Jack & Jill Politics

I LOVE to see the delegates leave the hillbilly and get behind the winner! She has been bragging so much about winning the individual state primaries, I hope he kicks her tail in delegate lead.


She did her usual low class act today and had her lackies announce that she wants the VP slot. How could she do that without talking directly to him 1st? Why? Because she wants her evil minion to continue to pressure him. It's not going to work. I wish non-delusional was here to say, "GIVE IT UP, BITCHES!"



How many hours until O gives the victory speech?

This looks like it, ya'll! O needs 5 more delegates to win. Tonight is our night,& we aren't going to let hillbilly steal the thunder or extort the VP spot. It has been so gratifying to see those hacks on CNN have to give it up to O & the historical event that this is. We won the 1st round! Now, on to the GE!!!! Dead woman walking!


Congratulations, Craig!!! Take some ear plugs so you don't go deaf at the convention. I can't wait to get the play by play.



I finished cleaning my classroom and I'm done til August! It's truly a blessed and awesome day

Tubby Jones


HOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO too funny!!

Val & Pamela,


I'm still laughing out loud at the 2 of you! Stop!lol

Pamela,


You're killing me!lol

val - I want to know where she found a shade of lipstick that perfectly matches her gums

just because you told them what they "have" to do.

Pamela - I saw that woman and her teeth and I have to kneel in prayer for my thoughts. Anyway- these women are obnoxious. They come off as nagging wives. You have to pick her as vp, you have to pick her as vp, you have to pick her are vp, you have to pick her as vp. You know, most men at least most men of color do not like to be told that they have to do. In fact, most would do the opposite.

Thanks heartsandflowers. I agree that they should do something about that as well. It just gets to me that when Hillary repeats something multiple times, folks seem to adopt it as truth and start reporting on it even if it is a proven fallacy.

Tubby-Jones has gone into Hillary as VP now. Chris Matthews said is Hillary okay with taking a job that really doesn't have much too it except presiding over the Senate and she is saying that there is so much that needs to be done that it will take two people to run the country. Co-Presidents! Run Obama run.

It comes from discounting all the caucus states because they do keep popular vote tallies. Obama's people REALLY need to do something about this!!!

Not that it matters but it is showing:
Obama: 17,425,810



Hillary: 17,428,541



I know the delegates is what counts but I really want to know where those numbers come from.

what is up with the popular count shown on MSNBC in HIllary's favor. Where are those numbers coming from?

I feel so blessed right now to be apart of history right now. When I watch documentaries of past leaders, I often wish I could have experienced some of the excitement they illicited.


I can't WAIT for his speech tonight. However, the reports are still saying she does not plan to "concede". My theory is that she may not use the actual words "concede" or "I am suspending my campaign", but she will in a vague way acknowledge he has reached the delegate threshold. Then again, that beyotch is crazy, and may have one last surprise.



And for the record, I am still saying no to the VP slot. Clyburn is on MSNBC now.

Craig-


Romney is a Mormon and the lunatic right will not go for it.



That is why Jindal, a catholic (think PA) is being shopped

B-serious,


Agreed. He needs to choose a VP right away to steer clear of all the HRC camp mess. There were some rumblings that he could choose Sebelius or McCaskill, but I think one of the VA triumvirate (Webb, Kaine, Warner) could balance the ticket much better while securing a swing state.



Hagel--is looking more like a cabinet post than A Veep choice especially if HRC is still hanging around..much easier to challenge a Repub than a fellow Dem.



McCain, I think is waiting for Obama to choose so he can make a counter appointment. He has been looking a Jindal, the newly minted 36 year GOV of LA..lol..

If McCain picks Romney as his VP, he's a fool.


But then he's a fool, so maybe he'll pick Romney as his VP.

Repeat after me:


She will not be Obama's runningmate.



Period.

Mark,
Actually, my information comes from people who have served/are serving in Iraq.



I don't think you're willing to take the steps necessary-namely, taking a trip there yourself-that would be required to discredit them.



First off, the US is not the occupying power in Iraq. We never were. The CPA-and I trust you know who that is-was the ruling power in Iraq until they handed the reins to the Iraqi government.



War is, by nature, an expensive undertaking. I doubt there's any record in history of a war being won on the cheap.



I'm not "pro war." No veteran is. What I am for is giving the Iraqi people a chance to experience the same freedoms I have. That's why I served.



Iraq is not-nor is it worse than-Vietnam. But I'll tell you how it can be made that way. If the Obama/Reid/Pelosi crowd keep attempting to legislate strategy.



Especially now that we have a strategy that Americans can see is working.

What if McCain picks Mitt Romney for VP?

"That bastard Harry Reid is telling SD's there's no rush, to leave Hillary Clinton alone."


Now, truthseeker, there you go actually LISTENING to the words said again. You are bound to hear the real when you do that and it is enough to piss any decent person off. Now you know how I feel about Edwards non-endorsement of Obama while endorsing himself and Hillary.

That bastard Harry Reid is telling SD's there's no rush, to leave Hillary Clinton alone.


They should be on bended knee thanking Obama for saving the party. If Obama had not decided to run the GOP would have had Hillary and the DEMS for dinner, with all the shit in their closet.



