Meet The Press Transcript (10-12-08)

Read the complete transcript.

GOV. JON CORZINE (D-NJ): The answer to that has to be, unfortunately, yes. When you have destruction of value that we've seen, $8 trillion from the high of the stock market a year ago, 4 trillion in the last 10 days, people understand that they've lost protection of their retirement savings and other things, and that erodes confidence. And so they're going to spend less and be a little less proactive about how they go out and spend scarce dollars. And that's going to hurt the economy, slows production, has an unfortunate negative impact that I think has yet to be fully appreciated in the real economy. We've seen, obviously, the decline in homes, but now I think you're going to see rising levels of unemployment, unfortunately, and that, that's, that's a real problem as we go ahead in the months ahead.

MR. BROKAW: Congressman, do you see any light at the end of the tunnel?

[...]GOV. CORZINE: Well, I agree with the idea that we ought to stabilize housing prices. I don't agree with the idea that we ought to be bailing out the banks that made the loans, as I think Rob would recognize on Tuesday night when Senator McCain talked about a program to bail out the mortgages. That, that sounded good, that was part of the $700 billion program to start with. On Tuesday, he came out with a program that said that we're going to pay the full value for those mortgages, bailing out the banks that actually made those loans. I think that's a horrible idea. The taxpayers will end up underwriting it. What we need to do is restructure mortgages. There's a couple of ways to do that, change the bankruptcy laws or you could actually buy mortgages at their market value today and then go in and restructure them with the individuals. And yes, we ought to be stabilizing housing prices. I think actually we could even buy houses, like they did back in the--in the '30s under the RFC program, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. But the way that Senator McCain has done it is sort of really messed up on how it would actually impact folks.

[...]GOV. CORZINE: Now is the time for steady leadership. We can't have a new economic program each morning we wake up. That's what's been going on. Unfortunately, with regard to how the bailout package was put together and the whole structure in Washington, and it's certainly the case with Senator McCain's various proposals. This mortgage program that we talked about was included in the Frank-Dodd proposal, it was included in the $700 billion, and there have been changes; but it is still the basic, we ought to help mortgages. Now we're coming up with a new plan. What Senator Obama has talked about and is absolutely is essential is make sure that we use thoughtfully this $700 billion, including, by the way, investing in banks. Direct investment will stabilize--they call it recapitalization--stabilize the banks. Then he has talked about let's make sure that we have middle class tax cuts. He's been talking about that for months. Ninety-five percent of the folks, about 90 percent will get tax cuts, 95 will get no increases, including on capital gains above--below $250,000.

And then, what is maybe most important, we need a real economic stimulus. We're in what you call a liquidity trap. You can, you can, you can lead a horse to water, but it doesn't drink. Right now nobody has confidence to do things. We need to be putting demand into the system. That means infrastructure--build highways, build schools, build our energy system so that we can actually create jobs, get people back to work.

Obama Economic Speech: Transcript (10-13-08)

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We meet at a moment of great uncertainty for America. The economic crisis we face is the worst since the Great Depression. Markets across the globe have become increasingly unstable, and millions of Americans will open up their 401(k) statements this week and see that so much of their hard-earned savings have disappeared.

The credit crisis has left businesses large and small unable to get loans, which means they can’t buy new equipment, or hire new workers, or even make payroll for the workers they have. You’ve got auto plants right here in Ohio that have been around for decades closing their doors and laying off workers who’ve never known another job in their entire life.

760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Unemployment here in Ohio is up 85% over the last eight years, which is the highest it’s been in sixteen years. You’ve lost one of every four manufacturing jobs, the typical Ohio family has seen their income fall $2,500, and it’s getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month. At this rate, the question isn’t just “are you better off than you were four years ago?”, it’s “are you better off than you were four weeks ago?”

I know these are difficult times. I know folks are worried. But I also know this – we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. Because we are the United States of America. We are the country that has faced down war and depression; great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen to meet these challenges – not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans.

We still have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on Earth. We’re still home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest ideas in history have come from our small businesses and our research facilities. It won’t be easy, but there’s no reason we can’t make this century another American century.

But it will take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight years. And that’s why I’m running for President of the United States of America.

My opponent has made his choice. Last week, Senator McCain’s campaign announced that they were going to “turn the page” on the discussion about our economy so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. His campaign actually said, and I quote, “if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” Well Senator McCain may be worried about losing an election, but I’m worried about Americans who are losing their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings. They can’t afford four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. We’ve seen where that’s led us and we’re not going back. It’s time to turn the page.

Over the course of this campaign, I’ve laid out a set of policies that will grow our middle-class and strengthen our economy in the long-term. I’ll reform our tax code so that 95% of workers and their families get a tax cut, and eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000. I’ll bring down the cost of health care for families and businesses by investing in preventative care, new technology, and giving every American the chance to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress give themselves. We’ll ensure every child can compete in the global economy by recruiting an army of new teachers and making college affordable for anyone who wants to go. We’ll create five million new, high-wage jobs by investing in the renewable sources of energy that will eliminate the oil we currently import from the Middle East in ten years, and we’ll create two million jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, schools, and bridges.

But that’s a long-term strategy for growth. Right now, we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action. We can’t wait to help workers and families and communities who are struggling right now – who don’t know if their job or their retirement will be there tomorrow; who don’t know if next week’s paycheck will cover this month’s bills. We need to pass an economic rescue plan for the middle-class and we need to do it now. Today I’m proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners. It’s a plan that begins with one word that’s on everyone’s mind, and it’s spelled J-O-B-S.

McCain Speech in Virginia Beach: Transcript (10-13-08)

Read the complete transcript of McCain's speech. He avoids being too negative.

Three weeks from now, you will choose a new President. Choose well. There is much at stake.

These are hard times. Our economy is in crisis. Financial markets are collapsing. Credit is drying up. Your savings are in danger. Your retirement is at risk. Jobs are disappearing. The cost of health care, your children's college, gasoline and groceries are rising all the time with no end in sight. While your most important asset -- your home -- is losing value every day.

Americans are fighting in two wars. We face many enemies in this dangerous world, and they are waiting to see if our current troubles will permanently weaken us.

The next President won't have time to get used to the office. He won't have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts. He will have to act immediately. And to do that, he will need experience, courage, judgment and a bold plan of action to take this country in a new direction. We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change. The hour is late; our troubles are getting worse; our enemies watch. We have to act immediately. We have to change direction now. We have to fight.

I've been fighting for this country since I was seventeen years old, and I have the scars to prove it. If I'm elected President, I will fight to take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it.

I'm not going to spend $700 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I'm going to make sure we take care of the people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington. I'm going to spend a lot of that money to bring relief to you, and I'm not going to wait sixty days to start doing it.

I have a plan to protect the value of your home and get it rising again by buying up bad mortgages and refinancing them so if your neighbor defaults he doesn't bring down the value of your house with him.

I have a plan to let retirees and people nearing retirement keep their money in their retirement accounts longer so they can rebuild their savings.

I have a plan to rebuild the retirement savings of every worker.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home.

Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.

The explosion of government spending over the last eight years has put us deeper in debt to foreign countries that don't have our best interests at heart. It weakened the dollar and made everything you buy more expensive.

If I'm elected President, I won't spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money, on top of the $700 billion we just gave the Treasury Secretary, as Senator Obama proposes. Because he can't do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt. I'm going to make government live on a budget just like you do.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.

If I'm elected President, I won't fine small businesses and families with children, as Senator Obama proposes, to force them into a new huge government run health care program, while I keep the cost of the fine a secret until I hit you with it. I will bring down the skyrocketing cost of health care with competition and choice to lower your premiums, and make it more available to more Americans. I'll make sure you can keep the same health plan if you change jobs or leave a job to stay home.

