It's Finally Here!

The race for 2008 has taken me a very long way. From the winter chill of November 5th, 2004 to the beginning of the campaign in something like August of '07, to Caesar Rodney Square in Wilmington, DE on a cold winter day in January of 2008 to the point we are at now. This election is historic not because of the people in it, but because of the way it has truly shaped our culture. Here are some of my favorite moments from the 2008 race:

1. SNL Comedy: Never has SNL been more popular with their dead on impersonations of people such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Keith Olberman, Bill Clinton, John McCain and Nancy Pelosi. Am I forgetting anyone? Sarah Palin was by far the most interesting portrayal of them all and Tina Fey deserves an Academy Award in my mind.

2. Gaffes, Fumbles, and Joe Biden: I have enjoyed hanging on every word Biden has spoken since August as we have been given quite a hefty amount of interesting material to work with. According to Biden, Frankie Roosevelt was broadcast on the TV, Obama will be tested during his first year as president and apparently Obama's last name is...America? Thanks for the memories Joe!

3. The Primaries: From Iowa "hearting" Huckabees, the RomneyBot 2000 falling short, Hillary Clinton's tearing up in New Hampshire and Rudy Giuliani going from a front-runner to a not-so-much runner, this has been a primary season to remember. The Democratic primary was especially engaging, as people were voting well into June, truly a sign of a great democracy. Although some people will claim the Republican primary was nothing special, we surely had cliffhangers in Florida, New Hampshire, Missouri, Iowa and South Carolina.

4. Sarah Palin: I feel she deserves a section of her own. Who will ever forget lipstick on a pig, wardrobe malfunctions, teenage pregnancies, and hockey moms. We found out more about Palin's personal life over these last three months or so then anything she stood for. Although she may eventually be blamed for John McCain's downfall, she was sure entertaining to watch.

5. Joe The Plumber & other Campaign Distractions: This has truly been an election of popular culture as Joe the Plumber dominated headlines for referring to Obama as Socialist and campaigning for McCain. Obama has been a celebrity, socialist, messiah and terrorist all in the same election season. Absorb that statement for a minute.

I will try and live-blog the election starting around 4 0r 5 PM. Hopefully I can post at least once an hour with my thoughts, opinions and analysis. See you tomorrow, don't forget to vote!

My Electoral Map Predictions

<p><strong>><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/">2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election.</p>

Reasons Why I Love Delaware

With the selection of Joe Biden as the Vice Presidential nominee, some people are not only wondering who Joe Biden is but what Delaware is all about. I came to Delaware in the summer of 2004 as a freshman attending the University of Delaware. I didn't know anything about Delaware and had only visited the state while traveling through it or to a Blue Rocks game. Delaware is an interesting place for many reasons:

1. Anyone Can Get Involved: Delaware is small enough for a political amateur to contribute to the political process and become included in the political circle. When I started my first blog around September of 2004, my posts were grammatically lacking, factually incorrect and tedious to the eyes. With that said, the Delaware blogging community welcomed me into their arms and I was considered "one of them". I was starting to get invitations to political events and people were shocked when I told them I couldn't attend because I had to go to class, they had no idea I was so young. I also interned at a local candidate for Governor's office for a few hours every Tuesday/Wednesday so I could get a look at the inside workings of a campaign. The candidate personally told me all the time how much he valued my contribution.

2. The People Are Friendly: When visiting Delaware you will notice the people have a "small-town" friendliness to them even though the state is conveniently nestled between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Most of the towns still have their original historical buildings and there is a large amount of cultural activities one can engage in (especially in Newark, DE) to become involved.

3. The State is Small: You may think being a small state would put Delaware at a disadvantage. This is definitely not the case. Having a small state just means you will run into friends of friends and meet people who know so and so all over the state. You can easily travel from one end of the state to the other in no time at all. The state even has some great beaches! Mom and pop stores run abound and they are better than any pre-fabricated chain restaurant you will run into anywhere else. The Post House on Main Street in Newark, Delaware serves some of the best french toast I have ever tasted and it is pretty cheap to boot.

