Tuesday's To Do List: VOTE

I don't care what you think you have to get done today. There is only one thing you really need to do.

Seriously. You must vote.

Don't tell me that your boss won't give you the time off. Most states, but not all (and what is wrong with those states that don't) make it illegal for your boss to deny you time off to vote. Click that link to find out what the requirements are in your state.

The lines may be long so be prepared. Take a folding chair so you're not standing the whole time. If the weather is iffy, take an umbrella and dress appropriately. Take snacks and water. Take a book. Be prepared to wait. Whatever you do, do NOT get out of line once you're in it. Have a back-up plan to pick up your kids in case you're in line to vote. Better yet, go vote right after you drop your kids off at school. As long as you're in line before the poll closes, they have to let you vote.

Don't tell me your vote doesn't matter because Obama (or Romney) is going to win your state anyway. 537 votes determined the outcome in Florida in 2000. Have you heard of the "down ballot races"? Those are the races for Congress, Senate, your State House races and Governor races, county races, referendum issues, judges. Those races matter more to your daily life than the President. Trust me.

Don't tell me you don't know where to vote. The Googles has you covered. This is cool. Just type in your address and it will tell you the location of your polling place (and get you directions), but it will also tell you all the races on your ballot.

Leave for work super early and vote. And don't forget to ask for your "I Voted" sticker. Trust me, I will wear mine with pride.

Just vote.

And if anyone tries to intimidate you into not voting, take action. Voter intimidation and voter suppression is a big f'ing deal. Thanks to my blog buddies Dr. Monkey Hussein Monkenstein and Katie Schwartz for the heads up about the FBI Voter Intimidation Hotline. Put the number in your cell phone, even if you think you won't need it. Especially then.

And if you choose not to vote, please don't talk for the next four years.

Your Vote IS Your Voice. Make It Count. Be Heard.

Warning: I'm going to get on my soapbox about voting. You've been warned.

Tuesday is Election Day.

I know many of you say you hate politics. You hate it because of the backstabbing, lying, highly questionable ethical practices, lack of ability to work together by politicians of different parties, and general negativity that seems to be inherent in our political system today. Oh, and the fact that campaigns seem to start the day after the elections without ever giving elected officials to do their jobs. I get it. I truly do.

The way our country practices politics is disgusting. Much like watching sausage being made, I imagine.

But here's the thing: We have this elected form of government and our elected officials make decisions on our behalf that effect our lives everyday and the only way we can influence the decisions they make is to VOTE.

There are many special interest groups (i.e., PACs) and wealthy people (e.g., the Koch brothers) who would use their money and influence to get politicians to do their bidding and don't care about the effects on the majority of Americans. When we don't vote, those special interest groups win. When they win, we lose.

What do we lose? Good question.

When the special interests win, we lose funding for education and FEMA. Ask your friends and family in New Jersey, New York and New Orleans about the importance of FEMA. We lose bank regulations and consumer protections. We lose environmental protections. Social Security and Medicare are at risk.  Our country's infrastructure suffers. Health care for women and children suffers. This is just a small list of what we lose when special interests win.

If you care about these things, the loudest way your voice is heard is when you vote. And if you think your vote doesn't matter, I'd like to remind you of the 2000 presidential election. Not only did it go down to the wire, it went past the wire. 537 votes separated the vote totals in Florida. What would have happened if another 540 voters went to the polls and voted for Al Gore? We'll never know.

You simply must vote. You owe it to yourself, to your elderly parents, to your kids, to your future grandchildren. You owe it to all the women around the world who are denied the ability to vote simply because they are women. You owe it to all the people who died fighting to ensure everyone of every race and gender in the United States was allowed to vote.

I know that there are many organizations trying to deny people the right to vote this elections. Voter suppression efforts have been widely covered in the news. The best way to fight voter suppression efforts is to vote. Show those groups that no matter how difficult it is on Tuesday, your vote matters to you and you won't be deterred by their fear of your vote.

Your vote is your voice. Make it count. Be heard.

2012 LMS Presidential Endorsement: President Barack Obama

After much deliberation (about when to release my endorsement), I have decided to announce my endorsement for President of the United States tonight.

Now before I tell you my pick in the 2012 election, I want you to know that my choice isn't perfect. Actually, no one is perfect. In the past four years, President Obama has made some decisions I disagreed with and put forward some policies I have felt didn't go far enough. 

Four years ago, it's no secret that I was in love with President Obama. I believed in Hope and Change. Four years later, I still am in love with President Obama and I wholeheartedly believe in Hope and Change. 

Sarah Palin rhetorically asked a couple of years ago, "How's that Hope and Change thing workin' for ya?" Well, I have to tell you, I think it's worked out pretty damn well.

We've had 31 consecutive months of job growth and 5.2 million new private sector jobs. The October Jobs Report will come out in the morning. Everyone expects it to be another month of positive job growth.

Obamacare. The GOP has attempted to make the term some derogatory slur. It's not. Thanks to Obamacare, I can never be denied insurance for a pre-existing condition and possessing a uterus is no longer considered a pre-existing condition. Young adults can stay on their parents' insurance until their mid-20s allowing them to pursue dreams without jeopardizing their futures. Insurance companies are required to spend at least 80% of insurance premiums on actual insurance benefits or send out refunds. I didn't receive a refund this year, but I know quite a few people who did. President Obama is also firmly behind the idea that women should control their own bodies and make decisions that are best for them and their families. If the right to control my our own bodies isn't enough to vote for President Obama and all Democrats, I don't know what is.

