Make up your mind.
Hey, look! I got a postcard from Sarah Palin:
Governed from the center, eh? Let’s see what the other side of the card says:
Whu-? Stem-cell research? Climate change? Bill Ayers for the proles, stem-cell research for the college-educated suburbs? Whatever works, I guess. My zip code is telling the world too much about me.
I turned off “Marketplace” last night when they got to the news of GM and Ford’s stock price ($4.76 and $2.08, respectively). There’s a downside to living in a company town, and this is it. I’m thinking I’m going to restrict myself to the digest items for a while, lest I fall down hyperventilating. I took the dog for a meander — “walk” doesn’t really describe our excursions these days — and thought about other scary times in history. I was Kate’s age in 1968, a year that must have seemed at least as perilous as this one, and I don’t recall my parents doing anything more than discussing current events calmly. I was driving with my mother one night in May 1970 when the radio broadcast was interrupted by an emergency bulletin directing all off-duty Columbus police officers to report to their local station house immediately. The student riots that followed the invasion of Cambodia had begun, and while Ohio saw blood spilled and lives lost by the end of it, all my mother said about the muster of police was, “It must be something on campus.”
So that’s the role model, right there: Calm acknowledgment, sans freak-out. I made a mental list of everything I could do to get through this, and came up with:
1) Make soup.
2) Exercise.
3) Drink lots of water.
4) Keep the house looking nice.
5) Take good notes.
So we had a curried butternut squash/apple soup — recipe in the Junior League cookbook, which gives the lie to the old myth about WASPs not appreciating non-salt-and-pepper flavors — and got our vitamin A.
It’s probably just as well I’m concentrating on soup, because I no longer understand the world of finance (if I ever did). Ford and GM have plants all over the world, production lines, product that’s still selling (badly, but still selling). I don’t understand how the market could value them at a fraction of what you could get even if you pulled the plug on the whole business and parted out each and every factory.
This is what a lack of liquidity does, I guess. Can’t get a loan, can’t get a car. Even Toyota sales are down by a third. How this shakes out remains to be seen — that’s a phrase they teach you on the first day of j-school — but I don’t imagine it’ll be pretty.
It’s hard to believe I’m going to spend the next two weekends making a no-budget zombie movie. On the other hand, why not make a zombie movie? What else should I do? Start cutting firewood for supplemental heating?
Speaking of which, my co-executive producer sent out the all-hands e-mail yesterday. Because we’re no-budget, we require the cast to wear their own clothes for costumes. With some caveats, of course:
Julie, business casual as well, but please wear clothes that you don’t have to wear again. A wooden stake is going into the front of your blouse and coming out the back.
As our makeup guy said, “Let the good times roll.” Have a good weekend.
(Order your Amazon through me and I earn 4 percent. Click the “powered by Amazon” logo.)
coozledad said on October 10th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Running on fumes:
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=810233
Connie said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:13 am
So if the parts of GM are worth more why not buy GM stock at this low price?
Not that I have any ready funds to do that, I have another Butler tuition bill due right after Christmas, and haven’t yet seen any bills for my 20% share of last week’s major medical event. I do know there won’t be much Christmas gifting at my house this year.
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:22 am
So if the parts of GM are worth more why not buy GM stock at this low price?
Very likely, the Chinese will do this.
nancy said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I guess, technically, a stock price is based on a company’s profitability (not good), while its bonds are more closely linked to its baseline value. But yeah, I expect some bargain-basement sales all over the Fortune 500 soon.
Jeff Borden said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:25 am
It’s a shame we cannot emulate the British, who set the standard for getting on with life while the Luftwaffe was bombing England day and night during the Blitz.
The operative phrase was, “Stay calm. Carry on.”
We have seen the disastrous results when we act swiftly on our fears in the War in Iraq, the Patriot Act, FISA and any number of other initiatives that have given our government carte blanche to impede on liberties that past generations fought and bled to protect.
We must approach this economic meltdown coolly and intelligently. We must “cowboy up” and get to work, not give in to anger and fury. I hope we are up to the task.
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:54 am
From a David Brooks op-ed in yesterday’s NYT:
The Republicans have alienated whole professions. Lawyers now donate to the Democratic Party over the Republican Party at 4-to-1 rates. With doctors, it’s 2-to-1. With tech executives, it’s 5-to-1. With investment bankers, it’s 2-to-1. It took talent for Republicans to lose the banking community.
