Regarding the dramatic gopher, this appears to be the source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhy0tIbGs_0

This only answers who originally filmed it of course.

 

Maybe it's the Coke I just slammed, but oh man does that drama-gopher make me smile. I'll be giggling about that all day tomorrow.

Poor, poor Bush... he had 8 years to better this country, but ended up screwing us into the ground. I'm not sure what's the lesser evil; pulling out of Iraq the first week a Democrat is elected into office, or staying in Iraq a couple more years to clean up the horrible mess we've made. Of course, I may be misinformed; perhaps some of the candidates do have Iraq clean up plans other than speedy liftoff.

Health care is another discussion point; I haven't seen Sicko yet (I hear it's really one sided, but that's kind of the movie's point) but I do know if the US government doesn't start a program soon, Wal-Mart's going to start their own health care program. Already generic prescription drugs are available at the everyday low price of 4.00, nullifying the need to pay health insurance premiums as long as your medicine has a generic form. It probably won't be long before Wal-Mart can pull some trick where brand names are 8 or 12.00, still dirt cheap. They've reverse auctioneered every other company into submission, and since families with kids are their primary demographic, selling cheap medicine to the working middle class/poor could end up as a sort of substitute national plan. Wal-Mart are even instituting clinics into some of their stores--if that's not a sign of trying to beat the government at its own game, I don't know what is.