Clinton, Obama in My Hometown for the Closing Arguement!

Although it was late, tens of thousands showed up to listen to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton, in his best praise of Obama, talked about how, during the financial crisis, Obama talked to economic advisors so that he could understand what was going on and respond appropriately. He contrasted this to the actions of both Bush and McCain: Pulling stunt after stunt or erradically shifting from one idea to the next (McCain) or just sticking the old noggin head in the sand and hoping for the best (Bush).

We need a president who WANTS to understand and CAN understand!!

Priceless.

Palin: Says Alaska collectively "shares the wealth"

Palin gave stupid interviews before she was the GOP nominee:

We’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.

And here's a bonus from Ted Rall:



Shout out to Den the Blogger over at boilingmad blog for these good tidbits.

Seminole Democrat Endorses Republican Barry Gainer

I know I said I would make no endorsements for local offices, but I had to make an exception. Seminole County School Board needs the return of the incumbent, Barry Gainer. The main reason is perpetual candidate Sylvia Pond, his opponent, is a right-wing nut who told the Orlando Sentinel that she believes in teaching creationism in science class.

Wonderful, as if it isn't bad enough we are being surpassed by third-world countries in the science field, we have ideologues who want to turn science class into religion class: and Seminole County is just backward enough to support that. We already have radical religious groups like JMJ (Jesus Mary Joseph) Life Center teaching our kids about sex education--where they get great tidbits of information like learning that the pill is an "abortion agent" that causes infertility, cancer, blood clots, stroke, weight gain, and makes women more susceptible to AIDS and other immune-related diseases. (Orange County has rejected them based on "concerns with the validity of their information", but here in Seminole we apparently have no issue with that).

We don't need more right-wing nuts on the board. We need less. I would like to have a moderate Democrat run for School Board here in Seminole for a change, but barring a miracle, we need to back Gainer for School Board.

The Seminole Democrat Endorsements!

President/Vice President: Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Congressional District 7: Faye Armitage
Congressional District 24: Suzanne Kosmas

State Senate District 9: Darius Davis
State Senate District 24: Kendall Moore

State Representative District 33: Robert Acosta

Seminole Soil & Water Board: Steve Barnes

Seminole School Board: Barry Gainer


Amendments:
Vote YES on Amendment 1 and Amendment 6.

Amendment 1 states immigrants can't own land--it was put on the books almost a century ago and is completely ignored anyway, but it can't be removed without another amendment. This would remove pure prejudice in the state constitution. Vote YES on this.

Amendment 6 allows marina owners to have their property assessed based on what they actually are, not at the optimum rate they could be if they were condos. The reason I am for this is that it helps slow development of box condos on our shorelines. The developers love that marinas are being taxed so high because a lot of them are going under--which means the land developers can swoop in and plant yet another unnecessary condo. Just what we need. Vote YES on this.

All the other amendments range from being misguided, not worth the investment, or outright wrong. Vote NO.

I encourage you to do your own research on the amendments. The Sentinel breaks down the pros and cons of each: Click Here

I do not make endorsements for individual cities within Seminole. I STRONGLY urge you to visit the Seminole County Elections Supervisor Site: http://www.semcoelections.org/

This site will tell you who is running, link to their websites, give you a sample ballot, tell you where to vote early, what you need, etc. etc. etc.

Be an informed voter. The local elections have a big impact on your life, but normally people don't even bother to see who's running. Don't make that mistake.

Happy Voting!

WFTV's Barbara West: SCHOOLED-Biden Style!

Hey Barbara--Thanks for making Central Florida and the rest of my state look ignorant. Again.

I couldn't believe my ears... This so-called unbiased reporter from WFTV asked Joe Biden three different times if Obama was a "marxist". I would stake that he would have had more intelligent questions going on O'Reilly.

Joe Biden completely eviscerated her. From the fake ties to ACORN to repeated attempts to link Obama to Sweden/Marx, etc, Biden slams her and looks calm and presidential while doing it. ("Is that a real question?") This is the very reason Obama chose him. Palin he is not.

