Link. My big question is why? Can't the guy have a campaign going on while also doing his job as senator?
Let's say he wanted to go back to Congress and twist a few arms. Then just do it. The campaign doesn't need to be suspended. If he wants to take a few days off and do something, he could just do it.
When they take a vacation the campaign is still going on. There's no difference.
Suspending a campaign is just a stunt.
We've really reached a new level of stupidity when it's seriously asserted that being able to see another country constitutes foreign policy experience.
When I first heard it I was sure it would be quickly dismissed, that is, if it wasn't acknowledged as a joke from the first. But they've repeated it a few times, that Palin can look out her window and actually see the Putins hanging laundry on their clothesline.
I believe she also said Putin makes regular flyovers -- he likes to buzz Alaska's capitol building -- and drops propaganda leaflets, so maybe there is something to it.
Do you get the impression that John McCain is trying to get the credit for anything good that happens in Washington? The whole thing about this bail-out ... He swoops into Washington to save the day, promptly destroys the whole thing and slinks back out.
Then he swoops in again. And it looks like the bill is going to pass, giving the McCain camp just enough time to rush out a spokesman -- Mitt Romney -- to give McCain the credit for it. Then it fails again.
Here's part of a story from Yahoo:
CHICAGO (AFP) - John McCain's presidential campaign claimed credit as Congress readied Monday to vote on an emergency economic package, but Democrats said the Republican's last-ditch intervention had been no help.It's almost worth it to have it fail just to see the egg on his face. Ooops!
Mitt Romney, McCain's erstwhile rival for the Republican nomination, said the deal on a Wall Street bailout worth up to 700 billion dollars would never have happened without the Arizona senator.
Speaking on NBC television, the former Massachusetts governor said "this bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain."
Sarah Palin on the upcoming debate with Joe Biden:
“I’m looking forward to meeting him, too,’’ she said. “I’ve never met him before, but I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade.’’She's definitely got me beat. When I was in second grade I was barely aware that politics -- the Senate, the House, all that -- even existed. Of course I must have known there was a president, and I know who the president was at the time, by hindsight, but that's about it.
It looks like the American people are getting the message loud and clear, that McCain is just a flaky old man who doesn't have a clue.
He hasn't offered one single plan or program that would give us any progress or sense of hope. Everything he wants to do is either ideologically based or something that's already been tried and failed.
Watching him in the debates was an exercise in futility. I know if I were a Republican I would wonder if this was really the best we could do.
I don't see the payoff for McCain on this Pakistan border argument.
Without me looking up the precise language, Obama's idea is basically this: that if we had actionable intelligence of bin Laden's whereabouts we would take him out. Sarah Palin, even with her ignorance, said the same thing. But McCain retracted her statement for her!
So, he's telling us that if he had bin Laden in his sights he wouldn't pull the trigger. There's bin Laden, let's say literally one inch over the border and McCain has some scruple about getting him.
There's something funny about this line. The article concerns a growing sense among Republicans that Sarah Palin is a disaster. But then there's this strange line:
Asked about Palin's performance in the CBS interview, a McCain official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: "She did fine. She's a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate."A McCain official needs to have the condition of anonymity to say Palin did fine, that she's a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate? Wouldn't that basically be their constant claim? Something they could say quite openly?
I've been reading the opinions that various people have offered about the debate. Everyone's doing his or her best to describe what they saw. Most of these opinions I'm filtering like other partisans do, finding intelligence in the pro-Obama ones and ignorance or a lying spirit in the pro-McCain ones. Then some just make me laugh. Or to say, "You got to be kidding!"
Here's one in its entirety from pawprints18, who definitely sees things differently from me:
I thought Obama came off as the grumpy, inpatient, smug one. McCain always referred to Obama respectfully as "Senator Obama" - while Obama sought to elevate himself and lower McCain but referring to McCain as "John" rather than Senator. Obama kept looking off to his left with hateful, inpatient glares on his face, and hand signaling while McCains was speaking. I though McCain was sharp and on point. He saw right thru Obama's smoke screen of using many words to try to conceal the fact he hasn't the slightest idea how to handle security issues. Obama, when he spoke second on issues, HAD to state, "I agree with John." First he was trying to sound congenial, but primarily it saved him from tryhing to articulate on areas in which he is clueless. McCain kept his cool, smiled a lot and was lovable. Obama looked pouty and glared. Not attractive at all. Obama lost.Let me say, at the risk of becoming a Republican ad (Republicans, who praise "reaching across the aisle" yet eschew any sign of civility), pawprints18 offers some fair points. And a few points not so true. There's no way that Obama was "hateful," "impatient," "hasn't the slightest idea," or "clueless." He wasn't glaring. He was hand signaling to Jim Lehrer trying to get in a word edgewise during some of McCain's filibustering; there's very few points awarded for being walked on.
Posted by: pawprints18 | September 27, 2008 1:02 AM
John McCain thinks he needs to swing in and save the day, which had a way of being saved by others without his interference.
So he gets there -- Watch Out For That Tree -- and Splat! The crisis is already solved!
Now we need to get John of the Jungle scraped off the tree and get him down to Mississippi for the debate.
How anyone sees this flighty gambler as a stable leader is beyond my ability to discern. Let's just get to the election, let him be defeated, and he can go back to whatever craps table he left behind.
Here's what McCain is saying by suspending his campaign and canceling the debates: You can't count on John McCain.
If there's an issue, a crisis, he's completely hotheaded, thrown for a loop, consumed by it. You have plans, you're looking for stability, John McCain can't provide it.
McCain is carried along by events, he's not in control of events. He's adrift, swept along, swept off his feet.
Of course the nation is looking for better leadership than that. But whatever happens, McCain loses it. You simply can't count on him. Nothing's guaranteed, nothing's predictable. Everyday you'd be left wondering, what banana has he slipped on today?
If Obama can simply show a persona of stability, I think he ought to win.
Please, suspend your campaign till election day, loser.
Is McCain a moron or what? He can't do two things at once, be a senator and a candidate for president. Never mind the fact that he hasn't been doing his senator job since APRIL of this year. That's the last time he was in the Senate.
But now with the economy having some sort of crisis, he feels there's nothing else he can do but go back to Washington and grandstand a while. Thinking he's going to impress someone and get votes through the back door.
Obama is looking at this in the best way. You're a senator, you're a candidate, you can walk and chew gum at the same time.
God forbid that we ever elect McCain. It's a matter of lurching from one crisis to the next with this guy. And pulling stunts like this, it would be a long four years!
Where does McCain stand on the issues? The answer is: What do you want to hear this week?
Where does he stand on Social Security in particular? The answer is: What position might do him the most good today?
He's been laboring like Hercules for years for the privatization of Social Security, even calling Social Security a disgrace. He supported Bush right down the line, in lockstep, for accounts tied to the stock market. But now, you guessed it, the stock market's in the toilet, there's no political gain in his actual position, so he's pretending that he's no longer for privatization.
