YES WE CAN: A THREAD FOR SHIT TO GET OBAMA ELECTED

Because we need 'em, and we need 'em like yesterday.

Yup, I'm getting The Fear this past week or so, and I feel more motivated to act on Obama's behalf - despite the fact that I don't have the wherewithall to properly volunteer - than I have for any past Democratic presidential contender. Isn't just cuz I think he'll be a (relatively) transformational world leader - fact is, the challenges facing us are so massive that action has to be taken to keep McCain/Palin out, no matter what. Can't just say "oh, we'll kick ass next time" - nope.

So look. I'm not proposing that we work en masse on a mailing message, I'm simply suggesting that as many of us as possible bug the living frick out of every last registered Dem we know, encouraging them to remember to vote no matter what and to get everyone THEY know to vote. Also, some of you are deeply plugged into blogs and political sites and such. This thread could be a repository for links that spell out Obama's virtues and McCain's pitfalls, sort of a source of info for these email floods for those of us (like me) who really dunno where to look.

oh jesus. this isn't the title this thread was supposed to have! it got cut off somehow...

I'm spending a couple of Saturdays in Iowa next month on behalf of the campaign.

was there an apostrophe in the title?

eh all the Dems I know are firmly in the pro-Obama camp already, and there is no way in hell my district is not gonna go for Obama.

I don't know anyone who's seriously thinking about voting for McCain. Apart from family members/people who won't listen to me in the first place.

can we get milo z and scott seward to vote this year?

i love the concept of this thread - my initial reaction to, for ex, palin's speech, was one of powerlessness - 'jesus fuck what is wrong with this chick are you kidding me cant i do SOMETHING?'

simply going out to vote obviously doesnt cut it, & ive talked to a lot of people over the past week & many of them feel as helpless & powerless as i do, no matter which way they may lean

i dunno, its depressing

palin is a political troll, people are giving her more power than she wields because of their retarded attacks. all she's gotta do for the time being is toe the party line and not answer questions and the dems are gonna get angrier and feel more powerless. if they'd have shut up about how bad the pick was, she wouldn't have half the press she does.

yes depressing, very depressing

omar OTM

really all the Dems/the press need to do is goad her into exposing her fundie nutjobishness which will be hugely alienating to the majority of women in this country. Her appeal is currently broad but very very shallow.

the palin thing freaks me out because it's like they picked the biggest stepford nazi they could find--she's pat buchanan in a dress--and people are buying it, they're totally willing to take a chance on the ultra right wing because it looks friendly. Obama said recently that the american people aren't stupid but we know they are.

if they'd have shut up about how bad the pick was, she wouldn't have half the press she does.

― omar little

great strategy not

the american people in general may be stupid but I think women as a voting bloc are not

x-post

palin is going to be exposed as a fundie tard within a couple weeks, ppl are hell of short sighted about the news cylce

see max thats what people keep saying but as much as i want to believe it i hope its understandable to you & others why its frustrating as fuck to be following the news cycle while this shit goes on

not so surprisingly, polls are conflicting about where support for Palin is stronger, but there was some CNN thing about how MEN actually prefer her to women by sizable margins. lolz milf ticket.

I think the worst thing for the Dems in terms of Palin is that she could energize the base and reinvigorate Republican infrastructure that will help turn out the vote. I think its possible that it will be too littl too late though, especially if/when her views come out and alienate sizeable portions of the electorate.

hey if the dems want to play along with the republican persecution complex that's cool, but it doesn't work. my guess and my hope, though, is that this shit will turn around once palin has to actually debate and answer questions. people love her now because she's a new face, not boring ol obama/mccain/biden. but i think people might tire of her and her continuing to not answer questions won't help, nor will the answers she gives to questions i'm guessing (or hoping).

shakey thats a profound opinion xxxp

also as we all know, Obama's already WAAAAAAY ahead of McCain in terms of ground operations, I am banking on that foresight and preparation paying off. Elections are all about turnout after all.

Also those of you freaking out, bear in mind that Palin's addition has not changed Obama's advantages on the electoral map, which is where it really counts.

Not yet, but McCain has drawn close in a lot of states, and some that were red but seemed within reach (like North Carolina) seem to be slipping away.

omar believe me i absolutely get the republican persecution complex & believe thats the primary reason they chose palin - but to say its not in the best interests of the press or the american people to call her out for what she is is just playing into their hands. their job is to stick to their fucking guns instead of abandoning them out of fear of criticism from the right - which theyve lately done, & which you & max seem to think theyll overturn lately, but the initial reaction from the MSM against palin was spot on & it seems silly to me to criticize them for not being properly deferential at the appropriate time when its never their job to be deferential

http://i37.tinypic.com/otpyrd.jpg

ha, i've been thinking all week that sarah p. is the most successful IRL troll of all time. omar otm

i didn't realize there was an election support thread.

