David Corn

1. I'm wondering what you think of Suskind's new book, David. I seen a clip where other similiar books were shown, like Fiasco, and Hubris was one of them. YAY!
2. Paris Hilton's response video is great, calling mcfossil the wrinkled white-haired dude. haha
3. Thanks Capt, for proving Denmac completely wrong with his wingnut bullet points (at the end of the last thread).

Here's just one of the points related by Charles Territo, Director of Communications for the Auto Alliance (BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Mazda, Mercedez Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen)...

• The Department of Energy estimates that 1.2 BILLION gallons of fuel were wasted in 2005 as a result of driving on under-inflated tires.
========================
Hmm, I wonder how many barrels of oil that converts to.
I had read that drilling offshore will save us 6-cents a gallon in about 10 years or so.
Proper tire inflation can save us 12-cents a gallon RIGHT NOW.

"It's like they take pride in being IGNORANT." lol

my bad, I forgot the link for the 12-cents a gallon quote

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml

did you know…

• The Department of Energy estimates that 1.2 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in 2005 as a result of driving on under-inflated tires.

• Fuel efficiency is reduced by 1% for every 3 PSI that tires are under-inflated.

• Proper tire inflation can save the equivalent of about 1 tank of gas per year.

• Proper tire inflation also reduces CO2 emissions.

• Experts estimate that 25% of automobiles are running on tires with lower than recommended pressure, because people don’t know how to check their tires or don’t realize that tires naturally lose air over time.

Maintaining proper tire pressure may not solve our dependence on foreign oil, but it will help. Consumers can get a few more miles to gallon, and when combined other driving and maintenance tips, those small steps can help to make a serious improvement in vehicle fuel economy.

(Thinkprogress)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHN9bLCgF7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U5KZzgaB2k

"polls indicate such and such"
doesn't it occur to anyone that these so-called polls might be phony? or if authentic, might not be accurate representations of actual demographics?
how many poor black voters have the means to even notice a poll much less respond to one?
anyway, how many poor black voters will be interfered with this time around on election day?
probably even more than the last 2.
go team brown shirts!

""The three presidential debates will be devastating for McCain: Pericles vs. Donald Duck.""

right. we saw how devastating the debates were for bush didn't we.
neither diebold nor the fla. supreme court give a rat's ass about "debates" or "polls".

Looks like

61,538,461,5 barrels of oil to produce 1.2-billion gallons of gas... if I did it right. (about 19.5 gallons of gas per 42-gallon barrel of oil)

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question417.htm

"... you find that a barrel of oil (which contains 42 gallons or 159 liters) will yield something like 19 or 20 gallons (75 liters) of gasoline, depending on the refinery."

your obamacon pal has some good ideas but my guess is that the DNC will not rise to the challenge.

"... or if authentic, might not be accurate representations of actual demographics? "

I read something somewhere (probably here) that made alotta sense. That summer polls aren't accurate because alot of people are on vacation and not at home to answer the call/participate in polls. And now of course, add all the folks that've gone completely wireless (no more landline at home). Those folks would show up as a nice bounce at the voting booth instead of a poll.

It's true that the polls this time around have some challenges. Responses are weighted demographically based on past election turnout patterns. But this year the turnout of young voters and African-Americans could likely break the mold this year. The smartest pollsters are trying to taking those factors into account, but there's certainly a lot of guesswork. But then the race issue is a wild card in the other direction.

I keep harking back to the motivation differential between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans are definitely in a an "all politics sucks" mood... Their turnouts in the primary...back when it was competitive on their side, were less than half the turnout the Democrats were pulling...

My gut tells me it should be a blowout... But then I look at those stubborn narrow national polls... And the 1% margins Obama's electoral lead is based on...

Re: the debates.... It sure looked like Kerry and Gore creamed Whistleass every time to me... But that didn't make a difference at in fact...

Obama's going bring to the debates an entirely different style... A more folksy, down-to-earth, almost Reaganesque "there you go again" style.... Like the youtube video on the tire gauges... He's going to bring a chatting-over-the-back-fence kind of "Can you believe these guys?" approach. And it could very well annihilate McCain...

Why Misgovernment Was No Accident in George W. Bush's Washington

http://www.truthout.org/article/follow-this-dime

McCain Offers His Wife Up to Topless Biker Babe Beauty Contest

McCain felt so comfortable at the [Sturgis Motorcycle Rally] event that he even volunteered his wife for the rally’s traditional beauty pageant, an infamously debauched event that’s been known to feature topless women.

“I encouraged Cindy to compete,” McCain said to cheers. “I told her with a little luck she could be the only woman ever to serve as first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”

http://tinyurl.com/6xja3k

*****

I wonder what the fundagelicals think of McCain?

Harold Meyerson, wishing Obama were the candidate we've been waiting for...

http://tinyurl.com/6brg37

Pericles v. Donald Duck? More like JFK v. Mr. Magoo

McCain disses Midwestern farmers

Republican presidential candidate John McCain opposes the $300 billion farm bill and subsidies for ethanol, positions that both supporters and opponents say might cost him votes he needs in the upper Midwest this November.

[...]

"He's essentially reverting to standard Republican supply-side economics," said Goldford. "That's where he's got a problem. He's got to find his own voice and so far he hasn't had a voice."

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/10123

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY, BUSH RECEIVED 'BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE IN U.S.' MEMO:

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day President Bush received a President's Daily Brief entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

A day that will live in infamy.

I wonder if Bush thought the AUG 6th PDB was just a GD piece of paper like the constitution?

Has McCain Walked Into An Energy Trap?

[...]

McCain is stuck in a conundrum: express support for the Gang of Ten and incur the wrath of anti-tax crusaders or continue rolling the dice against public opinion and risk being painted as a stooge of the oil lobby. His $1.3 million in oil and gas donations in June only furthers the frame.

"I think the problem with McCain's position is that he keeps saying I'm in support for all of the above. But when it comes down to specifics in what he will really support, the only thing that comes through loud and clear is more drilling. And I think that is the big vulnerability on his part," said Bob Sussman, an energy expert for the liberal Center for American Progress. "The 'tax the oil company' issue is really difficult for Republicans, but the polling data indicates that the public thinks the oil companies have big role to play... I don't know what is really going on here or if McCain is thinking this through carefully. But I think this is undermining his credibility and to some degree is his hallmark approach: looking for bipartisan solutions to problems."

http://tinyurl.com/66kyar

Certainly true since the primary that Obama clearly staked out as his own all the territory of "I'll keep-the-ethanol-pork-barrel-corporate-welfare-gravy-train-flowing..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRwDELGps48

The only way McCain will win is if the racists come out in droves to vote against Obama.

There is an American saying that I hear much too often. "You are so smart you're stupid." I have never heard a smart person say it I've heard it far too often.

I think it means that smart people should never be allowed to run anything because they are sure to make changes and that would be bad.

Clinton was smart and forced through some changes before the 1994 election. Those changes were the basis for the $5 trillion surplus GW Bush discarded in his effort to bankrupt this country.

McCain understood that the rich are not in need of more money. They are need of more investment opportunities which come into existence during Democratic administrations.

During the past 8 years the only way to make real money was to handle other people's money. America managed to avoid any innovations that create wealth for the masses during the reign of the GOP monsters.

I assume that you will agree that profit made in Iraq and Afghanistan does not count since we borrowed it from the Chinese and a few others and it represents no advance for the country.

How is it that Republicans insist they are fiscally rsponsible yet tend to spend like drunken sailors after a year on board ship?

At the RNC's homepage, http://www.gop.com:

You will see . . .

- 5 photos of Senator Obama

- 9 mentions of Senator Obama by name

- 2 photos of House Speaker Pelosi

- 2 Mentions of House Speaker Pelosi by name

The only other name mentioned anywhere on the front page is that of RNC chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan.

Anybody else noticing a glaring omission?

There are ZERO mentions of John McCain. ZERO photographs of John McCain. Even their "Donate" button has the generic wording "Help elect a Republican President..."

I can't believe that this is an accident. I wouldn't have believed it without seeing the website today, but I am now almost certain that highly-placed officials in the Republican party are hoping that, between now and the Convention, their presidential candidate somehow changes to someone other than John McCain.

I don't know how it would happen (coup at the convention? unspecified medical issues? who knows) but it seems like the RNC does not want to get too invested in their candidate at the moment.

(Kos)

The New Dirty Politics McCain

[...]

By the very way the new Dirty Politics McCain is fighting his losing election he has disqualified himself from the presidency. Simply put: Republican strategists who think that business-as-usual -- i.e., the slanderous politics of the past 30 years -- will take care of matters this time around, are deluded.

A few more lies about Obama, silly comparisons to celebrities, lies about him "not visiting" our troops, B.S. about Obama "introducing the race card" and the Republicans won't recover. That is too bad, because we need a two-party system.

[snip]

In a McCain presidency the United States faces disaster. The new Dirty Politics McCain, as opposed to the old "straight talker" McCain, will turn eight years of Bush/Cheney into twelve to sixteen years. This is something our country might not survive economically, politically or in terms of our standing in the world. If he wins by lies and deceit he'll govern that way. McCain will make Nixon look sweet. When it suits him McCain will do to us what he did to his first wife, just as he has abandoned his promise of taking the high road in this election.

http://tinyurl.com/5txe5h

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Woxu5dwCSX0

"I don't know if you know this," said the Massachusetts Democrat. "John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you're on the short list."

(huffpo)

What to do? McCain should attack (and run TV spots):

1. Obama opposed a hugely successful surge sold by Generals on the ground. Be specific.

2. Obama likes high gas prices, just doesn't like how fast they rose. Obama wants to make high gas prices permanent. Hood Robin increases take from everyone.

3. McCain would oppose Judges "like Roberts and Alito." There stays Roe. Unborn Alert.

4. Obama would oppose Bush's attempt to attach Social Security to the stock market. The stock market was up over 200 points yesterday.

5. Obama has a national plan for medical care. Of course your government knows more about your health than your doctor.

6. Play clips of Jeremiah Wright saying "GD America", and that America deserved 9/11. That was a "gaffe," defined as when a politician tells you what he really thinks. Wright was Obama's pastor for over 20 years, until he became "not the Reverend Wright" that Obama knew.

7. Play TV clips of Obama hugging and kissing Pelosi. That absurdity sez it all. It may be that McCain is too nice. But to win he must go on the attack, but with comic touches.

8. The three presidential debates will be devastating for Obama: unless his campaign demands the questions in advance, and their own photographer.

Cheers

Here are some current electoral college projections from a few different websites:

Five Thirty Eight:
Obama 297.8; McCain 240.2

Real Clear Politics:
Obama 238; McCain 163; Toss Ups 137
W/O Toss Ups:
Obama 322; McCain 216

Pollster:
Obama 284; McCain 157; Toss Ups 97

CNN:
Obama 221; McCain 189; Toss Ups 128

One thing seems clear in those projections: Obama has a strong lead. In terms of Electoral Votes, safe Obama states outnumber safe McCain states by anyone's count. Furthermore, there aren't many states in the Obama column that have potential to flip to McCain. On the other hand, Obama does have an outside shot at a few states (North Carolina, Montana, Georgia) that McCain should have no worries about.

(kos)

Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday taunted Republican presidential rival John McCain for first mocking the idea of keeping tires inflated for energy conservation and then agreeing the practice works.

''It will be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain,'' Obama said as he campaigned in Indiana with Sen. Evan Bayh, widely considered a top-tier candidate for running mate.

(kos)

Latest from BHO -

"The Muslim-outreach coordinator to the presidential campaign of Barack Obama has resigned amid questions about his involvement in an Islamic investment fund and various Islamic groups.

Chicago lawyer Mazen Asbahi, who was appointed volunteer national coordinator for Muslim American affairs by the Obama campaign on July 26, stepped down Monday after an Internet newsletter wrote about his brief stint on the fund’s board, which also included a fundamentalist imam.

