If there's any one upside if Obama wins, it's that I will never, EVER, have to try and empathize again with "The white man keeps the black man down." When often times, it's that they keep themselves down, but never want to hear about it.

Then it will be "The man keeps the woman down."

Florida is tied, Pennsylvania is tied, Ohio is tied.

Not that it shocks me that this has happened, Obama was the weaker candidate among the Democratic primaries. The fact that this is a race at all and not a blowout a la 1984 with everything going on just proves it more.

Just elect someone so I know whether to just disperse my money now through 2012 or put my social thoughts on ice for 4 years.

It's easier to keep my social dreams on hold than disperse money. So hopefully McCain wins it, but I'm fucked either way. Not that Obama wants to aide me much in my social aspects either, the more I think about it.

I wouldn't be covered by his health plan. He thinks listening to people who blast teh gays is a-ok. But at least with both candidates, we'll get the death penalty, which I'm happy about.

Another day of work starts.

kthx.

Mason-Dixon shows Backtrack Obama at 47%, John NeedsACane at 43% and a 4% margin of error.

If NeedsACane picks up Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, he will deny Backtrack a path to the White House.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310ap_earns_exxon_mobil.html?source=mypi

I'm so proud that the Democratic candidate for president thought it needed to give these guys hundreds of millions in tax breaks when he voted for the 2005 Cheney Energy Bill. I mean, Exxon only made $14.83 billion in the third quarter. Without those tax breaks, they would have probably only made a paltry destitute 14.50 billion.

That, is the change Obama is really giving. BIG Change to the pockets of Big Oil and Big Ethanol.

And people say he has his judgement. If this is judgement that the country would get under an Obama presidency, shoot me now.

...

Seriously, I am. Because it completely has taken the narrative off of "If he loses, it's Hillary's fault." to "If he loses, it's HIS fault." Well, his fault and a lot of RACISTS around the country.

Because you can't be against Obama without being a racist son of a bitch. As many times as I've been called a racist, I would know.

Person 1: Are you voting for Barack Obama?
Me: No, I hate his tax policy, his health care policy won't cover me or millions of people in my age bracket, and I think his international policy stances are ludicrous.
Person 1: So you're not voting for him because he's a black man? You racist.

While it sounds stupid, I've had MANY of these kinds of conversations.

It's a little late in the game, but I still think it's important to remind people.



This ad, minus the 8 second advertising at the end, is being bought with a $2.5 million push to be aired in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

And I agree with this completely.

I get really tired of hearing this line:

"It's time for the middle class to have some of the pressure taken off of them and have the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share."

Tell me, do you not think they're paying their fair share now? The top 5% of earners of money in this country pay 57% of the tax liability. Top 10%? 68% of the tax liability.



Someone who earns $150,000 is taxed at the 36% tax rate and would be taxed $54,000. Someone who earns $50,000 is taxed at the 25% rate (I believe) and is taxed $12,500. So even though someone makes 3 times as much as the other person, they are taxed over 4 times the amount.

"Their fair share"? I mean really?

It's one thing to chip in more or even a higher tax rate than someone who doesn't make as much. I'm all for that, if I make more, i should pay more because I can afford more.

But that I'm somehow not paying my fair share because I'm busting my ass, that really, really makes me fucking angry.



Yes, that red number? That was on top of the $7400 in taxes I had already paid. And I had a bad year in 2007 comparatively, I made less than $80,000.

So yes, please tell me that somehow I'm not paying in my fair share. Go ahead.

Soon, my business is going to start making more than $250,000 - and Obama wants to raise my taxes.

$250,000 sure sounds like a whole hell of a lot doesn't it? Well let me tell you what it is after paying 36% federal tax, social security tax, medicare tax, L&I taxes, unemployment tax, b&o tax, sales tax, employee wages, and rent on top of it.

It's about $25,000 a year is what it is. And bless you Obama, you want to raise my taxes up another 3%.