That's the thing about using phony talking points without doing research. They go unchallenged when featured on the likes of Hannity and Limbaugh; but trying to use them against a well-informed opponent? Well, you get exposed for the ignoramous you are.

The WFTV director, Bob Jordan, responded to the complaints by arguing they were just tough questions.

No, Bob. Tough questions are one thing. Questions based on false and ignorant talking points are, well, ignorant.

McCain/Bush "spread the wealth around" by giving a tremendous tax cut benefitting the super wealthy and the oil companies. That didn't work so well. Obama and Biden are talking about giving a tax cut to those who actually need it: the middle class. And now that's "socialist"??? That's "marxist"?? That's "welfare"??


Enjoy:



Even though she was rude and insulting to Biden, it may have passed muster with people if she were equally rough on McCain when she interviewed him October 14th. Nope--she throws softballs and downright begs him to go after Obama on ACORN. Watch the difference: http://www.wftv.com/video/17712615/index.html

You should never be able to tell a reporter's ideology. I think this makes it clear.



PS--If you are as embarrassed by her antics as I was, drop her a line:

Babs: Barbara.West@wftv.com
General Manager: Bob.Jordan@wftv.com

UPDATE: Turns out that her husband, Wade West, is a political and media consultant for Republican politicians. The GOP talking points Barbara West used in her interview may have come directly from the McCain Palin communications team via her husband Wade.

McCain Bumper Sticker...Notice Anything?

I snapped this picture on a red pickup truck in Sanford, Florida. It was the only sticker on the car.

Notice anything?

Like... No mention of the top of the ticket?


It's nice to be a Democrat for a change. I have Obama stickers all over my car--I couldn't imagine having only one that says Joe Biden for Vice President. But then again, I'm proud of my candidate for president, unlike this guy.

Let's face it. This guy picked this sticker over the more common ones that feature McCain because he must ashamed or disappointed in his candidate for president.


And that's one thing I guess we agree on.

PS--thanks to distraught from DKOS for pointing out this gem on brettmarty.com. This is Sarah Palin signing a sign that says PALIN 2012.

The fact that the supporter used "2012" is the clearest indication that their supporters know the McCain campaign is lost. But you would think she'd play the game until after next week...

Great News and Bad Mistakes

Miami Herald poll shows a six point lead here in battleground Florida: 49% to 42%.

Boosting Obama: independent voters, who back him over McCain by a 57-22 percent margin -- a 38 point shift toward the Democrat since the last poll in September

.

McCain is finally realizing the stupidity of his Pennsylvannia strategy, and is dumping all his money in Virginia and here in Florida. It won't matter.

Salon.com made a list of the 7 worst mistakes of pundits made just this year:

1. Sarah Palin was a brilliant pick as McCain's running mate.
   
2. Choosing Steve Schmidt to run McCain's campaign was a stroke of genius.
   
3. Gas prices on election day will determine who wins.
   
4. Obama should have taken public financing.
   
5. Obama was guilty of hubris for contesting North Carolina and other red states.
   
6. Obama will hurt Democrats downticket.
   
7. The Democratic Hillary supporters will destroy Obama

I'm not guilty on any of those, but you can add the mistake many made, including me, that voters would punish the Democratic candidate for spurning us during primary season. Turns out there were bigger issues--who would have thunk it?

I was correct, however, when I said ALL our delegates would be seated.

I am hoping that soon after the election, the RNC and the DNC can work together for a fair primary season. I am also hoping for world peace and that my 401k will suddenly reverse itself so much that I could afford a Palin shopping spree.

If the World Could Vote

After all, our president is the "Leader of the Free World". And our elections do affect the entire world--it's amazing for me every time I see or hear about people across Eurasia watching as intently as I do on election night. The President of the United States is the closest thing we have to a world leader--so it's nice to at least ask the rest of the world their opinion even though it won't count.

Good news for McCain. He is kicking ass in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and has made serious inroads in Venezuala. (The map doesn't show it, but it looks like Seminole County might break his way too.)