Those party dinosaurs need to go!

bmp, I agree 100% on what you say in your last post. I didn't think that was your meaning of the first post that I responded to.

tvanel said, "What if he says FU and chooses another VP? Yes, her supporters can nominate her from the convention floor--but I dont think she will get the votes."


Bingo!



Delegate votes aside, Hillary won't have the political support to bully her way on the ticket . . .



IF. . .



Obama picks a different veep by late June/early July.



That makes things a lot more complicated for Clinton. It's hard to push your way on the ticket when someone else's name is already on all of the campaign signs, stickers and buttons.



Think about it. That's a solid 2 months of campaign time. That's 2 months for the party to grow accustomed to seeing Obama/(NOT Hillary) '08.



Sure, Hillary could opt for a convention fight. But she'd have to literally TAKE the nomination away from another Democrat to do it. That's political suicide if you're Hillary.



Last week, 40 Hillary super delegates threatened to switch sides if she takes the MI/FL issue to the convention. The backlash might be even bigger if she tried to take the veep issue to the convention.

pamela, we will have to agree to disagree. It is about kneegros falling in line. That is why the superdels didn't end this sooner, the way they would have if Edwards or Hillary had sewn up the nomination with 11 wins in the row in February. They could afford to take blacks for granted because blacks always fall in line and as the responses today are already proving, will fall in line again. If the democrats were afraid of losing your votes, they have a funny way of showing it. LOL

markg8,
You better preach. It never ceases to amaze how uninformed the pro-war crowd are about the history and politics of the nations they seek to occupy.

Obama's Alliance with Marxists


“Are we about to elect a president who has made common political cause with Marxists? This should prove interesting as the press wrestles with a way to keep the damage regarding these revelations to a minimum.”



That link points to:



Barack Obama sought the New Party's endorsement knowing it was a radical left organization



Obama Sought Endorsement of Marxist Third Party in 1996



What is or was this “New Party”?



NEW PARTY (NP)



“Marxist political coalition…In 1997 the New Party's influence declined precipitously after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that electoral fusion was not protected by the First Amendment's freedom of association clause. By 1998 the party was essentially defunct. Daniel Canto and other key party members went on to establish a new organization with similar ideals, the Working Families Party of New York.”



Well, communism ‘worked-out-well’ for the Cubans and the former Soviets, so maybe it will also work here in America…

S and D,
You're right Iraq is not Vietnam, it's worse than Vietnam.



Bush's occupation of Iraq has wrecked our standing in the world, cost us trillions of dollars and seriously damaged the US military not to mention the country.



In the long run Iraq will be more allied with Iran than the USA no matter what we do. If we are lucky Maliki will give way to Sadr in Shiite Iraq. Sadr is the most nationalistic and least Iran friendly of the major Shiite politicians. Sadr's ascension wouldn't help US relations much but at least he wouldn't be the kind of Iranian toady Maliki is.



I don't expect either of you to know any of this. Your "news" comes from silly propaganda sources that have long been discredited.

She is trying to bully her way on the ticket, that is her price. She tried it in secret talks, now she is making it public.


I was watching David Gergen on CNN last night--he said he had a "change of heart on the dream ticket" Gergen as some of u know used to be a Clinton advisor.



Here is the play for HRC-and her challenge to Obama--appoint me or risk alienating my base!!



Obama on the other hand--should he pick her--gets her baggage and looks EXTREMELY WEAK, caving in and providing GOP fodder for the GEN.



What if he says FU and chooses another VP? Yes, her supporters can nominate her from the convention floor--but I dont think she will get the votes.

bmp both Obama supporters and Hillary's will both have to go back on their words since both have such strong feelings against the others candidates so it's not just "kneegros falling in line" as you say.

That's an interesting question: do Obama's supporters "hold their nose" and vote for an Obama/Clinton ticket?

I tried to warn many thick heads that it has been about the VP slot since NC but they didn't want to deal with reality of conventions and nominations. They found more comfort in arguing against the facts with me than joining a concerted effort to head this off. Unless a vetting makes her an impossibility she will have the delegates for the VP slot and I get to watch others find a way to go back on their words to support the Obama-Clinton ticket despite strong statements to the contrary. Let the Hillary butt kissing and usual kneegros falling in line begin.....

Chris Cillizza at The Fix says Hillary's speech tonight will “acknowledge where we are:”


He also says, "Language is important here. An acknowledgment of Obama securing the delegates he needs to formally become the party’s nominee is NOT the same thing as a concession by Clinton."

Truthseeker,


What is she saying?

Per MSNBC, Hillary says she is open to being Vice President.


If this ticket gets elected I call September in Snipper Watch 2009.



I can say those sort of things cuz I'm not running for President.

That Begala is a piece of shit. He's the one that said Obama's coalition was eggheads and African Americans.


So Hillary is publicly saying she is open to VP. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.



Barack doesn't need any of that mess.



Donna Brazile is on CNN.

Sepia wrote: On HuffPo, Paula Begala compares Hillary to Jackie Robinson and Thomas Edsall says Obama owes Harold Ickes because of his work in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party!


.... um ....



I, um, I .....



.... um



.......



Words they fail me.

Anonymous s said...
Necessity is the Mother of Invention..."



