Dear Mr. President

The Doc's a big supporter, and understandably you have a lot on your plate, but, still...

YOUR PARTY LOST TED KENNEDY's SEAT!!! TED FREAKING KENNEDY's SEAT!!!!

This is deserving of a very, very long rant. Nevertheless, I have to do some actual work, so more ranting will come later. But GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, please!

No one understands how your Health Care Bill is actually going to help provide Health Care. The voters are scared. They have no jobs. They have no health care. We still have troops in Iraq and we still have Prisoners in Guantanamo. Promises of change were made (you think?) AND WE AIN'T SEEING IT.

You were masterful in the campaign at getting out your message. YOU HAVE DROPPED THE BALL. GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, sir, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

Thank you.

Obama's Flux Capacitor

There's some criticism coming down--perhaps a bit of hyperbole, but with a grain of truth--that President Elect-Obama's "Change Express" is a little bit off the tracks. After all, he campaigned expressly on hopes of a new manner of government...but a vast majority of his first appointments to staff and cabinet level positions, including, but not limited to, Rahm Emanuel, Eric Holder, Bill Richardson, Lawrence Summers and certainly, the Hillster, are all persons with great ties to the Clinton Administration. Is this really "Change" or a return to the policies of the 90s? And, if so, is that even a bad thing?

Putting aside the predilection to fail to keep it in his pants, the Clinton era did leave office with a balanced budget, a budget surplus, a regime change in Kosovo that DIDN'T leave us in a 10 year boondoggle...there were significant accomplishments that the current occupant can't point too. (In fact, I'd like to see him point to one that didn't turn out to be a joke--other than the accomplished way he oversaw election stealing.)

It's also understandable that an incoming Democratic Administration would look towards experienced people in a time of economic crisis and world turmoil--and that the Democrats of this era with that kind of experience probably worked for Good Old Bill at some point.

Still, I would like to see a few more new faces. It's hard to make the case for a new kind of government when you are falling back on an administration that began 16 years ago now. It's tempting, and easier, to go after experience...but as you said during the campaign, time and time again, it's more about judgement. Maybe some new blood, with some different ways at looking at problems are in order.

Playoffs You Can Believe In!!

Why not hear it again :p

Reagan Chief of Staff Supports...The Socialist?

From CNN:

Former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein told CNN's Fareed Zakaria this week he intends to vote for Democrat Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Duberstein said he was influenced by another prominent Reagan official - Colin Powell - in his decision.

"Well let's put it this way - I think Colin Powell's decision is in fact the good housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama."

Powell served as national security advisor to Reagan during Duberstein's tenure as chief of staff.

Fight the Robocalls! lol. Very clever..

The Wink

Um guys, I'm happy about the lead too, but...

The Twice-Monthly New Mexico Sun News has called the election a week early because the paper will not be published again until after the election.

According to various internet stories, the publication printed about 15,000 of these that are being snapped up. Hopefully, it won't turn into an ironic collectors item. I mean, there's confidence, and there's confidence....

Time.com just posted a new article on Why Obama is Winning:

"Obama has made race — that perennial, gaping American wound — an afterthought. He has done this by introducing a quality to American politics that we haven't seen in quite some time: maturity. He is undoubtedly as ego-driven as everyone else seeking the highest office — perhaps more so, given his race, his name and his lack of experience. But he has not been childishly egomaniacal, in contrast to our recent baby-boomer Presidents — or petulant, in contrast to his opponent. He does not seem needy. He seems a grown-up, in a nation that badly needs some adult supervision. "

Read the full article, here.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na...Obama!

When Commissioner Gordon Can't get ahold of Batman....

I'm tempted to resubscribe..

The Chicago Tribune, in the first time in the HISTORY of the newspaper, has endorsed a Democratic Candidate for President of the United States.

I mean, this paper endorsed George W. Bush, twice....

A sample:

"We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready...

"McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country."

Read it, here.

And the jokes just write themselves...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Love him or, you know, strongly dislike, him, you can't dispute that Rev. Jesse Jackson has spent his whole life working for the betterment of African Americans. Maybe sometimes his methods are a bit off....but his run for the Presidency can be said to have set the stage, in some way, for Sen. Obama's run now. Even though the Rev. was caught making some off color remarks about the Senator earlier this year, I really would be surprised that Rev. Jackson would want to sabotage in any way the opportunity for the United States to take this historic step in race relations and elect a Black President....

But....

Jackson is now being quoted speaking in France last week that "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end and "zionists" would suffer from an Obama election. (He's denying the quotes).

Although Sen. O is ahead in all forms of polling and the Electoral College predictions are leaning toward a wipe out--this thing ain't over yet. He certainly doesn't need swing voters in the suburbs to think Rev. Jackson is going to be a defacto Secretary of State in an Obama Administration. Look, Rev., take a break for three weeks...you've had your share of the spotlight. Don't give my fellow honkies any reason to go into that booth and pull a last minute lever for a Repub. If the quote is correct, you are doing a disservice to the Country by shooting off your yap. Remember how that whole "hymietown" thing worked out for you? Do you think that's going to help Nov. 4??? Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Arguably the most conservative newspaper in the country...

Tells McCain to give it a rest...The Wall Street Journal Opinion section today published the following:

"The culture wars are the familiar demagogic tactic of our own time, building monstrous offenses out of the tiniest slights. The fading rancor that each grievance is meant to revive, of course, dates to the 1960s and the antiwar protests, urban riots and annoying youth culture that originally triggered our great turn to the right.

This year the Democrats chose Barack Obama as their leader, a man who was born in 1961 and who largely missed our cultural civil war. In response, Republican campaign masterminds have sought to plunge him back into it in the most desperate and grotesque manner yet...

"Mr. Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where his work is esteemed by colleagues of different political viewpoints. Herbert Walberg, an advocate of school vouchers who is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, told me he remembers Mr. Ayers as "a responsible colleague, in the professional sense of the word." Bill Schubert, who served as the chairman of UIC's Department of Curriculum and Instruction for many years, thinks so highly of Mr. Ayers that, in response to the current allegations, he compiled a lengthy résumé of the man's books, journal articles, guest lectures and keynote speeches.

Mr. Ayers has been involved with countless foundation efforts and has received various awards. He volunteers for everything. He may once have been wanted by the FBI, but in the intervening years the man has become such a good citizen he ought to be an honorary Eagle Scout...."

Full Opinion piece by Thomas Frank here.

Ain't nobody driving the bus...

Roger Simon, at Politico:

"John McCain’s campaign is pretty much a shambles right now.

If you don’t believe me, just listen to John McCain. His chief goal these days is calming down his crowds, not firing them up.

And that is an honorable thing to do. It may not be a winning thing to do. But it is honorable.

Sarah Palin, once seen as a huge plus to the ticket, is now increasingly emerging as a liability.

Forget that an independent legislative panel found Friday that she had abused her power and violated ethics laws as governor of Alaska. Forget that with the possibility of Palin being a heartbeat away from the presidency, McCain gives up the argument that his ticket represents experience and a steady hand on the tiller.

The real problem for McCain is that Palin is running a separate — and scary — campaign that does not seem to be under anybody’s control."

Keep going, here.
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Meanwhile... Columnist and Iraq War Hawk Christopher Hitchens blasts Palin on October 13...


"The most insulting thing that a politician can do is to compel you to ask yourself: "What does he take me for?" Precisely this question is provoked by the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. I wrote not long ago that it was not right to condescend to her just because of her provincial roots or her piety, let alone her slight flirtatiousness, but really her conduct since then has been a national disgrace. It turns out that none of her early claims to political courage was founded in fact, and it further turns out that some of the untested rumors about her -- her vindictiveness in local quarrels, her bizarre religious and political affiliations -- were very well-founded, indeed..."
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And well known conservative Bill Kristol, is apparently "in the tank" for Obama according to Fox "News". Why?

For writing this:

"[McCain's] campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic. If the race continues over the next three weeks to be a conventional one, McCain is doomed."

And more like it, in the NYT.
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And another rat jumping ship--Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, passed over to be McCain's running mate in favor of Gov. YouBetcha, decided to skip a McCain Rally over the weekend to go to...Disney World. It was reported: ''When I have time to help, I'll try to do that,'' Crist said. Think Crist would have made time if he were the running mate? Check out the Miami Herald.
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Why am I posting all this...mostly because it amuses me to no end. I know three weeks is a long time in an election...but things look pretty good from where we lefties sit right now. Still, we can't coast. The state by state polls are still close in some areas, and voter turnout (and eliminating as much voter suppression as possible) will still be a key. Keep up the good work, Team O, but keep the pressure on.

If you can't say something to someone's face...

Part of me wants to feel sorry for Sen. Grumpy. But I get over it fast.

