Rebecca Shapiro: Move Over Tina Fey–Sarah Palin Look-alikes Spotted Everywhere On Halloween (PHOTO SLIDESHOW)
<p>Watch out Tina-- guess you're not the only one who resembles Sarah Palin. It looks like the VP candidate was all over the country last night-- participating in everything from parades, to office parties to trick-or-treating. Take a look at Halloween's most impressive Sarah Palin costumes.</p> <p></p> <p><p><em><strong>For more Huffington Post coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign, go back to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/off-the-bus/">HuffPost's OffTheBus</a>, check out <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/"> Huff Post's Politics page</a>, and our <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/huffpost">HuffPost bloggers' Twitter feed.</a></strong></em><p><p> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5397/t/2348/signUp.jsp?key=481">Sign up here to be an official OffTheBus Photojournalist.</a> <p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5397/t/2348/signUp.jsp?key=198"><img alt="2008-06-12-otb_coverage3.gif" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2008-06-12-otb_coverage3.gif" width="300" height="181"/></a></p>Marcia G. Yerman: Veterans’ Families Cast a Vote for Change
<p>I previously wrote an <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/obama-mccain-and-our-vete_b_122875.html">article</a> about those who have served in our military, and the challenges facing them and their families. At that time, I interviewed Lorin Walker. We have stayed in touch, and she recently sent me this letter. It speaks for her, and two other women that she quotes in her correspondence. They are all members of what is referred to as a Gold Star Family - those who have lost loved ones who have died in service to our country.</p> <blockquote>As military family members, we were supportive, proud to serve, and prepared to sacrifice for our country and our values. We were not however, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for artifice. We are Gold Star family members, a mother, a sister-in-law, and an adult child of service members who lost their lives in honorable service of our nation. We feel strongly about the reprehensible way in which the war in Iraq was conceived. The moment that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz sat down to plan how to <em>sell</em> the invasion to the public under false pretenses, we lost. We <em>all</em> lost. The damage done to us and to our reputation as a nation has still not been fixed. <p><br /> How then, could Senator McCain begin to fix what he doesn't even seem to acknowledge has happened? We remember all too well that the war did not begin with the surge. Senator McCain's rhetoric demonstrates a complete denial about all of the "loss" that occurred <em>before </em> that -- the loss to our nation's integrity and honor. "Still further, what are we as a country losing when we continue to lay to eternal rest the funny kid on the baseball team and the girl who always knew how to get her little siblings to finish their chores? These aren't Rambos we're sending to do our dirty work, they are our military," said Gold Star mother Rosemary Palmer. "We will forever wonder what each might have contributed to our world." </p> <p>We appreciated Senator McCain when he spoke up about Bush policies that were damaging. <br /> Yet, he still does not seem to have acknowledged (even to himself) the ongoing extent of that damage or the resulting loss of public trust -- which is the lifeblood of our entire system. The Iraqi budget is running a surplus while ours is in a downward spiral. When tens of thousands <br /> of Iraqis peacefully protest in the streets against long-term U.S. presence, it is time to change course. It is time to refocus and redouble our efforts on Afghanistan, not stubbornly stay in <br /> Iraq while being asked to leave. Gold Star sister-in-law, Janine Gastineau said, "The war in Afghanistan has long been overshadowed by the distraction that is the war in Iraq. Every new disaster there rubs more salt in the wounds of our grief." </p> <p>When combined with McCain's insulting record on veterans' issues and his tendency to be out of touch with the plight of average working Americans, it is not surprising that he is also far out of touch with the long-term <em>loss</em> of credibility that Iraq has caused us around the world. Only with a truly myopic definition of victory is it possible to keep talking about winning.</p> <p>As the daughter of a pilot who has been missing for 37 years, I can tell you that the cost of war is decades, generational in scope. To say that we will stay until we have won, in a war that has no clear lines, an ever-shifting definition of the word <em>win</em> is offensive, damaging, unethical, and wrong. It is playing with words to fuel a political campaign. What must we have won to say that we have won, and what more will we have to lose? </p> <p>By stark comparison to Senator McCain, Senator Obama will take the long view. He will look before he leaps. He will not sacrifice American lives lightly or use force to prove a point. He will restore an honor to the American Presidency that is based on mutual trust. He will respect our service members, their families, and the rest of the world. He will engender respect from around the globe and from the troops that will call him Commander in Chief. </p> <p>And finally, there is the question of patriotism. When the political chips are down or policies are failing, those who raise questions or who point out failures are accused of being unpatriotic. We are not unpatriotic people. As one widow said to me, "I was a proud military wife for ten years. I resent anyone who questions my patriotism, or anyone else's, simply because we question a flawed doctrine that endangers precious lives. I would never back down from defense of my country in the presence of a genuine threat. However, I cannot condone the duplicitous politics of McCain and Palin. As a survivor, I am a witness to the pain that plagues the families left behind." </p> <p>We are Gold Star Family Members, true patriots. We are standing up for all that is great about this nation that we love. We are standing with a leader who has inspired the nation and the world, a patriot who will command with authority and lead with intelligence and foresight. We <br /> will <em>proudly </em>cast our votes for Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 4th.</blockquote></p> <p><br /> <em>Janine Gastineau's brother-in-law and her husband's only sibling, Helge Philipp Boes, lost his <br /> life in Afghanistan in early 2003 during his second tour of duty as an Intelligence officer with <br /> the CIA's Counterterrorism Center</p> <p>Rosemary Palmer of Bay Village, Ohio, is the mother of Lance Corporal Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, who was killed in action near Haditha, Iraq, on August 3, 2005</p> <p>Lorin Walker, Vice President of CLW-VETPAC, is the daughter of Capt. Bruce C. Walker, whose OV-10A Bronco was shot down in Quang Bihn Province, Vietnam, on April 7, 1972. He has been Missing in Action since 11 days later (two days before Ms. Walker's 1st birthday), when a rescue attempt was aborted as Capt. Walker was surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army. <br /> </em></p>HuffPollstrology: Candidates’ Horoscopes, Polls And More For November 1
Polls have come to dominate the media's horse race coverage of political campaigns. Pundits and reporters constantly use them to tell us who's hot and who's not -- but skip over the fact that plummeting response rates and variables like undecided voters and margins of error often render these polls useless as anything other than lightweight diversions on par with horoscopes and political betting lines. Below you'll find a slew of polling, astrological, and betting information that will hopefully help the polling junkies in the media keep polls in the proper perspective.
