MICHELLE OBAMA TRIPS STEVIE WONDER!

Michelle Obama suffers wardrobe malfunction on left as she trips blind singer Stevie Wonder -- she was just checking to make sure he was really sightless. When he told her he supported John McCain, she tripped him again. (I'm not making at least half of that up!).

As you know already, the best humorous pictures from the otherwise unfunny Obama Campaign appear on my blog sites. If you go to my other site, you'll see I have a picture of Barack leading around his pet camel. I also have a picture of him in native Somali dress, which he's promised to wear to his Inauguration.

Note: I have a post today at my other site on why it would be a good idea for John McCain to pick Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his V-P running mate. She's very athletic, so it would be extremely hard for Michelle Obama to trip her.

If you have friends or relatives in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, or Vermont, please ask them to go out on Oct. 4 and vote for an American hero, Senator John McCain. As far as I know, no one has ever mistaken Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton for an American hero.

PENNSYLVANIANS & THE REAL OBAMA

Why did John McCain tell Pennsylvanians and others that he intended "to make sure sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent -- but empty -- call for change?" Because, despite all the media hype, he recognizes Barack Obama for what he is: a person who's long on words and short on deeds.

Here's how The (London) Economist, the most prestigious publication in Europe, described the situation: "Mr. Obama makes wonderful speeches, but offers the same old Democratic policies. He talks movingly about the need to make hard choices, but it is hard to think of any he has actually made."

The Economist adds, "He [Obama] talks of moving beyond partisanship, but according to the National Journal, a non-partisan magazine for Beltway types, he had the most liberal voting record in the entire Senate last year."

"This is Obama's greatest vulnerability, argues Peter Wehner, a former aide to George Bush: that he is a 'completely orthodox liberal in a nation that is not.'"

When Obama comes to Pennsylvania, it will be time for voters and journalists to ask him hard questions -- something that hasn't happened elsewhere to this point. Specifically, why should the moderates and conservatives of the Keystone State trust a man with a voting record that's the most liberal in the Senate?

OBAMA'S SOLUTION: HIGH GAS PRICES

Barack Obama, in Africa, demonstrating "Yes we can!" solution to problem of high gasoline prices.

Obama and the Politics of Personal Deceit

Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday I'll be writing about the strange candidacy of Barack Obama, who is running as something of a Democrat moderate always ready "to reach across the aisle." The main problem is that Barack -- the most left-wing of all Senators -- rarely if ever reaches across the aisle, a point made by Rick Santorum in his Philadelphia Inquirer piece. As Santorum suggests, Obama is running as two separate personalities.

Obama, along with his wife, who "not proud" of the country that's given them both so much, is a person of great ambition and little accomplishment. John McCain recently asked the following about Obama: whether America will "risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan." It is an extremely good question.

Obama Photos in Iowa, Kenya

Top: What's wrong with this picture? Barack Obama, Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Sen. Harkin's wife, Ruth, during playing of America's National Anthem

Bottom: A photograph of presidential candidate Barack H. Obama (on right) in Kenya in 2006

I know that today John McCain denounced the Cincinnatti talk show host who spoke of Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama" and described him "a Chicago political hack . . . out of the Daley machine." I know that the media generally think it's unfair to criticize Obama, but I don't have a problem with the talk show man's comments.

Obama's name is in fact "Barack Hussein Obama." If he doesn't like his name, he can always change it. As far as his being a product of the Daley political macine, that happens to be true. In the Illinois Senate, he voted "present" 130 times, often on controversial issues. If that's not the behavior of a hack, I don't know what is.

The national media's "love affair with Obama," whom many of them call a "rock star," will continue. It will be up to the new media, including this blog, to present a more accurate view of Barack Hussein Obama.

Please read the column below about "The Case for John McCain." Thanks. Comments are always welcome.

THE CASE FOR JOHN MCCAIN

I'm working hard on one of my book summaries that I do for a company in the Midwest, so I'm going to hold off on my much -promised column regarding the Washington County GOP web site, which is a good one. The following material is new, but I wrote it after my appearance on Eric Dondero's Libertarian Republic show on BlogTalkRadio. Eric opposes John McCain for reasons that remain mysterious to me.

I was on Eric Dondero's BlogTalkRadio.com/Libertarian, and the host and I got into a good exchange about McCain. His point was that McCain was too liberal. My point was that the facts, such as the ratings by the American Conservative Union ratings and the Club For Growth, indicated that McCain was a conservative.

The host continued to disagree. I said that he had an intellectual and moral obligation to support McCain. I cited the "Club for Growth" rankings for 2005 and 2006 that gave McCain a (good) rating of 76% for both years. The host wondered if Hillary Clinton didn't also have some decent ratings from that group. I cited The Almanac of American Politics, which showed the Club (fiscal conservatives) gave her a rating of 8% and 0% for the two years.

Thus, when Ann Coulter tells Sean Hannity that "Hillary is our gal," one wonders exactly is going on. Ms. Coulter is not a stupid person, but she is driven mainly by malice and a desire to say outrageous things, which endear her to some of the conservative "base."

Coulter's entire career manifests a commitment not to Republican politics, but rather to often pathetic attempts to call attention to herself. Her support for Hillary Clinton, who doesn't have a conservative bone in her body, illustrates that she has an agenda which is less conservatism than narcissism. Ann Coulter may be something or other, but her backing of Mrs. Clinton shows that she is not in any sense a conservative. Calling someone a "faggot," as she did John Edwards, does not miraculously transform a woman into Margaret Thatcher. Name-calling is the last refuge of those who lack a coherent political philosophy.

Recently, the Austin Statesman in Texas endorsed McCain and noted that over the years his rating from the American Conservative Union was 82.3%, which is a very conservative performance. The ACU rankings for Hillary Clinton in 2005 and 2006 were an anemic 8% and 12%. The FACTS -- a category not much valued by Limbaugh and Coulter types -- show that McCain is a conservative and Mrs. Clinton (like Obama) is a robotic liberal.

That is NOT my opinion. Rather, it is what the facts show. John Kasich, former Ohio congressman who is one of the great conservatives of our time, said on FOX yesterday: "John McCain is NOT a liberal. In fact, John McCain is not really a moderate. John McCain is a conservative." Kasich, like many national conservatives (Tom Coburn, Rick Perry, Peter King, Saxby Chamblis, Jonny Isakson, Jon Kyl, Lindsay Graham) is strongly endorsing McCain.

McCain is a conservative with a conscience. He is not anti-gay, nor anti-Hispanic, nor anti-Black, not anti-women professionals, not anti-young people. He is a Republican in Arizona who wins his races there by huge margins (79% to 21% in his last race).

