Quote for the Day

"The festive scenes of liberation that Dick Cheney had once imagined for Iraq were finally taking place — in cities all over America." - Frank Rich

Today is the Day, Here's Why

I haven't blogged in two weeks. There's alot of reasons, but really the fact is I ran out of things to say. If in the past two weeks a mind was still not made up as to the best choice for this country, I don't know what more can be said to force a direction.

Casting my vote, I reflected on the reasons I supported Obama throughout the past four years (yes, since his convention speech). I had a long post planned out in my head, giving the rationale for casting my vote, and about the people that had influenced me in my life and given me the knowledge in my soul that this man was the right man for this country: my father, Joe Strummer, my eighth grade history teacher, and countless others who lead me to the belief that the strength of this country is not only the voice each individual citizen has, but the shared beliefs in the goodness of our fellow man that gives weight to that voice not just for the present, but for our collective future. The post was planned in my head to perfection, or at least to the level of perfection an aspiring writer can achieve.

And then I decided not to write it. Because I read something that said it more perfectly than I ever could. I'm going to shut up again now, and wait until tomorrow to post. I just want all my friends to read the link below. I hope it moves you, as much as it moved me.

Read this, and know hope.

Who's the Highest Paid McCain Staffer?

You've got to be freaking kidding me.

A Poem for the Times

From Gina Myers "Behind the R":

Rentals make homeowners
nervous. As if everyone
could own a home.
Or for that matter
have health insurance.
The soft politics
of the uninsured youth.
We won't raise
our voices too loud.
In the jungle
of the new economy,
victory will be
for those create
disorder
without loving it.

Disavowal

Todd Palin seems not to have gotten the message either:




That sign says "Charles Manson Was a Community Organizer".

Awaiting the Right Outrage

Voter fraud by a Republican.

C'mon boys and girls. Is it principle or politics?

McCain Sleaze Continued

A couple of things.

1. If that call was the whole truth, and not a Michael Moore'eque framing of it, then yes, it could be construed as legitimate. But it's not, and what bothers me most is McCain KNOWS it's not. But he's counting on those who hear it not knowing enough to think otherwise.

2. If McCain doesn't care about an old, washed up terrorist, then why does he mention him so much.

3. Barring 1+2, did he not get the message that this ISN'T working?

4. RE: The Lewis comments from the Obama campaign:

“Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’

"As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead."

See John? They disassociated the remarks with you, and were condemning only the actions of your crowd. Stop beating your chest. You are not an aggrieved party here. When your supporters are caught on tape holding monkeys with Obama gear on them and yelling "Kill Him" and "Terrorist", yes, that is something that people are going to be angry about.

Congratulations

A moment of congratulations to good friend and talented writer Gina Myers, who's first full length book will be published in Summer '09.

Trust me, she is kind of a big deal.

A Strange Endorsement of Sorts

This article is fascinating on it own. But underneath the top photo is one weird endorsement for John McCain.

You'd Think People Would be Smarter About This

Ever since Feed came out, you'd think politicians would be just a little hesitant with cameras around, even pre-air. But here's Colorado Republican Bob Schaffer getting caught complaining that he won't be allowed to use notes during his debate (he had previously agreed to such). I love the final line from his challenger, akin to "Shut up you baby and let's get going".

Wrapping It Up

I thought McCain might have had a slight edge due to his "coming out swingin'" approach in the beginning. But people (this one included) seem to really like the temperament of Barack. His return to discourse on issues instead of personal attacks over the course of his entire campaign has really resonated with people, and made them more receptive to his policy positions.

Snap polls are starting to show that Barack one, but the real indicator will be in the weekend polls.

This was the last presidential debate. Including the primary ones, there have been 49. 49! It's been a long ride, and there's still two weeks to go.

Final Debate

Initial reaction: tie, but McCain was definitely more energized then he had been in the past two debates. McCain also had a nice line on the "if you wanted to run against Bush..." zinger. But his on screen persona is STILL horrible. He really does have an anger issue.

Whether or not it will help McCain, well, we'll see. Yup, that's the kind of knockout analysis I give for free.

The Final Debate - Live

10:31 - Obama gives his standard close, lots of mentions about the middle class and his best efforts to do right by them.

10:30 - Whoever had "my friends" for the drinking game tonight is pretty sober. Anyone who had "middle class" is on the floor.

10:28 - John has the first closing remark. And you know, it's not bad. If he had been like this for awhile, this would be a closer election. He has to hope most people haven't tuned out by now.

10:26 - McCain tries to throw one last shiv in, and he still comes off as a smart ass kid talking with an educated adult. It's like the sixteen year old "hippie" arguing with an adult. All empty ideology, no solid foundation.

10:25 - Autism is the new theme for McCain's campaign. Will now start the clock on the "Why does Obama hate those with autism?" commercials.

10:20 - John McCain - "troops to teachers. Come out of the military and need no certification to begin teaching."

WHAT!?! No disrespect to those in uniform, but teachers are trained to do their job for a reason. In the same way you were trained to do YOURS for a reason.

10:19 - McCain says "education is the civil rights issue of the twenty first century". A nice framing, but I doubt it will carry water.

10:17 - Obama gives the Democratic line, quite Clintonian, about the fact that education is related to the future growth of the American work force and American economic prosperity.

Probably because it's true.

