Jack D. Deal Business Consulting and Deal Marketing and Sales Consulting, Santa Cruz, California 95060 ; 831-457-8806 Jack Deal Consultoria Empresarial y Deal Consultoria de Mercadeo, Ventas e Avisos en Ingles, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Mexico

	jackddeal vote so you can't say you didn't get your two cents worth...but we all must wonder why; and if the Founding Fathers ever imagined this mess less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the cycle repeats itself until it runs out of steam when nobody believes in it anymore...hey, there's an upside! ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal our gridlocked duly elected government has failed and in a sense we are to blame for putting so much faith in human management... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal while the future of the country looks very bright, the future of politics and government is dim...fewer are buying the smoke and mirrors... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal and we should not expect much from government; the best we can hope is that it will not become more intrusive... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal how many times did we watch arrogant Alan Greenspan look down on others opinions because he obviously knew more? what a failure... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal Alan Greenspan will go down the Robert McNamara as one of the all time charlatans of recent history... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal many Americans are now so jaded the Alan Greenspan's "shocked disbelief" barely computes...we expect it... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the new President will enter the Oval Office with less actual power than any President in history... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal to total failure of the political and governmental system in the Meltdown lends credence that government is becoming obsolete... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal journalism nailed more nails in its coffin by presenting biased political support as "news"...and the networks and paper chains wonder why less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the Meltdown was the final straw for many undecideds... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal neither candidate had any semblance of an economic plan...why? is it too risky to say what you will do and then get criticized? why? less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal McCain lost all momentum with the Meltdown; the average citizen needed someone to blame and it was Bush and the Repubs... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the Hillary - Obama fight proved to be the best one of all...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal Final thoughts on Election 2008... less than 5 seconds ago from web

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

	jackddeal some drink, some drug, some adventure, some meditate, some just twitter away...did you catch the parsing? ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal we all want the good deal; we just don't want to pay for it... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal I wonder what it would be like if you 'spread the weath' my way? ha...even we enlilghtened types know a good deal when we see it..ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal death and taxes will kill a record number of businesses in 2009...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal as I was saying, political gridlock experience is like learning Latin, nice but no one speaks it anymore... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal to be honest, I really don't think decades of gridlock experience means much other than less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal maybe we should allow tobacco juice spitting in politics as well as baseball and maybe more would get done...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal we can always argue which political party or which baseball team's fans are more stupid...agreeing that spitting is only legal in baseball less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal in the end it most likely all comes down to spitting and scratching anyway...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal we should all be good little optimists and believe that the politicos will do what they promise...what me worry? ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the problem with politics is one cannot spit and there is no umpire calling strike three...ha...yer outta there! and how...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal culture wars are all contrived: nobody's gonna tell a 7 foot tall hog farmer he can't spit his backy juice...not cultured and not smart... less than 5 seconds ago from web

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 05:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

	jackddeal and as an added vote getter bonus: some biker babes like guys who spit tobacco juice too...now how about that! double the ROI...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal don't you think spitting a big wad of tobacco juice down from the debate podium would garner a few hog farmer votes? why sure it would! less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal we baseball nuts don't need no culture wars...we have scratching to take care of all our many itches...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal spitting and scratching provide more analytical material than gridlocked politics...culture wars? spit...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal that's why serious thinkers are giving up gridlock politics for more intellectual pursuits...like baseball...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal won't this election ever end? ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal don't forget to vote for the gridlock party of your choice...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal enough political nonsense...we all are getting nauseous...ha...true? less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal so when some celebrity endorses a candidate, what they are really saying is 'it's in my best personal interest to support dimwit here...' less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal if they were honest they would admit they aren't facing problems they are facing gridlock... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal politicians looks so foolish because they use gridlockspeak... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal we should all start to expect nothing from politicians and government so we won't be continually disappointed...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal "and today's legislative agenda is filled with gridlock"... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal how many politicians does it take to make gridlock? two... less than 5 seconds ago from web

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 04:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

	jackddeal Joe the plumber made a cameo appearance and it looks like working people are now held in high esteem...at least at election time... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal both candidates swear they will cut taxes but why does that seem like deja vu? less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal I have the right to vote for the gridlock candidate of my choice...don't tread on me! less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal all this just proves that politics and government are becoming more obsolete...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal my son asks when I'm moving to Mexico since I dislike socialism so much...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal Sarah has showed she is the most macho of the four...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal what do a politician and a stockbroker have in common? guess... less than 5 seconds ago from web

