This Fucking Election Part II: Election 2008 in Review

[Alter Ego]

I made a thread about this a few days ago and it seemed like it was moderately successful.

Like I said last time, we saw a lot of weird shit during this election cycle. Mike Huckabee's improbable success, Rudy Giuliani's none-too-graceful fall, John McCain's return from the dead, the primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, surprising endorsements on both sides...and the general election, which saw endless drama surrounding the VP picks and the conventions and whatever else you can think of.

So...

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).


My answers:

1. The primary battle. I didn't like what it did to me, and I didn't like what it did to folks here--I hated disagreeing with my mother about politics...it was the first time I'd ever been at odds with her concerning politics.

2. Do we even have to ask? It's between "Drill baby drill" and Skinhead Joe the Tax Cheat "Plumber".

3. Difficult question, because my answer would have been Ohio too...but I think when we started hearing about Sarah Failin's extensive wardrobe was when I knew it was over. Campaigns that are winning don't devolve into petty shit like that.

4. Democratic MVP: I'd like to do some corny TIME magazine type thing and say it was the millions of us who donated to Obama's campaign, but I'll hand this award to Howard Dean and an idea that was spawned in 2004, proven in 2006, and proven again in 2008. Running in every state, even ones we haven't won in years, was such a simple idea--and it worked so well. Runner-up to David Axelrod, the brains behind Obama's campaign.

Republican MVP: Sarah Palin. We hate her. We hate her so much that we'd like to shoot her into the sun. But she is their new deity on the right and managed to get a demoralized, tired party energized enough to scare Democrats for a while.

5. Tough question, as there was a lot of bile flying from the maws of conservative pundits. But I think I reached a saturation point when they started mocking Obama for visiting his DYING FUCKING GRANDMOTHER. Those people have no souls.

6. Flipping Florida was cathartic for me. It was redemption for the shenanigans of 2000.

Go to it.

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

1. Okay here we go

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?
The Clinton trying to make the later primaries a referendum on race. It was something the John Birch Republicans would do.

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?
Sarah Palin. It was a cheap trick, and Americans saw through it.

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.) Two places. The first was Sarah Palin's selection as VP. The second was when the polls in the Omaha World Herald showed Obama and McCain in a dead heat in Omaha. When Republicans have to spend money to defend a piece of the reddest state in the union, you are in trouble.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)
Democratic MVP -- Preston Love Jr./Othello Meadows/Bruce Hunter/Justin Wayne
These are four peeps of mine from my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. They coordinated an effort called "Project 10,000" to register 10,000 new voters in Omaha's black and hispanic neighborhood. They more than doubled their goal and the end result was Obama winning Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, and one electoral vote. It was the first electoral vote earned by a Democratic candidate for President in Nebraska since 1964.

Republican MVP -- Hal Daub
The former Republican mayor of Omaha pissed me off with his whining about "outsiders coming in to help Obama", so I made sure a convassed when I went home on a fall vacation.


5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?
The Palin Klan rallies in the final three weeks of the race.

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).
Nebraska 2nd Congressional District. YES WE CAN...AND WE DID....Now lets keep up the pressure in 2009...NO HAL DAUB OR JIM VOKAL, Keep Omaha blue!

[alwysdrunk]

2. Great threads

I was sad I missed the last one....

1. John McCain's entire campaign. I obviously wanted him to lose, but the way he just sold out who he really is to run those Karl Rove tactics was very disappointing. I used to have a lot of respect for John McCain. But the way he campaigned, especially with the Bill Ayers stuff was really hard to watch. Also the way they ran it in general, with all the gimmicks. Thank god it didn't work.

2.Sarah Palin. I mean she was obviously a gimmick right? The fact that they really thought they could pull shit like this and have it work still amazes me. "Out of touch" doesn't begin to describe the GOP.

3. About 8 days or so before E-day when there were still polls showing Obama with an 8-10 point lead. It was all about going for a landslide after that.

4.
Republican: Colin Powell - Stepped up did the right thing knowing he would get hate for it. Country First for real.
Democratic: David Plouffe - There have been great players, but few of those players truly change the game.

5. Defending the Sarah Palin hate rallies. From "that's not what they really said" to comparing them to people at Obama rallies, that whole thing was horrible. That is the one thing I'll give McCain. You could tell he hated that shit and did do some things to try to calm it down.