10:15 - Okay, I lied. Obama, fantastic linking of the abortion rate to the rate of unwanted pregnancies in America. Attack the cause, not the symptom.

10:06 - Next question, Roe v. Wade. I'm ignoring this. Because the Republican's won't let Roe V Wade be overturned. Ever. It gets them elected. I'm breaking until the next question.

10:05 - Back to small government arguments from McCain. And yet his policies on the economy grow the size of government, not to mention his acquiescence to the largest growth of government in history over the last eight years, and that inclues the New Deal.

10:04 - McCain still won't address the fact that healthcare shopping on the open market will cause prices to go up, since there will no longer be the fallback of government help.

10:03 - Something just hit the screen. And then McCain got...sarcastic? John this is why people are turning away from you in droves. We enjoy sarcasm as entertainment. We vote leadership.

10:01 - McCain, that fine you asked about is 0. Because small businesses who can't afford to insure their employees don't get fined. And McCain looks incredulous that that might be the answer. Like someone told him otherwise, and he never looked it up for himself.

9:59 - If I have to hear about Joe the Plumber again, something will hit the screen.

9:57 - Next question on health care. I'm not going to re-write Obama's plan here, he's said it enough, check his website for the specifics. Barack keeps looking into the screen, addressing the view, stating his case. This guy doesn't get ruffled. McCain keeps punching, Obama takes it and just keeps stating his case.

As Andrew would say, "Patience and steel."

9:55 - Obama gives a long response, with a thrust on fuel efficient cars and green jobs. A new economy. A growth industry, meaning new jobs.

John McCain's answer "Hugh Chavez, blah blah blah, without preconditions, blah blah blah". I guess McCain's debate coach was....Sarah Palin?

9:51 - John McCain keeps pushing the idea that drilling for oil is going to fix gas prices now. It takes YEARS for an oil drill, land or sea based, to be erected. Even longer for that fuel to reach the pump. And that is assuming it doesn't get sold off overseas first (no oversight on that, right John?). So how does that fit with lowering gas prices in the short term?

Side note: McCain REALLY has the gloves off in this one. He's pissed. And he's having trouble hiding it. You can almost see him counting 10 with a frozen look on his face.

9:51 - First read on the McCain body language watch - "he keeps giving the whole 'there he goes again' look."

9:49 - Obama "No energy independence isn't going to happen in 4 years. 10 years is a more realistic time frame." Again Obama taking the long view, rebuilding the economy and underlying structure of the American economy. McCain is constantly pushing Band Aids.

9:47 - Apparently no one has given McCain the message that the whole scolding thing doesn't work.

9:46 - Every answer McCain tries to throw the "raising taxes" issue in. Except that only speaks to his base. Thinking independents are over it, and know it's BS.

9:44 - Obama gives a nice dodge on not getting into the mud over Palin.

9:43 - I still think it's going to be a touch thing for Obama to respond with knocking Palin. McCain talks about "a breath of fresh air". Huh? John you're in your 70s. Cronies? From someone in Washington for 26 years?

9:42 - Obama gives a great answer about Biden's solid experience. McCain now needs to match Palin.

9:40 - Next question is about running mates.

9:39 - Wow. McCain is. Wow. Words fail. I'll post video later.

9:37 - Obama is laying out the whole relationship with Ayers. Good and emphatic. ACORN stuff is the truth, who knows if people will actually bother believing.

Obama starts laying who he actually DOES associate with and consult for advice and names some solid names. If that doesn't put this whole narrative to rest, it should.

9:36 - John, do you realize you're on tape with ACORN two years ago praising them? Not to mention that whole thing is a non-starter.

9:34 - Does McCain really think he has the moral high ground here?

9:31 - Apparently McCain thinks attacking his policy positions are equivalent with the William Ayers stuff. He really just doesn't get it. Then again I get the sense he doesn't buy that.

9:29 - Obama, go ahead and attack me. I'll keep talking about the economy.

Good job. That's the right answer. And you get the sense that he believes that too.

9:28 - John Lewis from McCain. The town halls. The public financing. Kitchen sink from John McCain. This worked for Hillary, so why not.

Oh, wait......

9:26 - The tone of the campaign, according to McCain, got nasty because Obama wouldn't do town halls. So he didn't want to do your thing, so you got nasty. Classy.

9:25 - Here comes the questions about the negative ads. This should be fun.

9:20 - "Senator Obama, I'm not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." Gotta say, nice line.

9:19 - AGAIN WITH THAT FREAKING OVER HEARD PROJECTER!?!?!?!?! IT WAS A PLANETARIUM!!!!!

Sorry. But Jesus.

9:16 - A decent, long-view answer from Obama on the "both of your plans will increase the debt" question. Basically, investing now means more money in the future to pay off that debt. Smart, risky, but smart. That's Barack's speed. McCain dissembles on the question. He can't come up with a proposal of his he will cut, but he also doesn't give the long view answer.

Again, he just sounds confused to me. Just to note though, the CNN dials are surging for McCain, especially amongst men.

9:13 - "We can't spread the wealth around" - McCain. Youch. That is the kind of out of context quote that can be a killer.

9:11 - McCain is trying the "spread the wealth around" argument. And the socialist arguments are off. Except he's the one proposing nationalizing mortgages. 0 consistency.

