Diary of an Obssessive Progressive

UPDATE -OH DEAR ME

2008-09-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

So it appears that Grampy's campaign manager didn't just receive money from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -but did so AS RECENTLY AS LAST MONTH. Worse -it seems that they were compiling a secret cash stash about which the FEC might want to have a word with them.

No matter, the rest of the media will turn over and resume their nap.

OH DEAR

2008-09-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

This is a huge story. It should completely obliterate the McLame campaign, but it won't because the MSM won't give it the attention it deserves. Meanwhile the Double-Talk express chuggs along to 1600 Pennsylvania ave.

To wit:

Loan Titans Paid McCain Adviser Nearly $2 Million

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and CHARLES DUHIGG
Published: September 21, 2008

Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say.

Scared yet?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

2008-09-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is the most straight forward explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis and its ramifications and implications that I've seen yet. It's pretty funny too -or would be if it weren't true. Whoever wrote this has my eternal gratitude!

Without any further ado we present: The Subprime Primer! (press the "plus" sign under the "down-arrow" menu on the right if you can't read the text)

CDO Powerpoint SubPrime Primer - Upload a Document to Scribd

So tell me that this doesn't need to be regulated?

It always floors me when you hear some (inevitably republican or "independent") jagoff criticize government practices or the administration of government programs by saying some tripe like "you wouldn't see that in the business world -a company like that (the government) would be drummed out of the market! harumph harumph."

Now we're (i.e. the taxpayers via the cavalry actions of the govt.) on the hook for the incompetence and thievery in the corporate world anyway -so what's the goddamn difference?!?!?!

Can we finally put that canard to rest as pure unadulterated horsesh*t? If anything it's WORSE in the corporate world. There are few enough regulations on competency and fewer all the time. Sarbanes-Oxley was a start -but it's easily gamed (BTW check McCain's record of voting on regulation -and please tell your relatives not to sue me if you then jump out the window given his latest "stance"), and the entire corporate sphere is ruled by the "take your piece and CYA" golden rule. Of course the markets are melting down -it's not like you couldn't see it coming.

Next time one of your "independent" or "libertarian" (i.e. republican who wants to keep his porn collection) friends loads this line of crap on you, tell em to STFU.

UPDATE -MCCAIN IS WORSE

2008-09-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks "more of the same" isn't a strong enough message for Obama to campaign on -Frank Rich of the NYT agrees:

"This election is still about the fierce urgency of change before it’s too late. But in framing this debate, it isn’t enough for Obama to keep presenting McCain as simply a third Bush term. Any invocation of the despised president — like Iraq — invites voters to stop listening. Meanwhile, before our eyes, McCain is turning over the keys to his administration to ideologues and a running mate to Bush’s right.

As Republicans know best, fear does work. If Obama is to convey just what’s at stake, he must slice through the campaign’s lipstick jungle and show Americans the real perils that lie around the bend."

(OP attempts to break arm by patting self on back).

TIME TO OPEN UP A CAN OF WHOOP-ASS

2008-09-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin keeps telling her Bridge to Nowhere lies. Testament to the fact that these people really don't give a sh*t w/r they're caught in bold faced lies or not. As long as they're heard they'll stick for some people.

In her one unbelievably softball interview with Charlie Gibson she dodged every question and recited the GOP talking points that had been fed to her like a good parrot.

When she was asked about the single most important element of the Bush foreign policy "the Bush doctrine" (preemption) she demonstrated utter ignorance. "You mean his world-view?" The right are now trying to play it off as insignificant because "ordinary americans don't know what it means". This "she's just like us" crap is unbelieveably stupid -are ordinary americans competing to be leader of the free world? I'd rather have someone who is not like me but is able to handle the job in office.

Grampy has put out some of the most sleazy election materials ever, and is sticking by them. He continues to lie about Obama's words, plans for policy, and record and has yet to be truly slammed for it by anyone.

This is how they're going to campaign, and chastising them for it is like telling your dog how much better you are than him because you poop in a toilet -while there's still the stink of a load on the floor.

