Palin looks a liability now. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/11/sarahpalin-troopergate Though I watched coverage of some of her rallies in places such as Ohio and they seem to like her in places like that.

Sarah Palin, was found to have abused her powers in pursuit of a personal feud against her former brother-in-law. And in good old political style she simply "dismissed the report". So she is proving to be a good bet for the white house, simply ignore any shit that gets in your way and pay someone to beat up the nasty people that criticise you.

Obama will spend his way to the White House. When McCain opted for public funding and Obama didn't it didn't bode well for him. Last month alone Obama raised over $100 million for his campaign, McCain has a maximum of $94 million to spend. He is done for. He doesn't have enough money to compete with the messages that Obama is sending out and it is showing up in the polls. The fact that McCain frequently appears to be slow and bumbling doesn't help him either. Here's a quote from a New York Times article. I haven't seen the particular ad it refers to but I can visualise it as he's said this sort of thing before... it reminds me very much of a certain Baldrick: Toward the end of the 4 p.m. newscast on the CBS station, Mr. McCain ran one of his rare purely positive spots, speaking directly into the camera and telling viewers, “The last eight years haven’t worked very well, have they?” He promises, “I have a plan for a new direction for the economy.” That would be a cunning plan then would it Mr McCain? So cunning that you don't want to tell anyone what it is? Yeah, right!

Can anything stop Obama now? Somehow I doubt it: Donation Record as Colin Powell Endorses Obama WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama on Sunday captured a forceful endorsement from former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and announced he had shattered campaign finance records in September, gaining an immense financial edge that will allow him to overwhelm Senator John McCain’s efforts in every corner of the country. The description of Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, as a “transformational figure” by Mr. Powell, a Republican who directed the first Iraq war, could lift Mr. Obama among some independents, moderates and Republicans and neutralize concerns about his experience. And his fund-raising — $150 million last month, more than double what he raised in August — could help him sell that message by allowing him to spend at full throttle, even investing in new battlegrounds like West Virginia without having to choose among states. Mr. Obama intends to devote most of his time over the next 15 days in states that President Bush won, aides said, going to Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia. Mr. McCain, the Republican nominee, has ruled out trying to expand his electoral map but is waging an aggressive effort defending those states, the largest of which still could fall either way. But the events Sunday, taken together, dealt another dispiriting setback to Republicans, particularly since Mr. Powell is a longtime friend of Mr. McCain’s and even donated to his campaign. “Powell is a glass of warm milk and a cookie for those who can’t sleep worrying about the lack of experience of a President Obama,” said Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist. Mr. Powell, who made his announcement on “Meet the Press” on NBC, called Mr. Obama “a transformational figure.” “He is a new generation coming into the world, onto the world stage,” he continued. The words were quickly seized upon by Mr. Obama. “A great soldier, a great statesman and a great American has endorsed our campaign to change America,” Mr. Obama said on Sunday in North Carolina, which has not backed a Democrat for president since 1976. “He knows, as we do, that this is a moment where we all need to come together as one nation — young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Republican and Democrat.” With just two weeks to go in the race, Mr. McCain finds himself in a daunting position, as polls in critical swing states give him fewer avenues to victory on Nov. 4. But having been written off before, he has embraced his underdog status, firing away at Mr. Obama on economic issues and assailing his robust fund-raising while he reminding voters that Mr. Obama had broken a pledge to accept public financing in the general election. Because Mr. Obama has raised more than $600 million, Mr. McCain said, the “dam has broken” for future presidential campaigns. Mr. McCain, who accepted public financing and received an $84 million allotment from the treasury, suggested he may well be the last presidential candidate to run under the current rules established at the end of the Watergate era. “It’s laying a predicate for the future that can be very dangerous,” Mr. McCain said on “Fox News Sunday.” “History shows us where unlimited amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to scandal.” Reacting to the Powell endorsement, Mr. McCain did not criticize the former secretary of state, saying, “I respect and continue to respect and admire Secretary Powell.” He did not mention the endorsement at a pair of rallies in Ohio. “We’re going to win Ohio, and we’re going to show the pundits again that they were wrong,” Mr. McCain said to cheers in Toledo. He focused on his economic argument, warning that Mr. Obama would try to “redistribute the wealth” through his tax proposals. Mr. Powell, a retired Army general who was a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George Bush and President Bill Clinton, seemed intent on making the most out of his endorsement by saving it until the end of the race and by not informing either candidate before disclosing it on “Meet the Press.” Mr. Powell said he was dismayed by the tenor of the campaign, declared that Mr. McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, was not fit to be vice president, expressed displeasure with the direction of the Republican Party and called Mr. McCain scattered on his approach to the economy. “Every day there was a different approach,” he said. “As gifted as he is,” Mr. Powell said of Mr. McCain, a friend for 25 years, “he is essentially going to execute the Republican agenda, the orthodoxy of the Republican agenda, with a new face and a maverick approach to it, and he’d be quite good at it. But I think we need a generational change.” Rest of the story from The NYT

