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Obama for VP

I am no psephologist, but as the owner of one of those V-thingies, I have had a particular interest in the women in this election. Sadly, with one exception, they have shamed my gender and behaved in general as if they have one of those P-thingies instead.

Hillary – the Great White hope. Before this election got interesting I hoped and assumed that Hillary would trounce the republicans and we would see a woman in the White House. As an avowed feminist this was pleasing indeed and seemed to make this election a trailblazer for that reason alone. Anything to see the end of George the Imbecile, and what better way to turn the tables on neo-conservatism than to see a democrat woman as POTUS.

She is charismatic, confident, assured and knowledgeable. It turns out she is also rabidly ambitious and prepared to play dirty to that end. I was amazed at some of the stunts she pulled , the fake accents, the lies about her foreign affairs experience and worse, her preparedness to smear Obama when the Primary race got tight. Hillary believed that she had an entitlement to be back in The White House and she dragged it out to the bitter end, which was damaging for the party, and ultimately herself.

Then there’s the Stepford wives. Cindy McCain who has behaved like a handbag: an attractive accessory (if you like plastic), with not much content. She has conducted herself like all good wives from the 50’s should – well groomed, and silently supporting her man. Who knows what she really thinks? She represents a thankfully bygone era where a woman’s only public role was to be seen to support her man. Even when he has publicly humiliated her and called her a “Stupid C-nt”. If she had divorced him and spoken out against abuse of women she would be deserving of admiration. Instead she relies on his success for her identity. Not the kind of role model I want for my daughters.

And the First Lady – Laura . I actually feel sorry for her – after all she sleeps with George every night, so she is punished enough and in an act of sisterly solidarity I shall harm her no more.

My favourite anti-hero of this election is of course Sarah Palin. Not much I can say that hasn’t been said, and nothing anyone can say that betters Tina Fey. She will become a symbol of all that is loathed about the American Character – an arrogant, brash, ignorant, fundamentalist who does not have the intelligence to know that she isn’t. But she is also frightening – a juxtaposed “I can do anything” feminist persona overlaying a basic narrowness that is determined to undo some of the rights that women have fought and even died for – most particularly the right to choose whether to proceed with an unplanned pregnancy. This in my view makes her one of the most dangerous female politicians in the public arena today. Whatever your personal view on abortion is, it is not her right to impose hers on all American women. It’s bad enough that she’s doing it to Bristol.

Then onto the stage strides Michelle Obama. A woman of intelligence and style. A woman who clearly supports her husband but has her own views on matters of public policy. A mother and partner who has a successful career. A woman who can talk and think for herself. And an African American who must know first hand what it means to live in a country which has not reached it’s potential, but may in fact be about to. This is a role model for my daughters, and for all of us who aspire to see women in public life reflect the best of us.

Frankly – I wish she was VP.

1,370 replies on “Obama for VP”

Chris B, I reckon you’re right about DG.

and Jen, I know what you mean. I have been supressing my hopes for a long time too. Not long now. Sweet reason might rule again and the idiots will have time to rue their gross, lazy, indifferent incompetence.

Exactly BO- and it just seems incredible that this change is happening with such ferocity and determination from, of all places the USA.
It restores my faith in humanity which was looking pretty grim there for a while. We are about to face unprecedented global problems and for once I feel that if the human race has any chance of coming together and working for solutions for the world as a whole this election is proving that it is possible.

Gaffhook – the little treasure. 😉

It’s so much bigger than America. It’s the rejection of an ideology that has transformed Western society for decades. Reagan, Thatcher, Howard, Bush – they ahve all taken apart countries and transformed them into corporations rather than societies. Tried to anyway. And now they are going the same way as the economics they so believed in. Straight down the sewer where they belong.

Loved the quote from Tom Lehrer’s wiki page.

I’m not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn’t figure out what sort of song I would write. That’s the problem: I don’t want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.”

Fearing Election Day losses, some in GOP look to rebuild.

Even as Republican nominee John McCain seeks to separate himself from an unpopular President Bush, some Republicans are rejecting McCain as well as Bush. And many party leaders are preparing to remake the damaged party after what they unhappily anticipate will be a bad day for the GOP on Nov. 4.
Several high-profile Republicans have endorsed Barack Obama in recent days, saying the Illinois senator represents the best chance for change in Washington and implicitly damning Bush and McCain for the recent and looming electoral failures of the party.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/25/fearing_election_day_losses_some_in_gop_look_to_rebuild/

David Axelrod: Political strategist.

