Daily Show on Baracknophobia

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

CONTINUE READING...

Gibbs: I Thoroughly Enjoyed Watching Stewart Skewer Cramer (VIDEO)

Yeah, I'll bet he enjoyed it!

Robert Gibbs, who has thrown his share of punches at the CNBC brass, said he took thorough enjoyment in watching Jon Stewart's skewering of CNBC's Jim Cramer during Thursday night's much discussed 'Daily Show' interview.

Read more at HuffPo.

CONTINUE READING...

Jim Cramer on The Daily Show

I almost feel sorry for him, but there is no such thing as bad publicity. Cynically I can't help feeling like, as cathartic as it's been for us, the guy got massive exposure out of this.

But I'm still glad Jon nailed him...

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

More video at The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

CONTINUE READING...

Cramer-isms

Cramer is going to be on Jon Stewart's Daily Show Thursday -- let's hope Jon asks him about this...

-On falsely creating the impression a stock is down (what he calls "fomenting"): "You can't foment. That's a violation... But you do it anyway because the SEC doesn't understand it." He adds, "When you have six days and your company may be in doubt because you are down, I think it is really important to foment."

-On the truth: "What's important when you are in that hedge fund mode is to not be doing anything that is remotely truthful, because the truth is so against your view - it is important to create a new truth to develop a fiction," Cramer advises. "You can't take any chances."

-On manipulating the market: 'A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund, and I was positioned short, meaning I needed it down, I would create a level of activity before hand that could drive the futures,'

-On falsely creating the impression a stock is down (what he calls "fomenting"): "You can't foment. That's a violation... But you do it anyway because the SEC doesn't understand it." He adds, "When you have six days and your company may be in doubt because you are down, I think it is really important to foment."

-On the truth: "What's important when you are in that hedge fund mode is to not be doing anything that is remotely truthful, because the truth is so against your view - it is important to create a new truth to develop a fiction," Cramer advises. "You can't take any chances."

Read more at HuffPo.

CONTINUE READING...

Cramer vs. Stewart

JIM CRAMER: A comedian's attacking me! Wow! He runs a variety show!
MEREDITH VIEIRA: Okay, but you know what he's saying about you, that you advised investors to buy Bear Stearns. You said you were taken out of context.
CRAMER: On October 6th, 2008, I came on this show and did something you're never supposed to do if you have a stock show. I said people should sell everything. That was thirty-five percent ago. Whatever he says about Bear Stearns, this or that, that was a call that should have wrecked my career, and it would have if the market had gone up.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So Jon Stewart of course, has a reply... Nobody told him that you shouldn't get into a pissing match with Jon Stewart?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

In Cramer We Trust

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Economic Crisis

CONTINUE READING...

Jon Stewart once again nails exactly how we feel.\

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

CONTINUE READING...

Daily Show's take on Jindal's rebuttal

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bobby Jindal's Republican Response

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

CONTINUE READING...

Daily Show's John Oliver at White House Press briefing

A White House with a sense of humor?

"The White House briefing room is getting a visit from the Daily Show Wednesday. Correspondent John Oliver is speaking with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and several members of the press corps at the White House for an upcoming segment for the Comedy Central show."

Daily Show's John Oliver Goes To The White House.

CONTINUE READING...

Jon Stewart rips Bill O'Reilly's Hypocrisy

Jon Stewart ripped Bill O'Reilly on Monday night's "Daily Show" over his hypocritical stance on privacy.

O'Reilly, whose producers proudly ambush anyone who disagrees with him, has taken up as one of his pet causes the privacy of celebrities stalked by paparazzi.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bill O'Reilly's Right to Privacy

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Via HuffPo.

Rest of post here.

CONTINUE READING...

Arianna and Jon Stewart backstage at the Daily Show

Jon reinforces that yep, he's quick. Behind the scenes at the Daily Show:

"Before Wednesday night's Daily Show taping, Jon Stewart dropped by the green room to check in with Arianna and debate the relative merits of blogging versus television. Check out this exclusive behind-the-scenes video and find out why Stewart refuses to become a blogger."

CONTINUE READING...

Jon Stewart mixes the best Sarah Palin moments

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

The Daily Show's Best Sarah Palin Moments

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

CONTINUE READING...

Papa Bear and Jon Stewart go head to head

Part 2 after the jump...

CONTINUE READING...

Alaska "finds" one third of missing votes...

Seriously, Alaska...WTF?

Remember how I was asking what happened in Alaska? How was it that the most watched, most high-octane presidential election, one in which Alaska's OWN GOVERNOR was running, elicited the lowest turnout for a presidential election ever?

As Jon Stewart would say, "Funny story..."

The Anchorage Daily, our new favorite northern newspaper reports that a bunch-a votes were found. Could it possibly change the state of Ted Stevens race? You betcha!

Sen. Ted Stevens leads Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by about 3,000 votes with roughly 30 percent of the ballots remaining to be counted, including:

• 61,000 absentee votes.
• More than 20,000 questioned ballots.
• 9,500 early votes.

For now, more than 90,000 votes remain uncounted. More than 224,000 votes were cast on Election Day.

See, 90,000 votes out of 224,000, that's like what those scientific types call a "non-negligible percentage."

Seriously, Alaska. WTF.

CONTINUE READING...

Yes, GO VOTE NOW!!! Edition

The highest measure of democracy is neither the 'extent of freedom' nor the 'extent of equality', but rather the highest measure of participation."

--A. d. Benoist

IT'S TODAY!!!

A Special Edition 49th today, with a look back at the 48 editions of ME's Political Rant...In a funny numerical coincidence, when I publish tomorrow's 50th edition, we will know who our president is-- and that will seem like a good time to end my ranting...

So...I want a landslide, I want Obama to have 375 electoral votes. But it's not just because it would be great for Obama to have that mandate. It's because I'm one of those Democrats who feels that I've always been fated never to get what I want. THIS way, if Obama doesn't get 375 votes--if, say, he only gets 364-- I can still say I didn't get what I wanted and yet also be really, really happy.

This election has really messed with my brain.

A few last items

Obama's speech last night , at his last rally before the campaign draws to a close, he talked about his grandmother, who passed away yesterday. New York Mag's Daily Intel:

When Obama finally arrives in the field, the rain has stopped, the crowd is drenched, and they are ready for him. He steps to the podium and begins his speech with a remembrance of his grandma. He says, "She died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side and so, there's great joy as well as tears." He says, "She has gone home." He says, haltingly, "I'm not going to talk about it too long because it's hard to talk about." Even so, he says, he wants everyone to know a little about her, and tells her story briefly. He calls her a "quiet hero" — like a lot of quiet heroes in the crowd, in the country. "They're not famous. Their names aren't in the newspaper. But each and every day, they work hard. They watch out for their families. They sacrifice for their families... That's what America's about. That's what we're fighting for."

As Obama says all this, his voice is mostly steady, but tears are streaming down his right cheek — the first public tears he has shed, as far as I know, in his time on the national stage. When he finishes, he reaches inside his pocket, pulls out a white handkerchief, wipes his eyes, then carries on with his speech, returning a few times to the woman who shaped his character as much as anyone in the world.

.

In another one of those odd numerical coincidences, Editor and Publisher shows Obama's endorsements at 273 as of Monday. (to McCain's 142).

And just so you can't say she didn't do it, Palin released her medical records ...late last night... when she figured no one cares anymore...

Jon Stewart had a roundup of last minute tactics last night on the Daily Show.

Also one of my favorite Obamacons, Andrew Sullivan was on Colbert Report last night. He's as impassioned in real life as he is on the blog. Watch here.

And for a full Comedy Central roundup, here's David Alan Grier's plea to black folks.on Chocolate News.

CONTINUE READING...

Endorsement roundup

I've always had a soft spot for Ron Reagan, Jr. ever since he danced with the Joffrey Ballet. Now he lends the Reagan name to his endorsement for Barack Obama.

On the other side, John McCain picked up the ALL important endorsement of Dick Cheney. Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou THANK YOU..... At a rally in Pueblo, Obama said, "I'd like to congratulate Sen. McCain on this endorsement, because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy," he said. "George Bush may be in an undisclosed location now, but Dick Cheney's out there on the campaign trail because he'd be delighted to pass the baton to John McCain." Obama's ad people are ASTONISHING. They had an ad out in hour.

McCain did his own version of the "infomercial" with Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live, making his pitch to America from the QVC channel. McCain starred in the opening segment (with a surprise cameo from Cindy) and also popped into the Weekend Update. Once again, if THIS had been the John McCain Obama was running against, we'd have a much tighter race. So sad.

Also, if you actually stayed up to watch the very not-funny rest of the show, you might have noticed that McCain was still there at the end of the show, hanging out with the cast. Dude. It's 54 hours until polls start opening. You got your media exposure. Hahahah, you were funny. Now, don't you have SOMETHING BETTER TO DO THAN HANG OUT AT SNL?
<== To the left, a photo of the McCain headquarters in Florida's Walton County -- precisely 72 hours before the poll close. To quote Jon Stewart, "You don't even want this, do you?"

By the way, in a brief historical note, Fontaine Maverick, the descendent of the REAL Maverick (for whom the term is named) has done this fab interview explaining why McCain is no maverick. And she wants her name back.

CONTINUE READING...

Obamapallooza continues

The Obamapallooza continues well into the week. All the buzz is about Obama, and McCain? Well, he might as well go back to chasing applesauce jars in a grocery store for all the interest there is in hearing him speak. Just as a little needle, Obama has actually bought ad time in Arizona. Hey, the race is close there... why not....?

Obama talks about the way to bi-partisanship with Rachel Maddows. "What I'm interested in, is how do we build a working majority for change? And if I start off with the premise that it's only self-identified Democrats who I'm speaking to, then I'm not going to get to where we need to go. If I can describe it as not a blanket indictment of the Republican Party, but instead describe it as the Republican Party having been kidnapped by a incompetent, highly ideological subset of the Republican Party, then that means I can still reach out to a whole bunch of Republican moderates who I think are hungry for change, as well." Could it really be that we'll have the first president who says he'll be bipartisan and then ACTUALLY DOES IT? Video of Obama on Rachel Maddows show.

33 million people watched Obama's infomercial on Thursday. Plus, Obama's appearance on the Daily Show on Thursday night gave Jon Stewart his highest ratings ever. "The 11 p.m. episode, which featured an appearance by presidential candidate Barack Obama, averaged 3.6 million total viewers, beating by 600,000 viewers the previous record set October 8 when his wife Michelle Obama appeared on the show." Call it the "Obama Bump."

And just this afternoon, Obama's interview with Wolf Blitzer aired on CNN. "Obama was asked to name his top priority from a list of issues, including taxes, health care, education, energy policy and immigration.

"[The] top priority may not be any of those five. It may be continuing to stabilize the financial system. We don't know yet what's going to happen in January," he said. "None of this can be accomplished if we continue to see a potential meltdown in the banking system and financial system. So that's priority No. 1: making sure the plumbing works."

Obama said priority No. 2 is energy independence: "We have to seize this moment, because it's not just an energy independence issue; it's also a national security issue, and it's a jobs issue. We can create 5 million new green energy jobs."

Priority No. 3: Health care reform.

Priority No. 4: "Making sure we have tax cuts for the middle class as part of a broader tax reform effort."

Priority No. 5: Reforming the education system.

Apparently Obama has picked up more Reagan support, as Ken Duberstein, Reagan's former Chief of Staff announced today on Fareed Zakaria's show, that he'll be pulling the lever for Obama this year. "Well let's put it this way - I think Colin Powell's decision is in fact the good housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama."

