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From the new west blog: Presidential Election

UPDATE: Another site, FactCheck, has its own list of checks from the debate.

CBS News’ “Reality Check Team” filed this report Thursday night after the Vice-Presidential debate between Democrat Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin. Among the questions which CBS fact-checked are, “Did McCain Vote to Cut Off Funding for the Troops?” “Obama Voting 94 Times to Increase Taxes?” and “McCain’s Health Care Plan.”

Here is Fox News’ “Fact Check” piece, which draws slightly different conclusions from CBS’. It includes checks on statements the two candidates made, such as PALIN: "We cannot afford to lose against al-Qaida and the Shia extremists who are still there, still fighting us." And BIDEN: Warned that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's $5,000 tax credit to help families buy health coverage "will go straight to the insurance company."

CNN’s poll which showed “Biden Won; Palin Exceeds Expectations” is parsed and analyzed here. “The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. said 51 percent of those polled thought Biden did the best job, while 36 percent thought Palin did the best job.”

“On the question of the candidates' qualifications to assume the presidency, 87 percent of those polled said Biden is qualified and 42 percent said Palin is qualified.”

And this: “Respondents overwhelmingly said moderator Gwen Ifill was fair during the vice presidential debate, repudiating critics who said that Ifill, of PBS, would be biased because she is writing a book that includes Biden's running mate, Sen. Barack Obama. Ninety-five percent of those polled said Ifill was fair.”  [more]

Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter

The most ballyhooed, most anticipated, most fraught with jeopardy debate of the cyle is now behind us. And what is there to say but "meh"? The stakes for both candidates were negative. Sarah Palin could come out looking even less fit for the job than she was going in, and Joe Biden could have come across as obnoxiously condescending. Neither performed to those low expectations, which made the debate much easier to watch than I, for one, anticipated.  [more]

Biden and Palin

A record viewing audience watched the nationally televised vice-presidential candidate debate Thursday night, Oct. 2. They got a good show. When it was over, things stood just about where they were before the debate began — that is, with Obama-Biden holding a 5 percent lead nationally over McCain-Palin (as per the most recent Gallup Daily tracking poll).

Neither candidate made a major blunder Thursday. Both did a good job of representing their presidential candidates' views. Sen. Joe Biden, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, showed his knowledge on overseas issues and also was able to cite legislative history on domestic issues of which Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lacked knowledge. But Palin held her own on foreign, domestic, and economic policy. She was poised, well-briefed, and exceeded expectations about her performance.  [more]

watching the polls

A new poll released Thursday by Rasmussen Reports has John McCain up 8 points over Barack Obama in Montana, 52 percent to 44 percent, a narrower advantage than the few polls conducted in recent weeks have suggested.  [more]

From The New West Blog

The Montana Republican Party this week challenged the eligibility of 6,000 registered Montana voters in seven counties that have historically been Democratic strongholds, the AP reports.

It means those who are registered to vote in Missoula, Butte-Silver Bow, Lewis and Clark, Deerlodge, Glacier or Hill counties and who filled out a change-of-address card with the U.S. Postal Service in the past 18 months will likely have to verify their correct address before the Nov. 4 election. Most of the voters being challenged are registered in Missoula County. [more]

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus has accused White House and Environmental Protection Agency officials of orchestrating a “conspiracy” by squashing a decision to declare a public health emergency in Libby three years after it was revealed more than 200 people died and another 2,000 fell ill because of asbestos exposure.

On Sept. 25 the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) held a hearing to discuss a report released the previous day by Baucus, D-Mont., that describes a scenario in which top-level officials from the national Office of Management and Budget prevented the EPA from declaring Libby a public health emergency. Such a declaration would have authorized the EPA to do extensive clean-up work along with providing Libby residents increased health screening, basic services like oxygen – which many people need because of asbestos-related complications – and long-term medical health care. [more]

from the new west blog: the little things

The economy is in upheaval, the presidential election is weeks away, the V.P. debate is tonight - for political writers, right now is the big time.

But last evening, an orphaned squirrel named Zeus hung from our backyard tree, screaming his little rodent head off, and it seemed important to help him.

We've rescued all sorts of wildlife over our 21 years in the neighborhood, and know the local wildlife rehabbers, but it was too late to take Zeus to one of them last night. So, internet to the rescue, we did the prescribed thing until we got him to Toni, the Squirrel Lady of Boise's North End, today.

But last night was interesting, as I set my alarm for every three hours to feed Zeus and warm up his heating pad. In the middle of the night, the tiny squirrel and I bonded over puppy formula and the warm collar of my fleecy robe, and it was good.

Give the choice between combing the news for a New West roundup and saving Zeus, I went for the little guy, and rediscovered real life. What a relief - if only a temporary one.

Over the next weeks, as we fret over the election, I intend to remember Zeus. [more]

WHAT THEY DON'T SAY IN THE DEBATES

Last Friday, at the onset of the ongoing congressional struggle over our "main street economic rescue package," fifty million of us watched Republican presidential candidate John McCain debate his Democratic rival Barack Obama. And tonight, as Congress is finishing up our economic rescue, even more than fifty million of us will watch Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin face off with Democrat Joe Biden.

Based on what happened in that presidential debate, I strongly suspect she won't say anything about the grizzly bear or harbor seal DNA. [more]