So why do the Limbaughs, Coulters, and Hewitts dislike John McCain so much? Part of it is their effort to boost ratings by making outrageous comments. A big element is the fact that McCain despises them for their shallowness and ideological fanaticism. Rush and his "proud dittoheads" have lost their grip on the Party. Their conservative alternatives -- Tancredo, Hunter, Gilmore, (Fred) Thompson, (Tommy) Thompson, and Paul -- couldn't come close to winning elections. They have NO support. Republicans across the country have rejected them. The voters have declared Rush and Sean and Laura and Ann and Hugh to be irrelevant to the nation's politics.

I told my host/friend last night that he really didn't have a "right" to his opinion, because there were no facts behind his views. We have a constitutional right, I guess, to be wrong, but we don't have an intellectual or moral right to ignore reality.

I disagree with John McCain on a few of his votes, but frankly that doesn't mean I must be "right" and he must be wrong. When he voted against the anti-gay-marriage amendment, he said it was "antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans." He added, "It usurps from the states a fundamental authority they have always possessed and imposes a federal remedy for a problem that most states believe does not confront them." Is he really "wrong" when he cites the obvious? The American people's stance on something like gay marriage is that they're bored by the subject.

You will not find McCain's thoughtful, constitutionalist statements coming out of the mouth of Rush Limbaugh or Laura Ingraham or Ann Coulter. Their listeners want red meat. They want slogans and venom. They live for polarization and animosity. The wear their bloody banner of Red State simplisms as if it were a badge of honor.

John McCain rejects the politics of hatred. He will go down in history as a great man and, hopefully as a great President. His talk show critics will continue to express their half-baked "opinions" to a diminishing group of people who drool heavily and think infrequently.

Note: Anyone who'd like to honor me by using this column on their own blog or elsewhere, please do so. The only thing I ask is that you cite my main blog as the source (http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com)

Steve Maloney on Political Pistachio

Tomorrow (Monday) at 10 p.m. I'll be on Doug Gibbs's Political Pistachio Radio. I'll be joined by my friend Adam Brickley of Colorado Springs, the individuals who started the Draft Sarah Palin for VP Movement. We'll be discussing Gov. Palin's chances, as well as other possibilities for the V-P choices. The subject of Senator John McCain, whom I support strongly, will also come up.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio. This week Doug, a fine gentleman, will have on a very important guest, Kathleen Willey, once a strong Clinton supporter and someone who was molested by President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. Quite a timely guest. She's written a new book on her experience, and I bet it won't be coffee table material in the Clinton household.

Jack Kelly on Obama

The absolute best conservative columnist in PA is Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A former Marine, a former Special Forces soldier, and a former (one-time) candidate for Congress, Kelly is one writer who knows what he's talking about.

Please read his Sunday column, which you can find at the following: http://post-gazette.com/forum. The subject is "The Obama Mirage," and the sub-head is: "There's no there there." Kelly is quoting Dame Edith Asquith who, when asked what she thought about Oakland, California, said, "There's no there there.'

Kelly's article begins with these words: "Texas state Senator Kirk Watson had an embarrassing momentthe night the candidate he is supporting for president won the Wisconsin primary. MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked him to name a legislative accomplishment of Sen. Barack Obama."

"'I'm not going to be able to do that tonight,' Mr. Watson replied."

Later, Kelly quotes Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton. "'Barack Obama is no Muhammed Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois state Senate. He took a walk more than 130 times. That's what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring.'"

Buffenbarger then goes on to say: "'I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing trust fund babies crowding in to hear [Obama] speak. This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack-machine.'"

As a card carrying member of said Attack Machine, I hope he's right.

YOUR McCain Support Online

I wrote the following today to people who are playing key roles in the online effort to get John McCain elected President of the U.S. (POTUS). The following is in small part "inside baseball," but it shows the reality of what's going on online.

The big issue is what we can do to get people to reach out to others (and sometimes that will mean reaching out merely to a spouse or to a few neighbors). Right now, many people online are not truly "into" the presidential race. After March 5, that will begin to change rapidly.

Our main goal should be to get onliners to do SOMETHING positive for McCain. There are a few people (Cindy at The Pink Flamingo, Sanity 102, the two Beths, Sharon Caliendo, Greg Alterton) that will accomplish a great deal. I want them to know that they have friends (me and thee, among others) who will do what they can to assist them.

McCain supporters aren’t ready yet to launch a highly systematized organizational effort -- for example, the kind Joe Trippi had for Howard Dean -- on the Net. However, McCain supporters can and will do a lot better than is occurring now.

Where the MV08 effort is going very wrong is in its egotism (lots of titles for people with questionable online skills), its litmus tests (so-and-so is not a "true blue McCain supporter"), its acceptance of stereotypes ("drugged-out college students"), and its overall chuminess. Some people (especially me, as well as Beth 1 and Beth 2 and Sharon) have complained about MV08's being politically tone-deaf and suggesting that some members of the community won't complain but will just tune out the supposed "leaders," and others.

Who exactly gave someone like Sheridan Folger the "authority" to control the on-line effort? A question that I fear won't ever be answered.

The online effort must be in large part a teaching/learning experience. When bloggers or others ask how they can help John McCain, people who know the answer should tell them -- and do so respectfully As I suggested, we can't ask online volunteers to do more than we can legitimately expect from people who have limited time. Those who are really going to help McCain must proceed with a good dose of humility.

In talking at length to Sharon last night, she mentioned that activist students at the University of Oklahoma (Norman) and Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) are very much for McCain, perhaps by 2-1 or even 3-1. That’s also true of several colleges in PA (Grove City College being one). We need to have online sites that welcome such students and work with them to maximize their influence.

A few years ago, students in the South and Midwest played a major role in Club for Growth leader Pat Toomey's challenge to Senator Arlen Specter. A generation ago, conservative college students helped Nixon to bury McGovern (1972). We can't win this election merely with support from suburban males over the age of 40.

I'm hoping that people like Christopher in MI will work with us to bring in younger people. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get people, young and old, in the McCain camp.

CONSERVATIVES: AVOIDING POLITICAL DEATHWISH

NOTE: I BELIEVE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY BELOW IS IMPORTANT, SO I'M GOING TO HOLD OFF ON MY DISCUSSION OF THE WASHINGTON COUNTY (PA) GOP GROUP, AN EXCELLENT ONE, UNTIL MONDAY. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

Some hard truths for conservatives and other McCain Supporters . . .