General Motors Corp.'s board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010.



Fully charged, the Volt could drive about 40 miles without using any gasoline, and a small conventional engine would recharge the vehicle, extending its range and allowing it to get the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon. GM plans to sell about 100,000 Volts a year by 2012.



Tue Jun 03, 12:25:00 PM 2008



___________________________



This technology has existed a long time. When faced with the possibility that people would rather ride the bus than fund their own travels to automakers get their butts in gear to make these cars. They have been widely used in Europe for several years already!

AND I'm ready!

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention..."


General Motors Corp.'s board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010.



Fully charged, the Volt could drive about 40 miles without using any gasoline, and a small conventional engine would recharge the vehicle, extending its range and allowing it to get the equivalent of 150 miles per gallon. GM plans to sell about 100,000 Volts a year by 2012.

mark,


Iraq is not Vietnam, this is not 1968.



Speaking of history...



The temptation to retreat into isolationism after WWI did not save the world from Hitler. Harry S. Truman was wise and realistic enough to recognize the moral obligation we had to keep the world safe from tyranny and oppression and that the credible threat of military intervention and action could help achieve peace.

Mark,
S didn't say anything disrespectful about SPC Mcginnis. Men like him gave their lives not for "Bush's mistake," but to make this country a better place.



To assert anything else is inherently disrespectful.



S,

Neither will I.

d,


I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand the 'excessive pessimism' towards the ability of this country to achieve success in Iraq, and the conscious effort to highlight the bad over the good re: our military and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.



The entire country, not just Republicans, benefits from our success.

Hillary supporters have truly lost their minds!


On HuffPo, Paula Begala compares Hillary to Jackie Robinson and Thomas Edsall says Obama owes Harold Ickes because of his work in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party!

S,


Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis had more honor than you'll ever have. Why don't you stop besmirching his memory and get your butt down to a recruiting station? If you won't learn from history and refuse to make this a better country in the future then you might as well have the honor of being the last man to die for Bush's mistake.

S,
I know; put a link to a story about SPC Mcginnis above this morning.



As expected-no mention at all.



But if I put up an accusation of US soldiers randomly killing Iraqis, the chorus would immediately start up.



That's the country in which we live.

IMO, to examine the senator's ideas, to discuss whether they are wrong, counterproductive or even dangerous, is the high compliment paid to serious candidates seeking to run this country.


I'll try and make my comments more concise.

S,
I know; put a link to a story about SPC Mcginnis above this morning.



As expected-no mention at all.



But if I put up an accusation of US soldiers randomly killing Iraqis, the chorus would immediately start up.



That's the country in which we live.

rikyrah writes:


AP: Officials say that Hillpatine will admit that Obama has the Nomination TONIGHT



Me: I'll believe it when I see it.



Same here.



justice58 writes:



First, the AP put out a report that says Hillary Clinton will admit Barack has the nomination THEN later, the Clinton camp says No?



Hillary wants to steal Barack's thunder!



My girlfriend was -- uncharasterically for her -- pretty stressed out last night about what will happen today.



She told me she's stressed out because tonight there's going to be exposure of what people and this process have been dancing around: the whole unity thing. Senator Clinton has publicly promised to support the Democratic nominee. Tonight or soon thereafter there will be a nominee. She may not concede. The lie will be exposed (even if Ms. Hillary spins it) and then what?



I left my gf a note this morning saying that she needs to remember that Ms. Hillary is an abusive person and her goal is domination and control. At this point getting to people is a thrill for her because it is a form of power over others. I said that having this kind of power feeds her, and we should expect that she will seek, and continue to seek, to be fed.



I also said "Remember: Hillary Clinton is not the variable in what will happen. The variable is whether this country as a collective group will choose its best path at this moment in time."



She wants to be crucial, and will likely toy with this country, because it can give her power over how we feel stuff and what we see going on.



She may also be doing this to try to increase her negotiating power "over" Senator Obama. I trust he knows what he is dealing with in her and her campaign.



I don't accept what my parents told me years ago, that ignoring bullies disempowers them, because I don't think that is a realistic action in many cases.



But I will not allow her to be a determining factor in the reality of what is happening and going to happen today.



She has clearly and repeatedly shown herself incompetent at assessing actual reality and speaking truth.



I will not allow her the control she assumes she has. Because it is illegitimate.



I do not and will not accept that her word is some sort of LAST word on whether we have a nominee. Because in this we have seen repeatedly that her word is illegitimate.



She is not the creator of reality. Reality itself is.

d,


The dems were really hoping that Fallon was going to turn on Bush and Patreaus. He is a man with true honor and integrity, putting our men in women who are in harm's way above himself.



And speaking of honor:



Just yesterday, Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for throwing his body on a live grenade to save four of his fellow soldiers.

What does she have left? Debt and the bitter folks like Harriet Christian.


The McCain / GOP and Obama have been ignoring her for the last few months.



The media is going to speculate whether Billary is going to be Obama's VP.



Billary loves media attention (via Press Releases) so don't expect silence from them. They will continue to work to undermine Obama. It's their M.O.



Already hearing that she will be "viable" in 4 years if Obama loses.



They never fail to be disagreeable.

New Orleans, pre-Katrina, was a prime example of what the Democratic Party has to offer. It was the ‘Shining Light’ of what it would be like under a full “progressive” agenda and leadership. The Democratic Party in pre-Katrina New Orleans was well know for “getting out the vote”, e.g. on election day, just give them a call, and a school bus (or other means of transport) would soon arrive at your doorsteps.


Looks like that ‘Shining Light’ of pre-Katrina New Orleans is about to start shining over the entire United States of America.



Following is a quote from Jerry Clower’s, A Coon Huntin' Story:



“Well, just shoot up in here amongst us…one of us got to have some relief!” – John Eubanks

Bob Herbert wrote a great Op-Ed piece today




http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/opinion/03herbert.html?ex=1370145600&en;=738e601d04da8361&ei;=5124&partner;=permalink&exprod;=permalink

Who really cares what she does or doesn't do anymore.

So Clinton campaign the AP story is wrong and she will not concede.

So I wonder if the Clinton people put this concession speech rumer out there to suppress the Obama vote in SD and MT. If people think she's going to concede, they won't show up at the polls.


With the Nixons, anything is possible.



He can lose SD by 100%.



He's the nominee!

Drudge Report is saying that Clinton will win S. Dakota by 25 pts. I know what you're thinking: It's Drugdge Report. But in the past, when he's gotten leaks from Clinton's camp (based on their internal polling), they've been on the money. The ones that comes to mind for me are the the IN and NC primaries. Her internal polls predicted she would lose to Obama in both states (she won IN, but by a very small margin, and we know that was thanks in large part to Rush Windbag).


Poblano--who has been damn good this primary season--has Obama beating her by 5 pts in SD.



So I wonder if the Clinton people put this concession speech rumer out there to suppress the Obama vote in SD and MT. If people think she's going to concede, they won't show up at the polls.

Craig,


You beat me to it! Just heard it on the Ed Shultz show. David Shuster said the networks will probably make the same call once the polls close tonight.



I'm truly ecstatic! What a truly historic occassion!



GO OBAMA!!!! YES WE CAN!!



P.S. Send us a post-card from the Democratic Convention. Congrats!

I'm gonna go center here:


Something tells me that if we were discussing the case against McCain-which, in the interest of fairness, should probably be done-everyone would be jumping up and down to add to the case.



As of today, Obama is the nominee (barring some...hell, I don't know what). He's more fair game today than he was yesterday.



S has outlined what the conservative beefs with him are, and was just looking for Obama's supporters to respond to them. That's it.



Is it really necessary-or productive-to attempt to stiffle someone's voice because they disagree?

AP Called the Race


AP: Obama Clenches Nomination



WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.



Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial divisions within the party.



The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.



The 46-year-old first term senator will face Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the fall campaign to become the 44th president.



Clinton was ready to concede that her rival had amassed the delegates needed to triumph, according to officials in her campaign. These officials said the New York senator did not intend to suspend or end her candidacy in a speech Tuesday night in New York. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to divulge her plans.



Obama's triumph was fashioned on prodigious fundraising, meticulous organizing and his theme of change aimed at an electorate opposed to the Iraq war and worried about the economy—all harnessed to his own innate gifts as a campaigner.



Clinton campaigned for months as the candidate of experience, a former first lady and second-term senator ready, she said, to take over on Day One.



But after a year on the trail, Obama won the kickoff Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, and the 46-year-old, first-term Illinois senator became something of an overnight political phenomenon.



"We came together as Democrats, as Republicans and independents, to stand up and say we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come," he said that night in Des Moines.



A video produced by Will I. Am and built around Obama's "Yes, we can" rallying cry quickly went viral. It drew its one millionth hit within a few days of being posted.



Source

He's 30.5 away.


See you all later on this afternoon.

markg8


Read your "1st-time" blog. Beautiful!!



Folks,

check it out if you haven't already



http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/for-the-first-time-in-my-adult.php

Mia Farrow's Nephew Dies in Iraq --Uncle Pens Angry Letter to Editor


http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003810398

anon 9:45,


Just shut up! You're boring!

More speculation about Michelle Obama and the alleged 'tape':


“Once again, the white man keeps us down, what’s up with Whitey, Why’d he attack Iraq, Why’d he let Katrina happen, Why’d he leave millions of children behind. This is the legacy the white man gives us”

The Straight Talk Express has derailed.


He's such a flip flopper that it's laughable.

It seems that hijacking threads on a community forum is disrespectful at best.


Blogger is free. Open an account. Start your own blog.



Half the shit posted in these rants is unfounded and spun beyond recognition.



The editorial writers of this blog and most of the Obama supporters who post here have no problem criticizing Barack as required. But always within a context of credibility.



The same can't be said for most the shit staining this thread today.

"So sick of having to scroll over endless anti-Clinton rants and tortured delegate math.
-----------------------------------



Just like we scroll over yours! Ha!

Craig,


I feel ya!



Oh and congrats dude on going to Denver! Can I be your assistant? I can answer your phones and what not...

craig,


Sorry about hijacking this thread. I have been itching to get to this point.



