Obama kills fly...PETA gets a hardon over it

Obama Kills Fly, PETA Gets A Hardon over it

Obama kills a fly and PETA wishes he didn't. Last I checked, PETA stood for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" not the "People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects." It was a fucking fly, not a fucking animal you retards. It's an insect. A pest. One that carries diseases. They live on turds for christ sake! What is wrong with these fucking pussies. Who ever cried about a dead fly? Some two year old? If the fly buzzed around long enough, I bet that kid would swat that motherfucker too. Flies only live for like three days anyway, right? So what's the big fucking deal. Fuck PETA and fuck the fly. I'm glad the motherfucker is dead. One less fly in the world, the better.

One-Out-of-Seven Favor 90% Tax Rate for Millionaires

One-Out-of-Seven Favor 90% Tax Rate for Millionaires

Just one-out-of-seven Americans (14%) would like to see a 90% tax rate on earnings
above a million dollars a year. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone
survey finds that 74% are opposed to such a high tax rate for the nation's highest
earners. Eighty-five percent (85%) of Republicans oppose the 90% tax rate, along
with 66% of Democrats and 72% of those not affiliated with either major party.

I'm all for someone paying their fair share in taxes, but you have to agree that 90% is way more than their fair share. It's the socialism that the Republicans accused Obama of advocating when he only supported a measly 3-4% increase in taxes -- the same rate of the Clinton years. They shouldn't bitch, that tax rate is lower than it was when their savior -- Ronald Reagan was president. The tax rate right now, is what, 36%? Obama is gonna raise it to 39%? The highest tax rate I'd support would be 50%. I don't care how much you earn, if the government came along and took half of your earnings away I'm sure you'd be pissed, right? But I don't know what word to describe what I'd be if the government came along and took 90% of my earnings...that's just plain robbery.

And speaking of tax hikes....I found this interesting: More Voters Than Ever Say Tax Cuts Help the Economy

Now I don't adhere to any ideology. I believe in doing what's right. In a faltering economy, I don't think raising taxes is the right thing to do - to anyone. When and (a minor if) the economy gets going again, and is strong, then I'd support raising taxes, but only then.

Now before I get called a right-winger like I have been called already today...I just told you, I don't adhere to an ideology. I don't believe in the right wing ways of doing things or the left ways of doing things. Sure, there's some policies on both sides of the aisle that I find appealing, but I do not "belong" to either side. I am a registered independent. Always have been and always will be. I don't care which side of the aisle you cling to, if you do something that I don't like I am going to bash you for it. I won't kiss either side's ass. You both suck in my humble opinion and have done nothing but bring this country down further into the hellhole it is in. The fun part is sitting and watching you two blame each other for it. You're both to fucking blame. I would say that you should work together to fix things -- but history shows that really isn't a good idea, either. When you guys work together, the American people get a double fucking up the ass. So yeah, every 4-8 years you guys take turns in fucking the American people up the ass and that's fine...just as long as it isn't a bipartisan fuckeroo.

Now, I hope I cleared things up. If not, let me know in the comments.

Cheers!

Bad News for Democrats

According to Rasmussen...

Support for the Democratic Congressional candidates fell to a new low over the past week, allowing the GOP to move slightly head for the first time in recent years in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 41% said they would vote for their district’s Republican candidate while 39% would choose the Democrat.

Investors now favor Republicans by a 46% to 36% margin, while non-investors would vote Democratic by a 45% to 33% margin.

Rasmussen

If this keeps up, Democrats are gonna be in trouble in 2010 and 2012. I may even vote for the Republican candidate for President in 2012 myself if Obama keeps showing his hypocrisy and succeeds in being a hypocrite. Let this be a warning to you Obama and the Dems. Get your shit together and govern from the center or else you will face casualties in the next 2-4 years.

Things Are Looking Up

According to Rasmussen...

Consumer Confidence Reaches Highest Level Since November

After five days of steady gains, consumer confidence is now at its highest level
of 2009. In fact, confidence is now at the highest level since the morning after
Barack Obama was elected President in November.
The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures consumer confidence on a daily basis,
moved up another point on Sunday to 67.0.

I guess things are starting to look up. Now who will take the credit? Will it be President George Bush or will it be President Obama? What do you think?

