AUTHORS LIBERALS
Credit crunch
Here’s the scariest thing about the credit crunch. We don’t know whom to credit anymore. In boardrooms and showrooms all over America all you see are incompetence, failure and overpaid losers. Entire industries are about to go away, to China, to Japan, to nowhere, and the best the CEO’s of America can do is beg. Business by the incompetent, of the incompetent and for the incompetent is killing us.
We’ve got the top job covered. I’m pretty sure we hired a competent guy for that. If anybody can pull off the miracle of making Washington work, Obama can.
But the rot in New York and now Detroit is devastating, and we don’t get to fire those idiots, like we did our nation’s First Idiot. It scares me to death.
I don’t know how you take an industry that thrived for a century, whose brands were once beloved, coveted and iconic as a GTO’s split grille, and drive it straight into the ground, just because gas went up for a couple of quarters. I don’t know how you plow through a hundred years worth of profits in two. Call me naïve, but I actually thought it wasn’t possible to screw up that bad.
This isn’t Amalgamated Buggy Whip we’re talking about. Cars haven’t gone away, they’re still as necessary as ever. It’s not even an American crisis, the Toyota plants in the USA will survive just fine. It’s a management crisis of what we still call The Big Three, for no good reason.
General Motors gone? Ford history? Chrysler, Chevy, Caddy disappeared? Who did that? Is it possible to be that stupid by accident? Or were the Big Three killed on purpose? Maybe there was a hostile takeover by the Republican Guard when we weren’t looking.
And, of course I mean the Iranian Republican Guard, not the GOP Republican guard. Not that there’s all that much difference.
Sorry, that was a cheap shot, but I’m feeling real cheap these days. Great Depressions will do that to you. And this one is looking greater every day.
Seriously, where is the competence? Wall Street firms that survived two world wars and the first depression killed dead in six months. Auto companies that put the world on wheels, now reduced to begging for bailouts, threatening to go bust and take the entire American economy with them.
I want to help, but I don’t consider Detroit’s current management credit worthy. It’s not just money they’re fresh out of, it’s ideas, it’s smarts, it’s competence. That’s the real credit crunch.
I’m scared that 25 billion won’t do it. Detroit has blown through several times that much in the past few years. There is no end to their failures. These guys could screw up a wet dream.
Hell, these guys did screw up a wet dream. Most of us had our first taste of sweet, forbidden sex in their products. I mean, they used to call it parking. You didn’t walk to Lover’s Lane, you drove. In daddy’s car. And it wasn’t a Subaru.
So, what’s the solution? I don’t know. If I did I’d be sending off my resume right now. But I have one idea.
From what I hear, Detroit is well-endowed with homeless people. That is a class of folks who have loads of experience in Making Do With Less. Surely there is among them a genius of thrift, an Edison of improvisation, a Rockefeller of the Streets.
Find him. Or her. Job one for the auto companies for the next few years will be begging. Why not hire a professional?
The New Holiday Diet or How to Drive Millions of Americans from the Thanksgiving Table
Just when you thought that your Thanksgiving holiday was safe from family arguments over politics, the spirit of Leland Gaunt is saying “not so fast.”
The Alaska Dispatch is reporting that “starting Thanksgiving, an ad campaign kicks off to thank Sarah Palin for all she’s done for the nation, an effort led by Our Country Deserves Better, a political action committee that’s pumping Palin as the next president.”
No, this is not a joke.
Somewhere in the middle of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, one of the football games or maybe even a program remembering JFK, you may suddenly be affronted by an ad thanking Sarah Palin ( not former POW, decorated war veteran and US Senator, John McCain) for all that she’s done for this nation. And John McCain thought that purchasing 30 minutes of airtime prior to a World Series game was outrageous.
This is Thanksgiving we’re talking about. The biggest family gathering day of the year. The day that some families struggle to get through in peace.
We might have been spared this, if the McCain campaign had just let her make her concession speech. But now we can only consider ourselves warned and stock up on Pepto Bismol.
Does this group really think that this is going to help Sarah Palin’s political career or are they just trying to advance their own agenda? Whatever their intent, running these ads during a holiday season to an American audience that has endured a nearly two year presidential campaign and wants to move on with getting this economy back on course runs the risk of making Sarah Palin look like the “ego-maniacal whack job” that her detractors are trying to portray.
Of course there is a potential upside to airing these ads during the Thanksgiving holiday. They’re certain to make millions of Americans pass on those second helpings.
Thanks Amanda for the warning.
Our Country Deserves Bitter
by Amanda Coyne for The Alaska Dispatch
Thought you might be able to eat your turkey and pie and ‘tators without the Thrilla of Wasilla making an appearance? Winking at your men through the pixels? Her perfectly lipped-lined lips forming sentences that need some sort of decoding machine to decipher?
Thought that maybe you might be spared the notion that we should have Gov. Sarah Palin to thank for anything but saving the country from the “real America?”
You know, those real, angry Americans who, on the whole, are white and look very well fed and who drive expensive gas-guzzling SUVs and have costume-built rooms in their basement to store their designer guns. The ones who yelled “Kill Him” at Palin’s rallies, and the ones who brought their cute little stuffed animals with them when she spoke.
Those cute little monkeys.
Think again. Word has it that Palin makes these folks feel good about their anger, even though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how she does it, or even, what they’re angry about.
Most of those angry people are also disorganized, which makes all that anger a little menacing. Mostly, they’ve resigned themselves to communicating on chat rooms (more on that later) and calling into talk radio to yell about Obama being a Muslim and the anti-Christ.
But there’s at least one group out there that’s angry, and also has organizational structure and money. On Thanksgiving, they’re rolling out a national campaign to thank Sarah Palin for all she’s done for this country. The California-based group, a political action committee, is called Our Country Deserves Better.
The group wants to thank Palin for being an “articulate, straight-forward and uplifting champion of common sense conservative ideals.”
Joe Wiezbicki, the PAC’s coordinator, told The New York Times that his group has raised a couple of hundred thousand dollars for the commercials.
During the campaign, Our Country Deserves Better was one of the few shadowy groups that defied John McCain’s pledge not to bring up Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Wright. They spent more than a million dollars on television ads in battleground states doing just that. They also ran ads questioning Obama’s patriotism, linking him to all sorts of terrorist groups, etc, etc…
It’s hard to say if Palin really understands what kind of rough beast her candidacy has borne. People get along fairly well in Alaska, even when they don’t. But her new “base” has no intention of getting along. And they’re thankful that now that they’ve got her as their figurehead, they don’t have to.
Related posts:
Big Stories You Might Have Missed!
