WHERE WAS THIS JOHN KERRY IN 2004!?

SARAH PALIN MAKES COMEDY WRITING EASY!

McCAIN RETURNS TO WASHINGTON - NOT TO CAPITOL HILL THOUGH

That's right, Mr. "Country First" spent the day at his Arlington, Virginia apartment - and at his campaign headquarters "around the corner":

By mid-afternoon, Mr. McCain’s closest adviser, Mark Salter, told reporters that Mr. McCain would not go to Capitol Hill on Saturday but would make phone calls to try to push the deal along. “He’s calling members on both sides, talking to people in the administration, helping out as he can,’’ Mr. Salter said.

Asked why Mr. McCain did not go to Capitol Hill after coming back to Washington to help with negotiations, Mr. Salter replied that “he can effectively do what he needs to do by phone.’’

Wait, he can do what he needs to do by phone? That's not what he said on Wednesday when he desperately tried to score some political points by pretending to suspend his campaign and slink back to Washington. I thought Johnny was gonna "roll his sleeves up"?

Maybe McCain is actually taking some advice from Barack Obama, who said on Thursday:

"My preference is to use the phone and to talk to people and work with them - including Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke and others - in a way that is not a photo-op because I think sometimes that prevents things from getting done. It is amazing what you can get done when you are not looking for credit for it."

So on a day when John McCain stayed away from the negotiations, the Associated Press is reporting that an agreement has been reached. Wow, just imagine how much work can get done if Americans retire this idiot back to Arizona?

CHECK OUT THE PICTURE

Notice anything missing?

You know, I always thought the whole "flagpin on the lapel" issue was silly at best, but can anyone honestly say that it wouldn't be a topic of discussion today had it been Obama without the flag on his chest?

McCAIN JUST DOESN'T GET IT

Right wingers are chirping that Barack Obama said McCain "is right" several times last night. However what they apparently fail to realize is that, more often than not, it was used to accentuate a difference of opinion between the two. It's like saying, "Yeah, Bill Clinton is right when he says husbands should be faithful to their wives, but why then was he getting a blowjob from an intern?" Is that a compliment?

I think even a 70-something (and his paid staff) know the real answer - but that didn't stop them from rushing out this commercial:

First off, I love how the McCain Campaign really feels like it has to answer their own question at the end of the commercial. Also, if you take the commercial at face value and assume that Obama is indeed agreeing with McCain on certain points - why would that necessarily mean he's not ready to lead? Isn't that kinda crapping on your own candidacy?

I think - like most things McCain these days - the idea was jumped on before a coherent plan was formed. In this case, it meant cutting quotes in half to remove any context of what Obama was actually saying. Here's a breakdown of the examples used in the commercial:

SEGMENT #1:
The commercial uses this portion of Obama's statement:

"Well, I think Senator McCain’s absolutely right that we need more responsibility..."

And here's the whole quote:

“Well, I think Senator McCain’s absolutely right that we need more responsibility, but we need it not just when there’s a crisis. I mean, we've had years in which the reigning economic ideology has been what's good for Wall Street, but not what's good for Main Street.”

This was a comment meant to accentuate the fact that McCain has been for more deregulation of Wall Street, and only recently started preaching "regulation" when his practices proved disastrous. How about some context Johnny?

SEGMENT #2:
The portion used:

“Well, Senator McCain is absolutely right that the earmarks process has been abused..."

The whole quote:

“Well, Senator McCain is absolutely right that the earmarks process has been abused, which is why I suspended any requests for my home state, whether it was for senior centers or what have you, until we cleaned it up.”

Again, it's used to make a point. Obama suspended all earmark requests for 2008, unlike McCain's "reformer" V.P. Sarah Palin. She's requested 31 earmarks worth nearly $200 million this year.

And finally, SEGMENT #3:
The portion used:

“Now, John mentioned the fact that business taxes on paper are high in this country, and he’s absolutely right...”

The whole quote:

Now, John mentioned the fact that business taxes on paper are high in this country, and he's absolutely right. Here's the problem: There are so many loopholes that have been written into the tax code, oftentimes with support of Senator McCain, that we actually see our businesses pay effectively one of the lowest tax rates in the world.

Again, the entire thought skewers McCain's tax theory by exposing the "loopholes" that American corporations use to skirt their economic responsibilities. In fact, here's a story from August that details the problem of nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies (and 68% of foreign companies) not paying income taxes at all.

