The 21st Century (In a single thread)

[Hillary 2016]

I will try to do my own version of the future and I want to give credit to MasterJedi for the idea. Note: This are things as I see them likely to happen, not the way I would necessarily like them to happen.

2009- After much arm-twisting, the Democrats are able to pass a compromise health care reform bill passed with the help of the Maine Senators. The bill is, of course, unsatisfactory to those that wanted a public health insurance plan, and the Progressives are not happy with it, seeing the bill as a victory for the corporate elite and continued unaffordability of health care insurance. Republicans, being the opposition party, use this to try and divide the Democrats and gain the momentum for 2010.

The unemployment rate decreases significantly in 2010 but the stock market continues to take dips every now and then and on the whole, it is not a very good economy. The stimulus shows mixed results.

President Obama is able to shift his attention to foreign affairs in 2010, and him and Hillary engage in direct diplomacy with the Middle East, Russia, and North Korea. Foreign relations improve during the year and Obama is able to take advantage of widespread popularity around the world and use it to slyly and shrewdly emerge as a World Leader. Middle Eastern governments find it too difficult to rail against America.

The 2010 midterm elections- Republicans and surprisingly, Democrats, go on the offensive and this creates a very divisive, polarizing election. The elections mark the first time that a party has ever gained seats in three midterm elections in a row since 1936. With a net gain of 2 seats in the House, and 1 seat in the Senate, the Democrats increase their majority slightly.
The establishment Republicans call for a party purge and oust John Boehner and Michael Steele (replacing them both with Eric Cantor and Katon Dawson).

In 2011, there are two vacancies in the Supreme Court when John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy decide to retire. Replacing Kennedy, the Court's swing vote, becomes a partisan war, and all the culture war issues blow up. The Democrats see a golden opportunity to sway the Court away from the right, and have enough votes to break a filibuster. Barack Obama continues to choose diverse nominees and selects Harold Koh, the Dean of Yale Law School, who would become the first Asian American to serve on the Court, and Leah Ward Sears, who would become the first African American woman. After contentious hearings, they are both confirmed.

The Supreme Court by the end of the year is now extremely diverse: Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito make up the Court's conservative wing, while Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer make up the progressive wing, and Koh and Sears make up the swing votes.

In 2011, the contest for the Republican presidential nomination begins and Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin lead the pack. The candidates each split the party into three wings...

More to come soon...

[Barnes]

I really like it! Hopefully the economy will get better, and for once Republicans don't dominate the future Congress!

[Psychic Octopus]

Good.

[Hillary 2016]

Continued...

The candidates of the 2012 Republican primary are
(there are 9):

Fmr. Alaska Governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin
Fmr. Arkansas Governor and Fox News star Mike Huckabee
Fmr. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback
Fmr. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani
Fmr. House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Rumored by the media elite to be VP possibilities:

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana
Fmr. Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

Also in 2011, the D.C. Voting Rights Act passes with Eleanor Holmes Norton winning the special election to become D.C.'s first "real" member of Congress.

The Census Bureau announces which states will gain or lose seats in 2012:

GAINERS:
Texas + 4
Arizona + 2
Florida + 1
Georgia + 1
Nevada + 1
N.C. + 1
Oregon + 1
S.C. + 1
Utah + 1

LOSERS:
Ohio - 2
Calif. - 1
Illinois - 1
Iowa - 1
Louisiana - 1
Mass. - 1
Michigan - 1
Minnesota - 1
Missouri - 1
N.J. - 1
N.Y. -1
PA - 1

The Republican Party announces that it will hold its  convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Hillary 2016]

Continued...

The candidates of the 2012 Republican primary are
(there are 11):

Fmr. Alaska Governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin
Fmr. Arkansas Governor and Fox News star Mike Huckabee
Fmr. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback
Fmr. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
New York Governor Rudy Giuliani
Fmr. House Speaker Newt Gingrich

Rumored by the media elite to be VP possibilities:

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana
Fmr. Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels

These states are not in any order, but they would be in actuality:

Iowa is first.  The three frontrunners are Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney.

