Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

I learned all I needed to know about politicians when I went trick or treating back in the early 1960s in my hometown of Ventnor. When we went to the middle class neighborhoods where we lived we got full size candy bars or even candy apples, back when we weren’t afraid that homemade treats were poisoned.

However when we ventured up toward the fancy big houses on Atlantic Avenue and the beach blocks it was a different story. I remember going to the home of the biggest politician in our area, influential state senator Frank S. Farley. They were giving out little Tootsie Rolls. Not a handful, but one or two each. We walked away saying, “cheapskates!” Little did we know that it was the norm for powerful politicians to shaft the working class and keep the big money for themselves and their powerful friends.

Gov. Chris Christie

That memory was triggered by the swearing in yesterday of New Jersey’s new governor Chris Christie. While I voted for the other guy, it was with little enthusiasm, mostly because I hated Jon Corzine’s disgraceful negative ads that said Christie didn’t want health coverage that supported breast cancer screenings.

Christie seems like a regular guy, so I’m going to assume that he really wants to do what he says he wants to do. Of course, an awful lot of politicians think they can change the system then find out that the state capital is really a steel cage filled with brawlers. Maybe you are the last politician standing or maybe most of your policies get knocked to the canvas.

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Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

A couple of people have it dead right when it comes to politics these days. According to my Mom, “Thank God we have the Phillies!”

Lily Tomlin, who was in town recently, noted, “There was a time when people went into public service to serve the public.”

My Mom was not happy about the outcome of yesterday’s gubernatorial race in New Jersey, but what upset her more was the voter turnout. After all the excitement and hope that Obama generated, and all the talk about so many more young people caring enough to finally register, hardly anybody showed up at the polls yesterday. Voters under age 30 accounted for just 9 percent of voters in New Jersey (compared with 17 percent in 2008). According to the preliminary report from the Superintendent Of Elections, turnout in Atlantic County was 42 percent. What is truly depressing is that 42 percent is not considered all that bad.

People have been disgusted by politics after decades of negative ads, corruption trials and a general lack of response from elected officials. The hope generated by the Obama election has faded in the rear view as people continue to struggle in this depressing and Depression-like recession. It is hard to give a damn about blowhard politicians when you have to worry about paying the bills and feeding your kids.

I did vote yesterday but it wasn’t with much enthusiasm. Campaigns are run based on polls, and by political bean counters that study charts and graphs instead of people. How else can you explain that in our region of New Jersey, Corzine was trying to hammer home the idea that Chris Christie was for a NJ healthcare program that would refuse to pay for mammograms. It was a silly scare tactic and really rubbed me the wrong way, especially since that was the only ad I remember seeing for weeks and weeks. Christie countered by telling us his mom had her breast cancer detected by a mammogram so why would he be against it?

What about real issues? Like the economy and what would be done to cut spending in our state?

In conclusion: Go Phillies!

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One of the enduring images of last night’s historic election was seeing the tears streaming down the face of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. It was in the eager, excited faces of the young men and women waiting to hear their president, Barack Obama, speak in Chicago. It was hearing my 80-year-old mother say several times in awe and delight, “I can’t believe I lived to see this.”
I thought of the night my parents let a 7-year-old stay up to see the results of another historic election. Of course, as it turned out, we had to wait until the next day to find out that John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in an election that shared the hope, youthful enthusiasm and monumental change that has now been surpassed.
I also thought of a woman I greatly admired at the beginning of my voting career in 1972, a woman I went to see speak at the NJEA convention at Boardwalk Hall, a woman who ran for president as one of the many preliminary steps that paved the way for Obama’s victory. A woman who was the first African American elected to Congress. Shirley Chisholm died Jan. 1, 2005. She did not live to see the consequences of her passion and determination, but I’d like to think she is smiling down from heaven.

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After enjoying a Red October and the Phillies victory, it was time for me to go blue for today’s incredible presidential election. I actually set my alarm for 5:30am so that I could be one of the first people to vote in Somers Point’s Ward 2, District 4. Saying “Charley Manuel for president” to keep the mood light, I walked into the Somers Point Senior Center, the polling place. There were about a dozen people between the two lines. For my polling area, which has always been on the “light turnout” side, that’s pretty impressive, though not nearly as impressive as the lines in Philadelphia and Delaware a few minutes before the polls opened there, at 7am.
While I expect my candidate, Barack Obama, to win, and that would be a first for me in a presidential race after eight grueling years of “Bush-ism,” I liked what John McCain supporter and very funny guy Dennis Miller had to say on Fox News yesterday. Paraphrasing, he said that no matter who wins, let go of the bitterness and work together. That goes for me, too, if McCain pulls off the upset. By the way, Miller is appearing at the Borgata this Saturday, Nob. 8.
Thank goodness the process is almost over and we don’t have to be bombarded with any more negative TV ads, vicious E-mails and other political slander … at least until the next presidential election.

Registered voters: get out and vote tomorrow. The historic nature of this election has been well documented, and the unprecedented number of new registrants, especially in the 18-33 age group, suggests that most Americans realize how important this presidential vote is tomorrow.
I’ve made my position clear; I’m voting for Barack Obama as the best way to change the culture of our political quagmire after eight years of “the shrub,” to quote Robin Williams. But I am also voting for Congressman Frank LoBiondo, who has been an excellent legislator for our region as a moderate republican.
I can only hope that we let the children lead us. Barack Obama won the New Jersey students mock election. Obama captured 67.5 percent of the votes cast by 264,000 New Jersey students from 677 schools statewide and won the Presidential race in the Garden State’s 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election. Voting took place in New Jersey schools from Oct. 20 through the end of the school day on Oct. 30. Senator John McCain received 29.7 percent of the votes. All other New Jersey candidates received 2.8 percent.
No matter whom you are voting for, get out and vote. Let’s make this the highest percentage of registered voters ever in a national election.

In between the moments when I was watching my Phillies make it to the World Series, I was getting more and more aggravated by the increasing negativity of the presidential campaign. These negative ads continue to foul up the airwaves, despite the fact that the evidence is piling up that John McCain’s negative ads are backfiring against him.
This is going to one of the most important elections in the last half-century of our country and everybody on both sides knows it. Since southern New Jersey’s television programming comes from a battleground state, Pennsylvania, the political commercials are non-stop. I’m sorry now that both parties have so much money to play with. After Barack Obama is elected, McCain pledges to help him heal the nation and forge bi-partisanship, and the hockey mom goes back to Alaska where she belongs, this deluge of nasty, stomach-churning bile on both sides will be a distant memory. I can’t wait.

While enjoying the beach on Saturday in Ocean City, I noticed a flying political jab, mixed in with all the usual airplane banner ads for beer and nightclubs. It said:

John McCain wants to drill here. Do you?

The presidential race has added a new twist, using an airplane banner to draw the attention not only of New Jersey shore year-round residents, but of Delaware Valley vacationers who want their pristine beaches to remain pristine.
So, I asked myself, does the “environmental” Republican really want to drill off the New Jersey coast? It turns out, he does. Go here for the YouTube proof. McCain wants to end a federal moratorium on offshore drilling. He favors letting each state decide whether to allow offshore exploration for oil and gas and share royalties with the federal government if any is found.

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My day started off with anger and frustration and was eventually vindicated by common sense from Trenton.
I went to vote in the historic primary this morning and was told by the volunteer officials that I was registered as a republican. Since this had happened to me previously in the June 2007, legislative primary, I was livid. I had filled out the form for the provisional ballot last June and declared that their records were in error. I thought that was the end of it, until this morning when I found out nothing had changed.

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I just received my presidential primary sample ballot on in the mail, featuring all the front-runners as well as the also-rans. I hope Fred D. Thompson returns to his acting career and that Ron Paul continues to try and prove he’s really a republican. Mike Huckabee and John Edwards are intelligent, capable politicians and Rudy peaked way too soon.
As for the big three — John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — Super Tuesday is looking very interesting indeed. New Jersey is a shared delegate state, meaning that if Obama and Clinton are tied, they split the delegates. According to thegreenpapers.com, “70 district delegates are to be allocated proportionally to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of 20 ‘delegate districts.’

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After John McCain won the South Carolina primary, he looked different. My mom wondered if he hired a better make-up artist. He looked younger, stronger and confident enough to take the lead for the republican nomination and hold onto it. It will be very interesting to see if McCain can gain the full support of the republican regulars when he is positioning himself as an “outsider” and independent thinker. His position on the war in Iraq will be a tough sell for a nation that is tired of a conflict that is dragging on with on end in sight, despite the apparent effectiveness of the most recent surge.
On the democratic side, Hillary Clinton has survived the Obama win in Iowa and has made it clear that she has enough support from the democratic base to surge back into the lead. Her win in Nevada was solid and showed that women are still supporting her. Obama looked like he was ready to push past Clinton, but the voters applied the brakes in New Hampshire and Nevada.
New Jersey’s participation in Super Tuesday is looking more interesting every minute as the 22-state super primary takes place two days after the Super Bowl. But first up comes Florida. It’s wonderful that everything is so up in the air. Recent primary elections have been decided in the past long before New Jerseyans voted, but not this time. Best of all is the news that voters are turning out in record numbers for the primaries. That is the most important consequence of these tight races; voters really feel like they can make a difference this time around.