Worrying Thread

23 Comments

1. 

   RollaMO on October 29, 2008 at 6:47 pm

   Assassination.  Seriously.

   • 

     BooMan on October 29, 2008 at 6:49 pm

     Yeah, there’s always that.  Strangely, I am mostly able to push that fear to the back of my mind.

     • 

       RollaMO on October 29, 2008 at 6:56 pm

       There’s only so many clips of yahoos saying “kill him” or “bomb him” I can block out of my mind.  I can think of no bigger target in recent memory.

       • 

         blksista on October 29, 2008 at 7:07 pm

         do not fill me with confidence.

         These guys had better step up the moment the election is called for Obama, or indeed there will be people harkening back to Kennedy and figuring–yeah–that this, no doubt, really was a rub-out.

         • 

           Real History Lisa on October 29, 2008 at 8:30 pm

           As I said elsewhere, the SS and FBI are extremely good at protecting the president from crazies. They are powerless against insiders.

           Make no mistake. If Obama is killed, it will NOT be by fringe people, no matter how much it looks that way.

           But seriously? The elite NEEDS Obama right now. They need him to put (literally) a new face on America to the rest of the world. They’ve screwed up and they know it. They’ll work control over the Senate and key House members to make sure Obama doesn’t go too far, but right now – assassination truly isn’t in their best interests, even seeing it from “their” side.

   • 

     anna in philly on October 29, 2008 at 7:03 pm

     i have trouble getting that out of my mind.

     i wish people were willing to really do some violent protests and protests that have meaning and can bring down the system if that happens…..i hope if it happens we dont just all sit around teary eyed….

     if he survives i hope he motivates the AA community to use their new found voting power to give marriage rights to homosexuals instead of denying them.

     its hard to worry about much having just had a cheesesteak and cheese fries….i feel like im in a fatty foods stupor.

   • 

     Drew J Jones on October 29, 2008 at 7:22 pm

     That doesn’t concern me too much.  Certainly the chances are higher that Obama gets killed than past presidential candidates, but it’s pretty hard to get a clear shot at a presidential nominee these days.  They all have Secret Service details, and the only attempt since that time — the attempt on Reagan — wouldn’t likely happen today, since no one gets near a president or presidential candidate without going through a ton of security.

2. 

   maryb2004 on October 29, 2008 at 7:00 pm

   overall I’m not worried.  But sometimes I worry that the rednecks in Southern Missouri will keep us a Red State in the middle of a Blue landslide.

   On the other hand, Joplin is as deep red as it gets here and the Joplin newspaper endorsed Obama.  First time they’ve endorsed a Democrat since William Jennings Bryan in 1908 apparently.  Gotta do it every 100 years I guess.

3. 

   bento on October 29, 2008 at 7:04 pm

   Luckily I think Obama margin is high enough that McCain won’t be able to steal enough states. He has to run the table on battlegrounds, plus take one large or two small Obama-leaning states. More places have paper trails now than in 2004, and the Repubs seem to have lost most of the voter challenge fights, so I am cautiously optimistic.

4. 

   idredit on October 29, 2008 at 7:04 pm

   I applaud you BooMan. Earlier you told me to know Hope.

   This is encouraging – AP has thrown in the towel: ?

   Obama now on track for Electoral College majority

   WASHINGTON – Barack Obama has pulled ahead in enough states to win the 270 electoral votes he needs to gain the White House — and with states to spare — according to an Associated Press analysis that shows he is now moving beyond typical Democratic territory to challenge John McCain on historically GOP turf.

   Even if McCain sweeps the six states that are too close to call, he still seemingly won’t have enough votes to prevail, according to the analysis, which is based on polls, the candidates’ TV spending patterns and interviews with Democratic and Republican strategists. McCain does have a path to victory but it’s a steep climb: He needs a sudden shift in voter sentiment that gives him all six toss-up states plus one or two others that now lean toward Obama.

   Obama has 23 states and the District of Columbia, offering 286 votes, in his column or leaning his way, while Republican McCain has 21 states with 163 votes. A half dozen offering 89 votes — Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio — remain up for grabs. President Bush won all six in 2004, and they are where the race is primarily being contested in the homestretch.

