Disqus - Latest Comments for GetaMac

Re: Bayh Buzz Continues -- Political Wire

Mike — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:24:54 -0000

By the way, I believe Sebelius would make a much better VP than Bayh. I just don't believe Ryan's proclamations for a second.

Other red flags are that Ryan claims Obama will announce Sebelius on Friday, the opening day of the Olympics. Ha! Yeah, right. Also, just three days ago, Ryan was proclaiming that Bayh will be the VP pick instead of Kaine.

Re: Bayh Buzz Continues -- Political Wire

Mike — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:22:02 -0000

I have to call bullshit on Ryan's predictions. No way Obama would order "millions" of bumper stickers, t-shirts, and buttons before an announcement was made. Moreover, campaigns don't order stickers, t-shirts, and buttons from the same place, but rather lots of different printers.

What a campaign does is order a handful of banners and signs of each VP candidate, just enough for a rally the day of the announcement. Only after A VP announcement would a campaign order items such as t-shirts and stickers in mass quantities.

I bet Ryan is already trading on Intrade, and he is looking to manipulate the market.

Re: Bayh Buzz Continues -- Political Wire

Mike — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:37:36 -0000

Bayh would be a poor choice. He embodies the Washington political insider whom Obama has been campaigning against this whole election.

Not only did Bayh support the war in Iraq, but the justification he gave for it shows he is unworthy to be 2nd in line for Commander in Chief: "The majority of the American people tend to trust the Republican Party more on issues involving national security and defense than they do the Democratic Party. We need to work to improve our image on that score by taking a more aggressive posture with regard to Iraq, empowering the president."

Re: Quote of the Day -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:59:05 -0000

Look, I'm not defending Brian because I disagree with most of what he says. But, like it or not, there are a lot of Democrats and Americans who share Brian's views. Name calling is not appropriate in any circumstance and it only serves to hurt whatever you are advocating for.

Re: Extra Bonus Quote of the Day -- Political Wire

Mike — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:55:39 -0000

Mark Warner (unfortunately) took his name off the list long ago. I would also add Claire McCaskill and Wesley Clark to the list.

Re: The Political Futures -- Political Wire

Mike — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:14:11 -0000

I think the more interesting number on InTrade is that Hillary Clinton is still trading at greater than a 6% chance of winning the presidential election in November. This is more than negligible. It seems to indicate that people believe there is greater than 6% chance that Obama will not be the Democratic candidate as of Election Day. I pray that people are incorrect.

Re: The Political Futures -- Political Wire

Mike — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:06:12 -0000

That is incorrect. Hillary almost touched 50% chance of winning the presidential election in late 2007. For the primaries, Hillary peaked as a 75% favorite to win the Democratic nomination in late 2007.

Re: CNN Poll: McCain, Obama in Tight Race -- Political Wire

Mike — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:42:00 -0000

"Certainly, if the gap between the two candidates is less than the sampling error margin, you should not say that one candidate is ahead of the other. You can say the race is "close," the race is "roughly even," or there is "little difference between the candidates." But it should not be called a "dead heat" unless the candidates are tied with the same percentages. And it certainly is not a “statistical tie” unless both candidates have the same exact percentages.

And just as certainly, when the gap between the two candidates is equal to or more than twice the error margin – 6 percentage points in our example – and if there are only two candidates and no undecided voters, you can say with confidence that the poll says Candidate A is clearly leading Candidate B.

When the gap between the two candidates is more than the error margin but less than twice the error margin, you should say that Candidate A "is ahead," "has an advantage" or "holds an edge." The story should mention that there is a small possibility that Candidate B is ahead of Candidate A."

http://www.fivethirtyeight....

Re: Dobbs for Governor? -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:59:22 -0000

Dobbs is an uneducated xenophobic windbag. He is one of the main reasons I now prefer MSNBC over CNN.

Re: Clinton Will Drop Bid Saturday -- Political Wire

Mike — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:03:55 -0000

Finally.

Re: Clinton Did Not Concede -- Political Wire

Mike — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:41:02 -0000

Hillary Clinton's speech tonight was really disappointing, especially when compared with Obama's gracious speech. I've been a supporter of a unity ticket, but after tonight, I don't think that will work.

Obama has officially clinched, yet Hillary continues to paint the belief in her supporters that she won the election and Obama has essentially stolen it, continuing to claim falsely that she "carr[ied] the popular vote with more votes than any primary candidate in history." Tonight, Hillary proved that she cares more about herself than the unity of her party or the wellbeing of her country.

Re: Buffett Backs Obama -- Political Wire

Mike — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:03:48 -0000

That's great news, Warren Buffett is someone who is admired by Democrats and Republicans. Glad to have him on board.

Re: Obama Open to Deal on Clinton Debt -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:28:55 -0000

I'm hoping Hillary will stay in until May 20 and then drop out. If she drops out now, Obama will surely lose WV and KY, and the MSM will be predicting Obama's doom after he loses to an opponent who has already dropped out.

