Ludacris Provides Obama With More Unwelcome Help

Ludacris does a freestyle in support of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama that isn't well received by many including the Obama campaign. In fact, Ludacris truly expressed his first amendment right in his freestyle rap that disrespects Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Ludacris clearly uses his lyrical genius to express to the world that he is supporting Barack Obama for President. However his words might be too provocative for some and to others it hits the nail on the coffin in terms of how this year's political cycle is going. Nonetheless, I am just proud that substance is being discussed by rappers early in this year's Presidential race rather than later but more rappers need to take stances on political and social issues plaguing America.

Ludacris has wrote songs about social issues such as the run away children who run away from home but his recent song called Politics that addresses the fact Obama is here and that Obama is going to win the White House despite all the negativity and haters that come his way. However some of the lyrics are not favorable but let the song speak for itself and you be the judge of if you like it or not.

References:
Obama campaign rejects rapper Ludacris' rhymes http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAXKlgV-FnV6KqYC0e-0-Rr-guPAD928HDT80

Ludacris Releases Song Attacking Clinton, McCain http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/30/ludacris-releases-song-attacking-clinton-mccain/

Obama emerges as major campaign issue -- for both candidates

I have said it before and I will say it again! This year's Presidential election between Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama is unique in so many ways such as young vs. old, Obama being the first African American Presidential nominee of a major party, and the Democratic Presidential nomination race being so close between Obama and Hillary Clinton. However the reality is that this year's Presidential race is really about one man. It is not about two man but whether two egos or two faces. Barack Obama who is known to some and unknown to others is the major campaign issue for both parties. The Democrats are looking at Obama as the face of the party and as an opportunity to restore as well as gain more political clot by Obama being able to bring new people to politics. While the Republicans are looking at Obama as reason to capitalize on his inexperience and the fact he is unfamiliar to so many as reason to show Obama is not ready to lead.

Therefore this year's Presidential race is all about Obama and the two sides to Obama that will be on display. While Hillary Clinton tried to expose this in her run for President against Obama, it didn't work because you couldn't get really aggressive with because it would be seen as an attempt of defaming Obama or as an opportunity for Republicans to use her tactics later on against Obama. Nonetheless, the Republican Party will go a whole lot further than Hillary and will and they will definitely throw everything at Obama including the kitchen sink, the Titanic and every military weapon known to man as well as unknown to man. That's why Obama has to walk a tightrope because everything he does will be carefully looked at and scrutinized by his peers on both sides.

Right now as the race becomes a lot closer between Obama and McCain, many Democrats are saying Obama needs to be more aggressive as McCain and the Republican party attack Obama on all sides particularly every day. In fact many Republicans say that McCain needs to hit Obama a lot harder on some issues than he is currently doing. However Obama has simply said that McCain is getting really desperate right now and he will not respond to such negative tactics. Right now it is clear that Obama is losing ground to McCain and that McCain's negative attacks are truly working in McCain's favor on the heels of Obama's overseas trip that was supposedly widened Obama's margin in the polls. It has not widened his margin due to the fact that McCain has hit Obama hard every chance he gets by calling him the biggest celebrity in the world and characterizing Obama as inexperienced as well as not ready to lead.

So it is clear the the gloves are coming off as McCain has attack ads on television, on the radio and on the Internet that are picking up steam. The ads are showing the American people that Obama is not a leader or ready to lead America as Obama has said. Obama is truly the major campaign issue for both camps as Obama's camp tries to introduce or re-introduce Obama to many people while McCain's camp tries to introduce another side of Obama's character that many are not familiar with. It is clear that Obama's character and persona will be the major political issue and that the American people will have to decipher through so much information to figure out who is the real Obama because some of what will be said about Obama will be good or bad.

For now, this year's Presidential race is all about Obama and Obama will be the reason why he wins or loses this year's Presidential race. Will history be made or will Obama flame out in crunch time?

Audience boos debate between Cheeks Kilpatrick, rivals

The gloves are really starting to come off in the 13th Congressional seat race in Detroit, Michigan. Incumbent, U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick finds herself in a very tight race with State Senator Martha G. Scott and former State Representative Mary Waters. The polls show that there is virtually a statistical dead heat between all three with so many undecided voters not sure of who they will vote for with a week out from the election. However today's debate between the candidates turned ugly as the crowd was split between the three candidates. Booing and shouting was heard throughout the debate either in support or against one of the candidates. It got so ugly at one point that a pastor at Perfecting Church had to get on the mic and tell the audience to stay pleasant.

The boos that were heard during the debate really took away from the real issues and regardless of how the media spins it, neither of the three congressional candidates came out on top. One thing is for sure is that each of the three women have their very own base of support and they all will split Detroit but it is the suburbs that will ultimately decide this eleciton where Waters has a large lead right now. So it is clear that with one week to go that each candidate will be trying to make sure that their message is precise and concise as well as enticing to the undecided voters. With apparently 14% of the 13th Congressional District still undecided, the race for U.S. Congress is still wide open and as long as Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick doesn't get into any more trouble between now and election day, his mother Cheeks-Kilpatrick could very well win the election by a very slim margin.

A win is a win but even if Cheeks-Kilpatrick wins, she loses because in 2010, she has to make sure her message is on point and that she is really talking to voters as well as showing that the 13th congressional district voters are knowing what she is doing. Otherwise in 2010, some young gun will really challenge Cheeks-Kilpatrick like Waters and Scott really couldn't that since they both jumped in the race last minute. Someone young and vibrant could get in the race and challenge Cheeks-Kilpatrick and campaign against her for an entire or more depending on how you look at it. For now the 13th Congressional district race is hotly contested and will be heavily watched on August 5th.

References:
Gloves Come Off At Congressional Debate http://www.clickondetroit.com/politics/17013693/detail.html

Detroit mayor's mom gets boost at US House debate http://www.mlive.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/07/detroit_mayors_mom_gets_boost.html

Cheeks Kilpatrick, two challengers resume battle at fiery debate http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/POLITICS01/807290394/1022/POLITICS

The best choices for the U.S. House http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/OPINION01/807290324

Rep. Kilpatrick braces for battle http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/POLITICS/807280369

The Obama effect in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race

Just over a week remains before a runoff vote between Jim Martin and Vernon Jones to see which of the two will compete against incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and Libertarian Alan Buckley for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat in the November general election. Each of the two Democrats is trying to shore up support going into the runoff. While Martin tries to make the most of his many public endorsements, Jones is trying to snag a slice of Obamamania for himself. DeKalb County CEO Jones called a press conference on Wednesday at his campaign’s headquarters above a Buckhead mattress store to make a statement regarding the Aug. 5 runoff vote. In its entirety, his statement lasted less than one minute: “Jim Martin voted against Barack Obama and did not want him to be President of the United States. I voted for Obama.” When asked why he thought this was an important issue, Jones told reporters, “Jim Martin made an issue about my vote in the past.”

Jones made his statement the same day that a press release from the Martin campaign announced endorsements from Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Eaves and Commissioner Nancy Boxill. The Martin campaign responded to Jones’ comments by reiterating earlier criticism of Jones’ voting tendencies, stating "Jim Martin has been a longtime supporter of John Edwards and voted for him in the primary, but Jim has always opposed George Bush and is running for the Senate to help Barack Obama get rid of Bush's failed policies. Vernon Jones voted for George Bush twice and said he'd consider being John McCain's running mate. That tells you all you need to know about Vernon Jones." A small poster adorning the door to Jones’ headquarters shows pictures of Jones and Obama placed side by side beneath the Obama slogan “Yes We Can!” The poster has been derided by Jones’ critics as an attempt to imply that Sen. Obama has endorsed Jones. Obama has not endorsed either of the candidates for the Georgia Senate seat.

