I guess I gave her too much credit.  I thought she would see what is in the best interest of the Democratic party and the country.  I am almost too furious to write.  Hillary Clinton is crazy if she thinks the superdelegates will give her the nomination.  It will doom the Democratic party for many years.

Listen to Hillary

As a strong Obama supporter leaning Democrat (I've given money and volunteered my time for Obama) I have come to the realizaton that he could actually lose the nomination by losing Indiana.  Hillary got too good of a bounce out of PA and now with the tour of Rev Wright, Obama is totally on defense.  He needs a win in Indiana to change the narrative and put him on offense.

I strongly believe Obama will ultimately end up with the most delegates, both pledged and super, and will be the nominee.  Up until now I thought Hillary would bring too much baggage to be offered the VP slot.  I've changed my mind.

John Lewis is my congressman from Atlanta.  

Last fall when he endorsed Senator Clinton, I wrote him expressing my disappointment that he did not wait to give Senator Obama a chance in the primaries.

I did not hear back from Representative Lewis.  

I have written to him in years past on issues such as civil rights, hate crimes, the war in Iraq, and I have always gotten a polite response.

I have written Mr. Lewis again regarding supporting Barack Obama.  My letter is below.  

I am not a one issue voter, but I am gay and I care about gay issues.

I was happy to hear Senator Ted Kennedy include the line "straight America vs gay America" when he endorsed Barack Obama.  I was happy to hear that Senator Obama includes this line when he speaks to black churches and that it is considered a courageous thing for him to do.

That's why I was disapponted when I listened to Obama's speech to the Jefferson Jackson dinner in Virginia and noticed that the line was missing from his speech.  UPDATE He mentioned "I know how we are made to fear each other.  Fear of immigrants. Fear of gays...

I have decided to support the Democratic nominee, no matter who it is.

I am also a strong supporter of Senator Obama's.  I've given money, made
phone calls, sent emails - because I am inspired by Barack Obama and his
message.  And the message his election will send to the country and the
world.

The policy differences between he and Senator Clinton are miniscule compared to the differences between the Democrats and John McCain and the
Republicans.  I think John McCain is a good man and he has and deserves my respect, but I dont want him to be the next president and continue the Bush policies.  He will gear up the war machine to levels we haven't even begun to see under Bush.

So I am in a bit of a quandry.  I am inspired by Obama.  I'd also like to
see a woman become president.

Looks like the draft has already started.  Thanks to AmericaBlog for this link to yahoo:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=6&u=/ap/20041107/ap_on_re_us/reser vist_lawsuit

So here we have the Bush Administration lying again.

Since 23% of those who voted for Bush said he shares their values, does that make them all liars too?  

If they are lying about that, does he not really share their values but is there another reason they voted for him?   Maybe because he pretends to share their values?  Its all so confusing.

This election and the solid red south reminds me of something I learned about southerners when I worked in the Atlanta government 6-7 years ago.

Yes, many white southerners are still very racist.  But they hide it in slang terms.  I was shocked when I heard the term "democrats" applied to african americans.  "The democrats want a free ride," is the type of thing you hear.  Or "the place was filled with democrats."  

On the other hand, I heard black people working for the local government talking about freely spending the "white people's taxes" because it was "restitution".  They mean for slavery.

There are obviously still deep divisons along racial lines in the south.

Thanks Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

I am confident the continued Bush mishandling of Iraq, the economy, our civil liberties, the environment will help lay the groundwork for a Progressive Democrat resurgence in Congress in 2006. And we'll be ready for the values debate next time too.

My comments on the "values issue" below.

Calls it a stable race.. we're in better shape than Gore was at this point.  Winning the Battlegrounds! GOTV!!

Here's the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20041031/pl_usnw/transcript_of_greenberg__devine__ donilon_lockhart_call_1_2_113_xml

Full text below the fold:

Ok, so I've never actually been a classic "swing voter" so this diary may not be actually "on message" but I feel the need to post it.  After all, these are called "diaries" not "talking points" and I always prefer the ones that talk about their personal stories.

I work for a telecommunications company and had been visiting a client located in tower II of the World Trade Center multiple times during the summer of 2001.  

The morning of September 11, 2001 I lingered over the newspaper a few extra minutes before leaving my hotel room and boarding the train to the WTC from Times Square.

Seems John Marshall of Talking Points Memo link agrees:

(October 30, 2004 -- 01:13 AM EDT / link / print)

Which of these two statements sounds like it comes from the stronger leader?

John Kerry: In response to this tape from Osama bin Laden, let me make it clear, crystal clear. As Americans, we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. They are barbarians. And I will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes. Period.

George W. Bush: Earlier today I was informed of the tape that is now being analyzed by America's intelligence community. Let me make this very clear: Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country. I'm sure Senator Kerry agrees with this. I also want to say to the American people that we're at war with these terrorists and I am confident that we will prevail.

You decide

Osama Bin Laden, in a tape released just a few days before the Presidential election, says that neither Bush nor Kerry can keep the American people safe.

Bin Laden also appeared to apologize for the Sept 11 attacks, saying that he thought up the idea in 1982 and he had been obsessed with it since then.

I know the real poll is the one this Tuesday, but I found this story on CNBC heartening.  CNBC hasn't been balanced until recently.

But now, CNBC has Scott Rasmussen saying the "Investment Class" voters are split 48 Bush to 47 Kerry - dead even like the "rest of the electorate".

And after 2000 they're now only 30% of the electorate.

CNBC goes so far as to quote a man who has been a registered Republican for 30 years.  Seems he "strongly opposes Bush" because he has turned our foreign policy into a "complete disaster."

Still looking for a link to add to this story.  I saw it on TV and used Tivo to report the particulars.

Theyve been setting up the "security mom" meme for some time.. in RNC ads, on faux news shows..

Now all thats left is the big hail mary pass.. raising the terror alert.

Please vote in the poll on when the alert gets raised.

And comment below on whether this will tip the election or just encourage the Fareheit 9/11 voters to get to the polls.

Here's my letter to the editor of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

"Our soldiers in Iraq are being attacked, killed or wounded with bombs from sites the Bush Administration failed to secure after the invasion.  This is total incompetence!  If the mission was to bungle the effort, this certainly is "Mission Accomplished".  This from the folks who say they are the ones to keep us safe?  Despite being told we needed more troops?  Bush has nothing to offer but lame excuses."

So I get a call from the editorial department:

Howard Fineman CNBC: "the moment where John Kerry... exerted mastery over the President tonite... toward the end where he said I want to compliment the president on his handling of the situation after 9/11.. really that was a moment of mastery for Kerry."

Andrew Sullivan calls it THE GOLD WATCH NARRATIVE: Taken as a whole, the debate both melted some of Bush's hard edges, while keeping Kerry as the man with more presidential manner. Indeed, over the three debates, Kerry has seemed the most even-keeled emotionally, the most constant, the least prone to turning up in a different guise each time. But, after a disastrous start and a middling second debate, last night Bush pulled out his frat president persona and charmed people again. That does and will matter. Nevertheless, we live in dire times and frat presidents may not be the best choice in such circumstances. One reason I think Bush has slid in the polls recently is that he has simply seemed a little out of his depth in these debates - and that's the last thing we need in a nerve-wracking war. Kerry's liberalism emerged more strongly last night, and that may play against him in the next few weeks. But he didn't lose his calm; his graciousness toward the president was a sign of underlying strength and self-confidence in the debate; and he seemed trustworthy in a very old-fashioned kind of way. Stylistically, he was the conservative. And the message that sends is that it's safe to switch leaders. You don't have to demonize them to move on from them. You can even, as Kerry did, praise them. But that very dynamic suggests a certain logic to this election: "Thanks, Mr President, and good-bye." Bush now has to fight very hard to reverse that logic.

Thanks to a poster on http://americablog.blogspot.com/ I found this cartoon from the Guardian

What do you think will happen in the last debate Wed nite? Vote below.