Does it matter what's in your fridge?

Some people think so. OK, I have white wine but also red, smoked duck breast, mango smoothie, Spanish ham, organic pasta, butter with sea salt but of course, also olive oil and whatever yogurt was on sale but probably the store brand. Definitely no bourbon but surely gin. And Badoit...have to have Badoit.

IF there’s butter and white wine in your refrigerator and Fig Newtons in the cookie jar, you’re likely to vote for Hillary Clinton. Prefer olive oil, Bear Naked granola and a latte to go? You probably like Barack Obama, too.

And if you’re leaning toward John McCain, it’s all about kicking back with a bourbon and a stuffed crust pizza while you watch the Democrats fight it out next week in Pennsylvania.

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Pope says Americans are "angry." I can't wait for Hillary to denounce him.

Come on, Hillary - get 'em.

Benedict examined American society, saying he detected anger and alienation, increasing violence and a "growing forgetfulness of God."

Seriously, now that Hillary is an agent of our Lord, smiter of irreverent pastors and defender of the armed faithful, let's hear what she has to say about the Pope, since he pretty much just called Americans bitter. (H/t to ABlog commenter Nigel.) Read the rest of this post...

AP found two people who liked the ABC debate, but doesn't bother telling you they're both conservative pundits

Funny how the Associated Press "forgot" to tell its readers that the two authorities it found who really liked last night's ABC Democratic presidential candidate debate - David Brooks, who AP simply calls a "columnist" at the New York Times, and HotAir.com, which AP simply calls a "Web site" - are both conservative partisans. Even worse than not identifying Brooks as a conservative (at least by citing his name, some readers would know who he was), calling HotAir.com a simple "Web site" is cute, considering it's a Web site run by top conservative blogger and firebreather Michelle Malkin. Kind of relevant that the two sources cited by AP as proof that the Democratic debate might have been fair after all are conservative political partisans, no? I mean, of course THEY liked the debate - it was a right-wing talking point trash-the-Democrats fest with a particular focus on Swift Boating the guy the Republicans are most worried about facing in the fall. Read the rest of this post...

Howard Dean: SuperDelegates need to decide now

If this isn't a reaction to last night's debate debacle, I don't know what is.

An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”

“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”

Dean clearly wasn't happy with what he saw last night. It's no longer just Hillary using right-wing talking points in an effort to destroy the guy who will be running against McCain in the fall, now the mainstream media has bought into the "let's destroy Obama" game. As Ben Smith notes, this is the first time the mainstream media has delved into the William Ayers issue, one of the many below-the-belt zingers that Hillary has been trying to throw at Obama:

Barack Obama took his first public grilling on his relationship with Bill Ayers last night, and between the moderators' pressing and Clinton's follow-up, it had exactly the effect the Clinton campaign hoped: finally injecting the issue into the public discussion.

At the moment, "Ayers" is the fifth most searched term on Google, according to Google Trends; "Ayers Obama" is 15th. "William Ayers" is 26th.

ABC, with Hillary's help, has now made yet another right-wing talking point a legitimate point of public debate about Obama. If this keeps up, every Swift Boat style attack against Obama will be considered a serious issue by the media, all because Hillary made it so. Dean has, in my opinion, had enough. He's watching Hillary's kamikaze attack on Obama metastasize into a media feeding frenzy against the guy who won our nomination two months ago. Hillary isn't going to win, Dean knows it, we all know it. The only question is whether she's going to take all of us down with her. Howard Dean is apparently now, finally, belatedly, saying "no."

Get ready for the Hillary donors to once again threaten to destroy our majority in the Congress, and help John McCain become president, if Hillary's divine right of kings isn't honored.

ABC may have just ended Hillary's run for the presidency. Read the rest of this post...

Airline pilot reports claim airlines risking safety with fuel limits

The problems in the airline industry just keep getting worse. Two weeks ago I spent almost 30 minutes circling before landing so news like this is a major concern. Where were all of the business leaders a few years ago when the GOP was busy making fun of energy conservationists and telling everyone to consume as much as they like? If we had a serious policy a few years ago - including during the Clinton years - we might not have such deep problems both for consumers and business.

As cash-strapped airlines pack more passengers on flights into ever-busier airports, pilots are filing internal complaints warning that airline cost-cutting on fuel supplies could be creating a major safety risk.

The complaints, compiled by msnbc.com and NBC News from a database of safety incident reports maintained on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, reveal wide-ranging concern among pilots that airlines are compelling them to fly with too little fuel.

Read the rest of this post...

