The 'Love Child Father' Who Could Have Been President

UPDATE V:  "Beware the extreme narcissist. Although he may radiate a seductive confidence, he can justify and forgive himself for just about anything, given his belief in his own exalted purpose. He’ll lose sense of the line between boldness and recklessness. And he’ll quit the stage reluctantly, because he can’t bear not to occupy the very center of it.

What once drew so many people to Edwards and to Gingrich? Both men had an exaggerated and infectious certainty about them. In Gingrich’s withering sneer and Edwards’s shampoo-commercial smile, there was a seeming estrangement from any and all doubt. It is the kind of thing that assuages a voter’s anxieties."

Read The New york Times, A Shared State of Defeat.  

UPDATE IV:  "A man who seemed headed for the Oval Office may be headed to jail, raising the eternal question: Why is the flesh always weak?"  Read The New York Times, Brutality of Servility, which notes "[i]t's a trial without heroes, just liars and an abhorrent trio of selfish people trying to spin the story their own way."

Reminds me of that once upon a time, fairy tale president, with who Edwards was often compared.

UPDATE III: "The Justice Department reportedly plans to accuse John Edwards of misusing presidential campaign funds to cover up an affair." Read The New York Times, Edwards to Face Criminal Charges.


UPDATE II: The story gets uglier. Read ABC News, Ex-Edwards Aide: $1 Million Spent to Cover Up Pregnant Mistress.

If Edwards knew of this he needs to go to jail, and it is hard to see how he wouldn't have known.


UPDATE: Are we blinded by celebrity? Read the Washington Post, From John Edwards, lessons on celebrity and politics.

Is lying about a 'love child' an impeachable offense? Read CBS News, What if John Edwards Were President?

Just another narcissistic politician. (Yes, I know, another tautology.)

BTW, the National Enquirer plans to enter the paper's work on the John Edwards scandal for a Pulitzer Prize. If it wins the National Enquirer would have one more Pulitzer than Hedgehog News.

More CONservative CONspiracies

With talk of civil war and stockpiling survival gear, would you vote to elect someone like this for President?

This guy was the the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.

Robin Williams on Politics After the 2008 Election

He spares no one:




What part did you like best?

Tidbits About the 2008 Election

The election is over, and interesting tidbits of the campaigns are being published. From Newsweek, Hackers and Spending Sprees:

"The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain campaigns were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown "foreign entity," prompting a federal investigation . . .

Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported . . .

The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that many crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied . . .

On the Sunday night before the last debate, McCain's core group of advisers—Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, adman Fred Davis, strategist Greg Strimple, pollster Bill McInturff and strategy director Sarah Simmons—met to decide whether to tell McCain that the race was effectively over, that he no longer had a chance to win. The consensus in the room was no, not yet, not while he still had "a pulse."

The Obama campaign's New Media experts created a computer program that would allow a "flusher"—the term for a volunteer who rounds up nonvoters on Election Day—to know exactly who had, and had not, voted in real time. They dubbed it Project Houdini, because of the way names disappear off the list instantly once people are identified as they wait in line at their local polling station . . .

McCain also was reluctant to use Obama's incendiary pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as a campaign issue. The Republican had set firm boundaries: no Jeremiah Wright; no attacking Michelle Obama; no attacking Obama for not serving in the military. McCain balked at an ad using images of children that suggested that Obama might not protect them from terrorism. Schmidt vetoed ads suggesting thatObama was soft on crime (no Willie Hortons). And before word even got to McCain, Schmidt and Salter scuttled a "celebrity" ad of Obama dancing with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres (the sight of a black man dancing with a lesbian was deemed too provocative).

Obama was never inclined to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate, not so much because she had been his sometime bitter rival on the campaign trail, but because of her husband. Still, as Hillary's name came up in veep discussions, and Obama's advisers gave all the reasons why she should be kept off the ticket, Obama would stop and ask, "Are we sure?" He needed to be convinced one more time that the Clintons would do more harm than good. McCain, on the other hand, was relieved to face Sen. Joe Biden as the veep choice, and not Hillary Clinton, whom the McCain camp had truly feared.

On the night she officially lost the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton enjoyed a long and friendly phone conversation with McCain. Clinton was actually on better terms with McCain than she was with Obama. Clinton and McCain had downed shots together on Senate junkets; they regarded each other as grizzled veterans of the political wars and shared a certain disdain for Obama as flashy and callow.

At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. "I'll be just a minute," she said."

