Now That It's Over

It's time to get back to basics. I'm talking food, water, shelter, JOB here. And so thus begins the great job search yet again! I'm well aware that it won't be easy: jobless rates in the country today are as bad as ever at 6.5%, and the economy only looks to be declining further in the coming weeks. It's pretty much time to hunker down and try to wait out the storm more than actively searching for employment, but search I shall. Otherwise, now that election '08 is finally over, I'm sort of bored. There's no more polling data to look up, very few "too-close-to-call" races left to adjudicate, and people in general seem to be pretty well done with talking politics or baseball (my favorite subjects!). My birthday is actually right around the corner, on Nov. 29th, right after Thanksgiving, which only means that both days will get combined into one celebration. Kind of like having a Dec. 25th birthday; a bit lackluster. On the plus, Phoenix has gotten much, much cooler in recent days, with highs in the mid-70s to upper-80s, and it's actually quite nice. Now all we need are some trees and grass here and it would be nice. Maybe a lake. I am going to try to head out to Circuit City today, as they are liquidating everything in their stores out here in Mesa, going out of business. Maybe I can find a decent laptop for relatively cheap? That would be nice. Updates to follow!

Results

ELECTION 2008

Well, Americans, once more you have gone the route of change, though not for the better. Yesterday, you voted for a move to socialism and big government, rather than for sound economic policy and a more limited government. Indeed, we all kind of knew it was coming, because the Republican Party has done little to earn your trust as the party of fiscal restraint, limited government, and sound judgement and morals over the last eight years, but it's still a little disheartening and disappointing. In 2006, voters cast their ballots against Republicans - not for Democrats, a big distinction. In 2008, however, the Republican Party really let conservatives down. Voters voted in liberal ideologues, and for at least two years, we're stuck with that decision. As a party, Republicans are now at a tipping point. Will we tip backwards and become the party of yesteryear, resigned to a fate as the minority in the House, Senate, and White House? Or will we tip forward and work harder to reclaim the majority by getting back to the fundamental principles of conservatism? The 210-plus people we have sent back as Republican delegates to Congress will tell. It's on their heads now. Perhaps Congressman Jeff Flake (R - AZ06) said it best in his guest column "A Way Out of the Wilderness" in the Washington Post this morning:

"There is reason for Republicans to feel optimism. Politically, America remains a center-right country, and America loves a chastened and repentant sinner. As surely as the sun rises in the east, the Democrats will overreach. As long as we Republicans are willing to admit our folly, get back to first principles and work like there's no tomorrow, we've got 'em just where we want 'em."

To Senator McCain, you fought a long, greuling campaign and impressed a lot of people. I am glad you will be coming back to work for the State of Arizona in the Senate. I was at the Biltmore Hotel last night for the results party, and I was moved by how gracious your election concession speech was - your pledge to support President-elect Obama in the Senate, your call to action for your supporters to do the same, and your heartfelt thanks to all those who had made a difference in your campaign. To President-elect Obama, congratulations. Your election is an historic one. While I remain skeptical of your policy positions, I will be among those watching your presidency very closely in the hopes that you do bring some good to our country as you have promised. Good luck, and God speed. To the American electorate, while I am disappointed in your choice, I understand it and was not surprised by it. I urge every citizen of this country to look back on the campaigns that were just fought, and do you part to hold our leaders accountable for their actions in Congress and the White House. In four years, we'll start all this madness again, and it's your right, your duty, and your responsibility to be ready to make the best choice for America at that time. ---------------------- Arizona Results: President: John McCain (54%-45%) CD-1: Ann Kirkpatrick CD-2: Trent Franks CD-3: John Shadegg CD-4: Ed Pastor CD-5: Harry Mitchell CD-6: Jeff Flake CD-7: Raul Grijalva CD-8: Gabby Giffords Prop 100 and Prop 102 passed Prop 101, 105, 200, 201, 202, and 300 failed Maricopa County Sheriff: Joe Arpaio MC Attorney: Andrew Thomas Corporation Commission: S. Kennedy, S. George, and P. Newman (the so-called "Solar Team") LD19 House: Kirk Adams and Rich Crandall LD19 Senate: Chuck Gray