The Obama McCain death-match has sucked all the oxygen out of the American media-space. All that’s being covered is the horse race and that’s a shame. It’s not much of a horse race anymore—the young black stallion has lapped the old gray plug—and while we await the inevitable there is so much we’re missing! Important side-stories about the election are being sadly underreported, and non-political news is being roundly ignored.
Here at Hypocrisy we aim to serve. We clean out the dusty corners and ferret out the dishy dirt so you don’t have to. Here are a few things you might have missed while glued to the tube, watching David “The Amazing Combover” Gergen and Bay “Lipsick on a Lizard” Buchanan fight it out on CNN:
The 2008 hurricane season was a bust. Named storms were down, big storms were way down and deaths disappointingly low. Nervous climatologists said it was a typical sophomore slump, Global Warming had a great year in 07, a fall-off is only to be expected. They expect climate change to do much better in 2009.
Al Gore claims Global Warming was focused on Philadelphia. “The horrible weather that caused the first-ever suspension of a World Series game was a manifestation of a new threat to the climate—The Wrath of God, also known as The Bud Selig Effect,” said Mr. Gore.
The second Phil Spector murder trial opened this week. The Free Phil Legal Defense Fund took to the streets of LA, urging mercy for the First Tycoon of Teen. “Sure, he killed Lana Clarkson,” a spokesperson said, “but what did she ever do? Phil Spector gave us the Wall of Sound, and such classics as ‘He’s a Rebel’ and ‘Walking in the Rain.’ He touched millions with his magnificent three-minute symphonies of rock, and we say he deserves a mulligan.”
Just in time for Halloween, Generalissimo Fidel Castro and Dear Vegetable Kim Jong Il announced the formation of the Not Quite Dead Yet Communist Dictator’s League. “It’s an act of solidarity between the peoples of Cuba and North Korea,” said their joint communiqué, “living and undead.” Soviet founder Vladimir Illych Lenin was pointedly denied admission to this new, exclusive club. When asked for comment, Lenin said, “Brush this stinking capitalist mold off my face, will you Comrade?”
Mahmoud Ahamadiejad was granted “apprentice” status, and will achieve full membership if his current bout of “exhaustion” goes well.
Due to the economic slowdown gasoline prices have now fallen so low that the practice of burning down your sub-prime house for the insurance money is now, once again, cost-effective.
The makers of “Kimbo Slice Instant Energy Sports Drink” have announced a total recall of the product, after reports of its being used as the latest date rape drug. “Slice’s stuff is like WMD for sexual predators,” a police informant said. “It works every time. One sip and fourteen seconds later, she’s flat on her back.”
Bristol Palin’s baby daddy, Levi Johnston, freed from the shotgun wedding demanded by a Sarah Palin vice presidency, announced his engagement to Joe the Plumber. A June wedding is planned in San Francisco, pending the results of the gay marriage amendment in California. Otherwise friends and family will bless the union in Massachusetts.
Mr. Plumber is planning to take the advance he got from his book, “Up From the Toilet Seat: How I Went From Being a Simple Plumber to a Complete Asshole,” to finance his new life with Levi. Reportedly, they are buying Goldman Sachs.
In a related story of heartwarming brotherhood and tolerance, Proposition Q, banning gay marriage but allowing plural gay marriage, is running ahead in the polls in Utah. When questioned about the apparent anomaly, Beehive staters gushed “Have you seen their compounds? I mean, the landscaping is fabulous!” The officially-banned Church of Latter Day Sodomites would not speak for the record, but remain quietly hopeful.
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was sentenced to four years hard labor working on the bridge to nowhere, better known as the Pain-Washington Expressway. The Wasilla-DC road is scheduled for completion in 2012. Or 2016. Or, God willing, never.
Lastly, O.J. Simpson, writing from his cell in Nevada, declared that he’d finally found “the real killer.” “I found him right here in Clark County jail, sleeping in my bunk!” Simpson wrote. “Tell the Goldmans to call off the dogs.”
The World According to the GOP
The election is just days away and pace is picking up, particularly around the Republican party. You’ve just got to wonder what side of the rainbow they’re working, though. Here’s what I’m talking about:
- In spite of being found guilty on all seven felony corruption counts, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has vowed to fight on in his bid to win reelection against Democrat Mark Begich. The guy should just step down. What ever happened to that slogan… you know the one…isn’t it Country First? Where have I heard that one before?
- Sarah Palin, herself recently found guilty of abuse of power, actually suggested that Ted Stevens resign. Why doesn’t she take her own advice? In fact, it seems that Sarah is in hot water again. A new ethics complaint accuses the governor of using her official position for personal gain. This time, she is accused of charging the state of Alaska $21,000 for her three daughters’ commercial flights since taking office in December 2006. Her daughters were not invited to the events and their attendance served no legitimate state business. Talk about the ultimate in hypocrisy. Between Stevens and Palin, you’d swear there was something in the water up there.
- Earlier this week John McCain finally addressed the economy. He took a few moments to warn the voting public that the Democrats would ruin the economy. Forgive me, but hasn’t eight years of Republican rule already done that? If this isn’t “ruined,” what is? While we’re at it, let’s address the McCain notion that Barack Obama’s tax plan is nothing but Socialism. Guess what? Socialism is part of the fabric of American life. We’ve always had a graduated tax plan in this country. In Obama’s plan, there’s nothing new under the sun.
- In yet another ‘hail Mary’ attempt to destroy Obama’s image, the pit bull with lipstick is now accusing the Democratic presidential candidate of having PLO ties. This time, it’s about Obama’s association with Rashid Khalidi, a leading scholar of Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University. Yes, he is a contemporary of Obama. He has also been an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and of our policies toward Israel. Know what? So what? I’m also critical of our policies toward Israel. This is AMERICA. We’re supposed to be able to disagree with our government without being called traitors or terrorists. This all or nothing notion about patriotism has been concocted by the Republican party. In the Constitution, it plainly states that we have a right to a redress of our grievances. It’s called FREEDOM, people. What the Republicans want is a dictatorship.
- John McCain has built his campaign around this fictional Joe the Plumber character. You know, the guy who wants to buy a plumbing business but cannot. I say fictional because the guy isn’t even a licensed plumber and he hasn’t paid his taxes. His real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher. Here’s what Joe (Samuel) has to say: ” I know just enough about foreign policy to probably be dangerous…I have no idea where John McCain’s position is…I honestly want people to go out and find their own reasons. I tell people not to listen to everyone else’s opinion. I’m not going to have them start listening to mine.” I could be wrong, but building the campaign around Joe the Plumber might be a strategic mistake on Senator McCain’s part. No?
