Evening Buzz: On the Attack
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/07/31/art.racecard.gi.jpg%5D
Maureen Miller
360° Writer
John McCain and Barack Obama are trading shots, and some brutal ones, over the economy. Each one is firing back at the other over their economic plans. Obama outlined his new energy plan today. He's now says America should dip into the emergency oil reserve. That's a switch from a few weeks ago. He also says he might support offshore drilling. And, he's launched an attack against his opponent's plan. He says McCain has a do-nothing track record on energy. Obama also says McCain puts big oil ahead of you the consumer. We've got the raw politics.
Also tonight, Bill Clinton is back in the spotlight. He's speaking up about Hillary's loss. We'll have an up close look.
We're also tracking Tropical Storm Edouard in the Gulf of Mexico. Will it hit Texas and Louisiana? We'll have the latest.
And, don't miss tonight's shot. Anderson is back from his shark dive off the coast of South Africa and he gives us another look at what he faced in the water.
All that and more tonight on 360°.
Hope you'll join us!
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Filed under: Maureen Miller • T1 • The Buzz |
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Wow!! I can't believe the Clinton's can't go into a Black Church now after everything they have done for the Black people , Obama really is good, LOL.. I'm a Proud Canadian & I find U.S. politics fascinating, BUT, what I witnessed the Media manipulation, during the primaries between Obama & Clinton was shameless. Bravo to Former 'President' Bill Clinton for remaining honestly & openly angry with the Democratic Party. Funny how everyone is able to forget the good when a shiny new penny comes in to play. I hope Obama realises he needs Hillary and she Graciously refuses his offer for Veep & she does it in public with Obama standing with her.
This is my comment: l really commends the clintons's for their bravery
qualities,their destinctive character,their elegant demeanor.
they're people with feeling, but definitely not racistis. it's not racists
bone in their body. They are warrior and lcon's to the Democratic
party. May l say something,Roland Martin need to shut up, shut up his
mouth.Black peolpe still love the Clinton.'s Roland speak only for yourself.
you dont speak for other black people.
like it or not Obama need the Clinton's whether he admitted it or not.
give it's up for them they know Politics; and foreign Goverments.
let's face reality, Mr. Mccain has Karl Rove.and that 's a threat.
this guy is genius.,l hear.
This why Obama need the Clinton's. they're
genius. Again l say to Roland Martin we are not there yet.
dont count your eggs before they hatch.
let's make sure we get there and stop hateing on the clinton's.And their legacy.
god dont like ugly.
thank for listening.
.
I am watching AC 360 repeat later at night and saw comments made by David Gergen about the 'Moses' commercial. I really like David and he makes the most clear headed and non-biased comments of all the advisors; however, I must take issue with his comment on the signal that this ad is sending to America. I'm fron the south as well and have been around evangelical types all my life. The undercurrent buzz that is going around about Obama is that he could be the 'anti-Christ.' I have not heard this comment outside living rooms, etc.; but it is a very definite mind set among a lot of the evangelicals who believe that his popularity is due to the writings in the Bible about the anti-Christ. Having said that, as we all know, there are a large number of these holier than thou types in the Republican strategy group who would be very much aware of this buzz and would not pass up any opportunity to make this suttle hint to the church groups at large and would go right over the heads of others who would come to the same conclusion as David Gergen. Trust me, this is the real message they are trying to send.
AC 360 coverage on this subject is a JOKE. AC's claim that "you give us the facts, and we decide" is a JOKE.. You introduced McCain's 2 ads and then spent a full five minutes showing commentary of why these ads are juvenile. I heard other commentators saying they are brilliant. Where were those comments? What did George Will say-on the panel wiith the other panelist you quoted. Guess what I thought when I heard Obama say "we did our Eurpean trip well." I though
OBAMA IS ARROGANT. That is the message of the ads! Come on,
if you are going to just give the facts, cut down on the left wing commentary. BYW. David Gegen is a throw up moderate, so don't say he is a conservative because he worked for them. GAG!!!
I am getting sick and tired of McCain, McBush trashing Sen. Obama.
He is using the same tactics that were used against him by Bush in 2000. He also has the same team that swift-boated Kerry. I am fed up with their tactics and lies and distortions.
I used to respect Sen. McCain because of his service in Vietnam and the fact that he was a POW. He lost my respect when he got involved in the Lincoln Savings scandal and became one of the Keating five.
His service in Vietnam and being a POW does not qualify him to be the President of the US.