And although they didn't use it in the commercial, my favorite "you're right" of the night was this:

"John, I -- you're absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say. But, you know, coming from you, who, you know, in the past has threatened extinction for North Korea and, you know, sung songs about bombing Iran, I don't know, you know, how credible that is."

I simply love that Obama mentioned this on a night when McCain skewered Ahmadinejad for his outrageous statements. He even left out McCain's "maybe that's one way of killing 'em" line about Iranian imports of cigarettes.

Through is feeble attempts at "humor", John McCain has proven time and time again that he's the one who's, "Not ready to lead." All words matter Mr. McCain... that goes for the one's you leave out from your opponent... as well as the stupid one's you spew that could directly affect the relations of countries around the world.

JED LEWISON IS FAST!

Jed takes one of Obama's strongest moments from the debate, and backs up each point with video of McCain himself:

SOME EARLY POLL NUMBERS REGARDING THE DEBATES

First, some surprising screen shots from CNN's telephone poll:Next, a snap poll of undecided voters from CBS where 39% gave the win to Obama, 24% to McCain, and 37% were (you guessed it) undecided. Obama also won big (66-42%) on handling the economy.

Another poll is much closer, but still a 42-41% win for Obama.

Also of note, John King broke down CNN's research poll a bit further and came up with these interesting results:

• men scored the debate for McCain (46-43%)
• women scored the debate for Obama (59-31%)
• people age 50 and older scored the debate for Obama (48-40%)

King noted that these 50+ voters consistently have the highest percentage of turnout and could be a difference maker. All in all, I am pleased to know that my eyes didn't deceive me.

DID YOU THINK McCAIN'S "COUNTRY FIRST" STUNT WAS BULLSHIT? YOU WERE RIGHT!

On Wednesday John McCain pledged to put "country first" and fly to Washington D.C. and stay until a deal was reached on the current economic crisis. Here's his statement from Wednesday afternoon:

Then on Thursday - six days into negotiations and with Congress seemingly nearing a deal - Congressional Republicans decided to hatch a plan of their own.

Now with competing plans fighting for support, and the whole process more confusing than ever, what's "The Maverick" doing? Why he's flying to Mississippi to debate Barack Obama of course! That's right, John McCain is (once again) saying one thing, and doing another.

Here's the statement from his campaign:

"Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House," the statement said. "He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations."

Did EVERYONE miss the part of his speech 36 hours ago that said he'd stay in Washington until "significant progress" and a "framework" for an eventual deal was established?

This guy is all over the map! Dare I say that he looks less Presidential than his Vice Presidential Candidate - and that's saying something.

"Country First" my ass!

FOX NEWS "NO LIKEY" MENTIONING THE KEATING FIVE

Steve Doocy wanted to applaud John "The Maverick" McCain's trip back to The Capitol. The only problem? He invited Progressive Radio Show Host Mike Papantonio to weigh in as well. Needless to say, when Papantonio decided to draw a pretty clear similarity to the current bailout and the last one where McCain was caught "strong-arming" a regulator, the interview was over:

Don't you just love how things are "in the past" and part of "The History Channel" on a selective basis? After all, McCain would like voters to judge his "character" based on his P.O.W. experience some 40 YEARS AGO - but bring up something negative from 20 years ago and all of the sudden it's invalid?

What a Doocebag!

WAIT A SECOND, TOWNHALL.COM IS HELPING ME REGAIN MY SANITY?

Finally a woman - and a conservative one at that - has the guts to tell it like it is about Sarah "Barracuda" Palin.

I give you : THE PALIN PROBLEM

IS PALIN ACTUALLY ACCUSING RUSSIA OF VIOLATING U.S. AIRSPACE?!

I still am in awe that this is actually happening!

Here's the quote:

"It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there."

Is Palin claiming that Russia is violating our air space in Alaska? Is she claiming that we do the same with predator drones in Russia? You know, this would be a fantastic joke if this woman wasn't so close to becoming the President of the United States.

Let's also be clear about something, the portion of Russia that comes closest to Alaska is not what you'd call a "hotbed" of Russian airspace. Here's a Map of Russia:
The upper-right (and yellow) portion of the map is the closest geographical point to Alaska. It's called Chukotka, and has fallen on some hard times since the "readjustment" of Russia in the early 1990's. It's population (once over 160,000) has dropped to a mere 55,000 - or roughly .1 inhabitant per square kilometer.

