Welcome to my boycott list, Home Depot

I've shopped in Home Depot for the last time. Why, you might ask? This is what one of the chain's co-founders, Bernie Marcus, had to say during a radio interview the other day:

"If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys," Mr. Marcus said, apparently referring to Republican senators facing tough re-election fights, then those retailers "should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs."

No, Bernie, (at right) what I'm not doing it shopping in your goddamn store.

It will never ceases to amaze me how stupid people running businesses can be when it comes to partisan politics. I hear conservatives whining and complaining all the time about "lib-rul actors" in Hollywood for voicing their political views, but one seldom hears criticism levied against people like Marcus, who rely on millions of Americans for their patronage in order to run a successful business. It's just flat-out dumb, at best. I always get a kick out of businesses that willfully put up signs during presidential campaigns. You know what? I will drive further and even pay a little more to give my money to a business that, at best supports my candidate, but at least has the smarts to keep political opinions private.

To put it into context, Marcus was asked a question about the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, which will make it much easier for employees to join unions. Home Depot has a strong anti-union reputation, and the fear mongering has started now that we'll have a Democratically controlled Congress in January. The new Congress will almost certainly pass the EFCA, and Obama will certainly sign it into law. And that has Marcus in a twist.

Tough. Unions have been getting the shaft for too long in this country, and it's high time we brought them back. We should be making it easier for employees to join a union if they want, not more difficult, which is what millionaires like Marcus want.

Yes, I know that Marcus is retired, but he no doubt still owns a significant amount of the company's stock, and I'm not in the mood to line his pockets after reading these comments.

By the way, I'm loving it that a Lowe's is right across the street from Home Depot in South Philly, so I don't even have to drive any further to get stuff for our condo. Thanks, Lowe's!

This is how far we have fallen under Bush

It's pretty bad when world leaders won't even shake the hand of the President of our country, but that's exactly what happened at the G20 summit. In the video above, our lame-duck president walks in front of a parade of world leaders without shaking or being asked to shake any of their hands. Whether he was rejected by the world leaders or he was doing the rejecting (insert Dana Perino press conference here), CNN's Rick Sanchez probably put it best: Bush looks like "the most unpopular kid in high school that nobody liked."

At least in 60 days, we will have a breath of fresh air. Things are going to remain bad for a long, long time, but at least we'll have a competent leader at the controls, one who can perhaps reach out to allies and get some cooperation in the global fight to pull us out of the world-wide economic slowdown. God only knows that countries aren't lining up to help us now with Bush at the helm.

Video via HuffPo

William Ayers on Good Morning America

It amazes me that the media just doesn't get it - America doesn't care about William Ayers, and certainly the election a week-and-a-half ago is all the evidence one should need.

Yet, this morning, Good Morning America hosted William Ayers to ask about his past and present association with President-Elect Barack Obama. No matter how many different ways Ayers gave a full accounting of his alleged "friendship" with Obama, Chris Cuomo kept asking the question in five or six subtly different ways. This is such a non-story.

On another note, I plan on reading Ayers' book, Fugitive Days, which is now being reintroduced with a new forward and afterward.

I also think it's highly hypocritical for people to criticize someone for trying to make a difference during an unjust, illegal war where over 58,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese died. Yes, violence shouldn't be the answer, but the media painted Ayers as someone who killed innocent people (he didn't), while our government was responsible for and trying to justify the deaths of thousands of people. (Much like today, actually.) Revolution was in the air, and Ayers was hardly the only one with those feelings.

The man has renounced his violent ways, yet the media persists.

What's more, I decided to go back and do a little checking for his comments in the New York Times when he said "we didn't do enough" in regard to the Weatherman Underground's bombings and terrorist activities, and I found it - it was published on Sept. 11, 2001, which means the interview was conducted days or weeks prior to the 9-11 attacks.

However, this truth doesn't fit into the media's meme of painting Ayers as a man who, after the Sept. 11 attacks, said "we didn't do enough." Oops! I guess their characterization was off by a day. Again, a fact ignored by those on the right who were trying to smear Obama.

I admire Ayers' past and previous activism (sans the bombings), and I'm not going to try and judge a man who tried to make a difference to end a war that was killing countless innocent people. I look forward to reading his book.

Pinch me, because I must be dreamin'...

(And I'll probably type the above an infinite number of times between now and the middle of 2009, at the earliest)

Sorry for all of the recent inactivity on here - I've had one of the busiest and exhausting weeks in recent memory. Anyway, back to politics...

It seems that there's at least one journalist over at Fersatz News who has a shred of credibility, and his name is Sheppard Smith. Check out the exchange in the video above between Smith and Nick DiPaolo:

DiPaolo:...the MSM being so in the tank for Obama...

Smith: Oh, please. That's preposterous. The MSM reflected what was happening in this nation. It did not drive it. The blogs didn't drive this movement, the media didn't drive this movement. Barack Obama did not lose this election. It was his to lose. It was not John McCain's to win. The Republicans had no shot unless the Democrats gave it to them and they didn't and to blame the media is a cop out and ridiculous....

DiPaolo The MSM has been liberal since its inception. It's years and years of pounding...

Smith: How did George Bush win twice?

DiPaolo: I don't know. Karl Rove is a genius.

DiPaolo misses two key points: 1. Both elections were stolen, and 2. If Karl Rove is such a genius, then why didn't McCain's Swiftboating of Obama prove feckless? The answer is simple - America wasn't falling for it this time.

Maybe, just maybe, the GOP meme of blaming the media for all bad news and events that are unfavorable to Repubes will die with Obama's victory. Okay, now I am dreaming, but this strategy has been in play since the days of President Nixon, who so hated and despised the media.

And I guess that DiPaolo must have been asleep while the media raked Obama over the coals about these topics:

1. The bogus madrassa story (endlessly pimped by Fersatz News until debunked by CNN and some other networks)
2. William Ayers
3. ACORN (porn for Republicans)
4. His alleged ties to anti-Israel radicals
5. Insinuations that he isn't a US-born citizen
6. "Lipstick on a Pig" and the associated accoutrements shouted about by McCain and his enablers
7. Jeremiah Wright (for eight straight days on Fox, MSNBC, CNN and just about every other major news network when the story first went "national" after weeks and weeks of pimping by Fox, Limbaugh and Hannity)
8. The smear about Obama's aunt the weekend before the election
9. Then there's Rashid Khalidi - another phony guilt by association story that failed to stick just days before the election
10. One of my favorites (these are in no particular order) - McCain huffed that Obama hadn't been to Iraq and that he hadn't been to Afghanistan in years; once Obama went, then McCain and conservatives whined about Obama's press coverage, saying lamely that Obama was taking a "victory lap"
11. And who in the hell can forget Joe the Plumber, the Kato Kaelin of the 2008 campaign. I'll have much more on Joe a bit later.

###

What's more, up until a few years ago, McCain used to joke that the media was "his base." I guess I'd feel that way, too if the press ran up the flagpole whatever I decided to call myself without questioning it, i.e. - Maverick, Straight Talker, etc.

I have to agree with Sheppard here - the media wasn't necessarily rooting for Obama - it was merely reporting just how inept the McCain campaign was. When Sarah Palin wasn't even able to answer basic foreign policy questions, while asserting that being able "to see Russia from Alaska" gave her foreign policy expertise, then McCain and Palin merely got the coverage they deserved.

What's more, there was plenty that the media failed to explore - Sarah Palin's known links to the independent Alaska movement, McCain's many flip flops on a variety of issues, etc.

