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    I think Barack Obama is better. He knows Economic sciences.

    Indeed, MC Cain and S. Palin want the war against Russia and Iran and to remain 100 years in Iraq. They will surrender the W Bush's policy.

    Mc Cain and Sahra Palin will create the raise of prices, a fall of companies and banks, a increase unemployment. The oil price will increase. And there will be other American soldiers who will die for a war against Russia and the Iranians. Mc Cain and Sahra Palin will spend billions of dollars for the wars. But american people will be poor.

    Now we must to reject Nazi ideas  or the Ku Klux Klan ideas in USA. B Obama can be a good man for USA.

Right. He's done everything to hide where he was born including post his birth certificate online so everyone could see it here:

http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate?source=source=sem-pm-fts-bc-search-us&gclid=CJC7gsKB1pYCFQOcFQodcAzy2A

And, McCain will do an excellent job at stopping illegal immigration to keep jobs for Americans just like he has in the 26 years he's been a Senator of Arizona.

And, increasing the income tax of the wealthiest 2% of the population by 3% makes him a stone-cold socialist. All the past presidents of the last 100 years have all been socialists.

The trickle-down economics of the past 8 years have benefited our country so much that we should continue it.

And way to not sound like a biggot, Dude. That really helps you get your point across to everybody.

Obama will lose because the silent majority is not behind him.

He is a socialist, and wants to increase taxes of rich corporations. Doing that will cause them to leave to other countries, or fold, and the losers will be us, the poor who need the jobs.

Socialism and communism do not work period. Since when is the USA into socialism?

He is illegally running for Pres. To date, he has 7 suits asking him to show his US birth, and he can't  do it because he was born in Mombassa Kenya at the Coastal Hospital, His grandmother asserted that.

In order to seal the documents in Kenya, Obama paid over $1 million for his cousin's presidential campaign. When his cousin Ondinga lost the Kenyan’s elections he started a national massacre that brought Kenya to its knees. To stop the blood-shed, the elected Pres, gave the Prime ministry to Obama's cousin, Odinga. THE REASON Odinga needed that post is obvious now:  SEALL ALL DOCUMENTS THAT PROVE OBAMA WAS BORN I KENYA, TO ASSURE HIM THE US CANDIDACY. When ONE ASKS Obama for this little piece of paper, he calls us RACIST!

Obama pulls the race and each time one asks him to show his documents. If he wins, GOD FORBID, we will all be muzzled by the race card he will be pulling on us all. The nation will be muzzled and fearful to say anything , but worry not, we Americans will never allow such foreigner to run our nation.

www.dittowire.com/beyod_the_headlines/2008/10/obama-and-oding.html

www.dontvoteobama.net/cousin%20odingo.htm

www.talkshowamerica.com/2008/10/more-law-suits-filed-in-obama-birth.html

www.snlpes.com/politics/obama/kenya.asp

Jidlo's statement that Colon Powell's endorsement of Obma is a "race thing" is mindless. Powell's endorsement is not a matter of race; it is a matter ethics. It is the best he can do to rectify his misguided presentation at the United Nations with bogus evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, prior to the U.S. invasion. His endorsement of Obama is not a matter of race; it is a matter of morality and good judgment after having considered all the facts, which this time he had. The facts are that Senator Obama is the best candidate for the presidency. Bush's ex-press-secretary McClealan has also endorsed Obama. Does that make him a traitor?  I think not. Mr. McClealn as well as M. Powell are men of conscience, who are willing to rectify their errors. It is men of high moral judgment whose truth will survive. Can you understand this, Mr. Jidlo?

Wouldn't  it be great if President Obama were to beat McCain in his own state!!! I'll throw a party in celebration.

The fact that McCain may not even carry his own state shows that he's been running a strong campaign,

Huh? Where does that make sense? Sounds like your ideas  were funded by Sarah Palin....yes the one who doesn't even know her own job role as VP.

I hope and I believe the people from Arizona has better sense then to fall behind Obama. Obama is saying now because V.P. Cheny endorsed McCain that he is just handing over the baton from Bush to McCain for the same. Not True. But when Colon Powell endorsed Obama that was a race thing 100% and people know it. Now who is the traitor Cheny or Powell.

PingBack from http://angrykeyboarder.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/looking-bleaker-for-mcccain/

The fact that McCain may not even carry his own state shows that he's been running a strong campaign, and the fact that he can run a strong campaign shows that he can run a strong country. And yes, Newsweek is funded by the Obama Campaign!

I live in Tempe and I just voted for Obama (early mail ballot). I hope he comes to the state again! I would love to attend a rally and see the next president of the US in person! Most of my friends voted for him as well!

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As I recall, there were five Arizona reporters present when McCain famously blew up at his wife and called her names I won't repeat here.  Arizonans have been witness to his vindictiveness and verbal abuse directed toward others, including Republican colleaagues and members of the press.  They may know about his perculiar superstitions (he's immobilized if he doesn't have all his luck totems).  They know his impulsiveness, which has been on display during the campaign, as when he supposedly suspended his campaign, but really didn't, and decided not to show up for the first  debate, but then did.  His most impulsive move of all was to pick Palin, who 59% of Americans now believe is unqualified, and who just got served by the State of Alaska with another complaint for ethical breaches.  He apparently rues the day he did pick her, as his aides now are trashing her as a rogue, diva and "whack job."   Arizona might well be a good place for Obama to campaign.  By contrast, you don't see McCain considering Illinois, do you.

PingBack from http://john-mccain.auto-blogs.us/newsweek-obama-raising-arizona/

PingBack from http://getangrywithme.com/2008/10/clowns-volkswagon-john/

Desperation is pathetic.  Its like a dissed lover constantly banging on the door of their lost love crying and begging.  Give it up, stop with the ancient affiliations, McCains got them too.  Try telling the world whats good about McCain, instead of whats bad about Obama.

Geeze, Obama didnt mention McCains name one single time on Wednesday.  He spent his time articulating his own beliefs, not beating up the other guy.  Has everyone forgotten what its like to have a degree of honor???  McCain and his minions have, thats for sure.

PingBack from http://barack-obama.auto-blogs.us/newsweek-obama-raising-arizona/

"Nowforthetruth"

Is it true Karl Rove once said that morality is a weakness other people have that I can use to manipulate them?

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I agree with 40YearR and Im a democrat!  Furthermore, Im a non partisan and I know there are good republicans out there that are nonpartisan as well.  The problem Im seeing is that Mccain had stated before the election, he will run an honest and straight forward campaign!  I have seen nothing but untruthfullness and nasty smears at a time when we all need to work together for the common good.  Im my lifetime, I have never seen such nastiness from a campaign and I have to give it to Barrack, which has been unbreakable throughout this  election.  I used to have the upmost respect from John Mccain, but his credibility and what he had stood for has taken a back seat, so now he resorts to unthinkable tactics!  His campaign has resorted to extreme radical behavior and I blame that bimbo from Alaska, who has spread so much hatred from the far right and the sad part is that the real Reagan republicans have taken notice and have separated from the radical republicans.  As you can see, the smart republicans have endorsed Obama, because they know that we all need to come together for a purpose!  I cant believe that people cannot see that!  Instead, they are preaching hate by saying that Obama is a muslim and a terrorist!  So what if he was a muslim!  So youre saying that if he was a muslim, which he is not, why would that be a bad thing? It is so ridiculous that people do not educate themselves and that is why ignorance shows through this republican election! It truly is shameful!

"Nowforthetruth" recently made this posting: "Nins, all you prove is that you have perpetual PMS and cannot read. If you are as careless in your practice, you are a danger to your profession."

You reveal too much of yourself "Nowforthetruth".

"Nowforthetruth" also continues to keep repasting postings that suggest that the root cause of our problem is a law decades old that encourages loans to qualified low income people. "Nowforthetruth" is part of the spin/propaganda machine, and continues to repeat well known deceit.

Alan Greenspan stated recently that the problem was not anything like that. Rather, he stated that an entire financial system was built outside of regulation, and 'we trusted' these self-interested looters to regulate themselves. Credit Default Swaps were the result.

Credit Default Swaps increased from $106 trillion in '02 to $531 trillion under the R stewardship. No regulation.

While there are several variations of a viral email that tries to blame a few thousands of political donations to some Democrats, the actual, legitimate news has reported that Fannie and Freddie paid many millions to Republican lobbyists to lobby Republicans to PREVENT REGULATION.

McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, received up to $35K/mo. from Fannie and Freddie from 2000 to present, to lobby Rs,only, against regulation. Freddie has paid Rick Davis while he has been McC's campaing manager. Freddie donated $250k to the R convention.

These facts are everywhere in the legitimate news. You can start at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/us/politics/22mccain.html and http://www.newsweek.com/id/164732/page/1 There's much more legitimate news on this.

Trillions were looted from our economy because the Rs allowed it. It is inescapable that the Rs, most prominently McC's campaign manager, were in the pockets of big money while they drove the buss off the cliff with us in it.

You can try to distract people with fears about 'those guys'. Lies, distortion, deception. 'Socialist' is only the last in a long, now desperate, list of labels you have tried to pin on 'that one'. That's all you have left.

Is your most recent reposting here directed to fears about "Socialism", or is it just innuendo, or are we trying to fold in a little racism too?

I've got an idea, since we have no more ideas, let's keep running our campaign on fear, smears and hypocrisy.

Keep talking "Nowforthetruth", you're really helping. You keep demonstrating that we all have to vote against lies and propaganda and attempts to hijack our political process with deceit. Your actions are the kinds of reasons that I'm voting for Obama after 40 years of never having voted for a Dem.

A 40 year republican

Obama says his  campaign has no ties to Acorn ya say?

US News & World Report :

"Former ACORN Employee Says Obama Provided Donor List

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports, "A fired staffer for an affiliate of" ACORN "testified Wednesday the organization was provided a 'donor list' from" Obama's campaign "in late 2007 for fundraising efforts. Anita Moncrief, a former Washington staffer for Project Vote, which she described as a sister organization of...ACORN, said her supervisor told her the list of campaign contributors came from the Obama campaign." The Philadelphia Inquirer adds Moncrief "gave a scathing, though at times vague, assessment of ACORN and its efforts to go into battleground states and help mostly minorities and the poor register to vote for the first time. The group, she said, barely trained its workers in how to register voters properly, and would fire employees if they did not meet a quota of 20 new voter applicants daily."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_081030.htm

Obama in this video is campaigning at a convention of Acorn and I believe two other Community Activist's organizations less than a year ago, in December 2007. Ask if he will be their ally if he becomes President and pledge to meet with leaders of Acorn and the others in his first year, Obama, who we are told has no contact to Acorn (another lie), not withstanding the $800,000 his campaign paid an Acorn group during the primaries, says, quote:

"Yes, but let me say that before I even get inaugurated, during the transition, we are going to be calling all of you in to help us shape the agenda."

See and hear it for yourself. Obama promised that Acorn and other groups like it will setting his agenda if elected even before he is inaugurated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJcVgJhNaU

The link below describes how some Democrats in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN, a group Obama has a long association with. See:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

PingBack from http://msnbc.postdown.com/2008/10/30/newsweek-obama-raising-arizona/

Hey truthwillbetold, this is about Arizona. They don't have acorns in Arizona. It's cacti. Why doesn't Obama denounce cacti? Try to be at least a bit relevant. We don't read an article about Arizona to talk about acorns. You waste your time and ours.  CACTI, idiot. CACTI.

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"benluclar":  Go to    http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html  to see several photos of Obama's birth certificate, including of the original certification of authenticity.

A 40 year republican

"benluclar":  Go to    http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html  to see sever photos of Obama's birth certificate, including of the original certification of authenticity.

PingBack from http://americannonsense.com/?p=16598

Obamabots..... show me the BIRTH CERTIFICATE!

Anyone in the US can get a copy of their BIRTH certificate.

Where is Obama's?

You can't even get a marriage license without one.

And he can be President?

Whoa.....................

"truth will be told":  You keep repasting postings with laments like: "WHAT IS OBAMA HIDING??????"

This just sounds to me like more of the completely debunked anonymous smears about subjects like:  his birth certificate, where he was born, is he a terrorist, is he a Muslim, is he an Arab, is he antiAmerican, is he unAmerican, is he a Socialist?

So, I have one for you:  Why did McCain say that lobbyists are what's wrong with America, promised to throw them out, and  then McC hired as  his campaign manager Rick Davis who- even while working for McC- took millions in lobbyist fees, and McC has never told us why he did that or how much of those millions Davis gave McCain.  WHAT IS MCCAIN HIDING????!!!!

Sheeeeesh!  The election will be soon now....

A 40 year republican

"Anonymous":  I have received countless anonymous smear emails distributed by the R propaganda machine.  They have made me suspicious, and I'm unwilling to "listen" to them anymore.  They also have made me disinterested in blog sites with names like  "popmartian" and "gossiprocks".

Do you have anything to tell us?

That can be authenticated by nonanonymous sources?

A 40 year republican

Hey Kathleen

He was doing exactly what the ones that donated it to him wanted him to do.

He will be able to help the middle class far far beyond even that amount if he becomes president.

                                                        regards

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Give the geezer a break. I think every candidate has a right to his home state.  McCain deserves a good scare but he hasn't been that bad a representative for them.

PingBack from http://www.popmartian.com/politrix/2008/10/obama-could-swing-through-arizona/

You haven't seen the document. There was a questionnaire, no contract. McCain, and others, did not sign. McCain did say he would but didn't sign and didn't participate in the Midwest Democracy Questionnaire from Nov 2007. It is online.  Only Obama and John Edwards said yes. Then on the form Obama wrote he would " pursue and agreement" with the Republican nominee to reach an agreement. Part of the deal, a concern on Obama's part, was that each party agree NOT TO ALLOW any 527 funds on their respective sides. They didn't agree. Funny how Republicans never raised a stink all these years they raised a lot more money than the Democrats.

Yes, Obama did back out of public financing; but don't pretend that John McCain, had he not taken $85,000,000 of public money, could have competed with Obama on the fundraising front.  Also, had the situations been reversed, dont for one second pretend that McCain wouldnt have done the exact same thing.

PingBack from http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/u-s-politics-issues/86638-could-john-mccain-lose-his-home-state-barack-obama.html#post1445983

Im not convinced that Obama, even if he sunk a large sum of money in, could end up carrying Arizona.  The real focus of amazement in this story, however, is that Obama is even in the picture in Arizona.  It has to be a sickening feeling for John McCain, because you should never have to invest funds or compete in any way to hold your own state.  It's a pretty sad state of affairs for McCain at the moment.

