One of my readers recently emailed me to congratulate our country for electing Barack Obama president. I thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to get in touch with my audience, i.e. promote my contact form, write more reader-inclusive posts, start polling, etc. This is what I wrote back:

Hi [name undisclosed],

All I can say is thank you! Here in Chicago we are SO happy that BARACK OBAMA is our next (best) PRESIDENT. We’re really, really thankful, too. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome than this. Obama won by a landslide (kinda)! What was it, 350 to 130? I don’t know, something like that. But I wish everyone could have been here to celebrate. The whole city was ecstatic!

Thanks,
Spencer

Have a question, comment, or suggestion? Email me here by clicking this or this.

My friends [said with John McCain-esque voice], we as American citizens have now contributed to one of the most amazing events in our country’s history, and have made a ginormous step towards healing this nation. Some might be disappointed that their candidate hasn’t won, but I truly believe that Barack Obama will earn their support during his term and that everybody should wholeheartedly embrace the now-non-Senator Obama as our next president (Whoo!).

Personally, I was lucky enough to attend the event in Chicago’s Grant Park where Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech. The moment the jumbotron (really big TV screen) said “Barack Obama: President Elect” I, along with thousands of other people, was mystified by the news, and quite instinctively began jumping up and down with joy. Being a 21st century adolescent, I was also text messaging friends, one of which read, “Milisy.dimlin.oxidisox.oRItAll.DoNKbi.dog. WE DID IT.” Enough said.

I couldn’t bring myself to write anything about the event, other than my Facebook status: “Spencer is speechless :)”, until now, when my temporarily Obama-fied brain has come back on. So I thank you, as well as the millions of others out there, for helping me help you elect Barack Obama president of the United States of America!

During Wednesday’s debate, Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama brought up a new campaign front, video games. The issue was triggered after Bob Schieffer, debate moderator, asked the two Senators about their education policies. Obama’s response was, “Turn off the TV and put away the video games”. The statement was directed at irresponsible parents but was later interpreted by console-hugging children around the country as a threat. One child is reported to have said “Well I really hated it, but he said it, so even though I do hate it so much, um, well whatever.” Coincidentally, this was said while the child was engrossed in an intense Lego Batman Xbox 360 session.

As well as children, so-called “hip” parents abroad are protesting Obama’s new video game policy, while John McCain is (not surprisingly) yet to have responded to the issue. Despite negative impact, a Chicagoan mother’s response had an approving tone. “Yes! I’ve waited so long for this. Thank you, Barack Obama.”

What’s your opinion on this uprising issue?

Summary

As usual, I believe the overall winner of this third and final debate was Barack Obama. The main reason being that he never strayed from issues, and as a result of that, McCain’s “side-step” answers were, well, just wiped right off the field.

It seems as if the topic of the debate was “Joe the Plumber”, who was portrayed by John McCain as a hard-working American, who would like to purchase the company he works for, but would not be able to because of Barack Obama’s tax plan. First of all, Joe Wurzelbacher would not be affected negatively (or possibly at all) by Obama’s tax policies, because the business he wants to buy (and himself) makes less than $250,000 a year, thus not being touched by the plan. Second of all, Mr. Plumber here isn’t a licensed plumber! This just goes to show how incredibly false McCain can be, and all to attack Obama.

Here’s a copy of my live debate coverage from Wednesday:

8:01
Hi everyone. Thanks for coming to watch my live coverage of the final presidential debate!
8:02
Okay, we’re off to a start..
8:04
Thoughts and prayers for Nancy Reagan, hospitalized tonight.
8:05
McCain: Take 300 billion dollars, go in, and buy those abandoned homes.
8:06
New financial plan is “a good first step” - Obama
8:07
Take tax breaks from outsourcing companies and provide tax credit to middle class. - Obama
8:09
McCain: A plumber named Joe was trying to realize the American dream, and when he saw Obama’s tax plan he was disheartened.
8:10
Obama: I will provide a tax cut for 95% of working Americans. NOT A PENNY for corporations or big oil.
8:10
“I wanna give them a tax break now” - Obama
8:11
Okay, so now ‘Joe the Plumber’ is the topic of the debate.. wow.
8:12
Obama: My friend Warren Buffet, for example, can afford to pay a little more to provide a tax break for working families.
8:13
McCain: Business tax rate is 35%, Ireland’s is 11% (true or false?). We need to make it easier for businesses, not spread the wealth around.
8:14
[Note: Actual quotes will have quotation marks, and please excuse any mistakes made while quoting]
8:16
Obama: Medicare’s a giveaway. Its not improving senior’s lives. I will go through the budget, page by page, and eliminate lines or improve it.
8:18
McCain: When we become energy independent, we’ll create millions of jobs. Government debt has gone completely out of control.
8:18
“I opposed subsidies for ethanol” - McCain
8:18
“I saved taxpayers 6 billion dollars” - McCain
8:19
Here we go, the first pork-barrel ear-mark spending quote, and from McCain.
8:20
Obama: Earmarks are one of the centerpieces of his [McCain's] campaign.
8:21
“Sen. McCain voted for 4 out of 5 of Bush’s budgets” - Obama
8:22
“I’m gonna give a new direction to this country and economy.” - McCain

