"Because this is your convention, not mine, I'm holding an event that is even more about ME than anything else we've done yet"
You can come, maybe, if you keep giving me money and promise to cheer loud enough, or faint.
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Democratic Convention | Denver | Obamafiles — Comments (87) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Well, it's official: Barack Obama will be accepting the Democratic nomination for President at Invesco Field at Mile High, the 75,000-seat open-air home of the Denver Broncos, rather than at the convention hall as originally planned.
Campaign manager David Plouffe said the following in an email:
At the Democratic National Convention next month, we're going to kick off the general election with an event that opens up the political process the same way we've opened it up throughout this campaign.Barack has made it clear that this is your convention, not his.
On Thursday, August 28th, he's scheduled to formally accept the Democratic nomination in a speech at the convention hall in front of the assembled delegates.
Instead, Barack will leave the convention hall and join more than 75,000 people for a huge, free, open-air event where he will deliver his acceptance speech to the American people.
It's going to be an amazing event, and Barack would like you to join him. Free tickets will become available as the date approaches, but we've reserved a special place for a few of the people who brought us this far and who continue to drive this campaign.
If you make a donation of $5 or more between now and midnight on July 31st, you could be one of 10 supporters chosen to fly to Denver and spend two days and nights at the convention, meet Barack backstage, and watch his acceptance speech in person. Each of the ten supporters who are selected will be able to bring one guest to join them.
This is simply the next logical step in a campaign that has been all about one man and his quest for adulation and power.
Opening up the political process? Only by pun are they doing that; the rest is simply another manufactured event for a manufactured candidate. The way they're "opening up the process" here is as they've done it to this point -- by bringing more people in to sit and listen to Obama talk (and have the opportunity to faint, I suppose).
"This is your convention, not his"? Only if you're a willing member of the Obama cult of personality. If you're not -- say, for example, you're a Clinton delegate, as almost half the assigned delegates are -- then an event like this has to feel like an attempt to drown you out, if not to exclude you altogether.
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"Because this is your convention, not mine, I'm holding an event that is even more about ME than anything else we've done yet" 87 Comments (0 topical, 87 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Anyone else find it creepy how rockstarish Obama is being and being treated in this election?
Why do I half expect to see fireworks and pyrotechnics coming from the stage as he rises up from underneath, hands outstretched, a look of regality and expectation of being worshipped on his face?
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
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would be green with envy of what it looks like Obama will get away with.
I just keep waiting for Obama to turn into a giant snake and eat someone, like in the Conan movie with Arnold.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
It isn't the gullible kids who will lead it, either, but the slaw-jawed, credulous professionals who fail to see what is at work here.
The unholy offspring of candlelight vigils and Bic lighters at concerts.
I heard Pearl Jam would be the opening act. Or possibly Bon Jovi.
nt
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4.62, 0.51
"CULT OF PERSONALITY?"
I knew you could...
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4.62, 0.51
we know.
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4.62, 0.51
You're just a run through the airport away!
but he should make the coronation nomination speech.
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4.62, 0.51
But I'm glad that he mostly stays out of politics.
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Just like PayPal, except it's free and a $25 bonus to sign up!
Ask not what Obama can do for you... But what you can do for Obama!
Nope.
Unfortunately, this type event is an Obama cultist's wet dream. This marriage of celebrity, personality cult and politics is more than creepy. If elected, would someone who rose to power in such an astonishingly religious way willingly turn over power after voted out or the end of a second term? Seriously?
That takes me back to a previous career...
Back stage passes
win a back stage meet and greet
I wonder who the opening act will be?
What local disk jockey gets to introduce him?
Will he be doing the morning show circuit?
In radio, that 'pay 5 bucks or more thing' would be illegal. Its called 'consideration'. But I guess it is purely legal when it comes to cheapening the election of our nation's leader.
Making the run for President just another cheap carnival act.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
It's a "love offering" anyway.
This seems to me to be yet another stupid stunt that just might turn off independent voters for the Obamessiah.
I have talked to several who are very disturbed by the cult-like atmosphere and supreme, suffocating arrogance that Obama seems to develop more and more. The fake Presidential seal thing was too far for a lot of folks I know. This just might be the icing on the cake.
