Right off the heels of Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, many right-wing personalities and politicians who have greatly applauded Powell in the past are now slamming him. Why? Again, I’ll let Keith Olbermann take over on this one:
Trouble viewing the video? Read the transcript here.
Man, I hope this is the last of this series of posts! Anyways…
My mom sent me this video by Sally Anthony. The song is really good and the video…well…watch it for yourself. I think it hits the nail on the head as to my feeling about George Bush and John McCain. The content of the video really brings home many of the reasons why McCain simply isn’t a call to change. Some of you may disagree when Obama proclaims John McCain as “more of the same”, but after watching this video do you still disagree? I think what the video attempts to do is to make people realize that there is a bigger world out there, to stop and look around, realize the bigger picture and the problems we have. Many of the problems could have been avoided or remedied very easily…but they weren’t. Why should John McCain not be President? Watch the video…
If you’re having trouble viewing the video, try the YouTube version.
For those who have an open mind and little bias towards any of the Presidential candidates and/or a specific political party, it’s pretty obvious that Obama won last nights debate. Now, I could go on and on about the why’s but I’d rather not. I could also go on and on about why both McCain and Palin are not the best choice. I could tell you that McCain is too old and too out of touch. I could also tell you that Palin is under-qualified and that she simply would not make for a good President were something to happen to McCain. I could list all the reasons why Obama’s judgment and plans are so much better than McCains. But to be honest, I simply don’t have the time nor the energy to go on about it. At this point, I think the point is very clear: Barack Obama will likely be the next President of the United States.
What I will mention though is one talking point that has erupted out of McCain’s campaign. It has to do with how McCain is handling some of the more radical supporters at his rallies. I agree whole-heartedly with Keith Olbermann’s views on this issue[1]. So rather than just rant about what I think, I’ll let Keith do it for me:
Ann Coulter is at it again! Man, is this woman running out of things to talk about or what!? All she can do now is bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch. I’m not even going to go into detail about what she wrote because, quite frankly, it’s the usual right-wing, damn near fascist bullshit that I expect from her. It’s a rant without any real substance because there aren’t any hard core facts. The facts are just whatever she makes them out to be. So I’m not even going to waste my time doing a run by run playback of her crap. Instead, I’m going to talk about why she and the rest of the right-wing nut jobs are running scared these days.
Seems to me that Ann and others like her are in panic mode. She and others just like her can see the writing on the wall: McCain’s campaign is over! And how exactly did this happen? Is it because McCain and Palin can’t keep their mouths shut and can’t run a campaign without getting seriously dirty to the point of lying about Obama? Well, that certainly didn’t help but that’s not entirely it.
No, the real reason is that the McCain campaign was poorly managed. The way I see it, management of a campaign starts with the candidate. As such, McCain has no one to blame but himself. The mood and vibe of the campaign starts with him and trickles down to everyone in the campaign. If he’s crabby, lashes out with nasty comments about Obama, and doesn’t want to answer valid questions about the economy and other important issues, what do you think happens to his campaign? Exactly the same thing.
The McCain campaign has wasted money on nasty TV ads that outright lie about Obama. Plus, they built a rather shitty website that says little or nothing about what McCain would really do as President. I know because I have visited the McCain website at least twice a month to see what’s new. You wanna know what’s really interesting? The site has morphed and changed so many times. In fact, the most recent modifications seem to be a desperate attempt to make the site’s design look more like Obama’s site. I guess imitation is the best form of flattery.
And that’s all I can really say about the way McCain is running his campaign. If the guy can’t run his campaign worth a crap how do think he’ll do in the White House? Umm, duh! Sorry, but his style of management doesn’t persuade me to believe that he’s a good leader and is capable of managing the White House in an effective manner.
Now, let’s look at the Obama campaign.
Obama’s TV campaign is far more focused on the issues. Take the most recent ad, a two-minute ad called “Plan for Change” that was release on September 16th and focuses on the most recent economic issues. Although there have been a few questionable ads here and there, the number of ads that cross the line are no where near the level of John McCain’s ads. Yes, Obama’s ads do attack McCain but is mostly what you expect from just about any politician.
