McCain's hastiness has already gotten us into enough trouble

Even more from Frank Rich:

This is a roll of the dice beyond even Bill Clinton’s imagination. “Often my haste is a mistake,” McCain conceded in his 2002 memoir, “but I live with the consequences without complaint.” Well, maybe it’s fine if he wants to live with the consequences, but what about his country? Should the unexamined Palin prove unfit to serve at the pinnacle of American power, it will be too late for the rest of us to complain.

We’ve already seen where such visceral decision-making by McCain can lead. In October 2001, he speculated that Saddam Hussein might have been behind the anthrax attacks in America. That same month he out-Cheneyed Cheney in his repeated public insistence that Iraq had a role in 9/11 — even after both American and foreign intelligence services found that unlikely. He was similarly rash in his reading of the supposed evidence of Saddam’s W.M.D. and in his estimate of the number of troops needed to occupy Iraq. (McCain told MSNBC in late 2001 that we could do with fewer than 100,000.) It wasn’t until months after “Mission Accomplished” that he called for more American forces to be tossed into the bloodbath. The whole fiasco might have been prevented had he listened to those like Gen. Eric Shinseki who faulted the Rumsfeld war plan from the start.

In other words, McCain’s hasty vetting of Palin was all too reminiscent of his grave dereliction of due diligence on the war. He has been no less hasty in implying that we might somehow ride to the military rescue of Georgia (“Today, we are all Georgians”) or in reaffirming as late as December 2007 that the crumbling anti-democratic regime of Pervez Musharraf deserved “the benefit of the doubt” even as it was enabling the resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. McCain’s blanket endorsement of Bush administration policy in Pakistan could have consequences for years to come.

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You can turn off NBC and MSNBC during the debates and elections

McCain and the Republicans got to NBC and MSNBC. They pulled Keith Olbermann out of the anchor chair. Probably because we were all sooooooooo "sexist" last week. Really pathetic of NBC/MSNBC. They actually fell for the Republicans' crap about "bias." But I'm sure that now that NBC/MSNBC has caved to the Republicans, the GOP will never say another mean thing about the network. Yeah, ask the Democrats how well the "cave just this once and they'll leave us alone" strategy has worked. Not to mention, how many people at the Republican convention do you honestly believe watch NBC or MSNBC? They watch FOX, you morons. We watch NBC and MSNBC. At least we did. You people are idiots.

Speaking of idiots who kow-tow to conservatives, did you catch the NYT headline on this story? Keith Olbermann is "incendiary," according to the NYT. You're all idiots.

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How much will Freddie/Fannie bailout cost?

Nobody knows. What a way for a new President to start, saddled with billions to go along with the billions for Iraq and billions for whoever is next in line for a bailout. Where the money is coming from is anyone's guess but hey, the US cut taxes during a "war" so why not slash taxes in the middle of bailout fever? The middle class was given the honor of carrying the burden of war costs and CEO salaries in recent years so maybe it's time for someone else to step up. Read the rest of this post...

Very proud Bush/McCain Republicans at the GOP convention

The dirty little secret among Republicans, which they're hoping the rest of the country doesn't figure out, is that John McCain will give us a third Bush term. As you'll see in the video below from George McCain, the Republicans in St. Paul knew that McCain = Bush -- and revel in the idea.

You must check out the video at Minnesota Independent. Great stuff -- with a cameo from Norm Coleman. That guy really is a tool. Read the rest of this post...

More on McCain's temper

Yeah, but didn't every kid do that? Oh that's right, no we didn't.

At age 2, McCain's tantrums were so intense that he'd hold his breath for a few minutes and pass out. His parents would dunk him in cold water to "cure" him, he wrote in his memoir, "Faith of My Fathers."

"I have spent much of my life choosing my own attitude, often carelessly, often for no better reason than to indulge a conceit," he wrote.

Conceit? You mean like calling yourself a hero and passing judgment as to whether others are as good of Americans as you are? (Remember, the question isn't whether McCain is a hero, the question is how the American people will react to someone who brands himself a hero.) There's more:

In January, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., told The Boston Globe that "the thought of (McCain) being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." (Cochran has since endorsed McCain.)

Yeah, wonder what McCain said to get Cochran to "endorse" him. Read the rest of this post...