Yeah, but what direction?
8:22
McCain: I can balance these budgets. Americans are hurtin’ tonight.
8:23
McCain calls for federal spending freeze AND to buy out mortgages..
8:24
Obama: McCain has claimed that I will raise taxes for anyone making over 40,000 dollars a year. Even FOX disputes that.
8:25
Obama: Essentially what you’re proposing is eight more years of the same thing.
8:25
Quick observation: McCain is getting defensive!
8:27
Bob Schieffer: Both of you have pledged to take ‘the high road’ in this campaign.

Schieffer goes on with words and ads used by both campaigns and asks if they’re willing to say these things to each other, face to face.
8:29
McCain: Obama lied about accepting public financing.
8:29
“John, 100% of your ads have been negative” - Obama
8:32
Is it just me, or is Barack’s hair getting grayer?
8:34
Yes! Obama slams McCain for rally death threats.

For those who are not aware, last week people at McCain/Palin rallies were heard saying “Kill him” “off with his head” and “terrorist”
8:34
“When people suggest I’m palling around with terrorists, that’s not talking about issues” - Obama
8:35
“He’s having a temper tantrum” - Anonymous
8:36
“What we can’t do, is try and characterize each other as bad people” - Obama
8:37
Did McCain just accuse Obama of voter fraud? Hrmm.
8:37
“Mr. Ayers has become the centerpiece of their campaign these past weeks.” - Obama
8:38
FINALLY! Obama corrects rumors of former Weatherman Bill Ayers and his association with him.
8:40
“Let me tell you who I associate with, Joe Biden, Warren Buffet, [...]. Those are the people I associate with.” - Obama
8:41
BREAKING NEWS: McCain is slamming Obama for being associated with Acorn when McCain was the keynote addresser for them in 2006
8:42
“His [Joe Biden] consitant pattern throughout the years is to fight for the little guy” - Obama
8:43
Obama: We need to re-prioritize. Biden knows what’s most important for working families.
8:44
McCain: Sarah Palin is a reformist.
8:44
“She’s a reformer, through and through” - McCain
8:45
Okay, is cronyism a real word?
8:46
Bob Schieffer: Do you think she’s qualified to be president?

Interesting, here, as Schieffer doesn’t say vice-president, but instead says president…
8:46
NEWS FLASH: Sarah Palin has been referring to the campaign as the Palin McCain ticket. DOUBLE NEWS FLASH: She’s a running-mate, not a candidate.
8:48
I just learned something. We’re importing more than 60% percent of oil. I thought it’d be more.
8:50
McCain is getting angrier. For example, he just made the mistake of saying “nuclear pants”. That’d be cool. Nuclear pants, genius.
8:50
Obama: We use 25% of the world’s oil in America.
8:52
“We invented the auto industry” - Obama

That’s a pretty interesting statement, considering we’ve fallen so behind today.
8:52

8:52
Sorry, for those who are offended by that image :D.
8:54
McCain: Senator Obama has never been south of the border.
8:56
Obama: We have to hold auto makers responsible for not making fuel efficient cars, because very much of our energy is used on transportation.
8:57
Here’s another strange new word. McCain just said “fark” Or did he? I don’t know, but that doesn’t sound right.
8:57
McCain just compared Obama to Herbert Hoover.
8:59
If you have health insurance, you don’t have to do anything. The only thing we’re gonna try to do is lower costs so those savings can be passed on to you. - Obama
9:01
Hey Joe, if you’re out there and you can hear me, could you tell me if you’re actually friends with John McCain?
9:01
McCain: We need to put health records online.

