David Corn

4,000 families are not amused.

How many collateral deaths? How many children have died or been orphaned?

Funny stuff from the warmongers.

I guess "still looking for those WMD's" isn't funny anymore.

Wow! One of the biggests Democrat debates last night and Corn posts about Cheney's jokes? He must still be in denial that Obama got his arse kicked. Still in recovery mode~~~

No mention of the US troops being killed in Iraq but a horse jerk-off joke--

His best joke was about what an idiot Keith Olberham is!

Wonder how many death threats Goerge S and Chasrlie G got last night afrter the debate from angry liberals? Seems to be a common pattern now.

A post from Huffington has it spot on:

ABC Hosts Heckled After Debate: "The Crowd Is Turning On Me"

posted by OttoF

Nonsense. The crowd "heckled" the moderators at that moment because they were switching to another commercial break. So give me a break. All this effort to say that Obama lost the debate yesterday because the ABC was unfair to him are so pitiful. At the previous debate on MSNBC the moderators jumped on Hillary from the very beginning. They didn't even allow her to make an opening statement. It was three against one, but she came out ahead. Last night Obama faced some tough questioning, but it was far less tough than what Hillary faced in the previous debate. If you want to blame anyone, blame Obama. His performance was poor. And we all know that the GOP will be much, much tougher on him than ABC was. All these attempts to cover up Obama's poor performance last night just illustrate how concerned his supporters are about the damage he did himself.

Luntz Focus Group - More Evidence Of Democrat Deserters

Let The Lefties Squirm

By California Yankee

As my esteemed colleague, Soren Dayton, posted earlier, this Frank Luntz focus group called the Democrats' Philadelphia debate a tie. More important, at about 3:45 into the following video, a significant number of these Democrats raised their hands, on camera, to indicate they will vote for Senator McCain in November:

The Democrats are facing a serious deserter problem. In addition to the Luntz focus group, at least at least seven recent polls show that regardless of which Democrat wins the nomination, a significant number of Democrats deserters will vote for John McCain in November.

Democrats Leading McCain in “Purple” States

Hold 47% to 43% leads in states decided by five points or less in 2004

PRINCETON, NJ -- Democratic front-runner Barack Obama has a four-point advantage over presumptive Republican nominee John McCain among registered voters residing in states that were competitive in the 2004 election. Obama has a comfortable lead in states John Kerry won comfortably in 2004, as does McCain in states George W. Bush won easily.

*****

And the general election hasn't even started . . .

DMW

Three More Superdelegates for Obama

Barack Obama rolled out three more superdelegate endorsements Wednesday, all of them coming from North Carolina and Indiana, which hold their Democratic primaries May 6.

North Carolina Representatives Mel Watt of Charlotte and David Price of Chapel Hill announced their support for Mr. Obama on a conference call with reporters.

“Only one candidate has marshaled this spirit of change into a movement that is completely inclusive, uniquely democratic and uniquely American,” said Mr. Watt, according to The Charlotte Observer. “That candidate is Barack Obama.”

Mr. Price dismissed the idea that Mr. Obama’s “bitter” comment would harm his candidacy. “Senator Obama was simply stating the obvious,” Price said, according to The Chicago Tribune.

*****

Three more? The clock is running out on HRC.

Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

(Rawstory)

*****

Maybe Busheney could find something funny in the numbers?

Hamas Endorses Obama

Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:21 AM

By: Newsmax Staff Article Font Size

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has received an endorsement he might well wish he hadn’t — from the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas’ top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, delivered his endorsement in an interview with WorldNetDaily and WABC Radio in New York.

“We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections,” Yousuf said.

“I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle. And he has a vision to change America, to [put] it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance.”

The U.S. and Israel have been seeking to isolate Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June and is classified by the State Department as a terrorist group.

Obama, as well as presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain, have all referred to Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” according to WorldNetDaily.

Asked about Obama’s criticism of former President Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas during his Middle Eastern trip, Yousuf said:

“I understand American politics and this is the season for elections and everybody tries to sound like he’s a friend of Israel…

“I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse when one of them will be the president.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well done Jimmy Carter~

**MISSION ACCOMPLISHED**

Democrats Leading McCain in “Purple” States

Hold 47% to 43% leads in states decided by five points or less in 2004

~~~~~~~~~

Keep dreamin! Snobama Koola Aid doesn't get any darker than purple.

What did we learn from last nights debate folks?

That both Obama and Hillary are sympathetic to terrorists in the Weather Underground~

Fact check: Obama and former radical

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is defending his relationship with William Ayers, a college professor who was once part of the radical Weather Underground and spent years as a fugitive after a 1970 explosion that killed three members of the group.

Obama suggests he barely knows Ayers and shouldn't be held accountable for anything Ayers said or did. But others, including Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, say the relationship gives Republicans an issue to exploit against Obama.

THE SPIN:

Obama was asked about Ayers as part of a discussion of his patriotism in a presidential debate Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

Obama responded that Ayers is "a guy who lives in my neighborhood" but hasn't endorsed him and doesn't regularly exchange ideas with him.

"And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense," Obama said.

Clinton seized on Ayers as "an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising." She pointed out that Obama and Ayers served on a charity board together and brought the 9-11 terrorist attacks into the mix by noting that an interview in which Ayers denied any regret for the radical group's bomb-making happened to appear on the day of the attacks.

THE FACTS:

Ayers was part of the Weather Underground, a radical group that claimed credit for explosions at the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and more. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group took its name from a Bob Dylan lyric: "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."

In 1970, a bomb the group was making — to use against an Army base — exploded at a New York town house, killing three members. Ayers fled and spent years as a fugitive. He met and married fellow fugitive Bernadine Dohrn during that period.

The two surfaced in 1980. Ayers had been charged with various offenses stemming from demonstrations in Chicago in 1969, but those charges had been dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct. He never faced any charges related to the town house explosion. Dohrn pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of bail-jumping in connection with a 1969 anti-war protest.

Ayers now teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dohrn heads the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University. Ayers has advised Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on education issues.

Ayers and Obama both served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund, a Chicago-based charity that focuses on developing community groups to assist the poor. A variety of business executives, journalists and academics serve on the board.

When Obama was organizing his first race for the state legislature, the incumbent lawmaker he hoped to replace introduced him to her supporters and urged them to back Obama. One introductory event took place at the home of Ayers and Dohrn.

Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's legislative campaign in 2001, but there is no other sign that he has actively aided Obama's political career.

During Wednesday's debate, Obama argued that if the candidates are to be held responsible for distant connections to the Weather Underground, then Clinton would fail, too. He pointed out that her husband, just before leaving the White House, commuted the sentences of two members of the group who had been convicted of weapons and explosives charges.

Finally, the Media 'Discovers' Obama-Ayers Relationship

Rick Moran

It is a major story in the New York Times, Politico, the New York Post, and the left wing Guardian in Great Britain. It is the most curious of all Barack Obama's problematic relationships and calls into question not only his judgement but the core of his politics.

The story is about William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn - two members of the radical 1960's terrorist group the Weather Underground - and the fact that the possible next president of the United States is on a first name basis with a self-confessed bomber of the Pentagon who not only has no regrets for his terrorist action but wishes he could do it all over again.

Larry Rohter and Michael Luo of the New York Times:

On March 6, 1970, a bomb explosion destroyed a Greenwich Village town house, killing three members of the radical Weather Underground and driving other members of the group even deeper into hiding.

On Wednesday night, those events emerged as the focus of a sharp exchange between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama at their debate in Philadelphia. Mr. Obama was asked by a moderator, George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, about his relationship with Bill Ayers, a former Weather Underground leader who is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In the early 1970s, the Weathermen, who took their name from a line in a Bob Dylan song, claimed responsibility for bombing the Capitol, the Pentagon, the State Department Building and banks, courthouses and police stations.

Charges against Ayers and Dohrn were dropped because of the Feds spyed on the duo illegally. But the question absolutely must be asked just what was Obama doing having anything at all to do with this man:

Mr. Ayers is listed as a member of the nine-member board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, an offshoot of the Woods Charitable Fund, founded in 1941 by a prominent lawyer and telephone company executive. According to the fund’s Web site, it has focused in recent years on “issues that affected the area’s least advantaged, including welfare reform, affordable housing” and “tax policy as a tool in reducing poverty.”

For a time, Mr. Obama was on the board with Mr. Ayers, though he no longer has a formal association with the group. At the debate, he described Mr. Ayers as “a guy who lives in my neighborhood,” but “not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.” Mr. Obama said he was being unjustly linked to “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old.”

What would any other politician have done when he or she discovered that a terrorist was sitting on the same board as them? Wouldn't just about anyone else have said "no thank you" to such an invitation?

There's more to this relationship than Ayers simply being a "guy who lives in my nieghborhood." The two were introduced back in 1995 when Obama was presented by outgoing state senator Alice Palmer to Ayers and other far left activists in the University Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park at Ayers house according to this story by Ben Smith in Politico. And RezkoWatch reports on 2 other forums where we know Obama and Ayers participated:

Wondering whether the three may have crossed paths is not speculation. It is a fact that they have. Ayers, Dohrn, and Obama have appeared together at a number of gatherings and academic events. In November 1997, Ayers and Obama participated in a panel at the University of Chicago entitled Should a child ever be called a “super predator?” to debate “the merits of the juvenile justice system”.

In April 2002, Ayers, Dohrn, and Obama, then an Illinois State Senator, participated together at a conference entitled “Intellectuals: Who Needs Them?” sponsored by The Center for Public Intellectuals and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers and Obama were two of the six members of the “Intellectuals in Times of Crisis” panel.

This information along with the fact that Obama served with Ayers on the Board of the Woods Foundation, gives the lie to Obama's claim that he doesn't know Ayers very well. And both of those forums at U of C were set up by none other than Michelle Obama in her capacity as University of Chcago PR executive; eviidently she too saw nothing wrong in glad handing with terrorists.

It is beyond belief that the press is just now getting around to this, the most incredible of all Obama radical associations. And the scary thought is that it will change few minds about Obama and his hypocritical brand of "new politics."

Obama = Wrightgate, Rezcogate, Ayersgate, Farakangate, Naftagate, Bittergate, I never took money from Big Oilgate, My grandma is a typical White Persongate, Elitistgate.

IMPEACH HIM!!!!

Oh wait he hasn't even won anything yet~ LOL

Hillary Clinton Campaign Launches Sleaze Attack on Barack Obama and Two Dedicated Child Advocates

Editor and Publisher

February 24, 2008

In the last debate – the 20th or so – in Texas, Senator Clinton got booed for claiming that Barack Obama “xeroxed” his speeches. It was a demeaning cheap shot – and we mean particularly demeaning to Senator Clinton.

Not only was it another futile attempt to stem the tide of hope and spirit of change that is replacing the desperation of the Bush years, it was dishonest. Both of Hillary Clinton’s books were ghost written; both of Barack Obama’s books were written by himself, according to a detailed article in The New Republic. Furthermore, some key phrases of Senator Clinton’s moving and gracious closing remarks appear to have been lifted from the campaign of Senator John Edwards – and one phrase in particular was clearly taken from the past speeches of her husband, Bill Clinton, as evidenced on YouTube clips.

We weren’t going to bring up these issues at this point, because it appeared from the Texas debate that Hillary Clinton was going to begin to take the high road. But that does not appear to be the case, given another round recent developments in the on-again, off-again gutter attacks emanating from the “war room” overseen by the multi-million dollar Clinton strategist, Mark Penn.

It is beyond belief that the press is just now getting around to this, the most incredible of all Obama radical associations.

And the scary thought is that it will change few minds about Obama and his hypocritical brand of "new politics."

ie; Capt, Pandonial, Neil

For Chris Matthews, misogyny pays

Tongues are still wagging over The New York Times Magazine's cringe-inducing cover story about MSNBC talker Chris Matthews. The cringes came courtesy of the name-dropping Matthews, whose raging insecurities danced across nearly every page of the piece. As Digby noted after reading the opus, "He fulfills every single Village media cliche: obsessive social climbing, deep personal insecurity, primitively sexist and racist and just plain dumb."

Question: Is Chris Matthews the Michael Scott of political talk show hosts? And if so, does that make MSNBC the Dunder Mifflin of cable news?

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200804160002

