As noted in my blog yesterday, I'll be out of town Friday through Monday, at Philcon and the SFWA Reception So I'll probably take my first blogging vacation until Tuesday, unless I find time to put something together in Philadelphia or New York. I've blogged every night starting Aug. 16; can the world survive four Larry blogless nights? (Well, we've survived nearly eight years of you know who, so I'm guessing we'll keep a stiff upper lip.) I'm off to Philcon tomorrow afternoon - I'm already packed and ready for my two panels!
 
A month ago, only 40% of Americans had a favorable view of the Republican Party. Well, that didn't last! Now they are down to just 34% favorable rating, with 61% having an unfavorable view of the Republican Party. In a situation like this, there's only one thing for them to do. I wonder which Democrat they'll attack tomorrow?

When President Bush was elected for his second term, the cover on the U.K.'s Daily Mirror read, "How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?" The day after Obama's victory, the paper's cover read, "GOBAMA!" Here's a good article on CNN on how America's image has declined throughout the world since Bush took office. According to John Quelch, senior associate dean at Harvard Business School, Obama's victory "enables the United States to start again with a clean slate. Americans can actually go to dinner parties and cocktail receptions around the world today and not have to apologize for the United States the way they have had to do the last several years. The election has made life a little bit easier for Americans living and traveling abroad to hold their head up high again."

Reasons mentioned in the article on why the U.S. reputation has been tarnished so much include the invasion of Iraq and alleged torture and abuse of prisoners, the perception of hypocrisy, unilateralism, lack of contact with Americans and the perceived war on Islam.

Huckabee says he's not settling scores as he settles scores. But the truth is that everything he says about Mitt Romney is true. Now we'll all have to wait for the Romney book, where he'll falsely defend himself while saying true things about Huckabee. (IMHO, Huckabee is an honorable ignoramus, while Romney is dishonest slime with a brain.)

This is downright scary; the headline alone should cause panic to all Americans with any intelligence. (I don't see anyone screaming in the streets, which means....) From the Washington Post: China Tops Japan in U.S. Debt Holdings; Beijing Gains Sway Over U.S. Economy. Read this, and tell me you're not worried about America's future.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: What are the two missing words? (And yes, this involves a president.) "In this [two words] the man whose heart is always clean and serves his people truthfully.
Answer: "In this [tub bathes] the man whose heart is always clean and serves his people truthfully." This was inscribed on one of President Truman's two bathtubs.

Today's Quiz Question (probably not answered until next Tuesday night, when I return): What president spent about one hundred days per year during his presidency at this non-White House, non-Camp David location?

*****
61 Days Until the Inauguration
1447 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

The Republicans just can't help themselves, it's a habit. What, you ask? Attacking whatever the Democrats do. In this case, Obama is hiring a number of people from the Clinton Administration to work for him. You know, people from back when the U.S. wasn't fighting two wars, the economy was sound, and the president, after eight years of attacks by Republicans, left office with a 61% approval rating. The Republicans say that hiring people from the Clinton years isn't change. Yes, it is change - change away from the Bush years, which is what people voted for. And Mike Duncan, Chairman of the Republican National Committee (how'd he do?), called them "retreads." I suggest he and others look in the mirror to see who the retreads are. What will these Republicans be the next time a Republican wins the presidency? Either retreads, or - better still - it'll be so distant in the future that they'll just be bad memories.

Meanwhile, the CEO's of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - the "Big Three Automakers" - flew into Washington on their three separate personal jets ($20,000 cost each way), hat in hand, asking for money. What's wrong with this picture?

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) said it perfectly:

"There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses. It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious. Couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it."

The Daily Show, with cooperation from CNN, did a great spoof of CNN's Magic Wall. Yep, it's great to be the King!

But this is even funnier, and shows why writers should NEVER put cell phones in the hands of their characters.

I'll be at the Philcon SF Convention this weekend. I'm on two panels:

FUNNY FANTASY- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMOR AND PARODY
Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza V (1 hour)
How do you create humor that is an original creation rather than a reflection of something else?
Gregory Frost (M), Larry Hodges, Bud Sparhawk, Richelle Mead, John Grant
TOPICALITY IN SCIENCE FICTION
Sat 5:00 PM in Plaza V (1 hour)
 How effective is science fiction as a tool for writing about current events?
Judith Moffett (M), Larry Hodges, James L. Cambias, Ian Randal Strock, Ellen Asher 

After Philcon, I'm off to New York City for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's annual New York Reception on Monday evening, November 24 2008, from 7:00 to 10:30 PM at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY 10021.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Who smoked marijuana on the roof of the White House?
Answer: Willy Nelson, who spent the night at the White House as a guest of President Jimmy Carter.

Today's Quiz Question: What are the two missing words? (And yes, this involves a president.) "In this [two words] the man whose heart is always clean and serves his people truthfully.

*****
62 Days Until the Inauguration
1448 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

It looks like the Alaska senatorial race is pretty much over, with Democrat Mark Begich defeating incumbent Republican and convicted felon (seven counts) Ted Stevens in an extremely close race. Just what would Stevens have to do for him to lose badly? Murder, rape? Probably not enough. There's a lot of lipstick on this . . . never mind.

They finally indicted Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales. Will it lead to anything?

Dear Federal Government,
I run a small psychiatric institute. Even though I have a regular customer named Charlie, I only charge five cents, and so am having financial difficulties. I do not want to raise my price as rising process can lead to inflation, unemployment and a recession. However, the American Psychiatric Industry is at risk, and if it goes bankrupt, it could lead to millions of support industries folding, with psychiatrists and sofa makers starving in the streets. Could you please send me fifty billion dollars to solve this problem? Thank you, Lucy van Pelt.

Yes! Star Trek is coming! Here are two trailers for the new Star Trek, coming out next May, which has new actors playing all the roles from the original Star Trek: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, etc. (The first trailer still mistakenly has the original release date, Dec. 25, 2008.) The new Mr. Spock really looks like Spock. (Wouldn't it be great to start each new Star Trek movie with the aging Shatner & Nimoy reminiscing about the good old days, and then segway to the past with the new actors?)

It's Harry Potter #0! More specifically, here's the 800-word prequel to Harry Potter penned by J.K. Rowling. You can also see it in her original hand-written version, part 1 and part 2.

On the Writing Front: after taking several days off, I'm back at work on my novel. Did about 1700 words tonight (putting me at 54,713), and may try to do another 300 to hit 55,000.

Today's Quiz Question: Who smoked marijuana on the roof of the White House, and admitted to it later?

*****
63 Days Until the Inauguration
1449 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

Joe Lieberman probably will be allowed to keep his chairmanship. Here's John Scalzi's take on this. Be forewarned - it's rather graphic and profane! Read through as many of the 127 comments on this as possible - lots of interesting stuff.

Obama met with McCain today, but nothing public came of that. Many other meetings among Obama transition team members and others happened, but nothing was made public. Basically, nothing happened today that's public. Only Obama insiders and intelligent flies on walls have any idea of what happened today. Obama answered questions on 60 Minutes, and shows that he's mastered the art of talking without saying anything when he needs to. Someday, today may go down as the most boring day in history. (I did play tennis tonight, hit some nice shots, but the historians may not have recorded the specifics for posterity.)

A man in a crowd watched Barack Obama give a speech. The man became so excited that he ran forward, pushed a secret service agent aside, and ran toward Obama. The agent shot and killed the man. Moral? Never get between Barack and a guard's place.

