Senator Barack Obama, facing a broad new assault on his character from rival John McCain and the Republican Party, punched back aggressively yesterday with a multi-pronged attack on McCain’s ethics, marking a sharp, personal turn in the presidential race as the two candidates face off tonight in their second debate.
Obama’s campaign raised, for the first time, McCain’s involvement in the Keating Five controversy, an influence-peddling scandal in Congress 20 years ago that remains a major blemish on the Arizona senator’s political career. In an unusual 13-minute Internet documentary, a new website, and an e-mail to hundreds of thousands of supporters, Obama’s team asserted that the Keating case raises serious questions about McCain’s judgment and ability to manage the deeply troubled economy.
The attack by Obama, which has unnerved some supporters drawn to the Illinois senator’s pledge to run an issues-based campaign, was a response to a new tack from the McCain camp: stoking concern among voters about Obama’s past associations and his background, in an effort to stall his momentum just four weeks from Election Day.
Both campaigns have signaled a willingness to engage on character in tonight’s debate, a town hall-style event at Belmont University in Nashville in which the candidates will answer questions submitted by the audience and from voters online at www.mydebates.org. GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin told voters in Florida yesterday that McCain “might as well take the gloves off.” And a senior Obama strategist suggested the Illinois senator was prepared to cite the Keating case if warranted.
Over the past few days, Palin accused Obama of “palling around with terrorists,” because of his past associations with William Ayers, a founding member of the 1970s radical group Weather Underground, and she raised anew the inflammatory rhetoric of Obama’s former preacher, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
McCain’s campaign “wants to say the issue here is character and judgment,” said Anita Dunn, a senior Obama adviser. “And that is frankly an argument that we are happy to have with John McCain.”
This new chapter in the presidential contest was precipitated by concern in McCain’s campaign that the race is slipping from its grasp, with national and state polls moving in Obama’s direction since the economic crisis began dominating headlines last month. McCain advisers have been quoted as saying that targeting Obama’s character may offer their best chance to change the trajectory of the race.
But yesterday’s economic news illustrated how difficult it will be to change the subject: The Dow Jones industrial average, following big losses in foreign markets, slid below 10,000 for the first time in five years, closing down more than 360 points.
The GOP’s primary line of attack centers around Obama’s relationship with Ayers, a fellow Chicagoan and an education professor who hosted a political event for Obama’s 1996 Illinois Senate campaign and also served with Obama on two nonprofit boards. Ayers was quoted in 2001 as saying he did not regret bombing government buildings during the Vietnam War.
Speaking to donors Saturday in Colorado, Palin said Obama was “someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country.” She made a similar attack in speeches yesterday in Florida.
The use of Ayers is designed to fit into a broader GOP critique of Obama as an unknown quantity who is out of the mainstream.
“You need to know who you’re putting in the White House and where the candidate came from and what he or she believes,” McCain said at a rally yesterday in Albuquerque. “Who is the real Barack Obama?” he went on. “Ask such questions and all you get in response is another barrage of angry insults.”
The Obama campaign took a grave tone in bringing up the Keating scandal, in which McCain was accused of intervening with federal bank regulators on behalf of a failing savings and loan owned by a friend and campaign donor, Charles Keating. The Internet film is a collage of Senate testimony, news clippings, and narration by a former regulator.
McCain’s political opponents have long treated the Keating case as off-limits, largely because he has embraced the experience, in which he was criticized but not censured by a Senate committee in 1991, as the formative episode in his emergence as a born-again reformer crusading against special interests. In his 2002 memoir, he wrote that it was the “worst mistake of my life.” Last winter, McCain said that the Keating scandal “will be on my tombstone” and raised the case, unprompted, to correct a reporter who described McCain’s “squeaky-clean record” on ethics.
The episode, though, remains a sore spot for McCain, who “can’t tolerate anybody questioning his judgment,” said former Arizona Democratic senator Dennis DeConcini, a Keating Five senator who was an Obama convention delegate. “That’s his weak point.”
In May, after Obama’s associations with Ayers and Wright made headlines during the Democratic primaries, Obama said the Keating case was “not germane to the presidency,” but signaled that he did not necessarily consider it off-limits.
