Gun Sales Jump
Monday, October 27, 2008 - 12:01 am (EST)
By Hassan Chop
The economic data show that people are buying mainly necessities right now, but there’s one item that is seeing improved sales: guns. According to the Washington Post, gun and ammo sales are up about 8%-10% this year, driven in part by fears that Obama will restrict gun rights. There’s also uncertainty about the future of the economy, with some gun-buyers thinking that a weaker economy could drive up crime:
Bob Leyshion, who visited a gun shop in Manassas recently, said the economic crisis and Obama’s lead in the polls were on his mind.
“People are preparing for catastrophe right now,” said Leyshion, 55, of Nokesville. “It’s insurance. With the stock market crash and people out of work, and the illegal aliens in this area, the probability of civil disorder is very high.”
It’s always the illegals.
By John Mcdonnell — The Washington Post
TAGS: Barack Obama, economy, Guns, illegal aliens, NRARELATED POSTS:
2nd Presidential Debate
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 - 12:16 am (EST)
By Hassan Chop
The snap polls are out: The CNN poll has Obama winning 54%-30%, and the CBS poll gives it to Obama 40%-26%.
Overall, I think both McCain and Obama did fine, but I’d give it to Obama because McCain needed a convincing win after falling behind noticeably in the polls in recent weeks, including in many of the swing states. McCain’s campaign has turned decidedly negative, and it’ll stay that way for the next four weeks, as he tries to question Obama’s patriotism and character. I’m not sure McCain can go back to the well a second time on this stuff, and it makes him look even smaller when people are worried about the economy and their retirement savings. Tonight, though, McCain didn’t delve into character attacks, but he did have a weird moment when he referred to Obama as “that one.” Is that a continuation of the contempt he showed for Obama in the first debate?
McCain was clearly more comfortable on foreign policy than on the domestic issues, and he continued to lie about Obama’s tax and health care plans. McCain rambled and was all over the map on the domestic portion, and that’s not a good thing when most people rate the economy as their number one issue. McCain also needs to cut out the jokes. He’s just not funny, as evidenced by this exchange with Brokaw:
Brokaw asks who could be the next Hank Paulson. Who would the candidates choose as Treasury Secretary? McCain takes a weird swipe: “Not you, Tom.” Awkward, uncomprehending laughter.
Obama had one big gaffe tonight, and that was when he talked about health care. He was explaining how McCain’s plan of letting people cross state lines to get the cheapest plan wasn’t a solution, because insurance companies would just move to the state that had the fewest regulations and consumer protections. Then, he said this:
That’s how in banking it works. Everybody goes to Delaware, because they’ve got very — pretty loose laws when it comes to things like credit cards. And in that situation, what happens is, is that the protections you have, the consumer protections that you need, you’re not going to have available to you.
Whoops. Did he forget that Biden’s his running mate?
Other than that, I thought Obama was calm, cool, and collected, similar to the first debate. McCain was better than in the first debate, but he needed a win to turn the tide of opinion, and he wasn’t able to do that tonight.
There’s still plenty of time left, of course, so expect McCain to ratchet up the negative attacks. Oh, and McCain’s plan to buy up mortgages? Well, the FHA has a $300 billion program to refinance troubled mortgages, although it’s an option for the lender and not the borrower, and something very similar is in the TARP legislation that just passed Congress, so this isn’t really anything new…unless McCain is saying that he’d order the Treasury Secretary to buy up bad mortgages, in which case I can’t imagine his base will like it.
Mark Humphrey/AP
TAGS: attack, bill, Campaign, Congress, debate, economy, mccain, obama, Poll, polls, President, warRELATED POSTS:
People in Glass Houses…
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 2:41 pm (EST)
By a.p.
…shouldn’t throw stones. Especially when those stones are — at best — a strange mix of quotes-out-of-context and outright lies.
