NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - September 27, 2008

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Obama and McCain Display Stark Contrasts
Barack Obama and John McCain mixed disdain and often caustic remarks as they set out sharply different views of how they would manage the country and confront adversaries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/us/politics/27debate.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1222513819-CQw8UffXTnxEA2UL2iU+0Q

-The First Debate: A Win for Obama
Any analysis of the first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss,. must begin with a simple question:What was each candidate trying to achieve? For Barack Obama it was all about the half of all Americans who still think he lacks the requisite qualifications to be president. Would he seem knowledgeable and effective in talking about serious foreign policy issues? Would he be able to reassure them that they can trust him with the nation's most powerful job? Would he be able to go toe-to-toe with John McCain.
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/the-first-debate-a-win-for-obama/index.html?ref=opinion

-Up in Arms
The National Rifle Association is airing an anti-Obama ad in Pennsylvania and the Obama campaign doesn't like it. So campaign lawyer Robert F. Bauer is threatening legal action against any station that airs it, and Jesse Walker at Reason doesn't like that: As a political move, this is stupid. Not only does it cast the campaign as a bunch of speech-squelching bullies, but it makes the ad itself into a story and thus guarantees that more people will see it.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/the-national-rifle-association/?ref=opinion

-Palin's Words Raise Red Flags
BOB HERBERT
If Gov. Sarah Palin's fumbled interviews are an accurate reflection of her qualifications, John McCain should find a replacement on the ticket.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/opinion/27herbert.html?ref=opinion

-Thabo Mbeki's Fall
After stepping down as president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki leaves a legacy of significant failures. His successor, Jacob Zuma, must do better.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/opinion/27sat2.html?ref=opinion

-I'm Your Pastor, and I Approved This Ad
Call it an act of faith or call it a political ploy, but 33 ministers plan to endorse a presidential candidate from their Sunday pulpits in defiance of federal law. [...] The law restricting churches' support of political candidates is not about limiting freedom of speech, but about limiting the pulpit's influence on elections.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/opinion/27sat4.html?ref=opinion

-Conservatives Viewed Bailout Plan as Last Straw
The seeds of the House Republican revolt over the financial industry bailout were sown in an e-mail message circulated Monday night as internal animosity built quickly over the Bush administration's request for $700 billion to prevent an economic collapse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/business/27repubs.html?hp

-S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a longtime proponent of deregulation, acknowledged on Friday that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street's largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/business/27sec.html?hp

-Pakistan's Faith in Its New Leader Is Shaken
A week after the bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel here, Pakistan is struggling to deal with a financial meltdown and a terrorism threat that has moved to the nation's heart and badly shaken confidence in the new government among Pakistanis, diplomats and investors alike.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/asia/27pstan.html?hp

-Somalia Pirates Capture Tanks and Global Notice
For a moment, the pirates must have thought that they had really struck gold - Somalia-style. The gun-toting, seafaring thieves, who routinely pounce on cargo ships bobbing along on the Indian Ocean, suddenly found themselves in command of a vessel crammed with $30 million worth of grenade launchers, piles of ammunition, even battle tanks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/africa/27pirates.html

-Russia Flexes Muscles in Oil Deal With Chávez
Russia continued its international muscle-flexing on Friday,
strengthening its ties to Venezuela through a $1 billion military loan and a new oil consortium as it announced an upgrade of its own military focusing on nuclear deterrence and permanent combat readiness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/americas/27russia.html

-Many Arabs were shocked and appalled earlier this month
when a prominent Saudi cleric declared that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that broadcast "immoral" material.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/middleeast/27beirut.html

-Wachovia, Looking for Help, Turns to Citigroup
As concern spread Friday that more banks might run into trouble even with a $700 billion rescue for the financial system, Wachovia, one of those hardest hit by the housing crisis, became the latest to reach for a lifeline.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/business/27bank.html

-Swapping Land for a Road to Somewhere Divides Alaskans
Among the many bills Congress is considering before it recesses for the November elections is a proposed land swap between the State of Alaska and the federal government that would allow a gravel road to be built through a remote national wildlife refuge.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/us/27road.html


=
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin - #1
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml

-Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin - #2
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml


=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:


-What They Really Said
HENRY A. KISSINGER
Former secretary of state and national security adviser
Iranian nuclear military capability is unacceptable for the following reasons: It would stimulate a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, the most dangerous region in the world. It would strengthen Iran's capability to encourage and support jihadism. It would undermine the credibility of the international community, which has demanded that Iran not develop nuclear weapons.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092700301.html

-The Debate: Budget Balancing?
Jim Lehrer did his usual great job of moderating last night, but in one of his questions, to which he returned several times, he voiced an economic viewpoint whose support among establishment opinion-makers is as broad as its actual merits are narrow. The question, posed to both candidates, was what they would give up from their programmatic wish list, inasmuch as they would take office at a time when the budget deficit, swelled by the financial bailout congress soon will pass, will be very large.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/09/the_debate_budget_balancing.html