Sen. McCain (you know, "that one" the white guy) is clearly uncomfortable with the negative route his campaign has taken as recently as this last weekend. Why else would he completely avoid making any comments to Sen. Obama's face about William Ayers or Rev. Wright in front of a huge TV audience.

Try as he might to cover, McCain is stuck with Gov. "I can see Russia from my House" Palin as his running mate when he really wanted Joe Lieberman. He's saddled with running after eight years of disastrous policies that he originally voted against but then was forced to move to adopt to win the Repub. nomination. The economy takes a dive and everyone, including Gov. YouBetcha, calls for massive government regulation of the financial sector--something you've campaigned and voted against for many years. Everyone is thinking about Alternative Energy, and you've got a record of voting against every possible form of alternative fuels for your entire Senate career.

If your opponent wasn't a black man, and half the country really stupid, you'd be 30 points behind instead of 8.

Nevertheless, a few more points from last night's debate....

If you can't say something to someone to their face, as my momma says, you shouldn't say it. How dare you send your running mate out to blast smear tactics and then simply act like that isn't happening during the debate.

If you, a Republican, are going to announce a plan for a second massive bailout of failed mortgages on national television, you might want to 1) remember your record on deregulation; 2) actually have some specifics of the plan to talk about.

How, in the name of Michael Moore, could you to through nearly 3 hours of debates without even using the phrase "middle class." Can you pretend to care, at least? Are you that out of touch with what is happening in this country?

Stop spouting the lies. (This goes for both candidates, actually.) Isn't there enough to talk about without misstating each other's record. There's a lot of bad juju going on out there, boys and girls, and we want real answers, not fabrications and empty promises.

I'm tired of hearing McCain talk about 800 billion in "new" Obama spending without talking about the planned budgetary offsets that generally make it a wash. Stop saying you are for "alternative energy" when every single vote you have cast says otherwise. There are reasons a person could vote for you, your energy record is not it.

If you proclaim yourself a master of the "town hall" format, it helps to remember the name of the voter asking you a question. Also, going after Tom Brokaw for asking you a question wasn't funny, it made you look petulant.

Also, MSNBC and CSPAN showed Sen. Obama after the debate, staying and talking to the crowd, signing autographs, and generally making those in the room feel like he gave a damn. You were out of there when the last question ended. What does that say to the folks who came to see you? You know, the ones from the...what is it again...that group of people above the poverty line but not in the higher tax brackets...I can't remember what they are called.... can you?

Read the NYT tear McCain a new one today.

Swing Baby Swing...but....

According to Politico.com, every single potential "swing state" with the exception of Indiana (damn Hoosiers) is now polling for Obama, giving him 364 electoral votes if the election were held today. Take a look.

On the other hand, I have a friend who swears that pollsters are being misled because they don't want to tell a caller they won't vote for a "brother." This actually has been studied extensively, it's called the Bradley effect. I have a hard time believing this problem is implicating every single major national poll, but the fact that it had to be studied is a problem in and of itself. Maybe we haven't come all that far...but if the polls are off by one or two percent, it may mean Obama will only get 273 electoral votes. Oh, right, you need 270 to win.

Well, um, I'm against taxes, yes, really, I am...

Various Debate Pundrity

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For what it's worth, I think McCain probably won on points--but this was supposed to be his strong suit, foreign policy and his vaunted experience--and he needed to blow Sen. Obama out of Mississippi. That just didn't happen. At times, he seemed so angry it was almost, well, unpresidential. McCain basically told Vladamir Putin he's coming for him next, which is a bit worrisome. He repeated an often discredited lie about Obama voting to raise taxes on people making $42,000 a year. He repeated too many talking points from his acceptance speech. As pointed out above, the whole "I'm not looking at you" think is kinda odd. Still, his "Senator Obama doesn't understand" line, though, may have some wings and you can't doubt the foreign policy experience.

Sen. Obama, I would have liked you to have said "John's right" maybe not sooooo much. Nothing wrong with finding points of agreement, but the purpose of debate is to outline differences. Nice job tying him back to the Bush Admin., but I would like to have seen that happen more. Also, this whole Kissinger thing...don't take Kissinger's words and try and make them your own. Instead, ask, Sen. McCain why the architect of the Vietnam War and carpet bombing of Cambodia is one of his advisors!

Obama hits McCain with some Truthiness.

Being in Illinois, not exactly a battleground State, we are pretty much spared the onslaught of campaign ads from the top guns this year--but thanks to ye olde u tube, can still check them out.