The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Monday already; son of a…

• Post-debate analysis. Some polls said Sen. Obama won. Some polls said Sen. McCain won. Some polls said it was a tie. What does this tell you? That polls are worthless…
• As Congress prepares to vote on a $700 billion bailout plan (that no one really likes), stocks slipped at the opening bell today as the Dow was down more than 300 points in early trading.
• It was only a matter of time… McCain has had to ‘retract’ statements made by running mate Sarah Palin regarding Pakistan. While campaigning this past weekend in Philadelphia, Palin was asked by a grad student from Temple University whether or not the U.S. should cross the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Palin responded “If that's what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should.” That falls in line with Obama’s stance on the issue and goes against McCain’s stance on the issue, forcing McCain to say yesterday that she “shares” his view on the matter before launching into a rambling “In all due respect, people going around and… sticking a microphone while conversations are being held, and then all of a sudden that's—that's a person's position… This is a free country, but I don't think most Americans think that that's a definitive policy statement made by Governor Palin.” (It starts…)
• Palin’s response and McCain’s retraction is a perfect segue into mentioning that the she and Democratic VP candidate Sen. Biden debate later this week…
• The Senate overwhelmingly passed a spending bill this past weekend. The bill will allow a 26-year ban on offshore oil drilling to expire (way to cave Dems!), will subsidize a $25 billion in loan guarantees for U.S. automakers and will give aid to Gulf Coast hurricane victims. The House passed the bill last Wednesday and “President” Bush is expecting to sign it this week. (Well, they caved on off-shore drilling, but they also got $2 billion more for Pell grants as well as $5.2 billion for low-income energy assistance… so it’s not a BAD plan, nor a GOOD plan. It’s a plan…)
• More proof the media is trying to make a story out of nothing… CNN is treating the fact that former President Bill Clinton was hesitant to characterize Sen. Obama as a “great man” yesterday… who the fuck cares??????
• And have we mentioned? That republican Rep. Michele Bachmann is a dumb-ass? During a House hearing last Thursday she blamed the current financial crisis on President Clinton, “blacks,” and “other minorities.” Thankfully the CBC (Congressional Black Caucus) wasn’t going to let this evaporate and called the gop onto the carpet by sending a letter to House Minority Leader John Boehner that not only called Bachmann’s claims “ridiculous”, but also asked Boehner whether her comments represent the views of the republican Caucus…(Well Mr. Boehner, we’re waiting… does her opinion represent that of the entire party?)