In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one -- the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain's campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. "It would be fantastic," said a McCain insider. "You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week."
Sunday, September 28, 2008
And the Next Stunt: A shotgun wedding?
I take everything I read about American politics in the British papers with a grain of salt. But giving what we've seen so far, I can't say I'd be surprised if the moral jalopy that is the McCain-Palin Straight Talk Express sunk us even further into farce with something like this. From The Talking Point Memo
Saturday, September 27, 2008
What will be McCain's next stunt?
From Daily Kos
Brace yourselves. Next week could be another crazy one in the McCain campaign.
The "I'm suspending my campaign" to go back to Washington stunt didn't work to move last night's debate to next week which would have moved the VP debate. And in the debate, Obama proved to many, especially the undecideds, what we already knew. The guy is ready to be president. And McCain?
McCain has got to counter Obama's debate bounce and get Palin out of the debate or off the ticket all together. A debate performance equal to her interviews could push McCain's numbers down in the 30s and Obama's up in the 50s. McCain could be sandbaging us with Palin's horrific interview performance. NOT. The thought of Obama over 50 and McCain in the 30s will force McCain to go to his bag of tricks once again.
The fact that Palin wasn't the post-debate surrogate for McCain speaks volumes. Even McCain's PR people can put an intelligent sentence together about life and world issues. It's crazy to think that Palin is the nominee for the second highest office in the land, but can't be trusted to speak for and about her potential boss. Unbelievable.
If last night's debate and Biden's post debate performance are any indication, we actually may not hear from Palin again. We all should feel for her. McCain has opened her up to scrutiny and a spotlight that she couldn't comprehend. Her performance in interviews? Imagine how she might handle the give and take and follow up questions in a debate that weren't in her talking points. She can't even get through debate prep.
McCain has got to change the subject again. That's all he knows. There is no strategy. There is no message. Just gimmicks. And Palin is probably the first human gimmick in politics. She needs to regain her dignity and respect and go home.
Expect some kind of announcement this week. Don't underestimate McCain's desperation.
***********************************************************************************
Brace yourselves. Next week could be another crazy one in the McCain campaign.
The "I'm suspending my campaign" to go back to Washington stunt didn't work to move last night's debate to next week which would have moved the VP debate. And in the debate, Obama proved to many, especially the undecideds, what we already knew. The guy is ready to be president. And McCain?
McCain has got to counter Obama's debate bounce and get Palin out of the debate or off the ticket all together. A debate performance equal to her interviews could push McCain's numbers down in the 30s and Obama's up in the 50s. McCain could be sandbaging us with Palin's horrific interview performance. NOT. The thought of Obama over 50 and McCain in the 30s will force McCain to go to his bag of tricks once again.
The fact that Palin wasn't the post-debate surrogate for McCain speaks volumes. Even McCain's PR people can put an intelligent sentence together about life and world issues. It's crazy to think that Palin is the nominee for the second highest office in the land, but can't be trusted to speak for and about her potential boss. Unbelievable.
If last night's debate and Biden's post debate performance are any indication, we actually may not hear from Palin again. We all should feel for her. McCain has opened her up to scrutiny and a spotlight that she couldn't comprehend. Her performance in interviews? Imagine how she might handle the give and take and follow up questions in a debate that weren't in her talking points. She can't even get through debate prep.
McCain has got to change the subject again. That's all he knows. There is no strategy. There is no message. Just gimmicks. And Palin is probably the first human gimmick in politics. She needs to regain her dignity and respect and go home.
Expect some kind of announcement this week. Don't underestimate McCain's desperation.
***********************************************************************************
McCain Never Fails To Play The POW Card
From Daily Kos
McCain plays the victim every time he mentions his POW record in Vietnam. He appeals to our sympathy and collective guilt and this is supposed to make us all view him as a war hero - why? I thought heroism had to do with eluding capture, managing not to get shot down, turning it all around and sticking it to the enemy in the end. At least that's what Hollywood war movies (e.g., "Pearl Harbor") with their swelling scores and tearjerking finales, as well as every war hawks' idealized version of heroism teaches. McCain's actual POW record is so far from this ideal, yet we continue to have this version of McCain as the great old American hero forced down our throats day in and day out, by not only the MSM, but by his appeasing political enemies as well.
