NorthSideSox72

Shaheen for NH Senate called by CNN Udall of New Mexico also called So that's 2 nore Dems.

Holy crap - CNN calls PA for Obama already!

CNN calls Hagan in NC as well. Looks like Dole's disgusting ads backfired. KY senate - McConnell/Lunsford - too close to call Shaheen well ahead of Sununu in NH (56-41) with 10% in.

Go...

I'll start a Congress elections thread.

CNN calls New Hampshire for Obama.

Just got back from millenium park. Crowds building fast. Lots of police etc.

QUOTE (Steff @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) An interview with the guy who called the cops - who had apparantly been there and gone by the time the reporter got there. But there was another "peaceful" pather at the door to the building which was also identified at his residence. What was the report? That some dude was hanging out outside a polling place with a billy club? Seems like the po-po should have acted there. Seems like voter intimidation to me, if that's what happend (IF).

Dona Ana county in New Mexico has problems, again (they did in 2004 too). Absentee ballots not fully processed, and many folks didn't get one that were supposed to. I certainly hope that residents of that county are voting to remove whomever is responsible for election work, because this is two cycles in a row they screwed it up.

I can't watch the video at work, but... how real is this? Any actual news on it yet?

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 01:30 PM) Reports of Republicans trying to suppress the vote in Philly. Shocking. Link? Details? Any reality here?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 12:55 PM) For many people it shows McCain's judgment, or lack of, that he picked her. That was his first test at making a presidential decision and he failed miserably...at least in the eyes of Democrats, a majority of Independents and a pretty decent chunk of Republicans. And it's not just experience. It's her complete lack of curiosity of major domestic and international issues. The decisionmaking process on VP choice was definitely a mark against McCain for some, that's a good point.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 11:49 AM) I don't know how old you are and how many elections you have voted for, but seriously, you are voting for the President and his backup. It's like saying you don't like AJ because Hall is his backup. How many elections have you participated in when you even cared about the vp spot? If you don't want to vote for McCain, just say so and stop using Palin as a crutch. If her inexperience bugs you and Obama's doesn't, then your logic is slightly skewed. Just go ahead and put the inexperience right at the top to start, no need to wait for the main guy to drop dead. While I generally agree that the VP is a pretty small part of the decision, its not entirely irrelevant. For one thing, as time has gone on, VP's are more and more part of the decisionmaking processes. They are involved in policy. So, think of the VP as a known part of the cabinet. That does have some importance, though not a ton. This election in particular, I hate to say this, but for BOTH candidates, the possibility of the VP coming to power is higher than normal. McCain due to his age and mileage, Obama because I think he's going to be much higher risk for violence against him. I honestly hope I am wrong on both, and I am not saying the chances are big. Just that they are slim, as opposed to very slim, if you follow me.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 11:58 AM) Same. I don't really care for MSNBC's cheerleading (although I watch Morning Joe) and I damn sure won't watch Fox. That.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 11:54 AM) John and Stephen. Are they doing live coverage?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) I'm highly skeptical that sexists would cancel out racists evenly. Who knows? Can't really be modeled well.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 11:54 AM) i'm just saying time and time again it's been proven that it doesn't exist, and even if it DID happen once it can't be a theory - it's an anomaly. Time and time again? OK first, there have been very few elections with an african american and a white person at a high level office that has been well-polled, so, it cannot have been "proved" to exist or not exist in any complete way. Second, a theory does not have to have any sort of proven event. A theory can be just that - a theory - which may have never been truly tested. And that is the case here, IMO. We simply have not had anything like this before. So really, there cannot be any proof one way or the other. Thus, it is in fact a theory.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) it. does. not. exist. end of story You are welcome to feel that way, but, others disagree. Not the end of the story. The effect didn't show up in the primaries for what I think is an obvious reason - the Hillary effect. Just as some folks are more racist than they let on, the same goes for sexism. Also, in the case of Ford Jr or even Bradley himself, we aren't talking about the Presidency here. The thought process associated with it is vastly different. Fear of the unknown is much more in play. But, as others have pointed out, there are all sorts of other potential X factors in play that may not be accurately reflected in the polls - larger than expected turnout, age band turnout changes, last minute ground games, and cell phone user rates. And all of those would seem to favor Obama. So, if there IS a Bradley effect (or a fear effect), then it may be buried in the noise. We may never know.

We've discussed this at length. And I've been saying all along, this plus the general fear factor seem likely to give McCain a few extra points. The other X factor I had mentioned though, Obama's ground game, has been HUGE. So the effect may not be felt at all.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 10:42 AM) I was actually pretty disappointed that I only had three decisions to make. I voted GOP across the board but aside from president there were only two other contested seats. Amazingly, there were only three Dems running (two were incumbents) and probably 5 or 6 republicans unopposed. A congressman and county executive were the two I voted out. Kind of curious as to why so many offices were unopposed this election This is a nationwide problem the last 10 or more years - not enough people willing to run for office.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 10:36 AM) I voted, line was 20 people at 8:20am today. No for the con con. As a person who has worked a lot of elections in different capacities I found it appauling that my polling place had a young election judge openly talking about Obama and different polls, and different political views on different candidates right in front of the machines. How he is going to party when Obama wins. On my way out I told him that he can't do that and he has to be 100 feet from the polls to campaign for his candidate. He turns to me and says, well man I am just repeating the news. The rest of the judges didnt want to deal with it. I reported it to the Dupage County states attorney's office. That's pretty unprofessional. Good you reported it. Most of the folks at these stations are low paid or non-paid personnel part time, not well trained. Some are county employees made to work the polls. You aren't going to get the best and the brightest, usually.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 10:02 AM) FWIW, here's a report on Murphy from August; I'm starting to like this Daniel Murphy.

So, Grant Park is already a zoo, with all sorts of equipment going up. There will probably be hundreds of thousands of people there. This is a huge historic event for Chicago - a potential President from the area, an election victory rally. Discuss here the event itself (rally, etc.), as well as the effect an Obama Presidency would have on the city. For me, I'll be doing some guerilla marketing for my company in Millenium Park from 3 to 6, trying to take advantage of the crowds. Then I'll head home to see the results come in. With all the media attention on Chicago, this event (and an Obama Presidency) could have ramifications for the 2016 Olympics bid. That's something to consider. If Obama wins and the event goes well, that's 2 big boosts. If Obama loses, and/or there are major problems at the rally, that could bode poorly.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 4, 2008 -> 01:48 AM) i just got linked to the fox news comments on Obama's grandmothers death...pretty awful stuff. I have a hard time believing people like that exist. I assume you mean user comments, not Fox News itself, right? I doubt even Fox News would be crass about this. But random internet people? No surprise there.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Nov 3, 2008 -> 02:38 PM) There's reasons for this. In a nutshell, the public as a body is dumb. You have to pander to the lowest common denominator which is a pretty big chunk of the electorate. It's not ideal, but you need to get elected before you do anything. To do that you have to BS to some degree. There's no way around it. Reminds me of one of my fave movie quotes... A person is smart. People are stupid, dangerous animals. Bonus points if anyone can name the movie.