"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."
Source: CNN.com
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A misleading tax analogy
Following are some thoughts on the misleading tax analogy posted at United We Stand.
I don't necessarily dispute the mechanics of the system, but the presentation is fundamentally misleading.
Although the actors in the story are individuals, they actually represent decile groups, e.g. the richest man represents the top 10% of income earners. Consequently, the $59 that he pays does not represent an individual income tax rate of 59%, but rather the sum total amount that the top 10% of earners pays relative to everyone else. This amount could be 1% of their individual income or 100%; it's impossible to know since the data to do that math is missing from the story.
More realistically, the average tax rate of the top 10% of earners in 2006 was 19% according to IRS data. According to the 2007 tax rates, the top tax bracket - those earning over $350k - paid a maximum rate of 35%. Given the graduated nature of the tax brackets (e.g. the first $15k is taxed at 10%, $15k - $64k is taxed at 15%, ..., only that portion over $350k is taxed at 35%), you would have had to earn $6 million to reach the maximum 35%, by my back-of-the envelope calculations.
Wealth is a matter of perspective. Earning $250k/yr does not seem like much when you spend most of your time looking up the scale at those making millions. However, when you look down the scale and realize that you are sitting on top of 98% of the population, in my estimation, you are doing quite well.
There is a question as to whether those making the most benefit most from how tax dollars are used. I'm a little less certain about that, but my inclination is yes. While their life and liberties are equally protected by national defense, the amount of wealth protected per dollar spent on national defense is a pretty direct relationship. And while a wealthy individual may not drive on publicly-funded roads any more than a poor person does, the source of their income is directly tied to that infrastructure in terms of bringing customers to their door and delivering their products to their customers. I imagine there are numerous other examples of how the wealthy benefit more from publicly-funded infrastructure.
Oh, did I mention that Dr. Kamerschen didn't write that analogy? See his personal page at http://davidk.myweb.uga.edu/
I don't necessarily dispute the mechanics of the system, but the presentation is fundamentally misleading.
Although the actors in the story are individuals, they actually represent decile groups, e.g. the richest man represents the top 10% of income earners. Consequently, the $59 that he pays does not represent an individual income tax rate of 59%, but rather the sum total amount that the top 10% of earners pays relative to everyone else. This amount could be 1% of their individual income or 100%; it's impossible to know since the data to do that math is missing from the story.
More realistically, the average tax rate of the top 10% of earners in 2006 was 19% according to IRS data. According to the 2007 tax rates, the top tax bracket - those earning over $350k - paid a maximum rate of 35%. Given the graduated nature of the tax brackets (e.g. the first $15k is taxed at 10%, $15k - $64k is taxed at 15%, ..., only that portion over $350k is taxed at 35%), you would have had to earn $6 million to reach the maximum 35%, by my back-of-the envelope calculations.
Wealth is a matter of perspective. Earning $250k/yr does not seem like much when you spend most of your time looking up the scale at those making millions. However, when you look down the scale and realize that you are sitting on top of 98% of the population, in my estimation, you are doing quite well.
There is a question as to whether those making the most benefit most from how tax dollars are used. I'm a little less certain about that, but my inclination is yes. While their life and liberties are equally protected by national defense, the amount of wealth protected per dollar spent on national defense is a pretty direct relationship. And while a wealthy individual may not drive on publicly-funded roads any more than a poor person does, the source of their income is directly tied to that infrastructure in terms of bringing customers to their door and delivering their products to their customers. I imagine there are numerous other examples of how the wealthy benefit more from publicly-funded infrastructure.
Oh, did I mention that Dr. Kamerschen didn't write that analogy? See his personal page at http://davidk.myweb.uga.edu/
Friday, October 24, 2008
Palin stylist paid more than McCain's foriegn policy adviser
Stylist Amy Strozzi nets more than a McCain foreign policy adviser
The Associated Press
updated 1:54 p.m. MT, Fri., Oct. 24, 2008
WASHINGTON - An acclaimed celebrity makeup artist for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin collected more money from John McCain's campaign than his foreign policy adviser.