We've also updated HuffPollstrology to bring you regular takes from astrologers on the state of the presidential race. And we've included a section that digs deeper into how polls are conducted. And to make sure we're really investigating, we're going to add various blogs and articles that cast a skeptical eye on polling. Read on for lots of HuffPollstrology:
ASTROLOGER PHILIP SEDGWICK LOOKS AT THE CANDIDATES - **NEW POST 10/30**:
Three patterns deemed by astrologers as inspirational form throughout the next few days. One promotes lofty idealism, innovation and inspired solutions. Another demands strategic planning, methods that make sense and solutions that fix problems, not symptoms. The final pattern declares that compassion, sensitivity and concern for all people need to be part of change. The candidate that nails all three in the weekend preceding the election captures any remaining undecided voters. Funny, a few months ago the polls held McCain with overall leads and distinct advantages in many states. Now, as voters sync up with the planetary pulses of now, the prophecies of post polls fail, while the read of the planets for November remains the same. On Monday, look for the final assessment of the planetary promise for the election.
McCain
Saturn now closes in on McCain's Venus, who represents women, money and social cause when considered politically. Women's choice issues, equal pay, federally sanctioned benefit plans and a solid economic platform must be presented. Actually if not evident by now, a disappointed Saturn assures popularity wanes further. In addition to these matters, given a female running mate and the track she takes, Palin remains a huge concern/liability/asset. Really at this point consensus catches up with what has been seeded. While some are quick to point to the polls that indicate McCain's rise in appeal, Saturn shrugs. It's too little, too late. Saturn in Virgo, McCain's birth sign, does not favor negative criticism. Saturn insists that person state one's own case irrespective of another's position. Since McCain's camp has not followed this protocol, it stands as a task impossible to offset the decline of the last weeks. Watch Sunday and Monday. The intense Sun in strongly emotional Scorpio forms a crisp, tense angle to McCain's planet of assertion/anger/aggression, Mars. There's still a remaining day or two to display that rumored anger instinct.
Obama
Riding the momentum of an uninterrupted half hour infomercial and given Saturn's approach to his Mars as the Sun presses his Sun, Obama says with confidence, "The time is now and I am the man for the job." While undergoing very similar patterns to McCain, Obama's spin takes the higher road. While energized to the point of sharpness in speech, Obama's message seems more lucid, easier to grasp and more likely to make a positive difference. His optimism and can-do confidence shadows the negative spewing of his opponent. Even if McCain closes in some polls, there's no need for panic. Keep doing what you're doing and give other undoing ample space to work itself out.
RENOWNED COSMIC NAVIGATOR GAHL SASSON LOOKS AT THE SYMBOLIC ASPECTS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES **NEW POST 10/27**
My name is Gahl Eden Sasson and I teach and write about Astrology, Symbolism, Kabbalah, and Mythology. I am very happy to have this great platform to share my thoughts and ideas with you. As an Astrologer I have seen how the Zodiac can change people's lives. Again and again I have witnessed the connection between the Above and the Below. It's time to take Astrology out of its fortunetelling context and bring it back to its original form as a tool that helps us shape our own destiny. If you want to learn more about your own sign you can go to CosmicNavigator where you will find a great deal of free downloads including lectures on all 12 Zodiac signs and Part I of my new book Cosmic Navigator - Design Your Destiny with Astrology and Kabbalah. If you want to learn more about the connection between Astrology and the Financial Situation please go to my blog.
POLLING METHODOLOGY: New Polls Added 10/31
HuffPost is delving into the gray area of how polls are conducted. Below is an analysis of how pollsters come up with the numbers through response rates. The definition of a response rate is taken from Arianna's 1998 column "Investigating The Pollsters."
The key to polling's accuracy is the principle of "equal probability of selection." But if larger and larger numbers among those randomly selected refuse to participate, this principle no longer applies.
We asked polling companies to please give us the response and refusal rates for their polls listed below.
Reuters/ C-SPAN/ Zogby Poll, Conducted October 26-October 28
Results: McCain 44%, Obama 49% Method: 1,203 likely voters polled over three days. "Can you please give us the response and refusal rates for your most recent national poll?": A Zogby representative said, "28.2% Response, 71.8% Refuse."
