Too Freakin' Surreal!

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Fox News Announces McCain Campaign Is Over

This was posted yesterday, and since then Moody's story has been proven false. Emphasis is mine:

Less than two weeks before we vote for a new president, a white woman says a black man attacked her, then scarred her face, and says there was a political motive for it.

Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old white volunteer for John McCain’s presidential campaign, says she was mugged at an ATM machine in Pittsburgh (my hometown) by a big black man. She further says he threw her down, then disfigured her by carving the letter “B” into her face with a sharp implement when he saw that she supported McCain, not Barack Obama.

Part of the appeal of, and the unspoken tension behind, Senator Obama’s campaign is his transformational status as the first African-American to win a major party’s presidential nomination.

That does not mean that he has erased the mutual distrust between black and white Americans, and this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days before the election.

If Ms. Todd’s allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they suddenly feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

- John Moody, Executive VP, Fox News

And the reason why McCain's campaign is linked to this race-baiting is their communications director in PA was pushing this story before the facts were known. 

Waiting for McCain to apologize and fire him.

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Daily Show on Real America

Let's have some MSM follow-up with Wasilla's current Mayor! Why is it that we only get real insights from the "fake" news shows on Comedy Central?



And on Colbert last night, he mocked Colin Powell's reference to Obama as a "transformational candidate" saying (I may be paraphrasing) that McCain is one: "The campaign has transformed him into everything he's ever hated."

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Rope a Dope

Some Obama supporters have worried that he allowed himself to be on the defensive in the debates, particularly the first and third ones.  I disagree.

It's true that McCain was on the attack, never moreso than last night. How'd that work for him?

Obama was able to absorb nearly every punch with a calm, reasoned response. And then once in a while, he delivered a well-timed, well-placed counter-punch that was damaging because it was so unexpected.

Muhammed Ali called this technique Rope-a-Dope.

Ronald Reagan used to say that the most frightening nine words in the English language were "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." That is no longer true. This year, the most frightening eight words are "I'm John McCain and I approved this message."

- Joe Klein

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So Proud!

“Let me just say categorically I'm proud of the people that come to our rallies. Whenever you get a large rally of 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people, you're going to have some fringe peoples. You know that. And I've -- and we've always said that that's not appropriate.”

- John McCain, at last night's debate

McCain may say it's not appropriate to shout threats and epithets about Obama, but Palin hasn't commented when this happens at her own rallies.

I know an Obama worker who has been to a number of Obama rallies, and he has not witnessed any negativity, period. The most he could come up with was seeing buttons saying "How many houses do you own." His point is that Obama speeches and rallies are positive.

I feel a bit sad for McCain because I believe at heart he's a decent man who has allowed operatives to throw his principles overboard in order to win. Then, when the negativity gets out of hand -- in his presence -- he'll try to close Pandora's box by saying things like (paraphrasing) "Obama isn't an Arab, ma'am, he's a decent family man," as if those were opposites.

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McCain: What is this "health" you women speak of?

"Senator John McCain’s health plan would drastically restructure America’s health care system, with especially devastating effects on women."

- Worse for Women report

Tonight, McCain betlittled concerns about protecting the health of the mother when considering a late term abortion. He even put air quotes around the word "health" twice, and said that pro-abortion forces are trying to stretch the word health to mean "just about anything."

The "just about anything" the Republican base knows he meant was that the mental health of the mother doesn't count.

It's also interesting that immediately after Obama said no-one is pro-abortion, McCain referred to the "pro-abortion movement."

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Officers Don't Get PTSD

Marie Claire Magazine: But no cold sweats in the middle of the night?

Cindy McCain: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. My husband, he’d be the first one to tell you that he was trained to do what he was doing. The guys who had the trouble were the 18-year-olds who were drafted. He was trained, he went to the Naval Academy, he was a trained United States naval officer, and so he knew what he was doing.

Tell that to those veterans you care so much about. Oh, I think they've heard about this. Thanks Fox News!

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Hey McCain, Stop Hiding Behind Your Wife's Skirt

So Cindy McCain has to knock Obama for voting to end funding for her son in Iraq. Of course, most folks don't realize that's the only way Congress can end a war it once authorized. They also don't seem to know McCain has voted against funding the troops when that funding bill included stuff he didn't like.

So McCain is hiding behind his wife's skirt. Letting her say stuff he won't.  Same thing with Palin. Another skirt.

Hey, didn't McCain just see Obama in person?  Funny, he didn't say anything about this, or about Bill Ayres, etc.

As Joe Biden said today, "In my neighborhood, when you’ve got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."

As we've seen, McCain can't seem to look Obama in the eye. At both debates, Obama turned to McCain and said what he meant.

Hey Mr. Brave Ex-Prisoner, you scared to say it yourself, much less to Obama in person?

Shameful.

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When Will McCain Disavow This?

Click on image of article to see it larger.

Bobby Lee May is Treasurer of the Republican Party in Buchanan County, Virginia and is the county's representative on McCain's Virginia leadership team.

