The "Bush"-Whacked Administration

Open For Business

2009-03-25T11:59:00.001-05:00

Our new blog; Political Sighs, is open for business and, on the day after President Obama's presser, has its first post up.

Go over and take a gander...

Please, don't make us beg. Cuz we will...

Political Sighs

It's getting closer...

2009-03-06T11:09:00.000-06:00

Our return is getting closer and closer... join us soon at our NEW location;

"Political Sighs"

http://politicalsighs.blogspot.com/

All the snark, all the insight, none of the Bush... coming soon to a blogosphere near you.

We Are Coming....

2009-03-05T11:44:00.002-06:00

Scott and I are planning our return to the world of political blogging... join us soon at our NEW location;

"Political Sighs"

http://politicalsighs.blogspot.com/

All the snark, none of the Bush... coming soon to a blogosphere near you.

2009-01-20T11:29:00.000-06:00

WHOO-HOO!!!!!!!

2009-01-15T10:04:00.002-06:00

Sigh...

Do you remember back in 2001 when "President" Bush vowed to get Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive"?

Well, turns out he was bloviating;

President George W. Bush said he was unaware if, during his eight-year tenure, Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was ever close to being captured. [...] Asked if the September 11 mastermind ever came close to being captured since US forces went into Afghanistan looking for him in 2002, Bush said: "I don't know. I can't answer that." [...] Pressed by King, Bush replied candidly: "I really don't know. I'm not trying to hide anything."

Only six days left... only six days left... only six days left...

Holiday Break

2008-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

We at TBWA will be taking some time off in the next 2 weeks to not only wind-down from a spectacular and at times odd political year, but to spend time with family & friends over the Christmas and New Year's Holidays.

We'll be back on January 1st with our annual Year End Rewind, a look back at the things that happened in the last 12 months.

Until then, continue reading past posts of our fine blog, and we'll be back in 2009 ready to sum up the Bush presidency while keeping tabs on an Obama Administration.

Thank you...

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-18T09:06:00.001-06:00

Waiting for the ice…

And the President-elect cabinet picks keep on coming…
Rick Warren, seriously?
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined other Bush(whacked) Administration officials in granting legacy-saving, end-of-days interviews, covering a wide array of matters including her acknowledgement about “erroneous” assumptions about Iraq and labeling the inability to prevent the September 11 attacks as a “systemic failure.” (the interview revealed nothing new… she maintains the administration’s talking points about Iraq and the invasion while blaming faulty intel – rather than a faulty president – on the invasion of Iraq. Rice has had her reputation tarnished by being a member of this administration – as have others – but one has the feeling that she will bounce back more resiliently then say, Alberto Gonzales)
“President” Bush is convening a plethora of ex-Presidents next month to discuss the transition. Expected to attend are former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush along with President-elect Obama. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said; “the gathering will be a chance for them to discuss life in the White House, politics, and domestic and world affairs.” (and that the toilet in the West Wing runs unless you jiggle the handle…)
And have we mentioned? That Vice President Dick Cheney is going senile? At least that’s the only thing I can think of after reading that Cheney said in an interview with the Washington Times that Bush’s “place in history likely would grow during the next 20 to 30 years.” (Um… okay. Granted, no one can tell what the future holds or what history will say, but this sounds like forced. Bush’s failures are massive, and his successes minimal, so how his place in history can improve is anyone’s guess… so stay tuned)

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-17T09:45:00.001-06:00

Hump day is upon us, so let’s get a-humpin…

Not surprisingly, Time magazine has named President-elect Obama as its “Person of the Year .”
The Blagojevich saga continues … and will continue and continue and continue until we’re all so sick of the damned thing we tune it out. Much like we have the ridiculousness in New York to replace Sen. Clinton.
Another day, another PE Obama cabinet pick…
“President” Bush sat down with CNN’s Candy Crowley yesterday and spoke about the auto industry bailout, Iraq and so on. During the interview, Bush said about the auto bailout that it's important to make sure he doesn’t waste taxpayers' money… (Sure, NOW he starts saying that…)
Yesterday NASA released a statement saying that the year 2008 was the ninth warmest year since 1880 and that “all of the nine warmest years have occurred in the past 11 years.” (Take from that what you will…)
And have we mentioned? That Vice President Dick Cheney is living up to his name? In an interview with ABC News, Cheney said the administration “made the right decision” in invading Iraq maintaining that the “world is better off with Saddam [Hussein] gone” while also admitting that he shared “frustration” over faulty intelligence regarding WMD’s. (All fine and good… but we were sold on the invasion of Iraq based on them having WMD’s… NOT Hussein being in power. Yes, he was a tyrant and the world probably is better off with him gone, but that doesn’t change the fact that the electorate was lied to… 1/20/09 can not come soon enough)

What will The Fed do next for the economy?

2008-12-16T13:44:00.000-06:00

The Department of Labor announced this morning that consumer prices fell in November by the largest percentage, 1.7%, in the 61 years that records have been kept, much of the decline being attributed to energy prices that have plunged drastically.

With inflation being rather minimal at this point (according to an AP story, the 1.7% decline in consumer prices was larger than economist’s forecast of a 1.2% drop) there is some good news on the financial horizon because, with inflation being rather low, the Federal Reserve has a lot of leverage and can pump money into the economy because they don’t have to worry (yet?) about fueling inflation. And that’s exactly what they’re doing; having the central bank print more money and then pumping it back into the economy, much like Japan did years ago successfully.

All of this is a more complex way to say that the Fed will probably reduce federal funds rate 50 basis points to 1/2% in the next few days.

Um... what?

2008-12-16T11:30:00.000-06:00

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spoke to Fox “News” yesterday about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich; “Now is the time, not just for governors, but, for all elected officials to try and start shoring up some trust with the electorate. […] You cannot be in this business to get rich...can't be in this business with anything but a servant's heart. I'm wondering how long the guy thought he was gonna get away with it.”

There’s something I should be saying here… something regarding a pot, a kettle and the color black… but I'm laughing so hard I can’t think of it at this moment.

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-16T09:28:00.000-06:00

We at TBWA are waiting for the other shoe to drop…

The 538 members of the Electoral College gathered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia yesterday and exercised their constitutional prerogative and cast their votes for president and vice president… officially electing President-elect Obama and Vice-president Obama.
The Secret Service is getting flak for allowing two shoes to be thrown at “President” Bush…
President-elect Obama is poised to announce more cabinet posts today, including Chicago Schools CEO Arne Duncan as Education Secretary.
JFK’s daughter Caroline has made it public to anyone that will listen that she wants Sen. Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. According to Sen. Chuck Schumer, there are twelve other people also interested in the post, though no other names have been publicly announced. (I am torn about this… while I appreciate the historical aspect of it, putting someone who has little political experience other than being around politics is a tad disheartening. New York Governor David Paterson has the power to appoint the replacement that will face a special election in 2010.
PE Obama and VP-elect Biden will be taking a train to the inauguration…
70% of Americans say President-elect Obama should “fulfill his campaign promise to withdraw U.S. forces from the country within 16 months.” (All fine and good, but I have a radical idea. Let’s allow Mr. Obama to actually, you know, take office before demanding he fulfill campaign promises…)
And have we mentioned? That someone took a poll asking if Obama should get a new dog from a breeder or a shelter? That’s a good use of money and resources…

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-15T09:52:00.000-06:00

Another week begins…

“President” Bush made a visit to Iraq over the weekend and his appearance prompted one Iraqi reporter to throw his shoes at Bush and call him a “dog”... I guess he wanted Bush to… ‘heal’…
The Blagojevich saga continues… and it’s obvious that he’s living in his own world as he continues to go about his business despite calls for his resignation or impeachment.
President-elect Obama is poised to name his energy team today or tomorrow… may I suggest “The Obama PowerUps”?
And have we mentioned? That Sen. McCain is unsure about backing a possible Palin presidential run? Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” yesterday, McCain said that he would not necessarily support Palin if she decided to run for president, saying; “I can’t say something like that. We’ve got some great other young governors. I think you’re going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party.” (This is probably the largest sign that McCain and Palin did not get along well, and his refusal to support her, even four years early, is a slap in the face to Palin. Tee-hee.)

I'm gonna say 'ow' for Mr. Vitter

2008-12-13T15:41:00.000-06:00

Louisiana UAW Local 2166 official Morgan Johnson responds to republican Louisiana Sen. David Vitter's vote against the auto bailout; “I don't know what Sen. Vitter has against GM or the United Auto Workers or the entire domestic auto industry; whatever it is, whatever he thinks we've done, it's time for him to forgive us, just like Sen. Vitter has asked the citizens of Louisiana to forgive him. [..] He'd rather pay a prostitute than pay auto workers.” Pwnd!

The craptastic McPalin campaign mistakes continue

2008-12-12T16:12:00.000-06:00

One wouldn’t think it possible, but weeks after ending one of the most poorly-strategized and poorly-ran presidential campaigns in recent memory, the McCain-Palin campaign is STILL making mistakes;

Private information at bargain prices. It was a high-tech flub at the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters in Arlington when Fox 5's Investigative Reporter Tisha Thompson bought a Blackberry device containing confidential campaign information.

The hottest item? Blackberry phones at $20 a piece. There were only 10 left. All of the batteries had died. There were no chargers for sale. But people were snatching them up. So, we bought a couple.

And ended up with a lot more than we bargained for.

When we charged them up in the newsroom, we found one of the $20 Blackberry phones contained more than 50 phone numbers for people connected with the McCain-Palin campaign, as well as hundreds of emails from early September until a few days after election night.

Smoooooooooth…

An Autobailout Theory

2008-12-12T11:29:00.002-06:00

I am not, as a rule, a cynic. I’m a realist, evened out with a healthy dose of cynicism and optimism that gives me a nice balance… but something about the way the auto bailout is unrolling is giving me pause.

Was this whole scenario designed to give “President” Bush an opportunity to ride in on his white horse and save the day – thus helping his ‘legacy’ and numbers?

Part of me thinks not, as the gop – evidenced in how they ran some of their campaigns this season – is NOT that calculated and coordinated…

But then I think, perhaps it was.

Consider that Senate republicans assured UAW President Ron Gettelfinger that the Senate would pass the auto loan bill, only to renege on their agreement to the UAW and kill the bill.

Then during this morning’s UAW press conference on the failed Senate bill, an announcement from the Treasury Department is released that says it will open TARP funds because Bush will not let the auto industry fail.

More indicative is that during Gettelfinger’s presser, he spoke about the manner in which he was mislead by the gop, saying the gop had lied to him and killed the loan guarantees bill. It was then that a reporter informed him that the Treasury Department, on Bush’s urging, had just pledged support from the TARP funds for the auto industry because the Senate had failed to reach an agreement.

Hmmmmm… interesting.

Granted, no one that has a brain and uses it is going to think better of Bush for “saving” the auto industry, they’re rightfully going to place the blame at the feet of the gop for sinking the rescue package, and the rust belt knows that.

Having said all that, if in fact there is collusion between Senate republicans and the White House, I think it still scores very few points for Bush.

But still… it’s ‘interesting’ to say the least.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-12T09:28:00.000-06:00

TGIFF…

Despite ‘threats’ by the White House that they would tap into the bank bailout funds to help the auto industry, the auto bailout died in the Senate yesterday as republicans resisted an attempt to help the workers.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the Swedish government is preparing a $3.5 billion bailout for Saab and Volvo that consists of credit guarantees and rescue loans. The plan now goes to parliament for approval… and I bet ya they get it right.
Outgoing republican Senator, and current felon, Ted Stevens of Alaska is acting like a spoiled brat, refusing to speak to the man who knocked him out of his seat in November. Incoming Senator Mark Begich called Stevens a “couple days after the race was final, left a message and there was never a call back.” (Classy as always Ted…)
CNN is reporting that officials in DC are planning for a ‘massive’ inaugural turnout… Um, guys; two weeks ago called, they want their headline back.
The Bush(whacked) Administration’s war against animals and the environment continues as Lame-duck President Bush cleared the way yesterday for federal agencies to skip consultations with government scientists when starting on projects that could impact endangered wildlife…(This administration’s disdain for the environment is staggering, and it’s going to take a LONG time to clear it up…)
The Blagojevich fiasco continues… and has now ensnarled his wife.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with CNN this week (the full interview will air Sunday) and said the republican party’s attempt to “to use polarization for political advantage” backfired last month and rather than “shouting at the world” the party should listen to minority groups if they want to win elections in this century. (that’s all fine and good Mr. Powell, but we know they can’t…at least the conservative base can’t, and they’re the ones that run the show. Attitudes need to be changed in your party Sir, otherwise the gop has seen their last majority rule)
And have we mentioned? That Vice President Dick “DICK” Cheney has experienced a scratch in his rose-colored glasses? Speaking at a closed-door gop lunch yesterday, Cheney supposedly said that it will be “Herbert Hoover” time in the US if an auto bailout failed to pass. (Granted, we’re already there… but each time a member of this administration admits it, a bailout gets its wings…)

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing: Blago-centric Edition

2008-12-11T09:56:00.001-06:00

Weekend is approaching, but not nearly fast enough…

The House passed a vote yesterday (237 to 170) that approves a $14 billion government rescue of the American automobile industry.” The deal would provide emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler but the deal is in peril due to republican opposition in the Senate. Stay tuned…
The stocking of the cabinet continues as President-elect Obama has chosen former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota to lead the Department of Health and Human Services… and physicist Steven Chu as Energy Secretary.
76% of Americans don’t think the financial banks receiving federal bailout funds should dole out bonuses this year… show of hands who believe that will actually happen… anyone? Anyone? Helloooo????
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is ready to pounce and “take action” against Illinois Governor Rod “Dumb as a box of rocks” Blagojevich if he doesn’t resign. (I think we all know the chances of Blago resigning are slim to none. He maintains he hasn’t done anything wrong, and that – coupled with his staggering stupidity in talking freely when he knew he was being recorded – shows that he could very well be nuttier than a squirrel’s cheeks in October. While this is an embarrassment for the state of Illinois, it is making for some interesting theater. Stay tuned)
Speaking of which, Illinois lawmakers are moving quickly to take the decision of who will take the Senate seat of President-elect Obama away from Blagojevich. Announcement of who will be replacing Obama by the governor’s office in five, four, three…
The misery of the gop continues as one of their favorites to run for president in 2012 is saying on the record he’s not interested in being president and is running for a second gubernatorial term in 2011. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – you thought I was gonna say she-who-must-not-be-named, didn’t ya? – told a group of Bob McDonnel supporters (he’s running for Gov of Virginia) that he’s not interested in the presidency but did stop short of saying he wouldn’t or couldn’t change his mind.
And have we mentioned? That Blago’s actions have untied Senate Democrats like never before? According to Sam Stein of Huffington Post, all 50 members of the Democratic Senate caucus have signed Majority Leader Harry Reid’s letter calling on Blagojevich to “step down from his post and refrain from appointing anyone to the vacated Illinois Senate seat.” Impressive… getting all the Senators to agree to something is akin to trying to get cats to march in a parade, but an incredible lapse of ethics gets them all aligned and agreeing to the same thing… we may have something here.

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

After being sick and looking like death on a triscit, I am back…

Is an auto bailout nigh?
By now everyone knows that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested yesterday for, among MANY other things, trying to sell President-elect Obama’s senate seat. Being an Illinoisan all my life, I can honestly say I have never been more ashamed of my state than I am now… more so than with former Gov. George Ryan.
Joe the non-licensed, non-working Plumber says he was “appalled” with Sen. McCain but says that Gov. TurkeyKill is the “real deal.” And so his evolution into lemming-ness is now complete.
PE Obama and former Vice-President Al Gore say it’s time to deal with climate change. While it seems unlikely that Gore will have an official position within the Obama Administration, it does seem like he will be working closely with it to battle climate change. Stay tuned.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told “CBS Today” that the US is “is very well regarded” in terms of popularity. (Um… yeah… maybe in Bush’s little world, but certainly not in reality)
The House Ethics Committee has voted to expand its investigation into Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), which means they will also be examining Rangel’s role in preserving a tax loophole for an oil drilling company whose chief executive pledged $1 million to a City College of New York project that will bear Rangel’s name. Despite this, Rangel maintains he will not step down… maybe he and Blago can get a group rate on a jail cell?
And have we mentioned? That Sen. Larry “Wide-stance” Craig can NOT withdraw his guilty plea? After being arrested, and pleading guilty, for soliciting sex in a Minneapolis-St. Paul airport restroom, Craig tried to withdraw his plea saying the cop that arrested him misunderstood his ‘wide stance’ in the stall and that he had plead guilty in order to quickly resolve the issue. The Appeals court didn’t buy it (hard to imagine why he wrote as he rolled his eyes) and issued their decision yesterday. Naturally Craig is already thinking about appealing the ruling…

The Weekly Rewind

2008-12-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Forgetting the fact that last week’s ‘Rewind’ was lost somewhere among the “tubes”, we at TBWA are thrilled that January 20, 2009 is getting closer with each passing day.

It the world goes all “Groundhog Day” on me, I’m gonna plotz.

The Weekly Rewind starts… right now!

Applaud: to President-elect Obama’s continued mastery of the presidential transition. Grumble all you want about his choices (despite the fact we don’t know how they will act under Obama), complain about PE Obama not ‘doing enough’ for the country (ignoring the clear fact that he’s not yet president), and amaze at the swiftness he’s utilizing in stocking his cabinet and his administration.

Heckle: to the devastating news from the Labor Department this week that reported that 533,000 jobs were lost last month (the largest such decline since 1974) while unemployment surged to 6.7%. (And yet the Bush(whacked) Administration continues to act like the lamest duck ever and does absolutely nothing… thanks for the leadership Dubya; ya putz)

Applaud: to putting one’s foot securely in one’s mouth. Regarding the economic meltdown, “President” Bush said this week; “I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived.” (A decade ago? Wait a minute, I’m doing math in my head… carry the two… that would be 1990… that would be the presidency of George H.W. Bush… or Papa as Dubya calls him. Oops…)

Heckle: that it took the White House and some conservative economists this long to realize what we’ve been saying for ~~days~~ ~~weeks~~ months; ‘it’s a recession stupid!’

