9 days to go...

So after a two week hiatus due to time without Internet and a busy schedule of travel, unpacking and repacking, I am back for the homestretch. A lot has happened since my last post. I'm not going to try to catch you up on everything. I will trust that you have been following the "talking heads" on CNN or keeping up with all of the lastest election buzz on the blogosphere.

My biggest fears have been realized. The negativity has taken a stranglehold of McCain's campaign. First it was Wright, then Ayers, then Resco; all of these, futile attempts by the McCain/Palin negative nincompoops to smear the Obama/Biden ticket. The most negative the Obama campaign has gotten was attacking McCain for being connected to Michael Keating. This was timely, as McCain has long been a proponent of deregulation. Obama's message of higher regulations hit home with American taxpayers as they watched Congress approve Bush's $700 billion bailout. Both candidates pinned Wall Street against Main Street. Despite his relentless efforts, J Mac's Maverick status has slipped through his hands as he's pandered more and more to the Republican base. Once a man of integrity as a respected Senator, he has abandoned his days as a Maverick and failed to denounce racist attacks at rallies. Finally, probably after hearing David Gergen point it out, McCain took the microphone from one lady at a rally who said she didn't trust Obama and called him an Arab. Sadly, McCain's response was not that of a Maverick in the slightest. "No ma'am. Senator Obama is a decent human being...". Of course, the latest buffoon for the McCain/Palin ticket was Joe the Plumber who isn't really a plumber after all. Joe is now contemplating a run for Congress in 2010.

With less than ten days of robocalls and conservative talk radio, I am terrified to think what lows the Republican National Committee will sink to, in order to give their true American hero the upper hand. I guess, this is democracy at its best; where the people elect their leaders. It feels like easily the majority of the people of this country want Obama to be their next Commander-in-Chief.

Joe the who?? Speaking of America, in America's pasttime right now, the Phillies are one game away from winning the World Series! This would give Philadelphia its first professional championship since 1983. Starting pitcher for the Phils tonight in Game 4, Joe Blanton, got the win and hit a home run. The last Joe that Philadelphia is thinking of right now is Joe the Plumber. Joe the Pitcher is all the buzz in Philly tonight.

9 days. Vote. How, you might ask? Well, just listen to Bush's former Press Secretary Scott McClellan. Oh that's right, he just endorsed Barack Obama.

23 days... "It's you... and me, forever...... Sara smile" :)

Hockey mom, is she? Well that depends who you ask. Having been selected to drop the first puck of the Philadelphia Flyers first home game, she made a gaffe-free appearance in South Philly. Whoever thought it could be possible? Just over ten days after she voiced a contrasting view of Pakistan in a "gotcha interview", she returned to the City of Brotherly Love. Yes, that's right went back to conquer Philly twice. According to a local newspaper, she was greeted warmly by the well-heeled, season ticket holders seated in the lower level. However, their cheers were drowned out by a cacophony of "boo's" from those seated in the upper levels. I guess the Flyers personnel must have anticipated mixed reactions--they complimented her walking out onto the ice and puck drop with a triumphant fanfare recording. There was a lovely black carpet laid out for her to walk on with her daughter (donned in a Flyers jersey cough pandering! cough). It must have been quite the spectacle. Now the Vice Presidential hopeful has puck-dropping experience to add to her resume.

Unfortunately, I do believe that another politician stole her thunder that day. Yes he can, Barack Obama had a huge rally in Philadelphia that afternoon, which drew thousands.

Nice job, Sarah Palin. Stay as far away from Alaska as you can right now. It's better to let all of this dust settle over your alleged abuse of power. No need to sweat it now, doggone it! You will have plenty of time to sort all of this out come November 7 while you're looking for a new job like the rest of America.

24... 100 days until Bush leaves office

Perhaps we begin another countdown today. In addition to my 40-day countdown to Election Day, I'd like to add the countdown from 100 of the number of days Bush has left in office. Now, I've actually been counting down since January 1, 2008 when I began reading Countdown to Out-of Office Calendar. The calendar gave me a daily reminder as to why I should be looking forward to the end of the Bush/Cheney regime (not that I need 385 reminders).

Here are some major reasons why I can't wait until Bush and Cheney are out: Patriot Act; No Child Left Behind, Illegal occupation of Iraq, "Mission Accomplished", Rubber-stamp veto, Karl Rove, Net job-loss, doubling national debt--$5 to $10 trillion (10,000,000,000,000 dollars), failing to pass SCHIP bill; Donald Rumsfeld; U.S. secedes from the U.N.; Condoleeza Rice.

It is very important to remember that we are only 24 days from electing Bush's successor (as a Bushism, "You can't say he'll be successer than me yet, we haven't even seen him as President, heh"). But it is also good to keep in mind that 100 days from today, the Bush White House will be no more.

