This is stunning, and a disappointment...
I wish someone could explain to me why the best candidate we've had for President of the United States continues to have to be drug into the media to defend himself over two individuals. Whether it's a former pastor or real estate developer, why do we continue to see any candidate weather a storm like this with so much as stake right now?
Have we forgotten about the characters in the lives of both Bill & Hillary Clinton? Of John McCain? In our own lives?
Again, it is stunning to see that in the year 2008 we are here on a Tuesday night in the Spring season and our attention remains fixed on this while gas is almost unaffordable, food choices at the grocery store are having to be seriously altered to meet a budget that no longer can sustain it, and jobs that can sustain average Americans are harder and harder to find. We have troops on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and all over the world. A soaring trade deficit, national debt, and we are talking about a man not even in the running for the most powerful political office in the world?
Where is our Leadership? Where is the muscle in the Democrat and Republican Parties of the United States? Where are the decent political leaders who should be outraged that Barack Obama is continually being attacked over this mess? Where are any of our leaders?
Are we going to gamble away this wonderful opportunity we have to shake this off, roll up our sleeves, and make a fantastic nation even better?
Still want answers? How about asking Illinois? I ask you. Barack Obama is the junior Senator from your state. Are we to believe that your collective judgment somehow overlooked this man, passing through your State Senate, onto the U.S. Senate, and to the position of Presidential Candidate Frontrunner and you somehow missed whatever secret everyone keeps digging for? Or, can we just say that Senator Obama is a great guy, and we can all follow him together?
It is a hot topic on the media waves, and after a few months of the 2008 Presidential Primary season, we now focus on what the actual numbers say. There has been a challenge that states needed in order to win the General Election are more in favor of Hillary Clinton and John McCain; negating the overwhelming number of states that Senator Barack Obama has won, along with the delegates that his campaign has brought in.
With the help of the running tally listed on msnbc.com, from the exit polls of real voters, the following below facts are laid out. We have analyzed not only the delegates in the states, we have also looked at the Electoral College counts themselves since they ultimate decide the outcome of the office and Florida and Michigan Delegate counts are not counted.
Texas - The state that saw a statistical deadheat between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (Obama took the Caucus, Clinton the Primary, and Obama the delegates by 99-94).
If we further break down the numbers, we have 2,050,000 (rounding down) votes for Barack Obama in a General Election, assuming that only ½ of Hillary Clinton supporters come over for Barack, and the other ½ vote for an alternate candidate. If we get very (Santa Claus) generous, we can give John McCain that ½, raising his total to 1,410,000 (rounding up). This leaves a short-fall of over 600,000 votes, the likes of which cannot even be made up for by Huckabee’s total that rang in at 532,000.
Result? Obama takes Texas, and its 34 EC votes.
California is the big heavyweight, and we’ll go ahead and get it out of the way, right away. An analysis of the Golden State reveals the following; 52% Clinton – 42% Obama – 4% Edwards. Being generous again, we look at a 50% split for the two, giving Clinton 54% and Obama 43%; total vote counts of 2,200,000 for Clinton and 1,830,000 for Obama..rounding them both down slightly. Adding the conservative 50% from Clinton to Obama again gives Barack 2,881,013 total votes to McCain’s 3,564,047 with all the GOP vote + ½ of Hillary’s count. That’s a difference of 683,034.
Result? McCain takes California, and its 55 EC votes.