Meanwhile, the Democratic President Barack Obama is not challenged by anyone in the party, and so the media focuses completely on the Republican race.  The primary receives a lot of attention because of the presence of Sarah Palin, whose historic candidacy has received criticism by the press, but she inspires young conservatives, and especially young Christian conservative teens, to join her campaign.

All of the Republican candidates attack the gay marriages that are being held in Iowa during that year, as antigay voters demand them to stop gays from marrying with a constitutional amendment.  All of the candidates support Bush's amendment.

"The gay issue" becomes an issue in the primary.  In the debates, the rhetoric becomes controversial.  Mike Huckabee stands by his belief that "homosexuality is a sin" and "it will destroy our culture."  He also goes one step further and says "homosexuals need to be saved from a lifestyle that disgraces them in the eyes of the Lord" (after which he receives loud applause).  When asked by Anderson Cooper of all people if "saving homosexuals will be a priority for his administration", he says "Yes, but we can do in a way that is not hateful but compassionate and that's the way Jesus Christ would want us to do it."  The other candidates all nod in agreement.

Sarah Palin's marriage is also a "hot topic" among everyone from the ladies on The View to the gossip rags.  It distracts her from concentrating on the issues, which she has been criticized of not fully understanding.  Palin, however, is extremely popular with the base, which rallies around her every time the media attacks her.  She, like Nixon, has been able to turn the media into the great enemy of her campaign and the tactic is succeeding.

Meanwhile, Ron Paul's candidacy picks up steam among conservative-libertarian independent voters, especially young men.  "The Paul Phenomenon" continues and the candidate constantly is asked if he is going to run as an independent.  This time around, Ron Paul drops hints that he very well might and he is accused of not being "a true Republican."

The media favorite (if there is one) is Bobby Jindal, but he is not able to raise enough money to be competitive.  He is derided as "the Republican Obama".  Sadly, anti-Indian bigotry is too hard to overcome and he gracefully exits, along with
Tim Pawlenty and Sam Brownback.

Fox News reports seriously and regularly on the Iowa campaigns, while MSNBC ridicules the campaigns as hopelessly laughable. 

CNN's coverage is considered the most credible, and a debate with the Republican candidates airs before the Iowa caucus.

The last poll before Iowa shows:

Palin with 39%, winning 63% of women
Huckabee - 25%, winning 51% of men
Paul - 13%
Romney - 12%
Jindal - 7%
Giuliani - 1%
Brownback - 1%
Gingrich - 1%
Pawlenty - 1%

On January 2, the media reports that movie star and action hero Chuck Norris, who has been the leading surrogate of the Huckabee campaign, winning over voters, is being considered by the Huckabee campaign to be a vice presidential possibility.

In a last minute effort to GOTV, Sarah Palin tells voters in a speech that she can change America, which establishes her, in the eyes of many, as the new change candidate.  President Obama has become the new establishment.

The Iowa Caucus is held on January 3:

Palin - 43%
Huckabee - 21%
Paul - 11%
Romney - 10%
Jindal - 5%
Giuliani - 4%
Brownback - 3%
Gingrich - 2%
Pawlenty - 1%

The media now sees Palin very seriously.  "No candidate, not even Ronald Reagan, won 43% in the Iowa caucus."

The victory, and her widespread support around the country, changes the polls overnight.

A Fox News poll shows her winning 63% of the Republican vote nationwide.

The backdrop changes for New Hampshire...

[Hillary 2016]

In New Hampshire, Romney takes the lead, but Sarah Palin is not far behind.  Romney promises to cut spending in half, cut taxes in half, and deregulate business.  He puts forward a conservative manifesto and his campaign sends one to every registered Republican in the state.  Romney has loads of cash and N.H. is his must-win state.  Mike Huckabee is not doing very strongly in the polls, but he is popular at small gatherings of people and has a quick wit and unmistakable charm. 

Rudy Giuliani's campaign meanwhile continues to fall into disarray.  His opponents attack him as a New York liberal.

Sarah Palin, using her fame and popularity among the base, travels the state with her children, campaigning on family issues, supporting funding for breast cancer, heart disease, and in commercials, discusses in a down-to-earth manner her love for children with special needs, which appeals to many women.  In a touching ad, she plays with her baby on a playground and talks about the need for a mom in the White House.

