I think someone should make an ad using this interview from Dec 2007, in which McCain admits he isn't smart enough to solve the subprime crisis; didn't see it coming; and doesn't even understand some of the terms involved.  Somebody should...so I have decided to try my hand. 

This is my first attempt at video editing, and I'm sure it could be punchier, and should probably be intermingled with what he's saying today--so your suggestions for improvement are requested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbtVOsjdeQA

(One of the best parts from that interview is McCain's reaction to the interviewer bringing up the S&L crisis)

I read a comment somewhere about how it didn't exactly instill confidence to hear McCain speak woodenly about "credit default swaps" when he sounded like it was the first time he'd heard the term.

The economic crisis is the perfect time to put the nail in the coffin of the anti-intellectual propaganda of the right. I think most Americans are a little baffled by the nuances of the economy, but they're trying to understand it. And they probably are realizing that just bringing some random beauty queen off the slopes of Alaska to run the country has its risks. Rather than talk in broad generalities, Obama should take the time in each speech to explain the sources of the economic crisis in simple but accurate terms. He should demonstrate, as only he can, why we might want to put someone smart in the Whitehouse.

Obama's surrogates should remind people that Obama is brilliant--bring out all the economists from UofC who can talk about how deep and broad his understanding is--and even remind people that he did work for a short time writing investment strategy advice to fortune 500 companies (even if it goes against his noble community organizer image).

I also think he should mock McCain for his goofy faux-populism. "McCain says he's going to end greed on Wall Street. Well, I can't say that I'm going to change human nature, but I am going close the CMFA loophole, which Phil Gramm snuck into the 2000 appropriations bill, which encourages lenders to make risky loans and then compound that risk by betting on it, and this loophole, which Phil Gramm rammed through congress in 1999, which ended the protections put in after the depression and left sectors of the banking industry unregulated, and I'm going to put people in the regulatory agencies who actually believe in the mission of that agency...etc."

And he should stop calling Gramm one of McCain's advisors--he should say Gramm wrote McCain's economic policy.

This is a fantastic new line from Obama, in my opinion.  I hope everyone of his surrogates starts using it as the shorthand for McCain's lies. 

Here's the story at Huffington (linked to Dkos):

"if you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well then I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska."

On April 3, 2008, Michael Greenberger explained on Fresh Air (starting at about 4:19) how a little noticed or understood bill called the Commodity Futures Moderinization Act, introduced by Phil Gramm and ushered through congress as it was recessing for Christmas in Dec 2000, allowed banks to place bets on their own mortgages and credit lines and then list the bets themselves as assets. 

Instead of these bets being placed through a regular hedge fund, however, the law allowed them to use "offbook" entities called structured investment vehicles.  So, when the banks started losing money not only from their mortgage investments, but from the bets they had made on them, they could postpone posting the full extent of their losses on their accounting sheets.  Greenberger thinks that when these losses do finally start appearing on the books it will cause a cascading financial crisis bigger than the mortgage crisis itself.

Last week when the Feds took over Freddie and Fannie, they cited vague anomolies in their accounting practices as the trigger that caused the takeover.  I immediately thought of this loophole provided by Phil Gramm's bill.

I'm hoping that someone can dig into this and see whether these offbook transactions, made possible by Phil Gramm, were the accounting practices that alarmed the Feds and triggered the Freddie/Fannie takeover.  Anyone want to call up Michael Greenberger and ask?  He's a law professor at University of Maryland School of Law.

(This post inspired by the discussion on this thread)

Dan Eggen at the Washington Post elaborates on the trend that Josh has been flagging for a while now:  Bush taking up Obama's foreign policy positions that McCain had criticized.

He cites: diplomatic talks with North Korea; timeline for withdrawal from Iraq; moving troops to Afganistan; and formally approving cross-border raids into Pakistan without that country's explicit permission.  He also mentions that the Bush administration just gave 1 billion in aid to Georgia, which Biden had proposed.

But the killer line is from Obama supporter Randy Beers: 

"The flip side of that is that John McCain is therefore to the right of George Bush, which I don't think is the way he conceived of his campaign."

Obama said we needed to do X. McCain said no way, but Obama was right and now we're doing X and Y has happened....Obama's ideas are already moving our nation forwards.   McCain  would move us backwards.

I blogged about this earlier in a semi-joking way, but the more I think about it the more serious I am. 

Obama's campaign has always been about change from the bottom up; about the power of the American people when they work together in the face of adversity; about the shared responsibility of the American people for the fate of our country. 

And yet, here on this site, and on liberal blogs everywhere, I see constant complaining : When is Obama gonna do X?When is Obama gonna say Y?  I see brilliant ideas for lines of attack, but I also see passive defeatism and despair (and I feel it myself).

Obama's campaign is constrained in the ways that it can attack.  It  is a political reality that a black male politician, trying to win over white voters cannot get too angry or aggressive--something the GOP is fully prepared to exploit--using their white woman as a human shield.  It would also tarnish his "brand". The big 527's are slow to get off the ground, and ads with the name Moveon or Planned Parenthood associated with them may do more harm than good.

So I have a question for the blogosphere: How can small groups of individuals produce and finance their own 527-type advertising in swing districts ?  I'm not talking about primetime television ads in a metropolitan market.  I'm about talking radio, newspaper, classifieds, and paid web ads. And yes, maybe in some cases, harnessing the best of youtube creativity and putting it on the airwaves.  What are the legal requirements?  What are the districts to focus on?  How do you coordinate, without coordinating through the Obama campaign?

Is anyone with me?  Or are we going to wait helplessly for Obama to save us from above and then criticize him when we discover he really meant it when he said, "This election is not about me.  It's about you."

No, I'm not really advocating for TPM to start a 527, but I just read (and feel) all this frustration with the Obama campaign for not being ruthless enough*, and I thought we should blow off some steam by posting the 527 ads we'd like to see on the air. 

Post your script for a hard-hitting 527 commercial  in the comments.  Maybe some iMovie maven or liberal millionaire will read your comment and make your dreams come true.

Here's mine:

Throughout the commercial, the red line of a heartbeat monitor shows in the foreground and the sound of a human heart is heard beating in the background.

Image: McCain speaking
McCain: I understand because of my age that people are going to be looking at my VP pick more carefully.  That's why, first and foremost, I'll be looking for someone who is ready to step in and be president on day one.

Image: Charlie Gibson and McCain.
Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
Palin: (blinks) In what respect, Charlie?
Gibson: What do you interpret it to be?
Palin: His world view?

Gibson: I'm talking about somebody who's a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one?
Palin: I have not.

Heartbeat starts beating faster and louder.

Image:Still image of Sarah Palin with headlines scrolling past
Voiceover:  John McCain picked Sarah Palin for purely political reasons, without properly vetting her. Now they've got Palin hidden away, trying to give her a crash course in world affairs (headlines and quotes about her lack of experience)  in the economy (headlines and quotes about her Fannie Mae gaff) and how the federal government works (headline that Palin didn't know what a VP did)

As the following advisors are mentioned, their individual images pop up around Sarah Palin until they are obscuring her face.  The hearbeat gets faster and faster.

Voiceover: The McCain campaign has assigned George Bush's  speech writer to write  Palin's speeches.  (pop) McCain hired the ad-man who smeared his own family in 2000 to coach Sarah Palin for interviews and on the duties of the president.   (pop)Karl Rove's protege is running McCain's campaign.  (pop) McCain hired lobbyists for big oil...insurance companies.. (pop).big banks.. (pop).and for foreign governments like Saudi Arabia (pop), Russia (pop), and Columbia (pop) to write his policy.

Image: Sarah Palin is almost entirely obscured by the McCain campaign staff.  Heartbeat is pounding frantically.

Voiceover:  If something happens to John McCain...

Suddenly the heartbeat line goes flat and a long beeeep is heard through the end of the commercial

Voicover: Who do you think will  be running our government?

Screen goes black with just the flat red line and the beeep.

No, I'm not really advocating for TPM to start a 527, but I just read (and feel) all this frustration with the Obama campaign for not being ruthless enough*, and I thought we should blow off some steam by posting the 527 ads we'd like to see on the air. 

