Bill Ayers speaks

The man who was quite possibly the most disciplined character of this political season, "unrepentant terrorist" Bill Ayers, finally spoke to a reporter yesterday. And - would you believe it? - turns out he's actually... repentant. Could ya have guessed? Could ya? Huh?

Here are some choice bits:

"Pal around together? What does that mean? Share a milkshake with two straws?" Ayers said in his first interview since the controversy began. "I think my relationship with Obama was probably like thousands of others in Chicago. And, like millions and millions of others, I wish I knew him better."
...

Asked Tuesday if he wishes he had set more bombs, Ayers answered, "Never."

He also said he had regrets.

"I wish I'd been wiser," he said. "I wish I'd been more effective. I wish I'd been more unifying. I wish I'd been more principled."

Change has finally come

Now let's get to work.

Here are the results as they come in:

What if this was your FIRST TIME?

A message from my 18-year-old cousin, sent from her iPhone, on this, her first election day:

I officially voted!!

Obama, no on 8 and 4!!!!

Imagine if this was the first vote you'd ever cast. Pretty special. Let's not forget how historic today is and how important it will be to say that you were a part of it.

No matter what, the lefties are winning

Fun Fact:
Whether John McCain or Barack Obama wins this election, our next President will be the third consecutive left-handed President.

Perspective from one who's seen voting

Another election day story, this one from Christiane Amanpour on her blog, In the Field:

This election will change the world

Posted: 1613 GMT

NEW YORK — Finding myself in New York City this U.S. election Day, I saw scenes that reminded me of the first democratic elections I covered in Afghanistan in 2004, or Iraq in 2005.

Voting lines in New York wrapped right around the block.

Scenes that reminded me of the historic election in South Africa in 1994 when a black man, Nelson Mandela, was elected president thus ending generations of white minority rule known as apartheid.

Or 1998 in Iran when women and young people turned out en masse to elect the first ever reform president, the moderate cleric Mohammad Khatami.

The enduring motif from those elections were the massively long lines at the polling centers. Men and women standing patiently, sometimes for hours, to cast their first ever vote for a hopeful secure future.

And that’s what I saw this morning in New York City as the polls opened. As I rode my son to school by bike, we passed a public school-turned voting center that made us gasp.

There were lines wrapped right around the whole block.

People were waiting happily, patiently, with their take-away coffee cups, snapping pictures of each other, recording what they clearly believed was their role in this historic democratic drama.

I asked some whether they had ever stood in line so long to vote here in the U.S. “Never” they said, smiling. TV and radio report similar long queues across the country.

Remember, the U.S. is never known for its high voter turnouts.

Everywhere you look the mood smacks of history…almost a foregone conclusion. Even New York City’s right-wing leading tabloids, are calling it for Obama.

These past few days, people riding in elevators, walking the corridors of their workplace, hopping in cabs or taking care of their kids, have all been discussing their plans for today, election day: Planning not just to cast their own vote, but to help shuttle the elderly, and cajole new young voters to the polls.

Meantime cable and broadcast TV networks can barely contain themselves: Newspaper articles quote news executives all but saying they will be able to call the election as soon as polls close early evening.

No election has electrified the U.S. like this since 1968. But the whole world wishes it could cast a vote in this one. Whatever happens, this U.S. election will change the world. Stay tuned.

John Cusack on The Big Lie

I'm crushing on him harder than the time he held up a boom box in the rain.

Check out John Cusack's capitalist critique on the Huffington Post. Here's a choice bit:

So define the big lie: free marketers want free markets. Not so, the facts say. They are the biggest welfare freaks on the planet.

These men and keepers of the faith would lecture us with a straight face on the evil socialists/ communists/terrorists /vampires/space aliens who would dare "redistribute wealth" by amending the tax code. Two wars and the only shared sacrifice they want is more tax cuts for the rich and for the U.S. citizenry to continue shopping. As Sidney Falco said, you gotta give it to them, their gall is gorgeous.

Fox News and the Halloween election

Hah! Just turned on Fox News to catch the tail end of this statement:

"...And he is the only Black Panther we've found watching the polls here so far."

"Thanks, Adam. And we'll keep watching that story."

I'm SO glad that Fox News is keeping an eye on the scary Black Panthers this election. Because, you know, it was like 1978 the last time they were relevant in this country's politics. But you gotta keep an eye on these 60s radicals, man.

Fox News. Fairly relevant?

OK - this one made me cry...

This is what it's all about, no?

Huge turnout -- bigger than I’ve ever seen at our polling place. Lots and lots of young African-Americans. People with their children in tow. Taking photos with cellular telephones and video-cameras to document what everyone agreed was a wonderful sight to see. Great to see.

When I finally made it through the 2-hour-long line and nearly to the voting booth, an older African-American man in front of the line kept letting people go in front of him. When he told me to go ahead, I said, “Don’t you need to vote too?” He told me that he was going to need help and that a woman with whom I guess he’d been waiting had agreed to help him. So he was waiting for her. She happened to be in the booth next to me and so I heard them talking when he went up to vote. It was clear very quickly that he could not read. She helped him to make his choices. I couldn’t help but overhear who was his choice. It was a great thing to see that he was so determined to vote -- most likely for the first time in his life. I think change has already happened to some extent…

Again, courtesy the War Room at Salon.com

The good mood in Philly

This anecdote on last night's Biden rally in south Philly, courtesy Gabriel Winant for Salon.com's War Room:

A series of local pols warmed up the crowd, starting with Bob Brady, a hulking sausage of a congressman. The former carpenter kicked off the rally with a series of union-guy shout-outs: "Jimmy! Harry! Guy! Johnny Doc! Manny! Ronny! Tony!" before, with a joke about hiding his knuckles, handing off the lectern to a nun and walking backstage to smoke a cigarette with a cop. A series of local luminaries followed, including Mayor Michael Nutter, Gov. Ed Rendell and Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley.

Every speaker made sure to emphasize how important it was that voters stay in line Tuesday, no matter how long the wait might be. Rendell in particular captured the spirit of the night.

"I don't care if you're in line for two and a half hours. Don't bitch about it," the governor said. "Do you remember when South Africa got the vote for the first time? People stood out in the heat for five and a half hours to vote for Nelson Mandela. Why? Because their country's future was on the line ... Make a party out of it. Sing songs. 'Kumbaya,' you name it. 'Philadelphia Freedom.' Whatever. Have fun."

To hear a crowd of south Philly carpenters and electricians cheering wildly for Nelson Mandela and "Kumbaya" seems as good a measure as any of the kind of Democratic Party that looks poised to win the White House Tuesday.

Sweet.

Obama wins Dixville Notch, NH 15-6

The first results are in at 9:11pm Pacific time on Nov. 3rd:

The historic (since 1960) first polling place in the nation, little Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, is Obama territory, preferring Barack Obama more than 2-1 over McCain.