I'm sorry, did I say bless you? I meant fuck you. kthx.

Ugh, so the Obamanation is now saying that he wants a 90 day foreclosure moratorium, the exact same moratorium he ripped Hillary Clinton for proposing, saying it would do little to solve the issue.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? How can anyone support this guy when he flip flops SO FUCKING MUCH?

$3 million on a projector.

That's what's resonating around my office today among 25 people (that's my entire office minus me and Shaun) who previously said they were voting for Barack Obama.

It's interesting because I didn't even think that was the best line of the night, but that's what's being talked about here in my Seattle office.

What's being talked about in yours?

In this LJ Post of mine...

Both a fellow named Jeth Odom and I were quoted. Jeth was a delegate for Obama, and I was for Clinton.

It was odd that we were both quoted because we both work for the exact same company, and it's a rather small 25-30 person company...

Anyway, Jeth was the embodiment of everything I equated with the typical Obama supporter... He didn't know a single thing about Obama's positions, was surprised when i read off some of them, and when I asked why he was voting for him, it was because "He's for change."

*slaps head*

Jeth was a rather aloof guy period who was lackadaisical about much of his life, including his job responsibilities. Jeth was fired today.

I hope that 'change' he's voting for will pay his bills, because spare change is probably all that's in his pockets at this point without a paycheck. Which is what I fear I'm going to have in my pocket if Obama is elected President.

Cross posted to nobama.

Picking Biden was a relatively poor choice I think. And this coming from someone who likes Biden overall and would have been a pro-Biden guy instead of an anti-Obama guy had Biden come out on top.

1. It doesn't help him in the VP nominee's home state (Delaware). Delaware is so blue that it's not a state the Democrats need any help in. If Obama really wanted to try and win this thing, I would have thought he would have tried to flip a state he's tied or only 1 or 2 points behind in the polls, like choosing Chet Edwards from TX or Kaine from VA. While choosing a VP from a state is not any guarantee that you will then carry that state as a presidential candidate, the hometown pride vote plus the "I'm not excited about Obama but I LOVE (insert Kaine, Chet Edwards, etc) so I'm voting for that ticket" could have raised him the 3%-5% he needed to flip a state he's competitive in but losing.

   
   

2. With Biden turing 66 this year, it detracts from the "McCain is too old" argument. You can't really try and push the senility argument against McCain when your VP pick could have went to the same elementary school with your rival.

   
   

3. It also doesn't help when your VP choice gives your opponent this sort of gold for his ad campaigns:
   

   
   
   

   
   Way to reinforce the message.
   

"We've got momentum. I expect Barack Obama to win in November and I expect to be his partner," she said. "It's going to be a Democratic movement ... Barack at the head of the ticket is going to be important and he is going to bring out Democratic voters."

Um, betch, your support of Obama is why I didn't go out and vote for you, and it's why I won't vote for you in November. So good luck with that.

Some of the people who have followed my journal have friended me to see my posts about Politics. I'm probably just going to stop posting about Politics here and go back to posting stuff about life, and you can jump over to my new community: nobama where I'll be talking about why I don't want Barack Obama president.

It's sort of shocking to me as a lifelong Democrat that I've started this community, but my party has just f'ing pissed me off this time.

Watch out, the Obama people are really scared of how big the victory is going to be for Clinton in PA and are claiming vote fraud, saying his name isn't even on the ballot.

Do NOT believe this line of b.s.

The 'ballot' in question is a sample ballot handed out by an advocacy group on how to vote in a particular district, not the official ballot. Of course, facts have never stopped Obama supporters from their delusions, I shouldn't expect them to start now.

Here's the sample ballot.



But if you can't understand the difference between an advocacy paper ballot provided by a group and the official machine you actually have to vote on, you might be an Obama supporter!

I came across an article that reminded me of my initial turn-off to Obama right from the beginning.