Florida has been perhaps the single-most controversial state in electoral news over the history of the United States; far eclipsing any vote rigging that ever occurred before (it is the information age, and should be theft-proof and fool-proof) As we all know, the Florida Democrat Primary will not be counted toward the delegate totals. However, it does deserve mentioning here. A breakdown of the actual vote shows that another statistical dead-heat! (word is getting familiar, yes?) With Senator Clinton receiving 50% of the votes cast, Barack Obama took 33% to John Edwards 14%, with an additional 1% left-out. Now, we’ve been more than generous to both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain, so let’s give Mr. Obama the benefit in round number three. Even if we add all the votes cast in the Democrat Primary, we have 1,684,390 votes for Democrat Candidates to 1,916,212 for the GOP. It is not likely that either Hillary or Barack are going to pull away nearly 250,000 Republican voters from McCain, which means that the Democrat nominee will need to bring in new voters. Barack Obama has brought out record numbers of new voters by every account given. Can he find more than 300,000? With over 17million people reported as living in the state of Florida, that means that only 21% of the population actually voted. The trends show that there is only one candidate who picks up big clumps of new voters. That candidate is Barack Obama. Adding just 4% of the population to the numbers for Obama, and we get 2,364,390 for Barack; leaving McCain with 448,278 new voters he will need to find in order to just tie. With all eyes on the Sunshine State, not even the Bush machine can hoodwink the population this time. Advantage – Obama.
Result? Obama takes Florida and its 27 EC votes (that makes it 61 – 55 in favor of Obama, so far)
As long as we are speaking about Florida, let’s go ahead and look at her sister Michigan; a state where Barack was not even on the ballot. To keep it simple, and short, let’s look at ½ of Hillary’s totals again, and the rest coming from those uncommitted and the remainder of the field that was on the ballot. Rounding down Senator Obama by a few again, he totals 429,699 with only ½ of Hillary’s voters. McCain draws in more than 2x that number, at about 866,436. However, Democrats have won the state in both 2000 and 2004, and there really was no election held at all in Michigan. Sorry Johnny, we have to give this one to Senator Obama. Romney and the rest of the GOP field creamed you here, and even with all the GOP vote, you simply will not move the Democrat mid-west.
Result? Obama takes Michigan and its 17 votes (while we’re up here, let’s go ahead and throw in MN, IA, and WI, bordering states where Barack easily wins over all with the numbers: EC totals = 27)
So far, we have Obama v. McCain – Big States, with Big Numbers at:
As this starts to look like a run-away election, let us go ahead and allow our candidates to go back to their home states to pick up support. Just to pre-face, both New York and Illinois carry a large number of votes; 31 and 21 respectively, while Arizona brings in 11. We will start with Arizona.
McCain takes 480,351 votes with every GOP number cast during the primary (he only won 47% in his own state, far below both what Clinton and Obama brought in from their respective states!)
Looking at the Democrat side, we will give Obama everything from his party for 379,642. The GOP has had this state on lock-down 3 of the last 4 Presidential Elections. And though Mr. Gore did lose his own home –state during the 2000 election, we’re going to give the Cactus State to John McCain.
Result? McCain takes his own state, and its 11 EC Votes.
You have to go back to 1984 to find a Republican Presidential Candidate who won in NY. Most of us are familiar as well with Illinois’ history with Presidential production. Giving both states to Obama, we now have the following EC totals:
Obama – 157
McCain – 66
From here, we will narrow things down to just the states where Democrats have dominated during the last four Presidential cycles; going back to 1992 and forward to look at the total Electoral College votes for the two main candidates for the General Election; Barack Obama and John McCain:
Adding in the states of OR, WA, NH, NJ, CT, RI, ME, VT, DE, and MA, we get 70 more EC votes for Barack (if my math is correct…) That gives Senator Obama 227 votes in the College; just 43 shy of what he would need to secure victory. With 293 votes still on the table, John McCain would need 204 of them to Barack’s 89 in order to come back and secure victory.
Given the numbers where McCain actually won convincingly during the Primary, here is how it should pan out by the trends:
Victories in Miss, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, UT, WV, KY, and Montana, for McCain place him at 133 Electoral College Votes.
With the landslide victories that Barack saw in the following contests, we give those to the respective Illinois Senator: Alabama, Alaska, D.C., HI, Idaho, KS, LA, MD, Nebraska, ND, SC, VA, WA, WY, and he picks up 106 more votes.
Our new totals
Obama – 333
McCain – 133
With 72 votes still on the table, Senator McCain can have all the rest, and will still need 65 back from Barack out of those above numbers!! States where Barack not only won big, but many of which McCain did not do so hot at all.