How does losing 5 U.S. Navy aircraft (4 not in combat), an estimated 20 hours of flight time over enemy territory, ending in the loss of the 5th airplane, and sitting in prison for 5 years, somehow qualify this wizened old Drama Queen American hero status? Why does his high-profile birthright as the son of a Navy Admiral and his giving up military information in exchange for much needed access to surgeons always get lost in the glamor of the hero myth? How is it that sitting another year in prison after refusing a repatriation deal make him more of a hero? Wouldn't he have done a greater service to his fellow POWs on the inside, by working to get them released from the outside?
**Snip**
John McCain's stubborn refusal to look Senator Obama in the eye in Mississippi last night is as good a metaphor as any for his failed foreign policy and short combat records. As a failed Navy pilot, he flew above, but never looked his enemy in the eye in Vietnam. He jumped on the Iraq war bandwagon without ever looking his enemy in the eye. And he'll gladly continue Bush's failed policy of refusing any contact with our enemies while beating the drums for war (with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, or anyone else that dares to assert their right to self determination).
All of this refusal of John McCain to face his enemies eye to eye makes me wonder what he is afraid they'll see if he looks them in the eye. I wonder if it's that he's afraid they'll see the same frightened youth that hid behind his father's name instead of being left to die like so many nameless fatally wounded true American heroes in Vietnam.
McCain plays the victim every time he mentions his POW record in Vietnam. He appeals to our sympathy and collective guilt and this is supposed to make us all view him as a war hero - why? I thought heroism had to do with eluding capture, managing not to get shot down, turning it all around and sticking it to the enemy in the end. At least that's what Hollywood war movies (e.g., "Pearl Harbor") with their swelling scores and tearjerking finales, as well as every war hawks' idealized version of heroism teaches. McCain's actual POW record is so far from this ideal, yet we continue to have this version of McCain as the great old American hero forced down our throats day in and day out, by not only the MSM, but by his appeasing political enemies as well.
How does losing 5 U.S. Navy aircraft (4 not in combat), an estimated 20 hours of flight time over enemy territory, ending in the loss of the 5th airplane, and sitting in prison for 5 years, somehow qualify this wizened old Drama Queen American hero status? Why does his high-profile birthright as the son of a Navy Admiral and his giving up military information in exchange for much needed access to surgeons always get lost in the glamor of the hero myth? How is it that sitting another year in prison after refusing a repatriation deal make him more of a hero? Wouldn't he have done a greater service to his fellow POWs on the inside, by working to get them released from the outside?
**Snip**
John McCain's stubborn refusal to look Senator Obama in the eye in Mississippi last night is as good a metaphor as any for his failed foreign policy and short combat records. As a failed Navy pilot, he flew above, but never looked his enemy in the eye in Vietnam. He jumped on the Iraq war bandwagon without ever looking his enemy in the eye. And he'll gladly continue Bush's failed policy of refusing any contact with our enemies while beating the drums for war (with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, or anyone else that dares to assert their right to self determination).
All of this refusal of John McCain to face his enemies eye to eye makes me wonder what he is afraid they'll see if he looks them in the eye. I wonder if it's that he's afraid they'll see the same frightened youth that hid behind his father's name instead of being left to die like so many nameless fatally wounded true American heroes in Vietnam.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Russian Navy Headed West
From The Daily Kos
While our nation is consumed with lipstick politics, for the first time since the end of the Cold War Russian navy warships are heading for the Western Hemisphere and our backyard to conduct joint military exercises with the Venezuelan navy. This coming at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are at their lowest point in decades.
It’s neither coincidental nor inconsequential that years of incessant Bush Administration saber rattling towards both Russia and Venezuela, the U.S European missile deal and U.S. criticism of Russia during their recent conflict with Georgia has served to greatly exacerbate tensions. With both countries in the process of creating a multifaceted strategic energy alliance and Russia selling billions of dollars of sophisticated armaments to Venezuela, this is a potentially disastrous conflict in the making where one misstep or daisy chain of events could set off another Cuban missile crisis scenario.
Johnny E's diary :: ::
This increasing anxiety between the United States and two of world’s largest oil producers, one of whom is a nuclear powerhouse, is yet another result of the Bush administration’s failed neo-con policy of confrontation. Nothing suggests that anything would change for the better in a McCain-Palin administration, as McCain has already angered both Putinand Chavez with his inflammatory rhetoric against both while Palin’s preposterous take on NATO and a potential military confrontation with Russia only serves to ratchet things up even more.