The rumbles in the netroots seem to be wondering when the hell Obama's going to slap the bejesus out of gramps (figuratively of course) -and rightfully so since he has yet to level a serious attack. His latest ad faulting grampy for not knowing how to send email or use a computer is a lame-assed attempt to show out of touch he is. Not good enough. "out of touch" isn't a strong enough message, and for that matter neither is "more of the same" because the glass-half-full folks will continue in their haze thinking "oh well, at least it's not worse".

Obama's camp needs to take a lesson from the nightly news magazine shows:

One thing 20/20 48 hours and Dateline NBC know how to do is pull in viewers via what I call the "watch this story because your life may depend on it" stories. Ever notice how they all have at least one story that is tagged as such? (inevitably it's the last story of the night) Disease warnings, terror alerts (something the republicans used to incredible advantage) Safety warnings, etc. all compel the viewer to watch.

Obama needs not only to warn about more of the same -he needs to show that McCain would be much worse. He doesn't have to lie or slander to do it either. He can do it by emphasizing the truth.

McCain has said that he doesn't mind if we stay in Iraq for 50-100 years.
He says there'll be more wars.
He's used agressive tones toward bigger enemies (Russia, Iran)
He says the fundamentals of the american economy are sound -and therefore implies and outright states he'll continue Bush economic policy -Bush had the Clinton surplus to work with (destroy). If McCain does it, from where does he start? From the current state of the economy -therefore the effect will be MUCH WORSE.
McCain is an even bigger believer in privitization than Bush - he doesn't believe in public education and wants to deregulate business even further.
He is a 72-year-old 4 time survivor of the most deadly form of skin cancer, yet his running mate has displayed a profound ignorance about even the most elementary domestic and foreign policies.
He isn't just a "maverick" but all through his life has had documented incidents showing him to be a tempermental "loose cannon" and he's not likely to mellow as he continues to advance in age.

You think McCain would be more of the same? Think again -he's much worse.

McCain needs to be punched in the face with his own words/policies with no mercy. High-minded above the fray policy debates aren't going to do it. People have to be made to feel that if they vote for McCain they'll be dooming the country. That's no exaggeration.

How you campaigned isn't going to mean a damn thing if you lose.

THE CHOICE IS STILL CLEAR

2008-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Never before has the choice we face in a presidential election been so clearly defined:

Do we want to continue dumping 10 billion a month in Iraq with no forseeable exit, or do we want to withdraw our troops and use the money here?
Do we want to address the healthcare needs of our citizens or continue to allow private corporations decide who gets to be healthy?
Do we want to continue to let only the wealthiest among us benefit from the tax code, or do we want to reduce the tax load for the majority of us and make the wealthy pay more of their fair share?
Do we want to lead the way in transforming the energy economy of the world, or do we want to bolster a dying industry for it's own short term benefit?

And finally,

Do we want to keep the party in power whose policies have wrought failure catastrophe and ruin to the country for the last 8 years, or do we at long last want to say that we've had enough?

It's not as though I'm making any novel statements here, but I feel that this election has become so muddied that people feel that the choices are somehow closer than they are. They're actually still pretty stark.

Grampy and the Bim ("this fall on ABC!") have obviously noticed the above themselves and seen that when the choices are clearly defined -they lose, and so have resorted to obfuscating the truth and stealing Obama's message by telling a series of shockingly (to everyone apparently save the journalists ignoring them) bold-faced lies.

Will people be sharp enough and committed enough to sift through them and see the scam that's being pulled on them in plain sight? I honestly don't know.

THE SARAH PALIN NO COMMENT WATCH CLOCK

2008-09-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The Jed Report, this blog now features the Sarah Palin No-Comment Watch Clock!

Apparently the latest line from the republicowards is that, gosh, Sarah's just not ready to talk to the press yet.

And yet this is the person whom they feel is ready to lead the free world in the event that a 72-year-old 4-time cancer survivor for some reason can't fulfill his duties as President of the United States (all 50 of them) .

But, gee, she's just not ready to tackle talking to reporters yet. That might actually require her to do something like, oh I don't know, answer questions.

