I would never have thought that friends of almost 2 decades would refuse to have anything to do with me because I did not support The Pretender. It didn’t seem to matter that I had valid concerns. It didn’t seem to matter that I was able to back up my reservations with facts. It didn’t seem to matter that I was tolerant of their choice to drink the kool-aid and accept a candidate who was as much a mirage as heat rising off the pavement on a hot day. All that seemed to matter was that I did not blindly follow their chosen one, and for that I have been cast aside.

I’ve heard this story again and again, from people who are only usernames to me. And every time I hear about someone else’s loss, my heart breaks for them. This man, this Pretender, has done more damage to the emotional infrastructure of this country with his lies and corruption than I think anyone can fathom right now. We see how men have turned against women, race against race, youth against age, straight against gay. The damage done to families and friendships is still hiding beneath the surface of our consciousness, and I wonder when we’ll begin to feel, and experience, the fallout from that.

I guess, because Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I’m feeling the loss more strongly. Every Thanksgiving since 1992 I have spent with these friends. It’s the most joyful holiday for me, spending time with those I love, who love me back. Loved me unconditionally, I thought. Apparently I was wrong. So this Thanksgiving will be different. I’ll have to start a new tradition, sit with new faces around the table, create a new history of shared experiences, because I’ve been cast aside.

Nothing The Pretender ever accomplishes will make up for the damage he’s done. He will never have my forgiveness; he will never have my support; he will never have my good wishes; he will never have my respect; he will never have my sympathies; he will never have anything from me but my complete and utter contempt.

I can live with that.

One of the highlights of this whole miserable election was watching Just Say No Deal’s Diane Mantouvalos tell Chris Matthews that his sexism towards Hillary was one reason she started JSND (at 4:15). She left him stuttering:

By the way, there’s a blog tracking Chris Matthews’ leg, called Chris Matthews’ Leg. Their motto is: “If his lower extremities feel something, you’ll hear it here first.”

Chris Matthews’ Leg already has the inside scoop from election night:

Barack Obama’s victory speech overstimulated the sensitive neuro-receptors in Chris Matthews’ lower left extremity and caused it to hum like a tuning fork.

The Leg couldn’t help feeling it had played a small role in making this historic night possible.

Yes, Chris, MSNBC and pretty much the entire broadcast news industry traded the last bits of their journalistic credibility in the bacchanal of fawning coverage. Sure, Matthews’ and Olbermann’s Bush-Derangement and over-the-top Obama water-carrying during the election made them a national punchline.

But as the nation’s union bosses, trial lawyers, grievance mongers, Israel haters, and global warming hysterics uncorked the champagne and prepared their legislative agendas–The Leg could be heard to whisper:

“Totally, worth it, man . . . totally worth it.”

Here’s the original Chris Matthews’ confession:

First, I want to address those supposed internal poll numbers that have McCain ahead in PA, MI, NJ and closing in on CA. I have not been able to verify those numbers. They could be true, they might not be. I said back during the primaries that a Pampers nomination would put PA, MI, and NJ in play. Since we know that the pollsters have not been releasing accurate numbers, as their models are weighted heavily to Pampers, with interviewees being mostly Democrats, I think it is safe to say that this race is tied, and will be decided by the undecided voters, which have been breaking for McCain, and will continue to do so. Why? Because if you haven’t made the commitment to Pampers by now you are nervous enough about his fraudulent fascist ass that you are going to hold your nose and vote for McCain; at least he is a known quantity. Internals cannot always be trusted either.

In NC internal numbers had Clinton within 5 points and shaving a point each day off Pampers lead; she lost by 15, but we know now that was due to double counted ballots, and other methods of fraud. Numbers can be given to motivate workers, volunteers, and voters. I think the best strategy is to not put faith in numbers and work your asses off in the next 24 hours to defeat Pampers. Keep making calls. Keep canvassing, get out the vote, and go vote yourselves. The Pampers fraud machine is in full force so we need every vote for McCain to count (we can deal with the “what should have been” with Hillary later). DO NOT ALLOW ANY POLL NUMBERS MAKE YOU FEEL THIS IS OVER.

And lay off the conscientious abstainers. They have made their decision based on their ethics. Respect it. If, in the privacy of the voting booth they have a change of heart, they will do that without being cajoled by us (my entire immediate family is voting for Pampers, guess how that feels?). Now, on to Pennsylvania.