Post Election Emotions

An interesting Press Release from Brandtrust, Inc.:

BEWARE THE GREAT ‘ELECTION DEPRESSION’ COMING NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Chicago—Oct. 29, 2008—Voters envision an apocalyptic America filled with chaos, corruption and despair if the candidate whom they oppose is elected on Nov. 4. A study conducted in September by Brandtrust, a strategic research firm specializing in methodology designed to uncover emotional and psychological insights, revealed that committed party voters become highly emotionally charged, and they begin to speak of their survival in a very tribal and primal manner when asked to visualize what life would be like with the opposing party in office.

In the study—which was designed to better understand the underlying emotional drivers of party loyalty—voters commented that, “It’s more like a war,” “As soon as the energy leaves, there is a feeling of doomsday,” and “If you don’t win, hopefully you will survive. Hopefully you will move forward and make the best of it and that’s all you can do.”

Regardless of the issues raised or political arguments presented, voters—both republicans and democrats—are looking to the comfort and protection of their own party. In fact, when the scenario of the opposing party in power is presented to them, the sense of comfort and protection afforded by their group is erased, and they are left with a dire view of America.

“When the election is over and the proverbial day-after depression sets in for those who lost, it’s not merely a case of sour grapes. There are real underlying emotional and psychological dynamics at work,” said Daryl Travis, CEO and founder of Brandtrust. “For many party loyalists, their greatest fear has come to pass, and life will remain in a precarious state of limbo for four years.”

What does this mean for voters, political campaigns and even marketing and PR executives? The research conducted by Brandtrust presents a side of voters that is often overlooked in communication platforms. Even voters with the greatest awareness of the issues are responding to deep, non-conscious mental models of themselves, their party and their candidate.

As Travis explains, “The ‘issues,’ in many cases, don’t help voters make their decisions; they help them rationalize the decision they’ve already made on an emotional level.” While shouting platform policies is a requirement for any election, the little things, like relating to and understanding the voter on a more psychological level, may really help win elections.

Helps explain the emotional reaction of some.

Analyze the Election

For those of you who like to analyze the election, here is a good start:

The New York Times, Exit Polls, where you can compare voter demographics back to 1980, and
The New York Times, How the Map Changed From 2004, where you can see how voting at the county level changing between the 2004 and 2008 elections.

If you have any other suggestions, let me know.

Only 6%?

Think about it, Obama had nearly every advantage -- including youth, charisma, money, an economic meltdown, gobs of money, Iraq-mire, dissatisfaction with the incumbent, a confused opponent (someone please tell me, what was McCain's campaign theme), and did I say lots and lots of money -- yet he won only 52% of the national vote, defeating McCain by just 6%. The margin of victory in other recent elections:

• 2004 - Bush 50.81 vs. Kerry 48.71
• 2000 - Bush 49.97 vs. Gore 46.46
• 1996 - Clinton 47.38 vs. Dole 41.02
• 1992 - Clinton 40.18 vs. Bush 38.35

All things considered, it could/should have been much worse for the Republi-cons.

What do you think?

A Maverick Suggestion

For whomever wins the election, the first order of business should be to unite the country. The best way to do that would be to offer the office of the Vice President to the person who places second. Under the original terms of the Constitution, which did not foresee political parties, this was how the Vice President was selected. The members of the U.S. Electoral College voted only for office of president rather than for both president and vice president and each elector was allowed to vote for two people for the top office. The person receiving the greatest number of votes (provided that such a number was a majority of electors) would be president, while the individual who received the next largest number of votes became vice president.

We could use a little less party and a little more country if you asked me. Besides, will anyone really miss Biden or Palin.

Alright, fans of SNL will miss Palin, but I think we will see her again. Hopefully after she starts reading a few newspapers and has studied up on current events.


What do you think?

Final Polls and Predictions

The last polls and predictions:

Polly Vote: Obama by 6.0% with 353.72 electoral votes.
FiveThirtyEight: Obama by 6.1% with 348.6 electoral votes.
Princeton Election Consortium: Obama by 6.28% with 353 electoral votes.

Real Clear Politics: Obama by 7.6% with 338 electoral votes.

