2008 Election, In a Nutshell

It began with arguments about flag pins. And who was the most "American". There were some contenders, and some pretenders. Mitt Romney was the GOP's favorite, then Huckabee was the favorite, then Mitt, then Huck, then ("don't write me off!"), much to the chagrin of the Religious Right and hard-core right-wing conservatives, John "The Centrist Maverick" McCain came out of nowhere to clinch the GOP nomination. Hillary was a shoe-in for the Democratic Primary- but Bam! Or rather- Obama! Along came the Junior Senator from Illinois who had a vision and way of communicating ideas that voters couldn't resist.


Florida and Michigan lost their Primaries for breaking party rules by trying to jump the gun and hold their elections too early... The most riveting part of this election cycle was the Democratic Primary. After all was said and done Obama won it- which was no small task. It was a triple-overtime bloodbath which actually gave Obama the strength he would need in the General Election. The "Hillary" Campaign left no stone unturned, and beat the GOP to the punch- on Ayres, on Rev. Wright, on drug experimentation as a teen and college student at Occidental, on just about everything the Republicans had planned on using if this Obama guy actually had the muscle to take down the Clinton machine.

Take down the Clinton Machine he did. After what will forever be known as the Primary war that spawned "PUMA" (Party Unity My Ass) and other Hillary supporters who defected from the Democratic party, Hillary begrudgingly ceded the Democratic crown to the guy with the funny name that got Republican voters all freaked out and led to viral emails purporting Christian Barack Obama to be a closet Muslim terrorist, that spanned the nation (and globe) and that spared no Inboxes. Unfortunately, anyone who wasn't an avid O'Reilly Factor or Hannity and Colmes watcher saw the lies for what they were, and kept watching for some substance from either candidate.

Obama was accused of mere "oratory"- an "empty suit" if you will; his stirring speeches made his opponents public speaking skills painful to watch. Then Obama got down to business. He built the biggest network of small donors ever seen in an American election, utilized cutting edge technology and a cadre of politically savvy staff who knew just how to tap into the ire of voters pissed off over what had transpired since W took office in 2000, and keenly understood the new dynamics of 21st century politics. Huckabee got a TV show on Fox. McCain retired his Maverick image and sold his soul to the ideological neoconservative side of the GOP, turning his statement to "rather lose an election than lose his integrity"- into a joke.

Obama, carrying the message of "Change", ironically selected entrenched Washington Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential pick- ostensibly for his foreign policy credentials- certainly not for his flare for foot-in-mouth campaign trail moments. McCain on the other hand, who, like Hillary Clinton, chided Obama for his lack of experience, selected the most inexperienced and naive politician to ever grace a US Presidential ticket in Sarah "You betcha!" Palin- former mayor of Wasilla, Governor of Alaska, just over a year into her first term. But Palin subscribed to the far-right politics that the GOP needed to assuage the fears of the disenfranchised "base" who were leery of McCain- and she trumped the celebrity status that Obama had been reaping (and was so criticized for by his opponents).

The Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado was an all-out Peace/Love/Hope/Change Fest (besides being a giant spectacle complete with Roman Columns and an Obama acceptance speech at a 60,000 seat football stadium). Bubba Clinton delivered a rousing introduction for Barack, comparing Obama's youth and inexperience to his own in 1992. You can take a wild guess how Obama's acceptance speech went over (think- very, very well). Hillary and Obama put their differences aside, ironically, for "Party Unity". Some of the PUMA and other Hillary defectors started creeping back into the Democratic fold..

The Republican National Convention was an all-out Fear/Terror/"Country First!"-Fest which failed to actually describe what the abstract notion of "Country" really is, and why Democrats (or anyone who doesn't vote Republican for that matter..) isn't putting "Country First". Guillani mocked Obama's community organizing; Sarah Palin flaunted her vast experience as a pit-bull with lipstick, hockey mom, just your average "Joe-Six Pack". McCain gave his acceptance speech and recited the words "Bush" and "Middle Class" a total of exactly "ZERO" times.



Obama began connecting the dots on his policy stances and proposals. The United States economy collapsed under it's own weight of bad loans and bogus corporate income statements on a Depression Era scale. The Dow Jones lost almost 6,000 points in a little over a week. McCain "suspended" his campaign, and paraded into Washington only to nearly unravel the government bailout which staved off complete chaos in the stock market. McCain threatened to pull out of the first debate. McCain was widely criticized- so he un-suspended his campaign and went ahead to the first debate in Mississippi. Obama won the first debate. Obama won the second and third debates, which started to make Senator McCain pretty angry. Obama began riding a wave of momentum. McCain began his "kitchen sink" strategy, trying (in vain) to link Obama to former Weather Underground founder David Ayres, Tony Rezko, Chicago Mayor Daley, "Chicago Machine Politics", ACORN, and other shadowy nefarious figures which, as it would turn out, Obama really hadn't all that much to do with.

