John McCain's Sour Grapes Doctrine

The Politics of Hate and Revenge

I've been obsessing about John McCain lately - but only because he's such a vile, little man. You don't have to look very hard to see through McCain's thin skin into his black heart to recognize that holding a grudge is Johnny Maverick's forte.

I mean, seriously, what else is this guy good at? Foreign policy? Hardly. Just because you were a war hero doesn't make you an expert at all things foreign policy. Unless that sole policy position is war escalation no matter the circumstance. Rachel Maddow had a great piece on this earlier in the week, showing McCain's response to foreign affairs over the years. 

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But McCain's biggest flaw, of a myriad of flaws is that he is a sore loser. He ran for President in 2000 and after winning the New Hampshire primary, was attacked with a George W. Bush whisper campaign about fathering an illegitimate black child. That child happened to be McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh. After Bush won the nomination and eventually became President, John McCain adopted a policy of revenge. What I call his Sour Grapes Doctrine.

In hindsight, what looked like McCain opposing Bush policies and voting against them for what Democrats at the time assumed were the right reasons, it was all a matter of getting back at the dweeb who beat him in the 2000 primary, especially after those vicious smear tactics.

Steve Kornacki: "...McCain’s various self-reinventions as a politician are best understood as acts of sore loser-dom. A decade ago, for instance, he took up a sudden interest in closing the gun show loophole, enacting a patients’ bill of rights, and stopping tax cuts for the wealthy. Not at all coincidentally, this came just after he’d lost a bruising campaign against George W. Bush. Bush and his team had been rough – very, very rough – on McCain, and McCain had deemed them unworthy victors. His sudden cooperation with Democrats in 2001 was his version of payback, giving the new Bush White House fits."

Of course, that all ended with 9/11 and by 2004, McCain was ignoring the swiftboating of another war hero, John Kerry, while supporting the re-election of Dubya, complete with head-on-shoulder man hugs. And apparently being presented a birthday cake while a major US city drowned is all you need to let bygones be bygones. Sorry about that bastard black baby thing... Here's a cake!

Fast forward four quick years and this time John McCain wins the Republican nomination but botches the general election while singing "Bomb Iran, "picking The Hockey Mom From Wasilla as his unfortunate running mate, suspending his campaign to sit in on a financial Wall Street crisis meeting where he promptly adds nothing by keeping his mouth shut, and referring to his opponent as "that one" in a debate.

But since he's had so much practice at grudge politics, McCain tacks to the right and decides to become a thorn in President Obama's side as he did with Bush, to the point of not just accusing US Ambassador Susan Rice of being incompetent and "not very bright" by repeating intelligence reports given to her by the CIA which happened to be vague and still pending information (intelligence reports that McCain himself probably had a copy of),  but threatening to filibuster not only her possible nomination as the next Secretary of State, but ANY nomination President Obama would propose to succeed Hillary Clinton, because he wants answers on what happened in Benghazi. And he'll even miss classified briefings about what happened in Benghazi to hold a press conference to demand answers on what happened in Benghazi!

John McCain is a vindictive, curmudgeonly, sour little prick who can't get over the fact that he blew his chance. And now he's using his elected office to continue an obstructionist strategy, despite seeming more and more unhinged. If only he'd use his powers for good instead of pettiness.

ADDING... Here's Steve Kornacki's rant on The Cycle. It's worth watching if you can stomach S.E. Cupp... which is not an easy task.

Even a Broken Clock...

... is right once every Friedman Unit.

Tom Friedman... yes, Tom "Friedman Unit" Friedman has written a scathing opinion of Mitt Romney's "1989" foreign policy thinking, including this little gem:

"...President Obama is leading on national security, and it was apparent in his U.N. speech last week, which showed a president who understands that we really do live in a more complex world today... Mitt Romney, given his international business background, should understand this, but he acts instead as if he learned his foreign policy at the International House of Pancakes..."

Ouch. IHOP. Take this assessment for what you will, but this critique in combination with the asinine comments made by Romney surrogate John Sununu whining about President Obama not killing Osama Bin Laden fast enough only emphasizes how completely inept and clueless the Romney campaign really is. And wait until the first debate in a couple of days.

