This is the Presidential Campaign Thread.

Barack Obama Vs. John McCain.

Edited November 6, 200817 yr by Toups

Unbelievable!!!!

When I see things like that I'm not quite sure what to think.

On a much lighter note, I forgot to acknowledge that Manny Ramirez couldn't single handeldy bring those Dodgers out of the NLCS but he was at least consistent. I guess the bright side for me is that I don't have to hear Tim McCarver and Joe Buck go on and on about how Ramirez ended up on the Dodgers. McCarver kept insisting the public has a right to know. It seems to me that anyone familiar with the game and the player who was that interested would already know how he ended up on the Dodgers and the whole story about how he wronged the Red Sox has been run into the ground. The Red Sox aren't innocent bystanders since they basically enabled him as long as he was doing what they wanted. I have no sympathy for either and I don't need to hear about it over and over again.

I'm glad there won't be a Dodgers vs Red Sox series and I hope the Rays ultimately beat the Red Sox so I can stop hearing about how they came back and beat the Yankees and last year the Indidans. Be gone already!!! At least in LA, Ramirez won't have to deal with as many OTT fans as there seem to be in Boston. I know there are some very special fans out here but for the most part, sports isn't the end all in LA (see we are still without the NFL and making it), and this is such a celebrity filled city that he shouldn't be as harassed as he probably was in Boston.

Saw something on "Joe" the plumber. One thing I found ironic was him saying that he didn't like that social security is forced on people, yet he thinks that we should be spreading democracy throughout the world.

Joe nobody is sounding not so bright by the hour.

CNN poll , Obama's favorable rating up to 66% from 63% and McCain's favorable rating down from 51% to 49%. Also a huge majority 68% stated that Obama won the debate.

I noticed I had a typo here. According to CNN's poll, Barack Obama won the debate by 58% not 68%.

When I see things like that I'm not quite sure what to think.

On a much lighter note, I forgot to acknowledge that Manny Ramirez couldn't single handeldy bring those Dodgers out of the NLCS but he was at least consistent. I guess the bright side for me is that I don't have to hear Tim McCarver and Joe Buck go on and on about how Ramirez ended up on the Dodgers. McCarver kept insisting the public has a right to know. It seems to me that anyone familiar with the game and the player who was that interested would already know how he ended up on the Dodgers and the whole story about how he wronged the Red Sox has been run into the ground. The Red Sox aren't innocent bystanders since they basically enabled him as long as he was doing what they wanted. I have no sympathy for either and I don't need to hear about it over and over again.

I'm glad there won't be a Dodgers vs Red Sox series and I hope the Rays ultimately beat the Red Sox so I can stop hearing about how they came back and beat the Yankees and last year the Indidans. Be gone already!!! At least in LA, Ramirez won't have to deal with as many OTT fans as there seem to be in Boston. I know there are some very special fans out here but for the most part, sports isn't the end all in LA (see we are still without the NFL and making it), and this is such a celebrity filled city that he shouldn't be as harassed as he probably was in Boston.

I know Manny left because he felt he was criticised, but not caring about Red Sox baseball, i can't say for sure. I have heard that he feels very comfortable here. He raised the level of competitiveness on the Dodgers and I am grateful for that. Tim McCarver is an a**. I don't listen to his "background noise" when watching the game. Yeah I hope the Rays win tonight. Someone new in the series. Well Bruin basketball starts Nov 3rd, so I'm happy.

Lots of interesting info coming out on Joe Plumber. Some stuff about him being related to Charles Keating(on Drudge and Daily Kos) and not being who he says he is. I'm not sure if it's believeable or not.

I know Manny left because he felt he was criticised, but not caring about Red Sox baseball, i can't say for sure. I have heard that he feels very comfortable here. He raised the level of competitiveness on the Dodgers and I am grateful for that. Tim McCarver is an a**. I don't listen to his "background noise" when watching the game. Yeah I hope the Rays win tonight. Someone new in the series. Well Bruin basketball starts Nov 3rd, so I'm happy.

Lots of interesting info coming out on Joe Plumber. Some stuff about him being related to Charles Keating(on Drudge and Daily Kos) and not being who he says he is. I'm not sure if it's believeable or not.

The McCain campaign is making Robocalls saying that Obama worked closely with a domestic terrorist etc. I guess the plan is to call people and scare them in order to get votes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/16/m...y_n_135348.html

The McCain campaign is making Robocalls saying that Obama worked closely with a domestic terrorist etc. I guess the plan is to call people and scare them in order to get votes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/16/m...y_n_135348.html

That is exactly what I was thinking.

The View is about to come on here in just over an hour from now and I wouldn't be surprised if their mouth piece will be at it again.

This is kind of interesting:

Joe the Plumber Meets Sam the Gas Station Guy

John Seery

A few days ago (which is to say, prior to the Wednesday night presidential debate), I met Sam. Joe the Plumber should really meet Sam, too.I was jogging away on the treadmill at my local gym when the guy next to me--who turned out to be Sam--introduced himself. He seemed to want to talk, which was fine by me. He asked what I did. I told him. He immediately replied, "Oh, I've never met a professor before. I never went to college. Seriously, in my entire life I've never read a book all the way through. Please, Professor, don't make fun of me."