And in an NPR interview, former Sec. of State Lawrence Eagleburger, whom McCain has touted for his endorsement of the Republican, admitted that Palin is not ready for the presidency: "Asked by the host whether Palin could step in during a time of crisis, Eagleburger reverted to sarcasm before leveling the harsh blow. 'It is a very good question,' he said, pausing a few seconds, then adding with a chuckle: 'I'm being facetious here. Look, of course not...Give her some time in the office and I think the answer would be, she will be [pause] adequate. I can't say that she would be a genius in the job. But I think she would be enough to get us through a four year... well I hope not... get us through whatever period of time was necessary. And I devoutly hope that it would never be tested.'" Let me help you out, Larry, I can say, SHE WOULDN'T BE A GENIUS AT ANYTHING. Of course, as soon as the words were out of his mouth he thought...ooops. And in an interview on Fox today, he tried to backtrack. "'I made a serious mistake yesterday. I was quoted correctly,' Eagleburger said. 'I wasn't thinking when i said it -- in fact, I was discussing foreign policy, and this was in that context, and I was just plain stupid, and if I had given the flim-flam artist Barack Obama some success with this I am deeply apologetic.'" Yeah, that's what we call a "Freudian slip."

CONTINUE READING...

Just Do It Edition

Barack Rocks

Know what? I just like hearing him talk. I tune into CNN every day because I hope they'll broadcast a few minutes of one of his rallies. I sit through the inevitable McCain segments thinking, yeah, but in ten minutes they'll have Barack on. Imagine having a president whose voice doesn't make you cringe. Imagine WANTING to tune in to see what the president is saying, not only because he makes you feel positive, but because he makes you feel motivated..... Six days, everyone. Six days.

The man is freakin' brilliant. I'm watching his rally in Raleigh, North Carolina this morning on CNN and Obama is pushing early voting in North Carolina. He asks, how many of you have early voted? People put their hands up. And then he said, "Now keep your hands up. Those of you who have voted early, talk to the people next to you and tell them how easy it is to early vote."

He doesn't miss a trick. There's a commotion in the crowd when an audience member faints, and he calmly stops mid-speech, calls for emergency services, tells them to give the person some space and water, passes over his own water, and then picks up his speech without missing a damn beat! When a second person fainted, he sent over an EMT, and then said, "I just want all of you to eat before you come to these rallies!"

=======================
Apologies for the shorter edition today -- too much actual...um...work I gotta do today. *Sigh.* Doesn't mean I'm turning CNN off though!

(Renate and Daniel, this photo is for you, Obama in Wynnewood, PA during his whistle-stop train tour of Pennsylvania last April.)

WaPo reports that Barack Obama's 30-minute informercial airing Wednesday night "will feature vignettes of people and families whom Obama has met during his nearly two-year campaign, and it will include a live component from a campaign rally in Florida, campaign sources said tonight. Barack Obama: American Stories is the name of the unusual telecast that will air on network television and some cable stations. It comes on a busy day, as Obama also is set to appear on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and to cap the night with another rally, in Orlando, with former President Bill Clinton, timed to make the late-night news broadcasts in the Eastern and Central time zones." Interestingly, they also report that there will be a Spanish language version to air on Univision.

The description at the NY Times (who got to see a minute of the show already!) makes me think of Obama's intro video from the convention -- could that possibly offer a sneak peek at some of the themes in his half hour program tonight?

CONTINUE READING...

Delusions of Grandeur Edition

"Some are able and humane men and some are low-grade individuals with the morals of a goat, the artistic integrity of a slot machine, and the manners of a floorwalker with delusions of grandeur."

--Raymond Chandler

Daily Shot of Schadenfreude

Yes, it's become a daily shot. I'm addicted to it. Like caffeine. If I don't get my daily dose of Republican gaffes I feel sluggish...sleepy, like I just can't get my day going.

Let's start at Politico: "Beleaguered congressional Republicans woke up Tuesday morning thinking they'd gained traction with their focus on offshore oil drilling and hoping that they could pin the "culture of corruption" on Democrats. By lunchtime, the longest-serving Republican senator in history had been indicted on charges that he hid $250,000 in gifts from an oil company looking for favors. Can it get any worse for the GOP?

Ted Stevens found guilty on all counts. After 40 years in the Senate, the most senior Republican is found guilty of not declaring gift on his Senate financial disclosure forms.Making false statements on his Senate finance disclosure forms about gifts he's received from 2001-2006 including $250,000 gifts of home renovations. This, folks, was a "speedy" trial, and even so, it was a circus, with jury drama, and hijinx -- one of the jurors even noticed that the prosecutors had made an error in the indictment which no one had caught-- before the final unanimous verdict came down this morning here in lovely San Francisco.

Oh, I can't resist. In honor of Sen Ted Stevens' conviction, I give you a reprise of the Daily Show's legendary "Coot-Off" between Ted and Sen Robert Byrd. Enjoy. Dag-na-bit.

Determined not to get dragged down by Ted Stevens ---oh....ooops--McCain "called for him to resign his seat, saying, 'I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will be spurred by these events to redouble their efforts to end this kind of corruption once and for all.' Mr. McCain's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, also called on Tuesday for Mr. Stevens to quit, CNBC reported. The cable channel said Ms. Palin had called for the senator's resignation in an interview with Maria Bartiromo.

"This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family," Palin said at Richmond International Airport yesterday. "The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state. And that control was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight, and that fight must always move forward regardless of party affiliation or seniority or even past service. As Governor of the State of Alaska, I will carefully now monitor the situation and I'll take any appropriate action as needed." Hmmm.. As needed...hmmmm...

Anyhoo, Ted says NO! He will NOT drop out. NO! I said "Good day,sir." Next up-- Would Ted ACTUALLY get re-elected? And then, would they expel him from the Senate??? Apparently there's no law against a convicted felon serving in the Senate, and to expel him, would require a two-thirds majority --not inconceivable from the mostly Democratic Senate. LOL. But the other kicker is that if he decides to keep on running in the election, Stevens may not be able to vote for himself because Alaska laws state that convicted felons are not eligible to vote. Shoulda sent in an absentee ballot.

Electoral-Vote.com has a scary thought: "If Stevens is reelected anyway, then expelled from the Senate in January, a vacancy will be created and there will be a special election. No doubt Sarah Palin will be very tempted to run and would surely win. This would inject her into national politics in a big way very fast. But the chance of Stevens being reelected next week is small." Maybe she'd figure out what the VP doe in the Senate.

Palin the fruitcake
Thanks to Teri who sends along this item from Salon about Palin's disturbing ridicule of scientific research -- it has the added bonus of advising that she check the website of my old place of employment, the Exploratorium! Speaking about earmarks in Pittburgh, "A troubled look crossed her face. 'And sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good, things like ...' she grinned, shaking her head side to side, her voice rising to a facetious pitch '... fruit fly research in Paris, France.' Feeling in tune with the guys in her audience, she added, 'I kid you not.'"

Speaking of flies, this very funny YouTube imagines what it would have been like to be a fly on the wall when the "Maverick" decision was made.

CONTINUE READING...

Memory Lane: My favorite Obama speeches

Some of my favorite speeches:

• Obama's DNC Keynote 2004: "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America."
• Launching the presidential campaign: "By ourselves, this change will not happen. Divided, we are bound to fail. But the life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible. He tells us that there is power in words. He tells us that there is power in conviction. That beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people. He tells us that there is power in hope."
• Yes We Can: " But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes we can." (The video that was inspired by this speech)
  
• Just Words: "Don't tell me that words don't matter. I have a dream. Just words. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Just words. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Just words... Don't tell me words don't matter, don't tell me ideals and inspiration don't matter, don't tell me hope doesn't matter. It's fascinating to me to see my campaign criticized because I talk about hope too much. 'He's talkin' about hope again, he's so naive, he's so idealistic, his head's in the clouds, he's a hope-monger...Nothing in this country worthwhile has ever happened except that someone was willing to hope. That's how this country was founded..."
  
• "A More Perfect Union" Speech on Racism: "I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes."
• Speech in Berlin: "People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one."
• DNC Acceptance 2008: "What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me; it's about you."

• 

  Obama's Closing Argument: From Canton, Ohio "I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics – one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans. Most of all, I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are. Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far and so close – because of you. That's how we'll change this country – with your help. And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up for one day, one minute, or one second in this last week. Not now. Not when so much is at stake."

=========================

ONE WEEK TO GO !!!!

7 DAYS to the election!

Tomorrow, October 29, is official Happy Fun Day:

• Barack campaigns in Florida with Bill Clinton.
• He will also air his half hour of prime address-the-nation time at 8 pm local time. It appears from our DirecTV guide, that the speech will air on the West Coast at 8 pm PT on NBC and CBS (though oddly, not on ABC), and a half hour later at 8:30pm PT on Fox (delayed by the World Series Game 6), however, those of us on the West Coast can watch it at 5 pm PT on BET if you have cable. Woo-hoo!
• And extra bonus: Obama will be on Jon Stewart's Daily Show that night !!!! Double Woo-Hoo!!! (Stewart has a page on his site: What should Jon ask Barack....?)

CONTINUE READING...

Shocked Edition

"I am shocked...SHOCKED to find that gambling is going on in here!"

"Your winnings, sir."

"Oh, thank you very much. Everybody out at once!"

--Claude Rains, Casablanca

Greenspanning the Nation

He was once the "Professor," the guy everyone consulted as if he were an oracle. Deregulator extraordinaire and free-market maven. But yesterday Alan Greenpan showed up on Capitol Hill to probably the most scathing skepticism he's ever gotten in his life. And it was good. As reported in the NY Times: "Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief," he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In a contentious Q&A session, Greenspan declared that a "once-in-a-century credit tsunami'' has engulfed financial markets and conceded that his free-market ideology shunning regulation was flawed.

"Yes, I found a flaw,'' Greenspan said in response to grilling from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "That is precisely the reason I was shocked because I'd been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.''

Lemme get this straight. You slashed interest rates to below anything seen before, allowed housing prices to balloon, basically created a giant housing bubble, while fighting regulation of the mortgage market tooth and nail. You permitted the growth of this shadow market of bizarre credit and derivative instruments and then knowing how much cash could be "made" with all that low-hanging fruit, you expected the banking industry to regulate itself. In fact, you were shocked--SHOCKED--that there might be people out there who would work against the interests of their own company in favor of serving their own personal aggrandizement? You're shocked that human beings might be greedy? I haven't been on this planet for 40 years and _I_ could have told you that.

You know what? Maybe Obama's not an "economic guru" like you, but looks like you pretty much sucked, so I for one, am willing to give the new guy a shot.

Check out Obama's speech in the Richmond Coliseum. Scary good. This guy is scary good...Remember, this is Richmond, Virginia. He's drawn a crowd of 12,500 to a speech in the city that served as the capital of the Confederacy. (35,000 came to his speech in Leesburg earlier that day.) The Richmond event started a half an hour late because Obama apparently stopped to greet some of the estimated 7,000 people who couldn't get into the coliseum for the speech.

And here is Obama giving a quiet commentary on his visit back to Hawaii to see his sick grandmother at a critical moment in the campaign.

Not that Obama has been without his gaffe-moment, but check out the Daily Show clip from last night, as McCain STILL manages to outgaffe him...Astonishing.

CONTINUE READING...

By contrast...

In all fairness, news organizations scoured the DNC records and, what do you know, they couldn't turn up any reimburements even remotely similar to Palin's clothing spree for the Obama-Biden tickets. Seems like Barack and Joe and Michelle and Jill, they um... BUY THEIR OWN CLOTHES! The best response the Republicans could come up with is that it's a scandal, a scandal, I tell you, that Barack Obama is using a campaign plane to fly back to Hawaii to see his seriously ill grandmother. Why isn't he swimming to see her -- THAT wouldn't cost any campaign dollars and it's not a lot to ask if he really loves her.

HuffPo reminds us that, "In early July the Obama family sat down for an interview with Maria Menounos of Access Hollywood. One of the topics discussed was Barack's status as a style icon, which amused his wife and daughters because, as Michelle points out in the interview, his belt and shoes need replacing, and his pants are 10 years old ('I hate to shop,' he explains). Michelle also reveals that the sundress she's wearing is from the Gap: 'Fortunately now they make really pretty stuff at all price ranges... [Barack] will be happy to know that this is, like, a $30 dress.' Her husband then high-fives her, and daughter Sasha announces 'Mommy buys everything from Gap!'"

Obama's suit, appropriate for a wide variety of situations, is a navy blue, worsted-wool, two-button suit tailored by Chicago's Hartmarx and costing about $1,500. Obama jokes that he had them just make him three in dark blue and three in grey, because he hates to spend time shopping.

Obama and his campaign have proven time and again that they are a responsible bunch, I have to say. In Chicago plans are afoot for a giant rally in Grant Park on election night, but that city is hobbled by a multi million dollar deficit and massive budget problems. Knowing how much such a rally is likely to cost the city, the Obama campaign has offered to pay for everything, from extra police, city workers and setup to the cleanup costs afterwards."'They have assured us that they're willing to pay,' said Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications spokeswoman Jennifer Martinez, adding that the city had yet to hit the total button. 'We're still outlining what some of these things will entail.' The U.S. Secret Service--and ultimately federal taxpayers--pays for nearly all the security around Obama. The city and state are likely to bill the campaign for things like street closures, crowd control outside a secure area in Grant Park, help with motorcades and overtime for public safety workers."

Joe Klein, who now can't get a seat on the McCain plane, figures he might as well go for the gusto, and comes out with a big piece in Time Magazine, "Why Barack is Winning":

I asked Obama about gut decisions, in an interview on his plane 17 days before the election. It was late on a Saturday night, and he looked pretty tired, riddled with gray hair and not nearly as young as when I'd first met him four years earlier. He had drawn 175,000 people to two events in Missouri that day, larger crowds than I'd ever seen at a campaign event, and he would be endorsed by Colin Powell the next morning. He seemed as relaxed as ever, though, unfazed by the hoopla or the imminence of the election. Our conversation was informal but intense. He seemed to be thinking in my presence, rather than just reciting talking points, and it took him some time to think through my question about gut decisions. He said the first really big one was how to react when incendiary videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's black-nationalist sermons surfaced last spring. "The decision to make it big as opposed to make it small," Obama said of the landmark speech on race relations he delivered in Philadelphia. "My gut was telling me that this was a teachable moment and that if I tried to do the usual political damage control instead of talking to the American people like ... they were adults and could understand the complexities of race, I would be not only doing damage to the campaign but missing an important opportunity for leadership."

Like adults... imagine. A candidate who want to talk to us like we have more than a sixth grade education.

Nicholas Kristof, in an editorial in today's Times, points out the weirdly uncomfortable and yet comforting truth about what an Obama presidency might mean, as a message to the world. "Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, which conducted the BBC poll, said that at a recent international conference he attended in Malaysia, many Muslims voiced astonishment at Mr. Obama's rise because it was so much at odds with their assumptions about the United States. Remember that the one thing countless millions of people around the world 'know' about the United States is that it is controlled by a cabal of white bankers and Jews who use police with fire hoses to repress blacks. To them, Mr. Obama's rise triggers severe cognitive dissonance. 'It's an anomaly, so contrary to their expectation that it makes them receptive to a new paradigm for the U.S.,' Mr. Kull said."

Oh, it triggers a severe cognitive dissonance in Americans too, but I think in a good way. I hope in a good way.

=============
Inter-Media-ate

The Daily Show, as usual, had a great segment, this time, on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. But even better was the Who the F@#k is that guy segment. How do they do it? Is some poor Daily Show intern tied to a tv set 24 hours a day?

For those of us who are Poll-Fretters (and you know who you are) the recent AP poll showing McCain only 1 point away from Obama nationally is cause for a little more than minor consternation. But fear not, our intrepid poll analysts have the answer: "The problem? In 2004, evangelicals/born-again Christians made up 23% of voters. But that same group makes up 44% of likely voters in AP's poll released today. That's almost double the number - it's totally implausible."

====================

12 days to the election! We are now only TWO WEEKS from the Election!

Set your Tivo, Meet the Press' guest this Sunday morning, will John McCain.

Undecideds, whoever the heck you are, in case you missed our earlier comparison of the candidates positions on a wide range of issues, the Congressional Quarterly has also compiled a side-by-side look at McCain and Obama's stances.

CONTINUE READING...

What the Pf**k?

Jon Stewart had a fabulous bit on McCain spokeswoman Nancy Pfotenhauer's hunt for Real America, and Sarah Palin's framing of pro-America parts of this country, of Michele Bachmann's call to find out who's pro-America. Jon has a helpful formula: "Right now you may be asking yourself, 'Am I one of these un-Americans I've been hearing so much about?'"

Daily Show also had a hilarious segment on what it's like to be the Mayor of Wasilla.

Oh and Resident Congressional Nutjob Michele Bachmann said today on Politico that she never called all liberals anti-American, and that she often "reaches across the aisle"... to brand some with a Scarlet "A-A" for Anti-American no doubt.

Once again, I have to marvel -- what did we ever do before YouTube? I feel like there's twice as much energy around this election as any other I've seen in my life, and I believe it's due in great part, to the advances in Net technology. Now you can watch speeches, gaffes, examine photos in ways we never could before, and more people are participating because of it.

Arianna Huffington points out the enormous role that the new media has played in this election. "The Internet has enabled the public to get to know candidates in a much fuller and more intimate way than in the old days (i.e. four years ago), when voters got to know them largely through 30-second campaign ads and quick sound bites chosen by TV news producers. Compare that to the way over 6 million viewers (on YouTube alone) were able to watch the entirety of Obama's 37-minute speech on race -- or the thousands of other videos posted by the campaign and its supporters. Back in the Dark Ages of 2004, when YouTube (and HuffPost, for that matter) didn't exist, a campaign could tell a brazen lie, and the media might call them on it. But if they kept repeating the lie again and again and again, the media would eventually let it go (see the Swiftboating of John Kerry). Traditional media like moving on to the next shiny thing. But bloggers love revisiting a story. So when Palin kept repeating her bridge to nowhere lie, bloggers kept calling her on it. Andrew Sullivan, for one, has made a cottage industry of calling Palin on her lies. And eventually, the truth filtered up and cost McCain credibility with his true base: journalists.

CONTINUE READING...

McCain's Camp Pain

This is the graphic on the Sacramento County Republicans' official website. It's been taken down, but the very fact that it could be posted on an official site for the Republican party says a lot about where this race has gone--and it ain't pretty.

It's stuff like this that sends Keith Olbermann--not to mention the rest of us-- on his high dudgeon in a new Special Comment on the McCain campaign's violent tendencies. As Paris Hilton is fond of saying, "Loves it.":

"Sen. McCain, your supporters, at your events, are calling Obama a terrorist and traitor and are calling for him to be killed. And yet you keep bringing back these same rabid Right Wing nuts to deliberately stir these crowds into frenzies....There are some things to respect and honor about you, Sen. McCain, but on this, you're not only a fraud, Senator but you are tacitly inciting lunatics to violence. If you want to again grand-stand and suspend your campaign here's your big chance. Suspend your campaign now, until you, or somebody else, gets some control over it and it ceases to be a clear and present danger to the peace of this nation."

And as usual, the Daily Show nails it again with the "levels of crazy here," in an Aasif Mandvi segment.

Campbell Brown, in her inimitable and darling Campbell Brown way, appeals to the candidates directly to cut the bull: "From both candidates, we need real answers. And please don't tell us that you are going to cut pork barrel spending and scrub the waste out of every bloated federal agency. I mean, name a political candidate who hasn't promised to cut the fat and eliminate waste in government. Please, no bull. Be straight with us, we can take it. Americans understand the stakes. Just give us brutal honesty, because so far we are not really getting it."

CONTINUE READING...

E-Fret Edition

"He who slings mud generally loses ground."

--Adlai Stevenson

Firstly, apologies for the lack of ranting yesterday. I had to um...actually do some work. Paid work, that is...Hah! Get it while I can.

At this point, however, I must pay tribute to a kindred spirit, Allison Owings, who writes "Is anyone else having this problem? Barack Obama is messing up my work. In my case, a book. True, I'm not the speediest interviewer/researcher/writer, but after The Thin Man (as my husband fondly refers to him) announced in that topcoat in the land of Lincoln that he was running for president, and after I did some reading about him, never have I more wanted someone to be president than I do the intelligent, rational, compassionate Barack Obama. As a result, my focus has been fractured. While I write my book, which is about Native Americans in today's America, and which involves interviewing tribal members all over the country, and trying to find funding for the effort, and doing freelance writing and editing -- the Obama campaign hovers. Hovers? Engulfs... It helps that, in a wonderful discovery, every friend I've known from junior high (when we and our families were Republicans) to now, from everywhere in the country, was also for Barack, and enthusiastically, from the get go -- with barely one exception. And, although there are many moments of celebration, we are nervous. So we fret. How? Mostly we e-fret.

Allison continues: "We have sent one another polling concerns, primary anxieties, campaign worries, YouTube bounces. No alarm escapes us: flag pins, phony hate e mails, the racism behind them, certain other politicians' behavior, the astounding (and semi-successful) cynicism behind the Sarah Palin choice, pre and post debate reactions."

Don't know WHAT you're talking about, Allison.
============================

Eric is right, the bloviators are rotting my brain.

So, I came home tonight, turned on the TV, unpacked my bags and hadn't even poured myself a drink (maybe that was my mistake) before the guests on Larry King Live had me FIT TO BE TIED. No really, it's a good thing no one else was home, because I looked like a crazy woman. I was hurling epithets at the screen through clenched teeth.

I tried to calm myself down by muting the TV and watching the "Yes We Can" video on YouTube again, but that just makes me all weepy. Now I'm mad and I'm weepy. Let me explain.

But first let me down the week's worth of Abilify and have a vodka gimlet.

Look, it's not that I worship the guy, I don't think he can turn water into wine. I mean, I admit I'm in the tank for Obama, for sure, and I admire him. But I was a Hillary Clinton supporter throughout the primary season, which is when that video came out. I supported Hillary because I liked her stand on health care and I thought she would make a great leader. So the primaries were tough for me, but I don't hold a grudge now. It got scrubby and unpleasant, but I'll say this, it was a fight among candidates I respected, all of whom had what I thought were legitimate ideas to propose.

But ever since September, I've just been swinging between hardly daring to hope, and so livid I could spit nails. From hour to hour, depending on what is on CNN, I feel like I've been treated like an intelligent, thoughtful human being on the one hand and completely insulted on the other. As Jon Stewart said last night, "I don't run a hedge fund, but my brain is still attached to my spinal cord."

So this election, I weep with absolute frustration because instead of getting a terrific competitive campaign and deciding between these two candidates in a respectable way -- based on the issues, not on whether or not hockey moms wear lipstick. We could have had real discussions instead of this embarrassing display of the worst impulses in human nature.

I like feeling good about the candidate that I'm supporting. I wish I felt good about the whole election.

CONTINUE READING...

Social Life

"We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read."

--Abraham Lincoln

My God, is it really October? It's been a whole month since I started this Rant (can you believe it's only been one month? It's like dog-years) and this is the 21st Edition! I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for keeping me well-nourished with juicy tidbits and also for forwarding it on to your friends!

So with the House of Representative in disarray, the Senate has decided to give things a go today. Obama, McCain and Biden will be headed back to DC to vote on their version of the bill I so carefully outlined yesterday. "I'll see your $700 thousand million and raise you an FDIC limit of $250,000."

Media funnies

A few of my favorite items for today-- always knowing there will be more tomorrow!

Jon Stewart on The Daily Show grabs the conch and goes OFF about Congress' inability to get this bill done and that they're out for the Jewish holiday: "Listen up, Congress! Get the F**K back to work! For the 'Jewish holiday' for God's sake? How many Jews are even in Congress? Wall Street is open-- I'll guarantee you they got more Jews on Wall Street than in Congress. I'm here, The Daily Show is on, and I guarantee we have more Jews at The Daily Show than Congress. So, get back to saving the economy and if you have to do it without Feingold and Lieberman so be it. How about this? The Congressional delegations from Florida and New York can sleep in. How about that? I mean seriously--Utah? You're not coming in for Rosh Hashanah? Wyoming? My rabbi doesn't even have the balls to take two days for Rosh Hashanah."

If you're looking for a little "laughing while I'm crying moment, here is McCain, versus McCain. (Thanks for sending that, Randi, now my eyeliner is all smudged...)

And for flat out sputtering outrage, watch Cenk Uygar go off on Palin's answer to Katie Couric regarding Hamas. Cenk--who's admittedly on the biased side, like me--is convinced Palin has NO IDEA who the Hamas is, and dontcha know, I'm inclined to agree. He also suggests that if you put a map in front of her, she couldn't tell you where the Gaza Strip is. Entirely possible. Cenk wishes selecting a VP candidate were more like gymnastics where you get a big ZERO score if you flub your vault. Don't we wish.

Here's a YouTube nugget I missed earlier this year, a consumer calls up customer service to ask about the Iraq War Charge on her bill.

And this morning Paula Poundtone put a homespun touch on the financial crisis: "Gee, this stuff is hard to follow. I don't think I even know how many zeros are in a trillion. But after listening to the candidates, I realized I can't count on the powers that be to explain the nature of the financial crisis, and it will be up to me to inform myself. So I turned to It's A Wonderful Life for background on liquidity and solvency, which would have filled me with hope if I didn't have a bad feeling that we've already spent George and Mary Bailey's honeymoon funds."

Okay, this one's not really funny, per se, but it is very very interesting. Five economists discuss the crisis at Princeton. (Hyun Shin, Markus Brunnermeier, Harrison Hong, Paul Krugman, Alan Blinder) It's an hour long, so don't click on this if you're in a hurry. But it's extremely enlightening and well worth the time...

Hoisted with Her Own Petard

Eric wants to rescue the post turtle. No, no, no, not Sarah Palin, he mean the poor little turtle in the picture. I love the joke. ('You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with.') But even so, it's becoming clearer and clearer that the problem with comparing the turtle with Palin is that the turtle didn't put herself up there... Sarah Palin did. Free the Real Post Turtle.

A little advance taste of the Thursday's event: a photo of Palin in Sedona, prepping for the debate with a practice run with Randy Scheuneman. In my fertile imagination, I picture this photo being snapped in the long silence after a Palin answer, and then Randy saying, "What the hell was that? Okay, okay [shakes head] ya gotta focus, Sarah, ya gotta frackin' FOCUS IN."

So the real question, though, is how will Palin "play" in her debate with Biden tomorrow? So far, consensus is that her performance in interviews has been someplace between abysmal and disastrous. BUT The New York Times has an interesting look at her previous debates. (They also examine Biden's style, noting he'll have to guard againt being "overbearing or condescending." Sorry, Joe, I know that's nigh-on impossible given Palin's utter lack of any brains, but please try.) While they see echoes of the peripatetic blather we've seen before ("I can't tell you how much that will reduce monetarily our health care costs, but competition makes everyone better, it makes us work harder, it does allow reduction in costs, so addressing that is going to be a priority."), there also hints of an "average person who understood the average person's needs and would not be expected to have detailed policy prescriptions." Lord help us. Why would we WANT an "average person"? Should we want an ABOVE average person? Or is that too intimidating?

Still, Andrew Halcro, who debated Palin in the governorship race in Alaska, warns ,"she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality."

As part of their "media blitz" this week, Palin went on the radio telling America about how she's just average working class..."Todd and I, heck, we're going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don't like the idea of just an everyday working class American running for such an office.

Up is down. Black is white. Thursday is Tuesday. As HuffPo notes, it was the bastion of conservativism, The Washington Times, that pointed out that Palin is hardly working class: "A check of financial records, though, shows the Palins live anything but a common life when compared with their fellow residents of their hometown of Wasilla. Their combined income of nearly a quarter-million dollars last year was five times the median household income for Wasilla's 7,000 residents. They own a single-engine plane, two boats, two personal watercraft and a half-million-dollar, custom-built home on a lake that is worth three times the average of other homes in town. For the future, they also have a 401(k) retirement account compliments of Todd Palin's years as an engineer with oil giant BP." Hmmm, that wasn't what I meant by "above average."

Former Dem strategist Paul Begala offers his ten rules about debates on CNN (Thanks, Jackie for sending that along!) It's a sobering reminder that actually knowing something isn't necessarily a prerequisite oto good debating in this case. He observes: "Politicians are a lot like Little Leaguers (although I don't think I'd trust them with aluminum bats). They crave confidence. And the more confident they are, the better they're likely to do." To me, the question is not if Palin has confidence--she has loads...to start with. But in just about every interview she's done thus far, we see the same thing. At the outset, she's just dumb enough to think she's smart, but then as you watch her keep on talking, you can also see that she's just smart enough to gradually realize that she's dumb.

ANYway. Yes, it's true, just by reading my daily rant, YOU can become More Qualified to Be Vice President than Sarah Palin. From HuffPo: "Asked what newspapers and magazines she reads, Palin - a journalism major in college - could not name one publication. "I've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media," she said at first. Couric responded, "What, specifically?" "Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years." "Can you name a few?" "I have a vast variety of source where we get our news," Palin said. "Alaska isn't a foreign country, where it's kind of suggested, 'wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?' Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America."

As I mentioned to Betty, with all this trash-talking about elitist media, Palin had a little problem embedded in that question (besides the obvious problem of being completely incurious about anything):

• She can't say she reads NY Times after Steve Schmidt blasted it as having no "journalistic integrity."
• She can't say she read the Washington Post, because Howard Kurtz has been dogging her for weeks.
• The LA Times reports how even Alaskans are angry that the McCain campaign was shielding Palin.
• Time? Nope, home of the conservative libertarian Mark Halperin who called for them to "Stop the Madness!" and said on CNN, "if a core part of their message is something that every journalist -- journalism organization in the country has looked at and says it's demonstrably false, again, we're not doing our jobs if we just treat this as one of many things that's happening."
• Newsweek has the Jonathan Alterman problem.
  
