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The people of the United States of America has decided. Majority want the change that America needs. Barack Obama has won the 2008 US Presidential Elections, edging out Republican nominee John McCain after getting 338 electoral votes versus McCain’s 141 at 11 pm. Obama is the first African American president in the history of the US. With the economy in turmoil, it is apparent that people believe Barack Obama can bring the country back to on its feet and repair the chaos they believe incumbent President George W. Bush has brought the nation.
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With just 3 days to go before the US Presidential Elections, things are beginning to heat up even more. Barack Obama and John McCain make last-ditch efforts to convince the American people that they will make the difference. Both candidates are out desperately seeking to discredit his opponent. Obama continues to reiterate McCain’s ties with Pres. George W. Bush while McCain insists that Obama is too liberal and far left.

Obama currently leads all media and other surveys by a good margin and as he campaigned for earlier voting, the large number of early voters may have voted in his favor. In the last few days, the Democrat is moving into States that voted Republican, hoping to gain more ground over his opponent. On the other hand, McCain believes he can still deliver an upset considering Obama’s liberal policies that some Americans find too aggressive. With 1 in 7 voters still undecided, McCain believes gaining their preference would give him the needed push to win on November 4.

Though Republicans expressed concern over the early voting trends, many still believe that McCain has a fighting chance. Even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a McCain supporter, admitted that it would take a major struggle for the Republicans to win. However, McCain has delivered upsets before and he can do it again.

What do you think? Is it just a few days away before the change in America? Or will the Republicans be given a chance at redemption?

In the last Presidential debate, instead of two candidates repeatedly talking about the merits of their respective platforms, the impact of their plans were brought to the spotlight as discussions focused on “Joe the Plumber.” Who is Joe the Plumber? He is Joe Wurzelbacher, a middle-class American from Ohio who has been working as a plumber for 15 years.

How did Wurzelbacher figure into the Presidential debate? During one of Obama’s campaigns near Toledo, a bald man with a goatee confronted the senator about his tax programs. Wurzelbacher informed the senator that he was preparing to purchase a company that makes between $250,00 to $280,000 a year. He confirmed with the senator if the circumstance would get him taxed more under his tax policies. Obama admitted that it would likely be the case. Wurzelbacher offered that a flat tax may be a more suitable measure than those that the senator proposes. However, Obama defended his policies and explained the tax incentives that he will likewise propose for businesses. Then both parted ways after shaking hands.

During the last Presidential debate, John McCain raised the incident about Joe the Plumber to highlight how Obama’s proposed tax policies would hurt small businesses. Thereafter, Joe has become part of the election circus, representing middle-class Americans and small businesses. He has become a favorite of the anti-Obama camps. He was tracked down by the Associated Press but declined to tell people who he would vote for.

According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, calculations show that less than 700,000 taxpayers will be paying higher taxes under Obama’s plan. And some of these aren’t even small businesses. These would include lawyers, accountants, and investors whose income puts them in the top tax bracket. As Obama mentioned, statistics prove that 98% of small businesses make less than $250,000. Now, Joe speaks his mind right after the debate. Watch the video here.

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As the final moments of the US Presidential debate ticked, America watched closely hoping that somewhere they will find a sign that would point them in the right direction. Who is the right one for the job? With the economy in chaos, there seems to be no room for error as the US scrambles to get back on its feet, trying desperately to avoid a repeat of the 1929 Depression. Never has a presidential election been more crucial than this moment. And never has there been such pressure on candidates trying to give the right answer to the American people.

The final debate was McCain’s last chance to recover some ground after seemingly losing in the previous two. Though he has improved dramatically, Obama still remained composed and confident despite looking uninterested and bored. McCain was more aggressive and kept throwing the sink and the plumber, Joe, that Obama talked to about taxes in a recent campaign. He made more headway and seemed more in command as he continued to batter Obama.

On the other hand, Obama’s worst traits showed as he appeared non-chalant and less aggressive. With his success in the last debates, the Democratic candidate was lax and failed to hit his opponent as often as he should have. This time around, it was Obama who gave broad statements with unclear answers. Still, intelligence and knowledge was clearly Obama’s strongest points. The only setback in the last debate is that he appeared to lack determination.

With only a few weeks to go, has America made its decision? Is it clear who among these two candidates will be the hero to save the nation battered by incumbent President George Bush? America only has 2 weeks to find the right answer. Let’s hope they are not just crossing their fingers or playing spin-a-bottle to get their answer.

If John McCain’s intention in choosing Sarah Palin as running mate in the upcoming US Presidential Elections was to monopolize the limelight, his advisers certainly did a good job. However, news circulating about Palin seems to lean towards controversy rather than good publicity.

Now, newspapers and the blogosphere is buzzing about her previous record as Mayor of Wasilla and Alaskan Governor. Following reports about the teen pregnancy of daughter Bristol, it seems many people are bent on digging more skeletons in her closet.

Sarah Palin now continues to hog headlines with reports saying that she fired local officials during her term in local government and the fiasco involving the construction of a sports complex in her local town. Early in her tenure as mayor, she fired Wasilla’s police chief, finance director, city planner and other department heads explaining that she felt that she didn’t have their support. Anne Kilkenny also confirmed rumors that Palin attempted to dismiss the library director Mary Ellen Emmons after the latter answered her query about banning of books in the local library. Emmons answered firmly that she wil not allow Palin to ban any books from the library. According to Kilkenny, Emmons was only able to keep her job because the residents all rallied behind her.

Another issue that crept to hound Palin is the construction of Wasilla’s new hockey rink and sports complex. Voter’s approved a $15 million bond issue and boosted sales tax to pay off the bonds. However, Palin’s administration did not have legal title to the land. Everything ended up in court with the city paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in interests and legal fees. It put a dent on the city’s reserves and it did happen during her watch.

Palin is known as a leading advocate of ethics reform and is known for being tenacious for whatever she sets her mind to. With all these controversies cropping up, is she really a persistent reformist having bad luck or is it a mask she wears?

With McCain and Obama now heating up the campaign trail and the US Presidential elections just 2 months away, dirty laundry are now expected to be thrown out in the open. The first one was just thrown out and presented to the public with Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, admitting that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant. This latest news left the McCain campaign defending the efficiency of its background check on the little-known Alaska governor.

It was also reported Monday that a lawyer was hired to represent Palin in a state ethics probe and that her husband, Todd, had been arrested for drunken driving two decades ago. According to the McCain camp, that was all the dirty laundry that can be unearthed from their closet.

In response to the pregnancy story, McCain adviser Steve Schmidt can only say, “Life happens.” On the other hand, colleague Mark Halter remarks, “An American family.” Short sentences to minimize further damage.

Sarah and Todd Palin said that Bristol would keep her baby and marry the child’s father, identified only as a young man named Levi. The baby is due in late December and the expecting grandparents are proud and excited about the upcoming event.

During discussions about her background, Sarah Palin was warned about the scrutiny on her private life as she disclosed the pregnancy and her husbands DUI case. They told her that it would be intense and there may be nothing to prepare for it.

McCain aides claim that the announcement about the pregnancy of Bristol Palin was intended to dispute rumors that Palin’s own youngest son, born in April, was actually the daughter’s. So, the plot thickens. Sarah Palin’s fifth child, a son named Trig, was born in April with Down’s syndrome. Internet bloggers have been suggesting that the child was actually born to Bristol Palin but that her mother, the 44-year-old Alaska governor, claimed to be the mother. Politics can be just as dramatic as any soap opera . . . and just as interesting.

Meanwhile, Democratic rival Barack Obama’s remarks ignores partisanship. Obama responded sympathetically. “I think people’s families are off limits and people’s children are especially off limits.” Interesting, don’t you think? Taking all of these under consideration, I think my first choice is still the best.

After several months of gruelling and controversial campaign trail, Senator Barrack Obama of Illinois, beats Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and claims the much coveted Presidential Nomination of the Democratic Party of the United States. The much-anticipated culmination of the highly contested 54-primaries elections series happened Tuesday night at Minnesota shortly after the last primary elections at South Dakota and Montana were concluded. In his speech before the Minnesota crowd, Obama confidently declared, “I will be the Democratic nominee” which was met by thunderous cheers and applause from thousands of supporters and election delegates.

This nomination win for Obama is a historical event, since he’s  holding the distinction as the first Black American Presidential candidate (and possibly the first Black American President) after more than two centuries. Hillary Clinton, his nominee rival on the other hand, refuses to publicly concede the race, though some of her aides have hinted her inclination to take a Vice Presidential slot. This should be an interesting twist but I guess we will all have to wait for the final word from Sen. Clinton in the coming days.

In the mean time, John McCain, the Republican Presidential candidate acknowledges Obama’s win and welcomes his “formidable opponent” to the general election campaign. Obama will obviously benefit from the very unpopular policies of the current Republican President Bush and McCain will have to work harder to distance himself from Bush and his policies. Many observers say that whoever Bush endorses, will surely lose. It’s really going to be a tough ballgame for McCain who will not only be facing a formidable opponent in the person of Obama but will have to work doubly hard to rebuild the image of the Republicans, possibly announce major shifts in policies, if not completely abandon or outrightly condemn some of Bush’s unpopular policies, which he in fact has started doing.

In my opinion, the Obama-vs-Clinton duel was far more interesting than the upcoming Obama-vs-McCain and my fearless prediction is a landslide by Obama. The next important question now is: Is America and the rest of the world ready for a Black American President?