The topper though and a direct counterattack for all of the smears from the McCain campaign is a 14 minute documentary called Keating Economics. This was funded by the Obama campaign and appears to be something they kept in their back pocket just waiting to pull out when McCain decided to get nasty. Smart move on Obama’s part. It’s a well put together little piece.Then there’s Obama’s website, a site that hasn’t changed much since day one. The design is rock solid and the content is well organized. Take a look at the Issues section. I’m very impressed by the fact that they offer a really neat PDF called The Blue Print For Change that explains in detail many of Obama’s policies. Every section is very clear and well written, outlining the problem followed by a plan with solutions.
What’s even more impressive is that the Obama campaign actually came out with their own iPhone app. I about shit a brick when I saw it! What’s even more impressive is that the application is actually pretty good. The design matches his site and it offers some pretty useful features. I especially like the Issues part of the app. Anytime anyone claims that Obama doesn’t have any plans I can whip it out and prove them wrong. :D
And here is the whopper of all campaign strategies: a 30-minute block of time on CBS and NBC six days before the election! Yep! The Obama campaign’s grassroots funding actually managed to land enough to fund a 30-minute long ad right before the election!
So where is McCain in all this? Why can’t his campaign be as well managed as Obama’s? The way McCain has managed his campaign just shows that he’s clearly out of touch. I don’t know about you but I would much rather have Obama as the President because, let’s face it, he sure as hell knows more about running and managing a campaign better than McCain. I’ll take that kind of management experience and leadership any day! :D
Andrew Sullivan really nails it on the head. I completely agree with him. If this was the REAL Republican party then there would be more votes for McCain. It’s really that simple.
Recently, I read an article on Reuters about how Obama ripped McCain for joking that $5 million is a fit definition for being rich. But it wasn’t the article that caught my eye but rather a comment left by a reader:
If you want 4 more years of George Bush policies, vote for McCain. If you like the price of oil, google the enron loophole, and see how Phil Gram (McCains econimic advisor) gamed the system. Google the Keating 5 and John McCain. Google McCain cheating on his wife. Google McCain graduating at the bottom of his class. This guy is not qualified to be president.
Pretty bold statements. But is he right? Let’s see what Google reveals.
Phil Gramm and the Enron Loophole
Sounds like a title from a serialized mystery novel series, doesn’t it. Given that Phil Gramm is/was John McCain’s top economic advisor, there’s a certain level of scrutinization to be made with this guy. Although McCain claims that Gramm is no longer part of his campaign that still doesn’t mean that Gramm still doesn’t play an influence behind closed doors. The real question is: What role has Phil Gramm played in our political system?
In 1999, then Senator Phil Gramm worked on a bill known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that would effectively gut the Glass-Steagall Act. The end result would be that commercial banks, investment banks, and insurers would be allowed to merge, an act that would have violated antitrust laws under the Glass-Steagall Act. Gramm was the primary sponsor of this bill since he had received over $4.6 million in donations from different finance, insurance, and real estate institutions over the previous decade. After the Act was passed, many banks and other financial institutions merged almost immediately, as if they were just waiting for this legislation to be passed.
To make matters even worse, Gramm, along with four other co-sponsors, helped draft and pass the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. Part of this bill, what has become known as the “Enron Loophole“, exempts energy speculators who make trades electronically from US regulation. The loophole was drafted by Gramm in cooperation with lobbyists for the Enron Corporation. This little loophole is what many claim to be the very thing that allow for the Enron scandal to happen. But the real kicker is that, at the time when the bill was drafted, Gramm’s wife was on Enron’s board of directors.
After his Senate career, Gramm was (or still is) a vice-chairman for UBS, a Swiss-based investment bank. At the time when Gramm was advising McCain, Gramm was being paid by UBS to lobby Congress about the current mortgage crisis. Because of his association, Gramm has been partially blamed for helping to deregulate the banking industry that allowed financial institutions like UBS to practice the sort of predatory lending practices that cause the mortgage crisis to begin with.
Obama has called for the closing of the “Enron Loophole“. Then again, so has McCain. But the question is: Why would McCain allow someone like Gramm to offer him economic policy advice given Gramm’s record? Doesn’t make any sense.
The Keating Five
During the U.S. Savings and Load crisis in the 80’s and 90’s, a gentleman named Charles Keating was being investigated for the corrupt mismanagement of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association in Irvine, California. Due to the deregulation of savings and load associations in the early 80’s, Keating was able to make highly risky investments with money from deposits in the form of land, equity in real estate development projects, and high-yield junk bonds. By 1984, Lincoln’s assets had increased from $1.1 billion to $5.5 billion. In the end, Keating served a five year sentence in prison due to his corrupt practices.
So what does this have to do with McCain? As it turns out, McCain knew Keating prior to the scandal breaking out and became personal friends with Keating after meeting in 1981. Since then, McCain received $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and McCain’s wife, Cindy, and her father invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center a year before McCain met with regulators.
The story broke and five Senators (Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, Donald W. Riegle, and John McCain) were being accused of improperly aiding Keating. The reason for these accusations was due to a meeting that the five Senators had with regulators in 1987 to discuss the government’s investigation of Lincoln. It wasn’t until this meeting that McCain and others learned that Lincoln was under criminal investigation, at which point McCain severed all ties with Keating.
McCain was cleared of any wrong doing but even McCain himself admitted that it looked bad. If anything, McCain was guilty of having bad judgement in his affiliation with Keating and allowing himself to be entangled in a very unusual meeting with regulators.
Ditching the First Wife
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that McCain has had a problem with infidelity. Although it’s true that McCain urged his first wife, Carol, to grant him a divorce so that he could marry Cindy, it is not known whether his marriage was already estranged prior to him dating Cindy. As far as anyone knows, him and Carol remain on good terms. Whether he cheated on Carol or not is mere speculation. No know knows the full details except him and his family. Quite frankly, regardless of whether anyone likes McCain or not, this isn’t really anyone’s business anyways. He’s now married to Cindy and has been married to her for quite sometime.
Underachiever?
McCain has joked in the recent past that he graduated in the bottom fifth of his class. Although this isn’t all that critical now, it is ironic that McCain’s academic achievements aren’t great, especially considering that he’s a candidate for the President of the United States. McCain attended the United States Naval Academy where he had conflict with higher-ranking personnel, didn’t always obey the rules, and ended up with a low class rank (894 of 899). Showing little interest in improving, McCain did well in subjects that he was interested in but only did enough to pass the sujects he didn’t like. McCain graduated in 1958 and went on to serve as a naval pilot on the USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise.
So what does all this mean? For starters, no one can question McCain’s military record. There’s no doubt in my mind that McCain has served his country well while in the Navy. And there’s no question that McCain has a wealth of experience due to the 16+ years of time he has spent in Congress. But what I question though is the 16+ years he has spent in Congress. Do we really need someone who has spent that much time as a Senator in the White House? It’s clear that McCain has made a few poor choices in judgement and, granted, no one is perfect. But stack that up against some of the folks McCain has associated himself with recently and in the past and you start to wonder whether he’s fully qualified to serve the highest office in the land.
By comparison, Barack Obama may not have as much experience nor the military record McCain has, but what Obama does bring is an impressive academic background (with 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor), a sense of integrity and vision, and a determination to work with all members of Congress to solve this countries biggest problems. Given the severity of the problems in the United States, I honestly believe that the “safe choice” isn’t all that safe. Take a chance, have a little faith, and vote for Barack Obama.
I don’t really have much this week. However, I did watch a video called The Commander In Chief Test. Granted, it’s humorous and in good fun, but it does illustrate one point: McCain doesn’t stand a chance of winning this election.
This week, John McCain has sunk himself into a pretty deep hole. The biggest hole though comes from an interview he had with Katie Couric on CBS News. Well…just watch for yourself and you’ll see what I mean:
What’s most troubling about this is the fact that CBS deliberately edited the interview. As to the motivations for doing so, I don’t know. This is a level of journalism though that is, frankly, complete and total bullshit. You either report the news as it is or you don’t. If you can’t bother to show me an unaltered, unbiased interview then don’t bother even reporting it.
Once the unedited version broke out though, many members of the media and press pointed out that McCain didn’t have his facts right regarding the Anbar Awakening and the surge in Iraq. It didn’t take long for McCain to respond to this bit of criticism. However, the response he gave was even more troubling:
Umm…what? I mean, what the f#$k is he even talking about? I have no idea!
And what is that behind him? Cheese! McCain be spoutin’ some cheese, man! Can I get some string cheese on my cracka, John!
Ok, ok. Maybe I took it a little too far in that last bit. But I digress.
The point is that McCain had no idea what he was talking about. But rather than simply admitting that he was wrong, he rambled on in an attempt to try and sound like he knew what he was talking about. That’s the absolute worst thing McCain could have done in this situation…and he did it anyways! That, my friends, is simply poor judgment.
Regardless of how anyone can attempt to fix McCain’s mistake, no matter how many ways you can try and spin it, McCain simply exercised poor judgment and failed to use three words that would have been a hell of a lot more respectful for him to say in this case: “I don’t know”. Instead, McCain chose to bullshit the American people rather than admitting his mistakes, which is not a good sign of proper leadership.
As much media coverage as Obama has received, you’d think that we would have heard Obama try and bullshit us just once. Ironically, I have not heard him talk about things for which he knew nothing about. He’s very good at articulating his thoughts and, in fact, I’ve heard Obama say “I don’t know” on a number of occasions. I respect that. I respect the fact that Obama has no problems admitting when he doesn’t know enough about a topic. I also respect him for admitting when he is wrong or when he mispoke and poorly phrased his statements, which doesn’t happen nearly as often as one would think. If anything, Obama has proven that he is human, that he’s going to make mistakes, but that he will learn through them and try not to repeat them. That, my friends, is a great sign of good leadership. Regardless of whether I agree with all his policies or not, he’ll have my vote.
Out of any office in the land, the one position where I feel that it’s critical that one be a good public speaker is the United States Presidency. Being a good speaker, though, is more than just being able to deliver a good speech. It’s also about being able to articulate your thoughts in an eloquent manner in the moment, whether that be in an interview, in front of a foreign dignitary, or another situation of equal importance. The President is, for all intents and purposes, the speaker for the American people both domestically and abroad. As such, he/she best be able to speak well in an effort to articulate properly the message of our government and, more importantly, the people.
John McCain simply isn’t a good candidate to represent our country. I’m amazed that so many Americans think of him as the safe choice. Why? How safe can he be when he can’t even say “I don’t know” and can’t admit that he doesn’t know enough to answer a specific question? If McCain were to become President, he would have to exercise good judgment each and every day. When he addresses the American people, he would have to use straight talk and tell the American people the truth each and every time.
As it is though, the only straight talk McCain is giving us is a straight talk about Jack and shit. Unfortunately for McCain though, Jack just left town.
It’s been a while since I’ve done any political posts on McCain. To be honest, I’m getting to a point where I’m so burned out on even trying to get any reasonable research to post. The kind of research I was aiming to do takes a lot of time to collate and put together in a form that’s presentable on the web. We’re talking tons of material from The Library of Congress on both candidate’s Senate records and each candidates positions based on the material freely available on their websites. Frankly, I think anyone who wishes to have an educated opinion on each of these candidates really needs to get on these sites and take some time to really read up on them. For now though, I’ll keep my posts centered on very specific areas.
Last week, my wife forwarded me a post made on The Carpetbagger Report entitled
“Jukebox John changes his tune every few minutes“. Author Steven Benen talks about how McCain has not been very consistent with his position on different policies and lists 60 different issues McCain has flip-flopped on. It’s quite an extensive list but, to name a few, here’s some of the ones (and perhaps the most dangerous ones) that really stick out for me:
Be sure and visit the site and read the others. Links are provided to legitimate sources that cite each of these positions.
Sure, people change their minds everyday, but for one man to constantly go back and forth on so many issues, that’s more than just simply changing your mind. It would seem that McCain’s position changes if it suits him politically. But, unlike McCain, Obama has always seemed very consistent in his positions. And when he has changed his mind he’s always been pretty good at explaining why. Not so with McCain.
Keith Olbermann some weeks back on Countdown mentioned many of the same points:
This weekend, I plan on posting another blog entry as sort of a followup to this post. I think my main criticism of McCain is that McCain is not a good representative of the Republican Party. Hell, I don’t think even the Republican Party is a good body of representation for true Republicans and conservatives alike, much less McCain. This is what I’ll be targeting with my next post. I think once you read it you’ll clearly understand where my criticism of McCain is coming from and why I think it’s unwise for so many Republican’s to embrace him simply because he is a Republican.
More on that later…
Still have a lot of research to do in regards of the two Presidential candidates. So, for this post, I’m gonna let Keith Olbermann do all the talking. This one really hits home for me:
