Sooner Blue

Mostly politics, a few current events, a squirt of seltzer down yer pants .. a little blog for my rambles and rants.

2008/9/30

"A banana republic with nukes."

@ 08:24 AM (56 months, 17 days ago)

The collapse of the deal. A bipartisan rebellion in the House killed the $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street yesterday, sending global stock prices plunging...dealing Bush his worst legislative defeat ever.
 
What a mess! I just want to cover up my head with a pillow until this is over.
 
House Republicans basically told the financial markets that they'll just have to clean up their own mess without $700 billion of taxpayer money.
 
Conservative Republicans who hate the bailout idea never wavered in their opposition...nor did liberal Democrats who saw it as a rescue plan for Wall Street millionaires.
 
Republicans voted against the bill by a two-to-one ratio...thumbing their noses at their own leadership, who had worked for nearly a week creating a bill that would appeal to a majority.
 
Democrats found strength in numbers...nearly two-thirds of their members voted for the bill. They said if anyone is to blame for a record sell-off on Wall Street, it was the Republicans.
 
House members in tough re-election bids abandoned the bailout in droves, covering their arses because constituents back home sent a ton of messages saying they'll vote them out of office if they vote for the bailout.
 
Boy, Main Street is pissed at Wall Street. But, I wish people could see ahead that they're going to be really pissed when their 401K's dwindle away to nothing...when they can't pay their mortgages and can't buy anything on credit...and certainly can't use their credit card to pay their mortgages...when they have to stand in bread lines for cheese and bread to feed their families.
 
Okay, bread lines may be a bit extreme. But like it or not, we need our government to help get us out of this mess. No matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, suck it up and realize that this is bad for our country.
 
Republicans blamed Democrats for the bailout defeat, mainly for a floor speech given by Speaker Pelosi, in which she castigated the Bush administration's "policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything-goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision, and no discipline in the system."
 
Truth be told, very few Republicans were on the floor to hear that speech, and the ones present didn't object or show signs that their little feelings were hurt. It was much later that they thought up the Pelosi excuse...when they saw that the votes they'd promised had fizzled.
 
McCain was all ready to claim credit for the bill's passage, because he had suspended his campaign to ride to the rescue at the negotiations table and all...then, when two-thirds of House Republicans voted no, he switched his spin and blamed Obama.
 
Obama's camp sure had fun with a quote by McCain's chief political strategist, Steve Schmidt, who told Sunday's "Meet the Press" -- "What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this."
 
Obama delayed a campaign event in Colorado to speak to Paulson and Pelosi, then told his audience -- "One of the messages I have to Congress is, 'Get this done, Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate.'"
 
Pelosi said --"What happened today cannot stand, we must move forward, and I hope that the markets will take that message."
 
No one knows what's going to happen now...or what shock waves will hit the world markets this morning...
 
Thursday could be the earliest the bailout can be reconsidered, because House members are taking time off for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year...rushing home to campaign if you ask me.
 
So, now we'll all just have to wait and see if Paulson and Bernanke were right when they said the credit crisis could worsen and inflict the direst of consequences on the global economy.
 
Or maybe the bailout's many critics were right when they said that credit markets and home prices will adjust on their own...once the promise of free money is withdrawn.
 
I chuckle at what Paul Krugman said -- "So what we now have is non-functional government in the face of a major crisis, because Congress includes a quorum of crazies and nobody trusts the White House an inch...we’ve become a banana republic with nukes."
 

2008/9/29

Art imitates life...or vice versa?

@ 08:27 AM (56 months, 18 days ago)

Saturday Night Live’s September 27th show featured a spoof on the sitdown interview of Gov. Sarah Palin and CBS news anchor Katie Couric. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hit it out of the park again.
 
The skit is hilarious in a surreal way because 90 percent of it comes directly from the transcript of the actual interview! Palin's response about bailout/ healthcare reform/job creation was verbatim.
 
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/couric-palin-open/704042/
 
Some people actually think the real interview is funnier.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npUMUASwaec
 
The only ones not laughing at Palin are hardcore righties...
 
So far we've been lucky with our Vice Presidents in the United States. For example, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford stepped in and, no matter what you think of their politics, didn't run us off a cliff.
 
Sarah Palin is not in that same league ...her spontaneous public appearances and utterances are cringe-making.
 
Here's a Couric and Palin exchange...just begging to be a SNL skit:
 
Couric: "You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?"
 
Palin: “That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land -- boundary that we have with -- Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kind of made to--cari--I don’t know, you know? Reporters ...”
 
Couric: “Mocked?”
 
Palin: “Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word. Yeah.”
 
Couric: "Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.”
 
Palin: “Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, they're in the state that I am the executive of. And there...”
 
Couric: “Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?”
 
Palin: “We have trade missions back and forth. We do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to our state.”
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokTjEdaUGg
 
Talk about surreal, you feel as though you're watching a Monty Python skit...all she needed were Biggles' moose antlers.
 
But folks, this is real life, and the stakes are high. As Palin was bumbling her way through the Couric interview, the largest bank failure in the history of the United States, the collapse of Washington Mutual, was taking place.
 
There have been a few conservative columnists asking Palin to step down, but I don't think she can because of different election regulations in each state.
 
Her only hope for the VP debate is if they change the format to true or false questions.
 
BTW--yes, I know that Palin isn't the only one who says dumb things to Katie Couric. I'm referring to Biden's recent little history lesson for Katie, which had FDR being President when the stock market crashed (he was elected 3 years later)...and had FDR appearing on television the next day to talk to the nation (only a few experimental sets existed)...
 
Yes, embarrassing...but at least Biden knows there WAS a Great Depression.
 

2008/9/27

McCain vs Obama, Round One

@ 07:18 AM (56 months, 21 days ago)
 
I almost didn't watch the Obama/McCain debate last night, I mean, my mind is already made up...and it's nerve wracking, almost like watching your kid in the school play and you dread them making a mistake.
 
But I did watch and I thought my kid did fine...he passed the "Commander in Chief" test with flying colors.
 
I give him a large edge on the economy and thought he held his own on national security, which is supposed to be McCain's turf. Obama wasn't blown off the field...he more than held his own. He came off appearing smart and thoughtful. Smart and thoughtful is a very powerful combination right now.
 
CNN's early poll had Obama winning 51 percent - 38 percent. CBS has Obama winning 39 percent - 25 percent. Even Fox news gave it to Obama - “FOX News Focus Group: Obama Wins Debate“...can this be believed?
 
At times McCain looked close to losing his cool. He took too many personal shots, was rambling, and repetitive...I personally couldn't stand his tight, angry little smiles as he listened to Obama's answers...or how he refused to look at him. He never once looked Obama in the eye.
 
Obama addressed McCain directly...looking right at him. McCain attacked Obama all night and never had the balls to say it to his face. That type of complete contempt may play well with his base, but not with undecided voters. CNN had a roomful of voters twist a knob to show approval or disapproval at what the candidates said. The reaction line for independents sagged way down every time McCain attacked Obama.
 
I thought McCain's repeated line "he doesn't understand" completely backfired. It's obvious that Obama DOES understand.
 
And the Kissinger thing. CNN recently held a forum of five former Secretaries of State, spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations. All of them, Kissinger included, said their best advice to the next US president would be to get his administration to start direct negotiations with Iran.
 
From CNN transcripts (a video clip): 
"HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I am in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one utility of negotiations is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East, of a stable Middle East and our notion of nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it -- "
 
Of course, after the debate, Kissinger, a supporter of McCain, released a statement which said: "Senator McCain is right I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level...."
 
Semantics again.
 
Anyway, I was pleased that Obama was calm, intelligent, and focused, that he treated McCain with respect, while disagreeing with him clearly and crisply on the issues; that he was aggressive on correcting the record when McCain went for the talking points.
 
But sometimes I thought Obama let opportunities to attack go by. But who am I to judge? He seems to know what he's doing. Sometimes you don't know he's winning until after the fact.
 
In the end, no matter what they said or how they said it, the questions should be -- Who's got the right stuff to be the next president? Who will bring some change and oversight? Who will listen to intelligent advisors? Who will listen to dissenting opinion?
 
Only Obama.
 
One gets the sense from watching McCain, that his temper is barely held in check, that if Ahmewhateverjad ever said anything about President McCain's mama...we'd be at war.
 