(Cross-posted on ABLC)

Is Romney Really Worse Than Sarah Palin?

A few days ago, when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took off for London in what was supposed to be an easy, softball, build your foreign policy credibility trip, he began making a series of gaffes from insulting the readiness of London to host the Olympics, and shrugging off his wife's dressage horse event in order to look less elitist, to forgetting the opposition party leader's name.

The British press tore him to shreds, not only because they felt the had to protect their own, but also because for a trip that was supposed to be easy-peasy, Mitt was blowing it in epic proportions. But one particular statement caught my eye. Worse than Sarah Palin. I mean, I get it, but really? Actually worse that Palin?

It's true that the more we see and hear Mitt, the more we realize he's got his own little brand of word salad going on, but at least he tries to speak in a fashion that's grammatically correct whether what he's saying makes sense or not. But worse than know-nothing Sarah Palin? ...Then he went to Israel.

Adding to the already loud din of criticism of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after he said Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, China today said Mr. Romney’s “hawkish remarks” could spark conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 

“Romney's remarks totally neglect historical facts and are actually irresponsible if he just meant to appeal to voters at home,” wrote Xinhua, China’s official state news service. “[A]ny words that favor any party to the conflict regardless of history and reality are irresponsible and unfair for Palestinians who are in a less powerful position in the peace talks. They may even result in a much worse situation in this region by intensifying the differences between the two sides.” 

China also took issue with Mr. Romney’s claim that he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem, something American officials have long avoided doing because the move would imply Israeli sovereignty of the long contested city.

Not only is he stupid, but he's dangerous. For the sake of scoring some political points not with the Jewish population here at home, but with the Evangelical right, Mitt Romney has gone against what every president since Harry Truman has understood; that Jerusalem was deemed an international city to protect religious rights for all in the region, unsettled since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, and negotiation is the only way to settle it.  Hell, even St. Ronnie agreed with that!*

But why should Romney care about such nuance when he can indirectly point a finger at President Obama in an attempt to categorize him as not friendly towards Israel? Who cares about looking like a fool to the rest of the world when you're trying to win an election at home by any means necessary for Pete's sake?!

Romney also touted Israel's healthcare system. A universal healthcare system. You know, sort of like Medicare for all, but with an individual mandate. The same mandate that was good enough for Romneycare in Massachusetts but according to Mitt, is an abomination in Obamacare. The sound you hear is my head slamming into my keyboard repeatedly.

So in short, yeah, Mitt Romney is worse than Sarah Palin. You can excuse Palin for being plucked out of the middle of nowhere, being completely unvetted and not ready for prime time. Exposing her idiocy was an unintended consequence of being thrown onto the national stage. But Mitt Romney has been running for President for over eight years and has apparently learned or attempted to learn nothing. What's his excuse?

(* H/T Zandar)

(Cross-posted on ABLC)

An Open Letter to ECI

Posted by Nowhere Man

To: The Powers-That-Be at Emergency Committee for Israel
Re: Queensborough Bridge Not For Israel Billboard.

I recently came across your billboard as I was heading into Manhattan, showing a picture of President Obama shaking hands with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with the caption, "Telling Jews They Can't Build in Jerusalem. Not Pro-Israel."

The people of Israel are also divided on the building of more settlements on the West Bank. Do you consider them to be traitors or just simply not friends of their own country? Why is it that a President of the United States isn't considered a friend of Israel unless he kowtows to every single Israeli right wing policy? If your friends disagree with something you do or say, are they no longer your friends? President Obama didn't say anything critical, although he should have, about Israel's massacre of 1,500 Palestinians in the Gaza conflict, did he?

Did I miss something or has President Obama stopped sending Israel $3 billion a year in aid? Newsweek is reporting that President Obama sold Israel bunker-buster bombs in 2009 - something even former President Bush wouldn't do - and yet it is Obama that isn't a friend of Israel?

The real injustice is that the Arab Spring has dramatically changed the Middle East but the US is impotent to try to forge broad relationships with these new governments because as always, the President and his State Department are the marionettes of Israel and are not allowed to freely conduct broad relationships with other Arabs and Muslims... you know,the people who "attacked" us. Your billboard is so pathetically disingenuous that it reminds me of the propaganda the Nazis used to hide the truth. What Israel is doing to the Palestinians is no different from the apartheid that was practiced in South Africa. I would also appreciate it if for once you'd let us be free to conduct our own independent foreign policy without the typical smears and maliciously intended misinformation.

