Election Central Morning Roundup
New McCain Ad: "I'm Joe The Plumber"
The new TV ad from John McCain, set to air in key states, features everyday people proclaiming their solidarity with Joe The Plumber against Barack Obama's tax policies:
One man reacts indignantly: "Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?" The effort here is to make it seem as if Obama would raise taxes on everyone, not just the top earners.
Obama In Virginia, Biden In Colorado, Michelle In Florida
Barack Obama is campaigning in Virginia today, with a 12:15 p.m. ET rally in Richmond and a 5:30 p.m. ET rally in Leesburg. Michelle Obama is campaigning in Florida, holding an 11:30 a.m. ET rally in Jacksonville and a 2:30 p.m. ET rally in Gainesville. Joe Biden is in Colorado, with a morning event in Colorado Springs and a 4:15 p.m. ET rally in Pueblo.
McCain In New Hampshire, Then Campaigning With Palin In Ohio
John McCain is holding a 9 a.m. ET rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, while Sarah Palin starts her day with a 9 a.m. ET rally in Findlay, Ohio. The two will then meet for a pair of joint rallies in Ohio, one at 3:30 p.m. ET in Green, and one at 6:30 p.m. ET in Cincinnati.
Woman Quits Call-Center Job After Refusing To Read Obama-Ayers Script
It turns out a good number of anti-Obama calls coming from the McCain campaign are being made by hired callers, not volunteers or pre-recorded robocalls. We know this because a woman quit her job at a West Virginia call center when she refused to read the stock script associating Obama with Bill Ayers.
African-Americans Making Up Large Portion Of Early Votes
The Wall St. Journal reports that black voters are making up a disproportionately high number of early votes cast so far, a development that could have real ramifications in swing Southern states like Florida and North Carolina. If the Obama campaign can bank votes from minority communities, their field operations can concentrate on turning out other voters on Election Day.
Palin: "Only Our Side Has A Woman On The Ticket."
Campaigning yesterday in Nevada, Sarah Palin played the gender card against Democrats efforts to win women voters. "Our opponents think that they have the women's vote all locked up, which is a little presumptuous," Palin said. "Little presumptuous, since only our side has a woman on the ticket."
RNC: We'll Give Palin's Campaign Wardrobe To Charity
The RNC says they will donate the $150,000 in clothing they've bought for Sarah Palin to charity after the election. Working women might lack health care and jobs, but at least they'll get a designer label.















The TRUE Lesson of Sarah Palin’s Clothes Binge
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=4214
October 22, 2008 9:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
The best part is that the single donation to charity by the RNC beats the Obama's and Biden's donations to charity for the past 10 years added up. As a matter of fact, I donated more to charity last year than either Obama or Biden. You gotta love the "do as I say, not as I do" left.
October 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actual I love watching self-righteous assholes try and spin their hypocrisy as evidence of their self-righteousness.
October 22, 2008 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's no way to talk about your candidates...
October 22, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reeling.
October 22, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ha ha...Morning...haven't got my daily "Reeling" report lately. Hope all is well.
October 22, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
All is well, I'm not reeling.
October 22, 2008 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do you really buy the fact that the RNC will donate Trig's baby carriage, which cost $200, as a part of the $150K shopping spree, to charity?
October 22, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Show the documentation that they were going to give it to charity prior to the story breaking and then we can talk. Otherwise it is a good deed that is a gesture done solely for personal gain and thus not a positive reflection of the character of the candidates nor the RNC.
October 22, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
I totally agree. I had the same thought!
October 22, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Besides... is this an admission that they know they're going to lose?
October 22, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
My thoughts exactly.
October 22, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
You were afraid to go with "I'm rubber, you're glue", huh? Hey in for a penny, in for a pound.
October 22, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/04/obama-releases.html
So are you saying you gave almost a quarter of a million dollars to charity last year like Obama did?
October 22, 2008 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hell I'm positive he didn't donate the $60M they gave in 2006.
October 22, 2008 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
...nope, sorry. You are correct. I should've compared my giving to Biden alone. My mistake.
October 22, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, as if your word has any credibility at all. Joe Biden does more in a week for the country and for those who actually need charity (and not Palin's absurd bling) than you have probably done all year, Wallace.
October 22, 2008 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
The little bastard prompted you to do research? One thing to keep in mind about the troll known as SFCWallace is - even though he’s a complete tool - he is remarkably consistent.
October 22, 2008 10:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
The charity will probably make $10 out of Palin's dress that cost the tax payers' $150,000.
That's Repugs' socialism: Use tax payers' money to buy your wardrobe, and when they are useless to you, distribute the wealth to the poor.
October 22, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Imagine "used" health care...
October 22, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I like that: Used health care, used medicare, used social security (what else is it if not "used," selling them to Wall Street fat cats?).
The Repugs are stuck with the history of "Used and leftover for redistribution/charity," including education.
October 22, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let them eat cake, too, will you?
October 22, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Many of us donate to charity and don't report it on our taxes.
October 22, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Many of us donate to charity and don't report it on our taxes.
October 22, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Obamas reported $240,000.00 in charitable contributions last year. How much did you donate? And do be specific.
October 22, 2008 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
The "SFC" doesn't do specific. The "SFC" is a fraud, through and through. Probably about 24 years old, socially awkward, living in his mom's basement, playing "soldier" in between rounds of Dungeons & Dragons.
October 22, 2008 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dungeons & Dragons is soooo 80's....it's Halo 3 and Fable 2 now...X-Box 360.
October 22, 2008 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
See above, I remembered the article and mixed up the numbers, Obama did donate to charity but had no savings. Biden's the one who donated squat to charity. I was wrong about my comparison to Obama's giving but still beat Biden over the years he released.
October 22, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
The clothes per se do not especially bother me, though I think that 150K is an awful lot to drop for a fall wardrobe. Furthermore, kudos to the RNC's desire to donate the clothes to charity. That being said...
The thing that irks me is that the is the most blatant example of Sarah Palin pretending to be something that she is not. She is not a Hockey Mom, nor a Josephine 6-Pack. She is not the proverbial "one of us." She is, above all, a manifestation of the poor judgment of a man too selfish and unfit to be President.
The old adage "what you see is what you get" should be amended for Sarah Palin. For her, it should be "what you see is all you get."
October 22, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bravo! Well said.
The clothes don't bother me. The handlers dress everyone (except Cindy McCain). I read somewhere that the same people dressing Palin also dress Laura Bush.
I think it is funny that they have to dress the whole white trash family to make them presentable. Talk about a welfare case.
As far as charity is concerned, I'm sure Palin in bumming that she doesn't get to take those clothes back with her, especially that $2500 jacket she wore at the RNC, or perhaps all the leather. I'm sure she is into the leather. They should send the clothes and everything else to a consignment store, then give the 40% they earn to charity. Much more "charitable".
Notice the plan was not to "discuss campaign strategy" and now "the plan" is to give the clothes to charity. Do they realize how lame their attempts at spinning are?
October 22, 2008 10:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, what you see is less than you get.
For those of you who missed this (along with a caveat - may require a cut and paste that's worth the effort, hopefully not - my computer wizardry is only a squeak above McM's);
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=188638&title=understanding-real-america-in
October 22, 2008 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
$150,000 IS a lot for a wardrobe that's useless coz it's not going to get her elected. Ann Taylor jackets or not, she's going to lose.
Guess she should've said, "THANKS BUT NO THANKS to those clothes to nowhere!!"
October 22, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
THIS is your issue with the candidates? Guess you "gotta love" the rate at which our kids are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, too. Keep up the love!
October 22, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I do not give money to charity because I believe that charity just lets the government off the hook for services that we should provide for eachother through the government (our means of colective action).
October 22, 2008 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Matthew 6:1-4
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets and on the intertubes to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
October 22, 2008 11:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
One of the problems Palin's spending spree is that it is specifically illegal to use political donations for clothing and I don't see any exemption for, "We always intended to give the clothes to charity after the campaign":
See 2 USC 439b(2)(B)
(b) Prohibited use
(1) In general
A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) of this section shall not be converted by any person to personal use.
(2) Conversion
For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate's election campaign or individual's duties as a holder of Federal office, including--
(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment;
(B) a clothing purchase;
(C) a noncampaign-related automobile expense;
(D) a country club membership;
(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip;
(F) a household food item;
(G) a tuition payment;
(H) admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and
(I) dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility.
October 22, 2008 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
THIS...
