MetaFilter posts tagged with election and Obama

Obamicon

zinfandel — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:43:11 -0800

ObamiconMe. Remake your image in a style inspired by Shepard Fairey's election poster. via

Nightmare Motel

Secret Life of Gravy — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:05:24 -0800

The Faubus Motel: Possibly the Worst Motel in America

The Truth about the Election

wittgenstein — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:49:36 -0800

NYRB-filter: The Truth About The Election by Elizabeth Drew

The Black President

Tom-B — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:20:41 -0800

A 1926 Brazilian sci-fi novel predicts a U.S. election determined by race and gender. O Presidente Negro envisions the 2228 U.S. presidential election. In that race, the white male incumbent, President Kerlog, finds himself running against Evelyn Astor, a white feminist, and James Roy Wilde, the cultivated and brilliant leader of the Black Association, "a man who is more than just a single man ... what we call a leader of the masses."

The End of an Era?

912 Greens — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:12:33 -0800

According to political scientist Wayne Parent, “The South has moved from being the center of the political universe to being an outside player in presidential politics.” Are we finally seeing the end of Nixon's infamous Southern Strategy? For years Republicans have depended on the region to win elections. Some now argue that the G.O.P. has "transformed itself from the Party of Lincoln into the Party of the Old Confederacy." In any case, playing to racism and resentment [PDF] isn't as effective as it used to be. Furthermore, many Republicans have publicly disowned such tactics.

from 52 to 48, with love

heatherann — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:34:36 -0800

from 52 to 48 with love : Ze Frank collects post-election messages of unity and reconciliation. From his blog: "i would love to see a group project where obama supporters reached out to the mccain folk in a gesture of reconciliation... something with the intimacy of the http://www.sorryeverybody.com/ project - but without the partisan divisiveness. simple messages. the feeling of being left out or ignored, or the target of payback is what made the last eight years so hard. perhaps it is naive. the differences are real, i know. but we have to repair the damage done from this election cycle somehow... it's a tough and delicate challenge - if you want to try it - send a pic of you with a sign, or a vid, or anything to ze@zefrank.com"

How Obama Did It

thbt — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:56:33 -0800

How Obama Did It: an in-depth look behind the scenes of the campaign, assembled by a special team of reporters who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day.

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States

plexi — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:00:14 -0800

Attention world: We're back baby! USA! USA! USA! USA!

We have the facts and we're voting...

dw — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:05:53 -0800

At 12:00am EST, in the Ballot Room of the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the 2008 Presidential Election began.* The vote was 15-6 Obama -- the first time a Democrat has carried the village since 1968. Despite their "first in the nation" status, though, they have only picked the winner 50% of the time. * - Hart's Location, which Obama also won, would beg to differ. Notably, Hart's Location is 3-for-3 in voting for the eventual winner.

We Can Talk Politics All Night

Navelgazer — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:54:44 -0800

You Can Vote However You Like

Say You, Say Me

gman — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:12:23 -0800

Call a phone number and explain why you're voting the way you are. Brought to you by these guys.

You Betcha

digaman — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:41:01 -0800

This f*cking election. A babble tower.

The Music is the Message

fourcheesemac — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:02:05 -0800

The Soul is in the Soundtrack . . . Barack Obama's soundtrack, that is . . . Margaret Talev writing for McClatchy, quoting Duke U's Mark Anthony Neal: "The music "really harkens back to the initial moments of the creation of that possibility, young white folks listening to those artists, dancing to that music, the beginning of school integration," he said. "The music is really a soundtrack to that. It stirs a nostalgia about when folks had hopes that we'd see a kind of society where we can elect a black president." Gavin Hewitt, writing for BBC, also explores the Obama campaign's use of musical messaging. Can a singer's opinion change your vote? Can one candidate use another's signature song and re-inflect it? And Carrie Brownsetein wonders "do you hear what I hear?" Rolling Stone wants to know what the candidate hears in his earbuds. Oh, and Springsteen endorses (scroll down). Ralph Stanley too. If you want a taste of it, plus Springsteen's warm-up, tune in to Barack Obama's Cleveland rally starting soon (program slated to begin at 3:34PM EST). Live stream should be up soon on barackobama.com or CNN.com (No direct CNN video link yet; will post in comments when it comes online.) Meanwhile, Axl Rose tells us it doesn't matter, because we're gonna get Chinese Democracy either way. (YT)

Obama just got endorsed by The Economist.

Lacking Subtlety — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:05:40 -0800

Obama just got endorsed by The Economist. Yes that Economist. My favorite economic publication and often noted for its pragmatic conservative-centrist approach. Good stuff here.

Aunt Bee and Big Al say vote McCain!

miss lynnster — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:51:36 -0800

Okay, this election is officially weird. Opie, Andy, Richie and the Fonz apparently want us to vote Obama. Sadly, it's missing the kind of catchy songs featured in Fonzie's other PSA (NSFW).

