All the News Unfit Print for Thursday, November 6, 2008
Important: This year's turnout was only slightly higher than 2004
Urban legends will abound about this year's voter turnout.. but for the record, turnout was only slightly higher than it was in 2004.. As a matter of fact, lesser Republican numbers led to a smaller number in turnout than what was expected.. In 2004, 122 million Americans voted in the general election. This year, according to the American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate, this year's turnout rose about 1%...
The McCain attack dogs are looking for blood.. the McCainiacs are blaming the Palin pick for their loss--and blaming Bill Kristol for giving advice to Sarah Palin..
All the News Unfit Print for Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Inside Pennsylvania..
REUTERS But according to the exit polls, most of the Clinton Democrats went with Obama. Among the 17 percent of the Democrats who supported Clinton, Obama won 81-19.
McCain was banking on his Palin pick being able to sway the Hillary supporters his way. It apparently didn't work in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, or the cities East and West. McCain may even be struggle in parts of the infamous "T" that makes up the mid-state area..
So far John McCain has not lost any red states.. South Carolina went to McCain.. But NBC news has called Pennsylvania for Obama..
NOTE: ABC and NBC have called it, no precincts are in yet, other networks are waiting..
..being reporting by the Huffington Post unfiltered and other websites.. They should be filtered--and may not be able to be trusted..
Florida looks blue.. Iowa looks blue.. Missouri may be blue.. North Carolina blue.. Nevada blue.. Pennsylvania blue.. Ohio blue.. New Mexico blue.. Michigan hugely blue.. Minnesota blue.. McCain red in Georgia..and West Virginia..
Americans feeling blue.. in more ways than one in 2008..
ZOGBY poll concludes that McCain is tracking upwards in the past hours..FiveThirtyEight.com on that interesting Zogby poll being touted by the Drudge Report: "Zogby polls are generally a lagging rather than a leading indicator. This is because he splits his interviewing period over two days; most of the interviews that were conducted in this sample took place on Thursday night, with a few this afternoon"
Other polls still give Obama a massive lead over the McCain campaign.. most electoral college watchers paint little chance for McCain to overtake Obama in electoral votes..
**
More on the polls: The AP reporting that Obama voters are happy and McCain voters aren't. But the McCain camp is "jazzed up" about the latest polls. No word on whether literally Jazzy Jets are involved..
Not happy today: Obama's aunt, who is in the country illegally according to the AP.
Nooo!!! Really!? Study confirms that media has been pro-Obama in 2008.. Just ask Hillary Clinton.. you didn't need a study to confirm the obvious. Oh, by the way the sun is bright during the daytime hours, study confirms.
Maybe he won't be the best of luck, Barack? Al Gore visits Florida in effort to help out Obama campaign..
Also maybe not the best way to get votes in the last hours, Barack: Obama attacks people that don't want higher taxes as being "selfish"..
McCain: "He measuring the drapes.. and this week he settled on a chief of staff.. "we're coming back strong"..
Candidates in overdrive. Close your ears! They won't stop talking!
NASCAR, WAL-MART, and Central Pennsylvania: McCainiancs come home
The Keystone State of Pennsylvania is interesting. John McCain has been tirelessly campaigning in the state while Democrats stand and scratch their heads with confusion as to why..
McCain has been hoping that his upset victory in 2008 starts with Pennsylvania.. He's been talking non-stop to residents in PA via call, mail, and personal visits. He's been spending a lot of time in places like Pottsville, PA, small towns in Central Pennsylvania, crowds in Hershey PA.. And now the Keystone State has become the Woodstock of the McCain camp.. According to reporting from the Washington POST, people from other states are traveling to Pennsylvania to support their candidate John McCain. McCain is hoping that the same Democrats that led Hillary Clinton to a late spring Pennsylvania win votes for him. PA doesn't have early voting--so he's hoping his supposed 'comeback' helps in the last 48 hours in Pennsylvania..
