Polling Down Hill
Going into my 3rd week in South Korea, I have to say my schedule has not gone the way I planned . I am still sort of disorganized at work which is why I haven’t started to post at least once a day which was my original goal this past week. This past weekend was choo-sook which is kind of like the Korean thanksgiving so there was lots of sales in the stores and people running around shopping for their respective families. I tried to get all my work done on Friday so I could enjoy the long weekend which happened for the most part however I just didn’t feel like answering emails or doing much of anything. I just wanted to “veg” for lack of a better word and I can say I have achieved that feeling of slowing down. That feeling is something I have desired for the last two weeks due to my constant rushing around at work.
Tomorrow is another day, and another week at work in which I hope to finally establish that all important feeling of “I know what I am doing” at work. Once this is all set, I expect to be back to blogging full time. For the moment here are some photo’s I have captured of the surrounding area:
Senator McCain is in the lead, nationally, according to many pollster’s which is a bit disturbing but I am going to take on this news with a positive spin. A MoveOn advert a few months ago stated that even if Senator Obama maintained his lead, his differences in the polls would have been very close to Senator Kerry in 2004 and might have cost him the race. The race is still close but with Senator McCain in the lead, it allows the Obama team to play the “under-dog” card which Senator McCain has been played on his numerous television appearances.
This card can be played slowly so that a torrent of support can build up behind the proverbial Obama levees and when the moment is just right they should be unleashed to take the election. Again, this is all speculation but if the Obama campaign’s raised total in August tells us anything, it indicates that the democrats and Obama followers have been feeling the pressure. Quite a few posts ago, I used the Pollster.com front page poll to illustrate the strength of the democratic position, now I am going to use it again to illustrate how the race has narrowed:
There have been alot of suggestions thrown around by various bloggers and media personalities, what the right choice is, no one knows, except Senator Obama’s campaign manager.
September 15 2008 09:46 am | American Politics
September 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Negative and dishonest political ads, plus a faux reformer in lipstick brandishing an AK47 has given McCain a boost in the polls.
This just points to the fact that McCain had nothing going for himself and had to choose this incredibly uninformed and inexperienced woman who knows how to play the LIVs for everything they “feel” but don’t have a clue on.
So far it’s working. So far.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:40 am
Crian,
Nice to see you back here!
Shaw, I have to agree that negative and dishonest political ads have hurt Obama. I mean, what kind of campaign would attack McCain for not using email when it was well known that he can’t type due to his war injuries?
What is a LIV?
September 16th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Steven Hawking uses a computer.
Criticizing McCain over his inability to use a computer, or at the very least, to even have a passing knowledge of the uses of a computer, is not the same as lying in a political ad and saying Barack Obama wants to teach sex to kindergartners. That is a bald-faced lie, and it speaks to a lack of honor in McCain for approving this sort of cheap and dirty dishonest tactic. Even Karl Rove, the King of Smear, has called him on it. Karl Rove, for Darwin’s sake!
LIV=Low Information Voter
September 17th, 2008 at 1:51 am
ah, yes, the stupid folk who live in between those beacons of civilization and erudition on the coasts (and Chicago, of course) and who cling to their guns and religion because of frustration.
You know, you guys run the same candidate every time; McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, Kerry, and now Obama. You sit there and mutter to each other about how stupid everyone is who votes Republican. You look down your noses at people who just work hard and earn a living with their hands. And you wonder why you lose.
Oh, did you bother to notice that Obama’s spokesman failed to deny that they knew he doesn’t type because of his injuries? Or that they know (it’s hardly a secret) that he does indeed know how to use the internet; he’s well known for borrowing others’ Blackberries to surf the web.
And it’s also well known that he answers his email. His wife does the typing for him. McCain, when the Republicans ran the senate, headed up the telecommunications committee. He’s reputed to be one of the most technologically saavy senators. But you couldn’t be bothered to check, could you? It’s easier to just believe that Rethuglicans are too stupid to operate a mouse.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Gordon seems awfully touchy.
He brought the whole McCain and typing on a computer issue up. Not I.
You failed, BTW, to include in your list, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore.