   ~~~~~

   McCain’s GOP support showing more cracks

   BOSTON (AP) — Republican unity behind presidential nominee John McCain is fracturing and the infighting likely presages a battle for the GOP’s soul should he lose the general election next week.

   “He has lost his brand as a maverick,” Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican and co-chairman of the McCain campaign in that state, told the Yale Daily News in the latest criticism. “He did not live up to his pledge to fight a clean campaign.”

   Some Republicans are so dissatisfied they’re going much further — endorsing McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

   Former Sen. Charles Mathias of Maryland wrote Tuesday in The Washington Post: “For me, the decision is based on the long-range needs of our country and which of these two candidates I feel is better suited to recharge America’s economic health, restore its prestige abroad and inspire anew all people who cherish freedom and equality. For me, that person is Barack Obama.”

   We still have work to do.

   • 

     AP on October 29, 2008 at 7:14 pm

     I’m trying to know hope, too, but it keeps bumping up against the “will they really vote for him” side.

     But tell ya what–seems like Gov. Whack Job Diva seems to be cutting McLame loose:

     Gov. Sarah Palin suggested that if the Republican ticket is defeated on Tuesday she expects to be a player in the next election four years from now, saying “I’m not doing this for naught.”
     In an interview with ABC News’ Elizabeth Vargas, the Republican vice-presidential nominee was asked about 2012, whether she was discouraged by the daily attacks on the campaign trail, and would instead pack it in and return to her home state of Alaska.

     “I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we’ve taken, that would bring this whole … I’m not doing this for naught,” Palin said.

     • 

       idredit on October 29, 2008 at 7:50 pm

       “Will they really vote for him”

       the Bradley effect..can the polls all be wrong?

       we shouldn’t underestimate the Obama ground game- neighbor to neighbor, etc., the millions of new registered voters…the armies of volunteers. Imho, the turnout of AA will nullify the Bradley effect. Moderate whites who have gotten pass the racial issue. Turned off GOP.

       Secondly I doubt the GOP really wanna have to deal with the financial mess ahead. I’m thankful these financial WMDs went off on Bush’s watch.

       As for Palin in 2012. If she survives what awaits her in AK, more ethics probes.

       • 

         AP on October 29, 2008 at 8:12 pm

         I will admit–this is completely irrational reaction I have. When McLame has to make robocalls in his home state, then you know there’s a problem.

         I don’t believe in the Bradley effect anymore. The campaigns of Kirk, Ford and Patrick have forever dispelled that notion.

         That still doesn’t mean I stop worrying. I can’t explain it. All I can do is everything I’ve been doing and try to let go. It’s just easier said than done lately.

         • 

           idredit on October 29, 2008 at 8:55 pm

           this just up from across the pond…their reporter in NC:

           Obama fever builds as black Americans await a new era

           The prospect of having the first black president of the US has created a huge wave of enthusiasm among African-Americans, many of whom are coming out to vote for the first time in their lives. That excitement was everywhere yesterday in Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina, as Barack Obama arrived for a whistle-stop visit, his last in a final frantic push to turn this normally “red” state “blue”.

           [.]

           There are some 14 million registered black voters in the US and about 5.5 million voted for Mr Obama in the primaries – a record number.

           That is still less than 50 per cent of the black electorate and leaves 10 million black voters eligible but unregistered. There are another 8.5 million who are registered but did not bother to vote in the primaries.

           That is where the grannies and granddads may come in, and anecdotal evidence suggests that an army of them have already made their way to early voting centres across America.

           [.]

           ‘There is more interest in policies than colour’

           Two years ago, before announcing his campaign for the White House, Senator Obama made a phone call to a local black politician named Ty Harrell, who had just ousted a six-term Republican in a predominantly-white constituency.

           During one of his first days in North Carolina’s State Assembly Mr Harrell’s Blackberry started buzzing.

           Barack Obama wanted to know how the 38-year-old had won in one of the most conservative constituencies of North Carolina and asked the younger politician how he persuaded so many white Republicans to abandon the habits of a lifetime and vote for him. Especially as bigotry has been the backdrop of political life in the South for as long as people can remember.