The debate was fair despite what the Kool-Aid crowd is saying. I have never seen a group of cry babies like this! OMG ABC is like FOX. LOL Time for Obama to give it up before he embarasses himself anymore. Step aside Obama and let Hillary lead us to victory. You're just an empty suit.

Posted By: Mr. E | April 17, 2008 at 01:12 PM

Top Ratings for Pennsylvania Debate
By Brian Stelter

More than 10 million viewers tuned into Wednesday’s Democratic debate on ABC, making it the most-watched debate of the primary election season.
The debate, the first to air on a weeknight on a broadcast network, attracted an average of 10.7 million viewers between 8 and 10 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Bad news for Obama, 10 million people watched him define the meaning og "bitter" in last nights debate. He got a thumpin~~~

Huffington Post

Still, the connection is troubling, if only for reasons of perception, to at least some progressives. HuffPost blogger Larry Johnson suggested in February that, "William Ayers, in the age of terrorism, will be Barack Obama's Willie Horton."

What makes Ayers so toxic is his own written record equating U.S. Marines with terrorists. Look at the beating that John Kerry took for tossing his medals over the White House fence. Ayers did not toss medals, he threw bombs. Real ones. Bombs that exploded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That say's it all folks!

Obama, speaking in the same venue as his widely praised March 13 speech on race, quickly counterattacked, citing the slings and arrows Clinton endured in the early 1990s after saying she wasn't the kind of wife who would sit home and bake cookies.

"People attacked her for being elitist," he said. "I remember watching that on TV and saying, well, that's not who she is. That's not what she believes. That's not what she meant. ... I think Senator Clinton learned the wrong lesson from it because she's adopting the same tactics."

Obama's "bitter" statement has had only a negligible impact on Pennsylvania polls and he's widened his national lead over Clinton to double digits, according to surveys out this week. However, polls show Clinton's now-debunked claim that she dodged sniper fire during a mid-1990s trip to Bosnia continues to hurt her.

(newsday)

Obama picks up five more supers!

The delegate count: Obama picked up an Oklahoma superdelegate, add-on Reggie Whitten. Clinton now leads in superdelegates 257-235. Since Sunday, Obama has picked up five supers to Clinton’s zero. With his three elected superdelegate pick-ups yesterday, Obama has moved past Clinton among the group (U.S. Senators, Reps and governors): 96-94. In the overall count now, Obama leads by 142 (1,651-1,509). He has a 164 pledged-delegate lead (1,416-1,252).

*****

Five to 0? Ouch!

Torturers in the White House

The biggest news of the last week went virtually uncovered by the mainstream, print media. ABC News first reported last Wednesday that top Bush Administration officials, including Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, and George Tenet, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld met to discuss which particular torture techniques should be used against Al Qaeda suspects in U.S. custody.

The group signed off on specific techniques, including sleep deprivation, slapping, pushing, and waterboarding, and gave instruction "so detailed . . . some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed, down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic."

If John McCain is seriously considering Condoleezza Rice as a running mate, the former POW should keep in mind that Rice not only condoned torture, but chaired the National Security Council's "Principals Committee" meetings to plan the details of torture of prisoners in U.S. custody.

http://www.progressive.org/mag_rc041408

******

I wonder if the torturers wore their flag pins when the were torturing? That'd be patriotic.

Obama says debate foreshadows GOP campaign

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Barack Obama said today that last night's contentious debate, where he was peppered with questions about his words and associations, was a preview of Republican tactics against him in the fall election.

"That was the rollout of the Republican campaign in November," he said at a town hall meeting in Raleigh, N.C. "They will try to focus on these issues that don't have anything to do with how you're paying your bills at the end of the month." Saying that he has shown "some restraint" in running against a rival Democrat, the Illinois senator said, "If the Republicans come at me, I will come right back at them.... I won't have as much restraint with the Republicans."

Obama expressed annoyance at the debate -- "It was 45 minutes until we started talking about a single issue that matters to the American people," he said -- and said he just had to "let it kind of ..." as he brushed off his suit shoulder.

(LATimes)

*****

It is all about temperment. BHO is not stoppable.

Sure he has negatives but he is the best person to start cleaning up the mess left by the lack of GOP leadership.

"I won't have as much restraint with the Republicans."

*****

It will be a thing of beauty to see.

I generally don't like to see senior citizens beat up but McShame will get his butt kicked by the terrorist loving, secret Muslim that killed his gay lover while doing coke.

Oh yeah, he did wear his flag pin when he murdered his gay lover so it was a patriotic act.

I wonder if the torturers wore their flag pins when the were torturing?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damn straight! I hope they stuck a flag up their arse so they'll remember next time they want to murder 3000 Americans in cold blood!

Daley: Don't tar Obama for Ayers

The mayor released the following statement:

There are a lot of reasons that Americans are angry about Washington politics. And one more example is the way Senator Obama’s opponents are playing guilt-by-association, tarring him because he happens to know Bill Ayers.

I also know Bill Ayers. He worked with me in shaping our now nationally-renowned school reform program. He is a nationally-recognized distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois/Chicago and a valued member of the Chicago community.

I don’t condone what he did 40 years ago but I remember that period well. It was a difficult time, but those days are long over. I believe we have too many challenges in Chicago and our country to keep re-fighting 40 year old battles.

*****

Talk about the old politics and the old ways?

HRC is looking backward while Obama is looking forward. There is change about and the old school warrior ways are in the last throes if you will.

It is all about temperment. BHO is not stoppable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I challenge your confidence~

If BHO is unstoppable then I will make a bet with you~

If BHO wins the general and becomes the next Prez, I will vow to never again post in Cornnut land. However, if BHO loses then you must never post in Cornnut land again.

How confident are you?

I also know Bill Ayers. He worked with me in shaping our now nationally-renowned school reform program. He is a nationally-recognized distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois/Chicago and a valued member of the Chicago community.

I don’t condone what he did 40 years ago but I remember that period well. It was a difficult time, but those days are long over. I believe we have too many challenges in Chicago and our country to keep re-fighting 40 year old battles.

*****

Talk about the old politics and the old ways?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heck, lets let Tim McVeigh out right now!

Clinton plays to family themes

HAVERFORD, Pa.— A day after an intense Democratic presidential debate focused on candidate gaffes that forced Sen. Barack Obama to play defense, rival Sen. Hillary Clinton adopted a softer theme of family issues today to launch the final days of her Pennsylvania campaign.

Already facing a serious uptick in the negative perception that voters have toward her as a candidate, as detailed in recent polls, Clinton surrounded herself with her daughter, Chelsea, and her mother, Dorothy Rodham, before a largely female audience during an appearance at Haverford College, a private liberal arts school in suburban Philadelphia.

Asked by an audience member for advice on helping her canvass for support in Tuesday’s primary, Clinton at first suggested, “You know, just knock on the door and say, ‘You know, she’s really nice.’ Or you can say, in other words, ‘She’s not as bad as you think.’

*****

Of course she was joking but the softening and family theme is just another of the final gasps. She is losing her white over 60 female base. I would almost feel badly for her but . . .

Hamas Says Carter Visit a Boost to Militants' Legitimacy

Heading the Hamas delegation in Cairo were Gaza leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siyam. "This meeting is a message to those who don't recognize Hamas' legitimacy as a movement," Zahar said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED JIMMY"

WAR CRIMES AND PERSIAN GULF WEATHER

Prodded by a request from the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. Marine Corps recently restored online public access to many of its doctrinal publications, Federal Computer Week reported on March 27.

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152064-1.html

One of those Marine Corps documents addresses war crimes, describing prohibited actions and the need to prevent them.

"While we Marines fight swiftly and aggressively, we also conduct our military operations with respect toward both the liberated people and the vanquished foe."

"Marines do not harm enemy soldiers who surrender. Marines do not torture or kill enemy prisoners of war or detainees. Marines collect and care for the wounded, whether friend or foe."

See "War Crimes," Marine Corps Reference Publication 4-11.8B, 6
September 2005:

*****

Obviously Bush and Cheney are not Marines.

The House Judiciary Committee is taking Karl Rove up on an offer to testify about claims that he influenced a federal corruption case against former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama.
The committee on Thursday asked former White House adviser Rove to appear under oath soon. The panel also wants the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate allegations that political motivations drove the Siegelman case and several other federal prosecutions during the Bush administration.

Rove has denied any involvement in the Siegelman prosecution. His attorney told MSNBC earlier this month that Rove would testify on the matter.

(TPM)

*****

Rove should be called to account under oath. He will not tell the truth and will get away with it but he should go on record.

from the Huffington Post:

OBAMA's arrogance and strong religious beliefs remind of little boy BUSH!!!

I will not vote for him.

