What's going to be the public reaction when John McCain brings his whole family onto the stage and the American public sees, probably for the first time, that one of his children (adopted) is very dark-skinned? The McCain's adoption of Bridget is laudable but it's certainly going to be a shock to a large segment of the population. Especially those who won't vote for Obama just because he's half-black.

-----------

On tiny bit of unintended irony... Stuart Shepard, of the very conservative Focus on the Family, had encouraged his people to pray to god for a rainstorm to flood Barack Obama's acceptance speech. How very Christian Satanic of them. Now it looks like a different kind of flood will wipe out John McCain's day in the sun. (BTW, didn't Gustav intensify to storm status on the very day that Sarah Palin was tapped for VP? I'm just sayin'.)

------

McCain is planning on delivering speeches during the Republican Convention FROM New Orleans, a move that's only slightly more politically slimy than, oh, I dunno, visiting an Iraq market under the protection of a brigade of soldiers and then telling everyone that Iraq is perfectly safe. Need I remind you that after Katrina hit New Orleans, while most of us was watching people drown, McCain was busy on a fund-raising junket in Arizona, sharing birthday cake with George Bush.

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McCain was a guest Sunday on Fox News (of course) where he said he was opposed to waterboarding, because it's torture. As usual he conveniently forgot he voted against a recent bill prohibiting waterboarding. When the bill was passed by the Congress he advised Bush to veto it, which he did.

On the same program he also said he was is favor of minimum wage increases when, in fact, he voted against them 19 times.

A man with no scruples and no memory of such perfidy is considered a sociopath in more evolved societies.

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"[Hilary Clinton] won millions of votes - but isn't on [Barack Obama's]ticket. Why? For speaking the truth, on his plans." - John Sidney McCain

So, why didn't you choose Mitt Romney for veep, you fucking hypocrite?

How about a few of Sarah Palin's Favorite Quotes:

"I was against the Bridge to Nowhere." (False)
"I don't know what the vice-president does." (True)
"I was fully vetted by the McCain campaign." (False)
"I supported the succession of Alaska from the U.S. (True)
"I am against earmarks." (False)
"I worked for Ted Stevens." (True)
"I'm a soccer mom. "( False)
"I care more for oil than polar bears." (True)
"I'm a member of the PTA." (False)
"I believe the Founding Fathers wrote the Pledge of Allegiance." (True)
"I'd feed you to the piranha for your Snickers Bar." (True)

-----------

There are many breathless discussions on the 'net lately that Sarah Palin's son, Trig, is actually the fruit of her daughter's loins, the salacious Bristol. This allegation is supported by quite a lot of circumstantial evidence.

Now, let's see, what would be the best way to quell conjecture on this issue? Hmmm.

I know! Release your medical records.

But, no, Sarah Barracuda chose instead to throw her under aged, pregnant daughter to the media wolves, totally fucking her over for the rest of her life and still not convincing anyone of the real crux of the story. Nice.

For more on this argument, read Leigh Bailey's reasoned analysis at Salon.com. Bailey's a mother, and she knows red herring when she smells it.

------

One last Palin note before we get back to McThuselah ...

In my opinion the main reason the RNC chose Palin for veep, apart from her fortuitous arrangement of chromosomes, is because she's an ambitious cipher who will do anything for power. This is clear from her working history. This makes her even more dangerous than Dick Cheney as she'll happily do anything Karl Rove tells her, and if she makes a monstrous mistake she can fall on the old "I had no idea what the vice-president does" line she's already famous for.

This is not just a bad choice on McThuselah's part, this is actively malevolent.

---------

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds was pwned during an interview on CNN by host Campbell Brown. In retaliation, John McCain canceled an interview with CNN's Larry King. (Meanwhile, Barack Obama decided it was time to take on Bill "Falafel" O'Reilly.)

John, you big puss, if you can't hack an interview with mean old Larry, who almost literally rolls on his back and wets himself in the presence of his guests, then you lack the spine to adequately run this country.

In all probability McCain's handlers were probably looking for a way to avoid another embarrassing episode of gaffe's and malaprop's from their maverick meal ticket.

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The McCain lawyers are currently using legal tactics to stall the release of the Troopergate report, due out about October 30th. In essence, Palin turned herself in so that she can be tried by three judges that she personally appointed.

Can't see the problem there. Oh, look, a bridge! Is it for sale?

Logic insists that Palin knows she's guilty otherwise she'd gladly do whatever she could to get this matter squared away before the election. Quitting now would be bad enough but quitting in disgrace after she's elected VP would be worse... unless you're a Republican, then no crime is too heinous to earn a pardon. Right, Scooter?

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Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, just coughed up this revealing nugget of insight:

“This election is not about issues,” said Davis. “This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.”

In other words, Obama is Black, McCain is white. Yeah, we know.

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In 2000 Tucker Eskew, then working for the Bush presidential campaign, conceived the odious brainstorm of starting a whisper campaign intimating that McCain had sired an illegitimate black child. It's said these rumors are what sunk McCain's presidential hopes in 2000.

John McCain today hired the very same Tucker Eskew to work for him. That is more than desperation, folks. This is just plain sad.

I can hardly wait to see how this "fathered a black child" approach works on Barack Obama.

It's day seven and the press has yet been allowed to interview Sarah Palin. In fact, McCain aide Nicole Wallace told Time Magazine yesterday that the press will never be allowed to interview the creepy VP during the campaign.

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Pardon mon French but what a bunch of pussies these Republicans are turning out to be. McCain was put on house arrest by his campaign manager weeks ago and now this. I guess they're both just going to hide in the basement and crank-call Obama until November 4th.

-----------

Considering McCain's advanced age and bad health (He's MUCH frailer than you think, BTW) the basic question of the election comes down to this:

Would you rather have Obama or Palin as president?

Do I really even have to ask?

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Cheap Theatrics of the Day

On Wednesday morning, a teenage boy from Alaska stood in a receiving line on an airport tarmac, being glad-handed by the potential next president of the United States — because he got his girlfriend pregnant. TV cameras were lined up in advance.

Hint: It wasn't Obama.

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Remember the affair of John Edwards, a story broken by the National Enquirer? Well, now the Enquirer is reporting that Sarah Palin had a recent affair with her husband's business partner.

Reeeeeeallly?

-------

In an interview with Charles Gibson Senator McThuselah offers another howler about his new wife, er, veep:

“She has been vetted by the people of the state of Alaska. But most importantly, people in America want change. They don’t want somebody from inside the beltway.”

So, then, why the hell should they vote for you Mr. "26-years-inside-the-beltway"?

And in the same interview:

"She’s the commander of the Alaskan National Guard."

Sigh. No, John. She has no control whatsoever over the AK National Guard. None. Zero. Zip. Please cut back on the stool softener as it's coming out the wrong end.

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Sarah Palin goes on and on about how much she fought government handouts while Governor of Alaska.

Actually, according to USA Today, Alaska was #1 in earmarks in 2007.

You can read the grisly details here.

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On Thursday night at the Republican convention there were hundreds of "Obey" signs being waved around. Get it? We're supposed to obey Obama.

Oooooh, that darned old Obama! How dare he engage our hearts, minds, and raw enthusiasm.

The really dumb part about this is that they're trying to scare us with the word "obey" but, in fact, these very same people are obeying their masters like the sheep they are, waving their little signs on cue.

So who's actually doing the obeying?

Silly Republicans. Tricks are for kids.

Besides, the apex of Republican "family values", marriage, hinges on love, honor and the willingness to obey. It's no surprise Republicans don't seem to think much of the concept.

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The Elitist Files - The $300,000 Ensemble

Cindy McCain:
Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500
Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000
Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000
Shoes, designer unknown: $600
Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

Wow! No wonder McCain has so many houses: his wife has the price of a Scottsdale split-level hanging from her ears.

All prices except Laura’s shoes and Cindy’s watch are estimates, and the jewelry prices are based on the assumption that the pieces are real. Estimates courtesy of Vogue Magazine.

Guess what Sarah Palin's reaction was when she heard that Barack Obama had beaten Hilary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination?

"So, Sambo beat the bitch!"

Sarah Palin --- Racist, sexist, vindictive and mean.

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Rumorsville

(The following is so far unsubstantiated but I think it's important to get to the bottom of it.)

New information is hitting the net concerning Ms. Palin's oldest boy, Track. It seems his enlistment in the military may have been part of his punishment for getting caught vandalizing buses in Wasilla.

(Because all but one of the perpetrators were minors their names were not released. But information has a way of finding its way into the light. More to come, I'm sure.)

As for the vandalism itself, many tires were cut, many motors were unhooked from their electrical warmers and, oh yeah, the brake lines to one of the buses had been cut. This was serious business.

Shortly thereafter, and surely by only coincidence, Track was sent to live with friends in Michigan, only coming back in time to graduate with his friends.

Now, why would someone send their son thousands of miles away to finish their senior year at school. Especially from a small town school where surely everyone was like family. Could it be to, perhaps, keep him away from his hoodlum friends?

Yes, Track is the new Fresh Prince of Bel Frozen Air.

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Not a rumor at all is the fact that Sarah Palin's ob/gyn is a noted child-abuse specialist.

Hmmm, call me cynical, but wouldn't a 16/17-year-old pregnant girl require that kind of specialist more than a 44-year-old woman?

And how about this: For someone who would never abort a child, no matter how deformed it may be, why did Ms. Palin take a test which determined the child had Down's Syndrome?

These juicy note are only couple of a zillion odd questions about the true lineage of Palin's youngest child. Go here for a convenient and complete list of peculiarities.

Again, Ms. Palin, release your medical records and clear this all up... unless you prefer using your children as political tools. Which you obviously do.

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I hope I'm not the first, or the last, to inform you that when Ms. Palin left her office as mayor of Wasilla she left the town of 6,000 over $20 million in long-term debt. When she arrived it was largely debt-free.

Atta girl, Sarah.

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Palin is famous for saying she sold a jet on eBay. In truth, she didn't, because it didn't sell. She instead sold it to a Valdez, Alaska entrepreneur for about $300k less than it was worth.

Incidentally, the plane was used to ferry prisoners from Alaska, which has a prison facility shortage, to Arizona.

It's a sin of omission on Palin's part, that she "put" the plane on ebay but never claimed that it had been sold. The problem is that really dumb people get the wrong impression like, for example, this guy:

"You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay -- made a profit," - John McCain.

That's two lies, selling the plane and making a profit, from the same little sin. Yes, it makes a difference.

One final important note: On Friday Sarah Palin received a new luxury aircraft for her personal use. It seats 100 in first-class style. No prisoners allowed.

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Enough about Ms. Palin. It's time for a charming John McCain story?

In 1996 a group of 25 people seeking the return of soldiers lost in action in Viet Nam had come to the senate to meet with Senator McCain. One lady in a wheelchair and on oxygen approached Mr. McCain with her arms out. McCain's reaction:

"McCain stopped, glared at her, raised his left arm ready to strike her, composed himself and pushed the wheelchair away from him," according to Eleanor Apodaca, the sister of an Air Force captain missing since 1967.

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During the Republican National Committee one speaker after another ridiculed Mr. Obama's three years community service back when he had just left college. They attempted to make the idea of community organizations appear silly and nonsensical, even though these were exactly the same "thousand points of light" praised by George Bush.

George who? Oh, yeah, the current president. The fellow that was mentioned only once during the entire Republican Convention.

The Republicans praised their war hero nominee forgetting that they damned a TRUE war hero presidential nominee in 2004. He just happened to be a Democrat.

Republicans are really disgusting people.

----------

In Senator McCain's acceptance speech last Thursday at the RNC he used the word "I" over 200 times.

Senator Obama said "I' only about 100 times.

I think that's significant.



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And finally, in his acceptance speech this past Thursday McCain said of his democratic opponent:

"...he's never run a city, never run a state, never run a business. He's never had to lead people in crisis. "

That sounded strangely familiar...

Oh, yes, it's what Rudy Giuliani said about McCain during the debates. Here's the exact quote:

"...has never run a city, never run a state, never run a government. He has never been responsible as a mayor for the safety and security of millions of people..."

Man, Republicans can really stay on message, can't they?

While Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla the city charged rape victims between $300 and $1200 for sexual assault forensic kits.

It's very surprising that a town with a woman mayor would allow this to occur, especially in a town where every 25th man is a registered sex offender (Yes, true) but Sarah Palin believes that every baby conceived from rape or incest must be brought to full-term. So, thinks Ms. Palin, who cares if anyone is actually guilty of rape or not? Let's pump out them babies.

This is a sick, twisted, dangerous woman to have running for control of this country.

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Rumorsville

Neocon nimrods (Matt Drudge, I'm looking right at you!) have been spreading the FUD that Oprah Winfrey won't let Sarah Palin come on her show.

The truth is, they haven't yet considered it. That's from the horses mouth.


•••••••••

Another rumor is that during Ms. Palin's acceptance speech at the RNC her teleprompter malfunctioned and she proceeded to wing it oh, so brilliantly.

Sorry, didn't happen. Just more Republican horse-shit.

-----------

John McCain approved of this new ad.

John McCain is a lying, soulless scum bag.

The "sex education" thrust of the ad references, in actuality, a bill that Obama voted on, as did many others. It included information to children on what to watch for with an adult they don't know, such as inappropriate advances or touching.

Yes, Obama and many other legislators were looking out for your kids and McCain thinks it's funny. More here.

Lying. Soulless. Scumbag.

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I'm not sure why John McCain is lying to Marie Claire magazine, but he did:

MC: Which celebrity would you like to be compared to? Bob Dylan? Jack Nicholson?

(Dylan? DYLAN? =mike=)

McCAIN: Kiefer Sutherland. [laughs, imitates a voice from the show 24] “It’s Jack Bauer.” We have a lot in common because he escapes all the time.

MC: Um, he’s also a torturer.

McCAIN: Yeah, that’s right. That’s where Jack and I disagree. He believes in torture, but I don’t."

Yes, John, you DO believe in torture. That's why you voted against a bill to ban waterboarding.

Late Addition:

In the Republican primary debates on October 21, 2007, John McCain made the following statement:

"I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."

Bwahhhhhhh-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa!

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John McCain helped write the public financing laws, so it's no surprise he's taken advantage of another large loophole.

You see, where television advertising is utilized it seems that if you target the opposition party in general while you're also taking swipes at the party head you can split the financial burden 50-50 with your party.

Hmmm. Now, why would anyone leave a loophole like that one?

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John McCain has consistently voted against bills requiring equal pay for woman. But, his spokesmen say, he's for the concept.

That's like being for the concept of abstinence. The only ones who end up getting screwed are the women.

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Barbara Boxer says:

In the 16 years that we have served together in the Senate, I have seen John McCain fight.

I have seen him fight against raising the federal minimum wage 14 times.

I have seen him fight against making sure that women earn equal pay for equal work.

I have seen him fight against a women’s right to choose so consistently that he received a zero percent vote rating from pro-choice organizations.

I have seen him fight against helping families gain access to birth control.

I have seen him fight against Social Security, even going so far as to call its current funding system “an absolute disgrace.”

And I saw him fight against the new GI Bill of Rights until it became politically untenable for him to do so.

John McCain voted with President Bush 95 percent of the time in 2007 and 100 percent of the time in 2008 — that’s no maverick.

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In case you were born without a functioning brain stem, all this nonsense about lipstick by the Karl Rove Kommando's is designed solely to keep real issues out of the news cycle. Issues like:

Staggering job losses, skyrocketing deficits, record food and gas prices, the housing crisis, the coming credit card crisis, the collapsing dollar, stagnant wages, record foreclosures and the highest misery index in 17 years.

I got your lipstick right here!

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Senator McCain has long said that Islamist extremism is the greatest challenge facing America. When asked today by Portland's Rob Caldwell what credentials Sarah Palin had regarding that issue he could only answer:

"She knows energy."

That's honestly the best he could do. And the truth is, it's clear that she doesn't understand energy.

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John McCain doesn't mention George Bush any longer because George Bush and his policies are political poison.

However, John McCain's policies are exactly the same as George Bush's. I wonder if John McCain even understands the concept of self-loathing.



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And, finally, the chairman of the Republican Party of Michigan is seeing to it that anyone whose home was foreclosed doesn't get to vote based on that address.

Lose your house. Lose your vote.

Republicans are all about making sure you can't vote. Democrats are all about making sure you get to vote. The choice seems simple to me.

Late-arriving news --- It's been revealed that Sarah Palin's famous trip to Iraq never got past the Kuwait border. This also means, as has been confirmed by her aides, that she never met the troops, either.

So she's a massive earmark queen, did not sell the governor's plane on ebay (and in fact sold it at a loss in a private sale), supported the Bridge to Nowhere and never visited the troops in Iraq. These are the four greatest accomplishments on her resume' and they're all lies.

Bald-faced lies.

You've been had, America.

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When Sarah Palin arrived back in Alaska on Saturday she was greeted by about 1000 supporters in downtown Achorage.

But just down the street 1700 people calling themselves "Alaska Women Reject Palin" raised hell about this trainwreck of a VP selection.

What? you did't hear about this on the local news? What a surprise.

Go here for more on the story and LOADs of great photos plus a video.

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Commander of the Alaskan National Guard, Major General Craig Campbell, began contradicting Sarah Palin's claim of commanding the state's national guard shortly after her selection as veep. Quote the major:

“[Palin plays] no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard.”

And

“The Alaskan governor is not in the site’s chain of command and has no authority over its operations.”

However, he recently changed his tune, saying:

"National Guards are state military forces run by governors, and Sarah Palin does it great.”

Now why would Major Campbell change his mind?

Oh, yeah, he just got a major promotion.

That's change you can profit from.

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Remember when John McCain went to Louisiana for Hurricane Gustav?

Question: Why isn't he in Texas for hurricane Ike?

Answer: He's a hypocritical bastard only interested in publicity stunts.

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The % of profit made made by CitiCorp from credit cards in 2006: 18

The % in 2007: 79

This is not primarily a John McCain story. This is a note about how badly the Republican Party as a whole has destroyed the American middle class.

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Karl Rove's reinvention as a pundit on Fox News wasn't too surprising. He's right at home with all the other neocon turds floating in Murdoch's septic tank.

However, on Fox News Sunday a mere whisp of the truth somehow managed to force its way past his lying teeth and into the free air:

"McCain has gone in some of his ads similarly gone one step too far in sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know…beyond, beyond, beyond the, the 100% truth test."

Later on that day Rove went on to opine that water is kinda wet and that girls are still yucky.

-----------

And the fix continues to be in.

As though the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Bush's watch weren't coincidence enough, now the new chief executive in charge of those entities is Herbert M. Allison, Jr.

So what, you say?

So he ran the finance committee for Senator McCain's 2000 presidential campaign.

Yes, the cronies are being installed even BEFORE McCain is awarded the throne.

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On Bloomberg Television this weekend former Federal Reserve Chairman Slan Greenspan said that the country can't afford John McCain's massive $3.3 trillion tax cuts without spending reductions.

Reductions on what? Education? Infrastructutre? The military? Viagra?

John McCain is clearly a corporate stooge depending on other idiots to vote for him by dangling bright shiny objects in front of their eyes.

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In 2007 Senator McCain used to be in favor of embryonic stem cell research, saying "...it holds the best opportunity to relieve the pain and suffering of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, all these terrible debilitating diseases.”

Now he's against it. His web site says so.

I guess it just slipped his little 72-year-old mind when he went on The View last Friday and challenged anyone to find an issue he's flip-flopped on.

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John McCain, it seems, never lets a moment pass that he does not mention his military service in the US Navy. Considering the barrage of distortions, half-truths and outright lies that have spewed from his lips these past weeks let's reexamine the US Naval Academy's "Honor Concept":

"Midshipmen are persons of integrity: They stand for that which is right."

"They tell the truth and ensure that the full truth is known. They do not lie."

Oh, that's right. Mr. McCain himself has said he can't define the word "honor". Figures.

This just in: The National Organization of Women formally endorsed Barack Obama today. This is very unusual as this group, over 5000,000 members stong, rarely ever publicly supports presidential candidates.

So why did they choose Obama? Little Miss Mooseburger and her paleolithic view of women's rights.

Yes, this is big.

Good going, John. Good going, Karl.

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Adam Boles is a first cousin of John McCain and he's written a lengthy and heartfelt letter to the Tampa Bay Times outlining how much Mr. McCain has altered his political stance over the past year. Quote Mr. Boles:

"So, where is the straight-talking, commonsense John McCain of 2000? I'm afraid he is long gone, replaced by a desperate version of himself who seems to contradict nearly everything he once stood for."

You can read the whole letter here.

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John McCain doesn't know how to use a computer, he can't even send email, but now he says he's partly repsonsible for the invention of cell phones, bluetooth, Wi-Fi and *gasp* the Blackberry. Quote Mr. McCain:

"Under my guiding hand, Congress developed a wireless spectrum policy that spurred the rapid rise of mobile phones and Wi-Fi technology that enables Americans to surf the web while sitting at a coffee shop, airport lounge, or public park."

His spokesman, Douglas Holtz-Eakins, went on to say: "You're looking at the miracle [The Blackberry]John McCain Helped create and that's what he did."

Gee, John, then why did you vote against the Telecommunications Act of 1996, one which further broadened the use of the internet and cell phones?

And why did you also vote against the government auction that opened up the communcation spectrum to devices like the Blackberry.

And why are you voting against Internet Neutrality, John? And why did you vote to tax purchases on the internet, John? And why did you oppose the E-Rate program designed to wire schools to the internet? And why did you sponsor legislation in 2002 (it didn't pass) which gave telecommuniction companies total monopolies on service in their areas, John?

Up yours, John.

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Sarah Palin is ensnared in a little Alaskan scandal called Troopergate. Perhaps you've heard of it. The main thrust of the story is that Little Miss Mooseburger fired a public official because he wouldn't fire Ms. Palin's ex brother-in-law, a police officer.

It all seems very petty but there's a really nasty side to the story you probably don't know.

You see, Alaska has a sexual violence against women problem that's of epidemic proportions and the state's leading advocate for violence prevention is Walt Monnegan.

Who's he? Well, that's the fellow that Ms. Palin fired. Yes, that's right. Because Ms. Palin's sister had a bad marriage all the other women in Alaska now have to pay the price.

Would it help if I mentioned that, during this period, Governor Palin also suspended funding to the anti-violence programs?

Didn't think so.

One more thing... In the beginning Ms. Palin assured everyone she'd do everything in her power to get to the bottom of this matter. Today her lawyers said "No fuckin' way!".

Are you surprised?

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Just a reminder: John McCain's campaign committee is made up of former lobbyists. That's not a good thing. As Mr. Obama puts it:

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

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So yesterday, in the face of a 500-point stock market plunge, John McCain got up in front of God and everybody and announced that everything was hunky-dory. You could all go back to your homes because everything's under control.

And then his handlers realized what he'd said and spent the next two days perfoming damage repair. You see, he meant to say "The WORKERS are the ones that are doing great. Yeah, the workers. And how DARE that Obama guy belittle America's workers. You guys believe me, right? Guys?"

Now shut up and go shopping.

Today Sen. John McCain said that if he were president, he would fire SEC Chairman Chris Cox for his “betrayal of trust” leading up to this week’s financial market crisis.

Small problem with that, Big John... it's unconstitutional. A president cannot fire the chair of an independent regulatory commission.



If you don't understand what's been going on down on Wall Street here's a simplified explanation:

• Lehman Brothers was like the little kid pulling the tail of a dog. You know the kid is going to get hurt eventually, and so no one is surprised when the dog turns around and bites the kid. But the kid only hurts himself, so no one really cares that much.

• Bear Stearns is the little pyro -- the kid who was always playing with matches. He could harm not only himself, but burns his own house down, and indeed, he could have burnt down the entire neighborhood. The Fed stepped in not to protect him, but the rest of the block.

• AIG is the kid who accidentally stumbled into a bio-tech warfare lab ... finds all these unlabeled vials, and heads out to the playground with a handful of them jammed into his pockets.

Keep in mind that the failure of all of these institutions is due to McCain's BFF, Phil Gramm's meddling with the Glass-Steagall Act.



And a final word from Barack Obama on the suddenly populist John McCain:

"And now he tells us that he’s the one who’s gonna’ take on the old boys network. The old boys network? In the McCain campaign that’s called a staff meeting."

Let's start with Barack Obama's resume':

Graduate of Columbia University.
Graduated 1st in his class from Harvard Law School.
Was president of the Harvard Law Review.
Taught Constitutional Law for 12 years at University of Chicago Law School.
Served as State Senator for Illinois from 1996-2004.
Elected U.S. Senator from Illinois in 2004.

Sounds good to me.

--------

John McCain owns 13 cars. No Ford Mavericks, though.

Barack Obama owns one car. It's a hybrid.

----------

John McCain earned 28 medals for flying only 23 combat missions, a total of 20 hours in the air. Seems a bit disproportionate, doesn't it?

----------

Senator McCain has slipped images of wind turbines into his TV ads, suggesting he's an advocate for alternative energies. In fact, he's said:

"I have a long record of that support of alternate energy. I come from a state where we have sunshine 360 days a year ... I've always been for all of those and I have not missed any crucial vote."

Uh, no.

John McCain has voted against renewable energy bills over 50 times since 1990. You can read more about it here.

----------

BTW, did you know that six weeks after being elected senator, 35 years ago, Joe Biden's first wife and daughter died in a car crash?

A lesser man might have used that woeful tale to his political advantage. <cough *POW* cough>

-------

See the nice lady in the picture? That's Sarah Palin, circa 1995.

See the papers on her desk? That's John Birch Society literature, also from 1995.

The John Birch Society, in case you don't know, was invented by Robert Welch back in 1958. He wanted to develop a secret, monolithic organization that was at odds with communism, civil rights, and democracy. Yes, democracy, something he described as "a weapon of demagoguery".

In short, right-wing wackos.

So.... why are those papers on her desk?

---------

The presidential and vice-presidential debate formats have been finalized and what's that I hear? The VP debates have been especially formulated to protect Sarah Palin as she's an inexperienced debater?

WTF?

Sorry, toots, but if you're applying for the job of garbageman you gotta prove you can swing them cans. If you have to insist on "special rules" just for you then you've already lost the debate.

Some pit bull, huh?

----------

Did you know if you go to Google and type in "John McCain" you'll get Sarah Palin's picture?

Nah, I'm just fuckin' with you.

----------

(I hate to keep going on about Ms. Palin but she's SUCH a fat target. Look! Here she comes again!)

Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she "put the government checkbook online" in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

"We’re going to do a few new things also," she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. "For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C."

There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

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And a final word from Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator:

"I think it’s a stretch to, in any way, to say that [Palin's] got the experience to be president of the United States. I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia'. That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Now THERE's some straight talk from a republican senator.

If you really want to know how hip-deep McCain is in the current flood of economic doo-doo then read this.





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It probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that the 2008 Republican Party Platform, adopted in early September, says:

"We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself."

I could have sworn McCain was a Republican yesterday.

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Senator John McCain: "As a politician, I am instinctive, often impulsive. I don’t torture myself over decisions. I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can. Often, my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint."

That's not a good description of a president, that's a human cannonball.

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The lobbying firm of William Timmons Sr., who John McCain tapped to run his presidential transition team, earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation’s financial crisis. Timmons himself has been personally “registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month.”

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While we're on the subject of pure graft it seeems that McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, spent five years working as an "advocate" for dergulation inside Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. He earned about $2 million dollars but, as a former spokesman for Fannie Mae reveals, he didn't really do anything except act as a conduit to John McCain.

Sounds nice, but those with consciences need not apply.

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Not only did Sarah Palin try to get her ex brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, fired from his job as a state trooper, she also tried to deny him worker compensation benefits for an injured back, going so far as to have her husband Todd stalk him with a camera in hand. His most damaging testimony showed Wooten riding a snowmobile. In Alaska. In winter.

Yeah, stalking someone is pretty much normal behavior for a governor... in North Korea, maybe.

Just imagine this bitch with Dick Cheney power.

Oh. My. Dog.

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What's it like working for Sarah Palin? Spiffy, if you like beating your head against a wall covered with sharp chunks of toxic waste, according to this first-hand report.

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More from the Straight Poop Express: After little more than 19 months in office as Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin spent only 85 actual workdays in the state capitol. That compares with 168 days that the state legislature was in session.

Legislator's actually went around wearing pins that read "Where's Sarah?".

Yup, she's a Bush republican.

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Both McCain and Palin keep catapulting the propaganda that Alaska provides 20% of America's energy needs.

It's much closer to 3.5 percent.

That's a 600% lie.

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Governor Palin:

(A) Has studied all the environmental data and has come to the conclusion that it was all booshwah and that the polar bears are doing just fine.

(B) She's just another typical Republican dunderhead that likes to kill things and pump oil.

Debate Mini-Critique: Funny thing about human nature... only the most psychotic of us can look another person in he eye and lie to his face repeatedly. Which explains why Senator McCain refused to look at Barack Obama during the debate as evidently even he is human enough to feel shame for what he had to do Friday evening.

On that note, I'd like to thank Mr. McCain for telegraphing each whopper by prefacing them with the prosaic tell "Here's something my opponent doesn't understand". The ample warning allowed me plenty of time to talk to the plants, brush the cat, scratch my butt or something else monumentally more important by comparison.

As we used to say about Nixon: Would you buy a used car from this man?

One additional note about this "eye contact" situation from a primate researcher:

"I think people really are missing the point about McCain's failure to look at Obama. McCain was afraid of Obama. It was really clear--look at how much McCain blinked in the first half hour. I study monkey behavior--low ranking monkeys don't look at high ranking monkeys. In a physical, instinctive sense, Obama owned McCain tonight and I think the instant polling reflects that."

BTW, if you REALLY think John McCain has, as he said, "consistently voted for alternative energy" then I don't have a bridge to sell you in Alaska.

For a very in-depth, progressive analysis of the debate, visit thinkprogress.

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It's a funny thing about the people who support McCain for president ... they already had their chance to elect him in 2000 and 2004.

Are you telling me they're actually going to vote for someone less popular and less capable than Bush?

Whoa.

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It was very dramatic, though transparently idiotic, when John McCain suspended his campaign in order to stage a publicity stunt involving the bail-out. But he'd done this before, staging the exact "suspending his campaign" thing in 1999. Although it garnered an avalanche of media attention at the time it failed to get him to the White House then, too.

With that in mind, "Way to go, genius!"

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So McCain flies to Washington to help straighten out this economic mess and all he does, according to the New York Times, is just sit there.

There are also reports that he offered less regulation and lower taxes for the rich. That's also like saying he's a maverick.

Uh-oh.

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This is the very best primer of the Wall Street Meltdown. Here's a small example:

What was neoliberal restructuring all about?

Neoliberal restructuring took the form of Reaganism and Thatcherism in the North and Structural Adjustment in the South. The aim was to invigorate capital accumulation, and this was to be done by 1) removing state constraints on the growth, use, and flow of capital and wealth; and 2) redistribute income from the poor and middle classes to the rich on the theory that the rich would then be motivated to invest and reignite economic growth.

The problem with this formula was that in redistributing income to the rich, you were gutting the incomes of the poor and middle classes, thus restricting demand, while not necessarily inducing the rich to invest more in production.

Duh.

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You're looking at a $5,500 make-up job as John McCain gets ready for his appearance with Katy Couric.

What's that I remember about a $400 haircut? Something about it being "elite"?

But, seriously, anyone who requires almost $6000 worth of make-up shoudn't be in front of a camera, anyway.

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Is McCain ill?

Comparisons of recent videos of the senator reveal alarming indications of a possible stroke. Click here and see for yourself.

This may not be anything, but the videos paint a clear picture that something is amiss. If he's truly suffering a serious malady it's the public's right to know.

Having said that McCain has yet to supply his medical records to reporters. Considering his records consist of over 10,000 pages of information the least it would do is give the reporters off his ass between now and November 4th.

Just so we're clear on this, Sarah Palin is a joke. Anyone who has seen the Katy Couric interviews can plainly see this.

Even worse for Miss Mooseburger is that CBS reportedly has two additinal snippets from the interview that will dispell any doubts that she's just a stunt veep. CBS isn't saying they'll release the two segments but where ratings (I.E., money) is involved you can bet on eventual full disclosure.

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First, McCain's campaign manager denies he had lobbying ties to Freddie Mac. Then it was proved he did and that he was, in fact, paid a quite handsome sum by the David Manafort lobbying firm until just last month.

Now it seems that McCain has paid almost a million dollars in campaign dough to a web company called 3eDC, a site jointly-owned by both David and Manafort.

3eDC has only one customer... John McCain.

I'm in the web design business. McCain does not have a million dollar web site. Not even close.

Mmmmm, slime-a-licious.

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As though she's not ludicrous enough Sarah Palin apparently believes that dinosaurs and homo sapiens inhabited the Earth at the same time.

It's going to break her heart once they tell her the truth about the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Jesus.



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Kathleen Parker is a famously conservative writer for the famously conservative National Review. So it's pretty serious business when she writes something like this:

"Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn."

Sorry, Kathleeen, but the public would be even less interested in a freaky Mormon or a democrat-stabbing jew as replacement.

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In the first presidential debate John McCain promised he would reach out to the other side of the political aisle, to govern in a non-partisan fashion.

So who has McCain convened with concerning the bail-out? All Republicans. Zero Democrats. The one time he confronted the opposition party, during the bipartisan meeting at the White House, he sat mutely, offering nothing.

That, uh, speaks for itself.

BTW, McCain promised he'd return to Capitol Hill after the debate to help with the bail-out negotiations. He didn't, instead holing-up in his Arlington, VA condo.