Could the baseball-loving strategist behind Barack Obama be about to score the most spectacular home run in American political history?
Barack Obama’s sizeable army of unpaid volunteers spend their days knocking on doors and their evenings incessantly worrying. Like a Greek chorus, they fret that the great political movement they have helped to create could go wrong at any moment or that something terrible will happen in the final brutal phase of the struggle between the Illinois senator and John McCain. When this happens there is someone who always calms them down and ensures that the campaign stays on message: David Axelrod, chief adviser to the “no drama, Obama” campaign.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-axelrod-political-strategist-972796.html

Can Obama Win South Carolina?

As November 4th draws near many voters are firmly behind their candidates.

“I’m Millard Goodsell and I’m supporting John McCain,” Goodsell, a local voter said.

“I’m Joanne Wieters and I’m voting for Barack Obama,” said Wieters, another local voter.

But will support for Barack Obama in South Carolina be enough for him to pull out a win here? Historically the state has been a bright shade of republican red. It’s something local democrats are ready to see changed.

“South Carolinians are intelligent and they’re recognizing those eight years of failed republican policies and tax breaks for the rich have not worked for them,” said Charleston Democratic Party Chairman George Tempel.

http://www.wciv.com/news/stories/1008/563926.html

951 Catrina.

Thanks for that.

… although these days I suppose the correct term (which I should have used instead of ‘Whoops’) is
“D’OH!”

On the subject I discussed with Ecky of preparing a post, I am about halfway through it at present. Work commitments may slow me down a bit. So keep this or another thread going for another 2 or 3 days.

Any instructions or advice I need beforehand?

Jen at 1082:

even so – the anxiety is building too….

Blindo at 1081:

and Jen, I know what you mean. I have been supressing my hopes for a long time too. Not long now.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrdL6earbM

Sauramon and the neocons, they goin’ down, guys, mofos goin’ down BigTime! You bet your sweet bippys on it!
🙂
————————-
Let it brew at its own draw, Don, it’ll be a pearler when it happens, no worries.

Obama Has Strong Support Among Whites

While Obama’s near 100% support among blacks was to be expected, he is doing much better among white voters (44%) than any Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter got 47% of the whites in 1976. No Democrat has broken the 50% barrier among whites since Lyndon Johnson. The fear that white working class Democrats would never vote for a black person seems to have dissipated as over 80% of them say they will vote for Obama. Much of Hillary Clinton’s campaign was based on the idea that Obama would not be able to win over this group and she would. It now appears that she was wrong on this score.

Republican calamity.

In the open seat in AL-02 it is a statistical tie between Bobby Bright (D) and Jay Love (R) in this R+13 open seat. This is another sign of the calamity that is likely to hit the Republicans in 10 days as R+13 seats are not supposed to be close. In IL-10, a D+4 district currently occupied by Republican Mark Kirk, Dan Seals has taken the lead. This is likely to be a good year for charismatic young black politicians from Illinois and Seals (who is a charismatic young black politician) is likely to benefit from it.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).
A SurveyUSA poll we had yesterday showed the previously unknown Tinklenberg ahead by 3 points. Now a University of Minnesota of poll puts Tinklenberg ahead by 2 points.

More goodies on Votemaster.
http://www.electoral-vote.com

What I wanna know is – where are the moon votes?
Huh? Not one fuckin vote for Obama from the lunar surface!
Shit! Hillary woulda carried the moon ya know…an’ mars and the fuckin rest.
We’d all be sayin what a fuckin’ stellar performer is that Hillary!
Yep…they’d all be tickin’ the Hillary box on the moon.
Lunarticks they’d have called ’em.
Fuck Obama. Useless bastard is only a 95% chance of winning.
Pussy!

Oh I do love this argument from McCain:

“Reporting from Colorado Springs, Colo. — John McCain kicked off a campaign swing in two Western states Friday with a new warning that electing Barack Obama could create unchecked Democratic control in Washington.”

Hahahaha. Cool argument John. “If you don’t elect US – you’ll elect THEM! And you won’t have US to stop THEM making decisions”
You can just imagine the crowd’s response –
“FUCK YEAH!!!!”

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-campaign25-2008oct25,0,7718388.story

1120

Looking at Gallup’s “Candidate Support by Race” results, it hard to see Obama getting over 46% of the white vote. It would be great to see Carter’s record broken though.

By the way, if the margin-of-error is of concern to anybody when it comes to whether or not Obama is on 44%, the MOE is only 0.88%.

Intrade

National Numbers:
2008.PRES.OBAMA 86.5
2008.PRES.McCAIN 13.5
PRESIDENT.DEM2008 87.0
PRESIDENT.REP2008 13.0

State Numbers:
PENNSYLVANIA.DEM 88.0
VIRGINIA.DEM 79.5
OHIO.DEM 69.5
MISSOURI.DEM 68.7
FLORIDA.DEM 68.5
NTH.CAROLINA.DEM 66.9
INDIANA.DEM 52.0
—————————————
NTH.DAKOTA.DEM 37.9
MONTANA.DEM 35.0
GEORGIA.DEM 30.0
WESTVIRGINIA.DEM 27.5

1102 – jen

Given 40% at least of the US still support the republicans (and 27% Bush), this result does little to restore my faith in humanity.

Its astounding just how many ignorant people there are in the US, let alone the world.

This in the worst political environment for the republicans and who have run the worst campaign too.

EC at 1114

You bet your sweet bippys on it!

Geez, I haven’t heard this phrase in years. I used to say it myself, but I still don’t know what a bippy is. LOL

Ferny at 1121
You really do make me LOL Ferny.

What an excellent night everyone had! I really enjoyed catching up this morning. Keep the faith!

1107
Chris

And some of them are happy to rebuild by actually going public to state they are are gonna Go for BO.

Here is a list of some 29 serious GOPpers who have flipped and no doubt they will have friends that will follow and friends of the friends etc etc who look to the lead from persons like Powell and Lilibet Hagel, wife of Chuck.
Imagine how many in her crochet and tupperware circle that will follow her.
Oh what lovely pain! McStupid.

http://www.republicansforobama.org/?q=node/3341

Chris B
Another one to rate for good publicity.
JOe McStupid, John McStupids brother has dropped out of the canpaign after calling 911 to complain about traffic. Seems it runs in the family.

Joe McCain, the brother of John McCain, “said Friday he’ll withdraw from campaign activities after calling 911 to complain about traffic.” McCain called 911 in Alexandria, VA, and “used an expletive to the operator and hung up.” Listen to the call:

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/25/joe-mccain/

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y6_s3O5Bj0&eurl=http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/25/joe-mccain/

Joe six-pack supports BO

First, I wouldn’t say I’m endorsing anyone. Joe Sixpack is just an everyday guy – my constituency is independent-minded beer drinkers who resist being marginalized as some kind of convenient but bogus voting bloc.

But since you ask, I support Obama. I seek quality and character in my beer AND my political leaders. McCain and Palin surely lack both. Their exploitation of my name is just another chapter in the Republican party’s cynical use of the blue-collar ethos to enhance their own self-serving policies. The GOP is the party of blue-blooded, fat-cat, cocktail-sipping, Gucci-wearing corporate crooks whose economic system requires me to pick up their bar tab.

I’m not crazy about the Democrats, either. But Obama seems like a decent sort who’d at least buy an occasional round.

-Joe Sixpack

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Joe-Sixpack-Speaks-Out-by-Bob-Patterson-081025-995.html

Jeez Jen
Another 160 posts and you will have shattered the glass post ceiling.

Hope EC doesnt pull the pin on ya. 😀

asanque- could be that my faith inhumanity is really helped by a cheeky little chardy or 2.
or 6.
Gaffhook – and by a democrat supprting woman too!! How fitting.
Keep Don in the bin till you get my say so. (Oops – the hillary in me is coming out again…)

NOT EVEN CLOSE 😈
Sorry, Senator. Let’s Salvage What We Can.
There are many ways to lose a presidential election. John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him.

A year ago, the Arizona senator’s team made a crucial strategic decision. McCain would run on his (impressive) personal biography. On policy, he’d hew mostly to conservative orthodoxy, with a few deviations — most notably, his support for legalization for illegal immigrants. But this strategy wasn’t yielding results in the general election. So in August, McCain tried a bold new gambit: He would reach out to independents and women with an exciting and unexpected vice presidential choice.

May need to be registered.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102302081.html?sub=AR

G’day, Ticsters, E-Day minus ten, and all’s well. Inordinately good as a matter of fact! Polls are looking peachy; GOPpers are vibing tetchy. Amazing how pending decimation focuses one’s butt-saving abilities.
🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/25/late-night-jokes-of-the-w_n_137792.html

Larry & Me: ~20 years later Mike is still exposing the ugly underbelly of America
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=kALZEzromMc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_and_Me

GUSHING BILLY

The most ardent promoter (of Yup-Yup), however, was Kristol (PNAC Pointman William “The Bloody” that is…), and his enthusiasm became the talk of Alaska’s political circles. According to Simpson, Senator Stevens told her that “Kristol was really pushing Palin” in Washington before McCain picked her. Indeed, as early as June 29th, two months before McCain chose her, Kristol predicted on “Fox News Sunday” that “McCain’s going to put Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, on the ticket.” He described her as “fantastic,” saying that she could go one-on-one against Obama in basketball, and possibly siphon off Hillary Clinton’s supporters. He pointed out that she was a “mother of five” and a reformer. “Go for the gold here with Sarah Palin,” he said. The moderator, Chris Wallace, finally had to ask Kristol, “Can we please get off Sarah Palin?”