~~~~~~

Obummer the little boy Bush, now that's classic

OLBB

Do you blame Bush for the economy?
Remember the election in 2006?

Thought you might like to read the following:

A little over a year ago:

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value
evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!

Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him. The Democratic leadership is talking gloom and doom to scare the country about the direction of the economy for partisan reasons. If they can scare enough people to lead us into a recession, more the better. They will blame it on the Republican administration.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/okc/

Convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was put to death by lethal injectionon at 7:14 a.m. (8:14 EDT) on Monday, June 11. McVeigh, who admitted setting the bomb that killed 168 people in the Oklahoma City federal building, called off further legal efforts in early June to delay the execution. He is the first first federal prisoner to be executed in 38 years
__________________

Better to remain silent and have them think that you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove them right.

Too late!

Four out of five American adults think the country is a train wreck. Allowing for the fact that probably one in five is a committed right-winger, that means virtually every remaining sentient adult in the country is deeply worried about what's happening to America. And in this context we get lapel pins?

(guardian)

My brother is dying of lung cancer.

Medicare won't pay for his radtiation treatments that were scheduled for this week because he had been in the hospital last week with Pnemonia.

We - my siblings and I - are paying for it out of pocket

WTF?

Our country's health care system sucks! He has spent the past 30 years in and out of institutions because the state did not want to pay for his care and so they pushed him out of the state psychiatric hoptical and into the "group home" system that failed him time and time again.

We need to do something to change the way health care is managed in this country.

The Republicans surely won't do anything. Our only hope is a Democrat -right now anyway. Neither Obama's nor Clinton's plans are what I would call true universal health care policies but they are a start at least.

Please - don't let McCain get elected - for so many reasons if not for this!

LBH - you are f##king idiot - go away!

[...]

As was bound to happen in this campaign, Democrats have begun to throttle McCain over his dogged support of the war, especially his cavalier insistence that U.S. troops could stay in Iraq for "100 years." For a man supposedly bound to principle, McCain has oddly tried to walk away from his own words, claiming his opponents have taken him out of context. His supporters are also manning the barricades, contending McCain is being falsely maligned.

In fact, McCain has used the "100 years" phrase more than once; at one campaign stop, he said Americans wouldn't object to keeping troops in Iraq "100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years" as long as there were no U.S. casualties. The problem is, of course, that there will be dead Americans as long as we remain there as occupiers. Neither South Korea or Japan, homogeneous cultures free of sectarian strife, presents a useful analogy.

But that's not the most troubling remark McCain has made about war. On the campaign trail in Florida, he told supporters "there's gonna be other wars. I'm sorry to tell you, but there's gonna be other wars ..."

Other wars? How many others? Iran? North Korea?

It's no wonder that McCain has long been the darling of such neoconservatives as Bill Kristol and Robert Kagan, who openly urged the invasion of Iraq as early as 1998. Several neocons have also advocated military action against Iran, Syria and North Korea. If McCain is such a straight-talker, it's time for him to tell us just how many more countries he plans to go to war with, and where he plans to find the money and the soldiers to do it.

(yahoo)

Flan,

So sorry to hear of the infirmity in the family.

Health problems suck - big time.

flan,

not sure if you have my e-mail...I'll try your old one. I'll be in PA until Wednesday, but I might have some contacts/suggestions that could help.

let me know.

-T

thajji64@hotmail.com

The reason Cheney jokes is that he is unaware of the deaths of Americans in Iraq. Such information is unimportant in his calculus of the world. The needs and desires of America's citizens are of no consequence to him. He is busy trying to come up with an exuse to bomb Iran and cancel November's election so he can keep sending troops to their deaths.

I will be so happy to see him at the Hague waiting for the charges against him to be read.

Cheney is Stalin:

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."
~ Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953)

It just hit me that I should stop posting on this blog. The 1st amendment is great but I don't know if I want it assumed that since I post the same Blog as LBH that I somehow have some affiliation with him that could haunt me later.

