David Weigel | September 12, 2008
Unconvincing Quote of the Week
"I predict that Sen. Obama will win and win pretty handily."
- First Gentleman
wannabe Bill Clinton
The Week in Brief
- Ron Paul told
his supporters to vote for a third party candidate, and told
the big two parties to open the debates.
- Paul belatedly
asked for Montana supporters to take him off the presidential
ballot.
- Bob Barr went elsewhere.
- Sarah Palin (finally) met the press.
- The nightmare of election day started to take
hideous form.
- This
happened.
Below the Fold
- Hendrik Hertzberg
gets a few last licks into Mitt Romney's risible convention
speech.
- John Dickerson dismisses the McCain
anti-earmark campaign.
- Roger Ebert
hops on the anti-Palin bus.
- Jake Tapper
offers a challenge.
- Phil Klein reminds
Republicans of when they didn't like frothy
celebrity.
- Richard Spencer sighs
at Ron Paul's decision.
The return of Politics and Prog should be self-explanatory.
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also there was a killer onion article
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/national_endowment_for_the_arts
More evidence that suggests price ceilings cause
shortages.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/07/news/gouging_reactions/index.htm
Roger Ebert hops on the anti-Palin bus. "I think I might be
able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the "American
Idol" candidate."
Nice try, Roger. Keep telling yourself you're still relevant. I
know, I know, getting old and infirm sucks. Most of us will get
there, eventually. Please stick to movie reviews that few read or
care about. Existence is cruel, but it beats the alternative.
Unless you're a Democrat. Maybe you should just end it. Not that
there's anything right or wrong with that.
"I trust the American people will see through Palin, and save
the Republic in November."
Because only Democrats can "save" the republic.
I retire to bedlam.
Blech. One of the more overrated bands ever.
"DUDE!! I'm telling you...hit play on the second lion's
roar!"
Blech.
If Palin is qualified to be Vice-President, then Ebert is
qualified to comment on politics.
I mean, come on, she didn't know what the Bush Doctrine
is. The single biggest change in American Foreign Policy in a
half-fucking century.
If Palin were to go back to moose-tending, then I'd be all about
telling Ebert to go fuck himself. Somehow, though, I think that's
kind of his point in the first place.
It's interesting to watch empty Republican media gambits fail
for a change.
First, "tire gauge" completely and utterly failed to become a punch
line.
Then, nobody really cared that there were greek column at Barack
Obama's speech.
And now we see the same people who started the freakout over
Lipstick-gate say "I really think the media need to move on to more
important things."
There was a time, just a few years ago, when the Republicans said
jump and the media said how high? Oh my God, John Kerry got the
good cheese! Dixie Chicks, we hate the Dixie Chicks, right
everybody?
What happened?
"Sarah Palin (finally) met the press."
Wow it took her eight whole days! She's such a cowering
slacker!
Who writes this shit? Oh yeah.
"Roger Ebert hops on the anti-Palin bus. "I think I might be
able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the "American
Idol" candidate.""
Fatty and Skinny went to bed,
Fatty let a fart and Skinny was dead.
Fatty called the doctor and the doctor said,
"If you let another fart, then we'll all be dead!"
With props to my fifth grade friend Mark Willman back in 1967.
It's interesting to watch empty Republican media gambits
fail for a change.
The republicans have been throwing everything they can at Obama,
hoping for another Dukakis in a tank/Swift Boat type story to gain
traction. You may be laughing about it now, lets see if you're
still laughing in a few months, if some inane Obama story ends up
derailing his campaign after Republicans blow it out of
proportion.
Media elites and panicked sexism. That's what!
I'll tell you what, BDB - I think they were caught
flat-footed.
Just a bunch of flat-footed, panicked sexists.
stephen,
Why haven't they worked yet? I mean, Reverend Wright blew over.
"Bitter" blew over. Mike Dukakis's "arugala" was Belgian endive -
do you remember that? Everything stuck to him. Is Obama another
teflon candidate, or is something different?
BUT in a way (at least so far) Palin is teflon, too.
It's like she's some mirror-universe Hillary Clinton.
You can't call Palin a liar when she lies, that's
"disrespectful".
You can't say she's unprepared, that's "sexist".
You can't say she s good looking, that's an "attack".
What CAN you say?
If she murdered someone, could you call her a murderer?
BUT in a way (at least so far) Palin is teflon,
too.
9.12.08: the Great Metal Spatula.
So the media is calling her out on lying.
But what if they just say "of course the evil media is attacking
me! They hate me!"
I'm kind of psyched about a McCain/Palin administration,
actually, and it's only because it'll be fun to watch the suckers
who helped them get elected (especially the Hilltards) get the
shaft. If you're going to be so shallow and stupid as to vote for
politicians for no other real reason than how they look, then you
deserve everything that's coming to you. H.L. Mencken was
right.
Palin is the perfect leader for this rotting republic.
BUT in a way (at least so far) Palin is teflon, too.
It's like she's some mirror-universe Hillary Clinton.
The Palins remind me of the Clintons, too. It's no wonder the
Hilltards are going gaga for Sarah.
BDB,
John McCain's entire public life is based around the media propping
him up. If he loses that, where does he go?
The Palins are the mirror-universe Clintons.
Like them in every way, but opposite.
"
John McCain's entire public life is based around the media propping
him up. If he loses that, where does he go?"
Playing devil's advocate here, the media will say "oh, he really
doesn't believe the stuff he's saying, it's just his evil advisers,
he's still an honorable man".
John McCain's entire public life is based around the media
propping him up. If he loses that, where does he go?