Hilarious really. Obummer can't wait to criticise the Goppies: but is spending zillions in true Goppie style to try and buy the presidency! Which just goes to prove how there is no real hope for America. Even its "Liberals" are market-driven capitalist bastards!

Which, of course, makes it easy for people to switch sides.

Putting prejudice to one side, Obama is the best on offer by a street, like it or not.

I think that you're right. I still suspect a triumph of 'style over substance' though.

Comparatively, there is style and substance. McCain is the one that has neither and that is reflected in the fundraising. It must be borne in mind that the donations Obama is getting are small ones from up to a million people. That has never been done before and shows the impact he's having. Sure there are people in the US who don't like him, like my sister-in-law but she is so prejudiced it's untrue! Rational argument doesn't come into it... just like it all fell flat for the GOP last week over the "Joe the Plumber" affair. Every time McCain thinks he's landed a punch he gets his teeth knocked out! As Obama said, "How many plumbers are making $250k a year?" bad news when it turned out he wasn't even a licensed plumber, but working illegally then and with a lien out for unpaid taxes! FFS! If he can't pay the taxes under Bush then why is he complaining about Obama when he's actually be paying less? Is it cos he is black?

All the runners and riders here. http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm

Socialist Workers Party? Isn't that a capital offence in the US? :shock:

Look further down the list and you will see some corkers, Tony. 'Vampires, Witches and Pagan Party', anyone?

It seems that some of our political parties, notably those supported by the 'usual suspects' have missed a trick. This may only work because the Americans are so stupid, but it could easily happen in the Asian community here - you know, the ones regularly banged up for vote rigging: Phony flier says Virginians vote on different days RICHMOND A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials. In fact, Election Day, for voters of all political stripes, remains Nov. 4. The somewhat official-looking flier - it features the state board logo and the state seal - is dated Oct. 24 and indicates that "an emergency session of the General Assembly has adopted the follwing (sic) emergency regulations to ease the load on local electorial (sic) precincts and ensure a fair electorial process." The four-paragraph flier concludes with: "We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but felt this was the only way to ensure fairness to the complete electorial process." No emergency action has been taken by the General Assembly. It is not in session and lacks the authority to change the date of a federal election. State Board of Election officials today said they are aware of the flier but disavowed any connection to it. "It's not even on our letterhead; they just copied the logo from our Web site," said agency staffer Ryan Enright, noting the flier has been forwarded to State Police for investigation as a possible incident of voter intimidation. Election officials did not specify in which Hampton Roads localities the flier had been spotted. State Police are aware of the complaint and are looking into it, said spokeswoman Corinne Geller. In 2007, the General Assembly passed a law making it a Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly communicate false information to registered voters about the date, time and place of the election or voters' precincts, polling places or voter registration statuses in order to impede their voting. The measure is one of the few such deceptive voting practice laws in the country, according to the watchdog group Common Cause. :shock: :shock: :shock: Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com From The Virginian Pilot

After watching the news, particularly the BBC, over the last few days as election day approaches, I have come to the conclusion that the media will be so disappointed if Obama loses and McCain wins. So will I, of course, but for different reasons.