Election Central Morning Roundup
WaPo: Palin Falsely Links Iraq And 9/11
The Washington Post reports that Sarah Palin appears to have publicly linked the Iraq War with 9/11, a long-discredited view. Palin told a brigade of Soldiers about to deploy to Iraq that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."
Obama In New Hampshire Today
Barack Obama is campaigning today in New Hampshire, where polls currently give him a narrow lead, with events in Dover and Concord. Joe Biden does not have any announced public events for today.
GOP Ticket Off The Trail Today, But On TV
John McCain is scheduled to appear today on The View and the Rachel Ray show. Sarah Palin is scheduled to do another interview with ABC News' Charlie Gibson, which should be broadcast later tonight as part of a prime-time special.
Palin's New Lie: You Can't Prove I've Denied Man-Made Global Warming
In Sarah Palin's second interview with Charlie Gibson yesterday, she attempted to wiggle out of her recent statements denying man-made global warming. After Gibson asked her whether she's changed her position to be more in line with John McCain, she dared Gibson to "show me where I have ever said that there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any affect, or no affect, on climate change."
Alaska Author's Allegation: Palin Banned My Book
Reverend Howard Bess of Palmer, Alaska, has stepped forward to allege that Sarah Palin did get a book banned from the public library -- his own book, Pastor I Am Gay, which he said Palin's church was agitating to have removed from shelves. "Sarah brought pressure on the library about things she didn't like," Bess told the AP. "To believe that my book was not targeted in this is a joke."
Intrade Taking Bets On Biden Withdrawal
Intrade.com is now offering a contract on whether Joe Biden will withdraw from the vice-presidential race, in order to balance out the contract they opened for Sarah Palin after her family problems were first publicized. This begs an important question: Didn't Joe Biden already withdraw from the race?
it's time for the Obama campaign to roll out the big guns and lay down a blanket of bombs on the MSM and the opposition. With videos/ads AND surrogates. Obama himself has to speak with some real self-righteousness and pique and passion. It's gotta happen today. As a poster said in a different string, the window is open 24 hours here, there's a media void waiting to be filled by Obama, and if Obama doesn't take his chance, we're toast.
September 12, 2008 9:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well maybe he will, it is only 9 am after all.
September 12, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know what you're getting at (or at least I think I do)... but he might want to avoid "self-righteousness"...
September 12, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reality Check: Al Qaeda IS now inIraq. Bush's blunders put them there.
But given that Al Qaeda is there now and is attacking civilians there to the point that there was the Sunni Awakening, Palin's point that our troops are fighting enemies who have slain innocents is well taken. Both our civilians and the Iraqi civilians.
September 12, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reality Check: Al Qaeda IS now in Iraq. Bush's blunders put them there.
But given that Al Qaeda is there now and is attacking civilians there to the point that there was the Sunni Awakening, Palin's point that our troops are fighting enemies who have slain innocents is well taken. Both our civilians and the Iraqi civilians.
September 12, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
The "innocents" to which she was referring were the US citizens murdered on 9/11 in 2001.
She isn't about to imply that Iraqi "insurgents"/Arabs/Muslims are "innocents".
September 12, 2008 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cheap shot about Biden.
September 12, 2008 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Joe Biden's speechifying and accompanying stumbles are the subject of a NYT article this morning.
September 12, 2008 10:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Still don't get it?
Biden was both COMPLIMENTING Hillary and SELF-DEPRECATING at the same time.
Too complicated for you?
Interesting that only DEMOCRATS are raising this non-issue.
September 12, 2008 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hear Biden is going to release his tax records and ask Palin to do the same thing. Could be interesting.
September 12, 2008 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
No doubt! I wanna see Biden's per diems.
September 12, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can't verify this, but have I heard that Biden is the poorest US Senator . . .
Whatever that tidbit is worth.
September 12, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
This begs an important question: Didn't Joe Biden already withdraw from the race?
What is with TPM these last few days just hammering Joe Biden? Has he really been that ineffective? I guess I've been under the impression that it was more a matter of the Palin fascination sucking up all the oxygen.
September 12, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's kind of hilarious. I think he's been as active as any vice-president has been. But since the media (and TPM, I might add) has been obsessed with Sarah Palin, he hasn't got much coverage. So, Eric is basically blaming Biden for the fact that TPM and the rest of the media hasn't been paying attention to it.
Stick to copy/pasting polls, Eric.
