Japi's Blog

Barack Obama Wins - thoughts on the campaign and election

Senator Barack Obama is now President-Elect Barack Obama... first in many ways!

1. First son of a Kenyan to be President of the United States
2. First President to be born in Hawaii
3. First African-American President
4. and I'm sure many others...

Most importantly is that he accomplished it using an absolutely brilliant strategy... starting with his prowess for fund-raising that was obviously out of the great book "The Long Tail" (a few bucks here and there from millions and millions of people).  Obama put together a near perfect campaign using some of the basic skills he learned as a community organizer (I doubt the Republicans are making fun of his volunteer work any longer).

Democrats had more money than Republicans?  I could not believe all the whining... Republicans have been the party with a financial HUGE edge for many, MANY years.  The shoe was on the other foot this time.

Between David Plouffe (Campaign Manager) and David Axelrod (Chief Strategist), the campaign was brilliantly run from start (about 22 months ago), through an unbelievably difficult primary season and an insane presidential battle.  The campaign strategy and results will most certainly be placed in every political science textbook from this point forward.

One of the many discussions on FoxNews yesterday which major mistakes each candidate made... the list for McCain included choosing Palin, his many slips of the tongue (my fellow prisoners, I couldn't agree with Obama more, bomb bomb Iran, 100 years in Iraq, fundamentals of the economy, etc...) and several others... they could only come up with one mistake by Obama in 22 months - when Obama talked about "clinging to guns and religion".  AMAZING!  How many people go 1 week without making a mistake?

And now for the speeches... John McCain's speech was wonderful and full of class... see for yourself:

President-Elect Obama's speech was one of his best... he asked for bi-partisan help, was gracious and (as expected) inspirational:

I expect Obama's administration to be run from the center (and not the left as many of my friends fear).  The one issue which I expect to be more left than center is universal health care... and I DO like Obama's proposal. I'm just not sure if the current financial crisis will allow this to be a priority early on.

I am extremely pleased that Obama won by such a large electoral vote margin... it gives him a mandate which should help him lead the country with broad support.

One final thought...

I really believe that John McCain's upbeat attitude the last week of the campaign, saying things like "we got them where we want them" and "we will surprise everyone when we win" made Obama supporters very nervous and I AM CERTAIN that it helped to get them to show up to vote... so I want to thank McCain for this... I'm not being facetious... I'm absolutely serious!

Barack Obama 30 minute ad

I know a lot of people criticized the 30 minute commercial that Barack Obama chose to run tonight in all the major television networks... but I just watched it and I was happy how it was presented.  Barack showed several families telling their own stories.  These are regular people who have the same challenges that many families around the US are experiencing.

Here's the 30 minute ad so you can decide for yourself:

Ron Howard Supports A Candidate

I used to love watching Opie (in the Andy Griffith Show) and Richie Cunnngham in Happy Days... and Ron Howard has become a great film maker since... He is supporting Obama so I really like this video from Funny or Die.... but even if you don't support Obama, you may enjoy watching this, it's fun!

Joe The Plumber - Watch & Listen To The Whole Conversation

When John McCain began mentioning Joe the plumber at the last debate (21 times!), he has been discussed ad nauseum at every stump speech, news show, etc...

McCain and Palin have said that the exchange between Barack Obama and Joe Wurzelbacher as angry and rude... So let's watch the full conversation and make up your own mind.

In my opinion, it's a very calm discussion...AND it doesn't sound like Socialism to me... the tax system is the tax system that has been in place for many administrations and it's always been a scaled system.

And now let's look at the facts about Joe the plumber:

1. Joe is not a licensed plumber (it's not necessary if you work for a plumbing company)
2. The company that Joe wants to buy would get a tax cut under Obama's plan because it made MUCH less than $250k
3. Joe himself made under $50k last year which would also give him a tax break under Obama's plan
4. Joe is a registered Republican and has made a donation to McCain's campaign

So it looks like Joe was either a McCain plant (if you are REALLY paranoid) or just a dork who wanted to be in the public light and get his 15 minutes.... time's up, Joe!

McCain is a hot head?

Two articles written by typically conservative newspapers called out John McCain for his "hot-headedness" reaction to the current government bailout.

The Wall Street Journal article titled McCain's Scapegoat discusses how McCain unfairly called for Christopher Cox's head.  The article closes with:

"In a crisis, voters want steady, calm leadership, not easy, misleading answers that will do nothing to help. Mr. McCain is sounding like a candidate searching for a political foil rather than a genuine solution. He'll never beat Mr. Obama by running as an angry populist like Al Gore, circa 2000."

