Last Day in Florida...

Well, as I'm sure you've seen in the results, our guy did not come out on top Tuesday night. It was a heartbreaker for all of us who worked so hard for Mitt, and it made for a long bus ride home. In four days, our group made almost 37,000 personal phone calls, 600 door-to-door visits, hundreds of street contacts and covered Duval county with Mitt signs. We also hosted a highly successful rally to help the Florida race to be as close as it was. I take comfort in knowing that our group won every county we targeted by an average of 15 points.

I think what saddens me the most were the shady politics I observed from competing campaigns. I'm not too naive to know that these things occur, but to see it bandied about without regard for the truth was a little jarring. Some of this you may have heard in the mainstream media, such as McCain's attacks claiming Mitt wanted to remove troops from Iraq. What you probably didn't hear about were the robo-calls from the McCain camp saying that Mitt Romney wanted to "take God out of America". These attacks were focused on areas like Bay county in the panhandle where evangelicals are prevalent. These were also tag-teamed by the Huckabee campaign, who we confirmed was using our call list to "spam" potential voters with messages from Mitt Romney. The aim was to anger the many undecided voters and turn them to other candidates. If you'd like to know how Huckabee did it and how we found out, I'm happy to explain, but it's a little too geeky to cover in a short blog post. E-mail me. In any case, it became evident in a hurry that the three major camps competing with Romney have been doing a little "talking" behind the scenes. Again, I'm not surprised by this, just disappointed in the lack of integrity. If McCain wins the nomination and the Presidency (which I doubt), don't be surprised to see Attorney General Giuliani and Vice President Huckabee. Sorry Lindsey Graham, you just got put at the kids' table for dinner...

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. I didn't take many because we barely took time off to go to the bathroom. Enjoy.

Members of the "Keating Five" watching the initial results come in on my laptop

Jacksonville Campaign Headquaters watching the results come in

This is a funny picture. Next door to our HQ, there was a tanning salon owned by a rabid Rudy supporter. They must've had 10 signs in the window display. Above, you will see an uninteded metaphor for what happened to the Giuliani campaign. Note the juxatposition of the porcelain throne to Rudy's sign. The purple flowers are nice though...

Day Three in Florida continued...

Okay, looks like the video from the rally just isn't going to upload on this connection. In its stead, here are a few pictures from the event. I'm going to have to upload the video from home. Incidentally, McCain had a similar rally at another airport in the area. Reports show that he had about 50 in attendance. The final headcount for OUR group was 1,200. GO MITT!!!


Washington is broken!


Students for Mitt. Great to see young people involved in the political process, isn't it? What a bright future...

Mitt, Monica Whitlock and Cydne Watterson (These two are true Mittens)

Anne Romney, our future first lady, and a true class act.

Here are a few members for our group preparing for the rally.

Day Three in Florida...

Today we had a rally for Governor Romney at the Jacksonville International Airport. With the polls as tight as they are, we really need a good push to get Mitt over the hump tomorrow. We had a goal to get 600 to 700 people to the rally, and we had easily over 1000. The crowd really got into it, and I feel very good about things. If turnout for voting is anything like we saw at the rally, we may surprise a few McCain backers! I was fortunate enough to get a front row seat as he addressed us. I taped the entire video, but my internet connection is spotty here. I'll try and upload it tomorrow. It is definitely worth the wait.

I can't wait for tomorrow. On to Victory...

Day Two in Florida...

Another busy day in the Sunshine State. We began the day by making posters for the upcoming election rally on Monday night. It’s going to be at the Jacksonville International Airport. We'll be joining the Governor there tomorrow to help set up and to operate a phone bank from the rally. Our objective is to get as many volunteers as possible to assist with the final push through the Florida Primary on Tuesday.

We continued to aggressively work the phones today, and the response as always has been generally positive. The callers I spoke to who happened to back Romney are very vocal in their support, and many have asked how they can help. Campaign materials such as bumper stickers, lapel decals and yard signs are leaving the office in droves. The polling data is also trending our way, even in the face of some pretty heavy endorsements for McCain. Most notable among these are Gen. Norman Schwartzkopf, Mel Martinez and the current Gov. of Florida, Charlie Crist. Latest data on RealClearPolitics shows an aggregate lead of .1% for Romney. That's hardly a reason to call it in Mitt's favor, but the numbers have been trending consistenly better ever since the most recent debate. Today’s Rasmussen poll shows Romney with a 6 point advantage, and Intrade shows Romney trading at 56 with McCain trailing at 43. Personally, I prefer accuracy of the Intrade numbers- since people are literally "putting their money where their mouths are", I think it is as good an indicator as any. In any case, the mood around our little neck of the campaign is one of cautious optimism.

Another noteworthy thing happened this evening. I'm reporting this second hand from two members of my group who were in attendance. It is no secret that the Christian Right is has largely considered Mitt Romney to be a jagged pill to swallow. He shares many of their values, but there's that dreaded "M-Word" to contend with- you know, the one that rhymes with Norman? Anyway, I need to introduce Jay Sekulow, Famed director of the American Center for Law and Justice (click here for the site), a conservative religious organization founded by evangelist Pat Robertson as a counterweight to the American Civil Liberties Union. Sekulow also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC. He is also a convert from Judaism to Christianity- a self-proclaimed “Messianic Jew.”

Mr. Sekulow spoke this evening at a local Baptist church. What is significant about him is that he is widely regarded for taking on issues that are near and dear to the hearts of Christian Conservatives, ie. prayer in schools, free speech rights for religion and various other causes that he took to the Supreme Court. He has also endorsed (wait for it… wait for it…) Governor Mitt Romney for President. He told the crowd from the Pulpit that he was tired from a ride on the "Mittmobile" and that the would answer questions about it after the service.

After the preachin’ had concluded, a large group gathered around Sekulow as he took questions from an adoring throng. One gentleman was heard to say, “I can’t support Mitt Romney because he doesn’t know the Lord.” Sekulow replied, “I have known Mitt Romney for five years, and I can tell you that he does.” Another said, “Last time I voted for a guy with my religion, I ended up with Jimmy Carter and an 18% mortgage rate.” Sekulow went on to explain why Governor Romney was his choice in the tight Republican Primary. I am told that many who heard him were left with a much higher opinion of Governor Romney and that fears of the dreaded M-word were at least partially allayed. Hopefully this can translate into votes, and for this proud Mormon boy, maybe a few minds were opened to a religion that I hold dear.