She's Gonna Run, But Not To Win

POSTED BY JHW22

I have said all along that Sarah Palin will run for President. I have never believed she really wants to be President but she knows that the further down the road she gets, the more money she'll make. This article makes me think she is settling in for as long as possible.

I suspect most Republicans are holding off on their announcements to force her hand. She has said she will only run if other worthy candidates don't. We're watching a game of chicken here and I think the change in her foreign policy messaging means she'll announce soon.

In fact, I think she'll announce on May 21, when some think the world is going to end -- and then on May 22, she'll regret her decision when we're all still here.

Trump's Foreign Policy: Take The Oil

This is truly amazing. With all the Donald Trump birther nonsense, I've not heard anyone in the mainstream media make bones about this area of the Trump Doctrine: "Take the oil."

That's it. Libya? Take the oil. Iraq? Take the oil. So simple, even a six-year old can figure it out. Invade a new sandbox and steal the kid's pail and shovel. Invade another country and take over their oil fields. Just like that. GENIUS!



If you can't stomach the 15 minute interview (but I suggest you try), here's another quote that can't be ignored: "I have great respect for Fox, I think they do a great job." Well no wonder Trump has not only boarded the crazy train but has become its conductor. He gets his news from Fox! Watching Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity is bound to eat at your brain cells like crystal meth.

Rand Paul Plays on the Third Rail

Paul defended his call to end to all foreign aid -- including the $3 billion the U.S. gives to Israel every year.

"I'm not singling out Israel. I support Israel. I want to be known as a friend of Israel," Paul said, "but not with money you don't have. We can't just borrow from our kids' future and give it to countries even if they are our friends."

..."I think they're an important ally, but I also think that their per capita income is greater than probably three-fourths of the rest of the world," Paul said. "Should we be giving free money or welfare to a wealthy nation? I don't think so."

Welfare? *Sigh.*

While I'm willing to praise Rand Paul for his bluntness on Israel (seems like more politicians should be worried bout the well being of the US before Israel - I'm looking at you, Joe Lieberman) he's going after them for the wrong reasons. It isn't purely a financial issue - although it probably is for Paul, who also wants to cut the Department of Education by 83%.

Hannity: America Caused Muslim Hostilities? NO WAY

Sean Hannity doesn't understand why some believe that American actions in the Middle East has caused anti-American sentiment.

Via GottaLaff:



Convenient time to cut to a commercial after four consecutive legitimate questions from a Frank Luntz focus group in opposition to what Hannity is desperately trying to push.

Obviously, Hannity is not so naive to believe that US foreign policy has absolutely nothing to do with anti-American sentiment by jihadists and terrorist (not "Muslims"), but when your agenda is such that you have to push the GOP/Newscorp line and are laughing you way to the bank because of it, you just act stupid and shrug your shoulders in disbelief.

ADDING... Gee, I wonder what gives the outside world the idea that America is so frightened that it rages against an entire religion?

Zbigniew Brzezinski Is One, Smart... SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

...But I'm talkin' 'bout Zbigniew!

A long but very informative and eye-opening clip including discussions about BP, foreign policy based on a moral compass, 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan.

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A Guyser of Stupid

Brought to you by Facebook.

What a way to celebrate Independence Day, Sarah.

(H/T HuffPo)

Obama Shakes Hand - Civilization Collapses

This past weekend, President Obama met with South American leaders at the fifth Summit of the Americas to discuss international relations and it seems that the Obama haters have their panties in a knot over the fact that the President shook hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, said on CNN that it was “irresponsible for the president” to be seen laughing and joking with “one of the most anti-American leaders in the entire world,” referring to Mr. Chávez.

Shaking hands with an anti-American leader? Surely, that's never happened before. As leader of the free world, you wouldn't want to appear weak and have a dialogue with "anti-Americans." I mean, diplomacy is one thing, but shaking hands? That's out of the question.

