Servo3000: Live on the Web

From electoral-vote.com, as of July 4:

McCain: 218

Obama: 320

Myths and urban legends can live forever on the internet, but this video tries to put a stop to a few that have been circulating about Obama.

via Bob Cesca

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo) ran this ad against Democratic challenger Kay Barnes.  Is this what Republicans think San Francisco looks like 24/7?  I particularly like how they made sure that the cowboy hat guy was ethnic and looked gay, however they just couldn’t go the distance and actually having him dancing with other dudes.  Barnes’ response was well done:

via Salon

Mike Gravel, still in the race for the Obama Girl’s heart.

via Bob Cesca

Yet another killer speech by Obama.  The easy thing to do would have been to distance himself as far as possible from Reverend Wright, as candidates frequently do when a supporter makes a crazy remark.  As he says in the speech:

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The thing with Obama is that I almost always get the feeling that he is actually telling the truth, which is spectacularly rare in politics.  Of course, I long ago drank the kool aid, so maybe I have biased view.

Here’s the schedule for the remaining primaries/caucusi:

• March 8 – Wyoming – 12 delegates
• March 11 – Mississippi – 33 delegates
• April 22 – Pennsylvania – 158 delegates
• May 3 – Guam – 4 delegates
• May 6 – Indiana – 72 delegates
• May 6 – North Carolina – 115 delegates
• May 13 – West Virginia – 28 delegates
• May 20 – Kentucky – 51 delegates
• May 20 – Oregon – 52 delegates
• June 3 – Montana – 16 delegates
• June 3 – South Dakota – 15 delegates
• June 7 – Puerto Rico – 55 delegates

Florida and Michigan are making noise about possibly holding their primaries again so that they will count.  Barring those two states coming back into the play, the two biggest forthcoming days will be Pennsylvania on April 22nd and then Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th.

As the 2008 election moves further along, the process for choosing delegates just keeps on getting weirder. This coming Tuesday will bring us one of the weirdest of all: Texas. Not content with having a primary or a caucus, Texas chose to go with both. A normal primary election will be held on March 4th, with 126 pledged delegates up for grabs. Pretty standard stuff. However, 15 minutes after the polls close, each precinct holds a caucus to determine the fate of 67 additional pledged delegates. So not only do the candidates try to get people out to vote, they try to get them there at the end of the day so that they will stick around and caucus. You can read a lot more about it here.

Check out these people caucusing in what I am certain is the basement of the Alamo:

This is a reimagining of the Obama “Yes We Can” video, only with McCain this time.

In the aftermath of Super Tuesday, I keep hearing reference to Democrat superdelegates making a difference, but never really got a good explanation of what they are. Democratic Convention Watch provides this definition:

1. The individuals recognized as members of the DNC (as set forth in Article Three, Sections 2 and 3 of the Charter of the Democratic Party of the United States); and,
2. All Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives and all Democratic members of the United States Senate; and,
3. The Democratic Governor, if applicable; and,
4. All former Democratic Presidents, all former Democratic Vice Presidents, all former Democratic Leaders of the U.S. Senate, all former Democratic Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic Minority Leaders, as applicable, and all former Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.

Ultimately, 796 out of the 4049 available Democratic delegates are superdelegates.  That means that nearly 20% of the delegates are determined by party officials instead of by the popular vote.  Hooray, democracy?