Earlier today, Greg Sargent over at TPM Election Central put up a post about the latest of the McPalin slime machine's ads against Obama. I have no problem with anyone writing about the lies and distortions which have become the hallmark of Rovian politics and are now the sine qua non of the campaign. It's important that we keep up the counter-attack on the forces of non-change and the Republican "Country First". And being aware of their daily attacks is vital.

However, I do have a problem with linking to these pieces of crap. When we do that, we are no better than the MSM who slavishly devote free air time to the non-stop broadcasting of these scurrilous prevarications. The Rovians have spent years conditioning the MSM to give the correct response to their carefully crafted corrupt stimuli. We cannot do the same.

It is clear now with some 57 days or so remaining that playing by the "rules" guarantees failure. We cannot be guilty of aiding and abetting these most loathsome of cynical politicians in the history of our nation. And not only must we stop helping the McPalin campaign, it is time for us to exert as much force and influence on the Obama campaign to come out swinging,

It'a all well a good to have a finely tuned Rapid Response Team. What Obama needs is a Rapid Attack Team.

Earlier today, Greg Sargent over at TPM Election Central put up a post about the latest of the McPalin slime machine's ads against Obama. I have no problem with anyone writing about the lies and distortions which have become the hallmark of Rovian politics and are now the sine qua non of the campaign. It's important that we keep up the counter-attack on the forces of non-change and the Republican "Country First". And being aware of their daily attacks is vital.

However, I do have a problem with linking to these pieces of crap. When we do that, we are no better than the MSM who slavishly devote free air time to the non-stop broadcasting of these scurrilous prevarications. The Rovians have spent years conditioning the MSM to give the correct response to their carefully crafted corrupt stimuli. We cannot do the same.

It is clear now with some 57 days or so remaining that playing by the "rules" guarantees failure. We cannot be guilty of aiding and abetting these most loathsome of cynical politicians in the history of our nation. And not only must we stop helping the McPalin campaign, it is time for us to exert as much force and influence on the Obama campaign to come out swinging,

It'a all well a good to have a finely tuned Rapid Response Team. What Obama needs is a Rapid Attack Team.

If you look through my blog you'll see that I'm not a novice at doing this. But yesterday, the computer gods conspired against me. While attempting to publish my post (in the midst of an horrendous thunderstorm here in the East with some resulting power spikes) I also kept getting an Iternal Server Error message which instructed me to retry. I did and the result was the post and the apology that followed being posted four times. I may like what I write but I'm not that much of an egomaniac. So again, my heartfelt apologies for the disruption this may have caused.

---Thom Rogers

While the Republican party continues to experience the world's longest orgasm over St. John the Insane's "inspired"..."brilliant"..."game-changing"..."maverick" selection of little Sarah Palin, those of us not immediately privy to that political conjugal scene have begun to explore who this gift from the Republican God really is. And naturally the Rovian army of blond-haired, blue-eyed media muggers has been dispatched to eliminate all forms of dissent and opposition.

Following the Karl Rove Handbook of Poisoned Politics (now in its 3rd edition!), they dismiss with impunity any and all inquiries concerning her light-weight political history and instead choose to trumpet her experience as governor. They compare and contrast her 1.75 years of experience as a chief executive and a "commander-in-chief" with the political record of Senator Obama. And in their judgment, Sister Sarah wins that battle hands down. However, that line of argument may not be the best one for the Republicans to pursue. Why? Maybe because of the results of the last governor they foisted on the country eight years ago...George W. Bush.

When "W" was anointed to be the leader of the free world by the Republican party, he came to the job with 5 years of governing experience under his belt. Gee, that's almost three times as much as Sister Sarah! And just like now, the nattering nabobs of negativism (Sidebar: Why is Safire writing a column again in the NY Times?) raised the very same questions about George as they are raising with Sister Sarah...She's too young...She's too inexperienced...She has no foreign relations experience or knowledge (To be fair though, she lives next door to Russia and he lived next door to Mexico)...blahblahblah. What nit-picking! And she's even more experienced than "W" 'cause she's the governor of the largest state in the Union (only in acreage, mind) while he was governor of the second largest. So there.

Why don't we take a look at how well a president who was a governor untutored and inexperienced in the ways of the world has worked out so far?

Let's see...In August of 2001 while on his first of dozens of "working vacations" at his "ranch" in Crawford, W was given specific intelligence that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on the United States and it would probably involve the use of aircraft. Response? Zippo. Result? September 11, 2001.

