Voting Lines

This morning I arrived at Maple Park here in town to vote because I am from town and that is where I have always gone. This year the line was already 20 people long when i arrived to vote at 5:45 a.m. I waited for about 20 minutes to vote and when I left there was about 50 people behind me. I could not believe how many people from this little town were there by 6:30 this morning just at this one polling place. My parents who voted around noon waited for about 50 minutes before they actually voted. They have lived here for more than 40 years and have never had to wait more than 10 minutes to vote. EVER! If it is this busy in a town of six thousand imagine what the lines look like around the big cities of the United States.

In the Homestretch

Indiana seems to be really important right now. Both candidates plan on visiting Indiana between today and tommarow. Early voting is the highest its ever been and there are many still campaining out there on these last two days. What is different in this election compared to other elections in the past. Many want the election just to end because they are tired of the hoopla surrounding the election and tired of seeing Obama or McCain's face. I say we need to care because one of them will be our president and we will have to see them about everyday.
Many Hoosiers were waiting hours to vote early and many are excited that we are a battleground state. McCain came to Indy today and Obama is expected to go to the Indy area tommorow but it is hushed up because he wants his appreace not to disrupt election day. Volunteers for both candidates were knocking on doors or doing phone calls. This weekend I saw on the news some celebrities even maning phones for candidates.
Obama and McCain will do a one on one interview during the halftime of Monday night football which will be at 10:15pm if anyone is interested. Its the Washington Redskins vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Also Saturday Night Live will have some spoofs of various elections tonight. I hope I get to see Will Ferrel as Bush again and of course Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.
Right now Obama leads McCain in Indiana 45.9% to45.3% Some of the early voters are willing to wait three to four hours to vote. Obama opened campaign offices across the state 44 of them and McCain oppened no offices in Indiana releying on state GOP. Grassroots for McCain started off slow compared to Obama's grassroots efforts.
In case you want to know McCain plans to visit battleground states of Florida, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, and Neveda all today. Tommarow McCain will go to Pennsylvania and then return to Arizona which he will have a party at Poenix's high end Biltmore resort and spa but plans to adress supporters on a lawn in addition to ballroom events.
Obama plans to visit Florida, North Carolina and Virginia today. Tommarow a quick stop here in the Hoosier state and then his election party will be in Chicago's Grant Park.
Both of them will be very busy but the homestretch is now and they will defiantely need some well needed rest after everything is said and done.

Voter Suppression

As the volunteer fromt the Obama campaign talked about in the last class, voter suppression is a real issue facing many people in the country. I have a good example to share that refers to my brother from Nashville, TN. He moved to Nashville about 4 years ago and has tried to register to vote more than twice and everytime the county or state says they haven't received his registration. He is registering Democrat by the way in a huge Republican state. This year he tried it again so he could vote in the general election. The deadline in Tennessee was October 6th so he went to the DMV and told them he wanted to register and the lady took all the proper information. My brother leaves thinking that he is going to be registered to vote on Nov. 4th. He checks today as to where he is going to have to go and vote and realizes that he is not even registered still. He calls the state to complain about this because he really wants to be a part of history. They tell him that they once again did not receive any information about him registering to vote even though the DMV told him he was. What is wrong with this picture? Do you think he should file a lawsuit? Yes or No?

Things are Heating UP!!!!

