Making the call: President Barack Obama

 I

am calling the election before any actual results. Talk about presumptuous. I can take the heat – and no one is calling my cell or land line or emailing me to say, “hey, the 72-year old man isn’t done for yet.”

Well, I think he’s hit. Here’s why:

The toss ups are eleven in number.

Indiana, Virginia, Florida, N. Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Missouri by most accounts. The probability that McCain runs the table on all 11 is so remote. If they are nearly dead heats, that’s the likelihood of flipping a coin 11 times and getting head all 11 times. Like hitting the state lottery.

So, I think there are some guarantee splits in the electoral treasure:

Obama should carry:

Virginia, N. Carolina, and Florida and that would clinch with the Kerry map of 2004 remaining. (Ohio and Pennsylvania would not matter.) With large African-American populations and a heated feeling over 2000 Election still in the mouth in Florida, I think it will be that quick of a defeat.

If Barack loses Florida, but gains normally blue Pennsylvania, then he still wins. Polling in Penn has him up in another large African American concentration of votes in the city of brotherly love, who just won a World Series. (Quirky Happiness brings out those Dems…)

If Barack loses Virginia, he’s done under that particular scenario. (With the remaining Bush map working for McCain.)

Other paths: Win Missouri and Indiana. (While losing N. Carolina.)

Weird election scenarios:

Barack loses Ohio and Pennsylvania, wins N. Carolina, Indiana, Missouri and squeaks out 1 electoral vote in Nebraska while keeping all of Maine’s electoral votes. 269 split per candidate.

Wins Indiana, Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico, loses N. Carolina, but gets only 268 votes.

But my prediction:

Obama – 52.7%
Mccain – 45.3%
Others – 2%

Barack: 364 Electoral Votes

McCain: 174 Electoral Votes

Barack wins Virginia, N. Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, Colorado, N. Mexico, Missouri but loses Ohio.

Bias, but will see.

VOTE!!! (IF it’s not too late!) 

Letter to the Editor: McCain’s judgment in economics is inherently flawed

Economy is inherently sound

As the markets spin out of control, with wild swings based on calamitous events such as Countrywide, MBIA, Ambac, Bear Stearnes, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, IndyMac, Lehman Brothers,  Merrill Lynch and AIG, why do many insist that Bush’s administration, or his party’s nominee, John McCain, have gotten anything right at all?

John McCain’s former top economic advisor, ex-U.S. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, had a primary hand in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 that eliminated the firewall protections made by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 between investment, commercial banking, and insurance services during the Great Depression when so many banks failed. As a result of this deregulation, we are now seeing the enormous problems of integrated services spread like a plague throughout the market as many of these financial players mixed investments and savings and high-risk loans together and across various business entities.

 

You are a nation of whiners

McCain’s economic proclamations and company kept should be an albatross around his neck. You cannot expect change from a man that hires people that called Americans, “a nation of whiners,” during an economic crisis of their making. Meaning: Phil Gramm had his hand in your misery and now blames you for it.

Phil Gramm continues to be major cog in McCain’s campaign.

How is that change we can believe in?