The rest of the world.... well... http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/results

OMG! ORLANDO SENTINEL endorses Barack!!

I am watching Powell endorse Senator Obama as I write this. What a great way to wake up.

I am looking at the Orlando Sentinel full page endorsement of Barack Obama! IF you don't know the Orlando Sentinel, you have to understand that they love to endorse Republicans. The joke on talk radio is usually "do what the Sentinel tells you and vote Republican".

With ONE exception, John Kerry, they have endorsed Republicans for president for the PAST 40 YEARS!! They also endorsed John McCain, but NOT Obama, (rather Hillary), several months ago in the respective primaries. I really didn't think they would do it.

The Sentinel even admitted that they wer leaning McCain as the primary season began, but changed thier mind over the events of the past several weeks.

While Obama showed "sound judgment" and "grace under pressure", Mr. McCain has reacted "haphazardly" and "abandoned" positions that the Sentinel had supported. Their words: Mr. McCain has demonstrated "shockingly poor judgment".

I encourage you to read the entire endorsement. It is a work of art. They contrast the difference between McCain when he started (when the Sentinel originally endorsed him) and McCain now; and also where Obama was then and where he is now. I won't put the entire endorsement here, but I will provide the portion under the heading "Obama Now":

Under months of unrelenting scrutiny and withering political attacks since then, the Democratic nominee has proved to be an unflappable and thoughtful leader. He has displayed a remarkable command of issues, both domestic and foreign. It's hard to imagine a quicker study.

Mr. Obama has wisely compensated for his relative inexperience by reaching out to experts, from billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former treasury secretaries for advice on economic policy to ex-national security advisers on foreign policy. He chose as his running mate Joe Biden, the veteran U.S. senator from Delaware and Foreign Relations Committee chairman. The contrast with Mr. McCain's choice for vice president could not be more striking.

Mr. Obama gets the nod in this race not just because of his opponent's flaws.

The Illinois senator has a better plan than the Arizona senator for expanding health-care coverage. Mr. Obama would focus on the problem -- uninsured Americans -- while strengthening the current system of employer-based care. Mr. McCain would unravel that system.

Mr. Obama also would be more aggressive in curbing America's dirty and dangerous addiction to petroleum by mounting an ambitious campaign to develop renewable energy. Mr. McCain says he favors alternatives to oil, but his "drill, baby, drill" fixation could prolong the nation's habit.

The Democratic nominee is more inclined to turn the page on the foreign policy of the past eight years that has alienated allies and incited enemies. His willingness to engage when necessary in tough negotiations with enemies is not naive or irresponsible; it's an approach followed before by presidents from both parties.

Since he began his meteoric rise in American politics, Mr. Obama's critics have trivialized his remarkable skills as a speaker. From Abraham Lincoln through Ronald Reagan, history has shown that eloquence is a powerful tool for presidents to rally Americans to get through tough times together and achieve great things.

If you have a moment, please PLEASE send a quite note of support to insight@orlandosentinel.com.This is a conservative area, and they are going to be bomarded with hate mail. When they endorsed John Kerry last time, you would have thought the apocalypse was upon us. Tons of letters came in complaining and hundreds of subscriptions were canceled.

I honestly thought they would cave like the idiotic endorsement of the Tampa Tribune yesterday. But they didn't. And I couldn't be more proud.

What a great morning.

New Poll Showing Feeney Getting Spanked

I have said it before and I'll say it again. If Tom Feeney hadn't been allowed to draw his own district picking his own voters, this race would be a landslide against Feeney. The Orlando Sentinel, which loves to endorse Republicans, endorsed Suzanne Kosmas for FL-24. HOW could they not? There are no accomplishments Feeney can point to, and he has been voted the most corrupt politician in Congress four years in a row by a nonpartisan group. It seems now that gerrymandering alone won't save Mr. Feeney:


Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll:

Kosmas (D) 58
Feeney (R) 35

Suzanne Kosmas loves to point out that for all the disdain of government Mr. Feeney has, he has spent his adult life in public office. Kosmas is a successful self-employed business owner who also had a very successful career in the state legislature. All the negative ads against Kosmas seem to be failing--this Seminole district knows the score.

