News What are the Key Factors for Victory in the 2008 Presidential Election?

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the electoral significance of Hispanic and Black voters in the upcoming Obama-McCain election, highlighting that New Mexico's 5 electoral votes may not be pivotal despite its Hispanic population. Eligible Hispanic voters total approximately 17 million, while Black voters are around 24 million, compared to 151 million White voters, indicating a demographic imbalance. Concerns are raised about the potential impact of a Hispanic vice-presidential candidate for Obama, with opinions divided on whether it would significantly sway Hispanic votes. The conversation also touches on the importance of the vice-presidential picks for both candidates, especially considering McCain's age and the historical context of racial tensions surrounding Obama. Overall, the thread emphasizes the need for informed discussions about voter demographics and electoral strategies as the election approaches.

Who will win the General Election?

  • Obama by over 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 16 50.0%

  • Obama by under 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 6 18.8%

  • McCain by over 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 4 12.5%

  • McCain by under 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 6 18.8%
  • Total voters
    32
  • #951
Ladies and gentlemen, tapegate

LA Times withhold video, McCain cries

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/The_LA_Times_explains.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/McCain_camp_demands_LA_Times_video.html?showall

Man it's so sad. Why can't LA times release the tape so that McCain can chop it up into a fresh new smear ad? No one needs to know the part where Obama said he didn't agree with the speaker, but it's important to note that not all of his associates are white nor as smart as Joe the Plumber.

Who is Barack Obama? What are his associations? Who cut his hair? During a time of economic crisis and looming election, apparently there are no stupid questions.
 
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  • #952
You got to hand it to Charlie Crist. He has extended hours for early voting in FL from 8 to 12 hours a day, despite GOP concerns that providing extra voting time will result in more Democratic votes. Crist's policy is running counter to the GOP program designed to suppress the vote.
 
  • #953
Great Obama commercial last night, just stating what his plans are. Then came two ugly back to back smear ads from McCain. The level of these ads couldn't be more telling. Obama, assured and presidential, McCain sending a message of desperation.
 
  • #954
Evo said:
Great Obama commercial last night, just stating what his plans are. Then came two ugly back to back smear ads from McCain. The level of these ads couldn't be more telling. Obama, assured and presidential, McCain sending a message of desperation.


Apparently Barack is coming out with an ad against McCain. May be negative, but makes a good point.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/29/palin-targeted-in-new-obama-ad/
 
  • #955
It's a pretty good ad.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1885474357
 
  • #956
Are you allowed to copy the other side's ads on the basis that it is a comment.
Could you run one of their attack ads with your candidate just laughing over the top of it?
 
  • #957
Look at the desperation of this Liddy Dole ad in NC. When she was at the Red Cross she seemed a capable administrator. But this kind of ridiculous smear tactic almost demands that she be removed from office. There is no place for this kind of thing in any campaign cycle. That she supports this kind of thing, surely speaks volumes about her ethics and desperation to cling to power. I'd say Liddy Dole just joined John McCain in selling her soul to the dark side. Where once stood honor and respect in my mind, now stands deceit and shame. May they both be retired from office and swept out to their deserved retirements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lf2vDk-4Ag
 
  • #958
mgb_phys said:
Are you allowed to copy the other side's ads on the basis that it is a comment.
Could you run one of their attack ads with your candidate just laughing over the top of it?

Yes, but it wouldn't be very effective.
 
  • #959
LowlyPion said:
Look at the desperation of this Liddy Dole ad in NC. When she was at the Red Cross she seemed a capable administrator. But this kind of ridiculous smear tactic almost demands that she be removed from office. There is no place for this kind of thing in any campaign cycle. That she supports this kind of thing, surely speaks volumes about her ethics and desperation to cling to power. I'd say Liddy Dole just joined John McCain in selling her soul to the dark side. Where once stood honor and respect in my mind, now stands deceit and shame. May they both be retired from office and swept out to their deserved retirements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lf2vDk-4Ag

Isn't it interesting that alleged "people of faith" turn to hate and fear to promote their message. Instead of a throw-the-bums out election, we need a throw-the-fruitcakes-out election.
 
  • #960
Interesting movement.

http://www.palin4president2008.com/

Our only chance on November 4th is if all True Patriots Write-in Governor Sarah Palin as your choice for President of the United States!

That would make it a 3 party race in 2008.

I'm sure McCain is thrilled about this.
 
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  • #961
LowlyPion said:
Interesting movement.

http://www.palin4president2008.com/



That would make it a 3 party race in 2008.

I'm sure McCain is thrilled about this.
Looks like just the kind of web-site a sharp Progressive activist would design.
 