Home.
TAO,
A list for you...you'll like number 14.
http://www.blender.com/articles/default.aspx?key=40543&pg=0
He's got a whole right-wing media waiting to take care of him now, joe. Who needs the librul em ess em?
David Gilmore is the world's greatest living guitar
player!
Hmmm...
I mainly give him props for promoting the career of Kate
Bush...
"You socialist Yankees sure are fixated on the future Vice
President."
I'm directly descended from Confederate veterans. Speak for
yourself.
At work today, the ladies (I work in a field where I am always
the only man in the room) were soooooo angry about Sarah Palin.
They were insulted by her ignorance, insulted by the idea that she
might become the first female president.
Demographic: Female, white, mothers, education ranging from BA to
PHD.
"Demographic: Female, white, mothers, education ranging from BA
to PHD."
Wow another minority constituency!
"David Gilmore is the world's greatest living guitar
player!"
Longevity has its place.
From the Ebert article:
Five different schools in six years. What was that
about?
This is my least favorite attack on Palin.
People who know exactly what they want when their 18 or 19 are
boring or scary or both. And, they usually then wind up having
their flaky momement or momements once they hit their late thirties
or early forties, especially if their dreams didn't quite work out.
And, of course, by then a 40 +/- 5 year old normally has real
responsibilities.
And the obligatory tu quoque:
From the time Obama graduated high school in '79 until he joined
the state legislature, he never attended the same university nor
worked at the same place for more than three years.
Of course, McCain famously underperformed at the Naval Academy, and
at pretty much everything else he did until landing in a lake in SE
Asia.
The Onion weighs in on Ron Paul's meeting with the non Republican / Democrat candidates.
You socialist Yankees sure are fixated on the future Vice
President.
Funny, coming from the guy who needs to keep using Clorox wipes on
his picture of her.
It's like she's some mirror-universe Hillary
Clinton.
I wonder who's the bearded Spock?
Richardson? Gore? Todd Palin?
Seriously though that guy can put more feeling into a guitar
solo than anybody I've ever heard and I play guitar and studied it
for years.
Heavy Metal it's Tony Iommi. Everything else Gilmore is the
best.
I'm directly descended from Confederate veterans. Speak for
yourself.
And I live in Florida. I'm descended from Yankees, though.
I thought the guitar heroes were a thing of the past, but Jack
White is right up there.
Who's another great Alternative Rock guitarist? Johnny Marr?
I mean, come on, she didn't know what the Bush Doctrine is.
I didn't even know that his silly policy even had a name until
today, and I try to keep up with politics. Judging politicians by
how well they know the names given to various sentences in
presidential speeches is a bit strict. Hell, it's not even a
"doctrine", it's stupid excuse invented to justify invasion. "They
have terroristas we must attaaaack!"
Is there nothing of substance lmnop can criticize her on? This is
the equivalent of bitching at Quayle because he can't spell
poetaytoe. Sheesh.
The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, issued in September 2002, was not a sentence in a speech.
"http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/national/nss-020920.htm"
Find the term "Bush Doctrine" in that text and I'll publicly suck
your dick, if that's your real gender.
Does it have the name "The Bush Doctrine"? Not that I can see.
It previously WAS a sentence in a speech. If you insist I can try
to find the quote for you.
It's still a stupid name to expect a VP candidate to know. Asking
"do you believe in the Bush doctrine" is certainly fair game, but
not knowing the specific reference is a complete nothingburger. Not
knowing it may piss off the elite policy wonks inside the beltway,
but it doesn't bother me the least bit.
"Then, nobody (sic) really cared that there were greek (sic)
column (sic) at Barack Obama's speech."
Apparently Obama did. Or maybe he's just that dense.
Granger,
Find the term "Monroe Doctrine" in any statement put out by James
Monroe, and I'll stop considering you a pathetic hack in over his
head.
Does it have the name "The Bush Doctrine"? He came out and
told her that it was issued in September 2002, and that it refers
to the right to anticipatory self defense, and she still didn't
know what the hell he was talking about.
Sarah Palin could have taken a dump on the chair and made chimp
noises, and it wouldn't have bothered you in the least.
Apparently Obama did.
Uh, yeah. Set design is generally the first item presidential
candidates discuss in the Monday morning strategy sessions.
"Uh, yeah. Set design is generally the first item presidential
candidates discuss in the Monday morning strategy sessions."
Barack Obama. Unaware.
"chimp noises"
Chimp noises? I'm curious -- which is pretty bold for a
self-professed dullard -- but did joe start posting here when the
yahoo! boards shut down?
Prediction,
No one will remember anything about this week beyond that Hurricane
Ike hit Houston. 40% of the population of Galvaston didn't
evacuate. This is going to be really bad.
"Bingo | September 12, 2008, 11:00pm | #
Fuck politics and prog."
35 years later and still every wannabe piece of shit band wants to
recreate CBGB.
Yeah 35 years ago was totally the peak of rock music. Sorry for rocking your nostalgia boat, it's all downhill from here until you're dead. Enjoy your social security, you twat.
Heartbreakers are more Max's Kansas City than CBGBs.
I'm not really familiar with DPT but if a band makes me immediately
think of Johnny Thunders
they are good.
"Enjoy your social security, you twat."
Ages away. Will never see it.
Nevertheless, all neo-masturbatory-faux punk is stillborn. My
parents listened to it endlessly, so perhaps I harbor an inherent
bias.
Gotta love the new Obama ad making fun of McCain for not being
able to use a computer... as it's been public knowledge since 2000
that McCain has trouble typing because of his war injuries.
