What you should know by Tuesday morning

John McCain, along with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, has been a champion of Campaign Finance Reform.  The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as McCain-Feingold for its sponsors, was the first major overhaul of campaign finance laws in almost 30 years. 

In 2007 Barack Obama and John McCain both promised to accept public financing if the other party's nominee did.  McCain, being a man of honor (how's that working out for you John?), stuck to that promise.  Obama deceived the public and broke that promise.

It's easy to see why Obama makes himself out to be a liar; once he realized how much money it would take to defeat more qualified candidates, he had no real choice but to accept the money.  Due to the limitations on spending from public financing, Obama is outspending McCain by about 7-1.  He promises to outspend McCain as president by an even higher number.  Can you say higher taxes everyone, despite another soon to be broken promise by Obama.

Did McCain make a mistake by sticking to his promise and following up on his beliefs that campaign finance ought to be a fair fight.  It's possible that it might cost him the election, but not his integrity.  This is something that he believed strongly in and has fought for, once again against his own party's wishes, and he stayed true to himself.

What about all this money that the Obama campaign has collected?  Is it all legal?  Probably not.  In this day of Internet donations, prepaid debit/credit cards and an unwillingness to verify the validity of these donations by his campaign, too much opportunity exists for illegal money to be flowing in.  The campaign is fond of saying that many of its contributions come from millions of small donors, but what it doesn't say is that a greater percentage of funds are coming from those contributing more than $200.  Obama will also have received more than twice as many contributions of over $1,000 than any candidate in history. 

What are they doing with all that money?  Spending more money on negative campaigning than any candidate in history. 

With an ad spending disparity of 7 - 1 and an opposition party incumbent in the White House with an extremely low opinion rating, why is it that polls show Obama with leads of only 2%-11%?  Frequency of message is extremely important in selling something and Obama has a clear advantage.  The answer lies in the fact that the product and the message are not strong enough and without the extraordinary amounts of cash, Obama would stand no chance.

What will be the future of campaign finance reform?  There will still be a few attempts to fix it, but since Democrats were the ones screaming for it before and one of their own showed everybody what could be accomplished with private money, it will mostly disappear.  Obama has caused me to change my mind on one thing; I am now in favor of eliminating the public financing route and applaud Americans for supporting their political beliefs with their dollars.  The one thing that will be needed is to make certain that we can have more checks in place to keep out the corruption.

Finally, here are the reasons people are supporting Obama.

 You really need to play the video three or more times to catch everything in this lengthy list.

McCain was not my candidate.  Not originally.  His close ties to, and having worked with very liberal democrats had me worried.  Once it was clear that he was going to be the Republican nominee, he was the best of what was left.  Let's face it, the Democrats were choosing a nominee that didn't believe he was ready to run on a national ticket.  Even Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, doesn't believe he is ready, and in fact would have preferred to run with John McCain.  Hillary Clinton also chose McCain over Obama.

What won me over?  Was it 2000 Democratic VP candidate turned Independent Senator Joe Lieberman's endorsement speech for John McCain?  After all, the Democrats still think well enough about Lieberman to have placed him in a leadership position as an important committee chairman.  His speech was convincing, specifically the line about how McCain could anger his own party, but he was doing it because of what he believed in.

Was it Rudy Giuliani's fantastic speech, where he compared the resumes of the two Presidential candidates?  The first candidate, John McCain has an extensive list of accomplishments and experience and even some things that provide a "Wow" moment.  The second candidate, Barak Obama, his biggest experience has been to vote present rather than make decisions on important issues, which was the job he was hired to do.   Obama has never led anything and, in fact, has been doing nothing more than running for the next highest office ever since being elected to the Illinois legislature.

Maybe it was Fred Thompson telling the fantastic biography of John McCain, including his tenure as a POW.  He contrasted that with the description of Obama as the most Liberal and inexperienced Presidential candidate ever, but may be a good match for the Democratic congress, which is the most unpopular congress in history. 

Could it have been McCain running mate Sarah Palin?  She was engaging, funny, and extremely comfortable in her speech to the RNC.  McCain has made a tremendous choice for a running mate.  She has leadership experience and is a serious reformer.  Her record for ethics reform and standing up to special interests in her time as Governor is a testament to a good leader.  She was very good at hitting Obama at his weak points with shots while smiling and having fun.  My favorite line was when she said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities."

