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Even after the unveiling of Wonder Woman, reminding us for days that he was imprisoned FIVE-AND-A-HALF YEARS in a POW camp, and saying he’d work with Democrats after he lashed them in front of his pachyderm brethren, John McCain still lags behind Barack Obama.
From Electoral Votes:
(Hat tip to Nick Douglas)
Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr was a guest on today’s installment of Democracy Now!
I’m not yelling. The exclamation point is in the show’s name.
I haven’t listened yet, but the former Republican Congressman from Georgia apparently talks about why he left the Republican Party, the Iraq War, and the exclusion of Libertarians, Greens, and independents from the upcoming presidential debates.
One of my favorite conservative columnists is the Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan. A former Reagan speechwriter. I don’t typically agree with her, but her prose is graceful and she doesn’t ooze venom, loathing and opportunistic cynicism like Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, et al.
Unfortunately, her column today on Gov. Sarah Palin was wishy-washy crap.
The Sarah Palin choice is really going to work, or really not going to work. It’s not going to be a little successful or a little not; it’s not going to be a wash. She is either going to be magic or one of history’s accidents.
Peggy Noonan loves Sarah Palin. No, wait, Peggy Noonan hates Sarah Palin.
Noonan’s an experienced political hand who certainly has a more-informed opinion than most. She’s simply not willing to share it on the record.
It’s like Noonan’s got a gun to her head while gargling the Palin Kool-Aid; unwilling to spit it out for fear or pissing off her Republican fans, and unwilling to swallow it because she doesn’t want to be on the record saying anything positive about someone she knows is poison for her party.
How do I know what Noonan really thinks of Palin?
Because she accidentally told me today.
When she thought the mics were off after an interview on NBC today, Noonan called McCain’s selection of Palin “political bullshit” and said, presumably of McCain’s chances of winning, “It’s over.”
I eagerly await Buzz Brockway and gang at Peach Pundit denouncing of Peggy Noonan as a high-tech lyncher.
Your daily dose of wacky Sarah Palin art, courtesy of The Searcher on Flickr. (Click the link for an excellent pseudo-interview, as well.)
When Sen. John McCain tapped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday, several contributors to the local conservative blog Peach Pundit shared a group orgasm.
“I heart John McCain.” “Brilliant.” “Absolutely BRILLIANT!” “outstanding choice”
And my personal favorite: “John McCain has saved the GOP today.”
As it turns-out, the Palin pick is quickly turning into a disaster for the Republican Party.
In addition to some personal issues about which I don’t especially care (yet), it turns out:
a) Palin misled the public about her involvement in the so-called Troopergate scandal.
b) Palin was for the infamous Bridge To Nowhere pork project before she was against it.
c) Palin and herhusband belonged to a secessionist political group.
What do Peach Pundit’s bloggers have to say about this?
As of 11:25 this morning, almost nothing.
Maybe they’re just stunned, as am I, that McCain would pick a one-time secessionist for the number-two spot in a campaign whose slogan is “Country First.”
I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be so quiet if Obama or Biden were the pork-loving, lying, secessionists in question.
UPDATE & CORRECTION: On Monday, the chairperson of the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party claimed Sarah Palin was a member during the 1990s. On Tuesday, she said she was mistaken. She was registered Republican during this period.
She did, however, send the secessionists a videotaped message in 2006 telling them “keep up the good work.” I’d like to know what she meant by that.
We here at Creative Loafing Enterprises Inc. Ltd. like to stay above the dirt and the muck, opting instead to pursue truth with our swords of reason, research and…uhm…resolve? With that being said, I present thee:
(Photo Illustration courtesy of ICanHasWar.com)
Barack Obama’s campaign is not playing around in the Peach State. Just weeks after announcing 15 new offices in Georgia, the Democratic presidential nominee opened four more today, bringing the grand total in the state to 31.
“Our goal is to reach every corner of this state and every Georgian with our movement for change,” said Georgia Obama for America State Director Antwaun Griffin. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve not voted for a Democrat before or even if you’ve never voted before. We are asking for you to join us and make this your campaign.”
