Strike 3 459

Tonight Sen. Obama will do something that has never been done before for a presidential candidate.
He will be an infomercial.

And apparently this has pissed off Sen. McCain as he tried, and failed, to mock Obama this morning for having the money to pull off something that McCain, with as little money as he has, would LOVE to do… buy 30-minutes of Primetime television.

Said McCain; “No one will delay the World Series with an infomercial when I'm president…”

Can we say ‘pandering’? Cause that’s what that was… pure pandering.

According to Fox Account Executive Joe Coppola; “Our first pitch for the world series is usually around 8:30 anyway – so we didn’t push back the game, it was really just about suspending the pre-game -- you know, Joe Buck. […] That’s all we did. […] We didn’t push back the game at all. […] By no means did they push to get us to accommodate them with Game Six. We’re just missing the pregame, which isn’t a big deal for us. It was a business decision.”

Ya see… initially Obama had arranged to buy the time on Fox only if the World Series were over before Game Six… but Fox then decided to sell the campaign the time regardless if the game was played or not.

So it came down to one thing and one thing only; money.

So, it was a Fox decision to sell the pre-game time and thus spare all of us of having to listen to the droning of Joe Buck (he ain’t his Dad) and Tim McCarver and not delay the first pitch at all.

So in other words, Obama isn’t delaying a sporting event…

Too bad McCain can’t claim the same.

McCain's economic plan: older than McCain himself

The McCain campaign, depending on which McCain campaign person you ask may or may not be poised to announce his economic plan today, and if the details that have been leaked are true, there’s little ‘new’ stuff in it.

McCain campaign manager Denis Holtz-Eakin said McCain's proposal is “targeted at people who have been hurt by the recent financial crisis — seniors, savers, workers, people who are trying to get to college.”

Really? McCain wants to help people in the middle-class, I’m skeptical, but I’m listening… what are the proposals?

“…a 50 per cent reduction in the capital gains tax on stock profits, from the current 15 per cent to 7.5 per cent, for a period of two years, at an estimated cost of $10 billion; an acceleration in the tax write-off for stock losses, allowing Americans to deduct $15,000 in losses a year for the tax years 2008 and 2009.”

A 50% reduction in… in capital gains… really? That’s McCain’s big economic plan, reducing capital gains… this plan isn't new… in fact it’s almost as old as McCain.

And I don’t mean to nitpick but what capital gains are McCain speaking of? Before you can get capital gains don’t you have to have, you know, capital? And with the markets down 30% and more over the past year, the only people to recoup capital gains taxes would be those that have been holding large blocks of stock for years and... ohhh now I get it.

This is one of the oldest tricks in the republican playbook: cynically manipulate a crisis to push through the most radical of measures.

According to the Wonk Room’s James Kvaal, the impact of cutting capital gains would look like this; “Households earning less than $50,000 a year collected a mere 2.5 percent of capital gains in 2005, according to the Tax Policy Center. Families earning more than $1 million a year collected 59 percent of capital gains. Moreover, most middle-class families with capital gains hold their investments in retirement accounts shielded against capital gains taxes.”

For someone that’s already promising massive tax cuts for corporations and a staggering $4 billion in tax cuts for for oil companies, handing out a new tax cut for millionaires and calling it a “Pension And Family Security” with the beard of helping people that are “hurting the most” is insulting to everyone with a brain.

And how will McCain pay for these tax cuts? One would think a presidential candidate would be able to tell the voters how he would pay for something this massive (as Obama did yesterday with his economic plan), but the McCain campaign apparently doesn’t.

At the least spokesperson Nancy Pfotenhauer is stumped about how much those new tax cuts would cost and how McCain plan to pay for them, saying; “Obviously…it’s going to cost some amount of money,”

Well DUHHHHHHH… thanks for that brilliant insight Nancy… to get that kind of insight usually you need to slide a quarter into some kind of slot and wait for a mechanical fortune teller to tell you what your future holds.

I can see clearly that a future with a McPalin administration would be a disaster on epic proportions, not unlike the last eight years with commander cuckoo-bananas in charge.

The Only possiBle candidAte to vote for is pretty daMn clear if you Ask me… and Because of thIs, we neeD to gEt out and vote on ElectioN Day…

UPDATE: Apparently some of McCain’s advisers are unsure if McCain was scheduled to unveil his economic plan today. If people within his own campaign don’t know what the hell the campaign is doing, how the hell would the country look after four years of him?

Un-effin'-believable

It wasn’t bad enough that the McPalin campaign had not been addressing the cries of “kill him”, “traitor” or “terrorist” being shouted at their rallies, now they’ve come out and, in essence, endorsed all the hatred.