.A McCain supporter sent out an angry e-mail today that seemed designed to offend most of the groups John McCain needs to win the election. Let me give you one example: I had made the obvious point that Barack Obama has a tremendous online presence, one much greater at present than McCain's. (If you want to check that out for yourself, just Google Obama and then McCain and count the numbers, especially with emphasis on the past year.)

The McCain supporter said the following about Obama's online supporters: "When your core base is a bunch of stoned college kids spending mom and dads money with little else to do than make it to the next beer funnel . . .well you get the picture."

In other words, he's saying Obama's supporters consist mainly (exclusively?) of a bunch of drug-crazed college students "spending mom['s] and dad[']s money." Not exactly a "politic" statement.Do I believe John McCain shares in any way his supporter's comments? I don't. McCain is a good enough politician to know that he needs support from all groups in America.

He especially needs support from moderate-and-conservative young people (usually categorized as those between age the ages of 18 and 29).McCain does well with people over the age of 45 (a demographic that includes me). But to win, he also has to do well with people under the age of 45.

In fact, McCain's status as a POW/war hero and the father a daughter (Meghan) who graduated recently from college, should give him significant appeal to younger voters. There's no reason he should cede most of the nation's young voters to Obama, whose pretty words eventually will grow thin with all age segments.

In the months past, I've argued with my fellow conservatives about their political shortsightedness. We can't afford to hand over huge segments of the electorate -- including younger voters -- over to the Democrats.

In the mid-1960s, we basically gave the Democrats a big political gift: the nation's Black vote. In more recent times, some conservatives have appeared ready to give up on the Hispanic vote, which comes from the nation's largest -- and fastest-growing -- minority group. (Blacks are the second largest.)

Young people (under 30) aren't a minority group, but if they were they'd be almost as big as the Black and Hispanic minorities.

Many conservatives have also given up on the gay and lesbian vote, about 20%-25% of which went to George Bush (according to CNN exists) in 2000 and 2004. In fact, if George Bush hadn't won tens of thousands of G/L votes in Florida eight years ago, well, President Al Gore would be nearing the end of his second term. Thus, in one sense, GWB won Florida because of the gay vote!

Currently, we conservatives also aren't doing well with working women who, in the primaries, are voting by huge majorities in the primaries for the Democratic candidate. For decades, women professionals (lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists) have been deserting the GOP in droves. We must turn that around.

Again, much as I love older white males, being one myself, they aren't enough by themselves anymore to win elections.

We Republicans can't prevail with strong support only from angry white males, such as the McCain supporter cited above.We don't need to agree with every group on all issues, but we do have to listen to their concerns, treat them with respect -- and ask for their support. We must not stereotype diverse populations and dismiss them as somehow contemptible.

John McCain desperately needs support from every group I've mentioned. If we imply otherwise, we're playing a role in sinking John McCain's heroic effort.


Note: John McCain needs your love and support, but he also needs your money to remain competitive. Obama has raised a whole lot more money than McCain. So, please click on this link and make a contribution

Visit Meghan McCain's Web Site

You heard the prediction here first: On March 5, Senator Hillary Clinton will suspend her campaign.


One web site that's a real pleasure to visit is McCain Blogette.com done by John's and Cindy's daughter, Meghan McCain, with the assistance of her friends, photographer Heather Brand and film and video producer Shannon Brae. Be sure to leave a comment for Meghan, a recent graduate in Art History from Columbia University. (I took two art history courses as an undergraduate at the University of Rochester, and I absolutely loved them.)

As I mentioned previously, Adam Brickley, founder of the Draft Sarah Palin Movement, and I will be on Douglas Gibbs's Blog Talk Radio show, Political Pistachio, on Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll be discussing Gov. Palin's chances of getting the VP nomination as well as matters related to John McCain and Barack Obama. Adam and I believe Mrs. Clinton's campaign is on life-support. If you'd like, you can call in.

If you're interested in reading my thoughts about John McCain's strengths and Barack Obama's deficiencies, please scroll down and you'll find a garden of earthly delights.


This weekend on my other blogs, which you can find here or here, I'll be writing about Barack Obama and his similarity to a fictional character, Chauncey Gardiner, from the book (and movie) called "Being There," by Jerzy Kozinski. See below.

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday) I'm going to write about the "Obama Phenomenon." I've been quoting an extreme left-wing law professor at Harvard named Lawrence Tribe. He believes Supreme Court justices should look at the Constitution as an Etch-a-Sketch on which they transcribe their fondest (left-wing) hopes and dreams. He says Barack Obama is "brilliant," which I fear means Obama agrees in all relevant matters with Prof. Tribe.

On my side, I've described Obama as a combination of rhetorical genius and an intellectual simpleton. I doubt there's a way Prof. Tribe and I can resolve our differences.

If you wish, take a quick trip to Wikipedia.com and look up the movie "Being There," one of Peter Sellers' last films. The protagonist is a man (mis-) named Chauncey Gardiner, whose simple platitudes impress people to the point that they see him as a future President. Barack Obama, meet Chauncey Gardiner. Can we really say that? "Yes, we can!"

New York Times Disgrace, Obamanomics

New York Times: Disgraceful Behavior

Michael Schuyler, who administers McCain Victory 08, which, if you're a blogger, you should join today, wrote the following letter to the New York Times regarding its smear-campaign against Senator John McCain.

Well, it's painfully obvious Jayson Blair [the reporter who made up many stories and whose activities resulted in the firing of the Times’ executive editor and the managing editor} is still working for the New York Times, a venerable name in American newspaper history that has fallen to the depths of the National Enquirer with unsubstantiated, sensationalistic stories such as the one today on John McCain. As they say: "You got nothin'!" and the fact that they ran such a story shows to what depths of journalistic malfeasance the Times has fallen.

It's no secret that newspapers have fallen on hard times as the Internet sucks advertising revenue and readership away from printed paper. Not only is Craig's List cheaper, it's more effective. The number of laid off news and support staff from newspapers around the country is nothing short of alarming. Unfortunately, newspaper management resorts to sensationalism to gain back readers by making every two-sentence tidbit in Police Blotter into a 'front page' story. Newspapers have done it to themselves by reacting this way, and by making up stories as the Times has done today.

The New York Times has become an institution without honor, without integrity. It's sad to see this happen, but the Times is becoming more irrelevant with each passing day. It is no longer the case that any thinking person looks to the Times as a source of unbiased information. The Times, it seems, can no longer be trusted.

Read The Economist Instead of the Times

Michael, an excellent letter. I may be one of the few people in the nation (even the liberals are holding their noses) that isn't "disappointed" by the Times. But that's because my expectations for the paper are extremely low. It’s little more than a propaganda sheet.