As if it doesn't haunt me now.

As far as Cheney: SO!

I say SO, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be frog marched to a rendition site and "interrogated" until ..... well, just until. I don't know when we should stop, but I'm sure we can keep him alive indefinitely and as far as when we're done - we'll know it when we see it.

I am going nuts!

How can I tell if people are wearing their flag pins online?

(other than on video)

My flag is tattooed on my left ___. I have a picture of the Mayflower on my right ___. Sorry i don't have a web cam.

Obama should have finished answering about the lapel pin and then asked her and the ABC dudes and Clinton where their pins were.

I thought that Rove went to work for Fox news. Is he consulting with ABC on the side? The level of trash in that debate was intolerable. And Obama ate their insidious questions and then spit them back with belief that the old Washington crap is over and he's taking this election to a higher level.

I am very concerned about appearances. My daughter lived very close to Obama when she went to the University of Chicago. This was the same neighborhood where Farakhan lives as well as Ayers and Jesse Jackson. I've driven past these houses and posted on the same blog as LBH.

I'm ruined!

HA!

LBH - you are f##king idiot - go away!
~~~~~~

Oh Flanny, you corrnuts flatter me with all that whining!

Now, I have already said I will go away if Capt will accept my challenge with and he wins!

Come on wheres the spirit?

Hope Obummer-little boy Bush - has a VP- who knows a lotta stuff- knows a litlle more about the capital gains tax than little boy Bush~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama's Tax Evasion [He ignores evidence that lower tax rates yield higher tax revenue]

Wall St. Journal ^ | April 18, 2008

"Bill Clinton in 1997 signed legislation that dropped the capital gains tax to 20%," said Mr. Gibson. "And George Bush has taken it down to 15%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all?"

Mr. Obama answered by citing rich hedge fund managers. Raising the capital gains tax is necessary, he said, "to make sure . . . that our tax system is fair and that we are able to finance health care for Americans who currently don't have it and that we're able to invest in our infrastructure and invest in our schools. And you can't do that for free."

But Mr. Gibson had noted that higher rates yield less revenue. So the news anchor tried again: "But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up?" Mr. Obama responded that this "might happen or it might not. It depends on what's happening on Wall Street and how business is going."

This is instructive. The facts about capital gains rates and revenues are well known to our readers... As the nearby chart shows, when the tax rate has risen over the past half century, capital gains realizations have fallen and along with them tax revenue. That's one reason Jack Kennedy proposed cutting the capital gains rate. And it's one reason Bill Clinton went along with a rate cut to 20% from 28% in 1997.

Either the young Illinois Senator is ignorant of this revenue data, or he doesn't really care because he prefers high tax rates as a matter of ideological dogma regardless of the revenue consequences.

Bill Ayers website
http://billayers.wordpress.com/

Anyone else regret not having done enough to stop the Vietnam War? How about the Iraq War? How about the Afghanistan War, (how come Afghanistan is not one of the players - we have NATO, Canada, United States, Al Qaida, Taliban and Northern Alliance, but no Afghanistan)? How about the War on Terror? The War against Palestine? The war in Southern Sudan? The War in Indonesia? I regret not having done enough to stop our murderous nation from killing 180 million people in the last century in its export of the War.

I am pleased that Obama is hanging out with elite intellectuals.

I can see on Real Clear Politics that the Bitter and Elite assault affected his campaign in PA for about one day and he is closing in, even after the crap they called a debate.

I have little doubt that Obama will win PA.

How come Clinton has become such a negative bitch? Because she's losing - says Mrs. 01.

We the undersigned deplore the conduct of ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson at the Democratic presidential debate on April 16. The debate was a revolting descent into tabloid journalism and a gross disservice to Americans concerned about the great issues facing the nation and the world. This is not the first Democratic or Republican presidential debate to emphasize gotcha questions over real discussion. However, it is, so far, the worst.

For 53 minutes, we heard no question about public policy from either moderator. ABC seemed less interested in provoking serious discussion than in trying to generate cheap-shot sound bites for later rebroadcast. The questions asked by Mr. Stephanopoulos and Mr. Gibson were a disgrace, and the subsequent attempts to justify them by claiming that they reflect citizens' interest are an insult to the intelligence of those citizens and ABC's viewers. Many thousands of those viewers have already written to ABC to express their outrage.

The moderators' occasional later forays into substance were nearly as bad. Mr. Gibson's claim that the government can raise revenues by cutting capital gains tax is grossly at odds with what taxation experts believe. Both candidates tried, repeatedly, to bring debate back to the real problems faced by ordinary Americans. Neither moderator allowed them to do this.

We're at a crucial moment in our country's history, facing war, a terrorism threat, recession, and a range of big domestic challenges. Large majorities of our fellow Americans tell pollsters they're deeply worried about the country's direction. In such a context, journalists moderating a debate—who are, after all, entrusted with free public airwaves—have a particular responsibility to push and engage the candidates in serious debate about these matters. Tough, probing questions on these issues clearly serve the public interest. Demands that candidates make pledges about a future no one can predict or excessive emphasis on tangential "character" issues do not. This applies to candidates of both parties.

Neither Mr. Gibson nor Mr. Stephanopoulos lived up to these responsibilities. In the words of Tom Shales of the Washington Post, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Stephanopoulos turned in "shoddy, despicable performances." As Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher describes it, the debate was a "travesty." We hope that the public uproar over ABC's miserable showing will encourage a return to serious journalism in debates between the Democratic and Republican nominees this fall. Anything less would be a betrayal of the basic responsibilities that journalists owe to their public.

Spencer Ackerman, The Washington Independent
Eric Alterman, City University of New York
Dean Baker, The American Prospect Online
Steven Benen, The Carpetbagger Report
Julie Bergman Sender, Balcony Films
Ari Berman, The Nation
Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium
Michael Berube, Crooked Timber, the University of Pennsylvania
Joel Bleifuss, In These Times
Sam Boyd, The American Prospect
Lakshmi Chaudry, In These Times
Joe Conason, Journalist and Author
Brad DeLong, Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal and UC Berkeley
Kevin Drum, The Washington Monthly
Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber, George Washington University
James Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin
Todd Gitlin, Columbia University, TPM Cafe
Merrill Goozner (formerly Chicago Tribune)
Ilan Goldenberg, The National Security Network
Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films
Christopher Hayes, The Nation