Breaking Down the Election

Poll Closing Times (all EST): [Battleground States in BOLD] 6:00pm: Most of Indiana, eastern Kentucky 7:00pm: Florida peninsula, Georgia, Indiana, western Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia 7:30pm: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia 8:00pm: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida (western panhandle), Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (most of state), Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, eastern South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas (most of state) 8:30pm: Arkansas 9:00pm: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan (rest of state), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, western South Dakota, Texas (rest of state), Wisconsin, Wyoming 10:00pm: southern Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, eastern North Dakota, eastern Oregon, Utah 11:00pm: California, Hawaii, northern Idaho, western North Dakota, western Oregon, Washington 12:00am: Alaska 1:00am: Alaska (Aleutian Islands) As you can see, by 9pm EST, 3/4 of the "battleground" swing states will be closing their polls, and we will see who wins this election. Of course, if some states like North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida remain too close to call (within about 4-5 percentage points), the night could get interesting! Now, not only are we voting for the highest executive office in the land, but also for 435 members of the House of Representatives, and 1/3 of the Senate, eleven Governors, and incalculable local races and ballot propositions. Here are some of the more interesting races to watch this evening. Many people are predicting a Democratic landslide overall: House: 250 Dem, 185 Rep Senate: 58 Dem, 42 Rep (note that this is 2 seats shy of a 60-seat supermajority for the Dems; it will be very interesting to see if there are any surprise red-to-blue flips in Senate seats to get them there) Governors: 29 Dem, 21 Rep (currently there are five Rep seats up for election and 6 Dem seats; the only one really contested is Indiana, where it could flip) For Arizona: My predictions for the major races in the state of Arizona: President: John McCain by 8 points (54-46) CD-1: Kirkpatrick CD-2: Franks CD-3: Shadegg CD-4: Pastor CD-5: Mitchell CD-6: Flake CD-7: Grijalva CD-8: Giffords Corporation Commissioner: McClure, Stump, Wong County Attorney: Thomas County Recorder: Purcell County Sheriff: Arpaio Prop 100: No Prop 101: No Prop 102: Toss up, I'm guessing Yes Prop 105: Yes Prop 200: Toss up, I'm guessing No Prop 201: No Prop 202: No Prop 300: No LD-19 (my district) House: Adams and Crandall Senate: C. Gray We'll see how I do come tomorrow!

The West Wing

Today, I am reminded of one of my favorite television shows, "The West Wing" which has since ended after seven great seasons. I was thinking today about one particular episode, and indeed one quote. It's the one where Sam Seaborne flies out to Orange County, California, where Will Bailey is running the campaign of a man who died, but whose name will still appear on the ballot. Sam asks Will to stop, because the campaign is becoming "an embarassment to the President" and Will abruptly ends the conversation and starts to walk away. On the way out the door, they stop to talk to a couple little girls who have been making campaign posters.

GIRLS: "We did the PSA." WILL: "Let me see. Very nice. But do me a favor - read this for me." GIRLS: "It doesn't matter who you vote for, make sure you vote!" WILL: "I like the sentiment, but the thing is, I think it does matter who you vote for. What if it said, 'No matter who you vote for, make sure you vote!' What do you think?" GIRLS: "Good."

In this election today, I too think it matters who you vote for. So in the words of Will Bailey, for Election Day, November 4th, 2008, NO MATTER WHO YOU VOTE FOR, MAKE SURE YOU VOTE! Happy Election Day!

The "Arizona Republic" Endorses Jeff Flake

Thought I'd post this for your enjoyment, along with a letter to the editor I wrote in response below:

Flake a good fit for East Valley Oct. 27, 2008

Even the worst storms leave pockets of undisturbed calm . . . isolated spots amid the wreckage left untouched by the devastating winds.

That pretty much describes the 2008 election season for Rep. Jeff Flake, R-District 6. Opportunistic Democrats are pouring millions into formerly safe Republican congressional districts, seeking to maximize the anticipated rout of the GOP this year.

But Flake's East Valley district? Well, even this crazy election isn't crazy enough to render the conservative Flake vulnerable in one of the West's most conservative congressional districts.

Conservative with a healthy dollop of libertarian, Jeff Flake is a good fit for District 6. The Republic recommends that district voters do exactly as they seem inclined to do, which is to return Flake to Congress.

Flake is opposed by Democrat Rebecca Schneider, and Libertarian Party candidate Rick Biondi. Schneider is an earnest political neophyte. Biondi, meanwhile, freely admits that there are "very few actions (Flake) has taken that I wouldn't take myself," thus negating any meaningful rationale for ousting the incumbent.

Consistently wary of government intrusion, Flake has never been an easy vote for the Bush administration. He managed to insert six amendments into the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. He will continue to argue persistently for free trade, even with the likes of Cuba. And, as always, we expect Flake will continue to shine a light on inappropriate federal spending.

The Republic recommends District 6 voters retain Republican Jeff Flake for Congress.