Applaud: to outstanding approval ratings for President-elect Obama. While some continue to mope and grope, most Americans – those that realize Obama isn’t president yet – approve of the job he’s doing, to the tune of 67%. Hopefully this continues…

Heckle: to the continued raping and pillaging of the environment under the Bush(whacked) Administration. Earlier this week the Department of the Interior Department unveiled a new rule that challenges the authority of Congress to prevent mining planned on public lands who, had had “emergency power” to stop mineral development. No more as Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has “ignored that Congressional directive” by saying it was “procedurally flawed.” (The animosity this administration has for the environment is bone-chilling… makes you think that Lame Duck “President” Bush was mistreated in his life by nature…)

Applaud: to the news that President-elect Obama is considering a stimulus package when he takes office that would see a heavy dose of spending on environmentally friendly projects aimed at creating “green-collar jobs” while also saving energy. 1/20/09 can not come soon enough…

Heckle: to Attorney General Michael Mukasey for saying this week that he sees “no reason for prosecutions or for pardons” for any people that gave legal advice on the Bush administration’s terrorism policies, saying there was “absolutely no evidence” that legal opinions on surveillance or interrogation policy were issued for any reason “other than to protect the security of the country.”

Applaud: to Congressmen John Conyers (D-MI) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) for having the balls to call Attorney General Michael Mukasey onto the carpet to clarify his inane statements mentioned above. The two representatives said they were “troubled” by breadth of the statement… (And the attempts to protect Bush and his merry band of cronies begins…)

Heckle: to inane proposals whose only purpose seem to be keeping her face in the news. Alaskan Gov. she-who-must-not-be-named unveiled her “health care proposals” in order to “improve Alaska’s health and education.” The initiatives include an emphasis on… are you ready? Outdoor activity. Said you-know-who; “With amazing outdoor activities in fresh clean air and consumption of healthy clean protein in the form of wild game and Alaska’s sea food. We got berries, we’ve got Alaskan-grown produce and those things need to be promoted.” (What? This is considered a healthcare proposal? Telling people to go outside?? Way to tax your creativity and thought process there Governor…)

Applaud: that theMore » Blackwater Worldwide guards that shot and killed 17 Baghdad civilians in 2007 are facing a mandatory 30-year prison sentence.

Heckle: to SCOTUS Justice Clarence “Silent” Thomas. After the petition to hear a case that challenges President-elect Obama’s right to be president based on his citizenship at birth was denied by Justice David Souter, Thomas picked up the petition to hear the lawsuit and referred it to the full court, who then decided to distribute the case for the judges’ conference… (again, trying to beat Mr. Obama in the courtroom because you couldn’t beat him a the ballot box only shows your desperation, your wretchedness, and your abject stupidity. This has been disproven how many times? And for it to reach SCOTUS is sad and pathetic. But not AS sad and pathetic as Justice Thomas’ attempt to act as the petitioner’s muscle. Question; if SCOTUS does hear the case and finds against the petitioner, will that end this charade of justice? I doubt it…)

Applaud: to Virginia businessman Earl Stafford for paying $1 million to provide hundreds of poverty-stricken, terminally ill, wounded men and women in uniform, an inauguration party complete with food, drinks, formal wear and a heated viewing stand from whence to watch the parade… I would write more, but I have something in my eye…

Heckle: to news that should not only send a shiver up everyone’s spine but should also give everyone nightmares, it seems as though we haven’t seen the last of a political Bush. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Politico that he is “considering” a run for the Senate being given up by Mel Martinez in 2010. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Applaud: to the silencing of a conservative hero. Fifty four years ago this week (December 2nd, 1954 to be exact), the US Senate voted 67-22 to condemn Sen. Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” PWNED… big time!

Heckle: to the administration’s disdain for unions. Lame duck President Bush signed an executive order this week that prohibits approximately 8,600 federal employees from joining a union because “they are engaged in intelligence gathering, investigations and other national security work.” Seriously? That’s your reasoning for not allowing them to join a union? Talk about another abuse of the office of the president in the waning days of a sad and pathetic administration.

Applaud: to ANOTHER anniversary worthy of hearty applauds. Fifty-three years ago this week (December 1, 1955), black seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Her arrest and the ensuing bus system boycott became a rallying point for the civil rights movement… God bless you Ms. Parks.

Heckle: to the news that a new report from the Energy Information Administration bears; that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 were 1.4 percent above the 2006 total….

Applaud: that House leader Nancy Pelosi is actually doing something and hopes to have an economic recovery bill all ready for President-elect Obama's signature on January 20th… let’s hope she actually does what she says.

Heckle: to Texas judge Manuel Banales for dismissing indictments brought against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Color me NOT surprised…

Applaud: Applaud: to republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert for having the audacity to suggest a two month tax moratorium that would allow American workers to keep all of their wages… (While I highly doubt the validity of such a concept, having someone in DC actually address the problem with some kind of a solution, regardless of how impossible it might be, is refreshing… thanks Mr. Gohmert)

Heckle: to even more bad economic news. The new annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education reports that the rising cost of college will “threaten to put higher education out of reach for most Americans” as tuition and fees increased “439% from 1982 to 2007.” (Nice hole this administration has put us in, isn’t it?)

Applaud: that D.C. bars may be open 24/7 for the inauguration… I’d say more, but I’m already seeing two keyboards right now… damn absinthe.

Heckle: to THE most pathetic EPA EVER. Earlier this week the White House approved a regulation that will make it easier for coal companies to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys,” which EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson says would “protect fish, wildlife and streams.” More »(Explain to me, to everyone actually, how tossing rock and dirt into streams help fish, wildlife and streams? Anyone? Hellooooo??)

And now, our conservative Tool of the Week. This week we pay homage to conservative putz Robert Novak.

During a recent interview with the National Ledger, Novak was asked if he would reveal Valerie Plame Wilson’s secret CIA identity again, and he said; I’d go full speed ahead because of the hateful and beastly way in which my left-wing critics in the press and Congress tried to make a political affair out of it and tried to ruin me. My response now is this: The hell with you. They didn’t ruin me. I have my faith, my family, and a good life. A lot of people love me — or like me. So they failed. I would do the same thing over again because I don’t think I hurt Valerie Plame whatsoever.” Wow… he would leak it again because Liberals tried to “ruin” him – nothing like being petty – and the leaking didn’t “hurt” her “whatsoever.” First, yes it DID hurt her as, after her identity was leaked, she no longer had a career as a covert CIA agent. Second, leaking a cover operatives identity could very well put her family in peril. Third, the leaking had national security implications Plame’s CIA job was to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and when her name was leaked and she left the post, CIA officers found it hard to recruit sources for fear of having their identities leaked…

We all know Novak leaked the identity of Valerie Plame as some mis-guided attempt to get back at her husband, Joe Wilson… but the fact he shows absolutely no regret or deference to the leak, shows he truly IS a putz who puts himself and the republican party ahead of other people’s lives and national security. And because of that Novak is our conservative tool… of the week.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-05T09:52:00.000-06:00

TGIFF…

The US economy has lost 533,000 jobs in November, the most since December 1974…
A majority of Americans, 55%, favor President-elect Obama’s troop plan for Iraq that would see a movement of US troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. (This is one area that if PE Obama falters, people will remember for a LONG time. I’ve said in the past that I agree that we can not withdraw our forces all at once and plunge the region into more chaos, but a 16-month plan like Obama favors, and moving some to Afghanistan is a big step in the right direction, and a majority of people agree with me. Stay tuned.)
The incoming Obama Administration is considering a change in our current interrogation and detention policies.
PE Obama’s presidential campaign raised a staggering, and historic, amount of cash in the LONG presidential campaign, closing in on $750 million, more than Bush and Kerry raised combined in 2004 and more than double what Sen. McCain raised in his presidential campaign.
As more and more information comes out about Rep. Charlie Rangel’s questionable practices, the latest being that between 2004 and 2007 he steered $79,560 in campaign cash to an Internet company run by his son, it’s becoming increasingly clear that he needs to, at the least, step down from his chairmanship. Ms. Pelosi, we’re waiting for you to lead on this, don’t let me us down… again.
Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer is an online columnist now… and no, it’s not about romance or sex. Ewwwwww…
The Minnesota Senate race continues …
A conservative advocacy group, Judicial Watch, says Sen. Hillary Clinton can’t be nominated for Secretary of State because Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution reads; “No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time.” Translated that means a lawmaker cannot fill a position if the salary for that position has been raised during that lawmaker's term in office. The group therefore says she can’t be nominated, despite the fact that legal scholars say otherwise. (J*d*c*a* W*t*h is obviously trying to do in a courtroom what it couldn’t do at the ballot box – thank you Mr. Sorkin – and beat PE Obama. Constitutional Law Scholars call bullshit, and since I’m much more likely to listen to the experts rather than sore-losing conservatives, I can sum this action up in one word; Fail.)
And have we mentioned? That the RNC apparently spent more than $150K on new clothes for she-who-must-not-be-named? The RNC released a report – yes, the RNC released the report – that shows they spent a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the former Veep candidate and her family, including expenses at outlets like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret (Bill Kristol and Bill O’Reilly just passed out after that image). While I don’t care that it was more than 150K, I do find it interesting that the RNC released the report throwing her under the bus again. The republican party will not regain prominence if the in-fighting doesn’t stop… though it does make for some fascinating theater, doesn’t it?

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-04T09:42:00.001-06:00

There are 47 days left until Inauguration Day.

Microsoft Founder Bill Gates hopes that President-elect Obama gets together with Congress after he’s sworn in to create a wide-ranging stimulus package aimed to jump-start the recession-laden US economy. Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Gates said eh would also like to see the government increase investments in the US education system while push technological advances that would improve agriculture, prevent disease, and promote economic growth throughout the world…
While a majority of the US approves of President-elect Obama’s cabinet choices thus far (75% approve of the picks), there’s still quite a backlash going on among some people that he’s not doing enough for the country yet… despite the fact he’s, you know, NOT yet the president. Expect a post about that later today…
The UAW announced yesterday that they would make major concessions in its contracts with the big three auto companies to help them lobby Congress for federal aid. Saying that UAW members are “willing to sacrifice job security provisions and financing for retiree health care” to keep the three out of bankruptcy… stay tuned.
Obama’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, is already making a push for changes as he wants to oust FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair out of office, saying that Bair “isn’t a team player” and instead focuses on “protecting her agency rather than the financial system as a whole.”
Yesterday in Oslo, Norway, more than 100 countries, including Afghanistan, started to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a treaty aimed at eliminating cluster bombs. The US has refused to sign the treaty saying it relies on them for it’s “defense strategy”, but when pressed by White House Reporting Icon Helen Thomas to explain the Bush(whacked) Administration’s opposition, Press Secretary Dana Perino said she “forgot” all the reasons they oppose it. Way to stay informed there Dana, keep up the good work…
A release from the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 were 1.4% above the 2006 total….
And have we mentioned? That the Gov. who-must-not-be-named radio interview fiasco has had an adverse effect on a Florida Congresswoman? Florida republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was SO convinced that a purported phone call from President-elect Obama was a radio hoax, she hung up on him… she then hung up on COS Rahm Emmanuel before being convinced by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman that it actually WAS Obama on the phone. PE Obama did call back, fairly amused, and the two finally did speak… countdown to a skit like this appearing on SNL in five, four, three…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-03T10:20:00.000-06:00

Hump day… there are 48 days left in the Bush presidency.

Here’s something that will send a shiver down your spine; Jeb Bush is considering getting back into politics and is considering a senate run… (Please God; make it stop. No more Bush family politicians, please!)
Former President Bill Clinton says he will stay out of Hillary’s way, but at the same time says he would consider a role in the Obama Administration… (Don’t call us Mr. Clinton, we’ll call you…)
On the heels of republican Florida Senator Mel Martinez announcing he won’t run for re-election in 2010, CNN pundit Bill Schneider opines that this is a harbinger of things to come while also declaring that his decision signifies problems for the gop. (well duhhhh. Martinez has not always seen eye to eye with his fellow republicans, specifically on the issue of immigration. While the Party tried to lure immigrants into their arms, the members of the party were doing and saying things that pushed them away; save for Martinez. All of this points to a breakdown in the core issues of the republican party, which in turn causes a breakdown among it’s members)
President-elect Obama will nominate New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (my first choice for Secretary of State) as Commerce Secretary.
Georgia Senator and all-around conservative tool Saxby Chambliss has won re-election...
Current Defense Secretary Robert Gates has reluctantly agreed to stay on for a year as PE Obama’s Secretary, but has been “impressed” with some of the things Obama has said about Iraq. (while I don’t love Gates, carrying over a Defense Secretary during this perilous time is not a bad idea. While some worry that Gates will not pay heed to the wills of the administration, I think Gates is a professional that WILL do what he’s told, even if he doesn’t agree with it)
The Big Three automakers are getting ready to plead their case in DC again…
A dozen retired generals and admirals will meet with President-elect Obama’s transition team today to “plead for a clean, unequivocal break with the Bush administration’s interrogation, detention and rendition policies.”
And have we mentioned? That Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania has seemingly put his foot into his mouth? Apparently forgetting about this magical invention called “microphones” and the erstwhile politician plaguing ‘open mic’ problem, Rendell was speaking at the National Governors Conference yesterday and said that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano was “perfect” for the head of Homeland Security because “…for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it.” (Oops. Here’s personal message to politicians; never, ever, speak “off the record” near a microphone… you never know when it might be hot and broadcasting)

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-02T09:24:00.000-06:00

You may have noticed that, since Election Day, TBWA has been rather absent lately… call it euphoria, call it a ‘coming down’, call it what you will, Scott and I have been, for lack of a better word, drained of writing about politics… but we assure you will be back doling out the snark soon… in the mean time we ask that you bear with us… thank you.

Wow, I think most people forgot about Vice-president Elect Joe Biden…
A few people might be asking why Sen. Hillary Clinton agreed to be Secretary of State in an Obama Administration, like everyone else, it boils down to her wanting to be a part of the “greatest adventure of our century.” I am still pondering what her nomination means, but at first blush I think it will be a success… stay tuned.
Speaking of Sen. Clinton, former President Bill Clinton is NOT interested in taking over Hillary’s seat… take that as you will.
A blue-ribbon panel (the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism) that Congress assembled to gauge the likelihood of a biologic or nuclear attack concluded that terrorists are likely to use a weapon of mass destruction (more likely biological than nuclear) somewhere in the world in the next five years…
The Senate runoff election in Georgia between Democrat Jim Martin and republican Saxby Chambliss is today... hopefully it will be another pick-up for the Democrats.
Former President Jimmy Carter has an Op-ed on CNN.com that states the US should lead the world on human rights. (This is one of MANY areas that President-elect Obama needs to smooth over. In the current administration, the US has been the leader in destroying human rights, and rectifying that will take a lot of work…)
The national governors' meeting is taking place in Philadelphia, PA today, and President-elect Obama is expected to be in attendance to talk about how the economic crisis is affecting the governor’s respective states, who are already asking him for federal money to help them get their states back on track… (They all know that he hasn’t taken office yet, right?)
And have we mentioned? That the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is now open? The structure, a $621 million underground center where Capitol tours will start and end, features exhibits, orientation theaters and a restaurant. (Having taken that tour before, this is a good thing. The wait for tours before was not only dull but heavily affected by the weather, and making the center underground, thus un-obtrusive to the Capitol area, is a good thing. Road trip!)

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-12-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

Monday already? December already??

TBWA extends our thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the Mumbai terrorist attacks…
President -elect Obama is set to announce his security team today …
Today is the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day, and to mark that, governments across the world are making the pledge to “step up the fight against HIV” while also combating the stigma that goes along with the disease. While PE Obama will deliver taped remarks to the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health, “President” Bush will be receiving the first ever “International Medal of PEACE” in recognition of his contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS…
Erstwhile conservative tool Karl Rove is spewing inanity again… this time writing an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal last week that essentially said our nation doesn’t need a change in our health care system… apparently ignoring (as Rove and other conservatives wonks are prone to do) the facts such as 7.2 million more uninsured people since 2000 and the doubling of health care premiums. Rove’s time has come and gone… his staggeringly bad predictions in 2006 and this year show his knowledge of politics isn’t adapting to the changing attitudes of the nation. Word of advice Karl; STFU.
Gov. Palin just won’t go away…
First Lady Laura Bush is talking about post-White House plans and—aw who cares…
And have we mentioned? That the 110th Congress had the lowest success rate since 1976? This shouldn’t be a surprise that only about 3.3% of all the bills introduced this year were passed and that 32% of those did nothing more than rename a federal building… (and that’s what happens when cowardly Democrats are taking hostage by a republican presidential administration. Let’s hope having a Dem in the White House will increase the size of the Dem’s balls so things can actually get done this year…)

Blogger bites it

2008-11-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

The Weekly Rewind: Abbreviated Thanksgiving Edition was published Saturday morning... but somewhere between 'post' and 'view', it dissapeared into the cosmos that is the internet.

Happy Thanksgiving from TBWA

2008-11-27T12:40:00.002-06:00

And to mark the occasion, here's President-elect Obama's Thanksgiving Day Address:

Good morning.

Nearly 150 years ago, in one of the darkest years of our nation’s history, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. America was split by Civil War. But Lincoln said in his first Thanksgiving decree that difficult times made it even more appropriate for our blessings to be – and I quote – "gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people."

This week, the American people came together with families and friends to carry on this distinctly American tradition. We gave thanks for loved ones and for our lasting pride in our communities and our country. We took comfort in good memories while looking forward to the promise of change.

But this Thanksgiving also takes place at a time of great trial for our people.

Across the country, there were empty seats at the table, as brave Americans continue to serve in harm’s way from the mountains of Afghanistan to the deserts of Iraq. We honor and give thanks for their sacrifice, and stand by the families who endure their absence with such dignity and resolve.

