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November 03, 2008 04:25 PM UTC

Election Eve Open Thread

  • 91 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“The election isn’t very far off when a candidate can recognize you across the street.”

–Kin Hubbard

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91 thoughts on “Election Eve Open Thread”

  1. …that instead of looking forward to election day as a moment of change or renewal, we’ve drawn such stark ideological lines that both sides are forecasting an impeding apocalypse if the other side wins.

    I’m old, but I remember a morning in 1976 when my Dad woke me up and put me in front of the TV, so I could see President Gerald Ford read the quote “now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their Party.”

    It seemed like a quote directed at all of American, not just one Party…

    1. I have spent nearly a decade seeing upcoming elections as impending dark days. I worried that they would usher in years of war, and they did, years of starker divisions between the rich few and the impoverished many, and they did. I feared a time when our rights would be stripped away, our privacy invaded and our citizens taken to secret prisons to be tortured and where the rule of law only applied to the governed and not to those who held power and twisted every body of governance to the single goal of maintaining that power. I saw all of that come to pass.

      For the first time I see this election as a moment of change and renewal.

      Barack Obama will win, and there will be no apocalypse. I don’t think that the majority our nation expects anything else other than his leadership, and the return of our country to a more perfect union.  

      1. Listen to this. They should go to Murtha’s district and do the same thing.

        The people get their political education from Channel 9, Fox, CNN, CNBC and HBO. The apocalypse of the American mind occurred decades ago.

        1. It will be exciting to have Obama lead. I will watch three things: Will he set the right tone, will he set the right direction and can he tell Pelosi/Reid NO.

          If he succeeds, there is no reason the following Democrat President won’t appoint him as the next chief justice

          Come on, O’bama is a fine, clean and articulate young Catholic man.  

        2. Because as far as political reporting goes, they do NOT deserve to be on that list.

          If every political reporter had 10% of Adam Schrager’s conviction and ethical standards, the war in Iraq would not have happened, Bush would’ve been impeached (for a number of reasons) and the Bailout bill would’ve been DOA.

  2. http://www.salon.com/news/feat…

    From the article “Sundown on Colorado fundamentalists”:

    Sitting outside the sanctuary between the morning’s services, congregants worried about what might happen Tuesday. “I’m afraid Obama is going to change our country into a Muslim country,” said Melody Edwall, 51, a manager for an air carrier who lives in Colorado Springs. “I do. I’m afraid of him.” Edwall was pretty sure Obama wanted to change the country too much. “This is America — you don’t like it, leave,” she said. She’d heard Obama wanted to change the flag and the symbols of the country somehow. “He wants it to be this one big — I don’t know — it’s not America. It’s going to be something else, and I don’t know what it’s going to be.”

    At a table nearby in the church’s cafe, Dan Kauffman, 55, an engineer from Parker, Colo., told me the election would probably be close. “We’ve got a lot of people in this country who want to lead their individual lives, they want to be left alone by the government, and they call themselves conservative Republicans,” he said. “And we’ve got a lot of people who want the government to take care of them and be their God, and take care of them cradle to grave; they call themselves liberal Democrats. Right now we got a liberal and a socialist running for president, so who knows what could happen?” (That would be John McCain, the liberal, and Obama, the socialist, if you’re scoring at home.) A friend of his, Brenda McDowell, was decked out in a McCain-Palin button and a GOP scarf with elephants on it. She nodded as Kauffman went back and edited his pronouncement, noting that Sarah Palin was the only conservative on the national ticket. “She is totally awesome,” McDowell said. “She is us. And she’s a Christian.”

    1. we should ask, “Where’s your God now?”    These people want government to keep the Jews, the Blacks, the Mexicans, the poor and all the other ‘thems’ out of their neighborhoods and out of their schools.  They want other people to pay for their roads and sewers.  They’ll want other people, whose motives they constantly disparage and mock, to put out the fires that approach their subdivisions, hobby ranches, and mountain cabins.  And they’ll want other people to ensure their faith in the “real estate market.”

    1. if it hadn’t been for governor Palin.  The same sentiment applies to her and doubly so.  I’ll leave the second and third guessing up to the pros, but the reason you’ll call this the “best line of the campaign” and yet “no one will care about it at all” is that senator McCain’s experience argument evaporated by his own doing.

      1. He operates it without any government control or interference. To access the website you have to initiate a complicated series of levers and pulleys.