I found quite a few articles that have to do with my candidate. So I will give a synapsois of each. The first article is called "Plotting pair's success unlikely" which has to do with two white supremacists charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assasiante Barack Obama. Authorities said that the supremacists were too disorganized to actually go on with the plot. The two young adults had guns but documents showed that they did not get too close to getting their scheme off the ground. The two men were pretty open about the whole thing and so therfore they were easily caught. Some say that it is hard to take them seriously because they were going to wear top hats and tuxes to do the deeds. Many officials stated that the two men didn't have the means or organizational skills to actually go ahead with the assination on Barack Obama.
Joe the Plumber endorses McCain because he does not want Obama to spread any of his wealth around. McCain has made many mentions of Joe the Plumber and there is even an ad on his website with many supporters of his saying I'm Joe the Plumber and I don't want Obama as my president because I want to keep the money I have. Joe states that he is afraid that Obama will change the nation into a sociolist nation.
Battle on Pennsylvania is an upset for McCain. GOP is starting to have doubts about McCain's chances for presidency. Many Republicans in other states besides Pennsylvania are saying that Obama has a good advantage in their states to their dismay. McCain says he is ready for a fight and not afraid of losing in Pennsylvania. Obama also campaigned in Pennsylvania and had about 9,000 people standing in the cold and mud at Wedener University. Obama was very comfortable with the crowd even though it was very cold he also wore jeans, sneakers, and a raincoat to which he usually wears suit and tie. McCain canceled on of his events in Pennsylvania due to the cold weather. McCain is buying more ads in states and becoming more on the defensive. Early voting in swing states are in Obama's favor right now. Democrts are outnumbering Republicans in the voting process especially in the early voting polls.

McCain needs big muscles to climb this hill

Looking at polls all across the country it is not looking good for John McCain. He looks to be behind in states like Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Nevada, and and Virginia. Bush won all these states in 2004 and there is no way for McCain to win without them. In Ohio McCain is down 50 to 46 percent. This is a crucial state for McCain since no Republican has every won the presidency without the Ohio on their side. In Missouri Obama is ahead by a closer one point margin. In Florida and Nevada Obama continues to have a 2 to 4 point lead consistently. Finally in Virginia Obama seems to be widening the gap with a 5 point lead. In some polls Virgina is solid blue for Obama. The only light the McCain campaign is seeing right now is in Indiana and West Virgina where McCain still holds his lead over Obama. The only problem is McCain needs all the states that Bush won to win the presidency and he is down 8 of them across the nation. McCain is going to need a miracle on Nov. 4th to pull this off.

The Debate and activities before the debate

The journal gazette had two articles that I wanted to talk about in this blog for the campaign I'm watching. I got to see first hand Michelle Obama in Ft. Wayne talking about the kinds of things they want to change about Washington. I was amazed that she was even in Indiana when she had to be in New York later for the debate which I found out afterwords when she was rushed out of the convention center after making a round to shake hands. I liked how she really relates to working class Americans and tells us her story about how she was able to achieve her dreams. She also said that Barack will be the underdog until he is sitting in the White House. She talked about positive changes that many people would appreciate. Michelle also told us to vote early so we wouldn't have to wait in long lines on election day and so we can spread the word for Obama and what he would do for this country. She didn't mention the republican party at all see had an agenda that she had and her words hit the crowd very favorably. I like the fact that when Obama or his wife come to visit they tell us what they will do for us instead of slandering the other opponent. I'm curious on how Sarah Palin's visit in Indy today will go if she will be positive or continue comments that Barack is a terriost? I like the fact that we could relate to Michelle by what she had to say about her background. She also mentioned that her and her husband just paid off their school debt and don't think that people that graduate with service oriented careers should have to be in debt for the rest of their lives by helping people. For example teachers and social workers are two she mentioned. I enjoyed the rally and I hope she comes again but I'm sure she is really busy.
Joe the Plummer who was mentioned mainly by McCain and once by Obama after McCain did so many times said he is flattered that both candidates mentioned him. Joe Wurzelbacher is an Ohio man who wants to buy a plumbing business who came to symbolize the notion of spreading the wealth. Joe met Obama and said his plan would make him pay higher taxes but Obama explained how his tax plan would work for him and McCain seized the opportunity to use Joe in the debate to basically say that we would go into further debt if Obama is our president. McCain also said mockingly that Joe is rich and Congradulations if Obama was to be president. Personally I could have done with out the whole references of Joe and the sneers and snickers coming from McCain. I want to know how you are going to change this country for the better? Tell me! I already voted and made my decision but I would like to know.

War of words in presidential campaign intensifies

The war of words in this campaign are getting ridiculous. I understand that trying to make yourself out to be the best candidate possible is what each candidate is trying to do, but to undermine and do things considered "dirty" are ridiculous and needs to be corrected. The problem with these political strategies is that they do not get to the core issues of what our nation needs, but instead they try to put down another person in order to pick themselves up. There needs to be some type of order put into this so that the candidates can stay on topic and voters will be able to decide who they vote for by the issues and not by polluted visions of candidates on television and in the newspaper.