At home, we face an economic crisis of historic proportions. More and more Americans are worried about losing a job or making their mortgage payment. Workers are wondering if next month’s paycheck will pay next month’s bills. Retirees are watching their savings disappear, and students are struggling with the cost of tuition.

It’s going to take bold and immediate action to confront this crisis. That’s why I’m committed to forging a new beginning from the moment I take office as President of the United States. Earlier this week, I announced my economic team. This talented and dedicated group is already hard at work crafting an Economic Recovery Plan that will create or save 2.5 million new jobs, while making the investments we need to fuel long-term economic growth and stability.

But this Thanksgiving, we are reminded that the renewal of our economy won’t come from policies and plans alone – it will take the hard work, innovation, service, and strength of the American people.

I have seen this strength firsthand over many months – in workers who are ready to power new industries, and farmers and scientists who can tap new sources of energy; in teachers who stay late after school, and parents who put in that extra hour reading to their kids; in young Americans enlisting in a time of war, seniors who volunteer their time, and service programs that bring hope to the hopeless.

It is a testament to our national character that so many Americans took time out this Thanksgiving to help feed the hungry and care for the needy. On Wednesday, I visited a food bank at Saint Columbanus Parish in Chicago. There – as in so many communities across America – folks pitched in time and resources to give a lift to their neighbors in need. It is this spirit that binds us together as one American family – the belief that we rise and fall as one people; that we want that American Dream not just for ourselves, but for each other.

That’s the spirit we must summon as we make a new beginning for our nation. Times are tough. There are difficult months ahead. But we can renew our nation the same way that we have in the many years since Lincoln’s first Thanksgiving: by coming together to overcome adversity; by reaching for – and working for – new horizons of opportunity for all Americans.

So this weekend – with one heart, and one voice, the American people can give thanks that a new and brighter day is yet to come.

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-26T09:49:00.000-06:00

There will be no postings tomorrow in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. From us at TBWA; have a safe, happy, filling and tasty Thanksgiving.

Former Fed Chairman (1979 – 1987) Paul Volcker will head a new economic recovery board under President-elect Obama that will advise his administration on how to revive the ailing economy… Volcker was my initial choice for Commerce Secretary, but wit this, Obama has found a way to keep his strong economic mind around. Good call…
Washington Post: “First off, the likely plan is to break off the agency from the Department of Homeland Security, a move that by itself would help restore the pride that folks at FEMA felt when it was an independent agency.” (Brilliant! FEMA should have never been brought into DHS in the first place as their goals and missions are vastly disparate… but the Bush(whacked) Administration decided to merge them in some attempt to… to… I have no idea what their reasoning was, but it turned out to be disastrous, and I’m glad President-elect Obama is making the change… but that’s not all:) “Second, there's increasing talk that former director James Lee Witt, who took over the then-troubled agency at the start of the Clinton administration and left it eight years later with a much-enhanced reputation, is coming back from retirement to run FEMA for six months to a year, to whip it into shape.” (Good news indeed… the department needs to have a massive shake-up and this should do the trick nicely)
Not surprisingly, the Obama transition team is the fastest-moving cabinet pickers ever…
Rep. Charles Rangel continues his republican impression… and is angry that people are calling him on it. (The Democratic leadership needs to oust Rangel from any committees he’s on or chairs, NOW. Voter’s anger towards republicans was partially fueled by their lack of ethics, and if we go down the same route – we’re screwed)
Sen. Lieberman’s “Taking Foot Out of Mouth Tour” continues… saying yesterday that PE Obama’s cabinet picks have been “just about perfect” before adding; “Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration.” (We know Joe has no shame, but if you can’t see through this, you’re just not trying hard enough…)
And have we mentioned? That right-wing tool Ann Coulter broke her jaw recently and has had her mouth wired shut? Really, what else needs to be said…

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-25T09:03:00.000-06:00

Today marks 8 weeks until President-elect Obama takes office, unfortunately that also means we still have 8 weeks left of the Bush presidency. Gotta take the good with the bad right now…

The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve announced this morning that they have designs of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy… (about friggin’ time…). BTW, the Commerce Department reported this morning that the U.S. economy shrank half a percent in the third quarter. Experts say the shrinkage was “faster than previously estimated” and attribute it to consumer spending plunging to its lowest level in almost three decades…
Since “President” Bush seemingly isn’t doing a damn thing for the economy, it’s up to President-elect Obama to start righting the ship. CNN .com’s Gloria Borger wrote yesterday that Obama has taken charge of turning around the economy by nominating Tim Geithner to head Treasury and Larry Summers to direct the National Economic Council. (Yesterday I lamented how people were criticizing Obama for not doing enough for the struggling economy, despite him not being the president yet. Turns out that maybe he is the president already considering that our current CIC isn’t doing a God-damn thing about anything… like a Senior during finals week, Bush has checked out and is biding his time until he’s done… too bad SCOTUS can’t speed up Inauguration Day…)
PE Obama’s national security team is also starting to take shape…
Ari Fleischer’s group, F*e*d*m’s W*t*h, is as dead as a kipper on a cracker…
A replacement for Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s senate seat has been named, and it’s his former chief of staff, Ted Kaufman. Seemingly Kaufman will keep the seat warm for the last two years of the term before moving aside for Biden’s son, Beau – Delaware’s current Attorney General who is now serving in Iraq as a Captain in the National Guard – to make a run. Still nothing on a replacement for PE Obama’s senate seat…
And have we mentioned? That “President” Bush has kept the, IMO archaic & monarchistic, presidential perk of pardoning alive ? Like Clinton, Bush 1, Reagan and all others before them, Bush has started pardoning 14 people while commuting two. I won’t criticize Bush’s use of this perk because all other presidents have used it. I will say that for a government founded on the basis of checks and balances, allowing the president to do this is in direct opposition to why this country was founded…

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-24T09:24:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend…

Sen. Lieberman refused to apologize for campaigning against and harshly criticizing Barack Obama. Appearing on “Meet the Press” yesterday, the… the…God I don’t even know what to call the man anymore; ah screw it; Lieberman did say he “regrets” “some of the things” he said… uh-huh. Thanks for that Joe… you schmuck.
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia skipped the Senate vote on the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 this weekend (the bill would have extended unemployment benefits 13 weeks in states with an unemployment rate of at least 6%) so he could give a speech on… wait for it… Georgia’s unemployment. Can we say ‘irony’?
“President” Bush attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru…
Thomas Friedman wrote this in Sunday’s NY Times; “If I had my druthers right now we would convene a special session of Congress, amend the Constitution and move up the inauguration from Jan. 20 to Thanksgiving Day. Forget the inaugural balls; we can’t afford them. Forget the grandstands; we don’t need them. Just get me a Supreme Court justice and a Bible, and let’s swear in Barack Obama right now — by choice — with the same haste we did — by necessity — with L.B.J. in the back of Air Force One.” SECONDED!!!

Monday already? At least it’s a short week…

Citigroup is getting bailed out…
President -elect Obama’s economic team is starting to take shape, and it looks impressive.
It’s amazing that PE Obama has not even taken office yet and he’s getting criticized. First it’s a column on CNN.com that says Obama needs to lead on the current economic crisis. No, he really doesn’t. He’s not president yet, George Bush is, and HE is the one who should be acting to help the economy… and any criticism of Obama is ridiculous and everyone knows that if Obama was trying to lead during this crisis before being sworn in, people would be railing against that. The one and only person who should be leading now to help the economy is the President… not the President-elect. Give it a rest people…
And have we mentioned? That a new system of monitors that was designed to track lead emissions from factories has been “scaled back” after (surprise, surprise) the White House intervened “at the last minute”? The scaling back will further weaken last month’s EPA ruling that limits toxic metal particles in the air. Ya see, the White House (who it should be known HATES the environment) altered the EPA’s plan that would have required lead monitors next to any factory that emitted at least half a ton of lead a year, therefore raising the threshold to a ton of lead or more… so take a deep breath and feel the burn.

The Weekly Rewind

2008-11-22T09:08:00.001-06:00

It’s the weekend, and what does that mean? .... White Sox baseball? Nascar? Nope their seasons are over … Bear’s football? ... oh yeah ! Go Bears! Okay it also means that it is time for the weekly rewind….so here we go.

Heckle: to a smackdown. Earlier this week, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sarah Palin won’t be the next leader of the Republican party. “I think that she is going to be a significant player,” said Gingrich during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto leader.” So she will be a little fish in a big pond…..Snap!

Heckle: to another environmental slap from the lame duck administration. On Election Day, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a Dec. 19 auction of more than 50,000 acres of oil and gas parcels alongside or within view of three national parks in Utah. Environmentalists are calling the move a Bush administration “fire sale” for the oil and gas industry, while the National Park Service’s top official in the state said it was “shocking and disturbing.” Don’t forget sneaky, diversionary.....basically par for the course with this President.

Heckle: to something that we were thinking, oh, 6 months ago. According to a new National Association of Business Economists’ poll of 50 professional forecasters, the “U.S. economy is in recession and will contract at a faster pace in the fourth quarter, extending the decline into early 2009 as high unemployment crimps consumer spending.” Preliminary government estimates showed GDP contracted 0.3 percent in the third quarter. Besides being a run-on sentence, the forecasters must have been sleeping the fist ¾ of the year.

Heckle: to a prime example of what’s wrong. The stock market suffered a terrible couple of days this week, dropping below 8,000 points for the first time since 2003. New-home starts in October were the lowest since at least 1959, and the consumer price index plummeted by the most since that series of monthly data was started in 1947, as the economy slowed so abruptly that companies had to slash prices to sell products. Who are we going to be asked to bail out next? Come to think of it I could use some cash!

Applaud: to making sense. Earlier this week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) challenged “the idea that the expanded Democratic majority and its leaders will make a hard left turn,” the Hill reports. According to the prepared remarks for a speech at the National Press Club, Hoyer argued, “For the first time in decades, we are a true national majority party–and if we want to stay that way, we must govern like one.” Finally a Representative who is seeing the big picture. We applaud this perspective.

Heckle: to more of the same. In a report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction it states that “The Pentagon spent about $600 million on more than 1,200 Iraq reconstruction contracts that were eventually canceled,” adding that “42% of canceled contracts were terminated because the contractor either failed to deliver or performed poorly.” This has been par for the course for this administration. How badly could the U.S. economy have used that money? (Here’s a clue, we could still use it..)

Heckle: to No Shit Sherlock. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen said in an interview this week that “stress on U.S. troops from repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan is ‘extraordinary’ and may be worsening even as fighting eases in Iraq.” Mullen expressed hope that “the strain will be relieved gradually as the Marine Corps and Army expand the pool of available forces.” Somehow I doubt it. I know what will reduce / relieve the strain on our troops….getting out of Iraq!

And this week there have been many rumors and leaks as to Cabinet level appointees in the upcoming Obama administration. As Kemp stated, we will address these when the appointee themselves decides to speak out. I would even extend that to when President-Elect Obama or his official spokesperson(s) speak to a nomination.

And finally our tool of the week: In a press release earlier this week, multiple time Presidential candidate and all around tool, Alan Keyes kicked his ‘tool’ rating up a few notches by being party to a lawsuit filed in the State of California which seeks to block the state from giving it’s electoral votes to President-Elect Obama. The suit was filed to force Obama to provide documentary evidence that he is in fact a natural born citizen of the United States. Okay, back in October the Health Department in the State of Hawaii declared that a Certificate of Live Birth was genuine. Keep in mind this is the same certificate that you or I would get from the state we were born in that verifies birth information. Come on Alan get over it, you lost, you had no chance of winning. And for this Alan Keyes is our Tool of the Week!

Okay so this may not be up to my usual standard of snarkiness. Rest assured I have never left you, instead I have been behind the scenes (with a lot of stuff going on). Honestly though, I share plenty of snark when giving Kemp my thoughts and input on many of the posts that you read on a daily basis. Yes thats right some of the snark you read has a little of me sprinkled in it.

So sit back and relax, I am ramping up for what promises to be some very stupid last days of the Bush Administration...or should I say, The "Bush"-Whacked Adminstration. Stay tuned, this last 58 days may get even more stupid.

Be good, stay informed…..later.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-21T09:57:00.000-06:00

TGIFF…

TBWA’s thoughts and prayers are with Attorney General Mike Mukasey. He suffered a fainting spell (and not a stroke as earlier reports had stated) while speaking last night and was rushed to the hospital.
“President” Bush finally relented yesterday and signed a bill that will extend jobless benefits by at least seven weeks, something he didn’t do in September when he vetoed a similar bill… apparently a rapidly-declining economy and rapidly-declining approval numbers do wonders for some people…
Just when you think the “Obama is a Muslim” rumor has died down, it flares up again… give it a rest people…
According to aides to President-elect Obama, Sen. Clinton is “on track” for the Secretary of State job. (I will not believe any of the names for any of the Cabinet posts until I hear it directly from the leaked appointee…)
Soon-to-be COS Rahm Emanuel met with republican leaders up on the Hill yesterday, extending an olive branch while pushing for bi-partisanship… like above; I’ll believe it when I see it…
The Minnesota recount continues…
The Bush(whacked) Administration continues to throw around “fuck you’s” to the American people, this time making changes to the Endangered Species Act that would ensure agencies will not have to take global warming into account when assessing risks to plants and animals. National Wildlife Federation’s John Kostyak says the rule would “block federal officials from considering a carbon cap” to preserve polar bear’s habitat… (With each passing day, this administration does something that will take the Obama administration years to correct… and goes to further prove that Bush is a tool)
And have we mentioned? That we’ve found a perfect metaphor for the political life of Gov. Sarah Palin? Palin took part in a long-standing political tradition of pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey yesterday at a turkey farm in Wasilla. After pardoning the turkey she, and this should be a surprise to ANYONE, decided to hold a presser… and while she was talking, over her left should a few feet behind her, one of the men working on the farm proceeded to well… as ThinkProgress said “Feed a turkey into a bucket.” In other words, the man was slaughtering the turkey… now while I, personally, have no problem with meat, the scene of the man killing the turkey while a clueless politician speaks is sad and pathetic, but at the same time, think about it... a turkey being slaughtered… how is that NOT a perfect metaphor for Palin’s political life???

Sad & pathetic

2008-11-18T11:25:00.000-06:00

The vote on what to do with traitor Joe Lieberman is done, and he was sparred everything.

So in other words, he WON’T get his chairmanships stripped away.

He WON’T lose his place in the Democratic caucus.

He WON”T be forced to apologize.

Nothing will happen… so let’s review; he endorses a republican for President.

He criticizes the Democratic candidate for president…

He blindly supports the Iraq War while opposing any and all attempts to create a timeline…

He endorsed a slew of republican congressional candidates and yet, his Democratic peers capitulated to him, voting 42-13, and won’t do a damn thing to him

Sad. And pathetic.

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-18T08:43:00.001-06:00

Lieberman must go, but I’m not holding my breath for THAT to happen…

Pundits say former President Bill Clinton could be the largest obstacle in Sen. Hillary Clinton nailing down Secretary of State in the Obama Administration as his post-White House business and financial dealings are causing some backroom mumblings. (If we were to look at every former president’s post-presidential dealings, I’m sure we’d find a lot of questionable stuff. His dealings should not interfere with her career – though I know they will. Stay tuned…)

Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke are on Capitol Hill today... where I suspect they will be raked over the coals about Bailout2008…

The Senate races in Alaska and Minnesota could be determined any day now…

President-elect Obama... nothing to really report right now, I just REALLY enjoy typing President-elect Obama... try it, you'll like it.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet today with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son to discuss deepening ties between Washington and Libya… wait, what?

Over 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for the “repeal of the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on gays so they can serve openly.”

File this under the ‘karma, baby!’ file. The Colorado Independent is reporting today that James D*b*o*’ Focus on the Family will likely be announcing major layoffs this week… did I mention that the layoffs follow the groups spending of more than $600,000 to defeat marriage equality in California? While I would never rejoice over anyone losing their job, you think they could have found better uses for their money than defeating a bill that, being based in Colorado, had little impact on them. I’m just sayin’…

And have we mentioned? That former Arkansas governor and republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is releasing a book? The book, “Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America,” is being released today and is chock-full of sharp criticism of his fellow republicans, especially those that marred his presidential bid. (oooo, juicy…)

And finally…

2008-11-17T20:10:00.000-06:00

In case you haven’t heard, it seems Senate Democrats WILL kowtow to Joe Lieberman tomorrow.

Via Roll Call;

When Senate Democrats meet Tuesday to decide Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (ID-Conn.) fate, leaders are expected to propose that he keep his gavel at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee but lose his Environment and Public Works subcommittee chairmanship.

Senate Democratic sources cautioned that the proposal is intended to serve as a starting point for the discussion over whether Lieberman should be punished for his aggressive criticism of President-elect Barack Obama’s candidacy, as well as his endorsement of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Those sources said the proposal could change based on what Lieberman says to the Conference and how Senators react to both his explanation for his actions and the proposal itself.

Either way, Senate Democrats are expected to vote on whether to sanction Lieberman for his disloyalty.

Lieberman chairs the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection subcommittee. Even if he were to lose the gavel, however, he is expected to retain his seniority on the full committee.

Lieberman also chairs the Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland. There had been speculation that he might also lose that chairmanship, but that option appears to be off the table for now.

Taking the subcommittee on global warming away from Lieberman may be seen as a stinging rebuke, given that he used the panel to push himself to the forefront of the climate change debate in the Senate earlier this year.

Starting point??? WTF?

As I said in last week’s ‘Rewind’, “(Lieberman) needs to be stripped of his chairmanship, pure and simple. If that prompts him to caucus with republicans, fine. Let him act like a spoiled brat, it will just push him down further in his home state of Connecticut. […]Strip him, give him something smaller and make him sit in the proverbial corner for 2 more years, allowing him to only be seen and heard when we need him to. Otherwise, let him leave and caucus with the gop, a party that has such serious identify issues now that he’ll be lost in the shuffle and be even more politically insignificant than he is now.” Perhaps a few more Democrats can grow a pair and treat this malcontent the way he treated his party… by screwing him with his pants on.