Elect-ability? What do you think?
North Carolina... Tobacco Road... Home of the Mighty 82nd Airborne Division, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, and Pope Air Base... A historical state with a deep historical past in the United States; dating back to the original Province of Carolina that stretched from the Atlanta to the Pacific!!
Folks, we know that we are always going to have people who absolutely will ignore logic… consciously, and otherwise ignore the opportunity to get at the true roots of our inner most feelings about our individual lives, and where we have room for each other in our hearts and futures while living side by side… shopping in the same stores… going to enjoy the same arts… cheering for our own children and each others’ at the Saturday soccer game… joining each other for lunch from the roadside workers, to the college campuses around the country, to the factories and technology corridors that come and go from Indiana to North Carolina…
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just seen history in the making again. The question after November 4, 2008, though, will be whether we find ourselves on the better side of the very making of the same… This is our time… This may be our last shot and time… Two weeks to go until we have another Carolina go to the polls, and another state from the great mid-west do the same… More folks from the New South and the wheat and Corn Belt have weighed in with the Hope of Today and Tomorrow… The Hope in Barack Obama…
It has been tiring for many of us… a process a lot longer than most of would have ever imagined… Just as Senator Obama mentioned, it is not just about winning, though… Rather, it is how we win… We can win… We must win… We will win…
How many phone calls can we each make? How many doors can we knock on? How many points can we win each state of North Carolina and Indiana by that will further close the door on this nomination for America; for Barack Obama?
Semper & Respectfully,
Kent D. Fletcher
Dist 46 Democrat Candidate
S.C. State Senate
What a tremendous success!!!
More than 80% of our confirmed signees arrived to answer the call with the 15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, John L. Estrada, signing the national anthem in front of CBS News, behind and around an illuminated American flag, and then fanned out across greater Philadelphia, PA just hours after the very lady who first asked us all who should answer the call at 3am checked in at the hotel just across the street!
Our work is not finished yet, however... as we still have our C/I to see through...
It is officially Tuesday, April 22nd, and we must see:
C/I – To reach each and every household that is able to vote or influence the voting outcome on a positive, united manner that will lead to a victory all across Pennsylvania, and consolidate all concerned with Barack Obama’s candidacy; including Senator Clinton.
I have arrived back in S.C. just after midnight April 21/22. Tomorrow, I will be going back home to the Georgia border and back to campus. Thank you to everyone who made it out!!
The following inspiration was found on the internet, and is testimony that folks were paying attention to us. (in retrospect, the 1,000 mark could have been adjusted a lot soon however our event was a tremendous success!!!)
http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/2008/04/obama_supporter.html
Let's build on it!! The point difference is w/i 5% with undecided voters still out there!! Yes, we can!!
Kent
Printed with Permission of Col Charles F. Kriete
THE ARMY
When civilians hear the word "commander" they mostly think of someone giving an order to subordinates. And, of course, commanders do give orders. But "command" as a concept has far greater meanings and implications than ordering folks around. It is in fact the basis of the claim that military service is a profession. The military's real purpose is "to control the violence of war in a way that permits the outcome to be some useful social outcome" (Morris Janowitz)
The key sentence in the army regulation which defines command says, "The commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do". This statement forms the basis not only for the operation of units, both in combat and peacetime, but also the ways those units are organized, and how they relate to one another and the enemy. It is that legal structure which creates a purposeful organization out of an uncontrollable, destructive mob.
The command system works as it was designed to work only when all the elements of the chain, from Theater Army to squad, speak honestly with each other - without concern for the effect that their words will have on both superiors and subordinates. Human nature being what it is, this is a seldom fully-realized ideal. Courage, and confidence in your commander are needed on both sides when the news you bring is bad news. The army succeeds ONLY to the degree that speech up and down the command is truthful and complete. The corollary of the orders given is that the commander giving them takes responsibility for the outcome of their execution.