Would the real Cindy McCain please stand up?

Recently on the campaign trail the McCain campaign used Cindy McCain as an attack dog along with Sarah Palin. She brought up the vote on whether to fund the troops or not that was vetoed by President Bush because it included a timetable for withdraw. Cindy McCain went on the attack saying that she was just blown back that Barack Obama would vote against funding our troops on the battlefield. She said that Obama and her should switch shoes for a while so he could understand how a mother of a son who is in Iraq feels about not funding the troops. The funny thing about this whole statement is that her husband voted the same way Obama voted and that was a big "NO" to funding our troops.

Instead of blasting Obama for voting the same way that her husband did even though it wasn't for the same reason, she should be kicking her husband out of the bedroom and making him sleep on the couch! I really don't understand where the McCain campaign is really trying to go with this since both senators voted against this bill. And using Cindy McCain to say that the judgment of Obama is wrong and that her husband's judgment is better. There is one problem with that statement....THEY MADE THE SAME JUDGEMENT! End of story! So Cindy McCain and others out there who like to fabricate the truth I suggest you find a new strategy.

Presidential Debate

The article I was looking at is for Wed. after the debate took place. McCain defiantely went after Obama in this debate, which is what we talked about in class. I also believe there should be respect coming from both candidates and I felt less respect was given to Obama especially when McCain called Obama "that one" when referring to him. I felt that was uncalled for. I also noticed that McCain still did the blinking thing. Does he wear contacts? I also got annoyed with the "my friend" line. I'm also annoyed that McCain says that he would not telegraph his punshes when it came to war. Well Obama needs to let Americans know what is coming up and how to get Bin Laden. If you talk to most of the people on the streets they want Bin Laden they don't want to fight an endless war that we are supposively winning. I also got a little concerned when McCain said he would do anything for his troops but I have not heard how he is going to help soilder whom come back with PTSD. Mental illness is a serious problem in soilders that come home and many are not helped and they commit suicide. McCain went throught some serious stuff which makes me think not all soilders can cope with war like him and I wish he would realize that.
I liked that this debate had audience members and web users ask the questions but I still would have liked to hear more of how they are going to fix certain issues but the economy is bombarding these canadidates talking mainly about the economy. Another thing I want to talk about what's with all this Maverick business? It makes no sense to me, what is a Maverick anyway?
I also was concerned that McCain said that "My friends, we are not going to be able to provide the same benefits for presant day workers that presant retirees have today" He did not elaborate on this. It seems like generation after generation has to pay for past generations deeds. There were some white lies in the debate by both canidates but three came from McCain two from Obama. I know some mistakes can happen but voters are going to look at this. Overall I felt Obama had the upper hand in this debate. I thought he related to the voters and at the end stayed and talked, took pictures, autographs, and laughing with voters. I was watching the end credits and I was like were is McCain?

Commercials- Quick Comment

All commercials before the debate for Obama as well as McCain were of the candidate sitting or standing, around some sort of background, showing their patriotism with flags and what not. The commercials content consisted of a vague idea of something the candidate stood for, something they believed in. At the end of the commercials each candidate would say they themselves approved this message. After the debate I noticed more commercials than before. But these commercials were different. Each candidate would pick a topic that the opposing spoke of during the debate and that they didn't agree with. They would emphasize the points that are not at all beneficial to Americans. The commercials did not necessarily have Obama or McCain in them either or them speaking. And then at the end of the commercials most of the time now it says this commercial approved by the republican or the democratic party. I've noticed that most of the McCain's commercials now are being approved by the republican party, but Obama still is approving his own commercials. I just found this interesting.

McCain is going to spend money in IN

Today I heard on the news, radio and an email that was sent to me that the Republicans are actually getting scared of losing the state of Indiana. The McCain campaign decided to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to air television ads here in Indiana. Indiana has been a state that has not voted Democratic for president for more than four decades. Polls show here in Indiana that the race is heating up and Obama has a slight lead. The Republican party say they are not worried but why else would they just now have commercials aired and think about McCain coming to Indiana when he did not think to visit this state earlier. Barack and now Joe Biden have been actively campaigning here in Indiana and actually talking to Hoosiers about the challeges they face on a day to day baisis. I found all this to be interesting.
I think if McCain did come to Indiana he would get support but Obama has been all over this state and has already aired many commercials. It might be too late for McCain.

