Obama, Democrats Begin Reaping Political Benefits Of Reform

Obama, Democrats Begin Reaping Political Benefits Of Reform

Only hours after the president signed health care reform legislation into law on Tuesday, the immediate political benefits for the Democratic Party are already coming into focus.

According to a Gallup/USA Today poll conducted the day after health care legislation passed the House of Representatives, 49 percent of the respondents think the passage of reform is a "good thing," compared to the 40 percent who think it is bad. The numbers are a welcome relief for a party and a presidency that had been bleeding popular support over the course of the past six months.

Democrats didn't just get a health-care-related boost in the realm of public opinion. The Democratic National Committee reported raising more than $1 million in donations on Tuesday even without making a direct ask. The money is expected to pour in for other campaign committees as well.

Responding to the growing GOP effort to get the legislation repealed, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched a new fundraising toolbar on its website, pointing out which Republican senatorial candidates are ready to take away what particular benefits of reform.

Meanwhile, over at the White House the mood was downright jubilant. Days before health care reform passed, the consensus among top officials was that the president could survive a legislative defeat but the party would crumble around him. The polling numbers had risen a bit since Obama confronted House Republicans during their retreat at Baltimore in January. But they were still lethargic and a cause for concern.

More than anything else, a GOP victory would have crystallized the perception that the administration had squandered a historic opportunity to get business done; that Waterloo -- as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) threatened -- had indeed happened.

And in that sense, Tuesday's signing ceremony was as much a celebration of the past year as a chance for the administration to breathe a bit easier. Speaking just hours after the president made health care reform the law of the land, David Axelrod -- Obama's closest senior strategist -- was asked about the edge of the precipice upon which this White House once stood.

Story continues below

"Someone said this might be your Waterloo," PBS's Charlie Rose asked. "What happened? You were Wellington and not Napoleon."

"Exactly," Axelrod replied. "I think it all worked out better than anyone anticipated. But way back in the spring, Senator DeMint said if we can just defeat Obama on health care, his presidency will be crippled, and that we'll benefit from that. We don't think that way. We want to move this country forward, and we're willing to work with them to do it."

SnowMageddon Vets Storm Capital!

Paul Reickhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, explains why President Barack Obama’s pledge to bring the troops home is not enough and why more focus needs to be placed on how to help them after they’re back in the U.S.

Washington (CNN) -- The blizzard that hit Washington couldn't have come at a worse time for a leading veterans group -- but the name for its legislative push this week is certainly fitting.

Despite the monster snowstorm, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America organization is taking its Storm the Hill campaign directly to members of Congress and administration officials to push for veterans' rights.

Because of a fresh round of snowfall Tuesday night -- and the federal government being closed much of this week -- many of their meetings have been canceled or postponed.

Group founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, an Army veteran, said that despite "snowmageddon," they've been cracking away at the meetings that are still on.

He added that members are beyond determined to show up.

"We have a guy who came in from Michigan, who took four different planes to get here," he said. "Most of our folks have been through much worse than a blizzard, so they're able to handle this and keep driving on."

Continue on CNN..

Smart People in Charge of Science....now that's Novel....

Picking the best people for the tech and science positions, seems almost too smart for a President of the United States to do.... But that's what's happening under an Obama administration...

(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”

“It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in an apparent offhand swipe at President Bush.

“It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient,” Obama said, adding that government support had been essential for the greatest scientific breakthroughs of recent history, like the development of the Internet.

“Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us."

Obama announced that Harvard University professor John Holdren will serve as assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Environmental scientist and marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University was his pick for administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The president-elect also named Nobel Prize-winning Harold Varmus, a former Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Eric Lander of MIT and Harvard, a leader of the Human Genome Project, as co-chairs of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Terrorist Fist Jab yo Ass outta here!

TV Newser has learned that Fox News anchor E.D. Hill is leaving the channel after her contract was not renewed:

TVNewser has learned veteran Fox News Channel anchor E.D. Hill will not be renewed when her current contract expires. Hill, who has been with Fox News for more than 10 years, will continue with the network for the next few months until her current deal expires.

