Auto Sales Numbers Evince a General Economic (and
Political) Crisis in America

post from The Francis L. Holland Blog on 03 November 2008 12:59:00 PM. © The Francis L. Holland Blog

If the crisis in the American auto industry is any indication of the financial concern Americans will take into the voting booth tomorrow, a McCain (party in control) win would be a major miracle. The New York Times says today,

Vehicle sales in the United States tumbled to multi-decade lows in
October as tightened credit markets and an economic slowdown kept consumers away from dealerships.

General Motors on Monday reported an incredible 45 percent decline
in its sales, and Chrysler said its sales were down 35 percent. The Ford
Motor Company said it sold 30.2 percent fewer cars and trucks.
Toyota Motor said its sales were 23 percent lower, despite
offering no-interest financing and large discounts on many models. Sales were down 33 percent at Nissan and 25.2 percent at Honda. NYTimes

This is evidence of a generalized meltdown, not just of the American auto industry (Japanese car sales are only slightly better), but this is a meltdown of America's confidence in the economy and the ability to obtain credit to buy a car.
?If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst
industry sales month in the post-World War II era,? Mark LaNeve, G.M.?s vice president for sales in North America, said in a statement. ?We believe there is considerable pent-up demand from the last three years, but until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer.? NYTimes

John McCain is talking a lot about the "American Dream" on the campaign trail, but perhaps the first part of the American dream that any of us achieves, even before a high school diploma, is a drivers license and access to the family car. Even when we cannot afford to own a home, we can be proud of our cars and delight in the freedom they give us to move from place to place.

When Americans are doing all of that 40% less than they were last year, that's evidence of an economic crisis that goes far beyond the auto industry. One Ford executive cited in the above article describes the current Republican-led economic crisis as "similar to what we?ve seen after a natural disaster."

Read The Full Article:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2008/11/auto-sales-numbers-evince-general.htm
l

Digg this

False Equivalence From The Washington Post

post from Daily Kos on 03 November 2008 12:55:04 PM. © Daily Kos

Today's Washington Post has an election-eve article that begins:

The waning hours of the longest presidential campaign in history elicited a fresh round of stinging attacks from Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain and their supporters on Sunday, a departure from the positive messages that candidates normally revert to before an election.

And what is the stinging attack from Barack Obama? Saying that Dick Cheney endorsed John McCain.

In the world of the traditional media, simply stating a fact is a "stinging attack," and is on par with race baiting and fear mongering. It's just like saying your opponent "pals around with terrorists." It's the same thing as having your chief surrogate questioning Obama's loyalty to America.

In other words, it's completely fair and balanced reporting.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/aMDh_jO-pLM/650508

Digg this

THE NEW POLL TAX.

post from Ezra Klein on 03 November 2008 12:51:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

This is why Rachel Maddow matters:The poll tax was a sly system of disenfranchisement used in the Jim Crow era to disenfranchise Southern blacks. Aware that the Constitution now assured everyone the "right" to vote, Southern states imposed a voting fee[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=11&year=2008&base_name
=the_new_poll_tax

Digg this

Ludovic on GRIT-TV TODAY 1ish ET

post from Stop Dog Whistle Racism! on 03 November 2008 12:50:17 PM. © Stop Dog Whistle Racism!

Ludovic on GRIT-TV TODAY 1ish ETGRITtv Live at Noon: Will Fear Win?Posted in Uncategorized [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://racecardpoliticswatch.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/ludovic-on-grit-tv-today-1i
sh-et/

Digg this

Big Mo

post from Talking Points Memo on 03 November 2008 12:49:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

The final SurveyUSA poll of Missouri. Dead even: Obama 48%, McCain 48%. Late Update: Final SUSA Ohio: Obama 48%, McCain 46%. From the poll release: "In Ohio, Early Voters May Give Obama Enough Running Head Start That McCain Can't Catch Him on Election[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/8bBOvM0mebc/242247.php

Digg this

AP's Liz "Spinkles" Sidoti really delivers one
last time for John McCain -- paints "nightmare scenario for Democrats"

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 03 November 2008 12:46:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Time to make the donuts. (Dunkin Donuts with sprinkles, they're McCain's favorite kind.)

