The McCain video attempts to link Obama to Franklin Raines, the former CEO of the bankrupt mortgage giant, Fannie Mae, who also happens to be African American. * * *

The Obama campaign last night issued a statement by Raines insisting, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters." Obama spokesman Bill Burton went a little further, telling me in an e-mail that the campaign had "neither sought nor received" advice from Raines "on any matter."

By Raines's own account, he took a couple of calls from someone on the Obama campaign, and they had some general discussions about economic issues. I have asked both Raines and the Obama people for more details on these calls and will let you know if I receive a reply. * * * If we are to believe Raines, he did have a couple of telephone conversations with someone in the Obama campaign. But that hardly makes him an adviser to the candidate himself -- and certainly not in the way depicted in the McCain video release.

Obama's campaign responded to the ad by sending a letter to the Justice Department charging that the backers are violating criminal law and urging an investigation.... "We urge and expect the Department of Justice to fulfill its commitment to take prompt, vigorous action to enforce against criminal violations of the campaign finance laws," [Obama attorney] Bauer wrote in his letter.

Separately, Obama's attorneys are demanding that television stations spike the spot. They say the ad is "demonstrably false" and labeled it a "crude, disreputable and malicious attempt to link Sen. Obama to domestic terrorist activities."

Clark on the Convention

As I mentioned earlier, in a confounding decision, it appears that organizers for the Democratic National Convention are denying any speaking role to the party's most prominent military leader, former Gen. Wesley Clark. 

Clark's office told The Washington Note that the Obama campaign did not ask him to speak or play any role in Denver, so he does not plan to attend the convention. An aide added, however, that Clark would rearrange his schedule to come "play any constructive role" that the campaign desired. 

This weekend, Wesley Clark Jr. emphasized that his father's plan to skip the convention was "not a fake-out or some secret plan," and he predicted that Clark "isn't going to be VP or probably anything else in an Obama administration, assuming he's elected."  Responding to blog commenters who were brainstorming how to support the retired general, Clark Jr. also dismissed the efficacy of grass-roots efforts to pressure Obama:

I know some you think you can change this by launching VP [blog] diaries a couple times a day in hopes that Obama will be swayed by the "netroots."  Dude, when has that ever worked with this campaign?

Yet the political question is not whether Team Obama cares that bloggers like Clark. The big question earlier is this:

Why is the 2008 Democratic Convention boxing out one of the most popular people in the party?

Put aside the netroots, and Clark consistently ranks as one of the most requested surrogate speakers for all Democratic events and fund-raisers across the country. (That means lots of swing states.)  Add in the four-star factor -- in a race against a GOP war hero -- and a convention night devoted to honoring the military and this choice looks downright delusional.   I'll outline some possibilities in the next post.

Here is the real title of Jonathan Martin's article that someone else just posted but changed the title and picked what they wanted to post.

  Hoping to further burnish his commander-in-chief credentials while his rival is on vacation and the president is abroad, John McCain appeared before cameras this morning to offer a lengthy primer on the crisis in the Caucasus, explain why it matters to America and outline steps that he thinks the U.S. and West should take to halt the violence.

McCain, speaking in Erie, Pennsylvania, before a bus trip of the state, also used the opportunity to send a warning shot to the Russians.

"Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin must understand the severe, long-term negative consequences that their government’s actions will have for Russia’s relationship with the U.S. and Europe," McCain said. 

And, describing the Russian assaults that have gone beyond the disputed territory and into sovereign Georgia as "Moscow's path of violent aggression," the GOP nominee suggested that Putin's aim may be to overthrow the pro-U.S. government in Georgia.

"This should be unacceptable to all the democratic countries of the world, and should draw us together in universal condemnation of Russian aggression," McCain said.

The harder line toward the Kremlin comes as President Bush and, even more, Vice-President Cheney similarly ratchet up their criticism and as key neoconservative thinkers and McCain allies Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol take to the op-ed pages to urge action.

Full McCain statement, including his suggested responses, after the jump.

Apparently, these words have been used *forever* in different languages as every day words with no racial or sexual overtones. But times have changed and it's time to catch up with the 21st century, people.

Say "Thugs and Queens" to McCain and he'll think "Criminals and Royalty."

Say "Thugs and Queens" to any 15-year-old high school freshman, and they'll say "Ganstas and Gays."

