We've got some news tidbits to finish up the month of October as we head into winter and look ahead to 2009.  BUT...before we get to the news, we'd like to take this time to do our part during this pivotal moment in history. Every day until the Tuesday November 4 we're devoting at least one blog entry per day to this extraordinary time. There's one message at the heart of these blog entries:

VOTE!

   We know that many of you don't have to be reminded to exercise your right on Election Day and a majority are very energized this year. At the same time we're aware that many of you are exhausted by this very long multi-year process that used to take but a few months. But, no matter how tired you are or how confident you might be, it's vitally important that you follow through and get to your polling places and vote.

You've probably surmised from reading this blog where we at Jack Manly stand politically so it shouldn't come as any great surprise that we heartily endorse Barack Obama. This is a decision that was never in doubt for us. The past eight years of a war-mongering, Constitution-shredding, criminally corrupt and disastrously incompetent administration have nearly ruined this country and it may take years to repair the damage and neglect to our economy, the environment, our relationships with the rest of the world and.....well, do we need to go on? And no matter how John McCain would dearly love to distance himself from this shameful record, we can't see how he would do things much differently if elected. If he has any truly different ideas he hasn't made it known. Then there's his mean-spirited campaign, hatefully foul and negative and accentuated by a poor and politically motivated choice for a VP (we can't even type out her name for fear of regurgitating on our keyboard).

  However, this year we aren't voting against John McCain. We are voting for Barack Obama. It's true we would vote for any Democrat running against any GOP candidate, but there is so much more to Barack Obama than just the anti-McCain candidate. He's intelligent, even-tempered, intellectually curious, clear-headed, strong, dynamic, and fair-minded. His plans for the country and the world are remarkably provocative and so badly needed. Fans, followers, and media types have described Obama using the words like "inspirational" and "transformative" and calling him a "once in a lifetime candidate" so often that the words and their meaning have almost lost their value. Almost.

  Cynical minds may think that we have bought into the image the hype, and the lofty praise and perhaps wee may be too dreamy-eyed. But we've seen the numbers of people, especially the young get involved again in politics after years of voter apathy and suppression. We've heard the speeches and listened to them with an open mind after years of hearing so many political leaders before Obama fail to connect.

  Obviously, we're voting for Barack Obama for more substantive reasons than those we described above and in the coming days we'll be laying out concrete reasons why we endorse him and urge you to vote for him. We'll also talk about other important local issues that are also compelling reasons to go to the polls this coming Tuesday--and we think it's important to look at your local elections carefully too for that same reason.