So, when you're in a room with thirty-three leaders from other countries for "diplomatic" purposes, what do you do? Walk across the room and slap Chavez in the face and call him a potty mouth? Take off your shoe and smash the heel of it on the desk?

For all the bluster from the ever increasingly marginalized right wing, doesn't it seem like President Obama is coming out smelling like a rose in all of these meetings? Everyone likes him, everyone wants to be seen with him, everyone wants to rub the Obama belly and get a little piece of that "­¡Si Se Puede!" mojo to increase their own popularity at home. Hell, he even got a gift of a 36 year old book from Chavez (a cheap photo op for Chavez to be sure, but you take what you can get).

This new (and back to the real definition of) diplomacy can only help the new administration and America as we reach out to our neighboring countries and solidify previously strained relationships that can have far reaching effects in the continuing process of protecting our nation.

That's a far cry from the last eight years of cowboy diplomacy.

It's Time For Joe The Plumber To Shut The Fuck Up

Okay, Joe (if that is your real name) I've had it with you. You've far exceeded your 15 minutes.

When you first came on the scene, I thought it was a bit interesting. Here's this everyman that is obviously a Republican who doesn't know any better and votes against his own best interests. That's cool. There are many other people like you who do. You approached Barack Obama while he was walking in your neighborhood, and although you seemed to show a little less respect than I personally would like to have seen shown to a sitting United States Senator, you got your question across and made your point. You thought Obama would raise your taxes if you made over $250,000 a year after you bought your boss' s plumbing business.

But little did you know how your life would change after your hero, John McCain would invoke your name 21 times in the last presidential debate. Throngs of reporters gathered outside your home to get a little Joe the Plumber (if that is your real profession) wisdom. JOE THE PLUMBER! JOE THE PLUMBER! JOE THE PLUMBER! McCain was giddy with Joe the Plumber mania. He finally had a working class guy at his side he could exploit, and exploit you he did.

Did you not expect anyone to check out your background after your name and face became the new McCain campaign slogan? And then we started finding out the truth about Joe the plumber.

Joe "The Plumber" Werzulbacher asked about Obama's tax plan over $250,000 but only makes $40,000.
Joe "The Plumber" Werzulbacher hadn't made a decision on who he was voting for yet, but wasn't even registered to vote and had donated $100 to the McCain campaign.
Joe "The Plumber" Werzulbacher owes $1,100 in back taxes so what difference is Obama's tax plan going to make if he doesn't pay taxes anyway?
Joe "The Plumber" Werzulbacher DOESN'T HAVE A PLUMBER'S LICENSE!
Joe "The Plumber" Werzulbacher's real name is Sam.

After watching the full video of Obama explaining for over five minutes in great detail how you might even pay less taxes than under McCain's plan with your false 'quarter of a million dollars-buying a business' scenario, all you took out of it was the "spread the wealth" comment that was a tack on at the end of the conversation. And that's all the McCain campaign took out of it too, but we expect that from a campaign, not an honest, hard working guy like you, Joe.

So what happens next? All of a sudden Joe the non licensed plumber is an expert and getting called to appear of Fox News... well I suppose he's as good an expert as anyone else at Fox News. He's given major exposure. He starts campaigning for Sarah Palin even though McCain said it was Obama that had put Joe in the spotlight. He's a hot commodity. So what do you do, Joe? Joe the plumber hires Jim the publicist. Joe the plumber wants to make a country album.

But then the tide starts to turn, doesn't it, Joe? All of a sudden you start getting asked important questions. Questions that you don't know the answers to, McCain policy questions that had you actually been interested in knowing and understanding, might have made you look like less of a fool than you look now. Foreign policy questions you have no clue about, and instead of keeping your mouth shut and saying you don't have enough knowledge to answer, after all you're just a plumber, you agree with someone who says that a vote for Obama equals death to Israel. OOPS! And when you're called on it by a Fox news anchor who somehow had the decency to stick to the facts, you took the Sarah Palin approach - the non answer answer.



Joe, it's time for you to shut the fuck up. You have thrust yourself into the national spotlight. You weren't forced. You were asked and accepted without knowing the consequences. And now your putting yourself out there as being knowledgeable on the issues (when dare I say you might know less than George W. Bush) and agreeing with nutjobs that think Israel would be in danger in an Obama presidency.

