McCain's "beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll"

Gail Collins in the NYT. Extremely difficult to excerpt - it's that good:

I miss the good old days. Remember when the presidential campaign was all about oil drilling? That sure was fun....

Remember how we used to joke about John McCain looking like an old guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn? It’s only in retrospect that we can see that the keep-off-the-grass period was the McCain campaign’s golden era. Now, he’s beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll.

During that last debate, while he was wandering around the stage, you almost expected to hear him start muttering: “We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precious.”

....The Republican campaign strategy now involves sending their candidates to areas where everybody is a die-hard McCain supporter already. Then they yell about Obama until the crowd is so frenzied people start making threats. The rest of the country is supposed to watch and conclude that this would be an enjoyable way to spend the next four years.

Maybe the Republicans should have picked somebody else. I miss Mitt Romney. Sure, he was sort of smarmy. But when Mitt was around, the banks had money and Iceland was solvent. And, of course, when we got bored, we could always talk about how he drove to Canada with his Irish setter strapped to the car roof...

Maybe Cindy is trying to hold her own against Sarah, who is with John almost as much as she is. I miss the old guy-guy McCain who had so many male pals around he looked like a walking fraternity reunion. Now, he’s starting to resemble an ambulatory patient accompanied by female attendants on an outing.

Palin has been pressing the line that people don’t really know “the real Barack Obama,” and who could make the argument better than a woman who we’ve already known for almost six weeks? Really, she’s like one of the family.

We’ve gotten so close we’ve already learned that she didn’t actually sell the plane on eBay, didn’t actually visit the troops in Iraq and didn’t really have a talk with the British ambassador. As soon as we get the Trooper thing and Alaska Independence Party thing and the tax thing figured out, she’ll be an open book....

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Republicans are dumping McCcain -- and dumping on him

There is so much information in this article from the top political writers at the New York Times that the whole thing is worth a read.

First and foremost, this is another in the burgeoning number of articles where leading Republicans say sure McCain can win (wink, wink) -- as they go on to trash him and his campaign. The GOPers are dumping McCain en masse.

There are a few highlights to this article. For example, leading Republicans think McCain can turn around the election in the "next 30 days." Okay, election day is in 23 days (the article is for the Sunday paper) -- and people in many states are already voting. I had to read this paragraph a couple times to make sure it said "30 days," and it does:

Again and again, party leaders said in interviews that while they still believed that Mr. McCain could win over voters in the next 30 days, they were concerned that he and his advisers seemed to be adrift in dealing with an extraordinarily challenging political battleground and a crisis on Wall Street.

Here's one top GOPer making that "30 days" claim:

“The main thing he needs to do,” said Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota, “is focus on a single message — a single, concise or clear-cut message, and stick with that over the next 30 days, regardless of what happens. He’s had a lot of attack lines. But it’s time to choose.”

So, leading Republicans think McCain might win the election in 30 days or on November 11th. Okay, but by then Obama will be the president-elect.

Another classic passage comes from the Pennsylvania GOP Chair:

In Pennsylvania, Robert A. Gleason Jr., the state Republican chairman, said he was concerned that Mr. McCain’s increasingly aggressive tone was not working with moderate voters and women in the important southeastern part of a state that is at the top of Mr. McCain’s must-win list.

“They’re not as susceptible to attack ads,” Mr. Gleason said. “I worry about the southeast. Obama is making inroads.”

Funny that Mr. Gleason is so worried about the "aggressive tone." Last week, as Will Bunch reported, that same Mr. Gleason sent out a press release calling Obama "a terrorist's best friend." Gleason is clearly an idiot. He's got only himself (and McCain and Palin) to blame for the ugliness that's turning off voters in his state.

I'll conclude with a comment from former Bush cabinet secretary Tommy Thompson who was pretty blunt:

Tommy Thompson, a Republican who is a former governor of Wisconsin, said it would be difficult for Mr. McCain to win in his state but not impossible, particularly if he campaigned in conservative Democratic parts of the state. Asked if he was happy with Mr. McCain’s campaign, Mr. Thompson replied, “No,” and he added, “I don’t know who is.”