Also, George McGovern was a fighter pilot and hero. He flew 35 combat missions as a B-24 bomber pilot in Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. However, he is different from McCain in that he never used his war experiences to hide from questions on his policies. He never cheapened his heroism by constantly reminding voters how heroic he was.
In any case, the McCain/Email flap is moot, now that we’ve learned from his campaign that McCain invented the Blackberry.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:50 am
PS. I forgot to mention to Gordon that my entire family is “working class.”
My maternal grandfather was a carpenter, my paternal grandfather was a landscaper, my dad was a barber and both my grandmothers and mother were seamstresses and very talented ones, too–those are just the immediate family. (IOW, my family is replete with people who worked with their hands.) Plus my father served in th army. I had an uncle who was a Marine, another who served in the Navy, a cousin who is a veteran of Viet Nam, and another relative who retired as a bird colonel and who fought in the first Gulf War. And my nephew will be deploying to Iran soon. All of these people belonged to and attended church every Sunday
And all were “latte sipping, brie” eating Liberals.
I didn’t do any stereotyping, Gordon did, and seemed a bit defensive about it all.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I didn’t include Gore, Clinton or Carter because they’re all southern Democrats; the only ones who have managed to overcome the voting public’s aversion to electing Democrats nationally.
I stand by my comments. I live in Minneapolis, not the more conservative burbs. I’ve seen the attitude too often. Conservatives come in two flavors; ones too stupid to know what’s good for them, and evil geniuses bent on galactic domination (Rove).
September 17th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
as a statistician
never belive polls
espec. in the age of cell phones and text msgs
September 18th, 2008 at 4:39 am
“Negative and dishonest political ads, plus a faux reformer in lipstick brandishing an AK47 has given McCain a boost in the polls.”
“This just points to the fact that McCain had nothing going for himself and had to choose this incredibly uninformed and inexperienced woman who knows how to play the LIVs for everything they “feel” but don’t have a clue on.”
“Criticizing McCain over his inability to use a computer, or at the very least, to even have a passing knowledge of the uses of a computer, is not the same as lying in a political ad and saying Barack Obama wants to teach sex to kindergartners. That is a bald-faced lie, and it speaks to a lack of honor in McCain for approving this sort of cheap and dirty dishonest tactic. ”
Well put Shaw and so very true.
McCain is out of touch and he’s got a bunch of lobbyist running his campaign. He’s almost has to ‘attack and distract’.
Sometimes I think Republican’s love their party more than they love this country.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Obama:
Negative and dishonest political ads: check
Incredibly uninformed and inexperienced: Check
Number two in the senate for financial industry money: check
Finacial services kingpins (who cost taypayers billions while pocketing huge bonuses) on the campaign: check
And now, a tactic Obama always blamed on Republicans (but never actually proved); questioning opponent’s patriotism: check
Shouldn’t y’all be hacking into Piper Palin’s text messages right now?
September 18th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
BTW, nice to see you out and about, RR. You’ve been quiet lately.
And since no comment thread can exist without reference to putriddungbeetlenexusoffilth Karl Rove, I quote him quoting Barack Obama:
In a revealing slip in an interview with ABC recently, Mr. Obama said, “If we’re going to ask questions about who has been promulgating negative ads that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand, I think I win that contest pretty handily.”
Sigmund, call your office….
September 18th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Republicans:
Largely responsible for current economic downturn: check
Responsible for an unjust war costing over $720 million daily: check
Support aggression before diplomacy: check
Have little regard for the rule of law as demonstrated by avoiding subpoenas, blocking investigations, deleting emails and shredding documents: check
Masters of the ‘attack and distract’ strategy: check
More interested in their own wallets than the betterment of society: check
Resort to smears and attacks when they disagree with information source: check
McCain:
Voted approx 90% of the time with Bush: check
Wants to continue the disastrous policies of Bush/Cheney: check
Campaign team full of Washington lobbyists: check
Was against regulation before he was for it: check
Was against Bush tax cuts before he was for it: check
Out of touch with middle and lower classes: check
Over-the-top dishonesty and distortions in ads: check
VP running-mate claims she can see Russia from her state when asked about foreign policy experience: check
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
truth be told, the war makes many in the GOP rich
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
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