In a previous interview with The Sunday Paper, Jones said he believes the groundswell of support for the Illinois Senator will translate to increased support for whichever Democratic candidate opposes Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in the November general election. But between now and then lies the runoff. With Obama polling extremely well among black voters, it’s easy to assume that Jones, a black male Democrat like Obama, would benefit from the presidential candidate’s momentum.

But Jelani Cobb, an Obama delegate, isn’t convinced that Obama mania will necessarily boost voter turnout for the runoff. “I think folks are excited about the national race in November more so than the local races going on now,” he writes in an e-mail to The Sunday Paper. “I'm doubtful about folks being able to draft off of Obama. Both of [incumbent Congressman] John Lewis' opponents ran that change theme into the ground and [Democratic primary challenger Markel] Hutchins basically stole Obama's Web site format. But they got crushed anyway.” Charles Bullock, who teaches political science at UGA and whose published work includes the 1992 book “Runoff Elections in the United States,” says the most important part of a runoff election is getting voters back to the polls. Based on an unimpressive turnout for the July 15 congressional primary, Bullock doesn’t see excitement over the presidential election translating to the runoff. That might be different, he says, “If the two candidates had aggressive ad campaigns [reminding voters to vote in the runoff] … I don’t see a lot of that.” Although appeals to Obama supporters may sway some voters, Bullock says the majority of voters who show up on Aug. 5 will support the same candidate they voted for on July 15. “Those who voted for the other three candidates will have to change their vote. But I suspect a lot of them will stay home,” he says. The question of the primary might be a moot point, anyway. Nearly 400,000 voters showed up to cast their vote for incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss, despite the fact that he was running unopposed. Plus, only four of the GOP primary slots were contested, presumably leading to lower Republican turnout than can be expected for the general election.

Meanwhile, Jones and Martin garnered less than 370,000 votes combined in a primary that got far more publicity than its Republican counterpart. In a Rasmussen Reports survey of 500 likely Georgia voters published July 21, Saxby Chambliss led Vernon Jones 59 percent to 29 percent, and led Jim Martin 51 percent to 40 percent. Despite the small sample size of the survey, the results imply that it may take something more like an Obama miracle than an Obama effect to deliver Chambliss’ Senate seat to a Democrat in November.“I support Senator Barack Obama, I voted for him. I share his vision for American job creation, investing in our infrastructure,” Jones said after Wednesday’s press conference. “I believe that I will work extremely well with him because of my experience as a former state legislator and at the same time as a chief executive. … Jim Martin worked for a republican governor and Jim Martin cut budgets that hurt working families and poor people. I wouldn’t have done that, and I think that’s germaine and I think that’s important in terms of where I’ll be in Washington and what I see as a priority and what he sees as a priority.”

The above article caught my attention because it is a notion that I believe can work in Democrats favor this November but they have to be smart and really capitalize on Obamamania. What Obama's persona and rock star status has done is that he has got gotten more attention than the whole National Democratic Party itself. That's why if Howard Dean was smart and if state Democratic Parties were smart than they would do everything in their power between now and November to make sure that the Democratic candidates who will face Republican candidates get as much Obama literature and volunteers as they can. My theory is that if the people are told to vote for Obama and are given literature on Obama than they will be more welcoming to talk to Democratic candidates about their perspective campaigns. Thus it could help the Democratic candidates show that they are the best candidates for the job and that their message is similar to Obama's.

So it is a simple theory that could led to a Democratic sweep across the nation. However Howard Dean needs to mandate this and all state parties need to work with the Obama campaign to make sure that that not only Obama gets elected but Democrats get elected all across the world. Only time will tell how the Georgia U.S. Senate race will play out but let's be clear if Obama wants Georgia and if the Democratic Party wants to pick up a larger number in the Senate than they need to work together to ensure that Georgia goes blue. Nonetheless, time will tell all and for now, we can sit back and wait.

References:

Pro-Martin blog: Jones wrote a check to the state GOP http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/07/27/promartin_blog_jones_wrote_a_c.html

Turnout key in Senate runoff http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news916495.html

How will "Obamamania" play at home?

Obamamania should be a good thing for Americans as Obama arrives back in the states after a week long visit to the world, where crowds of Germans, military officers, countries elected officials, and international newspapers all wanted to get a piece of Obama even if it was just a glimpse or handshake. Obamamania is swiping the world and the dividend could be even larger for Obama as he gets back on the campaign trail on America soil this week. In fact Obama's latest international trip has only boasted Obama's persona more so than his foreign policy credentials. Obama's celebrity status is truly something to marvel at because what Obama has done is he has introduced himself to the world and the world has truly fallen in love with Obama.

Obama is a great asset for America's image right now and the more the media continues to show images of Obama's trip overseas than the more Americans will take notice of how much people are getting excited about Obama's candidacy for President. Therefore Obamamania could very well transform into a landslide victory for him as he prepares to really take it to John McCain and the Republican Party. It is no wonder why every aspect of Obama's trip overseas was either praised or scrutinized by the right wing. The right wing tried to find anything they could to put down Obama's overseas trip because they feared it would result in Obama getting too much coverage. Also they feared that Obama's persona and charisma could be very well welcomed by the international world thus leading to him to overshadow anything that the Republican nominee John McCain tried to do while Obama was touring the Middle East and Europe.

Obamamania is more than just packed crowds and speeches but it is how people flock to him and perceive him once they actually get to hear him speak or see him in person. The way Obama works a crowd and how Obama listens to the people in the crowd is what makes Obamamania not just a fade but something that could transcend beyond politics but could very well transform politics and the way life in America changes forever. While not all of what Obama does, I agree with but he is starting to give hope to people who have never had it and he bringing more people to politics than ever before. It is what Obama is currently do that make his candidacy so real and unbelievable.

Obamamania is transforming lives and reshaping politics. In fact one can say that Obamamania brings the unbelievable into the thinkable and the unthinkable into the believable. That's why whenever you talk to Obama people, you quickly realize that no matter what he does, they see nothing wrong with it. Obamamania seems like a cult brainwashing but it is a belief that this is their time to make a real difference in America and Obama is leading the cause. Obamamania is the new civil rights movement but only this time, it is more about not being at the table where laws will be discussed but it is rather about being the head at the table who not only proposals laws but signs them into legislation. It is about talking over politics so that a new young blood of leadership leads the initiatives of our political officials. Obama's time is not now but right now and that is the belief that Obamamania provides for so many people.

Therefore Obamamania has already started in America and it only gained more attention because of Obama's overseas trip. However the true magnitude or impact of Obamamania can't be measured right now. If the polls indicate anything differently in the next couple of weeks than Obamamania could literally lock up the presidency for Obama as long as he doesn't make any major goofs or gaffs while continuing to respond to all negative and vicious slanders that could come his way.

Chicago's gun turn-in program brings in weapons

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Blame Kilpatrick mess on charismatic CEOs

References:
Time to tell Kilpatrick he simply must go so city can move on http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/COL33/807270486/&imw=Y

Mr. Mayor, enough! http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/OPINION01/807260318/1069/OPINION01

Cox can't prosecute Kilpatrick
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/BLOG2503/80725091/1001/news

AG Cox will investigate mayor if needed http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/NEWS01/80725057

Animated cartoon: 'Nowhere Man' Kilpatrick http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080727/BLOG2401/80726043/0/COL33

Cheeks Kilpatrick in a fight for survival in Democratic primary

There is a very serious and hotly contested United States House of Representatives race taking place in the city of Detroit's 13th District. Incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick is facing two chief rivals, State Senator Martha G. Scott and former State Representative Mary Waters. As the race has seated up due to the problems that Cheeks Kilpatrick son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has, her race has become a referendum against her for many voters. The race for Cheeks Kilpatrick should not be close since she has held the seat since 1996 but this is her first real strife competition and Cheeks-Kilpatrick is making campaign mistakes like a newcomer to politics and not a 30 year veteran.