Yes, the GOP rats are jumping off the McCain ship. Those same rats were all on the Bush ship that destroyed America.

This election is going to be a total repudiation of the Republican party. Read the rest of this post...

So when is McCain going to repudiate his supporters' calls for Obama to be assassinated?

I just saw that McCain issued some erratic statement today calling on Obama to apologize because Rep. John Lewis said that McCain and Palin "are playing a very dangerous game" with their hate-inspiring rhetoric. Just two months ago, McCain told us that same John Lewis was one of the wisest people he knew.

Obama refused to apologize for what Lewis said. Why should he considering how many Republicans are basically saying the same thing including David Gergen and McCain's former strategy guru, John Weaver? Add in Republican Congressman Ray Lahood.

Also, interesting that McCain attacks Lewis but he has yet to repudiate his followers' repeated calls for Obama to be assassinated - calls they made in front of McCain's and Palin's faces, while McCain and Palin did nothing in response. Calling on Obama to repudiate John Lewis while letting all the hate rhetoric go unchallenged, that's just priceless.

But hey, McCain's team has already said that if McCain talks about the economic crisis, he will lose the election. McCain is going to do anything and everything to change the subject away from the economy. How erratic. How sad.

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UPDATED: In Philly tonight, "The Alaska Disasta" met with "avalanche of boos"

UPDATE and Bumped: According to "Pulp Culture" at Delaware Online (with video), it didn't go so well for Palin in Philadelphia tonight:

So, how did Philadelphia Flyers fans greet Sarah Palin, who was on hand tonight for the ceremonial puck-drop?

Watching on Comcast, there was an avalanche of boos when she walked out -- boos that were almost immediately drowned out by blaring, bombastic music.

There is no doubt in my mind that that the music was ordered up to help tamp down what could have been an even more embarrassing moment.

The weirdest part of it was that Palin, who had to know she was going to be booed, walked out with her cutie pie 7-year-old daughter, Piper.

Why do I have a feeling that poor Piper will be discussing being booed by thousands with a therapist in about 10 years?

Hat tip, Narz
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Sarah Palin is dropping the puck tonight at the Philadelphia Flyers hockey game. Thanks to Keystone Progress, she's got her own playing card:

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Man holds up Obama monkey doll at Palin rally

Who wants to be associated with this kind of Republican party? Or with a candidate who inspires this kind of hate and intolerance? You'd think the stock market didn't just lose 20% of its value in the past month, the way Mccain, Palin and their hateful crowds are acting. From CBS News, video below:

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McCain/Palin: The first totally unethical ticket in history

Steve Benen did some research:

The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

McCain, of course, was admonished by Senate Ethics Committee "for exercising 'poor judgment' for intervening" with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, as part of the infamous Keating Five scandal.

And now McCain's running mate has also been found to have violated state ethics laws and abused the powers of her office, as part of the "Troopergate" scandal.

So, it is a truly historic ticket. Read the rest of this post...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Mr. Obama has been presidential;" McCain "became the incredible shrinking man."

Newspaper endorsements are starting. Not sure they have much of an impact with voters, but they do capture the sentiment about the candidates and can be illuminating. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch endorsed Obama and McCain before the February 5th Missouri primary. In the general election, the paper is strongly behind Obama -- and very disappointed in McCain.

Over the past nine months, Mr. Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has emerged as the only truly transformative candidate in the race. In the crucible that is a presidential campaign, his intellect, his temperament and equanimity under pressure consistently have been impressive. He has surrounded himself with smart, capable advisers who have helped him refine thorough, nuanced policy positions.

In a word, Mr. Obama has been presidential.

Meanwhile, Mr. McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, became the incredible shrinking man. He shrank from his principled stands in favor of a humane immigration policy. He shrank from his universal condemnation of torture and his condemnation of the politics of smear.

He even shrank from his own campaign slogan, “County First,” by selecting the least qualified running mate since the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall ran as William Jennings Bryan’s No. 2 in 1896.

"Shrinking man." Nasty, but true. Read the rest of this post...

Palin lies to reporter about ethics report

She's even unethical when talking about ethics.

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At McCain event, Iowa pastor apparently wants Jesus to honor his own name by defeating Obama

Iowa Independent liveblogged McCain's campaign event in Davenport, Iowa. Why McCain is campaigning in Iowa defies explanation. That state is out of his grasp, but hey, if the brain trust at McCain HQ wants him there, who are we to argue? Anyway, check out the disturbing invocation:

The invocation is interesting, as I hear keyboards going all around me:

“There are plenty of people around the world who are praying to their god, be they Hindu, Buddah, or Allah, that (McCain’s) opponent wins. I pray that you step forward and honor your own name.” Ends with “in Jesus’ name.”

Wow. McCain does not appear to have been here yet to catch that, but wow. The preacher’s name appears to be a Pastor Conrad of the Evangelical Free Church.

Wow is right. I'm sure Jesus perked right up when he heard that one. The way these right wingers bastardize and politicize religion is just beyond the pale. And, the veiled hate-mongering doesn't seem all that Christian either.

UPDATE: Think Progress has more of the "prayer." It gets even worse. The pastor wants Jesus to protect his own reputation by defeating Obama:

I would also pray, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and election day.

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Did McCain acknowledge that he lost?

Very weird video (below) from Josh Marshall over at TPM. Yesterday, McCain was forced to tell his own supporters to STFU after a week of inciting them to yell death threats about Barack Obama. Reader MG asks if the Secret Service had a little talk with McCain, and perhaps that's why he's suddenly so down on assassination talk. I wouldn't be surprised. Something happened. And McCain clearly isn't happy about it.

Don't get me wrong, McCain couldn't care less if his supporters are urging that Obama be killed - remember, just yesterday the McCain campaign put out two - TWO - statements defending the assassination talk. (And, as Josh notes, McCain's Obama-isn't-like-you-and-me commercials are still running, and still inciting racial and ethnic hatred.) McCain looks like a beaten man, especially when he says that you don't have to be scared of Obama as president of the United States. That sounded to me like a Freudian concession speech.

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Outrageous Norm Coleman stunt (involving Paul Wellstone)

Watch this. I don't want to spoil the surprise. But, in a nutshell, Republican Senator Norm Coleman, who is about to lose his seat in Minnesota to Al Franken, just ran ad against Al Franken. The dishonesty, and stupidity, of it makes McCain look like a Boy Scout. Watch this, seriously, its only 60 seconds.

So, first watch the snippet of the Norm Coleman ad portraying Al Franken as a dangerously angry man.



Then watch Al Franken's video which shows you where Franken got the "angry" snippet from. You'll die.

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Out-of-state Mormons pouring millions to defeat gays in California. And they're succeeding.

Please join our campaign to raise money to defeat Prop 8 in California. It's a religious right/Mormon initiative that would repeal the marriages of thousands of gay couples in that state. The latest news reports show that, while we were winning, we're now losing. Folks working on the battle tell us that it's all a matter of money. The bad guys have $10 million more than us (thanks to the Mormons). If we can only raise enough on our side, we can win.

Please use the box to the left, just click on it, to donate to the campaign. 100% of your donation goes to the campaign, you can give as much as you want, and it's 100% secure. You guys donated an amazing $20,000 in only one day. Let's see if we can make it 50k.

And now for the rest of the story...

The untold story of the battle over Proposition 8 is how, yet again, the Mormon Church is butting its nose into a gay civil rights debate in a state that isn't Utah. I've been following gay civil rights issues since the early 1990s, and you'd be amazed at how many times the Mormon Church has dumped its money into a state not-its-own in order to bash gays and lesbians. A very nasty church.

Markos has more on the Prop 8 battle and why it matters:

Yes, this is a battle for universal human rights, but ultimately, it directly affects just the LGBT community. Since it has the most to gain, and the most to lose, the burden of this battle falls on their backs. And while lots of people -- straight and gay -- have stepped up to fight for what's right, many of the wealthiest gays and lesbians in this country have sat on the sidelines, complacent and aloof.

The LGBT community has lots of individuals who can write those big checks. They are well represented in the ranks of the millionaires. We need to urge them to get off the sidelines and engage in this fight

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Jed wonders "how many John McCains are out there?"