To help Suzanne send Feeney packing, go to www.KosmasforCongress.com

Oliver Stone's W: Unexpected in More Ways than One

It wasn't at all what I expected:

I went late last night to Oviedo mall, and I figured it would be just me in there. The theater was pretty packed, however.

I also assumed that it would be mostly liberals and the anti-Bush crowd, but it was pretty mixed. I could tell because half the audience would cheer and the other half would jeer at the same parts either showing Bush in a good light or bad.

Finally, the trailors and posters of the film do not do it justice. They feature only the parts where Bush looks silly, so I expected more of a hit job. I'm glad it wasn't, because that would have been boring.

Love or hate him, you have to admit that George W. Bush is a very interesting man. Essentially, you had an unfocused, adolescent drunk through his early 40s, completely written off by his family as hopeless, finding religion and beginning a meteoric rise to become leader of the free world. Gotta admit, there's a story there.

Over the past 8 years, characatures have been drawn about W (really dumb), his wife (stepford), and the Bush family (power-hungry). This film doesn't play into any of those stereotypes. Stone did his research and treated his subjects fairly.

The movie is told in two simultaneous storylines that merge at the end. The movie focuses on what will be the Bush legacy--the run-up and subsequent invasion of Iraq. The movie flashes back during this time to tell the story of W growing up from the late 60s until it catches up to the invasion storyline.

By presenting the movie in this fashion, you get a deeper understanding of why W does the things W does. At a press conference, where Bush can't admit a mistake, you see how the complicated family dynamic, especially with his father and brother Jeb, played into that. You understand how his unsatiable drive to succeed was fueled by his fear and hatred of being perceived as a failure, such as his first run for Congress: "I'll never be out-Texaned or out-Christianed again!" And you understand how his conversion to Christianity, which the movie does not treat lightly, shaped his black and white view of the world as good and evil.

Bottom line: if you were expecting a film trashing Bush about 9/11, My Pet Goat, Katrina, the economy, etc., you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a gushing film showing a brave leader standing with a bullhorn and fighting evil with truth, justice, and the American Way, you will be more disappointed.

But if you expect a film about a complicated man that takes a hard, fair, and surprising look at this interesting story, you will enjoy it. The film certainly has its flaws. The ending I felt was weak. Also, there are many aspects of Bush's life that the film left out for time (it's a little over 2 hours long) which I wish they would have examined--which makes me think this film would have been better as a mini-series. The introduction of Rove is rushed and the story of Bush's first real success, beating a popular governor of Texas, was glossed over--and that is a story that could have been a movie unto itself.

Josh Brolin gave the performance of his career. You can tell he really studied Bush. Not just his mannerisms, but Brolin even studied how Bush walked at different points of his life. That really came across, and you evenutally saw just W. Other impersonations were good, but none were as strong as Brolin's.

In the end, I felt I got my money's worth. Afterall, the movie got out at 1am and I still wanted more.

Should have been YOU Charlie!

McCain expresses regret for picking that idiot Palin over our own guber, Charlie Crist.

St. Pete Times:

"Charlie, because he's so popular, he probably would have made a significant difference,"McCain said in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9.

"I think this would have been a battleground state, except for obviously (with) a popular governor as Charlie Crist is," McCain said.



"Look, this is a tough decision that we made with Sarah Palin."

Wow. McCain actually offers straight talk that maybe Sarah wasn't the best choice. You think?

Charlie, whether he admits it or not, was furious about the Palin pick. Charlie is the one who put McCain over the top with a crucial endorsement before the FL primary, he's been grooming himself for this post for years, and dammit, he even rushed out and got engaged again when his party tried to shoot the veep talk down with that "gay" rumor.

Charlie is probably enjoying this--as evidenced by his refusal to play ball on the phony ACORN fraud charges. I am enjoying this more: I get to see both men stew in discontent over this fiasco.