9:08 - Obama still coming off as strong, clear. It goes back to the idea that you may disagree with him, but he definitely sounds like he knows what he's talking about. McCain is telling some convoluted story about a "guy met on the campaign trail". His problem isn't that he doesn't have a plan. It is that he can't sell it.

9:05 - McCain is really pushing the mortgage buyout plan he "unveiled" in the last debate. For someone who has complained about big government, and who has supporters fearful of socialism, its a touchy move. And really isn't that smart anyway.

9:02 - And we're off. Just a quick beginning note, I like this format. Much more collegial than the last two.

Sometimes, Even Good Shit Rolls Downhill

For those of you unaware, this election could be about much more than just the Presidency. Downticket races on the state and national level are flooding to the left. There are some clunkers in there to be sure. Overall though, this could turn out to be a complete repudiation of the past eight years. Nate Silver's website FiveThirtyEight has relevant polling data. These are the numbers to use for reassurance to ourselves and the doubtful that yes, this is happening.

On a side note, I've read Nate's work on the great American pastime over at BaseballProspectus for some time. If you're a fan, it's worth checking out.

Current Republicans Really Just Don't Get It

Dan Lungren (R-CA) was on Hardball last night, and he talked about the impact of John McCain's new economic plan on stocks, and on building stock prices, as if that is supposed to wash away all worries. It astounds me how badly the right is missing the message in this political climate.

I have no money in the stock market. I've never had the opportunity, be it through reason or consequence, to have enough to invest in that way. Most people I know do not. The price of stocks, in the abstract market sense, does affect us. But on a personal level, we just don't care. We don't care about capital gains, we've never had any. We don't care about stocks, we've never had any. We care that we will walk into work tomorrow, and our employers will be open for business. We care about rent payments and mortgage payments. We care about an ever increasing cost of living. We care about having a little something on the side for an entertainment or two for a moment of respite from what has been an intensely unsettling six to eight years. Stocks have little real impact on us a group. And that group has grown into a mob. And we vote.

There will always be disagreement over the exact methodology of our governance. Now, though, there is need for correction of years of neglect. And within that need is a sense that we are owed an accounting. Not in the prosecutorial sense, but in the economic sense. To those who have spent the term of this administration looting the accounts of the middle class, it is time for a reckoning. You've had your fun. You have your money. But it's time we took our fair share.

If that sentiment sounds familiar, there's a reason. It was the original genesis of the labor movements of the late 1880's through the 1950's, that the capitalists have gotten rich, but they have to share. In the fifty years since, the payback those movements received was reinvested in the following generations. To create a more fortunate, but still overburdened working class: the post-industrial middle class. In terms of education and employment opportunity, no one has had it better in history. But as the population within that group hit critical mass, a complacency developed. A blind eye to excess and oversight was developed. To a public who spent the 90's reaping the fruits of thirty years of economic development, eight years of a Clinton presidency brought prosperity but also such a decline in discourse that the majority of the public finally tuned out the actions of the government. So deep was our apathy that without constitutional precedent the Supreme Court decided the Presidency of the United States and yet even now many intelligent people among us couldn't name some of the key players in that landmark moment.

The Republican party for decades had played to our apathy and basest instincts by projecting itself as the party of "real" Americans. Well, we are real Americans. Raised in American families, educated in American colleges, often with US government loans. We didn't all get backpacks and passports, many of us just went to work. As our families had always done. To put the American dream to work for us. We felt that our part of the bargain was kept. Through it all though, a majority of us had faith that whatever disagreements we had between right and left, someone was watching out for our best interest. That our tax burden was valued, that the sacrifice of our friends who had chosen service in the form of the military was valued, that we as a people were seen as the building block of the American economy that we were. It seemed impossible that the success of a nation could even remotely be squandered. Yet our sacrifice was turned into subservience, our wealth into debt, and our strength into uncertainty.

The current financial crisis, along with varied other excesses of the Bush Era, has finally woken us up en mass to our plight. We can't be bought right now with promises of trickle down prosperity and vague dreams of stock market wealth. What we need is cash and liquidity, two things that are in short supply these days. Which is why when the key Republican talking points on the economy relate to stocks, it falls on deaf ears. To us the stock market is now just a public scoreboard, for a game we already know the outcome of.

National Review's Byron York, EPIC FAIL

I love Matt Taibbi. And this is why.

Read and giggle with glee, especially over the final exchange.

Liveblogging the Debate

As I did last time, I will be live blogging the debate tonight and providing some post-debate wrap up.

Moment of Levity

Sarah Silverman is still hilarious.

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You

One of the most striking things about the Obama campaign has been, from the beginning, its strong commitment to not just play lip service to the "ground game", aka grassroots community organizing. It has been the source of much of his strength, and is really the reason he was able to knock off the Clinton coalition in the primaries, and is the force behind the GOTV movement he intends to ride to the presidency. As someone who has believed in a cornerstone rather than pinnacle approach to change, this was one of the things that brought me into Barack's fold early on.

Zack Exley has a much linked to post on The Huffington Post in which he goes behind the scenes of the Obama/Biden campaign, to see just what being an Obama volunteer means. What he found is a well organized, and more importantly, well motivated team of volunteers bringing members of their community into the movement. What is most telling for me is the level of commitment the campaign invested into training these people, and not wasting their time. That has been a failure of so called "grassroots movements" of the past. Not this time.

Fantastic quote:

Then, at the end of our meeting, my neighborhood team leader, Jennifer Robinson, totally unprompted, told me: "I'm a different person than I was six weeks ago." I asked her to elaborate later. She said, "Now, I'm really asking: how can I be most effective in my community? I've realized that these things I've been doing as a volunteer organizer—well, I'm really good at them, I have a passion for this. I want to continue to find ways to actively make this place, my community, a better place. There's so much more than a regular job in this—and once you've had this, it's hard to go back to a regular job. I'm asking now: Can I look for permanent work as an organizer in service of my community? And that's a question I had not asked myself before the campaign. It never occurred to me that I could even ask that question."

For those like me who are rife with Kennedy comparisons, this is could have been a personal respose to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country".

Hitch Along for the Ride

Like Andrew Sullivan, Christopher Hitchens is someone whose intellect I've always admired, even if I frequently disagree with him. Well, he just came out for Obama. Quite a stance, especially given his normal political stance.


While the column read more about him being against McCain rather than for Obama, it's telling the fact that so many "thinking" conservatives are fleeing the sinking ship that is the McCain/Palin campaign. And like so many others, Palin was the final heave ho.

I'd Forgotten About This

Busy day at work today which has kept me from blogging as much as I'd like. But here's a quick video of something that I had seen at the time, but completely forgotten. Eerily prophetic:

+1

Earlier this week I shared my story of getting my parents to vote for Obama.

Here's another, far better, story.

Yes. We can.

Tell It Barack!

Music of the Times

Lyrics of "Hero of War" from Rise Against's new album. Whatever your opinion, you can't say it isn't inspired by the times. And if the brutality and soft morals of American adventurism of the past six years is doing anything, it's showing the gruesome reality of war to a new generation of Americans.

---------------------------------

He said, "Son,
Have you see the world?
Well, what would you say
If I said that you could?
Just carry this gun and you'll even get paid."
I said, "That sounds pretty good."

Black leather boots
Spit-shined so bright
They cut off my hair but it looked alright
We marched and we sang
We all became friends
As we learned how to fight

A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's flag that I love
And a flag that I trust

I kicked in the door
I yelled my commands
The children, they cried
But I got my man
We took him away
A bag over his face
From his family and his friends

They took off his clothes
They pissed in his hands
I told them to stop
But then I joined in
We beat him with guns
And batons not just once
But again and again

A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's flag that I love
And a flag that I trust

She walked through bullets and haze
I asked her to stop
I begged her to stay
But she pressed on
So I lifted my gun
And I fired away

The shells jumped through the smoke
And into the sand
That the blood now had soaked
She collapsed with a flag in her hand
A flag white as snow

A hero of war
Is that what they see
Just medals and scars
So damn proud of me
And I brought home that flag
Now it gathers dust
But it's a flag that I love
It's the only flag I trust

He said, "Son, have you seen the world? Well what would you say, if I said that you could?"

I Can Have Fun with Numbers Too

From old-buddy Karl Rove's latest on WSJ Online:

Say "only a few percent of small businesses" will get taxed when 663,000 small enterprises are in the top 5%.

He was speaking about Obama's tax plan in regards to its handling of credits and tax increases on small business. That's great Karl, and 663,000 is a large number. That's a little over 13,000 businesses per state. However, the over 95% encompasses 12+ MILLION small businesses that would see credits or tax decreases.

Not that worrying about the few as opposed to the many has ever stopped a Republican argument.

Washington Times, the Distortion Continues

Ok, maybe that is unfair. We shouldn't hold the entire paper responsible for one poor column from Donald Lambro.

I can however, take issue with that article's content:

At that plan's core is a raft of draconian tax increases on critical components of the nation's economy - tax increases that have been an integral part of his party's "grow the government" prescriptions for decades.

Obviously as opposed to the Republican efforts over the last twelve years to....shrink....the government? Under successive Republican congresses and two terms of a Republic administration, the power of the United States government has grown by leaps and bounds. Unless, of course, you are the executive of a Forture 500 company, in which case you will be able to do what you want, when you want, without fear of oversight or reprisal.

In the debate on Tuesday, John McCain put a lovely cherry on top of all that "small" government by stating that the United States government should buy all the diseased mortgages in the country. Because making the USG the largest single mortgage holder in the land is small government.

This meme about Democrats being for "big" government and Republicans being for "small" government needs some redefining. Conservative government, left or right, is for small government. There is not, however, a true conservative running for any ticket on the national level that I have been able to find. So let's give this nonsense a rest, shall we?

No? You need it to force a narrative to get elected? Okay then.

The Silliness of "Palling Around"

Gail Collins in the New York Times has a column laced with sarcasm that shows the absurdity of the "palling around" argument being pushed by the McCain campaign.

Everytime Palin Mentions Ayers

someone was a *60's* radical, and who hadn't done anything untoward in decades when Obama met him, someone should ask her to respond to this video, detailing the Alaskan Independence Party, of which she was a supporter, and her husband was a member:

Taking a Step Back

While this blog is dedicated to the news, and more specifically the political sphere that surrounds the United States, sometimes you need to take a step back.

Just a quick note to say that I'm currently listening to the new Brian Eno/David Byrne collaboration "Everything that happens will happen today". It is fantastic. Eno atmospherism combined with the best of Byrne's pop sensibilities.

