2 In Missouri A CNN /Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll of 825 likely Missouri voters taken October 23-28 shows McCain leading Obama 50%-48%.
Obama Up 8 In Colorado A CNN /Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll of 774 likely Colorado voters taken October 23-28 shows Obama leading McCain 53%-45%.
Obama Up 9 In Virginia A CNN /Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll of 721 likely Virginia voters taken October 23-28 shows Obama leading McCain 53%-44%.
Obama Up 10 In New Mexico A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely New Mexico voters taken October 28 shows Obama leading McCain 54%-44%.
Obama Up 12 In Minnesota A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Minnesota voters taken October 28 shows Obama leading McCain 55%-43%.
Obama Up 10 In Michigan A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Michigan voters taken October 28 shows Obama leading McCain 53%-43%.
McCain Up 5 In Georgia A CNN /Time/Opinion Research Corporation poll of 690 likely Georgia voters taken October 23-28 shows McCain leading Obama 52%-47%.
McCain Up 19 In Kansas A SurveyUSA automated poll of 626 likely Kansas voters taken October 27-28 shows McCain leading Obama 58%-37%.
Obama Up 29 In New York A SurveyUSA automated poll of 633 likely New York voters taken October 27-28 shows Obama leading McCain 62%-33%.
McCain Up 25 In Alabama A SurveyUSA automated poll 650 likely Alabama voters taken October 27-28 for WKRG-TV Mobile shows McCain leading Obama 61%-36%.
Obama Up 30 In Delaware A SurveyUSA automated poll of 657 likely Delaware voters taken October 27-28 for WCAU-TV Philadelphia Obama leading McCain 63%-33%.
Greenfield: Obama Can Win Without FL, VA, OH On the CBS Evening News, Jeff Greenfield said, "Look at these blue states. Those are the states John Kerry carried in 2004. Obama has a double-digit lead in all of them, which is 252 electoral votes, just 18 shy. When you add states where he has commanding leads right now, at least, Iowa, Colorado, and New Mexico, those states alone put him over the top without even talking about Florida or Virginia or Ohio."
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Though the identity of the next president will not be known for at least another six days, the White House's current occupant and one potential successor are starting to look ahead to the transition. The Financial Times says Sen. Barack Obama "has the largest and most disciplined presidential transition team anyone can recall," though "transition insiders...are under strict orders from the Obama campaign not to talk to the media to avoid giving the impression Mr Obama thinks he has won already." The Wall Street Journal says Democrats inside Obama's campaign and on Capitol Hill "are jockeying even before Election Day to shape an Obama administration's legislative agenda," and Roll Call looks at some of the possible insiders in an Obama White House, including ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who "is widely mentioned" as a potential chief of staff.
As for President Bush, the Washington Times says he "is making good on his promise" to "preside over a decidedly un-Clintonesque transition to the next administration." The Bush Administration is "engaged in an unprecedented, top-to-bottom transition effort, directed by top White House officials," that got underway with an October 9 executive order "creating a Presidential Transition Coordinating Council, headed by Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten." The Financial Times says the White House "has been working to ensure that the winner of Tuesday's election will be prepared for the first change in presidential power" since 9/11.
Democrats Hoping For Major Sweep Roll Call says Democrats "were barely restrained Wednesday as they predicted big gains in the House and Senate." Democrats are projected to gain "at least 25 House seats," while in the Senate, the party "now has a real possibility of picking up the nine seats needed to produce a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority." National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Ensign said on MSNBC, "We certainly have some pretty strong political head winds in our face right now. ... Election Day is really up in the air. It could be a very late night for us."
The Washington Times reports, "Through a quirk in the rules, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may once again emerge as the Senate Democrats' indispensable man." Lieberman "provided the crucial 51st vote to give Democrats control of the Senate in 2006," and now could "provide the crucial 60th vote" depending on the outcome next week.
