Country Last

Apparently, republicans would rather vote against a woman who hurt their feelings, than vote for the good of the country.



Seriously, though, how can you focus any blame singularly on "Obama's Democratic Party."

Make no mistake, Pelosi failed too, in that she only delivered 2/3, rather than a full majority. Apologists say that it was "Bush's bill" and that it was good to get 2/3. But what I saw on TV last night was FINALLY some explanations of how FAILURE to provide support to credit markets, would impact "Main Street."

Do you actually think the public would be outraged if they knew a failure of credit markets would either (a) tank their 401ks, or (b) hold up their paychecks? Both of which are rather distinct possibilities? Don't get me wrong, plenty of blame should go on the deregulation crowd, which are primarily Republicans, for getting us into this mess. And, folks ought not be rewarded for their reckless behaviour. But the solution, I think, is to regulate down the road, and to constantly remind the deregulation crowd of the consequences of their actions, when it comes time to regulate again, or, should their boldness increase to the extent that they AGAIN want to deregulate.

I don't blame McCain for NOT delivering votes - he's culpable, if at all LATELY, for PROMISING to deliver votes and failing. He basically said he'd swoop into Washington and "get things done" and he delivered less than 1/2 of Republicans in the House.

McTrainwreck

Art Imitating Life Part II

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Palin - Life Imitating Art, or Vice Versa?

Avoiding Eye Contact?

WTF? I thought that the "maverick" and "straight talker" stereotype also included the "look 'em in the eye" as part of the repretoire.

McCain seems to be subconsciously betraying to the public that he's not really that guy.

Cafferty Tears Into Palin

John McCain, You were WRONG

Palin's Lying Seems Pathological

Seriously, is she able to stop lying if she wants to?

"I wanted to meet you for many years," Ms. Palin told Mr. Peres, according to an aide to the president. "The only flag at my office is an Israeli flag," she was quoted as saying, "and I want you to know and I want Israelis to know that I am a friend."

Nevermind the fact that she attends a church where Pastor Muthee decries the "Israelites" control over American banking . . . sheesh!

Palin Thinks Kissinger, Powell, etc. are "Naieve"

Couric: You met yesterday with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is for direct diplomacy with both Iran and Syria. Do you believe the U.S. should negotiate with leaders like President Assad and Ahmadinejad?

Palin: I think, with Ahmadinejad, personally, he is not one to negotiate with. You can't just sit down with him with no preconditions being met. Barack Obama is so off-base in his proclamation that he would meet with some of these leaders around our world who would seek to destroy America and that, and without preconditions being met. That's beyond naïve. And it's beyond bad judgment.

Couric: Are you saying Henry Kissinger …

Palin: It's dangerous.

Couric: … is naïve for supporting that?

Palin: I've never heard Henry Kissinger say, "Yeah, I'll meet with these leaders without preconditions being met." Diplomacy is about doing a lot of background work first and shoring up allies and positions and figuring out what sanctions perhaps could be implemented if things weren't gonna go right. That's part of diplomacy.

But what does Kissinger say?

“I’m in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one – (unintelligible) – of negotiation is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East – of a stable Middle East and our notion of nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it."

How about Powell?

Powell: “we should start to talk to them. Don’t wait for a letter coming from them. Start discussion. We’ve been talking to them up through 2003.” Asked whether we should “take the initiative?” Powell responded, “Yeah. We shouldn’t we? What are we afraid of? We did."

Ah, what do they know? She can see Russia from her house!! And, she doesn't blink

McCain is not the Solution

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, "n this present crisis, [John McCain] is not the solution to our problem; [John McCain] is the problem."

Fewer Regulations and More Corporate Tax Breaks!! Are you Kidding?

Is anyone actually shocked that: (a) McCain's "plan" was to hype himself (McCain FIRST), rather than actually help? or that (b) McCain's "plan" was to deregulate and slash corporate taxes?

Um, deregulation is what got us into this mess!

McCain's "Help" on the Bailout is a Joke

McCain admits he sucks at economics, and has no role in either the Senate or House committees directly negotiating this deal. WTF is he "helping" with?

To boot, it seems by every account that far from "getting a deal done" to avert the "crisis," McCain has scuttled negotiations at the late hour by backing a rouge plan put forth by House Republicans.

