How will your life change if your candidate loses?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Voters have a distinct choice between John McCain and Barack Obama in this presidential race– two very different approaches to arguably the most serious set of challenges we have faced in a hundred years. Whoever wins will have his hands full.
But what about the rest of us? Our part is finished after we cast our ballots on November 4th, and after all the votes have been tallied, the excitement will be over.
Most of us will be happy with the outcome, but if you look at the latest polls, a good number of us won't be rushing to embrace the new leadership.
Either way a new administration means new faces at the top and new policies that will trickle down to all of us little people. The form of that trickle will determine the way a lot of our lives will go in the future.
Here’s my question to you: How will your life change if your candidate loses?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
If McCain loses, what’s next for Palin?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger - a Republican and supporter of John McCain - told national public radio yesterday that Alaska governor Sarah Palin is not prepared to take over the job of President if she had to. He said, "I devoutly hope that [she] would never be tested."
But the fact is that if some people in the Republican Party get their way, she could be tested one day. Should John McCain lose the race for the White House, you can bet your last dollar this moose huntin', gun totin', pro-life hockey mom will not fade from the political spotlight. She's a huge hit with a group of social conservatives who embrace her values and see her as a fresh face for a divided party… to them, a 2012 Palin run for President may be on the horizon.
Watch: Cafferty: What's next for Palin?
But a lot of other people feel quite differently. Sarah Palin quickly became a national joke for her lack of experience, failure to grasp the issues and inability to handle herself with the media - especially those awful interviews she did with Katie Couric. Recently she's gone off script and off message on the campaign, angering several of McCain 's campaign advisers. She's been called everything from a "diva" to a "whack job," and yet through it all she remains remarkably unphased.
In an interview this week on ABC's 20-20, Palin said, "I'm not doin' this for naught." Yet another pithy utterance.
Here’s my question to you: If John McCain loses, what’s next for Sarah Palin?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Which VP has the greater risk of slipping up?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A lot's been made of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin going off-script and off-message over the past couple of weeks. Some of John McCain's aides aren't too pleased with some of the things coming out of her mouth. They say she's gone "rogue." she's been called a "diva." her supporters - and she has many– say it's just Sarah Palin, being Sarah Palin.
On the Democratic side, you're not seeing too much of Joe Biden being Joe Biden during these final days. In fact, Barack Obama's normally chatty running mate - known for some serious gaffes himself when unscripted - has been conspicuously quiet these past couple of weeks. Suddenly Biden, who will normally consent to an interview at the drop of a hat, has not made himself readily available to the media. As Time magazine's Karen Tumulty, who's been traveling with Biden, put it, at times he's like "a politician packaged in shrink-wrap."
Watch: Cafferty: VP pick could slip
And that's probably got a lot to do with remarks he made at a Seattle fund-raiser a couple of weeks ago when he said Barack Obama would be tested by an international crisis soon after being elected. Obama's public response was, quote "I think that Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes." But perhaps there was a private response too... And that's why these days there's "No Joe."
Here’s my question to you: In the closing days, who is the greater risk for saying something harmful: Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How can McCain win undecided voters
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/30/art.mccain.flag.gi.jpg caption="How can McCain win undecided voters?"]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Less than 140 hours until election day when Americans will rush to the polls in what is expected to be record numbers to decide the direction of their country for the next four years.
Never has more money been spent by candidates for president to try to convince you they are the answer to America's problems. And yet after almost two years of campaigning, it is estimated that somewhere around seven percent of Americans still have not decided whether they want John McCain or Barack Obama to run things.
The differences between the two men are as pronounced as between any two candidates for the nation's highest office in a very long time. Whether he admits it or not, John McCain carries the mantle of President George W. Bush with him–seen as a continuation of the policies that have led to record low approval ratings for our current president. Americans are simply not happy with the way things are going. Yet McCain remains competitive.
Barack Obama is seen by many as a transformational figure who offers the country a chance to break with the past. His early campaign theme of change took hold with many of those Americans who are dissatisfied.
It would seem that if John McCain has any realistic chance of winning next Tuesday, he must somehow attract a large percentage of those voters who have yet to make up their mind.
Here’s my question to you: In the final few days, what can John McCain do to win over undecided voters?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How close is the White House race to being over?
This CNN Electoral Map shows Barack Obama's lead, if the Election was held today. (PHOTO CREDIT: CNN.COM)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The signs are increasingly ominous that John McCain's dream of being president is just about over. In one battleground state after another, Barack Obama's lead continues to grow. CNN's electoral map has been adjusted to suggest that if the election were held today, Barack Obama would get 291 electoral votes - it takes 270 to win - while John McCain would get just 163 - leaving 84 electoral votes up for grabs.
Barack Obama holds substantial leads in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Colorado and Virginia… all red states won by President Bush in 2004.
Obama also leads in Florida and North Carolina .
The Associated Press quotes GOP consultant Tom Rath in New Hampshire where McCain trails by double digits as saying the race is all but over, quote, "I get the sense it's shutting down," unquote.
AP also cites a senior GOP aide in Congress speaking on condition of anonymity as saying McCain advisers are now being asked by some Republican leaders to focus McCain's travel on states with close senate races… essentially abandoning his White House ambitions to help re-elect GOP Senators.
Here’s my question to you: How close is the White House race to being over?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why isn’t President Bush campaigning for McCain?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Of all the differences between Barack Obama and John McCain, here's one that could really make a difference down the home stretch: One has a president to help him and the other one does not. And at first glance, it's not what you might think.