That's Barack's new kind of politics: mocking disabled
veterans!
Hard to see how can get any lower. Maybe next week he'll punch
Palin's pregnant daughter.
Four equally irrelevant pieces of information"
-Ron Paul told his supporters to vote for a third party candidate,
and told the big two parties to open the debates.
- Paul belatedly asked for Montana supporters to take him off the
presidential ballot.
- Bob Barr went elsewhere.
- George Snodly took a shit.
"Hard to see how can get any lower. Maybe next week he'll punch
Palin's pregnant daughter."
He already has.
Unconvincing Quote of the Week
"I predict that Sen. Obama will win and win pretty handily."
- First Gentleman wannabe Bill Clinton
For anyone who thinks this election will be a cakewalk for Obama,
comparing pollster.com from a month ago, when Obama had a seemingly
huge lead in both the national polls and in the electoral college
count, to pollster.com now
should be a reality check. McCain is now ahead in the national
polls, and virtually tied in the electoral college count.
McCain got a huge bounce from Palin. Dunno what kind of president
she'd make, but from a purely political standpoint that was the
smartest thing McCain's done all election season. I've been saying
for a while that it is liable to be yet another excruciatingly
close election, and the Palin bounce seems to indicate that is
happening.
Palin-Shmalin, Americans aren't going to elect a black man named
Barack. He's never had a realistic chance. Get used to President
McCain.
He has quite a big mess to clean up. Hope his heart can take the
stress.
Vote for me, Al Franken
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJUxtfSdaX0
"Palin-Shmalin, Americans aren't going to elect a black man
named Barack"
As someone who lived Jim Crow, I sense that too.
Aside: I met a white man of sixty or so who told me that when he
was a kid in the Carolinas, what he wanted more that anything was
to sit in the back of the bus because that's where the really,
really big seat was. But of course he couldn't.
Silly people...Cheney used the exact phrase "bush Doctrine" in
speeches for years. If you missed that...then no use whining now.
Really, none of you had clue what it was? Now that's just
silly.
And Tall Dave, McCain uses a fucking blackberry, so don't go with
the POW/disabled route. Reall, this is ridiculous. Steven Hawking
uses a computer for fucks sake! So cut the crap. Some old farts
just don't get don't get computers. My husband is one of them. Have
a great night.
See the sites that helped the Washington Post
spread a smear.
BHO's chief strategist owns an
"astroturfing" company.
CharlieGibson and others misquoted
Palin.
If only Ron Paul
supporters had a brain.
Sully sent me a note: http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/007996.html
(joke)
Jerry takes a fall: youtube.com/watch?v=9qHnYPdp4sU
Friends, Romans, PUMAs, here's this week's
anti-prog.
Jesus shitting christ, lonewacko, please warn us the next time you post some limp mid-90s girl music. I soiled my eardrums listening to the first 10 seconds.
"Jerry takes a fall: youtube.com/watch?v=9qHnYPdp4sU"
Takes a kicking and keeps on licking.
I have almost never been wrong in predicting the outcome of an
election, even though I've predicted some surprises. This is
largely because I don't make predictions about things I'm not sure
about.
I am not ready to predict the outcome of this election. If I had to
give odds I would be tempted to say 12-7 in Obama's favor, but I
would still rather not bet at those odds, even though I set them. I
just can't remember an election like this. For the first time in US
history a black Negro is running against a Woman. It will be
historic in any event.
Cheney used the exact phrase "bush Doctrine" in speeches for
years.
Why would one ever voluntarily subject oneself to listening to a
Cheney speech?
So do we know why LoneDipShit switched his webpage? Was his old
site overwhelmed by dipshititude? Was it invaded by
SwarthyMexicanMasses? WTF?
PS - Lonewacko, you're still, and will always be, a
UselessHalfwitCrapSack. Have a SuperWeekend!!
Mike Laursen: Why would one ever voluntarily subject oneself
to listening to a Cheney speech?
In order to get at his sexy body? Just sayin'.
I liked Roger Ebert's column. That's the first Palin criticism I've heard that's not partisan hackery or vicious jerkery or both.
In keeping with the Pink Flody Theme, please
people vote the "Dogs of War" out of Washington. Maybe McCain could
use that song
"Dogs of War" by Pink Floyd on the campaign
trail!
I mean, come on, she didn't know what the Bush Doctrine
is.
Which Bush Doctrine?
The one where he runs on a humble foreign policy and then does
something completely different?
Or where he calls himself a conservative and then massively
increases the federal budget, allows the fucking TSA to exist,
pushes through Medicare Part D, and oversees a federal takeover of
the mortgage lending industry?
I hadn't heard anyone describe any part of the cluster of policy
fuckups flying in close formation that is his legacy described as a
Doctrine before, and I follow politics far more closely than most
of the electorate.
So I wouldn't fault Palin on this particular item. She has lots of
objectionable things that should bug any libertarian, but not
crediting Bush with a Doctrine is a feature, not a bug.
Silly people...Cheney used the exact phrase "bush Doctrine"
in speeches for years. If you missed that...then no use whining
now. Really, none of you had clue what it was? Now that's just
silly.
I don't know that I'd say I "missed that" -- certain politicians
(OK, most of them) prompt eye rollage and a frantic scramble to
change the station whenever I hear them, and Cheney is prominently
featured in that list.
I mean, that's like faulting me for not noticing something that
Orange Line Special has repeatedly said in his posts that I missed
because I don't read his fucking posts.
Actually I have to agree with this- I've been keeping a few
captives in an underground holding facility, and even they know
that the Bush doctrine is basically "Bomb first. Ask questions
later. Then bomb the little bitches again."