September 12, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're right...he's been out there working it..."Stand up Chuck!"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/11/america/biden.php
September 12, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, or kind of like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifwBRRg1s5w
September 12, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
...and if Palin had done it you'd be excoriating her for her inexperience on the national stage...
September 12, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
We are already excoriating her for lack of experience "on the national stage".
What do YOU not "get" about her "DUH!?" in response to the simple, direct question about the "Bush Doctrine"? I'm not running for office, and will throw in the fact that I haven't expereince "on the national stage," but I know what the "Bush Doctrine" is -- and that it is defined in and prohibited by the Geneva Conventions -- written by the United States of America -- as a crime against humanity is.
And what's with your pretense to be some sort of patriot while simultaneously supporting the rejection of that which is the essential foundation to democracy: the rule of law?
Our's is "A system of laws, and not of men" -- John Adams. To reject the rule of law is ANTI-AMERICAN. TREASONOUS.
And the act of a THUG.
September 12, 2008 8:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
I see and read clips from Biden events and I think he's doing an OK job, even a pretty good one. The media isn't covering him now because they are so obsessed with Palin. He could run naked through the observation deck of the Empire State Building scream, "Middle class tax cut! Middle class tax cut!", and unless he also added in, "Palin! Lipstick! Pig!", he get no coverage.
That said, I think the problem Josh and others have with Biden currently is that they don't see him attacking Palin enough, that they see Obama doing more on that front than Biden. The Obama campaign is disciplined and all about message control so I'm sure this is intentional. I don't know if this is the best strategy - although as I noted in another thread, this really has become a race between Obama and Palin, with McCain the forgotten man - but I'm sure Biden is following the plan as laid out by the team in Chicago.
September 12, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm amazed that Palin (and her handlers) are so dense they'd reply to a "did you say this" question with a fully and expertly parsed "prove it". The more semantic hairs she splits telling us what she said or didn't say the less effort we have to go through to to prove it. That's like debate 101 stuff. Guess she musta slept through that class too...
September 12, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, that came out awfully weaselly, and not much of a defense. When you answer "you previously said you didn't believe that global warming was man-made" with "show me where I've ever said that it was absolutely proven that it wasn't," using even more words than that, I think it would be hard to see that as anything but ducking the question.
September 12, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
It avoids the question by "accurately" stating that she hadn't used the words "absolutely proven" when she DID say she didn't believe that golgal warming is man-made. So she's speaking in simpleton extremes to simpleton extremists who don't "get" that "absolute" is also spelled "perfectly" -- an impossibilty.
Or, she said "man-made," but believes it is "woman-made"?
September 12, 2008 8:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm wondering about Biden.
Why he said the other day that Hillary might have been a better pick, why, hmmm...
Don't know. Didn't seem very bright. If he doesn't believe in the ticket, why should others. Could he be having second thoughts?
September 12, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nice way to take a quote completely out of context.
Biden was simply defending Hillary against some a-hole who was rude enough to say at a campaign event that he was glad she wasn't on the ticket. For you to paint it as anything else is ludicrous.
September 12, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
And let me add this: at least he had the balls to defend her, unlike McCain who, instead, found it quite amusing when someone at one of his events referred to her as a "bitch".
September 12, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, like Gergen I didn't see it and unlike him I am prepared to be humble that I really don't understand the context as you seem to. Maybe it came off well, as you seem to suggest. Even so, I think it is dangerous line and you can call use harsh adverbs if you like, but that's my opinion.
September 12, 2008 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's your opinion based upon nothing though.
If I was standing in line at Safeway yesterday and, in dismissing a tabloid headline, said "...then again, some people believe the earth is flat..." would you feel comfortable overhearing that from another aisle and then logging on and telling everyone "Ondioline said, 'The earth is flat.' I don't know why he thinks that, but I heard him say it"?
Lots of things sound unreasonable when completely dismissed from context. What sounds even more unreasonable is freely taking something out of context, establishing a firm position on it, and then after having to acknowledge that you took it out of context, standing with your previous firm position. Are you Rumsfeld or something?
September 12, 2008 9:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
In any context, any, I think it's a dangerous line. I'm glad it seemed to come off well and I hope he doesn't say it again. I love Biden. Hope he delivers.