And what about the reaction of the Hillary supporters? Think about it...in that convention hall, he has to know that 49% of those assembled did NOT want him to be their nominee! So what does he do? He leaves them in the cold and goes out to greet "his people" in a stadium. This, to me, is a HUGE slap in the face to the Clintons and their voters...
just like that picture when he won NC, and there was about 1/8 of the stands full in a corner for the photoshoot.
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Could have the effect of Paul Wellstone's funeral if not properly controlled. Can't have signs with profanity, sneering at McCain's war-hero status, etc.
Barack Obama: The most inexperienced, far-left candidate the Democratic Party has ever dared to nominate to be our President.
as long as nobody's seeding the clouds.
No rain check with that 5 buck donation.
when the anti-Christ has the huge assembly to watch his resurrection. Actually so much of what I see in the Obama campaign reminds me of some passage from the Left Behind series.
Obama needs the stadium because his ego and his balls could not both fit into the arena.
How can someone who has done so little in life think so much of themselves?
Obama is the poster child for the soft bigotry of low expectation.
M Penny
Obama is the poster child for the soft bigotry of low expectation.
M Penny
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Carpathia in the stadium! The similarities are eerie!
-- A true evolutionist would let endangered species die off. That is the theory, right?
-- Can't Feed 'em? Don't Breed 'em! --
My favorite part was "I wanted you to be the first to hear the news."
Apparently not!
of Barack in NC (I think) where he has one corner filled in the arena?
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methinks he runs the risk of evoking this image:
I am not saying he is a Nazi or Hitler-esque, but having a political rally at a stadium just draws that mental image. The Leftists and T.O. really should think twice before doing that.
The Unofficial RedState FAQ
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
I am not saying he is a Nazi or Hitler-esque, but having a political rally at a stadium just draws that mental image.
I'm not entirely sure that's the line to be taking.
they really mean nothing. Is the center pic one of GWB appearing to throw out the first pitch at a ball game? Is the top picture of a person who brought a sign to a football game where the POTUS happened to appear? Note the large number of empty seats in the background of picture 1. Picture 3 really shows nothing except some fireworks.
On the other hand, Obama has explicitly stated that his stadium rally is specifically for political purposes.
Like I said, a political rally at a stadium to coronate The Obamessiah evokes certain mental images. The Leftists probably don't see it that way. C'est la vie.
The Unofficial RedState FAQ
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
You beat me to the thought.
Some would say this is not a fair comparison. OK, lets run with it. The election is about hope and change, the country is in a malaise. The choice is between a charasmatic speaker with extensive rhetoric, but not real substance or the old guy with more of the same. The country is suffering from the financial burden of a lost war. This guy brings new hope. He even wrote a book spelling out his positions.
Obama? Hardly. The book I am think about isn't the audacity of hope, it was Mein Kampf.
I can no longer question how so many Germans were mislead into allowing what happened. It never sounded credible until I see so many willing to follow Obama unquestioning even though they have no idea where he will lead them, or what the radical machine that have produced him plan to do with their power.
C'mon guys. Obama isn't the anti-christ and he isn't Hitler either. I don't like the comparison of Bush to Hilter or the republicans to Nazis. The Nazi party was responsible for millions of deaths and was one of the worst man-made catastophes in history.
Plenty of reasons to despise democrats in general and Obama in particular without the hyperbole.
Semper Fi
I don't like the comparison either, but it is at least more fitting when applied to the left than the right, especially given that it was the Nationalist Socialist party and based on a big government that ran your daily life.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
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You mean the National "Socialist" Party that got its start by beating and killing actual socialists?
Nobody wins by trying to compare either of our parties to the Nazis. Seriously, that's just a mess that nobody wins or looks particularly great for diving into it.
Yes, the Nationalist Socialist party that got its start by beating those who were not loyal enough to their brand of socialism, who then gained power in a poor Germany with the promise of the government solving all of their problems, with the government then taking over and providing essentials at the cost of liberty to be of a specific religion (i.e. Jewish or Gypsy) or speak out against the government at all.
The same Nationalist Socialist Party that saw fit to execute mentalliy or physically handicapped people, regardless of the feelings of the person's family, because they were unfit for life by the government's standards.
The same Nationalist Socialist Party that took tons of money, by force, from farmers and other workers 'for the poor' (Wealth redistrobution, major sign of socialism).