KO Breaks Debate Secret! (Must-See Video)

True Reason I'm Enjoying Obama's 14-Point Lead

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead over Republican rival John McCain nationally, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows.

...
Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.
...
McCain's campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: Twenty-one percent of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain's attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate.

Poor John. They told you to pick Sarah Palin over Romney, and she is now dragging your ticket.

They told you to crawl in the mud and go all out negative. And you have now turned off the very independents you were craving.

What is rich about this is that these slimeballs who ran your campaign were the very disciples of Rove/Bush who smeared YOUR OWN daughter 8 years ago. Like a coward, you embraced them and surrendered your campaign so they could do to Obama what they did to you.

But unlike you, he was able to outwit them. Unlike you, h was focused.

Unlike you, he NEVER LOST HIS COOL. And he played all of you.

Pretty soon you will be forgotten and irrelevant. You will sit alone in your mansion(s) in your final years, thinking of the honor and reputation you had worked so hard to restore 20 years after Charles Keating: all thrown out in a matter of weeks!!!

You sold your soul. They promised you if you would just go down in the gutter with them, they could do for you what they did for Bush. But that is what happens when you sell your soul to the devil, you always get screwed.

It wasn't enough that they attacked your family--they now took your precious honor as well. You let them. And I don't feel one ounce of pity for you.

I also am on a real high because for two years, from 2004 to 2006, I had to deal with idiots who loved to tell me that the Democratic party was over and that there would be a permanent GOP majority. I receive all kinds of comments of how the Democrats would never win again....these are the same people who are whipped up in hysterics right now and turning McCain speeches into hate rallies because it is no longer a question of if--but of how much.

I am, in fact, really, really, really enjoying this!

How the Presidential Race Stands Now (with interactive map)

Before I give you the update, this needs to be said. The blogosphere, such as DKos, is screaming right now that the mainstream media is way behind in updating their polls. Either they are very slow, afraid to show bias, or want to keep this a close race. If you look at election projection websites, including far-right leaning sites and polling firms, all show what is now an Obama landslide:

Election Projection: Obama 364-174
Electoral-Vote.com: Obama 349, McCain 174, 15 tied
Fivethirtyeight: Obama 347.6-190.4 McCain
Pollster.com: Obama 320, McCain 158, Toss-up 60
Cold-Hearted Truth (right-wing): Obama 320, McCain 203
Hedghog Report (right-wing): Obama 358, McCain 180
Federal Review (right-wing): Obama 358, McCain 169
Real Clear Politics (GOP Polling firm): Obama 277, McCain 158, Toss-up 103

Now look at the the polls for the mainstream media:

MSNBC: Obama 264-174 McCain
CNN: Obama 264-174 McCain
New York Times: Obama 260--200 McCain
CBSNews: Obama 259-163 McCain

I have borrowed the map used by CBSNews and adjusted it a bit. It's interactive, so feel free to play with it as you wish:




Now for my analysis:




The gray areas are the swing states as of Oct. 12, 2008. Obama will sweep all of the Kerry states. Period. McCain's best shots were PA, NH, and MI. Obama has double-digit leads in all of them now. There are several combinations he can enjoy with one big state, a big and a small, or three small states. RIGHT NOW, Obama has a healthy lead in Iowa and New Mexico: they will certainly flip to Obama.

This means that Obama needs one of the gray states, just one, and he will be the next president.

Indiana is now in play, as polls show a statistical tie. North Carolina show a slight lead for Obama, which means that it is a statistical tie as well. No network is including West Virginia as a battleground or in the Obama column, but the latest poll by ARG shows a big lead for Obama. I would need to see more polls to put this in Obama's column, but at the very least, it should be considered a toss-up.

Obama is currently leading in the other swing states--a congregation of the polls show they range from the margin of error to slightly ahead of the margin of error in each one.

In order for McCain to win, he must run the board on the gray states: He must win EVERY SINGLE ONE.

If Obama wins just one, he wins. (Note: if Obama just wins Nevada, it will be an electoral tie, 269-269, which means Obama will still win because it will get thrown to the House.)