That's why as the Democratic race continues to heat up, it is evident that Cheeks Kilpatrick knows her stuff and is the most qualified and most experience for the job but that is still no reason for her to be re-elected to office. Change is not bad and inexperience will not hinder Detroit or the state of Michigan any further than it already is. In fact, Cheeks Kilpatrick has failed to do her job in representing her constituents and has failed to keep them informed on the issues. In fact, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick has failed to bring about positive solutions to many of the city of Detroit's problems and the state of Michigan's problems. While she talks about the $500 million she has brought to District 13 and the state, many in the city can't see where the money actually has went.

I am not against Cheeks Kilpatrick because of her son's troubles but I am against her because she has not delivered the type of positive results needed for the state. She has become ineffective and has not tried to speak out against any of her son's responsibilities. In fact she is continued to support her son and has not tried to speak publicly about her son and his troubles. Cheecks Kilpatrick represents the people of Detroit and the suburbs which is why her continued public support for her son baffles me since she has not tried to show her constituents that she is against her son's actions and continued mistakes. If Cheeks Kilpatrick really wants to be a good legislator than she has to understand that her son's actions are hurting the city of Detroit's economically and publicly.

That's the more Cheeks Kilpatrick doesn't show any remorse for her son's actions or for her lack of availability to her constituents is a real issue for Carolyn. Plus Carolyn easily could have put her opponents out of their misery if she had talked to the voters of District 13 sooner about her opinion of her son's actions and how she did not agree with it and feels that her son's mistake has cast a black cloud over the city but we have to allow the courts to play itself out before jumping to conclusions. However Martha G. Scott and Mary Waters have definitely been better at speaking to the people and connecting to the people but they don't know the ins and outs of Lansing. Now that doesn't mean they can't learn. Anyone who is elected to the United States House of Representatives can learn the ins and outs of Washington but the issue many people have with losing Carolyn is that Detroit, the state of Michigan and District 13 will suffer cause Carolyn is the National Congressional Black Caucus Chair and she seats on the House Appropriations Committee which deals with the distribution of money.

Nonetheless, my question is, do we allow Carolyn to stay in office because of what positions she holds or do we allow someone else to come in who can provide positive results to the problems that plague our community. We can no longer allow ourselves to be tricked by words such as inexperience and experience. Experience is only as good for if you use it for good positive things in terms of opening up doors that could easily close if the right person is not at the bargaining table. That's why the 13th Congressional District United States House of Representative race is a crucial race as we as a country move forward with believing that no politician should remain in office forever if they are not proving to be effective at their job.

So as voters go to the polls on August 5th, I strongly encourage each of them to not vote by name recognition but vote based off what has your politician done for you lately or better yet, what results can they show you that have impacted your life, your neighborhoods, your communities and your district. Be careful of listening to negative attacks because they can be misleading, instead look to do your own research on the candidates and look for candidates who are willing to talk to the people and intermingle with the people on a daily basis.

References:

Pelosi backs Rep. Kilpatrick http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/POLITICS01/807260335/1409/METRO

Our Youth Need Saving from themselves first than Politics!

Recently I had a conversation with some of Detroit's finest and youngest high school students. This conversation was all about politics in the city of Detroit particularly the Mayor's trouble and whether these high school students if granted the right to vote tomorrow would re-elect him to office. To my surprise, all of them said they would re-elect him and blamed all his woes on the media bias that is taking place in the city of Detroit. When I asked them why would they re-elect Kwame, they just told me they would and when I asked them what has Kwame did good, they said it doesn't mayor, they love their mayor.

Now clearly this is the future of Detroit. If our youth in the city of Detroit can't see the difference between a good and bad politician than it makes me wonder what is going on in the rest of America and the world is thinking when it comes to electing people to office who actually do the work. Now I must admit that Kwame is a nice guy but as politician he has become ineffective in his job when one thing after another continues to haunt him from rumors of a party at his house, to spending tax payer dollars on luxury items, to the whistle blower lawsuit, the text messaging scandal to now allegedly pushing a Wayne County Sheriff. It is clear that something is wrong with Mayor Kilpatrick and it seems that the youth in the city of Detroit, can't see that no matter how many times it is covered in the newspapers and news.

Ella Baker once said that we don't need leaders. Don't wait for charismatic people or leaders to come up and do something but instead get on up and do something yourself. Therefore I can't wait on others to address the poor thinking of our youth but I have to do it myself. Our youth need to understand the difference between effective politics and ineffective politics. The difference between good politicians and bad politicians. Also the difference between making a mistake and correcting from being a mistake and constantly showing it. That's why it is hard for me to understand why anyone would want to re-elect yet alone elect Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to any other elected post in the state, the U.S. or the world.

Don't get me wrong, Kwame is a very charismatic and fun loving individual but he fails to put together effective policies and legislation that will benefit the citizens of Detroit. Kwame has failed to bring the city into a surplus and has literally given every asset that the city owned away except for the Tunnel to Canada which he is working to do as we speak. Kwame has failed to separate his personal life from business, his personal connections from politics and has allowed his ego to get in the way of him doing some very great things for the city of Detroit as well as Detroit's youth. Kwame's brand of politics has tainted our city and his cast a black eye over our youth.

That's why if our youth think this the type of behavior that an elected official should present than the future of Detroit, America and the world is in trouble. We don't need charismatic, fast and slick talking individuals in office who only want to pimp, hoodwink, and bamboozle their way to power at the people's expense. We don't need politicians who can't deliver significant results to the people they represent. We don't need people in office who continuously apologize for their short falls but continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. We cannot allow our ourselves to be mislead any longer and that's why our youth need to understand what our elected officials should be doing for the people. It is not about who can give the best speech or who is the youngest but it is about how effective a person has been in delivering real solutions to the problems that plague the people. It is about electing individuals who can walk the walk and talk the talk in the sense that they are delivering positive results for the people and aren't making excuses for their actions.

It is truly a war on our youth and we have to save our youth from themselves first or they will continue to elect ineffective leaders that deliver nothing for them or they will continue to elect people who make the same mistakes over and over again while never taking responsibility for their own actions. Our youth need saving from themselves first than politics but the only way to do this is by voter education and politic awareness seminars. Our youth need to realize what each political position entails and they need to understand how to effectively research people and their records on the issues as well as their records as an individual. Our youth need to be saved so that they don't continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

SAVE OUR YOUTH!

Struggling college students turn to food banks

All across America, you can see that there are tough economic and financial times for everyone. However when you look and see that college students are struggling to feed themselves and have to turn to food banks, it is clear to see that times have truly gotten worse in this country. Many college students across America who have to decide on whether to feed themselves or pay for books have chosen to pay for books so that they can get the type of education that many of their parents don't have. Therefore, college students are having to go to food banks so that they can still eat while taking class.

The high gas prices, the high price of food and the high price of text books are what college students are having to deal with. That's why with all the bills that college students might have and the increasing cost of tuition, it has become even more evident that it is hard for students to find ways to feed themselves. Students usually could afford to live off campus and find ways to buy groceries. Then again, some students would stay on campus with meal plans but now both on and off campus students are having a tough time because they can't afford books, tuition, and food as well as living expenses. That's why college students are opting to save costs on some of their college expenses by getting rid of meal plans and looking toward food banks for food in this tough economic time.