Here's a little straight talk, John: If you're everywhere on every issue you're really nowhere. No one should believe you about anything.
What I want is someone who will be honest. Social Security is important. And I don't want anyone to take it away, which is what McCain and Bush literally tried to do. If we let the fox in the chicken house, don't be surprised when we wake up to no more chickens.
The Palin/McCain campaign renegotiated the rules for the vice presidential debate, to make it easier for Sarah, to take some of the pressure off her as to ... knowing things. Biden is pretty scary to her, it seems, and she couldn't handle him with the rules as originally set.
No word yet from Putin, Ahmadinejad, and Kim Jong Il if they'll allow special rules and go easier on our (very qualified) President Palin if that time should come.
The current article on healthcare written by McCain that everyone's talking about ... I wonder if that was a speech he gave somewhere or something he wrote out for publication.
Because it's weird that his little tic, saying "My friends" all the time, would be in there if he wrote it out. Yet there it is, a couple times:
Toward the beginning:
The problem, my friends, with the U.S. health care system is not that Americans don’t have fine doctors, medical technology, and treatments.Toward the end:
The "solution," my friends, isn’t a one-size-fits-all big-government takeover of health care.Link. (PDF)
Tomorrow, Sept. 20, marks 35 years since Jim Croce died in a plane crash.
I was accidentally an early Jim Croce fan before I even had any idea who he was or what he might accomplish. We used to stop at the grocery store on the way home from church and I always looked through the cut-out closeout bin of records, which were 44 cents. And one of the albums I got there was the "Croce" album by Jim and Ingrid.
I really bought it because of the instruments listed on the back. I haven't got it anymore, but at Wikipedia it says 12 string guitar, mandolin, and banjo. I thought it sounded like it might be good. I remember we were talking about it on the way home, kind of laughing really, of artists we'd never heard of. At that time we pronounced Croce as though it rhymed with "close."
Anyway, I played the LP many many times and basically had it memorized. It was great.
Later, it must have been 1972, I was on a trip to the Ozarks and heard "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" on the radio. The voice was familiar. And the announcer said it was Jim CROW-chee, the same guy!
I was planning to go to Jim's concert in Iowa City whenever it was to be, within a week of when he died.
It seems to me that even Republicans should be troubled by the activities we're hearing about of John McCain's campaign and Sarah Palin and husband in Alaska.
She was going to cooperate in the Troopergate investigation, which involves subpoenas, the whole process of getting to the facts and making a determination what happened. But in recent days it's gotten all mucked up with legal wrangling and stonewalling, as the campaign apparently tries to tie it up till after the election.
Palin's husband was subpoenaed, but refuses to testify because he doesn't believe in the legitimacy of the probe. That's incredible. These people aren't even elected yet and already they're acting like Bush and Cheney and the whole corrupt Bush administration!
It's troubling. There was a time when the Republican party styled themselves the party of law and order. But not in the last eight years, that's for sure. They've been crooked to the core. The idea that people could refuse to testify when subpoenaed because they don't "believe" in the legitimacy of the case, etc., is mindboggling.
The average Republican surely doesn't think this is the way to run a country based on the rule of law. It's scary what all they might do if we made the foolish mistake of actually electing them! No retraint now, what would it be then?
President Bush received the president of Ghana as a guest at the White House, whose name, as we all know, is John Kufuor.
When a "ferener" gets up to make remarks it can make for some interesting phrases, no doubt meant well but coming out somewhat botched.
Here's a snippet from President Kufuor's remarks toward Bush:
“Your tenure has been full of events and challenges, some very mind-boggling and hair-raising,” Mr. Kufuor told Mr. Bush, raising more than a few eyebrows. “You are a survivor,” the Ghanaian leader told the American president. “And my hope is that history would prove kinder to you.”I like that description, "raising more than a few eyebrows." But as far as I'm concerned he could have gone on and on.
There have been reports that Sarah has all the sizzle on the Republican side, and McCain is ... borrrring. It could be that they might need to corral the people in, have John go first, then have Sarah top off the meeting, because they're actually walking out as he speaks.
NYT: There may be a price for all this. After Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, his running mate, riveted the overflow crowd at an airplane hangar here for 16 minutes, it was Mr. McCain’s turn, and people in his audience began murmuring and drifting away midway through a 14-minute speech that was flat and cheerless.I'm not seeing many McCain rallies where I live, so I can't go to one just to walk out. But I think it'd be cool, you know, to vote with your feet. The emcee is going nuts, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, here he is, the man of the hour, the man of the people, the next President of the United States, John McCain!" (Pausing for brief meditation on the zen koan, "One Hand Clapping.")
Actually, I remember an episode of the Three Stooges in which Curly was eating lipstick. If memory serves! But I don't remember it being a particularly enjoyable meal.
In other words, if the election is on the issues, John McCain loses. If it's on lipstick and ephemera, the old bird has a shot. The problem, of course, with dwelling on lipstick and ephemera is that if we get stuck with that, that's hard to eat for the next four years. At that time we would find out what such ignorance hath wrought.
We need a president who's going to be serious about the issues, not just ideology, not just being sidetracked by crap that doesn't make any difference. John McCain is not -- let us repeat this word of negativity once again in an emphasized way lest any fail to get it -- is NOT the man we need for the job. He's nothing but ego and deception. He wants to be president because he wants to be president. What he would actually accomplish there, zip, nada. He hasn't said. He does say anything he needs to say along the way, trying to get elected. He's flipped around so many times in the last few days he's a weather vane. Those are his "principles;" that is his deception.
We need a president like Barack Obama, who is a serious person, who will bring some intelligence to the table, to help solve tough problems in a reasonable way. No one can say that we haven't given stupidity a fair shot. Eight years, and we see what happened. As in other areas of life, stupidity doesn't usually mean success. You want to eat, right? You want to have a home? You want your children to have decent schools? You want to retire someday? Get smart.
John McCain is economic, national suicide ... more of the same.
You've heard of the Spanish-American war? It's back!
John McCain, asked about Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero, suggested he might not be willing to meet with him because he is a world leader who wants to harm America.
TPM. My second paragraph is a paraphrase of something from TPM. But it's not plagarism if you admit it right up front, AND you happen to be too tired to write your own generic piece, is it?
My own riff on this is John McCain remembers the Spanish-American war very well. I think he spent a couple months of 1898 as a POW in Santiago. And the man knows how to hold a grudge.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much there...
[Click graphic to see full size.]
I can't even remember where this hack, Congressman Cantor, is from. And I'm not going to look it up, because who cares? All he's good for is ... nothin'. A sack of garbage has more redeeming qualities.
I love the way Chris Matthews takes the worthless guy to the woodshed and tans his hide good. The Republicans really really think they're fooling us, that they're not really Republicans, and, anyway, just because they've been in charge doesn't mean they're responsible for anything.
