Political Season

It's political season. Everyone have their permits?

What is it about election years that gets people's blood boiling anyway? I've been following this election year fairly closely, its been amusing to watch to say the least.

My hopeful outcome, Republicans take the house for sure, put serious gridlock in the senate, and the outcome is similar to 1994 by forcing Obama to tack strongly to the middle. Then perhaps we can have a pretty well flowing government in tune to Clinton's term. I'm no fan of Obama, but if it forces him to tack right, I'll make due with it, even if it gives him a second term.

My problem is that it has become increasingly obvious as of late that all Republicans in charge is about the same as all Democrats in charge. Checks and balances work a lot better when everything is not run by one party, and it keeps the government small. It also helps when you have a strong president like, say Reagan instead of one named Bush or Clinton or Obama. Maybe I'd give the Republicans another chance at running everything if they pulled their heads out of their butt and acted like Conservatives. That's one reason why I'm a fan of the Tea Party movement, which I got involved with (on a mild basis), mostly due to the explosion of the government and the extreme debt. I love how they have really shaken up the establishment and I'm rooting for them to keep at it. Social issues need to be largely left to the individual with only limited government interference. I know how bloated bureaucracies work, the larger they are, the more inefficient they are. And the government is huge, if you want to see an example of waste, look no further then the people running this country.

Looking at different republicans that are potential Presidential Candidates, I like Palin but feel she has a long way to go to prove she's capable of leading to the country when at the moment she has a polarizing affect much akin to Hillary. I think she has what it takes and would vote for her if she ran, but at the same time, I'm not sure if she'll make it past the primary election if it were held today (or maybe she could, but could she defeat Obama right now?) I'm still learning of the other candidates as they come onto the scene, maybe I should do more research on them before I make an opinion? I guess as 2012 nears, I'll be able to make a better judgement on that.

52 to 48

So, now that the left won the election, they want to play nice.

Remember in 2004, when they lost? We were treated with this drivel.

I became somewhat famous for my rebuttal.

Now that we elected a socially acceptable candidate, it's all peaches and cream now, so Everything's spiffy!

And in a gesture to reach across the isle, there is 52 to 48, with love.

This has been going on in the blogosphere, commenting on the last few days of the election. Although I agree with the sentiment, I see that the left is more willing to reach to the right when they have won, but if somehow McCain had managed to pull out a victory, there would be the same vile hate mongering that we got with the last eight years of Bush.

As for my opinions on Bush, I still do not regret voting for him, I don't think he was a bad president as everyone makes him out ot be. I think as a person he is a decent human being who was doing the most thankless job in the world. I like him as a person, I wish he had done better as a president, but I'll get on with my life.

As for the Obama voters thinking its all peaches and cream and we need to get together and love one another, you'll have to pardon me if you think because you are in charge, I'm going to just say 'ah shucks, you said it so nicely, let's be best friends and unite and become one country under The One!'

I actually think Obama is going to be a disaster for this country, McCain would have been a little better, but I'll accept your offer of unity when it turns out that I was wrong about Obama. And only time will tell.

Regardless, I will stay classy and if it does turn out that Obama is an unmitigated mistake that has no business being the leader of the free world, I'll try not to say 'told you so'.

elections over, we can get on with our lives now

Obama won. I noticed that through the blogs that there appeared to be evidence of a lot of fraud, but he still won by a large enough margin that the fraud might not have made any difference.

Most people I noticed who were for McCain seem to be a little down, but are also not wallowing in self pity and out to cry foul. They are accepting the outcome (I think many people were expecting it) and conceeding the election gracefully and deciding to move on with their lives.

I will undoubtedly be highly critical of President-elect Obama, but as long as he serves as President, I will support his authority and position. I don't think I'll be a huge activist, but I will definitely be watching the government closely, and will undoubtedly keep following the conservative blogs.

McCain ran a decent enough race I guess, but he came into this going into an uphill battle with a lot of things going against him.

I just hope that the changes Obama makes don't destroy this country and that he is not the socialist that I think he is.

The next four years will tell us, won't they?