Nine words: Osama Bin Laden is dead and GM is alive. 

Oh, and Chrysler is not pulling out of Michigan and Ohio in favor of taking all their Jeep production to China. They're expanding to build Jeeps in China that will be sold in China. There's a big difference. My tax dollars helped build that.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill to be signed into law by President Obama, gives women more freedom to fight back against pay discrimination. I think it says a lot about a President when his first major piece of legislation is to help bring equality to half our population.

DODT is no more and POTUS endorses marriage equality.

Fuel efficiency and clean energy alternatives are a priority to President Obama because he believes in leaving a healthy planet for future generations.

President Obama ended the war in Iraq. The war that was started based on a bunch of lies by his predecessor, by the way.

Middle class tax cuts that resulted in an average savings of $3,600 for typical families over the past four years.

He doubled funding for Pell Grants. That's a big damn deal. I had Pell Grants when I was in college. Today, I'm a successful, home owning, tax paying woman earning more than I could without that education.

That's a very small list at what President Obama has done. I believe that in the next four years, he can accomplish far more that will move the country forward for everyone, not just the top 1%. 

So to answer Sarah Palin's question about Hope and Change, it's working quite nicely for us, thank you. We are far better off than we were four years ago. And I'm fully committed to the path President Obama is taking us down. I know that when he's given another four years in office, President Obama will lead us to full recovery.

Therefore, without reservation, Little Merry Sunshine endorses President Barack Obama for a second term as President. As I said on October 27, 2008, 

If you're reading my blog and still undecided, I ask you to think about the kind of country you want to leave for your children and grandchildren. If you believe in equal pay for women, that health care is a right not a privilege, that women have a fundamental right to control their own bodies, that all people absolutely are created equal, that sometimes more gets accomplished by sitting down face to face than with the "either you're with us or against us" approach, that the politics of fear don't work, that every American deserves equal opportunity, and that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves, then you owe it to yourself and future generations to vote for Obama.

Now if you're still undecided, I don't know what to say to you. Watch the videos below and then go vote for President Barack Obama.

Oh, and in case you're curious, yes, Sammy and Zoey are Demo-CATS and fully support President Obama.

Tuesday's To Do List: VOTE!

I've stayed pretty quiet this election season. Frankly, I'm not so pleased with 98% of my choices for all elected offices. And my guess is that, based on polling I've seen, you're not so thrilled either.

The 2010 election season has been filled with nastiness all around. Thanks to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 (2010), untold amounts of anonymous money has bought more tv time than I remember in the past, much of it lies.

Many people believe that President Obama has not lived up to the promises he made 2 years ago. I would argue that he actually has fulfilled many of his promises and that he never promised us change overnight. He never promised that the economy would magically bounce back on January 21, 2009. Health care reform isn't exactly what I wanted it to be, but we're on the right track. DADT is still in place and I don't have an answer for that. Things are getting better. Want proof? Visit the website "What the F(*^ Has Obama Done So Far?" and I think you'll be impressed. Make sure to just keep pressing the big button in the middle of the page to move onto the next page.

Life in Illinois isn't great. Governors Blagojevich and Ryan were corrupt. The state is out of money. A lot of people say the blame for that lies solely with the Democrats. Guess what? In 2002, when Governor Blagojevich took office, we were out of money. The problem is that the government in Illinois, which until Blagojevich won in 2002 had been run by Republicans since 1973, had been kicking the financial problems down the road rather than making tough decisions.

My point is that no party is 100% innocent in any of the problems - federal, state or local - and no party is 100% guilty.

But no matter how disgusted you are with the candidates and the current office holders there is only one thing you can do to make a difference: VOTE.

Don't vote for who you think is going to win. Don't vote for the guy who ran the most or the loudest tv ads or sent you the most mailers. Don't vote for a party because you've always voted for the party, just like your parents and grandparents before you. Vote for the person who shares your values. Your real values. Underneath all the hype and the nastiness, some of these candidates share your values. Sift through the rhetoric and vote.

Decisions are made by those who show up and Tuesday is the one day you get to show up. So take 5 minutes out of your day and take part in the decision making process. Because if you don't, then I really don't want to hear your whining.

"Think government isn't about you? How many of you have student loans to pay? How many of you have credit card debt? How many want clean air and clean water and civil liberties? How many want jobs? How many want kids? How many want their kids to go to good schools and walk on safe streets? Decisions are made by those who show up. You've gotta rock the vote!"

- CJ Cregg, The West Wing, "You Gotta Rock the Vote," Season 4, Episode 3 (emphasis mine)

Decisions Are Made By Those Who Show Up*

Do you know how many people in the world don't even have the option of voting or who's votes don't matter because their democracy is a total sham? I don't either, but I'm willing to bet it's far greater than the number of people who vote we the freedoms we take for granted.

We take for granted that we won't be maimed when we go vote. We don't think twice about whether the election is stolen so our votes don't matter anyway (well, after 2000, maybe we do a little, but I digress). As women, we don't consciously think about all the women throughout the world who are denied the franchise simply because they are women and that we've only had this right for a little more than 81 years. We don't worry that changing our government will erupt in violence and war.

Voting is our right. It's a privilege that we were granted in the Constitution, although some of us had to fight a bit harder than others for the right to be added to the Constitution. But it's not just a right, in my mind. Voting is a responsibility.

