My ballot is in the mail. That means those assholes will stop calling me at suppertime now.

Nice input Zap. I hope no one gets me wrong - I want Barack to win BIG. I pray for an end to these long 8 years of the wrong path we have been on. I look forward to a person with inteligence and moral value in office. I am voicing some concerns of what I feel may happen after we win.
Dear God please help us.

From BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_ ... 682876.stm

Fayette County residents on the race issue
"I'm not voting for Obama, he's black."

Charles is a registered Democrat in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

"If it wasn't for Obama I would vote Democrat. Blacks just cause trouble, that's the taste I've got in my mouth."

Race is the question mark hanging over this election.

Barack Obama is ahead in the polls. There's a widespread feeling now that the election is his to lose.

But there is something that is worrying Democrats. How accurate are the polls? How many voters are saying they will vote for Mr Obama because they do not want to be perceived as racist?

Once they enter the polling booth will it be an entirely different story?

Simply put, how many people out there think like Charles but are not admitting it?

'Not from here'

Charles said the vast majority of his friends felt the same way as him.

Uniontown is a rural town in south-west Pennsylvania. Its countryside is breathtaking, particularly now as the leaves change their colour from green to gold to burnt red.

But the area is poor and unemployment is high. Traditionally it is staunchly Democrat - but race is an election issue.


Obama will get as many votes from the blacks, as he will not get from the whites

Todd Hackley
At a local restaurant a friendly waitress started chatting to us. The conversation turned to politics.

She shrugged, she was not even sure when the election was to be held, she could not pronounce Mr Obama's name.

"I like McCain because I can say his name, so I'll probably vote for McCain."

She was not well informed, but her views were clear.

"He's from Africa or something. I don't even know where he's from. I know he grew up here, but he's not from here. I think American presidents should be from America."

These are not isolated opinions - just not often voiced publicly.

In the primaries 12% of voters across the state said race was a factor - and that is close to Mr Obama's current lead in the polls here.

Recently, Congressman John Murtha had this to say about his home state: "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area".

He did, however, predict that Mr Obama would still win the state, and he later apologised for the remarks.

The polls show Mr Obama is ahead in Pennsylvania, which also has a Democratic governor and traditionally huge Democratic majorities in the major cities - Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

'A good show'

In Uniontown, of course I met Democrats who are voting for Mr Obama, and I also met a couple of Republicans who said they were voting Obama.

This is not about a town being racist, but rather how much the race issue is reflected in the polls.


He tries to put a good show for the people, but I don't think he is American

Brandon Hafield
At a local hunting shop there were a variety of opinions. Registered Democrat Tom Currens said he would vote for the Republican candidate John McCain, but not because he had a problem with Mr Obama's racial background.

Todd Hackley, a registered Republican said he would vote for Mr McCain and had this to say on the race question:

"Race is an issue, it has to be, not that we want it to be. My thoughts are that Obama will get as many votes from the blacks, as he will not get from the whites.

"I do believe there are a lot of whites who won't vote for him because of the colour of his skin, but I believe there are a lot of blacks who will vote for him because of his colour."

Todd has always voted Republican and when I asked him if colour was an issue for him he said it might have been years ago, but not now.

Brandon Hafield said said he was undecided who to vote for, but when I asked if Mr Obama was a patriot he said no.

When I asked if he was American, he said: "I think he tried to be, I don't think he is, he tries to put a good show for the people, but I don't think he is."

I hate to think we would have racial prejudice entering into a campaign here, but I think perhaps we do

Russ Mechling

Local radio presenter Bob Fultz, who hosts a regular talk show, says prejudice is definitely present, even though few callers are willing to discuss it openly.

"White voters aren't saying what they really think, whether that's here in Fayette County or nationally. I had one caller who said he thinks Obama is Osama with plastic surgery."

However, Mr Obama has gained points for his perceived ability to handle the credit crunch - and Uniontown has its own financial woes.

Russ Mechling is a retired engineer who used to be the president of the local company Fayette Engineering. He is a registered Democrat who will be voting for Mr Obama.

"There is a little bit of a racial backlash, but I think it's becoming less and less as the economic situation gets worse and worse.

"I think that will probably cost McCain more votes than any other single factor."

I pray this is an isolated incident...from BBC News- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7694254.stm

Skinheads 'planned to kill Obama'

Two men have appeared in a US court accused of making threats to kill Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal agents say.

They were also charged with possessing an unregistered firearm and conspiracy to steal from a licensed gun dealer.

The pair were named as Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18.

Court papers allege that the neo-Nazi skinheads planned to assassinate Mr Obama in a murder spree targeting more than 100 black people.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said the men had made their first appearance before a court in Jackson, Tennessee, on Monday after being arrested last week in Crockett County in the same state.

The pair allegedly planned to rob a gun store and then carry out a killing spree at an unnamed predominantly African-American high school, the Associated Press quoted court records as saying.

Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office of the ATF, told AP that the two men had planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14. The numbers 88 and 14 are said to be symbolic in the white supremacist community.

Mr Cavanaugh said the men had sought to go on a national killing spree, with Mr Obama as its final target.

"They said that would be their last, final act - that they would attempt to kill Senator Obama," Mr Cavanaugh told AP.

"They didn't believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying."

The Obama campaign had no initial comment on the report.

Mr Obama, who if elected will become the first black US president, is leading Republican rival John McCain in opinion polls ahead of the 4 November election.

Hi,

This was posted on a news blog for a PA newspaper. I think it's relevant to the topic.

"Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin, what if things were switched around?.....think about it.
Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?


[I know, I didn’t write this, but I like the person who did: humble]

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference."

I voted yesterday. I was more certain and happier about that vote than any I've ever placed in my life. No, Cheryl, he's not at 'god-like' status to us, but afterward I did send up a prayer to All of the Above because his election is about the last hope we have to keep this country, and perhaps the world, from imploding.

BTW, I was also delighted to find that although they are still using voting machines in our county, you can ask for a paper ballot instead--so I did. Glad to know I wasn't the only one whoi kicked up a fuss about machines at the primary. Maybe by the next presidential election there will again be a paper trail for all ballots.

The feux news nut job o'reilly was on Letterman a couple of nights ago. Even that right wing hater predicts Barak by a large margin.

So people around here who are praying for more of the same...and you know who you are, may have to prepare to be disappointed.

On a much happier and up beat note Pete was on Letterman recently and did a wonderful sing-along about hope. I think some family/Mammals joined him.

I think I'll be a little more than disappointed... think I'll be scared shitless!

[/quote][/quote]

Oops...language.

Seems some folks might have been happier if Baraks' reply to what Biden said was, "Bring 'Em On."

I call them right wing haters, hawks, war mongers. Woody called them fascists.

God has a warm place for them, in my view.

And furthermore...

Quote - "I cannot remember a more frightening scenario, especially since it came from Obama’s own running mate and not John McCain or the Republican Party. I have no doubt Biden was sincere in alerting the nation to a very real threat to our national security -- the prospect of a totally inexperienced and naive Barack Obama being confronted by an enemy he would rather talk with."

Will mc same live long enough (hello, melanoma) to make sure the person who really fits this description (of totally inexperienced and naive) won't be in charge of our country.

Country first or money first?

Obama's got the "Swing Vote"!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJW67YfL ... ture=email

Mmm, Loves me some Takin' It Back Wtih Barak, Jack!

Thanks, Zap! Love it--"Takin' It Back with Barack, Jack!" will be my no. 1 e-mailing link this week!