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The Local Voice: 2008 Election Results for Lafayette County, Mississippi.

Just in case you wondered.

to Barack Obama for the big win, to John McCain for one of the classiest concession speeches I’ve ever heard, to Sasha and Malia for their new puppy, and to Wolf Blitza for his fancy toy:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJKkMLKFHxo

You can really hear the Star Trek fanboyism in his voice.

More vids: (more…)

Before we all go “get our democracy on” next Tuesday, here are 3 things that I think are important:

1. Remember: ANYTHING you got forwarded to your inbox is a lie.  This is true for both sides.  People don’t forward the truth.  Before you vote based on some information you got from an email, check its truthiness at factcheck.org or snopes.com (both reputable and fair reporting sites).
2. Be kind to your neighbor on Wednesday morning.  This is an important election and both democrats and republicans have been playing with our fears and angers.  There will still be a lot of leftover emotion even after the ballots have been counted. The reality is, no matter who wins things will not be as Good/Bad as they are hyped up to be.  Happens every time, so remember what your mamma said and don’t be a sore Loser/Winner.
3. IF you are still undecided on next Tuesday morning, please just STAY AT HOME.  This campaign has been going on for like 40 years or something.  If you haven’t taken some time to weigh out the issues and make a decision by November 7th, then you are doing more harm than good.  Don’t become that guy I saw in an interview during the last election who said, “I didn’t know who I was going to vote for in the shower this morning, and I didn’t even know who to vote for when I got to the polling place.  I just picked one when I got in and pulled the lever!”  I know undecided voters are glorified every election cycle, but take your freedom seriously and use your head.  Read the candidates’ website (here and here) or find a trustworthy voter’s guide and make a decision.

Daily Kos used wordle to create these graphics from the VP Debate Transcripts. The bigger the word, the more often it was used.  (Click and the images will get larger)

Joe Biden:

Sarah Palin:

I’m not sold on this being an exact science (notice the absense of a big “maverick” in Palin’s cloud), but it is still pretty cool to look at.

Revisiting the Past – although this week’s big success should put some of the ugly part of Oxford’s history behind us, a video that my buddy Jeff sent me is one last reminder of what happened in 1962.

Bob Scheiffer

[The Debate] was the first time I had been back there on that campus since 1962

Of all the stories I’ve covered, including the war in Vietnam, the most terrifying experience I ever had was on that night on the campus of Ole Miss when a riot broke out.

Watch the rest of the Video here.  Make sure to stick around to the end to see all the nice things he says about our town.

Present: Debate Pictures – Here and here are some great shots from around the event.

The Future – The excitement continues this week with Palin and Biden squaring off in the first and only VP debate at Washington University in St. Louis.  A buddy of mine who worked with journalists during our debate in Oxford said that nearly 3,500 press credentials were requested.  Already, nearly 7,000 journalists have requested access to this one in St. Louis.  Should be very interesting.

This is a great action shot of me and Sarah reaching across the aisle.

My final thoughts on the Debate…

The atmosphere: Incredible.  The whole town was milling around, very excitedly.  It was almost surreal.  My family went to the Grove and enjoyed great music and even better weather.  There was a Rock The Vote guy who said the ‘F’ Word and made my grandmother make a weird face.  There was also slam poetry about being green.

The security: Tight.  Lots of guards and big trucks at both entrances to the Green Zone around the Ford Center.  We had to walk all around town to get to the Grove from the Square.

The event:  It seemed to go off without a hitch (or atleast without any more hitches).  To be honest, I was a little bored with the exchange.  Would have been a little bit more exciting if I hadn’t heard so many of their speeches on XM.  Sometimes, I felt like they were just taking turns giving their stump talk (right down to the punch lines).  I wish Lehrer would have been a little more tenacious.

Winner: Hard to say.  I thought Obama seemed the most confident and agressive (in a good way), so it was probably him.

Overall: The months of overtime and hardwork really paid off for the University and the Town.  I thought Oxford/Ole Miss looked great on the National Stage.  AND it was a great event for us locals to enjoy too.

This long local nightmare is over:

http://thepage.time.com/2008/09/26/mccain-headed-to-debate/

See you at the viewing party tonight!

(ht: The Page)

As of 7am this morning, no official announcement that McCain will appear at the Oxford Debate today.  The only thing he would say last night was that he was “hopeful” that enough progress would be made on the economic bailout plan that he would be able to attend.

Speaking of “hopeful”, there are still many signs pointing towards this thing actually happening:

• McCain’s website is still pushing people to watch the debate (link via Clarion Ledger blogs).
• The University and Debate officials are still claiming that everything is a “go”.  
• Hundreds of people gathered on the Oxford Square last night, excited about the historic event.
• TIME Magazine’s “The Page” Blog was reporting last night that McCain’s plane was set to leave Washington today, inferring that he would be headed to O-Town.  I have no idea how they found that out and that message has been taken down, but there is other important information there. 
• McCain’s people on the ground in Oxford are setting up like everything is going down as planned.

A highly-placed source inside the McCain campaign told me early this morning that Sen. John McCain is expected to partcipate in the federal bailout negotions for most of the day, then fly to Mississippi at the last minute in time to participate in the debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

In the colorful history of our small town, both the 1st and 2nd most historic events have several things in common.  First, the 2008 Presidential Debate and the Integration Riots of 1962 are both centered on matters of national and immediate importance.  Second, they both have an African American at the center of the chaos, hoping to break through his own glass ceiling.  And thirdly, they both happen on nearly the same piece of real estate, as the Ford Center can be seen from the base of the Confederate statue around which so many rioters regrouped.

Yesterday, as I watched the news of John McCain suspending his campaign and calling for a postponement of the debates until the financial crisis on Wall Street can be sorted out in Washington, I realized another connection:

We’re stuck in the middle again.

In 1962, Oxford and Ole Miss were caught in a tense standoff between Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett and President John Kennedy and his brother Robert, the U.S. Attorney General at the time.  An issue of integration quickly escalated into one about State’s sovereignty vs. Federal oversight.  Oxford was caught in the middle as Ross Barnett forged ahead with his plan to stop Ole Miss from being integrated.  For several days, the town was flooded with angry rioters, protesters and Klansmen from all over the region.  Property was burned, citizens were attacked, and two people lost their lives.  The Kennedys were finally forced to call in National Guard troops to fortify the U.S. Marshalls protecting James Meredith at the center of the fury.

46 years later, in a situation much less dramatic, but no less historic, Oxford has once again become a pawn in an exhausting political game.  McCain will halt his campaign after a speaking engagement Thursday night, less than a day before a highly anticipated debate.  His goal is to fly to Washington and help congress hash out details for a proposed $700,000,000,000(!) bailout of the mortgage industry.  Obama has said that he understands the importance of a financial solution and has also pledged to take any step necessary to help out the country as well.  He has also called for the debate to go on as planned, stating that this is the time when people need to hear the plans of their future leaders the most.  McCain’s response is that he’s holding out for a solution before he heads this way.

And so here we sit, 36 hours to go, like all those Cobra security guards perched in front of the Ford Center for the last month.  Waiting. Watching.  Millions of dollars of fencing, shrubbery, infrastructure, man-hours, concerts, advertising, and a town excited about it’s moment in the spotlight, it’s contribution to our country.  We’re all waiting.

And by the way, we wont be the only ones upset about being stood up.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E