Barack Obama
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Obama says he will postpone some spending programs in light of financial bailout
Obama says he’ll have to delay some of his spending initiatives in light of the mega-bailout in the works. But not the tax cuts! He didn’t say what proposals might be delayed first … [but!] he said a bailout would not bar him from pushing for middle-class tax cuts, a central proposal in his campaign. […]
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McCain and Obama campaigns trade jabs over who’s a bigger coal supporter
At a campaign stop in Ohio last week, a questioner with a camera asked Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden why, if wind and solar are doing well, the Obama-Biden campaign is supporting “clean coal.” Biden gave this confusing response: We’re not supporting “clean coal.” Guess what: China’s building two every week, two dirty coal […]
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Newsweek takes a look at the presidential candidates’ automobiles
After all that hubbub over houses a few weeks ago, Newsweek decided to look into the vehicle-registration records for the McCain and Obama families and find out how many cars they own. The final count? McCain: 13. Obama: 1. McCain’s fleet includes three 2000 GEM electric vehicles and the Prius that his daughter Meghan drives. […]
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Time’s Michael Scherer strains unsuccessfully to find equivalence in campaign ads
Time’s Michael Scherer wrote a dopey post trying to tag Obama for misleading ads. The Social Security part was dismantled by Media Matters, with additional notes from Josh Marshall and Atrios. In an update, Scherer is unrepentant, claiming he was attacked because he dared question Obama. Of course, counterintuitively going after Obama for misleading ads […]
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Wired: Two top Obama science advisors are tied to Monsanto and Amgen
I hope the executive branch’s "war on science" era ends in January. Heading into a period of climate change, tight fossil energy supplies, growing trouble with food-borne illnesses, declining health metrics, etc, we clearly don’t need a bunch of creationists and climate-change deniers knocking about the White House. At the same time, I hope we […]
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New McCain ad repeats discredited claim that Obama will raise taxes on electricity
After releasing an ad earlier this week that contained debunked lies about offshore drilling and gas prices, John McCain unveiled a new ad today, "Dome," that hits on classic conservative fears of "massive government," and both "painful" and "skyrocketing" taxes. The ad’s voiceover specifically stokes fears of "skyrocketing taxes on life savings, electricity, and home […]
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A roundup of environmental news from the presidential race
• Obama announced a proposal for a $5 billion Great Lakes restoration program on Tuesday, with funds to be spent on wetlands restoration, sewage repairs, cleaning up mercury and other toxic pollutants, and controlling invasive species. The proposal is expected to help him in the crucial swing states of Michigan and Ohio. • McCain […]
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Economists prefer Obama on energy and environment policy
Dilbert author Scott Adams commissioned a survey of 500 economists, asking them which candidate they prefer on a variety of issues. The results are … not very interesting. Short story: economists prefer Obama. Medium story: Democratic economists prefer Obama, Republican economists prefer McCain, and independents swing Obama (46-39 percent). Breakdown of the 500, drawn from […]
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McCain and Obama answer questions on science and scientific integrity
Scientists and Engineers for America sent a questionnaire to the major-party presidential candidates asking them about innovation and a number of science-related issues. Obama responded several weeks ago, and now McCain has delivered his answers. You can compare their responses on climate change, energy, ocean health, water shortages, government-funded research, and scientific integrity. Most of […]