But, hey, whatever - who's whining? Not me - McCain got whupped. But, that's not going to stop the right from whimpering like babies for weeks (months? years?) on end. I'm getting a particular kick out of listening to Hannity, O'Lielly, Rush, Drudge and the rest all scrambling to discredit Obama, because for the next four years (and hopefully eight), they will have nothing better to do. They don't have ideas of their own - they merely want to tear Obama down. I hope the president-elect and his team will be prepared for it.

I know I am and will be.

As I've told countless friends and acquaintances since election night - our work is not over - it's just beginning.

A lil' Real Time for your Sunday morning

Bill Maher's final New Rule on his show Friday night is one of the best I've ever heard him deliver:

And finally New Rule, now that you've lost Republicans have to agree not to waste everyone's time spending the next four years screaming for investigations of Barack Obama over made up bulls#*t. Let's not kid ourselves. The hard core Republican base is like a stalker. Rejection just makes them crazier. You think Matt Drudge was a vindictive p#%ck before. His headline Wednesday morning was Senior Citizen and Woman Beaten By Black Man. [...] And wait till you see Ann Coulter's new book, How to Field Dress a Liberal.

You know there's loyal opposition and then there's just opposition. Let's not do the 90's again except for the part where we have peace and prosperity. You know there was an entire industry back then dedicated to making Bill Clinton's life miserable over expensive hair cuts and old land deals and the Lincoln Bedroom and getting blown. But this ain't the 90's.

We've got two wars, a melting planet and the only thing keeping the economy from total collapse is Sarah Palin's shopping sprees. But you know what phrase I don't want to hear used frivolously for the next four years whenever Barack Obama forgets to put the kids in the car seat? Disrespect for the rule of law. Dick Cheney ordered prisoners tortured by name. That ship has sailed.

I don't want to hear Sean Hannity say that "Barack Obama announced that his daughters will be getting a puppy. A puppy from where? Probably a chihuahua that came in from Mexico illegally. And how do we know this isn't a dog that pals around with terriers?

You know when Obama starts a preemptive war and then f%#ks it up and makes torture our official policy and outs a CIA agent and purges US Attorneys and tries to put his cleaning lady on the Supreme Court and doesn't act on global warming and appoints at the head of FEMA an ex-d*#do salesman who was his college roommate, you know, that kind of stuff, believe me I'll be with you.

But until then I don't want to see Republicans freaking out if Obama isn't singing the National Anthem loud enough or they find out he gets his suits made in France. If he puts a moon roof in the Presidential limo, he's not making himself Fuehrer. He's just trying to get the smell of stupidity out of the seats. And mostly I don't want to hear about ACORN. Your guy lost by eight million votes. Just because you don't know any black people doesn't mean they don't exist.

So that's it. No Special Prosecutors. No trumped up investigations. If Republicans who really want to look into something for the next four years, my suggestion, try a mirror.

Don't hold your breath on Hannity, Bill - the neocons have already kicked the hate machine into overdrive, which is saying something, considering the number of blatant lies put forth by McCain and his enablers during the campaign.

My not-so-bold prediction is that Obama's victory will do plenty for hate radio - narrow minded people who don't want to give Obama a chance and who so despise him will jump into the metaphorical arms of Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Bill O'Lielly, Matt Drudge, etc. We'll see.

Bonus:

How can you not laugh at the above footage of Fox News announcing that Barack Obama has won the presidency? It doesn't get much better than this, & it's pretty telling that the network called the presidential race in this way. Heaven forbid that a Fox personality be associated with declaring Obama president. And the network (and the right) wonder why Obama has shunned the network.

Some funny revelations about McCain & Palin

I'm continuing to do post-mortem stuff about the election, and I have a few more pieces to bring you, just in case you haven't seen them. (Or even if you have - they are that good.)

Of all the losing tickets in recent memory, the Palin-McCain McCain Palin ticket has got to be the most hilarious. As it turns out, they both were as inept as many of us thought they were.

First, McCain: I've been writing it for some time now, and it bears repeating once more - McCain's choice of Palin disqualified him for being fit to serve as president. It now can be safely said that McCain either a. didn't vet Palin at all, or b. the campaign's vetting process was so hopelessly inept that staffers didn't even bother to adequately interview her. What else can we conclude? The video above offers up some great stuff. According to Fox News Channel (yes, you read that right), some of the Palin lowlights included:

-Not knowing which countries were in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

-Not knowing that Africa is a continent, not a country

-Temper tantrums and abuse of staff

-Refusing to prep for the Katie Couric interview, which by anyone's definition was an unmitigated disaster

-Oh, and then there's the clothes. I particularly love this point, because the right had a lot of fun for days on end following the revelation that former Sen. John Edwards was getting $400 haircuts.

Of course, Palin has a reputation to protect, since she obviously is eying a run for national office in '12, or maybe even sooner if a special election is held in Alaska for soon-to-be-former Sen. Ted Stevens. So, to protect that reputation, she has lashed out at her detractors.

From HuffPo:

"I consider it cowardly" that they did not allow their names to be used, she said.

Palin said those allegations aren't true. She recalled discussing Africa and NAFTA with aides who prepared her for the vice presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden.

"If there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA, and about the continent vs. the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context," she said. "That's cruel, It's mean-spirited. It's immature. It's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news. It's not fair, and it's not right."

That's a typical escape hatch that embarrassed people always use to deflect attention away from the embarrassment - that they were taken "out of context."

Quite frankly, had Palin's very few interviews not been so disastrous, maybe this stuff would be harder to believe. But, she couldn't even have a basic discussion about what she liked or didn't like about the Bush Doctrine. "What part, Charlie" will forever live on in election lore.

And if Palin is truly going to be the face of the Republican Party moving forward, the only danger to Democrats is overconfidence, because she's a complete disaster. Talk about judging a book by its cover. One of the right's hate messages about Obama was that with his experience, the only reason he was having electoral success is because he's black. (Which, by the way, is total b.s. - his education, knowledge and know-how have put him where he is - for instance, compare his educational background with those of McCain and Palin, and in about 10 seconds it'll pretty obvious to you who took his education seriously, and who didn't.)

Anyway, it's soo obvious that Palin was picked for her looks, and little else. I'm still laughing that one of my friends, a few weeks after Palin was selected for the ticket, said he was more excited about Palin "than any Republican since Reagan." Maybe I should ask him if he cares to revise that statement, since he did about as much research on Palin as the McCain campaign did.

Obama's first presser as President-Elect

Here's footage of President-elect Barack Obama's first press conference. (I never get tired of typing and saying President-elect Barack Obama - in a little over two months, saying President Obama will be second nature [easier for some of us than others], but for now, it's new, and I'm still reveling in Obama's victory.)

I think Obama sounded just the right tone in his first press conference. Most importantly, he emphasized that we have "one president, and that is President Bush until Jan. 20."

I'm also thankful for the 20th Amendment, the "Lame-Duck Amendment"; otherwise, we would have had to wait until March 4 for Obama to take office. And we really can't wait that long until Bush is gone. In fact, I hate it that we have to wait until Jan. 20.

There were not big surprises during the question-and-answer session following Obama's remarks, but I found this answer particularly encouraging:

QUESTION: Senator, for the first time since the Iranian revolution, the president of Iran sent a congratulations note to a new U.S. president.

I'm wondering if, first of all, if you responded to President Ahmadinejad's note of congratulations and, second of all, and more importantly, how soon do you plan on sending low-level envoys to countries such as Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, to see if a presidential-level talk would be productive?