A classic case of the breakdown of this reponsibility is Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The torture of prisoners there was leaked to the public by pictures taken by folks at the lowest levels of command. The Major General appointed to investigate this ugly situation made a thoroughly honest report. It confirmed that the provisions of the Geneva Convention (actually, they are laws binding the behavior of the armies of all signatory nations, the USA being one of them) were violated repeatedly, on direction from superiors. The ultimate response of the highest levels of command was to blame the lowest ranking personnel, prosecute them in military courts, and then dismiss the whole matter in hope that it would be quickly forgotten.
When the trial of one of the offenders began, a subpoena was issued to Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller (who was in charge of the interrogation of the prisoners) by the legal counsel of one of the Warrant Officers conducting the investigations who was the defendant at the trial. This General Officer took the Fifth Amendment (against self-incrimination) rather than testify, on the grounds that if he told the truth in his testimony he would be incriminating himself. There is no record that he ever did or said anything to acknowledge any of his responsibility for their behavior. This Major General had also supervised the interrogation of inmates at our prison in Guantanamo.
Maj Gen Miller's refusal to take any responsibility for the outcome of his instructions he may have given at Abu Ghraib is just one of the instances in which the Army doctrine of command responsibility has been flouted in our invasion of Iraq. What is at stake here is not the relatively trivial problem of actions which violate both the letter and the spirit of the Army Regulation governing the performance of the command function. Not one senior officer connected with our invasion has stood up to take responsibility for any of the reprehensible activities so far disclosed. And those who planned and executed that invasion, failing to anticipate what chaos would develop there after the Iraqi army was disbanded, have been completely silent. None has stood up to take responsibility for the plans they prepared and the orders given to execute their provisions. They have been completely silent.
Those of us who love the Army, and respect the command structure, and who have given it our best efforts in Vietnam and elsewhere, are ashamed at what its commanders have now done and refuse to take responsibility for, in and after our invasion of Iraq. That invasion, condemned by Pope John Paul II in an encyclical issued before that invasion took place, was based on lies and false intelligence. "We, the People", now need to hold them accountable for their lack of honor.
Charles F. KrieteCh(COL) USA, RetiredDistinguished Fellow, US Army War College
The clip and story says it all...
73% of troops voted during the last Presidential Election, and more are expected to this time around...
3am at Tun Tavern... Philadelphia, PA; April 20th, 2008.
NBC just reconfirmed their intent to be there... Will you?
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Story?id=4244798&page=1
Semper...
Hey folks....
This is a great feel good song that we could hear all day!!!
http://www.obamarocks08.com/
It is a free download, so by all means have at it!!! :-D
Good evening, folks...
Just want to drop you all a quick line to let you know that I have just filed the necessary paperwork for a bid in the 2008 Election for South Carolina's District 46 State Senate Seat.
I am currently in the process of forming an exploratory committee, and will still be involved in Senator Obama's campaign for President; and the planning of the 3am event!! (We need NLT 100 People!!!)
I have also been selected as a County Delegate to the 2008 S.C. Democrat State Convention that is being held next month in Columbia, S.C. Hillary's lead is now down to single-digits in PA, and it is time to continue the push forward!!
Thank you to everyone who has lent their support for my part during this historical year! I would not be where I am without you, and it is my duty, privilege, and desire to continue to serve each and every one of you! :-)
Currently, we are 21 minutes into Part 2 of "Bush's War", on PBS.
Part 1 from last night should be viewable right here...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
You won't want to miss this!!
Please, pass it around!!! I could only post it to 10 groups... This is something every American needs to see!!
It is with great courage that I post this here, and my hope that we now don't simply poll here, but let everyone else know; including Senator Hillary Clinton...
The following is a link to a petition to ask Senator Clinton to withdraw from the race, and below is my personal letter that accompanied my petition signature:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com...
The goal is 1,000,000 signatures. What better place to continue this than with the great supporters of Senator Barack Obama for President!