(You may groan now.)

I watched three great documentaries on the History Channel, back to back, on Edison, Tesla, and Einstein. (The first two were an hour each, Einstein's was two hours.) This partially made up for their wasting time on ESP on their special on the brain yesterday.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: What famous term was made official by Teddy Roosevelt?

Answer: The White House. It was generally called the Executive Mansion until 1901, when Roosevelt officially named it the White House.

Today's Quiz Question: What writer, during the waning days of President George W. Bush's administration, writes daily presidential trivia quiz questions, and wonders how many people are still interested in them? Please respond if you want to see more - I'm trying to get a feel for whether I should keep putting these up.

*****
64 Days Until the Inauguration
1450 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

We're calling this an agreement with Pakistan? U.S. officials described the deal as one in which "...the U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes." This should help Bush's legacy! Why don't we make a deal with President Bush: He refuses to publicly acknowledge his poor leadership while the American people continue to complain noisily about him.

The Iraqi Cabinet voted yesterday to set a deadline of June 30, 2009 for U.S. troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns, and to leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. (The measure has to pass the Council of Representatives to make it official, but that's basically a done deal.) Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said these dates are "set and fixed" and are "not subject to the circumstances on the ground." This goes against President Bush's (and McCain's) vows not to set a timetable. Now he has to decide if, as he's said many times, if Iraq is a sovereign country or just a puppet of the U.S. It's long been a fact that the Iraqi people want the U.S. troops to leave, and the Iraqi leaders have said numerous times they welcome the U.S. to leave . . . so why don't we leave? It should be Iraq's call, not ours. Or is it an occupation? (Bingo!!!)

I watched what was almost a great two-hour program today on the History Channel on the brain. I saw "almost" because near the end they decided to waste 20 minutes talking about ESP. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Put that on the SF Channel!!! I also get irritated at the History Channel's tendency to constantly run items on the history of UFO hunting, etc. I actually find the history aspect interesting, but they run these programs as if it were real science being done.

I hit a bit of writer's block recently. My novel reached 53,000 words on Thursday. I then went to see a midnight showing of the James Bond movie. Since then, I've been feeling tired all the time, and haven't gotten much done on it. Hopefully I'll work on it some tonight.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Where do they grow crabapple trees at the White House?

Answer: The Rose Garden.

Today's Quiz Question: What famous term was made official by Teddy Roosevelt?

*****
65 Days Until the Inauguration
1451 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

If Hillary is named Secretary of State, would it help her as a springboard to the presidency in 2016? (Note - she'll turn 69 one week before that election.) It's been over 150 years since the last time a Secretary of State became president - James Buchanan in 1857 (and we all know how that presidency turned out - think Civil War!).  It used to be normal - besides Buchanan, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Martin Van Buren all served as Secretary of State, and Madison, Monroe and Adams went straight from that office to the presidency. However, Hillary is a different case. Most Secretary of States over the last 150 years were more or less foreign policy experts, not political generalists, and so were not really thought of as presidential contenders. Also, contrary to the early years of our country, the Vice Presidency has increased in stature, and so they are the ones who often become president. (Credit fivethirtyeight.com for bringing up this subject.)

Fox News and William Ayers: I watched Fox News for a few minutes today. They all were talking about Ayers as if it's a given that he's a major mentor and associate of Obama! It's no wonder that so many Americans are misinformed on these issues. If I watched Fox News regularly, and didn't know better, I wouldn't even suspect that Ayers hasn't been a major part of Obama's life. The reality is they had two connections: like hundreds of others, Ayers ran a fundraiser for Obama when he ran for office, and they served on various boards together, mostly involving education in Chicago - where OTHERS chose the members of these board. It's a tenuous connection, but you wouldn't suspect that if you watched Fox News.

Proposition Eight: I wonder how many years it'll take before the people in California (and elsewhere) realize that those who support Proposition Eight (against marriage for gays) are in the same situation as those who opposed the various civil rights movements of the past? Once again, people are singling out a specific group to force their views on them to stop them from something they don't like. In this case, they can't even argue that it affects them, because it doesn't affect them in the least. The thought of eating shellfish makes me sick, but I'm not about to try to outlaw the eating of shellfish. (Shellfish eaters of the world, someday you'll understand the errors of your ways - putting that dirty, slimy stuff in your mouth! Yuck!!!)

Robert Ebert said it best: James Bond is not an action hero! I saw the new James Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace," a couple of days ago. What a disappointment . . . they have turned him into just another action hero. I go to James Bond movies for the character of Bond. Action is one ingredient of a Bond movie, but the character of Bond is what makes them compelling. They forgot about that part. Where's the attitude, the flamboyance, the silly puns, etc.? The opening scene set the course of the movie - a blindingly fast car chase scene, with mindless action but nothing original, nothing new. Unfortunately, the movie may set box office records for Bond movies, and we'll never see a real James Bond movie again.

I suddenly realized (after some online searching) that the only Bond movie I definitely haven't seen is "From Russia With Love." (I’m not sure about a couple others.) I rented that, and will watch that tonight.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Which president, when he moved into the White House, had the most family members move in with him?

Answer: Benjamin Harrison in 1889, with eleven including himself.

Today's Quiz Question: Where do they grow crabapple trees at the White House?

*****
66 Days Until the Inauguration
1452 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

America has gone dog-happy over the imminent arrival of a new puppy at the White House. Here is my nominee for the name of the Obamas' new dog: Jefferson.  Why?

• Who was the black family on TV that was all about a black family making it? The Jeffersons. And how did they make it? Through the dry cleaning business - and our government needs a thorough cleaning. (We'll ignore that Mr. Jefferson's first name was . . . George.)
• Who is considered the most intellectual of our presidents, and would symbolize the end of eight years of non-intellectual thinking? Thomas Jefferson. He was president 1801-1809, so Obama will take office on the 200th anniversary of when Jefferson's ended. There's also the Thomas Jefferson Dog Park in New York City! (We'll ignore that, while Jefferson raised Briard shepherd dogs - thick-coated dogs that would not be good for Malia's allergies - he once wrote to a friend, "I participate in all your hostility to dogs, and would readily join in any plan of exterminating the whole race.")
• What is Bill Clinton's middle name? Jefferson, so it symbolizes a return to a popular Democratic presidency where the economy was strong and the U.S. was mostly at peace.
• It honors the 16 cities in the U.S. called Jefferson.
• We'll ignore that Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederacy.

What are your suggestions for the dog's name (and breed)?

Here are two articles that just came out about the Republican Party no longer being a party of ideas, and how they've been taken over by slogans instead of thinking. One is by Fareed Zakaria on CNN.com (GOP bereft of ideas or trapped by wrong ones), the other in The Economist (Ship of Fools: Political Parties Die From the Head Down). When 86% of a party has a positive opinion of a non-thinker like Sarah Palin, you know there's something wrong.

Bush in pictures - gone soon, but never to be forgotten. Let's face it, these eight years are seared into our brains, where torture was alive and well in American - we were the torturees!

Yesterday's Quiz Question: A president wanted to build a porch at the White House, but ran into an unexpected problem. Which president was he, and what was the problem?

Answer: Harry Truman wanted to build the porch, but couldn't because of the high cost of redoing the plates used for the back of the $20 bill, which would have to be redone if they added the porch.

