Central Scrutinizer

Democrat-Republican-Up-Down ... that's about right :-P Seriously, we'll never know about Kerry because he never got a chance. Regardless of 3rd party options and symbolic votes, our politics is a dichotomy of choice. If one candidate has shown bad judgment or we're not better off after four years -- or even heading in a right direction, or an acknowledgment that adjustments are necessary, there's no reason to continue in that direction, and "up" is in order. In all sincerity, I don't understand how, after four years of Bush, regardless of your core values or conservative principles, there

Not if you don't omit the "did not vote because lynched" category in the polling then.

IIRC a 3rd party that can garner 5 percent of the popular vote is eligible for public election funds. Any attempt at a 3rd party has to have grassroots organization and a slate of candidates, else any elected official would be pissing into the wind.

Found an interesting little nugget about early voting here in Florida -- probably the same elsewhere as well. The clerks of courts are required to list the names of everyone who votes, their party affiliation and where they voted. Sure enough, I found my name. It doesn't list the vote, but party affiliation certainly can give you indication. BTW, from the list I've scanned, it's overwhelmingly DEM in a supposedly overwhelming REP area of Florida.

"How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative" http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/rig...tion/index.html

Waiting for the Barbarians Comment By Richard Kim This article appeared in the November 3, 2008 edition of The Nation. October 16, 2008 In case you haven't heard, there's a guy running for president named Barack Hussein Osama Nobama. This Nobama was born outside America and secretly schooled in Islamic terrorism at a Wahhabi madrassa. He then moved to the United States to take up the radical '60s teachings of the Weather Underground's Bill Ayers, while also organizing for ACORN, a subprime-lending, voter fraud-committing collective of affirmative-action welfare queens. All this happened be

You guys get a wand?!?

Lemme guess. This included lipstick? RNC Paid for Palin Clothes The RNC "appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August," reports Politico. The McCain campaign "declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures, including whether it was necessary to spend that much and whether it amounted to one early investment in Palin or if shopping for the vice presidential nominee was ongoing." Said a spokeswoman: "The campaign does not comment on strategic de

Pity the coach who has to look across the field at the eyes of Samurai Mike.

I would have never guessed they could have done my mini convertible one better!

Well I officially voted today in Duval County, Fla., home of 27,000 votes that were never counted in 2000 -- just about all of them from black neighborhoods. They're having early voting in public libraries. There were at least three poll watchers in the room, ballots are bubble sheets fed into the reader in the room by the voter. The uniformed clerk who was managing the line told me that at points during the day the line went out the door and around the building -- on the 2nd day of voting. The guy was incredulous how many young people were voting. Lots of minorities were voting at the lib

Wow, I didn't know he was running ...

I don't think abortion proponents will get much relief from Obama either. Four out of the last five SC appointees have seen them run left when they're expected to run right and vice versa.

He'd have more fun rhyming with North Carolina ...

A screen name nod to MST 3K

Thanks for posting that. I think even with her novel approach, predicting the youth vote is like nailing jello to a ballot. Obviously, comparing 2004 to 2008 is a problem because, while Kerry enjoyed some success against the youth vote, there isn't the buy-in as there is with Obama. You consider how the comfort with cellular, wireless and Internet technology have grown exponentially in the past four years, compared to the prior 8 years, and I think each of the polls is like the analogy of the blind people trying to describe an elephant (no political pun intended). While she had luck predic

I think you have a double-whammy -- both an outgrowth of that youth vote. (EDIT: O.K. triple-whammy) 1) That beyond young adults, cell-phone-only households have grown at a similar percentage. 2) Even for landlines, in the wake of the Do Not Call lists, the most likely person to pick up and follow through on a poll call are older adults. 3) Early voting enables votes to get recorded now, while polls are showing a solid edge for Obama. The Obama organization is being vigilant about encouraging early votes, including rides to polls. What I haven't heard much about with the increased advent o

One analysis notes that, as cell-phone-only households have tripled since the 2004 election, "Polls probably undercounting Obama's support" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27196636/

From the "Don't count your juvenile poultry before the proper process of incubation has been full materalized" Department, or MSNBC (and it's not by Olberman): Cook: Metrics add up for Obama ANALYSIS By Charlie Cook, National Journal WASHINGTON - One of the most unsettling aspects of this campaign is that for an election cycle so turbulent, with so many surprising twists and turns, over the last few days it suddenly has had the feel of concrete setting. Just seven or eight weeks ago, Sen. Barack Obama had a lead over Sen. John McCain, but it hardly seemed sure; we wondered, is this lead re

From the Wall Street Journal ( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455027730552509.html ) Ben Bernanke apparently wants four more years as Federal Reserve Chairman. At least that's a reasonable conclusion after Mr. Bernanke all but submitted his job application to Barack Obama yesterday by endorsing the Democratic version of fiscal "stimulus." While the Fed chief said any stimulus should be "well targeted," even a general endorsement amounts to a political green light. Mr. Bernanke certainly knows that Mr. Obama and Democrats on Capitol Hill are talking about some $300 billion in new "stimu

I can honestly say I *hated* Live at Budokan when it first came. Partly it was teen-age frustration because My friends and I had listened to them from the first album -- which I honestly think is their best. One of my first concerts was an outdoor extravaganza at a Rockford, IL racetrack prior to Budokan's release. Cheap Trick headlined the concert, with opener Molly Hatchett, AC/DC (Angus rode through the crowd on two roadies shoulders playing lead) and, inexplicably, The Babys (15K people took a collective nap. After a full day of music, Cheap Trick played for two hours, turning it into a

The far, far right could always paint him as the antichrist.

McCain takes a major gamble. McCain Giving Up on Colorado CNN reports that top officials of Sen. John McCain's campaign are "making tough decisions" as they now see Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa no longer winnable. Instead, the campaign's "risky strategy" is counting on Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and a comeback in Pennsylvania. The McCain campaign responds: "We see the race tightening both internally and in public polling. We are within striking distance in the key battleground states we need to win." Given Obama is up 14 points in Pennsylvania, and doing nearly a