We are pulling together our orders for the Fall 2008 chapter boxes and would love to hear ideas from you guys about what would help you get the job done.  Email any suggestions to info@crnc.org with the subject line “Chapter Box” or  leave a comment below.

Barack Obama on negative campaigning at 12:33 PM ET Today:

“We have been consistent in this campaign in talking about the issues. Trying to have a different kind of politics. … In fact, I’ve been adamant to say we can’t run that kind of campaign. It’s contrary to our message. And I think it would actually erode support for me, in addition to not solving the problem the American people need solved.”  (CNN interview)

Barack Obama’s distorted, negative attack at 1:02 PM ET Today:

Repeated a distorted, negative attack on Senator McCain’s economic record that ABC News called an example of how to “twist the knife” and Chicago Tribune said was “only partially quoted”.

As we all turn on the TV tonight and it refresh on the election results online (ok, maybe that’s only me), let’s not overlook some important exit poll numbers:

Still petulant: more than 60% of Clinton voters say they wouldn’t be happy if Obama were the nominee; about half of Obama voters say the same. 25% of Clinton supporters say they’d vote for McCain in the general election; 17% of Obama supporters say they’d vote for McCain in the general election.

Courtesy of Marc Ambinder.

You really sorta have to watch this:

More specifically, the talented, long-time practicer of the “black arts” of politics goes through the strategy to beat Barack Obama on Tucker Carlson’s show:

By the way, Roger Stone is another College Republican alumnus. He was also recently in the news for some…investigating involving Governor Spitzer.

Former Senator Santorum was a hero to conservatives in nearly every wing of the movement during his time in the Senate. His record could rarely be questioned for the quality of judgment he exhibited for the people of PA, and his leadership is surely missed in the Senate.

He and Senator McCain butted heads from time to time on things like earmarks while they served together, but Santorum also recognizes the importance of the issues facing America with the War on Terror, the economy, and the battle for a culture of life.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer he offers his well-reasoned and emphatic endorsement for Senator McCain for president. He encourages all Americans and conservatives in particular to strongly support Sen. McCain and cites many reason for his decision, so of which I have listed below:

National Security:

McCain is clearly the candidate with the capacity, judgment, experience and will to confront America’s enemies. He’s served our country honorably - heroically - in war. I served eight years with him on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you he knows our military. Importantly, he also knows our enemies. He understands their capabilities and their aims. He will not sugarcoat the human or financial commitment and cost needed to defeat this enemy.

Culture of Life

The most important social issue is life. […] he always voted for life and stood for the culture of life. In short, he’s been a reliable vote on life issues, which are critical to conservatives.

Gang of 14/Judges

Many conservatives have given McCain poor marks for his involvement in the Gang of 14. I was in leadership pushing hard for a showdown with the Democrats on using the “Constitutional Option” to end their filibuster of judicial nominations. The Gang of 14 broke the impasse, and it probably was for the best. I was the one counting votes on that issue, and I was much less certain of success than others. In the end, the Gang deal resulted in numerous confirmations of qualified conservative jurists.

…On judges, McCain has repeatedly made clear that he will, as his Web site states, “only nominate judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat.” Sounds good to me.

And on and on…

I’d also like to mention here that Senator Santorum is a CR Alumnus as well - he was the State Chairman from Pennsylvania back in the day.

Congratulations to Brendan Boyle of Roger Williams College for his new position as State Chairman of the Rhode Island College Republican Federation. Just moments ago, the people of his state voted, the votes were tallied, and Brendan was declared the winner….with no opposition!

The new leadership team for RI:

Brendan Boyle, State Chairman

Barry Lucier, First Vice-Chairman

Sean Quigley, Second Vice-Chairman

Marc Coda, Treasurer

Good luck to the Rhode Island College Republican State Federation!

And now for the amazingly awesome video that all of you have been breathlessly awaiting:

Not really sure what to call them, but I’m referring to the swath of voters (GOP, Dem, and Indies) who pulled the lever for our team in 2004, switched to the Dems in 2006, and are again free-agents in the constantly evolving draft of voters that is American politics.

The bottom line is that these folks are coming back in droves to John McCain because they recognize his strong integrity and tremendous leadership skills are what our country needs during a time of war and economic uncertainty. So says the AP, who has been tracking the opinions of 2,000 of these voters for quite some time now.

Soren Dayton over at RedState.com has a great wrap-up of the progress.

…and out of his campaign.

Yes, that’s right - the campaign of the youth, where college/youth voters find their home, about which young voters are just so excited…just isn’t so excited about them.

You see, the Obama campaign doesn’t trust their youth supporters (even some of youth leaders) to exercise their voting rights when the going gets tough and they are striping them of the right to vote at the Democratic National Convention.

The hilarity (did I intend the pun - you will never know) of this disenfranchisement knows no bounds, and the irony can be measured only by the metric ton, but the truth stings. Even some liberals are up in arms about this one as the Obama campaign - champion of the youth, remember - has lied to its youth supporters. From FutureMajority.com:

…perhaps most importantly, the Obama campaign made promises to a number of youth leaders that the right of refusal would not be exercised against young supporters.

A brief explanation:

Young people running for delegate positions on behalf of their candidate at the Democratic National Convention in California were informed earlier this week that they had been cut from the process. This happened within both the Clinton and Obama campaigns, but the issue became particularly focused on the actions of the Obama campaign, which cut far more potential delegates and which relied heavily on young voters to secure victory in the primary contests held thus far.

This is apparently happening in more than just California and is affecting even some of the leadership in the Democratic youth movement as Young Democrats of America Southwest Regional Director Kevin Bondelli was one of the delegates purged from the campaign.

No wonder Obama thinks all voters are so bitter - when your campaign is constantly kicking them in the face, they must look pretty pissed.  Et tu Barack?