How an AMERICAblog reader asked John and Sarah real questions at a photo opp today. Palin notes that Stevens is under indictment.

NOTE FROM JOHN: Joe just pointed something out to me, the part where our reader asks Palin if she's going to vote for Ted Stevens and she replies, "he's under indictment, you know." Yes, we do know, Sarah. But we find it awfully interesting that the GOP vice presidential nominee thinks that the appropriate point for Alasans to remember this fall when considering whether to vote for Ted Stevens or Mark Begich, that when it comes to considering Ted Stevens, "he's under indictment, you know."

NOTE FROM JOE: Jim, who sent us this post and photos, has now asked Sarah Palin more questions than the entire political press corps COMBINED. Nice work, Jim. If only the traditional media types could be so industrious.
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An AMERICAblog reader was having lunch in Albuquerque, New Mexico today, when who should drop in for a substance-less photo opp? John McCain and Sarah Palin. And you'll be surprised to know that when both of them were asked polite but substantive questions by our reader, they refused to answer. He's such a maverick, that John McCain. And she has so much substance, it's scary, that Sarah Palin. Here's our reader's first hand report from the afternoon that they made Sarah Palin confront a real question from a real human being:

Our family today had an interesting encounter that I wanted to share with you. We were eating at El Pinto restaurant in Albuquerque. It is the most popular New Mexican restaurant in town, a large sprawling compound with a number of dinning rooms and patio spaces.

We were eating outside in the patio closest to the main road and had just finishing lunch when I saw the McCain bus drive by! It was followed closely by a number of police motorcycles, secret service SUVS, and press vans. It was obvious they were coming to El Pinto!

We figured we'd head out and see if we could get a closer look. I decided this might be my one chance, to ask one question of each candidate. I carried Caterina (16 months) along with me to meet the candidates.

I worked my way through a number of other dinners and secret service and finally got to the patio on the other side of the restaurant. I could see John McCain ahead of me shaking hands with folks. Sorry the picture is so blurry. I had a baby in one arm and an iPhone in the other!

McCain worked his way up to me and Cat and as I shook his hand, I asked, "Sir, I respect your service but, why were you against the GI bill?" Senator McCain, paused, he looked a bit surprised at the question and then he said, "Nice to meet you." I repeated the question and he repeated his non-answer. He quickly worked his way down the line. So much for straight-talk!

I have been genuinely curious as to why he wouldn't support a bill so important to veterans (McCain opposed this bill from the beginning and then skipped the vote). Also, I was surprised at myself as I as I almost involuntarily prefaced my question with, "Sir, I respect your service but..." No wonder he's gotten a free ride by the press, I think this reaction is not unique and the press must feel the same pressure that I felt. Perhaps that explains why his poor support for veteran issues isn't well known.

Sarah Palin was next! I couldn't resist trying for a better photo. It is still blurry, but talk about a close encounter.

Sarah first looked at Caterina said hello, and I shook her hand. I asked, "Are supporting Ted Stevens this year?" She replied, "He's under indictment you know...his trial is in September." I replied, "But are you voting for him?" She walked away without answering.

I don't think this question will be answered until after Senator Stevens' trial in September and perhaps never. After all, Ted Stevens is still running for the Senate this year and a Republican vote, corrupt or not, is still a Republican vote. I was amazed that she offered up, "He's under indictment you know." She's going to need some serious handling before they let her into the wild!

I followed Governor Palin out and they stopped to purchase some salsa. This whole stop was just a photo-op and my questions, any questions were obviously not part of the script. No townhall meeting here.

After less than 15 minutes at the Restaurant the Straight-NoTalk Express headed out.

My wife Angela was at the entrance with my son Andrea holding up a home made Obama sign and shouting at McCain, Palin and the press. It made me very proud. A memorable lunch at El Pinto.

Jim, Angela, Andrea and Caterina
Corrales, New Mexico

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Socialism for CEOs?

I don't think that I'm alone with my anger and disgust as I watch yet another Wall Street collapse that was based on funny money and accounting games. As Americablog commenter cowboyneok says, this is "socialism for CEOs" and hyper-capitalism for the poor. Even now as we start hearing about the Freddie/Fannie implosion, the Times reports that "while not necessarily in violation of accounting rules, had the effect of overstating the companies’ capital resources and financial stability." Then think back to previous Wall Street heroes such as Stanley O'Neal, Charles Prince and Angelo Mozilo who made hundreds of millions based on garbage that eventually had to be written down and taken off the books. I'd still like to know how fair that is and if McCain has an answer, please, do tell.

In the case of Freddie and Fannie, they pushed bad business out to show better numbers, thus boosting bonuses for the executives. Congress thinks they're impressing us by calling these bums down to Washington and embarrassing them on TV. Right. Chuckled the first time, but looking for some action. The US government has had to intervene to prop these companies up, providing them with incredibly cheap loans above the usual money and we've even had to bailout Bear Stearns so the wealth JPMoganChase can buy them. Extraordinary action by the government tells me that all bets are off. We saved the CEO crowd and for what? To let them walk away with millions without question? Are you kidding? From the sound of the Freddie/Fannie talks it will be more of the same.

We can't continue letting these executives get away with gaming the system and keeping their hundreds of millions. Let them play the game just like the rest of us and if they win, let them prosper. If they fail, let them fail. Congress needs to move past their grandstanding on TV and appreciate how damned angry people are out there. If Wall Street wants the upside of so-called capitalism, let them have it. Attached to the upside comes the downside that they so rightly deserve, but Washington has helped them avoid all downside. Downsides of this fake capitalism are somehow only dished out to those beneath the corporate boards.

Washington always throws up its hands and wonders how it can change this socialism-for-CEO situation but that's easy. We got to this point via tax code changes that eliminate risk and we can change this the same way. Quit coddling these executives and let them play by the same rules as everyone else. Is this asking for too much? Read the rest of this post...

Palin lied again yesterday, claiming she was against the Bridge to Nowhere when she was for it only two years ago

It's actually kind of creepy that she keeps saying over and over again that she was against the Bridge to Nowhere. She wasn't. She was wildly in favor of it. And we have the quotes from her home-state newspaper less than two years ago. Sarah Palin made the lie the first time the day John McCain introduced her to the country, then she did it during her prime time convention speech, and now she's saying it again and again as part of her stump speech. So what gives? If Obama or Biden kept outright lying about a specific point, something the media knew to be patently untrue, they'd be on their case non-stop. Sarah Palin has repeatedly lied to the country this week,and she seems intent on doing it again and again (she also lied about the eBay thing). Will the media hold her accountable? Will John McCain? Or don't older mavericks care about outright lying to the American people?

Oh, and let's not forget that McCain in the past actually criticized Palin's own earmarks. So let's stop pretending that Palin is something she isn't. Because she isn't. Read the rest of this post...

Why can't McCain work for $1 now? Why is he still accepting social security and a navy pension?

What an absolute fraud and shame on Schieffer for failing to perform his basic duties as a journalist. Today on Face the Nation McCain suggested his wealthy Cabinet members would work for $1 per year. That's nice, but what about McCain - man of 12 houses - himself?

Now, I'm not sure what McCain thinks is wealthy (well, we know in fact - he thinks you have to make over $5m a year to be "wealthy") but by most accounts, making over $400,000 (what he pulled in last year) is pretty comfortable, especially for a 72 year old. In addition to his own healthy income, his wife is worth over $100 million. Besides his income from the Senate, McCain also receives Social Security income and a Navy pension. While it may be unusual for any American to continue receiving a salary in addition to disability, if that's what the law allows, so be it. It's understandable that he receives the disability income, but the rest of it raises questions according to his new standard. But to suggest others should go without a normal salary because they are wealthy, and then fail at your own promise, just goes to prove what a hypocrite he is. Maybe he's just confused about the income he gladly accepts year after year or perhaps his friends are even wealthier, but shouldn't he have had to defend his own actions? Shouldn't Bob Schieffer be responsible for asking questions instead of acting like a cheerleader?

Again, this is well beyond anything most Americans could ever dream of so why is McCain even mentioning such an idea? If he can't even live up to his own phony set of standards - just like Bush for the last eight years - then shouldn't he be called out? We all know Bob Schieffer is a patsy, but his showing today was something to behold. Could he have been any friendlier with McCain? I thought he was going to hug McCain it was so bad. Read the rest of this post...