OBAMA: I am aware that the letter was sent. Let me state -- repeat what I stated during the course of the campaign.

Iran's development of a nuclear weapon I believe is unacceptable. And we have to mount a international effort to prevent that from happening.

Iran's support of terrorist organizations I think is something that has to cease.

I will be reviewing the letter from President Ahmadinejad, and we will respond appropriately. It's only been three days since the election. Obviously, how we approach and deal with a country like Iran is not something that we should, you know, simply do in a knee-jerk fashion.

I think we've got to think it through.

But I have to reiterate once again that we only have one president at a time. And I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president and I won't be until January 20th.

We can only guess as to why Ahmadinejad sent Obama a note of congratulations, but if he thinks that Obama is going to be rolled over and an easy mark, he had best think again.

William Bennett: another neocon with a warped sense of race relations

I forgot to get to this one following the election, but it's no less relevant.

Want to know why I no longer watch CNN? The network's employing conservative stooges like Glenn Beck (who will predictably move to Fox News in January) and GOP stooge William Bennett is one of the bigger reasons.

On election night, listen to this exchange between Bennett and CNN's Anderson Cooper (the latter being one of CNN's few bright spots):

Anderson Cooper: I mean, if he does become president, and it still is an if, does anyone know what this means in terms of change of race relations in the United States, or perception of?

Bennett: Well, I'll tell you one thing it means, as a former Secretary of Education: You don't take any excuses anymore from anybody who says, "The deck is stacked, I can't do anything, there's so much in-built this and that." There are always problems in a big society. But we have just - if this turns out to be the case, President Obama - we have just achieved an incredible milestone. For which the rest of the world needs to have more respect for the United States than it sometimes does.

Hmm, let's see, Obama will be our 44th president, and since we've had one in 44, now centuries of bigotry, racism and discrimination will all just magically melt away, right?

Here's another thought - maybe in regard to race relations, specifically Republicans, the rest of the world has a noted lack of respect because people like Karl Rove and Bennett himself have been proponents and architects of political tactics that have made it more difficult for African-Americans to vote or to have their vote count once it's cast. Or maybe it's the noted lack of African-American Republicans in Congress; the last time I checked, there were no black GOP Senators, and I with the retirement of J.C. Watts in 2003, there aren't any black Republicans in the House, either.

But, now that Obama has won the presidency, people like Bennett are quick to try and take the credit, but people of his political ilk so strenuously opposed his candidacy in the first place.

Pretty amazing, even by Bennett's often asinine standards and justifications.

Nader asks if Obama will be an Uncle Tom

There are many things I like about Ralph Nader during his long career in consumer activism - he's done a great deal of good and raised a number of important issues by exposing numerous cases of malfeasance in corporate America.

However, politically? Forget it. I'll always consider him a traitor for what he did in 2000 - it's not an understatement to say that President Bush is where he is today as a direct result of Nader. But, political fortunes have ways of reversing, and Nader hasn't gotten any traction since then, thankfully. He ran for president again this year, and I think I received more votes for president than he did.

Anyway, he was on Fox News the day before yesterday to talk about his comments on Fox Radio that were as follows:

To put it very simply, he is our first African-American president in this country, or he will be. And we wish him very well. But his choice, basically, is whether he's going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.

I understand Nader's point, but did he really need to use racially charged language like that. Really classy, Nader, really classy.

As Nicole Belle said so succinctly on Wednesday, it's pretty bad when Shepard Smith of Fox News looks classier than you do, Nader.

And by the way, I don't disagree with all of Nader's points, specifically when he mentions how manufacturing in this country has been parceled out to dictators in third-world countries, but there's a right way and a wrong way to go about making a point. When you use racist phrases, your message, however sage it might be, gets lost in lots and lots of noise (as it should be).

Shame on you, Ralph Nader.

Joe Scarbourough: another partisan hack

Of all the Republican talking heads in our mainstream media, specifically TV, I've largely felt that Joe Scarborough is one of the more reasonable ones - not a ridiculous, babbling buffoon like Bill O'Lielly.

But, the Republican infighting has begun, as well as conservative pundits' criticizing and castigating Obama's every move as he sets up his administration. After all, the GOP just got pwned a few days ago, and the party and its supporters are fightin' mad. This is to be expected - I remember not-so-fondly in 1992 when then President-elect Clinton's transition team weathered similar criticism, but right-wing hate radio wasn't anywhere near the size it is today, and there were fewer Sean Hannitys back then.

A few mornings ago, Joe Scarborough wasted no time criticizing Obama's choice for White House Chief of Staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL-5). On his show, Morning Joe, Scarborough laughably compared Emanuel to former disgraced House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Seriously, Scarborough said it -- with a straight face.

So, Scarborough is comparing DeLay, a former member of Congress who is under federal indictment (and who is also tied to the Jack Abramoff scandal), to Rahm Emanuel, who has a reputation of being a tough political fighter and effective fundraiser? The last time I checked, Emanuel has not been involved in, accused of, or indicted of any crimes.

It would be a compliment to accuse Scarborough of using political hyperbole to disagree with an appointment, but calling it mindless, stupid partisanship would be more accurate.

Here's hoping that Obama has learned the lessons of the Clinton presidency, and that's to aggressively fight back against partisan smears, slanders and innuendo. As president, I realize Obama can't get distracted every little criticism, but Clinton allowed some blatant lies and distortions put forth by the right-wing media to fester, which in some cases proved an old maxim true: If you repeat a lie long enough, often enough and forcefully enough, people eventually start to believe it.

And by the way, what's with every Republican pundit having a fetish about President Jimmy Carter? (Sort of like their fetish with Ronald Reagan.) Carter's the president they point to when they are trying to make a political point. I'll go to my grave believing that Carter wasn't nearly as bad of a president as people make him out to be. Sure, he made plenty of mistakes (the Iranian hostages), but he also did a great deal of good, too. That's okay though - because Democrats will now have a president (George W. Bush) it can point to for decades when they want to make political points on the other side.

Let's bid these a not-so-fond farewell

Now that the election is over, here are a few phrases, words and people I could go, oh, the rest of my life without hearing about or from, ever again. ...

• My friends!

• Straight Talk (These two are probably toast, as the sun is setting on McCain's political career. He may run for reelection in '10, but that'll be about it).

• You betchya!

• Joe the Plumber, or Joe Six-Paayack, or Joe _______. Why oh why does the media have to dwell on these inane sayings in every election? I still remember Al Gore's "lock box" and George W. Bush's "fuzzy math" from 2000 - they were every bit as annoying. Happily, most of these fade from memory.

• Hockey Mom (Is Palin really a hockey mom, by the way? Which one of her kids plays hockey? I don't think any of them do, but I might be wrong. And I don't care enough to go find out.)

• Change

• Hope (See? These aren't all from the Republican ticket, either)

• I'm ___________, and I approve this message.

• Bill Ayers (No one cared during the election, and most certainly no one cares now)

• Jeremiah Wright (See Bill Ayers). Bill Maher put it best last week - only stupid Republicans could accuse Obama of being a Muslim while simultaneously accusing him of being indoctrinated by Wright for 20 years, in a Christian church.

• Swing State

• Undecideds

• Lipstick, Pit Bulls & all of that associated crap

• First Dude (Beyond stupid)

• Flag Pins

• Madrassa

• Socialist (Okay, so some of these are wishful thinking, and will no doubt return like an ugly cold sore in '10 and '12, but it doesn't hurt to wish, does it?)

