T Minus 143 Days

"It's totally wiped out... It's devastating - it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground."

- From Air Force One above New Orleans, August 31, 2005

More Random Palin Thoughts

• No, not those kinds of thoughts, nasty people.
  
  * My head is still reeling from the ridiculousness of McCain's choice for running mate. I'm sure Ms. Soccer Mom Hot Boots is a nice person, but it seems as though her qualifications go as far as helping me pick which melon is ripe at the supermarket, far from Commander in Chief credentials.
  
  * Does John McCain and/or his campaign think women are that stupid? Jeebus, even Joe Scarborough called this choice and "insult" to women. And don't forget that disgruntled Hillary supporters earlier on were adamant that if Clinton was not chosen as the VP nominee, it would be even more insulting to them if another woman were chosen. It was either Hillary or no woman. Does anyone else remember that?
  
  * The timing of this announcement is purely political. It was designed to help bury the "Obama's acceptance speech was magical" meme and steal the day's headlines - and it did just that. I have no problem with that - that's the way the game is played. But you have to wonder when the decision to pick Palin was made. I can't help but think that the thought process in the McCain camp was to pick Palin after Hillary was out of the picture. Had Obama actually chosen Clinton as his running mate, we'd be seeing someone else. Maybe even Holy Joe Lieberman - someone other than a woman to steal the headlines, in Lieberdouche's case because he's a self proclaimed "independent"... as well as a douche. And not looking for the most qualified person for such an important position is a real shame. That this was purely to attract the women's vote and a blatant pander is what bugs me the most. But I also think they've shot themselves in the foot with their pick.
  
  ...More later.

UPDATE (8/30/08 2am):

* I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the Romney and Pawlenty households to hear their reaction to the news that McCain had picked Appassionata Von Climax¹ as his running mate. Apparently, they were none too pleased.

*Bill Maher started his season tonight on HBO and I thought this was the best line of the night: "Sarah Palin has five kids. Five kids! Doesn't anyone in that party understand the concept of pulling out?"

********************************
¹ - I couldn't find production photos of Stella Stevens as Appassionata Von Climax from the 1959 movie musical L'il Abner, so the above link will have to suffice. Originally, I thought that Julie Newmar played the part, but her character's name was Stupefyin' Jones. Appassionata Von Climax just has a better ring to it, dont you think? Here's Newmar in action.

Be Careful What You Pray For

Remember Stuart Shepard? Think back to just a couple of weeks ago before the world changed when that fuckwad from Focus on the Family made a video asking Evangelicals to pray for rain in Denver on the night of Barack Obama's historic nomination. Yeah, that Stuart Shepard. He didn't want to just make it uncomfortable, he was looking for biblical rain. "I'm talking 'umbrella-ain't-going-to-help-you rain," said the douche.

Now mind you that this day was also going to be the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New Orleans. But I suppose these kinds of people can only think of doing one thing at a time, like taking methamphetamine and then having sex with a male prostitute.

Well, the God of Rain was not amused with such frivolous, petty, infantile requests, what with all the busy work currently scheduled in the Caribbean at that time, however the God of Irony has a motherfuckin' mean streak.

The Washington Post is reporting this morning that the Republicans are considering delaying the start of their convention because of Tropical Storm Gustav, which is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall on Tuesday. The White House is also debating whether Bush should cancel his speech or not.

Gustav is not the only problem Mother Nature is throwing at our country. Tropical Storm Hannah is out there strengthening also, and expected to become a hurricane in the next couple of days and could hit the U.S. towards the end of next week.

Good thing Shepard didn't pray for locusts. By the way, the weather in Denver was lovely. Mother Nature must be a Democrat.

Palin Ready To Lead on Day One

So says MSNBC's Republican strategist Joe Watkins. When asked if he'd be comfortable with Palin's limited experience should she have to meet with a world leader of, say Iran, if something should happen to John McCain, he responded, "Absolutely. She's ready to lead on Day One if need be."

How does Joe Watkins sleep at night?

McCain's VP Choice: Complete Pander

In a feeble attempt to lure disgruntled Hillary female supporters, the mythical PUMAs, conservatives and the NRA crowd in one fell swoop, the Maverick has decided that the person best suited to be his running mate on the Republican ticket is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I'll give you a minute to pick your jaw up off the floor... [instrumental of "Girl from Ipanema"]

McCain made this choice after a constant barrage of criticism regarding Barack Obama's "inexperience." What, you might ask, qualifies Palin to be the second in line to the Presidency should something befall Senator McCain (like his face falling off from the melanoma) if he ascended to the Oval Office? Well let's take a look at her resumé.

1984 - Miss Wasilla
1984 - Miss Alaska pageant runner up (disqualified for wearing a two piece bathing suit)
Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from University of Idaho
1992 through 1996 - City Council, Wasilla, Alaska
2002 - Mayor, Wasilla, Alaska (Population 5,470)
2002 - Unsucessful bid for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
2006 to present - Governor of Alaska
She loves moose stew and mooseburgers.

...Okay. Great choice, McCain.

She's Pro-Life, opposes same-sex marriage, is in favor of drilling in ANWR, has a 100% approval rating from the NRA... What am I missing?

Do they think that Biden will go easy on her during their debate?

Here's the McCain campaign's official statement.

U.S. Senator John McCain today announced that he has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate and to serve as his vice president.

Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington.

Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill. She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. She put a stop to the "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

As the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.

Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today.

As for the Democratic reaction, this one's my favorite so far:

Chuck Schumer: "After the great success of the Democratic convention, the choice of Sarah Palin is surely a Hail Mary pass... Certainly the choice of Palin puts to rest any argument about inexperience on the Democratic team and while Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling. I particularly look forward to the Biden-Palin debate in Missouri."

Although I'll never forgive Schumer for the Mukasey fuck up, it's still a good quote. You gotta scratch your head and wonder what (or if) the McCain campaign is thinking.

More on Palin here and here.

Also read Dingeldein and Cesca.

Who Is Charles Babington?

Is this what passes for reporting from the Associated Press? Just minutes after Obama's amazing and historic speech that even had Pat Buchanan gushing on MSNBC, an AP hack named Charles Babington wrote this:

Barack Obama, whose campaign theme is "change we can believe in," promised Thursday to "spell out exactly what that change would mean."
But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.
Of course, no candidate can outline every initiative in a 35-minute speech - especially one that also must inspire voters, acknowledge key friends, and toss in some autobiography for the newly-interested. And Obama did touch on nitty-gritty subjects, such as the capital gains tax and biofuel investments.
He said he would "find ways to safely harness nuclear power," a somewhat more receptive phrase than he typically uses for that subject.
But most of his address echoed and amplified the theme that dominated the four-day
Democratic nominating convention here: George Bush.

And it seems that Babington didn't even listen to the speech, opting to critique it (and badly mind you) by reading the advance press release since his 603-word piece was turned in only 26 minutes after the speech was over. Still, the false accusations that it was all-style -no-substance is laughable at best, spine chillingly conspiratorial at worst. Here's Jonathan Singer an MyDD:

What a true journalist would do would be to analyze the speech without using the crutch of opposition talking points, without resorting to the easiest "he said, she said" type of stenography. But apparently this is no longer the policy of the Associated Press under Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier -- a man, by the way, who spent months in talks with the McCain campaign about possibly accepting a senior level position. No, what we get out of Fournier's AP is pure and unadulterated talking points that are as non germane as they are simply incorrect.

And Keith Olbermann's reaction after reading the report:

Mr. Babington got the length of the speech wrong by at least 7 minutes. And this is analysis that will be printed in many, many newspapers, hundreds of them around the country. It is analysis that strikes me as having born no resemblance to the speech you and I just watch. None whatsoever. And for it to be distributed by the lone national news organization in terms of wire copy to newspapers around the country and websites is a remarkable failure of that news organization.Charles Babington. Find. New. Work.

So, not only does Obama have to fight the Republican Party lies and smears over the next two months, it seems he'll have to fight the press-posing right-wing noise machine as well. Game on, brohim.

(H/T Daily Kos & My DD)

HISTORY

Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. The best speech I've ever seen in my lifetime.




In the meantime, here's the McCain campaign response:

"Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama. When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President."

...That's it? Is that all they have? False talking points that have already been debunked? Someone's sleeping at the McCain campaign.

Richard Dreyfuss Rips GOP

The day I decided to start this blog was because of Richard Dreyfuss' appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher almost two years ago. He was speaking of civics and our duty as citizens to question the government when we thought necessary.

He was interviewed by Nora O'Donnell on MSNBC and ripped into the Bush administration and the "corrupt" Republican party as a whole when asked if a President McCain would better handle a disaster like Katrina that the Bushies did.

Dreyfuss: I don’t think the Europeans have any confidence in our government. I think that the last eight years has destroyed two hundred years of respect and dedication. And I think we have been the point of meaning and admiration in the world for very specific reasons, and George Bush trashed it.

O’Donnell: So, you don’t think that John McCain would be able to manage this government well, would have a different response than George Bush to a Hurricane Katrina?

Dreyfuss: I think the Republican party is corrupt through and through. And even the republicans like Buckley before he died said ‘we should lose this election, go into the wilderness, and get cleansed’, and I believe that’s true. I think that they have been in office too long. I think that they are too adept at thievery, at moving the Constitution into places it never meant to go. I think that they have an extraordinary ability to divide rather than unite. And I think that I’m tired of being called a traitor, because I like my flag and I support the troops.

Watch the video on Crooks & Liars.

What McCain Thinks Of The American Worker

What a weasley little motherfucker this John McCain is.

In April 2006, John McCain taunted workers at an AFL-CIO meeting who were concerned that immigration tends to depress wages in the US.

That's not change we can believe in (sickly, creepy smile). ...And you want to be my latex salesman?...

H/T smintheus at Daily Kos.

McCain Says He Hasn't Decided On VP

As for the rumor last night that the McCain campaign was entertaining the possibility of announcing their VP choice, or at least leaking it, today- the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the final day of the Democratic National Convention in which history will be made as Barack Obama will be accepting the nomination, and the first African-American in history to do so - seems to be just a rumor.

John McCain says he hasn't decided on a running mate just yet.

The Republican presidential candidate told a Pittsburgh radio station he wouldn't even talk about which way he is leaning.

Now that's what McCain says. What the campaign will do however, might be something different since we all know that John McCain does not speak for the McCain campaign. I'm guessing there'll be much more to this story by the end of the day.

UPDATE (1pm): McCain to announce his VP choice Saturday.

McCain and his running mate are expected to appear together for the first time at one or more rallies, including one planned for Saturday in Pennsylvania.

Just A Regular Joe...

... and exactly the type of guy we want standing next to Barack Obama in the White House.

McCain May Announce VP Choice Thursday

Rumor has it that in a move of total douchebaggery, John McCain has decided on his choice for running mate and could announce Thursday, the same day as the final day of the Democratic National Convention.

That may all be well and good for the McCain campaign, but as Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann just theorized before signing off for the evening, if McCain's choice is not someone of consequence, not someone who would make a big headline splash, then making the announcement on the historic day of the first African-American accepting the nomination for the Presidency of the United Fucking States would be nothing more than an extremely sad display.

Matthews said something to the effect that unless it were someone like Lieberman [holding back urge to vomit], an "independent" who agrees with McCain on the war - if it were someone like Pawlenty, it would be like "putting two puddles together; nothing happens - there's no splash." Olbermann equated Pawlenty to something that sounded like a side dish. Rachel Maddow called it "slightly low road" and also pointed to the fact that Thursday is the anniversary of Katrina - the same day that John McCain was on the tarmac in Arizona having a photo-op birthday cake with George W. Bush while New Orleans drowned. (I'll have video up of that exchange soon.)

But in either case, if McCain and his campaign actually thinks this is a good idea and that it doesn't smack of desperation, then go ahead. It'll look like nothing but an attention getting tantrum. Look at me! Look at me! I'm running for president too!

It is to laugh.

UPDATE (8/28/08 10:10am): Here's the video where Maddow sets things straight about the possible "perfect timing" of McCain's VP announcement. She kicks ass!

McCain Bashing - Kerry Strikes Back

Here's John Kerry's speech from the Democratic National Convention... no, not 2004's speech, this year's speech, in DENVER! If Kerry had spoken like this in 2004, we'd most likely be re-electing him today.



H/T to Bob Cesca for putting up this video so soon after his awesome liveblogging, which you should partake of tomorrow if you can. Lots of fun and great lines in the comments section.

Must Reads

Seth Colter Walls: Clinton's Wealthy Die-Hards Are Contradicting Her Campaign's Message

Nora Ephron: Hillary the Admonisher

The Rude Pundit: Hillary Clinton Is Not A Liar

Dennis Kucinich Kicks Ass! WAKE UP, AMERICA!

It's amazing how this guy just gets it, spells it out for everyone to understand but is considered too "crazy" for the mainstream. Dennis Kucinich: One of the few things Ohio gets right.



UPDATE (6:50pm): Apparently the Obama campaign thought this line was a little over the top in Kucinich's speech and asked him to omit it: "They’re asking for another four years — in a just world, they’d get 10 to 20."

Fucking brilliant! It's too bad the Obama campaign doesn't think it necessary for that kind of talk. Wait til they hear what the Rethugs will say next week.

Shameless

At what point does playing the P.O.W. card become a joke? Or has it become one already?



And we thought Rudy Giuliani was bad with his 9/11 mantra. Rachel Maddow does a fine job explaining the whole situation and how ridiculous it's getting for the McCain campaign to invoke "P.O.W.!" as a rebuttal against any attack.



(H/T C&L)

T Minus 146 Days

"One of the interesting initiatives we've taken in Washington, DC, is we've got these vampire-busting devices. A vampire is a - a cell deal you can plug in to your wall to charge your cell phone."

- Denver, CO, August 2001

Another Clinton Supporting Moron For McCain...

... who tells us that Obama isn't qualified to be President because he was registered as a Muslim in a madrassa in Indonesia - something that CNN debunk a year and a half ago. Her source? A "former congressional investigator," but nyah-nyah-nyah, she's not gonna tell you who it is.

This country has gone topsy-turvy.



What an imbecile. And how does anyone expect to be taken seriously with an attitude like that? I've got to think that this is all a scheme. PUMA is not an organization of former Clinton supporters who think they were robbed of an election she lost fairly, but a core group of McCain supporters posing as Clintonites in an attempt to cast doubt in the minds of undecideds and independents. There's no other explanation for such stupidity.

And if these morons really do exist en masse, Hillary Clinton better hit it out of the park tonight, blow everyone away with a patented "clap-clap-point-point" speech and straighten these fuckers out.

UPDATE (8/27/08 1:10am):

Hey! I may have been more on point than I thought about this whole PUMA thing. From Crooks and Liars:

Chuck Todd makes an observation Monday night that many of his colleagues fail (or refuse to) acknowledge: That the influence of the PUMA crowd is greatly exaggerated, and the Republicans have their own “PUMA problem” with Ron Paul and his supporters.

“I think what’s happening is we’re in our Denver bubble. There’s 1/3 of the Democratic establishment here who would be big time players had Clinton won, and they can stoke this a little. The McCain campaign is stoking this, releasing this ad. And there is a small core group, but I think they have a louder voice than they do a volume of numbers. So, look, I think we’re gonna look back in a few days and say ‘these PUMAs are really no different than these Ron Paul folks that we’re gonna run into in St. Paul.’”

...These PUMA detractors aren’t Democrats, no matter how badly the media wants to drag this out and create these fantasy dramas. The PUMA operation is very clearly a GOP game as much as Operation Chaos:

PUMA (originally “Party Unity My A**” and now officially a more sedate “People United Means Action”) was one of the original angry Hillary groups. Started by Darragh Murphy and depending on whose story you read Will Bowers, PUMA fed on the anger over the actions of the Democratic National Committee over the Florida and Michigan delegations. The PUMA PAC website features a graphic that now says “Obama National Committee” rather than Democratic National Committee.

As Amanda at Pandagon discovered, Murphy donated money to McCain in 2000. She has never donated money to Clinton. Disenfranchised Clinton supporter? I don’t think so. And Rumproast has documented how the PUMAs have sought to make themselves sound much larger and more organized than they are. 60 of them about to take charge of the convention? Not bloody likely.

Joe Scarborough: Biggest Douchebag On Television

Scarborough makes a comment criticizing Iraq's Prime Minister for wanting a timetable for US troops to get out of Iraq, says he'll be dead in 15 minutes after we leave and that the Sunnis will string him up like Mussolini and then gets offended when taken to task by David Shuster and turns a debate into a little, whiny girl argument.

Mike Barnicle and Scooter sit there in disbelief unable to comment.

What a fucking asshole.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

So Much For The Commanders On The Ground

THINK PROGRESS: Newsweek reported that while Petraeus recognized that al-Qaeda in Iraq has been significantly diminished, he refused to say the terror group had been “defeated.” Moreover, Petraeus acknowledged that the recent successes in Iraq may have been possible without the surge:

Petraeus is careful not to credit all the progress to the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. The sea change came last year from a series of movements now known as the Awakening. […] So would the Sunni Awakening have succeeded without the surge? Possibly, he concedes.

As we all know, McCain insists that the Anbar Awakening was part of the surge (even though it took place months before the surge was even announced) and now we see he disagrees with one of the people he said he would rely heavily on if elected President during the Saddleback forum. Hmmm...

I'll expect the McCain campaign to berate Petraeus for daring to disagree with a former P.O.W. - maybe they'll send Cindy McCain to Iraq to straighten him out.

Democratic Women For McCain?!

This "proud Hillary Clinton Democrat" apparently didn't know that McCain is Pro-Life and vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade. Are all Hillary supporters this misinformed? And the question is, now that Debra Bartoshevich (hopefully) knows this little tidbit of information, is she still going to vote for McCain? If the answer is yes, then not only is Debra misinformed, but she's a fucking moron as well and this country is in worse shape than we even thought.

For someone who claims to be a Clinton supporter, don't you think heeding her advice to support Barack Obama would have some credence?

I'll Be Back Soon

To my loyal reader:

I'm flying back home late this afternoon and will hopefully start blogging on a regular basis again. I know you've been starved for some Broadway Carl wit, so I'm hoping to deliver said wit soon enough. After all, the Democratic Convention begins tonight... which I'll most likely miss part of. But I'll catch the highlights and comment on those.

In the meantime, you can catch some liveblogging at Bob Cesca's site, or one of the various other places we like to frequent (HuffPo or FDL).

For your reading pleasure, check out:

Dr. Biobrain: Joe Biden for Vice-President!

The Rude Pundit: A Word or Two Regarding Joe Biden

Douchebag of the Day

I'm in lovely Milford, Ohio this weekend (just outside Cincinnati) visiting my in-laws and my wife and I came found ourselves sitting at a red light behind a red pick up truck with "REDNECK" stenciled on the rear window.

Then we took a closer look at the bumper sticker in the lower right hand corner of the window. The mushroom cloud caught my eye. It read: "Hell... Nuke 'em all! We'll call it Turban Renewal."

I'm just lucky to have rather liberal in-laws.