I just watched Senator John Kerry on Larry King…how come this guy makes a better case for why Obama should be President than any other Obama surrogate?  If Obama wants to win PA, he should enlist Senator Kerry's help.

Anyone else agree with that?

No Presidential Candidate is going to bring jobs back to Ohio unless they re-develop education and re-educate 50 year old factory workers that have just been laid off.  The only way for new jobs to appear in Ohio is to either a) eliminate NAFTA and global trade or b) invent something new.  No candidate has sponsored either of these.

Ohio is screwed, more so than most states, and I hate to say it because I'm a buckeye and Ohio is my home, but in order for Ohio to find salvation it will take more than a person in the White House…especially when the person who wants the White House only cares about Ohio when Ohio's primary is next on the calendar.

Tell me, Senators Obama, McCain, and Clinton: In what way are these jobs going to be created? Out of thin air?

Today I sent off my absentee ballot for the Ohio Primary next week and as I was waiting in line at the post office to mail the ballot off I realized how easy it was to obtain. Therefore, here are some tips for getting an Absentee Ballot: First off, screw the State website. I prefer to deal directly with my county election board. Most have a website, and a quick Google search for "Butler County Board of Elections" made it that much faster. If that doesn't work, check out your home state's website.

All in all, after printing out the form, it took about four days to get my ballot. For once, Southwest Ohio did something efficient…now if the Bengals can just draft someone who doesn't suck.

Enjoy the debate tonight. I, like you, am wondering which Hillary Clinton will show up. My good friend Mike said it best last night: "It's as if she can't believe she's losing…it's pathetic looking."

Also, while at the post office, someone noticed the "official ballot for Ohio" stamp on my envelope, and when I told her whom I was casting my vote for the entire line applauded and thanked me for not registering in the State of Washington.

I may have proved myself wrong.

I believed that Republicans, in an open primary, would vote for Clinton to make their chances better against a candidate like McCain. After looking at the exit polls, I feel some Republicans, Obamacans if you will, are voting for Obama because they actually believe in him.

Is a change gonna come, as Sam Cooke once immortally sang? Perhaps…this is yet to see. Is Obama a surprising candidate to consultants around America? It's a resounding Hell Yea. He's breaking every mold and every traditional breakdown.

The Obama campaign is groundbreaking, and we are, perhaps, all witnesses to change in our lifetime. It's more than JFK and RFK and MLK combined. It's a 21st century FDR with Kennedy charisma and King conviction. It's the new new deal…perhaps the actual Real Deal.

It's an exciting time to be an American…I hope y'all share my feelings.

On Caucus day here in Seattle, I did some informal exit polling. Here’s what I did: I saw a woman wearing an Obama button and asked her how the vote turned out. Her reply was that Obama won 97% of my neighborhood.

Seattle loves Obama, evidenced by 18,000 people packing Key Arena and another 3,000 standing outside, at 11am…on a Friday. It was a marvelous thing to see. Normally candidates get this kind of crowd two weeks before an election, not the day before a freakin' caucus. This guy is huge. Bono huge.

The Real McCain doesn’t want to run against Barack Obama because, well, he’d lose. When McCain attacks Obama during his victory speeches, he’s actually helping Clinton because McCain could very easily beat Clinton. Don’t believe me? Let’s pick a state. How about, umm, Minnesota.

Minnesota was the only state in 1984 to not vote for Reagan. Let’s look at the matchups: McCain, according to polling data I believe to be quite accurate, is leading Clinton by 5 points. Let’s switch it up: That same poll has McCain losing to Obama by 15 points. So, I ask you this, if McCain could win there with his appeal to conservative/moderate Democrats and Independents, what makes you think he wouldn’t play in Florida/Pennsylvania/Ohio (if you win those 3 you are President, trust me).

So yes, McCain could win, and if Hillary is the nominee he probably will. Not too sure about my Minnesota information? Let’s sweeten the pot: Al Franken (yes that Al Franken - Air America liberal lion comedian) is leading over Senator Norm “I used to be a Democrat” Coleman, but McCain would still win the state if he’s running against Clinton. Hillary’s nomination would be a disaster, and a lot of people would just stay home and accept it.

Hillary's new strategy of letting her husband do her dirty work shows us the kind of presidency she offers, as well as the risks her candidacy would bring in the general election.

