But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.I know the evil librul blogs have been saying this all September, but now that we have a confirmed citation: WTF AMRIKA?! WTF WTF WTF?!
“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”
"Really? Well, given as much lying as McCain has done in the past two weeks, I hardly consider that a reliable source, but come to think of it, Lipstick on a Pig is a pretty good description for McCain/Palin. We'd like to thank the McCain campaign for it, and we'll have shirts printed by Tuesday. We'll be sending the McCain campaign a check for the royalties -- besides, they could use the money."posted by eriko at 8:21 AM on September 14, 2008 [5 favorites]
Why doesn't Barrack Obama lie more often?Why would he need too? Seems like there's enough factual badness emanating from the McCain campaign, I mean Charlie Black was once a lobbyist for Jonas Savimbi(!?!?!)
Speaking of TV, you'll know that Obama is well and truly toast if Oprah is forced to reverse herself and invite Palin onto the show before the electionThat doesn't make sense. Who could "force" her to do anything? She'd been friends with Hillary Clinton for years and didn't invite her on the show.
Not saying that will happen, but Oprah didn't get as rich as she is by riding a losing horse all the way to the finish line.And she's as rich as she needs to be. I mean, the woman is a billionaire, no one can push her around. Besides, given Palin's apparent fear of being interviewed, what makes you think Palin would even want to go on the show? And given Oprah's support for Obama, what makes you think Oprah wouldn't lay into her on issues like Rape Kits, Abortion, Equal pay for women (which McCain supports the Ledbetter scotus decision), troupergate, and all the other crap emanating from the McCain campaign. it's not like she's required to give "nice" interviews.
And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said. “You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”posted by fourcheesemac at 10:09 AM on September 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
[to which Sullivan adds]
Now I begin to understand the intimidation I have been subjected to for simply asking questions. All I can reassure my readers is: I'm now more determined than ever to reveal the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about this dangerous, vindictive Christianist cipher being foisted on the United States.
Here's what I get from Palin. She's a cypher, much in the same way Bush was a cypher. An attractive figurehead for the hard-right. She obviously hasn't any real policies or opinions of her own. Rather, she's an attractive proxy for whoever the power-brokers behind her are.You kidding? Palin is Nixon with a pretty face. She's "manipulated" to the extent that she doesn't really care about policy in the first place, but she's clearly lusting for power and surrounds herself with loyal incompetents.
For better or worse the last 30 years has proven America will take the "holier than thou" candidate over the "we know what's best for you" candidate. Do you hear me, Al Gore and John Kerry? This is why you lost, and if Obama isn't careful, he will too.Do you really think a black guy could have gotten elected 30 years ago? Things change, and we have a dramatically different situation then even 2000. I mean, I think the American people would be happy to vote for someone who has some idea of 'what's best' rather then incompetents with no clue. Neither Kerry nor Gore fought effectively. Kerry sucked, and Gore didn't really bring the heat either (of course we had no idea how bad things would get, so it was a different situation)
Since you brought it up Here is the group Obama tied his kite string to. Imagine if Palin had been running with this crowd, you would be screaming it from the mountain tops. Just sayin'. But let's not get distracted.Ah yes, noted racist Michelle Malkin, obviously her characterization of ACORN is spot on, after all someone with the penetrating insight to say, in the 21st century, that Japanese-American internment during WWII a great idea is obviously someone we should take seriously.
“Mr. Obama was given an office to write in at the University of Chicago through a surprising connection. Douglas G. Baird, a professor who was head of the law school’s appointments committee, had learned of Mr. Obama from Michael W. McConnell, a conservative constitutional scholar then at Chicago whom President Bush would later make a federal judge.He did not become a full-time professor, but a lecturer while being employed as an attorney at Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development from 1996 - 2004.
Professor McConnell encountered Mr. Obama during the editing of an article he wrote for The Harvard Law Review, Professor Baird said recently. ‘He sent a note saying this person is really brilliant, we should have him on our radar screen,’ Professor Baird said. Professor Baird called Mr. Obama at Harvard and asked if he was interested in teaching.
‘I don’t remember his exact words, but it was something to the effect that, ‘Well, in fact, I want to write this book.’ What he really wanted was the Virginia Woolf equivalent of a clean, well lighted room.’ So Professor Baird got him one, a small office near the law library, along with a law school fellowship that Professor Baird hoped might later lead to his full-time teaching.”
"A pollster whose mathematical model has correctly predicted every winner of the White House popular vote since 1988 is banking on a decisive victory for Democrat Barack Obama in November.posted by ericb at 11:18 AM on September 14, 2008 [1 favorite]
Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz said Wednesday that according to his 'time for change' model, Obama would secure 54.3 percent of the popular vote against 45.7 percent for Republican John McCain.
That margin would virtually guarantee a crushing victory for the Democrat in the state-by-state electoral college that actually selects the next president, Abramowitz said."
"In voting to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin in an investigation of the firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner, state lawmakers on Friday signaled that Mr. Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, might have played a central role in one of the most contentious episodes of her governorship.posted by ericb at 12:10 PM on September 14, 2008
While that suggestion goes beyond the image presented of Mr. Palin during the Republican convention as a blue-collar family man and sportsman, it echoes a widely held understanding among lawmakers, state employees and lobbyists about Mr. Palin’s heavy engagement in state government.
In the small circle of advisers close to the governor, these people say, Mr. Palin is among the closest, and he plays an unpaid but central role in many aspects of the administration of Ms. Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president.
Mr. Palin’s involvement in the governor’s office has prompted an irreverent quip by some capital staff members when decisions are to be made that might affect the governor: 'What would Todd do?'
Mr. Palin has encouraged lawmakers to support his wife’s agenda, helped her review budget items and polish speeches, surprised some lawmakers by sitting in on meetings and received copies of top administration staff e-mail messages."
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?"The grunting, drooling, pig ignorance of these people astounds me.
Well, a compilation of data from numerous polls actually shows the gap closing at the time of this posting. Looks like the bloom is off the rose.I think you mean the lipstick is coming off the pig.
Here we go again, with Republican election officials making decisions that disproportionately will affect Democratic voters in a crucial election now rated as a tossup in the polls.Miami Herald
Why is there a need to suddenly throw this in the works at the last minute?
The verification law, commonly called "no match, no vote," first was approved by the Legislature in 2005.
...
this week, the Florida Department of State suddenly announced it will begin enforcing the law. This comes as we face an Oct. 6 registration deadline for the November election.
I don't believe this is some evil plot. But I do believe it looks bad with newly registered Democrats -- many of them minorities -- far outnumbering Republicans in this voter-registration cycle.
And if past elections are any indication, an even larger crush of registrations is expected in the weeks leading up to the deadline.
So why pick now to begin enforcing this law?
...
Maybe I've lived in Florida too long to believe this will work.
Those voters who aren't contacted in time or don't see the letter will show up to vote only to be given a "provisional" ballot. To make it count, they will have two days to get to their county elections office and show identification.
Of course, low-income people with no transportation might be at a disadvantage here.
People need time to adjust to a law like this. And right this minute is not the right time.
Voters whose information doesn't match the databases may still show up to vote on Election Day, but they will be given a provisional ballot. Their vote will then be counted only if they verify their identity by showing a valid idenification card, a social security care or a Florida driver's license to election officials within two days of casting the vote.posted by cashman at 5:32 PM on September 14, 2008
Charles Lichtman, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who's heading the Democrats' Election Day statewide legal team, said attorneys will be available at polling stations to fight for voters whose names don't appear on the registration rolls.
''Florida voters don't want to show up at the polls and be told you can't vote a regular ballot or you can't vote because of a crazy technicality,'' he said.
If THEY weren't talking about it, I doubt very seriously the man or the woman on the street have even heard about it.Everyone I've talked to thinks Palin is a nutbar, but I don't know any swing voters.
One man gleefully showed my husband a clipping from today's Sunday classified ads. The clipping was a want ad for paid Obama campaign workers. He chortled, "They have to PAY people to campaign for him!" The ad stated no experience needed. Apparently they will be paying people to hold up signsThey're paying people to go out and register voters in democratic heavy areas. I wouldn't be so flip if I were you.
Crashing five jets with the last earning him a place at the Hanoi Hilton.I'm a little late to this party here, but I feel like this needs to be said: Can we please stop with the attacks on McCain's military record?
He was an ineffectual man and I don't like him. I lived thru his administration. Inflation was horrible. The economy was horrible. Jobs were hard to find. And do you remember the Iranian hostage crisis? -- konoliaYou can't be serious, all those things are true now except rather then inflation, people's incomes are decreasing. It seems like every week a major financial institution dies. We have a 6.1% unemployment rate and... do you remember a little thing called The Iraq War!?
Gee, maybe because the scenario you just outlined is a tad more complex than your original "OMFG Palin is gunna make yur momz a baby factory for rapists!111!1" assertion. A lot of shit has to happen for that to come to pass but please, don't let reality stand in the way of your fear mongering. I've heard that claim made, in one form or another, about every GOP presidential candidate for the last 20 years. For some reason the term "crying wolf" comes to mind...Dude, Sarah Palin opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest. It's not fear mongering to tell people what her actual policy would entail even if she might not be able to pull it off. it's what she wants to do. For fuck sake, she charged rape victims for their own treatment while she was mayor of Wasilla, it these are her real, professed positions, not some left-wing fantasy. That is what she is saying she'll try to do.
Can someone explain to a foreigner why it is that voter turnout is so low? This thread is great for seeing passionate people arguing for their sides, but I have a hard time understanding the mind set of the people who just don't vote. Do they honestly not care one way or the other? Do they not realise how much of an effect this election will have? I'm genuinely curious to know what's going on there. --twirlypenWell, for one thing, in states which lean heavily democratic or republican, votes actually don't make much of a difference (except in extreme cases). It would be more informative to look at votes in swing states.
I'm being completely honest here in my assertion that swing voters will have a hesistancy at the right moment to vote on racial lines. Why? My perception of human behavior. Nope, not an expert of any sort nor claim to be. Matter of fact, I don't even have a batshitinsane blog reference to back me up. But after observing people for the better part of two decades, I can surmise the following: when push comes to shove, people will stick together first based on politics, secondly on nationalism and then on religion. And when things get really tough and a choice has to be made, they will do so on race.Yeah, it's a shame that nice Obama fellow lost the democratic primary, I bet he'd be doing really well. Hillary is getting her ass kicked.
Frankly I have no idea what jsavimbi is going on about. I think he's just jealous that McCain is hogging all of Charley Black's time. Americans are well aware of Canada, the average American thinks about Canada the same way they would about, say, California or New York. There was a poll a while back that showed Americans think about Canada as being more like another state in the U.S. then another country. And we also get a shitload of Oil from Canada. Savimbi is spouting a lot of weird nonsense in this thread, frankly.And that is something that most non-Americans don't get: in our minds, we can live without you. And theoretically, we have for a very long time. In simpler words: the average American couldn't find Australia on a map, never mind give a crap about what happens there. That is the mentality you're up against.Now, this is a good point, though it seems to have nothing to do with your earlier ones, and most non-Americans who read American media and/or have travelled or lived in the United States are very aware of this fact. The United States is a an economic, cultural and political metropole and, like all metropoles, it doesn't look out to its provinces.
But that kind of ignorance is nothing to boast about. Americans should understand that the American lifestyle is extremely similar to that in other settler-based ex-colonies, and different from but not better than the lifestyles in most other developed countries on the planet. You don't need to be perpetuating the misunderstanding.
I don't see McCain taking any action on abortion if he wins. Think back a few months when the right leaning pundits were calling McCain a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only), he doesn't really fit the GOP mold but hey, he wonYeah, and how long until he eats a mysteriously poisoned moosburger?
That's like me saying Nixon is the reason I don't trust Republicans.
