Via Andrew Sullivan: http://www.slate.com/id/2200408/pagenum/all/#page_start

  Was Obama subtly giving a nod towards the continuation of the expansion of the Executive Branch as evidenced by his FISA vote over the Summer? I don't believe so. I believe the Obama camp's explanation that it was for political expediency (although I don't agree with it). 

   We have seen the abuses of the Bush Administration with its overreaching-will Obama "reign in" the Executive? 

 I want to know more about the so-called "test of loyalty" given by Mayor Palin mentioned here; http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515512.html

What the...? Is this a common occurance in municipalities? That a newly sworn in mayor asks for the resignation of the major department heads as a "test of loyalty". How does that work? If they refuse they are fired? On what grounds?

THIS has to be looked into. That's some seriously strange activity and I would guess not "standard operating procedure."

Anyone else ever hear of such? We need to look into the human resources documents for the City of Wasilla...

Interesting article posted over at Alternet.org illuminating the thought processes of the right wing.
http://www.alternet.org/election08/97193/the_palin_choice%3A_the_reality_of_voters%27_minds/?page=1
 

     McCain's nomination of Palin for VP is an insult to the intelligence of American voters and shows a combination of naked pandering based upon gender and a shocking disregard for the security of the United States. John McCain is 72 years old, with a history of health problems, but even w/o those qualifiers, he has managed to give the middle finger to the American poeple regarding our security.

   He is unfit for leadership and has a scary disregard for his purported national security interests. He is showing nothing but a desperate, laughable and pathetic pandering to the extreme right wing of his party. Things truly must be bad for Republicans. One has to seriously question his mental stability at this point. I hope Americans will come to their senses in the sobering environment of the voting booth.

   I don't think it is too much of an exagerration to state that without your contributions to Civil Rights and Voting Rights, we would not have been able to nominate the first African-American to a major party ticket for president.

   I have read as much as I possibly can about you and, oh how you have angered me at times, inspired me, and made me laugh at others but mostly you have taught me and anyone else who will take the time to study your mistakes as well as your triumphs. 

   It appears your own Party has abandoned you and rarely is your name invoked largely because of Vietnam and your "corseness". Someday, I hope we as Democrats have a more balanced view of your time. One that isn't a knee-jerk rejection nor an overly optimistic one.

   Cheers! And the Pedernales still looks fine...

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Other_Entertainment/Books_Caro_LBJs_1th.html?cxntlid=inform_sr





  

Wake up, Obama advisors! Don't play into the Republican talking points and be defensive about the venue for the acceptance speech. Why can't you simply see it as the most INCLUSIVE nomination speech in American political history ANDE STICK BY IT? I am sick and tired of Democrats being on the defensive every time a Republican gos Boo! Why can't you take what is a good thing and make it better?

 Apologies in advance if this has been covered here at TPM...but, to what extent is the idea of having a Republican president as a check on what certainly looks like a Democratic landslide in Congress on the radar of the electorate? Not that I expect Karl Rove to be reading this...but it might start to be an underlying thought (if not brought up directly next week in Minn.). Thoughts?

   Fighting McCain ought to be a job y'all can sink your teeth into and will be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Sick 'em!

I'm not an expert-just some shmo who is a dedicated Democrat. I'm sick of the bickering between the Obama and Clinton camps. I'm sick of the name-calling and general lack of respect from extremists on both sides. This is not going to help the PARTY in Nov. Get over yourselves. We have alot more in common with each other than we do with McCain. All this tit for tat, he said she said business is simply part of the game. Obama is the nominee and both sides better get with the program or we are going to have a loooooong four years ahead of us.

  Seems pretty ironic that McCain cannot remember how many houses he owns (he sure has a lot of trouble remembering anything) when many Americans are lsong theirs. And thanks to a former ADVISOR of his: Phil Gramm (R-Enron).

  This ought to show that ol' $500 shoes McCain isn't really on the same page as the rest of us.

Dig?

  Its not negative if its the truth. Has McCain supported and perpetuated the policies of the Bush Administration? Yes. Has McCain made ridicualous statements ranging from not knowing the names of former Soviet-bloc nations to having 80% of our power needs met with nukes? Yes.

   Certainly, how one illustrates McCain's shortcomings can be contrued as negative or positive and I'm not advocating exagerration but simply hammering home a half dozen solid disastrous policies of McCain and hammering a half-dozen easily digested concrete solutions to these problems in terms that the average person can understand-and with passion.

   Obama keeps asking for McCain to have a real debate about the issues but its too late for that! Its never going to happen. McCain's only tactic is to instill fear and insecurity into the minds of those who are undecided. 

  

Sorry if this has been mentioned in a post somewhere but, to me, this seems pretty big news: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080807/pl_afp/usvoteobamarice_080807130345
Bully for Obama! The Republican Secretary of State just undermined McCain's argument about Obama's ability to keep America secure.

 What was considered fringe interest a mere five years ago is now mainstream. Talk of global warming, alternative fuels, etc. re now the hot, pardon the pun, topics. The way for Democrats to appeal to working men and women is through their pocketbooks first. Once you have improved their situation in this regard, they may not all of the sudden change into being social liberals when it comes to gun control, abortion or same sex marriage, but I'll bet you dimes to donuts they will be less likely to vote against Dems simply for those reasons. 
   Obama and every other significant Dem candidate need to hammer on economic themes right now and hard. If McCain is able to wedge his way in there, he has taken away Obama's trump card. I'm not sure Obama has watertight arguments or policies right now that will mitigate the hardship felt by blue collar folks everywhere but he needs to at the very least speak to it. Not with platitudes but concrete plans. A few well thought out policies beat many poor ones. Of course. This was the area where Hillary supposedly had the upper hnad but he can erase that if he hammers on the economy and where average folks stand. This is what the Democratic Party has been and ought to be about.

Reading Yoda's blog about the future of the GOP and the comments on it regarding what the Dems are (or are not) doing to keep theirs reminds me of an article by former Texas House Speaker, Liutenant Gov. and Democratic lion-Ben Barnes. The article is focused on Texas politics but could be extrapolated to include the national Democratic Party:
http://www.thetexasblue.com/we-need-focus-texas-problems-not-politics

The following quote, I think, distills the message nicely:
"Yet, regardless of whether a new Speaker is elected, if the House fails to focus on the serious issues confronting Texas, it runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. The power of being of being the majority party is often accepted as the simple answer, but it really isn’t. I’m all for electing a Democratic majority to the Texas House, but the above considerations must fit within our overall strategy of moving Texas forward. The strategy for winning back the Texas House cannot be predicated on winning a Democratic majority alone."

Obama's rejection of Clinton's and McCain's summer gas tax freeze is echoed by economists. Of course Hillary spins this into "he(Obama) doesn't care about the plight of the working class" boilerplate:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080430/pl_nm/usa_politics_gastax_economists_dc