Staying in the “Changing of Hearts” theme that has taken over that latter half of this post, I had a great experience with one voter on the phone this afternoon. He was a registered Democrat, married to a registered Republican. As I talked to him, I kept seeing visions of Mary Matlin and James Carville. What a pair! As I spoke to his wife, she put me on speaker phone so that we could all speak together. She told me with a laugh, “I’m already going to vote for Romney. Go get my husband!” Well, after a short discourse on the merits of conservatism and an explanation of Mitt’s platform, one more Democrat is leaving the Dark Side and coming into the fold. I just hope he has time to change his party affiliation before Tuesday!

More to come tomorrow from Jacksonville International Airport. I’m planning on shooting a little video for the blog. Until then, sleep well and have sweet conservative dreams…

Day One in Florida...

Today was a very eventful day! Cydne Watterson, Ashley Monroe and I met up with our bus at about 2:00 AM Saturday morning and arrived in rainy Jacksonville, FL around 8:30 AM. Pretty uneventful bus ride, although sleep on a charter bus is not all that it is cracked up to be. The makeup of our group is very interesting. It is comprised mostly of college students from Southern Virginia University, along with the school's President, Rod Smith. What a great group they are! They came ready to work, and it is wonderful to see that the spirit of conservatism is alive and well in the younger generation. The rest of our motley crew are a few retirees and some semi-empty nesters with an itch for politics.

Upon our arrival in Jacksonville, we met up with the Florida Romney team- Matt, Ryan and Dave Mroz- the guy who organized the on-the-ground Michigan campaign that kept Romney '08 alive to fight another day. Our "Operation Headquarters" are two adjoining spaces in a strip mall. Very spartan in their furnishings, but suited to our purposes.

We were divided into smaller groups and spread out among two locations in the Jacksonville area. The ones remaining with us have formed little sub-groups to work with, and a little friendly competition has started to pop up. Cydne Watterson, Ashley Monroe and I joined up with Richmond's Paula Rogers (sister of Jacqui Gilmartin- a long time church friend) and Monica Whitlock. We have dubbed ourselves "The Keating Five" with regard to our favorite amnesty-loving Senator. The mood in the group is electric! We all hit the ground this morning immediately with phone calls. Our message was to call attention to Gov. Romney's proven record as a fix-it artist, and to invite potential supporters to a rally to be held Monday night for the Governor at the Jacksonville Airport. Mitt will be there, and I plan on recording it for the blog. In addition to phone calls,we're also participating in a targeted door-to-door campaign. The Keating Five didn't get this opportunity today, but we burned up the phone lines all day long.

I had very good experiences on the phone today. Apparently, the Romney campaign is the only one using live callers instead of the "robo-dialing" style of calls. We've found that people are much more receptive if you actually sit down and invest the time to talk. We were able to make a case for Governor Romney, and hearts & minds have been touched by his message. We even convinced one caller to come and join our campaign! He'll be with us starting in the morning. All told, our assembly made 8,940 phone calls and knocked on 600 doors. Not bad for a 12 hour workday on no sleep. I am tremendously grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a cause. It sounds cliche, but what a great country we live in that allows us to actively participate in choosing our leaders. With all of its flaws, you'll still have to agree that freedom and a representative republic is the best experiment in government ever attempted. Thank God for our forefathers and their collective desire to leave us an inheritance of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...

Here are a few pictures from today's travails. More to come...

This is the bus- taken as we pulled to a stop in Jacksonville this morning.

Jacksonville call center- this place was leased to the campaign just last night. It's a pretty nimble organization.

Another pic of the call center.

Dave Mroz- The Mastermind

Happy callers...

This is Matt Waldrip- one of the organizers of our bus trip. As you can see, he's very good at multitasking.


These ladies are what Rush Limbaugh calls "Mittens"

The Keating Five


Hard at work for the Governor...

Marilyn Taggart's graffiti

Bound for Florida...

I have a new favorite excerpt from the debate last night. For me, the best part was when McCain denied he ever said that he was not well versed in economic issues. Russert almost laughed in his face! Maybe McCain truly doesn't remember seeing the article- makes sense since it was written in the WALL STREET JOURNAL in 2005. Apparently people who don't know much about the economy read other publications. I hear that the Oprah magazine is very nice. I'll have to ask Mr. Obama.

I sit here blogging while waiting anxiously for 12:45 AM to roll around. That's when I go to meet my volunteer group that's headed to Florida for the Romney campaign. All told, there are two busloads associated with us; one originating in DC and the other from PA. My group is headed down to Jacksonville, where we'll stay through the victory party on Tuesday evening. After this, we'll make the long trip home and I'll arrive in Charlotte just in time to stumble in to work on Wednesday morning.

Have to admit that I am very excited to get to work down there. I've been trying to find ways to volunteer with the campaign, and this Florida trip is a perfect fit. I'm still not sure what we'll be doing, but whatever it is, I'm ready to get started. For the three of you that read this blog, I'll be posting nightly about the day's events- hopefully with photographs and video. I hope that it will be a fun read. If nothing else, I'd like to show my Father a few things on this trip. He and I had a conversation last night about his dissatisfaction with the Republican party, and I had to agree with him. He's now threatening to vote for the Wicked Witch of Chappaqua out of sheer spite and frustration. Oh well, On to the Sunshine State...