We owe it to the millions of people around the world who are denied the right to vote. And we owe it to future generations to have cared for our democracy by voting. The decisions made today and in the next 4 years by our government will have ripple effects for generations to come. Simply put, if you're concerned about the future for your children and grandchildren you must vote.

Decisions are made by those who show up.

*President Josiah Bartlet, The West Wing, "What Kind of Day Has It Been," Season 1, Episode 22, originally aired May 17, 2000.

You Must Vote OR I Could Be Supreme Dictator

If you live in Illinois, Tuesday, February 2nd is Election Day. This is the Primary Election for the upcoming November General Election.

Now I know that 2010 is an "off" year and so it's not a sexy presidential election year. But it's my personal belief that that's exactly why this year is crucial. We are voting for both Houses of Congress - Senate and House; all of our State-wide offices; State Representatives and Senators; all of the Cook County Board positions (including President - that's Todd Stroger's current job) and many local referendum.

Again, it's not sexy, but all of these elected officials and referendum affect our lives with far greater daily impact than the President.

Are you upset about the Cook County 10% sales tax? Make sure you vote in Tuesday's election.

Do you want a say in whether or not police and fire pensions are fully funded? Vote on Tuesday.

Do you think the State of Illinois has been run into the ground? Get to the polls.

Do you want to make sure Rep. Mark Kirk is or is not the next Senator from Illinois? Go vote.

Are you ticked that the State of Illinois is allowing Cook County to collect 55% of our property tax bill instead of the usual 50% in the first installment? VOTE.

Do you or someone you love rely on the State of Illinois for any services (food stamps, disability services, etc.) or are you unhappy with all the increased fees for everything in Illinois? You've got to pull the lever on Tuesday.

Do you have strong issues on things like abortion, health care reform, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, job creation, taxes (of all kinds - income, property, sales, tolls, etc.), foreign aid, Social Security, Medicare, food safety, outsourcing, alternative energy sources, etc.? You've got nothing that's more important to do on Tuesday than vote.

State and local officials control or impact all of those things.

Voting isn't simply a right. In my opinion, it's an obligation. For the millions and millions of people (especially women) around the world without the right to vote, you owe it to them to exercise your right and vote for the candidates and issues you believe in.

But there's one more part to voting: you must be educated. Walking into a voting booth and knowing nothing about the candidates and issues is simply ignorant given how easy it is to become educated. If you live in Cook County, you can visit the Cook County Clerk's website for information on where to vote and for information on all the candidates and referenda. ABC7 also has an extensive website about candidates for all offices, area wide. Please don't just rely on commercials and all the fliers that have been piling up in your mailbox.

Ultimately, voting is up to you, but if you don't vote, please don't complain to me about the state of affairs in the country, state, county, or village.

If you don't want to vote because you're too busy, it's okay because I'm up on all the issues and know what's good for everyone. While you may not agree with me, I'd be happy to be Supreme Dictator of Illinois. Just let me know. It's one of the many services Little Merry Sunshine provides.

Endorsements for Mayor of Arlington Heights & Library Board of Trustees

One of my beliefs is that local government is more important than national government. Sure, the recent Presidential election was sexy and sucked up all the media attention for the better part of two years and I can't say I was immune to writing about it. I'm almost embarrassed for you to do a search for "Barack Obama" on Little Merry Sunshine. The number of posts with that tag is astounding. But no matter how exciting the national elections may be, the fact is that you get more bang for your vote with local elections. If you've got a problem with snow removal service, for example, President Obama can't help you, but picking up the phone and calling the mayor will get something done. If you've got kids (or plan to) then your local library and school boards will have a direct impact on shaping your child's life. Yes, it's sexy to vote for the president, but it's imperative that you vote in local elections. Your day-to-day life depends on it.

In that spirit, Little Merry Sunshine is pleased to endorse the following candidates for elected office in Arlington Heights.

For the 2-year term on the Arlington Heights Library Board of Trustees, Deborah A. Nelson, is strongly endorsed and easily the candidate of choice. Frankly, this was a no-brainer. Deborah was appointed by the Board of Library Trustees to fill the seat of retiring trustee, Jim Bertucci, in April 2008. At that time, not knowing any of the board members, she applied for the position and went through an interview process where she competed against other highly qualified applicants. Deborah's 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector including customer service, strategic planning, public relations, and fund raising, lay the perfect foundation for a dedicated library trustee. Community service and volunteerism are a part of Deborah's make up going back to her days in the Service Over Self club at John Hersey High School. Now she pays those lessons forward to a new generation by teaching the Character Counts! program at Patton Elementary School and founding the Random Acts of Kindness Club of Arlington Heights. As part of the Library Board of Trustees, Deborah is serving on the Board's Long Range Planning Committee, is the Board's liaison to the North Suburban Library System, and was part of the unanimous vote for a 0% tax levy. Deborah's commitment, character, experience, and integrity make her the ideal Library Board Trustee and I strongly encourage you to vote for her on April 7th.

