We reported on the Obama rally in Jacksonville today. No word on whether this guy played any part.
Forgive us but Jacksonville’s own Bob Brown (not that one) seems at least as intent on scoring a hit as on Obama scoring. We’re just sayin’.
But hey, step to the left…
BTW, we’re told “N.I.C.” stands for “Next in Charge.” So, see, it wasn’t what you were thinking.
It was only a week ago that John McCain was preparing to roll into Jacksonville, with the radio and TV stations announcing that due to the anticipated large crowds, the venue had been changed. Instead, when McCain, Gov. Charile Crist, Sen. Mel Martinez, Jeb Bush, and other Republican luminaries took the stage at Veterans’ Memorial Arena, the place was embarrassingly empty.
Today Barack Obama came to town.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has just announced that no more people will be allowed into the Barack Obama Rally at Metropolitan Park.
Officers say the park is at it’s (sic) 10,000 person capacity.
Thousands of people are being turned away.
I was unable to attend because I must earn a living (and you thought we were getting rich off Pensito Review) but my heart was there. Obama was due to speak at 2:30 EST but reportedly did not begin until 3:40. It is now 4:30. I’ll post an update as soon as possible.
Jon mentioned that Florida is, again, a battleground state. Demographically speaking, many of McCain’s old fuddy-duddy rich supporters might not turn out to hear him pontificate (especially since he only brought Cindy as eye candy, and not Palin), but they will still vote for him. And Obama’s more ambulatory, younger, less chauffeur-driven backers would be more likely to leave their domiciles to see him.
But still…It’s been raining since this morning. The Gators are playing in Tennessee as we speak. These folks could be dry and comfy in a sports bar somewhere doing 12-ounce curls and watching the game. Instead, they’re standing in the rain listening to Obama. That’s gotta count.
Update: Jacksonville’s First Coast News (the joint NBC and FOX affiliate) is reporting even bigger numbers.
Twenty thousand people came out to attend the rally Saturday afternoon, but a reported 8,000 were turned away at the gates after the park was at over capacity.
Wow. I am thrilled. Sounds like Obama was too.
The Democratic presidential nominee took the stage just over an hour later, saying, “What an unbelievable crowd.”
“Are there any [University of Florida] Gator fans in the house? It sounds like there might be some [University of Georgia] Bulldogs out here. I guess there’s one [Florida State] Seminole out here,” Obama said. “I’m amazed we got such a big crowd — I don’t know if ya’ll are aware there’s football today.”
Once the crowd settled, Obama turned serious, acknowledging the bombing in Pakistan that took many lives Saturday morning.
Now that Sarah Palin’s husband, First Dude Todd, has failed to appear at a hearing on Sarah’s allegedly improper firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, it can be said that the Palins are officially stonewalling the Troopergate investigation.
Gov. Sarah Palin’s chief of staff authorized former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to travel to Washington, although the governor has cited that trip as a primary example of the insubordination that led to his firing.
Todd ignored the subpoena because the Palins claim that the motivations of the Republican-dominated investigative committee are “partisan.” Ignoring subpoenas has become a hallmark of the GOP in the Bush years, and Todd Palin’s failure to testify is a clear signal that this brazen disrespect for the law will continue under the next Republican regime if John McCain and Palin are elected.
Now a document has been produced that proves that Sarah Palin has, in fact, lied about at least one aspect of her story about Monegan’s dismissal:
Gov. Sarah Palin’s chief of staff authorized former Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan to travel to Washington, although the governor has cited that trip as a primary example of the insubordination that led to his firing.
Monegan is the central figure in the investigation into whether Palin abused her power when she fired him. Monegan alleges he was fired because he refused to terminate a state trooper who was involved in a bitter divorce with the governor’s sister. Palin says he was fired because of insubordination on budget issues.
Even before the document was produced, Palin’s version of events was hard to believe. Her principle beef against Monegan, she says, was that he spent too much money fighting sex crimes:
With the home stretch of the presidential race looming, few states are tighter than Florida:
The group has swung dramatically, if unenthusiastically, toward Democrat Obama. Most of them this week cited the same reason: Sarah Palin.
Five weeks ago, the St. Petersburg Times convened a group of Tampa Bay voters who were undecided about the presidential election. Their strong distrust of Barack Obama suggested it was a group ripe for John McCain to win over.
Not anymore. The group has swung dramatically, if unenthusiastically, toward Democrat Obama. Most of them this week cited the same reason: Sarah Palin.
“The one thing that frightens me more than anything else are the ideologues. We’ve seen too many,” said 80-year-old Air Force veteran Donn Spegal, a lifelong Republican from St. Petersburg, who sees McCain’s new running mate as the kind of “wedge issue” social conservative that has made him disenchanted with his party.
“I’m truly offended by Palin,” said Republican Philinia Lehr, 37, of Largo, a full-time mother with a nursing degree who voted for George Bush in 2004. Like Palin, she has five children and she doesn’t buy that the Alaska governor can adequately balance her family and the vice presidency.
“You’re somebody’s mom and what are you going to do, say, ‘Excuse me, country, hold on?’ … She’s preaching that she’s this mom of the year and taking that poor little baby all over everywhere. And, you know, what she’s doing to her 17-year-old daughter is just appalling.” Lehr said she’s bothered by the way Palin’s pregnant daughter has been brought into the national spotlight.
Of the 11 undecided voters participating in the discussion one recent evening at the Times — four Republicans, five Democrats, and two registered to no party — only two Republican men applauded the selection of Palin.
Nobody had finalized a choice, but seven of the panelists said that McCain’s running mate selection had made them more likely to vote for Obama, and in several cases much more likely.
Pundits say that Trump’s $5,000 midterm bribe was an overreach,
And they agree that if lies were a crime, he’d be impeached.
Despite all the dividend promises he’s made,
The fact is, not one has ever been paid,
So even before the midterms, he already owes us $8,000* each.
*$5000 stimulus checks via “DOGE dividend”; $2000 stimulus checks via a “tariff dividend”; $1000-plus checks via “savings” from expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
