Tuesday, June 17, 2008
You know it is a slow news day when the Washington Post leads off with a story about their new poll. Sure, it is the first Post-ABC poll since Obama secured the nomination, but you could have written about the US Open or something. The poll shows Obama with a 49%-45% lead among voters, but it is always important to remember that polls do nothing but capture a snapshot in time. If people bring it up at work, here are three factoids that you can cite to sound smart:
- Only 8 out of 10 Democrats support Obama for President – a quarter of those who said they favored Clinton over Obama for the nomination currently prefer McCain for the general election.
- 57 percent said McCain would continue to lead the country as Bush has and 38 percent said he would chart a new course. Compare that to the fact that 84% of the respondents said that the country is on the wrong track and you have a serious problem for McCain.
I doubt this actually changes anyone’s mind about anything, but Al Gore officially endorsed Obama last night. He did so using a 90-minute Powerpoint presentation that is expected to net him another Peace Prize. Some political observers are questioning whether he will be that active in campaigning for Obama since it became evident 20 minutes into his endorsement that he was just reusing his presentation from An Inconvenient Truth with the words “Climate Change” replaced by “John McCain.”
China has begun to lecture the United States on the status of our economy, a change from the glory days of us telling everyone how to live their lives. The Chinese economy, while growing at a massive rate, is mostly fueled by lead paint covered toys and misery.
That was some OUTSTANDING golf yesterday. Tiger Woods, in his first tournament back after having massive knee surgery, won the US Open in 91 holes. Tiger, the #1 ranked golfer in the world, finished the tournament tied with Rocco Mediate, ranked #158. There was an 18-hole playoff (that is why your office was so quite) and at the end of it the two were tied again. The tournament went to sudden death where Tiger won after Mediate missed a par putt on the Seventh hole. I was completely in the tank for the congenial and middle-aged Mediate, who played the best round of his golf of his life.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The New York Times leads with news about how Senator Obama and Senator McCain, both considered campaign finance reform advocates, are gradually working to drop “reform” from that moniker. As the two men gear up for a Presidential battle, they are figuring out ways to raise the record sums of money that will be needed. Sen. McCain is considered the weaker fundraiser and will be relying on the Republican National Committee for most of his money. Sen. Obama is considering becoming the first candidate since its inception to opt out of public financing (He would opt out because he can raise much more without it). It is pretty safe to decry the influence of money in politics with friends and at work, but just check to make sure your boss isn’t hosting a $2000/plate dinner for Sen. McCain next week.
What, you mean the primary campaign isn’t over yet? Are you sure? Wait, there are primaries TOMORROW. Oh crap, oh crap… What states where they in again? Oh right, Oregon and Kentucky. That’s right, in the next round of the “campaign that wouldn’t die” Senator Clinton and Senator Obama will face off in the Oregon and Kentucky primaries. Obama is expected to win big in Oregon and Senator Clinton is expected to win big in Kentucky. Yesterday, Obama held a rally in Portland that attracted a record 75,000 people (about 1/6th the city’s population).
China has begun 3 days of mourning to commemorate the victims of last week’s earthquake. Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise and authorities begin to focus on health concerns, especially outbreaks of Cholera spread via contaminated drinking water (with poop – ewww).
Lastly, the federal government’s debt grew by $2.5 trillion last year. This raises the total combined debt of the federal and state governments to $61.7 trillion, or $531,472 per household. This is despite the fact that the feds only reported a $162 billion deficit. The federal government uses accounting practices that don’t factor in things like Social Security, Medicare, or the Iraq War. The funny thing is that the feds have made these accounting practices illegal for corporations and state governments, but continue to use them themselves. Hard to say who will be paying this debt off, but I would bet that the people who will be have facebook pages.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Coverage is dominated today by the news of a massive earthquake that hit China yesterday. The quake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and the death toll stands currently at over 10,000. The quake destroyed 80% of the structures in some towns and cities near the epicenter. Many are seeing this as a test of China’s infrastructure and government reaction in advance of the Olympics. What impressed me was that the Chinese Premiere was at the site just a few hours after the quake – rather than say, flying overhead surveying the damage.
A new Gallup poll shows that the majority of Democrats think that the nominating contest should continue and a majority think that Obama should pick Clinton has his running mate. I say, hey, we’ve got polls, who needs ‘elections’?
Sign that a campaign is entering a slow season – articles on what candidates’ handwriting says about them. Senator Obama is apparently secretive and trying to distance himself form his father, Senator Clinton is “readable, but lacks emotion and warmth” and Senator McCain dots his i’s with little hearts.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Though we only got a taste of it in Indiana, the issues of voting rights and voter fraud are expected to play a big role in the upcoming elections. Lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote. People in favor of the amendment say that this is an attempt to stop illegal immigrants from influencing the election. People opposed say that it could stop tens of thousands of people who are citizens but can’t prove it from voting. I don’t know really where to come down on this issue nor what points you can raise to sound witty. However, if you lived in Missouri you couldn’t vote unless you could produce an original birth certificate, naturalization papers or a passport – I personally have none of those things (though probably could get them given a few months time).
Tornadoes, Cyclones, and Earthquakes after the jump.
Keep reading
Thursday, January 31, 2008
As we predicted, Rudy Giuliani officially dropped out of the Presidential race and endorsed John McCain. Unfortunately, history decrees that Giuliani can’t do anything in this campaign without being overshadowed, so one of the other candidates had to drop out too. Kudos to John Edwards for stepping up to the plate.
That is right, Democratic candidate John Edwards officially withdrew from the campaign yesterday. Edwards said, “It is time for me to step aside so history can blaze its path.” (In case you are confused, John Edwards was the one who wasn’t the black guy or the woman). No word on an endorsement from Edwards yet. Most recent reports had chests of gold being delivered from the Clinton and Obama offices to Edward’s home in North Carolina.
Republicans turned their attention to California yesterday for a debate between the Presidential candidates at the Ronald Reagan Library. It was the final Republican debate before next week’s Super-Duper Tuesday (Imaybe). The two front runners, Sen. McCain and former Gov. Romney, went at it like dogs over a soup bone. Gov. Romney accused McCain of distorting his record on… etc etc. Unfortunately, at no point in the night did Sen. McCain’s most recent endorser, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, spring to his defense by attacking Gov. Romney with a broadsword or dropping him off of a cliff. Maybe he is saving it for the general election.
As part of the newly launched “War on Interest Rates,” the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the second time in 8 days. Despite this “bold” move (Can it really be bold if that is what everyone expected the move to be?) many people say the economy is still in trouble.
Remember waaaaaaay back in 2006, when Israel invaded Lebanon? Well, they did. It turned into a huge mess, and the Government commissioned a formal inquiry into the whole thing. It is kind of like the Iraq Study Group, but with (Jewish joke redacted because Josh isn’t Jewish no matter how much he wishes he was). The report, released yesterday, says that Israel political and military leaders made huge mistakes in the War’s conception and execution. Apparently, many predicted that the report would be more scathing in its assessment of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Because it wasn’t, Olmert will most likely not partake in the ancient Isreali custom of political leaders who botch wars being forced to resign. How quaint.
Finally, China has been hit with massive rains and blizzards, which occurred during the biggest Chinese holiday of the year. Because of the bad weather, millions are stuck in airports and unable to return home. The Chinese government is trying to control the snow, and has dispatched the army to help clear roads and keep people calm. As one BBC commentator put it, “large crowds make this Government nervous.”
