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Saturday, November 1, 2008
Happy Obamas Picture
Senator Dick Durbin's Daughter Christine Dies
Ugh, big hugs to a great man. No words.
Christine A. Durbin, the oldest daughter of Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, died Saturday at age 40, according to a spokesman for the Democratic senator.
Christine Durbin died in a Washington, D.C.-area hospital from complications relating to a congenital heart condition. She had been hospitalized for several weeks, Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said.
Sen. Durbin was with his wife, Loretta Durbin, and family in the Washington, D.C., area on Saturday.
CBS News Survey Shows Democratic Ticket With 19 Point Edge Among Early Voters, 13 Point Lead Among Likely Voters Overall
Honestly, for those of us who wept hot tears in '04, this is just sounding way too good.
(CBS) With just three days left until Election Day, a new CBS News poll finds that the Democratic presidential ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden leads its Republican counterpart by 13 points among likely voters, 54 percent to 41 percent. That margin reflects an increase of two points in the Obama-Biden ticket's lead from a CBS News/New York Times poll released Thursday.
About one in five voters say they have already cast their vote, either in person or through the mail, and these early voters prefer the Democratic ticket by an even greater margin. Obama leads among early voters 57 percent to 38 percent, a nineteen point advantage.
Poll-itics: The Big 5 edition
By GottaLaff
Nate is on MSNBC as I type this. Jinx! There are more details than I'm posting here, but you'll get the idea:
This is beginning to look like a five-state election. Those states are Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. Essentially all relevant electoral scenarios involve some combination of these five states.
I should caution that by far the most likely scenario is that Obama wins some relatively decisive victory of anywhere from 3-12 points in the popular vote. If Obama wins the popular vote by anything in this range, he will find plenty of blue territory, accumulating somewhere between 300-400 electoral votes. The electoral math will matter very little.
We can probably assume, however, that IF the national polls tighten significantly (and to reiterate, the likelihood is that they will NOT), McCain will edge out a victory in North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, North Dakota, Montana, Georgia, and Missouri; put those states in the McCain column for the time being. Likewise, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa all appear safe for Obama, even in the case of significant tightening. Put those in the Obama column.
That leaves our five states in play. The victory conditions for Obama involving these five states proceed something as follows:
1. Win Pennsylvania and ANY ONE of Colorado, Virginia, Ohio, or Nevada*
2. Win Ohio and EITHER Colorado OR Virginia.
3. Win Colorado AND Virginia AND Nevada.
(* Nevada produces a 269-269 tie, which would probably be resolved for Obama in the House of Represenatives.)
Now, suppose you think that Colorado is already in the bag for Obama because of his large edge in early voting there. We can then simplify the victory conditions as follows:
1. Win Pennsylvania
2. Win Ohio
3. Win Virginia AND Nevada [...]
As a final word of warning, proceed cautiously with any polls that were in the field last night. Friday nights are difficult enough to poll, and holidays are difficult enough to poll, but when a Friday night coincides with a holiday (in this case, Halloween), getting an appropriate sample is all but impossible.
Anti-Obama push poll in Pennsylvania
By GottaLaff
"Yes, we'd like to poll you. How much do you hate Barack Obama? How big a chowderhead is Barack Obama? Is the fact that Barack Obama killed babies something that would make you less likely to support him? 'Kbye."
A Democratic source who lives in the battleground state of Pennsylvania tells First Read that he received a phone call yesterday that billed itself as a 45-second automated poll.::ring! ring!::But it was really an anti-Obama push poll, the source says.
"Rather than having me press 1, press 2, etc, I was just to answer 'yes' or 'no' to every question which asked questions like (I'm paraphrasing}: 'Does knowing that the former head of Fannie Mae made millions of dollars while working there and worked on the Obama campaign make you less likely to support Barack Obama?'"
Or: "'Does the fact that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have said they are going to raise taxes makes you less likely to vote for Barack Obama?'"
The source says the call ended by saying it was sponsored by LetFreedomRingUSA.com.
Colin Hanna, president of the conservative group, which is also running anti-Obama TV ads in key battleground states, confirms to First Read the existence of the poll. But he disagrees with the characterization of it as a push poll.