A corporate lawyer at the firm of Schiff Hardin LLP, Mr. Asbahi tendered his resignation after he and the Obama campaign received emailed inquiries about his background from The Wall Street Journal. He did not respond to the email or a message left at his law office; the campaign released a letter in which Mr. Asbahi said he did not want to be a distraction."

Then there's George Clooney (who lives in Italy) raising money for BHO - in Switzerland!!! Obama's people claim only U.S. citizens will be allowed to contribute. It's a shame Barack doesn't think an American city is good enough to host this type of function - it would be good for the city's local economy!

Cheers.

John McCain, Paris Hilton, and the Politics of Nothing

[...]

And here's another question: what's next for John McCain? Where does he and his campaign go from here? If this is where they have taken the political discourse in early August, what have they got for us come October? Here is a preview -- our best guess -- of what the McCain has in store for us:

"Too Tall." An ad claiming that proof of Obama's arrogance is his refusal to be as short as McCain (5' 6").

"Sex Tape." An ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton's sex tape to make the point that, well, no point, just that Paris had a sex tape and Obama is, you know, like it.

"Sex Tape II." An ad with Obama digitally inserted into Paris Hilton's sex tape.

"Rhymes with Iraq." An ad pointing out that Obama's first name almost rhymes with Iraq. The ad is pulled after it's pointed out that it comes close to mentioning an issue.

"Michelle Obama: a man?" An ad that's not making any claims, "just asking a question." The ad succeeds in getting the typical media treatment: "As many have noted, the ad uses hyperbole. Still, however, it raises the question, is Michelle Obama a woman?"

"Barack Obama: gay?" Hard to say, but, per the last ad, if Michelle is indeed a man, then that makes Obama gay.

"Barack Obama: black gay man." Previous ad forgot to mention Obama's race.

"akludfilkakmeitceks." An ad with random letters coming up on the screen. The media declares it "a home run."

http://tinyurl.com/5h56mf

Too funny!

More pollstrology:

(CBS) Barack Obama leads John McCain 45 percent to 39 percent in the latest CBS News poll. Despite Obama's highly-publicized foreign trip and McCain's recent high-profile advertisements, the findings are unchanged since a CBS News/New York Times poll released last month. The percentage of undecided voters - 13 percent - also remains steady.

OLBERMANN: Also, maybe a somewhat serious point contained in all this malarkey; on stage at Sturgis, he referred to the—preferring the roar of the 50,000 Harleys to 200,000 Germans cheering in Berlin. But in doing that, did he not underscore the fact that those 200,000 Germans in Berlin actually showed up to hear Barack Obama speak, but the 50,000 bikers on the roar of their Harleys, they had shown up at Sturgis not to see John McCain, but to see Kid Rock, Kelly Pickler and a bunch of female wrestlers and other women not wearing tops?

MADDOW: This is a critical and basic difference between the John McCain campaign for president and the Barack Obama campaign. Barack Obama creates large crowds when he gives speeches. John McCain‘s campaign has just figured out to find out where there‘s going to be a large crowd for another reason and to hope to slip their candidate in between other acts.

lololololololo

""hope to slip their candidate in between other acts""

too funny!

Check this out ev1
Does this sound familiar

This will be considered off-topic — but it isn’t. I thought I’d share this letter which was sent to the Editor of the Times-Dispatch by a gentlemen who escaped Cuba in the 1960’s. His words come from the experience of believing in someone, without taking the time to know who they really are, and the consequences that followed:

Subject: Celebration

From Richmond Times-Dispatch, Monday, July 7, 2008

Dear Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day, and on July 4, I celebrate America ’s. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba, and a few months later, I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I’ve thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, so when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said, ‘Praise the Lord.’ And when the young leader said, ‘I will be for change and I’ ll bring you change,’ everone yelled, ‘Viva Fidel!’

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner’s guns went silent, the people’s guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education, it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented, Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over, more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I’m back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we in America would never fall for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America ?

Would we?

Manuel Alvarez, JR.
posted by
Kathleen | 08.06.08 - 2:48 pm | #

Check this out ev1
Does this sound familiar

This will be considered off-topic — but it isn’t. I thought I’d share this letter which was sent to the Editor of the Times-Dispatch by a gentlemen who escaped Cuba in the 1960’s. His words come from the experience of believing in someone, without taking the time to know who they really are, and the consequences that followed:

Subject: Celebration

From Richmond Times-Dispatch, Monday, July 7, 2008

Dear Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day, and on July 4, I celebrate America ’s. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba, and a few months later, I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I’ve thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, so when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said, ‘Praise the Lord.’ And when the young leader said, ‘I will be for change and I’ ll bring you change,’ everone yelled, ‘Viva Fidel!’

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner’s guns went silent, the people’s guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education, it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented, Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over, more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I’m back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we in America would never fall for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America ?

Would we?

Manuel Alvarez, JR.
posted by
Kathleen | 08.06.08 - 2:48 pm | #

"""Luckily, we in America would never fall for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America ?
Would we?
Manuel Alvarez, JR.
posted by
Kathleen""" |

"8. The three presidential debates will be devastating for McCain: Pericles vs. Donald Duck."

I am SO stealing this line! :-)

on well done manuel via kathleen via marie!
much better to stay the course, of course!

Yeah, it sounds familiar because of the way bush claimed unitary powers. With his rubber-stamp repug Congress, there wasn't a balance of powers any more, so it does kinda resemble Cuba. That's terrible, isn't it? Actually bringing our Country down to third world level, with torture and warrantless spying to boot!
The Dems will soon have filibuster-proof majorities in both Houses so we can start on the loooong repair list.

Here we go again. First it was "24" that our policies were based on, and now "Batman" as well.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/06/beck-batman-vindicates-bushs-conservative-values-on-the-war-on-terror/

Beck: Batman vindicates Bush’s ‘conservative values on the war on terror.’

Last month, author Andrew Klavan wrote that the new Batman film is a “paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war.” CNN’s Glenn Beck agreed today, listing off controversial Bush policies he claims were vindicated by the film’s showcase of “conservative values on the war on terror”:

Dumya is a comic book hero!

Too bad he can only fight comic book bad guys!

lolololol

John McCain is the comic hero "Mr. Gramps"

lololol

Go ahead and make fun. ....and Glenn Beck...Jeez....what a bozo...

Ever looked at his book? It's practically a comic book of reactionary reaction...

But the Batman point is actually pretty scary...

Want to know why a majority of Americans aren't the slightest bit outraged over torture? Just watch TV. Every single TV detective since Mannix has to smack around the punks at one time or another... in order for good to triumph over evil by the end of the hour...

Abusing bad guys and "bending the law" are absolue staples in American pop culture...

And why is the Second Ammendment sacred, when the Fourth is so optional?

Violence, guns and militarism are cornerstones of American "patriotism."

"It's like they take pride in being IGNORANT."

Too true - but still funny.

lololo

Pakistan coalition moves to impeach Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's usually fractious coalition government moved decisively for the first time on Thursday to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, who has been an important American ally in the campaign against terror but who has largely been pushed to the sidelines since his party lost elections in February.

"It has become imperative to move for impeachment against General Musharraf," said Asif Ali Zardari, the head of the Pakistan Peoples' Party, standing beside Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, at a noisy press conference.

http://tinyurl.com/6zyr3f

the mccain energy plan - homer simpson without the donut

http://rense.com/general82/simp.htm

Spread John McCain's official talking points around the Web -- and you could win valuable prizes!

That, in essence, is the McCain campaign's pitch to supporters to join its new online effort...

People who sign up for McCain's program receive reward points each time they place a favorable comment on one of the listed Web sites (subject to verification by McCain's webmasters). The points can be traded for prizes, such as books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events, even a ride with the candidate on his bus, known as the Straight Talk Express, according to campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

(WaPo via TPM)

"homer simpson without the donut"

Cracks me UP!

Kinda reminds me of Bush being the hole they built the donut around. (something like that)

lolololo

Howard Dean

"John McCain a maverick? The John McCain of 2000 wouldn't even consider voting for the John McCain of 2008. The American people are learning that the John McCain of 2008 represents more of the same failed policies we've gotten from George Bush for the past eight years. Senator McCain is clearly in the tank for Exxon and big oil, for keeping our troops stuck in Iraq for decades to come, and for an economic policy that puts tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations above relief for hardworking families. John McCain has changed: he's taken the low road, leveling false, negative and misleading attacks against Barack Obama. John McCain is no more a maverick within the Republican Party than Dick Cheney is. He's just more of the same."

(huffpo)

As of 2004, the US electorate stood as -

Dems - 72 million
Reps - 55 million

So, if BHO is not elected President, that proves that the Democrat party is a party of racists!!!

And Sen. John Kerry offers this spicy riposte:

"The McCain campaign is determined to give their Paris Hilton ad a run for its money in the desperation department, and they've succeeded only in shining a light on the fact that the John McCain of today is unrecognizable from the John McCain of just a couple years ago. The real question is what happened to the John McCain we used to know and why he changed overnight into a George Bush nominee with a Karl Rove campaign. The new John McCain supports the Bush tax giveaways for the wealthy he once denounced, opposes his own immigration bill, flip-flopped on torture, and runs negative ads after calling for an honorable campaign. Frankly, it tells you everything about this election that the McCain campaign spins its wheels recycling what we said about John McCain way back when while scrambling and sputtering to explain away Governor Pawlenty's praise of Barack Obama today."

*****

Nothing wrong with praising McCain for things he said or did in the past. That also doesn't dismiss his currrent position nor garner any praise today.

There was a time . . .

McCain pick his VP - himself. He has brought Exxon in for the top slot!

DNC launches 'Exxon-McCain ’08'

[...]

“The oil industry was so generous with its campaign largesse,” a party official says, “John McCain has not only put Exxon on the ticket — but he has graciously stepped aside and is allowing Exxon ... to run at the top of the ticket."

If the governor needs to check his tires, he can stop off at the RNC, a couple of blocks away.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12337.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_I6GXfDUSM

Popular Vote v. Electoral College (Why The Media Badly Needs A History Lesson)

Despite Barack Obama's (D) amazingly consistent lead throughout the general election over John McCain (R), the talking heads on cable television returned to their incessant bloviating over whether Obama should be leading by more than just five points over McCain. It's really painful to watch these fools who don't bother to pay attention to history to understand how a five-point popular vote victory almost always translates when it comes to the only metric that matters -- the Electoral College. (Hint: landslide)

http://tinyurl.com/5lds5u

Throw 'em under the bus!

WRONG. . .WRONG. . .WRONG: Obama Lets Muslim Advisor Resign
by Steve Clemons

http://tinyurl.com/63kgoy

**

(Did I read correctly above that Greg Palast couldn't think of any reason to vote for Obama over McCain other than Obama is clearly more intelligent? That their differences in energy policy are now insubstantial? Essentially a wash like their policies on Iraq and Afghanistan?)

nukes create alot of energy.

The McCain campaign metaphor?

McCain's Bus Crash - The Straight Talk Express barrels through miami, literally

In yet another seemingly bad news day for John McCain, his straight talk express seems to have derailed and hit a florida driver this afternoon.

It all happened at the intersection of Biscayne Blvd & NE 54th Street in Miami around 4:00 pm. The Straight talk express appeared to be heading south on the main Biscayne Blvd corridor and somehow ended up hitting a blue Ford Windstar Minivan.

From our point of view it doesnt look like anyone was seriously injured in the Minivan though the drivers side was badly damaged.

http://www.veridoo.com/channel/politics?read=257

(Video and still pictures at the link)

(As long as we're playing the guilt by association game, we should note that Karen Hughes, back when she worked for the State Department, spoke before an ISNA conference and was honored with an ISNA dinner, and both former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have met with ISNA leadership.)