For the office of Village President (aka Mayor), Little Merry Sunshine endorses Mayor Arlene Mulder. Although I have not always agreed with all of Mayor Mulder's decisions and would like to see more transparency in village government, continuing her leadership just makes good sense. After attending the Mayoral Forum sponsored by the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce and researching both candidates on my own, I came to the decision that Arlington Heights continues to need the leadership, vision, and commitment of Mayor Mulder. In addition to being the Village President, Mayor Mulder serves on a number of boards and committees, locally, statewide, and nationally. She also works across party lines to bring money into the Village. In spite of the lack of pay, Mayor Mulder treats her position as a full-time job. As the 7th largest town in the Chicago Area and the 12th largest town in Illinois, Arlington Heights needs a mayor with this kind of dedication. Mayor Mulder is also highly accessible to residents and this is part of what makes Arlington Heights a great place to live.

Although I am not making endorsements in the other races, I encourage you to educate yourself on the candidates and vote on April 7th. To do that, visit the Daily Herald's Election 2009 section. There, you can choose each of the races from a pull-down menu and read biographies of each candidate, and all stories, letters to the editor, and endorsements related to the races. To find your polling place, visit the Cook County Election Department at voterinfonet.com.

It's Campaign Season AGAIN!

I know, you thought campaign season ended in November and we didn't have to think about voting again until at least 2010. Well, you're wrong.

It's LOCAL ELECTION season! Historically, local elections have embarrassingly low turnouts and I find this sad. The fact is that while the national elections are sexy, the local elections have the most impact on your day to day life. We're electing the mayor who controls the purse strings that get streets plowed in the winter and garbage collected all year long. Do you have kids or want to someday? Then you owe it to them to know who's on the school board. These are the people who determine how and what the next generation learns. That certainly shouldn't be left to just anyone. The quality of schools are a major factor in determining home sales. No one wants to live too far from their local school and no one wants to live in a crappy school district. So we simply must vote in the local elections.

To that end, I encourage you to get yourself educated on the candidates. You can do this by attending the upcoming forums. You'll see me there.

Note: The links below will take you to the candidates websites. If you know if other candidate websites, please let me know and I'll link to all of them.

Campaign Forum Season Arrives
by Sheila Ahern, Daily Herald, Feb. 27, 2009

The spring election is just a few short weeks away, and the best way to cram for April 7 is to swing by an Arlington Heights candidates forum. Here's a few:

• The Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce hosts two debates in March to discuss business issues. The two mayoral candidates - Philip Walter and incumbent Arlene Mulder - will debate on Tuesday, March 3, at the Metropolis theater. Trustee candidates will meet a week later, on Tuesday, March 10. They are incumbents Norm Breyer, Bert Rosenberg and Joe Farwell and political newcomers Tom Glasgow, Michael Sidor, Keith Moens, Tabitha Long and Barbara "Glennie" Browne.

On both nights, a reception will be held at 4 p.m. with the candidates taking the stage from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The Metropolis is located at 111 W. Campbell St. downtown. The public is invited to both free forums.

• For serious government junkies, the League of Women Voters hosts a daylong forum Saturday, March 14, at the Arlington Heights Village Hall. Candidates running for Arlington Heights trustee and mayor, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board (LMS Note: The candidates are Miriam ("Mimi") Cooper-Spickard (incumbent), Lenore Gonzales Bragaw (incumbent & board president), James Perkins (incumbent), Leslie Pinney (incumbent and strong Christian Conservative who has attempted to ban books according to her Christian beliefs), and Mark Hineman), Arlington Heights Park District, Arlington Heights Memorial Library board (LMS Note: The candidates are Frank J. Biga III, Charles Drost, Kerry Pearson (incumbent), Deborah A. Nelson (incumbent), and Dawn E. Walter and you can learn about them all by clicking on the AHML link) and Wheeling Township should all be there.

The event is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. and end around 2 p.m. It will be broadcast on local cable later in the week.

• There will be a debate for Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 candidates at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, at Thomas Middle School, 1430 N. Belmont Ave (LMS Note: The candidates are Kenneth Nielsen (incumbent), David Page (incumbent), Denise Glasgow (incumbent), Michael King, Philip Crusius, and Steven Weseman).

CNN Heroes - Ordinary People Extraordinary Impact

I love that CNN is focussed on the positive and is making such a big deal out of the ways previously unsung heroes are changing the world. If only everyone did one thing everyday to make the world better, I believe we could solve most of the world's ills.

CNN has compiled their Top 10 Heroes of the Year and now we get to vote on the winner, who will be announced on Thanksgiving.

Go read the stories - I promise they will inspire you - and vote on your favorite.

But hurry! You only have until 6am ET on Thursday, November 20th to cast your ballot.

Click here to read about CNN's Heroes of the Year and vote.

Yet ANOTHER Side Effect of 8 Years of GOP Rule

I received this email today from Dan Seals, the Democratic Candidate for the 10th Congressional Seat in Illinois against 4 term incumbent and George Bush YES Man Mark Kirk. If this doesn't terrify you, well, then I'm not sure what to say. But it should. It should terrify you that if someone at the post office doesn't like you or your business, then your outgoing mail (that has cost you significant money to send) could just get misplaced. Of course, this comes just a month after Dan Seals campaign office was broken into and a computer was stolen. Coincidence?

This is definitely not the kind of America I want to live in. The only way I know to stop these nasty tactics is to vote all the Republicans out of office. That will send a very clear message that won't get "lost" at the Post Office.

Onto the email . . .

October 31, 2008

Dear Little Merry Sunshine,

ALERT
Last week, thousands of Seals supporters should have received our campaign's final direct mailing. Unfortunately, those letters were tampered with and never left the post office. Authorities are now investigating the situation, but we have already missed a critical opportunity to raise funds and keep Dan on the air in the final days of our campaign.