I've been really infuriated by all the mooseshit from the past couple of days. Then I started skimming through the policy points on obama's website again. It made me feel better. I'd recommend it.

i LOVE that picture of Obama

^
otm!

thanks everyone, let's keep this going!

Just saw Obama on youtube on other thread - he is MAGNIFICENT.

This is just an anecdote, but my brother works (as a musician at a church in a very rich suburb of NYC) in Republican country. Rich Republicans - socially liberal, but fiscally VERY conservative,and they are basically thinking she is batshit insane.
I think this is notable - that lots of the silent republicans who don't want to get taxed more, etc., are saying "I have NEVER voted for a Democrat in my life, but I'm going to do it this year."

Maybe it's not that meaningful since CT. is going to go Blue with the rest of New England. But maybe Virginia is in play for precisely these reasons.

Also, polls are meaningless. I have never been called to contribute to a poll. Which proves polls are meaningless. :)

But really, polls are now polls about polls. There's a bump after a convention. Poll the people who were polled during the convention three days after the convention!

I'm going up to New Hampshire next weekend to do some door to door and boothing for my candidate. I have friends who live in Keene, so it's a short trip I have been planning to take anyway.
New Hampshire is the "Live Free or Die" state that can be quite unruly. Libertarians. who might find Palin ...compelling.

Does anyone know of a really good online rundown of Obama's plusses as a presidential candidate?

anyone?

mods: can we-title this "YES WE CAN: A THREAD FOR SHIT TO GET OBAMA ELECTED"
or something similar?

simply going out to vote obviously doesnt cut it????

Lee Dorsey's Yes we Can played by tannoy vans driving about the country.

despite the fact that I don't have the wherewithall to properly volunteer

You can get from the Obama website a list of names/numbers to call. This is pretty resource-light, just requiring the courage and conviction to talk to someone who may curse you the fuck out, or ask good questions.

http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=1649

sorry if this has already been discussed on the other politics threads. I don't read them because they contribute to the eventual heat death of the universe (joeks, there are some good posts on there).

have Biden ask McCain to wave his hands in the air like he just dont care

i think i like the pointer sisters' version better

xp

This is just an anecdote, but my brother works (as a musician at a church in a very rich suburb of NYC) in Republican country. Rich Republicans - socially liberal, but fiscally VERY conservative,and they are basically thinking she is batshit insane.
I think this is notable - that lots of the silent republicans who don't want to get taxed more, etc., are saying "I have NEVER voted for a Democrat in my life, but I'm going to do it this year."

Maybe it's not that meaningful since CT. is going to go Blue with the rest of New England. But maybe Virginia is in play for precisely these reasons.

I truly hope so...
everybody keeps talking about this election being decided by the "undecideds". I honestly don't know any people who are conflicted about whom they will vote for, and am not totally convinced there are really that many out there. I guess they exist in the form of people who are really, really busy or really, really lazy and are "undecided" about whether or not they'll actually make it to the polls that day.

Amurcans are way too self-identified ideologically, even if they tend to be politically naive and hopelessly, embarrassingly uninformed.

i mean, Palin would have to kill and eat that baby of hers to get repub-leaning folks off her jock

the palin thing freaks me out because it's like they picked the biggest stepford nazi they could find--she's pat buchanan in a dress--and people are buying it, they're totally willing to take a chance on the ultra right wing because it looks friendly. Obama said recently that the american people aren't stupid but we know they are.

Yeah, keep posting this shit.

http://www.science.co.il/People/Ronald-Reagan/images/Ronald-Reagan-1985.jpg

touche

I'm not even sure he knows he's being photographed.

http://www.glovetime.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Lake_Tahoe_Day_2_145.jpg

http://www.funfacts.com.au/images/george-w-bush.jpg

http://nicedeb.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/palin-in-the-car.jpg

Bush is probably the smartest of the 4, rite?

Yes, the poor, stupid American public elects stepford wives and buffoons on their own, without the aid of the intelligent, classy news media and party chieftans who never frame elections as simple dichotomies.

I'm so tired of reading that if only Americans would "wise up" they'd elect a Dem for president. I like Obama very much, but c'mon.

we also have a much more personable candidate than last time

SIR -

can you give me a precis of the 'delta' theory you espoused in your last-but-one post?