Today's Quiz Question: Which president, when he moved into the White House, had the most family members move in with him?

*****
67 Days Until the Inauguration
1453 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

Lots of rumors about who should be Secretary of State. Before today, most rumors had John Kerry the strong favorite, with other options being Bill Richardson, Susan Rice, Dick Lugar, and Sam Nunn. Today all sorts of rumors are coming out that Hillary Clinton might be named. Anyone have thoughts/preferences on who you'd prefer?

Here's a link to CNN's analysis of who's in consideration for the cabinet positions.

It would be interesting if Obama put together a cabinet that included John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, and others of that level. It could be like Abraham Lincoln's "Team of Rivals."

Here's a take on the election by Scientific American, "Beyond Red and Blue: 7 Ways to View the Presidential Election Map," with some fascinating graphics.

Asked why she chose to hold her first formal news conference now, Palin replied, "The campaign is over." Okay, I'm confused. Wouldn't it be during the campaign that she should be holding news conferences??? You know, to get info out about her to the voters? Wouldn't that be more important before the election???

On the Writing Front: I reached 53,000 words this afternoon on my novel, "Campaign 2100." (I keep erratic writing hours - sometimes I work late at night, such as midnight to 4AM, but other times I write in the morning or afternoon.)  I've done about 39,000 words since Oct. 1, and 12,000 since Nov. 1.

A strange thing just happened in the novel. As of two days ago, the mayor of Mexico City (remember, this is the year 2100) was a minor character who ran a fundraiser for our candidate. He doesn't show up until after the 50,000 word mark. Now, 3000 words and two days later, he's going to be a major character the rest of the novel, and very well might be a major antagonist in the sequel. (The novel is planned as book one of a trilogy.) His character just took over the pages, and now I plan on doing some minor rewriting of some earlier sections to make him responsible for a number of things that have happened. He's corrupt, ambitious, incredibly wealthy, bluntly honest, and wants to be Secretary of the Treasury for Earth - and a campaign official inadvertently hinted that he might get that position. Conflict!!!

It's not too late to order a copy of "Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic," which includes my story, "Ping-Pong Ambition." Here's the description from amazon.com:

"Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic views sports and games with a speculative twist, in prophesied futures, parallel presents, and imagined pasts. From tennis matches with Death to chess games with Oberon, from free throws with the Fairy Court to surfing with werewolves, every sport imaginable (and a few unimaginable) exist within this speculative city of games. 42 authors, veterans and rookies alike, have contributed flash fiction and poetry that will take you from pong with a dust mote at the beginning of the world to sailboarding through the stars at the universe's edge. Contributors include: Paul Abbamondi, Marge Simon, Robert Frazier, E. C. Myers, C. A. Gardner, James S. Dorr, Todd Wheeler, Deborah P Kolodji, Jude-Marie Green, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Samantha Henderson, Roger Dutcher, Amanda M. Hayes, Ruth Berman, Lawrence Schimel, Larry Hodges, G. O. Clark, Jennifer Crow, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Rob Rosen, Andrew C. Ferguson, and 21 more."

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Which president created his own bible?

Answer: Thomas Jefferson, as correctly answered by Geoffrey Jacoby. Here is the well-documented explanation from Wikipedia:

From his careful study of the Bible, Jefferson concluded that Jesus never claimed to be God.^[62] He therefore regarded much of the New Testament as "so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture".^[64] He described the "roguery of others of His disciples", ^[65] and called them a "band of dupes and impostors", describing Paul as the "first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus", and wrote of "palpable interpolations and falsifications".^[65] He also described the Book of Revelation to be "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams".^[66] While living in the White House, Jefferson began to piece together his own condensed version of the Gospels, omitting the virgin birth of Jesus, miracles attributed to Jesus, divinity and the resurrection of Jesus. Thus, primarily leaving only Jesus' moral philosophy, of which he approved. This compilation titled The LIFE AND MORALS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH Extracted Textually from the Gospels Greek, Latin, French, and English was published after his death and became known as the Jefferson Bible.

Today's Quiz Question: A president wanted to build a porch at the White House, but ran into an unexpected problem. Which president was he, and what was the problem?

*****
68 Days Until the Inauguration
1454 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

Sarah Palin yesterday told Fox News that she wouldn't hesitate to run for the presidency in four years "if it's God's will." Now it seems to me that God would only ask one candidate to run for president, and this leaves others free to claim he/she has done so, and we have no way of knowing for sure who God really asked. However, I can put all doubts to rest - this is what happened.

Sarah Palin burst into her outer office at the Governor's mansion in Alaska. "Any messages?" she asked her secretary, a moose-skin wearing former snow machine racer who, recognizing the long absent governor, lowered her rifle.

"Sorry," she said, "No messages."

"No engraved stone tablets from UPS?" she asked. "No talking snakes or burning bushes?"

"No, Mrs. Governor, though a Mr. Bush did get fired. There is a rather large clothing bill from the Republican National Committee."

Palin raised her rifle, shot the secretary dead, and entered her inner office, sulking.

"My Father in heaven, what is your message for me?" she asked. There was no answer. Then she noticed the blinking message light on her red phone to God. She picked it up.

"Dear Republican faithful," the message began. "We are sad to tell you that God died yesterday. He had a heart attack while watching MSNBC's coverage of the Obama transition. You and all other good Republicans are hereby invited to the funeral, to be held tomorrow in Real America for Real Americans, in Alaska."

The next day, wearing a $15,000 black Saks funeral dress with moose lining, Palin stood over the grave of God, along with Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, Charlie Crist, Bobby Jindal, and Newt Gingrich. After a sermon in tongues by a Pentecostal priest, and a ritual killing of witches--Palin sighed with relief at once again going undetected--God was buried with due honors.

Then the priest held up a large envelope. "Before he died, God consulted a lawyer," he said. "This is God's Will."

As the Republican's leaned forward anxiously, the priest opened the envelope. He looked over it for a few seconds, then held it up for all to see. In large, red letters, God's Will said: "It is My Will that Sarah Palin run for president in 2012." As the others groaned, Sarah raised her rifle over her head in triumph.

Palin woke up, a huge grin on her face. "You betcha!" she exclaimed as she ran to the phone to call a press conference.

In an interview on Oct. 22, Sarah Palin told Dr. James Dobson of "Focus on the Family" that she is confident God will do "the right thing for America" on Nov. 4. Does she still believe that, or does she believe God didn't do "the right thing for America"?

Sarah Palin also told Fox News, "I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door." She is 44 years old and, like, apparently graduated from middle school just this year. Amazingly, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll of two days ago, 49% of Americans still have a favorable view of her, while 43% view her unfavorably. Among Republicans, 86% view her favorably.

Sarah Palin in pictures. Enjoy!

I believe that the reason there is so much outpouring of hope for Obama as president comes from a mostly subconscious realization of his quadruple threat as president.

First, there is hope he will change the direction the country is headed for the better. 83% of American believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey two days ago.

Second, they hope he will change the nature of politics in this country away from the nasty, bipartisan politics of the past. Not that he won't be partisan on issues he believes in strongly, but they hope the country's leaders can learn to discuss their differences rather than resort to nasty political grandstanding.

Third, he is a role model for black American youth. Studying, working hard, intelligence - he shows these features are "cool."