Obama should hold a rally in Arizona. It's a state with many democrats and some independents who would be delighted to see him, not to mention all the college students in Tempe, Tucson and Flagstaff who have been registering in record numbers and are much more like to vote for Obama than McCain.

Nobody would vote for someone who  called them   them names, and no one with a conscience should vote for McCain after seeing his advertisements.

Wow, maybe Arizona is embarassed by the campaign McCain has run or by the lies he has told!!!

"markh"  I'm a 40 year republican who's never voted for a Dem before.  Until recently I was a solid McCain supporter and voter.

Your use of "Osama Obama" and suggestion that he has "anti-American views" impelled me to the observation that the McC/Bush propaganda machine was too big, too organized, too relentless for me to vote for perpetuation and further entrenchment of it.

Don't blame Obama for my vote, blame the rightwing propaganda machine of hate and lies.

Sorry, I was mistaken on the date of the article.  It was in last weekend's paper.  For anyone who would like to read it, here is a link:

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/264209.php

McCain just moved to AZ because his "Sugar Momma" was from here. Most people here in Phoenix see him as the phoney that he is. A local rag pointed out last week how poorly veterans are treated in this state - and most of those veterans find McLame repulsive. My lasting impression of this ego maniac was watching retired hard working everyday Americans cry on TV after him and his buddy Keating ripped them off for their life savings. I can see why the neo-cons support him - he would continue to rip off the middle class like his buddy GDub!

markh@gpcompanies.com do you live in Arizona?  Did you see the article in the Tucson paper two weekends ago?  There was an article about this subject.  Many of the counties on the eastern side of the state are already blue.  Do your homework  before you just start making things up.  I don't know if Obama will be able to carry the state but I think it would be grand if he did.  HA HA

I agree with many of the other people from Arizona who have posted that they would love to see Obama come here.  I have also voted early for Obama, as has my husband who is a registered Republican (I am an Independant).  GO OBAMA!!!

People don't bother writing in.  All these blogs a ran by Osama Obama.  He fills these blogs with his campaign workers to make it look like only his loyalists are around.  The truth will come out and we will all see that Obama is only for him self.  He is a fraud a phony and yes he has anti-American views.

Arizona will go for Mccain no question enough said.  Newsweek is paid for by the Obama campaign.

Desertgal,  

What is not as so apparent is that many more millions were 'donated' by Fannie and Freddie to McC's campaign manager Rick Davis, including while he has been McC's campaign manager.  Freddie donated $250k to the R convention.

So while trillions were looted from our economy, many more millions than concern you were given to McC's campaign manager to stop regulation that could have prevented the crisis.

If these lobbyists no longer have the president in their pockets, then that $3 million will have been well spent.

Hello,

I just wanted to express my anger when I heard that Obama spent 3 million dollars for a 30 minute ad. That’s 1 million dollars spent in 10 minutes! And he has spent over 600 million dollars this election campaigning. I honestly dropped into my chair this morning and wept. Here I struggle daily raising my granddaughter and living paycheck to paycheck. Obama says he is the one in touch with me? Spread the wealth? Did he happen to forget that our Country is in a recession and we are facing a crisis? Obama in touch with the real people? He is so out of the realms of reality it sickens me!  Yes it sickens me to think how half of the Country believes in this fraud. If I were living in a different Country and watching how much money this clown is spending and knowing that the United States of America is in a recession, I would have to laugh and say that the USA is a JOKE! What kind of Country in such a recession would allow candidates to spend millions of dollars on campaigning? I feel that I am being slapped in the face. I don’t mean anything to this so called MESSIAH… Any Joe blow off the street can see that this Obama is not in the race for me! But for his own personal gains. I have to ask myself, was this ad really necessary and to spend 3 million dollars when so many Americans are faced with the high cost of living in a time of recession. How sad that our Country has become the joke of the world!

Angry sick and very sad in Nevada !

Kathleen

Hello,

I just wanted to express my anger when I heard that Obama spent 3 million dollars for a 30 minute ad. That’s 1 million dollars spent in 10 minutes! And he has spent over 600 million dollars this election campaigning. I honestly dropped into my chair this morning and wept. Here I struggle daily raising my granddaughter and living paycheck to paycheck. Obama says he is the one in touch with me? Spread the wealth? Did he happen to forget that our Country is in a recession and we are facing a crisis? Obama in touch with the real people? He is so out of the realms of reality it sickens me!  Yes it sickens me to think how half of the Country believes in this fraud. If I were living in a different Country and watching how much money this clown is spending and knowing that the United States of America is in a recession, I would have to laugh and say that the USA is a JOKE! What kind of Country in such a recession would allow candidates to spend millions of dollars on campaigning? I feel that I am being slapped in the face. I don’t mean anything to this so called MESSIAH… Any Joe blow off the street can see that this Obama is not in the race for me! But for his own personal gains. I have to ask myself, was this ad really necessary and to spend 3 million dollars when so many Americans are faced with the high cost of living in a time of recession. How sad that our Country has become the joke of the world!

Angry sick and very sad in Nevada !

Kathleen

"Nowforthetruth" recently made this posting: "Nins, all you prove is that you have perpetual PMS and cannot read. If you are as careless in your practice, you are a danger to your profession."

You reveal too much of yourself "Nowforthetruth".

"Nowforthetruth" also continues to keep repasting postings that suggest that the root cause of our problem is a law decades old that encourages loans to qualified low income people. "Nowforthetruth" is part of the spin/propaganda machine, and continues to repeat well known deceit.

Alan Greenspan stated recently that the problem was not anything like that. Rather, he stated that an entire financial system was built outside of regulation, and 'we trusted' these self-interested looters to regulate themselves. Credit Default Swaps were the result.

Credit Default Swaps increased from $106 trillion in '02 to $531 trillion under the R stewardship. No regulation.

While there are several variations of a viral email that tries to blame a few thousands of political donations to some Democrats, the actual, legitimate news has reported that Fannie and Freddie paid many millions to Republican lobbyists to lobby Republicans to PREVENT REGULATION.

McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, received up to $35K/mo. from Fannie and Freddie from 2000 to present, to lobby Rs,only, against regulation. Freddie has paid Rick Davis while he has been McC's campaing manager. Freddie donated $250k to the R convention.

These facts are everywhere in the legitimate news. You can start at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/us/politics/22mccain.html and http://www.newsweek.com/id/164732/page/1 There's much more legitimate news on this.

Trillions were looted from our economy because the Rs allowed it. It is inescapable that the Rs, most prominently McC's campaign manager, were in the pockets of big money while they drove the buss off the cliff with us in it.

You can try to distract people with fears about 'those guys'. Lies, distortion, deception. 'Socialist' is only the last in a long, now desperate, list of labels you have tried to pin on 'that one'. That's all you have left.

Is your most recent reposting here directed to fears about "Socialism", or is it just innuendo, or are we trying to fold in a little racism too?

I've got an idea, since we have no more ideas, let's keep running our campaign on fear, smears and hypocrisy.

Keep talking "Nowforthetruth", you're really helping. You keep demonstrating that we all have to vote against lies and propaganda and attempts to hijack our political process with deceit. Your actions are the kinds of reasons that I'm voting for Obama after 40 years of never having voted for a Dem.

A 40 year republican

nowforthetruth sees the truth the way Sarah Palin sees the truth.  A freaking one hit wonder.

See www.jews4barack.com for all of you who are so concerned about Israel

Why do I feel if I go to one of the websites promoted by nowformore truth,  that someone's going to try to sell me a Bose Radio or a Sleepnumber Bed? am I being to cynical?

PingBack from http://politic.usa.free.fr/usa/?p=13257

Has Fox News had a fallout with Rasmussen? it seems the Rasmussen's low-ball National Poll figure of Senator Obama up 5 wasn't quite low enough. Fox did their own and found it was actually Senator Obama up 3. Rumor has it that vthey called Joe the Plumber 50 times during the polling.  All of the other National polls show Senator Obama up at least 7 points. Figures can lie and liars can figure. How utterly pathetic.

As we mature we realize that elections have more significance than we had earlier assumed. This year's election has proven this through a long and agonizing process of compelling sounds around us. These sounds envelope depths touching all of us, oftentimes beyond comprehension and are neither isolated nor, at times, related to one another. They do reach, however, a commonality disturbing to us all.

There are sounds of fearful apprehension. There are sounds of hopeful expectation. There are sounds of disturbing accusation. There are sounds of calculated presumption.  They are sounds of unfulfilled analysis, due to their complexity in our process to recognize intention and integrity which we hope will satisfy our reach for inner core beliefs similar to our own. The sounds of one or more of these must touch each of you, although differently, but are nonetheless profound for each of us.

One sound among these is the sound of lost children -- in pain, abandoned and inhumanely destroyed through a politically-correct system of pro-choice abortion sympathizers forced upon us by our own statesmen, who otherwise loudly profess compassion in saving all humanity on the planet from their own specific tyrannies. These  same legislators are practicing in succession a liberalism with unclear objective which is over the top, worsening and unsettling to voters.

Which brings me to the next deafening sound of impending policies we are already witnessing in our everyday lives, while awaiting the certainty of promise for more: liberalism, socialism, allocation -- words of synonymous value. I do not understand the illogical growing popularity of these sounds in a country which I remain convinced true logic will prevail. But they resound too often, and have, subliminally, become trendy and acceptable.

There is no sound louder than the hush of conservatism. Its sound is faint, but it is a prevailing sound within the depths of us all and does not lose tone. Let us keep the music in tune.

Boo Hoo! Why did you find my question funny? Did I say your question was funny? Well hotsummer, you're showing your real self now. Good for you. If you ask for any more sympathy, you're going to make me cry. Why didn't you say you think I suck the first time around instead of playing the injured party bit by using the phony charge of  me of being against immigrants.  It's getting personal? Was it you or me that said i was anti-immigrant and had questionable character.Get lost, you're out of your league!

Bass Pro

This will be my last blog in-consideration for the other bloggers, since this is getting personal.

First, I don't know why you find my question funny to repond witha joke. Did I use wrong grammar? When I pledge my allegiance to the United States of America and I am proud of it. I make sure that I will learn its constitution.

Second. I've read several of your blogs and most of the contents are sarcastic. How do you think I would feel about your comment?

Third. Yes, Iam cool. just expressing how I feel. I hope there's is nothing wrong with that.

Obama says, and I agree, that we shouldn't be red states and blue states, but should go forward together as the United States.  So why not include Arizona?  I live in the most red state of all, Idaho, but Obama came here anyway during the primaries.  He drew probably the biggest crowd of any kind in the history of this state.  His message then and now is positive and uplifting.  He's a truly exceptional individual--intelligent and level headed.  Arizonans know too well that McCain, though a fine man in many ways, is too impulsive and at times hot headed to be our chief executive.  Obama is best qualified to change the unfortunate course we've taken for the past eight years.

TeacherForChange, the typos in your response are a perfect example of how one cannot judge an individual's competence by the certificates they so proudly hang on the wall. It is frightening to see who is currently responsible for educating our youth. And even more frightening to see how highly our society values those ridiculous pieces of paper obtained from people who have rarely stepped foot outside of a classroom!

hotsummer, i guess my last comment wasn't posted. Labeling me as an anti-immigrant is like labeling Sarah Palin as intellegent. Neither label is appropriate. There's no such thing as a un-naturalized citizen, it was a pun, so chill out.

If you were on the blogs more often, you'd know i'm a Senator Obama supporter. He wants to put immigrants that are in the U.S. illegally on the path to Naturalization and I'm with him on that.

So you see, it would be impossible for me to be anti-immigrant and at the same time in favor of naturalization for illegal immigrants. I'm not sure where you're an immigrant from but humor varies in different countries. Please analize the comment a little closer before you go on the attack. be cool!

Wow!  Bizguythinker, what a great post!!  For all you who didn't read between the lines, he is voting for Barack Obama who does embody the qualities he mentioned.... honesty, inteligence, a fresh perspective.....  He is voting for America, not for a party.  He is voting for principles, not just a name.

Mr. Bizguythinker I am impressed by your thinking as I am by Senator Obama's.  I too am tired of the lies, distortions and lack of direction by McCain.  And, as a resident of Arizona, I know that McCain has said one thing and done another... maybe that's what he means by maverick...

He says he supports Vets but my son is a vet and McCain has voted against veterans interests 8 time since 2003.  McCain says he is for the environment but again has voted against it many times.

I have voted for the man who inspires and unites us.... Obama.

I have lived in AZ all my life and have voted for Mr. McCain since he came into office, but not this time.  If it were the old McCain and not this reborn McCain who I no longer recognize.  We have a lot of hate in Arizona with people losing their jobs to over seas, the immigration problem, the dumbing down of our children with our underfunded education system.  I am tired of all the lies and the negativity which Mr. McCain has adopted.  It is just time to tell the leaders of this wonderful country that we don't want hate, we don't want lies, we want and need hope right now and not division.  Mr. Obama gets my vote for his positive, well run campaign machine.  It is time to vote for an educated intelligent person instead of just  old school political experience.  I just hope the the Republican party will finally get the message to reform or forever lose your middle of the road base.      

I also live in Arizona and I too would LOVE to see John go down to defeat.He is so proud of never taking ear marks but he does NOTHING for Arizona.We are ranked # 50 in education! We need more $ brought here for boarder control and education ect.... McCain is a rich man who wants power to feed his ego.......he has done nothing for us here at home.

chill out hotsummer ,it was a joke. There's no such thing as an un-naturalized citizen. To dislike immigrants would be to dislike my father and my grandparents. i love them both. If you were on the blogs more often you'd know better than to hit me with that label. Be cool!

As an Arizona resident, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see the senator who represents me defeated here in his home state. McCain in my view has run the most shameful, dishonest, and dishonorable campaign. I am ashamed that he represents Arizona, and Arizona voters should send him that message with a rebuke at the polls on election day.

To curmudgeon 47 and Beej. Thanks for the information. and to you Bass Pro, your anti-immigrant comment regarding my question is a reflection of your character.

scooterpie55, I agree about the lying. I think even Republicans in AZ and all over the country are sick of the lies too. 8 years of Bush lies and now the most awful lies of all seen in the McCain campaign. At a certain point, even though the party my be a dear friend, I believe a lot have to say enough lies and detach from the friendship. I don't know if this will get out a vote for Obama from Republicans, but it may keep them home on election day.