So, Obama’s economic policies are “bad for America?” He “doesn’t know how to reinvigorate our economy”…but “McCain does?” Weird…want to know more about McCain’s proven lack of judgment on economics, sell-out politics, hypocritical exploitation of government (for big business), and flat-out dishonesty (how’s that for a mouthful)? Watch here:
And, how about “Obama’s palling around with terrorists” (…gag…)? Well, that comes from the mouth of one Sarah Palin, whose husband was a member of a secessionist party in Alaska until 2002 (long after they met, married, had children, probably talked politics, etc). That’s right — Sarah Palin’s married to a man who spent years in a political party that wants Alaska to break away from America (…”Country First”?) and whose founder said CRAZY shit like this:
“The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government, and I won’t be buried under their damn flag.”
Nice.
But it doesn’t stop there. Looks like Sarah herself has A LOT to do with those folks too. In fact, they cite her getting elected Governor as an “infilitration” into Alaskan politics. Wow. Imagine what they’ll say if she becomes VP.
Don’t believe me? Watch the meeting (and other clips) here:
I dare any supporter of Liar/Wackjob to watch those two clips and tell me that McCain/Palin is the “patriotic” ticket.
TAGS: economy, mccain, obama, political, Politics, Sarah Palin, youtubeRELATED POSTS:
Bill0 vs Barney
Friday, October 3, 2008 - 9:12 pm (EST)
By John LaCroix
TAGS: bailout, Barney Frank, bill o reilly, Bill O'Reilly, economy, Fox News, Fox News Channel, youtubeRELATED POSTS:
Senate Passes Bailout Bill
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 10:06 pm (EST)
By Hassan Chop
The Senate passed the bailout bill by a 74-25 margin (Senator Kennedy, who’s being treated for brain cancer, didn’t vote), and it now goes back to the House. The House will apparently take up the 400+ page bill on Friday morning. The members of the House who voted against the bill had some fear struck into them on Friday when the Dow tanked 777 points, so you would think that the bill would now pass the House with the requisite 218 votes. However, the Senate bill was larded up with pork, and some of the fiscal conservative Democrats, known as the Blue Dogs, are grumbling that some of the tax breaks weren’t offset in other ways. There’s a lot of arm-twisting going on in the House tonight, and it’s not clear if the bill will pass the House right now. The bill, even if it passes, isn’t a fix-it-all for the economy or for the markets, but if it doesn’t pass, then things won’t get any better anytime soon.
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Unlucky Seven
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 12:06 am (EST)
By Hassan Chop
A WSJ article today brought up some of the financial crises of the past, including many in the 19th century:
1837, 1857, 1873, 1897, 1907, and now, 2007 (well, it really started in July/August 2007). Then, today, the Dow falls 777 points.
Is anyone noticing the number seven as a theme here? I’m just saying…weird, no?
TAGS: bailout, economyRELATED POSTS:
Highwire Days
Monday, September 29, 2008 - 5:34 pm (EST)
By a.p.
How’s this for context: today, the DJIA lost 6.98%. That’s a big chunk. On Black Tuesday — October 29th, 1929 (the major stock market crash, though it had been occurring in hiccups for weeks by that point) — the DJIA lost 12.8%.
Admittedly it was the two of a one-two punch — the market lost roughly 10% the day before on October 28th — but today certainly doesn’t mark the first significant drop in this current crisis, either.
Going further, the Black Monday of 1987 holds the record — it saw the market lose over 20% of its value in one day (October 19th). The crash was immediate and intense, but resonated little beyond a 5 day period. The market bounced back quickly over the following days, and continued a positive trend over the ensuing weeks and months, regaining its lost ground with a much smaller far-reaching effect (quite unlike a “Great Depression”) by 1989. To this day, there are apparently differing ideas as to what caused the crash…which gives it a distinctly less “impending doom” feeling than we’ve been experiencing these past many months. Read more here.
So what’s different about 2008? A war on two fronts; an economy faltering over dropping consumer confidence, conglomeration and abuse of power, and a housing credit crisis (that’s most likely to be followed by a general consumer credit “issue”); failing national infrastructure; woefully inadequate social services; and massive sections of the country still picking up the pieces in the wake of natural disasters…now I wonder what October will bring.
