I have to say, despite the fact that I know the next few weeks worth of nonsense and smears coming from the GOP and the McCain are going to drive me insane, this seems to me to be rather unsubstantiated and unfair:
By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is “palling around with terrorists” and doesn’t see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.
And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.
I read her comments in their entirety, watched the video, and while it was nasty and from my perspective, bullshit, there didn’t seem to me to be any racial component. That was the same sort of bilge they throw at any Democrat- divisive and a sign of desperation, yes, but racial subtext? I am not seeing it.
Again, this is the sort of thing they would be saying no matter who the Democratic candidate was- “they want to coddle terrorists, they have shady ties to unsavory sorts, they do not love America like we do,” etc. It wasn’t racist when they said that crap about John Kerry, so just because Obama happens to be black does not make it automatically racially loaded.
I have been wrong about things before, but I am just not hearing the dogwhistle here. Yes, Sarah Palin is an asshole, and those remarks were obnoxious, stupid, and factually inaccurate, but I have a really hard time thinking they are racially loaded remarks. The real test is whether or not you think they would be saying the same things about Joe Biden, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, or any of the other candidates from the Democratic primary.
We all know they would be saying the same damned things, so it is hard to code this as racial subtext. It is just politics as usual for the GOP in October.
*** Update ***
The real danger here is if a bunch of Obama supporters start screaming racism over this nonsense and the AP and the McCain campaign with an assist from liberals manage to turn Obama into a racially aggrieved Sharptonesque angry black man thirty days out. Don’t play the fool, folks. If Obama is smart and he gets asked about this, he will say that of course it was not racist. It was just a BS attack on his patriotism and the same old GOP politics.
*** Update #2 ***
Someone more energetic than me go tell all the righties with their knickers in a twist that the Obama campaign has not called anyone racist. It was the AP. And while you all may not realize it, “teh left” hates the Ron Fournier AP as much as you all do. I know this is difficult to comprehend, but it was an AP writer who asserted this, not Obama or his campaign. Their response is the following:
Unless I have missed it, that was their response, combined with the following comment:
Governor Palin’s comments, while offensive, are not surprising, given the McCain campaign’s statement this morning that they would be launching Swift boat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation’s economic ills. In fact, the very newspaper story Governor Palin cited in hurling her shameless attack made clear that Senator Obama is not close to Bill Ayers, much less “pals,” and that he has strongly condemned the despicable acts Ayers committed 40 years ago, when Obama was eight. What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy.
So stop pretending the Obama campaign is calling you racist. They are not.
The Dangerman
I suspect that it has to be viewed in the light of the words from the convention (and elsewhere) where they were claiming BHO didn’t have "deep roots in America" and was otherwise … well, not white. He isn’t like "other Americans".
It isn’t much of a dogwhistle without the previous nonsense.
Steven Taylor
I saw the headline for that story and read it as well and I don’t see the "racial subtext" either.
cleek
the whole "doesn’t see the U.S. like other Americans" thing is based on the idea that he’s a "half-breed Muslim", black power, Farrakhan-loving terror-simp. the racial angle is already established throughout the bloc, they don’t need to make it explicit at the top; they only need to elude to it.
D. Mason
She’s white, He’s black, therefore it’s racist. That’s how it works buddy, welcome to America.
BombIranForChrist
By "palling around with terrorists", she is referring to Ayers.
Ayers is a Big Scary Black Man with an Afro, a militant from the 1960’s that scares whitey.
This is a dog whistle, and the fact that you can’t hear it means that you aren’t a right wing bigot who is scared by African militancy from the 1960’s.
That was my take, anyway. I could be wrong.
Jason
I took this editorial to mean that Palin was suggesting Obama was an Arab, not Black. That’s racial, and works well with the Obama-as-Unamerican thing they are pushing.
Just Some Fuckhead
I’d agree with you if you agree with me that it’s easier to make these assertions about Obama because of the color of his skin and that’s why there’s been so much more of this sorta shit this time around, including in the Democratic primary.
And if you agree with me that it’s easier to say these sorts of things about Obama then you’re agreeing that there is in fact a racial component to it.
Nora Carrington
I agree with you about the "taint" of Ayers — that’s just more "all Democrats are dirty hippies," and they would be slinging that at any nominee. The "Obama does not see this country the way other Americans do," however, is a different kettle of fish. How is Obama unlike "regular" Americans (and thanks again, Chris Matthews)? He’s got a foreign father and he is Not White.
flavortext
‘Cause he’s of "Terrorist descent", don’tcha know.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Sorry, he’s an ofay.
I’m not absolutely sure about the racist dogwhistle, but I think the intent to paint a black man as unAmerican brings along a lot more conscious and unconscious baggage than portraying a white guy as unAmerican. Given how many people see Obama as some scary foreigner, it’s suspicious that this was framed as it was, versus "Obama is a man with lousy judgement".
Benjamin
It is not the "palling around" part that is racially tinged.
It is the "He does not see America as you and I do" part that is an explicit play on the prejudices about Obama being "foreign".
It is also the reason for the BS lawsuit the RNC is starting tomorrow accusing Obama of accepting donations "from foreign nationals".
It is about using that subtext of Obama feeling "different" and "foreign" to some people and I am sorry to say but this would never be an issue if he was white.
Nora Carrington
Ayers is the whitest of white boyz.
gbear
Don’t WE get to throw some bilge now and then too? The Obama camp makes so few mistakes that this one really jumps out. I don’t think that either side will get much mileage out of it.
DonnaInMichigan
Shit like this is another reason why I’m glad that I left the republican party. They will never convince me to come back, either.
I just sent the Obama campaign 100.00.
I will keep sending 50.00 for every smear that McCain makes against Obama, from now until election.
I’ve never given to a candidate before. Thanks, Palinocchio.
Mike P
Yeah, the difference with these attacks this time is that because Obama is black (never mind that he’s half-white), "the other" label is a little more sinister (because, you know, all us black folks are just looking for an excuse to burn this mf’er down).
Stuck in the Fun House
This was the point I was going to make. The other stuff is par for the course of wingnut smears against liberals. With the theme of things like "sees a different America than we do" (paraphrase} along with the Exotic meme that’s been thrown around, could be a dogwhistle of sorts. But likely so vague, it’s lost on most people.
Punchy
Terrorist = sand n#gger; Barry = n#gger
By the application therom of higher wingamatics:
Barry = sandy n#gger
You’re welcome.
Polish the Guillotines
Except that he’s not.
minordomo
I agree, I don’t quite see it either. However, look at this in the context of pre-empting the coming deluge of crap that’s about to be unrolled by McCain and surrogates.
By making a big "it’s racially tinged" fuss about this, any future attacks in this direction may be perceived more along these lines and hence be at least as negative for McCain as they could be for Obama.
Think of it as kind of an inoculation.
Oh and btw, I love the re-design, very nice.