“Campaigning in Colorado today, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) promised renewed attention to kids with special needs. She declared, ‘Ever since I took the chief executive’s job up North I pushed for more funding for students with special needs,’ and cited her own family’s experience with the issue. [video | 01:31]posted by ericb at 3:18 PM on September 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
It’s a stretch to say she ‘pushed’ for any policy improvements. Though Palin did sign a law increasing special education funding in Alaska, ‘she had no role whatsoever’ in its development, according to the bill’s author, Rep. Mike Hawker (R). Moreover, as governor, Palin vetoed $275,000 in Special Olympics Alaska funds (Page 100, SB 221 with vetoes), slashing the organization’s operating budget in half.”
Not deeply versed in policy, Ms. Palin skipped some candidate forums; at others, she flipped through hand-written, color-coded index cards strategically placed behind her nameplate.She’ll be the Cliffs Notes version of Dick Cheney. Or, as I read earler today, she’ll be like Dick Cheney, only evil. And ignorant.
Sarah Palin's stated objective is to criminalize abortion so that a rape victim would be forced to bear her rapist's child.
1. Roman Catholic Church: 67.2 million.What say you, konolia, in response?
2. Southern Baptist Convention: 16.4 million.
3. United Methodist Church: 8.2 million.
4. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 5.5 million.
5. Church of God in Christ: 5.4 million.
6. National Baptist Convention USA: 5 million.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: 4.9 million.
8. National Baptist Convention of America: 3.5 million.
9. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): 3.2 million.
10. Assemblies of God: 2.7 million.
In 1999, health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada. After exclusions, administration accounted for 31.0 percent of health care expenditures in the United States and 16.7 percent of health care expenditures in Canada. Canada's national health insurance program had overhead of 1.3 percent; the overhead among Canada's private insurers was higher than that in the United States (13.2 percent vs. 11.7 percent). Providers' administrative costs were far lower in Canada.Note that's 1.3 percent for overhead for the "inefficient" government health care -- and between 11.7 and 13.2 percent for the private sector.
Catholic: 50,873,000ppl = 24.5% of US populationThe USA may be a Christian nation, but it's a distinctly Catholic nation, with only one other significantly-numbered variant of the Christian faith.
Baptist: 33,830,000ppl = 16.3% pop
Methodist: 14,150,000ppl = 6.8% pop
Lutheran : 9,580,000ppl = 4.6% pop
Presbyterian: 5,596,000ppl = 2.7% pop
Pentecostal/Charismatic/Foursquare: 4,407,000 = 2.1%
Population of USA: 207,980,000
“It's one of the most cringe-worthy moments in recent American political history:posted by ericb at 8:50 PM on September 15, 2008 [11 favorites]
‘Do you believe in the Bush Doctrine?’
The awkward pause, then the smug, patronizing comeback.
‘In what respect, Charlie?’
Charlie Gibson, taken aback, perhaps realizing that this is The Moment for which he'll be known for the rest of his career.
‘The Bush -- w-w-well, what do you interpret it to be?’
And then the painful, filibustering non-answer that I can hardly bear to watch without feeling embarrassed for Sarah Palin, John McCain, and this great nation of ours.
I'm not saying that every American besides Governor Palin knows what the Bush Doctrine is. Hell, I wasn't sure I knew what it was until Charlie Gibson confirmed it for me. But then again, I'm not a Republican governor who's running for national office.
Now, if Joe Biden had said this on national TV, the election would be over. Obama would either be calling Hillary Clinton and begging her to take over the #2 slot or he'd be busy getting to work on his concession speech.
But these are the Republicans, they of vaunted attack machines and vast right-wing conspiracies. Masters of spin, purveyors of semi-libelous commercials, wizards of righteous indignation and instigators of class warfare. If Sarah Palin doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is, well, my goodness, neither do a lot of hardworking, God-fearing hockey moms out there in the heartland. They don't have time to read those fancy city newspapers with lots of big words explaining the Bush Doctrine. They're not eggheads like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, those elitist intellectuals who sit around studying doctrines while raising taxes on hardworking Americans like you and me.
You think Governor Palin is going to waste her time reading books about the Bush Doctrine? No, she's busy with the responsibilities that come with being governor of the great state of Alaska. She's got moose to field-dress, bridges to nowhere to say ‘No’ to, jets to sell on eBay. Maybe community organizers have the time to talk about the Bush Doctrine. But Sarah Palin's too busy trying to reform Washington. By way of Alaska.
Before long, Obama and Biden will have to defend themselves against accusations that they're smart. They'll start claiming that they not only didn't know what the Bush Doctrine is but that they were unaware that Bush was even president. ‘We thought we were running against his father,’ they'll say. ‘We were too busy going to church and shooting animals and saying 'No' to lobbyists to pay attention to any of that Washington election nonsense. Hell, we don't even know how to read.’
And the election will become about who's dumber and more ignorant.
And you know which party's going to win that one.”
I personally know a woman who used to babysit his three oldest kids. Nuff said.What on earth is that even supposed to mean?
"My lord, take a look at what — who got us in this hole, whose policies. This has been a Republican philosophy of letting Wall Street do what they want and the middle class be damned. It's about time we change it. If I sound like I'm angry, I am fighting mad for middle-class people who have been the scapegoat of this economy because of the policies of the McCains and the Bushes."posted by ericb at 7:55 AM on September 16, 2008
"'The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.'His words instill confidence and inspiration, don't they?
...'I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession,' he said, 'I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong.'"
"Given that Enron-linked former senator, McCain economic advisor, and mortgage-industry-specializing banking lobbyist Phil Gramm has been credited as mover and shaker behind the very law that allowed the current financial meltdown to happen, I'd love to hear what McCain and Gramm think should be done to solve this crisis.posted by ericb at 8:29 AM on September 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
As of yet, of course, their only response is to deny that any of it is significant. No problem, everything's fine. Sure, people are losing their homes to foreclosure; sure, investors are being wiped out. But hey, aside from that, everything's peachy.
Nonetheless... since McCain has indeed pegged Gramm as 'one of the smartest person in the world' when it comes to economics, I'm dying to find out what Phil Gramm thinks should be done to fix the problem that Phil Gramm and the other lets-deregulate-everything Republicans helped create.
Maybe drilling will fix it?
Maybe more deregulation will allow the free market to something something something?
Maybe if we had poured all our Social Security into these institutions, this would never have happened, because the free market dictates that private retirement investments always go up. Just like how dropped toast always lands on its edge?
Maybe the Republicans have invented a machine to convert bullshit into gold?
Maybe Lehman Brothers should have sold more stuff on eBay?
No, seriously -- I'm all ears. What's your advice to America this time, Gramm? McCain?"
The net effect of the plan, the study said, “almost certainly will be to increase family costs for medical care.”More proof that McCain is an arrogant bastard who has no idea of how regular (i.e. non-millionaire, non-congress) people live in America. Right now the "free market" has screwed tens of millions, charging them outrageous amounts because they have prior medical conditions such as...cancerous melanomas or caesarians or chronic ear infections. Ten years ago the Repulicans were able to scare people off the idea of Nationalized Health Care Coverage, but the last 10 years have made the situation more dire and most Americans are just begging for relief.
Under the McCain plan (now the McCain-Palin plan) employees who continue to receive employer-paid health benefits would look at their pay stubs each week or each month and find that additional money had been withheld to cover the taxes on the value of their benefits.
Yet another radical element of McCain’s plan is his proposal to undermine state health insurance regulations by allowing consumers to buy insurance from sellers anywhere in the country. So a requirement in one state that insurers cover, for example, vaccinations, or annual physicals, or breast examinations, would essentially be meaningless.
"Now that we've seen the entirety of the Palin-Gibson tete-a-tete, I concur with Rich Lowry and Rod Dreher. The most that can be said in her defense is that she kept her cool and avoided any brutal gaffes; other than that, she seemed about an inch deep on every issue outside her comfort zone. Yes, the questions were tougher than the ones that a Tim Kaine or Tim Pawlenty probably would have been handed, but they were all questions that a vice-presidential nominee needs to be able to answer. And there's no way to look at her performance as anything save supporting evidence for the non-hysterical critique of her candidacy - that it's just too much, too soon - and a splash of cold water for those of us with high hopes for her future on the national stage."posted by ericb at 9:26 AM on September 16, 2008
"Asked what work John McCain did as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that helped him understand the financial markets, the candidate's top economic adviser wielded visual evidence: his BlackBerry.Isn't Research in Motion, the maker of the Blackberry, a Canadian company?
'He did this,' Douglas Holtz-Eakin told reporters this morning, holding up his BlackBerry. 'Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce committee so you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did.'
"McCain openly sparred with ['Morning Joe' co-host Mika] Brzezinski, whom he accused of being an open supporter of Obama. Asked by the host to assess whether an ad attacking him on the economy was out of bounds, McCain replied: 'I'll leave that for the American people to decide. I still say to you, and I know you are a supporter of Senator Obama, if you would urge him to come and do town all meetings with me as I have asked him to do time after time the whole tenor of the campaign would change.'I think we are starting to see McCain's (in)famous temper showing through, especially now that he is being called out for his lying and dishonorable campaign style.
The charge created an awkward and tense environment for the rest of the segment, with Brzezinski forced to note (as she has done in the past) that one of her brothers works for the McCain campaign (another brother works for Obama, and her father was once an adviser).
'Senator,' she said, 'as a characterized Barack Obama supporter, I take objection. I'Il just say, take care of my brother working at the campaign.'
'Thanks,' replied McCain, 'that was a cheap shot.'
But the issue clearly hung over the rest of the morning. Later in the show, Brzezinski addressed it once again.
'In light of the John McCain interview, I feel I need to say not only does my brother work for the McCain campaign, but he worked for George Bush for six years,' she said. 'I'm proud of him.'
Meanwhile, Republican strategist and former McCain aide Mike Murphy was left to explain away the Senator's humor, albeit adding that he thought the campaign's antagonism to the media had crossed a line.
'I don't think he meant it as an attack,' he said. 'There's definitely become a mentality inside the McCain campaign which is very hostile for anybody in the media they think is at all favorable to the other side. I think that's mistake. I think they overreact. I think doesn't do McCain well to have that mentality in the campaign. I don't really understand it because it's not his natural way.'"
"Earlier today, McCain spokeswoman Carly Fiorina told a St. Louis radio program that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) was not qualified to run a business. This afternoon, she reiterated her comments on MSNBC [video | 00:47], this time clarifying that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — or any other presidential candidate — couldn’t run a major corporation either.posted by ericb at 11:57 AM on September 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
...Similarly, this morning campaign spokesman Douglas Holtz-Eakin seemed to suggest that McCain’s understanding of the economy was not important, since he’s 'not running to be treasury secretary.'
Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor responded: 'If John McCain’s top economic advisor doesn’t think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis? Apparently even the people who run his campaign agree that the economy is an issue John McCain doesn’t understand as well as he should.'"
if you would urge him to come and do town all meetings with me as I have asked him to do time after time the whole tenor of the campaign would change.
To be fair I tend to agree that running a company requires a different set of competencies and skills than running a country and that being able to run one does not automatically qualify someone to do the other.
Ivy League Graduates in the Bush Administration
Shortly after taking the oath of office, Truman said to reporters:posted by breaks the guidelines? at 2:12 PM on September 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
“Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”
'Fuck' is not a verb in that last sentence. 'Fucking Fuck' is an interjection and then 'America' is the subject of the interjection.
I spell it konolia.
