Um, what exactly did McCain just mean on SNL?

UPDATE: Reader Jack writes about the opening skit on SNL that McCain just did. I just watched it again, Jack is correct about the words that were used. You decide what McCain was referring to:

The final joke mccain made was a reference to the C word

swear to god!

paraphrased McCain:

"So when you go to the polls on Tuesday, remember, COUNTRY first. As a reminder, all undergarments are non refundable. And LIVE FROM NEW YORK..."

Did that just happen??!!!!

wow. Am I missing something?

jack

Country First leads McCain to think about undergarments.

McCain isn't looking presidential. I'm just not sure I want my potential future president doing comedy skits three days before the election. I love SNL, but it's one thing appearing on Letterman, and quite another doing funny "skits" like you're on the Lucy Show. I know Joe had a similar reaction watching Palin on here a few weeks ago. Something just doesn't feel presidential about all of this. Your thoughts? Read the rest of this post...

McCain wants credit for not being a racist

Mighty white of him.

Read the rest of this post...

On the trail in Florida, Danny O'Donnell stumps for Annette Taddeo

Two of my favorite people were on the campaign trail together in Florida today. New York Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell is in South Florida to get out the vote -- just like he did in 2004. He's finding a lot more support for the Democratic ticket this time around. And, he is also helping Annette Taddeo, who is running for Congress in Florida's 18th Congressional District (which includes South Beach and Key West.) Annette is running against Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Bush-loving Republican. In fact, one of the few times Bush showed his face on the trail this fall was for Ileana.

Danny loves Annette, too. It's hard not to love her. She can win her race. Early voting is through the roof in Florida and looks good for Democrats. I predict it will be one of the big upsets on Tuesday night.

Read the rest of this post...

John McCain has always had faith in America, but he didn't love America til he was 31

John McCain has a new line in his stump speech, which runs counter to something else McCain has said:

"My country has never had to prove anything to me, my friends," McCain said. "I've always had faith in it, and I've been humbled and honored to serve it. If I'm elected president, I'll fight to shake up Washington and take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight, and I'm ready for it, and you're gonna fight with me."

So, he's always had faith in our country. But, John McCain has repeatedly stated that he didn't always love his country:

Yes, John McCain has repeatedly stated that he didn't love our country until he was captured as a POW during Vietnam. Here's what McCain said in March on FOX:

"I didn't really love America until I was deprived of her company."

Then there's McCain in 1999:

"It wasn't until I was deprived of her company that I fell in love with America."

McCain was 31 years old when he was captured. 31. Far into adulthood. So McCain was fighting for our country, a country he didn't love. And we're supposed to respect the military service of a man who didn't love his country. Then why was he fighting?

So faith, yes. Love, not always. Read the rest of this post...

McCain's "name was literally nowhere to be found" at Palin event in Florida

John who?

Seems like the v.p. candidate and the rest of the GOP dumped their presidential nominee today at a rally in Florida. Via CNN's Political Ticker:

At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign décor — John McCain’s.

Looking around the Fantasy of Flight aircraft hangar where the rally took place, there were all the usual reminders that it was a pro-McCain event. There were two large “Country First” banners hung on the walls along with four enormous American flags meant to conjure the campaign’s underlying patriotic theme. Many of the men and women in the audience wore McCain hats and t-shirts.

But on closer inspection, the GOP nominee’s name was literally nowhere to be found on any of the official campaign signage distributed to supporters at the event.

Members of the audience proudly waved “Country First” placards as Palin delivered her stump speech. Those signs were paid for by the Republican National Committee.

The other sign handed out to supporters read “Florida is Palin Country,” but those signs were neither paid for by the Republican National Committee nor the McCain campaign. In small print, the signs were stamped with the line “Paid for and authorized by Putnam for Congress" — as in, the re-election campaign of Florida congressman Adam Putnam, whose district skirts Polk City.