A year ago, I started subscribing to The (London) Economist, which is far superior to anything I see in the U.S. Oh, in 2000, The Economist endorsed John McCain for President, and in 2008 they're getting ready to do so again. They see him as an honorable man who doesn't share the foreign policy fantasies of, say, Barack Obama. I keep quoting The Economist in my blog, hoping to influence a few other people to shell out $99 a year for it.

The Economist recently had a story discussing the fact that many things 40-45 years ago were a lot better than they are now. For example, we had one-third the rate of teen suicides. The divorce rate was much, much lower. The population in the penitentiaries was about 40% of today’s number of inhabitants in the lock-up. The rates of murders and violent crimes generally were a fraction of what they are today.

Someone like Barack Obama can't handle such facts, which they are of course. i doesn't lead to audience chanting, Hare Krishna style, "Yes, we can." An Obama can't -- while a McCain can -- say, you know, we used to do a lot of things better than we do them now -- or will perhaps do them in the future.

I hear the commercial with the far-left Harvard Law professor, Lawrence Tribe, talking about Obama's "brilliance." I don't see it. I see a person demanding that we redistribute more income and concentrate less on securing this nation from attacks by people who hate us.

Stephen Moore has an article in Friday's Wall Street Journal about Obama’s disastrous economic policies. Last night on the Glenn Beck show, Moore said that "Yes, we can" means, among other things, yes we can raise the effective tax rate for people in NJ, NY, and CA to 60%. See, the government gets sixty cents, and the people working their butts off get 40 cents. "Yes, we can?" But "No, we absolutely should not.” Just call it "Obamanomics."

Those of us who strongly support John McCain have a lot of work to do. And it's critically important that we begin today!

Me Live on Political Pistachio

On Monday, February 25, I'll be on blog talk radio with Adam Brickley, who has engineered the highly successful Draft Sarah Palin (Alaska Governor) for VP movement. We'll be on Douglas Gibbs's Political Pistachio program at 7 p.m. Eastern time, and I hope you'll tune in. Also, call in if you'd like. Here's the link: http://blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio.

Doug has a great show, and one of his guests next week will be Kathleen Willey, who claims (credibly) that President Bill Clinton molested her in the Oval Office. Ms. Willey joins a long list of women (Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and many who remain nameless) whose relationships with former President Clinton have not been fruitful, to say the least.

On Monday, Adam and I will be discussing possible vice-presidential choices for Senator McCain. If you'd like to see Adam's site, something of a shrine to Gov. Palin (pronounced PALE-in), go to: http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/. Even if Sarah doesn't get the nomination, she is a GOP political superstar-in-the-making. She reminds me a lot of my Washington County, PA friend Diana Lynn Irey, who ran a heroic campaign in 2006 against the evil John Murtha.

This weekend I'll be writing about the Washington County, PA GOP and its web site.

Please see below about how you can contribute the campaign of an American hero, Senator John McCain.

How McCain Can Win Pennsylvania

One important thing all admirers of John McCain can do is to contribute to his campaign. If you can donate $250, please do so. Or, if you can contribute $25, please do it. The Democrat's presumptive nominee, Obama, has been raising huge amounts of money from Moveon.org types, and it's essential that we help put John McCain on a more level financial footing. You can contribute by clicking on the Contribute to John McCain link to your right (at the top) or by going to the McCain web site and clicking on the "contribute" button. Thanks for your generous help.


Winning elections: it's not rocket science.

Note: If you're from Pennsylvania, you're in the right place.

If you're from Ohio or New Jersey, please click on those links to find blogs dedicated to the McCain effort in those states. If you're from Oklahoma or New Mexico, click on those sites. In time, there will be blogs from each of the 50 states (listed as http://[statename]forjohnmccain.blogspot.com. There's a need for volunteers to manage state blogs that are "waiting" for someone to take over. If you do assume that responsibility, you will receive all the help you need.

As a rough guess, there are about 1.75 million voters out there who are (or soon will be) strongly for John McCain. If each Pennsylvanian who solidly backs McCain "teaches one," the Senator would get 3.5 million votes in the state, which would make him a solid winner.

Frankly, everyone has a family member, or friend, or neighbor who can be brought into the McCain camp. It's that simple. If people know you strongly support the Senator, then they're more likely to follow your lead.

(More to come Thursday afternoon. Please read the columns below about John McCain and this probable opponent, Barack Obama, in the general election.)

On The NYT's Smear Campaign Against McCain

From: [Political Analyst] Aaron Rizzio Subject: Gloves off at NYT

[Reporter] Jim Rutenberg had been shopping this story around furiously to the New Republic and Drudge Report since late last year after the NYT initially refused to run with it. Drudge, apparently on the Romney payroll at the time, ran a teaser item on it on 12-20. What precisely has been developed since [NYT editor] Keller spiked the apparent dead-end story last year is a question he should be prepared to answer. What we have are 2 apparently disgruntled anonymous former McCain staffers (who are they? were they terminated? who are they working for now?). This could end up being a good thing for several reasons 1.) if it ultimately goes nowhere and Keller takes institutional flak for running such a smarmy and sloppy hit piece on McCain he is effectively immunized against such weakly sourced rumor and innuendo going forward. 2.) It wakes team McCain up to the reality that indeed the NYT is not their friend and they cannot rely on the institutional "msm" to carry water for them here on out for the duration of the campaign. 3.) The NYT has really, really, lowered the bar for future hit pieces on Obama in this campaign cycle (from what promises to be a cornucopia of potential source material); although I wouldn't count on the NYT running any anonymously sourced hearsay accusations of Barack Obama smoking crack behind garbage dumpsters anytime soon. I like this line "even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee". You mean like Tom Daschle former Senate Maj Leader (and Obama backer) who's wife lobbyed against secured airline cockpit bulkheads prior to 9/11? That kind of thing?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0201.mencimer.html

OBAMA SUPPORTS "LIVE BIRTH ABORTION"

I wrote the following to a Yahoo Group of Black Conservatives (I desegregated the group) today regarding Mark McKinnon, who said he would leave his position as an advertising consultant in the McCain Campaign if Obama is the nominee:

I have heard (on MSNBC) that Mark McKinnon is basically a hired gun -- and a Democrat. If he disagrees with Obama on "several fundamental issues," as he says, then he would seem to have a moral obligation as an American to oppose Obama. That's what the political process is (supposedly) about. Thus, McKinnon seems to be cultivating his 15-minutes-of-fame.

I've been accused of launching attacks on Barack Obama. Let me be clear on that point.

I have attackedObama on my blog and elsewhere on what are basically character issues. I agree with John McCain that there are many signs that Barack -- a words-man -- is not a man of his word. McCain was talking about Obama's on-again, off-again pledge to accept public financing in the general election.