The Same Nationalist Socialist Party that took over the Education of the children and banned and burned books that did not meet the government's approval of being fit for Party education (another bit sign of socialism)
The same Nationalist Socialist Party that made regular anticapitalist promises during the campaigns, claiming that the government will take care of the unemployed and all will be wealthy.. (oddly enough, that such promises were not fulfilled lead to calls for a second revolution, quieted by the "Night of the Long Knives")
The same Nationalist Socialist Party that engaged in government regulation and control of the growing of crops and all industry; that got rid of trade unions and took over the determination of what workers should be paid. The government determined when and how people worked.
Yes, Hans Pritcher, Supporter of Obama, THAT Nationalist Socialist Party.
That's the one that has much more in common with socialism than Conservativism. Putting scare quotes around "Socialist" does not make them Conservative. It only makes you look silly.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
Because Lance is openly GOP, you can safely assume that he's been called a Nazi to his face. Very likely more times than he can count. Certainly by the very people who ended up being the earliest Obama supporters.
So don't expect him to be sympathetic.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
A Conservative, gun-toting, War-supporting, Anti-Afirmative-Action, Chrisitan White Male?
I got called nazi quite a bit. Also warmonger, racist, sexist and a few things I can't repeat here.
Always by liberals who ranted about the closedmindedness about conservatives, while spouting the most closed-minded filth I ever heard.
No, there is not much sympathy in my heart for people who try to turn the nazi party into a conservative party.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
mildly pro-life, socially moderate, neocon Republican squishes get equal time from the Nazi-callers.
Weird, that.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
The key word is "Republican"
Of course, I wouldn't suggest that liberals are closed-minded..... but all Republicans get called nazis by the left.
I bet if you stopped the average fellow calling some republican a nazi, they wouldn't know much more about them than that they were led by Hitler.
MAYBE would know how many people were killed in the Holocaust, but you might also find some try to say it didn't happen.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
Great lesson on National Socialism! A-Plus! I gotta send that to friends.
-- Can't Feed 'em? Don't Breed 'em! --
There is a very good, very well researched, book called Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg that makes exactly Lance's case.
Not that liberals are fascists, but that both modern liberalism and all it's nostrums came out of the very same basic arguments from which also originated Fascism, Bolshevism, and Nazism.
You might want to read it so that you at least know the arguments and don't seem so dense.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
I am well aware of that tome, thank you.
I seem dense? This is evidenced by my post above? I have studied the rise of the Nazis pretty extensively. My point was, and remains, that if one is to entertain a comparison between the Nazis and our modern parties (something I am loathe to do), then you're never going to really get anywhere.
1) Dressing up nationalism in religious (or psuedo-religious) ideology and fervor.
2) Oppression and mass murder of homosexuals.
3) Wars of aggression, bald land grabs, resource wars.
4) Appeals to a more traditional lifestyle.
5) Appeals to a more traditional family structure. Look especially at how Hitler tried to use the Goebbels family as a model.
6) Corporatism and profiteering (very prevalent).
I could go on for ages. By the way, those are descriptions of the Nazis and not of the American GOP. I mention them because however unlike the Nazis either of our parties happens to be (and I want to stress I find these comparisons distasteful as the differences are huge) those six positions above are more closely aligned with modern GOP thinking than they are with Democratic thinking. It's still light years apart (and the first thing I think of when I think "Nazi" is absolutely NOT "Republican."), but there are comparisons one could make to EITHER party.
I had a point. It was valid. I've backed it up. You don't have to be sold on it, but I'm not being dense in the slightest. I've got a degree on this subject and I've given it quite a bit of thought.
And, for the last time, nobody wins or looks particularly erudite by comparing the other party to the Nazis. Speaking for myself, I'm sorry anyone ever had the temerity to compare any of you to the Nazis. This Jew finds such attacks base and idiotic, to say nothing of distasteful.
"...those six positions above are more closely aligned with modern GOP thinking than they are with Democratic thinking."
Would you like to try again, Han? Maybe you could start with an apology - "oppression and mass murder of homosexuals"?
And if you are trying to convince me you are not dense, that statement did not go very far.
What part of "I'm not describing the GOP" don't you understand?
My point is that these comparisons are intellectually bankrupt. You can find mild parallels to either if you want to, and any of them are idiotic.
Democrats are not like Nazis. Republicans are not like Nazis.
Anybody can pick and choose things to exaggerate to make the comparison. It's wrong and disrespectful when anyone does it.
"...those six positions above are more closely aligned with modern GOP thinking than they are with Democratic thinking." I am not sure that advocating the oppression and mass murder of homosexuals is part of the GOP platform, although I will certainly check. OK, nope, couldn't find it anywhere.
