Obama Rally

Stood in the freezing cold (wind & snow) for an hour waiting in line before the doors opened so that we could get good seats . . . which we did. There was near hysteria when he came in. Crowd went bananas! He talked a good talk. The line that the crowd loved the most was when he said, "Columbus, there's one thing I know for sure you won't find on the ballot when you go to the polls on Tuesday - you'll not find George W. Bush on the ballot!"

He signed my copy of "Dreams of my Father" altho' it didn't go down as planned. As we were walking in, an Obama staffer approached me & asked if I was trying to get my book signed (it was in plain sight). Duh?! Told me to put my name on it & give it to him so he could take it back for Obama to sign because his secret service wouldn't let it happen if I tried to do it as he was greeting folks. Staffer said he always felt bad when people brought books but couldn't get them signed. He seemed nice enough so I gave it to him.

The level of his secret service is ridiculous. Couldn't even let a brotha shake hands with his supporters before he was whisked away. I was miffed. I had gotten used to the access after Hillary & Michelle. Oh, back to my book. About 30 minutes after the speech, some guy came out with our autographed books. Kind of anti-climatic because I had anticipated getting up close & personal to get it signed but such is life. At least he took the time to sign it.

Here's my crystal ball prediction for the March 4 primaries:
Ohio - Clinton 52% - Obama 48%
Texas - Obama 54% - Clinton 45%
Vermont & Rhode Island - Who cares?!

Patience Pays

We use LexisNexis and Westlaw for legal research. You earn points from using either one which can then be used to buy something from their respective rewards catalog. So anyways, after months of painstakingly trying to get Lexis points, I finally have enough to buy a digital camera! I have a nice film camera so I feel it's a waste of money to buy a digital one. Doing it this way absolves all the guilt. A grand total of 11,446 points. I will be ordering it tomorrow!

Westlaw makes it a pain to get points & their selection of rewards isn't that hot so I just spend them as I get them. Don't have patience to rack them up & buy something substantial. I just ordered a Ralph Lauren tote bag (3500 points). This is my second bag - the first one was a nice Samsonite tote which I use for my books.

Barack Obama rally is this Wednesday morning on campus. Will have to skip my morning classes but who cares?! I have "Dreams from my Father" and my sharpie ready to go.

Bar/Bri MPRE Prep Course

I will be taking the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) in about two weeks so I attended a review course today. I thought we were going to have a live person doing the lecture but it turned out to be taped. It was really good altho' sitting through it for 4 hours was exhausting. I can't imagine what studying for the Bar will be like since we'll be sitting through these lectures 8 hrs a day for many weeks (yay!).

I had a harrowing experience on my way home after the lecture. It had to do with: darkness, the freeway, snow, tires losing traction, oncoming traffic, & a steep embankment. Nuff said.

Nothingness

I've been pleasantly surprised that I do not miss having a tv at all. That's because my new mistress is the internet! I can aimlessly surf the web for hours on end and what's even better, I am catching up with all the shows that I didn't get a chance to watch. Case & point: Lost. I am currently watching Season 1 and I'm about 8 episodes in (out of about 20!). The new season airing is Season 4 so I have alot of catching up to do. It's a great show & I see now what all the hoopla is about. It's really great when you can just watch back to back to back episodes. Cliff hangers suck.

Watched Damages the same way. Only then I had to buy the season from itunes since FX doesn't offer free episodes online (that was over christmas break). It's a great drama & I hope it's picked up for season 2. I'm just glad '24' will not air until Jan '09 now that the writers' strike is over. Hopefully by then I'll have a nice new flat screen ready to go.

Got someone to tuneup my car from Craigslist for $35! Turned out to be this really young kid. I jumped into his truck to go buy parts with him since I figured I could take him down if he turned out to be an ax murderer. He was really nice & seemed to know what he was doing. My car is running like a champ now (knock on wood).

Michelle Obama

was on campus today & yours truly was at it again. She speaks very well & I liked what she had to say. Altho' she had a freudian slip when she said, "We're going to win Iowa - Ohio!" But the crowd laughed it off & she clarified that she meant to say "We're going to win Ohio just like we won Iowa." I got to shake her hand . . . twice! . . . but didn't have anything for her to sign (banners were prohibited). That's two for two on the whole shaking hand thing so I'm thinking I have a good shot with the main event - Barack Obama!

Ruminations from a Hillary Rally!

I just came from a Hillary Clinton rally and loved every minute of it. She stumped at OSU this evening and spoke for about 40 minutes. Here's how it all went down:

My friend calls me up and asks me if I'd like to go hear Hillary speak. We were both half-assed about it because she is a staunch Obama backer & I am indifferent. But I was on campus and the rally venue was not too far off so I was convinced.

