Tag: Election ’08

The Left is being played like a fiddle….

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A sad, but true fact.

The story, Which comes via Newshoggers, who saw it at Rising Hegemon. A story that appeared in the Village Voice, the story of how the Republican Operatives are strongly trying to weaken the chances of a Democratic Nominee of winning in November.  Now in the interest for fairness, this is really nothing new, this sort of Political underhandedness has been going on for years. Nixon did it, as did others. But the reason why it is so bad in this race, for one, is because there is no fairness doctrine anymore, opening up the ability to editorialize the coverage of the election process, another factor is, that you have a Republican propaganda machine, known as Fox News, or as I like to call it, Faux Noise. But, because I am fair, Fox News is not the only ones that do this sort of thing. MSNBC does it, CNN does, even the so-called NPR, which is supposed to be a-political, has a noticed liberal slant to it. So, all in all, the Bias is on both sides of the camp.

Anyhow, on with the story….

Quote:

The prime movers of both political parties have long tried to game the presidential nominating process—not only to choose their eventual winner, but also to pick their November opponent. And in this landmark election without incumbents, the media wing of the Republican Party, in particular, has quite visibly been playing that game. Right-leaning pundits for months now have very openly not just called for Hillary Clinton’s head, but also coddled and promoted Barack Obama, salivating over the prospect of facing him in November.

Meanwhile, voters have been echoing that program: Barack Obama has been beating Hillary Clinton in part because Republicans are helping him.

Sixteen of the 45 Democratic primaries and caucuses held before this week were open affairs, allowing Republicans and independents to take part, and Barack Obama has won 11 of those contests. He almost invariably carried the Republican vote, which accounted for as much as 9 percent of the total in Wisconsin and Texas, and frequently ran even stronger among independents, who represented a fifth or more of Democratic primary voters in state after state. The 75 percent of the Republican vote that he won in Missouri, for example, may have pushed him over the top, and certainly, when combined with his 67 percent of the state’s much larger independent vote, it delivered many of the district-apportioned delegates to him. Republicans in Obama states like Washington, Wisconsin, and Virginia were even freer to cross the aisle, since by the time they voted, John McCain had already sewn up the GOP nomination. While Obama often won some of these states so handily that Republicans and independents could not have provided his margin of victory, there is no way to know how many delegates in close congressional-district contests will wind up in Denver because of the impact of Republican or independent voters. And there is no exit-poll data to measure their impact on the caucuses.

I highly recommend that you read the rest of this story, as it paints a tale of how the Republicans are attempting to destroy the Democrat nomination in November. The sick and sad part is, they are doing by using the old, outdated system of nomination and voting.

Cernig at Newshoggers weighs in:

In every case, these rightwing mouthpieces have ignored their own previous overt race-baiting to accuse the Clintons of being closet racists, have ignored their own open misogyny to accuse Obamites of sexism and generally muddied the waters every way they could.
Limbaugh, Novak, Kristol, Bennet, York, Hannity, George Will – all have their gamesmanship exposed by this must-read column. They’re all on the same page of the GOP playbook. It’s the page headed "Divide and Conquer".

Truly, this is a sad case, I just hope that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton have the ability to overcome the negative press coverage and can be elected. Because we do not need four to six more years of the Neo-Conservative nightmare in this country. Now, if McCain nabs the Presidency, I won’t jump off a building or anything. But it will set this Country a great deal if he does. Not to mention, it will be the biggest embarrassment to the Democrat Party.

Here is hoping that things will work out, and the underhanded folk, on both sides, will be exposed, for what they are. 

Did MSNBC and NBC just do a drive media hit on Hillary?

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Media Matters for America thinks so.

I can see why….Quote:

On Today, Tim Russert discussed the schedules from Sen. Hillary Clinton’s time as first lady and asserted: "Senator Clinton has made her experience such a part of this campaign, particularly her eight years as first lady. So this may be very rich in terms of exactly how did she spend her time, who did she meet with?" Russert added that "this, I think, today will be analyzed very closely by all of us at NBC News and media organizations across the country." Indeed, while NBC and MSNBC journalists discussed more substantive issues related to her schedules, they also repeatedly discussed what the schedules say, or do not say, about where Hillary Clinton was during Monica Lewinsky’s encounters with President Clinton, in many cases teasing segments or leading them with that information.

Video:

It really does make one wonder, is MSNBC partial to Obama? Keith Olbermann even went as far, as to deliver one of his stinging special comments, to deride her for her supposed "Racism". Why hasn’t he done the same for Obama? Obama got off easy with an interview.