October 22, 2008 9:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
IS
October 22, 2008 9:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
GREAT
October 22, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
SNOOZE
October 22, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
EXCELLENT
October 22, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
NEWS
October 22, 2008 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
FOR
October 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
REAL AMERICANS
October 22, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Like Joe the Plumber!
October 22, 2008 9:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
AND JOE THE PUBLIC SERVANT
October 22, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Whose name isn't really Joe and isn't a plumber.
October 22, 2008 9:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
And has a tax lien. . .
October 22, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
And who admitted on Hannity that he and his parents had been on welfare "a coupla times"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnK84mM5N-o
But now he resents paying taxes? Because it might wind up as... welfare?
"I got mine! Go get your own!" McCain's vetting at its best!
PEACE
October 22, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
PRADA
October 22, 2008 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where IS our beloved Idiotic, anyway? Phone home!
October 22, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
ROFL... I'm joe the plumber?? What is this a Tiger Woods commercial? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAnlcW_ILyw
More like...
"I'm a paid republican plant"
"I'm a paid republican plant!"
"I'm a paid republican plant."
I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
October 22, 2008 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
You gotta give it to Karl Rove. If he could guess that first Obama would be the candidate, then guess which street he'd be campaigning on 2 years before the election, then buy a house and plant a guy in it so that Obama would walk right by the "plant's" driveway and into an ambush...he's the master!
October 22, 2008 9:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're losing me. Why would they have had to plan it two years in advance? And for the record, I don't believe he was a "plant" per se.
October 22, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Because Obama walked up to his house. In order for him to be a plant, he would have had to been "planted" in the house. He's been living there for a couple of years.
October 22, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think the "I'm a Republican plant" part was in reference to the people in the commercial.
October 22, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
...actually, I remember the plant charges from the first day. Some here were even claiming he was the son in law of Charles Keating.
October 22, 2008 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
That may be. But I don't think that's what elonepb was saying.
October 22, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I remember the stuff about Joe, I mean Sam, being a plant, based on his relationship to Charles Keating. I don't think anyone was suggesting that Karl Rove or his proteges bought Wurzelbacher the house 2 years ago. If Rove was that prescient, he would certainly have chosen a more credible spokesman.
But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that someone looked over the route Obama was going to canvas and said, "Hey, doesn't Charlie Keating have a nephew on that block?" Personally, I don't know. It does seem like an awfully weird coincidence that he's related to Keating by marriage, but then maybe that's just the kind of person it takes to think he can buy a $30K/year business on a $40,000/year salary.
October 22, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
So he's like a philodendron or something?
October 22, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
more like a venus flytrap. he looks like he eats bugs.
October 22, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
What isn't hard to fathom is that the rovies learned where Barack was going to be walking and dialed up a dittohead in the area.
What is hard to figure is how they thought they could get away with passing off a Sam the Tax-Dodger as Joe the Plumber.
October 22, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah...cuz if Obana was walking through my part of Macon GA, Rove would have my number and dial me up for service...you guys crack me up.
October 22, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain/Palin don’t do subtlety very well.
Identity politics works better if you’re not screaming “Vote for me because I’m a woman” from the rooftops.
October 22, 2008 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh yeah...and "if you're a registered Democrat that doesn't vote for Obama it's because you are a racist!" is soooooo subtle.
October 22, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've said that, when?
October 22, 2008 9:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Forgive him, like so many conservatives, they're mentally imploding as the reality of an Obama victory sinks into their consciousness.
October 22, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
You haven't...the "Obama" folks have....you were refering to McCain's people and their subtlety...I was refering to Obama's.
October 22, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, see below. I got mixed up this morning.
October 22, 2008 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Those people" said it.
October 22, 2008 10:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
No one with the campaign has said any such thing. You are using the typical GOP tactic of saying some anonymous blogers statement on the left justifies your candidates statements. I am glad that you think left leaning blogers are as important to the public discourse as GOP candidates.
October 22, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Or, for that matter, someone from the Obama campaign has said that when?
October 22, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
And for it to be an apt comparison, it's going to have to be an official member of the Obama campaign. Not someone who just happens to support Obama.
October 22, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSBRLcJxudc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoPabBvVRpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeA9gdQ580g&feature=related
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rodriguez28jan28,0,1688217.column
...and remember what y'all were saying about West Virginia during the primary...