FOX News Sunday Transcript (10-12-08)

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PENNSYLVANIA GOV. ED RENDELL: Well, I think the message in Pennsylvania — and I think it's a national message — should be to the McCain campaign, "Look, before the economic crisis, this was a two-point race in Pennsylvania. Since the economic crisis has happened, it's blown out to 13 points."

Now, Chris, I don't believe it's a 13-point race. I believe it's tighter than that. But certainly, Senator Obama has lengthened his lead, and that should be a clear message to the McCain campaign that these personal attacks that — he's trying to describe Senator Obama as risky, or we don't know enough about him, or whatever it is — they are not working, because when the economy's in crisis, people want real answers.

Mr. Davis once said about a month ago that this campaign isn't about issues. Well, maybe that was the case before the economic meltdown. But now with the economic meltdown, it is about issues, and people want to hear what the candidates are doing.

And Senator Obama has performed far better than Senator McCain the last five weeks.

[...]PAWLENTY: Well, I think it is a fair question, Chris, to look at not only his associations, as it's been called, with people like William Ayres and others, but, you know, is he being forthcoming about the depth and scope of those relationships. And that's not the — you know, that's not the point that's been featured in these discussions.

You know, the fact of the matter is Barack Obama's political campaign in Illinois appears to have been launched in Bill Ayres' living room. And so has he been truthful about that? Has he been forthcoming about that?

But beyond all of that, to the point you raise, I don't think the country is going to like the Democratic Party running the table on taxes, on education, on health care, and have kind of the liberal unchecked imbalanced approach to all of those issues. It's going to be bad for the country.

I think having John McCain as president to balance that out and be able to work across the aisle, as he has throughout his career, to get things done would be a good compromise, a good balance.

WALLACE: Governor Rendell, don't middle-of-the-road swing voters have legitimate reason to worry about where an Obama White House and a Pelosi House and a Harry Reid Senate, possibly with a veto-proof majority, would take the country?

RENDELL: No, I don't think so, Chris, at all, and let me tell you why. I think Americans know we need our government to respond and respond quickly to the challenges we're facing, like the economy, like what's happening abroad, like the health care crisis in this country.

And I think they see the opportunity for a cohesive government to do something about that.

Let me tell you what a divided government does. Governor Pawlenty and I were the chairman and vice chairman of the National Governors Association together, and Tim was the chair and I was the vice chair.

We were trying to get the Congress to override the president's veto of the extension of the Children's Health Care Program. We couldn't get the override done, and as a result, 9 million children in this country are not going to get health care unless we can reverse that decision.

And that was because we had a divided government with two different philosophical views of things which couldn't mesh. You can talk about reaching across the aisle all you want, but on that, it was pure philosophy.

I want to say two things, if I can, about what Tim said. Number one, he called Senator Obama a rookie. I think you'll agree, Chris, that in those two debates with Senator McCain, Senator Obama looked anything but a rookie.

And then secondly, Tim talked about taxes. Well, the American people are finally getting the truth about taxes, and that is if you're a family that earns less than $250,000, not only is Senator Obama not going to raise your taxes, he's going to give you a bigger tax cut than Senator McCain will.

Obama Speech Columbus, Ohio: Transcript (10-10-08)

Read the complete transcript. Excerpts below:

• There are many causes of this crisis, and it's very important that we respond using all the tools that we have. So I'm encouraged that the Treasury is considering dramatic steps to provide more capital into our financial institutions so they have money to lend to businesses large and small. This is not a time for ideology; this is a time for common sense. This is a time for the politics of pragmatism. The test of an idea can't be whether it's liberal or conservative, the test should be whether it works for the American people and for American business. (Cheers, applause.) That's what we should be focused on in the days and week ahead.
• You know, even as we face the most serious economic crisis of our time, even as you're worried about keeping your jobs or paying your bills or staying in your home, my opponent's campaign announced last week that they plan to -- I'm quoting them now -- "turn the page" on the discussion of our economy -- (boos) -- so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. (Boos.) Senator McCain's campaign actually said, and I quote, "if we keep talking about the economic crisis, we are going to lose." (Cheers.) So in the last couple of days, we've seen a barrage of nasty insinuations and attacks. I'm sure we're see a lot more of that over the next 25 days. We know what's coming. We know what they're going to do.

• Now, I know John McCain's worried about his campaign, but that's not what I'm worrying about. I'm thinking about Americans losing their jobs and their homes and their life savings. I'm worried about folks who started off with a 401(k) and now they've got a 101(k). (Laughter.) We can't afford four more years of the same economic theories that -- that says we should give more and more to those with the most -- the billionaires and the millionaires, the CEOs -- (boos) -- and the executives, and that somehow prosperity trickles down on everybody else. We can't afford four more years of stripping away regulations so that no one in Washington is watching -- watching anybody on Wall Street.

  We've seen where that leads us and we are not going back. It is time to move forward. It is time to take a new road with a new driver. (Cheers, applause.)

• Now, I repeat, we need to do more to help innocent homebuyers. That's why I've worked on a serious proposals over the past two years to do just that. But we have to do it in a responsible way. That means making sure that we're not overpaying for these mortgages, letting the banks off the hook, rewarding the very lenders whose recklessness helped cause this crisis. It means giving taxpayers a share of the benefits when the housing market recovers. It means cracking down on predatory lenders by treating mortgage fraud like the crime that it is. (Cheers, applause.)

  We also have to make sure that if the Treasury moves forward with its plan to put more money into struggling banks, that taxpayers will be able to get their money back, and the CEOs who contributed to this crisis will not get rich at our expense. (Cheers, applause.)

• This is going to start with a nationwide program to provide affordable, fixed-rate loans to small businesses across the country. We can run this through the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, provides loans to small-business owners, and they will get the help they need to maintain their inventory and meet their payroll. But we'll also make it easier for private lenders to make small-business loans by expanding the SBA's loan guarantee program. And by temporarily eliminating fees for borrowers and lenders, we can unlock the credit that small firms need to move forward, to pay their workers, to grow their businesses.

  And just as we make lending more available, we have to relieve the tax burden on small businesses help create jobs. That's why I've proposed eliminating all capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and startups. (Cheers, applause.) That's why I'm proposing an additional temporary business tax incentive through next year to encourage new investments, because it is time to protect the jobs we have and to create the jobs of tomorrow by unlocking the drive and the ingenuity and the innovation of the American people. That's what I intend to do when I'm president, bottom-up economic growth. (Cheers, applause.) Bottom-up economic growth.

SNL Spoofs 2nd Presidential Debate: Transcript, Video (10-9-08)

This is the latest in the series spoofing the presidential campaign by Saturday Night Live. This a Thursday special segment of 'Weekend Update.' This time they go after John McCain, Barack Obama, and Tom Brokaw, during the second president debate held Tuesday.

Read the complete transcript

CHRIS PARNELL AS TOM BROKAW: "Good evening, and welcome
to Belmont University, in Nashville, Tennessee, for the second in a series of three Presidential debates, between Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, and, Senator John McCain of Arizona. I'm Tom Brokaw, of NBC News, and I will be your moderator this evening. Tonight's debate will follow a town hall format, with questions submitted by the eighty undecided voters in our audience, as well as thousands more sent in via email. From this enormous list of penetrating, insightful, and provocative questions, I have chosen the eight least interesting. For each question, the candidates will be allowed a twenty-five second response, and, at my discretion, a three second follow-up. These are the rules both campaigns agreed upon. Our first question, is for Senator Obama, and it comes from Elizabeth Wheeler."

CASEY WILSON: "Senator Obama. Over the last few weeks, the financial crisis which began with home foreclosures has threatened to wreck the entire economy. As President, how would you deal with this?"