In an even more eye-opening article in The Washington Post titled McCain Loses His Head, George F. Will (a leader in the conservative community)... "Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama."

Mr. Will ends his article with a statement that pretty clearly supports Obama (I was blown away!)

"It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?"

Is this the beginning of the end for the McCain campaign or will this have little to no effect on the election. 

In my opninion this just adds more spice to this already habanero-laced campaign... which makes it that more interesting.

The Republican Convention so far

I've watched the Republican National Convention on and off the last few days... one of the things that so far has stood out is that most of the speeches are either saying wonderful things about McCain or criticizing Obama.... but there is little to no substance when it comes to the issues.  I think they have wasted several days of a large TV audience where they could have made it very clear how McCain would make our lives better.

I thought Governor Palin delivered a great speech... I had not seen her speak before and was very impressed... but the content of the speech was very negative and I think she also missed a great opportunity to rise above the fray.  So it looks like the Republicans are just going to run a negative campaign and hope it sticks.  There was an unexpected reaction after Palin's speech - Obama's campaign received a record $10 million in one day.

Attacking Obama is a very risky strategy.... when Hillary Clinton ran negative ads or had negative attacks against Obama, his lead increased.  The only way Clinton got back in the race was when she started talking about what she would do to help the economy, etc... but it was too little to late to win the nomination.

There WAS one speech I've really enjoyed... Mike Huckabee... he has a great sense of humor and good delivery.

I am very interested in what the polls will show next week.  So far there's been little to no movement for either side.

What was McCain thinking??

Seriously??? John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate??

What is going through his mind?  Or was this the recommendation of his vetting team?

Paul Begala described it in the following manner: "For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible."  Begala's commentary article is titled: Is McCain out of his mind?... this made me chuckle because I had the same reaction when I saw the news.

It seems that McCain is trying to get the young vote, the female vote (especially Hillary supporters)... I think it missed the mark completely!  This could be a decision that will really hurt McCain's electability.

On MSNBC, they tore her up pretty badly: bringing up an ethics issue for which she is being investigated and her flip-flop on the "bridge to nowhere" - which she initially supported in 2006 and recently stated she was against it.

It's going to be extremely interesting how Fox News spins this one... and I am pretty certain that the poll numbers will start to show how bad of a decision this was.

Historic Night - Obama is the official nominee

Barack Obama officially became the Democratic Party's Presidential nominee last night.  On the 45th anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech - coincidence? I doubt it.

Rev. King's dream of equality is closer to a reality with Senator Obama's nomination... so it's absolutely fitting!

Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night was long and not one of his best if you measure it against some of his more powerful speeches (like the one he gave in March 208 titled "A More Perfect Union"or his 2004 convention powerful keynote).  However, it was Senator Obama's most complete speech detailing the plans he has for our country.

With the 2008 Democratic National Convention coming to a close last night, it's going to be very interesting to watch if there is a dramatic shift in the polls... it will be especially interesting to see what happens with Hillary supporters.

Bill Clinton Quiets The Media - Now THAT'S NEWS!

After Hillary Clinton's speech on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, all the major news shows started slicing up every word she said and ESPECIALLY what she didn't say.

Well, it looks like Bill Clinton was watching some of those shows.... he made it very clear that "Obama is ready to be President!"  These words were the main ones that the news media said were missing from Hillary's speech the night before.

President Clinton also mentioned how HE had little experience when he won the Presidency 16 years earlier.... in his words "And here's what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job."

Here's a video of his speech... I think the Clintons have set the table for an Obama victory in November!

Hillary Clinton was dead-on Tuesday night!

Hillary hit it out of the ballpark Tuesday... when she said...

"I want you to ask yourselves, were you in this campaign just for me, or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? (Cheers, applause.) Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that young boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

The message to her supporters was clear... vote for Barack Obama... voting for McCain would be a huge mistake.

"We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a president who understands that America can't compete in the global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a president who understands we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring the opportunities to invest in the new technologies that will build a green economy. We need a president who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class."

Below you can wtch her speech... judge for yourselves: If any Clinton supporters still choose to vote for McCain after this speech, they were never a Clinton supporter in the first place. I can't imagine why anyone would want to put up with 4 (maybe 8) more years of Republican hell.

I don't know if Obama is the answer, but I DO know that McCain would be a huge mistake!  Let's get Obama elected and help bring those young men back home, let's take REAL steps to develop clean fuels - help our environment, let's get someone in the White House that is not connected to PAC's and special interests.

Other great speeches on Tuesday night included:

• Dennis Kucinich's emotional storm called "Wake Up America"
• Montana Gov. Schweitzer's humorous and powerful "Petro-Dictators"speech