Amy Strozzi, who works on the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" and has been Palin's traveling stylist, was paid $22,800, according to campaign finance reports for the first two weeks in October. In contrast, McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was paid $12,500, the report showed.
More...
The Associated Press
updated 1:54 p.m. MT, Fri., Oct. 24, 2008
WASHINGTON - An acclaimed celebrity makeup artist for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin collected more money from John McCain's campaign than his foreign policy adviser.
Amy Strozzi, who works on the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" and has been Palin's traveling stylist, was paid $22,800, according to campaign finance reports for the first two weeks in October. In contrast, McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was paid $12,500, the report showed.
More...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Palin's $150k campaign wardrobe
Palin is getting sued for using campaign donations to buy her and her family $150k worth of clothes from high-end stores such as Sak's and Bloomingdales, but it looks like she might be the victim of campaign mismanagement here. By all accounts, she really is a down-to-earth frequenter of Target and the like. It was the campaign's personal shopper that bought virtually all of the clothes, and it was the campaign staff's incompetence for not burying it in ad budgets, as both Republican and Democratic campaigns usually do, according to Republicans who are furious over the matter.
McCain's evolving perspectives on socialism
2000: “Here's what I really believe, that when you are -- reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”
- McCain in a town hall meeting, responding to a suggestion that America’s progressive tax system smacked of socialism.
2001: “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.”
- McCain in a written statement opposing Bush’s tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest Americans.
2008: “You see, he believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that help us all make more of it. Joe, in his plain-spoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism. And a lot of Americans are thinking along those same lines. At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives.”
- McCain in response to Obama’s plan to undo the Bush tax cuts and return marginal rates to Clinton-era levels.
- McCain in a town hall meeting, responding to a suggestion that America’s progressive tax system smacked of socialism.
2001: “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.”
- McCain in a written statement opposing Bush’s tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest Americans.
2008: “You see, he believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that help us all make more of it. Joe, in his plain-spoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism. And a lot of Americans are thinking along those same lines. At least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives.”
- McCain in response to Obama’s plan to undo the Bush tax cuts and return marginal rates to Clinton-era levels.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Palin still doesn't know what the V.P. does
Palin takes heat for saying VP 'in charge' of the Senate
Posted: 03:14 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Watch Palin's comments on KUSA Wednesday.
(CNN) – Sarah Palin is taking heat Wednesday for appearing to overstate the role of vice president, saying in a recent interview that she would be "in charge of the Senate" should John McCain win the White House.
The comments came in an interview with Colorado TV station KUSA in response to a third-grader's question, "What does the Vice President do?”
"[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom," she said.
The comments have drawn criticism from Democrats and liberal blogs which note the actual role of the vice president when it comes to the Senate is simply to cast a tie-breaking vote in the event of a stalemate. According to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president is the "President" of the Senate, but has no executive position when it comes to presiding over the chamber.
Donald Ritchie, a historian in the Senate Historical Office told CNN that Palin's comment was an "overstatement" of what her role would be.
"The vice president is the ceremonial officer of the Senate and has certain ceremonial functions including swearing in new senators and can vote to break a tie," he said. "It’s a relatively limited role. It's evolved into a neutral presiding officer of the Senate.
Ritchie also noted recent vice presidents have played a behind-the-scenes lobbying role on Capitol Hill for an administration's policies, but called it "somewhat limited."
"It's not comparable to the Speaker of the House who is certainly in charge of the House," he said. "The slogan that political scientists use is that the House is ruled by the chair and the Senate is ruled by the floor…the senators are in charge of the Senate."
Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Palin, said the Alaska governor was simply answering the question in a way a third-grader could understand.
"Governor Palin was responding to a third grader's inquiry," she said. "She was explaining in terms a third-grader could understand that the vice-president is also president of the U.S. Senate."
In an interview with CBS earlier this month, Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden also said he hoped to play an influential role in the legislative branch if Barack Obama wins the White House.
"I hope one of my roles as vice president will be as the person actually implementing Barack Obama's policy. You gotta get the Congress to go along with it," he said. "And it's presumptuous to say, but I know it pretty well. And I think I am fairly respected on both sides of the aisle."