SVP of Programming Bill Shine tells TVNewser that he "chose not to renew E.D.'s latest contract" but noted that "Hill has been a valued contributor to the success of FNC over the years, and we wish her all the best."

Hill gained notoriety several months ago when she referred to the "pound," "fist bump," or whatever you want to call the handshake that Barack Obama exchanged with his wife Michelle as a "terrorist fist jab."

Insults fly as Barack Obama & John McCain prepare for second debate

By Thomas M. DeFrank / New York Daily News

WASHINGTON — It's getting McNasty again.

A day after Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists," Obama struck back Sunday with a tough ad painting John McCain as "erratic."

"Our financial system is in turmoil. And John McCain? Erratic in a crisis, out of touch on the economy," charges the spot — a thinly veiled dig at McCain's age and temperament.

In Asheville, N.C., where he's prepping for Tuesday's second debate with McCain, Obama lit into the Arizona Republican for returning to the low road by having Palin and other surrogates resurrect Obama's associations with 1960s radical William Ayers, now a Chicago educator.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called Palin's charge "ridiculous."

"I hope John McCain is a strong enough leader to tell at least his vice presidential candidate to knock it off," McCaskill told "Fox News Sunday."

But Palin kept it up Sunday. "In fact, Obama held one of his first meetings hoping to kick off his political career in Bill Ayers' living room," she told a California fund-raising event.

A top McCain adviser signaled last week that the campaign intends to "turn the page" from economic issues — which polls show have staked Obama to a significant lead — and ramp up attacks on Obama as an inexperienced ultraliberal.

"I know the policies he's supported these past eight years and wants to continue are pretty hard to defend," Obama told a rally at a high school football stadium. "I can understand why Sen. McCain would want to turn the page and ignore this economy."

McCain and his agents are "gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," Obama added. "They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas and running out of time."

McCain's course correction reflects a growing case of nerves within his high command as the electoral map has shifted significantly in Obama's favor in the past two weeks.

"It's a dangerous road, but we have no choice," a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose."

One-time McCain adviser Mike Murphy told NBC's "Meet the Press" he's worried because "it's McCain's barn that is on fire. McCain is defending states like North Carolina, Virginia, Florida that he has to win."

"I think McCain can win, but the fact is, if the election were held today, he'd lose, and I think he's on a losing path," Murphy added. "This trendline is very, very bad."

Former Bush political guru Karl Rove told "Fox News Sunday" that Obama now leads in states with 273 electoral votes, three more than needed to win.

Lou Dobbs buys Racist Obama Waffles

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6994

September 14, 2008. WASHINGTON - (AP) Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.

David Nammo, executive director of the lobbying group FRC Action, said summit organizers were told the boxes were a parody of Obama's policy positions but had not examined them closely.

Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states.

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.

On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"

The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The Obama campaign declined to comment.

Wearing white chef's aprons, Whitlock and DeMoss were doing a brisk business at noon Saturday selling the waffle mix to people crowded around their booth. Two pyramids of waffle mix boxes stood several feet high on the booth's table.

"It's the ultimate political souvenir," DeMoss told a customer.

Asked if he considered the pictures of Obama on the box to be racial stereotypes, Whitlock said: "We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's — there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."

The socially conservative public policy groups American Values and Focus on the Family Action co-sponsored the summit.




September 15, 2008. MediaTakeOut.com just caught wind that CNN anchor Lou Dobbs was out hob nobbing with man who created the racially charged box of pancakes with offensive imagery.

But we can't take credit for this story, it belongs to the progressive site Pam's House Blend:

Hmmm...why would the page on the Obama Waffles site linked above suddenly get pulled? After all, Lou Dobbs, a speaker at the Values Voter Summit, stopped by the vendor table to give a slamming endorsement of the product; it depicts Barack Obama as a Muslim bug-eyed Aunt Jemima. The photo, as you can see, shows an approving Dobbs with a box of the mix in his hand.