Never has there been a more urgent need for the United States to change their primary foreign policy objective to be one of engagement, collaboration, negotiation and compromise. We may not survive otherwise and I do not think that is too strong a statement.
While our nation is consumed with lipstick politics, for the first time since the end of the Cold War Russian navy warships are heading for the Western Hemisphere and our backyard to conduct joint military exercises with the Venezuelan navy. This coming at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are at their lowest point in decades.
It’s neither coincidental nor inconsequential that years of incessant Bush Administration saber rattling towards both Russia and Venezuela, the U.S European missile deal and U.S. criticism of Russia during their recent conflict with Georgia has served to greatly exacerbate tensions. With both countries in the process of creating a multifaceted strategic energy alliance and Russia selling billions of dollars of sophisticated armaments to Venezuela, this is a potentially disastrous conflict in the making where one misstep or daisy chain of events could set off another Cuban missile crisis scenario.
Johnny E's diary :: ::
This increasing anxiety between the United States and two of world’s largest oil producers, one of whom is a nuclear powerhouse, is yet another result of the Bush administration’s failed neo-con policy of confrontation. Nothing suggests that anything would change for the better in a McCain-Palin administration, as McCain has already angered both Putinand Chavez with his inflammatory rhetoric against both while Palin’s preposterous take on NATO and a potential military confrontation with Russia only serves to ratchet things up even more.
Never has there been a more urgent need for the United States to change their primary foreign policy objective to be one of engagement, collaboration, negotiation and compromise. We may not survive otherwise and I do not think that is too strong a statement.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The AP’s Ron Fournier: Racial Arsonist and Unethical Journalist
Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks - many calling them "lazy," "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.
- Ron Fournier, Associated Press, September 20, 2008
Theorem: The amount of time conservatives spend talking about the Bradley Effect is inversely proportional to the fortunes of their candidate.
- Nate Silver, September 19, 2008
Today's AP story wasn't exactly about the so-called "Bradley Effect" or "Wilder Effect," a popular theory in the 1980s and 1990s that posited that some white Americans lie to pollsters claiming they will support African-American candidates but vote then against them in the secrecy of the ballot box.
The theory - if it was true back then - has been very thoroughly disproved in recent years, and today we'll walk you through all the documentation you need to debunk it when asked about it by others.
But with the McCain-Palin ticket sinking in the polls, and the financial crisis sucking the oxygen out of the culture war "issues" on all sides, with the economy now front and center as the dominant campaign issue, we're hearing increasing mention of the so-called "Bradley Effect," the so-called "Wilder Effect," the so-called "Bradley-Wilder Effect" (all names for the same 20th century theory).
And now, the Associated Press and its unethical reporter Ron Fournier are transparently attempting to turn the November election (and, if their attempted arson is successful, its aftermath for years to come) into a wedge to divide, polarize and set back race relations in the United States of America more than four decades.
Everybody take a deep breath and repeat after me: The race card is not working. It's not going to work. And we're not going to take the bait being dangled out in front of us by racially prejudiced provocateurs like Fournier: he wants us to spread his gasoline to make his arson fire bigger; we're going to hose water on it - and on him - instead.
Read More
- Ron Fournier, Associated Press, September 20, 2008
Theorem: The amount of time conservatives spend talking about the Bradley Effect is inversely proportional to the fortunes of their candidate.
- Nate Silver, September 19, 2008
Today's AP story wasn't exactly about the so-called "Bradley Effect" or "Wilder Effect," a popular theory in the 1980s and 1990s that posited that some white Americans lie to pollsters claiming they will support African-American candidates but vote then against them in the secrecy of the ballot box.
The theory - if it was true back then - has been very thoroughly disproved in recent years, and today we'll walk you through all the documentation you need to debunk it when asked about it by others.
But with the McCain-Palin ticket sinking in the polls, and the financial crisis sucking the oxygen out of the culture war "issues" on all sides, with the economy now front and center as the dominant campaign issue, we're hearing increasing mention of the so-called "Bradley Effect," the so-called "Wilder Effect," the so-called "Bradley-Wilder Effect" (all names for the same 20th century theory).