FRED ARMISEN AS SEN. BARACK OBAMA: "First of all, Elizabeth, thank you for that question. There is no doubt, that after eight years of failed Republican policies, policies which Senator McCain supported, this economy is a shambles. But let me tell you, and the American people, one thing I absolutely promise..."

PARNELL AS BROKAW: "Time's up. Senator McCain?"

HAMMOND AS SEN. MCCAIN: "Elizabeth, to find any solution to this economic mess, we're going to have to put aside partisanship. Something my opponent -- this character here -- isn't very good at. But I've done my whole career. You know, my friends I'm not the most popular guy in my own party. Just ask Senator Trent Lott. I took his car one time without asking, and totaled it. Just drove it into a wall, and walked away. So I'm not going to win any popularity contests among Republicans. But, Maria, when it comes to the economy, here's what I'd do. It's very simple..."

PARNELL AS BROKAW: Your time is up.

The Economic Collapse: I Hate to Say I Told you So

I have argued for many years that stock market crashes are part of the nature of the beast. Speculative bubbles will always end the same way, unless we change the system by eliminating speculation. The stock market should be for the purpose of investment. I have already offered my solution. But it could be late to prevent what seems an inevitable economic collapse as happened in 1929. The politicians (including Obama and McCain) have failed us, again. It is time for the people to take over. The alternative is economic abyss.

Here are my previous posts predicting economic collapse:
March 17, 2006:

The Congress and Bush have given us the biggest prize of all: historic debt and deficits. The problem with all this debt is that eventually someone will come around demanding payment. Since we have no savings the money has to be borrowed. This raises interest rates which makes of our currency more vulnerable. Take your choice hyper-inflation or recession (depression). Then what?

You can't have a disastrous war while running historic deficits. It didn't work during the Vietnam War. It won't work now. The only difference back then is that we didn't have a destroyed manufacturing base. Its all being shipped abroad; everything is being imported. We are broke as a nation. We are also broke morally as well since we have allowed criminal politicians to put us in this position.

July 4th 2006:

We could be on the verge of a financial collapse in the United States. As interest on the national debt continues to rise this could mean a collapse of the dollar causing a defaulting on our massive debt problem. This was the conclusion of Robert Scott, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute think tank, who appeared on C-Span this morning.

[...]It is a terrible and disgraceful mess that we've gotten ourselves in. And where is the outrage. Where are the politicians and the media (apart from C-Span) in sounding the alarm. Already we've seen our national savings rates at the lowest levels since the Great Depression. There is that word -- depression. We are already seeing repercussions in the case of the government shutdown in New Jersey. Expect to see more of that. We have a President and Congress running up obscene deficits to pay for the quagmire in Iraq. There is nothing left over to pay for essential services. We are already seeing a rise in the crime rate because there are less police and prisons to go around. Our roads and bridges are going un-repaired. And if we have another Katrina disaster (not to mention terrorist attack), which is likely, we won't be able to help the victims. This is the awful reality on this July 4th. I fear for my country.

February 1st, 2007:

The reality is that we are going broke as a nation. And its only a matter of time before the whole thing comes crashing down as it did in the 1930s.

February 28th 2007:

Is This 1929 all Over Again?

[...]We did not learn from Vietnam War and so we are repeating the same mistake. In July of 2001 this blogger (I was not a blogger then, but I did have a message board) warned about a "disaster" without realizing what exactly would happen. I have argued since 9-11 that we have not learned from that terrible day. We are still a decadent society, a nation of spectators. We sit around and watch a disastrous war on TV started by a President who has stepped on constitutional freedoms. It is happening with little protest or outrage. Now we could be facing a crisis that was inevitable: a stock market crash. And its happening because we didn't think about it (just as with 9-11). But history tells us stock markets crash. And since we learned nothing from 1929 we are doomed to repeat the same mistake.

December 16, 2007:

Greenspan: U.S. Moving Closer to Recession[...]I'm more worried about a depression.

January 16, 2008:

It is getting very dangerous. This could easily snowball into a panic (I won't use the d-word). We need to wake up. There are very serious problems with the U.S. economy, and that impacts the rest of the world markets.

- There is only one solution. Only 'We The People' can solve the problem. We have a political system that works on behalf of small economic/political elite. It is up to you to take back what belongs to you. The alternative is to perish. Begin today to fight back.

Palin Interviewed by FOX's Greta Van Susteren: Transcript (10-9-08)

Read the complete transcript.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So let's take those topics. First of all, take energy independence. You're in favor of drilling in ANWR, right?

PALIN: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I know that Senator McCain isn't. You're going to work on him, I heard you say, because you two will talk about that. How do you handle this issue? There's a lot of people in the lower 48 don't want to drill. People in Alaska do want to drill a lot. How -- as you as vice president, how do you reconcile that? Because the job as governor of Alaska is a little different. You represent people of Alaska. The vice president, it's everybody.

PALIN: Well, remember, too, as VP, you are there to support the president's initiatives and agendas. So that would be my role there, and that's why I say, you know, we'll have some healthy debate and good conversation about where drilling should be allowed.

But the nice thing is, even with ANWR, John McCain hasn't asked me to check my opinions at the door. He does want to discuss that issue and other issues. And we have the "all of the above" approach towards energy independence that we do agree on. He understands, too. We can't have just a little bit of here and there solutions plugged in to get us out of this energy crisis. It does need to be all of the above, with the drilling and offshore, the alternative sources of energy and the conservation all tied in together. And we agree on the big picture there.

VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think we haven't had more development in the alternatives? Because I remember back in the early '70s, we had gas lines. Everybody knew it was a problem and everyone talked about alternative energy. That was what -- you know, was on every nightly news. But look where we are.

PALIN: Yes. Well, I think America kind of got lax there. Yes, remember in the '70s, when we were conserving gasoline also, and our parents were always on us to turn off the lights and quit wasting electricity. And we got kind of spoiled and lax there, but now it's time to plug in those solutions.

And this nation is so richly blessed in alternative sources. You know, we've got the hydro and the wind and the geothermal and the biomass. It's just a matter now of plugging in with American ingenuity what those solutions will be. Really, we have no choice now also. People are realizing that these non-renewable sources of energy, once they're gone, they're gone. And we do have conserve and we have to start looking at the alternative sources.

But it is still a time off before we have economic and reliable sources of energy that can take the place of the conventional sources. So all the more reason that we have that "all of that above" approach. We're working on this all together comprehensively. And we have no excuse, though, not to go forward with alternative sources of energy at this time.

[...]VAN SUSTEREN: Are you then critical of the President Bush administration because the government has grown under President Bush and the deficit has grown under President Bush? Do you completely divorce yourself from that administration or do you embrace any part of it?

PALIN: I think that there have been some mistakes in the administration, but Congress is to blame also and...

VAN SUSTEREN: What mistakes of the administration?

PALIN: Well, I think that they have allowed government growth to just be too rampant, too aggressive, and certainly, that's contributing to where we are today with this deficit. Handing this to our kids, that's unfair. We're going to stop that. And that, though, has to be a commitment to reining in government growth. And we have to have that spending freeze that John McCain is going to plug in also.

So yes, there's been problems there, but also -- there's plenty of blame to go around. Congress also, though. And the Democratically-led Congress in the last couple of years, too -- there's plenty of blame to go around there also where, you know, they hold the purse strings. They craft the budgets and vote for the budgets and the budgets have grown too drastically, and individuals like Barack Obama voting 94 times for higher taxes on Americans -- now, there's some blame to go there, too.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Special needs for children. A lot of mothers out there with children who have all sorts of extra needs. What exactly would you do for them?

PALIN: Well, as governor, I've been a proponent and successful also in getting more funding for special needs children in our schools, in public education.