NOTE FROM JOHN: Signs not paid for by the RNC or the McCain campaign? Sarah Palin is freelancing. Man she's full of herself. And she's clearly decided to ditch McCain and build up her own bona fides for 2012. It's funny - we were afraid that Hillary would turn on Obama and try to throw the election so she could run again in 2012. In fact, Hillary has been great. It's Palin who's now thrown McCain overboard and running for her next election. Nasty. Read the rest of this post...

Since when is DHS leaking private information about an individual in order to help throw a presidential election simply a "violation of policy"?

It's slap on the wrist time over at the Department of Homeland Security. You remember them? The people collecting massive databases on all of us, including information about our religion and sexual orientation. But they assure us that they'll never misuse the information and violate our trust like the US military did when it spied on the phone sex conversations of its own officers. Well, now the DHS is saying that its own employees' apparent attempt to influence the presidential election for McCain - something worthy of a banana republic or a communist dictatorship - is simply a possible "violation of policy."

Violation of policy?

How about crime? How about an Orwellian violation of our privacy? How about proof that the DHS can't be trusted to keep America safe since apparently the Keystone Cops are running the place? Read the rest of this post...

Obama congratulates McCain on the Cheney endorsement: He earned it.

It was also great to hear Obama give a shout out to General Wesley Clark, who was out on the trail with him today in Colorado.

Read the rest of this post...

How the mob ended John McCain's town halls

From Politico:

The town hall format was supposed be the Republican nominee’s favorite campaign forum, highlighting his shoot-from-the-hip style, his broad knowledge on a slew of issues and his irreverent wit. He loved it so much that he challenged Obama to a string of town hall debates.

But with their potential for amplifying unscripted outbursts and attention-diverting disasters, the microphones at high school gymnasiums and basketball arenas across the swing states have gone silent during the final stretch of the presidential campaign. McCain, a man who has prided himself on discussions with the common man, has not entertained a single question from audience members since Oct. 10, when he faced a belligerent crowd in Lakeville, Minn., that at times turned against him.

The disappearance of the town hall format from McCain’s campaign is striking, political observers said, offering a vivid example of how a signature strength became a potential liability and was abandoned. (Obama, too, has done away with the town halls, last taking questions from voters on Sept. 12 in New Hampshire.)
“The town hall format proved to be a little embarrassing for the campaign, and it built a negative picture about what this campaign is all about,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, adding that the encounters were “too costly.”

A little embarrassing? Let's recall:

But the angry crowds — including people who screamed "terrorist" and "liar" in reference to Obama — worried McCain and his campaign aides, who feared a backlash from undecided and less partisan voters. McCain himself on occasion sought to soothe his crowds’ emotions after media reports started focusing on their out-of-control comments.
...
“I can’t trust Obama,” one woman said, rising to her feet and staring into McCain’s eyes. “I have read about him ... and he’s an Arab.”

How much you bet if Sarah Palin were at the top of the ticket this year she's be out there encouraging all of this? Maybe she'll get her own shot in 2012. Read the rest of this post...

Now John McCain wants all those Northern Virginias who aren't from "real Virginia" to vote for him

What a difference a couple weeks makes. Two weeks ago, one of John McCain's top spokespeople dismissed the voters in Northern Virginia as not from "real Virginia":



Today, McCain was begging those Northern Virginians to support him:

"Fairfax County is key to this election. You know that," McCain said. "You know how important it is for us to win here. You know how important it is that we put this country in the right direction. I need your help for the next three days."

Not real Virginians, but real voters. And, they're not voting for John McCain:

Obama has an almost 2 to 1 advantage over McCain in Northern Virginia, surpassing even the 60 percent mark that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) racked up in the region during their successful campaigns in 2005 and 2006.

I just checked in with some friends who have been canvassing in Manassas, which is in Northern Virginia. There are so many Obama volunteers that they had to set up three additional staging areas. They just kept saying "It's amazing." And, more importantly, they're getting a very positive response from the voters.

Read the rest of this post...

Palin falls for prank call from fake French President

UPDATE: Great quote from the Obama campaign:

"I'm glad we check out our calls before we hand the phone to Barack Obama."