Ah well, Obama is past the greatest danger point for him in the debates. It should be the economy, stupid, from this point on...which is not McCain's strong point.
 
And next, it will truly get weird -- Palin. After the reviews of The Katy Couric Fiasco, she is probably cramming night and day. TV pundits say her handlers have ruined her self-confidence. When she's on the stage next to Biden, will we see her melt down under the pressure...just babbling disconnected talking points?
 
Get ready to look away.
 

2008/9/26

The troops are moving into position...

@ 07:51 AM (56 months, 21 days ago)

"US Army Unit to Deploy On American Streets"
 
For the first time in 100 years, and going against a long-standing legal prohibition - Posse Comitatus - an active duty military unit will be permanently deployed inside the US.
 
Cheney's in the bunker, and as soon as Wall Street melts down, the lockdown begins?
 
Seriously, the timing is pretty interesting, given that it's just a few weeks until the election. Will Bush need to deploy US troops into American cities to quell uprisings from another screwed up election?
 
Are the Bushies preparing for citizens with pitchforks to storm the Capitol when McCain-Palin are "selected" in November?
 
Or maybe troops will be needed to restore order after an economic apocalypse? Do the powers that be fear a return of Depression tent cities like Hooverville, and riots when banks begin to fail?
 
Whatever, come October 1st a US Army Unit is to be deployed for "Domestic Operations."
 
From the Army Times: "[T]he 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.
 
Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.
 
Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.
 
[B]ut this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.[..]"
 
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/
 
Yeah, earthquakes and hurricanes...but, I'm thinking as close as this election is going to be, they may be anticipating rebellion.
 
That unit has been trained to help with civil unrest and crowd control. Part of the training is learning to use so-called "nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds."
 
Gah, I haven't seen tanks in the streets since the 60's.
 

2008/9/24

Freddie Mac's special friend

@ 10:07 AM (56 months, 23 days ago)

John McCain's campaign was all gung-ho to portray Barack Obama as a tool for special interests in the financial industry. They put out guilt-by-association ads and everything was going just great...but while McCain was swinging wildly at Obama, one of those swings boomeranged back to punch McCain.
 
The New York Times revealed that Rick Davis, McCain's own campaign manager, was taking $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac for lobbying services.
 
"McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac"
 
From the New York Times: "WASHINGTON — One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
 
The disclosure undercuts a statement by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years. [..]"
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/us/politics/w24davis.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
 
Yeah right, that last statement was a downright lie...but hey, semantics. Newsweek ran with this scoop as well:
 
"But neither the Times story—nor the McCain campaign—revealed that Davis's lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, based in Washington, D.C., continued to receive $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until last month—long after the Homeownership Alliance had been terminated."
 
http://www.newsweek.com/id/160561
 
Why was Freddie Mac paying Rick Davis's lobbying firm $15 THOUSAND a MONTH until 24 days ago? Was he on the payroll just because of his relationship with McCain?
 
The Homeownership Alliance, which Davis headed, was created by Fannie and Freddie to curtail too much regulation on the two GSEs.
 
And with Freddie and Fannie now under investigation by the FBI for unspecified "fraud"...Davis' retainer will surely be questioned.
 
Whatever will come to light next?
 

Bailout blues

@ 07:46 AM (56 months, 24 days ago)
 
"House GOP rises up against Cheney"
 
Big Dick Cheney fizzled.
 
Yep, Cheney stomped up to Capitol Hill to strong-arm unhappy Republicans into giving the Bush regime the blank check it demands for distribution to its friends and cronies.
 
But, he didn't scare them.
 
From politico.com: "There was a time when Dick Cheney could turn back a Republican revolt on Capitol Hill.
 
That time is gone.
 
The vice president traveled to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to silence a chorus of GOP complaints about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion plan. But House Republicans who walked into a closed-door meeting with Cheney steaming over the plan walked out just as angry, and they described what happened in between as both “a bloodbath” and “an unmitigated disaster.”
 
Texas Rep. Joe Barton took the unusual step of telling reporters gathered outside the Cannon Caucus Room that he had confronted Cheney “respectfully” about his concerns — a level of dissent Republicans once considered heresy under the Bush administration.
 
Another lawmaker present — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — said that Cheney, White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and economic policy adviser Keith Hennessey “were in worse shape when they left than when they came in.”
 
Cheney’s inability to turn around members of his own party said plenty about how congressional Republicans view the Bush White House these days — but maybe even more about their discomfort with a bailout plan many of them see as an attack on their free market principles. [..]"
 
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13789.html
 
I watched a good bit of the hearings in front of the Senate Banking Committee, or rather listened as I quilted in my sewing room. The Senators on both sides of the aisle were extremely unhappy...dashing Paulson's hopes of a quick pick-up of $700 billion.
 
Chris Dodd came out and called the Paulson plan unacceptable. Richard Shelby, the Republican ranking member, is skeptical that the plan would even work. I didn't hear any positive comments.
 
Sen. Sherrod Brown said he hadn't received one phone call from a constituent that was positive...that people making $50,000 a year are not interested in bailing out executives whose country club fees are many times that.
 
The anger in that Senate office building just reflects the anger in the country...we the people don't want to give a huge chunk of the Federal treasury away, no-strings-attached, to those rich people who created the problem in the first dang place.
 
I'm happy to see both Dems and Repubs working together on this.
 

Economic worries boost Obama in new poll

@ 06:58 AM (56 months, 24 days ago)
 
A new Washington Post-ABC News national poll now shows that Sen. Obama has taken a 9 point lead over Sen. McCain as the two head into Friday’s crucial televised foreign policy debate.
 
From the Washington Post: "Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll.
 
...More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent. [..]"
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667.html
 
I know, I know... these polls are only a snapshot of a moment in time. But, for me as an Obama supporter, it's good news.
 
Yet, these tracking polls have flipped twice in the last six weeks...they could very well do the same over the next few weeks. We can't say the die is cast. People tell polls what is politically correct and do the opposite in the voting booth.
 
Remember the race factor, something like 6 percent of voters who won't vote for Obama no matter what, because he stubbornly remains an Afro-American.
 
Anyway, elections are won through the Electoral College, and not by national numbers -- as Democrats were so rudely reminded of in 2000 -- so I won't be betting any money just yet.
 
But my hopes are a little higher. Come the debates, hopefully Obama will come across as a fair minded and thoughtful man...rather than a reactionary and impulsive man like McCain.
 
As for Sarah Palin:
"Over the past two weeks, the percentage of independents with favorable views of Palin dropped from 60 percent to 48 percent. Among independent women, the decline was particularly sharp, going from 65 percent to 43 percent. Her favorable rating among whites without college degrees remained largely steady, but among those with college degrees, it dropped nearly 20 percentage points."
 
I just knew when Independent women got over the excitement of a female VP selection, they would look closer and not vote against their own best interests.
 
Looks like the American people are becoming aware that Palin could *really* be a heartbeat away from sitting in the Oval Office. The next administration will have to deal with important issues like a crumbling economy, nuclear proliferation, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russian belligerence, the rise of China, emerging epidemics, radical Islamism on a hundred fronts, a lifeless United Nations, healthcare, the sorry state of American schools, an energy crisis, the price of food, crumbling roads and bridges … the list is long, and Sarah Palin does not seem to have the right stuff.
 
The other day someone asked McCain why Sarah Palin can't be interviewed or host press conferences. He said, "The American people are vetting her."
 
<sigh> If only we *could* ask her questions...
 
So hunker down in the bunker, Sarah...and only open the door for people who know the Fox News secret knock.
 

2008/9/23

Bill Maher new rule

@ 06:25 AM (56 months, 25 days ago)

 

New Rule: Just because you live in the middle of nowhere doesn't make you more authentic than me. It just means you have a much longer drive to the airport.

Now, ever since Sarah Palin came along, this election has been falsely framed as a contest between salt-of-the-earth, small-time maverick westerners and snooty eastern elites. You know, there's people who go to church on Sunday, and there's people who go to brunch.

Even fast-talking, cross-dressing Rudy Giuliani - the former mayor of New York City - accused Obama of being too cosmopolitan. That's like being called a douche-bag by Andy Dick.

And...and listen to Mitt Romney from the same convention. He said, "If America really wants change, it's time to look for the sun in the west, because it's about to rise and shine from Arizona and Alaska." Of course, if the sun actually did rise in the west, that would mean the earth is spinning backwards and we'd all fly into space. But, then Mormons were never big on science. As you well know.

