Does Obama really have a chance in Michigan and Florida?

Thanks for your response Ladyluna. I really can't imagine supporting a candidate who would do such a thing. Contrary to the lies the media told, not all the democratic candidates went along with it. Mike Gravel completely disagreed with it and actively campaigned in Michigan. Of course, the media chooses the front runners so they never reported on that and most people don't even know who he is. If the republican party would have done that I would have only voted for a candidate who openly defied that decision. I would have then voted for another party, likely a third party. I just could not support such an unAmerican action.

I completely agree, Taskr! I was once a member of the Dem. Party. Though, in good conscience, I couldn't overlook the party's many flaws. The party seems to consistently err on the side of injustice more often than not. Specifically: - the elitist existence of superdelegates, - having disenfranchised Fl. & MI, - their unholy alliance with labor unions -- and the MANDATATORY Dem. exclusive P.A.C. money contributions from their members (whether the members agree or not!), - aligning themselves with organizations like A.C.O.R.N. who lie, steal, and cheat for Dem. voter registration initiatives, (proven by U.S. court rulings!) - their refusal to embrace fair elections by way of voter I.D. requirements, - their continued support of caucuses, as opposed to primaries, I could go on, and on. And, mine is not an uninformed perspective on the matter. I grew up in a very active Dem. Party family, where both my parents were party officials. Criminies, I spent a good deal of my youth working at local, state, and national Democrat's functions. There is where I began to see the absolute intollerance from Dem's toward non-aligning perspective. If they didn't like someone's ideas, they would simply drive them out! If someone wasn't donating enough of their paycheck, they would be overlooked for another member who was contributing more -- even if they had the time and passion. In fact, my parents were delegates to the 1976 Dem. National Convention. The disgusting in-fighting and absolute cruelty that ensued prior to the selection of delegates for that convention was utterly despicable. Then came the influx of Socialism. It was no longer "What can you do for your country?", it was "What can your country do for you?" Which then transitioned to "What can my government do for me?", where country was no longer the focus. The party focus has disintegrated into support for globalism, with a concerted effort to minimize the focus and relevancy of "one nation, under God, invdivisible". Where we are now seen as just 'worker bees', supporting big government, and the initiatives of one world order. Who cares if hard-working Americans don't support those goals? Who cares if hard-working Americans want to keep their paychecks, so that THEY can decide how to aid and contribute to our fellow man? Who cares if nearly 80% of citizen-voters want English as our official language? Who cares if nearly 3/4 of citizen-voters want strict voter ID requirements? Who cares if approx. 70% of citizen-voters want the border sealed to stop the influx of illegal aliens? Who cares if the overwhelming majority of citizen-voters DO NOT want to grant health & welfare benefits to illegal aliens, paid for with our hard-earned tax dollars? Who cares if the Dem. party has fielded many of the most egregious examples of corruption in our government's history? Who cares if the goals being rammed down our throats are proven failures time and again? Who cares if the seat of that one-world order, the United Nations, is one of the most corrupt organizations ever known to mankind? Who cares if that Dem. Party wants to keep throwing good money after bad to prop up that failed United Nations organization? Who cares if the United Nations & the Dem. leadership wants to ignore our Constitution and institute a direct tax on U.S. citizens? Specifically, Sen. Obama with his UN aligned Mandatory Global Poverty erradication bill to the tune of $845 billion, and an ongoing commitment of .07 of our total Gross National Product! That's gross, not net!!! http://kilosparksitup.blogspot.com/2008/02/more-on-barack-obama-s2433-global.html Who cares if that same United Nations wants to seat thug, hunta, dictators in Human Rights positions? Who cares if the $10 billion "Oil for Food" scam in only one in a long line of scams and failed programs overseen by that same Dem. supported United Nations? The un-democratic party certainly doesn't care! They want us to keep feeding the 'hungry pig', and quit complaining about it! Who are we to dare question those who want to de-moralize our desire to work for the 'American Dream'?