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-17T09:56:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend…

Former Democratic Senator Zell Miller is still a conservative tool…
The Iraqi cabinet voted “overwhelmingly” on Sunday to approve a security agreement that would require coalition forces to withdraw from Iraqi cities by summer 2009 and from the whole country by the end of 2011. Believe it when I see it…
Count Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) among those Senators – joining Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – to publicly condemn Joe Lieberman and urge his chairmanship be stripped. (As it should… Lieberman is not, and has not been for a very long time, a Democrat. Some senator’ capitulation to him is mind-boggling, and they should be worried about a voter backlash if they keep him in)
Thousands turned out in eight countries, 50 states, and 300 cities over the weekend to voice their support of marriage equality…
President-elect Barack Obama brought the weekly radio address into the 21st century Saturday as he recorded the “Democratic Radio Address” via audio AND video. Odds are high that his weekly radio addresses as president will also be recorded on video and placed on sites like YouTube…
South Korea President Lee Myung-bak said over the weekend that he would “welcome” and “support” a meeting between President-elect Obama and North Korea’s Kim Jong Il after taking office… the question is, can Jong last that long?

Monday already, son of a…

As the curtain starts to close on “President” Bush’s presidency (YAY!!), a record number of felons are seeking presidential pardons or commutations, which are causing one of the “largest backlogs” in applications for clemency in a LONG time... including junk-bond king Michael Milken, American-taliban John Walker Lindh, convicted former Congressman Duke Cunningham as well as Edwin Edwards, the former governor of Louisiana that was convicted of racketeering back in 2000. Surprisingly, Scooter Libby did NOT request a pardon, though odds are high that Bush will give it to him since he’s already commuted his sentence. Stay tuned…
The lines are getting more drawn as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said yesterday that Gov. Palin won’t be the next leader of the Republican party, saying; “I think that she is going to be a significant player. […] But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto leader.” (ooooo, a battle between Palin and Gingrich… should be juicy, stay tuned)
President -elect Obama is meeting today with Sen . McCain … supposedly NOT about a cabinet post.
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani isn’t ruling out another run at the White House… could this be another entry for 2012? And wouldn’t that be a fun battle between Rudy, Newt and Sarah? The mouth waters at the possibilities…
Arizona republican Sen. Jon Kyl said the gop would “welcome [Lieberman] with open arms.” (Fine, take him. Only a matter of time before he either turns on you and/or gets booted out of office by a state that no longer likes him…)
And have we mentioned? That some “experts” believe we could see an Obama baby boom? Per Newsweek; “In the hours and days since Obama’s victory, many of his exhilarated supporters have been, shall we say, in the mood for love. And though it’s too soon to know for sure, experts aren’t ruling out the possibility of an Obama baby boom — the kind of blip in the national birth rate that often follows a seismic event.” (Really… what else could be said after reading something like this, other than… giggity)

And finally…

2008-11-15T20:06:00.000-06:00

In case you haven’t heard, Ralph Nader is still a tool.

While Nader has done some commendable things in the past, for the last eights years he has been nothing more than a nuisance with an over-inflated ego.

While there is no question his affect on the 2000 presidential election when he garnered 2.7% (2,882,955) of the vote, his numbers have been falling steadily since then, grabbing a middling 0.38% in 2004 and a virtually nonexistent 0.05% this year.

It proves that Nader needs to hang up his political aspirations. Unfortunately, I doubt that’s going to happen as he continues to overplay his place in politics; “We believe history will treat the Nader/Gonzalez initiative kindly in part because its reading of the necessities of the American people was accurate as was its condemnation of the concentrated powers that have for so long denied them livelihoods of decency, security and voice.”

Yeah… that or you’ll fade into political insignificance like Joe Lieberman.

Hey, a guy can hope can’t he?

The Weekly Rewind

2008-11-15T07:49:00.000-06:00

You may notice something in this week’s ‘Rewind’… an abundance of ‘Applauds.’ Scott and I were discussing when this last happened and we realized; never. This has never happened. In the years we’ve been doing this blog we’ve never had a superfluity of applauds while seeing a lack of ‘Heckles.’

Until now.

I’m sure it’s pure coincidence that it comes on the heels of Sen. Obama’s election… uh-huh.

The Weekly Rewind starts… RIGHT NOW!

Mega-Applaud: to all Veterans… for risking your life or giving your life so our lives could be free. We salute you… we thank you… we honor you.

Applaud: to President-elect Barack Obama… cause we can never applaud it too much.

Heckle: to the whole Joe Lieberman fiasco. He needs to be stripped of his chairmanship, pure and simple. If that prompts him to caucus with republicans, fine. Let him act like a spoiled brat, it will just push him down further in his home state of Connecticut. A recent poll, across ALL party lines, shows that he is NOT liked in his home state and will be facing a HUGE re-election fight. Face it; he’s a traitor. He slammed Obama every chance he had… he ~~fellated~~ propped up McCain every chance he had. He gave a speech at the republican national convention for God’s sakes… why the HELL are Senate Democrats capitulating? Strip him, give him something smaller and make him sit in the proverbial corner for 2 more years, allowing him to only be seen and heard when we need him to. Otherwise, let him leave and caucus with the gop, a party that has such serious identify issues now that he’ll be lost in the shuffle and be even more politically insignificant than he is now. Applaud within this heckle to Senator Patrick Leahy for having the convictions (read: balls) to publicly denounce Lieberman while also saying that Lieberman SHOULD have his chairman ship rescinded, making him the first Democrat to publicly come out against him. Hopefully this will open the doors for others, stay tuned.

Applaud: to gop in-fighting. It appears that not ALL republican governors view Palin as the answer in 2012… those feelings weren’t helped earlier this week when, at the Republican Governors Associating meeting, a ‘Palin-centric’ press conference broke out… and was subsequently stopped dead in its tracks. A few of the governors in attendance called the presser “awkward” while another described is as “odd” and “weird” and that her taking center stage; “unfortunately sent a message that she was the de facto leader of the party.” (Oooooo, this could be fun to watch. Someone get the popcorn…)

Heckle: to more droning about the Iraq war from one of the ‘droniest’ Iraq-war apologists, Michael O’Hanlon. Speaking to Politico’s Arena earlier this week, O’Hanlon said that Obama needs a cabinet member who is skeptical of a timeline for withdrawal. (Just like Bush has cabinet members who were skeptical of an Iraq invasion, right Mr. O’Hanlon? Mr. O’Hanlon? Helloooo?? Are you there???)

Applaud: to positive hopes for the future. A new CNN/Opinion Research poll found that a healthy 59% think having Democrats control both the executive and legislative branches will be good for the country while an additional 62% have a “favorable opinion” of the Democratic party and a funny-because-it’s-them 54% have an “unfavorable view” of the republican party… hence the huge gains made on Election Day…let’s hope they continue.

Heckle: to depressing news about unemployment. The amount of people drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this month as the Labor Department reported jobless claims rose by an “unexpectedly steep” 32,000 last week to 516,000, which is the highest since the weeks following 9/11… (If Congress is serious about helping the economy with a lame-duck session, then extending jobless benefits and another stimulus package would be a VERY good idea…)

Applaud: to environmental victories, no matter how small. Brad Johnson of The Wonk Room reported this week that the EPA’s final decision-making board has ruled that a proposed coal-fired power plant in Utah will HAVE to have its carbon dioxide emissions regulated, thus overturning an earlier decision by the EPA that granted the permit without considering the effects on global warming. What makes the ruling art is that the EPA describes the administration’s arguments opposing CO2 regulation as “weak,” “questionable,” “not sustainable,” and “not sufficient.” (Much like Bush himself…)

Heckle: to grossly overstepping their bounds… even after leaving office. It’s believed by MANY in the know that “President” Bush will attempt to block inquiries into his administration after he leaves office, with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) saying; “The Bush administration overstepped in its exertion of executive privilege, and may very well try to continue to shield information from the American people after it leaves office.” (This, naturally, would not surprise me in the least. Bush will continue to claim executive privilege as a means to protect himself, and it will take an act of Congress and the threat of a censure to get him to even consider revealing anything about his eight disastrous years in office)

Applaud: that the ballot-counting in Minnesota and Alaska is starting to lean left… stay tuned as neither of these are close to resolution with the Democratic candidates staying afloat.

Heckle: to more worrisome economic news. Following the US economy’s trip down the toilet, the world’s developed economies have slid into recession and, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, will shrink further in 2009 while also predicting that the U.S. economy will “contract by 0.9%” (Just another example of why President-elect Obama has a tough road ahead of him. If the current administration had listened to economists years ago when they started seeing signs of an economic recession, perhaps this could have been avoided… we’ll never know)

Applaud: that President-elect Obama is planning to quickly reverse some of “President” Bush’s more idiotic moves, such as his misguided limiting of stem cell research. Said Obama transition leader John Podesta; “There’s a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for Congressional action. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set.” (Yes… yes we do. God speed Obama Administration, God speed)

Heckle: to dropping the ball… again. While the Bush(whacked) Administration has committed $290 billion of the $700 billion financial bailout package, nothing formal has been done to fill the independent oversight posts that Congress set in place to prevent corruption and government waste… the monitoring report required by lawmakers haven’t been completed either even though the initial deadline has passed… (Way to stay on stop of everything guys… all of you, White House, Senate, House, deserve blame for this… and it needs to be fixed sooner rather than later)

Applaud: to outgoing DNC Chairman Howard Dean. Dean, who will resign his post when his term ends in January, helped shaped the Democratic Party since becoming chairman years ago, and his 50-state strategy, criticized by some Democratic insiders, was a stroke of genius that not only reaped whirlwinds in 2006, but helped the Party make strong gains in this past election.

Heckle: to the continued presence of J*e the P*u*b*r’… 14:57… 14:58… 14:59… 14:59... 14:59… 14:59... 14:59, damn thing seems to be stuck on 14:59…come on damn-it, turn over to 15:00!!

Applaud: to not letting this administration get away with “losing” e-mails. US District Court Judge Henry Kennedy ruled this past week that CREW and the National Security Archive may continue to pursue their legal case against the Bush White House in order to recover millions of possibly ‘missing’ e-mails. While the administration had argued that the courts did not have the power to order them to retrieve any missing e-mails, the judge disagreed. (With the way this administration covers its tracks, this may very well be the only way to charge them with any wrongdoing… stay tuned, this could get interesting)

Applaud: to acting presidential without stepping on the toes of the current president. President-elect Obama’s transition office said this week that it will send two emissaries, former Republican Congressman Jim Leach and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, to meet unofficially with delegations at the upcoming G-20 summit. The duo will meet with and listen to the delegates on the behalf of PE Obama. It’s worth noting that PE Obama will not be in attendance to convey his belief that there is only one president at a time… for some reason, I wouldn’t see Mr. McCain being like that. Or Mr. Bush. (Why do I have a feeling their messages will be greeted more enthusiastically than those from the current administration’s emissaries?)

Applaud: to trying to change the way presidential transitions are done in Washington. Earlier this week PE Obama’s transition head John Podesta unveiled what is being called the “strictest” and “most far-reaching” ethics rules of a presidential transition, ever. While some people (primarily lobbyists that are being shut out) argue that this will leave some experts on the outside looking in, others are hailing the move. Said Podesta of leaving some experts in the cold; “And so be it.” (Nice… let’s hope things continue in this manner)

Applaud>? Heckle? Depends on your POV: to the first ever Mac-using President. (I say if he can ensure that those annoying Mac/PC commercials never air again, he’ll increase his approval ratings ten fold…who’s with me?)

Applaud: to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for going against conservative ideals and saying he might repeal Prop. 8. (Question: does anyone else find it ironic that the group behind getting gay marriage banned in CA in order to protect the ‘sanctity of marriage’ is the same one that at one time allowed men to be married to multiple wives… I’m just askin’)

Applaud: to further proof that not all republicans are ready to embrace Gov. Palin as the party’s leader or presidential candidate for 2012. Since arriving at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) convention this week Palin has been rubbing some people the wrong way with her constant need for attention. They showed their dismay with her by not electing her to any RGA leadership positions. PWNED!

Applaud: to the Secret Service code names for the first and second families: President-elect Obama is Renegade. Michelle Obama is Renaissance, Malia Obama is Radiance and Sasha Obama is Rosebud. Vice President-elect Joe Biden is Celtic and Jill Biden is Capri. (is it just me, or does the Obama family’s names sound like a bad B-movie? Something with Jean Claude Van-damme? Though I have to say ‘Renegade’ is ten times better than Dubya’s ‘Tumbler.’ Which either refers to his penchant for tumbling off of things, or his penchant for drinks served in tumblers. Either one, it’s NOT a catchy name…)

Applaud: to possible feelings of repentance from “President” Bush. In an interview with CNN this past week, Bush said that he regrets some of his statements about the war on terror over the last eight years. The president also opined about PE Obama’s victory, saying it’s “good for our country.” (While I remain somewhat skeptical, it does seem as though the man with no shame is actually experiencing shame… let’s see how long it lasts)
This week’s conservative tool of the week was another toughie…what with Michael Barone and his inane ‘abortion’ comment about Palin… or Dennis Miller’s inane ‘better sex life’ comment about Palin, we had a helluva time choosing one.

But in the end we had to give it to the man who continues to claim he’s a top political strategist, despite the fact he keeps getting everything wrong; Karl Rove.

Whether it’s his call that the republicans would kick ass in the 2006 mid-terms (they didn’t), or that McCain would surprise everyone on Election Day (he didn’t), or that republicans will stage a dramatic comeback in 2010 (they might, though I doubt it), he’s outdone himself this time.

In tomorrow’s Sunday New York Times Magazine, Rove is asked; “Do you see the election results as a repudiation of your politics?” Rove’s response; “Our new president-elect won one and a half points more than George W. Bush won in 2004, and he did so, in great respect, by adopting the methods of the Bush campaign and conducting a vast army of persuasion to identify and get out the vote.”

Sure he did… if by barely you mean doubling the win percentage and getting close to 100 more electoral votes than a sitting president during war time, then yeah, Obama barely did better than Bush.

But if you use your own brain, you would see that Bush won 51% of the vote in 2004 with 62 million votes total and 286 Electoral College votes. Obama won with 53% of the vote, more than seven percentage points ahead of McCain, with 66.6 million votes and 365 Electoral College votes.

I’m not a mathematical genius, but that seems like a HUGE gap. Besides, Bush WAS an incumbent president in war time, and if even one state changed to blue, he would have lost… which I consider to be a serious indictment of Bush AND Rove. And to spin Obama’s victory as anything but a significant electorate mandate is just typical republican obfuscation.

And because of that, Karl Rove is our conservative Tool… of the Week.

Take ‘em as you will.

And finally…

2008-11-14T20:01:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn’t heard, French President Sarkozy has managed to put some kind of positive spin on Bush’s foreign policy… as a deterrent for other foreign leaders.

Back on August 12th, Mr. Sarkozy told then Russian President Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. Naturally Mr. Putin was unconcerned by international reaction and said; “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls. […] The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

To which Mr. Sarkozy replied; “Yes but do you want to end up like Bush?”

After pondering that statement for a moment, Mr. Putin reportedly said; “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

Nice…And there ya go, one positive aspect of the Bush(whacked) Administration’s foreign policy: if you want a foreign leader to behave, ask them if they want to end up like “President” Bush.

That’ll get ‘em in line…

The Palin Factor

2008-11-14T16:05:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in today’s ‘Daily’, Gov. Palin just will NOT go away…

And that could be excellent news for us.

It’s becoming obvious that battle lines are being drawn within the republican party; those who see Palin as the answer for 2012 and those that see her as the antithesis for 2012, and each side is getting more and more vocal.

Now it seems the more intelligent GOP operatives and other future Presidential contenders see the true state of their party, their ideals and their organization and are rapidly seeing that an Obama presidency might virtually be assured of 2 terms and that anyone they run in 2012 is doomed to fail.

Herein enters Sarah Palin;

A strategist for a rival potential presidential rival e-mails to express amusement with Gov. Sarah Palin's come one, come all PR strategy: “Fine with us. Let her be the sacrificial lamb for 2012.” Which means: a lot of the folks who you'd think are angling to run in 2012 are certainly preparing to do so, but they're looking to and thinking about 2016....

So is this accurate? Are the republicans actually looking past 2012 to 2016?

Let’s think about the logic behind that… as the battle lines start to get a bit clearer within the republican party there starts a movement to have Palin increase her political profile over the next few years… but one would think, if they were truly serious about her as a contender, that someone would gently pull her aside right now, tell her to stop talking for a while, fade away for a few months and try to accomplish something concrete in hopes of polishing her resume.

But it’s not happening. Instead, people are allowing her to go out and speak her mind whenever she wants, and, in turn, has started to alienate many people, not only some in the inner workings of the RNC but also the American electorate, and in doing so is starting to lose her alleged reputation as a so-called maverick and is gaining a new reputation of being a self-serving tool with a large sense of entitlement.

Most of the time, after a campaign loss, a candidate will quietly slink off in order to power down, do some self-assessment and figure out what to do.

Palin hasn’t done that… and if she hopes to have any political future other than that of being a laughingstock or a punchline, then she should probably shut her mouth, go back to Alaska and actually, I don’t know, govern. If not… if she decided to stay in the spotlight, grabbing any spotlight or interview at the drop of a hat, her shtick will get old VERY quick.

Of course I have NO problem with that and hope she sticks around, making the odds for re-election in 2012 even greater.

Stay tuned.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-14T09:32:00.001-06:00

TGIFF...