Don Hazen, Alternet
Michael Kazin, Georgetown University
Ed Kilgore, The Democratic Strategist
Richard Kim, The Nation
Ezra Klein, The American Prospect
Mark Kleiman, UCLA/The Reality Based Community
Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed
Ari Melber, The Nation
Rick Perlstein, Campaign for America's Future
Katha Pollitt, The Nation
David Roberts, Grist
Thomas Schaller, Columnist, The Baltimore Sun
Mark Schmitt, The New America Foundation
Adele Stan, The Media Consortium
Jonathan Stein, Mother Jones Magazine
Mark Thoma, The Economist's View
Michael Tomasky, The Guardian
Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks
Tracy Van Slyke, The Media Consortium
Kai Wright, The Root

*****

Stein from Mojo signed but DC didn't?

Unless HRC takes PA by more than 10% it is over for her.

Time to take on the real challenge - unseating Bush (or his future third term surrogate)

Ayers is a non-issue - it is the darn flag pins that will decide the election.

I for one, will be sporting a cow bell lapel pin and I will be wearing an onion tied to my belt. (as was the style at the time)

(anybody get the reference?)

More cowbells. We need more cowbells!!

So... If it's about electability... It's not too late for the Republicans to pick an alternative if it turns out that McCain is going to be a weak candidate. It might not be too bad an idea for George to press McCain a little bit.

My suggestion?

Senator McCain, your first wife kept the candle lit for you all those years you were away in Vietnam. When you returned, she was there for you. Soon afterward, she was disfigured in a tragic car accident. You left her for a younger, prettier and richer heiress that bankrolled your political career. Of course, it's common knowledge in DC that you are a skirt-chasing hound-dog and you've cheated on this wife as well. If you can't be faithful to your wife, how can we expect you to keep the faith with us?"

(kos)

"We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell them stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I took the fairy 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 them. Give me five bees for a quarter you'd say. Now where were we, oh ya. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because if the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones."

(Grandpa Simpson 4th season)

Both the "more cow bell" (Chris Walken SNL) and the onion tied to the belt are recurring comedy bits on StephanieMiller.com moring radio show.

OBAMA SCORES BACKING OF TWO SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC ICONS

Former Senators San Nunn (GA) and David Boren (OK) endorse the Land of Lincolner.

Will boost national security cred of Democratic frontrunner.

*****

Things are looking bleak for HRC.

Anybody not familiar with Steph:

She is a comedienne and daughter of former Republican U.S. Representative William Miller, Barry Goldwater's running mate in the 1964 Presidential election.

The Stephanie Miller Show airs live in morning drive for west coast stations, 6AM to 9AM, PT, Monday through Friday. The show is heard, 9:00AM to 12:00noon ET. and 8AM to 11 AM, CT. WYD Media Management produces the program, which is syndicated by the Jones Radio Networks.

*****

You can stream the show for free - we get it on AM here in ABQ - we have one progressive station (better than none)

Reich: “My Conscience Won’t Let Me Be Silent Any Longer”

B. Clinton’s first labor secretary and decades-long friend of the Clintons writes on his blog that he’s for Obama.

“He offers the best hope of transcending the boundaries of class, race, and nationality that have divided us…”

Says he originally stayed out of the race because of “pull of old friendships” and reluctance as a teacher and commentator to be openly partisan.

*****

Maybe the flow of superdelegates has already started.

We will hear from many more after Tuesday. If a group of the party elders (Gore, Edwards, Dean, et al) get together they will likely offer to let her quit before they embarrass her publicly, I wonder if she will take the more dignified way out?

BTW:

Goldwater/Miller '08

Is a gag but it is CC Goldwater and Steph - both the daughters of the originals.

Funny show

Hillary Clinton: No Wimps in the White House

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Hillary Clinton thinks the White House is no place for wimps.

Stepping up her criticism of her rival's performance in ABC News' primetime debate on Wednesday, Clinton, D-N.Y., told the FOX affiliate in Philadelphia, "I know he spent all day yesterday complaining about the hard questions he was asked. Being asked tough questions in a debate is nothing like the pressures you face inside the White House. In fact, when the going gets tough, you just can't walk away because we're going to have some very tough decisions that we have to make."

When pressed, Clinton continued the criticism, adding, "When the going gets tough you can't run away. And it's going to be tough going to deal with these hard problems; getting out of Iraq in the right way, turning the economy around, getting universal health care, ending our dependence on foreign oil. The special interests are going to be a lot tougher than 90 minutes of questions from two journalists and we need a president who is going to be up there fighting everyday for the American people and not complain about how much pressure there is, and how hard the questions are."

Sen. Clinton echoed her earlier comments to FOX in her first event on Friday.

"Some of you see that debate the other night?" Clinton asked the crowd in Randor, Pennsylvania. "Well, I know that some of my opponents' supporters and my opponent have been complaining about hard questions. Well, having been in the White House for eight years and seeing what happens in terms of the pressures and the stresses on the president, that was nothing. I'm with Harry Truman on this: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. I am very comfortable in the kitchen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone get Obummer, little boy Bush a binky!!!!!!

DNC pores over agencies’ records for dirt on McCain
]
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with Cabinet-level agencies and inter-agency departments looking for opposition research to use against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

25 years of public service and the dimwit dems still can't find anything?

Then you've got Obummer, liitle boy Bush with one year in the Senate and we've got:

Naftagate, Flag pingate, Wrightgate, Rezcogate, Farakangate, Hamasgate, Ayersgate, Bittergate, etc..........

Can't wait for the general, this is gunna be fun!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exsmFDYyK4U

Pentagon institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle' with outcome 'in doubt'

WASHINGTON — The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute.

The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.

The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/34101.html

*****

Seems it is down to Bush, Cheney and McShame that still think they have more military acumen than the real guys that run the military. Well them and the armchair warriors and gung-ho chicken hawks.

The successful "surge" not-so-much, eh?

Trying to stem the infiltration of militia fighters, American forces have begun to build a massive concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.

The construction, which began Tuesday night, is intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green Zone into a protected enclave, secured by Iraqi and American forces, where the Iraqi government can undertake reconstruction efforts.

(NYT's)

*****

Reagan said "tear down that wall" while Bunnypants says "we have to build a wall" - I guess the cons have been conned by the neocons.

