Joe Biden, the "expert" in foreign policy -- the entire reason you're supposed to not fear Barack Hussein Obama's utter lack of executive and foreign policy and his long-standing leanings towards Islamic and anti-American causes said:
"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.” he told a fundraising crowd in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday. “Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
John Kennedy's weakness brought about the Cuban Missile Crisis which brought the world to the brink of extinction. Biden -- Obama's top guy -- guarantees Obama's election will bring us to the same place. Vote Obama and vote for a good chance for the end of the world.
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21 comments:
> > What if things were switched around ?.....think
> about it.
> >
> > Ponder the following:
> >
> > What if Obama had paraded five children across the
> > stage, including
> > a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant
> teenage daughter?
> >
> > What if John McCain was a former president of the
> Harvard Law
> > Review?
> > What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom
> of his graduating
> > class?
> >
> > What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was
> a
> > divorcee?
> >
> > What if Obama was the candidate who left his first
> wife after a
> > severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer
> measured up to
> > his standards?
> >
> > What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and
> had a long affair
> > while he was still married?
> >
> > What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only
> became addicted to
> > pain killers but also acquired them illegally
> through her
> > charitable
> > organization?
> >
> > What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
> >
> > What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
>
> > (The Keating Five were five United States Senators
> accused of
> > corruption in 1989, igniting a major political
> scandal as part of the
> > larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and
> early 1990s.)
> >
> > What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent
> speaker?
> >
> > What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
>
> >
> > What if Obama was the one who had military
> experience that included
> > discipline problems and a record of crashing seven
> > planes?
> >
> > What if Obama was the one who was known to display
> publicly, on many
> > occasions, a serious anger management problem?
> >
> > What if Michelle Obama's family had made their
> money from beer
> > distribution?
> >
> > What if the Joe Biden was married to a radical, separatist organization
that advocated independence from the United States?
> >
> > You could easily add to this list. If these
> questions reflected
> > reality, do you really believe the election numbers
> would be as close
> > as they are?
> >
> > This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes
> and minimizes
> > positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes
> negative qualities
> > in another when there is a color difference.
> >
> >
> > Educational Background:
> >
> > Barack Obama:
> > Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a
> > Specialization in
> > International Relations.
> > Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
> >
> > Joseph Biden:
> > University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in
> Political
> > Science.
> > Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor
> (J.D.)
> >
> > vs.
> >
> > John McCain:
> > United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of
> 899
> >
> > Sarah Palin:
> > Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho
> College - 2
> > semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2
> semesters -
> > journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
> University of Idaho
> > - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Sooprise...now, he's rewriting JFK's history.
Kennedy ran to the right of Nixon on defense and, among other things, decried the (non-existent) "missile gap."
But he was a Democrat, so he must have been weak.
This is one intellectually and morally corrupt birdbrain.
McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused of Voter Registration Fraud
Posted by Sam Stein, Huffington Post at 3:34 PM on October 20, 2000
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
According to campaign finance records, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California Republican Party, made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated on multiple occasions for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and even spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
In a letter to the Justice Department last October, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said that that Sproul's alleged activities "clearly suppress votes and violate the law."
That Sproul would come under the employment umbrella of the McCain campaign -- the Republican National Committee has also separately paid Lincoln Strategy at least $37,000 for voter registration efforts this cycle -- is not terribly surprising. Sproul, who has donated nearly $30,000 to McCain's campaign, has been in the good graces of GOP officials for the past decade despite charges of ethical and potentially legal wrongdoing.
But his involvement with the Republican Party's voter registration efforts has the potential to create a political and public relations headache at a time when McCain can ill-afford one. For weeks the Arizona Republican and his allies have been seeking to tie Barack Obama to the community organization ACORN, which they have accused of potentially committing massive voter registration fraud. Sproul's contract with the GOP ticket -- in addition to news of Republican officials attempting to suppress Democratic turnout in California -- raises, for some, questions about McCain's own efforts.
"It should certainly take away from McCain's argument," said Bob Grossfeld, a progressive political consultant based in Arizona who has followed Sproul's career. "Without knowing anything of what is going on with ACORN, there is a clear history with Mr. Sproul either going over the line or sure as hell kicking dirt on it, and doing it for profit and usually fairly substantive profit."
As Republican Congressman Chris Cannon summarized during a joint hearing for the subcommittee on commercial and administrative law back in May 2008: "The difference between ACORN and Sproul is that ACORN doesn't throw away or change registration documents after they have been filled out."
Indeed, Sproul's history is filled with allegations of political misdeeds. During the 2004 election, Sproul & Associates (the former name of Lincoln Strategy) was accused of attempting to destroy forms collected by Democratic voters in Nevada. That same year in Oregon, Sproul & Associates allegedly instructed canvassers to only accept Republican registration forms in addition to destroying those turned in by Democrats.
In Minnesota, meanwhile, Sproul's firm was accused of actually firing workers who brought back Democratic registration forms, while other canvassers were allegedly paid "$13 an hour, with the $3 bonus for every Bush, undecided or Ralph Nader voter registration." Similar problems related to Sproul & Associates popped up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
All of this was executed, it seems, through an elaborate web of deception. As Salon.com wrote back in 2004:
Canvassers were told to act as if they were nonpartisan, to hide that they were working for the RNC, especially if approached by the media... In letters the firm sent to the libraries, Sproul misrepresented itself as America Votes -- a left-leaning national voter registration group not affiliated with Sproul -- but said that it was interested in registering "all those who wish to register to vote." Shortly after Sproul canvassers began working the libraries, though, patrons began complaining that the canvassers were being especially inquisitive about their political leanings, and some were pushing people to register as Republicans.
Sproul has denied those charges, claiming often that his registration efforts were bipartisan and that any suggestion otherwise was nothing more than the testimony of disgruntled former employees. He did not return a request for comment for this article.
But there has been a wide array of public complaint over the scope and nefariousness of his activities. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Ted Kennedy sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004 asking that the Justice Department "launch an immediate investigation into the activities of Mr. Sproul and his firm." Three years later, members of Congress still weren't satisfied. Rep. Conyers complained in an Oct. 2007 letter that the Justice Department was not closely scrutinizing Sproul's efforts. "The alleged misconduct described by many witnesses," he wrote, "clearly suppress[es] votes and violate[s] the law."
Indeed, those who have followed Sproul's rise in Republican circles argue that the pattern of behavior is too hard to dismiss as anything other than ethically-blurry, brass knuckle tactics.
"The biggest single thing is that he is a true believer," said Grossfeld. "He might take this as a compliment, but he is as committed to the worldview and the neocon approach to life as any operative I have ever run across. He is absolutely devoted to whatever that ideology is and as a byproduct of that he will look for every opportunity he can, I believe to further his or his client's agenda."
Here's a really funny scenario:
Imagine Sarah Palin, after the likely, early demise of McCain, handling an international crisis...or even an interview with dangerous Katie Kouric!!
McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused of Voter Registration Fraud
Posted by Sam Stein, Huffington Post at 3:34 PM on October 20, 2000
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
John McCain's campaign has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of massive voter registration fraud in several states.
According to campaign finance records, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign, the RNC and the the California Republican Party, made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP operative who has been investigated on multiple occasions for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and even spearheading efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
In a letter to the Justice Department last October, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said that that Sproul's alleged activities "clearly suppress votes and violate the law."
That Sproul would come under the employment umbrella of the McCain campaign -- the Republican National Committee has also separately paid Lincoln Strategy at least $37,000 for voter registration efforts this cycle -- is not terribly surprising. Sproul, who has donated nearly $30,000 to McCain's campaign, has been in the good graces of GOP officials for the past decade despite charges of ethical and potentially legal wrongdoing.
But his involvement with the Republican Party's voter registration efforts has the potential to create a political and public relations headache at a time when McCain can ill-afford one. For weeks the Arizona Republican and his allies have been seeking to tie Barack Obama to the community organization ACORN, which they have accused of potentially committing massive voter registration fraud. Sproul's contract with the GOP ticket -- in addition to news of Republican officials attempting to suppress Democratic turnout in California -- raises, for some, questions about McCain's own efforts.
"It should certainly take away from McCain's argument," said Bob Grossfeld, a progressive political consultant based in Arizona who has followed Sproul's career. "Without knowing anything of what is going on with ACORN, there is a clear history with Mr. Sproul either going over the line or sure as hell kicking dirt on it, and doing it for profit and usually fairly substantive profit."
As Republican Congressman Chris Cannon summarized during a joint hearing for the subcommittee on commercial and administrative law back in May 2008: "The difference between ACORN and Sproul is that ACORN doesn't throw away or change registration documents after they have been filled out."
Indeed, Sproul's history is filled with allegations of political misdeeds. During the 2004 election, Sproul & Associates (the former name of Lincoln Strategy) was accused of attempting to destroy forms collected by Democratic voters in Nevada. That same year in Oregon, Sproul & Associates allegedly instructed canvassers to only accept Republican registration forms in addition to destroying those turned in by Democrats.
In Minnesota, meanwhile, Sproul's firm was accused of actually firing workers who brought back Democratic registration forms, while other canvassers were allegedly paid "$13 an hour, with the $3 bonus for every Bush, undecided or Ralph Nader voter registration." Similar problems related to Sproul & Associates popped up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
All of this was executed, it seems, through an elaborate web of deception. As Salon.com wrote back in 2004:
Canvassers were told to act as if they were nonpartisan, to hide that they were working for the RNC, especially if approached by the media... In letters the firm sent to the libraries, Sproul misrepresented itself as America Votes -- a left-leaning national voter registration group not affiliated with Sproul -- but said that it was interested in registering "all those who wish to register to vote." Shortly after Sproul canvassers began working the libraries, though, patrons began complaining that the canvassers were being especially inquisitive about their political leanings, and some were pushing people to register as Republicans.
Sproul has denied those charges, claiming often that his registration efforts were bipartisan and that any suggestion otherwise was nothing more than the testimony of disgruntled former employees. He did not return a request for comment for this article.
But there has been a wide array of public complaint over the scope and nefariousness of his activities. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Ted Kennedy sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004 asking that the Justice Department "launch an immediate investigation into the activities of Mr. Sproul and his firm." Three years later, members of Congress still weren't satisfied. Rep. Conyers complained in an Oct. 2007 letter that the Justice Department was not closely scrutinizing Sproul's efforts. "The alleged misconduct described by many witnesses," he wrote, "clearly suppress[es] votes and violate[s] the law."
Indeed, those who have followed Sproul's rise in Republican circles argue that the pattern of behavior is too hard to dismiss as anything other than ethically-blurry, brass knuckle tactics.
"The biggest single thing is that he is a true believer," said Grossfeld. "He might take this as a compliment, but he is as committed to the worldview and the neocon approach to life as any operative I have ever run across. He is absolutely devoted to whatever that ideology is and as a byproduct of that he will look for every opportunity he can, I believe to further his or his client's agenda."
KEN ADELMAN for Obama!!!!
Maybe some of you robots should go in for reprogramming...
First Colin Powell, Now…
Ken Adelman is a lifelong conservative Republican. Campaigned for Goldwater, was hired by Rumsfeld at the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon, was assistant to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld under Ford, served as Reagan’s director of arms control, and joined the Defense Policy Board for Rumsfeld’s second go-round at the Pentagon, in 2001. Adelman’s friendship with Rumsfeld, Cheney, and their wives goes back to the sixties, and he introduced Cheney to Paul Wolfowitz at a Washington brunch the day Reagan was sworn in.
In recent years, Adelman and his friends Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz fell out over his criticisms of the botching of the Iraq War. Still, he remains a bona-fide hawk (“not really a neo-con but a con-con”) who has never supported a Democrat for President in his life. Two weeks from now that’s going to change: Ken Adelman intends to vote for Barack Obama. He can hardly believe it himself.
Adelman and I exchanged e-mails today about his decision. He asked rhetorically,
Why so, since my views align a lot more with McCain’s than with Obama’s? And since I truly dread the notion of a Democratic president, Democratic House, and hugely Democratic Senate?
Primarily for two reasons, those of temperament and of judgment.
When the economic crisis broke, I found John McCain bouncing all over the place. In those first few crisis days, he was impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird. Having worked with Ronald Reagan for seven years, and been with him in his critical three summits with Gorbachev, I’ve concluded that that’s no way a president can act under pressure.
Second is judgment. The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate.
That decision showed appalling lack of judgment. Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office—I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency. But that selection contradicted McCain’s main two, and best two, themes for his campaign—Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick.
I sure hope Obama is more open, centrist, sensible—dare I say, Clintonesque—than his liberal record indicates, than his cooperation with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid portends. If not, I will be even more startled by my vote than I am now.
Obama Appeal Rises in Poll; No Gains for McCain
By MEGAN THEE
Published: October 20, 2008
As voters have gotten to know Senator Barack Obama, they have warmed up to him, with more than half, 53 percent, now saying they have a favorable impression of him and 33 percent saying they have an unfavorable view. But as voters have gotten to know Senator John McCain, they have not warmed, with only 36 percent of voters saying they view him favorably while 45 percent view him unfavorably.
Even voters who are planning to vote for Mr. McCain say their enthusiasm has waned. In New York Times and CBS News polls conducted with the same respondents before the first presidential debate and again after the last debate, Mr. McCain made no progress in appealing to voters on a personal level, and he and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, had alienated some voters.
Personal appeal is an intangible element in voters’ decisions. Each voter has a personal reason for connecting with a candidate or not. But the percentage of those who hold a favorable opinion of Mr. Obama is up 10 points since last month. Opinion of Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Mr. Obama’s running mate, is also up, to 50 percent last weekend from 36 percent in September.
In contrast, favorable opinion of Mr. McCain remained stable, and unfavorable opinion rose to 45 percent now from 35 percent in September. Mrs. Palin’s negatives are up, to 41 percent now from 29 percent in September.
Mr. Obama’s favorability is the highest for a presidential candidate running for a first term in the last 28 years of Times/CBS polls. Mrs. Palin’s negative rating is the highest for a vice-presidential candidate as measured by The Times and CBS News. Even Dan Quayle, with whom Mrs. Palin is often compared because of her age and inexperience on the national scene, was not viewed as negatively in the 1988 campaign.
The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Sept. 21-24, with re-interviews completed Friday through Sunday of 518 adults, 476 of whom are registered voters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus five percentage points for all adults and voters.
Among the voters who said their opinion of Mr. Obama had improved, many cited his debate performance, saying they liked his calm demeanor and the way he had handled the attacks on him from the McCain campaign.
Of those who said their opinion of Mr. McCain had been tarnished, many cited his attacks on his opponent, the choice of Ms. Palin as his running mate and his debate performance.
“Even though I am a Democrat, there was a strong possibility I would have voted for McCain,” said Yolanda Grande, 77, a Democrat from Blairstown, N.J. “What pushed me over the line was McCain’s choice of vice president. I just don’t think she is qualified to step in if anything happened to him.”
An Enigma Named Barack
by L. A. Sunset
We The People, in order to preserve a more balanced reality, are committed to learning the truth and uncovering the obscurity of a presidential candidate; a man long cloaked in a mysterious veil, and one that we presume hides the truth and distorts the true man who is Barack Obama.
Our opposition to Mr. Obama is not a factor of race, ethnic identity, nor even his place of domicile (i.e., Chicago); it is rather about his past associations, his character, his judgment, and his vision for the future of the United States of America. We believe that these are valid questions and concerns, that the American press has failed to address them in an honest and forthright manner, and that the American people have the right to know the answers to several questions.
Despite rhetoric designed to mislead and misinform the American voter, such as that Barack Obama is a political centrist; that he sincerely wants to change politics inside the beltway; and/or there is hope for a new day under an Obama administration, the issue of his past associations, statements, and activities demand greater scrutiny. We have learned that Mr. Obama’s associations have deep roots within the modern socialist movement, black separatist theology, known ties to anti-Jewish/Pro-Muslim persons, and Chicago-styled machine-politics. We believe that when combined these radical elements present a clear and present danger to American social tradition and every citizen’s quest for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The “A” list of Mr. Obama’s associates includes (but is not limited to):
William Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist, who by his own admission assures us that he did not participate in enough acts of terror to advance his cause properly, has achieve national attention.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose vile condemnations of “white America” entertained Mr. Obama for twenty years.
Rev. Louis Farrakhan (born: Louis Eugene Walcott) who, as the leader of the Nation of Islam is a racist, a black separatist, a homophobe, and an anti-Semite.
Barack Obama joined with Louis Farrakhan and Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi supporting Raila Odinga in his bid to become president of Kenya. Odinga’s political defeat resulted in Muslim violence, burning churches, murdering 1,000 anti-Odinga voters, and renewed demands for the imposition of Shari’ah Law.
Abongo (Roy) Obama, the brother of Barack, is a former Christian now radical Muslim convert, supporter of Cousin Raila Odinga. Roy Obama wants to institute Shari’ah law, wants Barack Obama to convert back to Islam and, as an American president, adopt anti-Israeli policies.
Moussa Marzook is a member of Hamas and author of the Hamas Manifesto, first published in the Los Angeles Times and later reprinted and sold by Jeremiah Wright from the vestibule of Trinity United Church of Christ. Mr. Marzook was indicted by the United States government on issues relating to foreign terrorist activities inside the United States of America. Hamas endorsed Barack Obama for the American presidency in April 2008.
Tony Rezko gave financial backing to Barack Obama early in his to-date short-lived political career. Even though Mr. Obama plays down the association with Mr. Rezko, it is difficult to ignore that the facts prove differently. (See also: Allison Davis, below)
Nadhmi Auchi is linked to Barack Obama through Tony Rezko. He is an Iraqi born billionaire who the U. S. government claims operated as a bagman for Saddam Hussein. He is a London-based financier, one of the world’s richest men. In 2003, he was convicted of fraud involving the “Elf Affair,” Europe’s largest scandal since the end of World War II.
Allison Davis, former employer of Barack Obama, who later closed his law firm and became a partner of Tony Rezko. Davis assigned Mr. Obama to legal work on behalf of Mr. Rezko.
Rev. James T. Meeks, whom Barack Obama regularly sought for counseling, who served as an Obama delegate at the Democratic Convention and is a long-time political ally, who aided Obama as an influential black supporter, received funding from Tony Rezko. Meeks is known for anti-Jewish and homophobic rhetoric.
Rashid Khalidi, along with William Ayers and Barack Obama, is a former professor at Chicago University. He directs the Palestine Press Agency in Beirut, is an agent of the Arab American Action Network, and according to a top official of former-President George H. W. Bush and a former CIA intelligence officer, former Weather Underground
leader William Ayers funneled money to Khalidi, who maintains ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Khalidi also received $70,000 from the Woods Fund, and held fund-raising events in his home on behalf of Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is a former director of The Woods Fund, a non-profit organization that, in addition to its interests in “giving a voice to less advantaged people,” helped funnel money to Rashid Khalidi for the Arab American Action Network, which presumably includes Palestinian interests within the United States. The Woods Fund also helps to finance “community organizing, and public policy.”
Created in 1995 to help raise funds to reform Chicago public schools, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge involved William Ayers as a leading founder, who in turn appointed Barack Obama to its board of directors. Mr. Obama served on the board for
six years. According to investigative journalist Stanley Kurtz, writing for the Wall Street Journal, reforming Chicago public schools is a bid misleading: it was a program designed to radicalize students more than it was to educate them. According to Ayers, “Teachers should be community organizers, dedicated to provoking resistance to American racism and oppression.”
extract from bleats:
It’s the usual [Garrison]Keillor twaddle – a humorless, scattershot ramble of run-on sentences and unsourced assertions, and I didn’t see anything that set it apart from the dozens of sour broadsides that preceded it. He doesn’t like Sarah Palin, although if she was on the Obama ticket he would have found a few nice words before falling silent on the matter, just as the wisdom and august judgment of Biden seems to hover beneath his radar. He is also angry about Republican economics, because, as he stated in a previous column, they deregulated everything and caused the whole mess. In his imagination, sixteen GOP Senators dressed like the fellow from the Monopoly game took a break from playing polo – with slaves dressed up as horses, of course, ha ha, capital idea, Smidley – and somehow did something which was totally unrelated to the sub-prime mortgage issue. I suspect he believes that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd woke nightly from sheet-soaking nightmares in which the loan standards were loosened just a bit too much, and every time they went to the office intent on fixing this mess, gol dang it, John McCain dragged them into a coatroom and administered ether. Amazingly strong fellow.
It doesn’t matter what Clinton signed; it doesn’t matter that Bush and McCain tried to raise alarms; there’s not an jot of responsibility on Keillor’s side, because if anything goes wrong it can be traced to the one simple fact that shapes his world: the other side is composed of despicable, cowardly, dishonest, cynical bastards still upset that Jolson's reputation is sullied by his use of blackface. On his side: angels. The man makes a Manichean look like an agnostic Unitarian.
But I suspect this line may have thrilled some:
Low dishonesty and craven cynicism sometimes win the day but not inevitably. The attempt to link Barack Obama to an old radical in his neighborhood has desperation and deceit written all over it.
Let us now examine his reasons:
Sorry, there aren’t any. You’ll have to take him at his word that it’s low, dishonest, craven, cynical, desperate, and deceitful. And if you weren’t paying any attention, you might believe that the entire affair can be accurately described as “an attempt to link” Sen. Obama to “an old radical in his neighborhood,” as if some harmless old Bolshie lived down the street, and they’d occasionally nod while taking out the recycling.
It’s possible that Keillor has no idea of the connections between Sen. Obama and Bill Ayers (and his wife, she of the famous endorsement of starlet-stabbing), in which case it’s proof that his column slides unedited down the gullet of modern journalism. This would not make him the most uninformed columnist in the country, but he would certainly be above average. If he does know, though, and chooses to regard discussion of the relationship as beyond the realm of civilized political discourse, well, the standards have certainly changed. Or rather the old standards are being selectively applied. Here are the curious facts of modern politics:
1. Ayers was dedicated to killing American soldiers to ensure that Vietnam was ruled by Communists.
2. Ayers is unrepentant, and proudly posed for a photo standing on an American flag.
3. This is irrelevant. It is irrelevant to then, because the cause was just, if the execution was irrationally exuberant; it is irrelevant to today, because Ayers is now an educator, and a respected member of the intelligentsia.
4. This says nothing about education or the intellegentsia, except to attest to their broad-mindedness.
5. There is nothing wrong with Ayers, but nevertheless his associations with Sen. Obama – the fund-raising at his house, the Woods Foundation, the Annenberg Challenge, the book blurb – are circumstantial, tenuous, and meaningless, because A) Obama was 8 when the crimes occurred, and thus unable to give the full-throated condemnation he later felt, but managed to suppress while coming up the ranks of Chicago politics; B) one could not avoid Ayers in Chicago, which is a very small city; C) if Obama did feel deep distaste, there was never really a good time to bring it up, and D) many other respectable people had no problem associating with the fellow, and E) Ayers is not advising him now, any more than, say, Louis Farrakhan is. The last point is important, because it means we should trust Obama’s judgment. He’s the kind of fellow who turns out not to seek Ayers’ advice when running for national office. And that's enough.
Now. You have to ask yourself how the media would cover a long-standing association between John McCain and a fellow who, in the hurly-burly-mixed-up-folderol of the Civil Rights Era, went a little too far and burned some Black churches, or led a group devoted to blowing up abortion clinics. Mind you, he was never convicted – technicalities, which was ironic, because Conservatives hate those – but he went on to serve on school boards and charity foundations that advocated for States’ Rights, an issue dear to conservative hearts. Imagine the deets are the same – cozy fundraisers, serving on the same boards, McCain’s name on Bomber Bob’s memoir. Add to that some other parallels – say, McCain attended a church that praised a fellow who believed black people were descended from the devil, and believed Jesus was an Aryan.
John McCain wouldn’t be the nominee, and if by some chance that happened, this association would be draped around his neck every day.
You may disagree with this, but I don’t think I’ve attempted any deceit here. Deceit would entail lying about what Ayers did, and insisting they had a connection when there was none. You could say it’s almost deceitful to say there’s nothing there whatsoever, but that’s up for debate. But you can imagine Keillor writing 14 pre-election columns that never mentioned the McCain friend who tried to blow up a Planned Parenthood clinic. I think it would matter, and it wouldn’t be “desperation” to point it out.
I don’t think Obama shares Ayers’ views now, if ever; he strikes me as an intellectual Zelig. But it’s interesting how nothing matters. No, amend that – the small things matter, which is why Joe the Plumber has to be vetted, and Biden’s gaffes ignored. The big things are in the past, and the past is irrelevant. The past matters only if it has a sin that proves the stain inherent in the culture, a stain that will be washed out in the coming reign of goodness and light. The past is a stone, and you can’t run towards the sun unless you drop it, and tell yourself you’re starting anew with every step you take.
Odd how the sun always seems to be the same distance away, no matter how light you travel. Well, there must be a shadowy group that's pushing it out of our grasp. Find them!
(www.lileks.com/bleats/archive/08/1008/102008.html)
Dan Kurt
Well said, sir.
"> > What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
>
> > (The Keating Five were five United States Senators
> accused of
> > corruption in 1989, igniting a major political
> scandal as part of the
> > larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and
> early 1990s.)"
He'd be acquitted of any crime, like McCain was:
"The Ethics Committee ruled that the involvement of McCain in the scheme was also minimal, and he too was cleared of all charges against him.
...
The report also said that McCain's "actions were not improper nor attended with gross negligence and did not reach the level of requiring institutional action against him....Senator McCain has violated no law of the United States or specific Rule of the United States Senate."
On his Keating Five experience, McCain has said: "The appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do."
Unlike McCain. Obama has yet to say "it was the wrong thing to do" when (for example) he met with Fannie execs and received the second largest numbers of contributions (after Barney Frank, who was a senator for a far longer period of time).
"> Joseph Biden:
> > University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in
> Political
> > Science."
Almost got expelled for plagiarism. Groveled and got an F for the class instead.
"> > What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only
> became addicted to
> > pain killers but also acquired them illegally
> through her
> > charitable
> > organization?
> >"
I have a better question: What if Cindy McCain was the wife of someone who admitted to regular cocaine and pot use while getting his "elite education" and then living in NYC at the same time the Weathermen were?
> What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent
> speaker?"
What if he uh-uh-oh-ah-ah-uhh stuttered?
"> > What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?"
He'd stutter and say stupid things (like he did when the telepromter went out).
"> > What if John McCain was a former president of the
> Harvard Law
> > Review?"
What if Obama was a Navy jet pilot and war veteran?
"> > What if the Joe Biden was married to a radical, separatist organization
that advocated independence from the United States?"
What if Sarah Palin was married to someone who said they were never proud of their country until his wife was elevated to political power?
"> > What if Obama was the one who had military
> experience that included
> > discipline problems and a record of crashing seven
> > planes?"
What if John McCain had no record?
" > > This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes
> and minimizes
> > positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes
> negative qualities
> > in another when there is a color difference."
Indeed.
You little rodents can pacify yourselves with silly prattle about those irrelevancies for the next generation or so in exile.
They need something for consolation, M.
Now, why are Jews going so heavily for the guy who's out to get them?
M.J. Rosenberg: Jewish Vote For Obama Approaching 70%
Especially with the right wing surge for Obama...even from the most hard core neocons!
Pretty Weird
Yesterday we had Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama. And today, via George Packer, we learn that uber-hawk Ken Adelman is going to vote for Obama.
Now, the thing here is that Adelman's choice, while not nearly as politically consequential, is a much, much bigger surprise than Powell's. Powell's informal support for Obama has been an open secret for some time. And he was always an outlier in George W. Bush's world of petulant unilateralism.
Not Adelman. Without putting too fine a point on it, the kind of 'shoot first and ask questions later', 'we're going to democratize your ass' foreign policy that McCain comes to by way of personality disorder is one Adelman has been espousing as a matter of considered principle for more than thirty years.
So what's his beef exactly?
You can read his email to Packer for the full details. But the gist seems to be that watching McCain over the last two months, Adelman decided he just lacks the temperament and judgment to be president.
--Josh Marshall
Dasrite, SB; the more of the upper crust of the lower party that abandons the floundering GOP garbage scow, the more they're left with these dingbats only.
It's a kick to watch since you know it'll make the few left be seen as the radical, hateful fools they are...and the spiral goes down and down...
NC-08: Robin Hayes Goes The Full Bachmann
TPM
Mon Oct 20, 2008 at 06:20:05 PM PDT
Apparently, as the GOP faces utter humiliation at the ballot box on November 4, it has become the fashion to tar, smear and slander their fellow Americans.
Trailing handily in the polls to Democrat Larry Kissell, who nearly beat him in 2006, GOP Rep. Robin Hayes has become the latest to go the full Bachmann. Emphasis added:
He yielded the microphone to Representative Robin Hayes, who prefaced his comments by saying it was important to "make sure we don't say something stupid, make sure we don't say something we don't mean." Republicans, he reminded the crowd, were kind people. Plus, he added, the liberal media had shown itself eager to distort such remarks. With the crowd duly chastened and put on best behavior, he accused Obama of "inciting class warfare" and said that "liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God."
Hmmm. Good work on, er, "not saying something stupid", Robin, old boy.
So if I understand correctly, this is Robinho's thesis:
Liberals are not "real Americans"
Liberals hate Real Americans
Liberals hate work
Liberals hate those who achieve
Liberals hate belief in God.
Actually, rather than simply "going the full Bachmann", Hayes appears to have boldly gone where even Bachmanns fear to tread.
By the way, Hayes' Democratic opponent in this race, Larry Kissell, is a longtime textile worker, social studies teacher, graduate of Wake Forest University, father of two children, and a deacon in the First Baptist Church in Biscoe, North Carolina.
And in two short weeks, he will be the man who kicked Robin Hayes out of Congress on his ass, and brought decency and civility back to the political arena in the Eighth District.
AP News Poll: Public's Regard For McCain "Has Deteriorated Across-The-Board"
Huge Republican Voter Registration Fraud Uncovered by LA Times. 80% of People Surveyed Were Dems or Independents Duped Into Registering as Republicans!
As chronicled by E&P in recent days, an overwhelming trend from big city newspapers in editorial endorsements has favored Barack Obama with several papers that backed George W. Bush in 2004 switching over to the Democrat this year. But few expected that would happen deep in the heart of Texas. Now it has, with the Houston Chronicle and Austin American Statesman coming out for Obama today. 10/20
Republicans Behaving Like Terrorists: GOP party leaders in Sacramento County took down offensive material on their official party Web site that linked Sen. Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden and encouraged torture of the Illinois senator, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday. 10/20
Right Wing Star WSJ Pundit, Peggy Noonan, Trashes Palin: "In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism." 10/19
Jim Hoagland: When the doomed hero is perceived to be more noble or higher in moral worth than the average citizen, the tragic effect is heightened. McCain's war heroism gave him that elevated status and established a potential for greatness. So did his principled run for the Republican nomination in 2000. This campaign provided the all-encompassing failure that leads to doom. 10/20
Via the Minnesota Independent we learn that a McCain/Palin supporter compared Obama to mass murderer Charles Manson during a rally for First Dude Todd Palin and Republican Senator Norm Coleman (who is about to lose to Al Franken) in Minnesota. And, as usual, no one at the McCain/Palin rally did a thing about it. It's also interesting that the person even got into the rally with his own sign - these kind of things are often stopped at the door, since the campaign doesn't want errant messages - or worse, protesters, raising signs in front of the candidates. Yet a sign comparing Obama to a mass murderer miraculously slips through. Maybe the Secret Service was busy making sandwiches for Todd. 10/19
One of the largest circulation papers in the nation, The Daily News in New York has endorsed Barack Obama in an editorial. It had backed George Bush and is at least the 12th paper that went for the GOP candidate in the last election that has now come out for Obama. Those papers range from the huge Chicago Tribune (which had not backed a Democrat for president in its history) to the Las Cruces Sun-News in New Mexico. 10/19
In What Appears to be a Not Surprising Coincidence, Both the McCain Campaign and Joe-the-Not-Plumber Paint Him as a Victim of Media Scrutiny. Who Made Joe a National Celebrity and Opened His False Claims to Media Research? Why, Wasn't It John McCain Who Used Him as Campaign Fodder? Then Why Isn't Joe Blaming McCain? Good Question. Someone in the Corporate Media Should Ask It. 10/19
Iraqis stage mass anti-US rally
Moqtada Sadr's supporters are strongly opposed to the US presence in Iraq
Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged a mass demonstration in Baghdad in protest against plans to extend the US mandate in Iraq.
An estimated 50,000 protesters chanted slogans such as "Get out occupier!".
Iraqi and US negotiators drafted the deal after months of talks but it still needs approval from Iraq's government.
Under the agreement US troops would withdraw by 2011, and Iraq would have the right to prosecute Americans who commit crimes while off-duty.
The UN mandate for US-led coalition forces expires at the end of this year. About 144,000 of the 152,000 foreign troops deployed there are US military personnel.
Chanting slogans and waving banners, tens of thousands of Shias, mainly young men, marched on the eastern suburb of Sadr City towards the centre of Baghdad.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says Moqtada Sadr's militant opposition to the US presence has strong grassroots support among many Shias - and this was a physical manifestation of that opposition.
I love how not a single person took on the problem of the "smart" and "experienced" Senator Biden promising that an Obama presidency would bring on an international crisis within the first six months.
Instead I got a silly list of past personal wrongs -- including the silliness of the Keating Five, a DEMOCRAT scandal which saw McCain COMPLETELY EXONERATED.
I also get another one of those "he sends tingles towards my crotch" pieces from professional politicians angling for a job in what could be an Obama White House (see real reason Powell sold out yet again piece to follow soon.)
The bottom line (of this piece at least) is that Obama is a first term, neophyte, unknown with questionable love for America and certainly deep in the mindset of appeasing what the rest of us would consider enemies but, as a Liberal Obama probably thinks of as allies against America.
Just listen to his thuggish, bedrock base here. They've been doing nothing but trying to shout over you and engage in general harrassment for as long as I can remember.
Think what that mentality would do with real power over your life.
What the heck is glambrou talking about? It has nothing to do with what Biden said. Now the Obama campaign is backpedaling, trying to pretend that "Wha' ha' happened was..." Or, What Senator Biden MEANT was...
The man said it at two separate fundraisers, two different ways. He specifically said that OBAMA, as a young, inexperienced leader would be tested. That within six months there would be a generated crisis in order to test him. Not "whoever is president", not that old excuse that because of the "past eight years..." blah blah blah. But, "If we are elected".
What a moron. And what's amazing (not really), is the complete lack of coverage from the MSM on this. They are trying to slant the weekend coverage toward the Powell endorsement, and far, far away from Biden's inadvertent truth-telling.
Man, the American public is getting screwed. Use your brain, people. Stop mindlessly spouting what the main stream media and Campaign ads feed you. Find out what is really going on before you vote.
THINK.
Thanks, Katr; I'm thimking.
So, someone tries to test Obama...so what?
It's a test he'll be able to pass with judgment and intelligence.
McCain has shown he's such an impulsive, reckless crackpot, and such a GW style, hard line fool, that he'll screw it up inevitably.
And, if Palin's the -- my god -- pre pre pres...you can't even say it, then we'll be in for real hell.
The question is not whether a problem is generated or spontaneous...it is whether you have confidence in the administration to handle a problem.
As we've seen lately, even the growing list of prominent and thoughtful Republicans know Palin/McCain are far too reckless and erratic to handle any kind of crisis correctly, and instead will be creating crisis out of nothing ...as Bush has done for eight disastrous years.
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