Obama's Ad - Gas Prices

Michigan Delegates Split

Since Michigan was stripped of its 128 delegates for holding its primary too early, top Democrats there have been working hard to get the state's delegates seated and the Democratic National convention. Today they suggested a compromise that falls between the two suggested by Obama and Clinton, 69 for Clinton and 59 for Obama. Clinton suggested that she should get 73 of the delegates because of the results of the January 15 primary where she won 18 more than Obama. Obama, however, wants the 128 split evenly, 64-64. Once again, I can't wait for all of this small bickering to stop, it just makes it harder to come together as the Democratic party once we finally know who the nominee is.

Clinton's New Ad - Working Class

Senator Clinton has a new ad that began broadcasting today in Indiana, due to the primary there next Tuesday. The ad "highlights her Midwestern roots and casts her as a working-girl ally of the blue-collar Democrats she is counting on in next Tuesday's primary here". The ad informs voters of her father being in the navy and being a small businessman, while her mother was a Sunday school teacher. She says that "their dreams are similar to those of all Americans who 'embrace hard work and opportunity' and she said she would fight for all of those hopes as a president". Hillary knows that she must come off this way to those in places like Indiana. I think it is funny though, because that type of ad would probably never run in a place like California. I think that if people in LA saw it they would be like "so what?" The ad is definitely seem to vary depending on which audience they are being broad casted to. The governor of North Carolina has just endorsed Clinton, so I think that this will help her tremendously. They were predicting that Obama would win in North Carolina, but now this new endorsement may shift things in Hillary's direction. I can't wait to see what the outcome is a week from today!

The new ad can be found on at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOCNcS8_7H4

Politicians Discuss Gas Tax Holiday

There is no doubt that everyone is very upset about the gas prices. I just filled up the other day and had to pay 3.83 a gallon. I have seen some that are almost $4 a gallon. This is just ridiculous. So now both John McCain and Hillary Clinton have called for a "gas tax holiday" this summer. This is in order to help commuters and those going on vacations with the ridiculous prices. This would mean that congress would suspend the 18.4 cent federal tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. However, although it may help people out a little, it would hurt the government tremendously--it could cost about $10 billion in revenues. Obama is the only candidate that is opposing this idea. Although he vote for something similar in Illinois about eight years ago; its ineffectiveness has caused him to not make the same mistake again. The break would only save people a little bit of money, but it would hurt the government severely. I do not think that it is worth it for the government to lose so much money, when it is only going to save the people a little bit. It mostly helps the producers, not the consumers; and the last thing the gas companies need is a break. Economists are saying that the only way to solve the problem of high gases prices during the summer, is to have more supply. When it was done in Illinois, only 28% of motorists said that they thought they were paying less for gas due to the temporary tax suspension. It sounds like Obama knows what he is talking about--and they say Hillary has more experience than him? I don't think that we should be focusing on how to make small differences, especially if we are resulting in cutting taxes that help the government. Instead we should focus on more on how to have more supply or how to stop oil companies from making so much money. We are trying to lower prices, but turning to the wrong solutions. Taxes shouldn't be cut, the price of the gas needs to go down. And once again, each politician turns it around to make it sound like what they are doing is right; the American people need to be smart enough to do their research and discover that this 'gas tax holiday' is bullshit.

The Mom Blog

I recently came across something called 'The Mom Blog'. It is written by moms in Orange County and is a way for parents to come together and discuss topic of interest to them. It is a nice place to go if you have questions, suggestions, or just feel like blogging about something that you feel like expressing. They discuss things from oldies music, to celebrities that their children idolize. The most recent blogging had to do with Miley Cyrus' photos in Vanity Fair. The 15-year old was photographed nude in bed sheets....many mothers are expressing their concern for how to explain it to their daughters who analyze this teen star. The also expressed how it has been very hard this year to explain the behaviors of 16-year old pregnant Jaimie Spears and Vanessa Hudgenson, whose nude photos were broad casted all over the internet. If it were not for the internet, so many people would not be informed about the young stars' actions. The internet has allowed everyone to know that Jaimie Spears is pregnant, and allowed anyone to google the nude pics of Vanessa Hudgenson. I think that theses girls are trashy (at least Spears and Cyrus), but that is their deal. I don't think they ever claimed to be role models, and anyone who let their daughters look up to these dumb asses, is a dumb ass themselves. If the internet wasn't the way it was, people's dirty laundry wouldn't be aired as much as it is.

