CNN Poll: Statistical Dead Heat

post from TalkLeft on 18 March 2008 06:21:00 PM. © TalkLeft

In a new CNN poll, it's a statistical dead heat between McCain-Hillary and McCain-Obama.

Hillary 49, McCain 47
Obama 47, McCain 46

According to CNN Polling Director Keating Holland:

"Clinton appears to do a little bit better than Obama among older voters, women, and self-identified Democrats against McCain; Obama's numbers may be slightly better among younger voters and those who describe themselves as Republicans and Independents."

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/253881787/9687

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Obama and McCain Speak

post from What Happened to My Country? on 18 March 2008 06:10:00 PM. © What Happened to My Country?

The two leading candidates for the presidency made public comments today. Sen. Barack Obama spoke in Philadelphia about race and his vision for a "perfected" America, and Sen. John McCain spoke to the press in Amman, Jordan about terrorism and al Qaeda.

The words of Obama: "... This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned." (NYTimes)
The words of McCain: "It was common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." (MediaMatters)
At which time Sen. Joe Liberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al Qaeda."
Wouldn't you think that someone who professes to have the most foreign policy experience of any presidential candidate would know that Iran and al Qaeda represent opposing sides in the Iraq civil war. Al Qaeda being Sunni Muslim while Iran is ruled by Shiites who comprise 90% of their population.
Tomorrow Obama is giving an address on Iraq and terrorism, and the day after tomorrow on the economy. If you want to hear intelligent discourse on these thorniest of the many Bush-bestowed quagmires, tune in.
Then decide.... which man is best equipped to be our next president.

Read The Full Article:
http://whathappenedtomycountry.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-and-mccain-speak.html

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John McCain Denounces Glenn Beck for Torturing
and Killing All Those Dogs (Pit Bulls)

post from Shimmy's Blog on 18 March 2008 06:10:00 PM. © Shimmy's Blog

I looked down in shame rather than gaze at the bare branches where shaggy chamomiles rustled last summer from the Mayakovsky Tree. I twitched -- the faint whiff of floss string from beneath the carpet. John McCain gave a great speech today and I completely agree with him. Mark Garvin caught 60 squirrels, but when do I get to taste them? Might as well throw a baited line on the greasy couch. Play the fiddle in a yellow shirt. Sound a rusty oboe. Crawl friendless on my last remaining leg from behind the roofs of Bear Stearns and pay James Cayne $30 billion to play bridge to twitter grayly like a quail!

I completely agree with John McCain's repudiation of Glenn Beck for torturing and killing all those dogs (pit bulls). "Glenn Beck's torturing and killing of those pit bulls was not only wrong but divisive," he said. Funny how Glenn Beck never talks about those dogs anymore. I could rip to shreds the miniature tennis ball soaked in catnip, thinking it's mighty as God himself. "It?s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran," McCain said in his speech. "That?s well known. And it?s unfortunate." Then Joe Lieberman, who punishes us because we don't love him enough, corrected him. The tennis ball thinks it's great big God almighty but is a dunce. "I'm sorry," McCain said, "the Iranians are training extremists, not Al Qaeda."

Read The Full Article:
http://shimmykat.blogspot.com/2008/03/john-mccain-denounces-glenn-beck-for.html

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Countertops

post from Daily Kos on 18 March 2008 06:02:55 PM. © Daily Kos

E.J. Dionne:

The Wall Street titans have turned into a bunch of welfare clients. They are desperate to be bailed out by government from their own incompetence, and from the deregulatory regime for which they lobbied so hard. They have lost "confidence" in each other, you see, because none of these oh-so-wise captains of the universe have any idea what kinds of devalued securities sit in one another's portfolios.

John Cole:

You have to wonder why there have been no counter-top investigations. When Graeme Frost made the profound mistake of telling America that he had benefitted from a government program in the debate over the SCHIP expansion which would cost the taxpayers a similar amount, he got the full-on Beauchamp. Personally, I need to know what the countertops look like at some Bear Stearns households.

The countertops were apparently pretty darn nice.

Across the firm, executives and employees declined to speak publicly, a reflection of the fluid events as well as a reluctance to anger their prospective bosses from JPMorgan who were already on the premises Monday, appraising their new investment.

But privately they expressed raw dismay, their voices heavy with sadness and shock.

"My life has been flushed down the drain," said one person. There was talk Monday that with their life savings nearly depleted, some executives had moved quickly, putting their weekend homes on the market.

(And for those of you who may not know what the "countertops" stuff is all about, you can catch up on it here.)