I thought the debating talent delta was in "our" favor last time, but the way things turned out, it didn't look that way to many. But Little Bush was reassuring to a lot of people with his manner. McCain isn't, and explaining that away with "he doesn't like the spotlight" is pretty weak sauce.

"He doesn't like the spotlight; that's why he wants to be President."

mccain's problem is while he stopped listening to his conscience like 8 years ago, you can still see it rattling around in there whenever he's taken to task for something he or his campaign has said.

Whichever way the election goes that '80s-style t-shirt isn't going to be fashionable in about six months.

mccain's problem is while he stopped listening to his conscience like 8 years ago, you can still see it rattling around in there whenever he's taken to task for something he or his campaign has said.

I don't know - on those View clips he looks like he's really settling into the strict-constructionist-judges-are-teh-bestest! attitude even though he knows very well that's wacko territory

what conscience, really? mccain's whole life has been about aggrandizing himself through rebellion, even when he refused to be let go from captivity. sure, it looks like conscience to rebel against the really morally-bankrupt on his team, but it's still his team even if there's an important issue or two on which he isn't on their side, and if he gets in he's gonna try to score for them against the people in power he'll turn his rebellion against - Democrats in Congress.

or, you know, 'the gooks' or anyone else who doesn't want america to 'win'

i like this mclobbyi$t "mccain 7" move

http://www.johnmccainrecord.com/mclobbyist/

it's a nice reminder of the "keating 5"

nancy pfotenhauer's my favorite, by the way. that nose job is slick!

Yay I'm volunteering for Obama & I'm stoked!

good on you, mate.

"Senior Campaign Advisor Charlie Black lobbied for Big Oil for eight years. McCain’s tax plan would save Big Oil $4 billion. Lucky coincidence? Or planned convenience?"

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c163/wvferrell/IMG00095.jpg

http://www.slate.com/id/2199937/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2807181755_6382d707d5_o.jpg

that pic is unbelievable

seriously. I get the impression from here that it was shot in film so there should be a lot of detail even in that low light.

yeah I think those of us who really like debates maybe overthink how much good they can do, especially in the there's-twenty-million-other-things-to-watch era - they're mainly about soundbites and closing statements, the narrative of the debate is infinitely shapeable and relies as much on what the lead-up to it looks like as on the individual performance of the candidate

All true. I think the debates are not so much a case of how well the candidates can do, but rather a chance for them to just stand their ground, look decent and not fuck up when it really counts. A bad moment matters so much more than a solid overall performance.

baroness dierdre von goldencollar: still my favorite. matthews too hardball on her?

if by being too hard on her you mean he tried to get her to answer the question and not bullshit around. it's painful to watch an interview with any of mccain's surrogates.

i love the mccain squad's floptension. it would have been nicer to see grillings like this in '04 but i'll take what i can get

Just watched that knucklehead Glen Beck on CNN boasting about how more folks allegedly think that Palin has more "experience" than Obama. That plus the over 50% of folks who think Obama is raising taxes on everyone, and those tv ads I keep seeing about Mccain and Palin "the original mavericks", are making me ill.

Meanwhile no one in the the tv media or little papers around the country will pick up on the latest Palin stuff (from the NY Times) or Mccain's ongoing series of lies...ugh. Can't some college kids show up at one of their rallies and chant at M & P if they won't do press conferences and the media won't cover anything?

So from the Sunday NY Times I like this bit:

WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is local, not to mention personal.

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Franci was fascinated with farms and particularly milk cows as a young person. After moving to the valley with her folks, she was immersed in a community filled with many farm families. Not surprisingly her fascination with cows and farms eventually introduced her to her future husband, the son of dairy farmers. Franci has seen, first hand, the challenges that Alaska dairy farmers experienced and wanted a change - a good and positive change. One where farmers not only made a descent living, but were respected for their hard work, knowledge and contribution to the social and economic fabric of Alaska.

http://www.imakenews.com/networkdirect/e_article000876279.cfm?x=b11,0,w

I keep thinking back to this ambinder post:

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/just_asking_14.php

especially when you see stuff like this popping up:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502406.html

and etc etc etc

the I-knew-John-McCain-Sir-And-You-Are-No-John-McCain meme/narrative may take longer than kosites et al. would like, but it's building. There's that Fox News Blond™ who totally bit campbell brown's STFU Tucker Bounds number. But keep 'em all in the back of the plane. It's not like every other reporter in the world already has a built-in chip on their shoulder about the Channel 5 Alaska Sports Bimbo getting to be fucking veep.

Cynical me thinks it seems more like just 2 cable reporters (as an exception) with everyone else in the media letting them get away with the lies. But I hope you're right.

Saw McCain on CNN this morning -- repeated "she stopped the Bridge to Nowhere" at the end of the segment -- not called on it.

That Cohen column is great.

linwood holton (r), former virginia governor, is campaigning with his daughter, tim kaine's wife . . . for obama

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/politics.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-09-14-0174.html

this could be big in virginia

'In recent years, he has mostly backed Democratic candidates."

How's that been working out for the Democratic presidential candidates in Virginia?

from an email I just sent to Br!an C from Lightning Bolt:

"great, great site. at some point maybe i'll try to write something for it. right now i'm trying to find obama yard signs in Pennsylvania. the bloomsburg state fair had none when we went last weekend, and the length of the llist of people who'd left addresses/names/numbers for whenever the next shipment came in would BLOW YR MIND. meanwhile, the mccain fuckers had stacks of signs. was depressing to see morons staggering around with french fries and 2-3 huge-ass mccain/palin signs per person. PA dem party, return my email already, it's been like 4 days now!"

I turned the noise for Obama thing into a US-Letter-formatted, Obama-approved-typography thing to stick up in my office: http://pentangle.net/noiseforobama.pdf. Apologies to whoever did the original drawing (have contacted NFO to let them know).

http://cosmicvariance.com/2008/09/25/61-nobel-laureates-cant-be-wrong/

Comment from a scientist I read: "Facts continue to have a strong anti-Republican bias"

"great, great site. at some point maybe i'll try to write something for it. right now i'm trying to find obama yard signs in Pennsylvania. the bloomsburg state fair had none when we went last weekend, and the length of the llist of people who'd left addresses/names/numbers for whenever the next shipment came in would BLOW YR MIND. meanwhile, the mccain fuckers had stacks of signs. was depressing to see morons staggering around with french fries and 2-3 huge-ass mccain/palin signs per person. PA dem party, return my email already, it's been like 4 days now!"

― Beatrix Kiddo, Thursday, September 25, 2008 8:53 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/breaking-obama-campaign-organizers.html

If john mccain fails to show tonight, Obama should show a movie, possibly it's a wonderful life.

burn all dese papers dat say he lie?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/us/politics/26ads.html?em

A commercial running here on Thursday morning highlighting Mr. McCain’s votes against incentives for alternative energy misleadingly asserts he supports tax breaks for “one source of energy: oil companies.” Mr. McCain’s proposed corporate tax break would cover all companies, including those developing new sources of power.

A new television advertisement playing in areas with high concentrations of elderly voters and emphasizing Mr. McCain’s support for President Bush’s failed plan for private Social Security accounts misleadingly implies Mr. McCain supported “cutting benefits in half” — an analysis of Mr. Bush’s plan that would have applied to upper-income Americans retiring in the year 2075.

A much criticized Spanish-language television advertisement wrongly links the views of Mr. McCain, who was a champion of the sweeping immigration overhaul pushed by Mr. Bush, to those of Rush Limbaugh, a harsh critic of the approach, and, frequently, of Mr. McCain....

Mr. Obama drew complaints from many of the independent fact-checking groups and editorial writers who just two weeks ago were criticizing Mr. McCain for producing a large share of this year’s untruthful spots....

wrongly links

orly

OH HELL YEAH:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/16/anne_lamott/

I think all Dems and Independents for Obama should put "Republicans for Obama" bumper stickers on their cars.

my wife has a friend who sits on a Republican steering committee in his town who is planning to vote for Obama

Hey, can someone please tell me on what date this election is supposed to happen? I've been drowned by this shit for 18 months and need to know when to actually tune in. Thanks.

just after the winter olympics

Is there a date, though? Or have they not set one yet?

4th November.

oh shit, I forgot I live in NYC. I have to get me absentee ballet for DURTY JURZ. durty jurz

Spent a couple hours canvassing in Bettendorf, Iowa (just across the Mississippi River) earlier today.

Saw a McCain/Palin sign in a yard where someone had ripped off the McCain part and left only Palin.

Lots of people not home, but the ones that were seemed pretty evenly split between Obama and McCain. I don't know the history of that particular part of Iowa, so I don't know whether that was good or bad, but it felt pretty great just doing that kind of grassroots work, even if it was just to drop off some campaign literature at someone's door.

half and half in bettendorf? wow, add that to des moines, ames and iowa city = no wonder it's not considered a tossup state anymore.

(not that i know much about the quad cities specifically...)

that's about what it was last time

hmm