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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Dem Campaign Chatter 9-16-2008

George Wenschhof

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Today, Obama is in Golden, Colorado - Biden is in Media, Pennsylvania. Both of these states are swing states. Look to see if Obama and Biden start to campaign together. McCain and Palin campaigning together has worked very well for the republicans. The other side of the coin is when the candidates campaign together they can not cover as much ground.

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How will the market do today is the big question - we reported yesterday the market was in for a bad day with the news that Lehman brothers had filed for bankruptcy protection. The loss was big and as of 9:30 AM ET today, the Dow lost 574 to fall 10,847. We also reported that American International Group (AIG) was seeking a 50 Billion bridge loan - as of the end of the day yesterday, their shares had dropped 61% and they were still seeking cash. CNN.com has more here. Stocks also dropped in Asia and Europe.

Both candidates are responding to this news and President Bush held a press conference yesterday to try to reassure the American public. The Obama campaign pounced on a remark made yesterday by McCain that "....the economy was fundamentally sound..." and have already released an ad. Watch it here.

This morning McCain appeared on all six morning TV talk shows speaking on the economy. thepage.time.com has a quick rundown here.

Biden followed McCain on the morning shows. thepage.time.com has a quick rundown here.

The economy continues to be the number one concern for American voters so stay tuned to how the candidates respond and what specific actions they will take to correct the situation.

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Has deregulation led to the current financial crisis? - mcclatchydc.com has a good read on some of the history leading up to where the U.S. is today in regard to the market crisis. Following the "Great Depression", the government passed laws to strengthen financial institutions and to also separate banks, insurance companies and securities firms. After a economic downturn in the 1970's, the Reagan administration pushed deregulation and belief in the free-market system and in 1999 the Financial Services Modernization Act was passed reversing the previous laws, allowing banks, securities firms, and insurance companies to be own by a single entity. Read more here.

It is increasingly clear that the theory of government deregulation has failed in all areas. Whether it be energy related or in the financial institutions, it is painfully obvious that government regulation is needed on behalf of the American consumer.

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House expected to vote on off-shore drilling today - the proposal put forward by Democrats would open up off-shore drilling in areas 100 miles and more from shore. It would allow states to decide on drilling from 50-100 miles off-shore. The drilling debate became hot as gasoline prices have risen. Unfortunately, polling has indicated 61% of Americans favor off-shore drilling. Yet, the off-shore drilling is not the answer to the country's energy problems. Reuters.com has more here.

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Gallup.com has a poll on why voters are supporting their candidate - when asked this open ended question, 37% of Obama's supporters said change was the reason and 27% of McCain supporters said experience. Read more here.

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