The Debate

Let me first start off by saying that I was wrong. I fully anticipated WWIII against Romney last night. Instead, the debates were very civil. Some even called it boring. I have to disagree with that last opinion. I thouroughly enjoyed the debate, largely because I thought my guy did very well. I'm not alone in this appraisal. Here are some others who agree:

> MSNBC'S Chuck Todd: "Romney looks good and sounds confident tonight." (Chuck Todd, "Romney Starting Off Well Tonight," MSNBC's First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/, Posted 1/24/08)

> Captain's Quarters'/Heading Right.com’s Ed Morrissey: "Florida voters got their final head-to-head look at the Republican presidential candidates tonight, and the winner of the debate was Mitt Romney." ... "He looked presidential, poised, and factually prepared." ... "In a debate that spent the first two-thirds with everyone doing well, Romney not only broke out on his own in the last stanza, he successfully parried some strange attacks from Tim Russert as well." (Ed Morrissey, "Florida Debate: Romney Scores, Rudy Close Behind," Captain's Quarters' Blog, www.captainsquartersblog.com, Posted 1/24/08)

> Morrissey on a different blog: "Romney just delivered a hell of a punch against Hillary Clinton, Bill, and the Democrats." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Lapping The Pack," Heading Right Blog)

> Michelle Malkin: "Romney's being treated like the front-runner and he's acting like it." (Michelle Malkin, "GOP Florida Debate: Show Us The Conservatism," Michelle Malkin's Blog, http://michellemalkin.com/, Accessed 1/24/08)

> Townhall's Hugh Hewitt: "Mitt Romney should send a thank you card to Tim Russert and Brian Williams. They threw hard balls at the former Massachusetts governor and he hit them all, many out of the park. Romney's allocation of time had to be disproportionate, but that was the Williams/Russert choice, and Romney made the most of it." (Hugh Hewitt, "'General Hillary Clinton' And 'They're Doing It In Europe Now,'" Townhall Blog, http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/, Posted 1/24/08)

> Hewitt: "Democrats watching tonight have to be very worried that Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee." (Hugh Hewitt, "'General Hillary Clinton' And 'They're Doing It In Europe Now,'" Townhall Blog, http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/, Posted 1/24/08)

> American Spectator's Wlady: "Terrific Romney answer to Russert's nosiness about how much he's spent in Florida. Russert's mistake: his insinuation that he was asking the question on behalf of the people's right to know. Romney instead let it be known he'll report his spending on Jan. 31, as required by law; and there's no reason to give his opponents a competitive advantage." (Wlady, "Rich Man, Poor Man," AmSpec Blog, http://www.amspec.org/, Accessed 1/24/08)

> ABC News' Rick Klein: "Romney gets an initial question on the economy -- this is tailor made for him. He sounds authoritative and in control on this subject." (Rick Klein, "Live Blogging During GOP Debate," ABC News' Political Radar, http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar, Posted 1/24/08)

> National Journal's Jennifer Skalka: "Winners? Mitt Romney -- Mistake-free night." (Jennifer Skalka, "No Battle In Boca," National Journal's On Call, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/, Posted 1/24/08)

> Townhall's Matt Lewis: "If one had to assign a winner tonight, Mitt Romney would probably get the nod." (Matt Lewis, "GOP Debate Analysis: Florida Now A Two-Man Race," Townhall Blog, www.townhall.com, Posted 1/24/08)

> Lewis: "The debate focused more on the economy than it did on any other topic, and I think he is more adept at talking about this topic than is his primary opponent, John McCain." (Matt Lewis, "GOP Debate Analysis: Florida Now A Two-Man Race," Townhall Blog, www.townhall.com, Posted 1/24/08)

> Lewis: "He also did a good job of going after the Clintons -- something that McCain should have actually done more of." (Matt Lewis, "GOP Debate Analysis: Florida Now A Two-Man Race," Townhall Blog, www.townhall.com, Posted 1/24/08)

It was a good night for my man Romney. Glad to hear it.

McCain, Sweetheart of the Media

Ever wonder why McCain has been able to bring his campaign back from the dead? He's had a little help from his friends. Willing to bet $$$ you'll never see this article in the mainstream press...

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BrentBozellIII/2008/01/23/mccain_again,_a_media_darling

With regard to the debate tonight, look for another gang fight against Romney. Mitt will come out swinging with the economy. Here are a sample of the responses to watch out for from various and sundry candidates:

1. McCain, who has a decidedly "Deer in the Headlights" stance on economic issues will say what boils down to: "The economy will take care of itself. Can we get back to my war record, please? I was a POW." Wonder if he's finished Greenspan's book yet...

2. Huckabee will get off a few tasty one liners at Mitt's expense and reprise the asinine refrain, "I want to be the kind of president who reminds you of the guy you work with, not the guy who laid you off. By the way, McCain was a POW."

3. Rudy will lisp his way through a littany of "Mitt-flops".

4. Ron Paul: "War BAD"

At some point, the candidates will attempt to gang up on Romney's record in the private sector and paint him as a slash and burn venture capitalist. I certainly hope that they attempt this argument, because it is one that Mitt can easily turn to his advantage. My only concern is that Mitt doesn't get the chance to speak and make his case. That will be in the hands of the moderator. Keep your fingers crossed...

Dem Debate

Don't know about you, but I found it frightening that many statements last night from the debate seem like they came straight from John McCain's campaign. Edwards talked praisingly about the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill and Campaign Finance Reform. Obama talked about claiming Republicans who had "lost trust in their government". That line is one that McCain has used repeatedly throughout the campaign. Obama used it verbatim. Granted, we HAVE in many instances become distrustful of what the Bush administration has done, but I find it very telling that the Democrat candidates are using the exact same phraseology as McCain to appeal to voters. Something to think about.

Thought for the Day

"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."
-General Colin Powell, one of his 13 Rules to Live By

Very Interesting...

Here's a spreadsheet of the cumulative raw data collected thus far. Note that Romney not only leads in states won and delegate count, but he also wins on the aggregate total of votes cast. Mitt is in good shape. Don't let the media tell you differently. Florida is a closed election, so Indies and Dems won't be a spoiler. This time Republicans will choose...

Also, Check out Gov. Romney on the Tonight Show back in May 2007. Enjoy!

http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Tonight_Show

Romney takes NV, McCain takes SC.

Let the spin begin. Already the media has labeled Mitt's 39 point victory in NV as window dressing, while McCain's 3 point victory as the doorway to the nomination. Oh well. We do what we can. Looks like Fred is getting out of the race. There is speculation that he will endorse McCain due to their long-time friendship. I don't see how Fred can do that in good conscience. I have a lot of respect for Fred Thompson, and I consider him a true conservative. Politically speaking, there is so much distance between the two men, I don't see how this is possible. Time will tell, I guess. If Thompson DOES endorse McCain, it will be interesting to see how many FredHeads follow suit and how many consider that move as a slap in the face. Florida is going to be fun to watch.

By the way, I made a post the other day talking about how Lindsey Graham was bouncing all over the stage like McCain's little lap-dog. Ever since then, I've had an old Looney Tunes cartoon seared into my brain. Do you remember which one I'm talking about? Well, thanks to the miracle that is Google, I found a picture of 'em.