Fourth, he is a role model for white America. In many so-called "red states," many or most white Americans rarely deal with blacks, and their image of them, whether consciously or subconsciously, comes from what they see on TV or read about, and that is often about black violence and crime. TV figures like Bill Cosby and Morgan Freeman were great role models for this, as were real leaders like Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice (despite her proximity to a certain unpopular president). Obama is the ultimate role model for white America, breaking through the subconscious barriers of prejudice.

Here's an entry from SF writer John Scalzi's blog yesterday. It's about how his Ohio county overwhelmingly went for McCain in the election, and how it's typical Republican country. (Note that Scalzi is a Democrat for Obama.) The part that caught my eye was that only 6.5% of the population had a college degree, about 1/5 the national rate. As Scalzi pointed out, this is "real America," according to certain Republicans.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: What president wished upon a young man that he never become president. Nine presidents and at least 35 years later, that person became president. Who are these two presidents?

Answer: Grover Cleveland and Franklin Roosevelt.

Today's Quiz Question: Which president created his own bible?

On the writing front: "Campaign 2100" is at 51,331 words. (Hopefully I'll add at least another thousand late tonight.) They just finished a controversial fundraiser in Mexico City, and soon we're off to Russia!!!

*****
69 Days Until the Inauguration
1455 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

There are all sorts of rumors about who will be the next Secretary of State, but the most persistent one is that it'll be Senator John Kerry. Senator Christopher Dodd is another possibility, and just today rumors have come out that Senator Hillary Clinton is under consideration. One problem about Kerry being named is he'd no longer be a Senator, and so couldn't chair the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Next in line among Democrats is Senator Joe Biden, but rumors have it that he's getting a new job on Jan. 20. Next in line is Dodd, but he's already said he'd rather stay on as Chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which is a very active committee recently with the economic collapse, and he can't do both. Next in line is Senator Russ Feingold, who has a reputation of being among the farthest left on foreign affairs - he's the only Senator who voted against the Patriot Act and is probably the strongest advocate of a near immediate withdrawal from Iraq. If he chairs that committee, it'll make the Democrats look very, very liberal. Plus Obama, in addition to predictably being hit from the right, could get hit from the far left by Feingold.

This is scary - "Who America Owes." Why don't we just put the entire country on ebay?

The election in pictures. See Obama and McCain arm wrestle and 28 other pictures.

With all the bailouts for failing organizations, aren't we missing the obvious one that needs a bailout? Obama's been dealing with this one regularly this past year, and has first-hand knowledge of its problems. Yes folks, isn't it time for the U.S. to earmark a few hundred billion dollars to bail out the Republican Party?

I realized today that Barack Obama is Satan. If you move the "b" in "Barack" one spot to the left, the president-elect's name becomes "Boama," or more accurately, "Boa ma." Yes, he's the mother of a serpent, and I know just which one. Yes folks, his name is the giveaway clue that Obama is Satan. Do you think it's a coincidence that it's exactly 666 days from Feb. 10, 2007, the day Obama announced he was running for the presidency, to Dec. 8, 2008, the 17th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union? (Why 17 years later? Well, duh! Obama was born in 1961, whose digits add up to 17.) Yes folks, our many enemies are correct - the U.S. has gone to the devil. (Yes, I figured this all out by myself!)

I think it's kind of fascinating that there's exactly one American veteran left from World War I. He's 107 years old, and attended ceremonies today at Arlington National Cemetery. He attended the first Veteran's Day (then called Armistice Day) exactly 90 years ago in 1918. Wow!

Yesterday's Quiz Question: What president got in all sorts of trouble with the public for sending away a puppy he'd received as a gift?

Answer: Harry Truman, who received as a gift Feller, a cocker spaniel puppy, but gave it away. Many accused him of being a dog hater. The Trumans already had one dog they kept at the White House, an Irish Setter named Mike, but they had send that dog to a farm as well when it developed rickets.

Today's Quiz Question: What president wished upon a young man that he never become president. Nine presidents and at least 35 years later, that person became president. Who are these two presidents?

*****
70 Days Until the Inauguration
1456 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

Want to keep track of the latest news, events and announcements in the setting up of the Obama Administration? They've set up a web page so you can do that.

It's official: Bush is the most unpopular president since disapproval ratings were first sought more than six decades ago. His disapproval rating in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey is now at 76%, the worst since CNN and Gallup began such polling during World War II, and easily shattering the previous record held by Harry Truman, who reached 67% at one point. Even Richard Nixon, after Watergate, was only at 66%. Here is a listing of the highest disapproval ratings reached by each president since they started keeping track:

• Truman 67%
• Eisenhower 36%
• Kennedy 30%
• Johnson 52%
• Nixon 66%
• Ford 46%
• Carter 59%
• Reagan 56%
• Bush Sr. 60%
• Clinton 54%
• Bush Jr. 76%

Also in the survey: only 16% say things are going well in the country today, the first time ever that it's been under 20%. That's an all-time low. 83% say things are going badly, which is an all-time high.

Here is the Obama campaign in pictures.

Here's a panoramic view of Obama's soon-to-be new office - the Oval Office.

We spend so much time and money developing the Iraqi armed forces. We will regret it someday. It's inevitable that after we leave, Shia Iraq and Shia Iran will become allies against us. The Iraqi (and Iranian, for that matter) population despises us. If we believe in democracy, then we believe they should have a government that represents their people's beliefs, meaning an anti-American government.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: This could be a trick question - you are forewarned! He's black, he's famous, he's had death threats against him, he's working with the president to change things for the better, and he's #44. Oh, and he's the vice president. Who the heck am I talking about?

Answer: Henry Aaron. He's the vice president of three organizations: the Atlanta Braves, TBS, and The Airport Network, and in all three positions, he works with the president to make things better (for that organization). His playing number was #44, just as Barack Obama is the 44th president. When he was approaching Babe Ruth's home run record, he received death threats.

Today's Quiz Question: What president got in all sorts of trouble with the public for sending away a puppy he'd received as a gift?

I just hit 50,000 words in my novel, "Campaign 2100." I'm probably going to rename it "Campaign 2100: Rise of the Moderates," as the first book in a trilogy. I've been vacationing all over the world through my characters in this worldwide presidential campaign, where so far they have visited New York City, Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, Korea, Australia, Vancouver, and Mexico City. We're off to Russia next!

If you are interested in daily notices of news in the science fiction field, I recommend subscribing to SFScope. See subscription field near bottom. I've been getting it for about a year, and there's a lot of interesting stuff.

*****
70 Days Until the Inauguration
1458 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

Don't make the mistake that many are making in believing conservatism is dead, and that the Republican Party needs to abandon that for their core principles. Whether you agree with standard Republican conservatism or not (I don't), let's look at the political facts. Obama won by only 6.5 points. Imagine if McCain weren't running after an economic collapse, after eight years of Bush Jr. (who was not fiscally conservative, giving us the $10 Trillion debt), at age 72, and against a candidate who was a once-in-a-generation political superstar? At the time of the economic collapse, the two were running nearly dead even; the economic collapse was a double whammy in that it was blamed on the Republicans/Bush, and that it made voters a bit more serious this year, making the normal Republican attack ads ineffective.  If the Republicans move to the center, they will tear themselves apart with internal fighting. (Which, of course, would be good for Democrats.)