Are you really as unaware as my captives? No offense if you are,
just curious. You might want to provide your address if you're
really clueless. And hot. Clueless and ugly is not
exceptional.
Anyway, I can think of a few countries that deserve a good
nuking.
This thread seems to be obsessed with bodily emissions and the
processes that cause them. If I see one more jerk off or poop
reference.....
But in the spirit of the thread...I think Bill Clinton invented the
bush doctrine...because that is where he spent a lot of his
time.....(in the bush...get it? rimshot)
"I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that
down fairly soon, getting on myself," McCain told the New York
Times in an interview that appeared Sunday. "I don't expect to be a
great communicator, I don't expect to set up my own blog, but I am
becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the
information that I need."
Even so, McCain bluntly admits, "I don't e-mail. I've never felt
the particular need to e-mail."
...
Q: What websites if any do you look at regularly?
Mr. McCain: Brooke and Mark show me Drudge, obviously, everybody
watches, for better or for worse, Drudge. Sometimes I look at
Politico. Sometimes RealPolitics, sometimes.
(Mrs. McCain and Ms. Buchanan both interject: "Meagan's
blog!")
Mr. McCain: Excuse me, Meagan's blog. And we also look at the blogs
from Michael and from you that may not be in the newspaper, that
are just part of your blog.
Q: But do you go on line for yourself?
Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself,
and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don't
expect to be a great communicator, I don't expect to set up my own
blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can
get the information that I need - including going to my daughter's
blog first, before anything else.
So the guy talks about using a computer, with somebody showing him
how to do it, he talks about which sites he visits, he talks about
having sent and received email, but we're supposed to believe that
he is physically incapable of doing so?
Really, ToolDave, you've been in love with victimology for years,
but try not to lie in a manner that makes him look pathetic,
mm-kay?
Well, JOE, someone can type for him JOE, but he can't type
himself JOE because he has some injuries JOE, so really JOE, it's
disrespectful JOE to make fun of a POW JOE, for five and a half
years he didn't have a computer JOE because he was a POW JOE!
Oh look! MOOSEBURGERS!
It's odd, because flying a jet is way more complicated than using the internets (yes, I'm aware Sen. McCain is from a different generation, but still...). Anyway, we all know you can use the internet with only one good arm. I've seen it, man.
Dave, he was flying jets after his rehab finished when he came home from the war. If he can fly a jet, he is physically able to type.
Front page Washington Post:
Many Versions of 'Bush Doctrine'
Palin's Confusion in Interview Understandable, Experts Say
I'm directly descended from Confederate veterans. Speak for
yourself.
Don't it suck having loser ancestors? ;-)
If he can fly a jet, he is physically able to
type.
McCain spent five years as a POW tapping on walls to communicate.
Has it ever occurred to you that he has a mental block to typing?
Learning to tap on the tubes is hard!
If you didn't already think Palinmania was friggin' ridiculous,
from
todays Detroit Free Press
Interest in the rimless frames is so intense that the Japanese company that makes them has added extra shifts to meet the demand. Production at the plant is taking place 24 hours a day, VanderVelde says.
Where to get Sarah Palin's specs
• Shades Optical, 193 W. Maple, Birmingham. 248-645-0075 or www.shadesoptical.com
• Steven Franklin Optics, 6891 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield. 248-855-5813
I've been around the world three times, seen a monkey fuck a
football, but I ain't seen no shit like this.
FROM WAYYYY BACK
Why haven't they worked yet? I mean, Reverend Wright blew over.
"Bitter" blew over. Mike Dukakis's "arugala" was Belgian endive -
do you remember that? Everything stuck to him. Is Obama another
teflon candidate, or is something different?
You say this as the race is now a statistical tie w/ McCain having
a slight advantage nationally. I don't think Wright blew over, I
think it hurt Obama significantly but I do think that's the only
thing that really has hurt him dramatically. He might not be as
awful as Dukakis at running a campaign and deflecting attacks but
it seems like every attack has been somewhat successful in putting
a chink in Obama's armor.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
None of the attacks from McCain have seemed to backfire and hurt
him. If every time McCain attacks the net advantage goes to McCain,
even if its a minor one, its still a win for McCain, and he's going
to keep doing it from now until November. Its WAYY too early to
claim Obama is teflon and will be able to ride this out to a
victory.
stephen the goldberger, I remember when McCain got the nod one of the fears among partisan Republicans was that McCain would be too much of a "gentleman" to hit Obama hard. It seems pershaps they had no reason to fear.
J sub, that's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever
read.
What can I say? I didn't write the damned article. The buzz this
woman (Palin) has generated is like nothing I've ever seen in
politics. I will never underestimate the intellectual vapidity of
the American public again. Reasonoids, can you name
anything in politics since 1950 remotely like this? It's
bizarre. When will the bloom come of the rose? The Dems are hoping
soon and the GOP are hoping the schtick runs through Nov. 4.
Conventional wisdom is VP matters only in the VP nominees home
state. Sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong.
That article about Palin's glasses is really disconcerting,
because I really don't think much of her "look".
She looks like a realtor who has been completely used up and fucked
out.
How bad is my attention span when all it took for me to forget J sub D's article was his comment that he saw a monkey screwing a football?
"I've . . . seen a monkey fuck a football . . ."
Yeah, I also saw [name of football team] play in [year when
football team didn't do very well].
If some football expert can fill in those blanks, then - behold!
The perfect joke.
Maybe the Lions should draft that monkey next year. They would
still, suck, but the end zone celebrations would be something to
behold.