So sick of having to scroll over endless anti-Clinton rants and tortured delegate math.

anon @ 8:49


More than a few Republicans held their noses and voted for Bush or Gore and Kerry. In the 2000 primary supported McCain over Bush because I felt he had the necessary character, integrity and experience to become President. He is a man who had demonstrated a willingness to seek common ground with the Democrats and opponents within his own party.



He does not deserve to be branded with the Bush label.



Bush-haters are content to lump all Republicans together, but the Republican party is not a monolith comprised of Limbaugh 'dittoheads' and Evangelicals.



I am an independent conservative who has voted for both political parties and I can tell you that he holds real appeal for moderates and independents who lean conservative.

ronnie,


Re: Iran



From the WSJ:



Iran Emerges as Key Issue in Jewish Vote



"Sen. McCain sought to set down a political marker with Jewish voters by pledging a hard line on Iran and a commitment to many of the policies AIPAC has been promoting. The American lobbying body has particularly pushed for an international divestment campaign from companies doing business in Iran, while also seeking more unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iranian state institutions, such as the central bank.



Sen. McCain said he supported this approach, arguing that "as more people, businesses, pension funds and financial institutions...divest from companies doing business with Iran, the radical elite who run that country will become even more unpopular."



The Arizona senator also sought to again define his likely Democratic opponent for the presidency, Sen. Obama, as weak on Iran and naïve for announcing his willingness to negotiate directly with Tehran's leaders."

Seems someone has diarrhea today.


Try some Immodium.

Will someone please explain to me why McCain is any better than Bush. 8 years ago, Republican's had a choice between the two and they chose Bush. The Republican's thought Bush was better than McCain!! So why exactly should I believe he's better now? And if you tell me it was a mistake, then I really have to question your thinking.

mark,


Nobody wants to fight over the last of the oil when we can and must develop alternatives.

____________________________________



Your all or nothing approach to debate is an intellectual cop out.

_____________________________________



Then why are Democrats so unwilling to allow us explore and develop our own sources of energy?



I am all for alternative fuels and I drive a hybrid. But do not be so naive as to think that ethanol, wind and solar power will entirely end our dependency on fossil fuels overnight. And why not increase the use of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly source of energy, nuclear power?



I believe that 'necessity is the mother of invention' and that this country is waking up to the necessity of energy independence and the need for alternative sources of energy. American creativity, ingenuity and entrepeneurship will come through for us in the not-too-distant future.

What up with this!


First, the AP put out a report that says Hillary Clinton will admit Barack has the nomination THEN later, the Clinton camp says No?



Hillary wants to steal Barack's thunder!



And why is the Media making it all about her! Blah Blah Blah!

ronnie b,


To be honest, I am not that hung up on incidents of 'misspeaking'. It's a long campaign and fatigue does play a part.



Gaffes, along with Obama's past associations are not as big of an issue with me and I brought them up not because I intend to debate them in any depth, but to note that they will come up in the campaign.



As far as the economy goes,



McCain is wise enough to have assembled a very intellectually diverse economic team:



on the more general matter of how he would make economic policy, he did say this:



"But I as president, as every other president, rely primarily on my secretary of the Treasury, on my Council of Economic Advisers, on the head of that. I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like Jack Kemp, Phil Gramm, Warren Rudman, Pete Peterson and the Concord group. I have a process of leadership, that is sort of an inclusive one that I have developed, a circle of acquaintances and people that are supporters and friends of mine who I have worked with for many, many years."



Notice that phrase "people like." What makes it odd is that those people aren't like each other at all, at least when it comes to their economic views. A couple of them, if you put them in the same room, would set off an intergalactic explosion like the collision of matter and antimatter.



One adviser, Jack Kemp, is the man who talked Ronald Reagan into embracing supply side economics in the 1970s, which launched the Reagan boom of the 1980s. He's the world's bubbliest advocate of tax cuts, dismissing the traditional Republican fixation on balanced budgets as "root canal" economics. Another adviser, Peter Peterson, is root canal economics. He's a dour Jeremiah who called the Reagan boom a "mad, drunken bash" and thinks steep tax increases on income, gasoline, tobacco, and alcohol, on top of a 5 percent consumption tax, are necessary to put the government's finances in order. He and Rudman run the Concord Coalition, an advocacy group that regards the federal government's budget deficit as the country's foundational economic problem.



A president should seek advice from a wide assortment of counselors. And McCain's list may very well reveal a refreshingly nonideological approach to policy making that will prove popular in our post-partisan era of change, the future, causes-greater-than-your-self-interest, and hope.

ttp://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/white_women_take_the_gloves_of.html


articles like these make me want to pull my hair out because

if anyone really believes a vote for mccain is punishing Obama and not themselves



something is off.

4. Many moderates and Republicans are angry with George W. Bush and the Republican controlled Congress for increasing the size and scope of the federal government and McCain's pledge to veto any bill containing earmarks will resonate with fiscally conservative voters.


Larry Kudlow writes:



"Your guy has a very poor grasp of basic economic principles.



First off, you don’t raise taxes during a recession. That’s a no-brainer. Second, doubling the capital-gains tax rate will affect Americans up and down the income ladder, not just rich hedge-fund managers. In addition, capital-gains tax cuts are self-financing, and they stimulate jobs and the economy. You want to raise budget revenues and spark economic growth? Cut the cap-gains tax rate. That’s what history shows.