(ABC)

Top Ten Crooked Things About McCain From This Phoenix Alt-Weekly Article

1. Back in 1994 when this reporter was doing a feature on McCain, she went to his house before dawn, for some reason, and Cindy was doing a whole fake routine of cooking eggs for the kids, even though it was still nighttime.

2. Sometimes John McCain would be a guest host on talk radio, and he’d be polite to the callers but then say terrible stuff about them, off the air.

3. Before that whole campaign-finance reform stunt, McCain was totally against any changes to the campaign-finance system, and in fact repeatedly voted against reforms in the 1980s.

4. This is because he got all his money from lobbyists and corporations, especially the crooked Savings & Loan run by McCain’s best friend, Charles Keating, who would also take McCain on sexy free vacations to the Bahamas, which Keating owned.

5. Ha, nobody even remembers the Keating Five scandal anymore, even though the GOP candidate for president was one of the Five senators deeply involved in the crooked Savings & Loan scandal, which almost destroyed America forever and wound up costing taxpayers $125 billion dollars.

6. Cindy’s dad the Budweiser Brewery kingpin also has special dealings with Keating.

7. When Rose Mofford, a nice old Democrat lady who was Arizona’s secretary of state, wound up serving out Ev Mecham’s term as governor — the whackjob Mecham was forced out of office in 1988 — McCain conspired to shame Mofford during a brief appearance before Congress. Asked why, he cackled and said, “I’ll embarrass a Democrat any time I get the chance.” Minutes later, he swears to reporters that he’d “never do anything like that.”

8. McCain is always mentioning Arizona’s political greats, as if he’s one of them, too. But Arizonans say McCain shouldn’t even be allowed to talk about Barry Goldwater, beloved conservative senator, and Mo Udall, beloved liberal congressman. “It drives some people here nuts. Particularly those who know, or knew, all three men.”

9. Goldwater distanced himself from McCain once it became clear that Arizona’s new senator was a conniving little crook. After being scammed into attending a McCain fundraiser disguised as a “tribute” to Reagan, Goldwater insisted that McCain give half the take to the state GOP party, but of course it didn’t happen. “You will recall during my speech at the dinner for the president in Phoenix, I announced that you were going to give half of the funds you raised to the State Republican Party,” Goldwater wrote to McCain. “I am told by the Party, that you still owe them $35,000, and unless you pay all of it, or most of it, they cannot meet their payroll next Wednesday.”

10. The guy who worked for Cindy’s charity and caught her stealing a million pills wrote this in his journal, at the time: “During my short tenure at AVMT, I have been surrounded by what on the surface appears to be the ultimate all-American family. In reality, I am working for a very sad, lonely woman whose marriage of convenience to a U.S. Senator has driven her to: distance herself from friends; cover feelings of despair with drugs; and replace lonely moments with self-indulgences.”

Baker’s Dozen Bonus No. 11. And now RNC private investigators are chasing that guy, Tom Gosinski, even though he long ago moved to another state and started a totally different career and has had nothing to say about the McCains since the pill-addict scandal, which he only told the DEA about because he was scared of going to prison if he covered up Cindy’s opiate scandal.

http://tinyurl.com/5e4myo

***

Fancy that a lying cheating scumbag politician. Is there any other kind?

lololololo

Without McCain it would have been the Keating four?

Hmmmmm.

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=120280

Citing Stability in Iraq, Bush Sees Troop Cuts
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: August 1, 2008

President George W. Bush on Thursday suggested the possibility of further troop reductions in Iraq as the security situation con­tinues to show marked improvement.

Mr Bush said July had been a "month of encouraging news", with violence declining to its lowest level since early 2004. He added that General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, had said that while progress was still "reversible" there was now a "degree of durability" to the security gains

http://tinyurl.com/5wfzvy

One year ago:

US may reduce forces in Iraq by spring

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jun 22, 6:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The U.S. may be able to reduce combat forces in Iraq by next spring if Iraq's own security forces continue to grow and improve, a senior American commander said Friday. He denied reports the U.S. is arming Sunni insurgent groups to help in the fight against al-Qaida.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top day-to-day commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, did not predict any reductions in U.S. forces but said such redeployments may be feasible by spring. There are currently 156,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/5gmxfc

Two years ago:

U.S. general in Iraq outlines troop cuts
Michael R. Gordon The New York Times

Published: June 25, 2006

WASHINGTON The top American commander in Iraq has drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September, American officials say.

[...]

American officials emphasized that any withdrawals would depend on continued progress, including the development of competent Iraqi security forces, a reduction in Sunni Arab hostility toward the new Iraqi government and the assumption that the insurgency will not expand beyond Iraq's six central provinces. Even so, the projected troop withdrawals in 2007 are more significant than many experts had expected.

http://tinyurl.com/22o9n6

(hmmm seeing a pattern here?)

Three years ago:

U.S. Signals Spring Start for Pullout
General Restates Position, Noting Contingencies, During Rumsfeld Visit to Baghdad

By Ann Scott Tyson and Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 28, 2005; Page A18

BAGHDAD, July 27 -- The top U.S. military leader in Iraq said Wednesday there could be substantial withdrawals of some of the 135,000 U.S. troops in the country as early as next spring.

[...]

"If the political process continues to go positively, and if the development of the security forces continues to go as it is going, I do believe we'll still be able to take some fairly substantial reductions after these elections in the spring and summer," Casey said before meeting with Jafari.

http://tinyurl.com/bplgp

Four years ago:

Building Iraqi Security Forces Must Continue, Sanchez Says
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2004 – The commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today that continuing to build Iraqi security forces is key to a successful transfer of sovereignty.

[...]

Handing over security to the Iraqi people will depend upon the coalition's ability to quickly stand up Iraqi security forces, especially the police, the army and the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.

[...]

This involves building the security forces in small units and police stations to provide the law and order in the cities, he said, and also giving Iraq the external security capacity it will need over the next couple of years. "I think it's going to take us awhile," he said, "but we're committed to it, and we'll be here until that's done."

Sanchez said the 129,000 U.S. service members currently in Iraq are an adequate number, "and we'll manage their redeployment as the operational and tactical situation dictates."

http://tinyurl.com/625xm3

*****

I think Led Zepplin said it best:

The song remains the same. . .

"Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us,” Obama said."

"Obama seemed to brush off concerns about Iran’s threats while campaigning in Oregon. “Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance,” Obama said."

"Draining the [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] would drop consumer fuel costs for the short run, as would any sudden increase in supply. But then what? Once the reserves are gone, prices would go back up, and perhaps even higher because the reserves ultimately would have to be replaced.

Oddly, although Obama’s proposal shows he recognizes the impact of supply on prices, he remains hesitant about lifting the congressional ban on off-shore drilling. Credit Obama for moving slightly away from the hard-line no drilling position of the Democratic congressional leadership by saying he’d consider “limited” coastal drilling if it were packaged with big increases in government subsidies for alternative energy development.

But at the same time, he proposed taking away any incentive oil companies would have to expand drilling and increase supplies by pushing a windfall tax on Big Oil’s profits to fund the $1,000 rebate checks.

Perhaps the senator is hoping the checks will make Americans forget, as he apparently has, about what happened when Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter played the price and profit limiting game the 1970s."

You do not know what Obama needs to do.

All your blog experience doesn't give you insight.

Volunteering for a local alderman race doesn't give you national election experience which you can then turn into sage advice for Obama.

Grasping at polls then rejecting polls that don't fit your narrative just makes you look like a petty and unstable ass.

OK, so let me break this down for you. Here is the man you are trying to give advice to:

He's a Harvard educated lawyer.

He's been a community organizer, a successful state Senator and constitutional law professor.

He has reformed ethics in the Illinois Senate and in the U.S. Senate.

He has been on the correct side of nearly every debate, long before most of his peers find their senses.

He entered the race for Democratic Nominee as a widely-held long shot, and then went on to defeat the Clinton machine.

He is running a 50-state strategy which has put numerous states in play, affecting down-ticket races all over the country.

He has rejected the usual "politics of smearing" attitude towards campaigning, which has not only put him ahead of McCain in pretty much every measurable demographic but has also begun to elevate the level of discourse in the country.

And, if I may be blunt, he's black.

And his middle name is Hussein.

And, right now, he is in the lead for President of the United States.

Now, after reading ALL OF THAT, how in the blue-fucking-hell can any of you SERIOUSLY think that you know precisely what Obama needs to do to win?

Unreal.

(kos)

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

"Let's take a look at the latest "Obamaism's"!

1 - "I have been in oh, 57 states so far and have a few more to go".

2 - "As Commander OF Chief......."

3 - "My uncle freed prisoners from Auschwitz or Buchenwald err one of those places".

4 - (At a Memorial Day speech) "We are here to honor those who have fallen in wars for this country and some of them I see standing here today".

5 - (To a news reporter, female) "Hey Sweetie, can you hang on a minute"."

"By his own admission, Senator Obama's greatest weakness is being disorganized. He jokingly replied that he does not ask his staff to hand him papers until two seconds before he needs it during the Nevada debate. Sadly, the joke was on disadvantaged children in Chicago's West Side when he "goofed" and voted to stip millions in funding from a child welfare office.

According to the LA Times, Obama said, "I was not aware that I had voted no," in June 2002, requesting that the Senate record be fixed to reflect that he "intended to vote yes." His habit of voting 'present' on contentious issues was less than stellar, but the fact that he did not not knowing what he was voting for raises red flags.

Obama's 'goof' was not an isolated incident. The Times learned that Obama cast a vote and then said he hit the wrong button at least five times during his term in State office. Some examples Obama's fiduciary fumbles are:

"On March 19, 1997, he announced that he had bungled an election-reform vote from the day before, a measure that passed 51 to 6. "I should have -- I was trying to vote yes on this, and I was recorded as a no," he said," according to the Times.

The Times also reported that: "He stood on March 11, 1999, to take back his vote against legislation to end good-behavior credits for certain felons in county jails. "I pressed the wrong button on that," he said."

He "pushed the wrong button" AGAIN on a human cloning ban. On Nov. 14, 1997, he voted 'yes' on a bill to expand riverboat gambling, and was one of two votes that helped pass the bill. Obama changed his vote to be recorded as a 'no' votes moments after the legislation passed.

The paper noted that the measure was opposed by church groups, groups that Obama was lobbying to support him for his reelection the following year."

(kos)

So much for "He's a Harvard educated lawyer."

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWX5u69hmzY

More of those GOP family values?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Frontenac, was indicted today in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on May 17, the day after this year’s Legislative session ended.

The alleged victim is the daughter of a state employee. The girl’s mother and Muschany -– who is married and has two children -- were romantically involved, the woman said.

A Cole County grand jury returned an indictment today charging Muschany with the Class C felony of "deviate sexual assault." The indictment identifies the victim only by initials. It says that on May 17, Muschany "had deviate sexual intercourse" with the girl, "knowing that he did so without" her consent.

http://tinyurl.com/643urx

*****

What is with these slugs?

If Sen. Obama's "inexperience" is Mr. McCain's ace in the hole, why not trump that by asking, "Does Sen. McCain know his own mind?"

In this sports-crazed country, everyone has learned a lot about what it takes to win. They've heard and seen it proven repeatedly that to achieve greatness, to win the big one, an athlete has to be ready to "put in the work." John McCain isn't doing that, yet. He's competing as if he expects the other side to lose it for him. Sen. McCain is a famously undisciplined politician. Someone in the McCain circle had better do some straight talking to the candidate. He's not some 19-year-old tennis player who's going to win the U.S. presidential Open on raw talent and the other guy's errors. He's not that good.

There is a reason the American people the past 100 years elevated only two sitting senators into the White House -- JFK and Warren Harding. It's because they believe most senators, adept at compulsive compromise, have no political compass and will sell them out. Now voters have to do what they prefer not to. Yes, Sen. McCain has honor and country. Another month of illogical, impolitic remarks and Sen. McCain will erase even that. Absent a coherent message for voters, he will be one-on-one with Barack Obama in the fall. He will lose.

http://tinyurl.com/696om3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHN9bLCgF7k

Birthday cake hurled onto Lieberman

A little more to that Miami traffic accident yesterday involving Joe Lieberman aboard the Straight Talk Express: Turns out the impact sent a staffer's chocolate birthday cake with thick white frosting smack into the Connecticut senator

"At the moment of impact I was sitting in a booth ... right in front of counter right where the cake was. The cake went all over me. That was the end of my suit,'' he said, apologizing for the lack of suit for a taping of "Political Connections" on Bay News 9. "I always wondered whether sometime a political protester would hit me with a pie in the face. I never thought a friendly birthday cake would attack me from the rear."

http://tinyurl.com/6z2aq8

*****

Insert late night comedy joke here________

lolololo

so. this upcoming presidential election would indeed seem to boil down to voting for "the lesser of two evils".

"the lesser of two evils"

Um, we are talking about politicians here?

Is there such a thing as a politician that isn't evil?

All these "world leaders" can send brave warriors to their deaths then eat breakfast. So-called "leaders" of nuclear countries are serious when they say they could push the button.

They are all evil and scary SOB's. The system - such as it is - ends with some kind of compromise between politicians - that is worse than just evil.

Embedded reporters or Republican activists?

Members of Vets for Freedom have campaigned for John McCain and made anti-Obama ads, but while they're in Iraq, you're paying for their gas, food and lodging.

http://tinyurl.com/5kcqep

Credit goes to Howard Dean but here is the best one liner of the entire campaign.

The John McCain of 2000 Wouldn't Even Consider Voting For the John McCain of 2008.

(kos)

The Politics You'll See As You Watch 100M Hurdles

http://tinyurl.com/6facvs

****

New ads from both camps.

Get Your War On: You Are Loved

http://tinyurl.com/5fzqgm

lololololo

A Catharsis in Denver?

Don't kid yourself. With Hillary planning a 'Greek drama,' the Clinton-Obama rivalry will go on.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151388

****

Someone throw a bucket of water on HRC?

Cheesus - could she be more pathetic and weak?

Good thing Obama ran, HRCwould have been a huge mistake.

Suskind Revisited

My source also notes that Dick Cheney, who was behind the forgery, hated and mistrusted the Agency and would not have used it for such a sensitive assignment. Instead, he went to Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans and asked them to do the job. The Pentagon has its own false documents center, primarily used to produce fake papers for Delta Force and other special ops officers traveling under cover as businessmen. It was Feith’s office that produced the letter and then surfaced it to the media in Iraq. Unlike the Agency, the Pentagon had no restrictions on it regarding the production of false information to mislead the public. Indeed, one might argue that Doug Feith’s office specialized in such activity.

http://tinyurl.com/6nk4hw

From the American Consercvative Magazine?

Those looney lefties!

Atlantic Scores Internal Clinton Campaign Emails

By Anne E. Kornblut

Just when you thought everyone had moved on... former advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are in a tizzy over an upcoming piece in the Atlantic Monthly that chronicles the inner workings of the now-defunct campaign. Of particular concern are nearly 200 internal memos that the author, Josh Green, obtained -- 130 or so of which he plans to scan in and post online. When the piece is published sometime next week, readers will be able to scroll through the memos, from senior strategists such as Mark Penn, Harold Ickes and Geoff Garin, and see what exactly was going on inside the infamously fractured Clinton organization. That has some former team members in a panic. And we thought the Abramoff e-mails were fun....

*****

Roh oh! There is going to be blood . . .

lololololololo

McCain the Antichrist?

Biblical scholars in Colorado Springs have uncovered startling evidence that Senator John McCain may be the Antichrist. Their conclusions, while highly controversial, may have a dramatic impact on the 2008 elections, since many Bible-believing Christians have already expressed doubts about McCain’s fealty to Christianity.

The analysis was conducted by the respected True Bible Society, and it will be published next month in the End Times Journal.

http://tinyurl.com/5g3m2m

*****

Poor little Johnny - just can't get a break with the Fundagelicals - they eat this sttuff up!

"End Times Journal" has to be an oxymoron? Or close to it.

Just Asking...

If there were a group of questionable donations all with the name Abdullah that were funneled through a guy in Jordan who is a Jordanian national who is under investigation for war profiteering and it were Barack Obama instead of John McCain would this be a bigger deal?

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/27105

****

Naw, nobody should ask about anything his maverickityness does or doesn't do - legal or otherwise - he was in the military so STFU!

Now if it was Obama and Abdullah - obviously a very scary terrorist connection.

McCain: The Maverick Has Been Gelded

[...]

You can't spout a slogan like "Country First" while at the same time selling out your country to the Bush-Cheney Big Oil interests who've pumped $2 million into your campaign.

That's Big Oil first, country second.

You can't call yourself, "The American President Americans have been waiting for," without implying that I and the other tens of millions of descendants of immigrants are any less American than you are.

You promised to run an honorable campaign and so far, Senator McCain, your campaign has been anything but.

I will not stand for your Bush-Rove henchmen to cheapen one of the most noble and uplifting events in world history -- the election of an American president. And neither should you.

I'm running for president so that together we Americans can fix the corrosive culture of insider politics and the next generation of mavericks can come to Washington and keep the courage that got them there in the first place."

http://tinyurl.com/5r6asq

"You could argue that no one's ready to be president," Bill Clinton said.

That's actually a very intelligent and insightful thing to say. Backed up, in fact, by about two centuries of Presidential memoirs.

Only a pathetically thin-skinned Obaman like capt cackle would take offense at that. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

Apparently it's not only unacceptable to make jokes at his expense, but to never question the perfection of Mr. Cool in any way...

My favorite quote today is from Paul Krugman, exasperated with the outrageousness of McCain's oil-drilling flip-flop and rampage, and his recent campaign in general:

"In any case, remember this the next time someone calls for an end to partisanship, for working together to solve the country’s problems. It’s not going to happen — not as long as one of America’s two great parties believes that when it comes to politics, stupidity is the best policy."

This "split-the-difference" garbage has just got to stop. 2008 cries out for a decisive PARTISAN victory!

Seem any polls where Obama cracks 50%?

Here's why not:

'Since the primaries, Obama has made a tactical decision: He refuses to be painted as a liberal...

'But since Obama's short public career has been conventionally -- in some cases, extremely -- liberal, his tactical shift to the center has been startlingly obvious, on issues from guns to terror surveillance to Iraq, and now to oil drilling. Says Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center: "Obama's political calculation may be correct, but it still involves a price. It has shattered his claim to be different. It calls into question his political character and leaves the impression he is consumed and defined by ambition."

'"Since Obama's short public career has been conventionally -- in some cases, extremely -- liberal, his tactical shift to the center has been startlingly obvious, on issues from guns to terror surveillance to Iraq, and now (reluctantly) to oil drilling. Says Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center: "Obama's political calculation may be correct, but it still involves a price. It has shattered his claim to be different. It calls into question his political character and leaves the impression he is consumed and defined by ambition."' (Michael Gerson, Washington Post)

""You could argue that no one's ready to be president,""

certainly reinforces my position that the upcoming election is a decision based on the lesser of two evils.

Popular Vote v. Electoral College (Why The Media Badly Needs A History Lesson)

Despite Barack Obama's (D) amazingly consistent lead throughout the general election over John McCain (R), the talking heads on cable television returned to their incessant bloviating over whether Obama should be leading by more than just five points over McCain. It's really painful to watch these fools who don't bother to pay attention to history to understand how a five-point popular vote victory almost always translates when it comes to the only metric that matters -- the Electoral College. (Hint: landslide)

So, rather than expect that someone will take a peek at historical data, I figured I'd go ahead and do it myself.

Below are the results from the last 20 presidential elections, listing the Electoral Vote margin by the winner over the loser (or second place finisher), as well as the popular vote margin.

[snip]

Take note of just how large of an electoral landslide results from a five-point popular vote victory. It's pretty massive and usually results in an Electoral Vote margin of about 200. The elections that most closely mirror the margin in the current contest are:

1992: Clinton won the popular vote by 5.6 points, winning the Electoral College by a 370 to 168 margin (a difference of 202);

1948: Truman won the popular vote by 4.5 points, winning the Electoral College by a 303 to 189 margin (a difference of 114).
Also, keep in mind that Obama's current five-plus point lead is with undecideds added to the mix. If you simply allocate undecideds by the percentage each candidate is getting, Obama's lead jumps to close to seven points (w/o undecideds in parentheses):

CBS News: Obama 45-39 (Obama 53.6-46.4, +7.2)
AP/IPSOS: Obama 47-41 (Obama 53.4-46.6, +6.8)
Time: Obama 46-41 (Obama 52.9-47.1, +5.8)

http://tinyurl.com/5lds5u

*****

A pretty convincing case for EV's versus popular vote polls. Charts and all that at the link.

No poll has Barack losing by the only measure that counts electoral votes.

It is like the primary delegates - the EV's is the only number that matters. Still RCP 322- for Barack, over 303 at pollster.com 294 at 538.com.

It only takes 271 to win. You can do the math on that one, eh?

FWIW

The classic difference isn't between good and evil, or evil and less evil...

It's between those who've sold out to the Devil (Democrats), or the Devil themselves (Republicans).

I guess I don't actually see McCain or Obama as evil men... The reality of politics is that everyone gets compromised... not by some bad system... but by humanity itself...the tension between individual self-interest and the greater good... Politics is the "art of the possible..."

The qualities one must weigh are what are their core beliefs? As a former Arizonan, I actually like McCain, but could never vote for him because at his center, he just hews to certain right-wing beliefs I could never endorse...

I believe that Obama's core beliefs are (like the Clintons) much more progressive and liberal and communitarian... more in alignment with the Progressive Era from Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt to FDR...

The question is which candidate will show the spine to stand up and take a risk... To be a bulwark against the gale force winds of political compromise and dilution of purpose.... Bill Clinton was a disappointment. I, perhaps foolishly, have far more faith in his steely wife...

But Obama's practically given away half the store in advance...

Despite the theatrics, the actually policy differences between him and McCain on Iraq, Afghanistan and energy are now down to the fine print...

Just wait till he and McCain are counting the angels on the head of a pin regarding their various "free market" solutions to health care... That's surely next on the agenda...

McCain will accuse Obama of being for socialized medicine and Obama will dutifully respond with his insurance-friendly private sector non-reform reform...

Speaking as a progressive, a narrow Electoral College win by a business-friendly "split-the-difference" centrist doesn't seem to me like much of a victory at all.

What we need is a solid electoral repudiation of militarism, anti-government know-nothingism, carbon-based economics, and a clear-as-a-bell commitment to universal health care reform...

"Only a pathetically thin-skinned Obaman like capt cackle would take offense at that."

I have no clue what you are on about.

Why the personal attack? I have not posted anything to you, about you or in reference to you.

Are you in need of a personal target? That is not the reason the blog is here.

You really need to just quit it. Post on the issues not about me.

Thanks!

August 7, 2008 8:36 PM

lolololololo

Plouffe: McCain's DHL Deal A Critical Moment Of Campaign

Barack Obama's presidential campaign claimed that the general election had reached a critical turning point this past week after it was revealed that John McCain and his campaign manager had helped facilitate a merger that could result in the loss of thousands of jobs in Ohio.

On a conference call with reporters, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe said news of McCain and Rick Davis' involvement in the DHL deal was "the most important development of the entire campaign this week" and would convince voters in the critical swing state that the Arizona Republican was far from his maverick image.

http://tinyurl.com/6c8pg3

His being a "maverick" is getting a bit maverickity!

