So the GOP Doesn’t Like “Celebrities” who Visit Europe, Speak Well & are Adored?
August 5, 2008
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Here is a new ad coming from the Democrats which is aimed at pointing out the sheer hypocrisy, and down right baseless attacks that have been levied at Democratic hopeful Barack Obama over the last week or so. Specifically this spot takes on the notion that McCain and company have been pathetically attempting to peddle, which claims Obama is too much like a “celebrity”, and because of the high levels of adoration both here and abroad, that he is somehow disqualified or discredited too run the country. Oh how far this country has lowered it’s bar of expectations over the last eight years - clearly another Bush success story…
Is Colorado the New Ohio? How the Rocky Mountain Swing State Could Decide the Election
July 14, 2008
There has been a lot of talk regarding the electoral map “swing states” as of late. A particular focus has been put on Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri all states where the current polls are close, but reflect similar numbers at this time back in 2000 and 2004. That is why electoral experts have begun to believe that Colorado will ultimately decide the 2008 election - and this is not an assertion that should be taken lightly either. Those arguing that Colorado is very likely in deciding the ‘08 election have quite a compelling argument on their side - one that makes more and more sense as each day passes, and state polls are released.
Barack Obama Begins Shifting to the Middle: The Move Has Some on the Far Left Angry
June 24, 2008
One of the introductory lessons you learn in a political science class is that candidates running for President, on both sides of the aisle, will run their primary campaign in a way that focuses solely on their party base. Then, in the general election that follows they will shift their aim towards the independent voter, which means they will begin to shift away from their core constituency towards the middle, in an attempt to get the ever so important “undecided” vote.
The McCain Campaign Has a New Message: “No, You Can’t”
May 16, 2008
I am sure all of you out there are familiar with, or have seen first hand the amazing Will.I.Am produced music videos promoting Barack Obama that attempt to highlight positive aspects of the candidate such as showing the unity candidate he truly is and the diversely widespread foundation of support he has formed across the United States really is, spanning from young to old — rural, to urban, east to west.
Well it appears as though McCain’s people have been at work with their own version of the “Yes We Can” styled music video, which is now available for the general public to view. However I think the message is kind of a tough one in terms of — well, in terms of getting votes…From anyone none the less. I urge you to take a second and give the video a look, and then hear what you think about the new and “less then optimistic” message John McCain and the GOP are running with.
- BarelyPolitical.com: No, You Can’t!
Election Interest Among American’s Is Slowly Fading
April 15, 2008
As the current primary trudges on for what now feels like it’s 100th year public interest in campaign news has declined steadily in the month of April, dropping last week to 33% of the public paying “very close” attention to campaign news. This serves as quite a sharp decline from the unprecedented high of 44% of American’s old enough to vote following the election news “very closely,” which subsequently hit in the mid/late weeks of February:
As for gaging what this statistical drop means for the candidates, I would have to believe that Barack Obama isn’t losing any sleep in knowing that less people are following the daily campaign happenings closely, simply because if they were they would be inundated with the ongoing “Great Democrat Slash and Burn” hosted by resident ax wielder, Hillary Clinton.
Insight Into the Mind Of Barack Obama: This Man Is Truly Amazing
March 13, 2008
I was looking through various policy papers doing some research for a piece I plan to do on Barack Obama’s astuteness regarding the issues when I came across this. It initially struck me as politically brilliant, but then as I continued to read on I began to see what the message was, and it was then I realized that this is the perfect example of why our country needs Senator Barack Obama. Though on the surface this may appear as simply another political memo, but when you take a minute to really read what he’s saying, you realize it is a window into what kind of man Barack Obama really is. His uncanny ability to take on issues, no matter how big or polarizing they may be, in this case it’s the topic of abortion, Obama manages to see the whole situation, both sides equally included.