Let them be the first of many. Cheers everyone!

Happy Election Day!!!

More on the Socialist Republican state of Alaska

Some great mock-ads courtesy of KalVoid. (Thanks!)


PRIVATIZE THE PROFITS • SOCIALIZE THE LOSSES

What I'll be looking at tomorrow night

One day out from the election, here's what I'll be watching for:

1) Pennsylvania and Ohio. Obama has solid leads in polls from both states. If those polls are accurate, and if undecided voters break for Obama even by 1/3, he's got those states.

2) Virginia. With Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia in his pocket, Obama could take a lot of losses for the rest of the night and still come out way ahead. With Pennsylvania and Virginia only in his pocket, Obama could afford to lose Florida and Ohio by picking up some of the smaller Bush states like Colorado, Nevada, and Iowa.

Why I'm not betting on Florida: its just too unreliable. For two reasons. First, the polls show the state within a couple of points. Yes, all across the country black voters have been turning out in record numbers for Obama, and that would theoretically boost Obama's chances in Florida. But - I'll be blunt - I don't trust those votes to get counted either accurately, fairly or in a timely manner in Florida. They just don't have a good track record.

Why Democrats are afraid: the Bush campaign teams were ruthless in their voter suppression and disenfranchisement efforts. For a large part of my adult lifetime, that has been the reality of our electoral fight. We fear complacency on the part of our voters who have, historically, been unreliable, and we fear a fix where the fight is close and crucial, like Ohio and Florida.

The Obama campaign has given us some reassurance. By widening the ground game so that the election does not hinge on two states, the campaign has, perhaps, spread the field too wide to be meddled with.

So we go forth unto election day filled with cautious optimism.

And in California we have a nauseating anxiety in our stomachs, waiting waiting waiting - hoping - to see Prop. 8 defeated. My friend the minister-in-training says he's out trying to spread the word: pro-8 is NOT pro-gay. We wish him God speed in the fight to keep discrimination out of our constitution.

Exurbs' '08 Election Guide

Get it here and dork out on Tuesday night.

Includes state-by-state map with poll close times in battleground states, hotly contested Senate and House races, and a do-it-yourself electoral vote predictor. If I could think of a drinking contest, I would.


Page 1 - Electoral projection map of states, battleground poll closings



Page 2 - Hotly contested Senate races, part I.



Page 3 - Hotly contested Senate races, part II.



Page 4 - A couple of interesting and hotly contested House races.



Page 5 - Are you a bettin' man? ... or gal?

The climate going in to Tuesday

Well, the predictions are now coming in and, while we like to ridicule the pundits, the fact of the matter is they pay attention to the details. Drumroll, please...

Barack Obama to take 340 electoral votes at least.

But here's the interesting thing: in the last 50 or so years, that's not a very commanding total. Ronald Reagan won reelection in 1984 525 to Mondale's 13. And George H.W. Bush won his presidency over Michael Dukakis 426 to 111. Nixon beat McGovern 520 to 17.

In fact, Republicans have regularly stuck it to Democrats. The last time a Democrat was able to cross even the 400 electoral vote threshold was LBJ in 1964 over Barry Goldwater (486 to 52).

It seems highly unlikely at this point that the Dems will get their fillibuster-proof 60 seat majority in the Senate. They may have up to 58 seats come Wednesday.

The takeaway: yet again, all of this points to the fact that Democrats need to see this election as an opportunity to build on a movement. They risk squandering the opportunity if they look on their wins as an unequivocal mandate.

When did it become OK for adults to trick-or-treat?

Its not.

If you have or can get a tattoo, you have no business asking people for candy unless there is a cash register between you and the person you're asking.

WTF?!

Voting anti-GOP, not pro-Dem

I've long been of the belief that the country's Democratic-leaning pivot this election season can only be seen as a rejection of Republican leadership. I do not think the electorate has somehow found Progressive religion.

I've been telling anyone who cares to listen that the Dems had better not see this election as a mandate giving them "political capital".

The Dems need to walk away from this election seeing it as an opportunity to show the American people what we can do. We need to work not only to make their lives better, but to make Washington work, to avoid grandstanding and divisive politics and restore the better angels of our nature.

I see signs that the Obama campaign is thinking the same way. Take this piece in Chris Cillizza's blog, The Fix. Cillizza reports that the Obama campaign sees Florida as an important symbol that they cannot walk away from, even if they don't need the state for an electoral win. Cillizza reports:

In the last few weeks, Obama has sent his top two field generals -- "Sunny" Steve Hildebrand and Paul Tewes -- to direct ground operations in the state.

Surrogates for Obama are also flooding the state. Last night, following his 30-minute national informercial, the Illinois senator appeared alongside former President Bill Clinton at a midnight rally in Kissimmee. Then today came the news that former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, will make stops in West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow to lead early vote rallies.

What does this mean? It means that the Obama campaign is not willing to write Florida and its diverse population off. It means that they feel they need to keep working to show they care about Florida and want to represent Florida. That is the beauty of the 50 state strategy: it backs up Obama's talk about our not being "a red state America or a blue state America, but a United States of America."

Right on.

Religious zealots for Prop. 8

Do you support Yes on 8? Are you one of these people?


You see, these are the people who support Proposition 8, rewriting the California constitution to discriminate against gay people. I have a family: me, the mother, one father, one boy, one girl. It will not effect my family one bit if every gay person in the world had a same-sex marriage.

What are these people afraid of? The apocalypse, apparently.

When did God create oil?

Ha! Never thought I'd say it, but MSNBC's Chris Matthews just asked an excellent question:

If you believe, as Sarah Palin does, that God created the earth several thousand years ago, then how is oil created?

According to scientists it takes millions of years for fossil fuels to be created from organic matter under tremendous geologic pressure. So if you don't believe that the earth is millions of years old, how do you think we get oil?

Seems to me this is a crucial question for the person John McCain says would be his chief adviser on energy policy.

(Way to go, Matthews!)

Should Lieberman lose his chairmanship?

I know what my husband's answer would be: "Let 'im hang!" There certainly are plenty of Democrats who would love to see Joe Lieberman's political career go up in flames for his support of John McCain. According to a report by The Hill today, Democrats are discussing a possible removal of Lieberman from the chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, a position he's held since 2007.

However, I find myself concerned not with Lieberman specifically, but with the reasoning behind the choice and the precedent it sets.

Here's the thing: I am one of those oft-referenced Americans who really hates how partisan Washington has become. And I'm not sure that punishing Lieberman, a Democrat-cum-Independent, for supporting a Republican with whom he has a long-standing friendship, is right.

Don't get me wrong. There may be a LOT of very good reasons to remove Lieberman from the chairmanship. Committee positions are used strategically by the leading party to put up-and-coming politicians in positions to gain experience. That's how you become an experienced leader. Lieberman is not entitled to hold his chairmanship.

