Polls: Biden won debate, though Palin did well

By David Lightman
McClatchy Newspapers
MCT)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. _ Joe Biden won Thursday night's vice presidential debate, according to two national polls, giving the Democrats fresh, important momentum Friday as the campaign for the White House enters its final month.

A CBS News/Knowledge Networks survey of 500 uncommitted voters taken after the debate Thursday night found that 46 percent thought Biden won, while 21 percent gave Republican Sarah Palin the victory. While two-thirds found Palin knowledgeable about important issues, 98 percent said the same about Biden.

A separate CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found similar views, with 51 percent saying Biden did better, to 36 percent favoring Palin.

Perhaps most significant, the CNN survey found that 87 percent thought the Delaware senator was qualified to be president, while 42 percent saw Palin that way.

"He didn't ramble and he wasn't patronizing. He stayed on message and linked McCain to President Bush in a very effective way," said Douglas Koopman, a professor of political science at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Particularly impressive, Koopman said, was how Biden dealt with Palin's repeated reference to John McCain as a "maverick."

"I love him," Biden said of McCain, his longtime Senate colleague. "He's been a maverick on some issues, but he has been no maverick on the things that matter to people's lives," such as the economy, health care and education.

Even so, reviews for Palin, whose approval numbers had been tumbling in recent weeks, were generally favorable too.

"Had Palin blown it, it probably would have been the end of McCain's candidacy, but she dug in her heels and enhanced her credibility," said Wayne Lesperance, associate professor of political science at New England College in Henniker, N.H.

But at this stage of the campaign, with Americans weary of war and anxious about the declining economy, the Republican ticket faces a hostile environment since it represents the incumbent party at a time when voters are seeking change. Palin had to do more than merely hold her own to shift the campaign's overall dynamic. But there's no evidence she did that, even if she exceeded expectations for her performance.

Obama led by an average of 5.8 points in national surveys over the past week before the Biden-Palin debate, according to RealClearPolitics.

"Every day that goes by with Barack Obama about 5 to 8 points ahead is not a good day for John McCain," said vice presidential expert Timothy Walch.

"Every day of the next month is important," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Nevertheless, Republicans claimed new momentum.

Palin, who has been unavailable to most of the press corps ever since she joined the GOP ticket, will "be available to the press, and she'll talk to every American voter. She'll be out 24/7," vowed McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt.

Some experts agreed that Palin's folksy style could resonate, particularly with women in the Midwest and West, a trend that may not show up right away.

"People listen to what the neighbors say, what their favorite pundit says and sometimes there's a disconnect between that and what the media are saying now," said Wayne Fields, a professor of English and American culture studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ultimately, he said, people base their opinions on their intuition, and "they really don't know specifically what they're basing their judgment on."

Yet Palin probably won't have much more opportunity to be widely heard. Public attention tends to focus most on presidential candidates, especially in the final weeks of a campaign, and there are no more vice presidential debates. With a crush of other big news stories _ including the House of Representatives' passage of the financial-rescue plan on Friday and the second McCain-Obama debate coming up on Tuesday _ the Biden-Palin encounter is likely to fade quickly.

"The vice presidential story is essentially over now," Walch said. "By Monday, we'll be on to another topic."
__________
ON THE WEB

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/debate.poll/

The CBS News/Knowledge Networks poll: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/03/politics/2008debates/main4497138.shtml

___

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Excited about VP picks? In November, they rarely matter: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/46166.html

Latest Ipsos-McClatchy poll: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/327/story/53334.html

For More McClatchy politics coverage: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/election2008/

___

© 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.

_____

PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): CAMPAIGN-DEBATE

2nd Annual Smithtown Idol Contest at SHS East

Smithtown East DECA will be hosting their 2nd Annual Smithtown Idol Contest along with Music Idol Entertainment on Friday, October 3rd at 7:00 in the auditorium at Smithtown HS East. There are 25 contestants competing in this semi-final round. The 15 contestants chosen as Finalist will perform on Friday, April 17th. Pre-sale tickets are being sold for $12.00. Tickets at the door are $15.00. Proceeds from this event will be used to fund scholarships and future DECA competitions and a portion will be donated to the HSE Beautification Project. Don’t miss out, purchase your tickets early, last year the show was SOLD OUT! Contact Mrs. LoFrese or Mr. Hennings at Smithtown East High School for additional information (631) 382-5212.