The next day, however, Kristol was still talking about Palin on Fox. “She could be both an effective Vice-Presidential candidate and an effective President,” he said. “She’s young, energetic.” On a subsequent “Fox News Sunday,” Kristol again pushed Palin when asked whom McCain should pick: “Sarah Palin, whom I’ve only met once but I was awfully impressed by—a genuine reformer, defeated the establishment up there. It would be pretty wild to pick a young female Alaska governor, and I think, you know, McCain might as well go for it.” On July 22nd, again on Fox, Kristol referred to Palin as “my heartthrob.” He declared, “I don’t know if I can make it through the next three months without her on the ticket.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/27/081027fa_fact_mayer

Guess Sieggy Fudd-Kwistol’s gonna have to find himself another Brunhilde…..

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl52km-weCk

ChrisB – quote from your link @ 1139
“McCain’s awful campaign is having awful consequences down the ballot. I spoke a little while ago to a senior Republican House member. “There is not a safe Republican seat in the country,” he warned. “I don’t mean that we’re going to lose all of them. But we could lose any of them.”

In the Senate, things look, if possible, even worse.”

Shoot’n’Dang- they’re totally fucked. 😈

Here’s that Arizona poll I’ve been hinting at in recent days!
McSlime 44
Obama 40

Obama is said to be leading in early voting in that state.
Question: Would it be worth his while campaigning or running some ads in Arizona?

More polling news: Obama ahead by 15 in Iowa, and ahead by 9 in Virginia

Obama Widens Lead Over McCain in Nation, Key States.

Democrat Barack Obama widened his lead over Republican John McCain in most national polls and surveys of key states as the U.S. election contest heads into its final full week.

The Illinois senator was up 8 points over presidential rival McCain in an average of 16 polls taken during the last week, according to RealClearPolitics.com. Last week, Obama was up about 6 points.

Obama also has built leads in so-called battleground states including Pennsylvania and Ohio and he has an edge over McCain in some states that were Republican strongholds, such as Virginia and North Carolina.

“He had a great week,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Connecticut. Speaking of McCain, he said, “No one has come from this far back in this little time.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aCc_gJ9GWBk8&refer=home

1114 jen “Think I’m in love.” I suspect your not alone in that. I wonder what the “in love” vote is worth, from both sides of the fence. 😈

You’ve got to wonder what is going through McCain’s mind right now. Palin’s “going rogue”, the robocalls aren’t working (though I noticed McCain has now turned to Rezko for his latest calls – straws and clutching come to mind), there’s only 10 days to go, the October Surprise still hasn’t been staged (though I’m sure someone is working on it), and he is tanking in the polls against “that one” with no narrowing in sight.

I haven’t seen him in the last few days, but I bet his blinking rate has gone up ten fold.

I reckon McCain is itching to pull another stunt. He’s got nothing to lose now. He’s desperately trying to come up with some new shock and awe to nab the spotlight. He might as well go for it, even if it risks a bigger loss and takes the Repugs down with him… what does he care anyway? He will be retiring soon. Besides, his beloved party trashed his hopes for gaining the presidency when he was in his prime back in 2000, and the Rove-addicted Bushies advising his campaign are basically doing it again. There’s lots to be angry about for John McCain.

Morning all.
Now this really is a Quote of the Day

“If the White House political team can’t figure out a way to get two Republican senators to vote with us between Air Force One, tea at the White House, U.S. attorneys and judges and dams and roads and ambassadors and all that other stuff, somebody should take them out to the woodshed. Sixty is less a magic number than a zone.”

— Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), quoted by the New York Times, on the importance of getting a filibuster-proof 60 Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/25/quote_of_the_day.html

1147
Noocat McCain is also facing the nightmare of early voting.
Every day that passes, means less of October to spring the “surprise”.

1140
Ecky
Bugs bunny as Brunhilda! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Chris B @1138
As you correctly implied in reply to katielou’s 1129, it was “Laugh in”
I had always thought that “bippies” were those rubber bulbs used as horns in ancient cars, & hence by association , women’s breasts.. but perhaps this is my fevered imagination. I wouldn’t bet my cojones on it!