        1. Its something called my 1st amendment right. But until all the liberals start controlling government and instituting the fairness doctrine. Because that is respecting the Constitution (sarcasm).  

          2. If it’s so good, you can at least quote a bit of it here.

            BTW, that sentiment applies to people who just post little teasers like this with links to other sites. If it’s worth it, then it’s worth quoting a bit – see Canines’ comment above for a good example.

            1. to John Cusack’s great article over at Huffington Post today.



              No Currency Left to Buy the Big Lies

              Finally, some blue light, tectonic plate shifts, a sea change, we hear… a wave of despair carrying us to a new place. The bastards are finally meeting their grisly ends and will be discarded and abandoned as men come to power who will actually try to govern. I know we’re supposed to be civil but I’m not a real believer in this method when dealing with crimes.

          4. Somehow I think your total ClearChannel monopoly on radio, TV, etc. will keep your First Amendment rights protected.

            Unless you’re talking about Sarah Palin’s version of the First Amendment, in which politicians have to be protected from the “mainstream media” (like ClearChannel, Fox News, etc.).

    3. Yes, John McCain has years, many many years in both the House and the Senate.

      But what did he do with it? Up until 2000, he was a conservative I didn’t find too offensive, and seemed to be the moderate Republican that had a chance to govern from the Center if he got elected.

      Bush gets elected, and he surrendered his values and ethics to be Bush’s bitch in the Senate. He saw it coming in 2000 when the new tax cuts and budgets were being released, and even criticized the crony capitalism that Bush installed across the Federal Gov’t.

      And instead of “making them famous” he rolled over and begged for a place in the NeoCon parthenon. He could’ve been the common-sense guy in the Senate, Bob Dole-style, that would’ve kept things moving, all the while being a moderate check-and-balance on his own party.

      Instead, he sold his soul to the Rightest Right of the GOP, in exchange for a campaign that undercut what little credibility he had left. If McCain had stuck to his experience, and chosen a VP that would’ve appealed to the mass of Center politics (Jack Kemp, Turncoat Joe, Mittens) then this election would’ve probably been over by September.  

      1. If he loses tomorrow, you can bet Viagra will be knocking on the door for McCain to become to the newest spokesman.

        “My friends, change is coming…”

              1. I totally mis-read the word fighter.

                Anyway, maybe leaving her alone is why she stays.  I was looking for the clip from SNL with Walken doing a Viagra ad, couldn’t find it.  Something else…

      2. McCain’s only experience is as a protected scion from birth through the military career that wasn’t much of a success in spite of his status as the son and grandson of Admirals.  He wasn’t considered leadership material by the navy , was not on the Admiral track and went into politics.  His whole life has been government financed, lineage cushioned and  really bumped way up via marrying money.  

        He’s never been in charge of any business or organization.  The closest thing to managerial experience at an executive level he has ever had is his presidential campaign which has been awful with shake-ups and people having to be thrown under the bus and a confusing and ever changing array of messages, not to mention his so clearly putting politics first, country last by picking Palin.

        Obama has been a successful community organizer and the very successful executive head of a great, ground-breaking creative campaign.  All of the  top advisers have proved to be high quality people.  None got tossed.   So while neither one has executive experience in business or as a Governor, Obama’s natural executive talent has been obvious from the start  while McCain has demonstrated absolutely lousy executive skills, especially in judgement of quality people to delegate to.

        McCain endured as a POW with fortitude.   That doesn’t mean he knows more about wining wars or devising successful strategy than the next guy.   The surge is over.  It increased our hold on the tigers tail security-wise without solving the long term problem and all he can say for himself is that he was for the surge.  That’s the beginning and end of his claim to knowing how the hell to proceed.

        We’ve had 8 years of a knucklehead in charge.  Another knucklehead will just dig the hole deeper.  Let’s elect someone who ISN’T just as average as the guy on the next bar stool for a change.   Let’s elect a brilliant man surrounded by brilliant advisers.  Obama.  

        1. He hasn’t delivered on his potential and he gave in and adopted the strategy of the folks that dragged him down in 2000.  Whether or not his policies mirror president Bush’s is a ripe area for dispute, but trying to take it even further and paint him as something other than a man who has dedicated his life to public service is just the kind of overreaching Democrats should get used to avoiding.

          1. from his time as a bottom feeder in the Naval Academy to his career as a pilot known for stalling out his planes due to lack of study and attention through his failure to learn anything about economics or the complexities of terrorism and the interplay of the various sects, factions and nations involved in the Muslim world on the whole he has proved to be several cuts below average in anything other than the courage he showed as a POW.  He certainly has more courage than GW but has never demonstrated superiority in any other way.  