As for her claim that they were "keeping an eye" on Putin from Alaska, it should be noted that Moscow (where he resides) is some 4,000 miles away from the area, and therefore would make any spying operations launched from Alaska a pretty pointless adventure. It's like a foriegn country saying they were flying over Hawaii to "keep an eye" on President Bush - and that analogy only works if Hawaii were a nearly uninhabited chunk of frozen tundra.

At some point there has to be some "straight talk" from the media about Sarah Palin, right? Are we living in a dream world where this crap is allowed to pass?

DIGG THIS ARTICLE

RACHEL MADDOW EXPOSES BUSH'S "DIRTY TRICKS" IN TRYING TO HELP ELECT JOHN McCAIN

REST EASY AMERICA!

John Sidney McCain is headed back to Washington D.C. to take charge in this economic crisis! Here's just a small example of McCain's expertise on all facets of the economy. Take it away:

THIS IS JUST SAD...

Sarah Palin sat down with Katie Couric on Tuesday and clearly looks like someone who's been given specific talking points and little else. If she has more to say and is being held back by her campaign - this is tragic. If this is all she can say on these subjects - it's equally tragic. And the hand gestures?! WTF!

During her appearance at the U.N. this week, the media was met with strict rules by the McCain Campaign and very little interaction with Palin. Now it appears that McCain's plan for delaying the Presidential Debates, was actually to replace (and postpone) next weeks' Vice Presidential debate. Apparently her "study sessions" aren't sticking like the campaign would like.

AT HIS WORST MOMENT IN THE CAMPAIGN, JOHN McCAIN GIVES UP

This morning, John McCain woke up to a Washington Post poll that has him down 52-43%, his economic deficit against Obama is worse (57-33%), and his Campaign Manager (Rick Davis) has just been exposed for taking money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up until last month, despite assurances from McCain that it stopped in 2005.

So what do you do when your Presidential Campaign is falling apart at the seams? Apparently you suspend your campaign, try to postpone debates, and go back to your old job as Senator in an attempt to show yourself as a "roll up your sleeves" kind of guy:

"Tomorrow morning I'll suspend my campaign and return to Washington," he told reporters.

The real question is, "Why tomorrow?" These meetings with Paulson and Bernanke have been going on since Monday. Furthermore the meetings that are currently taking place are with committees that John McCain is not a part of. If this is truly the crisis that McCain says it is, what good does it do the process to bring his "photo ops" into the picture?

Obama is also not a member of any of the committees meeting with the Treasury Secretary for Chairman of the Federal Reserve, which is why he said this yesterday:

In summary, there's no doubt negotiations over the next few days will be difficult. I will continue to stay in close contact with Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke, as well as the leaders of Congress, to ensure that we can work in a bipartisan manner to get this done as quickly as possible.

Maybe if someone could show McCain how to use a friggin' Blackberry, he wouldn't have to bring his circus of a campaign into the middle of situation that doesn't need him - at all. Isn't this the same guy who said, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," just nine days ago?

UPDATE: (via Huffingtonpost.com) The whole "bipartisan thing" happened at 8:30AM this morning when Obama called McCain:

"At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Senator McCain returned Senator Obama's call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details."

Also, this is an odd move for a guy who JUST YESTERDAY claimed he HADN'T EVEN READ THE THREE-PAGE PROPOSAL from Paulson and the Administration? In response to the crisis and the propsal, McCain told Cleveland TV station WKYC:

"I have not had a chance to see it in writing. I have to examine it."

Haven't had a chance to see it? Why do you have a staff? You're a friggin' United States Senator?! It's THREE FRIGGIN' PAGES JOHN?! You can't get up to speed in three days on something that might cost the taxpayer some $700 billion dollars?!

Are we really supposed to believe that this decision is anything but a political stunt to offset his plummeting poll numbers? This is pathetic.

STORIES ON SARAH PALIN

With the McCain Campaign continuing to sequester their Vice Presidential candidate, Salon.com has several stories that detail Palin rise to political fame, as well as how voters view her. Here's a few:

MEAN GIRL

SARAH PALIN, ENERGY EXPERT

SARAH PALIN'S WASTEFUL WAYS

PALIN'S DEAD LAKE

WHAT SMALL TOWN AMERICA THINKS OF SARAH PALIN

I still say that Palin's selection speaks volumes about McCain's hasty judgment, and simply reiterates that we can't have another President who makes such important decisions with "his gut". As McCain said himself:

“I make them (decisions) as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can,” Mr. McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, “Worth the Fighting For.” “Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.”