With millions of voters watching tonight’s debate – the second of three – McCain and Obama will have a wide audience to question each other’s character, something they avoided doing in their first meeting late last month. But they also risk coming across as negative and nasty, and may instead choose to leave the most pointed attacks to their running mates, as is customary.
Obama yesterday criticized McCain for trying to distract voters with “political shenanigans and scare tactics.” Dunn dismissed a suggestion that the Obama camp was doing the same by raising the Keating case. “This is a very relevant way to show people that there’s a real risk in putting somebody in charge of the economy who has a track record, not just this year, not just last year, but 26 years of fundamentally believing that financial institutions, insurance companies, and everybody should just be left alone to do whatever the heck they want,” she said.
It is unclear, though, how Obama’s supporters – many of whom praise his restraint in returning fire from the GOP – will react.
“I admire him for not feeding into that, not lashing back,” said Eduard Davis, a 44-year-old clothing designer from Atlanta who saw Obama in Las Vegas last month.
Fortunately for Obama, analysts say, the associations Republicans are raising about him were aired during his primary fight against Senator Hillary Clinton.
“Given how cluttered the airwaves are with information about the economic situation . . . it’s going to be hard to move it from its trajectory unless we get blatantly new information,” said Ken Goldstein, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin.
But Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who teaches political communication at the University of Pennsylvania, said it’s possible that undecided voters, who tend to have less information, will be persuaded by an attack late in the game.
“The larger question is, when you situate it in the candidate’s entire life, is it relevant at all?” she said. “We don’t know what inference the electorate draws.”
I love spontaneous trips and when a friend from a German NGO invited us to join her on a short road trip to Blue Nile Falls, I couldn’t resist. Traveling in a private vehicle is a true treat and one would be crazy to pass the opportunity up! The Blue Nile Falls are located just south of Bahar Dar, northern Ethiopia, and used to be quite the destination. Lately, however, the falls have gotten a bad rap due to the construction of a hydro-electric plant, which diverts nearly 95% of the water. The locals have always referred to the falls as Tis Abay (Smoke of the Nile) because of the spray that clouds the air as the water thunders over the falls. Nowadays that name might not be so fitting. In fact, my fabulous Bradt Ethiopia guidebook refers to the falls as THE CLIFF FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BLUE NILE FALLS. Given all of this information, I went with ZERO expectations. Thunderous or not, it was an opportunity to see a new part of the country. Much to my surprise, I was pleasantly surprised! Of course, I have nothing to compare the falls of now with the falls of yesteryear, but I found them to be impressive. It’s not Niagra, but Tis Abay is beautiful in its own way. Just the sound of moving water was music to my ears.
On our hike up to the falls, we walked through a very tiny village that was lined with handcrafts for sale and manned by “less than bashful” children. In fact, I’m pretty sure that these children must have taken “Entrepreneurship 101” at the local school because they had their spiel down to a science. We heard a chorus of, “My name is Tigist/Hannah/Mehiret. I go to school. You will buy from me when you turn back. I wait you here. My name, again, is Tigist/Hannah/Mehiret.” Given that it had started to rain on the return hike we didn’t know if the “I wait you here” promise would still apply, but rain is not a deterrent for these little businesspeople. As we came in sight of the village, we heard the patter of running feet and the cries of “you promised to buy from me, remember.” We walked away from this village with a few less birr (the local currency), a few more trinkets, dirty shirts from over-zealous children trying to divert our attention away from the competition, and a feeling that we had just run the gauntlet and lived to tell about it!
Obama remains statistically ahead for 10th straight day
PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama leads John McCain among registered voters across the country by a 50% to 42% margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 3-5, the 10th straight day in which Obama has held a statistically significant lead.
This 10-day stretch of a significant Obama lead is the longest since he became the presumptive nominee back in early June, and the longest for either candidate at any point in the campaign. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.) Today’s result includes interviewing conducted Friday through Sunday, after the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden, and after Friday’s passage of a revised economic rescue plan to help alleviate the Wall Street financial crisis.
The results suggest that neither of these events had a significant impact on voter preferences.
Looked at broadly, Obama’s percent of the vote has been within a very narrow range of 48% to 50% over the last ten days, and McCain’s has been within an equally narrow range of 42% of 44% over the same time period. These results suggest that aside from normal sampling error, the underlying dynamics of the race have become quite stable, and underscore the degree to which there has been little meaningful change in the race in well over a week.