I remember when they held up Bush as the guy who could do no wrong. Now that even they discover he can do no right they run so far from him he's persona non grata, to his own party! And yet the hack, this idiot Cantor, keeps spinning toward the future -- "no finger pointing and blame, please" -- because John McCain now is the Republican guy who can do no wrong. Anything to cling to power. Of course they have no idea whatsoever how to govern, but they're happy to sit there and muck things up for the rest of us.
When I see a true scuzball like Congressman Cantor babbling on, I see clearly what's at stake. The same gang of crooks ... or a new start, a government we can be proud of again. Even he's not proud of Bush, but all he wants to do is change the subject.
Worthless.
Top McCain official Carly Fiorina made the serious mistake of telling the truth when she was talking about John McCain and Sarah Palin. She said neither one was qualified to run a major corporation. Somehow they're qualified to run the entire United States of America, but a single company, no!
Now CNN quotes a source with the McCain campaign, who said, "Carly will now disappear ... Senator McCain was furious." CNN says she was booked for several TV interviews in the next few days, but now those interviews have been canceled.
It definitely sounds like McCain's legendary bad temper is taking over: "Senator McCain was furious."
McCain's the big expert on the economy, right? I know he said he didn't know anything about it, but then later his always-truthful advisers said he did. So naturally I had to go with their opinion since I figured he was probably just being modest.
Well, maybe he is actually dumb as a post on the economy, just like he said. Here's a great quote, that McCain wants to study, to investigate what the problem might be. But Barack Obama knows what the problem is and promises to fix it.
WSJ: Obama rejected McCain’s call this morning for a national commission modeled after the bipartisan panel that investigated the 9/11 attacks as a desperate ploy, labeling it “the oldest Washington stunt in the book.”So McCain wants to fiddle about, kick the can down the road, submit himself to the rigors of on-the-job training. But Obama's ready to work, day one.
“You pass the buck to a commission to study this problem,” Obama said, rejecting the measure as unnecessary. “We know how we got into this mess. What we need now is leadership that get us out. I’ll provide it. John McCain won’t.”
John McCain now is claiming that he's the inventor of the Blackberry.
Pretty good work for a guy who said he's unfamiliar with computers. Or can't use them.
So what would be hardest, most demanding -- to run the entire country of the United States of America or a single corporation?
Carly Fiorina, a top McCain adviser, said McCain and Palin both would be unqualified to run her old corporation, Hewlett-Packard. And yet she thinks they're qualified enough to be president of the United States!
I distinctly recall over the years the term "the responsibility party" being applied to the GOP. It returns to my thoughts whenever I hear them blaming someone else for their failures. Which, in recent years, actually leaves me very little time to think of anything else.
They certainly positioned themselves as the responsibility party in terms of personal morality. But we've seen what a sham it is in this, that personal morality is trivial if it doesn't apply beyond the individual level. If you have government running amok in corruption, and business screwing over the country economically, exploiting everyone, and lack of regulation that allows other outrages, that's a sham. The GOP has careened out of control. But now they're back for another four years!
In my opinion, you either have to be seriously not paying attention if you vote Republican, or maybe there's just something else wrong.
As for being the reponsibility party, as far as they're concerned it's still Clinton's fault. Who know if and when they'll ever claim the Bush years as their own. But it's got REPUBLICAN stamped all over it.
One of Bill in Portland Maine's witty remarks caught my eye today, as being "so true."
Democrats always have to "walk a fine line." Republicans never do.So true! Any little burp or tweet from the Democrats and the media's on them like stink, with an able assist from the ultra right squawk machine. But the Republicans can lumber about, stagger about, tipping things over, mauling, running riot, and barely a peep.
At some point doesn't it get ridiculous to keep repeating this line? Even if it were a true statement, wouldn't she have anything else to say? The fact that it's a lie makes it even more egregious. It's one thing to say it a couple times. Then you get caught and you quit. It's pathological to have this one line, to grind it in the ground, to be caught lying, and to keep grinding it. Crazy talk!
Congress -- Please take our money. We want you to have it.
Palin -- No, listen, really, we don't want it.
Congress -- But we want you to build that bridge.
Palin -- We don't want to build a bridge, you ninnies.
Congress -- But think what a cool bridge it might be. Please reconsider.
Palin -- No, how can I make this clear? We would rather not have the bridge or your money.
Congress -- We really have to insist you take it. Come on, you know you want to.
Palin -- I'm trying to be nice about this. So listen to me one more time: Thanks, but no thanks. If we wanted to build a bridge, we would build it ourselves.
Congress -- So, what are you saying? It's over?
Palin -- I'm afraid so.
Congress -- How about we just leave the money behind in case you change your mind?
Palin -- Thanks, but no thanks. I won't. Take the money with you.
Congress -- We'll just set this briefcase over by that tree.
Is John McCain too old for the job? With cancer and all that? Claire McCaskill says yes.
In response, key McCain supporter Carly Fiorina accused McCaskill of “ageism.”Oh, so that's what you "frankly find?" Disrespectful, huh? Well, who cares what you think? This guy is running for president of all of us and he's clearly over the hill. Why should we all have to suffer just for John McCain's ego?
“I frankly find this disrespectful in the extreme,” she said. “I think this continued resort to ‘he's too old’ is desperation, frankly -- not to mention disrespectful to a very capable commander in chief.”
"They" dismissed Sarah Palin as "good-looking." OK, who doesn't want to be good looking? Ha ha. If that's the way McCain wants it, I for one don't find her all that good looking. There. I don't like the facial tics, the hair. But personally I would be looking for the full package, inner beauty and integrity. If those are left out, no matter what she looks like out here she's not going to be "good looking" to me. So have it your own way, McCain!
"They" said she "does what she's told." What is this? That she has campaign handlers, direction from the campaign, direction from the head of the ticket? That seems about normal for a VP candidate, doesn't it? Would they prefer she didn't do what she was told? A loose cannon on deck? But really, I haven't seen any evidence that Palin is being purposefully off message as far as the campaign's going. She not only should not be showing independence, she is not. But we all know what the ad's sneer is about, the old sexist thing, that the McCain wants to pretend like she's an equal partner and making her own decisions. That's ridiculous for someone in the VP slot.
"They" call her "a liar. How disrespectful." Truth hurts, I know. She is a liar. And way to put it in your own ad! I love it. Every news outlet in the world except maybe Fox and a few other halfwits have been pointing out the definite fact that McCain and Palin are both liars. Maybe they don't like the word. It's tough to be caught, but maybe don't be so brazen about it. Is it "disrespectful" to say their claims don't match the facts? To me, that's Obama's responsibility.
By the way, how do you like the assassination of Barack Obama in this ad? A blinding flash right below the throat and a boom. Isn't that about where the bullet came out of JFK? I don't like that part of the ad at all. Talk about disrespectful.