I believe that John McCain is going to win the 21 electoral votes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on Tuesday. In 2004 Bush lost the state by 144,248 votes (see the above map of the 2004 result). The cities of Philadelphia, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Erie went to Kerry, while the entire rest of the state voted for the Shrub. Pampers will no doubt take Philadelphia. But McCain doesn’t need Philadelphia to win. He needs, and he’s going to get, Allegheny County.

In 2004 Kerry won Allegheny, and outlying counties, by slim margins:
Allegheny: 96,987

Beaver: 2,230
Washington: 552
Fayette: 4,075
That’s 103,844 votes. Leaving a margin of 40,044 votes in the 2004 totals.

There is one reason and one reason only that Kerry took these counties: Tereza Heinz-Kerry. Knowing this, Obama tried to trot her out in the run-up to the Pennsylvania primary. Her lack of enthusiasm for the candidate was pretty obvious. Obama has no such connection. In fact, the one thing he had going for him in the area, John Murtha, decided to pick the scab off the bitter/cling incident by calling his constituents racists, and then rednecks. Personally I think Murtha fell on a grenade, potentially ending his political career to prevent Obama from getting into the White House. Between that, Joe the Plumber, Bittergate, the Hillary/PUMA effect and Obama’s ever shrinking tax break income threshold (it used to be $250,000…now his ads say $200,000….his VP says $150,000….Bill Richardson says $120,000….we know it’s really around $42-50,000…middle class, get ready for the mugging) chances are McCain is going to win all four of those counties.

Another Kerry stronghold was Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. Margins were not that wide there either.
Lackawanna County (Scranton is County Seat): 14,807
Luzerne County: 4,620

I believe that it is the PUMA effect that will have the greatest impact in drawing Democrats away from Obama. Forget Biden’s connection to Scranton. He hasn’t had any there in decades. No one is seeing his appearance there as a homecoming. It’s a hey I used to be from here vote for me kind of feeling. When Democrats for McCain and Harriet Christian are leading PUMAs on major canvassing safaris, reminding everyone what Obama and the DNC did to Hillary, the candidate they still love, what Obama said about them, etc. I see both counties in play big time. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication up there!

Joe the Plumber will also pull in votes in Allentown, and Erie. We hear time and time again that working class voters are “values voters,” meaning that they vote with the candidate whom they feel represents their beliefs, even if they are voting against their economic interests. In 2008 the McCain/Palin ticket not only speaks to them more, especially with a woman who comes directly from the working class, but will better serve their economic interests by not taxing them into the poor house, or taxing their employers into laying them off (and with those ever lowering tax thresholds that is exactly what is going to happen).

The simple fact of the matter is that if McCain’s internals didn’t have him in striking distance he and Palin wouldn’t be wasting their time. And if Camp Pampers didn’t think the same thing he and Biden wouldn’t be there either.

One final factor working for McCain: Pampers fatigue. Pennsylvania was the state that shocked the nation when polls came out saying they were sick and tired of hearing Pampers’ voice and seeing his face everywhere. They felt that way during the primaries. I can only guess how they feel now. I would imagine there are a lot of people in PA doing what I do…turning down the volume on the TV, changing the channel, or throwing random objects. No one overkills like Pampers whose motto must be, “Too much of me is never enough.” Pampers, I’ve got news for you; too little of you is too much of you. PA is also the state where Pampers told Ed Rendell, “We don’t need the people, we just need the checks.”

Don’t be surprised if it’s going to be Pennsylmania for McCain tomorrow. Sorry Pampers, you need the people, not just the checks.

[More of Shtuey Van Shtuey's superb writing can be found here]

Earlier: We are counting down … At 10:00 p.m. ET sharp, Truthteller’s No Quarter radio show is on the air live!

Truthteller’s radio show entitled Political Montage will air at 10:00pm EST. Call in at 347.308.8644, and join the live chatroom during the show. (You’ll need to be registered at BlogTalkRadio to post comments in the live chat.)

po·lit·i·cal mon·tage (puh-lit-i-kuhl) (mŏn-täzh’, môɴ-)
- any combination of disparate elements that forms or is felt to form a unified whole of the current political situation with the aim of edifying and informing the listening public

Below are the topics to be discussed and analyzed:

The following topics will be discussed and analyzed: PUMA resurgence affects a poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports in Pennsylvania; Barack Obama’s immigration and campaign finance problems; Ohio state employee states she was ordered to pry into the confidential files of Joe the Plumber; the statements of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in 2003 and 2004; and Obama campaign aggressively courts southwest Ohio and Cincinnati, where he trails McCain by a staggering 24 points.

