If his name was John Smith and he was WHITE, he would be be so far ahead of John McCain and Sarah Palin they would call off the election out of respect for the disabled.
But his name is Barack Obama and he is a BLACK man and that is the reason the polls are so tight and in some cases McCain and Plain are ahead.
It is a pity the people on TV don't live in a racially changing neighborhood like I do.
If they did, they would know in a heartbeat all the code words that are used to describe a BLACK person.
As they say, it goes with the territory.
Below is a story were the writer from the Huffington Post wrestles with why Barack Obama is not miles ahead of John McCain in the polls.
Good story, but he doesn't get it.
Commentary by Bill Corcoran, Editor, CORKSPHERE
Poll Madness: McCain Takes Lead Even As Democrats Out-Register Republicans?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/poll-madness-mccain-takes_n_125158.html
This week's mainstream coverage of the presidential horse-race has been dominated by a series of polls showing the McCain-Palin ticket with its first stable lead over Obama and Biden.
Gallup's tracking poll, USA Today and CBS News all show the Republicans with some kind of lead over the Democratic ticket. But, interestingly, all three polls were also conducted using a higher sampling of Republican voters than in July, raising a question of methodology.
In a year in which Democrats have a lead of 11 million registered voters over Republicans, and have been adding to that advantage through a robust field operation, are pollsters over-sampling Republicans?
Despite a raft of advantages in the electorate for Democrats, in September's first Gallup tracking poll, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats were surveyed (including "leaners") from Sept. 3-5, compared to a 10-point Democratic identification advantage two weeks ago. That partisan makeup of the polling pool resulted in a 5-point lead for McCain in Sept. 5 tracking poll.
Meanwhile, the new CBS poll features a 6-point swing in partisan composition toward Republicans, which plays some role in the poll's two-point lead for McCain. Finally, the latest USA Today poll, which claims a four-point edge for McCain, was arrived at after a 10-point swing in partisan makeup toward GOP respondents.
Some polling experts say the changing state of party affiliation in the field is slow to be reflected in polls themselves. Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg told the Huffington Post that "when it comes to registration and turnout, the polls often do a very bad job of taking those [factors] into account," because newly registered voters aren't in the voter files used by firms that survey public opinion. "You could make the argument they are under-representing new registrants," she said, which would mean that the Democrats new edge would not be taken into account.
Monday's USA Today poll had a 48-47 split between Democrats and Republicans surveyed. That represents a nearly 10 point shift in party identification toward Republicans since USA Today's July polling. When asked for comment, USA Today polling editor Jim Norman wrote that "it's possible" that their latest sample includes too many Republicans. Though he added, "it's also possible that we have too many Democrats," because "there's always the chance of an over- or under-representation" in polls.
Still, Norman admitted that the GOP identification in the latest survey has spiked. "The party ID in our most recent poll does show a shift away from what Gallup has been getting in earlier polls, going all the way back to 2005," Norman said. "But previous conventions -- the Republican one in 1988, the Democratic one in 1992, the Democratic one in 2000 -- have also shown shifts in party ID toward the party that had the convention, and those shifts seemed to last, to greater or lesser degrees, though the election. Further, I've been told by Gallup that their tracking poll has shown a similar shift in party ID since the Republican convention. ... I guarantee you we will be watching closely in all of our polls between now and election day to see whether there are further shifts in party ID in either direction."
And it's true. Gallup's own GOP identification (including leaners) has swung six points in the last month, from 42 percent of voters to 48, according to tables provided to the Huffington Post. Meanwhile, solid and leaning Democrats have fallen from 52 to 48 percent of those polled. For political scientists who believe that partisanship is largely stable over time -- and who take note of the advantage in voter registration being experienced by Democrats during the same period -- the newly GOP-heavy poll samples can raise eyebrows.
Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz is highly skeptical of the new Gallup, USA Today and CBS polls. About the latter, which showed a statistically insignificant two point lead for McCain, Abramowitz said: "One reason for the dramatic difference between the two recent CBS polls is that the two samples differed fairly dramatically in terms of partisan composition. The first sample was 35.2% Democratic, 26.2 percent Republicans, and 38.6 percent independent. The second sample was 34.9% Democratic, 31.1% Republican, and 34.0% independent. That's a change from a 9 point Democratic advantage to a 3.8 point Democratic advantage. That alone would probably explain about half of the difference in candidate preferences between the two [CBS] polls."