Pretty amazing facts. Know-nothingism is, of course, an old American tradition, but that’s taking it pretty far. Doesn’t exactly seem compatible with the idea of approaching the economic meltdown “coolly and intelligently” either.
Also relevant, this analysis of McCain’s health care proposal, which is attracting criticism from, of all places, the business community. The plan seems to be an effort to address a problem based on ideology, absent any acknowledgment of the facts.
alex said on October 10th, 2008 at 11:00 am
It’s beginning to sound like the real Sarah Palin is supposed to appear on SNL in a few weeks. Think she’ll break with the script and do a Sinead O’Connor?
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 11:34 am
NYT:
October 10, 2008
Letter
Prosecuting Weathermen
To the Editor:
“Re “Politics of Attack” [editorial, Oct. 8] and “Obama and ’60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths” (front page, Oct. 4):
As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers’s terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child.
Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased to learn that he has become a responsible citizen.
Because Senator Obama recently served on a board of a charitable organization with Mr. Ayers cannot possibly link the senator to acts perpetrated by Mr. Ayers so many years ago.
I do take issue with the statement in your news article that the Weathermen indictment was dismissed because of “prosecutorial misconduct.” It was dismissed because of illegal activities, including wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions, initiated by John N. Mitchell, attorney general at that time, and W. Mark Felt, an F.B.I. assistant director.
William C. Ibershof
Mill Valley, Calif., Oct. 8, 2008″
Mark Felt, of course, was later identified as Deep Throat.
Jeff Borden said on October 10th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Fear-mongering is all McCain-Palin have left and it is damned scary stuff. Anyone seen the video of those lunatics in Strongsville, Ohio claiming Obama has terrorist bloodlines? The tone and tenor of their rallies reminds me of the blind hatred and fury of the school busing situation in South Boston all those years ago. These people are seriously pissed off and the GOP is only fanning the flames.
I cannot believe that the John McCain I might’ve considered voting for in 2000 has morphed into this small, nasty piece of work willing to further rend the nation’s fragile fabric in his single-minded quest for the White House.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Does this mean, that if Obama wins, the fighting over the Vietnam War is over?
http://tinyurl.com/4ltq8d
Peter said on October 10th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
There was an article once on Southwest’s flight attendents and their folksy manner, and one of their monolouges has stuck with me for years, and I thought about it again today when the Tribune announced: “All signs point to panic”. The flight attendent said that when cabin air pressure drops, the emergency breathing apparatus appears from the overhead compartments. She then said “First thing you do is to STOP SCREAMING. Then take the maragarine container with the balloon on it, put the rubber band around your head, and breathe like you’ve never breathed before”.
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Gene Weingarten is looking for synonyms for “plummet”.
Gasman said on October 10th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
We should all be very concerned about the willingness of John McCain to whip his supporters into frenzied mobs. This WaPo story from yesterday ties in with the Huffingtonpost.com videos in yesterday’s thread:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100903169.html
McCain seems to need to create an artificial sense of emotion and urgency, because his platform sure as hell isn’t generating a groundswell of interest nationally. The problem is, he stokes the frenzy to such feverish levels, that when his message gets to bipartisanship, the mob will have none of it:
“The crowds that show up for his rallies these days appear to have little appetite for the talk of bipartisan compromise that had been at the heart of his message around the Republican National Convention. During a rally outside a small airport in Mosinee, Wis., on Thursday, McCain said that “it’s time we come together, Democrats and Republicans to work together. That’s my record. I’ll reach across the aisle.”
“The crowd stood silent.”
By adopting such hate-mongering rhetoric, by openly encouraging the less-lernin’-iz-good crowd, the lunatic fringe, and the closet racists, he is virtually guaranteeing his defeat. However, he will leave in his wake a contingent of disaffected losers who will fuel the latest anti-government movement. The last time the Republicans flirted with the anti-government Michigan Militia crowd, we had the Oklahoma City bombings. I am afraid that there are those same violent tendencies among the most rabid of McCain’s supporters.
McCain is going to leave a wreckage of hate in his wake. How does this help promote bipartisanship? How is this representative of his “reaching across the aisle?” He’s reaching across alright, to strangle anyone who stands between him and the White House. His campaign feigns unconcern for such tactics, again from the WaPo article:
“McCain advisers dismissed the crowd’s angry tone as an exception and not representative of most of the campaign’s events.”