Obama 278, McCain 132, Toss Ups 128
No Toss Ups: Obama 338, McCain 200

Solid Obama Leaning Obama Solid McCain Leaning McCain Toss Up

State	Obama (D)	McCain (R)	RCP Average	RCP Status	2004	2000
Florida (27)	49.0	47.2	Obama +1.8	Toss Up	Bush +5.0	Bush +0.1
North Carolina (15)	48.0	48.4	McCain +0.4	Toss Up	Bush +12.4	Bush +12.8
Missouri (11)	47.8	48.5	McCain +0.7	Toss Up	Bush +7.2	Bush +3.3
Indiana (11)	46.4	47.8	McCain +1.4	Toss Up	Bush +20.7	Bush +15.7
Georgia (15)	45.8	49.8	McCain +4.0	Toss Up	Bush +16.6	Bush +11.7
Montana (3)	45.0	48.8	McCain +3.8	Toss Up	Bush +20.5	Bush +25.0
Arizona (10)	45.8	49.3	McCain +3.5	Toss Up	Bush +10.5	Bush +6.3
Virginia (13)	50.2	45.8	Obama +4.4	Toss Up	Bush +8.2	Bush +8.1
Ohio (20)	48.8	46.3	Obama +2.5	Toss Up	Bush +2.1	Bush +3.5
Colorado (9)	50.8	45.3	Obama +5.5	Leaning	Bush +4.7	Bush +8.4
Nevada (5)	50.0	43.2	Obama +6.8	Leaning	Bush +2.6	Bush +3.5
Pennsylvania (21)	51.0	43.7	Obama +7.3	Leaning	Kerry +2.5	Gore +4.2
New Mexico (5)	50.3	43.0	Obama +7.3	Leaning	Bush +0.7	Gore +0.1
South Dakota (3)	42.0	50.3	McCain +8.3	Leaning	Bush +21.5	Bush +22.7
West Virginia (5)	42.4	51.4	McCain +9.0	Leaning	Bush +12.9	Bush +6.3
Arkansas (6)	43.0	52.3	McCain +9.3	Leaning	Bush +9.7	Bush +5.4
Minnesota (10)	51.6	41.8	Obama +9.8	Leaning	Kerry +3.5	Gore +2.4
New Hampshire (4)	52.8	42.2	Obama +10.6	Solid	Kerry +1.3	Bush +1.3
South Carolina (8)	43.0	53.0	McCain +10.0	Solid	Bush +17.1	Bush +15.9
Wisconsin (10)	52.8	41.8	Obama +11.0	Solid	Kerry +0.4	Gore +0.2
Mississippi (6)	39.3	50.7	McCain +11.4	Solid	Bush +19.6	Bush +16.9
Iowa (7)	54.0	38.7	Obama +15.3	Solid	Bush +0.7	Gore +0.3
New Jersey (15)	54.5	39.0	Obama +15.5	Solid	Kerry +6.7	Gore +15.8
Oregon (7)	55.3	39.7	Obama +15.6	Solid	Kerry +4.2	Gore +0.5
Washington (11)	53.7	40.7	Obama +13.0	Solid	Kerry +8.2	Gore +5.5
Michigan (17)	52.5	39.5	Obama +13.0	Solid	Kerry +3.4	Gore +5.2
Maine (4)	54.4	38.8	Obama +15.6	Solid	Kerry +9.0	Gore +5.1
Texas (34)	40.5	53.5	McCain +13.0	Solid	Bush +22.9	Bush +21.3
California (55)	58.7	34.3	Obama +24.4	Solid	Kerry +9.9	Gore +11.8
Massachusetts (12)	57.0	35.7	Obama +21.3	Solid	Kerry +25.1	Gore +27.3
Kentucky (8)	41.0	54.5	McCain +13.5	Solid	Bush +19.9	Bush +15.1
Alaska (3)	40.7	56.0	McCain +15.3	Solid	Bush +25.6	Bush +30.9
Connecticut (7)	55.3	36.0	Obama +19.3	Solid	Kerry +10.3	Gore +17.5
New York (31)	62.0	32.3	Obama +29.7	Solid	Kerry +18.3	Gore +25.0
Tennessee (11)	38.8	52.8	McCain +14.0	Solid	Bush +14.3	Bush +3.9
Alabama (9)	33.5	56.8	McCain +23.3	Solid	Bush +25.7	Bush +14.9
Illinois (21)	59.0	34.3	Obama +24.7	Solid	Kerry +10.4	Gore +12.0

Rasmussen Report: Obama by 6.0% with at least 313 electoral votes.

State By State Balance of Power
Safe GOP (65)	Likely GOP (95)	Leans GOP (0)	Toss Up (92)	Leans Dem (26)	Likely Dem (114)	Safe Dem (146)
AK (3)	AR (6)		FL (27)	CO (9)	CT (7)	CA (55)
AL (9)	AZ (10)		IN (11)	NH (4)	IA (7)	DE (3)
ID (4)	GA (15)		MO (11)	VA (13)	ME (4)	DC (3)
KS (6)	MS (6)		MT (3)		MI (17)	HI (4)
KY (8)	NE (5)		NC (15)		MN (10)	IL (21)
LA (9)	ND (3)		NV (5)		NJ (15)	MD (10)
OK (7)	SC (8)		OH (20)		NM (5)	MA (12)
TN (11)	SD (3)				OR (7)	NY (31)
UT (5)	TX (34)				PA (21)	RI (4)
WY (3)	WV (5)				WA (11)	VT (3)
					WI (10)
www.rasmussenreports.com