He is extremely jealous of all the attention Obama got when he was in Iraq, Afghanistan and Europe and how many people turned out to hear him in Germany. McCain would be lucky to get 2,000 people to turn out to hear him. He just doesn't have the ability to excite people. He is old, feeble and out of touch with the average citizen.
It is time for a change and only Obama can provide that. He is ready to lead and make a real difference in our lives.
Roland Martin is a journalist and not a paid Obama campaign operative? I've had it with him. Based on what he had to say about Bill and Hillary tonight, I won't vote for Obama. Get it Roland? Lifelong Democrat here, not voting for Obama, and you can take credit for that.
Any black person saying they will vote for McCain is liar!
There is nothing on those areas that are leased dry holes. Alternative energy won't be viable for next thiry years and they are very expensive. With alternatives you will raise the poverty level. Wind fall profit tax that didnt work for Jimmy Carter. Recycled liberal ideas!
Republicans did pass an oil bill for more drilling in 1995 but Bill Clinton vetoed.
It is amazing how much CNN has been defending Obama. I have never seen AC defend anybody the way he is defending Obama. Love is in the air
I also think instead of John McCain riducling the fact that inflating our tires and get oil changes on our cars will immediately help us get better gas prices and clean up our horizon, he should come up with an idea that would help us immediately (he hasn't given us anything, except something that may be possible in the long term).
McCain definitely should shut up about Obama's inexperience because look at what his 26 years have given us towards what he considers now his best stance on economy...Big Oil Drilling on off-shore.
We have been duped by the Republicans before (Iraq) in the benefit of partisan interest.
Obama isn't willing to sell us a pack of deceit. Bottom line of what I'm not hearing is....why haven't the oil companies started drilling on the 68 million acres (40 million of which is off shore) already? If John McCain and the Republicans were legit, then why are we hearing them push allowing additional areage off-shore instead of drilling right now on what they already have?
it is getting ugly out there. is the news helping. when people deface your car with with things because you have a obama sticker .is this what america still about. MAD 67 year old rose in los angeles. how can we ever get rid of the hate we dont want to eat and sleep with you just a better ameria for all. i have white people in my life that is not like the gutter rats that wrote on my car.
To: phil georgia, will rhodes, dave b, ron berkeley,ca
jesse johnson.
I thought i was the only one noticing the b.s. from Mcclame
lets get the rest of these haters on track.
before our world is destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
ARIZONA RON FROM TUCSON
McCain himself admitted that we are addicted to oil and his answer is.... more drilling. What's wrong with that picture. And now he is calling Obama's attempt at a compromise as flip flopping. Never mind the fact that McCain flip flipped 100% in favor of drilling. Everybody knows it will take 7 to 10 years to bring the oil to market, about the same amount of time it would take to bring alternative energy. Has anybody even taken the time to think about what it's going to be like in 7 to 10 years? Do we honestly believe India and China are just going to halt their growth in energy needs? I doubt it and most people here have not thought that far in advance. People say just putting the thought that we will drill for oil on the table will start to bring the oil prices down, but the Saudis said they would increase their oil production thinking that would bring down prices. Did it??? I think not. The reason why oil prices started coming down is because we used less. That should give people pause for thought. If we really wanted to increase our oil production we would make the oil companies use the current leases they already have. They say they are saving those leases for a rainy day. They are also saying they don't have enough equipment to drill more anyway. If they don't even have enough equipment to drill on the leases they already have, what makes everybody believe they will have the equipment, or for that matter the will to immediately start drilling for new oil? And if by some miracle they did drill for new oil, what guarantees do we have that they will not just sell the oil to China. Just because we the people don't want it to happen doesn't mean it's not going to happen. People should take a look at the big picture instead of just what's happening today. Obama is doing just that and is why he is not satisfied with just drilling for oil. Because if he only agreed to drilling then nothing else will be accomplished and we will still be addicted to OIL. One other positive thing, people going into those industries will most likely do very well.
Just me 2 cents.
I was surprised at the number of points missing in Jessica Yellin's report tonight. I remain convinced that the weekend Producers do not speak with Producers during the weeks, because points raised/clarified/refuted during the weekend broadcasts are ignored as "old" news gets reported on Monday.
Jessica Yellin totally missed an opportunity to highlight, as the weekend anchors did, that even though John McCain accuses Obama of flip-flopping on the issue of drilling, the McCain just changed his position AGAINST drilling at the end of June – "times have changed."