Politico’s Ben Smith reports this from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers; “Barack Obama’s attacks on Americans who support John McCain reveal far more about him than they do about John McCain. It is clear that Barack Obama just doesn’t understand regular people and the issues they care about. He dismisses hardworking middle class Americans as clinging to guns and religion, while at the same time attacking average Americans at McCain rallies who are angry at Washington, Wall Street and the status quo.”

Then you have this from McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace; “Barack Obama's assault on our supporters is insulting and unsurprising. These are the same people Obama called 'bitter' and attacked for 'clinging to guns' and faith. He fails to understand that people are angry at corrupt practices in Washington and Wall Street and he fails to understand that America's working families are not 'clinging' to anything other than the sincere hope that Washington will be reformed from top to bottom. […] Attacking our supporters is a new low for the campaign that's run more millions of dollars of negative ads than any other in history.” What!!?? Are you fucking kidding me??? What nerve… what stupidity… what hatred! You dare say Obama doesn’t understand people when your campaign is ignoring the economic crisis to incite this kind of crap…

Shouting "Terrorist" and "Kill Him" does not show anger at the economy and reform of government, all it shows is a pure hatred for Obama and the McCain Campaign should be condemning it not condoning it.

And Obama was not assaulting McCain's supporters when he spoke about these rallies, he was merely stating that the McCain campaign is stoking anger and division.

So let me get this straight; the McPalin camps says that if you're angry, it's OK to slander someone and incite a crowd to such levels of anger that would incite violence against an individual, and to call them onto the carpet for it is “an assault”?

Give me a break.

THAT is un-American, and the gop should be ashamed of themselves that they’re candidate is behaving in this fashion.

And as far as McCain’s honor is concerned, I ask what honor? McCain has no more honor… each time they ignored this idiotic behavior it guaranteed it would happen again… now that they’re endorsing it, it will grow larger and larger.

Is McCain ready to accept responsibility if the unthinkable happens? I doubt it, but it’s now clearly on his shoulders, and for someone who alleges he’s a man of honor, his campaign is so-far off the track that if he loses next month, he should immediately retire from the Senate, go home to Arizona and play canasta…

McCain; you’ve failed.

Can we talk about issues now?

Just in case you don’t know why I will be voting Obama on November 4th… while McCain spews hatred and accusations, Obama is speaking on the issues of the day, specifically the economy.

Sen. Obama today (the bolding is mine, the words are his);

“I know these are difficult times. I know folks are worried. But I believe that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis because I believe in this country. Because this is the United States of America. This is a nation that has faced down war and depression; great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen to meet these challenges - not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans. With resolve. With courage.

We have seen our share of hard times. The American story has never been about things coming easy - it's been about rising to the moment when the moment is hard; about rejecting panicked division for purposeful unity; about seeing a mountaintop from the deepest valley. That's why we remember that some of the most famous words ever spoken by an American came from a President who took office in a time of turmoil - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now is not the time for fear. Now is not the time for panic. Now is the time for resolve and steady leadership. We can meet this moment. We can come together to restore confidence in the American economy. We can renew that fundamental belief - that in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us. That's who we are, and that's the country we need to be right now.

[…]

It's easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren't looking for someone who can divide this country -- they're looking for someone who will lead it.

We're in a serious crisis -- now, more than ever, it is time to put country ahead of politics. Now, more than ever, it is time to bring change to Washington so that it works for the people of this country that we love.

I know my opponent is worried about his campaign. But that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm thinking about the Americans losing their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings. We can't afford four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else.”

To Sen. McCain I say this; ‘it’s STILL the economy stupid.’ The World economy is going to hell in a hand-cart, and here you and your surrogates are, throwing accusations and innuendos about Mr. Obama rather than tackle the issues.

Game over Mr. McCain… game over.

The Fallout Begins

After a day of flying around the blogosphere, the hatred being brewed by the McPalin campaign (intended or not) is FINALLY getting attention from the traditional media.

Consider this scathing editorial from the NY Times this morning;

It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember. […] Ms. Palin, in particular, revels in the attack. Her campaign rallies have become spectacles of anger and insult. "This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America," Ms. Palin has taken to saying. […] Her demagoguery has elicited some frightening, intolerable responses. A recent Washington Post report said at a rally in Florida this week a man yelled "kill him!" as Ms. Palin delivered that line and others shouted epithets at an African-American member of a TV crew.

About time… even if the mob-inciting is unintentional, their silence about it speaks volumes and people need to be made aware of it… thankfully the Fourth Estate has decided to do their job.

Unfortunately it will probably be short-lived as I’m sure the news cycle will be full of inane celebrity news before the end of today… but try to enjoy it while you can.

Politicians in glass houses… etc, etc.

The McPalin camp wants us to believe that Obama has associations with Bill Ayers, a 60’s radical with the Weathermen… never mind that Obama was all of 8 years old when Ayers group committed those crimes.

