Don't Call It a Comeback

We never were very fond of Corvallis. Mike Riley did a wonderful job and we tip our collective hats to him. The Trojans must refocus, execute, and play Trojan-ball like they know how. Mel Kiper of ESPN agrees that Pete's squad is still the most talented in the country. Now they just need to play like it. Unfortunately, USC will be operating its defense without All-American middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who sprained his knee at Oregon State. We know Rey-Rey will be a voice from the sideline to fire this team up and Brian Cushing will step over to the middle to cover.

And then, a nice pic of Pete going long in Wednesday's practice . . .

(source, USCRipsIt)

Win Forever!

Mike Riley Debate Tonight

Pete's team is preparing for a rare Thursday night debate against Mike Riley's Beavers. Pete has stumbled in Corvallis before and need to follow through tonight and just keep up the intense play.

Pete's Secretary of Defense, Rey Maualuga, has been profiled by ESPN this week:



Looking forward to a great debate.... let's just hope the fog doesn't roll in circa 2004!

Win Forever!

A Convincing Victory

We here at the campaign apologize for the delay in posting about Pete's victory over Tressel's squad at the home opener, but given that the Trojans' feat has been heralded from coast to coast, we're pretty sure you know all about it already. Full capacity Coliseum with 93,607 present. Check. 35-3. Check. Ohio State suffering its worst loss since 1994 and scoring its fewest points in head coach Jim Tressel's eight seasons. Check. USC dismantling what has consistently been called the nation's greatest defense. Check. Rey Maluga showing why he will with the Butkus award this season with a 48-yard interception return. Check. Even Governor Schwarzenegger took in the debate from the sidelines.

On the Trojans' 12th scoring drive, Damian Williams became the first Trojan to score twice this season. Yes, you read that right. The first 11 Trojan touchdowns this season were scored by 11 different players. You can see why the Buckeye defense had trouble. (photo source)

The People Are Talking...

Clearly unaware that Pete4President.blogspot.com was the source for Pete's 2008 campaign, some constituents have turned to Yahoo Questions to ask the age-old question:
Don't you think Pete Carroll would make a great president?

And although we, here at the campaign, would never use such profanity,* we agree with the moderator that the best answer is, "Hell yes he would, Bob Stoops could be secretary of Offense and Les Miles could be secretary of Defense."

A Small Man's Opinion

Ohio State WR Ray Small recently noted a "class difference" between the programs at USC and Ohio State. When we here at the campaign first heard this singular comment, we appreciated that Small also realized that the Trojans were head and shoulders above the rest not just in terms of football, but also in what they do in their community. (see here for just one example) Upon reading further, however, we were shocked to see that Small was in fact disparaging USC as caring only "about football" while Ohio State prepares their players to be "better men." Clearly. Just ask this "better man."

One of our favorite sports journalist here at the campaign wrote another great piece addressing this weekend's debate. We couldn't be more excited for game time (5pm PST on ABC in case you were wondering)!

Busy Week...

We apologize for the lack of posting here this week. As you are no doubt aware, the press has been worked into a frenzy this past week as Pete and his players prepare for Tressel's Buckeye's trip to LA for Saturday's Convention. Pete's official press photo, which coincidentally is hung in every room of this staffer's house, is also available here.

Pete has also been busy meeting with the staff and patients at the USC Children's Hospital, an opportunity cherish -

Pete's Club Takes Over No. 1 Position

Even though all of the top candidates secured victories in their first debate, Pete's shellacking of Al Groh's squad was rewarded by the pollsters, just as we anticipated here at the campaign.

The Trojans resumed their position as #1 in both the AP and USA Today polls after the first week of play in large part due to the fact that Pete and his players went on the road to dominate a team that played a New Year's Day bowl team just last year, while the other top candidates had similar victories over junior-varsity-community-college-hyphenated-teams.

Now the team as to rest up and prepare for the Tressel debate on September 13, while watching the health of Tressel's Campaign Manager, Chris "Beanie" Wells.

First Debate a Convincing Carroll Victory.

Campaign Manager Mark Sanchez was back to 100 percent Saturday afternoon as he led Carroll to a convincing 52-7 "drubbing" of Al Groh. We anticipated this victory here at the campaign and hope that it gives Pete and his guys the confidence they need heading into the September 13 debate against Jim Tressel. And who will the Buckeyes need to focus on as a Trojans scoring threat? A lot of people. All seven USC touchdowns against Virginia were scored by different players.

Coach's Bracket Has Pete No. 1

With the first debate of the season in only five days, the press corp is getting fired up for the upcoming season. Pete '08 Campaign Research Committee Chairperson Jen came across a great article today that analyzes the nation's college football coaches in a March Madness-esque bracket system. Jack Bondon's analysis has Pete victorious over Nick Saban to take the West bracket. In the final four, Pete faced, and was victorious over, Jim Tressel (a good sign for the September 13 debate if you ask us... We think its Pete's lack of sweater-vest garb that sealed the victory here). In the final, Pete defeated Urban Meyer to be the coach that any team should want to have at the helm (sorry Emmanuel Moody Emmanuel Moody, you made a bad decision to leave the campaign when you did).

Candidate Speaks Out on Recent Epidemic

The health of his team, if not the country, is of utmost importance to Pete. That's why he has spoke out on the recent epidemic the Trojans are facing. This is no laughing matter. This is jock itch. That's right. It is speculated that 25% of the team members are afflicted. In his usual quest for answers, Pete has revealed the likely source for the outbreak: compression shorts.

