« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »
September 30, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
McCain Puts Venezuela in the Middle East
First, John McCain says he will not meet with a NATO ally that he thinks is in Latin America, and now all of a sudden Venezuela is in the Middle East. When political pundits said this race could change the map, this is not what they had in mind.
McCain, talking about energy policy, stresses the importance of "ensuring that America is secure, and not dependent on oil from people like Hugo Chavez or other parts of the Middle East which is, we know, could be destabilized under certain sets of circumstances." [emphasis added]
Casino Lobbyists Betting on McCain
Check out our latest web video on John McCain's ties to casino lobbyists:
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
''Same Path''
Senator Barack Obama launched a new two-minute advertisement on the failed economic policies of the last eight years, and tells Americans what he would do as President.
Read the Obama economic plan and see the how Americans fare better with a side-by-side of McCain's 'plans.'
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 29, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
McCain Stacks the Deck for Gambling Industry Lobbyists
Watch our latest web video on John McCain's ties and favors for gambling lobbyists.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 28, 2008
Sunday Open Thread
Chat away...
September 27, 2008
Vote for Change
Register your friends and family, turnout the vote on November 4 for the change we need. And in case you needed more motivation...
The stakes couldn't be higher at a critical time in our lives and our nation's history.
Visit www.VoteForChange.com!
September 26, 2008
John McCain -- Bull in a China Shop
Newsweek on John McCain's theatrics to use the financial crisis for political gain -- Campaign First -- and then offer up more deregulation and more corporate tax breaks instead.
But instead [John McCain has] proven to be a bull in a china shop--or, more accurately, a bull that 1) misleadingly says the china shop is in disarray before he enters; 2) vows not to leave until he cleans up; 3) enters and shatters everything in sight; 4) blames everyone else for the damage and 5) leaves, claiming a job well done.
When suspending his campaign on Wednesday, McCain defined his goal as "achiev[ing] consensus on legislation." As the New Republic's Michael Crowley put it, "by McCain's original logic, the argument for staying in Washington ha[d] gotten stronger [since his arrival], not weaker." As a result, McCain's nonsensical announcement that he's flying to Ole Miss--a stark reversal from his earlier insistence on not debating unless a deal is done--serves only to reinforce the impression that suspending his campaign was little more than a stunt. First he'd settle for nothing short of "consensus" and "legislation." Now being "optimistic"--not certain, but "optimistic"--that there's been "significant progress" is enough to declare victory. After insisting that debating before the bailout was solidified would be unpatriotic, McCain is debating anyway--even though a deal seems more distant than when he suspended his campaign. McCain wanted to look strong and apolitical. He wound up looking weak and opportunistic instead.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
McCain Plays Politics at a Time for Leadership
John McCain's political stunt to "suspend" his campaign could not be any more transparent. As we noted yesterday, McCain's campaign was operating like normal in the field, and surrogates were still lobbing their dishonest, misleading attacks against Senator Barack Obama. Even The Daily Show with Jon Stewart mocked McCain's move as a ten day delay to a major crisis where the Republican presidential nominee shifted from declarations that economic "fundamentals" are "strong" to warnings that this is the greatest crisis to face the nation since the Second World War.
The New York Times reported on rundown of events at the White House summit that included McCain, Senator Barack Obama, President Bush, and congressional leaders.
Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand. [...]
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the Senate banking committee, denounced the session as “a rescue plan for John McCain,” and proclaimed it a waste of precious hours that could have been spent negotiating. [...]
Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little.
TIME Magazine columnist Joe Klein ripped John McCain's injection of purely partisan politics into a fragile Congressional negotiation.
McCain's erratic, and irresponsible, behavior this week isn't happening in a vacuum. This isn't just politics--even George W. Bush, who never failed to take a partisan advantage in his presidency, realizes that. It is a time for leadership [...] We've seen nothing like that from McCain. Just histrionics.
Meanwhile, John McCain's idea to solve the crisis? More deregulation and more corporate tax giveaways:
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 25, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Some headlines this evening:
Just hours after Sen. John McCain made a surprise announcement Wednesday that he was temporarily suspending his presidential campaign to help work out a bipartisan deal in Congress on the financial crisis, his campaign manager Rick Davis dined with about a dozen top New York-based fundraisers at the chic 21 Club in Manhattan… Even though campaign officials were temporarily told to suspend their fundraising and other activities per McCain’s instructions, Johnson told the assembled guests that they “ought to redouble their efforts” to make sure that an upcoming fundraiser in New York on Oct 14 is a success, according to the attendee.
• Talking Points Memo compiled pundit reactions to John McCain's "suspension" announcement, although the Huffington Post found fifteen McCain campaign offices operating as normal.
• Paul O'Neill, President Bush's former Treasury Secretary, says he thinks Bush "doesn't understand the financial crisis."
Chat away...
McCain's Plane Landed in D.C. After Bailout Deal Announced
Sen. John McCain returned to Washington Thursday after declaring that he has suspended his campaign, but appeared largely detached from the flurry of negotiations on a $700 billion economic rescue package that appeared to be headed to a successful conclusion.
McCain's "Straight Talk Air" landed at National Airport just after noon, and McCain's motorcade sped toward the Senate. But by then, senior Democrats and Republicans colleagues were already announcing that a deal in principle had been reached.
On John McCain's ''Suspended'' Campaign
Senior adviser Brad Woodhouse appeared on MSNBC this afternoon and took John McCain to task for his latest political stunt. Numerous reports show that McCain's campaign offices across the nation are still operating as normal, and within hours of his "suspension" announcement, McCain surrogates were on cable news programs attacking Senator Barack Obama.
Woodhouse also ripped McCain, who sought to postpone tomorrow night's first debate, that the President of the United States must be able to "walk and chew gum at the same time."