4. No Sales Tax: The state has no sales tax which is obviously a great thing. Some people travel from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland just to make large purchases. You can thank the DuPont family for this as they handcuffed the government into making this deal for them that indirectly benefited all citizens. You are probably wondering how the state can support itself without tax revenue. Delaware's corporate laws make it an attractive place for business to do business and most of them incorporate in Delaware and bring all their revenue with them.

5. Affordable Living: With no sales tax and affordable property and state taxes, Delaware is an extremely affordable place to live with many options for localities. If you are looking for the beach property there is Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, and many others. If the big city life suits you, Wilmington has great options with an interesting city history. If you are looking for the quintessential suburban college-town there is Newark with so many cultural and activity options due to the close proximity of the University of Delaware.

Barack Obama's VP Selection

Joe Biden seems like a nice guy. When I was a college student at the University of Delaware I wrote in to both his office and Tom Carper's office (the other Delaware senator) for a signed picture. Carper's office ignored me while Biden's office had the picture sent to me within 4 days. I thought that was pretty cool.

I really have to disagree with the choice that Obama made here. For all the hoopla and grandiose plans for his V.P. choice to finish up with Joe Biden is just...uninteresting. I also want to say how infuriated I am, that after trusting Obama's team with my cell phone number, he wakes me up at three in the morning to let me know about his mediocre selection.

Joe Biden is going to bring experience to the ticket but like I have said before, Biden is one misplaced comment away from destroying the campaign. If Obama can control him to some degree and keep him succinct at debates and other gatherings, he should be fine. John McCain also has plenty of ammunition to use against Obama as Biden has tons of sound bites, voting records, and skeletons left to dissect.

EDIT (An earlier writing on Biden, 7/10/08):

He has a lot of Chris Dodd characteristics in terms of age and excitement potential (save Delaware). He has good foreign policy experience and would provide an experience boost to the campaign however he is one or two sound-bites away from a campaign blow up. In my head I am seeing Kerry say "I was for the war, before I was against it" all over again. Biden is scary because he could destroy the campaign just by opening his mouth during a candid moment.

EDIT #2:

Even though I'm not sure it was the best pick for Obama, I'm excited about what it does for Delaware. I attended the University of Delaware for four years and I know this must be huge news all over Delaware and especially in New Castle county. Joe Biden is well-liked in Delaware and will be missed if he makes it to higher office. I'm happy for Joe because he is certainly somebody who has the resume to deserve a position like this.

Obama's Veep Choice

If I was advising Barack Obama, who has fallen behind John McCain in recent polling, I would advise him to pick the only person who can guarantee him the election. That person is none other than Hillary Clinton. Before you jump all over me saying its not going to happen and accusing me of being cronies with Ralph Nader, lets think about this for a second.

We all know the negatives that Hillary brings. Critics say that you would be getting a 1992-esque two vice-presidents for one! This implies Bill Clinton would constantly be in the backdrop and lurking in the shadows. The solution: make him a UN ambassador or send him out on goodwill missions 24/7, if he is out of picture Obama can have room to breathe. It is also been shouted out from the rooftops that Hillary is unpopular with independents. No big deal, you need to excite your base first and independents will not chose you based solely on your VP choice. Obama's campaign has been built on liberal enthusiasm from day one, could any other VP choice bring that much enthusiasm with them? I think not.

Say what you want about Hillary, but she is actually a very smart and interesting person. Many people hate her just because they think they should hate her. The media did not do her any favors in the 1990's but if you look past that you don't see any ego on her part and her choice not to use Mark Penn's strategy against Obama or let slip John Edwards' martial woes is honorable in the least.

Clinton at this point has to be the nominee if Obama is going to win. Remember back to President Bush in '00 and '04 with Dick Cheney as the VP nominee. Cheney has never been popular with independents and may be even more unpopular than the president but George Bush did fine with him and convinced his base he was a traditional republican.