Wow. Born-again blood libel.

I believe Hillary got 26M viewers for her speech. It will be interesting to see the ratings.

Who speaks tomorrow, other than Palin. I actually expect Palin to do pretty well given it's a completely canned speech and she has teleprompter experience.

They definitely seem to be a tad off balance. They're suppose to be the ones that excel at throwing the convention party. There is, aside from the far religious rightwing nuts, a certain depression sitting in. Hard to have hope when your stategy is based on the people buying that Alaska being next to Russia is foreign policy experience.

And, man, the arena cleared out fast.

I'm still interested that Thompson said being a POW doesn't qualify you to be president. Why aren't the Republicans and media jumping all over him for saying that? Can Wesley Clark come back and get a fair hearing now?

Since they decided to go all out balls to the walls batshit fundie insane this time around, I think this is just a lead-in to the real campaign: Obama the Anti-Christ!

We need a President, and Vice President, who will take the federal bureaucracy by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking.

And will take the change that falls out of the federal bureaucracy's pockets and give it to lobbyists.

Sullivan has just posted that two weeks ago Sarah's church preached that G-d was punishing the Jews with terrorism for their unbelief. She sat there.

What was that about Obama being ruined if they could prove he heard any of Wright's violent sermons?

Huh?

The infanticide part is part of a long-shot smear that's been kicking around lately:

The justification for Hudson's misleading "infanticide" charge stems from a proposed state version of the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act, debated in Illinois when Obama was a state senator in 2001. The most well-publicized portion of that bill would have required that any "viable" fetus surviving a late-term abortion receive sustaining medical care (something which opponents of that bill said was already required by a 1975 bill in the state). But because Obama voted "no" in committee and "present" on the Senate floor, Hudson reasons, Obama must have been in favor of killing viable, born babies -- especially since the U.S. Congress also passed a "born alive" measure in 2002 in near unanimous fashion.

She may not be a member but her hubby was right up until her election as gov. of AK.

It happens every 4 years, but I always forget in the interim - the week of the Reep Convention is always the most depressing week of the year. It's the week where the most bizarre, offensive, and jaw-droppingly stupid ideas get passed off as normal and healthy social discourse.

Howard Fineman summed up Palin's job in the next 72 hours:

1. Home-run speech
2. Prep on campagn mechanics
3. Prep on domestic affairs
4. Prep on foreign affairs
5. Still governor
6. Still has 5 (or 6) (ish) kids
7. Utterly unknown
8. Party insiders are completely powerless in what is to come

The MSM does not like the unexpected when they have not been let into the loop. This is thudding. Sarah Palin is now the center of attention.

Didn't Bush 41 try this same strategy in 1992?

Going to the well of the evangelical vote once again. Bowing to the James Dobson, Tony Perkins crowd by offering the extremist culture warrior Palin. Spreading lies that will circulate quickly through churchs and help the gotv effort. It's almost become a reflex to stroke this wing of the gop at just the right moment.

It's also another gamble by McCain. He hopes that middle America doesn't notice what he's doing over on the far right. From the looks of the latest poll numbers independents have already noticed.

I think Klondike Barbie will give a "good" speech, in that the media will eat it up unless she completely screws it up, and what are the odds of that? They'll put all the right words in her mouth, and she'll look good, and ... so what? She's still a joke, and the impression isn't gonna change. Obama comes out of this week still ahead 2-3-4 points and charging forward.

Actually, this is pretty mainstream stuff in fundamentalist circles which comprise the republican base.

The problems republican's have with Reverend Wright are twofold:

1. He's black.
2. He isn't a raving nationalist.

I think the obvious problem with making Sarah's pastor problems news is that it opens the door wide open for Reverend Wright.

Of course, we know Reverend Wright will emerge at some point, but the longer he's out of public view, the better.

Finally, as always: IOKIFYAR.

I'm almost 100% positive it's a partial-birth abortion reference. IIRC, there are some IL state senate votes on that topic that the GOP has been making noise about since forever.

Here comes DBC. Jimmy Crack Corn and I don't Care......

He voted (2007) against banning "partial birth" abortions because it made no reference to protecting the health of the mother under any circumstances.
If Fred Thompson or McCain or whoever is not in favor of preserving the life of the mother then they've just admitted to...what???

My understanding is the Republican Party is against providing support, protection, health care, education, and opportunity to poor and middle class infants, toddlers, children, teens, young adults, adults, and seniors. What sort of protection for newborn babies is McCain for?

You could hear a pin drop during Fred Thompson's retelling of John McCain's POW experience. Impressive stuff indeed, but it also made a very good case for McCain being profoundly impaired mentally. Obviously the Republicans want to blow people away with this story, and in order to do that they must share details, this was heavy duty stuff, it is not to be taken lightly, this is what makes him ready to lead - and so on and so forth. But what I came away with is that McCain has got to be screwed up. Two whole years in solitary confinement, in a box with nothing but a slit through which to see the outside world? No one would be normal after that. Thompson's retelling should raise some serious questions about McCain's mental capacity.

I have always assumed that Obama's answer referred to the Almighty.

Obama's states his beliefs regarding late-term abortion and "Born Alive" act with Relevant Magazine:

Strang (with Relevant): Based on emails we received, another issue of deep importance to our readers is a candidate’s stance on abortion. We largely know your platform, but there seems to be some real confusion about your position on third-trimester and partial-birth abortions. Can you clarify your stance for us?

Obama: I absolutely can, so please don’t believe the emails. I have repeatedly said that I think it’s entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is a strict, well-defined exception for the health of the mother. Now, I don’t think that “mental distress” qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term. Otherwise, as long as there is such a medical exception in place, I think we can prohibit late-term abortions.

The other email rumor that’s been floating around is that somehow I’m unwilling to see doctors offer life-saving care to children who were born as a result of an induced abortion. That’s just false. There was a bill that came up in Illinois that was called the “Born Alive” bill that purported to require life-saving treatment to such infants. And I did vote against that bill. The reason was that there was already a law in place in Illinois that said that you always have to supply life-saving treatment to any infant under any circumstances, and this bill actually was designed to overturn Roe v. Wade, so I didn’t think it was going to pass constitutional muster.

Ever since that time, emails have been sent out suggesting that, somehow, I would be in favor of letting an infant die in a hospital because of this particular vote. That’s not a fair characterization, and that’s not an honest characterization. It defies common sense to think that a hospital wouldn't provide life-saving treatment to an infant that was alive and had a chance of survival.

Any questions?

Like John McCain and Karl Rove, Fred Thompson obviously thinks American voters are stupid.

Anyone catch the daggers flying from Roberta's and Cindy's eyes at Thompson when he mentioned McCain's having dated an exotic dancer nicknamed the Flame of Florida? That was a moment to behold. No one told him to take that out?

Thompson also mentioned that McCain believes in the sanctity of marriage. Maybe he meant the sanctity of second marriages?

I love your comments..especially the way you combine oil with Obama..very clever. Moreso than any kind of fact, those two words combined really ingrain a sense of hatred for Obama for his sleazy connections to oil and the Iraq war.