Sarah Palin Rally in Indiana

I'm in Jeffersonville Indiana right now.

Going to see Hank Williams Jr and of course, Sarah Palin.

Will tell you how it goes.

Update (9:18 PM EST): The rally was outstanding! Security estimated between 25-32,000 people showed up. Hank Williams Jr entertained the crowd and got things going a bit, but man, the crowd went WILD when Sarah Palin walked in. Everyone was cheering. I took a bunch of pictures with my super zoom lens camera and as soon as I get home I'll try to post some of them. I was about 25-40 feet away from Sarah I think, I'm not the best estimate on these numbers, but I got in early enough that I could get pretty close. Not that it helped matters, cause see, I'm very short and a lot of people were taller then me and I had to get over their heads to get a good shot.

Now, the logistics of getting out of this place, er, I might not be getting home for another couple of hours. Which sucks, because I have a few last minute things I have to do to get prepared to leave this place and a fairly early day tomorrow. But being from a very blue state, and currently residing in a very red state, this was my best opportunity to see Sarah Palin and I wasn't going to miss it! My parents say they are envious.

UPDATE (11:59 PM EST) - My video is horrendous. My trip home even more so. It took me an hour to get out of the parking lot, and there were a few people that were a little tempered unfortunately. They had a bussing system set up but because of the mass transit trying to get out, everyone ended up having to walk to their cars (I need to check myself for ticks after walking through a field and falling in a ditch).

Anyway, Picture Time!


This is a really quick quote I picked up (there were a lot more but I grabbed this one because I remembered it quite vividly) and I loved how she put this. Well stated, unfortunately the crowd cheering blurs out what she is saying but it might give you an idea of how crazy this crowd was.



Actually, I do have a video of everyone cheering as she walks in, but truthfully, the video can not do this justice. This place was just rockin'!

Of course, we are in the great state of Indiana (actually, this region is often referred to as Kentuckiana) so we had a lot of Hoosier references.


Best sticker ever.

Hank Williams JR rockin' it country. He played us a little Johnny Cash that I particularly enjoyed. Big Johnny Cash fan.


Sarah and the 'First Dude of Alaska'. I love what she calls him. I'm sure if Sarah ever makes it to the White House as President, he will still be known as the First Dude. Unfortunately, none of the munchkins were present.


I got a lot of Sarah just talking with the crowd cheering and what not. I like this shot, mostly because of the background. I am still learning the settings on this camera nad unfortunately learned after the fact that I could have used some different settings then I did to get some clearer shots, but hey, you live and learn.


I really like this one as well for some reason. I love the blurred foreground with people waving and cheering but you can make out Sarah through it.


Anyone who says that this woman is a drag on the ticket is on crack. She has energized the base like nothing I could have imagined. Everyone there LOVED her! We were all cheering, and I think she is a great speaker.


More Palin Love


Yeah, pictures not as clear as I would have hoped, *I'll get them better next time* but I'm so pumped I could have made it!


I've got plenty of campaign buttons now! I'll focus on a few of 'em, I got some good ones!

I specifically wanted to get a McCain-Palin T-shirt. I have plans for this. More tomorrow on that.

That was a blast! I immensely enjoyed getting out, though I need to be careful next time, as I am supposed to be packing to get myself ready to get out of here. But I couldn't pass this opportunity up.

Funny, I found out about this rally YESTERDAY and kind of nabbed tickets for it last minute. glad I could make it!

Hope you enjoyed the pics.


Before the rally, I saw these four teenagers really enthused to see Palin. They can't wait to vote. I should merge this photo with another of Sarah speaking.

Making A Case

My sister gave me a phone call today asking me some questions in regards to her website which is where she runs her business through. After explaining what she needed to do (I'm the family web guru when it comes to this sort of thing) we got to talking about politics. It was kind of a nice discussion to be able to tell somebody in words where I think this election is going and where we will be going depending on who wins the White House. I laid out the reasons why I think McCain is our best choice (I'm not a huge fan, but I am a big Palin fan and think she balances the ticket nicely) and why we should be doing everything we can to defeat Barack Obama.

