I happened to be home to watch the first segment of Hardball today. Guest host Mike Barnicle was filling in for Tweety and of course, all the talk was about how BOTH John McCain and Barack Obama were running negative campaigns. EXCUSE ME?! Equating John McCain's "Britney" ad (she's a W. supporter by the way) which he says he's "proud of" to Barack Obama's rebuttal ad correcting the record of the lies told in the McCain ad, and insinuating that they are equally negative is appalling but that argument is for another post.
What I wanted to bring attention to was good ol' reliable Pat Buchanan and his recurring meme that there's nothing wrong with using Obama's middle name "Hussein" in ads or speaking it when referencing Obama, to which everyone on the panel, Michelle Bernard, Bob Shrum and Barnicle just went giddy over. They couldn't stop laughing at Buchanan for comparing Barack Hussein Obama's name to Richard Milhous Nixon.
Hey Pat, it's not what you say but how you say it. Bernard eventually said there's absolutely nothing wrong with the name but it's wrong when you say it in a tone that makes people think they're electing a jihadist to be president. At one point, even Buchanan just starts chortling because I'm sure even he couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth.
When I first watched it I was enraged, but then I looked at it again and just laughed along and shook my head at the ridiculousness of "Statler's" statements. Attempting to call the subject of McCain's attacks "real issues" because that's the only way he can get close to winning is a complete joke. Those Republicans talking point regurgitators will literally say anything and not care how stupid they look when saying it. Same goes for Ron Christie and even Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Milhous Argument
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sen. Ted Stevens Takes Bridge To Nowhere...
...as the longest serving Republican Senator is indicted on seven criminal charges "of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home."Prosecutors said Stevens "took multiple steps to continue" receiving things from oil services company VECO Corp., and its founder, Bill Allen. At the time, the indictment says, Allen and other VECO employees were soliciting Stevens for "multiple official actions .... knowing that Stevens could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of VECO during that same time period."
The wheels are coming off.
UPDATE (9:52pm): It seems the good Senator was not charged with bribery because the statute of limitations had expired.
Straight Talk Goes Out The Window
Andrea Mitchell started to vindicate herself yesterday when taking on the GOP surrogates for McThuselah and stating the obvious - that McCain's new ad criticizing Obama for not visiting the troops because he couldn't bring cameras, or that he couldn't find time to visit them but found time to go to the gym is "literally not true", a kinder way of saying that the Maverick is a fucking liar.
I ripped Mitchell in the past for dumb remarks she's made towards Barack Obama, so I must give her kudos for acting like a journalist in this case. I suppose that even she can't let some of the McCain gaffes and specious lies go without calling them out for what they are - a betrayal of "straight talk" and "respectful campaigning," my friends.
Later in the day, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow took a look at McCain's record of how he supposedly supports the troops.
Hopefully as we get closer to the election, the reporting of John McCain will stray away from the St. Barbecue style that it has been to this point and will concentrate more on the gaffes, hypocrisy and inanity of some of his statements.
(H/T Jason Linkins, HuffPo)
UPDATE (7/30/08 10:45pm): More Andrea Mitchell -MITCHELL: Did he make a bad call deciding not to go to Ramstein? He had every right to go to Ramstein, to visit the troops in Landstuhl. He had already been to visit the troops in Iraq. Without cameras, without an entourage. And he got-his people, rather-got so backed off by warnings from the Pentagon. Now please be careful, don’t bring your military aide, because he’s now a political aide. The Pentagon was way too aggressive probably in that. And they got so nervous: oh this is going to look political. And they were damned if they did or damned if they didn’t. Let me just finish what I was saying…just this one point…there was never any intention-let me be absolutely clear about this-the entourage was never going to go. There was never an intention to make this political. But by tacking it on to the tail end of a political-the political leg of the trip, they opened themselves up they feared to the criticism, and if they’d gone, they’d be criticized and not going, they were criticized and the McCain commercial on this subject is completely wrong! Factually wrong.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Why Morning Joe Sucks Balls
Here it is, the puppets repeating the right wing talking points in discussing McCain's new ad ripping Obama for not visiting the troops that he was told not to visit by the Pentagon. Good ol' reliable Joe Scarborough took a back seat and lobbed softball questions to intrepid pundit, Pat Buchanan.
Scar (paraphrase): And you know if McCain had been told by the Pentagon that he wasn't allowed to visit the troops he would've asked, "What's your name, rank and serial number because you're fired." And the other guy that's not Joe, we'll call him Scooter, said "Yeah, McCain would've said, 'Rules be damned. I'm going to visit those troops.'
But I guess we'll never be able to test that, will we guys?
Here's what Morning Joe looked like to me this lovely Monday morning.
Joe, Pat and Not Joe.