AZ switching would be the final nail in the coffin.

Okay, so why hasn't ANY candidate been to Kansas recently?  Oh, I get it, we ALWAYS go...red... no matter how much I'd like to forget that little bit of information, it seems to slip past me from time to time...  I have to admit that I am happy to see that Arizona is making a STATEMENT in this election.

So, I guess I'll voice my support for Moore (Rep Dennis Moore),  Slattery (Jim Slattery-running against cranky old Pat Roberts) and Boyda (Rep. Nancy Boyda) all Democrat candidates from the far eastern side of the state wherein a significant portion of the resident Dems call home.  

Arizona is so low in education because McLame wants to bring in the troops from the battlefield and get them in to classrooms teaching without any college classes or state certifications.  This is what he said in the last debate.  "We don't need certifications or college courses getting in the way..."I now see whay people do not think of teachers as highly trained professionals.  McLame thinking that teachers should not be well educated or pass state board certifications is just crazy.  You can't just go in to a classroom and start teaching history, biology, chemestry, geometry, or any of the other many classes offered at schools. I have a BA, two state board certifications in social studies and special education, a masters in education and another 30+ hours of degreed classes.  This is they type of education you want teachers to have. After all they are teching your children.  If you want a high school graduate with no college degree or state certification teaching your children then by all means vote for McLame!  I know that I want to be held to a high educational standered in my profession.

I would love for Obama to come to Arizona!  Having been born and raised here in AZ I liked McCain a number of years ago before he changed his platform just to get votes.  When he started embracing and catering to the people he once condemned as 'agents of intolerance' and he chose someone who does not have the skill set to perform on a world stage as his running mate just to try to gain the Evangelical Christian vote, I lost all respect for him.  Like curmudgeon47 said, McCain has not done anything for our State for a number of years too.  McCain has turned into a cranky fear-mongering and war-mongering old man.

Obama for change

Obama for peace

I've lived in Arizona for 13 years, John McCain's representation is virtually non-existent . Who needs to know the people of a state when you pal around with lobbyists and developers?

I've been in the I/T business for 28 years and watched I/T and manufacturing jobs go to India, Malaysia, SIngapore under the guise of 'Globalization'. It should be called Monetarization, because it only puts money in their economies while leaving Americans with a 'service' economy.  Talk about spreading the wealth. Tax breaks that help big companies take those jobs overseas must be stopped.

John McCain is proud of never getting anything for his 'home' state (which home, the Phoenix condo, the ranch in Sedona? You own more property in other states than in Arizona). And that lack of Federal Funds shows in Arizona.

Please Barack, come to Arizona! Turn Arizona Blue !!  Early voting is open until Oct 31st in Arizona. I have already cast my early vote for Barack Obama.

Obama '08 !!

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nowforsomemoretruth...

YOU are a "typical" RIGHTWING HACK....

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People will vote for whomever they please, but I am confident that Obama will be victorious. You run a race all the way through the finish line, if you want to win. People and the media are so fickle. One moment they wonder if Obama is mocking McCain, because he ran a 30 minute ad. After all the lies, Robo Calls and the misdirection that McCain is throwing at Obama, Barack has to put Arizona and any other possible state into play. I just wonder, If McCain wins or loses, what Democrat in Congress will work with him. Exagerating policy and voting record is one thing, but how can the people trust any Republican after they get on TV and say things that play on our intelligence. Its like they believe it takes all of us (5) different colleges to get a bachelors degree.I thought that Joe the plummer was related to a Keading associate.

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Talking Point 2:  Obama is a socialist who wants to "redistribute wealth".

Fact:  Tax Codes always redistribute wealth.  Bush's tax cuts redistributed wealth from the middle class to the richest Americans.  McCain wants to continue to do that.  Why is it socialism when it's the middle class who benefits from the tax code and it's "wealth creation" when only the upper brackets benefit?  Could it have anything to do with the fact that the McCains and the Bushes are extremely wealthy?

This argument is so complete there is no need to add anything to it. However, the question that must be asked is the following:

How could "Joe the plumber" support McCain tax proposal in the first place? The average worker in the state where I live earns more money than "Joe the plumber", but we will still vote for Barack. How could the so-call greastest country on earth produces such remarkable creature like "Joe the Plumber" and the mediocre who made him famous.

You see this ? makes USA the land of opportunities, not the greatest country on earth!

Regarding the election date:  I was taught, many, many years ago in school, that the 1st Tuesday in November was chosen because 1.  On a Tuesday because Sundays were unthinkable, and Tuesdays allowed for Monday chores to be finished up after Sunday; and November was chosen because it was late enough to be after the Fall Harvest was completed, and before Winter became really nasty.  Don't know if its true, but that's what they taught me.

It would be a great and pleasant surprise if this happens.  I've lived in AZ for 30 years, and was initially happy that McCain came to the state.  Over the years, however, I've lost that good feeling.  He has not served the state, preferring to spend his time in DC cronying up to the big powers and lobbyists for his own career.  He is proud of, and includes in his stump speeches that he has not done anything for Arizona.  His campaigns for re-election to the Senate have been virtually non-existant, knowing he had it locked.

Over time, I have lost the initial respect I had for him.  Now my main emotion is pity.

I've already voted for Obama.

To answer the question that was asked earlier in the thread by, I believe, hotsummer, the reason we have our presidential elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is because the Constitution says that is when we're supposed to have them.  Why did the framers of the Constitution choose this date?  I have no idea.  You would need to read up on Constitutional history or contact a historian.

On another topic, don't you just love the mindless spouting of Repub talking points by the trolls?    

Talking Point 1:  Khalidi's a bad guy and a friend of Obama.

Fact: Khalidi is a Palestinian-American who leads an entirely respectable organization.  McCain must have thought so too when he designated a half-million dollar grant to Khalidi's organization from a REPUBLICAN organization.

Talking Point 2:  Obama is a socialist who wants to "redistribute wealth".

Fact:  Tax Codes always redistribute wealth.  Bush's tax cuts redistributed wealth from the middle class to the richest Americans.  McCain wants to continue to do that.  Why is it socialism when it's the middle class who benefits from the tax code and it's "wealth creation" when only the upper brackets benefit?  Could it have anything to do with the fact that the McCains and the Bushes are extremely wealthy?

And by the way, if you really want facts, try factcheck.org.  It's politically neutral.

I'm also a resident of Arizona and working feverishly to get out the vote for Obama/Biden.  The Mc

Cain of 2000 has disappeared from the landscape and has been taken over by a cranky, fear-mongering, poor judgement, desperate man.  His robocalls and attack ads are vile and I have lost the respect I once had for this man.  He offers no new solutions and seeks to divide us.

Obama will bring dignity, unity and a pragmatic problem solving ability to the White House.  He truly believes in "government by the people, of the people and for the people" and calls upon us all to get involved and take responsibility..... an idea the Republicans once espoused.

The majority of residents in Arizona make less than $250,000 and would get a break under Obama's tax plan.  I won't feel too bad if the taxes are raised for the McCains back to where they were under the Clinton Administration (when we were all prospering).... they'll still have enough to take care of their many houses and cars.   So Arizonans.... vote your best interest - Obama/Biden!

That's  what John McShame deserves!  

Beware on election day..Obama's win is not a "given" and I think he knows it- Why would he be playing the game like he's behind ? Because he is aware of several things : 1- The Republican core base would not vote for ANY Democrat (If Jesus was the Dem candidate they would just stay home). and they will ALL vote on Nov 4th.  2- Obama  and the GOP both know the power of residual racism in the country-in the sanctity of the voting booth Blacks will gleefully vote for their political messiah, and thousands of Whites will hatefully vote against him just because he is black. 3- there are gals out there so angry about how the Democratic Party elders, in collusion with the media, put the screws to Hillary that they will stay home, or worse,  vote for Mc Cain. 4- the American people are always for the under dog so many 'undecides' will vote , not against Obama, per se, but will give Johnnie Mack a sympathy vote.-5-Some who have been luke -warm supporters of Obama right along are now thinking maybe he's alittle too smug and slick, and just for the helluva it switch their vote at the last minute. 6-The young love the excitement and hoopla of the campaigns, but to wait in line all day to vote ? Boring ! ! And the list goes on. I "wasted" my vote on Nader, but al least I can sleep at night  knowing I voted for the only, and truly honest candidate of them all

Having lived in Arizona for most of my life I have seen a change in the culture of late and that is that our jobs are being shipped out of state... I'm being laid off while my job is being moved to Singapore, the pay fro the people of this State runs behind the national average and the cost of living has increased, our homes are being foreclosed upon and where is McCain?

We here in Arizona have been affected by the Bush policies of the last 8 years and of those endorsed by McCain who in his own words has voted inline with Bush over 90% of the time...even more than his colleagues and for this self-proclaimed Maverick… he hasn’t stood by the people of the State that he was elected to represent. He is big on committees and short on action as the loss in jobs in this State shows.

Obama better represents the needs of the people of this State and the campaign that McCain has waged has brought dishonor to us all. He and his Alaskan counterpart have lied and misrepresented themselves, they promised to run a clean campaign…they lied, they promised to tell the truth, they lied, they swore that they were Mavericks, Palin was found guilty of “Abuse of Power”, and McCain has backed Bush on all fronts…THEY LIED, they are not “Mavericky” and this is why the State is moving BLUE.

As a resident of AZ, I think this is just awesome. Not in my wildest thoughts would I have ever thought this state would go blue again. It did in '96 for Bill Clinton, but that was a different time and the Hispanics really loved the Clintons. If Obama gets enough of the Hispanic vote and progressives that live mostly in Phoenix and north, he could very well take the state. I think all he would have to do is show up here at a rally. I would certainly drop everything to go see it too.

As a former Arizona resident, I believe McCain may have served the state about as well as possible.  Most of the time there was a substantial Republican majority, including the discredited Rick Renzi.  This history does not make McCain a worthy candidate for President.  As a maverick in his own party, he could be a great support for the new vision of his opponent come January 20.

Obama if went he would win the state

The state of Arizona is POOR. The only jobs which have grown despite the much touted growth of the state etc. is only in new construction jobs.

Professionals have a hard time getting work and businesses are constantly in a state of economic flux.

ARIZONA needs earmarks!! Sarah Palin was wise enough to get these for HER STATE. She is an earmark queen and rightly so, Alaska is not exactly aflow in wealth despite their large oil "content"

I am one of the Independents that WILL NOT be supporting John McCain, and other Professionals like me are saying a resounding NO to having him do to the country what he has done to the state of Arizona.

It will send a clear message if he loses his home state. Maybe next time, he will realize that he was elected him to the national level by ARIZONANS and SHOULD and CARE A BIT about the well being of her inhabitants.

Jobs, Education, and Immigration etc. etc. are in the TOILET and have been for YEARS!!.... the response? The Senator is so UNMOVED and oblivious that he has woefully failed his home state THAT HE decides to run for the highest political office in the land.

A COMPLETE AND UTTER TRAVESTY.

I supported Bush for the two terms but McCain will NOT be getting my vote!

What a deserved PAYBACK that would be. Unlikely at best but it would be a JUST REWARD for the McCain campaign staff and the puppeteers like Hannity and Limbaugh. A loss in Arizona could save the GOP from another beating in 2012 if this spurred them to cast out the hate and hayers from their party. I'm dreaming here!

It would be a beautiful thing to see Barack Obama win Arizona for the dishonorable and fear-baiting that has been the hallmark of the McCain/Palin campaign..

I think McSame has a very good chance at winning his home State of Arizona. He could use that 150K Sarah Palin spent though to buy a few spots to tell people who he is. Many of the Republicans in Arizona say they don't reconize him these days. "Who is John McCain" they're chanting. I wonder where they got that from?

That would be great if Barack showed up here. A couple of quick appearances  and some adds might just get it close enough that GOTV would win it.

McCain is actually running robo-calls here.

The state is changing but once again McCain just doesn't get it. I have actually voted for him in the past but I do not recognize this man running for President.

I live in Maricopa County, Arizona in Scottsdale.  What should be a very RED area.  I've been remarking to my husband for weeks about how many Obama signs/stickers/buttons I see and virtually nothing for McCain. McCain is not beloved.  McCain is not popular and McCain has not excited voters here at all.  HIs campaign offices are empty while Obama's are bustling night and day.  If Obama came to visit I bet he would have 50,000 show up on a day's notice.  

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Fox News,

Top News Story...Consumers tighten Belts shrink economy.

We should be ashamed of ourselves, blaming the GOP and Big Business for the financial colaspe. It was us all the time. I apologize to them profusely!

oops! I didn't see this headline furter down.

Exxon breaks profit record this quarter.

Sorry hotsummer, only Un-naturalized Citizens are allowed to ask that question.

No surprise that the folks in Arizona are turning to the only candidate who offers a positive road to the future.  If I were a native Arizonian, I would be pretty sick of McCain - he only got to be a senator because he dumped his first wife after she was badly disfigured in an accident and hooked up with his long time mistress, Cindy, so he could use her Daddy's money to run for office - the ultimate "earmark."  He then rants and rails against "earmarks" that might benefit his state (roads to somewhere, schools,  etc.) but  consistently approves tax cuts for the extremely  wealthy - which is just another type of earmark, but one that, of course, benefits himself, his wife, his wealthy donors and big corporations, instead of "Joe the Plumber," his new best friend.  Oh, also Moose Killer Barbie, with her $2,000,000+ net worth and her $1000+ Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo high heels.

I cannot understand why anyone would consider voting for John McCain.  The Bush administration, with the constant votes of McCain, has spent the last 8 years redistributing the wealth of America to the Bush, Cheney and McCain families and their already rich Republican friends and business associates.  They have poured many, many billions into no-bid contracts with their friends, and have given many more billions to the oil industry including their Saudi friends –the bin Laden family (yes, that bin Laden family), all with the agreement and votes of McCain.   In just the first year of the Bush and McCain class warfare tax cuts for the already wealthy, Cheney alone received about $300,000 in lower taxes – imagine Cindy McCain’s haul!

Once again, we see that the real interest of John McCain, like his pals in the Bush administration, is to redistribute the wealth of the American people - to themselves, their close friends and their business associates.  Interesting that when Senator Obama suggests that we reduce taxes on the middle and lower middle classes, it is "class warfare," but when they reduce taxes for the super wealthy and the large corporations, that's an "economic plan."  

