Veterans endorse Obama's Middle East strategy

The Obama Campaign held a conference call today with veterans of the war in Iraq to discuss why they feel the Illinois senator will best lead our military to victory in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Christopher McGurk, a former Army Staff Sergeant and Infantryman, as well as an Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran said he supports Obama because he believes the senator has the best plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq. He also cited Obama’s commitment to supporting veterans and active soldiers as another primary reason for supporting him. In particular, Obama’s support for the new GI Bill and increased funding for soldiers has been especially important when deciding whom to support.

John McCary, an Iraq veteran who served as both an enlisted soldier in the US Army and an intelligence specialist, said Obama is the kind of leader that understands the strategic vision our military needs to be successful in the Middle East. McCary went on to emphasize the importance of cultural understanding among our members of the military, as well as a commitment to civilian reconstruction and rebuilding alliances. He feels Obama will best accomplish these goals.

Koby Langley, a former Army JAG officer and veteran of both Iraq and the Balkans said that our next president will need a clarity of judgment when deciding how to restore America’s moral authority in the world, and that Sen. Obama is the best man to do that. He said that by restoring this authority in the eyes of other nations, the United States can be a driving force in global politics.

The most political period begins

Rick Davis the campaign manager for John McCain said that they are looking at a pretty even race, especially state by state in the targeted states. "We are entering one of the most political periods of the whole race," he said noting that the conventions, debates, and the vice presidential nods will happen in the next 10 weeks. Davis also said that they are gaining ground with the Republican base. "We are also very competitive with independent voters and we're doing well with disaffected democrats that don't support Obama."

"We've constantly got to pay attention to the need to excite the base," Davis said "It's a party that we have to rebuild and win an election in the process."

Davis said that the campaign continues to have record fundraising making it five months in a row for records. In July the campaign had and income $26 million with about 600,000 donors. Totaled with RNC donors there are 1.5 million donors to the campaign. Because Mccain is seeking to use public financing in his campaign they will have to stop fundraising in primary account and exhaust those funds by Aug 30. In July the campaign had 2.4 million cash on hand which Davis said they will use to prosecute the campaign in August. "We'll have a good august," he said. He explained that the campaign will start the general election full with government and RNC funding. They plan to spend down the primary account in more media buys as well as building up ground operations in states where the Obama campaign is presenting a challenge. So far the McCain campaign has spent $60 million on media buys.

The advertising done during Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe gave the Mccain campaign an uptick in Internet fundraising thanks to high hits on the video of the ad on YouTube.

McCain campaign fires back at Obama

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has shifted his position on taxes to win the hearts of American people, when in reality he has voted 94 times to raise taxes, according to Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard. The McCain campaign held a teleconference with Fiorina and others in response to statements from the Obama campaign which said the Illinois senator would reduce taxes on the American people.

Fiorina said that Obama would institute $863 billion dollars in new spending programs if elected president. In addition, she said Obama has asked for nearly $1 billion in earmarks. Fiorina concluded by saying that the top five percent of wealthiest Americans will see the bulk of tax increases.

John Taylor, a Professor of Economics at Stanford University, said that with an economic recession looming, now is not the time to raise taxes on the Americans. He also said that McCain's primary economic focus is about creating jobs for the American people. Taylor agreed with Fiorina that Obama has shifted his position a number of times in order to earn more votes.

Obama promises tax cuts for middle class, increase for the wealthy

Sen. Barack Obama's tax plan would cut taxes to rates that are lower than those seen under Ronald Reagan, according to Jason Furman, the Obama for America Economic Policy Director. He and others held a conference call to discuss Obama's tax plan, and to dispel any myths that they feel were spread by Sen. John McCain's campaign.

Furman went on to say that taxes on middle class families would be significantly cut, with the overall tax rate brought down to less than 18 percent of our nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, he said Obama would supplement these cuts by ending the war in Iraq responsibly and cut subsidies to Medicare HMOs. Furman also said that any family earning below $250,000 annually can expect no tax increases under an Obama administration, while McCain cannot say the same thing. He said that McCain's plan, for the first time in history, would force Americans to pay taxes on health insurance they receive from employers. Furman said this would result in a $3.6 trillion tax increase on middle class Americans.

Austan Goolsbee, Chief Economic Advisor for Obama for America said that the top one percent of households would see their taxes go from 21 percent to less than 25 percent. In addition, Goolsbee said that Obama would lower taxes on dividends and capital gains.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers points out that while the McCain campaign and Conservatives in Washington have said that a Democratic tax plan would cause a recession, he points to the tax plan of the early 1990's under President Clinton. This plan was followed by the largest economic boom our nation has ever seen.

Tattered cake, rainbow leis mark Social Security's 73rd birthday

"You cannot make a program that works for everyone only work for some Americans", said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). She attended a protest, which was held outside of the Republican National Headquarters in Washington D.C, to celebrate Social Security's 73rd birthday.

Protesters were greeted by Republican National Headquarters employees handing out rainbow leis, referencing Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) decision to vacation in Hawaii in the thick of campaign season. Protesters rallied across from the headquarters until greeted by Norton, who led them across the street where she gave a short speech blasting Sen. John McCain's strategy to privatize Social Security. Afterwards, she joined the crowd in signing "Happy Birthday", and cut a tattered cake that was filled with holes to represent what the protesters feel are holes in Social Security's coverage.

Washington D.C.'s Shadow Senator Paul Strauss attended the protest as well, attempting in vain to deliver a birthday card signed by protesters to the Republican Headquarters. However, he was met with locked doors and security guards. The senator also caused several interns and other employees to run away as they made their way to the locked doors when he tried to pass the card to them. After several attempts, Strauss accepted defeat, saying "well at least there's more cake for us!"