I hate to admit it, but I would rather have Hillary on the ticket then Obama. I disagree with a lot of her stances, but I am also more confident in her ability to lead versus Mr Hope and Change who has no other merits to run on and has already been predicted to be challenged by Foreign Leaders ala JFK. Great. I'd rather see Hillary handle an international crisis versus 'the One'.

I have been reading blogs and following politics for the last couple months pretty closely. It is interesting how one can get so wrapped up in this stuff and it really will make you angry to get to thinking about it.

That said, as I've gone through different websites, and we still have just two weeks until election day, I thought I would post some links of some arugments that have been made in favor of McCain and against Obama. Now, I'm not a fan of getting in confrontations with heavy Obama supporters and using these talking points with them, as it will likely turn into a heated argument where neither side is willing to listen and somebody ends up in the ER with a political sign ran through their sternum.

The Comprehensive Case Against Barack Obama. Ok, they even admit that some parts of this is not entirely comprehensive, but this lays out some of the finer points as to why Barack Obama is bad for a our country, and why Reverand Wright and Bill Ayers do matter.

Manifesto of the Silenced Majority - Notice that any criticism on the part of The One is met with charges of Racism and Smears? Well, this is a well documented list of reasons why and conservative feels the need to vote against him.

The Left's Big Blunder - I just posted to this essay a couple of posts back, well I'm going to post to it again. A good list of reasons why not to get discouraged into thinking McCain is out of the race yet. A recommended read.

Look Who's Gripped with Insane Rage - When you hear the arguments about how bad the McCain/Palin rallies get with Keith Olbermann getting serious about the seriousness of people screaming "kill him" about Barack Obama (which has since been debunked as being false), just show them this to prove that the left is not without its own hate mongering and its not Sarah Palin's job to keep tabs of every little thing that comes out of the mouths of her supporters.

The Biden Gaffe Machine - can you imagine if Sarah Palin had said any of the things Joe Biden has? Bloody hell, it would be Dan Quayle and Potato all over again. Worse is how his latest gaffes have been creaping on him. Biden all out said that in the first six months Obama is going to be tested by an international crisis by our enemies who may percieve his inexperience as weakness and may likely screw it up, but we need to stand by him in support. most would say that this is a reason NOT to vote for him. Don't forget Barack Obama is not without his gaffes too. But it does show poor judgment on Obama's part to pick this guy as his running mate, don't you think? He should have picked Hillary if he wanted to win, but I'm guessing Hillary turned him down.

The Fannie mae and Freddie Mac Fiasco should have anyone up in arms over a $700 Billion dollar bailout. But while both candidates were for the bailout *gag me* one in particular is in it to his eyeballs with being the second largest reciepient of donations from this mess with only two years in the senate. There is something wrong there.

There was an awesome video that went viral describing this issue and how deep Barack Obama was in on the mess, but unfortunately whoever made it decided to use copyrighted music from Warner and it's been removed.

But the Democrats are largely responsible for this economic mess in the first place, and we are about to give them the House, the Senate, and the Presidency? Because they speak well and are able to deflect criticism by stating President Bush is in office, so it must be his fault.

Fascinating how ignorant the population is to buy into this "it's all Bush's Fault" in regards to the Economy when this has been going on since the Clinton Administration by leftist policies of 'equality and fairness' instead of people earning it.

Anyway, there are some cases you try to make for not voting for Barack Obama and you can't escape the charge of 'ooh, you're a Racist!' I've linked to this guy before but I'll do it again. I love his point of view, he's brilliant, well educated on the matters and he knows what he's talking about and lays out a very good argument. Oh, and he happens to be a black conservative. You can't pull the racism card on this guy, he'll throw it back in your face. Check out his blog, I'm waiting to see him blog some more but he's more of a video blogger anyway. He's just a good source for giving the case for conservative causes, and to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. And I don't know, I just really like this guy. He's great!

As for other reasons why to vote for McCain? because he kicked Obama's behind at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Dinner when it comes to speeches geared for poking fun at one's self. I busted up laughing when I first saw this, thought Obama was funny too. Just not as funny as McCain.