Rally was supposed to start at 6pm and we got there at about 5:30pm thinking we'd have a hard time finding a spot to stand. Not so. At the entrance, we were required to write down our personal info on a card which acted like an admission ticket. Handed it to a campaign worker as we got in. They use this info to contact you to volunteer for them so since we were having none of that, we gave them faux info. Then we were handed "Hillary Clinton for President" banners.

Venue was an old indoor arena with a podium set up in the middle. People were just kinda standing around. Lots of camera crew, police with canines, and secret service. Was surprised that we weren't required to go through a metal detector. So anyway, we found a spot where we had a good view of the podium but it was abit far off. It was also along some barriers that had been put up. All the good standing spots had been taken. Clear on the other side, you could tell that's where Hillary was supposed to come in through because the barriers had been decorated.

6pm. People still just sort of trickling in. I'd say there were about 3,000 people which was a much lower turnout than I had expected. It was freezing outside so maybe this had something to do with it (doubt it). A few hype-men came in to try & rally the crowd but the crowd wasn't really responding.

6:45pm. Now we were getting restless. Music was getting old. And people all around us were bashing Obama which added to the restlessness. They kept saying that his speeches were great but they lacked substance?! But at the heart of it all, these folks were left-wing liberals. There was lots of talk about not liking how Obama wants to work with the other side (GOP) to get things done. Screw the GOP was their mantra. We didn't add our $.02 in because we were in hostile territory but how do you expect to get your policies passed without some of the GOP members? Last I checked, the Dems do not have 60 senators - enough to overcome a filibuster. So until such a time, cooperation is the way to get things done. But I digress.

7:15pm. Still no Hillary. So I started looking at the demographics of those who attended. I'd say there were a sprinkle of black people here and there, some asians, but it was mainly an older caucasian crowd. In the 40-55 year range. Considering this was an event held on a campus that has about 52,000 kids, that was pretty interesting.

7:35. The Arrival. Hillary Clinton, Governor Ted Strickland, Senator John Glenn (yes the former astronaut), and Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (was left wondering who from Ohio has endorsed Obama). Now take a wild guess on which side of the auditorium they decided to come in through? The side we were on! The side that did not have the decorated barriers! And guess what I got to do?? I GOT TO SHAKE HILLARY CLINTON'S HAND!!!! Ain't that some sh*t?? And my friend who initially was the one who wanted to come to the event wasn't able to because someone jumped in front of her. Boy was she pissed!

Speech was the usual type of stamp speech she usually gives. Crowd was very responsive. Yours truly included. Every time she said something I liked, my banner was up in the air waving from side to side. It was fantastic! She didn't mention Obama by name & didn't really talk about him except to throw a few jabs e.g. "we want specifics not rhetoric." Crowd ate it up. My friend though kept rolling her eyes. It was only when she threw the jabs that my banner didn't go up. Otherwise, my banner was flying high.

After the speech, we lined up again against the barrier hoping she'd exit the same way she came in. Not so lucky. She went around the other way. This time she slowly shook hands, took pictures with folks, and signed banners. I'd already shaken her hand so I didn't care but my friend wanted to see if she could get the chance to. Twenty minutes later & Hillary had barely moved an inch. So we started roaming around.

Long story short. Most everyone at our original position left after seeing Hillary wasn't coming back that way. So we went to stand there just to talk & watch the crowds follow her. Then lo & behold . . . Hillary completely left that side of the room & came right up to where we were - secret service and all!!! The crowds scrambled to get into position but yours truly & friend were front & center. And guess what?? She signed our banners!!! Then she asked us to please make sure we come out and vote for her on March 4th! Fabulosity itself! This banner with her autograph will be framed if she becomes the first female President of the United States. Talk about holding a piece of history in my hands!

I loved the whole experience & can't wait for Obama to come into town. I doubt though I'll get as lucky as I did with Hillary but I can't wait to try.

(I took the pictures below with my camera phone as she was signing my treasured banner!)

Now reading!

Watched Michael Clayton and didn't like it. C+. Big let down since critics had given it raving reviews.

"Yes We Can"

but I now wish we couldn't. Before Super Tuesday, I never thought Obama had any chance of securing the democratic nomination. Yes he had momentum but I thought people would change their minds once they got into the voting booth. However, he won more states than Hillary & the delegate count is pretty close despite her winning California. But even California was much closer than pundits thought it'd be (about a 10 pt spread).

So now that he seems to have a very good shot at becoming the dems nominee, I am now withdrawing my support for him. Why you ask? Because of all the problems that are plaguing this country. Don't get me wrong, I do think he's more than capable of handling them. It's just that as soon as he takes that oath on Jan. 20, 2009, everyone will forget that this mess was caused by W. and will instead start blaming Obama. Here's what the next president will face:

-the Iraq & Afghanistan wars
-the mortgage crisis
-the economy & it's ballooning deficit
-the healthcare crisis
-Immigration
-Congress

Having Obama as president will give me heartburn every time I read an op-ed article criticizing him on how he's handling W's mess. Because my health cannot take it, I say we leave this dirty job to Billary (Bill + Hillary). I will not bat an eyelash if & when she gets skewered in the media. Maybe I'll even relish it. She keeps harping on the fact that she's already been vetted by the republicans well maybe it's time for her to get vetted by the country. When she cleans up W's mess (she better!), then Obama can come in 2016 to pick up where she left off.

