Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Election 2008: Thoughts and Analysis

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It’s over. It’s finally over. Fourteen months ago, I posted my first Election 2008 related article—Premature Electioneering—lamenting the ludicrously early start to this campaign. At that time, John McCain (R) seemed like an also-ran who had no chance of winning his party’s nomination, let alone the Presidency. McCain has an uncanny way of surprising people who write him off, and—indeed—his popular vote loss was not nearly as wide as most polls projected.

But McCain did not win. Instead, this coming January we will swear Barack Obama (D) into the office of President of the United States of America. I have been asked if I am sad about this. I am not.

I endorsed and voted for McCain, but I am not prone to weeping and gnashing of teeth because I was on the losing side of this race. Mature political observers and activists can accept defeat just as easily as they can accept victory. Obama won fair and square, and come January he will be my president just as much as he will be yours—whether you supported his campaign or not.

Read more . . .

Election 2008: Results (Final)

Posted
Updated

U.S. Presidential Electors

John McCain (R)
Electors: 173

Alabama (9)
Alaska (3)
Arizona (10)
Arkansas (6)
Georgia (15)
Idaho (4)
Kansas (6)
Kentucky (8)
Louisiana (9)
Mississippi (6)
Missouri (11)
Montana (3)
Nebraska (4) (split)
North Dakota (3)
Oklahoma (7)
South Carolina (8)
South Dakota (3)
Tennessee (11)
Texas (34)
Utah (5)
West Virginia (5)
Wyoming (3)

Barack Obama (D)
Electors: 365

California (55)
Colorado (9)
Connecticut (7)
Delaware (3)
D.C. (3)
Florida (27)
Hawaii (4)
Illinois (21)
Indiana (11)
Iowa (7)
Maine (4)
Maryland (10)
Massachusetts (12)
Michigan (17)
Minnesota (10)
Nebraska (1) (split)
Nevada (5)
New Hampshire (4)
New Jersey (15)
New Mexico (5)
New York (31)
North Carolina (15)
Ohio (20)
Oregon (7)
Pennsylvania (21)
Rhode Island (4)
Vermont (3)
Virginia (13)
Washington (11)
Wisconsin (10)

Ballot Races
U.S. President (Virginia)
Chuck Baldwin (I):0.20%
Bob Barr (L):0.30%
John McCain (R):46.33%
Cynthia McKinney (G):0.06%
Barack Obama (D):52.63%
Other:0.17%
U.S. Senate, VA
Jim Gilmore (R):33.73%
Gail Parker (IG):0.60%
Bill Redpath (L):0.56%
Mark Warner (D):65.03%
Other:0.09%
U.S. House, VA-10th
Judy Feder (D):38.83%
Neeraj Nigam (I):2.23%
Frank Wolf (R):58.80%
Other:0.14%
Ballot Issues
Fairfax Parks Bonds
Yes:67.58%
No:32.42%

Read more . . .

I Voted; Did You?

Posted

Melissa and I had a nice, leisurely morning (we’re not going to get up for the 6am poll opening; do you think we’re crazy?). We ended up getting to the polls around 9:20 a.m., and we were all finished by just after 10 a.m. The line was long, but it moved fairly quickly (you can see a couple of pictures to the right).

Assuming my recollection is correct, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the waits in 2004 were.

I’m off work today, so now I’m just chilling out in preparation for my live coverage this evening. But my first and most important priority for the day was casting my vote. I hope you have done the same, and if you haven’t I hope you concrete plans for casting your ballot before the polls close for the day. In Virginia, you have until 7pm.

First Shots With the M&P 9

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I mentioned just over a week ago that my birthday present this year was a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 semi-automatic handgun. Well, I finally got out to the range today to give it a try (almost a week later than I had originally planned; too much going on lately).

The gun shoots very well; quite similar in recoil to our revolver when we are shooting .38 Special rounds (as opposed to the more powerful .357 Magnum rounds). My accuracy is roughly comparable to my accuracy with the revolver. Of course, I’ll continue practicing and improving . . . but as you can see, firing 17 rounds from a distance of seven yards, I didn’t do too bad. All rounds landed well within the target circle (roughly 10″).

I’m still new at this though, so there’s definitely room for improvement!

Election Coverage Plans

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In-keeping with past years, Off on a Tangent will be providing live election coverage on November 4 starting at 7pm EST. Coverage will include live results for all races in which I have made endorsements, as well as a running list of relevant local and national news. Off on a Tangent results will be based primarily on actual returns as-published by government agencies and media exit-polling and projections. This ‘raw data’ will be combined with independent analysis in making any projections.

Coverage will continue with constant updates from 7pm until all covered races have projected winners or 1am, whichever comes first. In the event that any races remain un-called at 1am, I will resume updates on the morning of November 5 as time permits.

While I have my biases, I always strive to make my live coverage as accurate and reliable as possible. I will err on the side of caution at all times without regard for party affiliations or my personal political preferences, but—at the same time—I won’t hesitate to make a projection when a winner is clear. Per site policy, candidates will be listed alphabetically by last name.

Stay tuned!

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.