TAGS: economy, Vice, warRELATED POSTS:
The Debate
Saturday, September 27, 2008 - 3:20 pm (EST)
By Hassan Chop
For my money, Obama narrowly won this debate, although McCain was a little sharper than I’d expected and certainly scored some points. McCain is the guy who’s had a brutal two weeks, and it only got worse after his stunt where he said he was “suspending” his campaign and suggested the debate should be postponed, and in the polls, and a draw doesn’t do him any good. It is especially damaging to McCain when you consider that the foreign policy largely took center stage last night, and this is an issue that goes to the heart of McCain’s campaign. He’s painted himself as the foreign policy expert and the experienced hand, and he had to clearly demonstrate that he was superior to Obama in this regard. He did no such thing. Obama went toe-to-toe with McCain on all the foreign policy questions, and he hammered McCain on Iraq very effectively. In my mind, McCain scored some points when he lambasted Obama for agreeing to sit down with the Iranian president, but overall, McCain couldn’t separate himself from Obama on the issues of Russia, Georgia, Afghanistan, or Pakistan. McCain’s fumbling of the Pakistani president’s name (he called him Qadari but it’s Zardari) maybe wasn’t the biggest deal, but he claimed that Musharraf took over in 1999 when Pakistan was a “failed state.” That’s simply false. I thought Obama did a great job explaining why the more important fight was in Afghanistan. Overall, Obama showed the voters who are uncomfortable with his grasp of foreign policy that he knows his stuff and would do what it took to protect America. McCain needed a clear win on his central issue of foreign policy, and he didn’t get it.
Obama let the economic debate center too much around earmarks and spending, but he still outclassed McCain on those topics. Most voters rate the economy as their number one issue, and I think Obama was clear about his tax cuts for the middle class and how he planned to make sure everyone had health care, and he slammed McCain for his tax cut plan for the wealthiest and for his giveaways to the oil companies. The economic portion was a clear win for Obama, in my opinion. Both candidates fumbled the ball a bit on the financial crisis, so that was a wash.
So, what did everyone else think? The snap polls of undecided voters following the debate gave Obama a clear win, but it’s usually best to let things settle for a few days and then look at the polls. A lot of people noticed McCain wouldn’t look Obama in the eye and was dismissive of him, and I don’t think that will sit well with people.
The next debate will be on domestic issues, and the final debate will be on the economy, so we’re now moving on to Obama’s turf, which is not good news for McCain.
Pool Photo By Chip Somodevilla
TAGS: brutal, Campaign, debate, economy, georgia, Iran, Iraq, mccain, obama, Poll, polls, russia, SlamRELATED POSTS:
The Old Man and the Bulldog
Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 9:47 pm (EST)
By a.p.
So this is the caliber of discourse that we’ve come to expect from our Vice Presidential candidate, huh? Yikes.
Watch that and tell me that you don’t experience all of the following:
a) Shock and awe that that woman might soon represent you to the world.
b) A curiosity as to when Couric hosted SNL, and how they made Fey look so convincing.
c) A strange new appreciation of George W’s eloquence.
But hey, hats off to McCain for managing to make her seem a viable candidate. Of course, he’s had to shield her from the media almost entirely (3 interviews — if you include the new CBS interview — to Biden’s ~80 since being named VP candidate)…and they certainly fought hard and won to change the format of the VP debates so she can stick to the script.
But whatever, McCain’s been able to play the media effectively for years. More recently, think back to how effortlessly he pandered and parlayed the impending disaster of Gustav into a non-photo op with George W at the opening of the Republican National Convention. Think I’m being too harsh? Consider his relative non-response to the far more devastating Ike (sure, we got a couple press releases, but I didn’t see/hear of any preparation-assessment roadtrips before ol’ Ike came to Texas…).
Or how he half-succeeded this week in attempting to cancel the first presidential debate to “Put Country First” and fix the economy (nevermind that it wasn’t close to broken as far as McCain was concerned as recently as last week).
Oh, right — but he did it so he could rush back to help “break the deadlock” in Congress. Except there wasn’t any deadlock…and no one asked for/wanted/needed his help. I mean, what could they need from the guy who’s missed so many damn senate votes anyway?
Or wait…maybe he’s just not ready for the debate itself?