In January, 2006, Obama said the following to Tim Russert on Meet the Press: "I will serve out my full fix-year term [in the Senate]." When Russert asked him again if he would run for President or Vice-President, he said, "I will not." Earlier, however, in December, 2006, he had made a visit to New Hampshire, where he told a crowd he "would participate in the process," by which he meant the presidential election process.

(You can find this information on p. 542 of Michael Barone's The Almanac of American Politics. For his New Hampshire remarks, google Obama + New Hampshire + December, 2006, as I did.)

I've attacked Michelle Obama for words she said (about never being proud of her country until very recently). On MSNBC at this moment (4 p.m. ET), Michelle Obama is supposedly "clarifying her remarks." She is not clarifying anything. She says, "We've overcome diversities that we should all be proud of." Whatever that means. I thought we were in favor of diversity. We'd better be!

She's not suffering from gratuitous attacks. They're not based on thin air. They're reflective of positions Obama and his wife have taken. They need to be less careless with words, which are supposed to be their strong points.

Be clear on this: I will never intentionally say anything about them that's untrue. But if they want to assume the nation's highest positions, they should cease spewing out nonsense.

One areas where we won't hear any ringing words from Obama is on the subject of abortion.

Barack Obama has voted against providing medical care in the case of so-called "live birth abortions." That happens (rarely) when an abortion is botched and the embryo is born alive, thus becoming a child (and an American citizen). This is the same Obama who is for "universal health care" -- except, of course, in the case of a child gasping for life.

(Barone's words on this follow: "He voted against requiring medical care for fetuses who surived abortions . . . ). That's not exactly a position which is going to "bring the nation together," as Obama claims is his goal. When he and Michelle talk about their concern for America's children, we need to press them on exactly which children get excluded.

They preach unity, but they practice the worst forms of division.

Yes, Obama, the political preacher man, has a 'dream." But with many of his extreme views, the question is how he can sleep at night.

_________________________

The Myth of Obama

It's absolutey critical to "introduce" the American people to Barack Obama, and John McCain and Cindy McCain were doing just that yesterday. Among other things, McCain said something quite fascinating, that Obama is advocating "a holidy from history." I don't advocate that as a campaign slogan, but it demonstrates that McCain has Obama's number. He's saying that Obama's "soaring rhetoric' has left the stratosphere and totally detached itself from reality. Unfortunately, some people will remain forever bamboozled, including the college-freshman types mindlessly chanting "Yes, we can!" No, you can't, something most two-year-olds learn when they turn 3.

Obama is talking about our society's failures in regard to children. This from the guy who voted to deny medical assistance to children born alive in botched abortions. I guess "universal health care" has its limitations.

In terms of education, Obama's "plan," like Bill Clinton's is to do nothing other than pay of the Teacher's Union. Parental choice? He doesn't have that "dream." Merit pay for excellent teachers? Not during his watch.

Health care? That means more patients, the same number of providers, and somehow lots of imaginary "savings."

As for the War on Terror, his goal seems to be to leave Iraq to al Qaeda and, at the same time, invade Pakistan. He quotes JFK, but very selectively, missing the famous line about: "We will pay any price, bear any burden to ensure the survival of liberty." Perhaps Caroline Kennedy can remind her new hero about that one. It's vitally important to defeat this snake-oil-salesman, the man-of-words who turns out (as with campaign finance) not to be a man-of-HIS-word.

NOTE TO PENNSYLVANIANS: IN THE COMING WEEKS, I'M GOING TO DISCUSS HOW ACTIVISTS (PEOPLE LIKE YOU) CAN LEVERAGE YOUR POWER IN ELECTIONS. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN DO IS TO WORK WITH YOUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY THE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTIES.

SOON, I'LL BE FEATURING THE WASHINGTON COUNTY (PA) REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION. IT'S ONE OF THE BETTER GOP GROUPS IN THE STATE. THE EMPHASIS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, HISTORICALLY A DEMOCRATIC AREA, IS ON BUILDING THE PARTY, AND THEY'RE SUCCEEDING. IN THE LAST ELECTION, THEY ELECTED THE FIRST REPUBLICAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY.

THE BEST KNOWN POLITICAL FIGURE IN THE COUNTY IS COMMISSIONER DIANA LYNN IREY, WHO RAN FOR CONGRESS AGAINST JOHN MURTHA IN 2006. BONNIE WEST IS THE HEAD OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATION, AND SHE'S AN EMERGING POLITICAL STAR.

If you'd like take a look at Washington County GOP's web site: http://washingtoncountyrepublicanparty.blogspot.com. It's a good one, even though the guest editorial by former Senator Rick Santorum has outlived its usefulness. It's important to keep web sites current and relevant, which Washington County usually does.

PENNSYLVANIA'S (AND AMERICA'S) OBAMA PROBLEM

"America is not deceived by an eloquent -- but empty -- call for change." (John McCain, Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio)


Pennsylvania's (and America's) Obama Problem is that the candidate -- and his wife -- don't think very highly of America. Apparently, Obama believes the country is seriously deficient and must undergo radical change to become acceptable to the Moveon.org types who back him.

What does his wife, Michelle Obama, think about her country? She recently said, "[F]or the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction."

That from a Black woman who received her undergraduate education at Princeton -- and then got a law degree from Harvard University. Many years ago a conservative writer produced a book entitled Why Harvard Hates America. He didn't use Michelle and Barack Obama as examples of the university's distaste for the U.S., but he could have.

It's improbable that the country is ready for a "First Lady" who doesn't like America very much -- except when her husband happens to be a serious candidate for President. This isn't Mrs. Obama's first gaffe -- nor will it be her last. Every once in awhile, she will tell us what she really thinks, and those will not be pleasant experiences for her fellow citizens, most of whom didn't get basically "free rides" through Princeton and Harvard.

In my case, I went to the University of Rochester in my home town. I lived at home to save money. I worked during the day and attended the University's night school, because it was cheaper to do so. Finally, I ended up with a Ph.d. and a good-sized obligation in the form of student loans.

I don't believe there has been a day -- or an hour -- when I didn't love my country. Everything that is good in my life derives mainly from my being an American citizen infused with this nation's values and opportunities. To me, America means "not less than everything." I'm very uncomfortable with Americans who don't feel that way.

Obama has based much of his campaign on his belief that the U.S. erred by invading Iraq and overthrowing the genocidal Saddam Hussein. However, lest we think Obama is a pacifist, he has said that we should invade Pakistan (of all places!) without that country's permission, a bizarre and even childish statement.