"Hello? Push Pollers? It's Laffy. Obama won. 'Kbye."
UPDATE: Ooops. This isn't my day. Paddy posted about this down thread.
Fear The Blogs!!!
Saw this live and reveled in it. Yeah Brad, we know you're afraid of us....
"In a bean"? Can someone esplain that one to me please?Here's a perfect everyday example of just how much the pendulum of power is shifting in this country. Brad Blakeman, one of those GOP strategists you see on teevee, argues that an Obama victory would effectively result in a Democratic dictatorship.
Blakeman, whose counterpart was Ari Melber of The Nation, quickly realized he'd just stepped in it, and begged for mercy:
I'm kidding you Ari, take it easy. Don't blog it after we're done, get your people all in a bean about it.
VIDEO: Obama congratulates McCain on the Cheney endorsement
By GottaLaff
This is the video that corresponds to this post.
I hope Chris Matthews sees this post
By GottaLaff
I hope Tweety sees this post. I also wish I'd written this post, but no, it's from Josh Marshall:
I hope the result of the election can be a rebuke, a closing of the book on McCainism and the moral filth it has come to represent. [...]Thank you, Josh. You said it way better than I ever could.But McCain's campaign has devolved into something altogether different ... what with its increasingly open appeals to racial conflict and aggressive invocations of blood hatred of Arabs and Muslims. [...]
There is of course what appears to be a more conventional attack on economics and taxes. But 'socialism' refers, if we can speak in shorthand, to state ownership of large portions of the economy. In other words, something like the Bush administration's decision to have the government purchase a large amount of the financial services industry. But as John Judis notes, a closer look at the language and imargery McCain's 'socialism' pitch reveals it's actually "about whites paying their taxes so that lazy, indolent, unemployed blacks can live off them." [...]
We'll always have a national dark side. But some signal needs to be sent, at least for a while, that this sort of filth, his character assassination and appeals to race hatred is not an effective life raft for desperate opportunists looking to save themselves by degrading this country. A McCain defeat would go some way to accomplishing that.
From the Dep't. of Desperation: Republican Congressman tries to prove Bill Ayers wrote Obama memoir
By GottaLaff
This is $10,000 worth of pathetic:
Nutball Congressman Chris Cannon (R-UT) tried to hire an Oxford don to use his special computer program to prove that Obama's memoir was actually written by Bill Ayers. The program "can detect when works are by the same author by comparing favourite words and phrases." Apparently, he got cold feet after the he learned that the Oxford academic, Dr Peter Millican, would release the results publicly no matter what they showed.Yes, it cost Cannon $10,000. More:
Robert Fox, a California businessman and brother-in-law of Chris Cannon] contacted Millican, who said : “The $10,000 was a standard fee for 25 hours’ work. He sent me electronic versions of the text from both books.”This is who Utah elected to represent them. I'm sure they'll be thrilled by his priorities, not to mention his sense of ethics.Millican took a preliminary look and found the charges “laughably unsubstantiated”. A deal was agreed for more detailed research but when Millican said the results had to be made public, even if no link to Ayers was proved, interest waned.
Millican said: “I thought it was extremely unlikely that we would get a positive result. It is the sort of thing where people make claims after seeing a few crude similarities and go overboard on them.”
He said Fox told him that Cannon had got “cold feet about it being seen to be funded by the Republicans”.
Three more days.
Chris Matthews: Gramm-pa McCain "deserves the Nobel Peace Prize"
By GottaLaff
Earlier he chided an Obama spokesman for saying it's been a tough campaign, using Liddy Dole's "Godless" attacks against Kay Hagan to illustrate what a nasty campaign really is. He said the Obama v. McCain battle was (paraphrasing) like throwing puffballs (or something equally benign and ridiculous).
No, I'm not kidding. I need a fork for the other eye.
Mr. Gallup Poll thinks the Undecideds will split, which means...
By GottaLaff
Frank Newport, of the Gallup Poll Newports (I just wanted to make him sound wealthy), was just on Hardball. Chris Matthews asked him if the Undecideds would break one way or the other, and Newport said no, they'd split. He also saw no real possiblity of Gramm-pa McCain changing the poll numbers much at this point.