THE SITUATION
The campaign's final direct mail piece, which included a quote from Senator Barack Obama supporting Dan, was set to hit the mail boxes of thousands of supporters last week. The mail was received by the United States Post Office and then transferred that same day to a United States Post Office Distribution Center.

After realizing that supporters had not received the letter, we discovered that the mail had been set aside and out of sight at the post office. The letters were supposed to have been treated as first class mail. They were not.

CONSEQUENCES
We lost the money that we would have raised over the past week if the mailing had been delivered on schedule. With the election just days away, we need to raise money to keep Dan on air, in the third most expensive media market in the country, so that he can continue to communicate his positive message of change to every 10th district voter.

THE SOLUTION:
Please contribute to our campaign today and help us raise $10,000 by Midnight tonight. We had counted on these contributions and with only 4 days to go we cannot take a single dollar for granted.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Team Seals

P.S. Help us raise the money we lost so Dan can reach every IL-10 voter before November 4.

I've Never Been So Proud!

I just called my brother Dave and he answered and said he couldn't talk because he was phone banking for Obama up in Traverse City, Michigan!

This is the first campaign he's ever been involved in. I just love that Barack is energizing young people and other people who have not previously been engaged.

Yeah Dave! I'm so proud of you!

Now if I could only get my dad to vote for Obama instead of McSame and Caribou Barbie.

Barack Obama's 30-Minute "Commercial": American Stories, American Solutions

Did you see Barack tonight? If you missed it, like I did or you just want to watch it again and feel inspired, just click play below.

Yes We Can! Vote NOW or Vote November 4th!

If you're still really undecided (but how is that possible?), visit BarackObama.com.

You Better Vote!

Do you this to be your fault?



Make sure YOU vote for Obama. Vote early or vote November 4th. But just vote.

Must See TV!

Set your TiVos, DVRs, or VCRs. You must see "The Choice 2008" from Frontline on PBS tomorrow night. Yes, I know you've already decided to vote for Obama, but watch it anyway.



From the Frontline Press Release

IN A HISTORIC ELECTION YEAR, FRONTLINE PRESENTS
THE STORY OF TWO UNLIKELY PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS AND WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT AMERICA

FRONTLINE Presents
The Choice 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS
Encore broadcasts: Sunday, October 26, and Monday, November 3, 2008
Download free from iTunes beginning October 15, through the end of November.

It has been called one of the most historic presidential elections in our nation’s history--Barack Obama versus John McCain. It is a race that pits the iconoclast against the newcomer, the heroic prisoner of war against the first African American nominated by a major party. FRONTLINE's critically acclaimed series The Choice returns this election season to examine the rich personal and political biographies of these two men in The Choice 2008, airing Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings).

The Choice 2008, part of "PBS Vote 2008" election coverage, draws on in-depth interviews with the advisers, friends and those closest to these unlikely candidates, as well as with seasoned observers of American politics, who together tell the definitive story of these men and their ascent to their party's nominations.

When FRONTLINE first aired a profile of presidential candidates during the 1988 election, The Choice redefined political journalism on television. Now, in an unprecedented election year, veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Bush's War, Cheney's Law) goes behind the headlines to tell a deeper political story about the candidates, the decisions they made, and why their nominations may indicate a historic change in American politics.

The story begins at the Democratic Convention in 2004 when Barack Obama, a little-known candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, stepped forward to tell his personal story and to call for a move beyond partisan politics.

"All around were people with tears in their eyes," Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod tells FRONTLINE. "And I realized at that moment that his life would never be the same."

Also that summer, the future Republican nominee John McCain, a self-described maverick and sometime adversary of the Bush administration, took the stage at his party's convention to defend the president's national security policy. In an effort to win the support of his party, the longtime senator from Arizona had decided to try to walk a fine line--a line he had had trouble walking all his life--between being an unconventional outsider and a team player.

"I think McCain's goal was to make himself more acceptable to the party base without completely surrendering his outsider independent persona, and that was a very complex balancing act," says Mark McKinnon, a member of McCain's inner circle and former media adviser to President Bush.

As McCain the maverick was trying to make peace with his party, Obama the newcomer was discovering the afterglow from his speech was leading party elders to suggest the freshman senator consider a future run for the White House. Within two years of his arrival in the Senate, a window of opportunity seemed open if he was willing to take the chance.

"I told him he should do it," former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle tells FRONTLINE. "The longer he's in Washington, the more history he has, and the more history he has, the more he's going to be explaining his votes and his actions and his statements and his positions that undermine his message"--a message that was all about breaking with the past.

FRONTLINE follows the two candidates from deep inside their campaigns as they run the gauntlet of the 2008 primary.

"This primary, more than any in recent memory, severely tested the candidates," says producer/director Kirk. "Watching how Obama and McCain won reveals much about the men, their ideas, the kind of organizations they have built, and the way they face adversity."

In the summer of 2007, only months after McCain had officially launched his campaign, he was declared a "dead man walking" by the media and party leaders.

"McCain was stuck in this political purgatory where the people that liked the maverick, the independent, didn't trust him anymore, and the establishment conservatives still wouldn't embrace him," says political observer Charlie Cook.

But McCain persevered, firing much of his staff, scaling back the campaign, and focusing almost entirely on New Hampshire. FRONTLINE tells the dramatic story of this turnaround, with insiders involved every step of the way, which friends say was reminiscent of his determination during his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

At the same time, an Obama candidacy was still seen as a curiosity by the Washington punditry. He was a newcomer to national politics and facing the formidable political team of Hillary and Bill Clinton, but Obama and his advisers sensed an opening.

