From the St. Petersburg Times, undecided voters are now on our side BECAUSE of Palin!


ST. PETERSBURG — Five weeks ago, the St. Petersburg Times convened a group of Tampa Bay voters who were undecided about the presidential election. Their strong distrust of Barack Obama suggested it was a group ripe for John McCain to win over.

Not anymore. The group has swung dramatically, if unenthusiastically, toward Democrat Obama. Most of them this week cited the same reason: Sarah Palin.

"The one thing that frightens me more than anything else are the ideologues. We've seen too many," said 80-year-old Air Force veteran Donn Spegal, a lifelong Republican from St. Petersburg, who sees McCain's new running mate as the kind of "wedge issue" social conservative that has made him disenchanted with his party



http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stat...

I put in 1 1/2 hours calling people from the local Panera. Vast majority of people were not home, or were not answering their phones. There were a couple of good signs, first I sat beside a man in his 50s and after hearing him talking on the phone I had to ask him, "are you really a republican?"...yep, a lifelong repub who voted the Bush both times, said the beginning of the turn around was the Schiavo case plus seeing what a mess we are now in. He is now volunteering as much as he can for Obama!

Secondly, I talked to a woman on the phone who said she was leaning towards Obama. I asked which issue was most important to her, she said until this week she would have said Pro-Life. But presently it's the Economy. That gave me a lot of hope, I generally bitch about single issue voters who gave us Bush because they thought they were saving the innocent...But maybe some of them are turning around!

Yes, I'm a registered Democrat in Ohio who somehow got on the McCain camp list....I'm guessing cause I'm a woman, but maybe not...

the latest email/invite from them:



I find this kind of funny because Vienna Ohio has a population of about 4,000 people.
But the bigger question is WHY is this a "Victory Rally"...What the hell did they win?

And didja notice the name of the venue? "Winner Aviation"
what a joke....

have you seen the latest cover?
I think the illustration is awesome.

Good post from Michael Seitzman...

Don't you get it? I'm not insulting Sarah Palin, SHE IS INSULTING ME.

I'm not required to take her seriously simply because she's a woman and I might offend some people by tearing her down with irony and satire. I'm not required to take her seriously simply because this crotchety old man has insulted all of us, women and men, by smugly assuring us that he is the arbiter of experience and readiness. I'm not required to take her seriously when she actually was chosen, not because of her experience, but because of her appearance.

This is a woman chosen because of her attractiveness, both physically and ideologically, to a particular type of person. That person is not looking for depth. Not remotely. That person is looking for things that are just plain wrong. Not different, wrong. And one of those things is a padlock on your uterus. Now let's talk about sexism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-seit...

in an interview the Reverend Rick Warren speaks about Sarah Palin:

After co-host Kathryn Milofsky tried to get Warren to imagine what question he would ask Palin about "her faith, her politics," Warren at first let out a belly laugh, perhaps signaling his unwillingness to step into the political fray. "Actually, she called me yesterday," Warren said, adding: "The question I asked her was, "How can I pray for you? ... She asked me to send her some bible verses on how do you deal with all of the unfair, unjust attacks and the mean-spirited criticism that comes in."


and AGAIN, how the hell is she going to handle ANY VP responsibilities if she is so thin skinned?

it's so obvious they are just going for sympathy.
'
Blech....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/10/r...

(added link)

my fourth grade son's class talked about the election today. He brought home this month's "Time for Kids" (it's a monthly mini-mag for school agers, from Time Magazine--and the cover shot is a great photo of Obama).

His first story was to tell me that I was right when I guessed that his friend Max's parents were supporting McCain (sometimes you can just tell..)... he was very disappointed, but managed to sway max to his side by telling him about the wolves and polar bears, how McCain votes against equal pay for women and that he wants to stay in Iraq. (very funny, I guess he DOES listen to me sometimes!)

Second story, the smartest girl in his class took a poll on the playground today; question: who are your parents are voting for?
the results: 33 parents are voting for Obama; 10 parents are voting for McCain! this is a very red area of central ohio. and of course, the smartest girl in the class is backing Obama!!!

I am sick of hearing about the Palins being a "strong family" I'm not sure I really know what that means, but it seems to give them a free ticket for a lot of negatives...
I just found this in an article from Time:

Just as Ms. Palin terminated employees on her way into office, she also let some go on the way out, including Mr. Cramer. When Ms. Palin completed her second and final term, in 2002, her stepmother-in-law, Faye Palin, was running to succeed her. It seemed like a good idea, except that Faye Palin supported abortion rights and was registered as unaffiliated, not Republican, people who remember the race said. Sarah Palin sided instead with Dianne M. Keller, a religious conservative and an ally on the City Council. Ms. Keller won.

Strikes me as odd that you would endorse your step-mother-in-law's opponent. I would think maybe if you didn't like her you should just not endorse anyone? but maybe that's just me. FYI, I wouldn't vote for my mother-in-law; but I wouldn't endorse her opponent...hmmm, maybe my family is "stronger" than the Palins?????

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/polit...