6. Ohio. Apart from it's the fact that it's my home state (and Cincinnati even managed to send Steve Chabot packing), Ohio in the end did the right thing, ignored all of the bullshit tactics and voted for a better future for America. It's tru what they say about Ohio being a microcosm of the USA. You get Ohio, you get the Presidency.

[tabbycat31]

3. here goes

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign? John McCain, who was defeated by Karl Rove and co in 2000 taking a page of of his playbook.

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign? "Country First" was pretty lame, and obviously did not work. Drill baby drill sounds like it could be coming out of a porno not a campaign. And the whole business of Joe, I mean Sam the tax-cheating unlicensed plumber. Can he go away like NOW especially that he has a book coming out (note, I would not even use JTP's book to line the litter box)

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.) It was not until they called Ohio that I was CONFIDENT that we did it. Yes I stalked the polls daily, yes I knew we were ahead but I was not confident in our voting systems and how vulnerable to hacking that they were. I did know that we would get PA the week before the election when I went to two rallies out there (Obama in Chester, Biden in Allentown) and just drove around and looked at everyone's signs. I did not see a single McCain one. I knew if we flipped Colorado, New Mexico, and Virginia that we would have this thing in the bag. And we did. I think John McCain mocking women's health at the final debate flipped some votes too.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK) Republican. Sarah Palin. She showed what a dingbat she really is and flipped a lot of votes our way, and she completely negated John McCain's "celebrity" commercials becuase she was the 'celebrity" on the campaign trail, and even now when she's mentioned more than Biden, who GOT THE JOB. Democratic-- Howard Dean and his 50 state strategy. I honestly don't know if we could have done this without him. In 2004, living in NY, I did not see a single presidential commercial for either side because my state was written off. There were some previously red states (NC, VA, IN) that I don't know if the Kerry campaign would have even put an effort into. And in the final week of the campaign Obama put some advertising into his opponent's home state. I'm sorry, but I doubt John Kerry would have put some advertising dollars into Texas.

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election? Sarah Palin's KKK rallies

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida). I'm going to give you two answers here. Florida because of the 2000 debacle and Ohio because of the 2004 debacle.

[Yukari Yakumo]

4. Answers

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?
Hillary for not bowing out at the end of the final primaries.

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?
Anything McCain came up with. You could clearly see he flinging whatever he could find in hopes any of it would stick.

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)
Palin named as McCain's running mate.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)
Palin. She did more damage to her own ticket than anything Team Obama could have ever done.

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?
Anything that came out of the McCain camp in September and October. And I mean ANYTHING.

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).
Indiana. Shows just how badly the McCain campaign was run.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. Here ya go

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?
The Democratic Primary/Obama vs. Clinton got REALLY NASTY (particularly towards the end) and I had concerns that Hillary might actually take the fight all the way to the convention leaving our party more disorganized and/or disunited going into the home stretch. Thankfully, that didn't end up happening and everybody pulled together from the convention onward (although Bill's support of Obama seemed pretty tepid for awhile)

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?
"Drill, baby drill!" (and Palin's VP nomination in general)

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)

When they called Pennsylvania for Obama and McCain appeared poised to fail to flip any other "blue" state(s), Obama's victory was generally presumed to be assured. Pennsylvania was McCain's last redoubt and after he failed to win that state, he was simply mathematically unable to win at that point EVEN IF he won all of the "swing states".

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

Dems: 1.) Howard Dean-50-State Strategy 2.)John Kerry-excellent "surrogate" for Obama 3.)Hillary Clinton-successfully pulled together her supporters to support Obama at the DNC and thereafter

Repubs: 1.) Sarah Palin- helped energize the GOP "base" and the evangelicals and (briefly) helped knock the wind out of the Obama campaign and blunted Democratic momentum following the DNC (about the only successful tactic used by the McCain campaign).

Both: SARAH PALIN- helped energize the GOP "base" enough to give McCain's flagging campaign some badly needed momentum and "fundie cred"
BUT ultimately ended up scaring much larger numbers of moderates, independents, and even repubs into voting for Obama due to her obvious lack of knowledge/ignorance of foreign affairs, and lack of readiness to assume command of the country in the event of her much aged counterpart's untimely demise . Thanks, Sarah!!!!! We love you! PLEASE run in 2012!!!!