VAN SUSTEREN: That's government growing.

PALIN: Not when you prioritize for that. And these children who have special needs, they're not a problem, they are a priority. So as long as we can prioritize, I believe and what a lot of Americans believe is right, you allow equal access to good education and you allow opportunities for kids with special needs, even if that asks to you shift some of the funding that maybe went in another area, maybe growing bureaucracy in a local school district -- instead of that, get that money into the classrooms so that all kids, not just the kids with special needs, so that all kids can benefit from those public dollars, be more accountable and prioritizing better for public dollars in our schools. That's what I've been a proponent of and have affected change there.

- Watch Greta's interview with Gov. Palin: Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3

McCain Interview by ABC's Charles Gibson: Transcript (10-9-08)

Read the complete transcript:

GIBSON: Senator, we're in a global market meltdown, and the very firmament of our economy and what it's based on has had seismic shocks in recent days. And yet night before last, you guys were having a debate about spending and taxes and earmarks that you could have had three months ago. And that's frustrating to people.

MCCAIN: Well, I think that in my opening comments I made a very strong case that we are in a crisis of unprecedented proportions. And that's why I recommended strongly that we go out and have the Treasury buy up these bad mortgages, so, and arrange it as they did during the Depression.

That's exactly -- in fact, Sen. [Hillary] Clinton has recommended this. Buy up these mortgages. Let people have them in affordable payment levels. And put a floor on this continuing plummeting of housing -- of home prices. As long as that value continues down, I don't see a stabilization.

But then in answer to your question, you sort of go to, in all due respect, to where the questioner leads you. One thing that frustrates audiences a lot of times and viewers is you get asked a question and you give, you know, your own set, planned answer. So I thought I emphasized as much as I possibly could in every answer that I appreciate the depth of the crisis that we're in.

GIBSON: Let me talk about that plan. $300 billion. New money or part of the $700 billion?

MCCAIN: Part of the $700 billion, new money, if necessary. Look, in one day they wiped out $1.2 trillion when it dropped 700 points. And I'm not throwing this money around lightly. But if the housing values continue to go down, there's no floor. There's no turnaround here. We all know what was the catalyst for this catastrophe. And that was Fannie and Freddie.

We did cover that a bit during the debate, which I warned about and wrote [a] letter about and proposed legislation along with others to try and rein in Fannie and Freddie. And because of the corruption and cronyism in Washington, no one acted. And it's fascinating to me that the same people that are taking credit for the bailout, the Democrats, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and others, were defending Fannie and Freddie and the corrupt practices they were doing. I'll tell you. Life's funny.

[...]GIBSON: Some of the reaction to your plan of $300 billion to buy up mortgages. People say, look, I've paid my mortgage. I didn't overspend. I didn't take a house that I couldn't afford. I'm paying my mortgage. Why are you going to help them and do nothing for me?

MCCAIN: Because if your neighbor's home value continues to decline, so is yours. Your life savings -- and I appreciate that you were able to make your payments and struggles that you had. But if your neighbor's home continues to plummet in value and sits empty, then it's going to affect your home as well. So we're doing this for you as well. And hopefully we reach a floor on the home values, and yours and your neighbor's homes can increase in value.

Michelle Obama on 'Larry King Live': Transcript (10-8-08)

Michelle Obama was interviewed by Larry King. Read the complete transcript.

KING: All right. Let's get to it. Let's get right to it. Many have noted that McCain last night -- John McCain never looked at your husband during the first debate. There's a lot of buzz about this moment -- this moment especially.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies -- billions for the oil companies. And it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney.

You know who voted for it?

You might never know -- that one. You know who voted against it? Me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Do you take offense to "that one?"

M. OBAMA: No. No. I mean, you know...

KING: People are talking about it.

M. OBAMA: Well, you know, I think there are two conversations that have been going on throughout this whole election. There's the conversation that's been happening with the pundits and, you know, the polls. And then there's the conversation that's been happening on the ground. And the folks out there right now are scared. They're nervous about the economy. They don't care about the sort of back and forth between the candidates. They want real answers about we're going to, you know, fix this economy and get the health care -- health care benefits back on track.

So, you know, this is part of politics, how people praise things...

KING: So you think it's the pundits that are more interested in that term and...

M. OBAMA: That's my sense of it, you know. I mean, I have traveled around this country. I was in a few states just in the last day-and-a-half. And no one asks about this kind of stuff. I mean, they want to know about the positions that the candidates have on the issues -- you know, what are we going to do with this war, how are we going to get our education system on track. And people really want to understand, you know, how this economy is going to really affect their bottom line.

KING: Did it in any way offend you?

M. OBAMA: No. No. I have to say that, you know, I -- in these debates, I am so focused on what Barack is saying, you know, and how he is, you know, phrasing his words. And I'm really trying to listen to the substance of what he's saying to make sure that I understand what's going on that these little, you know, sound bites don't register with me. A lot of times I'm looking around at the faces of the undecided voters in the room and I'm trying to see how they're reacting.

So there's so much going on in a room that a phrase here or there just doesn't -- you know, it just doesn't resonate.

[...]Do you know William Ayers?

M. OBAMA: Yes. Yes. Yes. Barack served on the board of the Annenberg Challenge with Bill Ayers and...

KING: That was started by the Annenberg family, right?

M. OBAMA: Absolutely. And Mrs. Annenberg, in fact, endorsed John McCain. So I don't know anyone in Chicago who's heavily involved in education policy who doesn't know Bill Ayers. But, you know, again, I go back to the point that, you know, the American people aren't asking these questions.

KING: You don't think it affects the campaign?

M. OBAMA: You know, I think that we've been in this for 20 months. And people have gotten to know Barack. He's written books. Books have been written about him. He, like all of the other candidates, have been thoroughly vetted. And I think people know Barack Obama. They know his heart, they know his spirit.

And the thing that I just encourage people is to judge Barack and judge all of these candidates based on what they do, their actions, their character, what they do in their lives, rather than what somebody did when they were eight or six years old.

KING: When someone calls and says he's running for vice president, that your husband associates with terrorism, that upsets you, I would think.

M. OBAMA: You know, that's part of politics. But...

KING: It doesn't -- it blows...

M. OBAMA: ...the thing...

KING: ...it goes right off of you?

M. OBAMA: You know, these issues have come up before. But the one thing that I'm proud about with Barack is that one of the things he's been talking about is our tone. And it's the notion that he says we can disagree without being disagreeable. And that's, you know, where he's trying to get to in this campaign, the notion that we can disagree on some fundamental issues in this country, but we have to do it without demonizing one another, without labeling one another, because we're in some tough times now.

And what we can see from the fall of this economy is that when we fall, we all fall. And when we rise, we all rise. And whether we're Republicans or Democrats or Independents or black or white or straight or gay, that we're in this together. And that there are times that we will disagree, that we won't share the same policies. But we're going to rise and fall together.

And that's the tone that I like. And I think that's where Americans want their elected officials to be.

The Surge is Failing

There goes McCain's last argument. You can bet the Republicans are livid this report leaked to the press.

A nearly completed high-level U.S. intelligence analysis warns that unresolved ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq could unleash a new wave of violence, potentially reversing the major security and political gains achieved over the last year.

These leakers should be considered patriots.

More than a half-dozen officials spoke to McClatchy Newspapers on condition of anonymity because NIEs, the most authoritative analyses produced by the U.S. intelligence community, are restricted to the president, his senior aides and members of Congress except in rare instances when just the key findings are made public.

McCain is toast.

The new NIE, which reflects the consensus of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, has significant implications for Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, whose differences over the Iraq war are a major issue in the presidential campaign.

