TresSugar

Palin v. Biden: Who's Watching the VP Debate With Us?!

LibertySugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:45:41 -0700

Forget Super Tuesday, guessing when Hucakbee and Hillary will drop out, the seemingly never-coming Obama VP text, Obama's massive speech at Invesco, or waiting for John McCain's next surprise - tonight's vice-presidential debate could be the most anticipated event of this campaign! We have no idea what will ensue when the action starts at 9 p.m. (EDT), but we'll be here commenting during the whole thing. Please join us! We're dying to know what you think!

Want to do some predebate prep? The New York Times asked people with knowledge of the vice presidency and the candidates to suggest questions they’d like to hear. And if you're heading to or hosting a debate festivity, PartySugar has all the tips you need. I know I will be filling out my Palin Bingo Card throughout the face-off, and depending on how things go, a VP debate drinking game might be just what you need.

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How Healthy Is He? McCain Releases His Medical Records

LibertySugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:00:16 -0700

John McCain released his medical records from 2000-2008 today. According to the AP, the 71-year-old maverick's health issues are pretty common for someone his age. In the not-so-common column, as a result of war injuries, the former prisoner of war has degenerative arthritis that might mean a future joint replacement. The group of journalists, handpicked by McCain, could not keep, nor photocopy the documents.

So what's the fuss? In 2000, McCain underwent surgery for his Stage 2A melanoma, a form of cancer that kills a third of sufferers within 10 years. Judging by his records, medical experts think McCain's early treatment and constant checkups mean he has a very low risk of reoccurrence. McCain said last week that there will be no surprises and that the doctors have assured him he is in good health. Besides, his mom is 96 years old!

Do you think Americans have an appetite for McCain's health history? Should the issue of age, just like race, be taken off the table this campaign season? Should voters be asking for Hillary and Obama's health histories too?

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Awaiting Results: Obama Takes Guam By Seven Votes

CitizenSugar — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:10:22 -0700

Seven. Votes. More than 4,500 Democrats voted in Guam today with the squeaker results: Obama, 2,264; Clinton, 2,257.

Well politics fans, it doesn't get any closer than that. The US territory will send four pledged delegates and five superdelegates to the National Convention, though they don't get a vote in the November general election.

Hillary Clinton has pledged to change that - according to her campaign Clinton, "believes that every American citizen should be able to vote for the president and have their vote count. Citizens should have representation in the executive branch of their national government. Territories send young men and women to serve in the US military, and they should have a say in who is their commander in chief."

Update: Don't forget to set your DVRs (or get up early) tomorrow to catch Obama for the full hour of NBC's Meet the Press, and flip over to catch Clinton on This Week on ABC.

Lighten Up: Pop Culture Takes Over Presidential Race

CitizenSugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:00:54 -0700

It might just be the new populism. Being hip with the pop culture tastes of the American voter is the new litmus test for readiness to lead.

In the past few months, all three candidates have body-slammed their way into the WWE, John McCain proved he not only knows The Hills exists but accepted an endorsement from Heidi, Hillary's been on Tyra's show, and George Bush threatened to send Jessica Simpson to the Democratic Convention to confuse the enemy.

Barack Obama was the latest entrant into the "Bill Clinton on Arsenio" Hall of Fame when he surprised Letterman's Top Ten list last night. He uttered those two famous names (see #10) that apparently every candidate must to be taken at all seriously in this race. To check out his appearance, read more.

Is couch surfing the lineup of talk shows, savvy strategy? Are the candidates being exceptionally wily by going to the voters in their preferred forms of entertainment, or is it a sign that this race has gone on way too long? Do you have a favorite politics-meets-pop incident? How long until Barack gets a cameo on A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila? Do you wish they'd just stay serious?

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Mother Country Weighs In on Colonies' Little Elections

CitizenSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:00:36 -0700

Hee hee! It's like revolutionary war times! It looks like the UK has forgiven the US for that uncomfortable little tea dumping unpleasantness, and they're wildly obsessed with the upcoming US elections. BarackObama.com was the 11th most visited site by U.K. Internet last month, more popular than any website maintained by a British politician.

The Brits have even loosened the stiff upper lip a little and embraced the "politics of feeling." Obama is a perfect example of this warm-and-fuzzy change of political heart. Enjoying and even using the "change" principle, Britons of all stripes await the November results, curious whether the gap between rhetoric and reality can be bridged as successfully.

The story has a great slideshow showing influential folks from across the pond and their presidential picks - they're not all Obama lovers!

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Can Online Voting Maintain Election Integrity?

LibertySugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:00:48 -0700

What's a few million extra ballots between friends? In Zimbabwe today, opposition leaders are accusing the government of printing 3 million extra paper ballots, enough to change the outcome of the Mar. 29 election. It's yet another harbinger of potential voting fraud to come. Though most of us probably agree voting integrity is essential to democracy, Africa is not the only place where the authenticity of an election is threatened.

For the past few months, the Democrats have been grappling with what to do about the Michigan and Florida primaries. Online voting has been proposed as a potential solution. Since paper ballots have been historically imperfect, and electronic voting machines are still proving problematic, maybe it's time to bring this whole voting thing online!

Millions of Americans go online to shop, pay bills, sell, bank, and pretty much to do anything! I think online voting could be the future, as it is cheap and efficient. Voting would probably take no more than one minute, and you could do it at home, work, wherever . . . assuming you had a computer. Which brings us to one of the potential problems. For some of the drawbacks, read more.

Online voting could disenfranchise those without internet access, like the poor or elderly, especially if it's used as the exclusive means of voting. Also, the results could be susceptible to fraud, hacking, or innocent technological glitches. So, it might not be the best solution for Florida and Michigan, as there is not much time to guarantee protection from abuse.

Should we start developing secure methods of voting online, and inevitably increase voter turnout? In fact, a system has been used before. The Michigan Democrats voted online in 2004's primaries, and the Democrats Abroad used the internet last month without any problems. The reality: no voting system is free from fraud. So, is it time to check the cyber box?

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Biggest Headlines of 2008: Barack Obama Defeats Hillary Clinton For Nomination

CitizenSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:30:29 -0800

Hillary Clinton had the name, the experience, the money, the contacts, and the tenacity - yet her momentum of inevitability couldn't stop Barack Obama. Before he upset Hillary in the Iowa primary, few people took the two-year senator's chances of beating the front-runner seriously. His victorious finish in the the marathon Democratic primary proved to be one of the most shocking headlines of 2008, and of American political history.

Obama's ability to persevere through dozens of debates with such a policy-expert as Hillary, and his skill in dodging the kitchen sink lobbed his way from Camp Clinton proved to make him a stronger general election candidate. The early airing of potential scandals (like Rev. Wright or the Obama in Muslim garb pictures) and Obama's demonstration of executive prowess in running a capable campaign most likely got Americans more confident in his presidential abilities.

And, of course, the storyline for these two Democrats is far from over. Perhaps something they accomplish together as president and secretary of state will make the cut for biggest headline of 2009! As for this past year, stay tuned because we'll be looking back on all the biggest news from 2008!

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Who Is Your Favorite Celebrity Campaigner?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:30:23 -0800

The 2008 presidential campaign inspired a year of political expression and celebrities were no exception. Will.i.am remixed Barack Obama's landmark speech and spoke out at the DNC, Diddy said Sarah Palin "scares him" and Matt Damon called her VP nom a "bad Disney movie." Scarlett Johansson upped the Obama love by saying she was engaged to him. Meanwhile celebs like Heidi and Spencer, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, and Halle Berry showed support through quieter efforts and political t-shirts. On the small screen, Oprah kept her endorsement off air until after the election, but celebrated with a special tear-filled show and The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck campaigned for McCain and Palin, calling the pricey wardrobe scandal "sexist."

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What Are You Most Looking Forward to Post-Election?

LibertySugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:00:00 -0700

The 2008 Presidential Election began almost two years ago, so it's unbelievable that it's actually ending. Once all the election-night dust settles, we'll be going through some serious campaign detox. As years of town halls, attack ads, obsessive poll checking, stump speeches, and countless debates come to an end, what are you most looking forward to in the next chapter of US politics?

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Candidates Broke Late-Night Show Appearance Records

CitizenSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:30:32 -0800

The Presidential candidates worked the late-night talk show circuit during the 2008 campaign, making more than four times the number of appearances with Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and the likes than the 2004 lineup did, according to new research.

Candidates showed off their face-to-face skills with 110 appearances on late-night comedy shows, a sharp shoot up from 25 in 2004, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs. Fifty of those spots occurred before the primary votes were even cast, offering the chance for candidates to show their comedic chops and create ideal YouTube or cable news sound bites. And, as a former Hillary Clinton adviser said, "It's a lot more risky, as Sarah Palin will attest, to do an interview with Katie Couric than it is with Jay Leno".

John McCain made 17 guest appearances and created quite a hullabaloo when he canceled on Letterman. President-elect Barack Obama clocked 15 appearances, third behind Republican Mike Huckabee, who now has his own show on Fox News Channel and was promoting his book. Do you think the late-night appearances helped you get to know the candidates?

Photo courtesy of NBC