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

Accusations (made by Sarah Palin) that Obama "pals around with terrorists" and stirring up intense anger and hatred at subsequent campaign rallies and events towards the end of the campaign - and then her and McCain refusing to actively and consistently denounce it and/or attempting to "cool down" their rhetoric. In fact, McCain went on the record during the third debate as saying that he was "proud" of his supporters.


6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

Indiana (mostly because I live here but.....WOW!!!!) I honestly never thought that something like that would happen during my lifetime and especially with an African-American (at the head of the ticket) who the pundits repeatedly claimed simply wouldn't be able to "close the deal" with working class whites.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Q & Answers:

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?

The media exploiting the issues of race and gender in the blatant manner in which it was done. It only shows that the media doesn't give a fuck about the American People, and aren't here to advance humanity or to inform those needing information. Certainly it doesn't serve as the 4th estate that was in the original plan. We knew that....but during primaries 2008, it was exhibited with abandon in all of its bankrupt treasonous glory.



2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?

Joe The Plumber and "Drill Baby Drill".




3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)

When the pundits were talking about the election as though it was a done deal the morning of the elections. By the time Pennsylvania was called, I knew it was in the bag.


4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

SNL ties with David Letterman



5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

"Obama was palling around with Terrorists" coming out of Ms. Snow Queen Witch's mouth.



6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

Ohio

[PBS Poll-435]

7. Here are mine...

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?

ShitGate

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?

Guilt by Association

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)

When McCain ceded Michigan to Obama and headed for Pennsylvania

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

Democratic - The Clintons
Republican - Levi

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

He's a muslin!

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

Not a state, but Obama winning every large city in Texas.

[kenziemom06]

8. this is fun...

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?
The crowds at those Palin rallies, stirring up hatred and racism and fear. Terrible!

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?
POW 24/7 and COUNTRY FIRST just constantly made me want to vomit -- or roll my eyes for hours on end.

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)
Seriously, probably all the way back in April, before the PA primary, when Obama drew a crowd of 5000 people to a train station parking lot in the Philly burbs -- or on October 11, when he drew a crowd of 20,000 to a freakin' intersection in West Philly. Being at those rallies, I just knew deep in my heart that all of that hope and excitement was not going to go to waste this time (unlike 2000 & 2004) -- but of course I was nervous until they called PA at 8:01 EST. Then, I KNEW.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

I have two all-around MVPS -- Keith Olbermann, for helping me keep my sanity, and the pollsters, for helping me know what was happening -- oh, and the American people, for finally getting it right!

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

Oh, so many to choose from --> "That One", "Senator Obama just doesn't understand", "My friends", "He's just a community organizer, whatever that is ha ha ha", "He isn't being honest about Bill Ayers", "Why isn't Michelle Obama proud of her country?" -- the nauseating list goes on and on and on.

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

Iowa, because they led the way (and Florida, just because it was icing on the cake!!!)

[Bryan]

9. Thanks, these are great threads!

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?

The speed with which the good feeling arising from the Convention was disspelled by the Palin nomination. It may seem a small thing to complain about given that we won anyway, but it was a sobering reminder of how much pull Republicans still have over the news media.

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?

That "Joe the Plumber" bullshit. "Lame" doesn't begin to explain its special quality, because it was also powerfully surreal. I still can't quite believe it. McCain's campaign team correctly understood that their man was woefully out of touch on kitchen-table issues, but for them to leap from that to picking a half-witted tax-dodging schmoe almost at random and presenting him as an avatar of the Common Man in the hope that voters would somehow take to him and associate him with McCain was utterly bizarre.

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)

I was biting my nails to the quick until Ohio and Pennsylvania came in, but I began to suspect that it was in the bag when I saw McCain's appearance on Saturday Night Live the weekend before the election, resigned and deflated, appearing in a skit about how broke his campaign was and how Palin was upstaging him.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

On the Democratic side, Howard Dean. We couldn't have won without him.

On the Republican side, Steve Schmidt. We couldn't have won without him.

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

McCain's snide riff in the third debate about "the health of the mother" being a flimsy pretext for justifying abortion. It was frightening, nauseating, and infuriating.

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

I'll take the sentimental route and nominate my home state of Colorado. Republicans held the edge here for so long that watching the state tilt Democratic in general and fall hard in love with Obama in particular was very sweet. I'm extremely proud that I was able to be a small part of it.