She states concisely and clearly what is wrong with the Palin pick:



The scariest thing I hear about the Palin nomination was that she would appeal to voters because they would be able to relate to her and she to them. I get that. There are many places where relatability is key. I am a recovering addict alcoholic and finding another group that relates to my struggles is/was key to my sobriety. When I am at school I find myself grouping with others whose kids share the same issues, interests. People tell me all the time that the More magazine article where I showed what my real body looked like in comparison to the air brushed images most women are fed, was important and made me relatable. That too is great. The problem is I may be relatable and share some of your experiences and concerns but you don't want me as president of United States. Relatability gets you nothing in a complex financial crisis. Relatability doesn't help you understand the Gordian knot of trouble in the Middle East. Relatability doesn't help you untangle the obscenity which is our health care and insurance system and relatability doesn't train the hundreds of thousands of new teachers and repair and rebuild the smashed infrastructure and schools where they work.

I couldn't hold my own for one minute in a debate on any issue with someone like a Barack Obama or Joseph Biden and neither can Sarah Palin. When the call comes at 3AM I want a mind who was at the top of their class, who has gravitas and a real intellect. I want a leader who is a scholar who can hold the history of civilization in his head and will read and learn from the past as he charts the future. Real debates, where issues are explored, are the only way, prior to an election, to get the two candidates and their running mates to share their ideas and plans for the myriad contingencies they will/might face. This isn't a test. We don't get a re-do. This is the hardest time this generation has ever faced and people are all scared about the economy, our health care and mostly our children's futures. That is what millions of Americans and I can relate to.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-cu...

(Please??)

the campaign is holding a t-shirt design contest, winner gets their shirt produced and sold on the web site AND one shirt signed by Obama!
I did two...I probably don't have much of a chance, there are some GREAT designs here!

here are mine:



and I'm disappointed in the image this one (illustrator to photoshop to preview image...the blue box looks like crap!)



and here is the link to the web page where you can vote...they both say submitted by Tammy...
http://www.teesbythepeople.com/page/0/rece...

this is good for a laugh, found it on Huff Po; from Lee Camp..

I got a voice mail today from the Ohio GOP; asking me to vote for John McCain, female voice, they used his name at least 5 times. I was registered as an independent until this spring, when I figured I might as well register Dem since it's the way I vote. So a couple things,
1. they are working from old call lists. (I'm not sure how soon my new registration would take, but seems like they would be able to pull it up by now).
2. they are worried. this is pretty early for what sounded like a desperate attempt to gain my vote.

So I think this is good news. Maybe it's the Obama barn painting that has them a little scared...

From HuffPo
Trish Mitchell

Do this some time: get to advanced search on eBay.com, type in Obama, click completed listings only, then choose "highest price + postage" from the drop down menu on the list of items. Then do the same for McCain.

For months now, I've been running this random check of the popularity of the two candidates' memorabilia. You don't have to work too hard to know whose stuff sells more quickly and at a higher price.


Official-Sounding Caveat: This is not definitive. The results merely reflect eBay-shopper preferences, not those of the general U.S. voting population.... But you can root out some figures (and insights) worthy of note.

Search Obama: 12,443 items sold.

In fact, in the last 2 weeks, another 13 of those prints sold for between $US 2975 and $US 1500 -- mostly they went in the low $US 2K range. Another maybe 15 more went for between $US 900 and $US 700. A rather tacky Fairey print of Obama's face superimposed on Abraham Lincoln's sold for $US 900 -- numerous copies in fact have sold for around or just below that price. A signed copy of Obama's "Dreams from My Father" (free postage) went for $633.78. I checked through more than 110 items to find something selling for less than $100, then I got bored .. so who knows how many items sold in the last 3 weeks for more or less than $100.

OK.



Signed McCain postcard: sold for $445.00


Now search McCain: 2,659 items found.

Hmmm, 12,443, take away 2,659.. umm, that's 9,784 more Obama stuff selling than McCain stuff.

And that's just the start.

On August 4, a personally autographed John McMain postcard sold on eBay for $US 445.00. And that was the highest selling item in the last 3 weeks.

On August 3, McCain's 1999 memoir, "Faith of My Fathers" (free shipping) signed by the candidate scored a top bid of just $US 122.50.

Of the total 51 other McCain items which sold in the same 3 weeks, only 1 went for over $300 -- most were below $US 80, several in the the mid-$US 200s. I only had to search 12 items to find McCain stuff selling at less than $100. There were 12 as opposed to 1 gazillion for Obama.

So, what do the eBay numbers suggest? What conclusions can we draw? That Obama supporters are eBay addicts with too much spare change? That McCain supporters are just learning about the intertubes and eBay and don't have a lot of cash to throw away on memorabilia? That Obama craftsmen make better stuff? Maybe. Or maybe not. We need a professional eBay pundit class, an eBay cable station dedicated 24/7 to reading meaning (or utter nonsense) into our interest in buying the election campaign stuff!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trish-mitche...

what do you think?



I realize they're having a friendly chat, but doesn't it look a little confrontational? and my money would be on Kerri Walsh.

from HuffPo:



Following Obama's trip abroad, it looked like the McCain campaign had lost a key talking point about Obama's failure to visit Iraq and Afghanistan recently enough.

But have no fear. Here's McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds on CNN today:

In fact, never met with President Uribe in Colombia, as John McCain has. He has still yet to take a trip to Mexico City to have those meetings there and his relationship with Canada, I think, took a turbulent roll through the primaries. So I think actually if you're to look at the experience of both candidates, that there are very telling differences.


These meetings that Barack Obama had taken throughout the week were a lot of meetings that John McCain was making for the fifth, sixth or seventh time in many cases, and these were his first meetings. So to compare them on the substance, we think, is really incomparable.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/m...

so will Obama need to visit EVERY country McCain has been in? and do they REALLY want him to continue his world tour? the last one made McCain look bad, imo....