DailyKos/Research 2000 Poll, Conducted October 28-October 30
Results: McCain 45%, Obama 51% Method: 1,100 likely voters polled over three days. "Can you please give us the response and refusal rates for your most recent national poll?": A Research 2000 representative explained the methodology of the poll, saying that it was a rolling poll with a baseline of 1,100 likely voters, taking approximately 355 to 365 calls per night and throwing out the oldest numbers. "I would say that [we take] one in every eight calls on average," he said, attributing this rate to a combination of callers "telling us to go to hell" and callers not meeting their standard of a "likely voter" through a name recognition test.
Gallup Daily Poll Conducted October 28-October 30
Results: McCain 43%, Obama 52% Method: 2,459 likely voters polled over three days. "Can you please give us the response and refusal rates for your most recent national poll?": 14% response rate, 26% refusal rate. This is an average rate for this particular series of polls, technically defined as the CASRO rate which is similar to the AAPOR-III response rate (these definitions can be found here).
Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll Conducted October 28-October 30
Results: Obama 51%, McCain 47% Method: Sample of 3,000 likely voters over three days. "Can you please give us the response and refusal rates for your most recent national poll?": A representative for Rasmussen told us, "We don't give out that information".
George Washington University (Lake/Tarrance) Poll, Conducted October 27-October 30
Results: Obama 49%, McCain 45% Method: Sample of 1000 likely voters. "Will it be possible for us to get the response and refusal rates for your most recent national poll?": After a few calls, a representative for Tarrance told us, "It's not going to be. Write what you need to write, but it's not going to be. We're four weeks out from a campaign and quite frankly this is not anywhere near my priority list. Okay?"
 |  |  |
|
| Mccain vs obama in the General election | |||
 mccain |
43% Gallup Daily |  VIRGOAugust 29, 1936 It might seem that someone is so, so headstrong that there's no way of getting them to see a different point of view. The art may be in letting them think that an idea is their grand plan and not yours. Restraining yourself and resisting the temptation to 'go off on one' might not be easy. On the up-side, today's aspects are good for buying and selling. | 16.6% chance of winning |
 obama |
51% Gallup Daily |  LEOAugust 4, 1961 Someone may be trying to have a 'private' word with you but perhaps doesn't have the confidence to seize the moment. You may need to nudge them along. They may need help to go through old papers or documents and could be finding this emotionally challenging. It might also be necessary to undertake a quick journey: though it may be wise to take extra care you don't travel too fast and happen to an accident as a result. | 84.0% chance of winning |
| weather report | ||
| East |  | Philadelphia, PA High 62F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%. |
| south |  | Atlanta, GA |
| midwest | | Minneapolis, MN High 58F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 10%. |
| west |  | Las Vegas, NV |
Sources:
General Election Poll: Gallup Daily Tracking
For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.
The general-election results are based on combined data from Oct. 28-30, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,825 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is +/-2 percentage points.
Horoscopes: horoscopes.co.uk
Weather: Weather.com
Betting Lines: Intrade Prediction Markets
Lloyd Garver: Sex News
<p><br /> Obviously, most of what you've been reading, hearing and seeing in the media lately has been about politics. But that doesn't mean that nothing new has been going on in the world of sex. All the pesky Presidential press has just buried the sex news. So, in case you've missed these developments in the area that can get just as hot as a debate about banking regulations, I'm here to fill you in. </p> <p>Perhaps making the biggest waves in bedroom science is a recent study that discloses that women have definitely made some progress towards sexual equality, at least in one area. The area is infidelity. Yes, in this dubious race for equality, the number of women committing adultery is catching up to the number of men. So not only are some women breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling, but I guess they are also breaking through the motel's cottage cheese-plaster ceiling with the water stains on it.</p> <p>Of course, some wives aren't the only ones fooling around. According to studies reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, infidelity in general has been on the increase. I wonder if cheating is going to continue to go up in this bad economy. Affairs are not for cheapskates, so fewer and fewer people will be able to afford a double life. But maybe all the tension people feel because of money problems will push them away from their marriages, regardless of the cost. Or the opposite could happen. Sometimes in times of trouble, stress can bring a couple closer together. For years, there has been a theory that when women's hemlines drop, so does the stock market. Only time and future studies will tell how the stock market will be affected by underwear dropping on a motel room floor. </p> <p>Marriage experts often point to poor communication as a cause for infidelity. There is a new invention that's supposed to help with this. It's called the SweetieDo. It's a "silent whistle," much like a dog whistle. I'm not kidding. The theory, supported by something called the NeuroImage Journal, is that it's a lot of work for a man to understand what a woman is saying, because the man first interprets the female voice as music. I wonder what music the researchers feel men are hearing instead of their wives' voices? The theme song for ESPN'S "SportsCenter?"</p> <p>Anyway, they say that it's often difficult for men to understand what women are saying, because a woman's voice contains complex frequencies, like music. So, it's hard for a woman to get a man's attention.</p> <p>As much as I'd love to use this as a rationalization, I'm not buying - either the theory or the device. If a wife has to blow a whistle to get her husband's attention, the problem's the guy, not the wife. The music that will probably be playing in that marriage is "Taps."</p> <p>In another ring in the circus of sex, there will soon be a musical, actually a "rock opera," about "Deep Throat's" Linda Lovelace. For those too young to remember, Ms.Lovelace starred in the most famous porn movie in history in which she, well, you know the title. Those involved in the new musical production say they aren't interested in the salacious aspects of the late actress' life. Instead, they see her as a tragic, exploited figure. They maintain, "This isn't about a porn movie. This is the story of a woman's life."