Charlotte Observer Logo

Obama and McCain offer stark contrast | Charlotte Observer

×
  • E-edition
  • Customer Service
  • Advertise
  • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Election
    • Politics
    • Nation/World
    • Special Reports
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Corrections
    • Columnists
    • Retro Charlotte
    • Your Schools
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Charlotte Hornets
    • That's Racin'
    • High Schools
    • College Sports
    • Charlotte Knights/MLB
    • Other Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Inside the Panthers
    • Inside the NBA
    • Prep Insiders
    • Scott Fowler
    • Tom Sorensen
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • RNC 2020
    • Business
    • Banking
    • Stocks Center
    • Top Workplaces
    • National Business
    • What's in Store
    • Development
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Living
    • Religion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Family
    • Home & Garden
    • CLT Style
    • Travel
    • Living Here Guide
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • I'll Bite
    • Kathleen Purvis
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Arts/Culture
    • Events
    • Movie News & Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Music/Nightlife
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Kevin Siers
    • Letters
    • Submit an Op-ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • Viewpoint
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • O-Pinion
    • You Write The Caption
    • Taylor Batten
    • Peter St. Onge
  • Celebrations
  • Obituaries
  • TV Listings

  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Place an ad
  • Mobile & Apps

  • MomsCharlotte
  • Carolina Bride Magazine
  • South Park Magazine

Latest News

Obama and McCain offer stark contrast

By David Lightman - McClatchy Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 05, 2008 12:00 AM

The John McCain-Barack Obama election looks like one of the clearest choices in years, but history also shows that presidential contests rarely unfold along logical paths.

The competition at first glance is a study in contrasts.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

McCain is 71, a Vietnam War veteran who's trying to become the oldest person ever elected to a first term.

Obama's 46, a native of Hawaii and a one-time Chicago community organizer who's trying to become the first black person to win the White House.

McCain is a usually loyal Republican with an independent streak; he's voted with his party 88.3 percent of the time in the current Congress, well above his Republican colleagues' average. He likes the idea of making President Bush's tax cuts permanent and thinks that the Iraq war remains a vital U.S. interest.

Obama is a fiercely loyal Democrat with his own independent thoughts. He's voted with his party 96.4 percent of the time since January 2007. He regards the Iraq war as a mistake and wants to cut taxes for the middle and poorer classes while raising them for the wealthy.

McCain is a 25-year veteran of Congress. Obama's been in the Senate only 31/2 years, and a lot of that time was spent campaigning for the White House – and missing votes.

Both candidates face problems. Both still need to unify their parties. Obama lost most of the year's big battleground states in Democratic contests and did poorly among older white voters, many of whom have said they'll give McCain a look.

McCain, though, still isn't the darling of his party's conservative wing; long after his major rivals left the race, he rarely got more than 75 percent of the Republican primary votes in late spring primaries.

Both also are fighting history, which shows that November voters don't simply go down checklists and contrast candidates' stands on policy questions. Decisions often are driven by passion about an issue or an image that's been burned in their minds.

Obama will pound home the idea that “a vote for McCain will be seen as a public acceptance of the idea we can stay there (in Iraq) awhile,” said John Fortier, a political analyst at Washington's American Enterprise Institute, a center-right research center.

“The war was his launching pad during the primaries,” said Carl Pinkele, a professor of politics at Ohio Wesleyan University. “It should continue to be a strong asset.”

Yet Obama and McCain are close in most national polls. Gallup's daily tracking polls have had them in a virtual tie for the past week.

Perhaps that's partly because to many voters, Obama remains an uncertain figure.

In contrast, “McCain can pull out his record and show where he has clear positions,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

  Comments  

Videos

Best dunks in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest

NBA commissioner Adam Silver on the delay in All-Star Game coming to Charlotte

View More Video

Trending Stories

The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was looking weak. Then some strong basketball saved it.

February 16, 2019 02:26 AM

The NFL reaches a settlement with Colin Kaepernick. And EVERYONE is talking about it

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

February 17, 2019 01:44 PM

Driver fatally shoots stranger who jumped on car hood, broke window in Charlotte

February 16, 2019 07:00 PM

Hornets rookie Miles Bridges’ Larry Johnson tribute not enough in slam-dunk contest

February 16, 2019 11:06 PM

things to do

Read Next

NASCAR star, wife hid devastating secret on banquet red carpet. They hope sharing will help.

ThatsRacin

NASCAR star, wife hid devastating secret on banquet red carpet. They hope sharing will help.

By Brendan Marks

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 17, 2019 07:00 AM

In vitro fertilization (IVF) gave NASCAR star Kyle Busch and wife Samantha a son, Brexton, and in 2018 promised a daughter. They found out about their miscarriage the night of NASCAR’s awards banquet, but are still dedicated to giving back.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Girlfriend let him have sex with another woman, but he lost his pants and $10K, NC cops say

Crime

Girlfriend let him have sex with another woman, but he lost his pants and $10K, NC cops say

February 17, 2019 05:25 PM
A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

News

A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

February 17, 2019 01:44 PM
Suspected thief is beaten by store employees until his pulse stopped, NC cops say

Crime

Suspected thief is beaten by store employees until his pulse stopped, NC cops say

February 17, 2019 02:37 PM
Did you see ATV’s and dirt bikes around Charlotte Saturday? Some drivers were arrested.

Crime

Did you see ATV’s and dirt bikes around Charlotte Saturday? Some drivers were arrested.

February 17, 2019 11:27 AM
Charlotte Latin wins 8th straight NCISAA state wrestling title

Prep Insider Blog

Charlotte Latin wins 8th straight NCISAA state wrestling title

February 17, 2019 12:38 AM
Anthony Davis: Celtics ‘are on my list,’ and other notes from NBA All-Star media day

Charlotte Hornets

Anthony Davis: Celtics ‘are on my list,’ and other notes from NBA All-Star media day

February 16, 2019 03:14 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Charlotte Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story