I called my Republican mother tonight, out of the blue, so that she and I could talk about stuff that’s been going on in my life, and in hers, and it ended up being a great talk.  We laughed and laughed and agreed on tons of stuff.

So then I turned the topic of conversation to politics, by asking, “So, what do you think of Obama’s veep choice?”.  And she surprised me.  She said, “I like Joe Biden well enough.  He seems to be a good man and he’s got wonderful credentials.”

She continued, “I received an email from a Republican source that showed Biden in the debates last year saying that Obama is young and not ready to be President.  It reminded me of Bush and Cheney, but I think Biden is a better man than Cheney.”

Well, as you can imagine, my socks almost got knocked off by THAT remark!

My mother even admitted she likes Biden for his history, his personal story, his dedication, and his knowledge.  So I then asked, “Who do you think McCain is going to counter with, as HIS veep?”

She thinks McCain has to look more conservative now.  Romney might not be the right choice.  But she doesn’t like any of the other choices and ended with:  “Well, Romney is a Mormon, but at least Mormons believe in God.  We ALL believe in the same God, right?”.

Another socks-off moment for me!

My mom admitted she is no fan of McCain, nor of Romney, but my mom also admitted that for her, it’s the platform -- conservative v liberal.  She doesn’t believe in liberal.

I found this entire conversation to be most interesting.  She knows how I loves me some Obama, she knows how much I’ve donated to his campaign, and she loves the fact that I’m political and doing something more than just watching the news.  She admits that she wishes she could be as fervently passionate for HER candidate as I am for mine.  We agreed that the town hall format benefits McCain but we were also able to agree that when everyone sees the two candidates side by side on television for the first real debate, Obama is gonna look more Presidential.  She says she’s worrying a bit. 

I hung up happy tonight.

Anyone else talking with Republicans lately?  If so, add your comments.  I’d love to read them.

Oh, and…..good night, Mommy.  Sweet dreams to you too.

 

I can remember watching Bozo the Clown and Three Stooges shorts on the grainy black-and-white TV at the home of my babysitter, Mrs. Eisenbeiss. But I cannot recall any specific images that flickered on that set, except the flag-draped coffin of a man everyone around me called The President.

I was raised in the Vietnam era among family that respected the flag, the presidency and the Democratic Party. My father had served in Okinamwa, my brothers Ed and Tom enlisted in the Army, and my uncle Earl returned late during the war as a decorated officer.

I was taught and punished when I did not by the nuns at Catholic school, fought with my siblings, built models of submarines, the starship Enterprise and the lunar lander. Occasionally, I also ran away from home with my belongings tied neatly in a handkerchief at the end of a stick, as I had learned was the style of every hobo worth his salt. I never got more than two blocks before turning back or being caught.

On the color TV that graced our living room, I twice in one year saw people scrambling to help very important men who had been shot. One was a very good black man, I learned. The other was a very good white man who was brother to The President I had seen buried not so long before. All three had helped immense numbers of people.

Around the fifth grade, I became politically aware. Until that time, I was just naively patriotic like any kid. I loved the president, whoever that happened to be at the time. I loved my country. And I loved the hats my father brought home one day, and I got to have one.

They were those white Styrofoam skimmers with red, white and blue ribbon encircling the crown just above the brim. I liked wearing mine and soon wore it out.

My hat had a McGovern/Eagleton '72 button stuck in it. That, I thought, was cool, too. These guys were on TV, and I had a little piece of their memorabilia in my buttoned skimmer.

Then I heard the anger in my father's voice and saw the disappointment in my mother's eyes when McGovern dumped Eagleton — a storied Missourian and U.S. senator — after the Republicans started ugly rumors about Eagleton's sanity in the wake of revelations that he had undergone shock therapy for depression years earlier.

At that point, I came to understand several things about politics.

First, that politics — like any competition for power — is harsh and no respecter of persons.

Second, that the GOP played dirty, always had and always would.

Third, that even though Missouri's favorite son was no longer considered worth having as a vice-presidential running mate, it was important to vote Democratic anyway.

And in the years that followed, I saw that Richard Nixon had no secret plan to end the war and no scruples to deserve the title of the man I had watched buried on that flickering black-and-white set at Mrs. Eisenbeiss's house. I saw Nixon resign in disgrace, brought down by two brilliant and lucky reporters.

I saw an earnest bumbler slog his way through difficult times only to lose to an earnest peanut farmer with so much concern for doing his best that he became lost in the details.

I saw an actor and ideologue with a common touch and no common sense destroy much of what government had achieved for America over 50 years.

I saw his vice-president ascend to power and fall from grace no more kindly and gently than he had ruled.

I saw a young governor proclaim hope, later give substance to his words and finally taste the ashes of scandal.

And in all this time, I have seen nothing that has ever changed the truth of those three lessons.

ONE HOUSE, ONE SPOUSE --- OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!

Best I've seen! Go Joe!!

McCain lives and breathes for crises. For a "3 AM" moment. Well, it happened.

We have had a real 3 AM moment - the Obama text message arrived on my iPhone at 3:09 AM EST. It is McCain's worst nightmare - other than his house gaffe. Oh by the way Joe has one house.

My guess is that the Rovians - in keeping with their disdain for "the One" - thought Barack would make a weak pick. Probably totally convinced themselves since they hate him so much that this newbie, lightweight would screw this up. I guess they missed the facts that "the One" beat Billary and he learned his politics in Chicago... and unlike McCain is really smart.

Instead he made the absolutely right pick - a strong, tough guy who is eminently qualified to be President with loads of positives and now the Republican "message" is trying to push the message that this shows Obama's weaknesses, "not ready to lead", not ready to be "Commander in Chief",  and he had to choose someone to shore up his campaign...blah, blah. McCain's press secretary even threw the plagiarism and law school standing out as well this AM. Oh boy! lets get that can of worms open....

Attacks so hard and fast tell me they are really, really afraid. Why ?

• First with all the things working against him he is stuck below 45 or 46% in all the polls and that is with his base support in the high 80's already. This is not a glass half full problem as the Republicans are spinning, it is half empty as they head into Minneapolis.

• Second, they needed a mistake from Obama and did not get one. Obama made a great pick showing his self confidence and the Chicago political savvy that took the Clintons down. This story line will sell - ie a President's job is to get the best people to work with him. He is in this to win.

• Third, if this was chess we would have a "check" situation. McCain the POW has created - to use a POW phrase - "tiger cage" for his own VP. Based on their own criteria and rules they need to be ready to lead, have foreign affairs creds and be commander in chief material - i.e. "ready on day one" to quote Hillary. If the VP choice lacks anything here how do you criticize Obama on these same terms?

McCain's 3 main picks lack all all or some of these criteria:

• Choose the bland and inexperienced Pawlenty and the "ready to lead" issue is moot - might even support a bad judgement riff on McCain. The age gap visually would also reinforce his 72 years.

• Choose the smarmy Democrat Lieberman and you'll have a war internally on your hands on his abortion and liberal views. The maverick off the reservation riff lights up. The base stays home and more than offsets the independents he attracts or some Jewish vote.

• Choose Mitt and Mormons and evangelicals don't mix, esp. in the south. Two rich out of  touch white guys and one is "different". This is the most damaging electorally. In the really close states this could tip the balance. It might get Nevada, but won't pull Michigan. Also Romney's attacks on McCain make the one video of Biden on Obama look like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

So does this let some others back in like Christ? or Portman? or Kantor? None of them seem ready to lead to me other than maybe Christ who is still just a first term governor. Are there others out there?

Meg Whitman? Great entrepreneur and leader but no relevant experience. Carly Fiorina? Her failure at HP is legendary and public and while she talks a good game she is a really poor choice.

Ridge is the only choice that makes sense but his pro choice views supposedly have already disqualified him.

If I were McCain I would choose Huckabee, but he will not. They dislike each other, Huckabee would shore up the base and evangelicals and protect him in VA, NC and GA . He is also a superb campaigner and communicator. Also would help in lots of other places due to the religious right.

A dozen states or more are going to be decided by a few points so every move carries major risk/rewards and McCain's choices are all bad at this point unless he really has something up his sleeve...and with a little luck the maverick might even make things worse.

McCain lost his moral compass and decided to try "celebrityboating" et al and now he is getting hit back. Joe will hit his friend hard. Politics ain't beanbags and Obama is from Chicago and understands that. Now that McCain has laid his marker on the negative campaign the gun is coming to the knife fight and Joe Biden will be wielding it.

So lets try a different list in looking at the way he addressed this key decision and what it shows about the man:

1) Responsibility - He chose a man ready to lead and be President if he were thrust into that role w/ proven knowledge and credibility

2) Judgment - His self confidence is secure to bring in an older and experienced expert, like Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and others have done to join his team and advise him in an area that he needs help

3) Management Discipline - it never leaked. Compared to the Bush White House or the Clinton's this is amazing and speaks to Obama's skills.

4) Control - the campaign owned us all all week and did things their way, again with total discipline, unlike anything I have ever seen.

5) Realism - he chose a man that will help build the voting majority he needs to win in certain states, demographics et al

6) Shrewd Politician - People are finally understanding that Obama plays to win and works that way.

7) Insider Politics - in order to govern and get things done Obama needs to get work done on the hill and Biden can get that done as a skilled legislator and insider.

The message of hope and change is only worth anything if he wins and Obama has acted responsibly to complete his ticket to accomplish his goal.

If you folks haven't figured it out yet you don't go from giving a speech 4 years ago to coming from 30 points down to beating the Clinton machine by being shallow and inept. That requires brains, discipline and a connection to the people that taps their needs.

Obama has done that and now he has put the last piece in place to sprint for victory.

I've been thinking for some time now that McCain would eventually play the "my son is serving in Iraq" card in this campaign.  Honestly, he would have had every right to play it.  Beau Biden heading to Iraq this fall takes that one out of his hand.

We were in the parking lot, loading our groceries in the trunk, when a local TV reporter came up and asked if we would speak on camera about Obama choosing Biden. "Ask him," my wife said. Fortunately I had read TPM this morning because it had been a busy day with little time for reflection.

So I said, "I thought Obama might go for Clinton, but I think Biden might be a good choice. Biden tends to reinforce some of the things that Obama was lacking in terms of foreign policy experience," and continued on about the warlike situation in the former Soviet Union. She paraphrased, "So you think Biden's experience makes up for Obama's age," and after a pause I said yes, although I didn't really like the way she phrased it.

Anyway we watched the local news, WTAJ, and they ran my quote from above, omitting the "warlike" part, then some fatalistic woman saying that, "Whoever's in charge is in charge and that's just twist of fate, that's how it's gonna go," and some gap-toothed fellow saying, "I don't think it's gonna hurt him, but I don't think it's any great help. I personally don't like Joe Biden."

Later, at another store, we ran into my wife's nephew, who served in Afghanistan, was called back, but seems to be out for good now. He's convinced that Obama is a Muslim and claimed it says so in his book. I read The Audacity of Hope, and that's a new one for me. The woman in front of us said choosing Clinton would have helped him more, but predicted that if he wins, someone will probably shoot him.

So Biden's Scranton roots might be a bit overrated, and Obama has his work cut out for him in carrying rural PA.

Allright guys, here is the latest NVP (Noun Verb POW) reference. Asked by Katie Couric about the 7 house gaffe, McCain pulled the POW Card, yet again.

Couric asked about McCain’s answer when Politico asked him about the number of homes he and his wife, Cindy, own. McCain referred the question to his staff, which said he had at least four. Records show the number could be twice that, depending on how you count the families properties.

“I am grateful for the fact that I have a wonderful life,” McCain said. “I spent some years without a kitchen table, without a chair, and I know what it's like to be blessed by the opportunities of this great nation

And, for Mr. Barack Obama is a celebrity, McCain played the humility card- not going to work.

Finally, Couric asked if he was sorry he had answer the question about houses the way he did.”

"I'll continue to say I am blessed and very proud that [his late father-in-law] ]Jim Hensley, a war hero, a man who barely graduated from high school, was able to pass onto his daughter what he struggled for and saved for. That's the ambition that all of us have for our children and grandchildren. f someone wants to disparage that, they are free to do that."

Damn it, I am about 37 degrees hot- that the MSM lets this kind of crap go without challenge. Can Obama innoculate himself from all the attacks, and say well you know I am black.

Here is the link to the story http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12754.html

"The Issue

The issue in this election is plain. The American people are called upon to choose between a Republican administration that has and would again regiment them in the service of privileged groups and a Democratic administration dedicated to the establishment of equal economic opportunity for all our people."

--from the Democratic Party Platform of 1936

That should read: "..... Asks Her All the 'Female' Questions"

Tonight on the special extended weekend version of Hardball with Chris Matthews, Chris Matthews showed that the man who made allusions to Hillary Clinton being castrating, and apologized for saying that she owed her Senate career to her husband's infidelity, is not dead.

Speaking directly to Rachel Maddow for the first time since the announcement of her new MSNBC show, he congratulated her for "snagging" a full hour for herself, and then talked about how challenging that was going to be. He then proceeded to ask her about Hillary's women supporters, and about the spouses of the Democratic ticket, commenting on their "double-date" look. Then, of course, was the discussion of Biden's work on the Violence Against Women Act, intimating that it was somehow discriminatory to single out violence against women! He tried to redeem himself by decrying the term "date-rape" but it was a pathetic attempt at a save

Joe Biden is the perfect attack dog to go after Sidney.  Not only can Joe go after Sidney on foreign policy, but he can also use his big mouth and outstanding wit to really define McCain. 

1.  He's a working class man and can talk about how out of touch Sidney is.  (Private plane?  I take Amtrak!)
2.  He's close to Sidney in age, and can effectively paint Sidney as confused and dithering (thus getting rid of the "ageism card"). 
3.  He's has more experience in foreign policy and can straight up say that Sidney is wrong on a particular issue, or manipulating the facts.
4.  He's got the balls to call Sidney out on the POW card.  (Look, I don't understand how being a POW relates to having 7 houses, but...)

I'm sure there's more, but my brain feels like mush right now.

Reply here

Obama's selection of Joe Biden does not bode well for how our country might deal with Russia under an Obama administration. It appears Biden is  in favor of NATO's continued encircling and strangling of Russia. Can anyone explain the rationale behind this policy?  Why is the United States so aggressive towards Russia? How is this policy in our interest? And, most importantly, are we willing to wage global nuclear war to carry out our policy?
  Still, inspite of Barack's and Biden's position, we are clearly better off with them at the helm than war monger McCain. At least they'll open up some political space for serious debate on this crucial matter.

After a corrected tally of the votes on the Great TPMCafe VP Prediction Thread of July 25, 26, and 27, I am pleased to announce that bloggers McCord, Jonze, and Tellinya correctly predicted Obama's selection of Joe Biden. Kudos to our great prognosticators.

The rest of us didn't do quite so well (myself included). After correcting the tally for a dangling chad and an overvote, we see that Biden was the 5th choice of avid TPM readers.

1. Kaine: 7.5
2. Richardson: 7
3. Sebelius: 6
4. Clinton: 4
5. Biden: 3
5. Bayh: 3

For the original posts, see

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/07/weekend-bloggers-join-the-obam.php

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/07/weekend-bloggers-kaine-romney.php

Perfect = Hillary/Obama or Obama/Hillary or Kucinich/Gravel or whatever other outcome you imagine would have made you happy even if in reality it had no real chance of ever happening or even if in reality it would have meant throwing the election to McCain.

