2008 US Presidential Race, Obama vs McCain

[monsoon]

^That is all well and good and commendable but your personal anecdote really has nothing to do with your original statement that is being responded to. That is your equating equal pay for woman as an issue of equal pay regardless of performance.

[cpeakesqr]

^ I really don't think that adds to the discussion. My point in the beginning was that McCain completely blew a chance to talk to women across the country about what he would do for them in regards to equal pay for equal work. This was an "across the aisle" moment where he could reach out to viewers that weren't his base, and really be a maverick. Independents, as the polls suggest, probably found the whole routine, to use McCain's own words, "unconvincing."

[erdogs]

^That is all well and good and commendable but your personal anecdote really has nothing to do with your original statement that is being responded to. That is your equating equal pay for woman as an issue of equal pay regardless of performance. It was either a diversionary tactic or you don't believe that women are able to perform equally with men, or you simply didn't comprehend the statement.

[monsoon]

^Indeed. McCain's campaign has been a disaster even forgetting that it is the standard GOP talking points. He can't even do a good job of that. His issue is that he does not have a strategy, but rather he jumps from tactic to tactic with the occasional stunt thrown in. He is running a base campaign in a year when the base he has isn't enough to get him elected. On top of that McCain's VP pick is disgusting to all but the extreme religious right winger and should be frightening to all given that McCain is 72 years old and won't release his medical records. Do we really want someone like Todd Palin fooling around with something like nuclear weapons?

[kayman]

Pay scale should be based on job performance, that's whether the person is male or female. I work along side people that I perform better than, doing the same job. My last raise put me at a higher wage than the others, it wasn't because I'm a man, it was because they valued my work more. Now if you ask my coworkers if they think they should be paid the same as me, the answer would probably be yes. If I ever let them know about my wage, maybe they would file a lawsuit as well. The answer isn't always as black and white as you would like it to be. In my opinion, the burden of proof should be overwhelming in their favor for them to win the lawsuit. If you want to have the best work force as an employer, it's a smart business practice to compensate your more valued employees a little more than the others. If your employer doesn't value your work, then find another employer, because you shouldn't want to work for them anyway. Everything shouldn't be settled by lawsuit, we have too many as it is.

[monsoon]

The McCain campaign has gone very negative in the last couple of days.

I don't really have an issue with the differences in traditional republican and democratic views. Both are needed for a healthy country. However the campaign that McCain is running is one of the most disgusting that I have seen in a long time. Maybe the most disgusting. They have been dishonest, disingenuous, self righteous, and they continue to insult the intelligence of Americans who really want this country straightened out.

If it wasn't for the fact they could be running the White House, I find The Palin's to be laughably unqualified for that position. And I am not talking about their education, knowledge, or even experience, but rather the fact they have decided to pass judgment on what constitutes a good American vs a bad American. The criteria they use for this is based on their own definition and not that based on the Constitution, history, or the fact this country needs to be brought together. The Palin's are entitled to their opinions, however by these kind of actions they continue to demonstrate they have no idea about the compromises and the willingness to consider the opinions of those who disagree needed to hold that office. George Bush isn't as bad but this trait in him has turned the White House into an inaccessible bunker and that is not the purpose of government. I find it completely frightening the Palins may be in control of the White House, and if that happens, it's gonna make the George Bush years look good.

It would be the facisim of McCarthyism all over again. As an example of that, Republican congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, in defense of McCain/Palin's tactics just made the amazing statement that all Democrats are anti-American. She practically called Obama treasonous and said an investigation of the Democratic members of congress should take place. It's absolutely scary. It's scarier still, that so many Americans still support these people.

I still look at complete amazement that McCain made the bad mistake of picking Sara Palin to replace him should he die or leave office unexpectedly. It puts into question his ability to make any sound decisions. I would hope there are some reasonable Republicans still left that will run from this platform as fast as they can as the Democrats do need a counter balance. The country does not need another single party controlling things for another 15 years but nor do we need people as supremely unqualified as McCain/Palin running the White House either.

[krazeeboi]

I thought this was just hilarious.

A few days ago, Obama spoke in Toledo, OH against a backdrop of American and Ohioan state flags, which look like a modified version of the American flag:

Some folks, including nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show host Bob Grant, thought the Ohio state flags were "Obama flags":

But really folks, did you notice Obama is not content with just having several American flags, plain old American flags with the 50 states represented by 50 stars? He has the "O" flag. And that's what that "O" is. That's what that "O" is...Now, these are symptom -- these things are symptomatic of a person who would like to be a potentate -- a dictator. And I really see this in this man.

[nowensone]

^ But we've devolved to the point were the people who would react to this may very well never hear the retraction or someone explaining the truth of the matter. This crap did it's job for some small percentage of people who really got pissed at the idea of Obama actually making his own flag. Hell, the 'mistake' may have been intentional.

[cpeakesqr]

Too bad we don't have early voting here in Virginia because things get uglier and uglier as the days pass by, and I'm just ready to vote. In fact, I wish I could vote now and then be put in an artificial coma until November 5th.