Feel free to join the conversation by telephoning 347.308.8644 at 10:00pm EST tonight.

The interviews were conducted on 27 and 28 October, and the margin of error for this poll is four percent.

Please consider volunteering with Harriet Christian in northeast PA or volunteering with the Real Democrats in western and southern PA this weekend. If Real Democrats, independents, PUMAs and others can deliver PA to McCain, the Obama juggernaut will be derailed once and for all.

Feel free to consider this an open thread. And feel free to read more about this poll at Memeorandum.

Don’t believe me. Take a look at this sarcastic woman talk about her New Party. And who “Split us into groups” again?

Here’s Donna telling us all about her “New Party”. Check out her snide face and hear her snide voice. Good luck with that Donna. Paul Begala also warns arrogant Donna that she is going to need all the people she is insulting to win this election. Nobody can deny it. We were told to go to hell. Well we don’t plan on doing that, instead we plan to vote.

So now there’s a recent study discussing the very warning given to arrogant ass Donna Brazile, the one who was going to”Change the Demographics of her “New” Democratic Party. Now she needs us. We’ll be back when people like Donna are no longer in charge, for starters. We are going to take back our party. Again. This is not the first time elite socialist fringe snobs tried to hijack our party. It seems the one thing our party learns from history is how to repeat their mistakes over and over and over again.

The majority of this party is not interested in busting their butts at work and then “sharing” their gains with people who don’t. The majority of this party is not interested in sexism and misogyny. The majority of this party does not belong to MoveOn. The majority of this party is not interested in allowing dependent children, off-the-cliff radicals, old hippies stilll on the bong, left over cranks from the failed AmeriKKKan Socialist, Communist, Marxist and Stalinist parties pick presidents.

And the majority of the Democratic Party will NOT be staying home on November 4, Donna. Get that idea out of your head.

A study surprise! reveals that Barack Obama needs us now. Of course, the Race Card has to be played with respect to the “White Vote”. Once more, my party wants to ignore the impact of PUMA at their own peril. So be it.

But it’s pretty safe to say that playing the Race Card every five minutes hasn’t exactly endeared white people to the Obama candidacy. Threatening people and calling them racist has backfired. Refusing to recognize that there are plenty of reasons why people will never vote for Barack Obama that have little to do with his color. Like sexest piggism and socialism, for starters. His rude, threatening and savage followers would be right up there on the list too. People don’t like to feel threatened. And people don’t like to have real issues ignored and twisted into a “Race Card” discussion. It not only ticks them off, but it’s been done and overdone so much by Obama and his surrogates, that the effect is now just a lot of Eye Rolling when it’s heard again. And again. And again.

There are plenty of reasons why many Democrats aren’t interested in Barack Obama. The report mentions the “White working class”. Those are those Bitter Hicks With Guns. Does anybody really expect them to forgive Barack Obama for his tasteless, snobby, downright ignorant remark about them at a fundraiser at Billionaire’s Row in San Francisco? Really?

Does anyone really expect all Hillary Clinton supporters to forgive Barack Obama for his attempt to destroy her and his coordinated attacks on her because she is a woman? Really? Really? How arrogant can you get?

Does anyone really expect all Jews in America to rush to the polls for Obama when every Jidadist in the Middle East has endorsed him? Really?

Does anyone really expect all of us well-educated Hillary supporters to forget being constantly referred to as “Downscale” and “Low Information”? Really?

Does anyone really expect women to give him their undying support after his disgusting behaviors toward women in this campaign? Really? Really?

Does anyone really expect everyone in America to forget Reverend Wright’s disgusting remarks? Does anyone really expect every Italian-American to vote for a guy whose 20-year pastor calls them Garlic-Noses? Really? Really?

Does anyone really expect that Seniors, who have lived long enough to recognize BS when they see it, are endeared en masse by Barack Obama, whose followers have consistently insulted them as “old people”?

Has anyone heard Barack Obama say one helpful thing to Native Americans?

Does anyone really expect all Latinos in Florida to worship a man who wants to talk to Castro with no pre-conditions? Really?