Barney Frank, a man who IS involved in the negotiations, says "go home, John."

McSame Lies About Suspending His Campaign

In what world did McCain actually "suspend" his campaign?

He's stumping, his surrogates are out, he is fund raising - he's CAMPAIGNING.

Toobin nails him on it:

McSame Can't Help - He's Admittedly Clueless on Economic Issues

This "I'll suspend my campaign to help out in a time of financial crisis" is a monumental joke.

Put aside the fact that its so transparently political and an effort to divert attention from the free fall he's been in, and put aside the fact that his role as the Senator from Arizona doesn't put him in any position to help even if he was ready, willing, and able, but its pretty common knowledge that he brings NOTHING to the table.

Here's what one Romney supporter in the primaries thought of McCain on the economy:

McSame in the Membrane

WTF!? Letterman is going to have a field day with this.

How do you so blatantly lie to one of the most popular TV personalities in such a way that is so transparently catchable.

McCain: "Dave, I can't do the show, because I'm hopping on a plane back to D.C."

McCain: Actually, in an interview with Katie Couric AT THE VERY TIME HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING LETTERMAN! And in a different CBS studio, to boot!



"It [McCain's campaign] really is starting to smell, now." - David Letterman.

Unfit for Office

McSame showed himself to be unfit for the highest office by selecting neophyte Governor Sarah Palin. She keeps underscoring what a reckless choice McSame made each time she goes off script.

No wonder they want to cancel the VP debate.



Only downside for Biden is that every trainwreck of an appearance presumably lowers the bar for her, performance-wise.

Nothing Says "Country First" Like Meeting with The Wife of a British Aristocrat

Wow. Lets recap yesterday:

- McCain freaks out and "suspends" his campaign;

- He tries to cancel Friday's debate (probably not for that purpose, but to actually suspend or cancel next Thursday's VP debate.);

- He cites the financial "crisis" (I guess the "fundamentals" from 9/15 are no longer "strong" a week later);

- He claims he needs to go straight back to Washington (despite the fact that his role as a Republican Senator has little, if anything to do with the conference committee negotiating the deal or caucusing with the House Republicans who seem to be holding out);

- He cancels Letterman, claiming that he has to be in DC right away (nevermind that this is a flat out LIE, as he's in another CBS studio at the time);

But the mother of all silliness is that, despite claiming not to have time for much of anything at all, he DID MAKE TIME to meet with Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, mega-millionaire wife of British Aristocracy, and former Hillary Clinton supporter.



As Richard Wolfe said last night on Olbermann's show: "nothing says 'country first' like meeting with the wife of a British aristocrat."

McSame Blows off Letterman - Gets a New One Torn

McCain Camp is Sexist Towards Palin - Says CNN's Campbell Brown

I thought that she was going somewhere else when I started this, but its right in line with the conservative's "soft bigotry of low expectations" line.

McSame the DE regulator

McSame doesn't get it. Its his 26-year philosophy of DEREGULATION that's gotten us into this mess.



Look, its as simple as this: if you remove the speed limits on highways, sure, cars can go faster than 70, 80, or 90 mph. But when crowded traffic all decides to go 150mph, accidents -- BIG ACCIDENTS -- happen.

Republicans call this "regulation" bad, because cars are CAPABLE of going faster. Democrats understand that slower is sometimes better -- especially when it avoids catastrophic accidents.

John & Cindy McCain are RICH!!!

Funny or Scary

Was hard to tell if this piece from SNL this past week was funny or not, because of how close it cut to the bone:

Grampy McSame had a VERY Bad Week

Doesn't look like this one is going to be better, but last shined a bright light on many of the things that are wrong with McCain: old, out of touch, de-regulator, clueless on the economy, angry, rash . . . the list goes on.

When you've lost George Will and Sam Donaldson . . .



"John McCain showed his personality this week, and made some of us fearful." - George Will.

McSame Doesn't Regret Deregulation

Scary how clueless this guy is on the economy:

McSame

Ever notice how for McSame the "surge" IS the Iraq invasion? Kinda reminds one of the McSame thing Bush did with "Mission Accomplished."

