The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, October 31, 2008 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 31, 2008 - 7
. Palin looks past Tuesday to political future
Supporters already
imagining 2012 run
for VP candidate
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP)
-With days still to go in the White
House race, backers of vice presi-
dential candidate Sarah Palin are
talking her up as a possible con-
tender in 2012, speculation that
irritates other Republicans who
contend she's a drag on the ticket
and that her lightweight image
- unfair or not - will be hard to
shed.
The Alaska governor has done
little to quiet the talk. In fact, she
fueled the discussion this week
when she signaled that she will
remain on the national political
scene no matter what happens
Tuesday. "I'm not doing this for
naught," she said in an interview
with ABC News.
The telegenic Paln, who burst
onto the national stage seven
weeks ago, has divided conser-
vatives - some energized by her
strong stand on social issues and
others embarrassed by her halt-
ing interview performances. On
the campaign trail, she is a popu-
lar draw, attracting numbers that
a Republican Party searching for
female star power can't ignore.
The divide is clearly evident.
George Will, a prominent con-
servative columnist, suggested
"Palin has become an even heavi-
er weight in John McCain's sad-
dle than is his association with
George W. Bush."
Indeed, a poll released this
week by the Pew Research Cen-
ter found that 49 percent of vot-
ers had an unfavorable opinion
of Palin, compared to 44 percent
who viewed her favorably. Pew
also found that unlike past vice
presidential choices, opinions of
Palin mattered to the ticket.
And public opinion about Palin
is slipping, according to a CBS-
New York Times poll released
Thursday. It found that the num-
ber of voters who think she is
not prepared has grown from 50
percent to 59 percent in the last
month.
None of that is apparent as
Palin campaigns across battle-
ground states in the closing days
PANEL
From Page 1A
The panelists also gave their
thoughts on which campaign issue
was most pressing for women.
The responses included Supreme
Court appointments, which could
potentially alter abortion rights
laid forth in Roe v. Wade, and the
financial crisis' impact on women
and children - an issue Lantz said
hits those groups harder.
UBOOKS
From Page 1A
fessors to release textbook lists
early.
Weir said individual schools
within the University were
welcome to implement stricter
regulations. "No one in central
administration believes . they
know better than the individual
faculty about textbook choices or
the timing of textbook choices,"
she said.
Beginning Nov. 10, students
will also be able to view textbook
ELECTION DAY
From Page 1A
Styer said he's told his professors
that he will miss class and that they
have been receptive.
"One of my professors is the for-
mer chair of the Michigan Republi-
can Party, and he said in the spirit of
bipartisanship, he would be fine with
me taking the day off," Styer said.
Associate Political Science Prof.
TEENS
From Page 1A
will also work at the polls.
"This is a presidential elec-
tion that every kid is dying to be
involved with," Dahl said.
As election inspectors, the high
school students will have the same
duties as other poll workers, she
said. The job entails getting to the
polls by 6 a.m. Tuesday, opening
the polls at 7 a.m., processing vot-
ers and ballots and setting up and
tearing down equipment.
In all, the students will work an
16-hour day and receive eight dol-
lars an hour.
"Most of our seniors say they
enjoy having them there," said
Beaudry, referring to the city's
of the presidential contest. She
drew huge crowds to a rally in
southern Missouri on Thursday
and 16,000 jammed in to see her
Wednesday night in Jefferson-
ville, Ind., many wearing "Sara-
hcuda" T-shirts and buttons
saying "I'm a bitter gun owner,
and I vote."
Pell Blakeman, a Palin support-
er who now calls himself "Pell the
Electrician" in honor of the infa-
mous Joe the Plumber, captured
her appeal this way: "She just
connects with the people. She's
doing a fine job and she'll make a
fine president one day."
Palin's future will be a top item
on the agenda at a meeting of
national conservatives scheduled
next Thursday outside Washing-
ton. Participants in the meeting
have declined to offer many spe-
cifics but said Palin's role in the
conservative movement, either as
vice president or as a 2012 con-
tender if the GOP ticket loses,
will be discussed.
To that end, Palin has begun to
develop a national political iden-
tity that is separate from McCa-
in's. .
She's given three policy
speeches in the last week, on
energy independence, special
needs children and the ways
in which women are affect-
ed by national tax policy. She
announced her support for a con-
stitutional amendment banning
gay marriage despite McCain's
long-standing opposition to such
a measure. And she has publicly
questioned some of the McCain
campaign's tactics, like the use of
robocalls and the decision to pull
resources out of Michigan.
Such departures from the
script have irked some of McCa-
in's advisers even as the Arizona
senator insists he has no problem
with Palin asserting herself.
"Sarah's a maverick, I'm a mav-
erick. No one expected us to agree
on everything," McCain said on
"Larry King Live" Wednesday;
adding, "We share the same val-
ues, the same principles, the same
goals for this country."
If the Republican ticket were
to win next Tuesday, Palin would
instantly be viewed, as a GOP
nominee-in-waiting no matter
what her stated intentions. She'd
Obama has approached
lawmaker Emanuel
about chief of staff post
PHOTO BY KIcI
Republica o presidential candidate Sarah Polio speaks ala rally in
frost of toss Cousty Courthouss in Chillicoths, Ohio oWednesday.
also be the most prominent and
popular conservative in McCain's
sphere - a powerful role, given
many conservatives' lukewarm
view of McCain.
"You have various legs to the
Republican stool, and she'll be a
feisty spokeswoman for that part
of the party," Republican strate-
gist William O'Reilly said of a
potential Palin vice presidency.
But with Democrat Barack
Obama leading in the polls,
McCain aides are second-guess-
ing many decisions made during
the campaign, including Palin's
role.
She was poorly vetted for the
job, leading critics to say McCain
had botched his first major deci-
sion as a presidential nominee.
And aides are distraught over how
Palin's initial rollout turned sour
after her well-received speech to
the Republican National Conven-
tion in August.
In the days that followed,
Palin was shielded from the press
except for a few cringe-worthy
TV interviews in which she was
hard-pressed to name a newspa-
per she reads and said Alaska's
proximity to Russia gave her
insight into that country's affairs.
The interyiews helped fuel Tina
Fey's widely viewed "Saturday
Night Live" impersonations of
Palin as charming but clueless.
"I think she may have been ill-
served by staff who sequestered
*her after the convention and gave
the Democrats a chance to define
her," New Hampshire GOP chair-
man Fergus Cullen said. "That
may have lasting political con-
sequences for her past election
day."
Palin's reputation came in for
another hit after the Republican
National Committee disclosed
it had spent about $150,000 at
pricey department stores and
boutiques to buy clothes for her
and members of her family. Palin
defended herself as a frugal shop-
per and called the purchases part.
of the stagecraft of running a
national campaign, but the flap
helped tarnish her image as a
champion of the middle class.
But Palin's strongest support
still lies with grass roots voters,
many of whom cite her popular-
ity and executive experience in
Alaska as evidence that she could
step into the presidency once
day.
"I think she's the best thing
that's happened to this cam-
paign," 20-year Navy veteran Bill
Costello said at the Missouri rally
Thursday. "Me and my particular
clique - we aren't voting for John
McCain, we're voting for Sarah."
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack
Obama's campaign has approached
Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel about
possibly serving as White House
chief of staff, officials said Thursday
as the marathon presidential race
entered its final, frenzied stretch
with a Democratic tilt.
The disclosure came as Repub-
lican John McCain, in need of a
comeback, focused on pocketbook
issues amid fresh signs of a reces-
sion. "Ohio is hurting now, people
in Ohio are having trouble staying
in their homes, keeping their jobs,"
he said as he set out on a two-day
bus tour of the state.
"We have gotto get this economy
out of the ditch."
Obama, biddingto becomelthe first
black president, also pointed to the
government's report that the econ-
omy had declined in the third quar-
ter. He told a large crowd in Florida
that McCain has been perched "right
next to George Bush" for eight years,
and consumers are paying a steep
price for their partnership.
The Democrats who described
the Obama campaign's approach to
Emanuel spoke on condition of ano-
nymity, saying they were not autho-
rized to be quoted by name. An aide
to the congressman, Sarah Fein-
berg, said in an e-mail that he "has
not been contacted to take a job in
an administration that does not yet
exist. Everyone is focused on Elec-
tion Day, as they should be."
Asked about Emanuel after
touching down in Colombia, Mo.,
on Thursday night, Obama said
only: "I'm trying to win an elec-
tion." Then, referring to campaign
manager David Plouffe, he said:
"Plouffe is my chief of staff."
ObamacampaignspokesmanBill
Burton earlier had said: "There's
no news because there's no job to
offer."
Emanuel is aveteran of President
Clinton's White House, and has
made a rapid ascent of the House
leadership ladder since his election
to Congress. He was chairman of
the Democratic campaign commit-
tee two years ago when the party
won a majority for the first time in
more than a decade, and he cement-
ed his reputation as a prodigious
fundraiser and strong-willed politi-
cal strategist.
Both Obama and McCain have
authorized their staffs to begintran-
sition operations in recent weeks -
although only one of them will be
able to make use of the results. As
far as. is known, no job offers have
been made by either man.
Even so, Republicans seized on
the disclosure. "Emanuel is among
the most vitriolic and partisan
people-in American politics," said
Alex Conant, a Republican National
Committee spokesman. "Reports
that Obama wants him to be White
House chief of staff undercut any
claims to unity and bipartisanship,
and should alarm every voter."
As the race neared an end, opin-
ion polls, early voting statistics and
even the candidates' campaign
schedules all make it look like the
race is Obama's to lose.
The Democrat campaigned
exclusively in traditionally Repub-
lican states during the day, flying
from Florida to Virginia to Mis-
souri, in hopes of winning a sizable
victory on Tuesday. Polls consis-
tently show him ahead nationally
as well as in a half-dozen states that
sided with Bush in2004, and tied in
three more.
McCain's bus tour of Ohio under-
scored his political predicament.
Bush won the state twice, it has
voted for the winner in every presi-
dential election for 20 years, and
public and private surveys all give
Obama the advantage.
Both campaigns invested heavily
in turning out early voters.
Officials in North Carolina said
roughly 30 percent of all regis-
tered voters had already cast bal-
lots - about 1.7 million in all - and
the Board of Elections ordered the
state's 100 counties to keep longer
voting hours.
Like the opinion polls, the early
ballot count favored Obama. Offi-
cials in Iowa, Florida, Colorado,
New Mexico and Nevada as well as
North Carolina said more Demo-
crats than Republicans had cast
ballots, in some cases by lopsided
margins.
The crowd of about 40 seemed
to be heavily Democratic, as evi-
denced by the dinner table. By the
end of the event, about a quarter
of the napkins with Democratic-
symbolizing donkeys remained,
while the napkins featuring ele-
phants, the Republicans' party
symbol, were hardly touched.
Public Policy student Aman-
da Jones, who helped organize.
the event, said more conversa-
tions like last night's need to take
place.
lists for classes they are enrolled
in through CTools.
The lengthy implementa-
tion is the result of substantial
upgrades to Michigan. Admin-
istrative Information Services
and M-Pathways, which oversee
the University's information sys-
tems.
Weir said the new application
will make it possible to track
how many professors are posting
books online and how many stu-
dents are selling textbooks using
UBook.
"This term, as things are being
rolled out, is really too early,"
Jenna Bednar said she planned to
bringherchildrentoclassonTuesday
because Ann Arbor Public Schools
have cancelled school that day. She
said she thinks students will be less
focused on their classes because
they'llbe following the election.
"After such a long campaign, it
will be impossible not to have our
minds on the election once the out-
come is known at last," Bednar said
in an e-mail interview.
Natural Resources Prof. Jim
senior citizen poll workers and
how they view the high schoolers.
"Because they're younger, they
have the energy and the long day
doesn't wear on them."
Ann Arbor has been recruiting
16- and 17-year-olds to work the
polls since the 2000 presidential
election, Beaudry said, mostly
through the city's partnership
with Pioneer High School and
Dahl.
By Dahl's estimate, the number
of election inspectors from Pio-
neer High School doubled in 2004
and then again this year.
"I think part of it is word of
mouth," Dahl said.
Because of the high number of
participants this year, Dahl said
she screened the applications to
get more reliable students.
"It is a huge issue that we have
a female candidate in the upcom-
ing election but that female issues
have not been mentioned at all,"
she said.
Zara Ahmed, a Policy and Public
Health graduate student, agreed.
"Large discussions about
female rights is something that
doesn't get talked about enough,"
she said. "We talk about Sarah
Palin's shoes, but we don't talk
about what Sarah Palin's shoes
mean."
she said. "I think we'll really be
able to tell how the campus has
embraced it next term."
Lester Monts, senior vice pro-
vost for academic affairs, said he
was proud the student-initiated
project will soon become a real-
ity.
LSA sophomore Matt Hillyer
said he felt the application would
be useful, adding that he pur-
chased the wrong edition of a
book this semester because of a
lack of clarity from his professor.
"I ended up spendingover $250
for a class that I definitely did not
need to," he said.
Diana said that while he was urging
all students to vote, he didn't find it
necessary to cancel class.
"I understand, but that's not
what we're paid to do," Diana said
of cancelling classes.
LSA freshman Katie Cavanagh
said she plans vote and attend class
on Tuesday, adding that it was pos-
sible to do both.
"I just have one class on Tuesday,
so I'll just go before," she said. After
a pause, she added, "Or after."
Some prospective poll workers
found campaigning more appeal-
ing. Beaudry said a handful of
high schoolers were accepted to
work the polls but dropped out to
help with the campaigns.
"We do lose some people if
they're more into the political
partisan side," she said. "They
don't necessarily want to work the
polls - they're more into the cam-
paigning."
For Gutterman, an Obama
intern, canvassing neighbor-
hoods on Election Day will be
the culmination of more than a
year of volunteering for the cam-
paign.
"I thought, why not get
involved, why not help," she said.
"It's not enough to just believe in
something."
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