I remember watching this episode when it aired, and I thought "Wow, that's a courageous stand, he delivered a good speech at the 2004 convention but he's making sure he gets the experience of the federal government. I bet when he gets some federal experience under his belt he'd be a good candidate in 2016."

On "Meet the Press" on Jan. 26, 2006, Tim Russert and Mr. Obama had the following exchange:

Mr. Russert: "When we talked back in November of '04 after your election I said, 'There's been enormous speculation about your political future. Will you serve your six-year term as United States senator from Illinois?' "

Mr. Obama: "Absolutely. I will serve out my full six-year term. You know, Tim, if you get asked enough, sooner or later you get weary and you start looking for new ways of saying things. But my thinking has not changed."

Mr. Russert: "So you will not run for president or vice president in 2008?"

Mr. Obama: "I will not."

When your whole candidacy is already tainted on the first lie that you will finish your first term in the Senate, you may be able to start to understand why Clinton supporters thought from the beginning that Obama is "all talk and no action."

A lot of people gave Clinton shit for not running in 2004 'when we REALLY needed her'. She too had said that she would finish out her first term. And did.

Obama - first flip flop of his presidential campaign (and there have been many) was announcing his candidacy in February 2007, exactly as he said he wouldn't do.

And people wonder why Hillary supporters aren't hot over this guy?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004315555_obama30.html

Addressing civil-rights activists in Selma, Ala., a year ago, Sen. Barack Obama traced his "very existence" to the generosity of the Kennedy family, which he said paid for his Kenyan father to travel to America on a student scholarship and thus meet his Kansan mother.

The Camelot connection has become part of the mythology surrounding Obama's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. After Caroline Kennedy endorsed his candidacy in January, Newsweek commentator Jonathan Alter reported that she had been struck by how "two generations of two families — separated by distance, culture and wealth — can intersect in strange and wonderful ways."

It is a touching story, but the key details are... untrue

Ah yes, just curious for those of you who were all over Clinton's ass for saying she landed under 'sniper fire' when it was actually 'the threat of sniper fire' on Obama's latest embellishment? I actually read one comment that "Obama doesn't lie like Clinton does." ORLY?

Personally, I don't think either story is a huge deal, but when one side wants to make a huge deal about not being able to 'trust' the other candidate, tell me, can I 'trust' YOUR candidate when he's out there 'misspeaking'?

I absolutely think that racism still exists in this country. I also think that much racism is 'perceived' racism. Not all 'perceived' racism is fake. But, this is my favorite story about perceived racism:

I was sitting in the first seat on the Metro Bus in Seattle, and the time was about 8pm, and we made a stop on 3rd and Union/University in downtown Seattle. Approximately 15 people got on the bus, including this young AA and a girl he had in tow. Well, he got on, and promptly walked right past the fare box that everyone else had been paying into and walked hurredly back to the back of the bus. Being in the first seat, I had a bird's eye view.

The bus driver got on his microphone and said "To the young man and his girlfriend that didn't pay, you'll need to come up and pay or show me your pass."

No response.

The bus driver got on his microphone again while looking in the rear view mirror and said "Young man, yes you, you and your girlfriend will need to come up and pay or show me your pass."

The young black man started shouting from the back of the bus "Man, why are you pickin on me? I showed you my pass, you aren't tellin any of these white people to come up and show you their passes, why are you pickin on me?"

The bus driver got on his microphone and replied "Just come up and show me you and your girlfriend's passes, or flash them to me so I can see them, and we'll get going."

The young black man from the back of the bus started getting really angry - and was now really yelling: "You're just pickin on me because I'm black! You don't question any of these white people, but you gotta pick on me cuz I'm a black man! Just drive!"