• Maverick - McDrilly stopped being one of these about a decade ago, if he ever was one.

• Pork - This sounded great for the voters, but McCain has voted for his share ($700 billion bailout bill, anyone?), and Palin's middle name is Pork, something the corporate media willfully ignored.

• Drill, Baby, Drill - What a perverse joke played on the American people by Palin. We couldn't drill our way to energy independence if we had five times the amount of oil we have in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf, but Sarah Stupid never let facts get in the way, and the press sure as hell didn't force her to. She wants to drill because it boosts her popularity ten-fold in her home state; residents get a share of the profits in the form of a fat check every year from all of the oil pumped out of the ground. Speaking of which, Alaska is a shining example of socialism - spreading the money around to Alaskan citizens. I guess if I lived up there, I'd want to drill in ANWR, too - it would merely fatten my check every year.

• Bristol, Trig, Track, Frig, Twig and Tweedle, or whatever the hell the Palins decided to name their kids. Poor bastards.

• Elizabeth Dole - Go help your husband use his Viagra, you hate mongering, mean-spirited wench. I haven't hooted and hollered this much over a politician's career going in the toilet since Newt Gingrich. Or Tom DeLay.

• Ted Stevens - He won't serve any time in jail, but his Senate career is over. Boo Hoo - he was and is a big proponent of a "tiered Internet," and he was also a poster boy for pork. But, thanks to his (maybe) narrow victory in the Alaska U.S. Senate race, we may have to endure Sarah Palin in the Senate. That will be high comedy.

• And lastly, Palin herself. I can't remember anyone in my lifetime who has been less qualified to be on a presidential ticket. Even Dan Quayle gave interviews and could at least spout off his party talking points. Okay, he couldn't spell, but still, you get the point.

Speaking of Palin, I've got some great video I'll post in a bit.

A few election day pictures...

I thought I'd share a few pictures from yesterday, since it was such a memorable day. Of all the presidential votes I've ever cast, and yesterday was my fifth, the one I cast yesterday is the one I'll remember 50 years from now if I'm still living then, God willing.

God, I take a horrible picture, but I just had to take a few pics in the voting booth. (My nose really isn't that big.)

Here's a picture of me casting my vote - I took it just for fun - for posterity.

I made up some custom Obama glasses, that I plan on wearing to Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009. We are definitely going - we don't live that far from D.C. and this is a historical event not to be missed.

My friend JJ, one of the smartest and best Democrats I know, got in on the act, too - I sent her a pair, and she helped nail down York toward the central part of Pennsylvania.

Our cat Butter got in on the action, too, but unwillingly. As I always say, he's an unwilling Fanimal, but that doesn't prevent me from trying. My favorite time with him was when Michael Nutter was running for mayor of Philadelphia - Butter for Nutter. Our crazy cat has a 2-0 record with candidates he's endorsed, so politicians will undoubtedly be actively seeking his endorsement in '10 and beyond.

The celebration continues...

I'm still decompressing from yesterday, and the euphoria from today - I can't think of a day in my life where I've felt happier; there are others that run a distant second - Clinton's win in November '92 when I cast my first vote for president was pretty sweet, as was the day that Clinton was acquitted in the Senate. But, other than those two, nothing else even registers on the radar.

I live in Philadelphia, and last night was like the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series all over again - I could hear car horns honking and shouts well into the night. It definitely was a night I will remember until my dying day. I told a few people today that "now I have a hint of how my parents felt when President Kennedy was elected." Again, I have no other parallel; nothing to compare it to. There's been no one else in my lifetime with the charisma and promise of Barack Obama. I would put President Clinton as approaching that category, but his potential was unfulfilled in a lot of ways because of his personal foibles. Let's hope and pray that Obama doesn't share a similar political fate.

I have some pictures from yesterday that I'll post in a minute, then back to some more serious stuff.

VICTORY! YES -- WE -- DID.

I couldn't be prouder to be an American than I am right now. I haven't typed for a little while, because I just wanted to soak it all in. It's been quite a day in so many respects. I'm pretty happy to say that maybe some of us (including me) were very wrong about the vote being hacked, and that's a good thing, but I certainly hope that in the wake of a non-contested presidential election that wasn't all that close vote wise, we don't lose sight of the fact that we are in desperate need of election reform. But, more on that in the coming days and months.

Here is the full footage of Obama's acceptance speech - truly inspiring words from a man who will soon be known as President Obama.

This was one of the best speeches I've heard him give; the right mix of toughness toward those who wish us harm, and even some words of bipartisanship to his opponents and to those who didn't vote for him.

Tonight's Obama victory was a clear sign that America is disgusted and tired of the politics of old - the slash and burn, conquer, divide and marginalize mentality that's been used too often in the past 30 years to win elections. I really do hope that Obama means what he says - especially when he said, in so many words, that he wants to move beyond these 20th century political clichés.

I heard someone say this tonight on MSNBC, I think it was Doris Kearns Goodwin, who stated that she hopes the Obama administration doesn't make the same mistakes that Clinton did in his first 100 days. Amen to that - I certainly hope and pray that he surrounds himself with good, decent, competent people. What's more, I hope Obama doesn't let his guard down against those who wish to destroy him, because these people will not take a break from trying to tear him down. (Getting some advice from President Clinton about how to effectively combat the right-wing noise machine wouldn't be a bad idea.)

Sen. John McCain's speech was pretty magnanimous, and good on him for that. I watched his words with more than a touch of sadness though; I really would have considered voting for that version of McCain had he run this year. Unfortunately, I never got to vote for that McCain. Many of McCain's mistakes, gaffes and missteps were self-inflicted, from his selection of Palin to the political gutter through which he crawled in trying to win the presidency.

McCain is a true American patriot who I have no doubt loves his country. Too bad that he accused Obama of otherwise during a hard-fought campaign.

As for Sarah Palin - I have no use for her, and I have very little respect for her, because quite simply, she hasn't earned any, period. She was McCain's attack dog, an ill-advised role for her, and one that will take a long time to wear off in the eyes of wary independents and Democrats, too. If she's the face of the future of the Republican Party, then that party is going to have a lot of trouble over the next decade or so. And speaking of her face, I will go to my grave convinced that if she were an average looking woman, she would still wallowing in obscurity as the Governor of Alaska.

How many days until the '12 election again? Just kidding.

Now, the real work begins.

PA delivers! I LOVE my blue state right now!

As a life-long resident of Pennsylvania, I've done my fair share of bitching, whining and complaining about many things about my state. Our roads suck. Our Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has got to be the dumbest government idea since anti-sodomy laws.

But, you know what? Pennsylvania has gone for every Democratic Nominee since 1988, when George H.W. Bush carried the Keystone State.

Of course, we're being subjected to lots of babbling, talking and analysis by the talking heads, but I agree with them on their point (on MSNBC) that Sarah Palin did not sell well in the Philadelphia suburbs. I know many, many people in the 'burbs who were appalled at McCain's choice of Sarah Stupid. Just wondering how Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider is feeling after pulling the asinine move of having her drop the puck on opening night. Nice try.

I also wish I could get into the head of failed GOP hack Brian Tierney, who heads the corporation that owns and operates the Philadelphia Inquirer, who reportedly had a heated battle with editors over who the paper would endorse. The result? A dual endorsement. Yes, you read that right. So much for Tierney's pledge to "not interfere with the editorial content" of the paper.