The findings seem to cast doubts on McCain's frequent assertions that the United States is "on a path to victory" in Iraq by underscoring the deep uncertainties of the situation despite the 30,000-strong U.S. troop surge for which he was the leading congressional advocate.

Even Petraeus admits victory is elusive.

The findings of the intelligence estimate appear to be reflected in recent statements by Army Gen. David Petraeus, the former top U.S. commander in Iraq, who has called the situation "fragile" and "reversible" and said he will never declare victory there.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice echoed that tone on Monday during a State Department awards ceremony for Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, nothing is certain in this life. And success in Iraq is not a sure thing," Rice said in an uncharacteristically downbeat comment.

The NIE findings parallel a Defense Department assessment last month that warned that despite "promising developments, security gains in Iraq remain fragile. A number of issues have the potential to upset progress."

That's on top of the critical situation in Afghanistan. Because of the quagmire in Iraq the U.S. government is forced to go hat in hand to our allies begging for help.

NATO allies face calls on Thursday to send more troops to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and boost military spending, despite the prospect of budget cuts due to the global financial crisis.

That same report paints a grim picture in Afghanistan.

A draft report by U.S. intelligence agencies concludes that Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and casts serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban's influence there, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

McCain, Palin on FOX's 'Hannity & Colmes': Transcript (10-8-08)

Read the complete transcript:

HANNITY: ... said I can have you two debate among yourselves on this one point. Governor Palin you have said that you're trying, you're working on Senator McCain on the issue of ANWR. And you said you haven't had success yet, but you're still trying.

PALIN: The important thing to remember, though, is that we're on the same page in understanding that it has to be an all of the above approach in dealing with the energy crisis that we are in. It's got to be the alternative sources of energy getting plugged into the solution here. Certainly, the domestic supplies of conventional sources also being tapped into, and then we've got to remind Americans that the effort has got to be even greater today toward conservation because these finite resources that we're dealing with obviously — once oil is gone it's gone, once gas is gone, it's gone. And I think our nation has really become kind of spoiled in that arena.

So it's an all of the above approach that he embraces, and that's good. That will lead us to that energy independence, as opposed to the other ticket where they have said, no, no, no, to every domestic solution that has been proposed. And that was kind of perplexing st night, listening to Barack Obama's position, all of a sudden saying that we need clean coal and we need to offshore — he's so on record as having opposed, and Senator Biden also, having opposed those.

So, I think last night, coming away from the debate, too, one of the things that I got out of it was, I think Barack Obama was drilling for votes. I don't think that he's too keen on drilling for those source of energy that we need.

HANNITY: Well you had pointed out about Governor Biden (sic) — had once said, (INAUDIBLE) the world is raping the outer continental shell, proponents of drilling, and — but last night you brought up the fact that Senator Obama was against nuclear energy.

MCCAIN: We have to develop the technology — go to the United States Navy — we're sailing ships with nuclear power. You visit the French ,the British, the Japanese, they all reprocess spent nuclear fuel. But Senator Obama has done — he's very good with words. He's very eloquent. But when you look past it, he has opposed offshore drilling and he has opposed nuclear power.

Again, one of the things I was trying to stress in the campaign and in the debate last night, look at the gap between his rhetoric and his record.

The most liberal senator in the United States Senate: that's why I urged the people watching last night, go to these Web sites, the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, and these other watchdog organizations.

Finally, this may sound a bit gratuitous, but at least because Senator — Governor Palin — Sarah Palin is so persuasive, I would like to come to Alaska, I haven't been there in many years anyway, and maybe I'll agree to go visit that area and have a look.

[...]HANNITY: Governor Palin, you had echoed those comments in recent days, this was immediately after the debate. And you actually — (INAUDIBLE) that Senator McCain just mentioned, "air-raiding villages and killing civilians," you said that that should disqualify him, meaning Barack Obama, from being commander-in-chief.

PALIN: Because there is such a gross misunderstanding of what our U.S. troops are doing in Afghanistan. What they're doing, of course, is fighting terrorism and protecting us, protecting our country.

And you know, they're building schools for the children in Afghanistan so that there is hope and opportunity there. So that just — that gross misunderstanding of what the United States military's mission is right now is very, very concerning.

MCCAIN: Could I mention one other point on his record?

HANNITY: Yes, sir.

MCCAIN: Senator Obama said that he would never vote to cut off the funding of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. After promising that, he and a handful of others voted that way. Now both he and Senator Biden said, well, it's the same vote that I cast. I cast a vote against withdrawal and surrender.

And I had promised that I do everything that I could to fight against any resolution that would entail withdrawal — set dates for withdrawal and therefore defeat in Iraq. So they're vastly different votes, they're vastly different.

2nd Presidential Debate: Transcript (10-7-08)

Barack Obama and John McCain have the second presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee. This time it was a townhall-style format. Read the transcript (NY Times) (see the video).

Obama:

It means that we are cracking down on CEOs and making sure that they're not getting bonuses or golden parachutes as a consequence of this package. And, in fact, we just found out that AIG, a company that got a bailout, just a week after they got help went on a $400,000 junket.

And I'll tell you what, the Treasury should demand that money back and those executives should be fired. But that's only step one. The middle-class need a rescue package. And that means tax cuts for the middle-class.

McCain:

You know that home values of retirees continues to decline and people are no longer able to afford their mortgage payments. As president of the United States, Alan, I would order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes -- at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those -- be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

Obama:

Well, Oliver, first, let me tell you what's in the rescue package for you. Right now, the credit markets are frozen up and what that means, as a practical matter, is that small businesses and some large businesses just can't get loans.

If they can't get a loan, that means that they can't make payroll. If they can't make payroll, then they may end up having to shut their doors and lay people off.

McCain:

I left my campaign and suspended it to go back to Washington to make sure that there were additional protections for the taxpayer in the form of good oversight, in the form of taxpayers being the first to be paid back when our economy recovers -- and it will recover -- and a number of other measures.

But you know, one of the real catalysts, really the match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I'll bet you, you may never even have heard of them before this crisis.

But you know, they're the ones that, with the encouragement of Sen. Obama and his cronies and his friends in Washington, that went out and made all these risky loans, gave them to people that could never afford to pay back.

Obama:

And so while it's true that nobody's completely innocent here, we have had over the last eight years the biggest increases in deficit spending and national debt in our history. And Sen. McCain voted for four out of five of those George Bush budgets.

So here's what I would do. I'm going to spend some money on the key issues that we've got to work on.

You know, you may have seen your health care premiums go up. We've got to reform health care to help you and your budget.

We are going to have to deal with energy because we can't keep on borrowing from the Chinese and sending money to Saudi Arabia. We are mortgaging our children's future. We've got to have a different energy plan.

We've got to invest in college affordability. So we're going to have to make some investments, but we've also got to make spending cuts. And what I've proposed, you'll hear Sen. McCain say, well, he's proposing a whole bunch of new spending, but actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut.

McCain:

I first proposed a long time ago that we would have to examine every agency and every bureaucracy of government. And we're going to have to eliminate those that aren't working.

I know a lot of them that aren't working. One of them is in defense spending, because I've taken on some of the defense contractors. I saved the taxpayers $6.8 billion in a deal for an Air Force tanker that was done in a corrupt fashion.

I believe that we have to eliminate the earmarks. And sometimes those projects, not -- not the overhead projector that Sen. Obama asked for, but some of them that are really good projects, will have -- will have to be eliminated, as well.

And they'll have to undergo the same scrutiny that all projects should in competition with others.

So we're going to have to tell the American people that spending is going to have to be cut in America. And I recommend a spending freeze that -- except for defense, Veterans Affairs, and some other vital programs, we'll just have to have across-the-board freeze.

