Obama Camp Turns to Clinton to Counter Palin
ST. PAUL — Senator Barack Obama will increasingly lean on prominent Democratic women to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain, dispatching Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to Florida on Monday and creating a rapid-response team to deploy female surrogates to battleground states, Obama advisers said on Thursday. (Read on Source)
Red Meat, RNC Day 3: Mid Afternoon
Today on Red Meat, Jim Geraghty discusses the media reaction to Palin's speech with Ramesh Ponnuru, Mark Hemingway, and Stephen Spruiell. Google video link here. (Read on Source)
McCain's Top Strategist Addresses Log Cabin Republicans
Senior McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt spoke to Log Cabin Republicans, calling them "an important part" of the Republican Party and sounding a personal note about his lesbian sister. (Read on Source)
Now both candidates have given bad speeches.
McCain Speech React: I predicted McCain's would be a good speech. Wrong again. That makes two successful conventions ending with weak final acts. [ more ... ] (Read on Source)
The death of a taboo
ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old. The informal prohibition, which had been... (Read on Source)
Gender Expression As A Discrimination Issue
When can you discriminate against a transgender person? If one perceives an individual to be a crossdresser or a transsexual, but is "post-surgical" [has had genital reconstruction surgery (GRS)], is it discriminating against one because one perceives the individual as transgender, or discriminating against an individual because of perceived ... (Read on Source)
New ethic´s complaint filed against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
New ethic´s complaint is being filed against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin today before the end of the business day. The complaint outlines misconduct by the Gov. and her office staff alleging records where improperly made pubic. (Read on Source)
News Analysis: The Party in Power, Running as if It Weren’t
Partly by his nature and partly by calculation, John McCain is sounding a call to topple the establishment. (Read on Source)
Op-Ed Columnist: The Resentment Strategy
The G.O.P. is selling the politics of resentment; you?re supposed to vote Republican to stick it to an elite that thinks it?s better than you. (Read on Source)
Community Organizers Fight Back
"I have ‘actual responsibilities,'" said Jacqueline del Valle, a community organizer in the Bronx. "If Mayor Giuliani and President Bush cared more about working people instead of just people who can hire high-powered lobbyists, maybe I wouldn't have so much responsibility. Maybe working people would have an easier time in America today. But that' (Read on Source)
House Chairman Failed to Report $75,000 in Income
Representative Charles B. Rangel has owned a villa in the Dominican Republic since 1988 but never reported rental income on his tax returns. (Read on Source)
In New Book, Woodward Says Bush 'Failed to Lead,' Even as Surge Succeeded
WASHINGTON — Bob Woodward, who wrote two books praising President Bush and then a third harshly criticizing him, is out with a fourth tome that renders a mixed verdict on Bush, lauding the president’s surge of troops into Iraq, but saying "too often he failed to lead." (Read on Source)
John McCain
Sen. John McCain is to speak to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night. These are excerpts of that speech, as prepared for delivery: (Read on Source)
McCain just part of Washington, Democrats say
Sen. John McCain got one thing right Thursday when he said the Republicans had let Washington change them, Democrats said after his speech. (Read on Source)
The blizzard in St. Paul - diversity is MIA
In the WaPo today, there is a piece ”In a More Diverse America, A Mostly White Convention,” that illustrates a serious problem on display at the Republican National Convention. This year the GOP hit a record low in black attendees (despite “outreach” by the RNC under Ken Mehlman), and the blizzard of pale faces in this year& (Read on Source)
What McCain Must Do Tonight
After watching Gov. Sarah Palin accept the Republican party's vice presidential nomination last night, the common reaction is that the party's base loved what they heard in her speech. She generated real excitement among the delegates. Conservative talk radio sees Palin as the Republican version of Sen. Barack Obama. (Read on Source)