 I DO think it is patriotic to pay your fair share of taxes, and I do not believe being rich, republican or an oil company means you should be exempted from paying.   Then we have the nationalizing of the banks and big Wall Street giveaway!  Talk about “Socialism!”  Evidently if you take money from the poor and give to the rich, or take money from the oil company and give it to the people of Alaska, that is okay, but if you ask the rich to pay their fair share and reduce taxes on the working folks, THAT is socialism.  

I also believe that the Bush and McCain policy of permitting "American" corporations to keep their funds overseas and therefore free of taxation until they return those funds to the US (Yeah, I am sure they'll EVER bring the money back here and pay those taxes...)is just another example of their total disdain for the middle class - you know, those of us who know how many houses we have, and do not have a net wealth of $2 million like Sarah "Joe Sixpack" Palin.   Added to McCain's total lack of respect for women - he thought those of us who voted for Hillary would move over to her? - and his total lack of care for the lives and health of women, plus his abhorrent conduct toward Senator Obama, he has completely lost my respect, and more importantly, my vote.

 When did people decide that intelligence, thoughtfulness, education and a questioning mind were things to be derided?  Who could possibly believe that someone like McCain, with his obvious disdain for anyone other than himself, and Sarah Palin, who has obviously never spent even one hour thinking about serious economics or foreign policy would be contenders for this important job.  John McCain does not have the temperament or the sensibility for the job, and Palin does not have any qualifications at all, other than that she is a republican, has a big, hate spewing mouth and hates Obama (oh right, and she does have GREAT clothes!).  

I want an intelligent president - someone far more so than myself - I want the best and the brightest.  Just listening to the closing arguments at the last debate - McCain going on and on about what a great guy he thinks he is, and Senator Obama then and again last night talking about what America needs and how he intends to work toward that was more than enough to decide my vote.

PS. If you want to learn more about the Real McCain, try reading the full length article in Rolling Stone, "Make Believe Maverick."  Turns out we think he is Bush because he IS Bush.

Cool, I think that's absolutely cool, McSame losing his own state. The SHRILL SHREW and her compadres can all go back to Alaska and freeze their patooties off.

If anyone can answer my question please. I am a naturalized US citizen and I want to know why Presidential election is held on 1st Tuesday of November. Thanks.

Great article Richard and Holly!  The answer is because Obama can afford to be in Arizona.  I think it's absolutely hilarious that McNasty is having problems in his own home state.  I hope Obama does make a campaign stop in Arizona to put the pressure on McNasty to run home and save his bacon there.  Wouldn't it be hilarious if McNasty loses Arizona, he'd then have something in common with Gore.  Just another sign that Obama is going to win and win big Tuesday.  Only 5 more days of having to put up with the petty partisan lies of McNasty and his little Twisted Sister running mate who's got ethics problems.

You people who think bizguythinker is voting for McCain did not get the jist of his post.  He's voting for Obama.  In his post, Obama = truthfulness, honesty, intelligence, etc.

You guys need to step outside your little box and learn to understand what you're reading.  If you read the whole thing, he said at the bottom that he was a McCain supporter back in 2000.  He is not a McCain supporter now.  Go back and re-read it.  Maybe then you'll get it.

Great post bizguythinker!!!

Go Obama!!!!

I think BizGuyThinker just had a piece missing from his first statement. I think he meant to say something like, "I'm not voting for Barack Obama JUST BECAUSE he's Barack Obama." After you insert that second clause, the rest makes sense, and I think it is a great post.

And if you want to find out FACTS about the candidates, here's the best site I've found:

http://OHCitizensForChange.blogspot.com

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As a former Republican, and now a proud Democrat, this is the FIRST Presedential election that I have pledge any money to the Democratic Party. I have pledged with pride and honor to Sen. Obama's campaign. PLEASE come to Phoenix, Arizona one more time. It will be an HONOR to have you visit our wonderful state once more time.

Sen. McCain, you have disgraced the State of AZ, you made my Presidential choice with your VP pick, and looking at your record, with AZ ranking one of the lowest states in Education, remind us again what exactly have you done for your constituents?  

I see that there are not a whole lot of people here to talk to, but I would like to tell you my view of this election. One candidate stands out and higher than the other when it comes to the policies that need to be put in place to save the American working family...... and NO it is not Joe the Plumber. You see American workers should be ashamed of themselves if they even consider a man like McCain. I respect your views and everyone is entitled to their vote but you should be ashamed that you feel it is ok for your boss to get filthy rich off of your sweat and tears and not even repay you with benefits to help your family. You wake up, you go to work and you get paid and spend your money on food, gas, clothing,  etc... Do you wake up and say, "wow am I glad to get up work hard for my boss so that he can buy another house and a new sports car and I know deep down that when he gets all of his toys and earns so much money that he will reward me with the benfits so that I can raise and support a family in middle-class America?" What about the workers who do not have health coverage? They are working. It's not like they are free loading or asking for something they don't deserve. The beautiful thing about America is that everyone has the opportunity to become wealthy if they want to. The whole "spreading the wealth" comment doesn't mean that you can't be wealthy, it means that if you want to become wealthy you will treat every worker with respect and dignity and honor them for their hard work by giving them some benefits so they may raise a family in this great nation. Are you that greedy that you don't think your workers are what makes your business? Do you think that just anyone can do the job? Your WRONG...... some people can do more than others and some people are more efficient than others but in the end, the business is profitable because your workers make a great team and track record shows that the business owners who favor the Republican way of thinking are more greedy and treat their workers like a peice of meat. This is America and we should all feel lucky that we live in a free world but how can you wake up each morning and face yourself knowing that in a days pay you just screwed families out of what they are deserving for their hard work.

I am voting for OBAMA because everyone was created equal. Some people have developed skills to excell where others can't but that doesn't make any less of an American or a human because you can't do things the same as the next person. I believe in America and the future has to be altered from the direction it is heading or we will become nothing more than a country who is wrong by dictators. I mean seriously do you think it is right for companies to close up shop here and move overseas so that they can make the profits off of cheaper labor and still charge us the same prices? NAFTA was a bad choice and I know that was signed by Clinton (I voted for him also)but the jobs wouldn't leave if the import tax was placed on them. McCain thinks it is ok to give those companies even more benefits to try and make their goods more affordable. What about us? How can we afford them if we do not have a job?

One last thing before I await the barage of slams for speaking my mind. My father-in-law is 78 yrs old and still has to work because the company he worked for and retired from took his retirement. No one is there to help him and god bless him for still working but he is a die hard republican and I cannot for the life of me understand why. He and my unemployed brother-in-law (51 yrs old) do not want to lose their guns (they are hunters). They get mad at me but I have told them time and time again the guns are protected by the second amendment. You will not lose your right to hunt, but what good is owning the gun when you can't afford to buy the bullets?

Interesting! I applaud those Democrats and others in Arizona that will stand up for a positive change in direction for our Nation. Senator Obama's informercial last night was superb, and I believe that we stand and succeed as one Nation united.

BIGGUYTHINKER.  What a waste of space.  Why not just say that youo are a Right Wingnut and be done with.

Well I for one ~ think the Republican party has stooped to a new low.

Elizabeth Dole, I can't believe the ad, she's running in her race.......I thought better of her and Johnny Bush at one time,  ENOUGH ~ enough, it's the economy stupid

Not suprprising, I can't think of one thing that McCain has done for Arizona, except make National news with the Keating 5 disgrace.

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Well said bizguythinker.  Obama has my vote for the same reasons.

I am voting for Obama because we need new blood in the office.  McCain had 26 years of doing

nothing for the middle class and while he claims he supports the soldiers he always voted against the bills.  McCain has a sealed military record, his hot temper during his schooling and later

thru his Navy Career followed with a lot of disciplinary actions.  And why was the fatal car crash

covered up back in 1964.  The recent interview in the U.K. Time with one of the Hanoi Guards

described that McCain never was tortured and received medicine not available even to them.

One has to wonder why he chose to stay 5 years in Hanoi when it is a soldier's duty to leave as qucikly as possibly.  McCain is a despicable character.  

I am voting for Obama because we need new blood in the office.  McCain had 26 years of doing

nothing for the middle class and while he claims he supports the soldiers he always voted against the bills.  McCain has a sealed military record, his hot temper during his schooling and later

thru his Navy Career followed with a lot of disciplinary actions.  And why was the fatal car crash

covered up back in 1964.  The recent interview in the U.K. Time with one of the Hanoi Guards

described that McCain never was tortured and received medicine not available even to them.

One has to wonder why he chose to stay 5 years in Hanoi when it is a soldier's duty to leave as qucikly as possibly.  McCain is a despicable character.  

BIGGUYTHINKER, IT TOOK YOU 2000 WORDS TO SAY NOTHING.

The fact is that McCain is the one that has lied through the entire campaign and his life.Lied to his wife, had many affairs, lied to to the veterans, did not vote to support them,look at the voting record in congress, lied to the american people about his opponent.

Sorry man the character here is missing and the comparison with OBAMA as a family man and a student of constitutional law a professor , an attorney, senator and supporter of our soldiers is amazing if your really research, who really cares/

Maybe you lie also, since if you had done your research you would have found the truth/

Good day MR.

....................................McCain is getting desperate as his Political Polls continue to decline. He looks really agitated and frantic now during his stump stop speaches when he waves his arms around and lookes like a "wild eyed" radical. McCain is not looking good at all and is embarassing himself and the other State Wide Republican Candidates. McCain & Palin are a sad combo and they should just go "Low Profile" for the next 5 days for the sake of the Republican Party!!!!!!!

Coexistence has posted some of the best facts and rebuttals I have seen. I just wanted to thank them for all of their hard work to get the FACTS out there. Good Job.

All comments welcomed at: A  Vast Territory go to: http://mbdougan.blogspot.com

McCain's good and mavericky judgements:

1. Vote for Iraq war.

2. Pull US troops from Afghanistan to send to Iraq.

3. Cut taxes for the wealthiest 1% Americans.  

4. Keep on pushing WEALTH REDISTRIBTION TOWARD THE TOP 1%.

5. Stop campaigning and 'pretend' to be on top of the worst financial crisis in American history.

6. Pick Sarh Palin and count on her for Economic policies.

7. In case something happens to himself, Sarah Palin can command the US troops in two wars and make national security decisions.

8. ....

I’m not voting for Barack Obama.

I’m voting for truthfulness, honesty, intelligence, a fresh perspective, the guts to take a new approach, and the ability and willingness to put these character traits toward inspiring our country.

Political campaigns are typically a litany of the same old recycled themes from prior elections. The tactics are always the same, too: lie, manipulate, mislead, repeat.

I’m disgusted with many, if not most, of our politicians. When they get in office, they lie, manipulate, and mislead. Go figure. That’s what got them elected. That’s what was “successful” for them. Why not continue doing it?

I can blame it on our political process. It rewards the wrong behaviors.

But the truth is that if we want something better than what we’ve always gotten, we have to vote for something better and different than we’ve always voted for.

Conventional thinking implies that the intelligent voter compare the policies of each candidate and select the one they believe is “right” for this country.

But the truth is that few vote that way. Many label themselves “republican” or “democrat” or “conservative” or… you get the idea. And then we have a new group we can belong to so we don’t feel alone and don’t have to think for ourselves. We can identify with the others like us, look for validation from others who think the way we do and not question whether there is truth in what is being said. We can “belong” to something – a universal human need. We need more courage than that.

An even bigger truth is that nobody, not even the candidates themselves, actually KNOWS what all the right policies are. First of all, the world is a fluid situation, and the policies put forth in a campaign are snapshots in time. One of the biggest mistakes we all make is fixating on a viewpoint or policy and standing by it in the face of changing circumstances. We call those who respond flexibly with changing world situations “flip floppers”, indecisive, just saying anything to get elected. Yes, these can look the same. So we need to look more closely and not be so quick to but a label on everything.

Second of all, even the most knowledgeable experts are sometimes wrong about what the “right” policies are. Just look at our current financial system. Everybody, for decades, has thought that the market would self-regulate by some mechanism of self-interest. We thought that more government oversight would drag on our economy unnecessarily. Every business school economics class and finance class teach the American Capitalism view of the world. And now we find out, unequivocally, that everyone was wrong.

One more truth: The candidates don’t get to decide everything. They have influence, but there are a few hundred other people in Congress who also have a big influence on what actually happens. No candidates tax plan, education plan, or economic plan will materialize 100% if they are elected.

Here’s how I’ve made my decision. Of course it’s more complicated that this, but this gets to the guts of it.

1. After being lied to so many times by so many politicians, I want first and foremost honesty. Truthfulness.

2. After enduring a president who can’t lead because he can’t even speak a coherent sentence, I want a President who can inspire. As a nation we’ desperately need inspiration right now.

3. After seeing stubbornness, arrogant, close-minded, “do it our way or we’ll beat you up” approach to relating with other countries, I want a President who has the emotional temperament to be tough without being arrogant. Someone who has the self confidence and self esteem to pull this off. This means the open-mindedness to try something new.

On the truthfulness front, I’ve watched more closely than ever what the candidates have said. It all started because I was interested in watching their advertising strategy – advertising being my field of work.

For the first time I’ve taken the time to do research and check the facts of the claims each candidate is making. To sum it all up, there is an overwhelming skew in this area. What I found is that both candidates have made misleading or false statements. However, Obama’s are far fewer than McCain’s. In fact, Obama mentions McCain much less frequently than McCain mentions Obama. But the biggest difference is the one I found most surprising. McCain continued to repeat the same false and misleading statements. Over and over again. Whereas Obama repeated his much less frequently, if at all. This same analysis applies to the VP candidates, though subjectively Palin’s claims have been far more outrageous, if less effectively articulated.

My voting decision actually doesn’t need to go farther than this. Dishonesty is a deal breaker.

If I am going to take responsibility as a citizen for changing the biggest problem with our political system – systemic dishonesty – I cannot vote for someone who is trying to win with a primary strategy of lies and misleading statements. Even if their policies are ones I agree more with, I cannot reward their dishonest behavior with a vote for President of the United States of America.

Why? Because what message would I be sending to them, and other candidates?

How you win doesn’t matter, as long as you win. Do whatever it takes to win, even if you have to lie. Values like honesty don’t matter. And when you get into office, go ahead and keep lying, because what got you there worked so well. Lying is okay with me.

If we are going to lead the world, we have to embody certain core values, and honesty is definitely one of them.

Interestingly, I was a huge McCain supporter in 2000. Guess why. “Straight talk”. I wanted honesty then, and someone who would have the guts to stick with it. The McCain who is running now is not nearly the same person as the McCain who ran in 2000.

