...my sister's mail carrier is a black woman, Marie, who delivers in South King County, Washington State.

Marie is pissed off at Obama and claims she won't vote for him and neither will members of her family because of his arrogant ways and his saying one thing, then doing another. Marie said she was kind of excited about him at first until "she got to know him." Now she's "lost interest" because he's a phoney.

My anecdotal story...

...his "magic" no longer casts a spell. The ones who are subject to falling for illusions and sleight of hand have already been reeled in and now there are few additional takers. Plus, some of his early supporters now have doubts about his authenticity (think FISA for one reason).

According to The Boston Globe, Obama has over TWO MILLION volunteers, the largest field operation in American political history, has already hired 1,400 part-time and full-time workers, and has raised (and spent) more money than any other candidate in U.S. campaigns...yet, he's barely staying ahead of McCain.

Not only that, Obama is a monumental sourpuss. Humorless. Dullsville on the comedic scale. You don't have to be a buffoon, but for gawdsakes, the guy has honed his earnestness schtick to the point of grating on one's nerves! He's a scold.

Obama has already sucked the air out of his campaign -- he just doesn't wear well.

Axelrod better have some tricks up his sleeve because this long HUMOR-FREE Obama camapign needs CHANGE!

ears.

They all make me yawn, except JOE BIDEN. I like Joe's feistiness and am not generally bothered by his verbal gaffes. But, I think TIM KAINE is at the very, very top of this short list, because:

He isn't in Congress, he's white, he's semi-Southern, he's a former missionary, and he's very conservative.

So, here's my list based on these 4 choices:

(1) KAINE

(2) BAYH

(3) BIDEN

(4) SIBELIUS

Here's one way the GOP could possibly save Ted Stevens' seat in the Senate and help John McCain monopolize the media with a saturation focus on his campaign, and not Obama's: Select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

She's young, smart, a former beauty queen (Miss Wasilla), has five kids (her eldest, joined the MILITARY in 2007 at 18-years old; her youngest, born in early 2008 has Downs' Syndrome); is very popular, hovering around an 84% approval rating as governor, and ACTUALLY has run something, apparently quite well according to Alaska residents.

Okay, so she doesn't have foreign policy experience. But, she is governor of an oil producing state, so her presence on the ticket would focus on energy issues -- which the average voter seems to have an interest in.

I'm not endorsing her, I'm just saying with Palin as McCain's veep choice, it might work some magic for the GOP's hopes.

If I were the debate scorekeeper, I'd give you a 10 on clarity, facts, information, relevance, and effectiveness.

As for your debate opposition, I'd give not one of them over a 5.

What is it with people who make all those damned assumptions and put words into another's mouth?

Is reading for content out of fashion?

Gee. Did Axelrove write that for you? Sounds like something straight from the Obama Camp Playbook.

"I am confident I will get her votes if I'm the nominee," Obama stressed. "It's not clear she would get the votes I got if she were the nominee."

Back in February Obama pissed off a lot of people when he uttered those words.

To some listeners/readers/viewers, he was essentially being arrogant and divisive because his statment was not about unity -- it was all about him, with his overblown self-importance.

I wish more people would be focused on FISA...

I wish the same thing. Especially since Obama totally flipped on his promise on FISA.

No wonder he isn't further ahead. People have his number.

That is such a tiresome spin on Obama's craven capitulation on FISA!

It's not just that the FAA (FISA Amendment Act) gives immunity to the telcoms -- it also shields elected officials from past, present -- and possibly even future -- lawbreaking activities. It, in essence, paves the way for the Rule of Men to take precedence over the Rule of Law.

...some votes are deal breakers, especially when they pertain to maintaining the integrity and strength of the Constitution.  Obama's vote on FISA is a deal breaker for many thinking people who have thoroughly looked into the ramifications of his capitulation on this important piece of legislation. 

The FAA (FISA Amendment Act) vote was an opportunity for Obama to show his bona fides as an agent for change, but instead he chose the purely political route.  I don't expect any politician to be PURE, but I do expect a presidential candidate who nabbed the nomination largely on espousing hope, change, and a new way of leading the country, would have adhered to a code of incorruptibility to remain honest on, AT LEAST, the FISA issue.  But, he didn't.  Instead, he helped give a corrupt gift to a powerful corporate lobby group, at the expense of the Constitution and the rights of ordinary Americans. And, that's just the tip of the iceberg on why I think Obama was wrong on FISA.

Obama voted along with every single Republican in the Senate for cloture, which was a flagrant betrayal of his "promise" to support a filibuster of any bill that included retroactive immunity for telcoms.  (Voting for cloture was the exact opposite of supporting a filibuster.  You may argue, well there wouldn't have been enough votes for a filibuster anyway, so what difference does it make that Obama capitulated...well, I'd argue that Obama could have used his new-found position as the presumptive head of the Democratic Party to voice opposition to this ill-advised, bad bill, but he chose the easy way out.)

Obama is not representative of the kind of change this country sorely needs.