As Tweety said, Grammps "has a challenge on his hands".
In other words, without coming right out and saying it, Mr. Gallup Poll and Tweety suggested that Obama will win the election.
To quote Obama, "We are 3 days away from change in America."
Halloween witch-o'-the-year: Candy for McCainers only
By GottaLaff
Way to take it out on the kids, Shirley Nagel:
A suburban Detroit woman has decided to scare up the vote among neighborhood children by just offering treats to John McCain supporters.Call me confused, but I thought McCain/Palin supporters were anti-choice. But that's not important now. What is important is that we organize a posse and t.p. this witch's house... among other things.Shirley Nagel of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., handed out candy Friday only to those who shared her support for the Republican presidential candidate and his running mate Sarah Palin. Others were turned away empty-handed.
TV station WJBK says a sign outside Nagel's house warned: "No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters."
Nagel calls Democrat Barack Obama "scary." When asked about children who were turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: "Oh well. Everybody has a choice."
Here's an idea: Let's show her what real treaters can do. Let's win this election.
Close encounters of the Obama kind
By GottaLaff
A child dressed up as Barack Obama for Halloween encounters the real Obama.
H/t: Kerry
Obama Response to Gramm-pa McCain's "Faith" Comment
By GottaLaff
Chronology:
Response:Earlier Saturday: McCain seizes on Obama's comment that his Iowa caucuses victory "vindicated" his faith in the American people.
“My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends. I have always had faith in it and I have been humbled and honored to serve it."
From Obama spokesman Bill Burton:
"It's pathetic that John McCain would take a statement Barack Obama has been making for a year about his faith in the American people and distort it to attack his patriotism. Sadly, this is what we've come to expect from a desperate, dishonorable campaign that will say anything in a failed attempt to win this election."
As I type this, Obama is speaking in Colorado, and having a great time dissing Cheney's endorsement of Gramm-pa McCain. That endorsement gave him just the opening he needed to tie Grammps to Bush/Cheney tighter than Cindy McCain's facelift. It's deeee-lightful.
VIDEO: Lying about Barack Obama runs in the McCain family
By GottaLaff
How admirable. Gramm-pa has now gotten his own daughter to lie on his behalf:
Daughter Megan claims NOW endorses her dad.
The McCain camp will say anything to get elected, even if it's not true. Yesterday 10/31/08 wife Cindy and daughter Megan appeared on FOX and Friends. Megan told this whopper, which Gretchen Carlson let go without comment, as it fit perfectly with the talking point they were trying to sell (Sarah Palin is a feminist).
It's so comically easy to disprove these lies. Do they still not get that these new-fangled inventions like YouTube, computers, Tee Vee Machines, radios, and telephones exist? Communication happens, Gramm-pa. Deal.National Organization for Women PAC Endorses Obama-Biden
STATEMENT OF KIM GANDY
Chair, National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC)September 16, 2008
9,300 miles, 22 hours and $5,000 for one vote: “Apathy doesn’t work in a democracy.”
By GottaLaff
My hero.For nearly a month, she and her husband had been waiting for their New York State absentee ballots to arrive in India, where she has been working since the summer. A week ago, they realized that even if the ballots arrived before the election — a proposition that was growing more dubious by the minute — they had almost no chance of getting them back in time to be counted.
They had already called the American Consulate, to no avail, and had looked into hiring a round-trip courier service.
“We had a long talk about it,” Ms. Scott-Ker said. “We could go on holiday to a beach somewhere. Or we could come back here and vote. It was a long talk. We decided it was important to stand up and be counted.
“We bought the tickets that Friday, the 24th.”
On Tuesday evening, she and her husband caught a flight from Bangalore to New Delhi, about 1,100 miles. The next leg of the journey, 7,500 miles, took them to Chicago. By 5:30 on Wednesday morning, they had cleared immigration and customs at O’Hare International Airport, and flew the last 700 miles to La Guardia. Their journey of 9,300 miles had taken 22 hours.
It is possible for a traveler to go farther in one direction on earth — but not much. When all their expenses are counted, their trip will have cost them about $5,000, Ms. Scott-Ker said.
