10/7/08: Polls look good & Who You Callin’ a Maverick?

Heh, heh. Before I get to the "meat" of this story, I just have to share these polls with you.. have you looked over to the right and up??---->------->--------->------------->--------^

Massive Obama gains in past five days
It's looking like a blowout, guys. It's near-impossible to keep up with all the polling anymore. It's a flood, and it's all looking ridiculously good for our side. So rather than try to list them all (you can go to Pollster.com to get them), let's look at the averages of all those polls.
US Obama 364 McCain 174
But it's not a done deal by any means. Obama still has to win 2 more debates, fight off what will be undoubtedly sleazier attacks, and most importantly, get the Democratic voters to the polls! In CO for example, the ballot is loaded with 18 measures designed to get conservatives to the polls with issues ranging from abortion to anti-affirmative action, so a lead today may not mean much.

Who You Callin’ a Maverick?
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick.”

But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.
“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” said Terrellita Maverick, 82, a San Antonio native who proudly carries the name of a family that has been known for its progressive politics since the 1600s..In the 1800s, Samuel Augustus Maverick went to Texas and became known for not branding his cattle..unbranded cattle, then, were called “Maverick’s.” The name came to mean anyone who didn’t bear another’s brand.. Ms. Maverick insists that John McCain, who has voted so often with his party, “is in no way a maverick, in uppercase or lowercase.”

“He’s a Republican,” she said. “He’s branded.”