knock 'em down.

10/28/2008 10:44:40 PM

Quote :

"I've never heard of Khalidi, but how exactly is he a bad guy?"

10/29/2008 12:44:08 AM

WTF is McCain thinking here? (reposted from elsewhere)

In a move of sheer lunacy the McCain campaign has brought Joe The Plumber out on the campaign trail.

No. Really.

Quote :

"The Ohio plumber, who has no license and is actually named Samuel Wurzelbacher, spoke at a McCain campaign event in Columbus Monday. A McCain supporter asked if "a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel." JTP hardly batted an eye. "I'll go ahead and agree with you on that," Wurzelbacher said."

:facepalm:
He's even got Fox News frazzled:

Quote :

"Anyway, five minutes with Joe The Plumber had Shepard Smith so frustrated that the Fox anchor felt compelled to issue a disclaimer, immediately following the segment, pushing back on any notion that Obama would mean the "death of Israel," saying: "I just want to make this 100 percent perfectly clear -- Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend of the United States, no matter what happens once he becomes President of the United States. His words." Smith later added, "The rest of it -- man...some things -- it just gets frightening sometimes. We'll be right back." I haven't seen Shep this broken up about the state of the world since Katrina."

To be honest, I'm starting to feel bad for McCain, not to the point of voting for him, but the kind of sorry you feel for a teenager who touches the fence with the big "Electrified" sign on it: you feel bad he's in pain, but at the same time smack him upside the head and call him a dipshit.

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/28/foxs-shepard-smith-forced_n_138674.html

10/29/2008 1:45:44 AM

I REALLY REALLY wish that the US would stop sucking Israel's metaphorical cock. They do very little but piss off everyone around them and the only reason it doesn't kill our foreign policy credibility is because all western nations are doing the same thing (WWII guilt? still? get over it, Europe).

Sure, much of the middle east does have a religious grudge against them, but the Israeli government is doing nothing to make itself more likable. I have no problem with us backing them in the event that they're attacked, but I do have a problem with our seemingly blind support of every dick-ish action they take against their neighbors.

10/29/2008 1:52:28 AM

^^

my

fucking

god.


i cant believe it. the McCain campaign has sunk so low, they even scare the Fox News anchors.

in less than a week, i've just seen with my own eyes, Michelle Malkin and Fox News -- they each now have more credibility than John McCain.

I dont believe this. this is unreal.

10/29/2008 2:20:16 AM

McCain isn't controlling JtP. Joe is throwing his own shit to the detriment of all around him.

Now, yes, the McCain campaign DID to some degree "create" him, but they'd probably be correcting the guy for things like this if Fox weren't already doing it for them.


v Edit: Actually, you're right, I didn't actually read that particular article. This Joe the Plumber shit is just plain shameful, and I've been trying my best to completely ignore it.

If the McCain camp is openly embracing this guy to the point of "coaching" his actions and speeches, they've fallen a lot farther than I had thought.

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 2:51 AM. Reason : v]

10/29/2008 2:25:16 AM

do you kind of having a reading comprehension problem? or are you just not reading anything at all, and spouting your uninformed opinion at random?

If you would have read the Raw Story source, youd understand that: JTP is on the trail with John McCain, and is speaking at his rallys. He is speaking on exactly the same talking points that McCain is speaking on, synchronized TO THE DAY.

JTP said that a vote for Obama is "death to israel". the mcCain camp not only is hesitant to distance themselves from the remark, they are actually developing a new AD to talk about how an Obama presidency will affect Israel.

what part of the concept of being "coached" don't you understand?

you need to step it up a bit, man. this sloppiness you're exhibiting isnt goign to cut it.

10/29/2008 2:45:15 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/his-choice_ad/

GAME

SET

MATCH

10/29/2008 7:56:15 AM

For marko:

Obama Wins!

http://www.thesun-news.com/

10/29/2008 7:59:08 AM

^^ nice.