Superintendent Joins in Effort to Break World Record

St. James Elementary students, parents, and staff participated in school wide reading of “Corduroy” as part of a nationwide reading of the book to break the Guinness World Record for the largest shared reading experience. Superintendent of Schools, Ed Ehmann, read Corduroy to the K-2 students while a mystery reader read to the students in grades 3-5.

The reading effort for St. James was coordinated by the St James PTA as part of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record.

Debate presents risks for both candidates, but Palin must prove she's up to the job

By David Lightman
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Sarah Palin faces a huge problem in Thursday night's vice presidential debate: She's in danger of becoming a national punch line.
As a result, the Republican's 90-minute debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden could be her last big chance to convince voters that she's got what it takes to run the country.
"She has a lot to prove," said James Riddlesperger, a professor of political science at Texas Christian University, "and this is a real opportunity for her to do so."
Biden also faces some risks. "He's like the champion getting into the ring with Rocky Balboa. He can't appear to be a bully," said vice presidential scholar Timothy Walch. The longtime Delaware senator also has a history of putting his foot in his mouth, and a gaffe while debating Palin could cost him.
The debate, though, is largely about Palin, the Alaska governor who was barely known in the Lower 48 until John McCain put her on the ticket just before last month's Republican convention.
She was an instant hit, at least with Republicans, charming the GOP convention with her plainspoken, frontier woman ways and her solid conservative credentials.
Since then, however, the nation has seen another Palin: carefully managed, kept under wraps, often scripted and seemingly out of her depth. A poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center reported, "opinions about Sarah Palin have become increasingly negative."
The Sept. 27-29 survey found that 51 percent of the public thinks she's not qualified to be president, and 37 percent think she is qualified. Just after the GOP convention, some 52 percent thought she was ready.
Worse, Palin has become the butt of late night jokes.
On "Saturday Night Live," comedian Tina Fey's dead-on impression of Palin has parodied her as a rambling, perky celebrity unfamiliar with the day's biggest issues.
Experts say Palin has done too little to overcome that image. Her interviews last week with CBS' Katie Couric have been widely ridiculed. Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker led the charge. Palin's TV interviews, she wrote, "revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who is Clearly Out of Her League."
Parker urged Palin to leave the ticket, imploring: "Do it for your country."
Couric asked Palin what she thought about the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package pending before Congress.
Palin's reply: "But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the _ oh, it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is part of that."
Pundit jaws also dropped when Palin _ who got her first passport last year _ talked about foreign policy.
"As (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go?" she asked on CBS. "It's Alaska ... It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state."
However, Biden, a U.S. senator since 1973, knows that he has to be careful to avoid looking like a Washington know-it-all. "It could be very difficult for him to escape looking condescending," Riddlesperger said.
Biden also is gaffe-prone. Last week he told CBS: "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.' "
The stock market crashed in 1929 and Roosevelt didn't become president until 1933. And when FDR spoke to the nation, it was on radio because television wasn't available yet.
"His critics are going to be looking for something like that," Riddlesperger said.
Palin has been practicing for the debate at McCain's Sedona, Ariz., ranch, with campaign officials standing in for Biden. Biden has been in Wilmington, Del., with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm playing Palin in their mock debates.
One wrong word or convoluted sentence by either candidate will be replayed over and over by the media and on the Internet, and could become the frame by which the debate is most remembered.
Speaking at a rally Monday in Columbus, Ohio, Palin said she was looking forward to Thursday's debate.
"So I guess it's my turn now," she said. "And I do look forward to Thursday night. I look forward to seeing him, too. I've never met him before, but I've been hearin' about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade. He's sounding pretty doggone confident like he's going to win. ... This is the same Senator Biden who said the other day that the University of Delaware would trounce the Ohio State Buckeyes."
Actually, the two schools don't play each other in football.