ABC Newz, becuz politikz iz hard

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Hillary feeds the right wing noise machine

No one knows better than Hillary Clinton how the right wing noise machine operates. Like this:
Read the rest of this post...

Let's talk about the weather

AP's got a good fact check up breaking down what was said last night and what's true re: the Weather Underground:

Facts were loose in both Democratic presidential campaigns Thursday as Clinton sought advantage from her rival's association with William Ayers, a college professor who was once part of the violent Weather Underground group.

The dustup arose in their debate the night before and enveloped both candidates.

Obama struck back by calling attention to Bill Clinton's decision to pardon one former Weather Underground member and commute the sentence of another, clearing two women who — unlike Ayers — had been convicted of crimes from that era.

It's interesting. You know why? Because I didn't know much about the Weather Underground. Now I do. You know who else probably didn't know much about the Weather Underground? Most of the people watching last night's debate hoping to get information about stuff that really matters. Read the rest of this post...

The next bailout: Sallie Mae?

Good grief, it will never end. Did anyone in the Bush administration or GOP ever stop to ask questions? Just like on Wall Street or Iraq or post-Katrina, oversight has been completely lacking. And this is what McSame wants more of for the US. How many more surprise bailouts can we afford?

Sallie Mae , the largest U.S. student loan company, on Thursday affirmed its 2008 profit forecast, but warned of a "train wreck" in the $85 billion education financing market without urgent government intervention.

Read the rest of this post...

Does John McCain require his mistress to wear a flag pin?

ABC's George Stephanopoulos is arguing that he brought up the issues during last night's debate that Obama will likely face in the fall campaign. Now, no one thinks that John McCain is going to raise any of the issues Obama talked about - wearing the American flag, whether his pastor loves America - no, what will happen in the fall, and Stephanopoulos knows it, is some shadowy GOP Swift Boat organization will raise all of these issues. But in any case, the Stephanopoulos standard for questioning a candidate is what issues the bad guys will raise against that candidate in the fall. (Though, using this standard, it's odd that Stephanopoulos didn't ask Hillary anything about Monica Lewinsky last night, since that topic has come up too since the last debate, and it's a good bet the GOP will be making us all talk about Monica if Hillary wins the nomination (also, Chelsea has been asked about it repeatedly recently, and has claimed that the issue isn't relevant)). Okay, I'm game. McCain is going on Stephanopoulos' show this Sunday, so I'm hoping Stephanopoulos will be pushing McCain hard on the following issues...

Oh, and before the outrage machine kicks in - ABC just asked a presidential candidate on national television if his pastor loves America. After that little ditty, what isn't fair game?:

1. Adultery. McCain reportedly was seeing his second wife while still married to his first wife. And, then we have the issue of the blond lobbyist who looks like McCain's second wife. America deserves answers.

2. Does John McCain require his mistresses to wear a flag pin?

3. McCain working for the enemy. If a US soldier made propaganda tapes for the enemy (like John McCain did), then went on to run for president as a Democrat, the Republicans would eviscerate that candidate. I want George Stephanopoulos to ask John McCain if he loves America as much as soldiers who didn't make propaganda tapes for the enemy while in captivity. Oh, and in case you think I'm kidding, here are McCain's own words:

Later, I made a second, feebler attempt at suicide. On the fourth day, I gave up. I signed a confession that "I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pilot".

The guards ordered me to record my confession on tape. I refused, and was beaten until I consented.

Well, I'm sure a POW has never been beaten before, so it's totally understandable why McCain betrayed his country during his "hero" years in Vietnam. (Or are we to assume that all American POWs betray their country while in captivity, right?)

4. Old age. John McCain is old, everyone knows it. I love my parents, they're in their late 70s, they're great people, but they probably shouldn't be president at this age. John McCain would be the oldest new president EVER if he gets elected (and we all saw what happened to Reagan in his second term). I hope we'll be seeing some hard hitting questions about McCain being simply too old.

5. That enormous thing on the side of McCain's face. McCain had skin cancer a few years ago. He now has some enormous thing on the side of his face that no one is talking about. I want to know why we shouldn't be worried that John McCain is going to get sick and die in office.

6. Cindy McCain's drug addiction. What message does it send to America's children to have a drug addict, who actually stole drugs, as first lady?

7. Would John McCain quit a church that had his wife as pastor?

8. Is John McCain going to jail for 5 years? McCain has illegally pulled out of the public campaign finance system. That's a crime punishable by 5 years in prison. Is Stephanopoulos going to break media silence on this issue and ask John McCain whether he's too old to go prison?