New video from Jed:



I've said it before and I'll say it again: The best word to describe John McCain is "erratic." One of the worst words to describe a potential president is "erratic." Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

24 days.

For a few much needed laughs, check out the Saturday cartoons over at Bob Geiger's site. And, while you're there, check out some of Bob's other work. He's provides great insight and really digs in on the key issues.

Okay, then read the poem of the week, Ode to Sean Hannity by John Cleese. Yes, that Sean Hannity and, yes, that John Cleese. It's hysterical.

24 days to change the world.

Get it started. Read the rest of this post...

Bush addresses the financial crisis he created -- again

Let's just say, we all know this economic crisis is a disaster. But, when the first thing I see on my t.v. on a Saturday morning is George Bush addressing the nation one more time, well, that can only be trouble. He's trying to reassure us again. Again.

He provided this warning, too, which sounded a little ominous:

As our nations carry out this plan, we must insure the actions of one country do not contradict or undermine the actions of another. In our interconnected world, no nation will gain by driving down the fortunes of another. We're in this together.

Who is he talking about? China? And, does anyone in the world take Bush seriously anymore?

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Colin "WMD presentation to UN" Powell calls Senator Stevens' word 'sterling"

Does anyone even trust what Powell has to say these days? I'm not familiar with the trend of sending in a BS artist like Powell to defend someone on trial, but I admit that I'm not up on the latest odd trends. From his role in the investigation of the Mai Lai massacre right up to his flashy presentation to the UN, Powell never struck me as one who yearned for the truth but maybe the constitutes the truth has changed. Then again, maybe not.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity "sterling" in the quarter-century they've known each other. "As we say in the infantry, this is a guy you take on a long patrol," said the retired four-star Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Norm Coleman backs out of McCain event

As Nate says, McCain now has cooties.

There are at least three groups of Republicans that might have an interest in distancing themselves from John McCain. Firstly, purple-state moderates like Coleman and Gordon Smith who don't like the campaign's tone. Secondly, the anti-bailout economic populists in the House who might be looking ahead to 2010 and 2012. And thirdly, true conservatives who never trusted McCain that much to begin with.

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CNBC celebrates "Blinging in the holidays"

Now here's a team that really gets it. Nothing says "global financial crisis" like a flashy slide show of expensive gifts such as a $100,000 motorcycle or $500,000 for the Dallas Cowboy's end zone. Let's hear more about how the SOB's from Wall Street are going to spend their funny money after walking away with wads of millions in cash. Hooray for bogus business bonuses! Best financial system...ever! Well done by the Wall Street cheerleaders who have told us "buy now, this is the bottom" every time we hit a new low. If CNBC decides to do a "holiday gift slideshow" for the rest of America it will need to have thrillers such as food on the table, a job, retirement plan that is at least not dropping and cash to keep a roof over your head. Not quite as flashy though. Read the rest of this post...

Paulson finally agrees to invest and buy into US banks

Waiting until the end of October made no sense at all. Do it now and stop the bleeding, or at least lessen it. Buy preferred positions in the banks so when the economy settles and turns around, taxpayers have something to show for their sacrifice.

In remarks to the media just concluded, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said the federal government will use the authority it has been granted by the $700 billion Wall Street bailout/rescue law to buy actual stakes in U.S. banks, in addition to merely buying troubled assets off their books.

The move is notable because it will give the federal government and, by extension, U.S. taxpayers, an actual ownership position in banks, effectively nationalizing them to a degree.

Under the original bailout/rescue plan, taxpayers would be only temporary owners of the troubled assets, which will be sold back into the private sector. And, indeed, the newly announced ownership stake may be temporary, as well.

"We can use taxpayer money more effectively, more efficiently, it will go farther, they will get more for their dollars and more protection if we develop a standardized program" for buying equity stakes, Paulson said.

Paulson was asked if Treasury will spend more money buying the troubled assets or buying equity stakes.

"I'm not willing to say anything today relative to the size of the two efforts," he said.

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Mr Bubble sees a housing recovery soon!

Uh huh, prosperity is just around the corner.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. housing market will begin to recover in the first half of 2009, according to an article he wrote for Emerging Markets magazine published Friday.

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