Unrepresentative? The pattern has been documented in at least three rallies in three different states. McCain is responsible for creating this mob mentality. It is quite clear that he has no control over his McCainwaffen storm troopers.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/10/obama-called-traitor-agai_n_133613.html
More hatemongering at a McCain rally today
Have to add a great humor piece just to raise spirits:
http://www.chumfm.com/MorningShow/bits/march24.swf
Julie Robinson said on October 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Several years ago the attendant on our Southwest flight went through the whole spiel about the oxygen masks and how we should put our own on first before our children, blah blah blah. Then she continued that if we were flying with more than one child we needed to decide which one we liked better. Straight face, no change in voice; and very few people noticed. It was that kind of attitude and humor that I loved on Southwest. Cheap prices, too, of course. But now it seems that all the airline and TSA woes have affected them too; they are no longer laid-back and happy. Like our whole country these days.
Hattie said on October 10th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Fine and dandy. Look where laid back and happy has gotten us. Let’s be uptight and pissed off and never believe things are easy, ever again.
That, young ones, is the road to TRUE happiness.
Gasman said on October 10th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
My Mom sent me this gem about Palin’s God fearing faithful:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/03/debate_wasilla/index.html
Apparently, God is a McCain/Palin supporter. What will be the reaction when they lose? These “good” Christians see their success as God’s validation of their own piety. If they don’t succeed, it certainly won’t be an indication of God’s displeasure. No, they will ascribe an Obama victory to the sinister power of Satan and his witches.
As one responder to the Salon.com article said, “Kind of like how winning teams are quick to thank God for the win, but you never hear the losing teams say “I want to thank God for teaching us humility in this great defeat.”
As a Christian, I am offended at such ignorant heresy. These pious souls would reduce Christianity to a First Century cult of superstitious nonsense. If this were the only version of Christianity available, I tell you plainly that I would leave the Church. Fortunately, there are many Christians who believe that Jesus was not like the narrow minded xenophobes in the article above. There is no way in hell that you can place the imprimatur Jesus Christ on those kind of religious views.
Connie said on October 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Totally unrelated: another great hawk pic for Brian. This one is using our solar covered pool as a bird bath. http://elmores.net/round-here/comments.php?id=1480_0_1_0_C
Dexter said on October 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
..any of you folks catch the episode of last season’s “Journeyman”, where our traveller wakes up aboard a 1970 flight? EVERYBODY smoking cigarettes, extra-short mini skirted “stews”…people milling in the aisles with drinks in each hand (and most all passengers high one way or another)…they had it down! Those cabins filled up with “harmless” cigarette smoke in hurry, booze was cheap and you could bring a pint on board with you, no problem…beer was sold cheaply…my brother flew to KC last month and said a beer was $8 for a can.
Except for west coast redeyes, those 1970’s plane rides were a blast!
ellen said on October 10th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Today on rush limbaugh (so next week’s talking points for republicans): The financial crisis is a socialist plot engineered to bring down capitalism. The Democrats are the socialists. The conservatives are the capitalists. Time for McCain to step up and be a true American hero and save us from the the red menace. And anyone who doesn’t believe this is a socialist!McCarthyism!
ellen said on October 10th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Today on rush limbaugh (so next week’s talking points for republicans): The financial crisis is a socialist plot engineered to bring down capitalism. The Democrats are the socialists. The conservatives are the capitalists. Time for McCain to step up and be a true American hero and save us from the red menace. And anyone who doesn’t believe this is a socialist!McCarthyism resurrected!
mark said on October 10th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
nancy:
You write: I don’t understand how the market could value them (Ford and GM) at a fraction of what you could get even if you pulled the plug on the whole business and parted out each and every factory.” You suggested that this may be a consequence of the liquidity crises.
I think you are only slightly correct. So long as they can borrow money to finance their business plans, the market can bet on the likelihood of their long term success. When the borrowing becomes more difficult or more expensive, a bet on the auto makers becomes a little more of a long shot.
The bigger problem is that your statement contains a false premise. You can’t buy either business and just liquidate it. The Big Three all have agreements with the UAW that prohibit the sale of the business (or any significant portion of it) unless the buyer assumes the union contract and the liabilities under it. The principal liabilities are pension and health care beneffits for hundreds of thousands of retirees.
You are also assuming that the assets have value in excess of the debt already secured by them. I don’t know the answer to that question.