McCain Speech in New Mexico: Transcript, Video (10-6-08)

Read the Complete Transcript and see the video of McCain's speech in Albuquerque.

In 21 months, during hundreds of speeches, town halls and debates, I have kept my promise to level with you about my plans to reform Washington and get this country moving again. As a senator, I've seen the corrupt ways of Washington in wasteful spending and other abuses of power, and as president I'm going to end them -- whatever it takes. I will propose and sign into law reforms to bring tax relief to the middle class and help to businesses so they can create jobs. I will get the rising cost of food and gas under control. I will help families keep their home, and help students struggling to pay for college. I will make health care more accessible and affordable. I will impose a spending freeze on all but the most vital functions of government. I will review every agency of the federal government, improve those that need to be improved and eliminate those that aren't working for the American people. I will confront th e ten trillion-dollar debt that the federal government has run up, and balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office.

This is the agenda I have set before my fellow citizens. And the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent. Even at this late hour in the campaign, there are essential things we don't know about Senator Obama or the record that he brings to this campaign.

We have all heard what he has said, but it is less clear what he has done or what he will do. What Senator Obama says today and what he has done in the past are often two different things. He has often changed his positions in this campaign, and the best way to determine where he would really take this country is to examine where he has tried to take it in the past.

My opponent has invited serious questioning by announcing a few weeks ago that he would quote -- "take off the gloves." Since then, whenever I have questioned his policies or his record, he has called me a liar.

Rather than answer his critics, Senator Obama will try to distract you from noticing that he never answers the serious and legitimate questions he has been asked. But let me reply in the plainest terms I know. I don't need lessons about telling the truth to American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician.

My opponent's touchiness every time he is questioned about his record should make us only more concerned. For a guy who's already authored two memoirs, he's not exactly an open book. It's as if somehow the usual rules don't apply, and where other candidates have to explain themselves and their records, Senator Obama seems to think he is above all that. Whatever the question, whatever the issue, there's always a back story with Senator Obama. All people want to know is: What has this man ever actually accomplished in government? What does he plan for America? In short: Who is the real Barack Obama? But ask such questions and all you get in response is another barrage of angry insults.

Our current economic crisis is a good case in point. What was his actual record in the years before the great economic crisis of our lifetimes?

This crisis started in our housing market in the form of subprime loans that were pushed on people who could not afford them. Bad mortgages were being backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and it was only a matter of time before a contagion of unsustainable debt began to spread. This corruption was encouraged by Democrats in Congress, and abetted by Senator Obama.

Senator Obama has accused me of opposing regulation to avert this crisis. I guess he believes if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough it will be believed. But the truth is I was the one who called at the time for tighter restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could have helped prevent this crisis from happening in the first place.

Senator Obama was silent on the regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and his Democratic allies in Congress opposed every effort to rein them in. As recently as September of last year he said that subprime loans had been, quote, "a good idea." Well, Senator Obama, that "good idea" has now plunged this country into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Palin Florida Speech Transcript (10-6-08)

Sarah Palin made no mention of the government bailout, healthcare, Iraq, Wall St. greed, people losing their homes, or Bush. Read the complete transcript.

This is a moment when principles and political independence matter a lot more than just the party line, as Senator Lieberman just told you. It matters a lot more than just the party line. John McCain is his own man. He doesn't run with the Washington herd. And he and I don't just talk about change, we're the only candidates in this race with a track record of actually making change happen.

(Applause.)

As mayor and as a governor, I reminded people that government is not always the answer. In fact, government too often is the problem. So we got back to basics and we put government back on the side of the people.

As mayor, I eliminated taxes on personal property and I eliminated taxes like small business inventory taxes. Those burdens on our small businesses, we got rid of them. Property taxes were too high. Every year that I was in office I reduced that (mill levy ?).

And as governor, I brought the same agenda of positive change on a state level. I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto if necessary. And today, our state budget is under control and we have a surplus. And I put the veto pen to nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful spending.

(Applause.)

We suspended our state fuel tax and I'm returning a chunk of our surplus money right back to the people of Alaska. It's their money and they can spend it better than government can spend it for them.

(Applause.)

Imagine that. Imagine that, having that principle. And that's what we're going to bring on a national level also. That principle of knowing that -- no, the people, our families, our businesses they know best so let them keep more of what they earn and produce and not have this government take trying to quote, "solve" all the problems for our families and our businesses. No, we're not going to do that.

I've always known that I was accountable to the people who hired me. There, it was the people of Alaska. And in a McCain-Palin administration I promise you that we will never forget that we'll be there in D.C. to work for you the people of America.

(Applause.)

So one mission of a McCain-Palin administration will be to set this nation firmly on a course of energy independence.

(Applause.)

Across Florida and all across America, high gas prices is making a full tank at the pump seem like a luxury. And the cost of living, of course, is going up. And the cost of groceries is going up. Everything is going up, but the value of your paycheck is going down. And that's because of high energy costs. So, to meet America's great energy challenge we're going to need an all of the above approach. And that, in a McCain-Palin administration, will mean developing new alternative energy sources. And it will mean requiring to build more nuclear power plants. And in Florida, it means alternative sources of energy like wind and solar. God has so richly blessed you here.

(Applause.)

Look at these sources of energy here in Florida that are still sitting untapped. And we'll tap into them, along with environmentally friendly off shore production. We do need to drill here and drill now. Now you can chant the drill baby drill.

(Applause.)

It's as simple as this, Florida. In a McCain-Palin administration we will achieve energy security for our country. It is a matter of national security and economic prosperity. That means American energy resources brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.

(Applause.)

And we're also going to bring tax relief to every American and cut taxes for businesses so you business owners you can hire more people. That's how jobs are created.

(Applause.)

Here again, John McCain is the real reformer. In this election, he is the real reformer and he can do this and he has a record to prove it. And so do I, as a mayor, as a governor who cut taxes for the people of Alaska. You know, in this campaign, in this election, I think the phoniest claim in a campaign that's been full of them, is that Barack Obama is going to cut your taxes?

(Boos.)

I mean, think about it. He's built his whole career on doling out tax money, first as a Chicago politician, and then raising taxes as a senator. He's voted 94 times to raise taxes.

(Boos.)

Even on middle class every day working Americans making $42,000 a year, he voted to raise those taxes. And he tried to waste a million dollars a day just on his requested earmarks. And now, he's committed to almost a trillion dollars in new government spending. And yet, he never bothers to explain where all that's going to come from to pay for all of that. And dog gone it, no one seems to be asking him how is he going to pay for the huge government growth that he wants. No one is asking him. So you all, just do the math. Either do the math or just go with your gut. In either way, you're going to come up with the same conclusion, Barack Obama is going to raise your taxes.

Obama Speech in North Carolina: Transcript (10-5-08)

Read the complete transcript of Barack Obama's speech in Asheville,North Carolina.

In 30 days you are going to elect the next president, and you need and deserve a president who is going to wake up every day and fight for you, and fight for the middle class, and fight to create jobs and grow our economy again -- not another president who doesn't get it. Not another President who ignores our problems. Not more of the same.

Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance. They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time.

I want you to know that I'm going to keep on talking about the issues that matter - about the economy and health care and education and energy. I'm going to keep on standing up for hard working families. We're not going to let John McCain distract us from what we need to do to move this country forward.

Because November 4th, you and I are going to turn the page on the disastrous economic policies of George W. Bush and John McCain.

And one of the issues we must face and can't ignore is the explosion of health care costs that is crushing families and businesses across our country.

Understand, this is very personal to me.