The New Hampshire primary:

Sarah Palin - 39%
Mitt Romney - 30%
Mike Huckabee - 15%
Ron Paul - 7%
Rudy Giuliani - 4%
Newt Gingrich - 3%
Others still on ballot -2%

Fox News holds a debate with the six remaining candidates, hosted by Sean Hannity.  The issues are radical Islamic jihadism, creationism, Latin American leftism, taxes, meth, overturning Roe vs. Wade, and war with Pakistan.  Coverage of the debate is bad for the male candidates, who are viewed as all attacking Sarah, the frontrunner.  It all works in Sarah's favor, who then goes on to do a media tour, posing for magazines which reach supermarket stands right before the Michigan primary.

In Michigan, the candidates take an anti-NAFTA stand, rail against Nancy Pelosi, talk about the bloated Washington budget, and do a little bit of flip-flopping about bailing out the auto industry with the candidates then attacking each other for flip-flopping. 

The Michigan primary becomes a mess, occurring right in the middle of a really bad blizzard, which depresses turnout.  Sarah and Todd Palin quickly shovel their bus out of the snow and then spread good cheer and hot cocoa to local voters.  Meanwhile, several campaign buses get stuck in the snow.

Due to the blizzard, turnout is so low that only a few people are able to vote and the candidates demand that another primary be held.

Newt Gingrich pulls out of the race and endorses Sarah Palin.  The pundits chatter about a possible Palin-Gingrich ticket.

Rudy Giuliani refuses to drop out, hoping that he will win Florida and make gains in nationwide polls.

An ad which portrays Mitt Romney as "the ultimate flip-flopper" damages Mitt's credibility.

When asked if she is going to choose a man to balance the ticket, Sarah says "I'm just focused on the primary right now."  One pundit believes that an all-woman ticket would be a winner.  Some people suggest Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Governor, who emerges as a strong VP contender.

In Nevada, where Mitt Romney leads because of the Mormon vote.  Sarah Palin does not do as well in this state and Romney sweeps:

Romney - 35%
Palin - 19%
Paul - 18%
Huckabee - 19%
All Others - 9%

[Hillary 2016]

In South Carolina, Palin and Huckabee immediately go right to the religious fundamentalist base.  Huckabee rails against gay marriage, saying it will destroy America.  Palin runs as the patriotic candidate, attacks Democrats as socialists wanting to take over people's lives, and says in an ad that "America is a Christian nation and I'm going to make sure it stays a Christian nation."  When asked if she believes the Bible should be the law of the land, she says yes.  An anti-Mormon mailer mysteriously appears on doorsteps across the state and Mitt Romney will give a controversial speech that directly confronts the issue of him being a Mormon.  Unlike JFK's speech in 1960 however, it is not a speech in support of a separation of church and state.  Mitt Romney says he favors creationism being taught alongside evolution in public schools, says he does not believe in evolution, and attacks "secularists who would rather teach our children Satanism than the story of Jesus."  He also says he believes that there should be  a law to forbid "the promotion of homosexuality in our schools".  He comes out against abortion in all cases.  The speech's publicity gives him a much-needed boost in the polls and now he is a three-way race.

South Carolina Results:

Huckabee - 35%
Romney - 30%
Palin - 29%
Others - 6%

It is Huckabee's first win and overnight he raises $5 million dollars (with the help of Chuck Norris, Rev. James Dobson, and Ralph Reed, who have all endorsed him).

Troubling news for Goppers though: Independent voters favor Barack Obama with a 13-point margin, 54-41.  And Democrats are rallying around their President, 94-3.  In a poll of seven swing states, including North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida, which are being watched closely by the media elite, Obama is winning all of them.

VA- Obama 54-43
NC- Obama 52-44
FL- Obama 56-42

Republican strategists agree that the Christian fundamentalist pandering has gone too far and the candidates tone down the rhetoric. 

Jewish groups criticize the Republicans and Republican approval among Jewish voters plummets.

When a secret plot is discovered to target Israel in a terrorist attack, Barack Obama morphs into a decisive commander-in-chief and orders the U.S. military into Israel to safeguard cities suspected by Intelligence of being targets for a new fundamentalist organization replacing Al Qaida.