If McCain manages to turn things around, it will be the greatest turnaround in presidential history. I know a lot of his supporters are counting on the Bradley effect, but the last time it played a role was 20 years ago when I was working for the Wilder campaign in VA. Add to the mix the hundreds of thousands of new voters Barack has registered, along with the number of younger cell phone users who aren't polled, and I think it would be balanced out. Regardless, the Bradley effect generously gives 6 points, (generously a generation ago), and Obama has a healthy lead over that in swing states such as Colorado and Virginia.

What Obama should do now is travel to every state that the Senate race is competitive (MN, NC, MS, OR) and try to raise money and support for the senators in close races to get to the magic 60 that Obama needs to fulfill his agenda.

Don't Let Me Down Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel loves Republicans. A guy on the radio yesterday joked that he would do what the Sentinel tells him to do and vote Republican. Today, they endorsed Ric Keller--even though they admitted in his endorsement he hasn't done anything, along with John Mica, and the dreadful Ginny Brown-Waite.

Up until the last presidential election, they hand't endorsed a Democratic president in 40 years!! Bush was so bad, they finally did the right thing and endorsed Kerry:

Four years ago, the Orlando Sentinel endorsed Republican George W. Bush for president based on our trust in him to unite America. We expected him to forge bipartisan solutions to problems while keeping this nation secure and fiscally sound.

This president has utterly failed to fulfill our expectations.

The Sentinel endorsed John McCain and Hillary Clinton in their respective primaries. A few months or even weeks ago, I would have expected the Sentinel to endorse McCain. But after these past few weeks, I don't know how the Sentinel can justify it.

Just look at the events of the past few weeks:

He tries to question Obama's judgment, but picked an unvetted right-wing zealot as his running mate who abused her power in office according to a report that was released yesterday by a unanimous vote of the bipartisan Joint Legislative Council in Alaska.

His bizarre plan to fix the housing crisis would destroy the taxpayer, and has been mocked by his own GOP supporters and even economists who formerly endorsed him.

He has allowed his campaign stops to become little more than hate rallies, with people yelling "Kill him" and "terrorist"--while saying nothing. (His nutty veep even eggs them on).

Instead of leading in a crisis, McCain seeks to continue the politics of division and hatred. Ironically, he hired the disciples of Bush/Rove, who propogated the very smears against McCain's own child back in 2000.

After promising not to go negative, decided that 100% of his ads would be smears. Lying about Obama supporting sex ed for kids (it was an anti-stalker law), lying about his "frienship" with Ayers (Obama was on a board with him-along with prominent Republicans such as a Reagan ambassador), and trying to hint that he's somehow unAmerican. Sick, sad, and desperate.

McCain has been proven wrong on just about everything: the Iraq War, health care, the economy, deregulation, etc. Not to mention that this is the LAST chance we have to prevent the Supreme Court from becoming a permanent arm of the GOP.

We deserve better.

The Orlando Sentinel grudgingly did the right thing four years ago (and Florida has suffered greatly for not listening). Here's hoping they do the right thing at this critical time.

McCain Palin Supporters

The ignorance of these rallies is frightening. I wish I could say things are better here in Florida, but the fact is the Palin rally in Clearwater almost turned violent. The crowd started threatening the media and even picked on an African-American working for the crew for one of the networks. Hate speech can incite violence--and its a sad commentary that that is what the McCain-Palin campaign has deteriortated into: hate speech. No wonder people at these rallies shout "Kill Him" and call Obama a terrorist.

So much Mr. "Maverick" for raising the bar:

The Florida Independence Party

Imagine me as governor of Florida, and now imagine that I was running for veep. Imagine that my spouse was a member of a party that wondered why we are still connected to our American oppressors. Imagine the founder of this organization screaming that the swamps of the everglades could not quelch the hatred for the American government--and that he would not be buried under America's "damn" flag, but only under the honorable mouse ears.

And imagine me attending their conventions, and giving videotaped messages of support.