How many yards do you get penalized for fucking the football,
though?
Dave, he was flying jets after his rehab finished when he
came home from the war. If he can fly a jet, he is physically able
to type...
even though
it's painful for him to do so.
But of course BDB's right. McCain's nothing but a big whiny baby
faker trying to hide his computer illiteracy behind his so-called
"crippling injuries." Because, as any PT can tell you, the normal
aging process has no exacerbating effects whatsoever on injuries
sustained 35 years ago. (I don't want to defend the cocksucker, but
I have to. /Al)
Democratic
Party War Room -- "Adorable children ... vixen huntress ...
PWND by a mother of five from Alaska!"
If you didn't already think Palinmania was friggin' ridiculous,
from todays Detroit Free Press
And from the WSJ.
While I love her choice of footwear and her upsweep, her glasses?
Not so much. I am wholly unimpressed by her in her interviews with
Gibson. North to Alaska, baby! See you in '12.
Funny, until right now I never realized how much "Mother" sounds like "Pigs on the Wing".
I told my daughter if her boyfriend asked if he could know her in a Biblical sense to say "thanks, but no thanks" but I guess it didn't take.
"Reasonoids, can you name anything in politics since 1950
remotely like this? It's bizarre."
Camelot. Jackie was a fashion trendsetter and Caroline Kennedy had
a song on the radio (though I think some other little kid sang
it):
My daddy is president, what does your daddy do?
I live in a big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue!
I always hide behind the desk in Daddy's den
When I play hide & seek with Secret Service men.
At Daddy's first press conference I made news
Wearing Mommy's high-heeled shoes
And every time I'm able
I'm under the conference table
My daddy is president, I had a busy day
I'm learning the alphabet: ABCD - JFK!
I don't play house, I play the game of government,
'Cause my daddy is the president!
If he's physically incapable of using a computer, why does he
talk about learning to use the internet and reading blogs?
You kids get off my lawn! I was in Nam, dammit!
BDB | September 13, 2008, 12:03pm | #
J sub, that's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever read.
In J sub D's defense, he's said WAAAY dumber shit than that
before.
(I keed, I keed!)
The buzz this woman (Palin) has generated is like nothing
I've ever seen in politics.
I beg to differ. Remember four years ago, when some unknown kid
with a light resume, but young and handsome and a hell of a
speaker, grabbed everyone's attention at the Democratic
convention?
Maybe the degree of media feeding frenzy is higher this time, but
Palin is the Republican's Obama, and after getting beat down so
badly in 2006 and having their name brand trashed by Bush,
conservative Republicans finally have something to get excited
about.
True story: my mother-in-law is a Democratic state senator in
Washington, and she was blasting Palin while my brother-in-law,
this loud redneck Limbaugh dittohead, listened. Finally he said,
"Jesus Christ, Marilyn, Sarah Palin is a gun-toting, pro-life,
rural, feisty politician who doesn't take crap off anyone. And
you're not voting for her? She's fucking YOU with an 'R' after her
name."
If McCain wins, it's because Palin pulls in swing voters like my
in-laws in all the rural areas of the country.
In J sub D's defense, he's said WAAAY dumber shit than that
before.
For example, I've agreed with prolefeed.
Live and learn. ;-)
stephen the goldberger,
I disagree with your implication that the reason McCain is keeping
up with Obama is McCain's negative campaigning. For one thing,
Obama still has a huge favorability rating. For another, so are
McCain's. McCain's running a strong race because a lot people like
John McCain.
This reminds me of the primary, when everyone asked why people keep
voting against Obama. Um, maybe because they like Hillary and the
Clintons in general?
Art P.O.G., it's not a matter of how complicated the tasks are, but
of "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." John McCain was in his
twenties when he learned to fly jets. When the internet became
widespread, he was about 60.
Oh, and if Democrats want to quit narrowly losing presidential elections and instead win by huge margins, they would be well advised to nominate a more articulate and photogenic version my mother-in-law -- a Democratic version of Palin from the sticks, instead of, say, doublespeaking liberals from big cities on the East Coast.
Art P.O.G., it's not a matter of how complicated the tasks
are, but of "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Actually, you can teach 'em new tricks. I sent my first text
message less than a week ago.
MNG--
"Coastal" means blue state whether or not it is actually near an
ocean.
Witness the efforts to define Alaska as "the heartland".
Actually, you can teach 'em new tricks. I sent my first text
message less than a week ago.
That's true, it's not impossible, just more difficult.
Oh, and if Democrats want to quit narrowly losing presidential
elections and instead win by huge margins
There are no huge margins anymore. It's still 50/50 nation, subject
only to temporary swings produced by specific events. The
Republicans thought they had a realignment in 2002, and the
Democrats thought they had one in 2006, but the country reverted
back to about even by the next election. It's unusual for this
situation to last this long (about a decade and a half now). I
wonder how much longer politics will be like that.
I wonder how much longer politics will be like
that.
Until the boomers croak, I'd say. So it's going to be a while.
They're locked into their KULTUR WAR and now they're old, too,
meaning they are even more likely to vote. Yay.
OMG I nearly vomited laughing when I saw this --- parody poster
of Andrew Sullivan foaming at the mouth:
http://www.conservativesforum.com/cgi-bin/conservatives-forum/YaBB.pl?num=1187127821/473#473
Until the boomers croak, I'd say. So it's going to be a
while. They're locked into their KULTUR WAR and now they're old,
too, meaning they are even more likely to vote. Yay.