My friends, (the ever-present McCain salute), I give you Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier. Said Chester, "Where we goin' now old buddy? (bounce) Old Pal? Huh? (bounce, bounce) Where we goin'? Gee, Spike, You're so Strong!"

On to the Sunshine State... GO MITT!!!!

The Real John McCain- You'll See Him in Florida.

The Straight Talk Express will be veering hard left tomorrow. Conveniently, John McCain has not mentioned much about his amnesty bill unless absolutely pressed by the other candidates in recent debates. Even then he downplayed his support of the Z Visa which allows illegal aliens to stay in America indefinitely. It has been a carefully orchestrated strategy to get past SC without having to deal with an amnesty issue that most South Carolinians decry. Tomorrow, after the SC Primary, we'll see a decidedly more pro-amnesty McCain as the attention turns toward Florida.

From NakedPolitics.com:

"A source working with the John McCain campaign says U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez is set to appear with him in Miami-Dade on Monday, swinging crucial Hispanic support to his fellow senator who suffered with him in trying to push an immigration reform bill that was despised and decried by many on the right as "amnesty."
Updated full story is here.

Putting aside the strange-sounding hatred of an otherwise noble-sounding word, the "amnesty" attack won't have good legs in Miami-Dade where 70 percent of Republicans are Hispanic, and many are concerned with the tenor of the debate over immigration.

A Martinez endorsement could help pull Hispanic supporters away from Rudy Giuliani because the senator, though he's from Orlando, is revered by many abuelas. Consider this: Martinez got almost 10 -- that's right TEN -- times as many votes as opponent Bill McCollum (now the state's AG and a Giuliani supporter) in their 2004 primary. Martinez helped drive Miami-Dade's otherwise low turnout up to 37.5 percent.

Martinez has refused to say whom he will endorse. And Melissa Shuffield, a Miamian who has worked for both senators in their offices and on the campaign trail, wouldn't comment.

Gov. Charlie Crist, meantime, has been asking advice from others on the campaign trail over whether he should endorse McCain, who was an early-and-often Crist supporter. Crist also has close ties to Martinez, whose election he strongly backed in 2004. It's more likely that Crist sits this one out." (end quote)

These two gentleman have been coy concerning their support, but I expect them to be hitching onto McCain's tour bus soon.

McCain has largely received a free pass from the media concerning his stance on illegal immigration, largely touting his supposed "Maverick" status in the Senate. The spin continues to be that he has strong support among independents and can bring Democrats from the other side of the aisle. The truth is that John McCain is a foil for the Republican party and a poor steward of conservative ideals. I don't understand why people don't seem to recall that John Kerry wanted McCain as a running mate in 2004. The only REAL reason McCain turned down the job was to keep his 2008 hopes alive.

Bottom line- if you are a conservative, John McCain cannot be counted on to uphold these (your) principles. His record shows that he will sell out the party and call it "collaboration". If you want to preserve the birthright of your children and maintain the United States of America as a sovereign nation, John McCain is not your candidate. We need a President who is not willing to hand over the keys to our borders. McCain is far too eager to do so.

The Evangelical Vote

Been reading up on the importance of the coveted Evangelical vote for the Republican party, assuming that it would eventually prove to be Romney's Achilles heel. I was under the assumption that Huckabee had this demographic sewn up. There's some interesting data that shows that this hasn't proven to be the case so far. Lookie here. We'll see how SC goes. The only caveat to this is that SOUTHERN Evangelicals have not voted yet, who from my experience are much more prejudiced toward any non-protestant religion. For what they're worth, many polls show Romney and Huckabee in a tight race for second place, or in the vernacular that the media hates, SILVER.

What's in a Name?

As you know, I troll the blog sites daily looking at all the hubbub concerning Election ’08. It’s fun to see all the witty commentary, spin and conspiracy theories that are out there. Admittedly, I spend most of my time on the Republican side, since it is way too early to worry about end-game election strategy. What has been truly entertaining is seeing all the clever nicknames that people have devised for the candidates they don’t like. I’ve compiled a little list of the best ones. As you can see below, some names yield themselves easily to witty alliterations. You can slap “Hucka-“ or “Mc-“ in front of any word you don’t like to disparage McCain or Huckabee. Pretty unfortunate for them. My personal favorite was a combination of the two. I saw this a few weeks ago after one of the debates where Romney was tag-teamed by McCain and Huckabee. One clever blogger called them “Mac & Cheese” in reference to McCain’s attacks and Huckabee’s cheesy one liners. I laughed for 20 minutes over that one. Anyway, here’s the list. Feel free to add your own:

McCain: Juan McAmnesty, McCManiac, McChicken Hawk

Huckabee: Hucklebuck, Huckleberry, Upchuckabee, Hickabee, Huckabaptist

Romney: Mittster, Rombot, Mittbot, Ken Doll, Mitt Flopper, Mittster Plastic.

Giuliani: Rude-y

Possible VP Picks

Jeeyum asked me today who I thought the candidates would choose for VP. I don't want to throw my hat into that ring yet- A few months back, I though Huckabee would have been a great running mate for Romney. How WRONG was that? In any case, I thought about it and put together a few ideas. Let me know what you think...

Republicans:

Giuliani: Bernard Kerik, or some guy with a nickname like "Jimmy the Toucan". (From "The Freshman")
Huckabee: Jimmy Swaggart. Don't make fun or Chuck Norris will roundhouse kick you in the face.
McCain: Ted Kennedy. Or Juan Valdez.
Paul: Dennis Kucinich
Romney: The entire Mormon Tabernacle Choir (see, I can make fun of my guy, too)
Thompson: No running mate, just a tape recorder that plays that Law and Order "Duh Duh" sound.

Democrats:

Hillary: Bill (so maybe this isn't a joke, after all)
Obama: Al Sharpton
Edwards: Undecided. He's got more people to consider since he can choose from TWO Americas.
Kucinich: Still awaiting response from the mother ship. He'll get back to me on that one.

Let me know if you agree. It's a work in progress.

Clinton's MI Win

I’m writing this post in response to an astute observation my Bro. Jeeyum just made concerning the MI Democrat primary.