I don't know if it is a turning point for the election but nearly 10,000 more votes for Obama in OH could hurt!

Um, couldN'T hurt!

Old Wrinkly's Roverian cancer

NEW YORK - How mud-wallowingly deep may a multi-millionaire US presidential campaign go? Way deep - deeper and deeper. And this is only early August.

Republican Senator John McCain's presidential campaign's strategic decision is now all too obvious. Swift-boating Democratic Senator Barack Obama is the only way to go.

The McCain-painted Obama is emerging as a US-hating, terrorist-friendly, deeply suspicious, radical, vapid black celeb - Puff Daddy with a Harvard degree. This "new bogeyman" picture travels well in those vast swathes of flyover US territory where urban hipness not only evokes envy and contempt but is regarded as a mortal sin.

The McCain campaign knows that is the only chance in heaven and hell for their candidate in November.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JH08Aa01.html

Does Obama's flip-flop on offshore drilling correspond more to following the polls like a weather vane, or the fact that HE'S, in fact, received more oil money than McCain? (Open Secrets)

re: thin-skinned

Ironic being senstive about "personal attacks," when your limitless posts deal almost exclusively with character attacks... either on McCain or the Clintons...

And your interest in the Electoral College all of a sudden is interesting, since you weren't much interested in it a few months ago when all those EV matchups showed Hillary a far stronger candidate in the Electoral College than Obama.

Obama's EV numbers (VERY narrow lead) are, incidentally, virtually unchanged from his numbers back in May.

The point? Obama is barely riding the coattails of a very Democratic year...

Diff,

"Ironic being senstive about "personal attacks,"

I'm not, this is not a blog where personal attacks are made. Please quit it.

You have no reason to attack me. Public figures and comment about them are not justification for personal attacks on people who comment here.

If you can't help yourself and feel you must make comments about me personally email those to captkjl2@msn.com.

This is not the place.

Thanks.

The Obama campaign released a radio ad that's running in the Cincinnati area, regarding the closure of a DHL facility in Wilmington.

Radio Ad...

"It was McCain who used his influence in the Senate to help foreign-owned DHL buy a U.S. company and gain control over the jobs that are now on the chopping block in Ohio," the ad said.

But there's something John McCain's not telling you: It was McCain who used his influence in the Senate to help foreign-owned DHL buy a U.S. company and gain control over the jobs that are now on the chopping block in Ohio," the announcer says.

"And that's not all: McCain's campaign manager was the top lobbyist for the DHL deal...helped push it through. His firm was paid $185,000 to lobby McCain and other Senators."

The issue:

Rick Davis' work back in 2003, when he successfully lobbied Congress -- winning McCain's support -- to approve a buyout of Airborne Express by DHL. Five years later, DHL is planning to shut down the old Airborne Express hub in Wilmington, which would lead to the loss of 8,000 jobs.

http://tinyurl.com/6gk2ag

A note to readers

I've decided to post a partial transcript of one of a number of taped conversations in which Rob Richer and I discussed, on the record, the Habbush letter. We discussed it many times through the spring of 2008.

Rob Richer received a copy of The Way of the World on Monday night, August 4, the day before publication. On Tuesday, he said he had read key portions of the book and was comfortable with what they contained. Later that day, though, he issued the following the statement:

"I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbash as outlined in Mr Suskind's book."

The conversation below took place in June 2008. As in all of our conversations, it shows Rob pressing to get at truth and embrace probity.

This posting is contrary to my practice across 25 years as a journalist. But the issues, in this matter, are simply too important to stand as discredited in any way.

--Ron Suskind

http://www.ronsuskind.com/thewayoftheworld/transcripts/

*****

Seems like Ron is serious and has the back up to prove it.

Clinton campaigns for Obama cause

Hillary Clinton has made her first solo campaign appearance backing Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Mrs Clinton - who lost a hard-fought campaign to Mr Obama - told a Nevada crowd she wanted him to win.

The New York senator urged them to "remember who we were fighting in my campaign" and vote against Republican John McCain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7550501.stm

****

Any sincere HRC supporter would listen to her.

Maybe I'm missing something.

I figure a solid majority of folks who read this comments section are already going to vote "against" McCain...and probably "against" all Republicans. Endless character assaults on the Republican nominee and making fun of his gaffes seems kind of puerile.

And of course the solid majority of this comments section's readers are voting for Obama.

Instead of the endless stream of anti-McCain trivia, how about a discussion of what we're voting "for?" I think that's not only a fair question on the merits, but a question that, in fact, directly relates to Obama's weakness in the polls.

In a year that should be about issues, issues, issues... the race is instead turning into a culture war contest....on race...on character...on image...on BS...

The Democrats have a huge advantage on issues this year... Obama should be taking a strong principled, easy to "message" stand on one issue after another... universal health care.... switching to alternatives to carbon-based energy....foreign policy not based on militarism... cutting the ultra-pork defense budget and investing instead in education, housing, infrastructure....

Instead he's flip-flopping his way over to the "center" and trying to blur the differences with Republicans for some God-knows reason!

It just doesn't make any sense. For all the obvious Obama support here, why isn't anyone making a case "for" him?

Isn't just trashing your opponent day in and day out the "same old politics?"

Isn't just trashing your opponent day in and day out the "same old politics?"

(I'm referring to Obama supporters here on this blog...not Obama himself)

Obama/Edwards '08

"Change" (partners, that is)

"Yes we can" (say one thing, and do another)

Oh, the hypocrisy. At least this Dem's lies to the American public weren't under oath!!!

McCain, Obama go at it on radio

Barack Obama is vacationing in Hawaii, but he and Republican rival John McCain will be jockeying today on the airwaves.

Obama, giving the weekly Democratic radio address, says that this week there have been "two stark examples of exactly what's wrong with Washington."

"First, we learned that the federal budget deficit could reach nearly half a trillion dollars next year. Eight years after we had a record surplus, we’re now faced with record deficits. This mortgaging of our children’s future is a direct result of the Bush Administration’s dangerously failed fiscal policies," Obama says, asserting that McCain would continue Bush's unfair tax policies by extending tax cuts for the wealthy.

"The second thing we learned this week was that the Iraqi government now has a $79 billion budget surplus thanks to their windfall oil profits," Obama continues. "And while this Iraqi money sits in American banks, American taxpayers continue to spend $10 billion a month to defend and rebuild Iraq.

"That’s right. America faces a huge budget deficit. Iraq has a surplus. Now, Senator McCain promises to continue President Bush’s open-ended commitment to the war in Iraq, while refusing to pressure Iraqis to take responsibility for their own country."

Obama then says that "the choice in this election could not be clearer."

http://tinyurl.com/5wv29n

McCain's campaign of mockery may be a double-edged sword

[...]

But by Wednesday, despite the continued media frenzy generated by the ads and the lingering fallout, Obama had again pulled ahead in the same Gallup poll. Why?

It may be because the art of the subtle put-down is as difficult to master in politics as it is in life, analysts say -- nobody wants to sit next to the angry guy on the subway, let alone grant him a four-year lease on the Oval Office.

And McCain's renowned penchant for off-putting jabs -- his joke about bombing Iran, his off-color comment about Chelsea Clinton's parentage, his steady stream of sarcastic, occasionally off-message campaign trail asides -- makes it tough for the campaign to distance the man from this style of message.

Those who live by the snark can perish by the punch line.

http://tinyurl.com/6ybyvk

****

I think McCain should run with his best and strongest issues. People are losing their jobs, homes, health and McCain thinks tire pressure toys are the trick!

He should do more of that. He forgets people are losing their cars too. I'm sure they see the humor in it.

I'm always willing to help the capt finish his thoughts, so here's the rest of the article that is posted above -

"McCain, in his own weekly radio address he has started, again pokes fun at Obama's reputation as a sterling orator -- and suggests he lacks substance.

"As you may know, the Democratic National Convention is just a couple of weeks away. It was four years ago, at the same gathering, that America heard a fine speech from an Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. He's done pretty well for himself since then. And the smart money in Denver is on another celebrated performance," McCain says. "But even the most stirring speeches are easily forgotten when they're short on content. Taking in my opponent's performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall. In the way of running mates, Senator Obama should consider someone with a knack for brevity and directness, to balance the ticket."

"In the meantime, let me take a stab at a plot summary of the Obama campaign: America is finally winning in Iraq, and he wants to forfeit. Government is too big, and he wants to grow it. Taxes are too high, and he wants to raise them. Congress spends too much, and he proposes more. We need more energy, and he's against producing it."

McCain then goes on to accuse Obama of flip-flopping on dipping into the nation's strategic oil reserve, of sort-of reversing course on offshore drilling, and of not supporting any serious solutions.

"First there was his call for Americans to check their tires -- which is commonsense advice, but hardly has the makings of a national energy strategy. If we can't drill our way out of the problem, it seems even more unlikely that we can inflate our way out of it."

"A serious energy plan involves a lot more yes's than no's," McCain argues, plugging his proposals for more offshore drilling, nuclear power, clean coal, and renewable sources."

This one hits the nail on the head -

"a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall"

lolololololol

Cheers

Barack and the Buck

The underreported economic news of the week is that Barack Obama favors a stronger dollar. Even better, he thinks a stronger greenback would help to reduce oil prices.

That at least is what the Democratic Presidential candidate told a town hall forum in Parma, Ohio, on Tuesday. "If we had a strengthening of the dollar, that would help" reduce fuel costs, he said, according to a Reuters dispatch ignored by most of the media.

This ought to be a bigger story. In linking the dollar to oil prices, Mr. Obama is pointedly at odds with the Bush Administration and Federal Reserve, both of which blame high commodity prices on supply and demand, despite falling demand due to slower global growth. Fed officials -- in particular, Vice Chairman Donald Kohn -- have expressly rejected any strong link between the dollar's collapse and the oil price surge since last August.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121815226803922393.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr1YdxkEkvU

Anyone - ANYONE - who talks about long term reduction of oil costs without presenting a way to increase SUPPLY simply shows their lack of understanding of the basics of the economic issue.

Anyone - ANYONE - who talks about long term reduction of gasoline costs without presenting a plan to increase refinery output shows their lack of understanding of the basics of the processing issue.

The value of the dollar has improved in the last several days AS A RESULT OF FALLING OIL PRICES.

BHO takes a sound-bite approach to this issue - am I surprised? Non (that's French for no).

Cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8mTFjjSDA

Comparing McCain, Obama energy plans

http://tinyurl.com/6g7bbj

****

Facts, just the facts. FWIW

Sometimes You Just Have To Pick Sides

If we had a contest to pick the blogger who is supporting Obama for the most trivial reason, I'd probably win hands down.

As any of you who watch Bill O'Reilly know, he has an obsession with the young singer, Miley Cyrus. He's done a couple of segments on her, including one I happened to see after her Vanity Fair photo shoot.

In the segment, O'Reilly interviews some ex-child star to get his take on the photo shoot, foists his own view of morality on his viewers, then ends the segment by suggesting that Miley Cyrus go on TV (on his show preferably) to "explain" herself to her fans.

While I'm watching this and wondering who the hell this guy thinks he is, I realize my daughter, stopped in her tracks by the pic of Miley Cyrus on the screen, is watching O'Reilly over my shoulder. And when the segment is over, she asks: "You think I should wear my Hanna Montana t-shirt anymore?"

At that moment, I decided a couple of things. The first was I don't want pompous, moralizing asses like the O'Reillys of this world anywhere near my kid's government anymore.

The second? Well, if you see an old guy at the mall, wearing a Hanna Montana t-shirt and handing out Obama campaign lit, come on over and say hello.

http://tinyurl.com/6p45s2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iWYAOMYmp0

"He has embraced the Bush Doctrine of pre-emption saying, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon......everything."

"In a Democratic primary debate this year, he said, "We should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix."

"In a speech July 16, Obama said that, if elected, he would "make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy."