The Mom Blog can be found here: http://themomblog.freedomblogging.com/

Edwards Still Not Endorsing, Despite Primary in His State

John Edwards is still not endorsing a nominee. Some say it is because he does not want to split the party any more. Some say that he is holding out for a vice president position. I really want to know who he supports, as I am sure do many other people. Although I think it may be a good thing that he has not said anything yet. After all, why should one man have so much say? People should vote who they want to be president, not who Edwards wants as president. Even though his state of North Carolina is having its primary tomorrow, he has still not said anything. I think that he is going to wait to see who the democratic nominee is and then obviously support them, maybe even try to get the VP position. I think that he will have a good chance at it because both candidates will probably want to choose a white male as their running mate. Also, those that voted for Edwards before he dropped out will also be beneficial in the race against McCain. His wife is a political activists too, so I think her vote will help whoever she supports; although, I am sure it is the same person that he is supporting. The Clinton campaign has been pressing them in hopes that she is the one he supports. They know that an endorsement from him would be huge in helping getting ahead of Obama. Hopefully we will know the nominee soon because I am sick of all this division.

Obama Says No to Clinton's Request for Another Debate

Hillary Clinton requested another Democratic debate before the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th, but Obama has said no. He is saying that he would rather speak directly to the voters: "I'm not ducking. We've had 21. What we've said is with two weeks, two big states, we want to make sure that we're talking to as many folks as possible on the ground, taking questions from voters". This was quoted from Obama's interview on Fox News Sunday, in which he was repeatedly attacked on questions regarding Rev. Wright, flag pins, knowing Ayers, etc. I am sure that Obama was expecting this from Fox news though. I think that Obama is smart to focus on getting out to the voters, especially when the last debate was such a disaster. They focused on such stupid and trivial things, which may have been the reason for Clinton's ten-point victory. Although the debate would probably not be as ridiculous as the last one, since ABC got so much criticism for it, but there would probably still be a lot of negative focus around Obama. Clinton is smart to suggest another debate, but Obama is even smarter for saying no. Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee Chairman aid, said the race is "essentially pretty close to a tie". I just can't wait to know who will be the Democratic nominee, and I hope to god that whoever it is, will be able to beat John McCain.

Political Cartoon

I just came across this political cartoon and thought that it was funny. Although, I must admit that I laughed with a little bit of nervousness in my voice. I definitely want our troops out of Iraq. I think that we have been in there for so long and I don't understand why. So many of our soldiers are dying, for a cause that does not pertain to us. However, at the same time, I do not want the last few years to have been for nothing. After seeing that man on the Bill Maher show in lecture yesterday, I have begun to wonder if pulling out is the best option. The Democrats have vowed that they will begin withdrawing our troops on day one, but is this the best option? Is it all just wishful thinking? I wish that we knew what would be the best way to get our troops home, without jeopardizing all that we have accomplished there. Although, I don't believe that we had any reason to go there in the first place. I understand that we are supposed to be a 'Superpower', but what has it gotten us? We are so negatively viewed by the rest of the world, we have lost over 4,000 of our men, so what is the point of have this super power? It is one thing to help others when your own country is doing very well, but we are not. Especially with the economy and everything, we should be focusing our efforts on our own country.