If Obama makes a deal, part of the deal should be that Hillary HAS to stay in the race until May 20.

Re: Obama Open to Deal on Clinton Debt -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:30:26 -0000

Nothing wrong with keeping options open.

Re: Kennedy Says Joint Ticket Not Possible -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:25:12 -0000

The prediction markets disagree with Mr. Kennedy. Right now, Hillary is the most likely VP choice, with people giving her a 20% chance of becoming VP. #2 is Jim Webb of Virginia, at 12%. #3 is Bill Richardson at 9.5%.

Re: Kennedy Says Joint Ticket Not Possible -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:12:13 -0000

Since you're a Republican, I will forgive you for forgetting about Gandhi. But I'm surprised that you forgot about your hero Ronald Reagan and the end of the Soviet Union.

Re: Obama's Trojan Horse Voter Drive -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:18:09 -0000

I don't agree with everything about Obama. For example, I support free trade. I also think we should overhaul the tax system by enacting a VAT like the entire rest of the world, eliminating income tax for most people, lowering the corporate double tax, and stop using the tax code for political purposes.

Since when has Obama (or any Democrat) supported religious suppression? What the 1st Amendment says, according to the Supreme Court, is that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." The purpose of this principal is NOT to suppress religion, but to PREVENT suppression of other religions that would result if a state, school, courthouse, jail, etc. favors one religion over another.

I think most people believe that a progressive tax rate is both fair and efficient based on ability to pay and decreasing marginal utility of additional dollars earned. I'm not opposed to lowering tax rates. All I ask is that if we do so, we also lower spending. President Bush has threatened the long-term viability of our country by lowering taxes at the same time that he has imposed record spending. If our current leaders want to invest in wars, we should pay for them, not our future generations. Similarly, if Obama wants to invest in health care instead of wars, that's great, but we should make sure to pay for it.

Re: Obama's Trojan Horse Voter Drive -- Political Wire

Mike — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:54:16 -0000

Thanks Eva!

Re: Michigan Democrats Float Plan -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:14:17 -0000

Good, now Obama looks like the good guy and Hillary becomes the one who is not counting MI.

Re: Clock Ticking on Clinton Loans -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:06:08 -0000

Again, don't associate Hillary's supporters with Hillary's negative campaign.

Go visit the "enemy's" blog at http://blog.hillaryclinton.... . You will find die-hard supporters who believe in Hillary with all their hearts. It is clear they are infatuated with Hillary and can't imagine her losing. While some supporters may have unrealistic expectations and I disagree with their arguments, it is also clear that they are not saboteurs and they are not trying to boost McCain.

Re: Michigan Democrats Float Plan -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:53:42 -0000

I agree, it's not fair, and I wish more voters thought like you. However, it's also not fair that MI and FL voters don't get a chance to vote because of their stupid politicians who changed the primary dates.

If Obama comes out in support of seating the MI/FL delegates, he loses very little because he will still win the nomination. At the same time, many MI/FL voters are passionate about this issue. These voters will be a lot happier if their delegates are seated, and they will be more likely to support Obama in November. Moreover, this neutralizes one of Hillary's biggest talking points - that Obama is disenfranchising MI/FL voters (I know this is not true, but Hillary's campaign will still bring it up). Therefore, seating MI/FL is a win/win for everyone and is a value creating opportunity that Obama should support.

Re: Obama's Trojan Horse Voter Drive -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:35:09 -0000

When "hope" becomes a dirty word and people want to dislike their presidents, you know there's a problem with our political system. That's precisely why we need Obama.

Re: Clock Ticking on Clinton Loans -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:29:58 -0000

Please don't make sweeping generalizations about Clinton supporters; it's not appropriate, just like it's inappropriate when Clinton supporters make generalizations about Obama supporters.

I bet the vast majority of Clinton supporters care about the Democratic party and would like to vote for Obama since his positions are virtually the same as Clinton's. The main issue keeping these Clinton supporters from voting for Obama is that they believe they were mistreated or insulted or are unwanted by Obama and his supporters.

Comments like, "Her supporters could care less about the Democratic party or America" or "People that have no integrity or moral character" are exactly what will keep Hillary Democrats from voting for Obama in November. Imagine if a Hillary supporter said that about you; I bet you'd (rightfully) feel insulted. Again, unless you are a Republican troll, please stop with the insults.

Re: Clock Ticking on Clinton Loans -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:04:16 -0000

If you want to "boot" all the Clinton supporters, then Obama will not win in November and we will all be worse off (unless you are a Republican troll).

Re: Clock Ticking on Clinton Loans -- Political Wire

Mike — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:51:02 -0000

The senior staff like Mark Penn, Howard Wolfson, Terry Mcauliffe, Maggie Williams, Harold Ickes, etc. masterminded the slime campaign, but not the hundreds of lower-level campaign staff. Many of Hillary's vendors also had no role in the slime campaign.