September 12, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Damn the stupidity that makes non-issues into BS:
Biden was doing TWO THINGS AT THE SAME TIME:
1. Complimenting Hillary.
2. Being SELF-deprecating -- GENTLEMANLY.
September 12, 2008 8:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gentlemanly. Unlike your post.
September 13, 2008 7:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Further proof that Palin and McShame are constitutionally (small-c) incapable of opening their mouths without lying. Now it's 9/11, global warming and book-banning.
September 12, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
WTF are you people talking about with respect to Joe Biden? I saw him on Tuesday in St. Louis, and he was fantastic. He hit all the right notes, addressed the issues that most people around here are talking about, and explained issues like health care in a very concise and understandable way.
Honestly, I'm baffled that anyone is questioning the choice of Joe Biden. He is right on target with economic issues, which is what this election will ultimately be about as Palin's 15 minutes of novelty expire.
So what's the deal with the snark? Lingering bitterness about Hillary? Lack of attention to what's actually going on? Or something else?
September 12, 2008 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
He has been fantastic. Especially in talking about the upcoming VP debate. But maybe the self depreciation (ie saying Hillary might have been a better choice) and this sudden Biden "gaffe watch" are a way to bring down expectations for his debate performance. *shrugs*
September 12, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
WTF are you people talking about with respect to Joe Biden? I saw him on Tuesday in St. Louis, and he was fantastic. He hit all the right notes, addressed the issues that most people around here are talking about, and explained issues like health care in a very concise and understandable way.
Honestly, I'm baffled that anyone is questioning the choice of Joe Biden. He is right on target with economic issues, which is what this election will ultimately be about as Palin's 15 minutes of novelty expire.
So what's the deal with the snark? Lingering bitterness about Hillary? Lack of attention to what's actually going on? Or something else?
September 12, 2008 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you. I agree. I agree. He's great. Jill Biden is all over Iowa today. She's great too. Critics of Joe Biden are only paying attention to the national media or the "air game" I think is what they call it. The Bidens (including son Hunter) are on the ground working their hearts out.
September 12, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Planned Parenthood responds to McCain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0kiLoMY1hg&eurl
Looks like the 527 blitz has begun...
September 12, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Warning...they make the election about abortion and we get over 300 electoral votes.
September 12, 2008 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Most Americans hate the anti-abortion psychopaths in the GOP. Palin's "no exceptions" position polls at about 10%.
Bring it on.
September 12, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
is it about your side winning? is that what this is about? You honestly think that having sarah palin in the white house is good for the country? You honestly believe that she will take america into that realm of endless possibilties and restore that image of america as the beacon that the world looks up to?
September 12, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Of course it is. That's all the Republicans are interested in. They don't give a crap about governing and they'll even throw most of their own closely held beliefs away - fiscal responsibility, opposition to nation building, competency - just to keep and retain power. Everything else is secondary.
September 12, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's right, the American people support forcing rape and incest victims to bear children against their will.
September 12, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Unless we explain that Palin thinks rapists should get to pick their children's mothers and Palin and McCain BOTH want women to pay for their own rape kits.
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
That PP ad is great! Hard hitting and menacing. And dumb ass FSC the ad is about protecting kids from sexual predators, not abortion. But FYI, 60+% of the country believe abortion should be safe and legal. The number is even higher among women so if we talk about choice, that's a winner with those suburban republican women.
September 12, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. Good ad. Concise and hard-hitting.
September 12, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is proper pronunciation of English by American-born citizens no longer a reasonable expectation of those who run for or hold elected office? In Ms. Palin's Gibson interview, was it just me, or did anyone else hear her pronounce "nuclear" at least 2-3 times as "nuke-u-ler"? If it wasn't just me, how did we become a nation so complacent with mediocrity and lack of attention to detail in our elected officials?
September 12, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Cut her some slack. She didn't have a teleprompter in front of her to spell it out phonetically for her.
Oh, and she's a moron.
September 12, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
To be fair, Obama consistently mispronounces "divisive."
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
How does he pronounce it?
September 12, 2008 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
He rhymes it with dismissive instead of incisive.
September 12, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
The stress put on vowels is not the same as the total misplacement of the vowel. Nope she can't speak good 'merican.
September 12, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
As for "divisive": BOTH pronunciations are correct.
As for Palin: I'm not to concerned about what she says -- it's all predictably moronic. But I would appreciate her spelling whatever she says correctly.
Perhaps the misspelling of "nuclear" is a deliberate subliminal attractant to the anti-intellectual nuckel -- oops! -- knuckle-dragging voter?
