Hell Yeah! we have the same presidential picks as TechCrunch!

Barack & McCain! I'd be happy with either. (well, the VP's do come into play at some point)

Go Michael Arrington! TechCrunch is my favorite tech news source and often non-tech news source and they've announced who they back. Granted, it was fun reading the New York Times and finding out "Why Rudy sucks," but TC outlines why these candidates are good for technology and entrepeneurs which may prove an important endorsement. It's cute that all the TC readers voted for Ron Paul. He is pretty lovable.

"Senator Obama talks about the future with a sense of optimism that the other candidates seem to lack. America has done great things in the past, and we can do great things in the future, so long as our leaders support our home-grown and immigrant entrepreneurs, or at least get out of the way. "

"[TechCrunch is] endorsing Senator McCain as the best candidate from that side of the aisle. Senator McCain, more so than any other Republican candidate, is at least willing to go on record on any issue we brought up in our interview with him... he’s made it clear that he’ll address inequities that arise from his hands-off policies on net neutrality and mobile allocations, which other Republican candidates refuse to do. And his positions on Internet Taxes, H1-B visas, China/human rights violations and other issues are strongly pro-technology. Romney and, to a lesser extent Huckabee, by contrast, have shown little inclination to even discuss their position on these issues."
Check out the article.

iSpend '08 Prediction

• McCain wins 2008 Republican nomination.
• - He only lost the South Carolina caucus in 2004 because G-Dub's team was actin' sleazy.
• "Anonymous opponents used "push polling" to suggest that McCain's Bangladeshi born daughter was his own, illegitimate black child." Boston Globe 2004
• - Running mate? - no idea. Will guess later.
• Obama wins the 2008 Dem nomination.
• - Bloomie will be his running mate. They're a perfect team. A young cool black senator and the ultimate white male suit. Junior senator/senior citizen.

Ron Paul wins carnival Raffle.

more to come...

Mitt Romney - CB CV

Beginnings: Born into prestigious Mormon family with $ and political roots
In his 20's: Attended Stanford 2 semesters (age 19), spent more than 2 years in France as Mormon missionary then graduated BYU at age 24. Got a MBA/JD from Harvard at 28. Interned for Boston Consulting Group after graduating. Married at age 22 - never divorced
Currently
AGE 60 MA Governor
Worth: between $190mil and $250 mil
Got his money by: Born rich, but made most of his on dough as a successful businessman. He is the founder and former CEO of Bain Consulting.
Top Contributors:

Goldman Sachs	$181,425
Merrill Lynch	$147,200
Marriott International	$115,000

opensecrets.org
Source: Wiki (w/ excellent footnotes) and Yahoo Fin, CNN inside politics
Check out his sons' blog Five Brothers. It is slick and interesting. A delightful blend of good-looking Mormon men, Patriots commentary, and brilliant political positioning. Love him or hate him, his marketing machine is ahead of the curve.

CityBroke Candidate Profiles: When they were young, how they made their $, how much they've got and their top 3 donors.

When Conrad Black was first arrested for stealing huge amounts of money from his [then] company, Hollinger International, I was working as an editorial assistant for a British newspaper. One of the journalists shrugged at the news and said, "People just don't change much from who they are in their youth." He explained that as a teenager Black had been expelled from his prep school for selling exam papers. Being born into a very affluent Canadian family, he had no need for the money. He just didn't give a damn about the rules.
In light of this story, it isn't so shocking that later in life he'd treat his company like a personal piggy bank. He always did what he wanted knowing that the consequences would never fit the crime. He was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in December 2007 for his conviction on three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice (Associated Press, December 10, 2007.)

CityBroke CV's
I don't care who candidates dated in college or what they smoked or they snorted. I am more interested in whether they were they a self-involved d-bag or a decent person I wouldn't mind sharing a cube wall with. I'm also looking for signs that indicative of principle and a desire to serve. We'll report what candidates were doing in their 20's, how they made their money and how much they are worth. So for any of the candidates that I think matter, I'll be putting together a CB CV. Rudy "I'm a huge fake" Guiliani will not be profiled.