I’m not voting for Barack Obama.

I’m voting for truthfulness, honesty, intelligence, a fresh perspective, the guts to take a new approach, and the ability and willingness to put these positive character traits toward inspiring our country.

THE GREAT BUSH DEPRESSION

I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.

He perfectly predicted the current meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen next

is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.

The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG

The government took them over because they are bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing

the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything seen in generations

McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".

That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand how its been broken.

It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use quantum mathematical models very few people understand.

Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.

Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.

Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.

No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He was the last to know somthing was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo

It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be

even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a budget surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.

If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.

When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.

So why are the polls even close then ?

Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama

which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.

They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it

Let's teach him we are smarter than that

Stand up and hold them accountable

Bush isn't on the ballot this year but his policies are

Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

THE GREAT BUSH DEPRESSION

I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.

He perfectly predicted the current meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen next

is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.

The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG

The government took them over because they are bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing

the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything seen in generations

McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".

That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand how its been broken.

It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use quantum mathematical models very few people understand.

Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.

Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.

Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.

No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He was the last to know somthing was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo

It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be

even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a budget surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.

If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.

When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.

So why are the polls even close then ?

Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama

which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.

They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it

Let's teach him we are smarter than that

Stand up and hold them accountable

Bush isn't on the ballot this year but his policies are

Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

fter 9/11, the US government started rounding up Muslims without cause and without due process of law, like we did to the Japanese Americans in WWII. The Bush administration called it's main internment camp Guantanamo Bay. While there are certainly many guilty terrorists held in Guantanamo, there are also many innocent American citizens who have been held illegally for years without even being charged with any crime. They have been tortured by our government. Some of them have died.

Recently the Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration in the matter of Guantanamo Bay. The Supreme Court Justices were NOT on the side of the terrorists. They were on the side of the Geneva Convention, that says you can not torture POWs, and on the side of US laws that state you can not imprison a person without charging them with a crime and bringing them to trial. I'm sure that like most Americans, the Justices who voted against the illegal, immoral doings at Guantanamo didn't feel sympathy for the terrorists. They felt sympathy for the laws of AMERICA, the land of the FREE, where even rat finks get a fair trial.

Meanwhile, back in Iraq, the Bush administration is busy trying to build a smokescreen to hide the CRIMES they have committed. Those pesky weapons of mass destruction. Just think, the National Debt went up over 6 trillion dollars under Bush. More than 2 TRILLION of it went directly into the pockets of Halliburton, a corporation owned by the Cheney family. Halliburton is now a DUBAI corporation and therefore is not subject to US taxes. All that money they took out of the US Treasury is going into the coffers of a MUSLIM country.

Did you hear about how the US government is being charged millions for Halliburton deliveries of sand into Iraq from Kuwait? Sand. Like there is a shortage of sand in Iraq? Another contractor shipped sand from Idaho to Iraq at our expense. Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz discusses these and other excesses of our current government's out of control spending in Iraq.

Your grandchildren will be working like slaves to pay off this debt, so that the Bushes and Cheneys can live the high life in Dubai.

Yeah, they're patriots, Bush&Co. They wear flag pins. And hide the money they stole from America in Dubai.

And they want me to believe that Obama is a socialist. Right.

In case you think McCain is any different than Bush, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJUCU1UH2w

fter 9/11, the US government started rounding up Muslims without cause and without due process of law, like we did to the Japanese Americans in WWII. The Bush administration called it's main internment camp Guantanamo Bay. While there are certainly many guilty terrorists held in Guantanamo, there are also many innocent American citizens who have been held illegally for years without even being charged with any crime. They have been tortured by our government. Some of them have died.

Recently the Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration in the matter of Guantanamo Bay. The Supreme Court Justices were NOT on the side of the terrorists. They were on the side of the Geneva Convention, that says you can not torture POWs, and on the side of US laws that state you can not imprison a person without charging them with a crime and bringing them to trial. I'm sure that like most Americans, the Justices who voted against the illegal, immoral doings at Guantanamo didn't feel sympathy for the terrorists. They felt sympathy for the laws of AMERICA, the land of the FREE, where even rat finks get a fair trial.

Meanwhile, back in Iraq, the Bush administration is busy trying to build a smokescreen to hide the CRIMES they have committed. Those pesky weapons of mass destruction. Just think, the National Debt went up over 6 trillion dollars under Bush. More than 2 TRILLION of it went directly into the pockets of Halliburton, a corporation owned by the Cheney family. Halliburton is now a DUBAI corporation and therefore is not subject to US taxes. All that money they took out of the US Treasury is going into the coffers of a MUSLIM country.

Did you hear about how the US government is being charged millions for Halliburton deliveries of sand into Iraq from Kuwait? Sand. Like there is a shortage of sand in Iraq? Another contractor shipped sand from Idaho to Iraq at our expense. Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz discusses these and other excesses of our current government's out of control spending in Iraq.

Your grandchildren will be working like slaves to pay off this debt, so that the Bushes and Cheneys can live the high life in Dubai.

Yeah, they're patriots, Bush&Co. They wear flag pins. And hide the money they stole from America in Dubai.

And they want me to believe that Obama is a socialist. Right.

In case you think McCain is any different than Bush, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJUCU1UH2w

People on these bogs are fond of saying that the current economic meltdown was caused by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac underwriting bad mortgages. While Fannie and Freddie obviously are guilty of writing bad mortgages, and worse, guilty of lobbying Congress to allow them to do so with impunity, their actions are just a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to determining who (or what) caused the financial crisis we face today.

In 1929 the stock market crash caused the banks to fail, because the banks were in bed with the stock market. Back then, banks owned investment houses, so when the stock market fell, the banks fell too. This triggered the Great Depression. So in 1933 the Congress wrote laws that regulated banking, making it illegal for banks to own investment companies, mortgage guaranty companies or insurance companies. The idea was to keep key industries separated by a fire wall, so that if one industry failed the whole economy would not go down in flames.

But the Republicans under Bush deregulated the banking industry. Senator Phil Gramm wrote legislation (the Gramm Rudman Act, the Gramm Leach Biley Act, etc.) that stripped away the regulations in the financial and insurance industies. He pushed them through the Republican Congress and they were signed into law by Geo. W. Bush. John McCain voted in favor. Everybody said how great it is to deregulate and create free markets.

Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch each gave over a million dollars to Senator Gramm's re-election campaign.

The economic collapse that happened later was a direct result of the deregulation, and here's how: the banks wrote bad mortgages, then bundled the mortgages into investment vehicles that they sold all over the world, and they even got firms like AIG to insure the investments. It was all a house of cards.

If there had been no deregulation, sure we would have had a bunch of bad mortgages, and the mortgage guaranty and real estate industries would have suffered, but there would not have been a global financial meltdown, since the problem would have been contained in one sector of the economy. You can thank Geo W. Bush, Sen. Phil Gramm and Sen John McCain for the meltdown, since they were strong proponents of deregulation.

Furthermore, although Fannie and Freddie are now holding the bulk of these bad mortgages, Fannie and Freddie did not originally write most of these mortgages. They bought them after the fact, bundled by banks/investment companies. Fannie and Freddie got screwed by the Wall Street fat cats. And so did you, if you pay taxes.

What is Phil Gramm doing today? He works as a lobbyist in Washington, trying to make it legal for the Swiss bank he represents to sell Death Bonds in the United States. Nice guy, Phil Gramm. Incidentally, John McCain has said that he wants to appoint Phil Gramm as Treasury Secretary. Some people just can't learn from their mistakes.

People on these bogs are fond of saying that the current economic meltdown was caused by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac underwriting bad mortgages. While Fannie and Freddie obviously are guilty of writing bad mortgages, and worse, guilty of lobbying Congress to allow them to do so with impunity, their actions are just a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to determining who (or what) caused the financial crisis we face today.

In 1929 the stock market crash caused the banks to fail, because the banks were in bed with the stock market. Back then, banks owned investment houses, so when the stock market fell, the banks fell too. This triggered the Great Depression. So in 1933 the Congress wrote laws that regulated banking, making it illegal for banks to own investment companies, mortgage guaranty companies or insurance companies. The idea was to keep key industries separated by a fire wall, so that if one industry failed the whole economy would not go down in flames.

But the Republicans under Bush deregulated the banking industry. Senator Phil Gramm wrote legislation (the Gramm Rudman Act, the Gramm Leach Biley Act, etc.) that stripped away the regulations in the financial and insurance industies. He pushed them through the Republican Congress and they were signed into law by Geo. W. Bush. John McCain voted in favor. Everybody said how great it is to deregulate and create free markets.

Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch each gave over a million dollars to Senator Gramm's re-election campaign.

The economic collapse that happened later was a direct result of the deregulation, and here's how: the banks wrote bad mortgages, then bundled the mortgages into investment vehicles that they sold all over the world, and they even got firms like AIG to insure the investments. It was all a house of cards.

If there had been no deregulation, sure we would have had a bunch of bad mortgages, and the mortgage guaranty and real estate industries would have suffered, but there would not have been a global financial meltdown, since the problem would have been contained in one sector of the economy. You can thank Geo W. Bush, Sen. Phil Gramm and Sen John McCain for the meltdown, since they were strong proponents of deregulation.

Furthermore, although Fannie and Freddie are now holding the bulk of these bad mortgages, Fannie and Freddie did not originally write most of these mortgages. They bought them after the fact, bundled by banks/investment companies. Fannie and Freddie got screwed by the Wall Street fat cats. And so did you, if you pay taxes.

What is Phil Gramm doing today? He works as a lobbyist in Washington, trying to make it legal for the Swiss bank he represents to sell Death Bonds in the United States. Nice guy, Phil Gramm. Incidentally, John McCain has said that he wants to appoint Phil Gramm as Treasury Secretary. Some people just can't learn from their mistakes.

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Help me out here please. I have always been under the impression that when we elect a senator from the state we live in, we elected him or her to look out for the state and get earmarks that was in the interst of a state. I have never figured out why the people of Azronia keeps sending John Mccain back to the senate when he has done nothing to help the state. He always braggs about not one earmark has been requested on behalf of his state. What do we need senators for if they don't help us?

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Another gem about Arizona... (sorry to get back on the subject of the original article)

Arizona is 49th in the US in per capita spending on education.  Not Alabama or Mississippi or Arkansas or Louisiana but Arizona.  Only the great state of Utah spends less.  This remarkable achievement is the result of 26 years of Republican rule in Arizona systematically starving education funding in the state dropping its rank from 23rd to 49th over that period.  Thank God we don't have any earmarks headed our way.

The gift that keeps on giving and paying dividends: Republican Rule!  

Throw the bums out!!  (And you can take your whipping "boy" Pelosi with you)

I am hoping perhaps naively that in Obama we might get some real leadership and a Government that actually cares about and would try to represent the needs and interests of its constituents.  (What a revolutionary idea!)  

McCain has no idea what he is doing and will be saying on any given day or the next day.  He  just says whatever he and his handlers think might get him elected that particular day.  With that kind of attitude and long term strategic vision, what a wonderful President he would make!  

Again, the gift that keeps on giving...  (This is the Party of Lincoln?)

I sure hope my tax breaks keep on going to Exxon and the CEO's on WallStreet. Lord knows they've had a tough time these past eight years.  God Bless John W McCain for promising to help them out and keep George W Bush's vision of America alive.

Regarding VP Republican Sarah Palin's Redistribution of Wealth Plan, she said:

"We're set up, unlike other states in the union, where it's collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs."

Who is the Communist?  Karl Marx must be very proud!

McCain Misstates Record on Veterans Issues

Friday night, John McCain said “I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I'll take care of them, and I have been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans, and I love them, and I'll take care of them, and they know that I'll take care of them.”

However, McCain’s record in the Senate contradicts this statement.  And America ’s veterans know this – which is why groups like the Disabled American Veterans and Iraq   & Afghanistan Veterans of America have given McCain failing grades for his voting record on issues facing veterans and military families.

·        McCain Opposes the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Is Too Generous. McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

·        McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. ( Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

·        Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

·        McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

·        Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)

·        McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

·        McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

·        McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE and Giving Greater Access to National Guard and Reservists. Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. (www.johnmccain.com/Informing/ Issues/9cb5d2aa-f237-464e-9cdf-a5ad32771b9f.htm; S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03)

·        McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs. McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

·        McCain Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center —outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a “disgrace.” (S.Amdt. 4895 to H.R. 5631, Vote 234, 9/6/06; Speech to VFW in Kansas City , Mo. , 4/4/08)

·        McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

·        McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

·        McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

·        McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)

·        McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)

·        McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

McCain Misstates Record on Veterans Issues

Friday night, John McCain said “I know the veterans, I know them well, and I know that they know that I'll take care of them, and I have been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans, and I love them, and I'll take care of them, and they know that I'll take care of them.”

However, McCain’s record in the Senate contradicts this statement.  And America ’s veterans know this – which is why groups like the Disabled American Veterans and Iraq   & Afghanistan Veterans of America have given McCain failing grades for his voting record on issues facing veterans and military families.

·        McCain Opposes the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Is Too Generous. McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

·        McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. ( Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

·        Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

·        McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

·        Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)

·        McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

·        McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

·        McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE and Giving Greater Access to National Guard and Reservists. Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. (www.johnmccain.com/Informing/ Issues/9cb5d2aa-f237-464e-9cdf-a5ad32771b9f.htm; S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03)

·        McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs. McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

·        McCain Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center —outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a “disgrace.” (S.Amdt. 4895 to H.R. 5631, Vote 234, 9/6/06; Speech to VFW in Kansas City , Mo. , 4/4/08)

·        McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

·        McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

·        McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

·        McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)

·        McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)

·        McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

Judging by the amount of right-wing screeching in these comments, it is very obvious that any woman who votes for Palin just because she is a female has been completely brainwashed by the neo-conservatives or is actually a racist.

Before you start denigrating Obama and Biden I suggest you take a good, long look at Palin's record of fundamentalism, Troopergate, earmarks, secessionist ties(which is traitorous by the way), censorship, environmental carelessness, and anti-choice stance. Intelligent women are not fooled by Palin nor should any of you be.

And for those of you who think a president and vice-president should relate to their citizens...please remember that McCain married an heiress worth more than $50 million and has no clue how many homes he owns. Palin went to 5 different colleges before she finally got a bachelor's degree in journalism...not law...not political science...not international relations.....and not economics....just journalism. While McCain graduated 894 out of a class of 896 from the Naval Academy. Pretty sad.