He refrains from baseless, rhetoric filled attacks on those who may disagree with him, and instead opts to take into account the oppositions point of view, and manages to understand it. No hate, or “abomination” threats or defense, just rational and civil discourse, in which all aspects and viewpoints are considered. Here is the piece written by Senator Barack Obama that I am referring too:
A few days after I won the Democratic nomination in my U.S. Senate race, I received an email from a doctor at the University of Chicago Medical School . . .[T]he reason the doctor was considering not voting for me was not simply my position on abortion. Rather, he had read an entry that my campaign had posted on my website, which suggested that I would fight “right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman’s right to choose.” The doctor went on to write:
“I sense that you have a strong sense of justice…and I also sense that you are a fair minded person with a high regard for reason…Whatever your convictions, if you truly believe that those who oppose abortion are all ideologues driven by perverse desires to inflict suffering on women, then you, in my judgment, are not fair-minded….You know that we enter times that are fraught with possibilities for good and for harm, times when we are struggling to make sense of a common polity in the context of plurality, when we are unsure of what grounds we have for making any claims that involve others…I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words.”
Fair-minded words.
So I looked at my website and found the offending words. In fairness to them, my staff had written them using standard Democratic boilerplate language to summarize my pro-choice position during the Democratic primary, at a time when some of my opponents were questioning my commitment to protect Roe v. Wade.
Re-reading the doctor’s letter, though, I felt a pang of shame.
It is people like him who are looking for a deeper, fuller conversation about religion in this country. They may not change their positions, but they are willing to listen and learn from those who are willing to speak in fair-minded words. Those who know of the central and awesome place that God holds in the lives of so many, and who refuse to treat faith as simply another political issue with which to score points.
So I wrote back to the doctor, and I thanked him for his advice. The next day, I circulated the email to my staff and changed the language on my website to state in clear but simple terms my pro-choice position. And that night, before I went to bed, I said a prayer of my own - a prayer that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me.
And that night, before I went to bed I said a prayer of my own. It’s a prayer I think I share with a lot of Americans. A hope that we can live with one another in a way that reconciles the beliefs of each with the good of all. It’s a prayer worth praying, and a conversation worth having in this country in the months and years to come. Thank you.
Now take a second and let that sink in, then ask yourself whether or not you can picture George W. Bush, John McCain or even Hillary Rodham Clinton giving that type of insight and respect to an opposing viewpoint, especially when dealing with a subject as touchy as abortion? Well, if you answer yes, I am sorry to say that you are lying yo yourself. This type of advanced political insight has been absent for many years now, replaced instead by vicious, and at times, juvenile, partisanship. Where instead of listening, and learning, every angle of the issue, politicians instead blindly line up behind their party and lambaste anyone who does not agree with them utilizing name calling, political blackmail, and sometimes, disturbing references to religion. And it may be that lack of rational, and open thought that has delivered the United States to our current state of despair.
So as I wrap this up, I want to reiterate that I truly think that this is one more example of Barack Obama’s readiness to become the next President of this country. He will return a sense of responsibility, willingness to listen, and civil discourse to the White House whose corridors have lacked any of these attributes for too long now.
Hillary’s Big Night Doesn’t Translate Into Much Of a Delegate Gain
March 6, 2008
OK, we all agree that Hillary had a successful March 4th in terms of headlines, she successfully snapped her 0-12 losing streak, and through the use of questionable tactics managed to win the coveted states of Texas and Ohio. But the fundamental, and to be honest, most important question is how many delegates did Hillary and Obama pick up last night, and what sort of gain, if any, did she make on him? MSNBC, the leader in this now, hectic, number crunch of an election, breaks down the March 4th delegate totals, and it clearly shows that Hillary failed to cut into Barack Obama’s overall delegate lead, which over the past month and a half has become sizable to say the least.
- In Ohio, Hillary got 73 to Obama’s 62.
- In Vermont, Obama got nine to Hillary’s six.
- In Rhode Island, Hillary got 13 to Obama’s eight.
