Clint's Blog

Where were you when history was made?

Clint — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:51:09 EST

Last night was incredible! I joined my wife for an election celebration held at the Doug Fir here in Portland. It was crowded. The energy was high. People were excited. This year it would be different. I was at Doug Fir's Election Night Mayhem when Barack Obama was elected president.

American Made The Right Choice!

Clint — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:56:25 EST

Change Unity and Hope

Clint — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:43 EST

As the election draws near I can't help but comment on the message of two candidates. One candidate has had a clear consistent message throughout the campaign. The other has had a moving and ever changing message. One candidate has been focusing on change, unity and hope while the other is dividing the country with false accusations while splitting us into groups. On the eve of the election both candidates continue their approach. Which message do you prefer?

Hey Idaho, Join the Northwest

Clint — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:11:09 EDT

Hey Idaho, why don't you join the rest of the Northwest? Both Oregon and Washington are looking for real change in Washington DC. Both states are strongly leaning toward Barack Obama as the candidate that can fix the messy situation the country is in right now. I know it's a hard choice given most of you are republican but please consider taking a step outside of the box this election.

Dear Mr Gregg

Clint — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:58:33 EDT

Not too long ago I was forwarded another one of the those emails created by stodgy conservatives. This one contained a letter written by Mark Gregg to Mr Obama. Stodgy conservatives have been circulating it out on the internet via email and blogs for about a month now. I felt compelled to write back to Mr Gregg. Here is my letter.

Dear Mr Gregg,

One of the greatest things about this country is that we can have vastly different opinions and still be Americans. We can question our leaders, (apparently with the exception of vice presidential candidates), and hold them accountable. I respectfully disagree with your statements and here is why. I hope you will reconsider your vote.

Bush's Last Day

Clint — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:51:01 EDT

Back in February of this year while heading up to Mount Hood for a cross country ski-in cabin adventure my wife and I stopped for lunch. I picked up a newspaper to read while eating. I even remember the name of it... it was an Oregonian. The front page section had several pages about the presidential primary races. By then it looked like it would be McCain running against either Clinton or Obama. Because of my “Bush's Last Day” gear my wife asked who's gonna be president after Bush's last day. I said Obama, but any of the three would be better than Bush. She asked “Even McCain” to which I replied “Yes, even McCain. Oscar (our dog) would be a better president than Bush.”

Note to David Plouffe About Attack Politics

Clint — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:17:49 EDT

David,
First and foremost I am a supporter. I have my "mybarackobama" account setup with blog and fundraising page and I have volunteered several times over the last month. It is critical for our country that Barack win this election I and will do what I can here in Oregon to see that it happens.

Where Did the "Honorable" McCain Go?

Clint — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:12:31 EDT

In spite of his political views many people thought John McCain was at least honorable and truthful. He stood against bad politics waged against Kerry in 2004 and was a victim himself in 2000. In spite of that we all expected there would still be Swift-Boat style tactics used by the ultra stodgy conservative republicans on the fringe of the party. They have had success creating lies to sway voters using fear. McCain had said he himself would not go down that path. Instead though McCain has recently done the dishonorable thing and endorsed the path.

The Mavericks

Clint — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:56:05 EDT

Ya just gotta love it when someone gives themselves a nickname. On the reality show Survivor Gabon there is a guy who has asked to be called GC...which stands for Golden Child. Golden Child...are you really that great? It seems more often than not self-given nicknames are a reflection of how a person thinks of themselves and not how others view them. Keeping with current events my favorite example is “maverick”.

Stodgy Presidential Comparison Email

Clint — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:46:44 EDT

In September my wife was forwarded one of those stodgy conservative emails full of deception and fear from a relative. I wrote about it previously in the blog entry titled “Simple Math.” The email contained a list of “issues” comparing McCain with Obama. An ideological email battle ensued (OK so that may be a little dramatic) and here is a partial update. Originally the forwarded email was in a table with rows for the “issues” and columns for McCain and Obama with Yes or No or information for each issue. The table also included previously debunked information about each candidates tax plan. The table format did not translate well to this blog, so I have grouped the email chain by issue.

