Week in review...

As in other weeks, the BBC has been closely following the election this week. And, also like other stations, I'm sure that the economy has been in the forefront. The issues this week, include the following:
1. The Debate
This in itself was an issue. This was a pretty big deal because of the other issues (economy, McCain, Palin), all fed into this. The economic crisis, the close second, could not be ignored. This became part of the debate, and was thus covered, and the fact that this was going to happen definitely making headlines. The economic crisis was a news story, and that related to the election was a news story... but the fact that this was going to be covered in the debate was the bigger story.
2. The economic bailout...
The US is facing the worst economic outlook on Wall Street since the Great Depression. This has an effect on the entire world market. The measures that the government is taking, and the candidates' response has made headlines, as well. Economic & Foreign policiy is what is going to decide this election, because every American is concerned. the BBC does a pretty good job at telling what the candidates think without bias.
3. McCain suspending campaign
This is a story, because it affects the debate and is directly related to the economic bailout. McCain, whose campaign slogan is "Country First," is fulfilling his duty as senator, putting his campaign second. Supporters look and say-- this kid mean business--- and Obama called him out saying that it is important that McCain be able to multi-task. The BBC said, "Republican John McCain said he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to deal with the crisis.

But Democratic rival Barack Obama said it was "more important than ever" for US citizens to hear from the person who would soon be "dealing with this mess"."

4. Palin's talks with world leaders.

Palin will face Joe Biden in a debate this week. Palin meeting with world leaders is important because, until this year she didn't even have a passport. Her experience with foreign policy consisted of her proximity to other nations. The BBC wrote the story in such a way that made it appear that these meetings were mostly in preparation for the debate.

5. Past presidential debates

The BBC, like others, liked to look at past presidential debates to compare this debate to. They talked about debates such as the 1960 debate between Kennedy and Nixon, and even the Bentson-Quayle VP debate. The VP debate between Palin and Biden is expected to be a factor in the upcoming election, not something you see everyday in a American presidential elections. Also-- reminding everyone of the past election mess-ups, helps keep everyone looking for the current candidates mistakes.

This aligns pretty well with what my group of friends, and peers are talking about. I went home this weeknd, and not only was my aunt and uncle watching it (baby boomers), but so was my grandmother. I found it surprizing, though, that while my aunt and uncle decided a long time ago that they were voting for McCain, my grandmother hadn't decided yet. This debate, my family thought McCain won-- and the articles that the BBC wrote asking who won said that it was either a draw, McCain w/ a slight win, OR Obama winning by a landslide (those were few).

I feel like the BBC has done a great job with reporting this election, and I look forward to following it for the next 30 some days.

AND THE WINNER IS....

I had been waiting for this day... I wanted to see who the BBC was going to endorse, especially after the editorial about how some elected official said that if she were a voting American citizen, she would vote for Obama.

Now the thing about that, is that the BBC is very clear about what is editorials or OpEds, and what are actual news stories. So, I watched the debate, waited a few minutes, then looked to the BBC. Sure enough, the entire top half, or what the industry calls 'above the fold' was dedicated to the US presidential debate.

The article, entitled, "McCain and Obama spar in first debate" was complete with video clips was up and ready to go when I checked at 10:50 pm Friday September 26, 2008.

I noticed that in the bolded sections of the article (unlike many news sites, the BBC breaks up their articles into subheadings), after the first subheading, each one was a quote--either directly or indirectly from McCain. This could have been for a couple of reasons. The first is that foreign policy is McCain's thing. This could also be because the fact that McCain was there was a big deal.

As was reported in days previous, McCain had vowed that he would not be debating if congress had not made significant progress in solving the economy problem. Luckily, 10 hours before, he said that he thought significant progress had been made, so he could be there.

This also sparked the first part of debate. This was supposed to be all about foreign policy, but there is no way that the moderator could ignore the crisis that our nation is facing. This doesn't seem to be a problem just for America though.

I thought that the BBC would focus on the issues dealing with foreign policy in their article. I thought this because they are one of our closest allies. They are the ones that are still in Iraq and Afghanistan with us, so why would they NOT be interested in this discussion.

Well, I believe it's because we are leaders in the economy, and our banking industry is facing the worst crisis we've seen since the Great Depression. And this isn't just affecting us; it is affecting the world.