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  • #962
Palin supporters should take their advice and write-in Palin. That is a great idea!
 
  • #963
Ivan Seeking said:
Palin supporters should take their advice and write-in Palin. That is a great idea!
Write in Palin with Ron Paul as VP!
 
  • #964
Our only chance on November 4th is if all True Patriots Write-in Governor Sarah Palin as your choice for President of the United States!
Could you return Alaska to the Russians for store credit?

Did you keep the receipt?
 
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  • #965
Isn't it interesting that Palin and McCain can't even get through the election before Palin goes rogue, and her supporters are trying to subvert the ticket. Eight weeks ago we had never even heard of her. What kind of stunts would she be pulling after a couple of years?

I always wanted to see Alaska, but not any more!
 
  • #966
CNN just moved Colorado from undecided, to leaning Obama.

Trivia question: Who is responsible for the standard "Red State Blue State" map?
 
  • #967
Ivan Seeking said:
CNN just moved Colorado from undecided, to leaning Obama.

Trivia question: Who is responsible for the standard "Red State Blue State" map?

...without using Google...wasn't it Tim Russert?
 
  • #968
Oh yes, I am thrilled to say that, at last, I have cast my vote for Barack Obama, in early voting.

I normally don't believe in voting a straight ticket, but until the Republicans regain respectability as the party of conservatives and dissociate from the fascists and zealots, I will not vote for ANY Republican. It sure made voting easy this year!
 
  • #969
lisab said:
...without using Google...wasn't it Tim Russert?

Correct! He was the master.
 
  • #970
Oh yes, get this: There was an initiative on the ballot that would mandate an automatic "no" vote, for all local initiatives where a person chose not to vote.
 
  • #971
Ivan Seeking said:
Oh yes, get this: There was an initiative on the ballot that would mandate an automatic "no" vote, for all local initiatives where a person chose not to vote.

That's outrageous! Plus, so easy to manipulate. You would just have to word the initiative so that a "no" means "yes."
 
  • #972
turbo-1 said:
It's a pretty good ad.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1885474357
Got to love cutting to Palin there.

I hope Obama's 30 minute speech tonight comes across well. It seems pretty unanimous that it's a good idea. Any thoughts on it?
 
  • #973
lisab said:
That's outrageous! Plus, so easy to manipulate. You would just have to word the initiative so that a "no" means "yes."

The local politics around here are as crooked as it gets. When we bought our place, the main road for the area [estates] was gravel. Eventually we were forced to pay for road paving [a few thousand bucks] by a majority vote of the neighbors, which was fine. But then we caught the county trying to link our project to two others, which would mean that we would pay for cost overruns on other projects [I caught that one thanks to a friend in politics]. Then we caught them trying to make us pay for a heavy-truck rated road, instead of a standard residential road, so that logging companies could get access to the trees in the hills behind us.
 
  • #974
Evo said:
I hope Obama's 30 minute speech tonight comes across well. It seems pretty unanimous that it's a good idea. Any thoughts on it?

I am sure that, like the rest of his campaign, it will be great!

One of the best measures of a candidate is his ability to organize and run a campaign. By many measures of that, Obama has run the best campaign in history.
 
  • #976
The Evo Child says that when she thinks of McPalin winning that it actually frightens her. I'm frightened too.

I keep telling myself it's just an uneducated, lunatic fringe that refer to themselves as "christians" that are once again making themselves look larger than life by being more vocal, and it's not a significant number of Americans that actually think Palin could be a qualified candidate.

This woman cannot even complete a sentence.
Palin said:
There it was, where he talked about, though, his desire, it sounded like, for redistributing wealth.

This can't be happening. It can't be real, like John Cleese said, it's something Monty Python would dream up. But it "is" real, this woman is actually up for election to the second highest office and a heartbeat away form being President of this country. Can you imagine?
 
  • #977
Evo said:
The Evo Child says that when she thinks of McPalin winning that it actually frightens her. I'm frightened too.

I keep telling myself it's just an uneducated, lunatic fringe that refer to themselves as "christians" that are once again making themselves look larger than life by being more vocal, and it's not a significant number of Americans that actually think Palin could be a qualified candidate.

This woman cannot even complete a sentence.

This can't be happening. It can't be real, like John Cleese said, it's something Monty Python would dream up. But it "is" real, this woman is actually up for election to the second highest office and a heartbeat away form being President of this country. Can you imagine?

This is do or die time for the US. We have reached the fork in the road.
 
  • #978
Ivan Seeking said:
This is do or die time for the US. We have reached the fork in the road.