Additionally, Lieberman did not just support McCain. Throughout the campaign season, Lieberman actively attacked Barack Obama using distortions of Obama's record and repeating "questions" about Obama's history and relationships with no evidence that there was actually any wrong-doing on Obama's part (a particularly virulent campaign tactic that I think is beneath the dignity of any honorable leader). The Democrats have no reason reward such behavior by honoring Lieberman's claim to the committee chairmanship.

But then let's be clear about why Lieberman is losing his chairmanship: because he's not entitled to it and has done nothing outstanding to earn retention of it.

Let us not ever approve of a vindictive approach to politics that punishes politicians to making decisions of loyalty based on personal conviction. Even if the other team did it first. We've got to move on from that brand of leadership.

Sen. Ted Stevens guilty on all counts

Per Salon.com:

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens

The jury in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) came back Monday afternoon with a verdict that could well send Stevens' career down the tubes. Stevens was found guilty on all seven of the charges he faced, felonies relating to false statements he made on Senate financial disclosure forms on which he failed to report some $250,000 in gifts.

Stevens reportedly faces up to five years in prison on each of the counts, but the AP says he "will likely receive much less prison time, if any."

Though he's the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, Stevens may not be part of that body for much longer. He's facing a tough Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, this year, and recent polling has generally shown Begich holding on to a slim lead. If Stevens is re-elected despite the conviction, it would be up to the Senate to decide whether or not to let him remain in his seat.

Capitalism + Subsidies = Hypocrisy

Watching George Will on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday made me wistful for the 1980s brand of GOP conservatism that, you know, seemed PRINCIPLED. (Note: I'm the last person who would claim that the Democrats hold exclusive claim to principles, but the GOP seems to be trafficking in a particularly virulent strain of politics these days.)

No, I didn't agree with its values, but that brand of conservatism at least seemed to believe in something sincerely and with conviction.

Will made the point that I've heard him make consistently over the last several months, that if you think the US has engaged in capitalism over the last 20 years, you're a moron. (I'm paraphrasing, but not by much.)

The thing is, government subsidies are Socialism. Subsidies "spread the wealth". Subsidies to corporations are a fancy way of saying the Government is taking YOUR money and giving it to companies that cannot succeed on their own. Corporate welfare anyone?

Couldn't we take a fraction of the money that we use to subsidize industry in this country and use it to send every one of their employees to college, training them to work in a field that needs skilled workers?

If we want to have the argument about socialism, fine. But lets have it in honest terms and not engage in rhetoric.

An army deployed against its people

In his blog on Salon.com today, Glenn Greenwald discusses the recent announcement by the US Army that, for the first time ever, US soldiers would be deployed on our own soil to act as needed against civilian unrest.

One of the most concerning portions of the Army statement was the part emphasized here by me:

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.

In Greenwald's blog today and in his Salon radio interview, he discusses this new domestic military role with the ACLU, who has lodged a Freedom of Information Act inquiry to find out why this new standing military force is needed on US soil.

My takeaway: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have undeniably stretched our military to its limit, so much so that the National Guard has been deployed to serve overseas to the detriment of our domestic security, as enunciated by many state authorities who rely on the National Guard during times of disaster.

Do we need guard detail available throughout the nation? Yes. But I question why it should be a US military force, a force dedicated to combating foreign threats. Army units are NOT specialized in domestic security, and I, for one, want to know why the Department of Defence thinks they should now be in a position where they may be deployed against their fellow citizens.

(BTW - where are the "strict constitutionalists" on this one??)

Revitalization for the politic-weary

One day more, dear fellows. One day more.

The diminishing relevance of Pat Buchanan

One to watch: McCain/Palin on NBC Nightly News

OK - gotta tune into NBC Nightly News tonight.  

We just got a preview from Brian Williams and Chuck Todd about the interview with McCain and Palin together, which airs tonight.  Apparently the body language and mood of the candidates and the staffers was overwhelmingly negative. Todd just couldn't emphasize enough how bad it was. He was saying they just seemed incredibly uncomfortable together, suggesting that they may be starting to blame each other for the nose-diving campaign.  

Also, apparently Palin reversed herself in the interview, telling Williams she WOULD now release her medical records, which Todd says visibly jarred her staff.  

As a side note, Todd has been saying for some time that McCain and Palin may be nearing their "Bullworth moment". 

Axelrod: a look at the image-maker

If you're wondering how it happeded, look no further.  The New Republic's Jason Zengerle has penned this fantastic behind-the-curtain piece on the Obama campaign's chief strategist, David Axelrod, revealing Axelrod's history of political stagecraft and his evolving relationship with the would-be candidate for President of the United States.

Interesting tidbits abound, like Axelrod's lack of forsight and vision when it came to Obama's potential, Obama's persistence in pursuing Axelrod for a lead position on his political team, and Axelrod's role in persuading Obama to aim for the Presidency in 2008.

Most revealing of all may be the amount of strategy that was put into making a black man acceptible to white voters.  It seems that in this campaign Barack Obama's blackness has often almost been beside the point in this contest, especially when compared to predecessors like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.  But, as Zengerle highlights, that air of post-racial, post-partisan politics was indeed well-crafted.  Of Axelrod's work on the 1989 mayoral race of black state senator Michael White:

Axelrod believed the other crucial vehicle for winning his candidate the votes of Cleveland's white residents was what he's called "third-party authentication"--in other words, endorsements from respected individuals or institutions that whites put a lot of stock in. "David felt there almost had to be a permission structure set up for certain white voters to consider a black candidate," explains Ken Snyder, a Democratic consultant and Axelrod protégé . 

Axelrod, it seems, has developed the winning formula for black candidates to grab freely from the white electoral pool:

The self-described "keeper of the message" for Obama's presidential bid has taken the lessons he learned from his mayoral and gubernatorial campaigns and made them cohere into something that approaches a unified theory of how to elect a black candidate--emphasizing biography, using third-party authentication, attacking with an unconventional sideways approach, letting voters connect to the candidate by speaking to them directly in ads, and telling voters that supporting the black candidate puts them on the right side of history.

There are many, many revealing and fascinating bits in the piece.  If you want to know how we got to this moment, read it.

What we really think of attack ads

Just a thought, but when the media and political operatives say that we, the people of America, hate political attacks, and that the Obama and McCain campaigns are engaging in attacks, does that mean that all attacks are equally bad?  

Bear with me here.

If a candidate attacks his oponent's policies, plans, and records, that's one thing.

But if a candidate attacks the opponent's character and patriotism, isn't that something else entirely?

I'm just thinking that, just because we all hate political attacks, it doesn't mean that all attacks are created equal.

A return to Palin's "pastor problem"

I know we've largely put Sarah Palin's "pastor problem" behind us, with the media consensus seeming to be that Kenyan Bishop Thomas Muthee, who blessed Palin and called for her protection from "witchcraft", should be seen in a cultural context and that he isn't literally hunting witches.  As summed up by the Washington Post :

Can we forget the crazy preachers and try to get the candidates to focus on the serious problems?