Here's a good collection of some recent media observations that John McCain and Sarah Palin are liars:
It's an article by Keith Pickering at Daily Kos with a limited title, "LIAR!" Krugman blasts McCain with the truth." Keith actually goes beyond Krugman's column to give several other examples of the media calling out McCain and Palin.
To me, it's regrettable that McCain and Palin are putting themselves forth as so dishonorable and such liars. It really is. Since they're potentially our next president and vice president, I'd love them to be brim-full of honor and truthfulness. But if they're not, the next best thing is for the media to realize it and for the rest of the country to pay good attention.
I have absolutely no problem with calling lies lies. And liars liars. We had it all through the Bush years and you thought it couldn't be any worse than that. But, I regret to say, it could be.
My own way of thinking is this, that We The People love our country and want the best for it. But if we get bad leadership -- the kind of craven, evil leadership we've had with Bush and his gang of crooks -- it depresses everything, and where prosperity and peace would have, could have, should have reigned, the deceit and criminality tips the balance the other way. It's like something in the nature of things, that lying has consequences. It's like something in myths, the land wasting away.
The rather odd thing is that it takes people quite a while to see it. Or we see it and we distribute the blame, since there are so many sectors. And we're not given to this notion first that the kind of people we are and the kind of leadership we have has actual consequences. Because we start with a self-image that's already on the 70 yard line. The old proverb that you reap what you sow isn't instantly believed. So even now we have around 28% of the population essentially deadenders who see George Bush as still having credibility. That's scary, but like I said, so many sectors. And other factors, family, political ties, ignorance.
What I want is government, a president, who is more or less someone you can be proud of and someone who more or less merits our pride. Someone who has some civic virtue, who wants the best for the country, someone you don't suspect (or know) is cavorting with criminal types, liars, behind the scenes to undercut the rest of us.
So, because of all this, it ticks me off that McCain and Palin have to be such liars. Because they stand a realistic chance of being elected. That's scary. If they're elected -- God forbid -- it could be that they would moderate things a bit. Maybe whatever civic goodness McCain's had, if any, would reemerge and we would be more or less happy under him. It sounds bad at this point. He's not inspirational in the least. He doesn't inspire trust and confidence in me, I know. He looks like more of the same, actually, and maybe worse. If he's surrounded by the same time of weasels that Bush was, and Bush took us so far down, and if we're crazy enough to elect the same bunch, what new depths might they plumb? Really, what would restrain them?
Here's what's sexist, John McCain treating his running mate the way he is. She's no doubt amenable and complicit in all this, being power-hungry. But John McCain isn't doing her any favors with all this sexism stuff.
It's sickening to have them sniffing around for every imagined slight, then shouting it from the rooftops. Is she a serious candidate for vice president? Is she a serious president on day one? Then treat her like one.
As for John McCain himself, how disgusting that a tough guy like him is hiding behind Palin's skirts. If he's really afraid of Obama, admit it. If he's simply using her as a tool, that's quite sexist. That's what I think it is.
I got the title and idea for this post from "marcim" at Daily Kos.
It's a great title. We like to think of John McCain as a man of honor. But it was very telling recently when he couldn't (or wouldn't) give a definition of honor in a Time interview.
As it turns out he may very well have been at a loss for words. Because the words coming out of his mouth (and his campaign) lately are far from honorable. He may have gotten an honorable discharge from the military, but what's coming from him himself is a "dishonorable discharge."
Marcim says:
Obama sees Rove's lips moving and is calling it out. And it's beginning to resonate. Even Drudge is noticing it. How many baldfaced lies can Rove have his dummies say before someone says, "Hey, this is dishonorable." Unbecoming behavior of an officer and a gentleman. Dishonorable discharge.So true, so true.
All this "lipstick on a pig" and "rotting fish" language. Do Not Apologize For It. Double Down.
Everyone knows the umbrage is phony BS. This is simple stuff, exactly what we need. Make a mockery of McCain, that he's empty and any sort of agenda he has is rotten to the core.
Link.
Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed! John McCain in bed with sexual predators! We've all seen the "To Catch a Predator" shows, but now guess who's sticking up for the perps? John McCain and the Republicans. As it turns out they don't mind our children being the victims of inappropriate touching, fondling, groping, and who knows what else.
To pedophiles, McCain says, Walk free. To children, McCain says, You're On Your Own.
That's the message he's sending loud and clear when he sleazes Barack Obama, who simply thinks like any normal person, that it's common sense to teach our children the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching. What's wrong with that? Nothing! We teach them to run the other way when there's trouble. We teach them to call 911 when there's an emergency. We teach them not to take candy from a stranger. It's incredible, but John McCain sees a problem with this! He would have parents let down their guard.
The Republicans need to check themselves here. McCain's not being pro-family, he's more interested in the rights of pedophiles than our children, which is sick.
Just stupid or very stupid?
She's never heard the expression "lipstick on a pig"? The old phrase that is like this ... "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig!" Meaning you have bad ideas, and no matter how much you try to disguise them they're still bad ideas.
No, in this silly season of sometimes intentional stupidity, former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift, thinks when Barack Obama uses this old chestnut he's calling Pinocchio Palin a pig! Really, how likely is that?
Surely that's a stretch even for the stupidest of Republican morons, right? Apparently not. Memo to McCain, you need to vet your people to make sure they have basic intelligence. Heckuva job, Swifty!
Hey, ever heard of that teaching of Jesus? "Don't cast your pearls before swine." Say that to someone and if they're opposed to you their response will invariably be, "Oh, so you're calling me a pig!" No, I'm just using a phrase from the wisdom teachings that means don't waste your time on those who won't "get it." Of course, if you think you're a pig, oink oink, I won't try to talk you out of it.
It's very odd that Sarah Palin keeps repeating the same old speech, especially the "Thanks, but no thanks" line concerning the famous Bridge To Nowhere. Is there someone just pulling a string to get one of the 10 different phrases she knows?
It would be odd even if the claim were true. But it's especially odd when it's been pointed out repeatedly that she never said any such thing. (And now we know, if she had ever said it, she would have said it a dozen times, so there'd be plenty of recorded instances.)
If something is out and out false, and you keep repeating it, that says some things about you: 1) You're oblivious to the truth; 2) You haven't got much else to say.
And yet, here she is still today:
"You're gonna hear a lot about the abusive practice of earmarks in Congress from our good senator here. We championed in Alaska reform of the old earmark process. I told Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks' for that Bridge To Nowhere up in Alaska. If our state wanted a bridge, we were gonna build it ourselves."Is this someone who's thinking for herself? It's time for a total script makeover!
I definitely agree with Pat Buchanan that it is a REAL MISTAKE for the liberals and liberal shows, like Keith and Rachel, to go after the Assembly of God church. I couldn't believe that I heard that on two MSNBC shows right in a row.
