CBSNews.com: A Few Small October Surprises

by Cristina Mutchler
cm306704@ohio.edu

Colin Powell Endorsing...Obama?
A surprise for many, former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced over the weekend that he is endorsing Democrat Barack Obama for president. Although Powell said that Obama and his competitor John McCain are both qualified to become the leader of our nation, he thinks that Obama is better suited to handle the current economic problems as well as our standing internationally. Powell described Obama as a "transformational figure" and said that we need a president who represents generational change. Next, Obama announced that Colin Powell will play a large role as a presidential advisor in his administration. The surprises just keep coming!




Middle Class McCain
Also over the weekend, Republican John McCain cast himself as the "guardian of middle-class workers and small-business owners who fuel the economy." During a rally at Otterbein College here in our home state, McCain said that he won't raise taxes on small businesses, unlike his opponent Barack Obama.

McCain went from the Columbus area to Toledo, near "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher's Holland home, and even mentioned him at the rallies after the plumber was taped questioning Obama's tax plan in regards to his two-man plumbing shop. McCain also got creative with names, saying that he was campaigning "on behalf of Joe the Plumber and Rose the Teacher and Phil the Bricklayer and Wendy the Waitress."

On another interesting note, while in Ohio McCain also held a conference call with Jewish leaders and was endorsed by The Columbus Dispatch.

Voter Mix Ups
A Washington Post story on the CBSNews.com website talked about the thousands of U.S. voters across the country that are required to now establish their eligibility in the next three weeks in order to be able to vote on November 4th. This mix-up was a result of new state registration systems that are rejecting the voters' eligibility by fluke. States are using new systems that are switching from locally managed lists to state-wide lists.

The result? A bunch of lawsuits, and arguments among Democratic/Republican state officials, including here in Ohio. All of this is just adding to confusion on Election Day, with no way of knowing how many voters are affected by this issue nationwide.