2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain, who spurned Charlie Crist in his vice presidential selection process, has endorsed the Florida governor in Crist’s bid for the U.S. Senate in 2010. The Florida Capital Bureau reports:
clairecmc Voted yes on McCain amendment. Awkward when I disagree with party leadership but I really think McCain is right on this one.
15 minutes ago from TinyTwitter
(Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is talking about supporting John McCain’s amendment today to scrap the recently passed $410 billion omnibus spending authorization bill because of its many earmarks. GoxExec reported:
Congress would extend expiring stopgap spending legislation through fiscal 2009 that would fund several government programs at fiscal 2008 levels and scrap a $410 billion omnibus fiscal 2009 appropriations bill the Senate began considering Monday, under an amendment introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “The approach is fiscally responsible, disciplined and expeditious, which is why just two years ago we agreed to nearly the exact same approach” for fiscal 2008 appropriations, McCain said.)
—
Follow PoHo’s tweets on politics and media news on Twitter.
By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor
Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio. This is his first post as a PoHo contributor.
Perhaps because of the mind blowing dollars attached to his policy prescriptions to change the country, President Obama’s announcement last Friday that he will withdraw all combat forces from Iraq by next summer and all remaining U.S. troops by the end of 2011 hardly registered as a momentous event on the national scene.. That is, if you go by the measure of how the D.C. press corps addresses news emanating from the Obama administration, which sometimes seems to be viewed through the prism of “How pissed are Congressional Republicans about it?”
Barack Obama told a bipartisan dinner in honor of his vanquished foe, Sen. John McCain, that the Republican from Arizona is a true patriot.
“And I’d like to close by asking all of you to join us in making this bipartisan dinner not just an inaugural tradition, but a new way of doing the people’s business in this city,” Obama said. “We will not always agree on everything in the months to come, and we will have our share of arguments and debates. But let us strive always to find that common ground….”
Full text of remarks after the jump:
What would The Matrix have been like if the machines were Windows users? Click play to find out (and watch out for the paper clip!)
Last night, Sen. Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain and was elected the 44th President of the United States. He then delivered the following speech to the incredible crowd in Chicago’s Grant Park. Here’s looking forward to the next four years …
Early results are in, and the race between Lando Carlissian and Emperor Palpatine is still too close to call. As expected, Calrissian (shown left, receiving an endorsement from reformed rogue Han Solo) has carried the planet Bespin, home of the mining colony Cloud City, as well as Tatooine, where the Hutts are desperate to hold on to their independence, fearful of interference in their lucrative smuggling 
operations. And thanks to the symbiotic cooperation of the underwater Gungans and surface-dwelling, peace-loving humans, Naboo has also gone for Lando.
Palpatine, for his part, has taken the volcanic planet of Mustafar and Geonosis, territories where Imperialist sympathies run high.
And while Obama has Ralph Nader as a potential spoiler here on Earth, Palpatine has had to contend with the renegade Cheney-Vader ticket. But despite some last
-minute campaigning in heavily contested battleground planets, including Hoth and the Galactic Center of Coruscant, the pair has yet to draw any significant number of votes from the front-runner.
Far more damaging to Palpatine’s hopes to retain power have been a series of attack ads noting his remarkable resemblance to Joe Lieberman, who is looked upon very unfavorably throughout the Republic.
We’ll have election updates from the Dagobah system, Kashyyyk and the moon of Endor as soon as they come in. Stay tuned.
We’ll conclude our election series that looks at the opinions of a variety of people in Tampa Bay about who should be our next president. You can make your voice heard in two ways: take our unscientific survey after the jump and Get Out To Vote!
Paul Pelak, professional photographer and college educator in Tampa
He’s voting for: The registered Independent hasn’t yet made a choice. “I am still torn.”
Why? “My dad’s a Democrat because he’s a union carpenter. I have my own business, so I can see where the Republicans make a lot of sense. It’s a malaise. I think everyone is waiting for something that is not business as usual. You keep on hoping for an independent third party.”
Local candidate who most interests him? No one. “My time factor at work … has torn me away. I have not gotten into the local races because I feel they have the least effect on my life.”
T. Hampton Dunn, founder of [5]art gallery in St. Petersburg
He’s voting for: Barack Obama
Why? “Although there are a number of reasons, my current motivation is to vote against the possibility of President Palin.”
