Powell's Redemption, sort of

I saw Powell's the press conference after he was on MTP. His contempt for the McCain campaign was palpable. He talked about how horribly we are viewed in the world when people see the exchange between that woman at a McCain rally and McCain about being a Muslim. McCain's answer was "...No, he's a family man." Powell said, Obama is a Christian, but shouldn't matter if he was Muslim, he's an American. He went on about the campaign and how the superficial negative attacks on Obama and the obvious unsuitability of Palin as a VP candidate were a contributing factor in his endorsement. I then watched MTP where he said many of the same things, as well as talking about Obama as being a transformational candidate. During his MTP appearance he talked quite movingly about seeing a grieving mother at Arlington and that there was no cross or Star of David on his tombstone, but the Mulism holy symbol. The conventional wisdom is that endorsements don't matter; however, I think this one does. Partly because of the pain that the endorsement was causing Powell, but mainly because of his blistering indictment of the McCain campaign and the Republican party. He was ballistic about McCain going on about Ayers when we were involved in two wars and the economy is in the toilet. He said things that most politicians are afraid to say, ie What is wrong with being a Muslim? But the depth of he distress about the direction his party has taken and their empty policies was a quite an indictment. The other thing about the Powell endorsement was that even thought he was critical of the McCain campaign, he was extremely positive about Obama. He described him as a transformational candidate who was the right candidate for the time. (I labeled the post redemption, sort of because of Powell's unwillingness to dissociate himself from the Bush administration until now, not to mention he was party to getting us involved in the disastrous WAR in Iraq. Redemption takes more than one act, but his endorsement has set him on the righteous path.)

strange sounds and visuals

Watching the debate was a little strange - great white hands kept emerging from the side of the screen, turning pages. I kept hearing weird sounds - like sniggers and snorts. Could that have been McCain?

Crypt Keeper

Gee, I hope I never have to listen to that unpleasant man ever again. He was awful. I kept thinking that he was going to blow. He did look at Barack, but death rays. And that awful smile... I keep coming back to the brilliant Rude Pundit, who said, "Wait till the public gets a look at Denzel vs the Crypt Keeper. I could barely watch McCain. Now I am really testing my metal by listening to the gas bags. The are bickering about the score. Score the debate? Do they really think that they can score a debate on points? This is not a speaking union or debate society, what people are listening is what it would mean if one of these candidates is elected president, and the specter of McCain being president is terrifying. When he seemed like he was going to blow his stack when talking about choice and not allowing a late term abortion even when the woman's life is at stake. Actually, being anti-choice is one issue that McCain has been consistent about. Horrible man.

The Ramen investment

I didn't blog this morning - I actually have a day job, which given the state of the economy I will be working for a long, long time, if I am lucky enough to keep my job. More grim news from Wall Street. I know I don't understand the financial world all that well, but is the fact that consumer spending was down a surprise? I guess so. My brother in law suggested that we all invest heavily in Ramen Noodle Soup because that will be the only thing that we will able to afford to eat.

There is much talk in the msm about the upcoming debate. I came home to the dulcet tones of Tweety (aka Chris Mathews) hectoring someone about what McCain had to do during the debate. Who care what he does, even if he waxes lyrical, his ideas about everything are horrible, and he been acting so notional these days, who could trust him to be dog catcher, let alone president.

McCain the moral beacon (hah)

http://www.politico.com/rogersimon/index_Page2.html

Roger Simon of Politico wrote a post today which a little too forgiving and wrote that McCain is not comfortable with being negative. Hmmmm... it is after all his campaign, he didn't disavow the repug head of the GOP in VA for telling his canvassers to compare Obama to Osama, he didn't back off his claim that Obama was pushing sex education for kindergartners, and in fact got real snippy with the Des Moines Register editors, doesn't try to control Palin's hate speech, etc. Just what does he object to? Right now he is fulminating about Barack's not distancing himself from what his hero, John Lewis said about the dangers of hate speech. I think Simon is off base. John McCain is just so pissed that he is the head of a ridiculous campaign, with horrible people running it, but after all, if he could hire the very people who savaged his family, what can he expect.