But I truly doubt it will come down to Pennsylvania. Think of this: PA has 67 counties.. in 2002, Ed Rendell won the state with only the few counties in the extreme Southeast and he dashed any hopes for an African American Republican in PA with a landslide victory over Lynn Swann in 2006. And look at this: County by county in 2004 in Pennsylvania. John Kerry won a mere 13 counties of 67. And he won the state's 21 electoral votes because the counties he won has the biggest population in the state..
For McCain to win PA on Tuesday and score this dramatic upset, the stars may have to align. If get out the vote campaigns are successful in Southeast PA, it would be incomprehensible to think that the midstate or Central PA area can come up with enough votes to surpass Philadelphia and other suburbs of the city.. When Philadelphia votes, so goes the state..
A victory for McCain in Pennsylvania would not only be an upset, but a miracle. Miracles happen..I guess.
But rarely. Expect 2008's PA to go for Obama, even if he only wins 19% of the real estate--it's the population in the 19% that matters..
"Vanessa Niekamp said that when she was asked to run a child-support check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher on Oct. 16, she thought it routine. A supervisor told her the man had contacted the state agency about his case.
Niekamp didn't know she just had checked on "Joe the Plumber," who was elevated the night before to presidential politics prominence as Republican John McCain's example in a debate of an average American.
The senior manager would not learn about "Joe" for another week, when she said her boss informed her and directed her to write an e-mail stating her computer check was a legitimate inquiry.
The reason Niekamp said she was given for checking if there was a child-support case on Wurzelbacher does not match the reason given by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
With three days left (and a LOT of talk about Joe the Plumber to the point that we're all sick of Joe's plumbing) expect to hear a lot more about the interesting tale of whatever occurred in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services..
All the News Unfit Print for Friday, October 31, 2008
McCain on SNL; Affleck to play Olbermann
The POLITICO and Drudge playing up a skit tomorrow night on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE that leaked its way across the net today: Keith Olbermann played by Ben Affleck, mocked as a deranged man that lives with his mother.
Olbermann was happy he was portrayed on SNL finally after all these years. McCain's presence tomorrow shows just how important the show has become to the political process--after all, it's the only lone satirical show played nationwide in the United States. McCain is set for his cameo
While this may be a huge deal for Republicans anxious for a bounce a week before the Super-est of Tuesdays, it's worth remembering: 2004's likely voters are not 2008's likely voters.. A bigger base of people coming out this year means these numbers could be skewed too much towards the old 20th century..
All the News Unfit Print for Saturday, October 25, 2008
Within the McCain camp: The Palin insurgency!
Mike Segar/Reuters She's gonna make it after all!
The POLITICO's Ben Smith reporting that increasingly tense campaign stops have greeted Sarah Palin and her aides.. Former Bush aides tasked to handle and control Palin have reported to the POLITICO that she increasingly is on her own, often blaming the handlers for her tarnished public image. One senior Republican aide told Smith for his report that Palin intends to go "rogue" and get even more "rogue" at campaign events.
And what if John McCain would have chosen Tom Ridge? Perhaps things would be a lot closer in Pennsylvania..
And speaking of the Keystone State, MSNBC's FIRST READ reporting that the Obama team feels PA is theirs to lose..
""John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I’m voting for a Democrat for president.
"I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amidst the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia," says the Republican."
"The choice is made easy in part by Mr. McCain's disappointing campaign, above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president. It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race. Yes, we have reservations and concerns, almost inevitably, given Mr. Obama's relatively brief experience in national politics. But we also have enormous hopes.
...
IT GIVES US no pleasure to oppose Mr. McCain. Over the years, he has been a force for principle and bipartisanship. He fought to recognize Vietnam, though some of his fellow ex-POWs vilified him for it. He stood up for humane immigration reform, though he knew Republican primary voters would punish him for it. He opposed torture and promoted campaign finance reform, a cause that Mr. Obama injured when he broke his promise to accept public financing in the general election campaign. Mr. McCain staked his career on finding a strategy for success in Iraq when just about everyone else in Washington was ready to give up. We think that he, too, might make a pretty good president.
