Saturday, October 4, 2008

Lesson Don't Screw with Letterman

Ever since John McCain canceled his appearance and lied to Letterman about his cancellation, Letterman has been mocking John McCain for 6 nights. My feeling about David Letterman is ambivalent. He seems funny, but I admit sometimes he can go too far with his jokes. I keep thinking of that episode on Seinfeld, where George learns to stop before telling one joke too many, leaving at the top of his game.

Although, honestly, I can't help but be secretly amused how tightly Letterman is putting the screws to McCain.

John McCain probably has learned his lesson that if he is going to cancel on Letterman - be honest!





Letterman's interview with Brian Williams was also very funny.

Brian Williams Part 1:




Brian Williams Part 2:

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Friday, October 3, 2008

Bush Deja Vu

Given that Sarah Palin has a history of abusing her powers in office, and her performance at her debate yesterday evening, here is proof that truly shows Palin as Bush/Cheney in a skirt with lipstick!


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Biden Wins Vice Presidential Debate

In a poll among undecided voters, by CBS, Biden was declared the winner of tonight Vice-Presidential Debate.


Overall, Palin survived, and did so by repeating verbatim the talking points her debate coaches had her memorize. The one thing I was struck by was how much she talked about nothing.

She was able to get by on the economic issues, which was the primary topic in the first half of the debate. But her economic talking points were about "energy independence", although I don't think it was helped by the fact that her only solution was drilling for more oil, and tax cuts. She also kept bringing up reform, but I think the voters don't really understand how "reform" translates to wallet issues. Last week's debate where McCain kept talking about earmarks wasn't exactly the attention getter for independents or any voter worried about the economy. She didn't mention health care, until it was raised by Biden, and here we have a great zinger by Biden knocking Palin about the "bridge to nowhere".
Biden: Now, with regard to the -- to the health care plan, you know, it's with one hand you giveth, the other you take it. You know how Barack Obama -- excuse me, do you know how John McCain pays for his $5,000 tax credit you're going to get, a family will get?

He taxes as income every one of you out there, every one of you listening who has a health care plan through your employer. That's how he raises $3.6 trillion, on your -- taxing your health care benefit to give you a $5,000 plan, which his Web site points out will go straight to the insurance company.

And then you're going to have to replace a $12,000 -- that's the average cost of the plan you get through your employer -- it costs $12,000. You're going to have to pay -- replace a $12,000 plan, because 20 million of you are going to be dropped. Twenty million of you will be dropped.

So you're going to have to place -- replace a $12,000 plan with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the "Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere."


On Foreign Policy, it was clear that Biden was the clear winner. What was interesting was that in both the CNN and CBS reaction meters, the undecided voters reacted negatively to Palin's rhetoric on Iraq. Specifically, the graph on the right shows opinions on Palin tanking when she made her comment that a time table implied "white flag of defeat" by our soldiers.


Overall, she did not have an original point of view, and I have to admit her "folksy" tone started to grate - exactly how many "you betchas" and "doggone it" are we supposed to take? There was towards the end a moment where each Candidate got to say last words on their ticket. Palin tries to resurrect Ronald Reagan:
It was Ronald Reagan who said that freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream; we have to fight for it and protect it, and then hand it to them so that they shall do the same, or we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years telling our children and our children's children about a time in America, back in the day, when men and women were free.
I found that comment very odd, as I don't think any of us feel that we aren't free. So it seemed almost as if this old phrase was being mis-used.

Interestingly enough, the first sexist moment came from Palin when she implied that as a mom she could understand the concerns of average Americans, as if she had the cornerstone on that market.
Palin: Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills? About times and Todd and our marriage in our past where we didn't have health insurance and we know what other Americans are going through as they sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care? We've been there also so that connection was important.
Joe countered with sharing his personal story, and there was a moment when you could tell that he was going to tear up, and the reaction on both the CNN and CBS meters went to the roof (see the video clip below). Palin, rather oddly, didn't show any empathy, but went right back to talking about how She and John McCain were "Mavericks".




Overall, she was probably able to save herself from any widely negative views, and probably helped to revive the republican base. But I don't think she helped John McCain any, and I think tomorrow's economic news will still be on voters minds.

If you missed the debate, you can read the transcript here:

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/vice-presidential-debate.html
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Thursday, October 2, 2008

Obama Family Pictures

Pictures of our next First Family - HOPEFULLY!!!!

Apparently Obama made Keith Olbermann's Worst Person's in the world - because he forgot that it would be their 16th Anniversary tomorrow - not 15th.

Very Cute - Michelle's press secretary sent out a correction, when Obama at a rally mentioned their upcoming "15th" Wedding anniversary!










There's a saying for Obama as a direct jab against McCain!
One Wife
Ohe House
One Family
One Car
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McCain in Retreat

It looks like McCain has seen the writing on the wall in Michigan, a state heavily dependent on the economy and the health of the Auto Industry.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/1008/McCain_pulling_out_of_Michigan.html?showall
John McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play.

McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida. Wisconsin went for Kerry in 2004, Ohio and Florida for Bush.

A McCain aide confirmed the move and chalked it up to the state's Democratic tilt and the resources Obama had put in place there.

"It was always a long shot for us to win," said the aide.

McCain will now turn his attention to bolstering his defenses in Ohio and Florida while putting more resources into Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and the second congressional district of Maine, where there is a sole electoral vote available.

The latest polls are causing a MAJOR problem for McCain, and the news is that the Campaign is full freakout mode. What's even more interesting is that McCain is having to defend traditional Red States like Virginia and Missouri! McCain may put more focus on Pennsylvania, however the Democratic registration numbers and Obama's grass roots effort makes that very unlikely. If Obama wins Florida, there is NO way for McCain to win without Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia.

However, given the performance in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida, it will be virtually impossible for McCain to win. I think Ohio is still somewhat of a toss-up. It will depend on how "racist" voters are in Ohio.




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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Vice Presidential Debate Preview

It's really amusing and insulting really the expectations game the McCain Campaign and the Media are playing with Sarah Palin in her upcoming Vice-Presidential Debate.

The Pundits are all over themselves saying what Biden should or should not do, about how he can't be seen as condescending or mean.

First of all, Biden is a genial and respectful Senator, unlike McCain. Secondly, if Palin can't take it, then how can we expect that she can handle herself in front of Putin? Why are voters buying any story about Palin requiring deference and respect by the Media and public?

This latest Katie Couric Interviews where she questions both Biden and Palin on a variety of topics is really over the top. Palin needs to demonstrate understanding and knowledge, moreover, she needs to be able to talk coherently! It's amazing, I think she wants to throw in as many big words as possible to try and sound intelligent, but she unfortunately, she ends up sounding like an idiot.

The first video was about the candidates' views on Roe v. Wade, and the second was about Dick Cheney. I don't think Palin got the memo on the conservatives argument about Roe v. Wade.



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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Predictions for Obama as the 44th POTUS


America's Next First Family!


Given the political egg that's fallen on McCain's face, and the continuing fall in Sarah Palin's approval rating, the political betting market, Intrade is predicting an Obama win by a landslide!

http://www.intrade.com/
Obama - 311 EV
McCain - 227 EV

Intrade works similar to a stock market, where trades are made based on expected price.

Obama has certainly led an impressive campaign with emphasis on the ground game with getting out the vote (GOTV).

Nate Silver at http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ has Obama winning with 330 EV.

Looking at the NBC Election Map - you can make your own predictions by clicking the state Blue for Obama or Red for McCain.

My prediction is 335 Obama 203 for McCain.

My Safe Obama: 211 EV
ME (4)
VT (3)
MA (12)
NY (31)
NJ (15)
CT (7)
RI (4)
DE (3)
MD (10)
IL (21)
IA (7)
MI (17)
CA (55)
WA (11)
OR (7)
HI (4)

My Lean Obama: 91 EV
NH (4)
PA (21)
MN (10)
WI (10)
FL (27)
NV (5)
NM (5)
CO (9)

Tossup (likely Obama): 33 EV
VI (13)
OH (20)

VI and OH are tight, but I think given the voter registration, we could see it tip to Obama. I guess we will see how good my predictions are on election day!

I for one am looking forward to the day that Obama and his running mate Joe Biden take over the White House!


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Monday, September 29, 2008

Barack Obama Campaign Photos

After a stunning day of financial and political turmoil, some photos to lighten the mood.







Barack Obama - is he cool or what?













Barack and Michelle Obama - a true partnership!


Barack Obama a President for the Future!



















From Obama's trip back in June to Europe and the Middle East, his speech in Berlin where an estimated 200,000 came to see him speak. How great will it be to have a President that will raise America's reputation and standing in the world?
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HOUSE FAILS ECONOMIC RESCUE PLAN

Today in a stunning defeat of HR 3997 - the famous Paulson $700 Billion dollar rescue plan - we saw clear proof of loss of leadership of George Bush and John McCain.

This led to the DOW dropping 777 points !



The final vote came down as follows





The Republicans immediately put out their childish statement by resident idiot Eric Cantor (R) from Virginia:
"Right here is the reason I believe why this vote failed," Cantor said, "and this is Speaker Pelosi's speech that frankly struck the tone of partisanship that frankly was inappropriate in this discussion."
This astounds me as the most ridiculous statement that demonstrates a clear lack of accountability and responsibility!

Barney Frank (D) NY summed it up best:
"Because somebody hurt their feelings, they decided to punish the country."

"Give me those twelve people's names, and I will go talk uncharacteristically nicely to them, and tell them what wonderful people they are, and maybe they'll think about the country."
Let's be honest here, they didn't have the votes because they put their own jobs and political ideology on the line. They are cowards, because they knew that they would be voted out of office if they voted for this measure.

We are already seeing credit impacts with two European Banks failing - Belgium's Fortis and Britains B&B banks have both been nationalized.

Only time will reveal the full impact. My personal opinion is that this was a BIG mistake by the House Republicans.

Biggest Loser is John McCain, given his political gimmick of going to Washington DC last week to "rescue" the bailout plan

From the NY Times:
Senator John McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end.
At the bipartisan White House meeting that Mr. McCain had called for a day earlier, he sat silently for more than 40 minutes, more observer than leader, and then offered only a vague sense of where he stood, said people in the meeting.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603957_pf.html


From the Washington Post, Jonathan Weisman provides an insiders look into what happened in that meeting:

Pelosi said Obama would speak for the Democrats. Though later he would pepper Paulson with questions, according to a Republican in the room, his initial point was brief: "We've got to get something done."
Bush turned to McCain, who joked, "The longer I am around here, the more I respect seniority." McCain then turned to Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to speak first.

Boehner was blunt. The plan Paulson laid out would not win the support of the vast majority of House Republicans. It had been improved on the edges, with an oversight board and caps on the compensation of participating executives. But it had to be changed at the core. He did not mention the insurance alternative, but Democrats did. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, pressed Boehner hard, asking him if he really intended to scrap the deal and start again.

No, Boehner replied, he just wanted his members to have a voice. Obama then jumped in to turn the question on his rival: "What do you think of the [insurance] plan, John?" he asked repeatedly. McCain did not answer.

One Republican in the room said it was clear that the Democrats came into the meeting with a "game plan" aimed at forcing McCain to choose between the administration and House Republicans. "They had taken McCain's request for a meeting and trumped it," said this source.

Congressional aides from both parties were standing in the lobby of the West Wing, unaware of the discord inside the Cabinet room, when McCain emerged alone, shook the hands of the Marines at the door and left. The aides were baffled. The plan had been for a bipartisan appearance before the media, featuring McCain, Obama and at least a firm statement in favor of intervention. Now, one of the leading men was gone.

This play at leadership by John McCain was clearly not there. McCain will probably lose politically from his gamble, and as we all know, McCain loves to gamble.




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