I get most of my info from right wing blogs, and they are usually pretty good about fact checking each other, and yes, so sew me for keeping with the right wing blogs and not the left but they aren't always friendly to McCain either. I've been watching a lot of CNN lately and must say that I tend to zone it out, the bias is highly evident.

If anybody has any other articles or webposts on the net with more info in regards to our political candidates, I'd like to see them.

It Ain't Over til its Over

This is an interesting article about the psychology of the voter and how just because the polls say otherwise, that this election may be closer then we all think and by no means does Obama have it in the bag. It is actually an interesting read and has a lot of information about group think and what could be affecting people's thoughts as November 4th draws near, thought I would post to it.

The real-world campaign involves speeches and proposals and facts and scandals and political positions and news events. These details, however, are becoming increasingly irrelevant, and have become subsumed by the meta-campaign, which consists of perceptions, polls, reactions, analyses and summations. Until very recently, elections were decided by real-world facts -- but not anymore. Facts and events in and of themselves are no longer important; what's important is how everyone reacts to them. And how do we find out the public's mood concerning this or that incident? Why, the media tells us, that's how.

Its a long read, but very interesting, talking about conformity, the Bradley Affect and polling. It is also interesting for the psychology experiments it discusses like the Asch Experiments, which for some reason I found particularly interesting. Good essay.

The guy who wrote it blogs, and I've been in a blog surfing binge for the last two months. He has some interesting thoughts, so I bookmarked him. Of course, his blog is nothing new, in fact I may have ran into it before.

I like what he has to say though, and it is a little reassuring to read.

Yep, Don't Panic. Yet.

The RNC

Did I mention how much I like Sarah Palin?

Let me reiterate how much I like her. By saying I really really REALLY like her.

No, I said that already.

For some reason my cable isn't working (not that I watch tv ever but now and then it is nice) so i had to streamline the RNC on my laptop, using my really poor internet connection so it was choppy at times, but what a terrific speech!

I may have mentioned I like Sarah Palin before, but I think its not so much of her being a woman, its the type of woman she is. And with all of the crap going on in the news about her right now, especially with her oldest daughter and what that poor girl has to go through having been thrust in the limelight, really there are some on the left who are beginning to disgust me.

I would like to see where this campaign goes, but I think the McCain / Palin ticket can only go up from here. They are attacking Palin, when it only brings out the obvious discrepencies in Obama's own run for president.

I'll keep the political commentary to a minimum, being in the service and all they like us to keep a non partisan viewpoing on matters, but still, I had a reluctant idea of who I was going to vote for before, but now I know I will be voting with pure conviction now.

Who'da thought that the choice of VP would shake things up this much?

McCain / Palin for the Win!

So, I've been kind of watching this political season from afar, starting with the primaries and finding the war between Clinton and Obama amusing, but overall not exactly thrilled with the choice I was given. For a while, I wanted Obama over Clinton, becuase I just don't trust Clinton, but the more I learned about Obama, the less I liked him. And Clinton was looking better and better as the Democratic Nominee.

But that left the conservative nominee being McCain, who isn't as conservative as I would like him to be. I like his stance on Pork projects (in that he hates pork) and the military, but there are a lot of things about him that I didn't like. It was making the third party candidates look more and more inviting, but I was becoming more and more of an Anybody but Obama voter, which would make me a freakin' hypocrit because I can't stand the thought of voting against somebody. I prefer to vote for somebody.

Well, the talk of the week is McCain's choice in his VP Pick of Sarah Palin. I didn't know much about her before she was picked, though I had heard her name mentioned. And when I found out that she was the Republican VP Nominee, I did my research on her and I have to admit something. I Like Her. And when I say I like her, I really really REALLY like her.

I mean, seriously, this is my kind of woman. She's a true conservative, she's honest, she doesn't play traditional politics, what you see is what you get. And she is a gun nut and lives what she believes. I can respect this woman, and I am not a feminist by any means. I believe that there are some jobs that men are better at doing then woman are, and not every woman is qualified for certain jobs. But some have the credibility to do certain jobs and I would vote for the right woman and this is just the type of woman I would vote for.