Did they call a winnner? No. They, once again, have given us the facts, backed up with video...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7639070.stm

More economics as we prepare for debate

9:50 pm Tuesday September 23

This Friday is the first presidential debate that is supposed to be focused on foreign affairs. We know that this is where McCain is supposed to shine; we also know that public speaking is Obama's thing. The BBC reports that the Obama campaign, though, is not pumping up this debate. Instead of setting Obama up for success, they are setting McCain up for failure. The BBC reports, "This debate offers [Mr McCain] a major home-court advantage and anything short of a game-changing event will be a key missed opportunity for him."

They couldn't ignore the still growing concern of the economic crisis. They actually touched on something that I hadn't been hearing in the news. they said, "The two candidates - whose campaign plans have both been knocked off course by the crisis - have taken increasingly divergent paths on the bail-out, although both are moving gingerly lest they be blamed for blocking the rescue."

Yeah, they'll comment, but they won't have a discussion about it. They tend to attack the other candidate, rather than talk about the issue.

And we can't forget about our favourite* female vice-president. Sarah Palin has managed to stay in the headlines. Someone had hacked into her email-- but the story got juicy. It turns out that invesigators believe that it was the 20-year-old student David Kernell, son of state congressman Mike Kernell.

They also have a special editorial that I found interesting; it was about the view the rest of the world will have of the United States if we face, again, what we did in 2000. The author talks about the chances that we get a 269 to 269, and how that would make America appear weak. They also provide a new electoral map, showing exactly how this could happen; and also how this provides a much better chance to see our first women presidet; Nancy Pelosi.
They sum up what is important with one article. They said, "The candidates continue to give their responses to the US Treasury Secretary's $700bn economic bailout plan. McCain campaign managers lay into the media in general and the New York Times in particular."

This is what is important so far this week, but we'll certainly see how this changes as we grow closer to the debate, and election.

I know I'm not American, but I'd vote for....

WHAT? Again, the leaders of the free world's economy is crashing. We're staring an oncoming depression in the face. And... we're speculating who we would vote for if we were Americans?

I will give it to the BBC. I feel that the people at the BBC all have different feelings about Americans and our politics. This is because some articles seem down the middle while others lean a bit left or right.

The headline today {10:53 Friday September 19} is about McCain criticizing the bailout. This is a headline because historically, he has sided with Bush about many things. Is this a tactic to demonstrate how he can disagree with Bush? A way to show that he is not the same old Washington? It certainly doesn't seem that way. There's no mention of that in the article. It also fits in with the Republican platform: get government out and let us be!

Democrats should be saying, we'll give you the rules, so we'll give you the assistance, but McCain is saying, it is time that we stop helping them and they take responsibility for their institute. Obama wasn't in the headlines... but he got a section to himself about this whole situation. He is again appealing to this small town; talking about saving Main Street.

Why is this? In another article on the BBC, they talked about Big-City-Barrack vs. Small-Town-Sarah. While we know that most of America is made up of city dwellers, why has SArah Palin become so popular?

It's simple: look at the battleground states. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia? Do you first think of Philadelphia? or Scranton? Columbus? or St. Clairesville? It's the small town voter that are hurting; and the ones deciding this next election.

I guess this array of articles makes it tough as to what really matters in this election... Will it be the (failing) economy that decides, or who can really rock out to John Mellencamp's "I was born in a small town" ?

white women, economic woes, West Wing & a bit of FDR

Today I found the RSS feed that sends me all the latest updates about the election according the BBC. I learned that there were many more articles that were hidden from other correspondents in America. Today, for example four articles came out; for the past three weeks, there have only been around 4 main articles a week about the election. It turns out, that it's more about where you look.

But what's important? Well, the first story of the day focused on the fact that football moms at Barrington High in Illinois, and their affection for Sarah Palin. The writer quipped about the fact that none of these women that were excited about the woman on the ballot knew a thing about Palin's policies. They were also quick to say that although some women think she is great, others do not see her as a feminist; she is pro-life.

But this isn't the story of the day. Anyone with a television has heard about the economy; Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had to be bailed out; Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy; and Bank of America is buying Merrill Lynch. This is an issue that the candidates could not ignore. The entire country is feeling the heat. the BBC reported that this is consistently the number one concern in this election. What are they reporting that McCain & Obama are saying?

It appears that Obama is blaming Bush... again. McCain says that it is the fault of "ineffective regulation and management".