Not only do I feel that Hillary Clinton would be an ineffective President (if she were to get elected, which I doubt, especially if she’s running against, GASP, McCain…never thought I’d say that), but I also feel she’s a dirty and lousy campaigner who could damage the Democratic party for many years to come.

On paper, I think Hillary's new strategy vis-a-vis Bill and Obama is brilliant. Let your husband stir the storm while you campaign in other states; perhaps Senator Clinton will even win South Carolina while she appears to be conceding it. But, and this is the problem, the strategy lets us see how a Clinton Redux White House will be run.

One aspect of that is her willingness to put a member of her own party in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” debacle. As Obama tries to deal with the Clintons, he could stay quiet and let a Former President roll all over him or he could fight back. The only problem is that he’s now running against the wrong Clinton. After the Founder of BET blasted Obama on Hillary’s stage, and every other surrogate that Hillary has blasted Obama, the question we should ask is this: If this is how she runs a campaign, what does this say about the type of President she will be? Will we transform into an Oligarchy? Two President Clintons running the show? Should we fear a family that desires this much power?

Obama, Bill gets frisky, Geriatric Momentum, Rudy’s last stand, and other ‘declarations.’

I don’t view Barack Obama’s second place finish in Nevada as a loss, and neither should he or anyone else. Let’s face it, Hillary had the name recognition to launch her into first place in practically every state, but Senator Obama closed a 15+ point gap within two weeks. That’s impressive folks. In football a win is a win. In Politics a close second with shown momentum isn’t necessarily a win…but it’ll get you to the next race.

Maybe Obama's momentum explains why it is that Bill Clinton (the former President of the United States), has been his wife’s attack dog over the past 3 weeks. Seriously, this is ridiculous and here’s why: Since there hasn’t been a Democratic President since President Clinton, this means he’s still the de-facto head of the Democratic Party. I realize that his wife is running for President, and I realize that he wants her to win, but former Presidents do not attack fellow members of the party when they’re running for President. This is truly unprecedented. It’s also severely un-called for and ridiculous.

However, though, it tell us how the Clinton campaign views Senator Obama, and that is that they view him as not just a ‘credible threat’ but an ‘incredible threat’ to Hillary’s chances at the Oval Office. A former President calling a Junior Senator from Illinois a liar is unheard of during a campaign season, and it will make for an incredibly awkward Convention in Denver that I very much look forward to witnessing in person.

At the debate (Monday Jan 21) in South Carolina we saw heated exchange between Obama and Clinton, and deservedly so. I wrote last time that Clinton needs Obama much more than vice versa when the nomination comes, so it was pleasant to see Senator Obama find some onions and say the line “I can’t tell which Clinton I’m running against.” Finally, the young man finds a pair. Good for him. If Hillary wants to be President she has to deal with everything that comes with it. Just as it took me 2 interviews to get a dishwasher job back in the day, it will take many a primary to decide a nominee for President. Let’s move on to Republicans.

As I sit here bored in a Las Vegas hotel room watching Sportscenter, my hotel mate sleeping off eight trips to the buffet, something former Senator George said got me thinking. For those of you who don’t know, Senator Mitchell has been investigating steroid use in baseball (performance enhancing drugs they call’em), and while I think the entire investigation is a waste of time, the Senator did say something interesting: in order to actually fix the steroid problem, we should forget about the past and focus directly on what can be done to protect the “integrity of the game” in the future. This got me thinking about Obama and Clinton.

Senator Clinton's horrendous line about being able to start working on Day One because of her “experience” is dead wrong. First, being the President is “on the job training” every single day, no matter how long you’re in office. It’s not the easiest job on the planet, which is…you guessed it…being a United States Senator.

Second, Senator Clinton has no “experience” being President of the United States, she has experience being married to one. Experience. Ok.

If we’re to do as Senator Mitchell advised, we can’t focus on the past. We have to decide what we’re going to do in the future to better the world and our lives. Senator Clinton’s so-called “experience” is nothing more than a regression to the past. Sure, the 1990s were pretty good, but things have changed. Cell phones aren’t the size of pineapples anymore, computers are everywhere, N Sync broke up, and we’re at war.

My main problem with Clinton’s campaign message is that I’ve seen this before. Another politician running for President cited his experience because a family member was President of the United States. He, of course, was then Governor George W. Bush. Look how than turned out, and if you’re still one of those people claiming that it “wasn’t all that bad,” talk to me after the recession.

