Is McCain's Home State in Play?

There are reports that Arizona is up for grabs in the Presidential election. The L.A. Times has the story. Today, the Arizona Daily Star endorsed Senator Obama.

What does this mean for the Obama campaign? Even when you are perceived to be ahead, there is always a way to lose, as many Big Ten fans ruefully saw yesterday. The GOP, who sent you all those nasty mailings and ugly robo-calls, will undoubtedly have a nefarious plan for election day. After the John Kerry and Al Gore experiences, Democrats need to stay focused and execute a successful election day strategy.

It's the end game. There are only a few pieces left on the political chess board.

It's attention to detail that keeps unwanted visitors out of the house, and the White House.

Gone Fishing

Might be a good day to go fishing, what with the global stock markets all messed up and Lute Olson suddenly retiring as coach of the Arizona Wildcats. At a minimum, an afternoon off is warranted, particularly if you consider yourself to be a liberal. Representative Robin Hayes (R. N.C.) says that "liberals hate real Americans who work", the LA Times reports. So heck, why put in a full day at the salt mine yourself, liberals? Reminds me of that Hoyt Axton song, "Work your fingers to the bone whadda you get? Boney fingers."

Representative Hayes and the slate of Republicans running for office this year, including Senator McCain, Governor Palin and Rep. Bachmann of Minnesota, have been saying and doing a lot of wacky things in the past week. For those who are hard working, patriotic, pro-American and totally offended by and opposed to the rantings of these folks, here is an idea: Put up the 'gone fishin' sign, take the afternoon off and, if you haven't already done so, go cast your early ballot for Senator Barack Obama for President, and then go have a long lunch with friends.

T.G.I.F.

Garrison Keillor on McCain - Palin

Feeling sluggish this Monday morning? Garrison Keillor's brisk and crisp opinion piece on the McCain - Palin ticket will kick-start "the little grey cells."

The Final Debate

The debates are over. Let's set aside the issues for a moment and consider something completely superficial: when did John McCain have cosmetic eye lift surgery? No 72 year old human has his wide-eye look without medical assistance.

Only a few more weeks until the election. I voted by absentee ballot last Tuesday - city hall was jumpin' with people registering to vote, filling out absentee ballots, and bringing in completed ballot materials. It was exciting!

Election day will be busy, so you may want to take a look at your calendar and consider whether or not completing an absentee ballot now makes sense for you.

Eye Up-Date: The Huffington Post also has a snippet about Senator McCain's eyes, but this concerns his frequent blinking. According to one study, "For eight U.S. presidential elections during the period 1960-2004, the rapid blinker during debates received fewer overall votes than his opponent. In seven of these eight elections, the rapid blinker also lost the electoral vote and was defeated at the polls." Dang - that piece of information takes all the drama out of who will win the election. Guess I should have added "spoiler alert" to this post's title.

Eye Up-Date II: Check this out and you be the judge:

When to Apologize

The fall 2008 edition of the journal In Character examines the topic of forgiveness. In this edition, Theodore Dairymple writes about what he calls the false apology syndrome: today's public figures apologizing for events that occurred in the long distant past. Examples of the false apology syndrome, according to Mr. Dairymple, are Pope John II apologizing to the Muslims for the Crusades, and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair apologizing to the Irish for the famine. (Note: 2008 is the international year of the potato).

Dairymple argues that apologies issued by individuals who did not commit the injury, and who are long removed from the acts and decisions that caused harm, are a perversion. A real apology, he contends, requires self-examination and evolution by an individual who was actually responsible for an action. He contends that expressing shame for these past acts is the correct and precise sentiment and not guilt, which is associated with apology.

It is an interesting argument. An official apology for starving my ancestors doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy. However, expressing shame for a political culture's crimes is indeed appropriate. In fact, it is a more powerful sentiment than saying 'we're sorry', which is hollow when it doesn't cost the speaker anything to say it - we know the spokesperson didn't actually do the misdeed.

In contrast, stating, or even hinting that you are embarrassed or ashamed of your country's past acts can cost the speaker, as recent dust-ups and misunderstandings in this year's presidential election race have illustrated.

With respect to the Presidential race, the manner in which John McCain is running his campaign - the negative ads, his choice of language, the actions and inactions of his running mate - would make most of us feel ashamed were we the candidate. Apparently, Senator McCain has drifted far, far away from the anchors of dignity, honesty, integrity and reality. And I am wary about how low he will sink during the next few weeks, and how hard he will try to pull Americans down with him.