The federal government is "considering a plan that would help around 3 million homeowners avoid foreclosure," the AP reports. The New York Times says under the plan, "the government would agree to shoulder half of the losses on home loans if mortgage companies agreed to lower borrowers' monthly payments for at least five years." The Wall Street Journal says the proposal, designed by the Treasury Department and FDIC, "is close to being finalized." It is expected to cost "between $40 billion and $50 billion," funding which "could potentially come out of the $700 billion financial-rescue program."
The Washington Post reports on its front page that several sources "said the mortgage program still faces resistance from the White House," while USA Today reports the Treasury, "in a statement, said that details of the plan widely reported in the media Wednesday were 'simply inaccurate.' It said department officials 'have not decided on a particular approach.'"
Durable Goods Orders Rise Unexpectedly The AP reports, "Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted an unexpectedly strong showing in September -- the largest gain in three months." The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose by 0.8 percent after a 5.5 percent decline in August. But the Financial Times said the figure "still pointed to weakness in the manufacturing sector." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal says economists "estimate GDP shrank by 0.5% at an annualized rate, more than reversing the second quarter's 2.8% growth."
The Federal Reserve "slashed interest rates a half-percentage point" on Wednesday, USA Today reports. ABC World News noted that "the last time the rate was lower, Dwight Eisenhower was president." The New York Times reports in a front page story that the Fed "left open the possibility of going still lower, warning 'downside risks to growth remain,'" though the Washington Times reports a "decision on future cuts likely would be put off until the effects of Wednesday's cuts are felt." The Los Angeles Times says the cut "was widely expected," and the Wall Street Journal says central banks in several other countries are "expected to follow suit."
Despite getting the "interest rate cut it wanted," however, Wall Street "turned in a baffling late-day performance Wednesday, shooting higher and then skidding lower in the very last minutes of trading," the AP reports. In the end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 74.16 at 8,990.96, while the S&P 500 fell 10.42 to 930.09, and the Nasdaq advanced 7.74 to 1,657.21. The Financial Times reports as the session "drew to a close, the market fell by a jaw-dropping 5 per cent within 10 minutes." The Los Angeles Times reports analysts "had little explanation for the abrupt sell-off, although it has been common in recent weeks for mutual funds, hedge funds and other big investors to dump shares at the end of the day to raise cash." The Wall Street Journal says traders "say the market's unprecedented volatility has kept them on the lookout for a possible return to the market's recent lows."
Fed Also Offers Short-Term Loans To Automakers The Washington Times reports the Fed also "agreed to extend short-term loans to the finance arms of Detroit's Big Three automakers." The CBS Evening News says the Big Three "have had to cut more than 48,000 jobs" so far in 2008, and GM and Chrysler, "desperate to stay afloat," are "talking about merging and are asking for a big government bailout to help do it." But the merger talks are hampered by "several unresolved issues" such as government financing and union support, the Washington Post says. In the meantime, says USA Today, GM "is pushing to save every penny it can."
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Jay Leno: "Just six days from today, we'll know for sure exactly which candidate will be suing the other for voter fraud. This is exciting."
Jay Leno: "Earlier this evening, Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial appeared on three of the major networks -- Fox, CBS and NBC. ... Now, if you didn't see it, one part was a little odd. At the end, Barack said, 'If you vote now, we'll throw in a set of steak knives and a can of OxiClean.'"
Jay Leno: "I tell you, though," things are "not looking good for McCain. ... In fact, today he went down to IKEA because I think he realized this could be his only chance to put together his own cabinet."
David Letterman: "They...say that there may be some friction between John McCain and Sarah Palin." Aides "suspected that there was something wrong when McCain started referring to Sarah Palin as 'that one.'"
Conan O'Brien: "Here on NBC, Barack Obama's infomercial preempted the new show 'Knight Rider.' ... So, folks, Obama is not even president yet," and he is "already making America a better place."
Conan O'Brien: "During the speech earlier today, Barack Obama accidentally mixed up his black sitcom characters. He said that Wheezy from 'The Jeffersons' was a character on 'Sanford and Son.' ... And just like that, folks, the election is wide open."
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