Crafting for Change!

orange swan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:37:44 -0800

As the U.S. election approaches, you're getting fidgety. You've donated, you've volunteered for your candidate's campaign, but you've still got time on your hands for election-themed activities. What to do? Well, you could make some snazzy Obama or McCain earrings to wear to the polls on decision day. You could make presidential candidate finger puppets out of yarn, paper, or felt and re-enact the debates. You could knit a party animal so as to have something to snuggle up to at night when you wake from nightmares of stolen elections. You could decorate some oranges. Slate has a slideshow of political craft ideas, my favourite of which is probably the Homeland Security Quilt. For more ideas, check out the Obama Craft Project, where crafters are crafting for change and fundraising. There you'll find everything from Obamaware to a cool Yes We Can scarf, to a cross-stitch portrait, to a cozy Obama cap. Lest you think I'm being too partisan here, I'll say I did search for Republican-oriented crafts and there just didn't seem to be many. It seems Obama's got the crafting demographic, um, all sewn up.

Decisions, decisions...

aheckler — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 04:22:19 -0800

The Choice 2008 is the newest report from PBS's Frontline. It examines the backgrounds, both personal and political, of John McCain and Barack Obama. You can also watch the entire two-hour show on YouTube.

No Mudslinging.

gman — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:06:25 -0800

Batman vs. The Penguin. SLYT

Elections are fun!

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:49:54 -0800

Welcome to The Sacramento County Republican Party. The official website has removed content calling for Obama to be waterboarded. But it still contains fake quotes supposedly from Obama's memoir. In this political climate, 33% of voters do not identify Obama as Christian, and 8% believe he is Muslim. Yet, the polls predict a landslide, hinted at by early voting. McCain needs something spectacular, and he may be regretting his decision to invoke Bill Ayers in tonight's debate; and perhaps other things.

A Conservative Son Gone Bad?

sararah — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:58:00 -0800

Christopher Buckley endorses Obama and then is forced to resign from the National Review. Is he serious, or does he just want to let the Democrats f**k things up for a change? Christopher Buckley's father, William F. Buckley Jr. founded the conservative National Review magazine in 1955. Perhaps Christopher Buckley's next satirical novel shall be Thank You For Voting?

Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

phrontist — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:34:12 -0800

A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

VP debate highlights in song and dance

MegoSteve — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:08:43 -0800

If you missed the VP debate last night, you might enjoy this video of VP debate highlights in song and dance by Michael Gregory. (Also available: Running From Your Shadow, presidential debate highlights in song and dance.) DLYT

It's not the economy, stupid.

scodger — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:11:17 -0800

"You know, we spent $3 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don't know if that was a criminal issue or a paternal issue..." (previously) The infamous bear study bought up by McCain in the first debate is one of his favourite pork barrel examples, but little actual information is given about the study. Here is the website giving details about the project, with more info, a quick fact sheet and a podcast. This is one of the rare times when a candidate will air an opinion on science in a popular setting.... However, several websites have been trying to get into the details of the candidates policies on science and technology. The science debate (previously) looks dead in the water, but they did manage to get the candidates to answer 14 questions by email. Nature, a leading scientific journal, has a special section comparing the candidates scientific credentials and a section of questions that were answered by Obama but not responded to by McCain. Key quote from Obama "I believe in evolution, and I support the strong consensus of the scientific community that evolution is scientifically validated." A more popular version is "geek the vote" from popular mechanics. McCain has gained praise for promising to introduce a science advisor, but with 71 Nobel prize winners endorsing Obama and his science plan, it is clear where the consensus lies.

Presidential Betting Market Acting a Little Oddly

WCityMike — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:37:37 -0800

Nate Silver, the proprietor of the fantastic electoral projection site FiveThirtyEight.com, notices that the presidential betting market on Intrade is behaving very oddly: "[S]ome individual trader or some small group of traders are shorting all the Obama contacts in bulk and resetting the entire market. The markets then organically climb back upward until the rogue trader strikes again six or eight hours later." "So?" you say. "Meh." But adding a little curiousity to this matter, "this [rogue] trader is not only selling Obama contracts and buying McCain contracts ... they also seem to be buying Hillary Clinton contracts. [...] So someone is betting on some sort of disqualifying event happening to Obama." Is this a zomgzomgzomgCONSPIRACY?! No. But it is a intriguing little side wrinkle. And I imagine you didn't know that "[b]etween the Obama and McCain contracts, there appears to be about $400,000 in contracts changing hands every day."¹ And, as Silver points out, "I don't think this is any cause for alarm ... if Joe Biden contracts were being bought up as part of this scheme, that might be more concerning, but they aren't. Still, if I were the FBI, I would probably want to know the identity of this trader." ¹"Contract" being analogous in this case to "bet."

Because there are more important things to do on Friday night

parmanparman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:25:27 -0800

McCain calls time! John McCain has asked that the first presidential debate be postponed and he will suspend his campaign so he can focus on the economy. No response from Obama yet. But it may be due to his approval rating, The latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Obama has taken a 45-39 percent lead.