October 22, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
So just we are all on the same page, you just proved that Obama hasn't advanced that argument. Links to Clinton supporters (Rendell, Murtha and an op-ed calling out the Clinton tactics during the primary), but nothing from Axelrod, Kerry, Burton, Gibbs, Macaskill (sp), Sebelius or any of the other Obama surrogates.
Republican incompetence at its finest.
October 22, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, I googled your list of acceptable race baiters...how's this?
http://iowaindependent.com/5627/sebelius-obamas-race-may-be-a-factor
Sebelius: Obama’s race ‘may be a factor’
October 22, 2008 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
What?! OF COURSE race "may be a factor." Are you seriously going to deny that.
But that's not even remotely close to your original assertion of Obama people saying, "if you're a registered Democrat that doesn't vote for Obama it's because you are a racist!"
I'm still waiting for proof that someone from the Obama campaign has said that.
October 22, 2008 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, you win Obama's campaign is more subtle in their accusasions of racism than McCain's sexism.
October 22, 2008 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
So subtle, in fact, that you haven't been able to bring up even one example of racism from the Obama campaign.
October 22, 2008 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Racism by the Obama campaign is easy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP-wnyIh6Fg&eurl=http://soul13832numb.blogspot.com/2008/06/and-did-i-mention-hes-black-obama.html
specifically blaming Democrat racists requires more digging.
October 22, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
And, what do you know, everything he said came true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH2iufUU1f4&eurl=http://chivolvo.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1012&page=45
October 22, 2008 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay...
1. Ed Rendell - That video is from February, when he was part of the Clinton campaign.
2. Murtha - not part of the campaign.
3. Murtha - not part of the campaign.
4. That LA Times piece is about CLINTON saying Latinos won't vote for a black candidate. Nothing from Obama or his campaign.
...and remember what y'all were saying about West Virginia during the primary...
October 22, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah Palin Answers a Third Grader’s Question: What Does a Wardrobe Monitor Do?
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=4218
October 22, 2008 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was hoping that McCain had given up on New Hampshire. I have not heard his commercials lately. What the hell is he doing in Manchester right now. Luckily it is cold rain pouring on his head.
October 22, 2008 9:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Going through the motions.
October 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Going through the motions.
October 22, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hoping he gets a dramatic shot of speaking in the rain like Obama got a few weeks back in VA.
October 22, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
As much as I enjoy the complete and utter hypocrisy of the Palin spending spree (she really is Caribou Barbie!) the real Palin story(s) of last night is her response to the 'What does the VP do?' question and the findings of the NBC poll - she is a bigger drag on McCain than Bush.
October 22, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, this is the first decent McCain ad maybe in his whole campaign.
McCain is playing with fire here. All Obama has to do is make an ad with this ad running silently on one side of the screen and on the other side simply point out that unless you make more than $250k, your taxes won't go up one dime, regardless if you name is Joe or not.
If I'm David Plouffe, I'm making that very ad right now and planning to air it TEN TIMES the amount of this McCain ad.
October 22, 2008 9:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's more effective to show that chart that compares side by side where the tax break goes. Or visually impose that onto this commercial--so that if a working class person appears on the screen, show the size of the tax cut they will get in Obama's plan versus McCain, then show the huge amount a wealthy stockbroker who claims that *he* is Joe the Plumber would get.
Visually representing how McCain wants to shaft Joe the Plumber and reward Ted the Hedge Fund Manager would be very easy to do.
Or just show his speech from the Senate floor in 2001 where he talks about his conscience.
October 22, 2008 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and Joe has his panties in a bunch because if he did manage to clear 280K in taxable income, his taxes would go up a grand total of nine hundred fucking dollars.
And, by the way, no way does Joe end up with 280K in taxable income. In fact, I would be surprised to discover that anyone in the history of income taxation whose AGI was so close to the top bracket had ever had the slightest difficulty finding a way to get it down below the threshold.
October 22, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Joe the NotaPlumber might have more credibility with his "taxes equal socialism" if he hadn't gone on Hannity's show and admitted that he, and his parents, had been on welfare "a coupla times"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnK84mM5N-o
McCain's vetting process at its finest!
PEACE
October 22, 2008 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
mcShame promotes selfishness. It really annoys the heck out of me. It is really appalling when a leader stoops to the stirring up the lowest, most immature passions. Greed. Lust. Rage. This is not helpful to our society.
At a time when we all need to pull together and to renew our nation, to reach for our highest ideals, the mcShame campaign is demonstrating to the world the worst of America, the lowest and most vile degradations that humans can stoop to. Where does it stop? Will mcShame next advocate torture and lynching of those with whom he disagrees? Will they advocate camps to incarcerate those it brands as unAmerican? Is this man going to burn himself out in a blaze of complete and total Infamy by pandering to the utter greed and lust and rage he's stirring up?
I simply cannot repudiate this man's behavior enough!
October 22, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
We don't need stupid XX chromosomes, and she still doesn't get it...
October 22, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Saw the "Joe the Plumber" ad on an Omaha station last night.
Then I saw an interview with the Omaha GOP chair and he said "the only reason Hillary is here is because they're behind." No shit.
Using the same logic, the only reason McCain/Palin campaign anywhere is because they're behind.
October 22, 2008 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
According to the NBC/WSJ poll out yesterday, Obama now has a 10 point lead on taxes. TAXES!!! Obama's message is getting through and McCain is playing from behind here, like pretty much everywhere else.
Obama can easily counter this.
October 22, 2008 9:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Chuck Todd this morning credited this mainly to Obama persistent attack on McCain's taxing of health care.
October 22, 2008 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
This specific attack is the most effective Obama has made. He made it in every debate. It is one that is easy to understand, as it attacks something so obviously wrong to most Americans. And it has not be rebutted.
October 22, 2008 9:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Or, maybe, it's due to the fact that Obama's plan will actually cut taxes for most people.
October 22, 2008 9:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, literally, tactic to tactic, gimmick to gimmick. Their repeated lies about taxes are already called out (even by FOX once), Joe The Plumber is debunked, and yet they somehow think Joe The Plumber works wonders for them about the tax argument at this point of the game... it's in a way stunning, isn't it?
October 22, 2008 9:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
In a way, the whole course of the McCain campaign has been stunning. Can you think of a single thing that they've done which wasn't either:
1) A glaring disaster from the start that only got worse as time went on...
or
B) A minor, temporary success that started rolling downhill when it ran out of momentum and snowballed in ways they should've predicted?
The pick of Palin, which was widely heralded as a bold stroke at the time, is a perfect example of this. It was a success only insomuch as it blunted the impact of Obama's triumphant speech in Denver. Setting that aside? Epic fail. It was immediately denounced on the left as pandering to women who supported Hillary in the primary. It totally destroyed their "experience" argument by forcing them to counter with some convoluted "executive experience" arguments. Because it was widely leaked that McCain was overruled on his desire to choose Lieberman, it cemented his status as a pawn rather than the leader of his party. Palin's comically bad performance on the national stage torpedoed any claims that McCain could have toward sound judgment. Tactically, it may have worked in the short term. Strategically, it was a shocking disaster.
October 22, 2008 10:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
I quote Jon Stewart: "Is anyone even WORKING on that campaign anymore?" :D
October 22, 2008 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama's counter ad to McLame's plumber ad: Al the Shoesalesman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99HzP6BQm5Y
October 22, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is so good!!!
October 22, 2008 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is good. A web ad?
October 22, 2008 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. Right on time.
October 22, 2008 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the link. While there I found another link to the tax cut calculator and found out I would get a $500.00 tax break. Good news to start the day.
October 22, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Unfortunately, I have no clue how much I would save. It just kept spinning around and around for me.
October 22, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Have a good laugh, folks. Check out this major Palin wardrobe gaffe:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/10/21/in-which-sarah-palin-displays-the-latest-in-donkey-fashion.aspx
Did Palin's fashion consultant express his/her true political preference?
October 22, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe he/she was just saying she is an ass . . .
October 22, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, it's the latter. But, hey, it's red, white and blue so it's REAL American!
October 22, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay...either that's photoshopped, or Sarah Palin and her handlers have to be the stupidest people ever to be involved in a presidential campaign.
October 22, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's the latter.
October 22, 2008 9:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
LOL -- that's just SOOOOOOOO funny!! :o)
October 22, 2008 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's a great picture! Could it possibly be that none of those rabid Republicans looked at that scarf and thought, hey, those are donkeys!
October 22, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dear Sarah Palin, I am a woman, and you do not get my vote because we share matching genitals. It's the brains and the heart that matter, and I find you deficient in both.