For those of you who may have missed yesterday's post, Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two aspiring Klansmen writers from Tennessee set up a booth sponsored by Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council to sell the Obama Waffles, asserting it was "political satire."

After Think Progress covered this story, the page was yanked from the ObamaWaffles web site, and FRC issued a feeble press release trying to distance itself from the product, claiming it didn't vet the vendor's product and didn't realize the boxes on display were "offensive material."


The man doesn't deserve to have a job. His ratings are awful, his anti-hispanic and anti-immigrant remarks border on racist, and he's well past retirement age.

If you want to tell CNN how you feel, here are some emails to a few of the higher ups at the network:

· Jim.Walton@turner.com (Jim Walton is the president of CNN Worldwide)

· Susan.Grant@turner.com (Susan Grant is executive vice president of CNN News Services)

· Jon.Klein@turner.com (Jonathan Klein is president of CNN/US

· Rena.Golden@turner.com (senior vice president and executive producer of CNN.com)

· David.Payne@turner.com (senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com)

· Mitch.Gelman@turner.com (senior vice president and senior executive producer of CNN.com)

Republicans financially supporting Obama

This is an article I've found amusing, so Sarah Palin has been using the Barracuda song of the rock band "Heart" After being asked not to use it. The group actually supports Obama.....

Ironically since the GOP refuses to stop using it due to already paying for it, the band members will be donating a portion of royalties to Barack....... AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

McCain and Palin once again play 'Barracuda'
Posted: 12:43 PM ET
From From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Heart guitarists Nancy and Ann Wilson don't want the McCain campaign to play their song.
LEBANON, Ohio (CNN) – The rock band "Heart" may have asked John McCain and Sarah Palin stop playing their song "Barracuda" at their rallies, but the campaign is apparently paying no heed.

The track — played at the Republican National Convention in honor of the Vice Presidential nominee, who earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" playing high school basketball in Alaska — was pumped through the streets of Lebanon, Ohio on Tuesday morning at an outdoor rally before the GOP ticket showed up.

Earlier: Heart condemns McCain-Palin use of 'Barracuda'
When the song was played after Palin's convention speech last week, the band members quickly requested that McCain and Palin pull the plug.

"Sarah Palin's views and values in no way represent us as American women," Ann and Nancy Wilson told Entertainment Weekly. "We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image."

But the McCain camp said last week that it had paid for and obtained all necessary licenses before using the song.

And the band's former guitarist, Roger Fisher, told Reuters last week that the McCain camp’s use of the song benefited both sides: Republicans get "the ingenious placement of a kick-ass song" — and Heart gets headlines and royalties. Part of that money, said Fisher, would be heading to the Arizona senator’s opponent: "With my contribution to Obama's campaign, the Republicans are now supporting Obama," he told Reuters.

Community Organizers Speak on GOP statements...

Optimum Capital Management, LLC

Announces ENOUGH!

New York, NY - September 8th, 2008

As a community organizer, I want to send this letter to John McCain and the Republican Party, on behalf of all of the community organizers in America. This is letter is written for all of those community organizers like myself who wake up every morning with only one thought on their mind, "How can I make my community better?" It is written for all of those like me who rarely get paid and are hardly ever provided any incentive much more than the joy we feel from seeing one of our fellow community members get a paying job because of our efforts. Rudy Giuliani, you asked what a community organizer is. Sarah Palin, you implied that you were unaware of any real responsibilities that a community organizer had. Let me take a few brief words to explain it to you.

Community Organizer Responds to GOP Attacks!

Community organizers are the ones who actually roll up their sleeves and work in the neighborhoods and communities that are hardly ever seen by a politician. The main gripe that we hear from those we assist is, "We try to reach out to our local politicians but we never get any response." Where a void is left from the inability or unwillingness of our local politicians to insert some action where an abundance of words exists we are the ones who step up to the plate. We are the ones in the prisons teaching for free so that we can lower recidivism rates in our communities. We are the ones holding private meetings with gang members to urge them to trade in their guns for books and job applications. We are the ones who are working with the neglected population of homeless teens providing them with education about financial literacy, health, drugs, safe sex, and life skill implementation.