McSame is wrong on Iraq and continues to be. Senator Obama explains:

Press Conference

Still no Press Conference with Governor Palin. And the "so-called liberal media" has rolled over and taken it. It would be stunning and outrageous if not so par-for-the-course.

Score one for the McCain campaign. They've successfully sheltered the most unqualified candidate for VP ever and "the press" is barely making a noise.

To quote Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton on SNL - "grow a pair."

McSame - La Mismo!

He's the McSame kinda liar in two languages!

McEmbarrassing

Seriously, John McCain seemed like (many policy positions aside) a pretty decent guy.

I wonder if he'll be able to recognize himself after he loses this election.

Palin is such an embarrassment for him. The gimmick seems not so much "backfiring" as it is slowly but very surely turning from an asset to a liability for him.



Hannity's "interview" of her, was almost insulting in that it basically assumed she was an idiot (I say "almost" because the verdict seems to be out on how much, if anything she actually knows outside of a FUNCTIONING teleprompter).

I only hope that the expectations game for her debate doesn't set the bar so low. Democrats would be wise to speak highly of her oral skills from now until October. Even verbal gaffes and lies ought to be couched in terms of how skilled she as at doing them.

Palin Lying Starting to Look Pathological

Seriously, when is the lying to stop?

"The last straw [allegedly leading to Top Cop Monegan's firing]," her lawyer argued, came when he planned a trip to Washington, D.C., to seek federal funds for an aggressive anti-sexual-violence program. The project, expected to cost from $10 million to $20 million a year for five years, would have been the first of its kind in Alaska, which leads the nation in reported forcible rape.

The McCain-Palin campaign echoed the charge in a press release it distributed Monday, concurrent with Palin's legal filing. "Mr. Monegan persisted in planning to make the unauthorized lobbying trip to D.C.," the release stated.

Put aside that this sounds like he was fired for trying to get tougher on rapists and other sexual predators . . .

[b]ut the governor's staff authorized the trip, according to an internal travel document from the Department of Public Safety, released Friday in response to an open records request.

McSame As it Ever Was

Republican Sen. Hagel Calls Out Palin Nonsense

“I think it’s a stretch to, in any way, to say that she’s got the experience to be president of the United States,” Hagel said.

“I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,’” he said. “That kind of thing is insulting to the American people.”

McSame

Wasn't it Bush who also claimed he was going to make up for his vast shortcomings by "surrounding himself with good people?"

Looks like McSame is taking that tack on the economy. To what end? Some scary folks advising McSame:

This is what "Mavericky" Would Get You . .

Good thing that the Democrats stopped Bush from privatizing Social Security -- an absolutely horrendous idea that McCain supported.

Add this to the very long list of reasons to NOT support McCain:



McCain, and indeed many republicans, have to understand that the economy works best like a football game when their are referees to call fouls and impose order, and not like the "wild west" where folks can operate without restriction, some well meaning, others not so much, but too many with the result that the choas operates to OUR detriment.

Sarah Palin CANNOT NOT Lie

This woman has a serious problem with the truth.



"Because we know the rest of the nation is not going to pay for it."

Note to Sarah: WE ALREADY DID. and YOU KEPT the m$ney!

Cute that Sean Hannity couches the question as "Democrats say" that you supported it . . .. Its not a matter of "Democrats saying" it, Sean, its called reality.

Stunning Lack of . . . .

. . . take your pick - candor, spontaneity, national security creds, foreign policy creds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor Palin, there has been quite a bit of discussion about your perceived lack of foreign policy experience. And I want to give you your chance. If you could please respond to that criticism and give us specific skills that you think you have to bring to the White House to rebut that or mitigate that concern.

PALIN: Well, I think because I’m a Washington outsider that opponents are going to be looking for a whole lot of things that they can criticize and they can kind of try to beat the candidates here, who chose me as his partner, to kind of tear down the ticket. But as for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared and I know that on January 20th, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we’ll be ready. I’ll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness.

And if you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead and you can ask me. You can even play stump the candidate if you want to. But we are ready to serve.

Um, Governor? I think that she DID just ask you. I guess she "stumped the candidate."