I don't really care either way. As long as things start to get better and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's alright by me.

Obama Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for overhauling the health care system.

The proposal is politically problematic for President Obama, however, since it is similar to one he denounced in the presidential campaign as “the largest middle-class tax increase in history.” Most Americans with insurance get it from their employers, and taxing workers for the benefit is opposed by union leaders and some businesses.

In television advertisements last fall, Mr. Obama criticized his Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for proposing to tax all employer-provided health benefits. The benefits have long been tax-free, regardless of how generous they are or how much an employee earns. The advertisements did not point out that Mr. McCain, in exchange, wanted to give all families a tax credit to subsidize the purchase of coverage.

NYT

What a fucking hypocrite. Fuck you, Obama. Keep this shit up and you can kiss 2012 goodbye.

Obama considering plan to make vets pay own insurance

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.

This is real nice. Obama supports some sort of national health care system, but wants to force our veterans to pay for service related injuries? Sounds contradictory to me. What happened to supporting our troops? One of the reasons our veterans join the service in the first place was for the great benefits.

Charging for service-related injuries would violate "a sacred trust," Veterans of Foreign Wars spokesman Joe Davis said. Davis said the move would risk private health care for veterans and their families by potentially maxing out benefits paying for costly war injury treatments.

This plan sounds more like a Republican's than a Democrat's to me. Usually the Republicans are the ones sending our young men and women off to war and then neglecting the veterans when they come home.

So much for positive change, eh? More like change for the worse. Change this, change that. All these troops are left with is fucking pocket change and Obama wants them to pay for their own work related injuries. Real fucking good. Fuck Obama. I hope the Dumbocrats have enough balls to vote against this bullshit plan.

"I believe that veterans with service-connected injuries have already paid by putting their lives on the line," Murray said in her remarks. "I don't think we should nickel and dime them for their care."
Eleven of the most prominent veterans organizations have been lobbying Congress to oppose the idea. In the letter sent last week to the president, the groups warned that the idea "is wholly unacceptable and a total abrogation of our government's moral and legal responsibility to the men and women who have sacrificed so much."

Amen.

Some denounce Obama's homeowner rescue as unfair

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Obama says 'I screwed up' with vetting of tax-tainted appointees

President Barack Obama abruptly abandoned his nomination fight for Tom Daschle and a second major appointee who failed to pay all their taxes, fearing a lingering ethics dispute would undercut his claims to moral high ground and cripple his presidency in just its second week.

"I screwed up," Obama declared.

"It's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules — you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes," Obama said near the end of a day of jarring developments, little more than 24 hours after he had said he was "absolutely" committed to Daschle's confirmation.

"I'm frustrated with myself, with our team. ... I'm here on television saying I screwed up," Obama said on NBC's "Nightly News with Brian Williams." He repeated virtually the same words in interviews with other TV anchors.

Mercury

It's nice to finally have a president who isn't afraid of admitting his mistakes. Former President Bush didn't have the cajones to admit he made a mistake or even utter the most honest of words: "I screwed up."

Do you know Caroline Kennedy?

Do you know know Caroline Kennedy? She thinks we know about whatever she is talking about. Could you please enlighten us, Caroline? What the hell in the you know are you talking about?!

From what I've heard, Caroline Kennedy is a well educated woman. But from listening to her in interviews, it makes me wonder. What's wrong with her? Why can't she speak intelligently? How many times can someone say "Ya know" in a 2 minute conversation? Geeze!

The "ya know" is more annoying than Barack Obama's uhhs and umms. Even with all of Obama's umms and uhhs, he sounds more intelligent than Caroline. Someone commented that she sounded like some low class druggie. I think I have to agree with that. She does not sound like someone with an advanced education.

As for appointing her to the senate, I think we've got enough Kennedy's in Washington as it is. And I've said it before, and I will say it again: I am tired of this appointment bullshit. The American people should be able to choose their representatives to congress, even if a sitting senator steps down.

Poll: Obama leadership rates high as Bush's after 9/11

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A national poll suggests that three-quarters of the public thinks President-elect Barack Obama is a strong and decisive leader, the highest marks for a president-elect on that characteristic in nearly three decades.

Seventy-six percent of Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday said Obama is a strong and decisive leader.

