Philly the Kid wrote:Washington, D.C. -- The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling, as proposed by presidential candidate John McCain.



drill baby drill

VoxOrion wrote:

Philly the Kid wrote:Washington, D.C. -- The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling, as proposed by presidential candidate John McCain.



drill baby drill

If domestic drilling is worthless, why did oil futures drop substantially the moment Bush announced he was going to undo the executive order?

Nevermind the fact that you're positioning domestic drilling as an economic only desire - foreign independence is also a driver.

dajafi wrote:Hey, can we keep having the teacher performance debate from the last thread?

For those of you who missed it, the mods (not me) kept going there for a bit.

Mountainphan wrote:

dajafi wrote:Hey, can we keep having the teacher performance debate from the last thread?

For those of you who missed it, the mods (not me) kept going there for a bit.

How about a system of peer and parental review for teachers? Combine this with a voucher system that allows parents to use a limited portion of their tax dollars for private education. In other words, a "voucher" that doesn't pay for a kid's entire private tuition, maybe only 25-40% with the rest being covered by the parents. This along with a reasonable open enrollment program so parents can opt to send their kids to other public schools outside of their neighborhood school...

TenuredVulture wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:

Philly the Kid wrote:Washington, D.C. -- The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling, as proposed by presidential candidate John McCain.



drill baby drill

If domestic drilling is worthless, why did oil futures drop substantially the moment Bush announced he was going to undo the executive order?

Nevermind the fact that you're positioning domestic drilling as an economic only desire - foreign independence is also a driver.

For the same reason tech stocks collapsed in the early part of this century, or housing prices recently collapsed--there was an asset bubble.

VoxOrion wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:

Philly the Kid wrote:Washington, D.C. -- The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling, as proposed by presidential candidate John McCain.



drill baby drill

If domestic drilling is worthless, why did oil futures drop substantially the moment Bush announced he was going to undo the executive order?

Nevermind the fact that you're positioning domestic drilling as an economic only desire - foreign independence is also a driver.

For the same reason tech stocks collapsed in the early part of this century, or housing prices recently collapsed--there was an asset bubble.

Wait, so it was just a global market coincidence?

TenuredVulture wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:

Philly the Kid wrote:Washington, D.C. -- The media has played a significant role in convincing Americans that offshore drilling for oil in the United States could significantly lower the price of gasoline, according to an analysis released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Even though the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency has stated that the benefits from such drilling would be too small to have any significant effect on oil prices, the media has overwhelmingly conveyed the impression that it could. Media coverage of the issue may have influenced public opinion, with a majority now favoring expanded drilling, as proposed by presidential candidate John McCain.



drill baby drill

If domestic drilling is worthless, why did oil futures drop substantially the moment Bush announced he was going to undo the executive order?

Nevermind the fact that you're positioning domestic drilling as an economic only desire - foreign independence is also a driver.

For the same reason tech stocks collapsed in the early part of this century, or housing prices recently collapsed--there was an asset bubble.

Basically, the fundamentals argue for one outcome, but there is something else pulling in the opposite direction.

History argues that parties rarely win three times in a row; just once in five chances since the end of World War II. Presidential elections are usually a referendum on the party holding the White House.

With an incumbent president holding a job approval rating of about 30 percent, a war that a majority of the public believes was a mistake, an economy teetering on the brink of a recession, unemployment at a five-year high and mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies increasing at an alarming rate, this is certainly an inauspicious time for a party to be seeking a third term in the White House.

Exacerbating things for the GOP, Obama will have a significant advantage in terms of money and organization, and McCain's campaign field operation is significantly less formidable than both President Bush's four years ago and Obama's today, in every single state.

Finally, recent polls show voters preferring a Democrat winning the White House over a Republican by anywhere between 7 and 10 percentage points.

All of this suggests a high probability of Democrats winning the White House, but there is something else. Obama seems to hit a resistance point, a ceiling, around 48 or 49 percent, only once grazing 50 percent in the Gallup tracking, performing well with enough groups to get up to the verge of a majority but not yet able to go beyond.

Whether one focuses on white voters over 50 or over 65 years of age, or white working class or non-college-educated whites over 50, Obama is underperforming pretty consistently, though his strength among black and younger college-educated white voters partially offsets the problem.

jerseyhoya wrote:The CBC has the coolest election night website. I'd kill for CNN to develop something as cool for us.

TenuredVulture wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:The CBC has the coolest election night website. I'd kill for CNN to develop something as cool for us.

Socialist.

jerseyhoya wrote:The CBC has the coolest election night website. I'd kill for CNN to develop something as cool for us.

Also, if the Conservatives gain a majority in parliament, will Buddy shift his plans and head to England or some other place governed by a left leaning party?

Sen. Joe Biden offered a good example today of the difficulty of a national presidential campaign. Candidates are rushed from site to site (Biden left Columbia for St. Louis), often hitting more than one state per day. And while mostly sticking to their stump speeches, they try to recognize local politicians and sprinkle their speeches with local references.

Biden slipped a bit during the introductions, through no fault of his own. In introducing local elected officials, from Ninth District Congressional candidate Judy Baker to former Gov. Roger Wilson, Biden tried to give a special recognition to Sen. Chuck Graham of Columbia.

“Chuck, stand up, let the people see you,” Biden says. He was a bit chagrined when he realized that Graham uses a wheelchair. He recovered quickly and told the crowd to “stand up for Chuck.” The crowd responded with a standing cheer for Graham.