In fact the struggling economy and the amount of jobs that college students can get while in college has added to the weariness and stress of many college students who are already struggling to get back and forth to class for those who commute and the bills that they pay for living as well as necessities such as a cellphone and clothes in some cases. However it is evident that struggles of today's college student is more financial than anything else. That's why the social ills of today's college student is more as a result of financial troubles.

Therefore whoever is President of the United States of America, they have to look for ways to make education affordable so that college students don't have to pick and choose between eating this week or putting gas in the tank. College students are facing the same type of issues as regular Americans and both regular Americans and college students have lucrative things that they want but despite all that, it is still unfair for college students to deal with this issue the way they are dealing with.

The struggles of college students is something that we as Americans have to deal so that our future can truly deal with this the proper way.

References:
College students, too, learn painful economics lessons http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/LIFESTYLE/807250319

Fuel spike changing college life http://seminolevoice.com/Seminole_Voice/article.asp?ID=742

McCain's Veep: It's All About the Map

John McCain, the Republican Party Presidential nominee, vice presidential candidate will be all about the electoral map because that is what will matter in deciding who wins this year's election. With Obama virtually leading McCain in all electoral map data as well as general election poll data in most states. It is clear that McCain's vice presidential candidate has to trenscend McCain's candidacy and give McCain a major boost in battleground states such as Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and more. At the same time, McCain's VP choice has to solidify McCain's lead in southern states like Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas, while at the same time keeping McCain strong out west and competitive in the Midwest. That's why McCain's VP choice will be all about the electoral map because that is what McCain has to depend on come this November. McCain will probably not win the popular vote but the electoral college is still possible for McCain to win and that is why his vice presidential choice will either help or hurt him.

That's why voters have to understand the Electoral College in order to understand how McCain is able to compete with Obama in a year when any Democrat should be able to beat any Republican for the Presidency. As history has shown, nothing is a gurantee and what McCain has on his side is the electoral map that could give him the 270 votes needed but this will all depend on his vice presidential. This is the the year where the Vice Presidential candidates could play an even larger role in the election than the candidates themselves but McCain who has said he would rather lose an election than war, doesn't really mean that because he wants to win the war so he will do everything he can to win the White House so he can implement the right plan to win the war on terrorism.

That's why it is important to understand the Electoral College — even now, months before the November election — because national polls are useless unless they take the college into account. For example, a Newsweek poll released last week gives an incorrect picture of the current state of the campaign:

“A month after emerging victorious from the bruising Democratic nominating contest, some of Barack Obama’s glow may be fading,” Newsweek reported. “In the latest Newsweek Poll, the Illinois senator leads Republican nominee John McCain by just 3 percentage points, 44 percent to 41 percent. The statistical dead heat is a marked change from last month’s Newsweek poll, where Obama led McCain by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.”

On its face, the poll seems to show that McCain is in a statistical tie with Obama — and gaining ground fast. If McCain’s strategists are foolish enough to believe such polls, then the election is already over. And he’s lost. Because in reality, McCain is an underdog, with a big job ahead of him. “Pollster John Zogby says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a substantial lead over Republican John McCain in the Electoral College,” the
Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday. “Zogby’s latest Electoral College map of the United States has Obama with 273 electoral votes to 146 for McCain. In Zogby’s previous assessment of the Electoral College map, Obama also had 273 but McCain had 160. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.” Zogby estimates that 119 votes are still too close to call. And those votes are what this race is about — not the popular vote.

WHAT IT IS?--The United States Electoral College is composed of the people who really elect the president and the vice president. It’s not the popular vote that picks the chief executive — most voters are at least vaguely aware of that, after the 2000 election in which a few thousand votes in Florida and a U.S. Supreme Court challenge decided the race. Essentially, we voters cast a ballot for president, but we’re really voting for electors. Those 538 electors choose the president, based on how we vote. But there’s a key difference. Electors vote as state blocs. So if Candidate A wins a state, even narrowly, then all of the state’s electors vote for Candidate A. The result can be — and has been several times — that a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election.

There are two exceptions, Maine and Nebraska. Their electors vote in congressional district blocs, so those aren’t “winner take all” states.

WHY--That’s an excellent question. It’s because the framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted to avoid direct popular election of the president. Their reasons varied, but for the most part, it was an effort to guard against the “tyranny of the majority.” In the purest democratic systems, the majority is always right. The framers of the Constitution recognized that in fact, majorities are sometimes wrong. Electors, they reasoned, would be better informed and better judges of the candidates.

WHY NOW--With better communication, an active and pervasive media, do we still need the Electoral College? Are the electors really better informed than the populace, when we have 24-hour coverage and commentary?

For--There are some arguments for keeping the system, it turns out. First, it requires widespread support to win. Without the college, in theory, a candidate could focus all of his or her efforts on the most populous states and ignore the others. If resources were limited (and they always are), smaller states would get bypassed completely. But the Electoral College system gives proportionate, distributed power to less-populated states and regions. Second, the Electoral College enhances the impact of minority groups. Small groups become the deciding factor in whether a candidate wins all or nothing in a state. Third, the system ensures that turnout problems don’t throw an election. If it’s sunny in California, for example, but a November snowstorm keeps people at home in the Midwest, the Midwesterners don’t see their voices silenced; all of their electors, though responding to fewer votes, still count.

Against--There are also arguments against the Electoral College. First, the college makes the popular vote somewhat irrelevant. Four times, in fact, candidates who lost a plurality the popular vote have taken office (1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000). And many more times, candidates have taken office without winning a majority. There are also claims that the Electoral College discourages voter turnout and participation. Voter registration and turnout drives in “safe” states are a waste of time and resources for both the presumed winner and loser. And the system forces candidates to focus on the big “swing” states, at the expense of other parts of the country. Pennsylvania, for example, has 21 electoral votes that are up in the air. That state will see much more of both candidates than will Texas (assumed to be safe for McCain) and New York (assumed to be safe for Obama).

That's why as McCain looks to pick his Vice Presidential nominee, he will be careful to look at the Electoral College map so that he chooses a VP who can deliver major dividends to him in battleground states that are currently a toss up. That's why despite McCain trailing in a couple of Electoral College polls, he still has up because those polls don't show who wins the other 119 electoral votes that are out there. Plus many of these polls are predictions and are based off of the 2004 Presidential election results in terms of how Bush or Kerry won the state as well as previous Presidential history in the sense do these states vote Democrat or Republican majority of the time in Presidential races. So for now McCain will think long and hard about which Vice Presidential candidate gives him the most bang for his buck in terms of winning the Presidency come this November.

References:
Sources: McCain VP short list includes Colin Powell, Mitt Romney http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/07/21/daily45.html

Pawlenty vs. Bloomberg? http://ww3.startribune.com/bigquestionblog/?p=1110

Analyzing the Republicans most frequently mentioned as running mates for John McCain http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/072608dnpolmccainveep.fe595d.html

Laying Odds On McCain's Veep http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2008/07/laying_odds_on_mccains_veep.html

Breakdown Of McCain's Potential VP Picks http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/80119/Breakdown-Of-McCain%5C%5Cs-Potential-VP-Picks.htm

John McCain picks up steam in Colorado and Minnesota

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain is slowly but surely picking up steam in key battleground states that could decide this year's Presidential election between him and Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama. McCain is literally neck and neck with Obama in Michigan and has gained ground on Obama in Minnesota and Colorado. McCain's latest momentum swing in these key battleground states should help him but time will tell as to how Obama's trip overseas plays out in either Obama's favor or not.