The counter argument to this, of course, is that the non-white, non-conservative population is growing, but that just means that conservatives need to convince more non-whites that conservatism is good - for example, coming up with an immigration plan that isn't nearly universally repellent to Hispanics, and [edit added later] a more universal health care plan. If you take away the conservative brand that Republicans have, they lose their brand name, which is what has won them so many elections. There are still more conservatives than liberals in the U.S.

Four years in politics is a thousand years in real time. The biggest problem the Republicans face in 2012 will either be Obama's popularity or their lack of a strong candidate.

"God has vindicated the black folk," said Pastor Shirley Caesar-Williams yesterday at Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh North Carolina. "Too long we've been at the bottom of the totem pole, but he has vindicated us, hallelujah. I don't know about you, but I don't have nothing to put my head down for, praise God. Because when I look toward Washington, D.C., we got a new family coming in. We got a new family coming in. And you know what? They look like us. Amen, amen. They look like us."

These may seem inspiring words, but am I the only one who finds them frightening? First, God hasn't vindicated anyone; the voters have. Second, and worse, is the "They look like us" statement about the family moving into the White House. Isn't this just racial politics, the very type of thinking that prolongs racial fighting, and strengthens conservative arguments that liberals use race to advance their politics? Choosing a leader because "They look like us"? Is he a black president or a president who happens to be black? There's a big difference between Obama being the first black president (which is true for anyone to say), and saying, "They look like us." Here's an absolute must read on this subject, also from this morning's Washington Post.

Fifty things you probably didn't know about Barack Obama. For example, he's read all seven Harry Potter books - that's reason enough to support him! Other tidbits: his favorite book is Moby-Dick, he once had a pet ape, and he uses a desk that was once used by Robert Kennedy. (Credit to Mary Robinette Kowal for this link.) Here's a thought - I think everyone with a web page should put together a "Twenty interesting things about me" list. (50 might be a bit much.) It's a quick way to know someone.

Michelle Obama has convinced her mom, Marian Robinson, 71, to move to the White House as the "First Granny," to help take care of the First Kids (Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7). Here's more about the First Granny, who literally made Obama's run for president possible.

What should we call the First Dog? Inspirational suggestions include Hope, Change, Audacity, and Freedom. Another is Bark, so that the dog and Barack could get mixed up. Best suggestion has been to get a pit bull and call her Sarah. Other sarcastic possibilities include Maverick, or (in honor of the socialist accusations), Karl, Che or Fidel. Another suggestion is to get a poodle and call it Prime Minister, but that might hurt U.S.-British relations. (Inside bet is that the dog will be a poodle, probably the best dog for someone who has allergies, such as Malia. A number of terrier breeds are also possible.)

This morning's Blondie cartoon was about people's reaction to the election. I thought it was rather funny.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: A future president was so inspired by a presidential candidate who spoke out against party bosses and the patronage systems that he volunteered for his campaign. But when he showed up to volunteer, he was made to wait four hours, and then the campaign manager snubbed him and told he wasn't needed. He ended up working for them anyway, but was so offended at his initial treatment that it was incentive for him later when he ran for congress against that campaign manager's candidate, and defeated him in his first step toward eventually becoming president. Who was this president?

Answer: Gerald Ford, who was snubbed when he wanted to volunteer for Wendell Wilkie's run for president in 1940 against Franklin Roosevelt.

Today's Quiz Question: This could be a trick question - you are forewarned! He's black, he's famous, he's had death threats against him, he's working with the president to change things for the better, and he's #44. Oh, and he's the vice president. Who the heck am I talking about?

*****
71 Days Until the Inauguration
1459 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)

When asked to choose among some of the GOP's top names for their party's 2012 presidential nominee, 64% of Republicans chose Sarah Palin! Mike Huckabee received 12% support, and Mitt Romney 11%. Three other sitting governors - Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota - all pull low single-digit support. Another choice that's also getting serious talk - but wasn't an option in the survey given - is Newt Gingrich.

So how would you rank these seven in order of 1) likelihood of being the nominee, and 2) the best (or least bad) candidates? The choices are (and you may add your own, and ignore candidates you don't know about), in alphabetic order:

• Charlie Crist
• Newt Gingrich
• Mike Huckabee
• Bobby Jindal
• Sarah Palin
• Tim Pawlenty
• Mitt Romney

I recently blogged about the correlation between higher educated states and their tendency to vote for Obama. Here's an even better one! If you list the states in order of the percentage of advanced degrees, the top nineteen (19!) states all went for Obama! The lowest six states all went for McCain.

They are after Obama. There was an article in this morning's Washington Post that said about the U.S. Secret Service, "The number of threats against Obama is kept confidential, but I'm reliably told it is huge. It's no secret that there are people who would harm him if they could."

I just saw "Changeling" and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" back to back. Both were excellent. I was happy that "Changeling" kept pretty much to the facts of this true story.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Name the three presidential dogs that have their own bronze sculptures.

Answer: Laddie, Warren Harding's Airedale (made from melted down pennies donated by kids from around the country); Fala, Franklin Roosevelt's Scottish Terrier (located at the FDR Memorial in Washington D.C.); and Barney, George W. Bush's Scottish Terrier (recently sculpted by Richard Chashoudian) - yep, the same one that bit a reporter on Thursday!. They seem to like sculpting Scottish Terriers.

Today's Quiz Question: A future president was so inspired by a presidential candidate who spoke out against party bosses and the patronage systems that he volunteered for his campaign. But when he showed up to volunteer, he was made to wait four hours, and then the campaign manager snubbed him and told he wasn't needed. He ended up working for them anyway, but was so offended at his initial treatment that it was incentive for him later when he ran for congress against that campaign manager's candidate, and defeated him in his first step toward eventually becoming president. Who was this president?

*****
72 Days Until the Inauguration!
1460 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)!

I was interviewed at Community Fridays about my writing career. The interviewer, Emma Larkins, asked if I would do the interview after one of the panels I was on at the Capclave SF Convention.

Like many others, I'm having fun with the "puppy" issue at the White House. CNN ran a segment on presidential pets. Here's a listing of all presidential pets, from George Washington to George W. Bush.

On the other end of the spectrum, think of all the skinheads and KKK types who are considering assassinating Obama. There's already been a plot to assassinate Obama. I think people who dislike Bush tend to be civilized (not that his supporters aren't), and so went after him politically, with few thoughts to actual assassination. However, Skinheads and KKK types are not that sort; they are just the type that might be willing to give up their lives to assassinate a black president. I would bet there are more people considering an assassination attempt than the last ten presidents combined. Hopefully the Secret Service is good at their job.

Obama did a nice job with his first post-election press briefing. (Link is to 19-minute video of briefing.) He did make a gaffe, joking off the cuff about Nancy Reagan's past séances, and afterwards called her to apologize. I thought making gaffes was Joe Biden's assignment? J

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Who was the first president to visit every state in the U.S. (at the time of his presidency) during his presidency?

Answer: George Washington. Of course, he had a lot less states to visit than a modern president! (Side note - I've been to all 50 states.)

Today's Quiz Question: Name the three presidential dogs that have their own bronze sculptures.

I ran across this "tournament" about the coolest aliens. Thought you might like to see it too.

On the writing front: Just hit 48,000 words in my novel. I may spend the weekend reading them over, both to make sure everything's on track, and to add missing segments. I've got a lot of places where I went back and put in notes about scenes or descriptions needed.