We here at the campaign feel wide receiver Travon Patterson summed up the situation best: "It burns."

Campaign Manager Injury Update

We haven't reported on Pete '08 Campaign Manager Mark Sanchez's recent knee injury and we just wanted to make sure the constituents were not worried. It is believed that Mark will be back in action by the first debate on August 30. It has been determined that Mark disloated his kneecap and has been seen driving around practices in the team golf cart.

We here at the campaign wish him a speedy recovery!

Insight Into The Forthcoming Campaign

Ivan Maisel over at ESPN agrees that the upcoming campaign is just heating up. His article recognizes that we have been anxiously awaiting the start of the campaign for months (since January possibly?) and that "[a]utumn beckons, promising a hard-fought race that, no matter how bitter, will lead us to the traditional transition of power in January." While the pundits have been reluctant to hand Pete the lead in the early polls, Mr. Maisel confirms our belief that "[t]he West will continue to be dominated by California -- USC to be accurate. The Trojans have blown through the tacit term limits imposed by graduation. They are favored to win their seventh consecutive league championship. No other Pac-10 school has ever won more than four in a row."

Couldn't have said it better.

Early Polling

The early polls are in... Pete's team has garnered 14 votes in the preseason Coach's poll. While this was not enough votes to secure the top position, we're confident that after Pete takes the field August 30, the Georgia voters will realize their mistake. Even so, it puts even more pressure on the September 13 debate with Jim Tressel, as the Buckeyes are neck and neck in this early poll.

USA Today Top 25 Coach's Poll

Promotional Goods Now Available!

Dear Constituent,

After serious deliberations amongst the staff here at Pete4President and hours of work with various vendors, we are both pleased and proud to offer our first t-shirt for the upcoming campaign season. Using only the finest goods, we have chosen a 100% Cotton, Hanes Authentic Tagless T in Cardinal (of course, right?) with Gold (obvs) screen printing. The price for such beauty is only $15.00 for Small through X-Large and $17.00 for XX-Large, and an additional $3.00 for shipping and handling if shipping is required (as President, Pete will seek to reform the exorbitant postage prices facing this country). The T-shirt design may be found on a post below.

Given that our first debate against the worthy Al Groh of Virginia is scheduled for August 30, 2008, the first round of orders will be placed on Tuesday, August 5, to allow for the 7-10 business days required for printing these masterpieces.

Remember, like the after-school special once taught you, there is strength in numbers, so we need to get the word out on these shirts! Pass it along to all your fellow Trojan friends and fans! Pete4President@gmail.com will be accepting PayPal payments, or, if you are close to the campaign, personal checks are acceptable. Email Pete4President to place your order!

Win Forever,
Pete4President
'08 Campaign

Debate Event Tickets Selling Out!

It is clear that everyone is very excited to see Pete debate for this upcoming '08 campaign.

USC announced Monday afternoon that four of its six home games are sold out, and that there are fewer than 1,000 tickets available for each of the other two games. LA Times article

If you would still like to see Pete in all his Coliseum glory, you must act fast!

Promotional Goods Are Coming Soon!

We've put together a proposed t-shirt for the campaign and are going to obtain bids this weekend for printing costs. We are open to any suggestions and ideas, so leave your comments below! We're also looking into tank tops for the ladies (or the guys, if that's what you like). If there is anything else you'd like to see, let us know as well!

We'll be accepting pre-orders next week and then we hope to obtain a method for online purchases thereafter. More information will be forthcoming!

Bad Choices

We here at Pete 4 President will ALWAYS have a fond place in our hearts for Matt Leinart and his incalculable contributions to the grassroots efforts in the early, early days of this campaign.

Nevertheless, it needs to be said...

(source)

Matt... Forever 21 called. They apologized, but the thirty-day return period for your sweater has expired.

New Video

Not sure where the last video went... We need to track down the "A Better LA" interview. For the time being, this is some great footage:

Exploratory Committee

An exploratory committee was established to help determine whether Pete Carroll was a proper candidate for the esteemed office of the President. We knew the answer before the formation of that committee, but went through the motions nevertheless. In election years, you can never be too careful.

Pete's record is impeccable, as is demonstrated by this list of a few of his accomplishments while at USC-

• Two BCS Championship Game appearances;
• Six AP Top-4 finishes, including the split 2003 national championship and the undisputed 2004 national championship;
• A record five BCS bowl victories;
• A record six consecutive BCS bowl appearances;
• A record six consecutive years as Pac-10 Champions or Co-Champions;
• A national-record 33 consecutive weeks as AP's No. 1-ranked team;
• A winning record of 76-14 (84.4%), including 12-2 against traditional rivals Notre Dam and FUCLA;
• A NCAA record of 63 straight 20-point games;
• Twenty-two All-American first teamers;
• Three Heisman Trophy winners (Carson Palmer, 2002; Matty Matt Leinart, 2004; Reggie Bush, 2005);
• Four Top-5 recruiting classes;
• Win streaks for home games (34) and Pac-10 home games (22); and
• USC became the first NCAA FBS team to achieve six consecutive 11-win seasons.

That list also doesn't touch on his awe-inspiring philanthropic work (click on the words to the left for an amazing story). What else could you ask for in a leader?

The campaign is gearing up and, like any great movement, promotional goods will be forthcoming! The unofficial convention is set for August 30, 2008 at the Los Angeles Coliseum as the Trojans take on the Ohio State Buckeyes!!!