Just FYI, for those of you suspicious types...

As has been said...

At this point, McCain has taken the obvious way out—launching a series of distracting attacks on Barack Obama, with slim regard for truth. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/john-farrell/2008/9/15/john-mccains-journey-from-maverick-to-liar.html http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/apology_not_accepted.html http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/08/20/watchdogs-make-it-harder-for-politicians-to-stretch-the-truth/ http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/07/the-new-york-ti.html http://www.themansfieldherald.com/2008/09/mccains-dirty-campagn-starting-to-anger-the-press/

"There are good reasons Republicans are focusing on identity rather than issues this year: In poll after poll, there's not a single major issue on which the public agrees with them or their presumptive nominee. Not Iraq, certainly. Not the economy. Should the election turn on the question of "What are you going to do for America?" rather than "Are you a real American?" Republicans are doomed. They offer no solutions for the stagnation (or decline) of American living standards, or for the weakening of America's economic power. They offer no resolution to America's war of choice in Iraq. Their party leader, the incumbent president, let a great American city drown. They are the American party, and McCain the American nominee, that hasn't a clue about how to help America in its (prolonged, I fear) moment of need." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051302303_pf.html http://www.washingtonindependent.com/view/little-left-of http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/07/the-saddest-sight-on-straight.html?printable=true¤tPage=all http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/factchecking-th.html http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aQIOOr9klOnE&refer=politics

"The Obama campaign had anticipated the Chicago Machine card would be played in the campaign and the candidate, himself, noted earlier this year that he felt he had done well in rising politically "without being entangled in some of the traditional problems of Chicago politics.

Robert Gibbs, a senior aide to Obama, discounted the McCain ad. Gibbs said he believed it was "highly ineffective" to try to link Obama to dishonored political machine politics when his elections to public office were due to "grassroots" voters and not "ward organizations or the political bosses."

"If you talk to any person in Illinois and ask them if Barack Obama came to power as part of some Chicago machine, I think they'd probably spend that 30 seconds laughing at you," Gibbs said." Chicago Tribune.

"He really wants to play the association game?" http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/19/attack-by-association-viewed-as-fair-game-by-mccain-camp/#comments http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/the-ad-campaign-obamas-chicago-in-mccains-eyes/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-090923-campaign-chicago-web,0,5284558.story http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-20-McCainadviser_N.htm http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121072447597990171.html?mod=googlenews_wsj http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121842762192729075.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_topbox http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/05/14/mccain-vows-to-do-better-vetting-of-campaign-offiicials/?mod=WSJBlog#comments http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/08/new-mccain-adviser-keeps-lobbying-job/?mod=WSJBlog http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/washington/2008/06/02/Possible-McCain-Fiorina-Ticket When Mike Signorile is outing http://signorile2003.blogspot.com/2008/09/hypocrisy-bombshell-antigay-john-mccain.html a member of his staff as gay? http://themoderatevoice.com/society/homosexuality/21802/mccain-the-party-could-%E2%80%9Cexclude-people%E2%80%9D-for-being-%E2%80%9Cpro-gay-rights%E2%80%9C/ When there's no record of the Manhunt donation being returned. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Crutchley_contribution_not_returned.html#comments When there's so much out there that hasn't been used by Obama http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=863253665&play=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/us/politics/21text-mccain.html?ref=politics or reported by the press? http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-17-mccain-adviser_N.htm

"He ain’t never been the same since Vietnam..." ('Out Come The Freaks' Was Not Was) http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/03/john_mccain_an/#more http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/06/AR2008080603589_pf.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-28-carter-denver_N.htm?csp=34

So let's go there. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/06/mccain_forgets_his_own_votes.html http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/factcheckorg-its-true-that-mccain-voted.html http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/09/weekend_edition.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090402842_pf.html Let's go there now. http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/cin_WARTS%20AND%20ALL.htm

All republican candidate John McCain http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/533087.html has left to say http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/21/AR2008062101471_pf.html http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/20/wsjnbc-news-poll-mccain-running-a-negative-campaign/trackback/ is that he has to deceive the country to become president. http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/304740 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061702009_pf.html http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/10/petraeus-gently-refutes-mccain-assertion/?mod=WSJBlog And just who wants a guy who does that? http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/22/mccain-campaign-lobbies-bailout/ http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/09/mccain_lies_about_commerce_committee_jurisdiction.php Seriously, Phil Gramm as his secretary of the treasury? http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/09/mccain-adviser-addresses-mental-recession/ http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/15/mccain-deficit/ http://www.politickerma.com/jeremyjacobs/1251/dukakis-mccain-using-same-race-tactics-willie-horton-ad

What McCain is really afraid of http://www.democrats.com/john-mccain-married-to-the-mob http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-02-17/news/haunted-by-spirits/full http://www.mattwelch.com/archives/2007/12/23-week/ http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/will-the-media-ever-talk-about.php http://www.kffl.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4038327 is that a paper like the NYTimes or Washington Post will finish the stories about Jim Hensley - McCain's deceased father in law - and the Arizona organized crime circles http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=173&a=7884 http://www.democrats.com/john-mccain-married-to-the-mob http://tiodt.blogspot.com/2006/12/married-to-mob.html http://montereycountydemocrats.org/node/415 that gave McCain his power and wealth.

Or more to the point, that all that barbecue got them to forget Keating Five.

Oh wait...Jonathan Alter just brought it up on cable. That genie is coming out of the bottle...

Keating Five, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081006/keating_video Keating Five, http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1989-11-29/news/mccain-the-most-reprehensible-of-the-keating-five/1 Keating Five. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/05/30/050530fa_fact_bruck?printable=true

But it's the Arizona crime circles that connect to the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914845-3,00.html Who was covering a story related to abortion. And McCain's running mate http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122065537792905483.html made women pay for their rape kits, http://www.jedreport.com/2008/09/mccain-voted-against-biden-law.html reported today on CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/21/palin.rape.exams/index.html And that same running mate http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/09/troopergate-a-cat-slipped-out.php http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/22667/what-mccain-once-said-about-mayors-and-governors-experience/ is so anti-abortion that she would allow incest over abortion. And let's not forget a certain...well, John McCain called it a joke. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/337178

And there's more... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121745962594698731.html there's that great piece in The Nation about how John McCain worked to keep information from families of POWs. http://www.nationinstitute.org/p/schanberg09182008pt1 And lest we forget how he voted against http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1808161,00.html medical care http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080602/beutler for returning veterans http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808240318 from the occupation of Iraq and attack on Afghanistan. And used wounded vets as a political football http://www.jedreport.com/2008/07/why-didnt-mccai.html http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_6951&pageNum=2 like the Twin Towers. An occasional error? http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/21/23137/5303 Or a forgiving press? http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/best-debate-sunday-john-mccain/story.aspx?guid=%7BED3697D6-C692-4E34-AD92-7037F41F2970%7D&dist=hppr http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1836909,00.html

As if anyone would pay attention http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/16/9641/62473/762/599278 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/20/12253/3155/448/571100 to any of all that...