Tagged: President Barack Obama

Senator Rand Paul has joined many of his fellow Republicans in doubting the accuracy of polls in this year’s presidential race.

In recent weeks, President Barack Obama has seen his lead widen significantly in two battleground states that border Kentucky: Ohio and Virginia. Obama's lead is also widening in national polls and in other battleground states.

In response, Republicans have dismissed the polls, saying they aren’t accurately reflecting changes in the country’s voting blocs since 2008.

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are preparing for their first debate this week, and observers are eager to see if it will impact the race.

Both campaigns have been complimentary of each other and are trying to lower expectations before the televised debate in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday in order to gain an advantage going in. But experts agree that stakes are higher for Romney, who trails the president according to most polls in battleground states.

Tiffany Dillard-Knox is acting director of the University of Louisville debate team. She says people are excited to watch the first presidential debate, but that the forums are becoming more of a liability.

"I think the debates more likely can make you lose a candidacy more so than win one. You can say the wrong things. I don’t think people are really listening for the right things anymore. But I think people are taking into consideration when the candidates are saying the wrong things," she says.

Since taking office, Senator Rand Paul has constantly talked about reducing the national debt. 

It's also an issue that Congress seemingly discusses for every spending bill, large or small. The economy hasn't escaped this year's presidential race either, with President Barack Obama continuing to champion a plan that includes increased taxes on the wealthy to help pay down some debt. 

But in a speech to the Horse Cave Rotary Club, Paul pushed back on that idea. Paul argued doing so would hurt private enterprise, which he said helps fund public works the government does.

Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker has launched his first ad of the general election campaign, and it attacks Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth over the country's increasing debt under President Obama.

The online ad features Yarmuth at a town hall meeting three years ago at Central High School discussing the president's pending health care overhaul. Yarmuth faced a series of questions from constituents, many of whom opposed the legislation.

It criticizes the congressman for saying he didn't know how the government would pay for the rising cost to entitlement programs on top of the Affordable Care Act.

Check it out:

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is calling for sanctions against Libya in reaction to the killing of four American diplomats, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

From Paul's office:
 
"I am heartbroken and outraged by the murder of four U.S. citizens, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
 
The perpetrators of this senseless attack must be brought to justice. I, therefore, demand that until the Libyan police hand over suspects to U.S officials, any U.S. foreign aid to the government of Libya be contingent on their full support in this matter."