Say No to republicans

Clint — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:56:50 EDT

I think I could write an entire blog dedicated to the dumb things stodgy conservative republicans say, do, write in email or put on their bumpers. Last weekend as I was out and about I saw a bumper sticker that read “Nobama. Say No to Communism”. I was surprised by a few things. First I live in Portland where somewhere around 90% of political bumper stickers the last 8 years have been anti-bush – which makes me very proud of my city. Ya know things like “IMPEACH”, “01.20.09 Bush's Last Day”, or “Somewhere in Texas a Village is Missing It's Idiot”. More surprising was that someone would buy, or otherwise obtain a bumper sticker claiming Obama is a communist and then actually put it on their car.

Less Than Zero

Clint — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:40:33 EDT

Earlier this week I was looking over my mutual fund investments. I've been investing in America's economy diligently over the last 8 years. After 8 years the value of my funds are about the same as the amount I have invested. So hey, on the positive side I haven't lost any money... unless I adjust for inflation. Not good! The results made me glad I'm not retiring this year. It didn't used to be like that. Maybe a simple chart or two can show my point.

Simple Math

Clint — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:18:18 EDT

My wife received an email from one of her republican family members last week. In it there were several “issues” comparing McCain with Obama. The list was was titled “Simple Math” which is kind of funny all things considered. Most of the list is simply political differences in what stodgy conservative republicans think is important versus what Democrats think is important. Ya know issues like freedom to choose and health care – issues the stodgy conservative republicans hate. However a few of the items were blatant, deceptive lies trying to fear the reader into voting for McCain.

What I Learned from the republican National Convention

Clint — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:38:24 EDT

Teenage pregnancy is not an issue. I had always thought teenage pregnancy was a serious issue in the US. Apparently it isn't. Of course there is a catch. As long as unmarried teenage girls choose to keep the baby it's not an issue. So teenagers take your abstinence only education and go have sex. Don't worry about using a condom (you probably don't know what that word means anyway) and don't worry about getting pregnant...it's not an issue.

Volunteering

Clint — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:37:52 EDT

On Tuesday my wife and I went to the N/NE Portland Obama Campaign for Change office to volunteer for the first time. Over the weekend we visited the office and signed up for a shift of data entry. Neither of us having volunteered for a political campaign before we didn't know what to expect. As we quietly entered the office we looked around wondering what we be doing.

Liberal Media

Clint — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:59:20 EDT

Ok I know that if I am going to blog it has to be timely. This is a little dated given the frenzy around the Palin pick for VP, but it's still on my mind so I'm going to write about it anyway. I was watching CNN on Monday, the first day of the republican national convention. Of course earlier that day the news of Sarah Palin's daughter was released. As I tunned in, CNN was interviewing Nancy Pfotenhauer. Other than not being a old white guy, she is your typical stodgy conservative republican, full of rhetoric. She was complaining that only the “Liberal media” from Washington and New York cared about the breaking Palin story.

3 of Clubs

Clint — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:46:42 EDT

As much as I hated to admit it, the McCain campaign did have one argument that was difficult to counter argue. Most political arguments are “he will, he won't, I will, I won't” kind of discussions. However McCain did have a difficult to refute point about experience.

Hillary Supporters

Clint — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:52:56 EDT

I think it may have finally happened. A majority of the remaining Hillary supporters have accepted Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate and more importantly the best candidate between him and McCain. I applaud those of you who have been going through the difficult summer months as Hillary supporters.

Introduction

Clint — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:10:23 EDT

As is often the case with blogs there is an introduction entry or a blog overview that describes the author and the purpose of the blog. Since this blog is posted on my.barackobama.com it's pretty clear the purpose, so instead I will just tell you about myself.