Posted: 03:14 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Watch Palin's comments on KUSA Wednesday.
(CNN) – Sarah Palin is taking heat Wednesday for appearing to overstate the role of vice president, saying in a recent interview that she would be "in charge of the Senate" should John McCain win the White House.
The comments came in an interview with Colorado TV station KUSA in response to a third-grader's question, "What does the Vice President do?”
"[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom," she said.
The comments have drawn criticism from Democrats and liberal blogs which note the actual role of the vice president when it comes to the Senate is simply to cast a tie-breaking vote in the event of a stalemate. According to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president is the "President" of the Senate, but has no executive position when it comes to presiding over the chamber.
Donald Ritchie, a historian in the Senate Historical Office told CNN that Palin's comment was an "overstatement" of what her role would be.
"The vice president is the ceremonial officer of the Senate and has certain ceremonial functions including swearing in new senators and can vote to break a tie," he said. "It’s a relatively limited role. It's evolved into a neutral presiding officer of the Senate.
Ritchie also noted recent vice presidents have played a behind-the-scenes lobbying role on Capitol Hill for an administration's policies, but called it "somewhat limited."
"It's not comparable to the Speaker of the House who is certainly in charge of the House," he said. "The slogan that political scientists use is that the House is ruled by the chair and the Senate is ruled by the floor…the senators are in charge of the Senate."
Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Palin, said the Alaska governor was simply answering the question in a way a third-grader could understand.
"Governor Palin was responding to a third grader's inquiry," she said. "She was explaining in terms a third-grader could understand that the vice-president is also president of the U.S. Senate."
In an interview with CBS earlier this month, Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden also said he hoped to play an influential role in the legislative branch if Barack Obama wins the White House.
"I hope one of my roles as vice president will be as the person actually implementing Barack Obama's policy. You gotta get the Congress to go along with it," he said. "And it's presumptuous to say, but I know it pretty well. And I think I am fairly respected on both sides of the aisle."
Block the Vote
Following are highlights from the RollingStone article.
Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST
Posted Oct 30, 2008 11:10 AM
RollingStone.com
Full Article: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote
...On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county's voters were absent from the rolls. With their status in limbo, the voters were forced to cast "provisional" ballots, which can be reviewed and discarded by election officials without explanation. On Super Tuesday, more than half of all provisional ballots cast were thrown out statewide.
... All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on "list maintenance" methods.
1. Obstructing Voter-Registration Drives
...As a result, the annual number of such registrations [in Florida] has plummeted from more than 120,000 in the Clinton years to barely 10,000 today.
2. Demanding "Perfect Matches"
...Spurred by HAVA, almost every state must now attempt to make some kind of match — and four states, including the swing states of Iowa and Florida, require what is known as a "perfect match." Under this rigid framework, new registrants can lose the right to vote if the information on their voter-registration forms — Social Security number, street address and precisely spelled name, right down to a hyphen — fails to exactly match data listed in other government records.
3. Purging Legitimate Voters From the Rolls
...All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on 'list maintenance' methods.
4. Requiring Unnecessary Voter ID's
...Even though Indiana has never recorded a single case of voter-ID fraud, it is one of two dozen states that have enacted stringent new voter-ID statutes...According to the study, one in 10 likely white voters do not possess the necessary identification. For African-Americans, the number lacking such ID is twice as high.
5. Rejecting "Spoiled" Ballots
...In 2004, the number of spoiled ballots in New Mexico — 19,000 — was three times George Bush's margin of victory.
6. Challenging "Provisional" Ballots
In 2004, a third of all provisional ballots — as many as 1 million votes — were simply thrown away at the discretion of election officials.
Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST
Posted Oct 30, 2008 11:10 AM
RollingStone.com
Full Article: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote
...On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county's voters were absent from the rolls. With their status in limbo, the voters were forced to cast "provisional" ballots, which can be reviewed and discarded by election officials without explanation. On Super Tuesday, more than half of all provisional ballots cast were thrown out statewide.
... All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on "list maintenance" methods.