The Wall Street Journal’s Steve Moore points out that in 2005, almost half of all tax returns reporting capital gains came from households with incomes under $50,000, while more than three-quarters came from households earning less than $100,000.



Obama also proposed uncapping the payroll tax, another blunder that will hit people up and down the income ladder. While Obama pledges tax hikes only for folks earning more that $200,000 a year, his tax hike on payrolls would actually slam middle-income earners. The cap on wages subject to the payroll tax is presently $102,000. By eliminating that cap Obama will be soaking veteran firemen, cops, teachers, and health-service workers, along with a variety of other occupations.



In fact, in America’s largest cities, a firefighter married to a school teacher can earn close to $200,000 filing jointly. So not only will each spouse separately pay more for Social Security and health care under Obama’s plan, together they’ll also be slammed by Obama’s cap-gains tax increase.



This is more than just a failure to understand the Laffer curve. It’s another cultural misstep by Obama. I can’t help but wonder if the senator knows any cops or firemen. His appeal is to well-educated latte liberals. That remark about middle-income folks having turned to God, faith, and guns because of economic setbacks? Not only was it ill-advised, it illustrates the wide cultural chasm that exists between the candidate and the rest of America.



In effect, Obama’s economics are bad and his social circle is very limited. This is one of the many reasons why a quarter of the Hillary Democrats are telling pollsters they’ll likely move to John McCain in the general election.



Obama’s real agenda is far-liberal left. It’s an ideology that places income redistribution above economic growth. That’s his real message. And it’s the same one that sunk Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry."

I guess McCain is going to take credit for the 3 car bombs that went off in Mosul the other day when he said it was peaceful. Give it up S. We're electing Obama this year. Then we're getting out of Iraq. Nobody buys your nonsense anymore.


And yeah you're gonna have to buy a car that runs on something other than gasoline one day. Nobody wants to fight over the last of the oil when we can and must develop alternatives.

3. By last November, the success of the surge was obvious to all open-minded observers, yet Obama insisted that the gains had come merely in a few "certain neighborhoods." During a January debate, he suggested that progress was attributable to the Democratic congressional victories in 2006, because Sunnis saw that America would soon bug out.


Meantime, McCain was challenging Bush's approach to Iraq nearly from the get-go. In the summer of 2003, in response to the upswing in violence, he called for "a lot more military" in order to win in Iraq. He publicly "lost confidence" in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. In May 2004, McCain told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that "we've got to adjust to the realities of the situation as it exists, and that means doing whatever is necessary and acting decisively."



I think McCain can very credibly take credit for the success now happening in Iraq.

ronnie b.,


2. Fine. You're a liberal. Obama needs to win the moderate and independent vote. Comparing him to Jesus isn't going to cut it.



Barack Obama, May 2008: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”



James Earl Carter, July 1979: “I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. . . . And I’m asking you for your good and for your Nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”



We have been here before. Do we really want to go back there again?

Let's try this again with tinyurls as the bigger ones don't fit.


Jade7243's post at TPM:



"For the First Time In My Adult Life..."



http://tinyurl.com/3gm5yl



My August 14 diary at Kos:



"America is ready to elect a black man."



http://tinyurl.com/3wqljv

Ronnie,
1. His record in the Senate, in comparison to McCain's, is severely lacking. That's one of the downfalls about being a first-term senator.



3. Progress in Iraq can be boasted by anyone with a willingness to view the situation on the ground and how it differs from a year ago. Obama is unwilling/unable to do that, even when most Americans acknowledge some progress.



5. What could we conceivably gain by talking to someone who's seen as a hardliner even in his own country? Wouldn't that give boost his standing among his own people, who aren't that enthused with him to begin with? How would that benefit us?



6. McCain's never tried to sell himself as being strong on the economy. That's not his selling suit. In any case, admitting a weakness doesn't equate to not knowing how many states there are.

ronnie b.,


1. When Obama is asked on the campaign trail about his legislative accomplishments, he often rattles off several bills he sponsored while in the Illinois state senate. Reporter Todd Spivak knows a little about Obama’s career in Illinois and there is a lot less to it than meets the eye.



"It’s a lengthy record filled with core liberal issues. But what’s interesting, and almost never discussed, is that he built his entire legislative record in Illinois in a single year.



Republicans controlled the Illinois General Assembly for six years of Obama’s seven-year tenure. Each session, Obama backed legislation that went nowhere; bill after bill died in committee. During those six years, Obama, too, would have had difficulty naming any legislative ­achievements.



Then, in 2002, dissatisfaction with President Bush and Republicans on the national and local levels led to a Democratic sweep of nearly every lever of Illinois state government. For the first time in 26 years, Illinois Democrats controlled the governor’s office as well as both legislative chambers.



The white, race-baiting, hard-right Republican Illinois Senate Majority Leader James “Pate” Philip was replaced by Emil Jones Jr., a gravel-voiced, dark-skinned African-American known for chain-smoking cigarettes on the Senate floor.



Jones had served in the Illinois Legislature for three decades. He represented a district on the Chicago South Side not far from Obama’s. He became Obama’s ­kingmaker.



Several months before Obama announced his U.S. Senate bid, Jones called his old friend Cliff Kelley, a former Chicago alderman who now hosts the city’s most popular black call-in radio ­program.