"That's the best number an incoming president has gotten on that dimension since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "The public's rating of his leadership skills is already as high as George W. Bush's was after 9/11 and easily beats the numbers that both Bush and Bill Clinton got at the start of their first terms in office."

Just six in 10 felt that Bush was a strong leader when he took office in 2001. After the attacks of September 11, that number rose to three in four. Sixty-seven percent thought Bill Clinton was a strong leader when he took office in January 1993.

Eight in ten Americans said Obama inspires confidence, can get things done and is tough enough to be president, three characteristics Americans look for in a leader and the three qualities on which Obama got his highest scores.

He also gets higher marks than Bush did in 2001 on honesty, values, issues, management abilities and compassion.

The 67 percent of those polled who say they admire Obama -- his worst score -- is roughly the same as the highest that Bush got on a similar battery of questions just after he took office in 2001.

"But it is Obama's ability to inspire confidence and the perception that he is tough enough for the job that may be most important for him as the country faces fresh challenges abroad and a historically harsh economic downturn," Holland said.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey was conducted December 19-21, with 1,013 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

But while Bush enjoyed high approval ratings in his first term, things dramatically changed over his eight years in office.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released December 26 showed that 75 percent of those surveyed were happy to see Bush leave office.

"Earlier this year, Bush scored some of the lowest presidential approval ratings we've seen in half a century, so it's understandable that the public is eager for a new president to step in," Holland said.

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider added, "As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. At least that's the way three-quarters feel." Watch how Bush's farewell polls compare »

The portion who say they won't miss Bush is 24 percentage points higher than the 51 percent who said they wouldn't miss Bill Clinton when he left office in January 2001. Forty-five percent of those questioned at that time said they would miss Clinton.

The poll indicated that Bush compares poorly with his presidential predecessors, with 28 percent saying he's the worst ever. Forty percent rate Bush's presidency as poor, and 31 percent say he's been a good president.

Only a third of those polled said they want Bush to remain active in public life after he leaves the White House. That 33 percent figure is 22 points lower than those in 2001 who wanted Clinton to retain a public role.

"It's been like a failed marriage," Schneider said.

The December 26 poll was conducted December 19-21, with 1,013 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

CNN

I guess Obama's off to a great start. Here's hoping that it continues this way for a long time.

Heh, and the last part regarding Bush, it seems the American people want him to go back to Texas and stay there - out of public view. They don't want him doing any more damage, and I don't blame them. I feel bad for Texas, though.

Obama raised nearly 750 million

President-elect Barack Obama brought in nearly $750 million for his presidential campaign, a record amount that exceeds what all of the candidates combined collected in private donations in the previous race for the White House, according to a report filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission.

Underscoring the success of his fund-raising, Obama reported that he had nearly $30 million in the bank as of Nov. 24, despite spending furiously at the end of his campaign. Obama spent more than $136 million from Oct. 16 to Nov. 24, the period covered in the finance report. He also took in $104 million in contributions during that time.

By comparison, his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, who was limited to the $84 million allotted to him from the Treasury under public financing, spent $26.5 million during that period, according to his latest campaign finance report. Although McCain had $4 million left over, he had $4.9 million in debt, the report said.

Assuming that most of that money came in before Election Day, Nov. 4, it appears Obama's fund-raising stepped up significantly as the campaign drew to a close. In the first half of October, he raised just $36 million.

An exact figure is difficult to calculate because of vagaries in the way fund-raising numbers are reported. But it appears that Obama, who became the first major-party nominee to bypass public financing in the general election since the system began in the 1970s, raised more than $300 million for the general election alone.

When Obama decided after he clinched the Democratic nomination to bypass public financing, campaign officials said they needed to raise at least twice as much as they would receive in public money, with a goal of raising three times as much, to make it worth the added time away from campaigning that he needed to devote to fund-raising.

Obama's fund-raising total - fueled by both small donors giving incremental amounts online and large donors who were given the chance to mingle with him - appeared to more than validate his campaign's gamble.

Indeed, it could very well mark the epitaph to the public financing system, which critics have long declared is badly in need of updating.

At a minimum, it sets an imposing bar for any Republican challenger to Obama in 2012.