Further, McCain's cynical reference limiting Obama's plan to "inflating tires" has already been refuted as only one of several initiatives in Obama's Energy Plan from last week, and not mentioned this morning during his launch of specifics on that plan – to include his rational for being willing to compromise on th existing Bipartisan Energy Initiative in Congress. Also, the "inflating tires" suggestion has been raised by several Republican Surrogates in the past, NASCAR, and NTSA. In fact, we can conserve 292 million gallons of gas per year than we could realize from drilling, per experts.
This type of "under-reporting" allows the public to continue misrepresented positions and further confuse the choice between the two campaigns. I really expected more from CNN. I'm running a listing of these types of discrepancies since I noticed them last week, but I had to point out the blatant shortages in this report tonight. In fact, Jessica appeared to not have a good handle on this issue to effectively represent the two campaigns' positions properly.
How can anyone take these two candidates seriously on the economy? Obama's finances were a mess before receiving book advances, a shady real estate deal on his million dollar home from Tony Rezko and a sweetheart loan; how does this make him qualified to run our economy?
McCain one ups him by simply marrying into money; now he thinks he can run our economy? say what?
These guys can surround themselves with all the "qualified economists" that fit into a photo, however, when all is said and done, most of them know nothing at all.
IndyMac, proud owner of the nation's second largest bank collapse, had a board that included Lyle Gramley (former Governor of Federal Reserve) , Bruce Willison (former head of UCLA School of Management) and Pat Haden (former Rhodes Scholar, football player and private equity hack); great job guys.
Yikes.
McCain started promising clean campaign. And look where he is now. Every day it's getting worse and worse. All he can do is attack Obama.
He is using gas prices to push for offshore drilling (which he opposed) because it's popular among the voters. All he has to say regarding alternative energy is just the general mention, no concrete proposals.
Obama agreeing to compromise regarding drilling shows that he is more mature, then his opponent, because compromise is the only way to do anything. It's easy to stay on your previous view and look strong, but it will not get anything done.
And by the way, what happened with 68 million acres of federal land licensed to oil companies now? Did they ever start drilling on any of them?
McCain's oversimplification of the energy situation, "drill, drill, drill, nuke, drill, drill, drill, other" is the same as his oversimplification on Iraq, "surge, surge, surge, counterinSURGEncy."
He may have bigger ideas, but he certainly does not even TRY to communicate them.
I don't see Obama as flip flopping AT ALL on the drilling – reading "Audacity Of Hope" he goes into great detail of how compromises have been reached throughout history across the aisle, giving numerous examples, and talks about the damage of ideological gridlock.
Gregory Doty
thats all ive been saying since these elections started, i definety appreciate your point view in this racial matter.
America be Americans pls.....
Bill Clinton gave so much to the Black Community,and now so called commentators like Rolland Martin are bashing him and saying that he cant go to the black churches. What a hypocrite. CNN is obviously favoring this so called journalists and I am so disappointed.
Every time when anybody speaks about Obama they have to be in favor of him otherwise they are taking a chance to end up being called racist.
I cannot believe the discussion on Bill Clinton! I think Roland Martin is the biggest racist of all! He is so full of hate everytime he speaks! Bill Clinton IS NOT A RACIST and neither are those who voted for Hillary Clinton because we do not support racists! Get it? if Obama is not up on the polls is not because he is black or yellow or blue, it is because he is not qualified or believable to become our President.
Is McCain smart enough to be President?
I've listened to CNN's headline and brief coverage on Obama's "flip-flop" – Then watched the longer version... I was a bit worried when I first heard the headline – then after hearing the longer version felt CNN highlighted the most negative part of what he said. I guess I should not be surprised – CNN is still the "press" and so is obviously vulnerable to taking the low road but let's let McCain do that. What CNN should keep replaying is the part where Obama talks about both sides having to give to things done and then highlight ssome positive and impressive parts of the bill. Why keep replaying the same negative piece? I've been watching it since Saturday. CNN – You're guilty of feeding the negativity. I've come to expect better... this isn't the New York Post or...?
Go Obama!
Kim
Brooklyn, NY
Cindy
there you go again with circumstantiating the truth, Obama isnt flipping he's trying to compromise, something white american knows nothing about when it comes to black people.
You people are either black or white but never grey.
grey is a color to you kinow.
ARIZONA RON FROM TUCSON
Why don't democrats stress the fact that oil companies arent drilling in areas they are allowed to drill in instead of wanting to drill in areas that they have been denied . If the Republican party had been in power in U.k there would be no way the British public would vote them in again . The President does not make Republican Policy it is the party therefore they should be thrown out.
