Last night was the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.  In anticipation I grabbed two fancy pizzas from Osteria Via Stato (Pepperoni & Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil and Fennel Pollen) and opened a bottle of Wine (Meridian Sauvignon Blanc.)  My first impressions were that:

• I was surprised at how lucid John McCain sounded at the beginning.  He actually was able to keep up with the pace of the speeches and answered questions quickly and concisely.
• I was surprised at how old Barack Obama looked.  I didn’t notice it before but it seems that he has a lot more silver hair at the sides of his head.  Could it be a strategy to make him look older by not dying his hair?
• John McCain looked old, older than I previously remembered.  His skin looked very pale and wrinkly.  The combover was very apparent.

As the debate progressed some new impressions formed:

• McCain really fails to answer direct questions and rebut specific statements brought up by Obama.  One glaring example was when Obama declared that the McCain tax cut plan would eliminate 300MM of taxes for people in the highest income bracket and further increase taxes on Health care for everyone.  McCain totally dropped Obama’s argument and again said that he wanted to eliminate 18BN of earmark spending.
• Barack really doesn’t defend himself very well.  McCain clearly was on the offensive several times during the debate and Barack choose to not to address the issue of his choice not to visit Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Near the end of the debate McCain began to ramble like an old man.  At times he was completely off topic and even started telling an anecdote about some energy bill that happened a while ago.  I don’t think I was alone scratching my head trying to figure out how that story answered the moderators question.
• I think the most poiniant comment Obama made was that McCain has voted for almost all of Bush’s failed policies except for a couple that McCain pointed out in his response.  I think this clearly shows that while McCain was in congress he clearly towed the party line most of the time and this self titled “Maverick” images is nothing but window dressing on old Washington.

I think Barack probably won the first half of the debate, the second half that focused more on international affairs seemed more in McCain’s favor.  I can’t wait to see further debates.

Someone decided it was tasteful to create a new brand of Waffles…Obama Waffles…nope nothing a bit racist about that package.  And yes, thats a turbin.

New York Times published a story today that sheds some light on what politics to Sarah Palin really means.  Her management style is basically hiring a lot of high school classmates, firing people that criticize her, and attempting to censor books from the public library.  She found her opportunity to differentiate herself by shunning the Republican establishment,   The most confusing part of the article is how her husband throws around his weight almost as if he actually holds state office.  Basically the Palins made little distinction between personal and professional.

“As she assembled her cabinet and made other state appointments, those with insider credentials were now on the outs. But a new pattern became clear. She surrounded herself with people she has known since grade school and members of her church.

Mr. Parnell, the lieutenant governor, praised Ms. Palin’s appointments. “The people she hires are competent, qualified, top-notch people,” he said.

Ms. Palin chose Talis Colberg, a borough assemblyman from the Matanuska valley, as her attorney general, provoking a bewildered question from the legal community: “Who?” Mr. Colberg, who did not return calls, moved from a one-room building in the valley to one of the most powerful offices in the state, supervising some 500 people.

“I called him and asked, ‘Do you know how to supervise people?’ ” said a family friend, Kathy Wells. “He said, ‘No, but I think I’ll get some help.’ ”

The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government. Ms. Palin appointed Mr. Bitney, her former junior high school band-mate, as her legislative director and chose another classmate, Joe Austerman, to manage the economic development office for $82,908 a year. Mr. Austerman had established an Alaska franchise for Mailboxes Etc.”

I think the parallel Jak made between Hawaiian and Alaskan politics is fitting, but I don’t think it excuses poor leadership.  Sarah Palin is a small town governor, thats it.  You may have liked the way Frank Fasi got things done but you would neverwant to see his “style” of politics done on a national level.

Clearly the RNC convention last week was a huge hit.  I predicted that Palin would bring down the McCain campaign, but actually quite the opposite has happened.  I was reading several polls yesterday, all of which show McCain getting a substantial boost following the convention.  In some polls he leads by 5 points or more.

So what happened?

Well, I have to point out one thing here, Obama’s elitist rap is really starting to hurt him in many ways.  Palin made those who question her lack of experience seem like elitists.  Only a fancy, rich big city politician would think the governor of a small state is inexperience.

And Palin pulled out the whole bag of emotional trump cards.  Retarded baby, kid in the military, even pregnant teenage daughter with fiancee came off as American as apple pie.

She spoke well and although her arguments lacked depth, they were made convincingly.

This was a smart move, because dems traditionally have had trouble going negative, which is really the only way to combat Palin.  A woman waving around a retarded kid in one hand and thumping her chest in the other is a compelling sight, and really, not to be an elitist, but I think a lot of america will buy it.

From what I’ve heard, there is TONS of dirt on Palin, much of which is very troubling.  Obama just has to go there…and quickly.

For example, Palin does not want to allow abortions, even in the case of rape.  Obama needs to bring out a heartbreaking rape victim here to counter Palin and her retarded baby.  Okay, a bit crass, but Obama is coming off like CNN while Palin is The Young and the Restless.

