Ms. Goose Says...

Early voting has begun in Florida and the lines are huge. This is great news. Unfortunately, the news media is portraying the long lines as a symptom of problems. People are complaining about having to wait two or three hours to vote. In reality, the long lines mean nothing more than that turnout is high, and the majority are exercising their right to vote. It means that early voting is working, because trying to process all these people in one day on election day would be impossible. And, as Ms. Goose says "If they can wait an hour in 95 degree heat for a ride at Disney, they can wait on a nice day to vote!" I have to agree.

Barack HUSSEIN Obama

Some Republicans allow themselves to see some insidious meaning in Barack Obama's middle name - Hussein. It's used as a kind of code at rallies, as we saw recently in Florida when Sheriff Mike Scott introduced Sarah Palin at a rally. The idea is that Obama's true loyalties reside within his middle name. It's clearly a bad idea, in this time of national danger, to allow a man with this middle name to lead the war on terror. The Moose Goose Gazette thinks having Obama in charge during the war on terror would be as bad as having a guy with a Native American middle name be commanding general during the Indian Wars of the late nineteenth century (William TECUMSEH Sherman). Or as bad as having a man with a German last name lead the armies against Hitler (Dwight David EISENHOWER). Or to have a man with an Arabic last name lead the fight against Al Qaeida in Afghanistan and Iraq (John ABIZAID). A curious person may wonder why, of these and other examples, only Barack Obama is being portrayed in a suspicious light.
The point is this: conservatives have plenty of policy differences with Barack Obama to justify not voting for him. Demonizing him on top of these legitimate issues only promotes divisiveness, stunts honest debate, and is ultimately harmful to our country.

Winning The Post-Debate

Senator Obama may have won the debate by some arguable margin, but won the post-debate by an unarguable landslide. Two things happened after the debate that, if they get any media traction, can move undecided voters to Obama.
The (Perceived) Snub: Liberal blogs are all upset over John McCain refusing to shake hands with Barack Obama while they were working the crowd together. I think there's a lot more smoke than fire on this one. They shook hands right after the debate, while Tom Brokaw complained that they were blocking the view of his closing lines on the teleprompter. In the snub video, McCain clearly approached Obama so that Barack and Cindy could exchange pleasantries (Which is odd, given Cindy McCain's claims earlier in the day.) McCain simply didn't expect Obama to extend his hand, and so had an awkward moment. We've all had them... well, at least I have. So, while it's no secret that McCain isn't fond of Obama, I don't see a snub here. Still, if it gains traction in the media, it could hurt McCain.
A Man of the People: Far more telling was what happened next. John and Cindy McCain worked the crowd, walking around the room right to the exit and out the door. Barack and Michelle Obama worked the crowd and stayed. And stayed. And stayed. For at least 20 minutes, while the talking heads were dissecting the debate, the backdrop video showed Barack and Michelle simply spending time with the people. Talking, and smiling, and having pictures taken. The impression was that John McCain came for the debate, while Barack Obama came for the people. It doesn't matter if those interpretations are accurate, the impression is there. America got a great big dose of unscripted Barack and Michelle, mingling with the Joe Sixpack's the McCain campaign is appealing to...and enjoying it. For an undecided voter asking "Who understands the needs of everyday people?" it would be hard to pick the absent McCain over the engaged Obama.
The Moose Goose Gazette gives the post-debate to Obama as a clear winner.