Tagged: mccain

02Nov

McCain needs Pennsylvania

Posted in election2008, Politics | 4 Comments

If John McCain is to have any shot at winning the election, he needs to win Pennsylvania. Any feasible winning state combination for McCain includes Pennsylvania. The state of Pennsylvania has not voted for a Republican president since Ronald Regan.

Can John McCain win Pennsylvania? “You betcha.” More than any other state, race will play a factor in Pennsylvania voting. Pennsylvania has the second oldest population in the country, only surpassed by the state of Florida. The older a voter is, the greater likelihood of race being a factor in their voting decision.

The polling shows Obama leading in Pennsylvania by 7%, but that number will definitely tighten before Tuesday. Oddly enough, if McCain loses the election he can point to Sarah Palin as the #1 reason why. Palin has completed destroyed any support McCain had among the educated suburban white middle class women voters of Pennsylvania. McCain’s desperate attempt to appeal to women voters has completely backfired.

No matter who you intend on voting for this Tuesday, it is imperative that you go out and vote. This will be the most important election of your lifetime.

27Oct

The Obama Financing Revolution

Posted in election2008, Politics | Leave a comment


The election is a week away, and Barack Obama is leading nationally. While the polls indicate a strong lead, I think the election will be a lot closer than the polls indicate. John McCain still has a slim chance of pulling this out.

The McCain campaign has been mismanaged from the start, but one item that comes up over and over again in this election is money. Barack Obama has a huge money advantage over John McCain. Pundits think that the Obama campaign will have a dramatic change on how political campaigns are run in the future.

Obama’s focus of small internet based donations is not a new tactic, the Dean campaign revolutionized Internet campaigning in 2004, and Obama’s people built upon that success in 2008. The Republicans foolishly continued to focus on max donations from wealthy people.

John McCain likes to bring up Obama’s refusal to accept federal funds, and I disagreed with Obama’s reversal, but the Obama financing revolution has nothing to do with his refusal of federal money. The real story is Obama’s ability to pull in first time donors.

Before this election, almost nobody I knew donated to political campaigns. The amount of people I know who have donated to Obama’s campaign is staggering. Obama’s message has really resonated with people, and the American people realize the importance of this election. The tough primary fight with Senator Clinton aided Obama’s general election effort by getting exposure in every state.

Obama’s ability to raise funds is a testament to his message. The American people have spoken in mass with their wallets. Its not the “elites” who are empowering the Obama campaign, its middle class folks giving small donations.

06Oct

“Maverick” Economics

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Barack Obama’s lead is growing nationwide, so what can McCain do? The economy is spinning out of control, but its obvious that McCain has no compelling ideas, so his only lifeline is mudslinging. John McCain wants people to fear Obama, by playing the “character assassination by association” game.

Its a reckless attempt to stop the bleeding by McCain, just like picking Palin for the VP slot. Its very reckless, when you consider that John McCain was at the center one of the biggest financial crises in the history of our nation. Not only a financial disaster, but a severe lapse in ethics by senator McCain.

Its obvious, that McCain has yet to learn from his past mistakes.

25Sep

Suspend the campaign?

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With 40 days left till election day, the last thing we need to do is cancel debates and suspend campaigning. John McCain is simply grandstanding to try and avoid a further slide in the polls. Some sort of stimulus or bailout is definitely needed, but we need to uphold the constitution.

Today, John McCain mentioned that the country needed to get together like we did after 9-11. Remember what legislation was rushed together after 9-11? It was called the Patriot act, and it was the single worse piece of legislation passed in my lifetime.

The last thing we need to do is pass a rubber stamp bill, that give the treasury secretary unprecedented powers with little oversight. The idea that we need to pass a huge stimulus bill by the weekend is not only flawed, its reckless. The government should pass a short term bill, and work on a comprehensive package that is well thought out.

Finally, why does McCain need to suspend his campaign? Isn’t that what his vice president pick is for? If McCain can’t let Palin run the campaign for 2 days, why would anyone consider her to be fit for the oval office?

04Sep

McCain 2000 vs. McCain 2008

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Listening to McCain’s speech tonight, I thought back to when I was a big McCain supporter during the 2000 primary season, when John McCain was running against governor Bush.

Eight years ago, McCain’s policies and his independent nature inspired me to donate to his campaign. Its was my first political donation. Sadly, John McCain lost the primary, thanks to Karl Rove’s dirty politics, and the country has been going downhill since the day Bush took office.

As I listened to his speech, I’m struck by the contrasts of McCain in 2000 vs. McCain in 2008.

John McCain 2000

  • Generally told it to you straight, spoke freely with the press, and avoided being handled by spin doctors.
  • Refused to campaign based on his Vietnam experience, barely mentioned it, and discouraged discussion of it during interviews.
  • Despised the hatred and intolerance pushed by the religious right.
  • Fought for getting big money out of politics
  • Despised soft money and lobbyists
  • A True friend of the environment, pushed for global warming efforts and was against expanded drilling.
  • While not a pacifist, he was generally anti-war, and discouraged nation building.

John McCain 2008

  • Completely filtered and scripted, taking a page from the Rove playbook.
  • Milks his Vietnam experience in an intolerable fashion, pushing his bio, ala John Kerry.
  • Courts the religious right fanatics with his VP pick, panders to people like Falwell.
  • Gladly influenced by big donors and corporations.
  • Has a campaign run by lobbyists
  • Pushes oil drilling, and barely mentions a peep about environmental issues.
  • Pushes war and fear, and continues to defend his foolish pro Iraq war position.

The John McCain running for president today is a shell of the man who ran in 2000. Its quite sad, because if McCain became president in 2000, the United States would have been much better off. Sadly, the 2008 McCain is a continuation of the Bush administration.