But the stress of a campaign can reveal some essential truths, and the picture of Mr. McCain that emerged this year is far from reassuring. To pass his party's tax-cut litmus test, he jettisoned his commitment to balanced budgets. He hasn't come up with a coherent agenda, and at times he has seemed rash and impulsive. And we find no way to square his professed passion for America's national security with his choice of a running mate who, no matter what her other strengths, is not prepared to be commander in chief. ...
The POST concludes:
"But Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment."
Joe the blunder! Thanks for nothing! Joe the plumber's fortunes turn
He has no plumber's license even though the county he lives in requires plumbers to have them .. and the Ohio Department of Taxation placed a lien against Joe because $1,183 in personal property taxes had not been paid. Oh, and Joe's 2006 income was $40,000, which would qualify him for the Obama tax increase.
McCain forced Joe into our lives. I bet Joe wishes he could quickly escape.....
All the News Unfit Print for Sunday, October 12, 2008
Feeling blue: 23 and counting.. my election predictions
The election is nasty.. Hateful for some..
But I am going to make my election prediction. Things are changing by the day. But I am predicting an Obama win--actually an Obama landslide, one like we have not seen in several election cycles.
With 270 electoral votes needed for victory, I am predicting Obama easily wins the overall popular vote. I also feel he will handily gain the electoral college, which as we all know is the only way to win.
My map shows McCain with 201 electoral votes and Obama with 337..
The map:
As you can see, I am predicting McCain loses and Obama wins in the following swing states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri.. I also predict an Obama win in North Carolina .. McCain will keep the deep South--but with smaller margins of victory than Bush in 2000 and 2008. McCain will end of losing New Mexico.. Minnesota .. and Indiana.
The next debate is coming up this week .. I don't feel that 2008 will be as divided as previous election, I also do not feel there is any way the electoral college will be tied. Further, there will be no reason for networks to wait late into the night without knowing for sure who won this November's election.
Congress will be controlled by Democrats.. as will the Senate.
It's been a long eight years.. Democrats will gain this year in huge numbers due to the newer younger voters (that will actually vote this year) .. and from two wars, and the sudden impact of the economic crisis. McCain's last minute campaign tactics have been foolish looking. He's all over the proverbial map, issuing policy plans at his own whims during debates and suspending his campaign as a stunt.
It all failed for one simple reason: Campaign officials didn't let John McCain be himself. Instead, they reinvented him as George W. Bush .. That's not why people liked him in 2000. Barack Obama ran one of the greatest campaigns in history, trouncing the likely nominee Hillary Clinton, and dominating TVs, internet, radio, and other forms of media. And he got a lot of free help from major media officials, who often let their own biases outweigh their good sense for reporting. Legs were quivering with excitement all over American newsrooms the night Obama accepted his party's nomination. And they haven't stopped yet.
The tingling, quivering, and excitement will be at record highs on election night. McCain, once a media darling, was crumbled up and thrown into a trash heap like any other piece of paper.
And then what? Politics as usual. Party fighting party. But the victory Obama gets this year will give him a mandate for change.. But McCain's ultimate failure is that all year, he never did anything to tell Americans why he felt Obama's change was wrong for America.. Instead, his aimless twists and turns have led his campaign events into angry give and take sessions with people frightened of Barack Obama..
How sad it got.
We'll check back in a 24 days to see how well I did.
But I strongly believe that this election will not be close..
While I didn't put up my official election prediction yet (that's coming later today), it's clear that if McCain loses this year, it may be due to the overall self-destructive nature of him, Palin, and his own base of supporters.. This week, man at a Palin rally displayed a monkey donning an Obama sticker..CBS offers an interesting account,
"After Palin finished her remarks this morning, the man holding the stuffed monkey seemed to notice that a video camera was pointed at him, at which point he removed the Obama sticker from the doll's head and crumpling it up in his hand. He then handed the doll to a young boy who was watching the rally from his father's shoulders. The boy's parents later told CBS News that they weren't acquainted with the man who gave their son the stuffed monkey"
But the question is this: Is it right for CBS news to display the video it does on its site of this man slowly hiding the monkey.. John McCain has *finally* spoken out against the more vile of anger against Obama.. Or is CBS further inflaming race relations..?
