Snobbish "conservatives" for Obama

I posted this to a message board on October 21, 2008:

Leftist Rosa Brooks wrote an article about thinking "conservatives" who are supporting Obama and says anyone who is still in the GOP is an idiot. I actually found her article to be rather amusing:

Then -- more fun -- some conservatives began to actually endorse Barack Obama. Wick Allison, a former publisher of the National Review, wrote that today's brand of conservatism "has produced financial mismanagement, the waste of human lives, the loss of moral authority, and the wreckage of our economy that McCain now threatens to make worse. ... Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history."

So you hate Republicans for their fiscal policies, but you love the guy who pals around with Marxists and wants to spread the wealth?

Buckley wrote an article saying he supports Obama because of his temperament and intelligence.

Why are these so called "conservatives" supporting Obama?

Sowell wrote an article about this.

Personally, it seems like whatever topic is brought up, it is obvious that Obama has no clue what he is talking about. I guess he goes to the right parties though. These people seem to think that the class your are in is more important than the policies you support. I suppose they are hoping he won't be as bad as he is destined to be.

I understand the frustation at the Republicans' love for socialist policies, and most conservatives are upset about this. These writers don't like Palin, but she has more experience than Obama or maybe they don't like that she is a typical American.

If you are so upset, then vote for a 3rd party, or sit out the election, or put support behind candidates that you do like. But how is Obama possibly going to be an improvement?

Batteries

On October 15, 2008 I posted the following to a message board:

I mistakenly bought rechargeable batteries and I don't even have a charger! Is there a valid reason that they were only partially charged when I bought them or is it a gimmick? I have one of those cheap, 1 gig mp3 players since I am allowed to listen to music while I work. Normally the AAA battery will last about 20 hours of use, but I buzzed through two of these by lunch time. What determines battery life? The actual battery or the device it is used in? They cost me between $11 to $12 for four batteries. I went to a local grocery store today and bought a 16 pack of a generic brand for $8. At work there are about three coffee cans full of batteries. Apparently someone had the idea to recycle them, but she couldn't find anywhere to accept them and heard that throwing batteries away isn't very dangerous anyways. Now apparently people are supposed to throw in batteries that they want to donate, but aren't dead yet. I pulled out one AAA and it was fully charged.

The first response:

Rechargable batteries lose their charge in storage. There is no way for a store to inventory fully charged batteries. If you read the instructions that come with any rechargable device, they will say to run a full charge cycle before using it.

The second response:

If you use batteries a lot, the rechargable ones (plus the cost of the charger) will probably pay off in the long run. If you only use batteries infrequently, then rechargables probably have too much upfront cost.

I'm glad I took their advice.  Using rechargeable batteries with a charger has saved me a lot of money and hassle.

Should McCain focus on a few states?

I posted this to a message board on October 14, 2008:

McCain's campaign is putting a lot of focus on Pennsylvania, because the 21 electoral votes would allow them to lose some smaller states. Do you think they have any chance of winning this state? The last time they voted Republican was for Bush in 1988. I was disheartened when they pulled out of Michigan. Ideally I think they should have a presence in every state. Even for the states that will easily vote for McCain or definely won't, it makes the local conservatives feel empowered when he shows interest. However, I realize they have limited resources and don't have enough time to do personal appearances in every state.

I was feeling down on his odds of becoming President for about a week, but I am starting to feel more confident. The stock market is rising, gas prices are still falling, and John McCain seems to have suddenly realized that he needs to do a better job of articulating that his economic policies are superior.

Well so much for the stock market going up!

Yahoo has an article saying that the polls are likely exaggerating Obama's lead.

Also, McCain's campaign has decided to drop Maine (Can we go back to Michigan?) and Wisconsin, to focus on other states.

Chuck Todd said that McCain had to win 8 swing states in order to become President:

Those eight states are: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. Plus he apparently thinks North Dakota and Arkansas are in play.

Here is the video of Chuck Todd:

http://tech.blorge.com/2008/10/15/chuck-todd-talks-electoral-outlook/9170