            1. But I think it wouldn’t be a horrible idea to follow the lead of senator Obama by winning on policy while showing respect.  That really oughta be enough to begin the celebration without trying to personally tear down someone who will never run again just for good measure.  Democrats are about to be bestowed with an amazing amount of power, and the ability to use it in a wise and measured fashion will determine whether they will be able to accomplish the changes senator Obama discusses or have it yanked away by the voters just as quickly as it was given.

                1. I just get exasperated by all this pointing to McCain’ssupposedly superior experience and leadership when I haven’t seen much evidence of either.  And there is certainly no evidence of a better than mediocre intellect and I think being smarter than the average bear is a good, not elitist, quality.

                  Also Rs tend to call it public service only when it’s an R who has been in Washington for decades.  When it’s a Dem it’s held against them.  And Rs didn’t show the slightest respect for Kerry’s long service, including bronze and silver star combat service.  But you’re right.  I should be more willing to rise above.

  4. To ignore the exit polling tomorrow.

    I’ll be doing GOTV so I probably won’t have access to those numbers, but let’s not have a repeat of the 2004 fiasco.

    1. won’t be released until each state’s voting closes. They’re compiling the data in a sealed room and, supposedly, the security is ironclad.

      But, because of East Coast polls closing by 5 p.m. Colorado time, we’ll have a pretty good idea what’s happening before the polls close here.

  5. And it has.  However, today, I really want to focus on the positive.  

    I remember in high school all the conversations about what would happen if Ronald Reagan won.  Discussions were stupid.  “His name has 666 in it”; “We will have WWIII, if he is elected”, etc. etc.  Well, none of that happened and 30 years later even the Dems quote Reagan.

    Barack Hussein Obama has made history, win or lose.  America as I see it is better.  Someone said to me they can not imagine another election with two old White guys ever again.  America, I am so proud of you.

    And I would like to give an honest apology.  I have been bothered by my bouts of anger during this campaign, however, this has been personal for me.

    For many of you this is the first discussion about race and how it affects your life.  For me and my family, we have had these discussions frequently and have had them for years.

    To sit around a dinner table with siblings who are White and blond, and siblings who bi-racial and siblings who are Black and dark-skinned, our conversations are intense.  We live America’s good and ugly everyday.  We are clear on America’s racial issues.

    My Dad would tell all of us, you never know how people feel about race.  For me, this was extremely hard seeing so many speak poorly about Barack because of his race.  Therefore, they felt the same way about me.  Some of these people I work with everyday.  And even worse, some I would call friend.  

    But today, I am reminded of remarks by Nelson Mandela, who upon his release from prison

    ‘I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’

    I am proud of being an American who has clear linage to our White and Black Heritage.

    I am proud to be a part of electing America’s first Black President and I am proud of all of the conversations we had, good and bad, angry or funny.  For those conversations have moved us, or should I say, they have moved me, changed me.  

    I am happy you all let me be a part of this unique discussion.  

    2. Out talking to people, canvassing, calling etc – I’ve yet to hear Obama’s race come up. His economics, his religion, his associates yes. But I think for an awful lot of voters his race truly has become irrelevant.

      Even down in Colo Spgs – they’re scared because he’s a “socialist muslim,” but hey, race has nothing to do with that.

      1. was a woman who believed Obama had “called us all Whitey” (as I mentioned here before). And this was in Boulder. So I think race is still an important factor.

        Most people are at least realizing that it’s rude to say such things out loud, so the racism is less overt, but it’s still there.

        1. I was born and raised there.  

          For all the talk of openness and people in the City government that pride themselves on being uber-PC, you’d better watch your ass if you’re African-American and you go to the mall with three or four of your buddies.

          And God help you if you play for CU and happen to be in a bar where a girl who you’ve never seen or met before gets so drunk that she ends up claiming you raped her.

          The football “scandal” of a few years ago was in my eyes, blatant racism.  Don’t get me started on that worthless fucking DAs office up there.

            1. I hear they may even vote for a [looks around] black man this year!

              Seriously, we all wish it were more diverse, and the fact that it’s not means there’s less racial harmony than we’d like. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the most racist place in the state.