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/253875623/652

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Obama: How Race Card Protects Class Privilege

post from TPMCafe on 18 March 2008 06:02:00 PM. © TPMCafe

Obama's speech was possibly the greatest speech on race and class in modern politics, highlighting the inextricable link between the two in America where each has shaped the other in our history. Instead of simplistic "can't we all get along" messages or [Bill] Clintoneseque statements about "strength through diversity", Obama took head on the festering anger fueling racism and racial resentment, brilliantly juxtaposing black anger and white anger and the way the privileged corporate class has exploited that racial division. The key paragraphs in Obama speech were these:

Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends...white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze ? a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many...
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn?t look like you might take your job; it?s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

What Obama has done is respected the anger and even the bigotry of many whites, but demanded that they respect the anger of blacks suffering discrimination, and asked that everyone overcome that anger and refuse the red herrings of the race card to concentrate on those who financially benefit every election from the "political stalemate" that has blocked investments in jobs, health care for all, and the revitalization of our communities.

This is the aggressive speech that I've wanted from Obama from early on, that clearly identifies the corporate source of the political stalemate that he talks about often, yet whose source he was often vague about. Put on the defensive by the attacks on Reverend Wright, whose own sermons were steeped in these issues of economic and social justice, Obama didn't just play defense but aggressively redirected the discussion against those making the attack. In an imperfect country of racial division, the corporate political class will always find offensive comments and issues to stoke racial fears, Obama argued, so the issue of Rev. Wright is almost irrelevant: To give into that politics is to let that corporate class win the political game:

We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle ? as we did in the OJ trial ? or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright?s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words.

Instead, Obama argues that "not this time" should Americans allow themselves to be distracted. The attacks on Rev. Wright are part of a centuries old tactic of racial fears to block reforms and he is arguing that he will fight to bring people together to take on the corporate interests that benefit from those divisions.

Obama's speech was in many ways a classic left statement of the problem of race and class in America, but he clothes it in the careful, rational language that is the strength of his charisma. If the political opposition intends to use the race card, Obama made clear today he can articulate a message that reveals the corporate privilege protected by racial division.

Nothing has given me greater hope that Obama has the rhetorical power and political will to not only win the election but fight the fights he will have to if elected to win his agenda.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tpmcafe-main/~3/253906156/

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Hillary Event in Millersville I

post from The Pennsylvania Progressive on 18 March 2008 06:02:00 PM. © The Pennsylvania Progressive

I traveled most of the day coming to Millersville, outside Lancaster, from Scranton, the location of last evening's Barack Obama appearance. I arrived early and we all froze outside awaiting the completion of the security sweep of Millersville[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/CNeg/~3/253891341/hillary-event-i.html

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In Iraq, the irony doesn't drip; it bleeds.

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 18 March 2008 06:00:00 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

In Iraq, the irony doesn't drip; it bleeds.You remember the last time Saint Maverick went to Iraq to give us a little straight talk about the improving conditions. You remember how he went on a leisurely shopping trip to an open-air market. Wearing a[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.docudharma.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5349

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McCain speech could be up against NFL opener

We noted last month that John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on September 4th could conflict with the opening game of the NFL season. At the time the NFL schedule was not clear. And the comments on that post thought it would not be an issue:

"The season isn't moving anywhere, nor is the game going to get canceled"
"All of the alternatives listed are ridiculous at best."
I don't think its a big issue..."
Oh, Puh-leeze! Football is a money-maker for the networks. Political conventions are not.

But we wrote in that post:

This is a big problem for NBC and the NFL. NBC pays a lot of money to show NFL games. But there's no way they would take the political heat and not show McCain's speech, and its unlikely the NFL would want to take the heat either. Yes, the speech would be available on the other networks, but the football game would attract a major audience, and the GOP, would, and appropriately so, raise a big stink.

It just not politically tenable for a major network not to show the acceptance speech of one of the two major candidates.

And we now have confirmation that the NFL season is scheduled to start on September 4th, and that the NFL is aware that something needs to be done:

"We are aware of it and will be discussing it with NBC," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello (who grew up in Syosset) wrote in an e-mail.

Now Neil Best, the who writes a great sports media blog for Newsday, did call some of the options on the previous post "ludicrous". They may be, but one of those options, or something even more abnormal, will have to be done to prevent the conflict.

Read The Full Article:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/03/mccain-speech-could-be-up-against-nfl.htm
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Campaign denies McCain’s Iran/al Qaeda
gaffe.

Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that Iranian operatives are ?taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back” — despite the fact that Iran is a Shiite nation and al Qaeda are Sunni fighters. Responding to reports of McCain’s factually inaccurate claim, the McCain campaign released a statement attempting to paint the senator’s fundamental error as an isolated slip of the tongue:

In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself by stating that Iran is in fact supporting radical Islamic extremists in Iraq, not Al Qaeda ? as the transcript shows. Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates? judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief.

The fact that McCain made identical remarks on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show as well makes it clear McCain did not simply “misspeak.” What’s more, McCain corrected himself only after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate’s ear.”

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/18/campaign-denies-mccains-iranal-qaeda-gaffe/

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Campaign denies McCain’s Iran/al Qaeda
‘gaffe.’

In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself by stating that Iran is in fact supporting radical Islamic extremists in Iraq, not Al Qaeda ? as the transcript shows. Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates? judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief.

UPDATE: Fox News aired footage of Lieberman correcting McCain during today’s press conference. Watch it:

Screenshot