But, what Mitt was getting at is that the East Coast is where all the liberals, with their bad ideas, come from. You know, bad ideas like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As opposed to the brilliant ideas that have come out of the west like frontier justice and wearing cowboy boots with a suit.

The ideas this nation was founded on came from the most cosmopolitan people of their day, the founding fathers, who believed in science, who looked to Europe for wisdom, and who had no use for ignorant hicks like Bush and Palin.

Truth is - the truth is, as America moved west and got farther away from its birthing in Boston and Philadelphia, it became less American, not more. We keep hearing about small-town values, you know, like shooting wolves from an airplane or forcing your daughter into a doomed, loveless marriage.

Cities are about diversity of thought. Small towns are about...well, crystal meth. And, last year, police found 42 meth labs in Sarah Palin's home county. Drug addiction is a terrible thing, but apparently it beats living in Wasilla sober.

There's so much meth in this town, I'm surprised the Palins didn't have a kid named "Tweaker."

 

2008/9/22

Mmm...racism for breakfast...

@ 08:23 AM (56 months, 25 days ago)
 
Regrettably but predictably, Sen. Barack Obama's success has revived traditional knee-jerk racism on the American far right...this latest example is certainly more blatant than latent.
 
"Forum sells 'Obama Waffles' with racial stereotype"
 
Well, they never did say one of their “family values” wasn't racism.
 
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.
 
...The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.
 
...Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states.
 
While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.
 
Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.
 
On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for ''Open Border Fiesta Waffles'' that says it can serve ''4 or more illegal aliens.'' The recipe includes a tip: ''While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?''[..]
 
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Obama-Waffles.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
 
Does each box comes with a free white hood?
 
"Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed ''offensive material.'' ..."
 
Yeah right, and if you believe that I've got a bridge to nowhere to sell you.
 
Check out this video:
 
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1463341016/bctid1790977147
 
This appalls but does not surprise me. Cruise some rightwing sites, it is not at all uncommon to see the N-word used.
 
Question -- Did the organizers cut off sales because they “had not realized the boxes displayed offensive material”… or did it finally sink in, after TWO FULL DAYS of this ugliness, just how badly they were embarrassing themselves, and the country?
 
This Palin nomination has really set them free...they’re so sure they’re going to win, it’s time to let their confederate freak flags fly.
 
Funny how, as they celebrate their racism, they'll hypocritically call out sexism at the first hint of anything gender-based.
 
These people don’t represent families in America...they aren’t Christians. They're religious zealots and hypocrites, who worship at the alter of power and greed.
 
The NYT leads..and soon the rest of the mainstream media will be all over this like Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” comment...right?
 
<crickets chirping>
 

2008/9/21

Obama bounces back in polls, Palin's Big Mo slows

@ 05:24 AM (56 months, 27 days ago)

Over the past several days, there has been a dramatic shift in this election toward Barack Obama...he's in a stronger position now than he was right before the conventions.
 
It took John McCain about 60 days and tens of millions of advertising dollars to whittle Obama's lead down from around 5 points at its peak in early June, to the 1-point lead that Obama held going into the conventions.
 
Obama has swung the numbers that much in barely a week.
 
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democratic White House contender Barack Obama has reversed a Republican surge in national polls for the presidential election swayed by the financial crisis and signs that Sarah Palin's star may be dimming.
 
Obama, who has focused attacks on McCain's capacity to rescue the US economy, led 49 to 45 percent in a new poll of likely voters nationwide by Quinnipiac University released late Thursday.
 
A CBS/New York Times survey put Obama up by 48 percent to 43 percent.
 
The trend was confirmed in Gallup's daily tracking poll, which had Obama ahead 48 to 44 percent, the first time in two weeks that the Illinois senator had a lead beyond the statistical margin of error.
 
A Pew Research poll out had Obama on 46 percent and McCain on 44 percent, while Rasmussen's daily poll had the contest at a 48 percent tie nationwide ahead of the November 4 election, but again the trend was towards Obama, who had trailed by three points just three days ago.
 
...Palin's momentum seems to be diminishing.
 
"Senator Obama is right back where he was before the so-called convention bounces with a four-point lead," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University polling institute.
 
...The Quinnipiac poll showed that Obama led 54-40 percent among women voters, the key demographic which Palin is targeting for Republicans.
 
...The poll found women have returned to Obama after favoring McCain by five points two weeks ago. Obama now leads McCain by 54 percent to 38 percent among all women.[..]"
 
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i-vyL4Rw9G6ZfOHFJ3QxSxnVWAEw
 
I guess the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression will do that. It's just what the Dems needed, a renewed focus on the economy.
 
Wonderful to see Obama stepping up to answer questions with calm, measured, and rational thought. While McCain just embarrassed himself by demanding the sacking of Christopher Cox, the chairman of the SEC...saying if he were president today he would fire him.
 
Why is Cox responsible? Did he change the rules so lenders could give money to unqualified people?
 
I'm not sure the president has the authority to fire him...I do know that McCain actually can fire one of the main contributors of this fiasco, Phil Gramm, his campaign co-chairman.
 
Anyway, back to Palin...I knew that once women understood where she stands on women's issues, they would back away.
 
Palin looks and talks like Anita Bryant’s evil clone...though, to be fair, she hasn’t beaten up on gays...yet. Maybe because her religion believes that you can "pray away the gay."
 
I just loved this -- "Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican, is questioning whether Palin has enough foreign-policy experience to serve as the country’s second-in-command. “She doesn’t have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald. “You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don’t know what you can say. You can’t say anything.”
 
“I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,” he added. “That kind of thing is insulting to the American people.”
 
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/09/18/hagel-questions-palin-experience/
 

2008/9/20

Forget about Healthcare...we're getting Wealthcare

@ 08:14 AM (56 months, 27 days ago)

 

Heads up folks, we are all witnessing the birth of a new federal agency...sired by Wall Street. All those people who booed Healthcare for all citizens, calling it socialism, are now applauding this new beast, Wealthcare.

"Will latest bailout plan work? No one actually knows"

By Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration swung for the fences Friday with an unprecedented bailout of the financial sector that will cost taxpayers "hundreds of billions of dollars." It jolted markets back to life for the day, but questions remained about whether the bold effort would actually work.

Truth is, no one knows. America and its financial markets haven't been down this road before.

...Congressional leaders from both parties agreed to work through the weekend to craft legislation that would authorize the Bush administration's plan to buy up all of the mortgage-backed securities at the root of the problem and get them off the books of banks and other lenders.[..]"

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/52779.html

So, we the taxpayers are getting stuck with the gambling debts of those mortgage-backed pillagers, corporate raiders and hedge fund looters...who were taking home beaucoup booty and living high.

We're told the tab will be between $500 billion and $1 trillion...depending on just how worthless that worthless paper they are holding might be...

Of course, we couldn't expect the plundering class, the speculators, the grifters and grafters, to pay it, could we? So, as always, we the taxpayer will foot the bill for being stolen from...

Yes, I understand that our government must intervene, bail out our financial institutions and markets, to keep our economy from tanking any further...but it still pisses me off.

Few care that this big mess was caused by executives who gambled with company funds so they could personally pocket buckets of cash -- all enabled and encouraged by the Bush Administration's anti-accountability, "Free Market" ideology.

I see nothing wrong with a tax hike on those who are profiting from this bailout. Levy a surtax on everyone making $250K a year or more in the banking and financial industries.

A few days ago they they were crying poor me...today they're probably back to snorting coke off the stomachs of supermodels.

I hate it that those who are responsible for bringing our nation's markets to the brink of disaster will get off scot free. Congress needs to push for real accountability and create iron-clad deterrents to keep corporate looters from ever putting us taxpayers (and shareholders and workers) in this pickle again.

2008/9/19

John McCain put the "old" in the "old boy network"

@ 09:55 AM (56 months, 28 days ago)

One of the things I like about Barack Obama is his sense of humor.
 
He gave a speech in Elko, Nevada, in which he told the story about John McCain, in the midst of a financial meltdown, boasting that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." Obama responded, "But it sounds like he got a little carried away, because yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's President, he'll take on the -- and I quote -- 'ol' boys network' in Washington. I am not making this up. This is someone who's been in Congress for 26 years -- who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign -- and now he tells us that he's the one who will take on the ol' boy network. The ol' boy network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting."
 