</p> <p>All of that may be true, and I'm sure this could be handled in a way to make it a play that's not about sex. I'm just not sure I'll be able to sit in the theater while the play about Linda Lovelace is going on without thinking about how she became famous. It would be like going to a musical about Sarah Palin without having a song about mooseburgers. However, I just noticed that there are 43 songs in the Linda Lovelace play. Maybe they'll have to call it, "Sore Throat."</p> <p>In a strange event, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was scandalized recently when he was found guilty of seven felonies. What's so strange about it is that none of the felonies has to do with sex. What kind of Senator has a scandal without sex?<br /> <br /> Finally, it was announced that it's Viagra's tenth anniversary. I don't remember any other medication having an anniversary or birthday, do you? And what do they expect us to do because of it? Are we supposed to buy Viagra a present? I have no idea what to get a blue pill that has revolutionized sex for many people. Although I guess I do know how we're supposed to celebrate.</p> <p><br /> Lloyd can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com. Check out Lloyd's new Bob Newhart video, "The Challenge" at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.Youtube.com/strikedottv">youtube</a> or at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.strike.tv/show/the-challenge/">striketv </a>.</p> <p><br /> </p>George Mitrovich: President Obama
<p>On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be elected president and vice president of the United States. On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, Senator Obama will become the nation's 44th president. The victory of Senators Obama and Biden will also see the Democratic Party win decisive margins in both the House and Senate.</p> <p>Normally I don't believe unitary government is healthy for a republic, but given the extraordinary challenges confronting America after eight years of the Bush Administration, an unwavering and resolute political effort will be essential to fix the staggering problems we face -- and even then there's no certainty of success.</p> <p>The nation is in crisis and it happened on George W. Bush's watch. Even in a country of the casually observant, people know something is terribly amiss.</p> <p>Is it wholly George W's and the Republican's fault? No, the Democrats are not blameless, but the greatest blame lies with this president and his party on Capitol Hill, the party that controlled Congress six of the past eight-years.</p> <p>From Iraq to Afghanistan, from Katrina to America's crumbling infrastructure, from the fall of Wall Street to the collapse of capitalism as we know it, and other failures beyond counting, George W. Bush will go home to Crawford, Texas (or maybe Dallas, but do we care?).</p> <p>On the day of Barack Obama's inauguration former president Bush's plane will lift off the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base in the nation's capital and follow the sun west to Texas; his eight-years mercifully over. But as he goes home he leaves behind a dark legacy; for the odds are strong he will end his second term the most unpopular president ever.</p> <p>The pages of history reverberate with the evil doings of evil men, the consequences of their rule writ large in blood, death and destruction. George W. Bush is not evil, but his presidency has cost America enormously -- so good or bad man, the consequence are the same.</p> <p>Bush's presidency will be defined by the war in Iraq. Since it began in '03 America's treasury has been depleted by more than $738,000,000,000 (at year's end). But misspent treasure matters little when weighed against the number of Americans killed in battle -- 4,667. In addition, 31,863 of our soldiers have been seriously wounded in action -- and will bear the scars of battle, in both body and soul, for the rest of their lives.</p> <p>But if you're a person of conscience, if you believe God created all men and women equal and loves them equally (as the Christian New Testament affirms), you cannot allow the 687,079 dead civilians and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to escape your conscience, for it should weigh heavily upon the hearts and minds of all decent Americans.</p> <p>But while its' okay to hate what's happened to the land we love, it's not okay to hate George W. Bush. Each of us share some blame for what's happened, because -- and here's the hard, unforgiving truth -- too many of us stood by and watched it happen -- and we did so in silence. Or, as Pogo put it, "We've met the enemy... and he is us."</p> <p>A democratic society requires citizen involvement. Its vitality is dependent upon that involvement; and when, as happened four-years ago, 100 million Americans of eligible voting age did not vote, George W. Bush happens; war happens; death and destruction happens; loss of respect in the world happens; a grave economic crisis happens.</p> <p>But there's a general assessment of blame, and there's a specific assessment -- and in that regard John McCain is hardly blameless.</p> <p>In a desperate attempt to turn the election his way, an election he's clearly losing, McCain has been asking, "Who is Barack Obama?" But the more important question is, "Who is the real John McCain?"</p> <p>In the 2000 presidential primaries, in the face of a vile campaign against him in South Carolina by Bush's political operatives, McCain admirably said he would not take the "low road to high office." He evidenced then an independence of spirit many found attractive, Democrats and independents among them. But that was then and this is now and this John McCain is not the man we thought he was.</p> <p>There was a time, before St. Paul and the Republican National Convention, when McCain was the political figure most adored by the national media -- yes, that media, the "liberal media elite." But the McCain who emerged after St. Paul is not the same person the media once knew, respected, and yes, even loved -- the John McCain of the "straight talk express."</p> <p>He began to lose the media with his choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, a person singularly unprepared to be president of the United States, which is really the only job requirement of a vice president, as Colin Powell pointed out when he endorsed Obama on "Meet the Press." But it wasn't just Palin's selection that raised doubts in the media's mind about McCain, but his innuendos about race and terrorists and Muslims -- all intended to question, with barely disguised subtly, Barack Obama's patriotism -- and thereby his unfitness for the highest office in the land.</p> <p>But while those innuendos and Palin's appalling attacks on the character of Obama, "He pals around with terrorists", may have satisfied the hard core, right wing, fundamentalist base of what's left of the Republican Party, it did not impress the rest of America. And those two factors, Palin's selection and McCain's unmasking by John McCain, will results in an Obama/Biden victory.