Broder: McCain's ties to Bush, his flip-flopping and his campaign finance crimes don't matter because Broder knows McCain.

David Broder, the arbiter of the smarty pants D.C. conventional wisdom (CW), has absolved John McCain of all responsibility for his ties to Bush, his flip-flopping, his campaign finance law breaking, his previousunethical behavior, the smarmy lobbyists who run his campaign, and all of the right-wing positions McCain has taken that are outside of the mainstream:

McCain benefits from a long-established reputation as a man who says what he believes. His shifts in position that have occurred in this campaign seem not to have damaged that aura.

Broder thinks the McCain town hall gimmick and Obama's decision not to accept public financing are the key issues for 2008. (And, like most of the political media, Broder ignores McCain's own campaign finance illegality even though it was first reported in Broder's own paper.) Can't let facts get in the way. Actually, it seems like Obama hasn't paid due deference to Broder or maybe Broder spent too much time on the McCain bus.

So, Broder has issued his edict. The "insiders" who "define" the conventional wisdom don't really know Obama -- and that's bad, they say. McCain's many foibles and the issues don't matter, just the egos of the punditry. On cue, Chris Cillizza, who is such a CW wannabe, swoons. If Broder says it, Cillizza is going to believe it and write about it and repeat it.

This is what we're up against this year: Broder and his trusty sidekick, Cillizza, have spoken. Fortunately, the CW is usually just flat out wrong -- as we've seen over and over and over. Read More......

A commercial from a few years ago, still makes me laugh

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Are you a good citizen?

An interesting online test of your knowledge of American "patriotic" history. It's only 4 pages long, so you can do it in about a minute. 20 of the 30 questions are actual questions on the US citizenship test. You need around a 24 out of 30 to pass. I got a 26. Read More......

Democrats in Paris

Photo by Palden MacGamwell, paldenphoto@cruzio.com

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Paris and a few hundred people showed up for the "Bridges for Obama, Yes we Span" photo op. Photos from around the world will be shown at the Democratic Convention in August. Read More......

Saudis to Americans: Screw you

Nice to see that they still appreciate us saving their ass in 1991, and being the only real friend they've got. I remember one of our debate topics in high school was invading Saudi Arabia and just taking over the oil fields. I suspect it would be a mess, but a girl can dream. Read More......

Bush fails to appoint nuclear terror czar

If Democrats weren't so busy sucking up to Bush by giving away our civil liberties, perhaps they'd actually use these issues to go on the offensive against Bush and the Republicans. Ha! Made myself laugh:

Ten months after Congress passed a law establishing a White House coordinator for preventing nuclear terrorism, President Bush has no plans to create the high-level post any time soon, according to the National Security Council.

The provision - suggested by leading members of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - was contained in 2007 legislation designed to improve homeland defenses. Congress passed it by a wide margin, with bipartisan support.

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Racism in America is alive and well in 2008

Two articles in today's Washington Post address hate and racism in American politics. Interestingly, the Post never relates the articles, but they are intertwined -- and underscore the reality that hate could play in the 2008 elections. We can't address these issues if we don't admit they exist.

First, Hate groups are using the Obama candidacy as a recruiting tool:

Sen. Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated in America and across much of the world as a symbol of racial progress and cultural unity, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, mainly on the Internet, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them.

Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist groups have reported gains in numbers of visitors to their Web sites and in membership since the senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination June 3. His success has aroused a community of racists, experts said, concerned by the possibility of the country's first black president.

"I haven't seen this much anger in a long, long time," said Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who runs a group called White Revolution in Russellville, Ark. "Nothing has awakened normally complacent white Americans more than the prospect of America having an overtly nonwhite president."

Then, the latest Washington Post/ABC News polls shows that race is an issue for plenty of Americans:

As Sen. Barack Obama opens his campaign as the first African American on a major party presidential ticket, nearly half of all Americans say race relations in the country are in bad shape and three in 10 acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Lingering racial bias affects the public's assessments of the Democrat from Illinois, but offsetting advantages and Sen. John McCain's age could be bigger factors in determining the next occupant of the White House.

