FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Barack Obama really didn't need this. Roland Burris declared he's the Senator from Illinois despite the controversy surrounding his appointment. He was picked by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
But when Burris made his way to Capitol Hill this morning, the Senate refused to seat him. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said it's because of incomplete paper work. His certificate of appointment is signed by the Illinois Governor but not by the secretary of state. But it's really much more than that.
Burris said his lawyers will handle it and he has a private meeting scheduled with Senate leaders tomorrow.
He said he didn't want to make a scene on Capitol Hill-but he did. It was a circus.
People are speaking out on Burris' behalf, saying his appointment is legal and he should be seated.
But this whole thing smells. There are criminal charges pending against the Illinois governor who appointed Burris. Those charges include trying to profit from naming Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate. It's sort of like letting Bernie Madoff run a hedge fund while he's awaiting trial on charges of stealing $50 billion from investors.
Our Question is: When it comes to Roland Burris, the controversial Senate appointee from Illinois, what should the U.S. Senate do?
Here’s my question to you: When it comes to Roland Burris, the controversial Senate appointee from Illinois, what should the U.S. Senate do?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GALLUP ORGANIZATION)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
One of the longest, nastiest, most divisive presidential races this country's ever seen is now in the books. A little more than half of us are pretty pleased with the results. The rest of us? Not exactly.
But that doesn't mean we're without hope.
According to a new Gallup Poll, fewer Americans see the country as divided now as it has been after other recent presidential elections. We're still a long way from all being on the same page, but it's better. After the 2008 election, 57% say the country is more divided on major issues than in recent years. But that's down considerably from polls taken after the previous two presidential elections. In 2000, 64% said we were more divided, and in 2004, 72% said so.
A lot of Americans think Barack Obama is just what the doctor ordered. 54% of those surveyed said the Obama administration will be able to heal the divisions in the country. 44% say it will not.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean that fewer Americans see the country as divided?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Barack Obama made history Tuesday night, after voters came out in record numbers to support him and many voting for the first time.
It was a stunning rise to the presidency for a 47 year-old freshman senator, let alone one who is African-American.
Along the way, he beat out a handful of familiar Washington names for the top spot on the Democratic ticket...Former Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Joe Biden who eventually became his running mate and, of course, most notably, Senator Hillary Clinton.
Her star power and powerful ties weren't enough to beat out Obama, but was there something more at play?
Women, who make up more than half the U.S. population, earned the right to vote in 1920. And while African-Americans were granted that right about fifty years earlier, for about a hundred years, voting was easier said than done for blacks. So what does Obama's victory say about us as voters?
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean that the U.S. elected an African-American president before it elected a woman?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/05/art.mccain.nov.gi.jpg caption="What was the likable 'maverick's' biggest mistake?"]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
What happened to John McCain? The likable "maverick" who beat some pretty strong competition to capture his party's nomination had morphed into something else by yesterday.
After promising to run an "honorable" campaign, McCain quickly became another symbol of the divisive politics of past Republican presidential campaigns. Name calling, insults, pettiness, and empty gestures replaced the once likable McCain we all look to to challenge the status quo. His campaign got nasty, and his lack of judgment was on display for all to see a couple of times late in the race.
Sarah Palin was an act of desperation. With little vetting McCain named an unknown from Alaska to energize the Republican base. But she came with too much baggage and quickly went from an asset to a liability. Openly ignorant of the issues in press interviews, Palin began to offend women and anger McCain's campaign managers who sniped that she was a "rogue" who frequently went off the reservation in pursuit of her own interests instead of McCain's.
When the financial crisis exploded, McCain made a huge empty gesture. He suspended his campaign, threatened to cancel the first presidential debate-he was the one who wanted all those town meetings, remember? - and rushed back to Washington where he accomplished absolutely nothing. In the end, he looked silly.
He might not have been able to overcome the damage to the Republican brand anyway, but he quickly became his own worst enemy who gave away any chance to win.
Here’s my question to you: What was John McCain's biggest mistake?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The prescription for tomorrow is comfortable shoes and patience. It's going to be awesome.
Never in recent memory has there been so much interest in a presidential election. More than one-third of Americans are expected to have already voted by the time the polls open tomorrow, a 50 percent increase from 2004. But that doesn't mean there won't be a lot of people in front of you in front of you in line when you get to the polls.
Young people have signed up in unprecedented numbers. New voter registrations have broken records in almost every state. Turnout in many of the primaries was staggering. So be prepared.
Watch: Cafferty: Wait on voting line?
Be aware also that tomorrow is a chance for all of us to strike a blow for democracy, and God knows she could use a shot in the arm. We're at our best as a nation when we're all involved. But that involvement tomorrow will come with a price. You're probably going to have to wait. Maybe for a long time.
While you're standing there grumbling that the line isn't moving, or the machine is broken, remember what it was that got you into that line in the first place. This may well be the most important election we've ever had.
Here’s my question to you: How long are you willing to wait in line to vote?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
With only one more day until the election, how will you handle election-withdrawal Wednesday? (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
So what are your plans for Wednesday? A twelve-step program? Maybe a little one-on-one counseling? You know you're probably going to need some help. We all will. There won't be anymore election to fixate on.
What a ride it's been– Historic and interesting. Historic because of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and just when it started to get a little boring, Sarah Palin rode out of Alaska and energized the whole thing all over again. Interesting because we have ourselves quite a mess here: The economy, wars, etc. You know it all by now. Those problems awakened the American electorate like never before.
But Wednesday, the party's over. Except it's really not. For whoever leads us, it's just beginning, and my guess is we will all be called upon at some point to be part of the solution.
But what are we going to do in the meantime? I know for a fact Wolf is going to need help with this.
Here’s my question to you: How are you going to deal with election-withdrawal?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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