    3. ethnic minorities and minority religions tell their kids and grandkids that in America anyone can grow up to be president we will no longer be selling a pretty lie.  Is that part of why I’m excited about Obama?  You bet and I’m not putting up with any accusations of reverse racism crap because of it. I would never vote for a candidate JUST because of race.  I would never vote for Lieberman just because he’s a Jew like me and to elect our first Jewish President or VP either.  I’d never vote for him period.  

      Obama is a great candidate and I believe he will be a great president and I’m ALSO thrilled that an Obama presidency will be a fulfillment of the promise of the ideals upon which this nation was founded and from which it was born, albeit in the original sin of slavery.  And if it happens, his being from the state of Lincoln will (knock wood, poo poo poo) make it even sweeter.

        1. I wasn’t crazy about him but certainly wasn’t going to vote against Gore and for Bush because of him.  I voted FOR Gore, nothing to do with Joe. He was also not the complete traitor he is today.

          If McCain had chosen him for VP, as he wanted to, I certainly would NOT have voted the McCain ticket just to get the first Jewish VP.  Just as most Dem women are not voting McCain just to get the first woman VP.  

  7. I am incredibly proud of the fact that our nation has come so far in race relations and in respect for ALL of our citizens that a person with such a name is poised to become the next President of the United States.

    I believe Obama will be like “Nixon in China”: he will be able to make changes that CONSERVATIVES will welcome.

    He will be a leader who doesn’t sit in the Oval Office cackling about how he plans to “spend” his “capital” but will instead display real leadership, appealing to our better virtues to actually get things done.

    As an American with a funny name myself, who always thought I could never be elected to office because of that, I really appreciate Obama’s optimism, courage and drive.

    2. That we elected someone with a middle name of Hussein, someone who many think is Muslim, someone who spent part of their childhood in Indonesia. Any one of these would have been a deal killer even 20 years ago.

      This country is not perfect, but it does make progress. And that’s awesome.

      1. As, I suspect, have most Americans.

        By the same token, the other candidate is divorced and remarried, has an adopted child of a different race (apparently a “deal killer” in South Carolina 8 years ago), and has a woman vice president.

        And the fact that his vice president was a woman wasn’t a liability at all: in fact, it would have been a plus if only the specific person wasn’t so deeply flawed as a candidate.

        We HAVE come a long way for the better.  

  8. He credited to The Unknown Pundit:

    Whoever wins will wake up on the 5th, look at the long list of huge problems we have, and will demand a recount.  

    1. I think Obama at least already knows what the basic problems are; in fact, I think he already acknowledged that being President wasn’t going to be a fun job this time around.

      No, Obama won’t demand a recount, but when his transition team gets plugged in and he starts seeing the true depth of the problems behind the scenes, he’ll probably wish he could ask the Electoral College to find someone else!

  9. Recently went to Disney World’s “Hall of the Presidents.” All those white males standing there. And George W. Bush doing most of the talking (yeccch) except for Lincoln.



    I imagine that the Hall will get quite a boost once Barack Obama is installed as the most recent President, and with Obama and Lincoln featured as the main speakers.

    I would love to see all the young kids of color coming to that exhibit and being inspired.

    Next up: a woman President! Maybe in 2016!

        1. Not long before my stepdad passed he was asking for me and I adored him.  I have always been so glad I went to see him that last time.  It’s not one of those things you get to do over.

  12. I assume most of you here aren’t fans of Kristol, but today he offers a slightly more light-hearted look at the election.  Take a look if you have a chance.

    I’m worried about my compatriots on the left. Michael Powell reports in Saturday’s New York Times that even the possibility of an Obama defeat has driven many liberals into in a state of high anxiety. And then there’s a young woman from Denver who “told her boyfriend that their love life was on hold while she sweated out Mr. Obama’s performance in Colorado.” Well, what if Obama loses Colorado? Or the presidency? As a compassionate conservative, I’m concerned about the well-being of that boyfriend – and of others who might be similarly situated. I feel an obligation to help.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11…

    1. I’m a little concerned how he plans to “help” the boyfriend who’s not getting any love from his lady.

      Seriously though, in regards to his article:

      why [liberals] should be cheerful if McCain happens to win.

      1. It would be a victory for an underdog. Liberals are supposed to like underdogs.

      2. It would be a defeat for the establishment. Obama’s most recent high-profile Republican endorser was D.C. insider Kenneth Duberstein. Liberals should be on the side of hard-working plumbers, not big-shot lobbyists.

      3. It would be a victory for the future… Liberals should therefore welcome a McCain win as a triumph of hope over fear, of the future over the past.