- And finally, we’re back to Sarah Palin again. In an October 24th speech on autism, she proved once again she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about most of the time. This time, she mocked “fruit fly research” as a big waste of money that has “little or nothing to do with the public good.” Had Palin done her homework, she’d know that the exact opposite is true. This gets back to my accusation that she’s intellectually non-curious. She really is. If she’s going to talk about a subject, she should know about the subject. Palin should have known that a recent study of Drosophila fruit flies showed that a protein called neurexin is essential for proper neurological function, making it clearly relevant for autism research. In fact, fruit flies are the foundation of much of modern genetics. They have helped us to learn about heredity, genome structure and congenital disorders. (Yes, Sarah, they’ve even helped us understand the “e” word - that’s evolution.)
Well, that about wraps it up for tonight. I’m not sure I can handle much more of this intellectual stuff anyway.
When is a terrorist not a terrorist? Ask Sarah Palin.
You betcha. It gets worse every time Sarah Palin opens her mouth. That’s the stage we are at right now. She continues to be an embarrassment to John McCain and the Republican party. Palin also should, by now, have frightened a number of Americans. Friday evening (October 24) on the NBC News with Brian Williams she proved just how big a right-wing extremist she truly is. Here’s the exchange:
Williams: Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist, under this definition, governor?
Sarah Palin: [Sighs] There’s no question Bill Ayres, under his own admittance, was, um, one who sought to destroy, er, our US Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities, that, uh, er, that would be unacceptable. Uh, I don’t know if you’re going to use the word “terrorist” there, but it’s unacceptable and, uh, um, it, er, would not be condoned, of course, on, on our watch, but [sigh] I don’t know what you’re asking is if I regret referring to Bill Ayres as an unrepentant domestic terrorist. I don’t regret characterizing him as that.
Sarah Palin did her usual amount of stumbling around the English language, but it’s pretty clear that she operates on pretzel logic. She’s truly twisted. In other words, if someone is going to bomb or destroy a government building, the definition of ‘terrorist’ fits. If, however, they are only going to destroy unimportant facilities (like, say, an abortion clinic) or harm innocent Americans, she doesn’t know if the term ‘terrorist’ fits. In her mind, the difference between William Ayers (a terrorist) and Eric Robert Rudolph (not a terrorist) is the choice of buildings and causes. Sarah Palin needs a dose of reality. The Eric Robert Rudolphs of the world are terrorists. Period. Perhaps a quick review would help, so I went and researched the definitions from a number of sources. In order to define the word ‘terrorist,’ one has to define ‘terrorism.’
Terrorism: The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
Terrorist: A person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.
Based on these definitions, the only conclusion a reasonable person could come away with is that abortion clinic bombers, or even better - anti-abortion violence advocates - are terrorists. There’s no gray area here; seems pretty clear. However, since her triumphant debut at the the Republican Convention, Palin has proven herself to be anything but reasonable. That a candidate for public office did not immediately label these despicable creatures ‘terrorists’ is despicable in itself. It’s an outrage. I just cannot figure out what the difference is between radical Muslim bombers and radical Christian bombers. There isn’t any difference. What does this suggest about our GOP vice presidential candidate? It suggests that Sarah Palin is a right-wing extremist. She basically just put the good hockey mom seal of approval on those who perpetrate anti-abortion violence.
Where does the ‘terrorist’ hair splitting start for Sarah Palin? Is it simply that she defines terrorists as only those individuals who hate the US government and want to destroy government buildings? Or is it that anti-abortion violence is being committed in the service of God so, therefore, it is not terrorism? By now, everyone knows that logic. Say you kill an abortion doctor or destroy an abortion facility. So what? Look how many innocent babies you’re going to save! It’s what God would want. Haven’t we heard that rhetoric over and over again when it comes time for domestic anti-abortion terrorists to justify their deeds? It’s a shame she wasn’t allowed to expand and expound on her position. Then we could have seen how far up the line on the hypocrisy scale she placed. John McCain came to her rescue and redirected the interview. Of course, Senator McCain doesn’t much want to talk about the issue either, given his voting record.
In both 1993 and 1994, John McCain voted against making “bombings, arson and blockades at abortion clinics, and shootings and threats of violence” federal crimes. He also opposed Colorado’s “bubble law.” This law prohibits abortion protesters from coming within 8 feet of women entering abortion clinics. McCain also voted to allow those who have committed violent acts at or harassment of women who go to reproductive-health clinics to avoid paying fines assessed against them by declaring bankruptcy.
Waiting and waiting….
I couldn’t take it anymore, the wait was killing me. Even writing m
y weekly commentary wasn’t cutting it. I had to do something to make the next two weeks pass quickly, so I took a job. I figured if I had to wait, I might as well make some money doing it….
“Welcome to Chez Hypocrisy, my name is Snark and I’ll be your waiter tonight.
“Our special appetizers, available for the next four days, seven if necessary, are Tampa Bay Ray ala Irwin, or Olde Tyme Philly Cheesesteak. Whichever you choose I can assure you, it’s World Class.
“No, I’m sorry, we ran out of Boston Chowder last week. It was a big surprise to us, too. The same is true of our Los Angeles Chokeburger.
“Our end-of-the-month dinner specials include a delicious Fillet of dry-aged Johnny Steak, smothered in Alaskan mud, with heirloom bitter herbs and a salad of Green Envy, dressed with Regret. That also comes with your choice of whine, White or Whiter.
“If you’re dieting, I recommend the Russian Bear Claw Palin. It’ll do wonders for your waistline. It’s low carb, low fat, low protein and totally without nourishment. We don’t actually serve it, but we bring it close enough that you can see it from your table.
“Also, we have a Main Street Mixed Grill that is to die for. It’s all the comfort food you ate growing up in middle America, shoved down your throat until you’re ready to explode. If you can swallow ten pounds of it, everyone at your table eats free!
“Our prize-winning roast pig comes both ways, with and without lipstick.
“You might want to choose from our everyday favorites. Tonight we have:
“Savory Chicken Balls fried in Offshore oil.
“Aged Arizona Elephant with cornbread.
“Thrice-cooked Chestnut Crackers with your choice of Sixties smears.
“Medical marijuana brownies, available in our blue state restaurants only.
“GOPher waffles with Chinese Creamery Melanin-Butter, Unfrosted Let-Them-Eat-Cake cake, and Nuclear Mushroom Glacé dusted with Clean Coal pepper on a globally warmed plate.
“Our featured cocktail is the Saturday Night Special. It’s a traditional concoction that’s been around so long it’s gotten terribly stale, but now it’s reborn in a new, lively recipe that’s too, too fey. It will have you giggling all through your meal, I promise!
