A MUST READ.............................

Bamboozling the American electorate again

Strategy involves G.O.P. crossover voting to take out Clinton, marketing newcomer Obama, stripping battleground delegates, inciting a convention riot and (if necessary) declaring martial law before November's general election. Meanwhile, revelations about the Illinois senator's ties to Chicago political fixer Tony Rezko and his Iraqi billionaire buddies are downplayed by the press. For their part, Democratic Party leaders persist in efforts to circumvent the nominating process, even as Karl Rove emerges as a player at Rezko's trial.

Revised and updated May 10, 2008

Evidence of a covert campaign to undermine the presidential primaries is rife, so it's curious that many within both the Democratic and Republican parties have ignored the actual elephant in the room this year. That would be Karl Rove. Long accused of rigging the two previous presidential elections, this master of deceit would have us believe that he's gone off to sit in a corner and write op-eds this time around.

Not so. According to an article in Time magazine last November, Republicans have been organized in many states to throw their weight behind Senator Barack Obama, hoping to deprive Senator Hillary Clinton of the Democratic nomination. While Rove's name isn't mentioned in the story, several former fundraisers and strategists for President Bush are identified. Together, these gentlemen helped flush Obama's coffers with cash early on in the race, something the deep pockets had not done for any candidate in their own party. With receipts topping $100 million in 2007, the first-term Illinois senator achieved a remarkable feat, given that most Americans only first heard of him in 2005...............

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Mecklenburg, Wake find vote flaws

MECKLENBURG & WAKE COUNTIES -- Vote tallies are changing in the state’s two largest counties, after certain ballots were counted twice in Mecklenburg and Wake counties.

The mistake didn’t change the outcome of any elections, but it is a cause for concern to election directors. For example, when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declared victory Tuesday night in North Carolina’s primary, he was given approximately 15,000 votes more than he should have been. That’s 1 percent of all ballots cast.

In Wake County, early and absentee ballots were counted as part of the individual voters precincts and again as a whole. “So in essence, those voters were recorded double,” said Cherie Poucher of the Wake Co. Board of Elections. It was around 37,000 votes.

In Mecklenburg County, only absentee ballots – 2,400 in all – were doubled. “It doesn’t change any of the results,” said Michael Dickerson of the Mecklenburg Co. Board of Elections. “All the winners are still the winners.”

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