BBC]

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 08, 2008 · 1:20 AM PST

2008/12/08 · 01:20

Earlier, a diary by Inky99 linked a report in The Hindu that John and Joe suggested missile strikes on Pakistan by India would not be out of the question. This caused much debate; my take (disclosure - I am Indian) was that India reserved the same right to self-defense that the US has (per Obama, not just Bush) IF Pakistan does not take action against the extremists.
Now, a report on Rediff.com suggests a crackdown by Pakistani security forces on Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and its current incarnation, the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, including capture of one of the alleged masterminds behind the Mumbai terror attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi. This should hopefully reduce the tension between the two countries.
Excerpts and links to Dawn/BBC reports below the fold.

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 03, 2008 · 3:07 AM PST

2008/11/03 · 03:07

Today was the second day of the final Get Out The Vote (GOTV) push. I am a canvass captain in North Boulder (Colorado) for the Obama/Udall/Polis campaigns, which just means I train new volunteers in addition to canvassing.

Though thus far the NB office hasn't looked busy, there has been a steady influx of volunteers, which means we knocked on over 1100 doors today. That's a decent figure, and hopefully more volunteers show up tomorrow and E-day (very likely), so we can really turn out Obama supporters here.
Today, I had some experiences, which perhaps encompassed the highs, the lows, and the middle of canvassing. More below the fold...

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 28, 2008 · 3:20 PM PDT

2008/10/28 · 15:20

Just read another AP article by McCain's favorite AP reporter, Liz "donuts with sprinkles" Sidoti - "McCain shows gritty determination in final week."
Her position is that even as the polls show McCain lagging behind, he is fighting it out.

A week before Election Day, the Republican is an enthusiastic underdog with what advisers say is a deep personal belief that he still has a chance to stage an upset next week.

Ummm... what else is the Presidential candidate of a major party supposed to do? Concede?
More fun excerpts below the fold.

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 04, 2008 · 10:36 AM PDT

2008/10/04 · 10:36

Apologies for the short diary. A couple articles following McCain's pulling out of MI that I just had to spread the word about...
Michael Tomasky writes in The Guardian that McCain's retreat out of MI is the big story, not the VP debate. He compares the election to a chess game - and points out that of the nine remaining battleground states totaling 111 EVs, only the smallest - NH - is a Kerry state (link/quotes below the fold). A couple Kerry states are close-ish, he says, but in neither is McCain poised to win.
More interesting, is a Hill article that says McCain was forced out of MI due to his acceptance of public funding. (Wait, wasn't the RNC supposed to back him up?) Here's Thaddeus McCotter's explanation:

“We’ve had a very tough economy under Bush and Granholm,” he said in reference to Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). “In Michigan, the 3rd term of Bush had more resonance than in other states.”

[emphasis added]
Get that? A Republican representative (almost?) admitting that McCain is Bush-3... :-)

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 30, 2008 · 1:30 PM PDT

2008/09/30 · 13:30

I haven't seen kos' posts in a while touting Obama's margins among Hispanics. Essentially, one good thing going for Obama was that he was performing much better among Hispanics than Kerry (and McCain much worse than Bush) - the margins were like 60-25.
But today I was looking at the Gallup demographic breakdowns, in the Gallup key indicators, ending Sept 21.

Support among non-Hispanic Whites (Obama-McCain):
Aug 18-24: 37-52
Aug 25-31: 40-50
Sept 1-7: 39-53
Sept 8-14: 37-55
Sept 15-21: 42-51 (M +9; best O-margin pre-last week)
Support among non-Hispanic Blacks:
Sept 8-14: 93-4
Sept 15-21: 93-3
Support among Hispanics:
Aug 18-24: 58-31
Aug 25-31: 64-24 (O +40)
Sept 1-7: 60-31 (O +29)
Sept 8-14: 55-35 (O +20)
Sept 15-21: 53-38 (O +15; pre-last week; lowest O-margin)

More below the fold.

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday September 28, 2008 · 9:14 AM PDT

2008/09/28 · 09:14

The first Senate debate on Meet the Press featured Congressman Mark Udall and ex-Congressman Bob Schaffer this morning. I have earlier written about the ad-wars here, where Udall is repeatedly called "Boulder liberal Mark Udall" while Schaffer is labeled "Big Oil Bob Schaffer."

Schaffer was more aggressive, and had a list of talking points/Udall's votes, which he referred to once or twice (the list, I mean). He even read off the actual language of a law once - I think it was about amendments to a bill that would have put more regulations on Freddie Mae/Fannie Mac (Udall voted for the overall bill, apparently, but not specific amendments).

Udall was initially soporific, even as Schaffer kept blaming Udall and Congressional Democrats for the state of affairs today. Tom Brokaw had to step in once to point out to Schaffer that Republicans were in-charge for much of the past eight years.

Poll

77 votes Show Results

Who will win CO-Sen?

77 votes Vote Now!

Who will win CO-Sen?