One other quick note about the preliminary poll results: in Pennsylvania, Hillary supporters are going for Obama in overwhelming numbers in the state, 81%-19%. That has to exceed even the most optimistic expectations of the Obama camp.

Just wondering - Hillary Supporters for McCain - where are you now?

Olbermann's final campaign Special Comment

Geeze, I'm going to miss Keith Olbermann's Special Comments on the election - above is video of his last one. Of course, not to worry, though, because there's plenty of other things to get his dander up, including 77 more days of Bush rule before he rides off into the sunset and back to Texas to his faux ranch.

Anyway, earlier today, Olbermann pondered an interesting question - if Obama had made the same gaffes that McCain has made during the last three months, what would have happened?

Take it away, Keith:

We all know exactly what would be happening tonight if Senator Obama had made all those mistakes, contradictions, gaffes, Freudian slips, and hypocritical pronouncements. He would have long since ceased to be taken seriously by any measurable part of the voting public, as a viable, responsible, self-aware, mentally vigorous, non-dangerous, non-risk. We'd all be going home to our beds well before midnight tomorrow night.

But while all that is hypothetical, this is not: This cascade of incompetence and irresponsibility I have enumerated tonight -- all the sound bites, all the foot-in-mouth moments, all the no-brainers-gone-wrong - all these, John McCain has said. No hyperbole and no hypotheses are required.

This is who John McCain has showed us he is.

I can't say it much better than that. Obama would have been toast had he even come close to McCain's ineptness on the campaign trail, which illustrates the white privilege that's been so evident in this election.

How so?

Just imagine if Barack Obama (or even Joe Biden) had a family in the same situation as Sarah Palin - an unwed teenaged, pregnant daughter? If you're really being honest with yourself, it's not hard to envision that the media would have roasted the Obamas and raked them over the coals.

Tonight, pay particular attention to the exit polls

I have to confess, I'm already more nervous watching the returns, even at this early hour, than I ever have been while watching any returns in my lifetime, and I've watched them all since 1980. Of course, since '80, there haven't been too many for Democrats to get too excited about.

Anyway, it just kills me that this point gets so little play in the media: why the exit polling sometimes varies widely from the actual results. Actually, there are many reasons for this - principally because the data isn't always interpreted correctly, but how about this one - votes not being counted correctly, and in some cases, the vote being hacked. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but there is plenty, and I do mean plenty of evidence that this will happen again tonight, much like it did in '00 and '04. Think about it - it's not complicated:

If 550 people out of 1000 vote for Obama, and answer that way in exit polls, one would suggest (with a margin of error for a variety of reasons, of course) that Obama would win, 55% - 45%, or something close to that. And exit polling is primarily how the networks project the winners of states. But, in '00, and to a lesser extent, '04, the exit polling proved to be inaccurate, and in some cases very inaccurate.

Here's hoping that this trend doesn't continue tonight.

Black Panthers in Philly do... nothing

One of the latest non-story right-wing stories: voter intimidation in Philadelphia. Of course, whenever I hear stuff like this, I always try to read about it and find out how true it is. (It's amazing how many on the right just repeat and comment on it without actually taking five minutes to find out if it's valid or not.)

For the record, I think brutal tactics on either side is inexcusable and should never, ever be tolerated. And I'm not nearly naïve enough to believe that all Democrats are totally noble and innocent when it comes to shady, underhanded campaign tactics. Trust me, this will be a running theme this week, because a post-mortem analysis will reveal lots and lots of nefarious voter role purges and voter suppression techniques. We can and we must get this fixed.

Anyway, the story in the video above turned out to be... nothing, despite it being pimped by the likes of Drudge and Faux News. I know this is a complete and total pipe dream, but I would really love to see the day that the networks would fact check first, speculate later never and report responsibly.

My saying the story was "nothing" isn't just speculation on my part. To wit:

Lovida Coleman from the McCain campaign was on Fox 29 News during the Fox Five O'Clock News and said, "I haven't seen any intimidation." The district attorney's office said that this incident was a "non-story."

Whoops - another non-story stirred up intentionally by the hysterical and increasingly irrational right-wing media in the face of certain and decisive defeat tonight, at least in Congress, and very likely for the presidency. Great reporting though, FNC - people just speculating and talking about a whole bunch of What-Ifs on the air for a few minutes. Why not just play Michael Jackon's Thriller or the theme music from the Twilight Zone?

A few voting reminders...

I know that this may be late for some of you who have already headed to the polls (you were smart to go early, & good on you for doing your civic duty), but I know that many of you will be going after work tonight. Here is my list of voting do's and don'ts for you to keep in mind before you head to the polls this afternoon and evening. And no, I'm not going to keep shouting the proverbial Get Out & Vote chat - if you need to be motivated to go out and vote at this point, I've got nothing for ya.

Anyway, here goes...

1. Be prepared to show ID! Depending on where you live and what state you live in, you may be asked to show a valid, photo ID in order to be permitted to vote. This is based on a Supreme Court decision from earlier this year. I won't get into the politics of it right now, but be prepared. Better yet, and I strongly advise this, bring a back-up photo ID just to be sure, as well as your voter registration card, and even a utility bill that proves you live at the address that your poll has on record.

Why this paranoia, you ask? Try this one - if your driver's license reads John Q. Doe, and your voter's registration reads John Quincy Doe, you may have been stricken off the voter rolls, and today might be the first day you're hearing about it. Yes, it's true - this is happening by the thousands around the country, and I hope, for once, no matter who wins this election, that our corporate media picks up on these absurd occurrences and this outrageous practice. Anyway, my point is, be prepared to defend your right to vote, and to even fight for your vote.

2. No one has the right to deny you your right to vote, if you are properly registered. If that happens, immediately call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report a voter problem. Please, for the love of God, walk out of your polling place disenfranchised (And I don't care who you are voting for). Depending on where you are located, there are many state resources at your disposal, too. It's a good idea to have these numbers with you before you head to the poll. Pick a major newspaper near you, and visit its Website before you leave to vote, and with a little poking around, you should be able to easily locate some numbers to take with you in order to safeguard yourself.

3. If all else fails, you can cast a provisional ballot, but only do this as a very last resort. As I type these words right now, there are still 100,000 provisional ballots that were never counted in Ohio during the 2004 election. In most cases, they are never counted.

4. Be prepared for very, very long lines. I know that in Pa., the lines have been crushing, and it's only 12:30 p.m. as I type this. If you can go during off-peak hours, do it - take a long lunch, whatever. Anytime after 4-5 tonight, and you're going to be waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Do what I'll do, just in case - bring a magazine, and your cellphone. It's amazing how many games of brickbreaker I can get in while waiting on line. (And catching up on e-mail with my Blackberry is always a welcomed opportunity.)

5. Once you get inside the voting booth, be very, very careful about what happens when you begin voting. There have been dozens and dozens of votes of machines flipping votes; in other words, you hit Obama, and the McCain light glows (I haven't heard any cases of the opposite happening, but it certainly is possible). Insist that your vote be counted correctly, period. Don't be pooh-poohed by a poll worker, let alone be intimidated.

Here's some video of it happening in West Virginia:

6. MOST IMPORTANTLY, DON'T PRESS THE BUTTON THAT SAYS "STRAIGHT TICKET" - for either All Republican or All Democrat. Please, if you listen to one thing I've written, please don't do it. There have been numerous reports of this happening in West Virginia and other places. PLEASE PUNCH IN YOUR DESIRED CANDIDATES INDIVIDUALLY, ONE AT A TIME. (Yes, don't you just love our electronic voting machines?) I know I do.