Many people attribute this "quick reaction" strategy to McCain's years as a Navy pilot. With that in mind, it should also be noted that McCain wrecked FIVE PLANES while using this "cat-like" method.

LIMBAUGH ADDS "ARAB" TO NEWS STORY

As reported earlier today, Rush Limbaugh and other right-wing mouthpieces have "Arab" on the brain when it comes to Barack Obama. Well, thanks to ThinkProgress, we have another shining example of Limbaugh's desperation. First, here is a passage from the Philadelphia Daily News that points out the very real problem of prejudiced white voters struggling to support a black candidate for President:

"Obama's name and his African heritage are obstacles to the party's chances of capturing the White House, party activists are finding."

Now here's Rush Limbaugh reading the very same passage (follow along from above):

See how he just slips "Arab" in there like a pro? I just love that the actual story about bigoted voters wasn't enough for Limbaugh and his audience, he just had to add a fictional "cherry" on the racist sundae.

SMOOTH TALKER

John McCain held his first press conference in 40 days today. Here's why he'll probably take a break for the next 40:

Also, Sarah Palin's pool reporters were barred from her meetings at the U.N. - apparently the McCain Campaign is more concerned about her ability to answer questions than anyone thought. Heck, even Fox News criticized this move. Woof!

YAY! MORE BULLSHIT FROM THE RIGHT THAT DOESN'T MATTER!

Apparently the right-wingers are willing to do whatever they can to stamp Barack Obama with the "Arab" smear, even if it means flying in the face of the truth. Some idiot named Kenneth E, Lamb floated the original theory (without documentation) on his blog that:

"Sen. Obama is actually Arab-American."

Since then, both Fox News' contributor Monica Crowley & Rush Limbaugh have parroted this line in hopes of somehow smearing Obama to those bigoted few who would care. Here's Limbaugh from the September 22nd edition of his flapping mouthfest:

First off, his father came from Kenya, which isn't included in the "Arab portion" of Africa. Also, the Arab League defines as "Arab":

"a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic speaking country, who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic speaking peoples."

Mind you that Obama's father was raised in Kenya, who's primary languages are English and Swahili. Also, one of his daughters is one record saying Obama Sr.:

"was never a Muslim although he was born into a Muslim family with a Muslim name."

But let's also remind everyone that Obama's father left him when he was TWO YEARS OLD, and saw him ONE MORE TIME before he died in 1982. Is it any wonder that growing up in Hawaii, and then living in New York City and Chicago that Obama would identify himself as "black"? And with all the problems going on in this country, should it really matter to anyone what the background of his absentee father was?

This stuff comes straight from the "desperation playbook" of the Republican Party. I'd say that Rush Limbaugh (and others) should be ashamed of themselves, but they've got a career made out of baseless attacks like these.

CAN ANYONE JUST TELL THE FU$%KING TRUTH ANYMORE?

This whole "$700 billion-dollar bail out" is looking worse by the moment. Here's Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaking to the Congress' concerns about having oversight as to where the money is spent:

So you'll notice that Paulson claims it would be "presumptuous" to come up with an oversight mechanism, and them claims over and over:

So if any of you felt that I didn’t believe that we needed oversight: I believe we need oversight. We need oversight.

Does this guy think we're all idiots? The "three-page outline" he speaks of actually did speak to the oversight question - and it not only wanted NONE OF IT, it wanted NO ABILITY even question it AFTER THE FACT!

From (Section 8) of the three-page document:

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

How does Paulson explain this? He doesn't. He now says "we're going to work on" oversight together - but that's not what the three-page proposal outlined.

These bald-faced lies have to end. I hate the idea that government officials feel like they can lie in the face of facts. That they feel like they can go "media silent" rather than answer questions. The media needs to expose these lies and let the liars feel the public's wrath.

John McCain's campaign has just got a touch of this treatment, and they don't like it one bit. I say, "Too bad."

WHAT DOES GEORGE WILL THINK OF JOHN McCAIN?

I think it's safe to say that George Will is safely on the conservative side of most arguments. So it makes it all the more interesting that Will would use this as the opening line of his most recent article in The Washington Post:

Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.

The rest of the read is just as striking - and honest. READ IT HERE.