"It's that kind of mixed signal that has led to the kind of situation that we're in right now," Obama said Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

BHO = "mixed signal"

lololololo

Cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBghD0XBN5M

lolololo

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds Barack Obama with a 47% to 42% lead over John McCain, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

****

I think people are seeing through the negative slime and smears. At least, I hope so.

Sure doesn't look like gramps can win by slinging mud and outright lies, eh?

Maybe he should address an issue other than tire pressure gauges?

Just sayin'

"Well, if you see an old guy at the mall, wearing a Hannah Montana t-shirt and handing out Obama campaign lit, come on over and say hello."

Very amusing post. Thanks for the chuckle.

**

Both these candidates are full of mixed signals (flip-flops, evasions, etc. etc.). And, of course, those of the opponent to your own cherished candidate will always seem much more offensive to you, while those of your candidate will always seem reasonable or, at least, understandable and forgivable... Just the nature of partisanship... Politics masquerades as something that concerns fact and logic, but it almost certainly shares instead that part of the brain that's also home to religious faith, superstition and intuition...

I'd say in the dueling radio addresses, Obama clearly enunciates his huge advantages, and McCain enunciates his several very real weaknesses.

This election is certainly all about Obama. It's certainly his to lose...

The one weakness McCain does not name... race, race. race... See Charles M. Blow in the NYTimes today: http://tinyurl.com/5gj6pv

In the end, the Democratic landslide at the state and local levels will most likely carry Obama to victory I'm sure... It'll be narrow, but I really don't see how he can lose...

The Democrats in Congress, and Obama in the White House, will then, of course, be huge disappointments to real progressives and liberals. They'll split the difference on everything and, as George Will says, they'll muddle through and try not to create much damage... The power of corporate lobbies, the defense complex's hold on individual Congressional districts... have just become too powerful... By selecting these two superficial, "centrist" candidates, both masters of working the status quo (raising private cash from the "haves"), the American people have clearly demonstrated their not willing to take a risk on a real revolution... Not ready to challenge the hegemony of the "comfortable"...

The only "change" will really be the towering absence of the Bush/Cheney wackos... When a horrible deafening noise suddenly ceases, silence can be beautiful...

But serious health care reform will dissipate in half-measures, incremental advances on energy/climate change will go forward, but not in any way that makes a difference, and we'll be relieved at a gradual move away from our recent extreme militaristic foreign policy... (though don't hold your breath for militarist spending on domestic pork and foreign occupation to come down in any significant way).

As for gas prices ever coming down... keep dreaming.... That's just never going to happen... Anyone who really thinks we're going back to cheap gas, super-cheap air travel, or the food prices of yesteryear needs to wake up and smell the coffee....

...and if your paycheck seems smaller lately? Get used to it. That's the reality behind "trickle down" economics... "suck UP" economics. Ever-increasing incomes at the very top, ever-increasing wealth accumulation at the top is based on "stable unit labor cost" (Alan Greenspan). The compensation of actual workers (incl. new collar info workers) must be held at least "stable"...or preferably, steadily reduced (in the name of efficiency and international competitiveness)... That's precisely the formula upon which the upper-middle class' fortunes are based... and McCain and Obama are, in fact, their chosen candidates.... (follow the money)...

"After delivering a campaign speech, Sen. Barack Obama's first stop on his Hawaii vacation was a visit to his grandmother's Makiki apartment, where he also lived during his youth."

WHERE ARE THE PICS?

Wife and kids were elsewhere.

The two candidates' plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain's tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those whose taxes fall would, on average, see their after-tax income rise much less. In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise.

http://tinyurl.com/5ebczo

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Always good stuff at 538 . . .

Today there is:

Subtext Conflict: Celebrity Vs. Otherness

"Dallas lawyer Fred Baron paid for Edwards' mistress to relocate

Dallas lawyer Fred Baron, who helped bankroll the former North Carolina senator's presidential run, told The Dallas Morning News that he paid for the woman, Rielle Hunter, to leave Chapel Hill, N.C., because she was being hounded by tabloids.

He's well known for his support of Democratic candidates and is raising money for nominee-to-be Barack Obama."

Same as it ever was ... lololololo

In the words of Neil Peart - You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge.

Cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXGi91b8a0M

Three minutes you will never get back -

lolololo

Obama ancestor was bigwig in Dublin of 1700s

Genealogists have uncovered fresh evidence of Barack Obama's Irish ancestry revealing the US Presidential hopeful descended from an 18th century Dublin property mogul.

Previous records found Mr Obama's fourth great grandfather was a shoemaker in the village of Moneygall in Co Offaly, whose son Fulmuth Kearney left for the US in 1850.

But researchers at Trinity College Dublin, delved further into the would-be-president's colourful past to find his sixth great granduncle was a prominent Dublin businessman in the 1700s.

http://tinyurl.com/5qjjje

****

The rumors are true - Barack is part Irish?

lolololo

Just remember, God created whiskey to prevent the Irish from ruling the world.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

McCain claims in an ad released today that "Obama voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000. He promises more taxes on small business, seniors, your life savings, your family."

But when it comes to promises, it's worth pointing out that, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center's analysis of both candidates' proposed plans, Obama would cut taxes for those making in the range of $38,000 to $66,000 three to almost eight times more than McCain would.

Under Obama's plan, according to the center, by 2009, those making $37,595 would see an average increase in their income of 3.6%, or a tax cut of $892; those making an average of $66,354 would see an increase in their income of 2.4%, or a tax cut of $1,042.

On the other hand, Under McCain's plan, those making $37,595 would see an increase in their income of only about 0.5%, or $113 tax cut; those making $66,354 would see only an increase of 0.7% in their income, or a tax break of $319.

The Bush administration yesterday launched an advertising blitz telling Americans they could fight oil shortages and high gas prices by conserving, while advising Congress there is no sign of price gouging by the oil industry and that gas prices are "not unreasonable."

The slogan for the yearlong campaign, "Do Your Part, Drive Smart," tells consumers they can save more than 7 million gallons of gasoline a day if they keep their tires properly inflated, drive slower and join car pools.

"The president has called upon Americans to do their part 'to conserve,' " Energy Secretary James D. Watkins said in Boston yesterday afternoon. "Our intention is to give people simple steps they can take immediately and have direct impact on fuel savings."

— "Ad blitz launched to fight oil shortage," The Washington Times, September 14, 1990

One television ad, which will be broadcast later this year, shows a gigantic oil gusher that is not coming from a well, but bursting forth from the valve on a tire. The announcer tells viewers that by slightly increasing the air pressure slightly in their tires, they can save 50,000 barrels of oil each day.

Like past conservation campaigns, the new one tries to get motorists to drive more slowly. A print ad pictures a gasoline pedal and tells motorists that when they step on the gas they should use their heads because if American drivers reduced their normal highway cruising speed by just five miles an hour, it would save two million barrels of oil a day.

— "Crisis Spurs Campaign To Save Oil," The New York Times, September 14, 1990

http://tinyurl.com/6x5cfw

"David Letterman: Signs Barack Obama Is Overconfident.

Proposed bill to change Oklahoma to 'Oklabama.'
Offered Bush 20 bucks for the 'Mission Accomplished' banner.
Asked guy at Staples, 'Which chair will work best in an oval-shaped office?'
Having head measured for Mount Rushmore.
Offered McCain a job in gift shop at Obama Presidential Library.

Jay Leno: "Of course, Obama's supporters got him his usual birthday gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Jay Leno: "Obama's people are trying to portray McCain as cranky, and McCain is trying to portray Obama as arrogant, you see. And when Obama was asked what he thought about being called arrogant, well, he said he was 'above having to answer that question.'"

Jay Leno: "See Barack Obama on the news? He's becoming a workout fanatic. He's at the gym, like, twice a day, sometimes three times a day at the gym, yeah, according to his staff. Well, he has to stay in shape to do those flip-flops."

Jay Leno: "Barack Obama back from his big European tour. Did you see him in Europe? People were cheering him, holding up signs, blowing him kisses. And that was just the American media covering the story."

lololo... er, I mean LMAO.

Cheers

"Barack Obama often jokes in his campaign speeches about a genealogical survey last year that found he is a distant cousin of Dick Cheney.

Now there is more bad news for Obama: a study published yesterday found he is related to George Bush as well.

Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, said Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, can call six US presidents his cousins: both Bushes, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman and James Madison. The society, a non-profit organisation, found he is also related to Churchill."

Then I guess BHO IS CORRECT, the U.S. cannot afford four more years of a Bush administration!!!!!

No BHO in '08!!!!

lololololo

Cheers

All that tax cut baloney is a complete waste of time. Right along with $1000 checks and more "economic stimulus" money...

Talk about the "politics of the past..."

Bush is going to leave the next President a hideous fiscal poison pill. Just like his father left to Bill Clinton. Once Obama's budget folks, like Clinton's before him, get their hands on the numbers, they're going to quickly find out that they're even worse off than they ever dreamed...

And savings from Iraq? As I've noted before, Iraq is all borrowed money. There's no money there to be "saved" for something else. Same goes for Bush's tax cuts. All red ink. NO MONEY THERE to be diverted ANYWHERE ELSE. If you don't understand that, then you need to go back to fourth grade math class.

A significant part of the mess this country is in is fiscal irresponsibility. On the part of the government, corporations, the finance industry, and yes... individuals. Treating one's home as a home equity ATM... foolish, foolish, foolish...

And looking forward to free money from the government is double foolish...

It is literally taking out cash advances on your children's, and your children's children's credit cards.... Get over it.

From

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stephencoffman/gGxskJ

"In 1980, President Carter re-instituted the requirement for males to register for the Selective Service (Proclamation 4771).

Under this Senator Obama was legally required to register during July 1980.

There is no record of his registering and his campaign will not address the issue.

So how do we respond to McCain supporters who post negative remarks about Senator Obama's lack of military experience and his refusal to even register?

According to the Selective Service, approximately 23% of the males who were required to register, did not register. That means that about 800,000 failed to register that year.

Should Senator Obama make a statement about why he did not register for Selective Service?"

"legally required", unless he claimed certain mitigating status (i.e. health issues, mental issues). Of course, non citizens were exempt.

lolol...er, you know.

Cheers

Deadbeat country?

Great Video of Nate from 538 on KO Countdown:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/08/538-on-countdown.html

Boy. That Selective Service thing is just the perfect kind of total BS item that could do real damage. They'll probably devote an entire episode of 60 minutes to it. Americans must be total idiots.

"What concerns me is the lie or fib or misstatement -- call it what you want -- that involves Obama's assertion that more young black males are in prison than in college. It is a shocking statistic -- and it is wrong. But when The Washington Post's lonesome but formidable truth squad, Michael Dobbs, brought this to the attention of the Obama campaign, he not only got the brush-off but the assertion was later repeated."

Diff - "Americans must be total idiots." - and apparently not good at math either!!!

Cheers

"OBAMA'S TROUBLE WITH FIGURES....
So, First of all Obama admits that he received $60,000 from indicted Chicago fixer Tony Rezko.

Then the media discovers it was virtually three times that amount, $150,000.

Now Obama admits that the actual figure received was $250,000.

Mmm. maybe he just doesn't have much of a head for figures.

Obama then points out that at NO STAGE did Rezko look for anything in exchange for the cool $250,000 he donated, not even a sausage! As is said over at the American Thinker, if this be true then Rezko is a saint. Then again, maybe Obama is just as forgetful about favours asked..."

Diff - "Americans must be total idiots." - and apparently not good at math either!!!

Cheers

Lieberman ‘on McCain short-list’

Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee who has endorsed John McCain, is being vetted as a potential running mate for the Republican presidential hopeful, according to an adviser to Mr McCain’s ­campaign.