1. Obstructing Voter-Registration Drives
...As a result, the annual number of such registrations [in Florida] has plummeted from more than 120,000 in the Clinton years to barely 10,000 today.
2. Demanding "Perfect Matches"
...Spurred by HAVA, almost every state must now attempt to make some kind of match — and four states, including the swing states of Iowa and Florida, require what is known as a "perfect match." Under this rigid framework, new registrants can lose the right to vote if the information on their voter-registration forms — Social Security number, street address and precisely spelled name, right down to a hyphen — fails to exactly match data listed in other government records.
3. Purging Legitimate Voters From the Rolls
...All told, states reported scrubbing at least 10 million voters from their rolls on questionable grounds between 2004 and 2006. Colorado holds the record: Donetta Davidson, the Republican secretary of state, and her GOP successor oversaw the elimination of nearly one of every six of their state's voters. Bush has since appointed Davidson to the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency created by HAVA, which provides guidance to the states on 'list maintenance' methods.
4. Requiring Unnecessary Voter ID's
...Even though Indiana has never recorded a single case of voter-ID fraud, it is one of two dozen states that have enacted stringent new voter-ID statutes...According to the study, one in 10 likely white voters do not possess the necessary identification. For African-Americans, the number lacking such ID is twice as high.
5. Rejecting "Spoiled" Ballots
...In 2004, the number of spoiled ballots in New Mexico — 19,000 — was three times George Bush's margin of victory.
6. Challenging "Provisional" Ballots
In 2004, a third of all provisional ballots — as many as 1 million votes — were simply thrown away at the discretion of election officials.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama
Watch General Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on Meet the Press.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490
Friday, October 17, 2008
Joe the Plumber
"Joe the Plumber" challenged Obama on the campaign trail about small business taxes, saying he was thinking about buying a plumbing business that would earn in excess of $250,000 a year and questioning whether Obama would raise his taxes. McCain made Joe a key talking point during the third debate.
Turns out:
Turns out:
- Joe doesn't have a plumber's license
- Joe owes $1200 in back taxes
- Joe doesn't have the money to buy a plumbing business
- Joe's taxes would go down under an Obama presidency
Palin's AIP connections
Since the McCain campaign believes in the guilt-by-association game, thought I'd post a couple of theirs. More to follow.
“I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions.”
“The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. And I won't be buried under their damn flag.”
-- Joe Vogler, founder of the Alaskan Independence Party
Todd Palin was a card-carrying member of the AIP from 1995 until 2002.
Sarah Palin attended AIP meetings and addressed their membership, saying “Keep up the good work and God bless you.”
AIP Vice Chairman, Dexter Carter, asserted that Sarah Palin was a onetime member of the AIP. She was not, but her attendence at meetings, association with AIP members, and sympathetic views led him to believe that she was.
McCain robo-dials about abortion
"I'm calling on behalf of John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in the Illinois Senate opposed a bill requiring doctors to care for babies born alive after surviving attempted abortions -- a position at odds even with John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama and his liberal Democrats are too extreme for America. Please vote -- vote for the candidates who share our values. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202 863 8500."
(Obama explains that the bill defined a fetus as a person and would have thereby criminalized all abortions.)
(Obama explains that the bill defined a fetus as a person and would have thereby criminalized all abortions.)
McCain robo-dials about Ayers
After declaring that he doesn't care about some 60's hippy domestic terrorist during the third debate, the McCain campaign started robo-dialing the following message in key battleground states:
"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."
"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."
Obama's new flag
Radio host Bob Grant asserted that Sen. Barack Obama "is not content with just having several American flags, plain old American flags with the 50 states represented by 50 stars[.] He has the 'O' flag." However, the flag to which Grant apparently referred was actually the Ohio state flag. Idiot.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
McCain: The New Ted Stevens
Verizon and AT&T provided free cell phone towers to cover McCain's Sedona ranch (plus a handful of other residents, who are not currently cell phone users). The corollary with Ted Stevens? McCain is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission and the telecommunications industry, and several of his campaign officials, including campaign manager Rick Davis, have worked as lobbyists for Verizon and AT&T.