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d4avFVDKCIA
 
I like how this zinger not only points out how McCain is more of the same, but also subtly underscores the dishonesty of his claims. Nicely done...and can I name those seven lobbyists, starting with Sleazy?
 
Lot of worried people on our side have been calling on Obama to get angrier...though that's a fine line to walk, because the Repubs are just waiting to make hay out of the 'angry black man' thing.
 
I just want him to move the jokes up a little earlier in his speeches so they make the news clips.
 
I was dreading the point that the campaigning would break down into a slanging match...based on who can get off the best zinger, instead of talking about the issues. I point out that it was McCain who went negative early.
 
I don't buy his excuse that if Obama had only agreed to do town halls, he wouldn't have had to get nasty. McCain seems to think he is stronger in town halls -- based on what I don't know, because Obama would kick his ass there, too. Maybe the McCain camp planned on stacking the audiences...
 
I understand that Obama is only reacting this way, slanging back, because a million and one armchair strategists said he just had to, or he was going to lose...and that might even be true.
 
I don't think it's in Obama's nature to be cutting and mean, but when he has to be tough and fight back, he steps up to it.
 
He needs to find a way to make zingers about these:
 
1 - Did you know that McCain wants to TAX your employer-provided healthcare benefits as income?
 
2 - If McCain and Bush hadn't been stopped by Democrats including Obama, from "privatizing" Social Security, your hard-earned benefits would be evaporating now in the Wall Street meltdown.
 
3 - Phil Gramm, one of McCain's top economic advisors and in line to be the Treasury Secretary in his cabinet, was the author of the bill that permitted investment banks to dive into the worthless investments we're now all paying for.
 
How I wish he could hire "The Daily Show" writers.
 

Well, what did you expect? She's used to speaking in "tongues"

@ 06:52 AM (56 months, 29 days ago)

 

Listening to Sarah Palin speak without a TelePrompter is like listening to George Bush try to speak Inuit.

A couple of days ago Palin was at a friendly town hall meeting and gave an interesting answer about...well, I'm not sure what it's about. But it has something to do with energy:

"Of course, it's a fungible commodity and they don't flag, you know, the molecules, where it's going and where it's not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So, I believe that what Congress is going to do also, is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it's Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here. It's got to flow into our domestic markets first."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvUsdmqGYV8

Make sure to click on the video to see the whole thing. It's fun seeing Wolf Blitzer puzzled.

She sounds very much like a student who crammed all night and now has everything all mixed up. I think she's saying that we're going to plant our flag on molecular fungi and hold back bags of it so it doesn't get exported except according to the bans we allow or don't allow to feed our hungry by degrees...oh, I give up.

Hey, maybe that's her debate strategy -- make every answer so completely incoherent that Joe Biden's head explodes.

We can mock her all we want...but those who see her as a Mommy who'll save all the unborn babies, those who see her as a Hot Mama, those who'll vote with the reptilian brain, are going to give her a 50 percent chance of being our President.

 

2008/9/17

"Hillary" and "Sarah" condemn sexism

@ 08:55 AM (57 months, 22 hours ago)

In case you missed it...
 
Last weekend the comedy show Saturday Night Live had a great skit:
 
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/
 
Kudos to Tina Fey (Palin) and Amy Poehler (Clinton).
 
And wouldn't you know that McCain adviser Carly Fiorina went on MSNBC to say:
"[T]he portrait [on "SNL"] was very dismissive of the substance of Sarah Palin, and so, in that sense, they were defining Hillary Clinton as very substantive and Sarah Palin as totally superficial ... I think that continues the line of argument that is disrespectful in the extreme and yes, I would say, sexist, in the sense that just because Sarah Palin has different views than Hillary Clinton does not mean that she lacks substance."
 
Who's looking whiney now? Not long ago Repub's were all over Hillary if she even mentioned the 'sexism' word...called her 'whiney.'
 
Maybe the McCain camp ought to lighten up a bit. SNL is a comedy show. It mocks everyone...that's the point.
 
If the McCain camp wants to assure voters that Palin is highly "substantive," maybe they ought to give her a chance to prove her mettle by talking with the press on major issues.
 
Just sayin'...
 

To be fair...

@ 07:14 AM (57 months, 1 day ago)

With all my blathering about Sen. McCain's ties to, and his taking money from, the financial industry...some further digging found that Sen. Obama takes the same money.
 
"McCain and Obama target, accept funds from Wall Street bankers"
 
From Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 16, 2008:
 
"Both presidential contenders -- Arizona Republican John McCain and Illinois Democrat Barack Obama -- heap blame on Wall Street and CEOs for the financial crisis resulting in the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the acquisitions of Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns.
 
Both candidates have called for more rules and regulations on mortgage, credit and financial markets.
 
However, Obama and McCain have accepted a substantial amount of campaign money from Wall Street bankers, investment and securities firms and their executives during this election cycle. Obama has taken a total of $14 million, while McCain has taken in $10.2 million.
 
Investment firms have donated $9.9 million to Obama and $6.9 million to McCain this campaign thus far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Commercial banks have given Obama $2.1 million and McCain $1.9 million. Private equity firms and hedge funds have given Obama $2 million and McCain $1.4 million, according to CFRP.
 
Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase & Co., UBS and heavyweight law firm DLA Piper are among Obama's top contributors. JP Morgan acquired Bear Stearns with the federal government taking on as much as $30 billion Bear assets as part of the deal. McCain's top donor sources include Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Blank Rome and Greenberg Traurig LLP law firms.
 
CFRP compiles the contributions numbers based on donations by company executives, employees and political action committees.[..]"
 
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/09/15/daily42.html
 
CFRP is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, DC that tracks money in politics, and the effect of money on elections and public policy.
 
Their website:
http://www.opensecrets.org/about/index.php
 
It's just wrong for Wall Street bankers, investment and securities firms and their executives to donate substantial amounts of money to politicians or their parties. We need to find a cleaner way of funding the democratic process.
 
<sigh> Well, at least Obama doesn't have people working for his campaign who are lobbyists representing Wall Street firms and investments banks, like McCain's most influential advisers are.
 

2008/9/16

Wall Street Roulette

@ 11:37 AM (57 months, 1 day ago)


Yep, Wall Street's biggest players were gambling everything from your savings account to your pension fund in a wild secret casino game...with no house dick looking over their shoulders.

It tickles me how the GOP talking heads were all over the news trying the blame this financial disaster on the 2 year Democratic Party control of congress, The truth lies a lot closer to John McCain...in fact, right inside his campaign.

Hello? Why isn't anyone pointing out to voters that McCain's current advisors and benefactors are major contributors to the current market failure...that McCain has lobbyists for Fannie and Freddie as advisers?

And who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but the lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm.

Phil Gramm is McCain's chief economic adviser...they've been best buddies since they served together in the House. The same Phil Gramm who brought about the Gramm Leach Bliely act that DEREGULATED THE BANKS.

See, back in 1999 Gramm pulled a sly maneuver in the Senate that helped create today's subprime meltdown. While Bill Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress were locked in a budget showdown -- hammering out a $384-billion spending bill -- Gramm slipped in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act.

It was the banking deregulation bill that destroyed Depression-era firewalls between commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and securities firms. A fantastic gift to his friends in the financial services industry, friends who gave him millions over his 24-year congressional career.

Apparently, no one in Congress had read this 262-page bill that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown.

So...a $62 trillion market, nearly four times bigger than the entire US stock market, was free from regulations and rules...no one made sure the banks and hedge funds had the assets to cover the losses they guaranteed.

Then there was Enron -- a generous contributor to Gramm's political campaigns -- who had lobbied for a provision to be in the bill. One that exempted energy trading from regulatory oversight. Which allowed Enron to run wild, wreck California's electricity market...and cost consumers billions before it collapsed.

Deregulation lets ALL the foxes into ALL the hen houses.

Phil Gramm bankrupted Middle America, is thick as thieves with John McCain and has been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win.

That's right...a guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy.

The same guy who called us a nation of whiners for being concerned about the economy.

Why isn't Obama hammering McCain about this?

 

2008/9/15

It's the stupid economy!