10/29/2008 8:03:17 AM

^^I think that might have been posted already, actually... but maybe it was Chit Chat, who knows... too many election threads there. But yeah, the Sun Times News or whoever that was is apparently staffed by idiots or by writers for the Colbert Report (it's exactly like something he'd do... only not nearly as funny).


^^^That right there is the reason I'm not voting McCain. If he'd picked someone with an economically conservative record, I'd probably have mailed in my absentee ballot with the circle beside his name filled in. But instead, he picks Palin (someone with a mixed economic record... one that's really too short to analyze very well anyway)... and then as if to drive the nail into his own coffin, he supports the bailout to an extreme degree (suspending his campaign to support one of the biggest policy disasters since Bush took office... VERY conservative of him )... this vote for Obama was a vote for the GOP to wake the fuck up and return to its libertarian roots.

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 8:14 AM. Reason : ^]

10/29/2008 8:07:16 AM

Wednesday, October 29th - New Polls
----

[Associated Press/Gfk]
Obama holds leads in New Hampshire (+18), Pennsylvania (+12), Nevada (+12), Colorado (+9), Virginia (+7), Ohio (+7). Tied with McCain in North Carolina, Florida.

[Quinnipiac]
PA: Obama 53, McCain 41
OHIO: Obama 51, McCain 42
FLORIDA: Obama 47, McCain 45

[Times/Bloomberg]
Florida: Obama 50, McCain 43
Ohio: Obama 49, McCain 40

[ASU Research]
Arizona: McCain 46, Obama 44



[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 9:08 AM. Reason : -]

10/29/2008 8:54:32 AM

Here's an interesting ad (stylistically) Obama has out now: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1185304443?bctid=1885474357

^ McCain has made gains recently, but not at the expense of Obama (yet). The delta is dropping back within the margin of error, and will probably end up being really close come election day (I don't think McCain would take the lead though in the national polls).


[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2008 12:40:54 PM

10/29/2008 12:52:49 PM

^ it's a good concept but a terrible execution.

10/29/2008 12:55:00 PM

^^ I don't get it

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 1:12 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2008 1:12:35 PM

It made me feel dumber after I watched it honestly

10/29/2008 1:15:47 PM

This is encouraging...



"This machine is now calibrated."

...

"Oh, it's out of calibration."

10/29/2008 1:54:41 PM

Quote :

""I might have to rely on a Vice President that I select" for expertise on economic issues."

It is a great ad for Obama, but it'd be much more of a slam dunk if they were able to quote the entire sentence

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 3:20 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2008 3:19:07 PM

last person to buy a 30-minute tv ad to simulcast on all networks?

10/29/2008 3:29:49 PM

thats deep yo

10/29/2008 3:32:21 PM

Re-posting from the sandwiches thread on chit-chat... with regards to some parts of Obama's speech earlier today:

I was actually kind of impressed with some of the promises he made. There were actually libertarian concepts tossed in every so often...

For example, he said that he'd go through the national budget item-by-item and eliminate any organizations that are unnecessary or wasteful (not that I expect him to go through with this, but it makes me happy to see him mention it)... also, he stressed individual responsibility, and asked that people not live beyond their own means. This needs/needed to be said, especially to some of the people I saw in the crowd.

10/29/2008 3:39:46 PM

I don't know why that surprises anyone. Plenty of democrats at least say that they care about personal responsibility and a balanced budget. It's a myth that they're all tax-and-spenders, obviously

10/29/2008 3:41:36 PM

With Obama being this comfortably ahead by this point I wonder the provocation for him to feel the need to buy up a 30 minute infommertial which, from what I hear, will delay the World Series (although props to anyone who can keep that yawnfest off of tv). If anything I see this hurting him but I doubt enough to throw the election.

10/29/2008 4:00:57 PM

A ton of Obama supporters have already taken advantage of early-voting, so the overconfidence-effect or whatever we're calling it is negated quite a bit by that.

