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Election08

NEWS

Candidates shape policies, find footing

Zack Colman
October 29, 2008

Some students and experts said John McCain’s political tilt might need to be recalibrated to win the election, as the Republican presidential candidate has cost himself many undecided voters as his views move increasingly to the right. McCain made a name for himself in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate by being a self-annointed “maverick,” opposing his party on key issues and acting in a bipartisan manner.

NEWS

Law prohibits political gear from voting locations

Kelly House
October 29, 2008

Voters must leave behind politically motivated buttons, banners and baseball caps when they step inside the voting booth Nov. 4, a Michigan Court of Appeals judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Patrick Duggan ruled that the Michigan Secretary of State’s practice of banning campaign paraphernalia within 100 feet of a polling location is acceptable to ensure order at the polls.

NEWS

Courses use election to foster discussion

Heather Guenther
October 28, 2008

Charles Atkin loves every fourth year. For more than three decades, Atkin, chairman of MSU’s Department of Communication, has taught various versions of a special topics communication course examining how the mass media — more specifically TV — influences voters.

NEWS

Democratic hopeful tries again

Zack Colman
October 28, 2008

Bob Alexander knows what he’s up against. The Democratic candidate for the 8th District’s Congressional seat lost to Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, in 2004 and has worked on the campaigns of every Democratic candidate to challenge the congressman since Rogers has been in office. The district is comprised of Clinton, Ingham and Livingston counties, along with parts of Oakland and Shiawassee counties.

COMMENTARY

Obama's tax plan will help struggling families to succeed

This is in response to the letter Redistribution not a good policy for class grades, U.S economy (SN 10/28). As a voter, before you simply label Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal on tax reform as a “redistribution plan” and compare it to a plan that would give slacker students inflated GPAs, it is important to understand what exactly his tax policy would entail.

COMMENTARY

Obama right candidate to lead country in 2009

For the past eight years, the United States has suffered under policies that have rewarded the few while hurting the many. Americans have watched as the deficit soared, the economy partially collapsed and the world’s view of us soured. It’s time for a change. That change is what Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has pledged to bring to the White House, and it’s time to give him a chance to do exactly that.

NEWS

Rogers runs for 5th term

Zack Colman
October 27, 2008

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, of Brighton, has been in office for four terms, and he’s done it as a Republican. Rogers’ opponents and detractors would like to position him alongside Republican Party colleagues such as President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney during his run for a fifth term as the 8th District’s U.S. representative

COMMENTARY

Hopeful optimism can cause letdown

Odds are that on Nov. 5 the American political landscape will be dramatically changed — at least for the short term. Although it can’t be guaranteed that we’ll know for certain who our next president will be — thank you, 2000 presidential election, for that uncertainty — any result will have major ramifications in the political sphere.

MICHIGAN

Gay rights not high on candidates' 2008 agenda

Zack Colman
October 26, 2008

During the 2004 presidential election, the terms “moral,” “social,” “traditional” and “family” values were interchangeable and unavoidable. Riding high on support from religious conservatives, incumbent presidential candidate George W. Bush benefited from the political climate that gave him four more years in the White House.

NEWS

MSU's great debate

Kelly House
October 22, 2008

The presidential debates may be over, but if last night’s student debate was any indication, students are far from done arguing about the candidates’ platforms. More than 60 students gathered in the Wonders Hall Kiva last night to hear representatives from three campus political groups defend their presidential candidates.

NEWS

Issues vs. images

Kelly House
October 21, 2008

In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, the words “maverick,” “change” and “hockey mom” might bear just as heavily in voters’ minds as the candidates’ political repertoires, experts say. The phrases have become mainstays in America’s vocabulary after being uttered countless times by Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Republican candidate John McCain and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during this year’s lengthy campaign season

FEATURES

Working on the campaign trail

Sarah Harbison
October 21, 2008

As if being a student didn’t promise enough sleep deprivation, throw in another full-time job: Campaigning. With 13 days to go until Election Day, many MSU student campaigners are feeling the crunch of the last month of campaign season.

COMMENTARY

News could run dry after election

Two weeks. That’s all that’s left. In two weeks, we’ll know who our next president is — barring any major catastrophes up to and including massive voting irregularity on Election Day. Two weeks, and our long national gorging on political news will come to an end.

COMMENTARY

Candidates' religion, culture shouldn't harm them at polls

I am not going to say I am not disturbed by certain things I have heard shouted from the rooftops of Ohio and Florida about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “He’s a Muslim,” or “He’s a terrorist,” and it gets worse from there. You needn’t watch Fox News for very long to see footage of real Americans saying these things — you know, “real Americans.”

NEWS

Right on point

Kelly House
October 15, 2008

In the final presidential debate that was deemed a must-win for John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate ran the tone of the debate, but it might not have been enough to bridge the 8-point gap he is facing in the polls, experts said. “McCain really needed to have a game-changer moment in this debate to declare it a victory,” said MSU director of debate Greta Stahl. “I don’t think that he had that.”