"The Obama campaign felt that Clinton was vulnerable if they would make the race about something different than the old rules," journalist Mark Halperin tells FRONTLINE.

One key to that strategy, Obama told his advisers, was to avoid being pigeonholed as an "African American politician." But as the contest between Obama and Clinton heated up, comments by former President Clinton and the release of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright tapes brought the issue of race, always lurking, to the forefront of the primary campaign.

"In the long run," observes House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the highest ranking African American in Congress, "it allowed Barack Obama to confront the one thing he was trying to avoid, and that's the whole question of race, because sooner or later, he would have to confront it."

With the race narrowed to two men--one whose life was focused by his military service and his years as a POW in Hanoi, the other a black child raised by his white family who found identity in grassroots organizing and politics in the African American community of Chicago--America is truly at a crossroads: historic lows in the public's confidence in our country's future; a battered incumbent overseeing an unpopular war in Iraq; a faltering economy as gasoline prices soar.

"This is a moment where people are both terrified and also hopeful," says Kirk. "They have a choice between two extraordinary candidacies, two men who are trying to embody change in a time where many Americans seem to believe partisan dysfunction has curtailed the ability of our political parties to lead."

As journalist Matt Bai concludes, "Both of them in what they convey to voters--one in a long career spanning decades, the other in a lightning flash of a career spanning what seems like minutes--[is] a sense of breaking with the status quo, a sense of change, a sense that things need to be done differently than they've been done before. And the question I think a lot of voters will have to ask themselves is, who's actually going to deliver?"

The Choice 2008 is a FRONTLINE co-production with Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd. The writer, producer and director is Michael Kirk. The producer and reporter is Jim Gilmore. The co-producer and co-writer is Paul Stekler. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. Additional funding for The Choice 2008 is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/PBS Program Challenge Fund. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

PBS goes behind the headlines throughout the summer and fall with the "PBS Vote 2008" election lineup, offering Americans a unique opportunity to explore the presidential election. PBS' trusted news brands and personalities bring viewers in-depth information and insight into the issues and candidates. PBS' election coverage will be led by The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Washington Week with Gwen Ifill & National Journal, NOW on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal and Tavis Smiley, and enhanced by programming from other trusted PBS sources, including American Experience, FRONTLINE, Nightly Business Report and P.O.V. PBS.org's election hub page, pbs.org/vote2008, will provide further perspectives. The site will aggregate video from PBS, feature syndicatable content from across public media and highlight innovative Web-only projects from PBS producers and stations.

Free on iTunes and YouTube Beginning Oct. 15, Plus Elections '08 VOD

This election season, PBS's flagship documentary series FRONTLINE offers voters more options than ever to view its quadrennial award-winning election special The Choice 2008, premiering Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), with encore broadcasts Sunday, Oct. 26, and Monday, Nov. 3, 2008.

For the first time, viewers will also be able to watch the complete two-hour dual biography of John McCain and Barack Obama on YouTube ( youtube.com/pbs ) and download it free from iTunes beginning Oct. 15 through the month of November. The Choice 2008 will also stream in the high-quality News & Public Affairs Player at pbs.org/frontline and on many local PBS station Web sites, where visitors can select from a rich archive of more than 45 full-length FRONTLINE reports, as always with no commercials.

"Now more than ever, new media plays an important role in how Americans learn and share information about the election," says FRONTLINE executive producer David Fanning. "It's important that we continue to fulfill the mission of public broadcasting by extending free viewership of The Choice 2008 to as wide an audience as possible and by reaching out to voters across these digital platforms."

Digital Cable television viewers will also be able to access The Choice 2008 via Elections '08 On Demand, a voter-education VOD channel that is being offered across the country on America's leading cable operators, including Comcast, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable among many others. The Choice 2008 also will be offered On Demand through additional local cable operators in select markets. Please check with your cable provider to find The Choice 2008 and Elections '08 On Demand. Finally, repeat broadcasts of The Choice 2008 are scheduled on the digital channel PBS WORLD on Oct. 15 at 7 P.M.; Oct. 16 at 12 A.M., 8 A.M. and 2 P.M.; and Oct. 19 at 12 P.M. ET.

Here are two more videos to tide you over til tomorrow night.

VP Debate Redux

I don't have a lot of time today (it's my College Reunion!), but I wanted to share my thoughts on the VP Debate last night.

Overall, Sarah Palin performed slightly better than I expected. She mostly formed coherent sentences, but she was clearly scripted and had done a solid job memorizing answers, which I believe explains her statement to Joe Bident and Gwen Ifill that she wouldn't be answering the way they'd like or in response to her questions.

That statement was obnoxious. One of the jobs of all candidates in any debate is to answer the questions that are asked. They are asked for a reason and are not "gotcha questions." As President or Vice President, a large portion of the job is about depth of knowledge and being able to think on your feet. I understand that Presidents have vast staffs to advise them, but without understanding the issues and the world more at more than just a soundbite level, a President risks becoming a puppet.

Senator Biden was respectful of Sarah Palin. He called her "Governor" all night, never once referring to her as "Sarah." He also never talked down to her, when it would have been easy to do so. I was a little worried that he might come off as condescending, but he treated her as an equal all night. She, on the other hand, talked down to him on a number of occasions. Remember her "Say it ain't Joe" statement? That was beyond the pale. She often felt the need to attempt to school him, which came off as condescending and disrespectful.