Anya
The ‘Racial Subtext’ is drived from the fact that the governor did not mention the group. In these times Muslims are synonyms with terrorism and when average Americans hear that Obama has palls who are terrorists and wanted to blow up the Pentagon they will jump to the conclusion that they are Muslim terrorists. Also, when she talks about Obama not seing America “like you and I” she is establishing Obama’s “otherness”. That is where one can draw the racial subtext from.
mctm
I guess by AP logic, Hillary is a racist as well – http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/440/
I suspect there are some that don’t want to hear it, but perhaps if Obama would just acknowledge that he served for three years with Ayers on a board of seven people instead of trying to duck the deal and claiming he bumped into the guy while mowing grass, it would all just go away.
The racist defense is beneath him and his supporters just need to take on the politics. Expecting his opponents to accept his current explanations about Ayers and the good Pastor will not fly.
Brachiator
Yeah, you’re right, you don’t get it. Part of this is that even though Ayers lived in Chicago and associated with lots of people, it is only Obama’s association with Ayers that matters, that signals that Obama might be dangerous. Part of this is not simplistically racial, but the idea that the majoriity group has more freedom of movement than a member of a minority in a country with a history of oppression against that minority.
So no one is much interested in Palin’s possible approval of the aims of Alaska separatists, but Obama’s mere association with a man who was a terrorist when Obama was eight years old is a sign of Obama’s lack of judgment.
Another way of looking at this: no one thought that Hillary Clinton or her husband might be a dangerous terrorist because President Clinton had once endorsed a former Black Panther whom Obama ran against early in his Illinois political career.
Palin lives in far away Alaska, but is all American. Obama is from far away Hawaii, but is exotic. Bill Kristol suggests that Obama’s trustworthiness can be called into question, even though he can’t point to anything that Obama has ever done which makes this a meaningful charge. Palin is apparently trustworthy despite actions as mayor and governor which reek of abuse of authority.
The difference here is more than a matter of party affiliation.
Palin’s words by themselves are not racist, but they are part of a smear campaign that would have people believe that Obama was born to radical un-American parents, trained in a Muslim madras, and tutored by unrepentant anti-white radicals and known terrorist handlers such as Ayers to operate as a stealth Muslim in America.
On the other hand, someone could come up with a video of Palin shouting "Death to America" at an Alaska separatist meeting, and some people would say, "She sure is cute when she’s angry."
RoonieRoo, dontcha know
I couldn’t hear the dog whistle either but I assumed that is because I am just not tuned into what the rightwingers find scary. I do not doubt the dogwhistle is there for some and they hear it just fine.
Comrade Jake
Wait a minute folks.
The story comes from the goddamn AP. That’s where this racial subtext idea originated. The AP is trying to make news, with good reason (they’re no fans of Obama).
When race is discussed, Obama loses. There might be a racial subtext here, but it’s very very slight if at all. They don’t want to touch that with a 100 ft pole.
That’s the story here. The AP is being subjective. Wake the fuck up folks.
JL
What Palin said was offensive and misleading, (LIES) but not racist. Unfortunately since there are ads showing Ayers and lots of scary black men, many folks could hear Palin’s words and assume that she is agreeing with those ads. AP News seemed to think she was being racist. I’m not sure what Fournier thinks though.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well, of course it does, because Barack Obama is not an African American Christian born in Hawaii, but a Muslim from Africa who lived in Indonesia.
::rolls eyes::
Comrade Peter J
@Comrade Jake:
AP brings it up and then McCain and the right wing blogs can start crying about being called racists and say that someone played the race card.
Comrade Jake
This is a real problem. The AP stopped being an objective source of news some time ago. The link in question here is an analysis/editorial, it’s not a news piece. People see the AP and they just assume that they’re just reporting the facts.
The AP is trying to inject race into a place where it’s not really there. I’m serious. This is deliberate.
Martin
No, that’s not how it works.
That is how it works. This is a white privilege issue. Nobody on the right is willing to challenge that Palin "does not see America as you and I do" in the sense that she states it, even though she’s married to a guy that has been part of a secessionist group, and who most certainly *does* see America differently. There’s nothing about Obama that suggests that he sees America any differently than I do. That’s the double standard, and the media is calling Palin on it without explicitly pointing out that if she and Obama had race reversed, nobody would be questioning him, and they’d be fucking eviscerating her.
DonnaInMichigan
I’m going to hell!!
According to Saracudda Palinochio…since I, as a woman refuse to support her, as a woman, running for VP, there is a special place in hell waiting for me.
At least there is some comfort, though. She will beat me there.
ThymeZone
Ah, the GOP’s famous "How dare you accuse us of racism!" deflection, in order to screen the totally dishonest nature of their smear.
And from a "liberal" blogsite …. all the better!
There’s no racism apparent in the attack, and there is no "charge" of racism that is worth mentioning either. Just because some asshole with a keyboard suggested it does not make it so, or make it relevant.
What is relevant is that the smear is badly aimed, badly timed, was badly delivered and delivered by the wrong messenger, is without merit, and is clearly an attempt at subject changing by the explicit admission of the people doing it.
That’s what matters. And it’s already into Epic Fail territory in the first 24 hours. MTP basically blew it off. Cable is blowing if off. Even Fox and Chris Wallace basically gave it just a polite nod and then question its wisdom.
Meanwhile Obama has a solid ad out that says no, we are not turning the page on the economy issue, and McCain is a fool for thinking that the people are ready to turn that page.
McCain’s stupid ploy is going to cost him even more poll erosion in the next week. Their record of ineptitude is just going to be astounding when this over. It’s a record that may never be broken. People will be studying this as the most stupdendous campaign series of fuckups in history.
All this, while Johnny Drama kicks back in Sedona this weekend and enjoys what we in Arizona like to call The Best Weather On Earth. Which we now have until next May.
Life is good.
Racism? Schmasism. Bullshit.
Phoebe
It’s not racist by itself, but it does get extra mileage from the black = hates America thingy. Like "hard working white americans" got from the black = lazy thingy. In fact, that would have worked if she’d left out "white", but Hillary is as subtle as a pile driver, and was doing all this on no sleep.
Subject change:
From the cover story of the Rolling Stone:
"In one vital respect, however, the comparison is deeply unfair to the current president: George W. Bush was a much better pilot."
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print
The whole thing is one big "Daaaaaang!"
Comrade Jake
Yup, that’s the gambit. Honestly, this is so fucking obvious.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well Donna, I’m a female who doesn’t support Palin either and I’m here to tell you we are already in Hell.
Mark E
This stuff is really getting old from the media. It’s quite ok to be pro Democrat but they should really stop denying it. It makes them look very foolish.
When is the media going to START looking at both candidates policies on major issues instead of this obsession with minutia?
Anya
Some of you are assuming that Obama and his campaign made the charge of racism – it’s not the case, the charge came from AP. Here is the campaign’s responce as per ABC news:
lethargytartare
"doesn’t see the U.S. like other Americans"
isn’t much different from:
doesn’t see the U.S. like "hard-working Americans, white Americans"
I think the racial appeal is actually pretty obvious…
smiley
I agree with the others who say that this isn’t about Obama’s race. It’s about the race of terrorists (arabs) and that Obama (scary) associates with them. Completely bullshit but it’s aimed at the 30%ers. They’ll get’em but maybe even they aren’t so sure, don’t cha know. They’re runnin from behind, don’t ya know, fer sure.
