Thank You John McCain

I have great respect for John McCain's service to the United States. He is an honorable man, a brave soldier and POW, and an accomplished senator.

His campaign clearly was not honorable in many ways, but given he faced such a gigantic tidal wave of a political opponent from Obama's campaign, McCain's campaign was forced to take chances. Unfortunately for McCain, his campaign came across as erratic, rather than risk taking.

McCain will still serve as Arizona's senator and one of the most powerful members of the Senate for another two years.  He will continue to serve this great country.  The United States is certainly better off with McCain as senator and even as a presidential candidate.

I just wanted to mention here a side note.  CNN is doing a pretty good job.  We are watching CNN exclusively tonight.  The hologram gimmick is pretty worthless, and I'm convinced CNN is more committed to being an entertainment channel over being a news channel.

YES WE CAN

I am absolutely thrilled that Obama has been elected President of the United States!!!  CNN has just called the election for Obama the moment the polls officially closed for California, Oregon, and Washington.

This is a momentous occasion.  It's great to be alive to witness these events, to experience it with my wife.  Clearly, an historic event.

I don't have anything deep to express, just to document my joy, my hope, my feelings.

McCain is giving his concession speech right now and I'll pay attention.

Next big moment will be Obama's acceptance speech.

Sarah Palin: A Gift to Democrats, More Than Realized

Earlier this evening, I was reading in TIME magazine Joe Klein's interview and analysis of Barack Obama and his campaign: Why Barack Obama is Winning. Klein emphasized how Obama has run a "no-drama" campaign, reflecting both the candidate's personal temperament, as well as an underlying campaign strategy and ability to stay on message which the electorate seems to have found appealing throughout this lengthy campaign.

A day or two ago, Jack Cafferty on the CNN website posed a simple question to the audience: Was Palin as VP pick a mistake? An onslaught of online respondents basically said yes. Some went further to say that Palin was a "gift" to the Democrats. The moment McCain erratically* chose an inexperienced, unknowledgeable governor from a far flung rural state, he not only handed the election gift to the Democrats, he also gave himself a scapegoat for his likely loss to the surging Obama campaign.

Last Debate Photo Emerges

The last presidential debate was more engaging than the previous two.  McCain stepped up his game and did much better than before.  But, it wasn't the game changing performance he needed.

As the debate ended, Obama, McCain, and moderator Bob Schieffer stood up to shake hands. Because of the table shape and size, after Obama and Schieffer first shook hands, McCain found himself too far from Schieffer to reach for a handshake, so he briefly made a face and gesture as he changed course to step around the table to reach Schieffer.

The television camera's perspective clearly showed what McCain was doing and his behavior was easy to see as light-hearted jest.  This photo's perspective captures the moment in a manner which conveys an entirely different connotation.  Some may think this is a Photoshop'd image, but the moment did happen.

Excellent Recap of 2nd Presidential Debate

McCain's Arizona ranch for sale

John and Cindy McCain's massive Arizona ranch is now for sale. Looks like a great place if you're worth over $100M and raising kids in the desert state. I like the outdoor amenities.

Letterman pissed about McCain flaking