</p> <p>Søren Kierkegaard wrote, "There comes a midnight hour when every man must unmask." But McCain's unmasking took place at high noon, in full view of the American electorate. It was sad and disheartening, and, in the end, tragic. For no decent person takes pleasure in the decomposing of an American hero.</p> <p>Finally, if the choice Election Day were still unclear to me, if I were still undecided between Senators McCain and Obama, if I thought both men could govern effectively, what would I do? I would vote for Barack Obama (but you already knew that). </p> <p>Here's why: </p> <p>However slight his political resume versus McCain, on the defining issue of their political careers, the war in Iraq, it is the rookie senator from Illinois who opposed it (two years before his election to the U.S. Senate), and the veteran senator from Arizona who wanted it. On the most disastrous military/foreign policy blunder of our lifetime Barack Obama was right and John McCain was wrong. That speaks to judgment, profound judgment, moral judgment -- and Obama was right.</p> <p>On the second defining issue separating McCain and Obama there is the matter of their choices for vice president. Obama evidenced wisdom in choosing Joe Biden, one of the ablest of U.S. senators, while McCain chose Sarah Palin, an unknown governor from Alaska. McCain could have chosen senators Olympia Snowe of Maine or Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas, or ex-Pennsylvania governor and -Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, individuals with impressive political histories, but instead, for reasons apparently only McCain understands, because his best friends have yet to figure it out, he chose Palin.</p> <p>Even if John McCain had been right about everything else, his selection of Palin makes him unfit to be president. He said often during this campaign that he always puts America's interest above his own, but the choice of Palin argues otherwise. And, in what will one day be seen as the ultimate in political irony, McCain's pick of Palin secured the presidency for Obama. It also did something else: it means that for the next four years Sarah Palin will be the face of the Republican Party in America.</p> <p>There are other major issues dividing McCain and Obama, issues involving foreign policy, the restoration of civil liberties, the crash of Wall Street and the reverberations on Main Street, immigration, health care, education, the need to restore America's collapsing infrastructure, and, not least, equitable tax reform. (McCain loses big on that because he intends to continue Bush's tax cuts, which overwhelmingly have benefited the wealthy while gutting the middle class, whereas Obama promises tax relief for 95 percent of Americans).</p> <p>But, assuming as I do, that you have been paying attention to this very long presidential campaign, the issues that divide McCain and Obama are well known to you. Therefore, I choose to close by citing an issue you may not have considered.</p> <p>Here it is:</p> <p>The Civil War may have ended at the courthouse in Appomattox, but race still stains our land. One hundred and forty-three years after General Lee surrendered to General Grant, many black Americans remain alienated from the country they love. The election of a black man to the nation's highest office won't cleanse the stain nor absolve the alienation, but more than any other event it will help redeem our history; it will change the United States of America -- forever! </p> <p>Maybe that is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned when he stood that epic day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., when he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.</p> <p>Remember what he said:</p> <blockquote>I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." <p>I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...</p> <p>With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together...to stand up for freedom together....</p> <p>This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring...."</p> <p>When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"</blockquote></p> <p>Dr. King's speech that day, when he spoke with such eloquence and power of his dream and the dreams of many people in this country, black and white together, stands as one of the most memorable ever delivered in our history. The election of Barack Obama will represent a profound step towards the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream.</p> <p>On Election Day, therefore, we have a chance to set a new course for America, to reclaim our greatness, and to once more win the admiration of people the wide world over -- and that's why November 4 a majority of voters will elect Barack Obama our 44th president.</p> <p><em>George Mitrovich is a San Diego civic leader. He can be reached at: gmitro35 AT gmail.com</em></p>Study: Media Coverage Has Favored Obama Campaign
NEW YORK — John McCain supporters who believe they haven't gotten a fair shake from the media during the Republican's candidacy against Barack Obama have a new study to point to. Comments made by sources, voters, reporters and anchors that aired on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts over the past two months reflected positively on Obama in 65 percent of cases, compared to 31 percent of cases with regards to McCain, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
ABC's "World News" had more balance than NBC's "Nightly News" or the "CBS Evening News," the group said.
Meanwhile, the first half of Fox News Channel's "Special Report" with Brit Hume showed more balance than any of the network broadcasters, although it was dominated by negative evaluations of both campaigns. The center didn't evaluate programs on CNN or MSNBC.
"For whatever reason, the media are portraying Barack Obama as a better choice for president than John McCain," said Robert Lichter, a George Mason University professor and head of the center. "If you watch the evening news, you'd think you should vote for Obama."
The center analyzed 979 separate news stories shown between Aug. 23 and Oct. 24, and excluded evaluations based on the campaign horse race, including mention of how the candidates were doing in polls. For instance, when a voter was interviewed on CBS Oct. 14 saying he thought Obama brought a freshness to Washington, that was chalked up as a pro-Obama comment.
When NBC's Andrea Mitchell reported Oct. 1 that some conservatives say that Sarah Palin is not ready for prime-time, that's marked in the negative column for McCain.
ABC recorded 57 percent favorable comments toward the Democrats, and 42 percent positive for the Republicans. NBC had 56 percent positive for the Democrats, 16 percent for the Republicans. CBS had 73 percent positive (Obama), versus 31 percent (McCain).
Hume's telecast had 39 percent favorable comments for McCain and 28 percent positive for the Democratic ticket.
