Daily Catch 9/29/14: Obama’s ’60 Minutes’ Interview, Debate Debates, Minimum Wage, and James O’Keefe’s Latest

Contradiction:  In a CBS “60 Minutes” interview, President Barack Obama admitted that his foreign policy plans in Syria were based on a contradiction. The president’s efforts to “degrade” Islamic State forces may have the undesired effect of helping the brutal Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad, regain control of the country.  “I recognize the contradiction in a contradictory land and a contradictory circumstance,” said Obama.  “We are not going to stabilize Syria under the rule of Assad.”  Congress has no plans to debate or approve of the president’s authorization of military force in Syria, and the president has stated that such approval is unnecessary as, according to him, the U.S. is not at war. The president is also taking heat for essentially throwing the U.S. intelligence community under the bus during the interview.

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Keep it Private: In a referendum vote on Sunday, Swiss citizens voted to keep their current all-private health care insurance system and reject a state-run system.  Despite rising health care costs, over 60% of Swiss voters indicated their preference for the current health care system.  A similar reform campaign was defeated in 2007.

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Debates:  After much back and forth, Gov. Paul LePage declared on Sunday that he intends to participate in five gubernatorial debates this fall.   LePage had threatened to back out of the debates after a Michaud-aligned group claimed that the governor considered Social Security to be welfare.  LePage argued that the quote was taken out of context, and he demanded that his democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, denounce the ad before he would participate in any debate.  However, the governor back down and decided to join the two other candidates at the debates.  The first debate will take place in Portland on October 8^th.

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Texan Liberals Exposed: In a new video, investigative journalist James O’Keefe exposed the liberal Texan organization, Battleground Texas, of breaking multiple election laws.  An undercover agent, working with O’Keefe’s Project Veritas, infiltrated the organization and recorded leaders within the organization failing to report several major election law violations.  The video and subsequent fallout raises questions over similar groups across the country.

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Minimum Wage:  A new poll commissioned by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram shows a vast majority of Mainers support increasing the federal minimum wage.  The poll, which surveyed 589 likely voters, showed 75% of Mainers in favor of the increase with a margin of error of 4 points.  The poll could influence Portland residents, as the city considers an increase in the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour.

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Top Ten:  Gov. Paul LePage was listed in The Cook Political Report as one of ten incumbent governors in tossup races.  That is the highest number of at risk governor’s the report has included in years.  Despite this fact, the report also notes that the number of incumbent governors who have actually lost has been declining for a long time.