I’d hate to accuse Keith of anything, but it is the perception in the progressive community.

One that I believe that he had better correct, as this could cause big problems for their ratings.

The ever continuing Story of Obama Wright Gate

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Now it has gone to a new level of silly

The Story: Jeremiah Wright was White House guest (Via Ben Smith’s Blog @ Politico.com)

The recent coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright has often cast him as a marginal, almost fringe figure, but Trinity Church is a major Chicago institution, and Wright has long been a prominent pastor on the American scene.

And an anonymous blog set up to defend his church offers some compelling photographic evidence of this: A photograph of Wright and President Clinton, which it says was taken on Sept. 11, 1998 — the date of a White House gathering for religious leaders.

[UPDATE: The blog seems to have taken that item down; here’s the full image that was posted.]

Hillary Clinton, according to her recently released schedule for the day, was present at the gathering. Al Gore also appears in the picture.

"In the course of his two terms in office, Bill Clinton met with, corresponded with and took pictures with literally tens of thousands of people," Clinton spokesman Jay Carson told Politico.

That’s where Clinton reportedly told the assembled clerics, at the depth of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, that he had "repented."

The only reason I can see that this was even picked up by the MSM and the Bigger Blogs, is because of an effort by the Conservative Bloggers to make ALL Democrats look like hatemongers.

Nice try guys, anyone with a half a brain is going to know that Presidents often meet and are photographed with many people. This picture, as it says above, was snapped during the Clinton Monica scandal.

Of course, we are dealing with Desperate Conservatives aren’t we? Could it be that they are totally scared out of their minds, that a LIBERAL might take the white house back and they will lose those tax breaks, that they received from the alcoholic,  coke headed, village idiot, in the White House? Who’s having extra-martial sex with Coni Rice!

Horrors! Rolling Eyes

Others on this: The Trail, Telegraph, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Wonkette, Liberal Values, Spin Cycle, The Monkey Tennis Centre, Shakesville, Hot Air, The Truth About Trinity …, Macsmind, Political Machine and The Page (via Memeorandum)

Obama’s church published Hamas terror manifesto

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Now, I wonder if this here will make the headlines?

The Story: Obama church published Hamas terror manifesto (Via WorldNetDaily.com)

Sen. Barack Obama’s Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group’s official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America’s Declaration of Independence.

The Hamas piece was published on the "Pastor’s Page" of the Trinity United Church of Christ newsletter reserved for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose anti-American, anti-Israel remarks landed Obama in hot water, prompting the presidential candidate to deliver a major race speech earlier this week.

Hamas, responsible for scores of shootings, suicide bombings and rocket launchings against civilian population centers, is listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department.

The revelation follows a recent WND article quoting Israeli security officials who expressed "concern" about Robert Malley, an adviser to Obama who has advocated negotiations with Hamas and providing international assistance to the terrorist group.

In his July 22, 2007, church bulletin, Wright reprinted an article by Mousa Abu Marzook, identified in the newsletter as a "deputy of the political bureau of Hamas." A photo image of the newsletter was captured and posted today by the business blog BizzyBlog. The Hamas piece was first published by the Los Angeles Times, garnering the newspaper much criticism.

This is an interesting story, it says much about Obama’s Pastor. I have noted that Obama’s Church is a member of the very liberal United Church of Christ.

The information on Obama’s Pastor continues to flow, like an open tap. I will stay on top of this.

Hopefully someone else in the Blogging World will start bringing this up as well.

If Obama is a terrorist sympathizer, what does that say about the man?

I also wonder, was he there, when this was published?

I think the Democratic Party really needs to revaluate whether or not they want this man in there or not. I mean, this could be seriously disastrous for this party.

Others: The Strata-Sphere, Sadly, No!, Gateway Pundit and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS(via Memeorandum)

Geraldine Ferraro – Sour old Bitch

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This is too funny!

The Story: Geraldine Ferraro resents being lumped in with the Rev. Wright in Obama speech (via The Daily Breeze)

Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said today that she objected to the comparison Sen. Barack Obama drew between her and his former pastor in his speech on race relations Tuesday.

In the speech, Obama sought to place the inflammatory remarks of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in a broader context, in part by placing them on a continuum with Ferraro’s recent remark to the Daily Breeze that Obama is "lucky" to be black.

"To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable," Ferraro said today. "He gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred."

Um, Sour Grapes there Miss. Ferraro?

Seriously, Racism is Racism, and Ferraro is just as guilty as Wright, plain and simple.

Now, seriously, I wish this woman would just drop dead go away and stay away for good.