Mr Lieberman, who has campaigned for the Arizona senator, has long been ­considered an unconventional but plausible choice for Mr McCain.

http://tinyurl.com/5htoj8

Now that's the ticket!

To participate in US politics, you must generate huge piles of special interest cash, and that cash must come from the "haves" with a deep-seated interest in maintaining the status quo that they so richly benefit from. Obama's huge cash advantage relates directly to his appeal to upper-income liberals... Liberal who like "change," but not too much "change." Obama was painless.... Hillary, in her serious, serious way...implied pain and sacrifice...

But if you're going to excoriate and reject candidates on the grounds of who they get money from, then you basically have to abandon our current system entirely. Is denmac's argument supposedly going to translate into support for McCain?

McCain has a long and well-established voting record in support of entrenched privilege....

Obama, on the other hand, has a long (well, not so long really) established liberal voting record of fighting for improving the lives of the less-advantaged...

The months between the settling of the nominations and the general election are the "silly season." No one with even the slightest level of knowledge or political commitment to anything substantial is "undecided" at this point.. The fight now is for the airheads, the un-informed and the un-inform-able...

McCain's playing the strategy very cleverly.... He knows his embrace-the-base words only matter to hardcore Republicans that he desperately needs...

And for the airheads, the "independents" (Don't they know this is a two-party system... "independent" means therefore "sitting in the stands")...

...for those for whom words have never made any difference or else they wouldn't be independent...

You only have to have one substantial opinion on one substantial topic and you can't be "undecided" anymore...

Anyway, for the airhead "late deciders" image is everything..."brand" is everything... and McCain's hold on the "maverick" brand.... his "anti-Bush" brand of Republican.... his brand as the ONLY Republican with a positive favorability rating.... is deeply entrenched...

As an "anti-Bush" Republican, he squarely hold the psycho-political territory of "not-Obama"....and this election is all Obama... Will he be accepted or not...

Will the Democratic wave carry him the top, or will prejudice, fear and hatred of "elitism" 'cause him to be knocked from the crest.... (I don't think there's any stopping the wave itself...

Americans have a long demented history of preferring "divided government." They are fully capable of electing huge Democratic majorities in Congress, but then putting McCain in the White House at the same time. Well within the range of possible outcomes.

Obama is as black as Dick Cheney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIqGaWZOo0

"Obama is as black as Dick Cheney."

Obama is HALF as black as Cheney!

lololololo

Why polls aren't worrying Obama's team

[...]

"The national numbers mean nothing," said John Kupper, the "K" in AKP&D, last week by phone. "These are not national elections but state by state elections. We have vote goals. We know prior performance models."

In other words, this is now and always has been the sum of political component parts for the Obama operation, not a national popular election but a sophisticated, incremental accumulation of delegates in the primary, and electoral votes come November.

http://tinyurl.com/5jhw3q

McCain Camp: Obama "Bizarrely In Sync With Moscow"

The McCain campaign is pushing back at press reports noting that his top foreign policy advisor Randy Scheuenemann has until recently worked as a lobbyist for the Georgian government, and is still a principal at his lobbying firm -- thus rendering the candidate's pronouncements on Russia's invasion of Georgia as arguably suspect.

The campaign's new line: The criticism of this apparent conflict of interest is proof that Barack Obama's campaign is "bizarrely in sync with Moscow."

Check out this statement released today by the McCain campaign:

"The Obama campaign's attacks on Randy Scheunemann are disgraceful. Mr. Scheunemann proudly represented a small democracy that is one of our closest allies in a very dangerous region. Today, many are dead and Georgia is in crisis, yet the Obama campaign has offered nothing more than cheap and petty political attacks that are echoed only by the Kremlin. The reaction of the Obama campaign to this crisis, so at odds with our democratic allies and yet so bizarrely in sync with Moscow, doesn't merely raise questions about Senator Obama's judgment--it answers them."

http://tinyurl.com/5967xb

More Tax Deceptions

McCain misrepresents Obama's tax proposals again. And again, and again.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151621/page/1

******

When the lies are so obvious I wonder if McCain is just getting maverickity?

Someone should tell him about fact checking?

Sure there are some low information voters but . . .

Obama camp suggests McCain has "a woman problem"

The Obama campaign just sent out an email with the compellng headline: "Does John McCain have a woman problem?"

Coming the day after John Edwards admitted an extramarital affair, the headline might be seen as suggesting the same for McCain. Edwards himself said in his confessional interview on ABC Friday evening that McCain had had an affair at the end of his first marriage.

But no, the Obama camp wasn't saying that. Instead, the enticing headline drew readers into a New Republic article on McCain's opposition to abortion rights. Thus, his "woman problem."

http://tinyurl.com/5eqwru

*****

Too sly by half?

"A Pew survey said 48 percent of the public is suffering from "Obama fatigue."

Asked if he was overexposed, Obama said, "We are going to correct that this week," speaking to reporters on his campaign plane en route to Chicago."

It says an awful lot about a candidate when their strategy is to disappear for a week!!!

And BTW, where are the pics with Grandma?

Cheers.

Cheers.

"The national numbers mean nothing,"

If your only goal is sqeaking into office... What about political capital? What about building momentum and a mandate for something substantial?

If the goal is nothing more than to be not-Bush and the first black President...great. But what about real "change?" And what if to get there, your positions are blurred and vague and become practically half-Republican anyway?

GWB spent tons of money in 2004 in solid red states... for the express purpose of Bible-belt turnout and building his national vote total.... He did not want to win the Electoral College but lose the popular vote again. He ended up beating Kerry by 3-1/2 million votes....

I hope the Obama campaign aims higher...

Electing Hillary would have been blinding symbol of repudiation of the Republican Party... a woman they'd tried to destroy for 16 years straight. (It took youtube Obama "progressives" to finish her off).

And she would also have been, by election alone, a huge breakthrough toward universal health care....

What exactly does Obama stand for.... besides already-diluted "centrism?"

Why McCain would be a mediocre president

[...]

The bottom line

Successful presidents come from two molds: visionaries, or mechanics. The visionaries -- think Reagan or FDR -- see what others can't and say 'Why not?" to inspire the country. The mechanics -- think LBJ or Eisenhower -- know the ins and outs of government and are able to harness the power of millions of humans to accomplish great things, or at least keep the wheels from coming off.

McCain fits neither style. He's neither a dreamer, nor a detail guy. His major accomplishment, in Vietnam and in the Senate, has been merely to survive.

Just surviving doesn't make you're a hero, or a decent president. America needs to do more than survive the next four years.

http://tinyurl.com/6hsj2u

Spelled out pretty well.

The above post was via:

Is McCain fit to be president?

http://tinyurl.com/6zyyko

*****

Seems the question has been answered by McCain's actions and his words.

Speaking of actions, let's take a look at BHO's OFFICIAL Senate voting record -

Energy
Of 26 votes, 9 were "No Vote" - 34.6% NO VOTE!!!

Environment
Of 22 votes, 14 were "No Vote" - 63.6% NO VOTE!!!

Health Issues
Of 30 votes, 19 were "No Vote" - 63.3% NO VOTE!!!

Housing and Property
Of 6 votes, 6 were "No Vote" - 100% NO VOTE!!!

National Secuity
Of 31 votes, 12 were "No Vote" - 38.7% NO VOTE!!!

And this doesn't include his "mistake" votes!!!

What in the world does this man STAND for????

Once again, in the words of Neil Peart -

"If you chose not to decide, you still have made a

Cheers.

Quote should read -

""If you chose not to decide, you still have made a choice".

Cheers.

How the President’s claims of executive privilege for the U.S. attorney probe could prove to be cataclysmic for his own party: And why Republian congressional candidates might prefer that Karl Rove testify sooner rather than later.

http://murraywaas.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/07/104/

Interesting. Is it really time for the GOP to throw Bunnypants under the bus?

McCain and Abel

[...]

Poor McCain. Not only does he inherit the Republican mantle when it is tarnished and tattered. But, unlike Bush’s two presidential runs, his opponent cannot be successfully dismissed as the nerdy kid that no one really likes.

Like Bush, McCain is trying to run for Student Body President as the cool kid, the most popular, the guy you want to have a beer with, and who cares if the other dude is smart and hard-working, how dull is that? Unfortunately for McCain, the guy he’s up against is not just smart and accomplished, he’s also the most charismatic, wildly popular politician in our lifetimes.

And it’s eating McCain alive.

http://tinyurl.com/6qxsy9

Let’s be clear: if McCain the Candidate is a reliable indicator of what we can expect from McCain the President, the presumptive Republican nominee would apparently be anxious to exacerbate the burgeoning war, and antagonize Russia.

There’s a lot going on right now, but this is a very important development in the presidential campaign. Ben Smith characterized this as a “true ‘3 a.m. moment’” for the presidential candidates. And at this point, McCain is once again looking pretty scary.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16505.html

ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Republican Party officials have developed a well-deserved reputation for planning evermore extravagant national conventions, each built on the party's ability to secure abundant cash.

But just six weeks before the convention, where Arizona Sen. John McCain is to accept his party's nomination, executives found they were about $10 million short of what they needed for a celebration they had already scaled back.

http://tinyurl.com/5txvjz

*****

That's not enthusiasm we can believe in - my friennnnndsh"

lolololo

Again, always willing to help capt finish his thought, from the above Daily Kos cut and paste -

"I would even argue that McCain’s sole claim to heroism—refusing to take an early release from POW imprisonment offered due to his famous name—while noble, was nonetheless nothing more than playing by the rules, and the least he could do in his circumstances. For had McCain in fact taken advantage of that special treatment, his career in either the military or politics would have been ruined—to say nothing of how difficult it would have been to face his father."

As I've said before, the Left's CONTEMPT for the U.S. Military has cost BHO the election!

Now, about the post - This article speaks of laziness and alcohol problems in McCain's youth. If these qualities make a candidate ineligible, then BHO's admitted laziness and drug abuse should apply as well, non (again, that's French)?

Cheers.

To recap, lazy youth/prisoner of war - no, lazy youth, admitted drug abuser (BTW, DID BHO ever register for the draft?).

McCain’s attacks on rival fall flat with vets group

Duke Hendershot, a double amputee retired Marine who served in Vietnam, supported McCain’s run for president in 2000 but is undecided this year.

“John just isn’t the same as he used to be. He’s not his own man,” said Hendershot, who lives in San Antonio, Texas. “A lot of that has to do with how he’s wanted this job so bad for so long that he’s tied himself to President Bush.”

He said McCain’s embrace of Bush, whom Hendershot called a “draft-dodging coward,” is even more perplexing because of the rivalry between the two candidates during the 2000 campaign.

Hendershot also criticized McCain for taking swipes at Obama in his speech. “He should have been talking about veterans issues, not his opponent,” he said.

By contrast, he praised Obama for keeping his remarks tightly focused on veterans. The Democrat gave taped remarks via video.

http://tinyurl.com/56camf

*****

Johnny can't keep the vets? OUCH! No small wonder NV has turned blue!

Soldier Swayed By Bush's Performance at Olympics

http://tinyurl.com/5wvltg

Thank you Bunnypants for another loyal democratic party voter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIqGaWZOo0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbxpMw4mco

"Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it," wrote Obama about what he would later say were "bad decisions."

Jeremiah Wright
Tony Rezko
Louis Farrakan
William Ayers
Frank Marshall Davis

McCain can't be sure veterans will fall in behind him

At a major Las Vegas convention, some veterans express concern about his positions on veterans' benefits.

LAS VEGAS -- No one was surprised when both presidential candidates appealed for votes Saturday at the annual convention of the nation's largest organization of disabled military veterans.

But Fred Bristol, who has attended the Disabled American Veterans convention for the last 55 years, marveled at his fellow veterans' reaction to Sens. Barack Obama, who sent a video, and John McCain, who addressed the group in person.

"I think there's an unusual split in the group we haven't seen in the past," said Bristol, 81, of Sarasota, Fla. "I'm hearing that from a lot of friends."