“Make sure to save some room for dessert. We have Half-baked Alaska drizzled with simpleton syrup, surrounded by sour grapes and crowned with a whipped cream so airy it’s hardly there at all. Our retro dessert is a clearance item that did very well for us the past eight years, but now we’re closing it out. It’s a leftover mélange of silly sorbets and outdated broulettes glazed with new sugary frosting that’s guaranteed to taste just as good coming up as it did going down.
“Are you folks ready for the check? I hope you enjoyed your dinner. I’m sorry, we no longer accept credit cards. Chez Hypocrisy is a happening place and credit is so September! We don’t take dollars, either, but we’ll be happy to exchange them for Euros, three-to-one.
“It was truly a pleasure serving you. Be sure to come back in a couple of weeks. We’re planning a Hawaiian Luau that’ll knock your socks off!”
Palin and the politics of divisiveness
You can put lipstick on a pig, but you can’t cover up the smell. And right now the Wicked Witch of Wasilla smells pretty bad. If Senator McCain is looking at the most recent polls with open eyes, he’ll come away with the conclusion that Sarah Palin is the single biggest detriment to his presidential candidacy. Yes, that’s right. At this point in the 2008 presidential race, his association with Sarah Palin is a bigger liability than his association with President Bush, the most unpopular president in American history. While McCain spends his time blaming left-wing feminists and the liberal media for Palin’s drop in popularity, the fact is that Sarah Palin has brought this on herself because she fosters the politics of divisiveness and exclusion.
It was Sarah Palin who decided that the McCain campaign get nasty. I believe that she referred to it as “taking off the gloves.” And, of course, McCain listened and approved the strategy of moving away from the issues and into character assassination. It was immediately after that Palin began to stretch the truth about Obama’s association with the Weather Underground’s Bill Ayers. She accused Obama of “palling around with terrorists.” The right wingnuts in the McCain camp knocked this one out of the park, yelling out epithets like, “kill him,” “terrorist,” and “off with his head.” Even Dick Morris (remember him?) got into the act by stating that Obama’s association with Ayers is the equivalent of being friends with Osama bin Laden. Once again, the Republicans jumped on the politics of fear and invoked the “terrorist” theme. Hell, why not! George Bush has used this to successfully control the quivering American population for the past eight years. See. There it is again. Somehow I just can’t get away from drawing similarities between McCain and Bush.
While McCain has received kudos for toning this ugliness down over the past couple of weeks, let’s be frank about it. McCain only toned it down publicly when the Secret Service announced that it was interested in finding the people in the McCain audiences that were yelling these little ditties. Truth be told, McCain then quietly invested in ‘robocalls’ (automated messages) that linked Obama and Ayers. Again, here’s a similarity between McCain and Bush. President Bush used ‘robocalls’ in 2004 to sink John McCain in South Carolina. Might I suggest to the Secret Service that the people yelling in the McCain-Palin crowd were only accessories after the fact. The root of the problem, the instigator, is Sarah Palin (with John McCain’s backing).The McCain campaign has managed to tap into the lowest common denominator in American society: The ultra-patriotic, God-fearing bigot.
Palin’s divisive nature continued at an October 16 fund raiser in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she said, “We believe the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.”
Let’s not stop there. Palin certainly didn’t. “This is where we find the kindness and goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom.”
The upshot here isn’t that she’s insulting Washington, D.C. No sir. She’s insulting everybody who isn’t living in a small town. Those living in, say New York, Chicago, or San Francisco apparently are not real Americans. Secondarily, Palin is accusing those who disagree with our government of being un-patriotic. I suspect that Sarah Palin spends very little time educating herself about our forefathers and what they had in mind for our government. She prefers her history to be Palinized because it better suits her purpose. She might be interested to learn that our forefathers not only called for protecting the Constitution from threat by forces outside our government, but also from those within our own government who seek to undermine it’s basic principles. We’ve had plenty of that over the past eight years, and a McCain-Palin regime promises even more. By the way, I’d like to take the opportunity to remind Sarah Palin that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been equal opportunity killers. Americans from all walks of life (not just farmers and factory workers) and from everywhere across our nation (not just small towns) have been killed. However, they have not died protecting the virtues of American freedom as she suggests. They’ve died protecting our access to Middle Eastern oil in order to feed our all-consuming addiction.
Speaking of assaulting the Constitution, the Wicked Witch of Wazilla has broken with McCain and emphatically stated her support for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I’d call singling out one group for oppression to be divisive. Wouldn’t you? And wouldn’t you call a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage writing discrimination into the Constitution? This very act undermines the basic principles behind the Constitution. If an amendment is added, it should strengthen the Constitution, not weaken it. The objection to same-sex marriage is clearly based on religious ideology. For example, we now know that the Mormon church is the driving force behind California’s Amendment 8. There is no place for religious ideology in the formation of national policy. That is why there is a separation between church and state. The issue of same-sex marriage is a question of basic civil rights. It is not a topic to be voted upon by Congress, and it does not belong on any ballot in any state.
So, here we are with November 4th fast approaching. I learned today that the GOP has spent more than $150,000 on make-up, clothing and accessories for Sarah Palin and her family since she was selected as McCain’s running mate. She spent $13,200 on make-up alone during the month of September (so much for being just an average hockey mom). It’s all about image, but image only goes so far. While it may be possible to physically transform Sarah Palin’s appearance into something more vice presidential, it’s almost impossible to hide the dark side of her divisive and un-Christian character. That has been laid bare for all to clearly see.
The inmates are running the asylum
Time is running short for John McCain, so the looneys are out enmasse. The latest Republican figure to walk off the deep end is Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) who appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews this past Friday. Her latest allegation is that Barack and Michelle Obama are anti-American and cannot be trusted in the White House. Sound McCarthyesque to you? I’d suggest she rethink that and be one of the party faithful who shows up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to count the silverware after W leaves office. If anybody is anti-American it’s our present imperial ruler, who has just about gutted the US Constitution, spied on his own citizens, and has slaughtered literally millions in Iraq and Afghanistan all on this shadow “war on terror.”
She referred to Obama’s friendships with William Ayers (which Senator Obama explained sufficiently during the third and final debate) and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Isn’t it funny that John McCain is never called upon to explain his friendships, like the one he has with G. Gordon Liddy. As recently as March of this year, McCain referred to Liddy as someone who upholds the ideals that make our country great. Really? Someone who served time for the Watergate break-in, plotted murder, kidnappings and terrorist bombings upholds the American ideal? So, why are we worried about Obama’s friends? Or perhaps we should talk about the fact that McCain has allied his campaign with the Cuban Liberty Council, some of whose members have committed terrorist attacks. In fact, Senator Joseph Lieberman met with the wife of convicted serial bomber Eduardo Arocena on July 20th of this year prior to speaking at a McCain event. Lieberman promised to pursue a presidential pardon for her husband.