Sarah Palin Talks to Katie Couric
Sarah Palin spoke to Katie Couric this week but if you visited the McCain Report blog, you never would have known the first part of the interviewed aired yesterday, and part two airs tonight. Howard Kurtz reports that Palin declared "victory" in Iraq.
In Part I, Palin talked about the economic crisis but could not come up with an example of John McCain pushing for regulation.
An excerpt from Part II, set to air tonight, Palin attempted to explain the "Alaska's proximity to Russia = foreign policy experience" argument.
Prosecutor: Stevens Used Oil Co. as a ''Personal Handyman Service''
The trial of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) continued this week as prosecutors argued in court that the longtime lawmaker used Veco Corp., the oil company he is accused of accepting illegal gifts, as his own personal Yellow Pages.
Sen. Ted Stevens used one of Alaska's biggest employers as his "own personal handyman service" and never paid Veco Corp. for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of renovations to his home, a federal prosecutor charged Thursday as she outlined the government's case for finding the Alaska Republican guilty of lying on financial disclosure forms.
"You'll learn that the defendant never paid Veco a dime for the work on the chalet. Not a penny," the Justice Department's lead prosecutor, Brenda Morris, told jurors in the opening minutes of Stevens' trial. [...]
"If the defendant needed an electrician, he contacted Veco. If the defendant needed a plumber, he contacted Veco," she said. "We reach for the Yellow Pages, he reached for Veco."
Meanwhile, the McCain campaign continued to dodge questions about whether John McCain or Sarah Palin support Stevens, or scandal-plagued Rep. Don Young (R-AK).
Updated: The defense argues that Senator Stevens doesn't live in Alaska:
Brendan Sullivan, defense attorney for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), made an admission today that probably isn't going to help his client's re-election changes - Ted Stevens doesn't really live in Alaska, the state he has represented in the Senate for the last 40 years.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Senator Barack Obama on ''A Stronger Economy''
Senator Barack Obama released this 60 second television advertisement entitled, ''A Stronger Economy.''
Davis Ties to Firm Remain, Records Show
Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, has remained the treasurer and a corporate director of his lobbying firm this year, despite repeated statements by campaign officials that he had ended his relationship with the firm in 2006, according to corporate records.
The McCain campaign this week criticized news stories disclosing that, since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage giant recently put under federal conservatorship. The stories, published Tuesday by NEWSWEEK, The New York Times and Roll Call, reported that the consulting fees continued until last month even though, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement, neither Davis nor anybody else at his firm did any substantial work for the payments.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 24, 2008
Senator Barack Obama on the Financial Crisis
Watch Senator Barack Obama's remarks from Clearwater, Florida this afternoon:
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Senator Joe Biden Talks Foreign Policy
Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden was in Cincinnati, Ohio today and talked about the foreign policy failure of the last eight years. Watch:
Rick Davis' Firm Paid by Freddie Mac through August
In an interview on the Sunday edition of 60 Minutes, John McCain defended campaign manager Rick Davis and challenged folks to "examine his record." The New York Times did just that and found that Davis' lobbying firm was paid retainers of $15,000 a month through August.
One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The disclosure undercuts a remark by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years. [...]
They said they did not recall Mr. Davis’s doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than to speak to a political action committee of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the approaching midterm Congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of his close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who by 2006 was widely expected to run again for the White House.
This latest disclosure did not sit well with government watchdog groups:
In a sharply-worded statement released to the Huffington Post, David Donnelly, director of the watchdog group Campaign Money Watch, said: "John McCain's campaign manager and Freddie Mac essentially had a secret half a million dollar lay-a-way plan. For almost three years, they made secret, monthly payments of $15,000 to Rick Davis for apparently no other work than for him to provide special access to a future McCain White House in exchange. If McCain knew about this, his presidential campaign should be over. If he didn't know about it, he ought to fire Rick Davis immediately."
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 23, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Taking It to John McCain
Democrats Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) joined other concerned citizens on the steps of the Republican National Committee this afternoon to protest John McCain's promise to protect offshore accounts from paying U.S. taxes and lifetime support for the massive deregulation that helped usher in this economic instability we currently face.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Bermuda
John McCain does more than vacation in Bermuda. He speaks to insurance executives who stash their profits in offshore bank accounts to avoid paying American taxes, and John McCain promises to protect them.
Country first? More like McCain first. Watch the latest television advertisement from the Obama campaign.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 22, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Poll: George Bush at 19% Approval
A new American Research Group poll found that just 19% of Americans approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president and 76% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 17% approve and 78% disapprove.
Bush's overall approval rating of 19% is tied for Bush's lowest in ARG monthly polling since Bush took office.
Seattle Times Endorses Senator Barack Obama for President
In the Sunday edition of the Seattle Times was an editorial that endorsed Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama for President.
An economic Katrina is shattering the confidence of hardworking, middle-class Americans. The war that should never have been in Iraq is dragging on too long. At a time of huge challenge, the candidate with the intelligence, temperament and judgment to lead our nation to a better place is Sen. Barack Obama. [...]
McCain is at heart a deregulator. But it is the hands-off and ineffective federal regulatory system that allowed this mess to fester. Obama offered a more coherent approach months ago when he called for regulating investment banks, mortgage brokers and hedge funds and streamlining overlapping regulatory agencies.
Our country is on the wrong track. Average, middle-class citizens have lost confidence that if they work hard, they can improve their lives, afford to send their kids to college and not be tossed out of their homes.
American optimism has been wracked by President George Bush and a previous Republican Congress. If you want change, you do not keep what is essentially the same team in power. You try something different. You vote for the stronger matchup, Obama and Sen. Joseph Biden, a smart and steady hand on foreign policy and other matters.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
John McCain: A Risk We Cannot Afford to Take
John McCain says he wants to deregulate the healthcare industry just like he and his allies like Phil Gramm did to the banking industry. Watch this latest advertisement from the Obama campaign:
McCain Adviser Paid $35k/Month to Lobby Against Regulation of Freddie, Fannie
Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say. [...]
Incensed by the advertisements, several current and former executives of the companies came forward to discuss the role that Rick Davis, Mr. McCain’s campaign manager and longtime adviser, played in helping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beat back regulatory challenges when he served as president of their advocacy group, the Homeownership Alliance, formed in the summer of 2000. Some who came forward were Democrats, but Republicans, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed their descriptions.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 20, 2008
In His Own Words
Paul Krugman, columnist for the New York Times, found a gem in the latest issue of Contingencies Magazine:
Here’s what McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.So McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, was praising financial deregulation like 10 seconds ago — and promising that if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry!
Consider this an open thread. Chat away...
September 19, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Pew Study on Hispanics
Pew Research published troubling numbers as Hispanics are hurting even harder in the Bush/McCain economy. The Hispanic community took a huge hit in the housing downturn, and with the widening financial crisis, Hispanics are getting hurt across the board.
Half (50%) of all Latinos say that the situation of Latinos in this country is worse now than it was a year ago, according to a new nationwide survey of 2,015 Hispanic adults conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center.
This pessimism is especially prevalent among immigrants, who account for 54% of all Hispanic adults in the United States. Fully 63% of these Latino immigrants say that the situation of Latinos has worsened over the past year. In 2007, just 42% of all adult Hispanic immigrants -- and just 33% of all Hispanic adults -- said the same thing.
Hispanics, also, view Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in a much more positive light than John McCain and the rest of the Bush/McCain Republicans.
About half (49%) of all Latinos say that the Democratic Party has more concern for Hispanics, while just 7% say the Republican Party has more concern. Since 2004, the share of Hispanics who say that the Democratic Party has more concern for Hispanics has increased by 14 percentage points. Most of this gain for the Democrats comes from a reduction in the share of Latinos who say there is no difference between the parties.
Among Hispanics who are registered voters, a majority say that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is the better candidate for Hispanics (55%) and for immigrants (50%). Just 11% of Hispanic registered voters say that Republican presidential nominee John McCain is better for Hispanics, and just 12% say he is better for immigrants. The remainder see no difference between the two candidates on this front. Overall, Hispanic registered voters support Obama over McCain by 66% to 23%. [emphasis added]
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Paulson: Plan Could Cost $1 Trillion
The failed economic policies of George W. Bush and John McCain could cost taxpayers as much as $1 trillion.
Paulson announced plans Friday morning for a "bold approach" that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. At a news conference at Treasury headquarters, he called for a "temporary asset relief program" to take bad mortgages off the books of the nation's financial institutions. Congressional leaders had left Washington on Friday, but Paulson planned to confer with them over the weekend.
"We're talking hundreds of billions," Paulson told reporters. "This needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get to the heart of the problem."
We cannot afford four more years of the same economic failures we have experienced the last eight years under the "guidance" of someone who admits they have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to the economy.
McCain Flubs and Accidentally Calls for the FEC Chair to Resign
John McCain revised his call to "fire" the SEC chairman, Chris Cox. This time, he said Cox should "resign" after ABC News pointed out that the President cannot "fire" the SEC chair, who heads an independent commission.
In Wisconsin this morning, McCain confused the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), which "enforces the federal securities laws and regulates the securities industry/stock market," with the FEC (Federal Election Commission) that oversees elections. Watch:
The current chair of the FEC is David F. McGahn II, who probably found himself asking this morning, "What did I do?"
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 18, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Been There, Done That
Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington. [...]
There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.
Senator Barack Obama -- a proven record of getting things done.
In 2006 and 2007, Obama teamed up with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn to pass the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, also known as “Google for Government.” The act created a free, searchable web site – USASpending.gov — that discloses to the public all federal grants, contracts, loans and insurance payments.
In June of this year, Obama and Coburn introduced new Senate legislation to expand the information available online to include details on earmarks, competitive bidding, criminal activities, audit disputes and other government information.
GOP Dirty Tricks in Florida
A new presidential election cycle, same old, Republican dirty tricks. It appears John McCain's deception infects every part of his campaign. Tampa Tribune:
Staff at the Hillsborough County Democratic Party offices in Tampa have been getting barraged with phone calls from party members who have received what they say are deceptive mailers.
Some of the mailers sought support for Republican presidential candidate John McCain; others simply asked for a donation to the Republican National Committee. Most of the voters who have received them are elderly and registered Democrats, local party officials said.
"I still don't understand their angle," said Michael Steinberg, the county Democratic Party's executive committee chairman. "Frankly, it doesn't really make any sense."
One possibility, he suggested, was "vote caging." By sending the mailings to registered voters in envelopes that can't be forwarded, groups can compile lists of voters who might have moved or are part-time residents. Those lists could then be used to challenge the voters' registration and prevent their absentee ballots from being counted in the general election.
An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times calls the mailings some of the "sleaziest campaign tactics."
It apparently uses incorrect or fraudulent voter identification numbers, and it arrives on official-looking forms titled "voter registration tracking forms.'' One of its devious aims appears to be to build lists to challenge the eligibility of legitimate voters. Such an effort to confuse older voters is contemptible, and McCain should denounce it.
GOP Congressman Endorses Obama/Biden Ticket
Congressman Wayne Gilchrist (R-Kennedyville, Md.), who lost his primary in a challenge from the right, endorsed Senator Barack Obama in an interview on local station for National Public Radio.
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a maverick Republican from Maryland, endorsed Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president in an interview Wednesday with WYPR, Baltimore's National Public Radio station.
Gilchrest, who lost a primary campaign and is retiring from Congress, has already endorsed the Democrat running for his seat, Frank Kratovil. Justifying his endorsement of Obama, Gilchrest said that "we can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness."
Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), "have the breadth of experience. I think they're prudent. They're knowledgable."
Rep. Gilchrist joins a list of other Republicans who have broken ranks with the GOP to support Barack Obama for president -- "Obamacans" as the Democratic nominee likes to call them. Read more about Republicans for Obama.
McCain Flubs on SEC Chairmanship
John McCain continued to pretend he never called himself the "greatest deregulator" while he campaigned in tandem with Sarah Palin in Iowa. He also made another glaring gaffe on the economy this afternoon while speaking about the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).
At a joint rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thursday, Republican John McCain slammed the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being "asleep at the switch" saying that if he were president, he would fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC since 2005 and a former Republican congressman.
McCain said the SEC has allowed trading practices such as short selling to stay in place that turned the "markets into a casino."
"The regulators were asleep, my friends," McCain said. "The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president. And in my view has betrayed the public trust. If I were president today, I would fire him."
But while the president nominates and the Senate confirms the SEC chair, a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president. [emphasis added]
One would think that after 26-years in Washington, John McCain would have known that already.
Wanna Get Away?
John McCain and Sarah Palin campaigned in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the Republican vice presidential nominee mixed up Grand Rapids with Cedar Rapids.
"Thank you so much Iowa, it is so good to be in Grand Rapids," Palin said. OOOPS. She's in Cedar Rapids.
Wanna get away?
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan (R) Endorses Barack Obama
Richard Riordan, the former Republican mayor of Los Angeles, endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Riordan said the Illinois senator was by far the best choice for the White House and the only one with the intellect to shepherd the country through troubled economic times. "He's extremely bright and energetic, and he's a guy who gets things done," said Riordan, who was a successful venture capitalist before he was elected mayor in 1993, serving two terms.
Riordan criticized GOP presidential nominee John McCain's past support for financial deregulation, saying it helped trigger the mortgage crisis and subsequent economic downturn. "There's nothing in his background that shows he's a person who can understand these complicated economic issues, or shows that he is entrepreneurial enough to bring about change."
GOP SoS: ''They Have a Fight Here in Indiana and It Is Real''
Courtesy of Blue Indiana, we hear that the race in Indiana is closer than the McCain campaign is willing to admit.
Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita weighed in on the Hoosier state as CNN’s John King reports:
But Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita, the state's chief elections officer, said Sen. John McCain's campaign had better take notice.
"They have a fight here in Indiana and it is real," Rokita said.
The numbers are dramatic: In 2004, 2.5 million ballots were cast for president in Indiana. And in that entire cycle, the state received some 565,000 new and updated registrations.
This year, the number is already in excess of 562,000 and given the recent spike in activity by campaigns and other organizations, Rokita tells CNN he expects to hit a record 750,000 by the state's October 6 registration deadline.
"I will say that this is the first time I have ever seen a Democratic presidential campaign this engaged in this state. Usually Indiana is No. 1 for the red states on election night when it comes to president," Rokita told CNN in an interview in his state Capitol office in Indianapolis. [emphasis added]
Now that is some straight talk.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 17, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
McCain Contradicts Himself -- Yet Again
John McCain made an incredibly absurd argument this morning on CBS when he said he "warned" of a pending economic "crisis" two years ago. ABC News' Jake Tapper:
"Two years ago, I warned that the oversight of Fannie and Freddie was terrible, that we were facing a crisis because of it, or certainly serious problems," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CBS this morning. "The influence that Fannie and Freddie had in the inside the Beltway, old boy network, which led to this kind of corruption is unacceptable and I warned about it a couple of years ago.” [emphasis added]
Why it is absurd? Last December -- presumably we all agree that was less than two years ago -- John McCain said he didn't anticipate the economic crisis afflicting the U.S. economy.
"But I do rely on a lot of smart people that I have that are both in my employ and acquaintances of mine. And most of them did not anticipate this. Most of them, I mean I can find some that did. But, a guy that’s on my staff named Doug Holtz-Eakin, who was once the head of the Office of Management and Budget, said that there was nervousness out there. There’s nervousness. There was nervousness that we had such a long period of prosperity without a downturn because of the history of our economy. But I don’t know of hardly anybody, with the exception of a handful, that said ‘wait a minute, this thing is getting completely out of hand and is overheating.'
"So, I’d like to tell you that I did anticipate it, but I have to give you straight talk, I did not.”
The fact is that his claim on CBS this morning is simply not true and he is trying to fool the American people -- again.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
John McCain Abandons 26-Year Record Opposing Regulation
The recent turmoil in the American financial system has caused John McCain to suddenly embrace regulation after building a 26-year record of opposing it.
So when John McCain goes out on the campaign trail and releases television advertisements pledging "new rules" on Wall Street, you can imagine why the New York Times editorial board was completely floored.
As for Wall Street, Mr. McCain blamed the meltdown on “unbridled corruption and greed.” He called for a commission to find out what happened and propose solutions. His diagnosis and his cure are misguided. The crisis on Wall Street is fundamentally a failure to do the things that temper, detect and punish corruption and greed. It was a failure to police the markets, to enforce rules, to heed and sound warnings and expose questionable products and practices.
The regulatory failure is rooted in a markets-are-good-government-is-bad ideology that has been ascendant as long as Mr. McCain has been in Washington and championed by his own party. If Mr. McCain adheres to some other belief system, we would like to hear about it.
Shocking because this was John McCain fifteen months ago:
“You are interviewing the greatest free trader you will ever interview, and the greatest deregulator you will ever interview,” he said.
Also, about that righteous indignation regarding "corruption and greed on Wall Street," you have got to wonder how those 83 Wall Street lobbyists he employs feel about that.
To quote Senator Barack Obama: "If you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well then I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska."
Senator Obama Addresses Nation on the Economy in Two-Minute Ad
Senator Barack Obama will speak directly to the nation in a two-minute advertisement on the economy. Watch:
For more, read the Obama economic plan, and watch Senator Obama speak about the economy yesterday in Golden, Colorado.
Full transcript of the two-minute ad below.
Keep reading "Senator Obama Addresses Nation on the Economy in Two-Minute Ad"
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 16, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Here are a few headlines this evening:
· John McCain says in an advertisement released today about the growing financial crisis that he will impose "new rules" on Wall Street. TPM Election Centrals notes that the spot omits McCain's record where he once called himself a "deregulator."
In fact, the New York Times aptly spelled out McCain's Wall Street rap sheet:
While Mr. McCain has cited the need for additional oversight when it comes to specific situations, like the mortgage problems behind the current shocks on Wall Street, he has consistently characterized himself as fundamentally a deregulator and he has no history prior to the presidential campaign of advocating steps to tighten standards on investment firms.
· Goldman Sachs, the world's largest investment bank, experienced the worst day in the company's history since going public with a 71 percent drop.
· Steve Benen, the hardest working blogger on the web, has more on John McCain's "newfound disdain" for Wall Street.
Chat away...
Unable to Understand Economy, McCain Suggests 9/11 Commission-Style Probe He Opposed
John McCain doesn't understand the economy so with the U.S. financial system in turmoil, he called for a "9/11 Commission-style" probe into Wall Street.
Appearing Tuesday on the three network morning shows, McCain said there was indeed a financial crisis and that to understand what had caused it, the nation would need a review on the order of the one led by the Sept. 11 commission. That bipartisan panel studied the events leading to the 2001 terrorist attacks and recommended changes to avert another attack. [emphasis added]
Ironic since McCain opposed the 9/11 Commission:
2006: McCain Voted To Provide Tax Cuts For Those Earning Over $1 Million Over Funding 9/11 Commission Report Recommendations. McCain voted against an amendment to establish a Homeland Security Trust Fund to implement all 41 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. It would be offset by eliminating certain tax breaks for individuals with annual incomes of more than $1 million. [2006 Senate Vote #244, 9/13/2006, Obama: N, McCain: Y, Biden: N]
2006: McCain Voted Against Providing $4.1 Billion To Implement 9/11 Commission Recommendations Regarding First Responders. McCain voted against an amendment to the Security and Accountability of Every Port Act of 2006 which sought to appropriate $4.1 billion for the implementation of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations such as the screening of all cargo, and the provision of much needed resources for first responders, including the capacity to communicate on a common radio spectrum. [2006 Senate Vote #243, 9/13/2006, Obama: Y, McCain: N, Biden: Y]
McCain Missed Vote On Implementing 9-11 Commission Recommendations And Increasing Funding To First Responders. McCain missed the vote on an amendment that would implement remaining recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission and aviation security screening measures; and authorize more than $4 billion for rail and mass transit security, $3.1 billion for homeland security grant programs and $3.3 billion for a new emergency grant program to improve communications among first-responders. Obama: Y, McCain: X, Biden: Y [2007 Senate Vote #69, 3/9/2007]
McCain Missed Key Vote On Passage Of 9-11 Commission Report Recommendations. McCain missed the vote on Passage of the bill that would implement remaining recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission and implement aviation security screening measures; and authorize more than $4 billion for rail and mass transit security, $3.1 billion for homeland security grant programs, and $3.3 billion for a new emergency grant program to improve communications among first-responders. It would extend collective bargaining rights and greater whistleblower protections to Transportation Security Administration screeners and require the screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years. It also would bar transportation security cards from being issued to certain convicted felons and allow the Homeland Security secretary to modify the list of banned felonies. Obama: Y, McCain: X, Biden: Y [2007 Senate Vote #73, 3/13/2007]
In 2004, Nancy Pfotenhauer, a McCain adviser who regularly appears on television on behalf of the campaign, ripped the 9/11 Commission as "a gift to our enemies."
2004: Pfotenhauer Called 9-11 Commission “A Gift To Our Enemies,” Members “At Sleepy Phases In Their Careers” Who Are “Grandstanding” And “Showboating.” During an appearance, Nancy Pfotenhauer, then president of the Independent Women’s Forum, voiced her displeasure with the very existence of the 9-11 Commission: “Well, basically I think that the American people and this country deserves better than what we’re seeing right now. I think that the devolution of this to a ‘pin the tail on the elephant’ exercise is something that – a gift to our enemies and embarrassing to the country that wants to move on and focus on fighting the real enemy, and that’s Osama bin Laden.” When it was pointed out that the man running the commission was a Republican, Pfotenhauer responded, “The problem is that you’ve got a commission full of people who have formerly very prestigious positions, but this has resuscitated somewhat sleepy phases in their careers, and it is absolutely inappropriate for them to be grandstanding or showboating in front of the media right now.” [Capital Report CNBC, 4/15/2004]
McCain also opposed commission probes into the failings after Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005.
McCain Has Voted Twice Against A Commission To Study What Went Wrong During Katrina. McCain voted twice against establishing a Congressional commission to examine Federal, State, and local response to devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in U.S. Gulf Region, especially in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other areas impacted in the aftermath; and makes immediate corrective measures to improve future responses. Obama: Y, McCain: N, Biden: Y; Obama: Y, McCain: N, Biden: Y [2006 Senate Vote #6, 2/2/2006; 2005 Senate Vote #229, 9/14/2005]
McCain Falsely Claimed He Had Supported “Every Investigation” On The Response To Hurricane Katrina. According to the Associated Press, “Asked by a reporter why he voted twice against commissions to investigate the botched response to Hurricane Katrina, McCain insisted, ‘I’ve supported every investigation,’ despite his votes to the contrary.” [Associated Press Online, 6/5/2008]
2005: McCain Voted Against A Special Committee To Examine The Awarding Of Reconstruction Contracts Post-Katrina And Rita. McCain voted against considering an amendment establishing a seven-member Special Committee on War and Reconstruction Contracting to investigate the awarding and performance of contracts to reconstruction activities in the Gulf coast of the U.S. relating to damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Obama: Y, McCain: N, Biden: Y [2005 Senate Vote #259, 10/19/2005]
New DNC Web Ad on McCain and the Economy
John McCain thinks the fundamentals of the economy are strong. He repeated the claim just yesterday after news of two major U.S. financial institutions go belly up and send stocks plummeting over 500 points. We released the following web ad highlighting how John McCain is disturbingly out of touch with Americans on the economy:
CNN Debunks McCain Lies
CNN ran a segment earlier today that debunks a few of the many lies coming from the McCain campaign.
To read more about McCain's lies, read our Count the Lies page on McCainpedia where the counter is currently at 54. (But likely not for long.)
''Fundamentals''
John McCain just doesn't get it. He still thinks the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" -- even after the recent news of Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch selling to Bank of America, and AIG teetering on the brink.
Check out the latest Obama campaign advertisement on McCain and the economy:
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
About that Chairmanship...
John McCain, who freely admitted he doesn't understand the economy, tried to claim his former chairmanship of the Senate Commerce Committee provided him with the needed experience to handle the turmoil in the U.S. financial system on cable news morning shows.
Only one problem -- the Senate Commerce Committee does not oversee those issues.
"I know how to fix this economy. I have had great experience on these issues as chairman of the Commerce Committee," he said on Fox's "Morning Joe."
On CNBC's "Squak Box," he added: "I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy."
In fact, it is the Senate Banking Committee that has oversight of "banks, banking, and financial institutions; control of prices of commodities, rents and services; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; financial aid to commerce and industry and money and credit, including currency and coinage."
So what did his Committee actually do?
According to it's website, the Commerce committee oversees 13 areas, beginning with the Coast Guard, and continuing through "Regulation of consumer products and services ... except for credit, financial services, and housing" -- the very areas now in crisis.
Either John McCain is blatantly lying about the duties of the Senate Commerce Committee (and hopes no one notices), or he is so out of touch that he doesn't even know what his own Committee did while he was chair.
Reformers?
John McCain and Sarah Palin like to tell crowds that they are going to "shake up" Washington with reforms, but do reformers stonewall investigations?
Gov. Sarah Palin is unlikely to speak with an independent counsel hired by Alaska lawmakers to review the firing of her public safety commissioner, a spokesman for Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday.
"The partisan presidential campaign of McCain/Palin has interfered and is picking partisan targets to smear in order to make this investigation look like something it isn't," said Patti Higgins, chairwoman of the Alaska Democratic Party. "Rather than cooperating with the investigation, the Republican presidential campaign is doing everything it can to stall and smear."
We've seen this movie before and as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joe Biden, said yesterday, "the sequel is always worse than the original."
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 15, 2008
Evening Open Thread
No "exaggerating" or "whining" lest Donald Luskin or Phil Gramm catch wind of it.
Chat away..
Dow Closes Down 500 Points
On the same day John McCain reiterated his claim that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" and one of his economic advisers chastised Americans' pessimism on the economy in the pages of the Washington Post, the Dow Jones tumbled 504 points today.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 504.48, or 4.4 percent, pushing past a 300-point decline during the final hour of trading. The technology-heavy Nasdaq was down more than 3.5 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 4.6 percent.
The financial sector was among the hardest hit. Bank of America closed down 20 percent, while Wachovia fell 26 percent. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which report quarterly earnings this week, closed down 21 percent and 11 percent respectively. [...] AIG closed down 54 percent today.
Obama on the Stump
Senator Barack Obama hits McCain while on the stump in Colorado:
"But now suddenly, John McCain says he is about change, too. He even started using some of my lines. Suddenly he says he wants 'to turn the page.' He had an ad today that he started running that he and Gov. Palin would bring the change that we need. He had this in an advertisement. Sound familiar? Let me tell you something, instead of borrowing my lines he needs to borrow our ideas," Obama said.
He followed up with a dig on lobbyists, saying "if you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well then I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska." [emphasis added]
Enthusiasm Gap
No wonder the McCain campaign lies about their crowd sizes. (Is there nothing they won't lie about?) Check out this photo from a McCain rally in Jacksonville, Florida, published by the Orlando Sentinel. That's a lot of empty seats.
Jacksonville, Florida's largest city with more than 800,000 people, voted for 58% for George W. Bush in 2004. When President Bush visited Jacksonville during the 2004 election, he had nearly 50,000 supporters fill Alltel Stadium. [Jacksonville Times-Union, October 24, 2004]
In contrast, John McCain only drew 3,000 at the most to see him this morning at Jacksonville Memorial Arena, which has a capacity of 16,000.
That Didn't Take Long
We just updated the Lie Counter after only six hours since it launched to 52. At this rate, we may need to add a placeholder or two before Election Day.
Here's the bullet point:
Salon: New McCain Ad Is False In Any Language. "It turns out John McCain can lie in Spanish, too. McCain's campaign is running a Spanish-language TV ad in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico that blames Barack Obama for the failure last year of a sweeping immigration reform bill. 'Obama and his Congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they?' the ad asks. 'The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail.' ... Obama may not have been as involved in drafting the immigration legislation as McCain once was (though McCain was on the campaign trail for most of 2007, and wasn't as involved as he once was, either). And yes, he may have backed some amendments that supporters disliked. But it was McCain who abandoned his own legislation after the Republican base rose up against it, and it was McCain (and the White House) who were unable to convince allies on their side of the aisle to change their minds about the bill. Blaming Obama for the failure of immigration reform is simply wrong, no matter what language you do it in." [Salon, 9/15/08]
Afternoon Open Thread
Here's a topic for discussion (via Atrios):
Fundamentals Are Strong
I'm actually curious what McCain means by this. Probably he doesn't mean anything, it's just babble. Perhaps a reporter could ask him just which "fundamentals" he's talking about?
Chat away...
With Banks in Turmoil, McCain Adviser Scolds Americans on Economy
The investment bank, Lehman Brothers, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it failed to find a buyer, reports the New York Times. Merrill Lynch, the global financial services firm, will sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion. American International Group (AIG) is scrambling for cash as it was seeking a $40 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.
The same day these reports appear in newspapers, Donald Luskin, an economic adviser to John McCain, penned a piece in the Washington Post that scolds Americans as "exaggerators" and defended some of the comments made last July by another McCain adviser, Phil Gramm.
McCain campaign adviser and former U.S. senator Phil Gramm was right in July when he said that our current state "is a mental recession." Maybe he was out of line when he added that the United States has become "a nation of whiners." But when it comes to the economy, we have surely become a nation of exaggerators.
"Maybe" Phil Gramm was out of line -- such a defense is not surprising coming from a McCain economic adviser.
Americans are "exaggerating" that their houses were foreclosed on; "exaggerating" that they lost their job; "exaggerating" that they cannot pay for their healthcare.
And to top it off -- John McCain said this morning that, still, "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."
That's not just out of touch, that is shockingly out of touch.
Count the Lies
We launched a page on McCainpedia dedicated to counting the lies coming from the McCain campaign called "Count the Lies."
We have 51 fact checks debunking the dishonest attacks from the McCain campaign (as well as the distortions about his own record) since he wrapped up his Party's nomination.
Read them here.
September 14, 2008
Sunday Open Thread
Chat away...
September 13, 2008
Saturday Open Thread
Chat away...
September 12, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
McCain Would Rather Lose His Integrity Than Lose an Election
John McCain appeared on The View this afternoon and stood by his dishonest and dishonorable attacks on Senator Barack Obama that independent fact checkers routinely rule as "misleading" and rife with "distortions." The amount of sleaze coming out of the McCain campaign is reaching historic new depths and lows in which they are willing to go.
See this statement from Obama spokesman, Hari Sevugan.
Today on "The View," John McCain defended his campaign's latest ad campaign, which has been debunked repeatedly as both false and sleazy. In running the sleaziest campaign since South Carolina in 2000 and standing by completely debunked lies on national television, it's clear that John McCain would rather lose his integrity than lose an election.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
YouTube Removes Dishonest McCain Ad for Copyright Infringement
John McCain cannot help but to continuously break copyright laws. YouTube removed the dishonest attack ad against Senator Barack Obama due to a copyright claim made by CBS News because a clip of Katie Couric was featured.
McCain has also infringed the copyrights of Van Halen ("Right Now"), Jackson Browne ("Running On Empty"), Heart ("Barracuda"), Mike Myers and Dana Carvey (Wayne's World), Frankie Valli ("Can't Take My Eyes Off You") and ABBA ("Take a Chance On Me").
Ironic since John McCain claims on his website that he will "protect creative industries from piracy" -- just not from John McCain himself.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 11, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 10, 2008
McCain Strategy: Lie, Baby, Lie
With yet another dishonest attack ad, the McCain campaign continued their electoral strategy of "lie, baby, lie."
Greg Sargent dissects the advertisement:
The ad, as usual, is full of distortions and falsehoods. The narrator's claim of "completely false" attacks on Palin comes from a FactCheck.org examination of Internet rumors about Palin, having absolutely nothing to do with Obama. And the Wall St. Journal report of opposition researches headed to Alaska -- as if researching your opponent were wrong -- was a reference to Democratic operatives, not the Obama campaign specifically.
DNC Research Director Mike Gehrke corrected the record:
Mike Gehrke, the DNC's research chief, e-mails to say that Democratic staffers have not traveled en masse to Alaska to join the Sarah Palin hunt.
"Not a single person from DC or Chicago has traveled to Alaska to do research," he writes. Not a single Obama staffer, not a DNC staffer, not a hired gun, he says.
Local Democratic operatives are helping out, and Obama has a field office open, he said, but John Fund's report of an "army" of 30 officials being airlifted to Alaska are false. [...]
Gehrke calls the above paragraph a "flat-out absolute fabrication. We have sent absolutely zero people."
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 9, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Check out the relaunched The Next Cheney and chat away...
Ad Calls Out McCain Camp's 'Naked Lies'
John McCain has seen the polling: the American people do not want four more years of the same old policies that have failed them for the last eight years. So in an attempt to pretend the McCain/Palin ticket doesn't represent the status quo, they have decided to just make things up and pretend you don't have lobbyists running your campaign.
In their latest ad, the Obama campaign calls them on it. Check it out:
September 8, 2008
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 7, 2008
Sunday Open Thread
Chat away...
September 5, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Governor Dean on MSNBC
Governor Howard Dean was on MSNBC with Tom Brokaw at the Republican National Convention last night. Watch Howard hand it to the Republicans at their own convention.
Jobless Rate Hits Five-Year High
Remember, John McCain says the "fundamentals of our economy are strong." Tell that to 84,000 people who lost their job this past month.
The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 4, 2008
Fired Up or Ready to Go?
New York Times notes a few in the crowd during John McCain's acceptance speech:
10:39 p.m. | Sleepy? Our colleague Patrick Healy reports from the floor: There is a delegate in the Utah section and a delegate in Puerto Rico who are both drooping, eyes closed - look asleep - both are men.
This is an Open Thread. Chat away...
Earmarks
John McCain has made earmarks a central theme of his campaign this election but it is just more of the same empty rhetoric.
Nevermind that he can't name any specific earmarks he would nix, and even admitted he wouldn't cut off aid to Israel, which is done through earmarks.
So when the McCain campaign introduced Sarah Palin to the ticket, it was no surprise that she attempted to portray herself as an ardent foe of earmarks. She continued to push the false claim last night, but too bad for her and the campaign that her record simply doesn't match the rhetoric.
Seattle Times: "Palin's earmark requests: more per person than any other state."
Just this year, she sent to Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-Alaska, a proposal for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million — more, per person, than any other state.
In fact, Palin supported the "Bridge to Nowhere" during her campaign for governor.
During her first speech after being named as McCain's surprise pick as a running mate, Palin said she had told Congress "'thanks but no thanks' on that bridge to nowhere."
In the city Ketchikan, the planned site of the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," political leaders of both parties said the claim was false and a betrayal of their community, because she had supported the bridge and the earmark for it secured by Alaska's Congressional delegation during her run for governor.The bridge, a span from the city to Gravina Island, home to only a few dozen people, secured a $223 million earmark in 2005. The pricey designation raised a furor and critics, including McCain, used the bridge as an example of wasteful federal spending on politicians' pet projects. [emphasis added]
Update: More pork! Palin also supported the "Road to Nowhere."
The "Road To Nowhere" is a $375 million "mega-project" designed to connect Juneau to the towns of Haines and Skagway via 50 miles of new road along the steep slopes of an avalanche-battered canal, ending at a ferry terminal at the Haines river.
As of 2005, Haines had a population of 2,400, while Skagway had 870 residents.
Open Thread
Chat away...
September 3, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
90% Bush
What does 90 percent of George W. Bush look like?
Learn more at www.JustMoreOfTheSame.com.
Another McCain Attack Ad Debunked in Record Time
MSNBC political reporter Mark Murray on the latest dishonest attack ad from the McCain campaign. In fact, every assertion against Senator Barack Obama is just flat false.
It's important to note that there are a few misleading assertions in the ad. For one, the "Journal" that's cited is the conservative and partisan Wall Street Journal editorial page. Two, to call Obama the Senate's most liberal senator is dubious. (The charge comes from the National Journal ranking Obama as having the most liberal Senate voting record of 2007, but he was nowhere near the top in 2005 and 2006; it's also worth noting that Obama missed many Senate votes in 2007, so that ranking is a bit skewed.) And three, the charge that Obama "gave big oil billions in subsidies and giveaways" is misleading. (According to nonpartisan fact-checkers, the 2005 energy bill the McCain camp is referring to actual resulted in a net tax INCREASE on oil companies.)
Democratic Convention versus Republican Convention
Here's one perspective on the differences between the Democratic National Convention and this week's Republican convention.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Par for the Course
Former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales mishandled highly classified information relating to the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program and the administration’s prisoner interrogation program, an internal report concluded Tuesday.The Justice Department inspector general, who investigated Mr. Gonzales’s handling of the documents, said he kept classified material at his home and in an office safe in violation of security procedures. The inspector general referred the matter to the national security division of the Justice Department for possible criminal action, but officials there declined to prosecute Mr. Gonzales.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
Open Thread
Chat away...
September 2, 2008
Republican National Convention: More of the Same
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
There He Goes Again
There was a Phil Gramm sighting in Minnesota and it looks like he's back at it again, complaining about those pesky "whiners" who lost their only home to foreclosure, or saw their job shipped overseas.
"If you're sitting here today, you're not economically illiterate and you're not a whiner, so I'm not worried about who you're going to vote for,'' Gramm told supporters of McCain at a Financial Services Roundtable event in Minneapolis on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention.Gramm, 66, stepped down as a senior adviser to McCain in July after telling the Washington Times that the U.S. is a "nation of whiners'' facing a "mental recession.''
See the Obama campaign response below:
"Today, the man who wrote John McCain's economic plan further insulted struggling Americans by suggesting that if they are not attending the Republican Convention, they are not only whiners, but economically illiterate. From the campaign whose candidate has said that we've made 'great progress' economically under George Bush and believes that the fundamentals of our economy are 'strong', that's pretty rich,” said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.
Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Signs of Hope and Change
Check out this video produced by the Obama campaign.
Video description on YouTube:
Over the past 17 months, millions of Americans from every corner of this country have taken part in the political process and built an unprecedented movement for change. This video, featuring footage and photos from supporters across the country, documents this grassroots movement and the supporters who truly are the backbone of this campaign.
Sorry Rudy
Republicans are returning to a full schedule at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The changes in the schedule, however, left Rudy Giuliani without a speaking spot.
President Bush will speak to delegates via a satellite hookup. Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) will give a speech [... and] the evening's featured speaker is Sen. Joe Lieberman. [...]That means Rudy Giuliani is getting bumped from his speaking slot tonight to make room for some of the events delayed from Monday, but Davis says they are trying to reschedule Rudy for Wednesday night.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
September 1, 2008
Evening Open Thread
Chat away...
Looking to Get Involved?
Check out the Organize for Change events in your area.
Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