Three more days.Her determination is clear. Even so, was it really necessary to go to all that trouble to cast votes in New York State, where most polls give the Democratic ticket a lead of 30 percent or more?
“Then you’re relying on other people to do your job,” she said. “Apathy doesn’t work in a democracy.”
Punkin' Palin
By GottaLaff
A Quebec comedy duo notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state has reached Sarah Palin, convincing the Republican vice-presidential nominee she was speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.In the interview, which lasts about six minutes, Ms. Palin and the pranksters discuss politics, pundits, and the dangers of hunting with Vice-President Dick Cheney.
The Masked Avengers, who have a regular show on Montreal radio station CKOI, intend to air the full interview on the eve of the U.S. elections.
This is the same team (Sebastien Trudel and Marc-Antoine Audette ) who prank called Jacques Chirac awhile back.
I bet they know more about the role of the vice president than IWRC does.
UPDATE FROM PADDY-
Judge rules for GOP on Indiana absentee ballots
By GottaLaff
It could be worse, but...
Judge rules for GOP on absentee ballots (IN) A Marion County judge ordered Friday that absentee ballots challenged at the polls on Election Day be set aside for review by 'bipartisan' teams later in the week. County Republicans said the ruling, issued in response to their lawsuit, is likely to end up affecting few ballots... But it means that any ballots facing challenges won't be counted Tuesday or show up in election results that night.
The Politics Of Auntie Zeituni: The plot sickens
By GottaLaff
Background here. Timing is everything. Via TPM:
Next:The real story, though, is down in the third paragraph of the AP story ...
Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.That's about as transparent a red flag as an outfit like the AP is usually willing to give. And there you have it. Quite likely working in concert with the McCain campaign, a Bush administration official is leaking details on an immigration case to try to help McCain three days before the election. It's shades of Bush I's riffling through Bill Clinton's passport files just before the 1992 election in a desperate last minute gambit as they were swirling down the drain.
Late Update: Note too that the story first got leaked to the Times of London, a Murdoch paper with a history of taking planted stories from Republicans for siphoning back into the US media.
Dear Mr. Chertoff:See labels.I was startled to read in today's Associated Press that a "federal law enforcement official" has leaked information about an immigration case involving a relative of Senator Obama. Even more troubling, the AP reports that it could not "could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved," a very disturbing suggesting indeed. This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible.
I note that this is not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming Presidential election -- in recent weeks law enforcement sources leaked information about an alleged investigation of a community services organization, a leak that the Department of Justice informs me is now under investigation by the Department's Office of the Inspector General and Professional Responsibility.
Such leaks are deeply harmful to the political process, and the American people expect and deserve better from their government and its law enforcement agencies.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
The Politics Of Auntie Zeituni
By GottaLaff
Another story is a-brewin', one designed to negatively affect Obama. But think again. Ambinder nails it:
Barack Obama's long-lost aunt, who is living in poverty, might be deported for being in the country illegally...and this is supposed to make people not want to vote for Barack Obama?Give it up, Gramm-pa. ZietuniGate won't fly.
Republicans think anti-immigrant forces are going to be rallied by attacking a middle aged woman in her fifties? This is what's going to swing independents back to McCain? Reminding people (a) of an actual human face on the receiving end of anti-immigration policies and (b) that the Democratic candidate is personally affected by a complicated issue facing many American families?
And assuming voters _are_ motivated by the connection, they're going to turn to McCain as their anti-immigrant savior?
The AP is just now reporting, per MSNBC, that the Obama campaign will return any donations given to them by Auntie Zeituni. I'm sure it's going to break them. It must be thousands and thousands. What a loss.*
*It was $265.
UPDATE: On MSNBC, they said they wondered why this news was just coming out now, and that the only people who would know her status would be "the government". Then they wondered out loud if this was the "October Surprise in November." They also said this was "not good news for Obama, at this late date", because people tend to vote against a candidate rather than for one.
Now they're asking if he has a "big enough cushion to overcome" any bad news (David Shuster and Bob Franken), and warning that Obama supporters shouldn't be overconfident.
The liberal media strikes again.