VIDEO PROOF OF McCAIN'S DEREGULATING WAYS

In the midst of an economic crisis that was created by the massive deregulation of Wall Street, John McCain now says we need more regulation to stop "corporate greed". In fact just a few days ago he said this:

"Too many firms on Wall Street have been able to count on casual oversight by regulatory agencies and government,'" he said at an event in Tampa, Florida. "Under my reforms, the American people will be protected by comprehensive regulations that will apply the rules and enforce them in full.'"

Did McCain just say "comprehensive regulations"!? Is this guy serious?

This is classic John McCain. He can't see a problem coming in the distance, so instead he adopts a policy that he's railed against his entire career for political gain. Heck, this guy was caught up in the last huge government bail-out as a member of "The Keating 5", and yet he still fought for less and less government regulation until just 10 days ago.

Here's a nice piece of video (again from Jed Lewison) of how McCain and the RNC viewed regulation BEFORE our current problems:

COLIN POWELL TAKES HIS TURN MAKING JOHN McCAIN LOOK LIKE A FOOL

Just over a month ago, I posted these two videos which showed the strange bias on how the Georgia/Russian battle was being reported in the United States. It seemed that all we were hearing was that tiny Georgia had been attacked out of the blue by big, bad Russia. John McCain went so far as to say to the American people, "Today, we are all Georgians."

He also stated this in the wake of the skirmish:

"My friends, we have reached a crisis, the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War. This is an act of aggression."

Many people at the time gave McCain credit for seizing on the crisis to make strong statements, but hearing reports that it was, in fact, Georgia itself who started the aggression only served to muddy the waters a bit. As it turns out, a true leader is better off gathering all the facts before launching into rhetoric that could strain relations for decades to come.

These thoughts we echoed by none other than former Secretary of State Colin Powell last week. In a meeting of five former Secretaries of State, Powell had this to say on the Georgia conflict, and McCain's response:

Also, I hear a lot from my Father-in-law about how dangerous it is to speak with countries like Iran without preconditions. However, it's strange that all five former Secretaries of State agree that it's something that the next President must do:

Again, how many foreign policy opinions does Barack Obama need to show superior judgment over McCain to finally gain the perception that he's the better man for America's National Security issues?

"REFORMER" SARAH PALIN COMPLETES WORLD'S LARGEST CUL-DE-SAC

She's finally given up her "Thanks, but no thanks," crap concerning the Bridge to Nowhere, but that didn't stop Sara Palin from spending $27 million of our tax dollars to complete the approach road to that unbuilt bridge. Ouch.

WHO'S THE ELITIST?

His campaign may try to paint John McCain as the "everyman", but images like these tell a different story. Remember when it was a liability (for Kerry) to be married to a rich woman?

McSAME USES THE SAME TEAM BUSH DID TO GET ELECTED?

It's disgusting that McCain would use the same people who smeared him in South Carolina eight years ago to help him get elected. After the push-polling that asked, "Would it affect your decision if you knew John McCain fathered a black child out of wedlock?" McCain is on record saying:

"I believe that there is a special place in hell for people like those."

I guess by "a special place in hell," he meant "a special place in my campaign?"

Here's a breakdown (via The Washington Post) of former Bush Campaigners who now work for McCain:

CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

NOT A JOKE - PLAN TO "SAVE THE ECONOMY" IS ONLY THREE PAGES LONG?!

On Friday, the Bush Administration promised to deliver a plan to bail out financial institutions with the idea of stabilizing the economy. Well apparently - like in college - Dubya and his buddies got drunk Friday evening, carried it through Saturday afternoon before sobering up and screaming, "Oh shit, the plan!"

What they delivered to Congress Sunday morning was a three-page plan with little details other than, "Give us money, we'll do the rest!" No joke. Watch the reporter hold up the papers!

CHRIS MATTHEWS WAKES UP!

If only the rest of the media could spell it out this clearly to people. McCain and Graham ARE THESE PROBLEMS! This is deregulation at it's best!

TIMES CHANGE, BUT FOX NEWS DOESN'T

Compare the tactics against Obama in 2008, to Kerry in 2004.

By the way, I think Robert Greenwald does a great job with his videos - but I simply hate his "Pssst... do something," tag line at the end.