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The Obfuscation Express

Twice, Steve Inskeep of NPR asks McCain about Palin's foreign policy cred and twice McCain describes her qualifications to be Secretary of Energy in response:

MR. INSKEEP: We’re talking with Senator John McCain. And Senator, as you know, the vice presidential debate comes on Thursday — your running mate, Governor Sarah Palin against Joe Biden. Governor Palin has been asked about her foreign policy qualifications, and cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as one reason she’s qualified. I’d like to ask you, Senator, what specifically do you believe that Alaska’s proximity to Russia adds to Palin’s foreign policy qualifications?

SEN. MCCAIN: Well, I think the fact that they have had certain relationships, but that’s not the major she has stated, and you know that. The major reason she has stated is because she has the knowledge and background on a broad variety of issues, including probably the major challenge of America, and that’s energy independence. And she has been responsible, taken on the oil companies, and we now are going to have a $40 billion dollar natural gas pipeline. She has oversighted the natural gas and oil and natural resources of the state of Alaska and, by the way, quit when she saw corruption there. She has the world view that I have. She is very highly qualified and very knowledgeable.

MR. INSKEEP: Given what you’ve said, Senator, is there an occasion where you could imagine turning to Governor Palin for advice in a foreign policy crisis?

SEN. MCCAIN: I’ve turned to her advice many times in the past. I can’t imagine turning to Senator Obama or Senator Biden because they’ve been wrong. They were wrong about Iraq, they were wrong about Russia. Senator Biden wanted to divide Iraq into three different countries. He voted against the first Gulf War. Senator Obama has no experience whatsoever and has been wrong in the issues that he’s been involved in –

MR. INSKEEP: But would you turn to Governor Palin –

SEN. MCCAIN: — I certainly wouldn’t turn to them, and I’ve already have turned to Governor Palin, particularly on energy issues, and I’ve appreciated her background and knowlege on that and many other issues.

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McCain: Don't Listen to Anything Palin Says, Unless It's Scripted For Her

Saturday night, while on a stop for cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia, Sarah Palin was asked by a Temple graduate student about whether the U.S. should cross the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

"If that's what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should," Palin said.

"She would not…she understands and has stated repeatedly that we're not going to do anything except in America's national security interest," McCain told ABC's George Stephanopoulos of Palin. "In all due respect, people going around and… sticking a microphone while conversations are being held, and then all of a sudden that's—that's a person's position… This is a free country, but I don't think most Americans think that that's a definitve policy statement made by Governor Palin."

Excerpted from CNN report

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Obama Wasn't Just Making Stuff Up

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Yeah, I'm sure that's all he said!

"I'm John McCain and I approve this message even though it's being put on You Tube while I'm still on stage. I guess those SNL guys had a point."

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Where's Your Flag Pin, Senator McCain?

Oh, that's right. Only the black guy with the funny name needs one to prove he loves his country.

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Confused, alright!

I don't know who authored this.  I'm about the millionth person to post it, but in case you haven't seen it...

--------------------------

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,

then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

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Not Healthy

from today's New York Times:

Disputed characterizations are not uncommon on the trail. At a campaign stop this week in Missouri, Mr. McCain said that Mr. Obama’s plan would “force small businesses to cut jobs and reduce wages and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.” Jonathan B. Oberlander, who teaches health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that Mr. Obama’s plan would not force families into a government-run system. “I would say this is an inaccurate and false characterization of the Obama plan,” he said. “I don’t use those words lightly.”

I have different point than that McCain mischaracterizes Obama's plan:

If you want to understand how out of touch he is, think about your own health insurance. Is there not a bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor now?

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Say Again?

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism. I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."

- John McCain, October 2007

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How's that Abstinence-only Program Working for Ya, Sarah?

Q: Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

PALIN : Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

* * *

A spokesman for GOP presidential candidate John McCain tells The Brody File that he, “strongly opposes efforts by the Democratic-controlled Congress to eliminate abstinence-only sex education classes for school-aged children.”
-May 24, 2007

* * *

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday. Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
-Reuters, September 1, 2008

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Hey, Teresa, pay attention!

As a participant in Frank Lutz's focus group, Teresa, a Hillary delegate to the DNC said:

"I always thought he was a moderate...You know, I change my mind almost every day, but right now I"m wondering where the John McCain I really liked in 2000 went, what happened to the moderate?"

HELLO, Teresa! John McCain has always been a conservative, and he's always been upfront about it. He has NEVER been a moderate. Back in 2000, I was one who expressed admiration for him because he seemed like the real deal although I disagreed with him on nearly every issue.

It's time for these Hillary supporters who are uncertain about their vote to ask themselves what they really believe in. It's fine if you're worried about Obama's thin experience. But DO NOT blame him or the media for Clinton's loss. I'm not saying there wasn't sexism in the media coverage, or that there wasn't a level of fawning over Barack. But Clinton sunk her own boat by having a mismanaged, poorly run campaign.

Just as it's not productive to keep talking about Florida in 2000 because Gore would have won anyway if he had only carried his home state, Clinton had such an advantage going in that it's meaningless to talk about how close the primary campaign was. She should have won early and so handily that there would have been no contest by April.

So, Teresa, please try just a bit to get past personalities, and look at what the candidates will do if they get into office. It's all there on their web sites.

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The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin

Do you feel ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency?
"Absolutely. Yup, yup. Especially with a good team around us."

That's the best she can do?

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