Watson048's Blog

Are we absolutely sure Obama won?

2008-11-07T17:59:03Z

Missouri doesn't want to jump to any premature conclusions. We are the "Show-me" state, after all. I've long considered the "bellweather" status as just a flike. The race is very close and I guess there could be a recount. McCain is leading Obama by about 5,000 votes and there are some 7,000 provisional ballots that still need to be counted. Most of these are likely to be Democratic voters based on geography...but these voters were aparently too befuddled to find their way to the right polling place. If they went to the wrong polling place the vote won't be counted even if they were otherwise qualified. It takes a while to figure out who is qualified and why they were given a provisional ballot. And at this point, who cares anyway.

Call me crazy but...

2008-11-06T21:25:47Z

I guess it is really none of my business who the Connecticut voters want to represent them in the Senate. Joe Leiberman is just a sorry sack of shit no matter how you kick it but I'd like a few days just to reflect and enjoy the idea that there is no longer going to be a single Republican serving in Congress from New England. Kick the SOB out next year sometime but lets at least start the new year with an all blue New England. Send Joe to an undisclosed location for six months. No one will miss him.

Election Withdrawl

2008-11-05T22:26:25Z

Is ther some sort of 12-step support progrqam for election junkies? This is like post-holiday depression setting in. Everyone seems to be in slow motion. I can't stop yawning. Even my cat is exhausted. No phone calls. No more infuriating TV commercials -- at least not the political ones. I've stopped yelling at the TV.

I have to fly cross-country in a couple days..... I guess I should pack a suitcase or something. I wonder if I have a suitcase....

No longer a nation of victims

2008-11-05T03:46:42Z

This election is certainly a repudiation of George Bush and his regime and the many blunders under his watch. It is also a rejection of John McCain and his terrible choice of a running mate and his terrible choice of a campaign strategy. Ever since September 11, 2001 Bush has managed to keep us believing that we were a nation of victims. It was OK for him to infringe our rights and impose unconstitutional restrictions because we were helpless victims and he was our protector. I don't know whether McCain would have embraced the Bush policies but I do think he would have continued keeping us in our role as victims. He was clearly going down that path with his campaign's fear tactics. But even victims rise up eventually. The financial meltdown was the last straw. Obama's approach was to treat us like responsible adults who were smart enough to make our own choice for our future. He presented himself as a rational and reasonable person and surpassed McCain in most of the important leadership qualities. I think this election is so amazing and special on so many levels but it marks the end of our bondage as victims.

Palin in Jefferson City @ 1 PM

2008-11-03T18:31:42Z

Palin will appear at 1 PM on the state capitol grounds. One must have a ticket to attend but they are bussing people in from Branson. Everybody likes a good show. Hank Williams Jr. is her sidekick for the appearance.

Swill Alert - National Republican Trust

2008-11-03T02:32:53Z

The party faithful are lapping up the latest swill spewed out by the National Republican Trust PAC. Reverand Wright is the topic of the ad that just appeared on my TV but there are others dealing with immigration. Illegal immigration seems to be their big obsession. I can't imagine that being a big traction issue here. There doesn't seem to be anything new....just the same old stuff on Obama and Rev. Wright. I think I recall McCain saying that the Rev. was off limits.

The GOP hard cores are the only ones who thrive on this vile stuff. This PAC seems to be well funded but is apparently targeting swing states only in the last few days.

Republicans are such poor losers. This is the kind of crap that poisons their minds. They never got over Bill Clinton beating GHWB. Obama needs a really big win.

Bad Penny -- here comes Palin again

2008-11-02T21:04:08Z

Sarah Palin and Hank Williams, Jr. will show up tomorrow for a rally in Jefferson City, MO. I wonder who will be responsible for the crowd....Sarah or Hank. I'm sure a bunch of people will be there for Palin considering the pent-up angst among the local GOPers. They have to see that the future is turning toward the Democrats and they don't like it. A lot of the yahoos just want to eat her up....sort of trailer-trash made good. Then the bible-thumpers will be there -- she is sort of a madonna figure for them. Hell, this is sounding like a pretty good show...I might just have to check it out myself.

Baghdad Bob hired as McCain spokesman

2008-11-01T04:40:34Z

What a coup! McCain seems to have enlisted the great and all-knowing Baghdad Bob to help with his press releases and to provide talking points for Rick Davis.

"We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted."

Obama's supporters will soon be overwhelmed and driven away by the glorious forces of John McCain!

The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!

Sarah Palin will smite them and hit them all with shoes -- with three inch heels!

The Obamanites are the ones who will find themselves under siege if they enter the garden that is Arizona.