BUSH: "WALL STREET GOT DRUNK"

On July 18th of this year, George W. Bush addressed a group at a political fundraiser. After he asked the media to turn their cameras off, he spoke candidly about the then tenuous financial situation the country faced:

So while Bush knew of problems on Wall Street, and in the troubled housing markets, he chose not to even speak of it in public. After all, why would America want to hear from it's President when he knows there's a problem going on?

Fast-forward to this weekend, after several billion dollar bail outs and as members of Congress discuss another 1.5 trillion "band-aid" with taxpayer money, Bush has still told the American people very little - and led his country even less.

This made me start thinking about Bush's Presidency.

It's amazing to think that we have a five-plus year war in Iraq, costing us 10 billion a month, and still no WMD found.

It's been over seven years since Osama bin Laden attacked the World Trade Centers, and while Saddam Hussein is dead, bin Laden still lives.

We still hold (and torture) individuals for unspecified lengths of time, without charges.

American citizens are subject to spying, complete with Telecommunication Companies help.

Bush (and company) slept walked through nearly a week of devastation by Hurricane Katrina.

Of course I'm simplifying a list that could easily keep me up all night, but it's simply amazing the amount of destruction that has happened under Bush's watch.

And it's equally amazing to think that some ten years ago, Republicans actually brought Articles of Impeachment against Bill Clinton for lying under oath.

Was he lying about war? About torture? About collapsing financial markets?

No, he was lying about receiving a sexual act from someone other than his wife.

Oh boy, the good old days indeed!

STEPHEN COLBERT ON - GUESS WHO?

SARAH PALIN THINKS YOU'RE AN IDIOT!

She's STILL defending that "Bridge to Nowhere" lie? I mean who does she think she's kidding at this point? It's been reported as false over and over the last two weeks on every network but Fox. They've shown video of her 2006 Gubernatorial Debate when she supported the Bridge. She's on record time and time again prior to the Congress pulling her funding. And now, when Hannity gives her the opportunity to come clean, she does this:

Hey Sarah, here's a clue - people are sick and tired of a President and Vice President who lie to the American people. They don't like the "secret email" crap you got going on either. Oh yeah, and that "I won't testify" bullshit is gonna go over like gangbusters with the undecided. You and that "Keating 5" guy are the perfect people to reform Washington D.C. all right.

Heck, even your home state knows you're lying through your teeth.

RON PAUL ASKED TO ENDORSE McCAIN, INSTEAD HUMILIATES HIM ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

Thanks again to the Jed Report for this little piece of video. It seems that McCain advisor Phil Gramm asked Congressman Ron Paul to endorse "The Maverick" himself. Paul, as he does so often, tells the truth - and it's brutal.

Just in case you missed it, McCain also thought it was funny to make a joke about "killing Iranians" as well:

Even though these are "jokes", as McCain says, how do you think they play with the Iranian people? Would we think it was funny if a foreign leader made repeated "jokes" about bombing and killing Americans?

This simply isn't Presidential.

IS PALIN NOW THE TOP OF THE TICKET?

She apparently thinks so. Listen for the "Palin and McCain Administration" line after her amazing grasp of economic theory. How come this "we take less, you get more" concept hasn't worked during Dubya's eight years?

A FORMER EDITOR OF THE NATIONAL REVIEW ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA?

Yes, it's true. For those of you who don't know the National Review, it's like Playboy for conservative junkies. Founded by William F. Buckley, the magazine current contributors include Charles Krauthammer, David Frum, and Rich Lowry among others. Therefore it's really shocking to come across a former editor who's willing to publicly endorse a Democratic Candidate, let alone Barack Obama. But that's precisely what Wick Allison has done.

I won't post the entire article here, as it's better believed in its "natural surroundings" in D Magazine - Allison's Dallas-based periodical. But here's a snippet from "A Conservative for Obama":

THE MORE I LISTEN TO AND READ ABOUT “the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate,” the more I like him. Barack Obama strikes a chord with me like no political figure since Ronald Reagan. To explain why, I need to explain why I am a conservative and what it means to me.

In 1964, at the age of 16, I organized the Dallas County Youth for Goldwater. My senior thesis at the University of Texas was on the conservative intellectual revival in America. Twenty years later, I was invited by William F. Buckley Jr. to join the board of National Review. I later became its publisher.