It was the second study in two weeks to remark upon negative coverage for the McCain-Palin ticket. The Project for Excellence in Journalism concluded last week that McCain's coverage has been overwhelmingly negative since the conventions ended, while Obama's has been more mixed.
Meanwhile, another survey issued Friday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press showed that television continues to be Americans' main source for campaign news, particularly the cable news networks.
But there were clear partisan differences in where people turned.
For instance, of the people who said they got most of their campaign news from Fox News Channel, 52 percent identified themselves as Republican, 17 percent as Democrats and 30 percent as independents, the Pew center said.
MSNBC viewers interested in campaign news identified themselves at 11 percent Republican, 50 percent Democratic and 36 percent independent. The breakdown for CNN: 13 percent Republican, 45 percent Democrat, 38 percent independent.
The study was based on a survey of 2,011 people taken Oct. 17-20 and 24-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.
Al Eisele: Legendary Political Journalist Watches ‘08 Election from the Sidelines
Charles Town, W. Va. - The legs are the first to go, as any political
reporter or fan of horse racing knows.
>
Jack Germond is both, and even though he turned 80 last January and is
watching the 2008 campaign from the sidelines, he hasn't lost any of the
legendary zest for covering politics that once led the Wall Street Journal
to call him "the closest thing we have to a kingmaker in American
politics."
>
Germond, who covered his first presidential campaign in 1960 for newspapers
in Rochester and Albany, N.Y., and then for the Washington Star and the
Gannet Newspapers's Washington bureau, now monitors the campaign from his
home near here overlooking the Shenandoah River. But he leaves little doubt
he'd rather still be chasing after politicians from New Hampshire to New
Mexico and in between.
>
"Yeah, I miss some it, especially the people I spent so much time with," he
said last week over lunch in a restaurant named after the man who built
the building it occupies in 1778 and later became the first governor of
Ohio. Reeling off the names of a half dozen fellow reporters and
competitors, he declares, "They were interesting people to have dinner and
drinks with, but most of them are gone now."
>
Germond is also writing a novel about a political reporter who is
investigating his own publisher. He's written 35,000 words but says he's
"not sure I'm going to finish it until I know how it comes out. I want to
see if I can do it but I don't want to write a bad book."
>
Germond's renowned appetite for good food and drink as well as his
encyclopedic knowledge of national politics are reflected in two
well-regarded memoirs he wrote - "Fat Man in a Middle Seat: Forty Years
of Covering Politics" (1999) and "Fat Man Fed Up: How American Politics
Went Bad" (2004), not to mention four books about presidential campaigns
that he wrote in the 1980's and 90's with his former partner as a
syndicated columnist, Jules Witcover.
>
But it was Germond's appetite for cultivating well-placed sources and
calling the shots as he saw them while covering hundreds of politicians from
Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton that made him one of America's premier
political reporters in the last half of the 20th century.
>
Germond is no longer a kingmaker but he still calls the shots as he sees
them. The 2008 presidential campaign "is a very interesting story in one
respect," he says, even though he rates the tumultuous 1968 campaign as
the most interesting and important he covered. "We're going to find out
something about our country we need to know, which is just how racist are
we?"
>
No longer constrained by the rules of journalism to hide his political
preferences, Germond makes no bones about favoring Sen. Barack Obama
(D-Ill.) over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a choice that sits well with his
wife Alice, who is treasurer of the Democratic National Committee.
>
"My theory is that Obama should win handily on the basis of the context of
his campaign, his voter registration numbers, his amazing appeal to young
people, and the fact that he's run a brilliant campaign. He's done a
hell of a job and raised a lot of money. But we all know that a certain
number of voters won't vote for a black candidate. We don't know how
many but if there are enough to stop Obama from being elected, it's a
national shame."
>
Germond also doesn't hide his low opinion of McCain's running mate,
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose selection he calls "insulting and
ridiculous," adding, "She's nothing but vitriol, and it's not even
her own vitriol."
>
As if to ratify his opinion of Palin, our waitress tells Germond - after
asking him to speak to her son's local high school class - that she's
going to vote for Obama because of Palin. Describing herself as an
independent, she says, "I love McCain and I think he's a good man and
I'd vote for him if he had picked somebody else. But I can't understand
how in good conscience he could have picked her."
>
As for the nine presidents he's covered, Germond says, "George W. Bush
is probably the worst." He doesn't reveal his choice as the best, but
says former Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) "would have made the best
president" and former Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) was the best campaigner
he ever covered.
>
It was through Bumpers that he first met Bill and Hillary Clinton. "I went
down to Arkansas in 1978 to do a story about something else and they all
said you've got to go see this Clinton, who was attorney general then. I
ended up having a long conversation with him and Hillary. I was so impressed
with him that I wrote a column when I got back and we kept in touch."
>
Then in 1987, Germond went back to Arkansas and spent several days with
Bumpers, "to see if he still had his fastball and was going to run for
president." Bumpers and Clinton, who was then governor, were sharing a
plane, and Germond flew around the state with them but paid little attention
to Clinton. "It was clear he was miffed," Germond said.
>
Cinton never forgot the snub, and pointedly reminded Germond of it during an
interview at the White House five years later, Germond recalls. "And
here's a guy who couldn't remember Monica."
>
Germond says he thought Clinton would be a good president because of his
political smarts and command of the issues. "But he turned out to be a
disaster in his second term," he says. As for Hillary, Germond considers
her "a very capable senator," but adds, "I wouldn't vote for her
[for president] because I think she's got this notion of entitlement."