Letter to the Editor: "Dear "Republic" Editorial Board, "I was very happy to see that the Republic has endorsed Congressman Jeff Flake for re-election in Congressional District 6. As a newly graduated College Republican from Flagstaff, I have worked with Congressman Flake's campaign in the past and in the present, and I know him to be not only an upstanding citizen and a leader for my district, but a traditional conservative as well - something of a rarity in today's political climate. "From his stand against government waste to his Goldwater-esque stance on limited government power, Jeff Flake represents what the Republican Party used to be known for, and what it must embrace again for the future if our country is to continue to prosper. "Thank you, Arizona Republic Editorial Board, for remembering that the best leaders in Congress aren't always the ones who conform to outdated Washington norms, but who instead try to make government work for "we the people." Jeff Flake is just such a tried and true leader, and the people of the sixth district would be sorely remiss if they did not return him to Congress come November 4th. Andrew Meeusen"

The 3rd Debate

While I know I promised Florida, my pictures aren't available yet, so you'll all just have to settle for my take on Debate Part III! McCain Positives: 1. On the attack, McCain actually looked ALIVE in a debate for the first time. 2. McCain actually stuck to many of the issues instead of beating 'round the bush. McCain Negatives: 1. He is a BAD public speaker. He rivals President Bush, because where the president just isn't eloquent, McCain is actually just plain erratic-sounding. Ever read "Don Quixote de la Mancha?" McCain sounds like he, too, is tilting at windmills. 2. He seemed to devolve from enthusiasm and offensive attacks showcasing his drive and determination to do well tonight into a bitterness and cynicism that we have come to expect to see from his campaign over the last few weeks as his poll numbers have slipped. 3. The pundits are saying that he made a big gaffe when he dismissively shrugged off questions "about the life of the mother" in abortion policy and Roe v. Wade. I don't know about that. The people that care about that particular line were never going to vote for McCain anyway. I just thought I'd pass that info along. 4. "Let me tell you" and "Let me say this" and "Let me show you" are all McCain phrases that get REALLY old the third time after he gets asked a question or asked to respond to Obama. Obama Positives: 1. Sounded calm, cool, collected, and - dare I say - presidential. Specifically when dealing with the economy, McCain seemed to be trying to relate to the "anger" of the populace, while Obama tried to portray a leader who is calm in the face of an impending challenge. I'd say he pulled it off. 2. Did NOT attack McCain and Palin back on a number of random charges. He could have, and it probably would've been just fine, but as a taxpaying voter, I have to admit a certain appreciation for Obama's sticking to the issues for the most part. 3. Explained his positions fully and at a level for the "Regular Joe the Plumber." Even when they weren't on issues (see: William Ayers, ACORN, etc). Even though some of the stuff he said was full of [insert expletive here], he talked it down and made it understandable and positive-sounding. Obama Negatives: 1. Not delivering a knockout punch. He could have, but he didn't. It leaves at least a glimmer of hope for a McCain Miracle. Big Gaffes: 1. For McCain, while the pundits say his big gaffe was made on abortion, I think his all-around worst mistake was to take on an air of anger in both his tone and his demeanor. He started off as an angry guy wanting to affect change and eventually devolved into a cynical old man who couldn't string together his words. Best Line: "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." - John McCain (Seriously, now, this was without question the best line of all three presidential debates.) Who Won the Debate: 1. As far as anything else goes, I think Joe the Plumber won the debate fairly easily. I mean, both campaigns talked with him and about him, and he was mentioned more than any other single issue was if my count is correct. How can he NOT be at least A winner? 2. The winner of the debate between McCain and Obama is most likely McCain. Even though Obama did well, he only performed at a consistant level with his other two appearances. McCain NEEDED a home run tonight, and though his performance was dottery and quixotic, he performed at his highest level of the three debates. If I could, I'd give it a tie.

Presidential Debate #2

While I know quite well that my posting on the Vice-Presidential debate was long and rather analytical (by which I mean that many of my work-weary friends didn't read all of it), I promise to keep my recap of the second Presidential debate to a shorter length! What McCain Did Well: - The town hall format is HIS format, and he was certainly natural speaking to the audience without the restrictions of a podium. - He articulated his positions effectively to the crowd and clarified his record nicely on a number of recently challenged points. - He spoke about the economic "crisis" without sounding like either a moldy history professor or a communications major in a senior-level accounting course. What Obama Did Well: - He kept pace with McCain in all of the debate questions. - He answered every question fully without jumping off on a lot of tangents. - He spoke about foreign policy well, and very nicely pointed out the differences in his plans for the Middle East and Russia versus McCain's plans. - He didn't attack McCain, but rather let his words on the issues point out stark contrasts between the two men. What McCain Did Poorly On: - He didn't want to stay in his seat when not speaking. - I personally disagree with his "lets have government buy up the mortgage debts and renegotiate them" plan, and I think it is far too neo-conservative a plan for this election cycle. We need a candidate to reign in government control over our property, not extend it. - He failed to answer questions on economic policy, tax policy, and climate change. Instead, he generically spoke about the problems involved in each, and pointed out his record of bipartisanship. I wasn't impressed. What Obama Did Poorly On: - Not abiding by the rules of the debate, which did not allow for rebuttals between candidates on questions. Major Gaffes: - McCain: Government control over mortgage debt - Obama: No major gaffes Best Line: "It's like nailin' Jello to the wall!" - John McCain Style: McCain: Looked like a Commander-in-Chief. Obama: Looked like a President well equipped to look objectively at a situation and utilize his resources to solve problems. Who Won the Debate? - Barack Obama Why? - While both candidates did very well and outperformed my expectations, because the bar was set so much lower for Obama, and because he was able to keep pace with McCain while clearly articulating himself and his positions, I believe he is the winner of this debate. His answers were clear, concise, directed to the question rather than the opposing candidate, and identifiable to the "mainstream American" viewer. ------------------------------------- I'm not really sure how the Republican ticket can recover from three debates so far in which the Democratic candidate has at least kept pace with the Republican candidate, in some areas outperforming the Republican candidate. McCain will need a very clear win in the third debate.