Rice set for historic Libya visit
Condoleezza Rice will meet Libya's Gaddafi in the latest step aimed at improving relations between the former enemies. (Read on Source)
Bell Seeks To Limit Voter Choice
Voters around Texas have consistently said that they don't want Chris Bell serving in any public office. His response? Take a page from the Barack Obama handbook and seek to kick the only other Democrat candidate off the ballot in... (Read on Source)
After The Bounce Is Gone
It must suck to be Barack Obama, and see your lead go up in smoke. A poll released today by CBS News reports that Barack Obama's post-Democratic convention bounce has been erased — and that for the first time, John... (Read on Source)
Lines o' the day: Steyn, Giuliani, Romney
The real anointed one (Mark Steyn), writing at The Corner: I would like to thank the US media for doing such a grand job this last week of lowering expectations by portraying Governor Palin - whoops, I mean Hick-Burg Mayor Palin - as a hillbilly know-nothing permapregnant ditz, half of whose 27 kids are the spawn of a stump-toothed uncle who hasn' ... (Read on Source)
Go To Jail, Go Directly To Jail
Looks like two American political figures gut cut-rate sentences yesterday for offenses which deserved more jail time. First, in Detroit. Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges here on Thursday and agreed to resign from office and serve... (Read on Source)
TIMES NETWORK
So I am guessing from this article that it is alright to talk trash about Obamas kids. After all, they have been seen on many magazine covers, photo opps, political events etc., and oh crap, they even were on stage with their mother and father! (Read on Source)
Live-Blogging McCain
11.08 pm. Quite a deflation after the drama of last night with the sportscaster-governor. It made me realize how much I am still fond of this guy. And also clearer about why this is not his moment. The specifics were very vague, and the entire presentation based on biography, nostalgia and a kind of strained, exhausted mildness. His performance ... (Read on Source)
Good News On Publishing Front UPDATED AND BUMPED
I’m a voracious reader, but am very picky on what I add to my personal library. Usually I’ll pick up a particularly interesting history book, a work of political science (not current politics – political science), or some escapist science... (Read on Source)
Disruptions
Not sure what the protesters' goal is -- unless it's to elicit sympathy for McCain among the viewers who tuned in to hear his speech. His response -- telling the audience to ignore the "static" and that "Americans want us to stop shouting at each other" -- let him come across as reasonable and cool-headed. (Read on Source)
Hasselhoff: America's Got Transsexuals!
I was watching "America's Got Talent" last night. Guilty pleasure, I know, but what struck me as notable is that they have had three non-traditionally-gendered people in the competition (I hestitate with "transgender" because I don't know for certain) -- a Britney Spears impersonator (hot!), a Tina Turner impersonator (eh.), and an female opera ... (Read on Source)
RNC Post-Liveblogging II
Oh by the way: "Country First" is a fascist idea. There ought to be a fairly large number of people, things and groups that are more important to you than your "country." (Read on Source)
CALL TO ACTION - Calling All Blenders
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: A conservative wrote this to me tonight. Blenders, please respond to any or all of the points he writes below. Please correspond your responses with the numbers of his talking points. This point of view he has represents MANY educated, wealthy, Christian males who will be voting. Let's open up a ... (Read on Source)
Texas attorney general: Inmate shouldn't die until romance allegations investigated
The Texas attorney general’s office on Thursday took the unusual step of joining the defense in saying that death row inmate Charles Dean Hood should not die until after an investigation into an alleged romantic relationship at the time of his trial between the prosecutor and judge. (Read on Source)
Too good to be believed: Dems lob the ultimate softball
The brain surgeons at Democrats.org have a news flash. ...Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed... Let's clarify something for ... (Read on Source)
Awesome: GOP rocks out to … “Barracuda”; Update: Cease and desist letter sent!
