Artist: Nightwatchers
Genre(s):
Trance
Discography:
Visions
Year: 2004
Tracks: 4
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Why Did Barack Obama Refuse Free Campaign Money?
Last Thursday, Senator Barack Obama announced that he was passing up $84 million of taxpayer money to finance his presidential campaign, choosing instead to raise his own funds. Sounds pretty noble, right? Not according to his opponent, Senator John McCain. In fact, Obama's decision to opt out of the public-financing system was met with a firestorm of negative response, and not just from Republicans. So what does all this money talk really mean?
By refusing federal money, Obama avoids the strict spending limits imposed on publicly funded candidates. Since the 1970s, the government has offered all major-party presidential candidates taxpayer money for their campaigns. In return, the candidates must agree not to seek or spend private donations to cover campaign expenses. Moreover, they must agree to state expenditure limits, based on the number of voters in each locality.
The public campaign-financing system, instituted after the Watergate scandal surrounding Richard Nixon, is intended to make presidential elections less corrupt and politicians less beholden to individual donors. Candidates who choose to participate in this system must rely on federal dollars alone to bankroll their travel expenses, TV ads and the like.
McCain has accepted the public funding offered to him, as well as the spending limits that accompany it. Meanwhile, Obama is free to spend as much as he wants on his presidential bid, making this election cycle likely to be the most expensive ever.
The decision made sense for Obama. The Democratic candidate has proven to be a record-setting fundraiser, generating over $265 million during primary season alone. Even with campaign contribution limits, he should be able to raise significantly more than the $84 million promised to his Republican counterpart. This extra cash means that the Obama campaign will be able to challenge McCain in traditionally red states, a strategy usually considered too expensive for Democrats constrained by spending limits.
The McCain campaign has questioned Obama's trustworthiness on the basis of this decision, alleging it "should be disturbing to all Americans." In 2007, Obama pledged to participate in the public-financing system and forgo private fundraising if his opponent agreed to do the same. Critics contend that the Democrat flip-flopped on the issue for political gain. According to McCain's communications director, Obama failed to "stand on principle and keep his word to the American people," thereby making him "just another typical politician."
The Obama camp disagrees. In an e-mail message to supporters, he called the public-financing system fundamentally "broken," because it permits special-interest groups to "drown out the voices of the American people." Obama contends that Republicans have become masters at manipulating the system, taking advantage of the Republican National Committee and political advocacy groups, which are not subject to the same spending constraints as the candidates themselves. Remember those "Swift Boat" ads aimed at John Kerry in 2004? They were funded by the type of groups Obama is talking about. He alleges that his opponent is "not going to stop the smears and attacks" from independent groups who spend millions on issue ads and that he needs more money to combat the Republican machine.
Furthermore, Obama has characterized his grassroots fundraising campaign — the first to rely primarily on the Internet to collect small donations from numerous contributors — as more reflective of a new kind of politics, one that does not favor the wealthy and powerful.
For now, the McCain camp will probably continue to attack Obama for breaking his word on public financing. The degree to which the presumptive Democratic nominee's decision will affect the election, however, is unclear. Look for the Obama campaign to try more innovative strategies for fundraising, making use of the Internet to tap potential donors. And watch out for those political ads in surprising places (here on MTV, for example), because both candidates will be reaching out to young voters more than ever before.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more.
See Also
Noel Gallagher - Oasis Announce Details Of New Album
Oasis have announced details of their new album set to be released later this year.
The band's seventh studio album will be entitled Dig Out Your Soul and is due to be released on October 6th.
The first single to be taken from the album will be The Shock Of The Lightning, out on September 29th.
Speaking about the album, recorded at Abbey Road studios, Noel Gallagher said: "I wanted to write music that had a groove; not songs that followed that traditional pattern of verse, chorus and middle eight.
"I wanted a sound that was more hypnotic; more driving. Songs that would draw you in, in a different way. Songs that you would maybe have to connect to - to feel."
On the new single, the lead guitarist said: "If The Shock Of The Lightning sounds instant and compelling to you, it's because it was written dead fast. And recorded dead fast."
Dig Out Your Soul follows Don't Believe the Truth, released in 2005.
25/06/2008 14:43:26
See Also
Denz and DJ Daddy Earl
Artist: Denz and DJ Daddy Earl
Genre(s):
Drum & Bass
Discography:
FRONT077 VINYL
Year: 2005
Tracks: 2
Savage Grace
Artist: Savage Grace
Genre(s):
Metal: Heavy
Discography:
Ride Into The Night (Ep)
Year: 1987
Tracks: 4
After The Fall From Grace
Year: 1986
Tracks: 9
Master Of Disguise
Year: 1985
Tracks: 9
The Dominatress
Year: 1983
Tracks: 5
Savage Grace was Detroit's reformist tilt band of the previous sixties. With chops galore and a background frozen in nothingness and R&B (with some upright old fashioned Detroit rock'n'roll thrown in for good step), Savage Grace stood kayoed from the rest of the Michigan bands as something special and as something rather eclectic. With Guitarist Ron Koss, keyboardist John Seanor, and drummer Larry Zack as the nucleus of a jazzy triplet called Scarlet Letter (with two albums on Mainstream), the addition of vocalist/bassist Al Jacquez transformed the grouping into Savage Grace. The striation was before long signed to Reprise and released their eponymic debut album in 1969. Upon moving to Los Angeles the next yr, the group embarked on a instant album, which took about 2 days to discharge. By 1972, the train had terminated and the group went their separate shipway. Savage Grace never achieved the success that seemed like their referable; for sure their musicianship was top mountain pass and their songwriting was good enough, simply in the long run, was too mayhap a chip too eclectic to find a mainstream audience.
Pulp Fiction Named Best Film Of Last 25 Years
EastEnders star is injured on set
'EastEnders' star Steve McFadden has been forced to undergo emergency surgery following an accident on set.
According to the BBC, the 49-year-old actor, who plays Phil Mitchell in the soap, hurt his hand when he fell down a stairs on set.
The report says that McFadden received 30 stitches and had to have pins placed in his bones after the fall.
The actor missed two days of filming because of the accident but has now returned to the set with his arm in a splint.
According to the BBC, the 49-year-old actor, who plays Phil Mitchell in the soap, hurt his hand when he fell down a stairs on set.
The report says that McFadden received 30 stitches and had to have pins placed in his bones after the fall.
The actor missed two days of filming because of the accident but has now returned to the set with his arm in a splint.
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