1148 paddy October, november surprise, they won’t work. Every stunt he has tried hasn’t worked. They’ll just say, “it’s another stunt, he’s erratic”.

1150 Gippslander It gives away our age to those who know. I was probably in Metung at one of those times too.
Sorry correct english Mytung. 😈

Have a look at the Bloomberg report below. It puts the equity market collapse in perspective – $10 trillion lost so far in October for the worst monthly percentage decline in 70 years.

From my perspective, the equity market falls have only just started to catch up with the forward-picture in the currency & credit markets and their interaction with the real economy.

I can illustrate using one set of circumstances that I am aware of. Citic Pacific is listed on the HK stock market. It is a spin-off from CITIC, a China-govt owned enterprise. Citic Pacific has investments in many areas, including retailing (supermarkets and motorcars) in HK, as well as exposure to the Australian resource sector. It has been an investor and trader in Australian iron ore and hedged its foreign exchange positon to cover its iron contracts. It has a HK$14 bill forward committment to buy the AUD at USD0.87. The AUD is at 0.62 this weekend, so Citic is looking at losses of HKD4 billion on its hedges. This exceeds the capital of the company. It is basically washed up. One of the oldest enterprises in HK will fail within weeks unless it is rescued by the govt of China. If it is allowed to fail, the largest motor trader in HK and one of the largest frozen food merchants in SE China will go belly up. Unbelievable, but true.

As well, any bank that has forward currency deals with Citic Pacific will likely lose too. There must be a massive volume of similar loss-making positions in the forex/ commodity related markets, which partly explains why the backside has fallen out of commodities and commodity-linked currencies. This is another bubble that is deflating – and fast. This will be very bad news for Australia. You can see our net foreign liabilities (mostly in USD, Yen, Euro) spiralling from around $ 600 bill to more than $ 1 trill in just a few months, even if no more borrowings are completed. Debt service costs will jump from around 4% of GDP to maybe 7 or 8% (or more, if commercial interest rates climb) in a matter of months. At the same time, the collapse in commodity demand and prices is going to rip the guts out of Australia’s debt servicing ability. The results will be like this: commercial credit wil get very very difficult to obtain and will be at punitive rates; incomes in the domestic economy will be reduced by falls in external earnings as well as domestic contraction; asset prices will get hammered by the tightness of credit; borrowers falling behind on their debt service obligations will probably face prompt foreclosure and liquidation. The results – price deflation, asset destruction, market contraction – will be bad enough in themselves, but will be exacerbated by further violent fluctuations in currency and debt markets. 2008 and will look like a trial run.

“Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled this week, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index toward the steepest monthly loss since 1938, on concern the global economy is sliding into a recession.

Alcoa Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. retreated the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, losing more than 18 percent, as investors bet the financial crisis spread beyond banks to industrial companies and computer makers. General Motors Corp. approached the lowest price since the 1950s, and Ford Motor Co. plunged 17 percent.

“There are forced sellers and no one willing to stick their neck out,” said Henry Herrmann, Overland Park, Kansas-based president of Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., which manages $70 billion.

The S&P 500 retreated 6.8 percent to 876.77, the lowest level since April 2003. The benchmark index for U.S. equities plunged 25 percent in October. The Dow average fell 5.4 percent to 8,378.95 this week. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets lost 8.3 percent, while Brazil, Russia and India drove a gauge of 25 emerging markets to a 17 percent slump.

More than $10 trillion has been erased from the market value of shares worldwide this month as earnings decrease. The 236 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported third-quarter results posted a 23 percent decline on average. Reports yesterday showed the U.K. economy contracted for the first time since 1992 and growth in South Korea was the slowest in four years.

Every Market Falls

All 48 of the developed and emerging markets tracked by MSCI have declined in 2008, with 22 losing at least half their value. The 73 percent plunge by Russia’s Micex Index is the steepest. Benchmark indexes for China, Greece, Ireland, Peru and Austria retreated more than 60 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 40 percent. Morocco and Jordan have done the best, falling 6.4 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

It’s “panic creating a freefall as investors simply liquidate anything and everything,” said Walter Gerasimowicz, the New York-based chief executive officer at Meditron Asset Management, which manages $1.1 billion. “The market seems to be very overdone, almost pricing for a depression.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, a gauge of how much investors are paying for insurance against S&P 500 declines, rose 13 percent to a record 79.13 this week.

Treasuries rallied, pushing the yield on the 30-year bond to the lowest in more than three decades. It sank as low as 3.8676 percent yesterday.”