Boulder liberal Mark Udall (and proud of it!)

66 votes

Big Oil Bob Schaffer

4 votes

pie

7 votes

CO-Sen+: Ad-wars in Colorado non-POTUS races (Boulder edition)

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 19, 2008 · 7:36 AM PDT

2008/09/19 · 07:36

I live in Boulder - the liberal heart of Colorado?! I have heard a GOP-leaning commenter say "Boulder's the second-worst city in America, after San Francisco!" I am so proud!

There are multiple races and ballot initiatives for which I have seen TV ads (sorry, no radio, except when I drive - which is rare!) Ballot initiatives include Amendment 58 (A Smarter Colorado, with the latest a riff on the MMS scandal). I can't find the No on 58 ads, but the opposition paints Amendment 58 as a $321 million tax increase (Sound familiar?) Also, "no on 47, 49, 54" by a firefighter.

In the state-wide race, Mark Udall is the Democratic Senate candidate, currently Congressman from CO-2, including Boulder. Running against Bob Schaffer. There's been a heavy ad blitz by third-parties, particularly against Mark Udall, but also some against Bob Schaffer Some advertisements seen on TV in Colorado, most this morning (9/19), below the fold, as are some congressional ads.

Poll

19 votes Show Results

More places should be like Boulder/SF

19 votes Vote Now!

More places should be like Boulder/SF

Yes

9 votes

Oh yeah!

10 votes

John S. Baick, meet Rick Shenkman (and lessons from India)

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday September 07, 2008 · 5:53 AM PDT

2008/09/07 · 05:53

In the pundit roundup, Rick Shenkman on low-information voters and John S Baick on the incongruities of the Palin/McCain ticket are highlighted.
I have been thinking these last few days that Governor Palin not meeting the media and the GOP making the media the enemy are good tactics. People who vote for the Palin/McCain ticket - on the right or (conservative Dems/women?) on the left - are people who don't read much, and if they do, are already pushed into the direction of the "media is against us" narrative.
The hope is that there are more Dems (men and women) who read newsreports and find that the "maverick" ticket is anything but, rather than swallow the GOP line and vote for that ticket. But given Shenkman's analysis...

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 05, 2008 · 5:54 AM PDT

2008/09/05 · 05:54

Palin makes false claims ("against Bridge to Nowhere, stood up to lobbyists" etc.) in her Friday debut, these are debunked/fact-checked, and then she makes the same claims again in her Wednesday speech.

McCain says he has a history of bipartisanship and Obama does not - the latter half of which is false (see Lugar, Dick; Coburn, Tom). Palin also says Obama has no record of legislative accomplishments - but she brought about significant ethics reform in Alaska! And both say Obama will raise taxes - even though Obama will cut taxes for 95% of American families (more than McCain for middle/low-income workers!), and for small businesses!

The Master himself, Karl Rove, says Governor Tim Kaine was just a mayor of the "105th largest city in America" - just 200k people - and so would be a political pick. But Palin as the mayor of Wasilla (pop. 6000) has executive experience!

Poll

28 votes Show Results

Will things be different in 2008 than in 2000/2004?

28 votes Vote Now!

Will things be different in 2008 than in 2000/2004?

No - here's to Bush/Cheney 3!

4 votes

Yes - but it's gonna be 1988

3 votes

Yes - but it's gonna be 1984 with R & D reversed

8 votes

Yes - it will be Obama = Kerry + some states

10 votes

No - but this time, Anthony Kennedy swings the other way

3 votes

Hail Sarah!

randomsubu

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday August 30, 2008 · 1:45 AM PDT

2008/08/30 · 01:45

"I can’t believe a guy that handsome wouldn’t have some impact." - John McCain on George Bush picking Dan Quayle in 1988. (via Wiki)

I wonder if that tells us all we need to know about John McCain's own VP pick, apart from the fact that she's a woman. I am a little surprised the news didn't leak out sooner - no news about Secret Service details, etc. Guess the McCain camp has better control over its secrets.

More seriously, on its face, the pick reinforces the "maverick" tag, as Governor Palin was elected on a reform platform. As a commenter pointed out on dailykos, Biden might also not go hammer-and-tongs at Governor Palin during the VP debate - that would turn off some more women (remember the NH Dem debate, after which Clinton won?)

RSS

Pakistan: Crackdown on LeT/Mumbai terror mastermind held [Updated w/ BBC]

CO: Final GOTV push, Day 2 - highs, lows and the middle [updated]

Liz Sidoti: always good for a laugh

McCain out of MI: reax (McCotter says Bush-3!)

Obama's Hispanic support slipping? [Update 1x]

CO-Sen: Udall (D) v Schaffer (R) on MTP (update: Youtube video!)

CO-Sen+: Ad-wars in Colorado non-POTUS races (Boulder edition)

John S. Baick, meet Rick Shenkman (and lessons from India)

Who you gonna believe, us or your lyin' eyes?

Hail Sarah!