The election has entered its final month, with the two remaining major campaign events being Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Nashville, and the final presidential debate on Oct. 15 at Hofstra University. Early voting is now open in many states, meaning that for some voters, the election is already over. — Frank Newport
(Click here to see how the race currently breaks down by demographic subgroup.)
The historic Deir al-Sultan monastery on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, is in danger of collapse. Its two chapels and the tiny rooms where its monks live could crumble, injuring the many tourists who visit the site, as well as the monks who live there, and even the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre itself. An engineer who examined the structures recently said the complex was a “danger to human life.” As long ago as 2004, before the situation worsened to its present emergency state, the Interior Ministry said it would pay for renovations. However, because of a long-standing dispute between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose clergy live at the site, and the Coptic Church, which claims ownership of it, the parties have not managed to reach an agreement that would allow renovations to proceed. The Interior Ministry has made clear to various church officials over the years that it would pay for the work only if the various ownership issues were resolved among the denominations.
Deir al-Sultan monastery, Jerusalem
The head of the Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem, Archbishop Matthias, sent a letter about 10 days ago to Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and to the minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Eitan, in which he warned of the sorry state of the complex as well as of his unwillingness to come to an agreement with the Copts. With regard to the Interior Ministry’s demand that the two denominations come to terms, the archbishop said: “This condition is completely unacceptable to us, since we do not recognize any right of the Coptic church in the area in question. Moreover, it is inconceivable that the implementation of emergency repairs at the holy site would be conditioned on the consent of the Coptic church. Indeed, there is disagreement between us and the Coptic church regarding the rights at the site in question, but that is precisely the reason we are turning to the Israeli authorities, as a neutral factor, to carry out the necessary repairs.”
Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers attend the “Holy Fire”
liturgy in the Ethiopian Church on the roof of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old
City April 7, 2007. [Eliana Aponte, JERUSALEM]
The church commissioned an engineer’s report, submitted by Yigal Bergman of the construction supervision firm Milav, who wrote, among other things that the complex was in a “dangerous state of construction. The structures are full of serious engineering damage that creates safety hazards and endangers the lives of the monks and the visitors. This is an emergency … also due to the immediate danger to the site that would damage other parts of the nearby churches.” The report also highlighted dangerous problems in the electrical and sewerage infrastructure of the ancient buildings.
Deir al-Sultan monastery contains 26 small rooms for the use of Ethiopian monks, four service and storage rooms, a large open courtyard and two chapels, one above the other, which are entered from the courtyard and exit into the entrance plaza of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre below.
This is far from the first dispute between the denominations that share space in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre regarding its maintenance and the use of its various areas. Three large denominations have control of the church: the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. Smaller denominations with rights in the church include the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Copts, as well as the Syriac Orthodox. One of the best known disputes between the communities surrounds the question of which denomination has the right to remove a ladder that was placed on a ledge outside an upper-floor window in the 19th century. Because no agreement has been forthcoming, the ladder stands there to this day, above the main entrance to the church.
Recently I traveled from London to morocco, Portugal and Spain respectively. In Morocco I visited Marrakech, Fez and Tangier, in Portugal Lisbon and in Spain Madrid. I enjoyed my long journey in which I used the four main means of transportation (train, ferry, buss and plane) and my stays in each of the above mentioned destinations were pleasant and educative.
Marrakech (The Red City)
Marrakech is a red, beautiful tourist destination in North Africa and comprises the Medina and the new
city. Its wonderful surrounding areas like the Atlas Mountains and the villages of the Berber people in the valley are some of tourist attractions. BY chance my hotel (Ryad Magaor) was located between the Medina and the new city that enabled me to see the two city parts plainly. The next day I was informed about an organized trip to the Atlas Mountains (eureka) and joined the group for which we paid a reasonable amount of money. The landscape, the small river that flows in the valley, the Berber
villages and the people who are engaged in traditional hand craft and oil production were memorable. During my three days stay at Marrakech I visited the market at Jama El Fana and the Grand Mosque. In the market I saw (touched) the dancing snakes; variety of traditional hand made fabrics and displayed nuts and pastry for sale.