And now, the Associated Press and its unethical reporter Ron Fournier are transparently attempting to turn the November election (and, if their attempted arson is successful, its aftermath for years to come) into a wedge to divide, polarize and set back race relations in the United States of America more than four decades.
Everybody take a deep breath and repeat after me: The race card is not working. It's not going to work. And we're not going to take the bait being dangled out in front of us by racially prejudiced provocateurs like Fournier: he wants us to spread his gasoline to make his arson fire bigger; we're going to hose water on it - and on him - instead.
Read More
Saturday, September 20, 2008
McCain Plays the Race Card
Since McCain has falling behind in the polls it seems he has resorted to that old republican party tactic of playing the race card. Check out his new ad that will be playing nation wide in the coming days:
Even the Times Online noted the subtle racism in this add:
Even the Times Online noted the subtle racism in this add:
This is hardly subtle: Sinister images of two black men, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman.
Let me stipulate: Obama's Fannie Mae connections are completely fair game. But this ad doesn't even mention a far more significant tie--that of Jim Johnson, the former Fannie Mae chairman who had to resign as head of Obama's vice presidential search team after it was revealed he got a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from Countrywide Financial. Instead, it relies on a fleeting and tenuous reference in a Washington Post Style section story to suggest that Obama's principal economic adviser is former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines. Why? One reason might be that Johnson is white; Raines is black.
And the image of the victim doesn't seem accidental either, given the fact that older white women are a key swing constituency in this election.
Was the Sarah Palin pick a flop?
I think John McCain may be having a few regrets over his VP pick. Sarah Palin started out as an instant hit on the Republican ticket but over the past few days it is beginning to show that she could be a liability when it comes to Independents, Moderate Republicans and so called Reagan Democrats. Within 11 days her negative rating went from 35 up to 46 and her positive rating went from 52 down to 41.
Source
Source
Thursday, September 18, 2008
If I could ask Sarah Palin a question
I wish that I could ask Palin a question. There are children and other innocents being killed and injured in these wars. Children, not terrorists. Palin is pro-life, but gung-ho for war.
Why is killing children that feel pain OK, but killing a baby that doesn't feel pain not OK?
Christians believe that children live in a state of grace and would go directly to heaven without the paying taxes part. And if the mother is wrong she would face judgement day, just like the rest of us, right? So what's the big deal? Unless you doubt your own beliefs. If you doubt heaven, then you would be against abortion. If you believe in heaven, then shut up about abortion. Doctors ...Hippocratic oath...yadda..yadda... would be protecting the health and life of the mother. After Roe v. Wade the number of abortions didn't change. The number of deaths from botched abortions declined. Legal abortions save the lives of the mothers and protects their health. That is within the scope of the oath, if you ask me.
Your holy ideology is holey. You can't gun down defenseless animals and let them suffer and talk about defending life. You can't put some people in a POW camp, torture them, kill them, and then talk about how much respect you have for a former POW. Huh? You can't say that you have a God that decides all things and then YOU decide which children are ok to kill, and which aren't. You can't. When you talk about religious extremists you must include the 700 Club et al. When you talk about respecting life you have to include everything and everyone down to the smallest flower petal. Respect life yes, all life.
Source
Why is killing children that feel pain OK, but killing a baby that doesn't feel pain not OK?
Christians believe that children live in a state of grace and would go directly to heaven without the paying taxes part. And if the mother is wrong she would face judgement day, just like the rest of us, right? So what's the big deal? Unless you doubt your own beliefs. If you doubt heaven, then you would be against abortion. If you believe in heaven, then shut up about abortion. Doctors ...Hippocratic oath...yadda..yadda... would be protecting the health and life of the mother. After Roe v. Wade the number of abortions didn't change. The number of deaths from botched abortions declined. Legal abortions save the lives of the mothers and protects their health. That is within the scope of the oath, if you ask me.
Your holy ideology is holey. You can't gun down defenseless animals and let them suffer and talk about defending life. You can't put some people in a POW camp, torture them, kill them, and then talk about how much respect you have for a former POW. Huh? You can't say that you have a God that decides all things and then YOU decide which children are ok to kill, and which aren't. You can't. When you talk about religious extremists you must include the 700 Club et al. When you talk about respecting life you have to include everything and everyone down to the smallest flower petal. Respect life yes, all life.
Source
John McCain & The Ghost of Keating Five
From the Nation.com
Back in the 1980s, when the US faced a major savings & loan crisis, John McCain intervened to protect S&L magnate Charles Keating--a major McCain donor and friend--from federal regulators. McCain was later rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for "poor judgement" and embarrassed by the $112,000 in campaign contributions, trips and gifts he accepted from Keating. Following the entanglement, McCain became a born-again reformer and tried to scrub the Keating episode from his resume.
But the ghost of Keating Five lives on. Sherrod Brown, one of the smartest populists in the Senate, says McCain's behavior during that period still illuminates the character of the so-called maverick today.
Here's what Brown told Sam Stein of the Huffington Post today:
"It is not so much his economic proposals but his economic record," Brown said of McCain. "His main adviser is Phil Gramm -- he was his mentor in the Senate -- and you just tie it all together. Of course John McCain supported the oil industry, he has oil lobbyists working for him. Of course John McCain supported these trade agreements, he has got Wall Street people working for him... It is all wrapped up together. John McCain is a creature of these interest groups in Washington. He is no maverick and, from the Keating Five on, his ethics have been questionable. He's not a maverick and Barack has got to just keep hammering on that."
Stein points out that Obama referenced the S&L crisis in a speech today.
"Instead of sensible reform that rewarded success and freed the creative forces of the market, too often we've excused an ethic of greed, corner-cutting and inside dealing that threatens the long-term stability of our economic system," he said. "It happened in the 1980s, when we loosened restrictions on Savings and Loans and appointed regulators who ignored even these weaker rules. Too many S&Ls took advantage of the lax rules set by Washington to gamble that they could make big money in speculative real estate."
Yet Obama missed an opportunity to remind voters of McCain's ties to Keating, and the Arizona Senator's response the last time taxpayers faced an economic crisis caused by crooked deregulation.
Back in May, Obama said the scandal was still fair game. "I was just asked previously about a whole host of issues and associations that are a lot more flimsy than John McCain's relationship to Keating Five," Obama told reporters. "What I said, I can't quarrel with the American people wanting to know more about that and me having to answer questions about it."
What better time than now?
Back in the 1980s, when the US faced a major savings & loan crisis, John McCain intervened to protect S&L magnate Charles Keating--a major McCain donor and friend--from federal regulators. McCain was later rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for "poor judgement" and embarrassed by the $112,000 in campaign contributions, trips and gifts he accepted from Keating. Following the entanglement, McCain became a born-again reformer and tried to scrub the Keating episode from his resume.
But the ghost of Keating Five lives on. Sherrod Brown, one of the smartest populists in the Senate, says McCain's behavior during that period still illuminates the character of the so-called maverick today.
Here's what Brown told Sam Stein of the Huffington Post today:
"It is not so much his economic proposals but his economic record," Brown said of McCain. "His main adviser is Phil Gramm -- he was his mentor in the Senate -- and you just tie it all together. Of course John McCain supported the oil industry, he has oil lobbyists working for him. Of course John McCain supported these trade agreements, he has got Wall Street people working for him... It is all wrapped up together. John McCain is a creature of these interest groups in Washington. He is no maverick and, from the Keating Five on, his ethics have been questionable. He's not a maverick and Barack has got to just keep hammering on that."
Stein points out that Obama referenced the S&L crisis in a speech today.
"Instead of sensible reform that rewarded success and freed the creative forces of the market, too often we've excused an ethic of greed, corner-cutting and inside dealing that threatens the long-term stability of our economic system," he said. "It happened in the 1980s, when we loosened restrictions on Savings and Loans and appointed regulators who ignored even these weaker rules. Too many S&Ls took advantage of the lax rules set by Washington to gamble that they could make big money in speculative real estate."
Yet Obama missed an opportunity to remind voters of McCain's ties to Keating, and the Arizona Senator's response the last time taxpayers faced an economic crisis caused by crooked deregulation.
Back in May, Obama said the scandal was still fair game. "I was just asked previously about a whole host of issues and associations that are a lot more flimsy than John McCain's relationship to Keating Five," Obama told reporters. "What I said, I can't quarrel with the American people wanting to know more about that and me having to answer questions about it."
What better time than now?
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