Does anyone really expect all gays and lesbians to be in love with Barack Obama when he refused to have his photo taken with the Mayor of San Francisco? Really?

If all of these people happen to be white, then the real thing the report reveals is that Barack Obama, his surrogates and his followers have insulted plenty of white people in this election season. In droves. The Democrats might like to continue the “Race Card” with their studies, but the truth is, their loss among Democrats consist of the people they insulted and decided they didn’t need any longer. And that’s not going to go away.

Here’s Politico’s take on the report:

In an election year where Barack Obama pledged to change the electorate, the centrist Democratic Leadership Council has weighed into the debate with a detailed report arguing it will be difficult for Obama to earn enough African American and youth support to compensate for enduring Democratic failures with white voters.

The report, titled “Who are the swing voters,” finds that the party must make historic inroads with working class whites in order to create a sustainable presidential majority.

It’s hardly news that the Democratic Party has struggled with white voters. Democrats have not won a majority of whites since 1964. Since 1980 though, Democrats have struggled to even remain competitive among whites, particularly men, and that has allowed Republicans to dominate the last quarter century of presidential politics.

The DLC set out in its analysis, an early draft of which was provided to Politico, to investigate the most influential swing blocs for Democrats. It concluded that slight but significant gains with working class whites— who constitute four in ten voters and were defined by the DLC as white high school graduates without a four-year college degree—is the best means to enlarge the Democratic coalition.

“There has been so much emphasis on new entrants in the electorate, and this report is historic and not predictive, but history tells us it would be an unusual circumstance if we witnessed a massive shift in the electorate,” the DLC analysis reads.

The report calculates that a 10 percent increase in black voter turnout amounts to a 1-percentage point uptick in the overall electorate, assuming all other groups remain constant.

That means that if the black voting rate rises from 60 percent to 67.2, the level of whites as measured by the Census Bureau, it amounts to 1.7 million votes— less than George W. Bush’s margin of victory in 2004.

“None of this means that the 2008 election could not be decided because of a radical shift in the electorate—by a dramatically increased turnout among critical constituencies or by a sharp shift in party identification, for example,” the report reads, “But historical voting patterns say that would be an unusual occurrence.”

The DLC study looked at the exit polls of the last five presidential elections as well as the 2006 midterm election.

The report, authored by Al From and Victoria Lynch, described black voters, self-identified liberals, and “strongly pro-choice” voters as the most influential legs of the Democratic coalition.

The DLC calculated that about four in ten voters in presidential elections are part of this Democratic base. John Kerry won 80 percent of these voters, meaning Democrats only amounted to about a third of the electorate. That number will likely be higher in 2008 as Democrats enjoy a newfound party identification advantage, though one that multiple polls show lessened in late summer.

The report strongly suggests, however, that it will be difficult for the Obama campaign to win if he does not improve Democrats’ appeal to the white working class.

The report also paints two blocs of working class whites:

“A typical male voter in that category will likely be between 30 and 59 years old, live in a suburb or small town in the South or Midwest, and be married with no children living at home. He’s likely to be a Republican or independent, moderate or conservative, not a member of a labor union, pro-life, and in favor smaller government. Finally, he’s most likely to be Protestant but not a weekly churchgoer.”

When someone calls Hillary Clinton a bitch, it’s not just about her.It’s about me and my fellow MOMocrats and my sister. It’s about my mother and my aunts and my daughter. It’s about mothers and friends and women who haven’t even become the next generation of leaders, yet.The most famous and infamous TV pundits aren’t reserving their ‘looks are everything’ moments to talk of Hillary’s cleavage or wrinkles. There are no limits. We are all fair game.

And then there’s Hillary herself, who in all the newspapers and TV blips is calling for her supporters to line up behind the presumptive nominee. HIllary’s most devoted supporters are in a double bind: we do not want to see Hillary blamed if Obama is defeated, and we absolutely want to see Obama go down like the Titanic. Our anger is not about Hillary “losing.” This is about a stolen nomination, about the takeover of the Democratic party by the neo-liberals and the so-called progressives who use sexism, misogyny, and ageism with abandon, who belittle and insult blue collar workers and who use accusations of racism against anyone who points out that Hillary actually won the popular vote. In response to CNN’s Roland Martin, TGW writes:

Why oh why, lectures Roland, can’t Hillary and her supporters put party over “your petty personal issues.” Roland also threw around the word “dumb,” but refused to specify if he was calling Hillary “dumb” or her supporters. And we were just getting used to the term “dead-enders.”But you heard him. Fall in line little wimin! Or in the words of Barack Obama, just ‘get over it.’