That's why McCain's latest increase in the polls is a huge sigh of relief for him. He has gained ground in three Midwest states that have gone Democratic in most Presidential elections lately and one western state that Democrats are eyeing this November as a state that could swing blue plus the Democratic National Convention is in Colorado. However the poll in Minnesota is quite interesting to watch since that is the site of the Republican National Convention and the states Governor is a possible VP pick for McCain although Obama has held a small lead in the state since clinching the Democratic Presidential nomination but now it is a statistical dead heat. What is most significant about this latest data is that McCain has quickly closed the gap between himself and Obama in even as the Arizona senator struggles to break through the wall-to-wall coverage of Obama's trip to Europe and the Middle East this week.

McCain and Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota while the Illinois senator has a more comfortable double-digit edge in Wisconsin, according to polling conducted by Quinnipiac University for washingtonpost.com and the Wall Street Journal during the past week. Only in Colorado, however, does McCain hold a greater percentage of the vote share than Obama.

The economy is still the dominant concern of voters in each state. Nearly six in ten respondents in Michigan, a state crippled by the dire problems of the auto industry, cited the economy as the single most important issue in their decision this fall. The war in Iraq ranked second in terms of voter priorities but was named by less than one in five respondents in each state. Potential hot button issues such as terrorism and illegal immigration were cited by fewer than 10 percent of voters in ranking their top priorities.

The surveys are part of a four-month long effort to measure voter sentiment in key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the race. The path to the presidency runs through a handful of battleground states, as both Obama and McCain seek the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. Thus, the four states surveyed in this project provide a snapshot of where things stand less than four months before Election Day.

The first in the series of polls, conducted in the four states in mid-June, showed Obama comfortably ahead of McCain in Wisconsin and Minnesota while the races in Michigan and Colorado were closer although Obama still held the lead. The latest polling, showing a much tighter race, was conducted July 14 to 22, during Obama's high-profile trip to the Middle East.
National polling suggests Obama retains a steady but statistically significant edge. In the most recent Washington Post/ABC News survey, Obama held a 50 percent to 42 margin over McCain; in the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, released last night, Obama leads 47 percent to 41.

While both campaigns are heavily engaged on television in most of these states, it's not immediately clear from the data what accounted for McCain's rapid rise -- particularly in Minnesota and Colorado. One possible reason is the campaign's focus over the last month on the war in Iraq and national security concerns more broadly. McCain's campaign has hammered home the idea that Obama was mistaken in his opposition to the surge of U.S. troops last year and is wrong now about his proposed 16-month timetable for withdrawing troops.

Voters in all four states seem to agree. Asked whether they would prefer a "fixed date" for withdrawal or to "keep troops in Iraq until the situation is more stable," majorities in all four states preferred the latter option despite the fact that similar majorities in each state say that America was wrong to go to war in Iraq. Those results suggest that while Obama's initial opposition to the war plays well with voters, his plan to remove troops from the country within 16 months of taking office as president is less well received. Obama's plan did, however, receive a major boost earlier this week when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his government would like U.S Forces to be out of the country by 2010.

Other internal numbers in the battleground polls are less rosy for McCain. Nearly one-quarter of voters in each of the four states said McCain's age -- he will be 72 at the time of the election -- makes them less likely to vote for him. Numbers like that may put more pressure on McCain to pick someone considerably younger than him -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minn.) or Sen. John Thune (S.D.) -- as his vice presidential running mate. The national political environment -- as reflected in these four statewide polls -- also seems to suggest major hurdles for McCain in the fall. President George W. Bush remains a decidedly unpopular figure to the general public with no more than 31 percent in any of the four states approving of the job he is doing. The numbers are even more daunting among self-identified independents who typically make up the swing vote in a presidential election. In Colorado, where independents have traditionally leaned toward Republicans, seven in ten unaffiliated voters expressed disapproval with the job Bush is doing. Those numbers are nearly identical in each of the other three states.

The polls also reveal widespread pessimism about the future of the country -- never a good sign for the candidate running under the party banner of the incumbent. In Minnesota, just one in five voters called themselves very or somewhat satisfied with "the way things are going in the nation today" while a whopping 77 percent pronounced themselves dissatisfied. The outlook was even worse in the other three states, with dissatisfied voters at 78 percent in Colorado, 81 percent in Wisconsin, and 84 percent in Michigan.

However, independents generally were far more evenly divided between Obama and McCain than in last month's Quinnipiac/washingtonpost.com/Wall Street Journal surveys. A month ago, Obama led McCain among Independents by anywhere from 21 points (Minnesota) to eight points (Michigan). In the most recent set of data, McCain actually outperforms Obama by three points among independents in Michigan while losing that crucial voting bloc far more narrowly in Colorado (Obama +8), Minnesota (Obama +8) and Wisconsin (Obama +9). Two of the states in the battleground surveys -- Minnesota and Colorado -- are also playing host to high profile Senate races. In each, the news is good for Republicans.

In Minnesota, Sen. Norm Coleman has built a 53 percent to 38 percent edge over entertainer Al Franken thanks in no small part to a series of gaffes by the former "Saturday Night Live" star. In Colorado, former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R) has pulled into a dead heat with Rep. Mark Udall (D), an affirmation of Republicans' insistence that the contest will be among the closest in the country. Therefore the latest poll results are good for McCain as he continues to try to gain momentum in his race for the White House, while competing with a rock star like Obama who has all the major press coverage following his every move 24/7. That's why news of these polls should gain national as well international attention so that McCain can steal a little bit more air time away from Obama's overseas trip.

As for how each state will play out, time will tell on how the voters will vote come this November. For now, both campaigns will continue to work hard to woe voters in all four battleground states as well as other possible swing states like Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia to name a few.

References:

McCain gains on Obama in Minn., poll indicates http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-24-Minnesota-McCain_N.htm

Poll: McCain Makes Gains in 4 Swing States http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/24/mccain-makes-gains-in-4-swing-states/

Poll: McCain closes in on Obama in some states http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8WvoRnUTs6fEo8Os3k4YlshdOvQD924B1301

Obama rocks 200,000 in Berlin

Obama rocks a German crowd of 200,000 in Berlin as his speech outlined how there needs to be a renewed alliance with Europe in order for the U.S. and the world to win the war against terror. The crowd looked like a concert crowd as they ate up every single word of Obama's. Obama's message of hope and change went over well in Berlin as the crowd was astonished by Obama's rock star persona. It was similar to when the Beatles came to America as Obama really made a a strong push to the international community that he was the best candidate to repair America's image in the world.

The images from the event really portrayed Obama in a light that shows that Obama's character and status in the world is perhaps larger than it is America. Therefore if this event gives you any insight into Obama than you can just imagine how the Democratic National Convention Nomination Acceptance speech will be given as he Obama delivers it from a football stadium. Obama will speak to a similar large crowd at the Convention that will make Obama look like a rocker who is playing to a sold out overly packed crowd. That's why when one looks at Obama in Berlin, it is clear that he has stature in the world and his persona is larger than it was before he left. Clearly Obama told a CNN reporter that his trip has gotten more attention than McCain's previous trip and it shows as each image comes in displaying him in a larger than life way.

Barack Obama could truly rock the vote in this year's Presidential election like never before.

References:
In Germany, Obama urges joint fight against terror http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iaz3rr95XrLM6XONohYDrGhN5wiQD924D1800

Obama Urges Renewed Alliance With Europe in Berlin Speech http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/24/obama-urges-renewed-alliance-with-europe-in-berlin-speech/

Barack Obama admits Europe and America view each other with suspicion http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2455385/Barack-Obama-admits-Europe-and-America-view-each-other-with-suspicion.html

For Michigan House in Detroit's districts

I have been reading about all the State House races in the state of Michigan but one thing seems to bother me and that is only in Detroit do we have 9 or more people running for State Rep. positions. Does everybody really think they can be a politician yet alone a state representative? It is already bad enough that many people who get elected in the city of Detroit are elected by name recognition but when I look at a ballot and see who many people jocking to be a state representative in Detroit but only 1 or 2 at the most 3 running to be a state rep. in the Gross Pointe areas or Southfield than it makes me wonder what is really going on.