Many thanks for that analysis BO.
It’s refreshing to have some reality injected into the mix.
Even if it IS bloody scary and rather depressing.
I’m so sick of the “wizard of Oz” school of financial wankery that passes for commentary in the MSM
Politicians have a vested interest in spinning BS to avoid generating panic. But we’re fast approaching the point, where denial of what’s about to happen is only going to make it worse.

The figures you mention of $600B shooting up to a Trillion due to currency fluctuations, really put the govt’s injection of $10B to boost the economy into perspective.
A glass of water on a bushfire comes to mind.
Bloody heck BO. You might have to change your nic to Cassandra. 🙁

1156 paddy That new Obama ad explains how he can get out of this quagmire. Plus the US only has to delay a couple of aircraft carriers and maybe a destroyer or two, and they’re back in black. All they have to do for the next week is warn about the dire consequences of re electing the Republicans. We’re all doomed! We’re all doomed! That should make the minds up for those that haven’t yet.

Palin really is going rogue:

“Obama, Barack Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes, and I say this based on his record… Higher taxes, more government, misusing the power to tax leads to government moving into the role of some believing that government then has to take care of us. And government kind of moving into the role as the other half of our family, making decisions for us. Now, they do this in other countries where the people are not free. Let us fight for what is right.”

You just know she’s itching to call Obama a communist. Maybe another few days of stress will tip her over the edge.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/25/palin-obamas-tax-plans-co_n_137851.html

Jen – snap!

It’s incredible how McCain and Palin are even trying to spin Obama as a socialist because he wants to give a tax cut to middle and lower income earners. So, they expect Americans to believe that they will be better off if tax cuts only go exclusively to the rich??

I guess it’s what desperation will do, and it’s a credit to Obama that he has cast himself as such a small target that McPalin have nothing substantial to attack him with.

1157 ChrisB – Obama will need to do a LOT more than he is currently proposing to get the U.S. out of its current mess. It will be interesting after the election to see exactly what Obama proposes on this front.

I love it Noocat. They look not only desperate but totally irrational and just plain DUMB. Hardly inspiring as on option for government when times are going to be so difficult. McCain must be dying to hogtie Sarah, stuff her in the boot of the hummer and dumping out in the Alaskan wilderness right about now. 😈

BlindO, great summary at 1155 on the parameters of the global economy shake out. An’ de fun don’t done.

Katielou, been looking for a clip of “bet your sweet bippy” on You-Tube. Couldn’t find one; anyway, these “quickies” are too good to waste.
:mrgreen:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4fhgyJ7GpA

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQcviCi3eQ&feature=related

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqhq53JGOPM

Ghost, Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy, has been a regular read of mine since 2005. He is/was my first blog brother. Len’s been railing against BushCo from the get-go. ‘Twas a very special moment when we exchanged blog links.

Palin also seems to have missed a few things about socialisation of the economy. Has she not noticed that the US Govt – courtesy of the Bushites – has recently acquired a big slab of the US banking industry? Or that the US Govt is now the underwriter of the whole US housing market; that the US Govt now basically operates the largest so-called insurance company in the world and will soon become the main shareholder in the entire US insurance industry; that the US Govt is now the only new source of capital for making and buying autos in the US and that the US Govt is about to become the financier to the whole structure of corporate America?

Of course, in Palin’s alternate universe these things, having been done by Republicans, are not Government interference in the freedom of the market. But tax cuts and a health plan for ordinary workers will be the end of “Real America”.

I just hate it when politicians treat the voters like they’re all dimwits.

I think it’s only fair to warn you that when it comes to momentous occasions I’m not beyond shedding a tear and hugging everyone within reach.
So take note all ye whose presence will grace the Jubilee on Nov 5.
Cos this is gonna be one of the most momentous occasions in our lifetimes.

1167 BO:
[I just hate it when politicians treat the voters like they’re all dimwits.]

But in this case, I doubt Palin herself even understands how the Wall Street bailout is a closer step to socialism than Obama’s middle class tax cuts. She treats her supporters like dimwits, but it’s a bit like the dim being led by the dim… dangerous stuff. Reminds of Idiotocracy, for those who have seen the film!

Ooh goody. It’s Sunday so it must be time for another Frank Rich column. Looks…Yup.
And he smacks another one out of the park.

IT seems like a century ago now, but it was only in 2005 that a National Journal poll of Beltway insiders predicted that George Allen, then a popular Virginia senator, would be the next G.O.P. nominee for president. George who? Allen is now remembered, if at all, as a punch line. But any post-mortem of the Great Republican Collapse of 2008 must circle back to the not-so-funny thing that happened on his way to the White House.
That would be in 2006, when he capsized his own shoo-in re-election race by calling a 20-year-old Indian-American “macaca” before a white audience (and a video camera). “Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia,” Allen told the young Democratic campaign worker for good measure, in a precise preview of the playbook that has led John McCain and Sarah Palin to their tawdry nadir two years later.