Comrade Jake
Good post TZ. I agree 100%.
Obama’s new ad using the "turn the page" line kicks ass. One of these campaigns is playing poker. The other is still working its way up to checkers.
Anya
The Obama campaign denounced the comments by Palin, calling them "shameless" and "offensive" in a statement released this afternoon.
"In fact, the very newspaper story Governor Palin cited in hurling her shameless attack made clear that Senator Obama is not close to Bill Ayers, much less ‘pals,’ and that he has strongly condemned the despicable acts Ayers committed 40 years ago, when Obama was eight. What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan said.
Comrade Jake
For Chrissakes, the AP is not pro-Democrat by any stretch. Many of their articles this year have been decidedly pro-GOP. This has been well-documented.
Suggesting Palin’s playing the race card here does not help Obama. It helps McCain. The objective here is to distract people from the real issues. Full stop. The AP in this instance is only helping McCain, not the other way around.
Just Some Fuckhead
Oh christ, here we go again. Random internet commenters are going to cost Obama the election.
Brachiator
@Comrade Jake:
I agree that Obama should not bring up the racial subtext of the McCain attacks, but that is not the point. I keep wondering why anyone keeps talking about Obama’s "association" with Ayers, as though everyone else in Illinois is shunning the former radical and Obama is the only man in the universe willing to "pal around with him."
And in the context of Chicago politics, I get emails all the the time which state flatly that that Obama is anti-white and an anti-semite because he is a black man who lives in the same city as adherents to the Nation of Islam. This is the other side of the coin of the irrational sentiment that Palin is a foreign policy expert because one can see Russia from Alaska.
And it’s not just AP. The Times of London is noting how McCain is gearing up for the smear ("Desperate McCain gets tough with attack on Obama’s character").
Today, Ayers. Tomorrow, Rev Wright again, with the inevitable spin that Obama is too exotic, too un-American. Too black.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
fixt! (they just figured out Candyland).
Stuck in the Fun House
We are now in the heart of The Rovian Zone for wingnuts. Muddy up everything and none of the fish (voters) know where to swim and can be herded by the relentless drone of TRWNM into providing the singular choice between Mothers Milk ,Apple Pie, and Tax Cuts, or terror loving, sissyfied, and high taxing democrats. And in this election throw in the "exotic" democrat.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Don’tcha mean "Too Muslim"?
Comrade Jake
Brachiator, I have to confess, I’ve no idea what point you’re trying to make here. What is it that you think Obama should do?
I would suggest that the strategy the Obama campaign is taking, which is to point out how desperate McCain is to change the subject, while continuing to focus on differences in health care policy (an issue millions of Americans can relate to), is the way to go.
Ed Marshall
ha!
Yeah, that’s what I thought to.
There is sort of an exception to the rule, I can’t remember the exact timeline for this but I swear "terrorist fist jab" actually did originate as a blog comment and somehow morphed up the chain until it came out on Fox News.
Loneoak
But Kerry wasn’t also subject to a shadow campaign insinuating he was secretly a Muslim that was based entirely on his skin color and name. Palin didn’t saying "60s era hippie terrorists," she said "terrorists." That’s the missing context here. Likewise, they wouldn’t ever get a secret Muslim tag to stick to Kerry, it would be too nonsensical. So they got his unAmericanessTM from being a faggy surrender-monkey windsurfer. While it’s true that they would call any Democrat a terrorist-lover, the racist component is how they get it to stick and what sort of work they hope it will do in the big narrative. The attachment point for Obama’s unAmericanessTM is his ethnicity and name and the work it does is to emphasize his radical otherness.
But,
Agreed. You don’t have to be deaf to the dogwhistle to know this is true.
ThymeZone
We should make this an annual event :)
Hey, have you noticed that our list is broken?
Server no workee, disk full. Tried to reach Perry Como but no luck.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
All of those so called "Journalists" get their stories from blog comments, didn’t you know? It’s a goldmine for them, and a pile of shit for the little guy.
Delia
How do we count the FAIL on this one?
According to Americablog, Palin said she was quoting Madeline Albright on the Starbucks cup about always voting for other women. Albright was so upset about being misquoted that she emailed Joe Sudbury at the blog to say that her quote was about women helping other women.
But there’s a bigger FAIL for the Diva of Wasilla. A story from the GOS about the VP debate. Turns out super conservative small town Republican women in Missouri absolutely positively hated and despised Sarah Palin. All the winky-winky, flirty stuff that put stars in Rich Lowry’s pants really makes women irritated, it turns out.
Wow. who’d have guessed?
Pennypacker
Noonan remembers Reagan chopping wood on his ranch. She’s being deliberately stupid here.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Sarah Palin is a Jezebel.
Comrade Jake
New theme for the McCain/Palin ticket:
"Shock and Aww-shucks!"
Jack H.
It’s called a dog whistle because only the dogs hear it. That’s kind of the point.
Just Some Fuckhead
Good idea. If we get his head big enough, he won’t be able to get it wedged up in his ass again.
ThymeZone
Just want to say, the BJ Bailout is a huge success. Even with the little probs here and there, this thing is the best show in Blogville.
Congrats and thanks to all who labored to make it so.
Why am I in such a good mood? I heard Karl Rove today give Obama 273 electoral votes on Rove’s own map, as of today, and spell out in great detail how the McGrumpy campaign basically has nothing in the gas tank right now. No ideas, no real strategy (unless Scary Turrist is a strategy), no real plan, no real message.
Aw Johnny, think of retirement and all that beer money! Things could be worse.
EddieInCA
John –
You’re right, and I mean this with no disrespect. You don’t get it.
You’re white, so you don’t see how a sentence like "This is not a man who sees America as you and I do — as the greatest force for good in the world. is coded language for "He’s. Not. Like. You."
It’s racist like "Don’t forget, Jesse Jackson won South Carolina 20 years ago."
If you’re not black or hispanic or another minority, these sound like benign statements. To me, as a hispanic, I hear "You’re not like us. Go away."
Comrade Fwiffo
The e-mail whisper campaign right now (or one of them anyhow) is that Obama isn’t a black Muslim, he’s an Arab Muslim. Which is pretty stupid to anyone with eyes, but that’s Republicans for ya. In that context, it’s Arab = Terrorist, which is obviously racially tinged. However, so far the "racially tinged" thing seems to have originated at the AP, which hasn’t exactly had Barack Obama’s best interests at heart.
Comrade Jake
Christ JSF, why pick a fight again? That’ll be productive.
I don’t think either one of us believes there’s some danger of blogs picking up the racist subtext BS here and damning the Obama campaign. That’s silly. We’re just pointing out that there isn’t any subtext worth discussing, first of all, and secondly that the AP’s motives here are pretty transparent.
ThymeZone
Wow, sounds like you could get a job on the McCain campaign, dude.
If we can just get that uppity negro’s head big enough, it might explode!
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
Go Johnny Go!! Go! Go!
His mother told him "Someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight."
Go go
Go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go go go Johnny go
Go
(apologies to Chuck Berry)
Stuck in the Fun House
How about TZ was right for once day. :-)
Just Some Fuckhead
I ain’t picking a fight again – I’m still on the last one.
ThymeZone
Yes, that is the message, but it’s not racist. It’s just standard issue divide and conquer politics. It’s the Kerry Windsurfing photo. Anything that says, he isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter what it is.
Comrade Jake
Rush Limbaugh picked that up some time ago. The notion is that his dad came from an Arab tribe in Africa. It’s piles of stupid, meant to persuade even more stupid.
ThymeZone
Oh no, Joe, thurya go agin’! Pointin’ that finger-o-blame and trying to livintha past!
Time fer that new enurgee and somathat mavericky thinkin’!
Doggone it!
Comrade Jake
OK. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I don’t see the point.
Brachiator
@Comrade Jake:
First of all, whether there is a racial subtext to the McCain/Palin charges is separate from how Obama should react. If I were advising Obama, I would suggest that he have lower level surrogates go after Palin with hammer and tong. They should show her to be a petty tyrant, a Bush in lipstick who abuses power and rewards cronies.
However, I note that Obama is doing fine without my advice.
On the other hand, I predict that the GOP smear will become more overtly racist because this is how the Republicans operate. McCain knows this viscerally because he was a victim of race-based GOP smears in the 2000 primary, when it was suggested that he had fathered a black child out of wedlock.
McCain is being pushed to permit more vicious smears because Obama is doing well in states that McCain thought were securely his ("Appalachian voters lean towards Barack Obama"):
I personally think that Obama’s emphasis on health care is not the best move. If you don’t have a job, universal health care is not particularly meaningful. James Carville once noted, "it’s the ecnomy, stupid!" and I think it is even more the case right now.
Scott H
As a white guy, I defer to Whoopi Goldberg’s gentle schooling of a pouting Barbara Walters (petulant white privilege at its finest) on the subject of racism. If you are in doubt whether or not something is racist, ask a black person. They will be happy to tell you.
ThymeZone
Nicely crafted.
But really, "oncet" woulda looked better.
It’s the onliest improvement I could make on yer post.
Comrade Jake
Heh. One of the main reasons Obama’s going after healthcare is because McCain’s plan actually involves taxes. He’s putting the nail in the coffin.
Delia
Look, I think we have to accept the dog-whistle concept for exactly what it says. There’s no way to stop them from using it. That’s what they are. But the AP story I picked up on my server doesn’t have the Dems bleating about it. It has Rahm Emmanuel saying that if McCain wants to go this way, they’re going to start talking about Charles Keating, and Obama was only eight when Ayres was acting as a criminal and McCain was fifty-eight was Keating was, so do we really want to go down this road?
So Obama may continue to act like a gentleman, but if this gets really nasty, I’m not sure that Rahm Emmanuel will.
ThymeZone
McPain’s healthcare policy ideas are about an inch away from suggesting that we take better care of ourselves and STOP BEING A NATION OF SICK WHINERS.
Seriously, does anyone know how his wacked plan is supposed to work? Anyone at all?
ThymeZone
Well, the Keating thing is a steaming pile of delicious McCainy crookeditude and mendacitiness.
If you have any doubt what a wanker he his, the Keating story, in all its glory, should convince.
But …. I fear that the sound of it is too much a tired chestnut any more. I think that it doesn’t work for the same reason that POWPOWPOWPOW doesn’t work — people are just tired of hearing it. It doesn’t grab now.
But, "The fundamentals of the economy are strong" is a gift that just keeps on giving. And giving.
SLSmith
I ventured to this Carson, CA event yesterday and to say it was scary would be to minimalize the horror of the reality! After the event, with less than 15 dedicated protestors still present – it galvanized the attendees into a circus like atmosphere. I heard chants of "Obama is a baby killer" "Obama is a racist", etc. Uploaded a sample of the some of the "freaks/circus like atmosphere" outside after the rally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN4q4QqzYwk
Loneoak
These days, a lot of people a) don’t have a job, b) don’t have a job with healthcare, c) have a job with insufficient healthcare, d) have a job that would drop health care when McCain incentivizes doing just that, and e) are secure but are also fucking enraged that their friends and family are stuck in categories a), b), c), and d). I think all those categories add up to around 90% of the electorate. The other 10% are probably also pissed off that they have to use the same health care system that is being broken by economic pressures and systemic failures.
Obama should use health care to nail McCain to the wall.
Stuck in the Fun House
Of all the wingnutty policy proposals coming from Mccain, this one is dumbest yet. Especially politically. Proposing a tax break with a tax increase to pay for it is like painting a big target on your forehead that says to your opponent, attack me, I’m an idiot.
Comrade Jake
I suspect that even if McCain knows how it’s supposed to work (which seems doubtful), there’s probably no way he can explain it well. Obama’s plan by contrast is quite simple. Frankly if there’s anything like an extended discussion of the two plans at the debate, McCain loses big time.
Comrade Jake
I’ve no idea what McCain was thinking with this plan. There’s a core group of folks he was holding onto simply because he’s pledged to not raise taxes. Not so much these days.
Conservatively Liberal
This is a subtle jab at his not being a 101% pure American product. Since his daddy was not American then it is clear that Obama is only half American. I believe it is a racial jab, subtle but racial nonetheless.
Regarding Palin using the plural terrorists, I would like to see her challenged on this assertion. Last time I checked, the only terrorist assertion the fRight wing has been making is with Ayers. After Palin doesn’t answer that question, I would like her to be asked about her association with an Alaskan secessionist group whose founder passionately hated America to the point that he refused to be buried in Alaska until it secedes from the United States.
Obama was eight years old when Ayers did what he did, and Obama condemned Ayers acts. Palin participated with the secessionist movement as an adult. She has consciously done something that she should have to answer for. Does she now, or has she ever, hated being a part of the United States and wanted to secede?
That is what I infer from her actions. She may have changed her mind, but something inspired her (and her husband) to join the secessionist movement in Alaska.
It is clear that the supertanker S.S. Johnah McPalin, on what was supposed to be a leisurely race to Presidential Harbor, is sinking fast. They are taking on water and leaking crude after colliding with numerous icebergs, shoals and reefs, some of them repeatedly, because nobody at the helm knows how to pilot the ship. Their bilge pumps are running at capacity to pump the foul bilgewater out in an attempt to save the ship but it just reenters through the numerous holes they have punched in it. The rats can see that the ship is going down and they are starting to abandon it.
Presidential Harbor is in sight and the crew of the McPalin are in a panic because they are not sure if they will make it to safe harbor, so they are grabbing all of the garbage on the ship and throwing it overboard to try and keep the ship afloat. They have decided to make a final mad dash for the harbor and have the tanker running at full steam, intent on crashing over the shoals and bar to get there.
All the while the sleek, powerful cigarette racing boat, The O Bomb, is heading for the harbor. The pilot and navigator are dodging the foul water and garbage, intent on navigating the dangerous waters at the harbor mouth and getting into the harbor safely.
My money is on The O Bomb winning.
D. Mason
If this is true it’s actually great. It puts people in a position to be comforted by the fact that he black. Let that sink in for a moment.
LiberalTarian
Don’t let the MSM frame this. They WANT a racial story to go with–it’ll sell papers. We are an infotainment society, and a racial narrative is about as entertaining and engaging as it gets. Not pretty, not good … well, it is what it is.
But, you knew the McCain camp was going to get dirty. We’ve known this was coming. If you have the chance to call these folks bad mannered, go for it. Mock them for their bad behavior, or simply refuse to tolerate it. This is no time to be a weak, too-polite, afraid to offend, impotent liberal.
kommrade jakevich
I don’t get racism either. I get the usual slime from the GOP machine but there’s plenty of time for a live microphone moment.
As for not seeing the U.S. like other Americans, that is because he’s a dirty Jesus hating DemoNcRat and anyone one who agrees with him is a dirty Jesus hating DemoNcRat and … yaaaawn, we’ve heard this before, haven’t we?
Grendel72
And I suppose this isn’t racist either?
Dulcie
@Brachiator:
I have to disagree with you here. I was laid off in 2001, after 9/11 and the tech bust. I got severance and unemployement, but COBRA was $800 per month, which I couldn’t afford to pay. Then I got sick and was rushed to the emergency room. An asthma attack and three hours in the emergency room ended up being almost 10k – meds, doctor, ambulane, etc. I’m STILL paying that bill off.
If I were to get laid off again, i’d rather have health insurance than severance pay. If I had insurance that wasn’t employer based, I wouldn’t have to worry as much. I think that’s why Obama is discussing insurance. It’s completely relevant, and goes hand and hand with being unemployed.
The Grand Panjandrum
If I’m sitting in my living room with a bunch of good ol’ boys (we’re all white) and were talking about coon hunting. We’re probably talking about killing raccoons. If I’m sitting in the local diner on a crowded Monday morning talking (with a raised voice so everyone can hear) and a black man is sitting within earshot, and I’m talking about coon hunting with that same group of good ol’ boys … difficult to ascribe motive but it is not out of the realm of possibility that at least one person in that diner may think I’m NOT talking about killing raccoons.
The McCain campaign is flailing. Nothing would surprise me, but I can say that it won’t make one bit of difference. Its too late in the cycle for that sort of nonsense to actually work. McCain’s erratic behavior and basic grumpiness won’t change the minds of people who are concerned about paying bills and putting the kids through college.
Unless they have film of the MUP at goat orgies with Mickey Kaus the only thing left is for you and I (all of us!) to go vote and put these fuckers out of their misery.
kommrade jakevich
Fine. We’ll use the John McPOW atlas of the world that puts Kenya in the Mid-East. In that case, might the Kenyan minister who protected Palin against witchcraft be a stealth mullah?
It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Zuzu Hussein's Petals
And here’s how the "Obama as other" meme plays out among the wingnut fringes:
Confederate Yank-me
The pic of Obama not saluting during the anthem is just the icing.
Just Some Fuckhead
They said the exact same thing about Kerry, don’t ya know.
Comrade Napoleon
This is so wrong. In addition to what others have said upthread, remember this was a huge issue in the election that brought Clinton to office because of the recession at that time and really helped him win. But Clinton was stupid and didn’t act on it first when people were still worried. By the time he was prepared to act the recession had passed.
Zuzu Hussein's Petals
At least they can’t say Obama "looks French."
philly
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe they ever said verbatim that Kerry, Gore, etc. "are not one of us" as they are doing with Obama. They used class warfare, volvos, lattes, that kind of thing to differentiate, but not these precise statements of otherness. In my book this is clearly racist.
Royce Penstinger
I tend to disagree with you…the insinuation was is obvious, and from my perspective, the only way she could have been more of a bigot was to have come right out and used the N word in the same sentence as Barrack Obama…when she stated that he did not see America as WE DO…tell me just who that WE she was/is referring to is? I express the opposite view of you here.
ComradeJ. Michael Neal
Let’s all focus on the biggest problem with this quote: the grammar. Commas should have access to a shelter after being subjected to this sort of abuse.
Martin
Given that I think there were racial undertones to what Palin said, I don’t think Obama should do shit about it. The whole point of dogwhistling is that people that aren’t sensitive to it don’t hear it. If the AP is reporting on it, then everyone can see it and there’s nothing more for Obama to do – the AP already did everything Obama needed done.
Other than a generic ‘she’s full of shit’ response, I wouldn’t even hint at the offensiveness of it. Just let the media do that, since they’ve already started.
RH Potfry
I don’t think you caveated your departure from the Democratic party line enough, John. I would have added at least one more "Sarah Palin’s an asshole" and perhaps a couple, "I know the Republicans are evil." Your real point of view actually comes through in a couple places, and that could get you in trouble.
Phoebe
Ha! At first read I thought you’d changed your name to "Zulu Hussein’s Petals". I’m losing it.
John Cole
@RH Potfry: A.) Sarah Palin is an asshole, so I am not sure what you are upset about.
B.) If I was interested in reciting party lines, I would still be circle-jerking with you retards, whinging about liberal fascism, and pretending Hugh Hewitt and the rest of the wankosphere knows what the hell they were talking about. You Bush dead-enders are an interesting lot.
Justin
Terrorist = Muslim? I’m just guessing. I’m black and thought Clinton and McCain ran/are running racist campaigns but this statement didn’t appear racist to me in the least.
Conservatively Liberal
Obama helped a woman twenty years ago. Of course the wingnuts will say that he was being a traitor in helping someone leave the country or that he was paying white people to leave. Maybe that he was already planning his future run for president in 1988 so he only did this to prime the pump. Whatever it is, I am sure that they will try to find something negative in it.
Acts like this help to show what kind of person Obama is. He is willing to help anyone who needs it, without hesitation. He sees a problem and if he can solve it he is more than willing to act.
That is a leader.
John Cole
BTW, Potfry, what brings you here? The last time you were around these parts, you told me I lost my objectivity because I said McCain was tanking in the debate. Considering every poll showed I was right, you care to revisit that comment?
Lemme guess, that was just the liberal media, right?
Ed Marshall
I skimmed your blog for giggles and your own point of view should rank *exactly* as high as people interested in seeing An American Carol. You will be having party meetings in phone booths in the near future.
edit: I was talking to Potfry and blew the blockquote somehow.
Zuzu Hussein's Petals
I actually had a poster at another site say my name should be Zulu instead of Zuzu because I was such an Obama symp. Lovely, no?
That said, I’m trying to get all my friends to adopt "Hussein" as a middle name until the election.
Polish the Guillotines
If we figure out how to make all the new crap work, do we get some kind of certification?
debra
John – I can’t believe you and everyone here has missed it. McCain himself gave these comments a racial subtext. Remember back when McCain said Obama "played the race card from the bottom of the deck?" Well what did Obama say?
So tell me how that is substantively different then what Palin said? She said Obama was un-American, she said that he was not one of us, she said that people should be scared of him (terrorists?). What am I missing here? When the McCain campaign said that this statement was the race card and a whole bunch of journalists piled on to defend McCain because he had "not yet" done any of that. Then the question is, what do you call it when McCain actually does it?
Comrade Jake
Fixed. Obama was raised right, there’s no doubt about it. McCain? Not so much.
ThymeZone
But there is a difference. This year, it isn’t working.
And that year, Kerry turned the other cheek. This year, we are fighting back effectively.
LBNL, the Ayers thing would be a target whether our candidate were white, black or an inflatable doll. It ain’t racist. It’s political.
ThymeZone
Yes, we are admitted to the Royal Order of Kindly Go Fuck Yourself.
There is a ceremony. It’s a little like Who’s Who in America, only without the debatable respectability.
Just Some Fuckhead
Now you know how Kerry felt when they used that smear against him.
ThymeZone
Defeat.
handy
When the McCain campaign said that this statement was the race card and a whole bunch of journalists piled on to defend McCain because he had "not yet" done any of that.
I saw that as classic GOP-patented ratfscking, and a move to define Obama as that "hyper-sensitive black guy."
But I don’t see that as racist in and of itself, but more a "use your opponent’s political strengths against him" kind of strategy.
Comrade Incertus
@debra: I agree with you Debra. The problem is, no one is going to report the entire context. No one is going to patiently explain how this ties in to racism, because it’s complicated, and the press doens’t do complicated.
So instead, we’re left with anything short of calling Obama a pimp from Cracktown being questionable in terms of racism, which is shitty, but there it is. Of course, we’re likely to get some of that in the next month anyway.
Ed Marshall
Funny thing is before I got lazy and started using the buttons my html usually worked.
I’m working on a CCNA right now and for reasons known only to cisco they find it important that you be able to subnet at least Class C TCP/IP networks in your head. I can do *that* and there are still tags up there in the buttons that I don’t know what they do offhand.
John Cole
@debra: Yes, but I never thought Obama’s comments then were “dealing the race card.” Your comment does expose the hypocrisy of McCain and his campaign, but I still think they would be doing the same “he is not one of us” regardless who the candidate was for the Democrats.
Fulcanelli
Ooops, I didn’t think he could hear me… I had the windows closed.
I think the AP wants to help sell newspapers with shit like this. They’re hurtin, revenue’s down.
I hope the Obama supporters en masse don’t chase this stick.
It’s all but in the bag for Obama & Biden, but I would love to see Barry tweak McCain into a lather in the final debates, expecially the one in the liberal heartland of New York.
Ed Marshall
Whatever, McCain is done.
I don’t want anyone to not vote or work or anything, but I think we’ve moved into bandwagon territory. The same kind of people who glommed onto Bush in 2004 because he was a winner are going to hitch their ride to Obama. It’s become embarassing to be part of the McCain campaign. It’s not fun anymore. Every one of those idiots who switch sports teams when one gets hot is going to vote Obama.
Polish the Guillotines
It really doesn’t matter what anyone else says. It really doesn’t.
The one guy who hasn’t fallen for any of this shit is Obama. He’s so much fucking smarter than the ass-clowns running McCain’s Waterloo.
Anyone who still thinks Rove and his minions are geniuses is a fucking wanker. They are all tools and douchebags. Every man-jack of them. And if they knew a shred of American history, they’d have listened to Abe Fucking Lincoln when he warned them they can’t fool everyone all the fucking time. Joe McCarthy (another good Republican soldier) fell into the same trap. Time and time again these fucks think they can get away this shit, and time and again they get their asses handed to them backwards. Bunch of fucking losers.
(Copious profanity courtesy of Bombay Sapphire. Mmmm. Need another martini.)
Comrade Jake
This cannot be emphasized enough.
Soylent Green
Take that purity test of yours and shove it, RHP. Cole can have any point of view he wants. He doesn’t have to conform with any party line. Marching in lockstep with brain disengaged is the Republican way, not ours.
sparky
What Ed M said.
These flailings (Nooner, for example) are just the usual side-switchers. Same for Rove: he just wants to be able to say "I told you so". I do find it interesting that Brooks has decided to stay with the ship. Perhaps he’s planning a daredevil leap of rhetoric when the McCain barge sinks under its overload of self-righteous petulant idiocy.
Bob In Pacifica
By Palin’s rationale because I worked for the Post Office and Son of Sam worked for the Post Office I must talk with dogs.
Queixada
The people who actually believe this.. It will work on them because they think on racially divisive lines. So it might as well be true.
‘terrorist-ties’, ‘muslim’, un-true american etc etc
race.
Conservatively Liberal
No argument there.
Delia
I’d never happened upon this RH Potfry or his alleged humor site before. It almost makes you feel sorry for wingnuts when you see them trying to make funnies. Then you remember the damage they’ve done to this country and the rest of the world and the feeling passes rather quickly.
Comrade The Other Steve
Couldn’t Obama just say he doesn’t agree with those statements and distance himself?
How does John McCain survive with Michelle Malkin and such running loose?
Dickie MOe
Who is the racist, comrade? Are you saying that being a pimp from Cracktown is a racial feature of some kind? And of what race?
Once, it was just republicans who were racist. Then, it became any democrat that didn’t support this nobody. Next, every criticism of Mr. 0 generated imagined racism. This is just the latest trend, conveyed by "the press".
Sure, the guy got to where he is by stealing from poor people, training voter fraud organizations, and being part of the Chicago "machine". But, there must be at least one accomplishment he can be proud of and that you can support him for. Isn’t there?
Or is it just the case that you’re afraid of being called a racist if you don’t?
Comrade The Other Steve
And this from the Virginia McCain campaign…
There’s no need for anybody related to Obama to call these guys racist. They are right out in the open.
Tattoosydney
Sullivan is running with the same idea (from one of his readers):
The only problem I have with that paragraph is the suggestion that Rich Lowry has EVER EVER had an actual girlfriend.
Ed Marshall
liberal
ThymeZone wrote,
Uh…let me guess. ‘Cuz Congress passed the bailout bill?
liberal
I know that Obama is doing really well in the polls right now, but what makes you guys think the Republicans won’t just steal the election?
My guess is that it won’t happen, but I wouldn’t put overwhelming odds against it, either.
Bob In Pacifica
Someone can call someone "sir" or "madam" and be inserting a racist subtext. Happens all the time. That’s the thing with subtexts.
Message sent. Message delivered. What did Palin say when Obama won the nomination? "So Sambo beat the bitch." ‘Nuff said.
Conservatively Liberal
Wingnuts are incapable of humor, it’s just not in their nature. The fact that they are the brunt of some of the best jokes probably doesn’t help much either. No, too many wingnuts enjoy hate and cruelty because that’s what turns their crank. It’s a desire to consider oneself as above those who are different, a cultist mentality. Far too many wingnuts have a thin cruel frown so set in their faces that it would shatter if they ever smiled. They live their lives consumed with the idea that everyone is out to get them and if you are not with them then you are the enemy. You are different.
What is interesting is that wingnuts regain their sense of humor if they return to reality while those on the left who catch the wingnut bug lose it (see: Miller, Dennis – former comedian).
Good comedy requires great communication skills. If you aren’t good at nuance then you are doomed to fail as a comic. Wingnuts who try to be funny make the mistake of spelling the joke out so much that anyone can see the lame punchline coming from a mile away. They haven’t leaned that it isn’t what you say but rather how you say it.
They can’t do it because it requires too much work for their reptilian brains to handle.
Speaking of reptiles…
Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Conservatively Liberal
Actually, Lowry is dating the five Palm sisters. Their mom’s name is Rosy.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
I’ll see your disgusting and raise your disgusting. Hannity’s slime-job on Obama tonight (which I haven’t seen myself — anyone?) allegedly used a certified crackpot and anti-Semite as one of its chief character assassins.
I guess this little exposé is what various wingnuts have been drooling over all day. I wonder how many of them will feel even an iota of shame about this.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Holy shit. Obama’s hitting McCain on Keating on a new website. Big video goes up at noon on MOnday.
If you’re going to link someone to scandalous associates, you may as well tie it to the economy, eh?
EDIT: Politico coverage.
Zuzu Hussein's Petals
OMG, I’ve been to a post office !
OMG.
Comrade Jake
I’m surprised they’re pushing that hard. I’m not sure I see it as necessary at the moment, but I think we can safely conclude that Barack Obama is not John Kerry or Al Gore.
The Moar You Know
Way to miss her logic. Here’s a better one:
You = worked at Post Office
Son of Sam = worked at Post Office
You = mass murderer
Also, Dickie MOe seems like he/she is terribly bitter. Perhaps clinging to something.
Polish the Guillotines
Wow. I mean, wow.
This goes up the day before the economics debate. Wow. Just wow.
I can hear McCain’s campaign staff now: "Fire in the hole!"
I can hear Obama: "McCain! You magnificent bastard! I READ YOUR BOOK!"
If McCain’s gonna lose it, Tuesday night’s the night.
Scott H
@Polish the Guillotines The one guy who hasn’t fallen for any of this shit is Obama.
This has got to be such small potatoes for Obama. Pathethic, tawdry, cheap shots. If Obama never reacts at all it will be brilliant.
Martin
They might be able to steal a few thousand votes here and there, but McCain needs to steal about 7 entire states from the looks of it. And people need to be willing to go to jail for him if they get caught. I’m not seeing that kind of GOP loyalty this year.
The Moar You Know
I’m not surprised at all. It may seem like running up the score at this point, but there is almost a month to go and lest you need reminding, the GOP has the best election-stealing machinery in the world. This election needs a margin of victory large enough so that it can’t be questioned or hauled into court.
Delia
Comrade Mary @137
That’s some pretty impressive crazy over at Hannity. My only question now is how McPow plans on courting the Florida retirees. Or does he think implied Muslim terrorist connections trump unhinged anti-Semitic whackjob surrogates on the teevee screen?
KXB
The possible area for racial subtext is that Palin says terrorist, but does not mention William Ayers – you know, the white terrorist. So, since conventional wisdoms holds that terrorists come from places where people have darker skin, that’s the kind of terrorist her audience is on the lookout for.
Polish the Guillotines
Keating site is live. Just a teaser up now with the full vid due at noon EST tomorrow. Here’s a taste:
This is gonna be teh awesome.
Conservatively Liberal
Only when Sarah is on TV.
Timing is everything, and so far his timing has been pretty damn good. Obama just keeps rolling out the hits and they keep landing, over and over again. Dropping this bomb right before the debate is choice. Nothing like knocking your opponent off-center right before a battle.
If I were in the McCain campaign, I would get an anger management expert to work with the old guy. Yesterday.
Fulcanelli
The apple never falls far from the tree, now does it? Palin family values on display for Sunday evening night owls…
Check out the little one. Betcha learnt that from Mommy, now dint’cha. Even the scowl on her little face.
And I looooove that jacket, Sarah, so… middle class.
Church Lady
I know that I am that rare democrat that just does not think that Obama has the requisite experience to be President and that puts me in a far, far minority here. I would be a whole lot more comfortable with Biden on the top of the ticket, but that’s just me.
As far as Ayres is concerned, I think it is a fair attack. Obama served with this man on not one, but two different boards (Annenberg and Woods). Putting myself in his place, I myself would not serve with someone like that under any circumstances. Ayres has not changed at all since he was bombing the Pentagon and the Capitol (which would be considered domestic terrorism), and is apparently quite the fan of Hugo Chavez. I especially love the picture of him in the Times from 2001 where he thought it would be neat to stand on a crumpled up American flag. Yes, he is quite the patriot and an average joe to boot! And as far as being a "mainstream" educator, that’s just a bunch of b.s. That’s like saying Fr. Phlegar is just your average parish priest.
If Obama had told the truth when he was asked about his relationship with Ayres, I probably could have looked past it. However, he out and out lied when he said that Ayres was just a guy in his neighborhood, and his campaign lied when they said that he only knows Ayres because their children go to school together. That definitely makes me wonder why he and his campaign felt the need to lie and makes me think that there is more "there" there.
Racist? No, I just don’t see it and if the campaign is smart, it will back as far away from that racism charge as it can. It was after people started screaming racism about the Clinton campaign that a backlash developed and Hillary started winning a lot of the primaries. And it was after Obama started saying that he didn’t look like other Presidents (i.e., the Republicans will go after me because I’m black) that he dropped a lot in the polls and McCain’s poll numbers start to go up.
Is Ayres still a potential problem for Obama? In my opinion, yes, because when it was bought up before, it was during the primaries and it was only democrats weighing that issue. Now, the Independents will be paying attention, and I just don’t think that many people are fans of folks that bomb government buildings.
Conservatively Liberal
She is just telling the other kid that he is #1.
Sarah is just wearing what makes her comfortable. The pattern on it is probably similar to the contents of her brain.
Clouds and thin air.
Martin
That’s awesome.
gwangung
Then you wouldn’t be a supporter of the Chicago Symphony and Orrin Hatch, now, would you? That’s what other board members who served with Ayers have done.
Begone, troll. Spread your lies elsewhere.
DougJ
Not to sound like Mickey Kaus here, but I think it would irresponsible not to discuss the Keating Five stuff. What could possibly be more relevant to an election dominated by bank failures than John McCain’s involvement with one of the largest bank failures in history?
Seriously. Even if you like McCain, don’t you have to admit that this is a pertinent issue.
Comrade Jake
Right, he hasn’t changed at all. Because he bombed a building just yesterday, AMIRITE? Give me a fucking break. Ayers is a toothless ex-radical at worst.
This notion that Obama’s hiding something is such bullshit. Plenty of people have looked into their "relationship". There’s nothing there. This is a pile of guilt-by-association nonsense.
Conservatively Liberal
The BJ Black Wall of Death has arrived! I had to reduce my font to 50% so I could see the Reply window to enter this.
Fix your blog Cole! :)
Garrigus Carraig
@Martin:
Wait, what? Jail? What country are you from, sir, where vote thieves go to jail?