10/29/2008 4:03:22 PM

this will not hurt him

it didnt help ross perot

but this was money well spent for his campaign

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 4:04 PM. Reason : as much as i hate to admit]

10/29/2008 4:04:00 PM

Quote :

"For example, he said that he'd go through the national budget item-by-item and eliminate any organizations that are unnecessary or wasteful (not that I expect him to go through with this, but it makes me happy to see him mention it)..."

Obama has been saying this since the primaries.

10/29/2008 4:07:56 PM

Quote :

"With Obama being this comfortably ahead by this point I wonder the provocation for him to feel the need to buy up a 30 minute infommertial which, from what I hear, will delay the World Series (although props to anyone who can keep that yawnfest off of tv). If anything I see this hurting him but I doubt enough to throw the election."

you heard wrong, the ad is pre-empting pre-game coverage

10/29/2008 4:11:53 PM

Quote :

"this will not hurt him it didnt help ross perot but this was money well spent for his campaign"

I do not mean to seem belligerent or rude but could you explain this a little better. My understanding was that if you are ahead then it is best to keep quiet so as to no inadvertently say something to hurt your chances. Hence why John McCain practically faded into obscurity in terms of media coverage back in the primaries when Clinton and Obama were slugging it out and he was actually ahead by most tallies.

10/29/2008 4:18:14 PM

Quote :

"he stressed individual responsibility, and asked that people not live beyond their own means."

yeah, he mentioned something about "the government can't and shouldn't do everything. It's up to parents to turn off the TV and the video games". When he said that, a middle aged black lady (not that it matter's that she was black, but just saying she was) standing beside me turned to her bored-out-of-her-mind teenage daughter and said "I TOLD YOU TO STOP PLAYING THOSE GAMES!!" ..... had to be there, i guess
Also, it was good to hear him use a couple sentences on fathers - "you men out there, you have to be responsible fathers. your kids need responsible male figures in their lives", or something like that.

It was also nice to hear some of the contrast between what he said and what is at the McCain/Palin rallies, at least the parts they show on TV (since I've never been to one). "there is no red american and blue america, no pro-American america and anti-American america, no right america and wrong america. Just one America, the United States of America". That's such a stark contrast to the shit Palin spews with "i try to visit the pro-America parts of the country"

btw - wtf was up with the line into the event, and the security? I was in line for over an hour, and was still 1/2-block away when he started speaking (15 minutes late, presumably because over half the crowd was still standing outside in line). Then when he started speaking, they just opened up the gates and stopped screening people. When I got up to the gate, i saw there were two, single file gates with metal detectors! Who the hell planned this and decided that two metal detectors for half of the crowd was sufficient (assuming half of the crowd went to the only other entrance i saw).

Also - I only saw one protester, and if you were there you probably saw him too - the guy walking around with the big poster of Obama in his Kenyan garb, with the text "WAKE UP. CHANGE?". He walked up and down the line a couple times, and I was extremely glad to see that nobody yelled at him or even really acknowledged he was there. I didn't see anyone even say a single thing to him.

10/29/2008 4:22:20 PM

Quote :

"My understanding was that if you are ahead then it is best to keep quiet so as to no inadvertently say something to hurt your chances. "

I think it will help him too. I don't know what he will say or show, of course, but i hope some of it is more of the "getting to know the Obamas" type stuff. This will not hurt at all, because 1) it won't change anything for people who are already voting for him, and 2) hopefully it will show other people that he is a normal person with a normal family. he can hit on some of the high points of his campaign, and not directly fight back against some of the slander out there against him (i.e. I doubt he will say "you know, i'm not a Muslim"), but indirectly fight it by showing who he really is (i.e. he will probably emphasize his Christian faith)

also - maybe he can explain his tax policy for once and for all, so there is no more argument. He can even get a little Perot-y with some simple graphs, kind of like the one comparing his and McCain's tax plans

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 4:31 PM. Reason : .]