Hillary Clinton - CB CV

Beginnings: Grew up middle class in Illinois.
Her 20's: Graduated Wellesley undergrad. Attended Yale Law and became an attorney. Civil rights activist and advocate for education reform. Married Bill Clinton at age 22 - never divorced
Currently AGE 60 NY Senator

Worth: $39.9 MILLION
Got money by: Lawyering, Authoring, Investments
Top 3 Contributors** according to opensecrets.org

DLA Piper	$356,100*
Goldman Sachs	$350,050
Morgan Stanley	$323,550

*DLA Piper is a massive law firm
**The organizations themselves did not donate , rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Source: Wiki, sanfranciscosentinel.com, hillaryclinton.com

Dem Debate Highlights - Hill Got Tag-Teamed - but ended up on top of the pile.

Political debates are like high school dances. There are a bunch of people on the floor, but everyone has their eye on the cool-kid prom court. At last night's Fight, it was Hill, Barack and Johnny that tangoed and tangled while others looked on.

Hill demanded in the debate that "other" Dems stop “throwing mud” and adopting tactics “right out of the Republican playbook.”
Johnny accused Hill of defending a system “that is rigged and is corrupt." Later Barack said, “What the American people are looking for right now is straight answers to tough questions, and that is not what we’ve seen out of Senator Clinton on a host of issues, on the issue of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.” Read More LA Times

Another candidate I will not vote for. [If I voted]

POINT:
1. She has got Hill and White House experience.
2. She has never looked hotter.
COUNTERPOINT:
A significant number of Americans hate her more than Satan. See Google Images "Hilary"
PS. Obama's speech was Gipperesque and Clinton's aides got caught planting questions in Iowa town hall meetings. (That probably happens all the time in "real" townhalls. what's the biggee?)
The Note thinks her inevitable nomination could {ironically} cost her the game. Check it out.

Violence and Protest in Georgia leads to a State of Emergency and January Election

President Mikheil Saakashvili has declared Georgia to be in a state of emergency and has announced an ad-hoc parlimentary election to be held Jan 5, 2008. The opposition has accused him of running a centralized government intolerant of dissent and undermined by high-level corruption and police and prosecutorial abuses. Read More LA Times-- Georgia "the county" wikipedia entry & on the world map

Bush Tells Pakistan Tyrant To Release Former Prime Minister Bhutto from House Arrest

Bhutto is being forcibly kept in her home by a military barricade. Her supporters are filling the streets in protest against the current regime leader, General Musharraf. 5000 of her supporters have been arrested.

Read More BBC News Friday am --Pakistan wikipedia entry and on the world map

The Spirit of Colbert Lives on

in the shape of Al Franken. He is running for the Minnesota state senate for reals. I think he'll get in. Noteworthy: Both he and Colbert are really satirists and not traditional comedians.
Check out this colorful New York Magazine article.
Don't Laugh
"Al Franken looks sort of like a cartoon bullfrog."

Bush Urges Pakistani Prez to Restore Democracy

Bush Urges Musharraf to Hold Elections
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Monday exhorted Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections and relinquish his army post "as soon as possible."
[US] aid [to Pakistan] has amounted to $9.6 billion dollars since 2001.

Colbert Weeps.

“Although I lost by the slimmest margin in presidential election history — only 10 votes — I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle. It is time for this nation to heal.”

Mr. Colbert’s statement concluded that he was so choked up about the end of his campaign, that “I am going off the air until I can talk about this without weeping.”

Monday Morning Must-Read: THE NOTE

Check out this week's Note.
Juicy Bits:

Sen. Barack Obama lifted up the plastic to reveal his cameo on "Saturday Night Live,"

ABC polling director Gary Langer writes. "A clear demand is for change; 75 percent want to see the next president lead the nation in a direction different from Bush's."

"Clinton operates within a corrupt system and defends it," Edwards said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos. "She says she will be the agent for change. Well, I just don't think that's going to happen."