Palin adds a lot to the ticket. and it says something about McCain and the direction he may take us (and perhaps leaning more into conservative stances on issues) by choosing Palin as his running mate. I hope this is a clue as to where he plans on taking his presidency should he get elected, but as I watch the Obama / Biden ticket start to flounder and sink (hopefully? Remember, I actually posted a post rooting for Obama until I learned more of his policies and realized how horrible he would be for this country) I can just hope that I won't be let down should McCain and Palin get elected into office.

The political season has just picked up more gusto. yeah, I'm a little late on things, but come on! I work 16 hour days and just got my second day off since mid June today. I have every right to be a little late on the blogging front.

Clinton Takes Pennsylvania

Hey, Hillary is still in the race!

This is shaping up to be an interesting political season, I'm rooting for Hillary now. As long as chaos is reigning amongst the Democrats, it keeps things interesting.

It's a Mad World

Ok, I need to go out and do a lot of research, because I have discovered I'm completely clueless about this year's nominations for President. We got McCain who has pretty much clenched the Republican Nomination for President, and we've got the ongoing battle between Clinton and Obama.

For the longest time, I was on the 'anybody but Clinton' fence, but that is showing to be a bad choice of words.

So you've got the Lefties who are all going nuts over Obama, McCain appears to be getting the moderate vote, and Conservatives are actually stumping for Clinton? What is this world coming to when you have Ann Coulter actively campaigning for Hillary?

But what do I know, honestly? I just found out I don't know jack! I need to look at what is important to me in this election and see who is running on what platforms and figure out who is about what and who is most compatible with me.

Ironically, I admit to stumping for Obama on the democratic ticket, but now I'm wishing that Hillary was in the lead again.

What the hell? I think I'm going to focus on stocking up on necessities and wait for the end of the world, because hell is certainly about to freeze over.

Anybody know any good links to get through the jargon of exactly what the candidates stance is? Or should I even bother asking?

War Campaign Promises

Everyone knows I'm not a big fan of politicians, or politics, but during election years I tend to get into them, and this year is a big year for a whole lot of nothing, as it seems that no matter what, we're screwed.

So Hillary Clinton is making her way into winning the democratic nomination for President. At first I was in the ABC (anybody but Clinton) camp, until I learned that Barack Obama ain't much better and might as well be running as a communist.

We were talking during drill about one campaign promise both are touting that they can't keep. That would be the withdrawing from Iraq within 60 days in office, or at least that's Obama's promise.

What are people going to say when he doesn't back up that promise? Because if he pulls out, it's going to be slaughter over there and then they'll have a huge mess on their hands (of course, he'll blame it on Bush) and that four years will be all about trying to contain whatever happens as it escalates out of control. Pulling out of Iraq is the wrong answer. But if they find themselves unable to pull out of Iraq and talked into staying there, it will be a campaign promise they are unable to keep, and perhaps they'll get disenfranchised voters on that front when they don't pull out right away.

Pulling out of Iraq is a horrible campaign promise where you simply can't win. At least McCain has it right.

Yeah, I'm voting for McCain. And I'll be spending the time until the Presidential Election looking for reasons to vote for him, because as we all know, when you ride on a campaign of 'anybody but (enter name here, whether it be Bush or Clinton)', it doesn't win elections. I'm going to vote for somebody, not against somebody. And if I find that I can't find a good enough reason to vote for McCain, maybe I'll look at a suitable third party candidate.

But the thought of Hillary Clinton becoming my Commander in Chief makes my blood run cold.

Election Worries

Why do I feel that no matter what happens, in November we're screwed?

For a while I was on the anybody but Hillary stump, but right now I'm feeling a bit of a chill from the whole Barack Obama camp, as though I still believe that Hillary is the worst thing that possibly could happen to this country, Obama ain't much better.

We'll be in a Socialist haven by January 2009. And Iraq will be in ruins by the middle of next year.

McCain won't be a whole lot better, but if he does get the Republican Nomination for President, I'll probably end up voting for him.

I'm worried where this country will be in four years.

Third Party Politics?

So. . .