As part of that demographic pig going through a snake, I figger all
of the bithching about boomers is kinda like Canadians bitching
about the states. Boomers are too big to ignore, their foibles and
follies have had a disproportianate effect on society for 50+ years
now.
Don't fret, in ten more years the first of us will start dying in
significant numbers and, LOL, y'all are gonna have to bury us
too.
We boomers distort everything.
The most famous politicians boomers have given us:
*Dan Quayle
*Bill Clinton
*Hillary Clinton
*Newt Gingrich
*George W. Bush
*Tom DeLay
So, yeah. You can see where the bitching comes from.
"prol-Chicago is on the East Coast now? Man, that Global Warming
is a bitch."
North Coast.
Will Colorado be a coast too if it votes for Obama? What about Iowa and New Mexico?
I disagree with your implication that the reason McCain is
keeping up with Obama is McCain's negative campaigning.
Perhaps you are right, I could be letting my prejudice cloud my
assessment (because I find it difficult to understand why anyone
would like McCain), we'll have to see when its all said and done
who wins and what gets the credit as kingmaker.
And I do think the main reason for McCain recently jumping Obama is
Support for Palin, which has nothing to do with Obama attacks, and
is only a reflection of the perceived strength of the McCain
ticket.
The Republicans thought they had a realignment in 2002, and
the Democrats thought they had one in 2006, but the country
reverted back to about even by the next election.
We know the reason the country fled the GOP during 2002-2006 (and
that's four years, not two -- Bush beat Kerry by a healthy margin,
and the GOP was still in the black in Congress after 2004).
So why have the Dems lost their huge advantage -- much bigger than
the GOP's 2002 boost -- in less than two years? The blues should've
been running away with this thing.
"Nice try, Roger. Keep telling yourself you're still relevant. I
know, I know, getting old and infirm sucks. Most of us will get
there, eventually. Please stick to movie reviews that few read or
care about"
Um..say what you want about the validity of his political opinions
but Ebert has got to be the most well known, widely read and highly
regarded film critics in the US. He pretty much moved in to the top
spot after Pauline Kael died.
I guess voice activation software doesn't exist in his
world.
Did you not read the Forbes article, BDB? The "cunt" is his speech
recognition software (who, when not doped up on pills, probably has
a much lower WER than some newfangled, fancy schmancy,
übersensitive speech-to-text program).
If he's physically incapable of using a computer, why does he
talk about learning to use the internet and reading
blogs?
I really don't know, joe. Maybe you could attend one of the crusty
old fart's town halls and ask him! Then, you can go all Lonewacko
on his ass, upload his answer to youtube and PWN the
out-of-touch, wrinkly white-haired guy but good. SRSLY, Obama's
"Still" ad is brilliant. Almost as brilliant as using the (always
hysterical) "lipstick on a pig" metaphor after Palin became famous
for her "lipstick" joke! Genius, I tell ya!
Because Democrats suck at campaigning.
The "still" ad was stupid, but if I hear "I can't do X because I
was a POW, how outrageous!" one more time I'll scream.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20080913/cx_db_uc/db20080913
"http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20080913/cx_db_uc/db20080913"
Boomer humor is so passe'.
I'm waiting for the first confrontation between Black Panthers & Blackwater...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B--bj01CYR8&eurl=http://www.powerlineblog.com/
"I'm waiting for the first confrontation between Black Panthers
& Blackwater..."
Huh?
BDB: GG sounds a bit old and angry.
Not at all! Well, maybe a little old (Obama has a few
years on me).
OO===D: You seem to be one G short.
And you seem to have an undescended testicle! (It's 8===D, not
OO===D, Dick. HTH!)
But enough about me, assorted bollocks, and petty ass political
ads.
How about the
DOJ?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department unveiled proposed new rules on Friday for FBI investigations, changes a civil liberties group criticized for giving agents powers to investigate Americans without proper suspicion.
McCain +5 in PA! What? Zogby Interactive! Ah.
Ha ha, you got me. Good one.
We know the reason the country fled the GOP during 2002-2006
(and that's four years, not two -- Bush beat Kerry by a healthy
margin, First, did you mean "fled TO the GOP?" What you wrote
doesn't make sense otherwise. Also, Bush didn't win by a healthy
margin. He was an incumbent wartime president, and won by 2.5%.
That is the smallest victory by a sitting president during wartime
in American history. Either this was evidence of incredible
Republican weakness (unlikely, given that they stood pat in
Congress), or of a very closely divided country.
and the GOP was still in the black in Congress after
2004). Meaning, there was virtually no change at all. Record
close presidential election, no movement in Congress. 50/50
nation.
So why have the Dems lost their huge advantage -- much bigger
than the GOP's 2002 boost -- in less than two years? Reversion
to the mean, just like 2002-2004.
The blues should've been running away with this thing.
Well, they're still on course to pick up 4-6 Senate seats and 10-20
House seats.
But if you mean the presidential election:
1. 50/50 Nation. Already shown above.
2. Non-incumbent election. Since World War 2, elections that didn't
have a sitting president have been decided by an average of 3.8
points. Two of them (1960 and 2000) were virtual ties.
People who talk about historical patterns during bad economies
favoring the challenger, and interpreting this as applying to
Obama, are confusing incumbent and non-incumbent elections. Swing
voters in the middle, who decide elections, are by definition
people who vote for "the man not the party." Hence, while they'll
punish Jimmy Carter for the crappy economy of the Jimmy Carter
years, they won't punish John McCain for the crappy economy of the
George Bush years.
SRSLY, Obama's "Still" ad is brilliant. Yes, it is, sadly.