Others: Hot Air, Fox News, The Swamp, Washington Wire, bustardblog, The Opinionator, Pat Dollard, Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, JustOneMinute, Riehl World View, Boston Globe, Political Machine, StephenBainbridge.com, Reason Magazine and The Page (Via Memeorandum)

Obama Passport-Gate

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This new Obama story that will bury the Rev. Wright Scandal.

 The Story: 2 fired over Obama passport breach (msnbc.com)

Quote:

Two contract employees of the State Department were fired and a third person was disciplined for inappropriately looking at Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s passport file.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the department itself detected the instances of "imprudent curiosity," which occurred separately on Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and March 14. He would not release the names of those who were fired and disciplined.

"We believe this was out of imprudent curiosity, so we are taking steps to reassure ourselves that that is, in fact, the case," McCormack said.

This was Keith Olbermann’s Lead story tonight and I believe he dedicated the rest of his show to it. As did Dan Abrams.

I have been reading around and listening to the coverage. People are comparing this to the 1992 breeching of President Clinton’s passport records, of which, I must confess, I knew nothing of.

There has also been, already, comparisons to Watergate. Which I think is a bit of a stretch, if you ask me. Although, I believe before it is over, someone will be charged over this or at least will be publicly shamed.

This will be an interesting story to follow.

Others: Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Attytood, Boston Globe, Bang the Drum, Oliver Willis, Corrente, Sister Toldjah, Blue Girl, Red State, The Agonist, Political Machine, Cliff Schecter, Washington Times, Associated Press, Think Progress, Redstate, Fox News, Hot Air, Macsmind, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Brilliant at Breakfast and Obsidian Wings

Obama: Wright controversy has ’shaken me up’

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 Hmmmm….

The Story: Obama: Wright controversy has ’shaken me up’ (via CNN.com)

Barack Obama told CNN Wednesday the recent uproar over his former pastor’s sermons has reminded him of the odds he faces in winning the White House.

"In some ways this, this controversy has actually shaken me up a little bit and gotten me back into remembering that the odds of me getting elected have always been lower than than some of the other conventional candidates," the Illinois senator told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an exclusive one-on-one interview.

There’s a song there… I was thinking:

 

or

Seriously? I would guess so, the magic or varnish has finally been wiped off and people are seeing the real Obama. Anyhow, Maybe it will wise Obama up and he’ll run things a bit more careful and get into more specifics of just how he intends to change this Nation, and how he’s going to be any different than Clinton.

Others: : TPM Election Central, The Page and The Fact Hub (via Memeornadum) 

Lanny Davis asks the question Republicans will be asking in the General Election

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 and, naturally the Clinton supporters are not amused.

The Story: Lanny Davis: Two Questions for Senator Obama (via The Huffington Post)

1. If a white minister preached sermons to his congregation and had used the "N" word and used rhetoric and words similar to members of the KKK, would you support a Democratic presidential candidate who decided to continue to be a member of that congregation?

2. Would you support that candidate if, after knowing of or hearing those sermons, he or she still appointed that minister to serve on his or her "Religious Advisory Committee" of his or her presidential campaign?

In fairness to the Clinton camp, they’ve pretty much have been mum about the whole Obama/Wright story. But Lanny Davis did ask the question on his own.

In fact, The Word on the street is that Maggie Williams told everyone in the Hillary camp to be quiet about the whole thing.

However, I will say this, as other as have as well. If Obama does not answer this question now and further distance himself from this story. He will not win in November.

Others: AMERICAblog, Taylor Marsh, Commentary, The New Republic, Marc Ambinder, Spin Cycle and The Democratic Daily (via Memeorandum)

The "Who Cares?" Headline of the day….

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Oh brother….. looks like ABC News is desperate for ratings. 

The Story: Hillary Was in White House on ‘Stained Blue Dress’ Day (ABC News)

Quote:

Hillary Clinton spent the night in the White House on the day her husband had oral sex with Monica Lewinsky, and may have actually been in the White House when it happened, according to records of her schedule released today by the National Archives.

An initial review by ABC News of the 17,481 pages of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s schedule as first lady, released today by the National Archives, also finds significant gaps in time and many days containing only "private meetings" at the White House with unnamed individuals.

The public schedule for Sen. Clinton on Feb. 28, 1997, the day on which Lewinsky’s infamous blue dress would become stained by the president, shows the first lady spent the morning and the night in the White House.

Honestly? I could really could honestly care less about this.

Heck truth be known, Hillary was most likely helping Monica!