I'm thinking today about my mother. She died of ovarian cancer at the age of 53. She fought valiantly, and endured the pain and chemotherapy with grace and good humor. But I'll never forget how she spent the final months of her life. At a time when she should have been focused on getting well, at a time when she should have been taking stock of her life and taking comfort in her family, she was lying in a hospital bed, fighting with her insurance company because they didn't want to cover her treatment. They claimed that her cancer was a pre-existing condition.

So I know something about the heartbreak caused by our health care system.

I know something about the anxiety of families hanging on by a thread as premiums have doubled, and debt piles up, and more than half - half - of all personal bankruptcies are caused in part by medical bills.

I know about the frustration of the nearly 40 percent of small business owners who can no longer afford to insure their employees - folks who work day and night, but have to lay people off, or shut their doors for good, because of rising health care costs.

I know the outrage we all feel about the 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance - kids who can't see a doctor when they're sick; parents cutting their pills in half and praying for the best; folks who wind up in the emergency room in the middle of the night because they've got nowhere else to turn.

But I also know that this is not who we are.

We are not a country where a young woman I met should have to work the night shift after a full day of college and still not be able to pay the medical bills for her sister who's ill. That's not right - and it's not who we are.

We are not a country where a man I met should have to file for bankruptcy after he had a stroke, because he faced nearly $200,000 in medical costs that he couldn't afford and his insurance company didn't cover. That's not right - and it's not who we are.

That is not who we are, and that is not who we have to be. Enough is enough - it's time for change.

CBS' 'Face The Nation' Transcript (10-5-08)

Read the complete transcript.

SCHIEFFER: So that was Sarah Palin yesterday out in California. Let’s start with Congresswoman Heather Wilson. Do you agree with that line of attack, that Barack Obama does not see America as a force for good?

REP. HEATHER WILSON (R), NEW MEXICO: He has actually -- you know, he goes over to Germany and talks to the Germans about America and the need to tear down the walls between the United States and our European allies as if it’s all America’s fault, that we’ve -- you know, we’re in the situation that we’re in. That’s not what we expect from our president.

We expect someone to stand up for America and to realize that America is a force for good in the world and has been for a century.

SCHIEFFER: Well, that sounds like you’re saying that he’s somehow unpatriotic, which seemed to be the underlying theme of what she said yesterday, Congresswoman.

WILSON: Well, he has talked down about America. And you know, we’ve always had this history of saying, well, you know, politics end at the water’s edge. And it didn’t for Barack Obama . He has been critical not only of the president but of American policy and hence has kind of a negative view of America in the world.

That’s not unusual, frankly, among liberals in kind of post- Vietnam America to say that America is the problem. I think Sarah Palin believes that America is part of the solution. We are an exceptional country. We are a force for good. And we need to talk about the good things we do.

SCHIEFFER: Well, let’s see what Senator Feinstein would say about that. The ad also suggested that he is a pal of a terrorist... That refers, of course, to Bill Ayers who was part of the anti-Vietnam underground Weatherpeople (ph) I think was the name of it. He’s now a professor in Chicago.

She suggested that they’re pals. What about this whole thing, Senator?

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Of course, when Bill Ayers was active in the Weather Underground, Barack Obama was 8 years old. So I think that’s really a stretch. I found it very shocking. And then I thought, you know, Barack Obama has gained a great deal of credibility and trust of the American people.

He’s leading in the polls. He’s leading in most of the battleground states. And this is going to be a month, I think, of character assassination. And so the Republican position is to try to assassinate Barack Obama ’s character and try to place him in a position where the trust that he has built dissipates, the credibility that he has dissipates.

And I hope it isn’t successful. And we must not let it be successful. Too much is at stake in this election. And you know, it’s a hard thing for me to listen to this when you know the major problems that this nation faces. And that’s what we ought to be talking about, not slamming one’s character like this.

[...]SCHIEFFER: Here in the studio with me is Congressman Roy Blunt , the majority whip -- or minority whip in the House. He carried the water for the Bush administration, did the heavy lifting, was instrumental in getting the bailout passed in the House and then being signed into law.

What about that, Congressman Blunt? Was John McCain erratic or was he trying to change the subject here?

REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MINORITY WHIP: Well, I don’t think he was erratic at all. And we’re trying to shift, of course, from talking about what this really is to what it was described as, the bailout that turned out to be really a workout where the government has no reason to lose money.

But John McCain , in, I thought, a very selfless and cool way, began to talk to Republicans and others about why this had to be done. During the week this week, as we had that disappointing vote on Monday and then came back on Friday with a winning vote, he was in contact with me every day about who he could call, who he could talk to.

I think he came back and changed the discussion. We were headed toward a bill that would give a lot of money to these activist political groups like ACORN. We were headed toward a bill that would really make it harder for Americans in the future to get loans because bankruptcy judges could be able to rewrite.

And he came back and did a lot of good. I didn’t see him as erratic at all. In fact, I saw him as very purposeful, very selfless in what he was trying to do and dedicated to it. He called me at 10:15, Bob, one night last week and said, OK, who can I call now that’s on the West Coast so it won’t be too late for me to keep calling?

And he had been calling all evening members, some of which he didn’t get them to vote for it but he got them to think about why it really mattered.

ABC 'This Week' Transcript (10-5-08): McCain's 'Politics of Personal Destruction'

Gov. Edward Rendell, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Mel Martinez Interviewed on ABC’s “This Week.” Read the complete transcript.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... talking about William Ayers is going to -- is what it’s going to take to turn it around? Senator Obama has said he deplored what Ayers did when he said he was 8 years old. And he says they are friendly but they have not been especially close.

MARTINEZ: I think the important part is whether they’re truthful charges or not. Not about what Barack Obama did when he was 8 years old, but what occurred when he was 35 -- 38 years old and was initiating his political campaign. It’s about his judgment and who he associated with during those years and right on into his political campaign.

But the bottom line on Florida is that for having spent $13 million, that race is still within the margin of error in all the polls. And in fact, until a few days ago, McCain was well ahead.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Brown, is this issue going to cut in Ohio?

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Well, you have seen a 26-year Senate veteran morph into an angry, desperate candidate in the last few weeks, especially in the last few days. And it just kind of makes me sad, George, that he is -- that John McCain and Sarah Palin are resorting to these tactics when I have done about -- more than 100 roundtables in Ohio, in most of the 88 counties in the last year-and- a-half.

And people are talking about the privatization of Social Security, people are talking about trade, what trade has done to Ohio, 200,000 loss of manufacturing jobs in the last eight years, people want to go and talk about issues and what we do.

They want to see the difference between the two candidates. And I think that’s why polls in Ohio are showing increased support for Barack Obama , because voters are paying attention to the difference on John McCain wanting to privatize Social Security, wants to continue these job-killing trade agreements, wants to privatize health care the same way that he supported the deregulation of the banking system.

On all of these major issues, there is such a sharp contrast between John McCain , who wants to continue the policies we’ve seen in the last eight years, and Barack Obama , who has very different ideas of a very different direction.

BROWN: On all of these major issues, there is such a sharp contrast between John McCain , who wants to continue the policies we’ve seen in the last eight years, and Barack Obama , who has very different ideas of a very different direction.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Pawlenty, it sure does sound -- when Governor Palin says of Obama, this is not a man who sees America as you do, it sure does sound like she is questioning Senator Obama’s patriotism.

GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: George, I think it goes to the issue of judgment. And you know, this individual, Bill Ayers, is an unrepentant domestic terrorist, and as you noted and as other news organizations have noted, he was involved in the bombing of the Pentagon -- or attempted bombing of the Pentagon, the Capitol, and plans for other domestic terrorism.

Now Barack Obama at the time was 8 or 9 years old, or whatever, but that’s not the point, the point is this same individual, Bill Ayers, hosted some sort of political event at his home for Barack Obama when Barack was running for state legislature in Illinois when he was well into his 30s.