It's exactly the kind of stupid, personal, paper-thin-on policy,
gimmicky nonsense attack ad that works. Ask Harold Ford. Ask John
Kerry.
It's interesting to see Republican shills declare that Obama's
adoption of the campaign tactics that defined John McCain's and
George Bush's campaigns are desperate.
BDB, the ad is indeed stupid. It's an insult to the intelligence of
anyone with an IQ over room temperature - which is to say, everyone
except people who can't figure out at this late date whether they
prefer John McCain or Barack Obama. It's not targeted to us, any
more than the Harold Ford bimbo ad, the John Kerry windsurfing ad,
or the Paris Hilton celebrity ad was targeted at us.
It certainly has scared the hell out of the Republicans. Good Lord,
Obama is putting winning ahead of Goo-goo campaigning just like a
Republican!
I guess Teddy Kennedy could have actually had a shot at beating Reagan in 1980, then.
I like it.
"Obama +2: NBC/WSJ"
"McCain +1: Newsweek/Gallup"
"Even: Rasmussen"
"McCain +5: Zogby LOL"
More fun results from the series of Zogby LOL Polls released
today, aside from the two referenced above:
NH McCain +6.1
FL McCain +10
ME Obama +2 (!)
VA McCain +6.5
I guess Teddy Kennedy could have actually had a shot at
beating Reagan in 1980, then.
I don't know. There is zero data on sitting presidents who lose a
primary.
CNN is not being very flattering to Palin ("Palin Revealed"*) in what was a soft-ball bio piece on Obama Revealed and McCain Revealed.
Oh, Weigel's gonna love this.
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/09/was-communist-frank-marshall-davis.html
No doubt, this is why they forged the birth certificate.
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/09/was-communist-frank-marshall-davis.html
They all look the same to me.
"So why have the Dems lost their huge advantage"
It will be very interesting. The Dems are going to pick up seats in
the Senate and the House while their Presidential pick will lose.
If that is not an indicator of a bad nominee (both Obama and Biden
[I mean Biden, WTF?!?) I don't know what is.
If the Dems chose a less open to attack candidate at the beginning
and THEN named Obama as VP they would have walked away with this
(and ironically done more to ensure the well past due election of a
minority to national office and eventually the Presidency). Even if
they would have made a VP pick with at least SOME potential to
generate excitement for the ticket they would still have been in
good shape.
Biden 08 makes John Edwards in 04 look like a guy who can generate
incredible support.
You have to give it to McCain as a candidate, whether you like
his stances or not. If you had a video game in which you could
create a Presidential candidate and equip him with various
characteristics you would create John McCain.
War hero, yeah I want that. POW? That's great. Reputation as
maverick? Yes. Record of reform, shit can I have that as
well?
And I can name a woman who doesn't threaten the "heartland" (read:
dumbasses) as VP?
Holy shit that is like the code in Contra that gave you endless
lives. His surging campaign does not amaze me, only the fact that
the people who make up the GOP primary electorate (avg. IQ=83,
shirts=plaid, hat=John Deere and/or WWJD) had the good sense to
pick him...
"Even if they would have made a VP pick with at least SOME
potential to generate excitement for the ticket they would still
have been in good shape."
I should have added OR someone who could have carried their own
state, said state being one that would otherwise likely have gone
the other way without said pick. You do win this thing by winning a
majority (electoral college majority of course) of those.
Joe Biden? Delaware? WTF?!!!?
BDB
I'd choose Clinton's speaking ability and political sense, but are
you saying you'd pick the "drug using", "60's hippie" and "fidelity
problems" characteristics for your ultimate candidate? I think he
did well despite that (and Ross Perot (92) and Newt Gingrich (96)
helped).
Does anyone else think it is ironic that Newt Gingrich was probably
the smartest high profile Republican in the past 20 years and also
the most hated by the public? They had one that had read something
other than Sunday School lesson books and the public hated his
guts...
No, the fact that he has those problems and beats his opponents
anyway is cool. It drives them nuts.
He had sex in the oval office, lied about it under oath, and got
away with it. That means he cannot be destroyed politically.
So, you've got to give it to McCain as a candidate, but the only
explanation for why this is a close race is that Barack Obama is
uniquely open to attack?
So, the last Democrat to win the White house was a "drug
using", "60's hippie" and "fidelity problems", but the only
way to win is a to pick a candidate that doesn't leave openings to
attacks, even if this means passing on a someone of exceptional
political skill and charisma?
He only hits me because I'm stupid and lazy. If I just make sure
dinner's on the table, he won't hit me. I've just got to not give
him a reason.
Sure, Kerry's not so charismatic or politically skilled, but they can't very well question HIS patriotism.
"Oops, Obama ad mocks McCain's inability to send e-mail. Trouble
is, he can't due to tortured fingers"
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/obama-ad-email.html
McCain's difficulty typing is public knowledge. It was in the
Boston Globe:
http://graphics.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/McCain_character_loyal_to_a_fault+.shtml
McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families
needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage
comes from inside: McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from
combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his
shoes.
It was also in Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/asap/2000/0529/053_print.html
In certain ways, McCain was a natural Web candidate. Chairman
of the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and regarded as the
U.S. Senate's savviest technologist, McCain is an inveterate
devotee of email. His nightly ritual is to read his email together
with his wife, Cindy. The injuries he incurred as a Vietnam POW
make it painful for McCain to type. Instead, he dictates responses
that his wife types on a laptop. "She's a whiz on the keyboard, and
I'm so laborious," McCain admits.