Post your script for a hard-hitting 527 commercial  in the comments.  Maybe some iMovie maven or liberal millionaire will read your comment and make your dreams come true.

Here's mine:

Throughout the commercial, the red line of a heartbeat monitor shows in the foreground and the sound of a human heart is heard beating in the background.

Image: McCain speaking
McCain: I understand because of my age that people are going to be looking at my VP pick more carefully.  That's why, first and foremost, I'll be looking for someone who is ready to step in and be president on day one.

Image: Charlie Gibson and McCain.
Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
Palin: (blinks) In what respect, Charlie?
Gibson: What do you interpret it to be?
Palin: His world view?

Gibson: I'm talking about somebody who's a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one?
Palin: I have not.

Heartbeat starts beating faster and louder.

Image:Still image of Sarah Palin with headlines scrolling past
Voiceover:  John McCain picked Sarah Palin for purely political reasons, without properly vetting her. Now they've got Palin hidden away, trying to give her a crash course in world affairs (headlines and quotes about her lack of experience)  in the economy (headlines and quotes about her Fannie Mae gaff) and how the federal government works (headline that Palin didn't know what a VP did)

As the following advisors are mentioned, their individual images pop up around Sarah Palin until they are obscuring her face.  The hearbeat gets faster and faster.

Voiceover: The McCain campaign has assigned George Bush's  speech writer to write  Palin's speeches.  (pop) McCain hired the ad-man who smeared his own family in 2000 to coach Sarah Palin for interviews and on the duties of the president.   (pop)Karl Rove's protege is running McCain's campaign.  (pop) McCain hired lobbyists for big oil...insurance companies.. (pop).big banks.. (pop).and for foreign governments like Saudi Arabia (pop), Russia (pop), and Columbia (pop) to write his policy.

Image: Sarah Palin is almost entirely obscured by the McCain campaign staff.  Heartbeat is pounding frantically.

Voiceover:  If something happens to John McCain...

Suddenly the heartbeat line goes flat and a long beeeep is heard through the end of the commercial

Voicover: Who do you think will  be running our government?

Screen goes black with just the flat red line and the beeep.

NPR just had a story about a flurry of mostly-positive edits that occurred to Sarah Palin's wikipedia page, 45 minutes before her VP candidacy was leaked--including edits that removed/downplayed references to the brother-in-law scandal. The author of those edits?  An anonymous user with the handle "YoungTrig."  Trig--I'm sure just coincidentally--is the name of Palin's infant son.
 
The NPR story noted that editing your own page on wikipedia is considered a "no-no," according to their terms of use. 

Audio of the NPR story  here shortly:
 
Hmm. I guess we can expect the kind of wonderful transparency and honesty from the McCain/Palin administration that we have seen for the past eight years.

Bob Novak has come out of hiding this week*  to write this article, claiming that Lieberman has taken nobly himself out of the running for McCain's VP, to protect Daddy Mac from the wrath of social conservatives.  Lieberman's consolation prize, according to Novak's slithery sources, is to be named secretary of state. 

Bob Novak has come out of hiding this week*  to write this article, claiming that Lieberman has taken nobly himself out of the running as McCain's VP to protect Daddy Mac from the wrath of social conservatives.  His consolation prize, according to Novak's slithery sources, is to be named secretary of state. 

The Republican operative who urged Lieberman to dissuade McCain from picking him believes that there is still a very useful role for the maverick Democrat in this campaign: as McCain's secretary of state.

I think the voters need to know this. 

Lieberman is possibly the most hawkish Senator on Iran and the middle east and he consistently seems far more concerned with the security of Israel than with the security of the United States. 

In fact, I think it would also make a great response ad to McCain's latest bit of nastiness:

"It is a dangerous world.  Thanks to Bush's policies the fragile balance in the middle east and around the world is teetering on the brink.  It will take a steady but firm hand at the rudder, a cool mind at the helm, who is prepared to use all the tools of aggressive diplomacy--both big carrots and big sticks-- a leader who can unite the world in common purpose, in order to restore calm in this critical region.  So who is John McCain  thinking of naming as secretary of state--our diplomatic face to the world?" 