What's Going on? -In Pakistan-

You probably don't know what the hell is going on in Pakistan, but you should.
Emergency rule in Pakistan: Musharraf's last grab for power? csmonitor.com
"Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Saturday, effectively eliminating the opposition that has built against him in recent months...Under the emergency order, he has sacked more than half of the Supreme Court, jailed up to 500 opposition party leaders, and shut down the independent media...assuming that the US has invested too much in him and the war on terror to withdraw its patronage."
"It marks an important moment for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [A WOMAN]. As one of the last opposition figures who is not under arrest, she is uniquely situated to rally the masses against the president."
The pattern is so similar," says Hassan Abbas, a Pakistan expert at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. "It looks like the last efforts of a dictator who is out of touch with reality."

Peggy Noonan does not respect John Edwards

POINT
1.Boyish good looks
2. Happy plump wife
3. Southern
COUNTERPOINT
1. Boyish
2. Ask Peg
"Nor is it that John Edwards seems like a furry animal on a wheel, trying so hard, to the point he's getting a facial tic, and getting nowhere, failing to get his little furry paws on his prey, not knowing you have to get off the wheel to get to the prey. "
Read Peg rip into other Democratic hopefuls

Mitt Disses Hillary. Mentions "Intern." Media goes WILD.

POINT
Has Sexy Voice.
COUNTERPOINT
First name is Mitt.
Watch the ad
"Hillary Clinton wants to run the largest enterprise in the world. She hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city.
She has never run anything. And the idea that she could learn to be president as an internship just doesn't make any sense.
I have spent my life running things. I've learned how to run a business. I've learned how to run a state. I ran the Olympics. In each case, I've brought change.
And if there's ever been a time we needed change in Washington to bring strength to America, it's now."
Brought to you by Mormons for Mitt

Barack OBadass Would Tell Iran What's Up

POINT He's making sense (Bonus) and sounds tough (Double Bonus)

COUNTERPOINT Looks like Barack is going to try to make strong-arming players in the "Middle East" a big part of his campaign.
This is America, Barack. We don't care about what is going on outside our borders where we don't live or vacation or have foreign direct investment.

Nice ploy - Nice tie. Try something funny next time.

"The Iranians and the Syrians are acting irresponsibly inside Iraq. They perceive that it is a way to leverage or impact or weaken us at a time when they’re worried about United States action in a broader context. I’ve already said, I would meet directly with Iranian leaders. I would meet directly with Syrian leaders. We would engage in a level of aggressive personal diplomacy in which a whole host of issues are on the table. We’re not looking at Iraq, just in isolation. Iran and Syria would start changing their behavior if they started seeing that they had some incentives to do so, but right now the only incentive that exists is our president suggesting that if you do what we tell you, we may not blow you up."

Check out the complete NYT interview transcript

South Carolina Sticks it to Colbert.

Looks like I won't be voting. Again.

Associated Press

Colbert Won't Appear on SC Ballot

26 minutes ago

However, after about 40 minutes of discussion by top party officials, the executive council voted 13-3 to keep the host of "The Colbert Report" off the ballot.

"He's really trying to use South Carolina Democrats as suckers so he can further a comedy routine," said Waring Howe, a member of the executive council. And Colbert "serves to detract from the serious candidates on the ballot."

The Million Strong for Colbert Facebook Group just hit 1,339,488 members.

And it has 122,553 wall posts.
If he runs I'll vote for him. I should say, if he runs, I will vote. AND I will vote for Colbert. So, my vote counts as 2 because I don't generally vote. Does that make sense? I'm not a swing vote because I'm not picking between 2 candidates. I'm a "I won't flex my constitutional right, unless it's disruptive to our fragile political system" kind of voter.

I think we just might elect another Republican president.
Democracy inaction.

Colbert Appears to be Running for Reals

While popular with Facebook users (who are statistically unlikely to cast a vote anyway) the candidate faces some challenges in his homestate:

Another council member, Charleston County Democratic Party Chairman Waring Howe, was more blunt: "Over my dead body will Colbert's name be on the ballot."

Read more Colbert to file for S.C. Democratic primary CNN October 31st