Haha.  Silly "phony issues".  Oh, but wait.  What if Kenyans are actually inciting the murder of "witches" by burning?  While witchcraft is illegal in Kenya, apparently the reaction to accusations of witchcraft is getting horrendous.  Per NPR today:

In May, 11 people died in a "witch" burning in southwestern Kenya, but questions linger over whether neighbors in that particular region of Kenya believed the people killed were witches.  ...Local authorities say that in May, a security guard turned over a suspicious notebook he found at a school. The notebook reportedly listed the names of local witches and the minutes of their meetings. But before turning over the book to the authorities, residents of the area apparently copied down the names. Over a two-day period, a mob cut down 11 mostly retired and elderly people and burned their homes to cinders.

While there is no evidence that Muthee's pursuit of witches in his home community has lead directly to bodily harm or death, it did lead to the persecution of a local woman who is also a pastor.  

Furthermore, persecution and murder justified by accusations of witchcraft is a real problem in Muthee's home nation and his active role in scapegoating individuals by identifying them as "witches" bears further scrutiny.  Palin should know that she is closely aligned with someone who contributes to a very real culture of persecution, violence and murder.

Behold, the Undecideds!

This was just so good I had to reprint it:

Behold, the Undecideds. Have you heard of this bizarre, nefarious group? The millions of faceless, slow-blinking, mentally unattached Americans who are, right this minute, with mere days to go before the most historic election in our lifetime and when faced with what seems to be the most glaringly obvious divisions of attitude and perspective you could possibly imagine, still "on the fence" about Obama or McCain, love or hate, country or disco, Paris or Fresno, oil or water, Porsche or Pinto?

Check out Mark Morford's column in its entirety here.

Ha!  It just doesn't stop:

Or maybe not. Maybe I have it exactly backwards. Maybe the Undecideds are the mostevolved among us, more aware and conscious than the rest of us desperate plebes who are far too eager to plant our flags in the treacherous soil of definitive thought. Possible?

OK.  Good laugh.  I feel better.

McCain the Socialist/Communist

So who said the following: Barack Obama or John McCain?  

I believe that when you really look at the tax code today, the very wealthy, because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don't pay nearly as much as you think they do when you just look at the percentages. And I think middle-income Americans, working Americans, when the account and payroll taxes, sales taxes, mortgage pay -- all of the taxes that working Americans pay, I think they -- you would think that they also deserve significant relief, in my view...

If you said John McCain you would be CORRECT.  That's the John McCain of 2000 - remember him? - answering a citizen's question on Hardball.

I know.  I know.  Isn't that that pesky "spreading the wealth" that McCain and Palin are up in arms over?  Well, sure!  But this is an election year, and apparently that means McCain's job is to demonize others for things he actually believes in.  

Think that's taken out of context?  To hear McCain say specifically that this is NOT socialism, read the full transcript here.

Find us now on Salon.com

I'm pleased to announce that you can read From the Exurbs blog postings by Chattering Lass on Open Salon at Salon.com.

A sign of economic movement in home sales

According to this report from NPR this morning, home sales in southern California were up dramatically in September.  Southern California has had one of the highest forclosure rates in the nation, so what we're seeing here is bargain shoppers getting into the market at what could now be the nadir of the mortgage meltdown.

What does this mean?  These figures are from a period before the credit freeze that spurred Congressional action and a rollercoaster DOW, so we'll have to see how buyers fared in October when there was apparently no credit to be had.  Still, with 2 weeks left in the month, credit markets are thawing and it will be interesting to see if lenders think these So. Cal. purchases are a safe enough bet.

If we're lucky, the credit freeze will have been a blip, and people who have had some money but didn't jump 2 years ago will finally be able to take the home-ownership plunge.  That will begin working the bad mortgages through the system and get home values back on an upswing.  

There is still the question of what all this means to those who were forclosed upon, some who lied in order to get financing on homes they couldn't afford in the first place, but others who were handed or encouraged to take more than they could afford.

But for the grace of God...  The other day my husband and I were recalling our first tentative peerings into the world of home ownership, contacting a mortgage broker to find out if there was anything out there we could afford.  See, this is the thing: blame the buyer all you want for getting into a bad mortgage, but most of us do not understand the ins and outs of mortgage rates, terms, and conditions.  We rely on advice from the people who are experts: bankers and mortgage brokers.  Our broker told us we could afford up to 1/2 our monthly income on a mortgage - and would be approved for it.  With no down payment.

Fortunately husband and I are skittish creatures, prone to suspicion and fear.  We said thanks but no thanks to that huge offer and took something a little more modest.  (We're liberals to the core - always thinking "conserve".)  However, many people trusted their lenders and took the plunge.  Whose fault is it that they're now drowning?

GOP: crumbling from the center

To recap, let us note all of the Republicans who are now defecting from the John McCain/Rick Davis/Sarah Palin GOP:

Colin Powell - retired US Army General and fmr. Secretary of State

Ken Adelman - conservative Republican and original neo-con

Mickey Edwards - Fmr. Oklahoma Congressman and founding member of the Heritage Foundation

Christopher Buckley - National Review contributer, author, son of the late Wm. F. Buckley

Peggy Noonan - Fmr. Reagan speechwriter, author, and conservative columnist

George Will - conservative columnist

David Brooks - conservative columnist

Michael Smerconish - conservative talk-show host and author

I have to say, one thing I love about Peggy Noonan is that she speaks EXACTLY as she writes.  Its just archaic and wonderful.

Granted, McCain and Davis would write all of this off as the treachery of the irrelevant Georgetown cocktail circuit, but that may be even more evidence of how these people are narrowing the party.

Thoughts on the Powell endorsement

No doubt - NO doubt - you've heard plenty by now about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama, but let me point out one thing about that endorsement that you may not have heard about if you didn't see it live.

Mr. Powell made a very lovely point that I think its important for all of us to consider.  It was about the whisper campaign that Barack Obama is "really a Muslim" or a "secret Muslim" or just outright "Muslim" as an email I received stated.  Powell said this:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian.  He's always been a Christian.  But the really right answer is, what if he is?  Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America.  Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?  [my emphasis]

Just give that some thought and remember what is good about America.  You can watch Powell's endorsement in its entirety here.

GOP voter registration fraud. Yes, GOP voter registration fraud

Well, if you thought ACORN had cornered the market on voter registration fraud, get some bi-partisan religion.  

In a great story followed by the LA Times, Mark Jacoby, owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired this year to register thousand of voters, was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of voter registration fraud.  Turns out Mr. Jacoby falsely registered himself at a California address that is not his own in order to meet California's legal requirement to register others to vote.

THIS AFTER dozens of California voters came forward to report that his firm, YPM, had duped them into registering Republican by asking them to sign a petition for "tougher penalties against child molesters".  According to the Times, "YPM has been accused of using bait-and-switch tactics across the country.  Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusettes.  In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit."