>
>lthough Germond agrees that the so-called mainstream media in is going
through a difficult transition, he still counsels young people that
newspaper journalism "is still worth doing and doing well. Television
doesn't have the time to do comprehensive coverage of the issues and you
can't get it from bloggers or cable TV, where there's no judgment
process applied."
>
He adds, "I look at it this way. I was a reporter for 50 years, getting
paid for something I would have paid them to do."
>
Before stopping at a local 7-Eleven to buy a copy of the Racing Form to
prepare for one of his frequent visits to the Charles Town Racetrack,
Germond is asked what he'd like to have carved on his tombstone. He's
uncharacteristically silent, then replies, "Life was a ball."
Sue Bell: Baby Boomer Takes to the Road
<p>It is said by an African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child."</p> <p>My village grew up with the Kennedy and Cuomo family tradition of dinner table politics.<br /> Politics are our fabric and glue and we bleed for the Democratic Party. As all baby<br /> boomers our fathers are part of the" greatest generation", who grew up during the<br /> depression and served in WWII. When they came home, they educated themselves,<br /> married our mothers and raised families. My father, John Finley Clough Jr, enlisted<br /> because it was his best option in order to control his military destiny. He selected the air<br /> force because he always wanted to be a pilot; however, Dad crashed on his first day in<br /> flight school on his maiden landing and broke several ribs. It was a failure that may have<br /> saved his life from missions in Europe as well as brought him a rewarding part-time<br /> career and hobby; he was made a radio operator. After the war, he went to college<br /> supported by the GI Bill since it was an opportunity that was not a financial possibility<br /> for him without it. The GI Bill paid for him to attend some of the finest schools in our<br /> country. He graduated from Johns Hopkins with a bachelor's degree in political science,<br /> attended Duke Law School, and earned a master's degree in political science at The<br /> University of Pennsylvania, and PhD studies at Penn as well. While at Hopkins, Dad<br /> impressed his political science professor, V.O. Key Jr, who served as his mentor in his<br /> subsequent career as a political science professor and college administrator<br /> V.O. Key Jr. was a well-respected political theorist known by most for his theory of<br /> critical elections. Dr. Key's theories state that there are times when an election is held<br /> that change the course and direction of the nation directly based on the incumbent's<br /> successes or failures which motivates and activates large groups of new voters to register<br /> and vote. Clearly, 2008 is such an election. It is due is large part to the failures of the<br /> Bush administration with the unpopular war in Iraq, the torturing of American held Iraqi<br /> prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the drowning of America's citizens in New Orleans with an ill<br /> prepared and non responsive federal government all broadcast live on CNN, the fiscally<br /> irresponsible tax cuts and simultaneous escalation of federal spending, lack of regulation<br /> in the banking and credit industries which have resulted in a global economic crisis-- Pick<br /> any failed Bush policy and you will find new horrified voters and volunteers</p> <p>Dad's early lessons in politics were taught to him in the same patriarchal tradition of the<br /> Kennedys and Cuomos, by his father, John F Clough, Sr. Sr. told young John Jr. to count<br /> the number of signs in his Philadelphia neighborhood for each candidate and he would be<br /> able to predict the winners and losers on Election Day. Dad used his love of politics, his<br /> education, and radio operator experience to become a political commentator for the local<br /> CBS radio and television station in Philadelphia, however, Dad later used more<br /> sophisticated methodology in his predictions, such as random samplings and key precinct<br /> indicators to make his election night predictions</p> <p>Once he became a political analyst, his days as an activist ended. Having been raised in<br /> predominately Republican areas made his children willing warriors for any cause, we<br /> marched for peace, walked for the hungry, wore black arm bands in parades, cleaned<br /> parks and walked to school on Earth day, and arose early without complaint to witness<br /> the passing of Robert F Kennedy's funeral train.</p> <p>The Clough Clan continues in their Democratic Party tradition with the addition of all<br /> fourth generation eligible voters to the party rolls. 2008 has revitalized our heritage and<br /> we once again have joined the activist role. The most visible family member on a<br /> mission would be John F Clough III, my brother</p> <p>John III left the east coast more than 25 years ago to seek his fame and fortune in the<br /> northern land of Alaska, where he became a successful attorney. Over the years his love<br /> of politics was confined to the dinner table and shouting at the television until Super<br /> Tuesday 2008, when he unsuccessfully caucused for Hillary in the Alaskan primary. He,<br /> like me, was a Hill supporter who became an Obama supporter at the end of the primary<br /> season.</p> <p>On Friday, August 29th ,a tsunami of sorts occurred in John's life, when a press<br /> conference held by the McCain campaign shook John to his core, with their<br /> announcement of his Governor, Sarah Palin, being nominated to be the Vice Presidential<br /> running mate with John McCain. According to John, " Sarah Palin being nominated and<br /> possibly becoming President, embarrassed me as an Alaskan and terrified me as an<br /> American." As his sister, I can tell you he lost his sense of humor and was unable to<br /> speak for at least a week</p> <p>Then he decided to mobilize, his plan is what he refers to as; "The Obamamobile, The<br /> Alaska Talk Express!"