-The Debate: An Edge for Obama
Instant polls are, well, instant polls. You can take them with a grain of salt. But such polls often influence the commentary and what people think (or think they think) about presidential debates afterward. A CBS News Poll of 500 undecided voters tonight gave Obama an advantage over McCain. Here's the top of Brian Montopoli's account of the survey: CBS News and Knowledge Networks conducted a nationally representative poll of approximately 500 uncommitted voters reacting to the debate in the minutes after it happened.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/09/the_debate_an_edge_for_obama.html

-Hanging With the Palins? Not for Me.
I still listen when Bill Clinton speaks, and this week the former president got off a few lines that really got me thinking.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603046.html

-McCain's High Horse Meets Obama's High-Mindedness
John McCain wore the more presidential tie -- that much can be said for him -- but Barack Obama displayed the more presidential temperament, or the kind of demeanor people presumably would want in a president, when the two candidates met at the University of Mississippi last night for their first debate of the campaign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092700037.html?hpid=topnews

-BAILOUT NEGOTIATIONS: How McCain Stirred a Simmering Pot
When Sen. John McCain made his way to the Capitol office of House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) just past noon on Thursday, he intended to "just touch gloves" with House Republican leaders, according to one congressional aide, and get ready for the afternoon bailout summit at the White House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603957.html?hpid=topnews

-Rep. Barney Frank Dives Right In On the Bailout
You wanna know what Barney Frank thinks? Oh, Barney Frank will tell you what he thinks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603922.html?hpid=topnews

-Air Force Instructor Details Harsh Interrogations
Colonel Tells Senate Panel How U.S. Training Program Was Adapted for Use Against Iraqi Detainees
The techniques themselves -- forced nudity, sleep deprivation, painful shackling -- had been used for years to prepare U.S. fighter pilots for possible capture by an enemy. But Col. Steven Kleinman, an Air Force instructor, said he was shocked in 2003 to see the same harsh methods used haphazardly on Iraqis in a U.S. prison camp.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092504298.html?hpid=sec-nation

-Joe Biden: Leaders Who Met With Palin Praise Biden
Foreign leaders from three continents this week provided Gov. Sarah Palin with personal tutorials on world affairs, exchanging views on everything from international security to Alaskan energy policies. But they also sought to show they weren't taking sides in the American election contest, going out of their way to tell reporters how much they think of Sen. Joseph Biden.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/26/leaders_who_met_with_palin_als.html?hpid=sec-politics


=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

-Who Won Friday Night's Debate on Foreign Policy?
Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain finally debated face to face on a topic that their campaigns and surrogates have done from afar - which candidate has shown better judgment on the war in Iraq?
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/26/who-won-friday-nights-debate-on-foreign-policy/

-Bailout Compromise Gets New Life
Negotiations Resume, With Nod to Conservatives' Objections
The Bush administration and Congress closed in on a new compromise aimed at stabilizing U.S. financial markets, a move designed to assuage conservatives who one day earlier had staged a revolt against the controversial $700 billion project.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122243266787878709.html

-U.S., Russia Agree to Criticize Iran
The Bush administration and Russia agreed Friday to push forward a new United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Iran's pursuit of nuclear technologies, but without any new economic sanctions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122244296833579069.html


=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

- Democratic Registration Far Outpacing GOP In Multiple Battleground States
In a development that could have a significant impact on the presidential race, the rise in registered Democrats has far outpaced Republican registration in many key swing states, giving Dems a clear registration advantage in a lot of them, while wiping away one-time GOP registration advantages in a couple others.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/in_multiple_key_battleground_s.php

-Klein: Obama Wins Debate On Tactics and Strategies
Toward the very end of tonight's debate-which was quite a good one, I believe-John McCain laid out his rationale in this election in just a few words: Senator Obama, he said, lacks the "knowledge and experience to be President." The presidency will turn on whether the American people agree with McCain on that-but on this night, Obama emerged as a candidate who was at least as knowledgeable, judicious and unflappable as McCain on foreign policy ... and more knowledgeable, and better suited to deal with the economic crisis and domestic problems the country faces.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1845114,00.html

-Cheers, Jeers - But How Many Minds Changed?
At Presidential Debate-watching Parties, Cheers, Jeers - But How Many Minds Changed?
At a hip downtown theater in liberal San Francisco, Sen. John McCain's assertion that "we've got to have offshore drilling" raised loud jeers. But in Sandy Springs, Ga., Republicans chortled at his laugh lines, especially when used as a pointed jab at Sen. Barack Obama.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/27/ap/politics/main4482134.shtml

-Kathleen Parker: After Interviews, Palin Should Bow Out
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, admitting that until recently she was a vocal supporter of Sarah Palin, now says the vice presidential nominee should bow out: Some of the passionately feminist critics of Palin who attacked her personally deserved some of the backlash they received. But circumstances have changed since Palin was introduced as just a hockey mom with lipstick -- what a difference a financial crisis makes -- and a more complicated picture has emerged.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/26/kathleen-parker-after-int_n_129535.html

-Congress' failure leaves energy policy up in air
Few issues have been debated as long or as heatedly in Congress this year as energy policy - with so little result. Inaction means the debate over offshore drilling, how much the federal government should offer in new alternative energy incentives and whether higher fuel economy standards are needed is left to next year. There won't be presidential politics then or members of Congress seeking re-election. That could increase chances for consensus.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-09-27-congress-energy_N.htm?csp=34

=

[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####