He just keeps ripping her and she keeps not getting it.



Question from Joe: How did Palin's staff let this happen? Didn't anyone check with the adults?

Read the rest of this post...

Palin said we're at war with Iran

Please make this blithering idiot gaffe-fest the head of your party. PLEASE.

Read the rest of this post...

Oprah's early voting experience - a warning

Check out the video of Oprah over at the Huffington Post. She talks about her experience with early voting and how her ballot almost didn't cast a vote for Obama. (Yes, she was using a touch screen.) It's a good reminder for all those voting on touch screens to confirm your full ballot at the end before you cast your vote. Read the rest of this post...

Cheney Campaigns for McCain

George Bush may be hidden away but Cheney has left his undisclosed location to campaign for McCain. (In case there was any doubt that McCain = more of the same.) From Time's The Page:

While stumping for GOP candidates in Laramie, Wyoming, the vice president pushes for voters to pick McCain Tuesday.

Says McCain "understands the danger" the U.S. faces with national security and is well-prepared to lead.

"He is a man who is looked in the face of evil and not flinched...he's earned our support and confidence and the time is now for him to be our next president."

Also praises Palin, citing her "executive talent, toughness and common sense."

Sarah Palin has executive talent? I wonder how many times Chaney has even talked to Palin...

UPDATE: Obama will be mentioning this himself in Colorado later today:

President Bush is sitting out the last few days before the election. But earlier today, Dick Cheney came out of his undisclosed location and hit the campaign trail. He said that he is, and I quote, "delighted to support John McCain."

I'd like to congratulate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy. Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it. He served as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years. So Senator McCain worked hard to get Dick Cheney's support.

But here's my question for you, Colorado: do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain's going to bring change? Do you think John McCain and Dick Cheney have been talking about how to shake things up, and get rid of the lobbyists and the old boys club in Washington?

Read the rest of this post...

The Enthusiasm Gap

Those long lines out in front of polling places? Chances are they aren't McCain voters. Now, I'm not saying don't vote - GO VOTE. Still, it's nice to see the other side all gloom and doom for a change. From AP:

That smiling guy walking down the street? Odds are he's a Barack Obama backer. The grouchy looking one? Don't ask, and don't necessarily count on him to vote on Tuesday, either.

More John McCain supporters feel glum about the presidential campaign while more of Obama's are charged up over it, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Saturday.

The survey shows McCain backers have become increasingly upset in recent weeks, a period that has seen Obama take a firm lead in many polls. One expert says the contrasting moods could affect how likely the two candidates' supporters are to vote on Election Day, possibly dampening McCain's turnout while boosting Obama's.

...
All of this is a bad sign for McCain, according to George E. Marcus, a political scientist from Williams College who has studied the role emotion plays in politics. Negative feelings about a campaign can discourage voters by making them less likely to go through what can be a painful process: Voting for someone who will lose.

"If I'm getting my head handed to me by a tennis player, my brain is saying, 'Do I want a second match? No,'" Marcus said. "Why do something that's going to lead to failure?"

Marcus said such emotions can be overcome by outside events, such as a campaign or neighbor urging a person to vote. There's also the danger exuberant Obama backers might decide not to vote because of overconfidence. The Obama and McCain organizations have combined to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for those very reasons.

Don't gloat - vote. But if you need to gloat a little, there is one thing I'm sure that both sides can agree on:

"I'm real interested in having it over," said Michele Roos, 64, a McCain supporter from Newport News, Va.

While we probably all agree on that, I'll bet that Michele Roos won't be as excited as Obama supporters are in ending 8 years of Republican rule next Tuesday night. Read the rest of this post...

Bush in hiding til after Election Day

Apparently, the Republicans have put George Bush in that undisclosed location with Dick Cheney:

With less than four days to go until all votes are cast, and candidates seeking any edge to sway undecideds and get their supporters to the polls, President Bush will spend his time until Election Day on the sidelines.

Bush has no public events scheduled this weekend or on Monday, and his only public election activity appears to be touting U.S. democracy in his weekly radio address.