I mean, please! That they speak in tongues, that they believe in the Rapture, that they think God hears and answers prayers. Believe it or not, these are not far-out looney ideas. I don't know precisely what circles Keith and Rachel travel in, but these are actually very mainstream, ordinary ideas. Especially that God hears and answers prayers. For pipelines, for whatever.
It seems to me that Keith and Rachel don't know this, and would probably lump the Assembly of God together with snake-handlers and people who let their children die instead of getting a doctor, those kinds of things that actually are extreme. It's nothing like that. We need people on our side (liberals) who know the difference between the various religious groups, and aren't making the mistake of ridiculing the religion of average Americans.
It's great to see Rachel have her own show. I watched a large chunk of it, and I'm not big on sitting there just watching show after show.
I like the colors and the graphics. Overall it doesn't feel like the show has a thread, a gimmick like Countdown, but it's new, it can evolve, I hope.
One major gripe: Must we have the omnipresent Pat Buchanan thrust before us? Good grief, is there no escape from this man? Actually I have had many good things to say about Pat over the years. He's like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. When he's good, he's very good, but when he's bad, he's horrid.
Here's something you can count on with Pat Buchanan. In the midst of an election year, he is horrid. Especially when one of the candidates -- Sarah Palin -- was a Buchanan supporter. All the tripe coming out of Pat's mouth, we've heard before. It's time to put him out to pasture. On the other hand, every show needs an occasional devil, so I suppose he's good for something.
It's nice to hear rumblings and more than rumblings that Sarah Palin and John McCain are liars.
See, that wasn't so hard. It's not that they're spinning, that they're slightly misleading, that they're mistaken, that they're not telling the truth. THEY ARE LIARS.
Liars in this sense: fully intentional liars, liars without shame, liars who believe they can get away with it, despicable liars.
Let the famous Bridge to Nowhere represent this: John McCain and Sarah Palin and the Republicans are lying about it. On earmarks, they're lying about that. On lobbyists, they're lying about that. On being agents of change, they're lying about that. On Obama going to raise everyone's taxes, they're lying about that. On being "mavericks," they're lying about that. They are nothing but the same old politics as usual, in McCain's case voting with Bush over 90% of the time and Palin has to be worse.
If we fall for their lies, of course we will unfortunately get what we deserve, a government that will lie its way through at least four more years of corruption, cronyism, and deceit. We will set ourselves back in terms of global responsibility and leadership in ways that are incalculable. We will have the same old partisan divide, the same old politics of personal destruction, the same old same old. Miserable stuff.
Bottom line. Make absolutely no mistake about it, JOHN McCAIN AND SARAH PALIN ARE LIARS.
We all woke up to the Gallup/USA Today poll, with McCain 10 points over Obama. You see the numbers, however we might parse them in terms of convention bounces, etc., and it makes you jittery.
On the other hand, if it were exactly reversed, which it practically was the other day, but at 8 points, it wouldn't give me any great sense of security. And that's why we shouldn't be overly nervous now. Things are bound to fluctuate, depending on who the pollsters are calling, who answers, all that.
One that is very hard for me to actually believe, that people are changing their minds that often. We've been hearing it ever since the 2000 election what a divided nation we are. Assuming that's true, people are more or less set in their ways. There may be that group of independents in the middle, but I can't believe they're simply changing their minds every couple days. Some of this has to be like what McCain said at the convention, ground noise and static.
The other reason it's too early to be overly nervous is we still have a long ways to go, two months, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in advertisements and four debates. I know we've been disappointed before, with the phoniness of the expectations game and all that, but I believe we'll see a more intelligent debater in Obama. And not just intelligence in terms of being able to run circles around McCain, but intelligence in how to handle himself. That means, no big sighs and no brahmin like qualities ganging up on the average guy.
Some of McCain's bounce is no doubt due to this she-devil, Sarah Palin. That seems like it would be short-lived because of her rather obvious downside: 1) ultra right-wing ideology; 2) obvious lying about her record and past. The "Bridge to Nowhere" might be her ticket back to oblivion, if people (and the media) would focus more on the truth of the matter and less on her claims.
One thing is for sure: this country needs change and deliverance from the Bush years. To say we could get very nervous is the plain truth, because we do not want another four years of corruption, misgovernment, and lost opportunities. But right now, we're still far enough out, there's time for everything to turn around and for Obama to win handily.
I'm going to Daily Kos to see if how long it takes me, with the current diary list, starting at the top of the recent diaries and going down, to find one with a variation of the statement, "This is not a diary -- please delete."
OK, it is 2:23 p.m. Eastern time... here I go.
Well, it's a minute later, and at this diary, Sarah Palin...Just how are the people responding? I found this comment at the top, "This is outdated stuff. Try again. n/t."
So I'm going back in for something more definite:
OK, it is 2:28 p.m., and the dishonor goes to a diary by chowbellachow, called, "McCain supporter STEALS U.S. flags from DNC convention." The comment is by the omnipresent DemocraticLuntz, who says, "Not a diary. Please delete and never do this."
So that's kind of like five minutes. It could have been better. But remember, between 2:23 and 2:28 I also got the information on that Sarah Palin one, had to cut and paste a few things here, then go back. That meant opening several diaries that had zero comments, and yet there may have been comments since the time my browser said zero. Then of course there were some actual diaries of sufficient length and appearance to wade through to make sure they weren't troll diaries (they weren't).
I actually figured the diary by chowbellachow was going to be a good diary, because of the provocative title. If true, there'd be nothing trollish about that. But I didn't stay to investigate because I needed to get back here in record time, you see.
Who's that guy always hanging around with George Bush? Mini Me McCain. His right hand man, promising to continue Bush's great presidency, to help Bush with his legacy.
But he needs our help. If you've enjoyed the Bush years as much as we have, please pitch in and help get McCain elected. We don't want those years of peace and prosperity to end!
I'm glad someone posted a picture of this. I saw it go by and jotted it down as a funny thing.
Sort of like the guy with the sign calling people "morans."
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, born 1950, a Georgia Republican, who called Barack Obama "uppity" now claims this:
"I've never heard that term used in a racially derogatory sense. It is important to note that the dictionary definition of 'uppity' is 'affecting an air of inflated self-esteem --- snobbish.' That's what we meant by uppity when we used it in the mill village where I grew up."Strains credulity. Never heard the term used in a racially derogatory sense.
My friends, we have had our anticlimactic moment at the Republican convention. Unfortunately it had to come with the nominee.
Stumbling, bumbling, getting tongue-tied, beset with teleprompter mishaps, derailed by protesters, working around supporters chanting "USA," looking very uneasy, John McCain survived his speech.
Just like President Bush kept looking at his watch at the Olympics, so I glanced at the clock a few times, wishing he might speed it up a bit. All in all, to be nice about it, he looked like a nice old fellow and came across in a more or less pleasant way. He presented ideals -- whether sincere or not, he probably was for the most part.