Seizing upon the attacks of 9/11, W's neocon puppet masters managed to manipulate him into believing Iraq was behind it and needed to be punished. Response? He launched the first war of aggression in United States history. Result(s)? Over 4,100 dead American combat forces, over 30,000 more permanently maimed both physically and mentally, many more times that number of Iraq civilians dead; the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars in the cost of executing this catastrophe; the loss of world-wide respect and honor for the United States; the alienation of our allies; the destruction of the American economy. And at the same time, W allowed the real perpetrators of 9/11 to scurry off into the hills of our great ally Pakistan whose military dictator W deemed to be a "good man". That certainly worked out well for Governor President Bush, didn't it? Oh yeah, he also brought us to the brink of nuclear (nucular) war with North Korea. What a guy!

Moving from one disaster to another, this one not Bush-made, at least not in a causal sense, we come to Hurricane Katrina and the nearly total destruction of a major American city. Once again, Bush heaved himself up from his Lazy-Boy recliner in his den at the ranch and took some time to do a fly-over in Air Force One. There's leadership for you. And Katrina managed to show the American people that not only was he an inept bungler when it came to foreign affairs but he could just as easily fuck up things here at home. And it also high-lighted Bush's unique ability to pick the wrong man or woman for the job every time. Quite a talent. You remember "Heckuva job, Brownie" right?

But poor Brownie was just the part of the iceberg visible to the naked eye. Below him were legions of unqualified political appointees who made up the Bush administration's well-oiled machine of government. And what a stellar array of talent Bush brought with him not only from his days as governor of Texas but the nearly-dead from his father's administration. Ah yes, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers, Gonzalez, and so many others who have helped to make America what it is today. And let's not neglect to mention his brilliant appointees to the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. It finally gave Scalia and Thomas a foursome for bridge.

And how has the former governor of Texas done for the American economy? Well just look around. You might even be one of those Americans who has a lot of unexpected free time having lost your job. Or maybe one of the newly homeless. Or someone so deep in credit card debt that suicide is a daily consideration. Or one of those who has to choose between filling the gas tank or filling your kids stomachs. Heckuva job, Bushie!

I guess we should be troubled by the fact that Governor Palin has had less experience than our current president before taking office. But you know, experience isn't everything.

While the Republican party continues to experience the world's longest orgasm over St. John the Insane's "inspired"..."brilliant"..."game-changing"..."maverick" selection of little Sarah Palin, those of us not immediately privy to that political conjugal scene have begun to explore who this gift from the Republican God really is. And naturally the Rovian army of blond-haired, blue-eyed media muggers has been dispatched to eliminate all forms of dissent and opposition.

Following the Karl Rove Handbook of Poisoned Politics (now in its 3rd edition!), they dismiss with impunity any and all inquiries concerning her light-weight political history and instead choose to trumpet her experience as governor. They compare and contrast her 1.75 years of experience as a chief executive and a "commander-in-chief" with the political record of Senator Obama. And in their judgment, Sister Sarah wins that battle hands down. However, that line of argument may not be the best one for the Republicans to pursue. Why? Maybe because of the results of the last governor they foisted on the country eight years ago...George W. Bush.

When "W" was anointed to be the leader of the free world by the Republican party, he came to the job with 5 years of governing experience under his belt. Gee, that's almost three times as much as Sister Sarah! And just like now, the nattering nabobs of negativism (Sidebar: Why is Safire writing a column again in the NY Times?) raised the very same questions about George as they are raising with Sister Sarah...She's too young...She's too inexperienced...She has no foreign relations experience or knowledge (To be fair though, she lives next door to Russia and he lived next door to Mexico)...blahblahblah. What nit-picking! And she's even more experienced than "W" 'cause she's the governor of the largest state in the Union (only in acreage, mind) while he was governor of the second largest. So there.

Why don't we take a look at how well a president who was a governor untutored and inexperienced in the ways of the world has worked out so far?

Let's see...In August of 2001 while on his first of dozens of "working vacations" at his "ranch" in Crawford, W was given specific intelligence that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on the United States and it would probably involve the use of aircraft. Response? Zippo. Result? September 11, 2001.

Seizing upon the attacks of 9/11, W's neocon puppet masters managed to manipulate him into believing Iraq was behind it and needed to be punished. Response? He launched the first war of aggression in United States history. Result(s)? Over 4,100 dead American combat forces, over 30,000 more permanently maimed both physically and mentally, many more times that number of Iraq civilians dead; the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars in the cost of executing this catastrophe; the loss of world-wide respect and honor for the United States; the alienation of our allies; the destruction of the American economy. And at the same time, W allowed the real perpetrators of 9/11 to scurry off into the hills of our great ally Pakistan whose military dictator W deemed to be a "good man". That certainly worked out well for Governor President Bush, didn't it? Oh yeah, he also brought us to the brink of nuclear (nucular) war with North Korea. What a guy!