Good = Obama/Biden

Evil = McCain/some-other-warmonger

You have to choose between Good and Evil. 

If you say that the Good and Evil choices aren't different enough to matter, then (a) you're lying for rhetorical effect but it only makes you look like a moron, and (b) you really are a moron, and (c) your choices are still only Obama or McCain, and either you're going to help get McCain elected or you're going to help get Obama elected.

Pick one.   Throw a little hissy fit first if you find it cathartic.  But then pick one of the two available options.

Two other AP writers are taking their turn on the tire swing :  

Biden's career provides grist for McCain's mill

In August 2007, three men who later became entangled in a Mississippi bribery scheme raised money for Sen. Joe Biden's run for president. A month later, two of the three were overheard in a phone call recorded by the FBI discussing federal legislation and a prospective meeting with Biden's brother, Jim.

It's unclear whether any meeting ever occurred or whether legislation was ever discussed, so the episode may mean little — except as an example of the potential political vulnerabilities that Barack Obama's running mate brings to the Democratic ticket.

Noun-verb-Keating 5.
Noun-verb-Keating 5.
Noun-verb-Keating 5.

OK, These are the queations:

1.  Who do you really, in your deepest, darkest soul, want McCain to choose?

2.  Who do you think he will choose?

3.  Funny answers

This is the most specific I've seen the New York Times come to linking Cindy Hensley McCain and her father Jim Hensley to this horrific crime. Hensley, through his mob connections, has ties back to the death of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles.

In their piece on Cindy McCain's fortune, are three very important paragraphs...

"Back in Phoenix, he and his brother, Eugene, went into the liquor business with Kemper Marley, a businessman who had cornered much of the market in Arizona after Prohibition ended.

In March 1948, a federal jury convicted both Hensleys of concealing sales of black-market liquor. Jim Hensley’s six month sentence was suspended. A second indictment, in 1953 for falsifying records to evade taxes, was dismissed.

The Hensleys bought a New Mexico horse track in 1952. Eugene Hensley’s role at the track led to lawsuits, tax-evasion charges and prison. In 1969, he sold out to a mob-connected company with close ties to Mr. Marley, according to published reports. (The Phoenix police named Mr. Marley as the man they believed ordered the 1976 assassination of Don Bolles, an investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic. Mr. Marley, who died in 1990, was never charged.)"

So it may just be time to revisit this question.

McCain also lied at Saddleback when he said Cindy every met Mother Theresa.
"The latest embellishments come from the McCain camp. Cindy McCain has repeatedly referred to herself as an “only child.” This week came news that she actually has two half sisters, although apparently she had very little contact with them...Mother Teresa was not at the orphanage when Cindy decided to bring the two girls home." The article does not clear up this fact.

McCain is hoping his supporters stay dumb, and don't have the time, will or knowledge to discover who he really is.

With the Biden attack ad, and the fact he is so quick to go negative, today he showed yet again he has no new ideas or reasons to be our president.

Well, the only way to deal with the junkyard bully is to kick his etc.



For McCains, a Public Path but Private Wealth
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/us/politics/23mccain.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

Matt Welch
http://www.mattwelch.com/archives/2007/12/23-week/

Haunted By Spirits
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-02-17/news/haunted-by-spirits/full

Don Bolles Dies; Maimed Reporter
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40717F83C5A167493C6A8178DD85F428785F9&scp=3&sq=Don%20Bolles&st=cse

A Reporter's Death Puts a State on Trial
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40614F93B5A12728DDDAB0894DB405B8084F1D3&scp=6&sq=Don%20Bolles&st=cse

The anatomy of a reporter's murder; The investigators
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10913FA3D5815768FDDA90A94DA405B878BF1D3&scp=10&sq=Don%20Bolles&st=cse

Putting Heat on the Sunbelt Mafia
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914845-3,00.html
"As law-abiding citizens have flocked to the good life of the fabled Sunbelt, so too have mobsters. Mingling with the native criminals, they have combined the worst of both worlds: Joey Gallo in a Stetson. The rackets are flourishing, most visibly land fraud. Says Arizona's assertive attorney general, Bruce Babbitt: "We've been entranced by our own rhetoric about everyone's right to do his own thing. This is the last stronghold of totally free enterprise, good, bad or indifferent."


John McCain, Warts And All. A Look At The Candidate's Mob Ties
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/cin_WARTS%20AND%20ALL.htm

John McCain - Married To The Mob
http://www.democrats.com/john-mccain-married-to-the-mob

From - The Arizona Republic.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0516ruelas16.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter6.html

Sen. McCain Wants To Be President
http://www.usvetdsp.com/story22.htm

Brother: Wives handle McCain finances
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12730.html
"John McCain’s wife Cindy McCain takes the lead when it comes to the couples’ finances, confirmed Joe McCain, John's brother."

A truly appalling hit piece on the Biden nod.
Josh put it best

Courtin'

Ron Fournier riding hard on the tire swing.

--Josh Marshall

MoveOn's organizing the blowback

Can you email AP reporter Ron Fournier and CC his boss, Managing Editor Mike Oreskes? Tell them that the public's faith in the 160-year-old AP will be gone if Ron Fournier is allowed to continue his slanted articles against Democrats and for McCain.

Here are their emails:

Michael Oreskes, AP Managing Editor, mOreskes@ap.org
Ron Fournier, AP reporter and Washington D.C. Bureau Chief, rfournier@ap.org

http://pol.moveon.org/emails/ap_fournier.html

FAUX News just showed the results of their latest opinion poll showing that Obama has closed the gap a little with Evangelicals. July 22-23 showed John McCain up 65% to 18%. Now it is 55% to 26%.

Not a game changer, but really good news. Anytime you can get #s like that going in your favor, its a good thing. I'm excited, are you?

Was just checking out the 3-day gallup poll for today, which has Obama up by +2 and McCain stuck at 44%.  This is the last of their polls that will not include Biden announcement.  So it will be interesting to see if Obama starts to get any bounce from Biden, although it will be mixed with the convention which starts Monday.

What caught my eye was the their data on the bounce that conventions get.  The average bounce is 5%, but last election Kerry got a -1% bounce and Bush only got a 2% bounce.  I didn't know that Kerry actually lost traction as result of the convention,.  Gallup predict a less than average bounce this year as well.

Because of the Democratic primary being so long and contentious, most people from both parties have already made up their minds, as opposed to the days past with no world wide web, 24 hour news cycles, etc and the conventions were people's first take on each of the candidates.

With the Gallup poll showing consistently nearly half of the undecideds volunteering a "neither" response, I would expect that the Obama/Biden will get a 3-4% bounce, and McCain, getting branded with the Republican brand a 1% bounce at best.

I just think it's important that the meme about the realistic bounce from the Dem Convention gets out there in the media.  It's not a game-breaker, but if Obama has +5% or +6% lead after the convention than he has been successful (and this would mean that he is getting 49% to 50% as compared to McCain's 44%).

So Obama has finally chosen a VP.  Senator Biden is a weak choice in some ways, a strong one in others... which is true of anyone else Obama could possibly have chosen.  Unless he could have gotten Superman to run with him, or something... and even then, the right would find SOMEthing to bitch about --

OBAMA: -- so I present a friend to us all, our protector, the greatest hero in the history of the world, a man who has countless times saved the entire planet Earth from dire peril, a man regarded with admiration by sentients throughout the multiverse, Superman, as my Vice Presidential nominee.

SEAN HANNITY:  What, the alien?  Does he have a birth certificate?  One that isn't forged, I mean?

RUSH LIMBAUGH:  Can't trust him.  He swears by Rao.  By RAO.  What is that, some kind of Islamic prophet?  No.  No.  No.

BILL O'REILLY:  I have nothing against Superman of course but first it's important to understand that he has absolutely no political experience whatsoever, and second, in his secret identity he's a member of the liberal mainstream media.  A bleeding heart.


ANN COULTER:  The United Nations has made him an honorary citizen of every nation on the globe so by definition he's simultaneously an Islamofascist, a Communist, North Korean, Chinese, Iranian, and Russian.  I swear if Superman is Obama's Vice Presidential pick I will have no choice except to campaign for Hillary Clinton who is more American than either of them.

MICHAEL SAVAGE:  I was going to talk about Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Superman today, but I understand I'm not allowed to use the word 'faggot'... wait, that's Ann Coulter's line, sorry.  I do understand that Superman fathered a child out of wedlock right before he abandoned us all for five years to visit a distant galaxy.  That's what the Democrats mean by personal responsibility, folks.

Well. After watching the veep rollout. I think I speak for alot of people when I say WOW. I honestly believed that the primary depiction Hillary and her camp painted Obama (aloof, professorial,elite) was starting to wear on him- on those not commited to him and not smart enough to read up on this bio. And you have this old man who was a POW (as we are reminded daily), who although republican and would follow Bush to the tee  is a safer choice.

I was telling my father this morning, that this has got to be the most Veep pick in recent memory. I think many people were ready for change, but good change, and were not sure if Obama was stary eyed and didn't realize what he was getting himself into. This pick, is a reassurance pick.

Biden may not be as known as Clinton, but then again who is, but he looks like a regular presidential pick- white,old. For all intents purposes, this kills 3 birds with one stone- reassurance, non-elitism, and foreign policy.

McCain can only talk tough and Obama, being the nice guy and respectable person he is, will NOT hit as hard as a Clinton or Biden. I think it has to do with an age issue. Sure, he hit Biden and others at the debates- but what the hell is .05% difference on health care- BORING. These are grand canyon size differences- and Obama could never get the message out as long as the A.P and MSM has A.D.D- and can only report on shiny objects-like Britney and Paris.

I am very energized by this pick. I think this is the ticket for success. I see this as a 51-48% partnership rather than the 60-40% partnership of previous Prez and V.P(except cheney where it was 99-1%). Obama gets the last word, but Biden will always get in his word. It's a great combo and it tells you not an arrogant guy he is. Honestly, did anyone see Hillary picking any of the contenders- highly doubt it, I bet as far as I can see, her Veep would have been Strickland or Bahy.

Five questions reporters might ask Joe Biden ... and the answers you'll never hear from his press secretary.

5. Mr. Biden, what's up with the hairplugs?

Have you ever considered that because the Senator's first wife was tragically killed in a car accident and the Senator bravely endured a horrific tragedy, he may have wanted to look good for his second wife?

4. Mr. Biden, have you had a change of heart about saying that Obama may not be ready for the presidency?

It is truly beyond the pale of civility when you question the Senator's integrity by suggesting that he, a survivor of a brain aneurysm, might now be inconsistent in his positions. 

3. Mr. Biden, are you guilty of being racially insensitive?

When Senator Biden was being sworn into the Senate at the hospital bedside of his critically ill sons, nobody questioned his sensitivity towards others.

2. Mr. Biden, what does it say about you that you plagarised some speeches 20 years ago?

Senator Biden has given many speeches from the heart, such as his eulogies for his deceased wife and infant daughter.

1. Mr. Biden, were you wrong to support the Iraq war?

Nearly 40 years ago, the Senator endured terrible, gut-wrenching hardships that have built his character and almost led him to drop out of the Senate. But the Senator provded he would always put his country ahead of narrow self-interest and has since become a true American hero. Therefore, the Senator's voting record must be viewed in the context that he always does what he thinks is the best thing for America. How dare you ask such impertinent questions!

Secretary of State: Susan Rice
Secretary of Defense: Jim Webb
Secretary of Commerce: Evan Bayh
Secretary of the Energy: Bill Richardson

No doubt, the ratings for those late night infomercials took a big hit.

Billy Mays' wallet will be a little lighter this week.

I'll be interested to hear what the strategy of dropping the news at around 1AM was (maybe, we were on target with our post yesterday).

Obama goes pragmatic and picks the Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden.

Good a choice as any, and infinitely better than one.

The MSM certainly added to the frenzy of yesterday, desperately picking over the limited, sparse clues (even noting the pronouns Obama was using), ramping up the tension ("any minute now"), employing Britney Spears-like stakeouts,  and all but stamping their feet in a tantrum, demanding Obama to spill the beans.

Christ, Stumblin Bumblin' John McCain could have gone out and bought another dozen houses yesterday and nobody would have noticed (and just wait, when the abode-laden Arizonian makes his VP choice, and the noise from the media isn't loud enough, we'll hear how, shame on the media, as a POW, he should have gotten more media for his selection).

It is said, of a presidential candidate, that their first major decision, the one you can evaluate them on, is their selection of a running mate.

Under that note, Obama aced it ...

He didn't go out and grab "Who the hell is that?", a choice that would have either strained the capacity of Google, or crash Wikipedia.

He didn't, much to the chagrin of the Right Wing Freak Show, choose his former pastor, the Reverend Wright, Jesse Jackson, or the Nation of Islam.

And, he didn't buckle, capitulate to the media, or fall into the trap of tapping TMFOITW on the shoulder, just to make the Clintonistas, the Grand Central Station Locker Creatures ("Hillary is back! The keeper of the light! All hail Hillary! All hail Hillary! Oh Hillary can you see by the dawn's early light...")  happy.

Their disappointment has long been telegraphed, to the point, they need occupational therapy, the cathartic roll call, just to justify that the "something can happen" sliver of hope they still hold, will deliver "something can happen" that will make their world right again.

Hang on to that folks, until, at least 2016.

Biden will be good for the campaign, comfortable slapping down Stumblin' Bumblin' Johnny, and not a risky choice that will have you worrying about November.

And, he did give us this, the de facto line of the primary campaign.

So, for the Obama-Biden ticket, here's an old gem ...

Go Get'em!

Terry Callier Ordinary Joe


Bonus Biden

Brilliant at Breakfast:  And So, it's Biden....Barack Makes His Choice...and it's Good!

BreitBart:  Biden speaks _ and speaks _ his own mind

Chris Cillizza:  Obama Picks Biden as V.P.


(Cross Posted at The Garlic)

When I visited HuffingtonPost.com's website first thing this morning, the first thing I saw was half a dozen blogposts up criticizing Joe Biden as a poor choice for Obama's VP.  (In all fairness, there are now as many praising him.)  But scanning the titles, I read that he was "no friend of the working class," that he had a big mouth, that he might be "Obama's Dick Cheney," and so forth.

Later that morning, a right-wing friend called me and complained that Rush Limbaugh was now praising John McCain, when this guy listens to Rush every day and KNOWS how much Limbaugh hates McCain.  (In fact I remember, during the primaries, when Limbaugh stated, flat-out, that to nominate John McCain would spell "the end of the Republican party.")

THIS is the difference between our two parties, and Democrats, it's time to grow up and get over ourselves.

I understand that there are many disgruntled Hillary supporters out there who have never trusted Obama, who think he somehow doesn't deserve his success, who think he's ill-prepared for the White House, but as my right-wing friend put it:  "There are many conservatives who can't stand McCain, and we've done our share of howling, but we're getting pretty quiet now."

Yes.  They are stifling their own doubts because they know that the single most important issue right now is WHO DO WE REALLY WANT IN THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE NEXT FOUR OR EIGHT YEARS?

Democrats pride themselves on their tolerance, and we LIKE the fact that we can argue amongst  ourselves while the Republicans come across as a bunch of robots.  But bloggers, especially, need to realize that it is not just people who can be counted on to vote Democratic in November who are reading our words.