Only in a bankruptcy court could these obligations be undone without the consent of the UAW. That’s discussed as a possible course of action to save the companies (like UAL did) but it wipes out equity for holders of common stock.
Some industry analysts have said, not facetiously, that the main reason for existence of the Big Three has become the continuation of payment on promises to retirees.
moe–
Interesting letter from Ibershof, but has anyone actually attempted to “link the senator to acts perpetrated by Mr. Ayres” as he claims? I think it is pretty well-accepted that Obama was eight when the acts occurred (maybe 12 or 13 if he is lying about his age) and not a member of or bagman for the Weathermen. How could Obama possibly be linked to the acts committed by Ayres?
There has been an attempt to link Obama to Ayres. Mr. Ibershof doesn’t comment on what those links are, if any.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
The only ‘acts’ that could link Obama to Ayers are the meetings they attended together as members of the Annenberg charity board and the one coffee that Ayers gave for Obama when he first ran for state office. Other than that, the right wing has nothing. I will point out that Ayers is a Distinguished professor at the University of Illinois and received an award from the city of Chicago for his work in education. But if we go by the rabid right wing, he has to wear his scarlet “A” forever, there is no hope of redemption by subsequent good works. Yet this only applies selectively. G.Gordon Liddy, despite his criminal conviction and serving a prison sentence is deemed socially acceptable. These double standards are the downfall of the Republicans. Anyone who cites Ayers as a reason for not voting for Obama given the absolute lack of connections to anything that even remotely resembles a parking ticket, has my utter contempt.
Jeff Borden said on October 10th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
You guys wanna know something weird? I occasionally play poker with Bill Ayers’ younger brother, who also is involved in educational initiatives in the Chicago region. He’s no radical –has a big house in Oak Park and two daughters– but he does talk fast and likes expensive cigars.
Oh, wait, he must be a Castro lover!!!
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Wow! Just read this article by Dan Balz in the Post. This is analysis, not straight reporting, but, still, I was surprised to see this paragraph:
But what’s also clear is that McCain’s tactics are over the line, with no restraint in sight, and threaten to provoke reactions among partisans on both sides that will continue to escalate.
Balz a pretty, straight-up guy who has likely covered McCain for years – not a partisan. He’s also a very experienced reporter, so no stranger to what goes on in the last days of hard-fought races. Still, he seems genuinely shocked by what he is seeing.
Catherine said on October 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
My mind is made up, I love curried bnut squash and apple soup. There’s a great recipe in my Santa Fe cookbook (JL cookbooks generally rock, too).
And as Jeff said, “I cannot believe that the John McCain I might’ve considered voting for in 2000″ is sinking to these levels. To hear NPR tell it, he’s trying to keep it reasonably civilized but the Palin wing of his campaign thinks it’s time to play every single card in the hand. A few days ago, there was much discussion of the phrase, “That one.” It struck me as more condescending and angry than racist, and I thought to myself, when those folks actually play the race card, we’ll know. It won’t be subtle. Time to get ready to call, I think they’re about to play it.
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Jeff, that’s very funny. Today, Kathleen Parker, the conservative columnist who suggested that Sarah Palin should step down, said on MSNBC that the president of Northwestern University was also a member of the board for the Annenberg Challenge.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
They’re now going after Michelle Obama. I would call them swine, but I think too much of pigs:
http://tinyurl.com/4xr8ak
Jolene said on October 10th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Here is a very clear discussion of McCain’s health plan. I thought it was very useful. The author cuts to quick by pointing out that the distinction between them is the degree to which they focus on autonomy (McCain) vs. solidarity (Obama).
I’ve never been impressed w/ the idea that costs would diminish if people had to pay more directly for their own healthcare. It’s not an area in which most people can be smart shoppers – even for basic care, let alone the care you need if you get sick or injured.
There’s no parallel discussion of Obama’s plan, but perhaps that is coming.
Jeff Borden said on October 10th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
The McCain-Palin campaign enters subterranean territory. Two of their spokespeople are blasting Obama for “attacking” their supporters who yell “traitor,” “terrorist” or “kill him” at these rallies. This is in response to O-man’s comments earlier today about how easy it is to whip up a crowd frenzy.