Note to the governor: Bill Clinton didn't have any foreign policy "experience," when he ran for president, and neither did George W. Bush, and Barack Obama has very little (you have to count his "loose nukes" legislation with Repulican Senator Richard Lugar as "foreign policy" experiece, which is kinda thin . . . but I digress). But they've all managed to form responses to these sorts of questions. Why not LEARN something about foreign policy, so then you can at least admit no "experience" but deflect to "judgment" or "knowledge."

Lies, Lies, Lies

Jeebus, it must be getting easier and easier to lie for Grampy McSame.

Here's yet another -- its like a lie a day (or more).

Two years ago, I warned that the oversight of Fannie and Freddie was terrible, that we were facing a crisis because of it, or certainly serious problems," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS this morning. "The influence that Fannie and Freddie had in the inside the Beltway, old boy network, which led to this kind of corruption is unacceptable and I warned about it a couple of years ago.

McCain 10 months ago when asked about the subprime mortgage crisis:

But so, in this whole new derivative stuff, and SIBs and all of this kind of new ways of packaging mortgages together and all that is something that frankly I don’t know a lot about. [...]

But I don’t know of hardly anybody, with the exception of a handful, that said ‘wait a minute, this thing is getting completely out of hand and is overheating.'

So, I’d like to tell you that I did anticipate it, but I have to give you straight talk, I did not.

Palin: Top Cop Fired in "Troopergate" for Being too Hard on Sexual Predators?

Man, you can't make this stuff up.

In other words, if Palin's new story is true [i.e., as she claims], she fired Monegan for being too aggressive in going after child molesters. (my emphasis).

Pass the popcorn. This could get exciting to watch.

McCain - Lying

Notice the "balance":

Obama - claim that John McCain wants to be in Iraq for 100 years.
McCain - avalanche of lies:



And the conclusion "its getting ugly on both sides."

Its getting ugly for John McCain because his record and his lying is ugly and dishonorable. Maverick, like Elvis, has left the building.

A much slower, but more severe flip flop.

John McCain is not preaching "reform" of Washington and Wall Street. Kind of an abrupt 180 from his previous stance:

“You are interviewing the greatest free trader you will ever interview, and the greatest deregulator you will ever interview,” he said.

I wonder which one to believe? Two decades as a Reagan-style de-regulator? Or a couple hours as a hands-on market regulator?

McCain Sets World Record for Fastest Flip Flop

Yesterday morning - "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."



Later that morning - "our economy is at risk."

Carly Speaks the Truth

. . . which explains why she'll disappear as a McCain spokesperson.



Contrast this with what Warren Buffett had to say about Obama and Clinton:

[Buffett] has not endorsed Clinton or Obama for the presidency, but said on CNBC television: "I would put either one of them in charge of a business."

McCain is Clueless

Follow this up with the lie that McCain is pushing lately that "fundamentals" = "American workers."

When has that ever been a variable? Are the workers ever "not strong?"

TDS on Palin-McCain

McCain Cluess on the Economy

McCain is clueless on the economy, reminds one of Mr. "fuzzy math." This level of sophistication is not really welcome.

To be fair, I guess, he's always said the economy is not his strong suit.

McLobbyists and John

Who is McCain talking about when he says "my friends" all the time?

Crazy Base World

In a number of ways, I'm surprised that I'm surprised that McCain is a complete sellout and is doing whatever he can -- including lie his a@@ off -- to try to get elected.

He himself told us he was abandoning the old "maverick" McCain:

When Jon Stewart asked McCain last year, "Are you going into crazy base world?" the celebrated maverick acknowledged, "I'm afraid so."

Fellow POW - McCain Well known as a "very volatile guy"

New ad out suggesting that, far from being a plus for the presidency, McCain's status as a former POW is a strike against him.

This goes right after ANGRY John McCain:



McCain is "volatie" could "blow up" and "go off like a roman candle."

Lying About Taxes Too

These guys have a serious problem with the truth. Now McCain-Palin are lying about Obama's tax plan.

[Palin] said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "wants to raise income taxes and raise payroll taxes and raise investment income taxes and raise business taxes and raise the death tax.

"But John McCain and I know that's not the way you grow the economy," she added.

In fact, independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center have concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposals.