Possibly it was McCain's own speech to the RNC that got to me.  After a tremendous build up by the speakers leading up to the candidates acceptance speech, my expectations were pretty flat.  How could he possibly perform as the Headliner when the warm up acts provided headliner performances?  But he did it.  He knocked it out of the park.  I particularly liked hearing him discuss how he has worked with members of both parties to do what he felt was important.  It is for this reason that Democrats like Senator Feingold of Wisconsin, as well as Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden consider him a friend and someone they enjoyed working with and consider him ready to lead.

So what won me over?  It was a combination of all the above.  While the Republican platform and ideals are what I most closely identify with, it is the person at the top of the ticket that I have to believe will follow through on those commitments while leading and protecting this country.  That is why I am proud to endorse John McCain as our next President.

John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP candidate to help provide balance to the Republican ticket.  She brings with her a more conservative background as well as youth.  The amazing thing is that in Sarah Palin's and Barack Obama's relatively short political careers, the Republican VP candidate has accomplished so much more than the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his VP candidate, thus admitting that he severely lacked any foreign relations experience.  Joe Biden brings that to the Democratic ticket along with experience and accomplishments that are non-existent by the Democratic Presidential nominee. 

What does Joe Biden think of his running mate?  Just a few months ago he stated that Barack Obama is not ready to lead.

While John McCain and Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket are a slam dunk winner over their competition, Barack Obama will do well next year on the Speaking circuit.  After all, that's the one and only thing that he does well.

More and more of my entertainment comes from the internet.  I particularly find a number of very clever and creative videos on sites like You Tube.

Here is one of my more recent favorites in light of todays Pennsylvania primary.

Sometimes I get the impression that all three of the major party candidates want somebody else to win the election.

This weeks biggest loser is Barack Obama.  In one short statement, while speaking in San Francisco, B.O. managed to alienate all of small town America.  The more often he speaks without a teleprompter in a prepared speech saying the same things over and over again, the more elitist and out of touch he sounds.  He doesn't acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance, he won't wear the American Flag lapel pin, his preacher and Spiritual Adviser says "God damn America", and his wife Michelle said her husbands campaign made her proud to be an American for the first time.  This is not a one time mistake.  This is a pattern of being anti-American in actions and words. 

I can't give a pass to John McCain this week either.  It's one thing to confuse North Dakota with South Dakota, I mean who cares, really.  But, John has for the second time in public confused al Qaeda as a Shiite group instead of a Sunni group.  Most Americans don't get the difference either, but that's no excuse for the candidate who should have the most knowledge in foreign policy.

Hillary, why are you still married to this buffoon?  Just as talk was quieting down, and the media pretty well buried the story to begin with, Bill had to bring up your sniper fire story again.  He tried to pass it off that when you related that story it was late and you were tired.  The only problem was that it was a morning speech.  Maybe the two of you are perfect for each other.  Neither one of you know where the truth actually is anymore.  Both of them are telling a story about how Hillary tried to enlist after law school and was turned down.  As a law school graduate, from Yale no less, she would have been allowed to commission as an officer or Judge Advocate General, and the reasons she states she couldn't get in would not have applied.

Will the real winner please shut up!

If you watched American Idol Thursday night, you saw all three Presidential candidates in recorded messages asking for people to support the Idol Gives Back charity. (I swear I was only flipping through and don't usually watch Idol.  OK, so maybe occasionally, but never more than once or twice per week.)  First up was Hillary, who looked comfortable reading her prepared piece. Her appearance on SNL probably helped her.  Next up was McCain.  He was entertaining and even funny as he made a crack about Simon and immigration.  Last up was Obama.  He looked stiff and uncomfortable doing this.  Come to think of it, he has always looked a little uncomfortable when doing anything but a prepared political speech.

The three of them are running for a different type of American Idol.  One that we can start to tear down the second we elect them the winner.  It's America, and we have that right.  It's an easy thing to do and too many people enjoy doing it.

On this night, John McCain was easily the winner. 