• Forget the Atlantic, home of Andrew Sullivan, who once supported McCain but now enumerates the Twelve Lies of Sarah Palin.
  
• And even the National Freaking Review's Kathleen Parker says, "If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."
  

See, the problem with being your kind of maverick is that you don't have any friends now--no lifelines, no one to help you, no one whose name you'd be allowed to mention. Hoisted with your own petard.

(By the way, about "seeing" Russia from Alaska. That's true, but there's only one place in Alaska that you can do that from: Little Diomede island in the Bering Strait. Gary Tuchman on Anderson Cooper 360 visited it --which Palin has never done. "No American mayor resides in a city closer to Russia than Andrew Milligrock, and he says being two miles from Russia doesn't give him any foreign policy expertise."

And is the McCain Campaign going "Jeff Gillooly" on this debate? "PBS' Gwen Ifill has broken her ankle after tripping and falling down stairs at her home last night, a NewsHour insider tells TVNewser. We're told Ifill had been walking up a staircase, carrying research related to her moderating duties at Thursday's Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis, when she took a wrong step.We are also told the show will go on: Ifill is planning to travel to Missouri for the big event." Stay tuned-- if someone takes a whack at Gwen's knees, you know what happened.

============================

So Thurday's topics may wander all over the place, but I'm betting you'll hear more than a little about Sarah Palin's values. So today's topic is candidate positions on social values issues. (I know, I know, stop rolling your eyes. We gotta cover it. It's in the curriculum.) I focus on the lead candidate positions knowing that a) the policy positions of the person at the top of the ticket is what most people consider more important and b) I'm interested to see if there is any divergence of opinion between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. A lot of info here from the NY Times' resource on candidate positions, and also the Associated Press' summary-- liberal-biased media elites that they are.

On proposed constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman:

Obama: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it.

McCain: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it.

On civil unions between same sex partners:

Obama: Supports civil unions, says states should decide about marriage. Switched positions in 2004 and now supports repeal of Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and gives states the right to refuse to recognize such marriages.

McCain: Says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and similar benefits.

On Roe v. Wade decision

Obama: I have been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as president. I oppose any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case.

McCain: I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned. Has voted for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

On continuing the current ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research in place

Obama: No. Each year, 100,000 Americans will develop Alzheimer's disease, with impaired memory, ability to understand, and judgment. Over 1 million adults will be diagnosed with diabetes this year, and risk complications that include blindness, damaged nerves and loss of kidney function. We all know or have met individuals with spinal cord injuries, including national celebrities, local war heroes and loved ones from our own families and circles of friends, who are struggling to maintain mobility and independence. For most of our history, medicine has offered little hope of recovery to the 100 million individuals affected by these and other devastating illnesses and injuries. Until now. Recent developments in stem cell research may hold the key to improved treatments, if not cures, for those affected by Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury and countless other conditions. For this reason, I am a proud supporter of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The president was wrong to veto it, and I will make sure that it is finally signed into law when I'm president.

McCain: Supports relaxing federal restrictions on financing of embryonic stemcell research.

On the Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on partial birth abortion

Obama: "I strongly disagree with [the] Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman's medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient."

McCain: "[The] Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children...as we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life."

On Gun Control

Obama: Voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to suit. Also, as Illinois state lawmaker, supported ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.

McCain: Voted against ban on assault-type weapons but in favor of requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted to shield gun-makers and dealers from civil suits. "I believe the Second Amendment ought to be preserved — which means no gun control."

On Judicial Nominations as President

Obama has signaled he would nominate judges with expansive, progressive view of the Constitution. "Justice Roberts [John G. Roberts Jr.] said he saw himself just as an umpire. But the issues that come before the Court are not sport; they're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart … the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

McCain has signaled a dedication to nominating reliable conservatives, but is against naming "Activist judges." "I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint. I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and my friend the late William Rehnquist — jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference. My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power."

================================

Meanwhile, in the "Keep Your Eye on the Ball" Dept.:

Voter Fraud-- it's not just a slogan."You know it's going to be a heated election when a state attorney general sues his own state agency for not cracking down on voter fraud. But that's just what's happened in Wisconsin. It's indicative of the kinds of legal challenges now being brought in hotly contested states around the country. The outcomes of those challenges will decide whose votes get counted and whose don't — and in a race as close as this one, that could make all the difference."

Folks, I'm happy to see more and more projections turning North Carolina in Obama's favor. The vaguely right-leaning RealClearPolitics has quietly flipped it over to Obama with a 0.3 point lead, but I think given Wachovia's fire sale to Citigroup last week, he may take a more sizable lead in coming weeks. Wachovia's headquarters were in Charlotte, and with 20,000 employees, they were the second largest employer in the region.

And the Quinnipiac poll numbers are up in the most delightful way in three big swing states: Ohio (50-42 Obama), Pennsylvania (54-39 Obama) and Florida (Sit down for this, 51-43 Obama). But all this only says to me that desperate parties will be working on desperate measures. It's time for vigilance.

I leave things with this head-shaking moment from PunditKitchen:

34 days to the election! Reminder again that time is running out--for many states, you must register to vote well in advance of the elections. RockTheVote's list of voter registration deadlines. Here are some upcoming dates--forward this on to your friends in the appropriate states (swing states in bold):

• THIS Saturday Oct 4: Alaska, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington
• NEXT Monday, Oct 6: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.
• NEXT Tuesday, Oct 7: Illinois, New Mexico
• NEXT Wednesday, Oct 8: Missouri
  

If you're voting absentee, you may have to get your ballot in weeks before the Nov 4th Election date. Declare Yourself has links to each state's voter information page where you can find out how to get your absentee ballot.

CONTINUE READING...