@ 08:01 AM (57 months, 2 days ago)

B-b-but, weren't we all supposed to be able to privatize our social security and buy into the stock market to finance our golden years? You mean it's all just a house of cards?
 
From the WSJ: NEW YORK -- The American financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said it would file for bankruptcy protection, and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp.
 
The U.S. government, which bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week ago and orchestrated the sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in March, played much tougher with Lehman. It refused to provide a financial backstop to potential buyers. Without such support, Barclays PLC and Bank of America, the two most interested buyers, walked away. [..]"
 
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB122145492097035549.html
 
Hmm...when Merrill Lynch becomes part of Bank of America will they call it Lynch America?
 
Hey, this is what happens when the government slowly but surely removes all the safeguards put in place after the big Depression to insure that it would never happen again. Surprise, looks like it's happening again.
 
From cnbc.com: "In an exclusive interview with CNBC.com, Wilbur Ross, chairman and CEO of WL Ross & Co., says he sees possibly as many as a thousand bank closures in the coming months. And this will create opportunities for investors.[..]"
 
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26710362
 
And if this isn't a good reason to run out and pull the lever for the Republican ticket, I don't know what is...4 more years is all we need.
 
Here are a couple of websites folks are talking about right now, rating the "health" of commercial banks and checking out FDIC:
 
http://www.bankrate.com/
 
http://www4.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp
 
This mess is not only the fault of greedy financial institutions and government deregulation -- thank you Reagan! -- but also the general tendency nowadays of the American public trying to achieving the American Dream when they can't afford it.
 
Thank goodness the lessons of my parents and grandparents rubbed off on me, because I like knowing I have money better than I like spending it. They only bought things they could afford...saved up and paid cash. Taking out loans for cars and houses was a serious step...for them and for the bank. Collateral was an important part of the deal.
 
Today, couples barely out of college, already holding massive credit card debt, go house hunting in upscale neighborhoods...because nothing personifies the American dream more than owning a home.
 
Well, they're buying that America Dream with money based on credit based on fantasy...
 
Even though the loan shark credit card companies are robbing them blind, it doesn't stop the bottom 60 percent of the working class from chasing the American dream of a nicer house, a newer car, fun vacations, the latest fashions -- a better life than their parents had. They keep buying and buying...going further and further into debt to do it.
 
A big chunk of that debt will never be repaid, which is the most basic explanation of today's financial crisis.
 
George Bush has been doing the same thing--putting expenses for the war on our government credit card. We owe our soul to the Chinese...
 
Hmm...wonder what a President Sarah Palin would do....
 
Days like this make me wish it was all in a box buried in my backyard.
 

2008/9/14

Fun for Democrats

@ 04:46 AM (57 months, 4 days ago)
 
How many members of the Republican Party does it take to change a light bulb?
 
Answer: TEN...
 
1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed,
 
2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed,
 
3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb,
 
4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either for
changing the light bulb or for eternal darkness,
 
5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the new light bulb,
 
6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner "Bulb Accomplished",
 
7. One administration insider to resign and in detail reveal how Bush was literally "in the dark" the whole time,
 
8. One to viciously smear #7,
 
9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how John McCain has had a strong light bulb-changing policy all along,
 
10. And finally, one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.
 
And after all is said and done, no one will notice that they never actually managed to change the light bulb.

2008/9/13

Brava! to the women of "The View"

@ 12:00 PM (57 months, 4 days ago)
 
The ladies at "The View" sure grilled ol' John McCain.
 
You have to laugh to keep from crying about at the state of our news media. To get honest news we have to go to "The Daily Show"...to see some hard-hitting real journalism in action we have to go to "The View," so often dismissed as a lightweight, softball program that broadcasts only to housewives. The same audience that McCain went after with his Palin pick.
 
True, political junkies and policy wonks probably don't watch much of "The View." But many regular people, who make "gut" decisions about which candidate to vote for, do watch the show. And I can't imagine they came away too impressed with McCain. They booed him over Roe vs Wade.
 
Anyway, it did my heart good to see the women on "The View" showing more cojones than the mainstream news media. They put John McCain through the toughest, most unyielding interview he has endured yet.
 
And what a perfect venue...women hitting him hard on women's issues.
 
The reporters who cover politics full-time don't dare call politicians liars. The women of "The View" put them to shame by confronting McCain to his face. Here's a link to the videos:
 
 
Some Highlights:
Joy Behar said to his face that his recent ads about Obama were lies.
 
Barbara Walters pointed out that he himself uses the phrase "lipstick on a pig" and that Obama's reference was not about Palin.
 
McCain said Roe vs. Wade was a bad decision and the audience booed him.
 
Whoopi Goldberg said that appointing "strict constitutionalists" would return her to slavery.
 
Barbara Walters kept pressing McCain on just what Sarah Palin was supposed to be coming to Washington to reform and suggested it was he who needed reforming.
 
They forced McCain to talk about separation of church and state and how a Palin administration, if it came to that, might not see a need for much separation.
 
Great stuff. They scored one of the smartest, strongest and most memorable journalistic moments of the entire presidential campaign.
 
Can you imagine what it’s going to be like if and when they get Palin?
 
But, you know, this might further incline both McCain and Palin to cloister themselves away.
 
When McCain defended the lipstick ad by saying politics is a rough business, that the ad  is a perfectly truthful interpretation of Barack Obama's statements ...well, it just floored me.
 
And all that whining about how the tenor of the campaign might be different if only Obama had accepted his invitation to do joint townhall meetings.
 
What? In other words -- it’s Barack Obama’s fault, Obama is forcing him to lie by refusing to engage in a series of town hall debates?
 
McCain may be getting closer to winning the office he's been seeking for a decade, but he'll have lost everything we once admired in him.
 
From Obama spokesperson Hari Sevugan:
"In running the sleaziest campaign since South Carolina in 2000 and standing by completely debunked lies on national television, it's clear that John McCain would rather lose his integrity than lose an election."
 
Country first my ass. This guy cares nothing about anything except winning.
 

2008/9/12

Well, I'll be damned...

@ 04:49 AM (57 months, 6 days ago)
 
Another jumped-the-shark moment...or maybe jumped-the-pig?
 
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly defends Barack Obama against charges from John McCain’s camp that Obama's talk about a pig with lipstick was a reference to Sarah Palin.
 
Of course, O’Reilly also takes (another) swipe at NBC News and lefty bloggers...and warns McCain about the impact this kind of campaigning could have on independent voters:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGGW32-zJfk
 
You know...if you kinda squint your eyes while watching O'Reilly talk, I swear you can almost see a pig flying.
 
BTW...let's see what's been happening in our sphere-of-influence back yard while the news media and blogs bloviate about lipstick, pigs and such.
 
Russia has just landed long-range strategic bombers -- you know, the kind that carry nuclear weapons -- in Venezuela. Our ambassador has been ordered out.
 
Could this have happened 20 years ago? No.
 
Has saber rattling and sending US warships to Georgia (Russia's sphere-of-influence) by McCain/Bush helped? No.
 
Is this comparable to the old Soviet Union transporting possible nuclear-tipped missiles to Cuba in the 60's? Yes.
 
Is the fact that our Army and Marines have been deployed for 6 years to a war zone that shouldn't be, having an effect on our ability to respond to this provocation? Absolutely.
 
You can put lipstick on our "news" media, but it's still incompetent.
 
Thank you...we now return you to Very Important Issues.
 

2008/9/11

America bows its head

@ 09:49 AM (57 months, 6 days ago)

...remembering the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11/01 and their families.
 
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken. It lives forever in our hearts and our history, a tragedy that unites us in a common memory and a common story ... the day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."
 
There were many, many heroes that day, but the ones that always make me cry when I think of them, are the passengers and crew on Flight 93...the ones who stormed the cockpit to thwart the terrorists' plans to use that plane as a weapon. Thinking about them saddens me beyond sadness.
 
Today I mourn the loss of their lives, along with the loss of the ones in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ...and the loss of all the firefighters, police and rescue workers...and the loss of America's innocence, for we will never be the same.
 
I really wish we could commemorate this sad day without seeing film and video of the towers coming down. I can't imagine what it must be like for the families of the victims to watch their husband, son, father, brother, wife, mother, daughter, or friend die on national television in a spectacle that is replayed over and over and over again.
 
Here's hoping that we, as a people, learn more from that awful day than we appear to have done so far.
 