There were some inspiring moments, but then plenty of moments that dragged by.
He never mentioned George W. Bush by name and only referenced him once, in being grateful for "the president" leading the nation after 9/11, the worst American disaster ever, happening on his neglectful watch, he being asleep at the switch. McCain was critical of the Republicans for having gone to change Washington but Washington changed them. He included the Democrats in some of this, too, so it wasn't entirely confessional. Significantly, he himself wasn't among the offenders, having for his part fought corruption and big spending.
He had some nice things to say about war, that he hates war, and that he wants to build the foundations for "a stable and enduring peace." To which we might shout, "BALONEY!" He hasn't shown any penchant for ending war; instead he's been nothing but a hawk.
Of course he went in depth on his POW experiences. This was touching. Whether all of it was true or not, he still knows how to hit the sentimental chords. He didn't present himself as perfect in that, but as broken, and as being brought back to self-respect by the counsel of others. He even said he "thought about" taking the Vietnamese up on their offer of sending him home, but then rejected it. (It made me wonder why, if the Vietnamese wanted him to leave, why didn't they just put him in a car, drive him to the border and drop him off? I hadn't thought of it before, but why would he have a choice whether he'd stay or not. I mean that as a serious question. When prisoners of war are being held, do they really have the final say-so over whether they stay or go?) Anyway, he stayed, and survived.
Some of McCain's big applause lines were anemic, yet helped along by an encouraging audience. The big finale, his shouting out the last several lines as the crowd went wild, would have been better if he weren't reading them off a teleprompter. That last little bit ought to come from the gut and not just mechanically reading it. At that point I would've suggested, be a maverick, and go for it, wing the last little bit! After all, the worst thing that could ever possibly happen to him (POW) has already happened. Be brave in summation!
I have a policy of never watching Fox News. It is a sickening, revolting channel. The way Bill O'Reilly thinks of MSNBC, that's exactly the way I think of Fox. So that ought to be easy enough for him to understand. But with the convention, I've clicked over there for a few minutes, each time feeling quite queasy. It's a bad, bad, even evil, channel.
Well, since Obama was going to be on Bill's show, I decided to watch it. But there was all the lead-up stuff, which I caught a whiff of and then turned the channel. Then I had to keep checking back, and everything I managed to hear was presented with this weird sledgehammer anger; it is such an oppressive show. It's easy to see why wingnuts are so insane, if they imbibe this kind of bile night after night.
Then when the Obama interview finally came on, it was bad too. You would think that Bill finally gets Obama on, he's going to let him talk. Wow, it was all about Bill. Leaping in, talking over, acting irritated, with his own pet ax to constantly grind. He has such a simplistic philosophy: I'm right. you're wrong. Good grief, let the man talk! Presumably this was to be an interview with Obama, not just Bill clamoring for attention and debate.
I used the word previously, but this is oppressive stuff. You can feel a weight on your brain and sensibilities, saying, This is maddening!
Fortunately, I don't watch this show; it would be impossible. This was the first time in a loooonnnnngggg time. And it'll be equally long (if ever) that I ever tune in again!
Summarizing a piece from his speech tonight:
CNN: McCain promises to work across the aisle to solve problems, saying he has a record of doing so and his opponent does not.McCain condemns "partisan rancor" and promises to work across the aisle to solve problems. If he condemns partisan rancor, he sure isn't showing it in his own behavior. The guy's as bad as they come.
"I have that record and the scars to prove it. Sen. Obama does not," he says as he also condemns "partisan rancor."
Here's hoping for a really LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGG game.
NFL Opener Has McCain Campaign Leery of Delay-of-Game Penalty
We need an officials' replay of every single play. Or such things as a 40 yard pass caught on a 3rd and 5, and needing to measure to make sure it's a 1st down!
The Republicans and their candidates are putrid.
Even with the sound turned down you can tell their party is about nothing but empty sound and fury, mockery and insult. They're trying to bull their way over the hopes of ordinary Americans again, to bring us four more years of sleazy government.
It's very revealing when mockery is all they have. They have no positive agenda for the common good. They really, actually are putting forth an agenda of more of the same. It is literally true, if you liked the Bush years, then you'll love what they have in mind for the next four years.
It's a sickening feeling to realize this is all they have, and then they mask it by never mentioning Bush. That has to tell you something. They know America is fed up with what they gave us all these years, but they're so morally and ideologically bankrupt that they have nothing else to offer. So paint lipstick on the pig and send it out for another round of votes!
This is not government with the country's best interests in mind.
Palin: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."
"Actual responsibilities."
The Obama campaign (by email) put this in some context:
Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.This is an unbelievable statement (and theme) from the Republicans. Remember, they've always claimed they're the party of individual responsibility, self-sufficiency, limited government. But what Palin is saying is, if you're not in government then you don't "have actual responsibilities."
I watched enough of her speech to convince me of this much, when it comes to words on a teleprompter, Sarah knows how to read.
Now we need to take it one step farther. Will she be able to wing it when it's not written out for her? I watched it up till midway through the "Our opponent is the scum of the earth" section, then decided I'd seen enough. What will she come up with when the audience is not a lot of cheering dittoheads?
By the way, speaking of the audience, I didn't see the lady with the purple Band-Aid. But I believe I did see two black guys, so there was some diversity in the hall. Just to carry on a bit about the audience, I watched most of Rudy's speech with the sound turned down. It looked like he was delighting the audience to no end. Which when it comes to this crowd can only mean mockery. They're not actually coming up with promises and plans to do anything positive for the economy or America's place in the world. But they do know how to cut a mean insult.
I was struck by the big New York video in the back when Rudy was speaking. I was wondering if the Republicans were leaving America better off than when they took over in 2001. And then I noticed two big buildings missing from the picture. But, you know, everyone's entitled to a few "oopsies" when it comes to tending their pet goat's needs first. Audience chant, everyone: "Pet Goat First! Pet Goat First! Pet Goat First!" It's not really the Republicans' fault that they were asleep at the switch on 9/11. Afterall, Bill Clinton was seriously keeping track of the terrorists. And since everything he did was wrong, the Republicans had no choice but to look the other way. So it's Clinton's fault. Anyway, Rudy got to be a big hero for simply showing up and doing the job they paid him to do. So it all worked out.
Are Republicans a chromosome-deprived people? I mean that. Check the vents at the funny farm, because I think I saw a few walk-offs.
Anyway, getting back to Gov. Palin? Doesn't she have a weird habit of scrinching her face up when she's making a point? It reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld, the Yada Yada Yada girl, who scrinches her face sort of like that when she's talking about shoplifting. It's kind of cute. Her little daughter was cute, putting spit on her hand and smoothing out Trig's hair. I saw that and thought, There goes a few votes. It was genuinely cute.
The whole thing, though, politically, wasn't so great. Naturally they mischaracterized Obama to no end. She repeated her lie about the bridge to nowhere, the "No thanks" line. Great story, if only it were true! D'oh!
