EDMOND —
Political analysts say a lot is at stake during the first presidential debate — or is it?
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will share the stage with moderator Jim Lehrer, host of PBS’ “NewsHour,” from 8-9:30 p.m. CST Wednesday at the University of Denver in Denver, Colo. Multiple networks will broadcast the event. All debates will air at the same time.
Wednesday’s theme will be domestic policy. The debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments with three on the economy and the others on health care, the role of government and governing, topics chosen by the moderator.
Louis Furmanski, chair of the University of Central Oklahoma’s Political Science Department, said given the polling the stakes are higher for Romney than for Obama. Why watch?
“These two candidates offer the viewing public stark contrasts in policy differences,” Furmanski said.
Raymon Huston, associate political science professor at Oklahoma Christian University, said of the three presidential debates the first one is the one with the most relevance for voters.
Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will debate Oct. 11. The second presidential debate will be a town hall conversation rather than a traditional format. And the last presidential debate will be close to the Nov. 6 general election, Huston said.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
Furmanski said viewers will get to see how the candidates react to questions. Whereas the president comes across as being more personable, Romney needs to connect more with voters in terms of humanity and likability, he said.
Huston said it is likely both candidates will try to be as cautious as possible during the debate. He said he would like to hear more specifics about how they intend to fulfill their campaign promises, but doubts that will happen.
THE COMING FISCAL CLIFF
For voters, the No. 1 domestic issue is the economy (80 percent), according to a Rasmussen Reports poll dated Sept. 21. Health care (66 percent) and government corruption (66 percent) are a distant second. Other high-ranking domestic issues include education (61 percent), Social Security (60 percent), taxes (58 percent), energy policy (52 percent) and immigration (45 percent).
Local financial advisor Nick Massey, president of Householder Group Financial Advisors in Edmond, said he’d like to hear the candidates talk about energy policy, given its significance for Oklahoma, and their solutions for the ever-increasing national debt and the looming “fiscal cliff.”
In January, significant provisions of federal legislation enacted in 2010 are set to expire, the Congressional Budget Office reported on Aug. 22. They include provisions that extended reductions in tax rates, expansions of tax credits and expansions of tax credits and deductions originally enacted in 2001, 2003 and 2009.
Also, sharp reductions in Medicare’s payment rates for physicians services are scheduled to take effect. Automatic enforcement procedures set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 to restrain discretionary and mandatory spending are set to go into effect. And extensions of emergency unemployment benefits and a reduction of 2 percentage points in the payroll tax for Social Security are scheduled to expire.
Massey also mentioned the federal deficit. For fiscal year 2012, which ended Sept. 30, the federal budget deficit totaled $1.1 trillion, marking the fourth year in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion.
Massey said economy-wise 2013 looks precarious. The federal deficit will shrink to an estimated $641 billion in fiscal year 2013 — 4 percent of GDP — almost $500 billion less than the shortfall in 2012, according to the CBO report. The national unemployment rate is expected to remain above 8 percent for the rest of the year.
Such fiscal tightening will lead to economic conditions in 2013 that will probably be considered a recession, with real GDP declining by .5 percent between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2013, the CBO reports. The unemployment rate could rise to about 9 percent in the second half of calendar year 2013.
Differences between the two candidates include stances on renewable energy and the approach to taxes, Massey said.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
Local News
Locals talk Obama-Romney round 1
- Local News
-
-
OG&E works to replace Edmond power poles
“Oh my God, it’s the tornado,” Betsy Herring thought as she and her husband, Lee, took shelter in their laundry room as Sunday’s tornado roared toward their Forest Oaks home in Edmond.
-
Equine center aids Orr Family Farm horses
Connie Yearwood, a third-year veterinary student at Oklahoma State University, had been job shadowing at Equine Medical Association in Edmond when the call came to help rescue horses that were injured during Monday’s tornado in Moore and Oklahoma City.
-
Lincoln County Emergency Management calls for help
Carney is a city of about 649 residents and following the recent tornado outbreak 20 homes were destroyed there and an additional 18 homes in the county were leveled.
Wednesday, a press release from Lincoln County, along with Wellston Emergency Management Office and the City of Carney, stated that at this time the needs have changed for the city. -
Oklahoma National Guard coordinates tornado relief support
Oklahoma National Guard members, who work side-by-side with local responders to aid in recovery efforts during domestic operations such as the May 20 tornado that tore through Oklahoma City and Moore, are given their tasks through the Guard's Joint Operations Center.
The JOC, located in the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Oklahoma City, is primarily responsible for the collection, dissemination and tracking of information to increase the situational awareness for leadership as well as the National Guard Bureau, said Lt. Col. Hiram Tabler, the director of military support for Oklahoma's Joint Force Headquarters. -
UPDATE: Businesses, groups offer free relief to tornado victims
Listed is information on free services offered to victims of the recent tornadoes.
-
House approves $45M aid package for tornado victims
As rain poured this morning on disaster relief workers in the Moore and Oklahoma City areas, the Oklahoma House of Representatives unanimously approved a $45 million aid package to provide relief to those impacted by Monday’s EF-5 tornado.
-
TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
-
Moore mayor wants tornado shelters in new homes
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis wants tornado shelters in all new homes in his city, where an EF-5 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 12,500 homes Monday afternoon. A proposed ordinance would require a shelter inside or outside each new residence.
-
Rescue workers, tornado victims find respite in college dorms
Monday’s tornado put an estimated 20,000 people out of their houses, which were damaged or destroyed. Some of those victims — and the rescue workers who’ve come to help them — are staying a few miles south, in dormitories at the University of Oklahoma.
More than 300 individuals and families left homeless by the storm are staying at OU, where the university is providing beds, hot water and meals, often delivered by a familiar face. The university also housed 287 first-responders from Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Tennessee. -
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor’s second child was moments from birth as an EF-5 tornado bore down on Moore Medical Center on Monday afternoon.
Her labor was too far along to move her to safety with the rest of those in the hospital, her nurses decided. So as her husband, Jerome, and their 4-year-old son, Shaiden, went downstairs with the others, she and four nurses stayed upstairs and braced for the worst. - More Local News Headlines
-
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
