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Playing hooky for “history”
One week until the Big Day. Stretch your fingers for the ballot marking, use any political bumper stickers you haven’t already, and unassumingly snack on moose jerky or Chicago deep dish pizza, whichever your preference.
And, Barack Obama says, ask for Election Day off from work! He approves.
Topic: Campaign 2008, WorldMagBlog
Keywords: barack-obama, ferris-bueller
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back to top46 Comments to “Playing hooky for “history””
Our McSame is still better than their Insane.
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Anlir,
Guess he’s not as concerned as you are about hourly workers losing compensation if they have to take time off to vote–he wants them to lose the whole day’s pay.
Never mind that the work still has to be done by somebody.
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As the saying goes, any govt that robs Peter to pay Paul will always have Paul’s suuport.
So it now comes down to this: do you hold your nose and vote for a quasi-semi-psuedo conservative? Or do you recognize that resistance is most likely futile and dangle your chad for a full-blown socialism embracer?
Recall Simon &Garfunkel’s line from “Mrs Robinson”:
Laugh about it
Shout about it
When you’ve got to choose
Any way you look at this you lose.
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If he loses, his supporters may take the next day off to riot. Of course, they may riot if he wins, too. Might as well take Election Day off to collect rocks.
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I made moose tacos last weekend…
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No one needs to take off from work. The week of early voting here in La meant fairly short lines and knowledgable clerks at the downtown courthouse who could keep the process flowing. Perhaps the early voting hours should be extended? Done on the weekend as well?
Who in the world would WAIT til the actual Election Day to vote??
Where we really need reform is in the primaries and caucus system. If you had to be somewhere at 6am the next morning, you were not going to wait to caucus in Texas.
The caucus system doesnt guarantee a wide swath of voters can fully participate, as many have noted
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Next time the RNC will have to funnel money towards a Kucinich or Ralph Nader. A lefty 3rd party candidacy would’ve been the Perot this election cycle really needed.
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#6 “Who in the world would WAIT til the actual Election Day to vote??”
Me, that’s who. I would assume that a ballot cast early is not just for the president but all the other candidates including local. And in most areas I have lived, most of the info on local candidates is hard to find until the final week or two when the local newspapers cover it thoroughly.
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Well I voted today. The names on the ballot were all familiar to me..
McCain Palin were at the top of my ticket. Considering Obama’s tax plan and pro-abortion stance certainly made it much easier….
And listening to Glenn Beck and Mark Steyn talk about the Obamas “Soft Totalitarianism” this morning didn’t hurt either.
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I think the R party has a deficit of True Believers. Maybe we’ve been lied to too much.
We still have those boondoggle money-burners, Dept of Ed and Dept of Energy. Have either made a dent in the performance of schools? Truly helped meet our energy demands? Yet not even Ronaldus Magnus could dismantle them. And let’s not forget the LBJ money-gobbler called the National Endowment for the Arts. What has that gotten us? Crucifixes soaking in jars of urine!? And lastly, W come along and was willing accomplice to more bloated budgets. Yes, 9/11 changed things but NCLB and the medicare expansion? As part of a conservative government?
No wonder McCain faces an uphill battle.
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I’ll be pollwatching for the local GOP on Election Day, so I might as well wait to vote until then. And I’m with Llama: Our McSame still has a ton more character and experience than their Insane.
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“Next time the RNC will have to funnel money towards a Kucinich or Ralph Nader. A lefty 3rd party candidacy would’ve been the Perot this election cycle really needed.”
Bang-on! The McCain camp will forever regret that they did not reach out to Cynthia McKinney this campaign.
McCain. McKinney. McCoulda. McShoulda. McWoulda.
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Travis can have Synthia McSpinny (the nutjob)…. You Greenies evidently don’t vet your candidates very well.
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There is no one Election Day, only an Election Month. So taking a day off in early Novemeber is unnecessary and unwarrented.
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Wonder how many folks Bob Barr will draw? And have we seen the last of Maurice “Mike” Gravel?
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I am taking election day off to drive people to the polls.
Joel, not every state has early voting. I did read that President Bush voted early. I would, but I’d have to drive across the county.
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We’ll vote that day, since an older member of the congregation has asked us to drive him to the polls. I doubt he’d understand/believe the concept of early voting.
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The followig is an interesting insight intot he coming election:
http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/465.pdf
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Of course Obama tells people to take the day off work – WHY NOT? – you can be repaid by the government – IT’S FREE to all who want a holiday from work – Employers work, but those who work for them aren’t responsible to show up, after all, it’s their right NOT TO WORK if Obama says so!
Never mind that absentee voting is an option, just call in say you’re taking the day off, let your employer handle the store, office, etc., after all, Obama said so!
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Same ole Obama – who cares about the employer? – why concern yourself with what he owns and pays you a wage to work, the cleaners, restaurants, stores, pharmacy, hospital, law office, bank, doctor’s office – hey just call in, no responsibility!
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I am an employer, Victoria. I’m taking the day off. Any employee who asks can use a vacation day and I don’t mind. Voting is very important.
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Good point, Victoria.
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Given that this is the most important day for us Democrats in 8 years, I hope all who can afford to will take the day off to work for Obama and help get people to the polls. Use a sick day, use a vacation day – whatever you have to do.
Alas, I was just informed today that I have to go to a meeting out of town on Nov. 3rd and 4th that I cannot get out of, so I cannot take it off. I was planning on voting several times that day – durn!
As for this putting employers under hardship because of missing employees, I say “tough!”. Do you think they cared about the working stiffs when they voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004? Nope.
Well, I’m glad I got to vote at least one time. Heh.
In any event,
Listen to your momma,
Vote Obama!
Stop the hate,
Vote “NO” on 8!
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I confess I did not think it would be this bad when I voted for Bush.
That’s why I am not voting for more of the McSame.
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Better McSame than BHO Insane.
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Sorry to disappoint you, but:
Most Americans disagree with 25.
That’s why McCain finds it necessary to do a major ad buy in traditionally red states like West Virginia and Montana a week before the election.
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Most patriotic Americans agree with 25.
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Oh please. There are “patriotic Americans” voting for both candidates. And it appears increasingly likely that the majority of patriotic Americans will give their vote to Obama. And to accuse the majority of not being “patriotic” if they vote for Obama – well that’s not gonna set well with them. If anything, it will guarantee the Republican Party stays in the minority for a long time to come.
No more drama,
Vote Obama!
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Anlir
You’re forgetting something – We as American’s can refer to whom ever we please as un-patriotic – I certainly don’t believe that everyone who lives in this country or votes is “patriotic” thats nonsense!
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Anlir, let it go. McCain and his supporters seek to divide the American people, and it’s failing miserably. Let it.
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One of the things we do as Americans is accept our fellow citizens judgment on election day. We may not be happy with it, and we may think the person they chose is the wrong one. But, we don’t question their patriotism or loyalty to this country.
As I told a weeping fellow Democrat 8 years ago and 4 years ago, “It’s not the end of the world and we will survive”. And I would say the same thing to the McCain/Palin supporters, if your candidate should lose. You will survive and it’s not the end of the world. America is a wonderful and good country, no matter which party occupies the White House.
Listen to your momma,
Vote Obama!
No more hate,
Vote “NO” on 8!
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Anlir
I don’t agree. Many people use not only poor judgement, but understand very little of what they are voting for. I question anyones “patriotism” if they vote for any individual who has gone the way of ’socialism’ –
Anlir you can stop the “we” – there is no “we” – I am an individual, I don’t fall into anyones “we” camp although you like to day dream that fantasy.
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Anlir,
I just want you know that we have been working very hard in Arizona to ban gay marriage with proposition 102 which simply reads;
A yes vote will have the effect of of amending the Arizona Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, while maintaining the current statutory law of the State of Arizona which prohibits marriage between persons of the same sex.
It will pass this time. If not, we will bring it up at the next election and will continue to do so until it passes. We will use this tactic in all states until they all ban gay marriage. The thousand s if years old definition of marriage will be restored to this nation.
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When Vicky writes I laugh hard-
“I question anyones “patriotism” if they vote for any individual who has gone the way of ’socialism’,” Vicky says.
Then she better not vote for Socialist Sarah Palin! She is taking from the rich and giving to the Wasilla meth addicts and prostitutes.
Palin’s windfall tax will fund a $1,200 “rebate” that Alaska will give to every eligible man, woman and child in Alaska, to help offset soaring fuel prices. That money will be dispersed as part of larger, $3,269 check that Alaskans will receive that was paid for by state taxes on oil companies – a family of four will receive a check for $13,076. The fuel rebates will cost the state $750 million. [1-3]
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Vicky 33 is only giving us a bit of the whole story. No one is surprised.
“Obama is now at 49% of the vote to 47% for McCain among likely voters using Gallup’s traditional model, and at 51% to 44% using Gallup’s expanded model.”
gallup.com
Peter Leavitt’s most trusted source of polling data, which is inTrade.com, has the candidates chances of becoming President as follows:
Obama 87%
McCain 13.5%
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The extended models are not very accurate at all, Lumpy. Spin again.
And you can stop telling untruths about Peter Leavitt too. The Christians on this blog simply roll our eyes when you say distorted things about our brother in Christ.
BTW, I added you to our church’s prayer chain at prayer meeting tonight. We’re praying that you end your cynical ways and repent. God can do anything, you know!
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Outsassed 37-
I did not know you were a statistician. Please enlighten us as to why you find the Gallop expanded model to be inaccurate.
Also, why do you insist Peter did not speak for himself on September 12th? Here is what he wrote. It is very clearly written:
#118 BY Peter Leavitt 09.12.08 AT 5:26 PM
Being market oriented, I find Intrade to be better than polls on predicting the presidential race odds. At Intrade you can bet real money on the election. Not too long ago the Intrade market odds had Obama at 68 and McCain at 30. Today Obama is at 45.1 and McCain at 53.0.
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Outkast – 37
HOW TRUE your comments. Blessings my friend!
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Vicky-
Outkast is unable to explain his comments in 37, perhaps you could speak for him as usual?
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outkast post 27,
I suggest that arguing that those voting for Obama are unpatriotic is shall we say on the edges of the the blog policy.
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outkast post 37,
so what are the accurate models outkast?
Can you explain your mathematical formulation here?
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It is important to understand that polling is fundamentally a modeling process: you are trying to choose a small subset of idividuals who will match the greater whole.
The following is a nice discussion of the present polls and their behaviors:
A note on the polls
One thing that becomes clear is that given the demographic changes in the electorate, it is unclear what the right models are.
I believe Jay Cost is correct, the only ting we know for sure from the polls is that Obama is almost certainly ahead (and cherry picking polls to demonstrate one’s point is bad science, bad logic, and plausibly bad argumentation: it discredits your position).
The issue of course is that the national polls are only a beauty contest. Under the electroal college system, it is the state polls that count.
Interestingly enough, for perhaps the same reason that the electoral college protects us from certain voting behaviors, it also makes the state polls more tractable.
And the message here is that unless there is a systematic bias in the polls, the central limit theorem suggests that if the vote were held today, Obama would gain over 270 electoral votes.
From outkast’s and victoria’s perspectvie, I suggest there are two issues which remain of merit:
1) how will the polls change in the next 6 days
2) what will be the immpact of the early voting
And without understanidng 2, 1 becomes ambiguous.
And at this point we wont really know 2 until after the vote count.
So in summary: at this point all that we can really say from the polls is that it appears that Obama is ahead and it appears that his lead gives him 270 or more electroal college votes as of today.
But in truth we are now waiting until next Tuesday (although the impact of Obama’s session tonight will be interesting to guage! ).
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There is of course a second point to consider.
If you look at the key states and the national average Obama is at or above 50%. If McCain wins all the undecided, McCain draws at best.
To succeed now, McCain must change the votes of people who have already decided. This is a tough problem which is perhaps discussed cogently in:
h*tp://election.princeton.edu/2008/10/28/covert-decisionmaking-and-the-bradley-effect/#more-2070
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Looking at RPN’s link to Pew research it appears the only strong supporters of McCain are older poor white evangelicals with high school or less education. Nice demographic base.
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HRW post 45,
this is an insightful observation!
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