Deep Thought: People Like Unity

Do you like unity? If you like a country divided by race, sexual orientation, class and culture, vote for John McCain. He promises to keep Americans at war with each…

Delaware “Literally” Featured in Nate Silver’s “538”

I guess we are going to have to get used to it.   Any reference to Delaware will be preceded or followed by a reference to Joe Biden.  He is Delaware now.   At least to the nation at large.   Much like the scene in Wayne’s World defined Delaware to the popular culture for much of the 90’s.  

“I am in Delaware.  Delaware.  Yeah.”  

Or recent Simpson’s references to Delaware as an obscure and uninteresting place. 

Homer: “The Simpsons are going to Delaware!”  Lisa: “I want to visit Wilmington!”  Bart: “I want to visit the screen door factory!”

Now Joe Biden defines Delaware.   You can already see it happening on ESPN whenever Chris Berman shows the results of one of ESPN.com’s sports-related polls.  He always points out “Delaware, with the esteemed Senator Joe Biden, votes Yes” to whatever question is asked.    You can see the transformation at work in Sean Quinn’s post about Delaware in the “Road to 270” series at Nate Silver’s “538” blog.    I guess Joe Biden says the word “literally” a lot.    Count how many times he uses the word in this post:

The Conservative Brief for Voting for Obama

This comes from Andrew Sullivan who has been one of the top 10 Cheerleaders for Obama for quite some time now. What struck me about Sullivan’s list is that the conservatives around me who intend to vote for Obama have a few of these very reasons. I shouldn’t have thought of them as being unique, but I did. We all seem to think of Republicans who would vote for Obama as worn down and out of choices, when, in fact, there are many — like Sullivan — whose decisions are energized by the possibilities of an Obama administration and not a dispirited lesser of two evils pick. Like Andrew, they are choosing Obama for reasons that don’t offend their conservative sensibilities, but are free of the doctrinaire adherence to the requirements of the Christian Nationalist and nonconservative wings of the party. Bravo, Andrew. Bravo to all of my republican friends and co-workers who recognize themselves here. Here are a few items (but go see the whole thing!):

Homestretch Betting Lines II

Barack Obama Delaware: 57%  (10/16: 55%) (WHYY poll: 55.5%) Barack Obama National: 56% Joe Biden (SENATE): 64% (10/16: 62%) (WHYY poll: 64.5%) Jack Markell: 58% (10/16: 57%) (WHYY Poll: 61.1%)…