Then you show Joe and just list about a zillion blustery, bellicose things that Lieberman has said about Iran and other countries--maybe with with a map of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afganistan, and Russia throbbing red as he talks about each one.

"John McCain doesn't just want to contine the disasterous foreign policy of Geroge Bush and the neocons; he's doubling down."

"Is this the world America wants her children to inherit?"

"I'm boo_lala and I approve this message"


* Does that homeless guy have a good lawyer? I sure hope so.

It looks like the Washington Post got the hint and stopped burying the al-Maliki story, with this Dan Balz headline:
Obama Makes War Gains: Maliki's Embrace of Withdrawal Timeline Confounds McCain

Which appears to be the "standalone story" that Greg Sargent was asking about. In it Balz even corrects their previous blunder (emphasizing an alleged eight month difference in their comments as the most significant thing).

Then on Monday, after Maliki met with Obama, his spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said the Iraqis were working toward a deadline that would call for U.S. combat forces to be out of Iraq by the end of 2010, at most eight months after Obama's timetable [emphasis mine]

Since Ghengis's original announcement of the TPM-aholics party has fallen off the front page, this is just a quick post to announce the location and details for the Austin, TX TPM-aholics fundraiser party.

The date is next Saturday, July 19th.  Party starts at 7pm. Snacks, drinks, music, fun provided.  Suggested minimum donation $25.

RSPV and find more event details and directions here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gvm3

I didn't see this on the main page, so I'm posting it here. Moveon and AFSCME have partnered (not a verb, I know) to create an effective, emotional (-ly manipulative?) Anti McCain ad, featuring a young mother holding her infant son. CBS News has more:

The 30 second spot features a young mother holding her toddler son, Alex . She explains his talent for trying new food, chasing their dog and pulling on her heart strings. In a dramatic turn, the mother asks, " So, John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? " She looks at her child and says "Because if you were, you can’t have him."

See the ad here

The ad buy totaled $540,000 and was split "roughly evenly" between AFSME and MoveOn.org. The ad will start airing Wednesday on CNN, MSNBC, Washington, DC broadcasts as well as in select television markets in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin

In the spirit of DKDC's post, this post has nothing to do with the concluded Democratic primary. 

Now that Obama is the nominee, he needs to be thinking about his cabinet.  There has been endless speculation about his VP, but there are much more important appointments to be made. It makes for entertaining speculation to try to decide who he should pick or to guess who he will pick.  So I propose a TPM/office pool: Put your guesses/recommendations for cabinet appointments in the comments (include the rationale for your nominee).

I'll start the conversation:

The most important appointment for Obama is AG. The Bush administration has polluted the entire federal government with idealogues and partisan operatives.  The corruption must be rooted out and punished.  DOJ policies must be brought in line with the constitution.

I know everybody thinks he should pick Edwards, but I think he needs to pick someone with a completely non-partisan reputation.  There are going to be a lot of prosecutions of  Bush cronies and they can't look (and shouldn't be) politically motivated.  The obvious choice is Patrick Fitzgerald.  Problem is, if he takes Fitzgerald out of Chicago, where Fitz is investigating three of Obama's good friends (Governor Blagojevich, Mayor Daley, and Rezko), it will look like he's trying to interfere in those investigations.  But who else could he pick that would fit the bill?  James Comey? David Iglesias?

I imagine that Obama will try to build a bipartisan cabinet, but who of the GOP would you trust in any position? 

I, myself, can only think of one:  I think Chuck Hagel would make a great Sec of Defense.  I don't trust him on any other issue, but I think he truely did learn the lesson of Vietnam:  you don't use military force unless it is directly vital to our national interests and always remember that there is no such thing as an 'easy' or 'simple' war.  He would also probably treat our troops a lot better than they have been treated under Bush's cronies.

What do y'all think?  Give your nominees for Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, CIA/FBI/NSA chiefs, EPA chief, Department of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Departments of Energy/Education/Health and Human services, etc.