Be assured that the faltering forces of infidels cannot win.

We have them right where we want them!

It can't happen here

2008-11-01T02:25:10Z

This is America. We have a constitution. By our long tradition, the rule of law is paramount. No one is above the law. We don't have a king or a dictator, we have an elected President. No one can steal an election here; the courts would not stand for it. The idea of indefinite prison confinement without trial is alien to us. It can't happen here. Using lies to justify a war - No way! We have checks and balances that would prevent that from ever happening here; we have strict controls on the power of the President. Illegal searches, domestic spying or wiretaps without a warrant are just not possible here - this is America not Nazi Germany. We have a constitutional separation of church and state - preachers preach but they don't try to control the government. Kidnapping people and transporting them to unknown locations for torture and interrogation is just not possible here. This isn't the middle ages. Depriving qualified voters of the right to vote is some kind of third-world craziness. No real American would try to deprive people from voting. We believe in democracy. No one here would try to disenfranchise people or reduce their voice in government by artificially and arbitrarily redrawing voting district lines. That is so 19^th century -- we have safeguards against that. We can all rest assured that our freedoms and liberties are firmly rooted and protected by our government.

So, let's all vote for John McCain and see what else can't happen here.

Obama in Columbia Missouri -- October 30th

2008-10-31T04:21:04Z

Obama made his speech on the Carnahan quadrangle at the University of Missouri tonight at 9:30. It was his usual stump speech but with some added emphasis for the college crowd and some comments tailored for the Missouri voters...as usual. The crowd was huge and enthusiastic -- I couldn't see the size or extent of the crowd so I'll wait to hear the estimates. I drove about 45 minutes to get there early and stood in line for about an hour and a half before we could even see the quad. When we got past the entrance gate we got as close as we could still but had to be satisfied with watching a large video display. We couldn't see any of the speakers or even the stage. The couple standing next to us drove from Omaha, Nebraska to be there and cheer for Obama.

The throwing of the towel

2008-10-30T21:23:55Z

Looks like Joe the Plumber has thrown in the towel. He isn't the only one. We will see more of that. I think even John McCain is beginning to face the fact that he may not be able to pull this out. When he goes on TV, like with Larry King, he is willing to talk about post-mortem issues...like campaign financing complaints as the reason he isn't able to compete. This is very valuable live TV time for him and he spends it answering questions on why he isn't winning. There will be planty of time for that later. When he gets back on topic it is only to whine about Obama on issues nobody cares about at this stage. He gets free time and squanders it. Hello-- John--- are you in there????

The Great Persuader

2008-10-28T21:50:11Z

A week from today the election will be over. Most people, even McCain supporters, think that Obama will win and maybe by a huge margin. That remains to be seen and I hope it is true. But even if Obama loses a squeaker election it is amazing to me what he has accomplished. Who would have thought that he had much of a chance even to win the Democratic nomination? Maybe in 2012 or later but not really in 2008. Most people, even Republican strategists, thought Hillary Clinton was going to be the nominee. I think that is part of what went wrong with McCain's campaign...they were geared up and ready to face the wrong nominee. But Senator Obama came on in a relentless campaign. He pushed when he needed to push and pulled when he needed to pull. This was like a political martial arts performance. When your opponent is falling, get out of his way.

But the quality and content of his message is a key factor. He was criticized early in the campaign for not going into detail on some of his proposals. He revealed details as he saw fit...on his own time. He didn't do it when most people were not paying attention, He stayed on topic and waited until it got to be a critical message because that is when more people are listening and you can tie it to what is happening in the economy or Iraq or whatever. Your opponent also can't criticize something that you haven't said.

The timing was important but the clarity of the message seemed to be there as well. This was in contrast to what McCain was doing and Sarah Palin didn't help him at all. Her effect was to dilute McCain's message. Instead of talking about the merits of McCain's message everyone was debating Sarah Palin's abilities. Everyone except Obama, that is, who stayed on topic and kept hammering away at McCain. A lesser candidate would have been pulled into the Palin tarpit and would have looked worse as a result.

Obama also gives the impression of steady leadership, something that McCain was unable to counter. The whole Maverick thing worked against McCain because it made him look unstable and unpredictable. The label only worked against Bush but if the voters were already going to repudiate Bush (a sub-plot in McCain's own campaign) the Maverick label carried little weight. It only made them look toward Obama...for real change.

Obama has made inroads with voter groups and geographic regions that I never thought was possible. I don't think it is all the economy. North Carolina and Virginia might both go for Obama. Places like Georgia and Montana will probably still go for McCain but I'm stunned at how well Obama is doing. He has become so familiar that he seems like somebody they know. He has stopped being a threat to most people who first might have seen him as a threat. That is why the Republicans and right-wingers are coming unglued with the wild charges and insane rumors. They are trying to reinsert the threat factor that seems to be fading away.

