Nigerian Times

I had no right to vote for Senator Barack Obama, but I have the right to congratulate him on his historic election as the next President of the United States of America on November 4, 2008. Senator Barack Obama has become the first ever African American to be elected as the President of the United States of America. His epic achievement means a lot to African Americans and all people of color and millions of humans who have been seen as minorities or less privileged, who are now inspired to follow in his giant strides to greater heights in the world. I was one of the conservative pundits who thought that Barack Obama would not be able to defeat John McCain in the presidential election, but he has proved us wrong and many factors were responsible for his historic victory last Tuesday. I blame the inefficiencies and inadequacies of the John McCain presidential campaign strategists. Their old fashioned political tactics were out of sync with the new wave social pop culture of the new ge...

In the October 13 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, October 6): "She's One of the Folks (And that's the problem)." Editor Jon Meacham writes an essay about how Sarah Palin's populist view of high office is risky for the country. Plus: the problems the next president will inherit; Biden opens up about the campaign; the fall of America Inc.; an interview with Irani Foreign Minister Mottaki; the Women & Leadership series and keeping kids healthy in cold-weather months. (PRNewsFoto/NEWSWEEK) |||DW_DOM_101308.tif NEW YORK UNITED STATES 10/05/2008 5 Oct 2008 16:56 Africa/Lagos NEWSWEEK Cover: She's One of the Folks (And That's the Problem) Editor Jon Meacham On Sarah Palin's Folksiness: 'Do We Want Leaders Who Are Everyday Folks ... Or Who Understand Everyday Folks?' Palin's Populist View Of High Office -- Hey, Vice President Six-Pack, What Should We Do About Pakistan? -- Is Dangerous NEW YORK, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsweek...

1 Oct 2008 11:00 Africa/Lagos '101 Things You - and John McCain - Didn't Know About Sarah Palin' By Gregory Bergman BOSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- www.101thingsaboutsarahpalin.com: Sarah Palin is living proof that politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. In "101 Things You -- and John McCain -- Didn't Know" about Sarah Palin (Adams Media/October 1, 2008) by comedian Greg Bergman, readers learn the (alleged) truth about the (reputed) Republican darling from Alaska who has taken the nation by (ice) storm. From hunter, to hockey mom, to live action figure, this book confirms America's latest instant-celebrity is indeed stranger -- and scarier -- than ever imagined. With the polls projecting a statistical dead-heat and the election nearly one month away, left-leaning voters are feeling the pressure -- and desperate for a laugh. For the 18 million-strong Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits to the 72 million registered Democrats praying for a Palin...

All thumbs up to Senator John McCain For he has a lot to gain By his wise choice of Governor Sarah Palin The Politics Of Palin September 05, 2008 Gov. Sarah Palin stepped into the spotlight and reignited an age-old debate: can working women can have it all? Harry Smith poses that question to a roundtable of three women. Special GOP Convention Issue: The Happiest Convention by Newt Gingrich (more by this author) Posted 09/05/2008 ETUpdated 09/05/2008 ET This was the happiest convention I have attended. In seven conventions going back to 1984, I have never seen delegates as happy. I have seen them eager, energized, committed, determined but the underlying mood last night was sheer joy. There was joy that Senator McCain had had the courage to pick Governor Palin. There was joy that she and her family had come through the week of attacks smiling and eager to campaign. There was joy that Governor Palin's Wednesday night speech completely vindicated Senator McCain's choice. There wa...

New book by Joseph Farah calls on Americans to vote 'None of the Above' in 2008. (PRNewsFoto/WND Books) WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES 08/13/2008 20 Aug 2008 17:17 Africa/Lagos New Zogby Poll Results Bad News for McCain, Obama Nearly 2 in 3 voters want someone else: 62.4% of Americans say they would like to see better choices of candidates, parties in future WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new Zogby poll commissioned by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily founder and author of the new book: "None of the Above: Why 2008 is the Year to Cast the Ultimate Protest Vote" indicates a large percentage are ready to throw in the towel rather than vote for either of the two candidates in Nov. 2008. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080813/DC30373 ) Unlike any other scientific poll conducted in 2008, this survey asked randomly selected respondents about their level of enthusiasm for presidential candidates and offered the actual alternatives to the ma...

20 Aug 2008 15:42 Africa/Lagos Is McCain or Obama the Strongest Leader for U.S. President? Top Leadership Development Firm Asks Public to Rate Leadership Traits of the Candidates at NextNationalCEO.com MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- With the presidential election just a few months away, Personnel Decisions International (PDI), a global leadership consulting firm with decades of experience working with CEOs, developed NextNationalCEO.com, a website where visitors can rate the leadership traits of the candidates. When the vice presidential candidates are announced, the site will also allow users to rate the leadership traits of the running mates. The site lets users rate the presidential candidates on ten characteristics that PDI consultants use to assess CEOs at today's top companies. Currently, in order of importance, the ten traits are vision, insightful judgment, trustworthiness, gets things done, inspires others, good judge of people, influences others, courage, con...

Senator John McCain 20 Jun 2008 20:50 Africa/Lagos DNC Files FOIA Request Over McCain's Latest Campaign Impropriety McCain Campaign Event in Ottawa Runs Afoul of Hatch Act WASHINGTON, June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Democratic National Committee today filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of State seeking information about possible violations of the Hatch Act in connection to John McCain's events in Ottawa today. The FOIA request follows reports that McCain campaign officials requested assistance in arranging a $100-a-plate luncheon speech from U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO ) According to reports, Senator Lindsey Graham, a McCain campaign co-chair, asked Ambassador Wilkins "for advice about logistics, venues and cities" for the event. Ambassador Wilkins also reportedly contacted a Canadian business leader to help sell tickets to the event. McCain's appearance i...

25 May 2008 16:10 Africa/Lagos NEWSWEEK Cover: Obama, Race And Us Despite Decades of Progress, Race Is Still an Issue for Many White Americans as Well as Some Democrats Newsweek Poll Shows Misconceptions About Obama May Be a Hindrance to His Campaign but There Are Ways He Can Overcome Challenges NEW YORK, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Barack Obama's success on the campaign trail indicates that the United States may be ready to elect its first non- white president. A recent Newsweek poll, however, suggests that although he is poised to secure the Democratic nomination, Obama is still facing problems winning over white voters. In the June 2 Newsweek cover package "Obama, Race and Us" (on newsstands Monday, May 26) a team of Newsweek correspondents offer an open memo to Obama, with suggestions on how he can overcome race issues and convince doubters, of all skin colors or backgrounds, that they will be better off during an Obama presidency than a McCain presidency. Newsweek pollste...

18 May 2008 18:54 Africa/Lagos Democratic National Committee Must Read: McCain Vs. Lobbyists WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Just days after at least four McCain campaign aides resigned, three of whom after news reports revealed that their lobbying groups had worked on behalf of the repressive regime in Myanmar and the energy lobby, a new report shows that McCain's problems with lobbyists are not over. According to Newsweek's Michael Isikoff, McCain's "finance co-chair Tom Loeffler['s] ... lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from other foreign and corporate interests." Another McCain aide, finance director Susan Nelson, was paid $ 15,000 a month by Loeffler's firm while she was on the campaign payroll even though "Federal election law prohibits any outside entity from subsidizing the income of campaign workers." Time and again, McCain demonstrates that his calls for higher et...

Senator John Edwards' endorsement is like a pat on the back of Senator Barack Obama, because even heaven knows that Obama is winning the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party and does not need the help of John Edwards to get it. The support of John Edwards will not do much for Barack Obama in the presidential election and Senator John McCain can even beat Barack Obama in North Carolina, the home state of John Edwards. I am sure, Senator Hillary Clinton is not fazed by John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama. She is determined to continue her race for the Democratic nomination to the Convention. I believe the pledged delegates and super delegates will decide who is the better presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

12 May 2008 17:20 Africa/Lagos Reform Watchdog Group to McCain: Fire the Lobbyists National campaign finance reform group calls on McCain to fire Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler and Peter Madigan, three top lobbyists connected to human rights abusers WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Campaign Money Watch called on Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today to fire three Washington lobbyists working on his campaign team whose lobbying clients include brutal foreign interests and big oil companies. The demand comes after a weekend that saw key figures in McCain's campaign resign for lobbying for Myanmar's military junta. The two McCain lobbyists who resigned were just two of at least 10 top McCain aides or fundraisers who have lobbied for foreign governments, including at least 6 regimes or rulers with a history of human rights abuses, and at least one rebel leader with a history of human rights abuses. "John McCain's campaign is overrun by lobbyists and the worst a...

6 May 2008 17:52 Africa/Lagos Young Voters to Have Unprecedented Impact on Presidential Election Reader's Digest Poll: Millennials are First Generation With Unique Political Identity; Will Match Seniors in Turnout Obama Beats McCain by Whopping 22 Points Among 18-29 Year-Olds PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- An exclusive new poll commissioned by Reader's Digest, the most widely-read magazine in the world, finds that voters under 30, or Millennials, are changing the landscape of American politics this year, and are likely to do so for years to come. "They are the first generation of young voters that could determine the next president, and they are using technology to do it in this Facebook Election," said Reader's Digest Washington Bureau Chief Carl M. Cannon. Millennials in unprecedented numbers are in search of an aspirational candidate who matches their commitment to giving back and they break heavily toward Barack Obama, says Cannon. But while...

5 May 2008 07:57 Africa/Lagos Poll: Clinton Leads Obama in Hoosier State Suffolk University Survey Shows 38 percent Will Cast McCain Vote if their Preferred Candidate Loses Nomination BOSTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hillary Clinton (49 percent) leads Barack Obama (43 percent) among likely Indiana Democratic voters, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University. Six percent of Democratic voters were undecided, and 2 percent refused a response. However, 38 percent of these likely Democratic voters -- which include registered Democrats, Republicans, members of other political parties and independents -- said they would vote for John McCain in November if their Democratic choice does not win the party's nomination. It's no slam-dunk, but Hillary Clinton is poised to win the Hoosier state, provided there aren't some critical turnovers late," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "Although the mar...

28 Apr 2008 13:05 Africa/Lagos Election 2008: The People's Choice? Suspicious voting strategy, according to YourThreeCents.com NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There is evidence to suggest that during this election year, the Republicans are backing Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee in order to seal the Presidential spot for John McCain. Tegan Miller: "It appears that the Republicans are creating a strong influence through a well-coordinated marketing media and financial support program. They are targeting these efforts to the Republican Right and Christian youth movements within the Republican Party. They are artfully using the Conservative press, media and youthful leadership to influence voters to cast their vote to elect Barack Obama in open Democratic primaries." Christian Karnes: "Obama has had only 3 victories out of the 27 contests that have come from closed primaries. The other 24 victories were either open elections or caucuses. Obam...

27 Apr 2008 17:46 Africa/Lagos Obama's Sunday Waffles Why Can't Obama Keep His Story Straight On His Plans To Raise Taxes And Ignore Commanders On The Ground? WASHINGTON, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- OBAMA IS WAFFLING ON IRAQ AND GEN. PETRAEUS Today, Obama Said That It Would Be "Stupid" Of Him To Ignore Gen. Petraeus' Recommendations On Iraq: Obama: "I will listen to General Petraeus given the experience that he's accumulated over the last several years. It would be stupid of me to ignore what he has to say." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 4/27/08) But Obama Previously Said The U.S. Should Begin To Withdraw From Iraq Immediately, Just One Day After Gen. Petraeus Warned Against A Premature Withdrawal: Gen. Petraeus Testified Before The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Of Which Obama Is A Member, That A Premature Withdrawal From Iraq Would Have "Devastating Consequences." Gen. Petraeus: "In describing the recommendati...