10/29/2008 4:25:28 PM

if anything, he will dominate the weekend news cycle with all the commentary and reaction. among obama supporters the enthusiasm is high, so i doubt he's going to turn off those who were already planning on voting for him. so yeah, i don't think this can hurt him. and it's not like he's going to make gaffes (most of it is pre-recorded, except for a live rally segment).

10/29/2008 4:29:42 PM

It's not like he's broadcasting 30 minutes of him doing a stream of consciousness talk; He's going to have a scripted speech onhand. There's nothing he's going to say that could hurt him, mostly because none of it will be new.

10/29/2008 4:34:09 PM

here's a BBC video of the changing landscape of North Carolina politics:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7696569.stm

it's right at 5 minutes and it's worth the watch

10/29/2008 5:02:41 PM

I kind of zoned out a bit there, but what was the guy saying about religion?

10/29/2008 5:15:33 PM

which guy? the Jessie Helms guy? he had no idea what he was talking about. i think that's why it was included

10/29/2008 5:30:31 PM

^ I guess... the guy near the end in the museum.

10/29/2008 5:34:44 PM

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article866862.ece

The Socialist Party says Obama is not a socialist.

10/29/2008 5:45:16 PM

^ha, yeah

colbert had the socialists party candidate for pres. on last night. basically said the same thing

[Edited on October 29, 2008 at 5:55 PM. Reason : .]

10/29/2008 5:54:51 PM

Quote :

"Gov. Sarah Palin suggested that if the Republican ticket is defeated on Tuesday she expects to be a player in the next election four years from now, saying "I'm not doing this for naught." In an interview with ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas, the Republican vice-presidential nominee was asked about 2012, whether she was discouraged by the daily attacks on the campaign trail, and would instead pack it in and return to her home state of Alaska. "I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we've taken, that would bring this whole & I'm not doing this for naught," Palin said. "

Wow, Palin just threw McCain under the bus.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/palin-already-talking-about-2012.html

10/29/2008 9:37:20 PM

the american people will resoundingly reject sarah palin if she chooses to run in 2012. she's batshit insane and certainly the majority of the american people see that.

she should scurry back to alaska after tuesday and avoid further embarrassment

10/29/2008 9:40:20 PM

Quote :

"The Socialist Party says Obama is not a socialist."

... which is exactly what he would want them to say!!!

10/29/2008 10:59:52 PM

don't you know, he's secretly their candidate?

10/29/2008 11:02:10 PM

Would McCain be a good Secretary of Defense? I think he might be.

10/29/2008 11:26:17 PM

The most honest discussion the two could honestly have is about which is less socialist.

Let's be real, guys. They both voted to nationalize mortgage lending, banking, and insurance during their own campaigns. This is strictly "pot-kettle" politics.

This election is a joke. There is no choice available to the good citizens of this country. Both candidates demonstrate shockingly little regard to the Bill of Rights, or the role of government, as prescribed in the US Constitution.

Both candidates voted for FISA. McCain folded on torture.

A joke.

10/30/2008 1:35:39 AM

Quote :

"I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling Obama a terrorist sympathizer. And I will stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops calling the parts of the country where I don’t live more Pro-American than the part of the country where I do live. And I will definitely stop calling Sarah Palin a bitch when she stops acting like a bitch. "

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/what-was-i-thinking-when-i-called-sarah-palin-a-bitch/

10/30/2008 1:42:34 AM

10/30/2008 5:41:50 AM

Calling it now

Palin/Wurzelbacher '12

10/30/2008 6:28:32 AM

Quote :

"For example, he said that he'd go through the national budget item-by-item and eliminate any organizations that are unnecessary or wasteful"

Here's how that will go:

Hmmm... Military? cross that out
National Guard? nah, don't need it
welfare queens? keep it
people who live beyond their means? keep that
throwing paint on a wall haphazardly... keep it
poets who write racist diatribes... fund em.
Nuclear power? nah...

10/30/2008 6:42:47 AM

Don't forget subsidies for grape soda. You know that shit's gonna go through the roof.

10/30/2008 8:11:25 AM