ELECTION '08
A Country Calling For Change

Across the country today, a record number of Americans are expected to cast ballots to elect the next president of the United States, ending what has been called "one of the most extraordinary presidential elections in this nation's 232-year history." As the nation waits to see who will succeed President Bush, Americans are yearning for a dramatic change in direction. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that "a record 89 percent of Americans now say the country has pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." In a Gallup poll out today, 92 percent of of registered voters agreed with the statement that "the stakes in this presidential election are higher than in previous years." Though they offer two very different visions of where America should go in the next four years, both of the major presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ), argue that they represent the change that America needs. "Change is coming," declares McCain, while Obama talks about "the change we need." As is to be expected, Americans disagree on the exact nature of the change they believe would most benefit the country, but overwhelmingly they are looking for a dramatic departure from President Bush's America. In December 2007, Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff surveyed whether Americans were looking for "small adjustments," "to turn the page," or to start "a brand new book." Respondents preferred "a brand new book" by a margin of 17 percentage points over "turn the page," and 22 percentage points over "small adjustments." Now, that book will begin to be written.

THE ECONOMY IS THE PRIORITY: Exit polls after the 2004 election found that Americans were split over what issues were most important to them. Twenty-two percent said "moral values," 20 percent said the economy and jobs, and 19 percent said "terrorism." But in 2008, the economy is far and away the top issue on voters' minds. According to Gallup, 55 percent of Americans say that "the candidates' positions on the economy, more than any other issue, are extremely important in influencing their vote for president." In fact, the 55 percent of Americans who rate the economy as "extremely important" to their vote "is the highest Gallup has found for any issue in the last four presidential election years." Gallup's findings are not an outlier. In nearly every major poll that has been released recently, the economy is the most important issue for the majority of Americans. With every state in America except for Alaska either in a recession or on the brink of one, Americans have good reason to focus on the economy.

BETTER THAN BEFORE?: In a new memo, the Center for American Progress Action Fund asks whether Americans are "better off today than they were eight years ago." By a number of metrics, the clear answer is that Americans are not better off after eight years of conservative policies. Job growth has lagged behind population growth, with the number of jobs rising by just over 2 percent from 2001-2008. In contrast, the number of jobs rose by over 21 percent from 1993-2001. Middle-class Americans have seen their incomes drop as the typical American household earned 0.6 percent less after inflation in 2007 than they did in 2000. At the same time, income disparity has grown. Though household income grew by $863 billion from 2002-2006, 72 percent of it went to the top 1 percent of wealthiest Americans while only 5 percent went to the bottom 90 percent. The misery index, which is the sum of the unemployment rate and the rate of inflation, is the highest it has been since the early 1990s, rising from 7.93 percent in January 2001 to 11.04 percent in September 2008. Over the past eight years, the number of families living in poverty has doubled, rising to 13.3 million in 2007.

PATH TO PROGRESSIVE CHANGE: The Center for American Progress has laid out a number of progressive priorities on which the next administration, whoever it may be, should concentrate. At the same time, CAP has outlined practical pathways towards enacting effective progressive policies. In November 2007, the Center released a new national economic strategy for progressive growth that called for transforming America's economy through clean energy, innovation, and opportunity. One of the cornerstones of CAP's vision for the economic revitalization of America is "a strategy to invest in the greening of our economy" that will provide more and better jobs. For years now, CAP has been arguing for universal health care, providing progressive prescriptions for guaranteeing an American right to affordable, quality health care coverage. While the economy is issue number one in America today, the need to restore America's global leadership is also imperative. From a plan to safely redeploy the American military out of Iraq to how to close Guantanamo Bay, the Center for American Progress has laid out a map for restoring America's global image after eight years of the Bush administration. The election of a new president, no matter who it is, offers an opportunity to work towards implementing progressive change.

Under the Radar

POLITICS -- ROMNEY REFUSES TO SAY THAT McCAIN HAS CONDUCTED A 'DIGNIFIED AND HONEST' CAMPAIGN: Yesterday on NBC's Today Show, host Meredith Vieira asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) campaign surrogate Mitt Romney about a new University of Wisconsin analysis that found that more of McCain's ads have been negative than Obama's in the past week. Romney attempted to defend the McCain campaign, but when Vieira asked him -- three times -- whether he thought McCain was running a "dignified" campaign, Romney couldn't agree. "Was it dignified? It was presidential," Romney finally concluded. Last week, Romney wouldn't say whether Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) is ready to be president and also yesterday, Romney said McCain's cap and trade plan would "kill jobs" in America and that he would "endeavor to convince" McCain to change his plans.