Yes, banks are insured, but you should know the rules

By Gail MarksJarvis
Chicago Tribune
(MCT)
Financial adviser Lynn Daly from Roseville, Minn., is struggling to get some of her oldest clients to trust anything now that today's news is conjuring up memories of the Great Depression.
She e-mailed me to ask me to remind people that "the FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s, and since the start no depositor has lost a single cent of insured funds as a result of a failure."
Indeed, no one has lost money in banks if they have paid attention to the rules_such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insures up to $100,000 in a person's name. But the challenge for people now is to keep up with all the rules for various institutions. Some of the questions I have received highlight people's concerns:
Q. I have a money-market account at a bank. Is it insured or part of the temporary new money-market bailout?
A. There are two different types of investments that sound alike but are not. There are money-market accounts, which are like savings accounts at banks. The FDIC insures them up to $100,000 per person on the account. Find out more at www.fdic.gov/edie. But don't confuse this account with a money market fund, which is a mutual fund. The government does not normally insure mutual funds. The only exception is money market mutual funds. Money in them on Sept. 19 is insured for at least three months, and perhaps up to a year. See chicagotribune.com/safemoney for details.
Q. Is my money safe in a credit union?
A. Like banks, credit unions have insurance that covers investors if the institution has financial trouble and fails. But the insurance varies. The safest comes from the National Credit Union Administration. It's just like the FDIC, with the U.S. government behind it, making sure your money is covered up to $100,000 a person on an account. To check to see what is covered, go to webapps.ncua.gov/ins/aaFront/F02.asp. If you don't see NCUA at your credit union, it probably means the institution is regulated at the state level with private insurance. That's also insurance, but having the U.S. government as the insurer is the safest form you can have.
Q. If the FDIC takes over a bank, will I be able to get to my safe-deposit box?
A. Yes. When the FDIC steps in, the goal is to hold onto customers while the FDIC sells the institution to another bank. Sometimes the FDIC will step into a failing bank on a Friday and close a bank over the weekend. But by Monday, the bank doors open and a customer can use the bank like always. Meanwhile, over the weekend people can still write checks and obtain money from an ATM.
Q. Does the government insure my GNMA fund?
A. No. The government does not insure any mutual fund except for money market funds. Government National Mortgage Association loans are guaranteed by the government but that's different than insuring the funds themselves. The funds, like all bond funds, can be volatile, moving up and down based on factors like interest rate changes. That means you can lose money in them.
Q. Is my teachers' pension safe?
A. The money you have earned so far is safe. But as stocks lose value, the government might have to add money and raise taxes. You might not receive new increases in your pension.
___
(Gail MarksJarvis is a personal finance columnist for the Chicago Tribune and author of "Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery." Contact her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com.)
___
(c) 2008, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama opens small margin over McCain, poll finds

By Steven Thomma
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Barack Obama leads John McCain nationally by a margin of 46 percent to 42 percent, opening his biggest edge since the campaign entered the fall stretch after the two major party conventions, according to a new Ipsos-McClatchy poll.
Obama's four-point lead marks steady if small gains the Illinois Democrat has made in the poll since Labor Day. Over four weekly surveys, he has gone from being down by one point to tied, up by one point and now up by four.
One key reason for his gain over the past week could be Friday's kickoff debate between the two major party candidates. A separate Ipsos-McClatchy online poll of undecided voters, taken Monday, found that a majority thought that Obama did better in the 90-minute face-off by a margin of nearly 3-2. The online survey isn't a random sample of the population and has no statistical margin of error; its value is that it's illustrative of public attitudes, much like a focus group, although it's not scientific.
Despite Obama's gains, the race remains close, and neither candidate has won over a majority of registered voters.
The telephone survey of registered voters found 46 percent supporting Obama, 42 percent for McCain, 2 percent for independent candidate Ralph Nader and 1 percent for Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. Another 9 percent were undecided.
Nearly one in 10 voters with a candidate preference say they could still change their minds, underscoring the stakes for the vice presidential debate on Thursday night and the two remaining presidential debates on Oct. 7 and Oct 15. Each will be televised nationally at 9 p.m. EDT.
Despite the turmoil on Wall Street and the nation and the collapse of several major banks, a solid majority of registered voters expressed confidence in the security of their bank accounts.
The poll found 70 percent confident in the security of their checking accounts or money market accounts and 27 percent not confident. Similarly, it found 72 percent confident in the safety of their savings accounts.
A smaller but still solid majority of 60 percent said they were confident in the ability of the federal government to cover the costs of federal deposit insurance in the case of bank failures.
Better than one out of three, 36 percent, said they didn't have confidence in the federal government's bank insurance, despite the fact that no American has ever lost money in an account insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

(c) 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.

Dow Closes Up Tues

The Dow closed up 485 points Tuesday, an increase of 4.68%. Tuesday's closed marked one of the biggest single day climbs in history.

Investors are said to be optimistic that the government will pass a bailout bill shortly.

Congress is expected to reexamine the controversial $700 billion bailout bill later this week.

The Dow closed down nearly 778 points down Monday, the equivalent of $1.2 trillion in market value and a 7% drop. Monday marked the worst single day point loss ever – even topping the 648 points loss on September 17, 2001 – the first day of trading after the September 11 attacks.


Stocks took a nose dive Monday after speculation began to spread that the House of Representatives would vote down the controversial bailout plan – which they did – 228-to-205 – just after 2 pm et Monday.