The campaigns' themes basically break down like this: If you liked the 1990s and haven’t accepted the fact that the world has changed then vote for Clinton, and if you want new ideas from new people (non Democratic Party establishment workers) then vote for Obama.

I’m so sick of the experience theme that I could vomit. Let’s look at some past examples of people using “Experience” and having it completely backfire, shall we? Senator John Kerry attempted to claimed his Experience as a Decorated Vietnam Veteran would help us through a war. A well-timed attack ad crushed him. Senator John McCain, in 2000, claimed both Washington and Military Experience. Opponents dubbed him an insider and destroyed him in the primaries. (He then miraculously transformed into the Bush family poodle.) So screw Experience. I’ll take a new idea that might have the chance of failing over an idea that barely worked 15 years ago.

Now that I’m on sabbatical from campaign politics, I’ve opened myself up to focus on the finer things in life. I’d like to read more, maybe spend more time with my cat, work on new songs with my band, get more tattoos etc… I’ve also allowed myself to fall right back into what I used to do best: Shake hands and take money.

On Monday before the New Hampshire primary, I went to a cocktail party in an affluent part of Seattle. Yea, I know what you’re thinking, who has a cocktail party on a Monday night? Well, there’s an answer for that: A) Rich people do, and B) it was more dessert and drinks after a dinner I didn’t attend so I could watch the BCS championship game.

Normally these functions are fundraisers for the candidate that these particular people support, but this affair was completely different: It was actually a small fundraising think-tank of rich Seattleites trying to decide if they should switch their support from Senator Hillary Clinton to Senator Barack Obama. There it is ladies and gentlemen: Hillary’s campaign dilemma.

Losing primaries is one thing, and losing fundraising support usually goes along with this, but to lose fundraisers because they want to give money to your rival, well, that’s bad news for Team Clinton. This goes along with things that I’ve said in the past: People want to back a winner, and sometimes it only takes one win to get a ton more support.

On Monday night, it appeared that we were in the midst of Obamarama. (Had the campaign been a bust at that point my other term was Obamonation…you might have to say it out loud to get it.) The Republican Party, however, was and still is in shambles.

In what alcoholics refer to as a “moment of clarity,” I realized today why I’m looking forward to having the next few months of my life free from politics. I took off from Seattle at what I think was around 7 in the morning on January 2, 2008. The reason I say “I think” is because, well, I was hung over (no, I was still drunk…poor planning on my part). You see folks, I don’t really celebrate New Years Eve, I celebrate New Years Day. So, after making quite the first impression on some colleagues that I’ve never met in person, my day from hell continued at about 35,000 ft. Not that I remember, because I was out cold before the door closed.

I woke up in Des Moines. It was cold, really cold. I can’t say exactly what I did there without divulging sensitive information, but it did involve plenty of hand shaking, joke telling, and lunch with an ex-girlfriend who works for an opposing campaign. (And she still knows me better than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s scary. I’m still a better strategist though…wonder why it didn’t work out with a statement like that.)

Overall, I was really glad that I spent a grand total of 6 hours and 26 minutes in Iowa, only to immediately fly back home. Speaking of which, the flight home was awful and I ended up getting sick on the tarmac before getting in the van, a first for me. I get sick on swing sets people, so turbulence is not my friend. (As I wrote that, I heard my brother, in my head, calling me a part of the female anatomy.)

For the most part I think the Iowa caucus is a joke. Iowans always talk about how “they” decide for the country. Josh already pointed out that Iowa is pretty much whiter than Larry Bird, so I won’t launch into the demographic breakdown. But I happen to believe that the media, not the people, decides the Iowa caucus. How do I know this? Well, folks, controlling what the media says about a campaign is kind of what I do. I can’t recall how many times I’ve said to a so-called “journalist” that if they want an interview they have to write a favorable story first.

Remember how Governor George W. Bush, way back in 1999, was so loved by the reporters who were part of his entourage? Hell, a great documentary entitled “Journey’s with George” was made about this very fact (directed by Alexandra Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s daughter). All reporters do is kiss a candidate’s ass, and the candidate kisses the reporter’s ass, and thus you have the great ass-kiss fest known as the Iowa caucus. (Gotta love democracy!) The only candidate I’ve ever seen not kiss a ton of ass in a primary was John Kerry…gee, remember how much the press loved that guy? (heavy sarcasm)

—————————

Anyway, here was my prediction as of 8 pm, Seattle time, the day before the Iowa Caucus: