Barack Obama shows off at DNC

Wow! I just finished watching the Obama speech and I must say I am impressed. He clearly laid out his plan and gave the most inspiring speech I have ever heard.

It is a different ball game now. Barack just took this to an astronomical level. I will post some specifics in the morning, but please post your thoughts. What did you like/hate? What stood out?

HIlary was boring

Well, she did what she was suppose to do at the Democratic National Convention. Hilary Clinton gave a good speech (not great) urging her supporters to back Barack Obama, but I must say it was extremely boring.

There was nothing that memorable about the speech. Sure she is a good public speaker and she was very polished last night, but the speech was missing something. She took a couple of small jabs at John McCain, but nothing worth mentioning.

In fact the most memorable quote from the night came from Bob Casey who claimed McCain voted with George W. Bush on more than 90 percent of all votes. He then said, "That's not a maverick, that's a sidekick!"

He asked why the Republicans deserved 4 more years and began a chant of only "4 more months!"

It was pretty powerful. Agree with him or not, his point was well made and memorable.

The problem is, no one heard this speech. It came on before Hilary and the major tv networks only carried her speech. You had to listen to it on the radio or watch it on GPTV (which I mean, how many people really watch that?). So, it was mostly a wasted speech.

Tonight will Bill Clinton and Joe Biden speak, they should mix it up a little more. I am not for dirty politics and mud slinging, but I feel Obama has to answer some of McCain's recent attacks. Obama doesn't have to attack back, but he has to make his presence known.

The Clintons at the Obama party

Alright here we go. Tonight the Clintons are going to speak at the Democratic National Convention. This should be good. I mean last night with Michelle Obama was great, but now is time to throw some fuel on the fire. This thing is going to cook tonight!

In many ways, the Clintons are the hierachy of the Democratic Party. Bill is idolized by many and Hilary really (I mean really) wanted to be the next president. Will they play nice? Or will there be few jabs in there?

I suspect they will do their best to bring the Democratic party back together after a divisive primary, but I am hoping there will be some sort of slip up. I like Obama, but I also like some good ol' fashion drama.

What do you think will happen?

The good and bad of Joe Biden

By now we all know Barack Obama's pick for his vice president is Joe Biden, but what do we know about him?

Here are the pros and cons of Biden:

Pros:

Biden has already demonstrated an appetite for defending Obama and taking on McCain, particularly on foreign policy issues. In May, he criticized President Bush for attacking those like Obama who favor reaching out diplomatically to regimes like Iran and North Korea.

The senator also offers a compelling personal story. His first wife, Neilia Hunter, died in a car accident in 1972 as she was driving their three children shortly after his election as U.S. senator. Their infant daughter was also killed but their two sons -- Beau and Hunter -- survived their injuries.

Biden, then 30, was sworn in as a first-term senator at his sons' bedside.

Biden has long harbored aspirations to be president himself. He ran this year, but dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in January after he finished fifth with less than a percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses.

"I'm not a superstar," he said while stumping in Iowa. "People say they like me, people tell me they think I'd be a good president but that they just don't think I can win."

Along with his Senate Foreign Relations post, which recently took him on a trip to Georgia after the Russian invasion, Biden has been chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and has had a hand in legislation on crime, terrorism and drug policy.

He is popular with many Democratic Party activists and may help Obama with less affluent voters who have been cool to him.

Here are the cons of Biden:

As a 36-year Senate veteran, Biden is a Washington insider, an image that is at odds with the theme of change Obama has promoted.

Biden supported the 2002 resolution in favor of military action in Iraq. Obama has made his opposition to the war a centerpiece of his campaign. However, Biden has become a persistent critic of the handling of the war.

Barack attacks Georgia

The Barack Obama campaign announced this afternoon that it would open 15 more offices throughout Georgia this weekend, officially putting the state on notice. Once these open, there will be a total of 27 offices in the state.

“We are reaching to every corner of the state, even areas that maybe haven’t voted for a Democrat before,” said Antwaun Griffin, Georgia state director for the campaign, in a press release.

The campaign currently has offices in Thomasville, Cumming, Albany, Winder, Valdosta, downtown Atlanta, Jonesboro, Augusta, midtown Atlanta, Athens, Hartwell, and Gainesville.

Do you think this could swing Georgia in his favor? (Georgia is generally considered a Republican state)


Here are the locations of the new offices.

NEWNAN
25 E Broad Street
Newnan, GA 30263

BRUNSWICK
1919 Glynn Avenue
Brunswick, GA 31520

WARNER ROBINS
1770 Watson Blvd
Warner Robins, GA 31088

WOODSTOCK
180 Parkway 575, Suite 140
Woodstock, GA 30188

DECATUR
2752 Ponce de Leon, Suite F and G
Decatur, GA 30030

MACON
438 Cotton Avenue
Macon, GA 31201

AUGUSTA
852 Broad St.
Augusta, GA 30901

COLUMBUS
3160 Macon Road, Store 4A
Columbus, GA 31906

JESUP
189 N Brunswick St.
Jesup, GA 31546

MONROE
124 Sorrells St.
Monroe, GA 30655

LAGRANGE
411 South Greenwood St, Suite B
LaGrange, GA 30240

GAINESVILLE
1097 Athens St.
Gainesville, GA 30501

DUBLIN
1505 Rice Ave.
Dublin, GA 31021

SOUTH COLUMBUS
905 Third Avenue
Columbus, GA 31901

EAST POINT (FULTON COUNTY)
65 Main St.
East Point, GA 30344

Joe Liberman to be McCain's running mate?

Former Democrat-turned-Independent Joe Liberman might be the next big thing as a Republican. (You remember he was Al Gore's running mate).

Here is a quote from the Washington Times:

Officials with John McCain’s campaign made a series of conference calls Monday and Tuesday with supporters nationwide to say that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may be named as the Arizona senator’s vice presidential running mate, immediately sparking a frenzied effort by some state Republican officials to come up with a strategy to head off such a move….

On one hand, I can understand him switching parties because he is very conservative and tends to vote in line with the Repbulicans. But on the other hand is this a flip-flop? I mean does he change parties at a whim?

Considering Liberman's conservative background, this is a very interesting pick. McCain is considered by many to me a very liberal Republican. Liberman could balance that out and could draw more votes from diehard Repbublicans. Then again, it is also Liberman, the former Democrat that would be one of the leaders of the party.

Obama's text messaging campaign

The AJC recently reported this:

Sometime this week, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has promised to let supporters know via text message who he has selected as his running mate.

It’s a mutual exchange. Texters get the info. The Obama gets their contact information for the fall campaign.



What do you think about this? is it fair to get the info of all these texters like this? Or is it just another type of campaign advertising? Would you have any problem being in a candidate's text address book?

McCain playing dirty or is this just dirty campaigning?

I just found this little number:



Does anyone have any info on this? I would like to get some background on this before I blast anyone (I have recently seen a lot of flat out lies circulating on the internet about Obama). So what is the real story behind this?

I know Ralph Reed was involved in a scandal about two years ago that cost him his campaign for Lt. Governor and part of that had to do with ties to gambling money. Unfortunately I don't know the details other than that. Also, I read the Reed was helping to organize a McCain event in Atlanta next month.

Who gets your vote?

Alright, it's unscientific poll time. If the election where held today, who would get your vote for president and why? I am not just limiting this to Barack Obama and John McCain, If you like Bob Barr, tell us why.

Actually, you don't even have to pick a politician. If you think Puff Daddy/Puffy/P. Diddy would make a good president (though he wouldn't), make your argument.

Captain America and Superman are both quality picks, and hard to argue with, but try to dig a little deeper. Who haven't we thought of and why should they be president?

John Edwards finally admits to having an affair

I don't want to say John Edwards is a douche bag, he pretty much admits to it. He finally admitted to having an affair on his wife (who is fighting cancer!), but he isn't taking credit for the rumored love child.

Edwards told ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter but said that he didn't love her. He said he has not taken a paternity test but knows he isn't the father because of the timing of the affair and the birth.

Hunter's daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27, 2008, and no father's name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.

The National Enquirer first reported on the affair in October 2007, and Edwards denied it.

"The story is false," he told reporters. "It's completely untrue, ridiculous." He professed his love for his wife, Elizabeth, who had an incurable form of cancer, saying, "I've been in love with the same woman for 30-plus years and as anybody who's been around us knows, she's an extraordinary human being, warm, loving, beautiful, sexy and as good a person as I have ever known. So the story's just false."

And to think We almost elected this man president! I know we shouldn't pry into this man's personal life too much, but this brings up some huge character flaws. Edwards was a pretty strong candidate for vice president, now they won't even invite him to the convention.

Well, John, looks like your political career is over! So long!

What if Hilary Clinton was Barack Obama's vice president?

OK, I know it sounds crazy, but a Obama/Clinton ticket may be just the thing the Democrats need. Certainly there would be a power struggle and some awkwardness between the the two, making this idea nearly impossible, but think about it.

The race between Clinton and Obama was ugly and divisive. There is a huge number of voters out there that wanted nothing more than to see Hilary win it all. When she was defeated, it turned many of them away in disgust.