Three weeks after U.S. troops were ordered into the sprawling Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City to stop rockets from raining down on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad's Green Zone, they're caught in crossfire between Shiite militiamen and the mostly Shiite Iraqi army.

American soldiers who try to move around this urban area, even in the U.S. Army's state-of-the-art Stryker armored vehicles, risk being ambushed. The soldiers in a platoon from the 25th Infantry Division quickly learned that holding a position puts them in the line of fire from both the Mahdi Army militia and the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces.

The American soldiers can't go on the offensive from the run-down two-story house they commandeered in south Sadr City, but must hunker down and wait to get shot at.

****

Maybe McSurgepants is just delusional?

Petraeus Hid Maliki Resistance to US Troops in Basra

WASHINGTON, Apr 17 (IPS) - In testimony before Congressional committees last week, Gen. David Petraeus portrayed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's late March offensive in Basra as a poorly planned effort that departed from what U.S. officials had expected.

What Petraeus did not reveal is that al-Maliki was deliberately upsetting a Petraeus plan to put U.S. and British forces into Basra for a months-long operation to eliminate the Mahdi Army from the city.

Petraeus referred to a plan for an operation to be carried out in Basra that he and his staff had developed with the head of the Basra Operational Command, Gen. Mohan al-Furayji. But Petraeus carefully dodged a question from Sen. Hillary Clinton about what resources he was planning to deploy to Basra and over what length of time.

Clinton evidently suspected that the plan envisioned the deployment of U.S. troops on a large scale in the Shiite south, despite the fact that the Iraqi government is supposed to be responsible for security there. Petraeus responded vaguely that it was "a phased plan over the course of a number of months during which different actions were going to be pursued."

*****

Our troops are dying for another GOP liar.

It doesn't matter what the reality is on the ground, our troops and the citizens of the USA deserve the truth. I guess the truth is too much hard work, eh?

Obama greeted by largest crowd of his campaign
10 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Barack Obama was greeted by the largest crowd of his campaign Friday night in Philadelphia. Some 35,000 people jammed into Independence Park to see the Democratic presidential candidate, four days before this state's crucial April 22 primary.

Frank Friel, director of security at the Independence Visitor Center, made the official estimate.

The crowd exceed the 30,000 who greeted Obama and Oprah Winfrey in December in Columbia, S.C.

Obama told the crowd the United States is at a crucial moment in its history, much like what the founding fathers faced in Philadelphia.

"It was over 200 years ago that a group of patriots gathered in this city to do something that no one in the world believed they could do," Obama said. "After years of a government that didn't listen to them, or speak for them, or represent their hopes and their dreams, a few humble colonists came to Philadelphia to declare their independence from the tyranny of the British throne."

The Illinois senator called Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a "tenacious" opponent but said it was time to move beyond the politics of the 1990s.

"Her message comes down to this: We can't really change the say-anything, do-anything, special interest-driven game in Washington, so we might as well choose a candidate who really knows how to play it," Obama said.

(AP)

*****
I think BHO will take PA.

McCain Distances Self From Bush, Says U.S. Worse Off Than 2000

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain distanced himself from President George W. Bush's economic policies, saying Americans are ``hurting badly'' and haven't fared well under this administration.

****

And just a day or two back Gramps was saying he had seen good progress for the last 7 years - I guess the demetia is getting worse.

Top Bush aides pushed for Guantánamo torture

Senior officials bypassed army chief to introduce interrogation methods

America's most senior general was "hoodwinked" by top Bush administration officials determined to push through aggressive interrogation techniques of terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, leading to the US military abandoning its age-old ban on the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the Guardian reveals today.

General Richard Myers, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff from 2001 to 2005, wrongly believed that inmates at Guantánamo and other prisons were protected by the Geneva conventions and from abuse tantamount to torture.

The way he was duped by senior officials in Washington, who believed the Geneva conventions and other traditional safeguards were out of date, is disclosed in a devastating account of their role, extracts of which appear in today's Guardian.

*****

Bush lied to his top general, his staff, his maladministration and the American public.

The truth of the matter is - Bush staged a preemptive war by lying to everybody and he will be called to answer for his war crimes.

Bush's failed Iraq war: 'A major debacle'

In a scathing analysis, a former senior Pentagon official has called the war in Iraq "a major debacle" that created an incubator for terrorism and emboldened Iran.

"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle," Joseph Collins wrote in "Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and its Aftermath."

Published by the National Defense University, Collins' paper is striking in that it comes from one whose position from 2001 to 2004 put him near the center of decision making that led to the war.

*****

By starting a war on lies, ordering torture, etc. Bush should be charged with treason. Bush is a traitor to America and real American values.

Obama Hamas Ties Pushed In McCain Letter: So Much For "Respectful" Campaign

John McCain has repeatedly insisted in public that he wants to run a respectful campaign, but a recent fundraising email from his campaign suggests there will be nothing revolutionary about the Republican nominee's tactics this year.

McCain's deputy campaign manager, Christian Ferry, sent an email to donors today with the subject line: "Hamas Weighs In On U.S. Presidential Election." The email, which attacks Obama over his foreign policy stances, includes these paragraphs:

*****

Let's see, this makes McShame a liar AGAIN?

I guess he does qualify as a GOPher, eh?

Hillary Lost Years Ago, No Matter What Happens in Pennsylvania

[...]

Permit me to summarize.

Senator Clinton's principal strategic thrust, we're told, is to "raise doubts about [Obama's] electability." Think about that. Here's a New York Senator who had been in the national news for nearly 20 years with a name ID as powerful as Elvis; a U.S. senator whose husband was President of the United States for two terms which are now downright nostalgic; a senator who began this presidential contest 18 months ago with an aura of inevitability that nearly eliminated any internal party competition from the get-go; and a senator who had all the early money wrapped up and put away, along with virtually all the party bosses and top political strategists.

Now, at the tail end of all those immense advantages and standing on the edge of possibly her final catastrophic abyss, Hillary's chief strategic thrust, we and the uncommitted superdelegates are informed, is to raise doubts about Obama's electability.