This article was super short; and it wasn't the last article for the day; the BBC went on to publish another story beforehand, as well as leave the two stories before that up. One was a story about how this entire situation was almost identical to one on the fictional show The West Wing. Newsworthy? eh... Interesting-- but what does this say about how interested the rest of the world really is in the American election?

I mean, really? Our entire financial institution is about to crumble. The Lehman Brothers made it through two wars and The Great Depression: we hit what those of us without homes thought of as a 'minor credit crisis,' and suddenly thousands are without jobs; the mayor of New York City is cancelling his trip to Africa, and the writers at the BBC are concerned about how our election is looking like a rerun of The West Wing? We're the leaders of the free world, and this is the article we're reading...

It makes it clear, once again, that although there are tons of issues, we want to focus on the ones that matter least.

Wrap Up and top 5...

Under 50 days left to win this election? What does the BBC think we should be looking at to decide who to vote for?
1. Sarah Palin's ABC special
2. Sarah Palin's family
3. Obama's fund raising ability
4. Sarah Palin on Sarah Palin ad, and Obama's refusal to apologize
5. 9-11 remembrance.

Looking at classmate's blogs, it appears that the BBC is following the America media as far as the agenda they are running. Sarah Palin has certainly shaken things up in the entire world. While many analysts might say that Palin was not vetted as she should have been, I think that McCain can see what happened to Obama in primary season, and I'm seeing a paralell to what is happening now.

Hillary 'leaked' things like the picture of Obama in a turban, and then the tape of his minister was all over the television. It seemed that no matter what you heard about him, his popularity continued to explode. The more controversy, the more he became recognized and popular. Sarah Palin stepped up, and she has been criticized for her pregnant daughter and her 'abstinence' push; the 'troopergate' scandal; the fact that she has children, one of which is special needs, one is pregnant, and the other in Iraq (all under age 20) and she's running for one of the most powerful positions in governement (time commitment?); and let's not forget the fact that she is 44 with little experience, which just happens to be the entire platform that McCain had built his election on...

Someone once said that 'there's no such thing as bad press,' and I think McCAin and Palin are experiencing those consequences... One thing is for sure; the BBC has bit on, and caught Palin fever...

Obama Returns

5:39 PM Sunday, September 14, 2008

After a week with Sarah Palin in the headlines, Obama returns. The main story this week is that Obama got almost a half million new donors and beat his previous fundraising record. In this month, he raised over $66 million...

They talk about how he will have much more money than McCain, which Obama will need after Palin's big premier on Thursday. Even though this was the headlining story, you couldn't help but notice the story underneath. That, my friends, is another story about Sarah Palin, and her husband being supenaed in the 'troopergate scandal'.

In their blog section, they have articles about what we've learned about SArah Palin, and what the American people are looking for in a president. Although there seems to be a larger number of stories about the REpublicans, they tend to have a more negative slant than those about the democrats, making it seem as though, they are a little more left...

This is another week of unimportant issue discussion... Although, the candidates' ethics are important, we should move on to the plan to solve the energy crisis; or how we can improve the economy; or what the president means to the rest of the world. Instead, we're looking how much money they are spending now; I can think of a lot of things that $66 million dollars could buy other than ads smearing John McCain... say, solving world hunger-- or perhaps fighting illertacy?

Do you know the difference between pigs and pit bulls? Apparently Sarah Palin...

So, news has moved on from Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter, and her electrifying speech. The republicans have found a nice little clip referring to pigs and lip stick, thinking that it was an allusion to the joke Sarah Palin made about hockey moms.



On BBC Wednesday, September 10 at 11:45, the main story about the election is Obama denying the charges that he was being sexists. He claims that his comments were taken out of context. The BBC writes, ""The McCain campaign would much rather have the story about phoney and foolish diversions than about the future," the Illinois senator said."

I feel like this issue is moot. McCain made the same kind of comments about Hilary Clinton. Also, the McCain campaign has been running negative ads from some time now. At least in the outlets I've been watching, I have not been seeing any kind of rebuttal from Obama. It seems that McCain can give grief, but plays the girl card when Obama fights back...

I feel like this story will blow over, and that the stories that aren't getting much attention are the ones that may make a difference. Below the Obama and lipstick story is the one where Ron Paul is calling for people to deny both candidates and pick a third party. His slogan? I'd rather throw away my vote than throw away my country. With the election as close as it is, a few thousand votes might just throw this election one way or another...

It's that time of year again...