My VP Debate Analysis

I know some of my friends are going to think me an idiot, but this is what I got out of last night's VP debate: (I wrote this last night as a Facebook note, so I've just reproduced it here) This evening was the Vice-Presidential Debate between Governor Sarah Palin (R) and Senator Joseph Biden (D). While a lot of people on Facebook and in the mainstream media are quick to point out who "won" the debate, most people who aren't super-political don't really know what "winning a debate" entails. From my few years being actively involved with politics and the many debates I've watched and analyzed with my friends and colleagues, I wanted to share my thoughts on the Biden-Palin debate. Disclaimer: All opinions and statements are my own and are not necessarily indicative of support for any candidate or campaign. All statements are subjective in nature and are not meant to be a comprehensive description of what to look for in a political debate, but rather guidelines for watching and understanding. Finally, please do not reproduce the writing herein contained unless done so in a full and unabridged format with my name as citation. All quotes used below are from CNN.com's debate transcript. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First, it is important to discern in any type of political conversation what the goal of the discourse is for each party or person. What objective does each person have to attain to consider their night a "win" and claim victory? In the Presidential debate of a few nights ago, Senator McCain's objective was to both make himself look and sound new and exciting and to display his extensive set of knowledge on foreign policy matters, and Senator Obama's goal was to try to be able to show the public that he could hold his own against McCain in foreign policy. Tonight, Governor Palin's challenge was to (1) make up for the poor showing in interviews that she recently had with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric and (2) to reconnect with the independent voters and the Republican base that she excited during the Republican convention but whom have of late been seeing her as a liability to McCain's campaign. Senator Biden's big challenge was simply not to "put his foot in his mouth" while talking. Obviously, Governor Palin had the bigger challenge. How did each candidate do in meeting their goals? Governor Palin was bold in many of her statements, at times was downright "folksy," and often aimed at connecting specifically with middle-class America. She upheld Senator McCain as a maverick and a strong leader, and stuck to straightforward Republican talking points on most of the issues. Overall, I think she probably accomplished most of what she was going for in terms of message and interpersonal relations with the people sitting in their La-Z-Boys watching the debate. Senator Biden, as pretty much any pundit will tell you on tomorrow's morning news, achieved his goal of not committing any "gaffes" during the debate, and did his job as the VP candidate of both strongly supporting his candidate while pointing out the flaws of Senator McCain and Governor Palin and making himself look like he is ready to take over for Obama should anything happen. The second thing to pay attention to in the debates is the quality of their responses. Candidates' answers should be within the time limits prescribed by the moderator, be relatively understandable for an average person, and should seek to answer the questions presented. In this regard, my opinion is that Senator Biden won hands down. He spoke fairly concisely throughout each question, addressed the question at hand, and didn't spend the whole time pandering. From the very first question about the bailout bill "was this the worst of Washington or the best of Washington that we saw..." Senator Biden first answered the question - "I think it's neither the best or worst of Washington, but it's evidence of the fact that the economic policies of the last eight years have been the worst economic policies we've ever had" - and then discussed how to fix the problem through Obama's four basic criteria for his ideal version of a rescue plan. Governor Palin, on the other hand, using the same question, said "I think a good barometer here, as we try to figure out has this been a good time or a bad time in America's economy, is go to a kid's soccer game on Saturday, and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, 'How are you feeling about the economy'" and began talking about McCain being the agent of reform, but not addressing the problem. In at least one instance, the Governor was stopped mid-sentance by the moderator for exceeding the time limitations, and in several instances, she failed to address the questions at all, instead telling the moderator during a question on a bankruptcy bill, "I want to talk about, again, my record on energy versus your ticket's energy ticket." I think that what Governor Palin was attempting to do was to bring the debate into areas she felt comfortable with, like energy policy, but by not at least giving some consideration to the question at hand before attacking Senators Biden and Obama, she came across to me as both erratic and inexperienced on a lot of issues, specifically ones relating to foreign policy and economic policy. Senator Biden was the complete mirror image of that, being articulate on the issues, showing his depth of experience on everything from foreign policy to energy. Even their appeals to the "average" American show a stark contrast: while Palin mentioned several times throughout the evening that she "had been there" living paycheck-to-paycheck and having no health insurance, Biden showed a human side in the tone of his voice that people not familiar with politics may not have seen before (let's face it, the mainstream media paints that guy as a wacko liberal nut job out of touch with non-East Coast elites): "Look, I understand what it's like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it's like as a parent to wonder what it's like if your kid's going to make it." The third point to watch for is the style of the speakers' remarks. It's often been cited in contemporary election politics that the way a person looks or sounds can be as influential to some people as what they are saying. John F. Kennedy being one example, in his television debates with Richard Nixon, Kennedy looked young, fresh, and energetic, while Nixon was cited as looking "sick" and sounding "gravelly." Many politicos also say that those televised debates "had a profound impact on the 1960 election" in part due to the stylistic differences between the two. Tonight, Senator Biden was smooth, polished, and looked like... well, a politician. His answers were practiced, though not "canned," and as was mentioned before, free of major gaffes or foot-in-mouth statements. He also looked confident at his podium, like he had been there many times before and it was natural now for him (which it probably is). Governor Palin in contrast looked very good at the podium, and though this was her first national stage to debate her opponents, she did display a lot of confidence and poise. That's not to say she was perfect, though, as several times during the debate, she appeared a bit flustered, stammered through some of her talking points on foreign policy questions, and at times during questions which were more difficult for her to answer because of a lack of experience in the subject matter she seemed to rock back and forth at the podium giving the impression of indecisivness and of being uncomfortable. Another style point I personally disliked about Governor Palin had to do with her syntax and speaking style. In the beginning of the debate, I felt it was fine for her to be droppin' her G's and speakin' like a reg'lar American with the "heckuva" and "Heaven forbid" and "Say it ain't so, Joe," but after a short while, it simply became annoying, and I was waiting for her to start speaking professionally. During the past eight years, the President of the United States was criticized incessantly for his speaking style. If our next Vice-President sounds like a 16-year old high school teenager, is that any better? Finally, the fun stuff to look for: (1) who had the best line of the night, (2) who had the strongest line of the night, (3) who committed the biggest mistake, and (4) what I like to call the WTF?! moments. I make a distinction, as you can see, between the "best" line of the night - the line that is the funniest, zings the most, or produces the biggest crowd reaction - with the "strongest" line of the night: the line which I felt stood out the most in terms of displaying the confidence of the candidate. Governor Palin won both 1 and 2. (1) Governor Palin definitely had the best one-liner of the night:

