To Endorse or Not

I want to clarify that my words are just that - mine. I am not speaking on behalf of any organization that I am a member of nor am I speaking on behalf of my employer.

Our union recently has had discussions as to whether we should be endorsing a candidate for President at all. I will not get into the details of that discussion, but rather try and address the issue generically. As an individual, you decide that you support Vice-President Gore in the 2000 election because his positions and platform most closely align with yours. You also belong to a group of skateboarders. If elected, Vice-President Gore is in favor of lifting the ban on skateboarding. As a matter of fact, as a Senator from Tennessee, VP Gore introduced legislation to allow skateboarding through all public buildings. Unfortunately, he could not conjure up the support to get the legislation passed. However, he was the only individual who stepped out on that limb, even though he was in the minority opinion. Should your skateboarding club endorse him? What if Senators Boxer and Snowe were also candidates who currently serve in the Senate and support you today? Should that make a difference?

There are obviously two clear schools of thought. One is the conservative approach. We do not need to endorse Mr. Gore because there are other skater-friendly candidates out there and whichever one comes out on top, perhaps the skateboarers club will opt to endorse then with all of the other more liberal organizations. On the other hand, the skateboarders could take the lead, become a friend of Mr. Gore now and show that we appreciate what Mr. Gore has done for skateboarders everywhere. We gain a lot of respect for our courage and really lose nothing if he is not the nominee. We simply follow all of the other special interests to the winning candidate.

I am a firm believer in taking measured risks. By sitting on the fence, you are vanilla like everyone else. I remember a story of a school that took sponsorship money from Coca-Cola. (In today's society, some schools have to take money from corporate America to provide better tools for their students. Until this story broke, I wasn't aware of it). This school wanted to thank Coca-Cola for their money, so they asked all of the kids to come to school wearing these shiny new Coca-Cola t-shirts that the company had provided. One of the students thought this was garbage and refused. As a matter of fact, he showed up the following day wearing a new blue Pepsi shirt. The school suspended him for the day.

As a skateboarder, I make the decision to support Mr. Gore. I let it be known to other like minded skateboarders that we are having a virtual meeting to show our support of Mr. Gore. This has nothing to do with my club. It has everything to do with individuals showing support and gathering together in a group identified by their common interest for skate boarding.

Today, I have chosen to wear the Pepsi shirt. I realize I stand to be cast as a loose cannon and not a team player. At this juncture, that's a chance I have to take.

To Michigan and beyond!

My Union's most recent President, John Carr has written his endorsement of Senator Obama at The Main Bang. John is very well written, widely read and highly respected by many, many people, this writer included. If our Union doesn't get on the Obama train, then we will! Oh, and we'll be bringing hundreds of our friends with us!

It's amazing to watch the media, pollsters, et. al. wring their hands during the New Hampshire Primary. I guess if it were my job to predict the outcome of an election and the result was tantamount to "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN", I'd be looking for answers too. It showed me how out of touch the media is with the American public and reality, but that's another story. Figures lie and liars figure and the fact remains that any sampling done before the ballots are cast is a wag. Sure, they get it right more often than not. It sure is fun to watch them squirm and spin when they get one wrong.

My personal opinion? Senator Clinton has widespread support of women over 40. This was a fact in Iowa and held true in New Hampshire. Many older women, like my Mother and Mother-in-law, refuse to disclose their vote to anyone, especially pollsters. This especially holds true in New England, where my wife's family is from. So congratulations to all of the New England Mothers and Grandmothers out there! You pulled the January surprise on the country!

Here are some numbers that are not only good for Senator Obama, but for the Democrats and the country (SOURCE: MSNBC)

• 18% of the voters were in the 18-29 crowd, up from 14% four years ago. They overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama again. In the 18-24 group (11% of the voters), Obama garnered 60% of the vote.
  
  
• 287,000 people voted in the Democratic Primary (57% of all voters), up from 218,000 in 2004 and 147,798 in 2000. 218000 voted in the Republican Primary, down from 237,000 (61% of voters) in 2000. This is significant, because Independent voters makeup 37% of the population of NH and 38% are registered Republicans. Clearly the Independent vote broke for the Democrats and for Obama.
  
  
• 505,000 people voted last night in New Hampshire up from 385,000 in 2000 (the last election without an incumbent on either side).
  
  
• New Hampshire is not a winner-take-all proposition. The delgates will be split at least three ways, with a bulk being divided almost equally between Senators Obama and Clinton.

NEXT UP: Michigan Primary, January 15th, zero delegates*

ON DECK: Nevada Caucus, January 19th, 30 delegates.

IN THE HOLE: South Carolina, January 26th, 54 delegates.

LOOKING AHEAD: 25 days until Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th) where 2075 delegates will be awarded. New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts hold primaries.

*Note: Michigan and Florida moved their primaries ahead of Super Tuesday without approval from the DNC and were stripped of their delegates.