All the News Unfit Print for Saturday, October 11, 2008
O U T - O F
CONTROL!
MCCAIN FIGHTS BACK AGAINST HIS OWN CROWDS AT RALLIES
Tries to quell flames of Obama hatred at his public events..
Appears to be getting angry at his own fans as they grow in hatred and fear of Barack Obama
All the News Unfit Print for Tuesday, October 7, 2008
"That one" .. and with that, did McCain lose the election?
The debate was so boring, you may have missed the most important moment of the entire election thus far...
And with that, is it over for the McCain camp?
OR just beginning...?
"Mr. McCain has solid leads in states with 160 electoral votes and is well positioned in states with another 40 electoral votes, according to the Times tally, for a total of 200. Just six states representing 78 electoral votes — Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia — are tossups.
Mr. Obama appears to have significantly more options to reach the 270 threshold, particularly if Mr. McCain fails to win any states that Democrats won in 2004, like Pennsylvania, where the Republican ticket has been competing especially vigorously
The next month will obviously make or break the campaigns. The perpetual stories on the "October surprise" which .. maybe won't happen this year, who knows? But on the pure level of momentum, the Obama campaign has it. Regardless of your opinion on his candidacy, his marketing campaign has been brilliant. He even has his own coding for iPhones. McCain's team is lagging far behind--just as Obama makes history by advertising on satellite TV.
"Of the four Democratic states where Mr. McCain is competing, his aides said he viewed Pennsylvania — the biggest of them — as offering him the best chance. Mr. Obama lost the Democratic primary there to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton."
I just don't see that. I'm from Pennsylvania, too, but I think Obama is safe for Obama..
"That is not a fanciful battle: There are plausible outcomes that would leave the two men with a 269-269 electoral vote tie, forcing the election into the House of Representatives"
As someone who watches too much news on TV, I hope for the 269 to 269 vote. Living history. It would be fun..
AFP/Stan Honda
"But McCain is in as bad or worse shape in other battleground states. Barring a dramatic change, he is on course to lose Iowa and New Mexico, both states barely won by President Bush four years ago in his narrow victory over Democrat John F. Kerry. And he and the Republican National Committee this week began pouring money into Indiana and North Carolina, reliably Republican states where the Obama campaign has made strong advances and polls indicate the candidates are roughly tied"
All the News Unfit Print for Friday, October 3, 2008
There's no place like Wasilla
Reaction to the Biden Palin debate has been fully aired on TV, radio, and Internet all day--plus on factory floors and around office water coolers across America.
Judging from ratings of the event, lots of people got the chance to talk about the debate today.
Record setting. The overall rating of BidenPalin: 45.0, which means 45% of all TV households in the country tuned in.
The Neilsons off the charts; 69,989,000 viewers. The most viewed since the PerotBushClinton debate in 1992. The biggest vice presidential debate--of all time. And higher ratings than Obama vs McCain..
Today, the Barracuda from Wasilla has taken the fight against the media--perhaps McCain's last best hope to energize the base .. a base smaller this year as target markets have been registered to vote in record masses by the Obama campaign..
Random rakings
A NEW DAY? 
HIS LAST CHANCE..NOW THE COMEBACK?
REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008
(USA)
The debate's over .. Joe the Plumber .. a new character as popular as Bob the Builder? Maybe not. But Joe the Plumber is 
Reaction to the Biden Palin debate has been fully aired on TV, radio, and Internet all day--plus on factory floors and around office water coolers across America.
Judging from ratings of the event, lots of people got the chance to talk about the debate today.