The media is focused on Israel and the Middle East but the Republican primary continues.  The candidates don't hesitate to attack the President's leadership as "weak" and "indecisive" even though a majority of Americans rally around the President.

In Florida, the Jewish vote is heavily courted by the candidates, who attack the President as being "pro-Palestinian" and "pro-Islam".  The anti-Muslim rhetoric outrages Muslim groups and protests begin to be held outside the Republican rallies.  Racial and religious tension has increased in the years since Barack Obama became President and it is beginning to unnerve Democrats, independents, and moderates. 

The Democratic Party begins airing powerful ads across key swing states speaking for "The Silent Majority" with shocking and angry footage of the town hall riot movement.  And like most mainstream Americans' reactions to radical movements, the newly-emboldened Conservative Movement receives a severe blow in the polls, as independents continue to swing closer to the Democrats.

An ad showing right wing protestors carrying signs with swastikas on it and screaming to "take back the country with force" shows a right wing movement out of control and hellbent on revolution and secession.

The religious fundamentalism in America coincides with the powerful and mobilized new right wing in Europe and in the Middle East, as reformist movements continue to be crushed.

[Hillary 2016]

In 2012, the Obama Administration chooses sides in the Iranian reform movement and begins to openly aid the reformers.  President Obama secretly battles over the decision, but decides in the end it is the right time to do it.

The Iranian President Mahmoud Whateverhisnameis declares war on the United States but the Revolution in his country becomes stronger by the day.

With help from American forces, the Iranian Revolution becomes a worldwide battle of good vs. evil.  President Obama emerges as the world leader in full command.

The "rally around the flag effect" shows in the polls - Obama's approval rating explodes up to 75 percent.

Congress quickly appropriates the money needed to aid the Revolutionaries in Iran.  Nancy Pelosi, a month ago steadfastly against war, becomes an unlikely hawk.

[Psychic Octopus]

Vice President Chuck Norris... awesome...

[Hillary 2016]

The Iranian Revolution is able to topple the government and the Reformers win.  World leaders come together to hold forum talks on the new Iran.  The new President is Mir Hossein Mousavi who becomes one of a growing group of Barack Obama's Middle Eastern allies.

The advantages of having a President of the United States perceived as being Muslim or having Muslim sympathies is good for relations with the Islamic world, and the anti-Americanism in these countries has died down enormously.  President Obama launches a three-week mass-publicity tour of the region, going to small towns and big cities.  In America, commentators say that Obama is campaigning for a second term as President in the Middle East.

The Republican candidates, meanwhile, have turned all their energies to attacking and undermining the Obama administration on foreign affairs, but nobody seems to listen.  The summer of 2012 sees good-paying jobs becoming more plentiful, incomes slightly increasing, and industries that were once on the verge of collapse seeing remarkable survival skills.  This comes thanks to more revenue pouring into Washington, rising wages, more discretionary income, and those doggone "green" energy independence schemes beginning to work.

So let's fast-forward through the Republican primary.  Sarah Palin wins.  Some Conservatives celebrate, some moan and groan.  The Convention in Atlanta is a coronation for "Governor" Palin, and the Republicans going down in history for nominating the first woman for President on a major party ticket. 

Sarah's campaign goes well for a while, but it hits bumps along the road.

The Democrats renominate Barack Obama in Columbus, Ohio, in a boring convention that nobody watches because it's so boring.  However, Obama takes comfort in his early polling lead, 51-41.

[Hillary 2016]

In a shocking twist, Joe Biden says that he will not ask to be renominated as Vice President, as most people in the party just plain don't care for the man, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is nominated on the first ballot to be Vice President.

Sarah Palin chooses Mike Huckabee to be her VP (with Chuck Norris as a possible Secretary of State).

[Lincoln Republican]

So let's summarize.

Obama ends poverty, achieves world peace, unites Muslims, Jews, and Christians, the Middle East considers Obama to be their savior, and the U.S. economy comes roaring back in time for the election.