Governor Palin, do not talk to me about "real responsibility" until you have walked in our shoes. I am not going to down grade your responsibility, because I am sure that to be the Mayor of a town with 6000 people can have its difficulties and challenges. However, for you to disrespect the efforts of the people in the nation who love this country just because you want to score a political point is blasphemous. You hold yourself to be a true follower and believer of the Word of God, but where in the Word does it say that we must down others efforts just to uplift ourselves? Where in the Word of God does it say that we must attack the character of others in order to fulfill our own personal agenda? Do you honestly believe that the only way that one can sacrifice for this country is to be a POW? Of course not! You should be thankful for the sacrifice and the responsibility that is taken on every day by community organizers across the country. You would not have gotten elected into your seat as Mayor or Governor without the efforts of community organizers. If there were more community organizers in Alaska maybe your state would not have such high methamphetamine addiction and youth STD rates.Instead of thanks, we are belittled. I guess that you don't have to thank Martin Luther King Jr. who helped millions doing community organizing to lead the civil rights movement? I guess you would have been condescending to Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Lucy Stone for their work in the National Woman Suffrage Association community organizing for women across this nation? What about Jimmy Hoffa who was a community organizer for the rights of workers? Maybe he didn't have responsibility either? Let's travel overseas to look at the Ghandi, the community organizer who helped millions in India and around the world. Maybe he should have been belittled for his efforts. He himself stated what should be the creed of all community organizers, "Be the change that you want to see in the world." Are you encouraging those in this country and around the world to be that "change" with your words Governor Palin?

Last but not least, my favorite community organizer of which you and I owe a lot to because of our similar faiths, Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Do you think that He would condone your words against Barack Obama and degrading his actions to make a change in his community?

I don't have to point out famous community organizers, but can also make note of those community organizers who do not do the work for personal recognition but because it is just right. Wayne Harris who has dedicated his life to helping homeless youth...keep it up Wayne! Kevin Powell who has dedicated his life to making a positive change in the life of Black Males and who speaks out against violence against women...we need you Kevin and keep it up! George Mitchell who pulls people together to figure out ways to increase traffic to local community businesses...you have a lot of responsibility Brother George and we need your efforts! Dante Dixon who is a minister who uses the Word of God to help people start businesses across the country...I respect your efforts Mr. Dixon and please keep it up! Christina Hodges who has dedicated her life to teaching financial literacy for free throughout her community...don't let the comments from the GOP party discourage you! Lloyd Cambridge who works with youth and adults for free helping them start businesses...I respect you Lloyd! Darnell Canada who is an ex-offender yet still started numerous businesses for himself AND other people in the community...I respect and admire your work Darnell even if Giuliani and Palin do not! Barack Obama who served over 90,000 people while community organizing on the south side of Chicago... we know you could have used your Harvard degree to earn millions but you chose to work with the people! Barack, you are not the savior to the people but your actions and deeds have empowered millions across this country to be a savior to themselves! There are people who have jobs and a future because of your efforts. A "from the bottom up movement" is a movement that you started on the south side of Chicago but will end in the White House! We thank you and need more of you! To all of the community organizers out there who like me are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated we cannot stop our efforts!As a community organizer I have had my life threatened, been assaulted, disrespected, dismissed, rejected, and undercut all because I want to help my community teaching financial literacy and spreading economic empowerment. These things happened because like other community organizers, we want to create opportunities for success but many times we get the most resistance from those we are trying to help. Governor Palin and Mayor Giuliani, the criticism and disrespect that you provide will NOT dissuade us from helping our community. It only serves to show that you and the Republican Party are out of touch with the American people. You get mad at Barack because he eats arugula but degrade those across the country whose only purpose is to make a difference. You get mad at Barack's statements of clinging to guns and religion, then you belittle the earnest efforts of those in the community trying to improve the lives of those around them. Then you claim yourselves to be patriotic and always put America first? In November the people will speak...if we are smart our voices and votes will put Obama in the White House because he has proven to be the only candidate who has not displayed the moral turpitude that has been destroying this country for the past 8 years! ENOUGH!

http://www.optimumcapitalmanagement.com/contact_us

AP Points out the GOP Lies....

