Since 9/11, many resources have been spent by the world’s leading ‘intelligence’ agencies trying to find Osama bin Laden. Turns out that all the time Osama may have been living in Rensselaer County, N.Y. Who knew?!!! But it seems that if you applied for an absentee ballot in this county, one of your options is to vote for “Barack Osama.” Honestly, Osama is listed on the ballot as the Democratic candidate. It’s true. Three hundred absentee ballots – so far – have given the voters an unexpected choice for President of the US.
Needless to say, officials in Rensselaer are rushing to discount this as a simple clerical error:
”No question this is an honest mistake innocently done,” said Edward McDonough, the Democratic commissioner. ”We catch almost everything.”
“This was a typo,” said Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee. “We have three different staff members who proof these things and somehow the typo got by us.” [Times Union ]
Innocent mistake? Maybe. Conspiracy theorists will no doubt get great mileage from this. Even as one local voter called it .” ..at least grossly incompetent,.” .. (Times Union), blogs are already making note of this latest gaffe in this extremely gaffe-laden election cycle.
“Seriously, how could a mistake like that get past election officials from both sides of the political aisle?” asks Wake Up America.[link:Wake Up Americans Spree]
Good question, and yes, it really IS a serious matter that such an error went undetected. However, given the ongoing rancour and nasty tone on clear display on the election campaigns of 2008, maybe having Osama on the ballot is “change we can all believe in.”