At this point, I'm appalled that he would bring up his race, when it was clear he just didn't pay and wanted a free ride. The bus driver and the young man continued to have these same exchanges, with the bus driver telling him he could just flash his pass from the back or bring it up front, and the young black man screaming that the bus driver was a racist motherfucker for questioning him and telling him just to drive, before the bus driver called the transit police

We met the transit police at the very next stop, and they got on and walked to the back of the bus and told the guy who didn't pay that he had to get off the bus. At this point, he exploded in anger, shouting that "This racist white motherfuckin bus driver is just PICKIN ON ME CUZ I'M BLACK!" He was livid. All the way up he made sure that everyone on the bus knew that the bus driver was a white racist, who had it IN for him as a black guy on the bus.

So as the transit police pulled him and his girlfriend near the front so they could get off the bus, he started turning to say something to the 'racist white bus driver' that he was on a roll about.

And when he did, and when he walked by, I've never seen someone shut up so fast. Because as I sat there, incredulous, exchanging glances with the bus driver while he was on the microphone, it struck me as funny that this guy who was so rushed to get a free ride that he put his head down and pulled his girlfriend in a whirlwind down that bus aisle, he didn't notice that the bus driver was black, just like he was.

After the non-paying couple were pulled off the bus, we went ahead one stop, and then he stopped the bus, got out of his seat, and told the bus riding audience "I've been called a lot of things in my 57 years of life, but until today, I've never been called a racist. I pulled him off this bus because he didn't pay, not because of his skin color."

And the bus applauded.

---

I've seen lots of 'perceived' racism, I worked in an area where there is an extremely high population of African Americans. I've had to meet with parents who think the company I worked for is racist because I haven't hired some of their african american children, but then when I show them their interview results, they mostly walk away with a changed view.

I remember clearly, we had a young 18 year old african american applicant who was great, but he had a conviction for felony theft on his record. His dad, a reverend, was in my office two days after we called him and told him we couldn't hire him. He told his dad tht he didn't get the job, and his dad decided to drop in and wanted to meet with me and grill me.

I can't disclose results of criminal history checks to anyone, so I got my ass chewed for 45 minutes because the only reason he knew that I must have not hired his son after his interview was because I met him, and he was black. Finally, after nothing was going to get this reverend to see anything my way, I called his son up on his cell phone, and asked him if I had his permission to talk to his dad about the reasons he didn't get hired. After he gave permission, I was able to tell him about the felony theft conviction on his record and the company's policy of not hiring anyone with specific charges of theft on their criminal record within 10 years. His dad never knew about that conviction up until that point, and I felt a little awkward being the guy that had to break it to him.

But again, for 3 days and the 45 minutes of in person grilling, I was, I'm sure, the biggest racist that guy had ever met. No matter the staff members I let him meet, or that it was a 70% minority staff. It wasn't until the son's own omission came to light that he was able to come to grips that "Hey, maybe there is another reason."

Again, is their racism in this country? Of course.

Is there a lot more 'perceived' racism in this country? Of course.

I don't think that we are at the levels of racism in this country that necessitates an 'Us vs Them' philosophy, which is what Obama is trying to perpetuate.

---

"She is a typical white person, who, uh, you know, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know there's a reaction that's been bred into, uh, our experiences that don't go away, that sometimes come out, uh, in the wrong way."

Barack Obama speaking about his Grandma on talk radio on March 20, 2008

---

You know, for a guy who says we need to get over this racial division... he sure likes to stir up the pot. Tell me, what is a typical white person? Look at my skin tone in my picture - I think I'm a typical white person. I don't have a "reaction that's been bred into" me when I see somebody on the street that I don't know.

Does he really think that people, white, black, asian, latino, green, purple, polka-dotted... can be lumped into such defined categories as 'typical'? Isn't that the same stereotyping that he's trying to rally against, yet uses the word 'typical'?

What if I said that the typical black man was a crack selling deadbeat "baby-daddy" with no future? That the typical asian man was a fresh-off-the-boat that can't speak english, smells, and is here to take away our jobs and school education from other deserving students?

The answer is, we'd all be up in arms. We'd be pissed.

So why is it cool for Mr. Obama to try and define what a typical white person is and negatively stereotype people like me?

It's offensive.