I remember a saying that goes like this........to improve oneself, one should associate with those who are smarter(better educated, more intelligent) then one is.

So let me ask you do you want to associate yourself with lightweights like McCain/Palin or with Obama who graduated with a Juris doctorate, magna *** laude from Harvard Law School or like Biden who graduated with double major in History and Political Science and received a Juris Doctorate from Syracuse Law school.

Here's a very informative place for facts:

my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome

I find it disheartening when people look at Obama’s race with assumptions that assume he couldn’t pull his weight in brain power. Barack Obama’s academic achievements would have been equally admirable if he were a blond, blue-eyed boy from Kansas called John Smith. He has 12 years of elected office experience and has a track record superior to many legislators with similar experience. Yes, he’s never run anything, which makes it more amazing yet that by hard work and despite the albatross that is a Muslim middle name in America, he has built a movement from nothing to involve 18 million people in the best run campaign in history. He has been subjected to impossible scrutiny over the last 18 months on his views on every issue imaginable and was tested by one of the toughest Primary races in history. He never gave up.

Every year around 7,500 people apply to Harvard Law School. Roughly 560 students matriculate with, on average, a 3.8 undergraduate GPA and a 99th percentile LSAT score. After 1L year studying legal theory, around 40 of the best students are appointed to Harvard Law Review based on their first year grades and writing. Law Reviews are highly competitive student run scholarly journals considered mandatory by many for high-end legal careers. For the 7% that make it on to Law Review, 2L year is more legal theory plus highly detailed editing of emerging legal scholarship pending publication in the journal. The articles they produce are largely anonymous. At the end of 2L year, one member of Law Review is elected to be the next year’s Editor-in-Chief (President) by the existing members. The Editor-in-Chief then runs the process of producing the next year’s editions of the journal. Since 1887, 121 people have been appointed Editor-in-Chief (President) of Harvard Law Review. There were more than 7,000 Rhodes Scholarships granted during the same period. You have to be smart enough to impress some of the smartest, most competitive people in the world to get that job. He did it. This is someone whose mother relied on food stamps to feed him for a while. I wonder, do John McCain and Lynn Westmoreland even know what a food stamp looks like?

John McCain graduated 894th out of 899 students. He was given a Navy Pilot assignment on affirmative, nepotistic action. Why? Because his grand-daddy and daddy were Admirals. It was the most coveted assignment for Naval Academy graduates and typically went to the top students. Go back 50 years and see the average graduating rank of Naval Pilots. It’s not even close. Sarah Palin graduated from a 4-year degree course in 6 years, having dropped out 4 times. I wonder who is better able to understand, assimilate and process complex information quickly. It’s sad that we’ve become an anti-intelligence country. McCain is a genuine war hero and Palin may be a tough achiever but let’s be honest, these are not examples of intellectual excellence we want for our children, yet we want them to lead the country and set the destiny of our children’s children. They may win and that’s okay, it’s the way of politics and may the best ideas win.

The RNC was a reminder of where America came from and the people sitting in that hall do not represent the America we will be in 20 years, not by a long shot. I swear, anyone emerging from that convention would have you believe we’re in the mess we face because of Obama’s policies. The saddest part is the fact that nasty attacks that distract from the issues work. By appealing to the ugliest instincts within us with comments like those of Georgia’s Congressman Lynn Westmoreland who proudly called Obama and his wife “uppity” and repeated himself proudly when confronted, the Republicans will win. Obama dare not say a word against such a racially tinged epithet, lest he be accused of playing the race card. The fact that a man in his esteemed position, a sitting US Senator, is unable to honestly challenge a plain bigot like Representative Westmoreland without offending someone is damaging to the dignity of this nation. Not a word from Mr. Maverick Change, Mr. Country First and Mr. Post-partisanship John McCain. Shame on you!

I will always love my country, but sometimes it’s difficult to be proud of the way it treats some of its citizens who were part of the founding population, but bound in chains. Obama doesn’t deserve to win because of his intellect and diligence, but to insult him for it is unChristian, unpatriotic and contrary to conservative values. He is an example to our children, a true conservative who lifted himself up and never gave up and stepped in to organize in the absence of the government. Yet Republicans mocked community service in front of the nation.

Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor. John McCain needs to tell us who the Republicans are fighting for.

Abstract

This is my attempt to put down in one place most of the reasons why I believe the US will by stronger, safer, and a better place to live if Barack Obama is elected President. I will summarize my main points in the abstract here and then provide the details and supporting data in the rest of the paper. My main reasons fall into three categories:

The current Republican executive administration has damaged the United States and has weakened our security. It has violated the laws of the US and the Geneva Convention by kidnapping terrorist suspects, holding them indefinitely for years without trial, and torturing them. In a time when we need all the allies we can to fight the “war on terror” this administration has driven away allies, destroyed our moral high ground, and given ammunition to our enemies with its “my way or the highway” diplomacy and through the atrocities it has committed. We MUST elect someone outside of the Republican Party to serve as a rebuke to the actions of the current administration, to say to them and to the world that they have gone too far, and say that their actions cannot be condoned by any nation that considers itself to be good and righteous.

John McCain has shown through his horrible decisions that he is unable to translate his years of experience into the true wisdom and ability that we need to lead this nation in these troubled times. Experience is not enough, even Forest Gump had a wealth of experience, our next president must have wisdom, forethought, and true convictions. John McCain was a chief supporter of going to war with Iraq and has made so many conflicting statements on how to proceed with the war that it is clear that he has no plan at all for bringing it to an end. Worst of all, in the last 4 years, John McCain has reversed himself repeatedly on almost all of the major issues currently under discussion including: a) handling of Iraq war, b) off shore drilling, c) mortgage crisis bailout, d) Afghanistan, e) Bush tax cuts to the wealthy (annual income over $250,000), f) being a maverick.

Barack Obama has documented plans, with real substance, for how to take on the biggest issues and troubles of our time. He has a history of working across party lines and building consensus. He said from the very beginning that we should never attack Iraq and foretold many of the problems that we now face there. He understands that global warming is a true and present danger to us all and must be addressed. His approach to the “war on terror” will make us safer than the horrible handling we have seen by the Republicans. As his trip oversees showed, he can heal the wounds with our allies that the Republican administration has caused and strengthen the bonds that we desperately need in the “war on terror” and tackling global warming.

I will now try and take each point from above and elaborate on them and provide as much documentation and links to supporting data as I can. Note that I do not believe that Obama is perfect nor that he will solve all of our problems. I disagree with some of his policies and some of the things he has done. But all of my disagreements with Obama pale in comparison to my disagreements with McCain and the Republican Party for this election.

Section

1: Current Republican Administration

Must be Rebuked

In this section I will try to demonstrate why I believe that the current Republican Administration has done serious damage to the US through its actions. Note that I don’t just say the President George W. Bush, but rather the Republican Administration as a whole. We must rebuke their actions by casting the Republicans out of the Executive branch and replacing them with Barack Obama who will have his job cut out for him fixing all the mess and damage the Republicans created. I will flip through these pretty quickly since most of these have been fairly public.

1 Iraq War

1.1 Going to War

1.1.1 The US Senate investigated the justification for the war and their conclusion clearly states that the Republican Administration lied about the justification of going to war. Note that some Republicans on the investigation agreed with this analysis while others yelled that it was purely politically motivated. My impression is that they lied, but if you don’t think that, then at the very best all you can say is that they were horribly reckless and royally stupid. (reference)

1.1.2 We relied heavily on information from a greatly suspect source: Ahmed Chalabi. If they didn’t know he was lying, they should have. I point this out here both as an issue with the current administration and as a foot note for some issue with McCain that I will discuss later (reference)

1.1.3 Remember Valerie Plame? Bush promised to get to the bottom of whoever leaked her identity and prosecute them. Of course, that was before the investigation traced it back to the Executive office, before Libby got convicted for obstruction of justice, and before Bush commuted his sentence.

1.1.4 Propaganda: Apparently the Pentagon had a program where it brought in many of the “independent experts” that the TV networks used and got them to speak in line with whatever the Pentagon wanted. I thought our government wasn’t supposed to run a propaganda machine.

1.2 Conducting the War

1.2.1 Clearly, there was never ever any plan for what to do after we won the war. Remember all of the looting of weapons dumps? Looting of hospitals? No plans to protect any of the infrastructure?

1.2.2 They disbanded the Iraqi army after they won the war. The biggest bonehead move ever heard of.

1.2.3 We are now in year 6 of a war that relies completely on a volunteer military, national guard, and army reserves. I personally think it is a disgrace that we have time and time again sent the same national guard units to the war zone. This is not what they signed up for.

1.2.4 Thanks to the never ending Iraq war and Afghanistan War, the US military is worn way too thin, making us vulnerable.

1.3 Getting us Out

1.3.1 Up until very recently Bush has labeled any hint of planning to come out of Iraq as failure and surrender. Bush and McCain both hit on Obama for wanting to surrender.

1.3.2 Bush had intended to make a long term agreement with Iraq government to keep US troops there. It was his intention not to run this by Congress at all and tie the hands of the next President. Happily, Iraq government balked at the idea of long term US troops in Iraq so they wouldn’t signed the deal.

1.3.3 On August 21 the Iraqi government won agreement on a time line for pull out.

1.4 Let’s not forget that we spend 10 Billion dollars a month on this war, nearly a trillion dollars overall already. This is all straight deficit spending. Just think of all the problems we could have addressed with 10 Billion a month: school financing, health care, social security, alternative energy… the list goes on.

2 Afghanistan

2.1 This is the war that the Republican Administration forgot. This is the true war against terror. Since so much of our troops are in Iraq, we have few troops in Afghanistan and instead we are trying to keep things going through commitments of UN troops.

2.2 Thanks to our loosing focus on Afghanistan, the Taliban is resurging.

2.3 We can’t send any more troops to Afghanistan until we reduce our troop commitment in Iraq.

2.4 One of the prices of the Surge in Iraq was that lack of troops in Afghanistan.

3 Kidnap, Torture, Holding forever

Ever hear of the country that kidnapped someone off the streets in another country, spirited them off to a secret jail in a different country, tortured them, and held them for years without a trial? Yeah, that would be the U.S.A. And this wasn’t a decision by a few bad apples; it went all the way to the top.

3.1 The administration made it “legal” to torture people:

3.1.1 Torture memo

3.1.2 Time line for memo

3.2 How many suspected terrorists do we have holding in Gitmo and other jails? How many of them have had a trial so many years after they were arrested?

3.3 We currently have CIA agents on trial in-absentia in Italy over kidnapping a terror suspect.

3.4 The best part of it all is that there has never been any evidence that the torture ever worked.

3.5 Ok, I can go on and on here. If you have any doubt that we torture people and hold them indefinetly without a trial, then just google around and you will find tons.

4 Spying on Americans

Bush approved the illegal spying on American citizens and got the telephone companies to give them mounds of data and access to their systems. Here is a summary.

5 Environment

This administration has a horrible track record on environment. Not only did it weaken the Clean Air Act, it did everything in its power to convince everyone that global warming wasn’t a problem. Only now has it agreed that it is a problem, but not one that we really have to worry about.

5.1 Allow me to provide one small example of this. Bush appoints one of his guys to head the EPA. This guy routinely disregards the advice and opinions of his scientists and staff and makes rulings in accordance with what Bush wants. Finally the states get fed up and sue EPA into action on global warming, they win, and the head of EPA stone walls for another year in defiance of the supreme court.

6 Executive Powers above all else.

The underlying current beneath all of this is the seeming belief that the President’s power trumps the constitution, the congress, and the Supreme Court. They have stonewalled congress and the Supreme Court time and time again and destroyed the very idea of checks and balances.

Section 2: McCain – Lots of Experience, But No Wisdom Gained

McCain is a war hero and former POW. For this he deserves our respect and appreciation. This however does not mean McCain would make a good President. After all, a war hero leading the country in the wrong direction is still bad for the country. So we must ask ourselves what type of leader John McCain would be and what direction would hel lead the country.

1. What is different between Bush and McCain? McCain used to have this “maverick” mystique about him. He used to go against his party when he thought it was right. But in the last 4 to 8 years he has had a complete and total turn around. What important issue does McCain still stand against the Bush Administration?

1.1. Listen to his own words and he will tell you that he has supported Bush on all major issues.

1.2. In the last year or so he has voted with Bush 95% of the time.

2. Total Reversal McCain has totally reversed himself on so many of the main issues that it is hard to know what he stands for, and even where to begin. So, let’s kick off with some montage videos for you:

2.1. Video 1

2.2. Video 2

2.3. He used to be against Bush’s tax cuts (or tax cuts for the wealthy as they have been called). Now he supports them and wants to extend them.

2.4. He used to be against off-shore oil drilling. Now he is for it, even though it will take 20 years to see any impact and the expected impact will be only 3% - 6% difference compared to today’s supply.

2.5. Abortion stance change. Yes McCain has always been pro-life, but he use to rail against Bush for not having an exception in the case rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s health. But now he has adopted Bush’s position.

3. Iraq War

3.1. McCain recently said that he was the chief critic of the Iraq war in the first several years. Take a look at this video clip. But this isn’t actually the truth. McCain was a huge supporter of the war all along. Let’s take a look of many of his statements on this over the years.

3.2. But it is even worse than that. Just after 9/11 McCain was already saying we should attack Baghdad. With no proof, no connections, he was one of the first to beat the drums of war to attack Iraq.

3.3. Start of War

So as you saw in the videos above, McCain was huge for going to war with Iraq. One of the most important decisions our leader must make and he completely got it wrong. His years of experience in the military and congress did not give him the wisdom necessary to make this decision correctly.

3.4. The surge

McCain likes to point out the fact that he was right about “The Surge”, which he says turned the corner on Iraq war. He misses a few points here:

3.4.1. First, he actually hedged his bets on it and said that he thought there wasn’t enough troops in the Surge and may not work.

3.4.2. Second, while the 30,000 extra troops did indeed help, there was also a great shift in the Iraqi population to throw out Al Qaeda. This shift first started in Anbar and was called the Anbar Awakening. By the way, McCain wanted to attribute this to the Surge, but it happened several months before the surge. He seems to get this confused though:

3.4.2.1. Video on Anbar History

3.4.2.2. Watch the MSNBC video on this, very good, long, but well worth it:

3.4.2.3. Side note for this: Why did CBS edit out McCain’s wrong answer? They didn’t just delete out the question and answer, they actually replace his incorrect answer with a different answer. Why is that?