"Three telecommunications specialists consulted by The Post said the proposed site covers so few users that it is unlikely to generate enough traffic to justify the investment. Robb Alarcon, an industry specialist who helps plan tower placement, said the proposed location appeared to be a 'strategic build,' free-of-charge coverage to high-priority customers. A former Verizon executive vice president, who asked not to be named because he worked for the company, agreed with Alarcon, saying, 'It was a VIP kind of thing.'"
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4920720509003389897
"Three telecommunications specialists consulted by The Post said the proposed site covers so few users that it is unlikely to generate enough traffic to justify the investment. Robb Alarcon, an industry specialist who helps plan tower placement, said the proposed location appeared to be a 'strategic build,' free-of-charge coverage to high-priority customers. A former Verizon executive vice president, who asked not to be named because he worked for the company, agreed with Alarcon, saying, 'It was a VIP kind of thing.'"
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4920720509003389897
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Buckley leaves National Review after Obama endorsement
October 14, 2008
Posted: 09:30 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Buckley has resigned his post from the National Review.
(CNN) — Christopher Buckley, the son of conservative icon William F. Buckley, said Tuesday he's resigned from the conservative National Review days after endorsing Barack Obama's White House bid, among the most powerful symbols yet of the conservative discontent expressed this election cycle.
In an online column, Buckley said he had decided to offer his resignation from the magazine his father founded after hundreds of readers and some National Review colleagues expressed outrage he was backing the Illinois senator.
"While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for," Buckley wrote.
"Eight years of 'conservative' government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case," he also wrote.
The resignation comes four days after Buckley formally endorsed Obama on the Web site The Daily Beast, writing the presidential campaign had made John McCain "inauthentic," and Obama appeared to have a "first-class temperament and first-class intellect."
In a statement posted on the publication's Web site Tuesday, National Review editor Rich Lowry noted Buckley was writing for the magazine on a trial basis, and took his offer to resign with the "warmest regards and understanding" sincerely. Lowry also took issue with Buckley's contention the magazine had been flooded with angry mail over Buckley's endorsement, saying it had received a relatively small 100 e-mails expressing disapproval.
"It's an intense election season and emotions are running high," Lowry said.
Matt Lewis, a contributing writer to the conservative Web site Townhall.com, told CNN the National Review made the right decision in quickly accepting Buckley's resignation.
"While it is acceptable for a conservative to vote for a third party – or to abstain from voting for McCain – no real conservative could cast their vote for Obama," he said. "The conservative movement didn’t leave him, he left it."
But in his column Tuesday, Buckley expressed disappointment the magazine, and conservatives in general, were not more open to dissenting opinions that his own father once championed.
My father in his day endorsed a number of liberal Democrats for high office, including Allard K. Lowenstein and Joe Lieberman," he said, adding later, "My point, simply, is that William F. Buckley held to rigorous standards, and if those were met by members of the other side rather than by his own camp, he said as much."
Buckley is only the latest among several prominent conservative to express dissatisfaction with McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin. David Brooks, Kathleen Parker, David Frum, Peggy Noonan, and George Will, all high-profile conservative thinkers, have each openly criticized the ticket over the last month.
"Sadly, I think Christopher Buckley is merely the latest example of the “conservative” avant-garde who has succumbed to a common temptation: Becoming more liberal is tantamount to becoming more open-minded. There is a palpable elitism among some of the conservative panjandrum," Lewis said.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
David Brooks: Sarah Palin "Represents A Fatal Cancer To The Republican Party"
Conservative political commentator and journalist, David Brooks, speaking to an interviewer from The Atlantic, had this to say about Palin and Obama:
"Do I think she's ready to be Vice President? Absolutely not! ... [Sarah Palin] represents a fatal cancer to the Republican party. When I first started in journalism, I worked at the National Review for Bill Buckley. And Buckley famously said he'd rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. But he didn't think those were the only two options. He thought it was important to have people on the conservative side who celebrated ideas, who celebrated learning. And his whole life was based on that, and that was also true for a lot of the other conservatives in the Reagan era. Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices."