In the second Democratic debate, Obam said, in essence, that if terrorists hit two American cities, his response would be to have a commission determine why the intelligence system failed. In other words, he'd go looking for scapegoats, rather than respond decisively to the attack.

He and his fellow Democrats, who have worked so hard to hamstring our intelligence effort, would accept no responsibility for the CIA's and FBI's limitations. His view of "change" when it comes to the intelligence community is to weaken it -- and then blame it for failings whenever that's politically expedient.

John McCain said last night, "America will not be deceived by eloquent but empty calls for change." I hope he's right. Obama will continue blowing smoke and some people will inhale it as if it's nectar from the gods.

In his rhetoric -- his words -- Obama often echoes his wife's comments about not liking much about the U.S. However, there's no evidence that a country run by an Obama-type would in any substantive way be superior to one where people basically run their own lives. He's asking us to change a free society into one dominated by people like Barack and Michelle Obama.

John and Cindy McCain understand what's really at stake in this election. Unfortunately, Barack (and Michelle) Obama don't.

THE OPPONENT WILL BE OBAMA

"It's time for Hillary Clinton to replace her speechwriter." Donna Brazille (Democratic Super-Delegate) on CNN speaking about how Mrs. Clinton had recently fired her campaign manager and her deputy campaign manager

"She [Mrs. Clinton] hasn't found her voice. She hasn't found her message. The Clinton Campaign should be fined for malpractice. . . This has become Barack Obama's to lose." David Gergen on CNN

Imagine that, all those years we spent hoping and praying Hillary Clinton would be the nominee and now we have been deprived of the "honor" of running against her. Barack Obama, the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, will be John McCain's opponent in November.

Of course, John McCain is one of the more conservative members of the Senate, an important fact lost on dimwits like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter ("the crocodilian one"). At this moment in history, it's time we conservatives grow up and face political reality. Talk show simplisms about "amnesty" and "the Gang of 14" are little more than forms of malevolence.

Choose ye this day, my friend: McCain or the Other Guy (Obama)?Right now, Barack Obama is the Pied Piper leading all those multitudes chanting "Yes we can!" (do something or other) all the way to the voting booth in November. Frankly, Obama is looking a lot like a winner, something I'm prepared to do my best to prevent.

I hope you'll join me. Will you? He will be extremely difficult to defeat.

PENNSYLVANIAN FOR MCCAIN? COME HERE

On CNN (3:40 ET on Tuesday) Carl Berstein just said that the Clinton Campaign is portraying Obama as "an empty suit with great lungs." In this regard, John McCain can learn from Hillary -- and vice versa. Obama's "message of Hope" is a bumper sticker, not a vision for the country.

Note, as you'll read below, this site is dedicated to all Pennsylvanians who support John McCain for President of the U.S. Pennsylvania for John McCain will provide information, share ideas, and build coalitions. It's an independent entity designed to bring together Republicans, Independents, and Democrats who will help John McCain win the general election. Thanks for visiting. Your comments are always welcome.

Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA

Today (Tuesday) I wrote a guest piece for the NewJerseyforJohnMcCain site. It asks the question whether McCain can really win a state like New Jersey, which has gone regularly to the Democratic candidate since the Reagan era. Much of what I say there also applies to Pennsylvania, a "Blue state" that could conceivably end up going for McCain. If you want to know how the presidential election is going, take a close look at Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. If McCain can win all three, we could be looking at a landslide. I've posted a shorter version of the NJ piece on my main blog at: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/.

Christopher from young republican blog left the following comments:

"McCain is the first candidate to put the Northeast in play. What was the Democrat's safe ground is now threatened by him. The following states had or have GOP governors recently: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Vermont. Delaware gets only one rep. for the house and they have consistently picked a Republican. Maine and New Hampshire have 2 GOP Senators. All of this tells us that voters are willing to consider a Republican if it is the right one. To that point, McCain is certainly in the game." (Note from Steve: It's been awhile since NJ had a Republican Gov., although the GOP had six out of 13 congressional seats.)

State Blogs: Million-Vote Project

Why "independent" state blogs? Because people operating independently can accomplish a lot more than official sites, especially in the earlier stages of a campaign. The state blogs mentioned are not under the administrative or ideological control of the offical McCain effort (which you're also encouraged to join) or of the Republican National Committee (RNC), which will eventually come in an seek to run every element of the campaign.

These blogs should be places where all McCain supporters -- Republicans, conservatives, moderates, and, especially, Independents and Democrats, feel comfortable. That's often not the case when the RNC exerts control.

Also, independents can accomplish more than people who are part of an official structure. I mentioned the independent Democrat, a college student, who started the Obama MySpace site. He ended up, working with other students, getting 160,000 "friends" for Obama. Those people were a crucial element in Obama's wildly successful online fundraising.

The people volunteering to manage or otherwise participate in the state blogs are capable of similar achievements, and the only instruction they will receive is the suggestion that they "go for it." Use your own creativity and imagination to make sure your state goes for McCain.

(I'll say more about this subject, but for now, I urge you to read the column(s) below.)



The state blogs and "The Million Vote Project" began this past weekend and is progressing nicely.

We now have blog managers at
http://pennsylvaniaforjohnmccain.blogspot.com; http://newmexicoforjohnmccain.blogspot.com; http://oklahomaforjohnmccain.blogspot.com; http://texasforjohnmccain.blogspot.com.

Within the next week, there should be several more states represented.

Clearly, we need you and others like you to volunteer to manage (or co-manage) these state blogs for McCain. If you'd like to volunteer or suggest a name of someone who would like to do so, please either use the comments section or e-mail me: TalkTop65@aol.com. Serving as a manager (or co-manager) should not be too much of a burden on your time, and doing so will be a major help to the McCain Campaign.

We're especially interested in getting blog managers from New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, California, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and New Hampshire. I have regular visitors from all these states (and others), and I hope people will step up to the plate. All those blogs currently exist (with the state name followed by "for John McCain"), so you can see what they look like. (For example, http://hawaiiforjohnmccain.blogspot.com/.)

Then, the next step is for you to volunteer as a manager.

If you need help with the process, don't hesitate to ask me at TalkTop65@aol.com. The sites are all on blogspot.com, because it's relatively easy to use. The "look" of each state site will be the same, but the managers will all take different approaches on their blogs. Hopefully, each manager will reach out to all members of the online communities in their various states.

We're calling this "The Million Vote Project," because that's the minimum number of votes these United States blogs can influence in the direction of John McCain. Please volunteer today.