Fez and its Ancient Medina
At 11am I left Marrakech for fez on 06/07/08 by train and it was a good opportunity for me to see the rural part of Morocco and the landscape. In Fez, I was greeted by the people in the hotel and a young man asked me if I need someone to help me see historical places. As I was persuaded by his approach and persistence agreed to pay some money to see the Medina.
In the morning the young man confirmed our visit to the Medina and introduced me Hisham who was later found to be his brother. Hisham tied his neckties lovely and has an elegant personality. His pretty good English language command helped me to learn more about fez than I initially anticipated. I loved my hotel room and enjoyed the hospitality of the people.
The next day we started our visit from the walls of the Medina which were built by the Almohads in the 12 century to protect it from enemies of Islam. I further visited different historical places including the famous Dar Ed Dbegh, the toners area and the market.
Then Hisham directed me towards the Zawiya of Moulay Idriss ii, Al Azhar or Idriss. He is the founder of Fez and built this historical building in the 11th Century. This is the most impressive place where I was absorbed and fascinated by the decoration on the front gate of the building. When I closely observed the architect and the decorations I came across with the Amharic/Ethiopian Scripts that has formed the shape of a flower and beautifully decorated the gate with great wisdom.
I have never heard or seen that the Amharic/Geez symbols were used in other places except I heard that Jesus was speaking this language. Well, as a researcher I have felt that there should be some interaction of culture and civilization as far as North Africa, as there has always been dealings between people. Amazing! I have also read that Moulay Idriss I founded Moulay Idriss in Zerhoun Region, 25 kilometers away from Meksenes town. The clearly scripted Amharic letters and the name Zerhoun my open a new study area which my give us important information about Africa as well as the
world at large.
Fez to Tangier
After 3 days in Fez I took a train and traveled to Tangier. Tangier is a beautiful port located at North end/cost of Morocco. Once you reach at Tangier you are so close to Europe. According to my informants from some points the distance between the land of Africa and Europe is less than 20 Km. Tangier, which is found at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea can fascinate anyone that arrives there.
Stayed the night at Tangier, the next day traveled to Europe (Algeciras) by Ferry across the marvelous, blue Mediterranean Sea. It took for the fast ferry only 3 hours to cross the sea and reach at the edge of Europe (Spain). When we approach the land I saw Gibraltar on the right and Algeciras on the left. During my school days I read about this area but now I can see it in my eyes right from the Mediterranean Sea. It was phenomenal.
Lisbon (the Historic City)
From Algeciras I had to get a buss and travel to Portugal. According to my itinerary/schedule I should arrive in Lisbon the next day. As planned I traveled to Seville and from there to Lisbon. My journey across Spain and Portugal took the whole night and finally arrived in Lisbon at around 8:30 am.
Lisbon was a special destination for me because of my interest in history and beyond that because of my country/Ethiopia’s ancient relation with Portugal. At school when I was 12 years old I read a book about the alliance between Ethiopia and Portugal. Their relationship reached at its highest peak in the 16th century and was so deep and genuine that cost them their dear and best citizens like Christopher Dagamma.
Cristovão da Gama (c.1516 – 29 August 1542) was a Portuguese soldier, who led a Portuguese army in Ethiopia (1541-1543) against the Muslim army of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (also known as Ahmad Gragn). Christopher was the son of the great traveler, Vasco Dagama who discovered America and India. He was sent by King Imanue to Ethiopia to fight against Gragne so as to support the Christians. Many times in his travels he demonstrated a quick mind that saved his companions,
and in recognition for his usefulness, in 1541 his brother Estevão, now Viceroy of India, gave him command of a ship in the fleet Estavão led into the Red Sea against the Ottoman naval base at Suez.
Christopher landed at Massawa and Arqiqo, the next Ethiopian port south and began his trek inland to Debarwa, the capital of the Bahr Negus, or Ethiopian viceroy for the Northern provinces (recently called Eritrea).
According to legend Mohamme Gragne’s (which means left handed in Amharic) father was a Christian highlander Priest who was killed by other priests because of his love/relation with a Muslim woman Called Fatuma (mother of Mohammed Gragne).
Gragne’s father was killed because he went to church unknowingly with a Muslim garment which angered the priests in church and killed him with Mequamia (a stick of Ethiopian Orthodox Church priests) . Traumatized by his father’s killing Gragne hated Christians and developed great fighting skills which enabled him to attack the strongest Christian, solomonic dynasty in Showa/Ethiopia in collaboration with south Arabia.
