As I was walking through the sea of people at Bumbershoot yesterday, not only could I not figure out what country I was in, but what county (I explain below). The day was filled with strange outfits, foreign music, and more Rockstar energy drinks than you can imagine. This is quite a different crowd than you'll find at your average fair in Eastern Washington. I really think that they need a good tagline for advertising, and based on my observations, I supposed that if you can do the Puyallap, then you can smoke Bumbershoot. Or at least pot.

But what caught my eye even more than the 14-year-olds smoking cigarettes and people wearing Obama v-neck t-shirts was the King County Elections Booth. They were encouraging people to get registered to vote and to vote by mail. They put up this poster for people to see:

This picture disturbed me because it made me stop to think about what kind of world I live in now. Is this really what voting has come to? Is this the kind person that we really want to decide who controls our government?? This is the literal and actual poster child for voting! Give me a break. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with choosing to style your hair, pierce your body, or wear leather, but the point is that someone at King County elections, a "non-partisan" office decided that it would be a good idea to advertise voting with this picture. When you wonder about how fair the elections will be in King County this November, seeing things like this doesn't give me a lot of "hope."

MSNBC has been naughty.   At the Republican National Convention, they have been placed behind the stage, almost out of view, and to the left of al Jezeera.  This is poetic justice for two networks that have real problems with telling the truth.

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Sarah Palin helps with re-branding to the Republican party. Conservative values don't always equate to Bush/Cheney and those Democrats who try to make their case against George W. Rossi and John McBush will be disappointed to realize that the GOP comes in multiple flavors, and that the new Republicans coming out (Jindal, Pawlenty, and Palin) are smart, attractive individuals who will gain a lot of support in years to come. 

Sarah Palin is the embodiment of this movement. As a young politician, she crusaded against corrupt members of her own party, beating out the incumbent republican governor in the primary election and then beating out a former democratic governor in the general election. As governor she took on the the establishment by passing new ethics laws.

Her conviction to conservative principles give new life to the conservative base and their grassroots efforts. This is exemplified by her dedication to life, choosing to raise her child after learning before he was born that he had Downs Syndrome. She passed the ultimate test of walking the walk when it mattered the most.  

Sarah Palin may be an unknown up until this point. But her like-ability and judgement on the issues will guarantee a stronger position for McCain in the fall. Often times the VP candidate doesn't help much, and you just hope they don't hurt anything, but with McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, we will see an opportunity to mobilize more voters for the Republicans that maybe would have stayed out of it than you will see voters that now decide to turn out because of Biden. This is why we can safely say that McCain won in terms of who made the better VP pick, and if you don't believe that yet, just wait until after the Republican National Convention, and Sarah Palin is on display for the American people to fall in love with. 

This from bloomberg.com:

Palin is appearing with McCain, 72, the presumptive Republican nominee, today at an event in Dayton, Ohio.

``I have found the right partner to stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities,'' McCain said. Palin has an ``outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies.''

Palin is less than halfway through her first term as governor of Alaska, a post she won in 2006 by challenging the state's Republican leadership and vowing to clean up a government mired in a corruption scandal.

``I will be honored to serve next to the next president of the United States,'' Palin said after being introduced by McCain. ``To have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know that it will demand the best I have to give, and I promise nothing less.''

There is a question over how to measure online success, and how that relates to how well a candidate is doing. Often times we hear about how the left has done a better job than the right at mobilizing their people online. If you disagree, go no further than taking a look at MoveOn.org and its attempt (and somewhat successfully at that) to dominate the Democratic party. This is most evident with the amount of money they have been able to raise, and how they were able to use that support to influence the presidential primary election and knocking off the powerful Clinton family from securing what once seemed like a sure bet for the Democratic presidential nomination. 