It appears that Obama is going on the offensive, today saying that ‘a pig with lipstick is still a pig.’  Poor choice of words in my opinion.  Sure, it may be a common phrase to some, but to others it’s a black dude calling a woman a pig.  Not a great way to get former Hillary backers.

Still, I don’t think Palin will be able to stand up to the coming months of close scrutiny.  I don’t think McCain did a good enough job of finding the skeletons in her closet.  Also, with economic troubles fresh on everyone’s mind with the bailout of the ‘macs, Obama really needs to stress that managing Alaska is nothing compared to a muti-billion dollar mortgage crisis.

I have to hand it to McCain though, the Palin pick seemed horrible at first, but she really has pulled things off so far, completely overshadowing the DNC convention and building momentum for the final two months.

Look, I don’t know a lot about politics.  All I know is I like Obama because he went to an extraordinary high school.  But I was really surprised to hear that John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate today.

On one hand, Palin’s politics seem to be in line with McCain’s.  She’s pro life, a long time member of the NRA, and she put an end to Alaska’s bridge to nowhere - one of McCain’s prime examples of government waste.

But really, there are lots of VP candidates with values similar to Palin’s.  I mean, her politics made her a candidate for the VP spot…but I don’t think they got her the job.

So what’s with Palin?  For one, she’s a woman.  And I kind of get that McCain would perhaps want a woman to try and win former Hillary supporters that haven’t yet gotten on board with Obama.  But at the same time I think there are lots of folks in McCain’s base that would be uncomfortable with a female VP…let alone a female president.

And that’s a bigger issue.  McCain is old as fuck.  In eight years he will be 80.  Any vice president on his ticket will be heavily scrutinized for the first string job.  And I don’t think Palin’s a good choice here.

For one, she’s inexperienced.  She’s a first term governor that was previously the major of some small Alaskan town.  She frequently talks about how she was a hockey mom just a few years ago.

This makes her a poor VP candidate for McCain, in my opinion.  Imagine a president that has only a few years of experience in politics…in Alaska of all places.  That will be tough for anyone to stomach, especially McCain’s supporters.  Not only that, but it will limit McCain’s ability to play the inexperience card on Obama.

Still, the Palin announcement overshadowed Obama’s victorious acceptance speech the night before at the Democratic convention.  A good outcome for McCain who has struggled to counter the Obama hype machine.

All in all though, I think McCain made a bit mistake here.  It will get him tons of short term press…both positive and negative.  But I don’t think this will translate into votes.

I mean, McCain is already playing the ‘I’m not a celebrity’ card, but this announcement was very press whorish.  He was doing a fine job with attack adds, and although I get that he would like to have the best of both worlds, choosing Palin was a steep price to pay.

McCain has closed the gap between him and Obama, even coming ahead in some polls.  I think a more conventional, old white guy pick for VP would have been more appropriate here.  I can’t imagine that Palin was a choice that came from a large, organized VP selection committee.  It seems more like an individual pick from either McCain or one of his advisors.

I think in the coming weeks McCain will start to lose momentum.  It’s a bad pick, and I’d bet that it will cost him the election.

What’s kind of odd though, is that history will be made in 2008.  Either a black president, or a female VP.

Oh, and one more thing…doesn’t she have a striking resemblance to Tina Fey?

If you have any background in High School or College debate, you have to see an Independent film Titled “Resolved”

This film masterfully lays out the eccentricities and pressures of succeeding in the top level of high school team policy debate.  At first they focus a little too much on the obnoxious technique called “”Spreading” oohh yeaah, you remember spreading.

The movie explains how all disadvantageous lead to nuclear war, and ideally they should lead to multiple nuclear wars and least one genocide.

After the foundation is set, the film focuses on several teams from diverse backgrounds at one end of the extreme: inner city kids and the other end wealthy liberal private school students.

They also feature some of the more colorful characters of the debate circuit, my favorite being Stephen Goldberg, I think he’s Japa’s favorite too.

I don’t want to spoil the ending of the movie, but it involves a kritik against the debate “framework” that challenges all those white privileged students.

You can catch the movie on HBO on debate or on DVD this summer.  It may also be on some torrent sites if you look carefully.

Barak Obama wrapped up the democratic presidential nomination tonight…well, kinda.  Obama is supported by the numbers, which give him 2,151 delegates, surpassing the 2,118 delegates it takes to clinch the nomination.  John McCain acknowledged Obama’s victory tonight as well, although he had treated Obama as the democratic nominee for the past few months.

The only one who’s not accepting Obama’s victory is, no surprise, Hillary Clinton.  The AP predicted that Clinton would concede the race tonight, but Clinton pledged not to make any decisions tonight.

Why?

There is speculation that Clinton is positioning herself for VP.  It also seems that she is trying to still rack up some donations - her campaign which had raised over $200 million is now $30 million or so in debt.