The Daily News, Opposite of Prophetic

The New York Daily News has a feature on it's website which allows you to see the headlines in 1973. Here is the link to the lead item, "Ceasefire A Special Report Vietnam's Lesson".

Money Quote:

But one sure fact arises amidst the confusion and the uncertainties: The U.S. has laid down its policeman's club, at least for this generation, and perhaps not even in the next generation will American GIs be shipped out to fight another man's brush fires.

Not only did we as a people not learn that lesson, some of the individual architects of the Vietnam War didn't learn either.

Obama's Best Moment

What, No Handshake

"That one.."

Not shaking Obama's hand at the end.

Frankly, I don't care. It's ticky tacky stuff. It will keep the TV heads busy, but generally meaningless. On the issues, on the points, and on style, it was Obama's night. McCain needed to tie to even have a chance of turning public opinion. It didn't happen.

Live Blogging the Debate

10:37 - Obama. Hands down. Anyone who watched knows it. On points, style, substance, connection. Every superlative you want to name. I though the first debate was a draw, but this is a clear win for Obama. Only the polls will show, but if they even agree with me slightly, the McCain candidacy is over.

10:32 - Obama makes very personal connections to the growth of an individual through the American dream.

10:30 - I almost found myself tuning out all that fear mongering. That was fantastically designed to provide some sound bites for the punditry. On both sides.

10:24 - Wow, maybe I was wrong. McCain echoes on the follow up Obama's thrust regarding energy being a key to checking Russian power.

10:22 - Not a strong answer from Obama on Russia. He's going to need some help from Biden on this issue. I do like his constant reinforcement of the judgement quality though.

10:18 - This is the first time in a long time that the Democratic candidate for President doesn't sound like a policy wonk. He's in command of the facts, of the issues, but he's not bogging down in random points like McCain is.

10:11 - McCain, you think it's wrong to announce you're going to attack a country. Like..."bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"?

10:06 - Dude, John, you are not my friend. If you are, think I could get a loan? And now he says we need a cool hand. Yes, yes we do. That hand is on the stage. Only it's not you.

10:00 - Fantastic job of Obama linking Iraq to our national debt and current governmental financial crunch. We DO need that money.

9:56 - Obama brings up a personal connection to the right to healthcare. Fantastic.

9:53 - This whole fining of parents without health insurance was handled and debunked in the primaries. Then again so was Ayers.

9:49 - I'm officially tired of the drilling talk. It takes YEARS to build oil rigs, offshore and land based. It's not a quick solution.

9:44 - Anyone else get the feeling McCain is trying to choke down saying something like "new fangeled" when taking about emerging energy technologies?

9:36 - And McCain takes the gloves off. The rules didn't allow Barack to respond to that nonsense. That's exactly what it is. Nonsense. Obama takes the initiative to outline his tax plan on the next answer. McCain tried a snide "well I'll answer the question line". That might have worked, except your VP candidate ignored format and questions during her debate.

9:34 - The CNN dials are flat lining when the candidates throw digs at each other. It's going to be necessary to do so, but it is reinforcing the notion that this is an issue...ISSUE...based election.

9:32 - Obama challenging Americans to service and sacrifice for the greater public good. He's really going for a JFK style evening.

9:30 - So let me get this McCain line straight, we can attack everything at once, but we need a spending freeze in the process?

9:26 - Obama knew the local price of gas. That's a "gallon of milk" moment out of the Clinton playbook. Linking the challenge of energy independence to JFK's challenge to go to the moon. That's a line I've been using while personally stumping for Obama to friends and colleagues...this is a country that can do anything. Let's challenge ourselves...if not now, when?

9:21 - Did McCain just address McCain-Feingold when he's currently in breach of some of its provisions? Naturally. Then says "you have to look at our plans for our proposals for our economy". I think the point of the last few weeks John is that you don't have one.

9:15 - "You're not interested in hearing politicans point fingers..." Exactly.

9:08 - McCain coming out solution based, have to say, not a bad answer. What is with Republicans mentioning making money on eBay?

9:05 - First question on economic solutions. Obama talks about executive compensation, and the CNN opinion dials hit the roof. This is a country that hates predatory capitalists right now.

9:02 - Brokaw is on, we're about to begin

T-Minus 90 Minutes

As I ready my Hitchens-Style debate kit, I just got off of a long phone call with my parents. These were die-hard Clinton supporters, of both Bill and Hillary. After she lost the primary, both were committed to voting for McCain. It wasn't a race issue for them. They honestly believed in the narrative of John McCain and in his experience. Now, however, they have become not just Obama voters, but vocal supporters. The pick of Palin, his media stunts, the constant drama, and his nasty tone have turned them off.

During the Bush elections, it was hard for me to imagine who a swing voter actually was. Who could be undecided between Bush and, well, anyone else. But this election has been less clear. These nameless faceless people who have yet to make up their mind, who are likely voters, who are constantly wooed by both sides, who exactly are they? But here are two voters, whom I know personally, that in this election were in that category. And McCain just lost them.
It's easy to dismiss, after all, they are just two voters. Polls show though that nationwide, one by one, two by two, people are making up their minds. And they are making the choice for true change.

This is an important moment for me, when the numbers become personal. I'm happy they've made this choice. Happy that others like them are doing the same. Confident that we can do this thing.

Yes. We can.

McCain's Base Even Thinks Negative is a Negative

Rich Lowry at NRO:

Otherwise, the race might take on the cast of the 1992 campaign. In the midst of economic discontent, George H.W. Bush ran against Bill Clinton on character and experience. Clinton pledged to fix the economy. Bush had little or nothing to offer the middle class, while Clinton (like Obama this year) promised those voters a tax cut.

So, by all means, McCain should highlight Obama’s troubling friendships, but he has to be careful. If it’s the candidate of “change” versus the candidate of “change the subject,” he’ll lose in an electoral landslide.

Full article here.

Remember, this is his BASE talking. There's time left, but it looks like the realization of a loss, and possibly a big one, is starting to hit the extended Right apparatus.

Where Once There Was Maverick McCain

John Heilemann has a good piece in New York Magazine regarding the destruction of the "Straight Talk" brand.

When the dust has settled from this election books will inevitably be written about the candidacies of John McCain and Barack Obama. Should McCain lose, one of the more interesting facets of the post-mortem is how a man beloved and shielded by the press for the better part of a decade has been taken to pieces by the very hand that fed him for so long.

Hi, I'm Pot, You're.....Kettle?

Words fail.

Fear the Crisis, Hipsters and Hobknobbers

I have a touch and go enjoyment of the Freakonomics group, but here's something that brings the crisis home to a certain group of Americans.

No US Money for Foreign Mistakes

MSNBC has an article that gives a quick synopsis of the problem affecting the global financial markets. While it doesn't affix a specific blame, by title and writ it does try to insinuate that the bailout will not be enough to fix the problems currently affecting world wide markets.

I can't be more adamant about the fact that our money should NOT be used to bail out foreign banks.

Of course the hesitance of many domestic lenders to accept bailout money is the stipulations that are then activated on executive compensation. When do we see an article in the MSM about that?

Burning the Midnight Oil Without Debate Depravation

For those of you unfortunate enough to be chained to thine desks tonight, web video start-up Hulu will be streaming the debates live. Lots of unimpeded Mavericky, Changey goodness.

I'll also be live blogging the debate, and later today will include a link with some of my other favorite debate live blogging commentators.

If Only He Were Right

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan, found a link to this op-ed from Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post.

Essentially, is the media going to be complicit in the attempt by the McCain campaign to change the narrative away from issues over to character? With the debate tonight, and the mud geared up the past few days, it looks like it is going to be something of a perfect storm.

One Positive of the Financial Crisis

Oil has fallen to $90 a barrel.

Interesting how that price can easily be adjusted when our economy is soft, but rises steadily when it is believe we have money to burn.

Palin = Bush, cont...

Noam Scheiber has a fantastic article in which he lays out more evidence of what, in my opinion, could be the worst feature of an administration including Palin: her abuse of power every time she's held it in the past. Worth reading.

This is a money quote for me:

The group's efforts reflected a kind of establishment delusion--the hope that if you just surround the rough-hewn outsider with the right advisers and submerge her in the proper environment, she'll eventually assimilate.

Sound like someone else?

60 Minutes Still Relevant

I owe most of my political awareness to my father, a high school history teacher. Every evening we would have one of the major news programs on, and his narration would provide context and commentary to topics that I hadn't yet the intelligence or experience to grasp. Without fail, each Sunday, we would watch 60 Minutes. Their anchors always had the gravitas to enrapture even a young mind, and Andy Rooney was more than fun to disagree with (my furor at his post-Cobain suicide rant prompted the only letter I've ever written to him). As I grew up, and my boyish love of American Football took up more of my Sunday's, I often found myself missing the show. However this Sunday I made sure to watch, and was rewarded with a fantastic story.

The True Story of Tora Bora was an extended interview and demonstration with "Dalton Fury", an Army Major who was the commanding officer of the Delta Force team in the Afghan mountains during the infamous Tora Bora hunt of Bin Laden. His brave admission of what he saw as his own failure to capture or kill UBL when he was but 2000 meters away was striking in this era of 0-accountability. What was far more interesting, though, was his explanation of the lack of will on the part of our Afghan allies, and how Delta Force's plans to hit Bin Laden from the rear door of the mountains were continuously rejected from higher up the food chain.

I won't rewrite the entire piece here, as it is worth watching. However, two points stuck out to me:

1. The small size of the Delta Force was referenced repeatedly. It's not a stretch to make the connection between those references and the overall lack of military support during the Tora Bora operations.

2. The insinuation that the denial of workable assault plans with good ground intelligence came from higher up the command chain, including into the civil administration. Wasn't one of the lessons of Vietnam the fallacy of micro-managing ground commanders?

"Dalton" also has a book out, Kill Bin Laden, which I will certainly be picking up.

Good Job Boys..

Very well done.

Say it again Billy.

Disqualifying Palin

I knew she had no national experience. I know she was all style, little substance. I knew she had been accused of corruption. I knew she is a terrible politico-liar.

When asked though, why she is such a deal breaker for me, and why I find her so dangerous, take the following two quotes, one from the debate last night, and another from her term as mayor of Wasilla:

"I’m the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can’t."

-and-

"I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are."

After the past eight years of Cheney, we get someone with an attitude and view like this? No. Way. Not again. No way, No how. Get it? Got it? Good.

NYC Cop Who Abused His Power Found Dead

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/02/national/main4494139.shtml

I was going to write something snarky and juvenile about police here. But you know what, I really am sorry for his family, as losing a son, brother, and husband is a terrible thing to bear.

That being said, he really did abuse his power, and more importantly, abused a citizen while in a position of authority. The NYPD has essentially encouraged these types of actions for decades by turning a blind eye to them. What changed this time? A camera was around. More and more the abuses of the NYPD are coming to light via citizen video. At some point I hope there will be another "Serpico" type moment, when the department is, at least for a little while, reigned in and cleaned up.

As a family member of a police officer, I understand that it is a difficult job. I also understand the value of a police force (once I grew out of my teenage fascination with anarchy). Like all things in government, however, when power overtakes protection as the overarching priority, something needs to change.

I Really Should Have Gone to a Better College

So I could be a total disaster at my job and still get paid a six figure salary, be terrible at my job again, and yet still garner sympathy. A promising old-boy entrepreneur has started a camp to allow CEOs and other executives a place to "bounce back from this crisis while maintaining balance in their professional and personal lives..".

Want balance? How about repaying some of the karma by working in a homeless shelter, or a soup kitchen, or even just donating more than your tax-shelter share of parachute money to charity?

Perhaps I'm being novel, or naive, but could some of that imbalance be attributed to guilt?

Palin vs. Biden....

Well since I haven't blogged in five months I might as well jump on the bandwagon story of the day (at least until the Dow drops another 400 points).

Pundits, politicians, and the related ilk are all going to be arguing their side today. Republicans will say Palin won (or at least, that she didn't lose), and Democrats are going to say Biden was the clear winner. I don't think anyone really "wins" these debates, seeing as how a scorecard doesn't matter in the face of public opinion. But if the measuring stick is public opinion, post-debate polling seems to show that Biden won. That's all to be taken with a grain of salt, and is probably directly related to the rise 0f poll numbers for the Obama/Biden ticket overall.

If that is true, though, and Biden's substance did win over Palin's style, then we are finally seeing the payoff of what Obama has been speaking of since the early primaries. After sixteen years (at least that I can remember) of style, and posturing, and sound bites trumping substance, we as a country may have come full circle. The realization that the people in charge actually have to know what they are talking about rather than look like they know has been a long time coming in American politics. Unfortunately it's taken the loss of thousands of American lives, and trillions of American dollars to get us to that point.

In the end, this debate won't really change anything. But hopefully it will reinforce the growing notion that competence is once again a bare minimum requirement for the highest offices in the land.

Maddow or Matthews?

So who is right, Rachel Maddow or Chris Matthews?

Punditry will be tearing over every stray Hillary hair for the next few weeks as they wait for a true concession speech. But will the fighter keep shadow boxing?

And I'm Back.

So I took a few days off from reality for my birthday (and now my liver is taking a week off in retaliation). While I was semi-comatose, Hillary won, Obama Spoke, and Edwards....was not in the new.

In other words, over the course of three days, the world didn't change very much at all. I have a ton of catch up reading to do, posting more later today.

Obama/Gore....Longer Wait than 08

It's a nice theory. However, the bad blood being built up over this campaign between the Clinton and Obama camps make any association with one, even in the future, a disavowal of the other. Gore's loyalty won't allow him to go there. However, the fact that he hasn't endorsed the wife of his former office-mate speaks quite a bit as to which candidate he supports.

Besides, who wants to be a three time bridesmaid and not be the bride?

Vote the Movement, Not the Man

Politico has a quick but interesting analysis of an Obama interview here.

While partisan-entrenched Democrats are sure to run for the hills as soon as Obama mentions himself in the same sentence as Ronald Reagan, he brings up a point that is something I, among other supporters need to answer for. If we succeed the point that he isn't the most experienced candidate, can we still stand on the legs of a general movement for which he is the symbol...or is that too close to a President Bush's American-Style Cult of Personality?

Huckabee, Oh, My God - A Response

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for this video.

As the Good Mike knows, while the Lord hath a commandment against lying, there is no commandment against spinning.

Oh, Come, We're Old Friends

President Bush negotiates for more oil (and lower prices).

Maybe there wasn't much to that House of Saud, House of Bush theory. Then again, sometimes you have to kiss the ass of your dad's friends to do you a favor. This is what passes for diplomacy in the Bush Administration.

*Cough* Oh I know.

This is me being smug.

Slate: Debunking Experience

Timothy Noah at Slate has an article debunking the myth of Hillary, She-Of-All-That-Experience.

Key Quote:
"...various colleagues have argued (see here, here, and here) that Clinton has sufficient experience under her belt to be president. I agree, but that's not the right question. The more urgent question is: Where the hell does she come off claiming superior experience?"

Italics mine. It's the key issue she has run the base of her primary campaign on. Timothy argues, as I have frequently, that being First Lady doesn't count as experience, at least not as she argues it. I'm not denigrating the position or her gender, but fast forward some years, would anyone buy that Laura Bush is an acceptable candidate because of her experience?

Political Ads, Al Franken Style

Since one video is never enough, here's Al Franken's new campaign ad.

Predictably funny, but how will it play?

Wexler Calls for Cheney Impeachment

Note the time in the top right corner. If Madam Speaker wanted any importance attached to this request, maybe she would have slotted it for sometime during regular business hours?