Or perhaps we should talk about the fact that Sarah Palin has actively courted the Alaska Independence Party, a secessionist group whose leader, Joe Vogler, is decidedly anti-American. Vogler stated, “My government is my worst enemy. I’m going to fight them with any means at hand.” This is the group that the “first dude,” Todd Palin, belonged to for seven years. Sarah Palin spoke at their convention in 2008, telling them, “Keep up the good work. And God bless you.” While Palin criticizes Obama for wanting to engage Iran in conversation and negotiation, let’s remember that in 1993 Joe Vogler persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American efforts.
Oh, and by the way, in spite of the fact that Sarah Palin lives with the illusion that the Troopergate report exonerated her, did I mention that Mr. and Mrs. Palin will be deposed this week by investigators determining whether or not she violated state ethics laws? I suggest that abuse of power might be considered un-American as well.
So, the next time Michelle Bachmann wants to raise the issue of un-American activities, I suggest she investigate her own party. Or keep her mouth shut.
Obamaphobia
They say it’s all over but the shouting.
“AHHHHGRRHH!”
OK, now it’s all over. And that wasn’t me doing the shouting there, that was the GOP, the conservatives. Not all of them, not the rational ones among them, not even the McCain supporters.
Nope, the ones who are screaming in pain, moaning in misery, hollering in horror, trilling in terror and generally making an unseemly spectacle of themselves are the Obamaphobiacs.
These are the people who are sure that the coming of Barack Obama signals the apocalypse, the end of the world as we know it. You see them at Palin rallies hollering “Off with his head!” like hillbilly Robespierres screaming for Antoinette’s blood. You hear them on talk radio, choking on their own rage, crying “Oh, the humanity!” They can be found on TV, talking heads talking like chickens with their heads cut off, and making about as much sense. They are an American tragedy.
And the very worst, most tragic thing about it all is, to them, it’s real. They mean it. They are terrified by the coming Obama presidency. They have Obamaphobia.
Obamaphobia is a disease. These poor people are afflicted with a case of the willies—and I don’t mean the ordinary willies; I mean the Horton willies. But they are also my fellow Americans. They may think that I, and my like-minded comrades-in-Obama don’t care about them, but they are wrong.
We are all patriots, and so is he. All of us will spend the next four-to-eight years together, our fates linked, like it or not. I come here today, poor afflicted Obamphobiacs, to heal your pain.
First, take a deep breath. There is nothing to worry about. I have it on good authority that Barack will not be taking the oath of office from Louis Farrakhan. Rumors to the effect that the “Star Spangled Banner” will be replaced by 50 Cent’s “What’s up, Gangsta” are without foundation. William Ayres will not be going to the supreme court. William Clinton, maybe, but he’s a bubba just like you so don’t panic.
Really guys, what’s the worst that could happen? I know you’re scared that Obama is so liberal he might nationalize the banks and federalize everybody’s mortgage. That he’ll ignite class warfare by demonizing the Wall Street crowd and the Washington elites. That he’s going to tax and spend us into the poorhouse, going so far as to tax your feeble health care benefits. I understand your fears about him.
Oh … wait. That’s all McCain. My bad.
Let me try again. Here’s what you need to know about our next president. Barack Obama is not a Muslim, he’s a Hawaiian. He loves America just like you, maybe more than you because it’s been so good to him he’s going to be running the place in three months. He wants Bin Laden dead, just like you. He wants America respected in the world, just like you. He loves you so much he won’t allow gays to marry, even though, in his heart of hearts, I bet he wishes they could.
Some people are contemptuous of you, Obamaphobes, but not me. You are patriots and so am I. And the truest form of patriotism is pride. You’ll have to trust me on this, but once Obama is elected this country will experience a rush of pride the likes of which hasn’t been seen since VJ day. You can be a grump and wallow in anger and misery for the next four-to-eight years, or you can fight your disease and enjoy the sweet, hopeful moment.
I’m not saying you have to vote for him, I’m not even saying you have to like him. I’m just telling you it will be OK, the sun will still rise in the east, the flag will still have fifty stars, and your life won’t be any worse. How could it be? Unless you drown in the bile of your self-inflicted Obamaphobia.
Of course, if he turns around on the Capitol steps on 1.20.09 and barks “Who’s your daddy now!” at the television cameras, I think you should move to Argentina, because he means you.
LATE BREAKING NEWS! Hear Snark Twain live on The Gathering Storm talk show this Friday, Oct. 17, at noon. The subjects will be the election, terror, the economy and national security. Big laughs! A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Hear it live or in the archives at Blogtalkradio.com.
Why George W. Bush is the worst president in American history
I hate to disappoint Pit Bull Palin, but I’m taking one day off the campaign trail today to take a look back. (You will remember, of course, that she reprimanded Joe Biden for looking back instead of looking forward.) At the time of this posting, there are 98 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes, and 11.5 seconds left in George Bush’s disastrous turn. That’s plenty of time to do more harm to this country. Nevertheless, it’s not too soon to outline the events that make George Bush the worst president in American history. While there are many, many reasons to label Bush the worst, there are four watershed moments in his administration that cement his place in infamy: The 9-11 terrorist attacks, the ill-advised wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina, and the economic meltdown presently taking place in America (and spreading around the world).
September 11, 2001
First, the 9-11 attacks. No matter how Bush tries to blame the Clinton administration, this attack happened on his watch. George Bush assumed the presidency on January 20, 2000 and the terrorist attacks happened on September 11, 2001. The Clinton administration had left the Bush administration a comprehensive report on the subject of al Qaeda, including a plan to thwart its efforts. George Bush ignored it. It’s now common knowledge that he also ignored repeated warnings between April and September of 2001. Not only was he warned of potential terrorist attacks taking place on our soil, but he was warned that the terrorists might use airplanes as weapons. The administration was warned by Israel’s Mossad, as well as by Jordan and Moroccan intelligence. How did he spin his administration’s failure to act? Bush and Cheney stated that, had the domestic wiretapping authorization been given in 2001 instead of 2002, it would have prevented the terrorist attacks. As usual, this is a bald-faced lie. The memo he received a month before the attacks warned that Bin Laden was determined to hit targets inside the United States. He didn’t need wiretapping. If the memo could not move him to action, there is no way that wiretapping would have prevented the attacks. You simply have to question why he ignored it. In fact, you simply have to question the official version of 9-11 being fed us by the Bush administration.