If I hadn’t already been a feminist for the past 40 years, this whole primary debacle would be my conversion. Watching how it continues to be open season for shooting down Hillary, many people, not only women but especially women, have moved passed the primary and into a vast and airless realm of unreality. How has my party, the Democratic Party, become so corrupt? They use sexism to demean Hillary and ugly power plays to “defeat” her, as we saw in the RBC decision regarding MI and FL. Some of us are willing to forego our allegiance to the party because IT NO LONGER REPRESENTS US AND OUR VALUES:

Ooops. Somebody isn’t falling in line. In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll taken after Obama announced his VP pick, 27 percent of Hillary supporters say they’ll vote for McCain, up from 16 percent in late June. “The number of Clinton Democrats who say they would vote for McCain has gone up 11 points since June.”

Using the argument about the Supreme Court judges and Roe v Wade to guilt-trip people into voting for Obama is the height of hypocrisy in a party that has used sexism and misogyny to undermine the very best candidate for women. Do they think women are so issue oriented that we will allow one of our smartest and strongest leaders to be a sacrificial victim on the altar of their agenda and go along with it? For many women, this has gone far beyond Hillary, far beyond the election, far beyond platform politics:

With the brothers Roland Martin and Jack Caffetry lecturing the little wimin about our “petty personal issues,” the numbers of rebellious women can only increase.

For example, read this post by Riverdaughter, which she begins with a quote from Dowd’s Hillary-blaming piece a few weeks back. Dowd wrote, “Hillary Clinton feels no guilt about encouraging her supporters to mess up Barack Obama’s big moment, thus undermining his odds of beating John McCain.” Riverdaughter posts in response to this:

Ladies, putting aside the lie that Hillary is putting us up to this (she has absolutely nothing to do with our movement), is there something familiar about that sentence? Did it strike a bell deep in the corner of your mind where you have stored an unpleasantry? From personal experience, I can say that without exception, I have never met a man who did not behave as if his reason for being was more important than mine. No matter how supportive they were, when push came to shove, it was always my life that more easily sacrificed and compromised. My wishes and aspirations were a little less lofty. My gifts and talents a little less meaningful and worthy of praise. Nothing short of my winning a Nobel Prize, a Pulitzer and a humanitarian award would be acknowledged as sufficient for a life changing decision to go in my favor. Maybe even that wouldn’t be enough. When push comes to shove, where a man lives, what he does with his time, what career he pursues and what dreams he has will always come first. The only power women have in most relationships, ultimately, is the power to walk away from them. That is, if she wants to be judged a person in her own right.

This is strong language, reminiscent of the early days of the women’s movement. But this is how many of us feel. This is no longer about Hillary Clinton for President, although we wish she was our candidate. This is about the Democratic Party’s willingness to abuse an exceptional woman in order to promote a mediocre man.

She discussed the roll call vote and ballots.

NancyA: Last night a Texas Delegate told me the “Roll Call” vote was being held in secret in hotel rooms. What have you been told?

Cindy: We will receive a “ballot” at the Breakfast Meeting Wednesday morning for our roll call vote. And then we will meet with Hillary. I am unsure what will happen in the General Session, whether we will re-vote.

NancyA: Have you found a great deal of pressure to vote for Obama?

Cindy. I have the impression that there is a lot of pressure on Clinton delegates to vote for Obama on the first ballot under the guise of “party unity”.

She said she hasn’t heard of any consequences if she doesn’t vote for Obama on the first ballot. She said she has remained open to her constituents that voted for her. She said her constituents have remonded quite often to stay strong for Hillary. And she spoke passionately about her commitment to vote for Hillary. Cindy feels that it is disrespectful to vote for Obama on the first ballot. There are many other delegates that holds her beliefs. She said there are other delegates who think it is wrong if Hillary Delegates vote for her on the first ballot, not for Obama.

There is still disunity in the party despite the call from the Democratic Party leadership to unify behind Obama.

Their behavior during the campaign was so far from being progressive that I’ve concluded that they’re not actually progressives — at least not of the New Deal, progressive government heritage. Indeed, Markos proclaims himself a libertarian Democrat, meaning he’s well-off and politically correct.