So, to the Hillary supporters who wish to continue describing Obama and his supporters as THUGS, don't say you have never heard it was offensive.  We've said it loud and clear.  It is now your choice to continue or not. 

Please visit this website and check the pictures: http://enoughfear.org/en/node/84.

(Also, there will be couple of "Red Phones" set up during the "Bumbershoot" (in Seattle) for direct talk between American and Iranian people. The catch is timing, because there is 11 1/2 hours difference in time. There will be volunteer interpreters around, in case the other end of the line did not speak English. Let me know if you needed more info). I will update you on the Bumbershoot event soon.

Clinton Distances Herself From Anti-Obama Hillraiser

 July 16, 2008

Some former top Hillary Clinton fundraisers have received attention in recent days for thus far declining to help bundle donations for Barack Obama. But none of those figures was actively working against Obama's candidacy. Ricki Lieberman is another matter.

Also a former Clinton "Hillraiser" (meaning she raised more than $100,000 for the campaign), Lieberman is keeping her own private hope alive with a daily email blast to supporters, entitled "Electability Watch," which features a cascade of negative articles and other items about Obama as a means to argue that superdelegates should change their minds in Denver and crown Clinton the nominee instead. A tipster who described them as "disgusting" sent a batch of recent "Electability Watch" emails to the Huffington Post. Their authenticity was confirmed in a phone conversation with Ms. Lieberman, who said her only desire is to "see a Democratic president in the White House" next year.

Any Democrat, perhaps, except Barack Obama -- or "BO aka Bush 3," as Lieberman repeatedly refers to him. The emails sometimes go out of their way to parrot some of the most hardcore attacks on Obama, including comments comparing Obama's planned nomination speech to Nazi-era rallies in Germany. In one email, she quotes messages from apparent Holocaust survivors:

I have heard from many Survivors and their children about the symbolism and implications of use of rules to undermine our core democratic values. Ellen Mendel wrote that "I was born under Hitler in Germany, and reading about the plans for the Obama throng in the stadium in Denver and the implications which have been spelled out, gives me the chills...the DNC will deliver the country to Obama on a platter. I wonder when it will hit them what pawns they have been in this Faustian tragedy.

Another, "As someone who escaped from France during WW ll, I hope that I'm not being over dramatic when I'm more than uneasy with stuff like Obama's possible Denver stadium theatrics and the calibrated negotiations going on about the convention."

Other emails from Lieberman cite Obama's "alliances with a cast of characters include Louis Farrahkan," and urge people to contact the German embassy to protest "Obama's grandiose, inappropriate hope" to speak at the Brandenburg Gate.

In an interview, Lieberman said it is incumbent upon the party's superdelegates to take another cold, hard look at which candidate will be more electable in the fall. Given that neither Obama nor Clinton managed to win enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination, a switch from Obama to Clinton is a technical possibility that nevertheless seems highly improbable.

A spokesperson for Sen. Clinton implicitly distanced the candidate from Lieberman's effort, telling the Huffington Post: "Senator Clinton fully supports Senator Obama. She continues to urge all of her supporters to get behind him. ... She continues to do everything she can to rally folks behind him. We don't support any effort that doesn't."

This week on Fox News, Neil Cavuto asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about the worth of rescinding an 18-cent gas tax as prices at the pump escalate this summer. McCain responded that “a lot of our problems today” are “psychological” — even the “ability to keep our own home”:

I’m very concerned about it, Neil. And obviously the way it’s been going up is just terrible. But I think psychologically — and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological — the confidence, trust, the uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. This might give them a little psychological boost. Let’s have some straight talk, it’s not a huge amount of money.

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/19/mccain-a-lot-of-our-problems-today-are-psychological/

While he now states that America is in a recession, McCain earlier this year dismissed such concerns as “psychological.”

To find out how little money McCain’s gas tax “holiday” really delivers for average Americans, go to the Wonk Room.

Transcript:

CAVUTO: I think you know, Senator, we’ve been in and out another all time high for oil and gas prices today. Oil hovering around 113, 114 dollars a barrel. Many are sort of jumping on your proposal to nix the federal gas tax — a little north of 18 cents — throughout the summer. Are you afraid though, by the time we get to the summer, we’ll be up that much and more in gas prices?

MCCAIN: I’m very concerned about it, Neil. And obviously the way it’s been going up is just terrible. But I think psychologically — and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological — the confidence, trust, the uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. This might give them a little psychological boost.

Let’s have some straight talk, it’s not a huge amount of money. But it might be nice to be able to save a few bucks and maybe buy something else the next time that they have to fill up their gas tank and say, “You know I’m going to be able to afford that little expense now.” A little psychological boost. That’s what I think it would help. But we also, I think, we need to stop competing for a limited supply, as far as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is concerned. Let’s just stop buying that as well. But it might be a nice thing to happen.

Get ready to fist bump, disco bump and belly bump all the way to November people!  We've got ourselves a DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE.....yeah, he's no peanut farmer or backwoods Governor to worry about 'experience.'  We've got ourselves a Harvard Law man who's been a senator in his state and Congress.  HECK, YEAH, we're excited.

Talk about timing Arte, I just finished reading the article about that cover. The folloiwing is from Huffington....

Huffington Post   |  Rachel Sklar   |   July 13, 2008 06:20 PM

The illustration, by Barry Blitt,is called "The Politics of Fear" and, according to the NYer press release, "satirizes the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign." Uh-huh. What's that they say about repeating a rumor?

Presumably the New Yorker readership is sophisticated enough to get the joke, but still: this is going to upset a lot of people, probably for the same reason it's going to delight a lot of other people, namely those on the right: Because it's got all the scare tactics and misinformation that has so far been used to derail Barack Obama's campaign — all in one handy illustration. Anyone who's tried to paint Obama as a Muslim, anyone who's tried to portray Michelle as angry or a secret revolutionary out to get Whitey, anyone who has questioned their patriotism— well, here's your image.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton called it "tasteless and offensive" and, according to Jake Tapper at ABC, another high-profile Obama supporter called it "as offensive a caricature as any magazine could publish."

The companion article by Ryan Lizza, who has written extensively about the campaign, traces Obama's early career and rise through Chicago politics. It's very long (18 pages!) and probably won't thrill a lot of Democratic party faithful, either, since it advances the image of Obama as a skilled and calculating politician who rose by becoming a master of the game:

"[P]erhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them....he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist. He runs as an outsider, but he has succeeded by mastering the inside game."

Is it the New Yorker's job to write uniformly flattering profiles of Obama? Do they have a duty to avoid controversial imagery that plays off the most dogged and damaging campaign smears? Of course not. Still, as Tapper says, there are probably "some angry, angry people in Chicago right now." Not to mention Washington, New York, and maybe even Dubuque.

Update: Artist Barry Blitt defends the cover, saying that "It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is." See his full statement (and previous covers) here.

See the full cover below on Artemis's blog.

RHETORIC: "The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a 'super super jumbo.' Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates. Compared with the average terms offered at the time in Chicago, Obama's rate could have saved him more than $300 per month." [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

Unlike Countrywide Northern Trust Did Not Have A Program To Provide Discounts To Public Officials. "Unlike Countrywide, where leaked internal e-mails documented a special discount program for friends of chief executive Angelo Mozilo, Northern Trust says it has no formal program to provide discounts to public officials." [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

Northern Trust: Any Person's Occupation And Salary Would Be Taken Into Consideration For A Mortgage. "'A person's occupation and salary are two factors; I would expect those are two things we would take into consideration,' said Northern Trust Vice President John O'Connell. 'That would apply to anyone seeking to get a mortgage at Northern Trust.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

The Rate Obama Received Was Consistent With Internal Northern Trust Rates At The Time. "He added that the rates offered to Obama were 'consistent with internal Northern Trust rates at that time.' 'The bottom line is, this was a business proposition for us,' he said. 'Our business model is to service and pursue successful individuals, families and institutions.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

The Loan Rate, Consistent With Northern Trust Policies, Was Adjusted To Account For A Competing Offer From Another Lender. "Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said the rate was adjusted to account for a competing offer from another lender and other factors. 'The Obamas have since had as much as $3 million invested through Northern Trust,' he said in a statement…The Obama campaign called the rate 'consistent with Northern Trust policies, and it reflected the base rate set for that period discounted to address the competition for the account and other opportunities, such as personal financial services, that the relationship would bring to Northern Trust.'" [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

RHETORIC: The Obamas bought the house for $300,000 less than the asking price of $1.95 million, while Rezko's wife, Rita, bought the neighboring lot for the full asking price of $625,000. Rita Rezko later sold a portion of the undeveloped lot to the Obamas, enlarging the senator's yard. [Washington Post, 7/2/08]

Brown: "I See No Proof" That Obama Did Something Improper In The Purchase Of His House. Mark Brown wrote, "On the central question: Did Obama do something improper in the purchase of the house? I see no proof he did, other than that he had no business at all getting involved with Rezko in any personal financial transaction." [Chicago Sun-Times, 3/15/08]

Zorn: There Was No "Special Discount" And The Price Of The Lot Was Not Inflated. Eric Zorn wrote, "The Obamas did not get a special discount on the house" and "The sellers rejected two lower bids from the Obamas" and "The Rezkos did not pay an inflated price for the vacant lot."
[Chicago Tribune, 6/10/08]

AP: Obama "Has A Spotless Reputation" And "Has Been Accused Of No Wrongdoing Involving Rezko Or Anything Else." The AP reported, "Obama, who has a spotless reputation after 11 years in public offices, has been accused of no wrongdoing involving Rezko or anyone else." [AP, 1/22/08]

But I know what she is saying...

"Now I've had countless conversations since the end of my campaign," she began. "And I know how difficult it is for people who have invested their time, energy and emotion -- just their entire being -- into any campaign or cause. ... When it is over, I know how difficult that is ... how challenging it is to turn on a dime. It is a process. It does take time for people to take a deep breath, to go forward. ... But anyone who voted for me has so much in common with those who voted for Barack. ... It is critical that we join forces. The Democratic Party is a family -- sometimes a dysfunctional family -- but it is a family. We care about what is going to happen to health care [and education], and in Afghanistan in Iraq. ... That work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House!"

As she wrapped up her remarks and began to introduce Obama, Clinton said, "this is the man -- this is the one -- we should be voting for. ... Do it for your children. Do it for your jobs. Do it for the education of future generations."

 A Rested Clinton Tells NYC Women Obama "Is The One"

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.

The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies.  In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.

If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.

DEMOCRATS 08 AND BEYOND! 

Have any of you who bitch about being censored ever stopped and just lurked in here for a few days or a week or two? It is a joke! Moreover, it is sickening!

All the current die-hard Hillary people who refuse to do what their candidate has asked them to do along with all the puma crap bitch the most about our constitutional right of Freedom of Speech and being Censored, yet they are the first ones to start bitching and crying when anyone else voices something that they don’t like.

You bitch when any one says anything about either Bill or Hillary Clinton, even when it is TRUTH with sources. Do any of you stop and think how much actual dirt there is on the two of them that people could actually start blogging in here about? I know many who bitch the most are old enough to remember. Yet how many people do you see doing that in here? Yes, it did happen yesterday but there was nothing said that was not backed by many vetted sources and it was done to prove a point.

You bitch when people bring up religion and post their beliefs.

You sit back and cheer on your little groupies as they continue to bring up lies and twist words to fit what they want people to believe. When asked for sources and links they tell people to check the internet or listen to the news because it was just on. Why? Why do you all continue to support this crap?

If you don’t want to support Obama that’s your right. If you want to disagree with Obama that too is your right. If you want to spread lies and half-truths and not back up your words with actual sources that people can read for themselves then you have no right at all to bitch and cry. The fact is Senator Barack Obama is our Presumptive Nominee and will be our Democratic Nominee.

This is supposed to be a Democratic blog site; instead, what it has become is a bash the Democratic Presumptive Nominee site by people who continually say they have been lifelong Democrats. Some of you claim to be working locally for various candidates but do none of it in here. The people that do try to build our party are lost as soon as they appear. The people that want to work on unity have to continue to fight the lies and half-truths. When are you all going to wake up, stop your bitching and do something constructive in here for OUR Democratic Party?

For those that may not have heard there is a new partybuilder blog site at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/PartyBuilderBloggers.

The purpose of this Party Builder Group is to “Build” our party and get as many Democrats elected as we can this year. Yes, the group is moderated and yes, each person has control over their own blog in that you have the option to delete offensive replies.  In addition, you can find a group from your town or city to hook up with to work on your State and Local races.

If you would like to help promote your Democratic Candidates then come on over and really, help to “Build” the Democratic Party. Many have already joined and there's room for many more.