October 22, 2008 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oops. That wasn't actually supposed to be a reply.
October 22, 2008 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
To see real videos of real women discussing their reactions to Sarah Palin & the misuse of gender issues in this year's presidential race, please take a look at the following blog:
www.speakoutonpalin.blogspot.com
October 22, 2008 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I AM SPARTACUS!
October 22, 2008 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm Joe the Plumber.
Oh yeah? Well, I'M Roger the Shrubber.
"There is a pestilence upon this land; nothing is sacred. Even those who design and arrange shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history."
October 22, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama's great riff on McCain's "Joe the Plumber" ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djge5vK__e0
October 22, 2008 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
You are behind. I posted the same above. Did you copy mine?
October 22, 2008 10:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oooops, sorry.
October 22, 2008 10:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Nope, didn't copy but went straight to YouTube.
October 22, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, this ad is fantastic. Goes right to the Gen Xers who thought Al Bundy was king. LOL!
October 22, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Who the hell cast that commercial? Do any of those folks look like they sweat for their living? At least the "real" Joe the Plumber looks the part.
October 22, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is just a variation on trickle down economics the Republicans love.
I hope it warms Joe the Plumber's heart that Palin's clothing will trickle down to some homeless mom.
October 22, 2008 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Joe makes more money when stuff trickles down . . .
October 22, 2008 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Holy shit are these people in this McCain ridiculously stupid. I would bet none of these folks make over 250K so each and every one of them would get a TAX CUT under Obama’s plan and NOTHING unders McCain's plan. McCain is trying to convince some in the middle class that it’s ok to give the rich even more in tax breaks while they get nothing. Folks like John McCain can afford to pay a little more especially when the wealthy have received huge tax cuts while Rome burns.
It’s kind of like Tampa cheering for the Phillies to win the World Series. These people are just a bunch of brain washed dopey dip shits
October 22, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jake Tapper says it looks like Palin will have to pay taxes on her extravagant wardrobe EVEN if the RNC grabs it from her and donates it to charity:
"Tax experts say that even if she only wears them for professional reasons -- locked away in a special "candidate" cabinet, say -- Palin will be on the hook for those fancy new duds just as if someone had written her a check for $150,000."
By the way, I believe that figure was through September, so what's the final tally going to be by November 4th?
October 22, 2008 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
They spent $4,716.49 on hair and make-up that was the result? Never mind charity, I'd want a refund!
October 22, 2008 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Her makeup is always way to heavy, even for television. Reminds me of Katherine Harris.
October 22, 2008 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
The RNC says they will donate the $150,000 in clothing they've bought for Sarah Palin to charity after the election Yaabut what about cooties?
October 22, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
The McCain Campaign's great message is to be like Joe the Tax-Dodging, Unlicensed, Right-Wing Plant.
Is this all they've got?
October 22, 2008 11:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
The McCain Campaign's great message is to be like Joe the Tax-Dodging, Unlicensed, Right-Wing Plant.
Is this all they've got?
October 22, 2008 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dear Ms. Palin, there is no way that you even slightly appeal to most women. You are the antithesis of everything I believe in and what I would want a candidate to stand for. You are anti-intellectual, divisive, cruel, meanspirited, manipulative, selfish and a coy little gameplayer. As a woman, and an American, I cannot wait to bid you adieu on November 5th.
October 22, 2008 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
This thread has the pungent odor of what could only be SFC Wallace's brand of racism. Wears the HASMAT suit when you need it?
October 22, 2008 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?
Apparently it's $150,000 worth of foreign designed clothes from Neiman Marcus.
Wow, I guess that joke isn't as good with the real punch line. :(
October 22, 2008 11:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lipstick. No, wait, that was on the pig . . .
October 22, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, so Sarah's going to donate $150,000 worth of clothing to charity after the election.
That's awesome.
Because when I talk to the homeless people in my neighborhood, they tell me there's a severe shortage of Sak's Fifth Avenue bling. These people are needy, dammit... and unfashionable!
Thank you tiny infant baby Jesus, and Saint Sarah.
October 22, 2008 11:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just wanna know what charity they're giving the clothing to so I can go to that resale shop! I think I wear Palin's size...
October 22, 2008 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
In the meantime, Obama has had to resole his shoes:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/22/9355/4279/150/638528
October 22, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm betting it was Cindy McCain that showed Sarah around at Saks and NMs and made sure she got only the best.
