First, people are furious at George Bush, who ran for president, but couldn't really do a good job. If you see in the news, more and more people are getting to hate George W. Bush.

Also, it would be nice to have a change of country. All this time, the presidents were Americans and not from a different country. If you all put your hearts together for Obama, I'm sure he can win. Obama won Hilary Clinton, what's to say he can't win it again? He can easily win, I believe in him.

George W. Bush made the entire country go into a debt of 482 billion dollars. A lot of peoples who just barely are able to live in a home, have lost them. I know, it is sad, isn't it? But, Barack Obama can easily put past the debts as if they never happened, and make America a better place to live. You also must know that George W. Bush was president when the big stock center crashed, causing more people to go homeless.

I hope you will put all of your efforts together and vote for Obama. Go Obama!

I first signed up for your campaign newsletter to get just that, news.

Let me start by saying I am a fervent supporter, I feel you have the ability to make a difference in a Washington that is corrupt, and distrustful. You have my vote, and considering the polls, most everyone else's, barring an incredible October surprise.

Having said that, I feel the need to express my discontent with your emails. I receive approximately 4-5 emails a week from you. All but one, only one email, Senator have asked for money for your campaign. I have to be honest and say that the problem with this country, in my opinion, is the fact that to get a 400,000 dollar a year job, one must spend 80 million plus. The numbers don't add up.

I have done, exactly what I was supposed to do. I went to college for 5 years, and have a degree as a master electrician. I am not in poverty, but a regular middle class American, with a family. I currently am employed by the City of Mattoon Illinois, as the electrical inspector. I make 40,000 dollars a year. I also am an professor adjunct with Richland Community College, in Decatur  Illinois. That nets me approximately 6,500 dollars for fall and spring classes. After I pay to drive the 100 miles round trip, and after taxes, i gross somewhere in the 3800.00 arena. I used to have a savings account, I was planning on buying another home, as we had a child recently. I had alot of plans. But now, I have no savings account to speak of, and currently 169.89 in my checking account. I get paid on Friday, 17th of October. When I do, I will catch up on my water bill.

I guess what I am getting at is although I support you, it disgusts me that the money you spend airing one commercial, my guess is in the 1 million or more range after production costs ect are figured in, would change my life forever. The money Senator McCain, or yourself spends in one day while campaigning, would change my life. I could pay cash for a modest home, and maybe take the vacation we have put off for years, because of a lack of money.

So Senator, I ask you to make a difference, please donate to the Matt Frederick family home fund. Anything helps. I promise not to tell anyone where the money came from, unless you want me to. I will say anything to anyone, if paid to say it...that's how bad it is.

So please Senator, considering the polls, I need the money so much worse than you...

I look forward to writing you in the future as President Obama.

God Bless you,

P.S. My 9 month old son, can say ma ma, da da and clearly O-BA-MA

Here's the most recent headline: “Race Unchanged by 2nd McCain, Obama debate: Americans increasingly disinclined to put a Republican in the White House”. Wow. This is making a statement that we've now heard for months: we can't have “George Bush policies” for another 4 years. We've had them for 8 years already. This sounds exactly like something that Obama would say and Obama won this most recent debate by a margin of 54-30 according to a poll jointly conducted by CNN and Opinion Research Corp and40-26 in favor of Obama among undecided voters according to a CBS poll. Why did Obama win by such a large margin (i.e. 24 points according to CNN & Opinion Research Corp and 14 points among undecided voters according to CBS)? Obama had solutions in addition to his attacks on McCain while McCain only attacked.

Specifically, of course Obama attacked. Naturally, when someone attacks you, you hit back and that's what Obama did: “I've got to correct some of Senator McCain's history, not surprisingly,… In fact, Senator McCain's campaign chairman's firm was a lobbyist on behalf of Fannie Mae, not me”. In addition, McCain was labeled as “an angry man, lurching from one position to another”.

However, unlike McCain, Obama also had some of his own proposals: “This isn't a time for fear and panic. This is a time for resolve and leadership”. In his opening statement, Obama has already hit the nail on the head as far as the GOP's tactics are concerned. Republicans love to play the fear factor.