This is disturbing. Not surprising, but disturbing. How many of those Americans with "feelings of racial prejudice" have strong enough feelings to foster the hate movement? And, how many other Americans have those feelings but won't admit it?

The other question is how closely the GOP are willing to be allied with the racist/hate group crowd in America. We've already seen the GOP leaders in North Carolina and Tennessee are more than willing to go there -- with no ramifications from McCain or the RNC. The GOP does have a "win at any cost" mentality. Since Nixon's "Southern Strategy," they've played the race card.

John McCain and his campaign can reject racism -- or embrace it. And, without a complete rejection of the ugly racial politics every time it rears its head, McCain is embracing it. Read More......

Zimbabwe opposition pulls out of election

Considering the excessive violence towards supporters, an understandable decision. The regional leaders including Thabo Mbeki have a lot of explaining to do for their years of inaction and support of Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has decided to pull out of the presidential run-off on 27 June, party officials have told the BBC.

The decision, taken at a meeting of the leadership of the Movement for Democratic Change in Harare, means Robert Mugabe will remain as president.

The MDC says the decision comes after at least 70 of its supporters have been killed in the run-up to the poll.

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Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

It's Obama surrogates vs. McCain surrogates on all the shows today. (Well, except on CNN's Reliable Sources - John will be on around 10:40 Eastern time, debating shock jock Dennis Prager about the media coverage of gay marriages in California.) Several V.P. contenders are getting some face time Richardson, Biden and Pawlenty.

Brian Williams is hosting "Meet the Press" -- he's got McCain's biggest sycophant, Lindsey Graham. (Hey Brian, since Lindsey is a military guy and he'll no doubt talking about military issues, ask him about "Don't ask, don't tell." Dare ya.)


Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.; American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Red Cavaney; Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" — Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain's campaign; Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Biden, D-Del.

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CNN's "Late Edition" — Govs. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., and Richardson; Reps. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., and Eric Cantor, R-Va.; former Labor Secretary Robert Reich; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain adviser; Ahmed Rashid, author of a new book on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.; Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers.

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Where is...

A nice video response to the popular Where the Hell is Matt. Matt is still dancing his way across the globe proving that not all Americans are terrified of the world around them and that people everywhere are well, people. The adorable girl above is experiencing the world with her parents who have been on the road for a few years. More on their travels here. Hopefully seeing that a family can do this (and I've met others doing similar trips) will show people that it is not as dangerous as some like to think. It's also not as expensive as people like to think. Americans often travel with less available free time and burn cash though it doesn't have to be that way. We've traveled comfortably enough spending $5-$10 per night for a room and even as low as $1 in Laos. It's not the Hyatt, but it's fine. Read More......

Vote Mugabe or be raped?

The UN now views rape as a war crime. If the allegations of rape, torture and murder are proven, Robert Mugabe and his band of thugs should be dragged to The Hague and face crimes against humanity. This also means the EU will have to quit making exceptions for Mugabe and allowing him to travel to Europe for shopping trips. Enough. Read More......

US factory costs hit 28 year high

So who was President in 1980? Who is that person that Republicans love to demonize as the worst President ever? Looks like he has company.

In a report that underscored the economy's persistent weakness, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index dropped to minus 17.1 in June from minus 15.6 in May, well below Wall Street's forecasts around minus 10.

Prices paid soared to their highest levels since 1980.

"They are pretty bleak numbers," said David Sloan, economist at 4Cast Ltd. in New York. "There is not much to be said in favor of it."

Some analysts are hoping the weaker dollar's boost of exports could help the economy skirt recession, despite a teetering housing market and soft consumer spending. The latest figures indicated otherwise.

Uh huh, and some analysts would be idiots if they missed the impact of the weak dollar to high gas prices connection. Read More......