And no one addressed the biggest elephant in the room, the failure of George W. Bush. In fact, she didn't mention President Bush, the president of their party, who could do no wrong for all those years. That's weird. If we put up with eight years of failure from the Republicans -- answer me this -- why should we trust them for another four? That's the stumbling block of stumbling blocks. These people are incompetent and corrupt. They need to be sent packing, back to Crawford, back to Alaska, back to Arizona. And with that, over and out.
Mitt Romney has "always been proud of America."
Sure, he hates over half the population of the country, Democrats, but he's always been proud of America. Whatever America really is without its citizens, whom he hates.
The Republican convention is abuzz, excited, and completely geared up for a great speech tonight by Gov. Sarah Palin.
They, like the rest of the nation and world, are hoping that Palin will be able to stand before a friendly audience and read a speech that someone else wrote. Several questions will be answered tonight, but none is bigger than this, "Can she read?"
If she is able to read the speech -- having practiced it throughout the day, having gone over and over it -- this will prove once and for all that she is able to read a speech.
Now, what about the speech? What thoughts of the speech writer will resonate with the country? That we will have to wait to see. The speech writer, furnishing the very words that Palin will read, no doubt will provide some inspiring moments for the folks gathered.
From CBS News' John Bentley:
(ST. PAUL, MINN.) – John McCain’s campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband’s business partner.Enquiring minds want to know. Details, please! On the threatened legal action, of course.
This is rich.
John McCain's made a big deal out of earmarks, criticizing them and the recipients of government money. How rich it is that among those recipients he criticized was Sarah Palin, now his beloved running mate.
Here is a lengthy article that details the whole situation. McCain was against Palin before he was for her!
Meg Whitman -- one of the three wisest people John McCain knows -- does not think the media is treating Sarah Palin in a sexist way.
She said, "I actually think it's completely fair for the media to vet Sarah Palin," adding that it was "the right thing to do" for the media to check out someone "running for the highest office in the land."
Asked if there had been any media sexism, she said, "I wouldn't say there really has."
Peggy Noonan says "It's over." Thanks to the Palin gambit.
Mike seems to agree that it was a bad move.
Link for their comments caught on an open mic.
I hope, I hope, I hope, that McCain sealed the deal ... against himself. I think it'd be really cool. To have victory still as possibility the other day, while the Democratic convention was going on. But then it went so great and Obama literally blew the roof off the place (I did not see a roof on the stadium afterwards), and McCain panicked and called in Palin. Here's what I think would be really cool: For him to lose over this and have the rest of his life to answer for it.
The rest of the year: Why did you make such a boneheaded move?
Next year: What were you thinking?
The third year: Did you give it any thought whatsoever?
The fourth year: By now he has a book out, Mea Culpa -- The Botched Campaign of 2008, By John McCain. And since he never gives anything a second thought, they simply print his rough draft, in which he inadvertently tells the truth about everything.
In here somewhere we come to another election year, unless I overshot it in my list, and it's time for the Republican candidate to select his or her VP. It's proverbial by now: Don't pull a McCain! Don't McCain it up, stupid! Who do you think I am, McCain?! And if anyone really screws up, he's the "Second Coming of McCain!"
My friends -- and I believe you are all my friends -- I just want Obama to win. Why? Because I want good government for this country after eight years of terrible. And McCain is a screw-up. He doesn't have the judgment it takes to be a good president.
That's why he must be defeated. And if he just happens to defeat himself, so much the better.
This is astounding, that McCain would cancel a CNN interview with Larry King because Campbell Brown was too rough on one of McCain's spokesmen.
Larry King? This is what McCain's afraid of? Or, to put it in another light, McCain wants to punish King in some way because of Campbell Brown?
What's next, enemy lists? I think we've been down this road before. Maybe tap their phone. Blacklist them. Put them on the terrorist watch list.
We do not need an old, vindictive hothead as president. It really is time to turn the page on all that, and bring in someone who can change things.
If this is the way McCain gets with an old softie like Larry King, may we never have to find out how he will behave around our nation's enemies, you know, actual negotiations that are critical to get right.
John McCain's just an old fashioned guy. You know, he only met Sarah Palin that one time. And he doesn't believe in vetting on the first date.
I'm usually watching the whole thing, gavel to gavel, as much as I can. But I haven't seen a minute of it yet. The internet is on fire with all the Palin/McCain scandals, and who can take their eyes off that?!
Assuming it's on -- which I don't know -- I suppose they have a lot of inspiring things going on, you know, as to why this halfwit John McCain should be president. Probably such things as his great judgment and what a maverick he is. Oops, scratch that. The guy couldn't rub two coherent thoughts together if they were Super Glued to his gloves. So much for judgment. And as for being a maverick, you don't pick Sarah Palin as your running mate if you're not afraid of someone. Like James Dobson. Must not color outside the lines in the Ayatollah's coloring book!
I've got to think that the hits at Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, and Huffington Post are through the roof. They're busy celebrating the McCain debacle. And thanks to McCain's great vetting process -- which I heard was to pray and flip a coin -- the hits at National Enquirer and TMZ are probably blazing hot too! About the only guy in the Republican party who's happy has to be Larry Craig, since everyone's forgotten about his memorial stall at the airport. He's sitting on the toilet somewhere, saying, "That was a close call."
What might they be doing at the convention? Just guessing, probably some very stuffy business. Maybe a faux patriotic demonstration. Up on the stage, some blowhards maybe carrying on as though the Republican party had any foundation left. Slogans and flags are cheap, of course. But you better use those 50-star flags now while they're any good, since Palin wants Alaska to secede from the Union. Then we'll be down to 49. It'll be good for the flag industry. Maybe that's the kind of jobs the Republicans want to create in America -- or maybe they'll outsource the work to Alaska.
It's been a great week! The Democratic convention, on the other hand was boring, being a model of sanity and stability. Heckuva job, Johnny!
It's great to have the media on top of these issues. Even if it has to be somewhat out of the mainstream. Say what you will about the National Enquirer, they caught John Edwards dead to rights and finally got a partial confession out of the loser.
Now they've got their sights on John McCain's unvetted vice presidential pick, Sarah (No Scandal Left Behind) Palin. When you're in Alaska, romping freely on the tundra, no one cares what you do. But when your life is held up to the light of day -- especially when you're basically unknown -- suddenly we care.
The details are salacious, and for this we have John McCain to thank, or, rather, to curse under our breath. The crazy guy couldn't just pick someone actually qualified to step in as president on a moment's notice. He had to think so far outside the box the box wasn't even in the picture! I guarantee you John McCain is kicking himself, "Dumb, stupid, dumb, idiot!"