9. Will McCain make propaganda tapes while he's in prison?

These are some of the questions I'm sure we can expect George Stephanopoulos to ask John McCain come this Sunday. And feel free to add your own questions for John McCain to the comments posted by our readers. Read the rest of this post...

ABCDenial

Politico's Michael Calderone spoke to George Stephanopoulos via phone today and reports George defended last night's debate:

“The vote for the president,” Stephanopoulos said, “is one of the most personal” decisions that someone makes.

“When people make that choice, they take into account how candidates stand on the issues,” he said, but also are concerned with “experience, character [and] credibility.”

“You can’t find a presidential election where those issues didn’t come into play,” he said.

Stephanopoulos explained that since the candidates are not far apart policy-wise, the “core of the nomination fight” has been about these issues.

“They’ve been fighting it out on this turf,” he said, adding that these are things that “came up between this debate and the last one.”

Experience, character, and credibility are not issues. Healthcare reform, how to stimulate the economy, getting out of Iraq...issues. In fact, if the candidates are not far apart policy-wise, ALL the more reason to hone in on what separates them. I'd like to know the details. A debate would have been a nice forum for that, no?

Spending 45+ minutes on garbage that has already been exhausted elsewhere - just BECAUSE it's been exhausted elsewhere - is inexcusable.

Then there's this:

I asked Stephanopoulos for his reaction to one specific piece of criticism — that of Washington Post critic Tom Shales calling the moderator’s performances “shoddy” and “despicable.”

“I think it just comes with the territory,” Stephanopoulos replied, adding, “I think you’re going to find a wide range of opinions.”

Sure. If you consider "unmitigated travesty" to "really, really horrible" to "the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years" a range.

One more thing: Even though it was a substantive disaster, ABC will tout last night's debate as a HUGE success. Why? Ratings.

NOTE FROM JOHN: I can't wait for ABC to claim that the ratings prove they did a good job. That's like saying I'm appearing in a one-night-only Broadway show. And the show is sold out. That proves that my performance that night was stellar. Uh, no it doesn't. It proves that people thought my performance was going to be stellar, it doesn't prove that it turned out that way after they had already bought their tickets. Read the rest of this post...

Olympic protests arrive in India

Why do the protesters hate human rights violations? Another proud moment in Olympic history.

Demonstrators lit their own torch at the spot where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian pacifist, are buried, and they planned to mount a parallel, peaceful torch relay through the city's streets. Delhi police had granted permission for the protest but had warned that they would extinguish any torches being carried by protesters.

Read the rest of this post...

McCain raises possibility of eliminating aid to Israel as part of "earmarks reform"

Let the fun begin. Read the rest of this post...

Does giving up a college deferment and six years on active duty count as loving one's country?

When George Stephanopoulus asked Obama if Reverend Wright loves America, it was one of the dumbest questions of the night -- if not the whole campaign. Decide for yourself:

In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation.

What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.

While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.

Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?

After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest cities.

This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades.

George never fought for his country either. Although, if I remember from his book, he did have a lot of fights with Bill and Hillary. And, he did star in a movie called "The War Room." So, he must really love America more than all of us. Read the rest of this post...

China continues to fume over CNN remarks

The communist regime is a bunch of absolute phonies but why stop now? They've been getting away with this for years and have everyone shaking in the boots, afraid of angering their discount business partners. Let China go ahead and cancel all of the European and US TV contracts for the Olympics and see how much money they make. Isn't it obvious that the Olympics mean much more to China than to others countries. (Nike, GE and Coke are another story.) Go ahead and cancel the whole thing. We'll survive.

CNN and other foreign satellite broadcasts can be seen only in hotels, offices and housing developments open to foreigners, meaning very few Chinese would have heard Cafferty's original comments.

Censors also block many foreign news sites on the Internet, pointing to an underlying irony of the ongoing protests — that they profess outrage over foreign media reports that their government does not permit them to view.

The entirely state-controlled media has joined in the vilification campaign, with the criticisms of CNN featuring prominently in Thursday's newspapers and TV shows.

Read the rest of this post...

Would Hillary quit an anti-gay church? How about a pro-life church?

Last night, during the ABC debate, Hillary made clear that she would quite her church if she didn't agree with her pastor's sermons. Here is what Hillary had to say:



Transcript:

I would have not been able to stay in the church. And maybe it's, you know, just, again, a personal reflection...