Here's hoping that our politicians won't take this day of national tragedy and turn it into something political...for campaign speeches or photo-ops, etc.
 
But I guess that's too much to hope for.
 

2008/9/10

McCain's jump-the-shark moment?

@ 08:01 AM (57 months, 7 days ago)

Or do smears even more vicious this way come?
 
Look at the latest sad and desperate attempt at brainstem politics.
 
The McCain campaign has a new ad out that says (among other things):
 
"Obama's one accomplishment?
 
Legislation to teach "comprehensive sex education" to kindergartners.
 
Learning about sex before learning to read?
 
Barack Obama.
 
Wrong on education. Wrong for your family. "
 
All lies and distortions. Obama supported a bill about educating five year olds about inappropriate touching.
 
But no, the McCain campaign makes it sound like Obama wanted to hand out condoms to five year olds, and have cucumber demonstrations as part of show and tell.
 
He supported sensible, community-based education for children to help protect them from pedophiles.
 
This is NOT teaching kindergartners about sex!
 
This is about as low as you can go John McCain...going full-throttle for the politics of personal destruction. Your true colors are being exposed once and for all.
 
But you have to throw smokescreens up to distract from the disaster of what's happened during the last eight years, don't you? You can't defend your part in it so you stoop to distortions and outright lies.
 
You go around talking about not wanting to lose a war to win an election, but it sure looks like there isn't anything you won't say to try to win one.
 
Hit back hard Obama...produce an ad that says:
 
"Have you seen John McCain's latest ad?"
 
Show the ad, then come back and say:
 
"Folks, he's lying to you again. This bill was about helping young children avoid sexual predators, not teaching them about sex. If John McCain was serious about reducing partisan rancor in Washington, he wouldn't be pulling plays like this from the Karl Rove playbook. This November 4th, let's begin putting the politics of fear and smear behind us and bring real change to Washington."
 
I wonder how McCain can sleep nights, maybe his honor has withered up like the rest of him. He is attacking Obama with the same Rovian smears that were used on him in 2002 (the illegitimate black baby).
 
The Obama campaign better ramp up its ability to respond to character and values smears, because there's plenty more where that came from.
 
I did like the response of the Obama campaign to the McCain criticism of the "lipstick on a pig" line. It wasn’t sexist because they weren't criticizing Palin, they were criticizing McCain.

2008/9/9

Yeah, I know, I saw them...

@ 10:43 AM (57 months, 8 days ago)

The new polls are showing the race either tied or with a narrow McCain lead:
 
The new ABC/Washington Post poll gives McCain a 49%-47% lead among likely voters, with a ±4% margin of error. Two weeks ago, just before the Democratic Convention began, Obama had a 49%-45% lead with likely voters.
 
The new CBS poll has McCain up 46%-44%, with a ±4% margin of error. Two and a half weeks ago, Obama had a 45%-42% lead.
 
The new Hotline/Diageo poll has the race tied at 44% each. Two weeks ago, Obama had a 44%-40% lead.
 
Lest we forget -- McCain went out of his way to trample on the Democratic convention, the success of Obama's speech and distract everyone the morning after when he dropped his Palin bomb to dilute whatever bounce Obama got.
 
Okay, convention bounces are not permanent things...McCain's is the result of going second, bathing in the spotlight and getting positive coverage for a whole week.
 
There are still eight weeks to go. Besides, if you get a big convention bounce based on lies and distortions...maybe the harder you'll fall.
 
So, for now, his Palin bump has pulled him ahead in the polls. All those dispirited R's who were going to stay home on election day are fired up now.
 
Now, if only Obama had picked Hillary as VP like I wanted him to, he could've robbed McCain of Palin's thunder...and he would've cemented Hillary's base of women voters.
 
Of course, there is no evidence that centrist women are now flocking to Palin. Working class and Democratic women still support Obama. Most Republican women would never vote for a Democrat anyway...millions, in fact.
 
What the Democrats are losing may be enthusiasm among Democratic women, but they are not losing women. They need to put Hillary out there. And Bill is waiting in the wings...
 
It's conservative and moderate men who love Palin. Conservatives have long pined for a pro-life Maggie Thatcher type, and now they think they found one.
 
No matter who wins, I think in the end, it's these two decisions -- Hillary and Palin -- that will be analyzed for years to come.
 

"The American people aren't stupid"

@ 08:11 AM (57 months, 8 days ago)

Barack Obama spoke in Flint, Michigan yesterday and for the second time in three days, challenged the Republican message of "change."
 
McCain/Palin just keep chuggin' along, making claims they know are false. But they tell these lies with such conviction that people eat it up...not remembering that past actions have reflected nothing but the same. The same scandals...the same gutter politics...the same exaggeration, manipulation and deception.
 
The John McCain and Sarah Palin that Obama is running against are not real people...they are like made-up TV show characters.
 
The more the McCain/Palin ticket tries to latch onto/steal Obama's message of change -- hoping no one notices their being glued to 90 percent of Bush&Cheney's policies -- the more Obama speaks out and questions the Republican version of "change" and hammers at Sarah Palin's lies/flip-flops.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVWuZE-OPgQ
 
"She's you know, an up and comer from Alaska," Obama said. "They're starting to run an ad now saying she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere. Well now, let's get the facts clear here. When she was mayor, she hired a Washington lobbyist to get earmarks -- pork-barrel spending. All the things that John McCain says is bad, she lobbied to get! And got a whole lot of it. When it came to the bridge to nowhere, she was for it until everybody started raising a fuss about it and she started running for governor and then suddenly she was against it.
 
"You remember that? For it before you were against it?" Obama added. "I mean, you can't just make stuff up. You can't just recreate yourself. You can't just reinvent yourself. The American people aren't stupid."
 
I'd like to see him keep using that phrase...even if I'm not sure it's true. The majority of us voted George W. Bush in twice...and enough voters bought the Swift Boat crap in 2004 to sway an election.
 
Who was it who said it's impossible to underestimate the intelligence of the American public?
 

2008/9/8

I knew it, I just knew it...

@ 08:22 AM (57 months, 9 days ago)

I rolled my eyes when I saw the little gaffe that Barack Obama made about his faith during an interview on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. George was talking to, and constantly interrupting I might add, Obama about his faith and the smears directed at him regarding his background.
 
The minute I hear Obama misspeak, I would've bet good money that the righties would pounce, take it out of context and immediately send it out as a sound byte in millions of emails. And they did.
 
So, when your unhinged  cousin sends you a 13-second clip saying, "Here's proof he's a secret Muslim!"...here is a portion of the interview in its fuller context. Judge for yourself.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQK_EhDhZQ
 
He meant "my so called Muslim faith...as invented by the rightwing."
 
<sigh> This is what passes for politics in America today.
 
One could say that Obama needs to understand that brevity is his friend. Yet, the issues are complicated and deserve more than lip service and sound bytes. The fact that Obama thinks before he speaks should be one of his most attractive qualities as a candidate.
 
If we ask the righties what McCain meant in his acceptance speech when he said Palin works with her hands and nose...they'll say he misspoke
 
If we ask them what Tom Ridge meant when he said "John Bush" when he meant McCain...they'll say he misspoke.
 
Then there's the poor lady, a representative from Ohio, who was one of the introducers of "our nominee Sarah Pawlenty."
 
Obama is human too, he misspoke.
 
Every now and then Obama says something that, on second thought, could have been said better. Every now and then, he has what we call a slip of the tongue, or a brain freeze.
 
Every now and then, actually quite frequently, John McCain says something that calls into question his knowledge about important things. Or maybe he's just a confused human being who really needs Joe Lieberman by his side to keep him straight.
 
John McCain didn't know the difference between Sunni and Shia.
 
He was confused about which faction in Iraq is supported by the Iranians.
 
He doesn't know the geographical location and relationship of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.
 
He doesn't know that Czechoslovakia no longer exists.
 
There's more...but I'm busy today.
 

2008/9/7

When the flip-flop fits...

@ 07:39 AM (57 months, 11 days ago)

It's sad when you want to get honest news that you have to go to Comedy Central. This 'documentary' about McCain on the Daily Show was so funny and spot on, here it is for any who missed it:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omsKRyWqeEU
 
Personally, I think they're a bit rough on him in the first half...but the last flip-flop half is on the money...especially with him running around saying he's a maverick reformer.
 