Which then transitioned to "What can my government do for me?", where country was no longer the focus. You made a lot of good points, but this one caught my eye most. It's so true and especially odd since it was John F. Kennedy, a democrat, that said the famous "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country". I really wish people would look at themselves and do what they could instead of constantly demanding the government provide them with lower taxes, free healthcare, and more tax credits. Gas prices hurt us all, but the number of people needlessly driving SUVs and gas guzzlers aren't doing this country any favors. I can say that since my wife and I drive tiny cars with excellent mileage.

I can't believe that people in Michigan would even dream of supporting him. He dismissed them so badly that he went out of his way to have his name removed from the ballot. He might as well have said "I don't want your votes so I'm making sure you don't even have me as an option". Since Florida has went to Bush in two consecutive elections and the democrats preferred Hillary, I feel it's a safe bet that he won't be able to win here.

What I meant by "been in place since God knows when" was the "need" for the first few states to have their primary or caucus before anyone else does. I'm sorry, you had said before that you'd voted for Kerry in 2004. So did I (Surprise...lol!) and I guess it didn't work out so well for either of us. I certainly respect your opinion and you view and I appreciate that you give it...well, respectfully...and that you respect mine.(Sorry for the repetition!) If I lived in one of those states and felt really angry and that I'd been disenfranchised and IF this were one of those elections where there wasn't much difference between the two major candidates on the key issues I could possible see myself switching or voting for a third party candidate, again IF there were one of them I believed in but as it stands with so many important issues facing us which I'm very passionate about and with two candidates who are such polar opposites I don't see how I could take a chance on throwing the election the wrong way. Not that I think my vote is that important by itself but I always think if many others felt and acted that way too it could make a huge difference. No matter what either of us think about 2000 and what the outcome "really" was there's one thing that's undeniable and that's that a very small number of voters could have changed history. I can't even imagine myself not voting, that's not even an option for me. What is the mood in Florida among Democrats and independents as you see it? Do you think it's a "done deal" for McCain or is the state still in play? I heard the other day that McCain is actually losing in his own state according to one poll and that Bob Barr (who really turns my stomach!) is really hurting him. Annie

I'm really not against voting for a democrat if I think it's the best person for the job. I voted against Jeb Bush when he ran for reelection here in Florida and I voted for John Kerry against George Bush in 2004. Of course neither of those went my way. You are correct in that I wouldn't have voted for Obama. I was very interested when I first heard of him but I disagreed with him on so many levels that I couldn't possibly support him. That's not even going into his lack of experience and questionable associations. As I said, had the Republican party done that I would have only voted for a candidate who defied the party, and if there were none I would have voted for a third party (something I've never done before). "two states wanted to buck the system that's been in place since God knows when" It's been in place since August of 2006. Not exactly God knows when. "Reportedly the Florida Democrats at least were willing to go back to the originally scheduled primary date but the GOP legislators and Governor would have nothing to do with that." They did make an attempt to rescind the House Bill 537 (which the democrats voted for) after the DNC decided to punish Florida. I believe the one of the republicans actually mocked the attempt by saying something like "You want us to stop the national democrats from punishing the Florida democrats?" "If I lived in either of those two states my vote would be based on the same things it is now, the issues and which candidate I agree with on more of them and who I think will be better for the country." My vote would be based on that as well. I just don't think a candidate who supports disenfranchising millions of voters in two heavily populated states is good for this country. By the way, thanks for your response. I always enjoy your responses even if I disagree with them more often than not. I can't say I disagree 99% of the time anymore and that's just weird.

Obviously I can't speak for the entire state of Florida, but I've seen a little bit of everything. I've definitely come across more people who are against Obama than for him. A lot of the friends I have are more along the independent lines and are planning to vote for McCain. I do have one coworker who is crazy about Obama and was extremely excited and singing about how she was going to see Obama when he came to Tampa a while ago. She actually said she voted for Bush twice and actually blames the republicans for the issue with the primaries. She's not what I would call an ignorant or uneducated voter which is why I was surprised to see her support someone so different than what she's supported in the past. She didn't even like Bill Clinton. I think that while Florida is a pretty evenly split state it will most likely go to McCain. Even after two terms of Jeb Bush as the governor who really screwed up the schools here, the voters still elected Charlie Crist, another republican. Don't get me wrong though, Crist has been a stand up guy and a much better governor than Jeb Bush. I was just surprised a republican could win after Jeb Bush's poor performance.