Obligatory Debate Commentary (Debate 2)

Hmmm, I'm gonna say Kerry by a whisker. Kerry stumbled a couple of times. His answer on abortion was a bit awkward. Bush said "internets" and argued with the moderator. And then he said the world would have been better off with Saddam Hussein in power! Or did I mishear? Kerry rehashed a lot of what he's already said, which will count against him. And I don't think he talked enough about the economy.

Now Bush did do better this time. I have to wonder if the next debate, which will be similar to the first in format if I'm not mistaken, will restrict Bush. He had more energy, and that doesn't show as well when trapped behind a podium.

I really hope the next debate actually addresses domestic issues instead of getting dragged back to Iraq like the domestic part of the VP debate.

State of Electoral College

As we learned in the last election, it's the electoral college, not the popular vote that counts. By Slate's count, Kerry is behind Bush by only 18 electoral votes. Now, some of the states haven't been polled since before the presidential debate. However, most of those are states that are pretty solidly in favor of one candidate or the other. Oregon, West Virginia, Virginia, and Delaware are the only "swing states" by Slate's definition that haven't been polled since the presidential debate.

There is something that all of the polls that target likely voters (which would be most of them) fail to account for. I think many more young people are going to vote this year. We are the ones being sent to fight in Iraq and we are the ones least able to find a job in Bush's economy (why hire and train an entry-level person when you can hire a desperate experienced person at the same salary who can hit the ground running). These young voters probably don't show up in the "likely" voter category. They could very well swing the election and the pollsters won't see it coming.

But which way will it swing? My sister and my best friend lean left. I'm independent and leaning away from Bush. Others are independent and leaning toward Bush. And my cousin is far (but not extremely far) to the right. I have no idea how representative that crossection is, but I won't be surprised if Bush wins.

Debate in 90 minutes. Be sure to watch. These people are vying for your future.

Update: Joe Trippi just said what I basically just said on MSNBC.

And the X-Prize Goes To...

SpaceShipOne! Take that, NASA! More prizes to come. First orbital flight, first orbital habitat... I'm not going to say moonshot because I don't want to curse it. People in their thirties hadn't been born yet the last time man set foot on the moon, so I'm not getting my hopes up -yet.

SNL Parody (Debate 1)

Well, I saw SNL's take on the debate this evening (last night? eh, prior to now). And Kerry wins yet again! The hand signals! The blatently contradictory positions! The pandering! Absolutely classic. The Bush parody, however, was just sad. There was so much they could have harped on in regards to Bush's performance to bring the funny, but they focused on one thing and beat it to death (at least Bush picks three or four things to beat to death). As long as the sketch was, they could have had Bush be a bit more confident or even cocky at the beginning, then descend into the "hard work" rut. I don't even like Bush and I cringed. A little more respect for your source material, guys. Sheesh.