So apparently the Obama campaign can't use Google, which is
amusingly ironic, or is so tone-deaf they're mocking McCain for a
problem caused in part by his war injuries.
Of course, given that this is the team that thought using "lipstick
on a pig" would be a great idea following Palin's famous use of the
word lipstick in a joke about herself, I guess we shouldn't be
surprised.
We'll see if the press can still pull this out for Obama.
Because, as any PT can tell you, the normal aging process
has no exacerbating effects whatsoever on injuries sustained 35
years ago. (I don't want to defend the cocksucker, but I have to.
/Al)
It's so funny, the Dems think by making attacks like this they're
being "tough like Republicans." It's the caricature of the "mean
Republican" that they've concocted for themselves now dictates
their strategy.
They still don't understand that Kerry lost because he campaigned
as a war hero but in reality had gotten into combat accidentally,
come back early on a technicality, and disparaged the troops, not
because Republicans are a bunch of jerks who "questioned his
patriotism," which Dems apparently see as a catchall for anything
bad they've ever done and then been called on.
It's especially ironic given that in 2004, Dems crudely forged
National Guard memos regarding Bush's service and got a sympathetic
Dan Rather to commit career suicide over them, and in 2000 leaked a
decades-old Bush DUI 48 hours before the election. They've hardly
been playing nicey-nice.
TallDave,
You work for the McCain campaign?
That's the dumbest shit I've ever seen.
Weak.
And for some reason it is showing up on all the threads you post
on.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/09/14/obama_ad_takes_heat_for_mccain_cyber_shot/
John McCain on his computer skills.
Earlier, in a March 2006 interview with Fortune magazine,
McCain said his work style didn't require computer usage. But he
did not cite his injuries.
"I read my e-mails, but I don't write any," McCain said. "I'm a
Neanderthal - I don't even type. I do have rudimentary capabilities
to call up some websites, like the New York Times online, that sort
of stuff. No laptop. No PalmPilot. I prefer my schedule on
notecards, which I keep in my jacket pocket."
"Sure, Kerry's not so charismatic or politically skilled, but
they can't very well question HIS patriotism."
This is a good example of what I mean. Only a pie in the sky
Democratic primary voter could have thought Kerry's war record made
him not an easy target for "Swift Boating." Average Americans
couldn't dig his later hippie protesting.
TallDave tells us John McCain can't use a computer because of
his war injuries.
John McCain tells us he can't use a computer because he never
learned how.
"I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down
fairly soon, getting on myself," McCain told the New York Times in
an interview that appeared Sunday. "I don't expect to be a great
communicator, I don't expect to set up my own blog, but I am
becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the
information that I need."
Even so, McCain bluntly admits, "I don't e-mail. I've never felt
the particular need to e-mail."
You really shouldn't condescend to disabled people by using their
disabilities to explain everything about them.
It's also not a good idea to give disabled people a pass on
unrelated shortcomings out of pity.
It dehumanizes them. Oh, we can't expect a guy with bad shoulders
to know what a web address is. Here, let me blow on your tea.
Biden 08 makes John Edwards in 04 look like a guy who can
generate incredible support.
Oh c'mon. I've heard reliable campaign analysis that asserts Biden
coul add as many as 25 votes to the ticket in Pennsyvania
alone.
From earlier this year (February).
Rape Victims Can Be Hurt Financially, Too
Turns out experts on sexual assault are all too familiar with the issue. "It's been a problem for a long time," says Ilse Knecht, deputy director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime. "We've heard so many stories of victims paying for their exams, or not being able to and then creditors coming after them." In order to qualify for federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act, states have to assume the full out-of-pocket costs for forensic medical exams, as the rape kits are called. But according to a 2004 bulletin published by the NCVC, "[F]eedback from the field indicates that sexual assault victims are still being billed." Knecht says she's recently heard from caseworkers in Illinois, Georgia, and Arkansas reporting that rape victims continue to be charged for their forensic exams.
This is an outrage no doubt. Sadly, Wasilla was obviously not
unique in this shameful practice that will hopefully be ended
nationwide soon.
The closest analogy for this election is 1960.
Hmm, on second thought 2000 was more like 1960.
I agree. I'm thinking the closest analogy for this election is
1876.
So what's the deal with us now paying the "insurgents" in Iraq
$800,000 a day not to attack US troops?
And if true will it stop the day after the election?
HOLY SHIT! Get off the "McCain can't even use a computer"
soundtrack! Who cares?
I can just see any CEO, much less the POTUS (regardless who he/she
is)sitting around with a Mountain Dew and a bag of Cheetos just
blogging their ass off. Like they might not have a few more
pressing responsibilities?
You suppose that there are people on staff who can Google or e-mail
for them?
This is like the "Bush (elder) doesn't even know what a gallon of milk costs" or the Obama arugula screeds. OF COURSE they are out of touch with middle America. Anyone who makes it into this kind of rarified air lives in a bubble.
HOLY SHIT! Get off the "McCain can't even use a computer"
soundtrack! Who cares?
That's how I felt four years ago, when Bush said "I know there's a
lot of rumors on the internets..." Ha ha, the old guy can't get his
VCR to stop blinking 12:00 lawlz!
But things have changed, and as seems to be the new reality, they
changed really, really fast. It isn't a matter of the President
needing to google facts. The internet is a crucial element of
modern society, and a working knowledge of what it is and how it
operates and what's going on with touches on all sorts of issue the
president is going to have to deal with.
Electronic wiretapping based on packet routing numbers.
What about "X was stored on his hard drive" as a evidence of a
crime - all sorts of popups get stored on your hard drive,
somewhere.
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