Of course I wouldn't. Besides, I found Sam's humility, curiosity, and affability endearing. As Sam talked, I became only more enthralled in what he had to say. He told me his life story. He grew up in Yonkers, New York and came out to California in his early twenties. At 22 he found himself working as an entry-level cashier at a gas station. Eventually he cobbled together loans and a payment schedule and bought the station.

Cut to the future: Now 38 years old, Sam owns more than 100 gas stations in southern California and 25 restaurant franchises. He has over 800 employees working for him. He has four kids in a happy marriage. He's a devout churchgoer. He's a proud American and lets you know that.

We started talking politics. "You know what," he said, "I'd really like some reporter to come and ask me my views on the election. Why don't they ever seek out guys like me? I got something to tell them. Professor, why isn't the LA Times or somebody asking me for my opinion?"

I probed a bit. "So what is it you want to say to them?"

Sam opened the verbal floodgates. "Hey, I've always voted Republican. For the first time in my life I'm going to vote for a Democrat. I'm voting for Obama."

"Why's that?"

"My gas station businesses are hurting. I make the same profit margin--5 to 8 cents per gallon--no matter whether the price of gas is $1.99 per gallon or $4.99. The big oil companies are the ones raking in the profits when prices go up, not me. I can make money on gas only through volume sales--and if people are hurting, I make less on gas. Or I start to lose money, like now. Where I make money, though, is when they come inside and buy discretionary items--food, drinks, lottery tickets. Right now, people aren't buying. I know 20 of my gas station colleagues are about to declare bankruptcy. It's bad."

"So I'm fed up with the Republicans. Tax cuts for the rich, the war--all that stuff. The middle class needs help. I'm finally convinced. I'm going for Obama. First time in my life, I tell you."

I asked him about paying higher taxes.

"I don't care about that. If I'm making money, I don't care. I'll pay my taxes. But I'm not going to make any money if the middle-class guy doesn't have money in his pocket to buy my gas or my food. I don't need the big tax cut right now. That's not going to bring the customers into my gas stations."

Joe versus Sam. You could line up economists spouting elegant theories for each side, but the basic arguments can probably be reduced to Joe's and Sam's respective positions on very gut levels. Joe's never made $250,000, but he feels that if he ever reaches that threshold, he shouldn't be "penalized" for his success. He seems to believe that cutting taxes for wealthy individuals somehow serves his current financial interests and his aspirations for the future. Sam's already lived those trickle-down and dream-up Republican talking points but now rejects them with hard-won conviction.

Were the two of them to meet and strike up a conversation, side by side on adjacent treadmills, I dare say that Sam would be giving Joe an earful, not the other way around.

That is exactly what I was thinking.

The View is about to come on here in just over an hour from now and I wouldn't be surprised if their mouth piece will be at it again.

And so it continues. This party is in full deperation mode. So I called the number at the end of the robocall, to let them know how I felt about this, but you can't even leave a message. The mailbox is full and when you press"0" to get further assistance, it's an invalid extension. (of course you were promted to dial 0 for additonal help. This is ludicrous. How low will they go?

This is kind of interesting:

Joe the Plumber Meets Sam the Gas Station Guy

John Seery

It seems like many have forgotten that the middle class truly drives our economy. Middle class workers are the ones who spend the money and keep our economy moving. Sam is so right. I hope people really look and realize this.

It seems like many have forgotten that the middle class truly drives our economy. Middle class workers are the ones who spend the money and keep our economy moving. Sam is so right. I hope people really look and realize this.

You are so right there.

It is the average person that will be the ones that will help the economy. Some how Govt needs to give them money so that they can spend it.

If you look back a page or two for a post that I made about our Prime Minister giving money to people that always find it difficult to make ends meet. This is going to help them buy Christmas gifts for the grand kids and spend a bit on themselves instead of paying money that they get via what every other means on bills.

I'm tired of Joe the Plumber

I'm tired of Joe the Plumber

I'm getting very tired of him very quickly. He's a diversion. A way to talk about the "issues" disguised as (more) attacks on Obama. Look at the way this man talks about taxes. McCain's plan is the right way to go, while Obama's is socialist, unfair, etc.

The bullshit continues. Here's an article from a "all local news" station in Central FL:

GOP group depicts Obama with watermelon and ribs

This is just pathetic.

There was a feature on this station of a local "Joe the Plumber" in Daytona Beach. He said that if the "Joe the Plumber" in Ohio is making over $250K, then he's doing very well cuz he's never seen a plumber make that kind of money. He went on to say that he wouldn't mind paying a little more in taxes if he made that much money and that he was going to vote for Obama. I'll try to find the story and post it here later.

Edited October 17, 200817 yr by Greg's GL

I'm getting very tired of him very quickly. He's a diversion. A way to talk about the "issues" disguised as (more) attacks on Obama. Look at the way this man talks about taxes. McCain's plan is the right way to go, while Obama's is socialist, unfair, etc.

He's being discussed on KO's Countdown and it's so sad. Now Joe doesn't even make more than $40,000 and isn't going to be able to buy a business and the boss' business makes $100,000 and Joe's business is in the street so the diversion worked for the day. They're just making Joe look stupid now.