What he would say to a McCain supporter: “Can you really vote for a group that thinks nominating Sara Palin was a good decision?”
Local candidate who most interests him: “With everything else that’s going on in the world, local politics usually takes a back seat.”
Gregory Giordano, chief legislative assistant to state Sen. Mike Fasano
He’s voting for: John McCain
Why? “The life issue is very important to me, and I believe John McCain has a very solid record of standing for the rights of the unborn. As well, I believe he has the most experience, not only legislatively, but through his military and what it means to be a front-line soldier and what they have to experience and as commander in chief, I believe he would use his military experience to understand the needs of the soldiers on the front line as well as have the strategic or tactical understanding of being head of the worlds strongest military.”
What he would say to an Obama supporter: “I would suggest that an Obama supporter truly understand the background of that individual and how their experience would translate into the US. Does he have the wide-ranging experience to run the military, to understand the legislative process in grave detail? Does he have the experience as an executive? I would just encourage an Obama supporter to look at that, all the items, as well as make certain that the voters core beliefs in whatever issues life, taxation, health, match up with the positions that Mr. Obama has professed.”
Tonight’s the night! After two frickin’ years of Barack and McCain, Hillary and Huckabee, “bitter” and “you betcha!,” it’s finally election day. Get out there an vote! Your country needs you. In the meantime, here’s NBC’s great Chuck Todd on what to look for after the polls close.
Coverage from throughout Florida’s media. Top line is that Mike Alstott, former Buc running back, introduced John McCain:
Palm Beach Post: John McCain made his final pitch for Florida’s crucial 27 electoral votes here this morning, then planned to hit six other states today in a bid to pull off a come-from-behind presidential victory.
“The pundits may not know it, the Democrats may not know it, but the Mac is back,” a raspy-voiced McCain told a crowd of more than 1,000 outside Raymond James Stadium.
McCain was introduced by Gov. Charlie Crist and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Mike Allstot. He was interrupted at one point by competing chants of “Nobama, Nobama” and “U.S.A., U.S.A.”
Orlando Sentinel: A defiant John McCain made one final plea to Florida voters this morning, imploring supporters at a boisterous rally here to ignore polls suggesting the election may be out of reach and turn out to vote Tuesday.
Nothing is inevitable,” McCain told the cheering and chanting throng of about 1,000 outside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. “We never hide from history. We make history!”
Resurrecting the slogan that carried him through his improbable, come-from-behind run to the Republican nomination during the primaries, McCain told the crowd, “The pundits may not know it, the Democrats may not know it, but the Mac is back!”
A Tampa Bay crabber weighs in with his choice in tomorrow’s presidential election, and you can, too, by taking our unscientific survey after the jump.
Gus Muench, Tampa native and professional crabber
He’s voting for: “Not McCain! But [it] makes no difference who is elected. U.S. policies will not change. Too many people on the government payroll. Are we going to put them out on the street? I don’t think so!”
Why? “Republican policies. The Bush administration has acted as dictators in the world and USA.”
Local candidate who most interests him: Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham. “Al has not sat on the sidelines, and he wants to know what is happening in the community and the environment. You’ll see the commissioner attending Chamber [of Commerce], Agency on Bay Management, county and community meetings. The commissioner is a big asset to Hillsborough County.”
Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve got to hand it to John McCain: The Senator’s appearance on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live was by far the funniest appearance by any candidate this election season. (Note to Hulu: Post “Giraffes” now!)
Ron Howard wants Barack Obama to win so badly that he was willing to complete sacrifice his dignity and make the following video. Way to go, Opie. Happy Halloween everyone!
John McCain is down the street from our West Tampa news factory, at the University of Tampa. But as William March of the Tampa Tribune points out in his blog, it is damned unusual to see the candidate have a no-press, no-public event so close to the election:
One thing some of them can’t figure out is why, just six days before the election, McCain is holding an event in Tampa that’s closed to most of the media and the public.
“I don’t know. I’ve been asking the same question,” said Pinellas County Republican Party Chairman Tony DiMatteo.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, McCain’s county co-chairman, emphasized that national security concerns could affect voter decisions.
“It’s a very important issue at a time when people are beginning to focus” on the election, he said.
As to why McCain would hold a closed event, he said, “McCain doesn’t always do things that appear on their face to be purely political—he just does what seems right.”