Recently, I got into an argument with another right-wing friend about Obama, and we went back and forth by e-mail on this point or that point, and I would quote the NY Times and he would call it an Obama-rag, and then he would quote RightWingNews.com and present it as some sort of definitive word on the subject, and finally I said, "Look, I don't have time to argue with you about this.  Nothing I say--NOTHING--is going to change your mind about voting against Obama.  I could argue every day for months and that would never change.  I have to reserve whatever energies I have to persuade and convince the undecided voters who might be reading my words that Obama should be our next president."

He was scornful of that, claiming, "Aw, you just like to preach to the choir.  You don't want to have to argue anything very vigorously."

You gotta laugh.  I mean REALLY.

I said, "OBVIOUSLY you've never visited a progressive website!  All progressives ever DO is argue!  We've got the Hillary supporters who hate Obama; we've got the Independents who don't know WHO to trust; we've got whites and blacks who think a black really has no chance to get elected; we've got Naderites who refuse to believe they had anything to do with Al Gore's defeat in 2000; we've got all KINDS of opinions.  We're a rabble-rousing bunch, and not all of us can be depended upon to vote with the party."

He made some snide comment about how Republicans have "core values they don't depart from," which made me want to go into a screaming tirade about reproductive rights, the environment, climate change, health care, corporate evil, and so on, but I didn't because I DON'T HAVE TIME.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't agree with every single solitary little tiny thing Obama ever does.  I don't expect anyone to, and if they did, I'd worry about them.  And I'm not saying that we should never express those doubts or disagreements in public--and I know Obama wouldn't expect us to, either.

But this is crunch time, folks.

The conventions are upon us; school's about to start; and people who were too busy worrying about the price of gas over the summer are going to start paying attention to these two campaigns.  More and more people are getting their news and information online, and don't assume for a minute that the only people who read progressive blogs are progressives.

Right now, for the first time in my memory, we've got many, many disgruntled Republicans and even conservatives who believe in Obama and want to vote for him.  THEY'RE now reading these blogs.  My sister, who I tease as a "recovering right-winger," does not agree with everything I write by a long-shot but she reads all of it, and she is a strong Obama supporter.  There are many out there like her. 

There are also young people who have never cast a vote before and are looking for motivation to get out there and get registered to vote and show up on election day, not to mention actually volunteer for the campaign.  There are Independents who admire and respect John McCain and are having a tough time right now choosing between him and Obama because they honestly don't realize just how conservative McCain really is.  There are all sorts of people who turn to a place like HuffingtonPost.com and Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos to seek information and opinion.

Believe me, the so-called "liberal press" is doing quite a good job of trashing our candidate as it is.  First thing this morning, AP correspondent Ron Fornier put up a piece on the Yahoo news page called, "Biden Pick Shows Lack of Confidence."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080823/ap_on_el_pr/veepstakes_analysis

He opined that by going with an "ultimate Washington insider," Obama was abandoning his change-mantra and showing how spooked he was by the recent gains of McCain in the polls.

I supposed if Obama had picked Hillary, he'd've written, "Obama Has to Hide Behind Pantsuit of Woman to Save His Ass."

And if he'd gone for Evan Bayh, maybe, "Obama Goes for Nerd Vote By Choosing Running-Mate Who Parts His Hair in the Middle."

There will likely be a flood of such analysis over the next few days, competing with the undecided or wavering vote along with progressive news sites.

Do we want to join the chorus or counter it?

WHO THE HELL DO WE REALLY WANT IN THE WHITE HOUSE IN JANUARY?  REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?

Every single solitary thing we do from this point forward should be to ensure that we get a Democrat in that position so that we can stop the headlong rush to destruction launched by Bush/Cheney and promised to continue by John McCain.

Every single solitary thing.

McCAIN IS OUR OPPONENT, NOT OBAMA.

Even Hillary knows that, and that is no small thing, believe me.

Every word we write from now until November is influencing voters.

Do we REALLY want to continue trashing our own candidates?

Democrats, it's time to grow up and get over ourselves.  Let's get a Democrat in the White House in November.  Right now, that is ALL that should matter to ANY of us.

The Progressive Electorate is sponsoring the Veep announcement day money drop in honor of Joe Biden and Barack Obama joining forces.

We are optimistic because this choice was made for the strengths that it would bring to an administration. I cringe when a choice is made based just on the electoral map like it was in our last two elections.

Biden will bring a lot of foreign policy experience to the table and can lead on Day 1 if needed. Obama-Biden are an excellent team.

Go to Two for Tuesdays and help us raise some money for the team. I was offered an opportunity to go to Denver at the last minute, but I have some prior committments that I could not rearrange. Therefore, I am asking you to help me raise $350 this week for the team.

Okay, I got two text messages from the Obama campaign after giving them my number, but no text message today announcing the VP choice. 

Am I the only one, or did they just skip sending out the text messages after the news leaked?

            It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.

The wait is over. The text messages have been sent. The pundits have been proven wrong -- or right, depending on how they called it. The breaking news is in, the press conference held -- Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is the chosen one to stand beside Barack Obama and lead this country back from the brink to which Bush & Co. have pushed us.

Lord knows we've all had plenty of time to think about what this choice would mean, what it's impact might be. This build up to this announcement has been at times both masterful and irritating. All of the folks reportedly on the short list were analyzed by the pundit world right down to their toenails. There's no need to regurgitate that -- though personally, I just have to say I am glad it's not Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), who's about as exciting as licking a wall. But I digress.
So let me look at this from a different perspective. From a key constituency where some folks are still not completely enamored with Barack Obama. Given that a Hillary Veep nomination seemed to be a nonstarter, I think for the women's community -- and Hilliary supporters specifically -- Biden is a good choice. NOW's website trumpeted the news of Biden's selection with the headline: "Obama Chooses VAWA Champion as Running Mate." The press release stresses that Biden is a good friend to women and a strong choice. While NOW doesn't necessarily speak for the entire women's community, the press acts as if they do and they are a bell weather in many respects -- so this immediate embrace of a Biden candidacy is a good omen.
Biden himself has always been proud of his work on women's issues, and violence against women in particular. "What I'm most proud of in my entire career is the Violence Against Women Act," Biden said in a quote from his web site. "It showed we can change people's lives, but the change is always one person at a time. There are many more laws and attitudes that need changing so women are treated with equal opportunities at work, in the classroom, and in our health care system."
Biden is clearly pro-choice, not afraid to vote against right-wing judicial nominees, and has also long been a vocal supporter of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. He's also taken a keen interest in the fight against breast cancer. These are all key issues for those Hillary supporters who might still be on the fence, or if not on the fence still not completely happy campers. The familiarity of Biden, a man women's advocates fought with in the trenches for more than a decade to get the Violence Against Women Act passed, could be just the salve any lingering wounds might need.

Biden has a 100 percent voting record with the American Association of University Women. The group has voting records on their site back to 1981, and it's hard to find a Congress where he hasn't been right on just about all the votes they scored. Not always perfect -- but typically 90 percent and often 100 percent, consistently, on the broad range of women's issues the AAUW scores. This should also reassure women who are looking for an administration that will not just take their concerns seriously, but make addressing them a priority.
"He's brought change to Washington, Washington hasn't changed him," said Obama in introducing him at the Springfield press conference today. And that's probably true. Biden's blunt, hates bullshit, and will go after John McCain and the Straight Talk Express with unmistakable relish. Yes, folks, people want to have a beer with Joe Biden. These "everyman" qualities could be a good foil for Obama's more deliberate, thoughtful, inspirational approach. And let's just be clear -- Biden's a helluva campaigner.

My one worry about the Biden choice is this: it will be viewed by many as a clear admission on the part of the Obama Camp that the junior senator from Illinois is so unprepared to lead -- especially in the area of foreign policy -- that Obama had to go find a ringer to help him out. It will be up to Obama himself to prove this wrong.
http://thezaftigredhead.blogspot.com

Joe Lieberman has to be a happy man. His vision of Homeland Security has become a reality. His only problem is that the stench doesn't eminate from his sneaky, Made In The USA, deluxe, half-moon, three holer version, but rather, from a steaming Porta-Poti in Georgia. And, they have their own green-headed flies - they have no need for Chertov.

Compounding Lieberman's stench problem is the fact that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili now suffers from a set of red & swollen balls, attributed to Porta-Poti use. Unofficially, sources whisper that it was the result of a late night encounter with the, less than clean, Bunkhouse Bitch.

Now, bitchy native Georgians say that the only thing crawling around the Porta-Poti these days are Russian.  And, they say that they would recognize real crabs, because they look like little Lindsey Grahams.

However, the Russian DHS said that they weren't taking any chances and that they would disinfect the Porta-Poti. If left untreated, the little Graham critters could leave everyone with numb nuts.

Petroleum based remedies are always coming down the pipeline, but the Russians seem to prefer a good old scrubbing with  a fast acting Patton brush.

Maybe we can learn from the Russians. When you smell the stench, it's probably Porta-Poti Joe and his outhouse friends. You can disinfect, or, just end up a numb-nuts. 

The ticket is now balanced: cool/warm; youth (relative)/experience.  Ties to PA won't hurt but not essential.

Re strategy, I think there are a couple of good ways to go.  Biden's experience really does trump McCain's.  Subject, verb, POW; plus Biden is a lot smarter than McCain.  Also, compare Biden as VP to Cheney; Biden will be a good Cheney: Someone with deep knowledge of the political system and with a view of the US in the world that is far different from Cheney's.

Unfortunately, the campaign deal with the Republican's attack on character and strength (read: manhood) directly and without qualm.  McCain's abilities, values, and political connections must be questioned, but also his character and/or state of being; it is necessary in this political climate. 

One way may be to focus on what has happened since he was savaged in 2000 by Bush, when he complained that they know no depths, to now, when he is using the same approach.  Suggests personal ambition to be president -- which he has said in a book, I believe -- willingness to sell out to achieve it, and a false sense of entitlement to that post. 

The New Nixon won election.  The New McCain should not.

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Is John McCain Really A Hero?

One of the primary reason that this nation finds itself in the dire condition that we currently face, is that we’re extremely sloppy and less than precise in our political rhetoric. One example of that is how we fall all over ourselves in an attempt to honor John McCain as a military hero.

The fact is, while there is no doubt that Sen. McCain paid a heavy price during his service in the military, that doesn’t make him a hero, it simply makes him one among millions of military personnel over the years that have placed themselves in harms way in defense of this country. The only difference between McCain and any other person that’s ever raised his hand in defense of this country is that he was unlucky enough to be captured–and that in itself does not make you a hero-- it simply makes you a victim of war.

A hero is one who acts with nobility of purpose, and selflessly sacrifices his life, or places his life in imminent danger to promote the interests of the nation or his comrades. That doesn’t define McCain, and by that honor being hoisted upon him by his political supporters, it diminishes the sacrifice of the true hero, who with little forethought, threw his body on a live grenade to protect the lives of those he’d grown to love.

The essence of such a man, a true hero, involves character--selflessness, courage, a love of country and his fellow man. I’m sorry, but I don’t see those qualities in McCain. When I look at McCain I see a man immersed in his own self-interest--a man who lacked the character to stand by his first wife when she needed him most, even though she stood by him during his five years of imprisonment; a man who publically disrespected his current wife; a man who has been willing to exploit the sacrifices of true heroes for personal gain; and a man who’s willing to do or say whatever has to be done or said to promote his own interests. That’s not a hero, that’s an opportunist.

Take, for example, his lack of loyalty to fellow veterans. The Wall Street Journal reported that "Sen. John McCain used Memorial day to defend his opposition to a Senate bill that vastly expands education benefits for veterans. The bill passed the Senate last week 75-22 over the objections of Sen. McCain, and President Bush, both of whom argued the benefits were too generous and likely to discourage reenlistment."

In response to his opposition to the bill, McCain said, "At a time when the United States military is fighting in two wars, and as we’re finally, finally are beginning the long overdue and very urgent necessity of increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps, one study estimates that Senator Webb’s bill will reduce retention rates by 16 percent." The Washington Wire reports that he went on to say that "he was particularly concerned that educational benefits would reduce the number of noncommissioned officers, which he called the "backbone of the all the services."

Thus, McCain is essentially saying that it’s imprudent to enhance the educational benefits of our troops because if we provide our poor and middle class troops with the opportunity for better lives, we wouldn’t have anyone to fight our wars. So the obvious question is this–why not ask the upper class relatives of Bush, Cheney, and yourself to pitch in and give the nation a hand? You say this is a national emergency. Aren’t the children of upper class and privileged individuals a part of this nation as well? Due to the risk of creeping senility, I won’t wait for an answer.

Then there’s the issue of protecting our troops from the excesses of grievous war profiteering.

According to an article by HalliburtonWatch.org, a website dedicated to monitoring the performance of the Halliburton Corp., a corporation headed by Dick Cheney prior to becoming Vice President, and the largest recipient of no-bid government contracts in Iraq, during a hearing, held on June 27, 2005 by the Democratic Policy Committee, "Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a previously-secret military audit criticizing an extra $1.4 billion in ‘questioned’ and ‘unsupported’ expenditures by Halliburton's KBR subsidiary in Iraq. The audit was conducted by the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). It determined that KBR had $1 billion in ‘questioned’ expenses in Iraq (i.e. expenses which military auditors consider "unreasonable") and $442 million in ‘unsupported’ expenses (i.e. expenses which military auditors have determined contain no receipt or any explanation on how the expenses were disbursed)."

Then in a September 20, 2005 article, the group reported that "Outrage overflowed on Capitol Hill this summer when members of Congress learned that Halliburton's dining halls in Iraq had repeatedly served spoiled food to unsuspecting troops. ‘This happened quite a bit,’ testified Rory Mayberry, a former food manager with Halliburton's KBR subsidiary."

In addition, Former KBR employees and water quality specialists, Ben Carter and Ken May, told HalliburtonWatch that "KBR knowingly exposes troops and civilians to contaminated water from Iraq's Euphrates River. One internal KBR email provided to HalliburtonWatch says that, for ‘possibly a year,’ the level of contamination at one camp was two times the normal level for untreated water."

One would think that a war hero and comrade in arms would go ballistic in response to such allegations, but Senate Republicans killed an amendment that would have established a special investigation into war profiteering by Halliburton and other companies by a vote of 53 to 44, while Sen. John McCain sat second in seniority, and silently, on the Armed Services committee.

So John McCain, a hero? I think not. Just as I don’t want to diminish Sen. McCain’s suffering on behalf of this country, neither do I want to diminish the sacrifices of this nation’s true heroes in the furtherance of a cheap political gimmick that will only serve to send more of their number to an early grave.

I realize I’m going to get a lot of flack for this–for actually saying out loud what many fellow vets are whispering in their hearts–but bring it on. It’s bad enough that we’ve allowed a bunch of draft dodgers to destroy our families and send loyal Americans to early, and undeserved graves, but now, to allow one of their accomplices to stand among these national heroes for profit while their families suffer, and they lie in eternal repose, that’s a little to much for this former Marine to take.

An old grunt once told me there was no such thing as a former Marine. I see now that he was right, because I feel a churning in my gut that says I’m honor bound to prepare for one last battle-- shaky joints and all.

Semper Fi!

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

I know this isn't exaclty a newsflash, and is fairly obvious for a while now. But Slate's Jascob Weisberg stops the charade and tells it like it is: It's all about race. The inspiring talented Obama is only close to the befuddled backward-looking McCain for one reason: racial prejudice. I have to agree. All the MSM euphemisms and laundry list of supposed reasons for the race being tight are, at the end of the day, 100% bunk.