I was going to say that they'd be good at that kids game called "two truths and a lie" but they wouldn't. They's suck at it because (a) they couldn't keep the lying to a 1:2 ratio, and (b) their lies are so dang obvious.

Clueless

Does Palin even understand why her lie is a problem for McCain -- beyond the fact that its a lie?

She keeps saying "if we wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves," as if Congress was FORCING them to build a bridge, and as if she didn't ask for the money and KEEP IT!

Note to Palin: Your running mate hates pork and the "bridge to nowhere" not in some abstract way because he hates bridges or that he hates Congress telling the states what to do, but becuase he hates WASTE and he thought that the bridge that you ASKED HIM TO PAY FOR was wasteful. It doesn't do much good to the "waste" argument to keep his money.

What's more stunning? The repeated lying? Or the cluelessness?

Healthy Appetite for Pork

She does seem to have a healthy appetite for pork and a good deal of thankfulness for the corrupt Senator Stevens to bring it home to her.

McSame Sleazy Campaign

Army Times Calls McCain on His Dirty Campaign

How dirty is your campaign getting, when the Army Times, is calling you out ("McCain, Flip Flop of Fib") on your crap.

McSame As Bush - Lying to the American People

Where, oh where is the "honorable" John McCain of old?

He seems to have been replaced with John McCain 2.0 - who is a serial liar:

Even Karl Rove Thinks McCain Lied in his Ads

Just how must beyond the pale to you have to be when Karl Rove -- yes, the same Karl "dirty tricks" Rove that you know and not some same-named democrat -- thinks that John McCain has a problem with the truth.

This should be a nail in the coffin -- McCain is lying.

McSame - More Lies

McCain Flat Out Lies

McCain says that Gov. Palin has never asked for earmarks as Alaska Governor.

Check the 1:28 mark of the clip. Facing tougher questioning from four "celebrities" challenging McCain's quip that she's vetoed pork items, they point out that's she's also secured a pretty decent amount of pork for Alaskans -- more, per capita, than any other state.

"Not as Governor she didn't" - McCain quickly shot back trying to deflect the point without opposition. One of the four audibly challenges this lie, and McCain then guffaws, continuing ". . . the fact is," as though he's using facts. Reality?

Flat. Out. Lie.

In fact, "Palin requested $197 million this year and $256 million last year. Per capita, that's $288 this year and $376 last year" - as Governor

To give you some perspective, Palin herself requested at least ten times the dollar value of earmarks as most states get total every year."

h/t TPM and Josh Marshall.

Serial Liar

Its getting hard not to conclude that this woman, Sarah Palin, has a serious issue with telling the truth.

Link to ABC video here.
Enough!

McCain Must Be Senile!

This is getting downright scary. McCain rails against "pork" spending to study the DNA of Bears, makes a joke, decries the evil of such spending.

Problem: Palin's administration secured millions to study the DNA of seals.

Now lets be clear here -- there are valid scientific reasons for doing both and in a vaccuum, its just ignorant and anti-scientific without knowing more to decry such spending.

What's stunning is that (1) McCain is too senile to know that he's blasting what his running mate has championed, or that (2) Palin yuks it up and tacitly agrees with McCain that she's a wasteful porker.

Former GOP Sen, Chafee - McCain Picked "Cocky Wacko"

Video here.

McCain's Sellout Endangers the Country

Stunning. I thought Charlie Gibson would be a bit of a fluff interview for Palin, but I'll give him credit, he's pretty even handed, but also doesn't buy into her B.S. faux answers.



The bloom may be coming off of the rose. This should scare the ever-loving crap out of serious Americans.

McCain's latest sell out to the right-wing Christianists puts this woman a heartbeat away from being leader of the free world and holding the U.S. Nuclear Codes!

Grampy doesn't get it!

McCain - Sold out to Dirty Campaigning

Pathetic.

Using Old Footage Doesn't Make Grampy Younger . . .

McSame Sells Out "Straight Talk"

After listening to this, do you have one iota of confidence as to his position on whether gay couples should be permitted to adopt?

McSame Sells out the The Troops

The Real McSame

McSame is Wrong on Iraq

Ably noted by Robert Zimmerman here in this piece (after Bay Buchanan spews unsupported and false sound bites), is that John McCain is the ONLY CANDIDATE who is not supporting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq.