VIDEO: The Obama Campaign Sends Everyone A Key GOPers' Endorsement Of Gramm-pa McCain
By GottaLaff
Via Ambinder:
Not accidentally.In a video clip of a stump speech just now on MSNBC, Gramm-pa said:
"If I'm elected presid--WHEN I'm elected president..."Oops.
Poll-itics-- Gallup: Obama has double digit lead edition
By GottaLaff
Looks like Obama has more muscle than the Sag-inator thought:
Barack Obama leads John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily tracking interviewing conducted Wednesday through Friday by an identical 52% to 42% margin among both traditional likely voters and expanded likely voters. Obama leads by a similar 52% to 41% margin among all registered voters.
This is the first time since Gallup began estimating likely voters in early October that there is no difference between Gallup's two likely voter models. Obama's lead of 52% to 42% using Gallup's traditional estimate of likely voting criteria takes into account past voting as well as current intentions.
Obama v. The Sag-inator
By GottaLaff
I wasn't going to post this, but Norah O'Donnell just broke into a huge, inappropriately loud cackle over Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest "quip", and it was enough to push me over the edge.
I opened my L.A. Times to read about his little dig during an apparently underattended rally in Columbus, Ohio yesterday, so I was all ready to pounce. TomVA over at DKos gave me all the ammo I needed:
As if this schtick still had a ounce of shelf life, Schwarzenegger led off by poking fun at an adversary's physical build aka the "girlie man".
"He needs to do something about those skinny legs, make him do some squats," Schwarzenegger said. "And give him some bicep curls to beef up those scrawny little arms."
A picture is worth a thousand snarks:
What were you saying again, Sag-inator?Setting aside the fact that Schwarzenegger's biceps and legs were never exactly home-grown, should Barack feel self-conscious about his physique? Lets take a look:
exhibit #1: on the beach
exhibit #2: on the beach
Hmmm...I don't know, lets look at some other comparisons
exhibit #3: casual in t-shirt
Apologies to anyone who was about to eat.
Joe Biden: Un-muzzled
By GottaLaff
Another rumor squelched by the very un-muzzled Joe Biden:
On the other hand, it would be wise to muzzle his opponent.
Biden yesterday held his first avail with the traveling press corps since September 7, NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli notes. Asked if he were being muzzled after some gaffes on the campaign trail, Biden answered, "If I'm muzzled, I don't know. I've done 200 interviews. I've been doing, you know, half a dozen to a dozen satellite feeds everyday. I'm doing shows, I mean, so, no one said anything to me about it."As usual, another Republican talking point has morphed into truthiness. Nobody has kept Biden quiet. But they're doing their best to reduce Biden's credibility and stature.
On the other hand, it would be wise to muzzle his opponent.
VIDEO-- Anna Nicole Smith's big fan: Gramm-pa McCain
By GottaLaff
Via Ben Smith, hilarious:
I used to try to watch that train wreck of a show... until it became too painful. It's interesting that Gramm-pa was such a fan that he actually has a favorite episode!
That's kind of like having a favorite drug addict. Oh wait. He does.
Poll-itics: Obama leads in most battleground states edition
By GottaLaff
GObama!
With just three days until Election Day, CNN's latest polls of polls shows Obama holding on to leads in a few key battlegrounds — and neck-and-neck with McCain in others.Obama leads McCain by 12 points in CNN's latest New Hampshire poll of polls. [...]
Obama is also ahead in Wisconsin, where CNN's latest poll of polls in the state gives him an 11 point lead: Fifty-three percent of voters in Wisconsin support the Illinois senator and 42 percent support the Arizona senator. [...]
In Colorado, Obama is ahead by 7 points in CNN's latest poll of polls. [...]
Obama holds the slimmest of advantages in Montana in CNN's first poll of polls for the state: Forty-six percent of likely voters in the state back Obama, and 45 percent support McCain. Nine percent of Montana's likely voters are unsure about their choice for president.
The two presidential rivals are tied in CNN's latest Missouri poll of polls.
Shallow Thoughts: Talking heads edition
By GottaLaff
Today's Shallow Thought:
The talking heads have nothing newsworthy left to say about the election and are merely filling time. They now sound like the parents on a Peanuts cartoon: "Wawawa."That was today's Shallow Thought. Thank you for wading in.