Here are the addresses:
SUWANEE
3245 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road,
Suite 10, Suwanee, GA 30024
FAYETTEVILLE
101 Devant St, Suite 501,
Fayetteville, GA 30214
MORRIS BROWN
643 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr NW,
Atlanta, GA 30314
ROSWELL
1020 Woodstock Rd, Suite 2108 and 2110,
Roswell, GA 30075
In an interview just a month ago, [Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin] dissed the job, saying it didn’t seem “productive.”
In fact, she said she doesn’t know what the vice president does.
…
Larry Kudlow of CNBC’s “Kudlow & Co.” asked her about the possibility of becoming McCain’s ticket mate.
Palin replied: “As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.”
I guess John McCain explicitly stated what he wants his vice president to do.
AJC conservo-columnist Jim Wooten writes of John McCain’s choice of VP: “Pinch me. Yes!”
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whom Wooten applauds for not having aborted her Downs syndrome baby born earlier this year, is sure to strike a chord in a certain demographic. Finally, a candidate Cobb County soccer MILFs can rally around.
Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn held a conference call yesterday with reporters and spoke about Barack Obama’s selection of U.S. Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, the Democrats’ chances of winning Georgia, and his own role in a possible Obama administration.
If you want to hear the discussion in its entirety, check it out below.
There are three words, former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn said, that describe Joe Biden, his former colleague and the man Barack Obama tapped as his vice presidential running mate.
Experience, integrity and sound judgment. More like four words, but you get the idea.
In a conference call with reporters today, Nunn framed the Delaware senator as a family man who rarely — if ever — spent a night in Washington, opting to take the hour-and-a-half train ride to Delaware every day to be with his wife and sons. He called Biden a leader in public safety issues – “I don’t know who’s been a better friend to policeman and firefighters than Joe,” Nunn said – as well as a champion for women’s rights, veterans, and a crusader in the fight against global warming.
“I think Sen. Obama made an excellent decision,” Nunn said. “The most important thing in selecting a vice presidential candidate is “would he make a good president of the United States?’ The answer is yes.”
When asked if he thought Biden’s reputation as a liberal statesman didn’t balance the ticket, Nunn disagreed with the notion and said that it ultimately doesn’t make any sense.
I don’t know how you make a record on liberal and conservative these days,” Nunn said. “We’ve had a conservative Republican Congress, so to speak, and a conservative president, and we’ve run up one of the most astounding deficits in the history of our nation. What does conservative mean in terms of fiscal? What does conservative mean in terms of energy? Is it conservative now to believe that the market is going to solve all the energy problems, or are we going to have government step up to the plate?”
The repeated claims that a McCain administration would be a repeat of the Bush administration is fair game, Nunn said, adding that the past decisions of Obama’s opponent give a glimpse of what could happen in the future.
“Clearly Sen. McCain has agreed with Pres. Bush on most foreign policy items, including the Iraq War,” he said. “Clearly he’s agreed with Pres. Bush on most economic matters.”
Nunn veered into an analysis of the nation’s financial woes as well, tying the costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the United State’s precarious economic state.
“Basically, we’re borrowing money from China to pay for our conflicts in the Middle East,” he said. “The Chinese investments in American dollar keeps our dollar from falling off the table. If they were to make a massive shift now in purchasing American debt, we would have a very abrupt fall of the American dollar and a very serious inflation in the county and devastation of the American financial situation. I don’t think it’s negative campaigning to [highlight those decisions]. I think that’s fair play… I consider it dealing with the facts and dealing with the future.”
Nunn says he hasn’t spoken with the Obama camp about playing a role in the potential administration. He said a return to public service would hinge on what his family wants, who his colleagues would be, and what role he would be expected to play. In the meantime, he’s busy – but he’s supportive.
“I’ve got my hands full. I’m on corporate boards, I’m basically running a foundation,” Nunn said. “The role I will play will be primarily on the sidelines… if I’m asked to give advice on security or foreign policy or other matters, I will do so. But I’m not going to be a surrogate. I’m not going to be out on the campaign trail unless Sen. Obama is in Georgia or it’s something I can do with my schedule.”
On what the Democrats have to do this fall to be competitive, Nunn said, “Young people have to be much more involved. They have to vote. A lot of times young people get registered but then forget about the fact they have to vote.”