Iraqi PM is behind Obama's idea. Even Bush is starting to come around (although he's got a ways to go). Only John McCain refuses to give us a plan to end the war.

I'm am NOT a Maverick

Surprising confession - I'd heard it only in the convention speech, but it seems to be a theme for sometime: "we Republicans" have been corrupted.

“We [Republicans] came to Washington and gained a majority to change Washington and Washington changed us,” said the Arizona senator, who will officially claim the Republican presidential nomination next week. “We let spending get completely out of control.”

- John Sidney McCain (Aug. 27, 2008)

McSame Dirty Tactics

Jeebus, the guy recycles Bush policies, and even recycles Bush's negative campaign ads:

What Liberals Know and Think . . .

. . . and what Right-Wing fundamentalists think is "crazy."

We've seemed to have gone so far though the looking glass. Few sane republicans seem to get it. Matt Damon sums it up pretty well. Its sad that this line of discourse is not mainstream. Millions and millions of liberals are thinking this exact same thing:



Book banning, teaching creationism, lying, abuse of public office. But, hey, she's a "hockey mom." Damon's quote about a "bad Disney movie" is spot on.

Palin is a Liar

Its getting harder and harder not to come to this conclusion. She's borderline pathological. This woman has a seriously hard time with the truth. Earmarks, "Bridge to Nowhere," Troopergate . . . and on and on.

Abuse of Power = "Mavericky"

"Troopergate" isn't going away. Trickle, trickle, trickle, is the coming out of more and more bad news for Gov. Palin.

Meantime, she continues to lie on the campaign trail about the "Bridge to Nowhere."

Maybe seeing her son deploy today will be a come-to-Jesus moment for her where she's able to step back from the fray and realize that she's gotten sucked into something too big for her . . . and (to quote Mike Meyers) "maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt."

Lying = Mavericky?

I would call it just "dirty politics" but its not. Its flat out lying.

McSame, somewhere along the line, sold his soul.

VP / Censor?

We seriously might elect a wannabe book banner as second-in-command? WTF?!

McSame - ReformED Maverick

John McCain Keeps Saying that Word . . .

. . . but I don't think it means what he thinks it means (apologies to the "Princess Bride.")

What word? "Change."

Obama to McCain: "You can't just make stuff up."

Liar is the New "Maverick"

Maverick to Nowhere

She was for it before she was against it.

Sad if she didn't keep lying about it.

"Taking On Your Own Party"

Someone needs to explain to McCain that "taking on your own party" isn't a virtue in and of itself. Its was notable when McCain USED TO DO IT, because the Republicans have been the corrupt ones for the past 8 years (notice, I didn't say that Republicans are corrupt and that Democrats aren't -- people in power are corrupt, and those people have been Repbulicans lately).

Attacking Obama becuase he "hasn't taken on his own party" is both a lie and nonsensical.

A lie: Obama passed some pretty serious ethics legislation and criminal legislation -- the latter requiring that all confessions must be video taped -- which fought many in his own party.

Nonsensical: As noted above, Republicans have been in power and have been corrupt. THEY need to be taken on. On top of that, the American People, by huge majorities, don't think that the country is going in the right direction. The "direction" right now, has been supplied by Republicans. So THEY need to be taken on.

Once upon a time, John McCain liked to "take on members of his own party" and lots of people admired him for it (rightly). But that guy has gone and he has been replaced by I-need-to-suck-at-the-teat-of-George-Bush-and-the-Christian-Right-Wing-to-become-President-before-I-die version of John McCain.

So, John Sydney McCain (for some reason Republicans are now calling him John "S" McCain, I guess to make him sound more like JFK?) stop lying about Obama's record of ethics reform and bipartisanism.

And, Media: stop lapping up this "taking on your own party" nonsense. Face it -- REPUBLICANS need to be "taken on" right now, NOT democrats.

Mittens Says McCain gets Angggg-REEEE!

Seiously, is this the guy you want with the finger on the button? This is what fellow republican ROMNEY had to say about him:

THE MCCAIN WAY -- ATTACK REPUBLICANS

A Top 10 List…

1. Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And “Screamed, ‘F*ck You!’ At Texas Sen. John Cornyn” (R-TX). “Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. ‘You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it.’”