The Dean

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/13/AR2008101302170.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

David Border has a column in the Wapo today which I could actually read. Usually I find him so insufferable I never make it to the end of his columns (imagine if you will, a love child of Cokie and the so called Dean - he/she first sentence would be saying something trite and horrible about the Democrats.) Today though, he writes about how McCain is toast in PA. He has many quotes about how terrified people are of dear Sarah Palin. How wonderful it would be, if McCain's deeply cynical and irresponsible pick for VP sunk him in the general election. The more I see of her, the more frightening she becomes. How McCain could have picked her is beyond belief. Aside from little experience, she had a big ethics problem, which wasn't exactly a surprise to anyone who reads the sublime Josh Michah Marshall at Talkingpointsmemo.com. Oh I forgot, although McCain invented the Blackberry, he relies on the fair Cindy to all his internet work. I guess reading TPM escaped her. Gee, what a surprise.

More rats, god bless 'em

The difficulties of the McCain campaign have led some Republican leaders to express concern that he could end up dragging other Republican candidates down to defeat. “If Obama is able to run up big numbers around the country,” said Mr. Anuzis, the Michigan party chairman, “the potential for hurting down-ballot Republicans is very big.”

One sign of that has emerged in Nebraska, where Representative Lee Terry, a Republican, ran a newspaper advertisement featuring words of support for him from a woman identified as an “Obama-Terry voter.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/us/politics/12strategy.html

Nice piece in the nyt. I like a rough week for McCain (but it sure doesn't compare to my rough week - my husband entertains himself by watching our retirement savings evaporate. Retirement? what retirement) I love that Lee Terry is from Nebraska, when people flee from a Republican presidential candidate in Nebraska, he's got real problems. More rats please.

Rats

I can't help myself from looking at polling data. I have gone from being deeply critical of the dreaded msm focus on the horse race election reporting, to being all about the horse race. I can now look at the polls with both eyes, instead of looking at them from a distance with my hands over my face. Of course as we all know polls can be wrong, but they are sure looking better than they did a few weeks ago. But really, how awful does a repug have to be to lose an election. I keep wondering what bizarre stunt is McCain dreaming up now. I keep hoping that the rest of the republican party will start to look after their self interest and flee. There is some movement in that direction - William Milliken, Christopher Buckley, to name a few. I want more rats. Of course, fool that I am, in 2004 I expected that at least some republicans would put aside party loyalty, and endorse Kerry. I know that people are down on Kerry and he may have made mistakes during the '04 campaign, but running against an incumbent is tough, even if the incumbent is a nitwit.

Fanning the flames

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002456.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

There is a good piece in the Wapo today by Hosseini about the nasty turn in the McCain campaign in their fanning the fires of xenophobia and racism. There are clips on the web of a woman in Minnesota who says to McCain that Obama is an Arab. He supposedly corrects her saying, "...No M'am, he is a family man..." This is a somewhat bizarre response - as my husband pointed out, an Arab can't be a family man? There is some debate as to whether the woman said Arab terrorist. She might have when she was interviewed later, but I don't think she did when she was talking to McCain. Now I have heard various people write that McCain is no racist, but I am not so sure. He sure doesn't have a stellar record for civil rights, and anybody who didn't harbor some sort of racial feelings wouldn't have such a tin ear and demonstrate such a lack a sensitivity for things racial, witness his condescending manor to Oliver Clark, his lack of support of MLK holiday, his embrace of the Confederate flag, until it was convenient to disavow the flag, etc.

My precious

Gail Collins can sometimes be too snarky and annoying, but today she is spot on. I am disappointed in myself that I failed to see the startling resemblance between McNut and Gollum...








http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/opinion/11collins.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Remember how we used to joke about John McCain looking like an old guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn? It’s only in retrospect that we can see that the keep-off-the-grass period was the McCain campaign’s golden era. Now, he’s beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll.

During that last debate, while he was wandering around the stage, you almost expected to hear him start muttering: “We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precious.”

bread lines

While I am tinkering here on my blog, my son in law is discussing the economy and how we are basically screwed if the government defaults on debt - bread lines doesn't begin to describe the chaos that will ensue. What a cheery thought. God help us if McNut is elected. Although the polls look good, I must admit I am holding my breath and wonder what the repugs will pull in the next few weeks. They are capable of anything.

Oliver Clark

Two things about this story interested me - one how Gallup decides who is an undecided voter, and McCain's condescending assumptions about the man who asked the question. I also thought Oliver Clark was quite gracious in his reaction to McCain's foolishness in assuming that he knew nothing about Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/9/173349/097/963/625503