Nothing seemed to stick. McCain and Palin, in their visible and audible desperation, kept throwing sh%t at the wall of Obama-enthusiasm sweeping America. Slime, fears, smears, race-card, inexperience-card, terrorist card. Nothing stuck. The only buyers were members of the crowd at his rallies (already solidly McCain voters) who began to chant and shout threatening phrases and epithets at nearly every stop of the "Straight Talk Express". Obama continued to stay positive and tap into voters struggles and aspirations; he kept talking about "Hope" and "Change" and a break from the failed policies of George W. Bush and the extreme right-wing ideology of the Republican Party. His economic plan? Tax breaks for the middle class; tax increases on those who don't need the Bush tax cuts. McCain's plan? TBA (-er, something or another about socializing the mortgage crisis....).



Some plumber from Ohio questioned Obama on his proposed tax policy (lying about wanting to buy a business when in fact he didn't even have a license to "plumb") became famous and exploited the McCain campaign for his own personal gain. Obama was branded as a "Socialist" by McCain and Palin at every turn and talkshow hour. This became the sad rallying cry of what is left of the enthusiasm behind the McCampaign. Palin's excessive "New York City" thread-shopping was revealed. Palin went Rougue. Palin went off the reservation. Palin started positioning herself for 2012 and her status as the future face of the GOP (good luck with that Sarah, or whoever buys that idea....). More Hillary defectors began to feel the horror of a McCain-Palin vote set in, and flock to Obama.

Obama began out-polling McCain in several swing states and more than a few solidly red states that W won in 2000 and 2004. McCain went on defense. Obama kept up his offense. Christopher Buckley endorsed Obama. Several other notable conservatives endorse Obama including General Colin Powell (dismissed as a purely racial endorsement by despicable McCain backers and staffers who couldn't muster up the mental power to accept reality). Obama ran a Ross Perot-like, 30-minute, 6 million dollar infomercial on every major network but ABC- in Primetime. Fox News began questioning the baseless Obama attacks of McCain Campaign's last great hope (Joe-the-Plumber!). (bad, bad, sign).

McCain got stood up by the now-famous plumber on the campaign trail ("Where's Joe the Plumber at? Joe? Joe's supposed to be here... Joe where are you at? [Silence]"). Just 96 hours remain before the next President of the United States is elected by over 120 million American voters. And that brings us to today. It has been a long, strange, trip indeed.... It all ends this coming Tuesday. Or rather, (if things hold steady and we aren't bamboozled) it all begins anew. Are we really ready to make history and start the next great chapter of the American Story? You betcha!

Do You Live in Real America? Can You Get Me a Visa?

McCain Campaign Spokesperson:



Michele Bachmann, Republican Congressional Representative from Minnesota, apparently idolizes Joe McCarthy of the "Red Scare" time period:




Sarah Palin lays down this newest McCain "attack"/talking point:

It's Our Time Now

Most everything has already been said, and fact-checked, and either debunked or verified. The choice is up to you, but if you've been reading and watching and fact-checking enough about what each candidate has been saying, you might see the choice is clear- Senators Barack Obama from Illinois and Joe Biden from Delaware are the right choice to lead our country back to prosperity and face the challenges of the 21st century. Now it's time to cast our ballots (for those who are able to vote early- including my home state of Wisconsin). To see where your early voting location is, go here.

Also, you have probably already heard, but GOP General Colin Powell endorsed Barack for President of the United States today saying near the end of his reasoning behind the endorsement, "I'll be voting for Senator Obama". It is an honorable thing to be endorsed not only by a high profile member the GOP, but one of the highest ranking American military officials. Read the news release- Powell's reasons for supporting Obama are exactly why myself and many others (yourself included?) are voting for Obama in this critical election.

The McCain campaign has now stooped even lower, resorting to attacks against Obama suggesting he is a "socialist" because his tax policy cuts taxes for 95% of working Americans and ends the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% (ending the 15% capital gains tax). Call me crazy, but I remembered this, and found a passage from Barack's book, "The Audacity of Hope" in which Warren Buffet, dubbed "The Oracle of Omaha" (currently the richest American- he just eclipsed Bill Gates last month), says the following (this should give anyone pause):

"Though I've never used tax shelters or had tax planner, after including the payroll taxes we each pay, I'll pay a lower effective tax rate this year than my receptionist. In fact, I'm pretty sure I pay a lower rate than the average American. And if the president has his way, I'll be paying even less.

....Some of the wealth has to be plowed back into education, so that the next generation has a fair chance, and to maintain our infrastructure, and provide some sort of safety net for those who lose out in a market economy. And it just makes sense that those of us who've benefited most from the market should pay a bigger share."

I don't think that Billionaires should pay 1/2 of their annual earnings in taxes by any means. But I also don't think they should pay a much smaller percentage of their wealth in taxes than some average Middle Class worker earning less than $250,000.

Think about it. For those of us who can vote early- avoid the waiting in line on November 4th (there will be a lot of people voting this year), vote early.

The Windmill Warrior

Last night millions of Americans tuned into the final U.S. presidential debate broadcast live from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. What was clear was the aggressiveness of John McCain’s personal attacks toward Barack Obama (one could argue that the attacks themselves seemed stale, tired, and completely off-topic). What remained quite foggy were the answers, if any, that John McCain had for our recession-bound economy. Johnny “Maverick” seemed rehearsed and anxious to score political points by attacking his rival at every turn (often completely altering the question in order to fit in some kind of smear against Obama).

Maybe it was just me, but I felt like McCain looked a lot like the fabled misguided hero, “Don Quixote” from Miguel de Cervantes' book of the same name. In that book, a formerly imprisoned "mad knight" named Don Quixote sets out on a quest to defeat an assortment of imagined foes (ie. he wildly attacks windmills throughout the peaceful countryside in his delusion, thinking that they are really malevolent dragons out to "get the people"). Does this kind of unrealistic fear mongering and ill-conceived crusading sound familiar to a party that has succeeded only in running this country into the ground? The GOP will apparently stop at nothing to scare people out of voting for Obama- they literally have nothing left to tell or sell us about their own candidate for the highest office in the land.

And what is Obama’s supposed dirty laundry? It has all been hung out to dry since the Democratic Primary (Barack can thank Hillary for that!)- he’s explained and clarified things that weren’t even yet brought up. I thought Obama did well in playing "high road defense", making McCain look like an increasingly erratic and grumpy individual who takes things very personally (ie. Sara Palin and her "Troopergate" misdeeds in office), and achieving the goal of soundly defeating McCain for a sweep of all three presidential debates (not to mention Biden winning the one VP debate). It seems to me that the majority of this country "Get's It". But we'll have to wait and see... Us voters will have the final say on November 4th.

While McCain and many of his closest supporters (esp. the staunch GOP “base”) probably thought he did a “heckuva job” lampooning Obama with everything from accusations of socialism to raising up, yet again, the dead horse of William Ayers to flog, others weren't particularly impressed. And then there is ACORN, who John McCain has no problem giving keynote speeches for (as he has in the very recent past), but whom are apparently “threatening the very fabric of Democracy” the moment that some of their workers try to pass off false voter registrations (which, are scrutinized and removed from the voter rolls before anyone actually votes!) in the selfish interest of an easier quick buck- the workers accused of falsifying voter registrations were being paid “per registration” and hence the false entries such as “Mickey Mouse”, “Tony Romo”, among others.




Obama made his plan very clear- if you, like 95% of America, earn less than a quarter million dollars per year (< $250,000.00), you will see you taxes decreased- moreso under Obama than under McCain- 3 times more savings according to independent reviews. McCain snickered about Obama saying he wanted to “spread the wealth” as if the Illinois Senator had demanded the nationalization of all privately owned businesses in America. What Obama was trying to illustrate, is that someone making $250,000 or more doesn’t exactly need a tax break of an extra 5-10k as much as the working class citizen who is struggling to get by on $24,000/year. It’s by no means “redistribution of wealth” or even “spreading the wealth around” (I thought those were a bad choice of words by Obama and they guaranteed a GOP talking point in this last debate). The refusal to lower taxes for those who earn far more than 95% of Americans is simply a matter of fairness. In the past 10 years, we have seen the biggest increase in the gap between the middle and upper classes. When the wealthiest people in the world (like Warren Buffet, who very recently eclipsed Bill Gates as the richest American) are supporting Obama and openly admitting that they don’t need the “tax cuts for the rich” that have become the hallmark of the Bush Administration, well, you’ve got a problem with “the Democrat wants to take your hard earned money” argument. Correction- the Democrat in this election wants to make the ultra-rich (and other wealthy individuals who can afford not getting another tax break to help pay for the BMW convertible collecting dust in the 3rd garage) pay their fair share. When you have 95% of people paying 30-35% of their annual wealth to the government, and the other 5% paying (in some cases) a small fraction of that, you’ve got a disparity problem- now more than ever, the government needs tax money to help dig us out of debt and reform the dilapidated state of many government programs. Reducing taxes for everyone across the board sounds like a good thing- but not if it leads to the kind of economic disparity that has been developing for the past decade. I say lower taxes for you and me, and the other 95%, and so be it if the Bush tax cuts expire for a few of the most well off- those folks are not going to be lining up at the unemployment office any time soon.