(Charles Hurt, “Raising McCain,” New York Post, 5/19/07)

2. In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. SEN. MCCAIN: “I guess it was bound to happen. Governor Bush’s campaign is getting desperate, with a negative ad about me. The fact is, I’ll use the surplus money to fix Social Security, cut your taxes and pay down the debt. Governor Bush uses all of the surplus for tax cuts, with not one new penny for Social Security or the debt. His ad twists the truth like Clinton. We’re all pretty tired of that. As president, I’ll be conservative and always tell you the truth. No matter what.”

(McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00;)

3. Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) An “A**hole”, Causing A Fellow GOP Senator To Say, “I Didn’t Want This Guy Anywhere Near A Trigger.” “Why can’t McCain win the votes of his own colleagues? To explain, a Republican senator tells this story: at a GOP meeting last fall, McCain erupted out of the blue at the respected Budget Committee chairman, Pete Domenici, saying, ‘Only an a–hole would put together a budget like this.’ Offended, Domenici stood up and gave a dignified, restrained speech about how in all his years in the Senate, through many heated debates, no one had ever called him that. Another senator might have taken the moment to check his temper. But McCain went on: ‘I wouldn’t call you an a–hole unless you really were an a–hole.’ The Republican senator witnessing the scene had considered supporting McCain for president, but changed his mind. ‘I decided,’ the senator told Newsweek, ‘I didn’t want this guy anywhere near a trigger.’”

(Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)

4. Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A “F*cking Jerk.” “Senators are not used to having their intelligence or integrity challenged by another senator. ‘Are you calling me stupid?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley once inquired during a debate with McCain over the fate of the Vietnam MIAs, according to a source who was present. ‘No,’ replied McCain, ‘I’m calling you a f—ing jerk!’ (Grassley and McCain had no comment.)”

Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)

5. In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A “Scuffle” With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. “In January 1995, McCain was midway through an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when chairman Strom Thurmond asked, ‘Is the senator about through?’ McCain glared at Thurmond, thanked him for his ‘courtesy’ (translation: buzz off), and continued on. McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor. A scuffle ensued, and the two didn’t part friends.”

(Harry Jaffe, “Senator Hothead,” The Washingtonian, 2/97)

6. Sen. McCain Accused Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Of The “Most Egregious Incident” Of Corruption He Had Seen In The Senate. “It escalated when McCain reiterated the charges Oct. 10 in a cross-examination, calling McConnell’s actions the ‘most egregious incident’ demonstrating the appearance of corruption he has ever seen in his Senate career.”

(Amy Keller, “Attacks Escalate In Depositions,” Roll Call, 10/21/02)

7. Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: “Unfortunately, Governor Bush is a Pat Robertson Republican who will lose to Al Gore. … The political tactics of division and slander are not our values… They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country. Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.”

(Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)

8. Sen. McCain Attacked Vice President Cheney. MCCAIN: “The president listened too much to the Vice President . . . Of course, the president bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the Vice President and, most of all, the Secretary of Defense.”

(Roger Simon, “McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy,” The Politico, 1/24/07)

9. Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Republican Volunteer. “It was election night 1986, and John McCain had just been elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Even so, he was not in a good mood. McCain was yelling at the top of his lungs and poking the chest of a young Republican volunteer who had set up a lectern that was too tall for the 5-foot-9 politician to be seen to advantage, according to a witness to the outburst. ‘Here this poor guy is thinking he has done a good job, and he gets a new butt ripped because McCain didn’t look good on television,’ Jon Hinz told a reporter
Thursday. At the time, Hinz was executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. … Hinz said McCain’s treatment of the young campaign worker in 1986 troubled him for years. ‘There were an awful lot of people in the room,’ Hinz recalled. ‘You’d have to stick cotton in your ears not to hear it. He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face. It wasn’t right, and I was very upset at him.’”

(Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, “Stories Surface On Senator’s Demeanor,” The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)

10. Sen. McCain “Publicly Abused” Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “[McCain] noted his propensity for passion but insisted that he doesn’t ‘insult anybody or fly off the handle or anything like that.’ This is, quite simply, hogwash. McCain often insults people and flies off the handle…. There have been the many times McCain has called reporters ‘liars’ and ‘idiots’ when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. McCain once… publicly abused Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.”