In California, if these voters didn't discover the change, they would be disqualified from voting in their party's next primary.

So, I know they're both bad, but indulge me: which is worse?  Filling out a bunch of obviously false registration cards (Tony Romo, Mickey Mouse, Jimmy John, etc.) or duping an actual person into changing their party affiliation?

PS - Unlike ACORN, YPM does pay by the card, not by the hour.

(Tip of the hat to Rob for this one.)

Resurrecting McCarthy

Well, this one stopped me in my tracks.

There I was putting away laundry in the bedroom and before I know it I've been drawn to the television because this crazy woman just said WHAT???

Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann went above and beyond in her demonization of the liberal left/leftist/anti-American element of the US Congress and of liberal/Democrat Americans.  The words were really interchangeable for Rep. Bachmann.  Check it out for yourself, below.  

As Salon's Alex Koppelman put it, this probably just an example of what happens when enflamatory talking points are put into the hands of blithering idiots.  (OK, I might be embellishing on Koppelman's wording a bit.) He may be right, but McCain campaign is playing with fire, and McCain KNOWS it.  You know he does.  

And that's why there's a bit of a cognitive dissonance when you see all the hilarity of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.  Everyone yucking it up as though what is being spewed out into American society right now is just harmless tomfoolery.  It is not.  It is virulent and dangerous and irresponsible.  When I look at John McCain these days, all I feel is rising concern.

UPDATE: Since this post was originally published, Bachmann's Democratic opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg, has raised some $700,000 in campaign contributions.  How ya like them apples, Bachmann!

Powell to appear on Meet the Press

Fmr. Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheudled to appear on Meet the Press this Sunday morning, and its rumored he may finally choose to endorse for President... Barack Obama.

If the rumors are true, it would be an enormous coup for Obama, who has been criticized by the McCain campaign as naive in his foreign policy cred.  It would also be a persuasive arguement to independents and moderate Republicans who were gung ho for a Powell candidacy 9 years ago and who have taken a second or third look at Obama.

It might also give a little tail wind to a campaign that appears to be worrying about keeping their momentum up with 2.5 weeks to go and a strong lead in the current polls.

P.S. - Look for Bill Kristol to demand an apology if this happens, as he predicted it a couple of months ago and was strongly repudiated by Powell's people.

California is anti-America?

Well, at least the GOP is finally being direct about it.  In their mind, anyone who isn't pro-McCain/Palin is apparently anti-America.  From WashPo:

Palin also made a point of mentioning that she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country, of which North Carolina is one. No word on which states she views as unpatriotic.

An obvious candidate might be California -- a state Palin has campaigned in -- because, as she told the audience, she and McCain have encountered problems enlisting famous performers in their cause.

Can McCain and Obama be funny?

If you saw last night's Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, you know the answer is an emphatic "Yes". 

If my post below of Purple and Brown was a mental palette-cleanser late in the election season, this was a good political reset button, reminding us that John McCain and Barack Obama are still human.  McCain actually had the best lines, like his explanation of the nicknames he and his friend Barack have for each other, and Obama came right back with his October surprise: that his middle name is actually Steve.  This bit from Obama is great in text - the delivery wasn't as good:

But, look, I don't want to be coy about this. We're a couple weeks from an important election. Americans have a big choice to make, and if anybody feels like they don't know me by now, let me try to give you some answers. Who is Barack Obama? Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jorel to save the planet Earth ...

If you want to check it out the speeches at length, here you go:

Post endorses Obama

Even the Washington Post's endorsement seemed arbitrarily "fair and balanced", but where it was right it was right:

Not even his fiercest critics would blame President Bush for all of these problems, and we are far from being his fiercest critic. But for the past eight years, his administration, while pursuing some worthy policies (accountability in education, homeland security, the promotion of freedom abroad), has also championed some stunningly wrongheaded ones (fiscal recklessness, torture, utter disregard for the planet's ecological health) and has acted too often with incompetence, arrogance or both. A McCain presidency would not equal four more years, but outside of his inner circle, Mr. McCain would draw on many of the same policymakers who have brought us to our current state. We believe they have richly earned, and might even benefit from, some years in the political wilderness.

...But Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.

Spreading the wealth

The disdain was dripping as John McCain pooh-poohed Barack Obama's suggestion in last night's debate that we need to spread the wealth.  "Hey," McCain says, "Joe the Plumber should be left alone to create more wealth so he can create more jobs."

OK.  Is that what happens?  

Here's what I think happens.  I think that Joe the Plumber and his huge plumbing company isn't what we're talking about here, since Joe would have to make $250k after business deductions.  I think we're actually talking about owners and boards of large businesses who DON'T create new jobs with their wealth.  They use it to pay exorbinant salaries and bonuses to executives who lay off thousands of employees.  They spend it on spas retreats and golden parachutes and partridge hunting. 

Because, you see, the wealth is what goes to the CEOs for cutting jobs and cutting costs in order to raise stock prices.

Just so we're clear.

Typical post-debate commentary

Post-show analysis: The Last Debate

All in all, John McCain did much better in this debate than he has in any other. He made some strong points that seemed backed by strong conviction. However, I really think he hurt himself in moments of sarcasm, impatience, and incredulity.

What was with some of those eye expressions?? Were wild crazy eyes supposed to poke holes in Obama's arguments?

This was definitely Obama's weakest performance, but he more than held his own, so in the end he was more successful in doing what he needed to do. McCain may gain a little ground, but probably not very much.

And, by the way, Obama answered the questions about Bill Ayers and ACORN tonight. Unless the McCain campaign, the GOP, or the media can show us any evidence that Obama was not telling the truth, this subject should be closed.

UPDATE: Bill Kristol on FOX News tonight shrugging his shoulders and simply saying that Obama looked Presidential and had a better arguement as to why he should be President: if that doesn't sound like a death-knell, I don't know what does. Oh, and Juan Williams appeared to agree. Daaaamn.

"He might be a terrorist, but at least he's not a Republican!"

OK, so take a look at the post below. I just took it directly from Ben Smith's blog on Politico because you should read it in its entirety. What does this say about the current mood of the country? Read and I'll meet you back on the other side...

Voting for Obama anyway

I just got an astounding e-mail from a Republican consultant I know well. He's a guy who's always thought Obama had a "glass jaw," and was always among those agitating for hitting Obama harder.

Recently, he conducted a focus group in an upper-Midwestern state, showing them the kind of ad he thought would work: A no-holds-barred attack, cut for an independent group, which hasn't aired.

I'm just going to reprint his amazed e-mail about the focus group:

Reagan Dems and Independents. Call them blue-collar plus. Slightly more Target than Walmart.

Yes, the spot worked. Yes, they believed the charges against Obama. Yes, they actually think he's too liberal, consorts with bad people and WON'T BE A GOOD PRESIDENT...but they STILL don't give a f***. They said right out, "He won't do anything better than McCain" but they're STILL voting for Obama.

The two most unreal moments of my professional life of watching focus groups:

54 year-old white male, voted Kerry '04, Bush '00, Dole '96, hunter, NASCAR fan...hard for Obama said: "I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President."

The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. "Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."

I felt like I was taking crazy pills. I sat on the other side of the glass and realized...this really is the Apocalypse. The Seventh Seal is broken and its time for eight years of pure, delicious crazy...

So has the country finally become so bankrupt that those persistent GOP talking points have finally shaken loose? "We hate socialism, and big government, and tax-and-spend liberalism," they seem to say, "but we don't give a rats ass anymore because everything is going to hell and someone needs to step in and FIX it."

Here's where the problem lies: "TRUST US" said the Republicans. TRUST deregulation. TRUST Wall Street. TRUST trickle-down. TRUST the free market. TRUST the moral majority.

They did, and here we are. Now they need someone to fix it. It may be "Big Government" stepping in, but at least Obama is offering to do it. The list of people who've shown zero strength of leadership are staggering: Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, McCain, industry executives. Frankly, Sarah Palin is the only person whose shown initiative in an executive role, and SHE raised taxes on oil companies during a state budget SURPLUS. Explain to me what she knows about dealing with dire financial straights!

Sadly, this situation represents a major opportunity for Dems to put some significant rebuilding efforts in place. And, if history teaches us anything, just as with FDR and Bill Clinton, once the nation is rebuilt the electorate will return control to the Repubs who will just go and squander it all over again.

That's what Prop. 8 is about

There you go. That's what Prop. 8 is about:



See more videos at the HOMOtracker's YouTube page.

Have you donated yet to NO ON PROP.8?

Yes, we are 29th in infant mortality!

Wow. Unreal. Aren't we so proud of our free-market healthcare system??

The U.S. now ranks 29th among industrial countries for infant mortalities.

That's right: we're now tied with Slovakia and Poland. Shameful. No other word to describe it.

You know, if you can't admit that our national stature is crumbling, you're in total denial. And if you'd rather get a tax break than do something meaningful about it, you aren't patriotic.

I'm so sick of our spoiled, self-centered, me-first attitude that calls any type of group effort "Socialism". Anyone who is still complaining about socialism needs to get a life, some self-sacrifice and some national pride.

Cleese on Palin

Just in case you're a drama geek or equivalent who thinks that Python are God, you can't beat John Cleese's reaction to the question posed (replete with parrot references):



And, in case you missed it:

Ode to Sean Hannity
by John Cleese

Aping urbanity
Oozing with vanity
Plump as a manatee
Faking humanity
Journalistic calamity
Intellectual inanity
Fox Noise insanity
You’re a profanity
Hannity

The gentleman ages nicely.

The problem with the "voter fraud" story

OK - my husband is right. I said it.

We need to talk about this "voter fraud" story that the media is spewing and not doing any actual reporting on.

1) The problem with people "raising questions" - McCain campaign, Obama campaign, media, or others - is that it raises a QUESTION. We then need to work to find the ANSWER.

2) What do false voter registrations mean? Do they mean that ACORN is trying to allow fake people to vote for Barack Obama? Does it mean that ACORN employees are trying to make a paycheck without doing the work of registering voters? Or does it mean that GOP operatives are trying to cast doubt on Obama's election, should he win?

Let's explore the reality.

1) ACORN pays by the hour. Not by the card. Still, there are instances of employees who did not want to take the time just phoning it in and falsifying cards.

2) Once cards are falsified, ACORN is REQUIRED to turn them in. It makes sense, right? No organization should be able to get registration cards filled out and then decide unilaterally that those should be thrown away. That's when you get into issues of partisanship.

3) Even if "false voters" are registered, first time voters must produce identification on election day. Therefore, if you register as Tony Romo or Taco Bell, you'd better have an ID or a piece of mail to back that up. Otherwise you CANNOT CAST A BALLOT.

4) Relatedly, there is a difference between voter registration fraud and VOTER FRAUD. Lets step out of the realm of the 2008 Presidential election and look at this article from 2007 about voter fraud. Apparently its more likely that a person would be struck by lightening than commit voter fraud - literally.

5) Fraudulent voter registration is reprehensible and ACORN should act accordingly. ACORN has meted out 3 degrees of punishment to employees depending on the degree of fault: 1. discipline, 2. dismissal, 3. prosecution. Note: they have turned employees over for prosecution when they've committed egregious fraud.

The fact of the matter is that ACORN is responsible for paying some irresponsible people to register voters. Whether that is by design or by accident, you'll have to decide for yourself based on the evidence (not the stump speeches of the candidates or the talking points of their surrogates on the cable news channels, please). And it is true that ACORN needs to do a MUCH better job of self-policing and PR. In both instances they are lacking.

However, lets not pretend that suddenly ACORN is overwhelming an unsuspecting elections infrastructure. We've been told for at least a year that liberal leaning groups were going to put a tremendous amount of money and effort into register people who had heretofore been uninterested in the election process. We saw that in the primaries: millions of people nationwide. To say now that you can't deal with that is lamentable, but it isn't ACORN's fault. It is the fault of our imperfect elections system, which we somehow can't muster the interest to deal with seriously until 3 weeks before a Presidential election.

How about we make this a national issue beginning on November 18th, 2008. Let's start talking about uniform elections and voter registration laws. Let's start talking about a national voting holiday. But to freak out now is to simply serve the campaigns.

DOW 36,000

Let's look back 9 years, to 1999, when James K. Glassman wrote his remarkable book DOW 36,000, suggesting that the stock market was significantly undervalued and would triple its value over 3 to 5 years.

By the way: in June 2008, Glassman became Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Bush administration.

And these are the guys who want to privatize social security. Nice, huh?

California voter guides

Now that I have kids and a wood-burning stove for heat, I rely more than ever on voter guides to give me a quick sense of what the ballot measures are really about. Often they can help you figure out precisely which part of the measure you want to research more. (Although that measure from the last election on Indian Gaming rights was obtuse no matter how much time you spent on it!)

So, in the spirit of sharing, here are a couple of links to voter guides I'd characterize as "progressive":

The Courage Campaign
SF Gate endorsements

Penn and Blake for the youth vote

Obama is getting a clever boost for the youth vote from CW stars and MoveOn.org. Like the Great Schlepp before it, Partnership for a McCain-Free White House is showing that the candidate is also hip by association. Check it out:

McCain + ACORN

What is the McCain campaign has been saying about lying about your associations? This is true Washington politics, my friends: demonizing whoever is convenient.

This from Politico:

Acorn pushes back, hugs McCain

The beleaguered Democratic-leaning community group Acorn sends over this photograph: John McCain, in March of 2006, sitting beside Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek at an event Acorn co-sponsored in Florida.

The immigration event, which other photos show was packed with red-shirted Acorn member, was co-sponsored by the local Catholic Archdiocese, the SEIU, and other groups.

McCain, still spiting much of his party on immigration at the time, was the headliner.

Bertha Lewis, Acorn's chief organizer, said in a statement that came with the photo, “It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans."

”We are sure that the extremists he is trying to get into a froth will be even more excited to learn that John McCain stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN, at an ACORN co-sponsored event, to promote immigration reform," she said.

NY Times' Krugman wins Nobel Prize

Economist (and favorite economy geek of this blog) Paul Krugman has won the Nobel Prize in Economics. Although Krugman is well know for his Times column, and beloved at least by me for his Bush-critical perspective, his Nobel Prize was awarded for his academic work.

It is, however, notable that the Nobel committee recognized Krugman's status as an "opinion maker" in awarding the prize. By the way, the Nobel is now worth about $1.4 mil. Couldn't've happenned to a better economist.

Disheartened, demoralized

So much to write about, yet I'm finding it really hard to write.

I guess I have to think back to the beginning. In 2004 I was introduced to Barack Obama, was inspired by his message of common American values, goals, and potential. I thought, boy, if ever we could be so lucky to be able to vote for that guy as President!

So here we are within a month of the election and Barack Obama is surging in all the polls and it looks like I may get something I could only have dreamed of 4 years ago.

But at such a cost.

Yes, the economy is falling apart - probably the worst I have or will see in my lifetime. Yet I have faith in the ability of our nation to be resillient in our innovation, and business savvy, and national will.

It is this ugliness that I find so disspiriting, that in a time when all purport to need change, we see a segment of the American population harkening back to its basest self. Xenophobia. Racial mistrust. Outrage at the other. One week ago, Sarah Palin was, to me, a dissapointing example of my sex. Now she has demonstrated her gleeful willingness to whip up the most virulent strains of racism and fear in order to gain political power. She is Rove incarnate.

And, I'll say it: I was the last one in my family to hold to the belief that John McCain was, fundamentally, a principled man. Yes, I said, he'd made a deal with the devil, aligning himself more with the Bush-Cheney base in order to win the nomination, but it was only because this was his last shot. This wasn't really him.

I'm so dispirited and, yes, hurt by what I'm seeing. I had such feelings of hope for my country. That is why Barack Obama spoke to me. It was the reason I disagreed with but respected John McCain for so many years. It was the notion that we were finally ready to move beyond demonization and return to the best of ourselves that we had been at one time.

I know: its probably a dream that this country was ever that - that we ever had overwhelming feelings of unity. But did we at least have a sense of basic respect? Basic decency? A fundamental obligation to respect the process and the people who submit to that process, sacrificing their privacy, their time with family, their freedom to err or be imperfect, in order to stand up and lead?

I did have that kind of respect for John McCain once, and now I just feel sad, disheartened, demoralized.

In a time when our country is falling apart, when any notion of a responsible, conservative, free-market society have come crashing down, all I can think is that I will remember this as the time when, instead of coming together as a rational society with political differences, it was the time when many in our nation decided that hatred of the other was the solution they liked best.

I am trying to convince myself that somehow, despite all I am seeing, this is not who we are.

Exhale, and rejoice

Yes, it really is almost over.

Politico reports today that the Bush administration has signed an executive order to begin transitioning national security issues to both potential Presidential teams.

Can a sista get an amen?

If you support THAT ONE for President...

...you can get your gear here:

http://www.thatone08.com/

Post-show analysis: The Town Hall Debate

Obama did what he needed to do: looked confident and capable and presidential. John McCain looked like he was attacking the leader. All in all, McCain improved from the last debate performance. It is clear that a town hall debate is his forum. The handshake with the petty officer was nice. But there were no game changers here, and at times it seemed as though McCain was nipping at Obama's heels.

On to debate #3. Poor Bob Schieffer: are there any economy questions left unasked?

SIDE NOTE: Uncle. I, like apparently all other bloggers, am getting addicted to the CNN emote-o-meter. Watching the women is like watching my favorite roller coaster EVER. x)

SIDE SIDE NOTE: Apparently Manhattans go with ALL debates. Who knew?!

Pre-show analysis: The Town Hall Debate

Is there much that needs to be said here?

McCain will try to reinforce this idea of the mysterious, untrustworthy Obama, not by directly bringing up Bill Ayers, but by declaring Obama's positions to be dishonest. And he'll make eye contact this time. He needs to change narrative of the election but dispel this notion that he is avoiding the subject of the economy. He needs to be reassuring.

Obama will continue to talk about the economy and try to talk kitchen-table-ese. He did a good job in the last debate of talking about these shifty economic issues, but he needs to bring back to a personal perspective instead of broad generalities. For Obama, its do no harm. He continues to rise in the polls and doesn't want to change the trajectory. (Also, the demeanor that was once derided by the press as "professorial" is now being called "steady" and "comforting". We'll see more "steady".)

Don't expect any surprises.

"Gender Auditors" in the Battle for Gay Marriage

California voters, after having polled largely against Prop. 8 for the last month or so, appear to be swinging in the other direction, according to a poll from CBS affiliate KPIX.

Time for the opposition to get creative! Check out this great ad from the Courage Campaign"

'Omaba Nation' author a bee in Kenya's bonnet

Following this gem of a story today:

As previously noted in this blog, Obama Nation author and former Swiftboater Jerome Corsi had traveled to Kenya in order to, according to WorldNetDaily, research and expose nefarious ties between Barack Obama, Kenyan PM Raila Odinga, and Muslim forces. However, based on press releases going out to the Kenyan media, Corsi seems to have been there to promote his book.

Ah, but freedom of speech is a valuable and oft under-appreciated American right. As of this morning, the Times of London reported that Kenyan officials were detaining Corsi for lack of work permit in promoting his book.

By this afternoon, NPR is reporting that Corsi has been deported. What do you want to bet that Corsi and the right will be blaming Obama for that by week's end?

Brushing up on the economy

I'm busy today, but I thought you shouldn't miss this opportunity to get some easy to digest info on the economy. So here I go, just reprinting a post from Salon's War Room blog:

The Fed and commercial paper funds

I’m not an economist and have no background in finance. I therefore may be having just as much, if not more trouble, than you comprehending all the finance-related angles of the proposed bailout.

For example, if news that the Federal Reserve is about to take control of the Commercial Paper Fund Facility makes you scratch your head wondering, “what the hell are commercial paper funds?”, you certainly should read our own Andrew Leonard who explains how this part of the financial world works.

But in addition there’s also a great, unofficial Finance-for-Dummies radio program with which, I suspect, many Salon readers are already all too familiar: "This American Life." (Confession: I’m addicted to the show.)

This week’s episode, “Another Frightening Show About the Economy,” explains why the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market has since been exacerbated by the collapse of the commercial paper fund market.

Actually, if you are not entirely certain why the mortgage-backed securities market crisis collapsed in the first place -- and no, it’s not just that people took out home loans they couldn’t afford to pay, though that’s certainly a big part of it -- before listening to the latest TAL episode you may want to check out the equally fascinating, “Global Pool of Money” episode.

― Thomas Schaller

The missed Palin opportunity

Former McCain strategiest Mike Murphy touched on a real truth today in Time's Swampland blog. According to Murphy, Sarah Palin ought to "start connecting to her cherished hockey moms on the one issue they are actually worried about; a quickly slowing economy..."

When Barack Obama says that McCain doesn't get it, this is a prime example. Sarah Palin is McCain's star quarterback in the fight for working-class Americans. In a time of high disaffection and cynicism, more people in suburban/exurban/rural America believe that Sarah Palin "gets" them and their issues, pocketbook among them, no matter what their feeling about her as a potential Commander-in-Chief. So why is McCain sending her out pitbulling about Bill Ayers?

If McCain wants to make some gains on economic issues he needs to start showing that his campaign understands those issues. Sarah Palin is uniquely qualified to make that connection with voters. I'm about half way through this fantastic article by George Packer at the New Yorker, explaining equisitely what is actually going on out there in the country with those blue-collar white voters who can't get behind Obama, Democrat and Republican alike. Read it.

It seems that the McCain campaign has given up on substance and will charge ahead on character and ideology issues. That won't do the job for them this year - no way, no how.

The takeaway: the falling DOW

OK. For god's sake.

If you thought that the "Bailout/Rescue/Recovery Bill" was going to prevent the STOCK MARKET from falling, you need to school yourself a little bit about what this "economic disaster" we're going through is about.

The recent bill was meant to get credit moving which keeps business from HALTING. It does not "fix" the economic problems we have.

Of course you can't count on the press to report that. According to Andrea Mitchell in front of me, we're all out here saying "HEY! I thought I spent $770 billion to FIX this s%&t" and we don't understand what's going on!

Um, I don't think we're that idiotic. Are we?

Chalk this up to the same electorate that complains that it doesn't know what Barack Obama stands for. Um, are you kidding me? There is NO EXCUSE for lack of understanding in this day and age. Folks, internet. Internet, folks. Get together and figure something out, would ya?

What is fair game in assessing character?

If it is OK to question Barack Obama's association with Bill Ayers, is it OK to question John McCain's association with Charles Keating?

If its OK for McCain to use his years as a POW speak to his character, is it also OK for his military record prior to that POW time to speak for his character?

If I don't think McCain's military record suggesting carelessness has any real meaning in his current endeavors, should I also not consider his time as a POW to have any bearing on his qualifications to be President?

I'm just sayin'.

The gloves come flying off

Well, it was to be expected, but MAN did they exceed expectations!

Since polls late last week showed Barack Obama pulling away is many key swing states, reports abound in the papers and on the Sunday morning shows that the McCain campaign was going to unleash its character attacks on Obama, going to Obama's associations with Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Sarah Palin previewed that strategy in a stump speech in Omaha on Saturday, saying Obama "pals around with terrorists".

Then POW! In my inbox on Sunday night: an email from the Obama campaign playing the - you got it! - Keating 5 card. Oh yeah, they went there. The campaign is devoting an entire website to educating you on McCain's role in the Keating 5 scandal, repleat with synopsis, downloads, and "documentary".

So can we finally shake the Democrats-as-Kerry-wallflowers persona now? Here are some of my favorite headlines for today:

I'll see your Ayers, raise you a Keating

McCain, Obama go for jugular

While I think we can all agree that negative campaigning is not what we're interested in, two thoughts:

1. At least we only have 4 weeks left in the election. They could have started this garbage in earnest weeks ago.
2. Hopefully the Obama campaign's response will net out as an equal and oposite reaction to the McCain campaign efforts. If they both come out slinging mud, the story may just die as "Look at all the mud these guys are throwing!" instead of becoming a false storyline for the media to lap up.

Here's hoping.

UPDATE: Sadly, it looks like the continued plunge of worldwide markets and the DOW sinking below 10,000 will be the story. Is it telling that this is what needs to happen for us to focus on real issues in politics?

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.

- JFK

See a side-by-side comparison of the arts positions of each of the Presidential candidates. (Thanks be to Allison.)

Who owns small town values?

So I sprained my ankle and am online catching up on all the Daily Show and Colbert Report I've missed in the last week, and I catch this clip I hadn't seen before of the miniseries that apparently was the Couric/Palin interview.

And I hear Sarah Palin saying something to the effect of "I'm not one of those kids whose parents gave them a passport and a plane ticket to Europe after graduation. I had to work two jobs until I had kids and walk uphill both ways..." blah, blah, blah.

And I flash back to her debate performance, talking about being from a small town and how special that makes her so she's not going to answer your questions the way you Media-Types or Washington-Types or Elitist-Liberal-Types want her to.

And that's when my HEAD explodes I say: THAT'S ENOUGH. You don't OWN small town values.

You see, I'm from a small town. Nearest neighbor was a half a quarter mile away. How do you like them apples? And I started my first real job when I was 13 - having cleaned houses and babysat before that - and worked my way through college with one or two jobs, depending on how lucky I was. And I couldn't afford to go to Europe until after I was married.

And I married my sweetheart who I've been with since I was 19. And I never had an abortion. And we have two beautiful children who were conceived WITHIN wedlock. And you know what?

I'm a liberal.

I'm agnostic.

I'm pro-choice.

And I don't care about your Christian values.

Because, you see, to me it doesn't matter a lick if you're a Christian. That really doesn't say anything about what kind of person you are as you walk through this world. And being from a small town and having "small town", "Joe-six-pack" values? That don't mean shit. Pardonnez mon français.

You see, my grandfather was an immigrant. He came from small town Plymouth, England. He was the child of a single mother who worked her butt off to make that existence work for her kids. My grandfather didn't have a college education. He didn't complete a high school education. But you know what his hobby was through his life? Damn sure it wasn't snow machinin'.

My grandfather read. Volumes and volumes. Everything you were supposed to read if you were a worldly, knowledgeable individual. He read Keats and Aristotle and Shakespeare and Huxley and Emerson and Verne and Freud and Dumas. He had books on Van Gough and Monet and Picasso and ancient architecture and mythology.

You see, being from a small town, being unworldly, isn't something to aspire to. It is the circumstance in which you are born. Certainly the small town offers its own set of values, but they are certainly not the ends to which you aspire.

The small town folks we DO admire, people who made this world a better place such as President Lincoln, aspired to something bigger than themselves, which required an intellectual curiosity to look beyond the sphere to which they were born.

So, you see, I'm from a small town and I live back in that same small town, but I've never stopped trying to become a bigger person in awareness and understanding.

(Did I just quote John Cougar Mellancamp?)