7. Don't forget an umbrella. I know, this isn't a huge thing, but inclement weather is expected in certain regions of the Mid-Atlantic this evening, especially in Philadelphia, where I'm located. Don't let the weather spoil your efforts.

8. Avoid wearing campaign paraphernalia to your polling place. I think this is beyond outrageous, but in some states, including Pennsylvania, you could be turned away and not allowed to vote if you're wearing anything political. It's an blatant violation of our free speech rights, but hey, we'll fight that battle after the election. Why get denied your vote because of a campaign button or t-shirt? It's just not worth it.

9. If you live in the Western U.S., even if the media begins calling states before your polls close (which aggravates me to no end, and I live in Philly, so I can't imagine how you feel), please, go and vote anyway. Your vote is still vital and critical for so many reasons, not the least of which are the many Propositions on many state ballots, as well as the Congressional races.

10. If you are on line when the polls close, you will still be allowed to vote, so if it's 7:15, and you know the line is going to be tremendous, please, go vote! Hey, it's just one evening, and tonight's not a good TV night anyway (at least for other shows!) - it's gonna be all election, all night, so you might as well do your part. The polls close at 8 p.m. in most states, and if you are on line at 8 p.m., you will be allowed to vote. (If you're not, again, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to let 'em know and to get the situation resolved).

Happy voting! It's a great feeling to get out there and to scream your voice from the mountaintops with the most potent weapon you have in a democracy - your vote.

As usual, I'll have much, much more tonight at my blog: www.CountMeBlue.org - stop on by - I would love to hear your comments.

GOP propaganda machine in high gear

This morning, I thought I'd drop by Drudge's Website Republican Homepage to see what sewage he's spewing in the face of a pretty dreadful day for this party. It didn't take me long to find stories & rumors that are a best wild distortions, and at worst made-up crap that plays into the GOP's PR fantasy machine. Right at the top of the page, I read the headline, "REPUBLICAN ELECTION BOARD WORKERS THROWN OUT IN PHILLY..." so I clicked on the link.

After clicking, I was taken to a site that I hadn't heard about in a long time and that I care about even less, Townhall.com, a right-wing site that is even more blatant than Drudge about everything from climate change to voter fraud to Obama's associations and Ronald Reagan's papacy.

Anyway, the story, entitled, "A Repeat of 2004 Philly Voter Chaos, Fraud," has so many holes in it, I won't try to debunk them all. But, one thing did catch my eye.

In 2004, Drudge breathlessly reported, without doing any reporting, mind you, that machines in Philadelphia had started the day with thousands of votes already rigged for John Kerry. The media in Philly was hot on this story for about 15 minutes, and it died a quick death - not a shred of truth to it, period. In the meantime, before the veracity of the story was revealed, I got a phone call that day from a very good friend of mine, indignant that Philly was rigging the vote for Kerry. It's amazing and stupefying to me that a total frickin' liar and partisan like Drudge drives the news cycle in this country. Maybe someday legit media will wake up to his partisanship, but I sincerely doubt it.

Fast forward to today, and here's how Townhall's story reads at the bottom:

The City of Brotherly Love was roiled in controversy during the 2004 election because of rigged voting machines that showed nearly 2,000 votes for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry before the polls had opened. A man also used a gun to intimidate poll workers at Ward 30, division 11 in 2004.

I know for a fact that no machines were rigged with extra votes for Kerry, so that gun accusation rings more than a bit hollow, too.

On to today's story... According to Townhall:

GOP Election Board members have been tossed out of polling stations in at least half a dozen polling stations in Philadelphia because of their party status.

A Pennsylvania judge previously ruled that court-appointed poll watchers could be NOT removed from their boards by an on-site election judge, but that is exactly what is happening, according to sources on the ground.

It is the duty of election board workers to monitor and guard the integrity of the voting process.

[...]

"Election board officials guard the legitimacy of the election process and the idea that Republicans are being intimidated and banned for partisan purposes does not allow for an honest and open election process," said McCain-Palin spokesman Ben Porritt in a statement to Townhall.

Before we rush to judgment about what's going on in Philadelphia, perhaps a legit media outlet ought to do some actual reporting vs. partisan sites like Drudge & Townhall making wild, unsubstantiated accusations about voting conditions on the ground there. As for the '04 recap, both sites are no doubt counting on low-information voters, many of whom will witlessly read and/or hear what Townhall and Drudge "reported" and assume that all of it happened in '04.

To be clear, I abhor voter intimidation and suppression of any kind of any party, and I would more than publicly condemn it if this is indeed what's happening in Philly. But, I'm just more than skeptical because many GOP hack sites lack so much as a morsel of credibility considering all of the lies and innuendos that were spread in '04.

What's more, this is a classic play from Karl Rove's playbook. As wholesale election fraud is taking place around the country (plenty of reports are already coming in about it, and I will write about this at length later today and tonight), the right cooks up a story about poll workers being ousted in Philly, and that gets all the press. Well, it's not going work this time, at least if the Obama campaign has anything to say about it, and here's betting that it has plenty to say.

Great video captures the voting spirit

This is a tremendously cool video that really captures the spirit and essence of what today is all about - undoubtedly our most important day as American citizens. And yes, I mean even more important than April 15. The above video is incredibly well produced, and perhaps it even shoots a few holes in one of the more annoying clichés we have in our politics - that celebrities ought to just keep their mouths shut and not be political.

In two words - bull crap. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of musicians getting up and spouting off on their political beliefs at a concert where I've overpaid for a ticket (Hello there, Barbara Streisand), but just because someone gains fame, that doesn't mean they lose their right to have a political voice, and a damn loud one if they so choose.

Some day, when I'm famous (!), I'm sure I'll be much more political than I am right now, if that's even possible. But, I digress.

This is a pretty neat, uplifting video, for sure. And without doing a great deal of checking, I have to say that there appears to be mostly libs in this video, because the GOP has been doing all it can to suppress voter turnout and eligibility, so I doubt Republicans were even asked to be in this video. I'll have much more on voter suppression in the coming days, weeks and months. (Especially if there are shenanigans today, which is all but a certainty with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of voters all across the U.S.)

After the election, we really do need to do something about how votes are counted (and not counted) in our electoral process. We can't lose sight of this issue, or lessen our resolve once we have a new president. The way we elect our politicians is laughable and almost criminal, and we really need to do something about it.

Today's the day... so Just Do It!

Today is the day we've waited 2,882 days for, since the Supreme Court effectively declared George W. Bush president on Dec. 12, 2000 in its appallingly bad decision, Bush v. Gore (Sorry for bringing it up, but I have plenty of reasons to; more on that later today). All of those frustrations we can now take out on one of Bush's biggest allies in the Senate, John S. McCain III.

In short, no more speeches, and I won't take off on a long-winded, Joe Biden-like rant (I mean that affectionately) as to why you should vote today; if you found your way to my little island on the Internet, chances are you already realize the value of not only voting, but voting for the only candidate, by far, who can take us in a truly new direction, and that's Barack Obama.

I'll be back in a bit to post my "Do's and Don'ts" about going to the polls today - there's plenty of things you need to be aware of that you may or may not know. I'll be back in a little bit, so please check back throughout the day and well into the night tonight - I will have loads and loads of information, video, pictures, etc. to share.

From a blogging standpoint, I'm pretty excited, because this is the first election that I've had a blog.

More to come...