Yes, Obama changes his mind too, but they're little flip-flops -- opening the door on drilling, public financing of his campaign, etc. -- nothing that will send the US into a nosedive like the last eight years.
 
McCain has flip-flopped to support the policies that have destroyed our economy and international standing....Bush tax cuts, torture, the religious right, overturning Roe v. Wade, Social Security Privatization, etc. What's best for John McCain's political career is not what's best for America.
 
Name one position that McCain has held consistently for, say, the last five years? Just one will do. His flip-flops have all been directed at obtaining votes from the right wing base.
 
It really irked me when John McCain ran around saying "Barack Obama is willing to lose a war to win an election"...when McCain himself is willing to put our country's national security at risk by selling his soul to the Religious Reich when he picked an unqualified looney to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
 
If they win and that happens...this election is going to be one for the comic books, not just the history books.
 
Do we really want to be remembered by history as the dumbest generation...who squandered America's greatness?
 

2008/9/5

McCain struck out

@ 08:52 AM (57 months, 12 days ago)

I don't know why we use baseball metaphors to describe political speeches...but we do.
 
John McCain's acceptance speech was long, and lacking. Maybe there was too much pressure, but he just didn't seem to connect. His speech was flat, boring, and trite.
 
Whereas Obama's speech still rings in my ears with its depth, passion, and complexity -- "But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you."
 
Last night, John McCain talked more about himself than anything else.
 
The only exciting part was when they dragged out a protester who was trying to disrobe or something...maybe she was trying to show a T-shirt.
 
McCain didn't commit any serious gaffes or embarrass himself too badly. But with the Dems hammering him in ads showing him voting with Bush/Cheney at least 90% of the time, you'd think he'd take great pains to explain how he'd be different from Bush.
 
He didn't...indeed, he hardly tried. He vowed to bring "change"...but didn't give us any idea what kind of change. If I remember correctly, Bush made the same promise.
 
It irks me when he starts talking about "change"...it's such a sleazy and desperate attempt to latch on to the much more gifted Obama's theme.
 
I agree with the wag who said that "change" for a Republican is different people doing the same thing.
 
McCain didn't really say anything exact or new about the economy. If you noticed, the entire Republican convention tried to ignore the "E" word.
 
He did mumble something about "wage insurance" of the 1950's...as far as I know it's the first time he's mentioned it. Is he talking about reforming the unemployment system or what? I'm not sure if Republicans have the credibility to tackle something like that.
 
He said, "I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy and it often seems your government hasn't even noticed." So, great...he "notices" the sorry state of the economy but said nothing about his plans to tackle the problem.
 
Looks to me like he'll keep on doing what Bush has been doing, and wait for it to start working.
 
McCain didn't speak of his vision or lay out his policy agenda for the future. He concentrated on his character and his war record...I guess he's hoping that's enough.
 
He seemed a little jerky and uncomfortable at times. He never has mastered the art of reading a TelePrompter, running his sentences together and having to back up several times. He actually said that Palin would lead with her hands and nose...which turned out to be "knows" when he straightened it out.
 
And what was the campaign thinking, having him speak (again) in front of a green screen? He looked sickly and yellow. His teeth really looked yellow.
 
Then too, his speech wasn't very well written...sounded like "too many cooks in the broth." Though the crowd was polite and cheered, you know they wanted Palin back.
 
After his speech was over, I didn't know what McCain wants to do as president, or even why he's running for president. All I could pick up was that he thinks he's earned it...he suffered for, and was saved by, his country and it's his turn, gosh darn it. He's got the scars to prove it.
 
He received warm approval from the convention crowd, but the rest of the American people are still pissed about the Republican agenda...their incompetence, corruption and divisiveness.
 
Sarah Palin was definitely the most exciting part of that convention...even though she's a crazy fundamentalist whose religious and social beliefs relegate women and girls to chattel status...and even if she's less qualified to be president than I am.
 

The Gender Card

@ 08:43 AM (57 months, 12 days ago)
 
John Stewart nails it again...showing what two-faced hypocrites look like!
 
Even if you already saw this segment on the gender card on “The Daily Show” here it is to enjoy again. It starts out with clips of Karl Rove talking about Rep. Gov. Sara Palin and Dem. Gov. Tim Kaine.
 
When Rove talked about Palin being mayor of a town of 9,000, he gave it enormous credibility, calling it the second largest city in Alaska. But when he talked about Kaine’s experience as mayor of Richmond, he poo-pooed the size of the town. Richmond, VA has a population of 200,000 people, more than 22 times larger than Wasilla, Alaska.
 
Stewart shows clips of Dick Morris and Sean Hannity of Fox News saying that the questions being asked of Palin were the result of sexism. Next they played a clip of Morris from the presidential primary saying, “When a woman wants to be president she shouldn’t complain based on gender.”
 
Morris was talking about Hillary Clinton’s supporters whining about gender playing a factor in the race and claimed that she was hiding behind her “apron strings”.
 
The segment ends with Sara Palin answering a question about female candidates and the possible added scrutiny that they are given when they run for office. Palin’s answer to female candidates under scrutiny was that they should, “work harder… prove yourself to an even greater degree, that you’re capable… that you’re going to be the best candidate.”
 
“The Daily Show” did an excellent job of showing hypocrisy by using politicians' actual words...debunking Republican claims with their own words.
 
This video just shows how opinions can change once they are trying to defend their own in the political arena...and that Republicans would endorse Beelzebub himself if he had an (R) after his name.
 
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card
 

2008/9/4

Thank goodness for hot mikes..

@ 09:31 AM (57 months, 13 days ago)

...or we'd never get the truth.
 
Two conservative commentators on MSNBC say what they really think about the GOP VP choice...when they think they're off the air.
 
Peggy Noonan is a political conservative and was the primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Reagan. Mike Murphy has advised such prominent Republicans as John McCain, Jeb Bush, Tommy Thompson, Christie Whitman, Lamar Alexander, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
"Noonan, Murphy trash Palin pick over open mikes, September 4, 2008
 
From newsday.com: "Two GOP icons - former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former McCain strategist Mike Murphy - were caught trashing vice-presidential pick Sarah Palin yesterday when they kept talking after they thought the audio was off during an interview on NBC, and a YouTube version of their off-off-message exchange rocketed around the Internet at light speed.[..]"
 
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/nation/ny-usnoon045828642sep04,0,1097812.story
 
Here's the video, the dialogue in question starts 38 seconds in.
 
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg
 
Rough transcript:
Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --
 
PN: It's over.
 
MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.
 
CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.
 
PN: Saw Kay this morning.
 
CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --
 
MM: They're all bummed out.
 
CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
 
PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --
 
CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.
 
MM: I totally agree.
 
PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.
 
MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.
 
CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.
 