“I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. Because that's who we are. This is a nation that has faced down war and depression, great challenges and great threats”. There's a sense of hope in Obama's speech.

So, what does McCain have to say? “They're the ones that, with the encouragement of Senator Obama and his cronies and his friends in Washington, that went out and made all these risky loans, gave them to people who could never pay back”. So, now McCain is painting Obama as a Washington insider (“Senator Obama and his friends and his cronies in Washington”). Hang on. Didn't McCain say earlier during this campaign that Obama wasn't experienced enough to lead us? Why is he calling Obama a Washington insider now? Not only is this a flip-flop, this also shows that McCain is out of touch and desperate.

Campaigning in Florida, Obama's running mate, Joe Biden said that “This is beyond disappointing. This is wrong”. Surely, Biden is talking about McCain instead of Obama here.

Barack Obama

Information on His Life

Many people know that Obama's vice-president choice is Joe Biden.

Anyway, every time that Obama gets up on that podium to talk about his campaign, you will always notice a sign that says "Change We Can Believe In". Usually, if you notice, he will also talk about hope and unity, which has attracted many young voters in record numbers. That and also charismatic speaking combined with optimism, that is... Most people also thought that his running mate would be Hillary Clinton, also.

He was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii to a mother from Kansas and father from Kenya. He spent most of his childhood in Indonesia, but returned to Hawaii to take secondary school, living there with his mother's parents.

In the books that he writes, he tells about the difficulties of growing up biracial in the 1960s. He experienced "racism and felt lost at times."

After his childhood years, Obama studied political science at Columbia University, then worked as a community organizer in Chicago's housing projects.

Later, he attended law school at Harvard Law School, starting his life as a politician. He became a civil rights lawyer and professor. In 1996, he was elected to the Illinois Senate, OFFICIALLY starting his career. It went up higher from here: he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. As everyone knows, if he wins the election, he will be the first African American President.

Issues

Energy

Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump, help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future, within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined, put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America, ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025, and implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Taxes

Enact a windfall profits tax to provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American families, provide $50 billion to jumpstart the economy and prevent 1 million Americans from losing their jobs, provide a tax cut for working families, eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000, fight for fair trade, amend the North American Free Trade Agreement, reward companies that support American workers, create 5 million new green jobs, establish a credit card Bill of Rights, and a lot more.

Iraq

A responsible, phased withdrawal, judgment you can trust, encouraging political accommodation, surging diplomacy, preventing Humanitarian Crisis, and the Status-of-Forces-Agreement.

Health

Guaranteed eligibility, affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles, employer contribution, mandatory coverage of children, lowering costs through investment in electronic health information technology systems, lowering costs by increasing competition in the insurance and drug markets, advance the biomedical research field, fight AIDS worldwide, reduce risks of mercury pollution, protect our children from lead poisoning, and supporting Americans with disabilities.

Rights and Poverty

Guaranteed eligibility, affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles, employer contribution, mandatory coverage of children, lowering costs through investment in electronic health information technology systems, lowering costs by increasing competition in the insurance and drug markets, advance the biomedical research field, fight AIDS worldwide, reduce risks of mercury pollution, protect our children from lead poisoning, and supporting Americans with disabilities.

McCain

Information on His Life

Also, you probably know his running mate is Palin:

He calls his campaign bus the "Straight Talk Ecpress". Looking at himself, he thinks he's a reformer who talks about whatever is on his mind, thinking that he is very tough. He flew fighter jets for the Navy, and he survived many years as a prisoner going to war.

McCain was born on August 29, 1936 in the Panama, where his father was serving the Navy. Most of his relatives were part of the Navy too, so McCain decided to do the same. He attened the U.S. Naval Academy, then becoming a pilot. During the Vietnam War, from 1957-1975, McCain flew 23 missions before he was shot down and taken prisoner, where he "learned the value of human rights", since he was tortured!

Amazingly, he remained with the Navy after that horrible experience! But soon enough, his political career began. He became an Arizona congressman in 1983, then serving in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate ever since.

He believes in tougher rules governing where you get campaign money. He wants to tighten security at the borders, and get more freedom for students to change schools, making it also harder for Congress to raise taxes. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he believes the troops to stay in Iraq until he deems the Iraqi government can run the country itself.

