On a day when the Federal Reserve puts up an $85 Billion loan to AIG, after Lehman Brothers fell yesterday and Bank of America ate up Merril Lynch, both Presidential candidates are releasing new commercials pushing their economic plans. The economy is not likely to get better anytime soon, and neither candidate is doing anything to create new jobs, other than talk about the problem.
In comparing the two candidates’ positions, Obama has a slight edge in terms of credibility: his economic plan was not created by the lobbyists and former Republican congress folk (like Phil Gramm) who got us into this mess in the first place. To hear McCain say that he is going to set up a Commission, like the 9/11 Commission that was virtually ignored by the current administration, is a confirmstion that he will talk big but do nothing. At least Obama has posted a fairly detailed economic plan that would change the government’s overall approach significantly.
The best thing the political discussion on the economy has done is that it has removed the ongoing fluff about Sarah Palin from the Main Stream Media. That, in a way, is a blessed relief. Since she is not going to be interviewed directly by the press and will continue in highly controlled and scripted appearances, it is better to have the media looking away from her. There is nothing there and so many important things – like the economy – need to be on the active agenda.
As we get closer to the Presidential debates, having real issues to discuss will elevate the campaigns (and Reuters/Zogby has just put out the latest poll that has once again pulled Obama ahead – it looks like folks don’t think the “fundamentals of the economy are strong.”)
Let’s watch closely where we go from here. There are 48 days left.
There is an article in today’s Salon called “The pastor who clashed with Palin” By David Talbot which concerns itself with Sarah Palin’s religious fundamentalism as it relates to government.
The primary focus of the article is the interactions between Palin and Howard Bess, a retired Baptist preacher from Wasilla’s nearby neighbor town Palmer, Alaska. Bess, the author of a book entitled “Pastor, I am gay,” originally came into conflict with Palin over book banning, and eventually on other social issues as well.
One issue was abortion. This from the article:
Soon after the book controversy, Bess found himself again at odds with Palin and her fellow evangelicals. In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital’s community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, Bess and Dr. Susan Lemagie, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.
The thing that shook me up the most in the article was a quote from another local progressive that raises the issue of Palin’s knowledge, beliefs and clear danger if she were to become president:
Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. “She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board,” said Munger, a music composer and teacher. “I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, ‘Sarah, how can you believe in creationism — your father’s a science teacher.’ And she said, ‘We don’t have to agree on everything.’
“I pushed her on the earth’s creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she’d seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them.”
Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. “She looked in my eyes and said, ‘Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'”
And this from Bess:
Forget all this chatter about whether or not she knows what the Bush doctrine is. That’s trivial. The real disturbing thing about Sarah is her mind-set. It’s her underlying belief system that will influence how she responds in an international crisis, if she’s ever in that position, and has the full might of the U.S. military in her hands. She gave some indication of that thinking in her ABC interview, when she suggested how willing she would be to go to war with Russia.
It is the clear danger of extreme religious views combined with the age and health history of John McCain that should make all voters review the potential of a radical creationist with a finger on the nuclear (noo-clee-ar) button.
Here we are, in the non-regulated bank economy which we were gifted with when Phil Gramm was in Congress (and before he left to be a big-time bank lobbyist… and financial advisor to McCain) that has left us with a 500 point drop in the Dow today, with Lehman Brothers going belly-up and with Bank of America swallowing Merrill Lynch.
There’s a summary of the whole works on Olbermann with a commentary about halfway in by Paul Krugman. Just go to
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21… to view it.
Note… without the Republicans over the last decade or so, we would never be in the worse mess since the era of Herbert Hoover (who McCain seems to imitate) and the start of the Great Depression. Right now we seem to be up the creek, an Obama may be the last available paddle.
You think McCain is going to “Change” our anti-middle-class Government because he says he will? You think Palin isn’t tied to Lobbyists as well? Think again, folks and check out this video:
Now visit McLobbyists.com and get the whole story on the John McCain gamble… and after you do, direct the folks you know who need convincing there, too.
We have 58 days left until the election and it is becoming clear that McCain is getting an advantage out of playing dirty. I’m not talking about playing tough, or having an advantage in the facts, or showing off the qualities that would make a great President. I’m talking about playing dirty: that is: lying, misstating, obscuring and doing anything he can to keep discussion away from the issues and on an Obama who doesn’t exit but has been created by the Rovian disciples who are running the Republican Show.