Moderator Ifill: Governor, you said in July that someone would have to explain to you exactly what it is the vice president does every day. You, senator, said you would not be vice president under any circumstances.... What it is you think the vice presidency is worth now? PALIN: In my comment there, it was a lame attempt at a joke and yours was a lame attempt at a joke, too, I guess, because nobody got it.

This one-line zinger right at Senator Biden both made me laugh the hardest and got the biggest reaction from the crowd (which was silent for pretty much everything else). By contrast, Biden's best one-liner was certainly with regard to healthcare, "So you're going to have to place -- replace a $12,000 plan with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere." (2) Governor Palin also had what I consider the strongest line of the night when she said in response to a question about whether either ticket would have trouble keeping their campaign promises, "I don't believe that John McCain has made any promise that he would not be able to keep, either." (3) Neither side really made any mistakes, as I've said before. However, Senator Biden did make a number of good decisions when choosing not to entrap himself in Governor Palin's attacks. If he had done so, the way Biden is in extemporaneous speaking when he gets heated, he could have really come across very badly for Obama. I would speculate that his pre-debate preparation included some tips for ignoring the character attacks by Palin and working on correcting factual mistakes instead to avoid his sometimes-wacky temperment. (4) WTF?! moments are any moment that sticks out in your head as a "did they say that" moment. For example, while speaking, Governor Palin called Senator Biden "O'Biden" which I can only assume was a slip of the tongue as she attempted not to say Obama. Senator Biden stood out for not literally saying literally every third literal sentence, literally like he did in his first joint appearance with Senator Obama. Governor Palin was certainly channelling that day though, as she "also" way more often than she should have been, which stuck out as badly as "like" and "you know" did in junior high school. Finally, something that I noticed that most others wouldn't have thought twice about was that Palin referred to the US commanding General in Afghanistan as "General McClellan" when it's actually General McKiernan. Last, but not least, I look at the format of the debate itself. In the Presidential debate of last Friday, the format was pretty open, with questions being followed by nine minutes of essentially open time for the candidates to respond to one another without being roped in by time limitations on their responses. They played off of some another rather than off of the moderator, which I really enjoyed. In tonight's debate, candidates had five minutes per question split up into one- and two-minute segments, meaning that the candidates' responses had to be by nature more rehearsed and less fluid. Personally, I'd be all for a re-enactment of the Lincoln-Douglass debates, but in the TV soundbite era, I doubt that will ever happen. Summary: In my four main criteria for looking at a debate - candidates' goals, quality of responses, style, and "fun stuff" - I think that on an even platform, Senator Biden easily won. He was smooth, somewhat polished, poignent, concise, and looked Vice-Presidential. Governor Palin looked charming, poised, and supportive of John McCain, but was also much more erratic, uncertain of herself, and looked somewhat uncomfortable in some subjects. While Palin definitely had the best and strongest lines of the night, Biden did himself and Senator Obama a favor by not taking the bait on some of Palin's attacks and slip-ups. If you take into account the theory that the platform tonight was not even, however, meaning that while the bar for Biden was set at a normal height, Governor Palin's was set much lower as she is a newcomer into national politics and has really only been "in the spotlight" for a month or so, Governor Palin did equally as well as Biden in most categories. I hope for the debates on October 7th and 15th between Senator McCain and Senator Obama that some of my readers will come away with a better sense of what I, at least, look for in a debate, and come to your own conclusions about what makes a "winner" versus a "loser" of each!