If Obama named her VP, many of these voters would jump back on board. There would be an excitement about not only having a black man on the ticket, but also a woman. Sure Obama's run has been historic for race relations, just imagine adding a woman to the ticket.

It would be a nice set up for Hilary if she accepted the position. Assuming they won, it could keep her near the top of the list of potential presidential candidates down the road.

There are rumors that the Clinton clan is actually very bitter and wants to see Obama lose so Hilary can run again in 4 years. Those rumors should be squashed when Bill Clinton is a keynote speaker at the Democratic convention and adding Hilary to the ticket would help keep the Clintons among Democratic royalty.

Just imagine if Bill ends his speech by calling his wife on stage and introduces her as the next vice president. It would cause a huge media buzz.

For the reasons I stated, there is a very slim chance of this actually happening. Do you think it could work? If not, who would make a better VP for either Barack or John McCain?

Newt pushes for drilling

There has been a lot of discussion about drilling for oil recently. Yesterday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke at the Capitol to push for drilling.

It seems Barak Obama would rather put air in our tires than drill and John McCain is all for drilling while putting up tons of nuclear plants.

I think the nuclear plants are way to drastic. I certainly don't want to live anywhere near one. The answer is somewhere in the middle. Can't we drill for some oil while we aggressively research alternative fuels?

What do you think the solution is?

Perils of a Pizza Guy

A little cross-promotion here. Check out a new, totally irreverent blog titled Perils of a Pizza Guy. It is an interesting view inside the world of a pizza delivery man.

It would be great if the zero number of readers here could also add the readership there (and vice versa).

Check it out at: http://perilsofapizzaguy.blogspot.com/

Also on the horizon for Impeached is a new podcast. So keep your ears open for that. More info coming soon!

Victor Hill and Vernon Jones lose

The results aren't final, but it looks like two of the states most notable politicians appear to be out. Vernon Jones has already conceded in his runoff election and Victor Hill is losing 49 to 51 percent (with almost all votes tallied) in his bid for reelection.

This is surprising to me. These two men might be standing in the unemployment office tomorrow. Have a suggestion for their next career? Perhaps they could team up for a reality show, or perhaps Hill can get a job working security at the mall. I wonder if Jones has any janitorial experience.....

What do you think these infamous men might be qualified for?

RIP- Skip Caray dies at 68

It is a sad day in baseball. It has just been announced that Skip Caray, the voice of the Atlanta Braves, passed away today.

I remember watching Braves games everyday growing up and that cantankerous style of his became something I grew to love. Now whenever I hear another broadcaster, I always compare them to Skip, and it seems none of them measure up.

Thanks Skip for all you were. You were special to so many people.

If you have a favorite Skip memory, please share it. There are many for me, like the time Sid slid and of course when we won the World Series. Then of course there are the times from the many losing seasons the Braves had. It wasn't uncommon for him to pull out the ol' TV guide and tell viewers what they could be watching instead.

Now, please, if you have one of those Skip moments, let me hear about it.

I am impressed with Obama's comments on reparations

Barack Obama is facing some heat from black leaders hoping to receive reparations from slavery. I personally am opposed to reparations for many reasons. Mostly that just because bad things happen, it doesn't mean you should get a check in the mail. But certainly blacks in our country have been put at an unfair disadvantage. There needs to be something to be done to help level the playing field. Anyway, here are some of Obama's comments on the subject:

Said in July 2008--"I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed."

Obama says an apology would be appropriate but not particularly helpful in improving the lives of black Americans. Reparations could also be a distraction, he said.

Said in a 2004 NAACP questionnaire-- "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work."

The Varsity turns 80

Well congratulations! Yesterday, The Varsity turned 80 years old. The Varsity has been a staple in Atlanta ever since it first opened. I mean who hasn't been there before a Braves or Ga. Tech game? Who hasn't had a smothered dog, the orange freeze or those greasy onion rings.

Here is the history of The Varsity, according to its website:

The original Varsity was opened in 1928 on a 70' X 120' lot with a white picket fence by a man named Frank Gordy; a man with a $2000 nest egg and "million dollar taste buds." Through his dedication to freshness, superior quality, advanced technology and serving the best food fast, he gained a reputation that is known worldwide. The Varsity has hosted well known people from the entertainment industry, the sports industry, the Governor's mansion, the White House, as well as visitors from all over the globe. Through Frank Gordy's determination, the original Varsity has grown into a two-story "Lunching Pad" and there are now 6 sister locations. The Varsity has become an Atlanta institution known and loved by all.

Indeed, it has been loved by all. There have been all sorts of parties, celebrations and even a few weddings at the varsity. If you have a memorable Varsity experience, please post it below!