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the mass hysteria phenomenon known as global warming. Much of the science has since been discredited. Now it's time for political scientists, theologians and psychiatrists to weigh in.posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 2:54 PM on September 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
“With Wall Street’s financial institutions in turmoil, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued in a series of interviews today that his experience on the Senate Commerce Committee meant he knew ‘how to fix this economy.’ ‘I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy,’ McCain told CNBC’s Squawk Box [video].posted by ericb at 3:35 PM on September 16, 2008 [4 favorites]
But, as the Washington Post points out, the Commerce Committee doesn’t oversee ‘every part of our economy,’ let alone ‘the very areas now in crisis’:‘In fact, it is the Senate Banking Committee that has oversight of “banks, banking and financial institutions; control of prices of commodities, rents and services; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; financial aid to commerce and industry and money and credit, including currency and coinage.”It’s not that surprising that McCain is confused about the Commerce Committee’s economic responsibilities, considering that he freely admits, ‘The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.’”
According to its Web site, the Commerce Committee oversees 13 areas, beginning with the Coast Guard, and continuing through “regulation of consumer products and services … except for credit, financial services, and housing” — the very areas now in crisis.’
We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty and sincerity and dignity
so much so that he was *kicked out* of the John Birch Society, probably the only person ever to be so, for being such a blatant anti-semite
"Senator John McCain’s top domestic policy adviser, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin, recently said in a conference call with reporters that Mr. McCain’s health care proposal would 'put 25 to 30 million individuals out of the ranks of the uninsured, into the ranks of the insured.' In an article [in the journal Health Affairs] released Tuesday, a panel of prominent health economists concludes that Mr. Holtz-Eakin’s projection is off by, well, 25 to 30 million."..prominent health economists... Pfft. What does a panel of experts -- likely educated at those elite Ivy League institutions -- really know? They just spin facts and figures.
When Coolidge was named to Warren Harding's ticket in 1920, he had been governor of Massachusetts for less than two years. Aside from a largely powerless stint as lieutenant governor and other smaller legislative posts, his chief previous government experience was as mayor of Northampton, to which he was first elected in 1910 by a Wasilla-like margin of 1,597 to 1,409.Survey says:
TR, as a former assistant secretary of the Navy, had more foreign policy experience than Mrs. Palin, though one wonders what today we would make of a candidate whose proud boast was that he had killed an enemy soldier "like a jackrabbit.Survey says:
"Then there is Harry Truman, to whom Mrs. Palin compared herself at the Republican convention. "He had only to open his mouth and his origins were plain," wrote David McCullough... "It wasn't just that he came from a particular part of the country, geographically, but from a specific part of the American experience, an authentic pioneer background, and a specific place in the American imagination."Survey says:
The Truman comparison seems especially to rankle Mrs. Palin's critics, perhaps because in many respects it rings true. Take vetting. John McCain may have met Mrs. Palin only once before he offered her the job, but Franklin Roosevelt admitted "I hardly know Truman" in July 1944, the same month the "Senator from Pendergast" was put on the Democratic ticket.
Or take foreign policy experience. It's fair to say that Mrs. Palin has none, and the McCain campaign should drop the transparent pretense that Alaska's proximity to Russia, or her nominal responsibility for the state's National Guard, gives her some.
Then again, what did Truman know? "Truman had no experience in relations with Britain or Russia, no firsthand knowledge of Churchill or Stalin," writes Mr. McCullough. "He didn't know his own Secretary of State, more than to say hello. . . . Roosevelt, Truman would tell [daughter] Margaret privately, 'never did talk to me confidentially about the war, or about foreign affairs or what he had in mind for peace after the war.' He was unprepared, bewildered."
Truman, it's true, had served bravely as an army captain in World War I; he knew the nature of war. But his chief recommendation as a U.S. senator was as a good-government type who bucked his home state's machine politics (though not so frontally as Mrs. Palin bucked hers) and fought waste, fraud and corruption in military spending."
Colberg, who was appointed by Palin, said the employees are caught between their respect for the Legislature and their loyalty to the governor, who initially agreed to cooperate with the inquiry but has increasingly opposed it since McCain chose her as his running mate.The Republican Attorney General- appointed by Sarah Palin- is telling state employees who were subpoenaed not to testify because the governor- Sarah Palin- think they shouldn't have been subpoenaed.
"This is an untenable position for our clients because the governor has so strongly stated that the subpoenas issued by your committee are of questionable validity," Colberg wrote.
The piece, paid for by the Republican National Committee and authorized by McCain, tells voters it is seeking to double-check their "unconfirmed" party affiliations while asking for money. A letter signed by McCain tells the Democrats: "We have you registered as a Republican."This is sickening.
Two top Florida elections officials, both Republicans, faulted the GOP mailing, calling it "confusing" and "unfortunate" because of a potential to undermine voter confidence by making them question the accuracy of their registrations.
"It is unfortunate, because it does put a lot of doubt in people's minds," said Secretary of State Kurt Browning, the state's top elections official.
After his office received dozens of calls, Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland issued a media alert that his office had nothing to do with it. "They were upset folks and they were very concerned," said Holland, a Republican. "They mainly said their party (listing) was different than it was."
Some Democrats suspect a motive beyond raising money. The first-class GOP mailing has a "Do not forward" instruction on the envelope, meaning they will be returned to the GOP if a recipient has had mail forwarded, perhaps to a summer address, or has moved.
Letters returned as undeliverable can be compiled into "challenge lists" of unverifiable addresses and can be used to challenge voters' eligibility during early voting or on Election Day. The vote suppression technique is known as "vote caging."
The letter asks recipients to note changes on an "RNC File Card" and return it to the party by Sept. 26. The card shows a nine-digit "voter ID" number, but the supervisor of elections in Jacksonville's Duval County said the numbers are wrong and do not match the state's voter database.
Bob Barr lawsuit seeks to bar (pun intended) Obama and McCain from Texas Ballot.
"For much of this year, Mr. McCain has seemed to struggle to strike a balance between conveying the optimism that many voters want in their leaders, and the I-feel-your-pain empathy that they crave during hard times. His task is complicated by the tension between his plans to continue many of the economic policies of the unpopular incumbent Republican president he hopes to succeed, and his pledges to improve the American economy and shake up Washington.posted by ericb at 7:49 AM on September 17, 2008
As recently as January, Mr. McCain argued at a Republican debate that Americans were better off than they were eight years ago; by this summer he had released an advertisement that said 'we’re worse off than we were four years ago.'"
"I've been in politics for over 20 years, and for over 20 years I've had Barbra Streisand trying to do my job. So I've decided to try my hand at her job...My new CD is a must for all Barbra Streisand fans, as well as Log Cabin Republicans...A portion of all sales will be used to damage Alaskan Wildlife Preserves."posted by ericb at 9:12 AM on September 17, 2008
As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, [...]This kind of crap just makes it harder to communicate across party lines
“And I'm thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn't even know what I'm going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are," she continued. "And he’s praying not 'oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,' no, he just prayed for it. He said, 'Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.'"[...]
In 1988, Pastor Muthee and his wife traveled to Kenya after being "called by God." Setting up shop in the basement of a grocery store, they claim to have brought 200 people "to God" and away from the town's "spiritual oppression."
The source of the oppression? Witchcraft, Muthee says. When researching the community, they found that a woman named "Mama Jane" ran a divination clinic that drew a large following in the town.
“We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place,” Pastor Muthee said.
A new study out of Yale University confirms what argumentative liberals have long-known: Offering reality-based rebuttals to conservative lies only makes conservatives cling to those lies even harder[...] In a paper approaching publication, Nyhan, a PhD student at Duke University, and Reifler, at Georgia State University, suggest that Republicans might be especially prone to the backfire effect because conservatives may have more rigid views than liberalsDo I believe in this study? I'm reserving judgement until I see more evidence from further studies. However, it is hard to deny that when offered facts the immediate reaction of many Republicans is to a) ignore the facts offered, b) counter the facts with irrelevant arguments such as "Clinton did it too," and c) offer up anecdotal evidence as to why the facts are wrong.
McCain has mocked the Obama fundraiser that Barbra Streisand hosted last night in L.A. (forgetting that McCain was feted at a Hollywood fundraiser last month).
Alaska is the Rape Capital of America
We hope you'll spend time reviewing all of the material housed or linked from here. But if you read just two documents, please make them the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship -- which explains why "[t]here may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other grave reasons" -- and Barack Obama's Blueprint for Change, which outlines all of Senator Obama's positions and is, we think, reflective of why he is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook.posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:48 AM on September 17, 2008 [3 favorites]
On this website, we have collected and linked to documents from the Church and from Church authorities that reflect on the importance of civic participation motivated by all of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers; Solidarity; and Care for God's Creation.
Even though we do not agree with all of Senator Obama's positions, we believe that he is the best candidate for President. He is able to inspire and appeal not only to committed Democrats, but to independents and Republicans too. He has a way of bringing people together that can only help our country as well as our country's relationship with the rest of the world. We desperately need a President who will give voice to our better angels. Senator Obama resists succumbing to partisan or divisive rhetoric and will look for common ground in addressing some of the most pressing needs of our time -- among them alleviating poverty, protecting the environment, making peace and, we believe, creating a culture of life.
“One of the Senate's most progressive members ripped John McCain on Tuesday for offering a phony populist self-portrayal in the wake of the current crisis in the financial markets. In the process, Sherrod Brown of Ohio raised the Republican nominee's involvement in the Keating Five scandal as evidence that voters couldn't trust McCain's record on both the economy and ethics.posted by ericb at 3:12 PM on September 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
‘It is not so much his economic proposals but his economic record,’ Brown said of McCain. ‘His main adviser is Phil Gramm -- he was his mentor in the Senate -- and you just tie it all together. Of course John McCain supported the oil industry, he has oil lobbyists working for him. Of course John McCain supported these trade agreements, he has got Wall Street people working for him... It is all wrapped up together. John McCain is a creature of these interest groups in Washington. He is no maverick and, from the Keating Five on, his ethics have been questionable. He's not a maverick and Barack has got to just keep hammering on that.’”
there are other values that are even more important to expose one's young to
Keating 5 corruption
Town or unincorporated developed area close to a city. Suburbs, since they are largely residential, are usually dependent on a city for employment and support services and are generally characterized by low-density development relative to the city. However, considerable industrial development has occurred in many suburbs so that their dependency on a city has been reduced.While the train doesn't stop here anymore, we still have our own police force, and several large businesses. For example, not far from where I live they produce Slim Jims (on Jones Sausage Road) and when you drive by you can smell em.
"Sarah Palin, a commercial fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband on Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And there, at J.C. Penney's cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist. 'We want to see Ivana,' said Palin, who admittedly smells like salmon for a large part of the summer, 'because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.' <>
And Konolia the number one most important trait I have tried to impress on my daughter is empathy. Far from being a snob and looking down her nose at people different from herself, she embraces people who are gay or ugly or poor or Latino or religious or disadvantaged. If she doesn't become a kindergarten teacher, I hope she will think about social services because she would be very good at it.
Values like treating people right. Values like 'remembering where you came from.'
And most likely gay and/or 'cosmopolitan,' as Rudy Giuliani sneered and flapped his wrists during his speech at the RNC Convention.
"Given the current state of the McCain/Palin campaign (it's crashing) -- and the horrible state of the economy (it's crashing) -- you have to know some major distraction is in the pipeline from the GOP. McCain has to do something to change the subject. So, expect some vintage Rovian trick. But, this one will have to be extra ugly...In any case, possibly as soon as tomorrow, McCain's going into Red Alert distraction mode. You've been warned."posted by ericb at 8:11 PM on September 17, 2008
posted by ericb at 8:16 PM on September 17, 2008 [2 favorites]'The people out, you know, who are the rednecks or whoever, are bitter.'Ah yes, nothing shows that John McCain understands the plight of working Americans like a woman with a royal title and $100 million referring to American voters as 'rednecks' in the middle of an economic crisis." [video | 00:15].
- McCain surrogate Her Royal Highness Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, CNN, 9/17/08
But, in fact, the economy's weaker-than-expected performance, along with other "technical" factors that are beyond policymakers' control, account for less than a fourth of the $1.3 trillion deterioration in the budget. The other three-fourths -- $1 trillion's worth -- is due to actions by the White House and Congress since 2001 -- specifically, the tax cuts and spending increases they enacted.Some dude at Huffington. YMMV.