If it makes you feel better, you can rationalize Obama's missing 10-point lead on the basis of Clintonite sulkiness, his slowness in responding to attacks, or the concern that Obama may be too handsome, brilliant, and cool to be elected. But let's be honest: If you break the numbers down, the reason Obama isn't ahead right now is that he trails badly among one group, older white voters. He does so for a simple reason: the color of his skin.

Of course, playing up the racism issue won't help us. I know that. Calling out the subtle and not-so-subtle racist tactics of McCain-Rove & Co, will only help them. But I thought this article deserved attention nonetheless.

It ends with this ominous warning. And perhaps this is the more important point. A choice of McCain might signal the end of America's preeminence, a moment when a courageous forward-looking nation that led technological and democratic revolutions lost its nerve and succumbed to fear and prejudice once and for all. 

Choosing John McCain, in particular, would herald the construction of a bridge to the 20th century—and not necessarily the last part of it, either. McCain represents a Cold War style of nationalism that doesn't get the shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics, the centrality of soft power in a multipolar world, or the transformative nature of digital technology. This is a matter of attitude as much as age. A lot of 71-year-olds are still learning and evolving. But in 2008, being flummoxed by that newfangled doodad, the personal computer, seems like a deal-breaker. At this hinge moment in human history, McCain's approach to our gravest problems is hawkish denial. I like and respect the man, but the maverick has become an ostrich: He wants to deal with the global energy crisis by drilling and our debt crisis by cutting taxes, and he responds to security challenges from Georgia to Iran with Bush-like belligerence and pique.

You may or may not agree with Obama's policy prescriptions, but they are, by and large, serious attempts to deal with the biggest issues we face: a failing health care system, oil dependency, income stagnation, and climate change. To the rest of the world, a rejection of the promise he represents wouldn't just be an odd choice by the United States. It would be taken for what it would be: sign and symptom of a nation's historical decline.

 

I don't know what this is all about, but I would doing very well for myself if I could secure this lettuce picking gig!

Apparently not even $50/hr is enough for McCain, or anyone he knows, to do the job.

Check the audio

I'll just come out and say it: If Barack Obama loses this election, it will be Hillary Clinton's fault. She does nothing but undermine Barack. She needs to get over herself and get with the program.

Look, he's already got an entire country of racists determined to tear him down. It'll be a miracle if he wins.

He's bending over backwards to accommodate the angry old white women at the convention by allowing Hillary to speak. What more do they want? I mean, what's he supposed to do? Kiss their wrinkly fat asses? They get a whole night to themselves: Call it (Old) Girls Night Out. Okay, okay, that's not funny.

Look. This is a historic election. Do you want to throw away 4 or 8 years plus the Supreme Court plus Roe v. Wade? It's up to you.

Look, just keep your voice down, okay? The neighbors are reading this blog.

Hey, are you doing any laundry tonight? Can you throw in a few things for me while you're at it? All my white shirts are dirty. Thanks.

Here's the argument a senior advisor is making to John McCain today:

    So Obama has chosen Biden. We saw this coming. We had a couple clips of Biden's anti-Obama greatest hits cobbled together into an ad we can roll out right away. But this is a short-term solution--you know, like building new oil rigs. We need to start thinking about what Biden means for the big picture of this campaign, and how that affects our next big step, which is picking your own running mate.

    Biden is going to be formidable, no doubt about it. He's going to come at us on foreign policy, and he'll frame that debate in the affirmative, rather than just responding to us. But that's okay, because we want to keep foreign policy in people's minds. You're still polling ahead on those issues. You're still the tougher face of America.

    Biden is also going to be tough to debate on the merits. I'm not sure who we want to send to St. Louis to go up against him in October. I'm not sure anyone is going to blow him out of the water. So maybe we play the low expectations game.

    But we need to consider how Biden affects our overall strategy here. We still need to keep all scrutinizing eyes on Obama and off of McCain. So which of our scattershot anti-Obama messages is going to resonate most now that Biden is beneath his name on the bumper stickers?

    The answer, I think, is clear: Ego. Ambition. Self-aggrandizement. Our "Country First" slogan, which the chattering classes took to be a shot at Obama's questionable loyalties to America, was never about Obama's lack of patriotism. It is about Obama's motivations in campaigning. It's about Obama the egomaniac, Obama the phenomenon. Not only can Obama's wild-eyed supporters not get enough of the guy; he can't get enough of himself. Some rednecks and some sensitive liberals alike are going to hear that as "uppity," but so be it. We need to paint this man, regardless of race, as full of himself. Because it's not that, as opposed to "country first," Obama puts the world first. It's that he puts himself first.

    And that's where Biden comes in. Biden underscores this narrative about Obama for two reasons. First, Biden is an egomaniac too. He was once a 29-year-old political runt who came to the Senate without earning his dues. (Whereas Obama benefited from weak competition, Biden benefited from his small state; hell, your elderly mother could get elected in a state that sends twice as many senators to Washington as it does representatives.) You've seen how many Sunday talk shows he does. He's probably made almost as many appearances as yourself, Senator. The man loves to hear himself talk, which is all their ticket is good for.

    Biden emphasizes this message for another reason: Obama picked him. What does that say about Obama? It says he's willing to set aside all his lofty ideals, his entire argument about being an agent of change from outside the Beltway, his point about having the judgment to reject and denounce the Iraq War before it began--he's willing to throw all that under the bus, to coin a phrase, to win. It shows how much of a hypocritical, self-centered, typical politician he is, how he would compromise everything to gain a couple points in some of Hillary's demographics without having to put up with the drama.
So there's our message. McCain puts his country first. And what does Obama put first? Himself.

    This leaves us with the running-mate question. You need to gain the moral high ground, to show that you aren't about ambition and self-love. Which means we can't pick Romney; what greater symbol of smarmy, used-car-salesman hunger for power is there? And it probably means we can't pick Pawlenty or Jindal either; they're too young and driven to show that they really know what it means to love their country. I think this leaves us with one clear option that shows that, damn personal ambition, damn the political ladder, Senator John Sidney McCain III is about doing what is right for the country. And that option shares Biden's first name.

    One last point. The reemergence of Biden means we're going to have to ix-nay on the trump-every-argument-with-your-POW-story trope. After using it as an excuse for the cone of silence, for your love of Abba, and for your myriad residences, we're setting ourselves up for "Noun-verb-POW."

This post has been created for the sole purpose of giving people room to dump on Obama's choice of Biden as a running mate.

Feel free to voice any and all complaints here.  If you're pissed off about the selection, go to town - right here.

Of course, if you'd like to give alternate choices and reasons, those would be even better.  Who knows - could lead to some excellent discussion.

If you like the idea of having a central dumping ground for their anger about Obama, Biden, or life in general, feel free to recommend this post.

Fox News again tries to corner the market currently held by the "Comedy Channel."

Colbert and Keith Olbermann are going to look at this and say, "Naw, too easy."

While showing the outside of "Biden’s house" just a little taste of what these Fox grinning idiots are talking about
(and in parenthesis what I think the talking heads are hearing in their earpieces, LOL):

It’s "opulent," "positively regal!!"
(Big, say big, you forgot big!)

 

My, how "big it is" they gush.
(you sound like you’re reading "Little Red Riding Hood" fer Christ’s sake, say something about the SUVs!!)

"It looks like they could park ALL those SUV’s in the foyer!"

"Yes, it’s very spacious, huge!!!"

"It’s worth 1.3 mill, in today’s soft real estate market"
(then you could practically hear in his voice: NO, NO, NO, DON’T MENTION THE CRUMMY MARKET FOR HOUSES!! CRAP!!)

 

"In today's market, that’s not too shabby"
(CRAP!, cut to a commercial quick!!).

ON and on and on.

Then, I swear I heard someone say:
(I admit that I am not a reliable witness LOL):

"Isn’t that his MOM’S house?"
(Get on message! It’s Biden’s House! It’s Biden’s House! DO NOT be more specific!!!)

After the first set of SUV’s where pulling out:

"They forgot Grandma!!!"
(DAMMIT, DON’T MENTION THE MOM!!!)

More choice tidbits:

(Quick, turn Biden’s strength against him!)
"They’re late! I bet it’s because McCain has called Biden to congratulate him!"

"Yeah, that’s it! And he’s purposely keeping him on the phone in order to make him late for his announcement meeting. "
(Yeah, keep hitting on that!)

"Oh that rascally McCain, boy is he clever."
(Uh, don't overdo it, OK?)

"Yeah, he probably manipulated this whole thing to ruin Obama’s announcement meeting in Springfield!" (Yeah, Obama has manipulated us into talking about nothing except Biden and houses for hours at a time, but let’s turn Obama’s strengths against them!!! OOPS that’s what I was thinking. LOL)

This brilliant Fox talking head kept on breathlessly mentioning his wacko theory that, 

"McCain’s cleverly trying to sabotage the VP announcement meeting by making him late by keeping him on the phone!"

 AT LEAST thirty times, maybe more. Where do they get these guys?

He even asked one of McCain’s Bimbo spokespersons about it.

To her credit, just before launching into yet another recitation of The Holy Talking Points, said, "Uh, no."

Obama choose Springfield, because he thinks

he’s "Abraham Lincoln!" (Maybe we shouldn’t dwell on that one too much, change the subject)

"It’s going to be just like Berlin over there!"

"Biden wants to keep gasoline prices high, too, because he hates drilling, just like Obama!" (That’s it. Try to fit Rezko & Ayers into the next sentence)

"Picking Biden clearly shows that Obama admits that he doesn’t have any experience at anything at all!"

"Did we mention that Obama hates drilling!?"

"The libs think that drilling in Georgia hurts caribou!!! Last time I checked there are no Caribou in Georgia!!!" (Wait a minute, which Georgia are we talking about??? DAMMIT! I think they have Caribou in that other one! Talk about Obama working out, quick!!!)

Dueling talking heads:

"That text-messaging thing backfired because: It Didn’t Work!!"

"Yeah, but he got a lot of publicity"

"It back fired because "it didn’t work!!"

"Yeah, but the message seemed to get out pretty good, didn’t it?"

"It back fired because "it didn’t work!!"

"Yeah, but doesn’t that show Obama’s tech savvy?"

"It back fired because "it didn’t work!!"

"Yeah, but doesn’t this expose McCain’s lack of being tech savvy?"

"It back fired because "it didn’t work!!"

"Obama’s preparing for the most important meeting in his life BY WORKING OUT IN A SPA!!!!!" (expensive spa, say expensive spa!!)

"OMG, I don’t believe it. He’s working out at a time like this????"

"This just in, Obama has finished his work out and is now prepared for the announcement meeting."

"Yes, that’s right, he’s leaving the spa right now!"

"Yes, Obama’s ready but his VP is late!! Probably because McCain is on the phone with him and won’t let him off the line because he wants to spoil Obama’s party by making him late!!"

Then I switched to CNN.
LOL.

I know, I know, ending the story that way is almost as bad as saying, "and then I woke up and realized it was all a dream!"

But you know what?

It is a dream.

Some people say that McCain's not knowing how many houses he has is not a big deal - he's just rich and there's nothing wrong with that - in fact, it's the American dream.

As AnitaBee points out in this post, it's not being rich that's his problem, it's that he's old, forgetful and generally clueless.

I'll add to that a couple other points:

1.) He's out of touch with _everything_ - even his own property! (Either that or he doesn't know how to count to 10.) How can such a man be in touch with the whole country, its people and the entire world?

2.) If he doesn't know the number of his own houses, how could he possibly know the vast amounts of economic, financial, political, geographic, historical data needed to make good domestic and foreign policy decisions? He barely passed the navy academy when he was young, how will he learn now, at the age of 72?

3.) Everything needs to be done for him, even basic things like shopping and computer usage, let alone running his campaign. He constantly needs to be babysitted, "kept on message" and corrected. All he does is confuse himself all the time and make gaffes as soon as he steers off message that others prepared for him. He's his own worst enemy. How can such a man run a country and foreign relations in a credible way? And more importantly, if he got elected, who would _really_ be running the country? Certainly not anyone elected.

4.) He forgets his own policies, positions and past votes. This is not the first time he said something like "I'll have my staff get back to you." Beside the recent viagra/birth-control awkwardness, there was also a less known exchange on the Straight Talk Express when he's asked about a similar topic and eventually says: "I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it."
So he's either: a) really forgetful, b) votes on issues he knows nothing about (e.g. to please Bush), or c) if the public knew his positions on subjects like birth-control, he'd lose a lot of moderate voters, so he rather plays dumb.

It's pretty clear that McCain never really took care of himself and solved real problems. He was born into a family where both his father and grandfather were navy generals, which provided for his career in the navy, until his father died and his career hit a dead end. Luckily he married the rich heiress just the year before, so he was taken care of for the rest of his life.

Now that was certainly a good thing for him, but it also means that he never had to work OR think particularly hard, solve real problems and have real responsibility. And as we know, brain, just like muscles, deteriorates if it's not exercised. Evidently his brain is in a very bad shape and belongs more in a senior home than in the White House.

As president, the best he could do is be a puppet. But God forbid that he ever finds himself alone and has to make an important decision on his own, without his trusty brain surrogates like Lieberman, Schmidt, Cindy, Gramm etc.

We used to think of John McCain as a candidate who could use the 3 A.M. phone call ad to a great advantage. But can you imagine him now, such as he is, answering a real such phone call?
His answer would probably sound something like:
"GODDAMMIT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!?! ... What, a crisis? Tell me about it, my friend, we MUST win! ... Who, Putin? Wait, he's the president of Germany... or is it Czechoslovakia? No, he's someone more dangerous, I know it. I think he's that terrorist leader from Al Qaeda... I also think he's Sunni or Shi'ite, but I'll ask Joe and get back to you. ... What, he invaded Georgia? We must help Georgia, they voted for me! We must win! ... What, Georgia's in Europe? Wait, I'm confused... I'll have my staff get back to you... Oh wait, never mind, just bomb Iran!"

(But of course, while McCain may be clueless in almost every respect, he can always tell you one thing: "My friend, you know I was a POW, HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME?! Now leave me alone and get off my lawn!")

I hope this does not violate any rules of engagements for Readers' Posts. The following has been researched and posted at Moon of Alabama  www.moonofalabama.org by Bernhard. It struck me that it deserved wider circulation since it is such a good piece of research.

Around the Hindu Kush, 30 is a Magic Number

... or so it seems ...

U.S.: 30 militants killed in west Afghanistan, AP, Aug 22, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S.-led troops attacked a compound where Taliban leaders were meeting and killed 30 militants, American and Afghan military officials said Friday, but the Interior Ministry said a large number of civilians died. The U.S. said it would investigate.
...
The coalition said its troops called in airstrikes on the compound in the Shindand district of western Herat province Thursday
...
However, the Afghan Interior Ministry claimed U.S. coalition bombs killed 76 civilians, including 19 women and 50 children under the age of 15. The ministry called the bombing a "mistake."

---

US coalition: 30 militants die in Afghan battle, AP, Aug 21, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S.-led coalition troops battled a group of militants in eastern Afghanistan, killing over 30 insurgents, while three NATO soldiers were killed in a roadside blast elsewhere, officials said Thursday.

The coalition troops used small arms and airstrikes during the raid in eastern Laghman province on Wednesday, killing more than 30 fighters, the coalition said. A cache of mortars and bomb-making material was also destroyed.