(Editorial, “There’s Something About McCain,” The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)

Palin's Troopergate Scandal

A good summary for the unaware:

Executive Experience

On "executive experience" this is what Mayor Rudy Guiliani had to say:

...[He] has never run a city, never run a state, never run a government. He has never been responsible as a mayor for the safety and security of millions of people...

- . about John Sydney McCain (

McCain - Zero Respect for IP Rights

What is it about McCain and just stealing music for his own use - maybe he's taking "Maverick" too literally and thinking its a Wild West, steal-what-you-want kind of thing?

First, for background, its pretty audacious to steal "Still the One" from sitting Democratic Representative John Hall. After all, when the author is a sitting member of the opposign party, it would probably be naive to think that permission is implied.

But its seems to be a pattern (Van Halen)(and here (Jackson Browne ), and here (John Mellencamp), and here (Chuck Berry) and here (ABBA)). And, now, CNN reports that the Wilson sisters -- better known as Heart -- can be added to that list. Heart's record company has issued a cease and desist letter for the RNC's use of "Barracuda" at the convention.

Is there no one in the campaign who vets this stuff? For all the condescenion that the RNC has for "Hollywood" and "Celebrities" you would think that the presumption would be that artists WON'T give permission not the other way around.

What is really ironic is that Bush and the republicans (indeed most of congress) have bent over backwards for the recording industry to stretch Copyright protections for recording artists.

I guess its "Mavericky" to steal first and ask permission/forgiveness later. At the end of the day, it all seems consistent with the Ready, Fire, Aim, approach to politics that drives McCain.

John Bush

First there was the fake freudian slip by Biden, but now this:



Whoops. Sometimes, what is on your mind just comes out.

McSame on the Economy

Question: if McCain is trying to regain his "maverick" and "reformer" mantle by picking McCain, who, exactly is he challenging and reforming? Himself?



FURTHER UPDATE: From Vanity Fair:

Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000

Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500

Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000

Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000-$25,000

Shoes, designer unknown: $600

Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

Nothing says "I feel your pain" like an outfit more expensive than most folks's homes.

Hypocritical? Clueless? Delusional? Scattershot?

Its so difficult to understand the rhyme or reason of the GOP these days, and Sarah Palin's candidacy specifically.

There is an incredible amount of irony that I don't think they have any awareness of, including, for example, mocking Obama as a cult of personality but fanatically focusing on McCain's POW past, for assailing Obama for "mere rhetoric" but then spewing "reform" "Maverick" and "taking on the system" without providing any specific examples whatsoever (aside: the "taking on the system for Palin, to her credit, has been busting corrupt republicans -- exactly what Obama and Biden have been doing).

Palin's speech was a lot of things. One that stuck out for me, though, was how it seemed to be in so many ways exactly what it also mocked. But one example is more ably set forth below in this clip:



Odd, that some small-town folks "count" and others don't.

Republican Media Types Confess that Palin is "Gimmicky" and the race is "Over"

Ah, what happens when right-wing mouthpieces who normally blast nonsensical talking points when the camera is running, talk WITHOUT KNOWING THE TAPE IS STILL ROLLING?

They tell the truth. Peggy Noolan -- old-guard Reagan Speechwriter -- and Mike Murphy -- a McCain 2000 guy -- both agreeing on the recording (thinking they are "off the record") that the race is "over" and that the Palin pick was "Gimmicky" and that Palin is nowhere near the most-qualified woman out there. "Liberal Media" indeed.

Unvarnished Views of Palin

This is what Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough think BEFORE they know they should be spewing Republican talking points:

It Wouldn't Be Appropriate . . .

. . . either folks didn't get the message, or McSame doesn't have much control over his party (no pun intended).

Palin Vetting - Sloppy and Rash, Assuming it Happened

If Palin was "fully vetted" why do they need to send 10 lawyers up there to "investigate" now?

This is scary how rash and reactionary this pick is looking to be. Not at all "Mavericky" but a rash sellout to the right-wing of the party. More of the McSame.

McSame in 3 Minutes