You have to wonder why the US military was on “stand down” that day. Why were 140 Saudis safely flown out of the United States during the week after 9-11, when even Bill Clinton and Al Gore, both out of the country at the time of the attack, were not even allowed to fly back home? Many were members of the royal House of Saud, and at least 24 were direct members of bin Ladens family. Why weren’t they detained for questioning instead? This would have been a logical step, given the fact that 14 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and it was Saudi money backing al Qaeda? In fact, Osama bin Laden is a Saudi national.
The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Then, we have two ill-advised, ill-planned wars, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. The justification for these two wars, of course, was to fight terror. In fact, the 9-11 terrorist attacks became the excuse for just about every crime the Bush administration has committed. According to our truth-challenged leader, we were going to take the war to the terrorists by invading Afghanistan and capturing Osama bin Laden. In fact, George Bush vowed we would get him “dead or alive” during one of his post 9-11 speeches. New information from former US officials, however, shows that George W. Bush never had any intention of bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. The only question that remains is why? Is this because of the close business ties between the Bush and bin Laden families? Or is it because bin Laden had nothing to do with the attacks at all? According to sources, George Bush was more interested in attacking Iraq than finding Osama bin Laden. Of course, President Bush justified the invasion of Iraq by lying to Congress and the American people about Saddam Hussein being involved in the 9-11 terrorist attacks. We now know that was a lie and that George Bush invaded a sovereign nation under false pretenses.
The president landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 and announced that the Iraq war was over. There was a huge ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner behind him. It is now 2008 and there’s no end to the war in sight. In fact, our Republican presidential wannabe (John McCain) says he’ll stay in Iraq for 100 years if that’s what it takes to win the war (whatever ‘win’ means). At the five-year mark, we have lost 4,180 US troops. More than 1.2 million innocent Iraqis have died. At a cost of $12 billion per month, the mission is anything but accomplished. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, it remains a black hole for the mainstream media. Nobody even talks about it. Estimates from one web site provide these numbers: 8,587 Afghan troops killed; 3,485 Afghan civilians killed; 513 US troops killed; and 433 other coalition troops killed. Either way, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff predict a gloomy future for the Afghanistan war: Next year will even be worse than this year.
Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005
The third watershed event was Hurricane Katrina and our government’s disgustingly feeble efforts both before and after the storm. Katrina first made landfall at 7 a.m. on August 29 as a category 4 hurricane. At 7:30 a.m., the White House was warned that the levees were failing. In fact, before the storm was over, nearly all of the levees would be breached. Documents show that the White House had ample warning about the severity of Katrina, even though George Bush went on Good Morning America on September 1, 2005, to state, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” There’s yet another outright lie. While still on a month-long vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush was told about the levees and then some. He had a report that predicted that the levees would be breached and that Katrina could potentially destroy 90% of the city structures. It also described the depth and breadth of the search and rescue effort that would be required, and predicted the displacement of more than 1 million residents. The president asked no questions. Instead, he told New Orleans officials, “We are fully prepared.” That, too, was a lie.
Washington was anything but prepared. Why is that? Because, our government officials were all on vacation when Katrina hit. George Bush, in spite of the warnings, stayed on vacation in Crawford, Texas. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney stayed on vacation in Jackson, Wyoming. Condoleeza Rice went to New York during the storm to see a Broadway play and buy herself some expensive new shoes. In spite of the devastation overwhelming the Gulf states on August 29, President Bush did not rush back to Washington. Instead, he spent his Tuesday playing golf. After that, he played guitar with some country and western singers. Think Progress has put together an incredible time line documenting Katrina’s devastation and our president’s response. It’s clear that Bush had other business on his mind.
Unfortunately, President George W. Bush showed no greater leadership after the disaster than he did before and during the disaster. Two weeks after the storm, Bush pledged a homesteading plan to help residents of New Orleans. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a complete plan and left many homeless people without assistance. The Baker Plan (named for its Republican sponsor Representative Richard Baker) was a much more complete plan, and it received the backing of Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat.. It would provide compensation to victims right away and give them a choice of how to rebuild their homes. It even allowed people to walk away with compensation without rebuilding if they wished. The White House, of course, opposed the plan, mostly because it made George Bush’s plan look as anemic as it actually was. The most decisive action President Bush took was to make sure he helped businesses profit from the Katrina disaster. First, he suspended federal rules and authorized FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to extend no-bid contracts to corporations participating in the rebuilding. He also suspended the federal Davis-Bacon Act which requires contractors utilizing federal funds to play local prevailing wages on construction projects. You’ve just got to love those compassionate conservatives.
The Economic Meltdown of 2008
George Bush isn’t the only Republican proponent of deregulation. Our ‘deregulation nation’ was actually launched during the Reagan Administration. However, it was carried to new heights under the Bush administration. Over the last eight years, corporations of all types have been given unprecedented powers to police themselves. Take a look at Wall Street. It’s much more than a ‘free market’ playground. It is synonymous with corruption, deception and greed. How does the Bush administration respond? By giving the perpetrators a $700 billion infusion of new monopoly money to play with, ignoring Americans facing foreclosure and fleecing the American taxpayer. The White House employed its usual fear-mongering and strong-arm tactics to get the bail-out package passed, telling members of Congress that the stock market would suffer a devastating drop. When that didn’t work, several Senators were threatened with martial law, the final step of our descent into fascism.
The package has finally passed, and Wall Street continued its free fall. Credit is pretty much frozen. People are losing their homes and their jobs at an alarming rate. According to Robert Reich, former secretary of labor under Bill Clinton, and now at UC Berkeley, the US has lost 1 million jobs since last year. In the meantime, some of the bail-out money has been used for, of all things, pleasure junkets. The AIG sales force, for example, took a trip to a resort in California where they spent $120,000 alone on spa treatments. Another $150,000 was spent on food. This is what happens when there is no oversight, a little detail left out of the plan. In the meantime, state governments are trying to get financial help from the federal treasury just to meet payroll. What’s wrong with this picture?
It Doesn’t Stop Here
I’m mystified by those who consider George W. Bush a good president. I’m wondering what channel they’ve been watching for the past eight years. The four events featured in this article are huge, but there are so many more that have been left out. For example, the Bush administration has turned the United States into a torture state. Condoleeza Rice recently revealed that ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ (a polite term for ‘torture’), including waterboarding, were discussed at the White House among the highest officials of the Bush administration. Bush has approved the imprisonment of scores of ‘enemy combatants’ for years without bringing specific charges or allowing prisoners access to lawyers. He has sent others to countries where torture is routinely practiced under his ‘extraordinary rendition’ program. In short, he has violated articles of the Geneva Convention and he has broken both US and international laws.
