The Obama Connection

Barack Obama has connected with voters. He has made college students politically active, wooed powerful democratic leaders, and even obtained some Republican supporters. In light of this phenomenon, the presidential race is still as close as ever.

According to the Rasmussen tracking poll, Barack Obama is leading John McCain 48 to 47 percent. When looking at the way the Obama campaign has handled the election, it seems that he still has not appealed to white working-class Americans.

Although race may be an issue for white working-class voters, Obama still has not made a significant effort to bringing those voters to his side of the ticket. Recently, on September 16th, Obama had a fundraiser in which he sold tickets to anyone willing to see the great Barbra Streisand. The only catch was that tickets sold for $2,500. The event raised the democratic candidate 9 million dollars in one concert. Of course, the only people able to afford the tickets were the upper class elites and big businesses. Not in attendance -- the white working-class voters.

If Barack Obama wants to connect with the white working-class voters, he has to stop portraying himself as an elitist. Having a fundraiser that only that upper class can afford puts Obama just one step further away from making that connection. For a candidate that claims he can relate to the working class, he is gradually moving further away from obtaining that relationship.

Palin Reunites Republican Party

The Republican Party is hanging on by a thread. Led by a president with a 33 percent approval rating; the war on terror is just one of many issues tearing apart the Republican Party. Cabinet members have come and gone out of the Bush administration like the seasons, and long-time committed Republicans are losing their political interest or worst, switching parties. The GOP had to throw a “Hail Mary” pass at the Republican National Convention, and it was caught by vice presidential candidate, Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin.

This small town mayor turned governor turns out to be exactly what the Republican Party needs. She brings energy and tenacity to the presidential race that John McCain simply does not have.

She is also not afraid to bring attention to Barrack Obama’s inexperience and selfishness. She attacked him for writing two memoirs but not a single major piece of litigation. She also said that “he (Obama) is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign."

According to US Weekly, Palin had 37 million viewers glued to their television screens during her acceptence speech. This almost matched the amount of people who watched Barack Obama deliver his speech the previous week.

More republicans are now coming back to join the Republican effort, and Palin seems to be the driving force. McCain contributions have also been at a record high since the announcement of Palin’s candidacy. More money is sure to pile in as the country gets to know the small town hockey mom turned vice presidential candidate.