January 20, 2009: Save the date... Inviting everyone, everywhere to celebrate with us on this, the happiest day of our lives.

25... Presidential Election = Parents' approval of daughter's beau

I think winning a Presidential election is a lot like a man (candidate) winning the approval of his girlfriend's parents (American voters). You have to earn trust and respect, your record must be unblemished, and not mention, you've got to convince people that you will take care of their only daughter (The United States of America) and treat her like a lady.

Only in Presidential politics, you're not just trying to convince a few people, you're trying to convince millions. Now, these millions of people... they are all different. The majority of them want to get to know you and run a fine-toothed comb through you (vetting). Also, the girl (U.S.A.) in this case, has no say. She, herself, goes with what her parents (millions of American voters) decide. So, you've got to gain their approval and do it according to their terms. You may have some fundamental differences with these people, but you've got to pander to them and sacrifice some of your soul for the sake of the prize at the end of the race. But no matter how hard you try or what you say, you aren't going to win them all. What's worse is that they have another man (opposing candidate) in mind for their daughter (U.S.A.), and they like him much better and think that he would treat their princess much better than you would. So now, you are inevitably competing against an equal opponent who loves the same girl dearly. You might say that he always puts her first (Now who's going to argue with that?). Oh yeah, another frightening reality check, you are both engaged to the same woman... at the same time!

So you sink every dollar that you have as well as don't have (campaign finance), into trying to win them over, and also not let your opponent win. After an exhausting several weeks of proving yourself time and time again (campaign), it comes down to one day.

One other difference, if you do happen to win the approval of the majority, your union with their daughter might only be for 4 or 8 years. Then you will be judged on those years, never to be forgotten, and it will be someone else's turn to have a try at the lucky girl.

26 days from victory...

I heard McCain say earlier in a stump speech that Barack Obama never uses the word victory. We all know that J Mac is talking about victory in Iraq, meaning winning the war and bringing honor to our troops and leaders. Well, I still don't quite understand what he means when he talks about victory in Iraq. We cannot be victorious there. What do we have to win? There is no prize in Iraq. We won't receive an award. The only things we have been receiving so far are a damaged financial infrastructure and thousands of unnecessary lives lost.

But if McCain wants to talk about victory, then let's talk about it. How about Barack's historic win, in so many ways, on November 4th over the Senator from Arizona. Obama defeats the failed policies of the Bush administration. The middle class wins as a Democrat regains control of the Executive Branch. The United States of America is victorious in taking back its country from the right-wing authoritarians. Now, John McCain is by no means one of those authoritarians, but he does like to pal around with them.

Twenty-six short days from Election Day before this country changes course, changes its ambitions, changes its leadership, or not.

27 more days...

The 2nd Presidential debate was pretty much tied. A Fox News gave McCain the win by a slim margin of 72%. While MSNBC's poll said that Obama won by nearly the same margin--70%. The unbiased media reported that 40% of Americans said that Obama won, while 26% said that McCain won the second Presidential debate.

My read: both candidates did well. Both had some slip-ups but no major gaffes. McCain is fighting an uphill battle right now as the economy worsens and Bush's approval rating drops below 25%. He really needed to crush Obama in the debate in order to win. Well, he didn't dominate. Therefore, McCain did not win the debate; Obama did. Obama won the debate by default. What does this mean for McCain? He finds himself losing ground in Battleground states. I am hesitant to believe too much in these polls. I think it's closer than a lot of these polls indicate. However, both candidates touched on the major issues last night. Certainly, the economy is at the forefront of everyone's minds. Obama is winning the debate on the economy right now, hands down. If the economy remains the focus, he will easily win.

There was an article in the USA Today earlier this week that showed how many voters have been registered for both parties in key battleground states: Democrats = +800,000; Republicans = -300,00.

28 days - 2nd Presidential debate tonight

One month from tonight, we will know who is the next Potus (President of the United States. I can't believe we are so close to election day. I am pretty much ready to vote right now. I don't need to wait any longer. I know who I want to be the next President. I don't want to have to wait any longer. He deserves it. I am leery of what might happen as this race gets uglier and uglier.

I feel like victory is within reach. Somehow, President Bush still has a 25% approval rating. I don't have the slightest idea of that which people are approving, but nevertheless one-quarter of the U.S. still approves of the job he is doing as Commander-in-Chief.

Tomorrow, I will analyze the 2nd Presidential debate and discuss the current polarized state of our country.

Recommendations:
1. Watch Indecision 2008 - both Daily Show and Colbert Report, nightly
2. Watch 'SNL' video of the Vice Presidential debate - Tina Fey deserves an Emmy for her impersonation of Sarah Palin.
3. Read a variety of newspapers and talk to loved ones and friends about the current state of our country and our world.
4. Vote on November 4 (for Barack Obama)!