The latest rumors about President-elect Obama’s cabinet have Sen . Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State… (Interesting possibility, and not entirely a bad idea either…)
Just in case you didn’t know, there are a LOT of expectations for an Obama Administration… well duhhhhhhhhh
Gov. Palin will not go away…
Neither will ACORN…
And speaking of people that won’t go away… J*e the P*u*b*r (14:57… 14:58… 14:59…) is now getting his share of the blame for the McCain campaign failure. Republican Governor, and potential McCain running mate, Tim Pawlenty criticizied the McCain campaign for their use of J*e the P*u*b*r, saying they used him as a “symbol” with no real substance behind it… much like Palin.
Dennis Miller continues to climb down the ladder of significance as he said on the 'O’R*i*l* Factor' this week that Liberal women hate Palin because “she has a great sex life.” (No… as I’ve said many, many times, it’s because she an inexperienced, know-nothing hack…)
And have we mentioned? That Sen. McCain will be meeting with President-elect Obama Monday in Chicago? A press release from the Obama transition office reads; “It’s well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality. They will be joined in the meeting by Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman Rahm Emanuel.” (With the graciousness that McCain conceded, it’s not a surprise that the two of them are meeting, despite the contentiousness seen on the campaign. If McCain is, as I suspect, reverting back to his former self, having his ear might be beneficial for PE Obama. Then again, it could backfire like choosing an inexperienced, not-ready-for-the-national-stage, egotist governor as running mate… I’m just sayin’…)

And finally…

2008-11-13T20:01:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn’t heard, President-elect Obama released a statement today announcing his resignation from the US Senate effective Sunday, November 16, 2008;

It has been one of the highest honors and privileges of my life to have served the people of Illinois in the United States Senate. In a state that represents the crossroads of a nation, I have met so many men and women who’ve taken different journeys, but hold common hopes for their children’s future. It is these Illinois families and their stories that will stay with me as I leave the United States Senate and begin the hard task of fulfilling the simple hopes and common dreams of all Americans as our nation’s next President.

· The Senate Office will remain open for a period of time, but no longer than 60 days after the President-elect's resignation from the Senate, in that time, the staff will be archiving the Senate documents for the Presidential library and contacting constituents to inform them as to how any open casework will need to be handled.

So you know the people of Illinois WILL continue to be served as casework will be handled so as to ensure constituents receive the assistance they need, but that hasn’t stopped some people making a fuss about doing him resigning so many days before the inauguration, arguing that he should be staying in the Senate so he can help with the auto industry bailout.
Meh.

The bailout will or will not happen regardless of Obama’s status as Senator… and in resigning now he has the ability to focus on the transition, and due to the myriad of factors facing the nation right now, a smooth transition is VERY important.

Now the onus falls onto Illinois Governor Rod “George Ryan II” Blagojevich to select a replacement for the vacated seat before the end of the year.

Stay tuned.

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-13T09:08:00.000-06:00

TBWA is disappointed we didn’t get the COS post for VP-elect Joe Biden.

CNN asks; “Can the GOP win back Latino Voters?” No… no they can not.
Gov . Palin is proud of President-elect Obama and prays for him, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Former republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul wrote an Op-ed for CNN and says the “GOP should ask why U.S. is on the wrong track.” (While, at times, Paul seems to be nuttier than a squirrel’s cheeks in October, there are times when he hits the nail on the head. This is one of those times. Paul is an astute DC observer, and correctly bemoans the fact the republican party SHOULD have addressed their future in 2000 when they gained control of the White House, Senate and House AND should be asking where the nation is heading and not just their party… but they didn’t, and they aren’t… and now it’s all coming back to bite them on the ass. I have no doubt the party will, unfortunately, gain back some of its luster, I think it will take a while to not only agree on a party strategy – there’s already in-fighting about what course to take – but to convince voters to trust them again to do what is best for the nation and NOT themselves. In the meantime, it should make for some interesting theater)
The media continues to talk about the things that will shape President -elect Obama’s administration and presidential strategy… just kidding, they continue to report about what kind of dog the First Family should get… I weep for the traditional media.
Darfur activist John Prendergast and his organization ENOUGH are urging President-elect Obama to pay early attention to the crisis in Darfur…
Just when you thought ACORN was out of the news-cycle, it makes a comeback after the Catholic Church cut funding for the organization due to “registration fraud complaints” and the fact the founder’s brother embezzled nearly $1 million dollars from the organization. (This story is not going to go away and when it’s all said and done, someone will be in jail I think…)
The Democratic Party’s fellating of Joe Lieberman continues…
After helping financial institutions afford luxury vacations for their executives, the Federal Government is now thinking about helping out the automotive industry …
And have we mentioned? That Vice President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to meet the dark prince today? Biden is slated to meet current VP Dick “President Darth” Cheney today at the Vice Presidential residence on the Naval Observatory grounds. Oh to be a fly on the wall for this meeting… remember, Biden once rightfully called Cheney “the most dangerous vice president we've had probably” in the history of the United States. While the Observatory would be Biden’s first home in DC, he’s commuted from Delaware throughout the course of his Senate career, I do have some advice to the VP-elect; first fumigate the place as you have no idea where Cheney’s been. Second, check the entire premises for recording and/or listening devices. Third, tear the place apart so you can find where Cheney hid the Bill of Rights…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-12T09:28:00.000-06:00

TBWA is available for DNC Chairman… as well as baptisms, bar mitzvahs, and weddings.

Note to party Democrats : Joe Lieberman has not been a Democrat or a Progressive in months and needs to be shut out of his chairmanship AND the Democratic caucus, if for no other reason than to send a message that Dems won’t be bullied or pushed around. If we allow him to stay as Chairman, he wins… and he will lord it over the party every chance he gets… he was thisclose to being the republican party’s VP candidate for God’s sakes! What more do you need???
It seems that “President” Bush is acting a tad repentant lately. In an interview with CNN, Bush says that he regrets some of his statements about the war on terror over the last eight years and now wishes (read: rues) that he wouldn’t have spoken in front of the “Mission Accomplished” banner. He also said that President-elect Obama’s election victory is “good for our country.” (Um… okay? Is it possible that the man with no shame is actually experiencing shame? Who would have thunk it?)
CNN Headline that sends shivers down my spine; “President Palin…” (AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!)
Sen. McCain surfaced yesterday, appearing on ‘The Tonight Show’ and trying to sell the idea he doesn’t regret selecting Palin as his running mate... of course you don’t John, and I don’t regret taking Ballroom Dance in college either; it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form.
President-elect Obama (I never tire of writing that), has suggested he might rollback a plethora of Bush’s signing-statement policies that would lift restrictions on stem-cell research, abortion and drilling… (God speed Mr. Obama, God speed)
CNN’s Campbell Brown makes an absolutely excellent point in her latest eColumn, saying that US Veterans who are disabled should not have to fight for benefits. (The fact that this matter even has to be addressed is shameful. Without them, we would not possess the freedom we all enjoy and we should make it easy for them to receive benefits…)
Due to a variety of economic factors, the possibility of a lame-duck session of Congress is increasing. Stay tuned…
In case you didn’t know, the gop is facing new challenges now, and it’s unlikely who will lead the party and what the party’s ideology will be. Will it revert to the things that the party was founded on, which helped lead to their decisive losses last week? Or will it forge new paths and estrange themselves from their base? Stay tuned… should be fun to watch.
And have we mentioned? That U.S. News and World Report’s Michael Barone is a fucking moron? Speaking to a group of Academics yesterday in Chicago, he made the insulting, stupid and outrageous claim that the “liberal media attacked” Gov. Palin during the presidential campaign because “she did not abort her Down syndrome baby.” While he later backtracked and claimed he was joking, he’s still getting raked over the coals… as he should. Note to Barone; Liberals attacked Palin because she’s an idiot who had no business being on a national ticket… and to claim that she was criticized because of her baby is a new low for a conservative and he should not only lose his job, but he should be forced to make a public apology to the media, to Liberals, to anyone with a child with Down’s syndrome, to Ms. Palin, AND to the American public.

And finally…

2008-11-11T20:04:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn’t heard, the folks at conservative blog P*w*r L*n* are mouth-breathing, Kool-aid drinking morons.

Consider this (the emphasis’s are all mine);

Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson from his example. Bush never gets sloppy when he is speaking publicly. He chooses his words with care and precision, which is why his style sometimes seems halting. In the eight years he has been President, it is remarkable how few gaffes or verbal blunders he has committed. If Obama doesn't raise his standards, he will exceed Bush's total before he is inaugurated.

Bush is an excellent model for good public speaking?? Bush never gets sloppy when speaking??? Whatever this columnist is smoking, I want some… because it apparently has transcendent qualities that allows for people to see things through such thick rose-colored glasses that one needs a forklift to put them on.

Speaking as a public speaking specialist, Bush is – hands down – one of THE WORST public speaking president’s in the modern age. His articulation and enunciation are shoddy… his delivery is monotone… his choice of words is suspect… and he mispronounces the simplest of words, and to claim otherwise shows that the author of this post (whom I refuse to cite lest I give him ore publicity) is truly a lemming ready to go over the cliff with Bush’s approval numbers.

Have a nice trip.

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-11T09:34:00.000-06:00

Note to the Obama campaign, TBWA is available for any positions you may have available. And we’re cheap.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all… and from TBWA; THANK YOU!
More details are coming out about yesterday’s meeting between “President” Bush and President-elect Barack Obama. Not only did the two talk in the Oval Office for over an hour, Mr. Bush also showed Mr . Obama the Situation Room. In a statement, Obama-Biden transition spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said the two “had a productive and friendly meeting,” that include discussions about the importance of working together throughout the transition due to the nation current economic and security challenges… (Bush’s appearance to be so opening and inviting is throwing some people off – me included – but it also signals, I think, just how ready Bush is to be done with his presidency. Say what you will about him – I could say plenty – but you have to admit that his half-assed governing and the current US situation HAVE to be taking a toll on him…)
With a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, the Dems are looking ahead to a very ambitious agenda in the coming years… stay tuned.
Speaking of “President” Bush, the latest CNN/Opinion Research Poll gives him a 76% disapproval rating and a 16% think the country is headed in the wrong direction… Ouch.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean will be stepping down from his position when his term ends this January. According to Sam Stein of Huffington Post, rumors are swirling that Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri will be his successor. (I, personally, think Ms. McCaskill can do better as a Senator where she’s forging some impressive ground. Having said that, I’m not sure who else would be a possibility)
Not only is Washington DC “abuzz” about the Obama’s, but tickets for his inauguration are going for $20,000 a pop…
And have we mentioned? That Gov. Palin is biting the hands that feed her? After being thrown under the bus by the McCain campaign, she’s now throwing “President” Bush under the bus and blaming his record on the McCain campaign’s loss… (Yeah… while that is partially the reason, the ineptitude of the McCain campaign – such as choosing her as VP – contributed heavily to their loss as well. Ms. Palin’s ego continues to grow and should be massive by the time she joins Newt Gingrich on the 2012 ticket…)

To all that risked their lives

2008-11-11T08:39:00.003-06:00

so ours could be free.

Happy Veteran's Day...

The Monday 'BushWhack'ing

2008-11-10T10:21:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend:

Rumors started swirling that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich would be the republican’s savior in 2012… how I wrote this sentence without laughing my ass off is anyone’s guess…
Democrats are jockeying for Obama cabinet positions… rather obvious, isn’t it?
New York Times columnist David Brooks said the gop is in a “world of pain” right now and “it’s just a circular firing squad with everybody attacking each other and no coherent belief system, no leaders. […] You got half the party waiting for Sarah Palin to come rescue them. The other half waiting for Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, to come rescue them. But no set of beliefs, really a decayed conservative infrastructure. It’s just a world of pain.” (Ouch… and did we mention Brooks is a conservative?)

It’s Monday…

President-elect Barack Obama (I never tire of writing that) will visit “President” Bush today in the White House. Bush is expected to discuss the economy, what to expect from life in the White House, and his collection of “Where’s Waldo” books…
Obama will most likely keep on a trio of Bush appointees to help “tackle the country’s most serious challenges.” The three; Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Michael Mullen and FBI director Robert Mueller, would most likely stay in their current position for at least the first year or two of an Obama administration. (Probably not a bad idea… but one that COULD blow up in his face. We’ll see…)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Joe Lieberman can still help the Democratic party…
And have we mentioned? That Brit Hume, formerly of Fox “News”, is not good? Speaking to the Miami Herald’s Glenn Garvin, Hume said that when people look back at Bush’s presidency, they’ll “be a lot kinder to this president than the current scribes are being. […] It’s really turned out to be a very consequential presidency.” Riiiight… but Hume wasn’t done when he added that Bush has put America on an “amazing” foreign policy path... (Um… okay. And what color is the sky in your world Brit?)

The Weekly Rewind: Post Election Day Edition

2008-11-08T02:00:00.000-06:00

Applaud: to President Elect Barack Obama. Honestly, does anything else really need to be said this week?

And finally…

2008-11-07T19:55:00.000-06:00

In case you hadn’t heard, since we have a ‘special’ Weekly Rewind appearing tomorrow, we decided to branch our CTotW to a separate post… and here it is.

Our search for tool of the week was, once again, a massive undertaking following President-elect Obama’s landslide victory Tuesday… but after scouring the intertubes, we found 2 equally deserving winners: Glenn Beck and Robert Novak.

First, Beck. On the same day that right-wing blog Red State launched “Project Leper,” in an attempt to professionally punish McCain staffers that, according to Red State’s Erick Erickson, wronged Gov. Palin (wronged? What the hell is this, the old west?), Erikson told Glenn Beck that she was “the best thing that happened” to the McCain campaign, to which Beck agreed, saying many conservatives told him they supported McCain in hopes he would die in office and elevate Palin into the presidency.

Shows you how stupid and partisan-blind these people are… hoping that Palin, THE most unqualified person to run for VP, would become president is not only an insult to the citizens of this country, but would have been extremely dangerous. But here these two are, hoping that she would have become president just because she’s a conservative’s wetdream come true.

The second CTOTW is none other than eternal putz Robert “Whack ‘em” Novak.

We knew, whatever the margin of victory was Tuesday, that conservatives would be spinning their wheels to maintain the illusion that it was as large victory as common sense says.

One such putz is right-wing pundit, and crappy driver, Robert Novak.

Back in 2004 when “President” Bush inexplicably won re-election and spoke of his so-called “political capital”, Novak couldn’t wait to ~~get down on his knees~~ to christen Bush’s victory as proof of a conservative mandate. When asked in a CNN interview if 51% of the vote was really a mandate, Novak replied “Of course it is. It’s a 3.5 million vote margin.”

So color people confused when Novak says that President-elect Obama’s popular vote margin of 7,401,289 (which is MORE than twice Bush’s 04 vote margin) and his staggering electoral vote margin (63 more than Bush ’04) does NOT make a mandate.

That’s right, you heard me… it DOESN’T make a mandate… ostensibly because that would require Novak using his own brain and NOT following the other lemmings off the gop cliff.

And because of their hate-mongering and their inability to accept reality respectively, Beck and Novak are our conservative Tools… of the Week.

And we're off!

2008-11-07T18:50:00.001-06:00

President-elect Barack Obama made his first public speech since cruising to his landslide victory over Sen. McCain Tuesday… vowing to make the restoration of the nation's economic equilibrium as a priority of his administration.

PE Obama looked assured and calm… sounding witty and authoritative, displaying great confidence while increasing the gravitas that befits his new position… I, as I’m sure others, had forgotten that a president is supposed to be intelligent, articulate and commanding… how refreshing to have one after all these years of… well… you know who.

Oh… and he didn’t call on Fox “News” once.

This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Full transcript can be READ HERE… video embed will be up shortly...

UPDATE: Herein lies the video

Two weeks? Try two days! The Throwing Sarah Palin Under the Bus Story: Part II-B

2008-11-07T16:36:00.000-06:00

Just when you thought the Sarah Palin affair was done… something else pops up…

You remember that (largely unauthorized) spending spree that Palin embarked on shortly after coming aboard the campaign?

Well… turns out that she announced in the past that she would no longer be wearing the expensive clothing and was “not taking them with me.”

Funny thing… the clothes have disappeared and it seems that a few items did make it back to Alaska with her.

Now the gop’s attorneys are on their way to reclaim them.

On to be a fly on the wall for that conversation…

Two weeks? Try two days! The Throwing Sarah Palin Under the Bus Story: Part II

2008-11-07T12:50:00.001-06:00

The throwing Palin under the bus tour continues… and today Palin herself fires back while CNN’s Campbell Brown throws out what everyone (at least Scott & I) has been thinking.

Last week, one of Sen. McCain’s most loyal and longest-serving confidants, Randy Scheunemann, was fired… and while an official reason was never given, now that the campaign is over, the rumors are starting to swirl.

Three senior McCain advisers told CNN that he was fired for “trashing” the campaign staff, adding that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists and was spreading “disinformation” about various campaign aides.

The bigger shock was that Scheunemann, who became close to Palin (eewwwwwwwww) during debate prep, was “positioning himself with Palin” (ewwwwwwww again) at the expense of the McCain campaign’s message.

Meaning he was propping up Palin and throwing McCain and his campaign under the… well, you know…

After being battered by the McCain campaign for two days, Palin is now shooting back, with her spokeswoman calling the charges being circulated by former campaign aides “sickening” and Palin herself saying that the advisers spreading the rumors were ‘small, evidently bitter’ people.

And CNN’s Campbell Brown raised an excellent point yesterday… rebuking the McCain aides that had been telling the stories about Palin to anyone that would listen.

Said Brown; “To those McCain aides who say she is the reason they lost this election… can I please remind you of one thing: you picked her. You are the ones who supposedly vetted her, and then told the American people she was qualified for the job. You are the ones who after meeting her a couple of times, told us she was ready to be just one heartbeat away from the Presidency. … If Sarah Palin is the reason some voters chose Barack Obama, that is no one’s fault but your own. […] John McCain, as he so graciously said himself the other night, lost this election. He lost it with your help, your advice, your guidance, and yes, your running mate recommendations. […] And that is crystal clear to everyone, no matter how hard you try to blame Sarah Palin or anyone else.”

Ms. Brown is right as Palin did the campaign no favors other than offer some sizzle and pop in the days immediately following her roll-out… but alas, the sizzle died down and all that was left was style and NO substance.

Granted, one could argue that the McCain campaign did not truly pick Palin and that her selection was more-so the choice of the party and Karl Rove.