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

	jackddeal after all Joe is not one of those kneejerk patriots...he has to think about it first...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal it's as if the mind wants to say one thing and the vocal chords another... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal one Repub sourpuss said Biden's gaffs are due to his numerous brain aneurisms...groan...let's be nice or leave... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal the really fun part is that right now Joe Biden looks to be the next VP of the USA...despite his gaffes to the contrary... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal just because salary caps gridlock sports teams we should not assume a close race means the competition is keen...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal on Nov. 5 we will see the losing party began to play it's outsider spoiler roll...just to keep it interesting.... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal at this stage in the election with the added Meltdown sideshow, we simply don't believe anything anyone in government says...ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal McCain is pulling closer to Obama and one or the other will win by a hair thus preserving gridlock for four more years... less than 5 seconds ago from web
	jackddeal mercifully the election will be over in less than two weeks...what price democracy! ha... less than 5 seconds ago from web

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This was supposed to be the one.  After close calls in 2000 and 2004, the Democrats were poised to take over big.  After all, with an unpopular Republican President, an unpopular war, unpopular economy, unemployment, foreclosures and bank closures, how could the Democrats not win? 

But now the Democrats are wringing their hands as the polls turn south and Hurricane Sarah blasts through America.   How could this happen? 

The answer lies in the campaign organization that the Obama team had put together.   The campaign's inner circle was reduced to a handful of people.  From this group comes all the campaign's command and control and just as importantly, minimal dissent.  

In the primaries as Obama's star was rising this type of organization worked well, even considering that Hillary Clinton ran a very bad campaign.   But John McCain has shown he is no Hillary Clinton.  

All was well until just before the conventions.    The Obama campaign picked as its running mate Joe Biden, a 'safe' bet with the strategy that Biden would shore up Obama's lack of experience especially in foreign relations. 

So far, so good.   Obama entered the conventions with a 6-10 point lead in most polls and what appeared then to be solid lead going into the final stretch.

Obama's people had convinced him that Biden was a great VP choice and certainly McCain could do no better.

Maybe a 15 point lead wasn't reality but a 10 point lead sure was.  

And it might have stayed that way if McCain had followed suit and picked a safe choice like Mitt Romney.   But of course McCain didn't pick Romney; he picked Sarah. 

Clearly the Obama campaign never imagined that McCain would pick Sarah.   They, like most Democrats, were initially stunned.   They couldn't believe McCain would pick an unknown.  

But McCain's campaign advisers stood up and made their candidate face a hard reality; something the Obama campaign has had difficulty.   McCain not only listened to the feedback but based his decision on it.

And then the Obama campaign became besieged with 'why didn't you pick Hillary?'   

The initial reaction turned from surprise and shock to anger and resentment.  'How dare McCain appoint a woman?'   Even Sarah was later to state that perhaps Obama regretted not picking Hillary Clinton. 

The anger continued and even though Obama said he would fire anyone making sexist comments about Sarah, Pandora's Box was already opened. 

The election had fundamentally changed and in a period of less than a month Obama went from eight points up to three points down.  

Now the real flaws in the Obama campaign had begun to emerge.   Obama was put on the defensive and stayed there.   Obama himself began to look desperate as he attacked Sarah; a first in U.S. politics. 

But the real damage came from the lack of surrogate control; the surrogates were going after Sarah in ways no other candidate had ever been attacked.   The hope was they could quickly discredit Sarah or cause her to quit.  

What became increasingly apparent after the conventions was the Obama campaign had no alternative strategies and had not been considering any Plan B.   No advisor told Obama that Sarah might happen with the ensuing political nightmare.  

By mid-September the Obama campaign pretty much admitted they had no strategy for Sarah or anything else that was not in their game plan.   Since they had clearly not done scenario planning they found themselves in a box they could not wiggle out of.  

So the same stumbling and faltering that allowed Hillary Clinton to prolong the primaries now became evident in the general election campaign.  

The Obama campaign, once in complete control, now finds itself on the defensive, attacking negatively and doing the very sorts of things it once bragged it didn't have to do.  

It's still a toss up but if Obama eventually loses it will go down as one of the worst run campaigns in U.S. history.   If that happens the question will forever be one of "what if?"

Posted by Jack D. Deal at 04:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)