Obama wins debate!!!!!

I couldn't sleep, so here are some good numbers:

CNN - "A national poll of people who watched the first presidential debate suggests that Barack Obama came out on top." 51% said Obama won; 38% said McCain won. (Source - CNN Opinion Research Poll; n=524; MoE +-4.5%)
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/26/poll-both-men-beat-expectations-but-obama-had-the-edge/

CBS - "Uncommitted voters saw Obama as the winner." 39% said Obama won; 24% said McCain won; 37% saw it as a draw. (Source - CBS News and Knowledge Networks Poll; n=500 (uncommitted voters); MoE +-4%)
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/09/26/politics/horserace/entry4482028.shtml

The breakdowns are also amazing. For example, Obama won the 50+ crowd and won the foreign policy section.

Huckabee on McCain suspension

So Rove has already said McCain has gone to far with his fictitious ads. Now republican presidential-wanna be Mike Huckabee is saying McCain made a huge mistake by suspending his campaign. I agree with Huckabee.

"You can't just say, 'World stop for a moment. I'm going to cancel everything," Huckabee told the Associated Press Thursday.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Palin on the Bailout

I few weeks ago we had the oppurtunity to see that Gov. Palin has very little knowledge on the largest change in foreign policy in the last 40 years (e.g. the Bush Doctrine). Here we get to see that see has little understanding of the most important domestic policy in the last 40 years.

New Video

McCain's changing views on the economy spiced up a little by commentary by David Letterman.

I realized something...

So I go out for walks quite a bit. I usually go from my place and walk up and around High St. in the Short North. Well as I was walking tonight I thing I learned or realized an important lesson about panhandlers. It is this:

When they ask for money a professional panhandler will expect you to say no, whereas a person who actually needs help will expect you to say yes.

$700 Billion Bailout

Is it just me or does the rhetoric Paulson and the Bush administration is using about this bailout seem like the same kind of rhetoric used during the lead up to the war. CNN reported that Paulson has said we need to pass this or "god help us all." He has also been saying we need to do this as soon as possible for our own financial security. I just think they are trying to push this through real quick considering it is the largest financial move by the U.S. since the new deal.

Just a thought.

Update: President Bush says, "...the whole world is watching to see if we act quickly..."

Karl Rove on McCain

Even Rove says McCain is going too far. Seriously Karl Rove says McCain has gone too far.

"McCain has gone in some of his ads -- similarly gone one step too far," [Rove] told Fox News, "and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the '100 percent truth' test."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/14/campaign.wrap/index.html

Palin on banning

The Wasilla newspaper has posted their original (1996) article about then-Mayor Palin's interest in banning books from the library.

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/14/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt

Palin and the Bush Doctrine

During her first major interview, Gov. Palin was asked about the Bush Doctrine and she had no clue what Charlie Gibson was talking about. This makes me incredibly uncomfortable. This person, who could be one heartbeat from the presidency, doesn't know the Bush Doctrine, which is the single largest change to American foreign policy in the last 40 years.

But this wasn't even the most telling part of the interview. The most mind blowing section to me was when see was asked if see was prepared for the presidency. In short, she said I didn't even blink when he asked me. This type of arrogance truly scares me. I mean, wouldn't any rational person need to think about it, do some soul searching and decide if they were really ready. I think this kind of arrogance speak volumes about how she would lead and must be avoided.

Here some other thoughts:

The Atlantic Monthly article
NY Times article

Latest video...

For more videos check out: Voice of Change YouTube page

Seriously

TPM found this and it is just amazing.



Does he think we are all high? Two years as governor and she knows more about energy than anyone in the country. Ridiculous.

Dispatch Letter to the Editor

Written on Friday, August 29, 2008. The day Sen. McCain announced his running mate. Published in the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday, September 7, 2008.

Arizona Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidate proves one of two things. First and most likely, McCain sees Palin as a qualified and responsible choice for the vice presidency. He might think of her as a Washington outsider whose views could help change Washington. Or second, his choice is based on purely political motives. Palin, being a woman, could help McCain grab disillusioned supporters of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. This cynical view is unlikely.

A political icon such as McCain clearly understands that his vice presidential choice would be one heartbeat away from the presidency. McCain especially, at his age and with his history of cancer, must be cognizant of this possibility. Assuming the second option is false, McCain must view Palin as a qualified, responsible pick who, at a moment's notice, would be able to assume the presidency.

McCain believes this person with, at best, experience equivalent to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is prepared to lead. This proves unequivocally that McCain's argument questioning Obama's experience is unfounded.

It further shows that McCain himself doesn't believe the arguments his campaign has been lobbing at Obama. Going forward, McCain would be hypocritical to continue attacking Obama's preparedness.

NICK GEIDNER
Columbus

Direct link: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/09/07/Geidner_ART_09-07-08_G4_PLB7UO1.html?sid=101 (Only 30-day archive)

What is going on...

As you can tell, except for some videos, I haven't been updating my blog. Well I have been busy...deal with it. But I am going to try again. I think I have tried to restart blogging every fall for the last three years and it hasn't stuck. Hopefully this is the year.

Anyway, eventually I will be switching my blog over to a new site I am developing: NickGeidner.com. This is going to be the home for my teaching, research, and blog. Hopefully I will have it up by the end of September.

As a general update to anyone who still has this in their RSS feed, I am about to start my second year in the mass communication Ph.D. program at The Ohio State University. In the fall I will be taking an advanced stats class, a seminar on interpersonal communication and politics, and a class in sociology covering social movements. I will also be teaching Comm 221: Intro to Newswriting for the third straight quarter. Hopefully this time I will get it right.

Also I have been playing around with YouTube and the 2008 election. Here are some videos I have made: http://www.youtube.com/user/voiceofchangewebsite.