Or maybe Hillary is still waiting for an assassination.  But at least she learned one thing during the campaign - she’s not mentioning that hope in public anymore.

You have to give her credit though…even until the last day of her campaign Hillary has remained stubborn.  Her chances of victory over the past several months have deteriorated from slim to none.  And although Hillary claimed that she would support her party no matter what, her campaigning has cost the democrats votes, while putting her even deeper into debt.

The game was over a while ago.  She blew an early 30 point lead in the primary like the Spurs in the fourth quarter.  When it was not tripping over its own feet, Clinton’s campaign has lied and distorted the truth, going as far to claim that the senator landed under fire in Bosnia, when news footage showed her greeted at the airport with flowers.

Clinton’s campaign had a historic meltdown, for sure.  And what’s more pathetic is her inability to admit defeat - a lot in common with the current administration, if you ask me.

Regardless, today is historic - the first black man in the history of the US has clinched a nomination for president.  Not only that, but his path to the nomination has been so improbable that it makes you think this whole hope and change stuff is for real after all.

Make your donations here, folks.  Obama in 2008.

The Democratic Party today decided to seat half of the delegates from Michigan and Florida.  The result?

Well, Hillary gains 10 delegates, but now Obama is closer than ever to winning the nomination.  The ruling was a blow to Hillary, who has claimed she actually leads the delegate count when Michigan and Florida are counted.

And I have to say it’s really BS that Hillary is making a big push to count Michigan and Florida only after she’s far behind in the delegate count.  It was decided before the primary that the votes in those two states wouldn’t count…and Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in Michigan.

Plus, she’s saying that Florida and Michigan should count just because the votes of all people should be counted.  What she should really say is that her campaign is in deep shit, and she grabbing at straws to stay in the race.  She didn’t care about the people’s votes several months ago when she was predicted to win the nomination.

In any case, Clinton supports were pretty mad when the ruling was announced.  Below is a classic video of one of Hillary’s supporters.  Now, I’m sure Obama has his share of fanatical fans, but this lady really takes the cake due to craziness and racism.

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Fake steve jobs is saying obama got an early 3G iphone….WTF where’s mine!

I may be getting a little too sensitive, but was the bling reference racial?

I’ve been following the primary results pretty closely, and it seems like the wheels are really falling off for Hillary.  This speech in particular was absolutely horrible…from her chanting “we will win” by herself, to coughing in the mic, to making a weak attempt to match Obama’s fainting supporters with her own, very public fainting fan episode.  I mean, really, just absolutely pathetic.

I’m no political strategist…but here are some notes for Hillary.

-If you start a chant and no one else chants with you, then you look like an asshole.

-And once you realize that no one else is chanting with you, please stop shrieking.  You should like a 60 year old chain smoker trying to get their dog to ‘roll over.’

-The phrase “I’ve seen people that literally feel invisible in America” does not make sense.  Or at least, ‘literally’ in that sentence doesn’t have the impact that you think it does.

-Referring to someone that is risking their life to protect you as “Mr. Secret Service Man” sounds condescending and makes you look like a cocky, ungrateful cunt.

-If you really want to be like Obama, it would be more convincing to come out in black face than to point out that an audience member ‘got a little too hot on the rhetoric’ and therefore fainted after hearing your words.

-I mean really, is it me or was the whole give-water-to-person-in-the-crowd-that-needs-it bit a complete rip off of Obama’s speeches.  Like, we’re talking about theatrics here.  I mean, that is the most pathetic ploy I have ever seen.

-Please don’t cough into the mic.  Like, when you know you’re going to hack disgustingly…lower the mic.

-Presidents are elected, not hired.  Don’t ask people to ‘hire’ you for president.

-At least shell out for a 1-800 number.  I mean, really.  And when you read the numbers, you don’t have to rap them out convincingly with hand motions.  It’s just a phone number.

-John McCain is not the republic nominee yet.  And you just lost 9 states in a row.  Calling out McCain at this point is a bit premature, no?

-Could we put the CNN cameras in a location where people’s signs won’t block you entirely?  Please?  I like to see the actual hacking motion, along with the hacks themselves.

Louisiana just elected its first non-white governor this weekend.   Bobby Jindal of Indian descent became Louisiana’s first non-white governor since Reconstruction.  This story is even more astounding since Bobby was able to defeat two multimillionaires who vastly outspent him in the election race.  Jindal ran under a reform platform that emphasized the idea that voters should be feeling “buyers remorse” for electing someone who bungled the Hurricane Katrina reconstruction effort.

Another astounding feat is that Jindal is the nations youngest governor at 36 years old.  Too bad he’s a republican.

The NY Times has a few good articles about Barak Obama’s history in Hawaii.  They have a nice pic of him in elementary school, posted above (guess which one is Obama) and playing for Punahou’s basketball team, below.

Jason Whitlock on MSNBC keeps it real and says Jesse and Al seized on this issue to push their own money making agenda.  It must be tough to go against the grain and upset the African American cognoscenti.