I hope, while you are educating your children about art and culture, you are also teaching them how to be good human beings. Which would include not being snobs. ... See, although I myself enjoy art and music and "culture" I understand that in some sense these are personal preferences. My parents certainly didn't raise me to appreciate art-now, they did have an awesome LP of Rhapsody In Blue that I played over and over and over again as a child, but I was not raised to "be cultured."First of all, the statement "I hope you are also teaching [your children] to be good human beings" is an insuation that there is a possibility that some of us are not, and that those who are not fall under your "urban snob" category. That is a shameful charge to level at another human being.
I think that it is far too easy to talk about how boring and obnoxious a small town is (even one fifteen minutes away from Art and Culture) without realizing that there are other values that are even more important to expose one's young to. Values like looking after each other (neighbors in small towns are really good at that.) Values like treating people right. Values like "remembering where you came from."
There has been a small "political flare-up because I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter," Obama said Saturday morning at a town hall-style meeting at the university. "They are angry. They feel like they have been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through."Critique the gaffe. But listen for the substance.
"So I said, well you know, when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on. So people, they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country."
After acknowledging his previous remarks in California could have been better phrased, he added:
"The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us. But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they are being listened to.
"And so they pray and they count on each other and they count on their families. You know this in your own lives, and what we need is a government that is actually paying attention.
"Polls taken after the Republican convention suggested that Mr. McCain had enjoyed a surge of support — particularly among white women after his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate — but the latest poll indicates 'the Palin effect' was, at least so far, a limited burst of interest.posted by ericb at 7:46 AM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
The contest appears to be roughly where it was before the two conventions and before the vice presidential selections: Mr. Obama has the support of 48 percent of registered voters, compared with 43 percent for Mr. McCain, a difference within the poll’s margin of sampling error, and statistically unchanged from the tally in the last New York Times/CBS News Poll in mid-August."
"Faced with a surge in voter registrations leading up to Nov. 4, election officials across the country are bracing for long lines, equipment failures and confusion over polling procedures that could cost thousands the chance to cast a ballot.posted by ericb at 7:51 AM on September 18, 2008
The crush of voters will strain a system already in the midst of transformation, with jurisdictions introducing new machines and rules to avoid the catastrophe of the deadlocked 2000 election and the lingering controversy over the 2004 outcome. Even within the past few months, cities and counties have revamped their processes: Nine million voters, including many in the battleground states of Ohio, Florida and Colorado, will use equipment that has changed since March.
But the widespread changes meant to reassure the public have also increased the potential for trouble."
"Thomas Jefferson was indeed accomplished. Not only did he master English (of course), but he also learned Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, French and more than twelve Native American dialects. Approximately 18 altogether."On his language education in college:
"I was educated at William and Mary college in Williamsburg. I read Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and English of course, with something of it’s radix the Anglo-Saxon."Regarding French, in particular:
"The French language is unquestionably an important object of education. The habit of speaking it can only be acquired by conversation. This may be done either in France or Canada (for I learn here that the French of the genteel Canadians is very pure). While learning the language in France a young man's morals, health and fortune are more irresistibly endangered than in any country of the universe: in Canada he would be acquiring a knowledge of the country and it's inhabitants which cannot fail to be useful in life to every American. On this point I have long ago made up my mind, that Canada is the country to which we should send our children to acquire a knowledge of the French tongue."posted by ericb at 9:02 AM on September 18, 2008
"That's rather odd, since in April, McCain did an interview with the same Spanish newspaper saying bygones were bygones, it was time to 'look to the future,' and that he'd welcome Zapatero visiting him in the White House. So, why the sudden change now? We're seriously to believe that McCain just decided, 6 weeks before the election, to bash the entire nation of Spain when 5 months ago he said he was happy to meet with the Spanish leader?"posted by ericb at 9:42 AM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
At Wednesday's town hall -- his first with Sarah Palin -- he topped himself with this explanation of her credentials "She has been commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. Fact. On September 11 a contingent of the Guard deployed to Iraq and her son happened to be one of them so I think she understands national security challenges."And here is where I, SLoG, add a nice little funny bit, except I'm laughing too hard to think of anything
Which is fine except:
The governor of Alaska doesn't command the National Guard in combat overseas.
Sarah Palin didn't deploy anyone anywhere on September 11th. She was a guest speaker at an Army deployment ceremony.
Track Palin isn't in the National Guard; he's in the Army.
Sometimes it seems like it's more than John McCain can handle, just keeping all the lies about Sarah Palin straight in his head. Tomorrow he'll say she's in the Air Force herself, on a plane she bought on eBay, bombing the bridges at Toko-Ri.
I really have a yenposted by Grangousier at 11:34 AM on September 18, 2008 [3 favorites]
To go back once again,
Back to the place where no one wears a frown,
To see once more those super-special just plain folks
In my home town.
No fellow could ignore
The little girl next door,
She sure looked sweet in her first evening gown.
Now there's a charge for what she used to give for free
In my home town.
I remember dan, the druggist on the corner, 'e
Was never mean or ornery,
He was swell.
He killed his mother-in-law and ground her up real well,
And sprinkled just a bit
Over each banana split.
The guy that taught us math,
Who never took a bath,
Acquired a certain measure of renown,
And after school he sold the most amazing pictures
In my home town.
That fellow was no fool
Who taught our sunday school,
And neither was our kindly parson brown.
We're recording tonight so I have to leave this line out.
In my home town.
I remember sam, he was the village idiot.
And though it seems a pity, it
Was so.
He loved to burn down houses just to watch the glow,
And nothing could be done,
Because he was the mayor's son.
The guy that took a knife
And monogrammed his wife,
Then dropped her in the pond and watched her drown.
Oh, yes indeed, the people there are just plain folks
In my home town.
My Home Town
Tom Lehrer
The Fish Oil Salesman: McCain Pushes Offshore Drilling Because Fish 'Love To Be Around' Oil Rigs
We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. 'Give me five bees for a quarter,' you’d say. Now where were we? Oh yeah - the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
The Virginia GOP is holding a minority outreach rally Saturday. Among the featured speakers: former Senator George 'Macaca' Allen!
I have seen the honest and heartfelt values of the local small town folks, and also witnessed casual racism and closedmindedness in those same folks. Those latter two qualities have also been observed in loftier places, I must say.
Palin says Alaska supplies 20 percent of U.S. energy. Not true. Not even close.posted by ericb at 4:34 PM on September 18, 2008
Sarah ("I'm Against Federal Earmarks") Palin's Push for Earmarks.
“Most people cannot grasp that a specific person is a pathological liar until a) it bites them in the ass and b) there isn't a shadow of another explanation for the bite marks. If only a) is true, they will come up with endless excuses. If only b) is true, they will rationalize away why the bite wasn't so harsh or wasn't even a bite at all given the context.posted by ericb at 4:38 PM on September 18, 2008 [1 favorite]
Those of us who observe that pathological lying is both possible and more common than generally assumed frequently get ourselves into your situation: people can't handle being faced with this sad fact and blame us for pointing it out.
Like Will Ferrell's character Mugatu in Zoolander, who was frustrated because no one else realized Blue Steel was the same as all Zoolander's other expressions, we start to feel like we're taking crazy pills.
I don't care one way or another about Sarah Palin as a person, but anyone who ‘gets’ pathological lying can see there's way, way too much about what she says that's demonstrably false to be explained any other way.”*
[R]eminds me of a story an oncologist friend of mine told me regarding konolia's and dawson's home state. He was a medical student at Duke University in 1963 and working in the hospital. Although at the time NC was a beacon of enlightenment among southern states regarding race relations, things were still going slowly, so there were two public wards, one, named for Ostler, for whites and another for blacks. He was in the Ostler ward, named for the eminent physician, when the news of JFK's assassination came over the television. The ward broke out in cheering. As he told me this story, my friend began to weep. I had never seen him do this before.posted by Mental Wimp at 5:40 PM on September 18, 2008
Social change moves slowly in the south, not the least because some politicians are eager to exploit the historical hatreds. Those enlightened individuals who nevertheless support these politicians are evil, because they know better.
Organizers of an anti-Iran rally next week have dropped Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin from the event, days after Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton pulled out. The move angered Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who accused Democratic rivals of having his running mate disinvited. All Americans should agree on the need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he said. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor called the charge "another dishonorable lie from John McCain." He said the Obama campaign had planned to send its own surrogate to the rally. A number of American Jewish organizers are staging the rally in New York City against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They had announced earlier this week that the event would feature both Clinton and Palin.And by "awkward" they mean "universe-imploding".
Clinton aides fumed over what they saw as a slight by organizers, because they had no idea until told by reporters that Palin was supposed to attend, too.
The New York senator had agreed weeks ago to attend the rally, but abruptly backed out late Tuesday after learning of the pairing. Clinton, whose historic bid for the presidency came up short, has sought to avoid a public face-off with Palin. A Clinton-Palin double billing at such an event would have been awkward.
"In his speech today on the crisis in the financial markets, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) referred to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) when he was trying to refer to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):posted by ericb at 8:10 AM on September 19, 2008'That’s why I believe that the chairman of the FEC should resign and leave office and be replaced.'McCain slightly amended his statement from yesterday, when he said he would 'fire' SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. After it was reported that a 'commissioner of an independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president,' McCain softened his demand and said he would request the chairman’s resignation."
“[David Kuo, an evangelical Christian and card-carrying member of the religious right] says the White House was a place that cynically used religion for political ends and that White House aides ridiculed the very Christian leaders who helped bring Mr. Bush to office.posted by ericb at 8:31 AM on September 19, 2008 [1 favorite]
In his book [Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction], Kuo wrote that White House staffers would roll their eyes at evangelicals, calling them ‘nuts’ and ‘goofy.’
Asked if that was really the attitude, Kuo tells [CBS’s Leslie] Stahl, ‘Oh, absolutely. You name the important Christian leader and I have heard them mocked by serious people in serious places.’
Specifically, Kuo says people in the White House political affairs office referred to Pat Robertson as ‘insane,’ Jerry Falwell as ‘ridiculous,’ and that James Dobson ‘had to be controlled.’ And President Bush, he writes, talked about his compassion agenda, but never really fought for it.”
The bills just throw the attack up in your face over and over again and make it that much harder for the wounds to heal," said a 36-year-old Wake County woman who was raped in 2006. Months after her attack, the bills for WakeMed hospital began arriving, urging her to pay the $600 that her insurance didn't cover. [...]Even now the state will not be covering the full cost.
Now, for patients with insurance, hospitals will bill the insurer, then settle any co-payments and deductibles with the state. Bills for uninsured patients will be sent, as they have been, directly to the state's Rape Victims Assistance Program.
the state will pay the hospital a total of $800, including $200 for ambulance transportation. The program, or its counterpart Victims Crime Compensation Fund, likely will be able to pay for other medical treatment needed because of an attack.My question, when the story broke last spring, was how did this stay secret for so long? Why the sudden outrage? Hospital personnel, insurance agents, victims, friends and family, they must have all known this was going on, but there was never any outrage. I still don't know why the medical insurance companies are expected to pay for part of the exam.
The rates are far below what hospitals had been billing the state for rape kit exam services. The average bill to the program last year was $1,600.
In itself mishearing or misunderstanding a question isn't the worse thing in the world, though being too proud to ask for the question to be repeated and going with the assumption that the mystery leader must be some Hugo Chavez type character out of Woody Allen's Bananas does suggest a certain recklessness of character.posted by hifiparasol at 11:25 AM on September 19, 2008
...