Issues

Energy

Independence on foreign oil. Proprosed Lexington Project, lowering prices of gas, having more offshore drilling, expanding nuclear power, clear coal technology, and advanced alternative energy sources.

Taxes

Experience robust economic growth, and reduction in the corporate tax rate, which deducts a single year investments in equipment, eliminating tax loopholes, doubling size of child exemption.

Iraq

End the war with victory. Thinks course of immediate withdrawal will draw us into war with greater sacrifices, put peace further out of reach, and Americans into harm's way. Also win war in Afghanistan by adding more troops and using counterinsurgency strategy, continuing to hunt down al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Health

Health care will be more accessible to Americans. Reforms of the insurance market, choice of health care into the hands of American families, walk-in clinics instead of ER, paying for outcome in the treatment of disease, and competition in the prescription drug market.

Rights and Poverty

He will listen to any idea from anyone that is offered in good faith and intended to help solve our problems, not make them worse. He will seek the counsel of members of Congress from both parties in forming government policy before asking them to support it. He changes education, worker training, health care services, retiree support, public transportation, research and development stimulation, and new technology.

This bring us to the end of the guide. If you want to learn more about the candidates, visit www.barackobama.com/ and www.johnmccain.com/.

McCain probably killed himself for the last time in this debate. After tomorrow, he will no longer be relevant.

So, we've now come to the second presidential debate, or more accurately, the debate between the 2 presidential candidates. How did it go? Who won?

In this debate, it seemed as if Obama, who is now almost assured of winning 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, barring an absolute collapse and McCain were their own “attack dogs”. What? That's right. Sarah Palin wasn't in the building for this. McCain started off by welcoming Obama: “It's nice to be with you at a town-hall meeting”. If this sounds sarcastic, it is. McCain used this introduction to ridicule Obama for rejecting his proposal of a series of town hall meetings where audience members could address the two presidential nominees.

Content-wise, McCain started off by talking about the weak, ailing and still-jittery housing market: “Let people be able to make those (monthly mortgage) payments and stay in those homes. Is it expensive? Yes. But until we stabilize (the housing market), we're never going to be able to turn around and fix jobs. We got to bring trust and confidence back to America and I know how to do that”. Again, McCain is going down that precarious path of using his Congressional experience to attack Obama (“I know how to do that”) and thus far, it hasn't worked.

McCain also slammed Obama for receiving a substantial amount of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Obama received $126349, including $120349 from employees and $6000 from Political Action Committees or PACs while McCain has received $21550 from employees, but nothing from PACs: Obama has received the second highest amount from lobbyists behind only Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd), the mortgage brokers many believed started the subprime mess that forced many people to be evicted from their homes while their ex-executives got million-dollar retirement/severance packages: “The real catalyst was Fannie and Freddie. They're the ones who were the encouragement of Sen. Obama and his cronies that went out and made all these risky loans, gave them to all these people who couldn't pay back. There were some of us who stood up and said (that) we need to enact legislation. There were some of us who stood up against this. There were others who took a hike”. So, McCain is blaming Obama for the second-worst economic collapse ever, but what solutions does McCain have? This is still unclear.

Obama's response: “I've got to correct McCain's history, not surprisingly. Deregulation of the financial system. McCain, as recently as March, bragged about the fact that he's a deregulator. Two years ago, I said (that) there was a subprime crisis (that) we had to deal with. I wrote to (Treasury Secretary Hank) Paulson and (Fed chief Ben) Bernanke and told them (that) it's something we need to deal with. I never promoted Fannie Mae”. In this rebuttal, Obama not only rebuffed McCain's claim. Obama also accused McCain for deregulating during a time of such economic uncertainty, calamity and crisis, a time when government intervention is necessary. Surely, Obama is once again mocking McCain's statement from some time ago that “The fundamentals of our economy are still strong”.

Then, Obama changed tactics by speaking directly to a member of the audience at Bowling Green University, Oliver Clark who asked about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout: “You're not interested in politicians pointing fingers. You're interested in the impact on you. This is not the end, this is the beginning of the process”. This is probably also a response to McCain's accusation that Obama was playing politics when McCain abruptly suspended his campaign to return to Capitol Hill in order to ensure that the revised version of the bailout was passed.

