My thoughts for the day

“Furiously independent” is the media’s representative phrase to describe the New Hampshire voters today.

ABC, CCN and MSNBC Media pundits agree it hasn’t been since 1952 and 1928 that the media didn’t know who would be the most likely candidate for the Republican or the Democratic Party nomination. So they have to wait like we do, I love it. I heard that Iowan voters and the New Hampshire (NH) voters haven’t chosen the same top candidate for either party in twenty years. One pundit said he wonders if NH deliberately chooses someone different just to keep the “wave of enthusiasm” and “difficulty in speculating” an element in voting. A possible factor?

Looking for the bounce towards Obama is said as nonexistent now because even though he was 2 digits behind Hillary at the beginning of the month, the final numbers didn’t reflect the Obama poll 3-19 point spread predicted 24 hours prior to the election. So did several respondents lie? Or did many voters rethink their choice within the 24 hour period? A possible factor?

Exit polls didn’t agree with the final numbers, I’d like to see those numbers.
I read that the overwhelming support from Iowans was the fact that Iowans are smarter, more educated and have more time to meet the candidates and that more students had registered than in New Hampshire or the fact that New Hampshire students are still home and haven’t returned to school. A possible factor?

A New York reporter states that Clinton’s campaign must be in crisis. After speculations, Carvell announced that he wasn’t working for Hillary nor planning on jumping on her team, he was too busy. However we did hear that if Hillary fired the present campaign manager he might consider. Podesta, another democratic campaign captain wasn’t available for comment. Today we hear no talk about any Hillary campaign changing members, I wonder why.

It’s Funny how Chris Matthews was questioning Hillary’s communication director yesterday who was trying to project Hillary as behind until yesterday. Matthews took her to task raising his voice and strongly questioning what poll was she referring to. Although she never answered the question, she feigned that Matthews was attacking when he kept asking her, “where are you getting your information from”. Maybe she isn’t the main communication’s director or missed a few memos? A possible factor.

Turbin, an Illinois Obama supporter, says that the enormous poll leads seemed off kilter to the Obama campaign inner circle. Senator Dick Turbin says that Hillary was two digits ahead of Obama in New Hampshire before the returns in Iowa. I felt great hearing this, so loosing wasn’t a huge surprise as it was for me hearing all the poll numbers. He credits this to people being questioned enjoying proving the poll experts wrong, but I believe only loosing by 7,000 votes only shows the closeness that this horse race has become to all those speculating.

Turbin says that “the battleground states” is where this campaign is going.
He says the campaign teams weren’t surprised by the returns but do feel they close the margins. I believe that Obama brings people positively together. Hillary alienates. It has nothing to do with her being a woman, I believe women can lead this country. What is interesting however, why doesn’t anyone mention that fact that Shirley Chisholm was the first person to run for President of the USA? A black woman?

There are now 19 Obama state offices running full time in the battleground states. So there are opportunities for those higher up.

As for Hillary tearing up, maybe the question of “how do you keep this up” hit a soft spot, but as the seasoned Huffington female reporter says “so long feminism” and instead says, hello thirty years of denial. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Jessie Jackson, Jr. says there shouldn’t have been a surprise at the polls, because people will usually tell strangers what they think they want to hear, versus how they really vote, because once an individual goes into the booth and pulls the curtain, they will vote their core self.

Voters’ ethics are being challenged.
Approach to change requires real restoration and security for the poor and middle Americans. This election addresses many points:
* racism hasn’t gone away
* gender preference hasn’t gone away
* poverty hasn’t gone away
* solutions to the Iraqi War are still up for grabs
* faith and elitism haven’t gone away
* and seeing ourselves as One Nation, One Constitution, Under God hasn’t gone away either. Possible factors?

I disputed with a politophile friend of mine, “so you wondered if Iowans voting for Obama was more of a “what you aught to do” rather than a “could do” because the voters had to stand for the candidate and verbally rationalize to the other individuals in the room, why you are standing for that candidate? A Possible factor?

Now that doesn’t require a paper ballot, that can be lost of altered; that doesn’t require an electronic vote, that can be programmed to only assign so many counts per push. Maybe the whole voting process should be a caucus, then take the raw count and forget the electoral process completely. This gets rid of the 16 point count spread and you have one final number.

I noticed the plug for Dunkin donuts and their “new retail” coffee aisle advertisements ironically going on in California. Hillary serving me breakfast, that’s a nice touch. Hearing Hillary referring to the election process as not a game but a sincere connection by the service leader, who requires staying grounded and connecting to their base. Yeah, you have to travel a great deal; taking time out to go home and taking a deep breath and resting was a lesson on election common sense.

I am hearing from Amy’s Obama Rally for culinary workers union who consist of hotel, laundry, doormen and maid service workers in Nevada with crowds stretching three to four city blocks. Obama he is still an election Rock Star even with the unions. A Possible Factor?

Hillary’s campaign exclaims that they knocked on 90,000 doors. So in spite of email, phone calls, forums, debates and literature drops the old fashion “reach out and touch” door to door works best. And even though Romney shed a few tears and no one put that on the front page of the newspaper. Hillary’s tearing up just may have worked.

We learn today, the lady that asked the question causing her to tear up voted for Obama. Hillary says that she “has found her own voice”. Interesting in all of the election training I have taken and campaigns I have watched and participated in, the candidate usually knows this before they start campaigning. Now who is gaming whom? I’ll admit working with candidates finding their voices takes weeks to check and recheck, write and rewrite and they encourage you to practice using it when introducing yourself. You are advised to keep it down to 50 words and to be able to articulate it in less than 2 minutes. And Clinton after 35 years didn’t know her voice. After 35 years aren’t you a professional politician? A possible factor?

I wondered if Bill’s “biggest fairytale I’ve ever seen” and distorting Obama’s record got Hillary any brownie points. He didn’t sound like a prior president but a “man whose wife was being scorned”. Maybe Edwards and Obama were too hard on her at the debate Sunday night, but let’s face it, she was the one throwing the rocks. And when the retaliation came, she folded and ran to him for cover? I wondered.

And where is Guiliani? Is Romney over produced, note he has perfect hair like Edwards and they aren’t attacking his stylist or hair costs.

“Signed Sealed Delivered, I’m yours” by Stevie Wonder is still the campaign election song. And eloquently Obama responds, that though he didn’t win in New Hampshire, you want to play Stevie whether you win or loose.

Obama has always known who he was; he didn’t have to invent himself. He unites, inspires and causes people to think, to act, and to vote. I believe he also brings the best out of all of us even making Hillary a better person. I noted today that she is even using the “we” “you” and “us” words in her speeches instead of the “I” word. So stay tuned, we have next Tuesday’s debate in Las Vegas.

I’ll be working the polls in Santa Clarita on Super Tuesday. Yes, I’m still Fired up, Activating and Ready to Go!