By the Numbers

Lately I've been noticing that a lot of things are circulating numerically in the world, and I thought I'd take a moment to showcase a few that I've found particularly intriguing. Some are subjective and of my own personal opinions, others are factual. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do! Baseball: NLDS A: Phillies 2 games, Brewers 0 games NLDS B: Dodgers 2 games, Cubs 0 games ALDS A: Rays 1 game, White Sox 0 games ALDS B: Red Sox 1 game, Angels 0 games Debate scores (subjective): Presidential Debates: McCain 1, Obama 0 (it was close, but I think McCain pulled out the win) Vice-Presidential Debate: Biden 1, Palin 0 $700,000,000,000,000.00: The amount of money the Senate and possibly the House intend to shove down the throats (or up some other unmentionable places) of taxpayers to bail out the US economy. I guess I can kiss my hopes for any kind of savings plan goodbye for a few decades. (Other, related numbers: Senate vote: 74 Aye, 25 Nay; House vote: 205 Aye, 228 Nay.) Total miles I drive per day for work-related tasks: 24.4 (on average). Total miles per gallon my car gets: 25 (approximately). Current dollar amount per gallon of gas at the Diamond Shamrock near my house: $3.29. Total amount of money I will spend filling up the car each week: approximately $45.00. Total percentage of my approximate weekly income that is: 12.9% (Ouch! Just for gas! Add in the cell phone bill and that percentage jumps to 28.6%) Number of books I have started since school ended on 5/10/08: 6 Number finished: 1 Number of days spent working since school ended 5/10/08: 12 Number of those which were volunteer work days: 6 Number of paychecks received: 0 Number of resumes sent out in the 30 days prior to starting work at Halo PA: 63 Number of responses received: 4 Friends of mine who have had birthdays within the last 30 days: 12 Number I've been able to visit with in the last 30 days: 1 Can anyone add to this list? I'd be interested in hearing what some of your important numerical moments of the recent past have been!

East Valley Job Fair

Today, I went and checked out the EV Job Fair at the Mesa Convention Center after having lunch with my good buddy Scott, who happens to work very close to there. Unfortunately for Max, it was not quite as epic an adventure as the job fair at UPS Stadium in Glendale (Dale Glen for those of you who know of what I speak), but it was nonetheless a decent time. I spoke with Grand Canyon State University about communications/PR/document control positions, a few staffing agencies about temp-to-hire work, M&I Bank about a teller position near my house, and the City of Mesa about some of their open positions. All-in-all, I got to hand out some resumes, chat it up with some employers, and hopefully something will eventually come of it. After doing the meet-and-greet thing, I went around the corner to where they were doing "resume review" workshops, and had my resume critiqued by a professional resume correcting person, whom I am supposed to remember to thank if I ever become President of the United States. (This brings my number of voters for my campaign in 2012 to 36 now. You never know, a few million more and I could be a threat! :P) She gave me some good tips, so now I need to reorganize my resume again this weekend to see if I can't beef it up some more. After that, I tried to donate my time as a volunteer for the GOP out in East Mesa, but I got chewed out by some old woman who was being pretty offensively sexist and tried to threaten me with her "investigative journalist friend who could crush you like THAT." So I just left instead. Ah, fun times!

A Little Thing Called Energy

Throughout much of today, C-SPAN has been running the floor debate in the House of Representatives on House Resolution 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act. This bill would, if passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President, commit the United States

to advance the national security interests of the United States by reducing its dependency on oil through renewable and clean, alternative fuel technologies while building a bridge to the future through expanded access to Federal oil and natural gas resources, revising the relationship between the oil and gas industry and the consumers who own those resources and deserve a fair return from the development of publicly owned oil and gas, ending tax subsidies for large oil and gas companies, and facilitating energy efficiencies in the building, housing, and transportation sectors, and for other purposes.