      4. It would be a victory for freedom.

      McCain the “underdog”? Obama the “establishment”? “Victory for the future” and “freedom”? This crap is supposed to make us feel better?

    2. The outside groups should have moved 2 months ago.

      Its too late–I don’t think there are “undecideds” at this stage.  

      I think there are “I don’t cares” and “I don’t want to tell yous”

      1. the anti-obama crazies throw a ton of cash against obama on cnn and msnbc to reach a bunch of political junkies who all voted two weeks ago when I did!   With enemies that stupid, Obama doesn’t need smart friends, but he has them to spare.  This, friends, is a sign of desperation on the far right.

    3. There have also been a ton of McCain ads, anti-Obama ads I should say, on AM 760.  Of course when you hear those ads while listening to Air America or watching Countdown or the Rachel Maddow Show, you can take some satisfaction in what a waste of money that’s got to be for them.  

      1. outspending Obama by 10 million today, or that was the goal.  

        I tried to source, but can only find it on liberal blogs.  Doesn’t seem like a stretch considering all that’s going on.  If you have it, why not?

  16. I hope this hasn’t been repeated elsewhere.  I am told that Starbucks is giving away free tall coffees tomorrow if you vote (refer to the slide show on their main page) and Ben & Jerry’s is doing free scoops of ice cream for voters (http://www.benandjerrys.com/features/i_voted/).  Talk about a disincentive to vote early!

    Finally, without really passing any judgment either way, I would like to point out that, earlier in this same thread, Libertad has engaged in rational, mature conversation unrelated to Amendment 47.

  17. Very classy

    My Friend,

    From the time I entered the Naval Academy at age seventeen I have been privileged and honored to serve my country.

    Throughout my years of service, I’ve been faced with challenges where I could have taken the easy way out and given up. But I’m an American and I never give up. Instead, I choose to show courage and stand up and fight for the country I love. Today, I am asking you to stand with me and to fight for our country’s future.

    Our country faces enormous challenges and our next president must be ready to lead on day one. My lifetime of experience has prepared me to lead our great nation. I’m prepared to bring solutions to our economic challenges, bring our troops home in victory and improve our nation’s healthcare system.

    Time and time again, my country has saved my life and I owe her more than she has ever owed me. I have chosen to show my gratitude through a life of service to our country and tomorrow, you will have a choice before you.

    I humbly ask you to make the choice that will allow me to serve my country a little while longer by casting your vote to elect me as your next President of the United States.

    Finally, I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom. It is my great hope that you will exercise your right to vote as an American tomorrow.

    I thank you for your kind support, your dedication to our cause, and most importantly I thank you for your vote.

    With sincere appreciation,

    John McCain

    1. This is just a campaign email. There is nothing classy about it.

      I’m thinking that you’re so focused on the negative that just returning to a somewhat civil level is “classy.”

  18. Their investigator thinks that she didn’t violate ethics and that the legislature’s investigator misunderstands the ethics laws.

    “There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters,” Timothy Petumenos, the Anchorage lawyer hired to conduct the investigation, wrote in his final report.

    If this investigator would have found her to be in violation, the complaint would have gone to the President of Alaska’s Senate.  Punishment, if any, would have been decided there.  I don’t know if the SP can still make a decision based on the first report, or if the second one trumps.

    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI…

    1. IIRC, the Personnel Board is controlled by Palin, who asked them to conduct an investigation when it became clear the Senate was looking at one, in hopes that the Senate would back down in the face of what appeared to be some action on the matter.

      The Personnel Board investigation was not supposed to be done until after the election.  I wonder what happened…  Hmm.

      1. Oh, wait.  When’s the election?

        Anyway, you do RC.  I was hoping that someone would release more information, I don’t have time to research it.  Obviously if she’s elected as VP, none of this will matter, but if she goes home it may.

        Despite the conclusions of Branchflower’s October 10 report, Palin declared that she had been “cleared of any legal wrongdoing” in the matter.

        It’s nice that they reminded us of that.  Best case this makes two times that she’s used the appearance of impropriety vs. conflict of interest argument.  Right, I’ve never been a Gov. or even a Mayor, but a deaf and dumb pig knows that in politics, it’s the always the former that matters.

  19. Dixville Notch, NH just reported their first-in-the-nation polling results, and Obama is the landslide winner!   With 21 votes cast, Obama wins 15-6.

    Okay, so it’s not a big contest.  Still, election junkies can rejoice!

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