*****
73 Days Until the Inauguration!
1461 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)!

Fox reveals that McCain aides were truly "shocked" at the "gaps in knowledge" Sarah Palin displayed once they were stuck with her.  She could not name all of the countries in North America, he said, not even the NAFTA partners. (USA, Canada, Mexico.)  She was so out of touch she actually refused coaching before the Katie Couric interviews, then yelled at staffers for not preparing her better or warning her off the interviews.  "Temper tantrums," etc.  Then there were the clothes bills and greeting McCain aides in a bath towel....

For those of you who missed it Tuesday night, Bacon beat Fries, 43,893 to 25,893, in the ultimate culinary showdown. That would be Bob Bacon (D) over Matt Fries (R) in District 14 (Denver) in Colorado for State Senate. It was said a year ago that American would elect a black man president when pigs fly; Bacon will fly to Washington later this month to fulfill this promise. (Okay, I made this last part up.)

Time's Person of the Year: I'm nearly two months early, but here's my prediction: there won't be a lot of suspense this year! If it's not Obama, there'll be rioting in the streets.

I, Larry Hodges, hereby announce my candidacy for President of the United States in 2012. This was not an easy decision, but it would be un-American of me to not step forward to save the country in its hour of need. There are many complex problems facing America, and only I have the simple, short answers needed to solve them. The next election is only 35,088 hours away, so I need to get about 2000 votes per hour during that time, so let's get cracking!

My Platform

1. Health Care: I am for universal health care for the poor, who I want to keep alive because they are Democrats. I am against any health care whatsoever for the rich, and frankly hope those Republicans die so they can't vote.
2. Taxes: I am for more taxes as this will lower congestion in our streets. However, I hope more real Americans will drive these taxes as I find it hard to give directions to the drivers of these taxes when they don't speak English.
3. Balanced Budgets: Republican presidents always live beyond our means, and so are popular with Americans even as they bankrupt us. Democratic presidents live within our means, and so are unpopular with Americans even as they balance the budget. I find this to be terribly unfair, and propose that Democratic presidents, including myself, sink to the irresponsible level of the Republicans.
4. Education: I am against public education. Anything an American citizen needs to know, I'll tell them.
5. Global Warming: I am for a compromise. I am for global warming during the winter, but against it during the summer. This makes complete sense to me.
6. Campaign Finance Laws: I am for higher public campaign funding, lower oversight, and direct flights to Tahiti.
7. Abortion: It scares me that members of my party want to kill of future Democrats, while the opposing party does its best to grow as many future Republicans as possible. Therefore, I am against abortion for Democrats, but beseech my Republican enemies to rethink their position.
8. Military: I am for a stronger and larger military. As president, I will make many unpopular and unethical decisions, and will need to rely on a stronger and larger military to protect me from the people rioting in the streets.
9. Nuclear Proliferation: I find it disturbing that rogue countries like Russia and China may be selling nuclear weapons to other rogue countries. It is no wonder we are in a financial crisis when we do not even attempt to compete in this lucrative field.  With American business savvy know-how, we can undersell anyone with top quality products, and dominate the growing market for nuclear weapons in third-world countries.
10. Iraq War: Like all past presidents, I too will need an overseas distraction to draw attention away from my other actions. Therefore, if I see a chance to end the Iraq War peacefully and with honor, I will make sure it does not happen.
11. Terrorism: I am against terrorism, and believe all terrorists should be shot. In particular, my political opponents threaten my election, which fill me with terror, and so they should be shot.
12. Iran, North Korea, Russia, other "Rogue" Nations: I will rhetorically attack these nations every chance I can during elections, thereby rallying the American people behind me.
13. Christianity: Some publicly call religion the "Opiate of the Masses." This is insulting to Christians, and so I pledge never to say this publicly.
14. The Ongoing Problems of Turkey and Greece: I believe that the problem stems from undercooking. Cooked properly, greasy turkeys will be a thing of the past.
15. Vegetarianism: First animals, then vegetables, then molds and mildews. Where will it all end? I believe an ethical human being should live on mud.
16. On the Decline of Ethical Standards in America: This is an important issue, and I intend to lead. This decline faces many obstacles, but if we work together, we can overcome them.
17. SETI, the "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence": Having failed finding it on Earth, I'm all for expanding the search to outer space.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Which president considered shaking hands to be beneath the dignity of the office of president?

Answer: George Washington.

Today's Quiz Question: Who was the first president to visit every state in the U.S. (at the time of his presidency) during his presidency?

*****
74 Days Until the Inauguration!
1462 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)!

I've blogged about the election every night for nearly two months. I'll continue blogging, but perhaps not every night.

Obama won a mandate yesterday. I hope congress will basically let him do things as he thinks best, within reason. The last thing we want is a lot of committees and politicians getting involved. We have an economic collapse,  two wars, terrorism, rising nuclear rogue nations, a $10 trillion deficit, little credibility around the world, and we no longer lead the world (if we ever did) in issues like human rights, global warming and other environmental issues, etc. Let's give Obama a chance to fix as many of these problems as he can. Just remember - it took Bush eight years to get us into this mess, so it may take that long or longer to get us back.

The election isn't over! In the presidential race, North Carolina isn't decided yet, not that it really matters now. In Senate races, there are four that are not yet decided: MN, OR, AK and GA. There'll be a recount in Minnesota; they haven't finished counting in Oregon; Alaska is, incredibly, too close to call despite the incumbent being a felon convicted on seven counts (!) - but after all, they also selected Sarah Palin as their governor; and Georgia will probably have a runoff in a month. (Note on Alaska: actually, it makes sense for Republicans in Alaska to vote for Ted the Felon, since he'll be forced to resign anyway, and then Palin will appoint a Republican successor.)

Sarah Palin said today (bold are mine): "Right now I cannot even imagine running for national office in 2012," she told CNN's Dana Bash. "When I say that, of course, coming on the heels of an outcome that I did not anticipate and had not hoped for."  If she did not anticipate the result - as opposed to holding out hope that she and McCain would pull it out - then she's the dumbest, most out of touch person in the U.S.  Or she's just lying. Again.

Let's take a minute to pay our respects to all of the losers in yesterday's election. After all, not everyone was for Obama, and McCain supporters are people too. Yesterday's losers include:

1. McCain, Palin and their supporters
2. Republicans
3. Late night comics, the poor dears
4. Overweight people who need a long-term economic disaster so they can't afford food
5. A tearful mommy dog and her young, homesick puppy, who will be forcefully separated when the puppy is kidnapped and taken to the White House to be held prisoner by two small girls
6. Bush policies
7. Neiman Marcus and Saks, and right in the middle of an economic crisis
8. Skinheads and KKK members, whose tears streamed down their face as they faced their worst nightmare
9. Joe the Lieberman and Joe the Plumber
10. The Republican software guys who failed to fix the election

Here's a listing of the best educated states in the U.S.  Obama won 28 states to McCain's 22. Below is the listing of the states in order of education, with the Obama states in blue, McCain states in red. You judge if there's a correlation between education and voting blue.