3.4.3. But what of the cost of the surge? Wouldn’t it have been nice to have those 30,000 in Afghanistan fighting the war on terror?

3.5. When will it end

3.5.1. Should we stay in Iraq like we have in Korea and Germany? McCain used to say we should not have permanent basis in Iraq. Then he said that we should. Now he says that he has no idea.

3.5.2. McCain hammers on Obama for saying he will withdraw troops carefully in 16 months based on conditions on the ground and force the Iraqi’s to stand up. McCain says among other things:

3.5.2.1. Obama is naïve for wanting to withdraw

3.5.2.2. Obama doesn’t understand the facts

3.5.2.3. Obama is willing to lose a war to gain the presidency

3.5.3. All of McCain’s arguments fall to shreds with one simple fact: Iraq wants us out in 16 months:

3.5.3.1. Video

3.5.3.2. McCain simply tried to ignore Iraqi’s desire for a long time saying that Maliki didn’t mean what he said. McCain was either in total denial or totally oblivious

3.5.3.3. Now McCain says that a timetable based on conditions on the ground isn’t that bad. Somehow he says that this is different then what Obama wants.

3.5.3.4. And as noted above, we now have an agreement between the US and Iraqi government which clearly states a timetable for pull out.

3.5.3.5. So it looks like McCain was completely and totally wrong on this and Obama was completely right. It was McCain that had no idea about the conditions, McCain who no longer understood what Iraq wanted, and arguably, it was McCain who wanted to continue the war for all the wrong reasons.

3.5.4. One extra note here. McCain likes to say that the difference between his time table for pullout and Obama’s is that McCain’s timetable is based on conditions on the ground, while Obama’s is not. This is false. Obama has clearly stated that he will take the advice of the commanders in consideration and “we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting into Iraq”.

3.6. He has lied repeatedly about the status of the Iraq war:

3.7. Does he not understand who we are fighting or does he deliberately lie about it? In multiple speeches he seems to mix up who is fighting whom and who the real enemy is. We need a leader who can keep these things straight and educate the American population, not confuse us.

4. Foreign Affairs

4.1. His chief advisor for foreign affairs was a huge proponent for going to Iraq war. And worked with the Iranian spy Ahmad Chalabi. Why, why, why are these same people his foreign affairs advisors? What does it say about McCain’s decision making ability if he sets up as his chief advisors people who have a track record of making horrible decisions and either lying to the American people or allowing themselves to be totally duped?

4.2. Chief foreign affairs adviser is a lobbyist who pulled very very hard for the war in Iraq:

4.3. McCain wants to form a League of Democracies. This to me is the most dangerous idea in foreign policies. Remember the adage of keep your friends close and your enemies even closer? Apparently McCain likes to alienate our enemies and back them into corners so that their only option is to fight. Why throw off the UN? Why not work hard to improve the UN and work to make it the success it can be.

4.4. Russia and Georgia: McCain’s top advisor on foreign affairs was working for McCain and at the exact same time, a paid lobbyist for Georgia. Around the time Russia invaded Georgia, McCain made tough statements that made the matter worse. This is not the foreign diplomacy that we need. Oh, and McCain saber rattling has even surpassed Bush’s saber rattling. I truly believe that if McCain was president at the time, we would be on the brink of war with Russia. Just watch this, it’s painful:

5. Torture

McCain used to be against torture, but when a bill came up to prohibit the use of torture, McCain voted against it.

6. Off Shore Drilling

6.1. McCain used to think that off shore drilling was bad. Now he says it is good. But in reality, it is just such a small percentage of the demand that it wouldn’t make any real difference, while simultaneously putting the coastline at risk for oil spills. So why does he push it so hard? Because it sounds nice, sounds like we are doing something, and oil companies like it.

6.2. Here is a nice discussion about the facts of off shore drilling:

6.3. McCain is lying when he says that we didn’t spill a drop of oil when Hurricane Katrina came through. And yet, the truth is that there was indeed oil spilled But why let the truth get in the way of a good argument?

7. Economy

7.1. McCain himself says that he isn’t strong on economics.

7.2. He says that he leans on the likes of Phil Graham, who was his chief financial advisor and helped craft his economic policy. That is, until the day that Phil Graham publically said that we aren’t having problems and that we have become a nation of whiners. Of course McCain says he disagrees, but these comments of Phil Graham’s couldn’t have come out of left field for McCain’s camp. This must have been the basis for all of the advice that Phil Graham was giving McCain. It is only when Phil Graham said it out loud to the press that it became a problem.

7.3. Oh, and for the record, Phil Graham is still part of McCain’s campaign. Listen to this video to hear about various advice from Graham and how Graham is still on the campaign.

8. Environment

8.1. McCain’s environmental track record is so abysmal that there really isn’t anything to say here.

8.2. One piece of McCain’s environmental policy is the Cap and Trade program for green house gases. Unfortunately, McCain sends so many mixed signals about how this policy would work (mandatory or not??) that I can’t honestly say if it is a bad policy or a horrible policy.

9. Tax plans

9.1. Even though McCain’s ads say differently, Obama’s tax plan gives more to middle and lower class. Meanwhile McCain’s plan gives lots of tax breaks to the filthy rich.

9.2. Social Security: McCain says that Social Security is a disgrace and calls for privatization of it. He took all sorts of flack for this and back tracked off of this fast. His idea of privatization is the same as Bush and is a horrible idea. Just think, if you had your private Social Security account and the stock markets takes a down term, then your Social Security just took a down turn. Not very secure eh?

10. Health Care

10.1. So an advisor to McCain on health care just said that everyone in this country is actually insured since everyone can go to the emergency room and get health care. So there you go, no problem at all.

10.2. McCain’s camp now says that this person doesn’t speak for him, but uhm, if you have been taking his advice all this time, what advice was he giving you? And besides, his statements fall perfectly in line with the McCain health insurance plan.

10.3. Believe it or not, I actually agree with the first part of this guy’s statement. Since everyone can go to the emergency room, we already have a universal health care system in place. Unfortunately, it is the most expensive, broken down way to pay for it. Here is the root cause of the problems in the health care system in my humble opinion: the US government mandates that hospitals care for everyone regardless of money, but then the US government does not provide a direct means for hospitals to get paid. Obama’s plan directly attacks this issue by making sure everyone can get health insurance.

10.4. McCain has some weird idea of making a health care tax rebates, which, runs the great risk of actually increasing the cost of health insurance for the middle class.

11. VP Pick

11.1. So after hammering Obama for months on lacking experience (which I believe Obama has experience) McCain now manages to pick a running mate that has so little experience that it is practically non-existent. Seriously, what was McCain thinking? Or more importantly, what does this say about his decision making skills to pick someone that he doesn’t even know at all, who has never been involved in national politics, and who was never fully vetted before the decision?

11.2. So what is her experience:

11.2.1. She is the governor of Alaska and was sworn in December 4, 2006. Yep, not even a full 2 years.

11.2.2. Before that, she was the mayor of Wasilla Alaska. The total population of this place is 5,469 according to Wikepedia. So that puts it at roughly twice the size of my high school.

11.2.3. Here is some discussion on her experience

11.3. She wasn’t actually vetted before McCain picked her. McCain had months to pick a running mate and he rushes it at the end so much that they didn’t have time to truly do a deep background check on her. This is not the way I want my President to make big decisions.

11.4. She apparently was heavily involved with Senator Stevens, who has now been indicted on 7 counts of corruption:

11.5. She was strongly for earmarks when she was mayor and governor. She actually hired a lobbyist to get lots more earmarks for her town. Including the now infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”. Oh, side note, during he acceptance speech she said that she was against the “Bridge to Nowhere”. Well yeah, after pushing for it for a long time and finally getting it, she turns against it at the very end since there was such an outcry over it. But she doesn’t actually give the money back, just funnels it into other projects.

11.6. Apparently she is already embroiled in an abuse of power scandal back in Alaska. They are still investigating the charges right now, but she has already had to correct her story. She had said she would cooperate fully with the investigation, but now she is stonewalling it and refusing to talk about it.

11.7. Full recap of the top issues with her.

11.8. What kind of a Vice President would she really be? Does anyone have an idea? Does McCain? If you don’t know, then why pick her? And how would she do on the international stage where she has no experience? We desperately need allies, so this is very important.

11.9. It has now been over a week since she has been selected, but she has yet to do any meaningful interview with any news reporter. Why is that? Why is she in hiding? Have they taken her someplace so she can cram on all the issues so she won’t embarrass anyone? And is that what we want in a VP?

11.10. Here is a nice run down of how this decision reflects on McCain. Long story short, it comes across as a desperate decision made solely to try and win an election without any regard for what would happen should she actually become the Vice President.

12. POW

As I said before, McCain sacrificed greatly for his country and he should be honored for that. But it appears that his campaign is using that as an excuse for any problems that he has. From owning 7 houses, to offering his wife up to a topless beauty contest, and everything else, his campaign falls back to the fact that McCain was a POW.

12.1.1. Article 1

12.1.2. Article 2

Section 3: Obama “America, we can do better”

In Obama’s acceptance speech he said that we are a better country then these last eight years have shown. He has shown time and again that he will lead by inspiring people, not be bullying and using fear tactics. To back up his speech, he listed no less than 29 specific plans of how he wants to make things better, and all of this was in just one speech. Obama has shown that he has the wisdom to make good decisions, a willingness to take on the tough problems of our times (healthcare, environment, energy, war on terror, etc.), and an ability to call each of us to be better. This is the type of leader that we need. This is the change that we need now more than ever.

1. Experience

1.1. Yes, Obama is not as experienced as McCain. But he still has 7 years as an Illinois State Senator and 4 years as a US Senator. This is actually longer then Bush had before he became President, though admittedly that isn’t saying much. But he has a proven track record of truly working with both sides of the aisle and making things better.

1.2. Here is a web page that pulled together a nice list of some of the many bills and issues that Obama made a difference on:

2. Iraq war

2.1. Obama was against the war in Iraq from the very beginning. No wishy washy statements, no flip flopping, no equivocating, he was against the war, against giving President Bush the authority to go to war, and he said so on the record. He did this at a time when few people agreed with him and when it could have cost him his election.

2.2. If you listen to the above clip, you will notice that the concerns that he raised about the possible pitfalls of going to war are EXACTLY the problems that have come to pass.

2.3. Let us not understate this issue. Going to war in Iraq is one of the biggest national security decisions that have been made for this country in my life time. We thumbed our nose at the international community and decided to go in with only a few staunch allies. We have lost over 4,000 soldiers, spent nearly 1 trillion dollars, gotten bogged down in nation building, and all because of a pack of lies that was either sold to the Bush administration or by the Bush administration. Obama was right on this issue. Had he been the President at the time, none of the Iraq war would have ever happened.

2.4. Obama has been a strong proponent for getting us out of Iraq for a long time. For quite a while McCain and Bush have hammered at Obama’s stance that we need to responsibly withdraw. They would still be saying Obama is being reckless, if it wasn’t for the Iraq government demanding a time table to withdraw. So it appears that Obama was right about this as well and was out in the forefront.

3. Afghanistan

3.1. Once again Obama has been out in the forefront of the call to send more troops to Afghanistan. McCain used to say that we could muddle through there with the troops that we have, but now he has changed his tune and is finally agreeing with Obama. So once again Obama was right and out in the forefront of this issue. Here is a more recent statement about in on his trip overseas.

4. “War on Terror”

4.1. Obama has been outspoken about his belief that Bush and McCain have lost focus on the true “war on terror” and that their approach is all wrong. McCain and Bush fire back that Obama is horribly naïve on his stance on the “war on terror” and couldn’t protect us. So who is right? Well, how about we listen to a think-tank that does research for the Pentagon by the name of Rand Corporation. They released a study at the end of July this year that agrees with Obama. To fight an effective battle against terror groups, it is better to approach it as a police action and not a war. Oh, and did I mention that this is the shift that other countries have already been making?

4.2. Since Obama has a better approach to the “war on terror” and he has a plan to stop the distraction of the Iraq war, I truly believe we will be safer from terrorist underneath Obama then underneath McCain.

5. Foreign Affairs

5.1. In this day and age, we need all the allies we can get. Bush has systematically driven away allies. McCain has made many statements that make things even worse. Obama realizes that the more allies we have, the less likely we will need to go to war. And if war should come, the more nations that will stand behind us and support us. Just take a look at his stated foreign policy and you will see the stark difference to what we have.

5.2. When Obama went overseas he was greeted by huge crowds of cheering people. They weren’t there because they loved Obama, they were there because of the true change in America and American foreign policy that Obama represents. Just think, when was the last time you saw huge crowds of people waving the American flag OUTSIDE of America? I clearly remember, it was after 9/11. At that moment in history the world all wept with the US. Then we invaded Iraq over the protests of countries like France and Germany and many others. From then on we acted like a bully on the international stage, and we have paid the price. Make no mistakes, we need allies. Obama will bring them back. The world is waiting for the US to lead again and reclaim the moral high ground that we threw away, Obama can do that for us. Just listen to Obama’s speech over in Germany and look at the 200,000 Europeans who came to listen.

5.3. Obama has a completely different approach to diplomacy. He has said that he is willing to sit and talk to everyone (after careful preparation). Bush and McCain say he is naïve (or worse, appeasement). They took special pains to point this out with regards to Iran. Obama said he was willing to talk to Iran. But wait, just in July, Bush has reversed course and has done exactly that. Once again, Bush and McCain attacked Obama on a position of his that turned out to be correct.

5.4. Obama has also pledged to rebuild our armed services and bring them back from the brink of failure that they are now at. This will make us more secure and safer as a nation.

6. Torture

Obama has always been against the use of torture. When he becomes President he will stop the use of torture and close down Gitmo.

7. Health Care

7.1. The health care system is broken because hospitals are required by law to treat people that can’t pay for the treatment. The cost of this is then passed on to all of us in the most inefficient, horribly expensive, poorly managed way. Add to that the fact that those that can’t afford good health care end up in the emergency room with a condition that often could have been treated easier and cheaper if they had access to medical treatment sooner.

7.2. Think of it this way: Dell sells computers. They do not have any issues with immigrants, poor, or working poor, because these people can’t afford a computer and so they never interact with Dell. But what if the government suddenly said that Dell had to give computers to everyone, even if they can’t pay, and the government doesn’t provide funding for it? Then Dell would go bankrupt. That is what is happening to our health care system.