But, they can hide Bush, but they can't hide the history between McCain and Bush. John McCain wanted to make associations an issue in this campaign and his association with Bush did enormous damage:



Although, McCain's association with Sarah Palin is pretty darn damaging, too. Read the rest of this post...

35% of Georgians have already voted

In 2004, 3,301,875 Georgians voted for President in the general election.

That number is going to be blown away in 2008. Not only is Georgia a battleground in the presidential race. There's the critical Senate race between Jim Martin and the wretched Saxby Chambliss.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that over 2 million voters in Georgia have already cast their ballots:

Thousands of people across metro Atlanta waited in line late Friday night to cast ballots at advance polling places. They were the last wave of a huge statewide early turnout that officials estimated at more than a third of registered voters.

Deputy Secretary of State Rob Simms said he expected that by the end of the night, 2 million of Georgia’s 5.7 million registered voters — about 35 percent —would have cast an advanced ballot.

Michael McDonald's early voting site reports African-Americans make up 35% of early voters. In 2004, African-Americans comprised 25% of turnout. I keep going back to this post about Georgia from Nate Silver, which he wrote on October 6th. Like everything from Nate, it's chock full of very useful information:

I would be surprised if black turnout wasn't at least 27-28 percent, and somewhere in the 29-31 percent range is entirely possible. If those numbers are achieved, Georgia is pretty close to being a toss-up. And if it is a toss-up for Barack Obama, it is probably also a toss-up for Jim Martin, who is attempting to unseat Saxby Chambliss from the Senate.

We're talking about Georgia -- three days before election day. We've seen the numbers surge. It's real. And, Obama is on the air in Georgia now.

It's hard to take the McCain campaign's hyperventilating spin seriously when we're talking about Georgia. Read the rest of this post...

Senator Ensign, chair of Senate GOP's campaign committee, trashes McCain and Palin

You'd expect Republican Senator John Ensign to criticize Obama. That's not news. It is news when another GOPer slams Palin.

At this point in an election, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, shouldn't be trashing the top of his ticket. But, that's what he did yesterday

Republican Sen. John Ensign says Sarah Palin is not experienced enough to be president and John McCain’s presidential campaign “completely mishandled” her early days on the ticket.

The Nevada senator made the comments in a television interview in which he also criticized Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s readiness for the job. Ensign then strayed far from the GOP’s standard description of its vice presidential pick’s qualifications.

Now, Ensign is, of course, on the verge of overseeing huge losses in the Senate. So, he's obviously trying to assign blame elsewhere.

Jed has video of Ensign. Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning. Three days to go.

Two excellent posts from our good friend, Bob Geiger, to peruse this morning. First, the weekly compilation of some of the best editorial cartoons. Very fun read.

More importantly, on Thursday, Bob made his predictions for the Senate races. He thinks we get 60. This is key because Bob was one of the very few people who saw the Democrats getting to 51 in 2006. He really knows the Senate and the Senate races.

Three more days. This is it. The last weekend to change the world.

Let's get started....

Read the rest of this post...

UK bank sets aside billions despite being rescued - coming to Wall Street

This is a disgusting preview of what is coming to America. Failure doesn't mean failure any longer in the eyes of the elite. Failure only counts when you are poor and left behind, then you're nothing more than a sponger and ought to be shunned, humiliated and kicked aside. If you ruin a global economy but dress in the best suits, drive the best cars and have as many houses as John McCain, then you're deserving. Great work, when you can get it.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which is being bailed out with £20bn of taxpayers' money, has signalled it is preparing to pay bonuses to thousands of staff despite government pledges to crack down on City pay.

The bank has set aside £1.79bn to cover "staff costs" - including discretionary bonuses - at its investment banking division for the first six months of the year alone. The same division caused a £5.9bn writedown that wiped out the bank's profits for the same period.

The government had demanded that boardroom directors at RBS should not receive bonuses this year and the chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, is walking away without a pay-off. But below boardroom level, RBS and other groups are preparing to pay bonuses to investment bankers who continue to generate profits.