People it's time to wake up and smell the BS......

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held
back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and
flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the
reproach and the praise stretched the truth.
Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing
wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark
spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge
to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a
lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town
totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly
$750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request
in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million
bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that
opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to
nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our
opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who
has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform _ not even in the
state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in
the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with
Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal
shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional
weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that
accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar
of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was
the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial
profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential
death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform
legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports
plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes,
raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the
American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run
jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that
Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by
about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts
taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income
taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly
for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax
Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger
families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and
dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with
incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses
that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in
charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20
percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I
hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is
somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he
said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims.
Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil
production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President
Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact,
her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the
Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain
could as easily have called it the 47th largest state _ by
population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National
Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of
her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state
guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual
military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for
example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they
report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard
units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard
organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes
running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of
the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996
mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of
1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got
76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the
ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change,
all right _ change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We
have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington _ throw
out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah
Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a
conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until
last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have
Democrats have been in charge of the House and
Senate.
___
Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington
contributed to this report.

Republicans Caught dissing Palin, on camera they thought was off....

Republicans caught dissing Palin on the camera they thought was off.....sound familiar?????

Shout out to Politico.com

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Noonan_Murphy_trash_Palin_on_hot_mic_Its_over.html

After a segment with NBC's Chuck Todd ended today, Republican consultant
Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan were caught on a live
mike ridiculing the choice of Sarah Palin.
"It's over," said Noonan, who then
responded to a question of whether Palin is the most qualified Republican woman
McCain could have chosen.
"The most qualified? No. I think they went for this
— excuse me — political bullshit about narratives," she said. "Every time
the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what
they're good at, they blow it."
Murphy chimed in:
"The greatness of McCain
is no cynicism, and this is cynical."
Noonan's blunt call contrasted with her conflicted
column today saying Palin "could become a transformative political
presence."
"The Sarah Palin choice is really going to work, or really not
going to work," Noonan wrote. "It's not going to be a little successful or a
little not; it's not going to be a wash. She is either going to be magic or one
of history's accidents. She is either going to be brilliant and groundbreaking,
or will soon be the target of unattributed quotes by bitter staffers shifting
blame in all 'The Making of the President 2008' books."

Michael Moore on Mccain

This is a very good blog I figured I would share.... take some time to check out his site also....

Random Thoughts from Michael Moore

Senator McCain Cuts and Runs, Governor Palin's "Labor" Day, and a New Hurricane Called, Um, Ike? Who Writes This Stuff?

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Well, I guess God got my email and answered my prayer. Man, the power of the Internet! He even emailed me back! I'll share that with you in the next few days. Proof there is a God in heaven? Never explain comedy or satire or the ironic comment. Those who get it, get it. Those who don't, never will...

John McCain said "it's time to take our Republican hats off and put our American hats on." Really? It would have been nice if Sen. McCain had put on his American hat in the three years since Katrina. Just so no one is fooled by all his fake concern for the people on the Gulf Coast, let's look at his record post-Katrina, compliments of Chris Hayes of The Nation:

If (McCain) cared about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast he could have done something these past three years. He could have made Gulf Reconstruction his issue, he could have excoriated his party for pushing federal dollars into the hands of cronies, for providing inadequate resources, for allowing the further destruction of the wetlands that serve as the only natural barrier to storm surges. He could have taken on the insurance companies that have been serially screwing the residents of the gulf. But he was too busy pushing for more troops, and more war and running for president.