This is guilt by association because Obama and Ayers were on the board of a charity together.

Imagine if all of us were guilty by living in the same neighborhood and working in the same place as a questionable person…. would that mean that we are all guilty by association and proximity?

Give me a break…

And what of McCain? Do you really expect the American people to believe that in their years of public service, they’ve never been associated with someone whose reputation was less than stellar.

Come on John, surely you can name one {cough cough – Keating 5 – cough cough}…

And you Ms. Palin; you’re associated with a group that wants Alaska to succeed from the US… you’re also associated with a pastor that’s said some pretty radical things himself… and yet here you are, throwing stones when your glass house (or should I say ‘igloo’) is chock-full of the same.

If the McPalin camp wants to open this war, then it’s up to the Progressive Blogosphere to strike back on behalf of the Obama campaign.

Starting now.

Something wicked this way comes

Whatever honor or dignity that the McPalin campaign ever had is now gone.

Over the weekend the campaign saw the writing on the wall that the campaign was sinking fast, so they re-strategized and decided to divert focus away from the issues like the economy, the war and healthcare, and took aim at Sen. Obama’s character.

In doing so, they’re going down a bleak path that may lead to… God knows what.

With their hateful rhetoric, the McPalin campaign is starting to incite a mob-mentality with some of their supporters, witness yesterday’s frightening developments:

• After Palin made (totally unfounded and inflammatory) suggestions that Obama is a terrorist and/or is at least friendly toward terrorists and doesn't see the country the way you and I do a supporter shouted out; “Kill him!”
• McPalin supporters shouted racial epithets at reporters and an African American AV technician.
• Palin was introduced by a sheriff who prognosticated about might happen on Election Day “if Barack Hussein Obama is elected.”
• During a campaign stop, McCain asked rhetorically and impregnated with pejorative meaning: “Who is Barack Obama?” A McCain supporter yelled out “A terrorist!"

What is the campaign’s intent in questioning Obama’s character? Come on, does John McCain truly think that the Presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket is a terrorist and hates America?

Of course not… it’s republican fear-mongering at its ugliest… and judging by yesterday’s various occurrences, it’s working.

And that’s what worries me… one should never underestimate the ignorance of mob mentality and mob rule.

Sure, it was one single person screaming “Kill him”, but then you had another yelling “he’s a terrorist”.

Where does this lead?

Is this what our nation, our civilized nation, has become??

And if McCain gets elected... where does it go from there?

The litany of possibilities is downright terrifying.

UPDATE: When is it decided that enough is enough? What has to happen before the traditional media picks up on the fact that the McPalin campaign is prompting a mob mentality and, due to their silence when it occurs, hate-mongering?

In the last few days we’ve seen someone at a McCain rally shouting “terrorist,” someone at a Palin rally screaming “kill him” while others at the same rally taunted reporters and AV techs with racial epithets.

The insanity continued today; “In the latest instance of inflammatory outbursts at McCain-Palin rallies, a crowd member screamed "treason!" during an event on Tuesday after Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of criticizing U.S. troops.”

‘Treason’?

Surely someone in the McCain campaign knows how utterly ridiculous that sounds… and that person needs to explain it to Ms. Palin.

Just be sure to use a LOT of pictures, small words, and speak very slowly…

UPDATE 2: Per Radar Online; "The Secret Service is following up on media reports today that someone in the crowd at a McCain/Palin event suggested killing Barack Obama, according to Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley. The shout of "kill him" followed a Sarah Palin rant on Obama's relationship with radical Chicagoan Bill Ayers."

Good... and since the traditional media is doing their usual bang-up job on reporting (meaning they're ignoring it) make sure you tell everyone you know about this.

McCain's Keystone Kampaigning

Sen. McCain’s inane posturing about suspending his campaign went over like a lead balloon… spewing forth that he would stroll into town on his white horse, sheppard the economic crisis through Congress while collecting bipartisan support.

Well, as if he hadn’t already made himself and his campaign looked amateurish, this latest development will.

Speaking at a rally today, McCain took credit for helping the bailout bill pass, as did his surrogates…

Mitt Romney; “[T]his bill would not have been agreed to had it not been for John McCain. ... But, you know, this is a bipartisan accomplishment, a bipartisan success. And if people want to get something done in Washington, they just watch John McCain.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham; “But here are the facts, and I’m not overselling anything. The fact is that the House Republicans were not in the mix at all. John didn’t phone this one in. He came and actually did something. ... You can’t phone something like this in. Thank God John came back.”

Senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt; “Earlier in the week, when Senator McCain came back to Washington, there had been no deal reached. ... What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all the parties to the table, including the House Republicans.”

Got that? McCain helped to get his republican colleagues in Congress to go along with the plan.

Well… apparently someone forgot to tell his colleagues, as the bailout plan failed today, with 133 republicans voting against the bill and a scant 65 voting for it.