Obama is light years ahead of McCain on his energy policies. Drilling off the California coast is not the long term answer. And it is sad to hear people, McCain included, mock Obama's suggestion that we air up our tires. That is sound advice and Obama is not suggesting that that is his sole energy policy. It really bothers me that many, many Americans really feel the energy crisis can be remedied without making any personal sacrifice on our part. The world is changing dramatically, and we need a leader who understands this. I hope Sen. Obama gets elected President of the U.S. America needs to get with it.
Another observation on the coverage on the drilling issue and McCain and Obama media hype. Obama stated that McCain had a very poor record on energy policy votes regarding everything he is talking about now, and voted against every piece of alternative energy legislation that has come up.
Obama is correct and yet the media acts as if this is a gotcha game where both sides are just attacking each other (No Obama is correct and John McCain is telling half truths and stating decptive missleading rhetoric), when it is substantive factual attacks Obama makes and Snyde quips without factual support McCain makes. Somebody start actually reporting on the political news instead of entertaining it up for 7th grade average viewer IQs, according to the media!
While on the campaign trail on August 4th, noticed that Senator McCain is not wearing his flag pin. Shame on him – Mr. unpatriotic!!
Mccain is useless, like Obama said "Mccain has been in congress for 26yrs " and hadnt done anything to prevent this problem and lets see, 26yrs ago we were having our first gas crisis so he shouldve learned then. Face it you Mcclame supporters its obvious you only want Mcclame to be president because you dont want a black president, no one ever said they didnt know Bill Clinton when he ran and he was supposedly in-experienced as well, just tell the truth america you dont feel comfortable because Obama is black and you cant say that because that would be racist and we all know racist people are not american, Mcclame knows he cant say that either so you people dance around the idea of how to make white america uncomfortable without saying its because Obama is black.
White america i want you to know something about black america, we've delt with this kind of covert racism all of our lives and we know just by the look on your faces how you feel about black people
its sort of like an e.s.p. we;ve developed because of how youve treated us over the years (all of my life) and i kbow you dont know this because if you did your racism would mutate to be even more covert so that you could persist with dominating our lives with even more injustices but your racism hasnt mutated lately leaving you thinking its still invisible to ous, its not.
Oh and another thing i'm a black-man in america and ive never concidered someones race when it came down to picking who to vote for, (maybe because all we've had were white presidents) when growing up i had a white step-father and he even told me that white people would be cruel and racist to me just for being the color i am, it was then i knew all white people werent bad you just gotta find the cool ones that dont care about race, i've had alot of white associates and very few true white friends.
So what are you going to do white america continue the racism or be real AMERICANS.
ARIZONA RON FROM TUCSON
I am sorry to say that I do not really want to vote for Obama or McCain. We have been talking about alternative energy for years. It is nothing new. It is almost like I have to vote for the" lesser of two evils." It depends on who the running mates are that will determine my vote.
During Obama's time in the Senate he sponsored the Global Poverty Act which will tax Americans to provide money that the United Nations can spend on every country in the world except for the United States.
Nick is wrong. McCain has missed more votes on the Senate this year than any other Senator. That is a fact and that is a simple minded straw-man argument anyway as any thinking person knows!
68 million acres of oil leases the oil companies have now that they could be drilling on\, 68 million acres...why does the media let this fact lay in a wasteland and allow the Republicans continue to go on about more new leases for the oil companies...those millions of acres have not been shown to be useless as the oil compaies are not researching or looking at using those lease now, as they want to leverage millions more acres...so why when a candidate talks about off shore drilling aren't they explaining these very vital pertanent facts to the pulic as is their responsibility!!!
To: Nick in California. One of the problems in our country is when people send out information, get other people in an uproar and dont have the facts. So when you have a position, check the facts first. This is the same mistake that John McCain makes. So here are some facts: (as of Nov 07)
According to washingtonpost.com's U.S. Congress Votes Database, Obama has missed 74 out of 93 roll-call votes (79.6%) since the end of the August congressional recess. McCain has missed 63 out of 93 roll-call votes (67.8%) since the end of the August congressional recess. But for the entire year, McCain has missed 79 more votes than Obama; since January, McCain has missed 212 out of 403 (52.6%) roll-call votes in the 110th Congress, while Obama has missed 133 out of 403 (33.0%) roll-call votes.