Instead this is his record [via Mother Jones]:

Though McCain issued a statement the next week (after Katrina) calling on Congress to make sacrifices in order to fund recovery efforts, he was quoted in The New Leader on September 1 [2005] cautioning against over-spending in support of Katrina's victims. "We also have to be concerned about future generations of Americans," he said. "We're going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country."

That attitude was borne out in McCain's actions and votes. Forty Senators and 100 members of Congress visited New Orleans before he did; he finally got there in March 2006. He voted against establishing a Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local responses to Katrina in med-September 2005. He repeated that vote in 2006. He voted against allowing up to 52 weeks of unemployment benefits to people affected by the hurricane, and in 2006 voted against appropriating $109 billion in supplemental emergency funding, including $28 billion for hurricane relief.

So honestly, it's an insult to watch him make a show of concern now. ... continue reading

Vietnam vets stirring up a McCain mutiny

Vietnam vets stirring up a McCain mutiny
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/08/25/2008-08-25_vietnam_vets_stirring_up_a_mccain_mutiny.html

Monday, August 25th 2008, 4:00 AM
Altaffer/AP
John McCain

Sen. John McCain commands support at many VFW halls across the country. But a squadron of Vietnam vets and POW/MIA advocates is strafing him with decidedly unfriendly fire.
Two-tour Green Beret Ted Sampley, who helped "Swift Boat" Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, is now gunning for the GOP White House hopeful.

The organizer of Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain claims the Purple Heart-winning former POW has "never admitted the full extent to which he cooperated with his captors."

Sampley also charges that, in the 1990s, the "unstable" McCain, whom he calls "the Manchurian Candidate," ignored "credible evidence" that American POWs were still alive in Southeast Asia.
"He wanted to normalize relations with Vietnam," Sampley tells us. "He took away the only leverage we had for getting those soldiers back. Why? He was paying back the Vietnamese for keeping quiet about him."

McCain has called Sampley a profiteering "enemy of the truth" and "one of the most despicable people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter." (Sampley was jailed after beating up McCain aide Mark Salter outside McCain's Senate office in 1992.)

Though he's no fan of Barack Obama, Sampley says Fox News producers haven't invited him on to bash McCain the way he bashed Kerry. But Sampley is finding other comrades. Former POW Phillip Butler asserts that McCain "allows the media to make him out to be the hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true."

Former GOP Congressmen Bill Hendon and John LeBoutillier, who both served on the House Task Force on POW/MIA Affairs, write on Sampley's U.S. Veteran Dispatch that McCain "abandoned American POWs."

"He's totally dishonest," says LeBoutillier, who contends that, to win over the religious right, McCain "cribbed" his recent memory of a kindly guard leaving "a cross in the dirt" from Jeremiah Denton, another POW-turned-senator who told a similar story.
Other POWs have backed up McCain's story. And the senator, who refused Vietnamese offers of early prison release, has called the "evidence" of living POWs a "cruel hoax on their families."

Mccain's Cribs

http://therealmccain.com/

John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist?

The REAL McCain is a multimillionaire who owns ten luxurious homes. The REAL McCain backs President Bush's tax cuts for big corporations. The REAL McCain empathizes only with the interests of our nation's wealthy minority, not its money-strapped majority. But far too many are buying into McCain's deceit because the corporate press won't present the whole picture, so we created this video to educate the public about the REAL McCain.

Together, you have been a force in making sure The REAL McCain videos have been seen by nearly 6.5 million people. But as Frank Rich noted in his NY Times column yesterday, 40% of Americans hear too little about McCain from the mainstream media, meaning "the public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is." That's why it's crucial you ensure this video is seen by as many as possible, and that we use each and every tool at our disposal to get the word out. Send this on to five friends and family members, and tell them to send it to five people they know. Get it to your local news outlets and blogs and networking sites like Digg. Raise hell about McCain's economic duplicity!