McCain sees the kind of smears his campaign has unleashed in recent weeks (and subsequent fervor of the “base”) as his last best hope at stemming the rising tide of Barack Obama’s campaign and Democratic politics in general amidst this mounting economic crisis. And it’s not over. In the absence of any sensible policy or any alternative recourse, over the final 19 days John McCain and his attack “Barricuda” Sarah Palin are going to do everything in their power to paint Obama as unpatriotic and unfit to serve as our Commander in Chief because of his very loose past associations with radical peoples (the Obama campaign (with the exception of the very relevant “Keating 5” documentary) could very easily point out that McCain and Palin can both be (much, much more closely) linked to very controversial reactionary and criminal figures….. but why would the front-runner have to stoop to that level anyway?). The trouble is, Independent and undecided voters have overwhelmingly rejected this smear and fear ploy. The only ones excited are those already voting for McCain- and with the current state of the race, that does not bode well for his presidential hopes.

Regardless of what happens in the final stretch or what happened last night (John McCain lost that's what)... I've had enough for quite some time.


I’m still voting for "THAT ONE".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_quixote

http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/politics?type=politicsNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B7tmRCRJt2YFzDsa7MJ1CblL&src=blogBurst_politicsNews&bbPostId=BF6o6Ah6YbQsBzEEoxEXTVdiCzETk4D412NRcB8O16d734rO8&bbParentWidgetId=B7tmRCRJt2YFzDsa7MJ1CblL

The Final Debate

John McCain "shook things up" once again today by announcing a new economic plan. Obama continued to deflect smears of his "Bill Ayers terrorist" associations (turns out a wealthy Republican, and big-time McCain donor (Walter Annenburg) was the founder of the public education project ("The Annenburg Challenge" of whose board Obama, Ayers, and others sat on), but has been mostly prepping for tomorrow night's debate.

This may be John McCain's last chance to slow down Barack Obama's nationwide momentum. Obama is up anywhere from 4 to 14 points in all major polls and is leading in enough states to virtually guarantee his election- were that the election held today! Polls mean nothing and ballots mean everything. Only on November 4th will we know how the two campaigns end.

This race will get much closer before the end- the media will ensure that (they have an interest in making the elections as close as possible, and exciting- it brings more viewers which bring more advertising dollars). I think though, that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to continue convincing people that they are our country's best opportunity for a return to great leadership and prosperity for all rungs of the economic ladder (the wealthy, the middle-class, and those who don't have much at all).

This the third and last presidential debate of the 2008 Election airs at 8:00CST on all major broadcast stations (ABC, FOX, CBS, etc.) as well as PBS. Do yourself a good deed and watch it, even if you think you've made up your mind. You might be inclined to reconsider casting your vote for that McCain-Palin ticket....

Obama/Biden '08
United We Stand

Obama Wins Second Debate According to Independent Voters

Well once again, if you looked to foxnews.com to see who won last night's debate you see that McCain was the heavy favorite. But if you then went over to cnn.com, msnbc.com, or abcnews.com the voters decided largely in favor of Obama taking the night handily and looking and sounding more presidential.

Let's be honest- after the ramped-up attacks coming from both sides leading up to this showdown, the debate was underwhelming to say the least. I think voters wanted to see the candidates get even more personal, and really drive home the contrasts us voters face in this coming election. But, then of course, the candidates have to weigh risk when considering breaking out of the conventional. Even a minor gaffe can cause poll numbers to dip- this is something McCain cannot possibly afford right now (Obama is up 52-41% in the latest Gallup tracking poll); and this is not something that Barack Obama is interested in, while already in the midst of solidifying his lead without using any kind of "game-changing" tactic(s)).

I've scoured the net, and most reviews are as partisan as you'd expect. Something that might bode well for the current front-runner though, is that far more editorials and articles agreed that Obama was the clear victor last night. At best, McCain lost by not convincingly (to anyone other than his current supporters) winning the debate.



Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/07/politics/horserace/entry4508356.shtml

The Keating 5

In a move that's being called "political jujitsu", the Obama campaign is hitting back hard- before being fully punched themselves. The McCain campaign's strategy is now to go increasingly negative, putting Barack Obama's character into question by exacerbating Obama's association with the infamous David Ayers, Tony Rezko, and Obama's former fiery pastor Jeremiah Wright. Because well, all else has obviously failed.

What is interesting is that all of these so-called unacceptable associations of Obama have been deeply scrutinized by the press and the public- vis-a-vis, the long, drawn out, patience-trying Democratic Primary. Yes, we know that The Weather Underground committed some terrible acts (some of which included pipe bombings) in the early 70's when Barack was around 8 years old. And yes we know that Tony Rezko has been accused of inappropriate campaign financing and generally being a "slum lord" of low-income Chicago neighborhood housing projects.

And we also have already been told about (and have seen and heard- over, and over, and over again) Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church. The people of America saw these guilt-by-association charges (almost exclusively by the Hillary Clinton campaign), and a majority of them saw that, really, this was merely unflattering coincidence, and Obama had done nothing wrong by simply coming into contact with and knowing these figures.

But... in the interest of non-partisanship and full access to information (however dubious), here's a quick reminder:

1). First Obama met Bill Ayres when he was recommended by another community leader in Chicago to sit on the board of a city committee to improve education (and again later on a committee fight poverty in Chicago). Obama and Ayers (now a Professor of Education at UIC) live in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. I sure hope I am not considered equally as culpable for past events as some people who have lived in my neighborhoods or whom I have worked with or gone to school with.

2). Barack met Tony Rezko during his time in Chicago politics as Rezko was a big name in the inner circles back then (esp. Democratic political inner circles). The hoopla of the GOP-attacks is that Tony Rezko is currently under indictment for improper campaign financing. This is something Obama had nothing to do with. Then there is the case of Obama seemingly getting a favor by purchasing (jointly) a piece of land in Chicago with Rezko's wife, making the land Obama purchased slightly cheaper than he would have paid had he not included the piece that Rezko's wife paid for. Obama himself has asserted that while he did nothing illegal, it was a "bone-headed" move. Again, Barack Obama did nothing wrong simply by knowing Rezko- after finding out that (the now-indicted) Rezko had made campaign donations to his presidential bid, all of the funds were donated to charity.

3). Lastly, we have the lovely accused un-patriotic (despite the fact he was a Marine), racist (despite the fact that Trinity United has many white members and Rev. Wright is constantly working with white Catholic and Protestant churches across Chicago), and all-around crazy pastor that Obama sat and watched attentively for 20 years. The problem with this charge is that Obama was not in attendence for most, if not all of the so-called "inflammatory sermons". Which brings us to the next point- the (then) Hillary, and (now) GOP-created ads show only snippets of those sermons. If you see any of the entire sermons (or at least more than the sound bite- to get real "context") and actually listen to what is being said, you'll see that Rev. Wright is not being racist or unsympathetic or unpatriotic at all- he is simply try to make a much larger point, which is actually, much more Christian sounding than you'd think after hearing those cheap sound bites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ

Heck, if I am responsible for everything my priest (and any I have heard sermon from) has said, I'm in big trouble. I don't agree with everything the "Church" or the "pastor" says, but that doesn't mean I don't get some spiritual nourishment from going to church. I know I am not the only American who feels this way.

The issue of this 2008 election is The Economy. It's no secret that Republicans have long been opponents of federal regulation and oversight, and staunchly believe that "business knows best; let government get out of the way". Well, here's where this mess landed us (the Dow Jones just dropped over 500 and closed below 1000 points for the first time since 2004). If you're old enough you may remember a scandal back in the 80's and early 90's called "The Savings & Loans crisis". At the forefront of that crisis was an influential group of Senators who accepted bribes from an investment banker named Charles Keating in exchange for "political services" aimed at decreasing federal banking regulation which eventually allowed making the buying and selling of (and keeping on the books) ultra-risky and junk investments completely acceptable- nation wide. What this illusion of wealth did, was create exactly the same kind of perfect storm of accounting scandal on a grand scale that we are seeing right now in the current economic crisis. Without strict regulation and governmental oversight, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past- like we just did.

And this isn't character assassination, or "guilt by association", nor is it partisan. In fact, 4 of the Keating 5 senators were Democrats- only McCain was a Republican. I guess its no wonder why Newt Gingrich, Anne Coulter, and other extreme right-wing conservatives are embarrassed by his nomination as their candidate, especially now (although they feign to argue that, "W-w-well, that Obama guy is worse! He's a terrorist, y'know!!"). And so, I guess this is why John McCain freaks out every time someone mentions the national economy. He remembers his own, "guilt by involvement":