Continue reading here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/poll-madness-mccain-takes_n_125158.html
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
VOTERS LOOK FOR ANY EXCUSE NOT TO VOTE FOR A BLACK MAN
HARROWING AND GRISLY VIDEO BACKS AFGHAN CLAIMS U.S. TROOPS KILLED CIVILIANS
Click on link below to read the story about how U.S. troops killed Afghan civilians and to watch the VIDEO.
WARNING ABOUT THE VIDEO: IT IS VERY GRAPHIC AND SHOWS IN DETAIL AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED BY U.S. TROOPS.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4699077.ece
NEW VIDEO: FOX NEWS USES SAME TACTICS ON OBAMA THEY USED ON KERRY
FOX NEWS continues to put on public display how they are the lowest form of journalism in the history of the United States.
In this striking NEW VIDEO, the FOX NEWS "GOP parrots" are seen using the same lines they used on John Kerry in 2004 on Barack Obama in 2008.
Everyone knows FOX NEWS appeals to people with a room temperature IQ.
H.L. Mencken, the award-winning journalist, wrote in 1926 that nobody would ever go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.
P.T. Barnum, the great circus guru, once said: "A sucker is born every minute."
FOX NEWS CONTINUES TO PROVE WITH THEIR HUGE AUDIENCE THAT AMERICA IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WITH A WADING POOL DEPTH MENTALITY.
WATCH THIS NEW VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/v/lM3oww9Vk-c&hl=en&fs=1
CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN CENTER OF PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO
CNN REPORTS PALIN'S PASTOR SAYS GOP DOWNPLAYING HER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS: MAINSTREAM MEDIA STILL MUM ON PALIN
Even though more and more is coming out about Sarah Palin that could damage the McCAIN/PALIN ticket, the mainstream media continue to turn a blind eye on covering all the revelations.
The mainstream media has become the defacto public relations arm of the McCAIN/PALIN candidacy.
Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin's religious beliefs
Story Highlights
Sarah Palin belonged to Pentecostal church for more than two decades until 2002
Campaign: Palin is deeply religious, doesn't consider herself Pentecostal
Pastor: Issues of belief could be misunderstood, played upon by people
Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says they were sent on "task that is from God"
By Randi KayeAC360° Correspondent
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/08/palin.pastor/index.html
WASILLA, Alaska (CNN) -- For more than two decades, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was a practicing Pentecostal.
She belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. But though she attended the church from her teenage years to 2002, the Alaska governor hasn't talked much about her religion since joining the Republican ticket.
Palin's former pastor, Tim McGraw, says that like many Pentecostal churches, some members speak in tongues, although he says he's never seen Palin do so. Church member Caroline Spangler told CNN, "When the spirit comes on you, you utter things that nobody else can understand ... only God can understand what is coming out of our mouths."
Some Pentecostals from Assembly of God also believe in "faith healing" and the "end times" -- a violent upheaval that they believe will deliver Jesus Christ's second coming.
"Our basic belief is that God is God and he knows where history is going and he has a purposeful plan and within the middle of that plan we live in an environment in our world where certain events would take place," says McGraw. "Sarah wasn't taught to look for one particular sign -- a cataclysmic sign. She knew as every Christian does ... that God is sovereign and he is in control."
The McCain campaign says the governor doesn't consider herself Pentecostal.
Watch Palin's father talk about her religious upbringing »
McGraw says Palin's Pentecostal roots may be being downplayed for a reason: "I think there may be issues of belief that could be misunderstood or played upon by people that don't know."
When asked by CNN about Palin's beliefs, campaign spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton would only say the Republican vice presidential candidate has "deep religious convictions.
" Watch how Palin's religious roots formed »
But how might her religious beliefs impact policy in Washington if the Republican ticket is successful?
Palin's former pastor says he has no doubt her religious beliefs will influence her decision making when it comes to government policy. Regarding her desire to build an Alaskan pipeline and explore for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, McGraw told CNN, "Sarah knows that in Genesis, God creates the world and it's very good and that we're supposed to be caretakers in terms of not destroying the environment, so there's no way that Sarah is going to exploit or damage the Alaska tundra in the name of getting gas if she doesn't have to.
" Palin's neighbors react to her swift rise
WASHINGTON POST: PALIN BILLED STATE FOR NIGHTS SPENT AT HOME AND FAMILY TRAVEL
Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at HomeTaxpayers Also Funded Family's Travel
By James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff WritersTuesday, September 9, 2008; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?wpisrc=newsletter
ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.
Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.
The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.
Gubernatorial spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said Monday that Palin's expenses are not unusual and that, under state policy, the first family could have claimed per diem expenses for each child taken on official business but has not done so.
Click here to read full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?wpisrc=newsletter