Doons-buried
By GottaLaff
Detail of the Nov. 5 "Doonesbury" comic, which predicts Barack Obama is elected.
In keeping with the lervely Nate Silver's analyses, Garry Trudeau is counting on an Obama win, and the papers are all jittery about it:
Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" is predicting a victory for Barack Obama, and newspaper editors around the country are debating whether to publish the comic no matter the results of the election.In what he must have considered to be a witty retort, Gramm-pa's favorite spokesmoron came back with:
Wednesday's strip is set in Iraq and features military characters huddled around a television that proclaims "And it's official -- Barack Obama has won. . . ."
In an e-mail to The Times, Trudeau said newspapers should run the strip because ". . . polling data gives McCain a 3.7% chance of victory. There's a greater risk that their presses will break down on election day. So I've been encouraging editors to choose hope over fear. And reminding them that if I'm wrong, it'll be my face that'll be covered with egg, not theirs."
Trudeau said he's not worried about the comic if his prediction is wrong. "I'd be a lot more worried about the country than the strip. One reporter has already suggested I just carry on with an alternative universe in which Obama wins. It's not a crazy idea . . . "
From the John McCain camp, spokesman Tucker Bounds said: "We hope the strip proves to be as predictive as it is consistently lame."Calling Doonsebury "lame" is like calling IWRC* Palin "competent".
*"In What Respect, Charlie?"
GOP Backed "Let Freedom Ring" Push Polling In PA
Hard to imagine they're going sleazy in the last few.
The reader from State College, PA, Mike Furlough, writes:
After I identified the economy as my main election issue, the "questions" began alternating with what was labeled a "Fact." Most of these statements had to do with Obama connections to Freddie Mac, and linked Obama to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, asking if I trusted Obama to stand up to them when they want to raise taxes.
The other issue I could have identifed was "gay marriage and partial birth abortion."
National Polls Round Up
Mmmm, some good stuff here. Via.
Gallup has Obama up 11 points among registered voters (52%-41%), eight points in its traditional likely-voter model (51%-43%), and nine points in its expanded likely-voter model (52%-43%).
Washington Post/ABC has Obama ahead by nine points, 53%-44%.
And yesterday’s Hotline/Diageo had Obama ahead by seven, 48%-41%.
The AP: "Privately, McCain's aides said their man trailed Obama by 4 points nationwide in internal polling."
In addition, a new Marist national poll shows Obama up by seven, 50%-43%.
Palin STILL Doesn't Understand Role Of VP
At this point it's just willful ignorance.
Well, they’ve to be exclusively, of course, concentrating on the administrative side of governance. And there again, that’s where my executive experience will be put to good use. But John McCain and I have spoken a lot about the missions that we’ll be on together and about where he would like to see me lead.
Nate Says It's Okay
Screw Drudge & Zogby. (that's me saying that, but I'm guessing Nate thinks it) Cesca has some theories on why all the noise on this.
Matt Drudge is touting the results of a one-day sample in a Zogby poll, which apparently showed John McCain ahead by 1 point.
There are a couple of significant problems with this.
Firstly, there is a reason that pollsters include multiple days of interviewing in their tracking polls; a one-day sample is extremely volatile, and have very high margins for error.
Secondly, the Zogby polls have been particularly volatile, because he uses nonsensical party ID weightings, which mean that his weighting process involves making numbers doing naughty things that they usually don't like to do.
Thirdly, 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. The reason this is significant is because lots of other pollsters were in the field on Thursday night, and most of them evidently showed good numbers for Obama, as he improved his standing in 6 of the 7 non-Zogby trackers.
Finally, there was no favorable news for McCain to drive these numbers. Polls don't move without a reason (or at least they don't move much).
Saturday Links
Geraldine Ferraro Endorses Obama
Well, that locks up the cranky old lady vote. I think it's funny that after all that tsoris she is voting for Obama. Wonder if Fox will still let her on?
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Obama Pic, Bonus Quote O' The Day And Open Thread
I found this quote in the comments over at Freeperville earlier when I was following a link around. Marvel at the beauty!!!
