US 2008 Presidential Campaign/Debate Discussion Thread #6

[U2isthebest]

^ Yellow cake. Nice.

[deep]

Katherine Heigl has joined my Political Action Committee

WhitiesforObama.com

[2861U2]

Apparently Ohio governor Strickland will not accept a potential VP offer from Obama. That's good news for conservatives, I think. He would have almost guarenteed Ohio for Obama, and therefore, probably the election.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by deep

sure, go ahead and make light of the situation

do you ever wonder why Obama asked

"Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately?"


Why do you think the Obamas shop at Whole Foods???????


What item is number one? on the terrorist shopping list?

it's not arugula?

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by 2861U2

Apparently Ohio governor Strickland will not accept a potential VP offer from Obama. That's good news for conservatives, I think. He would have almost guarenteed Ohio for Obama, and therefore, probably the election.

it does depress me that the only votes that count may very well be in OH.

[deep]

Obama Admits Smoking Cigarettes in Last Few Months


June 10, 2008 2:14 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Senator Barack Obama told reporters in St. Louis today that he has fallen off the wagon and smoked cigarettes in the last few months.

The presumptive Democratic nominee has been open about his smoking past: Once a heavy smoker, he publicly gave up the habit, per his wife’s request, to run for president.

Since quitting, Obama has indicated in the past that he has “fallen off the wagon” but before today was not specific about how recent his smoking was.

How can we trust him about Iraq?

If he does not keep his word?

What change is this?

He is becoming more W like every day.

[Diemen]

I was blind but now I see. Thank you for showing me the light, deep.

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Originally Posted by deep

How can we trust him about Iraq?

If he does not keep his word?

What change is this?

He is becoming more W like every day.

Shit. There goes everything I ever believed in.

[U2democrat]

Shameless plug for the people I work for

YouTube - Battleground Virginia

[anitram]

Wall Street Journal:

54% said the statement that “This is a time when it is important to look for a person who will bring greater changes to the current policies even if he is less experienced and tested,” identified more with their personal view, while 42% said the statement that “This is a time when it is important to look for a more experienced and tested person even if he brings fewer changes to the current policies,” was more in line with their view of the race.

[yolland]

The presidential candidates aren't serious about the budget. - By John Dickerson

slate.com, June 11


I wish presidential candidates were as honest as they tell us they're going to be. For one thing, it would make campaign events more entertaining. I'd like to thank Bill Wilson for that generous introduction if I had any idea who Bill Wilson was. A little honesty would also inject a note of reality—and also panic—into the current debate about the economy. Instead of sticking to the supposed panacea of new programs or tax cuts to lure voters, the presidential candidates would admit that the federal budget is such a mess that voters are likely to face substantial trade-offs and sacrifice in the coming years.
..............................................................................
If the candidates talked straight about the fiscal situation, they would note that much of the budget they will inherit is on autopilot. Entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid take up 42% of the federal pie and will mushroom to nearly 70% over the next two decades as baby boomers retire. That means less discretionary money for all those programs from national parks and homeland security to defense and education.

The 2009 deficit will be in excess of $400 billion, which means it's not enough for a candidate to say that his new programs are paid for. McCain and Obama also have to tell us how they're going to tackle the deficit beast that George Bush failed to tame. Even if the next president scrapped Bush's tax cuts, ended the popular Medicare prescription-drug benefit, and returned defense spending to prewar levels, he would still have to pay off hundreds of billions from the interest on the Bush debt. That will (or at least should) put a cramp in any administration's style.

How great is the state of denial on the campaign trail? When the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put out its 12-step program to encourage candidates to talk about fiscal responsibility, the first item was to admit that the problem exists. If you listen to former Comptroller General Dave Walker outline what he calls the super subprime crisis of unaddressed problems in the budget and then read an Obama or McCain economic speech, the disparity becomes fantastical. It's as if the candidates are promising everyone free facials and lake-front timeshares.

If conscience doesn't move McCain and Obama to acknowledge all of this, then the policy realities should. The sooner decisions are made about national spending priorities, the more time the public will have to adjust, and the easier it will be to spread the sacrifices broadly. If the winning candidate waits to face these issues once he's in office, he'll have missed the chance to build a national mandate for the tough choices he's going to be forced to make. There's also a crass political reason to start talking about the budget now: When the arithmetic forces a future president to disappoint constituencies, it won't come as a surprise. The president can make denial look virtuous. He can't spend the money because he's keeping his campaign promise to restore fiscal responsibility.

And yet, of course, when you're trying to feel the voters' pain, it's politically dangerous to tell them more is on the way. Obama, who still suffers from his remarks about the bitterness of small-town people, is engaged in a two-week tour on which he's trying to woo white working-class voters who live in swing states. On Monday in North Carolina, he offered tax cuts for middle-income families and retirees, a $50 billion economic stimulus package, expansion of unemployment benefits, and relief for homeowners facing foreclosure. McCain, for his part, is trying to live down his admission that he doesn't know as much about the economy as he does about, say, the Iraq war. On Tuesday, he doled out tax cuts and found a new passion for opposing the estate tax and contradicted a previous position on Social Security tax hikes.

Both candidates also face pressures from within their parties. Barack Obama isn't going to be brave about the trade-offs needed to fix Social Security when many Democrats don't believe there's a problem at all (or if there is, it can be fixed with economic growth). While John McCain is having trouble with evangelicals, he's not going to risk offending his party's other devout wing, the tax-cutters.

So far, Barack Obama has not given a speech on the topic of fiscal restraint or budget balancing. He did give one on Social Security, but it was mostly designed to show that Hillary Clinton hadn't told the truth about what she would consider doing to fix it. And in that speech, Obama retreated from his fiscally honest position of considering a wider number of options for fixing the system.