McCain certainly did a good job, didn’t he?

McCain’s campaign more and more looks like the Keystone Kops.

Do you suppose there’s anyone actually running the campaign, or is it more so the fact that the campaign’s surrogates just go out and say anything at anytime.

How else can one explain the complete disarray of a once formidable campaign?

Is republican stupidity contagious?

Last week Sen. McCain trotted out his standard line that the “fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Never mind that he said this on the very day that Wall Street started to implode with not one but two major banking institutions collapsing and a major insurance carrier starting to disintegrate.

He was, rightfully so, ridiculed for the remarks and was accused of being “un-informed”, “naïve”, or “senile.” (or my choice; all of the above)

Well, apparently the stupid IS contagious as in an interview with CNBC yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice echoed McCain’s inane comment:

QUESTION: How does a United States in the middle of a global financial crisis affect diplomatic efforts around the world and your efforts?
RICE: Everybody understands that this is a very specific, indeed once-in-a-lifetime – well, we certainly hope – circumstance. But people have confidence in the United States. As the President has said, this is a financial crisis, but the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong.

Huh?

If the economy is fundamentally strong, why do we need a $700 billion bailout?

Rice continued to seemingly kiss McCain’s ass as she repeated his backtracking mantra that he was referring to the American worker, saying; “Everyone understands our great ability to innovate, the productivity of our workers, the ability of the country to move quickly. And so I believe the United States’ standing has not been really affected.”

Um, Ms. Rice… you do know that McCain has already picked a running-mate, right? And you do know that you’re saying something that the bastion of rose-colored glasses, the White House, even disagrees with?

Is she trying to apologize for not supporting McCain’s bid whole-heartedly, or is she simply trying to distance herself from the White House by disagreeing with everything they say?

Perhaps she doesn’t want to end up like Colin Powell, marked for life because he was a member of the Bush(whacked) Administration.

Stay tuned…

And now, the Spanish Reaction

I wrote yesterday about McCain’s blunder or pander, regarding meeting with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

While we all thought at the time that McCain was simply confused as to whom Zapatero was, his top foreign policy adviser said that McCain wasn’t confused but that he was spelling out his policy towards Spain.

As I also mentioned, ThinkProgress stated, and I at the time agreed, that if that were the case, then McCain would be carrying forth “President” Bush’s childish grudge against Zapatero for keeping a campaign promise and calling Spanish troops back from Iraq.

Well, according to MSNBC, the Spanish Embassy in D.C. agrees, releasing a statement that says; “The only plausible explanation for McCain not wanting to meet with Zapatero, is that, like Bush, he is still angry about Spain pulling its troops out of Iraq in 2004. If McCain carries that much of a grudge then how in the world will he rebuild our relationship with Europe, as he has said he would do.”

Well… I have a different opinion.

McCain was confused…and rather than admit their dotty old candidate was confused, they created this faux reason that McCain is upset with Mr. Zapatero because he withdrew the Spanish forces from Iraq.

Right now, no one in the gop (and everyone in the DNC) wants to connect Bush and McCain, so why would his foreign policy expert do just that by saying McCain’s response was due to his stance? He would have to know that people would put two and two together and realize it’s because they ‘snubbed’ Bush by recalling their troops.

Five months ago McCain said he would meet with Zapatero… and while I understand it’s McCain the Flip-Flopper we’re talking about, explain to me why he would suddenly change his stance about a country that has been a US ally for decades?

Anyone?

And finally…

In case you hadn’t heard; the lies just keep on coming…

Today McCain said; “Two years ago, I warned that the oversight of Fannie and Freddie was terrible, that we were facing a crisis because of it, or certainly serious problems. […] The influence that Fannie and Freddie had in the inside the Beltway, old boy network, which led to this kind of corruption is unacceptable and I warned about it a couple of years ago.”

How about that… McCain called the crisis 2 years ago… wow, he must—what’s that? Read what he said 10 months ago when someone asked him about the subprime mortgage crisis?

“But so, in this whole new derivative stuff, and SIBs and all of this kind of new ways of packaging mortgages together and all that is something that frankly I don’t know a lot about. [...]
But I don’t know of hardly anybody, with the exception of a handful, that said ‘wait a minute, this thing is getting completely out of hand and is overheating.’

So, I’d like to tell you that I did anticipate it, but I have to give you straight talk, I did not.”

So he didn’t predict it before he predicted it...

The lies! They burn!

Not something to be bragging about this week John…*

“The point is, I was chairman of the commerce committee. Every part of America's economy, I oversighted. I have a long record, certainly far more extensive of being involved in our economy than Senator Obama does.”

Really? You really want to brag about being involved in the economy right now at this moment?

Keep talking Mr. McCain…it only helps us.




*but keep doing it nonetheless.