The clock at left tracks the time betwen their naming her the nominee and her first interview.

IT'S DONE

2008-09-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Even the truncated GOP convention was too long. The 3-day parade of sociopaths was particularly galling this year, perhaps because of the sheer number of bold faced lies that was crapped on the country without even blinking an eye.

That’s it really –they’re sociopaths: no conscience, no empathy, no humility, no humanity. Nada.

My wife and I are relatively recent fans of the Showtime Dexter series (ah the wonders of “On-demand”) and consequently the series of books by Jeff Lindsay. For the uninitiated: the protagonist Dexter is a serial killer who has been trained by his Cop father to use his sickness for “good” i.e. he only kills the most despicable criminals –and never the innocent. (Interesting quandary for anti-death penalty folks like me –good thing it’s only fiction) .

Dexter describes himself as a broken person incapable of any kind of human emotion, but who, after years of practice has been able to teach himself the proper appearance of emotion. Eg. He cannot feel compassion but he can fake it so that people don’t suspect.

My Friends ;-) that is what we just finished witnessing –an orgiastic exultation of sociopathy dedicated to the proposition that all rich whites are created equal and the rest of us are to be either utilized for their aggrandizement or destroyed. Looking into the eyes of the speakers, from W on down, revealed nothing but cold calculation. They’ll say whatever they need to say to grasp the reins of executive power –but only because those reins harness the greatest revenue-generating mechanism ever known to humankind. They don’t care a rat’s ass about governing, they don’t really even know what the term means other than “you have to do what I say” and in their case “do what I say” means “give me your money”, all the while complaining about taxes.

The irony that they’re using government to take even more money from the public to shove into the private is completely lost because seeing irony requires some understanding that hypocrisy is wrong, and like Dexter, they’re simply lacking that faculty.

Those cheering in the audience and across the nation are either equally broken, or too stupid to be able to discern after 8 years of ruin rained down upon them from these jackals, that they’ve been had. Examples of both were abundant on the TV this week: from the people who actually booed-down the Iraq and Afghanistan vets who protested inside the hall last night (shouting “USA! USA!” to even more palpable irony) to the dopey delegate who was, “gosh, just soo excited because Sarah Palin is a mother.” (BTW can we call sexism here? Can you imagine what the response would be if any male candidate for political office actually had the temerity to list the fact that he was a father as a resume qualification? He’d be laughed out of the race.)

Finally, what was on display and what has taken over their cult is a declaration that war is sacrosanct. No one dare question it or any thing that happens as a result of it. It is the trump card of all trump cards and it wipes clean any indiscretion –no matter how outrageous. The very idea that they were shameless enough to show a video praising our attack of Iraq as a response to 9/11 proves my theory. They’re simply broken beyond repair and they will suffer a long slow march into ignominy.

< /screed>.

STEPPING FORWARD?

2008-09-05T09:18:00.001-07:00

Portrayal Of Obama As Snob Hailed As Step Forward For Blacks

These guys are so good I wonder how long it'll be until "legitimate" news organizations start mistakenly citing them as sources.

TIME FOR SOME CAMPAIGNIN'

2008-08-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

My Uncle forwarded this to me from jib-jab.

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

RANDOM MUSINGS

2008-08-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

So I was flipping my channels on my Sirius radio this morning and I stopped on the “Sirius Left” channel which was broadcasting one Lynn Samuels. I listened for a few minutes and came to the not so shocking conclusion that small but vocal portions of the electorate are just plain f**king nuts.

Listening to Ms. Samuels it became clear that she is a Hillary Clinton supporter who simply cannot come to grips with the fact that Hillary won't be the nominee, and that this has sent her off the deep end. Her sheer vitriol toward Obama and her utter sycophantic worship of all things Clinton was jarring, and what was even more disturbing was that caller after caller was ready to throw in the towel because Hillary is not the nominee, and if not support McCain, completely bash Obama based on nothing other than bitterness. It was adolescent and puerile, and because these people are supposedly on the same "side" I am, embarrassing.