MM: Yeah.
~~~~~
Wow, when you lose those two...
 
The thing is -- they will go on babbling away about how awesome McCain is, and how Palin is the fresh-faced game-changer and this and that and the other, and one will ever say -- "Hey, remember when you didn’t know the mike was on and you called it bullshit and said the race was over?"
 
Noonan tried to apologize later in the Wall Street Journal ...spun it ever-which-a-way. Who are you going to believe, my column or your lying ears?
 

The Great White Hope delivers

@ 08:22 AM (57 months, 13 days ago)
 
Before I get started -- Is this a country for old white men?

I had to put on my sun glasses as I looked out across the GOP convention. That Sea of White hurt my eyes!

Compare it to the Democratic convention...which showed the REAL America...a melting pot of lovely diversity.

Okay, the speech. I expected Sarah Palin to give a good speech. After all, she's a former TV newscaster who knows how to read from a TelePrompter... and she had three days of round-the-clock rehearsal.

She was professional, cutesy, but not at all empathetic. Given all the warnings about not underestimating her, I was expecting a lot more.

You could tell the speech was written by the Bush/McCain gang -- peppered with a lot of "pause for applause." Of course, the R's at the convention loved it, she fires up the ever-shrinking base of the GOP. But I don't think she's going to sway many moderate, Independent voters...especially women.

They should've had her come out a fringed cowboy jacket and skirt like Annie Oakley, cracking a whip to the tune of “Mariah.” Now THAT would be a showstopper.

Seriously, they can dress it up with a pretty face, but it was all just more smears, lies and distortions from the Bush/McCain campaign. Where were the new ideas on how to fix all of the major problems and disasters caused by eight years of Bush/McCain policies and failures?

When centrist women voters learn that Palin opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest, opposes stem cell research and, as governor, opposed funding for state pre-kindergarten programs...the moderates and Independents will feel less favorable toward her.

Here's more "Compassionate Conservatism"...

ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.[..]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/02/palin_slashed_funding_to_help.html?hpid=artslot

She tells parents of special needs children that they will have a friend in the White House...but in reality Palin slashed funding for schools for special needs kids by 62%.

The Annual budget for 2007, which preceded Gov. Palin was $8,265,300.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/08_OMB/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
The Annual budget for 2008, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/08_OMB/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
The Annual budget for 2009, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/09_omb/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
This is a cut in special needs services to children in Alaska of 5,109,300 , or 62%.

In other words, she threw them under the short yellow bus.

Anyway, these parents are such a small constituency that she probably thinks she can safely make promises to them, then betray them without suffering any political consequences.

Her speech was filled with sarcasm, no facts, definitely no empathy for anyone outside her base ... I didn't hear any economic policy other than "Drill Here, Drill Now"

Dems need to blast past all that noise and sparkle, and not worry about being soft on her because she's new or a woman...or that it's sexist to attack her. After last night's performance, she will never again be seen as soft or a novice.

Those easily-disproved lies about Obama's record just don't seem all that savvy to me...or clever. She came across as self-righteous...almost bullying. Hopefully some "undecideds" are getting the same impression.

She didn't sound like a reformer at all, she sounded like the other angry old white men.

So...that's it? This is what the G0P has to offer after 8 long years under the worst President ever? Two narrow-minded, flip-floppers who preach do as we say not as we do?

I ain't scared.

2008/9/3

Uh-oh, the National Enquirer is digging...

@ 06:57 AM (57 months, 15 days ago)

Yep, the National Enquirer is now looking into Gov. Sarah Palin's life. Okay, go ahead and roll your eyes, just remember what they did to Gary Hart and John Edwards.
 
A lot of people now believe that McCain's vetting of Palin consisted of mostly Google searches, and the National Enquirer smells red meat. It's like throwing chunks of bloody fish into the water and telling the sharks to back off.
 
Everyone knows that once the tabloid focuses on a target that it deems newsworthy, it keeps digging for anything that will spark brisk checkout stand sales. Sometimes it isn't entirely true, but sometimes it is...
 
It's okay with me that the NE is trying to uncover the facts about Palin, given the short amount of time we have to get to know her, we should welcome any scrutiny she receives. Not just because I am against Palin (I am voting Democratic) but because the rest of the country needs to know what sort of person Palin is in order to determine whether she would make a good VP.
 
An Australian newspaper says that Palin is flying in her prospective son-in-law to stand with her daughter as Palin gives her speech tonight. So she's using her daughter and a high school boy as poster children for the "pro-life movement"...I truly feel sorry for those two unfortunate kids.
 
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24286746-2703,00.html
 
The Washington Post now confirms that the McCain campaign did, indeed, begin its in-depth vetting of Palin just last Wednesday.
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090203462.html?hpid=topnews
 
McCain wants us to believe that Palin was properly vetted, but it looks more and more that his picking Palin was a rush job -- only undertaken after Karl Rove convinced him to drop Lieberman. The team investigating her arrived in Alaska on Thurs. and he announced the pick Friday morning.
 
I'm assuming he didn't want the Democrats to bask in their post-convention glory and build up any momentum with the public and press.
 
So McCain made an important decisions on the fly...like a student cramming to get his final assignment in on time.
 
Beware folks...making snap judgements is a dangerous governing style in today's scary world.
 

2008/9/2

GOP didn't steal all of Obama's thunder

@ 10:39 PM (57 months, 15 days ago)
 
Gallup Daily: Obama Hits 50% for First Time
September 2, 2008
Barack Obama now wins the support of 50% of registered voters in general election preferences, his highest level to date. His 8-point margin over John McCain, with 42%, is one point shy of his widest lead, seen in late July.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109960/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Hits-50-First-Time.aspx
 
Obama Gains Among Former Clinton Supporters
September 2, 2008
The Democratic convention appears to have helped solidify support for Barack Obama among former Hillary Clinton supporters, with the percent saying they will vote for Obama in November increasing from 70% pre-convention to 81% post-convention, and the percent who say they are certain to vote for Obama up from 47% to 65%.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109957/Obama-Gains-Among-Former-Clinton-Supporters.aspx
 
Of course, by this time next week, when the GOP has had a convention of its own, we'll be in a better position to evaluate the state of the race.
 
The race could change dramatically if Palin catches fire...or catches on fire.
 

Are we being Punked?

@ 08:04 AM (57 months, 15 days ago)

And soon McCain will reveal his actual VP pick?
 
I've been quiet about McCain's VP pick, Gov. Sarah Palin; as a woman I was glad to see a woman get the nod and I decided to just wait and see what developed, what would come to light. I couldn't figure out if it was genius or the worst blunder in modern political history.
 
As I learned more about Palin I thought yeah, it might rev up their base ...but they're crazy if they think it would draw any pro-choice Clinton supporters.
 
Now I'm thinking, dang, shouldn't more care be given in picking a potential leader of our nation in a time of war should McCain's gasket blow? What was Rove thinking?
 
Prople are saying that certain Republicans are getting nervous as all get out about the selection of Sarah Palin as their VP nominee. The hardcore foreign policy wonks -- Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, George Voinovich, Colin Powell, Richard Armitage, Brent Scowcroft, and their ilk -- don't seem to be remotely enthused by this pick.
 
True Republicans are already near their wit's end with John McCain's embrace of neo-conservatism and the evangelicals...this VP pick may be a bridge too far. They have trouble defending it and it's getting more foolish to try with each new interesting revelation that comes to light.
 
Because, on the same day that the Republicans were forced to dramatically cut back their convention activities -- how fitting, right wingers prayed for rain on Obama's party and Mother Nature sends a Class 4 hurricane to rain on the Republican party -- the Palin Meltdown started to unfold.
 
This interesting piece in The NYTimes reveals that McCain didn't get the VP he wanted -- Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge -- because of the religious right (which seems to control the GOP, and now John McCain). The fundies went ballistic because both Lieberman and Ridge are pro-choice.
 
Next thing we know he has picked the very anti-abortion (but not much else) Palin, without even fully vetting her. Seems McCain's vetter only arrived in Alaska on the day before McCain announced Palin as his VP choice.
 
From The NYTimes: "A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain's choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.
 
...the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice. [..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/5z3byo
 
Some are calling it a surreal soap opera. Palin's involvement with the Alaska Independence Party -- which has sought a vote on whether the state should secede from the Union -- is just the latest punch in the stomach to a reeling GOP.
 
Now news of her teen daughter's pregnancy adds new poignancy to her 2006 campaign promise -- "Explicit sex ed programs will not find my support."
 
I will say nothing more about her daughter's predicament. I said it before and I'll say it again -- a candidate's children should be left alone. But boy howdy, I can imagine the rightie hoots and insults if it were an Obama 17 y/o pregnant daughter. I remember when Rush Limbaugh trashed a very young Chelsea Clinton for just her looks...and don't forget that John McCain said, "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." (June, 1998)
 
Lawd have mercy, it's hard out there for a Republican pimp right now. Secretly they probably want to ditch Sarah Palin, but McCain will stick with her and hope that she just turns out to be one of those awful VP picks that isn't fatal to the ticket. Like Agnew or Quayle. The worst thing he could do is drop her from the ticket. It would effectively end the election.
 
I think this pick says more about John McCain than Sarah Palin. It really does. John McCain caved to the anti-abortion theocrats running the Republican party, made a hasty pick for his VP and is now suffering the consequences.
 
BUT...if what we know so far is the worst of it, Palin might be able to ride it out. Her daughter's pregnancy shouldn't be held against her, and might in the end win her sympathy with the fundies.
 
The Alaska Independence Party could be said to be old news, happening in the '90's. The trooper scandal could be a distraction, but it's something that was known before Palin was selected, so the campaign must not think that it's too serious.
 
Besides, how many VP choices were out there that could get the enthusiastic backing of the evangelicals, the Ron Paul supporters, and Big Oil?
 
All I know is I can't wait for the Vice Presidential debate. Can't WAIT!