Gotcha Sarah/McCain the Puppetmaster

As many of you might have seen there is a new tv interview with Sarah Palin and Katie Couric with an extra addition of John McCain. Is there any other way to show that your vice presidential nominee is not qualified more than having to go to a CBS tv interview with her to clear up the ongoing debate on whether she qualified to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency.

Watching the interview just a moment ago revealed something quite interesting to me that McCain looks very nervous when Gov. Palin is talking to Katie Couric. Couric is asking questions about Gov. Palin's reaction to attacking Pakistan since she said she would over the weekend. McCain throughout the interview tries to talk for Palin suggesting that they totally agree on foreign policy in regards to Pakistan even though she stated otherwise. McCain said the question wasn't stated clearly by the voter about Pakistan and it is normal to just give an answer off the top of your head. According to McCain it is just "Gotcha journalism". The fact is she said it to a voter.

This dual interview with McCain and Palin shows that she needs McCain there to back her up and talk for her to clerify any misunderstandings that the media has gotten from Palin's solo interviews. In the end this makes them look weaker especially if they don't agree on foreign poicy in regards to Pakistan.

Political Stunt

Today John McCain decided to suspend his campaign because he believes he needs to be in Washington to help pass the 700 billion dollar bailout. Many people are divided on what this actually mean? Many people in the media have come to the conclusion that McCain is going to Washington just because it will look good in the time of crisis. He and Senator Obama are both Senators and have a vote in the matter but that is about it. McCain going to Washington and suspending his campaign just to vote.

McCain also said today that if there isn't a bailout bill passed by Friday he would not be attending the Presidential Debate that is scheduled for Friday. This also makes it look more like a political stunt because going to Washington to vote is one thing but suspending your campaign and stating that the debate should be postponed looks like McCain is just playing politics. Its a risk that in the end is probably going to hurt him despite what his staff is telling him to do.

Obama said today that he would still be at the debate friday night and the debate committee stated it would happen Friday. What will happen if John McCain doesnt' show up? Something is going on in the McCain campaign and they can't find their voice right now so they are throwing all sorts of ideas out there day to day. What will happen next?

Obama just might take Indiana

On the front page of the Indianapolis Star there is a poll that shows Obama has an edge to McCain. Obama has 47% and McCain has 44% and there are still some undecided voters and some voters that could swith from one to another canadite. It seems in this article that things are starting to heat up in this state and getting more exciting. Speaking as an independent voter I can't wait to see what happens. The poll also finds Obama supporters are more enthusiastic which is not surprising to me he is an energetic speaker I have seen him myself. The poll also says that young voters and African Americans tended not to vote but this election day is going to be very different. Many voters who have not voted before will vote in this election. One in five voters that back McCain or Obama could change their minds. I have seen more commercials and visits from Obama then McCain and I believe that will also swing some voters pick for president. Many Hoosiers are a little upset that Obama didn't pick Evan Byah as the vice president but I still think they will still vote for Obama. I was a little disappointed to but I see his strategey.
Can you believe it Indiana is a battle ground state which is so exciting.
Obama's advantage could easily deteriate though but we'll see what happens. Obama might be able to turn a historically red state to a blue state for the first time in 44 years. Hoosiers are seeing presidential nominees come to this state which they have not seen in many years. McCain's co -chair man says he is confident that McCain will win Indiana. My question is Is this why he has not come to Indiana he has already written us off as a red state?
Obama does well with women, younger voters, and African Americans. McCain does better with men and women also because of his selection of Palin. Some Hoosiers feel that McCain picked Palin as a political ploy. Some Republican Hoosiers are voting for Obama and some Democrats are voting for McCain. I think this race is bipartisian and the race is still anyone's game and the game is really close and Indiana just might get to change their old ways for new ways.