It illustrated perfectly the difference between those whose political passions are based in stances on the issues and belief in policy, and those whose politics are a reflection of their own personalities and egos. Both parties are rife with both types and there are probably many points on the spectrum between these two poles, though I've seen more of the latter type on the right. In fact you could say that it's just this kind of "play my way or I'm taking my ball and going home" paradigm that has defiled the country for the last 7 1/2 years.

The Neocon cabal that hijacked the GOP could give a rat's ass about conservative values or idiology but did whatever the hell they wanted to do and only pandered to the "true believers" as insurance that they'd be able to stay in for long enough to complete as much of their objective as possible. And the objective was simple -money. It was all a giant cash grab. Sign on and we'll cut you in. Stand in our way and we'll eliminate you. Real conservatives believe in reducing government restraining spending and keeping their noses out of other peoples' business. These folks did the exact opposite in every area of endeavor and because they'd bought the press they were able to distract the public away from their having done so. It was all about them -their investments, their businesses, their rights, and f**k anybody who dared challenge them -whether from their own side or the opposition. You were either on their bus or under it.

That's the same attitude that I heard from Samuels and her callers. If they don't get their piece of the pie served their way they'd just as soon shit on it. It's no surprise though -look at the candidate they follow: she was willing to repeatedly bash a fellow candidate from her own party and praise the candidate from the opposition party for her own political gain. Didn’t matter that if she lost she’d have screwed the issues she alleged to support. Didn’t matter that she’d not bothered to actually wage a coherent campaign –damn it people had better give her what she wanted or they’d pay. Thank God she didn’t succeed. Moreover, it’s not as if this was some sort of new attitude she had –she behaved the same way with her healthcare plan during her husband’s administration and it blew up in her face then too.

Now –just as I’d predicted- the gramps campaign are using her idiotic slagging and lies verbatim in their ads, and her zombies are insisting that they get…what exactly? It’s insanity.

* * *

Speaking of insanity: I was at the gym the other day behind the Orange Curtain (this is a local expression referring to the fact that that Orange County next to LA is infamously conservative and mocking it as similar to the Berlin Wall.), and unsurprisingly FOXNews was on in the locker-room. The “discussion” centered on how somehow making fun of Gramps’ not knowing how many houses he owns is an attack on his wife because, poor thing, it’s not her fault that she’s rich. “Oh Waaah”, I said and some old guy –obviously only hearing my tone and not my comment and thinking he’d find a sympathetic ear said “What the hell does it matter how many houses he owns” and I said something like “well gee, I think it matters a hell of a lot seeing as though the housing market’s gone to hell in a handbasket and a rising number of folks can’t pay their mortgages”. To which he replied –well “it’s really gonna be screwed if that n----- gets in there.”

Yep, he actually said it.

I looked him in the eye and said “what did you just say?” and he looked a bit surprised, and then rattled off a litany about how Putin was going to push “that boy” around just the same way as [Khrushchev] did Kennedy and began shuffling out the door going on about how he’d trained to fight those “commies and g**ks” to which I replied “yeah I’m sure you did you f***ing racist”, and he was gone.

Reminds me that while we have a great deal to be proud of as a nation at this moment, we still have a lot of work to do. This guy actually thought it was OK to say the n-word to a total stranger in a public place.

SO IT'S BIDEN

2008-08-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well I admit that I'm slightly disappointed that it's not Wes Clark, but I don't think he was ever seriously in the running.

It's been said that the first rule of picking a Vice President is "don't f**k it up" and it's pretty clear that Obama hasn't done that here. He could have done much worse.

Biden's a good choice for many reasons -perhaps the most important being that he can serve as an experienced guide for Obama through the entrenched ways of the beltway without overshadowing him. In this respect he's sort of the Anti-Cheney: an experienced politician and legislator but one for whom (unlike Cheney) there will be no fears of a "shadow presidency".

Biden's also a great surrogate: while he has a pretty fierce attack-dog mode, he's definitely not a loose cannon (to mix matephors). I.e. he can snark it up with the best of them but isn't likely to naively go too far, and will be able to say many of the things that need to be said for the campaign to suceed but which it would be impolitic for Obama himself to say.

In addition, being from Delaware, Biden shores up Obama's cred with businesses (most corporations in the US are incorporated in Delaware -for tax and other business-friendly reasons.) without necessarily being seen as a stooge for corporate america -Biden has perhaps the lowest net worth of any Senator.

And finally, it's pretty clear that Biden's foreign policy experience will strengthen the ticket as well.

Already the grampy mobile has released an "atack ad" showing a quote from Biden saying he "would be honored to run with or against McCain because the country would be better off"

Um... idiots at the Grampy campaign -"honored to run with or against" means that in either case Biden is on the ticket and therefore he's saying that the country would be better off ...with Biden. Just saying. I know you guys are desperate to climb out from under the "I don't know how many houses I own" rock that has crashed down on you all -but you might try actually thinking about quotes before you trot them out?

DEVASTATION

2008-08-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Bush to tour areas of the country destroyed by his presidency:

Sometimes you just have to stand in awe of The Onion

TEAM WHAT?

2008-07-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Jed Report found this from a Republican blogger -who, understandably, didn't emphasize it (though to be fair he did point it out). A little "unintentional" editorializing from the Mineapolis Star Tribune?

THE HITS KEEP COMING

2008-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Newsflash: I was actually ready to cut grampy some slack on one in what has come to be an assembly line of geography gaffes.

I really was because, to be brutally honest, if I'd been given a pop-quiz I would have failed the "Czech Republic/Slovakia question" too. I know, I know "...but a sitting senator who touts his foreign policy cred should have known this!" But really I can't muster much outrage about goofing a reference to a nation not currently in the world spotlight -particularly since it was Czechoslovakia for so long.

However just when I raise my fingers before dropping them on the keys to pen a "y'know what I don't get?" column gramps saves me the trouble by screwing up even worse -and with a set of nations that everyone is watching.

Still reeling from the Maliki smack-down in endorsing Obama's plan to withdraw from Iraq in 16 months the old fart tried desperately to deflect a question about it and came up with this little gem:

Asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded:

"I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," said McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Good Morning America."

Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.

Ok this is getting downright dangerous -he admits he doesn't understand economics, he changes his positions on domestic issues daily has deep ties to an industry that is only now imploding due its having rotted from the inside with corruption and incompetence and now can't understand basic geographic facts about nations in which we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars and stretching our military to the breaking point?

Gee, but he's an affable and avuncular old fellow. Serves great barbecue -just ask the press.

OH THIS IS TOO RICH

2008-07-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been too depressed lately to really blog on the FISA disaster. It's just too dark a day for America that the Congress (with the notable help of many Democrats including my own Senator Feinstein) actually passed a law that both allows the executive branch to warrantlessly wiretap American citizens calls abroad whether they're suspected of any wrongdoing of any kind or not, and immunizes a past executive branch spying program that neither the American public nor even many of the senators voting on the damn bill knows anything about. Not the end of the world but certainly royal bitch-slapping of the 4th amendment. Glen Greenwald has the best coverage/take on the subject.

But if you wanted a full out belly laugh to relieve the depression here's a story (courtesy Americablog) that'll fill the bill: Apparently grampy's a bigamist.

You read that right -he wasn't divorced from his first wife when he married his second.

(PC ALERT!!!!!) I guess that's the power of rich poontang. < /mysogeny>

Do you want an even bigger laugh? Picture what the news cycle for the last year would have been like if this had been done by any democrat!!

iokyar fidelis.

R.I.P. GEORGE CARLIN

2008-06-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to find out that George Carlin died last night of a heart attack. This hits me harder than I thought it would.

As Jon Stewart once said, listening to Class Clown was a right of passage. Stewart's about my age, and for boys growing up in the 70's Carlin was a god, a grownup who actually said all the things you'd said among your friends but were told never to say by your parents and certainly never heard anywhere else. What's more, he did it with an intelligence and wit that was absent from other current and later comedians who had the cursing without the intelligence. I think that's why my mom didn't mind that I listened to them. I could practically recite verbatim whole routines at 9 or 10, in fact it's not a stretch to say that my early fascination with language was greatly influenced by equal parts of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Carlin's albums.

I had all of Carlin's early albums and played them till they were scratched and crackly. AM/FM, Occupation Foole, Class Clown, Toledo Window Box, An Evening With Wally Londo, and On the Road. I lost a bit of interest in the 80's partly because financial constraints no longer allowed me to purchase his albums, but also I think in hindsight because his career slipped a bit then. His albums started to seem a bit formulaic -a few rants about "the man", a few drug references, and a few bizarre non-sequiturs, but without the soul or wit that his earlier material had. His television specials also diminished and at times seemed a bit awkward because it appeared that he felt that he had to guild his punchlines with mugging. In later interviews he referred to a period where he "lost himself" as a comedian and one surmises that that's what he meant. I believe that this period was also when the drugs took over his life both physically and financially. This would have been from about the mid to late '80's through the early '90's and included the albums "Playin' With Your Head", and "What Am I Doing In New Jersey"?

He came back with a vengeance in the 90s sparked in part by the Tipper Gore PMRC debacle with the aptly named "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" and never slipped again (IMO).

In 2000 my Constitutional Law professor played the "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" to my class and I have to say that (beside the fact that it seemed so tame after all the years of controversy) it was a sheer delight to watch and hear the reactions of kids (by kids I mean early 20's ;-) ) who had actually never heard the routine before. They couldn't quite grasp what the fuss had been all about. Carlin would have been proud.

I can't begin to explain the profound sadness I feel at his passing -particularly at such a young age. 71 is barely retirement age now. He leaves behind a body of work that is unsurpassed in its scope, prolificness, wit and laughing out loud humor as well as its quintessential example of linguistic balance -in that sense it's no exaggeration to place Carlin as one of the modern Shakespearean torch bearers.

Wonder if he got his "two minute warning"?

"Now, you might be wondering why I would even suggest that someone can affect the manner and style of his death. Well, it's because of a mysterious and little-known stage of dying, the two-minute warning. Most people are not aware of it, but it does exist. Just as in football, two minutes before you die you receive an audible warning: "Two minutes! Get your shit together!" And the reason most people don't know about it is because the only ones who hear it are dead two minutes later. They never get a chance to tell us.

But such a warning does exist, and I suggest that when it comes, you use your two minutes to entertain and go out big. If nothing else, deliver a two-minute speech. Pick a subject you feel passionate about, and just start talking. Begin low-key, but, with mounting passion, build to a rousing climax. Finally, in the last few seconds, scream at those around you, "If these words are not the truth, may God strike me dead!" He will. Then simply slump forward and fall to the floor. Believe me, from that moment on, people will pay more attention to you."

-From "Napalm and Silly Putty" (though orignially featured on "On the Road")

SHOCKING

2008-06-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

At last the scandal unfolds and the horrifying Michelle Obama "Whitey" video actually surfaces!

How can Obama possibly survive this shameful display!!!

Actually -hat tip to my college classmate Chris Harcum who sent this -he's an actor, acting teacher, playwright and jack of all theatrical trades in New York.

HERE'S A WIERD THEORY

2008-06-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Steve Rosenbaum forcasts in the Huffington Post :

"At some point in mid August, John McCain will announce that he has decided that he can not accept his party's nomination for president. The reason will be health-related, and that may turn out to be the truth. Anyone who's seen him on stage these days knows he looks like he's about to keel over. And anyone who's been on a presidential campaign knows the physical demands are grueling and can be a challenge for a young man.

But excuses or facts hardly matters. He won't be accepting his party's nomination.

The reasons are simple. He can't win. Now that Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee -- the polls all show that McCain's pro-war stance and Bush endorsement make him a lost cause in November. That combined with soft stand on litmus test conservative issues make him an unpopular candidate among the base. I know some Democrats that think the Republicans are planning to let McCain lose and 'sit this one out' so that they can hang the democrats with a bad economy and a war that is a morass. But that just isn't how they play. They play to win every hand"

This is ridiculous in the extreme and Rosenbaum needs to put down the crack-pipe. he's forgetting one very important thing: There's no way McCain's going to step aside after carrying all that neocon water in both 2000 and 2004. This is McCain's third presidential run and he's finally gotten the nomination and now the Republicans will ask him to stand down? If you believe that I have a lovely piece of real estate that connects Brooklyn and Manhattan that I'd like to showcase for you.

I can't cite any evidence other than conjecture, but I'd bet that there were promises exchanged and deals made for his not tearing Bush a new orifice when Bush attacked his wife and kids in 2000 with the push-polls, etc. in SC. McCain was probably intimidated and browbeaten into submission by the VRWC tanks, who had just come off an enormous victory with the impeachment and subsequent (and previous) sliming of the Clintons, and had the money and boots on the ground to hammer McCain mercilessly.

Moreover they probably threatened to withold any $upport so that even if he kept on he'd be left on his own twi$ting in the wind.

The republicans have settled on McCain and are now suffering from buyer's remorse, but swapping McCain with a newer model will only weaken them further and infuriate the voters who supported McCain.

I mean -who will disguntled Hillaroids vote for? ;-)

It would be sad if McCain weren't such an asshole. Just when he's finally ready to take his turn, he's too old and feeble to be able to make a decent run at it? Sad. Well, not really. But wait there's more:

"There are a whole list of Republicans who in many ways are more likely to energize the Republican base. One thing is certain -- there are candidates that will play to the core issues in ways that McCain simply can't.

Here's a list of names. Some you know, some you don't. But each of them knows their name is in play. Among them --

Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State)
Colin Powell (fmr Sec. of State)
Marilyn Musgrave (Colorado Congresswoman)
Mitt Romney (fmr Massachusetts Governor)
Mike Huckabee (fmr Governor of Arkansas)
Charlie Crist (Florida Governor)
Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota Governor)
Bobby Jindal (Louisiana Governor)
Mark Sanford: (Governor of South Carolina)
John Thune (Senator from South Dakota)
Dick Lugar (Senator from Indiana)
Chuck Hagel (Senator from Nebraska)
Michael Bloomberg (NYC Mayor)

Ok, go ahead knock them down. One by one. See if you can really remove ALL these names from a list of candidates that are more likely to give Obama a run for his money."

Oh please give me a slightly challenging task. Lets start with the simplest ones:

Marilyn Musgrave (Colorado Congresswoman)
Mark Sanford: (Governor of South Carolina)
John Thune (Senator from South Dakota)
Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota Governor)

Say it with me now :1, 2, 3 -WHO???

Dude, this is a national election and probably the only one that 90% of the electorate ever pay attention to. What's the number one problem that people cite when questioning Obama's "electability"? No not his race -it's that he's too unknown and needs to introduce himself to the American people more. He's already been doing that for 18 months and his hard work has paid off with the nomination of his party over the toughest democratic political machine in decades. Does anyone honestly think that a republican party in shambles can introduce an unknown candidate with slightly over 4 months to go and beat the brightest and most quickly ascending political star from either party in over 30 years and stand a scintilla of a chance? There simply isn't time. Political junkies might know these folks names but the rest of America doesn't know them from anyone else at the mall and they're not going to vote for a stranger.

Charlie Crist (Florida Governor)

The guy who took over from Jeb? Nah. Plus -see above (and below).

Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State)
Colin Powell (fmr Sec. of State)

Both of these folks have hitched their wagons to the Bush train and have derailed themselves in the process. True, in a vacuum both are intelligent and capable leaders, but they're even more tainted by the Iraq War than McCain is because they were members of the team that constructed it from thin air. McCain even knows he has to distance himself from their like or he'll lose -what makes anyone think they'll stand any more of a chance than him? Powell completely shot his credibility after he took the plunge and lied to the UN saying that some trailers really mobile WMD plants. It's too easy to shoot him down (figuratively speaking. NEXT!

Mitt Romney (fmr Massachusetts Governor)
Mike Huckabee (fmr Governor of Arkansas)

Once again say it with me: 1,2,3 LUH-HOO-SUH-HERS!! These jokers couldn't even beat MCCAIN!! And guess what guys -there are no do-overs in politics. NEXT!

Bobby Jindal (Louisiana Governor)

Often cited as a possible McCain running-mate, and I REEEEEEELY hope he is because he's a loon. A Catholic whose gone to the dark side, he actually claims that he's performed an exorcism (somehow forgetting something all catholics know -you have to be an ordained priest to perform an exorcism). Moreover (and sorry folks hate to get dirty) but while finally after years of hard struggle we've managed to nominate a black candidate, do you really think we're ready to elect a former hindu of East Indian descent? I could be wrong, but guess what I'm thinking? Also see above. (who?)

Dick Lugar (Senator from Indiana)
Chuck Hagel (Senator from Nebraska)

Both these guys are even more moderate than McCain -and they're TRUE moderates. So much so that they're often pariahs in their own party. These guys are just to the left of Joe Lieberman who still has the balls to call himself a democrat though technically he's a CFL (Connecticut For Lieberman) party senator who openly rejected his former party's nominee. But I digress. These guys won't be any more palatable to the guppy base -and certainly not to the fundies. Lugar even has co sponsored legislation with Obama and is unlikely to want to contest against him. Hagel's not much different.

Which leaves us with Mikey-boy.

Michael Bloomberg (NYC Mayor)

Another true moderate, and an interresting choice if he decided to take it on -but that's the rub. He's not stupid -why crucify yourself on the alter of "also-ran" for a party that is imploding? You'd have to be nuts like Jindal. And oh one other small thing HE'S NO LONGER A REPUBLICAN.

So there it is -another theory laid to waste. Grampy's their old man like it or not, (and I LOVE it) and Rosenbaum's daydream is simply Republican porn.

BACK TO BUSINESS

2008-06-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

And now that the primaries are over here's a reminder of what it's all really about:

Sweet dreams.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

2008-06-12T07:08:00.001-07:00

Kieth Olberman has put together a great collection of highlights from the primary season:

IT'S DONE/ MCSAME GAMES

2008-06-09T08:20:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late on this but here's (courtesy TPM) the video of Hillary's concession speech:

The blogosphere is on fire with reactions ranging from brilliant to "why was it AGAIN all about her?"

I think it was a fine speech and she hit all the right marks - Oh sure, she went a little dead-eyed when she was talking-up Obama, but I'll give the woman a break, she is human after all and it can't have been an easy speech to give.

In other news:

I've discovered (although I can't have been the first) a new drinking game! The first requirement is the toughest -you actually have to watch one of Grampy's speeches. But assuming you can do that without doing an Elvis on your TV -take a drink every time McSame says "my Friends" or some variant. Don't plan on driving afterward.

BTW if you really want some positive therapy when you get too down in the dumps re the state of the fall election and the ramifications for the country -watch McSame's town hall meetings with the sound muted. What you'll see is a wandering, shuffling almost limping, hunchbacked, very old white guy, who somehow thinks he actually stands a chance to be elected president. And it only makes you feel more warm and fuzzy knowing that this idiot actually wants to stand on the same stage as Obama and do this 10 TIMES!

Here -give it a try:

-remember to mute the sound unless you have a bottle of Jameson's (none of that protestant Bushmills shite) close by. Slainte!

AND NOW THE REAL NEWS

2008-06-05T07:21:00.001-07:00

John Stewart delivers the best post contest wrap up. (of course he does -he's the only pundit with more than space between his ears -well if you don't count Olberman )

SAVOR IT

2008-06-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

BTW -in case anyone's wondering: I'm open to playing starting QB for the 49ers next fall.

OH AND BTW

2008-06-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

NO. I don't want her as VP. Too much baggage, and after the campaign she's run why throw her a bone? She doesn't guarantee victory any more than anyone else because any democrats who won't vote for the democratic candidate after 8 years of hell are undependable anyway. She brings more damage than help after this campaign and already the republicans are using her lines against Obama.

Here's a question for all those (and that includes you Senator Feinstein) who insist that Hillary should be on the ticket: shouldn't she endorse him first?