---

US and Afghan Troops Kill Dozens of Militants in Afghanistan, VOA News, Aug. 16
The U.S.-led coalition Saturday said more than 30 militants were killed in three days of fierce fighting in Zamto Valley, in southern Kandahar province. The coalition said its troops along with Afghan forces called in airstrikes during the clashes that began Wednesday and ended Friday.

---

Pakistan army targets militants in northwest, AP, Aug 8, 2008
KHAR, Pakistan---- At least 30 militants and seven Pakistani paramilitary troops have died in clashes near the Afghan border, where security forces pounded insurgent hideouts Friday with helicopter gunships and mortar fire, officials and residents said.

The offensive in the tribal region of Bajur came in the wake of a militant assault on an outpost manned by security forces Wednesday.

---

Taliban commander and 30 militants killed , Quqnoos, Feb 22, 2008
AFGHAN troops have killed 30 Taliban militants in Helmand, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Bari and 29 of his men were killed yesterday in the districts of Musa Qala and Kajaki (Wednesday) during a five hour battle that involved ground soldiers and air strikes.

---

Militants release students and teachers taken hostage at Pakistan school, Guardian, Jan 28, 2008
Last week, Pakistani forces killed up to 30 militants in clashes near the city of Peshawar, after militants seized four trucks carrying ammunition and other paramilitary supplies.

Security forces recently launched a ground and air assault against Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander accused of orchestrating the assassination in December of the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

---

Report: 30 militants killed in Swat , UPI, Nov 26, 2007
Pakistani forces say they killed 30 militants in their latest offensive to regain control of the violence-racked Swat valley, Dawn reported Monday.

---

Forces Kill 30 Militants, Find Weapons Caches in Afghanistan, AFPS, Sep 9, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2007 – Afghan and coalition forces killed more than 30 suspected militants during an operation yesterday in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

The combined force suspected targeted compounds, located in the Garmser district, were providing sanctuary to anti-coalition militants. Precision munitions were employed to destroy the buildings, which had fortified fighting positions and interlocking tunnels.

---

Two British soldiers, 45 insurgents killed in Afghan fighting, AP, Sep 5, 2007
Taliban attacks killed two British soldiers and two Afghan police officers Wednesday in restive southern Afghanistan, while nearly 30 militants were killed elsewhere, authorities said.

---

U.S. Says Attacks Are Surging in Afghanistan , NYT, Jan 16, 2007
Shortly before Mr. Gates arrived along the border, the Pakistani Army announced that it had launched an airstrike on a suspected militant camp in South Waziristan, killing 25 to 30 militants that it said were Al Qaeda members, according to The Associated Press, which quoted a Pakistani Army spokesman.

---

30 militants killed in S. Afghanistan., Xinhua, Jan 14, 2007
Afghan and NATO forces killed 30 Taliban operatives in the troubled Helmand province in south Afghanistan on Saturday, provincial police chief Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil said Sunday.

"In an operation launched by Afghan and NATO troops against insurgents in Kajaki district Saturday, 30 enemies were killed and 20 others were wounded," Mullahkhil told Xinhua.

---

Coalition predicts "significant fighting" in southern Afghanistan, 30 militants killed, AP, June 21, 2006
Dateline: KABUL, Afghanistan Southern Afghanistan will witness "significant fighting" between U.S.-led coalition and Taliban forces for several months before NATO takes control of the region, the military said Wednesday.

The grim warning came a day after coalition and Afghan forces conducted raids in southern Helmand and Uruzgan provinces, killing 30 insurgents, Afghan and coalition forces said.

---

'Scores of Afghan Taleban killed' , BBC, June 10, 2006
A statement by the US-led coalition said "more than 30" militants were killed in a clash with Afghan and Canadian forces in Arghandab district in Zabul on Monday.

---

Rumsfeld arrives in Kabul as 30 Taleban killed in Helmand, Times Online, July 11, 2006
US-led forces hunting a Taleban commander have killed an estimated 30 Taleban militia in an overnight raid on a hide-out in southern Afghanistan, the US military said today.

The raid came shortly before Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, arrived on an unannounced visit to Kabul, where he expressed confidence that the Taleban would be defeated.

---

Up to 30 militants killed in Pakistan, CBC News, Mar 11, 2006
Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships have attacked a suspected hideout of Islamist militants in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing up to 30 people.

The overnight attack in the North Waziristan tribal region was ordered after intelligence reports suggested that militants were gathered in a compound along with a huge cache of arms, ammunition and explosives.

---

Afghan, U.S. troops battle insurgents in Afghanistan, at least 19 dead, AP, Feb 3, 2006
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Fierce fighting involving U.S. warplanes and Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan left at least 16 suspected Taliban rebels and three police dead, an official said Friday.
...
A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, said American forces, including A-10 war planes, responded to an initial attack on Afghan security forces by up to 30 militants.

Why did the marketing/propaganda buffoons chose 30 as the magic number?

The war in Afghanistan is turning into the same type of right-wing disaster as Iraq. We will be engaged in both for at least the next 10 years if not the hundred years endorsed by "former-POW (trademarked adjective)" John (POW) McCain

I think it is probably true that McCain was a fairly competent senator in his younger days.

From The Politico.com

Brother: Wives handle McCain finances

McCain couldn't answer how many houses he owns because growing up his mother handled the finances.

 

 

McCain Ad: Celebs Don't Worry About Family Budgets

Their wives do!

Now that Biden is the running mate, and on day one-half has already had to respond to a pre-cut oppo ad where he praised the Republican candidate, it's time for a nasty new Obama offensive, this time with a message: we mourn the loss of our respected colleague John McCain. The reasoning is that the old John McCain, the courageous POW, the campaign reformer, the Bush-bashing Republican, the Faldwell-hating conservative, the chummy maverick the media loved so much, he's gone. He caved on his objection to torture, he gamed the campaign finance loopholes in his own law, he wrapped his arms around Bush, he joined up with the "agents of intolerance," and he's conspicuously absent from his own campaign. It allows Biden to walk back his previous praise, saying I once respected John McCain, but I haven't seen that old friend in quite some time: his campaign has been taken over by Bush-Rove proteges. But the real affect that the message activates is that the man is old, near death, and feeble-minded. The campaign team becomes the aunts and uncles and cousins conniving to steal a share of the old man's estate. So, despite what anyone thought of John McCain the man, he's being controlled by those people that are supposed to work for him (not a good quality in a leader). Some may object to the fact that this message lets McCain off the hook for the disgraceful campaign style his handlers have followed. But at this point, it seems impossible to plant the narrative that McCain the man is the nefarious win-at-all-costs, back-biting, sucker-punch politicion we know him to be. There's certainly been enough evidence of that and it hasn't caught on. Instead, Obama has to turn this strength into a weakness. With the pundit class giving McCain a pass, assuming that his message does not reflect his character, we have to argue then that he can't even control his own campaign. And the reason is, that the McCain everyone likes is gone, so sad, we miss him. Literally talk about him like he isn't there or he's asleep. If people ask for specifics:

- The Mortgage Meltdown: he's so out of it can't even remember how many homes he has

- Georgia: it's like he fell asleep in the den watching a football game; then the other team scored a touchdown and he woke up from all the commotion; all he could do then was cheer on his team to block the extra point.

With everyone talking about how Obama needs to get nasty, very few people have any nasty offense-oriented suggestions.  I offer this: start mourning McCain's passing.  Treat his as if he's already dead, or at least senile.  And, as McCain played the race card with plausible deniability, Obama should play the age card the same way.  Talk about how he's out of it, how he sleeps through big events, how he's being picked over by opportunistic Rove operatives, and people will get the picture for themselves.

John McCain just walked into the trap.  He's given Obama/Biden the ability to show why Joe Biden was Obama's best choice for VP.

That's right - Joe Biden said Barack Obama wasn't ready to be presiden -yet- back in January. 

Since that time however, Obama has more then proven his ability to "LEAD" and have good "JUDGEMENT". 

Joe Biden has watched and learned as many of us have over these many months.  He's seen first hand how Obama said we would be sorry for invading Iraq, that billions of dollars would be wasted - he was right. 

He's seen how Obama said he would go into Pakistan if he had actionable intelligence of high value targets - he was right, President Bush has sent missiles there several times since Obama's statement. 

Joe's seen Obama say we should be 'talking' to Iran one on one - he was right, President Bush finally agrees. 

Joe's also seen how Obama's pushed for a timetable to withdraw responsibily from Iraq - he was right, now, not only do President Maliki of Iraq and President Bush agree; but Senator John McCain agrees as well (he's calling it 'goals').

Joe's also seen how Barack Obama took on the Democratic Party's establishment and their most valued commodity - the Clintons and won as their Presidential nominee.

Joe Biden respects John McCain - yes that's right.  Joe is an honorable man, always has been.  He respects a man such as John McCain for his years of service in the military and in government. 

That does not mean however, that he agrees with McCain's policies.

I can't wait to hear or see the Obama/Biden rebuttal to McCain's first Ad against them.

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

Excerpt: Use link to read the full article.

Presumptive first lady nominee Cindy McCain responded to a reporter's question today about how many half-sisters she had by saying that she was "unsure" about the exact number but would have "a staff member look into it."

A warm congratulations to Senator Joe Biden on his VP candidate position on the Democratic ticket!

Sen. Biden called me to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq in April 2004, when there was heavy fighting between the Mahdi Army and the US military. He did so on the basis of a journal article I had written on the Sadr Movement in the Middle East Journal, which he had read. That knocked my socks off. People in Washington don't often read journal articles. It struck me as the sort of thing that should happen in our democracy every day-- you write something in your specialty, and your elected representative calls you to talk about it. No lobbies, think tanks, etc. involved.

So it was a positive impression! And in the hearing he was informed and articulate....

Juan Cole

Joe Biden?  Joe (D-MBNA) Biden?  The architect of the bankruptcy "reform?"

More than anyone, I'd expect John Marshall to be outraged by this.  During the bankruptcy reform debate, TPM tried to rally the opposition, the same way it rallied opposition to social security privatization.  It's one reason that the Warren Reports are featured here at TPMCafe.  So I'd expect some outrage from professor Warren, too.

It's really depressing and insulting that Obama would pick such a conservative Democrat as his running mate. When he allowed his campaign to be associated with anti-gay bigot Donnie McClurkin during the primaries, I was angry and got shouted down around here for it.  I shouldn't demand purity, I was told.  Fair enough.  I don't demand it. I can forgive missteps like that and I did.  Then there was the FISA about-face.  I was really angry when our nominee not only broke a promise but voted to expand the government surveillance powers.  But again, I got over it.  It's not right to demand purity, after all.

Then he spoke out basically in favor of faith based initiatives, implying not that the Bush policies are wrong on this, just that they're badly run.  I disagree.  But it's a disagreement I can live with.

Now... Biden?  I'm having a tougher time with this one.  I would never vote for Biden for president, so why would I want him to be veep?  This choice also raises a deeper question about Obama.  Accepting that he's not a pure lefty and that a pure lefty wouldn't make a credible candidate I still have to wonder if this ever takes the liberal side when deciding on a big issue.  I don't demand purity, but I do demand that the guy sides with me at least some of the time.

Biden is a terrible choice.  In isolation, he's a terrible choice that I can live with.  But Obama's consistent disregard for the liberal wing of the party has gotten really old.

First, I gotta 'fess up to calling the VP selection, and the date of the announcement, entirely wrong. But it's nice to see that Obama can still surprise me, even if it wasn't a surprise to anyone else.
At any rate, I haven't gotten my text message yet! I got the confirmation one when I first signed up, I texted back my ZIP code after they asked, and eagerly awaited my VP Text for the last week. And now I find out everyone else has gotten it, but I haven't. What up?
But that got me thinking... what's the point of this whole text message thing anyways? Then it hit me: Nov. 4th!
They've got my cell-phone number and my zip code. Imagine on election day, they send out millions of text messages reminding people to vote, and more importantly, reminding people to remind their friends to vote (since anyone who signed up to get a text message regarding Obama's VP announcement is presumably not going to forget about election day).
So that's cool, it's distributed GOTV on a massive scale. It's brilliant, really. But the zip code thing is almost fiendishly clever. 
Imagine it's election day, and Obama's field office in Ohio realizes that a couple of districts aren't going as well for them as they were projecting because it's raining and a major freeway is jammed up with a big accident. They can send out a message to thousands of supporters in those districts saying: "We really need your help in Ohio. Please call everyone you know and remind them how important it is that they vote today. And if you're worried about traffic, we've posted alternative routes at www.barackobama.com/ohio."
Obama can send out thousands of these in the time it takes to phone a single voter with that same message. And a traditional phone call is wasted if the recipient isn't at home. That text message will reach nearly all of their intended recipients even if they're at the gym, at the supermarket or at work, and it'll reach the growing class of people that don't even have a traditional land-line anymore.
That's why they encouraged people to get their friends to sign up for the text messages. That's why they asked for your zip code. And that's why they didn't announce his VP pick until the last possible moment: The longer they waited, the more people signed up. The last two weeks of frenzied media speculation on his VP pick have surely driven millions more people to get in on the text message scheme.
It's easy to imagine that if texting were as widespread in 2000 as it is today, and Gore's campaign had the savvy and foresight to use it, he could have more than made up those few hundred critical votes in Florida. 
I noticed during the primaries that Obama's team clearly understood electoral tactics. This let them get a delegate win in Texas despite losing the popular vote there by a pretty substantial margin. I think we'll see that the primaries were just a preview. They've got a ground-game operation going that's not only better than McCain's, it's revolutionary.
In other words, this is a very bad year for the GOP to be fielding a candidate who doesn't know how to send an email. The difference between Obama's ground game and McCain's is the difference between rocket ships and golf carts.

By picking Biden, Obama seems to have try to placate the right wing of his party and those who think that he is weak on foreign policy by picking someone, who seems to repeat the right's talking points when it comes to Russia. Both Biden and Brzenzinski, who is one of Obama's adivisors, seem to be old Russophobes who want to refight the Cold War. If Obama gets elected who will have to decide which foreign policy goals to attain. The Biden and Brzezinski one which is to refight the Cold War is counterproductive for US relations not only with Russia, but also with China and Western Europe. Or should Obama go for his original goal which was to  all eliminate nuclear weapons in the world. This would actaully improve the American standing in the world and leave Obama with a positive legacy. But the views on Russia that Brzezinski and Biden share may hinder that goal. It seems to me when Obama speaks from his gut such his first statement about the Georgia crisis he is usually more right than his foreign policy advisors. I just hope that if Obama gets elected that he listens more toward his own judgement and not the foreign policy advisors around him.

I'm excited about the Joe Biden news, but hopefully a few people pay attention to the New York Times' piece on uber-rich Cindy–take my private jet please–McCain.  It touches not only on her wealth and many, many houses but her father's John McCain-like propensity to toss his first family for a new woman.
He was a young husband and father before he went off to war. Wounded in combat, he returned home a hero, but stunned his wife by divorcing her to marry another woman. The warrior in this case was not Cindy McCain’s husband, but her father, James W. Hensley.

Maybe more people will learn more about how the multi-millionaire has left her half siblings (a sister from her father's first marriage and another older half-sister who came along before that) with nothing.  There's something really nasty about that.  The Cindy McCain story of adopting the sweet little Briget McCain from Bangladesh and giving her a piece of the company is wonderful and heartwarming, but leaving her sisters and their family's out in the cold is just about the same as John McCain's leaving his first family in Newt Gingrich fashion.