September 12, 2008 8:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
We've become a nation of media addicts who love it when we're pandered to by lowest common denominator programming. Facotors like so called "reality TV", the evisceration of journalism, and the need to have leaders with whom we can have a beer have driven excellence, quality and integrity into the wilderness of "uncool" while making ideals out of mediocrity and bad taste. It's no surprise that Palin has such appeal, considering the vapidity of the ever present low information (i.e. dumb) voter.
The dumbing down of America was not an accident and we're just seeing the logical outcome.
September 12, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know what you mean. Bush also says nucular and he's been a rousing success, hasn't he?
September 12, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I heard one Republican talking head explain that real Americans said nu-kew-lar and Eye-raq. Only elitists call them mispronunciations.
September 12, 2008 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously, lay off Biden. He has been out there every day, whether big media covers it or not.
September 12, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry to be pedantic, but "begs the question" does not mean raises the question. To beg the question is to assume the thing one is trying to prove.
September 12, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually in this case, the usage is correct: yesterday, Josh facetiously suggested that Biden had seemed to vanish from the campaign. This "begging the question" alludes to that snark as a given.
September 12, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
The rumors swrirling around DC, NYC, and LA yesterday were that Obama met with Bill to tell him about a scheme to force Biden to fake an illness so he can be replaced with Hillary.
The deal is that if Biden agrees, he will later claim recovery and will be given the Attorney General slot that is now vacant in the wake of John Edwards' scandal. If Biden does not agree, well, you can imagine what Chicago thugs would do.
That is why the Intrade contract on Biden to withdraw is at 8% this morning.
September 12, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
wow, i also got an email that Bill Gates is giving away all his money and all i had to do was forward that on to ten friends. Once I get his million (delivered by Elvis on a Unicorn) i will donate a good about to the Obama/Clinton ticket
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
That will never happen. The endangered Unicorns are now extinct because some a-holes decided to trade their blood in silver chalices for Radiohead tickets. I love Radiohead, but c'mon...
What about the Unicorns? Doesn't anyone think about the Unicorns?
Also, the rumor is swirling around DC, NYC & LA? That not only makes it untrue, it makes the rumor that there is a rumor untrue...
September 12, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Attorney General? Wouldn't Secretary of State make more sense? As Andrew Sullivan keeps pointing out, we still haven't seen Biden's health records.
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know that you were advised to up your meds yesterday. I think that now you should pull back on them a little and STFU until you get the dosage right.
September 12, 2008 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
brillant post! and your intelligence comes across. You are such a troll idiot!
September 12, 2008 11:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why would they want to do that?
Gallup Analysis:
Despite the intense focus on the potential impact on white women of McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, the Gallup data do not show that to this point white women have been significantly different in their response to the convention period than has the average voter.
Palin brings McCain ZILCH in terms of the womens vote.
September 12, 2008 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I believe that. After not wanting Hillary to attack Sarah Palin to avoid a cat fight, they thought the only VP debate should now be viewed as an extended cat fight.
Then, since Biden is the most qualified person on Foreign Policy, the Obama campaign thought why should they keep that advantage.
And, of course, replacing Biden with Hillary would never been cynically viewed as a desperate do-over to pander to the women's vote. And the Republicans wouldn't jump all over Obama's decision making by replacing his VP pick with someone just to get elected.
Why even spread such stupid, unfounded rumors? Intrade is no different than any gambling site. They put that out there to get people to put money down on the bet by taking Biden's comment on Hillary being a better choice more literally.
September 12, 2008 11:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Chicago Tribune had a small blurb about the Gibson/Palin interview which said that she "deftly deflected questions she didn't want to answer". No mention of the deer in the headlights moment when she couldn't define the Bush Doctrine.
I guess grading on a curve applies to McCain's running mate as well as to John.
I fully expect the rag to endorse McCain, since they always endorse Republicans, no matter how lame.
September 12, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, geeze...what do you expect? They can't criticize her....she's a woman. She might wilt.
September 12, 2008 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gallup Analysis:
Ha ha ha. Sarah "Bush Doctrine?" Quaylin fires up the GOP redneck base (cause she's jsut like Dubya), but that's about it.
September 12, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Would you want to get drunk with Palin?
I wouldn't even want to drink a beer with her: she isn't attractive, and the one beer wouldn't be sufficient to get me drunk enough to imagine she's attractive.