Not only for the US...
Unfortunately we others can't do much but hope not more than half of america consist of christian lunatics.
 
  • #979
turbo-1 said:
Looks like just the kind of web-site a sharp Progressive activist would design.

Encouraging a Palin write-in is certainly a cleaner dirty trick than trying to tell people if you are Democratic you are directed to vote Wednesday.
 
  • #980
Evo said:
I hope Obama's 30 minute speech tonight comes across well. It seems pretty unanimous that it's a good idea. Any thoughts on it?

Basically it shouldn't hurt. It will give him wide exposure and some undecideds will likely become more comfortable with him. I think the more Presidential he looks the better people can imagine him in the Oval Office. You know like when you are house selling it's better to have some furniture and picture book settings and bread in the oven and a fire in the fireplace to help the buyers visualize what they are buying better.
 
  • #981
Evo said:
The Evo Child says that when she thinks of McPalin winning that it actually frightens her. I'm frightened too.

I keep telling myself it's just an uneducated, lunatic fringe that refer to themselves as "christians" that are once again making themselves look larger than life by being more vocal, and it's not a significant number of Americans that actually think Palin could be a qualified candidate.

This woman cannot even complete a sentence.

This can't be happening. It can't be real, like John Cleese said, it's something Monty Python would dream up. But it "is" real, this woman is actually up for election to the second highest office and a heartbeat away form being President of this country. Can you imagine?

That thought should get you to the polls then on Tuesday.

That's getting me to the polls I can tell you.
 
  • #982
LowlyPion said:
Encouraging a Palin write-in is certainly a cleaner dirty trick
Has anyone come up with the conspiracy that Palin is a democrat party plant?
A sort of long term undercover sleeper agent who will slowly rise to the top of the GOP and then overthrow it?
 
  • #983
My wife and I have already voted. We have been registered variously as Republicans or Democrats so that we can support the candidates that we support in the primaries. This year, we both voted straight Dem - the first time this has ever happened. William Cohen always got my vote, Reagan got my vote the first time out, and I would gladly have kept Margaret Chase Smith in the Senate forever if she didn't get old and die. (She was a lively and charming old lady even in her retirement, and still tough as nails!) This year, my wife and I decided to punish the Republicans as much as possible - we are sick of Bush, Cheney, Rove, and their enablers in Congress and their surrogates down-ticket that work to subvert the workings of our government even at the local level.
 
  • #985
mgb_phys said:
Has anyone come up with the conspiracy that Palin is a democrat party plant?
A sort of long term undercover sleeper agent who will slowly rise to the top of the GOP and then overthrow it?

It's not working then.

The only place she's going is back to Alaska. I rather think her future is pretty limited.

If they try to run her again in 2012, Democrats will likely control Congress like an absolute dictatorship. There will be no need to caucus, they can just meet in the chambers of the Houses.
 
  • #986
MSNBC now reporting that Joe the Plumber has hired a publicist.

Can't buy a business, but he can hire a publicist?

Oy.
 
  • #987
Yesterday, we had Joe speaking to foreign policy! He is on the campaign trail with Palin.

Now there's your 2012 ticket! [uh oh, 2012... the Mayans saw this coming!]
 
  • #988
Ivan Seeking said:
Yesterday, we had Joe speaking to foreign policy! He is on the campaign trail with Palin.

Now there's your 2012 ticket!

The late night shows would contribute to that ticket.

There is enough ignorance between the 2 of them to occupy several Universities of special educators full time for decades.
 
  • #989
Ivan Seeking said:
[uh oh, 2012... the Mayans saw this coming!]

There's a Joe the Plumber pictograph at Chichén-Itzá?
 
  • #991
Greg Bernhardt said:
My ballot is in! I took advantage of early voting today.

You're an Oregoonian too? Or has some other state stolen our casual approach to voting?
 
  • #992
OmCheeto said:
You're an Oregoonian too? Or has some other state stolen our casual approach to voting?

Wisconsin has it too :)
 
  • #993
Ivan Seeking said:
Yesterday, we had Joe speaking to foreign policy! He is on the campaign trail with Palin.

Now there's your 2012 ticket! [uh oh, 2012... the Mayans saw this coming!]

:smile:


LowlyPion said:
There's a Joe the Plumber pictograph at Chichén-Itzá?

:smile:

Is there a thread for voting for those people that make posts that make you pee your pants?

Greg! When are my dues due? I'd like to quintuple my investment in PF.
 
  • #994
McCain now running Robocalls in Arizona.

Sounds like panic.
 