[Skittles]

10. OK

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign? unrelentless sexist trashing of Hillary

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign? Sarah Palin

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.) When they called Pennsylvania for Obama

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK) Repuke - McCain, solely for his gracious campaign speech and for being such a crappy candidate Democrat - Hillary, for prolonging the fight and keeping interest in the election extremely high

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election? terrorist fist bump - just fucking ridiculous and insulting

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida). North Carolina - I did a work TDY there in May and was impressed how it was not nearly as red as I thought it would be

[ErinBerin84]

11. .I cheated again, did some multiple answers

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign? Some of the end of primaries

Florida/Michigan stuff was unfortunate...I was disappointed with some of the historical comparisons that Clinton made about Florida/Michigan....they just seemed really over the top and out there to me. I felt like it gave some of her supporters a false sense of what was possible at that point . Harold Ickes and some of the people booing in the audience.....it was so theatrical and ridiculous at that point. I was also disappointed that Mark Penn didn't just get the boot entirely during her campaign. For Obama, I was disappointed in FISA. For McCain/Palin, I never really expected much out of them any way, so I wasn't really disappointed.



2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?

Too many to choose from...the first one that comes to mind is "HE's the BIGGEST CELEBRITY IN THE WORLD." All of their stuff was so short term, they picked their own fucking celebrity.


3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)
When the McCain staffers started sending out their resumes. Encouraging internal numbers my ass!



4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)
Democratic...maybe Rachel? Her Debbie Downer like ways annoyed me at times, but I think she definitely "broke out" this year.
Republican...um...Sarah Palin? Thanks for the fundraising dollas, Sarah!



5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?
Definitely the "pallin' around with terrorists" meme and the klanlike atmosphere of the rallies.



6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).

Indiana....how the fuck did McCain lose Indiana? Also, loved that people wanted Obama to pick Kaine or Bayh so we would definitely win Virginia or Indiana, and we won them anyway!

[usregimechange]

12. 1) losing my home state MO by 0.1%. 2) Obama cult meme. 3) When Orange Co FL came in. 4) ?

5) socialist BS. 6) Florida or Virgnia

[FLAprogressive]

13. My responses:

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign?
The blatant racism from quite a few McCain supporters and a select few "Clinton supporters"

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign?
Joe the Plumber...no contest

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.)
When the networks called it ;)

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)

Dem MVP - Howard Dean

GOP MVP - Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD)

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?

Brad Blakeman for attacking Obama for visiting his dying grandmother

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you? (For reference, we flipped Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida).
FL - my home state :)

[mwei924]

14. ...

1. What was the most disappointing thing you witnessed during this campaign? Bill Clinton in the primaries; used to love the guy and he really disappointed me with how he conducted himself. Also, when Hillary used that whole "white working voters" stuff and the RFK assassination.

2. What was the lamest theme/gimmick/meme we saw during this campaign? John McCain suspending his campaign to save the economy.

3. When did you absolutely just KNOW the election was over? (NOTE: "When they called Ohio" is not a valid response...because EVERYONE knew it was over then.) When Obama won a clean sweep of all three debates.

4. MVP Votes: Republican/Democratic (cannot be the presidential candidates, but the VPs are OK)
Republican: Sarah Palin
Democratic: Hillary Clinton in the GE

5. What was the most vile meme/quote/gimmick/theme/campaign tactic/waffles/whatever to come out of the Republican camp during this election?
"Uppity"

6. This one will be difficult because I know everyone will be tempted to give more than one answer, but I only want one: Which red state that flipped this election cycle was MOST satisfying for you?
Virginia, former home of the confederacy.

[camera obscura]

15. My answers:

1. John McCain hiring the same people that slimed him in 2000. So awful.

2. Joe the Plumber... uggggh.

3. When McCain went on Saturday Night Live and made fun of his own imminent loss.

4. Democrats: Howard Dean. Republicans: Colin Powell. two non party MVPs: Tina Fey and Nate Silver.

5. "OMG Obama met Rashid Khalidi! TERRIST!" and "OMG Obama was endorsed by Hamas! TERRIST!"

6. Indiana, without a doubt, I have a friend who lives there that just got into politics this year and I'm so happy her state turned blue! But I was also thrilled when Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida were called so quickly.