LET’S START WITH YOURS! The only time anyone has seen your health records, McCain, is when you let a couple of reporters in to see them for a couple of hours, with no cameras or anything. Dude!
9:02
Obama responding to smear from McCain about not supporting ‘Joe the Plumber’: Here’s the fine you’ll get, Joe. 0, that’s your fine.
9:04
McCain is so incredibly smug, its not even funny any more.
9:06
Wow, did McCain have a stroke? He seems unable to talk.
9:07
A reference to gold-plated Cadillacs in a presidential debate sounds somewhat out-of-place.

Then again, many things said in this election sound out of place.
9:08
Quick note: Rother is not a word, McCain
9:09
Congratulations, McCain, you have officially won the title of Grandpa by every left-wing pundit.
9:10
Q & A: What’s a litmus test?
9:11
Obama on abortion: Women with their family and religious advisors can make the best decision on this subject.
9:12
“The court has to stand up if nobody else will” - Obama
9:12
“We need to change American culture” - McCain
9:14
McCain is now claiming that Obama voted against rights of immediate health-attention for failed-abortion childs. Why on earth would ANYONE vote against that?
9:15
NEWS FLASH: In Illinois there is already a law requiring life-saving treatments for failed abortions. Obama is the senator of Illinois.
9:16
“There surely is some common ground” - Obama

I thought that was a kind of refreshing comment by Sen. Obama.
9:16
“Nobody’s pro-abortion. Its always a tragic situation.” - Obama
9:18
Schieffer: We spend the most money on education in the world, yet our students trail in almost every subject compared to most countries.
9:20
“Turn off the TV and put away the video games” - Obama, when talking about parent’s responsibility over students.
9:21
Obama has an interesting idea:

Four thousand dollar credit for college students in turn for some form of community service.
9:21
“We must improve education in this country” - McCain
9:22
Obama: Federal government needs to step up and help local school districts with funding.
9:22
But, Obama continues, they never followed through with funding.
9:23
“I think Obama’s kicking butt” - Anonymous
9:24
“We can’t give money to every interest group that comes along” - Obama
9:24
“Somebody’s gotta pay for it!” - Obama
9:26
“How do you reform without spending money?” - Anonymous
9:26
“I’m not going to continue throwing money at a problem” - McCain
9:28
“I think we’ve had a very healthy discussion” - McCain
9:29
McCain: We cannot be satisfied with the last eight years.

Well, sorry bud, but you’re someone who contributed to the unsatisfactory side of the last eight years. You slam Bush when you actually mimic his policies.
9:30

Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Policy Issues
Here’s the link to all of Obama’s policy information.
9:31
“And that’s why I’m sure our brighter days are still ahead” - Obama

Wow, what an optimistic statement.
9:32
And that’s it! The debate was closed with a quote from Schieffer’s mother, “Go vote now, it’ll make you feel big and strong”

9:33
Thank you all for reading, now get out and vote!

Nate Silver, former analyst for Baseball Prospectus, has begun an innovative electoral projection site, called FiveThirtyEight.com. You might be wondering, why five-thirty-eight? Well, as he explains in the site’s FAQ, 538 is the number of electors in the electoral college. The mission of the site, as described by Nate Silver himself, is most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in a way that is informed, accurate and attractive, and most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections. Silver’s site provides a gripping display of combined polls from around the media. It includes an immense amount of information, shown upon numerous types of graphs, meters, and such. The data displayed on the site is generally updated once a day, in order to refresh the polls. Silver claims the projections on his site are not biased toward his preferred candidate, Barack Obama, but also has said his non-partisan approach to the polling is for you to judge. An interesting tidbit I stumbled upon on the site was when Silver was asked “Why do you run ads for [insert name of candidate you don't like]?” he responded, “I believe in the right of free speech. Blogging is one form of free speech, and political advertising is another. If I believe an ad is particularly misleading, I will seek to block it, but otherwise, this site takes a non-partisan position toward which advertising it accepts. Ads for John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have each appeared on this website at various times.”

So please, check out FiveThirtyEight.com and leave a comment here to say what you think!