Are we in Detroit so power hunger and stupid that we allow anybody to run for office? Better yet, why are we as Detroiters constantly kicking ourselves in the foot and why is the Democratic Party doing anything about this situation in Detroit in terms of explaining to people that as Democrats we need sensible people elected to office in order to get things done in Lansing. The answer to that question is that the Michigan Democratic Party doesn't care about what happens in Detroit state representative races because they know they are going to get a Democrat from all the 12 state rep. races that take place in Detroit. So to the Michigan Democratic Party, it doesn't matter who wins?

That's the issue, it does matter for the sake of Detroit and what will happen to the city of Detroit because of dumb, naive, sell out leaders who will go to Lansing representing the citizens of Detroit but blindly selling the city to the state and suburbs by casting votes for bills that they haven't read yet alone tried to read. The Michigan Reform now proposal will only allow this trend to continue and will only lessen Detroit's power in state government, thus leaving us as the citizens of Detroit to carefully read harder about the candidates and start electing fiery, intelligent, workaholic individuals who are grounded to helping improve Detroit and southeast Michigan by empowering the city.

So when I look at the Michigan House races in the district's of Detroit, I shack my head in disguise. However I believe that one man who is currently the Detroit Caucus chair can help improve the city of Detroit's stature in Lansing as well as southeast Michigan's stature in the rest of the state. That man is Bert Johnson who is the current State Representative for District 5 which is composed of Hamtramck, Highland Park and Detroit. Bert Johnson was the chief of staff to former 5th District State Rep. Bill McConico for 6 years before he decided to run for the post. In 2006 Bert was in a dog fight for the position of State Representative but he battled through all the mudslinging and daily attacks on his character in order to win District 5's open seat election.

One thing about Bert Johnson that no other candidate has ever done in the city of Detroit since the Coleman A. Young days as Mayor and that is be honest with the people from day one. Before Bert even decided to run for the position who told community leaders, business leaders, and religious leaders about his past of when he was 19 years old he was convicted of armed robbery. Bert turned himself in to authorities, served his time and has never looked back since than. In fact when Oakland County prosecutors and the judge tried to force Bert to give up his accomplices in order to perhaps lessen his sentence, Bert didn't because he said, I am only going to admit what I did and if the other two guys want than they will do what I did and turn themselves in. Therefore it is not up to me to snitch on them in order to get a lesser a punishment. Those are words that are commendable and real because most young cats would have snitched, just like at the dudes who got caught with Michael Vick. They quickly became the federal governments key witnesses against Vick by snitching so that they could get a lesser punishment than Vick.

Bert Johnson has received several key endorsements this election cycle from the Detroit News and Free Press, the 13th & 14th Congressional Districts, Fannie Lou Hamer Political Action Communities, the Black Slate, the Muslim Community Political Action committee and a host of others. One distant difference from 2006 and now is that the Detroit News really had some kind and great words to say about him. The Detroit News endorsement reads as follows:

Democratic incumbent Bert Johnson brings the right mix of realism, experience and hope to his role. At age 19, Johnson was convicted of armed robbery. He says he turned himself in to authorities and refocused his life. That's an unusual background for state leadership, but a potentially valuable one, given the state's profound need for corrections and education reforms.
"We have to do prison reform," Johnson says. "We're locking people up faster and longer, and it's still not working. We need to be more honest about that problem." He also wants the Detroit Public Schools to empower their principals to turnaround local schools. "DPS gets enough money to fund students and programs," he adds. "We're either going to sink or swim with what we have."

Those are words that mean something because Bert who has experience as a lawyer from working in his fathers law firm after serving his time in jail prior to going to work for Bill McConico knows how to read the law as well as interpret it in order to get things done that help the citizens of Detroit and the state of Michigan. Bert has become a consensus builder in Lansing by working not only with his own party but Republicans as well in order to balance Michigan's state budget at the beginning of 2007 and by making sure that tax breaks were given to the movie industry so that they would want to film more in Michigan and by trying to perhaps really deal with insurance redlining without getting rid of no-fault. One thing Bert is really known for that most Michigan State Representatives and Senators probably don't do and that is he goes home every night to his home in Highland Park after session no matter how late it is. Bert attends approximately 41 community meetings a month and has three coffee hours on the first 3 Fridays of each month with one in each city (Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park) he represents, where he brings the citizens coffee as well as gives them legislative updates and answers any concerns that they may have regarding various issues plaguing his district. Also Bert finds time to visit all the Senior Citizen homes in his community each month where he gives legislative updates and feeds the seniors breakfast, lunch or dinner as well as answers their questions and looks into their complaints. With all that Bert does, he still finds time to not only tuck his sons in every morning but to give them the proper guidance and fatherly love and support that a man is suppose to give to young boys. Bert is the real deal type of politician who truly does it for the people.

When the citizens of his district talk to him, they quickly get results on their problems or issues no matter if it is a city, county or state issue. Bert is working 24/7 for the people in District 5 and I know the citizens of Highland Park, Hamtramck and Detroit love him for all he does. Bert attends both Highland Park's and Hamtramck's city council meetings each month where he gives a monthly report on what he is working on and what bills are currently being discussed in Lansing that could harm or help the people. Bert is the real deal, no holds barred politician who truly cares for the people and will fight for the people no matter what. However at the same time, Bert is perhaps one of the most understanding, compassionate, and passionate individuals I know who can not only walk the walk but can talk the talk in order to get people to understand all sides of an issue, a bill, or anything.

While everybody will not agree on everything but Bert is the right guy who makes sure that people's disagreements aren't reason for us as a people to not work together. Bert brings allies and foes to the table in order to find solutions that meet the needs of all parties involved and that's the mark of a great politician. Plus Bert is doing something that no other politician in the state can say they are doing and that is bringing young people to the fold of politics. I mean young people who probably have never been interested in politics are now finding their niche in politics and Bert are allowing them to run his day to day campaign. Can you imagine all 30 years or younger running a candidates political campaign for not just election but re-election as well. From 2006 to now, Bert has brought at least 10-20 young people in the fold of politics and these young people have consisted of high school students and college students with each having a share of the pie to help uplift perhaps one of Detroit's and the state of Michigan's shining stars who can really do some great things for the cities of Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck and the state of Michigan.

References:
The best choices for Wayne County state House seats
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807220324

Poll: Michigan voters support proposed state constitution amendment

The New Reform Michigan now proposal has mixed reviews especially because the ballot initiative isn't exactly telling voters the whole truth and the long term ramifications if it passes. For starters, lawmakers would have to take a pay cut that would literally wipe out the future brain trust of the future of Michigan lawmakers because those bright young talented minds who just graduate from law school will not look to political office but rather to big corporations because they might have large loans to pay back. Secondly, the reform could literally wipe out a large majority of women and minorities who currently sit in Lansing, thus perhaps only having minorities coming from Detroit going to Lansing.

The Reform Michigan now proposal is just simply a partisan led initiative by Mark Brewer and the Michigan Democratic Party which could ultimately hurt many Democrats in the state long term. Brewer believes that by stripping Republicans of some of their power and creating these pay cuts in lawmakers salaries than he hopes many Republicans will no longer seek office or it would lessen the control the Republicans have over the states judicial system as well. Nonetheless, what Brewer doesn't understand is that Republicans in the state of Michigan will not always have control of the Senate and Judicial system but with what Brewer and special interests groups & unions are doing by proposing this Reform Michigan now proposal could perhaps give Republicans more control of the Senate and the House, which Democrats now control.

