The LuLac Edition #2253, November 5th, 2012

Your Say, Your survey logo. 

LULAC POLL FINAL RESULTS 

If the election were held today, who would be your choice? Out of 150 respondents, which was closed on Monday at 11:59PM, here are the results: 
ROMNEY 52% 
OBAMA   48%.

ELECTION EVE ROUND UP

THE ELECTORAL MAP 

No doubt about it, we here in Pennsylvania and the East have lost some power. The population shift of the 70s took away a lot of Electoral power. Take a look at the map above and you’ll see what I mean. Still, the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania are still in the equation.

SHORT SHOTS 

PRESIDENT 
Obama/Romney…..My friends are telling me Obama in a landslide. There has been too much money, too many lies and misrepresentations and frankly too much hate. Obama in a squeaker. We may find out Friday at the earliest. 
SENATE 
Smith/Casey………..Casey will win by a slight margin but may become the Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania Senators. Santorum won his second term barely. Same thing with Bob Casey. 
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Kane/Freed………Kane is up in the polls for Attorney General but has a lot of bagge. If she wins, she will make history by being the first Democratic AG in the State. However, the “T” section of the state might trump her ambitions and bring in Freed. 
STATE TREASURER
McCord/Vaughan…….If McCord was a serial killer, I’d vote for him given the ridiculous anti abortion ads that the other side is throwing at him. 
AUDITOR GENERAL
DePasquale vs. Maher, Going with the Democrat. Voting for one Republican is my new quota. 
CONGRESS 
The 10th: Scollo Vs. Marino….Marino wins but not by a big margin. 
The 11th: Stilp vs. Barletta….A lot will depend on how many votes Stilp can get in his home area south of here. But I see Barletta winning. 
The 17th….Cartwright vs. Cummings.......Cummings has nothing to be ashamed about in this campaign but Cartwright has the registration advantage. 
STATE HOUSE RACES (Contested) 
115th…Farina vs. Kane,...I’m going with Farina because of the voter registration but Kane is a good candidate. 
116th Young vs. Toohill.....Call this Todd Eachus’ revenge but I see a Ransom Young upset over Tarah Toohill who had some challenges in this race. 
118th…Caroll vs. O'Connor….Mike Carroll for another two years. 
119th….Arnold vs. Mullery……I’m picking Arnold in an upset. I don’t see Mullery responding or doing any type of campaigning to counteract Arnold’s challenge. Could the registration in this district be so potent? 
120th…Mundy vs. Kaufer…….Mundy by a close margin.The experts on the West Side say a few disgruntled Democrats do not an upset make. 

MEDIA MATTERS 

LULAC ITINERARY 

Election Day, November 6th, “The Morning News with Webster and Nancy, WILK AM and FM 103.1. 7am to 9am. 
Election Day, November 6th, PA LIVE on WBRE TV with Dave Kuharchik and Monica Madeja. 4PM. 
Election Day, November 6th, WYLN TV 35, ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE, 8 to ?????? Wednesday, November 7th, The Sue Henry Show, WILK AM and FM 103.1, 9:30AM. 

AN OPINION SHARED

Editorial from the Citizen's Voice 

  Barack Obama, still the better choice 

The core question before voters in Tuesday's presidential election is: "Which of the candidates will pursue policies more likely to produce broad prosperity after nearly four years of anemic growth and four decades of widening economic inequality?" Despite the uneven economic results of his first term - attributable mostly to the intransigence of his opponents but also to his own early leadership failures - the answer is Barack Obama. Obama's bailout of the auto companies, derided by his opponent and many others in the Republican Party in the dark economic times at the beginning of his term, saved a key component of American industry and preserved hundreds of thousands of jobs. His stimulus legislation, undersized at birth due to dogged opposition from the GOP, and payroll tax cuts helped the nation weather the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and put it on the path to recovery. His unfairly reviled Affordable Care Act, though not perfect, was an admirable first step in securing health coverage for all Americans, slowing the growth of medical costs and ensuring that families who work hard and dutifully pay premiums year after year no longer run the risk of bankruptcy and ruin because of unforeseen major illness. The Obama that has emerged from those legislative struggles is surely a less inspiring figure than the candidate of hope and change swept into office in 2008. The rising of the seas has not halted. The Republican lion has not lain down with the Democratic lamb. But tempered by the partisanship he could not tame, Obama the president has proven to be a fighter for expanded civil rights, a champion for consumers against a sometimes predatory financial industry and a strong and steady leader when the nation is challenged by disasters both natural and man-made. Obama has restored the honor of America by banning the torture sanctioned by his predecessor in the struggle against terrorists, even if his own undue political caution led him to abandon the promised closing of the prison at Guantanamo. He has extricated the nation and its defenders from one ill-advised war in Iraq and is winding down another in Afghanistan that long ago achieved its original aims. His sober and calculated approach to battling extremism has decimated al Qaeda's leadership without undue risk to American lives or unsustainable commitments of American forces. He has navigated the upheavals of the Arab Spring as wisely as could be expected, preserving our national interests while encouraging factions whose aim is greater freedom in that part of the world. The alternative to Obama is a candidate who has refashioned his positions again and again to fit the demands of the audience at hand and his own ambitions. All politicians do this to some extent, but the malleability of Mitt Romney is unprecedented in presidential politics. It is extremely difficult to predict exactly which positions Romney would ultimately adopt in the White House. But judging by his allies, history and background, it is most likely he would pursue tax and industrial policies skewed toward the interests of those at the top of the economic ladder, fundamentally alter the social programs that protect the weakest and neediest among us and cynically acquiesce to the most extreme members of his party on social issues. As for foreign policy, Romney has tried to portray Obama as apologetic to our adversaries and inconstant to our allies. However, it was evident in the debate devoted to that topic that Romney would change little in the approach to Iran, China or Israel, except perhaps to talk more loudly. In choosing Barack Obama to sit in the Oval Office four years ago, many voters felt they were voting for a transformational figure, more a rock star than a practitioner of realpolitik. Obama willingly rode that emotion and enthusiasm to the White House, either knowing, or quickly learning, that governing the nation for four years would be harder than inspiring it for an election season. At this juncture, we must evaluate the man and the job he has done in difficult times. He has not lived up to the myth, but no politician could. Viewed through that lens, Obama deserves a second term.