He said that he expects young people and minorities to support Obama, but that alone will not turn the tide in Georgia.
“The young people vote and the minority vote will not carry the state,” Nunn said. He stressed that Obama will have to appeal to blue-collar workers and the middle class if he plans to win the notoriously Republican stronghold.
“Georgia’s an uphill fight,” he said. “But it’s in play.”
It’s refreshing to see a candidate not focus entirely on eating BBQ in Kansas and churning butter out in the sticks. Those voters and their concerns matter, but so do those who live in the nation’s economic engines: Urban areas, such as Atlanta.
And the Wall Street Journal reports Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is set to relaunch his urban platform today that he says would aid our beleaguered cities.
The article is so chockful of information that it deserves to be read more than reviewed, but here are some snippets:
The wide-ranging plan contains bedrock Democratic principles, pledging to increase funding for affordable housing, raise the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011, triple the income-tax credit tied to that wage and fully fund the federal No Child Left Behind policy for schools.
Centerpieces include creation of a new White House Office of Urban Policy and the restoration of billions of dollars cut from community block grants, a key source of funding for cities.
In a nod to one of the mayors’ top priorities, Sen. Obama would open a national bank, seeded with $60 billion over 10 years, to finance road, bridge, airport and other public-works projects in metropolitan areas. The bank would be modeled on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., with an independent board of directors.
Sen. Obama says his administration would shift urban-policy making to so-called smart-growth strategies that synchronize transportation, commercial and housing needs for entire regions, rather than following the tradition of focusing first on fighting poverty and crime. He would fund $200 million in annual grants to develop “regional clusters,” such as the high-technology-focused area known as the Research Triangle in North Carolina.
(Thanks to Christa for the find)
James from ArcOfTime popped my Obama bubble in a previous post’s comments and reminded me that there are indeed parties planned in the metro Atlanta area to watch John McCain speak at the Republican National Convention.
Click here to see all the McCain events within a 100-mile radius of CL’s Communist stronghold. (I tried 25 miles first, but that zone was blue as blue as can be. Y’all deserve options!)
And as a sidenote to James’ comment that there are only five Republican Fresh Loaf readers — please, my right-leaning friends, do not be afraid to speak up. Criticize us, malign our views, insult our intelligence(s). But remember: At the end of the day, we can do more together than we can apart. Vaya con Dios, pachyderms!
In a move that clearly shows he thinks the reddest of red states is in play, the Barack Obama campaign has added 15 more offices to its existing presence in Georgia, bringing the grand total of Hope Depots to 27.
What does all this mean, Antwaun Griffin, Georgia state director for Obama?
“We are building our movement for change in Georgia because we believe that Georgia voters deserve to hear what is at stake in this election,” said Antwaun Griffin, Georgia state director for Obama. “We are reaching to every corner of the state, even areas that maybe haven’t voted for a Democrat before, to encourage all Georgians to get involved.”
Each office will be holding an open house tomorrow at 10 a.m. The full list locations is pasted after the jump.
— Georgia has its own Montauk Monster, and it’s called, simply, Bigfoot. Details will be unveiled Friday, so says Peach Pundit.
— Despite evidence to the contrary, Georgia Politics Unfiltered claims, “There is no sex in the courtrooms of Cobb County Superior Court (or the judge’s chambers for that matter).” Does lesbian sex count?
— Georgia Politics Unfiltered also updates a post from yesterday that hyped today’s political forecast from CQ Politics. CQ’s shocking revelation: In the presidential election, Georgia is “Republican Favored”!
— According to Lucid Idiocy, the food crisis is over. Gov. Sonny Perdue supports biofuels. And the Montauk Monster was spotted drinking margaritas at the Jekyll Island Club. (OK, I made that last one up.)
— Georgia On My Mind has posted photos of the ancient Etowah Indian Mounds. No apparent news there, seeing as how they were built nearly 1,100 years ago. They’re real purty, though.
— Media Matters‘ SpaceyG says she isn’t all that bummed about waking up with John McCain. Political Insider’s Jim Galloway says McCain isn’t all all thrilled about waking up with Ralph Reed. No word on who John Edwards is waking up with.