That's right. September 11, a day that anyone over the age of 17 will remember for the rest of their lives. It's because that is the day that America changed. It was like the Pearl Harbor of the 21st century.

It is the time when the world came together to mourn the loss of thousands of lives. It was the day that it didn't matter if you were Republican or Democrat. Well, again this year, in what looks to be the one of the the most heated elections in decades, the candidates are taking the day to come together to demonstrate unity; something that both candidates are saying must happen if we want to 'change' or 'reform' America.

On Sunday September 7 around 10:00 pm, this was the big story as far as the election on BBC. It comes after a week of McCain's campaign being in the spotlight. Other than that particular article, others still surrounded McCain's speech at the RNC and the American economy.

The American economy is hurting right now. The headline on BBC is about the save that the US government just made to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If you're in America, of course that would be a big deal. Those that live here in America have always heard that we're the leaders of the free world, but it shows no better than on a site where the target audience is Europe.

What happens in the American economy affects the rest of the world. In the article, they don't mention the election, but in the box designed for the election, there is an article about John McCain's speech. In that they do mention that McCain did not mention his lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy.

My question is, however, I know that McCain doesn't have the best history with the economy-- but no one has ever talked about how Obama does. Obama is known as a community activist, a young guy with lots of energy-- not experience--with the economy or otherwise.

I believe that the economy is a tough topic because there aren't a lot of people who really do understand how it works. The average American doesn't understand stocks or bonds, or what it means when the Dow Jones is down 2 points. I feel that this will be an issue that will continue to resurface throughout this election.

Head for cover! John McCain attacks!

Okay! So I take back what I said about I said about the BCC being down the middle. You learn in any basic journalism class that you say what you mean. Avoid emotionally charged words-- unless you mean them. I've been keeping my browser on www.bbc.co.uk, watching the headlines fly by. Today, the headline of the website read,

"McCain attacks media over Palin"

Really? Attacks, does he? Apparently, the GOP candidate speared some guy holding a pencil and paper for hounding his campaign about not thoroughly researching his VP candidate. Hmm. Wait! No? They released a statement condemning the media for questioning the process in which he picked his VP. It was a statement? You mean the senator didn't hit anyone? Or body slam the guy with the camera?

It couldn't be that he did research and accepts that his VP candidate doesn't live the perfect life. Maybe she doesn't like her ex-brother-in-law. Maybe she has a teenage daughter who is sexually active. Maybe she has a child that has Down syndrome. Maybe she's an American mom, who deals with life.

The BBC later went on to say that her husband, Todd, was part of a group that thought about seceeding from the union, and also that she has hired a lawyer in the case of 'trooper-gate'. Both of these would require little effort on the part of the journalist to get the full story. Instead, the BBC will leave it at that, making it appear that Palin is guilty of some crime, or that her husband doesn't support America. Anyone familiar with politics knows that the lawyer is probably a technicality, and that her husband would not allow or encourage his son to join the miltary if he didn't want to be part of the United States of America.

I hope to see how things play out over the weekend, especially AFTER Sarah Palin speaks tonight at the RNC.

McCain a year ago

One year ago, John McCain was seen by the public to be an decorated POW & Vietnam War Veteran who was a little left from his Republican peers. He had been known as a maverick, making decisions based on logic and truth, but had began to be doubted by the public when defending President Bush and the Iraq war (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000759_pf.html). Some of that controversy was sparked when Bush said that having a timeline to be out of Iraq could not be done, and McCain supported that decision.

Also, at this time last year, the media was looking at the trouble that he was having fund raising, and really talking up Giuliani and Romney's campaign, as well. He was not a far right conservative, as Romney is, but also not as liberal as Giuliani. He was, however, without a doubt the expert on foreign affairs, and had the experience in Washington. Despite his experience with foreign affairs, and decorated war status, he was still making cuts to his campaign staff (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/us/politics/03cnd-mccain.html?ex=1184040000&en=ebc79dc2166baf13&ei=5099&partner=TOPIXNEWS).

He was still in the running, but was being slightly overshadowed, at least in the media by Mayor Giuliani and Governor Romney. Republicans thought that McCain would be a more moderate candidate. They may turn out to be correct, as there are several Hillary supporters who are voting Republican this election day. It's hard to imagine that a year a go, he was just trying to get the Republican nomination, and today those that were running against him are endorsing him; some in hopes of the VP seat, and others in hopes that Republicans stay in the oval office.