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney summed it up best when he said McCain "simply doesn't understand the challenges America's working families are facing because he isn't remotely affected by them." It's up to us to tell people who McCain really is, a personal jet-setting elitist more concerned with corporate lobbyists than hard-working Americans.

Bonus McBushed!

GUAGE THIS!!!!

Want to measure the progress of the presidential campaign? Look no further than the tire-pressure gauges handed out on John McCain's campaign plane Monday morning. Mark Salter, the Republican candidate's senior aide known for his gruffness, alerted the traveling press corps that the campaign would be distributing Barack Obama's energy proposal during the short flight. Once in the air, Mr. Salter gleefully handed out tire gauges labeled "Obama's Energy Plan."

The act is the latest in a string of stunts that signal the start of the electoral silly season. With the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics just days away and hordes of voters on vacation, the American public's attention span for politics is minimal at best.

To break through, the McCain campaign has resorted to some unusual push-the-envelope tactics. This week, it's the tire pressure gauges. Last week it was a pair of videos: a television ad titled "Celeb" that used shots of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton; and a Web clip that spliced footage of Sen. Obama's large rallies with images of Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea.


Well let's get back to the tire gauge...... How could OBAMA be so out of touch on this issue....... wait whats that??? According to Time magazine

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829354,00.html?cnn=yes

How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.

But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

In fact, Obama's actual energy plan is much more than a tire gauge. But that's not what's so pernicious about the tire-gauge attacks. Politics ain't beanbag, and Obama has defended himself against worse smears. The real problem with the attacks on his tire-gauge plan is that efforts to improve conservation and efficiency happen to be the best approaches to dealing with the energy crisis — the cheapest, cleanest, quickest and easiest ways to ease our addiction to oil, reduce our pain at the pump and address global warming. It's a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less.

Now atleast no Republicans or Mccain supporters seem to believe this LEFT TIRE NONSENSE RIGHT...... oh wait....whats this...

"while the McCain team is busy amusing themselves, the fact is that the idea they’re attacking is supported by, among others, top McCain surrogate Joe Lieberman, conference call host Mike Rogers, Governors Charlie Crist and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Department of Energy, and NASCAR—all of whom have urged Americans to help save energy by minding tire pressure," says spokesman Hari Sevugan in an email.

NO NOT NASCAR....... THEY COULDN'T HAVE BACKED AN OBAMA STATEMENT.....

Well in actuallity barely a week before Mccains tire gauge stunt NASCAR put out an article highlighting it.... titled:

"Tire maintenance key to safety, fuel economy"

http://www.nascar.com/2006/auto/07/25/tires/

Tires influence the braking, steering, comfort, handling, fuel efficiency and driving safety of every vehicle, but are often ignored or misunderstood by many consumers. Tires pound over potholes, careen off curbs and screech to a halt, but the prevailing public sentiment is, "They're round, black and have tread. Beyond that, who cares?"
With gas prices now hovering around $3, smart drivers care. Savvy consumers are seeking to increase fuel economy and the life of their tires by paying more attention to those rubber objects that are attached to their vehicle.

Now lets take a closer look at why Mccain may be so terrible with this energy crisis as the oil companies rake it RECORD PROFITS while us consumers lose out......

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2008/08/mccains_contributions_from_ene.html

John McCain received prolonged applause from the oil executives who gathered June 17 in Houston to hear the Republican presidential candidate's speech on energy policy.
Now it appears that McCain received something else: Lots of campaign contributions.
John McCain's contributions from energy industry interests happened to spike right around his Houston speech (and a fundraising tour of Texas).
Is it a coincidence, the result of aggressive Texas outreach -- or is it a show of gratitude? Let us know what you think.

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ENERGY INTERESTS

DATE.....................AMOUNT

April......................$40,000

May.......................$96,950

June 1-15.............$219,550

June 16-17...........$303,400

June 18-30...........$313,950

You do the Math!!!!!!

http://www.therealmccain.com/