I'm thinking this might be the year for a valid third party candidate to emerge from the wreckage of this primary season and become a viable candidate for President. I know a lot of people who are adamently opposed to Hillary, the GOP is on it's deathbed as a political party, they've burned too many bridges with the voters.

McCain is like 82 years old. If he wins the presidency to serve for two terms, he will be 91 or something. And he's too liberal in some of his politics, though I do like his stance on Pork Spending, but when you have conservatives like Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck saying they'll vote for Hillary over McCain, well, that's not promising. And I'd rather vote for a candidate that has no chance of winning the election rather then Hillary.

So, can a viable third party come out of the wood work to run for President? I hope so, if we want to get rid of this ridiculous two party system, this is the year to do it.

Otherwise, well, I was going to vote for Romney, but I guess I'll vote for Obama during the Primary, to get votes away from Hillary. I'd rather have Obama as President then Hillary, she's trying to come off as a moderate but anybody who does their research knows she's a socialist to her core, and a bit power hungry. And a closet lesbian.

No Hillary for me, thanks. I hate to think of what she'll do to my military if she gets in office. I shiver at the thought.

Endorsements

Well, apparently tomorrow is a big day in the political scheme of things. Across the country, people get to vote on who they want to run in the big race in November.

I'm backing Barack Obama for the Democrats and Mitt Romney for the Republicans.

I just realized I don't have any idea when the Washington State Primary is being held. Hmm. . .

Be sure to vote!

Team Obama!

How can I convince people to NOT vote for Hillary Clinton? Do we honestly want this woman as our next president?

Granted, I'm not a big fan of any of the democrats, but this woman is the last person I want to see as President. She is a conniving politician and I don't know what she's saying to get people to vote for her, but I will never trust Hillary.

I do admit that Barack Obama likely doesn't have enough experience for the Presidency, and is a bit on the socialist side for my likings (Hey, he's a liberal, I'm a conservative) but I would much rather see him win the Presidency then Hillary.

So I'm going to campaign for Obama with my Liberal Friends, because I don't think I can convince them to vote for a Republican. Team Obama all the way!

Who's Your Candidate?

So with the primaries in full swing, election year is coming upon us *shivers*

I got sent a link to an interesting questionare that will help you discover who your ideal candidate is. Here's my results.

82% John McCain
74% Mitt Romney
73% Mike Huckabee
72% Tom Tancredo
70% Fred Thompson
62% Rudy Giuliani
53% Hillary Clinton
52% Bill Richardson
49% John Edwards
49% Chris Dodd
48% Barack Obama
46% Ron Paul
43% Joe Biden
29% Mike Gravel
22% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Hmm, McCain looks to be my ideal candidate for the most part, though I find it interesting that Hilary of all people is coming up as my top Democrat *gag!*. I don't trust her and think many of her policies that has her playing as a moderate is a ruse to get her elected.

I'd rather have Barack Obama get elected over her, though honestly I don't agree with his policies as he's a bit on the socialist side. He's predicted to be our next president, I guess I like him as a person, he's got excellent charisma, but he's quite young. I think there are a lot of people who are excited about the thought of finally electing a viable minority which is one of the reasons why it seems like Obama and Clinton are the heavy hitters on the democratic side, but that's about as a good a reason to vote for somebody like the fact that Mitt Romney happens to be a Mormon is the soul reason NOT to vote for him.

I guess for me religion might play a piece in things, but I'm not going to vote for Romney because he shares my faith, I want to vote for him because I agree with his policies and think he will make a good president, but it looks like I'll be voting for the Republican anyway, whoever that may be, rather then the Democrat. Of course, Blue State Washington, it probably won't make much of a difference. We aren't exactly a swing state.

Ron Paul for President

Ok, I don't know a whole lot about Ron Paul to tell you the honest truth. He seemed to be a minor candidate in the overpowering field of Republicans (and Democrats for that matter)

I think I need to do a little more research on him and see exactly where he stands, but based on this video, I really like him. He seems to be a true conservative and I agree with most of his view points. Before seeing this video, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really impressed with much of anyone running for President.

