11 posts tagged “barack obama”

I saw this on writebrained's blog and thought it was a fantastic idea...and so much more invigorating and achievable than stupid New Year's resolutions, which always set people up for failure. This meme is supposed to mimic our new President's first hundred days' challenges, and since President Obama (oh, how I LOVE writing that) is already cooking and getting rid of all sorts of Bush detritus, I'm inspired to do my own checklist.

Here are the rules, taken from writebrained's Vox:

Someone pinch me. It actually happened! I cried a little last night...we're ushering in a new day in this country. Finally, we can say goodbye to all the claptrap of the last eight years and welcome the breath of fresh air that is Barack Obama. I feel jittery, infused with joy and excitement. Hope triumphed over fear. Hope won.

Colin Powell just endorsed Barack Obama this morning!

So apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed John McCain's snide condescension, nasty attitude and refusal to make eye contact with Barack Obama in last night's debate:

Eugene Robinson, Washington Post:

Here’s the politically incorrect way of phrasing one of the central questions about tonight’s presidential debate: Did John McCain come across as too much of a grumpy old man?

That might not be a nice question, but it’s an important one. Americans like to vote for the nice guy, not the grumbling prophet of doom. Throughout the 90-minute debate, McCain seemed contemptuous of Obama. He wouldn’t look at him. He tried to belittle him whenever possible -- how many times did he work “Senator Obama just doesn’t understand” into his answers? His body language was closed, defensive, tense. McCain certainly succeeded in proving that he can be aggressive, but the aggression came with a smirk and a sneer.

 

Today I worked with a different Obama campaign, the local grassroots group, who have tables set up this entire week on Ohio State University's campus to register student voters who may be currently registered at their permanent addresses. My friend Lisa and I took a 3-hour shift, and we were assisted by 2 other volunteers. It was a lot easier than I expected, and it was fun! We registered at least 30 voters during our shift! Lisa baked hundreds of homemade chocolate chip cookies to give away at our table, to draw the hungry little students in, and they were drawn to that plate of cookies like flies to honey. I was supposed to bake cookies to give away, too, but I ran out of time. So I just ate lots at the table. Lisa actually had several guys tell her they would marry her, her cookies were that good!

We did have some fun interactions with a couple Republicans. Within ten minutes of setting up, a couple construction guys in flannel shirts and torn jeans started jawing at us as they walked by. We couldn't understand a word they were saying, but they were not happy; Lisa mumbled under her breath that obviously Republicans haven't done so well for these two guys, so what's with the grief? A few minutes later, they pulled up in their gigantic diesel pickup truck, stopped in the middle of the street behind us and our table, and commenced screaming at us. The passenger leaned out the window and spewed expletives and something about the American flag. Awesome!

Another guy in his fifties was lured in by the free cookies, but then refused to touch them when he saw Lisa's "Obama = free cookies" sign!! I laughed my ass off at that one, because the longing for a cookie was so plainly written on this man's face. He tried to start bickering with us, telling us that he was very happy with what George Bush has done and how he's protected this country from further harm in the last eight years, but we just ignored him. He wandered away, shaking his head in disgust, even after we told him he could still help himself to a cookie. Such unpleasant, mean little people...so scared by generosity. We had a few students say, "I'm voting for McCain...can I still have a cookie?" and we said, sure! Any student who exercises their right to vote is a-okay in my book, whoever they vote for.

Meanie Republicans aside, it was a really fun event, and we had LOTS of people stop by just to say they were voting for Obama and to keep up the good work. Rock on!

Went canvassing for Obama today with my friend Lisa. Very tired. Need a shower. Walked for three hours in a Republican pocket of my neighborhood and only found two houses who were voting for Obama out of 31 that we went to (we were using a list of Republican given to us by the campaign). Talked to one Obama voter who sympathized with us and snickered, "Good luck...these people will vote Republican in this neighborhood because everything's always gone right for them." If that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what does.

Most people were very friendly even when they told us they were voting for McCain (I smiled even as my brain screamed WHY????), and we only had a couple people who were mildly rude (smirking and acting very smug as they told us they were voting for McCain. Both of them were women. Go figure). It was really fun to be exceptionally nice to these people.

Fun fact for the day: the Obama campaign has registered so many hundreds of thousands of new voters that they aren't even attempting to register any more. How awesome is that?

I've never volunteered for a political campaign, but today I called and got my name on a volunteer list for Obama's local campaign office. I'd signed up back in July but hadn't heard from anyone, and you know how these things go...lots of volunteers going in different directions, and my information probably got lost in the shuffle. If I don't hear from them in the next few days, I'll just stop in at the office. The woman I spoke with was very nice, and said that she was staring at a huge stack of volunteer slips from people who've just called the office today. Awesome!

Looks like I'll probably be doing data entry, and I'll also provide dinners for office workers at some point too. I'm excited--hope I hear from them soon. I feel fortunate in that I'm self-employed with several hours a day free, and I want to participate in this exciting election...

My sister and I were talking yesterday about the difference in tone and tenor between the RNC and DNC conventions. And also about the fact that McCain indirectly validates the fact that Obama's campaign on change and hope appeal to the American people after a fucking miserable eight years under that dipshit currently in the White House...why else would McCain say, "Change. Is. Coming" while he stood at his podium? So his message is that Obama sucks, he's inexperienced, he's never done anything, blah blah blah, but I know he's popular and I want to steal that message of his that resonates with people. Right. Can't anyone see that this guy is not an original?? 

Anyway, I was truly shocked at some of the malicious comments made by speakers at the RNC convention. It's a partisan affair, yes, but it just seemed like another rich white boys' meeting where the bullies want to take down the guy who's popular with the rest of the school. Rudy Giuliani's speech was a fucking gem (and apparently he thought so too, since he snickered at all his own jokes). His digs about Obama "never doing anything" and being a "celebrity" were just outright pot shots. Interestingly, Giuliani also never, ever misses an opportunity to invoke 9/11...he's almost as bad as Bush. And while they all invoke 9/11 at their convenience in the hopes of inspiring fear in the hearts of the brainless masses, not ONE of them ever talks about finding Osama bin Laden. They made quick work of the wrong guy in the wrong country...Hussein's been buried for how long now? But STILL, no sign of bin Laden. None.  

And then, of course, there was NRA Barbie making digs at Obama for being a community organizer...to me, that's just as bad as someone knocking McCain for his service record (sort of like what the Republican machine did to Kerry's service record with the Swift Boat bullshit in the last election...). Who the fuck trashes someone for working as a community organizer?? Jesus!

I'm shocked at how many people can't see through the flimsy resume and chirpy attitude of Sarah Palin and past her little pit bull lipstick jokes. Suddenly, she's the darling of the Republican party because she trots out her disabled baby like a Republican mascot and parades her pregnant (soon-to-be-married) teenage daughter in front of the cameras. Yes, she appeals to the crazy right-wingers, but haven't we had enough of them for the last fucking eight years? This is what people want?? Censorship? No choice for women? Abstinence-only education? (worked so well for her family, you know) More war? Denial of climate change and the need for alternate energy sources?

I'm just disgusted. I don't even know what to say. I hope Biden eats her alive in the first debate and shows her for what she really is: a johnny-come-lately with a chip on her shoulder who has no experience on the national scene. (If I hear John McCain reference her fucking PTA experience ONE MORE TIME, I'm going to punch the television. Since when does PTA experience qualify you for the vice presidency??????)

Anyway, I'm just rambling now. I think I'm going to go volunteer at my local Obama campaign office. Because I think I'll off myself if another fucking Republican (and his trusty sidekick, Annie Oakley) get elected...   

Been too busy doing fun summer stuff to post much lately, but I did have something worth mentioning. Anyone else out there in Voxland notice the lack of McCain bumper stickers and yard signs? While I've noticed lots of Obama bumper stickers here in Ohio, I haven't noticed a single sticker for ol' Johnny. And, as of this writing, the only McCain yard sign I've seen is planted proudly in my in-laws' front yard.

I take all of this to be a very, very good sign. What's everyone else noticing in their neck of the woods?