Currently, we can see from Facebook the level of national online support for candidates for president, (although I am not sure how many worldwide fans are able to become supporters and manipulate the numbers). Compare below the number of supporters between John McCain and Barack Obama:

Here we see a dominating online presence by Barack Obama. The good news for Republicans is that the older vote that John McCain has locked in rarely logs on to "IM their BFF Rose," and tag a photo of their best friend Helen correctly guessing phrase before the contestant while watching Wheel of Fortune. The older generations won't have their voice heard online, but they will have their voice heard by absentee ballot in November. 

However, you cannot discount the level of support that Obama has online. It is impressive, and it shows where a great deal of interest is in our country with a younger segment of the population. Over time, as older people pass away and younger people emerge as the dominate force, where this group stands politically is anyones guess. But for the time being, we are seeing a great deal of interest and support online for the Democratic party nationally.

Where this becomes interesting is where online support is found locally in the state of Washington. If you compare the Facebook pages of Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire, you see an advantage for Dino Rossi. You will also see a strange move from Christine Gregoire, in appearing in her profile picture with none other than Mr. Barack Obama, (I didn't realize that she was Obama's running mate, she must not have been watching all of the coverage of Joe Biden at the national convention last night).  It is very important to note that if the left really does have that much more online support, it is significant that Dino Rossi has more online support than Gregoire.

You even see this below in her YouTube videos that were produced to answer questions from Washington voters. Both she and Dino Rossi were asked the same questions, and they posted their answers side by side. There was a considerably greater amount of production value in Dino Rossi's videos than that of Christine Gregoire's videos. Also, notice the placement of Obama and Gregoire signs in the background, another sign of clinging to Obama for help.

This is a particularly strange move, but the cause becomes more obvious as one realizes that Christine Gregoire is in trouble and is using Obama as a life raft to try and save her campaign.

The problem for her, is that as a 40 year veteran of Olympia, she has trouble reinforcing Obama's message of change. As doorbellers have gone out to talk to people in their homes around King County, they have met more than a handful of Obama/Rossi voters, and this can be clearly seen by looking at online support as well. This is very encouraging for Dino Rossi and his chances in November.

The Democrats have convened in Denver, Colorado, for their National Convention, and polls are beginning to shift as all eyes are on Barack Obama.  Historically, candidates recieve a boost during their conventions due to the spotlight they inevitably recieve.  This time around, however, it is Senator McCain who is recieving the bump in the polls.  Today's Rasumussen Tracking poll shows the two candidates tied at 46-46; a change from yeterday, when Sen. Obama boasted a three point lead.  At a time when the Democrats are busy attacking Republican candidates nationwide for... being Republican... John McCain's message of leadership, love of his country, and his impressive service to her, are resonating with voters.

Americans are beginning to see a man who was proud to serve in an unpopular war, and wore the uniform with dignity.  Offered early release, Mr. McCain declined; he chose to honor the oath to which he had sworn. He then moved into the Senate, where he often took positions on issues not because they were popular, but because they were the right.  This is the man that Americans are beginning to see.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's deficit has shrunk to less than two points- putting him in a great position as we surge towards November's general election.  Voters across this state are making it clear that they want change at the highest levels in Olympia.  Dino Rossi can be that change.  A common-sense approach to limited government, run like it should be- a business- is what this state needs.

 Rossi has experience in both the private and public sectors, and has earned his living running a company, and signing the FRONT of paychecks.

While the mainstream media continues to drool over itself while following Barack H. Obama's selection of a running mate, let's take astep back to reflect upon the man behind the choice. Joe Biden has been a member of the United States Senate, the "world's greatest deliberative body", since 1973. The liberals have now lost their argument that Sen. McCain is a Washington outsider who cannot affect change. In fact, Biden has been in Washington "doing the same old thing" for 10 years longer than has McCain.
Click here to see Mr. Biden's comments about Mr. H. Obama.

Just a quick Primary reminder; this election will come down to  turnout, and several state legislature races are trying to survive the Top 2. Remember, our Republican candidates are not necessarily guaranteed spots on November's ballot.

With the catastrophe of 2004 still painfully in the memories of Washington voters, the importance of turnout can never be overstated.  The winner of today's primary will gain an immense advantage in momentum, likely leading to a boost in fundraising.