You don't know the answers to any of these questions and yet you dare to say that people should go and get the information themselves and make their own decision, but you haven't done it yourself! You want them to have their own opinion while spouting your own uninformed one. Thank Jebus that Shepard Smith was honest and decent enough, even though he works at Fox, to straighten you out and make sure that people viewing knew you are full of shit as he stated Obama's stance on Israel.

I'll leave you with Keith Olbermann's take on Sam the non licensed plumber but before I do, I just want to say one more thing to Joe/Sam:

Joe, I don't know what I'd do if I were in your position. The spotlight can be addictive, the attention you are receiving is probably like nothing most of us will ever experience. But I'm asking you for the sake of the country to shut the fuck up. Stop speaking about things you know nothing of.

Take your own advice, Joe, and really research the issues. Try to understand the complicated policies and plans, figure out what best suits your needs and goals. And after all that, if you want to vote for McCain, then vote for him. But make sure that you're voting for McCain because he speaks to your issues and not against Obama because you've heard he's a radical Muslim Socialist Communist because Sarah Palin said so.

After two years of campaigning, don't you think the guy has been vetted to the point that this would have already come up during the primaries? It's been debunked. Let it go. Stop perpetuating the lies and start thinking about the real concerns, the real problems our country faces, and what you can do as an individual to make the world a better place your future generations.

Your fifteen minutes were up twenty minutes ago, Joe. It's been a fun ride but now it's time to get off.

Mr. "Respectful Campaign"

McThuselah has come out with yet another negative Obama ad. I suppose this is what we're to expect from the McCain campaign for the next three months.



Mr. Respectful Campaign really has nothing else to run on. His foreign policy shift towards Obama's repeated policies for the past year and a half has left the supposed GOP foreign policy "expert" with nothing but slamming his opponent with false, negative ads. How can the Maverick tout himself when there's nothing to brag about? His Keating Five Scandal? His ties to lobbyists?

Appeasement - Part Two

George W. Bush, in probably his most outrageous comments since stealing the Presidency, compared sitting down to negotiate with an elected party leader of another country to the "appeasement" of the Nazis in 1938, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave Hitler half of Czechoslovakia in the hopes that it would deter Hitler and his Nazi Party from further invasion. Not only did he say it, but he said it to the Isreali governing body as a diplomat representing the United States.

If Bush actually knows any history at all, then this is where he would be an expert as his family was involved with the rise of Nazi Germany through Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush. But I digress.

The backlash of negative responses that this idiotic statement has garnered would make one realize that the Emperor with no Clothes had really stepped in it big time, don't you think? Well... if you think. John McCain, however, does not think.

Asked if he thought Mr. Obama was an appeaser, Mr. McCain sidestepped the question and said: “I think that Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is the head of a government that is a state sponsor of terrorism, that is responsible for the killing of brave young Americans, that wants to wipe Israel off the map, who denies the Holocaust. That’s what I think Senator Obama ought to explain to the American people.”

Well, if McCain wants an answer, Mr. Obama will be happy to oblige, and he didn't waste much time responding to Bush and McSame at a gathering in Watertown, South Dakota this morning:




It's funny how McCain would be "Hamas' worst nightmare" in 2008 while running for the Republican nomination, yet he sang a remarkably different tune in 2006:

RUBIN: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

McCAIN: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

Sounds like another flip-flop flim-flam from the Double Talk Express that the McCainstream Media probably wouldn't have reported a few months back. But what has happened over the last twenty-four hours seems to be a watershed moment for politics at present, for although Hillary Clinton has stated her objections to Bush's inane comments, the talk has been Bush-McCain-Obama pretty much nonstop since this story broke, leaving Clinton in the dust. And now that the conversation has shifted to a two person race, perhaps there'll be a little more scrutiny from the McCainstream Media toward its Maverick. One can only hope.


The talk has finally evolved to Obama and McCain in the general election, and who Obama would choose as his VP running mate (no talk of Clinton's VP pick) and if the conversation remains there, it's probably the only good to come out of the latest embarrassment from our president while on the world stage.


UPDATE (5/17/08 , 9am): Mark Green: "Appeasement": Guilt-By-Analogy... When Guilt-By-Association Isn't Enough

"...It was bad enough when McCain tried to link Hamas and Obama because Hamas said it preferred Obama. And if the Klan endorsed McCain because he wasn't the black guy, would McCain have a problem if someone said that McCain and the Klan are one and the same?

...We've seen this movie before. Whenever conservatives can't win an argument on the merits, they attack some real or perceived enemy as Hitler. So Ho Chi Mihn was Hitler. bin Ladin was Hitler. Ahmadinejad was Hitler. Of course Hussein was Hitler. And anyone who does something to try to resolve conflict short of more war is Neville Chamberlain.

...Was Israel -- with far more experience and its survival at stake in dealing with war and terrorism -- wrong to neogtiate with former enemy Egypt, with successful result...wrong to negotiate with former enemy Jordan, with successful result...

...Take Iran and Ahmadinejad, the newest "Hitler." Iran can't stop laughing at Bush's foreign policy. He attacks its long-time enemy Iraq, allowing Iran's Shia majority to have far more influence in a Shia-majority Iraqi government. And Bush at the same time provides an unpopular Iranian government with a convenient outside enemy to rally nationalistic support to its side. Which is why Secretary Robert Gates himself has advocated talking more to Iran. What an appeaser!"

John McCain: Forgetful, Liar or Just Fucking Crazy?

Over the past few days, the media anointed Maverick has said some stunning things I never knew.

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives “taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.”

McCain said it was “common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.”

He's got to know what he's talking about on foreign policy because of his vast experience, right?... Right?

After his remarks, Joe LIEberman of all people, had to correct his statements. McCain then said, “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda.” Fuck, even Lindsey Graham was standing next to McCain was trying to whisper "extremists" under his breath.

Hmmm... okay, well it's hot out there in the Jordanian sun, maybe he's just a little tired. Now that he's corrected it, he won't make that mistake again, will he? I mean, obviously five years into the occupation I could probably go down to my local grocer and even he would know, if he were even peripherally following along, that Al-Qaeda is a Sunni extremist group, while Iranians are Shiite and both sects are diametrically opposed to each other. Surely, if I know that, then someone who claims his intimate knowledge of foreign policy makes him the best equipped to answer a phone ringing in the White House late at night would certainly know it. It must have been the sun.

Then the very next day, Mr. Straight Talk said this:

"Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists -- with support from external powers such as Iran -- are on the run but not defeated."

What the fuck? Did he just say it again?! "Al-Qaeda and Shia extremists with support... from Iran"? Hey asshole, AL-QAEDA IS SUNNI! IRAN IS SHIA! They hate each other. Why? Because they're religious nutbags, that's why. Ask your friend John Hagee, he knows a thing or two about religious nut-ocracy.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a predominantly Sunni militant group which is blamed for deadly mass killings of Shiites, along with attacks on U.S. forces. Some extremist Sunni consider Shiites to be heretics and therefore legitimate targets of attack.
The schism between Islam's Sunni and Shiite sects grew out of a dispute over the leadership of the faithful following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD.

Six-thirty-fucking-two AD. They've been opposed to each other for over 1,400 years! Ya got that, Sparky?

All this confusion amounts to one of three possible scenarios here.

1 - McCain is forgetful. McNasty is at the age (and I hate to make age an issue, but let's not forget about St. Ronnie) where 10% of people start developing Alzheimer's. Or he's just forgetful. Either way, I don't want that fuckwad anywhere near the red button. Fuck, he'd probably forget where he put his launch codes anyway.

2 - McCain is a liar. He knows the difference between Sunni and Shia, but he's trying to confuse Joe Average.

Equate Iran and Al-Qaeda on Page One and retract it the next day on Page 37 right next to the Wal-Mart discount coupons. Hell, Bush and Cheney did it with Iraq. If it worked for them, it can work for the Double Talk Express. If he's called on it, he can put on the ol' Wilford Brimley charm and shrug it off, with 99% of the media laughing it off, "Hee-hee, that good ol' John MCCain, what a card" while RSVP-ing "Yes" to the next barbecue invitation.

3 - John McCain is bat shit crazy. Everything from his nasty, get-off-my-lawn temper, calling fellow members of Congress chickenshit and telling them to fuck off, and singing "Bomb Iran" to the Beach Boys tune "Barbara Ann." A Republican friend of mine (a dying breed these days) actually defended McCain on the Beach Boys thing, saying it was just a joke, shrugging it off like the MSM does when it comes to the Maverick. But the point is, you don't joke about things like that when you're running for President.

And to be fair, who wouldn't be nuts after spending five years in the Hanoi Hilton? Yes, McCain is a war hero. But a war hero doesn't necessarily make a good leader. Let's not forget that McCain's had a life after Vietnam that's included moral conflict and a Senate corruption scandal. The problem is, he's got to stop pulling "facts" out of where he hid his watch all those years as a POW.

My ultimate analysis is that John McCain is a combination of all three: forgetful or starting to lose it, short-tempered and insane. And those three make a perfect combination to be Commander-in-Chief, don't you think?

The Sunni/Shia/Al-Qaeda/Extremists conflagration is all planned. Once is a mistake, twice is confusion, three or more times is a pattern. Confuse and scare the masses in the guise of national security and they'll follow you off a cliff.

Anatomy of A Kitchen Sink

I have lost faith.

For the longest time, as far as I can remember in my "political" life, I have defended the Clintons. When the vast right wing conspiracy went after Bill (and Hillary), using the repugnant Ken Starr, spending millions and millions of taxpayer dollars, looking for any kind of mud to stick, I supported my president to the end. Even when Bill had painted himself into a corner and lied under oath (and who wouldn't) about an affair - a stupid, cheap little affair - I stood by him because I could not believe or understand at the time, that although he violated the "rule of law", these repulsive troglodytes led by Newt Gingrich and the now deceased Henry Hyde would dare to impeach based on lying about something that insignificant. Finding out later that Gingrich himself was having an affair at the same time that he was crucifying the president for the same offense (or lying about it) only poured salt on the wounds, but it was a classic case of IOKIYAR.

I took solace in the fact that I was a Democrat, and we didn't stoop to such disgusting levels. That one day*, the pendulum would swingin the other direction, and that again we would find our way. And now the unthinkable has happened. In a desperate attempt for a long shot bid at the presidency, Hillary Clinton has used the same tactics that were used against her for all these years. Hillary broke out the Karl Rove playbook called "The Kitchen Sink."

We all knew it was coming. Hell, Hillary's campaign told us that was exactly what they were going to do in a last act of desperation. They even called it the "kitchen sink." So I thought I'd take a look to see what came out of the kitchen sink and list them in no particular order.

1 - Clinton compared Obama's foreign policy experience to George W. Bush: “We’ve seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor the wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security. We can’t let that happen again.”
Considering that Bush never even visited another country before becoming president, I think that comparison is a little suspect.

2 - Clinton's "tested and ready" mantra was repeated over and over while portraying Obama as naive when it came to meeting foreign leaders if he believed “that mediation and meetings without preconditions will solve some of the world’s most intractable problems." Obama has never said that carefully preparing for meetings wasn't in his plans.

However, this is what he did say: "...I do think it is important precisely because the Bush administration has done so much damage to American foreign relations that the president take a more active role in diplomacy than might have been true 20 or 30 years ago.

Because the problem is, if we think that meeting with the president is a privilege that has to be earned, I think that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world at this point in time. And I think that it's important for us in undoing the damage that has been done over the last seven years, for the president to be willing to take that extra step."

Makes sense to me. Do we really think we're better than anyone else? If that's the case, then we're in more trouble than I thought.

Put on your hip waders, this is we're it turns ugly.

3 - Matt Drudge posts a photo of Obama in traditional Somali garb attributing it to the Clinton campaign. Whether or not Drudge is to be trusted as to the source, instead of denouncing it was a fear mongering tactic, the Clinton camp shrugs its shoulders.

4 - The Clinton camp accuses Barack Obama of plagiarism when using phrases borrowed from his own Committee chairman and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, that Patrick told Obama to use. In an interesting twist, Hillary Clinton's now famous "whatever happens, we're going to be fine" quote can be attributed to John Edwards during the December 13th debate, and the "hits I've taken every day..." line can be found almost verbatim in a Bill Clinton speech during his run for the presidency.

5 - Continuing with their fear tactics, the Clinton campaign puts out their "3am" or red phone ad. Vote for Hillary and your children will sleep safe at night. Ironically, the stock footage of the sleeping child was taken 8 years ago and that actress is an Obama supporter.

6 - NAFTA-Gate: Clinton accuses Obama of calling the Canadian Embassy to reassure the ambassador that all the NAFTA talk in their recent debates is just rhetoric. In fact Obama senior economic adviser Austan Goolsbee had been invited by someone at the consulate to visit and discuss trade. "The Canadian Embassy confirmed that he said everything I said on the campaign trail," Obama asserted. Then the kicker: it turns out that it was actualy someone on the Clinton staff had put out feelers to the Canadians and asking them to take the rhetoric with "a grain of salt."

Ah, the ol' political projection and transference.

7 - Clinton's 60 Minutes interview and her non-denial that Obama is a Muslim. "As far as I know" doesn't cut it when you are denying something. At first I took it lightly, but reporters close to the Clinton campaign categorize it as "not an accident."

8 - Clinton national co-chairman Bill Shaheen suggests that Obama was a drug dealer in his youth. From the Telegraph UK:

Obama has been open about youthful drug use (big deal) but no one has suggested he was a dealer. A Hillary spokesperson immediately disowned Shaheen by saying that “these comments were not authorised or condoned by the campaign in any way”. Too late. It came after a second Clinton campaign volunteer was forced to resigned for forwarding an Obama Muslim smear email and means another day of negative press coverage for Hillary.

9 - The"Obama is a Muslim" smear e-mail that has been circulating for over a year has been at least partly attributed to Clinton's former Iowa chairman, Ryan Callanan. Even if it did not originate with him, one little click of the "delete" button instead of the "forward" button and campaign disclosure of the receipt of the e-mail was all it could have taken to distance the Clinton campaign from any doubt.

10 through 13 - Hillary Clinton has questioned and compared not once, not twice but at least four times as of this writing, Obama's experience to lead as commander in chief to her experience and ...John McCain's experience! Does she really want to do the bidding of the Republican smear machine?

Hillary Clinton has crossed into the delusional threshold if she thinks that her eight years as first lady equals experience to be commander in chief. Her constant propping up of McCain to advance her dying campaign undoubtedly proves that she will burn the village down in order to save it... or save herself. If she loses the campaign, she's given McCain ammo against Obama. If for some reason she wins, McCain can attack her with the same twisted logic. He has much more experience than she does.

14 - Howard Wolfson compared Obama to Ken Starr when Obama suggested that Clinton disclose her tax records as he has done. Ken Starr? Really, Hillary? Is that where you want to take this thing? Double-edged swords can be mighty tricky. Do we want to delve into the nastiness that was Ken Starr and all that idiocy? Just release the tax records. What are you hiding? The fact that Bill Clinton's library was partially funded by the Saudis to the tune of $10 million? The fact that money was donated from the United Arab Emirates as well?

All these points combined with the ongoing positioning on superdelegates, claiming victory in Florida and Michigan when there was no contest and constantly moving the goalposts when primary defeat seemd imminent has soured me on Hillary for good. She has shown herself to truly be the establishment candidate despite her claims to the contrary.

I'm sure there's much more to come in the remaining six long weeks until the Pennsylvania primary on Aprill 22nd. Ultimately, if all pans out and there are no shenanigans, my theory is that Obama will win the nomination (do the delegate math) and Hillary's Rovian tactics will have damaged her so much in the process, she will lose the trust of the American people, her base and come 2012, her Senate seat will be up from grabs, hopefully by a better Democrat.

So no more defense of the Clintons for me. As my friend Armadillo Joe said to me the other day, their mistake is thinking that they are the Democratic party instead of realizing that they are just a small part of it.

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*I thought that day happened on November 7th, 2006. We'd had enough of W. and his administration's incompetence. Finally, they would get their comeupance. Alas it was not to be, as the Democrats that overtook the majority in Congress (a razor thin majority in the Senate) wound up being the wrong Democrats - they would capitulate and give the lame duck president everything he'd want and more for fear of being conceived as soft on defense, and in the process became soft, period.