Obama's Speech - No Money from Lobbyists or PAC's

Obama's Post Penn. Primary Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEskvfRx40I

This is a speech given by Barack Obama after Clinton's win in Penn. He opens by comparing his fund raising tactics compared to Hillary Clinton's. He claims that they have never taken any money from lobbyists or PACs, while Clinton has. He then continues to compare what they want to do to what Truman, Roosevelt, and Kennedy. The crowd seems to love him. It is interesting to note that almost all the people standing behind him are white. Coincidence? I think not. He also discusses that he does not want us to be divided by the red and the blue states. He is a very inspirational speaker. People even start chanting "Obama! Obama!" after his inspirational words. He promises that he will not be a perfect president, but the the will do his best and always listen to what the people want. He continues to inspire by saying things such as "Change happens from the bottom up" and "Things happen on the streets of America, not just behind the doors in Washington". I love that he does not only speak about himself and his campaign, but what all of his supporters and the American people can do: "You can make this election....we going to help those families without health care and those sitting around their table unsure of how they are going to pay their bills". He inspires the people listening that if they vote for him, that we will all work together and will all be contributing to making change happen. I really like the way that he speaks and makes people feel as if we are going to get through this together, rather than that we must only rely on him to. I think that this is what separates him from the other politicians.

Clinton Raises Ten Million in 24 Hours

Hillary Clinton proved that her win in Pennsylvania was a big deal. Her campaign has said that it "raised more than ten million dollars in the twenty-four hours following her win in Pennsylvania". Allegedly, 80% were first-time donors. Back at the end of March, Obama's campaign had approx. forty million dollars and no debt, while the Clinton campaign had about nine million and ten million in debt. Clinton has been saying that more people have voted for her than for Obama because she is including the votes from Michigan and Florida. Including these two states gives her about one hundred thousand more votes; however, the Democratic party refuses to count the votes in these two states. This is because both of these states violated the party's rules by having their primaries too early, and because Obama was not even on their ballots. This gives Obama lead of about half a million in the popular vote. Once again, both sides take this situation and make it sound favorable for them. Hillary makes it sound like she really would have more votes. At the same time, Obama could spin it in his favor, making it sound fair that those votes were excluded. The next race is onto North Carolina and Indiana. They say that Obama is supposed to win N.C., but that the race will be close in Indiana. I am curious to see how it will turn out. I am very surprised that the Clinton Campaign has raised so much money in such a short time though. I guess the Pennsylvania did help her a lot, considering all the first-time donations.

Hillary Clinton campaigning Wednesday in Indiana

Barack Obama shakes hands with supporters Wednesday in Indiana

McCain Asks GOP in NC Not to Run Ad

Senator John McCain has asked the GOP in North Carolina not to run the political ad that brings up the controversial remarks of Rev. Wright. He said that he has emailed the party and asked them to pull the ad in North Carolina. The ad begins with Obama and Rev. Wright next to each other and then continues to play a clip of Wright's comments. The commenter at the end then says, "He's just too extreme for North Carolina". The North Carolina Republican party officials say that they will continue running the ad, despite McCain's requests. McCain stated, "I don't know why they do it. Obviously, I don't control them, but I'm making it very clear, as I have a couple of times in the past, that there's no place for that kind of campaigning, and the American people don't want it." Even though I am not a Republican and I am not going to vote for McCain, I like his views on this; it definitely makes me have some respect for him. Of course, I can't help but be skeptical of politicians; it is also possible that he just wants Obama to have a better chance of winning the Democratic nominee because McCain thinks that he can beat him easier than he can beat Hillary. Who knows. I think it is weird that the party is ignoring the requests of their nominee, and presidential hopeful. Either way, I do not think that the ad should run and I hope that it does not.

Clinton's Win in Penn

Unsurprisingly, Hillary Clinton won the primary in Pennsylvania. She is now proclaiming that "the tides are turning" in the race for the Democratic nominee. She believes that this is because the win proves "she was the best suited to take on Senator John McCain in the fall because of her capacity to carry the key swing states". She is also claiming that her wins in Penn. and Ohio were necessary because "it’s very hard to imagine a Democrat getting to the White House without winning those states.” Clinton won the popular vote 55-45%, which is a very big boost for her campaign. The next primaries are in Ohio and Indiana; however, it is believed that Obama will do much better in these states than he did in Penn. It is hard to understand what everything means because both sides turn every single situation to sound like it was in their favor. I even received an email from the Obama campaign after Clinton had won in Penn., stating that this win did not matter because he still has more state wins and more delegates. I wish that it was a little clearer what means what, rather than having to hear both sides try to be optimistic about each situation. Although I think that Clinton needed to win Penn. to stay in the race, I don't really see how a win is so important. If Obama still has more delegates and more state wins, that sounds like things will work out in his favor. Who knows though, we will just have to see what happens.

