John McCain supporters sharing their anti-American views for the camera. Disgusting.
Tag Archives: 2008 presidential campaign
John McCain’s Health Records
I’d like to know whether John McCain is healthy or not.
Sampling the Netroots 10/27/08
Wassup? Change.
State of the Race and Corporate Media Coverage
Add North Dakota and Missouri to the list of states that are toss-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain (dynamic link-valid for Oct 13/14 2008). Obama has made serious gains in Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Datkota, Virginia and West Virginia. Colorado, Florida and Iowa are currently strongly pro-Obama states. New Mexico and Ohio lean toward Obama. Obama is in very, very good shape with 21 days to go. I expect the polls to tighten up some between now and Nov. 4th, but the lead Obama’s supporters have generated is going to be very difficult to overcome. Which brings me to my next discussion point.
The corporate media continue to try to pass this race off as currently close, when it’s anything but that. Other blogs have noted that the Washington Posts’ coverage is particularly unrealistic. Here are some of their assessments:
Obama +13.8%: Battleground state (PA)
Obama +10.4%: Battleground state (NH)
Obama +10.0%: Leaning Democratic (NJ)
Obama +9.5%: Battleground state (IA)
Obama +9.0%: Leaning Democratic (OR)
Obama +8.2%: Battleground state (MN)
Obama +8.2%: Leaning Democratic (MI)
Obama +8.8%: Battleground state (WI)
Obama +7.3%: Battleground state (NM)
McCain +6.8%: Leaning Republican (GA)
Obama +5.1%: Battleground state (VA)
Obama +4.0%: Battleground state (CO)
McCain +3.8%: Battleground state (IN)
Obama +3.5%: Battleground state (OH)
Obama +3.1%: Battleground state (FL)
Obama +3.0%: Battleground state (NV)
McCain +2.2%: Battleground state (WV)
What do you notice about the list? McCain leads in Georgia by 7% but WP calls it Leaning Republican. Yet Obama leads in New Mexico by 7% and WP call it a Battleground state. Somehow Minnesota and Iowa are Leaning Democratic [correction: Battleground] while Oregon and Wisconsin are Battlegrounds [correction: Leaning Democratic], even though the difference between them are in the tenths place. Obama leads by 14 in Pennsylvania and WP still somehow identifies that state as a Battleground. Seriously, what’s going on here? These assignments show a complete separation from reality. As usual, the corporate media does everything it possibly can to avoid being called ‘liberal’ by the fringe right-wing noise-makers. Instead of an honest, non-partisan analysis, the Washington Post is trying its damndest to help out McCain in any way possible. That’s not journalism. That’s cheerleading. And that’s why more and more Americans are turning away from corporate media outlets. They know the corporate media’s reports don’t relate to reality.
Obama’s base in the electoral college is between 320-330 votes today. It takes 270 to win. McCain starts with only 155-170. Obama and Democrats nationally are looking at a landslide victory if the state of the race is maintained. After Democrats win in places like Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia and North Carolina, Republicans will know what a real national mandate will look like. Bush tried to claim he had one after 2004 and look how little he’s got done and how much he’s screwed up the government since then. Winning in Missouri, North Dakota, West Virginia, Indiana and Georgia would only solidify that situation. Obama has also maintained support from more than 50% of poll respondents for over two weeks now. If Obama can garner at least 50% of the vote on November 4th, it will be an enormous repudiation of Republican “governance”.
Remember though – extremist Republicans are trying to establish the frame in the corporate media that Democrats are cheating their way to victory. They will continue to do so in the face of more and more losses. As usual, it is and will be a distraction. Their claims will be a distraction from Barack Obama’s and Democratic victories at multiple levels across the country. It remains to be seen how effective their divisive, partisan talking points are.
Geothermal, Recession, Inflation & McCain is still Struggling
Climate Progress had a good post up the other day regarding geothermal power‘s advances recently. Though not as robust as solar or wind, geothermal is slowly gaining popularity and accessibility. Some quick numbers: “manufacturers shipped 63,682 geothermal heat pumps (GHP) in 2006, a 33 percent increase over the 2005 total of 47,830″ (from U.S. Energy Information Administration). I’m glad to see an increase, but 64,000 GHPs is still quite a small number out of the total number of households nationwide. Geothermal is part of the solution to reduce our fossil fuel usage.
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bonddad explains why he thinks the U.S. is currently in a recession, despite the lack of “official word” from up-high. Personal incomes, job growth, industrial production and two major export markets are all in the mix. I’ve thought we were in a recession for a while and bonddad’s explanation provides additional reasoning why that is.
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In news that should shock no one, big-time inflation is still around. Inflation hit 5.6% in July, up from 5% in June. The last time inflation was that high? During the previous Bush’s administration. Like father, like son, goes the old adage. About the only thing that might hold this inflation in check? The recession. How wonderful! We have prices increasing at rates our incomes can’t keep up with, and that’s if we can keep our jobs. Thanks for the awesome economy, Republicans!
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John McCain hasn’t polled better than 44% support during this race. 44% isn’t going to get him elected President, especially when Barack Obama continually garners 47-49% support and has never trailed McCain. Yet the corporate media would have you believe they’re continually tied and Barack is the candidate with all the problems. Without explanation, pundits are holding a 10% bar up for Obama and criticizing him for not reaching it. Reality has a well-known liberal bias. That will be on display this November when McCain loses.