McCain has built his political career on his Navy service, including 5 1/2 years as a POW in Vietnam, and he remains immensely popular with many veterans groups. But the Arizona Republican's appearance here suggested limits to that appeal.

The 1.4-million-member group said that in 2006, he voted for only one of the five spending bills the group considered most important -- 20%.

"It's a pretty low score," said David Autry, spokesman for the congressionally chartered nonprofit group. The group rated Obama (D-Ill.) at 80%.

http://tinyurl.com/6e8qsk

****

An 80/20 split in favor of Barack.

McC(ompl)ain is not doing himself any favors sounding so maverickity. The vets aren't buying it.

the US blocked a Security Council resolution, introduced by Russia, calling on "the parties to cease bloodshed without delay and renounce the use of force."
Diplomats said that during the closed-door consultations, the council failed to reach an agreement on the Russian text because some council members, including the United States, opposed the part calling on the parties to "renounce the use of force."

Two days in a row.

http://piglipstick.blogspot.com/2008/08/dont-look-for-any-msm-background-to.html

Re: McCain can't be sure veterans will fall in behind him

"Obama pledged in his remarks, recorded before he left for a week's vacation in Hawaii," -

Wow, another Obama snub for the U.S. military. Did the Pentagon tell him not to go here also?

Obama(nation) is not doing himself any favors sending taped messages to U.S. Vet gatherings. The vets know disdain when they see it.

Cheers.

"In a widely aired video from a California fundraiser on July 31, Sen. Clinton did not kill suggestions that she let her name be on the nominating ballots and the nomination go for a full vote of delegates.

That was followed this week with an ABC interview of the former president, who when asked whether Obama is ready to be president, replied, “You could argue that no one is ever ready to be president.”

Barry can't keep the dems? OUCH! No small wonder the polls have turned red!

Iraq demands 'clear timeline' for US withdrawal

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's foreign minister insisted Sunday that any security deal with the United States must contain a "very clear timeline" for the departure of U.S. troops. A suicide bomber struck north of Baghdad, killing at least five people including an American soldier.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters that American and Iraqi negotiators were "very close" to reaching a long-term security agreement that will set the rules for U.S. troops in Iraq after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

Zebari said the Iraqis were insisting that the agreement include a "very clear timeline" for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces, but he refused to talk about specific dates.

http://tinyurl.com/5bmdtm

*****

Hmmm, Barack was right from the start and McC(ompl)ain has been wrong.

Some people like that.

It's difficult to gauge whether McCain's military service and pedigree -- he is the son and grandson of Navy admirals -- gives him a campaign advantage with veterans.

President Clinton, who did not join the military, beat two World War II veterans to win his two terms in the White House: President George H.W. Bush in 1992 and former Sen. Bob Dole in 1996. And in 2004, Sen, John F. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, lost to President Bush, who served in the Texas National Guard.

Many vets here said they do not consider the Iraq war or McCain's military service to be key campaign issues. Their chief concerns are the ailing economy and high gas prices.

(LATimes)

"a long-term security agreement that will set the rules for U.S. troops in Iraq after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year."

"The nation's senior military official warned against a plan, put forward by presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by early 2010."

Hmmm, Obama(nation) was wrong about removing all U.S. troops by 2010 right from the start and McCain has been right ("a long-term security agreement ").

Thinking people like that.

"Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, one of the most prominent Democrats in the 2008 presidential field, proposed for the first time setting a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq, as part of a broader plan aimed at bolstering the freshman senator's foreign policy credentials.

Obama's legislation, offered on the Senate floor last night, would remove all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008."

Apparently he voted "No Vote" on his own legislation!!!

Cheers.

"Obama says there's no reason to give the president's troop surge more time.

"Here's what we know. The surge has not worked."

Ouch.

"I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there," the Illinois senator said that night, a month before announcing his presidential bid. "In fact, I think it will do the reverse."

"Changes to Obama web site

The changes stress that Obama's plan to end the war is responsible and designed to improve national security. They include:

• An updated Obama quote at the top of the page. The previous quote stressed how Obama had the judgment to oppose the "rash war" from the start. This was a popular message among Democratic voters and was meant to draw distinctions with primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, who initially supported the war. The new quote focuses on how ending the war will make Americans safer — a message aimed at general election voters who are more likely to trust McCain on issues of national security, according to polling.

• A description of Obama's plan as "a responsible, phased withdrawal" that will be directed by military commanders and done in consultation with the Iraqis. Previously, the site had a sentence that has since been removed that flatly said, "Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq." Morigi said that his plan hasn't changed, but they wanted to expand the description. "There's not an intent to shift language," she said.

• A new sentence that says Obama "would reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq."

OOPS!

Energy Fictions

The senator’s shift on offshore drilling is less disturbing and more nuanced. Having opposed it in the past, he now appears willing to endorse selective drilling in places where states allow it, and only then as a negotiating tool to win a much bigger and broader bipartisan energy package.

This is far more defensible than Mr. McCain’s gung-ho, drill anywhere approach. But Mr. Obama cannot allow himself to be seen as endorsing the twin fictions (assiduously promoted by Mr. McCain’s advertising, if not by the candidate in his own public statements) that freeing up the 18 billion barrels in areas now off limits to drilling will bring quick relief at the pump and, in time, satisfy the country’s long-term needs.

Here is the underlying reality: A nation that uses one-quarter of the world’s oil while possessing less than 3 percent of its reserves cannot drill its way to happiness at the pump, much less self-sufficiency. The only plausible strategy is to cut consumption while embarking on a serious program of alternative fuels and energy sources. This is a point the honest candidate should be making at every turn.

http://tinyurl.com/5mdz39

*****

At least there is one honest candidate.

"Obama first indicated Friday in an interview with the Palm Beach Post that he would be willing to compromise on his opposition to off-shore drilling, and would consider expanding the current drilling boundaries -- if it was part of a plan to make the country more energy independent by developing more fuel-efficient cars and alternative energy sources.

Today, at a press availability in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Obama said that his comments weren’t a shift.

“This wasn’t really a new position. What I’m saying is that we can’t drill our way out of the problem,” he told reporters. “And if we can come up with a genuine bi-partisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don’t like, or the Democrats have to accept some things that they don’t like, in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of energy independence, then that is something I am open to.”

McCain supported a war started on lies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJUCU1UH2w

It is truly about judgment.

"When I'm president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida's coasts," Obama told reporters in Jacksonville in late June. "That's how we can protect our coastline and still make the investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down gas prices for good."

"The Republicans and the oil companies have been really beating the drums on drilling," Obama said in the interview with the Florida paper, "and so we don't want gridlock. We want to get something done."

"If offshore drilling would provide short-term relief at the pump or a long-term strategy for energy independence, it would be worthy of our consideration, regardless of the risks. But most experts, even within the Bush administration, concede it would do neither."

And from the Daily Kos -

"Obama on Saturday announced he is taking the "compromise position" of selling out his earlier tough (and rational) talk against drilling.

He even includes this gem:

I wanted to send a strong signal that we can't allow partisan bickering or the desire to score political points to get in the way of providing some genuine relief to people who are struggling.

What happened to the Obama of July 14 who said It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for 30 years.?"

At least there is one honest candidate.

"On December 22nd, in a small-town café in Pleasantville, Omaha, Obama was asked a question that typically only circulates on the Internet.
As he sat down to have a slice of pie with a small group of potential voters and an elderly woman asked him about being Muslim.

“I’ve always been a Christian,” the Illinois Democrat responded. “I have never practiced [Islam].”Note: The newspaper editors had to add the word, “Islam.”

In his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” Obama mentions studying the Quran. He was enrolled in two Jakarta schools as a Muslim. His teacher Tine Hahiyary said that she remembered that he had studied “mengaji” (recitation of the Quran).”

Classmate Rony Amiris described Obama as being a very devout Muslim, saying, “Barry was previously quite religious in Islam.” Another classmate, Emirsyah Satar, now the CEO of Garuda Indonesia, was quoted as saying, “He (Obama) was often in the prayer room wearing a ’sarong.’” (See Obama’s Education.)

Yet, on his official campaign website, Obama has posted this statement, “Barack has never been a Muslim or practiced any other faith besides Christianity.”

At least there is one honest candidate.

ZOMG!

HRC wasn''t even running her own campaign?

The famous 3 a.m. ad, written by Penn and approved by Clinton, almost didn’t run: “In the days leading up to Ohio and Texas, the campaign kept arguing over whether to air the [3 a.m.] ad. With the deadline looming, Bill Clinton, speaking from a cell phone as his plane sat on a runway, led a conference call on Thursday, Feb. 28, in which he had both sides present their case. As his plane was about to lift off, it was Bill Clinton — not Hillary — who issued the decisive order: ‘Let’s go with it.’ ”

(Politico)

*****

Good thing she isn't the nominee, eh?

GOP Takes Aim At Obama's Education

http://tinyurl.com/5agslm

******

Hmm, I wonder if that is smart? Fifth from the bottom of his class is pretty weak. Gramps doesn't have the intellect to attack higher education - it is a losing proposition IMO

Maybe it will work for him.

We have tried a "c" student prez, not-so-good people no likey.

Obama's elite schooling may prove a risky topic for McCain, who attended St. Stephen's, an exclusive school in Alexandria, Va., and then Episcopal High, a private boarding school in the same city, in the 1950s. The son and grandson of Navy admirals, he ended up at the Naval Academy, where, as he often reminds voters, he finished near the bottom of his graduating class.

‘Definitely there has to be a very clear timeline’

The United States must provide a “very clear timeline” to withdraw its troops from Iraq as part of an agreement allowing them to stay beyond this year, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday.

It was the strongest public assertion yet that Iraq is demanding a timeline. U.S. President George W. Bush has long resisted setting a firm schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq, although last month the White House began speaking of a general “time horizon” and “aspirational goals” to withdraw. […]

In an interview with Reuters, Zebari said the agreement, including the timeline, was “very close” and would probably be presented to the Iraqi parliament in early September.

Asked if Iraq would accept a document that did not include dates for a withdrawal, Zebari said: “No, no. Definitely there has to be a very clear timeline.”

http://tinyurl.com/5crvm5

Reality check: It's election season in Iraq too... parties and politicians are playing to their domestic audience. The Iraqi Army is massively dependent on the US military for equipment, logistics, intelligence and communications...

Domestic politics in both the US and Iraq now require "withdrawal timelines," but no one with any familiarity with the military and political situation there thinks all US forces are going to be out by 2010. And Obama carefully hedges his rhetoric by specifying "combat troops" or "combat operations."

Withdrawal timelines are certainly in the cards today... but they were wildly NOT two years ago when Obama was advocating them... Withdrawal timelines then were purely about giving up and getting out...

And Obama's statements on the "surge," back when it was proposed and debated, were also wildly off the mark.

His judgement was good back in 2002 opposing the "rash war"... dead on.... In the Senate, it was decidedly low-profile and low-risk on anything relating to Iraq... When he did speak up, regarding the "surge," his judgement turned out to be sorely lacking...

Now, his Iraq position, like everything else, is right down the "middle"... well inside the "safe zone...."

And the fact that Iraqi politicians are ingratiating themselves with him, and publicly associating themselves with him, rather than the despised Bush, is not so hard to understand either...

I know, I know, this forum isn't for talking substance, it's all about campaign atmospherics and the latest "gotcha" posturing.... Sorry for the interruption...

Despite the actual close similarity between Obama's and McCain's energy policies.... (McCain's is actually far closer to Democratic mainstream thinking than it is to any other Republican I can think of...)

Obama's position is certainly the clearer, more forthright, intelligent and well enunciated...

But like on so many issues, that'll actually be a big obstacle to overcome...

Nuance and intelligence are big, big handicaps in Presidential elections.