Obama's Website's Blogs Redirected to Clinton's

A few days ago, there was a problem with the community blogs on Obama's website--a big problem. Some of Obama supporters who were trying to visit the blogs section of Obama's site were being redirected to Clinton's official campaign site. Security researchers have stated that "the hacker exploited a so-called "cross-site scripting" vulnerability in Obama's website to engineer the ruse." The problem has been fixed, but it may have had a small impact since it was only a few days before the Penn. primary. Those people who may have still been undecided could have gone onto Obama's website, and found themselves on Clinton's. The article says that the stunt was probably just a prank. I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorists, but I wonder if there is a possibility that it was the work of someone working in her campaign. It is also possible it was just someone who was a strong supporter of hers or really hates Obama, but one thing is clear--the hacker wanted people to be at Clinton's page instead of Obama's website.
The article also pointed out a good point: by not fully securing their website, candidates risk exposing people to computer viruses and identity theft. The article also said that this probably wont be the last time that we see something like this since this is such a closely watched election. Hopefully the candidates will learn from this mistake and be sure to secure their sites, but with the way the internet know, I feel like nothing is 100%.

The article can be found at: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gA48mwaxd7IaRSvOHSjPoSXIHwnQD907RTD80

Obama's Phonebanking Tool

I just received one of the many emails from the Obama campaign, asking voters to help out. It is a very important day--Pennsylvania's primary. His email asks his supporters to use his online phonebanking tool to call voters in Pennsylvania. He says that "supporters like you have helped register hundreds of thousands of new voters in Pennsylvania". I think that it is amazing how much Obama has used the internet to his advantage. Also, I think that it is nice that now it's so easy for people to help participate and contribute to the candidate they support, whether through donations, calls, etc. This phone banking system seems like a great idea. Everyone who participates gets a list of twenty names, numbers, and a script of things you might want to say. I am sure that this is a huge advantage to Obama because rather than simply relying on those working in his campaign, he can use the thousands of supporters that are also helping him, and for free. He is not asking a lot to make a few calls, but combined together, it could actually affect the election results; so many people are able to participate, all thanks to the internet.

Pennsylvania's Vote Tomorrow

So, tomorrow is Pennsylvania's primary. I was just reading an article and it said that Clinton basically has to win, otherwise it will be hard to keep going and damage the party. I think I have my money on her, but I don't think it will be by a large amount. It is very unlikely that either of them will get the 2,025 delegates that they need to win the nomination. This means that the Democratic nominee will probably be decided by super delegates, governors, Congress members, and party leaders/officials. I don't think that that is right, I don't like it when I feel like the people's vote isn't really going to count. We are supposed to make the difference, not people like that. I guess tomorrow's election will tell a lot about what to expect on the Democratic side.

Internet Like Unchecked Newspaper

I came across an article from BBC News thats from a while back and I thought it was interesting. It was mainly about how you cannot regulate the internet. Tim Toulmin, Press Complaints Commission director, was quoted saying, "We're not in favor of regulating the internet. You can't regulate it. The flow of information should not be regulated by the government." He also referred to the terms 'free speech' and 'free press' because he said that even though it is on the internet, those views are still protected under those laws. I guess that is what is causing such a problem. They cannot regulate, yet the internet is completely unchecked. Toulmin explained, "If you want to see how the newspaper industry would look like if it was unchecked, then look at the internet." That is a really good point. I guess it is cool that we have something like that, but I can also see how it might be a problem because so many are now relying on the internet to take the place of newspapers, which is not always a proper substitute. I guess people just need to be more aware of how unchecked it is. But I say that as I have another tab open with the recent news articles--no newspaper here :-/.