File this one away about Sarah Palin

Seriously, I don't know whether to be extremely happy or frightened that Sarah Palin is widely considered the "new face of the Republican Party" by many. She's proven over the last few months that there really isn't much that is out of bounds and that she won't say. Check out her comments at a campaign even earlier today - in it, she asserts that Democrats think that terrorists "are the good guys."

I've written it before, and I'll no doubt rewrite it over the next few days - McCain and Palin will do and say (and have done and said) just about anything to get elected over the last few months - reality and truth be damned. Yet, this is the woman that John McCain picked to be his running mate, while at the same time proclaiming of having the ability to "reach across party lines" and be bipartisan to get things done. Yes, I realize that this is the heat of a presidential campaign, but some bells simply cannot be un-rung.

We all need to remember comments like these in '12 (and beyond), when Palin undoubtedly makes a run for the U.S. Senate, or possibly even president. Because, most people won't remember 2008, when she made mindlessly partisan and hateful attacks against Obama, and when both her and McCain tried all they could do to divide America in order to win an election.

Sure, Obama has thrown some mud, too, but only to respond in kind to the attacks that he's endured. He had two choices - he could either take the "high road" completely, a la John Kerry in '04, or he could respond selectively as he did. I think, no matter what happens tomorrow, Obama took the wise course - responding to the more serious charges, and ignoring the more scurrilous ones. I think his strategy is about to pay off, big time.

Leading into tomorrow, I'm cautiously optimistic.

One of McCain's last, pathetic ads

This one was predictable times 10. The only thing surprising is that the GOP (Read: McCain) decided to run this ad so late. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. I've been seeing this ad multiple times during the last few days all over Philadelphia media outlets.

My guess? It will resonate about as well as Bill Ayers, Rashid Khalidi, the Madrassa Story, countless stories about the Obamas' patriotism, etc. In the end, I don't think it will mean anything, because none of it has anything to do with Barack Obama's PATRIOTISM or his ability to lead this country. We'll know very, very soon.

Download Slacker Uprising, for free

Michael Moore's new film, Slacker Uprising, is now available for free download all over the Internet, including Here. I started watching it yesterday, but I got pretty busy and only had time for a few minutes.

The movie is about Moore's tour of colleges in battleground states during the 2004 election, with a goal to encourage 18-29-year old youths to vote, and the tour's response. It looks like a pretty cool film - I'm looking forward to having time to watching the whole thing.

Like Moore or dislike him, the man affects change, and not many people can say that. Plus, the man's got balls - who can forget his Emmy acceptance speech, when he called out President Bush. He took a lot of heat for that, but anyone want to call him out on it now? Yea, I didn't think so.

The right, led by Drudge, is losing it

[Click for larger view]

As if we needed any more proof that the right, led by its assignment editor, Matt Drudge, is completely melting down and losing it in the face of a likely Obama victory tomorrow, take a look at Drudge's totally asinine headline on his site as of 9:30 tonight - one that accuses Obama of giving the finger to McCain by "congratulating" him.

In a word - pathetic.

Ready to misspell on day one

What dopes - I can't believe that the McCain campaign can't get its own ads right. Okay, we all make mistakes, but considering how expensive political ads are, you would think that staffers would want to make sure that they get the spelling right in their ads. Take a look at the above ad (which is otherwise pretty dumb, by the way - full of Repube distortions that should surprise no one by now) - at the very end of the ad, we see this image below:

It's pretty funny, I have to admit. It's a one-minute ad - it's not like there's a lot to review and proofread.

Hagan blisters Dole over "Godless" ad; it's over

We are just hours away from the political death of Elizabeth Dole, and I couldn't be happier. Last week, the Dole campaign ran an ad accusing Kay Hagan of being an atheist, and Hagan is striking back. The above ad hits it right on the money.

However, the best news is that Dole is sinking almost as quickly as Sen. Ted Stevens in the polls, so in about 24 hours, two of the country's most moronic, mean-spirited Republican senators will be wondering how it all fell apart.

Anyway, support Hagan in the final hours if you have the means - even a few dollars will help. I'm rooting for Hagan's victory, along with Al Franken's, almost as much as I am rooting for an Obama victory tomorrow.

Fred Barnes: early voters "poor, old"

Fred Barnes on FNC was a riot yesterday - he actually despises "early voting." Like that's such a bad thing - giving people more than 12 hours to vote - what a concept. It's little wonder that Republicans have openly and in most cases vehemently protested early voting in the 30+ states that have it. Why?

According to Barnes, "because voters might miss something." Oh really? Reading between the lines there, what they might miss are the last-minute, desperate attempts by the GOP and McCain to slime Obama with just about anything they can dig up, no matter how untimely or irrelevant it might be.

In the past week, we've seen or heard just about everything the right and McCain have been storing up for last-minute use - Bill Ayers, the "socialist" label, Jeremiah Wright (more on that in a minute), scaring people about his tax proposals, labeling him an anti-Semite, and on and on.

That, my friends (I hope we never, EVER have to hear that annoying phrase after McCain hopefully gets his butt whipped tomorrow) is why the GOP opposes early voting.

We absolutely, positively need to change how we elect our politicians after this election. It's tragic and appalling that immediately after a presidential election, we seem to forget just how broken the system is, until 3½ years later, when we all whine (myself included): "How can our election system be so screwed up?!?"

Oh, and Barnes' categorizing early voters as "poor, old people" is nothing more than breathtakingly ignorant, period.

TPM's Nov. 2 in 100 seconds

I love the work that the folks over at TPM do each and every day, but I got a particular kick out of this video - it's yesterday's campaign appearances, as well as the talking heads on Sunday morning, summed up in 100 seconds. (Hey, why watch all of those Sunday morning talk shows when you can get the highlights here?) Okay, I'll still watch them, but this is pretty good.

Shocker! McCain attacks Obama's patriotism

If you possibly had any doubt that the McCain campaign and its GOP enablers would throw every piece of garbage they can possibly dig up against Obama, let me disabuse you of that notion right now (and I've got some Enron stock to sell you, too).

At a campaign appearance this weekend, this is what the formerly honorable Sen. John McCain had to say about Barack Obama at a campaign appearance regarding Obama's patriotism:

"This has been a long campaign but recently we've learned more and more about Senator Obama. He said the other day that his primary victory 'vindicated' his faith in America. My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends. I've always had faith in it and I've been humbled and honored to serve it."

What a disgusting, despicable liar McCain is - I can't think of no other way to describe it. It's a blatantly deceptive and dishonest twisting of Obama's words. I can't speak for Obama, but I'm guessing that what he meant was that he felt a vindication about winning the nomination after having his name (literally) and his reputation being dragged through the mud for over six months (and since winning the nomination, it has continued unabated).

To its credit, the Obama campaign's response was swift and decisive:

"It's pathetic that John McCain would take a statement Barack Obama has been making for a year about his faith in the American people and distort it to attack his patriotism," spokesman Bill Burton said in response to McCain's attack Saturday. "Sadly, this is what we've come to expect from a desperate, dishonorable campaign that will say anything in a failed attempt to win this election."

Spot on, Burton, spot on. What was that statement that McCain said - something about how he would "rather lose an election than run a dishonorable campaign"? That statement, just like his campaign, is circling the bowl, faster and faster...