What a trio of pathetic clowns.
Friday, July 25, 2008
T Minus 179 Days
"These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves. They send suiciders out."
A Tale of Two Campaigns - The Cheese Speech
While Barack Obama was giving a speech in front of an estimated 200,000 in Berlin...
...McCain was explaining how he didn't really misstate the facts of the surge in the cheese aisle of a supermarket during an unscheduled stop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...
...and having a press conference outside of Schmidt's Fudge Haus in Columbus, Ohio.
They sure have this media thing down at the McCain camp, don't they?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Giulani's Son Sues Duke...
Get this:
Andrew Giuliani claims he was dismissed without cause from the golf team earlier this year because coach O.D. Vincent III wanted to cut the team of 13 players by about half. The lawsuit claims the coach has interferred with Giuliani's efforts toward becoming a professional golfer.
Hey Andy, don't you think that if maybe you were that good, you woudn't have gotten kicked off in the first place? Does not being on the golf team prevent you from playing or practicing? Get the fuck outta here, you whiny, little bastard.
Here's how I remember Andrew Giuliani - hogging up the camera at Mayor 9/11's inauguration:
What a fucking embarrassment. That punk should've gotten a little corporal punishment then, and it looks like Jack Cafferty agrees.
T Minus 180 Days
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
McCain Gaffes on Surge
***UPDATED BELOW***
In his zeal to show how well the surge has worked in Iraq and to trip up Barack Obama by wagging his finger in disgust to Obama's opposition of the surge last year, John McCain screwed up the timeline on when the Sunni sheiks turned against Al-Qaeda in Anbar province, referred to as the "Anbar Awakening." Whether this was intentional or not to give the surge more credence remains to be seen. But facts are facts, and they are becoming fewer and far between in the McCain campaign.McCain: "...Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history."
Actual history will prove otherwise, and McCain knows the actual history, or is he getting confused again?... Spencer Ackerman and Ilan Goldenberg have reported, the record firmly establishes the opposite: instead of being caused by the surge, the key signs of the Anbar Awakening occurred not only before that strategy was implemented, but before it was ever conceived.
...The fact remains, however, that the military official cited by McCain, then-Colonel Sean MacFarland, described the Anbar Awakening in September 2006 -- four months before the "surge" was even announced -- noting that tribal leaders were "stepping forward and cooperating with the Iraqi security forces against Al Qaeda." Moreover, a military review written by MacFarland notes that his unit actually left Anbar before most of the surge troops arrived; his success in the region came between June 2006 and February 2007.
...Especially notable is that McCain himself was not always confused as to the start date of the Awakening, and whether or not it was caused by the surge. Fresh off one of his much-touted trips to Iraq, McCain delivered remarks to the conservative American Enterprise Institute on January 5, 2007. Alongside fellow Senator Joe Lieberman, McCain specifically advocated for the newly proposed surge, and cited the already-in-progress turning of Sunni sheiks as a reason to send more troops.
(H/T Seth Colter Walls, HuffPo)
UPDATE (7/24/08 9:20am): It's all semantics according to McCain. The surge was a combination of events including the "Anbar awakening" even though the surge was announced in January 2007 and the Anbar awakening began happening in September 2006.
But if that's really the case, why did CBS decide to cut and paste another answer to the question posed by intrepid anchor Katie Couric? Were they trying to cover McCain's decrepit ass as he stuck his foot in his mouth again? CBS has since put the full transcript and complete video online. Here's a side by side video comparison from the Jed Report.
And yet, the GOP and wingnuts proclaim that Barack Obama is the media darling while McCain gets a bum rap. And yes, I'm taking a shot at Couric, who'll let a bumbling fool like McCain get away with an answer like that, probably because she doesn't know any better and doesn't know the history either, while she belabored the surge question with Obama and overall asked accusatory questions of Obama while asking McCain softball questions about... Obama!
Take a look at these -
Questions asked of Obama:
- You talk about a residual force remaining in Iraq, but you've been hesitant to really give a number … to people. You haven't been specific... Why can't you be more specific as to what you envision?
- Before the surge, as you know, Senator, there were 80 to 100 U.S. casualties a month, the country was rife with sectarian violence, and you raised a lot of eyebrows on this trip saying even knowing what you know now, you still would not have supported the surge. People may be scratching their heads and saying, "Why?"
- ...do you not give the surge any credit for reducing violence in Iraq?
- But talking microcosmically, did the surge, the addition of 30,000 additional troops ... help the situation in Iraq?
- ...I really don't mean to belabor this, Senator, because I'm really, I'm trying … to figure out your position. Do you think the level of security in Iraq... would exist today without the surge?
- If you believe, Senator, Afghanistan is, in fact, the central front in the war on terror, why was this your first trip there? And why didn't you hold a single hearing as chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the fighting force there?