I called Kelley last week and he recollected the private conversation as follows:



“He said, ‘Cliff, I’m gonna make me a U.S. Senator.’”



“Oh, you are? Who might that be?”



“Barack Obama.”



Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills.



“I took all the beatings and insults and endured all the racist comments over the years from nasty Republican committee chairmen,” State Senator Rickey Hendon, the original sponsor of landmark racial profiling and videotaped confession legislation yanked away by Jones and given to Obama, complained to me at the time. “Barack didn’t have to endure any of it, yet, in the end, he got all the credit.



“I don’t consider it bill jacking,” Hendon told me. “But no one wants to carry the ball 99 yards all the way to the one-yard line, and then give it to the halfback who gets all the credit and the stats in the record book.”



During his seventh and final year in the state Senate, Obama’s stats soared. He sponsored a whopping 26 bills passed into law — including many he now cites in his presidential campaign when attacked as inexperienced."



Here's a link to the article:



http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/print

AP: Officials say that Hillpatine will admit that Obama has the Nomination TONIGHT.


Me: I'll believe it when I see it.

Saudi Montana


The state may hold 40 billion barrels of oil. Best of all: No burqas.



Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has a plan to solve the oil crisism, the New York Post reported.



Drill.



The feds say there are 4.3 billion barrels in his state.



“They are always conservative,” said Schweitzer, who greeted me in his office dressed in jeans, a white shirt and a string tie. “There will be more. It’ll probably be more like 40 billion.”



And people of Montana would be happy to help out.



“We’ve been drilling out there for 70 years,” said Schweitzer of the Bakken area. “People there like new oil production. In fact, the city of Sydney [the county seat] wants to build a refinery. Where else in America do you have a community that says, ‘we want to build a refinery in our backyard?’ ”



I say, let's do it.

1. His record, extensive as it is, has not only been published here at JJP, it's just as extensive--if not more--at Lincoln.


2. Yes, Obama is dang near as liberal as Jesus himself.



3. Progress in a broken Iraq cannot be boasted by the same folks who broke it. Obama, and a myriad of liberals, moderates, and independents see this.



4. Did the government get "bigger" or smaller in the last 7 years? Obama will simply spend where where the vast majority of Americans need our money spent. No, 10% of Americans won't like it, but that's too bad.



5. Bush and McCain have done exactly what in regard to Iran? Exactly. Talking to Ahmedinajad, even with lenient conditions, gives him nothing and gains respect. He's like a dangerous child. And if he's willing to sit down and listen, Obama will sit down and speak.



6. Gaffes? Not knowing much about the economy--as McCain admitted--is about as big a gaffe as one can make. If you want to hang on the geography quiz gaffes, you may have them.



7. If you need for conservative white folks to advise you on what Obama "might really be" then there's really not much to be said here. Feel free cling to that stereotype if it gets you through the day. But I won't be discussing any "merits" of stereotypes.

I loathe the horn-rimmed Handkerchief Head. What a waste of tv time.

....and will someone explain to me why China is drilling for oil off our coast while we can't?!

S,
A fitting start to the general election season.



Can we expect to see JJP's case against McCain in the coming days?

OK, what's taking so long for the remaining super delegates to get this thing overwith?

I'd like to recommend this post from TPM:


http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/for-the-first-time-in-my-adult.php



Below is a dairy I wrote at Kos last August from the other side of the divide that we hope is finally coming to an end:



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/14/144654/918/838/371386

Here is a preliminary examination of the case against Obama for President, compiled from a variety of conservative, Republican, MSM sources:


1. Obama possesses only a thin public record and no tangible accomplishment in his 46 years other than writing a best-selling memoir. He is not a messianic figure representing a new politics ending partisanship, but a 'typical politician' who is not above distorting his opponents comments. Nothing in his US Senate political record shows that he has not 'crossed party lines' on any substantive issue.



2. Obama is the most left-wing candidate the Democrats have nominated since George McGovern. If Obama wins the presidency, it is fair to say that it will be Jimmy Carter's second term. Obama is a product of the Democratic Party's post-McGovern left. Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate.



3. Obama doesn’t think progress is being made in Iraq, refuses to acknowledge reality and opposed the surge. Sticking to his promise to withdrawal immediately despite improved conditions demonstrates an excessive pessimism towards the efforts and abilities of our heroic military.



If he fails to adjust his strategy he will show himself to be inflexible, unmoved by new facts, unwilling to admit error and divorced from reality? Hmmm, seems like someone said similar things about George W. Bush.



4. Bigger government. Higher Taxes. Obama is confusing Republican problems of the economy, war, fuel, and 8 years of an unpopular candidate with voter lust for a liberal agenda. Who wants vast increases in payroll, income, and inheritance taxes—not to pay down the debt but to fund billions in new entitlements that will only create greater dependency and stifle initiative? Obama will nominate hyper-liberal judges and appointees, promote more “oppression studies” in our schools, and trumpet the same old, same old don’t drill, mine, or use nuclear power, while enriching our enemies and singing sonnets to wind and solar energy, that alone, cannot solve our energy problems.



