If Barack Weren't Black, He'd Be Clear (read the story)

I'm going to go on record right now and say the Barack Obama is the clearest choice for me for President of the United States in all of my voting history (I'm old, but not that old). He is the next Ronald Reagan, only he's progressive, black, and not an actor-turned-politician. Let's hope he wins and brings just a little humility to the office of the President. And let's hope that his message is carried out in a way that produces results, rather than the back-handed bullshit that Congress always pulls on the President (either party).

For those of you who disagree, leave comments. Don't just get all pissy and leave. Start a debate. Go on record as being against him. That way, when he fails, you can always make the legitimate claim that "you told me so."

Possible Landslide for Barack Obama?

First things first, what is a landslide? Of course, the prognosticators are referring to the Electoral College vote, not the popular vote. One popular pollster, who actually uses some very detailed and complex mathematics and statistics, and who's been EXTREMELY accurate in predicting outcomes of elections and primaries, is FiveThirtyEight.com, who has the following prediction up right now:

Capturing 65 percent of the College's votes is pretty impressive, leading to a 30 point victory. That's HUGE. But Obama is projected to win by 6-8 percent with regard to the popular vote. So let's not call this a blow-out. Let's not even call it a win for Obama just yet. Stranger things have -- and will again -- happened.

Have you voted? Have you seen any unusual polling procedures? Voting machines working okay? I'm a "permanent vote by mail" voter, which means I'm supposed to get my ballot in the mail, fill it out, and mail it in. Only I got mine on Saturday, not giving me, or the Post Office, enough time to get it to my polling place in time. So, I'll have to go drop it off tonight after work.

I hope I don't have to stand in line to drop it off! That would REALLY defeat the entire purpose, wouldn't it?

Oh, by the way, I had to call the county election office 3 times to get my ballot.

Government works. Just not very well or expeditiously.

Remember, vote early, vote often.

The Economist Endorses Barack Obama

Anybody who's been reading here knows that I deeply admire Senator Barack Obama. You also know I'm an economist by training and I like a good Rant now and again.

No rants here (sorry). The Economist, the pre-eminent publication on the global economy, stuck its neck out and said if it had a vote, it would cast it for Obama.

If that isn't enough to get you to "swing the right way," I don't know what is!

Seriously, The Economist is a dead-serious magazine. The article is really worth a read. It takes on all sides of Obama and McCain.

None of this, of course, will change your mind about whom to vote for. But it may open your eyes to a more objective method of choosing the next President of the United States.

An endorsement of Barack Obama | It's time | The Economist