When redistricting takes place if Reform Michigan passes than many areas that Democrats have control of will merge with Republican areas thus perhaps giving a slight edge to Republicans in the state particularly in Northern Michigan and perhaps Southwest Michigan. At the same time, it would actually have a larger impact on Southeast Michigan as perhaps the only Democrats coming from Southeast Michigan could come from the Detroit area and immediate areas boarding Detroit. That's why the Reform Michigan now might sound like a good idea to many voters but voters must ask themselves why such a proposal now and how will it really affect our state as we no longer have smart lawmakers in office but second rate lawmakers who just are there to collect a check. Don't get me wrong, we have some of those lawmakers now. For instance, we currently have 110 state representatives and 38 state senators. So imagine that currently we have 30-40 second rate state reps and 5-10 senators who just want to collect a check. With the Reform Michigan now proposal those numbers could go to out of 84 state reps and 28 state senators, we could see 50-60 second rate state reps and 15-20 second rate state senators.

So will this proposal really help our state in the long term. While some things look good short term, we have to be realistic and we have to think about ballot proposals that look shiny and nice but in actuality they are just political ploys by one party aimed toward another in an attempt to wrestle power from the other party but it could simply just give the other party more power than they already had. Therefore, Mr. Brewer, I hope you know what you are doing because if the Reform Michigan now proposal goes forward and passes than it could really hurt the state but more importantly the Michigan Democratic Party as many will look at this within your own party as a complete distrust issue that leaves many of them out of a job and with a pay cut during tough economic times.

I hope that top notch Democrats are not helping Brewer, the UAW, and other unions with this proposal because the bridges that could be burnt in the aftermath of this proposal could be long term and the Republicans in the state of Michigan could see themselves being in control of so many things in the state that we as the citizens will once again look like the fools. Just remember the Engler years particularly for southeast Michigan. It was not great for the city of Detroit and our surrounding neighbors. Nonetheless, we will be looking to find Mark Brewer and whoever else led this Michigan Reform now initiative to blame them for what our state has become when we as the voters are the one's who got pimped, hoodwinked and bamboozled by supporting such a ballot proposal that is misleading and doesn't paint the best accurate picture of the future long term impacts on the state of Michigan.

Just imagine, a state with lawmakers that are nearly 80-90% Caucasian man. Less women and minorities as state lawmakers is not what our state needs in anyway.

References:

Is ballot proposal real reform or partisan ploy? Reforms promote good government, don't allow rigging of voting process

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/OPINION01/807230357/1008

McCain mocks the media's love for Obama

John McCain mocks the media for its love of Barack Obama especially MSNBC and NBC which has just been so engulfed with love for Obama even when Obama was running against Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries. Now as the general election comes upon American voters, the McCain campaign is not going to allow the media's love for Obama to go unnoticed so they have decided to make a video about it in order to draw attention to the issue of how there is a media bias. It is clear and real that there is a media bias in favor of Obama and not many news outlets are willing to hold Obama to the same standard as they hold for his opponents. Therefore regardless of how people feel about Fox News, at least they are doing what MSNBC and NBC does do and to a degree, the media should be not bias in any election but as you can see, the media loves Obama and I commend Obama for being that cool dude who can't do no more. More power to Obama but the McCain video is a great piece to watch and brings attention to the issue of the media's love for Obama.

Nas Set to Deliver Petition to Fox News Decrying Obama Smears

Rapper and Hip-hop star Nas protests Fox News 'Obama smears' along with ColorofChange.org and MoveOn.org. The Fox News protest took place in the streets of New York and poured over to the television airwaves later that night. Nas lead a group of about 50 people who were accompanied by the news media out in force to the outside of the New York headquaters of News Corp's. While at the office of News Corp's, both ColorofChange.org and MoveOn.org brought hand-printed signs demanding that News Corp's Fox News network "stop its racist smears against the Obama's and other Black Americans." The groups carried boxes containing what they said were 620,000 signed petitions protesting against they they claimed was the channel's biased news coverage and remarks by its commentators.

However News Corp employees refused to allow them to deliver the boxes. A Fox News spokesman later told the TVNewser website that Fox News believes in all protesters exercising their right to free speech, including Nas, who has an album to promote. Now Bill O'Reilly took it upon himself to respond to accusations of his network being racist, via his "The O'Reilly Factor" show Wednesday night, saying the protestors were "zombie followers." While O'Reilly responded, Nas was appearing on "The Colbert Report" to perform his track "Sly Fox," in which the rapper lashes out at Fox News and how they treat African Americans as well as their brainwashing and urging people to watch what they are watching.

Nas is petitioning against what he calls a "propaganda machine." Nas and the two political organizations, ColorofChange.org and MoveOn.org, are upset at several recent comments made on the network. During their protest they referenced how Fox referred to Michele Obama "Barack's baby momma," their portrayal of the fist bump that Barack and Michelle Obama shared they called a "terrorist fist jab," and Bill O'Reily's call for a "lynching party" for Michelle, who may one day in the near future become the First Lady. O'Reilly, however, denies that he or Fox are racist, and went as far as to call MoveOn.org "the New Klan."

"The Move On organization espouses a radical left agenda and attacks those who oppose that nonsense," O'Reilly said on his show. "The latest smear from Move On is telling their Kool-Aid-drinking zombie followers that Fox News is smearing Barack Obama and is a racist concern. Of course, that's a lie. This broadcast and FNC in general have been exceedingly fair to Senator Obama. However in order to intimidate anyone from criticizing Obama in any way, Move On is playing the race card," according to O'Reilly.

Later that night on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report," Nas came with signed petitions, boxes of them, claiming Fox would not even see them."They refuse to see the petitions," the rapper told MTV News. "They don't want to deal with it. They want to try to act like they want to get away from it. I been getting a little word that people from Fox have been trying to call and talk to me and stuff like that, but right now it's about getting as many as people as we can [to sign]."According to MTV, Nas is willing to debate with O'Reilly on neutral ground. If such an event is to take place than I suggest the two debate in Time Square in front of the American people where both O'Reilly and Nas express how they feel on the matter and to sweeten the pot, Senator Clinton should be moderator along with Charlie Rangall perhaps. Than again Bloomberg might be willing to moderate the debate to ensure both sides get their two cents in.

For now though, Nas and O'Reilly will have to speak soon regarding this matter but I applaud Nas for wanting to get involved and while some might say he is just trying to sell records since one of the songs on his CD is about Fox, I say that Nas has never been the type to just sell records but he has been about educating the music industry on the issues that plague America and the world. That's why what Nas is doing by joining up with MoveOn.org and ColorofChange.org was a powerful move that I commend the rapper. I only hope other rappers get involved in sending messages of change and hope as the rap industry really needs more conscious orientated messages that stimulate the minds of the masses. Nas is starting something that could be truly magnificent in terms of bringing back political consciousness in rap and hip hope like it was during the 1980s.

References:

Hip-hop star Nas protests FOX News 'Obama smears' http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/144082.asp?source=mypi

Nas Takes Beef to the Street, Joins FOX Protest http://www.theboombox.com/2008/07/22/nas-takes-beef-to-the-street-joins-fox-protest/

Nas Delivers Racist Smear Petition To Fox News http://www.taletela.com/news/124/nas-delivers-racist-smear-petition-to-fox-news

John McCain, Barack Obama will appear together at Orange County church

What no one else could do including John McCain and his town hall meeting could not do was get Barack Obama and McCain to appear together at several town hall meetings across America but Obama declined because the format only favored McCain. No one in the media has criticized Obama lately for not accepting McCain's invitation to do town halls that would take the media out of the picture and allow regular people to ask the questions which the McCain camp has been doing since the Republican Primaries. However Obama has not appeared with McCain at any of these town hall meetings but McCain has continued to them which are aimed toward independent and undecided voters who leave his town halls impressed with McCain and to some degree deciding to vote for McCain after leaving.