What’s important here is that McCain has taken a time out. Kinda. Sure, his surrogates are still out there bashing Obama (…time out?). But this move attempts three things:
1) McCain “looks” like a leader. Sort of. Actually, as far as I’m concerned, he looks like a confused old man taking orders from his handlers. But, hey, that’s just me.
2) McCain further shields Palin. As David Letterman ranted about last night (brilliant video below), the campaign shouldn’t just stop…administrations can’t just call time out. What should be happening here is that Palin should be out pounding the trail while McCain attends to business. But nope — this distraction even lessens the amount of time they’ll have to keep her away from the press between now and the election.
3) McCain saves the “Foreign Policy” debate for later. It’s clear at this point that McCain is perceived (however incorrectly) as the foreign policy guy, and Obama is the economy guy — at least according to the polls. So, what’s bad for the foreign policy guy? Having the foreign policy debate during an economic crisis so massive that no one cares about much else at the moment. So, this move saves that point for later.
But, whatever — it’s all nonsense. What Americans need right now are two things: the democratic process and leaders.
The debates are part of the democratic process. That’s something we don’t suspend, and we don’t cancel. Democracy first. If not, what’s next? Suspend the election? Just push it back a bit? Nope. Remember when “not shopping” was “letting the terrorists win”…? Right…so who wins if we “suspend our democratic process”…?
And leaders. Not figureheads — leaders. We need people we can believe in and trust to go out and offset a national crisis like this. Not with band aids or promises to be broken at a later date, but with real solutions that come from honest — even sometimes unattractive — answers. That’s why Obama’s push to debate is not only the right move, it’s the patriotic one too. In times of trouble, we need our government to stand before us and take the heat — to present solutions and to take action, but all within the context of openness and transparency. Even if it means taking a couple hours away from the closed-door sessions. Now more than ever, accountability matters — McCain wants none of it…and Obama, on the other hand, is ready to deliver.
Consider this: McCain’s attitude towards the debates is clear…he finds them superfluous. He cast aside national discourse — the two candidates first chance to spar on the most important issues of our day — as though it were the finale of American Idol. Fitting, given his American Idol running mate, but nonetheless insulting, and cynical.
In fact, McCain’s posturing proves him to be exactly what he so desperately tries to convince everyone he hasn’t become — a power-hungry figurehead who considers an active, participatory democracy just a cheap popularity contest.
That’s un-American, my friends.
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Good To Know
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 - 12:04 am (EST)
By Hassan Chop
Nice to know that Bush is on the job:
The White House announced Tuesday that President Bush will postpone a scheduled fundraiser in Florida Wednesday so that he can focus on the economy, according to White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.
“The President will attend his scheduled meetings tomorrow in New York and will then return to Washington,” said Perino. “His travel to Florida has been postponed so he can concentrate fully on the situation in the financial markets and the legislation before Congress. We will let you know if there are any further updates to the President’s schedule.”
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Keating Who?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 8:40 pm (EST)
By Rashad Harrison
A good portion of the Left has been begging Obama to satisfy their hunger for “red meat” by bringing up the Keating 5. While it would be gratifying to watch McCain relive his biggest political embarrassment, next to getting punked by George W. in 2000, until recently it could have been extremely dangerous for Obama to invoke it.
Democrats want to use the Keating 5 scandal to attack McCain’s character and call into question his ethical center. In any other election, this would be fair and reasonable, but McCain is probably immune to the Keating virus. He has already survived by being re-elected to the senate three times (!) since the scandal broke. He only received a slap on the wrist from the Senate Ethics Committee, he confessed his mistakes and begged the voters of Arizona for their forgiveness, and they forgave him three times over.
As a character assault, the Keating 5 provides little traction for Democrats. McCain knows this. He is at his best when the political climate allows him to be pugnacious and confrontational, and bringing up the K5 would give McCain the freedom to dominate the news cycle with Reverend Wright, Tony Rezko, and William Ayers, rather than addressing our current economic crisis.
McCain would win the game of character assassination because these attacks play off the racial stereotypes that blacks are militant, untrustworthy, and violent. Wright and Ayers are especially damaging because they allow Obama to be seen as a radical. And, in Middle America, radicals with black skin are far more frightening than criminals with white collars.
That is why McCain has recently been trying to bait Obama, daring him to bring up the Keating mess. When Obama briefly mentioned the Savings and Loan crisis of the 80’s in his comments about the current crisis, McCain released an ad, basically a warning shot, that tries to connect Obama to the disgraced former CEO of Fannie Mae, Frank Raines. There is no connection between Obama and Raines other than their skin color (well, Raines is more amber hued, while Obama is a burnt cedar). McCain most recent ad features Rezko and Daley, Jones, and Blagojevich (three dudes no one has heard of outside of Illinois). Count them up; that’s five, The Obama 5.
Race.
Race is what ended McCain’s 2000 presidential bid, not the Keating 5. The Rove rumor that McCain fathered a child with a black prostitute didn’t sit well with the voters of South Carolina. Race is why Keating was potentially off limits for Obama.
I say ‘was’ because the current meltdown has given the Keating 5 a new relevance, and made market regulation sexy again. Democrats want to show McCain looking scared for his life during those senate hearings, with his bad comb-over flopping around, but they need to forget about the sensational aspects of the scandal and focus on the fact that John McCain is a puppet of deregulators. Aggressive deregulation led to the S&L crisis and John McCain’s Keating problem, and it has led to the mortgage crisis and John McCain’s Phil Gramm problem. Why is it that whenever our economy is driven over a cliff John McCain is in the passenger’s seat?
Wisely, Obama has resisted the Left’s cravings for the red meat of personal attacks, and has given them the tofu of regulation instead. Eat it. Tofu is good for you.
TAGS: 2000, attack, economy, election, free, John McCain, mccain, NSA, obama, political, Race, war
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Fox News vs McCain
Friday, September 19, 2008 - 6:57 pm (EST)
By a.p.
Fox News just referred to McCain campaign actions as “highly inappropriate, among other things” (disdain AND ambiguity? nice) via a cease-and-desist letter over Major Garrett’s voice being used in a McCain campaign commercial.
Are the rats jumping ship? …my sources say no. Are they developing a self-awareness that breeds journalistic integrity? …outlook not so good. How about fighting to save face in an economy of opinion that is (finally, blissfully) turning against them? …most likely. And is this funny? …as I see it, yes.
TAGS: Campaign, economy, Fox News, mccain, warRELATED POSTS:
The Economy is Fundamentally…
Thursday, September 18, 2008 - 5:07 pm (EST)
By a.p.
Yeah, you’re right, this looks pretty strong:
Photo Credit: Scott Sady / AP
Read all about it: Tent Cities Rise with Foreclosures
TAGS: economy, MSNBCRELATED POSTS:
ABC News: 1, My Cynical World View: 0
Thursday, September 18, 2008 - 12:14 pm (EST)
By a.p.
Yesterday I kvetched about the mind-blowing lack of honesty exhibited by the McCain-Palin campaign, culminating recently in McCain’s own epic flip-flop on government regulation and the American economy. In my lament, I pondered the likelihood that the mainstream media would do its job in highlighting the disgrace…and, admittedly, had my doubts.
I stand corrected.
It’s a passing victory for journalism in this country, at best — but I’ll award the point where it’s due.
Well played, Charles Gibson, well played.
*edit: Thanks to you too, Joe Klein/Time Magazine
TAGS: Campaign, economy, mccain, Politics, Race, war, youtubeRELATED POSTS:
McCain
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 12:45 pm (EST)
By a.p.
From an article, aptly titled McCain Embraces Regulation After Many Years of Opposition, in the Washington Post today:
A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth.
Now, as the Bush administration scrambles to prevent the collapse of the American International Group (AIG), the nation’s largest insurance company, and stabilize a tumultuous Wall Street, the Republican presidential nominee is scrambling to recast himself as a champion of regulation to end “reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed” on Wall Street.
“Government has a clear responsibility to act in defense of the public interest, and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” a fiery McCain said at a rally in Tampa yesterday. “In my administration, we’re going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we’re going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place.”
I wonder if the mass media will pick up on this. On one of the two most important issues of our time (economy + war = America today), John McCain is not just flip-flopping in position, he’s fucking pole vaulting across the field. The man is practically blaming himself (without actually implicating himself, of course — just the general lack of oversight that created the issue…you know, that stuff he, and all his Republican conservative friends, voted for), while simultaneously claiming that only he (and the Republicans) will be able to fix the problem.