Having said that… the buck DOES stop at the top as it’s the captain of the ship who is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on it, and it still doesn’t take away from the fact that the entire McCain campaign went along with her selection and ~~spun~~ lied about her qualifications and ability to lead.

And yet there seems to be a disconnect here as many republican spin doctors were trying to foist Palin onto the American public even though they knew she was grossly unqualified for the job. This wasn’t about putting ‘Country First’ this was a marketing gimmick, pure and simple.

Think about it; why would anyone, regardless of political or religious ideology, want to do this?

Easy… it all comes down to winning.

How a person can be a drag on a ticket but in the same sentence be labeled as the future of the party is anyone’s guess… and with Palin now trying to go sound-bite for sound-bite with McCain’s people, it’s doubtful the accusations and sniping, or for that matter her ascension, are over as each side tries to get the last word in, so expect more to happen in the days, weeks, months and possibly even years ahead.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-07T09:13:00.000-06:00

TGIFF…

The Labor Department released its unemployment numbers today that show the rate of unemployment rose from 6.1% in September to 6.5% , marking the highest unemployment rate since March 1994…
CNN headline that makes me giddy; “Lieberman may have day of reckoning with Democrats.” (Giggity)
Congressman Rahm Emanuel has accepted President-elect Obama’s offer to become his COS … a move that is drawing sharp criticism from conservatives who say he’s too much of a partisan pitbull. One of those criticizing was former Bush COS Karl Rove… the irony is SO thick, yet I doubt one conservative can see that.
Expect more Obama administration picks as soon as today …
Remember how I said that Gov. Palin would probably start sniping at Sen. McCain after his campaign tried to throw her under the bus? Well… it’s started, get the popcorn, this should be entertaining…
This should give EVERYONE pause as CNN learned recently that computers at the headquarters of the Obama and McCain campaigns were hacked earlier this year by a “foreign entity” that downloaded a “serious amount” of files… the FBI is investigating the incident but is refusing to release any details about the hacking. (This is staggering news, yet not entirely surprising in this day and age…)
Sen. Jim DeMint (r-SC) is upset with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s toleration of convicted felon Ted Stevens and is “pushing his party’s leadership to expel” Stevens during this month’s ‘lame duck’ session… (Wow… when THE most conservative member of your party urges the expulsion of Stevens, you can get a better idea of just how badly the gop is damaged. The question remains; will the party rally around Stevens – thus risking further alienation of the public – or kick him out? Stay tuned)
And have we mentioned? That presidential historians are, again, weighing in on “President” Bush’s presidency? With some of them labeling his time in office as ‘battered’, ‘incompetent’ and ‘unlucky’, a few suggest that his legacy could end up with a better reputation down the road, ala Harry Truman who, at varying points in his presidency, earned some of the highest and yet also some of the lowest public approval ratings in history, (87% approval in June 1945 compared to 23% in January 1952). Some of the things that the historians chalk up as ‘unlucky’ (wrong place, wrong time) are direct consequences of him and his administration’s policies – the economy being the largest. It will be interesting to see how Bush’s legacy ages, but I doubt that his presidency will ever be considered more than ‘middling.’

Two weeks? Try two days! The Throwing Sarah Palin Under the Bus Story: Part I

2008-11-06T14:54:00.000-06:00

I knew McCain’s handlers would throw Gov. Palin under the bus, I just didn’t think it would happen so damn soon.... but it is.

As I mentioned in this morning’s ‘Daily’, anyone with their own brain who wasn’t drinking the McCain Kool-Aid could see that Sarah Palin was woefully unqualified to be Vice President… but there she was, being trotted out to appeal to “spurned” supporters of Hillary Clinton and the American ‘everyman/woman”...

As it turns out, McCain’s staffers AND Fox “News” knew she was unqualified, but they seemingly sucked it up in order to put the republican party first (if this doesn’t show that Fox “News” is in bed with the gop, I don’t know what would). And now, with the election barely over, the McCain campaign is attacker her, using Fox “News” as their lipstick-stained attack dog.

Here are some of the better juicy bits from Fox’s Carl Cameron;

She didn’t know which countries were part of NAFTA… Palin was angry at staffers over the Gibson and Couric interviews even though she had refused staff requests to prepare for the interviews… and someone had to explain to Palin that Africa was a continent, not a country.

You read that right… it had to be explained to her that Africa was a continent, not a country.

As if the allegations from Fox weren’t enough, Newsweek released an article teaser yesterday that has their own allegations, including the charge that Palin went “rogue” by attacking Obama for his so-called “association” with Bill Ayers before the McCain camp even had a plan of attack.

The Newsweek article also mentions that McCain advisors showed up at the Palin's hotel room during the convention to meet with her and Todd and she entered the room in nothing but two towels, one of which was wrapped around her wet hair.

Oh, and have we mentioned that Palin spent MUCH MORE than the previously reported $150,000 on clothes for herself and her family? Well…she did, and now there are rumors that lawyers for the RNC will be heading to Alaska to try to account for all the money that was spent on clothing, jewelry and luggage.

Couple all of this with the fact that Palin pissed off campaign leaders by asking to make her own concession speech on election night, which just isn’t done, and you have the makings of an old-fashioned DC brawl developing.

Someone get the popcorn as tomorrow I look at how long-time McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann turned over and became a Palin-confidant... to the point he was let go last week under a shroud of secrecy.

Help us Obi-Wolf Kenobi.....

2008-11-06T13:17:00.002-06:00

The award for coolest technology on election night goes to CNN for the debut of it's Election Night Hologram interviews of correspondent Jessica Yellin and Artist/Activist Will-i-am.

As a techno geek this was extremely cool ! I think of the potential future applications of this technology ...I can't wait....

Later.

Thoughts on Day 2 of a New Course

2008-11-06T11:37:00.000-06:00

“This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.” - President Elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008, Chicago, Illinois

Scott wrote his thoughts for after the election yesterday… I thought I would wait a day or two in an attempt to wrap my head around it all.

That still hasn’t happened.

We witnessed history… we saw barriers broken down… we saw an electorate collectively thumb their noses to conservatism… we saw

This election was about change and the future. it was about the economy. It was about our standing in the world. It was about Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was all of those things… and more.

As my cousin Ray said; somewhere our Uncle Nishan and my Uncle Ray are looking down crying… seeing something that they always believed in, racial equality, coming to a conclusion that neither may have ever thought possible.

But this election is so much more than that… for the last eight years we’ve seen this country we all love fall from grace.

A new day is dawning.

A new beginning is upon us.

Rather than take time off to re-energize, Obama has hit the ground running; arranging his transition team, vetting potential cabinet holders, and being briefed on national security and the economy.

And what of John McCain? It’s no secret to anyone that reads this blog on a regular basis that I at one time admired Sen. Mr. McCain as he did tend to veer away from his own party and seemingly wasn’t afraid to disagree with them… but he ran what I consider to be an absolutely repulsive campaign as he demeaned himself and his memory the way he ran it, allowing himself to be sucked in by the leaders of the republican party that probably promised him the Oval Office… and he chomped at the bit for that… and it cost him dearly. Not only a victory, but his honor as well.

But his concession speech was a positive first step of exoneration as he spoke from the heart about race and what this election meant on a grander scale… he also offered an olive branch to President-elect Obama, who outwardly accepted it when, in their conversation after Obama was declared the winner, he asked for Senator McCain’s assistance, saying “I need your help, you’re a leader on so many important issues.”

If these two men can cast aside their differences and the sniping that each one leveled at the other during the campaign, can’t we all? If they can do, why can’t their rabid supporters do the same?

Unfortunately, as Scott already mentioned, quite a few of the republican faithful are continuing with the ‘fear and smear’ campaign that’s been the hallmark of this campaign.
Shouldn’t it be time to stop this ridiculousness and have all Americans come together to alleviate the myriad of problems facing this nation?

Will changing the country for the better be hard? Definitely…

Will President Obama face difficult problems in office? Absolutely…

Will we, as a nation, have our hope tested? Almost certainly…

Can Obama, and in turn all of us, make this country better for everyone? For the first time in over seven years, I feel I can honestly reply yes.

Yes… we can.

May God bless President-elect Obama and may God bless the United States of America.

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-06T09:39:00.001-06:00

There are 74 days until President-elect Obama takes the Oath of Office…

PE Obama continues to find his transition team and is vetting people for his cabinet.
CNN headline that makes me all warm and gooey in side; “GOP Looks to Regroup After Dems’ Triumph” Giggity…
Sen. McCain’s supporters are ‘wary’ of an Obama presidency… well, thanks for that insight guys… that must have taken you seconds to figure out. We know this… just as Obama supporters would be ‘wary’ of a McCain presidency. It’s up to both of them to ease those fears, and Obama’s request of having McCain help is a huge step in the right direction.
Assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Julie Myers announced her resignation yesterday, effective November 15th…
After holding a wrap-up meeting with his campaign advisers, Sen. McCain will be taking some time off before getting back to work with the Senate again and shift his focus to Iraq, Afghanistan and foreign policy issues… (McCain’s campaign was, at times, a mess. But if his concession is any indication, we might be seeing the rebirth of McCain version 2000…)
71 million viewers tuned into election night television coverage Tuesday. According to Nielsen, 59.2 million viewers tuned in as President Bush defeated Sen. John Kerry in 2004 while 61.6 million watched the contest between Bush and Al Gore in 2000…
Gen. David Petraeus, now Commander of CentralCommand, has reportedly “decided to reduce the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14 about six weeks earlier than planned” due to a decrease in violence. A brigade from the 10th Mountain Division that was slated to go to Iraq will instead deploy to Afghanistan… where it’s more needed.
And have we mentioned? That Gov. Palin is being thrown under the bus by Fox “News”? Fox campaign reporter Carl Cameron gave some previously undisclosed reports of Palin’s incompetence yesterday… it seems he was given comments on the condition that they not be released until the conclusion of the campaign (collusion anyone??). Not only did Palin NOT accept preparation for her interview with Katie Couric (and we all know how well that went over), but also; “There was great concern in the McCain campaign that Sarah Palin lacked a degree of knowledge-ability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, and a heartbeat away from the presidency. […] We are told by folks that she didn’t know what countries were in NAFTA — the North American Free Trade Agreement. That’d be Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. We’re told that she didn’t understand that Africa was a continent, rather than a series — a country just in itself. A whole host of questions that caused serious problems about her knowledge-ability.” (Not. A. Surprise. Palin’s incompetence was evident for anyone with their own brain after her first interview with Charlie Gibson… she was obviously not vetted by the campaign and was in no way ready for her ascension to vice presidential running mate. Mark my words, she will go down as the case-study on how to NOT pick your running mate… ahead of Quayle AND Admiral Stockdale)

Thoughts on day 1 of a new course

2008-11-05T22:21:00.003-06:00

“It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.” – President-Elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008

Yesterday was amazing. Today reality rises with the dawn, and the Obama Administration has to hit the ground running.

There will be plenty of occasions to celebrate before he is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. However in the near term he needs to put together a strong transition team and begin to formulate an action plan to tackle the many issues that will face him on day 1.

Issues like the war in Iraq that has dragged on for too many years. An economy that is being battered by a downward spiraling housing market, corruption on Wall Street, clearly manipulated oil prices…the list goes on and on.

This campaign has been long, hard fought on both sides, and at times bitter, if not in actuality, then in tone.

With that being said, I have to give a tip of the hat to Senator McCain. The same man who couldn’t even look at Barack Obama during the first debate gave a classy concession speech. He acknowledged their differences and also pledged his support to the President-Elect for the good of the country. Nicely done Senator.

And in the phone call between the two candidates Obama asked for Senator McCain’s assistance “I need your help, you’re a leader on so many important issues.”

If these two men can put aside their differences after such a hard fought battle, then their fervent supporters should be able to do the same.

Unfortunately many of the hard core base of the Republican faithful are continuing with the ‘fear and smear’ campaign that has been going on for most of this year. It’s time for this to stop and for all Americans to come together and work to fix the problems facing this nation.

History was made last night, let us take this momentum and use it to move forward as a nation and restore our economy, our self-pride and our position as a world leader.

May God guide the President-Elect and may he bless the United States of America.

And the denials start…

2008-11-05T15:12:00.001-06:00

Sen. Jim DeMint (r-SC) said about yesterday’s election; “Americans have again rejected the Democrat-lite strategy of higher spending and bigger government, and it’s time for Republicans to chart a new, more principled course. […] Democrats didn’t run on their true liberal agenda ... They ran against President Bush and congressional Republicans whose image was tarnished by scandals and broken promises.”

Um… okay?

Wasn’t one of the gop’s main talking points in this election that President-elect Obama was the Senate’s most Liberal Senator?? How exactly does THAT play into your quote there Jimmy?

And haven’t a plethora of exit polls shown that 51% of voters want their government to “do more”… which is a Liberal talking point.

Democrats kicked butt across the country not in spite of being Liberal on the issues, but because of it… because the issues that matter most to Liberals and the Democratic party are the ones that also matter most to the American people.

It’s the gop’s lack of understanding THAT, that helped propel Obama to his landslide victory… and if republicans want to continue living in their own world that only exists in their minds… let ‘em.

In the meantime, we’ll be governing and bringing this nation back to prominence, respect, and leadership.

The Transition Team

2008-11-05T14:53:00.006-06:00

Ladies and Gentlemen... your 2008 President-elect Barack Obama Transition Team

John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse - Co-chairs
Advisory Board - Carol Browner, William Daley, Christopher Edley, Michael Froman, Julius Genachowski, Donald Gips, Governor Janet Napolitano, Federico Peña, Susan Rice, Sonal Shah, Mark Gitenstein and Ted Kaufman.
Chris Lu – Executive Director
Dan Pfeiffer – Communications Director
Stephanie Cutter – Chief Spokesperson
Cassandra Butts – General Counsel
Jim Messina – Personnel Director
Patrick Gaspard – Associate Personnel Director
Christine Varney - Personnel Counsel
Melody Barnes – Co-Director of Agency Review
Lisa Brown – Co-Director of Agency Review
Phil Schiliro – Director of Congressional Relations
Michael Strautmanis – Director of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs
Katy Kale – Director of Operations
Brad Kiley – Director of Operations

Some Random Thoughts on The Day After

2008-11-05T11:20:00.002-06:00

No “Daily” today as Scott and I offer up some post-election thoughts…

President-elect Obama looked like he was in a bit of a daze last night… which is perfectly understandable considering what he had just accomplished. Having said that, his speech last night was, as usual, eloquent, poetic, and inspiring. And the bit about his kids deserving that new puppy was perfectly placed and showed just how much of a family man he is…
As I briefly mentioned last night, Sen. McCain’s concession speech was eloquent, gracious, and extended an olive branch to President-elect Obama (GOD I love writing that). This was the McCain that I admired years and years ago and, had he run his entire campaign in this manner rather than sucking at the teat of his party, he might very well have won…
This was definitely a campaign built on change as more than 130 million people (an estimated 64% of the electorate) voted yesterday, shattering any and all previous turnout records and making the 2008 election the highest percentage turnout in generations…
I give it a week, at the most two, before the McCain campaign throws Gov. Palin under the bus and puts the onus of losing onto her. Witness his less-than-friendly ‘embrace’ of her last night after his concession speech.
It was a very good night for Democrats as we raised our majority levels in both the House and Senate. Though the fact that a convicted felon won re-election in Alaska is rather sad and tells me a LOT about the voters in that state…
Now that the election is over, it’s time for transition and filling of White House positions. I foresee John Kerry, Colin Powell, Chuck Hagel and even Sen. McCain as possible targets for President elect Obama. And , if one wants to believe ABC News, offering the COS job to Rep. Rahm Emanuel is astute as Emanuel knows his way around DC AND the White House.
The site of seeing people cheering, singing and chanting outside the White House after the race was called was inspiring.
Obama’s plea to McCain that “I need your help, you’re a leader on so many important issues” is a true olive branch to McCain.
Moments after winning, "President" Bush called President-elect Obama and said to him; "What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. [...] You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself.” Immediately followed by Bush breaking out in sobs while begging Obama to take office now... hey, one can dream can't he?
I think, since this is the final time that McCain will run for president, that we will see McCain revert back to his former self (AKA the 2000 version). Think about it; he doesn’t have to worry anymore about kowtowing to the republican base… he doesn’t have to worry about his running mate saying something stupid… he doesn’t have to worry about re-election for a while… it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he does indeed go back to the way he was. Stay tuned.
My Final Thought: this was a campaign built on change… built on honesty… and built on character. For all the negativity elicited by BOTH campaigns, the end result was quick and gives credence to Obama and his hope for changing the way things are done. With the landslide victory, it’s also clear that Obama has a mandate by the people… now it’s up to him to use that mandate for the people…

Is it me....

2008-11-05T01:30:00.001-06:00

or did the election seem like it was over too quick?

Here I was set to stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching results, evaluate the returns and get a feel of exactly when the results would indicate that a winner would be declared.

I remember many elections where you would go to sleep with returns slowly coming in and you wouldn't know who the next President was going to be until you woke up the next morning.

It was a landslide, and like a landslide it seemed to happen very quick.

Later....

KEMP'S TWO-CENTS: You're not alone my friend.

Election Night did seem to go by too quick as I was also ready for a late night... but it just wasn't meant to be as, minutes after the clock struck 10 PM here in Chicago-land, the race was called by all the news outlets.

And just like that... {poof}... it was over.

A landslide for the ages...

A President for the future...

Quick note on the states

2008-11-05T01:15:00.000-06:00

It's late, I'm tired. I have been working on my thoughts about this evening and I know that in the morning I will have to edit what I have written to see if it makes sense.

Right now I am struck by some of the statistics.

Some of the states that have traditionally gone in the Republican column, and were considered to be battleground states, have thrown their support to President-Elect Obama.

Virginia (has gone Democrat for the first time in over 40 years)
Florida
Pennsylvania
Ohio

More tomorrow.....

McCain

2008-11-04T22:45:00.002-06:00

McCain's concession speech was nicely-done... and offered a flash-back to the McCain 2000 version that I was a fan of...