George Bush has run roughshod over the US Constitution. Many view the illegal wiretapping of American citizens as his most egregious Constitutional violation. However, he also took advantage of a nation in shock from the 9-11 terrorist attacks to rush through passage of the USA Patriot Act, specifically designed to diminish our rights and expand the powers of the executive branch.
I could go on and on, but this article would become a tome. I’ll save the fine points for my online George Bush Library. In closing, do not to get comfortable just because his reign is coming to an end. With just slightly more than three months left to go in this regime, there’s plenty of time to do more damage. George Bush isn’t just any lame duck president. He wants his name to go down in history, even if it is as the worst president this nation has ever seen.
What was that biblical saying about casting the first stone?
A photo of Bill Ayers at the time of his arrest.
I’m taking a page right out of Sarah Palin’s personal book by quoting the Bible. There’s a verse spoken by Jesus that simply says, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” And God the Father only knows what made Senator McNasty and Pit Bull Palin even pick up those rocks, let alone throw them. Maybe Sarah Palin misunderstood messages when her pastor began speaking in tongues.
The McCain campaign, with its ship taking on water and the bilge pumps not working fast enough, has resorted to a new low. It’s called screw the issues facing Americans, we are going to use character assassination. And thus the absurd link between Barack Obama and sixties terrorist William Ayers was born. Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with William Ayers, he was one of the founders of the sixties revolutionary group, the Weather Underground. Like many of its radical counterparts, the Weather Underground made their point via bombs. William Ayers eventually went underground, but was nonetheless apprehended. However, charges against him were dropped in 1974. Today, a rehabilitated Ayers is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. He is best known for his efforts in reforming Chicago’s school system. In 1995, Ayers was one of three co-authors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge grant that won $49.2 million over five years for public school reform.
Barack Obama at the time of Ayers' arrest.
It is in this context that Barack Obama knows and has worked with William Ayers because, you see, Obama was only eight years old when Ayers was active with the Weather Underground. Like just about everything else that comes out of Pit Bull Palin’s mouth, the terrorism link is absurd and is designed to prey on Americans’ lingering fear of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. When the going gets tough, the Republicans go fear mongering. That’s what they’ve been doing for eight years now. This accusation is nothing more than guilt by association. Take a look at the photos accompanying this article, folks. It’s about as long a stretch as you can make. But since the McCain camp has moved into this arena, it’s only fair to look closely at the activities of those who have cast the first stone.
First, we’ll talk about the pit bull with lipstick, and she truly does live up to that unattractive image. Nobody ever really mentions that supposedly squeaky clean Sarah is under investigation for abuse of power, and that John McCain knew it before he asked Palin to join the ticket. What does that say about character? John McCain knowingly chose a running mate who is accused of using the power of her office for personal purposes. Palin challenged the investigation on jurisdictional grounds and lost. Several loyalists refused to answer their subpoenas, but the subpoenas were upheld in court. On this count, her day is coming. However, we are basically parading around a vice presidential candidate who is under investigation. Does that make sense? Why is that acceptable?
Let’s then consider that Sarah Palin has repeatedly courted the Alaska Independence Party, whose ultimate goal is seceding from the union. The founder of the group, a man named Joe Vogler, has openly expressed hatred of the US government and has verbally defiled our flag. While the pit bull was never formally a member of the group, she did speak at it’s 1994 convention. The McCain camp has confirmed that she visited the 2000 convention. However, here’s the kicker: Sarah Palin spoke at this year’s convention as well, as a governor who has sworn to uphold the US Constitution. Her husband (or as she affectionately calls him, her “first dude”) was actually a member of the group from 1995 through 2002, according to Alaska’s Division of Elections.
Now, for Senator McCain’s questionable associations, in particular his friendship with G. Gordon Liddy, who has served four and a half years in prison in connection with his conviction on both the Watergate break-in and the break-in of Daniel Ellsberg’s office. Ellsberg is the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers. In addition, Liddy has acknowledged plotting a host of terrorist activities, like preparing to kill somebody “if necessary” during the Ellsberg break-in; plotting to murder columnist Jack Anderson; plotting to utilize gangland ties to murder Howard Hunt to prevent him from cooperating with authorities; plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution (a liberal think tank); and plotting to kidnap leftist guerrillas while at the 1972 Republican Convention.
G. Gordon Liddy, convicted felon, has donated to McCain’s campaigns since 1998, including a $1,000 donation in February of 2008. In turn, McCain has appeared a number of times as a guest on Liddy’s radio show, including during this campaign season (May of 2008). In a November 8, 2007 appearance, Liddy referred to McCain as an “old friend.” During that same visit, McCain praised his old friend’s “adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.” Really? Murder? Kidnapping? Firebombing? McCain said he was proud of Liddy and stated “it’s always a pleasure for me to come on your program.”
The evidence of John McCain’s and Sarah Palin’s warped sense of values is so obvious, it’s almost unnecessary for me to write a closing for this article. Nevertheless, I will. Apparently, it’s okay to be a terrorist or associate with a convicted felon who indulges in terrorist activities as long as it’s on the right-wing side of the government. The same isn’t true if you’re a liberal. Interesting concept. The fact is that neither of these lowlife candidates has any business smearing Barack Obama when their own backgrounds are so full of questionable associations and activities. Neither John McCain nor Sara Palin possess the moral character necessary to lead this nation back from the depths of disgrace the Bush administration has brought it to. They are just more of the same.
SARAH PALIN’S SCHOOL OF LOW EXPECTATIONS
“Good mornin’ class. It’s sure nice to see so doggone many happy faces smilin’ up at me today, right here in America, the bestest country ever. For those of you whose memory isn’t what it used to be—and whose is, boy-howdy—my name is Sarah Palin. I was John McCain’s runnin’ mate against President Barack Obama in the last election.
“Now, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, I’m gonna give it to you straight, without the media elite twisting my words into pretzels, or that snooty Katie Couric pullin’ ‘gotchya’ stunts tryin’ to make me sound like a bimbo.
“I lost that election. But I’m not a loser and neither are you!
“That’s today’s lesson at the Sarah Palin School of Low Expectations—we are winners if we say so. Nobody but us can set the bar for our success, and the secret of life is to set that bar so low you’ve already crossed it.