Besides, she's much too close to the Ruskies for my comfort.
September 12, 2008 8:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's crafted a pretty good safety net for the global warming lie...
1) The statement was artfully crafted.
"I think you are a cynic because show me where I have ever said that there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any affect, or no affect, on climate change."
Of course she's never said those exact words before...unless you count the dozen or so times that she practiced repeating that canned response while she crammed for the interview.
2) There needs to be better sourcing than the provided link. Newsmax? Do we really dare cite what those folks say, or give them any degree of respect or authority?
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I saw this:
"The sort of old-fashioned contempt that whites often held blacks in (and obviously still do)"
on the front page of TPM just now. I agree that the ad this refers to is obnoxious but do you _really_ have to inject race into it? That's a stretch.
September 12, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think the overtones are plausibly deniable, but undeniable nevertheless. My 90 year-old grandmother in GA has the same attitude toward blacks: a lack of obvious "Yes Ma'am" deference is viewed as impertinence.
September 12, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I don't agree with the racism aspect.
BUT, I would like to again point out that yesterday at the service forum, when McCain was asked about his campaign's mocking of Obama's community service, he blamed Obama for the tone of the campaign because he didn't accept his town hall proposal.
Is McCain for real?
"I love you so much, Obama. Why you gotta make me treat you so bad!"
September 12, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's unfortunate that racial contempt can't be discussed because of the lily-white press corp and tv producers. If you bring up sexism, there are plenty of women in news who are eager to take up the issue. But with so few blacks in news (nowhere near the 11% of the populace) there's no constituency sympathetic to that discussion. That's why we hear -- amazingly -- about the "glass ceiling" for woman as VP (25 years after Ferraro!) yet nada about the incredible plexiglass ceiling for blacks as President.
September 12, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with you that there's a PC problem WRT discussing race in the race. It's exacerbated though by seeing racial overtones where the actual tone was simply genericly rude. I'm white and was highly offended by the snarly condescending tone. This ad was broadly offensive not race-specific.
September 12, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I used to believe that George Orwell's 1984 was a flight of fancy . . . Fiction . . . A cautionary tale . . . BUT as of last night McCain is ahead in Electoral Math.
Yes, this is based on information from corporate pollsters BUT perception does craft reality in a society defined by what appears on reality TV and FUAX News.
Yes, the corporate media's constant handjob to McCain-Palin also bends reality towards insanity. We are in bad shape.
In purple states like Wisconson, there is evidence that the RNC or folk who feel that RNC should retain power are sending mailers to registered Democrats with mis-addressed requests for absentee ballots which will go some where else than their County Registars becuase "The McCain campaign wants their vote to count" (for nothing).
In Florida and other states, there is evidence that the RNC or folk who feel that RNC should retain power are sending mailers labled "Do Not Forward" to Obama campaign doaners and houses in neighborhoods with large 'Snow-bird' populations to CAGE their votes in violation of existing court orders. The same thing is being done to areas with high numbers of foreclosures.
The game may be over NOW and we may just not be aware of it.
September 12, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
The WI mailer thing is absolutely true. I live in Madison and our AG (a hardcore right wingnut) is pressing voter exclusion using a computerized list that the clerk's offices don't have time to validate (250K names and 25 days to do it) as well as setting the stage for more exclusion based on whether these mailers are "returned to sender" or undeliverable (supposedly meaning the voter no longer lives there and thus is not a resident). Reeks as bad as Michigan's use of the foreclosure lists to reject voters for not having a valid address 'cause they lost their fuckin house to the bank!
fuckin republicans gaming the system by claiming to protect us from those millions of nasty liberal cheats...
September 12, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know we're in trouble when I see more and more "voter supression" posts. We're already looking for pre-emptive excuses because we think (not incorrectly, btw) that we'll likely lose yet again this fall. I'm not saying shady stuff doesn't happen but I think a) it's less common than we'd like to think, b) when it does happen, it doesn't have a huge effect on the outcome, and c) the other side accuses Dems of doing the same thing and, in some cases, they are probably correct as well.
If we have the right candidate, if we have the right message, and if we get people out to vote, we win, no amount of shadiness will change the outcome. We have the right candidate. We also have the right message but we're having a hell of a time getting it out there, not thanks to the media, the GOP's lies, and the tendency of many American voters to be downright and stubbornly ignorant. Getting people out to vote is the big question mark. Will we get all of those new voters we registered out to the polls on November 4? Will that be enough to overcome the church crowd, who are now all probably getting instructions from their pastors to "pray" for Senator McCain and Governor Palin? We haven't been able to do it in the past. Will this year be different?