McCain has said he would balance the budget by the end of his first term, but he's wobbling on that pledge, saying it's now just a goal. Overall, McCain talks more about fiscal responsibility than Obama. He has also done far more to tell voters uncomfortable truths. He's done that on immigration, job losses, and the war. But straighter talk only gets you so far: McCain talks regularly about cutting special earmark programs in the federal budget—as he did this Tuesday—but earmarks are just one sliver of the problem. McCain supports tax cuts that are poised to make the fiscal situation far worse than Obama's spending plans. McCain's team says they can pay for these tax cuts and balance the budget, but budget experts of all ideological persuasions are highly dubious. You can even imagine that the McCain of old, who spoke out against the Bush tax cuts, would call B.S. on his own plan.

To defend themselves, both campaigns point to the relative shortcomings of the other. McCain says Obama's spending plans will bloat the budget, and Obama says McCain's tax cuts will do the same. They're both right, but saying the-other-guy-is-worse-than–I-am is probably not the kind of stirring leadership that brings all those people to those Obama rallies. Nor is it why John McCain has gotten credit for political courage over the years. If the promises of truth-telling keep coming but the serious discussion doesn't, then I'm going to expect some kind of honesty to make up the candor deficit. Ladies and gentlemen, what I'm about to promise you has little bearing in reality.

[MrsSpringsteen]

salon.com


Wednesday, June 11, 2008 20:40 EDT
Fox News calls Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"

An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as "Obama's baby mama."

I checked, and sure enough, as you can see below, our e-mailer was right. In fact, that description was displayed on screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC contributor.

A clip of the segment in its entirety is below. You may notice that at one point, Malkin says, "By the way, it's not just Republicans who are criticizing some of her comments, but also statements have been made in the left-leaning blog Salon about her comments." I've searched the site, and I can't find anything like what Malkin is talking about. I've e-mailed Malkin asking for clarification -- if and when she responds, I'll update this post.

RedLasso - Fox

Update: Malkin responded to my e-mail; she says she misspoke and that she meant to refer to Slate, not Salon.

[BVS]

One more for Fox News supporters to explain...

[U2democrat]

This is a fun one:

YouTube - I'm Voting Republican

[Irvine511]

amazing.

picking on Michelle Obama? a woman who went to Princeton and Harvard Law (in the 80s, when it probably wasn't all that easy to be a high achieving black woman at such WASP bastions) and who's resume is the equal of her husband's and she happens to be quite beautiful, stylish (whispers of a "black Camelot"), and has two polite, well-behaved daughters?

i suppose it would be better if she just inherited a brewery and would remember to stfu when the men are speaking.

the Republicans have nothing.

[U2isthebest]

^Win.

[MrsSpringsteen]

No, she's just a BABY MAMA

Is Cindy McCain just a baby mama? What's the difference between them? Hmmm

Fox "news" is disgusting. I don't know who can watch that and actually think it's news.


Fantasia Barrino
Baby Mama

[Chorus]
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
This goes out to all my baby mamas
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
I got love for all my baby mamas

It's about time we had our own song
Don't know what took so long
Cuz now-a-days it like a badge of honer
To be a baby mama
I see ya payin' ya bills
I see ya workin' ya job
I see ya goin' to school
And girl I know it's hard
And even though ya fed up
With makin' beds up
Girl, keep ya head up
All my

[Chorus]
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
This goes out to all my baby mamas
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
I got love for all my baby mamas

I see you get that support check in the mail
Ya open it and your like "What the Hell"
You say "This ain't even half of daycare"
Sayin to yourself "This shit ain't fair"
And all my girls who don't get no help
Who gotta do everything by yourself
Remember: What don't kill you can only make you stronger
My baby mama...

[Chorus]
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
This goes out to all my baby mamas
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
I got love for all my baby mamas

Cuz we the backbone (of the hood)
I always knew that (that we could)
We can go anywhere, we can do anything
I know we can make it if we dream
And I think it should be a holiday
For single mothers tryin' to make a way
But until then
Here is your song
Show love to my....

[Chorus]
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas
This goes out to all my baby mamas
B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A
This goes out to all my baby mamas

[MrsSpringsteen]

haha, what a surprise

Huckabee joining Fox News as political commentator

By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago

Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential hopeful, has been hired by Fox News Channel as a political commentator.

"Gov. Huckabee's campaign experience and knowledge of politics makes him a great addition to our ongoing election coverage," Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming, said in a statement Thursday.

Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas for 10 1/2 years, dropped out of the race in March, after John McCain won enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination. Despite a financially strapped campaign, Huckabee won the leadoff caucuses in Iowa and seven other states.

"I hope to bring the unique perspective from `inside the dragon's belly' as well as to try and speak for the millions of hardworking middle-class Americans who really do feel that their voices are not being heard," Huckabee said in a statement released by his daughter, Sarah. "I saw that on the campaign trail and continue to see as I speak to groups of all kinds around the country as well as campaign for other candidates."

Financial terms of the agreement weren't released.

Huckabee, an ordained Baptist preacher, has been mentioned as a potential running mate for McCain. Since leaving the race, Huckabee has formed a political action committee that he says will help raise money for McCain and other Republicans.

[BVS]

Wow, Fox isn't even trying anymore...

FAIR AND BALANCED!!!

[A_Wanderer]

Capitalism!!!

If you give people the choice between some centrist lefties and right wing nutbars they obviously vote with their wallets.

I should stipulate that I have nothing but contempt for theocons and bombastic newstainment, I vote with my wallet and hit the blogs for links to decent articles by different columnists.