</p> <p>Three weeks ago, with the supportive Alaskan family waiving goodbye, John, III traveled<br /> the 4000 miles to the birthplace of this nation and his own, Pennsylvania to go on his one<br /> man mission to "let people know not every Alaskan supports Sarah Palin". John's earlier<br /> political experiences included volunteering for Hubert Humphrey in 1968 as a high<br /> school sophomore and in 1976 as a recent college grad; he ran Jimmy Carter's primary<br /> campaign in Lancaster, Pa.</p> <p>Now, at age 55, Clough decorated his Alaskan plated rat tat 1994 Dodge Colt Caravan<br /> and has been following the McCain/Palin political rallies across Pennsylvania and Ohio.<br /> He is not affiliated with any political group or field office; he is truly a one man show<br /> looking to engage in one on one conversation with anyone interested in talking. On his<br /> first day, altruistically and without a real travel plan, John attempted to enter a Palin<br /> event in Laconia, NH, but was turned away, no ticket = no entry. Lesson learned.<br /> John being a competitor journeyed on with stops across Pennsylvania and Ohio,<br /> including one temporary diversion to Laporte, Pa, where a local auction caught his eye.<br /> He proudly was the winning bidder of a Barbie Dream House that his lovely bride has<br /> always coveted.</p> <p>If in your travels you see the Obamamobile, please honk or stop to offer your support for<br /> this aging baby boomer. He is running on four hours of sleep a night and when asked<br /> about how is feels with a week to go John confidently proclaims," Great!"<br /> As we spoke on the phone just a few minutes ago, I asked John where he was today. He<br /> had already attended the Obama rally this morning at Widener University near Philadelphia which was held outside in 39 degree weather with pounding rain and strong<br /> winds. According to John," Sen. Obama also withstood the elements and appeared in just<br /> a jacket and offered a rousing empowering speech to us. I am so excited". He was at<br /> that moment driving the Obamamobile through heavy snow just outside of Wilkes Barre<br /> on his way to the McCain /Palin rally scheduled for this evening at Penn State.<br /> Early on November 4th John will be to returning to Alaska on a flight from Boston. He<br /> hopes to sleep on the plane and wants to see the election results from his usual vantage<br /> point; his couch with his family watching their television. He will take away from this<br /> journey many things, a renewed "sense of his east coast family, support of friends and<br /> family, and the opportunity to meet remarkable people".</p> <p>I am proud to have John as my brother, just as I am proud to have continued our Clough<br /> family tradition of shaping and inspiring the political views and values of our children<br /> and their friends at our kitchen tables. We have inspired them not with rhetoric and sound<br /> bites but with intelligent conversations and involvement in the campaigns. We are the<br /> proud members of a wonderfully intelligent lifelong democratic family, who are not<br /> famous like the Kennedys, Cuomos, and Bushs, but whose family's patriarch used his life<br /> to teach and shape the values of his family, his friends, his students and his community.<br /> He did not live long enough to see this return of core democratic values, but his life's<br /> work and promise lives on for new generations through our children and grandchildren.<br /> His annual pledges to the United Negro College fund paid off as well, with the<br /> emergence of one of the finest political candidates of my lifetime in Senator Barack<br /> Obama, educated in the same tradition as those WWII vets, for that I wish to say, thank<br /> you, John F Cloughs, my community Hero's.</p>Joshuah Bearman: McCain-o-ween, Part II!
It's fitting that the National Republican Trust PAC chose today to take Jeremiah Wright to televisions nationwide. If you're superstitious (or an 8th century Celtic Druid), tonight's the night when the underworld opens its gates so the ghouls can arise and wreak havoc. If you're a republican, you hope that you can summon enough angry spirits to scare people away from the Devil's Candidate. You don't even have to listen closely to hear the chants: Jeremiah Wright; Bill Ayers; Rashid Khalidi.
And if you can't change the voters' minds, you prevent some of them from voting at all. I'm in South Florida, where, last time around, the GOP fielded massive teams of lawyers to mount challenges at polling precincts on Election Day, throwing out "suspect" ballots and generally gumming up the works. Their concern about supposed voter fraud was suspiciously focused on the most Democratic precincts of the most Democratic counties, like Broward. The Democrats fielded their own team of lawyers and poll observers to defend the challenges, but it was an unavoidable trap: to argue the merits of one ballot at the box is to slow down the entire process, make the line grow, and discourage people from voting.
I'm back in Broward, but the Disenfranchisement Strike Teams aren't. I've been to several early polling stations, and none of the AFSCME observers had heard of any trouble whatsoever from poll challenges or other GOP hijinx at all in Broward.
"They gave us a list of names," said one of the lawyers organizing the Obama legal defense. "But I don't think they're really showing up this time."
It's a strange concession, since Broward is the county with the most Democrats, the state's blue firewall. The scuttlebutt among Republicans is that McCain's choice of Palin over Charlie Crist let the air out of the Florida state GOP somewhat - there was a wide belief here that Crist was going to be chosen -- and since the state party organizes the lawyers, there has been a softened enthusiasm on that front. The other scuttlebutt is that the GOP lawyers are leaving early voting alone but will show up on Election Day.
But that means they're ceding what will likely be 40% of the vote. A quarter of registered voters have cast their ballot already and there's four days left. At 2pm on a Wednesday, there was a two hour line at one early voting station I visited. And the observers have said it's been like that all day, every day, from 7am to 7pm, since early voting opened on October 20th.
"I think it's over down here," said the Obama lawyer. The nail in the coffin, he says, was Crist's emergency extension of early voting hours. "That means even he thinks its over."
Maybe Halloween isn't going to be scary after all.