After his appearance with Barack Obama tonight at a rally in Kissimmee, Florida, former president Bill Clinton plans to criss-cross the country on behalf of Obama in the closing days of the campaign. Tonight will mark President Clinton's first joint appearance with Obama on the campaign trail. Despite his lukewarm support at first,President Clinton as well as Hillary Clinton will campaign hard in the next few days to help Obama try to close the deal.
Watch: Cafferty: Cafferty: Bush support McCain?
But what about John McCain? He has a sitting president in his party. President Bush has been dubbed "the invisible man" when it comes to campaigning for his dear friend and fellow Republican, John McCain.
Here’s my question to you: President Clinton is campaigning for Barack Obama. Why isn't President Bush campaigning for John McCain?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
McCain vs. Obama: Who would be bigger spender?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/29/art.white.house.gi.jpg caption="McCain says Obama will be a tax and spender if he's elected."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
In a last ditch effort to pick up those undecided voters, John McCain's message is focused on portraying Barack Obama as a socialist who wants to raise your taxes and redistribute your wealth.
A socialist? Really? A couple of weeks ago the government effectively nationalized some of the nation's largest banks– a plan signed into law by the current republican president, George W. Bush. A law Senator John McCain voted in favor of. Is nationalizing our banks socialism?
McCain says Obama will be a tax and spender if he's elected. Consider this: The Republican administration of John McCain's good buddy, President Bush, has doubled our national debt since 2000. Bush rewrote the definition of spending money, and McCain supported him more than 90 percent of the time.
We're fighting two wars and facing a giant financial crisis. My buddy, CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger, says in a column on CNN.com, quote: "No matter who is elected, the new president will find himself trying to figure out a way to keep some of his campaign promises without breaking the bank." Borger says in a week that means someone is going to have to start figuring out how to govern.
When Clinton left office the economy was sound, the government was running a surplus, we were at peace, and the banks were still private institutions. Then what happened. John McCain 's friend George Bush happened.
Here’s my question to you: Who would be the bigger spender in the White House: John McCain or Barack Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What does record early voting mean for election?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/28/art.e.voting.ohio.ap.jpg caption="Voting booths and tables are filled with early voters at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Record early voting is under way in 30 states. Voters are casting their ballots either at the polls or through absentee ballots. In both Georgia and North Carolina for example, an estimated 20 percent of registered voters had already voted as of Monday.
In some states, voters have been willing to stand in line for hours while waiting to vote early. This kind of energy and interest is in stark contrast to some past elections where you couldn't get voters out of bed on Election Day to go to the polls. The eight years of the Bush administration has energized our democracy like never before and indications are Republicans aren't going to like the outcome.
An estimated 122 million Americans, or about 60 percent of registered voters, voted in the 2004 presidential election, according to the committee for the study of the American electorate. That was a six percent increase from the 2000 election and the highest turnout since 1968.
But if new registrations and early voting this year are any indication, this could be an election for the record books.
Here’s my question to you: What does record early turnout mean for next Tuesday's election?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What does McCain have to do to win?
Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Speaking Sunday on “Meet the Press,” Senator John McCain guaranteed a win in next Tuesday's election. He said, "We're going to win it, and it's going to be tight, and we're going to be up late." However if the polls are anywhere near accurate it was sort of a "Dewey beats Truman" moment.
In order to make good on his promise, McCain has some heavy lifting to do in a handful of battleground states. Traditional red states like Virginia and Colorado seem to be slipping away. In Pennsylvania, Obama holds a 10-point lead over McCain, 52 percent to 42 percent according to a new CNN Poll of Polls. Those numbers appear to be holding firm despite furious campaigning by Senator McCain. Obama was ahead by that same margin last week. The McCain camp has called Pennsylvania a must-win state….
McCain has made up some ground in Florida. A new CNN Poll of Polls there shows the race is tightening with Obama now holding a single point lead. Last week, Obama was up by 3 in Florida.
Watch: Cafferty: Can McCain win?
But winning Florida won't be enough. He's got to win over North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, and Nevada too. And that's a pretty tall order with just a week to go.
Here’s my question to you: What does John McCain have to do to come from behind and win?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Sen. Ted Stevens resign his Senate seat?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/28/art.ted.stevens.gi.jpg caption="Senator Ted Stevens has been convicted on seven counts of fraud."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Guess who's found himself in the express lane on the Bridge to Nowhere? Alaska senator Ted Stevens is now a convicted felon, another "public servant" who served himself instead of the public. Stevens was convicted on seven counts of fraud, for concealing more than $250,000 in personal gifts. He is the first sitting senator to go on trial in more than 20 years, and just the fifth in history to be convicted of a crime. Stevens is also running for re-election, and this arrogant, fraudulent felon says he's staying in the race and asking the people of Alaska to "Stand with me." Where you're going, Senator, no one is going to want to stand with you. And if you had any honor or decency about you, you'd get out of the race.
Alaska, one of the most conservative states in the Union, is playing a pivotal role in helping the Democrats in this year's election. Stevens' conviction clears the way for the Democratic mayor of Anchorage to win his seat and move the Democrats closer to a 60-seat fillibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate. Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, became John McCain's running mate. Evangelical Christians shouted "Hallelujah," while the rest of the country laughed out loud. And finally, Alaska's largest newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, has endorsed Barack Obama.
Here’s my question to you: Should Alaska senator Ted Stevens, now a convicted felon, resign his Senate seat?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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