It wasn’t just Allen’s lame racial joke or his cluelessness about 21st-century media like YouTube that made him a harbinger of the current G.O.P. fiasco. It was most of all the national vision he set forth: There are Real Americans, and there are the Others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26rich.html?ref=opinion

Oh FFS
Now the republicans can’t even go SHOPPING without stuffing it up. :mrgreen:

There are still aspects of the Republican National Committee’s shopping sprees on behalf of Gov. Sarah Palin and her family that are murky.

Some of the fashion experts consulted Wednesday, for instance, about the $150,000 in purchases that appeared on Federal Election Commission records were puzzled by where all of that money had gone, given what they had seen of Ms. Palin’s wardrobe.

Consider also the $4,902.45 charge at Atelier New York, a high-end men’s store, presumably for Ms. Palin’s husband, Todd, the famous First Dude.

Karlo Steel, an owner there, said he had gone through the store’s receipts for September, twice, and found no sales that matched that amount, nor any combination of sales that added up to the total. Because the store carries aggressively directional men’s wear, he caters to a small clientèle and knows most of his customers by name, as well as the history of their purchases.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/wardrobe-mysteries-linger/

paddy @1172
Let’s hope the Obama people let this one go through to the keeper. They’ve run a perfect campaign so far, with all their “attacks” being policy related. Everyone who cares knows that Palin is a sleeze, and no one’s buying a bridge from her.. let her fester in peace!

Now the imbecile has decided to get involved and try to disenfranchise 200000 voters from the roll in Ohio calling it voter fraud.
They surely are the personification of the exquisite turd.

Now, two years later, Bush is again putting the Justice Department in position to act on a new round of “voter fraud” suspicions pushed by Republican leaders and his favored successor, Sen. John McCain.

While the goal in 2006 was to salvage Republican control of Congress, Bush’s latest move appears aimed at keeping the White House in Republican hands.

Federal intervention – if ordered by Mukasey – could wreak havoc at polling places across Ohio, with Republican operatives using data on mismatches to challenge thousands of voters and causing long lines in Democratic strongholds.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Bush asking for his extraordinary intervention after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to get involved in the Ohio dispute.

http://www.pubrecord.org/nationworld/426-bush-orders-to-doj-to-probe-ohio-voter-registrations.html

noocat… “it’s a bit like the dim being led by the dim…..”

unlike here @ politic, where it is the wise leading the witty…

Ferny-I’ll be bawlin’ n huggin’ right along with you compadre. And anyone who is thinking abot not coming, think again.
This is monumental- The Death of Neoconservatism.

Nothing better to warm the cockles of Chris’ heart.
May have to get DG to vet it and check the sums though Chris.

Obama Wins NC by 500,00 votes- you heard it here first

It could be an out and out lier!

Its clear that even if McCain can produce huge turnout numbers and win the Independent vote, Obama would still finish ahead of McCain by 8,500 votes. The total turnout on an election day such as this would be 68%. A more realistic expectation is that the Independent vote might be split evenly, and turnout is around 60% on Election Day (see below). Obama wins by 651,238.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-Wins-NC-by-500-00-vo-by-Kelly-Bowling-081023-44.html

And may I take this opportunity to humbly thank you all for getting my maiden blog within striking distance of the mosrposts (ChrisB -I think you ra still way ahead). I* am fully aware I am the beneficiary of Don W. being too busy to post yet, and we wait with bated breath. I also know that for the Biden supporters you must have had to bite your tongues, but let me confess I don’t really think Michelle should be VP, and I think Joe is a great pick. Just a bit of poetic license really. But I do hope she plays an active role in the Obama Administration. (dontcha just LOVE those words!!).
And Ecky- you can untie Don W. now and release him from the bin whenever he’s ready to go.
😉

The GOPpers are hell bent on preventing early voting in three heavy Democratic cities>

Story Not Over On Indiana Early Voting

Not so fast.

We reported earlier that the Indiana Supreme Court had declined to approve a Republican bid to halt early voting in three heavily Democratic cities in Lake County.

Based on the view of Rick Hasen, a noted expert on election law, we concluded: “Since the appeals court is unlikely to get involved before November 4th, today’s ruling effectively ensures that voting will continue up until election day.”