Below, you will find the text I utilized... Please, utilize it as well if you want...
Semper & Respectfully...
Ladies and Gentlemen.... Good evening to you... :-) It is my sincere desire that you had a great day today as people all over the world celebrated the sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth, and what that sort of love can mean in each one of our lives...
Today, as I was preparing to spend time with my family... I was looking over my email, and came across this little note from the Huffington Post, thanks to folks from Philly for Obama:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/is-hillary-positioning-fo_b_92904.html
Folks, as we prepare to go back to the workforce... to the schools we teach in... to the businesses we build capital in... to the restaurants we serve in... to the government offices we administrate from... Let us not be lulled into sleep at the time we can press on... until....
Let's close the gap in Pennsylvania... this week... let's secure North Carolina... this week... let's claim Indiana... this week!!! Let's roll forward into April 2008 with the ownership of this Democrat Nomination...
Yes.... We Can!!!!!!!
Good night.. and Semper Fi!!!
A simple word called "love"
Merriam-Webster calls it:
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child> (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates> b: an assurance of love <give her my love>2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion <love of the sea>3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration
Yes, We Can..... Yes, We Can... I love each and everyone of you... May this Sunday find you well, loved, and in good grace.... with people you love, and are loved by... with your hungers satisfied... with your dreams within your reach, if not fulfilled.... with you at peace with your Creator...
This video, along with Senator Obama's, may be the single most powerful message that anyone could offer for our future:
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The below is a suggestion that has been posed to the folks from Body of War that would include some of the substance from Senator Barack Obama:
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=822#5500
The comments from princemjkt are mine, having answered questions the young man asked of each candidate.
Please, pass this around, get this video on every cable news network... Let's re-take the initiative!!!
Greetings all....
We have some new information for our upcoming ideas to move forward the best candidate in the Presidential field... for Barack Obama..
for anyone who wants further details, please sign up on the 3am event under this "Cnncerned Citizen, Iraq War Veteran..." and leave us a message with your contact information.
We currently have a few folks signed on, and this will be a tremendous opportunity to help make a decisive act in PA given the new information we have.
So, come on over and sign up for the event... This can be the biggest event to date!!
Is it possible....? Could it be that the Clinton Camp has started a Democrat Party implosion by the swiftboat tactics they have reintroduced into the running for the White House?
John Kerry a non-war hero?
Barack Obama a non-white, even anti-white man?
As we imagine the scene unfolding, can anyone else picture the possibility now of John McCain simply stepping over the rubble that the Clintons have created and on into the Oval Office for the next for years?
Will the Clinton legacy go from just a case of poor judgment on behalf of the former President to the couple who will go down in history having handed the nation back to the Republican Party and a candidate for the highest office in the land that may just keep us right where we are...? ...marking the continuing of the end?
See for yourself, and investigate.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/20/bill-clinton-and-jeremiah_n_92670.html
Take a look:
There is no guesswork about what our candidates do and have done.
http://votevets.org/pages/?id=0006
Does this look like a candidate who criticized the prosecution of the invasion of Iraq?
Rep Sestak commented on Larry King Live that Hillary Clinton had a front row seat to foreign policy, so that makes her more qualified to be Commander in Chief than Barack Obama.
1) Why do we put young lieutenants in command, when staff NCOs have more often than not been operating w/i the military for about 10 years?
2) Who has the most foreign policy and military experience of the three remaining candidates? How much experience did Donald Rumsfeld have?
3) If having a front row seat counts as experience, then can we get everyone's seats on the 45 yard line in Gillett Stadium for the Patriots to take over Tom Brady's reigns when he retires? They are likely "experts" in the Patriots and football, and have a front row seat. Does that make them qualified to bring the Pats back the Super Bowl crown?
Folks.. are we being real? do we really, truly think that anyone is more qualified among the three remaining candidates to be President of the United States than Barack Obama?
If so, will someone tell me a legitimate reason why that has something to back it up... besides flying into the Balkans in a C-17 with Chelsea?