Would that give you pause? Perhaps not. Afterall, Florida gives me valuable foreign policy experience since Castro rears his ugly head and if he attacks, he'll come right up through our air space. I also border Alabama, which is a more foreign nation than Canada.

I would certainly have experience with the housing collapse--I would challenge any governor to say they had a more screwed up mortgage crisis than right here.

The thing of it is, with our hurricanes and election problems that allowed Bush to begin with, would the rest of America care if we split?

Who won the debate?

I know the snap polls are saying Obama, but what do you think? New poll on your right...


PS--I didn't catch a second of it. Busy with work.

Tom Feeney's Race Update

Currently, conservative prognosticator Scott Elliot at electionprojection.com is predicting Seminole's House District 24 to be Tom Feeney over Suzanne Kosmas by a hair: 2 percent. This means the race is essentially tied; and not bad at all considering Tom Feeney drew the damn district--even carved it right around his own house. If this was a fair election, he would be getting clobbered in a landslide right now.

Gerrymandering--gotta love it.

Some creative Floridians had fun with his pathetic "apology" ad:

McCain's Playing Defense in Florida

By the by, Mr. Elliot at electionprojection is projecting an Obama victory now in Florida: 3.2 percent. The polls definetly show favor for Obama:

09/30/08 Suffolk Obama 46% - McCain 42%
09/30/08 CNN Obama 51% - McCain 47%
09/30/08 Insider Advantage Obama 49% - McCain 46%

The Quinnipiac University surveys this weekend showed Obama leading McCain in Florida 51 percent to 43 percent. I like that a lot and Q is one of the better polls, but I'm not that optimistic.

Still, it's nice to see McCain playing defense in a state I thought he'd win easily. Remember when we thought all hope was lost a year ago because of the delegate debacle?

Apparently no one in this state does either.

Hey Sarah, WHO's palling around with terrorists???

Sarah Palin was a strong supporter of the AIP, whose motto is "Alaska First, Alaska Always".

Their leader and founder, Joe Volger, said this in 1991:

The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government.

Here's more from Talking Points Memo:

Palin has courted the group over the years.

Three years after the controversial interview, in 1994, Palin attended the group's annual convention, according to witnesses who spoke to ABC News' Jake Tapper. The McCain campaign is disputing her presence there, but Tapper found two people to attest to it.


The McCain campaign today produced Palin's voting registration records, and said they proved she was never a member of the party.

But she has repeatedly reached out to the group. The McCain campaign has confirmed she visited the group's 2000 convention, and she addressed its convention this year, as an incumbent governor whose oath of office includes upholding the Constitution of the United States.

Palin's husband, Todd Palin, was a member of the party from 1995-2002 with a brief exception in 2000.

It's worth noting that Vogler isn't just some figure from ancient history. He is still being hailed on AIP's site this year, the same year Palin addressed the group's convention.

SOOOOO, Sarah, who has been "palling around" with terrorists? You wanted to go there, now it's on...

LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE!! Ensure you weren't kicked off voter rolls!

Project Vote Smart has the info.

You should also go to VoteforChange to ensure that you are registered to vote. THOUSANDS of people have been removed from the voter rolls!! Logically, most have been Democrats. This site will tell you if you are good to go--if not, you need to fix it TODAY baby! Notices were supposed to have gone out, but if your name was "accidentally" removed and you don't fix it today, you are screwed.

PS--the site asks for an email--you don't have to give them one. Just look to see if you are registered.

PSS--New Florida ad from Obama campaign. Well done:

McCain Crosses Line with Final Hail Mary Pass

So McCain has decided to try one last hail mary pass: engage in swift-boat attacks in a desperate attempt to duck the issues. McCain claims it's about character and judgment, but what does it say about his character and judgment that McCain hired Rove's team, who dragged his family through the mud in 2000, to now smear Obama.

If McCain can't win on any of the issues, maybe he should rethink his candidacy before losing anymore of his coveted "honor".


DNC response:

Goin' Negative: How Dumb Does McCain Think We Are?