I was going to save it for morning but it’s simply too sweet. Listen for the cheers at the beginning as the crowd recognizes the track. Exit question: When do the Wilson sisters file the copyright suit? Tomorrow or next week? (Read on Source)
The Right To Be Here
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty blamed the violence this week on a small group of "anarchists, nihilists, and goofballs who want to break stuff and hurt people." "They need to be dealt with," Pawlenty said in an interview with WCCO-AM of Minneapolis. (via MSNBC .) This is a pic and an accompanying write-up posted anonymously at Twin Cities Indymedia ... (Read on Source)
Estimable Mississippian
Just saw Clarke Reed, who's been coming to Republican conventions for many years. He pretty much invented the Republican party in Mississippi. Had a role in ensuring President Ford's nomination in 1976 (over the Gipper, of course). Was a friend of Bill Buckley. In fact, I once rode on Reed's plane with Bill. You could always call on a Reed plane, ... (Read on Source)
Obama Camp Turns to Clinton to Counter Palin
ST. PAUL — Senator Barack Obama will increasingly lean on prominent Democratic women to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain, dispatching Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to Florida on Monday and creating a rapid-response team to deploy female surrogates to battleground states, Obama advisers said on Thursday. (Read on Source)
News Analysis: Party in Power, Running as if It Weren’t
Partly by his nature and partly by calculation, John McCain is sounding a call to topple the establishment. (Read on Source)
Republicans Lack Heart!
Filed under: Prez Election 2008 Ann and Nancy Wilson are pissed at the Republican Party and have fired off a cease and desist letter to the McCain/Palin campaign.Specifically, the Heart women are upset that the GOP has used their classic "Barracuda" as a theme song for Sarah Palin.... Permalink (Read on Source)
A POW Against McCain?
Dr. Phillip Butler, an American POW during the Vietnam war, has received attention for a recent ad in opposition to John McCain. The short ad is an excerpt from this longer piece: Dr. Butler is a hero whose service and bravery merit our praise and thanks. But there's no indication in anything he says here that he has spoken to McCain in decades. ... (Read on Source)
Rangel Failed to Report $75,000 in Income
Representative Charles B. Rangel not reported the rental income on a villa he owns in the Dominican Republic. (Read on Source)
Palin 1. The Mainstream Media 0.
The mainstream has spent a full week throwing everything they have at Sarah Palin. They've hurled sexist insults at her, attacked her family, smeared her with lies and half-truths, and were even speculating that she hadn't been vetted and would... (Read on Source)
Op-Ed Columnist: The Resentment Strategy
The G.O.P. is selling the politics of resentment; you?re supposed to vote Republican to stick it to an elite that thinks it?s better than you. (Read on Source)
The 20 Best Quotes From The 2008 Republican National Convention
Honorable Mention: "If Barack Obama cannot appreciate that our troops are winning in Iraq, he should not be their Commander in Chief." -- Lindsey Graham Honorable Mention: "Democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their... (Read on Source)
Rice in Libya for historic visit
Condoleezza Rice arrives in Libya to meet Col Gaddafi in the latest step aimed at improving relations between the former enemies. (Read on Source)
In New Book, Woodward Says Bush 'Failed to Lead,' Even as Surge Succeeded
WASHINGTON — Bob Woodward, who wrote two books praising President Bush and then a third harshly criticizing him, is out with a fourth tome that renders a mixed verdict on Bush, lauding the president’s surge of troops into Iraq, but saying "too often he failed to lead." (Read on Source)
Back to Alaska
Howard Fineman reported tonight (and I heard something similar) that Sarah Palin will, after a brief stretch on the trail, head back to Anchorage and away from the national media. (Read on Source)
The death of a taboo
ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old. The informal prohibition, which had been... (Read on Source)
Hasselhoff: America's Got Transsexuals!
I was watching "America's Got Talent" last night. Guilty pleasure, I know, but what struck me as notable is that they have had three non-traditionally-gendered people in the competition (I hestitate with "transgender" because I don't know for certain) -- a Britney Spears impersonator (hot!), a Tina Turner impersonator (eh.), and an female opera ... (Read on Source)
Should No-Knock Police Raids be Rare-or Routine?
Featuring Cheye Calvo, Mayor, Berwyn Heights, Maryland, Radley Balko, Senior Writer, Reason and author of Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America, Peter Christ, Co-founder, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Moderated by Tim Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute. (Read on Source)
Republican Priorities - What did they actually talk about?