As if there weren’t enough reasons already to hate reality television shows, let’s consider the case of Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Shot to (what passes today for) stardom on Survivor: Australian Outback in 2001, she obviously was thrust into the public realm long before the important parts of her 
brain had a chance to fully develop (she does, nonetheless, have a degree from Boston College).
It was a short hop, skip and a jump from there to fame as one of the four yentas on The View, the sacrificial winger for Joy Behar, Rosie O’Donnell and others to use as a human punching bag. It was sort of cute and harmless entertainment.
But on Sunday, Hasselbeck took her shilling for the right-wing of the Republican Party to the next level, showing up in Tampa to introduce Sarah Palin to a crowd of like-minded wingbots:
Clearly cuing up the next phase of her evolution, errr God-directed intelligent design, Hasselbeck is riding the flag pin thing to the next level — it’s all linked in to sexism! — as shown in this transcript from her View co-host Barbara Walters’ radio show on Sirius satellite, a chat that included NY Post gossipeuse Cindy Adams:
Today’s installment looks at the views of a financial expert. You can take part, too, by clicking on the unscientific survey after the jump.
Jay Dolan, a financial adviser in St. Petersburg
He’s voting for: Undecided. “I am a bad stereotype of a flip flopper
Why? “Fiscally speaking I am a big McCain supporter. I think the country needs to significantly reduce spending but nobody has the guts to do it. At the same time, however, he wants to cut taxes, which I don’t think we can really afford to do… at least not until we prove that we can actually cut spending. He also lost significant ground with me by choosing Sarah Palin, which I believe was a 100% political move.”
“I think Obama instills a sense of confidence McCain does not have and that is something our country has been missing for some time now. The amount of spending he wants to put into social programs scares me considerably. However, I think the ideological change in power might help the country move forward through our current crisis.
Local candidate who most interests him: “I must admit I have not paid much attention to the local races as most of my time lately has been spent talking to very nervous clients.”
The Miami Herald has an interesting post about the relationship between the McCain campaign, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Republican Party. It had grown quite testy for several months, but now Crist is planning on filming a commercial for McCain.
As to the difficult relationship, the Herald reports:
McCain campaign director Rick Davis had Florida in his “safe column.” That changed last month, just as the relationship between McCain Florida director Arlene DiBenigno and RPOF chair Jim Greer appeared to get frosty. Some Republicans say the third floor of the party’s George Bush building is divided – state Republicans on one side and McCain folks on the other. And there’s not much chatting going on between the two. Lots of closed-door meetings. Little trust. Sometimes state and county Republicans find out about McCain events by reading it in the papers or on the blogs.
Today’s LA Times mentions that Greer/Crist shot down a plan to have the party pay for a flier linking Barack Obama to terrorist Bill Ayers. Some Republicans say it’s true. Others aren’t sure. Others remember a flier that featured Middle East terrorists.
The New Republic has also weighed in with a piece about how McCain let Florida slip away:
If John McCain were on a clear path to victory, there would be no campaign here at all. Yet there was McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, battling on Sunday across the state’s crucial central corridor in Tampa and Kissimmee. Come Wednesday, Bill Clinton will campaign with Barack Obama–the former president’s first joint appearance with the Democratic nominee–at an evening rally here.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of South Florida spoke for many of her fellow Democrats: “People are so excited that we have a presidential campaign that is still here.” Translation: She and others in her party are amazed that Obama has a real chance to carry this state.
The fact that McCain is on the defensive here and in such a broad swath of Republican territory is emblematic of the 2008 endgame. It is a sign of the extent to which Obama has outorganized and outstrategized McCain, and an indication of how almost all the issues have moved against the GOP.
A senior moment for the GOP presidential candidate. It’s George Schultz. George P. Schultz, John.
Today’s installment bring us the political opinion of a longtime Bay area musician. Join us in giving your opinion in the survey after the jump:
Bob Noxious, longtime Tampa Bay musician and guitarist for the Dive Bar Stalkers
He’s voting for: Barack Obama
Bob Noxious of the Dive Bar Stalkers
Why? “I believe him to be the best candidate for change out of the 13 political parties listed on my Official Sample Ballot.”