About the pregnancy of Palin's daughter, the National Enquirer says they were going to break the story and that's why Palin finally came forward:
The ultra-conservative governor’s announcement about her daughter’s pregnancy came hours after The ENQUIRER informed her representatives and family members of Levi Johnston, the father of Bristol’s child, that we were aware of the pregnancy and were going to break the news.They also tease us that there's more, which are included in the new issue of The Enquirer, saying:
The ENQUIRER has also learned that Palin’s family is embroiled in a vicious war that is now exposing her darkest secrets, threatening to destroy her political career.The rest of the media gets to play catch up. So we're happy we have the National Enquirer and the blogs to lead the way.
The American flag we have has 50 stars. Not 49.
But Sarah Palin was a member of a political party in Alaska that wanted to secede from the Union. Under their plan Alaska would be a separate country independent of the United States.
What this means is she doesn't support the flag that we currently have.
Troops have fought and died in the service of our country, represented by the American flag. If someone does not honor the American flag, that person is not qualified to be Vice President.
John McCain's vetting process with Sarah Palin is coming in for some real scrutiny. This thing is falling apart at the seams, revealing a rushed, haphazard process and some amazing facts about McCain's poor judgment.
It's been just a few days since he announced the newbie on the national stage. And if he failed to vet her, that doesn't mean the job won't be done. The blogs and now the more traditional media are digging into Palin's past, and finding things. One of the weirdest things is that she was a member of a party that has agitated for Alaskan independence, that Alaska secede from the union and be a separate country!
This is not vetting we can believe in.
As for Palin, how would it feel to know she's basically a pawn in this whole thing? That she wasn't picked because McCain really wanted her, but as a sop to the religious right. The whole thing is a matter of weakness on McCain's part. At this late stage he still had to shore up what should have been a rock solid base. So how does he do it? Pick someone who undermines the rest of his original argument against Obama.
Here's a great paragraph from a NY Times article on this whole debacle:
“They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.”A Republican close to the campaign said that. This is so pathetic: "John didn't get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge."
It's so interesting to see the Republican spinmeisters -- Karl Rove, all the congressmen, congresswomen, various assorted hangers-on and flunkies -- trying their best to back up John McCain's disastrous choice for VP.
They're very ingeniuous -- even though it's transparent -- at not answering the questions, or at coming up with spurious comparisons, such as the one that says Sarah Palin has great foreign policy experience because Alaska is so close to Russia! Or McCain and Palin have more experience serving in the military than Obama and Biden combined. This is like saying an apple and a rock have more nutritional value than two rocks. The first rock has little to do with it.
The funny thing -- I said it was transparent what they're doing -- is that they appear to have no shame. You know they're lying through their teeth, and, as Don Adams would say, loving it. Or maybe they're not loving it. They have to be cursing McCain under their breath for putting them in this ridiculous situation. Looking like fools, yet having to take one for the party.
I always think it'd be very revealing to live in a parallel universe for a few seconds. Pretend with me that Sarah Palin, with exactly the same experience, but of course different views, happened to be a Democrat, and Obama picked her as his running mate. It's not hard to imagine what the same Republican spinmeisters would be saying then! Oh, there'd be no end to how terrible she was! Of course they'd deny it. That's a given, because they are lying through their teeth.
Wow, Barack Obama really really gets it. And the Republicans absymally do not.
This is some wonderful stuff, from an Obama speech, on Gustav and storms. It's from a piece by Jay Newton-Small at Time, who has some excerpts.
That spirit of looking out for one another, that core value that says I am my brothers’ keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, that spirit is most evident during times of great tragedy, it’s most evident during times of great hardship, it’s most evident when natural disasters strike because we understand that only God has control and so it takes it out of the realm of politics. We all understand that we have to come together.Then he gets into the personal or community struggles over jobs shipped overseas, not having healthcare, seniors unable to afford heating their homes, young people who can't go to college.
But that spirit can’t just be restricted to moments of great catastrophe. Because as I stand here today and look out at the thousands of folks who have gathered here today, I know that there’s some folks that are going through their own quiet storms.
All across America there are quiet storms taking place. ... And what has always made this country great is the understanding that we rise and fall as one nation, that values and family, community and neighborhood, they have to express themselves in our government. Those are national values. Those are values that we all subscribe to. And so that the spirit that we extend today and in the days to come as we monitor what happens on the Gulf that’s the spirit that we’ve got to carry with us each and every day. That’s the spirit that we need in our own homes and it’s the spirit that we need in the White House. And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.John McCain wants to rush to the storm when it's glaring and obvious, and where there are political points to score. But all the other storms that are raging, he's nowhere to be found, personally or in his policy.
Because if there’s a poor child out there, that’s my child. If there’s a senior that’s having trouble, that’s my grandparent. If there’s a guy who’s lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a woman out there without healthcare, that’s my sister. Those are the values that built this country. Those are the values we are fighting for.
Here's what I want, stability.
Once in a while a pleasant surprise, something out of the ordinary, maybe a birthday party, nothing much. But in worldly affairs, economics, governance, the old national ship of state going in a particular direction, I want stability.
Stability like this. You get up each morning, check the news, and we haven't invaded someone's country. Things are more or less peaceful. The price of things is so and so and usually stays about there. There's a president you can trust to lead the country, and whatever he's doing isn't a great concern -- let's say he's guided by facts and sense, not ideology. And he's surrounded by competent people, adding to the stability and our sense of well-being. They're not old frat buddies with no experience in their field, and, whoever they are, they're not like a fox in the henhouse.
In this stable world, the government's just quietly humming along, yet showing many signs of benevolence. The president comes by in his car and we all step outside to shout "Hurrah!", and mean it. While we're out there, we greet the mailman and go back to our day. Today's a great day; we can predict tomorrow.
Is John McCain the man for this? Doesn't look like it to me.
Eugene Robinson: But we are reminded, if we did not realize it before, that the three things not to expect from a McCain presidency are caution, prudence and a willingness to always put the nation's interests above his own.
You've got Hookers and Blow, lobbyists, lavish parties, pig roasts. The Republican "party" goes on, even while they hid behind the mask of caring about the troubles of Hurricane Gustav.
Ouch. McCain's motto is "Country First," but Sarah Palin's is "Alaska First," as in perhaps wanting it to be an independent country.
It's been hinted at for a couple days, that Palin had been a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, but has now been confirmed.
Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, told ABC News that Palin and her husband were members in 1994, and then in 1996 Palin became a Republican and left the party.
The McCain-Palin campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.How about, "D'oh!"
I asked someone on the phone today what she thought of Sarah Palin. The response, not good, for this reason, that she wants to kill all the wild animals in Alaska so she can drill for oil.
You can easily find the stories that say she's against the polar bear, wants to kill the polar bear off. That's disgusting!
Check this out, she's less environmentally friendly than George Bush!
"Palin opposes the Bush administration's decision to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act."Look at the picture. I know that's not a polar bear, but a grizzly. You're sitting there with a dead bear, how terrible does that look?