It is common to hear pundits and even Colin Powell say that Obama is a "transformational" candidate. That might be setting the bar too high...this is the United States but we don't seem very united most of the time. His actual abilities will become apparent as time and events play out. Obama has come a long way and we have come with him. He has gotten past the "foot in the door" stage....he is sitting in the living room and about to drink a cup of coffee out of the good china.

Robot unplugs itself to avoid repeating McCain telephone lies

2008-10-28T05:12:37Z

OK, maybe not.

I feel somehow inferior. I haven't gotten a single McCain robocall. What's wrong with me? Why isn't my vote worth at least a robocall? I live in a battleground state!!

The only robocalls I've gotten (so far) are from a guy selling aluminum siding and a Republican woman who is voting for Obama. She caught me by surprise and I missed the first part and she won't call me back. I just know she won't call me back.

I'm sitting by the phone...waiting. Tonight I got a (live) young lady calling to get my opinion on Proposition A, an item that deals with a new amendment on casino gambling. Oh please -- not that!!! The actual text of the amendment covers an entire newspaper page in fine print. Unfortunately I'm "undecided" on how I'll vote and she seems disappointed. Actually she seems incredulous..."Haven't you seen the TV ads?" she asks. She wants to know how many times a year I go to a casino. I'm beginning to think that the survey has somehow gone horribly wrong. I expect her to call me an obscene name and slam down the phone. Instead, she mumbled something into the phone, thanked me for my time and hung up.

I've still got a few days. Maybe the robot will call me back. She seemed so nice.

Maybe I'm spending too much time with my laptop.

The Ruptured Elephant

2008-10-24T01:08:28Z

There is a certain pallor evident among my Republican neighbors these days. I live in a "red" area in a "blue" congressional district so my Republican neighbors usually tend to be more demonstrative of their candidate preferences. My state representative lives in the same block so his signs are always everywhere but this year I'm seeing a reduced enthusiasm for posting McCain signs. It seems that only when someone feels bold enough to put up an Obama sign do my Republican neighbors feel they must react and put up a corresponding McCain sign. I guess they are afraid that if the Obama sign goes unanswered someone might get the wrong impression about their "redness". People seem to be allowed to put up signs for other Democratic candidates but if the Obama sign goes up there has to be a response.

I've seen blog posts and heard statements about the possible demise of the Republican party if McCain takes a serious beating. I've even written one myself - but on further consideration I think that rumors of the GOP's death are premature. Don't forget the saying that all politics are local. My neighbors are still going to be Republicans. Even if they don't have a viable national organization they will still have a strong local voice and push for local Republican candidates....maybe.

I suspect that the only thing that would really drive a stake in the GOP's heart is a rupturing along regional and/or ideological lines. McCain will be the goat and catch the blame for a loss even though he is only partially responsible (exit McCain). Sarah Palin is a schemer and back-stabber. She has already taken shots at McCain. She seems to be driving a wedge into the GOP with the religious warriors and Kulture Kossacks lining up behind her. If there ends up being a "Palin wing" of the party I would expect a struggle to develop for party control. Much of the rest of the GOP is appalled at Palin's selection and her mis-underperformances. She is viewed as a disaster. When McCain is tossed aside, Palin and George Bush will be the GOP's only shining stars. At some point somebody (Romney, Thompson, Giuliani, Schwarzenegger, or who???) will try to start a parade of rational GOPers away from the Palin camp, tiptoe past the McCain debris and back to planet Earth. Where Bush lands in all this rubble might be the key to holding things together but I don't see him as a big unifying presence. I'm really wondering what the individual state GOP organizations would do. There are some very loose cannons at that level. Things could get pretty unsettled in my neighborhood if the national GOP ruptures. OK, I'll vote for that.

Obama and....Nixon? huh?

2008-10-23T03:30:50Z

I was dozing through the world series (game 1) when an Obama commercial came on -- except it was an anti-Obama ad sponsored by "Democrats For Principle Before Party". I'm not familiar with this group, which is apparently affiliated with "The Denver Group", whatever that is. The ad manages to compare Obama to Richard Nixon and has a punch line of "Would you buy a used car from this man".

Puzzled, I looked them up on the web....they want donations sent to "The Denver Group 2118 Bancroft Place N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008." Heidi Li Feldman, the doofus in charge, is apparently a disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporter out on a crusade to cripple Obama's campaign.

This ad was aired in Missouri but the web page says they are targeting Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.