Here is what is most frustrating about this situation. The Press KNOWS that this is what is being done, yet they spend their time pushing the “pig-lipstick” issues, rather than evaluating the proposed solutions to the economy or the actual statements on foreign policy from either candidate.
The reason for this MUST be because it is what the audience is ready to eat up. Television journalism, for instance, really goes for ratings to survive, and ratings means number of viewers. Therefore, if we get 12 hours of discussions on whether or not Obama was insulting Palin when he said that the Republicans’ making claims to creating change was like “putting lipstick on a pig… but it’s still a pig.” Easily, on MSNBC’s Morning Joe alone, this used up two days of discussion which might have focused on issues.
I’m afraid the only solution for so little time left is for the Democrats to start fighting just as dirty as McCain. It wouldn’t be hard, it just has to be done.
McCain continues to turn off media folks who used to hold him in respect…
Mike Murphy, Joe Klein and even Mark Halperin have singled out the “piggy/lipstick” attack on Obama as being a real low in the campaign. And now even Andrew Sullivan joins in.
Here are highlights from his post on McCain’s integrity:
For me, this surreal moment – like the entire surrealism of the past ten days – is not really about Sarah Palin or Barack Obama or pigs or fish or lipstick. It’s about John McCain. The one thing I always thought I knew about him is that he is a decent and honest person. When he knows, as every sane person must, that Obama did not in any conceivable sense mean that Sarah Palin is a pig, what did he do? Did he come out and say so and end this charade? Or did he acquiesce in and thereby enable the mindless Rovianism that is now the core feature of his campaign?
So far, he has let us all down. My guess is he will continue to do so. And that decision, for my part, ends whatever respect I once had for him. On core moral issues, where this man knew what the right thing was, and had to pick between good and evil, he chose evil.
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And when he had the chance to engage in a real and substantive debate against the most talented politician of the next generation in a fall campaign where vital issues are at stake, what did McCain do? He began his general campaign with a series of grotesque, trivial and absurd MTV-style attacks on Obama’s virtues and implied disgusting things about his opponent’s patriotism.
And then, because he could see he was going to lose, ten days ago, he threw caution to the wind and with no vetting whatsoever, picked a woman who, by her decision to endure her own eight-month pregnancy of a Down Syndrome child in public, that he was going to reignite the culture war as a last stand against Obama. That’s all that is happening right now: a massive bump in the enthusiasm of the Christianist base. This is pure Rove.
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McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States.
So what does it mean when a conservative columnist and blogger (and frequent television pundit) comments this way on the character of someone he used to support? During 2007, in a long column, Sullivan said:
As such, I’ve made my decision. I’m backing McCain. Further, I hope that Obama takes down Hillary and clinches the Democratic nomination. A McCain/Obama race would be one about policy, not personalities, and would be a unifying event, not a polarizing one.
Well, here we are, under two months to the election, and even a conservative columnist feels like he stepped in something filthy.
I take it to mean that they are telling LIES. In an interview with Keith Olbermann he said:
“For them to run an ad that doesn’t basically present an accurate record of their positions on issues. I think, should raise some issues on how they would run an administration,” said Obama, referring to the ad where the claim is made that Palin was behind canceling Bridge To Nowhere funding.
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ST. PAUL – Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska introduced herself to America before a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night as “just your average hockey mom” who was as qualified as the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, to be president of the United States.
Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience.
“Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown,” Ms. Palin told the delegates in a speech that sought to eviscerate Mr. Obama, as delegates waved signs that said “I love hockey moms.” “And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”
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Lieberman in his speech at the RNC showed his cards last night, and came up short of a pair.
I watched him until I couldn’t stand it, then watched the summaries on MSNBC and CNN.
Some points:
1. Joe referred to himself as a “Democrat” which, given his current Independent standing, must have had Connecticut Democrats spitting acid…
2. He tore at Obama’s lack of experience (“Senator Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record — not in these tough times.”), making that the reason to vote for his buddy McCain, then completely reversed himself by building up Palin (“She’s taken on the special interests and the political power brokers in Alaska, and reached across party lines to get things done. The truth is, she is a leader we can count on to help John shake up Washington”), probably the most inexperienced candidate ever run for high national office.