So this isn’t about Senator Obama being 8 years old, this is his judgment when he was starting his political career in Illinois in the mid 1990s. And I think when people realize this is about, you know, 10 years ago, 14 years ago, it goes to the issue of what kind of judgment would allow an unrepentant domestic terrorist to host a political event for your in his home, in the terrorist’s home?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Rendell, what’s your response to that?

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, let me say this, it is, as Senator Brown said, very said. In March when he became the presumptive nominee, Senator McCain said he would run a decent and honorable campaign. He hasn’t and it’s going to get worse.

First they lied about Senator Obama’s position on taxes, and now they’re starting to do the politics of personal destruction. The American people and here in Pennsylvania, we’re not going to buy that.

The issues are too important, the economy, health care, what’s going on abroad, Social Security. The issues are what people are focusing on and that’s why this has gone bad for the McCain campaign.

And no matter what they talk about, Reverend Wright, Mr. Ayers, you name it, it’s not going to wash because when this country is in trouble, people are focusing on who has got the best plans to get us out of it. And that’s Barack Obama.

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Ayers Hypocrisy: Palin, Husband Members of Anti-American Political Party

Sarah Palin is going around saying Barack Obama is "palling around" with former domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers:

"Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country," Palin told a rally of about 10,000 gathered at a tennis stadium in Carson, a suburb of Los Angeles.

There she goes again, questioning Obama's patriotism.

"This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," Palin said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."

The problem is that there is no evidence for the charge.

While it is known that Obama and Ayers live in the same Chicago neighborhood, served on a charity board together and had a fleeting political connection, there is no evidence that they ever palled around. And it's simply wrong to suggest that they were associated while Ayers was committing terrorist acts.

What about Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, being a member of an anti-American secessionist group. Turnaround is fair play. Has Ms.Palin dissociated herself from her husband's political views?

Sarah Palin attacked Obama's patriotism today over his association with former Weatherman Bill Ayers -- a move that makes it perfectly legitimate to raise questions about the Palins' associations with a group founded by an Alaska secessionist who once professed his "hatred for the American government" and cursed our "damn flag."

What about Ms.Palin herself: didn't she "associate" herself with this anti-American political movement?

And though Sarah Palin herself was apparently not a member of this group, there's no doubt that she repeatedly courted this secessionist organization over the years. In 1994, Palin attended the group's annual convention, according to witnesses who spoke to ABC News' Jake Tapper. The McCain campaign has confirmed she visited the group's 2000 convention, and she addressed its convention this year, as an incumbent governor whose oath of office includes upholding the Constitution of the United States.

The founder of the AIP was a man named Joe Vogler. Here's what he had to say in a 1991 interview, only a few years before Palin attended its convention: "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government."

He also said this: "And I won't be buried under their damn flag. I'll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home."

Vogler has also said: "I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions."

In fact, Ms.Palin might have been a member of the party at one point. Now which is worse? Ayers or AIP? Daily Kos quotes the LA Times:

Video footage shows AIP Vice Chairman Dexter Clark describing Palin at the 2007 North American Secessionist Convention as an "AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town -- that was a nonpartisan job. But you get along to go along. She eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won't go into that." ...Apparently with Palin in mind, Clark then went on to urge AIP members to "infiltrate" the major parties.

Meet The Press Transcript (10-5-08): Noonan Critical of Palin Populism

This week appearing on Meet The Press: Paul Begala, Mike Murphy, Chuck Todd, David Gregory, Gwen Ifill, Peggy Noonan and David Yepsen. Read the complete Transcript.

MS. PEGGY NOONAN: I—I’ll be frank. She convinced the American people that though they had seen her crater in interview after interview in the previous few weeks before that debate, that she was capable of coming forward and simply debating, simply going forth on her own. I think she showed that she is a woman of a great and natural competence about the show business of politics, if you will, the ability to look over the camera, to think that the camera is your friend. All of that stuff. There are questions about other areas.

MR. BROKAW: Well, are you satisfied about those questions, the other areas, because that’s really the critical part of it. The show business part of it can be learned...

MS. NOONAN: Sure.

MR. BROKAW: ...and demonstrated by a lot of people.

MS. NOONAN: Oh, but some people are naturals. She is a natural. I, I will tell you, I, I feel increased concern about her, I think, what she thinks of populism, as her populist approach. There are two ways—you know, her stuff about “I’m Main Street, you’re not, you’re the elite. I’m not the East Coast, I’m Joe Six-Pack.” She actually says, “I’m the Joe Six-Pack candidate.” This left me thinking, “Gosh, would Lincoln say, ‘I represent the backwoods types?’ Would FDR say, ‘Yeah, the New York aristocracy deserves another moment in the sun. Vote for me.’” It—there’s something weird about it. But there’s also something, for me, concerning populism as a tactic is justified often in politics. “I need this program, the people want it.” Populism as a strategy, “We’re the good guys, you’re the bad guys,” is not good, and, and if that’s the road they’re going, that’s not a good road to be on. It’s not helpful to the country.

Begala warns McCain of going negative: two can play at that game.

MR. BEGALA: Well, no. Obama was—he was asked about this in a debate in a primaries with Hillary Clinton sitting there; George Stephanopoulos of ABC asked him about it. He answered it. He pointed out that the despicable acts this guy committed were committed when, apparently, Barack Obama was eight years old. And, and I think Governor Palin here is making a strategic mistake. This guilt by association path is going to be trouble ultimately for the McCain campaign. You know, you can go back—I’ve written a book about McCain. I had a dozen researchers go through him. I didn’t even put this in the book. But John McCain sat on the board of a very right-wing organization. It was the U.S. Council for World Freedom. It was chaired by a guy named John Singlaub, who wound up involved in the Iran-Contra scandal. It was an ultraconservative right-wing group. The Anti-Defamation League, in 1981, when McCain was on the board, said this about this organization. It was affiliated with the World Anti-Communist League, the parent organization, which ADL said, “has increasingly become a gathering place, a forum, a point of contact for extremists, racists and Anti-Semites.” Now, that’s not John McCain. I don’t think he is that. But, but, you know, the problem is that a lot of people know John McCain’s record better than Governor Palin, and he does not want to play guilt by association or this thing could blow up in his face.

Even the Republican analyst says that it comes down to the economy.

MR. MURPHY: Maybe. But Ayers has kind of gotten off a little easy in Chicago. A lot of people say what a good guy he is. The problem is the one person who hasn’t really condemned William Ayers enough is William Ayers, and I think that’s a real problem. And Obama, while, he’s clearly not the same. He still also has pulled his punches, I think, a little bit about it. And this will be a kerfuffle, it’ll do a little damage to Obama, but fundamentally this campaign’s going to be about the economy.

MR. BROKAW: Yes.

MR. MURPHY: So Obama will take some damage on this, but then it’s going to pivot back to real life, and that’s where I think McCain has to connect.

Chuck Todd: McCain campaign is "lacking a strategy."

MR. TODD: But, Tom, this goes to something, and I think if you look and go back to the first presidential debate where John McCain was lecturing Obama about the difference between a tactic and a strategy, and when I heard him say that, I thought, “Boy, that is the debate going on inside your own campaign is you’re a series of tactics with no strategy.” This William Ayers stuff, I talked to one Democrat who says, “Why didn’t they do this when they did celebrity?” You know, why weren’t they setting this up for months? And what’s happened is—and we’ve said this before—the McCain campaign chases the news cycle. They are going to look at today and say, “Hey, they mentioned William Ayers on MEET THE PRESS. They talked about William Ayers,” and they’re going to consider that a success. But did they move—is this about a bigger picture that they’ve been painting for three months? And right now it’s not, it’s just a series of tactics, and I think they are lacking a strategy.