Obama: A lobbyist chairs McCain's campaign, a former lobbyist is running McCain's campaign, he must think you're stupid

Good Obama hit on McCain regarding McCain's hypocrisy in claiming he's gonna take on the lobbyists. A lobbyist is chairing McCain's campaign. A former lobbyist is running it. There are more than 60 current and former telcom lobbyists on McCain's campaign. It's ridiculous how in bed McCain is with lobbyists in Washington. But no one holds McCain accountable. The man may have been a maverick at some point in his life, I don't know what he is now. But he's not the John McCain who ran in 2000, that's for sure.

Bill Burton, from the Obama campaign notes today:

"Voting with George Bush 90% of the time isn't being a maverick, it's being the President's sidekick. The idea that John McCain represents change in Washington is as laughable as his claim that he'll take on the special interests when some of the biggest corporate lobbyists in America are running his campaign," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

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McCain gets RickRoll'd

Actually, he gets BarackRoll'd (this is RickRolling, for the uninitiated):

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Biden challenges Palin to come out of hiding and answer questions

She's not quite ready to answer questions about her qualifications yet, but I'm sure she'll be fine facing down Osama. Well, that is unless Osama throws a curve ball and tries to - dare I say it - ask her a question. In that case, we're all doomed. Read the rest of this post...

McCain tax plan: "Bush's plan on steroids"

Naturally McCain is going to promote a radical plan, because the owner of twelve houses thinks that the US has experienced significant economic progress, so why not more? More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, higher costs for health care (for those who need to pay attention to such costs) and more cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Despite making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and being married to a beer heiress worth $100 million, McCain still gladly accepts his Social Security money but wants everyone else to cut back.

It must be nice to live in such an ivory tower, where the cost of living or staying afloat financially doesn't matter. Look at how much is being paid by employees today and then think about how expensive it will be on a personal basis when McCain cuts the tax break for employers on health care and it's all thrown into your lap with a pathetic little tax credit, which is useless. Talk about expensive! Also consider how poorly US money has been spent (and lost) in Iraq while John McCain has made that his number one issue. He can't even watch over spending in Iraq yet expects 300 million Americans to wade through the free-for-all health care theory that he wants to promote. Besides wealthy elites like McCain, who can afford the cost and time for such a plan? Not everyone has a team of personal accountants on call to figure it all out. Read the rest of this post...

Frank Rich brilliantly encapsulates the past week and the McCain campaign

This is how Frank Rich's column today starts -- and it just gets better:

SARAH PALIN makes John McCain look even older than he is. And he seemed more than willing to play that part on Thursday night. By the time he slogged through his nearly 50-minute acceptance speech — longer even than Barack Obama’s — you half-expected some brazen younger Republican (Mitt Romney, perhaps?) to dash onstage to give him a gold watch and the bum’s rush.

Still, attention must be paid. McCain’s address, though largely a repetitive slew of stump-speech lines and worn G.O.P. orthodoxy, reminded us of what we once liked about the guy: his aspirations to bipartisanship, his heroic service in Vietnam, his twinkle. He took his (often inaccurate) swipes at Obama, but, in winning contrast to Palin and Rudy Giuliani, he wasn’t smug or nasty.

The only problem, of course, is that the entire thing was a sham.

Yes, it was.

There are so many great lines and passages in this column. Read the whole thing. Excerpts and analysis don't do it justice. Read the rest of this post...

"Triumph the Insult Dog" at the GOP convention

That's Triumph the Insult Dog.

Better analysis than almost anything on cable news. Better than anything on the Sunday shows. Triumph the Insult Dog does the GOP convention.

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AP asks: "McCain-Palin becoming Palin-McCain?"

Because Republicans want a president with no experience, they're turning the tables on their ticket. Check out this AP headline:The google tells me this headline has already appeared at 156 sites. A headline like this isn't going to sit well with Ron Fournier and Liz Sidoti, AP's top McCain flacks. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Everyone, just everyone from the two campaigns is on at least one of the shows today. Well, there is one notable exception: Sarah Palin. My guess is we'll never, ever see Palin on one of these Sunday shows -- not during this campaign anyway.

So, with Obama, Biden and McCain all showing up, there will be some news. The Obama and McCain interviews were pre-recorded and have already started to leak out. It's rare enough that McCain is actually talking to a reporter, but, no surprise, it looks like Scheiffer threw him softballs. The biggest story will continue to be that Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be v.p. If she can't handle Brokaw or Scheiffer or Stephanopoulos or even just the crew at FOX, how the hell will she ever be able to handle Putin?

Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

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CNN's "Late Edition" — Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; Gov. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs; McCain economic adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Obama chief strategist David Axelrod and McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

If you're watching, provide the commentary. Read the rest of this post...

In light of Fannie/Freddie, how does McCain's plan for "less regulation" help?

Even as the housing bubble took Wall Street down for the first market bottom in the spring, McCain preached "less regulation" as the solution. He didn't say this five years ago, but just a few months ago while it was all unraveling. McCain probably even thought he was a clever guy for his snappy answer that pleases the GOP faithful. Less regulation had worked so far in their minds, so what the hell? Even yesterday, Palin talked about making Fannie/Freddie "smaller" though it wasn't clear if she meant the actual company or the size of the oversight team. (That's what happens when you don't answer questions.) McCain admits that he knows nothing about the economy and calling for less regulation really reinforces that proud ignorance.

If anyone can actually ask John McCain a question (or Palin for that matter) it would be interesting to hear how the McCain plan (in reality, the Phil Gramm plan) of less regulation would help in the case of the Freddie/Fannie nationalization or whatever they want to call it. Obviously McCain is incapable of answering the toughest question facing America right now so we can even let him use his cheat sheet and economic brain, Foreclosure Phil. Read the rest of this post...

Heart sends GOP "cease and desist" letter over use of "Barracuda"

The list of entertainers that have sent similar letters to the GOP is so long it's hard to imagine there are any bands out there left. Well, they could always try some gun-toting Ted Nugent songs though nobody really likes that rubbish now, do they? Otherwise I hear there's some really jazzy stuff from Engelbert Humperdinck out there. Who knows, maybe he's a fan. Not likely, the Republicans won't know until they ask. Read the rest of this post...

Health care costs to increase for workers

Not to worry though because the McCain plan will eliminate tax incentives for employers and then provide employees with a whopping $2500 tax credit for individuals and wow, $5000 for a family. What this means is that employers will quickly unload health care plans for workers and then throw families into chaos as they scan the Wild West of health care offerings. That should be a simple process because the health care industry is already known for being clear about what they offer everyone.

Just imagine the excitement across America as families look at health care plans of $12,000 or more and balance that out with a $5,000 tax credit at the end of the year. That is the kind of innovation that McCain delivers that will have America worked into a frenzy. Maybe not the kind of frenzy that he expects though. Only an elitist who owns twelve homes could possibly think this plan is a positive change.

Get ready for another hike in copays and deductibles.

A survey being released Thursday by the Mercer consulting firm found 59 percent of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising workers’ deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits.

On average, health care costs will go up by an estimated 5.7 percent next year for both workers and their employers, the study found. That repeats this year’s 5.7 percent hike and a 6.1 percent jump in 2007.

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Report: Murdoch would like to purchase NY Times, Bloomberg

Because we don't have enough media consolidation already. Please, please, please give us more of the same, Soviet-style, one-size-fits-all media so we can sleep soundly at night knowing that there's no diversity of opinion. Isn't that the American way? Read the rest of this post...

McCain supporter questions whether Obama "loves his country"

First off, this is deflection from the Republicans. They're desperate to change the subject from McCain's non-vetting of Sarah Palin, putting her a heartbeat away from the presidency when she has no qualifications whatsoever to step foot near the White House. They're also desperate to avoid any discussion of whether McCain is still qualified to take over as commander in chief. He's 72 years old and has had cancer 4 times, and he's starting to look a bit too old for the rigors of the presidency, especially during wartime. So what's the best way to avoid those discussions? Cancel all press conferences and say your opponent doesn't love our country. Which of course raises the question of why John McCain and his supporters are so darn holier-than-thou about who is and isn't a good American. It's one thing for McCain to be a hero, but quite another for him to think of himself as a hero. At some point, I don't think voters are going to warm to someone who thinks so highly of their past that they run around judging others, as if they have the patent on being a good American. Then again, when you're 72 years old and have had 4 bouts of cancer, and bizarrely hire a political novice with no qualifications and no vetting to be your running mate, you have to do what you can to change the subject. Read the rest of this post...