In other words, it provides for expanded alternative energy research and use, including in wind, solar, and biofuel technologies in the effort to move the United States from its current comsumption of foreign oil energy sources (about 70% of out current oil comes from overseas, half of which comes from "unstable" countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia). However, and this is a big problem, the bill does little to address the near term needs of consumers. It provides for expansion of offshore drilling, but only in places where little oil is to be gained anyway. Most of American oil sources are located within 50 miles of the Gulf Coast or up in the near-barren slopes of Alaska. HR 6899 only allows drilling between 50 and 100 miles off the Gulf Coast, and not at all within Alaska. Furthermore, while the bill allows each state to opt into drilling off their coast, those states which will pay for the cost of drilling do not get to participate in something known as revenue sharing, which would help alleviate the costs off the (already overtaxed) states. The bill also allows for environmentalists to sue to stop each drilling site by not providing for a moratorium on frivolous lawsuits with respect to drilling, even 100 miles away from shore. According to Congressman Shadegg (R-AZ03), of the last 100 or so plans for drilling for American oil as allowed by law, every single one has been tied up in the courts for decades with appeals and stall tactics. That means that not one BTU of energy has come from lawful drilling activities in those areas. HR 6899 does not put any emphasis on other alternative energies like "clean coal," oil shale exploration, or nuclear power. Coal has always been America's major natural resource; nowhere else on Earth is coal found in such abundance as here, yet the Democrat bill doesn't choose to include its eco-friendly brother, clean coal, to supplant foreign oil dependence. Nuclear power, which is helping the United Arab Emirates, China, India, and other countries around the world achieve energy independence (I think the statistic was that India is building 17 power plants, China 34, and Dubai is getting one in the UAE), is being shunned by the Democratic majority Congress. They seem to be unaware in 21st century technologies which are allowing for the reprocessing and reuse of previously "spent" nuclear fuel rods, advances in safety at nuclear plants, and the simple fact that nuclear energy is a huge source of power. One chart I saw showed that 25% of the world's tower cranes are stationed on the Arabian peninsula in the Middle East building brand new superstructures. That's all infrastructure that the United States is missing out on! Unfortunately, the people in Congress don't want to compromise on this issue. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic caucus introduced HR 6899 - a 290 page monster of a bill - at 9:45 pm last night and told the Congress that they would be voting on it 24 hours later. There was no thought to asking the Republicans to help write the bill, no time given for the legislation to be looked at by any member of Congress or their staffs, and in the process, the Democrats forced through a piece of legislation that not only disincentivizes states from WANTING to produce energy, it opens up production of energy and natural resources to a slew of frivolous lawsuits which will only postpone getting our dependence off foreign energy, and it completely ignores some very good sources of energy that we, ourselves, can produce right here at home. This is my mini-rant of the day. Feel free to provide your own perspectives on energy policy!

My New Hobby

Playing backgammon instead of looking for jobs online. Microsoft was nice enough to load "Internet Backgammon" in the "Games" section of the start menu, so I'm taking full advantage of it! In other news, I'm still looking for a job. It's been a few months now of not having full-time employment, and I'm starting to get the idea that I'm not really qualified to do anything but answer phones for a living with my American Political Studies degree. Seriously, I know I want to work in politics, but how the heck am I supposed to find a job that *PAYS* real money when the only thing campaigns and elected officials want is volunteers? Mostly to just make phone calls all day? How am I supposed to be able to GET EXPERIENCE to get a higher level job than "Volunteer Telemarketer" for a campaign if there is no work available? I truly envy those friends of mine who were able to get jobs in their fields right out of college, because with the combination of Arizona's political job market, my only experience coming from a guy who was indicted for fraud and the CRs who still despise me, and a bad overall national economy, this is perhaps the worst possible time for me to have graduated school. And here I thought it would be a bit easier, being an election year and all! I know I've got to get out of Arizona as soon as possible, never hopefully to return except to see my friends in Flagstaff. It just seems rather hopeless and bleak right now. I've put out over 700 resumes and applications since March of this year, and I've received a grand total of two letters, two emails, and four phone calls in response, most of which were "Sorry, but your experience didn't match what we were looking for" letters/calls. Depressing. If anyone has any leads either in Arizona or out of Arizona that a broke college grad without a car could possibly apply to, please forward them on! At least my Diamondbacks are still on top in the NL West!