"Assuming Obama runs again and his fund-raising prowess is sustained, then it will be a daunting undertaking for any opponent," said Kenneth Gross, a campaign finance lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

In one illustration of the scope of Obama's fund-raising haul, all the candidates running for president in 2004, including President Bush and Senator John F. Kerry, the Democratic nominee, together collected less than $650 million, not counting the money received under public financing during the primary and the general elections, FEC figures show.

Boston.com

What an amazing haul. I guess this reaffirms the ol' phrase "money talks and bullshit walks."

They say, now that Obama broke all fundraising records, the current campaign finance system is broken. No candidate will ever accept public financing seeing the colossal amount of funds that Obama raised in his primary and general election campaigns. Why wouldn't they? He who has the most money, wins. So of course they want to win, and certainly don't want to risk sharing the same fate as John McCain, who ironically, was the victim of his own campaign finance reform.

I was reading an article by Karl Rove, McCain Couldn't Compete With Obama's Money, and he wrote something that I agreed with, "It is time to trust the American people and remove limits on how much an individual can donate to a campaign. By doing that, we can design a system that will be much more open by requiring candidates to frequently report donations in an online database. Technology makes this possible. Such a system would be easier for journalists to use and would therefore make it more likely that fund raising would be included in news coverage. That would give voters the tools they need to determine if a candidate is getting too much from unattractive people. "

I, too, think that it is time we remove limits on how much an individual can donate to a campaign. Maybe it will reduce the amount of funds that come in in result of campaign finance fraud.

Barack Obama Day

MARION, Ala. – In central Alabama's Perry County, government workers already get a day off for President's Day, Martin Luther King Day, and Veterans Day. In 2009, they'll get one more: "Barack Obama Day."

The rural county, which overwhelmingly supported Obama in last month's presidential election, has approved the second Monday in November as "The Barack Obama Day." Commissioners passed a measure that would close county offices for the new annual holiday and its roughly 40 workers will get a paid day off.

Sponsoring commissioner Albert Turner Jr. said the holiday is meant to highlight the Democratic president-elect's victory as a way to give people faith that difficult goals can be achieved.

Perry County has 12,000 residents, most of them black. Voters there backed Obama by over 70 percent in a state that gave 60 percent of the overall vote to Republican John McCain based largely on strong support from white voters.

At the state level, Alabama observes the standard federal holidays as well as a handful of its own that include Confederate Memorial Day in April and the June birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. It observes Martin Luther King's birthday in January but the holiday is twinned with commemoration of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the same day.

The Perry County Commission's three black members and one of its two white members voted for the Obama holiday.

Commissioner Brett Harrison said Wednesday he voted against the resolution because of the costs to the county, which has a $2.2 million annual payroll and is one of the poorest in the state. He said closing the courthouse would also idle some state employees.

"I'm a Democrat, but just in these financial times, it's not using the county's money wisely," Harrison told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday. "The recognition is certainly well-founded."

Turner said copies of the resolution, adopted at a Nov. 25 meeting, have been mailed to Obama and his transition team.

AP

This is ridiculous. The man is not even President yet. He hasn't even served a day in office yet. and they're already honoring him. Isn't it customary to honor the Presidents AFTER they leave office, not BEFORE they arrive in office?

And this isn't the first time someone has chosen to honor Obama. They're already naming streets after him and schools after him. I mean, when is the madness going to end?

I guess people think Obama's the messiah or something. Well I hope he is. He's got a big mess to clean up and he's gonna need all the luck he can get. A lot of lives need saving. He's sure gonna have his hands full on January 20th.

Obama skips church, hits the gym

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.

On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect's decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

Politico

Good for him. He shouldn't be wasting his time in church, anyway. I think it's refreshing to see someone caring more about their health than about religion.

Does anyone really care about this stuff? At least he is doing something constructive with his time.

Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State

President-elect Barack Obama plans to name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his secretary of state shortly after Thanksgiving, two senior Obama aides said.

The officials said they expect her to accept. Clinton aides had no comment.

The choice unites the two rivals in the most protracted presidential primary in American history, giving Obama the "Team of Rivals" Cabinet he had promised.

Former President Bill Clinton authorized unprecedented disclosures about his finances to Obama's vetting team, and transition lawyers are satisfied, officials said.

Politico

Obama's really taking a gamble here. I hope it's the right decision.