Texas however is not as simple to breakdown, mainly because the caucus results are still being counted as we speak. According to MSNBC, as of right now Hillary won 46 delegates to his 34. If you include those numbers, she had a net gain of 23 delegates last night. Confusing, yes? Complicated, you betcha, but vital to get correct before being made public? Without a doubt.
Basically the bottom line as of Wednesday night are that Hillary could net anywhere from seven to 10 delegates. This, obviously, is hardly major progress, given Obama’s overall pledged delegate lead of roughly 150 or more. But hey, for a candidate who couldn’t win no matter what she tried 7-10 delegates is a start. That being said, this further enforces the notion that mathematically speaking, Hillary Clinton will not be able to catch, let alone overcome Obama’s enormous pledged delegate lead.
Michigan & Florida Request "Second Chance" Primaries
March 6, 2008
Today Michigan’s Democratic governor and her Republican counterpart in Florida called on the national committees for their respective parties to seat all of their states’ delegates for this summer’s nominating convention. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, are fueling a fire that could lead to a second set of elections or caucuses in the two vitally important states. Michigan and Florida were stripped of all their delegates for next summer’s Democratic National Convention by the Democratic National Committee after they moved thier primary dates up. Republicans, stripped both states of half of their delegates, which is less sever but still quite a blow to the heavily populates states. Governor Granholm of Michigan, who is a Clinton supporter, told the Free Press last night a publicly financed second primary is out of the question due to the states strained economy. Crist on the other habd has said he’s supportive of a do-over election if it means seating the state’s delegates, and that Florida would be able to foot at least a portion, if not all, of the bill.
David Axelrod, a key strategist for Obama, said Wednesday their campaign is open to seating the states’ delegates if a fair way of doing so is reached - meaning not simply giving Clinton delegates from the disallowed primaries.
“I’m not going to get into modes of resolution to this,” he said. “This is the hands of the chairman of the party and the DNC and we will work with whatever they work out.”
Hopefully both parties, specifically the Democrats (due to the closeness of the current race) can come up with some sort of arrangement in which all the parties involved are happy. That includes the millions of voters the two states are home to. That being said, being a Michigander myself, I would advise Clinton and her camp too be weary of a state like Michigan, and just because she won when Barack Obama was not on the ballot, does not mean that the voters of Michigan, specifically those of Michigan’s largest county, Wayne County, are going to vote the same way that they supposedly did months ago.
Hillary Clinton to Make a Surprise Appearance on SNL Tonight
March 2, 2008
Brace yourself ladies and gentlemen, Queen Hillary is planning on making a “surprise” appearance on tonights episode of Saturday Night Live. This is being reported by CNN who apparently was tipped off by an entertainment industry source earlier this afternoon. Upon being contacted a representative for Saturday Night Live would not confirm nor deny the appearance, saying only, It’s a live show, anything can happen.” Speculation began earlier when Clinton did not arrive for a campaign charter flight from Dallas to Columbus, Ohio Saturday evening. The campaign would not comment on Clinton’s whereabouts.
This of course would not be the first time a candidate appeared on SNL unannounced, Democratic candidate Barack Obama made a surprise on Saturday Night Live late last year around Halloween. Moreover this would make sense when looking at Clinton’s new strategy which includes appearing on the John Stewart show Monday, on the eve of the Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont primaries.
Will.I.am Releases Second Obama Video: Watch "We Are the Ones"
March 1, 2008
Will.I.am has released “We Are the Ones“, his second video supporting Senator Barack Obama . His first piece of work, Yes We Can, caught on like wildfire, and this one is no different. Celebrities including Jessica Alba, Ryan Phillipe, George Lopez, and scores of others lend their hand in sharing why they support the long awaited American dream candidate, Barack Obama. Too say this video is moving would be an understatement, it is indescribable and that is why I highly suggest you do yourself a favor and take a look at it below.