           “‘Things are changing,’ I told him, even here in the South, and these days people are far more interested in policies than colour,” recalled Mr Harrell, a rising star in the Democratic party.

           “I also told him my opponent was a right-wing nut job and I let him hang himself with his ridiculous outdated notions,” he said. “We talked a bit more and he hung up with a ‘Thank you brother.’ ”

           6 days

       • 

         Oscar In Dallas on October 29, 2008 at 9:15 pm

         I believe that this year you will actually see a reverse-Bradley effect – soon to be dubbed “The Palin Principle” – where Republicans publicly support their candidate, as all good Republicans do, but privately pull the lever for the Democrat. Understanding Republicans generally and conservatives in particular, they expect each other to be absolutely loyal to the team – this is why they’ll call a certain Republican a liberal if he deviates from orthodoxy on two or three issues, even though he’s essentially reactionary on every other issue: he’s proven disloyal to the team so he’s no longer considered part of the team. Thus conservatives, when asked publicly (including surveys), will virtually always support their team, even in the face of the prospect of President Sarah Palin. However, once behind in the voting booth, they’ll grit their teeth and vote for the sane candidate, the Democrat.

         The Palin Principle.™

         It’s much like the old saw about Baptists: if you’re going to take a Baptist fishing with you then make sure that you take two – one, alone, will drink up all of your beer, but if two Baptists are together with you then neither one of them will drink a drop…

       • 

         bento on October 30, 2008 at 4:44 pm

         My understanding is that the Bradley effect is questionable even in the election for which it is named. There was some late shifting in the polls. Also, the claim was that it was an effect that showed up with white voters talking to black exit pollsters. Since pre-election polls are not typically done in person and probably don’t feature that many people with recognizably black speech patterns, I don’t see how it emerges.

5. 

   Drew J Jones on October 29, 2008 at 7:19 pm

   I’m an economist, Boo.  I’m prone to worrying.

   I’d like to see those polls at the national level bump up a bit.  Give me a seven-point margin in RCP Monday night, and I’ll feel reasonably comfortable.  Until then, not so much.  Our nominee is still a black guy with a funny name, and this is still America.  As far as I’m concerned, it ain’t over until Olbermann’s shouting it at me through the television Tuesday night.

6. 

   fabooj on October 29, 2008 at 7:31 pm

   • 

     Real History Lisa on October 29, 2008 at 8:39 pm

     EXACTLY.

     “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

     “Pride goeth before a fall.”

7. 

   eagleye on October 29, 2008 at 7:41 pm

   I’m sure we will see attempts on Obama’s life during his Presidency.  The only question in my mind is whether it will be a bunch of incompetent amateur skinheads who fail, or a well-designed assault by professionals.  Obama has already spoken of this possibility– he knows it’s a risk.  I feel sorry for his little girls, they will spend the rest of their lives surrounded by a security detail.

8. 

   Brendan Skwire on October 29, 2008 at 7:45 pm

   dude, shit can ALWAYS go wrong.
   don’t get overexuberant.  We’re almost certainly gonna win… unless something totally fucked happens.
   In other words don’t celebrate prematurely: it has a way of jinxing things.
   keep your hand on the plow, hold on…

9. 

   nalbar on October 29, 2008 at 8:23 pm

   What’s worrying me?

   The American public! I have no faith that the ‘average’ American has even a minimal ability to make the correct decision.

   Right now if you walk down an ‘average’ street over 4 in 10 people think McCain/Palin are viable candidates. And it’s more like 6 out of 10 if you walk around my town. It makes you want to shout ‘What? Isn’t EIGHT FREAKING YEARS ENOUGH???’

   I worry because the ‘average’ American is to stupid to vote for his/her own economic self interest. They are dumb bastards. I talk to them every day, and they are as dumb as a bag of hammers.

   nalbar

10. 

    ejmw on October 29, 2008 at 8:41 pm

    Faithful bootrib member ejmw here checking in from my cell phone so please forgive spelling and grammar mistakes.

    i am currently in florida for a weeend of ultimate frisbee watching followed by a couple of long days of volunteering with the obama campaign.  mccain gave up on michigan, so i decided to volunteer in florida.

    I should have real internet access early next week (sunday thru tuesday) so i will attempt to give better reports of what is up here.

    judging by yard signs, mccain is winning the ‘rich enough to own an oceanfront condo’ demographic.