Arizona Gov. Napolitano to become Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will become the Obama administration's secretary of homeland security. I guess this will help John McCain in his reelection to the senate in 2010. The rumor going around was that Napolitano was going to try to capture McCain's senate seat when he completed his fourth term, and she completed her second and final term as governor. Early polls have predicted that Napolitano was favored to win in a Napolitano versus McCain race. A statewide poll taken in August of last year showed Napolitano leading McCain 47-36 percent. She's apparently more popular than McCain with an approval rating hovering about 60 percent, and in 2005 was named one of America's five best governors, calling her “A Mountaineer on the Political Rise.”

I bet McCain is breathing a little easier tonight.

Hillary might reject State offer

I'm glad. I don't think Secretary of State is the job for her. A position in the Health and Human services might be more suited to her talents. Hillary's been fighting for National Health Care for about 17 years now, this could be her chance to finally achieve that goal. Though, it's highly unlikely we'll ever see Nationalized health care in this country, there is some sort of reform needed. Maybe with her help it'll finally get done.

As for Secretary of State, Bill Richardson is currently being eyed for the position. I don't know too much about Richardson, but if he's qualified for the job, I'd be fine with him filling the position.

One week since that historic night

It's been one week since that historic night when Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. The first black, bi-racial president. I still can't believe that Obama won. It's just so surreal. I feel like it was a dream and I have yet to wake up. When will reality finally settle in? I'm guessing it won't seem real until Obama is sitting in that Oval Office.



What an amazing night. I remember getting chills when they projected that Obama would win Ohio. I knew at that moment that it was all over. Obama won.



McCain was very gracious in his concession speech. He looked like the man I used to admire. He went out with dignity and class. Halfway through the speech I was all choked up. Not just because Obama won, but because McCain lost. I felt sorry for him. Because I know, had he ran a better campaign, and as the Maverick, moderate Republican that he once was, the results of this election could have been different. It was his last chance to become President and he blew it.

McCain definitely earned back some of my respect from this speech. It was one of the best he ever gave, if not the best. I commend McCain for telling his brute supporters to stop the immature booing. This was one of the better McCain moments in the past two years.

I wish McCain the best. I've always liked McCain and respected his service to our country, but that doesn't make him the man to lead our country for the next four years. McCain's time to lead was 8 years ago, and sadly, was stolen from him by George Bush. I can't help but think that if McCain had secured his party's nomination in 2000, we all would have been better off today.

Well, enough of the what if's and the what could have been. Let's put the past behind us and look toward the future. I wish both candidates luck, and I hope that they can work together to serve and unite this nation so we can get this country back on track.

My prediction for the election

Here's my predictions for Election Day:

Obama will win the popular vote 52-46 and the electoral vote 396-142.

Democrats will have 57 seats in the senate and 249 in the house.

Here's the map:

Much to McCain's chagrin, he will not carry Pennsylvania and will not win the Presidency.

Obama will win Florida 49-45, an unexpected upset in Georgia, a victory by 2 points, North Carlina 2 points, Virginia 5 points, Pennsylvania 7 points, Ohio 5 points, Indiana 2 points, Missouri 2 points, Colorado by 5 points, Nevada 4 points, New Mexico 9 points, and somewhat predicted upsets in Montana and North Dakota by a few points. Oh, and I forgot New Hampshire, I am sure Obama will win there by about 7 points.

Around 8pm they will call Virginia for Obama, along with Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. They will announce Obama the winner by 9pm.

Voter turnout will be historic, 180 million Americans will have voted in this election.

McCain will concede around midnight.

Happy voting everyone.

Electoral Analysis

The latest polls show that McCain is in trouble in Georgia and other, formerly Republican strongholds. McCain leads Obama by a mere 2 points (48.8-46.2) in Georgia, and 5 points (49-44) in his home state of Arizona, where a few polls show the race as close as 2 points.

Both candidates are tied in usually reliable Republican states like Indiana, Montana, North Dakota and the ultimate swing state of Missouri. McCain has weak leads in South Dakota 50-41, Mississippi, 53-45 and West Virginia, 51-43.

Obama is ahead in every swing state, with his lead growing every day and is getting stronger in Democratic states, while McCain is getting weaker in Republican states.