I am not sure how anyone could possibly take that as NOT comparing the GOP with Nazis.
The broader point of liberal fascism stands, and you have really done nothing to refute it.
I would disagree, though that's hardly a surprise.
If you look at the actual policy goals and political techniques used by the Nazis you will see things that could be considered liberal and others you could consider conservative. Nearly all of them were to such extremes as to be completely absurd and disconnected from anything in modern American life.
Nazi Germany was corporatist. Is the Democratic Party more or less aligned with business interests than is the Republican Party?
Nazi Germany appealled to a traditional teutonic Aryan life at the expense of the immoral modern world. Is the Democratic Party more inclined to hearken back to a bygone era and its values, or is the Republican Party?
Nazi Germany horribly oppressed its homosexuals and treated them as less than human. Is the Democratic Party seen as friendlier to homosexuals, or is the Republican Party?
Nazi Germany lauded the family to the extreme. Is the Democratic Party seen as more family oriented, or is the Republican Party?
The list goes on. There is an equivalent list of characteristics one might consider liberal.
That was my point. That, and again, anytime anybody compares a modern American party to the Nazis they are appealling to the lowest part of themselves and one another. Are we so incredibly intellectually bankrupt that insults inevitably run the risk of hitting Godwin's Law?
The Nazis were sufficiently and uniquely evil that nothing I can see in America is evil enough to warrant a comparison. I've never called a Republican a Nazi and I never will. I've also never called on a fascist. At least the latter term can be divorced of its baggage. The former cannot.
You're making far more out of this than I intended or meant.
A good way to convince me you are not comparing the GOP to the nazis is to quit comparing the GOP to the nazis, though.
If you are trying to figure out which American political party advocates using the power of the state to force the behavior of its citizens to conform to the ideals of the state, the answer is clear.
And it ain't the GOP.
I honestly meant no offense. I took offense, however, at the comparison to the Democratic Party made above. I saw an argument with which I disagreed and I replied to it. I didn't bring this up just to tweak someone's nose or try to get banned.
Just the same, I understand what you mean. It's exactly what I felt a little earlier. It's a loaded topic and there's no easy way to discuss it without, at least accidentally, pissing somebody off pretty badly.
Using the term "fascist" works quite a bit better than "Nazi." As I said, I'm Jewish. That word is pretty loaded for me.
That being said, I consider my point made (or as close to made as it is going to get) and I consider the topic finished. Thank you and good day.
The democrats since Roosevelt have embraced a totalitarian philosophy. The latest proof are the attempts by them to enforce uniformity of thought with the fairness doctrine and Pelosi's attempt to control congressional blogging.
Totalitarianism is the fundamental problem. Stupid Democrats think if they do it, it will work out well. Smart Democrats, know it wont but want to be the people in control anyway
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
The Nazis aren't real socialists, because they beat real socialists.
I guess that counts as an argument if you're just regurgitating what Uncle Joe fed you, but some of us think for ourselves and want facts and reason.
Maybe he will rehearse his speech at the Berlin Sportspaltz during his European tour.
...with the gentle assistance of the NEA, the SEIU and Teamsters Local #303.
"PsychObama, qu'est-ce que c'est?"
at the Brandenburg Gate. I thought it was this one...
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Then the movement will run into a blockage. Could require surgery.
I think we should have a prayer vigil and pray for rain. Not only would it make for interesting convention speech but Colorado could use the rain.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
I predict the blimp will be overhead -- complete with the lighted neon moving banners
We never get the blimp here, all overhead shots are from single engine planes.
Jesus Christ superstar!
Freedom of Religion NOT Freedom from Religion
McCain could sell out a Taco Bell.
Oh wait - he already did...
Impeach the 5 usurpers
Hey, think about the libs angst over this scenario: ok, Obama's coming to the stage. Fox News is there to cover the event. Their camera zooms in on some of the freaky young zombies Obama has running around after him. Their faces are red from shouting, they're screaming, a couple are crying, they shout in unison, they throw their fists in the air together, and so forth. Obama's numbers fall after the convention, and it's all FoxNew's fault! Boo hoo! Oh, it's not so bad really folks. In order to have a speech like this, there must be a crowd. The whole world's just liable to see the lunatics that we call the Obamamaniacs. While I doubt that the above comes to pass just like that, something along those lines is possible, don't you think? "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall," Proverbs, 16:18.
