Obama Approval at 58%

Americans have rated the incoming President with a 58% approval rating for what he's been doing during the transition.

In a way, I'm with the majority. President-Elect Obama appears to be attempting to continue some of Bush's policies and may even consider an attack on Iran. While the effects of that decision may be terrible, it's good that he realizes that the military option is an option.

Other than that, he's been talking about the economy, proposing a trillion dollar surplus. While this may not be the best plan, he's at least attempting to be proactive. He may need to rethink the plan, though.

How Much Did Palin Actually Help Chambliss?

As just about everyone in the United States knows by now, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) won his Senate race, defeating the Democrats' hope for a 60-seat filibuster-proof supermajority. And one of the repeated themes of the analysis is the Chambliss won so easily thanks to the help of one Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Chambliss himself said :

"Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite. We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up," Chambliss said.

"I mean, I can't overstate the impact she had down here," he continued. "When she walks in a room, folks just explode. And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She's a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she's got a great future in the Republican Party."

But it doesn't seem like she was the make-or-break. Obviously she helped Chambliss get out the Conservative Christian base, but something about the numbers doesn't show a massive surge. Chambliss won last night's race by a hearty 14%. However, on November 4, he only led by three.

Now, Georgia is one of the redder states in the Union, so did Palin really push him over the top? Instead, it looks like it wasn't the person who was there, but it was the person who wasn't there that made a difference. It appears that since Obama wasn't on the ballot, many Democrats didn't see the purpose in going out to vote:

Martin appeared to suffer mightily from a lack of African-American turnout, which dropped from 30 percent of early votes four weeks ago to around 20 percent in the runoff.

For Republicans and strategists that think that the GOP can take the Congress back anytime soon cannot underestimate the celebrity and gravity of the President-Elect. He can push people out to vote that wouldn't do so anyway, and can even rope in some Independents and Republicans to boot. He was probably good for 8% of the difference on November 4. The Democrats have a strong down-ticket leader now. College kids and the like are less likely to pay attention to other officeseekers, just as long as they have the valuable "D" next to their name.

So is Sarah Palin the savior of the GOP? Obviously she got at least some of the vote out for Senator Chambliss. However, she was insignificant compared to President-Elect Obama.

Obama's Starting to Sound Better

I don't know if anyone's been following the news lately, but Barack Obama has become a true politician. Many questioned his experience, but since he was elected, he has learned to disregard his promises and do what he-- or his advisors want to do.

Well, Obama got a lot of notice early in the primaries as an eloquent firebrand against the Iraq War. Now with the war being won and all, it sounds like he's changing his tune. That or he's confused. In any case, it's a real change from almost two years of campaigning. At this rate, he'll ask for American troops in Iraq for 101 years.

And I know that a lot of neo-cons also fantasized over Obama now appear to be believing in change even more. Heck, even Karl Rove is giving his praise to the President-Elect:

On the Wall Street Journal free market right they are seeing, in his economic team, the possibility that he is really as safe to capitalism as a banker. Karl Rove has concluded that "Mr. Obama's economic team was reassuring. He's generally surrounded himself with intelligent, mainstream advisers."

So-- it sounds like Obama's abandoning parts of his tax plan and appears to be bringing around a third term of George W. Bush!


Obama puts Hillary in State, keeps Gates on at the Pentagon. Gee, how long until Obama announces he's hired Bush as an "Assistant President."

Sheesh. I thought we were getting change. Those Obama voters might as well have written in Bush's name.

But a third term of George W. Bush isn't the worst thing in the world.

Continuity we can believe in!

Obama is Better than Lincoln

I know that Barack Obama hasn't even taken office yet, but I need to make sure that I get something off of my chest.

Barack Obama is already the greatest President in United States history.

Think I'm crazy? Read these reasons why and you'll agree that I'm right.

* It took Abraham Lincoln two years to free the slaves. Obama is already freeing all of our minds. Which is a greater accomplishment.
*Lincoln and Roosevelt had the Civil War and WWII drag on for four years. Obama hasn't even taken office and the Iraq War is ending. Not to mention the fact that Iran will soon become our strongest ally.
*Obama has declared himself a transformational figure. There is no domestic opposition to him or his policies.
*Obama already has a holiday after himself.
*Obama is also a religious figure, doubling his potential power.
*The recession is over and peace and prosperity has come to the land.