What he would say to a McCain supporter: “I’m sure it is a broken record by now, but why would you vote for more of the same? John McCain has voted with George W. Bush over 90 percent of the time, yet he is now trying to frantically separate himself from that evil Republican from Texas. Besides, John McCain’s health has got to be taken as a factor. Already, he is the oldest presidential candidate in history. The man has already overcome skin cancer, yet when I last saw him at the last debate, his jaw looked unnaturally swollen, as if he were speaking through a mouthful of medical gauze. Face it — he’s basically living on borrowed time. Besides, do you want Sarah Palin as your next president? She is a bumbling idiot, as proven weekly on SNL.”
Local candidate that most interests him: “I’m still researching my local candidates, but I can only wonder why my county commissioner here in Pasco County, Ted Schrader, is running uncontested. One would think that a strong Democrat would give him a run for his donation money.”
What is it about the incredible viral power of sticking McCain’s or Obama’s head on some dancers? One photo and one video are winging around the Internet, and one has a tie to Tampa Bay.
First, the photo. A few days ago, Tampa Bay musician, graphic designer and 2006 Best of the Bay winner Martin Rice sent over a Photoshopped shot showing Obama dancing with Sarah Palin (from a Dancing With the Stars photo) with the note, “Unfortunately, this is what the country wants.”
Dancing With the Candidates (credit: Martin Rice)
He sent it to three friends. Within days, the picture ended up all over the world, and on ABC News:
John Stewart continues his fine work this election season with this bit on candidates pandering to baseball fans in Florida and Pennsylvania. What looks like a clear win for McCain soon turns into a draw, and it’s all thanks to Sarah Palin.
We’re combining forces to bring you a more complete set of morning headlines in politics, media and pop culture. Joe Bardi’s Short List on the Daily Loaf and Wayne Garcia’s Morning Roundup in PoHo blog will now be combined, giving you even more news to start your day with.
Here’s a great idea. Too bad it’s illegal in Florida:
[poll id="2"]
The third in our series asking the people of Tampa Bay who they are voting for in the Nov. 4 presidential election. And here’s the archive of our featured voters so far. Be sure to join in with your opinion by voting in the unscientific survey above.
Bob Kersteen, consultant, member of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and former St. Petersburg City Council member
He’s voting for: John McCain
Why? “He is the best prepared and has a long record/reputation for soliciting and receiving support from the other side of the aisle.”
What he would say to an Obama supporter: “[Obama] is a relative unknown who possesses little if any executive experience.
Local candidate who most interests him: Congressman C. W. “Bill” Young, “a strong supporter of MacDill AFB, which is a huge economic generator for the Tampa Bay Area. Bill also is very supportive of other projects such as the Tampa Bay Water Reservoir and other projects which would not have been possible through local/county/state funding sources.”
[poll id="2"]
Here’s the second in our series asking the people of Tampa Bay who they are voting for in the Nov. 4 presidential election. And here’s the archive of our featured voters so far.
Rob Douglas, concert producer at Jannus Landing
He’s voting for: Obama/Biden
Rob Douglas
Why? “Obama, first and foremost, is thoughtful, articulate, even tempered and above all, intelligent! All traits that have been sorely lacking in D.C. for the last eight years. The way he has managed his campaign thus far is a good indication, I think, of how he would manage the country’s business. Ultimately, I believe Obama represents the future of our people and his opponent represents the past.”
What he would say to a McCain supporter: “I wouldn’t bother. Anyone supporting McCain is either an ideologue, incapable of critical thought or has a vested interest in the status quo. The choices and differences between the candidates are stark as are the stakes. It’s also inconceivable to me that anyone could still be on the fence about whom they were voting for. “
Local candidate who most interests him: “I am a registered Independent and I will vote as a Yellow Dog Democrat. I would like to see [Sarasota Congressman] Vern Buchanan get bounced out on his keister.”
Today we begin our series for Election 2008 in which we ask Tampa Bay: Who you voting for?
You can join in, too. Take our unscientific online survey here, and read the latest installment of who Tampa Bay is voting for after the jump:
[poll id="2"]
Yes, he’s real, and he’s shown here talking with Obama at a recent appearance:
We’re on live! Go down to comments and give us your thoughts and questions. And at any time, feel free to call “bullshit” and ask for a FACTCHECK. I will work my hardest and quickest to see what I can find out during the debate itself.
We just heard from state Rep. Michael Scionti here.