Has anyone else noticed that absent look on McCain's face at the end of his ads when he says he approves the message?

It's like the look of a dementia patient awaiting dessert.

Lots of posts and comments today about Obama being ungracious to Hillary for picking Biden, Hillary and Bill not relinquishing stardom, Obama not appreciating Hillary's help, etc., etc., etc.

In the immortal words of Rodney King: "Jesus! No more! Stop beating me!"

Somehow, some way, the Clintons and Obama have found a way to work together for the good of the country, the party and us.

People, if you really want a divided convention, you will earn every bit of my unending scorn when John McCain takes the oath of office.

Independents, you are not excused. This election, be a Democrat or be an enabler.

Democrats, you have a duty. Get on the peace train or get used to war upon war and long lines for bread.

It's Obama/Biden '08. Can you dig it?

First let me say up front, I'm no writer, but I am a LIBERAL (to the point of thinking that car insurance should be paid for by a gas tax), and I support Obama. That being said, I am going to try to address a few topics as objectively as I can. So here goes.

As I look at the foreign policy position of both McCain and Obama, I see one candidate (Obama) that says talking to friends as well as enemies is a good idea and that the more we talk, the better the chances of a positive outcome are (see Regan with the USSR and Nixon with China). The other candidate (McCain) I really have no idea about, other than that he disagrees with Obama. We have seen commercials and sound bites from McCain accusing Obama of everything from treason to being an appeaser and an elitist. But nothing to educate us on or clarify his own positions on what his foreign policy would be.

 McCain harassed Obama into taking an overseas trip then compares him to a celebrity when the trip is an apparent success.

People on both sides wonder why Obama can't "seal the deal". But look at the kind of ads run by both campaigns. Until recently the Obama campaign has not attacked John McCain nearly as negatively as the McCain campaign has attacked Obama.

At some point Obama MUST "loose the dogs" of negative attack ads, But they MUST be factual, not innuendos or speculations. They negative ads Obama needs to run MUST remind everyone about the BUSH/MCCAIN ties. 

OBAMA MUST, at every opportunity, USE MCCAIN'S OWN WORDS AGAINST HIM. And McCain is slowly making this very easy to do. Obama must not be afraid or shy away from going after McCain in the harshest, accurate way possible.

More Later.

I don't believe McCain's inability to remember the number of houses he has is a sign of elitism. When you look at the many other instances of McCain's forgetfulness, it appears more likely to be age-related memory loss.

He also couldn't remember what kind of car he drives:

He forgot that Iran is Shi'ite and al Qaeda is Sunni:

He forgot the borders of Pakistan and Iraq don't meet:

He forgot that Czechoslovakia hasn't existed since 1993:

Obama would get slammed for pointing out all the above but you have to wonder why nobody in the mainstream media is questioning his mental capacity. McCain can't remember details about his personal life and about the world stage. He's claimed he didn't say things he said just days earlier. At one point, when McCain contradicted his stated economic policy, a McCain spokesperson had to say that McCain doesn't speak for the McCain campaign. McCain appears to have significant memory problems. Is dementia next?

The GOP convention speakers will look like a casting call for the sequel to the movie Grumpy Old Men.  The country needs to bid farewell to McCain, Bush, Lieberman, Cheney and Guiliani.  Enjoy your retirement. McCain has already arranged for you to stay at one of his many homes. Thank you for you service to the country.

BUMPER STICKER - "MY FRIEND'S - I'M VOTING FOR BARAK"

Keep'em coming

At home and abroad, the US seems to have ignored the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin as it built an international network of influence to prepare for a new Cold War with the West. Signs of this have proliferated since Boris Yeltsin named Putin head of the FSB.

Why would the US ignore a Soviet-like Russian resurgence? Has the US been lulled into complacency by its economic and technological advantages over Russia? Is the War on Terror so absorbing that the US hasn't the resources to check Russia? Had the US dismissed Russia as a threat because of its 1990s chaos? Did the US fail to see the chaos as Russia's way of elevating its fittest survivor to the Kremlin? Or that KGB training, ruthlessness and discipline would win that contest over democracy, idealism, and Gorbachev's reforms?

It seems unlikely that the US defense and intelligence establishment, with all of its resources, could become that foolish. More likely, the US feared Russia as a catastrophic WMD depot for ancient enemies vying for the Cold War vacuum and leveraging Russia's economic blight. Recall Russia's mortality rate, plummeting birth rate, corruption, substance abuse issues, and post-nuclear pollution. In this light, the US wanted a Vladimir Putin as much as Russians came to desire one. A strong ruler could efficiently secure and control the nation's most dangerous resources. It's been said before: a strong Russia is safer than a weak one, and a Russia with something to lose is easier to work with.

Recent history supports this view. Two events that accelerated Putin's standing and international strategy were US-driven. The first was the bombing of Serbia in 1999, deeply felt in Russia as proof that the West sought political dominance, not freedom, in the East. Analysts had to know that this would stoke Russian nationalism. It was after this that Yeltsin named Putin his first Prime Minister and successor. The second was the decision to exclude Russia from Iraqi reconstruction contracts in 2003 at a time when Western energy companies actively sought heavy stake in Russian oil concerns such as Yukos. This was a sign to Russians that the West sought economic dominance with double standards over the East. Shortly after this, Russia prosecuted key energy oligarchs and nationalized its energy industry, a foundation of Russian state resurgence.

American analysts had to know what the likely Russian responses would be to these "provocations." Vladimir Putin and his cadre of messengers have used the word "provocations" repeatedly when referring to American actions such as the missile shield. And yet, where military conflict might have occurred with the Russian seizure of a Serbian airport in the tense days of NATO's bombing campaign of the Clinton years, or America's post-9-11 military mobilizations in Eurasia, none did. It seems as if old business understandings, not war, prevailed. The US FBI and Russian FSB have even cooperated on anti-terrorism, anti-crime and international human trafficking prosecution.

Whether a Nixonian cynicism has motivated the US to accept Georgian forces to support its own in Iraq and then deny Georgia US forces to repel the Russians in recent weeks, who knows? The US has blamed surprise and cited overextension of its forces to explain its lack of reciprocity to Georgians. It has done everything it could outside of military assistance to help Georgia. Yet this will not necessarily stop Russia from absorbing Georgia over time. Instead, indecisive Western aid, without military protection, could eventually find Russian warehouses.

Russia's invasion of Georgia is where the strategy of provoking and aiding the resurgence of a strong Russia is reaching the blowback stage. NATO has just seen Russia successfully disrupt NATO's growth. Alliances do not become more secure by stagnating or contracting while authoritarian partnerships grow. And much has been done to divide the members of NATO in recent years. This has been part of Putin's influence campaign, using what human intelligence resources he had to compensate for what he did not. Most observers have warned of Russia's return to authoritarianism and Cold War posturing, citing for example, the end of free media and the commandeering of regional governorships, two blows to Mikhail Gorbachev's lauded reforms.

And Mr. Gorbachev, scarily, seems to have bet against one of the horses he rode into the West's heart, glasnost. By 2006 Putin had whittled Russia's fledgling free press down to Novaya Gazeta, where the late Anna Politkovskaya worked until her 2006 murder. Months before Politkovskaya's KGB style execution at her apartment building, Gorbachev bought a key interest in Novaya Gazeta. At first decrying her murder as a blow to glasnost, Gorbachev later switched horses and echoed the Putin government's talking points on Politkovskaya's murder: that someone intent on discrediting the Putin government must have shot her. It was a chilling shift by Gorbachev considering that so many Western dignitaries appear to have openly trusted Gorbachev and supported his foundation.

A candid look at the recent history of the US and Russia together suggests that democracy, liberty and other Western ideals may have been auctioned off for stability. We see ideals like reciprocal support to Georgia's democracy and unequivocal solidarity with the champions of glasnost drowning in icy waters. Now we are seeing the pendulum swing beyond stability to Russia towards hyper-centralized power. That kind of power corrupts and anarchy is its secondary infection. Then anarchy leads to despotism. It is a cycle of extremes for which bona fide checks and balances in a constitutional system with a bill of rights is the best cure. The Putin strategy has been to use spiritual and cultural heritage to vilify constitutional democracy as a corruption of the West while celebrating Soviet history as if it were part of the Russian tradition and not rooted in a utopian Western ideology itself.

Does Anyone know what "Mitt" is short for? Seriously, I can't figure it out. And I Think we are going to want to know.

Are the Clintons going to give Bush a third term by giving Obama only tepid and snarky support?

Not long ago, I was under the impression that Sebelius from Kansas would be the pick in order to prevent a backlash against women who might be upset if a woman were left out of the race.

Even Caroline Kennedy's name was floated by Michael Moore.

But now, it looks like it will an all-male battle.
Hopefully women will not be bothered by this choice.

And I'm not talking about TPM women, who are hard-core Democrats who will support any male short of Joe Lieberman as long as they have a (D) next to their name. I'm talking about women in general.

We'll see.

JOE BIDEN IS MY KIND OF GUY!
HE'LL HELP BARACK MAKE MCCAIN CRY.
HE KNOWS THE VALUE OF ISRAEL TO US.
THOSE OF YOU DON'T LIKE IT-- CAN SUCK PUS

Excerpted from Jewish Daily Forward, March, 2007:

Delaware Senator Joseph Biden rejected the notion that the U.S. needs to become a more neutral player in the Middle East, while criticizing the White House as uninvolved and ineffective. He spoke to the Forward for 45 minutes over oatmeal at Manhattan’s Regency Hotel yesterday morning,

“In my 34 year career, I have never wavered from the notion that the only time progress has ever been made in the Middle East is when the Arab nations have known that there is no daylight between us and Israel,” said Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations committee. “So the idea of being an ‘honest broker’ is not, I think, like some of my Democratic colleagues call for, is not the answer. It is being the smart broker, it is being the smart partner.”

Biden, a dark-horse Democratic presidential contender known for straight talk (and the occassional gaffe), has long been a strong supporter of Israel in Congress and is now aggressively courting Jewish voters and donors for his 2008 bid. The debate over the U.S.-Israel relationship, meanwhile, has reached a fevered pitch in the wake of last week’s Washington conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: On Sunday, New York Times columnist Nick Krisof published an op-ed in the paper that argued that the country lacks a serious debate over Israel, and needs to back away from its “crushing embrace” of Israeli hardliners.

Biden argued that the U.S. doesn’t need more distance, but does need to become a more effective, proactive partner for peace.

“We contract our foreign policy, and that is a dangerous situation,” Biden said. “Do you think there’s any reasonable prospect that the Saudis are going to push Hamas to recognize Israel? So now we have a quote unity government and we’re going, ‘Oh my goodness, we have a problem.’”

Yes I can name a nation state in which the disrespect for life has led to the erosion of civil freedoms less fundamental than life.

Russia:

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB5054/index1.html

For many years, legal abortion was the mainstay for birth control in the USSR then RF. A quote from the brief:

"Contributing to the low fertility in Russia has been an abortion rate that is among the highest in the world. For decades, abortion was the main method in Russia for limiting births. In recent years, as the availability of effective contraceptives has increased, the number of abortions has declined.1"

Birth control was used to decrease per capita outlays by the employment state ... to relieve pressure on resources and prove itself progressive. Because the atheist state taught that human beings don't have souls, materialism (in the form of economic deterministic theory) justified the policy. For the Soviets, human lives were merely material units, the numbers of which could be manipulated to serve the material ends of the state.

The AP -- lead by closet Republican and newly appointed Washington bureau chief Ron Fournier -- out with an analysis that Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his running mate shows weakness.

Sorry, Ron and company, but I gotta disagree with that knee-jerk analysis. It is incredibly smart.

In this election, voters are saying the economy is issue number one. And when the new President is elected, unless he intends to using a completely hands-off approach to getting the economy out of its "mental recession", much of his time will be spent on domestic policy.

With a Joe Biden at Obama's side, it allows Biden to take a strong role, not just with foreign policy (Biden's strong suit) but also on the other area that needs a strong hand: the Justice Department (his other strong suit) and the Supreme Court. Biden will be instrumental -- along with the new AG -- to turn around a department that has become far too political. Remember FISA? US Attorney firings? The Patriot Act? Guantanamo? The "show trials" of "enemy combatants"?

While Obama focuses on the sluggish economy, the housing crisis, high gas prices, energy alternatives, reducing the massive budget deficits, ending the war in Iraq, catching Osama Bin Laden (before he enters the gates of hell), crafting universal healthcare, overhauling education, and the myriad other things we expect the President to do on "Day One," Obama will have a partner he can govern with -- exactly what he said he wanted, and exactly what we need.

Weak? No, grasshopper... incredibly smart and strong.

First of all, Barack loses his only campaign for the House of Representatives – just like Bill. (W. copied this play too.)

First of all, Barack loses his only campaign for the House of Representatives – just like Bill. (W. copied this play too.)

OK...so we've got Sen. Joseph Biden as the pick. I've been mulling this for a few hours, and I've decided that I'm all good with Obama/Biden '08. Like many on here, I was hoping for a different pick (in my case, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius). In the last few days, though, I've started to like Biden more and more. There are several reasons for this. (1) The guy squeaks when he walks. How many politicians can say they've been in Washington for 30+ years and can survive the vetting process? (2) Starting today in Springfield, I fully expect Obama to let Biden off the leash, with instructions to rip Johnny McMansions a new one every day. "Noun...verb...POW." Can't wait for that to be a nightly news staple. (3) This is a classic resume-gap-filler pick, and hard to criticize on that basis alone. Obama's inexperienced? Biden's got more time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee than McCain has in elected office, total. Obama's too young? Biden's 65. Instant gravitas - just add Biden. (And please - don't come back with "Biden's too old". If he serves two terms as VP, he'd still be younger in 2017 than McCain would be halfway through his FIRST term.) Obama doesn't have foreign policy experience? Tell me again who Mikheil Saakashvili personally invited to see the Georgian situation on the ground? Oh yeah...Biden. My thinking is that Obama didn't need to make much of a splash with this pick. Biden is about as safe as safe gets. Plus, his personal life is smear-proof. I'm sure there will be those who deride him as "boring" or "uninspiring". My only response to THAT is: Obama provides all the "sizzle" the ticket needs. I like this ticket. Looking forward to the convention. Meanwhile, get your Romney oppo ready. McCain almost HAS to pick him now.

   With Biden chosen as VP, I believe the Democratic Party is finally waking up.
   How so? One word - Aggression.
   That's right, good, old-fashioned aggression. Not actual aggression, mind you, (although it would be great to see these guys charge from behind the podium and grab each other by the throat) but rhetorical aggression.
   For too long, the Democrats have taken the high road in political discourse. An admirable aim, I guess, but one that has come across as an avoidance strategy, an unwillingness to face the threat posed by the Republicans directly and without nuance. And the Republicans have traded on this "reasonableness" to full advantage, without apology.
   Biden represents an authentic departure from this pattern, a sincere desire to mix it up and pull no punches.
   I've heard there are questions about his voting record, but no one much cares about those things, especially in light of all the amending and rewriting that goes on, to the point that legislators often don't know precisely what they're voting for or against.
   Much more important are the zingers, the mocking one-liners and, most importantly, the tone of his approach. He's not trying to persuade anyone, necessarily--he's PISSED.
   I heard a brain scientist on the radio one day who -- through an elaborate series of experiments -- determined that the vast majority of people vote with their emotions and not their reasoning powers.
   Finally, this idea seems to be sinking in with the Democrats. Obama elicits a different kind of emotion than Biden and they complement each other well, although I would like to see Obama mixing it up a little more.
   People LIKE when politicians go on the attack. It gives voters an excuse to abandon the Republicans. No amount of reasoned discourse can do this.
   But aggression? Really?
   Yes, because aggression allows you to frame the debate. Have we learned nothing?
   And as for gaffes, well, there is a man in the White House RIGHT NOW whose Presidency has been a two-term, uninterrupted gaffe. And he made both elections close enough to steal.
   I heard it said that "Democrats use elitist rhetoric to promote populist policies, while Republicans use populist rhetoric to promote elitist policies."
   Biden helps bring back the idea of using populist rhetoric to promote populist policies.
   Good call.
  
