Obama UH OH

You can learn a lot from a kid. I think most of us have heard that or something like that over the years. I learned something just yesterday…….not from A kid but from a couple million of them.

First, let me say that during any Presidential election you can expect certain segments of the population to flock to one candidate or the other. This year is certainly no different. I think it’s obvious that virtually all African Americans have aligned themselves with Barak Obama. Members of the National Rifle Association (which is predominantly white by the way) are nearly 100% behind John McCain.

And so it goes as America seems determined to divide herself for a while. It seems we can only take so much unity before we need to have a family cuss fight. The election coming in two weeks may be the most racially divisive event that has occurred in a century on American soil.

What frightens me is that so many seem to believe this election is over and that Sen Obama has the Presidency ‘in the bag’. The election is just a necessary formality. The decision has already been made.

I beg to differ.

The poll which will be taken nationally on the 4th of November is the only one that truly means anything. All of the polls up until that point will no longer have any import at all.

Remember the New Hampshire primary? Polls on voting day showed Sen Obama leading Sen Hillary Clinton by an average margin of 6.8%. Exit polls showed that Sen Obama had, in fact, won by 6.5%.

Everyone was surprised to awaken the next morning and learn that Sen Clinton had won in New Hampshire. How could the polls be so wrong?

Here’s how: A lot of white people are deathly afraid of being called a racist. I’m not. I know who I am and I know what I am. What anyone else says about me has little impact. But, many white people are terribly afraid that someone is going to call them a racist. They’re also terribly afraid that the accusation might even be true.

So when asked in New Hampshire who they were voting for they had answered ‘Sen Barak Obama’. Nobody could accuse them of being racist if they said that.

As they left the polls and they were asked, they again said they had voted for ‘Sen Barak Obama’. And nobody called them racist.

But, in the privacy of the voting booth with no one there to call them names or pressure them to vote a certain way because of ‘white guilt’, they voted for someone else. Hillary’s win in New Hampshire came as a complete shock to most.

Now, it’s time for the general election. This time it’s for all the marbles. And the polls indicate that Barak Obama will win. I suspect that exit polls will say the same. I just hope everyone is braced for another surprise.

One group that has identified with Sen Obama from the beginning is young people. It would seem that the younger they are the more likely they are to support Barak Obama.

Each election cycle Nickleodeon, the kids TV network, conducts an election of their own. It’s called ‘Kids Vote’. And those polls have now closed.

Guess who won? Barak Obama did, of course. But what was surprising was the margin of victory: 51% to 49%. Well short of a landslide. You might even call it a squeaker. Listening to the hype out there I would’ve expected a margin of 65/35 or even more. Nope. 51/49. And that’s with the base of Obama’s strength.

That Nickleodeon election just may be an indication of another New Hampshire surprise. If it happens there will be those who will always believe that the vote was altered, that Obama won and had the election stolen from him.

Brace yourself. The next few weeks could well prove to be a bumpy ride.

Oh, by the way, the Nickleodeon vote for the last Presidential election showed Sen John Kerry beating George W Bush by a margin of 57/43.

Okay………..altogether now……………”Hmmmmmm”.

Well, We Missed the Good Times --- Why Not?

Brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen. During the next several weeks you will most likely be shocked.

For about a decade, we in Laurens County and surrounding areas have been hearing a lot about the prosperity the rest of the country was enjoying. It was a huge boom that left most of us feeling…………well………..feeling left out.

I’d have to describe the local economy as a recession. We lost jobs. Lots of jobs. Torrington/Timken closed. Laurens Glass closed. Clinton Mills. Watts Plant……….and so on and so forth.

Now it appears that the whole country is heading into a recession………maybe worse. So, it is just and right that our area once again buck the trend.

Brace yourselves and don’t laugh at me. Some really good news is right around the corner. We may just find ourselves in pretty good shape economically speaking while the rest of the country endures what we have become all too familiar with for years now.

And as we dig our way out of the economic basement of the country let us resolve to never take anything for granted again. Plan for the bad times and hope they never come.

Local Politics

Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill is credited with the oft repeated quote “All politics are local politics”. To a great extent that is true. Whether the political contest involves a city council seat or President of the United States, voters generally make their voting decision based on what affects them at the local level.

Sometimes it’s difficult to translate a national election to what may or may not happen on your street but that’s what we try to do. Most of us listen to what a politician has to say and then try and determine just how his plans will work in their own lives. Will their family be better off? Will their job be secure? Will their kids be able to go to college?

The closer government comes to the people who will be impacted by their actions the easier it is to draw conclusions, the easier to predict which candidate you believe will be best for your and your family……….provided the people have adequate information.

And that’s where Good Morning UpCountry comes in. Each election cycle we do our best to bring the candidates running for offices directly affecting you onto the show. We question them, usually politely, about their philosophy. We want them to tell you what they intend to do for you or…………..TO you.

Now, some people fuss about it. They tell me it’s boring and they want us to just forget about it…………..but I can’t. We truly do feel that it’s our duty to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision. What you do with that information is up to you.

So, in the next few weeks you’ll hear some candidates on the air. I encourage you to listen to them carefully. Use the information we’re providing to make the best possible decision. And please don’t complain too much. This really is important.