Here’s video of our interview with Rep. Michael Scionti:
And Hillsborough County Commission candidate Kevin Beckner stopped by to remind the crowd why they shouldn’t vote for incumbent Brian Blair.
The third and final round of the Barack Obama-John McCain debates is set for 9 p.m. at Hofstra University on Long Island.
I will be camped out at Tre Amici coffeehouse in Ybor City Wednesday to lead the troops in commenting and fact-checking the debates as we have Round 2 and the vice presidential. Just check back on PoHo blog sometime between 8:30 and 9 tonight.
All of today’s top political and media headlines, plus some other crap I find online that makes me laugh, complemented nicely with updates in the box to the right:
something
Politics and media headlines on a Monday morning. What could be better than that? Daily updates in the box to the right, that’s what:
Today’s top political and media headlines, with updates throughout the day:
The McCain campaign is so desperate for something that works that it has Cindy out bashing Obama for voting against troop funding (something that her own husband did as well). Here’s today’s top political and media headlines from Tampa Bay, Florida and beyond. With the usual updated aggregatin’ in the box to the right, you betcha:
God bless this nation’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Here’s the new That One T-shirt, available for $19.95 (extra $2 if you want 2XL or 3XL).
Everybody is wearing this one
Issue: In last night’s second presidential debate, John McCain said, “My friends, some of this $700 billion ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations.” (source: CNN.com)
Facts: OK, we admit to initially being stumped by McCain’s assertion that the bailout plan, for which he suspended his campaign and went to Washington to urge lawmakers to pass, was secretly helping terrorist organizations. (Transitively, does that mean that McCain was supporting terrorist organizations? Of course not.)
But there is a possible indirect link between the bailout plan for bad mortgages and terrorism. This from Diane Francis of The National Post in Canada:
In fact, an Assyrian news website carried a story back in mid-2007 that FBI and other officials were concerned about a “growing trend of terrorist associations [involved] with mortgage fraud rings in the U.S.”
“In the past year [2007], several high-profile mortgage fraud arrests have been tied to federal terrorism investigations, most notably a ring busted up in Salt Lake City that is alleged to have direct ties to the late al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” said the story.
Money was obtained from banks fraudulently then transferred to Middle Eastern bank accounts controlled by terrorists. These cases grind through courts.
The Assyrian news story began:
A man arrested in December at the Kansas City airport with $70,000 in his bulging pockets while trying to board a Southwest Airlines flight claiming the money was actually Muslim prayer books, a San Francisco mortgage company executive who went on the run from the FBI in November, seven people arrested in September in Salt Lake City with ties to al-Qaeda, and a co-defendant in the Sami al-Arian/Palestinian Islamic Jihad trial all have one thing in common — the growing trend of terrorist associations with mortgage fraud rings in the US.
(It must be pointed out that the Assyrian account lists Al-Arian co-defendant Sameeh Hammoudeh as part of this great mortgage fraud terrorism effort, a gross misrepresentation of the mortgage fraud charge he pleaded to in court. His fraud charges related to his concealment of his employment at the Islamic Academy, and not fraud in subprime mortgages. Oh, and Hammoudeh was not a terrorist, either.)
The UK, likewise, has suspicions that terrorists used bad mortgages:
An intelligence report by the Association of Chief Police Officers said that organised crime groups used mortgage fraud to generate income and launder money from the proceeds of their operations, such as drugs, human trafficking and prostitution.
“While there is no evidence to suggest mortgage fraud directly funds terrorist acts, this area of criminality has been encountered during investigations into UK-based terrorist groups,” it said. “Mortgage fraud can be used to finance infrastructure including safe houses.”
Given this tenuous link to terrorism (if that is indeed what McCain was referring to) and misimpression that either the bailout or Wall Street aided terrorists, we judge this statement to be Bullshit.
UPDATE: We’re open for business at 8:49 pm, here just before the start and watching “The Biggest Loser.” Appropriate, huh?
——
Just a reminder for you to join us tonight as we live blog our thoughts as Barack Obama and John McCain duke it out in Round 2 of the 2008 presidential debates. This one is live from Nashville.
I’ll put up an open thread just before 9 p.m. Drinking game words: middle class, economy, tax cuts, terrorists, William Ayers (double shot), Charles Keating (double shot), moose (entire bottle or full beer), every time Brokaw mumbles.
The debate setting at Belmont University in the Music City