The next question from moderator Tom Brokaw was: Will the economy get worse before it gets better? Obama replied that “I am confident about the American economy, but we are going to have to have leadership from Washington”. Obama's rhetoric/implication: Leadership must come from a new leader in the White House and not from a continuation of “Bushconomics” which Obama claims McCain supports so strongly.

Next issue: How can we handle Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons and a country which is extremely unstable right now with the u9npopular Musharraf gone and uncertainty surrounding his replacement, Asif Ali Zadari? “I'm not going to telegraph my punches, which is what Sen. Obama did”, alluding to Teddy Roosevelt's quote (“talk softly, but carry a big stick”).

Obama scoffed: “This is a guy who sang "bomb, bomb, Iran" and (who called for) the annihilation (destruction) of North Korea - that I don't think is an example of speaking softly”. Boy, did McCain lose big on this one: even Bush (yes, Bush) didn't attack Iran or North Korea militarily, at least not yet. The reasons are obvious. If Iranian oil was taken off the market, we'd probably be dealing with oil prices around $130 or $140 a barrel and North Korea is too diplomatically isolated to be much of a threat.

While Obama spoke of a second stimulus plan to help boost economic growth, he also let the American people know that the $700 billion Bailout Plan was just one of many parts of the solution. He is also pushing for an extension on unemployment benefits. Obama has President Bill Clinton's former economic advisors now presiding in his camp. When speaking today, Obama said, “We need to do what a guy named Bill Clinton did in the 1990's and that's put people first!” This may be part of the reason people are flocking toward Obama now that the economic crisis is at the forefront of everyone's conversations. The last time the American people felt really safe economically was during the Clinton administration.

Speaking today in New Mexico, John McCain didn't bring any new plans for the economy to the table but showed more spirit than he has throughout his whole campaign. Throwing out one-line zingers and smiling like a Cheshire cat, the presidential candidate posed the following questions regarding Barack Obama:

“What has this man really accomplished in government?

What does he plan for America?

In short, who is the real Barack Obama?”

This, of course, came after a weekend-long string of attacks from Gov. Sarah Palin, accusing Obama of “palling” around with William Ayers. “Bill” Ayers was charged but never convicted of non-fatal bombings on Capitol Hill during the Vietnam War. Palin stressed the word “terrorist” over the weekend and again today, then came the insinuations from McCain of “who is the real Barack Obama.” Obama's response? “We don't throw the first punch, but we'll throw the last.”

Middle Class Americans Always Give But Hardly Receive

When middle class Americans encounter financial difficulties through life events; we don't qualify for public aid. There are rare medical situations when one would be able to secure an income waiver to qualify for assistance, but those opportunities are few and hard to get.

I have met a single-mom with two children - one in high school and one in middle school. She works in home health as an LPN, and makes close to $40,000 a year with some overtime. With tax and other deductions, her take home is around $28,000 annually. Monthly, this equates to $2,300. Her rental cost is $1,500 a month, leaving $800 to cover food, utilities, clothing, and school expenses. Unable to buy full insurance coverage, she personally pays for physicians' fees. Based on her income level, she said that she nor her children did not qualify for medical assistance from our government. She was not looking for full insurance coverage from the government, she was only looking for assistance in routine checks and sick medical visits.

On the contrary, I have met another single-mom who was receiving Section 8 housing as well as day care subsidies. She was receiving housing benefits of about $1,000 per month. She also got subsidy for her daycare expenses for her son while she went to school. She was receiving income as an intern teacher, which she claimed she had not reported to the public housing agency. She seemed to be pretty well taken cared of by our government.

Looking at these two true-to-life examples of American lives, it would be fair to say that there is no equality in how these women were treated in terms of help afforded to them.

I am not pushing for welfare program expansions requiring increased federal spending. However, I am pushing for overhauling the welfare system and cleaning-up its enforcement, may be then we will be able to equitably provide assistance to those in need.

In this economic climate, the needy are no longer just the poor; the needy have also become what we call middle class Americans.

Middle Class Americans Saved Only to Lose

We thought we were doing everything right. Everything reason told us to do. Save money for retirement, save money for our children's education, save money for the rainy day. In order to do so, we had to give up some small luxuries and a few necessities.