"Obama has the great intellect. I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say. "
"And the other thing that does separate Obama from just a pure intellectual: he has tremendous powers of social perception. And this is why he's a politician, not an academic. A couple of years ago, I was writing columns attacking the Republican congress for spending too much money. And I throw in a few sentences attacking the Democrats to make myself feel better. And one morning I get an email from Obama saying, 'David, if you wanna attack us, fine, but you're only throwing in those sentences to make yourself feel better.' And it was a perfect description of what was going through my mind. And everybody who knows Obama all have these stories to tell about his capacity for social perception."
Keating Economics: déjà vu, a lesson in poor judgement
The Obama campaign put together this 15 minute video summarizing McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal. The parallels with today's economic crises, and McCain's response to it, clearly demonstrate that he learned nothing from that scandal, despite calling it the lowest point in his political career.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/keatingvideo
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/keatingvideo
McCain, Palin inciting bigotry and violence
McCain campaign turns up the negativity, inciting crowds to bigotry and violence. In Florida on Monday, Palin was introduced by a sherriff who, in his remarks, referred to Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama," a type of smear that McCain denounced long ago. Then, during her speech, Palin accussed Obama of palling around with demostic terrorists ... the crowed booed and one person yelled, "Kill him!". It's not clear whether the reference was to Obama or Ayers. The Secret Service is investigating.
On the same day, McCain asked a crowed, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" A member of the crowed yelled, "Terrorist!" McCain reacted visibly and paused but offered no condemnation.
I'm embarrassed to say that I personally know people who still think Obama is muslim, think he is embarrassed about his white mother because he never shows her (she's dead), cite his middle name as a reason not vote for him, and even question whether he used makeup to make himself look more black during the first debate.
On the same day, McCain asked a crowed, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" A member of the crowed yelled, "Terrorist!" McCain reacted visibly and paused but offered no condemnation.
I'm embarrassed to say that I personally know people who still think Obama is muslim, think he is embarrassed about his white mother because he never shows her (she's dead), cite his middle name as a reason not vote for him, and even question whether he used makeup to make himself look more black during the first debate.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Cindy McCain: What planet does she live on?
This one floored me. The way I see it, McCain fired the first shot with ads such as the one insinuating that Obama was some kind of deviant wanting to teach explicit sex ed to kindergartners.
Cindy McCain says Obama running 'dirtiest campaign' ever
October 7, 2008
Posted: 07:30 PM ET
(CNN) — Cindy McCain lashed out at Barack Obama Tuesday, telling a Tennessee newspaper the Illinois senator has waged the "dirtiest campaign in American history."
The comments came hours before her husband, Republican nominee John McCain, was slated to square off with the Illinois senator at the second presidential debate, and are among her harshest to date of her husband's rival for the White House.
Speaking to the Tennessean, Cindy McCain also said her husband would use Tuesday night's town hall forum as an opportunity to correct what she suggested were misleading statements from the Obama campaign.
“What I have found is that it’s necessary to make sure the American people understand what we have to say, what we stand for as a husband and wife, and what we will do for the American people if we’re lucky enough to be elected,” Mrs. McCain also told the paper.
Both presidential campaigns have stepped up the intensity of their attacks, with only four weeks remaining until Election Day. The McCain campaign raised Obama's past relationship to 1960's radical William Ayers over the weekend, prompting the Democratic nominee’s campaign to unleash a 13-minute documentary Web video Monday detailing the Arizona senator’s involvement in the Keating Five scandal.
In an admitted effort to turn the dominating narrative away from the nation's ailing economy, McCain’s campaign also launched a new offensive against Barack Obama's trustworthiness Monday, releasing a new campaign ad that asks "Who is Barack Obama?", and tells voters the Illinois senator is 'lying' about his record.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Obama vs. Palin on Experience
Since I still have friends who argue that Palin is at least as qualified as Obama, I thought I'd do a rough comparison. The data is not perfect, but I think it shows a clear pattern of achievement on a much grander scale on the part of Obama.
~1981 – 1983: While Palin was competing in the Miss Wasilla Pageant and the Miss Alaska pageant, and winning a Ms. Congeniality award, Obama was graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science with an emphasis in international relations.