When King Immanuel 1 I received a letter from King/Atse Libnedingle of Ethiopia that informed him how the Governor of Zabid in South Arabia was supporting Grange’s aggression to impose Islam on Christian highlanders and stressed the importance of their collaboration to defend their belief, King Imanuel was so saddened by the incidence and went to church in Lisbon and prayed for Ethiopia. Then he talked to the messengers of Ethiopia and sent his best army to fight along side their Ethiopian Christian friends. In this context we need to appreciate peoples/leaders passion, deep believes and great determinations of the 16 th century which have contributed hugely to the present human relations and progress.
Queen Sable Wengel who left Debre Brihan camped on the top of Mount Debre Damo that Ahmed had not been able to reduce her by siege and fought along side Christopher Dagama until her son Gelawdewos arrived from Shoa with his strong army to join them. Queen Sable Wengel advised Christopher Dagama that he should not launch a major war against Grange until her son joins them. But Christopher believed that failing to engage the invaders would make the natives distrust his troops, and they would then stop bringing food and supplies.
Having successfully petitioned the Governor of Zabid in South Arabia, as well as offering “much money” and submission to the official, Gragn received a number of musket men, far more than DaGama had. Despite their bravery, the Portuguese and Ethiopians were heavily defeated on 28 August at the Battle of Wofla, with only 170 surviving the assault (counting the 30 men escorting the horses from the Hill of the Jews). In the battle, DaGama’s arm was broken from a bullet, and was captured that
night with 14 companions and killed by Gragn Mohamed Emperor Gelawdewos, arrived from Shoa and they took measure of their situation. Using the arms stockpiled at Debre Damo, the Portuguese were able to rearm themselves, and with the promise of their ability Gelawdewos was able to raise a new
army, which met Ahmad Gragn at Wayna Daga (Gonder). The Portuguese musket men aimed their fire only at the Gragn’s musket men who had played a decisive part at Wofla and stormed the enemy’s camp. While the sources differ on the exact details, all agree that Ahmad Gragn was killed by the allied forces of Ethiopia and Portugal in Gondar at Woina Dega.
History Repeats Itself?
While visiting Lisbon I contemplated the current difficult situation of Ethiopia and the effort that has been made by Anna Gomez who was the Head of the European Union’s Observer Mission during the 2005 elections in Ethiopia. She is a Portuguese and was the one who boldly informed the world that the election under the undemocratic and unpopular ethnocentric group was not a free and faire one. She further stood alongside the peace loving and the Ethiopian people by denouncing the November
2005 massacre in Addis Ababa. Nevertheless things are still complicated and our people are suffering from the incumbent criminal ethnic group that damaged the people’s unity and the countries territorial integrity. We always appreciate Anna’s integrity and honesty which are the main indicators of responsible people.
Lisbon to Madrid
My next destination was Spain’s Madrid and I left Lisbon for Madrid by train on 13/07/08, in the evening. My journey took the whole night. The train seemed to be in hurry to reach Madrid and crossed several cities and towns in Portugal and Spain. I was so eager to see my next destination (Spain). Early in the morning I moved the curtain in the train and started to look outside at the lovely rural green landscape, mountains, grazing animals and rivers. When the sun rose it was marvelous and felt something unusual. I asked the people in the train, if the sunrise in Spain is different from other countries. Yes, they confirmed that. It was a bright, lovely morning. Sun+! The fast train galloped across the beautiful land of Europe it looks as if the speed accelerated because of the suns light. I have many Spanish acquaintances and hence Madrid was another exciting city for me. During my stay in Madrid I used tourist busses and walked longer distances in this marvelous city. I enjoyed the weather, amazed by the size, beauty and its friendly people.
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The writer can be reached at [email protected]
In most states, the deadline to register for voting in the U.S. presidential election is next Monday, October 6.
In some states such as Virginia, where the race between Obama and McCain is tight, the estimated 10,000 Ethiopian-American voters have the potential to decide the very outcome of the election.
Please do not fail to register on or before Monday, October 6, and to vote on election day, Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Be part of history.
Registering to vote is simple. Simply click on this link and follow the instructions: Rock the Vote