Not much is being said about Hillary's "Victory" here. The fact that there was such a high uncommitted turnout is very telling. I don't think she would have won had Michigan not moved their primary (this was Jeeyum’s point). HOWEVER, the Clinton campaign did achieve their objective. Back when MI decided to play around with their primary date, Hillary was viewed as the all-but-eventual candidate. That was before the Obama boom. The move was a back alley deal designed to cement her victory with an overwhelming "shock and awe" kind of tactic. It still worked, but now not quite as effectively. I see the Clintons focusing on delegate count a lot more closely since the race is so tight on the Dem side. Yes, I know that there were no delegates awarded in MI for the Dems, but if it remains tight throughout this process, MI may be screaming for their delegates back…

ROMNEY WINS!!!!!!

Game on, kids. Game on. This win is significant on so many levels. First and foremost, it gives Mitt's candidacy a much needed boost. Almost as importantly, it shows that Romney is eclipsing McCain as the conservative candidate. I'll turn to the exit polls to illustrate my point. Romney easily beat McCain among registered Republicans, 40 percent to 26 percent. This same story played out in New Hampshire. Tonight, Independents chose McCain over Romney 36 percent to 26 percent. No surprise there, but what is surprising is that independents didn't show up nearly as forcefully as expected. This would lead me to think that the independents who gave McCain a resounding victory in 2000 aren't as enthused about their candidate as his press releases suggest.

Also significant is this: "McCain captured 41 percent of Democrats who voted in the Republican primary, 10 points more than Romney. Mike Huckabee meanwhile, only captured 14 percent of Democrats.

Though the Democratic primary race was rendered essentially meaningless after party sanctions, few Democrats decided to vote in the Republican primary — according to the exit polling, Democrats only constituted 7 percent of the vote in that contest." (Alexander Mooney, CNN) Looks like the spoiler vote campaign didn't work in Michigan.

This all bodes well for future state primaries that have closed voting- ie. where voters can't cross the aisle to vote for non-party candidates. Granted, if a candidate is to be elected to the Presidency, he must win over voters from both parties- especially since the country is seemingly split down the middle along party lines. The time for this debate will come, but tonight at least it showed that Republicans are going to choose the Republican candidate who espouses conservative principles. Conservatism works!

By the way, did anybody else besides me think it was in poor taste that neither McCain nor Huckabee stayed in Michigan tonight for the primary results? If I was McCain's Michigan campaign team, I would feel cheated after all the effort I had put in- especially watching from afar as South Carolina's Lindsey Graham hopped around the stage like a crazed lap-dog before McCain's concession speech in balmy CHARLESTON. Boy, talk about being left out in the cold! Michigan, he hardly knew 'ye.

"Straight Talk" from McCain? Factcheck.org Says NO.

By now all of our SC friends are probably getting McCain's attack ad where he bashes Romney's record as Governor. Even though McCain repeats that he is above such politics, and says that negative ads, "Don't work". Fair enough. But are the attacks true? This article from Newsweek is a must read for anyone potentially casting a vote for the Senator from AZ. Read on:

"McCain is sending out a postcard mailing in South Carolina that is misleading on more than one point.

It says that "Romney provided taxpayer-funded abortions," a distortion. Romney's Massachusetts health-care plan faced a court order requiring abortions to be covered.
It says Romney "refused to endorse Bush Tax Cut Plan," but fails to note that McCain himself voted against it.

It says, "Hillary tried to spend $1 million for a Woodstock museum" until "John McCain said NO." In fact, McCain wasn't present for the most important votes on the project."

Believe me, it gets better. Check out the whole article here.

Michigan Calling...

Ok, the title is not entirely accurate, it was ME calling MICHIGAN. Just thought it would be cool to do a nerdy political rip off of the old Clash tune. I think politics is starting to get to me...

Tonight was understandably the last night of calling for Romney's Call at Home campaign in Michigan. Here are my results from tonight ranked in order of percentage:

44% - for Romney
28% - Undecided
12% - for Juan McCain
12% - Democrat
4% - for Fred Thompson
0% - Huckabee

Again, the caveat here is that I was calling registered Republicans, and I only counted people who would answer questions on their potential votes. I would not consider this scientifically accurate because of hang ups or refusal to discuss the issue, and there was a good percentage of that type of call. All I can say is that the results are moderately encouraging. It's going to be tight tomorrow, I have no doubt.

One interesting call tonight- Let me preface this by saying that I think I have a strong enough grasp on the contrast of candidates to speak to anybody, but there was one respondent that truly baffled me. She was from one of the Northern counties in Michigan. She was well spoken, intelligent and pleasant in every way. We small-talked briefly and then I read her my script about Romney's platform as a fiscal conservative. Here is a synopsis of our conversation:

Me: “Can Governor Romney expect your support tomorrow in the Republican Primary?”
Her: "No"
Me: "Fair enough. What candidate are you most likely to support?"

Here's where it gets interesting, kids...

Her: "Well, I'm torn. I can't decide between John McCain or Hillary Clinton."

VERY pregnant pause...

Her: "Ashley, are you there?"
Me: "Yes... uh... WOW! I can't say that I've ever heard that comparison before in a REPUBLICAN primary. You said McCain and Clinton?"
Her: Yes."
Me: "Okay, tell me a little about what has you undecided between the two?"
Her: “I just like them both. I’m just going to leave it at that…”
Me: “Okay, I can respect that. Have a great evening! This call was paid for by…”

What does it all mean!?! I don’t know. Maybe the some of the good folks of Michigan don’t see a lot of breathing room between McCain and Hillary’s platforms. Maybe Hillary’s message is crossing the aisle. Maybe MCCAIN’S message is crossing the aisle. Maybe some people aren’t paying attention. Maybe some people ARE paying attention. What do you think?

McCain Today on the Trail...

Proof that I'm not the only one booing McCain...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-nVJGsTdKU

One of these days I'm going to figure out how to embed these stupid links...

Straight Talk from McCain?

In today's article from Robert Novak entitled, "Not Straight Talk", we see John McCain waffling on his voting record for the Bush tax cuts. Seems like he's guilty of the very behavior he's trying to pin on Romney. Here's an excerpt:

"In contesting for the 2000 nomination, McCain sounded more like Teddy Kennedy than Jack Kemp by decrying Bush's "tax relief" for "the richest 1 percent in America." That attracted independents and even Democrats, but not enough Republican voters to catch Bush. Nearly a year ago when I breakfasted with McCain, he was -- albeit temporarily -- the Republican establishment's choice to lead a party in which tax reduction is an immutable article of faith.

McCain told me: "I may have changed some of my views. You learn over 24 years." Explaining then as he does not now that he opposed Bush's tax cuts because there was "no commensurate restraint in spending," he said, "I am glad the tax cuts had the effect they did." Why he did not leave it at that goes to the nature of John McCain that makes him both frustrating and magnetic.

So, did McCain regret his "no" votes? He replied, "I can't tell you that I cast exactly right votes over the years." Based on more than half a century talking to politicians, I took that as a "yes." He also advocates making the tax cuts permanent because letting them lapse would constitute a tax increase that he opposes.

Shortly after New Hampshire voted, a national leader of the Democratic Party telephoned me. Asking that our conversation remain confidential, he said he considers McCain the only electable Republican in what looms as a Democratic 2008 and indeed capable of defeating either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. But, this Democrat asks, how can McCain explain and defend his votes against tax cuts that the Republican president and Republicans in Congress are trying to make permanent?

The answer to that would be for McCain to publicly repeat what he had told me over breakfast a year ago. But that probably would not be John McCain."

Do I hold this against McCain? Yes and no. I agree with him that you do learn things over time and that better decisions can come from life experience and more information. Anyone who disagrees with this should always remember that when you were 5, eating paste seemed like a good idea. I have a problem with the fact that he would vilify and other candidate (Romney specifically) for having the same opinion.

If you want to read the whole Novak article, you can check it out here.

Separation of Church and State...

Looks like Huckabee is leaning on pastors in Michigan to get out the vote. Here's an excerpt from a story on Politico (sorry Jeeyum):

"He's (Huckabee) leaning heavily on an informal network of pastors. It may not be enough to win, but reports like the one below indicate that he could surprise people.

Huckabee's event last night at the Birch Run Expo Center — held with only a little over 24 hours notice — drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 very enthusiastic supporters. At this morning's rally in Grand Rapids, Huckabee addressed more than 600 people and received the endorsement of Michigan state Rep. Fulton Sheen, a former faith and values committee chair for Mitt Romney's Michigan campaign. Prior to this morning's rally, Huckabee addressed a dining hall full of more than 100 church leaders, during which he implored the group to use their contacts in the community to get out the vote for him on Tuesday. "

This is HIGHLY unethical. I am in ecclesiatical leadership in my area. I have been counseled by my other leaders that my position should never be used to promote a political idealogy, much less a specific candidate. I can't and don't use church rolls for any other purpose than official church business. This is specifically why there is a separation between Church and State.

At the very least, the IRS and Federal Election Committee needs to get involved. While I know Gov. Huckabee is trying to press the influence he has here, he does not have the right to cross these boundaries because he doesn't have a paid political apparatus in Michigan. This type of behavior is disgusting and manipulative. The relationship between a religious leader and a congregant is sacred, and should be limited to spiritual matters only. When a church leader (while speaking as such) says that they should believe in God and Mike Huckabee, that is a serious breach of trust and a violation of law. Any church that espouses this type of behavior should have their tax-exempt status revoked.

Here's the kicker- Huck knows he can get away with it because by the time the FEC got around to looking into the problem, the primary will have already occurred. What does he care if a few old ladies get their faith trampled on in the process. Slimy politics.

Today's dialing results...

Good evening sports fans, just letting you know how today's "Call at Home" program went- at least from MY home. Here's the breakdown:

42% Undecided
29% Mitt Romney supporters
13% John McCain supporters
8% Huckabee supporters
8% Democrat supporters

On the surface, this looks really good, but the disclaimer here is that there were quite a few callers who either hung up immediately or refused to complete the call to the point where I could determine their presidential leanings. This could mean that they just weren't interested in politics, like the guy I spoke to who was watching basketball with his adult beverage. It could also mean that they had selected another candidate and didn't want to hear what I had to say.

This was a great experience overall. I talk to some wonderful Michiganders, and I heard their stories about the economic hardships of the state.

In any case, there is much work to be done. If you are interested in participating in the Call at Home program, just log on to www.mittromney.com/callathome. From that point, you'll submit your name, phone number e-mail address. Log on to that website during the hours of 3:00 to 8:30 on Sunday or Monday, and you're in! GO Mitt!!!!

How you can help...

If you want to help Gov. Romney in the Michigan Primary this Tuesday, here's a way. I have excerpted an e-mail I received this morning from PJ Wenzel, Regional Political Director for the campaign. Take a look:

"Spread the word to your teams about our call from home weekend into Michigan. Michigan is a much larger state than New Hampshire, the primary on Tuesday, January 15, and as most of you know the stakes are high. Please have your volunteer networks join us in making calls at the following times by emailing "count me in" to CallAtHome@MittRomney.com:"

>Saturday, January 12, 3pm – 8:30pm - EST
>Sunday, January 13, 3pm – 8pm - EST
>Monday, January 14, 3pm – 8:30pm - EST

I've said that I had a wonderful experience with calling for the campaign. If you're the kind of person who wants to be part of a group, then come on over to my house and we'll have a call party! Bring your cell phone!

Also, Mitt just picked up a mighty fine endorsement from the Grand Rapids Press and the Oakland Press. Lookie here http://www.mlive.com/elections/michigan/index.ssf/2008/01/press_editorial_board_endorses.htmland here http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/011108/opi_20080111161.shtml .

Let's win one for the Mittster in Michigan!

Dialin' for Romney

Good morning, everyone! As I told you at the tail end of my last post, I joined about 14 other Mitt Supporters last night at a phone bank to do some campaign calls for Gov. Romney. What a wonderful experience! Here’s the unvarnished breakdown of the data from my calls:

47 total calls:

14 – For Mitt Romney
12 – Undecided
1 – For Barack Obama
1 – For Fred Thompson
10 Messages
8 Nobody Home.

It was amazing how micro-targeted these phone lists were. My list was aimed at registered Republicans with a hot-button issue of financial conservatism in the York and Union counties of SC. Others called lists that were targeted toward the issue of illegal immigration. There were a few other lists as well. Over all, it was a wonderful experience that I will definitely participate in again. As you can see from my results, Mitt did EXTREMELY well. I am not naïve enough to believe that he did equally as well in other counties and demographics, but it was definitely uplifting to hear that there is some support for the Gov. Interestingly, out of the 14 who were pro-Mitt, most were fervent in their support. One lady in particular kept me on the line for 10 minutes talking about how she had won over her family and now was talking to people in the checkout line at the grocery store. Bottom line is this- Mitt has a following here in the south.

On to the debate! I think that overall it was pretty flat. Thompson was terrific in his dismantling of Huckabee, finally calling him to the carpet on his liberal/populist record. Huckabee answered well, but some of the “flak” he took definitely stuck. I wish this version of Thompson was around 6 months ago. He coulda been a contender.

I also thought that Mitt was somewhat marginalized in the debate. He had less speaking time than any other candidate, and never got off a good shot at McCain’s weak immigration stance. He did take a shot at Ron Paul, but it was unnecessary and could be viewed as a net negative. There were a few salient points he didn’t touch on as well as I would have liked, so I’m going to make them here. Read on…

1. Let’s start with McCain: Romney really needs to stay on McCain’s amnesty bill. Check out this video that shows the true ins and outs of McCain’s attempt to sell the birthright of our children. It highlights every major flaw in the plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V7Tp8ZfBj0 McCain said that the American people didn't go for comprehensive immigration reform because they didn't have trust in government. While this is true in GREAT measure, the main reason the American people shot it down was BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE PLAN. McCain has made it clear that he's going to push the same piece of junk legislation through again. It is imperative that we don't give him the chance. Let’s also not forget one of Mr. McCain’s favorite taglines for his performance in congress since 1994. He said, “We came to change Washington, and Washington changed us.” Who’s the candidate of change now, Juan? Let’s put McCain out to pasture…

2. Don’t forget Huckabee: Mitt needs to stay on task and keep hammering on the liberal record of Gov. Huckabee. He also could ratchet up chatter on his pardon record. Look at this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFTdif_Lvsk&feature=related

Keep up the good fight!

Mr. Positive may be in trouble...

My astute colleague Mark forwarded me this latest article on Huckabee's chances in SC. It shows McCain opening a pretty commanding lead. Check it out here:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U3788O1&show_article=1

Speaking of Mr. Positive, have you seen Huckabee's latest ad in Michigan? Laughable. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMaJ0KtTcr0

Gotta love the blatant back-handed slap at Romney there at the end. Let's break that one down, shall we? Huckabee wants Americans to have a President that "reminds them of the guy they work with, not the guy that laid them off." Look around your workplace. Do you want a President who reminds you of these people? I work with a lot of wonderful people and not ONE of them is qualified to run the country. I know it's an insane argument, but if you parse out all the "feel good" oratory by this guy and look at what he MEANS, you're left with a populist vacuum. Huckabee has based a campaign around a smart mouth and trite little one liners. I'd rather have leader, not a laugh track.

Anyway, back to SC for a minute. All indications are that South Carolina is going to be brutal between Huckabee and McCain- some in the media even calling it a "knife fight" between the two. And you thought South Carolina was only about guns? HA! I think that Mitt did the right thing by pulling ads and money from the state. The thought being that Every time he comes in second, the media boilerplate is as follows, "Romney suffers a crushing defeat despite spending millions in (insert state here)". He is absolutely right to let Huckabee and McCain duke it out. My guess is that things are going to get nasty between them, and at least this way they can't pin it on Romney. I don't think Mitt can win SC, but I feel that he can put up a good showing and stack the delegate count. Delegates matter more than anything at this point.

That's it for this post. Tonight, Shannon and I are going to a Phone Bank to make some calls for the campaign. I'll post a few pics and various other experiences from the evening ASAP. I urge you all to get out there and get involved!

I think I stepped in some pundit...

McCain won in New Hampshire last night with a 5 point margin. No real surprise there. The question we should all be asking is, “why?” McCain admitted himself that his candidacy would live or die with NH. He was a one-state candidate who had an 8 year history in NH and a 19 point victory over Bush in 2000. He came to familiar territory and a ready-made framework for his platform. You can say all you want about Romney’s financial investment in NH, but you can’t buy the type of history that McCain has in that state. This was always a McCain stronghold.

His victory should not be viewed as a McCain mandate, but an "I told you so" barb about the current administration. So, should Romney take his ball and go home? I think not. Honestly, the fact that Romney came so close is extremely commendable, but many of the pundits still report that he’s done. Huckabee was saying just yesterday morning that he would view even coming in 5th as a victory, and this didn’t seem to have any affect on his perceived frontrunner status. Clearly, they’re still propping up a paper candidate for an easy Democrat win in November. Lest we all forget, Romney is leading the pack in delegates right now.

To further illustrate my point, Lou Dobbs said this today on CNN.com:

“Many of our political savants and pundits took one in the teeth last night. I couldn't be happier about last night's surprising results, and not because I favor one candidate or another. I'm just glad the so-called experts in the national media were wrong about their premature assumptions that the Democratic and Republican nominations for president were a done deal….”

“Forty-seven states to go, and now the national media must wait to declare the winners they'd been waiting all week to crown. The American voters are aware, of course, that Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire make up only about 5 million of the 300 million people living in the country, and until last night, the mainstream media didn't like to point out that only less than half of 1 percent of our nation's voting-age population has taken part in the primary process as of today. So how was this is a done deal? Give me a break.

At this point, all of the geniuses in the mainstream media, mainly in television news, need to summon the courage to tell their audiences that there are a few important issues to be discussed and a few important facts to be collected before permitting a public coronation of any candidate based on dynasty, momentum, charisma or, God save us all, likeability.”

Let’s not count our political chickens before they hatch. Michigan awaits…

McCain takes New Hampshire, but...

Hey, I know it's a cheap shot, and there is no room for this kind of thing in serious political discussion, but when I saw McCain's victory pic on Politico, I couldn't help myself. The resemblance is remarkable. Anybody see Poltergeist II?

John McCain

Reverend Kane (Julian Beck from Poltergeist II)

Oh well, On to Michigan...

McCain and Huckabee- Conservative Saviors?

Not that it's going to matter much in the primary today, but it's not all a rosy picture for John McCain and Mike Huckabee. I am dismayed by the insurgence of “Heart over Head” politics that seems to be winning the political day. “Change” is the buzzword, but nobody can define it. This summer, the population overwhelmingly shot down the idea that Johnny Mac proposed- de facto amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Now he is the supposed front runner for the Republican nomination? Is anybody else flabbergasted by this? Here is an excerpt from an article I read from Thomas Sowell on RealClearPolitics.com:

“John McCain trails the pack in the temperament department, with his volatile, arrogant, and abrasive know-it-all attitude. His track record in the Senate is full of the betrayals of Republican supporters that have been the party's biggest failing over the years and its Achilles heel politically.

The elder President Bush's betrayal of his "no new taxes" pledge was the classic example, but the current President Bush's attempt to get amnesty for illegal aliens, with Senator McCain's help, was more of the same.

President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon probably cost him the 1976 election and cost the country the disastrous Carter years.

McCain's betrayals include not only the amnesty bill but also the McCain-Feingold bill that violated the First Amendment for the illusion of "taking money out of politics." His back-door deal with Democrats on judicial nominations also pulled the rug out from under his party leaders in the Senate. The White House is not the place for a loose cannon.”

I mentioned at the beginning of my post that there is presently a movement toward “Heart over Head” politics. If this is the case, then Mike Huckabee must be the poster child for it. Dick Armey said just today:

“With his jokes and folksy patter, he (Huckabee) presents himself as affable and friendly, but only by sowing discontent and disunity can he hope to split off enough of the party's base to win the nomination. Yes, despite the sunny rhetoric, Huckabee's act is little more than another strategic political ploy. Thus, he has worked to make his small-minded populism a credit by pitting his socially conservative supporters against the GOP's business wing. One of his favorite lines is that he represents the interests of "Main Street, not Wall Street." But this assumes that the interests of the two are not in alignment, that somehow, one group can only gain at the expense of the other - never mind that the jobs and livelihoods of America's workers and small towns are tied inexorably with the larger economy. It's a dark form of class warfare shrewdly masked by his sunny chatter.

Of course, his genial demeanor and willingness to overlook both principle and fact is indicative of a distinct and disturbing trend in American politics. Huckabee seemed to come from nowhere in the race, but he is not just a lonely, surprise candidate, but a symbol of the new wave of feel-good conservatism, which seeks not to deal in policy that works so much as policy and rhetoric that provide emotional gratification.

Huckabee comes off as the self-esteem candidate, in which merely feeling good is the core of the message. He's not the only Republican making a practice of peddling cotton-candy bromides. As FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe recently pointed out, former Bush speechwriter and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson has been pushing a similarly foolish agenda: inspiring, heartfelt--and utterly ineffective.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I predict that whether or not Romney wins today, he will push hard and be victorious in Michigan. The love-fest between Huckabee and McCain will end after today since they both need to win SC. Thompson is also going to take the gloves off. The bottom line is this- if you think the fight for the Republican nomination has been tough so far, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Romney's Home Run for the NH Home Stretch...

I must admit that I was SEVERELY disheartened after watching last night's debate on ABC.- and I do use the word “debate” as loosely as the English language will allow. It was more of a gang fight against Mitt Romney than a true discussion of the issues. Even Fred Thompson woke up from his perennial slumber to throw barbs at Mitt. George Stephanopolous came out after the close and remarked, “These guys REALLY don’t like Mitt Romney”. No joke, George.
Republican Candidate A (take your pick from the group) kept Mitt on his heels with a rebuttal to an attack, while Candidate B (again, your choice) interrupted with more personal attacks to detract from Mitt’s response. It was so perfectly timed that it couldn’t have been choreographed any better. The net effect was that Romney came off looking like a bobble-head doll.

Tonight, however, was a different story. Can you say, “sweet redemption?” This was a clear and decisive victory for Mitt Romney. He was articulate and able to get his points across effectively. It is clear that Huckabee and McCain are doing their best to tag team Romney out of the race early before he breaks their purse strings. Huckabee's inane left/right/up/down sound bites are drivel, and McCain is still an angry Campaign 2000 wannabe. Speaking of McCain and money, he must find it a cruel irony that his campaign is strapped for cash. The McCain-Feingold bill must have worked, huh?

I am nervous beyond words about the New Hampshire primaries. This is a must win for Romney and McCain, and while it makes for good political fodder, it has my ulcers growing new ulcers. I honestly don’t know who is going to win. I obviously hope that Romney gets a much needed bounce from this debate, and since this is the last wide scale showing from all the candidates, I am cautiously optimistic that the citizens of New Hampshire will take this last side-by-side comparison to heart. When Romney is allowed to speak about his position, it is plain to see he has the right message on economic policy, national security, and immigration. Conversely, McCain has shown us his true colors on immigration- they are Red, White and Green (seen the flag of Mexico lately?).

Huckabee is also a political train wreck. He has spun a confusing populist message that is anything but conservative. It is inconceivable to me to think that a true conservative would vote for a man who says that, “A nation will forgive you if you move right or left as long as you take them up.” What he doesn’t understand is that you CAN”T take the country UP by moving LEFT. He has made a campaign out of charm and trite slogans like this. I don’t understand why people don’t see through this “aw shucks” demeanor. I also have a major problem with Huckabee’s manipulative (mis)use of deity in his campaign. In Iowa, he all but implied that God wants him to be President. The Evangelical Christian base in Iowa ate it up like candy corn (get it? Candy + corn + Iowa? Insert rimshot here). We didn’t see this version of Huckabee last night or this evening because he knows that New Hampshire voters don’t wear their religion on their sleeves. Anecdotally, if Huckabee is dripping with such religious fervor, I think it is disingenuous of him to drop this persona with a different audience. They call this pandering, don’t they? If his most important campaign backer is his creator, why does he so readily mute it when the audience changes? The ease with which he slips in and out of “preacher mode” is a reason to question his convictions and motivations. To me, this is more deceitful than any flip-flop that he tries to pin on Mitt.

So, what now? Two days till Tuesday. I’ll wake up tomorrow and read the news, blogs and spin that will inevitably belch forth from my computer screen, and somehow do that pesky “work” thing that keeps food on my table. I will discuss the debates with my wife and discuss how this thing is going to play out. I’ll trade e-mails with Bill and Mark, and plan ways that we can help Mitt locally. In any case it’s going to be a fun couple-o-days. Anybody got any Tylenol?