The Republicans nominate a ticket made up of an air head and a right wing nut case, who promise to appoint a B grade action hero wannabe actor with no government experience and with no foreign policy credentials as America's chief diplomat.

[Hillary 2016]

Pre-debate polling

Virginia: Obama 52-46
North Carolina: Obama 53-45
Florida: Obama 51-46
Ohio: Obama 51-47
Pennsylvania: Obama 53-45
Colorado: Obama 54-45
Arizona: Obama 50-45
Montana: Obama 49-48
Missouri: Obama 52-46

Obama (visibly greyer) praises the work of Mrs. Clinton in diplomatic relations.  He says he is extremely proud of the military for bringing a peaceful, more progressive government to Iran.  Obama says the world is radically different today than it was four years ago, especially in the Middle East, which is "undergoing a historic revolution that is bringing the region out of the darkness and into the light of tomorrow.  Throughout the Middle East, more and more people are rejecting the narrow, divisive views of rigid and radical dogma and embracing the progressive vision of the future, towards a modern world.  This is a world where the West and the Middle East, and the East, can coexist, and not just that, but fully embrace each other's cultures to flavor our own." 

This theme of a global society is becoming vastly popular throughout the world.  Obama has made it his own, and in the process, redefining American diplomacy.

Although he has always been villified by the right as a foreigner, this image has actually worked in the President's favor, in other countries.

Mrs. Clinton, as Secretary of State, is the perfect vice presidential candidate.  She has not overshadowed the President, as many thought she would.  She also expresses no interest in becoming President.  Even inside aides say that she may very well not even run for the Presidency in 2016.  She has become very comfortable in her position as chief diplomat.  Wildly popular around the world, Mrs. Clinton (and at times her husband) has been a tremendous asset to the administration.

The Palin-Huckabee campaign knows that in order to win, they have to rally their conservative base, which has been mobilized in the last four years. 

The right of the 2010s have now begun to resemble the left of the 1960s.  The teabaggers, birthers, deathers, anti-socialists, radical libertarians, racists, homophobes, and militias become more hostile.  As the base of the Republican Party, they are bad news for a party that refuses to moderate.

[President Mitt]

So let's summarize.

Obama ends poverty, achieves world peace, unites Muslims, Jews, and Christians, the Middle East considers Obama to be their savior, and the U.S. economy comes roaring back in time for the election.

The Republicans nominate a ticket made up of an air head and a right wing nut case, who promise to appoint a B grade action hero wannabe actor with no government experience and with no foreign policy credentials as America's chief diplomat.

[Hillary 2016]

Howard Dean and Rahm Emanuel, however, strongly support inviting more moderates and conservative-leaning independents into the Democratic Party and recruit progressive-minded, pro-business candidates to run in a post-recession environment.

The Palin-Huckabee base represents the height of religious right power over the Republican Party.  They succeed in purging the party of moderates.

Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, after being physically threatened by a group of right-wing radicals, announce that they are switching from Republican to Independent.

At the same time, Mrs. Clinton, in Vigo County, Indiana, softs her image on cultural issues.  She rails against the sexualization of the culture and how it's sending the wrong message to teens.  She once again speaks out against violent video games and lewd reality TV shows and music videos.  "It's time to shut off the smut," she says, as a nursing home in Ohio leaps up in applause.  A new poll shows Hillary is the most popular woman in America among women over 60.

She reaches out to pro-life voters, telling them that their cause is noble, and that while she believes that society should trust women to fully be in control of their life, she believes that pro-life materials should be allowed to be given to women thinking about having an abortion.  She talks a lot about the joy of being a mother.  She says "Motherhood has been my greatest career."

On Oprah's couch, she is asked provocative questions, revealing an extremely candid Hillary.  Nearing tears, she says "I understand that people look at our marriage and can only see a political partnership.  But no matter what anyone thinks, I still love Bill Clinton.  No matter how mad I've gotten at him, and no matter how much pain and hurting he's put me through, I could never not feel that love that I had for him ever since that day we met in college, when I said "If you're going to keep looking at me and I'm going to keep looking at you, we ought to at least know each other. I'm Hillary Rodham."  During the course of her world tour (taking advantage of being the nation's chief diplomat while she is also the vice presidential candidate), Mrs. Clinton's approval ratings go from 55 to 66.

