Today is Election Day, and your only real responsibility is to vote. Whether you’re affixing a stamp to an absentee ballot or pulling the lever in a voting booth, get out there and make your opinon heard!

But, we in the youngest (and perhaps extremely influential) voting demographic also reserve our right to party! And after all the ballots are cast, tonight is shaping up to be the biggest party night in America. So after you’ve done your civic duty, grab your friends and get ready to watch the returns with these creative suggestions:

The Setting:
Make sure you have the essentials: a television and ample seating room. But why not spruce up the space for the occasion? If you’re lucky to have the day off from classes today (as we do at my school– thank you, Fordham!), take a few minutes to make some posters! Rasterbator is an online application that will make any image you choose into a poster up to 20 meters in size. (The image will be blown up and printed out in pieces on regular 8 1/2 x 11″ sheets of paper, so you just assemble the sheets like a grid.) It’s really quick, extremely simple, and only requires the internet and a printer.

The Games
Take it a step further by printing two posters (one of Obama and one of McCain) and grabbing some construction paper. Cut out 50 squares from construction paper and label them with the names of each state. Have your guests tack each respective state onto the poster of the candidate who wins it, to keep track of election returns. Read More »

With politics boiling over all around us people are becoming quite polarized. I know that I have had many a fight with my right-leaning sister-in-law (whom I normally LOVE) that would have turned to blows had my brother not jumped in (literally) to break them up. It wasn’t like I planned to fight with her; I just couldn’t believe the things she was saying and, before I knew it, I was biting off her head and spitting at her.

What can I say? I’m very passionate.

Which made things a bit difficult for me recently when I met a wonderful guy…whom I soon found out was a Republican (ew). I wanted to like him - really I did - but was it really possible to be with someone who votes for the other party? I mean, it may be just a vote, but doesn’t it all tie back to someone’s beliefs, morals and passion?

I tried to stick it out, but I couldn’t get myself past the fact that he declared his love for Fox News within the first 5 minutes of my arrival.

Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with Fox News. And there is nothing wrong with Republicans. But someone who makes a bold statement about his love for Fox News is not someone I want to be with. It is one thing to date someone who votes for the other team; it is quite another to date someone who votes for the other team and then declares his love for said team from every pedestal/mountain/tall chair he can find. Read More »

Seriously, this is what John McCain used to look like? Politics aside, he’s not the sexiest old man. But - DAMN - he used to look like this? I can see how he wooed that lovely wife of his.

Last night, in Nashville, Tennessee, the candidates in what could be one of the most important presidential elections ever clashed for the second time. And there was passion, there were bold, firm statements of position, there were explosive accusations, and at one point McCain and Obama got into a light-saber fight.

Man. I wish. Actually, the second presidential debate was pretty boring, especially compared to the mud-fight we got when Palin and Biden duked it out. So what happened last night? The candidates mostly stuck to the same guns they’ve been waving all election: McCain pounding home his foreign policy experience (and his opponent’s lack thereof) and Obama preferring to stick to what many see as a more “in-touch” attitude on domestic concerns. Lots of stump speech sound bites were recycled, and, as usual, there wasn’t that much actual debate.

McCain started the night in a rougher place than before, as the flailing economy and sliding poll numbers gave the Republican senator plenty of ground to catch up on.

It wasn’t a problem for him overall, though; he managed to fight Obama to a standstill on most issues, (including the economy, and it’s hard going being a Republican on the economy today), and nobody blew themselves out of the water with embarrassing gaffes. Nothing last night is going to change the dynamic of the race, though, and that’s not terribly good news for McCain.

Some particularly good (or bad) moments for each candidate: Read More »

In today’s Photoshoped world, it’s hard to tell which buzz-worthy pictures are fake, and which ones are actual hilarious moments caught by a camera…

We’re sincerely hoping this one is legit.

Sarah Palin had her first interview since joining the McCain campaign last night, and McCain himself - along with Obama - spoke in a televised “kind of” debate at almost the same time. Along with their wordy and vague answers to hard-hitting questions, the Repubs and Dems have been insisting since forever that they’re “one of” us.

A few weeks ago, the Conventions were full of politician life stories; I was once poor, I’ve had some hard times in my life, I come from a small town, I’m just a hockey mom…blah blah blah blah blaaahhh. These would-be presidents and VP’s spend hours convincing us that they understand what it’s like to have bills, to choose between a full tank of gas and certain grocery items, and to raise a family in today’s trying times.

But here’s my question: once you’ve ascended Politician status, are you still really “one of us”? Read More »

Much has happened since John McCain selected Sarah Palin to be his Vice President, having chosen her after an extensive vetting process composed of… oh, I don’t know, picking her name out of a hat, perhaps, or a lively session of “Spin the Bottle” with all available candidates. Back in those days – the halcyon, innocent days of August 29 through 30 – I was merely insulted that John McCain had chosen to exploit the feminist optimism born of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Lots of people were inspired and made hopeful by Hillary Clinton’s relative success as a candidate, which was undeniably historic; even if you preferred Obama’s policies (as I did), Hillary Clinton made it possible to believe that someday, some woman might be elected President of the United States. Many of the same people were disappointed when Obama picked Joe Biden, Long-Time White Dude, to be his running mate. He could have chosen Sebelius! Hell, maybe he could even have chosen Clinton! What is Grandpa doing at the party?

Then, John McCain picked Palin as his VP. Read More »