Stand up, and let's acquit ourselves like men.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Sorry to say it, but the townhall thing is absolutely hilarious. If you're President, you have to speak to a bit more people at any given time than a hundred or so. McCain would pee his pants with an audience that big. The man can't even speak for goodness sakes. Lexiggdon Project! Hahaha! It's priceless!
Townhalls?!? Are you kidding?!?!
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
[Not that I'm condoning the hostility.]
You are probably the most reasoned Obama supporter that I have (somewhat) met. The best I can get out of anyone that I have actually spoken to is something along the lines of "Hope! (blah...blah...blah) Change! (more blahs) Bush is evil! McSame!"
You are rare.
McCain for POTUS so the left can't ruin SCOTUS.
I suspect its hard to put pen to paper on the topic
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Commercial Law takes up my time. I hate this class. Secured Transactions was worse.
I will write it. Real Life gets in the way.
I heard an interview this morning with an obama supporter.
she's not voting for him though.
she said "I support obama but I'm not voting because voting is dumb and I hate bush because he wrecked this country."
...
when asked why she supported obama, she said "because he has a good body and because mccain is old."
....
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
I had a brief chat with one last night at the watering hole near my marina. It's a hangout for "boat people," pleasure boaters, charter fishermen, whale watcher crews, and often foreign crew from the megas that come here in summer. Of course, the hot topic of conversation was fuel prices. You can't really appreciate the impact of $4.50/gal. fuel unless you're burning at about one gallon per mile, burning much more in the bigger boats. It ranged from fairly informed and intelligent to the run of the mill conspiracy theories with a goodly bit of Bush/Haliburton/Evil Oil mixed in, though more the libertarian than lefty version of that. This particular Obamaniac, young and female, of course, proceeds to hold forth on all the usual talking points about fuel economy standards, wind, solar, hydrogen, all the fanciful stuff that the Lefties so love and announces that only Obama can lead us to that brave new world. Now this in a bar with a parking lot full of pickups and filled with guys, mostly, who own big boats and in a state that lives on oil! I don't know what "reality" the "reality based community" is based in, but it sure ain't no reality with which I'm familiar.
In Vino Veritas
Local News did a story on the rise of sailboat sales, including small ones for lakes.
Apparently people are turning to that instead of cruising in a big speedboat.
I don't know that "The Answer" is, but I do believe that we need to drill drill drill to get more and more oil for fuel until we can find "The Answer"
It is silly to not allow our companies to drill, saying that "Oil isn't the answer" . .. of course it isn't "The Answer" but it is what we need to do now!
But, some on the left won't be happy until we're barefooted, smelly hippies living in teepees on government owned land.
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Dependence is Slavery.
Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 1.85
and the wind is too unpredictable if you have to keep any kind of schedule - like actually be back at work on Monday morning if you've gone any distance at all. A nice motor sailer is great though if you're rich or retired, preferably both. My dock neighbor has about a sixty foot, super stout aluminum motor sailer. I met him first as he pulled into what I'd thought was an unused slip; it'd been empty for months. Turns out, he and his wife were just coming home from New Zealand, stopping only for a litter refurbishing and replenishment in Hawaii along the way. It helps to be a very successful surgeon if you're going to do that sort of stuff.
Everyone I know is just finding a way to deal with it; go slower, stay closer, keep the bottom as clean as possible, and if you're commercial, charge more.
I have a license but I've never operated commercially; next year I will - at least enough to call the boat a business legitimately. I'll probably have to go to charm school this winter, but I'll make myself able to put up with six newly weds and nearly deads for four hours if I can get a couple hundred bucks a seat for it and write off the operating and fuel expenses.
In Vino Veritas
The hologram named Barack has been quite effective. Just hope they work out the software glitches before the big show.
We'll pay no attention to the men behind the curtain. And for the record, if Barack can speak before the befuddled masses, surely a little ol' townhall would be a piece of cake.
Right?
John McCain is no "big arena cherry", but you're quite the cherry here, so laugh it up while you can, funnyboy.
Obama supporters, who think he's out of this world.
The flip-flops, lies, hypocrisy, anti-gun votes, infantcide stance, *gasp* etc. were all fine and dandy, but Bronco stadium? No! Never! They knocked my Patriots out of the playoffs three years ago. Never! You just lost my vote Obama! *cry*