In regard to Pennsylvania, I'll be working this week to inform PA Republicans about the existence of this blog. I'll put up links to perhaps 100 blogs and ask the people to do the same for this blog. Soon, there will be a blogroll listing the 50 state blogs (plus a general one, http://americanforjohnmccain.blogspot.com/. The Pennsylvania state blog will be a gathering place for supporters of John McCain, a site where people can share information and ideas.

Senator McCain can win Pennsylvania in November. But for that to happen, all his supporters must leverage their influence. This blog will help toward that end.

Sharon, Political Star, Oklahoma Blog

THE ONE-MILLION VOTE PROJECT

Up and running now are New Mexico for John McCain and Pennsylvania for John McCain (this site). Also, Sharon from Norman, OK ("Go Sooners!") has agreed to manage Oklahoma for John McCain, and it will be running hard soon. Sharon is a political version of The Energizer Bunny, and she's extremely skilled in organizational and GOTV (Get Out the Vote) activities. We "ordinary mortals" will never be quite at Sharon's, but many of the things she does are learnable and doable. In the first few weeks this site is alive, I'm going to post material from Sharon and others who are very skilled in making sure their candidates get elected -- and, in this case, that means John McCain.

The woman who heads the New Mexico site blogs usually at The Pink Flamingo. Her initial experience was with political guru Lee Atwater in South Carolina. She also worked on the campaigns of Senator Lindsay Graham. She set up on blogspot 49 of the state sites. I did a grand total of one, Pennsylvania. But I did find the great picture of the Amish kids!

We very much need volunteers to take over the other state sites. I believe we have one for Texas, but a state like that one (huge in geography and populaton) could probably use more than one blog manager.

In my exchanges with Sharon, she gives me a lot of information about her political background. Invariably, what she says is applicable to others -- although perhaps not quite at her level of commitment. In her most recent e-mail, she told me the following about the "Air Force life."

She says, "OK is in the bag for McCain for the general election. I can easily help out with Texas. We lived there for eight years before moving to OK when Kelly AFB ended up on the BRAC list to be shut. We were some of the first people from that area to transfer to Tinker AFB. If you cannot find a Texas person, I will see if Brad who comes from Houston will take it over (he helped me out on the Bush yahoo groups) if I promise to help him out. I know several states better then OK - Ohio where I grew up, CA where we used to live, TX where we used to live, and FL where I work with my good friend on elections -- he went to McCain a week before the FL primary and ended up escorted Sen McCain and his wife to events for the final week. In 2000 I knew much more about FL then OK including giving directions to people for Bush rallies. My brother lives in Orlando."

What if a state like Oklahoma is, as Sharon says, "in the bag" for McCain (as I agree it is)? In that case, activists from Oklahoma can contact family and friends in other more hotly contested states.

The two columns below discuss what the 50 state blogs for McCain are designed to do. Each blog will look alike, but the approaches will all be different. There will be no "orders from the top," because there will be no top.

In each case, however, they're designed to bring together activists to work TOGETHER toward the election of John McCain.

Soon, you'll see blogrolls with the 50 states for John McCain. Within a month, there will be on this site a blogroll for Pennsylvania. People who don't have blogs -- and that's the vast majorityof people online -- are very much invited to participate. They can receive e-mail alerts about political developments of interest in PA. Anyway, welcome aboard all.

Organizing and Fundraising for McCain

Valentine card from Hillary Clinton to America: "Roses are red/Violets are blue/I'll raise your taxes/And there's nothing you can do."

I'll be writing today about the state blogs (see examples of New Mexico and Pennsylvania.Why an emphasis on independent state blogs? Because they will bring in many volunteers for the McCain Campaign.

Also, to be clear: most of the people who sign up as Volunteers will not be bloggers, who are the "tip of the iceberg" in regard to online activity. Many bloggers will sign up at the state sites, but many more will not be bloggers, but rather people with e-mail addresses.

If you want to volunteer to become one of the managers of your own state's blog, please let me know at: TalkTop65@aol.com -- or, if you wish, so indicate by using the blog's "Comments."

The main purposes of the state sites are to organize people at the state levels and to raise money through the use of secure "widgets." The people who manage the state sites will never see or handle any money going to the McCain Campaign. In fact, those who click on the widgets will find themselves taken directly to McCain's campaign site.

Money is critical to McCain's being able to run an effective campaign. John McCain is a great campaigner, but he's not so great when it comes to raising money. In fact, Barack Obama has raised more money in the past month-and-a-half than McCain has in the previous year.

It's critical that we -- McCain supporters -- turn that situation around, and secure widgets that funnel money directly to McCain will be a criticla element.

Do independent efforts, ones managed exclusively by volunteers, really work? Yes.

Consider what one college student did for Obama. About a year ago, he established an Obama MySpace page . On his own, he brought into the Obama camp 160,000 friends. After the student had brought in all those friends, the Obama Campaign not-so-gently kicked him to the curb. That is, they took over the site from the creator, and he ended up on the outside looking in. How that fits with Obama's stated view that "change comes from the bottom up," you can figure out for yourself.

Of course, most of the 160,000 friends were just verbal supporters and presumably didn't contribute money to the campaign. But many of those people were among the huge number of "small donors" ($200 or less) who did contribute. That's one of the reasons Obama was able to generate enough "early money" to launch an effective campaign against Hillary Clinton.

Note that the originator of the important "MySpace" effort was not a paid member of the Obama staff. He didn't get direction "from the top." He was a truly independent volunteer.That's what the state sites are designed to do: to organize volunteers for John McCain -- and to get those who so desire to send money. If you want to donate NOW to John McCain you can do so by clicking on the link to your right (the one with the word "contribute").

If you'd rather send a check to John McCain, you can do so at this address:

Senator John McCain
P.O. Box 7802
Merrifield, VA 22116

If you do send a check, make sure you also include your address and your employer. Doing so puts you in line with Federal Election Commission rules. I've contributed $200 to McCain and listed my employment situation as "Retired."

You can get the recent financial numbers for presidential candidates by going to http://opensecrets.org and clicking on the candidates (top of the home page). The good news is that Obama may end up spending a hundred million dollars, an unprecedented sum, campaigning against Hillary Clinton -- but not against John McCain.

The overal point is this: the state blogs are not an effort to stamp on the toes of http://McCainVictory08.com, which I urge you to join. Instead, they're an important attempt to get volunteers working right away to get John McCain elected.

Frankly, if McCain is to win, it won't be because of people waiting for instructions from "headquarters." In fact, it will be a result of millions of people around the country taking the initiative. My friends, carpe diem, "seize the day."

NOTE: THIS POSTING WILL ALSO APPEAR AT THE FOLLOWING: http://pennsylvaniaforjohnmccain.blogspot.com and http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. Eventually, the pennsylvaniaformccain site will take on a life of its own, but for now I'm cross-posting.