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong"

Yesterday John McCain stated, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." He made this statement after learing that Lehman Brothers (158 year old wall street giant) filed banckruptcy and 94 year old Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America. Yesterday's loss of about 500 hundred points on Wall Street was the biggest since September of 2001. Since the comments made by McCain yesterday the Democrats have pounced on his words and are looking for a way through the Sarah Palin bounce of the previous weeks.

The Obama Campaign hit the McCain campaign back by saying, "McCain is disturbingly out of touch." They say this because two of the biggest financial institutions collapsed yesterday and McCain is still out there stating that the economy is still strong. The Obama campaign is seizing the moment that the economy is being hit hard by the past 8 years and they are tying the McCain campaign to 4 more years of Bush. Some would even go farther and call him Bush 44 since the current president is Bush 43.

The loss of two financial institutions yesterday obviously shows the economy is in a rough patch right now and the two campaigs are trying to make their points that there ideas are the right ones. It is going to be hard for the McCain campaign to break away from the past 8 years since John McCain is a republican candidate and the republican president has been in power over the past 8 years. I believe the Obama campaign is going to hit the McCain campaign hard on this and we will see how the two camps present their economic agendas in the next few days.

Obama and Biden buzz

First of all I would like to take a minute and say that this election is an historical election. I have been following the campaigns this summer and actually got to see Obama in Elkhart In. Have you ever seen magazine covers of presidential nominees on PEOPLE or other magazines like US. I work at Wal-Mart and see these magazine covers and I have seen more of Obama then McCain. Recently I saw McCain's whole family on a PEOPLE magazine. I don't remember ever having presidental nominees on these magazines.
I also want to talk about the bobbleheads that are being sold. Have we had this before in any other election. There is one of McCain and three different ones of Sarah Palin, one as a mother, one with her and a gun, and one as a governer, and there is one of Obama and none of Biden which I thought was weird.
Many of the newpapers I have read are really looking into Palin. My Sunday paper only had a story about Obama and a waffle makeover which was Obama as like a Aunt Jemima on waffle mix which some people found offensive and they had to quit selling the product. I personally don't find this at all funny. He also had an Arab headress on on the box. I think it is uncalled for and it will dissude some voters who believe in the rumors that Obama is a muslim or that Obama and Oprah are going to create their own religion. Give me a break!
Obama cares about what people are going though he canceled time at Saturday Night Live to focus on Hurricane recovery of Ike. Obama did say that McCain is out of touch with what is going on in the U.S. People are losing jobs, healthcare and pensions and that it is a quiet storm that McCain is not focusing on.
In my Sunday paper there was an except about Joe Biden's son whom has stppped working as a federal lobbist because it makes his father a target of Republicans. Obama has critised McCain for having lobbists.

Brown Protestors Unfair

The criticism against Prime Minister Brown is unfair. As I sit back and read about the remarks that Brown said I do not understand why protestors are jumping on his back. He simply stated that he agreed with one of the policies that Senator Obama was supporting, he did not state that he backed Obama. I believe that this is a strategized move by the Mccain campaign to try to get backing from oversees and put pressure on Brown to side with him in hopes that they will support his campaign, and that would possibly help him get votes from people stateside. Again, I do not see anything wrong with the comments that Brown made and I think people are blowing these out of proportion, and they could end up hurting our relationships with other nations.

"Lipstick on a Pig"

Today the McCain campaign has used tactics to take voters off the issues of healthcare, gas prices, the economy, and many other issues facing every American. The McCain campaign released an internet ad suggesting that Obama was "Sexist" because they believe he was refering to Sarah Palin as a pig. The phrase that Obama used was "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig." The McCain campaign is dead set that he was refering to Palin a pig. At the same time John McCain himself has used the same phrase along with many other Republican senators and congressman. The phrase itself actually refers to different ways a candidate can throw spin around an issue to hide the truth. In other words a tactic to cover up the truth. Obama was saying that McCain and his campaign were covering up the truth about the issues. To suggests that Obama called Palin a pig is totally wrong and just a way the McCain campaign and divert from the issues to keep people focused on sideshows. The issues come first and it will be the issues that will promote real change in the future and not political sideshows.