September 12, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Folks, be honest with yourselves. Don't you feel this thing slipping away? Again, be honest. I'm a huge Obama supporter and believer but I fear we're going to wake up on November 5th - if we even go to sleep - and be very, very, unhappy.
September 12, 2008 9:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Am I 100% pleased with the state of the race? No. Do I think hand-wring, whining, and defeatism is part of the Democrats' problem? Yes.
September 12, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here's the biggest reason why I'm worried. This is an email sent to The Corner so yeah, the writer was probably in McCain's corner already. But I fear that this is the way many indepedents and undecideds view Palin (the "unofficial" top of the GOP ticket candidate). What do we do to change this:
"What I did notice- and this has been a big selling point for me and many I know- is her "realness". Her way of talking, her cadence, her syntax, are real-American ways of communicating. Even down to that cute little accent she has. The shores of Lake Erie are populated
almost entirely with folks who sound that same way, God love 'em.
Sometimes you "coasters" don't 'get' that part.
She connects to middle-America not just in the guns-and-God way, but in the.... what's the word.... genuineness. She speaks in the way most people (especially those lacking a JD from some ivy-covered
structure) really talk. No parsing, no equivocation, but also not giving away the store. You must be doing something right when the best the "elites" can do is criticize grammar or proffer loaded questions."
We may lose this thing because low-info voters want to put their quirky next door neighbor into the veep seat next year.
I overestimated the intelligence and critical thinking skills of the American voters. It looks like it may turn out that we actually are a nation largely populated by morons.
September 12, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh for God's sake stop with the hand-wringing! You really have such a low opinion of Obama and his staff that you think they don't have a path to reach the very few of your "low information" room temperature IQ types? How many of the dumber-is-better crowd would really vote for a black man anyway? You think this is about Palin energising the base? Hell no! It's about the low info middle-left being able to hang their subtle racisim on a neutral hook. Now they can vote for McCain with a socially acceptable excuse: I wanted to vote for the pretty girl.
Add up every single one of those votes and Obama still wins.
September 12, 2008 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
People hear keep talking as if there was some magic bullet that would have inoculated the Democratic ticket against lies, and I don't see that. If we've picked a different candidate, or VP, they'd had been different lies. That's the nice thing about lies -- they give you great flexibility.
But the Republican formula seems to be, pick a folksy candidate with utter and complete self-assurance, and then lie through your teeth.
If the formula succeeds this time, looking for secessionist parties to join may be the right answer.
Speaking of secessionist -- did I see Palin wearing an Alaska pin?
September 12, 2008 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bingo.
The minute that so-called liberals stop pooping out gummy bears and jolly ranchers, I'll stop calling them candy-asses.
September 12, 2008 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Big McCain Rasmussen bounce, up 3 on Obama, first time McCain up 3.
My shorter take on the campaign at this point: Playing to latent racism works.
The McCain folks are letting white voters feel OK about not vote for Obama because he is A-A.
Obama is in the process of losing this election, he needs some hard hitting, quasi, below the belt ads.
Not optimistic.
September 12, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nor am I. I also think the GOP/conservative media strategy is working like a charm. They have brilliantly, over the course of many years, branded the media. If they just do their jobs, like Gibson almost did last night (it's not as if his questions were tough or over the top), it's liberal media bias. If the media then overcompensates in response and actually leans to the right, the viewer's/reader's reaction is, "Wow, if the liberal media is saying this about the Dem candidate, it must be true and/or really bad!"
September 12, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
You can't win an election in September, and you can't lose it either.
The 9/11 ceasefire has reset the narrative. What matters is what happens next.
September 12, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is Palin an excuse for racist white voters to not vote for Obama and pretend they were being progressive in some way?
Palin as VP is a total token spot. She's help govern nothing. She's a paperweight. But racist whites can pat themselves on the back and claim they made history and their chocie was not backward-looking and reactionary.
I think this may have been the strategy.
However, I don't think anyone votes VP. And won't this time. Keep your eye on McCain.
September 12, 2008 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
On Biden releasing his tax returns, something has been puzzling me since Maureen Dowd's column last Sunday. Dowd said that Todd Palin was a double dipper and that Sarah Palin was guilty of nepotism. What is that about?