Okay, so we know that Hillary would quit her church of twenty years if the priest, or pastor, gave a sermon that she found objectionable. Fair enough. Then this begs the question as to what sermons would Hillary not find objectionable. Would Hillary stay in her church, for example, if her pastor gave a sermon in favor of the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment? How about if her pastor gave a sermon calling for the repeal of Roe v. Wade? Or a sermon calling for America to set up an electronic fence to keep Mexicans out of our country?

I'm quite serious. Hillary went on national TV last night and raised the issue of when and where she would quit her church over the sermons of her pastor. She told all of America that this is an issue we should judge our future president on. Then America deserves to know just what standard Hillary has for quitting her church. Or is gay-bashing, choice-bashing, and Latino-bashing okay in Hillary Clinton's eyes? She raised the issue, we deserve an answer. (Maybe we can beg Sean Hannity to ask ABC to ask her the question?) Read the rest of this post...

In Memoriam--George Stephanopoulos: Political Hack

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Stephanopoulos got nasty anti-Obama question from Sean Hannity

Well, we just went from the worst debate ever to, I think, a full-fledged PR disaster for ABC generally, and for Stephanopoulos personally. I mean, conspiring with Sean Hannity on the best way to do an "I gotcha" on Obama, and then doing exactly what he told you to do? From ThinkProgress (they have the audio too):

HANNITY: There are two questions that I don’t think anybody has asked Barack Obama, and I don’t know if this is going to be on your list tomorrow. One is – the only time he’s ever been asked about his association with Bill Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist from the Weather Underground who on 9/11 of all days in the New York Times was saying “I don’t regret setting bombs. I don’t think we did enough.” When asked about it by the Politico, David Axelrod said that they have a friendly relationship, and that they had done a number of speeches together and that they sat on a board together. Is that a question you might ask?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, I’m taking notes right now.

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So Hillary's new spin on Bosnia is that she intentionally lied

Did anyone else catch what Hillary said last night during the debate about her Bosnia sniper-fire fiasco? Here's ABC's transcript:

HILLARY: On a couple of occasions in the last weeks, I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book.

She's now saying that she said things that she knew at the time were not true. And to compound matters, she and her staff and her husband spent two weeks lying about the lie, trying to claim that she only said it one time (she said it four), she said it late at night and was therefore tired (she said it at 9am, the last time), they even sent surrogates out to claim that what she said was true (even though she now says she knew at the time that it wasn't true). So, if Hillary knew that what she said wasn't true, then she intentionally and knowingly coordinated a campaign to cover up her own lie for two whole weeks. And now, the best explanation she can give, is "I intentionally lied." Read the rest of this post...

Real issues get one line from the Washington Post, while Post's TV critic blasts ABC hosts "shoddy, despicable performances."

Today's front page Washington Post article about the debate last night comprised twenty-five paragraphs. This is the 23rd paragraph:

The debate also touched on Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, taxes, the economy, guns and affirmative action.

That pretty much sums up the debate. It's almost comical. One line, in the 23rd paragraph of a 25 paragraph article. Granted, because of the performance of Stephanopoulos and Gibson, the Post didn't have much to work with.

The political reporters and pundits didn't get what happened last night, but the Post's media critic, Tom Shales did:

When Barack Obama met Hillary Clinton for another televised Democratic candidates' debate last night, it was more than a step forward in the 2008 presidential election. It was another step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the debate from Philadelphia and whose usually dependable anchors, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances.

For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with.

So, it wasn't just the bloggers. Read the rest of this post...

What debate was the AP watching?

I hate to nitpick, but considering the issues of substance didn't show up until after about 45 minutes of non-factor fluff, the AP's chronological account seems a little disingenuous (emphasis mine):

Obama later erred by saying he had never favored a ban on handguns even though as a state Senate candidate in 1996 he filled out a questionnaire from an Illinois voter group saying he would support such a ban.

"My writing wasn't on that particular questionnaire ... as I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns," Obama said, even though his handwritten notes did appear on its front page. The reponse to the question about guns was typed.

Obama had more explaining to do moments later, when he was asked about his controversial comment that small town Americans become bitter because of economic adversity, and "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" as a result.

Bitter was the first stop on the crazy train at 8:04pm. Gun control didn't come up until after 9:30pm. Read the rest of this post...

Philadelphia Daily News endorses Obama: "It's a choice between the past and the future"

A very strong endorsement for Obama from the Philadelphia Daily News. The editorial writers do not mince words here at all:

Contrary to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign slogan, we believe Barack Obama is more likely to be "ready on Day One" to lead us in a new direction. Because of his experience.