Conservatism to me is less a political philosophy than a stance, a recognition of the fallibility of man and of man’s institutions. Conservatives respect the past not for its antiquity but because it represents, as G.K. Chesterton said, the democracy of the dead; it gives the benefit of the doubt to customs and laws tried and tested in the crucible of time. Conservatives are skeptical of abstract theories and utopian schemes, doubtful that government is wiser than its citizens, and always ready to test any political program against actual results.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

This kind of sane explanation of the Conservative Movement gives me hope for the other side of the aisle, and also allows me to continue my disdain for the "Drill, baby drill" crowd we saw at the RNC Convention.

THE ONION: THE NEW NOSTRADAMUS?

This would be funnier if it weren't so prophetic. From The Onion's archives (dated January 17, 2001) comes this story:

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

President-elect Bush vows that "together, we can put the triumphs of the recent past behind us." "My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

There's also this unbelievable passage:

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"

There's more, but you really should see it from the source, HERE.

WHAT OBAMA'S NEW CAMPAIGN SLOGAN SHOULD BE: "I'M BILL CLINTON, WITHOUT THE BLOWJOB!"

I mean seriously, after eight years of an economic nightmare - why not? After all, under Bill Clinton, the Dow Jones went from 3,255 (in January 1993) to 10,790 (in January 2001). That's an increase of 7,535 points in eight years. Under Bush, we've gone from 10,790 (again, in January 2001) to today's closing of 10,609. That's a drop of 181 points with just three months left to go for Bush's eight year run? A net LOSS over eight years?! Are you KIDDING ME?

So which is better? 7,535 for Clinton, or -181 for Bush? Tell that to the next right-wing idiot that tells you a Democratic President is bad for business, Wall Street, commerce, or anything else.

SARAH PALIN DIVERTS FROM SCRIPT, UNKNOWINGLY SKEWERS HER OWN CAMPAIGN MANAGER

After Sarah Palin's "tough" interview with Charlie Gibson, the McCain-Palin Campaign decided to give the next opportunity to Fox News' own Sean Hannity. Hannity, of course, lined up as many anti-Obama questions as he could, but Palin decided to take some questions her own way, and not to the benefit of her ticket. Here's the passage:

Of course Hannity's question is a loaded one. With current "caps" for donations, taking them from rank and file employees does not necessarily correlate to candidate support for the company. After all, low-level Exxon employees do not directly benefit like corporate lobbyists and executives do.

This makes this little graphic from the New York Times even more interesting:
It also draws attention to McCain's Campaign Manager Rick Davis, as well as 20 McCain fundraisers who've lobbied on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Then there's this little nugget:

And for years, Rick Davis served as president of an advocacy group led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that defended the two companies against increased regulation.

It's precisely that lack of regulation that allowed these companies to dig themselves in deeper and deeper financial trouble, without the government (and the taxpayer) knowing how much we'd be "on the hook" for when they went down.

And who has been one of the biggest supporters of corporate deregulation his entire career? That's right - John McCain! ABC News did a nice retrospective on McCain's history of supporting deregulation - it starts around the :50 second mark:

Throw in McCain's involvement in the 1980's Savings and Loan bailouts, and this could mean real trouble for the "Maverick" McCain.

McCAIN'S FAVORITE LINE? HOW ABOUT "THE FUNDAMENTALS OUR ECONOMY ARE STRONG"?

If anyone ever asks you, "What good is it to have a DVR?" Show them this video. Here's EIGHTEEN DIFFERENT TIMES McCain has used his "fundamentals" line since December 31, 2007.

By the way, ThinkProgress has noted that McCain's "fundamentals" line is eerily similar to President Hoover's message during the onset of The Great Depression. On October 25th, 1929 - following a day known as "Black Thursday" - Hoover declared:

The fundamental business of the country, that is the production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis.

Now do you feel better with McCain's "we're gonna fix it" line?

McCAIN PROVES HE'S AN IDIOT ON THE ECONOMY - AGAIN

Here's McCain on yesterday's Today Show, and this morning's Good Morning America. Yesterday he's violently against a taxpayer bailout of AIG, and this morning he's for it.

By the way, you'll have to sit thought a bunch of bullshit in between while McCain attempts to "connect" with hardworking Americans by mentioning a three people he had dinner with, and also nearly getting their vocations wrong. He also uses them to try to float his phony "workers are the fundamentals of our economy line". Pretty shameless stuff.

Hey, too bad Cindy couldn't be behind him in her $300,000 outfit from the RNC Convention. That'd help the connection with hardworking Americans, huh?

MORE LIES!

If she's truly qualified... then why not deal with the facts?