In my mind, the only way that McCain can possibly pull this out is if there is wholesale election theft, and it's not a given that the GOP won't successfully pull that off. I'll have plenty about that tomorrow, including a voting day To-Do list of things to keep in mind before you head to the polls, as well as resources for you to use if you run into any problems while there.

h/t C&L for the video

Affleck nails Olbermann, perfectly

Okay, a few more lighter pieces before returning to the serious political stuff. As any CMB reader knows, I'm a huge Keith Olbermann fan. But, even Olbermann can sometimes take things too far. He's offered up so much spot-on criticism of the Bush administration that we would not have otherwise heard in our mainstream media, he deserves a pass when his venom is a bit too much on a few selected nights.

Having said all that, his passion and bombastic outrage have made him ripe for a parody, and last night, Ben Affleck delivered. This was very, very funny.

I seriously doubt that Olbermann took this seriously. At least I hope he didn't; If anything, feeling the sting of an SNL parody gives one legitimacy and nothing more. Think about it - is anyone doing a parody of Glenn Beck these days? That's because he blows and few except the radicals on the hard right even pay attention to him.

Palin gets pranked by Montreal radio station

One more comedy piece before I get back to the serious stuff. This audio has been flying around the Internet for the past few days, so I thought I'd share it. A Montreal radio station called Sarah Palin a few days ago posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and... *Surprise!* Palin takes the bait... hook, line and sinker.

Honestly, if this is how she were to talk to any foreign leader, I shudder to think of her occupying the Oval Office for even 15 minutes. How she didn't pick up on the fact that this was a joke is beyond me. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but these guys made an ass out of her. The Palin campaign released a statement after the prank that basically said, "C'est La Vie." That's right, governor, that is life - it's not hard to get you out of your element of winking and talking about your family and what you allegedly "have done" to for Alaska. This woman has the depth of a mud puddle.

Maher's brilliant recap on the '08 campaign

On Friday night, Bill Maher's final show before the '08 election was a very good one. For me, the highlight of the entire show (as is often the case) was his New Rules, which, as usual, was a good mix of political opinion and humor. However, his last Rule was a spot-on assessment of the entire '08 election.

From the stupid, deranged girl carving a "B" in her face to flag pins to all of the lies spread about Obama, it's been one, long, remarkable soap opera. We don't have much longer to wait until the end of this episode, and as much as I love the political season, I'm happy the next episode will be four years from now. And I'm even happier that Bush will be out of office in under 80 days. It can't get here soon enough.

McCain on SNL: sorta funny

I have to give credit where credit is due - McCain's appearance on SNL last night was pretty funny, but hey, I'll take the credit away by saying it was just good comedy writing.

A few things I noticed - when McCain was talking about his celebrity connections, I noticed that he didn't mention Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Aww - poor baby.

I thought it was also entertaining that McCain described himself as "a real maverick - a Republican without money." He's right on that count. I find it hilarious listening to Republicans who are so quick to bitch and moan about the amount of money that Obama has raised; this is the first time in many, many presidential elections where the Democratic Nominee has outraised and outspent the GOP candidate.

Talk about money - anyone remember Bush's stupid labels that he gave his fundraisers in 2000 and 2004 - Pioneers, Rangers, Mavericks and Super Rangers? Only guys with the balls the size of Karl Rove and President Bush would give such prominent, public labels to their political donors. (Some of whom have pleaded guilty to politics-related crimes - Jack Abramoff and Thomas Noe among them.)

This is a typical GOP tactic - when the rules benefit them, there's no need for change (or complaining), but when the opposite is true, criticize your opponents for beating you at your own game.

All in all, it was a funny appearance for McCain. Will it win him any votes? I seriously doubt it, but stranger things have happened. At this point, people out there who still describe themselves as "Undecided" are simply letting themselves be convinced by the blatantly misleading ads being run by both sides of the campaign, but mostly by the McCain camp.

Below is McCain's appearance on Weekend Update, which was decidedly more lame.

Gallup: All signs point toward Obama

Happy Sunday morning, everyone. Here's hoping you enjoyed the extra hour of sleep; I just woke up an hour earlier. No complaints, though - it's more time to blog about one of the most important elections in recent American history - two days to go.

Anyway, despite what some GOP hacks are promoting - the idea that McCain is gaining on Obama - the polls are not bearing this out. Yesterday, Drudge pimped a one-day Zogby poll that had McCain ahead 48%-47%. One day? A pimple on the face of the electorate. Even this morning, Drudge has up a Zogby poll that puts Obama up by 6. In the national polls, Obama is up by an average of 7.8%, which is just a bit over yesterday. WaPo has a pretty revealing story about polls - in the last 159 national polls, Obama has led them all.

McCain seems to be narrowing Obama's lead slightly, including right here in Pennsylvania, but I believe it will be too little, too late. I'm not at all surprised that the race is narrowing, however - the last two presidential elections, nefarious vote counting tactics aside, have been very, very close, and I don't think this one will be any different. Of course, I would love to be wrong - I'd love to see Obama run away with it in a landslide, but I have my doubts about that.

We all have to keep fighting - e-mailing, talking to friends, donating some time on Tuesday or even donating a few dollars through Obama's Website. Remember, Obama will still need resources after Tuesday, especially if, heaven forbid, we have a replay of 2000, when the lawyers and ground efforts have to be dispatched if the election is disputed. So, even if you can spare $5, please donate.

There's some good news and bad news in the Senate races. On the bright side, Ted Stevens is going to get bounced out on his ass in his up north after being convicted on seven felony counts this past week; and Kay Hagan is leading the insipid, vapid Elizabeth Dole by five points after her despicable ads portraying Hagan as an atheist. A bit of bad news, though: Norm Coleman now has a small lead on Al Franken in Minnesota, and Saxby Chambliss is up by 5 in the latest polls over Jim Martin, BUT both races are still winnable by the Democrats, especially if Obama carries both states (he will in Minnesota, and he has an outside shot at carrying Georgia).

To that end, please support these Senate Democratic candidates (and of course, others, too) by clicking the links below giving a little bit of money. Even $5 can help to make a difference in the final days.

Jim Martin in Georgia
Al Franken in Minnesota
Kay Hagen in North Carolina

Getting 60 votes in the Senate would be a major plus to Obama if he gets in, and would obviously be useful in blocking some of McCain's more ridiculous proposals should he prevail on Tuesday.

Drudge propaganda in overdrive

[Click for a larger, more pathetic view]

You have to give GOP hack Matt Drudge credit - he is consistent. Consistently wrong, but consistent.

The latest example of his desperation and exasperation is how he mindlessly pimps polls numbers that are manipulated at best, and in most cases are flat-out wrong. According to every poll I've seen, Obama has a pretty good, but not insurmountable lead, on McCain.

According to Electoral-Vote, here are the latest polls (and the Votemaster updates polls every day):

- AP (Obama +8)
- Battleground (Obama +4)
- Diageo (Obama +7)
- Gallup expanded (Obama +9)
- IBD (Obama +4)
- Marist (Obama +7)
- Rasmussen (Obama +4)
- Research 2000 (Obama +6)
- Washington Post/ABC (Obama +9)
- Zogby (Obama +5)

So much for McCain "being in the lead." Just because Drudge puts it on his GOP talking-points site doesn't make it so. Unfortunately, many in our corporate media take their talking points right from his site, as if Drudge is some sort of journalist or something. By the way, what's with the McCain & Palin winking at every opportunity, as well as the right-wing media's obsession with portraying it? Someone needs to tell them that when you *Wink* in most cases it means that you're kidding, being devious, joking, etc. Wait - hopefully they keep doing it.

To look at the headlines, it's not too hard to conclude that like many McCain supporters, he's simply making shit up now to make Obama and the Democrats look bad.

We'll know in three days.