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| Obama holds slight lead ahead of debate - CBS News Posted: 01 Oct 2012 08:11 AM PDT Five weeks before Election Day and two days before the first presidential debate, a set of new polls shows that President Obama has a slight two-point edge over Mitt Romney nationally. While both campaigns have tried to lower expectations for their respective candidate's debate performance, it's clear that conservatives expect Romney to use the debate to alter the campaign trajectory. The polls, meanwhile, show that there are also high expectations for Mr. Obama to perform well in the first debate. In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, Mr. Obama leads Romney among likely voters nationally, 49 percent to 47 percent. The poll shows Mr. Obama with a more comfortable lead in swing states, where he leads among likely voters 52 percent to 41 percent. The Post poll gives Mr. Obama the advantage on nearly every major issue in the campaign, including taxes, social issues, women's issues, terrorism and ability to handle an "unexpected major crisis." On the critical issue of who voters trust to do a better job handling the economy, Mr. Obama and Romney are split at 47 percent for both. Another poll, conducted for Politico and George Washington University, also shows Mr. Obama leading Romney among likely voters nationally, 49 percent to 47 percent. Both the Politico and the Post surveys show Romney with a four-point lead among independents -- an edge that Romney will aim to build on Wednesday during the first presidential debate in Denver. The Washington Post poll shows that most voters, 56 percent, expect Mr. Obama to prevail Wednesday night. Those expectations may work in Romney's favor, who "doesn't have to hit a home run," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." "But Romney has to be, at the end of the debate Wednesday night, a clear alternative who is considered as a potential President by a majority of the American people," Gingrich continued. On ABC's "This Week," former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour similarly said Romney has to offer a clear choice for voters. "He has to get them back focused on the reality of Obama's policies, the failures of those policies, and then offer them what he would do and why that would be better for their families, their communities, and our country," he said. "Pretty simple. It's not rocket science." The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes that Romney will have to step out of his comfort zone and go on offense against the president. "It's clear that Romney is behind Obama nationally and in key swing states -- not so far behind he can't come back, but behind nonetheless -- and therefore needs to be the instigator," he wrote. "That's not a role Romney has been comfortable with in past debates. His attempts to go after McCain during the 2008 Republican primary debates often flopped, and Romney seemed uncomfortable playing too much offense in the brief moment when Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) looked liked the 2012 front-runner." Mr. Obama, meanwhile, must work to keep in check his attitude so that he doesn't lose his advantage of appearing as a more "likable" candidate. "Obama is an experienced debater but an inconsistent performer who is years out of practice, capable of projecting a calm, commanding image -- or appearing bored, testy or condescending enough to snark out the unforgettable 'You're likeable enough, Hillary' crack four years ago," Politico's Glenn Thrush writes. "The debates didn't sink him in 2008 -- they were probably a net plus taken as a whole, his staffers believe -- but this time around Obama's bedrock political asset is his likeability and capacity to bond with middle-class voters. Hence the unwritten rule in debate prep sessions against Sen. John Kerry, Romney's stand-in: Hold your ground, but no more sneers." While both sides are already working to set expectations for the debate, it's unclear how much influence it can really have on the state of the race. In the Politico poll, 46 percent say they will definitely vote to re-elect Mr. Obama, 42 percent say firmly they are voting for Romney, and just 9 percent may consider changing their minds. "We've never had a debate where the electorate was this polarized," Democratic pollster Celinda Lake told Politico. "There's a real question about how many voters are left to move in the debate." The New York Times, meanwhile, notes, "History shows that candidates have different ways to score through presidential debates: the forceful put-down, the surprising show of skill, the opponent's fumble, superior post-debate tactics. But it also shows that to fundamentally alter the direction of a campaign, a candidate usually has to accomplish all of those things." |
| Brown vetoes Calif. domestic workers rights bill - CBS News Posted: 01 Oct 2012 07:34 AM PDT SACRAMENTO, Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday announced that he had vetoed legislation that would have provided overtime pay, meal breaks and other labor protections to an estimated 200,000 caregivers, nannies and house cleaners in California. Brown called their work a "noble endeavor" and said they deserve fair pay and safe working conditions. But the Democratic governor said the bill "raises a number of unanswered questions," prompting him to reject the measure. It was among dozens of bills he acted on in the final hours before his midnight deadline to consider bills sent to him this fall by the Legislature. Advocates said the legislation, dubbed the Domestic Workers of Bill of Rights, is necessary to protect a primarily female, immigrant workforce from abuse. They were successful in persuading New York lawmakers to pass similar legislation in 2010. Among other things, the bill would have required that live-in workers be compensated if their rest period was interrupted during an eight-hour period and eased eligibility requirements for workers' compensation. The California Chamber of Commerce and other business interests opposed AB889. They argued that labor laws carve out an exception for domestic workers for a reason: providing meal breaks and uninterrupted rest periods for caretakers is impractical at best and dangerous at worst. It was unclear how the legislation by Assemblymen Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, and V. Manuel Perez, D-Coachella, would have been enforced and whether it would have extended to part-time workers such as baby sitters. It called for the Department of Industrial Relations to set regulations by January 2014. Brown outlined his own list of eight questions in a veto message. They include the effect of increased costs he said could burden the disabled and elderly and their families. He also suggested the additional cost could mean fewer jobs for domestic workers and strain state regulators trying to enforce the requirements. Moreover, he said, a drafting error would have cost the state more than $200 million annually because the bill would have applied to In-Home Supportive Service workers. "In the face of consequences both unknown and unintended, I find it more prudent to do the studies before considering an untested legal regime for those that work in our homes," Brown wrote. California has become a focal point in the national debate over domestic worker protections because of its size and large immigrant workforce. The bill has drawn some high-profile support, including a videotaped endorsement from comedian and "Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler. The National Domestic Workers Alliance - an advocacy group with 35 local affiliates around the country - has used popularity of the Oscar-nominated film "The Help" to power a national campaign that urges fans to "be the help." The group is helping promote similar laws in Massachusetts, Illinois and Hawaii. New York is the only state that already has implemented union-style rights for domestic workers. Those regulations have led to back pay and overtime penalty awards, according to the Urban Justice Center, which provides legal assistance to domestic workers in Manhattan. 1/2 |
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