MiddletownJournal.com

Obama tops McCain in two new Ohio polls

By William Hershey | Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 11:06 AM

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in two new Ohio polls.

In the Fox News/Rasmussen Reports poll released on Monday, Oct. 13, Obama leads 49-47 percent among likely voters. The results are within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points but it is the first poll from the groups in which Obama has been ahead since tracking of the race began in February, a press release said.

McCain had led by a single percentage point for the past three weeks.

The poll was conducted Sunday, Oct. 12, with 1,000 likely voters. Click here for details.

In a SurveyUSA election poll released on Tuesday, Oct. 14, Obama led 50-45 percent among likely and actual (voters who already voted), just outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

The poll was conducted Sunday, Oct. 12, to Monday, Oct. 13, with 575 likely voters and voters who already had voted. For full results, click here.

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McCain outlines plan for pension and family security

By William Hershey | Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 08:53 AM

Republican presidential candidate John McCain today, Oct. 14, is to unveil his “Pension and Family Security Plan” to help workers, homeowners and seniors through the current financial crisis.

His proposal come a day after his opponent, Democrat Barack Obama, outlined his “Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class” in a Toledo speech.

Highlights of McCain’s proposal include:

Lowering taxes on seniors tapping retirement accounts.

Suspending tax rules that force seniors to sell stocks in the midst of the financial crisis.

Accelerating the tax write-offs for those forced to sell at a loss in the current market.

Reducing capital gains taxes for 2009 and 2010 to raise the incentive to save and invest.

Purchasing mortgages directly from homeowners and mortgage servicers and replacing them with manageable, fixed-rate mortgages.

Eliminating taxes on unemployment benefits.

The new proposal builds on the plan McCain announced last week to use $300 billion of the $700 billion bailout recently enacted by Congress and President Bush to keep Americans in their homes, stop declining housing values and stabilize financial markets. Click here for more on the plan.

McCain also is moving ahead on his “Jobs for America” plan. Click here for more on that plan.

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Obama unveils middle class “rescue plan”

By William Hershey | Monday, October 13, 2008, 01:36 PM

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a four-point “Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class.”

Obama was to unveil the plan today, Oct. 13, in a speech in Toledo. Here are the four points, according to the campaign:

Temporary tax credit for firms that create job s in the U.S. over the next two years.

Penalty-free withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009.

90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners acting in good faith.

A lending facility to address the credit crisis for states and localities that would have the Federal Reserve and federal Treasury lend to state and local governments.

“We’ve already lost three-quarters of a million jobs this year, and some experts say that unemployment may rise to 8 percent by the end of the year,” Obama said in his prepared remarks.

“We can’t wait until then to start creating new jobs.”

Tucker Bounds, McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, dismissed Obama’s proposal.

“The American people heard a series of new proposals from Barack Obama today, but what they did not hear was a promise to stop pursuing his massive tax increases,” Bounds said in a prepared statement.

“As our economy and our financial markets struggle through unprecedented turmoil, one thing is certain: raising taxes on the American people and American business will have a devastating effect.”

Obama has said most Americans would get a tax cut under his plans.

Continue reading "Obama unveils middle class “rescue plan”"...

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Marist Poll: Obama ahead in Ohio

By Laura Bischoff | Monday, October 13, 2008, 11:23 AM

Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain 48 points to 40 points among registered Ohio voters and 49 to 45 among likely Ohio voters, according to The Marist Poll released Monday, Oct. 13.

A month ago, the Marist Poll had Obama and McCain tied at 44 points each.

Among independent voters, 47 percent support McCain, 44 percent support Obama and 6 percent are undecided, according to the latest poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The poll said both presidential candidates are viewed favorably by a majority Ohio voters, Obama’s running mate Joe Biden is seeing an upswing in his popularity, and McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is seeing a decline in popularity.

The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 5 to Oct. 8 with 961 registered Ohio voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

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Schmidt recovering from hit-and-run injuries

By Jessica Wehrman | Monday, October 13, 2008, 11:18 AM

U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver last week while jogging near her Loveland home, has been diagnosed with two broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae as a result of that incident.

Schmidt, who was hit Wednesday, Oct. 8 at about 5:45 a.m., sought medical treatment after being hit on Loveland-Miamiville Road, but was treated, released, and back at work in her district office by Wednesday afternoon.

Her spokesman, Bruce Pfaff, said she thought she was just bruised.

But when Schmidt left Friday for a congressional trip to Afghanistan, it became obvious she was more seriously injured than doctors had originally thought.

“Upon landing at the United States Air Force base in Germany on her way to Afghanistan, Rep. Jean Schmidt experienced a great deal of pain and was temporarily unconscious,” Pfaff said. “She was immediately taken to a local hospital where upon a CT Scan it was revealed that the incident on Wednesday when she was struck by a hit and run driver had caused more injuries than first detected at a local Cincinnati Hospital.”

Schmidt was diagnosed in Germany with two fractured vertebrae and two broken ribs that x-rays did not previously detect.

She was treated in Germany and flew back to Cincinnati for examination and further treatment at University Hospital in Cincinnati, and is now “supposed” to be resting, Pfaff said. He said the campaign will reassess her schedule later in the week, depending on how she is healing.

Police continue to search for the person driving the dark-colored sedan that hit Schmidt.

Schmidt, a Republican, will face Democrat Victoria Wulsin and independent David Krikorian in the Nov. 4. election.

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Who helps more - Biden or Palin?

By William Hershey | Sunday, October 12, 2008, 09:19 PM

If Sarah Palin visits St. Clairsville and Marietta, can Joe Biden be far behind?

Actually, Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, will be about two days behind Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Palin campaigned in Marietta and St. Clairsville in eastern Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 12, and Biden is expected there on Tuesday, Oct. 14, as both campaigns ramp up efforts in Ohio’s Appalachian region, a key political battleground.

Biden’s stop will be part of a two-day bus trip through eastern Ohio. On Tuesday, he’s also visit Warren and Marietta and on Wednesday, Oct. 15, he’s expected in Athens, Lancaster and Newark.

Palin and Biden have the same job - to help the person at the top of their ticket in Ohio - Republican John McCain for Palin and Democrat Barack Obama for Biden.

Here’s a chance to say who you think helps th emost.

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Is Ohio’s neighbor, West Virginia, moving toward Obama?

By Anthony Shoemaker | Saturday, October 11, 2008, 08:12 PM

Ohio’s eastern neighbor, West Virginia, has only five electoral votes. But, those five electoral votes have been heavily predicted to be in John McCain’s column on Election Day.

Recent polls are showing that McCain’s lead in West Virginia is shrinking and that state may be becoming more competitive after recent weeks of negative economic news.

A CNN/Time poll in late September showed McCain with a very small lead over Obama, 50-46. A recent American Research poll taken in the first week of October shows Obama winning in West Virginia, 50-42.

West Virginia voted for President Bush twice, but voted for Bill Clinton twice as well. The state even went for Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988.

The fact that West Virginia may be in play may explain why Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is campaigning in St. Clairsville, Ohio, just 12 miles west of Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sunday, Oct. 12. Democrat Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden will be in the same town on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Obama has opened 21 offices across the state.

According to CNN, Palin had planned a tour through Pennsylvania in the coming week, but just added stops throughout West Virginia.

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