….because if Obama is elected president, it’ll boost membership.  This may possibly be the most backward logic I’ve ever read.  Then again, we are dealing with supremacists here.

Senator Barack Obama became the first African-American to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president Thursday.

The historic event prompted a Montgomery, Alabama, Civil Rights organization to gauge how white supremacists might react to an Obama presidency.

A Southern Poverty Law Center investigation shows most white supremacist groups support Obama’s candidacy. It’s not the result they expected.

“What was really unexpected was that a very large number of white supremacists, including some of their intellectual leaders, like David Duke, were saying actually, this could be a good thing for us,” explained the SPLC’s Mark Potok.

Potok heads the Intelligence Project, which monitors hate groups nationwide.

An article in the project’s newly released magazine, The Intelligence Report, indicates white supremacists feel an Obama administration would boost their membership rolls.

Popularity: 3% [?]

In a recent poll done by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, roughly half of Americans polled said they’ve had about enough coverage of Prez hopeful Barack Obama, and most everyone said they’d like to know more about McCain.

Well hey, that’s cool America, you want McCain, you’ve got him.  Here’s what McCain’s latest campaign ad has to say-

hmm… It seems McCain likes talking about Obama as much as “the media” does.  Oh, and he also infuriated one of his campaign contributors by including their daughter in that last video.  You might’ve heard of her, her last name is Hilton?  Anyway, the daughter in question has her own campaign ad in response to the attention. 

Something else I wanted to add.  Since when would it be a bad thing for our President to be a bigger, more recognizable figure than our pop-stars?  I think that having such a high profile would actually be a very good thing, meaning people were at least paying a little more attention to politics than they are to the gossip rags about which superstar celeb got what body part altered when.  The president should be a celebrity, or at least get the same amount of news coverage. 

And if people want to hear more about McCain, tell McCain to talk more about McCain, and less about “he who we’ve heard enough about”.  That’d be a good start.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Barack Obama, a candidate widely recognized for his bi-racial background, beat out white men and a white woman to earn the Dem nomination.  A large step in racial equality some would think (no comment on what it may say about gender equality- I’ll leave that commentary for Nancy Pelosi) but how does the average white American feel about voting for a non-white candidate?

Over half of white Americans still think he is a risky choice. A Washington Post and ABC News survey has reportedly termed Republican John McCain as a safe pick.

Over 40 per cent of white Americans believe Obama has the experience to make a good president but they raise concerns over him over-representing the interests of African-Americans.

However, the good news for him is that nine out of ten people are open to the idea of electing an African-American president.

But the criticisms don’t stop with worries that he’ll be too focused on issues that face African-Americans.  Actually, now there are criticisms being put forth that worry he’s not focusing enough on those issues in a bid to play it safe in order to appeal to white America.  And they’re coming from an unlikely source…

“There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,” (Presidential Candidate Ralph) Nader said. “Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.”

Seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario.  Of course, I could make a comment about Nader’s history of “taking votes away from Democrats” but really by this point… there is no point.  I am disgusted with the 2 party system, but we’ve really yet to have any reasonable 3rd party candidates, so… what can you do?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Or if not them, the folks they surround themselves with. 

Hillary Clinton (who’s resignation I missed due to being away for a 3 week military engagement, but I still delighted in the knowledge once I received it) is obviously no longer in the race- but staying in as long as she did, she destroyed herself financially to the tune of nearly $10 million in debt.  So now she’s asking all her supporters that gave up their money for her failed campaign bid to pony up some more dough, because she’s now drowning in her own over-spending.  Well Hill, on behalf of the American public, welcome to how the rest of us are feeling in the current financial state of the union: debt as a way of life.

Barack Obama has made his own minor political gaffe in the past few days by using a mock-up of the Presidential Seal as an emblem on his lecternduring a meeting between himself and Dem. state Governors which drew some criticisms over the weekend.  The Obama campaign has said it was a one time only appearance for the emblem, with some members saying Obama himself felt a little embarrassed by the whole thing.  The emblem was comprised of the same eagle holding arrows and olive branch that denote war and piece as seen on the Presidential Seal, and also carried the words “Vero possumus” or loosely translated from latin: “Yes, we can”.  Presumptuous?  Perhaps, but really a very minor snafu in the great context of things. 

The Republicans are not off the hook in terms of embarrassment, as one of John McCain’s aides made a statement that McCain has found himself apologizing for, and that his opponent Obama’s campaign has already jumped on.  The statement in question being made by Charlie Black, a top advisor to McCain, said that the McCain campaign would benefit greatly from another terror attack taking place on American soil.  McCain went into damage control, telling reporters “I cannot imagine why he would say it. It’s not true. I’ve worked tirelessly since 9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America. My record is very clear.”  However, one has to look at the validity of the statement, with McCain’s major platform being his aggressive stance against “global terror”, he’d probably do well to have some of that terror brought back to the front of people’s minds, leading to the same style of voting that saw George W. Bush re-elected (or just plain elected depending on who you ask) in ‘04, thinking only a “War President” could carry us through the strife of a continued war against “threats to our way of life”. 

