Supreme Court writer Dahlia Lithwick on Obama’s election, future of the court

The U.S. Supreme Court has been in its current term for just over a month now, and there have already been some interesting cases. Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor at Slate and legal commentator for National Public Radio, joined Coy Barefoot on the November 17, 2008 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to discuss some of the highlights. She and Coy also discuss the end of the presidential campaign, the role Islamophobia played in the race, and why Virginia played such an important role.

Steven Waldman on religion in politics and the film Religulous

On Thursday, October 16th, Steven Waldman, author of Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and The Birth of Religious Freedom In America joined host Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville-Right Now!” Waldman is the founder and editor of Beliefnet.com, the largest website for religion and spirituality on the internet.

They discussed the final presidential debate and each candidate’s strategy on the abortion issue, speaking to moderates or partisans. Waldman talked about the groundbreaking new Twelve Tribes of Politics study, which has discovered how the relationship between religion and politics is changing. For example, religion is much less correlated with votes in many cases now, with the exception of Evangelicals who prefer McCain, and Protestants who prefer Obama.

Waldman discusses Bill Maher’s new film Religulous, calling it funny but criticizing its presentation as a documentary because it has “completely flouted normal documentary standards,” using a gotcha film style more similar to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat.

Presidential Debate on the Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call

With the election just over two weeks away, Rick Moore invited representatives of the Obama and Mccain campaigns for a discussion of how the race will play out. Oscar Ramirez is Virginia Policy Director for the Obama campaign, and Sean Kenney is a former director of communications of the Republican Party of Virginia.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on why he supports Senator John McCain

Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, joined Charlottesville Right Now to discuss why he believes Senator John McCain should be the next President of the United States of America on Tuesday, October 15th. At one point, Pawlenty’s name was mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate. Now, he’s the co-chair of the McCain campaign.

Navy veteran and former POW Galanti explains why he supports McCain for president

Commander Paul Galanti (right) retired from the U.S. Navy after a career that saw him receive many awards and allocations. Now, Galanti is the Chairman of the Virginia Veteran’s for McCain, and is working to elect the Arizona Senator this November. He spent time as a prisoner of war with McCain, and describes what that experience was like.

Wake-Up Call: The 2008 Presidential Election

This week’s edition of WNRN’s Wake-Up Call is a discussion about politics – specificially the 2008 Presidential Race. Three guests: Bonnie, Thalia, and Jim, give their opinions on questions such as, “Should Clinton drop out?” “Which Democratic candidate would do better against McCain?” and “How does ageism/racism/genderism play into the equation?”

The conversation then moves to each candidate’s specific policies. How does each one stand on domestic affairs? Foreign policy? What policies are popular with the voters? They also discuss the college vote – what college-age voters care about, and how that could affect the general election this November. Callers also chime in with their opinions on the issues.

Plus, how did you feel about the discussion? Post your comments on the show and let us know!