The Obama camp can't google

OK, in the interest of being non partisan (hold the chuckle) I bring you this article:

The Corner


Let me tell you what that article says.

There’s a new Obama ad called “1982″ which basically claims that McCain is computer illiterate because he can’t use a computer, nor does he know how to send email.  The ad also makes other points about McCain.

At first, I thought, that not being able to send an email and not knowing how to use a computer was just a sign of how far removed from reality McCain is, but then I came across that “The Corner” article, and a couple of others.

Turns out, McCain can’t send an email because he can’t type.

He can’t type, because of his war injuries.  Since he can’t type, he doesn’t email, so why bother to learn how to do it.  He’s got people that can do that for him anyway, right?  I feel like the Obamians could’ve done a little bit more research, or perhaps not been as deceiving in their claims about what it means that McCain can’t use a computer.

The people at “The Corner” bring up an interesting point about this.  Obama’s campaign seems to imply that since McCain can’t use a computer, he’s not qualified to be president.  Pretty much the same way that McCain’s people argue that actually being in a war makes someone more qualified to be commander in chief.

I don’t know where this is going, but I can tell you that there is always more than meets the eye when it comes to political ads.

Here’s the ad for your amusement:

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How to win an election

I just finished listening to Karl Rove speaking. The whole thing reminded me of something I heard recently.

Having a lot of passion for something does not make it right. Someone can be passionate about something that is bad or wrong.  The amount of passion that someone has does not determine whether their beliefs are right or wrong.  Morals, the law or perhaps some other compass determine what is right or wrong, not how passionate you are about it.

I’m not saying that listening to Karl Rove changed my opinion of the man, but I definitely understand his passion for his subject. Having said that, here are some thoughts about his delivery:

  • He was actually a pretty good and entertaining speaker. He definitely has the gift of warming people over to his side.  It’s not so much an “aw shucks, I’m just a po’ boy from Texas” schtick, he was genuinely likable.
  • He came prepared. He knows his subject, and he knows it well.
  • He was not afraid to bring his considerable knowledge of politics and political strategy to bear.  I didn’t know that he used to teach political science at the LBJ school of public policy at UT Austin.
  • I don’t think that you have to agree or disagree with him, but I do think that you should listen to what he has to say.
  • He does a great impersonation of Bill Clinton.

Karl, I’ll take the liberty of calling him that, also revealed a couple of things about himself that I was completely unaware of:

  • He used to work at a convenience store. He mentioned that he was one of 2 people that worked at a convenience store to ever give the keynote at the national convenience store owner’s association.  He said he was told to mention that he worked at a convenience store, but not to mention that he quit after he was robbed at gun point the second time.  The other person to give a keynote was Sinbad the comedian.
  • He made light of testifying in front of congress. He said that he would open the floor up for questions after his speech and that he would do his best to dodge all the questions as best he could.  He reminded us that he had to do just that in front of congress not that long ago.

The majority of his speech was concentrated on current politics.  He used the bulk of time talking about the US election and what he feels each party should do to get their team elected.  It was very insightful.  Here are some of the brief notes that I took:


  • The democrats usually outspend the republicans in the general elections.
  • McCain didn’t get the most votes in his race to the nomination
  • The current election boils down to a choice between “old and new” and “fresh and been there done that.”
  • This is a very volatile election.  People that are undecided can swing violently and switch sides on a whim
  • This is the first time that the Vice-presidential pick actually matters in an election.  Usually, the VP can account for only a +/- 1%, but this year the VP is expected to matter much more than that.
  • Any way you slice it, this is an historic election.
  • Elections are about: Who you are, what you are about, the issues, and where you’re from.
  • Basically, the republicans are going to play the experience and maverick card, versus the democrats playing the change and new hope card.
  • With high risk, comes high reward
  • The republicans will talk about terror, energy, taxes and spending but not the economy
  • The democrats will talk about the economy, health care, jobs, taxes and spending
  • Both will talk about taxes differently, but both will nibble around the edges.

As far as strategies to get them elected:

  • The democrats will concentrate on a strategy of “enough.”  Get enough electoral college votes to get across the finish line.  They are counting on getting new voters to come out and vote. They will want to hold on to states that Kerry won, and add an additional 30 votes to that.
  • The republicans are counting on all the former Bush supporters.

An interesting fact, is that 2 out of every 3 undecided voters are women.  I have confirmed this in my own circle of friends, I know that’s not the most scientific of polls but I think I can vouch for that.  Anyway, even though women are half of the total voters, 2/3 of them are undecided.  Everyone wants the undecided voters to vote for them.

This election will be a concentrated effort on a limited number of topics.  The new media cycle is only about an hour long.  In elections past, the media cycle was 24 hours or more.

More people watched the conventions than did the opening night of the olympics.  There is a lot of interest in this year’s election.  There are only 56 days left until the election.  At this point, time is more important than money.  Candidates need the time to get their messages out to the voters, no amount of money can buy them more time to do it.

I took a bunch more notes, but this post is already getting long, so I’l cut it off here.  I may do a part 2 in the coming days.

McCain-Palin or Obama-Biden?

Well, I try to stay away from American politics as much as I can, seriously, I do.  I feel the need to say something about this today.

I feel, that McCain picking Palin is a condescending move.

McCain is desperate and he’s trying to pander to people’s emotions.  Basically, he wants to give all the people that don’t want to vote for a black guy a reason to vote for him.  He’s also trying to pander to all the yellow belly dems that wanted Hillary to win, just because she’s a woman, regardless of her actual stance on the issues.

Biden & ObamaImage by jurvetson via Flickr

To paraphrase Hillary, all the people switching sides to the McP ticket from Hillary need to ask themselves, why were they supporting Hillary in the first place.  Were they supporting her, or were they supporting what she and the democratic party as a whole stands for?

Turn coats don’t bother me.  I’m glad that people that were not committed are defecting.  I say, let them go.

On the other hand, I still think that Obama should’ve picked Hillary as his running mate.  I totally understand why he didn’t pick her though.  I think Biden is a good choice for a running mate, I don’t think he’s a clutch player like Hillary is.  Biden does have good, solid credentials, as far as I know, he hasn’t really done or supported anything that I’d have a hard time with.  I guess only time will tell who will win the election.

One thing is for certain, this is probably the most exciting electoral race for president ever.

I love this country.


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