Monday, October 20, 2008

MSNBC.com: Endorsements and Underdogs


Jaime Baker
jb220705@ohio.edu

This past week, MSNBC.com was all over Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama. Powell was secretary of state for George W. Bush, and a member of the Republican party. A major thought was that Powell was endorsing Obama because of his race, but Powell has denied it. It seems as though choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate was the final nail in the coffin for John McCain, according to Powell. Powell says his decision raises questions about McCain's judgment.



Another good part of last week for Obama was the announcement of the money raised for his campaign last month. Obama raked in over $150 million, which absolutely shatters records. Average donations were around $86. When put in context of just how bad the economy is, it's an even bigger deal. The money has shown that he has secured a foothold in many states that have not voted Democratic in the past.



John McCain, on the other hand, is busy playing the underdog--literally. McCain is casting himself as a middle-class guardian and at the same time taking over the role of underdog in the presidential race. Americans tend to root for the underdog, so McCain is trying to play it up to see if it will help get more votes.



McCain is also reeling a bit from comments Powell made about his judgments and decisions. Choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate seems to be something that has turned sour for McCain. McCain now also needs to defend his party and supporters, because Powell seems to be pushing that McCain is allowing people to make derogatory comments about Obama and his race. It sounds like McCain may have some serious work to do.



Smiling Through the Mockery
Sarah Palin finally made an in-the-flesh appearance on Saturday Night Live this past week. NBC scored it's highest ratings for late-night in 14 years. But Chevy Chase, who is one of the biggest names of SNL, said he thought Palin coming on was a terrible decision. He said people are totally unimpressed with Palin. Sounds like Palin just can't win.

No comments: