The Sarah Palin stories really are coming fast and furious. One wonders to what extent she was vetted by the McCain campaign.
Now, unsubstantiated rumors being what they are, I’m somewhat reluctant to offer this. But no too reluctant, I guess.
The photo does appear to be legit, as it comes, [...]
Archive for August, 2008
Yikes!
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The New Dynamics of the 2008 Election and the New Opportunity for Obama
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Politics, tagged election, mccain, obama, palin on August 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
After a day to reflect on Governor Palin, I think one factor overrides most others regarding my impression. She takes the spotlight off the Obama ticket – and this is not necessarily a good thing for McCain. I’ve felt for a while that the reason the Obama campaign stagnated, allowing McCain to catch [...]
Insiders on Palin
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Politics, tagged sarah palin on August 29, 2008 | 2 Comments »
The Corner’s Byron York accounts impressions from two GOP insiders:
The enthusiastic reaction: She won’t alienate the base. (Among GOP strategists considering McCain, “First, do no harm” is an important principle.) Beyond that, they point out that Palin’s demographic is one the Republican party has had trouble with for decades, and this holds the possibility [...]
Sarah Palin
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Politics, tagged sarah palin on August 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
A strong selection. The question is how many disgruntled female Hillary supporters she might entice. Playing up her strong pro-life positions should limit that number. I imagine most pro-life women already support McCain. This ticket obviously sets itself up for attacks on her inexperience and youth and perhaps a charge of [...]
The Magnitude of the Moment
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Patriotism, Politics, tagged obama on August 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The speech was good, like most of Obama’s speeches. It wasn’t his best one, a nomination acceptance speech has too much ground to cover and too many crucial points to hammer on to be as effectively moving as a more focused oratory, such as Obama gave on Father’s Day or the speech on race [...]
The Straight Talk Express
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Politics, tagged mccain on August 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
A warm gesture. And while every action from the camps is a weighed political one and therefore this is not necessarily a humble gesture, I don’t doubt the sentiment is genuine all the same.
And perhaps on some level it is also an aknowledgement that some of his tactics are beneath [...]
Success Stories of the Bush Economy
Posted in Economics, Politics, tagged bush economy, colbert report on August 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I kid!
H/T: biliruben at the Rotoguru Politics Forum.
McCain’s “Remote Control” Ad
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged mccain, remote control on August 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The McCain camp released this one yesterday:
Not an unfair ad, though I think McCain is treading in dangerous waters by inviting Obama to respond in kind. There is a very long history of Republicans with established conservative credentials saying awfully harsh things about John McCain. From campaign finance reform [...]
Fleshing out the Tax Cut Proposals
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Economics, tagged tax cut proposals, tax cuts on August 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Washington Post cites the Tax Policy Center in producing this graph:
Anbar Province Ready to be Handed Over to Iraqi Control
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Iraq on August 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Defense Dept:
Aug. 27, 2008 – Iraq’s once-deadly Anbar province could within the next few days become the 11th province to be turned over to Iraqi control, paving the way for a reduced U.S. Marine Corps presence there, the Marine Corps commandant said today.
Gen. James T. Conway told Pentagon reporters the marked drop in violence in [...]
The Straight Talk Express
Posted in The Straight Talk Express, Uncategorized, tagged mccain, straight talk express on August 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
McCain steps up his disinformation campaign with a new ad released yesterday:
The narration goes:
Obama says Iran is a “tiny country”, “doesn’t pose a serious threat.”
Terrorism. Destroying Israel. Those aren’t serious threats? Obama: dangerously unprepared to be president.
Here’s what Obama actually said, in it’s intended context:
“Strong countries and strong [...]
On the Sanctity of Candidates’ Wives
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged michelle obama on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
NY Post’s Kirsten Powers
If Democrats gave Cindy McCain the same treatment that Republicans have handed Michelle Obama, they’d be trashing Mrs. McCain as a home wrecker (she dated John McCain for close to a year while he was married to his first wife), a junkie (she was addicted to prescription painkillers) and a callous thief [...]
Russia vs Georgia: Michael Totten Lowers His Standards
Posted in Eastern Europe, tagged georgia, michael totten, south ossetia on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Michael Totten went to Georgia to report on the conflict there but unfortunately, he failed to live up to the usually high quality of his work. I’m used to having my understanding of events challenged and even changed by Totten. Even as he has shown a tendency toward a pro-right view of world [...]
Alex Jones: You’re Not Helping
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged alex jones, DNC protest, infowars, michelle malkin on August 26, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Here’s video of Jones of infowars.com and his encounter with Michelle Malkin at the convention protest yesterday:
Obviously I’m no fan of Malkin but his hysterical behavior serves no useful purpose, whatsoever. All it does is provide the far right with an opportunity for their own hysterical reaction, one that the [...]
McCain and Arizona Politics
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged arizona politics, john mccain, mccain on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Earlier this month, Amy Silverman of the Phoenix New Times wrote an extensive piece on McCain, documenting his assent from Arizona carpetbagger to his emergence as a long standing beloved of the national media.
Click through. Some highlights are the development of McCain’s preferred status with the local and national media, his relationships with who [...]
Has the ‘Celebrity’ Jab Worn Itself Out?
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Part of McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds’ response to Madonna’s weekend concert in which she used images to compare John Mccain to Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe:
“It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refuse to consider any smear or attack off limits.”
Just a personal observation – and obviously [...]
US Refuses to Clean UP Military Dump Sites Scattered About Greenland
Posted in Environment, tagged Environment, greenland, us foreign policy on August 23, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Christian Science Monitor:
Unsightly barrels and rubbish heaps mar the stunning landscapes near many former military sites, including former Distant Early Warning (DEW) stations the United States built to detect incoming Soviet nuclear missiles. Two DEW stations built atop the mile-thick ice cap that covers interior Greenland were abandoned on short notice, leaving everything from soldiers’ [...]
On the Sanctity of Marrying Well
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged cindy mccain, mccain on August 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In keeping up theme I visited early in the week, here’s a well-researched piece from Glenn Greenwald on rightist pundits’ comments regarding John Kerry’s marriage, which is highly comparable to John McCain’s in a way they found highly relevant in 2004:
McCain himself isn’t actually rich. He just lives off the inherited wealth of his much [...]
Will the Running Mate Announcement Come Today?
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged obama, running mate, veepstakes on August 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I assume it will. My personal preference isn’t Senator Clinton but that might be his best option as far as winning the election is concerned. One thing I will guarantee, however, is that whoever he picks, most of the comentators on the right will declare that he has made the worst selection possible.
Obama Releases a Flurry of Negative Ads
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
All of these were released yesterday or today. It’ll be interesting to see if he manages to hit on an issue which resonates with voters, and that he can hammer McCain with in a sustained attack.
[...]
We Have a Timetable
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Iraq on August 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Wall Street Journal
BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi negotiators reached agreement on a security deal that calls for American military forces to leave Iraq’s cities by next summer as a prelude to a full withdrawal of combat troops from the country, according to senior American officials.
The draft agreement sets 2011 as the goal date by which [...]
GOP Officials Push Back Against Potential Lieberman Running Mate Pick
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Washington Times:
Officials with John McCain’s campaign made a series of conference calls Monday and Tuesday with supporters nationwide to say that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may be named as the Arizona senator’s vice presidential running mate, immediately sparking a frenzied effort by some state Republican officials to come up with a strategy to head off [...]
The Hysteria Express
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Matt Welch with an informative piece this week on McCain’s tendency toward aggressive hyperbolic reactions to conflicts over the years. Welch mostly focuses on the implications of his reaction to the current conflict in Georgia:
Let’s review what McCain is alleging here: Not only does Russia have malevolent designs on recently detached “Near Abroad” territories [...]
Ask Bush if McCain was Tortured
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Human Rights, tagged mccain torture on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Sullivan raises a point so devastating to the right’s support of torture yet so obvious that I can’t believe it hadn’t occurred to me.
In all the discussion of John McCain’s recently recovered memory of a religious epiphany in Vietnam, one thing has been missing. The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the [...]
Gimme Some Sugar, Baby
Posted in Cinema, tagged bruce campbell, candarian demons, dead by dawn, evil dead, groovy, swallow your soul on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Now that I’ve seen this it had better happen. Simply too cruel a tease if not.
Dead by dawn!
Ditmas Park’s Keeth and Erinn Smart Bring Olympic Silver Back Home to Brooklyn
Posted in Brooklyn, Sports on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
NYTimes:
Keeth Smart is flying to New York on Monday to begin his new life at Columbia Business School. He is carrying an Olympic silver medal for fencing.
In addition to winning the silver medal Sunday in men’s sabre, ending with a 45-37 loss to France, the United States won five other medals here. The women, [...]
On Elitism
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Sullivan doesn’t like this ad. To the extent that it plays on the viewer’s emotions rather than speaking to actual issues, he’s right. And I agree, there’s no reason to believe that McCain’s wealth is the source of incompassionate policy in reacting to the housing crisis.
However, the right has [...]
10 Things You Should Know About John McCain (but probably dont)
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This was published back in April but I don’t recall seeing it before. Sorry if it’s old news but since I’m indulging myself today I’ll post it.
I’m particularly drawn by the Moldy Peaches accompanyment. My wife and I have been fans for years and even chose Anyone [...]
Obama: Let No One Question My Love of Country
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The following quote struck me as I watched part of Obama’s speach before the VFW convention in Florida this morning. I don’t type well enough to transcribe withour the help of a DVR so I’ve been poking around for a transcription since he wrapped it up.
The Huffington Post and The Plank come through for [...]
NY Daily News: Little Pakistan “Jubilant” Over Musharraf Exit
Posted in Brooklyn, Pakistan on August 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Daily News interviewed Pakistani immigrants in my Brooklyn neighborhood for a story in today’s paper.
It’s not surprising that Pakistanis in the US would dislike Musharraf but it’s pretty rare that Little Pakistan is ever mentioned in the news. So I’ll indulge myself and take a moment to talk about what I think [...]
On The Sanctity of Military Service
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Much has been made over the years about the GOP’s superior ability to frame debate. “Tax Relief” is the classic example of Republican phrasing that has no democratic counter for opposing policy. Similarly, it is almost always the Republicans who fare much better at defining themselves and their opponents.
A [...]
The Origins of McCain’s Foreign Policy
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, Iraq, tagged mccain, the bush doctrine on August 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
David Kirkpatrick’s article today in the NY Times looks back at the evolution of McCain’s foreign policy and it’s development toward neoconservatism.
Whether through ideology or instinct, though, Mr. McCain began making his case for invading Iraq to the public more than six months before the White House began to do the same.
I didn’t recall – [...]
Georgia Conflict Backgrounder
Posted in Eastern Europe on August 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From yesterday’s Washington Post, easily the most objective account I’ve come across so far.
H/T: Sullivan
Georgia (not McCain) On Our Minds
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election on August 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
While the bulhorns on each side criticize the opposition as floundering in it’s response, one thing I haven’t seen noted elsewhere occurs to me: in a week in which McCain promised to take full advantage of the unchallenged spotlight courtesy of Obama’s vactaion, I haven’t seen all that much coverege of him.
Sure, McCain has made [...]
Georgian Reporter Shot on Live TV
Posted in Eastern Europe on August 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Georgia vs Russia II
Posted in Eastern Europe on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Russian overreaction has been brutal and indefensible. But the American response of bending over backward to defend Georgia only serves to play up our powerlessness on the matter. Usually, the right is very fond of criticizing the UN and Democrats for empty condemnation with no effective consequences. Since we won’t support [...]
Clinton’s Name to be “Placed in Nomination” at Dem Convention
Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, tagged hillary clinton, in nomination on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
CNN
Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign has agreed to put former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton’s name in nomination at the Democratic National Convention this month.
The move is seen as a bid to heal the wounds of the bitter primary season.
Obama’s campaign encouraged Clinton to put her name in roll call “as a show of unity and [...]