Now for the first time both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will make their first joint appearance of this year's 2008 Presidential election as the presumtive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, respectively, at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California on August 16th for a leadership and compassion forum. The forum will be a two-hour event where each candidate will take the stage separately for about an hour to respond to Pastor Rick Warren's questions about faith and moral issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate change and human rights. Pastor Warren is the author of the Purpose Driven Life, which is a best-seller, contacted both candidates personally in order to invite them to the event because with both presidential candidates recently increasing their outreach to the evangelical community than this appearance at the popular evangelical church could help the candidates' appeal to this key voting bloc.

Pastor Warren will be the only one to pose questions to the candidates, as requested by both senators, although the event will be open to the media. Warren has known both candidates before they ran for national office and McCain & Obama, along with other political leaders, have endorsed Warren's P.E.A.C.E. Plan - a 50-year strategy to mobilize millions of local churches around the world to address the five global problems: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and literacy.

That's why this joint appearance together to a degree really makes me wonder when will the real official appearance take place before voters where the candidates are asked a range of questions by not Pastor Warren but by ordinary voters across America. These are the people who Obama has to reach to out to and these are the people that McCain hopes will swing his way as the General Election approaches in order to combat all of Obama's enthusiasm. I hope that August 16th is not the only time these candidates will be on the campaign trail together because they both candidates owe it to the voters to take the power of the media out of politics as they tour America together campaigning not with Vice Presidential candidates but with each other from town hall to town hall meeting.

When McCain first proposed the idea, I was all for it and if Obama is so charismatic and articulate as I believe he is, than he should have squashed all of McCain's momentum by accepting his town hall proposals and showing the voters that the was the candidate by delivering his plans and goals for America in a clear, concise and precise matter that independent voters and undecided clearly know that Obama was the best choice for President. Now that Obama didn't accept McCain's town hall meeting ideas, all the polls both nationally and state wide show the race for the White House a dead heat with either candidate leading between 1%-3%. As the conventions come closer and closer it is apparent to me that Obama could have buried McCain by now by simply going on town hall meetings with him and taking away one of McCain's most talented campaign tactics which is direct one on one contact voters in smaller venues like town halls.

Clearly Obama could be the candidate that controls both big and small crowds with speeches and Question & Answer. Nonetheless, Obama has not shown that and has preferred bigger venues rather than smaller venues. I don't know whose plan is better but for now McCain and Obama race toward the White House remains a toss up that I can't even call until I see who will be each candidate's Vice Presidential choice.

References:

McCain and Obama Agree to Attend Megachurch Forum http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/us/politics/21church.html?bl&ex=1216785600&en=64c9c3848c52667d&ei=5087%0A

Obama, McCain Set for First Joint Election Appearance at California Megachurch http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/21/obama-mccain-set-for-first-joint-appearance-at-california-megachurch/

Obama Leads McCain in Battleground States Among Single Women

Illinois Senator Barack Obama leads Arizona Senator John McCain 46% to 43% in Vermont, which could be a pivotal battleground state come this November as both candidates jockey for position in their race toward the White House. Now Vermont which usually isn't a battleground state, yet alone an important state in most Presidential elections but this is not no ordinary Presidential election. We have one of our youngest Presidential candidates against one of our oldest so the contrasts in both candidates is very evident in the candidates ages. Now with the latest battleground poll out of Vermont showing that Obama has a slim lead which is within the national averages, expect Vermont to be getting a lot more attention in the next upcoming weeks and months as the race for the White House heats up.

Also it is important to point that all 50 states in this year's Presidential election could be toss up states in this usual Presidential campaign that any prediction that anyone makes today, might change tomorrow depending on various variable like the candidates changing their positions on the issues, surrogates speaking too loosely, and a host of other factors. Obama and McCain are neck-and-neck in New Hampshire and this swing state shows only a half of likely voters have definitely decided on their choice for president. The rest were leaning (21 percent) or still trying to decide (28 percent).

Both McCain and Obama dominated each others party's registered voters but they divided independent voters fairly evenly. McCain also did well among conservatives, older voters and those living near Massachusetts. While Obama did well among liberals, younger voters and those living along the seacoast. Now the key issues to Vermont voters were jobs and the economy with gasoline prices and health care tied far behind. So both candidates will look at today's poll as signs of progress and hope in the state of Vermont while also looking at it to see where they are weak as well as where their opponent is weak so that they can capitalize on their opponent's weaknesses while strengthening their weaknesses.

That's why every time a battleground states poll comes out, both Obama and McCain campaigns will look at them in order to find ways that they can perhaps win the perspective battleground or swing state. So for now, the early polls are significant as each candidates shapes their general election to get the independent and undecided voters as well as perhaps steal a couple of their opponents voters in the process. November cannot come any sooner but for now but candidates are taking full advantage of the summer so that they can develop their General election message a whole lot better.

References:

Obama barely leads in New Hampshire http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/07/obama_barely_le.html

Poll shows presidential race close in NH http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5juburdSSdigTLtmCg6Ez87e67L_gD922EE100

Obama in Iraq: Withdrawal support but no timetable

As Barack Obama headed overseas for his foreign policy credential trip as some might call it. The main focus of the trip was on the war in Iraq and Obama's 16 month timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Before Obama even came to Iraq, there was a press report coming out of an English newspaper talking about Iraq's Prime Minister praising and agreeing with Obama's foreign policy plan of a 16 month timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. After just one day of that news, the Iraqi Prime Minister retracted his statement and said that he was misquoted and was not endorsing any U.S. Presidential candidate.

Now as Obama landed in Iraq today, many members of the Iraqi parliament came out saying that Obama's troop withdrawal plan is the plan they support. Thus the new issue is that the generals and the current Presidential administration don't want to publicly recognize a withdrawal plan or at least not make it public. However members of the Iraqi parliament have sure given their support to Obama in hopes of making it clear that Iraq doesn't want the U.S. to occupy their country any longer and that Iraq's leadership will be in good hands thanks to the troop surge that has worked despite Obama's non admission of it. While Obama is right that their should be a troop withdrawal but a timetable for that plan should be detected by the progress that America's military makes in Iraq due to the troop surge, which McCain has stated.

Obama's visit to Iraq allowed him to talk to major generals and what they felt was needed to ensure victory in Iraq in terms of stability and economic growth for the region. Obama flew over battleground areas in order to understand just how difficult the region was or still is. Obama lastly talked to some Iraqi government officials and gained a new perspective on how they feel about the U.S. troop presence. Obama did not offer any government solutions or policies as if he was President but he simply wanted to gain valuable knowledge that could help him boost his foreign policy credentials and future foreign policy plans for Iraq, the war on terror and other countries.

The lastest developments have really given Obama something to boost about and it has given him a little bit of wiggle room in regards to his Iraq foreign policy. Now at the same time, Obama has given some of that wiggle room back by not admitting that the troop surge increase worked and that his trip to some of the region would not have been possible without the surge that has produced some significant results. While the surge was long overdue, you can't deny that our military has done their part when our government and country has called upon them. That's why Obama's non acceptance of that, has many scratching their heads in hope's of understanding what Obama is really doing. For now due, Obama can enjoy his time overseas as this trip have given some major pr and international support that should boost his Presidential candidacy as well as rock star persona.