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)!

29...

I am no for being mostly negative when it comes to games, political races, or my own luck. Being a Philly sports fan, I've grown accustomed to my teams getting really close to victory and then choking: The Phillies in 1993, losing to the Blue Jays in the World Series; The Eagles in 2oo4, losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, etc. Even this year, the Phillies have gotten past the divisional playoffs and will now face the Dodgers for the National League title. I refuse to be optimistic, though, about the Phils advancing to the World Series.

Well, throughout my short life in participating in democracy, I've not had much success in the Presidential election. To be fair, in 2000, I could not vote, but I followed that election quite closely. But in 2004, I felt so sure that Kerry would win, I was so crushed and shocked beyond belief when 51% of American voters elected Bush for a second term. This brings me to this year. Why should I continue to be positive about the chances of the candidate that I deem most qualified to lead our country out of despair? Am I only setting myself up to be more crushed? I think I'll be more than crushed, I'll leave the country. Well, that's not fair, I'll be leaving the country either way, but if McCain is elected I'll be fleeing the U.S. Whereas, if Obama is elected, I will be leaving the country celebrating the revival of the United States, and the restoration of the American spirit in the world. Right now I'm pretty confident that Obama will be the 44th President.

My big question... should I continue to be positive??

30 more days...

I feel like my fears are about to be realized. The McCain camp is attacking Obama and turning the page on this economic fiasco. Their strategy is to tie Obama to terrorists and slowly chip away at his supporters that may be easily swayed. I refer back to an earlier comment: "How can people be undecided OR potentially convinced to go for the other guy!?"

Tuesday's debate should be good. I really hope that Obama can keep his composure and McCain loses his temper. I think the American people need to see who will be leading us for at least the next four years.

At a museum yesterday, I offered to take a picture of an older couple and their pregnant daughter. After taking the picture and returning the camera to the woman expecting, her mother uttered to me barely audibly, "I know you were a good person when I saw the Obama button!" She was of course, referring to the Obama button that I've worn on the side of my baseball cap for nearly two weeks now. Hopefully, my button has done more than just give people the impression that I'm a good person. I hope that it has challenged people to think long and hard about the choices we have this fall, and that we can't afford to mess this up!

31 days from now...

Sarah Palin wasted no time after her big night when she squared off with Joe Biden. She attacked Obama today for having connections with terrorists. Since we first met the governor, you almost had to figure that she would be the attack dog, or pitbull, for McCain in his presidential bid. The McCain/Palin campaign seems to be playing out of the same Republican playbook as Bush in 2000 and 2004. I'm really anxious to see what this will do to McCain's campaign. He trails Obama nationally, in the polls with just over 4 weeks until judgment day. I knew that it would have to get ugly, but I hope it doesn't get too bad. I fear that when politics becomes too dirty, people become disinterested. Maybe, the ugliness will have the inverse effect and people will be more eager to vote.

32 days...

The big news of today is that the House passed the $700 billion Bailout Bill. What will come as a result of this, only time will tell. I don't think we (ordinary Americans) have any idea what this means for us. One thing to note is that this bill failed in the House earlier this week but passed in the Senate yesterday. I wonder how much pressure the House was feeling after the Senate passed it a day earlier. Within minutes of the bill passing, President Bush signed it into law. It's amazing how quickly our government can get something done when they really want to get something done.

As far as who won the VP debate last night, I guess that really depends who you ask. Today, some people were saying that Biden was the clear winner while others argued that it was Palin. I guess, putting political views aside, I'd still have to say that Biden was the superior debater. He answered questions directly. He didn't attack Palin, nor was he ever disrespectful to her. Now, some may say that this is because he is more experienced in these settings. Well, that may be, but I do know that Palin has debated once or twice before. Personality-wise, she just came across as too folksy. I am not opposed to Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates trying to relate to Americans and appear down-to-earth, but I think she's just a little over-the-top in her attempt to convince Americans that she is just like them. Biden, on the other hand, was able to relate to his fellow Americans with sincerity. I really appreciated that. I don't agree with either VP candidate on every issue. Naturally I agree more with Biden, but there are still some issues that I wish he and our future President, Barack Obama, would handle differently. Anyway, more time to touch on those issues later.

The second Presidential debate of this election season will be on Tuesday, October 7th. So many exciting things to watch this time of the year: debates, continued election news coverage, and playoff baseball. Hopefully, the debate on Tuesday won't conflict with the games I'd like to watch.

33 days until the election... VP debate night!

Tonight, the vice presidential candidates squared off in St. Louis, MO: Biden vs. Palin. I had been looking forward to watching this debate for weeks along with the rest of the U.S. I'm not really sure that I can declare a winner in the debate. I think both did well. They are both plain-spoken and folksy. There is no question, though, that Joe Biden is much more qualified to lead as the next Vice President. Sarah Palin can definitely relate to a lot of Americans, but she has about as much qualifications to be Vice President, as i do to be the Ayatollah.

This debate was not about who Americans should vote for on November 4. It was designed to introduce the Vice Presidential candidates to the American people. I think it served its purpose. I can't imagine that it changed too many people's minds if they were undecided going into it. The next debate between Obama and McCain, which is on domestic issues, will be much more significant in determining how people will vote in November. I liked the debate because I like watching debates. I think it was fairly moderated. I look forward to hearing the spins, commentaries, reviews, and satire that comes as a result of the big Thursday night showdown.

34 days...

Well it's October. You know what that means; the next month in chronological order is November. We're just under 5 weeks away from Election Day. Tomorrow is the much anticipated Veep debate. Millions of Americans will tune in to watch Palin and Biden. I honestly don't see how Palin has a chance at winning. I think that whatever bump Sarah Palin gave McCain and the Republicans before the RNC has worn off. Obama is making ground in the polls because of the economy, mostly.

I really have to get into the habit of writing earlier in the day. Once again, I am falling asleep trying to type. Good luck to both Governor Palin and Senator Biden in tomorrow night's VP presidenial debate.