McCain's speech seemed heartfelt, honest, and hopeful... and I give him kudos for that.

As Scott said just prior, we'll both offer our opinions on this historic day after we allow the euphoria to settle down and the end-result to sink in...

We did it everyone...

WOW !!

2008-11-04T22:22:00.002-06:00

After 2 long years the day has arrived.....President Elect Barack Obama !

After this sinks in Kemp and I will each offer up our thoughts on todays historic event...

Too the loyal followers, well done!

I've got just four words to say to all of you...

2008-11-04T22:08:00.002-06:00

President-elect Barack Obama...

So Far

2008-11-04T21:22:00.001-06:00

2008-11-04T21:18:00.001-06:00

Giggity

What about George?

2008-11-04T20:00:00.000-06:00

So you might be asking yourself what our current Commander in Chief, who will be replaced by one of these two (God-willing Obama) on January 20, 2009, has been up to today.

Apparently… absolutely nothing… which isn’t really a difference between any other time if you really think about it.

With no public appearances scheduled and no face time with McCain or any other republican across the country, Bush is planning to spend his evening in the White House residence, watching TV coverage of election results and hosting a small dinner with Laura, who is celebrating her birthday today.

How devastating to Bush is it that he has NO appearances scheduled for today with any candidates?Usually a sitting president, even a lame-duck, has coveted slots open to push their party’s candidates across the candidate, but it seems Bush doesn’t have any of those…

That’s gotta hoit.

More polls are about to close

2008-11-04T18:42:00.002-06:00

If you haven't voted yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Drop everything, race to your polling place and VOTE OBAMA!

Do it... not just for you, but for your children and your children's children, and your children's children's children...

VOTE OBAMA

Polls are going to start closing soon

2008-11-04T17:42:00.001-06:00

So now is your last chance to Get Out the Vote.

Drop everything, run - don't walk - to your polling station and Vote Obama.

Our nation, as we've already mentioned, depends on it.

VOTE OBAMA

Another Reminder: VOTE OBAMA!

2008-11-04T15:40:00.001-06:00

This is a note to anyone and everyone that hasn’t voted yet.

Regardless of what you hear, you should still vote.

If you hear Obama is up 20 points… you should still vote.

If you hear McCain is down 20 points… you should still vote.

Ignore the exit polls when they start coming at you faster than a Billy Mays infomercial…

Ignore the pundits on TV, radio and ‘the tubes’…

Vote… regardless of what hear.

Our nation depends on it.

VOTE OBAMA

Late night funny

2008-11-04T14:33:00.000-06:00

David Letterman, from last night's show: “Today Barack Obama campaigned in Florida and Virginia. And McCain campaigned in two states: panic and desperation.”

Nice.

And if you haven’t already; VOTE OBAMA VOTE OBAMA VOTE OBAMA

2008-11-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

TBWA favorite Jack Cafferty of CNN posted an interesting question yesterday: ‘How long they'd be willing to wait in line to vote?’

Here are some of the best, taken directly from the Jack’s blog, misspellings included…

“My whole day is devoted to this one moment in history, i never want to look back and regret that i was not involved in one of the most important moments in United States history.”

“Considering that there are some that wait ....and sometimes fight a lifetime for the opportunity to vote, I will wait happily for as long as it takes to vote for my chosen candidate. I urge everyone to do the same!”

“You take your pick: A few hours, or a few years. I’ll be voting tomorrow. Guaranteed.”

“I’ve already waited 8 years. One day is nothing.”

“Even though I’m 9 and 1/2 months pregnant and Obama will win California with or without my vote, I’ll wait in line as long as it takes. This election is too important to miss, and I don’t care how long and uncomfortable the wait is - I’m voting. It would be a lot more uncomfortable for me to sit by for the next four years knowing that I let my voice go unheard.”

“I think if the veterns can do 3 one year tours of duty in Iraq, I can wait on line 24 hours if it will help get them home.”

“I am prepared and willing to wait all day. I have cleared my calendar to make sure I can spend the whole day. And the time I don’t spend waiting or voting, I will spend poll watching and holding signs. This is far too important not to make a personal sacrifice to make sure my vote counts. And, as an Army wife, one day of work loss is meaningless compared to the days my husband has and will spend on deployment. To all within the sound of your voice: Get out and vote!”

“As long as it takes. I am 84, if I can do it, just about anyone can.”

“I plan on going early and staying late if I have too. Every vote counts. This is the most important election of my life. And Obama is my vote.”

“Jack, I’m in my 50’s and I have voted in every presidential election since Carter and Ford. Too often at least to me the choice was a matter of picking the lesser of evils and more often than not, at least to me, the more evil candidate came out on top. I have waited a lifetime to vote for a candidate that truly reflects my values and ideals. A candidate that offers defined solutions and not hollow rhetoric, to the problems that have plagued this nation for a long time. A candidate that asks each us of to have faith in the dream that it is America and in our ability to cast aside petty political differences and come together as one nation . A candidate that has inspired millions to get up, get out and excercise the one right we have that defines us as a free people, our right to vote for our representatives and leaders. I’ve waited a long time for this one Jack, I will wait as long as needed to vote for Barack Obama.”

“I would wait till hell freezes over if that is what it takes. This election is too important to concern myself with personal discomforts or inconvenences.”

“Jack after what I witnessed in GA, I’d wait in line a week! An elderly African American woman fell out in line waiting to vote, they brought her to and tried to remove her to give her medical attention. Her words exactly were “I’m not leaving this line until I vote”. That’s powerful! That action swayed a couple of voters. I know because they said that moved them.’

Those are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of comments being left… comments from people who are motivated to vote and make history… What about you? How long are you willing to wait in line to help elect Barack Obama? And what are you doing read a blog? GTFO and VOTE

VOTE

2008-11-04T11:59:00.002-06:00

It's Noon... did YOU vote?

If so, great! Thank's for doing your civic duty.

If not, what the hell are you waiting for, sitting at a desk reading blogs? Get the hell out there and VOTE...

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

And remember...

GOTV

2008-11-04T08:32:00.001-06:00

“And as long as America must choose, that long will there be a need and a place for the Democratic Party. We Democrats can run on our record but we cannot rest on it. We will win if we continue to take the initiative and if we carry the message of hope and action throughout the country. Alexander Smith once said, 'A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.' Let us continue to plant, and our children shall reap the harvest. That is our destiny as Democrats.”

- Robert F. Kennedy

VOTE

It's the day we have all been eagerly anticipating !!

2008-11-04T04:18:00.002-06:00

Why are you wasting time reading things on the internet....

VOTE !!!

(If you are not sure where your polling place is, click on the Vote link)

... and be sure to come back tonight and tomorrow as we comment on the returns.

be good, stay informed.....

VOTE !

later.....

And finally…

2008-11-03T20:29:00.002-06:00

In case you hadn’t heard, the bickering between Sen. McCain’s aides and Gov. Palin’s aides is continuing , with the Palin prank call acting as the latest catalyst.

From Newsweek;

“According to one participant, who declined to be named, aides went back and
forth venting their frustration. “Does anyone not think it’s strange that the
French president would want to talk to a candidate in the final 72 hours of the
campaign,” one senior McCain aide demanded, noting that the White House and the
National Security Council would likely be involved in any such phone calls.
“It’s appalling.” Bigger picture, the episode provides a glimpse at what have
been increased tensions between the McCain plane and the Palin plane in the
final weeks of the campaign.”

The bickering and name-calling has been building up for some time and, should McCain lose tomorrow, it’s almost guaranteed that McCain will throw Palin under the bus…

Stay tuned…

Seriously?

2008-11-03T17:10:00.000-06:00

Our advice for tonight is to buy your alcohol now if you live in any of the following 7 states as you can't do it tomorrow because it's Election Day.

No... I'm not kidding.

If you live in Kentucky, Indiana and South Carolina, you can’t buy alcohol tomorrow AT ALL so buy it today to celebrate or drown your sorrows.

If you live in Utah and West Virginia, you can buy alcohol at restaurants and bars only.

If you live in Alaska or Massachusetts, you can’t buy Election Day alcohol unless your local governments are authorized to provide an exemption from the ban.

The 18th century called, they want their laws back…

Just in case

2008-11-03T16:29:00.001-06:00

It’s almost over… the fat lady is getting ready to sing… calls have been made… homes have been visited… hands have been shaken… babies have been kissed.

All that’s left now is the actual voting.

And on that note, should you see something weird, discomfiting, out-of-the-ordinary or downright illegal going on at your polling place tomorrow, report it.

First you could contact Obama Voter Protection at 1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226) and tell them what problems you’re witnessing.

If you can’t get through, you can submit an online form or call your local Obama campaign headquarters.

Additionally, or alternately, you can call the fine folks at Election Protection, a nonpartisan organization, at 866-OUR-VOTE.

And since this is the 21st century, you could also report problems to Election Protection’s state teams through Twitter, using these guidelines.

If that weren’t enough, you can track incident reports received through the hotline at OurVoteLive.org while keeping an eye on voting issues as they are reported at the OurVoteLive Blog while following breaking voting news and issues at the 866OurVote Twitter account…

Oh, and by the way...

VOTE

Sad news from the Trail

2008-11-03T15:45:00.002-06:00

Sen. Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, passed away this afternoon.

TBWA’s sends our heartfelt condolences, as well as our thoughts and prayers, to the Senator and his family.

UPDATE: Here's the statement from Sen. Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, on the death of their Grandmother:

It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.

Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer.

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: The Top 5!

2008-11-03T12:30:00.001-06:00

#5: John McCain believes there is a vast 'left wing conspiracy.' He warns against a Obama/Reid/Pelosi agenda...when it is CLEAR AS DAY that America is hungry for Change!

#4: John McCain has let his campaign spiral out of control. With Sarah Palin going rogue, and several Republicans preparing to meet on how to save the Republican party...do you want someone running the country who can't even run their own campaign?

#3: John McCain is a grumpy old man. He whines, complains and groans like an old man on a porch, just a little too much for us.

#2: John McCain won't release records of a possibly serious car crash. The senator is covering up for a possibly deadly car crash. We don't know any facts about it, because there are no released records. How honest is that?

And now… NUMBER ONE!

#1: Voting against John McCain means you get to vote for Barack Obama. Visit his website for more information!

Learn them. Love them. Live them.

And tomorrow, when you go into that polling place and step into the booth… do the right thing, and Vote Obama.

Just in case you didn’t read that;

VOTE OBAMA!!!!!!

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: 10-1

2008-11-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

The Final Countdown; numbers 10 – 6…

#10: John McCain’s reputation is built on opposing torture, but he voted against a bill to ban waterboarding. He also applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban. Just another flip flop.

#9: John McCain allowed the RNC to spend $150,000 on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Millions of Americans are in danger of losing their homes, and many spend less than that on a home...it shows they're elitists, and shows bad judgement.

#8: John McCain wants it both ways. While he voted with George Bush 95% of the time, he then came out slamming Bush's policies as a campaign tactic - policies he used to agree with.

#7: John McCain is delusional when it comes to the latest polls. He is down in so many polls in different states, but he says the polls are not accurate. Is this a type of analyzer you'd want as President?

#6: John McCain has flipped flopped 44 times. The old 'he was for it before he was against it' and vice versa...so much back and forth.

Later today, numbers 5 – 1.

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-11-03T09:17:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend…

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and his family on the death of his daughter this past Saturday.
Gov . Palin got pranked by a Canadian comedy duo …
*o* the P*u*b*r questioned Sen. Obama’s loyalty to the United States … (and we should listen to him becauuuuse?? This man is desperately trying to extend his 15 minutes, and the media is accountable in this ridiculous exercise by giving him more air time… the voice of the people DOES matter, but not when it’s become evident that he’s nothing more than a McCain surrogate… and any scrutiny he gets IS merited)
Syrian ambassador Imad Moustapha told Foreign Policy magazine that Syria is “doing everything possible within our means” to stop insurgents from crossing into Iraq. But the more interesting part is that Moustapha also said that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I r-CT) personally assured him that Sen. McCain would open up a dialogue with Syria…
Palin appeared on Fox “News” again (I know, you’re shocked) and said; “We realize that more and more Americans are starting to see the light there and understand the contrast. And we talk a lot about, OK, we’re confident that we’re going to win on Tuesday, so from there, the first 100 days, how are we going to kick in the plan that will get this economy back on the right track and really shore up the strategies that we need over in Iraq and Iran to win these wars?” (Iran? Methinks she’s letting her and McCain’s wet dreams invade her reality…)
Vice President Dick “President” Cheney gave an endorsement to McCain, which gave fodder to Obama, whom “congratulated” McCain on the endorsement.

TBWA urges everyone to get out and vote tomorrow, otherwise you lose your right to bitch

Both Sen . Obama and McCain are making their final pleas to the masses today…
Turnout for early voting was large, but it’s still not expected to lessen lines for Election Day… (Did anyone really think it would? I see early voting as more of an attempt to get more people to vote by eliminating the oft-repeated line of ‘I don’t have enough time to vote’ than an attempt to ease Election Day lines)
A new CNN/Opinion Research poll suggests that Palin is doing more harm than good to McCain… well, duhhhhhhhh
Former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin and Jared Bersteing of Economic Policy Institute write: “With the current financial crisis, our joint view is that for the short term, our economy needs a large fiscal stimulus that generates substantial economic demand.” (I think McCain should suspend his campaign again and race back to DC to act on this… uh-huh)
Strategists predict big gains for Democrats tomorrow… which leads me to ask; how many articles about this do we REALLY need? Is there anyone out there that doesn’t know the Dems can make huge gains tomorrow??
And have we mentioned? That McCain is embracing “President” Bush again? After working extra hard to distance himself from Bush over the past months, he’s back to fully ~~fellating~~ embracing him by saying that Bush, and Tom Ridge, deserve credit for there not being another terrorist attack after 9/11…

1 Day to Go

2008-11-03T07:15:00.000-06:00

With 1 day to go, here’s what the candidates are doing today…

Sen. Obama is holding rallies in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia…

Sen. Biden is in Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania…

Sen. McCain is barnstorming his rhetoric across 7 states today…

Gov. Palin, after getting punked on Saturday, is Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada…

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: 20-11

2008-11-02T12:00:00.000-06:00

The end is nigh, here’s 20-11…

#20: John McCain called Barack Obama "that one." It was during the 2nd debate that he made this condescending remark.

#19: John McCain is trying to paint Barack Obama as a terrorist. He said nothing at a rally when his supporters called Obama a terrorist, and said "kill him." In fact, in February, he said he would not allow these negative attacks to come from his surrogates, when Bill Cunningham viciously attacked Obama.

#18: John McCain has a bad temper that is not acceptable for a President. It's known around the Senate as the "McCain Rage."

#17: John McCain refuses to repudiate and condemn the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party. Jeff Frederick compared Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden. McCain said he 'didn't know the context' of the comments.

#16: John McCain opposes having women register for Selective Service. Barack Obama believes in equality and thinks women should be afforded all the opportunities and responsibilities that men do.

#15: John McCain is injecting a bogus issue into the campaign: ACORN. Barack Obama once worked with the Department of Justice and ACORN, but McCain's accusations of Barack Obama attempting to commit voter fraud are baseless.

#14: John McCain hired someone who lobbied for Saddam Hussein. Especially when he says he doesn't like lobbyists, AND accuses Obama of palling around with terrorists, he puts Bill Timmons so high up in his campaign, as his Transition Manager?

#13: John McCain is not an advocate for children.The Children’s Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst Senator in Congress for children. He voted against the Children’s health care bill last year, and defended Bush’s veto of the bill.

#12: John McCain is using robo-calls with lies to scare swing state voters - the same types of calls he condemned back in 2000. He said the calls in 2000 were 'dramatically different.'
#11: John McCain is distorting Barack Obama's tax plan. It's another smear: He's calling Obama a socialist. Obama's tax plan actually gives tax cuts to Americans earning less than $250,000 a year.

And tomorrow, The Final Ten.

Epic. Fail.

2008-11-01T23:35:00.000-05:00

New clothes: $150,000
New bridge to nowhere: over $400 billion
Getting played by a Canadian comedy duo on the radio: Priceless

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: 30-21

2008-11-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

The end is near, here’s number 30-21

#30: John McCain can't the handle the pressure. He suspended his own campaign when he fell behind in the polls and the going got tough - will he just suspend the presidency if he gets in a tough spot?

#29: John McCain grandstanded during the financial crisis. He played the card going into Washington like "Arizona Jones" to save everything...yet he's got nothing to do with the crisis, which may be a major part of the reason why the bailout fell apart.

#28: John McCain showed a poor performance in the first one-on-one debate. He was mean and never looked Barack Obama in the eye, not to mention having poor answers to questions.

#27: John McCain tried to blame Barack Obama for the financial crisis and the bailout failure. Actually, plenty of his own GOP friends voted to can the bill!

#26: John McCain has a gambling problem. He freely throws around chips at the table and has done it for years...he'll probably do some gambling in the government if he were to be elected!

#25: John McCain's tax plan helps the rich. He is only looking out for himself because he and wife Cindy would save $373,429 if his tax plan were enacted.

#24: John McCain originally voted against supporting the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. It wasn't until he had presidential ambitions that he supported it.

#23: John McCain wants to destroy health insurance for non-elderly Americans. He plans to eliminate tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, which would cause 20 million Americans to lose their coverage.

#22: John McCain accused Barack Obama of lying. That's just about as low as you can get in politics, especially when it's not true.
#21: John McCain will raise your taxes for his health care plan. He will raise your income taxes on the $5000 health care tax credit he's offering, which in turn, will also cause your employer to stop offering coverage.

We’re at the Top 20, tomorrow 20-11…

The Weekly Rewind

2008-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Election Day is nigh! Election Day is nigh!