1. Vermont
2. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
4. New Jersey
5. Maine
6. Minnesota
7. Virginia
8. Wisconsin
9. Montana
10. New York
11. Pennsylvania
12. Nebraska
13. Kansas
14. Iowa
15. New Hampshire
16. Rhode Island
17. Wyoming
18. South Dakota
19. Maryland
20. North Dakota
21. Missouri
22. North Carolina
23. Colorado
24. Texas
25. Delaware
26. Indiana
27. Michigan
28. Idaho
29. South Carolina
30. Washington
31. Ohio
32. Illinois
33. Utah
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Florida
37. Arkansas
38. Oregon
39. Oklahoma
40. Georgia
41. Tennessee
42. Hawaii
43. Alabama
44. Alaska
45. Louisiana
46. California
47. Nevada
48. New Mexico
49. Mississippi
50. Arizona

On the Writing Front: As some of you know, a major, historic event has occurred. Throughout the U.S. and the world, millions of people are celebrating in the streets. There are fireworks displays and the champagne is flowing. People are ecstatic. Yes, folks, I sold my 24th story, "Jackpot World" (4400 words) to Space & Time Magazine. What happens if, on one hundred million identical universes, an interdimensional traveling alien is mugged by Wayne, an armed and unhappy criminal, and all of these aliens in all of these universes transport the attacking Wayne to the same Earth in one universe - ours? Yes, it's the dreaded Multi Accedo Scenario!
*****
75 Days Until the Inauguration!
1463 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)!

Obama Wins!!!

Our long national entertainment is over.

Intelligence returns to the White House.

If there is a call for volunteers to help in moving Bush's stuff out of the White House, the resulting stampede would devastate Washington D.C., and by comparison, turn 9/11 into a footnote in history.

This marks the end of the "Reagan-Gingrich-Bush" era, circa 1980-2008. (Technically it lasts until 2009, but there's not much Bush can do at this point as the lamest of lame ducks.)  It also marks the start of what presumably is the "Obama era."

Three people are primarily responsible for what happened tonight.

• First, of course, is Barack Obama. His campaign team gets equal credit, but he chose them. We can only hope he will choose as well for his governing staff. A president is only as strong as the people he surrounds himself with.
• Second is Howard Dean. A lot of people forget the near revolt in the Democratic Party when Dean became chairman, and insisted on a "50-state" strategy. Most wanted to focus on the battleground states, but Dean wanted to spend money and resources in all 50 states, to expand the Democratic base. The best way to expand a party is to get people interested during a campaign, and he did that - and the result is Obama won or competed in "red" states all over the country. He broke the red-blue state impasse, and now there are few safe states for Republicans. He did for the Democrats what Ronald Reagan did for the Republicans so long ago, but he did him one better. Reagan won because of the "Reagan Democrats." Obama won because he converted so many people into just plain "Democrats."
• Third is George W. Bush. Where would the Democrats be right now without him?!!!

At I write this (around 1AM), Obama leads 338-160, and has won 26 states to McCain's 20. The four states still to be decided are Missouri (11 electoral votes, leaning McCain), North Carolina (15 electoral votes, leaning Obama), Indiana (11 electoral votes, leaning McCain) and Montana (3 electoral votes, leaning Obama, which is a surprise). They are worth 40 electoral votes. Obama is up about 3% in the popular vote (51%-48%), less than expected, but there's a lot of west coast votes to be counted, and they should bring him up quite a bit.

Senate/House races: As I write this (about 1AM), the Democrats have 56 seats, the Republicans 40. They will likely win in Alaska (Begich over Stevens the felon) and in Oregon (Merkley over Smith), and likely lose in Georgia (Martin over Chambliss), though if they keep Martin under 50% there's a runoff. The really interesting one is in Minnesota, where Democrat and former comedian Al Franken is in a tight race with Republican Norm Coleman.

After her sickening ads, I'm very happy that Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole lost in NC to Democrat Kay Hagan.

In the House, currently the Democrats are up 239-155, with 41 still undecided. They will probably win a majority of those 41.

FOX News: I spent the night surfing between all the news programs. FOX consistently called each race first, while CNN was always the most cautious and so called them last. FOX also was very good at the various Senate race updates, while other channels focused more on the president's race. However, it never took much watching of FOX before I'd roll my eyes and change the channel. The first time I went there I almost fell out of my chair when they were talking about how Obama "had a chance in Virginia." Have a chance? He was a solid favorite! (He won, 52%-48%.) The second time I was there they were talking about all the expected tax increases "for regular people" if Obama won. After that, I could barely watch them for more than a few seconds at a time.

FOX was the first to call Ohio for Obama, not that being first is good. (They were also the first to call the election for Bush in 2000 - about a month early!) They called it at 9:19 PM, and that (with Pennsylvania already called for Obama) essentially ended the race. Technically, there was still a thin path to victory for McCain until Colorado was called for Obama a little later, but his chances before that were a fraction of 1%.

Dirty Campaigning: All day today there were robo-calls going on in Southern Florida, telling people that Fidel Castro of Cuba had endorsed Obama, so vote for McCain to thwart Castro. And it's perfectly legal! (I can't wait to do something like that in my novel, which covers the election for president of Earth in the year 2100.)

The 2012 election has officially begun! (I quickly duck as rotten fruit is thrown at me.) Will Obama face a primary challenge from Hillary? (Probably not, unless he really messes up.) Who will the Republicans choose? Sarah Palin? Mitt Romney? Mike Huckabee? Bobby Jindal? How about Jeb Bush?

How I spent 30 minutes voting. I've voted in every election since 1980, and there's never been a line that I remember. This time I was in line for exactly 30 minutes--and this was in Maryland, a non-battleground state. Fortunately I brought a book: "The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists," which I strongly recommend if you are a novelist or novelist wannabe.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Which first lady was known for her liking for what strange flavor of ice cream?

Answer: Dolly Madison liked oyster ice cream. Yuck!!!

Today's Quiz Question: Name the only president who studied medicine.

*****
76 Days Until the Inauguration!
1464 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012)!

McCain's "Hail Mary"? There have been Rev. Wright ads all day here in Maryland, and presumably in VA and PA. Will it tighten PA and VA polls? McCain should have been running these ads in battlegrounds states for weeks. It's not racist or misleading, unlike the Bill Ayers ads.

Here's Sarah Palin attacking the San Francisco Chronicle for "covering up" an interview with Obama, when the interview has been public and online at their website for nine months.

After warning an audience Monday in Missouri that a government run by Democrats would "gut" defense spending, Sarah Palin asked the crowd: "Do they think that terrorists have all of a sudden become the good guys?" Obama has said repeatedly he will increase defense spending.

At fivethirtyeight.com, McCain's chances of winning are down to 1.9% after new polling! They also have a good article on the "cell phone effect."

Basically, on Tuesday night, the minute Obama wins any of these states, he will win almost for certain: Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri or Indiana. (This assumes he wins Pennsylvania - things change if McCain somehow wins there, but he's way down.) McCain needs an unexpectedly large Republican turnout, compared to the Democrats. Problem is that usually only happens when your party is excited about their candidate. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll out today, only 39% of McCain supporters are excited about their candidate, compared to 62% of Obama supporters. On the other hand, over half of McCain supporters would be "scared" if Obama wins, while only 40% of Obama supporters would be "scared" if McCain wins.

Another way for McCain to win is if there's a low Democratic turnout in Battleground states. Weather could be a factor. For example, if it's raining in Northern Virginia or in Eastern Pennsylvania, that'll lower turnout in Democratic regions. Heavy rain in the Philadelphia area is about the only way McCain can win PA.