Democrats on The Colbert Report

Last night Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama all appeared on The Colbert Report. It was nice to finally have some laughter and light conversation from the party after all the tension and bitterness that's been happening lately, especially at the Debate on Thurs. They all appeared separately, but were pretty funny. I think John Edwards was the funniest. He did 'The Word' skit but changed it to 'The Ed Word' haha. It was mostly about how he has not yet decided which candidate he supports; he poked fun at the situation and was alluding to the fact that he could be bought (by a jet ski). It was pretty funny. But I really want to know who he supports. he knows that his decision will carry a lot of weight. I wonder if he is going to do it soon or just wait it out to see who wins the nomination and then supports them? I duuno. Anyway, Hillary helped fix Colbert's tv when it went out and then Obama put up 'manufactured distractions' up on the notice board. All in all, I was glad I saw it, and I am sure a lot of other people were too. Mainly because of all the recent squabbling lately. I'm sure it went right back to 'politics as usual' as soon as they went back to the campaign trail though.

Democratic Debate

The Washington Post headline today read: "In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC". I could not agree more. I was expecting a very heated debate, due to all that has been going on lately, however, I was not expecting to dwell on those things as much ABC did. I felt like the entire debate was mainly focused on the little issues that the media has been obsessed with, rather than about real issues. They talked about Obama's 'guns and religion' remarks, his paster Rev. Wright's controversial sermons, and why they will not promise that they will choose the runner up as their running mate. I felt like the whole thing was ridiculous, they hardly talked about the real issues. The whole point of the debate was for those in Pennsylvania who are voting next Tuesday to determine which candidate they liked m ore, as well as for the rest of America. I think that focusing on the smaller issues so much only adds to the problem. Obama even seemed to get upset when asked a silly question at one point about not wearing the flag. Some hick-looking lady asked Obama if he believed in the flag because he did not wear a pin. That really pissed me off. Of course he believes in it. And he never said he wouldn't wear one--he actually wore won that a veteran had given him just the day before. He just thinks that it is ridiculous that people decide if someone is patriotic or not because of if he wears a pin. Obama made a good point, his actions and what he does should show his patriotism, not a minuscule detail like wearing a pin or not. Another ridiculous question was whether Obama thought that Rev. Wright loved America as much as Obama does. What kind of question is that? If they want to talk about the Rev. Wright thing for the 30,000th time, fine. But why are questions about whether he loves America more or not beign asked? All that does is put the politicians in an awkward situation because they are being asked an awkward question. And it just gives the opposing sides another thing to attach--no matter what his response is. I was very annoyed with the debate, but I was happy when I realized that it was not just me. Greg Mitchell, a Huffington Post analyst said, "In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous focused mainly on trivial issues as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in Philadelphia". I usually feel like I know more about the candidates when I watch a debate, but I just found myself annoyed that we were hearing the same things that they have been playing over youtube repeatedly for the past couple weeks. People just need to drop the small things--or at least drop them when we are having a serious debate. The hosts should have come up with much more important, relevant questions. In the end, I think that the debate hurt Obama the most, because most of the stupid questions focused on things that had to do with him, his ties, his reverend, etc. I don't think he will win Pennsylvania, but I am hoping that those 'gun and religion clingers'' votes don't matter.

Obama's Remarks about Philadelphians

Obama has been receiving a great deal of criticism in last few days, mainly from Hillary Clinton and John McCain, because of his remarks stating that people in small towns "cling to religion and guns in bad economic times". I can understand how some people may be offended by this, but I think that it has been completely blown out of proportion. In his statements afterwards, he apologized for what he said and explained what he actually meant. He explained that he was just referring to how so many people are bitter and depressed because of how poor the economy is. It is just hard for me to understand why his comments are such a big deal to some people, but then again, I am very different than a 'small-town voter in Philadelphia' and I certainly never cling to religion or guns. I definitely do not think that he has a chance to win in Pennsylvania next Tuesday; I am sure that Hillary will win that state. However, I do not think that Obama's comments make him an 'elitist' as Hillary and McCain have been suggesting. Anyone who knows his story, knows that he is not an elitist. I think that he said something that people got offended about because he was talking about such a controversial subject--religion and guns. Maybe next time he should just stay away from discussion of such controversial issues.