Titanic

Like rats from a sinking ship, embattled GOP office holders are running from George Bush and John McCain:

Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend.

Still, somehow I'm sure this is great news for the GOP and John McCain.

Give Women Some Credit, Please

I must have missed the memo stating that the only woman acceptable to all other women voters as Obama's VP nominee is Hillary.

I can understand the tendency in the traditional media to treat women as a monolithic and mindless voting bloc given Big Media's blatant chauvinism and the play that women's support of Hillary got in the primaries. But us DFH bloggers should be smarter than that.

I've also said I think it would backfire for Obama to choose a woman other than Hillary Clinton for a running mate. If he wants his VP choice to help boost his support among women, he should pick the woman who received more than 17 million votes for president in the primaries.

The polling is showing that Obama is doing quite well among women without Hillary on the ticket. To think he'll suffer in the women's vote if he picks a woman other than Hillary is a pretty weak, and rather dull, argument.

Would he lose support among Latinos if he picks a Latino other than Bill Richardson? I seriously doubt it. I also seriously doubt any knowledgeable person would actually try to make such an argument.

Making this argument about Hillary only plays into the media's hand that there is some sort of fight to be had between the Clinton and Obama camps on this issue. The media wants a fight to spice things up. IMHO, I doubt either Obama or Clinton will let it come to that.

Finally, what I find fascinating, and very hopeful for our democracy, is that there are several great woman candidates for the VP (in addition to the fact that there was a very good choice for POTUS) - Clinton, Sebelius, Napolitano, McCaskill, etc.

I find it absurd that women would abandon Obama in droves because he put any woman on the ticket.

Always Good News for Republicans

A really stupid question:

But do consider this question: Which candidate has the bigger problem in the polls -- Obama (who seems to have hit a ceiling in the high 40s) or the better-known McCain (who’s stuck in the low 40s in many national or state polls)?

gets and even more stupid answer:

It's a problem for both, but the fact that McCain can't get past 45% in so many polls could be the bigger problem. [emphasis added]

Could be the bigger problem? WTF???

The mountain of polling shows that McCain is clearly and definitively LOSING this election, but MSNBC's First Read still must put this groaner out there - even though Obama is consistently outpolling his opponent, he may have a big problem because he's not winning by 10 points! I really don't think this piece would be any different if the poll said Obama was up 15. Or 20. Or 40.

The meme is always in place - whatever is happening, it's always good news for Republicans.

I know I shouldn't, but I expect better from something with Chuck Todd's name on it.

Insinuations

So if it's ok to question Senator Obama's "American-ness" - then it must be ok to insinuate things about other people. Like.....

Rudy Guliani may be a transsexual because he has, on occasion, worn women's clothes.

And Mittster might be a sadistic serial animal torturer because he once drove hundreds of miles with his dog strapped to the roof of his car.

Let me repeat:

Rudy = transsexual;

Mitt = animal torturer.

The March to Victory

John McCain promises to balance the budget by winning both the Afghan and Iraq Wars by the end of his first term.

Brilliant!

The McCain administration would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction.

V-SM (Victory-Saint McCain) Day is January 20, 2013. Great, I've got it marked on my calendar.

Now, how's that March to Victory coming along?

Today in Afghanistan:

A car bomb went off on a crowded street Monday near the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.

Today in Iraq:

Mr al-Maliki’s claim to have defeated terrorism was further tested today when a female suicide bomber killed nine people in Baqouba, a town still under threat from Al Qaeda-linked militants, while 16 Iraqis were killed on Sunday in a spate of attacks.

Today in Pakistan:

One person was killed and 37 others injured on Monday in a string of six bomb blasts in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, raising tensions a day after a major suicide attack in the capital.

I guess it's not going to be a victory for some people.

Will any of our intrepid journalists riding on the Straight Talk Express ask St. McCain this question when they present him his coffee and doughnuts:

"Saint..er, I mean Senator McCain, if ending the war allows you to balance the budget, are you saying that if there had been no war our economy wouldn't be in shambles now?"

And if winning allows us to balance the budget, then how do we keep our troops in Iraq for a hundred years. And if we have to keep our troops there until they stop getting killed, so that we can then keep them there for 100 years, then how do also claim victory? And if we have to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years, how do we claim victory four years from now?

I guess I can finally see why he's called Senator Straight Talk. He's the only person on earth who can keep all the contradictions straight in his head.

Just another day on THE MARCH TO VICTORY!

Obama's Response

I can understand Obama's belief that the best option for him is to support the bill minus immunity. I totally get his reasoning. Don't agree with it, but I get it and I can live with it.

What his response to the 'No on Telecom Immunity' group lacks though, is an explanation of what he'll do if the Feingold-Dodd amendment fails. His previous statements suggest that he will support the bill. His response today could also be read that way.

I'm just not convinced by Obama that he's right on this piece of it. I don't think it's the best political position. I believe he can vote NO on the bill if it includes immunity and the electorate will not only be fine with it, they may even be more inclined to vote Obama than before.

The real fundamental issue here is this: George Bush, John McCain and the GOP put corporate interests ahead of the interests of the American people. It's that simple. And it's already a well-known truth with the electorate. Giving in to the telecoms doesn't demonstrate the big Change we all want, it's simply more fealty to Corporate America. It's just another sell-out.

George Bush has spent the last 8 years selling out the interests of the American people to every corporate interest that's come along. How exactly has selling out the people's interest made us safer? Big Oil has basically destroyed the known world and through the Iraq War caused most other countries in the world to hate Americans, to say nothing of bearing the responsibility for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. How has that made us safer?

Look at the airline industry and the problems with safety inspections. Look at the food industry. Look at health care and big pharma. How has giving in to corporate interests made us safer? Standing up to the Corporate Juggernaut steamrolling over the interests of the American people will do more to keep us safe then just about any other action any person can possibly take.

Giving immunity to the telecoms is just More Of The Same. Change is standing up to Mr. 25%, St. McCain and the Telecoms and telling them to go pound sand.

If immunity is in the bill, vote no.