Ms. Deer in the Headlight decided to give a preview of the debate Tuesday night. When you can't win on ANY issue, nor can you articulate ANY reason you want to be president--do what Rovian GOPers do. Resort to fear and smear.

Pathetic Palin decided to attack Obama and say that he "pals" around with terrorists. This type of attack is expected from a right-wing nutball blogger, not someone seeking the second highest office in the land.

For all that W has screwed up, at least he didn't actually join the false attacks the Swift-Boaters were lobbing against John Kerry. Even W understood that engaging in a false smear isn't presidential. You leave that to surrogates. In a twist of irony, the very surrogates that smeared John McCain's family are now in charge of the final desperate and erratic strategy aimed to destroy the character of Barack Obama.

How sad. How pathetic. The man who has spend over 20 years building and restoring his honor after the Keating 5 debacle is willing to throw it out in their final of a series of hail mary passes that has defined his campaign.

Not only is it despicable, it won't work.

It hasn't before, it won't now. Why?

Because the vast majority of Americans are smarter than the small-minded right-wing nutters who think this is brilliant. If they could get past their hate and emotion against Barack Obama, they would see it clearly.

The man has devoted his life to public service. He turned down big paying jobs to fight for the rights of the poor and middle-class. He has amassed a vast record in helping average Americans in a short amount of time over others who have spent decades in politics--like John McCain. And the honorable Senator Obama is now seeking the highest office in the land, at considerable expense (personal and financial), because he wants to bring the change our country desperately needs.

And they honestly think people will believe that a man who has brought so much hope to so many Americans---somehow, actually, really hates America?

Do the GOPers behind this strategy really expect us to believe that once Obama is sworn in as president that he will say "SUCKERS!! I hate America!! I now turn everything over to my pals the terrorists! ALLALALALALALA"

Seriously--what the living hell are they thinking? We have people literally dying because they lost their healthcare, thousands dead in Iraq with no exit strategy in sight, people losing thier homes, their jobs, and under Bush/McCain, their VERY FREEDOMS!! (Talk about hating America.)

Anyone who buys this stupid, rehashed crap was never going to vote Obama regardless. This strategy will only appeal to the nutjobs. But I am angry because I honestly thought that finally, we would get a presidential race that we deserved. A race that focused on the issues and that either man, regardless of the outcome, would be able to finally change the tone of these races and the victor would usher in a new era of bi-partisanship: and the other would at least be able to hold his head up high for running an honorable race.

Apparently, that will now only be possible with one candidate in this race.

Local and State Issues?

The month before a presidential election I like to focus on the national presidential race because there is so much at stake. So much that it affects everything here in Florida and Seminole County.

I will focus more on the local issues after the election, but unless something warrants some real attention, or there are any exciting developments for the Feeney/Kosmas smackdown, this blog will primarily be Obama/McCain until Nov. 4.

OCTOBER 6: LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN FL!

REGISTER TO VOTE MONDAY OR YOU WON'T VOTE FOR CHANGE NOVEMBER 4!!!

PS--Early voting on Oct. 20. Be there!! Governor Crist recently decided to enforce a law called "No Match, No Vote".

Miami Herald:

State elections officials will resume enforcement of a controversial state law that requires Floridians to have their identification match up with a state or federal database in order to register to vote.

Why is he doing this:

The year the law took effect, state election data shows that Florida Democratic Party registration began to swell. Between 2006 and 2008, Democrats increased their ranks with more than 170,000 new voters -- while the Florida Republicans lost 11,594 during the same time. Independents decreased by about 4,000 since 2006.

Dirty Tricks---when fear and smear just isn't enough

What a debate!

PS--From DKos:

Republicans and pundits think this is a Joke. We have well over 4000 US troops dead in a war that was waged on false pretenses...an economy in shambles...people losing their homes...unemployment rates out the roof....people dying because they cannot afford Healthcare...a current administration that has violated the US Constitution, exceeded their powers over and over again...

and Palin giving shout outs to 3rd graders? eye winking? saying she won't answer questions? giggling like a 15 year old? Come ON!

Pathetic!

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