Sarah Palin campaigns aggressively throughout the "McCain states" and rallies the right.  Whenever the media criticizes her, she goes on an anti-media tirade.  The tactic backfires.  Her campaign's paranoia and lack of access for the media does not allow reporters and columnists that like her to portray her favorably.  

Palin-Huckabee hit the panic button and use their corporate donations to create a mass slander campaign by airing anti-Obama commercials.  Instead of allowing the public to see him as a visionary world leader, they try to create an image of a power-hungry leftist socialist dictator who cares less about America than he does promoting international interests.  The ads are a disaster.

So Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee go back to their primary mode of campaigning: personal charm.  In a series of good, but folksy ads, Palin speaks clearly and directly to the voters.  One ad shows her serving her children a meal at a picnic in Alaska while encouraging moms to feed their kids nutritious foods.  Another shows her walking her daughter to school while talking about education.  And yet another shows her fishing and talking about her love of the outdoors.

While the ads convey a good message to voters, and her personal popularity hits record highs, the ads lack any substance.  "Pure fluff," says one disgruntled pundit.  But fluff works, and so Sarah Palin begins a campaign built, not around any policy specifics, but around herself.  Like Bill Clinton did in 1992, she uses pop culture to reach voters in a new way.

She cooks some special Alaska dishes on the Food Network.  She premieres the Sarah Palin Collection on QVC, specially-made products made to help all children with special needs.  She appears in a commercial for Chick-fil-A.  Her husband, Todd, appears in a commercial for men's aftershave.  Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee plays the guitar with a rock band on several morning TV shows.

The new campaign strategy joins Americans obsession with celebrity culture and presidential politics.

While intellectuals are shocked and policy wonks ridicule the campaign strategy, Americans become hungry for more.

Obama-Clinton have become overshadowed by October.

[Hillary 2016]

Chuck Norris is actually not that bad of an actor, and his show Walker, was actually pretty good.  I don't know what the hell he's doing with the politics these days.  I guess he doesn't want to act anymore.

[Hillary 2016]

"I love you in that Chick-fil-A commercial," says one lady to Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin at a North Carolina rally.

That statement alone, says Time Magazine, sums up the entire Republican election strategy."

The bad news, for progressives, is that it's working.

A poll shows that Sarah Palin now leads, 49-47.

"I just like her more," says another woman, in Ohio.

Riding a new wave in fame and popularity, Sarah Palin does not shift gears in her campaign bus.  She takes a surfboard and rides bigger waves.

As "the first woman presidential nominee" (not really the first), Sarah has become a bonafide international superstar. 

"She's the new Obama," says Republican strategist Dick Hamm.  The darling of Fox News right-wing radio has morphed into the biggest star outside of Hollywood.  Industry insiders say that an endorsement from Sarah will double profits for products.

Sarah Palin campaigns to women, who have in the recent past favored Democrats as a group, and particularly moms and grandmothers.  In one week in October, she graces the covers of ten magazines: Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Readers' Digest, Christianity Today, Time, Newsweek, Prevention, and People, not including the gossip rags.  She turns down the offer from Cosmo.

For a whole week while one of the View ladies is out, she guest hosts.  She uses this prime TV time to discuss women's and children's issues.

And Mike Huckabee never stops rocking out with his guitar.  Huckabee jokes to the press, with whom he has a close relationship with, that if they lose the election, he may just go on tour.  His "cool factor" helps Sarah Palin, and a Rasmussen poll shows that he is more popular than Obama is. 

Obama-Clinton sees the numbers, but does not panic.  Instead they remain firmly on message.  The only problem is that now with a more peaceful Middle East, troops from Afghanistan and Iraq coming home, and an economy that is not only stabilizing, but close to booming, the people do not seem to care about boring, wonky speeches.  They want rock music and Chick-fil-A commercials.

[Psychic Octopus]

Don't insult Chuck Norris. The man is a legend, a god. He is the very definiton of AMerica's greatness.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Don't insult Chuck Norris. The man is a legend, a god. He is the very definiton of AMerica's greatness.

Oh men, this was worse than Mark Warner cultistst