Joe the plumber will probably be the next Newt Gingrich, working hand-in-hand with future President Palin to clean up the festering swamp that is our capitol.It's Blog Reader Survey time!!! Please take our Blog Reader Project survey. Just bloody well do it since it helps me and Gotta get ads. DO IT NOW!!!
On a housekeeping note, we have a new ad so click thru and check it out. You can also always make a donation thru the PayPal button to the right, and if you are thinking of buying anything from Amazon, if you use the links over to the right (for all the books we know you've already bought), just using one of our links to buy anything gets us a couple pennies a transaction. Time to stock up for Christmas!!!
Pics via.
Rick Sanchez Schools Ben Ferguson On Charges About Obama's "Associates"
I actually saw this live, and it was beautious.
Big Man On Campus: College Papers Back Obama -- By 79 to 1
By GottaLaff
The Obama campaign leads in newspaper endorsements from dailies and weeklies, based on our tally so far (see separate story). The Democratic ticket has an even more impressive lead when it comes to college newspapers — 79 to 1, according to our own list and UWIRE’s Presidential Endorsement Scorecard.You can see the entire list here.
Electoral "magic" for Obama
By GottaLaff
He actually used the words "President Obama".
Laffy Note: In case I wasn't clear, King wasn't trying to push for a McCain win, he was sincerely unable to find a way he could win. He practically called it for Obama.
Pablo chose Barack Obama because "he is young and not senile" and "dum as mud bricks" Palin won't get in if "he somehow dies"
By GottaLaff
Many kids are smarter than many adults:
(click on image to enlarge)
Best piece of writing I've seen all election season.
And Pablo, you rock. I'm done with this, too.
H/t: Kerry
And Pablo, you rock. I'm done with this, too.
H/t: Kerry
CNN: The worst political team on television
By GottaLaff
It must be because there are so few Republican spokesmorons on CNN. They have a gnawing urge to fill the void. That was sarcasm, in case it wasn't obvious enough.Today, CNN announced that it will be hosting a one-hour special this weekend called “Election Countdown: View from the Right,” featuring prominent right-wing pundits. However, it doesn’t appear that there will be a corresponding special featuring progressive voices. From the CNN press release:
On Saturday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. (ET), CNN political contributor and Christian Broadcasting Network senior correspondent David Brody will host the one-hour special Election Countdown: View from the Right. This roundtable discussion will examine the strength of the McCain-Palin ticket, the priorities for conservatives after the election and top issues on voters’ minds, including national security and the economy. Brody will be joined by Amanda Carpenter, national political reporter for Townhall.com; Brian DeBose, editorial writer for The Washington Times; Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard; and Kevin Madden, Republican strategist and former press secretary for Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
TWPNTOTV!!!* (I've held off saying that since I started blogging)
*THE WORST POLITICAL NEWS TEAM ON TELEVISION!!!
VIDEO-- Ooo, gay marriage is scary: Mormon Church rejects 16,935 signatures
By GottaLaff
Here in California, Prop 8 is driving me crazy (changing the California constitution to include a ban on gay marriage). Since when is a lifetime commitment to the one you love a bad thing?
The polls have the Yes's and No's tied. I still haven't figured out one teensy weensy way my marriage has been affected by same-sex couples exchange wedding vows. Watch the Mormons run away from Rick Jacobs (of the Courage Campaign) and send his group on a wild goose chase:
John Boehner: Obama present votes "chicken s***"
By GottaLaff
Oh-h, that's what he meant. Thanks for the clarification, Don.House minority leader John Boehner's spokesman confirms the accuracy of this quote, from an Ohio student newspaper:
"Now, listen, I've voted 'present' two or three times in my entire 25-year political career, where there might have been a conflict of interest and I didn't feel like I should vote," Boehner said. "In Congress, we have a red button, a green button and a yellow button, alright. Green means 'yes,' red means 'no,' and yellow means you're a chicken s***.
"And the last thing we need in the White House, in the oval office, behind that big desk, is some chicken who wants to push this yellow button."