Moving from one disaster to another, this one not Bush-made, at least not in a causal sense, we come to Hurricane Katrina and the nearly total destruction of a major American city. Once again, Bush heaved himself up from his Lazy-Boy recliner in his den at the ranch and took some time to do a fly-over in Air Force One. There's leadership for you. And Katrina managed to show the American people that not only was he an inept bungler when it came to foreign affairs but he could just as easily fuck up things here at home. And it also high-lighted Bush's unique ability to pick the wrong man or woman for the job every time. Quite a talent. You remember "Heckuva job, Brownie" right?

But poor Brownie was just the part of the iceberg visible to the naked eye. Below him were legions of unqualified political appointees who made up the Bush administration's well-oiled machine of government. And what a stellar array of talent Bush brought with him not only from his days as governor of Texas but the nearly-dead from his father's administration. Ah yes, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers, Gonzalez, and so many others who have helped to make America what it is today. And let's not neglect to mention his brilliant appointees to the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. It finally gave Scalia and Thomas a foursome for bridge.

And how has the former governor of Texas done for the American economy? Well just look around. You might even be one of those Americans who has a lot of unexpected free time having lost your job. Or maybe one of the newly homeless. Or someone so deep in credit card debt that suicide is a daily consideration. Or one of those who has to choose between filling the gas tank or filling your kids stomachs. Heckuva job, Bushie!

I guess we should be troubled by the fact that Governor Palin has had less experience than our current president before taking office. But you know, experience isn't everything.

While the Republican party continues to experience the world's longest orgasm over St. John the Insane's "inspired"..."brilliant"..."game-changing"..."maverick" selection of little Sarah Palin, those of us not immediately privy to that political conjugal scene have begun to explore who this gift from the Republican God really is. And naturally the Rovian army of blond-haired, blue-eyed media muggers has been dispatched to eliminate all forms of dissent and opposition.

Following the Karl Rove Handbook of Poisoned Politics (now in its 3rd edition!), they dismiss with impunity any and all inquiries concerning her light-weight political history and instead choose to trumpet her experience as governor. They compare and contrast her 1.75 years of experience as a chief executive and a "commander-in-chief" with the political record of Senator Obama. And in their judgment, Sister Sarah wins that battle hands down. However, that line of argument may not be the best one for the Republicans to pursue. Why? Maybe because of the results of the last governor they foisted on the country eight years ago...George W. Bush.

When "W" was anointed to be the leader of the free world by the Republican party, he came to the job with 5 years of governing experience under his belt. Gee, that's almost three times as much as Sister Sarah! And just like now, the nattering nabobs of negativism (Sidebar: Why is Safire writing a column again in the NY Times?) raised the very same questions about George as they are raising with Sister Sarah...She's too young...She's too inexperienced...She has no foreign relations experience or knowledge (To be fair though, she lives next door to Russia and he lived next door to Mexico)...blahblahblah. What nit-picking! And she's even more experienced than "W" 'cause she's the governor of the largest state in the Union (only in acreage, mind) while he was governor of the second largest. So there.

Why don't we take a look at how well a president who was a governor untutored and inexperienced in the ways of the world has worked out so far?

Let's see...In August of 2001 while on his first of dozens of "working vacations" at his "ranch" in Crawford, W was given specific intelligence that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on the United States and it would probably involve the use of aircraft. Response? Zippo. Result? September 11, 2001.

Seizing upon the attacks of 9/11, W's neocon puppet masters managed to manipulate him into believing Iraq was behind it and needed to be punished. Response? He launched the first war of aggression in United States history. Result(s)? Over 4,100 dead American combat forces, over 30,000 more permanently maimed both physically and mentally, many more times that number of Iraq civilians dead; the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars in the cost of executing this catastrophe; the loss of world-wide respect and honor for the United States; the alienation of our allies; the destruction of the American economy. And at the same time, W allowed the real perpetrators of 9/11 to scurry off into the hills of our great ally Pakistan whose military dictator W deemed to be a "good man". That certainly worked out well for Governor President Bush, didn't it? Oh yeah, he also brought us to the brink of nuclear (nucular) war with North Korea. What a guy!

Moving from one disaster to another, this one not Bush-made, at least not in a causal sense, we come to Hurricane Katrina and the nearly total destruction of a major American city. Once again, Bush heaved himself up from his Lazy-Boy recliner in his den at the ranch and took some time to do a fly-over in Air Force One. There's leadership for you. And Katrina managed to show the American people that not only was he an inept bungler when it came to foreign affairs but he could just as easily fuck up things here at home. And it also high-lighted Bush's unique ability to pick the wrong man or woman for the job every time. Quite a talent. You remember "Heckuva job, Brownie" right?

But poor Brownie was just the part of the iceberg visible to the naked eye. Below him were legions of unqualified political appointees who made up the Bush administration's well-oiled machine of government. And what a stellar array of talent Bush brought with him not only from his days as governor of Texas but the nearly-dead from his father's administration. Ah yes, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers, Gonzalez, and so many others who have helped to make America what it is today. And let's not neglect to mention his brilliant appointees to the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. It finally gave Scalia and Thomas a foursome for bridge.

And how has the former governor of Texas done for the American economy? Well just look around. You might even be one of those Americans who has a lot of unexpected free time having lost your job. Or maybe one of the newly homeless. Or someone so deep in credit card debt that suicide is a daily consideration. Or one of those who has to choose between filling the gas tank or filling your kids stomachs. Heckuva job, Bushie!

I guess we should be troubled by the fact that Governor Palin has had less experience than our current president before taking office. But you know, experience isn't everything.

While the Republican party continues to experience the world's longest orgasm over St. John the Insane's "inspired"..."brilliant"..."game-changing"..."maverick" selection of little Sarah Palin, those of us not immediately privy to that political conjugal scene have begun to explore who this gift from the Republican God really is. And naturally the Rovian army of blond-haired, blue-eyed media muggers has been dispatched to eliminate all forms of dissent and opposition.

Following the Karl Rove Handbook of Poisoned Politics (now in its 3rd edition!), they dismiss with impunity any and all inquiries concerning her light-weight political history and instead choose to trumpet her experience as governor. They compare and contrast her 1.75 years of experience as a chief executive and a "commander-in-chief" with the political record of Senator Obama. And in their judgment, Sister Sarah wins that battle hands down. However, that line of argument may not be the best one for the Republicans to pursue. Why? Maybe because of the results of the last governor they foisted on the country eight years ago...George W. Bush.

When "W" was anointed to be the leader of the free world by the Republican party, he came to the job with 5 years of governing experience under his belt. Gee, that's almost three times as much as Sister Sarah! And just like now, the nattering nabobs of negativism (Sidebar: Why is Safire writing a column again in the NY Times?) raised the very same questions about George as they are raising with Sister Sarah...She's too young...She's too inexperienced...She has no foreign relations experience or knowledge (To be fair though, she lives next door to Russia and he lived next door to Mexico)...blahblahblah. What nit-picking! And she's even more experienced than "W" 'cause she's the governor of the largest state in the Union (only in acreage, mind) while he was governor of the second largest. So there.

Why don't we take a look at how well a president who was a governor untutored and inexperienced in the ways of the world has worked out so far?

Let's see...In August of 2001 while on his first of dozens of "working vacations" at his "ranch" in Crawford, W was given specific intelligence that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on the United States and it would probably involve the use of aircraft. Response? Zippo. Result? September 11, 2001.

Seizing upon the attacks of 9/11, W's neocon puppet masters managed to manipulate him into believing Iraq was behind it and needed to be punished. Response? He launched the first war of aggression in United States history. Result(s)? Over 4,100 dead American combat forces, over 30,000 more permanently maimed both physically and mentally, many more times that number of Iraq civilians dead; the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars in the cost of executing this catastrophe; the loss of world-wide respect and honor for the United States; the alienation of our allies; the destruction of the American economy. And at the same time, W allowed the real perpetrators of 9/11 to scurry off into the hills of our great ally Pakistan whose military dictator W deemed to be a "good man". That certainly worked out well for Governor President Bush, didn't it? Oh yeah, he also brought us to the brink of nuclear (nucular) war with North Korea. What a guy!

Moving from one disaster to another, this one not Bush-made, at least not in a causal sense, we come to Hurricane Katrina and the nearly total destruction of a major American city. Once again, Bush heaved himself up from his Lazy-Boy recliner in his den at the ranch and took some time to do a fly-over in Air Force One. There's leadership for you. And Katrina managed to show the American people that not only was he an inept bungler when it came to foreign affairs but he could just as easily fuck up things here at home. And it also high-lighted Bush's unique ability to pick the wrong man or woman for the job every time. Quite a talent. You remember "Heckuva job, Brownie" right?

But poor Brownie was just the part of the iceberg visible to the naked eye. Below him were legions of unqualified political appointees who made up the Bush administration's well-oiled machine of government. And what a stellar array of talent Bush brought with him not only from his days as governor of Texas but the nearly-dead from his father's administration. Ah yes, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers, Gonzalez, and so many others who have helped to make America what it is today. And let's not neglect to mention his brilliant appointees to the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. It finally gave Scalia and Thomas a foursome for bridge.

And how has the former governor of Texas done for the American economy? Well just look around. You might even be one of those Americans who has a lot of unexpected free time having lost your job. Or maybe one of the newly homeless. Or someone so deep in credit card debt that suicide is a daily consideration. Or one of those who has to choose between filling the gas tank or filling your kids stomachs. Heckuva job, Bushie!

I guess we should be troubled by the fact that Governor Palin has had less experience than our current president before taking office. But you know, experience isn't everything.