Pray for McCain

I am not suggesting the race is over. Not by a long shot. And I will be working a 12-hour shift on election day as a pollwatcher in Sanford, Florida. (I have a feeling its necessary.)

But something has changed. Or maybe its me who has changed. For months, I have been battling (friendly-like) with my McCain friend in West Virginia. He would send me the latest smear attack from FAUXNEWS or RedState, and I would respond with articles from legitimate news organizations or funny YouTube videos catching McCain contradicting himself. But ever since the wheels came off on the ST Express, my friend has been grasping at straws like so many of his friends.

He argues with me that the number of McCain signs are proving his man is making ground, or pointing to the "polls" done by McCain's people that show PA and Iowa tied. But what he was most proud of was the following. And that is what changed me.


"They are going to blitz your state with these ads soon".

He sent me a link. It's McCain's latest ad. It begins with the phrase "The last eight years haven't worked so well have they!?"

(Considering my friend was an ardent Bushie, I was floored that he was so proud of McCain trying to throw W under the bus.)

But as McCain was talking, and rambling on about drill baby drill or whatever, and as I was about to compose a response--I noticed something...

Dear Lord, he looks so old....and so tired.

Please understand that I don't mean this as an insult. It's just that the realization hit me.

I used to respect this man. I thought he had a compelling personal story, was fiercely intelligent, and at one time stood up for his principles. I loved how he went after Bush in 2000. If the primary in Florida hadn't been so late, I would have considered voting for him and even supporting him.

But now, I pity him. I will pray for him. It is going to be so tough for him to lose this election. He has worked so hard, sucked up to Bush so much, and even threw away his reputation.

Just imagine if he had actually stuck to his principles:

1. Deep down, he has always hated Bush. But he felt he needed his base and wanted to win, so he reversed most of his positions and sucked up to him so much he became Bush's lap dog.

Consequence: He got what he wanted. People now associate him with Bush. Now that Bush is going down as the worst prez in history, McCain is NOW vicously attacking him--but its too late.

2. McCain, I truly believe, wanted to run an honorable campaign based on the issues. He himself said that if any of his opponents primarily run negative ads, that would mean they had "no direction" for the country. He also remembered the Bush/Rove smear of his own daughter in SC in 2000. But then McCain started sinking in the polls. He hired a Rove disciple, Steve Schmidt, to take over his campaign--a man whose mentor attacked McCain's own family. Schmidt ran the Rove playbook well--nonstop smear of your opponent and play to the base.

Consequence: McCain went along with every vicious lie--and sold his integrity little by little every time. The playbook of calling into question your opponents patriotism and even outright lying (Protecting kids from sexual predators meant Obama wanted to teach sex ed to kids??) didn't work the way it did in 2004. As a result, the few people supporting McCain can't even tell you what he stands for, and everyone else is turned off by the lies, anger, and hate from his campaign. He not only is losing the election--he lost his honor and reputation in the process.

3. McCain even allowed Schmidt to bully him into picking a yokel he met for less than 15 minutes instead of his first choice, Joe Lieberman.

Consequence: Palin has been an embarrasment and nonstop drag on his ticket.


Just imagine--if McCain had run an HONORABLE campaign based solely on the issues.

Just imagine--if he truly was the maverick he claimed to be and told Schmidt to shove it and picked Lieberman or someone halfway competent that he knew and respected.

Just imagine--if he did what he wanted to do years ago and tell Bush to stuff it (instead of doing it a week before the election).


Although I'd still fight against him because of the issues, the Supreme Court, and the fact that we need a Democrat in the White House to clean up the mess after Bush--I do believe that McCain would be neck and neck in the polls right now.

And even if he lost, he could say that he lost with honor, dignity, and grace. He could hold his head up high after the election, and he would still have the respect of millions like me.

But after the election, he will come to the realization that, in his twilight years, all that honor he had worked so hard to build, the reputation he worked so hard to restore after the Keating scandal, and all the beliefs he had sacrificed: gone.

I don't hate McCain anymore for what he's become. I'm NO LONGER ANGRY.

For the first time, I didn't respond with a lengthy diatribe against McCain. I told my friend that anything is possible and wished him luck. I pray for my friend, who will most likely suffer the pain I felt election night 2004.

I will pray for our great nation, and pray that President Obama will fulfill his promise in bringing all of us together to move past this partisan hatred.

But most of all, I will pray for the man he is working so hard for that I believe will not just experience a profound disappointment on election night, but suffer the rest of his days for what he has become.

Tonight, I pray for John McCain.

Clinton, Obama in My Hometown for the Closing Arguement!

Although it was late, tens of thousands showed up to listen to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton, in his best praise of Obama, talked about how, during the financial crisis, Obama talked to economic advisors so that he could understand what was going on and respond appropriately. He contrasted this to the actions of both Bush and McCain: Pulling stunt after stunt or erradically shifting from one idea to the next (McCain) or just sticking the old noggin head in the sand and hoping for the best (Bush).

We need a president who WANTS to understand and CAN understand!!

Priceless.

OMG! ORLANDO SENTINEL endorses Barack!!

I am watching Powell endorse Senator Obama as I write this. What a great way to wake up.

I am looking at the Orlando Sentinel full page endorsement of Barack Obama! IF you don't know the Orlando Sentinel, you have to understand that they love to endorse Republicans. The joke on talk radio is usually "do what the Sentinel tells you and vote Republican".

With ONE exception, John Kerry, they have endorsed Republicans for president for the PAST 40 YEARS!! They also endorsed John McCain, but NOT Obama, (rather Hillary), several months ago in the respective primaries. I really didn't think they would do it.

The Sentinel even admitted that they wer leaning McCain as the primary season began, but changed thier mind over the events of the past several weeks.

While Obama showed "sound judgment" and "grace under pressure", Mr. McCain has reacted "haphazardly" and "abandoned" positions that the Sentinel had supported. Their words: Mr. McCain has demonstrated "shockingly poor judgment".

I encourage you to read the entire endorsement. It is a work of art. They contrast the difference between McCain when he started (when the Sentinel originally endorsed him) and McCain now; and also where Obama was then and where he is now. I won't put the entire endorsement here, but I will provide the portion under the heading "Obama Now":

Under months of unrelenting scrutiny and withering political attacks since then, the Democratic nominee has proved to be an unflappable and thoughtful leader. He has displayed a remarkable command of issues, both domestic and foreign. It's hard to imagine a quicker study.

Mr. Obama has wisely compensated for his relative inexperience by reaching out to experts, from billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former treasury secretaries for advice on economic policy to ex-national security advisers on foreign policy. He chose as his running mate Joe Biden, the veteran U.S. senator from Delaware and Foreign Relations Committee chairman. The contrast with Mr. McCain's choice for vice president could not be more striking.

Mr. Obama gets the nod in this race not just because of his opponent's flaws.

The Illinois senator has a better plan than the Arizona senator for expanding health-care coverage. Mr. Obama would focus on the problem -- uninsured Americans -- while strengthening the current system of employer-based care. Mr. McCain would unravel that system.

Mr. Obama also would be more aggressive in curbing America's dirty and dangerous addiction to petroleum by mounting an ambitious campaign to develop renewable energy. Mr. McCain says he favors alternatives to oil, but his "drill, baby, drill" fixation could prolong the nation's habit.

The Democratic nominee is more inclined to turn the page on the foreign policy of the past eight years that has alienated allies and incited enemies. His willingness to engage when necessary in tough negotiations with enemies is not naive or irresponsible; it's an approach followed before by presidents from both parties.

Since he began his meteoric rise in American politics, Mr. Obama's critics have trivialized his remarkable skills as a speaker. From Abraham Lincoln through Ronald Reagan, history has shown that eloquence is a powerful tool for presidents to rally Americans to get through tough times together and achieve great things.

If you have a moment, please PLEASE send a quite note of support to insight@orlandosentinel.com.This is a conservative area, and they are going to be bomarded with hate mail. When they endorsed John Kerry last time, you would have thought the apocalypse was upon us. Tons of letters came in complaining and hundreds of subscriptions were canceled.

I honestly thought they would cave like the idiotic endorsement of the Tampa Tribune yesterday. But they didn't. And I couldn't be more proud.

What a great morning.

Should have been YOU Charlie!

McCain expresses regret for picking that idiot Palin over our own guber, Charlie Crist.

St. Pete Times:

"Charlie, because he's so popular, he probably would have made a significant difference,"McCain said in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9.

"I think this would have been a battleground state, except for obviously (with) a popular governor as Charlie Crist is," McCain said.



"Look, this is a tough decision that we made with Sarah Palin."

Wow. McCain actually offers straight talk that maybe Sarah wasn't the best choice. You think?

Charlie, whether he admits it or not, was furious about the Palin pick. Charlie is the one who put McCain over the top with a crucial endorsement before the FL primary, he's been grooming himself for this post for years, and dammit, he even rushed out and got engaged again when his party tried to shoot the veep talk down with that "gay" rumor.

Charlie is probably enjoying this--as evidenced by his refusal to play ball on the phony ACORN fraud charges. I am enjoying this more: I get to see both men stew in discontent over this fiasco.

True Reason I'm Enjoying Obama's 14-Point Lead

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead over Republican rival John McCain nationally, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows.

...
Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.
...
McCain's campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: Twenty-one percent of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain's attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate.

Poor John. They told you to pick Sarah Palin over Romney, and she is now dragging your ticket.

They told you to crawl in the mud and go all out negative. And you have now turned off the very independents you were craving.

What is rich about this is that these slimeballs who ran your campaign were the very disciples of Rove/Bush who smeared YOUR OWN daughter 8 years ago. Like a coward, you embraced them and surrendered your campaign so they could do to Obama what they did to you.

But unlike you, he was able to outwit them. Unlike you, h was focused.

Unlike you, he NEVER LOST HIS COOL. And he played all of you.

Pretty soon you will be forgotten and irrelevant. You will sit alone in your mansion(s) in your final years, thinking of the honor and reputation you had worked so hard to restore 20 years after Charles Keating: all thrown out in a matter of weeks!!!

You sold your soul. They promised you if you would just go down in the gutter with them, they could do for you what they did for Bush. But that is what happens when you sell your soul to the devil, you always get screwed.

It wasn't enough that they attacked your family--they now took your precious honor as well. You let them. And I don't feel one ounce of pity for you.

I also am on a real high because for two years, from 2004 to 2006, I had to deal with idiots who loved to tell me that the Democratic party was over and that there would be a permanent GOP majority. I receive all kinds of comments of how the Democrats would never win again....these are the same people who are whipped up in hysterics right now and turning McCain speeches into hate rallies because it is no longer a question of if--but of how much.

I am, in fact, really, really, really enjoying this!

McCain Palin Supporters

The ignorance of these rallies is frightening. I wish I could say things are better here in Florida, but the fact is the Palin rally in Clearwater almost turned violent. The crowd started threatening the media and even picked on an African-American working for the crew for one of the networks. Hate speech can incite violence--and its a sad commentary that that is what the McCain-Palin campaign has deteriortated into: hate speech. No wonder people at these rallies shout "Kill Him" and call Obama a terrorist.

So much Mr. "Maverick" for raising the bar:

McCain Crosses Line with Final Hail Mary Pass

So McCain has decided to try one last hail mary pass: engage in swift-boat attacks in a desperate attempt to duck the issues. McCain claims it's about character and judgment, but what does it say about his character and judgment that McCain hired Rove's team, who dragged his family through the mud in 2000, to now smear Obama.

If McCain can't win on any of the issues, maybe he should rethink his candidacy before losing anymore of his coveted "honor".


DNC response:

Goin' Negative: How Dumb Does McCain Think We Are?

Ms. Deer in the Headlight decided to give a preview of the debate Tuesday night. When you can't win on ANY issue, nor can you articulate ANY reason you want to be president--do what Rovian GOPers do. Resort to fear and smear.

Pathetic Palin decided to attack Obama and say that he "pals" around with terrorists. This type of attack is expected from a right-wing nutball blogger, not someone seeking the second highest office in the land.

For all that W has screwed up, at least he didn't actually join the false attacks the Swift-Boaters were lobbing against John Kerry. Even W understood that engaging in a false smear isn't presidential. You leave that to surrogates. In a twist of irony, the very surrogates that smeared John McCain's family are now in charge of the final desperate and erratic strategy aimed to destroy the character of Barack Obama.

How sad. How pathetic. The man who has spend over 20 years building and restoring his honor after the Keating 5 debacle is willing to throw it out in their final of a series of hail mary passes that has defined his campaign.

Not only is it despicable, it won't work.

It hasn't before, it won't now. Why?

Because the vast majority of Americans are smarter than the small-minded right-wing nutters who think this is brilliant. If they could get past their hate and emotion against Barack Obama, they would see it clearly.

The man has devoted his life to public service. He turned down big paying jobs to fight for the rights of the poor and middle-class. He has amassed a vast record in helping average Americans in a short amount of time over others who have spent decades in politics--like John McCain. And the honorable Senator Obama is now seeking the highest office in the land, at considerable expense (personal and financial), because he wants to bring the change our country desperately needs.

And they honestly think people will believe that a man who has brought so much hope to so many Americans---somehow, actually, really hates America?

Do the GOPers behind this strategy really expect us to believe that once Obama is sworn in as president that he will say "SUCKERS!! I hate America!! I now turn everything over to my pals the terrorists! ALLALALALALALA"

Seriously--what the living hell are they thinking? We have people literally dying because they lost their healthcare, thousands dead in Iraq with no exit strategy in sight, people losing thier homes, their jobs, and under Bush/McCain, their VERY FREEDOMS!! (Talk about hating America.)

Anyone who buys this stupid, rehashed crap was never going to vote Obama regardless. This strategy will only appeal to the nutjobs. But I am angry because I honestly thought that finally, we would get a presidential race that we deserved. A race that focused on the issues and that either man, regardless of the outcome, would be able to finally change the tone of these races and the victor would usher in a new era of bi-partisanship: and the other would at least be able to hold his head up high for running an honorable race.

Apparently, that will now only be possible with one candidate in this race.

Congratulations Obama!

He won the debate.

I am a partisan, and I'm certain there are those on the other side who will say McCain won. And yes, there were no knockout blows, they both deflected the others' criticism, and neither one said a Palin-like gaffe that would have killed the campaign.

Although CNN and CBS had polls afterwards that Obama had performed better, I think most analysts are calling it a tie.

BUT that does not change the fact that Obama won the debate.

WHY?

Because McCain NEEDED TO WIN. He needed to hit this out of the park. He needed a game-changer. There are no more for him. The conventions are over, the veeps selected--the only thing left are the debates.

Palin will not be able to take down Biden. She will be lucky to be left standing. McCain will NOT be able to tangle with Obama on the economy. It's over. There are no more game-changers left.

The only chance McCain had was to knock out Obama on his supposed strong suit--foreign policy.

And he didn't. Most polls are showing Obama won--but in fact, at best, it was a tie. McCain is bleeding in the polls, he didn't need a tie-he needed a win. A big win.

And that is why Obama won.

What Obama Should Say to McCain...

I heard the announcement live hear in Florida where Obama is campaigning.

I am irritated that McCain has once again decided to pull a political stunt when the situation least calls for it.

• He did by picking an unvetted radical to be his Vice President.



• He did it by going overboard on rhetoric about the Georgian invasion that even the Georgian president called unhelpful.