  
  
  

Just curious has ANYONE got THE text message? (5:38 am)

Sen. Joe Biden has been tapped as Sen. Barack Obama's VP pick - and, predictably, the GOP attack machine has already started in on the six-term Delaware senator.  However, the framing they appear to be putting on Biden should make for high comedy in Chicago.

Per Politico's Jonathan Martin, the attack line on Biden goes like this: 

"Barack Obama has selected a running-mate who doesn't believe he is ready to be president...He is gaffe prone and has contradicted and attacked Obama on critical issues (i.e. troop funding)."

Well, this tells me they've basically got nothing on Biden (as just about any VP pick Obama could've made outside of Sebelius has criticized him.) 

But "gaffe machine"?  Seriously?  There are calendars out with enough Bush gaffes from 2000-2007 to fill 16 months' worth of date spaces.  (I have one at my desk; it also counts down the days to 1/20/09.)

And John McCain's gaffes?  Yikes.  If you think McCain had trouble counting his houses, challenge him to count the number of gaffes he's made this season. 

I suggest that Obama announce his pick for cabinet post one day at a time during the GOP Con.  and tie them to the "GOP theme of the day"

For example;
    If day 1 of the GOP Con. is National Security then 
      Obama should announce his Sec. of Defense
    If day 2 of the GOP Con. is the Economy then
      he should announce his Treasury Sec.
   etc....

By the way who does everybody think should be in the
Obama Cabinet.

COME ON JOHN PICK MITT!

It would be Money in the bank. Lots and lots of Money!

You and Mitt might actually end up on that Fortune 500 List!

Joe Biden is a Gaffe Machine.  I've heard this from the 24hour news culture more than once.  And I've heard the McCain campaign repeat it as well.

Gaffe machine?  Really?  Has anyone in the media been paying attention to the clown that has occupied the White House for the past eight years?

Has anyone in media been watching as John McCain lays a golden gaffe on a daily basis throughout this campaign?

For McCain to call anyone a gaffe machine is well beyond the pot calling the kettle black.

Biden is a great choice for a number of reasons. These are just a few.

Foreign Policy/National Security: What's absolutely clear is the advantage Obama is now going to hold in the realm of Foreign Policy. McCain cannot touch the Obama Camp. on that issue anymore with any real success. Biden is one of the most knowledgeable people in the USA on issues of National Security and Foreign Policy. It's not even a debatable point. Anything McCain will say, Biden can counter. He'll be an adviser to Obama, telling him what to say in response. It's beautiful.

Demographics: To be blunt, old people like Biden. See for yourself. Having talked to older voters myself at previous times, I definitely think the numbers are spot-on. With him now on the ticket, I can only imagine Obama's numbers with older voters will increase. PA is probably no longer a swing state because of it, and Obama most likely has a better chance in FL, too. Considering his numbers haven't been bad there, it wouldn't surprise me to see a 1-2% increase in the state. That could be enough to swing it for him.

The Attack Dog: McCain has gone completely negative. Obama has kept himself in a positive light. More people think of Obama as a positive campaigner compared to McCain. But it's impossible to deny that without properly and forcefully responding to McCain's attacks, Obama will be in bad shape. Biden can fill that role, and do it wonderfully. Simply put, Biden doesn't take any shit. And that's a very good thing. He can do the attacking that Obama can't, and he will be more effective than Obama ever could be in the realm. As an attack dog, Biden is the perfect pick.

Good for the Liberals: If you don't think so, look at the response Evan Bayh received when he was tested. Biden, on the other hand, voted against the FISA Amendment, has renounced his vote for the Iraq war as a mistake, and has been very, very vocal in his opposition to the Bush Administration.

He Speaks His Mind: It can be a drawback in public, but this is exactly what Obama needs. He needs an adviser who isn't a yes-man, and who will tell it like it is. If Obama's doing something wrong, there's no one better than Biden to let him know. It's undeniable that Obama is young and has been learning as he goes along. Having Biden by his side with ensure that he makes less mistakes and hits more of the right notes. It's a brilliant combination when you really think about it.

There are, of course, plenty of other great reasons. I was simply hitting on my favorites, and the ones I think will aid Obama best.

Biden is not perfect. But personally, I don't think anyone would have been. Some people will be unhappy with this choice. Those who are smart will realize the positives far outweigh the negatives. Biden was not my first choice, but he's absolutely a great one.

I'm totally on board.

<A HREF="https://donate.barackobama.com/page/smartproxy/www.barackobama.com/images/vp/vp_splash_wlp.jpg">Obama/Biden '08!</A>

By the 7th sentence of CNN's report they were bringing up McCain's digs against Obama's lack of foreign policy by using Biden's own words:
<blockquote>In a debate during the Democratic primary contest, Biden raised questions about Obama's foreign policy experience. "Who among us is going to be able on day one to step in an end the war? Who among us understands what to do about Pakistan? Who among us is going to pick up the phone and immediately interface with Putin and tell him to lay off Georgia because Saakashvili is in real trouble. Who among us knows what they're doing? I have 35 years of experience," Biden said. During another debate, moderator George Stephanopoulos referred to some of Biden's comments on Obama. "You were asked, 'Is he ready?' You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now, I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training,'" Stephanopoulos said. "I think I stand by that statement," Biden replied.</blockquote>

And we just couldn't have Hillary because they would use her words to hurt Obama. And because she voted for the war. And...

My hope is that McCain will pick Lieberman so we can have the Battle of the Two Joes, perhaps to a good bluegrass soundtrack and a truck demolition derby in the background.

NOW.... GO GET 'EM

Well.  While you were all blogging all week about who should be Obama's Veep, and who should not be, and while the Olympics went on and we all found out how many houses John McCain doesn't know he and Cindy own, my life has gone topsy turvy and I'm all up in the air with an ex-boyfriend's boxes in the bedroom and my life all roiled in turmoil, yet all I seem to care about is people getting up off their feet.

Get up off your feet and do what you can, for yourself, for your family, for your loved ones, for yourself.  Get up off your feet and make a difference because this year it truly makes a difference what your differences are about.

Be smart.  Make wise choices.  Give your all to your chosen "thing", or "man", or "woman", or your "whatever", but give it your all.  Starting now.

This is for Billy, not that he'll ever read it:
For Billy

To walk down
straight hallways
and see nothing but a twisted labyrinth

To dream dreams
of getting out
and getting home again

This can’t be easy
my friend
but it’s all you have at this point

No one is able to take you in again
No one is willing to let you back again

And that’s hard
your hard place
Between the rock
and the wall that is your hard place

But you have to roll that rock back
Up the hill
On your own
Own it and roll it and sweat for it
and toil over it
On your own
and make it yours

No peaceful respite is worth it
if your own sweat and tears didn’t make it
No safe harbor is handy
if you don’t make it yours from scratch

I hope you learn that

I hope you learn
and live
and live and learn
as I have
and many, many others have
before you

- Lis, 8/08

 

Logan Pollard lashes Democrats for their lack of message control and for not even understanding what their message is about.

If you note, Larry King repeats McCain's attack for him - that Obama is a fat cat with a big house jet setting to Hawaii who's getting in a pissing match over who owns what. That's because McCain's attack is straight forward, repeatable. Worse, that means Jindal doesn't even have to repeat the point, he launches into the counter-spin: McCain on the other hand is worried about people's gas prices and mortgages.

And what does Richardson say to that? "Senator McCain should know how many homes he has". No, bozo, McCain may have more important things to do in running for president than tally his wife's real estate. And aside from so-called progressives who want to snigger, it won't resonate with most people, just like Arnie being a rich movie star didn't seem to get in the way of him being elected.

Let's look at what real messaging looks like:

"Do we really want a President who can't count to 8? This isn't misplacing your car keys, these are huge properties. Most people have trouble holding onto the one they have."

"People relate to McCain - he can't remember his homes, they can't remember how many foreclosure notes they've gotten".

"McCain doesn't have to worry about the high cost of gas for vacation - he'll just stay at home. All 8 or 12 of them."

And yet we put people on national TV who can't say anything memorable to cut through the noise. Shameful.

Lovely, some blogger at Huffington Post puts up an article on "Sex and the Olympic City" and uses a picture of a beach volleyball player's ass. Why stop there? Why not one of those perfectly angled camera shots from above straight into the gymnast's crotch as she holds her legs apart doing some convoluted backflip support thingie or somesuch on the beam? Sexy, no? I mean, we know why these girls are there, and it sure ain't that triple reverse with a double twist off the high platform. I mean, I have trouble relating to the fact that these girls are so horny they'll spend 6 years or so of their lives in 10-12 hour daily training sessions just so they can show their booties on TV, but as long as they're there, we can leer and speculate, can't we? Now, where are those focused bulging crotch shots of Phelps and Bolt, because I don't care whether they're the fastest on land or sea, just bring on the genitals. In fact, maybe we can skip all this sports activities and head straight to after hours at Olympics City for the athletic humping. A 5-ring circus for all I'm sure.

I am not a technology guru but I consider myself proficient in dealing with my computer. Technology more than almost anything demonstrates how current people are. Young people are typically the first adopters of new tech, though not always. For many people having the newest technology is a status statement. In this race Barack Obama has been the candidate who takes the most advantage of technology and the candidate who appears most comfortable. The GOP does not look ready to cede the tech field to Obama entirely and they are trying to appear more tech shrewdness by taking email suggestions for their party platform. Their sad attempt just goes to highlight how out of touch and far back they are on matters of technology. The most out of touch among them might be their second highest profile member and Presidential nominee, John McCain.

NYT has published an article on the GOP efforts to portray themselves as the leaders in the use of technology and the internet to create interactivity. I feel sometimes now like I read the portrayals of the GOP in articles in a more favorable light than they might have been intended. For instance, I read the opening paragraph-

The conventional wisdom prevailing since the start of the 2008 campaign has always maintained that technological astuteness is the specialty of Senator Barack Obama and his followers. Rightly or wrongly, Senator John McCain has been burdened with the image of someone whose campaign is hopelessly behind the times, who can’t navigate the Internet unless his wife or aides are there to guide him.

I think that it is definitely a correct portrayal of McCain. McCain has made repeated statements that belay his lack of tech knowledge and skill. McCain used the nonsensical phrase "a Google" to describe the most famous internet search engine in the world. McCain had the lack of awareness to say during an interview with the New York Times that even though his aides "go on for [him]" right now, "[he's] learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon. McCain has also said that he is "an illiterate [who] has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance I can get." Of course this may all be wrong, because McCain may not speak for McCain. Now here comes the GOP claiming they are now the party of the people and the web.

Just don’t try telling that to the Republican Platform Committee and its leaders. In a novel experiment, they have been online for several weeks now, seeking suggestions about what their platform should say. More than 12,000 people have responded, offering proposals, either as written text or in video form, that anyone interested can access.

“This is the first attempt by either party to solicit people’s input into the platform so broadly and transparently,” said Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, co-chairman of the platform committee. His co-chairman, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California added: “People might think that if you look at this, the Democrats are much further along” on the technological side, “but if they look at our platform, we’re so much further along, and more open too, in using today’s technology to get greater input.”

The first thing to note is that the platform is essentially worthless. The parties celebrate the platform every four years, but it has no impact on any legislation or anything of consequence. So the GOP can claim it is inclusive and reaching out to the people all it wants but until they make the platform their litmus test for everything, three monkeys in a shed could write it and it would never matter. Shockingly the input of the public might not mean all that much.

What the 112 members of the platform committee will do with those ideas once they begin meeting in St. Paul next week is another matter. In separate interviews, both of the chairmen said not to expect significant changes from the positions Republicans have taken in the past on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

“I don’t think the delegates will change significantly, or at all, the language on social issues that has been worked out over years,” Mr. Burr said. “But we do want a platform that looks forward and not backwards, and that means an opportunity to state more clearly than ever what we stand for, what are our principles.”

It is clear that nothing will really change and that the input of these people was all for show. Can we really expect the authoritarian GOP to take direction for the little people? Not likely. The GOP platform will be consistent by nature as conservatives are against change. I think is disingenuous thought to ask for input on something that is not going to be changed or matter.

Why is all this important? With the advent of the McCain is rich and out of touch meme the tech issues should make a big return. Not because McCain is old and so cant use the internet but as Andrew Ramano points out-

For one thing, McCain's computer illiteracy doesn't reflect a lack of curiosity--it reflects a lack of necessity. Over the past 10 years, most adult Americans have encountered and explored computers primarily in the workplace, where the ability to communicate and find information on the Internet has gradually become a required skill. But McCain's job in the U.S. Senate--where all communication and information has to be filtered through staffers--has actually made fluency more difficult to achieve (or at least less necessary).

McCain is so elite he does not need the internet or computers or email. That sounds pretty out of touch to me. How many Americans can go through life now without the constant us of the computer? Not many. You have man who cannot remember the number of houses he has and a man who does not need or care about the most important communications revolution since the television.

To say that because McCain has staffers though does not excuse his lack of interest in the internet. He has never been interested in a topic and looked it up online or wanted to find the score of a baseball game somewhere? Does he ask someone else to do it? I think that McCain’s lack of knowledge about the internet show how out of touch he is and it needs to be revived.

Cross posted with my other writings at Gaucho Politico

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Biden is the guy.  Of course, th Obama campaign decides to send out the announcement on August 23, 2008... which is a very special day.  What, you don't know???  It's my wedding day :o)  That's right boys and girls, I'm getting married in approximately 13 hours...  then I'm off to Jamaica with my new wife for a week... poor me, right?

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this ticket.  I'll be commenting regularly as soon as I return from paradise.  Stay cool, my TPM compadres...  see you soon.

EW

Obama strategists successfully set up MSM outlets to jump on rumors of Biden gaining the nomination, creating a "Dewey Wins Presidency" moment to up the excitement.

In the end, CNN blinked first, going with rumors coming from its stable of "Democratic sources", including Karl Rove, Matt Drudge, and Andrew Sullivan. Earlier Obama's team had contemplated sending its jet on a meandering tour through the US to ignite more speculation, but instead settled on Delaware, letting the press carry it from there.

Biden of course had no problem going along for the ride, since as he pointed out the day before, he wasn't doing anything anyway except a little bit of lawn work, and even Springfield's better than that.

Some Obama advisors did note that Biden earlier had been in serious contention, but was ultimately rejected for basic logistics reasons - convention planners were worried that reserving 3 nights for his acceptance speech would push other well-known Democrats off the stage and ultimately send the convention into late night low-viewing hours, Conan O'Brian for one lodging an official complaint.