But that’s just me riffing…

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Libertarian Party announced their Presidential nominee on Sunday, and it’s not the suspected Ron Paul that much of the public had thought it would be- he held that title 20 years ago.  No, this time around it’s Bob Barr, a former congressman from Georgia, and one time Republican. 

The Libertarians have said that this could make for the strongest ticket they’ve had in the history of the party (37 years) but that’s not really saying much, as they tend to make up only 3% of the entire voting landscape.

That said- there are some grumblings that with  a race that could be close between McCain on the Republican side, and (let’s just go ahead with saying it) Obama on the Democrat side, Barr could have the position that Green Party Candidate Ralph Nader had in the 2000 elections.  The common view being that had Nader not run, the votes that went to him could’ve gone to Al Gore instead, and put him into the White House as opposed to current President George W. Bush.

Only this time, it wouldn’t be votes taken from the Dems, but from the Reps.  Will Barr make a difference in the coming Presidential Election?  Conventional wisdom would have to say it’s less than likely, but then again… who knows?

Popularity: 3% [?]

That’s right gang, the time in the election process where the Presidential Candidates begin to hunt down their 4-8 year soulmates. The yin to their yang, the Ed to their Johnny, the Triscuit to their Easy Cheese…

You get the idea.

So while Obama does but doesn’t have someone hunting for possible running mates (he’s keeping mum about the whole ordeal), McCain is using his hunt in a more savvy a way… as an election tool with battle ground state Florida providing the home for at least one contender for the next best thing.

Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a onetime rival for the Republican nomination, have all accepted invitations to visit Mr. McCain at his ranch in Sedona, Republicans said.

Mr. McCain himself has said his choice of a running mate would draw particular scrutiny from voters given Mr. McCain’s age; he is now 71, or “as old as dirt,” as he likes to joke, while quickly adding that he is in good health. More than that, with Mr. Obama’s selection as his party’s nominee now almost assured, Mr. McCain is contemplating a contest against an energized Democratic electorate after a campaign that has highlighted race and gender issues.

Mr. Crist, a fairly popular first-term governor, has been included on various lists of potential running mates for Mr. McCain, whom he endorsed shortly before Florida’s January primary, which effectively helped Mr. McCain claim the nomination. Mr. Crist said Wednesday that he and Mr. McCain had not discussed the prospect, not even at a fund-raiser in Miami that the two attended Tuesday night.

As governor of Florida, Mr. Crist, 51, would bring obvious assets to the Republican ticket, beginning with his popularity in a state that is almost always an electoral battleground — and where Mr. Obama appears to be struggling. Mr. Crist’s relative youth could also be an asset for Mr. McCain, who has made clear that age will be a consideration in his search for a running mate.

In Florida, Mr. Crist has long been known for his affability and a campaign skills. Instantly recognizable because of his perpetual tan and striking white hair, Mr. Crist, who was Florida’s attorney general before being elected governor in 2006, has also acquired a reputation as something of a hard-liner on law and order issues.

He supports the death penalty, largely opposes restrictions on the rights of gun owners, early on earned the nickname “Chain Gang Charlie” because he favored allowing convicts to be used in road work, and has described himself as a “pro-life and pro-family” candidate.

Mr. Romney, the former chief executive who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2008 and who was born in Michigan, has made no secret of his desire to join Mr. McCain’s presidential ticket. Mr. Romney’s M.B.A. skills, and business background — including running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games — could address concerns about Mr. McCain’s ability to manage a struggling economy.

Mr. Jindal, who was born in Baton Rouge, La., to a family that had just arrived there from the Punjab area of India, took office in January after serving three years in the House of Representatives. In a race with four candidates, Mr. Jindal, who was born a Hindu but converted to Roman Catholicism as a teenager, won 54 percent of the vote after campaigning as a social conservative, opposing human embryonic stem cell research and abortion in any form, and favoring teaching “intelligent design” in schools as an alternative to evolution.

So we’re looking at “Chain Gang Charlie”, Romney (the guy who failed at getting the nomination because of party distrust an inability to connect with voters and record of flip flopping on issues), and the guy who (prepping for backlash now) believes in magical tales of how we came to be against evidence that would prove the contrary, and wants all our kids to learn it that way too, regardless of whether they follow the same beliefs or not (and I won’t even further the shit storm I could be earning here by getting into abortion or stem cell research).

Those all sound like solid arguments to keep from voting on the Republican ticket, and here I thought I’d already had enough reasons.

As of this moment there’s no word on who Hillary Clinton in her alternate universe version of the elections is going to choose for her running mate.

Popularity: 3% [?]