Debate Polls: Crunching The Numbers; Shays And Himes On Rescue Vote

My take on the debate: no harm, no foul.

Sarah Palin held her own on tone, and sometimes these debates are more about style than substance. She had trouble answering questions directly, but didn’t say anything incredibly stupid. Yes, she botched the name of the American commander in Afghanistan and suggested the VP should have more powers (as if Cheney doesn’t have enough), but considering the past couple of weeks she surpassed expectations.

A CNN poll of voters suggests that Joe Biden won the debate by a 15-point margin, but the poll shows that Palin clearly improved her standing after a couple of tough weeks. In doing so she accomplished, for now at least, two things: she stopped McCain’s bleeding and elevated her stature. As a result, conservatives are breathing a sigh of relief and now McCain can seemingly move forward without the constant scrutiny of Palin’s baggage.

The bigger question is how Palin is playing with independents in battleground states. A CBS poll of uncommitted voters gave the debate to Biden 46-21.

McCain must switch Barack’s polling momentum. McCain’s next shot at changing the game comes Tuesday when he and Barack square off for a second time. The electoral map is shrinking on McCain. He’s reassigned money and campaign workers in Michigan, where he thought he had a shot, to battleground states still in play.

If McCain cannot stop Barack’s momentum, don’t be surprised if the Republicans dust off Willie Horton ads. It could get ugly. Check out today’s numbers from www.rasmussenreports.com

News release from Chris Shays

Shays Statement on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Christopher Shays (CT-4), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, spoke in favor of passage and voted for H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, when passed the House today by a vote of 263 to 171.

This bill includes an increase in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance to $250,000. On Sunday night, Shays proposed an amendment to the original package to increase this insurance to $300,000, but unfortunately, the Rules Committee refused to accept his amendment.

The following is Shays’ statement:

There aren’t many times we get a second chance to do the right thing. This is the kind of vote our constituents sent us to make on their behalf. It is a legacy vote – one of the most important votes we will ever cast – a vote we will carry with us the rest of our lives.

The majority of my constituents have voiced opposition to this bill. But the fact is, the financial markets lost $1.2 trillion in one day when we failed to act Monday afternoon. Some of that has been restored, but we are witnessing the possibility of our economy coming to a grinding halt.

I don’t intend to play Russian roulette with our economy -or my constituents – which is why I voted for this bill when it came before us on Monday, and why I will vote for it again today.

Many of us, on both sides of the aisle, agree this is not a perfect bill. In fact, some of my financially savvy constituents have educated me about other ways we could intervene.

The bottom line is this legislation is a short-term solution to address a longer-term problem. Those of us back next Congress, and I make no assumptions about my own election, truly have our work cut out for us.

This bill is for Main Street. It’s for college and retirement savings and the value of homes. It’s for access to car loans, student loans and mortgages. It’s the ability of small businesses to borrow, expand, stock shelves, meet short-term cash needs such as payroll, and invest in new plant and equipment.

The credit market is tightening, strangling our economy. Liquidity has dried up, and money is simply not getting to the individuals and businesses who need it. Consumers, savers and investors are losing confidence.

I am grateful the bill before us today will increase deposit insurance to $250,000 – a recommendation I had made – so American depositors know their money in their banks is safe.

Yesterday, the President of a community bank wrote me, “Congress needs to understand the consequence of money moving out of banks.” Deposits enable banks to loan and expand the economy. Withdrawals force banks to call in loans and contract the economy ten fold.

This crisis requires all of us to put our country first, and our ideology and partisanship aside. We need to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and then go back home and face the voters. Those of us who are fortunate enough to return, will come back, roll up our sleeves and do everything we can to help our country grow and prosper again.

 Jim Himes Statement

HIMES STATEMENT ON FINANCIAL RESCUE PLAN

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Today, Jim Himes released the following statement on the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 by Congress:

“The rescue plan passed by Congress today is a necessary evil that we all hope will keep our economy safe and strong. It is also the latest and clearest example of why our families need new leadership on the economy in Washington. For years, Chris Shays has supported Republican policies that took the referee off the field and which have brought us to this point. In Congress, I will fight for smart regulation that will make sure that American families are never put in this position again.”