NN has just announced that Sen. Barack Obama has picked Sen. Joe Biden has his running mate. As I noted earlier this year, right after the Democratic contest in Iowa

It is a sad reflection on the American electorate, particularly on the democratic side, that the most qualified candidates to be president have been the ones who were eliminated first from the presidential contest (Biden, Dodd, Richardson). To the credit of Republicans, they at least seem to value experience much more as the resurgence of Senator John McCain demonstrates. The Republican race is wide open, but it is not farfetched to think that Senator McCain will emerge as their presidential candidate. If so, Democrats will again be stuck in a race where they will have to make up for their national security deficit to a popular and moderate republican candidate that can appeal to "Reagan democrats" and Independents while also pulling in the support of his own party. After Senator Biden, Senator McCain is the most qualified person running for President, and one whom I am looking at closely and may support depending on how the Democratic race pans out. This appears to be a change election, and qualifications don't seem to have mattered much. As I said earlier, I'm now leaning toward Senator Obama, however, this quasi-support is qualified on him choosing an experienced hand as his vice-presidential running mate giving us the change the electorate seems to want, with the wisdom of a steady and experience hand to guide it (my pick would be Sen. Biden).

As noted in that post, Joe Biden, thanks to his years of experience and recognized foreign affairs credentials addresses the major weakness, which has been exploited by the McCain campaign. Of all the candidates mentioned as being considered for the position, Sen. Biden addressed the biggest weakness in Senator Obama's campaign, even as he also highlights them. Biden, also has great rapport with blue collar workers, and unlike both candidates running for President, is not worth millions, and what's more, he still commutes daily from Delaware to Washington, DC. Additionally, Biden is respected in the senate and like John McCain has a reputation for reaching across the aisle. Apart from that, he is also a good attack dog, able to deliver an attack seamlessly and with humor.

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Dear Barack,

You said I would be the First to Know about your veep pick, but I was not. What gives? ABC, CNN — those guys knew. Everyone at TPM seems to know.

I mean, I signed up and everything. But you didn't text me. You didn't send flowers or a candy-gram. Not even a solicitation for money from David Plouffe.

What the hell, man? Why was I the Last to Know?

I thought we were solid.

Airlines are today working to clear the backlog of flights affected by yesterday's direct hit from Typhoon Nuri. More than 450 flights were either cancelled or delayed. However, all other forms of transport throughout the territory have now returned to normal. Nuri has now weakened into a tropical depression, but some heavy rain is expected later today.

Breaking News CNN confirms Sen. Barack Obama has chosen Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice-presidential running mate.Get Breaking News by e-mail

CNN is all a twitter and has confirmed from very reliable sources that Obama has offered the VP position to Joe Biden and it has been accepted.  The official announcement by text message will go out tomorrow morning.  Current analysis about Biden as VP and that they have confirmed that information is ongoing.

An interesting note about the Saddleback Forum. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgT-Md-vMew

At 4:18, he begins to reference the history of Georgia, referring to the kingdom of Georgia becoming one of the first Christian nations, adopting the faith during the third century.  He's kinda correct, except there are a few kinks.

He's about 1/3 correct.  Christianity was recognized as the official religion in the Georgian region very early, but it was during the fourth century, 330 A.D.  However it is important to note that the region of modern Georgia was under Roman influence during the reign of Emperor Constantine, who established Christianity of the entire empire.  Also, and more importantly, it wasn't the Kingdom of Georgia that adopted the faith; it was the Kingdom of Iberia, a country that eventually became part of the Kingdom of Georgia, but not after the latter's establishment in the 11th century. 

I recognize that this may be a bit of an obscure historical mistake, but I think it subtlety highlights a major issue with the GOP candidate.  He doesn't seem to feel the need to throughly research regions in which he is quite ready to send Amercian soldiers.  This is somewhat along the line of that famous gaffe he made when he stated that Al-Qaeda was training operatives in Iran. 

I cannot believe that we could possibly vote for another man who does not understand the importance of cultural differences and cultural sensitivity.

References will be provided once I find some that don't require a journal subscription to access.

Now this is more like it.  Brilliant bit of news-managing theater and the press is gobbling it up.  Who will it be? When will we know? Have the e-mails gone out yet? Two-three days of this breathless waiting, all generated by the media, while the campaign says nothing, the candidate drops a couple of hints, and gets mountains of free publicity.

This kind of thing seems more in line with the campaign's strengths and strategy.  Like the "bitch-slapping" (quoting Josh! quoting Josh!) approach of the Republicans, this also works.

Now, let's do some slapping of our own.

According to ABC News’ deliciously titled Political Punch Blog, the Secret Service has been dispatched to the (singular) Biden residence to “assume the immediate protection” of the Senator from Delaware.  Of course no official word has come yet.

NBC News is reporting that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine are out.

As far as I know Joe Biden only has one house.   Not eight.  Or ten. He’d probably remember how many if asked, too.

If Obama does indeed pick Biden (mayhap his first official presidential act?) then that shows he can and will make the right decisions as President.

I can’t think of anything better than Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate.  He’s the best and most qualified man or woman for the job.  He comes from the same hardworking background as Obama.  He not only packs the experience, and would make a great President himself, but he’s brutally honest, too — a rarity in a politician.  He wasn’t afraid to call out Rudy Giuliani at a debate earlier this year:

And the irony is, Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency, is here talking about any of the people here. Rudy Giuliani… I mean, think about it! Rudy Giuliani. There’s only three things he mentions in a sentence — a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There’s nothing else! There’s nothing else! And I mean this sincerely. He’s genuinely not qualified to be president.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/us-secret-servi.html

They're giving him his own Monopoly board.
OK, so it's a groaner. Have you seen any good McCain houses jokes floating around the web?
How about: Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.Who's there?McCain's houses.
Why did the chicken have to cross the road?Cindy forgot which house her servants were making dinner in.

Hi there, come on in.  Thanks for stopping by after another long and active day.  Yes, it was.  Oh, how wonderful!  You're always so sweet to bring a fresh melon.  I hear the Crane melon is in season around the Northern coast of California.  Someone I love told me that.  Grab a seat, would you like some wine?  Oh yes, I am.  Didn't I say long and active day?  Might even have one glass too many, but we're all friends.  You'll forgive me for falling asleep.  Two servings of friendship disguised as cheap Zinfandel in plastic cups coming right up - priceless. 

Priceless ... Sox, come here.  I want to tell you a story.  When you were born, you were one of many unwanted little treasures.  I didn't know you, yet.

During your first year running around without human playmate, you met the mosquito who carried the heartworm disease.  I didn't know you, yet.

A friend of a friend mentioned a young Boxer and her brother needed a home.  The stately brother found an owner immmediately, but never a home within.  The sister, unwanted, found me.  She needed me to help her live.  I know you now.

You went through so much to become healthy, my aging puppy.  Please stay with me as long as you possibly can.  Even if you snore louder than I do, even if you make a mess when you eat and even if you knock folks over.  Just stay.

Who do you need to stay?

Last week at the Saddleback forum, John McCain and Barack Obama each told a joke about the definition of "rich."
But Keith Olbermann, in his classic  flawed way of thinking described today by progressive media critic Bob Somerby as "flinging poo," did the following: 1) Ignored Obama's joke and 2) Pretended McCain was serious.

First, Obama's joke, when asked to define "rich":

OBAMA: You know, if you've got book sales of $25 million, then you qualify—

[LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE]

WARREN: No, I'm not asking about me!

Now McCain's joke:

WARREN: OK, on taxes, define "rich." Everybody talks about taxing the rich, but not the poor, the middle class. At what point—give me a number, give me a specific number—where do you move from middle class to rich? Is it $100,000, is it $50,000, is it $200,000? How does anybody know if we don't know what the standards are?

MCCAIN: Some of the richest people I've ever known in my life are the most unhappy. I think that rich should be defined by a home, a good job, an education and the ability to hand to our children a more prosperous and safer world than the one that we inherited. I don't want to take any money from the rich—I want everybody to get rich.

(LAUGHTER)

I don't believe in class warfare or re-distribution of the wealth. But I can tell you, for example, there are small businessmen and women who are working 16 hours a day, seven days a week that some people would classify as—quote—"rich," my friends, and want to raise their taxes and want to raise their payroll taxes.

Let's have—keep taxes low. Let's give every family in America a $7,000 tax credit for every child they have. Let's give them a $5,000 refundable tax credit to go out and get the health insurance of their choice. Let's not have the government take over the health care system in America.

(APPLAUSE)

So, I think if you are just talking about income, how about $5 million?
(LAUGHTER)

But seriously, I don't think you can—I don't think seriously that—the point is that I'm trying to make here, seriously—and I'm sure that comment will be distorted.

And, my friend, it was not taxes that mattered in America in the last several years. It was spending. Spending got completely out of control. We spent money in way that mortgaged our kids' futures.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, we spent $3 million of your money to study the DNA of bears in Montana. Now I don't know if that was a paternity issue or a criminal issue—

(LAUGHTER)

But the point is, it was $3 million of your money. It was your money. And, you know, we laugh about it, but we cry—and we should cry because the Congress is supposed to be careful stewards of your tax dollars. So what did they just do in the middle of an energy crisis when in California we are paying $4 a gallon for gas? Went on vacation for five weeks. I guarantee you, two things they never miss—a pay raise and a vacation—and we should stop that and call them back and not raise your taxes. We should not and cannot raise taxes in tough economic times.

So, it doesn't matter really what my definition of "rich" is because I don't want to raise anybody's taxes. I really don't. In fact, I want to give working Americans a better shot at having a better life, and we all know the challenges, my friends, if I could be serious. Americans tonight in California and all over America are sitting at the kitchen table—recently and suddenly lost a job, can't afford to stay in their home, education for their kids, affordable health care. These are tough problems. These are tough problems. You talk to them every day—

WARREN: All the time.

MCCAIN: Every day. My friends, we've got to give them hope and confidence in the future. That's what we need to give them, and I can inspire them. I can lead, and I know that our best days are ahead of us.

(APPLAUSE)

WARREN: All right. Thank you.

But the point is that we want to keep people's taxes low and increase revenues.

Despite Olbermann's ineptitude and propensity to the use of double standards, Josh Marshall earns the top honor. Somerby goes on:

We won’t attempt to capture all the chimp-like work on display today—although if you like seeing poo flung about, we’ll recommend Josh Marshall’s efforts.

Apparently, more about Marshall's and Olbermann's atrocious analysis will be covered tomorrow at the Daily Howler. Don't miss it!

While half the nation is asking, "How many houses do you have?" McBush and his staff flounders.

His counter attacks are pathetic, making him look desperate, which of course he is, but even more importantly and more deadly politically, it makes him and his staff look unprepared:

"McCain misfires as he attacks Obama's home purchase."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/154782

Makes you wonder why the genius Rove golden boy, Steve Schmidt, missed seeing this coming since it comes right out of the old Rove play book, with one glaring difference:

No slimy fabrications!

Example of how every single Democrat out there can work this to their advantage, every single time a Repub floats one of their idiotic faux proposals they'll get this:

"Just like Senator McCain doesn’t know how many houses he owns, Mr. Boehner doesn’t seem to know what he has proposed for energy policy. In a statement released today, he criticizes a proposal for increasing conservation by more effectively implementing existing policy allowing a flexible 40-hour work week among federal employees, while at the same time saying that promoting conservation is a cornerstone of the House Republicans’ energy proposal."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/Housing_gaffe_creep.html

What is the coup de grace?

Maybe Joe Biden tomorrow starts the real McBush attacks:

"Biden would fulfill the job of attack dog that is the first requirement for a vice presidential candidate, and that is especially important now for Obama. If Jabbering Joe is responding to John McCain's shots with memorable one-liners of his own, Obama can stay where he wants to be—above the fray. And if Biden says something off-the-wall that sticks in everyone's mind, all the better, as long as it's about McCain and not Obama or people who work in convenience stores or otherwise loosen Biden's tongue. The worry with Biden is that he just can't help himself. Obama may hope that he just can't stop himself from saying, say, that McCain is a hothead who shouldn't have his finger on the button. Obama can then denounce his No. 2's intemperate remarks even as they sink in. This is what veep candidate were put on earth to do. Same on the Republican side."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/154558

And we all thought that Bill Clinton was a great politician.

Bill, you’ve met your match – you wanted it to be Hillary with you pulling the strings, but it ain’t, get over it.

McBush?

Man, is he going to get mauled.

Geesh, I almost feel sorry for him.

And then I think about the fact that he will be able to soak off the bruises in one of those fabulous 6 house ranch hot tub(s), or the community spa(s) in those nifty condominium(s), he’s got a choice, you know, too many to count! or maybe retire to the old penthouse, or heck maybe he just stays way the F up there in the air on that fancy jet, or..... ....

Heh, heh, heh.

I know. I know.

I’m enjoying this way too much.

I know zippy about politics.  But here's what I'm thinking about O's timing with the VP stuff (and this likely isn't a novel idea):

Thursday and Friday: let the news cycles be consumed with speculation.  No McCain stuff on TV, because all the news outlets are busy having conniptions over when The Text Message will come.

Let 'er rip at about 2 am or 3 am Saturday morning, when it's too late for the newspapers to get it into print.  Saturday morning TV will be dominated with talk about The Text Message, leading up to total domination of the airwaves when the Springfield thing is held.  Again, no room for McCain in the news.

Sunday: the newspapers finally get to blow their loads over The Text Message ... as well as the Springfield thing.  AGAIN, no room for McCain in the news ... at least the big, thick Sunday papers.

Monday: convention time. No McCain for the week.

Seems smart to me -- they will have dominated the news cycle for longer than Obama's vacation, when he was [sort of] out of the news. 

Just thinking out loud, I guess.

There is one under-the-radar pick who seems to sync up with Obama perfectly.  I'm surprised we haven't discussed it more.

Alright, students, settle down. Settle down. I know you're all anxious about the final exam, and you should be. Your entire future depends on how well you do on this test, and frankly, I'm not sure that you're sufficiently prepared.

You know, as a class you blew the mid-term exam completely. Even though the test consisted of one single multiple-choice question, most of you managed somehow to narrow it down to the worst two options. Yes, it's true that you chose the better of those two, but wrong is wrong and I can't give you credit for wrong answers.

I'm going to give you an important hint before we actually start the test: Both of the apparent answers to the main question are wrong. One is far worse than the other, but as I said a few moments ago, wrong is wrong. If you want to pass this test, you're going to have to find another answer -- one that doesn't jump out at you on your test form.
 
This didn't have to be the final exam, you know. You had the resources to keep this course going for a long time to come. But you all chose to party and do the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll thing too long and your failure to learn means that we're going to have to cut the class short. That's why this exam is the final exam.

OK. When I say "convene" you may begin. You will have until approximately 9 pm local time on November 4 to complete the exam. If you don't complete it, your career at this college is over. If too many of you get the answer wrong -- and remember that I told you both of the obvious answers are wrong -- well, if too many of you get the answer wrong, they are likely to shut down the whole college.

Good luck.

Convene.

Based on the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation,  which conducted an analysis of the net worth of each of the 535 members of Congress.

Obama: $799,000
McCain: $36,000,000

McCain is definitely rich by his standards....and Obama, I guess, would be poor?

Jimi Hendrix RARE 67-03-07 Belgium - Hey Joe Tienerklanken

Have you seen the Fabulous Live of John McCain video?  You should, it's absolutely fabulous!

MSNBC reports http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26336195/