JOIN STATE BLOGS FOR MCCAIN!

IF YOU'RE FROM PA AND SUPPORT JOHN MCCAIN, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME, BLOG url (IF YOU HAVE ONE), AND YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. IT WON'T GO ANYWHERE TO ANYONE WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. THE GOAL IS TO HAVE A BIG GROUP THAT WILL WORK TOGETHER TO ELECT JOHN MCCAIN. My e-mail address is: TalkTop65@aol.com.

Information about the state blogs for McCain follows.

There will be 20 state blogs for John McCain. New Mexico for John McCain and Pennsylvania for John McCain (this one) are up now, and all 50 should be Sunday evening. It's necessary to have 50 people to run the state blogs -- and in some cases more than one person will do so. We've got PA, OK, and NM now, and we hope to have all 50-plus volunteers by the end of February (one of whom can be YOU. If you live overseas, we can also use your help.

The following is the post I made on my primary blog: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. I write regularly (an average of more than once-a-day) on that blog and will from time to time repost on this site. Cindy Reidhead of The Pink Flamingo is assisting in this effort, as is Sharon Caliendo of Rudy Supporters for McCain (a group that switched over to McCain on the same day Rudy Giuliani endorsed him). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RudySupportersforMcCain/

The state blogs will be independent sites. They are not in competition with any other sites for McCain. In fact, we all encourage every blog to join the main campaign site for volunteers, which is: http://mccainvictory08.com. The state sites will be "state-specific." The main purpose will be grassroots efforts to generate volunteers, handle logistics (at the county and state levels), and to raise funds.

If you can send $200, that's great. If you can send $25, that's great also. You can contribute by going here -- and use either a bank card or credit card. If you want to send a check by mail, you can do so at:

You will need to list your address and your employer (unless you're retired or not otherwise employed).

The point is this: If activists who back McCain wait for "instructions from headquarters, they -- and that means "us" -- will wait in vain. Activists act -- on their own, in behalf of their candidate. They disseminate information and seek out support. That's what we're asking you to do. McCain will need 3,000,000 active volunteers to win this election. There is no way that number of individuals can be guided from above. We need vast numbers of people to function as leaders.

Obama, the presumptive nominee of the Democrats, generates funds at a truly amazing rate, and a lot of the money comes from the farthest-Left segment of American society, including multi-billionaire GOP-hater George Soros. If you have any extra cash this week, please donate it at John McCain's home site. You can do through through a credit or bank card.

Right now, we need volunteers from every state. If you have the time (not that much required) and the inclination (a lot required), please volunteer to host your state blog. It will already have been set up -- each in the same general format. If you have questions, please send them to me at: TalkTop65@aol.com or to Cindy at: SJReidhead@mac.com You can also ask by leaving comments at my main site: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com.

John McCain needs your help. God bless you for providing it.

The following is a repost of my column on http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com.

This is an INDEPENDENT effort focused on bringing together you and other bloggers in your state to work together to ensure the election of John McCain. I hope you and others like you throughout the country will join, either as managers of each state blog or as participants to be listed on the blogroll.

The “AM” Blogroll (a.m. for McCain's "morning in America") on the state blogs is designed to be a networking tool for the supporters of John McCain It is not to supplant any other group. Indeed, the AM Blogroll will also concentrate on grass-roots logistics, fund-raising, and eventually will become a ‘get out the vote’ tool for local communities.It's early, but there are now two model blogs up (and will be more soon). Please visit them at: (1) http://newmexicoforjohnmccain.blogspot.com/ -- and(2) http://americanforjohnmccain.blogspot.com/.

http://pennsylvaniaforjohnmccain.blogspot.com/ is up now and has information that you will find useful.

The blogs will enable people in each state to communicate with each other. The blog manager's role will be to make it easier for people to share ideas and to communicate what's going on in each state. The blogs can help ensure that McCain is competitive in every state, one of his stated goals.

Of course, no one but Senator McCain and his paid staff (a very small group compared to Obama's huge staff) can speak FOR the Senator. However, it is our first amendment right to speak ABOUT the Senator and his opponent.We very much need volunteers to manage state blogs.

Such people should be committed to the election of John McCain and willing to devote perhaps one hour per day to their particular state blog. (As the election nears, particularly in September and October of this year, the blogs will take on a tremendous importance in getting out the vote for Senator McCain.)

If you might not have the individual time to spend on the blog, please consider being a co-manager. There's reason why 2-3-4 people can't be co-managers. Such people won't be receiving instruction from anyone else, since each blog will be an individual enterprise.

That said, the state blogs should look alike (see the examples) and be as user-friendly as possible. That's why Blogger (blogspot.com) will be used. It's simple to set up and attract participants.The goal would be for each state blog to have representatives from all (or nearly all) counties. Bloggers then can share information and suggestions in order to make certain each state is as well-organized as possible for the election. Also, we can learn from each other about successful tactics at winning supporters and getting out the vote.

The state blogs should play a critical role. However, you're encouraged to join other organizations devoted to Senator McCain. You can find out how to do so by going to: http://mccainvictory2008.com/. MV08 will always be an important element in the McCain effort.

If you'd like more information, please direct your questions either to me (TalkTop65@aol.com) or to SJReidhead@mac.com. You can also leave comments at our blogs.Every state is going to be critical, but some may be more critical than others. They include: New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. Your efforts can be crucial in such battleground states -- and others. If John McCain wins most of those states (esp. Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), he will be the next President of the U.S. With enough effort, each state is winnable.

PLEASE VOLUNTEER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. At the Pennsylvania for McCain site (http://pennsylvaniaforjohnmccain/ (up and running on Saturday), I'll be sharing information provided by political superstar Sharon Caliendo of Oklahoma. She's an expert on individuals leveraging their efforts to elect candidates.Also, don't forget to visit the models from New Mexico and America generally.Your suggestions are always welcome.

NOTE: THIS BLOG RECEIVES MANY VISITORS FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S. -- BRAZIL, CANADA, MEXICO, FRANCE, AUSTRALIA, AND ELSEWHERE. IF YOU'RE NOT A U.S. CITIZEN, YOU CAN'T CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY TO THE MCCAIN CAMPAIGN. HOWEVER, YOU CAN HELP GREATLY BY COMMUNICATING YOUR SUPPORT FOR MCCAIN TO FRIENDS AND RELATIVES IN THE U.S. PLEASE START DOING SO TODAY! IF YOU ARE A U.S. CITIZEN OVERSEAS, THIS BLOG (AND OTHERS) WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN GET AN ABSENTEE BALLOT TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTION.