Barack Makes Calls In Missouri

Inspiring video from Kansas City, MO when Barack Obama stopped by his local campaign office. Like talking to a friend. His campaign never gets enough credit, truly historic.

The Candidates

A simple visual primer.

McCain Steered Reporters Toward HOAX Attack Story

Not only was this a hoax-in-the-making from the start, but

"the McCain campaign steered reporters’ attention to the story yesterday. John McCain even called the 20-year old woman. Sarah Palin called her family."

Fanning the flames of a perceived race-related attack was what Charles Manson was trying to do in 1969. Just saying.



NBC News' Brian Williams reports:

The Other McCains

The other McCains of Mississippi, descendants of the slaves owned by McCain's forefathers. The ending is a classic.



John McCain's family comes from Mississippi, not Arizona. That's where his rich second wife is from. McCain's forefathers owned slaves and amassed great wealth in Mississippi. They eventually became a military family.

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

"The Vet Who Did Not Vet". A Dr. Seuss style telling of the McCain and Palin tale.



"Hasn't happened yet."

SCAM: McCain Volunteer's "Mutilation" Story Made Up

Wrong on oh-so-many levels. Hey Ashley Todd, your "B" was scratched in reverse because you were using a mirror. Idiot.

McCain supporters have got to be proud of this one. They have their own Tawana Brawley now.

Recall Fox news executive vice-president John Moody's prescient statement from yesterday:

"If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting."

Source: HuffPo

Obama: Under The Radar Website

Cool site launched by Obama to track the McCain Campaign and its allies who have begun an unprecedented nationwide negative campaign that use robocalls, direct mail, and other techniques to quietly poison voters' information with lies and fear tactics.

Go to the site, click on a City or State, and learn the inappropriate McCain/Palin smears - all of which are approved by the McCain campaign or its Republican partners.



Source: http://radar.barackobama.com/

Palin: The Shark Has Been Jumped. It's Now Dead And Rotting

your weekly make-up artist fee: $11,400
your wardrobe costs you bill to the RNC: $150,000
playing the hockey mom "joe-six-pack" BS while running up these massive luxuries: priceless

Rebranding the U.S. With Obama

I have been using this argument for a while, now Nicholas Kristof of the NYT has written about it. Barack Obmama, as a brand, is what America needs around the world. Bush was 9/11, fake wars, terror, anti-science, bumbling, obnoxious: all things that made our image around the globe suffer. McCain, old and spiteful, would pretty much carry on that negative tradition.

Obama on the other hand, despite how the conservatives short-sightedly use his overseas popularity as a negative, is what we and the world are in need of. A re-branding of the US with "change" and "hope".

Kristof writes today:

"We’re beginning to get a sense of how Barack Obama’s political success could change global perceptions of the United States, redefining the American “brand” to be less about Guantánamo and more about equality. This change in perceptions would help rebuild American political capital in the way that the Marshall Plan did in the 1950s or that John Kennedy’s presidency did in the early 1960s...A 22-nation survey by the BBC found that voters abroad preferred Mr. Obama to Mr. McCain in every single country — by four to one over all. Nearly half of those in the BBC poll said that the election of Mr. Obama, an African-American, would “fundamentally change” their perceptions of the United States. Europe is particularly intoxicated by the possibility of restoring amity with America in an Obama presidency. As The Economist put it: “Across the Continent, Bush hatred has been replaced by Obama-mania.”

It's like the Wizard of Oz, "ding-dong- the wicked witch is dead" scene. The house, pun intended, has crushed Bush and Republicanism. It's time for all of us to move on down the yellow brick road.

Source: NYT

NYT: Barack Obama for President

NYT endorses Obama.

"As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States."

Source: NYT

Ferrell And Fey As Bush And Palin

SNL did it proper bo this Thursday. Will Ferrell as Bush. Tina Fey as Palin. Classic. A must see.

Greenspan Admits Mistake. Will Only Cost Trillions

The first of many trillion dollar mistakes from the Bush years. I like the way he uses a natural disaster term to describe man-made disasters.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, describing the current financial crisis as a “once-in-a-century credit tsunami” acknowledged Thursday that the crisis has exposed flaws in his thinking and in the workings of the free-market system.

Greenspan told the House Oversight Committee that his belief that banks would be more prudent in their lending practices because of the need to protect their stockholders had been proven wrong by the current crisis. He called this a “mistake” in his views and said he had been shocked by that.

Greenspan said he had made a “mistake” in believing that banks in operating in their self-interest would be sufficient to protect their shareholders and the equity in their institutions.

Greenspan called this “a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works.”

via 1115.org:

"If I’m not mistaken, Alan Greenspan, High Lord of the Free Market Worshipers, just admitted that unrestrained capitalism doesn’t really work. Kind of a big deal when regulation and accusations of socialism are being bandied about in a Presidential election."

Source: 1115.org

Bono Signs Deal With NYT

U2's Bono will be writing six to ten op-eds over the next year for the New York Times. His salary: free.

"The man who rose to fame singing about how he "can't believe the news today," will soon become a regular Times contributor, editorial-page editor Andrew Rosenthal told a group of Columbia University Journalism School students last night.

Before you start whinging about his politics, you'll be surprised to hear:

"Saint Bono won't be using this platform to opine on his pet issues of AIDS, African debt relief, global warming, and assorted other world ills — instead, he's actually been assigned to write about music."

Source: NYMag

McClellan Backs Obama

Another Bushie backs Obama, this time Scott McClellan. Most conservatives will publicly throw Scott under the bus, but they know deep inside that Scott is right.

"From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping,"

Source: CNN

Why Barack Obama Is Winning

A glimpse of what a real commander-in-chief is like.

via Time:

"General David Petraeus deployed overwhelming force when he briefed Barack Obama and two other Senators in Baghdad last July. He knew Obama favored a 16-month timetable for the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq, and he wanted to make the strongest possible case against it. And so, after he had presented an array of maps and charts and PowerPoint slides describing the current situation on the ground in great detail, Petraeus closed with a vigorous plea for "maximum flexibility" going forward.

Obama had a choice at that moment. He could thank Petraeus for the briefing and promise to take his views "under advisement." Or he could tell Petraeus what he really thought, a potentially contentious course of action — especially with a general not used to being confronted. Obama chose to speak his mind. "You know, if I were in your shoes, I would be making the exact same argument," he began. "Your job is to succeed in Iraq on as favorable terms as we can get. But my job as a potential Commander in Chief is to view your counsel and interests through the prism of our overall national security." Obama talked about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the financial costs of the occupation of Iraq, the stress it was putting on the military.

A "spirited" conversation ensued, one person who was in the room told me. "It wasn't a perfunctory recitation of talking points. They were arguing their respective positions, in a respectful way." The other two Senators — Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed — told Petraeus they agreed with Obama. According to both Obama and Petraeus, the meeting — which lasted twice as long as the usual congressional briefing — ended agreeably. Petraeus said he understood that Obama's perspective was, necessarily, going to be more strategic. Obama said that the timetable obviously would have to be flexible. But the Senator from Illinois had laid down his marker: if elected President, he would be in charge. Unlike George W. Bush, who had given Petraeus complete authority over the war — an unprecedented abdication of presidential responsibility (and unlike John McCain, whose hero worship of Petraeus bordered on the unseemly) — Obama would insist on a rigorous chain of command."

Source: Time

In 2004 Bush Campaigned For Re-Election On The Backs Variable Rate Subprime Mortgagaes

Don't forget how we got into this mess. Worst. President. Ever.

Bush's "reform agenda" loved variable rate subprime mortgages. His "ownership society" was based on owning all your responsibilities: home, healthcare, education, retirement. He boasted about how more Americans own their home under Presidency, but he now fails to take credit now that the sham has crushed the world economy.

"President Bush during his first term aggressively sought to loosen mortgage loan qualification standards for first-time homebuyers, seeking to reduce or even eliminate down payments for those who might otherwise have trouble affording their loans."

Source: Roll Call

via ThinkProgress:

"During the 2004 campaign, President Bush declared his pride in making America what he called “an ownership society.” He promoted expanding home-ownership as the best way to ensure a strong economy, campaigning constantly on the idea:"



"Further, the quest for an all-encompassing ownership society led to the policies that have created the crisis. From dramatically low interest rates to ignoring the warnings about predatory lending to quashing state regulations that would have helped prevent such massive Wall Street investment in subprime loans, Bush and his allies built an economy on a house of cards that was bound to collapse."

Source: ThinkProgress

As George said recently, “There will be ample opportunity to debate the origins of this problem.” If Republicans are going to stand tall for an unregulated market, then let them embrace ALL the excesses of that market, as well:the exaggerated losses as well as the exaggerated profits.

An unregulated market will not work for long, because it’s perfectly suited to reward fraud and corruption in the short term. Then there is no long term because an unregulated market will not last until the long term comes to be.

“The market” is not some abstract mechanism like the celestial spheres of Ptolemy. It’s a complex interaction of society, economics and even psychology. It should serve the society, not the other way around.

Ron Howard's Call For Obama

Ron Howard backs Obama. Pretty funny use of Andy Griffith and Happy Days sets.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

The Powell Bounce: This Race Goes to 11

Barack Obama is up 11 points on John McCain among likely voters in the new Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll, 54 to 43 percent. Though little changed from yesterday, Obama's national lead is now his biggest of the campaign in Post-ABC polling.



Source: WaPo

Why All The Socialism Bashing? It's What We Do.

via Ezra Klein:

"I'd like John McCain to be more forthright in his opposition to "spreading the wealth." After all, the Obama tax cut is a very minor example of redistribution But the government does a lot of redistribution. Does McCain want to abolish Social Security? Medicare? Medicaid? Unemployment benefits? Food stamps? These are all examples of not only spreading, but transforming, the nation's wealth. The government takes wealth, buys some stuff (like health care, or pensions, or food), and gives a disproportionate amount to poor people. At other times, like in military spending, it takes the wealth, and spreads it to defense contractors, under the assumption that it's better for folks to have an army than that portion of their paycheck. Is John McCain opposed to these programs? Just the entitlements? Or just to Obama's relatively meager tax cut? And if the latter, what makes that wealth spreading different from the rest of the wealth spreading?"

Source: Ezra Klein

Spread The Alaskan Wealth

Doing Socialism v. Thinking About It

"Palin taxed oil company profits and cut $1200 checks for every Alaskans.
That's spreading the wealth. Redistributing some money.
The McCain campaign talks about Palin's executive experience."

The Right are hyper-sensitive Obama might have socialistic inclinations... fact is, Palin's gotten it done.

Source: Marc Ambinder

Pennsylvania Dreams

After ceding Colorado, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Minnesota, this is the Blue State McCain thinks he can still get?

Rachel Maddow: Comment on Feminism for Davis and Bennett

Real ladies men. Professional binge gambler Bill Bennett and McCain campaign manager Rick Davis impart their great wisdom on us about what liberal feminists think.



As Rachel Maddow points out, the out of touch GOP, who made a mint of "feminazis" and bashing Hillary, "think" liberal feminists hate happy women that work.

McCain The Socialist Socialism Basher

Considering the Federalization by the Bush Administration, this Marxist Socialist BS argument is pretty weak.

via The Washington Monthly:

To hear John McCain and Sarah Palin tell it, Barack Obama's plan to cut taxes on middle-class families, and raise taxes on the very wealthy, is not only a bad idea, it's socialism. As 11th-hour, desperation attacks go, it's pretty weak, especially when a conservative Republican president is nationalizing banks and the financial industry.

But McCain's error is actually worse than most of his more routine mistakes. For one thing, progressive taxation is as American as apple pie.

McCain's strategy is the timeworn GOP strategy of inciting middle class resentment of those below them, not those above them. But keep in mind this nugget from 2001 when McSame voted against Bush-backed tax slashes for top earners. McCain the flip-flopper forgets they keep the tapes and transcripts of what people say.

"I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief."

The Maverick is dead. Long live the Maverick.

Source: Steve Benen

Will Fox Report This? Al-Qaeda Supports McCain

Not like this matters, but what if they had endorsed Obama? You'd never hear the end of it.

Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.

And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.

"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,"

said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush.

To keep their recruiting going, Al-Qaeda need a knucklehead to continue the massive failings of the Bush Administration.

"The idea in the jihadist forums is that McCain would be a faithful 'son of Bush' -- someone they see as a jingoist and a war hawk," said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist Web pages. "They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain."

Source: WaPo

How Anti-Intellectual Is Palin?

via Andrew Sullivan:

We know Sarah Palin is Nixonian in her contempt for educated elites, here's some food for thought.

Here's one way to look at the question: how has Palin brought up her own kids? Her eldest son is a high-school drop-out. Her eldest daughter has had, so far as one can tell from press reports, very uneven attendance in high school, and no plans for college. Her other daughters seem to spend a lot of time traveling the country with their mom at tax-payers' expense. I've seen them at several rallies with the Palins this fall. Are they not in school?

The least one can say is that none of her children seems to have been brought up thinking that college is something to aspire to.

Sarah Palin's own record of several colleges over several years - ending with a degree in sports journalism - tells you a lot. So does her interest in policing the Wasilla library as mayor and using the town's money for a sports stadium. She cut funding for the town museum and opposed building a new library. So does her amazing ignorance about the constitution. She is, in my judgment, the final rebuke to what Buckley tried to do for conservatism. She is burying it as an intellectual tradition and returning it to the pre-Buckley era. With the eager encouragement of a now Buckley-free National Review. Yes, the karma is overpowering. This is a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare.

Republicans have withstood Bush's anti-intellectualism for 8 years, so it only seems natural for Palin to ride those coattails. At least Bush's kids, albeit boozehounds, went to college.

Source: Andrew Sullivan

Chuck Todd: McCain's Got No Ground Game

MSNBC's Chuck Todd lays down the facts. McCain will have run the worst campaign ever. No control of his party, no message, no plan. Checkmate.



Some is Bush fatigue, but his choice of Palin sealed his fate.

Undecided By David Sedaris

David Sedaris in The New Yorker on undecided voters:

"To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?"

Source: David Sedaris

Palin As President

Pretty funny site. See what a Palin Oval Office would look and sound like.



Source: http://www.palinaspresident.us/

Fox Family Feud Over "Family Guy"

I love how Fox can be such a funny channel sometimes. Take Stewie from Family Guy.



In the latest episode he uses his time machine and ends up in Nazi Germany by accident. Needing clothes to infiltrate, he ends up noticing a pin on one of the uniforms he's just commandeered.



Now think of Fox News chatting about this episode.

The Right Need A Baghdad Bob

Republicans are sounding like Baghdad Bob, clueless yet loyal to their ultimate demise. But as this graphic shows, Bob sounded an awful lot like Cheney when you compare the two. I guess dictators like Hussein and Bush need a hype man to bypass the facts and spread the false word.

Bob was famous for giving press conferences on TV announcing that, categorically, no Americans were in Baghdad, even as the city and airport were overtaken, unaware that everyone in the presidential palace scrammed to Tikrit an hour before dawn.

If Bob were in the McCain campaign he'd be shouting "Senator McCain is crushing Obama as we speak. Every Blue State is like a dog on it's belly and has turned Red and we will win 99% of the vote". Could it be any worse than who he has now?

As these last 14 days lead up to the election, keep in mind Baghdad Bob soothing his base as countless McCain surrogates keep up a brave face. It's all they have. Throw a few faux scandals up, voter fraud is always a good one. Try to scare people away from voting, intimidate the less fortunate.

Where is their message? What about their policies? You won't hear a peep.

Maybe Bob can host McCain's November 4th election party, seems he'd be ideal.

Olbermann Special Comment On "Real America"

Keith Olbermann offers a "Special Comment" on how Republicans and McCain surrogates have used "real America" to mask their hateful, divisive, racist, McCarthy-esque rhetoric. Watch it.

McCain Losing More Red States

GONE! Polling predicts McCain has lost former Red States Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa.



While Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado are still officially listed as McCain target states, two top strategists and advisers tell CNN that the situation in those states looks increasingly bleak. Denial is a bitch.

"Gone," was the word one top McCain insider used to describe those three states.

Source: CNN

Bush And Nixon Quiz

When was the last U.S. presidential election the Republican Party won without a Nixon or a Bush on the ticket?

1928, when Herbert Hoover won.



Every Republican presidential ticket since 1952, with one exception, has featured someone with the last name Bush, Dole, or Nixon. Such diversity.

Obama Crushes McCain In Newspaper Endorsements

Greg Mitchell and Dexter Hill of Editor and Publisher have tallied newspaper endorsements: it's currently 112 for Obama to 39 for McCain.

"In 2004, the final tally was Kerry's 213 to Bush's 205. So much more lop-sided this time. We have also added up the circulation of the papers endorsing each candidate. Here Obama leads almost 4-1: 13.4 million to 3.7 million."

Source: E&P

Thought O' The Day

Eisenhower’s top tax rate was 91 percent.
Nixon’s was 70 percent.
Obama’s will be 39 yet he’s a “Marxist” according to mental lighweights Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and other Right Wing misanthropes.

Bush Socilaizes Banks, Fannie, Freddie Yet Republicans Use Socialists Insults Toward Dems

via Oliver Willis:

"It’s hilarious how the current desperation-based attack on Sen. Obama is how he, in concert with Reid and Pelosi, will create a left-wing socialist majority that will crush America.

First off the attack using who will be in control of congress is among the most desperate, a version of it was used in 2006 when cons saw the writing on the wall and tried to make the election about Pelosi being speaker (Sean Hannity said “There are things in life worth fighting and dying for and one of ‘em is making sure Nancy Pelosi doesn’t become the speaker”).

Secondly, Bill Clinton was president for eight years. In that time we nationalized zero industries. Under George W. Bush? Well… we own Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are becoming shareholders in insurance companies and banks. Funny thing."

Bush has grown the government, used that massive government to invade your life, spent all your money on useless wars, sold the debt to the Chinese, and now has either nationalized or given welfare to the financial world. But according to Republicans the Democrats will be worse. Nice try.

Bush has partially Federalized our banking system: this is the literal definition of what Communism was all about.

You've set the record. Worst. President. Ever.

The last time we had eight years of Democratic control of the Presidency, the senate and the House, we went to the moon. Literally.

The last time we had eight years of Republican control of the Presidency, the senate and the House, we went into the Great Depression.

Source: Oliver Willis

Obama Raises Stunning $150 Million In September

via myway:

"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $150 million in September, a stunning and unprecedented eruption of political giving that has given him a wide spending advantage over rival John McCain.

Obama's numbers are possible because he opted out of the public financing system for the fall campaign. McCain, the Republican nominee, chose to participate in the system, which limits him to $84 million for the September-October stretch before the election.

Obama's monthly figure pushed his total fundraising to $605 million. No presidential candidate has ever run such an expensive campaign. His campaign raised $65 million in August, his previous best."

Source: myway

Powell Endorses Obama

Thorough and thought out. Colin Powell steps up. Respekt.

"I'll be voting for Barack Obama"

The Republicans have gone so far right that sensible Powell comes across like a middle of the road Democrat.

Not so much a "game changer", but it sustains the momentum.



BYTES:
Obama Victory Would "Electrify The World"... A "Transformational Figure," Has "Displayed A Steadiness, Showed Intellectual Vigor"... Praises His "Ability To Inspire," "Inclusive Nature Of His Campaign"...Has Met The Standard Of Being "An Exceptional President"

Indictment of McCain Campaign... Negativity Has Gone "Too Far"... Criticizes Ayers Attacks... McCain Lacks "Complete Grasp" Of Economic Problems... Palin Not Ready To Be President... VP Choice Raised Doubts About His Judgment... Troubled By Direction Of GOP