And whatever the misunderstanding, let's face it. When a president or presidential nominees gets confused in an interview, appears to say that a European country is in the Western Hemisphere and inadvertently makes highly belligerent statements toward a major ally, that's a big problem.
we can't afford four years of Obama's leadership regarding foreign policy
Who is obviously a warm, civic-minded, talented mother of five?Yes, we have recently seen now warm and civic-minded she is. And talented? You betcha!
But while Mayor Stein tried to impose some reason on Wasilla's helter-skelter development, and its growing pressures on Mat-Su Valley's environmental treasures, when Sarah Palin took his place, she quickly announced, "Wasilla is open for business."posted by hifiparasol at 2:12 PM on September 19, 2008 [2 favorites]
"That's for sure," Church said. "Sarah was so eager for big-box stores to move in that she allowed Fred Meyer to build right on Wasilla Lake, and her handpicked successor, Dianne Keller, has done the same with Target."
...
Wasilla City Council member Dianne Woodruff hears the same lament about her town all the time. "Everywhere in Alaska, you hear people say, 'We don't want to be another Wasilla.' We're not just the state's meth capital, we're the ugly box-store capital. Was Sarah a good steward of this beautiful valley? No. I think it comes from her lack of experience and awareness of other places, how other cities try to preserve what makes them attractive and livable."
McCain backers were a bit more intrigued by watching with Obama than the Democrat's supporters were with making McCain their football buddy. While fewer than one in 10 Obama backers wanted to watch with McCain, nearly one in five McCain supporters wanted to kick back with Obama.Poll: People prefer Obama over McCain as teacher.
"He seems intensely focused in a way I'm not sure he does sit down and relax," McCain supporter Lanita Linch, 41, of Harrison, Ark., said of the Republican. She said she'd rather watch with Obama because he seemed like "someone you could be comfortable and at ease with," but cautioned, "If he's not a Cowboys fan, we'd have a problem."
Asked which they'd choose to be their child's teacher, Obama was the choice by a more decisive 55 percent to 44 percent, including a markedly stronger performance by the Illinois senator among whites. Those questioned generally said that for viewing a football game, they were looking for someone they would feel comfortable spending time with. For a teacher, they often described a more complex process measuring a candidate's life experience, communications skills and tolerance of different viewpoints.And at the time of this posting, Obama has pulled ahead of McCain according to compiled averages of different national polls. The question remains, though: could Obama watch a football game while teaching a class? I'm not entirely convinced.
"As if his comments about it being a patriotic duty for Ohioans to pay higher taxes weren't bad enough, now Biden is taking pot shots at the Buckeyes. Barack Obama and Joe Biden must really think they can win this election without Ohio, because they're doing their best to lose it with stupid comments like these. Keep talking, Joe."Funnily enough, as the CNN article points out, what Biden actually said was that it was patriotic for some wealthier Americans to pay higher taxes. But hey, fuck facts. Also, this was pretty sweet:
David Wade, a spokesman for Biden said, “I think this episode explains exactly why we’ll win Ohio: Joe Biden is loyal to his home team, and John McCain is loyal to President Bush."Man, I love how this back-and-forth between spokespeople is taking on the form of the battle rap scenes from Eight Mile. If I was David Wade, I'd hire someone to stand behind me and yell "Oh snap!" anytime I said something like this.
"We forgive the Republicans on this one, though," he added. "After watching John McCain flip flop on everything from taxes to torture, they’re just mystified by someone who takes a position and sticks with it.”
John and I are related through our grandmothers. Katherine Vaulx McCain and Huetta Vaulx Boles, both of Fayetteville, Ark., were sisters. My side of the Vaulx family represents a long line of Democrats, but it is with no small amount of pride that we’ve followed the life and career of now-Sen. John McCain.[..]posted by dejah420 at 5:30 PM on September 19, 2008 [4 favorites]
Although neither my father nor I have ever voted for a Republican, when John threw his hat in the ring in 2000, we were both very proud and encouraged, and not just because he’s our relative. This was the first Republican who, on a national stage, was saying things like, “If we repeal Roe vs. Wade tomorrow, thousands of young American women will be performing illegal and dangerous operations,” and, “Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer-reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance.” Wow!
Here was a man who was not abiding by partisan lines, who was, instead, living up to his promise of “straight talk” and commonsense thinking. The right-wing Republican base may not have agreed with everything he said, but the rest of America certainly respected him for speaking his mind honestly.
Jump ahead to the campaign Sen. McCain is currently running. Clearly, a lot can change in eight years. Our nation has gone from a time of unparalleled prosperity and peace to one marked by debt in the trillions of dollars, record foreclosures, and a global reputation for warmongering and neo-imperialism.
So, where is the straight-talking, commonsense John McCain of 2000? I’m afraid he is long gone, replaced by a desperate version of himself who seems to contradict nearly everything he once stood for.
What becomes apparent in his ideological about-face is just how out of touch McCain really is with America’s working families. [..]
But, as he continually demonstrates in this campaign, my cousin John is long gone. “Straight talk” has been replaced with “flip-flop.” Saddest all, this is the same man who, when campaigning in 2000, told a crowd of supporters, “I don’t think Bill Gates needs a tax cut. I think your parents do.”
My parents, John, need some help after the economic destruction Bush has wrought in the last eight years, but it’s clear you’re not the one who’ll give it to us. America’s working families no longer recognize you, nor does your own.
“Fascinating article Ben Smith just posted about how undecided Floridians are now moving towards Obama because of Sarah Palin. Seems they aren't very thrilled with ‘ideologues’ like Palin. I'm going to guess that part of the reason is a visceral distrust of where the arch-Christian Palin comes down on the question of Jews and issues they care about. Actually, it would be a fascinating question to ask Palin, if she thinks Jews need to be ‘saved,’ and whether they're going to hell. In the menatime, let's not forget that the anti-Semitic Pat Buchanan claims that Palin was a big supporter of his presidential campaign. Palin denies it, but then again, she and McCain have been lying every single day since McCain picked her, so we're to believe Palin doesn't have a personal problem with Jews because she, a serial liar, tells us so? Pat Buchanan thinks she's swell, and says she was a big supporter. Here he is.’”posted by ericb at 5:58 PM on September 19, 2008 [1 favorite]
Just for fun-DOES Biden have any health problems? And, just for fun again-if this did happen, how do you think the typical Democrat will respond?
If I was David Wade, I'd hire someone to stand behind me and yell "Oh snap!" anytime I said something like this.
His emotionally charged testimony, like all of those in the book that covered panels addressing dehumanisation, civilian testimony, sexism in the military, veterans' health care, and the breakdown of the military, raised issues that were repeated again and again by other veterans.Nuking the old woman who was trying to bring food to the soldiers, that was classy. And remember the old rumour that troops were planting evidence on civilian casualties, so they could claim they'd killed enemy combatants? Turns out to be true.
It's difficult to definitively prove a negative, but rumors of Biden's replacement as a VP candidate seem to be nothing more than e-mail chatter at this point, and reports of Biden's health issues in the press appear to be mostly biographical mentions that he was hospitalized in 1988 after suffering from two brain aneurysms. No presidential candidate has switched running mates in the middle of a campaign since George McGovern replaced Thomas Eagleton with Sargent Shriver just 18 days after the 1972 Democratic convention (Eagleton stepped down when reports surfaced that he had previously been hospitalized for nervous exhaustion and received electroshock therapy), with disastrous results: McGovern lost in an electoral landslide. A strategy of calculatedly springing a change of running mates on the public just before an election carries the danger of proving a double-edged sword: Whatever boost Barack Obama's campaign might conceivably gain by swapping Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton just a month before the general election might also be more than offset by criticism that such a last-minute switch demonstrated poor decision-making ability and was indicative of a weak and vacillating presidential candidate.Thank you, Snopes. Also:
I just heard a rumor from a good source. The Republican party is feeling that Cheney is a liability on the ticket. There's a rumor that a few weeks prior to the election in a desperate attempt to win, Cheney will resign because of a trumped up heart problem or potential "threat to his health."posted by Miko at 8:03 PM on September 19, 2008 [2 favorites]
Then either John McCain or Colin Powell will be asked to come on the ticket and save the party. This move is afoot in top circles and to try to squelch it PLEASE send this letter to as many people as you can. If we get the rumor out on the internet, they won't be able to do their calculated move without repercussions.
The pastor whose prayer Sarah Palin says helped her to become governor of Alaska founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells.More crazy here.
Barack Obama believes that No president should ever hesitate to use force – unilaterally if necessary – to protect America and our vital interests when we are attacked or imminently threatened. But when we use force in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort to garner the clear support and participation of others – the kind of burden-sharing and support President George H.W. Bush rallied before he launched Operation Desert Storm.I recommend you rad his position paper on defense. There's a lot of interesting stuff there, things you might be interested in as a parent of a serviceperson, especially given the possibility that Obama will be his next boss.
Personnel and airframes are both feeling the strain of high operations tempos provoked by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, added Gen. Ronald Keys, Commander of the Air Combat Command.In March, we saw this article:
The Air Force uses a sliding scale of C1 to C4 to measure the readiness, with units graded C1 and C2 prepared to “go and accomplish the mission,” he said.
But when units are rated C3 or C4, “you have to find major workarounds,” Keys said.
Since 2001, the Air Force has seen “the percentage of units in C1 and C2 [status] in a steady decline,” Keys said.
“Wear and tear on the fleet is visible,” said Gen. Duncan McNabb, Commander of the Air Mobility Command.
But personnel are also a concern, Keys said, especially the so-called “one-to-one dwell time.”
One-to-one dwell is what the Air Force calls the six months on, six months off deployment schedule airmen with high-demand skills, such as air transport crews, military police, or intelligence experts, are experiencing.
The troop increase for Iraq announced by President Bush in January put an additional strain on air transport capabilities, McNabb said...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Behind the Pentagon's closed doors, U.S. military leaders told President Bush Wednesday they are worried about the Iraq war's mounting strain on troops and their families. But they indicated they'd go along with a brief halt in pulling out troops this summer.Does this look to you like good military management? I'm from an Army family and I'm not naive about international threats and the need for a strong national defense program. But I think Obama's approach will be much more strategic and will actually enhance, not diminish, our national security. His military advisors are truly excellent people with a tremendous amount of combined experience in defense service.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff did say senior commanders in Iraq should make more frequent assessments of security conditions, an idea that appeared aimed at increasing pressure for more rapid troop reductions.
The chiefs' concern is that U.S. forces are being worn thin, compromising the Pentagon's ability to handle crises elsewhere in the world.
...Wednesday's 90-minute Pentagon session, held in a secure conference room known as "the Tank," was arranged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to provide Bush an additional set of military views as he prepares to decide how to proceed in Iraq once his troop buildup, which began in 2007, runs its course by July.
...The Joint Chiefs are particularly concerned about Afghanistan and an increasingly active Taliban insurgency.
-- If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re “exotic, different.”OK, much clearer now!
-- Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.
-- If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
-- Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.
-- Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable.
-- Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well grounded.
-- If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.
-- If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking executive.
-- If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.
-- If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.
-- If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
-- If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you’re very responsible.
-- If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.
-- If you’re husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
"Guys like us, we're not not some brainiacs on the nerd patrol. We're not members of the factinista. We go straight from the gut....That's where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. Now, I know some of you are going to say, "I did look it up, and that's not true." That's 'cause you looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells me that's how our nervous system works. "posted by casarkos at 12:39 PM on September 20, 2008 [3 favorites]
"Supreme Court Justices Edward Sanford, Felix Frankfurter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Charles Hamilton Houston, Alger Hiss, Archibald MacLeish, Secretary of Transportation and Brown v. Board of Education attorney William Coleman, Jr., Judge Richard Posner, Chief Judge Henry Friendly, Chief Judge Michael Boudin, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox, print and broadcast journalist Jeffrey Toobin, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan, Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh, former Canadian ambassador Allan Gotlieb, former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh, former New York State Solicitor General Preeta D. Bansal, University of Texas President William C. Powers, and former Harvard University president Derek Bok."posted by ericb at 12:45 PM on September 20, 2008 [4 favorites]
“The Democratic presidential nominee used McCain's own words to attack him as an opponent of federal regulation of the banking industry, said his rival's support for partial privatization of Social Security could jeopardize retirement security for many Americans and fought back on the question of which candidate has closer ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.posted by ericb at 1:12 PM on September 20, 2008
Speaking at Bethune-Cookman University at an event highlighting his campaign's efforts to appeal to women voters, Obama invoked the current financial crisis by taking aim at an article carrying McCain's name in the current issue of Contingencies magazine, published by the American Academy of Actuaries.