Fortunately, Senator McCain will have time for personal reflection after the campaign and an opportunity to apologize. Which leads me to recall a piece titled Public Apology written by Steve Martin for the New Yorker some years ago. It starts: "Looking out over the East River from my jail cell and still running for public office, I realize that I have taken several actions in my life for which I owe public apologies." For years I have, on various occasions, pulled this piece out of my saved articles pile and read it for a laugh.

The New Yorker doesn't have Mr. Martin's article on-line, but if you go to this link at Amazon and scroll down through the page for his book Pure Drivel, it is reprinted in full.

Check it out. You won't be sorry.

McCain/Palin Lie to the American People During Their Campaign. Won't They Lie Again if Elected to Serve?

From Politico: McCain camp says that to win the election, it must win either Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Pennsylvania.

Up-Date: The Wall Street Journal reports that McCain is a "serious contender" in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New Hampshire.

Bush, Palin, the Economy - and Snow in the Forecast

Odd things are going on. As with all things unpleasant, I blame George Bush because he can always be found somewhere in the causation chain. Here are a few of the oddities:

Conservatives, who typically decline to argue among themselves in public, are arguing among themselves in public over Sarah Palin according to a story by James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times.

Economic instability continues. Although yesterday former Labor Secretary Robert Reich was on MSNBC with the most sensible comments of the day.




And, it's going to snow on Mars.

T.G.I.F.

"Tell me when its over."

Unlike Tiger, above, who has decided to check out of current events, the rest of us have to pay attention, and it's been a long week. The financial system crisis, John McCain in grid-lock, and Sarah Palin uttering nonsense on t.v.

At the L.A. Times, James Rainey has a review of Governor Palin's performance during her interview with Katie Couric. Mr. Rainey succinctly, and fairly, identifies the the Governor's knowledge gap. Her very real absence of the knowledge required to lead the country in the event that 72-year-old John McCain could not is disturbing.

McCain reportedly will participate in tonight's Presidential debate. It will be interesting to watch. Then we can turn to something more relaxing: Big Ten Football.

T.G.I.F.

Bill Clinton: America's Most Selfish Adult

You may be asking, "How could Bill Clinton be America's most selfish adult?" What about all those financial industry folks whose greed has corrupted politics and made hash of the financial system? What about obsessive leaders of religious cults? Sure, those folks are selfish, too. Here's the difference.

Bill Clinton puts himself into roles in which he is to act for the public good. For example, take his oath as a lawyer. A lawyer's advocacy for a client is tempered by one thing: upholding the integrity of the judicial system, which really means putting first what is in the best interest of the community. Another obvious example is Bill Clinton asking the community to put him into positions of public trust as Governor of Arkansas (yeah, yeah, Arkansas, right -- nonetheless!) and, of course, as President of the United States of America.

What happened in Arkansas can stay in Arkansas. As for the White House, from a policy standpoint, am I glad that a Democrat was President from 1993 - 2000? Yes, of course. From a 'politics as theater' standpoint, was I glad that that Democrat was Bill Clinton? Not always.

Representative government is supposed to be about the people, not the politician. You, my literate and well-read friends, know that Mr. Clinton has on occasion put his personal - very personal - interests ahead of the public interest (don't forget the pardon-mess at the end). Politicians, like all of us, mess-up at times. But this wasn't a state legislator or obscure Florida Congressman chasing underage Congressional pages. Mr. Clinton was the President.

Maybe you've forgiven all of that. Maybe you don't think that the attitudes and behaviors of Bill Clinton while in the White House contributed to making the road tougher for Senator Gore in his presidential run. Maybe. But knowing all of that history, all of those facts, let's look at the present.

What irks today, and why I think Bill Clinton is America's most selfish adult, is that he is not helping the Democratic nominee, Senator Obama, win the White House. Instead, Bill Clinton appears to be helping John McCain.

* He invites John McCain to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative conference, and gives McCain a lavish introduction. As Jonathan Martin points out, that invite probably wouldn't have happened if Hillary Clinton were the nominee.

* Clinton is on the Today show defending McCain's suggestion to postpone the Presidential debate.

* Clinton appears on the David Letterman show, discusses the Presidential election, and does not even mention Senator Obama's name. Comedian Chris Rock appeared on the show after Clinton. In case you haven't seen it, here is Rock's response at the Huffington Post.

* While he appears unable to take opportunies to praise the Democratic nominee for President, Clinton has pleanty of praise for Sarah Palin.

What possible explanation is there for the former leader of the Democratic Party to be such a wimp about campaigning for Senator Obama? The only reason I can think of is that he is completely self-centered.

Some day in the future Hillary Clinton may run again to be the Democratic nominee for President. If she does there is only one way for her to get my vote: divorce Bill Clinton.

For Your Lunch Break: David Letterman Rips On Senator McCain

When newspapers were the dominant medium for mass communication, the old saying was never antagonize folks who buy ink by the barrel (the actual old saying was a little saltier). Today, never antagonize folks who are on t.v., and subsequently YouTube.

Here is David Letterman's reaction to John McCain canceling his appearance on Letterman's show.

Big Problems. Little Problems.

 

There are many big problems right now. Our military is still engaged in a war in Iraq. Crisis is striking the nation's financial markets due to unfettered greed combined with the chowderheaded, anti-government, anti-regulation platitudes and attitudes of Congressional Republicans and George Bush and his administration.

If that isn't bad enough, the GOP has also nominated an incompetent person for vice president and an unprincipled person for president, John McCain. John McCain has for decades promoted the environment from which today's financial crisis has emerged. And the federal government that these Republicans have demonized and cannibalized must now step in and fix everything. This situation is . . . aggravating.

Yes, things are a mess. And in the middle of all this, small problems remain. Those leaves outside the house will fall, and the gutters must be cleaned, a job the New York Times calls "one of the dirtiest and most dangerous chores around the home."

To retain my sanity with respect to the big problems, I will continue to do what I can in the next few weeks to elect the candidate of my choice for President, Senator Barack Obama. And as for the little problems, I will consider some of these tips on gutter management from today's New York Times. These are small steps but as the cliche goes (and with leaf-management on my mind): from a tiny acorn grows the mighty oak.

McCain: Man of No Integrity

I said it in August: in this race for the Presidency, John McCain is throwing away the reputation that he spent his adult life building. Andrew Sullivan repeated that sentiment yesterday in Atlantic.com Writes Sullivan: "McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States. And that is why it is more important than ever to ensure that Barack Obama is the next president. The alternative is now unthinkable. And McCain - no one else - has proved it."

Gov. Palin . . . Still and Again

It's Sunday and as much as I try to not think or read about John McCain and Sarah Palin, I'm not able to stop. It's like a mosquito buzzing around your ear or having a canker sore inside your mouth: annoying.

Palin, who could be President of the United States in a few weeks, has thus far not been available for press interviews. Presumably, she is busy memorizing sound bites that she will use at some future date. Huffington Post is reporting that ABC News will conduct an interview with her sometime next week.

If you were preparing someone like Palin to be President in a couple of weeks, what would your candidate need to know? Middle East. Status of war in Iraq. Immigration.

How to spell potato.

The McCain/Palin team isn't wowing everyone. The L.A. Times went to Pennsylvania, a key battle ground state, to get a reaction on Palin from women voters there. Not everyone loved the Gov:

When Palin belittled Obama's history as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side -- suggesting he was a do-little activist while she, as the former mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, had "actual responsibilities" -- Sandy Ryan, 59, clicked the remote. "That's enough of that. I switched over to 'House Hunters,' " she said with some disgust over dessert with a group of women from the senior housing complex she manages.

Check out the whole article.

And, let's get fired up and ready to go.






This little dog is waiting for answers. Waiting for change. Waiting.

NYT Columnist Judith Warner on McCain/Palin

Great post today by Judith Warner for the New York Times. "[T]he Republicans, very clearly, believe that real people are idiots." Certainly Republican John McCain and the boys who run the McCain campaign must believe we are all idiots. Check out Ms. Warner's column, and also some of the many interesting postings made by readers.

Unscripted Conservative Commentators Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan on the McCain - Palin Ticket

Here is a glimpse into what professional Republicans Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan say when they don't realize the microphone is on:

Expect Big Negative Campaign from McCain

Brace yourselves. This fall the McCain campaign will be launching a massive round of negative television ads, radio spots, and those oh-so-annoying automated phone calls. Why do I think this? Because John McCain's campaign manager flatly stated that this Presidential race is not about issues.

From the Washington Post:

"Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.""

The only reasonable interpretation of Davis' statement is that since the McCain campaign does not plan to talk about the issues, and they believe that "personality" drives the election, then the McCain campaign plan is to engage solely in negative personal attacks.

What nonsense.

This is a critical election for our country. Serious matters must be addressed and resolved: war, national security, poverty, the environment, Social Security, health care, food prices, and on and on. It is the candidate's job to explain their position on these issues. That the McCain campaign plans to spend this election period engaging in name calling, hissy fits, and nasty personal attacks is just plain wrong.

My solution? Between now and the election, plan more activities that don't involve exposure to commercial advertising. Forget t.v. and commercial radio. Read newspapers and books, go to movies and sporting events, hang with your friends. Get information on campaign issues from neutral entities, such as the League of Women Voters. Ask the candidates for detailed information about their stand on the issues. If you know who your candidate is, engage in positive discussions about the reasons why you support that person.

Being a candidate is a responsibility. Bloggers, editorial writers, political pundits and commentators have different roles. Being a candidate for President of the United States of America is a serious undertaking involving a very serious job. Rick Davis and John McCain may intend to treat the American people like fools, but we don't have to put up with it.

The Working Week Ahead

Just when folks are getting up-tight about the end of Labor Day and the return to work, there is good news. Add zest to your time in the salt mine by starting an office pool concerning the time and day of Sarah Palin's speech declining her nomination as GOP VP due to "family obligations", "obligations to the people of Alaska" and/or other pablum devised by the so-called GOP "think tank".

Why? Professional Republicans are not going to put up with all this nonsense from someone who hasn't earned their chops in the GOP world, and who cannot raise money. For those of you in a news vacuum, here is a round-up.

First, check out Steve Benen's report on CBS.com. Highlights:

* The spin for Palin is that she challenged the allegedly corrupt Alaskan United States Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens, of course, is facing seven felony counts for corruption. The truth is that Palin allied herself with him throughout her brief political career.

* Palin claim to fame as a reformer is unfounded as she did not oppose the "bridge to nowhere".

* Palin is not in charge of the Alaska National Guards when national defense matters arise, and thus has -0- national security experience.

Second, there is scandal. Troopergate. No, not Bill Clinton's troopergate or Eliot Spitzer's troopergate. Her own Troopergate! Then there is her minor child who is five months pregnant (is there a statutory rape law in Alaska?), and weird stuff including many of her public policy stands, including her support for aerial shooting of wolves and bears.

I bet when old Senator John McCain wanted to steal the spotlight from Senator Barack Obama, this not what he had in mind. In fact, this is yet another reason to call into question McCain's judgement.

Accordingly, there is an opportunity for those of us who actually know how many homes we own to have fun and run a pool concerning the time and date of Governor Palin's speech declining the nomination. Presumably, the GOP VP is to be nominated on Wednesday night; the GOP's convention web site is a bit vague. But let's stick to that schedule for the sake of the game.

Enjoy!

The Governor Palin Selecton

I don't understand all the discussion about whether or not Governor Palin's selection as GOP VP candidate will draw women's votes, particularly those women who supported Senator Clinton, to McCain-Palin. Can that really be the analysis by Republican strategists? How completely silly.

There are so many reasons why this line of thinking is off the mark that it's almost exhausting. Where to begin? Here are the two easiest.

First, assume that a serious chunk of Senator Clinton's most dedicated female supporters are pro-choice. Pro-choice women do not vote for anti-choice Presidential candidates. McCain and Palin are anti-choice; or to use the their terms "pro-life". There is a possibility that the next President could appoint up to three new members to the United States Supreme Court. There is zero chance these women will vote for the GOP ticket. End of story.

Second, apparently the GOP completely misunderstood the Democratic Presidential primary. On issues of policy, and with respect to the choice between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, the candidates essentially agreed on almost every point. So, some voters thought, 'I get the same policy from either one. I'd like to see a female President. I'll vote for the Sen. Clinton.' That just isn't the case with the GOP candidates McCain-Palin in comparison to Senators Obama and Biden.

So, who does that leave? Pro-life women who will only vote for the pro-life candidate if it is a woman? Who is that? If the voter is really motivated by being pro-life, that voter was always going to vote for Senator McCain. Thus, choosing Gov. Palin gilded the lily, but didn't bring in any new voters.

For these and many more reasons, the mere selection of a woman as his running mate will not cause women voters to move toward voting for Sen. McCain.

Sen. McCain Confused about his Real Property Holdings