Barack Obama trounced Hillary Clinton in Saturday's Democratic primary in South Carolina, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown on Super Tuesday.Obama got more votes than were cast in the 2004 primary. Former president Bill Clinton is trying to minimize the damage to his wife's candidacy, reminding people that Jesse Jackson also won South Carolina. That's true, of course, but Jackson won caucus, not primaries; it's an apples and oranges comparison. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) reportedly is the latest in a long line of Democratic leaders to succumb to the Obama magic.
The wind is clearly at Obama's back. Though Clinton is on the defensive, it would be foolish to count them (her and Bill) out. Polls show Obama trailing Clinton in most of the big Super Tuesday states, according to the Wall Street Journal.
His campaign Web site has some interesting ideas on economic policy and some vague ones including:
- Simplifying the tax code to enable "millions of Americans to complete tax returns in 5 minutes [...] making the corporate tax code more fair and efficient"
- Expanding the mortgage interest tax credit beyond people who itemize their deductions
- Eliminating taxes for seniors making less than $50,000
- Making the R&D tax credit permanent
- Creating a fund to help people refinance subprime mortgages
- Investing $150 billion in clean technologies
- Supporting "the principles behind Sarbanes-Oxley reforms and believes compliance should not be overly burdensome for smaller firms and startups."
Why do we have a weak dollar?
Holiday hiring slow for retailers
Closing Bell: What sell-off? (AIG, ABK, EPR, MBI, JAVA, ORCL, ERTS)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-30-2008 @ 9:57AM
Jim the elder said...
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has electrified the citizens in this campaign. However, just on this issue of the economy, his plans do not seem to include specific plans to stimulate the world of employment in the United States. What vision does he have to restore manufacturing, and large industries from removing their plants from our soil? Perhaps he should offer a plan to stimulate interests in the management and labor unions to work together to keep jobs here in the United States. As a result of this organization some major industries might return to the U.S. This action might reduce some of our trade deficit and boost our image.
On another topic, I have not heard enough comments on the issue of strong "family values" and its importance in developing a child's focus on his education and moral growth. An administration may drop all the $$ in the budget to improve the face of education. However, the real soul of of improving education lies in the improvement of encouraging passionate-knowledgeable (content) teachers to remain in the classroom, who have the ability to incite a mind toward self reliance within measured goals. The home must be stable and the heart of supporting the children and the educational program.