Did Sarah Palin put Todd Palin on the payroll?
Also, I hear they are worth $10 million. I am curious how they managed to amass such wealth.
September 12, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Snow machine racing is not a cheap hobby.
Neither is hunting wolves by helicopter.
Commercial salmon fishing is not a cheap endeavor either.
They've obviously got some dough.
September 12, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Snow machine racing ain't cheap!
Neither is wolf hunting via helicopter or commercial salmon fishing.
September 12, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do the math:
As part-time mayor of Wasilla, she got $27ish million in earmarks of our tax dollars.
When she left Wasilla, it had a debt of $20 million.
What happened to that $7 million?
September 12, 2008 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jenesq,
Thank you for your observations regarding Biden's appearence in St. Louis. They were both enlightening and enhartening.
Re-reading your remarks and those of several our more trollish RED-heads, I find myself convinced that human attention on the Republican candidates confirms and incites the American knee-jerk right into a voting frenzy.
Our (everybody and the media) conversations need to be about the Obama-Biden ticket to shift America's attention towards doing the correct thing on the first Tuesday in November.
To paraphrase the movie "the American President":
Due to a collect short attention span crafted by a barage of sound-bites for decafes, the American people will drink sand if they are not aware that they have a choice. Only by constantly reminding Americcans that DEMs exist will we win.
September 12, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jenesq,
Thank you for your observations regarding Biden's appearence in St. Louis. They were both enlightening and enhartening.
Re-reading your remarks and those of several our more trollish RED-heads, I find myself convinced that human attention on the Republican candidates confirms and incites the American knee-jerk right into a voting frenzy.
Our (everybody and the media) conversations need to be about the Obama-Biden ticket to shift America's attention towards doing the correct thing on the first Tuesday in November.
To paraphrase the movie "the American President":
Due to a collect short attention span crafted by a barage of sound-bites for decafes, the American people will drink sand if they are not aware that they have a choice. Only by constantly reminding Americcans that DEMs exist will we win.
September 12, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama has put his focus on his ground operation. He has more than 3 times the number of field offices that McCain has. That's his plan for winning: organizing on the local level. Considering the demographic changes in the country since 2004, his plan may work.
McCain can work on winning 24 hour news cycles on cable television. I think that Obama has to do something more to fight back in this venue, but there's no way to win there. No matter what Obama does, McCain will just come up with more lies.
I don't doubt that at the end of the day, more people will vote for Obama. McCain is lackluster; Palin only appeals to the republican base. The big question is who's counting the votes. That's the thing we should be worrying about more.
The Republican stole the last two presidential elections and I'm not hearing anything from the DNC about what the plan is this time around.
September 12, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Campaign Trail Roundup
* Senator Barack Obama holds a discussion on tax relief for the middle class in Dover, N.H. followed by an event in Concord, N.H.
* Senator Joe Biden has no public events.
* Senator John McCain and his wife, Cindy, appear on ABC’s “The View.” They also tape a segment on the “Rachael Ray Show.”
* Gov. Sarah Palin is in Alaska with no public events."
Why is Joe Biden taking the day off? I keep hearing about this coutnerattack and how Biden will lead it.
September 12, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
"...whether Joe Biden will withdraw from the vice-presidential race, in order to balance out the contract they opened for Sarah Palin after her family problems were first publicized. ..."
The contract they opened for Sarah??? What the hell are you talking about...this sentence makes no sense.
btw...is the press not covering Biden anymore? Is the press complicit in focusing all attention on Palin as a way of trying to distract us from what they have done to the country the past 8yrs. Where is Biden and what have they done to his family. Is there ransom to be paid or what?
September 12, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The reason for hitting Biden is because he HAS been out there at times extolling what a great guy John McCain is, but.....
Why even bring up what a NICE guy he is then try and blast him. It's all that "cordial" Senatorial etiquette bullcrap!!!!
Joe, "John" is NOT a nice guy anymore, if anything talk about the shell of a man that he has become since he let the handlers take over. Infact, I'd like to see an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" ad involving McCain and how he isn't the same guy many think he is.
September 12, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do the math:
As part-time mayor of Wasilla, she got $27ish million in earmarks of our tax dollars.
When she left Wasilla, it had a debt of $20 million.
What happened to that $7 million?
September 12, 2008 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink