Pop Politic Madness

I don't usually discuss politics. But I feel I don't need a PHD to discuss this subject...

Ever wonder if the polls are accurate? We got a hot link for you.

Check out how the polls measure up to the outcome.

Oh yeah ...Obama won. They got that right.

President Obama

YES WE DID!

Cabbage Patch Nominees

With all the serious election news these days -- and, regardless of your affiliation, I urge you all to get out and VOTE next Tuesday! -- today's news is a little light-hearted, for a nice change...

If you, like me, grew up in the 80's, you owned a Cabbage Patch Kid, and quite possibly a Koosa, both of which I still have. (Side note: mine is a bald preemie originally given a very Anglo name [Parker John]. You had the option to send in for a "birth certificate" reflecting a name change to one more of your liking. And so, Pino Caspar -- named, respectively, as a diminutive of my father's name (Giuseppe, or Joseph), and the blond kid my cousin Paula had a crush on in elementary school (Caspar Reskinielsen) -- was named. I know: oy...)

Any-kid-with-issues, this year's presidential candidates -- and their Veeps -- have been immortalized in the form of Cabbage Patch Kids. Is it me, or do the Biden and McCain dolls look near-exactly alike?

Rest assured my Barack "kid" will be joining his brother Pino WITHOUT a name change. :-)

A Narrow Escape

Regardless of your political leanings, this is pretty scary stuff indeed...

According to the Washington, DC ABC affiliate, the ATF says that it has broken up a plot to assassinate Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. This same plot also involved shooting or decapitating 102 black people in a Tennessee murder spree.

In court records unsealed on Monday, agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target an unnamed (but predominantly African-American) high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads.

According to electoral-vote.com, John McCain holds a 14 percentage point lead over Barack Obama in Tennessee.

Cocoa Tea to Barack Obama: Yes We Can!

Just a few months after recording the international hit, "Barack Obama", Jamaican roots reggae star Cocoa Tea is in the spotlight again with his follow up single, "Yes We Can". "Barack Obama", which has been circulating for months on the radio, among reggae fans young and old as well as casual music fans around the globe, is praised for its participatory message and catchy melody.

"Yes We Can" is Cocoa Tea's response to "Barack Obama". A rootsy, non-partisan appeal for all classes, colors, races and creeds to come together, "Yes We Can" is a roadmap for people to unite across party lines, racial divide and international boundaries, despite personal differences.

Cocoa Tea sings, "Yes we can/Don't let them tell us that we can't... Democrats and Republicans, let me hear you say yes we can, yes we can..."

Cocoa Tea says "Barack Obama" and "Yes We Can" are significant in part because they reflect a remarkable mix of popular culture and international citizenship.

The song "Barack Obama" has struck a chord around the world and created a new generation of Cocoa Tea admirers while television appearances on CNN and FOX News as well as interviews with the BBC, the New York Times and New York Post have cemented Cocoa Tea's place in international popular culture.

Both "Yes We Can" and "Barak Obama" will be featured on the upcoming Cocoa Tea album release from Zojak World Wide, scheduled for release on November 4, 2008, the same day as the US presidential election.

Clinton suspends presidential bid

"Well, this isn't exactly the party I planned, but I sure like the company," Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said at the start of her 28-minute concession speech Saturday, amid tears and cheers from her supporters. The marked end of her bid was held in the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., not far from the White House.

Former First Lady Clinton suspended her historical campaign and called for unity in the Democratic party, asking her supporters to use "our energy, our passion, our strength" to elect Barack Obama the next commander-in-chief.

"I endorse him and throw my full support behind him," she said, noting the cultural and political milestones both she and Obama represent. "Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States," she said.

Indeed, the vie for the Democratic nomination was a historical moment. For Clinton, it marked the closest a woman had come to securing a nomination. For Obama, it is the first time a transracial individual earned the nod. Clinton emphasized these points, particularly the new ground her candidacy paved for women.

"Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it has about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before," she said in her speech.

However, she also set about trying to divide the rift that developed among democrats during the primary.

"The way to continue our fight now to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States," she said.

"Today as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him and I ask of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me," she added amid boos and loud applause.

Obama released a statement from Chicago saying he watched Clinton's speech via computer and called her afterwards. He said he was "thrilled and honored" to receive his former opponent's support.

"I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run," he said in his statement. "She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans."

Following her speech, nearly 300 leaders in the Democratic party released statements saying they now back Obama, rather than Clinton.

In suspending her bid, Clinton may retain her delegates to the nomination convention this summer, continue to raise money and reopen her campaign if circumstances change prior to the Denver convention.

According to NBC political director Chuck Todd, Clinton staked her claim as the United States' top female political figure in her speech.

John King, chief national correspondent at CNN, said that if Clinton had campaigned and communicated throughout her entire bid like she did during her concession speech, the results may have been different.

"In endorsing Barack Obama and in saying how many times how together they want to do things, it sounded very much like she was auditioning [for the vice presidency], saying 'Take a look at this Sen. Obama. Look at my people, look at my message. I could help you if you put me on the Democratic ticket,'" he said. "Sounded very much like a farewell and an audition all wrapped up in one speech."

Obama declines Clinton challenge

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declined a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton to debate without a moderator prior to the May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.

"I'm not ducking. We've had 21 [debates]," Obama told Fox News Sunday.

"For two weeks, two big states, we want to make sure we're talking to as many voters on the ground, taking questions from voters," he added. "We're not going to have debates between now and Indiana."

Clinton, who is trailing in delegates and the popular vote, has been pressuring Obama to increase the number of debates before the upcoming primaries. She spent Sunday campaigning in North Carolina while Obama took a break from the campaign trail and returned to his Chicago home.


In other political news, a new Democratic Party ad opposing Republican candidate John McCain will be released Monday. It depicts the Arizona senator as a future president who will keep troops in Iraq for 100 years, and is part of a half-million dollar, three-week national cable television campaign that attempts to link McCain's policies to those of President George W. Bush.

McCain also derided Obama for opposing his idea a summer "gas-tax holiday," which McCain believes will help low-income people save on fuel costs.

"I noticed again today that Senator Obama repeated his opposition to giving low-income Americans a tax break, a little bit of relief so they can travel a little further and a little longer, and maybe have a little bit of money left over to enjoy some other things in their lives," McCain said. "Obviously Senator Obama does not understand that this would be a nice thing for Americans, and the special interests should not be dictating this policy."

Hillary Clinton Gets Her Drink On

Looks like Clinton isn't a complete Stepford. Who would have guessed it? She's actually a real person, and she has the pizza and beer to prove it.



The video was originally aired on Fox News, and can also be found on Perez Hilton's blog. In the footage, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton can be seen doing shots like a pro and drinking beer with the press.



This video could do wonders for her campaign. Well, unless people perceived this to mean that she has an unpublicized drinking problem.

Mitt Romney Withdraws from Republican Presidential Primary

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, announced this afternoon at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he is dropping out of the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Romney, who views himself as the “true conservative choice,” previously had vowed to continue running even after the disastrous results of the Super Tuesday primary contests.

He claimed that he withdrew in order to unify the Republican Party and stated that “Because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I have to stand aside for our party and our country.”

With Romney out of the running, Arizona Senator John McCain will likely win the Republican candidacy. McCain’s only opponent left is Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, and while Huckabee is an articulate and affable candidate--winning six Southern states on Super Tuesday--he has a lack of experience in foreign affairs and a lack of funds which will probably prove detrimental to his campaign.