It is hubris like that that makes politics such a durable and delightful pastime. In one election cycle alone Hillary has compressed all the neverending optimism of Stassen's lifetime of career comebacks; I'm only sorry that Harold didn't try the "unelectability" gambit against Papa Bush in 1992. Then Bill would have really had a race on his hands.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/carpenter/048

John McCain tries to paint himself as some sort of maverick bi-partisan man of experience.

The truth is he is a steal and spend Republican butt kisser who will do or say whatever it takes to win including following Karl Rove's game plan. The problem is that there is a lot more public information about McCain today than there was about GW in 2000.

I have a question. If experience is so important to the Genuises of Propaganda (GOP) now, why wasn't it important in 2000?

(CHB)

Gas taxes and head games

John McCain, on Tuesday:

“I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people — from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus…. [B]ecause the cost of gas affects the price of food, packaging, and just about everything else, these immediate steps will help to spread relief across the American economy.”

John McCain, on Thursday:

“I think psychologically, a lot of our problems today are psychological — confidence, trust, uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. [A gas-tax holiday] might give ‘em a little psychological boost. Let’s have some straight talk: it’s not a huge amount of money…. A little psychological boost. That’s what I think [a gas-tax holiday] would help.”

So, which is it, a seasonal tax cut that will serve as “an immediate economic stimulus,” or a gimmick to alleviate our “psychological” problems?

*****

G'pa MCsame can't even stick to his script.

This is just more of the same - McSame.

I wonder if he knows the election is in November AFTER "from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year" so his "solution" would have to be Bush's?

I wonder if the thinking public will notice?

Media Blackout on Philadelphia Obama Rally

When between 40,000 and 60,000 average, hard working Pennsylvanians gather to hear a presidential candidate, one would think this would be national news.

And who, or what, is elitist again?

(kos)

*****

The M$M has no time to report anything that challenges thier manufactured narrative.

Three Pollsters Measure Drastic Shift Towards Obama

Newsweek's March poll had Obama ahead of Clinton by 1% nationally, now the margin is at 19%. Rasmussen Reports and the Down Center have the PA and IN races, respectively, shifting towards Obama. And Rasmussen Reports is noting that the majority of Democratic voters want the superdelegates to honor the results of the primaries even if those delegates think Clinton has the best shot at winning the general election.

According to the Democratic Pennsylvania poll by Rasmussen Reports:

Perhaps the worst news in the survey for Clinton has nothing to do with the race getting closer. Fifty-seven percent (57%) say that the Superdelegates should honor the results of the primaries even if “something happens to convince Superdelegates that Hillary Clinton would have a better chance of beating John McCain.” If Clinton is deemed more electable, just 33% believe that the Superdelegates should select her over Obama. Clinton’s only viable path to the nomination is to convince the Superdelegates that they should vote for her despite Obama’s edge among pledged delegates.

http://tinyurl.com/65ouzd

*****

Some good news in the other details too.

John McCain's lack of transparency is troubling and raises questions about what he's hiding. From his willingness to skirt FEC law to releasing less information about his tax returns than any other candidate since Ronald Reagan, John McCain continues a troubling pattern of thinking the rules don't apply to him. McCain should hold himself to the same standard set by past presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, and the example already set by both Democratic candidates.

****

eems to me just more distraction. Who cares? If the person with the most personal wealth was the best person for the jjob why have elections.

I wouldn't judge any candidate on their tax forms, unless there was something "reported" on the forms that I have never heard of. Who has how much and pays XXX in taxes is not even a factor for me.

Not an issue that would effect my vote. I can imagine anything that significant reported on tax forms.

The tax returns from other candidates have had zero effect on my preference - not in any election cycle I can remember.

I basically assume most in high offices live quite well of our tax dollars and most make a small fortune with their connections and whatnot.

It makes no sense sending some street urchin who couldn't make a dollar on their own into the highest office in the land. We tried that with commander Bunnypants and we now know that is now way to run a country.

HA!

It was early 1992, and the occasion was an informal gathering of a select committee investigating lingering issues about Vietnam War prisoners and those missing in action, most notably whether any American servicemen were still being held by the Vietnamese. It is unclear precisely what issue set off McCain that day. But at some point, he mocked Grassley to his face and used a profanity to describe him. Grassley stood and, according to two participants at the meeting, told McCain, "I don't have to take this. I think you should apologize."

McCain refused and stood to face Grassley. "There was some shouting and shoving between them, but no punches," recalls a spectator, who said that Nebraska Democrat Bob Kerrey helped break up the altercation.

(WaPo via Huffpo)

*****

Temperment and temper are very important issues.

Achelpohl hands superdelegate vote to Obama

Democratic State Chairman Steve Achelpohl of Omaha has joined a flurry of superdelegates moving to Sen. Barack Obama’s side.

In announcing his endorsement, the Obama campaign released a statement from Achelpohl citing the senator’s ability to “put states like Nebraska in play” during the presidential election this fall.

“Sen. Obama continues to transcend ‘politics as usual’ and focus on the issues that really matter to American families and workers,” Achelpohl said.

“Our party can unite behind Sen. Obama and his positive campaign.”

( Lincoln Journal Star)

I forced myself to watch Stephanopolous on ABC Sunday.

He was more himself. Maybe the debate behavior was due to some loyalty to the Clintons, who he served in the first administration.

I had to see what tough questions he had for McCain. He asked him about his temper. That got him riled. He asked him about his economic plan and how he was going to cut spending without changing taxes. That got him confused. At one point he actually said that raising taxes was the only way to bring the budget in line. He asked him about his comments on William Ayers and BHO. He went ballistic hammering insistently that Obama is guilty by his association with Ayers, but his acceptance of endorsements and contributions from Hagee were proper.

I wanted to hear the truth about the fact that Obama sits on a board of directors with some real corrupt characters, McCain being one of them, who have bombed in the past, cost human life, show no remorse, and would bomb again.

As McCain listed every Bush program he would keep the same, he claimed that he would change Washington.

Three Bush presidential terms. Three recessions. Three wars. Six Trillion in debt. If Bushes are the tip of the iceberg, McCain is the part hidden below the surface waiting to bring us down.

If you could take the stupid in Bush and inject it with steroids you would have McCain.

and.....Bank of America takes 77% plunge. I had no idea that stopping my payments would have that effect.

BofA bought Countrywide.

'Nuff said.