14 million

I watched NBC Nightly News tonight and Tim Russert reported on the Super Tuesday results.  He flashed up the popular vote.  It was very narrow margin, something like 50,000 votes -- 1/2 of 1% of the total.  I just looked up the actual numbers and our friends at Time Magazine have it all figured out.  Over 14 million people voted in the Democratic primaries and caucuses, as opposed to the 8 million for the Republican races.  

What do the numbers tell you?  

Exactly.  We can really make a difference.  Don't give up and keep on moving toward November.

Hail Hail

After so many posts about Super Tuesday, here's a weather-related story.  This afternoon, I drove to my parents' house to pick up my mom for a doctor's appointment.  It had been raining heavily all day.  As I turned to the main street near their house, the skies opened up and down came the hail.  It was a torrential hail storm, which lasted about 10 minutes, and those were the scariest 10 minutes of my life. Seriously.  I was driving about 5 miles per hour, trying not to hit anyone, because I couldn't see anything. I didn't want to stop in the middle of the road, because I was afraid that someone might rear-end my car.  The force of the hail was so strong and so fast, I thought my windshield was going to crack into a million pieces.  The streets were like fast-moving rivers and I wasn't sure if my car would make it without flooding.  I eventually made it to my parents' house and picked up my mom.  I really debated with her about whether or not we should go.  We were yelling in the car, not out of anger, but because the hail was so loud that we couldn't hear each other. My mom lived in Thailand for the first 30 years of her life and has lived through incredible monsoons.  She said that she has never experienced anything like today's freak storm.  

I think this was the same storm system that caused all of the havoc and destruction in Arkansas and Tennessee.  My heart goes out to everyone who lost friends and family members tonight.  

Newscasters are funny.

I got tired of the CNN coverage and switched over to PBS' NewsHour team.  They just had a funny moment where the video from John McCain's headquarters was on the screen, but they were playing the audio from Barack Obama's headquarters.  It was hilarious to hear Jim Lehrer say this, "Wait, why are we hearing Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) at John McCain's headquarters?" 

I am a big fan of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and I wish I watched it more often.  It airs at six o'clock in St. Louis and I'm usually at the gym or at my parents' house for dinner.  Maybe I'll set the DVR tomorrow.  Anyway, it's an hour-long newscast, hence the name, and the reporting team focuses on the actual content of a story, instead of the soundbite.  The reporters provide real in-depth information and analysis.  I always feel a little smarter and more well-rounded after I watch one of their broadcasts.   

Exit Polls

As a follow-up to my previous post, check out the exit poll data for the Missouri Democratic race.  I've never been a huge fan of Kansas City, but now I really have something against the city.  Their majority voted against Obama.   Be sure to scan through all six pages of the exit poll. It's strangely fascinating.

How in the world??

As I watch the returns for Super Tuesday, I am mildly disturbed that CNN and all of the other networks project winners when only 2% of the precincts have reported their numbers. Didn't they learn anything about exit polls from the 2000 general election?

Come over to our side...

I think I just convinced a fellow co-worker, who usually votes as a Republican, to vote for Barack Obama. Missouri has an open primary, which means you do not need to register under any particular party. I believe that McCain has a solid lock on Missouri, but the Democratic side is up in the air. I also explained to Dave, my co-worker, that the Democrats distribute their delegates proportionately, unlike the Republicans, who award the delegates as all-or-nothing. He told me that he doesn't want Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee, so I told him that he should cast his vote for Obama.

We'll see how it works out.

Bring it on!

I am so ready for Super Tuesday. I am going to wake up early (or try to) and go to my polling place. And, after the polls close, I am going to park myself in front of my TV and watch as much election coverage as possible.

But before that happens, I would like to share the reason why I started believing in Barack Obama. This is his 2004 Democratic Convention Speech. If you have 16 minutes to spare in your busy day, I implore you to listen and watch Obama's speech. He hasn't changed his tune in four years. The message is the same and the fire and passion are still there. If you are undecided, give Barack a chance. He will make you believe that each individual's opinion and vote matters. He calls it the audacity of hope.

Crazy Train

Well, the crazy train ran straight through Glendale, Arizona tonight. Full steam ahead! I wanted the NY Giants to win. I always like to root for the underdog, and my dad always says that you should root for the conference or league in which your home team plays. We live in St. Louis, and the Rams are part of the NFC. Since, I was watched the game at my parents house, we rooted for the Giants. Follow my logic?

Earlier this week, I read an interesting take on the Brady vs. Manning debate. It was a piece in the New York Times Style section. I will be the first one to admit that Tom Brady is hot. I saw his interview on 60 Minutes and I liked his work ethic and his ambition. But, I was a little put off by his sense of inevitability. Maybe that's why he wins, because he believes that he will win every time he plays. I guess that didn't work out this time around. Kudos to Eli Manning and the Giants. This is the first time I really paid attention to the game and was genuinely interested in the outcome.

Super Bowl Halftime Show

So, Tom Petty is currently performing in the Super Bowl Halftime Show. He's a great musician, but what an incredibly safe choice by Fox and the NFL. I don't think we've seen a performance by someone under 30 at the halftime show, ever since that damn wardrobe malfunction.

What a shame.

We can change the world.

Barack Obama made his last stop of Super Saturday in St. Louis, where 20,000 people greeted him. I was one of them. My friends, both named Sarah, and I had dinner and headed out to the Edward Jones Dome for the 9:00 p.m. rally. We drove past the drunken revelers from the Soulard Mardi Gras celebration. I thought to myself, these people are going to miss out on history here tonight.

After finding a free parking spot and hiking to the Dome, we awaited the arrival of the Senator. I thought that maybe he would be late because he was all of over the country today. I watched CNN for a good portion of the day and saw bits of Obama's speeches in Boise on Saturday morning and in Minneapolis in the early afternoon. The man must be exhausted. But, when he arrived at 9:15, he was in remarkably good spirits. I would like to think he was energized by our large crowd. I really didn't know there were 20,000 people there until Senator Claire McCaskill said so. And, after checking the Obama website, I found out that there were 20,000 in Minneapolis and 15,000 in Boise. So, Barack Obama spoke to 55,000 people today. That's incredible!

The speech was fantastic. I've seen him on TV and I've seen the acceptance speeches, but seeing and hearing Obama live is pretty freaking cool. I was also excited because my friends were there with me, and they were excited too. Sarah R. admitted that she usually doesn't usually keep up with politics, because she is fed up with all of the crap out there. I hope tonight showed her that there is a positive movement going on in the Obama camp. And, with our help, I really think that Barack Obama can lead our country to a better and happier existence.

We really can change the world.