Regarding the Silence of the Bloggers while the media performed a misogynistic bloodletting on Hillary, Big Tent Democrat writes:

[Digby] KNOWS why [media bias] was not covered by most of the Left bogs until the ABC debate - for the same reason the Media’s bias, sexism and misogyny was not covered by the blogs - because they loved it when it was against Hillary Clinton. The Left blogs failed in the primaries and it is time they owned up to it and why - when it was smears, sexism and silliness against Clinton, all was well. Look at Keith Olbermann for crissakes. Their complaints about McCain favoritism in the Media, to the extent it exists, now rings hollow. Their credibility had been shot long ago.

Now Digby is endorsing attacks on McCain. Does she want to go after his tax policies? How about Iraq? Is it his abortion stance? No, it’s not about policy. Here’s the plan she endorses:

Why not concentrate on character critiques that have some real grounding in reality? Just to give a few examples:

*
McCain is old and gets confused occasionally.
*

McCain is running an ugly, smear-based campaign.
*

McCain has a legendarily short fuse.
*

McCain is annoyingly self-righteous.
*

McCain’s straight talk has evaporated in the face of his need to win evangelical votes.

How to go after McCain and promote a progressive agenda? Ageism. He’s running a “smear-based campaign” (read: he’s racist). Nice coming from a group that allowed (and participated in) Obama’s race-baiting of the Clintons. And please don’t call McCain “annoyingly self-righteous,” while Obama lectures Americans to learn Spanish — a language he does not speak.

The “progressive” bloggers’ desire for power — not a progressive agenda — has turned them into modern day Bolsheviks. There is nothing progressive about race-baiting, sexism, and ageism. The sooner Obama is defeated and these cranks fade away, the better.

PUMAs need to start formulating a vision for a post-Obama Democratic Party, one which I hope is focused on providing opportunities for all Americans regardless of race, sex, or age.

In what could be an ominous sign for Barack Obama just days before he is formally named the Democratic presidential nominee, a new CNN poll of polls out Tuesday shows the Illinois senator’s lead over John McCain has been cut in half in recent days.

American voters are becoming increasingly worried about Obama’s complete lack of experience, according to CNN. Political ads released by the McCain campaign are pointing out the dangers of Obama’s inexperience. In spite of the hype generated by the Obama campaign, his incompetent and milquetoast response to the Russian invasion of Georgia highlights the danger that an Obama presidency would bring:

The latest poll results come amid increased attacks from McCain on Obama’s readiness to be commander-in-chief and the re-emergence of national security worries among voters in the wake of the Georgia crisis.

The CNN poll is only one among many that demonstrates Obama’s falling numbers. Other recent polls show that even though John McCain is considered a weak Republican candidate, Americans feel more confident about McCain’s leadership:

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll out Tuesday evening was the latest national survey to indicate Obama’s lead is dwindling, putting the Illinois senator ahead of McCain by only 2 points, well within the poll’s margin of error. The CNN Poll of polls also includes new surveys from Quinnipiac and Gallup.

While Obama is hoping that the Democratic Convention (which is already gaining the reputation of being “more party than politics”), will give him a big boost, some anti-Obama Dems are encouraged that McCain is considering a pro-choice VP. This comes as a relief for even some Obama supporters as the Democratic party is backtracking in its support of abortion rights. According to ABC News:

The Democratic Party is planning a convention designed to soften the edges on the party’s support for abortion rights, with a revamped platform and a speaking lineup that reinforces efforts to broaden Democrats’ appeal on the hot-button issue.

We are all now familiar with Backtrack Obama’s selling-out of key Democratic issues, including FISA, abortion rights, public financing, et al, and we have no doubt that Obama will go to any length to adapt his persona in the pursuit of power and fame. Obama is a product and his advertising campaign is funded by donations to the Democratic party. And the newest advertising hype in this sells campaign is that of Obama’s choice of a VP candidate. Why is this non-issue receiving so much media attention? According toABC, Obama’s campaign is using the VP announcement to distract attention from the Clintons, from PUMA, from The Denver Group, from JSND and from the many others who are protesting the hijacking of our party:

…a late-in-the-week rollout {of the VP} would have another benefit…It could help overshadow the other dominant story heading into Denver, which is the long-running drama over how Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and Clinton’s supporters will handle themselves during the week.

Let’s not let them down! GO PUMA!!!!