MEDIA -- CNN HIRES SADDAM-AL QAEDA 'CONNECTION' FABRICATOR: Yesterday, TimeWarner announced that "frequent CNN guest, Stephen F. Hayes, has made it official by signing on with the network as a political contributor." Sam Feist, CNN's political director, said, "As part of the 'Best Political Team on Television,' Steve will help CNN in its commitment to go beyond political spin and present viewers with the most in-depth and bipartisan insights." However, for the last eight years Hayes has done little more than spin for the Bush administration's "war on terror." Hayes was one of the foremost peddlers of the false claim that Saddam Hussein was in league with al Qaeda. Blogger Spencer Ackerman wrote in the Huffington Post that Hayes "has made a career out of pretending Saddam and al Qaeda were in league to attack the United States." Vice President Dick Cheney praised Hayes's work, telling Fox News, "I think Steve Hayes has done an effective job in his article of laying out a lot of those connections." Hayes also penned a biography of Cheney that columnist Michael Corcoran called "a wet kiss…filled with glowing praise from cover to cover."

ADMINISTRATION -- WITH RECORD LOW APPROVAL, 'REAL SADNESS' HANGS OVER BUSH WHITE HOUSE: A new CBS News poll finds that President Bush's approval rating is now at just 20 percent -- the "lowest ever recorded for a president." The President's "disapproval rating of 72 percent matches his all-time high, first reached last month." Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino complained about about Bush's abysmal approval ratings, claiming that they are like a high school popularity contest. "Everybody would like to be popular. You can all remember that back in high school, everyone really wanted to be popular. Some of us just weren't," she lamented. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that loyal Bushies are engaging in upbeat talk to mask "disappointment and frustration among many White House staffers," who see their boss as "a good and steadfast man who has gotten a bad rap." The Post quoted a "prominent Republican who regularly talks with senior White House officials," who reportedly said, "There is a real sadness there."

Think Fast

"The whole planet is obsessed with the U.S. presidential election." As of Monday, "more than 4,000 foreign journalists have been granted credentials to cover the campaign finale, according to State Department spokesman Keith Peterson."

K Street trade associations and corporate firms -- largely run by Republicans -- are preparing for their influence to be "significantly diminished if Democrats take over the White House and extend their majorities in the House and Senate." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers are led by Republicans, while Disney, AT&T, Verizon, and Visa "all are paying big bucks to top lobbyists with ties to the GOP.

Meeting with top Pakistani officials for the first time, the new head of the U.S. Central Command -- Gen. David Petraeus -- "heard one message wherever he turned: American airstrikes against militants in the tribal areas are unhelpful." President Asif Ali Zardari said the U.S. drone attack inside Pakistani territory are "creating a credibility gap."

Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president, said yesterday that the agreement allowing U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for three years after the UN mandate expires on Dec. 31, 2009 "should be put to the public in a referendum." "This agreement is an important and sensitive subject...Iraqis should have their say," al-Hashemi said.

Congress may be taking up a stimulus bill worth as much as $500 billion in a lame-duck session following today's election. Goldman Sachs economists said that the measure should be that large in order to offset a big slowdown in consumer and business spending.

And finally: Speaking to a crowd of Cuban-Americans Monday night, John McCain took a stab at translating the name of his campaign celebrity into Spanish. "Joe the Plumber — or, as they say in Little Havana, Pepe el Plumero," he said haltingly. Dana Milbank observes, "Even if 'Joe' somehow translates into 'Pepe,' McCain's pronunciation of 'plomero,' Spanish for plumber, came out more like plumero, Spanish for feather duster."

Good News

"[O]ne-third of voters said the 2008 presidential election has made them 'more proud' to be an American."

State Watch

CALIFORNIA: "After the most expensive campaign in state history over a social issue, Californians are poised to begin voting Tuesday on the divisive and deeply emotional issue of same-sex marriage."

MASSACHUSETTS: "Voters in Massachusetts cities and towns have rejected nearly two-thirds of property tax overrides so far this year."

VIRGINIA: "A federal judge refused to order last-minute changes to Virginia's voting procedures in response to allegations by the NAACP that the state is not prepared to handle the predicted historic voter turnout."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Fox News's Megyn Kelly upset that no criminal prosecutors will be at polls: Justice Department "leans left."

WONK ROOM: To cover or not to cover: Health care ballot initiatives.

YGLESIAS: CNN wants its viewers to be misinformed.

EZRA KLEIN: How long voting lines are just another form of poll tax.

Daily Grill

"I'm proud to stand with John McCain."
-- Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) 10/15/08

VERSUS

"Republican Gov. Crist, who had previously agreed to do interviews with CNN and various local affiliates, bolted right after the [McCain] rally with no explanation."
-- CNN, 11/03/08