Will Obama Be Blamed for This Recession?

This question may seem like a bit of a farce, but I'm serious. The economy's in rough shape and millions are out of work. House sales and construction is down, and it appears that it will only get worse.

Our 44th President, Barack Obama, will take office on January 20, 2009. The current economic downturn has been going on for months. However, when Obama takes office and the economy doesn't automatically right itself, will he be blamed? Will the millions out of jobs call it the "Obama economy" and will realtors blame Obama's real estate policy?

Sounds crazy, no? Well, it happened for our current President, George W. Bush. Memory a little hazy? Our last recession's underpinnings began in 2000. Yes, there weren't two consecutive quarters of negative growth that year, but so far it hasn't happened in 2008. So technically, we're not in a recession. So Bush must be doing a great job, right? So when Obama takes office and the news of two negative quarters comes in, he'll be blamed, right?

It happed for 43. This will be our test to see if it happens again.

Obama Dictatorship?

This statement alone is a bit nuts. I mean, I don't agree with the President-Elect on some things, but to propose that he is building a dictatorship is a little wacko.

LGF has begun to call this movement, 'black helicopter Republicans.' I don't know if people have been listening to too much Coast to Coast or what, but we need to be careful that we don't go off the deep end.

And this is just the beginning. There hasn't even been any crises or anything to test Obama yet. Does this mean that we'll lose it when something does happen? As far as I can tell, there is not an American dictatorship on the horizon.

In case anyone wants to know how I see a dictatorship happening, here are some steps:

1. one branch of the government taking over one or two of the others
2. taking away of guns
3. taking away of other rights, like assembly
4. oh shit

AL QAEDA PLANNING HUGE ATTACK FOR OBAMA

From World Threats, it's reported that al Qaeda is in stages of development for a major attack to greet President Obama.

If this is true, it goes along with one of my earlier thoughts. Al Qaeda and America's enemies have had a history of testing our new leaders, and we now have one who is very untested.

Al Qaeda is planning to get us involved in Africa. This will do one of two things. One, it's one of their main bases and they're counting on our fear of intervention (especially in Africa) to either keep us out or force us out later. Second, it could be a ploy, to divert resources from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Waziristan. Neither are good options.

Our Ethiopian allies and some AU nations have peacekeepers in Somalia, but it would appear that if we can't get our allies to contribute to ISAF, how many troops can we get for Somalia? Obama's mettle will be tested, like Joe Biden predicted, and we'll see if his spine--and ours-- are made of steel.

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Now That Obama's Won, Will They Release the Khalidi Tape?

It's just a thought, but since Obama has secured the Presidency, will the mainstream media (especially the LA Times) have the guts to spill the story.

Sure, a few people may be upset, but Obama will still be President. However, a reason why it is so serious is perhaps that it is so explosive that it will undermine his Presidency from the very beginning. It may disappoint some moderates who decided for Obama last minute and make them wish that they had voted McCain.

Oh well. Time for a Nader rally.

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Obama Gets His Own Holiday Now?

Isn't it enough that he was elected. Now he has to get his own holiday? Holiday before accomplishment?.... sounds fishy to me.

I think that this may just say it all:

At 7:30 a.m. on Inauguration Day, Obama Cake will be served at the downtown McDonald's

Seriously, is this a joke?

Is it a Good Idea to Elect a President Because He's Cool?

Yesterday's New York Post had a pullout poster of President-Elect Obama and on the front page it called the incoming First Family cool.

But just a second.... Did we just elect someone because the American people came to a consensus that he is, and following him is, fashionable? Is that really all there was to it? Well, let's look at it... where did Obama get his votes?
* A lot of votes from unemployed college kids cause they heard he was, like, totally awesome.
* A lot of votes because of his race.
* A lot of votes from swank bohemian urbanites who wouldn't know the difference between Kansas and Uzbekistan if they had their hands full of corn.

Are these the votes we want to shape our nation's future. Without these votes, Obama would have lost. McCain grabbed the working class and the military votes.... Obama got votes because he was chic. McCain lost votes because of his party, Obama got votes because some drunk guy was extolling him at a party.

Weird, huh?