~1983 – 1988: While Palin was hopping between 5 schools in as many years, Obama was writing about currency, monetary policy, and global finance as an editor for International Business Corp. He also worked for the New York Public Interest Group, and was the Director for the Developing Communities Project.
~1988 – 1991: While Palin was reporting sports scores for Anchorage’s NBC affiliate, Obama was editing the Harvard Law Review and graduating suma cum laude from Harvard Law School.
~1993 – 1996: While Palin was a member of Wasilla’s city council (population 5,000), Obama was a civil rights attorney and lecturer of Constitutional law at the University of Chicago.
~1996 – 2002: While Palin was Mayor for a town of 5,000 people, working on issues such as “approving funds to upgrade the public well, issuing a restaurant permit and taking up a measure forbidding residents from operating bed-and-breakfasts in their homes”, Obama was a state senator for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, representing a population of over 750,000 people (larger than Alaska’s entire population), during which he “helped deliver what is said to have been the first significant campaign finance reform law in Illinois in 25 years. He brought law enforcement groups around to back legislation requiring that homicide interrogations be taped and helped bring about passage of the state’s first racial-profiling law. He was a chief sponsor of a law enhancing tax credits for the working poor, played a central role in negotiations over welfare reform and successfully pushed for increasing child care subsidies.”
~2002 – 2006: While Palin was completing her 1-year stint as Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and otherwise being MIA, Obama served his last term as Illinois state senator and first term as a US Senator from Illinois.
~2006 – 2009: While Palin was beginning her first term as Alaska’s governor (population 600,000, GDP $39 billion (ranked 45th)), Obama was beginning his second term as a US Senator from Illinois (population: 12 million, GDP: $600 billion (ranked 5th)).
~2007 – present: While Palin is running the nation’s 45th largest state, Obama is running the most impressive grass roots campaign in recent history, attracting millions of small donors, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, ousting the presumptive democratic nominee, and becoming the most powerful politician in his party.
~1981 – 1983: While Palin was competing in the Miss Wasilla Pageant and the Miss Alaska pageant, and winning a Ms. Congeniality award, Obama was graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science with an emphasis in international relations.
~1983 – 1988: While Palin was hopping between 5 schools in as many years, Obama was writing about currency, monetary policy, and global finance as an editor for International Business Corp. He also worked for the New York Public Interest Group, and was the Director for the Developing Communities Project.
~1988 – 1991: While Palin was reporting sports scores for Anchorage’s NBC affiliate, Obama was editing the Harvard Law Review and graduating suma cum laude from Harvard Law School.
~1993 – 1996: While Palin was a member of Wasilla’s city council (population 5,000), Obama was a civil rights attorney and lecturer of Constitutional law at the University of Chicago.
~1996 – 2002: While Palin was Mayor for a town of 5,000 people, working on issues such as “approving funds to upgrade the public well, issuing a restaurant permit and taking up a measure forbidding residents from operating bed-and-breakfasts in their homes”, Obama was a state senator for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, representing a population of over 750,000 people (larger than Alaska’s entire population), during which he “helped deliver what is said to have been the first significant campaign finance reform law in Illinois in 25 years. He brought law enforcement groups around to back legislation requiring that homicide interrogations be taped and helped bring about passage of the state’s first racial-profiling law. He was a chief sponsor of a law enhancing tax credits for the working poor, played a central role in negotiations over welfare reform and successfully pushed for increasing child care subsidies.”
~2002 – 2006: While Palin was completing her 1-year stint as Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and otherwise being MIA, Obama served his last term as Illinois state senator and first term as a US Senator from Illinois.
~2006 – 2009: While Palin was beginning her first term as Alaska’s governor (population 600,000, GDP $39 billion (ranked 45th)), Obama was beginning his second term as a US Senator from Illinois (population: 12 million, GDP: $600 billion (ranked 5th)).
~2007 – present: While Palin is running the nation’s 45th largest state, Obama is running the most impressive grass roots campaign in recent history, attracting millions of small donors, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, ousting the presumptive democratic nominee, and becoming the most powerful politician in his party.
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