Hillary Clinton wants a do-over in Michigan and Florida, because those two states had primary elections that the Democrats decided wouldn't count because the states did not follow the Democratic party rules.  Hillary Clinton is behind in the delegate count for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and those are two states that she would likely win and move her closer to Barrack Obama and improve her chances in convincing "Super Delegates" (no they are not action heroes) that she should be the Democratic nominee.  Obama does not want a do-over, because it could only hurt him.  Instead, he favors splitting the delegates from the two states 50-50 so that they are counted.  Never mind that this is not how the states would actually have voted.  If their positions were reversed, Obama would be fighting for the do-over and Clinton would want to leave it as is.  Neither really cares about everybody being represented, unless it benefits them personally.

 The Democratic Party already has the most convoluted rules for selecting delegates.  I think you can get college credit for taking the course in understanding how it works.  After this year, you can bet that they will make major changes in the system again.  If the Democrats had a similar system to the Republicans, Hillary Clinton would already have clinched the nomination.  The Democrats ruled out the peoples vote in Michigan and Florida, because those states moved their primary elections to an earlier date, against the wishes of the Democratic Party.  Apparently it is the Democratic Party that doesn't want to count every vote.

For best appearance by a Presidential Candidate on TV, the award goes to Mike Huckabee.  I saw his appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend (Yes, I know I have no life) and he was very funny, self effacing, and extremely comfortable performing in a live comedy skit.  He came across as such a likable guy, I wish he stood a chance of sticking around so we could get to see him more.

This is Presidential Primary Season.  You are probably voting for the candidate that has the best track record and experience to improve our country or the one that has mapped out a specific plan that matches your desires and dreams for our country. 

Some people are voting based on the most insane reasons.  Some will vote for Hillary because she’s a woman and others will vote for Obama because he is black.  What has this got to do with which candidate would make a better president?  A story from the TV Show “The View”, had Whoopi Goldberg asking the others on the show if they would vote for Hillary if she wasn’t a woman.  Now first of all, other than the fact that Chelsea Clinton exists, there isn’t much proof that Hillary is a woman.  In that family it always seemed as if there were two alpha males competing for head of the country.  When Bill Clinton said “ I did not have sex with that woman”, I was kind of hoping he was talking about Hillary.  But, on the show, one of the other hosts said that if Hillary were not a woman she would vote for Obama, but she is supporting Hillary because she is a woman.  What are you thinking?  Voting for Hillary because she is a woman is sexist, and voting for Obama because he is black is racist.  Just when I think we have made some small strides in improving on racism and sexism, idiots speak and it all vanishes.

I sometimes wonder how women could even have any respect for Hillary.  Bill Clinton participated in some highly publicized extra marital affairs, and yet she thinks so little of herself that she still stays with him.  The upside for me if the Clintons win would be seeing what Bill Clinton would do in the White House.  Will he be Hillary’s version of Billy Carter, the embarrassing family member that gets drunk at the family parties and then makes such an ass of himself that you wish you could disown him, or will he find new and interesting ways to utilize the Lincoln Bedroom?

On the other hand, you have Barack Obama making a major showing in the primaries so far.  The man is an eloquent speaker, and with the use of cheerleaders stationed around him when he speaks, gets the crowds worked into a frenzy of cheering fans shouting for “Change”.  But if you ask any of his supporters what proof or track record he has for accomplishing what he says he can, you are usually left looking at the poor goof with his mouth hanging open and nothing to say.  Change for the sake of change isn’t always a good thing, but most people like the concept.  It’s the same reason that the backup quarterback is always the most popular player for the Chicago Bears.  Fans think he has to be better than the starter. 

The republicans look like they have already made their decision, with John McCain pulling away in the delegate count.  It was already a strange year for republicans, due to the backlash in the country against the war in Iraq; it appears that several potentially viable candidates shied away from running.  Conventional wisdom is that they would wait while the Democrats screwed things up again for the next four years before making their run for office. 

With the poor choices available in the Democratic Party, even a weak Republican candidate like John McCain makes the most sense.  He has the necessary experience and the right ideas on how to best protect Americans from terrorists as well as the big government, socialist ideas of the Democrats.  But the next step is still up to us, as we need to give him a better congress with which to work.