Why would we need more government now? Just look at the mess with the oil. Because Washington can't decide on an engery program, we have to suffer. By the time they figure out what should be done we'll all be old and gray. What ever happened to the law of supply and demand. You can see it working at the pump already. Price goes up people can't buy, then price comes down some so every quickly goes and fills up and like magic the price goes back up. I agree with T. Pickens. Can't you just see how bad our health care would be with the government running things. They are to protect our borders and don't seem to do that to well either. When has the government done anything quickly and effectively. Lord please help up.
Mcciain is lame!! He is a worser speaker than Hillary. He constantly looks at his paper and sounds like he barely believes what he is saying. I could not go and even listen to him because he speaks with no conviction. Why isn't the question being asked to Mccain more about the votes he constantly made against alternative energy.
What has Obama done during his t ime in the Senate? In his short years he has missed casting more votes on anything that came on the floor of the Senate than McCaiins 26years in the Senate
McCain 26 years in Congress(?) Now gets on his high horse about drilling?
Voted down just about everything that would bring about alternative energy? And is now going on about drilling.
Land leases that are there to be used already and he wants more drilling?
Shouts aloud to me.
Will Rhodes Canada
I don't like how it's portrayed by the media that both candidates are equally trashing each other.
McCain clearly started the "hate politics" when Obama went abroad, and continues to raise the "hate stakes." Obama has to fight back or he is seen as weak, a pushover, and not a leader.
Obama is playing this right... he pushes back McCain enough to knock him off his stump while still out speaking positive about his direction.
I used to respect McCain, back in 2000, but since then he has been a complete sellout to the same group of sponsorship within the GOP that was Bush's core support. He's proven he deserves the title "McSame!"
John McBush, is out of touch with reality. With all his Bush cronies backing him,he seems like an angry pathetic old man. Drilling in Anwar, off shore,or anywhere else,will not help at the pumps. All the oil will be sold offshore. Just look at the Alasken pipeline. Wheres all that oil gone? Off shore ,to other countries, thats where.
I think Anderson Cooper and the rest of the CNN news archor need to focus on bigger issue rather than whether or not the surge in Iraq work out and whether or not Obama will admit it did. Gas prices are high, oil prices are high. food cost are up. Senate McCain is running a bad campaign. He is lying to the people about Obama and has lost a vote from me because of it. I am a young black male who was willing to vote for him, but to see him lie about Senate Obama was just too much.
Why has Mccain voted against all alternative plans for energy in his past? Now when he talks about it, its only a blip on the radar screen.But OOh Boy, when he talks for big oil, he goes on and on and on about drilling off shores. Obama has not flipped but its called "the good old fashion" compromise for the greater good of humanity.We need leaders who can be flexible in the midst of crisis.
@Cindy I thought you were a GOP strategiest for McCain. You are just like McCain a lier. McCain is pulling out everything because he knows if he lose this time He will be in the retirement home if he is still alive the next election cycle.
There is no doubt that the McCain camp is using the race card. Their implications regarding Obama being "arrogant" is a thinly veiled suggestion he is "uppity". This derogatory phrase is aimed at the race focused whites that believe African-Americans should "know their place". The Republican party is totally owned by the corporations and there is nothing they will not do or say to win the election.
At the end of last week MIT announced the results of a study that figured out how to easily use solar power and save some of that power for when the sun is not out – the sun could power the whole country each day in a clean renewable way. To get this method ready for people to actually use will take 10 years or less – much shorter period of time for new offshore drilling to have an effect on our oil supply (20 years). So why does neither candidate look at this method of producing energy and other renewable methods instead of pushing the same old thing that got us in trouble with our environment to begin with. Energy policy would be a really good place to have that change everyone keeps saying they want.
Annie Kate
Birmingham AL
I'm listening to rain outside my window from Edouard as I write. He's pretty much in my part of the world right now. We need the rain, so it's a good thing.
If Obama and McCain spent as much time figuring out a plan to deal with our major, major issues, sharing that, and making changes actually happen as they do acting like little boys sparring in a schoolyard, we'd all be much better off as a nation. Oh well. Nice to know politics as usual is the norm in this election. So much for a new breed of politician. The next four years should be fun no matter who wins.
in all of this energy debate how come no one talks about the non fictional use of cold fusion?
Sharks are scary.....
If a CNN anchor screeches in the water....will anybody hear?
Obama can't down McCain too much. He is flipping on everything that he has ever said it seems. He swears he'll do one thing then a few weeks or so goes by and he has flipped to the other side! Can he not make up his mind!?
I am SO glad that Anderson has made it back! Looking forward to him anchoring his own show again!!
Cindy..Ga.