Polish the Guillotines
I have it on good authority that when Obama was 8 years old, he and Ayres palled around together. It was kind of a Paper Moon thing, except with anarchy and bombs.
Huh? Oh, yeah. Not so much.
gwangung
Well, if you have an IQ above room temperature, yeah…
But what does this have to do with the base?
Garrigus Carraig
Consurn trole iz consirnd
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
What’s black and orange and in your face? It’s not the Great Pumpkin.
Another new Obama site: John McCain’s Record.
Fulcanelli
@Church Lady:
While valid for some, the "experience" arguement never held water, due to the fact that "experience" when it comes to Washington politics means, jaded, detached from the public, arrogant, and most importantly – you owe a ton of favors and have sold your soul to big business, period.
Name one "experienced", nationally known politician who has a better, more realistic, well thought out plan, can motivate and inspire millions average people to donate, and whose candidacy by it’s very existence represents the first chance we’ve had to leave behind the absolute garbage I’ve had to choose from since I cast my first presidential vote in 1976 and maybe I’ll vote for ’em.
As far as Ayers, he don’t scare me. Shit, how many people on this blog have read the Communist Manifesto, well I have and I pay my taxes, work hard and I don’t blow things up, and I believe in Capitalism. Just not cannibalistic capitalism like the GOP and Wall Street. BOO!
For better or worse, I bought my ticket and I’ll take my pony ride. It cannot be any worse than George Bush or Johnny "Cryptkeeper" McDrama flanked by Caribou Barbie. No fucking way can it be worse.
Polish the Guillotines
Pretty please? I want my FireFox back. IE7 hates America.
Loneoak
The Keating video looks like it will be a blockbuster. I bet it beats American Carol in revenue!
Martin
Well, there was Allen Raymond. And consider that if they should fail, they’d be facing a DoJ with a constitutional lawyer as President who used to teach voting rights law. I think even someone of such moral failing to attempt this would realize that stealing votes from such a man, especially since he’s a minority and likely not someone to just let such an action slide, is a very dangerous thing to do.
Delia
The Black Wall of Death arrived for me way back around #126. I had to switch to IE7, which doesn’t work right on either of my computers. It sucks sucks sucks and also loads slow. On my laptop I couldn’t even cut and paste on it. It truly does hate America, and I betcha anything that Todd Palin uses IE7, along with the rest of the Alaska Independence Party.
And btw, Church Lady, my sister was one of the many dems who supported Clinton because she thought she had more experience, but when Obama won the primary she didn’t make a fuss but got right on board with him. I watched the rethug convention with her and her husband, and she hit the roof over Palin. She was furious that they would try to court Clinton voters with such a cheap fraud.
Martin
Well, I take it differently. If experience was what mattered, we’d hire people based on their resume. Nobody does that.
We use experience as the filter to get a first hand look at the person. That’s really what we pick people from. Focusing on experience really means ignoring everything that we’ve learned over the last year and half. Let’s face it, Biden has been in the Senate for three decades and people know a hell of a lot more about Obama than they do about Biden. Biden could be an absolutely shitty Senator for all most people know.
Well, let’s look at it a different way. Who is unquestionably the most experienced person to be President? WH chief of staff, Secretary of Defense, House Minority Whip, Vice President. If experience was the most important thing, Dick Cheney would be a great Vice President, and presumably the greatest future President, bar none.
Just Some Fuckhead
Whenever I don’t think a candidate is experienced enough, I’ll usually concoct a convoluted and sinister accusation about that candidate having ties to terrorists. It’s just how I roll.
Beej
Church Lady,
Do a little research before you spread the Ayers foolishness around the internet. Obama sat on two boards with Ayers. The first was the Chicago Annenberg Challenge to compete for a large grant to improve public education. Incidentally, Walter Annenberg, the person who established the foundation responsible for the grant, was a very good friend of Richard Nixon, definitely not a left-wing radical. Ayers and Obama were not the only people on the board. Several prominent Chicagoans, including 1 or 2 whose politics are decidedly right-leaning were also included. The other board was the Woods Fund board, also concerned with improving public education, and the composition of the board was similar, a wide variety of political perspectives. Incidentally, Obama has never lied about or tried to cover up these activities. When the Ayers smear was first broadcast, the Obama campaign gave a statement containing essentially the same information I have recapped above. It was only after Obama got tired of repeating it that he made the remarks you find so deceptive. So, troll away, but please don’t think you’re fooling anyone who knows how to use Google.
TenguPhule
Fixed.
BethanyAnne
Those 2 attack sites from Camp O make me so happy. A month out, holding a lead, and he goes on *offense*. Wow. The odds of McCain ‘sploding at the debate just went up 150%. Either that, or he takes so many meds, he can’t speak. /rawr!
HappyEvilLeftie Bethy
Brachiator
@Comrade Jake:
Sweet boneless Jesus! I agree with you that this is not only bullshit, it is a lame attempt to whip up a mini-firestorm before the next presidential debate, where McCain will, no doubt unleash more crap.
It’s too bad that the lazy media keeps the crap stirred up. The evening news here showed a smiling chirpy Palin repeating the charge again just before she boarded an airplane, insisting that it was a valid issue.
While I respect the Obama campaign’s handling of this, I would like to see a substantive attack on Palin, pointing out valid questions about her tenure as mayor and governor, and showing that she is a potentially corrupt politician and not America’s girlfriend.
Chuck Butcher
Let’s see if I can do a bit of contrast:
McCain, Admiral’s son and grandson at bottom of class
Obama, son of single mother President Harvard Law Review
McCain campaign, hundred some lobbyists for failed economy
Obama’s campaign, beat presumptive candidate Clinton & missed not a stroke yet.
Obama ahead in polls, McCain losing previous red state
Some of you want to tell Obama what to do about McCain?
Loneoak
Some of you want to tell Obama what to do about McCain?
Beat the tar out of him and win with a 10-point spread.
Original Maverick
Spread McCain’s outstanding past. Read all about it at Rolling Stone Magazine. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain
Anne Laurie
Since a ‘church lady’ has shown up, here’s an old joke…
There are 25 members of the St. Thomas More Ladies’ Sodality — 23 Irish-Americans, 2 Italian-Americans. When the ballots for President of the sodality are counted, Mrs. Bridget O’Flaherty has 23 votes, and Mrs. Theresa Bongiorno has 2 votes.
As the meeting is breaking up, one of Mrs. O’Flaherty’s supporters comes up and whispers, "Congratulations, darling… but isn’t it terrible how those people stick together?"
The whole ‘B. Hussein Obama *hearts* Radical Terr-rist Bill Ayres’ trophe is meant to keep firmly in the forefront of all good little fReichtard minds the thought that Obama is one of those people. Yes, it’s racist, in that the people disseminating the lie are members of what remains the (bare) *majority* American race. But the fact that Obama’s father was Kenyan is secondary to the fact that Obama himself is irretrievably, in their minds, a member of the Those People tribe — someone not exactly like themselves, and therefore dangerous to their narrow little worldview.