Is Obama's Ground Game Shifting N.M.?
CBS Evening News: Demographics, Geography Key To "Photo Finish" State
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New Mexico May Vote For Obama
Barack Obama is strong in three western battleground states that President Bush carried four years ago. Jeff Greenfield explains why New Mexico may jump on the Obama bandwagon.
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Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a New Mexico rally back in May. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, N.M., on May 26, 2008. (AP)
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Photo Essay
Obama On The Trail
Sen. Barack Obama campaigns for the presidency.
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Photo Essay
McCain Campaigns
Arizona Sen. John McCain crisscrosses the U.S. in search of votes.
But in politics, it's "the land of the photo finish." Al Gore won there eight years ago by 366 votes - and George W. Bush won there in 2004 by 5,988 votes, CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield reports.
But when Sen. John McCain went to New Mexico last weekend, he found himself behind by as much as 13 points in a recent poll. Why?
One key: Demographics. New Mexico has the largest percentage of Hispanic voters of any state in the union - more than 37 percent. And Sen. Barack Obama is leading among that group by better than 3 to 1.
"Most often Hispanics in New Mexico are very concerned about jobs and the economy and those domestic issues, but this time it is just out-ranking everything else," said Christine Sierra of the University of New Mexico.
Another key: Geography. The Obama campaign in New Mexico has reached beyond the traditional democratic strongholds of Albuquerque and Santa Fe and focused on rural communities, heavily Hispanic communities like Espanola to the north; in fact Obama was there in September with a blunt political message:
"To the Hispanic community - I want you to start actually voting your numbers," Obama said.
"Strategically and geographically Espanola is the best way to reach out to all the remote areas within northern New Mexico," said Mayor Joe Maestas.
And the Obama ground game, says Maestas, is unprecedented.
"His campaign has 39 offices statewide, in comparison to less than 10 for John Kerry in 2004. Barack Obama's total is as much as four times that of the McCain campaign," he said.
That outreach has swelled Obama's corps of volunteers in the town of 10,000.
"We're just honored that he even stopped in our community and so we're kind of we feel like we want to repay that courtesy by volunteering and get directly involved," said Obama supporter Albert Cata.
But McCain's campaign is banking on the socially conservative leanings of many Hispanics here:
"The majority of Hispanics in New Mexico are Catholic, pro-family, pro-life and I believe he does represent our values," said Cecilia Martinez Salazar.
Those values, plus McCain's Western, war-hero background, would likely have made him highly competitive in most years against most opponents.
But this is a very different year.
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See all 54 Commentsgo see that video at this adress
http://www.reopen911.info/video/hacking-democracy.html
This is a reporting concerning the automatic voting machine. The web site is french but the reporting is in english and please share this adress as much as you can because the biggest problem is that peoples forget. Be aware when you go to the poll.
FOR A REAL DEMOCRATY
Daddy: ''Who was John McCain?''
Oh, Yeah! He WAS once a presidential candidate in 2008, but the goofball lost the election due to his own erratic campaign fumbling. He picked an obsure woman for his VP, who made quite a fool of John McCain, and made his election campaign into a cartoon show. SHE WAS LAUGHED RIGHT OUT OF HISTORY.
McCain lost by the biggest landslide ever in America.
FOUR More Years of Republican Prosperity!!
More Huge Tax Cut wealth redistribution to the Super Rich!!
More Massive Spending on the Needless-War in Iraq to help our Economy!!
More Corporate Welfare!
More Deregulation of the Financial Industry so they can continue to thrive!
Privatize Social Security! Invest your retirement safety net in the market!
AND Get a Hocky Mom Vice President - just think, someone just like your next door neighbor could get to be President. WOW!!!
Guys... who would rather get drunk with, Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?? DUH!! So Vote for Palin!
Republicans DOUBLED the national debt in 8 years and mortgaged our children''s future. They''ve given billions to banks and oil companies -- nothing for social security, health care or veterans. Republican policies gutted your college/retirement IRA and now your job''s at risk. McCain PROMISES more of the same.
Say "NO" to four more years of Republican corruption and deceit. Say "NO" to the Palin presidency you%u2019ll get when ol'' McCain goes off to a military hospital with peeling paint. Send Ms Palin off to teach the 20% of kids who drop out of Texas schools %u2013 if she%u2019s qualified -- something actually useful.
Say "YES" to the team that will talk to everyone -- white black hispanic jew old young repub or democrat-- and just maybe help out the other 95% of us in this crisis Republicans created.
Why is it that you Americans cannot see through Obama''s superficiality and weasel words? And why tar McCain and Palin with Bush''s broad brush of incompetence? However, you did choose to reject King George III................
This election, the repugnant insanity has become an issue which can no longer be ignored by the rest of us...the ACTUAL silent majority.
It''s long past time that the lunatics of the right-wing cabal are sent back to the insane asylums from which they escaped during the Reagan years.
Who will you vote for?
p.s. Don''t forget Obama''s TEN years as a lawmaker in Illinois, or his experience teaching Constitutional law.
Although, Palin does hunt wolves from helicopters... so I guess that means she''s qualified, to you.
Fool!
Try not to be a sore loser, ok?
$4,716.49 on hair & makeup just through September,
$22,800. on makeup and hair Oct. 1-15,
$5,102.71 at Bloomingdale%u2019s New York,
$9,447.71 at Macy%u2019s in Minneapolis,
$49,425.74 at Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York
$75,062.63 in a whoppin'' spending spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis (doggone it, she''s goin'' upscale on us real fast!).
Then there''s the $21,012. for her three daughters'' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since taking office as Gov. in Dec. 2006 (that bill was thankfully paid by the state of Alaska, admirably provin'' Palin''s credentials as an equal-opportunity biller!).
Republicans used to belittle former Sen. John Edwards'' $400 haircut - compared to Palin that was chump change!
Lame... c''mon, you can do better than that.
How about Medicare still being around four years from now?
How%u2019s that?
Regarding Medicare / Medicaid, McCain has conveniently been hiding his true plans from seniors. But the pro-Republican Wall Street Journal of Oct. 6, 2008 shined some light on McCain%u2019s radical plans for Medicare / Medicaid.
In an interview with WSJ reporters on October 6th*, McCain economic advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin openly stated they intend to pay for their health insurance tax credits through $1.3 trillion in cuts in Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years.
That would mean reductions in benefits for Medicare and Medicaid of nearly 30% each year for 10 years, starting in January.
_____________________________________________________________
800
You might ask: Why did McCain wait until October 6th to spring this surprise on retirees with fixed incomes?
And why is this plan only to be found in the Wall Street Journal?
Why is McCain not talking to us about his plan in the debates, or in his campaign speeches?
But the answer to these questions is obvious: to prevent seniors, and people getting close to retirement, from learning the truth about his plan before the election next week!
These massive Medicare & Medicaid cuts, will effectively destroy these programs!
In other words, seniors on fixed incomes can literally say goodbye to their healthcare benefits under McCain/Palin.
But McCain never liked Medicare anyway!
Yes, aside from campaigning for McCain, %u201CJoe%u201D would love to see Social Security gone - on youtube %u201CJoe%u201D calls Social Security %u201Ca joke%u201D!
Also, keep an eye out for Samuel''s (Joe''s) new hit country record!
Huh?
That''s right, Samuel (alias Joe) Wurzelbacher, the Ohio pipe-and-toilet man, just signed with a Nashville PR & management firm to handle interview requests and media appearances for him, and create %u201Cnew career opportunities%u201D, including a shift out of the plumbing business into stage and studio performances.
After helping Palin to head the right-wing Republican Party, the least McCain could do would be to help "Joe" become an entertainment star, right?
How about affordable health care for working middle class families?
John McCain%u2019s health care plans will destroy employer-based health insurance (says the US Chamber of Commerce!).
For the millions of Americans that have it, that insurance is worth about $12,000. a year!
After destroying this, McCain will offer instead $5,000. in tax credits!
That%u2019s $7,000. per year that McCain%u2019s plan will steal from each American working family.
Worse, McCain%u2019s plan will throw us out of group insurance rates, forcing us onto the market as individuals, with no market power, up against the powerful, unregulated health-insurance industry giants.
And anyone with a precondition will not get any insurance at all, as is the case today.
Nothing can be done to convince people to "see" the window has closed along with their minds. Now ALL Obama supporters must vote, get their friends and family out to vote. Make calls, knock on doors, direct people to Barackobama.com.
After the election, when the world doesn''t end and people see how Obama improves the country, maybe the spell will wear off.
Yes but McCAIN SERVED!
He dropped tons and tons of bombs on North Vietnamese civilians. When he was mercifully shot down, it was incredible that the people didn''t stone him on the spot for his incessant murder.
He endured tremendous pain and hardship in prison camp. That took courage, resilience and strong fortitude to servive, but it was not "heroic".
But hero has become a cheap word. Even McCain said that Joe the Plumber is a "hero". Imagine that.
In case you haven''t noticed, a massive wealth redistribution has been taking place during the last eight years. A giant sucking of wealth from the middleclass to the super wealthy. Educate yourself. Even McCains president hero Teddy Roosevelt was for a progressive income tax you idiot. was he a socialist too?
Stop being the chump of the Corporate elites and stand up for the American Dream.
Or maybe you want to see the filthy rich get even richer while hard working families are struggling.
Maybe you like the fact that Billionaires pay about a 15% federal tax rate, but their secretaries pay much higher rate of their income to taxes. This is a FACT.
IDIOT! Chump! Grow a pair and stand up for yourself.
Goodness, wouldn''t $11 billion dollars be nice to have in New Mexico''s family homes, really nice schools, nice and warm clothing?
Most Republicans don''t care that your state is one of the poorest in the nation. If they cared, they would have already made flips for you to get you what you truly need. Don''t listen to their propaganda. They are just blowing pipedreams hoping you fall for them. Don''t -- they don''t care about your problems. They just want to continue to control you and keep you in your low status.
Be glad you have Governor Richards who cares about you, is one of you, and loves you. He represents the truth, and highly supports Obama. I''ve lived in New Mexico and you are wonderful people and have beautiful landscapes of God''s natural beauty.
God bless you, and elect Obama.Biden with Clinton for change 2008. They care about you.
God bless you and America.
Gig
7th Generation Texan
Get real, be smart, be knowledgeable and elect a Real American with real American values -- Obama.Biden with Clinton for change 2008.
Go Fight Win Obama.Biden with Clinton for change 2008!
Obama has falsely claimed to have placed the "original" on the Internet. Factcheck.org has falsely claimed to have seen this document and posted it on the Internet; that is not true. CNN has falsely ridiculed Martin.
Hawai''i officials have now refuted Obama''s false assertion.
Martin''s victory in Honolulu will roil the final weekend of the presidential campaign. Internet chatter is expected to explode as the issue moves to the front page over Saturday and Sunday. Swing voters may be swayed by the exposure that Obama has brazenly been lying to the American people. "We just lobbed a grenade into the final weekend of the presidential campaign," says Andy.
"I am ecstatic. I called Obama a liar. I called Factcheck.org ''ObamaLies.org.'' I said CNN was sloppy and lazy and wrong. And I was right. The State of Hawai''i has now backed me up.
-andy martin
I am a retired navy chief and a Seabee. I served proudly in my honorable navy uniform and like thousands and thousands of my shipmates are DEMOCRATS and we VOTE.
So, to all of you Pseudo Patriots, Americans'''' haters fascists: come and kiss my salty a$$.
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Posted by nikosk1
YOU GO CHIEF!!!
I served RIVRON13 1968-1969, USS Sperry 1970-1971.
OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!!
I am a retired navy chief and a Seabee. I served proudly in my honorable navy uniform and like thousands and thousands of my shipmates are DEMOCRATS and we VOTE.
So, to all of you Pseudo Patriots, Americans'''''''' haters fascists: come and kiss my salty a$$.
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Posted by nikosk1
YOU GO CHIEF!!!
I served RIVRON13 1968-1969, USS Sperry 1970-1971.
OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!!
Posted by nowaymcgoo at 06:37 PM : Nov 01, 2008
Get''em Chief!!!
USS Boxer LPH-4
USS Cambria LPA-36
USS Nshville LPD-13
OBAMA/BIDEN 08!
I am a retired navy chief and a Seabee. I served proudly in my honorable navy uniform and like thousands and thousands of my shipmates are DEMOCRATS and we VOTE.
So, to all of you Pseudo Patriots, Americans'''''''' haters fascists: come and kiss my salty a$$.
Posted by nikosk1"
You tell ''em shipmate.
20 yrs for me.
VT-24
VA-81
SIMA GITMO
SIMA GROTON
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