Obama seeks advice

The Obama Campaign held a conference call in which campaign staff discussed a meeting between Senator Obama and economic advisers. Dr. Laura Tyson, former chairwoman of the President's Council or Economic Advisers under Clinton, said structural issues like health care and education were discussed alongside large economic issues like the financial markets.

Tyson said tax cuts proposed by Obama are similar to tax cuts in the mid 1990s that lowered unemployment in some places to two percent. She said others and herself in the first Clinton administration never imagined unemployment would be capable of dropping below five percent. According to Lynch, Obama's tax cuts would give $1,000 to 95 percent of middle-income families.

Former Senator Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) said Republican candidate John McCain's call for increased domestic drilling to lower gas prices would not be functional for at least five years, comparing the strategy to McCain's call for a gas-tax holiday. Bradley suggested that Americans will view both strategies as an attempt to grab attention. Bradley, implying Barack Obama, said only one candidate truly understands long-term economic strategies and the need for government to set and enforce economic rules.

Hispanics supporting Obama

The Pew Hispanic Center released the results of a survey on Hispanic voting trends in the presidential election during a conference call. Susan Minushkin said Hispanics surveyed lean towards Sen. Obama by a 3 to 1 margin. According to Minushkin, Hispanic Catholics, 56 percent of Latino voters, favor Obama while Sen. McCain enjoys higher support among non-Catholic Hispanics. Minushkin said 32 percent of voters said Obama’s race would help him, contrasted with 11 percent who said it would hurt him. At the same time, 24 percent of respondents said McCain’s race would hurt him while 7 percent said it would not. Minushkin also said 76 percent of respondents who voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primary elections, a candidate who enjoyed large support in the Latino community, have shifted their allegiance to Obama. She contrasted this with white Clinton supporters, saying only 70 percent have expressed support of the Obama campaign.

Mark Lopez said 55 percent of the registered voters surveyed leaned Democrat and 26 percent leaned towards the GOP. Lopez stated that the Hispanic vote is crucial on a national stage due to large Hispanic populations in key battleground states like Florida, Colorado, and New Mexico. According to Lopez, the most important issues found among Hispanics in the study were education, the cost of living, employment, and health care.

McCain at NAACP

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain discussed education, government spending, and the economy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his remarks, McCain said his opponent democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama “an impressive fellow,” saying Obama has been able to inspire many Americans and that Obama has made historical strides for the United States.

McCain defended school voucher programs, asking where failing schools leave families and children in need of a good education. He said no bureaucracy should deny a child’s right to an education and that Americans are of dangerous schools with unqualified teachers. McCain also proposed aiding study outside of school by putting $500 million towards virtual schools and the expansion of online courses. He noted educational reform has been a goal of the NAACP, saying that despite the best efforts of teachers, blacks are among the most likely to drop out of high school. He criticized Obama’s opposition to educational programs in lower class neighborhoods and Obama’s decision to ignore public support for private school vouchers.

McCain said government spending has increased 60 percent in the last eight years, advocating reduced taxation as a method to ease Americans’ struggles with a hard economy. If elected, McCain told the conference he would double tax breaks for dependents and build 45 new nuclear plants as a method to develop alternative energy sources and to provide Americans 700,000 additional jobs. McCain closed by saying he needs counsel and goodwill from the NAACP to effectively help the United States.

McCain accused of fueling anti-Americanism

Sen. John McCain’s opposition to a withdrawal from Iraq, a move supported by the Iraqi government, was criticized in a conference call held by the Obama campaign. Moderator Denis McDonough said McCain discourages Iraqis from becoming self-sufficient and questioned how McCain plans to end the war without letting Iraq defend itself.

Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig said McCain must explain to Iraqis and Americans why he stands in opposition to the majority viewpoints held in each country. Danzig stated that war is fought to bring peace and questioned how peace can prevail when Iraqis are ignored. He said fundamentalists are able to support their anti-American claims that the United States means to establish itself in the region through McCain’s anti-withdrawal stance. Danzig continued, saying that diversion in Iraq hinders the United States’s success in the global War on Terror.

Major General Geoffrey Lambert, (USA, Ret.) said increased oil revenues and a new confidence stemming from Iraqi forces’ greater capabilities have led to Iraq’s support of a withdrawal schedule. Lambert stated that these signs are encouraging and should be supported by the United States.

Latinos 'hold the key to the White House'

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) welcomed respected national leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to speak at its 25th annual conference. The National Leadership Luncheon kicked off with a $1 million donation to NALEO from State Farm Insurance Companies.

Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) were met with a standing ovation when they took the stage to give their welcome address. Salazar thanked Reid for being a champion of Latinos and diversity but also reminded conference attendees that Latinos still had a long way to go. Menendez said the past year had been transformational with around 17 million Latinos eligible to vote and praised the record turnout for elections. Despite a bout of laryngitis, Pelosi took the stage and reminded the crowd that Latinos ‘hold the key to the White House.’

Reid said that this election was an opportunity for the Latino population to shape the country. He credited Puerto Rico for having the greatest percentage of their men and women serving America in the military compared to all the other states. Menendez mentioned that the first soldier to fall in the war on Iraq was a Latino and not even a U.S. citizen.

Clinton gave the closing remarks and made a call for more Latino elected officials. In reference to the more than 1.3 million Latinos who applied for naturalization, a number greater than the goal set by the ‘Ya Es Hora’ campaign, Clinton said America must honor its immigrant heritage and ‘start acting like America again.’