UPDATE: Boehner spokesman Don Seymour, er, clarifies: "Boehner’s point was that Barack Obama consistently avoided making tough decisions and taking tough votes, and voters need to know that. You can’t take a pass on a tough issue when you’re President of the United States."
For a minute there, I thought he was a dips***. And by saying dips***, my point is that Boehner consistently avoided making acceptable comments and taking rational positions, and voters need to know that. You can't take a pass on a tough issue by making offensive comments about a future president when you're a House minority leader.
H/t: Ellen
VIDEO: Obama Hustle
By GottaLaff
LOVE!
PERFORMED AT THE GRENDADIER CLUB DETROIT,MICHIGAN (Erma Watts,instructor)choreographer,
Detroit finest (Crystal Smith)
narrator (DARLENE STEWARD)
R.I.P. Studs Terkel
By GottaLaff
Author-radio host-actor-activist and Chicago symbol Louis "Studs" Terkel died at his home on the North Side today. He was 96.
Beset in recent years by a variety of ailments and the woes of age, which included being virtually deaf, Terkel's health took a turn for the worse when he suffered a fall in his home two weeks ago. [...]
At his bedside was a copy of his latest book, "P.S. Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening," scheduled for a November release.
Gramm-pa McCain's cabinet (no, not medicine...)?
By GottaLaff
Here's a look at who Gramm-pa could choose:
[T]here are a few names that seem virtually certain to pop up in any McCain administration.::shudder::
Some of those appointments could include:
White House chief of staff: Lehman or longtime McCain aide and speechwriter Mark Salter
Senior counselor to the president: Top campaign official and personal friend Rick Davis
Secretary of state: World Bank President and former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick; Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.); former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage
Treasury secretary: FedEx founder Fred Smith; former eBay CEO Meg Whitman; Bain Capital co-founder and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; John Thain, former Merrill Lynch CEO and now president of Global Banking, Securities and Wealth Management at Bank of America
Secretary of defense: Lehman; Lieberman; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); current Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Attorney general: Graham; former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.); former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Secretary of education: Former Arizona superintendent of education Lisa Graham Keegan
National security adviser: Policy adviser Randy Scheunemann
Office of Management and Budget: Former Congressional Budget Office director and campaign adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin
From the Department of WTF? Joe the Mask
By GottaLaff
A shop in northwest Ohio is offering a Joe the Plumber Halloween mask.
No, they don't have speedy mask makers at the Costume Holiday House in Fremont. The latex Joe face is actually one for another bald man, professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Even his mask is a fake.
Even so, I hope nobody wears one around the kiddies. It would scare them silly.
Obama continues his media blitz
By GottaLaff
Obama's latest interview is with Wolf Blitzer at 6 p.m. Eastern:
Sen. Barack Obama told CNN Friday that turning around the economy and energy independence are his top priorities for 2009 if elected president.Fearless. Giving interviews of substance just before an election telegraphs to the voters that he is confident, not only about his positions on the issues, but also about his chances of winning and becoming our next president.In an interview with Wolf Blitzer in Des Moines, Iowa, Obama was asked to name his top priority from a list of issues, including taxes, health care, education, energy policy and immigration.
"[The] top priority may not be any of those five. It may be continuing to stabilize the financial system. We don't know yet what's gonna happen in January," he said. "None of this can be accomplished if we continue to see a potential meltdown in the banking system and financial system. So that's priority number one — making sure the plumbing works."
Poll-itics: Gallup shows Obama lead widens edition
By GottaLaff
GObama!
The political landscape could be improving for Barack Obama in the waning days of the campaign. Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 28-30 shows him with an eight percentage point lead over John McCain among traditional likely voters -- 51% to 43% -- his largest margin to date using this historical Gallup Poll voter model.
Obama's lead among expanded likely voters is only slightly greater than that seen among traditional likely voters. He now leads McCain by nine-points, 52% to 43%, using this looser definition that does not factor in whether respondents have voted in past elections, but strictly relies on their reported level of interest and intention to vote in the 2008 election.
Obama's current 11-point lead over McCain among all registered voters -- 52% to 41% -- is up from an eight-point lead in yesterday's report, and ties his highest advantage on this basis, last recorded 10 days ago. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)
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