  • #995
i have a question for more savvy minds about campaign financing. for decades i have watched, consigned to the fact that repubs always had more money than dems, assuming this the price for their candying up to big business. this was accepted as natural, and an obstacle to be overcome.

this year it seems to me obama has been so universally appealing to ordinary people that he has shaken loose mounds of money never before dreamt of by democratic candidates. i myself who never gave more than 5 bucks, have given a hundred times that, because there is no price too high, within reason, worth preventing another era of disaster like that wrought by the ***** currently in office. indeed, anyone not having given the maximum last time, surely feels guilty for the reign of the worst president since reconstruction...ever?, and the havoc he has brought to the entire world.the odd part is now i am hearing a steady refrain that somehow the system is broken because obama has inspired more donations for once than the republican candidate. is it just assumed that whenever the repubs do not have twice the funds of dems that the system is broken?

indeed even now i believe the repubs as a party still have more money than the dems, and that is verified by the lying disgusting ads now being run by saxby chambliss here in georgia. for those outsiders, he is the guy who won the georgia senate race by running an ad accusing max cleland, a triple amputee vietnam vet democrat, of being soft on terrorism, and superimposing osama bin laden's face on the ad. this ad was described as despicable by even perhaps john mc cain. but it worked.

i am equally disgusted by the ads run lately by the democratic senatorial campaign here. i gave money to them in good faith, and now they are spending it to run lying misleading ads for democratic candidates that are not much better than the lying ads run by the repubs. have they no shame? i do not want to fund democrats who are willing to lie like republicans to win.

to be quite honest, i was very disappointed by obama's message tonight. it seems he feels he has sewn up the votes of intelligent people and was going now after the votes of idiots. it leaves me feeling bad, but nowhere near as bad as the unrelentingly offensive campaign of mccain palin.
 
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  • #996
mathwonk said:
...another era of disaster like that wrought by the ***** currently in office.

Gee that's much pithier than I can manage for censored words to describe
that ******-******* ******** *** ** * *****.
 
  • #997
so much for censorship, at leAST i think i got some of that.
 
  • #998
mathwonk said:
so much for censorship, at leAST i think i got some of that.

I meant that in the nicest possible way of course.
 
  • #999
mathwonk said:
to be quite honest, i was very disappointed by obama's message tonight. it seems he feels he has sewn up the votes of intelligent people and was going now after the votes of idiots. it leaves me feeling bad, but nowhere near as bad as the unrelentingly offensive campaign of mccain palin.

I'm okay with that focus. Education of Americans 18 and over (via 2007 US census data for the US census website): ~15% don't have a HS education. 50% are HS graduates, and may have had some college but no degree. That leaves about ~35% with degrees... including associates degrees! (for curiosity, 8% have associates degrees (occupational or academic), 17% have bachelors, 6% have masters, 1% have professional and 1% have doctoral).

Being in the upper echelons, I'm just glad Sen. Obama is running an almost impeccable "national campaign": focusing on on the issues important in battleground states and all the groups, but not neglecting this nation-wide opportunity to give shout-outs to people he could have in his pocket regardless (like Massachusetts)... or has perhaps no chance of (Kansas). He needs to keep showing the nation he can be presidential... even fire-side chatty.
 
  • #1,000
mathwonk said:
i have a question for more savvy minds about campaign financing. for decades i have watched, consigned to the fact that repubs always had more money than dems, assuming this the price for their candying up to big business. this was accepted as natural, and an obstacle to be overcome.

this year it seems to me obama has been so universally appealing to ordinary people that he has shaken loose mounds of money never before dreamt of by democratic candidates. i myself who never gave more than 5 bucks, have given a hundred times that, because there is no price too high, within reason, worth preventing another era of disaster like that wrought by the ***** currently in office. indeed, anyone not having given the maximum last time, surely feels guilty for the reign of the worst president since reconstruction...ever?, and the havoc he has brought to the entire world.


the odd part is now i am hearing a steady refrain that somehow the system is broken because obama has inspired more donations for once than the republican candidate. is it just assumed that whenever the repubs do not have twice the funds of dems that the system is broken?

Same here. We gave about 150 times more than I have ever contributed. And I was considering giving the maximum of $2300, if needed [not that we can afford it right now].

The public financing bit is a joke when the RNC can fund as many commercials as they want. But Obama is unique. I think campaign fundraising has been forever changed, but I also suspect that the enthusiasm, hence the total of donations that we have seen, is a once in a lifetime event.

Yes, it has been amuzing to listen to the Reps cry and moan when for once they were faced with a financial circumstance not heavily weighted in their favor. The sad thing is that, were Obama a white guy named John Smith, he would probably be twenty points farther ahead, given the same amount of money.
 
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