The Dallas Morning News pointed out:
As Democratic superdelegate and CNN commentator Donna Brazile noted, Lieberman agrees with Obama on “95 percent” of the issues. You have to figure he disagrees with Palin on about 99 percent of issues. And that makes the praise of Palin tough for his Senate Democratic colleagues to stomach…
3. Lieberman lied about Obama’s Senate activities (“In the — in the Senate, during the three-and-a-half years that Senator Obama’s been a member, he has not reached across party lines to accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done”), when it’s clear that Barack has often worked with Republicans like Lugar and even McCain…
The fact that McCain did not give Lieberman the VP nomination (as he wanted to) probably kept Holy Joe from delivering a complete Zell Miller. Perhaps he is still making a pitch for Secretary of State or Defense in a McCain Administration.
One thing is pretty sure, though… he has alienated his former Democratic colleagues once and for all and it is interesting to consider what Harry Reid will do with his committee chairmanship after the election (assuming a McCain loss, which will leave no administration post open). My guess is that Joe will close out his Senate career either as a zombie or a Republican… but, hey, what’s the difference?
Texas Congressman and Republican Primary candidate Ron Paul is holding a “counter convention” which he calls the Rally For the Republic in Minneapolis while the RNC goes on in St. Paul. While he says that this rally is not an event to get votes as a write-in candidate, it is certainly a thumb in McCain’s eye.
The event covers “the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy.” It is strongly focused on getting out of Iraq.
This is an interesting mix of speakers who are independent, or libertarian, or radical-right-Republicans. Take a look at their schedule today:
Tuesday’s Rally for the Republic schedule:
11:30 – Doors open
12:30 – Intro: Tucker Carlson
12:40 – National Anthem: Matt Colvin
12:50 – Invocation: Barb Davis White
12:55 – Howard Phillips
1:10 – Doug Wead
1:30 – Tom Woods
1:50 – Grover Norquist
2:10 – Lew Rockwell
2:30 – Bill Kauffman
2:50 – Special Guest
3:10 – Bruce Fein
3:35 – Gov. Jesse Ventura
4:05 – John Tate‚ Campaign for Liberty Presentation
4:25 – Gov. Gary Johnson
5:00 – Aimee Allen
6:00 – Break
7:00 – Intro: Barry Goldwater (Jr.)
7:05 – Ron Paul
8:05 – Sara Evans
9:30 – End of Program
9:30 – Jimmie Vaughan After Party
Paul has said that this “a philosophic campaign… my campaign for the Presidency has ended.” But it will compete with the first really big day of the RNC (and be covered live on C-Span2) and can’t be good for the Republican Party’s hopes to get back on track after Gustave muted their first day.
So it looks like the Republicans have their own Nader… and it remains to be seen if this, combined with the Bob Barr Libertarian Party campaign, has an effect on the election.
The July firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as John McCain’s running mate on Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin, her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also cut against Palin’s reputation for holding an ethical line and standing up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle.
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Today is the Old Man’s 72nd Birthday and he’ll be announcing his VP in Dayton, Ohio. Word is he has had trouble filling the 10,000 seat venue for the announcement.
We are wondering how he’ll respond to all the specifics that Obama hit him with last night. Maybe he’ll use his status as a POW forty years ago as an excuse for the pit the Republicans have put America in.
Why?
1. Longer experience in government than McCain
2. He owns 1 house… and it’s in Delaware… and he commutes to and from it and doesn’t live in Washington DC
3. He is, after 3 decades in the Senate, not a wealthy man, ie: he lives on his Senate Salary and does not turn his political power into $$$
4. Tremendous foreign policy background
5. Relatively enemy free… people on both sides love him
Now some bring up his verbosity… I pulled this off YouTube from one of the earlier Presidential Primary Debates. This says it all:
I was amazed last night watching Chris Matthews’ show on MSNBC to hear a Hillary supporter saying she would be voting for McCain because Obama won the Democratic Primary. I was amazed because anyone who looks at the Old Man’s record will see that he is totally against the rights of women to have any personal control over their own lives.
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The clearest indication I have seen to prove that voting for McCain is the equivalent of voting for a third Bush administration is this video from the Larry King Show in 2001 that The Jed Report has put out on the web:
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