The McPalin campaign is bankrupt and desperate. All they have left is character smear. They're banking on riling up Joe 6Pack, but they've got his vote anyway (maybe not even as many as they think, given that Obama is leading in MI, OH, PA, and pulling even in IN and NC, with a chance in GA, MO and even gaining in WV).
But guilt-by-association isn't going to work this time. First, there is a 10 ton truck bearing down, and they're hoping people won't notice they're about to get flattened, while they distract them with old news -- old in the sense that it happened many years ago, and old in the sense that it's already been hung out in the primaries and didn't do the job then.
There's even a quote out today from McCain's chief strategist saying "If we keep talking about the economy, we'll lose." Yes, indeed !!
Second, Obama's team is a lot smarter than any run before. They had an immediate response yesterday in an ad pointing out exactly what McCain was doing, trying to distract attention from the economic crisis by smear attacks on his character.
Then today, they release a pretty damaging online video documentary about McCain's role in the Keating scandal. But here's the beauty of the tactic: it isn't just an attack on McCain's character; it actually ties in the character issue with the economic crisis and casts blame on him for the deregulation craze that, at least in part, caused the meltdown. And that's what the Keating scandal was about, trying to get favorable treatment for cronies by getting around regulations in the Savings and Loan industry. The result? Thousands of people lost their life savings.
So Obama hits back hard but does it in a way that ties it to the overwhelming campaign issue, the economy, and at the same time casts doubt on McCain's character.
In contrast, McPalin have not offered even a tiny shred of evidence that Ayers' radical past has in any way influenced Obama in any of his policies or his behavior. Same for Jeremiah Wright. He didn't become a militant anti-government radical nor a government-hating black man. Quite the opposite. It's all just Joe McCarthy type guilt by association. And the American people were disgusted by that 50 years ago.
I think we're going to see a newly combative Obama in tomorrow night's debate -- hard hitting but backed up with facts and linked to issues.
Landslide in the making.
Ralph
Monday, October 6, 2008
Palin and McCain - McCarthyites and Terrorists
It's appalling to see how casually the Palin/McCain campaign embraces the tactics of Joseph McCarthy in their attempts to salvage their disreputable campaign. I expect Palin to stand up at any moment and scream at Obama, "Have you ever been on the same planet as William Ayers? Answer me! Yes or No! There you have it - he's Unamerican."
The hypocrisy of a candidate who repeatedly said no one should pay any attention to her past associations - with the vile separatist party in Alaska(which Todd belonged to for 5 years, until Sarah ran for Governor) - with the church where members speak in tongues and are waiting to become one of the sanctuary places during the Last Days - this candidate who chastised Biden several times during her debate with him for 'looking backwards', into the Past(We're going forward) and then tries to tar and feather Obama because an acquaintance of his committed a crime 39 years ago, when Barrack was 8 - that's beyond shameless.
The thing with Palin is that she really thinks people are stupid, and that she can say anything and get away with it. Think of this time line.
When Couric asked her about visitng foreign countries, Palin answered that she didn't have to go to other countries because she read about them in newspapers, books, magazines.
When later asked to name something she read, Palin could not come up with a single publication.
After that, the McCain campaign offered a press release claiming that she read, among other things, The New YorkTimes, Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.
Yet yesterday she said, "I was surprised to read in the NY Times...' about William Ayers.
Well, if she actually had read, not just these publications, but anything, or had ever watched news programs on TV during this primary season, she would not have been "surprised" to learn about William Ayers, since that story has been covered extensively. (Psst Sarah, if you read through to the end of the NY Times article, you would've learned that Obama didn't 'pal around' with a terrorist. But I guess sounding out words and understanding a story are two different skills).
Look, I know Palin is a quick study - although, you've got to admit it's not that difficult teaching a human being how to hold a newspaper open so they can pretend they are reading it.
But words matter. Her smear attack on Obama over Ayers should be offensive to anyone seriously concerned with electing a president who can lead this country. The fact that she would, once again, stoop to wilfully lying in an attempt to get elected says everything you need to know about just how dangerous this candidate might be to our country. She is engaging in a type of Political Terrorism, where nothing matters but advancing their cause. For Palin and McCain, the end justifies the means. Wouldn't Karl Marx be proud of them?
The hypocrisy of a candidate who repeatedly said no one should pay any attention to her past associations - with the vile separatist party in Alaska(which Todd belonged to for 5 years, until Sarah ran for Governor) - with the church where members speak in tongues and are waiting to become one of the sanctuary places during the Last Days - this candidate who chastised Biden several times during her debate with him for 'looking backwards', into the Past(We're going forward) and then tries to tar and feather Obama because an acquaintance of his committed a crime 39 years ago, when Barrack was 8 - that's beyond shameless.
The thing with Palin is that she really thinks people are stupid, and that she can say anything and get away with it. Think of this time line.
When Couric asked her about visitng foreign countries, Palin answered that she didn't have to go to other countries because she read about them in newspapers, books, magazines.
When later asked to name something she read, Palin could not come up with a single publication.
After that, the McCain campaign offered a press release claiming that she read, among other things, The New YorkTimes, Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.
Yet yesterday she said, "I was surprised to read in the NY Times...' about William Ayers.
Well, if she actually had read, not just these publications, but anything, or had ever watched news programs on TV during this primary season, she would not have been "surprised" to learn about William Ayers, since that story has been covered extensively. (Psst Sarah, if you read through to the end of the NY Times article, you would've learned that Obama didn't 'pal around' with a terrorist. But I guess sounding out words and understanding a story are two different skills).
Look, I know Palin is a quick study - although, you've got to admit it's not that difficult teaching a human being how to hold a newspaper open so they can pretend they are reading it.
But words matter. Her smear attack on Obama over Ayers should be offensive to anyone seriously concerned with electing a president who can lead this country. The fact that she would, once again, stoop to wilfully lying in an attempt to get elected says everything you need to know about just how dangerous this candidate might be to our country. She is engaging in a type of Political Terrorism, where nothing matters but advancing their cause. For Palin and McCain, the end justifies the means. Wouldn't Karl Marx be proud of them?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Palin - A Jungian Analysis?
A friend sent this along, from a man she identifies as a Jungian analyst. An interesting interpretation
The debate between Biden and Palin was one of the most interesting -
and scaring - things I have seen in the last years. With her general
statements she came out unscratched. She doesn't live in space or
time (even Bush's presidency doesn't concern her, it's over, and the
future of the planet is extraneous to her). She isn't interested in
history or geography. But she lives in the media world, of unreal
sentimentalism. She sells our future as a toothpaste. (Todays article
of David Brooks, p. 5 Intern. Herald Tribune, in the US probably on
the NY Times, captures part of it).
No matter what the polls will say, or even how the presidential
election goes, she is the winner.
Our children will live in the century of Sarah Palin.
I wonder if, as the Germans have been somehow considered collectively
responsible for Hitler's criminality, we
aren't collectively responsible for Palin's superficiality.
The debate between Biden and Palin was one of the most interesting -
and scaring - things I have seen in the last years. With her general
statements she came out unscratched. She doesn't live in space or
time (even Bush's presidency doesn't concern her, it's over, and the
future of the planet is extraneous to her). She isn't interested in
history or geography. But she lives in the media world, of unreal
sentimentalism. She sells our future as a toothpaste. (Todays article
of David Brooks, p. 5 Intern. Herald Tribune, in the US probably on
the NY Times, captures part of it).
No matter what the polls will say, or even how the presidential
election goes, she is the winner.
Our children will live in the century of Sarah Palin.
I wonder if, as the Germans have been somehow considered collectively
responsible for Hitler's criminality, we
aren't collectively responsible for Palin's superficiality.
A good chuckle
A lighter moment in the midst of an increasingly tense and soon-to-be very ugly campaign.
Barak Obama has begun injecting a sort of running joke in his campaign speeches, mentioning Alaska and saying that he's been campaigning in 49 states but not Alaska.
Today in Asheville, NC. "I have to say if there’s a prettier state than North Carolina, I have not seen it yet,” he said at a Democratic dinner on Saturday night in Asheville. “I confess that I haven’t been to Alaska.”
Barak Obama has begun injecting a sort of running joke in his campaign speeches, mentioning Alaska and saying that he's been campaigning in 49 states but not Alaska.
Today in Asheville, NC. "I have to say if there’s a prettier state than North Carolina, I have not seen it yet,” he said at a Democratic dinner on Saturday night in Asheville. “I confess that I haven’t been to Alaska.”
The assembled Democrats lapped it, cheering wildly as a man in the back of the room shouted, “You can see it from Russia.”
Ralph
Palin in Violation of IRS
According to the Alaska Daily News, it seems Palin is clealry in violation of IRS laws in not listing her $60,000 she received in per diems in 2007 as income.
The address listed on the 1040’s is Palin's family home in Wasilla, which would seem to suggest Palin considers that, not the governor’s mansion in Juneau, her "tax home." However the McCain-Palin campaign maintains that her “tax home” is technically the governor's mansion in Juneau.
The point is potentially significant because any per diems and travel reimbursements received in connection with someone’s “tax home” would likely be taxable as income. According to IRS regulations: "If you (and your family) do not live at your tax home (defined earlier), you cannot deduct the cost of traveling between your tax home and your family home. You also cannot deduct the cost of meals and lodging while at your tax home."
Also, Palin and her husband listed assets worth from $960,000 to $2.3 million. Because the values of assets are reported in broad ranges, it's not possible to calculate an exact value for their holdings.
So this Joe sixpack family are technically millionaires? And tax dodgers?
Bad news helps Obama
Even Republican strategists agree that the economic crisis has hurt McCain's political standing and helped Obama's. Economicsts by a large margin prefer Obama.
And there is more bad news coming. As Georgia Will pointed out on This Week, over the next few days, millions and millions of Americans will be getting their third quarter 401k statements and will see just had bad their losses are in this crisis.
In addition, the monthly job statistics were released on Friday, October 3rd -- 159,000 jobs lost in September. If that timing of the report is the usual, then the figures for October will be released the day before the election -- and with the market and credit losses, it's likely to be even worse.
This bad economic news is bad political news for John McCain. He is in dire, desperate straits, and he cannot afford any more bad news.
His campaign seems to think their only chance is character assasination. I agree with George Will who says that will not work this time, that McCain's only chance at this point is to remind people that they prefer divided government, where a president of one party rides herd on a congress of the other party. Therefore they must elect him to offset the expected increase in the Democratic majority in Congress. That's a pretty weak reason to vote for somebody who has lost your vote on every other criterion.
Add these thoughts to my previous post about the electoral vote mountain McCain would have to climb, and it's looking more and more like a sure thing that Barak Obama will be sworn in on January 20th as president of the United States.
Ralph
And there is more bad news coming. As Georgia Will pointed out on This Week, over the next few days, millions and millions of Americans will be getting their third quarter 401k statements and will see just had bad their losses are in this crisis.
In addition, the monthly job statistics were released on Friday, October 3rd -- 159,000 jobs lost in September. If that timing of the report is the usual, then the figures for October will be released the day before the election -- and with the market and credit losses, it's likely to be even worse.
This bad economic news is bad political news for John McCain. He is in dire, desperate straits, and he cannot afford any more bad news.
His campaign seems to think their only chance is character assasination. I agree with George Will who says that will not work this time, that McCain's only chance at this point is to remind people that they prefer divided government, where a president of one party rides herd on a congress of the other party. Therefore they must elect him to offset the expected increase in the Democratic majority in Congress. That's a pretty weak reason to vote for somebody who has lost your vote on every other criterion.
Add these thoughts to my previous post about the electoral vote mountain McCain would have to climb, and it's looking more and more like a sure thing that Barak Obama will be sworn in on January 20th as president of the United States.
Ralph
Voted for Bush Twice - You Owe Us. Sit This One Out.
Brief, and to the point.
I think anyone who voted for Bush twice has a moral obligation to sit this election out. Clearly, their judgment is deeply suspect. Let someone else make the decision this time. In baseball, if someone goes into a deep slump, they are removed from the lineup and sat on the bench, replaced by someone who might actually help the team.
So I call on all two time Bush voters to put Country First. On election day, stay home.
I think anyone who voted for Bush twice has a moral obligation to sit this election out. Clearly, their judgment is deeply suspect. Let someone else make the decision this time. In baseball, if someone goes into a deep slump, they are removed from the lineup and sat on the bench, replaced by someone who might actually help the team.
So I call on all two time Bush voters to put Country First. On election day, stay home.
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