Where did our fiscal responsibility take us?

We, the middle class Americans, saved our hard-earned dollars, trusted the federal government - White House and Congress alike, only to lose what we saved. We bought mutual funds for our 401 K and other retirement funds because we want to support ourselves when we leave the workforce. We invested in 529 and other college savings plans because we want our children to have the opportunity to go to college without the burden of debt. We, the middle class Americans, are the ones who lost most of what we have to Wall Street.

Some of us even lost our dreams.

It is one thing when one loses money but knows he has opportunities to recover his loses. It is very difficult when what one loses may be irrecoverable. When one lost all he has got, what chance has he to recover?

Unless you are one of us, the middle class Americans, you can not even begin to understand what a catastrophic event the Wall Street meltdown was to us. But worst than that, was the realization that our government, past and present, failed to protect us. But worst than the financial crash was the betrayal of our trust. And when I say government, I mean not only the executive body but also the legislative body. They are both accountable. They were supposed to work together hand and hand in protecting us. But they didn't.

Increased Burden of Debt

Debt equals financial burden in my book. With $850 billion added to our deficits, we will be carrying this burden for a long time, and so will our children and grandchildren.

However, when our government took our country deeper in debt, they should have considered who will be paying for the debts. Obviously, our elected officials were not thinking of our welfare when they fiddled with the $850 billion plan. What was called the "rescue plan" to help Wall Street, and thereby help Main Street, actually included funding for special interest groups.

Hasn't Congress realized what they have done, through lack of oversight and honesty in reporting, that they have sinned against the American people?

It was very difficult to see Congress pointing fingers at each other when the country is in crisis. It was very difficult to see what Congress has shamelessly done, increasing our burden with funding for issues totally irrelevant to what the "rescue plan" was intended for. It is a shame that Congress showed that they could not put politics aside for the sake of the American people.

Election 2008: Here They Go Again

We have heard it from every candidate, whether red or blue, that they will be working for the middle class Americans. Of course they will say that - we are the biggest voting block, they will promise us the moon and the stars to get elected. But do they really? The theatrics has gotten old.

You would think that some economic principles may hold true for families, businesses, and federal government. As the manager of my family budget, I know that when I am going to incur debt, I cut my spending. When I know that I cannot afford everything that my family needs, I prioritize my spending.

In business, I learned that I would need to be creative in finding ways to cut down my expenses and increase the efficiency of my team in order to produce quality products within budget. As we have seen in many business restructurings, corporations do not just look at increasing revenues, they also look at cutting costs and increasing efficiencies.

American families are finding ways to make ends meet in the face of the current state of our economy. Our politicians are expected of no less. It is time for our politicians to test their creativity and find efficient ways of running our government. It is time for them to slow down on spending and defer noble visions of the social programs. It is time to have a close look at our government agencies and promote efficiencies and smart spending.

It is time for our politicians to cut down on spending.

Our politicians should make job creation a priority. In fact, they should not even talk about social programs when a lot of Americans don't have jobs. If Americans don't have jobs, they can not pay taxes. If there are less tax revenues, where would funding for social programs come from? To reiterate a point, our social programs are broken and the system does not reflect the current economic needs of the population. It would be foolish to keep putting money into broken systems, especially if one's capital is limited.

It should be a top priority to bring jobless Americans back into the workforce. It is time for our politicians to focus their energies and their talents in providing avenues for the American people to get back into the workforce. There is no point on discussing universal health care when Americans are more concerned of their abilities, or lack thereof, to to put food on the table. What is the point of having universal health care if I cannot feed my children.

It is time for our politicians to create more jobs.

And lastly, thinking that increasing tax revenues as the primary answer to our economic problems should not be our politicians' the first solution. Whether we tax corporations or the American population, taxes in times of recession will come back to haunt the American people in one way or another. There are ways of bringing back our economy on track - there are plenty of ways. But first our politicians will have to stop being politicians and become true public servants - putting the American people first and setting aside their political motives.

Is time for our politicians to look at creative solutions to fix our economy and stop looking at increasing taxes.

Less spending, lower taxes, more jobs - these are what middle class America needs