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CAMPAIGN SCORECARD [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.] ROUND 1 2 3 4 ISSUE Infighting Accuracy Rate Momentum Expectation-Setting ACTION The unseemly spectacle of anonymous Palin allies' criticizing her handling by McCain staffers, followed by McCain aides sliming Palin as a "diva" and "whack job," was too alluring for the media to ignore. In comparison, Obama's arch remark that Joe Biden can be given to "rhetorical flourishes" looked positively friendly. Another typical week in the message wars. Democrats methodically fired laser-guided missiles at McCain (that he's in lockstep with Bush...
...picture is brightening in pockets of the country, where there are nascent signs of a bottoming: the rate of decline slowed in August, according to Case-Shiller, and in September, existing home sales rose 6% nationally. That means buyers are finally being lured to the market by low prices. In Los Angeles, and even in Miami, there is evidence that the housing market is lifting its head off the deck, even as foreclosures continue to pile up and prices edge downward. Some banks are grudgingly agreeing to short sales--that is, selling below the mortgage amount--and doing some workouts...
...will pay those taxes? Obama's plan to target the highest earners has merit, given that almost all income gains in recent years have gone to the top 1%. But because the rich can afford good tax lawyers, there are diminishing returns to increasing their tax rates. Returning to the pre-2001 top rate of 39.6% (from 35% now) would surely bring in more money, but going much higher might not. Also, the bulk of the recent gains at the top of the income spectrum has come from huge paychecks in the financial sector--paychecks that are almost sure...
...That's what Spellings and the Department of Education now aim to provide. Up until now, there was little the federal government could do to force schools to set higher standards. In fact, in 2005, all 50 states agreed to enact a uniform graduation rate, but only 16 eventually did. Now officials will require states to spell out how they will implement key elements of the federal law, formal plans that the Department of Education must approve. And officials are hoping more scrutiny will push schools to do better when it comes to dropouts. Not only will data be more...
...need support to improve, but they will help highlight reforms that are actually working. Take, for example, efforts in Georgia, where a graduation coach is assigned to each high school to ensure students stay on track. The program is only a few years old, but the state's graduation rate appears to be rising. The new call for federal data will help other states determine whether a program like Georgia's would be a good use of their resources. Plus, more accurate information may ultimately make the dropout problem "seem more manageable," Kondracke says. "We can't move forward until...