Another Update

I wish I had something more exciting to write than "the job hunt continues," but alas, that is all that's going on. I'm still working with my dad's company as the semi-time receptionist-slash-general help guy, and socking away all the dinero that I get from that, but also still looking for something more to my tastes. Eventually, I hope to have enough saved up so I can go out to DC. I have faith that if I can get an interview out there, I can get the job. It's just getting my foot in the proverbial door, so to speak, that seems to be the problem at the moment. That's one lesson I wish I'd learned sooner. Rather than spending my money in college, I should have saved it up - at least a couple thousand - so I could have done my job hunting back in May in DC, rather than what looks like November or December. Words of wisdom to pass on to my siblings, I suppose. On the political side of things, I haven't been able to do too much lately, but I'm still pulling for my personal favorites. The early ballots have gone out, I believe, so it's only a matter of time before I'll know who will be running against Mitchell in CD-5, vying for the open seat in CD-1, and who plans to challenge the incumbents for the other Arizona seats. Maybe then there will be a campaign position I can get in on, too - one never knows. With regards to my baseball passion, I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the Home Run Derby on Tuesday where Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers slugged a Derby record 28 homers in round one, and the 2008 All-Star Game, which ended up lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes (a record), had lots of small ball (6 stolen bases, a record) which I like, and lasted 15 innings (tying a record), while both managers emptied their rosters, using every single player available to them during the bout. It would have kept going, too, potentially bringing up JD Drew as the AL pitcher, had it not been for an under-the-tag play at the plate in common AL fashion. I especially enjoyed the 10th and 11th innings where Aaron Cook (Colorado Rockies) pitched out of two huge jams - bases loaded, 0 outs in the tenth, and 2nd and 3rd, 0 outs in the 11th. Drama at its best! Otherwise, I am also reading a new book by William Martin called "The Lost Constitution" - basically, it's historical fiction-meets-Dan Brown about a lost first draft of the United States Constitution which was annotated with the Founding Fathers' original intent behind the Bill of Rights, specifically the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. The story is split into two parts - first, the story of how the document came to be stolen from its caretaker, William Pike, in 1787, and the efforts throughout history of Revolutionary, Civil War, and other era descendants of William to get it back and publish the Founders' annotations. The second part is that of the modern-day effort of a rare-book hunter to find and acquire the lost Constitution in the midst of a national debate about the repeal of the 2nd Amendment. The thinking is that if this document can be found, it will settle the debate once and for all. So obviously, several factions (not all of them nice) are trying to also get their hands on it. I'm about halfway through so far, and it's a great story. I recommend it to my friends who enjoy the Dan Brown-type treasure hunter adventure stuff, and to those who like the historical fiction aspect as well. After I finish this book, I am going to see if I can find his other novels, Back Bay and Harvard Yard. I suppose this post is long enough for now. I will write more when I have it!

I'm Gonna Be On TeeVee!

Yeah, since I'm still in the market for employment, I decided to go help out Jim Ogsbury, the CD-5 candidate for Congress, as an extra in his upcoming TV commercial which I hear will air sometime next month. We went out to a couple places around the district, had some fun in the heat, and I got to chat with some of the other volunteers. All of them were amazing people, active and ready to go to the mat to elect Jim Ogsbury! I hope I'll have the chance to be as useful and helpful to my district's candidates when I finally get my job/car/apartment mess figured out. Perhaps the best part of the day was getting the lunch orders for everyone - the campaign staff, the television director and his hired crew, and all the volunteers. My job was to find out what everyone wanted and then go to Subway with one of the members of the campaign staff and pick it up. We had a grand total of 19 orders, and though the Subway staff looked at me like I was crazy for coming to their shop for lunch, we got it all taken care of professionally and swiftly. Those sandwich-makin' gurus were amazing for putting up with what turned out to be a chaotic order. Especially since we weren't the only ones trying to order. In between making our sandwiches, they were taking other peoples' orders at the same time and getting everything RIGHT! Take THAT, McDonald's drive thru attendents! But even though volunteer stuff is fun for me, it's now back to the money-making job search!

Jim Ogsbury for Congress

Today, after almost a full year of no politics beyond classwork and debates with friends, I got back into it by helping for a few hours at a phone bank for Jim Ogsbury, a candidate for CD-5 in Arizona against Harry Mitchell, a Democrat who hasn't done jack for Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Fountain Hills, among others. Jim himself was also there answering constituent questions and helping make calls, and I got to chat with him for a bit. He seems like a very realistic, down-to-earth guy, and I think he would do a wonderful job as a Congressman in the district. Unfortunately, I don't get to vote for him because I reside in CD-6 with Jeff Flake, but I am glad I could help anyway! After making about 200 or so dials, I left and saw "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" with my old friend from Flagstaff, Max. The movie was the classic "I don't need any brain cells to watch this, and in fact, in watching this, I may have killed some off" Adam Sandler flick, but it was mildly amusing nonetheless. And it was good to see Max again. Afterwards, we met another friend of mine, Ryan for dinner and a couple drinks. Possibly the best night I've had back in Phoenix since graduation!