I'm worried about her refusal to look to the past for lessons or for causes of problems. Specifically, she did this global warming and the problems of the last 8 years. Imagine going to your doctor and saying, "Doctor, I'm in pain" and she simply says, "take 2 pain pills and you'll be fine" without attempting to find out the cause of your pain. Maybe you have appendicitis. Pain pills are not going to fix that. And neither will tossing random "solutions" at global warming or the economy or the war.

With regards to her "Joe Six Pack/Hockey Mom" persona and folksy way of speaking, we've tried that before. It's called the George W. Bush Administration. People say that her gaffes and lack of depth of knowledge about issues makes her like them. Well that's super. If you're electing the PTA President or Homecoming Queen. Unfortunately, that's not what this is all about. Is it too much to ask that our leaders have a well-rounded education on the issues and are better than just the guy I want to go drinking with? I know a number of people I'd enjoy having a few beers with, but I wouldn't let them baby-sit my cats, much less run the country.

I could go on, but I'm off to my College Reunion. I'll try to post some pics later tonight or tomorrow morning.

LMS PSA: Register to Vote!

The dealines for registering to vote are different in each state, but in Illinois, the deadline is just 4 weeks away on October 7th, and the rest are quickly approaching.

In order to vote, you must be registered. I do not think that there is any state where you can walk in and register and vote on November 4th. So if you want to vote, you have to get registered now. If you've moved recently, you also need to re-register in your new location.

Voting is a one of our most fundamental rights. Whether you think you really have a voice or whether your vote really matters, it's the system we have and it's not going anywhere soon.

Plus, if you don't get registered and vote, I don't want to hear you whining in 6 months about how much you dislike the new president, senator, governor, dog catcher, etc. As far as I'm concerned, failing to vote means you want no voice and so I give you none.

Don't know where to register? Call your township. You can also register, check to confirm you're registered, and request an absentee ballot right on Barack Obama's website.

In the words of Nike, "Just Do It!"

DNC Convention Day 2 TiVO Alert!

Day 2 Theme: Renewing America's Promise

Here's a preview of tonight's speakers . . .

Governor Kahleen Sebelius of Kansas
Senator Hillary Clinton
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner
Pay Equity pioneer Lily Ledbetter (the Wiki summary)

As an aside, it's been highlighted many times in the last 24 hours that today mark's the 88th anniversary of women getting the right to vote and Thursday is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech. I think it's fantastic that the Democrats get to highlight these two anniversaries with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

As a woman, I'm eternally grateful for the women and men who fought to give me the right to vote. Because so many women around the world are denied this basic right, I believe that voting is my duty and I feel their burdens on my shoulders each time I enter the voting booth.

Some of my friends have complained to me recently that LMS has turned into all politics, all the time lately. But I feel so passionately that we each have an obligation to be involved in the political process, not only for ourselves, but for all women around the world, and for future generations of women everywhere, that not speaking out about the issues and how the only way to protect our futures is to vote Democrat that I honestly can't help myself. And I won't. I will try to bring more balance back to LMS, but I will not ramp down my passion about politics and the political process.

Missed Learning Opportunity

The story below appeared in this morning's Daily Herald and it simply saddens me. Letting children see democracy in action through voting is one of the most valuable and easily taught lessons available to schools.

When I was a child, I remember seeing the big blue voting boxes appear at the end of October, talking with the voting judges on voting day both before and after school, and then seeing the boxes disappear a couple of days later. (Disclaimer: Cousins of mine were always election judges at my school, which may have also piqued my interest in all that was going on). I would always ask my parents if they voted (they did) and I grew up believing that everyone voted. They just did. At least in my mind. It wasn't until many years later, maybe not until I got to college, that I learned that not everyone voted. I won't get into my soap box about why everyone must vote. You can thank me anytime.

In my opinion, so many lessons children receive are caught, rather than just taught. Sure, my parents voted and my family is politically active, which gave me a head start. Without seeing democracy in action, how do kids who grow up in homes where the parents don't vote and who believe it's all fixed anyway or their vote doesn't matter or the rich, elite, and powerful will always run everything come to believe anything else? It's one thing for children to hear about voting and read about elections in the classroom, but using schools as polling places when school is in session brings it all to life and teaches kids valuable lessons about being responsible citizens.

I will concede that since I don't have kids, I may not understand the overwhelming need to protect them from all the dangers in the world. But I think that the logic that allowing strangers into the schools to vote brings unnecessary risk to children is false. I vote at a school and we are restricted to the gymnasium, which is accessed directly from the outside. School isn't in session (thanks District 25!), but even if it was, we would never even come close to seeing kids.

Using the logic relied on by proponents to close schools on Election Day, I think that also calls for eliminating all field trips (which I also think is over-the-top). Strangers walking around the zoo or a museum can't be controlled and have far greater access to children than anyone does on Election Day. Maybe kids also shouldn't go to the public pool or town festivals or play outside.

Many school districts have also eliminated annual trips to Washington DC because of liability issues. My class trip to Washington in 1985 changed my life. I saw and experienced all that I had read about in history books. The Constitution and Declaration of Independence were no longer just words I had to memorize. I remember thinking during that trip that I wanted to live there someday. My parents couldn't afford to take a family vacation there and but for that trip, I might never have lived in Washington DC.