(Senator Obama is the chair of the European subcommittee, Katie. Nice try.)
- You reportedly chaff when your foreign policy expertise is questioned. If foreign policy is not your weakest area of expertise, what is?
Are you fucking kidding?
Now compare them to these -
Questions asked of McCain:
- Senator McCain, Sen. Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?
- Sen. Obama also told me, Sen. McCain, that the money spent on those additional troops, on the surge, might have been more effective had it gone to Afghanistan or even to a better energy policy in the United States. What's your response?
- Sen. Obama describes Afghanistan as the central front on the war on terror. That is where, after all, Senator, 9/11 was plotted. And now the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan seems to be a hot bed of al Qaeda activity. Why do you believe Iraq is the central front in the war on terror?
- Do you agree with Sen. Obama's contention that up to three additional brigades should be deployed to Afghanistan?
- Sen. McCain, you sound very frustrated with Sen. Obama's perspective.
- What is your biggest fear about bringing troops home too soon, Senator?
- Finally, Senator, your campaign released a video today complaining about what you call the media's love affair with Sen. Obama. (LAUGHTER) Clearly you believe you're getting unfair coverage. Why do you think that's the case?
The kicker to all of this are the headlines used on the CBS website for each interview.
For Obama's, it's "Obama: Surge Doesn't Meet Long-Term Goals."
For McCain's, it's "McCain: 'We Will Come Home In Victory'."
Give me a fucking break.
(H/T The Jed Report)
UPDATE II (7/24/08, 3:18pm):
Andrea Mitchell and the "Fake News"
Mitchell: "Let me say something about his message management. He didn’t have reporters with him. He didn’t have a press pool. He didn’t do a press conference while he was on the ground either on Afghanistan or Iraq. What you’re seeing is not reporters brought in, you’re seeing selected pictures taken by the military, questioned by the military and what some would call fake interviews because they’re not interviews with a journalist so there’s a real press issue here. Politically it’s smart as can be, but we’ve not seen a Presidential candidate do this in my recollection ever before."
And the phrase "what some would call" is just doublespeak for "what I would call." But as far as her recollection of a presidential candidate ever doing this before? John Amato at Crooks & Liars might refresh her memory.
AMATO: I understand the need to get footage of Obama is her job, but to say they were phony was like saying his trip was like those fake news reports the administration sold to local networks that were presented as real new stories. I wondered if John McCain handled any of his overseas trips in the same way and guess what?
(via email) From an AP article during McCain’s March trip:McCain’s visit was not announced and he was believed to have been in the country for several hours before reporters were able to confirm his arrival. It was unclear who he met with and no media opportunities or news conferences were planned.
So I think the GOP and wingnuts should stop whining about the supposed love-in the media is having with Obama on his trip, given the fact that they probably would have gone with McCain as well had he given them a heads up.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
T Minus 182 Days
"I wish I wasn't the war president. Who in the heck wants to be a war president? I don't."
- Washington, DC, 2004
Monday, July 21, 2008
Geography 101
Please show me the Iraq/Pakistan border.
Iraq is surrounded by six countries. Not one of them is Pakistan.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Lost In Translation
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not back the plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and his comments to a German magazine on the issue were misunderstood, the government's spokesman said on Sunday.
Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's remarks to Der Spiegel were translated incorrectly.
Uh... yeah. Is it possible that someone got a call from the White House? I'd comment on this myself but driftglass did such a good job of it, I'll just quote her:Yes, this could simply be a translation error.
An un-fucking-believably gargantuan translation error where the microencephalic Babelfish that is apparently now being used for all such vital, nuanced, high-level translations got knee-walking drunk and just for goofs came back with "You can haz go now! All time leave now and sooner for to leave go home! Now! Now!" when what Prime Minister al-Maliki really said was "Please keep your troops in my country until my children's children's children are as old as John McSame!"
Yes, that is one possible explanation.
UPDATE (7/21/08 11:47pm): It seems the translation was accurate after all! The New York Times confirmed the story through a recording of the interview. Not to mention the fact that it was translated by Maliki's translator and not someone from the magazine.Maliki: “Obama’s remarks that — if he takes office — in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq.”
“Who wants to exit in a quicker way has a better assessment of the situation in Iraq.”
Of course, the McCain campaign, always being one step ahead, is still going with the mistranslation story. Oops. What a bunch of buffoons.
Must Reads
Mike Littwin, Rocky Mountain News: Obama trip likely to rob McCain of, well, limelight
Nicole Belle, Crooks & Liars: FNS: Lie-berman Shills For McCain
Bob Cesca, HuffPo: Senator McCain Isn't Funny, So Stop Encouraging Him
d r i f t g l a s s: On Shouting "Fuck"
Checkmate?
Nouri al-Maliki: "So far the Americans have had trouble agreeing to a concrete timetable for withdrawal, because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat. But that isn't the case at all. If we come to an agreement, it is not evidence of a defeat, but of a victory, of a severe blow we have inflicted on al-Qaida and the militias."
Maliki endorsement of Obama's 16-month withdrawal proposal is an admission from the Prime Minister of Iraq that they're ready to take over. Countless times you've heard the chickenhawks in the GOP say that we should leave when they ask us to leave. Seems like it's time to go.
You have to wonder what McCain's response will be to Maliki's statement. So far, all we've been hearing from the McCain campaign are crickets.
(H/T TPM & Cesca)
Rocky Mountain News Troll
I recently came across an opinion piece in the Rocky Mountain News by Mike Littwin titled, "Obama trip likely to rob McCain of, well, limelight." A good read, you should check it out not only for the article, but for the troll fight I got into with a commenter named "GetReal." July 19, 2008,8:57 p.m.
Actually, when I come to think of it, is it possible that I'm the troll since the majority of the comments (only a few comments to this point) are skewed to the right? Well, here's our exchange so far.July 19, 2008,10:50 a.m.
GetReal writes:
Not surprising that Littwin barely touches on the fact that all three network news anchors are accompanying Obama for his entire trip, even sharing his personal plane. How cozy.
We will be bombarded with nightly satellite fed "reports" on how "Stately, Diplomatic and Presidential" Obama is viewed, complete with selected video of fainting foreign fans.
In contrast, the Repub nominee John McCain has made three trips overseas since March, with little coverage if any. In his most recent, he went to the middle east and Europe for a week and the networks didn't send any anchors at all, and had a total of four small stories in their nightly newscasts, one of which was dedicated entirely to a verbal slip by McCain.
If anyone ever represented the Mass Media, it would be Williams, Couric and Gibson.
They are behaving like cheer-leading political groupies, and the whole trip will be nothing but a travelling press release for the Obama campaign.
This glaring double standard highlights the imbalance of coverage by the supposedly neutral Mass Media-
But apparently it isn't important to Littwin, for obvious partisan reasons.
Well, this struck me as a bit silly, complaining about the anchors going on the trip and reading his "through the looking glass" comment on how the media is behaving like groupies and the "glaring double standard." Oh yeah, that's right, McCain had to battle with his relationship with his pastor for six weeks when the media wouldn't leave it alone as well as having to deal with attacks on his wife, didn't he?
I couldn't leave well enough alone and I had to bite. I thought I'd take a whack at the hornets nest.July 19, 2008, 2:07 p.m.
I thought that would be the end of it. But GetReal wants to "get real." I'll also include a comment from "T1anda" as he/she also gets into the act.
BroadwayCarl writes:
Get Real said: "...In his most recent, he went to the middle east and Europe for a week and the networks didn't send any anchors at all..."
Anchors were originally scheduled to go, but when they saw "Czechoslovakia" on the itinerary, they decided to forego the trip, realizing (as McCain should have multiple times) that Czechoslovakia doesn't exist anymore!
*********************************July 19, 2008, 4:46 p.m.
T1anda writes:
Will Obama be cued with the answers from a teleprompter when interviewed by the three kiss-arse anchors? He can't seem to say anything without it being scripted first!!
It's amazing how the liberal biased media made sure this "out of no where guy" got the nomination. Obama supporters are starry-eyed zombies!!! Neither candidate is a good choice for President. However I will be voting for John McCain!!!I will take experience over clueless, socialist, any day!!
*********************************July 19, 2008,5:16 p.m.
Then he writes this, in response to "T1anda":
GetReal writes:
BWCarl-
I call B.S. with your explanation of why the Network Anchors didn't go with McCain, or are you just being cute?
Why do the anchors even have to go? Obama outlined his policy on Iraq right before he left the U.S., without waiting to even talk to any commanders on the ground for updated, first hand information.
I saw today's big overseas accomplishment was he played basketball. Get ready for this important live report and video by Katie and Co. on tonight's CBS, NBC, and ABC newscasts. You want to see how Katie, Brian and Charlie will behave on Air Obama?
Just like these hypnotized, star struck, swooning, giggling, and fawning "journalists" did earlier this year, when they witnessed OBAMA WEARING JEANS!-http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/08/obama.jeans.cnn
And yes, CNN interrupted it's regular programming with that as a "BREAKING NEWS" video. I kid you not. Look at the scroll at the bottom.
So much for impartiality.
*******************************July 19, 2008, 5:43 p.m.
GetReal writes:
T1anda-
It doesn't matter what Obama says or does, he is immune from criticism in the eyes of the liberally slanted Mass Media, and anybody who tries to question his many questionable associates or activities is instantly branded a racist.
The press, when not outright ignoring his many controversies and gaffes, will actually make excuses for them providing what they see as needed cover. What ever happened to journalistic standards?
How about just sticking to the Who, What, When, Where,
and Why?
To get an idea of the sheer number of Obama's non-teleprompter screw-ups, most of which have yet to be reported on by the MSM http://gaffenation.wordpress.com/category/gaffes/
Dan Quayle was villanized for misspelling potato,
Why does Obama get a pass?
Three words-
MISPLACED WHITE GUILT
************************
Well now we see where this is coming from. "Misplaced white guilt" spells it all out, doesn't it? Also amazing that you can replace the name "McCain" with "Obama" in that last comment and it would be all the more truthful, but that doesn't seem to matter to GetReal. GetReal doesn't get it. And he sites an anti-Obama website that's concentrating on his "gaffes" but a brief trip to that site shows that it looks like they don't know the definition of "gaffe."
So I respond:July 19, 2008, 7:35 p.m.
BroadwayCarl writes:
GetReal-
Once again it is proven that sarcasm is lost on Republicans. Yes, I was making a joke at the expense of McCain and the fact that he can't seem to remember that Czechoslovakia ceased to exist as a country since 1993.
And you're not really serious in comparing Obama's teleprompter gaffes to McCain's, are you? Really?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/us/politics/06mccain.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1216516357-CKSDypKRvnmtqVAAnIB4gg
T1anda-
As far as non-teleprompter gaffes, you really need to start watching something other than Fox News. Did you miss McCain fumbling for an answer asked by a reporter about health insurance companies covering Viagra but not birth control? Or are you just conveniently forgetting that?
Besides the fact that either McCain can't really remember how he voted on certain positions when asked, or doesn't want to answer where he stands on the issues now for fear of contradicting his vote!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6IlGXhCUHo
******************************July 19, 2008, 7:45 p.m.
BroadwayCarl writes:
GetReal-
I just checked out the link you provided regarding McCain's town hall meetings. Perhaps Obama would be more apt to participate if the audience was a true mix of citizens and not just invitees of the McCain campaign.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06...
***************************
GetReal writes:
Carl-
I saw that lame article by the loony NY Times and couldnt help but laugh at the irony. Obama has at least two dozen documented gaffes in the last 9 months and all occurred without the help of his beloved teleprompter.The NYT's and the rest of the old media ignored virtually every one. Do YOU really want to compare gaffes?
For every one you have on McCain I can show you 10 recent ones on Obama. The guy is a walking gaffe machine when forced to think on his feet.
Concerning the Town Hall Meetings-
Are you that naive that you honestly believe Obama doesn't do the same? Or were you one of the many chosen "faintees" conveniently dropping like flies at The Messiah's numerous appearances?
Wait until the debates start to see your boy fold like the cheap suit he is. That is if he ever has the nuts to actually show up. **************************
We'll see where it goes from there. I didn't know poking the bear was so much fun! If you'd like to participate in the fun, head on over to Rocky Mountain News and have a rip-roarin' good time, but at the minimum read the Littwin piece. It's pretty good.July 20, 2008, 8:37 a.m.
BroadwayCarl writes:
GetReal -
You keep saying you can show me the "many" Obama gaffes and I'm sure there are some. But you have yet to show any examples. And by gaffe, I don't mean a misreading of a teleprompter, like "Lex-eeg-ton Project" or vetoing "beers." I'm talking about major mistakes like confusing Sunni and Shia when trying to make the false claim that Iran is helping Al-Qaeda.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/18/780688.aspx
Or using "Czechloslovakia" multiple times on different days. You'd think someone in his campaign would correct him after the first time so he doesn't make the same mistake, but there he is, the very next day saying "Czechoslovakia."
So please give me some examples of Obama gaffes. If you really think you can name 10 Obama gaffes to every 1 of McCain's, I'll be expecting at least 300 or 400 examples. And please back up your argument with links to reinforce your stance, like I've done above.
I'll come back to this page over the next couple of days to look for your response.
****************************
UPDATE (7/21/08, 10:15am): The debate continues.
July 20, 2008, 8:02 p.m.
GetReal writes:
BWCarl-
Here are just a few, do a quick YouTube or Google search yourself for many others. They are not hard to find, except if all you watch is the MSM.
Funny how none of these made the evening news like McCain's Sunni/Shia gaffe.
Bristol Va. brain melt-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI5Eo9...Dead people in audience-http://www.youtube.com/watchv=2ogexqs4XVQ&feature=related
Al Qaeda not in Iraq-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_gJpP...
57 states of America-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsBKG...
10,000 dead Kansans-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjO8Qc...
Hugo Bush1 flub-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxrhWT...
Compilations of lies and gaffes-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IErnij...http://youtube.com/watch?v=xZ8ykt1Ry5M
Look for more to come with any unscripted speaking appearances, that is if his advisers let him.
Obama said he would debate anytime, anywhere.
McCain requested 10 debates and Obama now says maybe one. He now has extremely limited press access and his wife has finally been muzzled, ala Theresa Heinz Kerry.
Why do you think that would be?
Regarding McCain's "Czechoslovakia" slip, and the slew of stories it generated implying he is senile or losing it-Sam Nunn, a veteran retired senator, former chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and an oft-mentioned Democratic vice presidential running mate or sec of State/Defense within the Obama admin,Has made the same gaffe three times just recently-http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washi...
Where are all the stories critical of Nunn?
Personally I think it is an honest mistake, done out of habit and no big deal.
I will also admit SOME of Obama's gaffes are that also, no big deal, but the number of larger "misstatements" seem to happen anytime he opens his mouth to talk candidly.
*******************************
July 21, 2008, 8:12 a.m.
BroadwayCarl writes:
Get Real -
Thanks for the list. I will admit there are some doozies on that list, although they can be easily explained, for example:
"57 states gaffe" (obviously he meant to say 47 states)
10,000 dead Kansans (he meant to say "at least 10" and corrected himself in the same appearance which was absent on the video:
"As the Illinois senator concluded his remarks a few minutes later, he appeared to realize his gaffe.
“There are going to be times when I get tired,” he said. “There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18564159/)
Of course the larger point he was trying to make was that 60 percent of the Kansas National Guard's equipment is in Iraq, making the recovery process slower.
Your "Dead people in audience" link didn't work but I found it myself. Verbal flub? Yes, but obviously he was speaking to the LIVING veterans in his audience on Memorial Day.
Al-Qaeda not in Iraq - well, the video shows that this is a trip of the tongue was he was saying that there is "no Al-Qaeda LEADERSHIP in Iraq." If you want to argue that point, it's a separate debate, but if Bin Laden or his number two, Ayman al Zawahiri were in Iraq, don't you think we would have found them by now?
The compilations you linked I won't comment on as they can be easily edited to make gaffes seem worse than they are. The same goes for the other side. I try to avoid those and stick to any news items or unedited video. And I won't comment on Sam Nunn since we're comparing Obama and McCain. If we were to start debating on possible VP candidates and their flubs, we'd never finish.
The Va. Brian melt down? Yeah, I guess that's going to happen on occasion with both Obama and McCain in the midst of non-stop campaigning and very little rest. But as far as gaffes go, I'm not talking about a slip of the tongue or a teleprompter misread.
Let's go to my own McCain list (off the top of my head) to explain what I mean, starting with the Sunni-Shia gaffe on March 18, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWf7w--TwyU&feature=related
This isn't just a flub. If McCain doesn't know or can't remember the fundamental difference between Sunni and Shia, and may make decisions based on that lack of knowledge or misremembering, I find that a major problem.
If he had done it once? No big deal. But he had said it on February 28, March 17, March 18, and then he did it again on April 8.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15146.html
Here's McCain avoiding a question regarding his vote on health insurance companies covering Viagra but not covering birth control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6IlGXhCUHo
If you can't remember how you voted, that's one matter, but when you don't answer the simple question of "what is your stance now?" for fear of contradicting your vote or hoping not to anger the Religious Right base, that's another matter entirely.
How about McCain as a comedian?
Bomb-bomb-bomb Iran - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg
Killing Iranians with cigarettes - http://www.youtube.com/watchv=I9HuY_0VZBI
McCain's inmate joke and lawyer joke - http://www.youtube.com/watchv=o2iqFhHM88o&feature=related
McCain's Chelsea Clinton joke: (This was back in 1998, but remember he ran for POTUS in 2000.)
http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html
McCain's Daily Show appearance and his IED joke : http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=85762&title=sen.john-mccain-pt.-1
Now, it may be okay for you or I to joke about these things (although I don't think it's something to joke about) but we're not running for President. When you are a nominee for President of the United States, then your words and their meanings and your JOKES are taken in a different context. It's not funny for a possible next President to joke about cigarette exports to Iran as a way of killing its civilians or to joke about giving Jon Stewart an IED as a gift. It's embarrassing. It's not funny. It's. Not. Presidential.
Let's also not forget the events of the past week (which I've posted above, July 20, 1:31pm), as the White House has sent Secretary of State Rice to meet with leadership in Iran, the agreement with the White House and Iraq for a "general time horizon" which is doublespeak for a withdrawal timetable, and McCain's flip-flop on sending troops to Afghanistan; all positions that Obama has held long before they happened. For someone who's wet behind the ears and doesn't have any forgeign policy experience, he was pretty spot on.
I'm going to assume that we're going to agree to disagree. That's fine. But please don't assume that every Obama supporter is a "faintee conveniently dropping like flies at The Messiah's numerous appearances." This is just my opinion but the difference I've seen between Dems and Reps is that Dems don't automatically follow in lockstep for who the party tells us to follow. Why do you think it took so long to get the primary race over with?
I have been disappointed in some choices Obama has made, the FISA vote in particular. We don't believe Obama is the next coming or that he's perfect and infallable. But if my choice is between Obama and McCain, I'll vote Obama every time. We've seen what's happened over the last 7½ years and in my opinion, a President McCain would be more of the same. And even Republicans have to acknowledge that more of the same isn't what we need.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Two Faced McCain and The GOP
For weeks now, John McCain and the GOP have been jumping on Barack Obama for his supposed lack of knowledge of what's happening in Iraq simply due to the fact that he hasn't traveled to Iraq (as of this writing) in the last 923 days, and even rigged a clock to their website in an attempt to make it an embarrassing issue.
John McCain had even suggested that he and Obama should make the trip together. My guess on that bright idea is so the Maverick could show Obama all the hot spots and perhaps go bar hopping. Maybe even take Obama to the local strip club where the burkas only go down to just above the ankle. Ultimately, McCain was trying to pull an Izzy Mandelbaum and show the young kid the ropes, a position that the Illinois Senator wouldn't be caught dead in.
Now that Senator Obama has left on a world tour to visit war zones as well as foreign dignitaries, the McCain campaign and surrogates dare to call the trip a stunt, while McThuselah is trying to get his story straight after initially saying that Obama's trip was good thing. The audacity of Obama to go on a foreign trip, visit war zones and introduce himself around the world! It's not as if he would visit a country and by the strangest of coincidences, US hostages would be released from said country. That wouldn't be considered a stunt, would it?
And now we have this ad from the man who pledged a "respectful campaign."
Shall we take these claims one at a time?
"Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan."It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama's one. Which is a nice way of saying, McCain, R-Ariz., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, has attended zero of his committee's six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years.
...A review of the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings as listed on the committee Web site for the past two years reveals that McCain's committee has held six hearings that included the word "Afghanistan" in the title or Central Command -- which overseas U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
McCain missed them all.
"[Obama] hasn't been to Iraq in years."
Not that it matters whether he's been there or not, but this trip will change that fact. It's also worthy to note that a person which such vast foreign policy experience as McCain should probably know not to leak the possible itinerary of a fellow Senator when travelling in hostile territory.
"[Obama] voted against funding our troops."From Media Matters: "...on March 29, 2007, McCain himself voted against H.R. 1591, an emergency spending bill that would have funded the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and would have provided more than $1 billion in additional funds to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate passed H.R. 1591 by a margin of 51-47. Once the bill's conference report was agreed to by the House, the Senate again passed the measure on April 26, 2007, by a vote of 51-46. McCain did not vote on that version of the bill. By contrast, Obama voted for it on both occasions. President Bush vetoed the bill, citing its provision for a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
This doesn't even include McCain's opposition to and non-vote of the Webb GI Bill, which passed in the Senate 75-22.
Moreover, McCain has voted against other legislation funding care for veterans. On April 26, 2006, McCain voted against an amendment by Sen. Daniel Akaka(D-HI) that would have "provide[d] an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans." In addition, on March 14, 2006, McCain voted against "increas[ing] Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes." On March 10, 2004, McCain also voted against "creat[ing] a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating tax loopholes." Obama voted for the first two measures; he had not yet entered the Senate when the third vote was cast."
"John McCain has always supported our troops and the surge that's working."
Well, that's the rhetoric. But when it comes to putting your vote where your mouth is, McCain has been conspicuously absent. And as far as the "surge working," isn't it pretty obvious that when you negotiate with terrorists and pay insurgents to stop shooting at you, that violence is bound to go down?
"I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
I'm sure you do, Maverick.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Bush Surrenders!
According to the definition of the GOP chickenhawks lo these past six years, that is what President Bush is doing as a result of this:
The administration can try to spin this any way they want, but the fact that the Iraqis will not agree to anything unless a timetable is in place for troop withdrawal (after all, it is their country) is the very thing that Bush is opposed to, but cannot avoid.Washington (AP) - The United States and Iraq have agreed to seek "a general time horizon" for deeper reductions in American combat troops in Iraq.
Iraqi officials, in a sign of growing confidence as violence decreases, have been pressuring the United States to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw U.S. forces. President Bush has adamantly opposed a timeline, and the White House said Friday that the timeframe being discussed would not be "an arbitrary date for withdrawal."
This is the very thing that Senator Obama has been advocating from the beginning that the McCainstream Media and the GOP have been lambasting Obama for, but of course now that it's coming from the White House, they'll adapt to it and act as if this has been their position all along. And no one will call them on it.
This also comes on the heels of Monday's revelation that the US is sending a senior official to Iran for the purposes of participation in international talks. Hmmm... sounds like diplomacy to me.
...The administration sought to describe the talks as a continuation of the same strategy it has always pursued: halting Iran’s nuclear activities without having to resort to military force.
Duh. That's what diplomacy is, you nitwits. And what do you know! Diplomacy is what Barack Obama has been advocating as well. Is Obama secretly Bush's real Secretary of State? At this rate, maybe by the end of the day we'll have universal health care too!
So let's recap: diplomatic intentions with Iran on Monday, the Medicare veto override on Tuesday and the agreement with Iraq for a troop pullout timeline today. I'd say it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for Georgie.
(Photo courtesy of The Onion)
Supporting Our Troops, Republican Style
Don't you just love the free market? Too bad it wasn't used when these no-bid contracts were handed out by the Bushies.
NY TIMES: WASHINGTON — Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on United States military bases in Iraq is widespread and dangerous, causing more deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to internal Army documents.
During just one six-month period — August 2006 through January 2007 — at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military’s largest dining hall in the country, documents obtained by The New York Times show. Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006, the records note, while another was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007.
And while the Pentagon has previously reported that 13 Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq, many more have been injured, some seriously, by shocks, according to the documents. A log compiled earlier this year at one building complex in Baghdad disclosed that soldiers complained of receiving electrical shocks in their living quarters on an almost daily basis....The reports of shoddy electrical work have raised new questions about the Bush administration’s heavy reliance on contractors in Iraq, particularly because they come after other high-profile disputes involving KBR. They include accusations of overbilling, providing unsafe water to soldiers and failing to protect female employees who were sexually assaulted.
9/11 Billboard. Classy.
So what genius thought this was a good idea?
"A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate.
...A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate."
Awesome. Mike Meehan sells his soul to the devil for $5 CDs. But of course this is what they do, invoking 9/11 to create an atmosphere of fear, sport purple band-aids to disparage a Vietnam war hero, and insist you "know how to win wars" when the only war you were involved in saw you shot down and a prisoner of war for five and a half years.
(H/T C&L)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Last Play At Shea
And what a great concert it was. In the middle of "New York State of Mind," out came Tony Bennett to partake in a couple of verses. Then a few songs later, Joel was joined by John Mayer as he played the guitar solo to "This Is The Time." My wife and I looked at each other and wondered what other guests Billy might have in store.
Don Henley came out to sing "The Boys Of Summer" and the crowd went nuts. And finally, after a few more famous Joel tunes, John Mellencamp brought the house down with "Pink Houses."
I'm tired today and my ears are still ringing (we had 5th row floor seats) but it was well worth it to watch Billy Joel in the house that The Beatles played in, singing Beatles tunes and showing that he can still fire it up at 59. Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I Know How To Win Wars
Taking credit for successes and blaming others for failures is what Republicans do. Over the past couple of days I've been listening to GOP Senators on MSNBC blaming NATO for the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. I suppose "Support The Troops" only means our troops. Fuck the other allies' troops. They can't do anything right, right?
And now McThuselah claims that he "knows how to win wars." Yes, "wars" as in plural. I'm sure he wasn't just thinking of Iraq and Afghanistan as Beach Boys tunes danced in his head."...It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory."
Perhaps McCain's definition of winning a war is getting shot down over enemy territory and being a prisoner of war for over five years. We win.
That the "success in Iraq" is the model McThuselah would use in Afghanistan if he became president is absolutely ludicrous. I would not so kindly ask, "What success would you be talking about?!"
It seems that everyone touting success in Iraq is selectively remembering only the post-surge reduction in violence and not the fact that the whole reason for the surge in the first place was to give the Iraqi government time to get its shit together. That hasn't happened and moving the goalposts from "when they stand up, we'll stand down" to "an acceptable level of violence" won't make the surge a success.
And even if you accept McCain's premise that the model of Iraq is the way we'd do things in Afghanistan, one would have to realize that it's an impossibility to do it the Iraq way with the lack of resources we now face. We don't have the troops to send to Afghanistan unless we pull them out of Iraq!
And this is the man that is lauded by the McCainstream Media as a foreign policy wiz!
Unbelieveable!
T Minus 188 Days
"Our country puts $1 billion a year up to help feed the hungry. And we're by far the most generous nation in the world when it comes to that, and I'm proud to report that. This isn't a contest of who's the most generous. I'm just telling you as an aside. We're generous. We shouldn't be bragging about it. But we are. We're very generous."
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