Was it the right decision?

Source Accessed at 4:47pm on September 30,2008



Was Sarah Palin the right decision for the job? Does she have what it takes? Can she Lead? Those are the questions flying around recently. That is what all of this article was about, IS SHE READY? I hate to say it but, I feel the same way. I am a McCain/Palin supporter, but it does make me nervous realizing that McCain is 72 years old and Palin might take over. She doesn't have a very good foreign policy and she sure doesn't know how to stay on the same page as McCain. I feel that it was a poor decision to pick Palin as the VP but, who knows, something might come up and turn it completely around.

This article was definitely framed against Palin, to make her look way worse than she really is. It wasn't till the very end of the article that they started to speak good of her. It caught me off guard because reuters.com has surprised me in the fact that they are very unbiased. It gives it to me straight, no framing (usually). They also brought up the fact that her daughter was pregnant, her newborn, and the allegations against her. The media never seems to let it go.

This Weeks Update

Top Five Issues of this past week:

1 - The Economy - this is still a very important issue that I don't feel will be going anywhere for awhile. A lot of the election will be solely based on the economy and who can fix it.

2 - Energy Spending - Energy spending came out of nowhere. I feel that, just like the economy, energy spending will be very important with the increased number of environmentalists.

3 - Foreign Policy - Foreign Policies are always an important issue. If we don't have a good foreign policy, we have to live our life in fear. I agree that this is a very important issue, but I don't think it should be in the top two.

4 - Bailout Deal - I don't know very much about this issue. I feel that I should because it has been all over the news and my source. All I do know is that both candidates feel that there should follow through with the bailout plan. I don't really know where the 700 billion dollars, but if it gets us out of the depression, do what it takes.

5 - Battle on Spending, Taxes - The taxes issue is very important as well as the spending issue. There is a 700 billion dollar projection to get the economy out of the depression. Which means that costs for other things will be cut. This changes everything that both candidates were saying they were going to do. This puts a whole new look to this election.

Battle On Spending

Source accessed at 5:53 pm on September 27, 2008



This article was strictly about the debate and what each candidate said. At the being of the article, they were just shooting off quotes from the debate and how each candidate fired back. It was mostly all about the economy, which is the biggest part of this election. I thought it was kind of funny when McCain said, "Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate,... It's hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left." Which I agree with; if we have a president that is so liberal, or one sided, how is anything going to get done?






The article then moved to foreign policies, with Obama criticizing McCain from following the lead of Bush and getting ourselves into this mess. To be completely honest, the article stopped there. There wasn't any one-sidedness or framing in this article, it was just straight facts and what each candidate said regarding certain policies. For me, not watching all of the debate, it was very informative and let me know what went down. I am glad that I am able to have a resource that is open-minded and doesn't have that many biases.

More Wall Street Problems

Source Accessed at 8:45pm on September 23, 2008

Today, the main article at Reuters.com was about Obama's 700 billion dollar wall street bailout. Where did he get the money for that? That is an absurd amount of money. He said it won't all be paid now but over time. The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that he doesn't know what kind of impact it will have on the economy. Why the heck would you have a plan that you have no idea what it is going to do to the great US of A? Isn't that the point of having a plan, so you can pull the country out of depression or fix a problem? Not maybe fix it, but a guarantee fix it.

The rest of the article had a nice introduction to the debate of Friday between the two candidates, McCain and Obama. McCain mentioned that it was going to be hard in these debates because Obama is a very, very good speaker. Then, out of the blue, the article had a few short paragraphs about Palin and her foreign policies and her meeting with leaders of Afghanistan and Colombia as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. This kind of caught me off guard. The rest of the article was a bunch of he said she said crap about the crash again. Something that was 'so last week'. I'm not embarrassed that I just wrote that, because it wasn't 'so last week'. It's now, and the rest of my life. This election could depict how I live my life and my children's lives.

My Sunday Wrap-Up

This week, The main issue was the Wall Street Crisis. Both candidates are already proposing ways to get the market back up and to improve the economy. These proposed solutions will be a strong point in the election. This issue has stayed constant all week due to the importance of it. I don't know who's standpoint to take yet, but I'm I do know that this is going to sway my opinion a lot because I'm worried about going into a Depression. Everyone is talking about the wall street crash and how the next president better have a solution or a depression will happen.

Top Five Issues:
1. Wall Street Crisis - The Economy
2. Obama is on top - again!
3. Palin stuff on the internet
4. Health Care
5. Energy Efforts

Wall Street Crisis!

Source Accessed on September 19, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Obama and McCain never stop arguing, what's new? This article was solely about the Wall Street Crisis and who's to blame. You have the Democrats blaming the Republicans and the Republicans blaming the Democrats. McCain just spoke today about his stand on the crisis and making it known that Obama hasn't made a stand on anything yet. McCain said he would offer reforms to prevent financial firms from concealing bad practices because "an inexcusable lack of financial transparency allowed Wall Street firms to engage in reckless behavior that padded their profits and fattened executive bonuses when times were good." Obama said that he wanted the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury to continue their work "unimpeded by partisan wrangling."



This was pretty much the article but this article is very important because the USA might be heading into a Depression, and the voters will decide who is the president by who has the best plan to improve the economy. If this isn't the biggest issue to vote on this election, I don't know what else could be. If the United States of America went into a Great Depression, it would not only destroy the country but it would leave us very vulnerable to terrorist attacks. That's how I feel, and right now, that's all that matters.

McCain blamed for ignoring Stock Market excesses

Source Accessed on September 16, 2008 at 9:45 pm

This article was about the stand point of each candidate concerning the stock market and Wall Street's biggest crash on Monday since 9-11-01. Each candidate took turns lashing out on each other and what each will or won't do when they become president. This article jumps back and forth between Obama and McCain; it was mostly he said she said crap. I guess that's what it takes to win an election or that one extra vote, to put the other candidate in the ground by pointing out their flaws.



I feel that both the candidates have a good stand point on the "depression" factor. Obama did point out that McCain just converted over to the idea. He also linked McCain to Bush, with a history of showing a "scornful attitude towards oversight and enforcement." McCain fired back by saying, "He put Fannie Mae's CEO (chief executive), who helped create this problem, in charge of finding his vice president. That's not change, that's what's broken in Washington."



That pretty much sums up the article. It wasn't anything special but it was the main news story of the day. I didn't even feel this article was spun. Both the candidates were represented in a good way and in a bad way. It was a fair article.

Finally, We can Agree on Something!

Source Accessed 9-12-08 at 11:40 pm



This is one of the first things that both presidential canidates can agree on, the war on cancer. Both canidates have faced tradegy when it comes to cancer. John McCain has survived multiple cases of skin cancer while Obama has lost his grandfather to prostate cancer and watched his young mother die from ovarian cancer. "Though their plans differ in the details, both White House hopefuls want to increase research funding, streamline government organizations dealing with cancer and improve access to screening and clinical trials." Both candidates have pledged to increase U.S. investment in research to better detect and treat cancer and to help the 10.5 million cancer survivors in the country.

After "what they will do" was discussed, Reuters talked about their personal stories. Again I felt that it was taking Obama's side. While McCain had one little paragraph about surviving cancer, Obama had multiple paragraphs about his mother and grandfather. I feel that surviving four malignant melanomas, which is a potentially lethal type of skin cancer, is way more important than feeling sorry for his mother. Don't get me wrong, I do feel bad for the guy and I wish that on no human being, but to me, surviving cancer is one hell of an accomplishment and McCain should be held on a different, higher level than Obama when it comes to cancer.

Obama tries to get back on track!

Source Accessed 9-12-08 at 10:25 pm

After the very powerful display this past week and a half by the republican party, Obama is finally striking back. He put out some tough ads and showing the different stand points on taxes. This article, straight up, was all about how Obama will get back on track. It talks about how Obama is fine and has nothing to worry about. The article made me very disappointed though; I felt that it was just slamming McCain the whole time. It wasn't just telling me the story straight up but was telling me how bad McCain is. I think I am starting to see a trend in my source. I feel that it is taking a very Democratic approach to these articles. This is just an observation, it might not be correct, but I'm starting to get a vibe going on.

Abortion... Pro-What?

Source Accessed 9-12-08 9:55 pm

McCain finally discussed his views on abortion. He made his views public by going to famous TV shows for women, such as "The View" and a taping of the "Rachel Ray Show". McCain was booed while stressing his feelings of abortion. He feels that the decision to legalize abortion in 1973 "was a very bad decision, it was a bad decision." He also faced questions about Palin, Obama, and religion. It was noted that he performed very well under the continuous stress of the questions and live audiences.


I don't know where I actually stand with abortion rights. I feel that a women should be able to chose the fate of her baby but I feel that a women should not at the same time. For women, and even some men, that take this issue very seriously will find McCain's interview very important. I, on the other hand, do not because that is not what I look at when I am deciding who I am going to vote for.

Abortion was definitely the primary source of this article with Palin, Obama, and religion being the secondary issues. When I asked my friends what they felt, they said almost the same thing that I did, that it doesn't really matter to them because they were not really that concerned about abortion. It's not that are not concerned, but certain women have certain situations that abortion is needed, others do not. When it is abused, abortion should be illegal, when it is not, abortion is the best way. Tricky situation to be put in, Pro-Life or Pro-Choice? That is the question.

Top Five Political Issues

Top Five Political issues according to my source (Not in any specific order):

1. Oil Prices - Hurricane Ike has made oil prices sky rocket. What can the candidates do to lower the prices?

2. Abortion - with Palin as the VP of McCain, McCain has a lot of questions to answer regarding abortion rights.

3. Fund-raising - Obama has just set a new record in his fund-raising efforts.

4. 9-11 - McCain and Obama seized fire for 9-11 to pay respect

5. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosures

What about the Women?

Women have a major role in this upcoming election. Not only was there a chance for the first woman President, there is a chance for the first woman Vice President. So women have a huge role on who they are going to vote for. The article interviews multiple women, Hilary supporters, asking how they feel about Palin and if it swayed their opinion to vote McCain and Palin. Most of the women said that they were sticking to Obama, while one was definitely turned on by Palin, while the last one said "For me it's more about the person and their stand on certain issues. It's not about the gender."

I don't know if I completely agree with the article. I don't agree with having an woman VP will change a woman's votes. Yeah, it would change if they were just voting on gender and not politics, but, to me, women are more into this election then men are. When talking to my friends, they completely agree with this situation. Picking Palin as VP will increase McCain's chances with women voters. They say her "hockey mother" attitude will bring home the win for McCain and Palin.

Palin to Meet Media

Accessed Source at 8:49pm on September 7th, 2008

This article was solely based on when Sarah Palin was going to meet with the media. Reuters said that she will be meeting with the press this coming week but Rick Davis, McCain's campaign director, says that Palin is not doing any interviews with the media until she is given respect. He asked, "Why would we want to throw Sarah Palin into a cycle of piranhas called the news media that have nothing better to ask questions about than her personal life and her children? So until at which point in time we feel like the news media is going to treat her with some level of respect and deference, I think it would be foolhardy to put her out into that kind of environment."

I completely agree with Davis. Since she arrived on the Politics scene, she has been looked down upon by the media and the Democrats. I feel that Palin needs to come out and talk about her personal problems and let the nation know what she is going through and how even though she is facing adversity, she is able to balance work and personal problems. I don't feel that this article was actually "spun" in any way. I'm not sure if it's just me and I haven't noticed it yet but I feel that Reuters just tells it like it is, no BS.

McCain Picks Palin

John McCain recently announced his VP, his #2, Sarah Palin. Reuter’s writers were not all to impressed with this decision. Actually, they started the article with, "John McCain wanted to create some buzz with his pick of Sarah Palin as his running mate -- but not this kind of buzz."

This article discussed how the choice of Palin was a something that the Republican Party didn't think through enough. "The stories raised questions about McCain's judgment and the depth of investigation that preceded Palin's selection -- exactly the sort of issues a candidate with a reputation for being impetuous does not need." Palin is being looked down upon because of her daughter, age 17, is pregnant. Not only is her daughter pregnant, there is talk about Palin dismissing a public safety official for not firing a state trooper who just divorced her sister. This to me is very questionable and makes me wonder, Why did John McCain pick her?

Experts say, picking Palin was actually a good idea. Her family problems could actually be a good thing for her. They say other families that have problems can relate and look to her for guidance. I don't know if I can completely go for that, but then again, I don't have a family yet. Experts also say that being the "hockey mom" and mother of five, gave McCain more support from independent women and enhanced McCain's reformer credentials. Voters see Palin as just a normal woman that went to a state school, likes the outdoors, and can handle a gun, which might give her and McCain an edge.

The discussion in this article left me thinking, “What was going through McCain's mind when he selected Sarah Palin?” I honestly don't see how having a PREGNANT daughter at the age of 17 can help this race one bit. I feel that if anything, you will lose a great number of religious voters. Evidently, what she is losing, she is gaining in independent women. Who knows? When talking about this with some very strong Obama supporters, they laughed about John McCain's pick. They feel that it was the wrong choice and just like the article said, it wasn't thought through and investigated enough. The Republican Party should have investigated more before making a wrong decision. There is still time and a lot can still happen. Keep your hopes up for McCain and Palin.

the article was found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0240885520080902?sp=true

Reuters! Friend or Foe?

This semester I will be following the news and media of the 2008 Presidential election by the Reuters website. Reuters, British based news, merged with the Thomson company in 2008 becoming the Thompson Reuters Company. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. The Thomson Reuters headquarters are based in New York City, New York and they have approximately 50,000 employees in 96 countries.

It all started in 1850 when Paul Julius Reuter began using the newly opened Berlin–Aachen telegraph line to send news. After years in business, his corporation built such a reputation, that they were known to be the first to report news scoops from abroad, like the news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. After many decades of progress, almost every major news outlet in the world subscribes to the Reuters company's services. It operates in at least 200 cities in 96 countries, supplying news text in about 20 languages.

On May 15, 2007, The Thomson Company reached an agreement with the Reuters Company to combine the two companies which valued $17.5 billion. The Thomson Company owns about %53 of the company but Tom Glocer, former head of Reuters, is still the chief of the company.

If you would like to learn more or just get a glance of what Thomson Reuters has done in the past, go to http://thomsonreuters.com/about/company_history/.

Information found at:
http://www.reuters.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/