I understand that the world is very different today than it was 25 years ago, but I worry about the unforeseen costs we incur by overprotecting kids. Without these lessons in civics, history and politics, how will we raise the next generation of public servants? How will kids even know a life in public service is possible or what it means?

Too many kids grow up believing they can be the next Michael Jordan or David Beckham, which simply isn't realistic. And as a society, we encourage it. Of course, not everyone can be the President of the United States either, but everyone can and should be involved in their community and local government either as a volunteer or elected official. And it all begins with voting.

More schools taking day off for election day
By Jake Griffin Daily Herald Staff Writer

Published: 7/15/2008 12:05 AM

Fewer students are getting the up-close-and-personal lessons in American democracy they once were afforded.

Citing safety concerns and faster voting operations, a growing number of school districts are giving students Election Day off this year.

In most counties, 30 to 40 percent of the polling places are schools. That's because they are usually centrally located, easily accessible and have the space.

But what they often lack is a security detail to keep voters from wandering the school. Combine that with a massive increase in traffic that day and parents, school administrators and election officials can see a problem just waiting to happen.

"Our school officials were very receptive to our proposal because of how thorough we were with our research," said Robin Church, president of the Indian Prairie Unit District 204's parents council, which serves portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook. "We know nothing has happened; that's why we call it a proactive school safety initiative."

District 204 is not only keeping students home Nov. 4, but it swapped some teacher in-service dates to keep kids home during the February primary as well.

"What we've done is committed to use nonattendance days on election days to avoid having kids in school then," said Mark Metzger, District 204 school board president. "If you're allowing the general public into the building, then we're worried about our kids."

The District 204 group's report has become the Magna Carta of Election Day school safety studies. Other parent groups in DuPage County have asked for its help and members have made presentations to the county's election commission about the benefits closing schools would have on voters. Some officials elsewhere also endorse the group's findings. They cite the dangers of self-directed parking at most schools for voters, shared entrances for voters and schoolchildren, and controlling access to the school.

"To me, that is such an ideal situation," Kane County Director of Elections Linda Mitchell said about closing schools on Election Day. "It would mean so much to getting our jobs done more easily."

It's not a new idea; it's just that the District 204 report pretty much covers every base. It received endorsements from state education and election groups. The group even did a safety audit of schools during a recent election that showed how easily voters can get into the school.

Its report also includes safety initiatives if boards determine schools must remain open. They suggest adding security personnel to keep voters out of restricted school space, requiring sign-in sheets, and training election judges in school safety procedures.

Neighboring Naperville Unit District 203 will remain open on Election Day because the teachers contract won't allow them to take the day off, said Melanie Raczkiewicz, the district's associate superintendent for operations. She would not provide great detail about the school's security protocols other than to say the issue has been discussed.

"We do have a person who stays in that polling area to keep an eye on things," she said. "Safety is our primary concern and we have never had a problem."

Fourteen school districts in DuPage will keep students home on Election Day this year. Election officials in other counties also are reporting more schools taking the day off this year.

"We've lost some schools who don't feel it's safe for us to use their space for voting," said Lake County Clerk Willard Helander. "We have statutory authority behind us, but we know if we're not wanted, the day is not going to go as well."

Attempts to legislate the issue have all met the same fate. Three bills designed to keep kids home on Election Day were essentially killed in committee last year in Springfield.

"We caught a lot of problems with the bill," said state Rep. JoAnn Osmond, an Antioch Republican. "Everybody had an excuse not to do it, and it got to be more controversial than it was worth."

Osmond's bill simply required schools to keep students home on Election Day. Chicago Democratic state Rep. Connie Howard's bill would have made the day a state holiday and given just about everyone the day off.

"I just thought it might encourage everyone to come out and vote if they didn't have anything else to do that day," she said. "But we heard about it from everyone who was complaining their businesses would suffer if they had the day off."

Another bill would have required teacher institute days be scheduled on election and primary dates before any other day, but it never made it out of committee, either.

One law that did get passed bans registered sex offenders from voting at schools. But everyone admits there's no one at the polling places making sure that law is obeyed.

"I don't think any of these bills made much of a difference to us," said Jean Donovan, the past president of the District 204 parents council. "We came in with everything we had and all these people to say this was the right decision and our board listened."

No school
These school districts are among those not holding classes on Election Day in November:

DuPage County
Queen Bee School District 16, Glendale Heights
Keeneyville School District 20, Hanover Park
West Chicago Elementary School District 33
Glen Ellyn School District 41
Lombard Elementary School District 44
Downers Grove Grade School District 58
Maercker District 60, Clarendon Hills
Darien Public Schools District 61
Gower School District 62, Willowbrook
Center Cass School District 66, Downers Grove
Woodridge School District 68
Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89
Indian Prairie Unit District 204
Elmhurst Unit District 205

Lake County
Beach Park School District 3
Emmons School District 33, Antioch
Waukegan Public School District 60
Kildeer Countryside School District 96, Buffalo Grove
North Shore School District 112, Highland Park
Round Lake Area School District 116

Kane County
East Aurora District 131

Cook County
Palatine Township Elementary District 15
Wheeling Township Elementary District 21
Prospect Heights School District 23
Arlington Heights School District 25
River Trails School District 26
Schaumburg Community Consolidated District 54
Mount Prospect School District 57
Des Plaines Community Consolidated District 62
East Maine School District 63