It was interesting that in their last debate when asked if they'd consider being on each others ticket, they didn't categorically refuse. I still don't like this idea but if Hillary gets the democratic nomination, she's going to have to find a way to get back the african-american vote. It's not that blacks will vote republican, it's just that they may choose not to vote at all because of the way the Clinton campaign has been going at Obama (he's a big boy & he can take it but not all voters see it that way).

Voter apathy will spell doom for the Dems and since the democratic party has to win at all costs, I'm not completely against a Clinton/Obama ticket. She's already got the latino vote in the bag so a person like Bill Richardson (a latino) will not help her get the black vote. I'd argue for Colin Powell if: he wasn't a republican; was never on W's cabinet; his wife didn't keep talk about him getting shot; and he hadn't gone before the UN to make the case for the Iraq invasion. So Obama it is.

However, if Obama wins the democratic nomination, Hillary should not be on his ticket. I don't see her helping him get elected. That's why Bill Richardson would be a good choice for Obama because he'd appeal to the latino voters & no one can market himself better than Richardson. I still remember what he's done for his state of New Mexico from watching him in the debates.

As for that idiot McCain. In the last GOP debate he was asked, "Senator, what makes you more qualified than Mitt Romney to manage this economy?" So I'm thinking he's going to talk about his stimulus package, what he's done for his state of Arizona, etc. But here's what the ding bat said in part, " Because I know how to lead. I led the largest squadron in the United States Navy and I did it out of patriotism. I have the vision and the knowledge to take on the biggest issue of the 21st century - radical islamic extremism. So the fact is, I have the qualifications and the judgment to handle our economy." Umm, what does radical islamic extremism have to do with the economy??? That's why I'm down for having Obama on Clinton's ticket if that's what it's going to take to ensure that a war-mongerer like McCain doesn't get his hands on the presidency. I'm sure his agenda for the first 100 days in office would contain just one thing: Annihilate Iran! No thanks. Clinton/Obama '08.

On a sad note, my television died on me last night! The picture became blurry in a very wierd way & a minute later, it made a popping sound & that was the last I heard from it. So I had my cable disconnected today because I can't afford to buy a tv anytime soon. Should be an interesting (read: miserable) few months. But such is the life of a student.

Randomness

I was in Kroger this evening & noticed there was a ticketmaster. So I asked the lady at the counter whether Lion King tickets had gone on sale (show coming this summer/fall). She proceeded to tell me that all the tickets for Fridays & Saturday were already sold out. Look, I've been around the block on this ticket thing so I knew she had to be mistaken.

Fastforward to ticketmaster's website. Sure enough, tickets hadn't even gone on sale to the public - will start Feb. 14. But there was a carrot ... if you had a promotion code, you could buy them immediately. What the heck is a promotion code? Ask google. Shortly & fast I was armed with the required promotion code.

Swoosh. Sound of my credit card being swiped for . . . drumroll please . . . 6 tickets!!!!! Two for myself and the rest for the lovely, gullible people of Columbus. Figured that between now & August, I would be able to ofload these tickets for at least double what I bought them for. Brilliant. Pay off my credit card & have some popcorn money! Talk about fiscal responsibility - spending money to make money.

Long live scalpers!

Super Bowl Perfection!

Giants over Patriots 17-14! Never thought I'd see the New England Patriots get beat if they made it to the big dance. This is the only superbowl that I've watched every minute of & was this close to switching channels when the Patriots scored a touchdown with 2:40 left in the game, which pulled them ahead 14-10. But I man'd up & watched it through the final harrowing minutes & it all paid off when Eli connected with Plaxico for the game winning touchdown! Couldn't have scripted this better. Go Giants!

The ads tonight - YAWN.

Tentative plans . . .

have been made for gainful employment this summer. Tentative because my offer for employment is conditioned upon passing an FBI background check, a financial check, and a check on my tax filing history. WTF?! Somebody's taking this way too seriously. Went down to get my fingerprints taken today & they said someone will notify me when my file is "complete." So technically, I could be out of a job without having ever worked a second of it.

The democratic debate tonight was great. Line of the night was when Obama told Clinton, "not only do you need to be READY on day one, you need to be RIGHT on day one!" He was referring to her vote to authorize the war in Iraq & used her mantra to knock her over the head with. Loved it. I am completely on the Obama band wagon!