Sure, Clinton has more "experience" of a sort. For one thing, she has 14 more years on earth. How much of this experience is directly applicable to the job of president is, at best, debatable.

We are frankly troubled by her assumption that her husband's administration and accomplishments were her own. And if her equation holds, that the first spouse is an equal partner in the administration, then the reappearance of Bill Clinton in the White House is a prospect we have a hard time reconciling with the work that needs to be done.

THERE IS a way to match Clinton's and Obama's performances on a relatively equal playing field: their campaigns.

A candidate's campaign may be the best indicator of how she or he will govern. If so, an Obama administration would be well-managed, inclusive and astonishingly broad-based. It would make good use of technology and communicate a message of unity and, yes, hope.

It would not be content with eking out slim victories by playing to the narrow interests of the swing voters of the moment while leaving the rest of the country as deeply divided as ever. Instead, an Obama administration would seek to expand the number of Americans who believe that they have a personal stake in our collective future - and that they have the power to change things.

It would motivate them to hold their representatives accountable for making it happen. That is, after all, the only way to get us out of Iraq, to address global warming, to make us energy-independent. It's the only way to resist the forces arrayed against providing universal health care, rebuilding our infrastructure and returning our schools to world-class status. It's the only way to give our children the means to compete with children in other parts of the world who are healthier, better-educated and have more opportunities than many of our own.

An Obama administration would be freer of the the corrupting influence of big-money donors and corporate interests. Obama has raised $240 million overall, with half coming in contributions of less than $200. People who contribute to political campaigns can feel they "own" a candidate and so Obama would owe allegiance to the wide swath of America that has financed his campaign.

Based on his experience in running a quarter-billion-dollar enterprise with thousands upon thousands of volunteers, we could expect an Obama administration to be well-managed and cost-effective, with the president choosing forward-thinking advisers committed to his program, demanding that they work as a team and pay attention to details.

He would be steady and calm, given neither to irrational exuberance or outbursts of anger. He would make mistakes, that's for sure, but he could be expected to recognize them, adjust, and move forward.

He would adjust his views to reality rather than trying to adjust reality to his views.

Obama's unprecedented appeal to younger voters is significant not only because it expands the electorate, which is vital. It's also a validation of his promise as a president to be free of the baby-boomer/Vietnam/segregation-era hangups.

Younger people are more egalitarian, more accepting of diversity, and more comfortable with rapid change. They also are less confined by old resentments or regrets.

AND AN OBAMA administration would lower the tone of the rhetoric that separates us.

Read the rest of this post...

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well. It's the morning after the worst debate ever. I wonder how Charlie and George slept last night knowing that their careers will be forever defined by the lunacy of their questioning.

I just can't get past the idea that those two guys had the privilege of asking the next President of the U.S. serious questions about the issues facing our nation. And, those two guys blew it. And, there are very serious issues facing our nation. Life and death issues. That performance last night was a very sad reflection on where America stands. Lest we forget, it was the traditional media that stood by as George Bush led us to into a war based on lies.

And, Hillary Clinton isn't off the hook, either. Her behavior was appalling. Yglesias said it best:

I had thought the Clinton campaign couldn't sink any lower, but thus far she's really just been giving us the full GOP. Listening to her talk about Barack Obama is like reading a Weekly Standard blog post. The lame excuse that she's making this and that outrageous smear because the Republicans will do it later is pathetic. Maybe they will. But she's the one doing it now.

The only person to leave that stage last night with his dignity intact was Obama.

Anyway, let's get it started. Read the rest of this post...

US finally releases AP photographer in Iraq

I hate it when a kangaroo court fails. That said, I'm sure Bilal Hussein now has a much better idea of what Bush-style freedom and democracy is all about.

Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was reunited with family and colleagues Wednesday, ending more than two years in U.S. military custody after Iraqi judges dropped all legal proceedings against him.

Read the rest of this post...

Oil tests $115 support level

UPDATE: Oil tests $115 again, going as high as $115.45 before backing off, though still remaining above $115.

Fortunately it backed down (at the moment, it's $114.74) but with the dollar hitting new lows against the euro, yet again, there's not much out there to prevent oil from breaking through $115 and holding above that level. The Federal Reserve is increasingly pessimistic on the economy though it could be argued that they are only now coming to grips with reality.

The Fed has backed itself into a corner with slashing rates to prop up the biggest sinners from the housing crisis and take a guess who will yet again pay the price? Aren't you glad billions (or even trillions) of Social Security money weren't handed over to Wall Street? Can you imagine? It's no wonder the majority of Americans blame the GOP for this financial situation. Read the rest of this post...