The disclosure drew fierce criticism from Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman.

"The government said they would attach strict conditions on bonuses and it is very clear they are doing nothing of the kind.

"The banks are just making complete monkeys of them."

Read the rest of this post...

Poll: Public has growing doubts about Palin

NYT:

59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain....

Eight-five percent of respondents said the country was pretty seriously off on the wrong track, near the record high recorded earlier this month. A majority said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq. And President Bush’s approval rating remains at 22 percent, tied for the lowest presidential approval rating on record...

Mr. McCain’s renewed efforts to cast himself as the candidate of change have apparently faltered. Sixty-four percent of voters polled said Mr. Obama would bring about real change if elected, while only 39 percent said Mr. McCain would. And despite Mr. McCain’s increased efforts to distance himself from President Bush, a majority still said he would generally continue Mr. Bush’s policies.

Dixie Cromwell, a 36-year-old cosmetologist from Shelby, N.C., who is a Republican, said in a follow-up interview that she had already voted for Mr. Obama.

“I generally vote Republican, but this year I voted Democrat,” she said. “I just don’t feel we can go through any more of the same old thing that we’ve been going through with the Republican Party.”...

The increase in the number of voters who said Ms. Palin was not prepared was driven almost entirely by Republicans and independents.

Read the rest of this post...

Fed coughs up another $21 billion for AIG

I think I want to be sick to my stomach. How much longer before it's another $50 billion? When do we say enough?

The company said it would be able to borrow up to $20.9 billion under the new program, raising its maximum available credit from the Fed to $144 billion under three different programs. The credit includes an earlier emergency loan of $85 billion from the Fed that carries a much higher interest rate.

A.I.G.’s big borrowings underscore the company’s bewilderingly rapid decline. When it suddenly faced a cash crisis in mid-September, the original estimate of the amount it needed was just $20 billion. A few days later, the Fed stepped forward with its $85 billion credit line. And now, the stunning size of that original bailout has grown by almost 70 percent.

A.I.G.’s cash needs could grow even further. Much of the cash it needs is being used to meet collateral calls from its derivatives counterparties, and the precise collateral triggers and amounts are not public information. In general, the derivative contracts cost A.I.G. more as the real estate markets decline. The company’s financial products division did a lot of business in that type of derivative, called credit-default swaps.

Read the rest of this post...

The view from Ken's and Scott's

Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Former prez of World Jewish Congress: Barack Obama "will act in the best interest of Israel"

Hard to argue with someone like this:

Among Jewish voters, some feel the basic question is which candidate will act in the best interest of Israel. The answer is Barack Obama. As an American Jew who loves Israel, I cannot support John McCain. He cannot provide what Israel needs most--a respected, credible, morally strong America. To have the United States and Israel both regarded by the rest of the world as unreliable and in isolation is no way to solve the problems that plague both countries. This has been the effect of the Bush policies, and these are the policies that John McCain has promised to continue. Barack Obama is the candidate who can restore America's moral authority in the world and position our government to help negotiate peace....

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as running mate is the towering example of his poor judgment. Palin's ignorance of public affairs is monumental. Especially disturbing to the Jewish voter should be her willing acceptance of the campaign assignment of demagogy, which has stirred up racism and hate. The prospect of our having a 72-year-old president in poor health raises the real possibility that Palin could be our president, a thoroughly frightening thought. (I am well aware, in my eightieth year, of the flagging energy of any 72-year-old.) McCain's choice of Palin was a bid to the extremists in the Republican party, not the considered choice of a man who puts his country first....

Under his leadership a renewed America can help to foster a renewed Israel. Barack Obama is an inspiring American, willing and able to lead this nation and the world to new heights in very perilous times. I will vote for him with enthusiasm.

Read the rest of this post...

CNN Fact Check: McCain had relationship with anti-Jewish terrorist spokesman

Share this one with all your Jewish friends. McCain has been criticizing Obama for knowing a guy who McCain gave a million bucks to. Read the rest of this post...