Illinois Senator Barack Obama is not only the front runner in the major political polls, but he’s also          outselling his opponent, Arizona Senator John McCain, in a local presidential cookie poll.

Super popular Porto’s Bakery & Cafe At Magnolia Boulevard and Hollywood Way in Burbank has been offering John McCain and Barack Obama cookies for several weeks. I dropped by the Cuban-style bakery on Thursday, October 23 and discovered the presidential cookie poll was well underway.

Friendly counter staff members “Robert” and “Jasmine ” told me they were delighted with the cookie poll and their customers’ reaction to it. On this day, Obama was leading with 1,771 Democratic donkey style cookies to 833 McCain Republican elephant style cookies. They are priced at $1.60 each. I returned to check out the latest count yesterday and, ahem, to pick up a few of the yummy bakery goods.

So on October 30, the number of cookies sold for Obama had jumped considerably. The count stood at Obama 2,085 and McCain 943.  In terms of the presidential cookie poll, Porto’s suggests its customers “vote early eat often.”  A portion of the proceeds from this cookie sale goes to the American Red Cross and Ike Disaster Relief Operations.  

It will be interesting to see if the Porto’s presidential cookie poll predicts the winner of the presidential race on Election Day, November 4.        

Google file photo

Music legend Phil Spector’s second murder trial hit a bump on its second day. Actually, an alternate juror stumbled and reportedly broke his foot in the parking lot of a Downtown Los Angeles court Thursday morning. The prosecution had been scheduled to call witnesses yesterday, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler decided to delay the trial until Monday.

The 68-year-old Spector is being retried in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. The 40-year-old actress was found shot to death in the hallway of Spector’s Alhambra mansion back in February of 2003.

In his opening statement on Wednesday, defense attorney Doron Weinberg argued Clarkson committed suicide. On the other side, prosecutor Alan Jackson claims Spector shot Clarkson, with a .38 Special pistol, for refusing his sexual advances.

Spector’s first murder trial, 13 months ago, ended with a jury deadlocked 10-2 for conviction. If he’s found guilty of second degree murder, Spector faces a prison term of at least 18 years.

Back in the 1960s, Spector became famous as a music producer for his full-bodied, hard rocking “Wall of Sound” technique heard on classics like “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes. The technique has been used by artists like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Mariah Carey.

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove – Burbank

Go ahead, freak out and have some fun!!