Thinkprogress.org — Here's an interesting list of key words and names they repeated, along with some key words and names that they rarely mentioned or even avoided like the plague. (Read on Source)
Video: Andrea Mitchell, reporting live from the balloon drop
"I chose the worst place to be on this floor." (Read on Source)
"Drill, Baby, Drill!"
The Republican obsession with drilling seems so jarring because it's a glaring example of either the modern GOP's disconnect from reality, or its cynicism, or both. Either a lot of them believe (despite all available evidence to the contrary) that the energy crisis can be significantly ameliorated by offshore and ANWR drilling, simply because they' (Read on Source)
Hosting a star is tougher than you?d think!
Saluting the Generalissimo! (Read on Source)
Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer
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Dissing the base: Usually a bad idea
I’ve already written more about Palin than I really wanted, but this is also interesting: Angry readers dump Us Magazine over Palin Somewhere I saw that cover online and thought that was probably a bad move, considering that a huge percentage of the magazine’s readers are probably in the demographic most likely to support female ... (Read on Source)
Financial Tsunami, Updated
Bill Gross whispers some frightening words I know it?s McCain's day and I don?t want to step on the parade, but you might have noticed that the US stock market dropped three percent yesterday. Bonds had a fairly significant rally, but not a barn-burner. A pile of really bad economic data came out yesterday, and this morning everyone is ... (Read on Source)
McCain just part of Washington, Democrats say
Sen. John McCain got one thing right Thursday when he said the Republicans had let Washington change them, Democrats said after his speech. (Read on Source)
The Website Of The Day Is Conservatism Today
The website of the day is Conservatism Today. ... (Read on Source)
The Note: Race is Shaken, Yet Holds Steady
McCain takes fight to Obama turf, as Dems plot pushback. (Read on Source)
LINDSAY LO-DOWN
IT'S once nude, twice shy for Lindsay Lohan. The Sapphic-leaning star has turned down a $700,000 offer to do an eight-page topless spread in Playboy's 55th-anniversary issue this January. "If there's nudity, then the answer's no . . . She's not going down the [New York] magazine road again," Lohan's rep told ... (Read on Source)
Earth First! Ecoterrorists Blubber and Weep
Check out this hilarious video of moonbats crying over oppressed trees: http://view.break.com/565864 - Watch more free videos They want the trees to know they care. But like most environmentalists, they don't care so much about humans. The Chilling Effect has... (Read on Source)
Brett Favre Getting That Retirement Itch Again
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—Although veteran Jets quarterback Brett Favre claims he still loves the game, dwindling enthusiasm and a desire to bow out while on top has him contemplating retirement again, Favre confirmed Monday. (Read on Source)
A swing and a miss
A SWING AND A MISS.... Baseball metaphors seem to be the preferred standard for political success lately ("homerun," "grand slam," "hit a triple"), but after watching John McCain's acceptance speech, I'm inclined to think he fouled one off. The pressure... (Read on Source)
In Case You Missed It: We Is Angry at Us
MSNBC reports thousands are cancelling their subscriptions to Jan Wenner's weekly celeb rag over its "Babies, Lies & Scandals" cover slamming Sarah Palin. From the story: "I'm hearing it's 5,000, maybe more," says one well-placed source in the industry. Another source claimed that as many as 10,000 readers have already cancelled their ... (Read on Source)
RNC Post-Liveblogging II
Oh by the way: "Country First" is a fascist idea. There ought to be a fairly large number of people, things and groups that are more important to you than your "country." (Read on Source)
Live-Blogging McCain
11.08 pm. Quite a deflation after the drama of last night with the sportscaster-governor. It made me realize how much I am still fond of this guy. And also clearer about why this is not his moment. The specifics were very vague, and the entire presentation based on biography, nostalgia and a kind of strained, exhausted mildness. His performance ... (Read on Source)
Suzie / 09:56:00 AM
OPINIONS OF ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, A MINOR GREEK GODDESS. She can be reached at: ECHIDNE-OF-THE-SNAKES.COM (Read on Source)
Name: SyroBro