Exhibiting one more time why Liz Sidoti, one of the top political reporters at the Associated Press, has lost her credibility, she wrote yet another article showing how far she's in the tank for McCain. In this one, she explains how John McCain can pull out this election. Sidoti literally said tomorrow could be a "nightmare" for Democrats. It's really unbelievable that a piece like this came from someone besides FOX, the Moonie Times or World Nut Daily. Sidoti incorporates every almost every single McCain campaign talking point into the first few paragraphs of her piece:

It's a nightmare scenario for Democrats ? their nominee Barack Obama winning the popular vote while Republican John McCain ekes out an Electoral College victory. Sure, McCain trails in every recent national poll. Sure, surveys show that Obama leads in the race to reach the requisite 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Sure, chances of Republicans retaining the White House are remote.

But some last-minute state polls show the GOP nominee closing the gap in key states ? Republican turf of Virginia, Florida and Ohio among them, and Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania, too.

If the tightening polls are correct and undecided voters in those states break McCain's way ? both big ifs ? that could make for a repeat of the 2000 heartbreaker for Democrats that gave Republicans the White House.

Liz Sidoti sees things only the way the McCain campaign wants her to see them. If she did any independent research, she would find that McCain isn't closing the gap nationally or in those key states. Obama is holding steady to his leads in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio -- if one reads the independent polls and not those McCain "internals." And, no credible reporter is making comparisons to 2000. This whole thing makes more sense when you factor in that Sidoti's bureau chief, Ron Fournier, almost went to work for the McCain campaign.

Liz and Ron are both featured in this classic clip from John McCain's visit to the Associated Press meeting -- complete with his favorite donuts:

video details and more

AP: We make the donuts for John McCain.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/441466321/aps-liz-spinkles-sidoti-r
eally-delivers.html

Digg this

Bottom of the Barrel

post from Talking Points Memo on 03 November 2008 12:45:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Still more sludge from the Republican Jewish Coalition -- the folks who've been putting out mailers saying that an Obama election could be like Hitler coming to power in Germany. Now they're out in Ohio with this new mailer. [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/rUoWBRfxlBU/242246.php

Digg this

ARE REPUBLICANS HEALTHIER

Via Andrew Gelman comes an interesting paper from S. V. Subramanian and Jessica Perkins suggesting that Republicans are healthier than Democrats, even when you control for such factors as race and income and education:I'd be a bit careful with this data:[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=11&year=2008&base_name
=are_republicans_healthier

Digg this

Top 60 Memorable Campaign Ads Of 2008

For the political masochists here is a compendium of the best, worst, and most memorable hits of the 2008 election cycle.It is tradition in every campaign for each side to denounce the other as having run the sleaziest race in modern political history. And certainly it seems like every day brings with it a new attack ad deemed "the worst one yet."While historians are generally skittish when it comes to such claims -- pointing out that past years witnessed some serious mudslinging of their own...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/uncomfortablyNumb/~3/441456023/top-60-memorable-ca
mpaign-ads-of-2008_03.html

Digg this

Wash. Times distorted Richardson's,
Obama's remarks on tax policy

In a November 2 article,Washington Times reporters JosephCurl and Christina Bellantoni falsely suggested that Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)said Sen. Barack Obama would raise taxes on Americans making more than $120,000.Curl and Bellantoni stated that Sen. John McCain "continued to hammer theDemocrat over his plan to tax Americans making more than $250,000 -- a numberthat has crept down, first to $200,000, then to $150,000 and finally to$120,000, although the Obama campaign said New Mexico Gov.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200811030005

Digg this