5. Iran and Israel."We hear talk of a meeting with the Iranian leadership offered up as if it were some sudden inspiration, a bold new idea that somehow nobody has ever thought of before," McCain said at the pro-Israel lobby's convention in Washington. "Yet it's hard to see what such a summit with President Ahmadinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants, and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another."



6. Gaffes. The number of Obama’s slips are staggering. They range from geographical ignorance (Kentucky is not contiguous with Arkansas, but it is with Illinois), to US history (there are 50 states in the Union; the US army did not liberate Auschwitz) to foreign affairs (the election of Hugo Chavez predated George Bush) to simple political ignorance (you don’t trash the lower white middle class to San Francisco elites) and common decency (you don’t put your own grandmother on the same moral plane as the racist Wright, or a U.S senator in the same category as the terrorist Ayers.)



7. Obama made a devil’s bargain with a number of controversial figures to establish his own street credentials in the rough and tumble world of Chicago politics. The voters will have to decide whether these associations are the usual embarrassments that all candidates deal with as they evolve beyond their diehard bases, or instead disturbing proof that Obama himself got a certain psychological high from hearing ministers and congregation members routinely trash whites and the so-called establishment, as attested by his attendance at and subsidies to the Wright ministry. Does Obama's association and his willingness to overlook and downplay Ayer's and Dorn's radical anti-Americanism hint that he may be somewhat sympathetic to their viewpoint. Is Obama's association with indicted political fixer, Tony Rezko connection demonstrate a disturbing naivete in recognizing and steering clear of corruption?



Add Michelle's comments into the mix as well. One or two more performances of the tired Princeton-Harvard-Reverend-Wright take on contemporary America—and the campaign is over. All the talk about whether she is a “legitimate” target will be about as relevant as whether a woman who joins the military will sometimes be in harm’s way in wartime.



Unfair? Untrue? Let's have at it. Discuss. Debate. Refute. Rebut.

Leney,
Nope. At least I don't think so.

lol. D, that article is satire...right?

Ronnie,
LOL.



But the "halo" shot? That's about as bad as Huckabee's "cross." Even if it isn't what it looks like-and I know it's not-, it still invokes a certain imagery.

Phony-Ops Build the Obama Myth



Well I'z jiss a dumb culuh'd bwah. Don't no nuttin 'bout dim big woids.



Lossa fine lookin' white folks in dat picha, doe.

Roland Martin has been having FUN this morning. It's been hilarious.


Like I said, Black people can be outright hilarious when they want to.

Craig,


I'll congratulate you again. I think it absolutely ROCKS!!!

P.S. I still think Rick Astley was lip-syncing.


You know that's a brotha singing that song. LOL!

s,


LOL. . . Funny video.



Just like those "Obama is a Muslim" emails that direct the reader to a pro-Obama website.



Also, the "why'd he (not "whitey") explanation makes a lot of sense. This looks like a smear campaign that never quite got off the groud.

And something that got very little mention from the MSM yesterday:


A Man in Full

Hi, priscilla, isn't "ciao" Italian? I have a colleague who is a professor in Switzerland. You must love it. Isn't Tina Turner a resident there for years as well? Maybe I am wrong about Tina but if not, Switzerland then maybe she lives in Norway.


Tot ziens,

BPM

Michelle Obama "Whitey" clip finally appears on YouTube:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOufWYodCc8



LOL!!

Congratulations to Craig and JJP (on their way to Denver).
Just thinking back to Feb. 2007 when I watched Sen. Obama on the internet from Switzerland announcing his bid, I knew he was special, but I was just hoping that the majority of the US would eventually feel the same way.

The speech tonight, a lead off to the main event in November, will represent to me an amazing journey that has shown me the good, the bad, and the ugly about our country and to be honest, even living abroad where we are NOT popular, I am still proud to be a US citizen.

I have been saving clippings from the Swiss newspapers and witnessing an overwhelming sentiment that most Europeans see him as the best for our country. It is a great time to be alive and I look forward to celebrating tonight!



Ciao everybody!

-A sister abroad

You're a good brotha, Craig. Thanks for holding it down in Maine.

"I still can't quite believe I'm a delegate. That my vote on the convention floor will be equal to the one from each of those still undeclared superdelegates.
-----------------------------------

Craig,



That is so exciting! Good for you!

I was just reading Black Women Vote blog and they posted a rumor from a reliable source that the Borg Queen may suspend her campaign today. I hope so!

I was just watching the 'highlight reel' posted on the Obama blog tonight. It brought back that flood of memories back in January of being absolutely electrified about the possibility that he was actually a viable candidate, that maybe "yes we can" was more than a campaign slogan.


And today, history will be made. I believe that by the time the election returns are reported, enough superdelegates will have declared their support for Obama that the Montana vote will push him over the top.



Today. June 3, 2008. Despite the discouragement, frustration, expectations management that I've put myself through, today will be the day that I can truly let myself believe that we can overcome the cynicism.



That we won't have it stolen from us. Not this time.



That we won't be disappointed. Not this time.



It's going to happen. I can feel it.

Weekend in Maine: A Letter for My Father


A fuller report from last weekend with photos.



I still can't quite believe I'm a delegate. That my vote on the convention floor will be equal to the one from each of those still undeclared superdelegates.