It’s unprecedented dishonesty (especially insane, given that his campaign — from stories about Palin’s background to comments on Obama’s voting record — is by-and-large rooted in dishonesty at this point)…absolute head-spinning, mind-blowing, bullshit-raining disingenuousness.
And it is tarnishing what’s left of McCain’s vaulted position in American politics beyond repair — all in pursuit of the Presidency as apparently nothing more than a status symbol, he’s willing to sell out everything he claims to believe in. For, what’s left of a leader if he is willing to uproot every single one of his values and principles?
John McCain doesn’t have any real ideas — good, new, or otherwise — other than “keep doing what we’re doing” and “keep people good and scared on everything from taxes to faith to war.” And he certainly isn’t called to lead out of an honest desire for change, or common good, or peace, or equality, or anything else a Democratic, shining-light-of-the-free-world nation should strive for.
I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that, however skewed his world view, his heart was in the right place. But, hey, the more this campaign rolls on, the more I’m becoming certain that the guy is just power-hungry. Truth and consequence be damned. Awesome.
That said, this is brilliant.
*edit: Here’s to Frank Rich at the New York Times — he nailed it in his op-ed a few days back.
TAGS: Bush, Campaign, economy, free, John McCain, mccain, New York, New York Times, NPR, NSA, obama, Politics, Race, Republicans, spin, warRELATED POSTS:
McCain’s Economy Problem
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 9:50 pm (EST)
By Hassan Chop
What a day for John McCain, and by that I mean what a terrible, terrible day for John McCain. Here are some of the highlights:
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, one of McCain’s top economic advisers, had this to say when asked about how McCain’s experience on the Commerce committee would help him deal with the current financial crisis:
He didn’t have jurisdiction over financial markets, first and foremost.
That’s interesting, because McCain himself seemed to think otherwise on an appearance earlier today on CNBC’s Squawk Box:
I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy.
McCain is clearly pretty confused about what the Commerce Committee does, because it most definitely does not oversee the financial markets.
Referring to McCain’s economic experience, Holtz-Eakin went on:
“But he did this,’’ he said, holding up what looked like a BlackBerry. “The telecommunications of the United States, the premier innovation of the past 15 years, comes right through the commerce committee. So you’re looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create. And that’s what he did.’’
I guess it doesn’t matter that the blackberry was invented by Research in Motion, a Canadian company, over which the Commerce Committee has no jurisdiction. This is, of course, reminiscent of Al Gore’s suggestion that he helped pass legislation that created the internet, but it remains to be seen if it will be as widely ridiculed in the press. Holtz-Eakin did make a number of suggestions about how to prevent future financial crises, including “better consumer protections,” an ability to look into companies’ books, and “improvement in corporate governance,” all of which sound like more regulations, something McCain has repeatedly claimed he is against. I think Holtz-Eakin and McCain should sit down so that Holtz-Eakin can explain John McCain’s economic plan to John McCain.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Carly Fiorina, a top McCain surrogate and someone touted as a possible VP selection, said that Sarah Palin couldn’t run a Fortune 500 firm, but she could run the country.
QUESTION: Do you think [Sarah Palin] has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard?
FIORINA: No, I don’t. But you know what? That’s not what she’s running for. Running a corporation is a different set of things.
Yes, because running a company is sooooo much easier than running the nation’s affairs. Fiorina tried to clarify later on that, in her opinion, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden also couldn’t run a company. I guess that was supposed to make McCain feel better.
Fiorina: Well I don’t think John McCain could run a major corporation. I don’t think Barack Obama could run a major corporation. I don’t think Joe Biden could run a major corporation. But on the other hand, a major corporation is not the same as being the president or vice president of the United States. It is a fallacy to suggest that the country is like a company. So of course, to run a business, you have to have a lifetime of experience in business. But that’s not what Sarah Palin, John McCain, Joe Biden or Barack Obama are doing.
When pressed about what he would do about the current crisis on Wall Street, McCain started ranting about greed and corruption, and his signature idea of the day seemed to be to create a 9/11-style commission. That’s rich. I’m sure the commission will come up with a great set of suggestions by sometime next summer, which should help solve the problems we’re facing right now.
TAGS: Al Gore, Barack Obama, BOOKS, economy, election, Joe Biden, John McCain, mccain, obama, Sarah Palin, ViceRELATED POSTS:
Election Is Not About The Issues
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - 11:39 pm (EST)
By Hassan Chop
McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, had this to say earlier today:
This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.
What Rick Davis is basically admitting is that if this was an election about issues — energy, the economy, foreign policy, abortion rights, gay marriage, etc. — McCain would lose. So, the best thing the McCain campaign can do is package and sell their guy to the public without focusing too much on the issues. Who knows, maybe it’ll work, but it’s an incredibly cynical, not to mention insulting, way to run a campaign for the highest office in the land.
TAGS: Campaign, economy, election, mccainRELATED POSTS:
Hillary
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - 9:07 pm (EST)
By a.p.
Waiting for the inevitable spectacle of Bill, considering Hillary…
OK, so I’m still a bit bitter that Obama / Clinton couldn’t bury the hatchet enough to get her a ticket invite. And I’m also peeved at Budget Clinton’s antics in the close down of the primary race — she said some things she shouldn’t have, and she handed the Republicans a couple loaded guns. Though ultimately, let’s be honest — so did Biden. It’s politics — the GOP can and will spin it into oblivion…along with everything else. We should take care to not follow suit.
And, as a further caveat, I could never wholeheartedly back Clinton for the top spot on the ticket, as oligarchies really freak me out (go figure). But that’s of no consequence here.
What does matter at the moment is that, last night, Clinton proved why she was such a contender in the first place — not for her relations with a former President, but for her own skills as an orator, leader, and politician. I may not make friends in some circles with a statement like that, but those are pretty pedantic circles anyway.
Admittedly, the speech intermittently threatened to tumble into self-aggrandizement (which the Democrats needed like I need my ex-girlfriend’s status updates), but she managed to steer clear of an egregious error — recognizing her own accomplishments, embracing her millions of supporters, and promptly pushing and connecting that phenomenal energy straight over to Obama based on the issues (while getting in a few effective digs at McCain). She didn’t address her prior attacks on Obama point-by-point — or that ad of McCain’s that uses her words — but she made it pretty fucking clear that a McCain presidency would be a disaster, and that Obama was the only way to ride… ’nuff said as far as I’m concerned.
Again, this is politics — she doesn’t need to paint him as the second coming, she needs to outline the case for his presidency. And she did just that. Let sleeping dogs lie on the personal front.
In the process, she cemented her position as a matriarch of both the Democratic party and the women’s movement in general (if she wasn’t both already), but she did it with a strange grace and style that left me feeling like she was just up there doing us all a favor.
Also, as an aside, Hillary was back in the character that she has historically been known and loved for. Gone was the scheming and pandering of a desperate candidate on the stump — the overly placating and phony presentation of a woman dancing awkwardly between an air of disbelief at imminent failure and a tenuous hope in some sort of inevitable triumph. And thank god she got that out of her system.
The best news? The Democratic party came out of the primary season with not one but two powerhouses.
Watch her slide from a whole load of “I’m awesome, thanks” over to “Barack Obama for President”:
“I ran for president to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.
To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.
To create a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.
To create a world class education system and make college affordable again.
To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality — from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.
To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder.
To restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans.
And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.
Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years.
Those are the reasons I ran for president. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.”
Welcome back, Hill. And thanks.
TAGS: attack, Barack Obama, dog, economy, global warming, GOP, Hillary, Iraq, mccain, obama, Politics, Race, Republicans, spin, Vice, war, youtubeRELATED POSTS:
DNC Baby. Political Round Up…
Monday, August 25, 2008 - 1:25 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Denver!!!
I love the Obama font. And Michelle’s looking good…
OMG He’s Black!!!
Slate noticed Obama is black. In a story sub-headed “RACISM IS THE ONLY REASON MCCAIN MIGHT BEAT HIM,” Jacob Wesiberg, Slate’s eic, states the obvious. Duh. A black dude with a middle name of Hussein is running against an Irish John and it took Slate 19-months to write the obligatory Holy Shit This Guy is Black story? I love Slate. But they’ve sucked lately. Georgia’s war didn’t get any coverage. They haven’t run much from Afghanistan. And they’re election stuff has been 2nd tier. Where’s Meghan O’Rourke? Hopefully at the DNC.
Bubba Factor
Are the Clintons trying to steal the DNC? Politico thinks so (and Drudge leads with it). Tensions Boil, reads the headline:
One flashpoint is the assigned speech topic for former president Bill Clinton, who is scheduled to speak Wednesday night, when the convention theme is “Securing America’s Future.” The night’s speakers will argue that Obama would be a more effective commander in chief than his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
The former president is disappointed, associates said, because he is eager to speak about the economy and more broadly about Democratic ideas —emphasizing the contrast between the Bush years and his own record in the 1990s.
The Clintons are the non-story of the week…
All About Joe
Everyone in America is eager to learn about Joe Biden, O’s veep. His book, Promises to Keep (Random House 2007), is now a bestseller:
As of Sunday afternoon, the book was at No. 31 on the amazon.com bestseller list, and No. 11 on Barnes & Noble’s list.
It’s 24 on the Amazon list right now.
I’ve seen Biden speak on a hand-full of occasions. Most notably, I saw him at a foreign policy luncheon at the Kennedy Museum during the 2004 Boston DNC. Biden sat on a panel with Madeline Albright and Iraq’s deputy PM, among others. This was when Iraq was in the midst of a two-front uprising. On Iraq, Biden was fluid though a little over state-y.
At the time, rumblings of an 08 Biden run were abuzz, but the two foreign affairs junkies with me were convinced he’d be a great Sec State but not Prez material. I never considered him for VP. But what a great choice. Biden’s funny, can be a dick, and knows his stuff. Considering he lost his wife and child at 29, ascending to the second highest office in the land to serve in their honor makes me happy as a little girl who got a pony for her b day.
TNR Kisses Lizza’s Ass
The New Republic says 2008’s best political profile was Making It: How Chicago Shaped Obama by The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza. Of course, Lizza used to work for TNR. Unfortunately, his piece, while long and in-depth, glossed over much of Obama’s Chicago rise. For a better portrait of O’s Chicago days, buy David Mendell’s Promise to Power.
Reading Lizza’s piece, you could tell he was practicing access journalism. I felt like Axelrod was living in his brain, revising history. Most specifically, Lizza glosses over O and Michelle’s ties to real estate developers like Valerie Jarrett, Allsyon Davis, and Tony Rezko. Jarrett is who got the Obamas into politics (luring Michelle to city hall in the 80s). It was Jarrett, Rezko, and Davis who gave O his initial $$$ for his state senate run.
These folks are also (in)famous in Chicago for pushing private-public housing partnerships. Yes: in the early-90s, Chicago’s public housing authority was a mess. And these Jarrett-Rezko-Obama private-public policies made sense, at the time. What doesn’t make sense is why so many of the public units Jarrett ran (as CEO of Habitat INC, a title she holds today) went to shit under her watch. Or how Rezko took $40 million plus in federal tax credits, ran complexes into the ground, then moved into condo development with the dough he earned. A high number of the units owned by these folks are now back in public hands. Weirder still, Obama continues to support these policies without modifications even though they failed.
For all the right wing media’s attacks, Obama’s housing policy—which has left thousands of poor blacks negatively affected—has been left largely untouched. Valerie Jarrett is hated by blacks on the South Side. She’s #3 or 4 in the Obama campaign. Yet she’s only received minimal—and glowing—coverage. Why? You can’t Swift Boat a guy for fucking over the very poor blacks that white GOP assholes love fucking over. If anything, Obama’s questionable South Side housing record would help him with the Swift crowd.
Happy DNC viewing everyone…
TAGS: 2004, attack, Bill Clinton, BOOKS, Boston, Bush, Denver, economy, election, georgia, GOP, Iraq, Joe Biden, John McCain, mccain, New York, obama, political, Politics, Racism, war
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