• And he does it now. When we need it the least
.

Obama reached out to him this morning to show solidarity with a joint statement on the crisis. McCain decided to react by holding a press conference and saying he will suspend his campaign--taking no questions from reporters. If this was a true gesture, then McCain would have spoken with Obama instead of holding an event and tried to get both of them to suspend their campaigns simultaneously. Make no mistake about this, McCain is trying to use this travesty to get the upper-hand. Cynical. The proof of this can be seen on right-wing blogs such as RS that are gleeful that McCain is trying to use this as a ploy to crawl back up in the polls. Obama can't let him.

Obama should simply say the following:

I am glad that McCain wants to help solve this large financial crisis. But this crisis was created because this administration, with the support of Senator McCain, pushed through deregulation of our banking industry as well as stipped away all meaningful oversight. The legislation that allowed this was crafted by none other than Senator Phil Gramm, his former chief economic advisor until he stated that suffering Americans were "a nation of whiners." This is the direct result of the now obvious misguided belief that investment firms with no regulation and no oversight work best.

This deregulation allowed a culture of greed to overtake our financial markets, and the American taxpayer is now being stuck with the bill. Unlike Mr. Bush and Senator McCain, I do not accept that this multi-billion dollar bailout has to occur within the next two days. Wall Street will not fall apart before Friday. Personally, I would rather get it right than rush through a bad bill; and for once, this president should take time to work through this carefully.

There is no reason why Senator McCain should forgo the debates this Friday. A high-level public servant should be able to multi-task, and the threat of sectarian violence, rogue states, and terrorism are just as relevant and present just as much a threat, if not greater, than investment firm greed.

Senator McCain himself admits that he is not well-versed on the economy, so I cannot understand what is accomplished by McCain forgoing the debate to go to Washington except to have a photo opportunity. The Senate Majority leader is correct when he states that it is wrong to inject presidential politics into this delicate negotiation.

I will be attending the debate on Saturday and hopefully Senator McCain will attend as well. The American people deserve better than political stunts.

Ask a McCain Supporter ONE Thing...

Why do you support John McCain?

I promise you that you will get a litany of Obama smear. You will get a bunch of outright lies or picking apart of any number of plans that he has put forward.

Listen closely to the drivel on talk radio. Listen closely to the answer you get--and you will notice ONE thing.

NOT one McCain supporter will say why he wants to be president. NOT one McCain supporter will tell you what his policies are, or the direction he wants to take the country.

All you will hear is something about Obama.

That is because that is the entire point of the McCain campaign and the GOP apparatus--to stay in power. They can't say they support everything Bush does--tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation and stripping of oversight, staying in Iraq indefinetly...

They are wrong on EVERYTHING. There is no daylight between the positions Bush has and McCain has, so they resort to the only thing they have left. FEAR and SMEAR.

And that is all you undecideds need to know for this election.

Tax Plan Comparison-Email this to EVERYONE

JOHN MCCAIN LIES when he says Barack will raise everyone's taxes. EMAIL this to everyone you know. It's a breakdown of the proposals from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center as reported by the Washington Post and includes the cool graphic below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

Under John McSame, the wealthiest Americans get the largest tax cut. The middle class gets almost nothing.

Under Barack Obama, the people who NEED help, the middle class, get a large tax cut while he restores the tax rate for those making over 2.87 million back to what they were pre-Bush.

John McSame's tax plan is not only UNFAIR, it can't work. We have record defecits, meaning there is no way we can afford another trillion dollar tax cut that mostly helps the wealthy. That is how we got INTO this mess to begin with. Trickle-down economics, giving to the rich and stealing from the poor, caused the recession of 1990 and it caused the mess we are in now.

Barack's plan to help the middle class CAN work because he balances it with the tax revenue from the super-wealthy.

McCain Skit on SNL 9/21

He's already said that Barack will raise everyone's taxes (LIE), his veep never sought earmarks as governor (LIE), and that Barack supported sex education for children (LIE). TYPICALLY candidates take words out of context, but McCain has crossed a line and is now just making things up.

SNL smacked him down last night:

Why is this race even close?

What McCain Runs On

From Joe Biden:

Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not a typical Republican. He called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about things from time to time. He promised to work with Democrats and said he'd been doing that for a long time.

That candidate was George W. Bush.

And we all know how that story ended.

In other news, McCain (dis)graced his presence here in Orlando, where he told us that the fundamentals of the economy are "strong", just as he had previously told us that the state of the economy was "psychological".

It gets better. Phil Gramm was his chief economic advisor until he was asked to leave because he called America a "nation of whiners". I guess people who wear $600 shoes, have more houses than they can count, and wear clothes that cost more than a mini-mansion (Cindy has kept her latest outfits under $300,000 at least in a show of solidarity for the little people) I'm certain would think we are doing pretty well.

Today, the Lehman Brothers sent Wall Street into the biggest devastation since 2001. The collapse of the financial giants can be traced to the huge deregulation and huge stripping of oversight written into law by, WHO?


The man who McCain has based his economic agenda upon--idiot Senator Phil Gramm.

Outrageous Lies by McCain Addressed in Viral Video

I love the intro, which hooks you into thinking this is another McCain attack ad. And I love the fact that it addresses the issues. But my complaint is that it could have been shortened. It's still powerful, and frankly, it's better than what I've seen from the Obama camp recently. If you have a blog, post it. Or EMAIL it to 10 people--we have to get the truth out:

McCain defines "Rich"--w/Video

Glad to see the DNC on top of their game. Take notes Obama, this is how we fight back:

Cafferty Sums Up Bush and McCain

Cafferty said it best:

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president.

and

I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul.

George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.

He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.

Effective ANTI-MCCAIN Ad

You know I couldn't stay away!

Here's an ad for "maverick" McCain. Send the link to anyone who says he is not like Bush. Hope you like it!



Digg It

Outrageous Attack Ad. So much for Honor, Mr. McCain.

John McSame is one desperate somma bitch.

Obama had the most successful visit to the Middle East and Europe, including an electrifying speech that captivated the largest audience ever for an American politician. (It was nice to see Europe waving American flags again.)

So McComplain decided to resort to the Rovian GOP playbook--smear. His latest ad launches a false attack against Barack Obama for "ignoring our troops" to play basketball. Nevermind that it actually includes footage of Barack Obama playing basketball with our troops on his recent trip to Kuwait, in order to make its point. And nevermind that he visited wounded troops in Iraq.

It was the Pentagon that pulled the plug on the hospital visit. They claimed that this was not only "inappropriate", but violated DoD rules. The Pentagon spokesman even quoted Obama advisor Gibbs a DoD regulation about campaign staff visiting a hospital.

Rather than going back and forth on whether his own presence was a campaign event, and subjecting the wounded troops to this mess, he agreed to cancel. Three weeks ago, it was fine.

This was a no win situation for Obama. If he fought the Pentagon, he would be attacked for not listening to DoD leaders and using wounded troops as a campaign prop. If he respected the Pentagon's wishes, --well, you can see the fallout.

John Mccain has no trouble, however, using the troops as a political football. But just keep in mind, it was JOHN MCCAIN that stood with George Bush in opposing our new GI Bill.

Someone else put it better than me:

...a bill that was supported overwhelmingly by Democrats and Republicans alike, and meant to give our returning men and women all the benefits they deserve. John Mccain said it was "too generous".

Barack Obama stood with our troops. John Mccain stood with George Bush.

I love you Barack, but it's time to quit playing nice. McSame has nothing to run on, so he is resorting to smears. All of his new ads are extremely negative, and they get more extreme and more false each cycle. Apparently, you personally are to blame for the high gas prices-- (the administration with the most oil executives ever, however, has nothing to do with it). And apparently, you hate wounded troops.

McCain no longer deserves to have the word "honorable" before his name.