In it, McCain wrote, ‘Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.’
‘So let me get this straight -- he wants to run health care like they've been running Wall Street,’ Obama told the audience. ‘Well, Senator, I know some folks on Main Street who aren't going to think that's such a good idea.’
McCain has attacked Obama this past week for ties to former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including in two television ads. But he said it's McCain whose campaign is replete with current or former lobbyists for the mortgage giants. He cited comments by the former head of Fannie Mae's government relations office, who was quoted in Politico as saying, ‘When I see photographs of Sen. McCain's staff, it looks to me like the team of lobbyists who used to report to me.’
‘Folks,’ Obama said, ‘you can't make this stuff up.’
On Social Security, Obama said, McCain's support for privatization would leave senior citizens at risk at a time when the stock market has plummeted. ‘I know Senator McCain is talking about a 'casino culture' on Wall Street -- but the fact is, he's the one who wants to gamble with your life savings and that is not going to happen when I'm president of the United States.’
He said that if McCain had his way, ‘the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week,’ although McCain has not called for full privatization of the system.”
At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.I would make a Special Olympics reference but Palin doesn't support those either.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.
When we're suddenly confronted with a shocking image, our skin becomes moist and we blink strongly. These actions are automatic and unintentional; they happen without conscious thought. So it may come as a surprise that they can also predict some of our most seemingly considered beliefs - our political attitudes.posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:25 PM on September 20, 2008 [1 favorite]
According to a new American study, the stronger these responses, the more likely people are to support the Iraq War, Biblical truth, the Patriot Act and greater defence budgets. Conversely, people who show weaker "startle reflexes" are more likely to support foreign aid, immigration, gay marriage and abortion rights.
At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.The only thing more pathetic than the fact that the McCain campaign had to request this is the fact that the Commission on Presidential Debates accepted it.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.
By the way, would anyone here care to explain why Obama has so many "present" votes in the Illinois Senate?
If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re 'exotic, different.'
So -- if any of this is true -- the surprise here was not Palin; it was McCain's susceptibility to the Jesus Mafia's offer he couldn't refuse.
For weeks, advisers close to the campaign said, Mr. McCain had wanted to name as his running mate his good friend Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrat turned independent. But by the end of last weekend, the outrage from Christian conservatives over the possibility that Mr. McCain would fill out the Republican ticket with Mr. Lieberman, a supporter of abortion rights, had become too intense to be ignored.posted by kirkaracha at 3:48 PM on September 20, 2008
it's nice that he went to Harvard and edited some newspaper or some such up there, that's fine, we're not saying he's a bad person, not at all.illustrates her as a vapid twit.
It's nice that he's spent the last however months running a campaign about himself and managed to convince a lot of people to vote for him, but what has he really done that's worthwhile, you know?And she agreed — this shows a good understanding of what she thinks.
"One of the big differences between the old John McCain and the current edition is that the old one (1) would admit error and (2) would admit there were things he didn't know. That was a good part of his charm. The current edition--a parody of the worst sort of political flim-flam artist--not only lies about his own positions, but attempts to camouflage those lies by mischaracterizing his opponent's positions. It is appropriate, then, that the American Academy of Actuaries--a group devoted to the precise calculation of death rates--has exposed McCain's extravagant fraudulence of the past week for what it was."posted by ericb at 8:41 AM on September 21, 2008
Even conservatives are expressing resentment over the governor's about-face on the Monegan investigation and the infiltration of state government by the McCain campaign.posted by scody at 12:05 PM on September 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
"This Palin VP thing has Alaskans all stirred up. Much like Palin divided the Republican Party, she has managed to divide the state over her national candidacy," conservative talk-show host Dan Fagan complained in a commentary last week. [...] "No politician is so popular and charismatic that they should be above accountability and telling the truth."
“For John McCain, the panel discussion on This Week with George Stephanopoulos could not have been more brutal.posted by ericb at 1:42 PM on September 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Minutes after conservative columnist George Will declared that the Senator was decidedly un-presidential is his unexpected call for the firing of SEC Chairman Chris Cox, Sam Donaldson, the long-time ABC hand, said that McCain's erratic message on the economy again raised questions about his age.
‘I suppose the McCain campaign's hope is that when there's a big crisis, people will go for age and experience,’ said Will. ‘The question is, who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate.’
Donaldson then jumped in: ‘It was two days after the he said the fundamentals of the economy were strong. His talking points have gotten all mixed up. And I think the question of age is back on the table.’
It should be noted that McCain's call for the firing of Cox was dismissed right off the bat, as the president does not have the authority to axe an SEC chairman. The criticisms that Donaldson raised concerned the fact that McCain started the week by touting the fundamentals of the economy, before pivoting into fits of populist mantra and calling for increased regulation of the markets - position at odds with McCain's traditional economic philosophies.
‘When I say age,’ he explained, ‘I don't know the difference between finding your talking points and not delivering the right ones, we have seen him do this frequently but this last week was the worst. Between two stops in Florida, as you say, he had to revise his thinking about what he wanted to say about the economy, wanted to feel the pain suddenly than say everything is great.’
The whole, painful, episode crested with Will leveling an even harsher blow.
‘John McCain showed his personality this week,’ said the writer and pundit, ‘and made some of us fearful.’”
“What I took away from that is that the People Magazine spin about how excited the happy couple is about their upcoming nuptials and Levi's ‘Bristol’ finger tattoo is the Karl Rovian nonsense that anyone who thinks about it for a scintilla of a second intuitively knows that it is. If McCain-Palin lose, my easy bet is that there will be no nuptials. But if they win, the hand Levi dealt himself by having had the poor luck to knock up the daughter of the Vice President of the United States (at the time who could have known?) will have to be played out.posted by ericb at 2:18 PM on September 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Pader Johnston has disconnected the Johnston family's land line. So I can't call him to ask what kind of deal he cut. But if Levi was my kid, the deal I would have cut would, at an absolute minimum, have been: $500,000 for from now to the November election. If McCain-Palin win, a $ 1 million signing bonus to take the trip down the aisle. Then, for the duration of the McCain-Palin administration, $100,000 a month for every month Mr. and Mrs. Johnston live under the same roof, and $50,000 a month for every month that they remain married but do not.
That's chump change for the RNC. And if, in the best case for the nation, it turns out to be only a $500,000 payday for sixty days of work, that's a life changing grubstake for an eighteen-year-old kid and more than enough to enable Levi to make his child support payments.”*
"Mr. McCain's selection of an inexperienced and relatively unknown figure was unsettling, and the campaign's decision to keep her sequestered from serious interchanges with reporters and voters serves only to deepen the unease. Mr. McCain is entitled to choose the person he thinks would be best for the job. He is not entitled to keep the public from being able to make an informed assessment of that judgment. Ms. Palin's speech-making skills are impressive, but the more she repeats the same stump speech lines, the queasier we get. Nor have her answers to the gentle questioning she has encountered provided any confidence that Ms. Palin has a grasp of the issues."posted by ericb at 9:00 AM on September 22, 2008 [1 favorite]
Among all Americans, 19% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 76% disapprove.Heckuva job, Bushie!
“For the past week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been railing against Wall Street ‘fat cats’ and pledging to ‘stop multi-million dollar payouts to CEOs who have broken the public trust.’posted by ericb at 10:01 AM on September 22, 2008 [7 favorites]
This principled stance against excessive executive compensation, however, is undermined by the fact that McCain’s senior economic adviser and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina received $42 million dollars in compensation after being fired from HP. On NBC this morning, host Meredith Vieira noted that Fiorina ‘is an example of exactly the kind of person you say is at the root of the problem.’ McCain replied, ‘I don’t think so’:McCAIN: I don’t think so. … Because I think she did a good job as CEO in many respects. I don’t know the details of her compensation package. But she’s one of many advisers that I have.‘How can you not know the details of her past? I mean, that would be awfully important,’ Vieira responded.
Q: But she did get a $45 million dollar golden parachute after being fired while 20,000 of her employees were laid off.
McCAIN: I have many of the people, but I do not know the details of what happened.
Nor is McCain’s statement that Fiorina did a ‘good job’ as CEO of Hewlett-Packard quite accurate. The board of HP fired Fiorina in 2005, concluding ‘that she was spending too much time on the road, neglecting the nuts-and-bolts execution of her own strategic ideas,’ according to the New York Times. ‘[H]er superstar status was also her undoing.’
As CEO, Fiorina parked profits overseas using tax shelters, even though it negatively impacted the economy. The company held more than $14 billion overseas in 2004, according to the Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal noted that her tenure was ‘marked by a drop in morale at a company with a legendary history of a collegial culture.”
"In 2007, Wall Street’s five biggest firms — Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley — paid a record $39 billion in bonuses to themselves."These company executives are still fiercely fighting to protect their pay. Politico notes that the Bush Treasury Department is 'resisting efforts' by House Democrats 'to impose pay limits on Wall Street executives and bankers.'"
That’s $10 billion more than the $29 billion loan taxpayers are making to J.P. Morgan to save Bear Stearns.
Those 2007 bonuses were paid even though the shareholders in those firms last year collectively lost about $74 billion in stock declines — their worst year since 2002."
Tellingly, three former SEC chairmen, a Democrat, Arthur Levitt, and two Republicans, David Ruder and Bill Donaldson, have endorsed Obama. Levitt is a board member of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.posted by scody at 10:43 AM on September 22, 2008 [5 favorites]
Donaldson, who was tapped by Bush to head the SEC, says Obama called him last year about the financial-regulatory problems. He has never heard from McCain.
"Obama has been talking about the need for better financial regulation well before this crisis hit and has done some real thinking about it,'' says Donaldson, a lifelong Republican. "McCain comes across as someone who suddenly realized changes have to be made.''
The candidates should be willing, even eager to submit to the most difficult personal interrogations themselves. After all, this is an opportunity to demonstrate their intellectual prowess and skills with decision-making. Conversely, no candidate should be allowed to retreat into canned speeches or evasive comments.I hope that Gwen Ifill will provide some excellent questions. Palin has already shown herself to be more Bush in shrinking away and taking question time away from us.
Many of the failures of post-9/11 American policy were caused by or aggravated by the inability of our president to recognize his intellectual limitations (including his choice of advisors), keep an open mind, evaluate evidence such as the presence or absence of weapons of mass destruction, and listen to all sides of a complex issue. Perhaps this could have been avoided if Bush had been forced to publicly answer serious multifaceted questions prior to the election. Let's not make the same mistake again.
The next six weeks are our only chance to elect the most qualified candidate. This is not a time for interviewer politeness and gentle repartee that sidesteps controversial or delicate issues. It is not enough to hear each candidate regurgitate memorized and rehearsed policy statements; we must know what they will do and how they will act in situations for which they have not been adequately prepared. Leadership is measured by the best decisions during the worst times.
“I am a Republican, but I’m not comfortable with giving the Republicans four more years. I don’t see John McCain differing enough from the incumbent, and yet Obama is a work in progress, pretty much, so we’d be taking some risk with him. It’s a conundrum.”Keep in mind Cizik is himself something of a conundrum. He opposes gay marriage, is staunchly pro-life, but has also tried to make environmentalism a Christian issue, calling it "creation care". This earned him the wrath of Dobson, but has also earned him a great deal of respect in Washington for being able to come out on top nonetheless. And the 30 million people who comprise the NAE definitely listen to what he has to say.
If anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could.posted by scody at 1:13 PM on September 22, 2008 [4 favorites]
[...] The point to be lamented is not that Sarah Palin comes from outside Washington, or that she has glimpsed so little of the earth's surface (she didn't have a passport until last year), or that she's never met a foreign head of state. The point is that she comes to us, seeking the second most important job in the world, without any intellectual training relevant to the challenges and responsibilities that await her.
[...] The problem, as far as our political process is concerned, is that half the electorate revels in Palin's lack of intellectual qualifications. When it comes to politics, there is a mad love of mediocrity in this country. "They think they're better than you!" is the refrain that (highly competent and cynical) Republican strategists have set loose among the crowd, and the crowd has grown drunk on it once again. "Sarah Palin is an ordinary person!" Yes, all too ordinary.
[...] What is so unnerving about the candidacy of Sarah Palin is the degree to which she represents—and her supporters celebrate—the joyful marriage of confidence and ignorance. Watching her deny to Gibson that she had ever harbored the slightest doubt about her readiness to take command of the world's only superpower, one got the feeling that Palin would gladly assume any responsibility on earth:
"Governor Palin, are you ready at this moment to perform surgery on this child's brain?"
"Of course, Charlie. I have several boys of my own, and I'm an avid hunter."
"But governor, this is neurosurgery, and you have no training as a surgeon of any kind."
"That's just the point, Charlie. The American people want change in how we make medical decisions in this country. And when faced with a challenge, you cannot blink."
The prospects of a Palin administration are far more frightening, in fact, than those of a Palin Institute for Pediatric Neurosurgery. Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. [...]
I believe that with the nomination of Sarah Palin for the vice presidency, the silliness of our politics has finally put our nation at risk. The world is growing more complex—and dangerous—with each passing hour, and our position within it growing more precarious. Should she become president, Palin seems capable of enacting policies so detached from the common interests of humanity, and from empirical reality, as to unite the entire world against us.
Presidential politics: Cumberland County supported George W. Bush in the last election. According to unofficial vote totals for 2004, Bush received 48,042 votes and Kerry received 44,328 votes.That's pretty darn close, meaning most of the Democratic voters are NOT voting Republican in elections.
In the November 2000 race, the outcome in Cumberland County was quite close. Countywide, 38,129 people voted for Bush and 38,626 voted for Gore.
Southern Democrats are more culturally conservative than are Democrats in the rest of the country. But Southern Democrats agree with their fellow partisans elsewhere on many other issues, particularly in their support for the social safety net. ...I'm also familiar with the South through my own life experience, which is just as valid as anybody's, and just as anecdotal. So, once again, maybe we can get beyond "I know the South/ small towns/ Christians / Republicans/ Democrats/ and you don't, so I must be right."
...Despite the impressive electoral performance of the Republican Party in the South, however, Republicans do not greatly outnumber Democrats there. Overall, 34% of Southerners and 32% of those living outside the South identify themselves as Republicans (and when independents who lean toward a party are included, Republicans and Democrats are tied at 45% each). Among whites, the GOP does have a significant advantage in the South, with 41% of Southerners affiliating with the party, compared with 35% among non-Southerners....
Southern Democrats are more conservative on certain kinds of issues, though most of the differences are not especially large. The biggest area of regional disagreement is on cultural matters, including homosexuality, immigration, and – especially among white Democrats – race....
In the post-New Deal era, one of the defining differences between the Democratic and Republican parties has been the role of the government in economic matters. Despite differences with the national Democratic Party on the issue of race, many Southern white voters found the party to be a compatible political home on economic matters. And as black voters gained greater political clout with the passage of legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, Southern support for the party's stands on regulation and social safety net remained relatively strong....
Southern Democrats are just as committed to the social safety net as Democrats outside the South. Strong majorities of Democrats in every region agree that the government should take care of people who can't help themselves. And the same percentages of Democrats in the South and elsewhere (64%) believe that the government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper into debt.
Looks there's not really all that much difference between Southern Democrats and others on the issues of this election.
“‘I need you Charlotte! I need you North Carolina!’ thundered Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday, addressing 15,000 people who gathered to hear him in this bright red state.posted by ericb at 2:50 PM on September 22, 2008
Capping a speech about the economic ‘values at stake’ in the election, Obama sounded more like a field organizer than a candidate, trying to persuade voters that a Democrat could actually win here. ‘I need you to knock on some doors!’ he yelled, ‘I need you to make some phone calls! I need you to talk to your neighbors!’
North Carolina has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1968, with the post-Watergate exception of 1972, when the Southerner Jimmy Carter won the state.
Obama’s campaign would probably not be spending precious time here in September, however, or investing in large-scale rallies or buying TV ads, unless they thought the state was truly in play. Some recent polling supports their optimism.
Democracy Corps, the polling firm run by Clintonites Stan Greenberg and James Carville, just surveyed the state and found Obama and McCain are neck and neck, with libertarian Bob Barr drawing several points.
Locals say Obama ‘will do a better job than McCain on the economy and jobs’ by 52 to 38 percent.
Even more striking, the firm’s memo, North Carolina Open to Democrats in 2008, states, ‘Obama holds a small advantage over McCain on taxes, 46 to 41 percent, a remarkable finding for a Democrat in North Carolina.’
Tar Heel voters say the country is on the wrong track by 68 to 22 percent — less than the country as a whole but still a strong majority.
Both presidential candidates now promise change, of course, but Obama can benefit more from antipathy for Republican federal policy in a state that’s been backing the status quo for a long time.”
"We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him."These warmongers do have a hard time with facts. If she is talking about Ahmedinejad, he was elected. If she is talking about Ali Khamenei, he is appointed by the Assembly of Experts, and so this is an oligarchy, not a dictatorship. Not that it is a terrible mistake, it's just that they're willing to call for war against an enemy they are so ignorant of that they can't even properly describe it. And how, when they can't get the simple, verifiable facts correct, can we trust anything else they claim about the enemy and their casus belli?
Kay Hagan is dusting Dole's butt because of her commercials. Go google them. The woman could be Hitler in a dress and people would vote for her.
If anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could.
we have always had big Democrat numbers
Who is the Elitist?
Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form.Just like with Fiorina, he faux rails against these people, and these people are the ones leading his campaign! He's just straight lying. And they're stalling, because the debate this week is about foreign policy, so they will just stall for a few days until that news takes over. I know politics is a dirty game, but this seems to be just blatant assuming that the people who vote for you are complete morons. You want to know what elitist is talking down to you and taking you for complete morons, republicans? John McCain is that elitist. Not that it hasn't been noted before, but it just seems to get more and more blatant when McCain's top campaign staff roster is full of the people he claims he's against.
While Republicans say Timmons is making plans for the transition if McCain wins in November, the campaign wouldn't confirm his role. Timmons didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington.
``At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,'' he said last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
``Using money and influence, they prevented reforms that would have curbed their power and limited their ability to damage our economy,'' he said. ``And now, as ever, the American taxpayers are left to pay the price for Washington's failure.''
When McCain took questions, one woman in the audience stood up and directed her attention to the reporters in the room. She wasn't happy about reading stories focusing on Sarah Palin's family.(this story, click on Listen Now, then skip to about 1:39)
"We want the media to start doing their job and stop picking on little children because of their age and their pregnancies. Shame on you. Shame on all of youse."
McCain thought about about his response.
"I'm not - that is a great question. heheh. One thing I want to assure you of is that Governor Palin, she can take it. She can take it."
Let’s begin with the Book of Revelation (note the singular, which is accurate), the final book in the Bible’s New Testament, which is 22 chapters long. Its sweeping apocalyptic language is laced with metaphors and symbols that challenge modern readers, but nowhere does it offer the kind of cookbook definition of the Antichrist proposed in this e-mail.posted by Miko at 2:31 PM on September 23, 2008 [12 favorites]
To reach our findings, we read the Book of Revelation and interviewed two religious scholars. Here's what we found:
• The word “anti-christ” does not appear in the Book of Revelation.
“The word Antichrist is not used in the Book of Revelation so this is important to point out,” said Dr. James D. Tabor, professor and chair of the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “Everybody thinks the word is used.”
That’s a pretty big hole in this e-mail from the get-go. We didn’t find the word in reading the text and our second scholar confirms this critical point.
“First and foremost, the word Antichrist and a figure called the Antichrist never occurs in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament,” said Dr. L. Michael White, professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Texas and director of the Institute for the Study of Antiquity and Christian Origins.
Now, some people interpret characters in the Book of Revelation to be the Antichrist even though the text doesn’t use this word. Specifically, in Chapter 13 there is a beast “having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” that some consider to be an allusion to the Antichrist.
“It’s only in Chapter 13 and you could almost miss it,” Tabor said.
But among biblical scholars and historians, there is strong consensus that none of the strange, evil-sounding characters in the Book of Revelation actually represents the Antichrist.
“It wasn’t there in the Bible,” White said. “It emerges in the Middle Ages. It’s something historians deal with.”
Now the word Antichrist does appear a few times in other books of the Bible, specifically in First John and Second John. The description in First John, Chapter 4, verse 3 says: “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
• There’s no mention of a man of a certain age.
The Book of Revelation talks of God, Jesus Christ, John, spirits, Jezebel, a beast like a calf, a beast like a flying eagle, elders, a great red dragon and many more animals and people. But nowhere does it describe “a man, in his 40s,” as the e-mail alleges.
“As you notice, there’s nothing about being age 40,” Tabor said. “This is completely wrong. The Book of Revelation doesn’t say that. It says it’s a male, so I guess they got that right. It says ‘he,’ ‘he,’ ‘he.’ ”
• There’s no mention of the word “Muslim.”
Considering the Bible was completed by the early second century, and the religion of Islam wasn’t founded until the early 600s, it’s not surprising that the word Muslim (the name for followers of Islam) does not appear in the Book of Revelation.
So it’s this part of the e-mail, where it says the Antichrist will be a man “of Muslim descent,” that our religious scholars find particularly ridiculous.
By definition, the Antichrist is “the polar opposite and ultimate enemy of Christ,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. And because Muslims believe “there is no god but God,” they would have great difficulty with the idea of elevating a person to a divine status, White said.
“A Muslim would be a monotheist and the last thing a Muslim would do is have anyone worship anyone other than God,” Tabor said.
Not to mention the fact that Obama is not a Muslim.
White points to the specific descriptions of the Antichrist as evidence that the e-mail is drawing from a number of sources to create the image it wants to portray.
“There is no part of that anywhere in the Bible, not in those forms,” said White, who was a co-writer and historical consultant for the 1999 PBS documentary, Apocalypse! Time, History, and Revolution. “That’s all a jigsaw puzzle of bits and pieces all filtered through the kind of end-of-world scenarios we get in the theology that is the underpinning of the Left Behind novels.”
White says this patchwork interpretation of the Bible is common in some groups trying to justify certain beliefs.
“Of course, they never bothered to read the Scriptures carefully ... so it’s kind of a system of interpretation. That if you start with that presupposition, it’s all there you can just find it,” White said.
“That description (in the chain e-mail) never occurs anywhere in one place nor are the component parts really about the same situation. It’s a cherry-picking through Scripture to get it all to fit together.”
A number of staffers became increasingly upset about Kerry's close relationship with the Department of Defense, which was supposed to be under examination. (Dick Cheney was then defense secretary.) It had become clear that Kerry, Zwenig, and others close to the chairman, such as Senator John McCain of Arizona, a dominant committee member, had gotten cozy with the officials and agencies supposedly being probed for obscuring P.O.W. information over the years. Committee hearings, for example, were being orchestrated to suit the examinees, who were receiving lists of potential questions in advance. Another internal memo from the period, by a staffer who requested anonymity, said: "Speaking for the other investigators, I can say we are sick and tired of this investigation being controlled by those we are supposedly investigating."This article was all about Kerry. Nothing about McCain until now. Not sure what it signifies, except that there's always more than meets the eye.