[vdogg]

Too bad we don't have early voting here in Virginia because things get uglier and uglier as the days pass by, and I'm just ready to vote. In fact, I wish I could vote now and then be put in an artificial coma until November 5th.

[monsoon]

Today John McCain had a rally in an old South town near Charlotte. This is in a state with 9M people, a CSA of 2.2M and which is in a tight race. A little over 7,000 people showed up.

Today Barak Obama had a rally in St. Louis. This in a state with 5.8M, a CSA of 2.4M and which is in a state with a tighter race than NC. 100,000 people showed up. I believe this may be the biggest political rally in US history.

Not surprisingly the US National media (NBC for example) presented these as equivalent events.

[krazeeboi]

That is just crazy. This was Obama's second largest rally, behind the one in Berlin where 200K people showed up. The one in Kansas City saw 75K people attending.

[monsoon]

Actually this was after a turnout of 75,000 on the other side of the state in Kansas City. So 175,000 people turned out for Obama over the weekend, this is 66,000 more people than what voted for Sara Palin for AK governor.

According to Sara Palin and Michelle Bachman, this would Missouri one of the most anti-American places in the country. You Betcha.......

[monsoon]

There is a big rumor out there that on Meet the Press this morning, General Colin Powell will endorse Barak Obama. This is an endorsement that McCain wanted badly.

[Neo]

There is a big rumor out there that on Meet the Press this morning, General Colin Powell will endorse Barak Obama. This is an endorsement that McCain wanted badly.

Looks like this is a done deal as Colin Powell has come out in full support of Obama. This has to be disheartening to the McCain campaign.

[tombarnes]

Game over. Not that this will have much more effect, but it is indicative of the way the wind is blowing. This may be a historic defeat along the lines of Reagan/Mondale or Bush I/Dukakis. I have friends who insist that this will be a close lection. but I can't quite see how it will be. I wonder what the election night maps will bring....

[monsoon]

If you like polls this site has a list of all poll tracking sites and their political slant. (L or R) It makes for interesting reading if you are into this sort of thing.

There is another site that runs a computer simulation each day to come up with an election prediction.

[JerseyBoy]

Thought I would share with everyone the smut the RNC and Republican Committee of NC is distributing throughout the state:

[kayman]

This is looking more and more like merry-go-round of foolishness with the RNC. They will say any and everything to appeal to the prejudice who are looking for justifications.

[tamias6]

^Good grief!! This is about a low ball as one can get outside of putting together a lynch mob. The RNC must be getting really desperate.

[Southron]

The GOP strategy of swinging to the right to pick up stray conservatives has gotten them nowhere. You'd think they would have figured this out by now.

Colin Powell really took it to McCain campaign this morning. He subtly criticized the Palin nomination, McCain's erratic behavior at the beginning of the economic crisis, the "terrorist" insinuations, and the general tone of the campaign. Airing his remarks over and over again the next few days should make the week an unpleasant one for McCain-Palin. They'll probably be calling him a socialist too.

[Charlotte_native]

I think the Colin Powell endorsement will sway quite a few people. He is actually one of the conservative Republicans that I would vote for. I fully respect his integrity, intelligence, and concern for our country. When W lied to everyone and used Powell as part of it, he immediately dropped out of public site, stayed in the Cabinet as a good soldier would, then left when the next election cycle gave him an open door. To me that is more honest integrity than anyone in any of W's offices has shown.

I believe his endorsement will make a least a few (yea, small number, but still some) conservatives evaluate exactly what they stand for and who they are voting for. He is well respected by all Republicans I know. I really think this will make a big difference for Independents that have often said they wished he'd run for higher office, possibly even President.

As for the upped ante of smear campaign from McCain -- have they not noticed that this really doesn't seem to be working? The people this would work for have already made up their minds -- I believe most that haven't made up their minds aren't responding to this.

[ChiefJoJo]

Here in NC, Obama's lead is widening (51-44), at least in one poll. That is more than the margin of error and puts NC into lean-Obama territory. As many of you know, an Obama victory in traditionally red-state NC would all but eliminate McCain's chances... and that is why both he and Palin have come to the state twice each in the last week to try and salvage it.

On MTP, the analysts were saying that Powell's endorsement will help in states with older moderates and those with heavy military & retired veteran populations, such as FL, NC, and VA.

[Nashville_maestro]

Went to go vote today. Here in Nashville it looked to be about half voting Obama and half voting McCain but the Obama voters were much more spirited. There was even a car with a tarp draped over the back that had a huge Obama/Biden 08 sign painted on it. One Obama guy looked to be in his late 50's or early 60's and was going through the new register process with me. Take it for what it's worth but if Obama has inspired a 60 year old man to go out and vote for the first time then god knows how this will turn out Nov. 5th.

I voted Obama of course.

[monsoon]

Palin was asked the question on what is the job of the Vice President. She promptly answered as follows: