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This is a list of characters in the [[comic strip]] [[Garfield]], as well as the [[animated cartoon]] series ''[[Garfield and Friends]]''.
Old talk archived at [[Talk:U.S. presidential election, 2004/Archive 1]] by [[User:Goobergunch|Goobergunch]] 17:58, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
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== Primary characters ==
===Garfield===
{{main|Garfield (character)}}
[[Image:Garfield.JPG|130px|thumb|right|Garfield]] '''Garfield''' is the main central character in the [[Jim Davis]] [[comic strip]] ''[[Garfield]]''. He is a [[lazy]], [[selfish]], [[overweight]], [[orange (colour)|orange]] [[tabby cat]] who enjoys eating, sleeping, stealing Jon's dinner, and tormenting Odie by kicking him off the table. He loves [[lasagna]] and enjoys entertaining (or annoying) an unseen neighboring audience on top of a fence in the middle of the night (and gets bombarded by various objects by the agitated audience for it). He hates [[spider]]s, and often splats them until they are as flat as a pancake with a rolled up newspaper. His first appearance was June 19, 1978. His first TV appearance was on [[Here Comes Garfield]]. His last was on the [[Garfield and Friends]] episode, [[The Ocean Blue]].
{{-}}
===Jon Great idea Arbuckle===
[[Image:JonArbuckle.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Jon Arbuckle]]
Jon is the owner of Garfield and Odie, a total [[nerd]], and a clumsy [[individual]]. He is the primary [[fodder]] and conversation partner to Garfield and is often the butt of his jokes. He makes his living as a cartoonist. This reference has not been seen in the comic strip since its early days, but the animated show Garfield and Friends does show him several times in his job as a [[cartoonist]]. Jon manages to make enough money to keep Garfield well fed — no easy feat. Often, Jon, as well as Garfield, gets bored, and comes up with "fun" ways to cure boredom (such as buying new [[socks]], clipping his [[toenails]], or playing "Guess the [[Burp]]" with Garfield). His full name has been revealed as Jonathan Q. Arbuckle (the "Q" might stand for "[[Quack]]") in a [[Christmas]] strip. He is played by [[Breckin Meyer]] in the [[Garfield film]]s. His first television appearance was on [[Here Comes Garfield]]. Hist last was on [[The Ocean Blue]].
===Odie===
The 2004 election timeline is a terrific idea. I am glad to see people working on it already. As a high school history teacher, I intend to use this as a resource. The more well-informed I can stay on the election, the better I can teach my students. keep up the good work! and i'll probably be helping here too! [[User:Kingturtle|Kingturtle]] 02:30 Mar 10, 2003 (UTC)
{{main|Odie}}
[[Image:Garfield character Odie.png|thumb|right|Odie.]]
He is a lovable but intellectually challenged yellow-furred, brown-eared [[beagle]] constantly panting with his very large tongue, and the only character without a "voice" as he was portrayed as a "normal" house dog. However, he was once shown to be thinking "I'm hungry". He also says "I don't know, I'm kinda scared," as a "mistake" in the cartoon episode "Mistakes Will Happen". More recently, he was seen actually speaking in one of Garfield's dream sequences. [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2005-ga050710] He also sometimes thinks like Garfield. [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1995-ga951221] He sometimes says minor things in episodes of the television series, such as "Ta-da!", "Huh?", or more commonly, panting "Yeah, yeah, yeah!". In the [[live-action]] [[film]]s based on the strip, Odie was a real-life [[dachshund]]. Though he may seem stupid, in one strip, he was seen reading "[[War and Peace]]" and listening to [[Mozart]]. First appeared: [[Here Comes Garfield]]. Last appeared: [[The Ocean Blue]].
<br clear=all>
===Arlene===
:Glad you like it. However, it's six months later, and there are still gaping holes, like no biography of [[Michael Badnarik]], former State House candidate from Texas, a stub for [[Gary Johnson]], former Governor of New Mexico, none for [[Carol Miller]], New Mexico Green, [[David Cobb]], Green legal advisor to the party and former candidate for Texas attorney, nor even [[Cynthia McKinney]], former Congresswoman from Georgia or [[Paul Glover]], creator of [[Ithaca Hours]]. It took some time before even all Democrats were covered, which is kind of surprising.
[[Image:Arlene.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Arlene]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1980-ga801217 December 17, 1980]
Garfield's female friend. She is a [[pink]] cat with a long neck and buck teeth. She once wished their relationship would take a few steps, but Garfield does not seem to notice. Garfield once quipped in the early strips that he and Arlene have an apparent love-hate relationship: Garfield loves himself, and Arlene hates that. Garfield loves to tease Arlene about the gap between her front teeth, which also infuriates her. She seems somewhat more clever than Garfield and repays his teasing with witty comebacks.
:Perhaps your students can chip in and help by digging up biographies of the above, and filling them in?
----
I really like it. My only gripe is the picture of the country with the words: "Quick! Hurry up before the polling stations close! Vote peace! Vote prosperity! Vote Kerry!" superimposed. I have a screenshot in case they change it. I think it's in very bad taste.
Although she never appeared on the animated series (with the exception of a cameo appearance in the fourth season), she appeared in the film version as well, where she was voiced by [[Debra Messing]]. Arlene, whom is never shown talking in animation, will possibly have a speaking line in the 2007 direct to video movie, [[Garfield Gets Real]].
== making the table live? ==
In the book ''Garfield's Judgment Day'', it was revealed she was a stray cat, which she had never revealed to Garfield until emergency situations brought it to light.
I have taken the 2000 table and updated it for 2004. It's below:
===Pooky the Teddy Bear===
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
[[Image:Pooky.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Pooky]]
<tr>
'''First Appearance:'''
<th width="25%">Presidential Candidate</th>
[http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1978-ga781023 October 23, 1978]
<th width="5%">Electoral Vote</th>
<th width="15%">Popular Vote</th>
<th width="5%">Pct</th>
<th width="20%">Party
</th>
<th width="30%">Running Mate<br>
(Electoral Votes)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[George W. Bush|George Walker Bush]] of [[Texas]]<b></b></td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[United States Republican Party|Republican]]</td>
<td>[[Richard Cheney|Richard Bruce Cheney]] of [[Wyoming]] <br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[John Kerry|John Forbes Kerry]] of [[Massachusetts]]</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]]</td>
<td>[[John Edwards|John Reid Edwards]] of [[North Carolina]] <br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Ralph Nader]] of [[Connecticut]]</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[Reform Party USA|Reform]], (Independent)<br>
</td>
<td>[[Peter Miguel Camejo]] of [[California]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[David Cobb|David Keith Cobb]] of [[California]]</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[United States Green Party|Green]]<br>
</td>
<td>[[Pat LaMarche|Patricia Helen LaMarche]] of [[Maine]]</td><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Michael Badnarik]] of [[Texas]]</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian]]</td>
<td>[[Richard Campagna]] of [[Iowa]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Michael Peroutka|Michael Anthony Peroutka]] of [[Maryland]]</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td>[[United States Constitution Party|Constitution]]</td>
<td>[[Chuck Baldwin]] of [[Florida]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Other</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td align="right">--</td>
<td colspan="2"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>'''Total'''</td>
<td align="right">'''538'''</td>
<td align="right">'''--'''</td>
<td align="right">'''100.00'''</td>
<td colspan="2"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6" align="center">Detailed results by state: see
[[U.S. presidential election, 2004 (detail)]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="6" align="center">'''Other elections''': [[U.S. presidential election, 1988|1988]], [[U.S. presidential election, 1992|1992]], [[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996]], [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000]], '''2004''', [[U.S. presidential election, 2008|2008]], 2012</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="6">''Sources:
[http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/scores2.html#2000
U.S. Office of the Federal Register (electoral vote)],
[http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/prespop.htm Federal Election Commission (popular vote)'']</th>
</tr>
</table>
Pooky is Garfield's teddy bear and best friend that Garfield discovered stuffed in a drawer. Despite the fact that Pooky is a stuffed animal, Garfield acts as though he can communicate with him. At one point, Garfield pretended to teach Pooky how to jump through hoops then Garfield turned around to talk to Jon. When he turned back Pooky was on the other side of the hoop. Garfield is generally overprotective of Pooky. Once Garfield thought he lost Pooky so he turned into "The Caped Avenger", a repeating storyline, and tried to find Pooky. It turned out that Jon had just thrown him in the wash.
The strip shows Garfield searching through Jon Arbuckle's bottom drawer, finding Pooky, and adopting him as his own. Once, Pooky lost an eye for several comic strips. It was replaced the following [[Christmas]]. In addition, Pooky was over-squeezed by Garfield and had an inflated head. Afterwards, Garfield tried to squeeze him back but made his head thin and body thick. Then, Jon "completely restuffed" Pooky and made him fat on both ends. Also, Pooky had lost his arm on one occasion on the week of January 1, 1983, but was sewn back on. Garfield looks at Pooky as the only one that he can truly trust. Outside of dream sequences and the like, Pooky has never been "brought to life" (as in the case of [[Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes character)|Hobbes]] of the comic strip ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'') "on camera" in the strip, but on rare occasions, the possibility that Pooky is more than just a stuffed bear is brought up, though never confirmed or denied. (Garfield was pretending to teach him to jump through a hoop. Jon asked what was happening. Garfield looked away for a moment. Pooky appeared on the other side of the hoop). In the Spanish translation of the strip, Pooky was initially named "Doggy" ("perrito") but suddenly changed name to Pooky in further lines. In a few strips, he is referred to as "Pookie" but "Pooky" is clearly used more often.
Should we put it in the article space? And for those who are wondering, Nader is running as the candidate of the RPUSA, but he has only pledged to use the RPUSA if he can't get on the ballot as an Independent himself.
<br clear=all>
===Nermal===
Comments? - [[User:Hoshie|iHoshie]] 07:27, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
[[Image:Nermal.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Nermal]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga790903 September 3, 1979]
Nermal is a small gray [[kitten]], self-proclaimed "The world's cutest [[kitten]]." He frequently makes unannounced visits into Garfield's home, where he flaunts his cuteness and becomes the focus of Jon's attention for the entire duration of his visit, much to Garfield's dismay. Nermal especially does this on Garfield's birthdays to remind him of how he is getting older.
I'd say put it in the article space as soon as Bush is formally nominated on September 1. --[[User:Goobergunch|Goobergunch]] 17:41, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Nermal is a male kitten, but his voice actress in the cartoon ([[Desirée Goyette]]) and long [[eyelashes]] have led to some confusion over his gender. It is revealed in one strip that he is a model for cat calendars and greeting cards. He once mentioned that he is going to stay cute and small forever because he's a midget. ("I think small," he once quipped, "and the coffee and cigarettes don't hurt.") However, there is evidence that Nermal preserves his cuteness by mud packing his face. In exasperation and feelings of being degraded for ugliness and advancement in age, Garfield ultimately attempts to ship Nermal to [[Abu Dhabi]]. In later strips Nermal grows up and appears to be in what could be considered adolescence, but retains his vanity and continues to poke fun at Garfield.
I'd say be consistent on the middle names. Either provide all of them or none of them; e.g. Michael Anthony Peroutka, etc. --[[User:PSzalapski|Locarno]] 20:42, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
::Thanks 4 the Cn. on Peroutka. The reason I didn't put it the first time was do the fact I could not find it. Looks like i'll be digging into some FEC filings... :) - [[User:Hoshie|iHoshie]] 06:19, 7 Aug 2004 (UTC)
The Spanish-dubbed version of the TV series changed Nermal's name to Thelma during some seasons. His first television appearance was on [[School Daze (Garfield and Friends)|School Daze]]. His last was on [[Change of Mind]]. In ''[[Garfield (film)|Garfield: The Movie]]'', Nermal is portrayed as an adult (and slow witted) [[Siamese (cat)|Siamese]] cat rather than a small gray kitten, and is voiced by [[David Eigenberg]].
You may want to check out the discussion on [[Talk:U.S. presidential election]]. There's a movement afoot to change the table format. -- [[User:RobLa|RobLa]] 06:14, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)
===Mom===
I'm going to take the sources out, as these refer to the 2000 election. There should be a single source for the vote count as this is still changing. -- [[User:Bernfarr|Bernfarr]] 04:16, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)
[[Image:JonsMom.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Mom]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1980-ga800213 February 13, 1980]
Jon’s mother lives on a farm and is known to be a great cook (she can make just about anything out of potatoes, proven in a 1980s strip when she creates five different kinds of potatoes(Scalloped, Whipped, Fried, Baked and Broiled.) She also always has the same expression on her face. Based on Jim Davis' mother Betty Davis, Jon's mother is also known for sending him and Garfield cooked meals in packages. Jon once got mashed potatoes and Garfield got gravy, which started to leak from the corner of the envelope. On one Christmas occasion, after Dad said, "Please tell me they were adopted.", her response was "I don't know, I was out at the time."
== more on electronic voting? ==
In ''[[A Garfield Christmas Special]]'' and the Garfield episode, ''[[Feeling Feline]]'', she was voiced by [[Julie Payne]].
I've heard claims that (buggy and tamper-prone) electronic voting in this election will lead to problems which will dwarf those of the Florida ballot fiasco of last election. Should those claims be addressed on this page? --[[User:NeuronExMachina|NeuronExMachina]] 19:50, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
===Dad===
Done. --[[User:PSzalapski|Locarno]] 21:05, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
[[Image:JonsDad.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Dad]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1980-ga800213 February 13, 1980]
Jon's father who tends the family farm. In his sole animated appearance, ''[[A Garfield Christmas Special]]'', he was voiced by [[Pat Harrington Jr.]] and as proved in one strip has not been off the farm in a long time. Based on Jim Davis' father, James William Davis.
== Seeing as how we have about 2 months before the election, how does everyone predict the electoral college will go? ==
===Doc Boy===
http://img56.exs.cx/img56/1615/usa-map-on-blue.jpg
[[Image:DocBoy.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Doc Boy]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1983-ga830517 May 17, 1983]
Jon's brother who lives on a farm with his mother and father, and often fights with Jon, calling him a "city slicker". Hates being called "Doc Boy" and Jim Davis addresses in a strip once that he did not like the name since he started wearing pants. Based on Jim Davis' brother David "Doc" Davis, who's not nearly as goofy as his cartoon counterpart.
Bush- 274 electoral votes, Kerry- 264 electoral votes
In ''A Garfield Christmas Special'', he was voiced by [[David Lander]].
Analysis-
===Grandma===
Kerry will win handily in New Hampshire this time around. He's also going to win Nevada because of Yukka. And Kerry's biggest pickup this time around will be Florida. I think he's going to win Florida because of all the northerners moving there after 2000, and because of its ever growing hispanic population. But it will be close as will Missouri.
[[Image:JonsGrandma.jpg|180px|thumb|left|Grandma]]
Jon and Doc Boy's grandmother. She is a [[Harley-Davidson|Harley]]-riding, [[leather]]-wearing old lady who carves turkey with a chainsaw. She loves Jon, Garfield, and Odie, and occasionally makes appearances throughout the series. The most is revealed about her in Garfield's Christmas special, where it is revealed that her husband has died and she talks about her life with him. She is undoubtedly Garfield's favorite of Jon's family. In the strip, Grandma was originally depicted as a stereotypical elderly woman, wearing a shapeless, plain dark dress and her hair in a tight bun; her animated appearances outfit her as a more modern-looking woman. In ''[[A Garfield Christmas]] Special'' and ''[[Garfield's Thanksgiving]]'', she was voiced by [[Pat Carroll (actress)|Pat Carroll]]. She also appears as the DVD seller on the DVD store on the Garfield website.
{{-}}
===Lyman===
I think Bush is going to win Ohio and make a run at Pennsylvania. I predict that Bush is going to pickup the states of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Gore won all 3 in 2000, but I think Bush narrowly wins them this time around. And I predict a Bush upset in New Mexico.
[[Image:Ga790308.GIF|thumb|right|Lyman & Garfield.]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1978-ga780807 August 7, 1978]<br/>
'''Last Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1988-ga880619 June 19, 1988]
Friend of Jon's who lived with him for a while and was the original owner of Odie. He first appeared on [[August 7]], [[1978]]. However, he disappeared from the comic on April 24, 1983 and his disappearance was never fully elaborated upon. His last appearance in the strip was a cameo on Garfield's 10th Birthday [[June 19]], [[1988]] where he appears in the title panel seated between Jon's Dad and Liz, he also appears in a flashback panel within the strip. Recently, Davis was forced to directly address the issue of 'What happened to Lyman?'. According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could actually talk to and express other ideas—a role more and more taken over by Garfield himself. Hence, he was removed without explanation. The closest thing Davis has ever given to explain his absence is "Don't look in Jon's basement". In the Web game [http://www.garfield.com/fungames/scavengerhunt/scavengerhunt.html "Scary Scavenger Hunt"], Lyman is shown chained onto the wall in the basement of a haunted mansion, as well as screaming in a bathtub upstairs (in a scene clearly referencing the "shower scene" in the film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''; even the screeching violins from the infamous scene are played here) and his head is also shown in a room under a blanket. In [http://www.garfield.com/fungames/scavengerhunt2/scavengerhunt2.html "Scary Scavenger Hunt 2"], his head is found inside the kitchen oven. This "in the basement" joke was revealed by Mr. Davis to not be entirely true. In an interview he mentioned that the real reason that Lyman disappeared was that he joined the [[Peace Corps]] and was never heard from again. Lyman has appeared on the Garfield website as the seller at the bookstore.
:Sorry, talk pages are meant for this sort of discussion. They are only meant for discussion of the article at hand. There are plenty of other places to have this discussion. [[User:Mbecker|<nowiki></nowiki>]] — [[User:Mbecker|<font color="007700">マイケル</font>]] [[User talk:Mbecker|<font color="ff9900">₪</font>]] 18:06, Aug 14, 2004 (UTC)
== POV Elements =Irma===
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga790609 June 9, 1979] (though not by name until [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga791019 October 19, 1979])
[[Image:Ga070413.gif|480px|thumb|left|A strip featuring Irma]]
This article contains POV elements. The second paragraph in the first section provides exclusive links to the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. This suggests that the other candidates are unimportant. Also, to avoid bias, the parties and candidates should be listed either alphabetically, or current size of membership. As of Janurary 2004, Ballot Access News reports that, in terms of registered voters, Democrats have 42.19%, Republicans 32.78%, Constitution .36%; Green .34%, Libertarian .27%, Reform .07%, Natural Law .04%, American .01%. The full breakdown, by state, is available [http://www.ballot-access.org/2004/0201.html#13 here].
Waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner", a diner occasionally patronized by Jon and Garfield. Her first appearance was on [[October 19]], [[1979]]. The food, service, and mental stability of both Irma and her restaurant are all questionable. For instance, her idea of a "chicken surprise" is her coming up to the table wearing a rubber chicken mask and saying "SURPRISE!" She also referred to "your choice of [[potato]]es" as "cooked" and "raw." However, this may be attributed to her operating the diner 24 hours a day with no help (though in other comics, she is shown to speak to other diner employees). Although her main and most memorable appearances took place earlier in the strip, in 1999 she appeared (updated to match the most recent style of the strip), once again doing wacky things at the diner.
:If there's no objection, I'm going to remove the second paragraph in the first section. It suggests that the two major party candidates are somehow more important than all the other candidates, and this can become a self fulfilling prophesy. I would also like to hear some feedback regarding the listing being alphabetic or by number of registered voters. Initially, alphabetic seems easier to maintain because it will not change throughout time as much as number of registered voters.
===Dr. Elizabeth Wilson===
::These changes have been completed, without objection, for the reasons mentioned above.
[[Image:LizWilson.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Dr. Liz Wilson]]
'''First Appearance:''' [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1979-ga790626 June 26, 1979]
:::Alphabetical is definitely less problematic than trying to count members or registered voters. For example, in California, the Libertarian Party has more than twice as many members as the Republican Party, but the American Independent Party has twice as many registered voters as the Libertarian Party (the latter because voters think they are registering as independents i.e. not affiliated with any party).
Garfield's [[veterinarian]] and long-time crush of Jon Arbuckle. She occasionally dates him, but these outings always become disasters, and Liz herself has little regard for Jon. She vainly tries to make him understand that she is not interested, but Jon is persistent in his efforts. In one strip, she revealed she had a (possibly entirely fictional) boyfriend named Nick "The Mangler" Scarlotti; however, he has never been mentioned again. The two appeared to have fallen in love after Liz admitted that she liked Jon, which means Liz has become Jon's girlfriend. [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2006-ga060726] She first appeared on [[June 26]], [[1979]]. In the [[live-action]] [[film]]s, she became Jon Arbuckle's "[[girlfriend]]/[[partner]]". In animation, she was voiced by [[Julie Payne]]. On [[Garfield and Friends]], she appeared occasionally in the first two seasons only. In the live-action movies, she is played by [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]]. Her first television appearance was on [[Garfield Goes Hawaiian]]. Her last was on [[Arrivederci, Odie!]].
::::Someone attempted to rearrange the external links to official candidate websites and political parties without providing a justification. Their current order is alphebetical, to avoid bias. If someone else has other ideas, please state them here.
Jon and Liz shared their first true kiss on December 19, 1981, though Jon had previously managed to steal a kiss on October 6, 1979. In the past, Liz showed great dislike and little respect for Jon; her attempts to show him that she was not interested in him were generally futile, although she did deliver some pithy comments. During the week of her second appearance, Jon asked her what she would suggest for an animal who is madly in love (referring to himself), and Liz countered with "[[spaying and neutering|neutering]]." They didn't have a lasting relationship until after another kiss during slight dating fiasco on July 28, 2006. A third kiss was shared on September 3 of the same year.
From this point on, Liz has been Jon's girlfriend (she called him "Sweetie").
== Listing Order ==
===Herman Post===
I was the one that rearranged the names. My bad, I didn't see that you guys wanted to do this alphabetically.
[[Image:HermanPost.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Herman Post]]
Jon Arbuckle's [[mail carrier|mailman]]. Garfield constantly torments him by ripping off his pants and leaving him shredded and scratched, and he perpetually tries to find a way to deliver the mail safely, but almost never succeeding (although the mail always makes it). In ''Garfield and Friends'', the mailman was voiced by [[Gregg Berger]]. He first appeared on [[January 28]], [[1984]]. His first appearance on television was on [[Fair Exchange (Garfield and Friends)|Fair Exchange]]. His last was on [[Fill-in FELINE]]. In some of the comics, his [[hair]] is [[white]] instead of [[brown]].
{{-}}
== Neighbors ==
But I honestly believe that Bush and Kerry should be listed above all the others. It's not really because of a bias, it's just that those are the only 2 candidates that have a real chance of being elected.
* '''Hubert and Reba''' are Jon's stereotypical "grumpy old neighbors." Hubert is mostly outside on his porch yelling "REBA!" when Garfield, Jon, Odie, and other characters are doing something crazy. Reba is mostly inside doing something unseen. In an earlier comic, Reba is called "Thelma." Their only Television appearance was on "''Here Comes Garfield.''"
In my opinion- we should list them based on who is more well known. Obviously people know Bush more than any other candidate cause he's been President for 4 years, Kerry would be second due to the fact that he is the main challenger.
* '''Mrs. Feeny''' is another neighbor, who has never appeared in the strip. Garfield routinely torments her, her little dog, and Mr. Feeny (who have never appeared as well) and as such Mrs. Feeny is always complaining to Jon about Garfield over the phone, or occasionally, vent her revenge on Jon. But, Garfield isn't always bitter to Mrs. Feeny. One year, he gave her a homemade hairball for Christmas. In one strip it is mentioned that Garfield once glued her dog to a cross town bus. When called on this, he raises his paw to swear, only to notice that his coffee cup has become attached to him. Another time Jon reported to Garfield, "Mrs. Feeney's little dog is missing again, and all those stamps I bought yesterday are gone, not to mention a box and some twine!" Garfield replied, "Take your time, it'll come to you."
*'''Ellen''' is a local woman whom Jon often tried to go out with. Of all of the women Jon calls for a date and ends up getting rejected, Ellen is the most common. She was introduced as a blind date for Jon [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1990-ga901109 November 9, 1990] After 16 years, Ellen finally dated Jon in the comic on [[July 17]], [[2006]] and appeared in person on [[July 20]], [[2006]] after Jon convinced her to go on a date because she had [[amnesia]] and couldn't remember how much she despised him.[http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2006-ga060720] She was persuaded to go on a date with him, and on July 20th, 2006, the strip finally showed her as a blond woman with a striped dress. [http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2006-ga060720] For years she never appeared in the strip, but many strips focused on Jon phoning Ellen asking for a date. She usually asked him sarcastically to do something very stupid first, before refusing. Once Jon received a restraining order from her on [[November 22]], [[1996]], but despite that has asked her out many times since then (to no success). Jon fell in love with Liz who admitted that she did like Jon - and Ellen, still having amnesia, went with the man that Liz initially dated that night.
== Family ==
While I believe that most people wouldn't know Michael Badnarik, even if he was sitting next to them drinking coffee.....no offense
:The problem with doing it by popularity is that popularity is a subjective measure. It's going to very from person to person and is subject to opinion. The same is true of electability--Libertarians may very well believe Badnarik can be elected. Alphabetical arrangement is objective and not subject to opinion. In any case, it's not the purpose of this article to reinforce preconcieved notions about who's electable or who's more popular. The purpose of this article is to provide information. It needs to be done in an objective and unbiased fashion or everyone will simply perpetually argue about the listing order.
[[Image:GarfieldsMom.jpg|130px|thumb|right|Garfield's mother, Sonja]]
*'''Sonja: Garfield's mother,''' Garfield's most influential family member. His mother is a stray, and he hardly sees her. But when they do meet, such as in the television special ''Garfield on the Town'' and a loose adaptation that ran in the strip in December [[1984]], she showers him with the love that she can rarely give. She also appeared in the television special ''Garfield: His 9 Lives'', and in the [[November 5]], 1994 strip, in which she's the only one watching Garfield's representation on the fence. [[Sandy Huge]] provided her voice in the specials.
*Garfield's '''grandfathers''' have both appeared. His maternal grandfather, Wilfrid, is a strict, demanding stray, who insists (with extreme futility, of course) that Garfield must become a mouser. His paternal grandfather, Garfield I, is a cynical, bitter and sarcastic character with a habit of telling long (and often completely made up) stories. He holds his grandson in mild contempt and threatens Jon with physical harm when he claims to see a family resemblance.
* Other [[relative]]s have included '''Uncle Harry''', '''Aunt Bernice''', '''Uncle Hubert''', '''Aunt Reba''', '''Uncle Barney''', '''Aunt Evelyn''', '''Uncle Nick''', '''Aunt Edna''', '''Uncle Roy''', '''Uncle Bob''', '''Uncle Morty''', Garfield’s [[brother]] '''Raoul''', and '''[[Cousin]] Sly'''. Most have been [[unseen characters]].
== Pests ==
[[Image:FloydMouse.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Floyd the Mouse from ''Garfield and Friends''.]]
* '''Mice''' - Jon's house is also inhabited by mice, Most of whom are unnamed, though one was named "Squeak" and anothe was named "Herman Vermin". The mice enjoy a quite full social life—to much annoyance of Jon. Garfield, however, cannot be bothered to chase them, and according to him they tend to either bribe or blackmail him to stay so. In the cartoon show, there was a significant mouse with a similar role named '''Floyd''', who could be told apart by the fact that he was drawn with oval eyes, like the other regulars, had a pink nose (an animation goof in "Good Mousekeeping" shows another mouse briefly with Floyd's nose), and was voiced by Gregg Berger. A running gag with Floyd was his annoyance with the fact that he didn't appear often (he often says he wishes he'd be on more than once a season; it's unclear whether Floyd really does only appear once a season).
* '''[[Spider]]s''' - also appear in the strip regularly. They sometimes walk around the house or dangle from the ceiling-or get squished by a newspaper wielded by Garfield. This, of course, leads to several attempts by the spiders to get back at Garfield, which are unsuccessful in most cases. Garfield does occasionally obtain help from the spiders, such as to get rid of an annoying fly. The spiders were initially drawn with six legs, although now they are generally drawn with eight.
* '''[[Flea]]s''' - have been important characters too. Once a flea [[nurse]] asked if Garfield would like to contribute for a [[blood drive]], but Garfield catches on. In a comic from 1989, the fleas are having a rowdy [[party]] on Garfield’s back. Garfield sprays [[bug spray]] on his back, but the fleas continue to party, making Garfield frustrated with the spray he used. The first week of fleas is in 1980, when Garfield gets them from Odie. When Garfield looked up fleas in the dictionary, it said, "flea (flē) n. a small [[wingless]],[[bloodsucking]] parasite… also see: [[brother-in-law]]."
== Household Appliances ==
Well you have a point, and I can see where you guys are coming from with wanting to keep it unbias and fair. However the fact is that Bush and Kerry are the most important in this election, because there's a 99.99% chance that one of them is going to be inaugurated next year.
* Three household appliances in the comic are the '''talking bathroom scale''', the '''alarm clock''' and the '''TV'''. The three objects have quite different personalities: The scale, sometimes known as '''RX-2''', usually allows itself to be quite cynical and crude about Garfield's overweight state. But sometimes when it does so, it gets smashed or thrown into a trash can. A cover on one of the Garfield paperbacks show Garfield putting a toe on the scale and it heaving with agony. The clock usually retracts from ringing loud and waking Garfield, since he tends to smash it into pieces, and was once flushed down a toilet because it woke Garfield. The TV also speaks to Garfield by itself on occasion, usually trying to persuade Garfield into continuing to watch it or turning it off. Once, when Garfield fell asleep in front of the TV, the TV yelled at him to turn it off. On an episode of ''Garfield'' TV show there was a [[The Twilight Zone|Twilight Zone]]-like episode with Garfield trapped in the TV set.
3rd partys are good for America to have, but they are kept out of the debates for a reason- they are unelectable. A 3rd party candidates only real purpose is to scipher votes away from the 2 main partys.
== Television personalities==
:3rd parties are kept out of the debates in an attempt to ensure that they are unelectable. Inclusion in the debates would make them electable (though it might take a few election cycles). I favor alphabetical. The idea that the Rs and Ds are somehow more important is POV.
[[Image:Binky.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Binky the Clown]]
* '''Binky the Clown''' is a television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" He was first mentioned on March, 13, 1985 in the comic strips.[http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1985-ga850313]In ''[[Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'', the character made his first animated appearance and was given a voice. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986[http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1986-ga860915]. On ''Garfield and Friends'', Binky became more of a regular, and would modify his greeting to suit who it was he was greeting, such as "HEEEEEEEY, CAT!" He also had his own segment on the show during the second and third seasons, called ''Screaming With Binky'', in which he showed up in the midst of a certain activity and performed his trademark greeting, ruining said activity. Most of these segments were cut in syndication, but have been restored for the DVD releases. Like Jon, Binky was voiced by Thom Huge. His first television appearance was on [[Peace and Quiet]]. His last: [[The Feline Philosopher]].
*'''Uncle Roy''' is another television personality and the [[rival]] of Binky. He remains an [[unseen character]].
== Toys ==
Regardless, you both seem to agree that, for whatever reason, third parties ''are'' unelectable. Presenting Rs and Ds as more important reflects expert opinion, thus is not POV. Bush and Kerry to the top. [[User:Meelar|[[User:Meelar|Meelar]] [[User talk:Meelar|(talk)]]]] 05:28, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
[[Image:Stretchthechicken.gif|480px|thumb|right|A Stretch strip]]
*'''Stretch'''
**First appearance: [http://garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?1984-ga840619 June 19, 1984]; acquired his name the next day.
**Last appearance: [http://garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2000-ga001231 December 31, 2000]
**''Stretch'' is Garfield's rubber chicken, who was given to Garfield on his 6th birthday. It only appeared for a week after, yet makes cameo appearances from time to time, mainly used as a weapon against Jon. Stretch was last seen on [[December 31]] [[2000]].
*A recurring plot in the strip is Garfield eating Jon's various '''pet fish''', which causes Jon to get mad. In an attempt to prevent Garfield from eating his second pet fish one week, he lets Garfield name it. Ironically, '''Second Helping''' (the fish Garfield named) lasted to the end of the strip, an event very rare in a Garfield comic. Another time, he named a fish '''Sushi'''. It is mentioned that Jon owned 323 fish. Garfield thought it was 321, but then remembered that "two died of natural causes".
== Objects thrown at Garfield ==
:No, I don't even begin to agree with that. Elections are dynamic and unpredictable. If you were correct, Abraham Lincoln could not have been elected president and Jesse Ventura could not have been elected governor. The only NPOV possibility is, IMO, alphabetical, for which there seems to be something close to consensus here. Back to alphabetical. [[User:Mcarling]] 5:36, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
[[Image:SPLUT!.jpg|thumb|right|An example of a SPLUT! hitting Garfield in the face]]
Assuming this is your comment, you said "3rd parties are kept out of the debates to ensure that they are unelectable", which to me implies that they are in fact unelectable. Anyway, my point about expert consensus still stands. Giving Nader, Badnarik et al a chance in this election is the political equivalent of the flat earth theory. [[User:Meelar|[[User:Meelar|Meelar]] [[User talk:Meelar|(talk)]]]] 05:40, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
*'''The SPLUT!s''' are slapstick-comedy flying pies which strike Garfield on random occasions, making the sound "SPLUT!" when they hit. Typically the Spluts are used for shock humor or as a running gag ('''Garfield'': ''(checks the calendar)'' "Yep... it's 'Splut week.'"). The SPLUT!s have not appeared in the strip for several years, however.
*'''Garfield's Fence Hecklers''' are usually known to be [[unseen characters]]. The very first strip to show Garfield on a fence had an irate old man in a nightshirt toss an alarm clock. However, in later strips, many of the (normally unseen) throwers are implied to be dogs. Sometimes, Garfield is hit with a SPLUT! while on the fence.
== Food ==
:You appear to be reading my comment through the tint of your own POV. I've edited it for clarification. Nader probably doesn't have a chance because he didn't have enough support or organization to raise the funds and do the ballot access work to overcome ballot access hurdles. He still might get on the ballot in just enough states to have a theoretical chance of winning, but it will be close. Badnarik, on the other hand, will be on the ballot in 49 or 50 states. Cobb and Peroutka will each be on in about 40 states. Comparing expectations of future human preferences to flat earth theory is absurd. And I'm really surprised that anyone would argue, if that's what you're doing, that alphabetical fails the NPOV test. [[User:Mcarling]] 5:47, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
*The '''contents of Jon's fridge''' have been left alone for so long that many of them have evolved into sinister intelligent lifeforms. The most sinister of all was the '''Mystery Meat''', which attempted to embark on a plan for world domination. Some were not sinister or intelligent, and simply became life forms (Bacon grazing on lettuce, etc.)
:I'm not arguing that it fails the NPOV test, I'm arguing that there's an expert consensus that either Bush or Kerry will win, and that ignoring that fact does a disservice to our readers. Comparing that to flat earth is completely valid; the percentages of experts who believe in each theory are roughly equal. [[User:Meelar|[[User:Meelar|Meelar]] [[User talk:Meelar|(talk)]]]] 07:22, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
* When dieting, Garfield often has [[hallucination]]s. One common [[hallucination]] features '''walking food''' which encourages Garfield to eat it.
== Friends ==
::With all due respect and acknowledgement of your valuable contributions to Wikipedia, you appear to be confused about fundamental concepts of theory, evidence, probability, and reality. The idea that the earth is flat is no longer a theory because it has been falsified. Anyone who believes the earth is flat is either ignorant, stupid, or dishonest because the earth has been circumnavigated. The idea that a third party candidate cannot win has also been falsified. Anyone who believes that a third party candidate cannot win is either ignorant, stupid, or dishonest because third party candidates have won. I don't see much point in arguing with someone who doesn't believe that the earth has been circumnavigated or that Lincoln was elected president of the United States. [[User:Mcarling]] 7:42, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
*'''Wheezer''' is Jon's old school friend. He calls Jon "Carp Face". Wheezer visited Jon at his house [[April 23]], [[1990]] through [[April 29]], [[1990]]. He asked Jon if he remembers the "Reptile", which is a dance they did together on the floor. Wheezer and Jon did silly noises like Booga, Honk, Whoop, Yadda, Wheedie, Ooga, Nyahh, and Hoogie. Later in the comic, Jon saw Wheezer at his high-school reunion. Wheezer often brings up embarrising moments in Jon's high school career at the wrong time. While Jon was talking to the girl of his dreams, Wheezer yells "HEY CARPFACE!" and brings up the memory of Jon blowing his nose on the American flag. He also stole Jon's pants at the reunion and threw them into the girls' locker room.
:I apologize for my loose terminology. Allow me to phrase it this way: the percentage of professional politicians, pundits, experts, political scientists, etc. who believe that a third-party candidate will be elected this year is approximately equal to the percentage of geologists who believe the earth is flat. Does that satisfy you? [[User:Meelar|[[User:Meelar|Meelar]] [[User talk:Meelar|(talk)]]]] 17:20, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
* '''Aunt Gussie''' is Jon's aunt. She first appeared [[August 14]] through [[August 15]], [[1981]], [[baby-sitting]] Garfield while Jon took a vacation. She didn't know Garfield left. She later appeared on [[November 8]] through [[November 12]] [[1983]], when she became mean and had glasses. She was supposed to baby-sit Garfield on the week of [[April 25]], [[1988]] while Jon was having his [[tonsils]] removed, but she did not show up. She has a crush on [[John Travolta]].
* '''Mrs. Lillian''' is an extremely near-sighted old lady, who Jon has hired as a pet sitter to go out on a date with Liz. First Appearance: [http://garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2007-ga070327 March 27, 2007] In one of her comic strips, she mistakes an orange, and a pineapple for Garfield and Odie.
===Animals===
::Apology accepted. Argument rejected. Most professional politicians, pundits, experts, political scientists, etc. who don't have a dog in the fight would say that the probability of a 3rd party candidate being elected president this year is small, maybe very small, but not zero. Most geologists would say that the probability that the earth is flat is zero -- exactly zero -- not small, very small, or even extremely small. We can objectively draw a line between those who can win and those who cannot. Those who cannot have been excluded from this article (except by reference). Among those who can win, it would be POV to try to order them based upon perceptions (however well founded) of the relative probabilities of victory. [[User:Mcarling]] 17:50, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
*A recurring plot in the strip is Garfield eating Jon's various '''pet fish''', which causes Jon to get mad. In an attempt to prevent Garfield from eating his second pet fish one week, he lets Garfield name it. Ironically,''' Second Helping''' (the fish Garfield named) lasted to the end of the strip, an event very rare in a Garfield comic. Another time, he named a fish '''Sushi'''. It is mentioned that Jon owned 323 fish. Garfield thought it was 321, but then remembered that "two died of natural causes".
*A '''big, vicious dog''' often enjoys barking at Garfield. His rear end is rarely seen. He is almost always seen next to a "Beware of Dog" sign. Garfield isn't usually afraid of this dog, and makes fun of him and even chats with him. Once in a while, he'll be afraid of him. There are several regular "Beware of Dog" dogs; the main one has either brown or blue fur.
* '''Biff''' was Garfield's colleague intern that he taught how to be a good cat -according to Garfield's standards.
* A '''little chick''' that looks up to Garfield and calls him "Daddy" (it was originally "Mommy" until Garfield explained to the little guy what gender was). He is a nuisance to Garfield who, oddly enough, is reluctant to eat the little guy (for some strange reason, the thought just never crossed his mind). The chick doesn't like lasagna. At the end of the week long strips, Garfield has a tear rolling down his eye.
* '''Snails''' have been in the strip more recently (in the 2000’s). The strips feature Garfield asking questions about snails.
* '''Guido and Fluffy''' were a cat and dog who help Garfield escape from the city [[animal shelter|pound]] in a comic strip of January 1981.
* '''Lyle''' is Garfield's pet ant. Garfield later squashed him for eyeballing his lasagna.
* '''Loretta''' is one of the Mouse's sisters. Garfield was going to fight her. When the Mouse called her name, Garfield didn't want to fight her. She was a Giant Mouse.
* Garfield loves to eat '''sparrows''', and has many attempts to catch them (most of the time failing), most notably his "barbecue bird bath" and his various bird disguises.
* There's occasionally a dog who usually pops up at the final panel of a strip and harming Garfield in the process, always exclaiming, '''"____ DOOOGGGG!"''' with the blank word being his way of entrance. He is dressed in a pilot's cap, a cape, and a shirt that reads the initials of his name, which varies between his appearances. Examples include, "Trapdoor Dog", "Slingshot Dog", and "Bungee Dog".
* '''Herbie''' was Jon's pet frog, but was later inevitably eaten by Garfield. He appeared in 1980. In a October 30, 1994 strip, all of the pets Garfield ate were in one of Garfield's nightmares. Herbie is there underneath a white blanket that represents a ghost. He has never been heard from again.
===Miscellaneous===
:Well, I think we're going to agree to disagree, but I'm not willing to make a bigger issue of this (and I doubt there would be a consensus on one version anyway). Peace, and best wishes, [[User:Meelar|[[User:Meelar|Meelar]] [[User talk:Meelar|(talk)]]]] 22:12, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
*'''The Caped Avenger''' is Garfield's alter ego, a [[superhero]] who fights with only a cape (his blanket). He once had a sidekick named Slurp, (Odie) and also once lost his blanket and became the "Paisley Avenger." Some early strips show his superhero name as "Freedom Fighter". In one episode he refers to Jon as his archnemesis "The Infamous Doctor Dweeb".
* A '''tree''' is always trying to encourage Garfield to climb him, always ending in Garfield falling for its "same old lies". In the beginning, he sits on a tree branch, but more recently finds himself gripping the branch by his front paws and dangling. Once while stuck up a tree, he meets a cat named Ed who was raised by squirrels and had never walked on the ground before.
* '''Mondays''' are another nemesis of Garfield's. Often, they are shown off-panel but causing things to happen in-panel (such as throwing a pie at Garfield). When they are shown, they are drawn as ugly monsters. The most prominent theme was "The Monday That Wouldn't Die", in which every day in the month after a certain Monday was also Monday.
* '''[[Santa Claus]]''' is portrayed as a real, rather than fictional, character in the Garfield strip. This is a rarity as most newspaper comics do not show Santa as someone who actually exists. Belief in Santa is unquestioned, both Garfield and Jon believe in him and Garfield has witnessed him flying in his sleigh, coming down the chimney, and distributing presents. Somehow despite all of the trouble that Garfield gets into he remains on Santa's nice list. On Garfield's first Christmas Eve (December 24, 1978), he received 20 pounds of lasagna, a request which Santa notes nobody else in the world asked for.
* '''The Stump''' is where Garfield once went in August 8 to August 14, 1982.He heard strange noises in the stump. Garfield threw a stone in the stump and a bone came out. Garfield saw that a mouse live in the Stump. Garfield was about to attack the mouse for scaring him, But was attacked by the mouse's pet human,Guido. When Garfield left he heard the noises Guido made in his bed and food dish.
* '''The Sludge Monster''' is a monster made of mudlike goo. He is never seen in the comics, but Jon and Liz often go out to see "Sludge Monster" movies at theatres. The Garfield cartoon "[[Sludge Monster]]" is all about him. The creepy motel owner calls him "Maurice." There is a song about him that Jon sings to Garfield and Odie. He is only seen at the end of that episode and suggests the motel needs cable TV. There is a huge amount of Sludge Monster movies in the comics.
* '''Vermin Man''' is a character that was mentioned in Garfield comic strip in April 25,1980.He Starred in a Movie called "The Sluge Monster meets Vermin Man" when Jon took Liz on a date to a Drive in Theater.
* '''Garfield's conscience''' is an entity whose job is to "make you feel bad about the things that make you feel good." He is described as resembling "everyone's mother." When not working, he shares Garfield's sense of humour. He told Garfield to back up a little, and Garfield fell of the table. He is quite annoying, to the point that Garfield bottled him. Jon unfortunately took the cork out, wherupon he was told to "get a haircut". He has been shown as Garfield's bed, food dish, clock and a bottle. The cricket from television may be one of his forms, or a different conscience.
* '''[Yarn]''' is also a character Garfield can “think” too. The yarn talks back to Garfield, although it is not a hallucination. The first one talked January 19, 2001. The yarn humor has included the yarn shampooing itself, going in a hot tub and shrinking, and Garfield taking it for a walk (which let itself loose).
* '''The sock''' is another superhero alter-ego of Garfield. His sidekick Stinky (Odie with smelly socks) is shown to be worst as Garfield can realise.
* '''Clive''' is Garfield's invisible friend. He is another way through which Garfield plays pranks on and irritates Jon and Odie.
==Television series only==
::Peace and best wishes. [[User:Mcarling]] 22:16, 2004 Sep 1 (UTC)
{{main|Garfield and Friends}}
===Cactus Jake===
[[Image:CactusJake.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Cactus Jake]]
'''Cactus Jake''' is the foreman of the Polecat Flats ranch, and a friend of Jon. He was seen only in the TV series and had a habit of saying Garfield's name wrong. Whenever Garfield wore a cowboy outfit, Jake always believed that he really was a cowboy named "Shorty" (Jon would always recognize "Shorty" as Garfield, however). Jake's voice was provided by [[Pat Buttram]]. First appeardd: [[Polecat Flats]]. Last appeared: [[The Multiple Choice Cartoon]]. Last appearance (mentioned): [[Stairway to Stardom]].
===Dr. Garbanzo Bean===
The fact that no 3rd party has ever been elected President of the U.S. (including Lincoln, who was a Republican) shows that they are unelectable.
[[Image:Garbanzobean.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Dr. Garbanzo Bean]]
'''Dr. Garbanzo Bean''' is a [[mad scientist]] who invented a mechanical Odie dubbed the "Robodie." This proved popular enough for him to return in a sequel, appropriately enough called "Robodie 2." He was voiced by [[Frank Welker]].
===Al G. Swindler===
Sure maybe if the right candidate came along, he may have a small shot at winning. However in a time where America is so evenly split between Republican and Democrat, and in a time where both sides are fiercly competing for the White House- it is extremely hard to believe that enough voters from either party will cross over and elect a 3rd party.
[[Image:AlGSwindler.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Al G. Swindler]]
'''Al G. Swindler''' is, as his name suggests, a [[swindler|Confidence trick]], often conning Jon whenever he can, not to mention mispronouncing his last name. He only appeared in the TV series, usually getting outsmarted by Garfield shortly after tricking Jon enough times, and at the end of the episodes he was in, he would usually say, "It's getting tougher and tougher to make an honest buck these days." He was voiced by [[Carl Ballantine]]. He first appered on the episode Lemon Aid.
===The Buddy Bears===
Not just that- but the masses of Conservative and Liberal states would make it almost impossible for a 3rd party to win 270 electoral votes in the electoral college.
[[Image:BuddyBears.jpg|180px|thumb|right|The Buddy Bears]]
'''The Buddy Bears''' are a trio of annoying singing bear cubs who encourage viewers to "always agree with the group" (similar to ''[[The Get-Along Gang]]''). Their names are '''Bobby''', '''Billy''', and '''Bertie'''. In the episode "5 Minute Warning" the DVD subtitles mistakenly gave Bertie's name as Brady. The only disagreement they've ever had was over pizza toppings, which supposedly no one can agree on. Their show once replaced Binky's, and Roy Rooster from ''[[U.S. Acres]]'' has twice been stuck as their fall guy. Garfield has remarked that he "hates Buddy Bear episodes". In the episode "The Garfield Opera", the bears' full names are revealed to be '''Robert,''' '''William,''' and '''Bertram''' respectively. In one episode, they are accompanied by their sister, '''Betty Buddy Bear.''' In another episode, the Buddy Bears are hired to provide factual explanations for everything Garfield does, i.e., appearing spontaneously to say "Bananas are a very good source of potassium" when Garfield mentions bananas. Eventually Garfield tricks them into leaving by asking them about "gazorninplats," which they know nothing about (since Garfield made it up), and, admitting defeat, they leave. The trick backfires, however, when a TV producer notifies Garfield that he is so taken with the name "Gazorninplat" that he is going to replace Garfield's show with new Gazorninplat show. They first appeared on [[Binky Gets Cancelled, Again!]].
===Madman Murray===
99% of all political experts and analyists agree that either Bush or Kerry will win this election. The other 1% represents the campaign advisers of Ralph Nader, David Cobb, and Michael Badnarik. Thus the reason why Bush and Kerry are all over the news with every word they say, and thus the reason that I have yet to see Michael Badnarik's face.
[[Image:MadManMurray.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Madman Murray]]
'''Madman Murray''' is a caricature of the type of ecstatic salesmen seen advertising used cars on television. Somewhat like Swindler, Madman is continually conning Jon out of his money. However, Madman's appearances on the show do not typically end with Garfield outsmarting him. He is voiced by [[Gregg Berger]]. His cartoons were [[Guarenteed Trouble]], [[Rolling Romance]], [[Jumping Jon]] ([[cameo]]) and [[Madman Meets His Match]].
===Mr. Burnside===
:In 1860, the Republican Party was a third party. The dominant parties then were the Democratics and the Whigs. What can happen once can happen again. [[User:Mcarling]] 18:35, 2004 Sep 2 (UTC)
[[Image:Mr. Burnside.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Mr. Burnside]]
'''Mr. Burnside''' is Jon's next-door neighbor, who is constantly annoyed by Garfield stealing his food. Early on in the sixth season, he was pushed so far as to rent his house out. Shortly after moving, Burnside found out that without Garfield stealing his food, he and his wife were getting overweight, so they agreed to move back. He is voiced by [[Gregg Berger]].
===Penelope Pussycat===
::Just because something has never happened before, doesn't mean that it can't happen. Regardless, Mcarling is correct that the Republican Party was a third-party when Lincoln was elected. The major parties at that time were the Democrats and the Whigs. Lincoln won with 39.82% of the popular vote--quite a low plurality. Vote splitting played a definate role in that election, and it can play a role in this election too. It's possible to win with as little as 34% in a three way race. Anything could happen. Bush and Kerry could both die in coincidential freak accidents. A major historial event could occur, like a large asterioid hitting the earth, which would unpredictabily change public opinion. I'm sure that you can't produce any unbiased, scientific analyses which prooves that "99% of all political experts and analyists agree that either Bush or Kerry will win this election." Even if you could, that would be no basis for determing the listing order in this article. Electability is a subjective measure, not an objective measure; and it has no place in an article designed to be unbiased.
[[Image:PenelopeCat.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Penelope]]
'''Penelope Pussycat''' served as another love interest for Garfield, appearing only in the show's last three seasons, quickly becoming a regular even with only three episodes being labeled by their titles as "Penelope episodes". She lives in an Italian restaurant, which is no doubt the main reason that Garfield goes out with her. The fact that Garfield enjoys eating more than being with her annoys Penelope, but she willingly goes out with him anyway, because as she says, "It doesn't matter what we do so long as we do it together." She is voiced by [[Victoria Jackson]]. Penelope was not a character creation by Jim Davis or 'Garfield & Friends' writer, Mark Evanier. Penelope was a conception of Dallas, TX resident and Garfield fanatic by the name of Chris Miller. Penelope was included as part of a spoof newspaper submission to Paws Inc in 1989. Because Miller did not have his creation copyrighted or trademarked, Penelope was fair use for the Garfield shows. Another character of Miller's named "Gwendolyn" appeared in an episode of the series.
===Ludlow===
::: It can be argued that the Republican party became the 2nd major party in 1854-1856, as disenchanted Whigs and abolitionist Democrats sought a better alternative. [[John C. Fremont]] came in a strong second in [[U.S. presidential election, 1856]]. Nevertheless, any student of history can see that third parties have had a great influence on past elections and should be covered.
[[Image:LudlowSparrow.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Ludlow]]
'''Ludlow''' is a young [[sparrow]] who appeared during the last two seasons, and who sounded somewhat like [[Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy|Augie Doggy]]. Being young and impressionable, he believes that Garfield is his friend, and as a result, Garfield cannot bring himself to eat him. Ludlow's dad distrusts cats, and therefore is aggressive to Garfield. He was voiced by [[Don Messick]]. His cartoons were [[Sweet Tweet Treat]] and [[Catch as Cats Can't]].
===The Singing Ants===
I think we need to take the long view on this article. In the short term, alphabetical order is fine, and isn't worth spending a lot of time arguing about, because it'll only remain that way for 60 days. After the election, the primary sort key should be electoral college vote, and the secondary sort key should be popular vote. -- [[User:RobLa|RobLa]] 17:44, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)
[[Image:SingingAnts.jpg|180px|thumb|right|The Singing Ants]]
'''The Singing Ants''' are a group of [[black ants]] who showed up to ruin Jon's picnic in the season five episode "The Picnic Panic". They are referred to as the Singing Ants because they make their appearance announcing what they do, which is to steal food from picnics, by way of song ("we're the ants who ruin your dinner"). The ants proved to be so popular with viewers that two seasons later, the ants reappeared in the aptly-titled "Another Ant Episode". This time, though, they were red ants, and they had come to steal all the food in Jon's house. At the end of their second episode, Jon's house was destroyed by the exterminator, Mr. Leo Crater's robot. The ants sang "We'll be back after you rebuild here, cause by then it'll be time for a Third Ant Episode". But because of the show's cancellation, there never was a third one. They also made a cameo in "A Vacation From His Senses". The Ants are perhaps the only antagonistic characters whom Garfield cannot succeed in outsmarting.
===Ichabod Cricket===
Let me put it this way- I have 150,000 dollars here that says that either Bush or Kerry will win this election. Is anyone willing to take the bet?
[[Image:Ichabodcricket.jpg|180px|thumb|right|Ichabod]]|
'''Ichabod Cricket''' served as Garfield's conscience in the ''Garfield and Friends'' episode, "A Matter of Conscience", based on [[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]. Throughout the episode Garfield was annoyed by the cricket, and at the end of the episode Garfield squahed him. Garfield said the cricket was in the original book, but not in the Disney film (referencing the fact that Jiminy Cricket was not in the book, but was in the Disney film). Later after Ichabod left Garfield, he went on to make sound effects (he did cricket chirps). He showed up in the next episode, "Half-Baked Alaska", as [[Jon Arbuckle|Jon's]] conscience. He told Jon to dump [[salad]] on his head, spill [[lasagna]] on the fat guy's (Jon's boss) lap, and hit the cartoonist in the face with a cake. The end of the episode features Garfield, Jon, and Odie chasing the cricket, because he told Jon to give him all his money.
===Esmeralda===
:Whatever measure is chosen, it needs to be objective. Even though virtually all of us will concede that Bush or Kerry will win, that's a moot point. Personally, I'd be willing to go along with an objective measure that puts Bush and Kerry at the top, but it's needs to be something better than "the two major parties always win so they should be on the top". Perhaps the order should be based on the number of states in which the candidate is listed on the ballot, followed by an alphabetical tiebreaker. -- [[User:RobLa|RobLa]] 21:05, 5 Sep 2004 (UTC)
'''Esmeralda''' is a clumsy [[fairy godmother]] that grants wishes to [[cats]] and dogs. Appering in the episode, “[[The Fairy Dogmother]]”, she granted Odie’s wish to go to the Hound Dog Harvest. Later she appered on the episode, “Dogmother II”, when Garfield wished he could get revenge on Rootie the Dog. She forgot what Garfield wished for, so she granted whatever anyone in the Arbuckle house wanted. For example, Jon sings “I wish I were in Dixieland, hooray, hooray”, and he was, only to find himself without anything but a shower cap on. He is arrested and he wished he was back home, and he was, in his bed. Later, Esmeralda’s boss told her she did a good job on the wish Garfield wanted, so right before Garfield is going to drop a 1956 [[Studebaker]] on Rootie, nothing happens, making Rootie chase him. These two episodes were called A Garfield [[Fairy Tale]].
===A Large Bully Cat===
:Followup on the listing by ballot access - [[List of candidates in the U.S. presidential election, 2004#Ballot access|here's the current tally]]. This seems reasonable, NPOV, and will hopefully satisfy everyone here. -- [[User:RobLa|RobLa]] 21:27, 5 Sep 2004 (UTC)
'''A Large Bully Cat''' is shown on several episodes of Garfield and Friends. This cat is often with a female cat that Garfield falls in love with, and the cat often beats Garfield up. Some examples are Bonzo from Beach Blanket Bonzo and Brick from The Idol of Id and The Perils of Penelope.
{{Garfield}}
::RobLa's proposal to sort by ballot access (number of states or number of electoral votes? States would be easier.) first and then alphabetically in case of a tie seems fair to me. It's certainly NPOV. [[User:Mcarling]] 21:41, 2004 Sep 5 (UTC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield}}
Works for me. As long as Bush and Kerry are at the top. And that would be in a objective manner too. [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 04:12, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
[[Category:Comics characters]]
[[Category:Animated characters]]
::It's not objective or NPOV to start with the goal of putting Bush and Kerry at the top, then trying to find a measure that will accomplish that goal. That's motivated by a very obvious POV bias toward the establishment parties. There is no argument that can be made against using alphabetical order as an NPOV implementation; therefore, it is the best option. Reverting.
[[Category:Garfield characters]]
[[Category:Lists of fictional characters by work]]
== New sectons in the article? What do you think? ==
I was thinking maybe we could add 2 more sections to this wikipedia article and I was looking for feedback-
1. Campaign Controversys- this would basically be about the controversys that have taken place over the course of the campaign. I.E. 9/11 Commission, Unfit for Command and the Swift Boat ads, Bush's guard allegations, Bob Woodward's book, etc.
2. Issues- this section would basically detail what are considered to be the most important issues of the election. I.E. War on Terror, War in Iraq, Economy, National Security, Healthcare, Gay Marriage, etc. Perhaps it could be divided into Domestic Issues (economy, healthcare, etc.), Social Issues (abortion, gay marriage, gun control), and National Security issues (war on terror, war in Iraq, Iran with nukes, North Korea with nukes, etc.)
What do you think? [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 16:29, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
:Either could be good, but especially issues.
[[User:Maurreen|Maurreen]] 13:03, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)
==Swing states still?==
There's a list, "These states are considered possible swing states, by either the political campaigns or by pollsters." While the possibility was open a while back, I don't think anyone thinks [[California]] would seriously come into play at this point. [[South Carolina]] strikes me as extremely questionable (and I'm an [[John Edwards|Edwards]] fan) and [[New Jersey]], [[Connecticut]] and probably [[Georgia]] fairly questionable. These may have seemed swingier a months or years ago, but at this point? There's a much better list and discussion [[Swing_state#2004_swing_states|in Wikipedia here]]. Maybe we should link to this information, or import? [[User:64.229.33.211|64.229.33.211]] 09:35, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)
You dont follow the polls much do you?
Survey USA- Bush up 4 in New Jersey
Rasmussen- Bush only up 9 in South Carolina: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/South%20Carolina%20August%2029.htm
Rasmussen- Kerry only up 9 in California
Survey USA- tied in Maryland
Rasmussen- Bush within 5 in New York
[[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 00:04, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC)
== Should we include the Fusion parties? ==
[[New York State]] has a law that allows parties to cross-nominate candidates for office. Historically, the NYS Conservatives have nominated the GOP candidate and the Liberal Party of NYS have done the same for the Dems. Four years ago, the then-new Working Families Party endorsed the Dems as well. Since the NYS Conservatives and Working Familes should do this again this year, I think it's a good idea to add this. - [[User:Hoshie|iHoshie]] 04:04, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)
== election monitors mention? ==
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3666898.stm
For the first time, representatives from the [[OSCE]] - the European body which has traditionally monitored elections in fledgling democracies - will observe as Americans elect their president.
== Newspaper Endorsements ==
Has anyone given thought to creating a list of newspaper endorsements for the various candidates? Credit for this idea is due to my wife, who asked me if there was a comprehensive list of newspaper endorsements across the US. (I only know of three endorsements, & only because all 2 are traditional Republican newspapers -- the Crawford ''Iconoclast'', the Phoenix ''Arizona Republic'', & the Portland ''Oregonian'' -- all of whom have endorsed Kerry.) I feel that this would be unique, yet useful, for future reference. -- [[User:Llywrch|llywrch]] 18:53, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
:I think this would be useful, though I think there would need to be some objective measure put on it. E.g. population over 200,000 or circulation over xxx. Otherwise, you'd just have a very large list of random newspapers. Also, I would recommend that this starts as a section in the main article, and then breaks out into its own article when the list grows beyond 20 or so. For what it's worth, the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the Atlanta Constitution-Journal are also for Kerry [http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663358] -- [[User:RobLa|RobLa]] 19:51, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I saw that item in P&E after I wrote the above, RobLa, & it was useful. Based on your suggestion, I started a list as a section in the article, with the hope it will grow large enough to be split off as its own article. -- [[User:Llywrch|llywrch]] 02:43, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)
::I think this is an excellent idea, although a list might need to be moved to its own article when it starts to expand - most major U.S. newspapers are expected to announce their endorsements soon. I don't want to jump right in and start editing this article right away since I'm new to this page and it is unclear to me what circulation limit you would prefer (my suggestion would be 100,000), but if you're intrested in having the complete list, here's the [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663585 latest tally according to Editor & Publisher]. It also indicates which candidate the newspaper endorsed in 2000, a piece of information I think is very useful. Note, however, that according to [http://www.gwu.edu/~action/natendorse5.html this page listing all (?) 2000 endorsements] The Philadelphia Daily News actually endorsed Gore in 2000. [[User:Alarm|Alarm]] 18:05, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)
JOHN KERRY
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (G): 418,323
The Philadelphia Inquirer (G): 387.692
Detroit Free Press (G): 354,581
The Oregonian (Portland) (B): 342,040
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (G): 281,198
The Seattle Times (B): 237,303
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (G): 150,901
The Philadelphia Daily News: 139,983
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (G): 109,592
Portland Press Herald (Maine) (G): 73,211
The Day (New London, Conn.) (B): 39,553
Total Pro-Kerry Daily Circ: 2,534,377
GEORGE W. BUSH
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 170,061
Tulsa World (OK) (B): 139,383
Mobile (Ala.) Register (B): 100,244
The Columbian (Vancouver, WA) (B): 51,498
The Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain: 52,208
Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News (B): 51,105
The Sun (Lowell, Mass.) (B): 50,369
The Courier (Findlay, Ohio) (B): 22,319
Total Pro-Bush Daily Circ: 637,187
::It seems to me that Llywrch added only newspapers with a circulation over 50,000 to the article. I'll comply with this limit for now, updating the list with today's info from E&P. However, it seems a bit arbitrary to me, and will also soon result in quite a long list. I'd propose a higher limit here, and a list of all endorsements on a separate page. Does anyone else have an opinion on this?
::For the record: The newspapers with less than 50,000 circulation that have made their mind up since my last post are:
::For Kerry: The Albuquerque Tribune (B): 13,536.
::For Bush: The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville, Tenn.): 22,057.
::Also, I do think that some means for identifying newspapers that have "switched sides" since last election would be a very helpful addition. [[User:Alarm|Alarm]] 19:22, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)
:I'm trying to add only newspapers that have large circulations, unless there are good reasons for inclusion, based on geography, as follows:
:*Some states do ''not'' have a population center that can support a newspaper with a circulation of 100,000+. Therefore, I added the New London, CT & Grand Forks, ND papers, to give this list some geographical distribution.
:*I added the Vancouver ''Columbian'' because it is the closest example of a daily competitor to the ''Oregonian'' in the [[Portland, Oregon]] metropolitan region. I'm trying to acknowledge the existence of some dissenting voices in my home town.
:*I added the Lowell ''Sun'' because it was an interesting exception to the overwhelming support Kerry has in Massachusets. (For balance reasons, I should have probably added the Crawford ''Iconoclast'' -- I am guilty of bending over backwards to be impartial here.)
:*A few newspapers I included because I honestly thought the towns were larger -- e.g. Albuquerque Tribune, Pueblo Chieftain, etc. (No, I didn't intend to add the Findlay, Ohio ''Courier'' -- I know how large of a town Findlay is.)
:I don't intend my submissions to be definitive, but if someone removes an items from these lists I suggest, in order to avoid partisan arguments, that the reason for the deletion be given -- e.g., "town too small". -- [[User:Llywrch|llywrch]] 04:48, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Since we don't want to list every single newspaper in the country, isn't adding a count of the newspapers based only on the count in the article a bit misleading? --[[User:Goobergunch|Goobergunch]] 18:15, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I think we should either make this a separate article, or limit each candidate to maybe 3 newspapers. That's because there really isn't any other way to preserve the precious NPOV. Without a limit we'll get a massive ugly list that looks like crap on a page about the campaign, and the circulation limit could be arbitrarily chosen and applied in order to benefit one candidate. It seems to me that a neutral point of view would either put this list into a separate article or just limit each candidate to a certain number of endorsements. [[User:MarkPNeyer|MarkPNeyer]]
I don't understand the table at the top of the Newspaper Endorsements section. What are the "Bush" and "Gore" columns? Are they the number of newspapers that endorsed Bush in 2000 and Bush in 2004, and Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004, respectively? If so, perhaps there's a better way of display that. The empty boxes are confusing. Maybe it could be split into two tables? Or at least provide a more detailed explanation. --[[User:Gjl|GJL]] 08:23, Oct 26, 2004 (UTC)
== Election 2004 logo ==
That thing is truly hideous. It's uninformative, it wastes bandwidth, it's without precedent, and it looks like one of those repulsive animated headlines on U.S. news programs. Re-add it if you must, but I cannot overstate just how ugly and worthless it is. [[User:Jxg|Jxg]] 07:29, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
:I have to agree: too big, too ugly, and it doesn't tell us anything which the page title doesn't already. [[User:Markalexander100|Markalexander100]] 07:50, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
::For starters, thanks for actually giving a reason for removing it. I thought it would be nice at least as long as the election is a current event. Maybe because I am not a U.S. citizen I don't feel any negative emotions with this logo, not being permanently brainwashed by U.S. news channels. I do though protest the statement that the logo is in any way hideous or too large, it is 12KB in size, and if you are referring to the image size, it can be scaled down and isn't even larger than the image underneath. -- [[User:Solitude|[[User:Solitude|Solitude]]\<sup>[[User_talk:Solitude|talk]]</sup>]] 08:29, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
:I can't speak for Jxg, but by big I meant in terms of pixels and primary colours (the latter in contrast to the one below it). [[User:Markalexander100|Markalexander100]] 08:35, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
== Mackerras pendulum picture ==
An anonymous user has been removing the Mackerras pendulum illustration, claiming that it's "highly partisan." I really don't see how this picture violates the NPOV policy, so please stop removing it unless you can explain yourself. I hope you have a better justification than "it predicts a Kerry win, therefore it's biased." [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 17:05, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
Yes thats me. You are adding a personal opinion of who will win with that picture. Oh by the way that would basically be the definition of biased. It doesn't present an even picture. an even picture would only show leanings of each state not predicted winner.
:Correct, it's Mackerras' personal opinion of who will win. It is properly attributed to Mackerras. The encyclopedia itself is taking no stance, nor is it making a prediction. Please familiarize yourself with the [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|NPOV policy]], this is not an NPOV violation. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 17:19, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
You wish to make this a non issue by ascribing it to another person. It doesn't remove the fact that it is a POV and should not be given greater credence simply because of the his position. Neither of us can state what we predict for this election without it being a POV violation.
:I'm sorry, you're wrong. Wikipedia allows opinions to be represented in articles. Please re-read the NPOV policy. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 17:32, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
:Because the election is so close, I've asked the community to help with this dispute in [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment]]. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 17:41, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
:: I'm opposed to the pendulum for an entirely different reason: it is out of date. Too much has happened since Februrary, and Mackerras hasn't updated his pendulum. --[[User:PSzalapski|Locarno]] 17:59, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
:poisoning the well. The nvop allows for opinions by groups. "most americans", "Democrats", "Republicans" ect not specific people.
::Again you are completely wrong. NPOV allows for attributed opinions, period. This includes individuals and groups. Actually, weasel terms such as "most Americans" are discouraged. Please add [[Wikipedia:Avoid weasel terms]] to your Wikipedia reading list. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 19:23, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)
:::I don't see publishing it as a POV violation as such, but I wouldn't keep it in the last form I saw it in because it is more than a little obtuse. As far as I can understand it is trying to place individual states on a continuum from most stronngly Democratic to most strongly Republican, and his assumption that Kerry will take Florida therefore means a Kerry win, but it doesn't deal with shifting attitudes and unknowns: NJ might actually be in play, because of emotional attachment to losses at WTC, PA might be in play, OH is a toss-up. So I can't see the point of publishing this unless there is a lucid explanation of his methodology and why this particular (albeit graphic) guess on the election outcome is especially useful. -- [[User:Cecropia|Cecropia]] | [[User talk:Cecropia|''explains it all'' ®]] 01:43, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)
:actually the most americans was taken directly from the NPOV article to quote. "So, rather than asserting, "The Beatles was the greatest band", we can say, "Most Americans believe that the Beatles was the greatest band,"
::Yes that's allowed, but according to the weasel words guideline it is not preferable. Far more preferable is to cite specific people, which I assure you is allowed and encouraged under the NPOV policy. Anyway forget it, due to the other reasons here I agree that the picture should stay out. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 20:10, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC)
::Its perfectly valid to say "this picture shows the opinion of John Smith". But that alone isn't enough to mean it has an automatic value or right to be put in. An encyclopedia doesn't just collect knowledge, it collates and distills it to a reasonable size. If this picture represented just one person's opinion, it probably has very limited value or use regardless of whether it is attributed ina NPOV manner. If it's more than just one person's opinion and it <u>does</u> have greater value or use, then the NPOV reason why it has this extra credibility should be stated, so it can be assessed on that basis for usefulness. [[User:FT2|FT2]] 02:21, Nov 2, 2004 (UTC)
== We're nearly there now ==
By now it should be known who will win because the it is less than 5 hours till midnight of the day of the election. Any Google news?? [[User:66.245.106.126|66.245.106.126]] 00:13, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:The election is tomorrow, not today. Opinion polls have the race tied. [[User:Rhobite|Rhobite]] 00:23, Nov 2, 2004 (UTC)
==Malcolm Mackerras Prediction==
I just heard [[Malcolm Mackerras]] interviewed on [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|Australian radio]] again, just the hour before the polls closed in the USA. He reiterated his prediction (his word) of a Kerry victory. His earlier (February) prediction was Kerry:287, but he said that the numbers he gave today (Kerry:316 v Bush:222) were what he has been saying "for months" and so he said them again, but conceded that the margin was likely to be narrower. [[User:Peter Ellis|Peter Ellis]] 00:42, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
so much for that [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 06:45, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== "georgewbush.com " is available in Canada, and therefore outside of US. ==
Under the "External Links and References" section, the link to the George W. Bush website is accompanied by a note stating that access to georgewbush.com is not available outside of the United States. This is not accurate as that website is available in Canada. I did not edit this on the main page because I am not sure from what locations georgewbush.com can and cannot be accessed.
== Can someone explain concession? ==
I see that the maps are giving Ohio, and indeed Florida, to Bush, even though to the best of my knowledge, a significant number of absentee ballots remain to be counted in those states? Those elections supervisors and secretaries of state don't *work* for the candidate, they work for us voters, and I can't see that a) they have any call to stop counting just because Kerry says "enough", or b) this is a topic someone shouldn't already have brought up. Anyone got an authoritative reference on this, keeping in mind that it has to be, by nature, *Ohio* law that is being quoted?
[[User:Baylink|Baylink]] 23:38, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
UPDATE: Courtesy of AskMetafilter: http://slate.msn.com/id/1006461/
Yes, they *will* keep counting.
[[User:Baylink|Baylink]] 23:57, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:I looked at that article, and for those unfamiliar with US law and tradition I'd like to make a point. It's true that concessions have no legal force in terms of election law. Suppose a candidate said "I will get 55% of the vote or I will not serve because I want a clear victory." OK, election night it is obvious he will get 52% and being a man of principle (remember, this IS a hypothetical ;-)) he concedes to his opponent. Well, that wouldn't change the process at all. It's like a candidate who dies but gets elected anyway (think Missouri, 2000), the challenger does not automatically get the job as second in line.
:However, concessions do have a couple of important purposes, the most important probably being that tells the ''failing'' candidates' followers to "hang it up, we fought the good fight, let's move along." No more fulminating, no more grasping at straws, like at Wikipedia, where a lot of us can't accept that their our candidate lost, so it must be rigged. But the concession also avoids "poisoning the well." Most candidates will want to run for something again in the future, or otherwise be in public life. The only candidate I know of who ever came back succesfully from a bad concession speech was Nixon. A bad concession speech will haunt the candidate, his party, and maybe the country.
:Consider this scenario. In 2000 the election kept going on stuff like hanging chads, pregnant chads, dimpled chads, and many many lawyers. This was not good for the country (imagine if the 9/11 attacks had occurred then, when leadership was uncertain) on many levels, but it was tolerated essentially because Gore got a 1/2 million lead on the popular vote so there was sentiment to check every possibility, but, nevertheless, he was ''never'' ahead in the Florida recount. Still the vote went on because of the ''appearance'' of illegitimacy. OK, fast forward to 2004. A lot of the country was ''dreading'' a drag-out like 2000. The ''Washington Post'' editorially admonished the candidates that they should avoid that, at least twice. So now look at Ohio. Suppose Kerry makes the calculation that '''if''' almost all the provisional ballots are legitimate, and '''almost all''' are for Kerry, and this then puts you in reach of a recount, and you claim enough fraud, etc., etc., and Kerry wins Ohio by 10 votes. Then what? The country has been dragged through another horrendous lawyer-fest, to find a candidate who "lost" by 3.5 million votes getting the Presidency when his party spent that last four pillorying Bush for "losing" by 1/7 that number. And he would face an ''extremely'' hostile Congress. Doesn't make for a happy Presidency, does it? -- [[User:Cecropia|Cecropia]] | [[User talk:Cecropia|''explains it all'' ®]] 19:54, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)
::On the other hand, plenty of people wouldn't be at all happy with letting the opposing candidate become President if it could possibly be averted. Some Democrats have criticized both Gore and Kerry for being too "nice" and not fighting all-out on issues that could legitimately be contested. When a mob of Cubans stormed a Florida election office and forcibly stopped a recount that would probably have helped Gore, it was certainly one among many factors that impaired Bush's chance for a happy Presidency -- but I'm sure many Republicans would rather put up with four years of hearing "We wuz robbed!" than with four years of Gore in office. [[User:JamesMLane|JamesMLane]] 00:39, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Can someone please explain the curious total? ==
I see that Bush got 274 Electoral votes, and Kerry got 252. This adds up to 526. Yet the total in that column reads 538. Can someone please explain the missing 12 votes? Is this some new kind of math? [[User:Pacific1982|Pacific1982]] 13:14, Nov 4, 2004 (UTC)
:Iowa and New Mexico, which will almost certainly be Bush states when all is said and done. I'll update it.
You might want to wait until the provisional ballots are counted. There may still be enough out there to swing Iowa and New Mexico. Maybe even Wisconsin and New Hampshire. But these are merely moral victorys and wont bring Bush below 270 regardless. [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 06:43, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:I know that Wisconsin does not have provisional ballots because they have same-day registration in that state. New Hampshire has same-day registration too, so I imagine they don't have provisional ballots either. Ohio, on the other hand, requires citizens to register 30 days before an election, according to the Ohio Secretary of State website, so they can validate that your information is correct. A provisional ballot is provided to those who are not registered and is counted once their identity and residence can be verified. --[[User:Mrbrown|Mr. Brown]] 07:16, Nov 6, 2004 (UTC)
The major networks have now called New Mexico and Iowa for Bush. That brings him up to 286 and gives him 2 states that Gore won in 2000. [[User:68.220.231.134|68.220.231.134]] 17:32, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Table of overall picture ==
<table style="width: 100%; text-align: right;">
<tr>
<th width="10%" style="text-align: left;">USA 2004</th><th width="10%">Number</th><th width="8%">% those who voted</th><th width="8%">% all adults</th><th width="65%"></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Adults</td> <td>220,000,000</td><td></td> <td>100.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Didn't vote</td><td>103,617,346</td><td> <td>47.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Bush</td> <td>59,424,706</td> <td>51.1</td> <td>27.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Kerry</td> <td>55,905,023</td> <td>48.0</td> <td>25.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Other</td> <td>1,052,925</td> <td>0.9</td> <td>0.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">Voted</td> <td>116,382,654</td><td>100.0</td><td>52.9</td>
</tr>
</table>
=="Claims" about margin==
The following statement in the text was true but it just feels wrong to put it his way: "Several other claims have been made in attempts to either magnify or minimize the magnitude of Bush's victory; all of the following are accurate (based on the currently available, uncertified vote totals as of 5-Nov-2004)...." It seems to be a little self-consciously "on the one hand, on the other hand". I left the facts in but removed that introductory phrase. In addition, some of the interesting features about the election, like the small number of states that changed hands as compared with 2000, don't fit readily into the category of claims about the margin, but this listing of factoids seems to be the best place to include them. [[User:JamesMLane|JamesMLane]] 01:37, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== "Corrupt voting machines" ==
I noticed this towards the beginning of the article, before the results of the election are shown on the page. Am I crazy for calling this a NPOV violation? I believe a better wording, such as "erronous voting machines" would be better than outright calling them corrupt. --[[User:Mrbrown|Mr. Brown]] 07:39, Nov 6, 2004 (UTC)
:It's not a violation of NPOV to ''report'' a charge that's made, as long as we don't adopt it. An earlier version was indeed improper. It read, "Note: These figures are based on returns which came in large part from corrupt voting machines." The current text makes clear that this is charged, not necessarily established. As for whether we're reporting the charges accurately, yes, some people go beyond suspecting innocent malfunction and say that there was deliberate chicanery. [[User:JamesMLane|JamesMLane]] 08:15, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Get well soon Elizabeth ==
This coming from a Republican who was against the Kerry/Edwards ticket from the very beginning. But I know the toll that cancer can take on a person and their family. And I wish them nothing but the best as they fight this horrible disease. Hopefully she'll have a speedy recovery. [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 07:58, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Wrong colors ==
The colors are all wrong on the electoral vote map. Cause all the other maps on wikipedia have the Republicans as blue and the Dems as red. Even though hardly anyone has it that way anymore, but for the sake of conformity- you guys need to make Bush's states blue and Kerry's red. Either that or go redo all the other maps from the previous elections (I tend to be a perfectionist). [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 08:02, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:The first alternative is unacceptable, given the widespread currency of the "red state - blue state" division in this form. I agree with you that changing all the old maps would be an improvement, but it would also be a lot of work. They'll be changed when and if someone cares enough about the point to change them. [[User:JamesMLane|JamesMLane]] 08:13, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
::Concur. All new maps should be Red-Rep; someone should create a link page to which all the old borken maps can be linked so that some motivated soul can fix them. [[User:Baylink|Baylink]] 23:14, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
I don't think it would be too hard to repaint it, using the 'fill color' option in mspaint, lol [[User:Daddydog|Daddydog]] 08:27, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:::I think we should use purple and green as the party's colors just to be different [[User:Zen-master|Zen Master]] 01:56, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Purple America ==
http://www.boingboing.net/images/Purple-USA.jpg
I think this image should be shoe horned in somewhere...
but I'm unsure where it would go. [[User:RoyBoy|RoyBoy]] 22:56, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:Good idea. I stuck it underneath the map of electoral votes near the top of the page. [[User:J3ff|J3ff]] 20:00, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Missing Election Controversy Information? ==
This page seems somewhat redundant to the info on the "2004 U.S. election in progress" page, should an effort be undertaken to combine the two pages? There is little mention of any electronic voting or other controversies on this page (which happens the page linked to from the front door...). [[User:Zen-master|Zen Master]] 01:43, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)
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