Key Swing States in the 2008 Elections

Colorado: Obama by 5.5%
Florida: Obama by 1.8%
Indiana: McCain by 1.4%
Missouri: McCain by 0.7%
Nevada: Obama by 6.8%
New Hampshire: Obama by 12.5%
North Carolina: Obama by 0.4%
Ohio: Obama by 2.5%
Pennsylvania: Obama by 7.3%
Virginia.: Obama by 4.4%

UPDATED November 4, 2008

First a Faux Plumber, Now a Fake Business Owner

Did you get an email that begins 'Dear Fellow Business Owner' allegedly written by JOOA Corp. It reminds me of the old joke -- 'How you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.'

Since Joe the so-called Plumber is leaving his short career as a plumber for a new one as a tone deaf country singer, the Republi-cons needed a replacement. Would someone call the acting union for Ward the so-called Business Owner of JOOA Corp.

Anything to get elected, now you know why I call them the Republi-cons.

The Rats Are Abandoning Ship, Still

It might surprise you to know for whom American conservatives are voting. The American Conservative asked 18 conservatives, libertarians, and independent thinkers how they plan to vote and why. Read The American Conservative, The Right Choice?

By my count it was:

3 for McCain,
5 for Obama,
2 for Chuck Baldwin,
2 for Bob Barr,
1 write-in for Ron Paul,
1 write-in for someone I've never heard of, and
4 for none.

Not looking good for McCain.

Joe the So-Called Plumber's Plans Don't Include Plumbing

Sounds like Joe the so-called Plumber's future includes anything but plumbing. He also disses/snubs McCain in Ohio. Read FOXNews, Joe the Plumber Ponders His Future, but Dismisses Country Music Star Chatter.

Celebrity has gone to his head.

He and Palin would make a good couple, don't ya think.

October Surprise Courtesy of Al-Qaeda?

Three suicide bombers mount a well-coordinated attack on an Afghan government building in the center of Kabul, a powerful car bomb explods at a university in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona wounding at least 15 people and setting a building on fire, and a series of coordinated blasts tear through India's volatile northeast killing at least 61 people and wounding more than 300 -- are these part of an October surprise courtesy of Al-Qaeda?

If so, who would Al-Qaeda favor in the presidential election?

Post Election Theme - Boundless Possibilities

And the pre-postmortems about the election continue. Read The New York Times, American Stories, that argues that "[i]n no other country could Barack Obama have risen so far and so fast. Such boundless possibility is what America once stood for and can stand for again."

Are You an Election Junkie?

Take this end-of-the-endless-election quiz, with questions mostly about who said what during the campaign, and post your score.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Several weeks ago I asked whether it would be 40 years in the wilderness for the Republi-cons. Read this interesting article, Washington Post, Return to Grant Park, which speculates that after 40 years in the wilderness Democrats will have come home, ironically enough to Chicago's Grant Park, the scene of clashes between police and demonstrators during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The article says:

"In part, the GOP's decline is due to the Bush administration's penchant for headlong, unilateral military adventures. But fundamentally, the coming Republican calamity is a consequence of public anger at the economy that predominantly Republican perspectives and policies have shaped over the past four decades, in which the vast majority of Americans no longer share in the prosperity of good times and get clobbered when the economy turns bad.

Absent a governing New Deal coalition, the mixed economy the New Deal made, where unions balanced corporations and the government provided a safety net, has substantially eroded. Now, reenter, stage center-left, the Democrats."

It is almost karma for the Republi-cons, don't you think?

The Pre-Postmortems Continue

Read, The New York Times, A Choice and an Echo, which argues that the Republi-cons failed to grasp 'the most significant new trend in American politics,' the end of fear, anger, and hatred as a winning election strategy.

Is The Presidential Campaign Like Milton's Paradise Regained

Read The New York Times, The Power of Passive Campaigning, which makes a comparison likely to anger the Republi-cons.

Palin Has Gone Rovian, Now She is Going Rogue

Palin is a diva "going rogue" says a McCain aide. See CNN, Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says.

She is just getting ready for 2012 when she won't be held back by that old white haired dude, McWhat'sHisName. See Washington Post, Sarah the Diva, Looking Past John the Runner-Up.

Would you vote for Palin in 2012?

Election Countdown

If you are obsessed with the election, visit these websites:

• Polly Vote
• Real Clear Politics
• Pollster.com
• FiveThirtyEight
• Rasmussen Report
• Princeton Election Consortium

Let me know if you have a site to add to the list.