Funny how the Oklahoma City bombing and the Texas cyanide gas plot are missing from that list.
6. On November 11, 1992, Dolores Alfond, the sister of missing airman Capt. Victor Apodaca and chair of the National Alliance of Families, an organization of relatives of POW/MIAs, testified at one of the Senate committee's public hearings. She asked for information about data the government had gathered from electronic devices used in a classified program known as PAVE SPIKE.What. The. Fuck. McCain?
The devices were motion sensors, dropped by air, designed to pick up enemy troop movements. Shaped on one end like a spike with an electronic pod and antenna on top, they were designed to stick in the ground as they fell. Air Force planes would drop them along the Ho Chi Minh trail and other supply routes. The devices, though primarily sensors, also had rescue capabilities. Someone on the ground—a downed airman or a prisoner on a labor gang —could manually enter data into the sensor. All data were regularly collected electronically by US planes flying overhead. Alfond stated, without any challenge or contradiction by the committee, that in 1974, a year after the supposedly complete return of prisoners, the gathered data showed that a person or people had manually entered into the sensors—as US pilots had been trained to do—"no less than 20 authenticator numbers that corresponded exactly to the classified authenticator numbers of 20 US POWs who were lost in Laos." Alfond added, according to the transcript: "This PAVE SPIKE intelligence is seamless, but the committee has not discussed it or released what it knows about PAVE SPIKE."
McCain attended that committee hearing specifically to confront Alfond because of her criticism of the panel's work. He bellowed and berated her for quite a while. His face turning anger-pink, he accused her of "denigrating" his "patriotism." The bullying had its effect—she began to cry.
After a pause Alfond recovered and tried to respond to his scorching tirade, but McCain simply turned away and stormed out of the room. The PAVE SPIKE file has never been declassified. We still don't know anything about those twenty POWs.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Less than a week after balking at the Alaska Legislature's investigation into her alleged abuse of power, Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday indicated she will cooperate with a separate probe run by people she can fire.That's the ACTUAL FUCKING LEDE TO THE STORY.
"You can be whoever you want to be," says an inviting Phil Tuchman. "You can be a beggar or a millionaire. A mom or a husband. Whatever. You decide!"posted by Miko at 10:19 PM on September 23, 2008 [6 favorites]
I volunteer in political campaigns now and then. After a series of outings for Obama and a first mission as a phone banker for John McCain, I returned to McCain's headquarters in Arlington, Va. The offer was too alluring to delay -- they wanted to put me into action as a ghostwriter.
...The assignment is simple: We are going to write letters to the editor and we are allowed to make up whatever we want -- as long as it adds to the campaign. After today we are supposed to use our free moments at home to create a flow of fictional fan mail for McCain. "Your letters," says Phil Tuchman, "will be sent to our campaign offices in battle states. Ohio. Pennsylvania. Virginia. New Hampshire. There we'll place them in local newspapers."
Place them? I may be wrong, but I thought that in the USA only a newspaper's editors decided that.
"We will show your letters to our supporters in those states," explains Phil. "If they say: 'Yeah, he/she is right!' then we ask them to sign your letter. And then we send that letter to the local newspaper. That's how we send dozens of letters at once."
The article is supported with the McCain-Palin Talking Points.
I'm pretty appalled by this. It goes a step beyond the standard practice to instruct volunteers to make up a specific identity, write a letter as if from that imagined person, and then shop the letter around to a signer. The Democratic office also has sample letters, but they instruct people to use them as generic examples and then write their own, genuine letters - never once have I heard anyone tell another person to "be whoever you want to be" or organize a dissemination service for a ghostwritten letter. That's plain sleazy.'
For comparison, here are the Obama Talking Points given to NH letter writers (sorry, can't find a way to link it without putting all my private contact info up, but would MeMail anyone who cares the link. Or you can look up your own state's guidelines here:
Simply share your story—the most powerful voice will be your own.
Taxes:
Barack Obama wants the tax code to be fairer—to favor honest, hard-working Americans and seniors.
•He has proposed a $1,000 tax cut for middle class families, and he wants to lower the taxes paid by seniors.
•Senator Obama wants to eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000. This will provide an immediate tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors and relieve 27 million seniors from the burden of filing tax returns. For millions of seniors, this will eliminate the need to hire a tax preparer, resulting in even larger savings.
Senator McCain’s policies favor tax breaks for big oil over New Hampshire residents.
•McCain’s plan gives $4 billion dollars in new tax breaks to big oil companies even though they’re raking in profits due to higher gas prices.
•McCain’s economic plan would offer a tax break worth $1 billion dollars each to the 8 largest corporations in America, including 1.2 billion dollars to Exxon alone.
•McCain’s economic plan leaves out 101 million American households, providing no tax breaks to those hard-working Americans, while giving tax breaks of 270 thousand dollars to the top tenth of a percent of households who make over 2.8 million a year.
LIHEAP:
With fewer funds available and higher home heating costs, the local number at the LIHEAP office has become a crisis hotline for New Hampshire families.
•More than 32,000 New Hampshire families relied on LIHEAP last winter to keep the heat on. Heating oil prices are expected to rise 50% or more this year.
•This means thousands more New Hampshire residents who qualify for heating assistance can be expected to apply for it this winter, making already scarce funds harder to come by.
•John McCain has voted against LIHEAP funding five times since 2005.
•Senator Obama has voted to increase LIHEAP funding five times since 2005.
•Hard-working Americans should not have to choose between putting food on the table and heating their homes.
•We can’t afford four more years of failed Bush-McCain economic policies. New Hampshire cannot afford to be left out in the cold by John McCain.
Five goals to keep America safe and prosperous:
•As President, Barack Obama will lead this country in a new direction by focusing on five goals essential to making America safer:
•Ending the war in Iraq responsibly. Obama will change our mission and end the war by responsibly redeploying our combat troops and pushing Iraq’s leaders toward a political solution. We can safely remove our combat brigades at a pace of one to two combat brigades per month, and complete our redeployment in 16 months.
•Finishing the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Obama will send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan and offer greater assistance to Afghanistan’s military and judiciary—and investing in growth from the bottom up. And he’ll increase nonmilitary aid to Pakistan and step up security in the border region with Afghanistan.
•Securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue nations. Obama will lead a global effort to secure all loose nuclear materials around the world during his first term as President. And because we can’t allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, Obama will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, starting with aggressive, principled, and direct diplomacy backed by strong sanctions.
•Achieving true energy security. Global warming and our dependence on oil from hostile nations add up to a national security crisis. As President, Obama will end our dependence on foreign oil by investing $150 billion in renewable and alternative energy over the next ten years—an investment that will create millions of jobs along the way.
•Rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Obama will reinvigorate longstanding diplomatic efforts around the world and launch new ones. He’ll double our foreign assistance to $50 billion by 2012 so that we can help bring stability to failing states, cut global poverty in half, fight poverty and disease, and support sustainable growth.
Mark this day down. Today – last night, actually – the New York Times and Roll Call reported (it's hard to see who was first) what may be the biggest political story of the campaign. How big? John McCain might have to fire his campaign manager. Big enough?posted by ericb at 6:23 AM on September 24, 2008 [7 favorites]
The story is this. The lobbying firm of Rick Davis, the manager, was being paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac until last month. That fact is a direct contradiction of words McCain had spoken Sunday night. At that time, responding to a Times story being prepared for Monday's paper revealing that Davis had been the head of a lobbying consortium led by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae until 2005, McCain said Davis had done no further work for either mortgage giant.
Someone's lying – either Davis to McCain, or McCain to the public. I trust you see the problem here.
The stories are here, by David Kirkpatrick (whose reporting on this topic has been leading the way) and Jackie Calmes of the Times, and here, by Tory Newmeyer of Roll Call. You should definitely read every word of both. I think after you do you'll agree that, depending on how big the pick-up is today and how hard the Obama camp presses this, it's pretty difficult to see how Davis can stay on as campaign manager.
The revelations are devastating for two reasons. First, as I noted above, either Davis lied to McCain or McCain lied to the voters. From the Times story:'On Sunday, in an interview with CNBC and The Times, Mr. McCain responded to a question about that tie between Mr. Davis and the two mortgage companies by saying that he "has had nothing to do with it since, and I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it."'Who lied to whom? This is the kind of thing we might not know for a while, or maybe never. My hunch would be that Davis concealed it from McCain and that McCain, as is his wont, just winged it Sunday night, without really caring whether it was true, because that's what he does. But let me clearly label that a hunch. I don't know. But it doesn't really matter.
The second reason this is devastating is maybe even bigger than the question of the Sunday lie, which is limited in scope after all to a sort of narrow legal question. The second reason is that McCain has been going around putting lobbyists, specifically for Fannie & Freddie, at the heart of the whole problem." [more]
…it's now down to 48 — you can cross Alaska and North Dakota off the list — and two other states, Montana and Georgia, are on life support…posted by jepler at 9:31 AM on September 24, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) - Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.posted by peeedro at 12:11 PM on September 24, 2008
In a statement, McCain says he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.
McCain also said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington. Both he and Obama would attend the session
"McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said Palin will do more interviews and hold at least one news conference before Election Day.Bullshit. This is an American people issue. This freak could easily be president, and you're telling me she might have done one - ONE news conference where she's forced to answer questions in real time in front of the nation? "At least one"? They just make up ridiculous lies and then swallow them whole themselves, and try to believe so strongly in them that you have to either call them on it or accept it. This shit is bananas.
"I know the media is throwing a temper tantrum about this," Goldfarb said. But, he said, "she was so beat up the first week when she came on and this campaign has had fraught relations with the media ever since. There's just not a tremendous amount of concern. The campaign is resolved not to allow the media to dictate her schedule. . . . This is mainly an inside-the-Beltway issue."
“The collapse of McCain's Hail Mary intervention capped a tumultuous week which saw the Arizona Democrat's lead over Obama evaporate and his running mate deliver a ragged and at times impenetrable TV interview. With economic jitters playing to traditional Democratic dogma, McCain's Big Mo suddenly reverted to his challenger.posted by ericb at 6:51 PM on September 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
‘This is the attention-deficit-disorder campaign,’ said a bewildered senior Republican operative. ‘They've had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.’
In the process, McCain invited questions about his judgment and ability to work his will in Washington if elected.
‘This raises the fundamental issue of how a guy who is hated by his own party can govern,’ fretted a GOP mandarin who worked for several Presidents. ‘If he can't control the Republicans, how can he run a country?’”
I would not, for example, market "first edition" cheap consumer branding trinkets to anyone I respected.About that swag (some of which I would love to be able to buy but can't as a foreigner, and rightly so) I wonder why amongst all the tees and winter gear is there not a hoody to be had? Too
For one thing, you're assuming that people don't want the trinkets. They do. At my local campaign office, we can't keep Obama gear in stock.
...
And for another, they're an important source of revenue. Obama's campaign began by swearing off some categories of support that traditionally go to major party candidates, and has emphasized small-donor support. So to make up for some lost income, the campaign has designed and sold great-looking swag to bring cash into the coffers.
"But Obama either figured out, or instinctively understood, that the real battle was to make himself seem comfortable, reasonable, responsible, well-versed, and in all ways "safe" and non-outsiderish to the audience just making up its mind about him. (And yes, of course, his being a young black man challenging an older white man complicated everything he did and said, which is why his most wittily aggressive debate performance was against another black man, Alan Keyes, in his 2004 Senate race.)"And from what I've read and heard, there seems to be a growing consensus that he succeeded in that.
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posted by billysumday at 5:44 AM on September 14, 2008 [10 favorites]