Americans holding stocks have watched them decline in value by more than 30%. The world is slipping into a global depression. Freaking Iceland is bankrupt. And this is the level of discussion we get from the Republicans. God, what a bankrupt party.
joodyb said on October 10th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
do NOT open your 401(k) statements next week.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxL7MKsGoPo
Betty White
joodyb said on October 10th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
the international press is my only salvation right now.
http://tinyurl.com/4vmgsx
Gasman said on October 10th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
mark,
I am curious as to why you included the phrase “Obama was eight when the acts occurred (maybe 12 or 13 if he is lying about his age)”? Do you possess any evidence or facts that he may indeed be lying about his age? Why, in God’s name, would you include that charge? Is it not possible to admit that McCain is overstepping the boundaries of decency and truthfulness without insinuating another charge? You recklessly lob unsubstantiated charges over the transom and run. That is the kind of cowardly garbage that has been coming from McCain/Palin camp.
You cloak your post as a pseudo intellectual discussion of financial matters and then lob this turd into the mix. You then seem to suggest that the Ibershof denunciation is flawed as well because nobody has adequately disproved the association between Ayres and Obama. Are you suggesting that a lack of evidence is somehow evidence of coverup? If so, you’ve strayed into the realm of the clinically insane conspiracy nuts who see non-evidence as evidence in cloud patterns in the sky.
I’ve got another possibility as to why there is no evidence: there is indeed, no connection! Your suggestion that he might have been 12 or even 13 is beyond absurd! What f$%king difference could that possibly make? An eight year old Obama could not have anything to do with Ayers’ terrorist activities, but a 12 or 13 year old could?
You typify the tortured logic that must be employed to support the amoral candidacy of McCain and Palin. It seems that you’ve taken your cue from the top of the ticket. I’ve said it before, if your side is so damn good, why do you have to resort to such sleazy tactics to advance your cause? Now I see that your side has resorted to attacking Michelle Obama because “she might have known” Ayres’ wife. What desperation the McCain camp must be feeling to sink so low.
moe99 said on October 10th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Alaska panel report released by unanimous vote (lots of Repubs there). Finds Palin abused her power when she fired Walt Moneghan. This isn’t the kind of person we want as vp, my friends.
Here’s the report…all 263 pages of it for you night owls:
http://tinyurl.com/4262tq
LA Mary said on October 10th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Too late for me, Joodyb, or rather too late for my ex who never changed his address with Janus fund. He’s not looking too good. Lost about a third.
joodyb said on October 10th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
we’re told not to be surprised at 30% losses. i amazingly dumped my PIMCO bond fund allocation into Contrafund when Lehman Bros. went belly-up. the rumor the day before was that most of my pimco fund’s cash holdings were in Lehman. otherwise i’d be worse off.
just keep thinking it’s LONG TERM, if you can maintain faith in free enterprise, that is.
i see it as money i never really had. just doing my part for the 8+trillion in paper losses.
joodyb said on October 10th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
a good resource for us insomniacs, moe. thanks.
Jolene said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Something else for insomniaics: a touching and insightful essay re how black Americans would feel if Obama loses by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the person whose blog and book I mentioned a while back.
mark said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:21 am
gasman–
You need to take it easy.
The parenthetical about Obama’s age was an attempt at humor, nothing more. I found the suggestion that Obama could be linked to Ayres’ bombing activities absurd– humorously so. Obama was playing kickball or something when Ayres was blowing things up.
Cloaking? I responded to two different subjects, raised by different authors in separate posts. Responding sequentially seemed like a reasonable approach.
If, to you, my prior post “seem[s] to suggest that the Ibershof denunciation is flawed as well because nobody has adequately disproved the association between Ayres and Obama,” then you should read more carefully before responding. I suggested that Ibershoff refutes a link that nobody has claimed (Obama to Ayres’ activities), and says nothing about the link that some have alleged (Obama to Ayres).
And that is all I suggested in the five sentences I wrote.
I don’t consider myself to be on a “side” so your comments directed to the same aren’t of much interest to me.
And thank you for the very demonstrative lecture on tortured logic and sleazy tactics.
Gasman said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:45 am
So, the best that Saint Sarah, Queen of All That Is Righteous, can claim is that she didn’t break the law concerning the firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. However, the bipartisan — let me say that again — BIPARTISAN commission ruled UNANIMOUSLY that she abused her authority and did violate state ethics law in trying to get her ex-brother in law fired. I might not be so smug had she not been the offered up as the moralist emissary of the fundagelicals, a fresh faced Christian beauty queen who would usher in the Will Of God into this race against the pagan, Muslim, terrorist Obama. Cue crowd: Kill him! Kill him!
I am going to enjoy listening to the spin that the McCain/Palin campaign is going to try and put on this. It reminds me of Republican Governor Bill Clements of Texas whose lies were revealed immediately after his second election. His defense? “There wasn’t a Bible in the room!” Palin is an arrogant bully, a liar, and now, a criminal. But I’m sure Jesus would have done the same. I see Satan’s bony red hand behind all of this!
Let us not forget that Palin came into office pledging to be open, honest, and ethical in contrast to her predecessor. I wonder when those promises start to kick in?
Palin is just another in a long line of ethically challenged Republicans that the party keeps trotting out. A word out to Republicans: if you could possibly manage to find some honest and trustworthy candidates, your reputation, record, high rate of indictments/convictions, and electoral results might not be so bad. Maybe this, along with the abysmally grubby nature of the McCain/Palin campaign will help usher in the reform this party has needed for nearly 3 decades.
McCain and Palin are SOOOOO going to lose! Hallelujah!
Gasman said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am
mark,
Your attempts at humor look for all the world suspiciously like the charges that you have trotted out in your various posting personae. If you need to explain the joke, it’s not much of a joke.
Dexter said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:53 am
…“he’s uh ARAB!!”
…“I’m SCARED to have my newborn brought into a world with Obama as President!”
Thank you, racist repuggs ! You made your candidate abandon his hate campaign…now where will he turn; who will he turn to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lN_ARlru_w&feature=related
Gasman said on October 11th, 2008 at 1:39 am
It seems that as John McCain looked down into the gaping yaw of the monster he created, and he blinked. He seems to be recoiling from his own handiwork:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SISrkLAcdTM
I must confess that after all of the rancor and character assassination that he has orchestrated against Obama, I would not have thought that he was capable anymore of basic decency. I hope that he can reign in his surrogates, Palin, and Repugnantcan zombies who are still chanting, “Kill Him! He’s a TERROROIST! He’s an ARAB! Kill Him! KILL HIM, NOW!”
Maybe, just maybe McCain can end his political career on a somewhat higher note. Let us hope. I would happily lend him a hand if he were willing to step up out of the gutter. As a Presbyterian, I am all in favor of redemption.
Gasman said on October 11th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Am I psychic, or what?:
“If you read the report, you will see that there was nothing unlawful,” Palin said as she emerged from her hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
As I predicted, she seems to think that merely not breaking the law in firing Walt Monegan is something to be proud of. Aside from receiving a major smackdown from her fellow Republicans on the bipartisan commission, the most damning thing in the report was what was not said:
“The Branchflower report states Todd Palin used his wife’s office and its resources to press for Wooten’s removal, and the governor “failed to act” to stop it. But because Todd Palin is not a state employee, the report makes no finding regarding his conduct.”
Todd Palin seems to have been acting as Deputy Governor, doing whatever he damned well pleased. Last time I checked, his name was never on any ballot. To whom is he accountable? Would he exercise the same kind of rogue unofficial official portfolio as Second Dude of the United States? Remember, this is the same guy who thinks that secession is an option for states. Just another reason to make sure Todd’s wife never, ever, EVER gets near the White House — except as a visitor.
moe99 said on October 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Gasman, don’t be too sanguine about McCain’s ‘reformation.’ NPR this am said that 15 minutes later at the rally he was back to demonizing Obama for his association with Ayers. It’s like he can’t really quit himself of the practice, it’s too ingrained in him now.
moe99 said on October 11th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
This was too long to post here, so I wrote it over there:
http://tinyurl.com/3muqyj
Gasman said on October 11th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
moe99,
You’ve echoed my sentiments. I hope that McCain’s brief retreat is a signal of his reluctance to pursue the “kitchen sink” strategy. He launched it on Monday here in Albuquerque and by Friday his mobs were already uncontrollable. Incidentally, I saw that the Secret Service is investigating the “Kill Him!” comments. They take a dim view on threats toward their charges. McCain is suffering some pretty severe blowback already from his new scorched earth policy. If he doesn’t back off, I predict he will push many prominent Republicans to disavow him. I guess his conduct this weekend will indicate which way McCain intends to go. Which candidate has looked the most presidential this week?
Any McCain supporters who are left, please view this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rUTXfuz6S0&feature=related
Would you care to say now that McCain is not a liar?
moe99 said on October 11th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
An invocation given at a McCain rally. From the AP
“I would also pray, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons,” [Pastor] Conrad said.