“As I look around the room and see the Wall Street executives and CEOs, the religious leaders and educators, the Dancing With The Stars ex-contestants and Republican ex-senators lookin’ back at me, I can see the question in your eyes. ‘Can I take advantage of the same trick that got Sarah Palin, beauty queen and governor of Alaska—which is almost a state—through a disastrous campaign with a twinkle in her eyes and an allurin’ grin on her adorable face? Will the magic of low expectations work for me?
“You betchya!
“If I can do it, anyone can do it. I don’t think it’s a big secret that I had absolutely no business even bein’ considered Vice Presidential material by John McCain or anyone else. The only difference between me and Dan Quayle is that he’s prettier and he went further in the spellin’ bee. He got tripped up when the liberal media asked him to spell potato and I flunked out on moose.
“But Dan Quayle didn’t know my system. He let that potato make him a loser, but I didn’t let no moose do that to this hockey mom! I shot that sucker square between the eyes and served it to my big, main-street, American family for dinner.
“Low expectations works! When I got my tush handed to me by that smart-aleck Joe Biden during our debate, the whole world thought I’d broken even, at worst!
“Why? Because I had carefully set the bar so low I couldn’t have tripped over it in five-inch heels. All I had to do was keep a seductive smile on my lips while stringin’ random English words together not answerin’ the questions until the light told me to stop, and I was a winner!
“Was I nervous? Course I was! One time my stomach got so jumpy durin’ some foreigner policy question or something that I let out a smelly. You can see ‘can I call you Joe’ make the uglyface when it hit him. But nobody knew because I squeaked it out. If the microphones don’t pick it up, it never happened.
“Remember that class. Never let ‘em see you sweat. Or hear you fart.
“So you’ve had a rough time of it lately. Your company went bankrupt, the government had to bail out your golden parachute, Charlie Rose doesn’t answer your phone calls anymore, you can’t get a decent table at TGI Fridays and your kids tell all their friends at Groton that you’re a fireman.
“Big deal. Tell ‘em that’s just what you wanted! That’s your story and you’re sticking to it.
“Well, jeez-o-flip, class, I see we’re almost out of time. Here are your homework assignments.
“I want you Wall Street fellas to write, in your own words—no cheaties—why you’re happy your companies went bust and got bought by Dubai because, unlike Ken Lay, you’re not in jail, or dead.
“Religious leaders, tell me how your wife is totally behind raising the bastard child you had with that call girl, because you’ve both always wanted to help the underprivileged.
“And you Republicans—well, gosh almighty, I know it’s gonna be hard—but I want you to put on your little spin beanies and write an essay about how you’re glad you lost the election because you broke every toy in the store and mommy told you to go home and stay in bed while the Democrats try to clean up your mess.
“Class dismissed, you cute rascals. Next week we’ll practice ‘the wink.”
Senator McNasty fails to “wow” anybody
Last night’s debate is barely worth talking about. John McCain reprised his role as the seething old man with an unexplainable dislike for Barack Obama. It is so obvious now that it cannot be denied. Throughout the first debate, McCain refused to even look at Obama. Last night, McCain paced and seethed just under the skin every time Obama spoke. When he wanted to make a point, McCain would say (and I am paraphrasing a bit), ‘you know who voted for that legislation, this guy.’ McCain could not even say his name. You have to be wondering about McCain’s mental acuity at this stage of the game. At this point, it’s hard to explain. It’s not based in any kind of rationality, but none of McCain’s campaign is either.
It was also pretty clear that McCain was much more aggressive and on the attack. As usual, he wasn’t direct. McCain leaves that to the pit bull with lipstick and her traveling side show. (To watch Palin’s base is truly something to behold. They truly are the Joe Six Packs she’s referring to.) This perception about McCain, however, is not just mine alone. Many of the debate viewers felt the same. At this stage, McCain is no longer concerned with having character of any type. He’s fully invested in winning at any cost. The McCain-Palin ticket has committed to the final slap in the face of Americans. They aren’t going to even address the real issues facing America. McCain and Palin are going to indulge in a smear campaign instead.
I urge you to visit this video. It was from about five months ago, before it was clear who was even going to be the Democratic nominee. In the video, McCain commits to no swiftboating or character attacks on national television. The interviewer is Chris Matthews and he is very clear about what he’s asking McCain to commit to. Well, here we are with McCain behind in the polls and he has already launched his swiftboat attack. Done deal. Now, he’s working on smearing Obama’s character by associating him with William Ayers. (By the way, in my next article we’re going to talk about McCain’s friendship with G. Gordon Liddy.) It is in this spirit that I link you all to the polls following last night’s debate.
Someone should tell John McCain that the American people want to talk about the economy, first and foremost. Like it or not. This election is about the American people, not John McCain. McCain’s present campaign strategy isn’t playing well in Peoria, as they say. John McCain’s seeming uncontrollable seething anger isn’t the type of personality that the American people want representing them. It does not put them in the comfort zone with the world in such a precarious situation. The people simply want more. They want something better than what he’s offering.
How low can Palin go?
You know, I’ve heard people call Sarah Palin folksy, genuine, feisty and even adorable. I’ve got some real-world descriptions for her like ignorant, uninformed, intellectually uncurious, downright nasty and a liar. At first, she may have been amusing, even forgivable. Today, she lived up to her self-proclaimed image as a pit bull with lipstick when she accused Barack Obama of associating with “terrorists” by linking him to a 70s radical who was a founder of the Weather Underground when Obama was a mere eight years old. How is Obama linked to William Ayers, now 63 years old? They live in the same Chicago neighborhood and have met several times. I guess we are to believe that Barack Obama moved there just so that he can associate with a terrorist? The truth is that bomb and conspiracy charges against Ayers were dropped in 1974. Today he is a professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago. I’m not surprised this garbage came out of Palin’s mouth. She’s not just feisty, she’s downright nasty.
I guess if you can’t distinguish yourself from Bush-Cheney on the issues, there’s only one way to go, and that’s as low as you have to go to win. That’s where the McCain-Palin ticket is right now. They have regressed to the larval stage. What little attention they were devoting to the issues is now completely gone. And now that she has proven that she can’t answer the types of questions you’d expect a vice presidential candidate to be able to answer, it’s pretty clear that Sarah Palin is only going to be allowed to speak to reporters she is comfortable with. You know, those who won’t challenge her. That pretty much leaves Sean Hannity and Fox Network. It’s also clear what her assignment will be: To smear Barack Obama. If the campaign style seems a bit familiar, it’s because McCain’s campaign manager is a protegé of none other than Karl Rove, and Sarah Barracuda is up to the task.
Some folks are gushing about Mrs. Palin’s debate performance. It didn