I did a rundown on my personal knowledge of the Democratic Candidates about a month or so ago. I need to do one on the Republicans.

The Path to 2008 - The Democrats

I mean, we're only in April of 2007 and we're already talking about who's going to be POTUS! Why do we do this to ourselves? Do we purposely like to drive ourselves bat wild? I don't know, but I guess because 2008 is completely wide open, we just got to suck it up and get on with our lives.

So, I decided I would look at each candidate for a moment and see what they have to offer and if they even have a shot. Or basically, my own rambling on them.

John Kerry
John Kerry, the Democratic nominee of 2004, has suffered a series of set backs to include making bad jokes at our trooops expense (and how was that supposed to be a jab toward a Yale Graduate now???) that he's, well, he's not a contender for 2008. However, I'd keep him on the radar for 2012 or 2016. This guy really wants to claim that oval office, he's just wisely decided to back out of the race for now.

Hillary Clinton
Wait, wasn't she President for 8 years already? Isn't there a law against this?

Furthermore, do we really want to start a trend here with Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton every four to eight years? Jeb for President in 2016! Chelsea in 2024! Barbara and Jenna can run on a joint ticket in 2032! It's madness I tell you! Madness! This will lead to a path of chaos that will end in our country blowing itself up in the anarchy!

Besides, do we really want another polarizing President in the office? You can't get more polarized then Bushes and Clintons in the office. A third of the country can't stand them, another third loves them, and the remaining third don't give a damn/don't follow politics enough to know the difference. I'm telling you, we really don't want another 8 years of Clinton.

Besides, I don't trust her. Everyone knew she was eyeballing the presidency for the future in 2004, she wouldn't admit it.

Barack Obama
This young charismatic candidate from Illinois has exactly two years of Senatorial experience and he's got the entire country buzzing. The question is, well, is he ready for the Presidency? What has he done and what does his experience say about him? Truthfully, I think he'd be a stronger candidate if he waited for 2012 or 2016, because I don't exactly know where he stands on things except to know that he's an eloquant speaker and therefore he knows how to play politics.

Still, I'm thinking I'll take eight years of Obama over eight years of Clinton. I'd say look at this guy on the ticket as a vice presidential candidate, which if the democrats win, sets him up for the presidency in 2016.

John Edwards
Yep, he's back, fresh off the Vice Presidential ticket in 2004 and ready to try for the oval office again for 2008. And he doesn't have the negative stigma of bad jokes that Kerry somehow managed to find. He's got experience in the senate as well. And his wife will help win the sympathy vote.

Except he's a trial lawyer, and he's got a record as a trial lawyer of big massive lawsuits against evil doctors and malpractice. I do have a problem with some of these malpractice suits, some of them are deserved, yes, but people win the lottery on them and it puts Doctors out of business as they can't afford their practice.

Still, as a guy, Edwards seems likeable and poses a chance. If he can find a way out from under Clinton's and Obama's shadow.

Dennis Kucinich
Is this guy for real? Seriously.

I mean, does this guy even have a sporting chance? Not likely. He was trailing the pack in 2004. What does he have to offer in 2008 that makes him a viable candidate?

Al Gore
Gore hasn't declared his candicay, yet, but hot off an Oscar win and with a passion for Environmental Protection that has Hollywood worshipping him, this guy has to think about the possibility of a run for president. Every major website listing contendors for 2008 has him on it as undeclared. And right now, in the liberal circles, he's very popular despite his fallout in lack of personal hygiene after he lost the electoral vote in 2000 to a bunch of Floridians who didn't know how to read a butterfly ballot. He's a contender, its just a matter of if he wants to give it another go or not.

Joe Biden
Ok, I'll admit, I don't know much about this guy, though 30 years of senatorial experience does give him an edge over some of the leading candidates. And to tell you the truth, that might actually help him with the moderate voters who are looking for a fresh face in the mix. But still, under the shadow of heavy weights like Clinton and Obama, he's got to find a way to make his name known to get the nomination.

Chris Dodd
Like Biden, I don't know really a whole lot about this guy. He's got a lot of years in public service, plus he's got a military record to help with the military vote and some of the moderates (but look what that did for Kerry!), so he's got a history to back him up.