Further Evidence of Why I Won't Believe in an NH Conspiracy

Ars Technica, probably one of the greatest sites for real tech analysis on the web, has a great post on why the NH Conspiracy theories need to take a rest.

Money Quote 1:
"The Internet is full of people who have four things that make them dangerous, both to would-be election fraudsters and (paradoxically) to the larger cause of election integrity: computers, intermediate math skills, a mix of patriotic and entrepreneurial zeal, and the ability to publish in the blink of an eye."

Money Quote 2:
"The larger the cloud of numbers and statistical analyses grows, the less inclined reporters will be to actually download a spreadsheet and tackle the data themselves. They're just going to report what this or that group has uncovered, especially if it's juicy."

Bloggers blogging about other bloggers blogs, still the knock against most online "reporting" being taken seriously as anything other than mass published op-ed (yours truly included).

The Devolution will be sponsored by Microsoft.

Not that Mark Mothersbaugh has ever been accused of being anti-corporate, but here's where art ends and the need to eat begins.

Huckabee, Oh, My God.

No, really.

I tried to come up with a joke. Pretty hard actually. Some of them were even fat jokes.

But jokes are what I made about Bush being a Born Again Delusionist (I mean Christian) the first time around, and no one every took me, or them, seriously. So let's just start taking a persons superstitions, oops...religion, into account when they are running for the highest office in the land.

I will not believe in conspiracy

I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy I will not believe in conspiracy

While I believe in the power of numbers, I also know you can make them say anything, even if your analysis is good and your heart/head are in the right place. So I treat things like this with the skepticism they should receive.

When it comes right down to it, a leading primary contender COULDN'T be that stupid. Right?

If numbers could talk

What would they say? How about this?

Miss the important number? 236,723.

As in "the number of people who came out to vote just to say no one they liked was on the ballot".

As in "I got up in the freezing cold, went out and voted, just to tell my party to cut the crap and give me a candidate I like."

As in "this was so important to me that I'd rather vote for a generic Democrat in my own f*cking primary rather than vote for her."


Thanks to Wonkette for primary results image.

John Kerry with a Voice

If only he'd been able to talk like this during his campaign.....who am I kidding, he still would have lost. However, it is still stunning to see a man who, just a few years ago the Democratic nominee for president, going against the moves of the DNC and their effort to have Hillary elected president.

Shot across the bow:
"Here’s the bottom line. I understand people gut it out to win on Election Day. But certain tactics make victory pyrrhic – empty – hollow – and it’s not worth winning if you lose what really counts in the process. And you know what, if the Culinary Workers had backed someone besides my choice in this race - Barack Obama - I’d still say it’s right for every candidate to make sure these workers get to vote."

My birthday is soon....

in two days actually. And while I've decided not to celebrate it this year (I have issues turning my soon to be age), if anyone wanted to buy me this, I wouldn't complain very much.

AS sums it up for me

and succinctly at that:

"My case amounts to concerns that she would entrench a cynicism in politics that's wrong for the times, that her polarization and trust issues are insurmountable, and that eight years in a White House should be enough for any power couple."

And he's a conservative. The fact is that I do not, like many Righties and some Lefties, believe that Hillary is evil, or a criminal, or even wrong in her convictions. I think she is a person with tremendous intellect and ideals, but ultimately, is a leftover from a by-gone era of cultural struggle between two different political philosophies.

Though their ultimate expression is still in the White House, the partisan wars of the 90's are, for the most part, over. And while Hillary still tries to win old battles, Obama wants to begin his Marshall plan for American politics.

It's been awhile, so let's talk about killing cops.

Thanks to Scott, I found a great music bootleg site, That Truncheon Thing. While digging through their archives and sampling fond music of yester-year, I came across an interesting cover, Arcade Fire doing The Clash's Guns of Brixton. While I'm a fan of AF, and a rabid devotee to the posing kids from South London, this cover kind of left me cold.

The minutes weren't wasted though, as the lack of Paul's accent allowed to me to really think about the first few lines of Guns of Brixton:

"When they kick out your front door, How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head, Or on the trigger of your gun.
When the law break in, How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement, Or waiting in death row
You can crush us, You can bruise us,But you'll have to answer to Oh, Guns of Brixton"

Obviously, about taking the law into your own hands, if the cops try to take it out of yours. A great example of anti-establishment Clash, this is seen as a classic from the band, and in the genre as a whole. Funny though, that I've never heard the stigma and furor attached over those lyrics, which are an obvious paen to shooting an officer of the law, as I have to these:

"I got my black shirt on, I got my black gloves on, I got my ski mask on.
This shit's been too long, I got my twelve gauge sawed off, I got my headlights turned off.
I'm 'bout to bust some shots off.
I'm 'bout to dust some cops off."

True enough, Ice-T's Cop Killer is a bit more aggressive. But as the rest of the song will say, it's more about taking back rights that have been rendered forfeit because of the color of his skin, rather than just going on a random killing spree.

In the end, what's the difference between the songs, and why the notable difference in the outcry? Was the murder of police officers more accepted twenty years earlier? Was the culture difference between the UK and the USA so great that this type of thing raised no eyebrows? Or was it because while you can be poor and angry, if you're poor, black, and angry you frighten the crap out of people.