But it now looks like that’s not a certainty. The Indiana Law Blog has just posted an order from the Court of Appeals, calling for an expedited briefing schedule and setting oral arguments from October 30th.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/story_not_over_on_indiana_earl.php

Ferny nailed it way back when!

A federal judge in Philadelphia last night threw out a complaint by a Montgomery County lawyer who claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was not qualified to be president and that his name should be removed from the Nov. 4 ballot.
Philip J. Berg alleged in a complaint filed in federal district court on Aug. 21 against Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission, that Obama was born in Mombasa, Kenya

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20081025_Judge_rejects_Montco_lawyer_s_bid_to_have_Obama_removed_from_ballot.html

jen at 1180

ChrisB – I think you are still way ahead

Just another 107 and you’ll be knocking Chris of his perch – chances are you’ll be the queen bee in less than 24 hours.

🙂

Catrina- there’s no one who can get close to your amazing contribution to the world of political blogging in Oz. Accolades.

Gaffhook- that question was in relation to the election, not the number of posts here!
although…

1173
Agreed Gippy. When your opponents are using heavy machinery to dig themselves a hole………….It’s not really polite to interrupt them. 🙂

But when it comes to the serious nonsense of trying to disenfranchise large numbers of voters….
eg. Gaffy @ 1174
That’s when you call in the cavalry and start smacking them around the ears. HARD!!
It’s reassuring to know the Dems have the largest virtual law firm in the US right now. But one would hope, that behind the scenes, they are making it crystal clear to the Repugs.
Attempting to steal even part of the vote will have real consequences (including jail time) for those who’re willing to play that game.
Any repugs with even half a brain can see the writing on the wall.
The size of the swing is just too big to ignore.

230 hours Noocat??
OMFG!! there’s the nails, the spray tan, the hair style, the frock, the shoes, the lapband … the list is endless.

1175
blindoptimist Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
noocat… “it’s a bit like the dim being led by the dim…..”

unlike here @ politic, where it is the wise leading the witty…

It this dirty old part of the city
It’s the wise who keep leading the witty………
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1w5Hl8D0E

jen, soon as Don dispatches his essay our way it will be published immediately. And of course we knew you were taking poetic license with Michelle as Veep. She will have a far greater influence on Obi than Joe Biden though.
MO’B will be a phenomenon as First Lady.

1191
jen Says:
I am going to out-Palin Sarah.

Right jen, we who can’t make the party, expect photos
(in full hi-definition colour please)
We want to see how you spent the $150,000! :mrgreen:

Obama’s average lead on RCP is now up to +8
And Intrade is
The Kid 86.8 and Whatsisname 13.3

NB It should be noted that this race is far from over! I should mention this just in case some Obi supporters are tempted to stay home cos it’s already a done deal.

In the meantime, Ol’ Man McC is out hunting for a Narrowing. Any Narowing will do. Won’t saomeone give the guy a fuckin’ Narrowing!!
NO! Not a HARROWING!! I said a NARROWING!
Oh God, he’s getting a harrowing….an’ it’s not pretty.

1117 GWV

“Much of Hillary Clinton’s campaign was based on the idea that Obama would not be able to win over this group and she would. It now appears that she was wrong on this score.”

…and you can put Hillary in the same company as Herr Doktor, who also made that rather fundamental mistake too. Looks like they were both wrong…that’s W-R-O-N-G…EXCLAMATION MARK, as Dr Ken Henry would say! LOL

Was just having a look at the electoral-vote map.

Look how out of place silly old racist West Virginia looks.

1179

“Its clear that even if McCain can produce huge turnout numbers and win the Independent vote, Obama would still finish ahead of McCain by 8,500 votes.”

One assumption that the author of that article Kelly Bowling has made that I disagree with is the belief that the amount of people casting early votes each day will remain steady. The people who cast early votes can be divided into two groups, the ‘planned’ and the ‘spontaneous’. The people who decided to vote early are very likely to have already done so at the same time as the early ‘spontaneous’ voters. With the ‘planned’ votes cast, the remaining early votes will only be from the ‘spontaneous’ group and will therefore be smaller.

As a result, the overall amount of early votes won’t be as large as predicted by the author reducing the Democratic advantage. Since the ‘spontaneous’ group are also less likely to vote on Election Day, that will result in overall turnout not being as large as the author believes. Therefore under the first scenario of Independents going 60-40 for the Republicans, McCain would win North Carolina.

However in the realistic scenario of the Independents splitting their vote, Obama would still win comfortably, just not by 651,238.

Ferny – I reckon his arteries will be doing it for him.

Paddy – no excuses. You should be there!

1161 Noocat Yes, definitely. I suspect there are things he is not saying before the election. Would you?

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