October 22, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah had better hurry up and use that fancy baton-twirling dress she bought. Nobody's gonna be watching her after the election.
October 22, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'd say it's pretty presumptuous to think that just because you have a vagina, you'd get the 'women' vote. Actions speak louder than body parts.
October 22, 2008 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is long, but people need to know about the "shock and awe" the NRT PAC is going to bring to swing state voters in the next 10 days.
An Urgent Message from The National Republican Trust PAC
Dear Fellow American:
Never before in the history of our nation have we faced such a grave crisis: one of the most radical political figures ever to be nominated by a major party is just minutes away from becoming President of the United States.
That man is Barack Obama.
He promises to change America forever. If elected, he will do just that — but in ways you may not like.
Remember Obama is the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
He received a 100 percent Liberal Rating from the National Journal, making him the most left-wing Senator in Washington — more liberal than even Democratic senators like Ted Kennedy.
If you look at Obama’s record, you will understand just how dangerous this man is.
He even has terrorist friends he won’t denounce. One such man is William Ayers, a leader in the radical terrorist group the Weatherman Underground. The group bombed several government buildings, including the Pentagon, killing civilians and police officers.
In 2001, Ayers said he had no regrets for his actions and wished he could have done more.
The ties between Obama and Ayers are tight. Both served on two non profit boards and they worked closely together. Ayers even hosted a political event at his home for Obama.
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Dangerous Economic Plan
And then there are Obama’s dangerous economic plans for America.
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He has called for more than $800 billion in new spending programs.
He is so radical he even backed driver’s licenses for illegal aliens — even though such a move would help future terrorists move freely in the United States.
He is the most pro-abortion candidate in the history of the country. In 2001, as a state legislator in Illinois, he opposed a bill to protect live born children — children actually born alive! He was the only Illinois senator to speak out against the bill.
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Exposing the Truth
Hillary Clinton was late in recognizing the threat Obama posed to her campaign, but once she did, her strategy worked.
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Hillary won every major state primary in the nation with the sole exception of Obama’s home state of Illinois.
And even though Obama was “anointed” by the media and Democratic elites, Hillary went on to win eight of the last 10 Democratic primaries.
How did Obama beat Hillary for the nomination?
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You Can Make a Difference
This is why the National Republican Trust Political Action Committee is moving to implement a “shock and awe” strategy against Obama in key states.
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Thank you.
Yours for America,
Scott Wheeler
Executive Director
October 22, 2008 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
More Kool-Aid for the deluded cultists of the GOP.
October 22, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can spend $150,000 on clothes and makeup to dress up a pig, but in the end it's still a pig.
October 22, 2008 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
But with lipstick! Don't forget the lipstick!!
October 22, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hair and make-up for TV or public appearance is a legitimate expense for a campaign to pay for a candidate. Not the clothes.
And if the Repubs give this wardrobe to charity, will we have to buy her a Vice-Presidential Wardrobe?
"She's a one-woman earmark", as a perceptive commenter at yglesias said
October 22, 2008 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does anyone remember the big to-do over the $400 John Edwards haircut? The Repubs jumped on this story like white on rice.
Now, they just went and spent $5,000 on hair and makeup for this woman. Sure seems like a lot more than a one time $400 haircut to me.
October 22, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd say it's pretty presumptuous to think that just because you have a vagina, you'd get the 'women' vote. Actions speak louder than body parts.
October 22, 2008 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of body parts, did anyone notice in one of the You Tubes how Sarah gives the old man a two armed body hug greeting him on the hustings, while his wife stiff arms him?
October 23, 2008 2:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Speaking of body parts, did anyone notice in one of the You Tubes how Sarah gives the old man a two armed body hug greeting him on the hustings, while his wife stiff arms him?
October 23, 2008 2:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Olbermann played the entire exchange last night on his show that Obama had in the rope line with Joe the Plumber.
You know why the GOP is creating faux outrage over the press investigating Joe? Because it is CLEAR when you watch it that he was PLANTED!!
He says he is trying to buy his business for $250k!! NO, he is NOT! Plus it just HAPPENS to be for $250K!
PLUS ... After his follow-up interviews it is clear that he does not understand finance or taxes enough to even have asked this question in the first place.
October 23, 2008 8:46 AM | Reply | Permalink