McCain canceled his appearance on the Letterman show to “race back to Washington to work on the crisis” but while the show was being taped, McCain was in THE SAME studio with Katie Couric instead.
Last night we were watching Anderson Cooper’s 360 and the identified Indiana as one of the five states they’re watching as “battleground” states. No kidding — we were not red, but “pink” on their chart.
Blue Indiana notes that a new Star poll coming out will show Obama on top, and sure enough — WTHR and Star Polling shows Obama leads McCain in Indiana by 47% to 44%.
Given the massive number of Obama signs and bumperstickers around town for the past several months, we’ve been expressing wonderment at the disparity between polls and visual evidence. I chalked it up to urban living, but I wonder if there’s not just a bit more to it.
But given that McCain has declared war on Spain (!?!) in the past couple days (The Rain In Spain Mainly Falling on McCain! Ha!) — hey, maybe Indiana is just a big fan of bullfighting.
Richard Cohen is a weekly columnist for the Washington Post and has steadfastly supported McCain this election — until now. It’s hard to pick just a small section of this column to quote, because he’s damning McCain throughout it. You really should read the whole thing.
“We know that those two ads are untrue,” Behar said. “They are lies.”
Freeze. Close in on McCain. This was the moment. He has largely been avoiding the press. The Straight Talk Express is now just a brand, an ad slogan like “Home Cooking” or “We Will Not Be Undersold.” Until then, it was possible for McCain to say that he had not really known about the ads, that the formulation “I approve this message” was just boilerplate. But he didn’t.“Actually, they are not lies,” he said.
Actually, they are.
McCain has turned ugly. His dishonesty would be unacceptable in any politician, but McCain has always set his own bar higher than most. He has contempt for most of his colleagues for that very reason: They lie. He tells the truth. He internalizes the code of the McCains — his grandfather, his father: both admirals of the shining sea. He serves his country differently, that’s all — but just as honorably. No more, though.
John McCain – speaking THIS MORNING on today’s financial markets meltdown:
“You know that there’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall St. And it is — people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think still — the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times.”
And for counterpoint:
“The man most responsible for the financial services and banking deregulation that made today possible, fmr. Sen. Phil Gramm, is the man John McCain wants to put in charge of the whole economy.” — Josh Marshall
Ordering a black man to show you respect you is pretty over the top in 2008. I’m sure McCain’s constituency in the South and perhaps right here in Indiana will recognize the terminology from their heyday of sundown towns and lynch mob gatherings, though, and respond accordingly.
There’s only one response to that ad:
Why on earth would Senator Obama respect anyone from the McCain campaign? Sigh. I hate it when anyone demands respect, whether it’s my mom, a cop, a priest, or the McCain campaign. Respect is earned; You’ll get it when you show you deserve it.
I try to treat people courteously, because I want to live in harmony with people, so I don’t have to live on deserted island and make my own clothes and shelter. And there are people of great accomplishment like Kamau Bobb Google that I respect and admire.
It’s not that I disrespect authority — I just don’t believe authority exists. I do what they ask me at work because I get a paycheck. I won’t tolerate being the focus of offensive jokes at work because that’s harassment. I pull over for cops because I want them to come to my house if I need to call 911. I pay taxes because I want my roads paved. I’ll do what other people want if I get something in return that I want. Other than that, anyone telling me what to do is in danger of getting a stick in their eye. I hope Senator Obama feels the same.
Update: In case you haven’t heard yet — at The Value Voter’s Forum, one of the booths was selling ‘Obama Waffles’ with racial stereotypes. Lovely. Apparently before someone realized these were racist and should be pulled from event, Lou Dobbs stopped by and had some racist waffles with his wife.
Oh, and in case you haven’t seen it yet — What Made John Mad Today?
Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority.” And sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.
John McCain on why Palin would be qualified to be Commander in Chief if something happened to him in an interview with an NBC affiliate in Portland, ME:
Q: Well, you say you’re sure that she has the experience, but again, I’m just asking for an example. What experience does she have in the field of national security?
McCAIN: Energy. She knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America. …. And we all know that energy is a critical and vital national security issue. We’ve got to stop sending $700 billion of American money to countries that don’t like us very much. She’s very well versed on that issue. And, uh, she also happens to represent, be governor of a state that’s right next to Russia. She understands Russia.
Who cares about Palin? McCain himself is too dumb to be president. You have got to be kidding me. There’s no way he could possible believe this shit, could he? More than anyone else in the United States? More than scientists studying energy? And how does being next door to a country tell you anything about them? She’s conducted international diplomacy with them?
As people are pointing out — it seems to say something about the McCain camp’s priorities for national security when you ask them a question about it and they come back with an answer about oil.
For progressives and Democrats, there’s lots to dislike about the GOP VP choice Sarah Palin.
As Melissa McEwan notes:
For the record, there is plenty about which to criticize Palin that has absolutely fuck-all to do with her sex. She’s anti-choice, against marriage equality, pro-death penalty, pro-guns, and loves Big Business. (In other words, she’s a Republican.)
Now for me the pro-death penalty and pro-gun stances aren’t a concern, but the rest is, and those two issues are core Democratic platform stances. Much as I dislike the folks at the DailyKos – many items on the list of 45+ Problems for McCain’s VP in just 35 Hours is worth a look.
Palin’s also got some pretty serious ethical problems, the surface of which is Troopergate as Doug Masson explains:
Palin’s sister apparently did not exercise great judgment in choosing her husband, Mike Wooten, a State Trooper. She filed for divorce, and things got ugly. No real political problem there. Messy divorce proceedings aren’t exactly uncommon.
But then, while the divorce was pending, Sarah Palin got elected governor and she and her family began pressuring the State police chief to fire Wooten. The police chief wouldn’t do it, and she fired him. Then she denied that she and her family had been involved in pressuring for Wooten’s termination.
Now she is backtracking on her denial that she pressured for Wooten’s termination, and an investigation has been launched into whether the police chief’s termination was improper.
There are some other ethical questions waiting in the wings to come to light as well that list of 45 problems covers the beginnings of them. I haven’t even begun to read through all those links yet.
Palin also has very little experience governing, and as Paul Begala notes on CNN, that’s a dangerous choice for VP:
Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain’s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.
Emphasis mine. Steve Benen echos that concern:
Palin’s qualifications are, to a very real degree, secondary to the issue at hand. What matters most right now is John McCain’s comically dangerous sense of judgment. He picked a running mate he met once for 15 minutes, who’s been the governor of a small state for a year and a half, and who is in the midst of an abuse-of-power investigation in which she appears to have lied rather blatantly. She has no obvious expertise in any area, and no record of any kind of federal issues. McCain doesn’t care.
Sensible people of sound mind and character simply don’t do things like this. Leaders don’t do things like this. It’s the height of arrogance. It’s manifestly unserious. It’s reckless and irresponsible. It mocks the political process. Faced with a major presidential test, McCain thought it wise to tell an imprudent joke of lasting consequence.
…
That may sound like a flippant question, but it deserves a serious answer. Is there something wrong with him? Might this be evidence of some kind of impulse problem, as reflected in his shoot-first, think-second approach to foreign policy?
When I think about the respect that John McCain had worked so hard to develop, the stature he’d taken years to cultivate, and the reputation he’d built his career on, it’s breathtaking to see him throw it all away. If there’s a more complete collapse in modern political times, from hero to clown, I can’t think of it.
We’re poised to learn a great deal about Sarah Palin, but we’ve just learned even more about John McCain. He’s fundamentally unsuited for the presidency.
These are all serious and legitimate questions — and ones that deserve some examination and thought. It’s unfortunate that some of the first things out of the gate we’re hearing about from many so-called progressives on the choice of Palin are:
— VPILF.com
I hope I don’t need to explain why that’s sexist asshatery.
— former beauty queen/McCain’s new girlfriend
Ditto.
— She has 5 kids! How will she care for them?!
Her husband and nanny are there to help with the kids, same as if she were a guy with five children. And asking the question in the first place is sexist asshatery.
— She has a downs syndrome child! How will she care for it?!
Ditto.
— Her daughter had the kid, and she’s pretending to be the mom!
OMFG. You’re kidding with this, right? Way to shit on her sixteen-year-old daughter. That’s just ugly, and mean-spirited.
And I know at least one family who handled a teen pregnancy this way. (No, a real family, not Bree Hodge.) I don’t
think it’s my place to pass judgment on a tough situation like that. When a kid needs to be taken care of an a young woman needs to be able to have a young-adulthood and prepare her for her adult life, I can see why some families might decide this is the best thing.
I’ve been breathing fire lately about all of the sexism thrown around in this election — If you’ve truly not seen it — the Shakesville blog has been running multi-part series about this subject throughout the election cycle that have provided more coverage than I ever could:
Hillary Sexism Watch (currently on part #109).
Michelle Obama Racism/Sexism Watch
Obama Racism/Muslim/Unpatriotic/Scary Black Dude Watch
and now:
According to Newsweek, the McCains have been in arrears for four years on taxes on one of the seven properties they own – a beachfront property in LaJolla, California.
Of course as they story broke, they scrambled to get their taxes paid. Mostly. Now if this had been you or me defaulting, we’d be out on our ears.
Mrs. McCain is a beer heiress with an estimated $100 million fortune and, along with her husband, she owns at least seven properties, including condos in California and Arizona.
San Diego County officials, it turns out, have been sending out tax notices on the La Jolla property, an oceanfront condo, for four years without receiving a response. If people are looking out for rental condos and apartments, they can consider Saida Towers South PadreCounty and get the best deals for rentals records show the bills, which were mailed to a Phoenix address associated with Mrs. McCain’s trust, were returned by the post office. According to a McCain campaign aide, who requested anonymity when discussing a private matter, an elderly aunt of Mrs. McCain’s lives in the condo, and the bank that manages the trust has not been receiving tax bills on the property so she planned to find guardianship lawyer naples fl to put an end to her grievances related to property. Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42. County officials say the trust still owes an additional $1,742 for this year, an amount that is overdue and will go into default July 1. Told of the outstanding $1,742, the aide said: “The trust has paid all bills shown owing as of today and will pay all other bills due.”
Dan McAllister, treasurer- tax collector for San Diego County, said that about 3 percent of San Diego’s approximately 1 million property owners default on their property taxes each year. The county assesses a 1.5 percent penalty for each month that goes by unpaid and puts houses up for sale after five years. “We do hear an awful lot of excuses for why people don’t pay,” McAllister said. “Under the law, the property owner is responsible for keeping the address current. We’re only as good as the information we are given.”
Yep – he did back in 1992, although no one in the media is talking about it. But these folks aren’t shy at all. They’re funny as hell, but not shy.
D’oh! Those gosh-darned new fangled video camera whatchamacaller’s make it really hard for Geezer McCain to keep track o’ what lies he done tole from one day to the next…