“And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and Election Day,”
James said on October 11th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
You can’t blame McCain for his actions.
He has an excuse.
James said on October 11th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Moe99:
That’s just… crazy. Supplicating to a God who you believe vain enough to intercede in an election, just to preserve his rep.
Insanity.
caliban said on October 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Sarah told Bill Kristol she couldn’t understand why Mc’Cain didn’t bring up the pastor. Ahem. Well, there’s Pastor Hagee:
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/the_mccainhagee_connection_1.php
This guy’s a world-class anti-semite. More than that, this guy call’s my church the Whore of Babylon. If you live in the unined states (Can the whiney little ahole speak English or only whine? Or talk like Gidget?)
Then there’s Ms. Palins pastor, who probably believes in female circumcision.
The board on which Obama served with ayres was selected by th Annenberg Foundation. Big time terriss. Well, no, so Republican it could make you gag.
So what is the woman that sleeps with the Alaskan separatist trying to pull? She sleeps with the asshole.
If there’s something mor tenuuous than non-esistent, I’d like to hear the word.
Now, om the other hand, ‘Kill Obama’. ‘Bomb Abama’. These assholes never heard of the little firls in Birmingham. What I’d like to know for a fact, how do you say ‘Kill Obama’ in a nest of Special Agents and not get arrested? If somebody said kill McCain, they would have been pummeled, beaten, detained.
How do people deal with unlatching from relity? Sarah can’t talk about a pasoor. Her’s is insane.
MccCain can’t talk about pastors.
Republicans cant deal with cheating. In 2004, Diebold’s CEO said he’d do whatever it took fo W to win. Anybody that doesn’t think Republicans didn’t counter in Cuyahoga County is an idiot.
And we’ve got ACPRN and their maybe 3.000 votes that don’t count. Between 19975 and 2007, know how many fraudulent botes GOP identified? Fewer than 2000. In the country. Doesn’t quite get the Deibold bullshit in Ohio.
Democrats dont cheat, Republicans cheat their asses off.
But you people that read Nancy Nall. So you buy raicism I xan’t believe that. . Obama is dangerous? Yeah. He’s a wilding nutcase.So aside from footbaL
How does the lying ass Tenness
ee GOP claim they aren’t dogass pass ibterference. Tennesse could go 0 – 1 9n the Pac PAC-TEN
Regarding Sarah: Does this bimbo want to bring up pastors with hers in the windand entirely a nutcase? and Pstor Hagee?
How do Americans take on racists? If you just decide Obama’s un-presidential and scary, . You are a racist piece of shit that really ought to be disenfrannchised.
You people go to McCain ralless and say Kill Obama. And Bomb Obama. Are you so dense, or such unrecalcitrant racists you don’t know agout the bombing of little girls in Birmingham?
What conceivable argument could you present to the disgusting shit you fomented? Bomb Obama? You peo[le are so despicable, it’s difficult to comprehend.
My feeling about Sarah? Spiro. I know you all appreciate the language, is there somethingmore tenuouis than tenuous trhatding Ayres?Muons? Doesn’t come dowm to sleeping with and giving the you’vetcha to a bunch of Alaska whacks tha have their terroris bonafides on the wall. But those people are right?
If you believe in the Constitution, you sure as shit don’t buy unitary presidency. Tell you what. Unitary Presidency means W should jave been king. Mc’Cain is an idiot, but he thinks this is right.YOU BUY THAT SHIT?
i T
Joe K said on October 12th, 2008 at 8:01 am
If you care to take a unbiased look at what type of political landscape Obama came out of, click over to the Chicago Tribune sight and read columnist John Kass, he has had a few good articals on the Chicago machine and the unrepentant Ayers fellow.
Interesting read.
Joe
alex said on October 12th, 2008 at 9:07 am
McCain’s only pretending to have gotten religion as regards the rallies, and Frank Rich says it quite well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12rich.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
The Obama camp is right not to concur with the comparisons between McCain and George Wallace. Wallace didn’t talk out of both sides of his mouth.
Emptywheel » Better Targeting?!?!? said on October 10th, 2009 at 10:52 am
[…] gotten a fair amount of direct mail from McCain and some robocalls. Just last week, I got this mail piece, designed to convince me Palin is a nice moderate mommy who will bring peace and joy to the McCain […]