Mike Gravel
I have absolutely no idea who this guy is, but he's taking a shot at the presidency and declared his candidacy nearly a year ago. He's got a diverse background in the Military, Business, and Public Service and has even written a couple of books and appears to be a worthy candidate by all appearances if he could find a way to get his name out there.

Bill Richardson
The Governor of New Mexico is making a bid for the Presidency.

Other then serving in Clinton's cabinet, I don't know anything about this guy. Hmm. . .

Summary - In my humble and far from expert rambling opinion, I would say for the Democrats, Hillary is the person to beat. But after a far from successful second term for Bush, do the Democrats really want to nominate a person that is just going to polarize the nation that much more? There are people that just don't like Hillary, and no matter what she does to try to improve her image, they are still not going to like her. It looks like Barack Obama may give her a run for her money however.

If the Democrats are smart, I think they should find a decent candidate who can appeal to the moderate vote. Avoid the double speak of 2004 because seriously, if Kerry had run with a plan and a purpose instead of just fumbling with the issues and not having any clear agenda, he would have won easily. This is a wide open election, its anybody's game really.

I'm just hoping the Democrats nominate somebody OTHER then Hillary.

Pictures and info courtesy of WashingtonPost

Voting Results Continued

So, Democrats gained the house and may have the senate, depending on one race in Virginia.

I was hoping Maria Cantwell would get kicked out of office but who am I kidding? I live in Washington and apparently it's very progressive to have two female senators and a female governor, look at us!

Well, my congressman is a woman too, but I actually voted for her.

I'm interested in seeing where exactly the country goes over the course of the next two years, if the Democrats can actually make it any better (I doubt it) or if the Republicans can take a look at this and think 'well, gosh, maybe we should actually listen to our base if we want to stay in office'.

To tell you the honest truth, I think both parties are pretty screwed up and I've coem to think that I probably can't trust a word that comes out of either party's mouth. In a perfect world, I would probably vote libertarian more then anything else, because I'm not a fan of big government, and it used to be that the Republicans were the ones who fought against big government.

So now I expect that these next two years nothing will get accomplished except for a lot of bickering and name calling in the upper government. Bush probably won't be able to accomplish much because the Senate and Congress will likely fillibuster and block anything that he tries to pass, in effect, largely making him a 'lame duck'.

I just hope my stocks hold up.

Here's looking to 2008. I just hope that Gore, Kerry, or Clinton Female is not in the running for the Dems. I wouldn't mind Lieberman, but he's probably to conservative and pro warm for the Democrats to stomach, that and they already wrote him off (still glad to see him make a comeback as an independent) I'm not sure who I would like to see as the Republican candidate.

Election Day

Well, another election year, and now hopefully we'll see a disappearance of those annoying political signs.

I voted yesterday (mail in) which is how everyone in our county is voting this year. There were some issues that I chose not to vote on due to the fact that I didn't know as much about the issues as I felt I needed to know to give a good strong opinion on how my vote should go, so I refrained.

Meanwhile, Republicans lost control of the house but still have the Senate. In some ways, this is actually probably a good thing, and in the same way a bad thing. A good thing because it adds a little more to the checks and balances of the government, but bad because Nancy Pelosi is now Speaker of the House and I don't think anything will ever get done as the most that will likely happen is a bunch of bickering and backstabbing.

One reason why I have decided to refrain from entering politics myself. No thanks.

I still consider myself conservative, and I generally vote along party lines unless I am stirred enough by the opposing candidate that I feel like I agree with them more then the republican. Republicans haven't been doing to hot these days in my opinion. So maybe losing the house will help them pull their heads out of their asses.

Question: Am I now sorry for voting for Bush? Hell no, and I won't regret it even if I decide after his presidency that he is the worst president in history. Mostly because at the time I went by the knowledge I had and I have no proof supporting whether Kerry would have made a better president or not. And you know what? We'll never know, will we? So Nope! Still not sorry!

But in closing, I do have this to say. Lieberman got reelected as an Independent, after the Democrats turned on him. And that to me is fantastic news.