McCain campaign misleading voters. According to the Washington Post, in Warren, Ohio, the McCain office gave away 5000 flyers that claimed 1) that Obama supports human cloning, and 2) that Obama opposes "protecting the lives of children who are born alive and survived a botched abortion." Both of these are complete distortions and fabrications of Obama's record. They also were giving out yard signs with a picture of a rifle with the words, "If you want to keep these, vote McCain," another distortion - Obama is a strong supporter of the constitutional right to own guns.

There's a fascinating discussion of "worst presidents ever" over at (SF writer) John Scalzi's blog. I'm reading through the comments. A lot of informed people a lot of completely misinformed people. (I haven't commented.) Scalzi endorsed Obama today.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Which president's father married a Bush?

Answer: When Abraham Lincoln's mother died in 1818 (when he was nine), his father remarried a year later to Sally Bush Johnson. 

Today's Quiz Question: Which first lady was known for her liking for what strange flavor of ice cream?

*****
0 Days Until the Election!
77 Days Until the Inauguration!

1464 Days Until the Next Presidential Election (Nov. 6, 2012)!

Here are the most likely scenarios for a McCain win, according to fivethirtyeight.com, which gives him a 6.3% chance of winning. (It was below 4% a few days ago.) By far the most likely scenario is that, among the 17 battleground states, he wins all the states leaning toward him (ND, WV, GA, AZ), all the tossup states (MO, NC, FL, OH, IN, MT), and VA and CO, which are both leaning toward Obama. Obama leads by 3-4 points in VA, about 5-6 points in CO. According to fivethirtyeight.com, McCain has about a 8% chance of winning VA, and about a 9% chance of winning CO. Another series of scenarios show up if McCain wins Pennsylvania, where he's down 7-8 points and has about a 4% chance of winning - though perhaps large if the new Rev. Wright ads have an effect. (The other four battleground states, which all lean strongly toward Obama, are IA, NV, MN and NH, but they don't factor into too many winning scenarios for McCain. He's not too likely to win any of them, and if he does, he's probably won enough other states to win anyway.)

The Reverend Wright Ad Flood Has Begun! In Pennsylvania, and I've seen a bunch of them on TV here in Maryland (!), sponsored by "goptrust.com." McCain had earlier said he didn't want to use that as an issue as it seemed too racial, but Palin and other surrogates have been bringing it up regularly. I expect the battleground states will be flooded with these ads over the last few days. I expect they will move some voters to McCain. How many? No idea.

Sarah Palin Hoodwinked! Yesterday a Canadian prankster tricked the Palin campaign into believing he was French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Below is the entire transcript of the six-minute call (read it, it's priceless!), or you can listen to it on youtube!

Sarkozy: Yes, hello, Governor Palin. Yes, hello, Mrs. Governor?
Palin: Hello, this is Sarah, how are you?
"Sarkozy": Fine, and you? This is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking, how are you?
Palin: Oooooh, it's so good, it's so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.
"Sarkozy": Oh, it's a pleasure.
Palin: Thank you sir, we have such great respect for you, John McCain and I. We love you! And thank you for taking a few minutes to talk to me.
"Sarkozy": I follow your campaigns closely with my special American adviser Johnny Hallyday (NOTE: Hallyday is a French singer and actor), you know?
Palin: Yes! Good.
"Sarkozy": You see, I got elected in France because I'm real and you seem to be someone who's real as well.
Palin: Yes. Yeah. Nicolas, we so appreciate this opportunity
"Sarkozy": You know I see you as a president one day, you too.
Palin: (Giggle) Maybe in eight years! (Giggle)
"Sarkozy": Well, I hope for you. You know, we have a lot in common because personally one of my favorite activities is to hunt, too.
Palin: Oh, very good! We should go hunting together!
"Sarkozy": Exactly, we could go try hunting by helicopter like you did. I never did that. Like we say in French, on pourrait tuer des bebe phoques, aussi. (One could kill all the baby seals).
Palin: Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together, as we're getting work done. We can kill two birds with one stone that way.
"Sarkozy": I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun!
Palin: (Giggle)
"Sarkozy": I'd really love to go, so long as we don't bring Vice President Cheney.
Palin: Noooo, I'll be a careful shot, yes.
"Sarkozy": Yes, you know we have a lot in common also, because except that from my house I can see Belgium. That's kind of less interesting than you.
Palin: Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes.
"Sarkozy": Some people said in the last days - and I thought that was mean - that you weren't experienced enough in foreign relations and you know that's completely false. That's the thing I said to my great friend, the prime minister of Canada, Stef Carse (NOTE: Stef Carse is a Canadian singer).
Palin: Well, he's doing fine, too, and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundints (NOTE: she calls pundits pundints) and the critics wrong. You work that much harder.
"Sarkozy": I was wondering because you are so next to him, one of my good friends, the prime minister of Quebec, Mr. Richard Z. Sirois (NOTE: he's a Canadian comedian), have you met him recently? Did he come to one of your rallies?
Palin: I haven't seen him at one of the rallies but it's been great working with the Canadian officials in my role as Governor. We have a great co-operative effort there as we work on all of our resource-development projects. You know, I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife. Oh my goodness! You've added a lot of energy to your country with that, ha, beautiful family of yours.
"Sarkozy": Thank you very much. You know my wife Carla would love to meet you, even though you know she was a bit jealous that I was supposed to speak to you today.
Palin: (Giggle) Well, give her a big hug for me.
"Sarkozy": You know my wife is a popular singer and a former hot top model and she's so hot in bed. She even wrote a song for you.
Palin: Oh my goodness! I didn't know that!
"Sarkozy": Yes, in French it's called Le Rouge A Levres Sur Un Cochon (NOTE: it means Lipstick on a Pig), or if you prefer in English, Joe the Plumber...it's his life, Joe the Plumber.
Palin: Maybe she understands some of the unfair criticism but I bet you she is such a hard worker, too, and she realizes you just plough through that criticism.
"Sarkozy": I just want to be sure. I don't quite understand the phenomenon Joe the Plumber. That's not your husband, right?
Palin: That's not my husband but he's a normal American who just works hard and doesn't want government to take his money.
"Sarkozy": Yes, yes, I understand we have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit.
Palin: Right, that's what it's all about, its the middle class and government needing to work for them. You're a very good example for us here.
"Sarkozy": I must say Governor Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life. You know, Hustler's Nailin' Palin?
Palin: Ohh, good, thank you! Yes.
"Sarkozy": That was really edgy.
Palin: (Giggle) Well, good.

Yesterday's Quiz Question: Name two future presidents who each shared a communal bathroom with prostitutes.

Answer: George Bush Sr. & Jr. When they first moved to Texas in 1948 (when George Jr. was two years old), they moved into an apartment in Odessa with a communal bathroom they shared with two prostitutes.

Today's Quiz Question: Which president's father married a Bush? (This is NOT a trick question about George Bush Sr. marrying Barbara Pierce, who only then became a Bush.)

On the Writing Front: After writing all afternoon, I'm at 43,399 words into my novel, and hope to do one or two thousand tonight and more tomorrow, since I don't expect to get much done on Election Day. I should hit the 50,000 mark (halfway) in about a week. Hard to believe!!!
Early morning Edit: I wrote until 4:15 AM, for a new record of 5168 words for the day, bringing me to 46,197 total. (Technically, after midnight is the next day, but I count it as just late-night work.) 

*****
2 Days Until the Election!
79 Days Until the Inauguration!
~4 Years Until the Next Presidential Debate!