Latest polls:

State Obama McCain

Nevada: 50 43
Colorado: 51 44
Ohio: 50 43
Virginia: 51 44
N. Carolina: 49 47
Florida: 48 45

Obama is strong in all of the states Gore and Kerry won in 2000 and 2004. As long as Obama hangs onto all the states Gore won in 2000, which total 264 electoral votes, he will need to pick up just one more state equaling 6 electoral votes or more to get to the magic number of 270.

Here are the states Obama has a chance of picking up, in addition to the states Gore won in 2000:

Virginia with its 13 electoral votes, on top of the 264 safe Gore electoral votes, would put Obama over the top with 277 electoral votes.

Colorado, a state with 9 electoral votes, would give Obama a 273-265 lead over his opponent. There is a good chance of a pickup in the state, as he has been leading consistently since February.

Nevada would put Obama at the 269 mark, and if he doesn't pick up Virginia, or any other battleground state, then the race would be a tie and this could benefit Obama with a Democratic congress.

Ohio would clinch it for Obama. With it's 20 electoral votes, he wouldn't need to pick up any other state. McCain needs Ohio to win and without it there is just no realistic victory for McCain.

North Carolina, with it's 15 electoral votes would be a big blow to McCain and like Ohio, McCain can't win without it.

Florida, the state's 27 electoral votes that determined the 2000 election, is a Republican stronghold, and without it, Bush wouldn't have won and McCain can't win without it, either.

A Georgia win for Obama would cripple McCain with it's 15 electoral votes. And a win here is possible, with a high turn out among African American voters. African Americans make up 29% of the electorate in the state and is enough to swing the state to the blue column.

Missouri is the ultimate swing state, with it's 11 electoral votes, has voted for the ultimate winner of the election for the past 100 years, getting it wrong just once in 1956. It will be interesting to see if the "Show Me" state lives up to it's reputation of voting for the winner.

Indiana hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1964. And with it's 11 electoral votes, could help put Obama over the top. The chances of Indiana going blue this year are very good. Bush won Indiana by landslide margins in 2000 and 2004. Obama being ahead in the polls there by as many as 7 points is not a good sign for McCain.

A loss in Arizona would kill McCain. McCain needs every electoral vote he can get and without his home state's 10 electoral votes he is finished. Due to the changing demographics in the state, Arizona would have been a swing state in the beginning, but in this late stage of the game Obama has now been able to turn it "purple."

Obama has a knack at turning Republican strongholds purple, and North Dakota and Montana are no exception. Obama and McCain are currently tied there, and should Obama pull off a win in both of these states while not winning any other swing state, with their combined 6 electoral votes, they could tip the election in Obama's favor.


The polls close around 7-7:30 PM on the east coast. If they announce that Obama wins any of the following states: Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio. You can rest assured that Obama will be the next President of the United States and it will be a relatively short election night. I'm hoping this is the case, if not, we're going to be in for a long, nail biter.

Regardless of what the polls say right now, this election is not over. Don't become complacent. Make sure you get out and vote. Make sure to get your friends and family to the polls as well.

Myth about the 2004 election

There is a myth about the 2004 election: John Kerry was ahead in the polls throughout the 2004 campaign and still lost the election. I'm glad someone finally debunked the myth that Kerry was ahead in Oct 2004 going into election day. Some of us know that is not true. Kerry was never consistently ahead the way Obama has been this election year.

Take a look at this graph provided by RCP. It shows that Bush was ahead in the popularity polls consistently from September until election day in 2004.




Now compare that to this year (graph provided by pollster):

As you can see from the graph above, Obama has been consistently ahead since September (and since the beginning of the primaries in January) just as Bush was ahead from September till election day in 2004.

Now, if that's not enough to convince you, let's look at the electoral polls:

2004:



2008:

Both graphs provided by Electoral Vote.

As you can see in the 2004 graph, Bush lead Kerry consistently from September till election day and ultimately won the election. The 2008 graph shows that Obama has lead McCain consistently as far back as April. Kerry never had the leads that Obama has had in this election. If you want to look at this election from a 2004 perspective, Obama = Bush, McCain = Kerry, although Obama has had the upper hand in this race from the beginning.

Now if anyone claims that the polls showed Kerry leading Bush in all polls in 2004, direct them here.