7.3. Obama’s healthcare plan would create a path that would give everyone in the US access to medical insurance. Note that this is NOT socialized health care. The hospitals are still independent businesses. But now, everyone will be able to pay for any treatment that the hospitals are required to provide. The plan has a structure to get people to pay for as much as they can afford, and then help out. Remember, we already pay for the uninsured, this is just a better, more efficient way of doing this that will relieve the stress on hospitals.

7.4. You can read Obama’s detailed plan here.

8. Environment & Energy

8.1. Obama has been pushing environmental issues and the need to address global warming for a while. His environmental score card is way higher the McCain’s (but it isn’t hard to beat McCain’s).

8.2. Obama has an energy plan. And yes, don’t believe the Republican campaign adds, there is real meat and substance to Obama’s energy plan. He places a much larger emphasis on replaces fossil fuels permanently.

8.3. Read it here.

9. Tax plan

9.1. I already gave some brief discussion and documentation of Obama’s tax plan. Let me briefly reiterate then that he only raises taxes on folks who earn over $250,000. Everyone else gets more money under Obama’s plan as compared to McCain’s plan.

10. Social Security

10.1. Yep, Obama has a better plan than McCain’s here as well.

11. Inspiration

11.1. I am tired of having a President that constantly tells us to be afraid. I want a President that calls us all to be better than we are. I want a President who won’t ignore issues because they are inconvenient, but instead, take them head on. But most of all, I want a President that wants to work hard to truly make the world a better place for our children. You may call me naïve and say that Obama will not live up to that, but at least he will try, McCain won’t even try.

11.2. Obama’s style of leadership is a refreshing breath of fresh air. Just look at the way he has conducted his campaign. He listens to people, encourages differing opinions, and brings people together towards the common goal.

11.3. Just to show you one example of him following through on his ideals, right after he became the presumptive nominee, he stopped the Democratic national committee from taking any money from big lobbyists and special interests. Note that this is something that McCain never did.

Section 4: Important but Not Critical

For the last 8 years we have had some big debates in this nation about issues like gun control, abortion, same sex marriage, and others. There are those that will make their selection of President based solely on one or all of these issues. But I put forward that while these are important issues they are not critical. Critical issues threaten the very existence of our country. An overstretched military, greatly weakening economy, global warming, these are the type of issues that threaten our nation; these critical issues are the issues that we should use to discern who should lead us. Obama and McCain have stark differences on their approach to dealing with the critical issues. I strongly believe we should pick a President based off of the critical issues.

Section 5: Conclusion

So I end this where I begin. I truly believe that President Bush has done great harm to our nation. I have watched McCain flip on so many issues and come completely in-line with Bush’s policies. I have witnessed his horrible decision making when it came to invading Iraq, ending Iraq war, foreign policies, and even his VP pick. I do not trust that McCain has the wisdom it will take to lead our nation. Obama has demonstrated the wisdom that we need, the willingness to take on issues, and the ability to inspire us to be better. I truly believe that our nation will be safer and more prosperous with Obama as President. And that is why on November 4th I will be voting for Obama and praying that everyone else in this great nation does the same.

For the record, I consider myself "pro-life" when it comes to abortion. But after eight years of Bush, I think it's time to redefine what it means to be pro-life. Among other things, it should at the very least mean the following: To be pro-life is to be against unnecessary wars, and to be pro-life is to be against torture.

I look at Obama, and while I reject his more left-wing views, I see an intelligent, capable, and reasonable man. I believe Obama would never condone torture, would never take us into an unnecessary war, and will endeavor to make health care more affordable to those of lesser means (which will reduce the number of abortions).

With all due respect, Rod, abortion isn't everything. Why not just recognize that this is one issue in which you vehemently disagree with Obama, and yet vote for the better man anyway? There are hundreds of issues that matter, and abortion is just one of them. Frankly, if the financial system falls apart, the issue of abortion is going to be very low priority (and meanwhile you can be certain the number of abortions will go up). Based on the way that Obama and McCain have behaved themselves, and have run their campaigns, who would you want to be in a position of leadership at this moment in history? "None of the above" really isn't a very mature option.

It would be wonderful, truly wonderful, if we had a society where abortions never happened. In the real world that's not going to occur. But it would also be wonderful if we never get manipulated into another war as foolish and destructive as Iraq. That is something a president has far more control over.

Which is the greater number: The number of Iraqi children who have died as a direct result of our misbegotten adventures there, or the number of American abortions in the past few years? Sorry to ask something so terrible, but being pro-life should mean more than being against a pro-choice candidate who has proven himself a reasonable man in other ways. The president can do far more about taking us into war, or refusing to do so, than he can about the laws, policies, and attitudes concerning abortion in this country. The president is the commander in chief, in regards to the armed services. He has very little command over the culture.

Roe v. Wade is probably never going to be overturned, and even if it is, the vast majority of the states will keep abortion legal. That's a lost fight, Rod, and Obama's views on the issue and his past voting record are just not that relevant to choosing a president right now.

One candidate, McCain, has proven himself to be an angry, belligerent, unpredictable jackass. He may actually have a worse foreign policy than Bush once he becomes president. It is entirely conceivable that with a president McCain we will go to war with Iran, or with Russia, or with North Korea, or with some other country. The other candidate, Obama, has proven himself to be an intelligent, restrained, inspiring and virtuous leader. He has opposed Bush from the start. He would never sing about bombing Iran. He would never start a war and then joke in public, "Now where are those weapons of mass destruction?"

Bush was (and is) pro-life. Look at where that got us. Being pro-life should mean so much more than being against abortion. At the very least, it should mean that you don't play deceitful games with other people's lives. You don't start a war under false pretenses. You don't pursue a war as if it's going to be cheap and easy, and then let chaos reign. Also, you don't keep people captive for years (apart from their families) without bringing charges. You don't undo the Geneva Conventions so that you can be free to violate people's human rights. You don't condone torture by playing word games while winking at its practice. Why? Because human life is sacred. Human beings should be treated with dignity, and all human life should be protected. What else does "pro-life" mean?

Rod, you still have a few days. If I were you, I'd reconsider your decision not to vote. I love your blog, but I notice that you sometimes have a tendency to dance around in a wishy-washy fashion. Please be an adult. You must vote, and encourage everyone you know (including people who read your column) to vote. There are two possible choices in this election: Obama and McCain. To me, the choice is obvious. Frankly, I don't see how a Christian can do anything other than vote in a way that utterly repudiates Bush's policies. Abortion is just not the most important issue right now. Maybe in a few years, when the economy has recovered, America's reputation has been restored, and the country is at peace abroad. Then you can vote your conscience on abortion, including sitting an election out. But not this time.

You supported Bush for many years. You supported the Iraq war. Consider voting for Obama as an act of penance. That's one reason I'm voting for him. But there are many better reasons than that one. There is no good reason to stay at home this time. I honestly think that if McCain somehow wins, and you didn't vote at all, you will regret that decision for the rest of your life.

Bush and McCain are the ones who don't value and treasure human life. Obama may be wrong about abortion, but he is right about war and peace, and so many other things. From one Christian conservative to another, I suggest that you reject your uptightness about one single issue, and vote for the person who will make the best president in these dark times.

Did NBC offer Barack Hussein Obama a sitcom deal yet?  ....Little Mosque in the Midwest!

600 trillion dollars later ....Barack Hussein Obama still can't beat McCain who's running his campaign from the back of his pickup truck...Obama is just "plastic".

Now Barack Hussein Obama is a close friend of and praises a PLO supporter in Rashid Khalid

and the LA Times has the video tape proof.

Obama makes Bill Belichek look like an angel with all these disturbing videos floating around of

Obama's radical associations.

It’s pretty easy for Obama or anyone else to attack George Bush on his economic policies but Obama can't attack George Bush on his record on fighting terrorists to protect America while he

is busy wining and dining with terrorists !!

Barack Hussein Obama should be tried for treason and being a threat to US national security.

Barack says he has the right to distribute your money the way he sees fit. That’s dictatorship.

Mike Huckabee had Chuck Noris and Sarah Palin has Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Are you Republicans just dumb as dirt or just dumb? We need competent leadership. You give us this and you support it. Amazing.

An Obama win in Arizona would the harbinger of a bloody night for Repblicans.  I just hope these polls are fairly accurate, especially on the aggregate poll numbers.  The poll of polls  It's the kind of victory, in blue states, in pink states, and in red states.  I haven't really seen many of these political end games, so I'm really hoping Barack Obama wins a landslide of unprecedented proportions.

I wonder how much McCain brings home to Arizona?

Since he doesn't believe in getting money for public infrastructure or building projects from the federal government, I guess Arizona just gets the short end of the stick from McCain.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him either retire or get a strong challenger in the next Senate elections.

He's made a fool out of himself this last few months. This Sarah Palin nonsense was pathetic.

This is so funny!

My observation as a 60 year old Arizona native is that McCain was relatively never that popular in the state to begin with. Unlike Goldwater, Udall or Babbitt, he moved here and ran for office after being bankrolled by Cindy. The Democrats have never run a strong candidate against him. It also is a mixed blessing being a crusader against earmarks in a rapidily growing region when you see all our neighbors getting better roads, and other federal goodies like water rights. His immagration plan was unpopular here in a state that is rapidly becomming racially polarized. Finally, it didn't set well either with our large senior population when he referred to a local retirement village called Leisure World as "seizure world". People are soooo sensitive.

Jeremiah Wright - Obama's "pastor" ("God damn America!", "America invented

    the Aids virus to kill people of color!"), Obama campaign's "Spiritual Advisor"

Louis Farrakhan - Head of "Black Muslim" church, "Lifetime Achievement Award"

    from Obama's "church"

"Father" Phleger - White clone of Wright, also connected to Obama

Tony Rezko - Obama benefactor ($1.6 million, iffy real estate deals), convicted criminal

William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrne - Founded "Weathermen", Bombed Capital

    and Pentagon, some Weathermen bombs killed people, Ayers said in 2004

    he wished they had done more bombing, photographed trampling American

    Flag underfoot and grinning, (Obama's friends, worked together on committees,

    Obama declared his Senate candidacy from Ayers living room)

    (Obama says he "thought Ayers had been rehabilitated."!)

Rashid Khalidi - PLO connections, anti-Israel, friend of Obama's, Ayers and Dohrne

Mazen Asbahi - Hamas connections (was Obama's "Islamic Advisor", had to quit

    when found out.)

Obama - FOR Partial-Birth Abortion, AGAINST the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,

    (which protects babies that survive an abortion attempt from being killed or left

    to die!)    

    Stated that mothers should have a period of time after a baby is born to decide

    if they want it killed! Doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby".

    Painted over the American Flags on his campaign plane    

    Worked for ACORN as lawyer and trainer, gave them $800,000 recently    

    Very short experience, very little accomplishment

    Most liberal Senator or Representative there is

    Voted with party 97.5% of the time, no record of "Working Across the Aisle"    

    FOR "Wealth Redistribution"/Socialism

And you don't think there's "Reasonable Doubt" about him?

Jeremiah Wright - Obama's "pastor" ("God damn America!", "America invented

    the Aids virus to kill people of color!"), Obama campaign's "Spiritual Advisor"

Louis Farrakhan - Head of "Black Muslim" church, "Lifetime Achievement Award"

    from Obama's "church"

"Father" Phleger - White clone of Wright, also connected to Obama

Tony Rezko - Obama benefactor ($1.6 million, iffy real estate deals), convicted criminal

William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrne - Founded "Weathermen", Bombed Capital

    and Pentagon, some Weathermen bombs killed people, Ayers said in 2004

    he wished they had done more bombing, photographed trampling American

    Flag underfoot and grinning, (Obama's friends, worked together on committees,

    Obama declared his Senate candidacy from Ayers living room)

    (Obama says he "thought Ayers had been rehabilitated."!)

Rashid Khalidi - PLO connections, anti-Israel, friend of Obama's, Ayers and Dohrne

Mazen Asbahi - Hamas connections (was Obama's "Islamic Advisor", had to quit

    when found out.)

Obama - FOR Partial-Birth Abortion, AGAINST the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,

    (which protects babies that survive an abortion attempt from being killed or left

    to die!)    

    Stated that mothers should have a period of time after a baby is born to decide

    if they want it killed! Doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby".

    Painted over the American Flags on his campaign plane    

    Worked for ACORN as lawyer and trainer, gave them $800,000 recently    

    Very short experience, very little accomplishment

    Most liberal Senator or Representative there is

    Voted with party 97.5% of the time, no record of "Working Across the Aisle"    

    FOR "Wealth Redistribution"/Socialism

And you don't think there's "Reasonable Doubt" about him?

I am proud to say that I am an Arizona Native and will be voting for Barack Obama on Tuesday. We are tired of Republican politics that have taken us nowhere. As a senator for Arizona, McCain has not done anything for our education system. Sadly, Arizona has one of the lowest ranked public school systems in the country and it is refreshing to see that there will soon be a President in Office, Barack Obama, that will be implementing the social change we need! Having a positive effect on the real issues facing people today is what is important, not the 3 percent raise in taxes for a small percentage of the population.

OBAMA-BIDEN 2008!!

Go for it! lets run the score up on the b***ards who gave us GWBush; War: unbelievable debt; a stock market crash and no prospect of a bright future

Despite the efforts of McCain/Palin supporters to sully Obama's name, he is STILL ahead in the polls.  The negative campaigning and McCain's selection of Palin has fractured the GOP.  McCain traded his integrity to sure up a base that is now filled with uneducated racists who have done more damage in the last month than others have done since the Civil Rights Movement.  Country First my butt.

We've been here in Arizona wondering if the state was ever going to wake up to how McCain has been flip-flopping on issues and his negative and quite literally lying campaigning.  He is basically playing the role of Faust in this election having sold his soul to get elected President.  I was considering voting for him in 2000.  Then he started huggin Bush in 2004.  Two years ago, he got Kyl reelected who votes with Bush 95% of the time. His ratings have dropped well below Napalitano's.   It would have been interesting had the primary allowed independent voters to vote to see how much support Obama had in the state which is about 30% independents.  It appears McCain's use of Rovian protoges disgusting approach to campaigining, his remarkably poor and dangerous choice of Palin as VP which undermined his ability to call Obama untested and a novice and his erratic behavior on the economy and pretty much everything else have finally gotten some of the attention of the AZ voters and a close race has evolved.  I really wonder how he will be viewed in the state after this election.