Applaud: to political infighting within the McCain campaign. Not only has the arguing becoming increasingly public, but it’s getting juicier. Days after one McCain source called Palin “a diva” who “takes no advice from anyone”, another McCain adviser criticized Palin in a conversation of The Politico’s ‘Playbook’, calling Palin a “whack job.” (the more they snipe at each other, the more chance there is it blows up in their face before next Tuesday… let’s hope)

Heckle: to inane bloviating. Earlier this week McCain called Joe the Plumber an “American hero” and his “role model.” (Excuse me??? What the hell has Joe the Plumber done to qualify himself as a hero OR a role model? Calling him that is ridiculous and, quite frankly, a tad insulting. He’s a political prop right now… being used by the campaign to make a point about the economy, and as such he’ll be tossed aside by the McCain campaign after the election, regardless of the outcome. Calling him a hero because it suits his campaign is offensive, and we should remember that when we head into the polling booth next Tuesday)

Applaud: to the results of a new independent study by the Tax Policy Center that found those who make less than $250,000 a year would “not see their taxes raised under Senator Barack Obama’s plans.” The report went on to say that Obama would generally cut taxes MORE than Sen. McCain would for households with incomes less than $100,000 a year… (I don’t like to gloat and tell you I told you so but… actually I do. Told ya so…

Heckle: to talking out of one’s ass. During an interview with conservative radio host Chris Plante this past week, Gov. Palin said that because the media have described her criticism of Sen. Obama’s associations with Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Right as negative campaigning, that “may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate’s free speech rights under the Constitution.” (Um… no. You’re free to say what you want Ms. Palin, the media’s criticism is just that; criticism… not a violation of your First Amendment rights, and labeling it as such is not only idiotic, but shows why you have absolutely no business being on a presidential ticket…)

Applaud: to former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger for saying what Liberals have been saying for weeks, she’s not ready to lead. When asked whether Palin is ready to take over in a crisis, Eagleburger chuckled and said “[O]f course not.” (There ya go. Someone who’s endorsement McCain cherished – mentioning it a few times while touring last Sunday’s political shows – doesn’t think Palin is ready to lead… and yet, here she is, possibly one heartbeat away from doing jus that. If that idea doesn’t wake you up in the middle of the night with cold sweats, then I don’t know what would…)

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) Administration for weakening government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment by looking to enact federal regulations that would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining… (More examples why this country will still be Bushwhacked for years after he leaves office…)

Applaud: to the news that another ethics complaint has been filed against Gov. Palin. This one accuses her of “abusing her power by charging the state when her children traveled with her.” (If this keeps up, she won’t be eligible to run for president in 2012…)

Heckle: to more McCain ass-talking. Earlier this week ExxonMobil shattered records by reporting a $14.83 billion profit in the third quarter alone. McCain, naturally, decided to seize on this and spewed that when he’s President, “we’re not gonna let that happen.” Apparently McCain has forgotten – he is REALLY old – about his multi-billion-dollar corporate tax cuts he plans that would give $4 billion in tax breaks to the five biggest oil companies, giving ExxonMobile alone more than $1.2 billion…

Applaud: to republican Sen. Chuck Hagel for not only having the balls to criticize McCain’s choice of as his running mate, but for laying it ALL out and saying Palin isn’t “qualified to be President of the United States.” (Nicely said Mr. Hagel, keep it up)

Heckle: to news that worries the shit out of me. IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei said earlier this week that the “number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was ‘disturbingly high.’” He then countered those fears by adding that “[i]f all the stolen material were lumped together, it would not be enough to build even one nuclear device.” (Well…okay…)

Applaud: to the news that the Bush(whacked) Administration is talking about a plan that would help millions of homeowners that are struggling to pay their mortgages stay in their homes… I’ll wait a moment so you can pick yourself up off the floor. According to the NY Times, under the plan the government would agree to “shoulder half of the losses on home loans if mortgage companies agreed to lower borrowers’ monthly payments for at least five years.” (Actual attempt to better life for some or desperate ploy to help McCain? Stay tuned…)

Heckle: to things that should make one’s spine shiver. In his 8 years in office, “President” Bush has transformed America’s federal appeals courts by advancing a conservative legal revolution that had its start under President Reagan years ago. To the point that, by Inauguration day, republican-appointed judges, almost all of which are conservatives, are projected to make up about 62% of the bench while controlling 10 of the 13 circuit courts… (AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!)

Applaud: to republican Rep. Chris Shays (CT) who said in an interview with the Yale Daily News that McCain has “lost his brand as a maverick” and “did not live up to his pledge to fight a clean campaign.” (Dead. On.)

Heckle: to Arizona republican Sen. Jon Kyl for claiming that “President” Bush’s economic agenda had nothing to do with the current financial crisis because Bush “doesn’t run the economy.”

Applaud: to Fox “News” Business host Neil Cavuto for laying the smackdown on McCain this past week for his ever-changing (read: flip-flopping) economic policy proposals. Said Cavuto; “What’s the deal with the Straight Talk Express?” […] You rail against big government, yet continue to push cockamamie spending plans that make a mockery of it. That’s why you’re losing right now, Senator McCain. Not because you don’t have the courage of your convictions. But because on economic matters, you have no convictions.” (PWNED! Nicely done Mr. Cavuto, thanks... I only wish more of your ilk would speak their minds)

Heckle: to conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham for saying something incredibly insulting and STUPID. During the show he claimed that people who are poor in America are not poor “because they lack money” but are poor because they “lack values, morals, and ethics.” No, no no Mr. Cunningham, that’s how you describe conservative radio hosts…

Applaud: to Sen. Ted Kennedy. After spending the last six months at his Cape Cod home battling brain cancer, the Senator returned to his DC residence this past month. While his office is declining to speculate as to when he might be able to return full-time to his senate duties, his return to DC is definitely a sign that his treatments is progressing well… (we at TBWA continue to have him in our thoughts and prayers while wishing for a speedy recovery)

Heckle: to the 1 in 7 voters out there who haven’t made up their mind yet as to whom they’re going to vote for. 4 days to go and you still don’t know who you’re going to vote for? Really? Allow me to help. VOTE OBAMA!

Applaud: to the news that “President” Bush has remained almost invisible this campaign cycle and is DEFINITELY not acting like the republican figurehead should, raising 35% less than he raised in 2006… (Damaged goods… no one wants to be seen with him and run the other way when they see him coming…)

As it’s become the norm, choosing this week’s conservative Tool of the Week was hard (Barbara West, Ted Stevens, Jon Kyl, Michelle Bachmann, etc)… but after scouring dozens and dozens of stupidity, we decided on conservative radio schmuck Dennis Prager. Speaking at Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall this past week he said that he said; “Equality, which is the primary value of the left, is a European value, not an American value.”

Hmmmm… apparently Prager forgot the words of the Declaration of Independence that reads; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”

Or the words of the Constitution that reads; “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

For missing the tenets that this country were founded upon, Mr. Prager is our conservative ~~Prick~~ Tool… of the week.

3 Days to Go

2008-11-01T07:08:00.000-05:00

With 3 days to go, here’s where the candidates are today…

Sen. Obama is in Henderson, Nevada, Pueblo, Colorado and Springfield, Missouri…

Sen. Biden is in Evansville, Indiana as well as Marion & Bowling Green, Ohio

Sen. McCain is flip-flopping in Newport News & Springfield, Virginia as well as Perkasie, Virginia…

Gov. Palin is blabbing in New Port Richey, Polk City & Ocala, Florida as well as Glen Allen, Virginia…

And finally…

2008-10-31T20:11:00.000-05:00

In case you hadn’t heard, the conservative backlash towards Gov. Palin is continuing.

Yesterday it was Lawrence Eagleburger, secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush, who said that Palin is not qualified… today, it’s President Reagan’s former COS, Ken Duberstein endorsing Sen. Obama for president.

Appearing on MSNBC this morning, Duberstein offered his endorsement of Obama and then proceeded to rip Palin a new one, saying (emphasis is mine); “I think it has very much undermined the whole question of John McCain’s judgment. You know what most Americans I think realized is that you don’t offer a job, let alone the vice presidency, to a person after one job interview. Even at McDonald’s, you’re interviewed three times before you get a job.”

Nice…

So stupid it hurts

2008-10-31T14:15:00.002-05:00

Since becoming Sen. McCain’s running mate, Gov. Palin has said some truly idiotic things… her latest tops them all.

Speaking to conservative radio host Chris Plante this morning, Palin said that because the media described her criticism of Sen. Obama’s associations with Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Right as negative campaigning, that their criticism may “constitute an attack that threatens a candidate’s free speech rights under the Constitution.”

The stupid! It burns…..

Note to Ms. Palin; perhaps you should put down all the things you read on a daily basis – Junior Jumbles don’t count – and read the Constitution… then you would see that the First Amendment bars the Government… the government… from abridging free speech rights and has absolutely nothing to do with one being able to say things without being criticized.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the mindset of conservative tin-foil hatters – I.E. Holocaust deniers, secessionists, militia nutjobs, John Bi*r*h followers and their ilk – this is a frequent complaint… private criticism of public pronunciations somehow violates their free speech rights and one – conservatives only mind you – should be allowed to let their hate-filled rhetoric spew forth without any criticism at all.

If we use Palin’s logic (a term I use with her very, very, VERY loosely, especially when considering she believes that earth was created only 6,000 years ago and that man and dinosaurs walked together in peace, love and harmony), then when a newspaper, Sen. McCain or Palin herself criticize Sen. Obama for his associations, then they’re threatening his constitutional rights since The Constitution also guarantees freedom of association (HT to Glenn Greenwald).

Care to answer THAT charge Ms. Palin?

The fact that this woman is still a viable candidate for the second-most powerful job in the U.S is a perfect example of how mindless and lemming-like republicans are. Anyone with their own brain can see she’s out of her league playing with the big kids in DC, but all they hear are the conservative talking points about taxes, abortion and the like and they’re ready to prop her up as a party savior.

I have two words for that strategy…

Epic. Fail.

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: 40-31

2008-10-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

Told ya, here’s 40-31

#40: John McCain's running mate ripped off her taxpayers for personal gain. Sarah Palin billed the state of Alaska for 312 nights spent in her own home, for travel and meals.

#39: John McCain is calling a remark offensive - a remark which he once used himself. McCain used the "Lipstick" line - which has been used for years, Obama said nothing new - against Hillary Clinton during the primary race.

#38: John McCain voted against raising the minimum wage 19 times. While this last time around he did vote yes, why did he make the mistake of not helping working families 19 times?

#37: John McCain claims to be an agent of change. Barack Obama has been running as the "Change" candidate for almost 2 years. McCain has been in Washington politics for 26 years. How can McCain claim to be a change agent??

#36: John McCain helped create the economic mess we're in. By backing de-regulation for so many years and fighting for big corporations, John McCain helped destroy the American economy.

#35: John McCain Flip Flopped on AIG. John McCain was AGAINST the bailout of AIG BEFORE he was against it. After publicly saying that he didn't think AIG should be bailed out, less than 24 hours later, he called it a good decision.

#34: John McCain Knows Nothing About Spain. In an interview, McCain clearly didn't recognize the name of Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain. He also said Spain is in our hemisphere, and referred to "our friends in Central America."

#33: John McCain thinks he has oversight over the SEC. He said he would fire the SEC Chair...but he can't constitutionally do that.

#32: John McCain wants to deregulate the health insurance industry like they deregulated Wall Street. He is against universal health care, which would give health insurance companies much more power than they already have.
#31: John McCain is two-faced when it comes to lobbyists. He attacks Barack Obama for having ties to lobbyists. McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, is a lobbyist - he was paid by Freddie Mac through August of this year!!!

We’re getting closer, tomorrow 30-21

The {Abbreviated} Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-10-31T09:21:00.002-05:00

TGIFF…

Happy Halloween from TBWA...
A new survey by the University of Texas found that a scant 34% of Texans said that they approve of favorite son George Bush’s handling of the presidency with a hefty 55% saying they disapprove of his performance and 38.7% strongly disapproving… (Ouch…)
Sen. Obama is ahead in one poll… Sen. McCain is ahead in another… they’re neck and neck in another … explain to me again why we even need campaign polling?
A new study shows that voters prefer ‘pretty’ female candidates… apparently the polling was done by Noshit Sherlock. Then you read something about Elizabeth Dole and… never mind.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told an annual conference of intelligence officials and contractors yesterday that new president's first year in office is the most perilous time for the country. Nothing like a little fear-mongering before Election Day...
CNN obvious headline of the day; “Concerns remain about voting machines.”
And have we mentioned? That Palin has gone off-script again? Ten days after the McCain campaign said that they would NOT be able to balance the budget in the first term, Palin told a campaign rally crowd that they would do just that… (If Palin continues to go off-script, thus ignoring the wills of the campaign, can they switch her out before next Tuesday?)

4 Days to Go

2008-10-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

With 4 days to go, here’s where the candidates are doing today…

Sen. Obama is spreading sunshine in Des Moines, Iowa and Highland, Indiana…

Sen. Biden is granting wishes in Newark, Delaware and then barnstorming Ohio…

Sen. McCain is spewing his inane rhetoric with rallies in Ohio…

Gov. Palin is bloviating in York and Latrobe, Pennsylvania…

And finally…

2008-10-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

In case you hadn’t heard, conservative talker Bill Cunningham is an idiot.

Speaking on his radio show yesterday Cunningham made the outrageous claim that people who are poor in America are not poor “because they lack money” but rather “because they lack values, morals, and ethics.”

Let me see if I understand this properly… they’re poor because they lack morals, values and ethics… I guess I’m missing something somewhere because there seems to be a whole lot of wealthy republicans out there who are nothing short of the collective embodiment of those three traits.

I’m just sayin’…

Feel good

2008-10-30T16:51:00.001-05:00

Awwwwwww;

A little more than a month earlier, teacher Joyce Ben-KiKi had Aron and his classmates each send letters to a famous person as part of a language arts lesson. Ben-KiKi wrapped the exercise around well-known children's book character "Flat Stanley," so along with the letters, the children each tucked a Flat Stanley figure they had made into each envelope.

"I told them not to expect a letter back," Ben-KiKi said. "I told them these people are very busy and most likely will not write back."

The list of recipients was impressive: Yankee third basemen Alex Rodriguez; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz; Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John McCain.

Obama was the only one to write back. Two other boys, Avshalom Drescher and Zachary Goldberg, both 8, also wrote to him, but Aron was the first to get a reply.

Obama's three-page letter to Aron described Flat Stanley's visit with him and his staff in Washington, D.C. It chronicled their busy day together, which included coffee with constituents, a Senate committee meeting and a trip to the gym. It also had historical facts about the U.S. Capitol, details of Obama's job and a confession from Obama.

“Sometimes I get a little nervous before talking in front of a crowd, but Flat Stanley helped me practice the speech," Obama wrote. "He made me recite it in front of him and then even gave me some advice so the speech would go smoothly. Flat Stanley is really a great coach."

What will you be doing next Tuesday???

2008-10-30T16:01:00.002-05:00

101 Reasons to Vote Against John McCain: 50-41

2008-10-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

Big shock, here’s 50-41

#50: John McCain mocks energy conservation. Barack Obama worked hard highlighting little things like properly inflating tires to help conserve energy, and McCain made fun of it.

#49: John McCain is against giving proper health care to our nation's veterans. In 2006, he voted against a bill that would give $20 million to the VA for health care facilities. He also voted against a bill that would increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion.

#48: John McCain continues to lie to slam Barack Obama. In a new ad out on August 8, he says Obama would raise taxes on anyone making over $42,000 a year - not true.

#47: John McCain supported an extra tax on Tobacco before he opposed it. He is now against a $1.10 tax that is aimed at cutting down on smoking.

#46: John McCain is in bed with Ralph Reed. McCain is scheduled to attend a fundraiser with the Abramoff-scandal-involved man, and is ignoring calls to cancel his appearance.

#45: John McCain would gut Social Security as President. His plan includes a higher retirement age, and he would cut benefits to moderate and higher income earners, plus, he would like to privatize Social Security as well.

#44: John McCain cheats in church! He KNEW the questions going into the Saddleback forum with Pastor Rick Warren - and was not in a cone of silence. If he cheats on that...would you want him as President?

#43: John McCain is an elitist with 10 homes. He is out of touch with the American people because of his wealth, yet he attacks Obama for being elitist?

#42: John McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns. He is so out of it, he can't count how many houses he owns...does he belong in the White House?

#41: John McCain showed poor judgement in his running mate choice. Sarah Palin does not have the qualifications to be Vice President of the United States.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s installment; 40-31…

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

2008-10-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Question: Why is disgraced Rep. Tom DeLay getting airtime? Anyone?

Sen. Obama’s 30-minute campaign commercial last night was a resounding success… naturally Sen . McCain tried to squelch the success but instead came off as someone who was more jealous of Obama having the money to do such a thing than anything else…
Apparently CNN just learned that retiree and student voters exist and aren’t just worried about themselves but their children and grandchildren and about ethics and economics respectively…
Seventy-six Nobel Prize laureates in science endorsed Obama yesterday and cited his “commitment to improving U.S. competitiveness by boosting science, technology, education and research” as the reasoning behind the endorsement. The group of 76 also took the announcement as an opportunity to criticize the Bush(whacked) Administration for “damaging scientific development.”
McCain says race won’t decide this election…if McCain’s addle-minded brain can determine that, everyone should be able to…
Obama has strengthened his electoral map lead in CNN’s so-called “Poll of Polls.” What does that mean? Absolutely nothing…
Oh, Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profits were $14.83 billion and shattered its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation… doesn’t that make you feel better?
With each passing day of shilling for McCain, Sen. Joe Lieberman comes that much closer to being politically insignificant in the event of a large Democratic take-over of the Senate, and in the process will lose his chairmanship on the Senate Homeland Security Committee… (Bout time…)
And have we mentioned? That a new poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project found 23%, nearly a quarter of those responding, wrongly think that Sen. Obama is a Muslim. Some good news is that 45% accurately identified him as Protestant, while another 28% did not know Obama’s religion and 0.2% believe that Obama is a Hindu – don’t ask me where that one came from – (while the pollsters did not speculate why so many Texans wrongly identify his religion, I will… lying. Pure, unadulterated lying by conservatives in a desperate attempt to monger some fear...)