Watch the right side of the video. Stay with it until about 1:10.
I really don't know what to say other than kudos to the camera man for framing the shot of Palin, the turkey wrangler, and the cone of death. It is great use of the rule of thirds.
Since the election I've talked a lot about Sarah Palin with friends on both sides of the aisle. The general consensus is she wasn't given a chance to succeed because the McCain campaign did such a bad job of handling her. Her selection so late in the summer that she has little time to prepare for the national spotlight, which I would argue she was never going to be ready for anyway. What has been exceptionally revealing is the McCain campaign and Fox News (a la Campaign Carl) assault on Palin post election. The stuff about her clothes and her general intelligence came from conservative sources. It showed how undisciplined and amateur the McCain campaign really was. I feel bad for the fact that this woman put her neck our for John McCain and she got trashed because they did such a bad job with her. Anyway, I hope she rebounds and gets the Republican Presidential Nomination. Palin 2012!
As we found out by looking at the final outcome, it didn't really matter who ended up being the vice presidential nominees in 2008. It usually doesn't, but it is always something to talk about during the natural down periods of a presidential campaign. However, this year was a little different in the respect that a lot of attention was paid to one of the vice presidential candidates.
As someone who backed the Sarah Palin pick and discussed the possibility of it way back when, my natural instinct is to defend it. With everything as it was at the time of the choice, looking back I still would have been for it. She was the best of the bunch.
Look at the others that John McCain was considering: Joe Lieberman. Tim Pawlenty. Tom Ridge. Mitt Romney. Lieberman, though he was a great solider for McCain would have enthused the base less than McCain and there is no evidence he would have brought in any crossover votes. Pawlenty? You think he could have made a difference? One of Tom Ridge's big selling points was that he could bring Pennsylvania into play. McCain lost by 11% there. Ridge maybe, and I stress maybe, could have helped marginally there. Not enough to make a significant impact, especially considering McCain did what he thought he had to in many Western PA counties. Romney could have been solid during the economic crisis that no one predicted, but people were still looking at the top of the ticket for answers, not the bottom. I also think the Democrats would have turned Romney into an "evil CEO" who was part of the problem. The hatred between McCain and Romney could not have been more clear during the GOP primary season. That really only left one pick at the time. McCain was trailing at the time, needed a huge splash, and had to hope to catch lightning in a bottle. He made his splash alright.
Could the initial roll out have been better? Yeah. Could she have performed better in a couple of interviews? Yeah. Team McCain tried to control her and script her way too much. They could have also been more effective at flipping her lack of experience back on Obama. But she did a lot to help McCain. He couldn't raise money. That problem was over in an instant. Palin drew crowds McCain could have only dreamed and people left her events fired up, again something McCain himself wasn't doing. People started volunteering. She was thrown right into the fire, but the surprise announcement was the only way to do it. Democrats were caught off guard and then genuinely scared after her convention speech. They were. You and I both know it. Hence the absolute savage treatment she got in the media (sorry, that is not what this post is about).
Not a lot of sleep, not a lot to eat, and not a lot to say right now.
In Ohio, 2 U.S. House Seats were lost and one is still too close to call. The Democrats also took over the State House for the first time since 1994. Local candidates Rich Nero and Randy Cole both lost.
Summit County Republicans took a beating that everyone saw coming. A major beating. But Judge Spicer won and since that was one of two races party leadership actually cared about (other than County Engineer) they will try to claim success. Looking forward to that one.
Things could have been much worse in the U.S. Senate. Ted Stevens, Norm Coleman, and Gordon Smith are leading, and Saxby Chambliss looks headed to a run-off in Georgia as he fell just below 50%. Republicans should keep at least two of these seats and hopefully three. Went to bed thinking Coleman could not make up what he needed with only 2% of precincts left, but was pleasantly surprised to see he is ahead. Thoughts of Franken winning woke me up at least 3 times an hour. The Democrats had a once in a generation chance and so far have only gained 5 seats. That said, it is terrible that Republicans like Ted Stevens and Gordon Smith (outstanding vote not favorable to him) may win while John Sununu lost and Norm Coleman is fighting for his political life against some vile comedian.
Congratulations to Kyle and most other Democrats. Now that I know what the feeling of losing a presidential election is like, it isn't very pleasant. Kyle called me last night to offer his condolences. It was appreciated and showed his class. I do not like Barack Obama, I think he is a far left radical, and do not think he will be a good president. But he will be my president. Nothing bothered me more than when losers who hated Bush would say "he isn't my president." Yes, he was – and still is. And yes, Obama will be mine. And that I respect. I will oppose his polices but at the same time never forget that he was elected by a majority of Americans.
This morning Ben and I went on the Ray Honer Program on 1590 WAKR one last time before the election.
Part I – We discuss the vice-presidential candidates, final stretch polling, and Ohio.
Part II – We discuss local races and what to look for on Election Day.
Ben and I would like to take a moment to personally thank Ray Horner for his support of our work on this site by having us on his program. He is a class act and an Akron original. Thank you Ray and keep up the good work.
This is the best closing argument ad I have seen from the Obama campaign. It helps respond in general to the desperate attacks of Republicans continuing to throw anything at Obama hoping it will stick.
Map courtesy of Karl Rove & Co
In the closing days of the election, political pundits and pollsters all stake their political credibility for the next four years on the predictions they make now. There isn't much unique about providing another source predicting a solid electoral victory for Obama next week. What is interesting about this post is the messenger.
Yesterday on Fox News Sunday, "Master Strategist" Karl Rove gave his electoral predictions one week out and he has Barack Obama with 317 electoral votes even if he loses all toss-up states. The sea of blue on his map across the Midwest is remarkable when you consider the source. He has Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana all going for Obama. The margin in Ohio is 4.5%. I believe the organizational strength of the Obama campaign's organization is going to flex is muscle over the next week and be the difference maker in the election to deliver that kind of margin in our state. If Obama wins Ohio by over 4%, then Democrats pick up two congressional for seats for sure (Kilroy, Boccieri) and have a strong chance to unseat three other Republican districts (Chabot, Schmidt, LaTourette). Looking across the rest of the map, Rove has Obama winning Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico. Using Rove's map, Obama can afford to lose the toss-up states of Florida, North Carolina, and Missouri and still win comfortably. Again, this is a map endorsed by Karl Rove.
Live Blog Wednesday: Join us Wednesday night to live blog Barack Obama's prime-time address at 8:00pm EST.
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Could the initial roll out have been better? Yeah. Could she have performed better in a couple of interviews? Yeah. Team McCain tried to control her and script her way too much. They could have also been more effective at flipping her lack of experience back on Obama. But she did a lot to help McCain. He couldn't raise money. That problem was over in an instant. Palin drew crowds McCain could have only dreamed and people left her events fired up, again something McCain himself wasn't doing. People started volunteering. She was thrown right into the fire, but the surprise announcement was the only way to do it. Democrats were caught off guard and then genuinely scared after her convention speech. They were. You and I both know it. Hence the absolute savage treatment she got in the media (sorry, that is not what this post is about).