Surprise

Seriously, I did not need to know where Hillary was, that day.

Others: Corrente, Salon, Fox News, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, The New Republic, Gawker, Trailhead, Booman Tribune, Shakesville, Brilliant at Breakfast, Hotline On Call, Donklephant, The BRAD BLOG and Wake up America (via Memeorandum)

Hillary’s Hypocrisy

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Wow….. Just wow….

The Story: Clinton Praises Petraeus (via The Caucus)

The quote: 

As critical as she is about the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq war, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a relatively rare shout-out to the military’s top man in Baghdad, General David Petraeus, calling him “an extraordinary leader and a wonderful advocate for our military.”

The commanding general, who has been a target of antiwar opponents and liberal groups like Moveon.org, has been a strong supporter of the escalation of American troops in Iraq, a strategy that Mrs. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama have opposed.

But Mrs. Clinton, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has had opportunities to talk and meet with General Petraeus about military matters over the years, and some aides say that she respects his expertise.

At a town hall meeting just now, Mrs. Clinton laid out her plan to withdraw troops from Iraq, noting she would rely on “the best military advice we can get” to devise a “very thoughtful” approach to start removing troops within 60 days of taking office.

As she concluded her remarks, she noted that American forces in Iraq were led by “an extraordinary leader and a wonderful advocate of our military.”

Isn’t this the same woman who said to petraeus, that one would have to possess a "willing suspension of disbelief", to believe his testimony?

Of course, we are talking about Democrats here.

Others: Weekly Standard Blog, Spin Cycle and Hot Air

Oy….. McCain Edition.

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Man, I know McCain is not known for his overreaching brilliance, But…. This? 

The Story: McCain rep to Jewish crowd: the Christian right is ‘serious problem’ (Via Haaretz)

The location keeps changing, and the speakers might be different as well, but the goal remains the same: courting the Jewish vote. Today, it was in Washington, at the Washington 15 Conference, an event of the United Jewish Communities aimed at young Jewish leadership. And three campaigns sent their representatives to convince these young enthusiastic crowd that Obama/Clinton/McCain is the candidate they should be voting for.

For Obama, it was advisor (and former ambassador to Israel) Daniel Kurtzer. For Clinton, it was senior advisor Ann Lewis. McCain dispatched the most senior speaker of the three, former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger. I will write more about this event later, but this first installment will be dedicated solely to the person speaking on behalf of McCain. With his abrupt, grumpy style, he stole the show, and also made some rather interesting comments.

Here is one prediction: that mouth of his might get the candidate in some trouble.

Yes, it can.

Eagleburger was trying to have fun. He was mocking his fellow panelist Kurtzer, sitting to the left of the others ("where he belongs"), and making noises and funny, impatient faces, while Ann Lewis was speaking. But more importantly, he did not mince his words. In a response to a question about the religious right, an important component of the Republican coalition, he said that it was, indeed "a serious problem," and reminded his listeners that he now lives in Charlottesville, surrounded by such people that he needs to fight.

If McCain wants to woo the American people this is NOT the way to do it.

Like I said above…. Oy…

Others: Crooks and Liars, Haaretz and The Raw Story

Obama’s lead shrinks, McCain Does quite nicely….

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 Believe it or not, this is not a big surprise

Story: Obama’s lead over Clinton narrows: Reuters poll (Via Reuters)

Quote:

Democrat Barack Obama’s big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the U.S. presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 percent to 44 percent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.

Illinois Sen. Obama, who would be America’s first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Sen. Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher.

The poll showed Arizona Sen. McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22.

McCain leads 46 percent to 40 percent in a hypothetical matchup against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll.

One thing to note here, this is a short term loss, I highly doubt that this little flare up is going to cost Obama the Nomination, the next Primary vote is like 5 weeks away in PA. So, I highly doubt that Obama will sustain any lasting damage. Once this Rev. Wright story finally leaves the News cycle, his numbers will return to normal.

McCain on the other seems to be benefiting from this dust up, the cameras and the attention is off of him for the time being. I can imagine he is quite happy about this. Many people are predicting that many independents will flock to McCain because they see Obama is too extremist.

Well, Sorry, I disagree, Any person who has looked at how Bush has totally screwed this country up, over the last 6 years. How Bush turned the 9/11 attacks as a excuse to invade a country that had NOTHING to do with the attacks at all. How much Bush and his Administration totally mangled the handling of the war, I highly doubt that these people are going to flock to McCain. Because too many people see McCain as a continuation of Bush.

Quite frankly, and I address this to MSM, I do not think that the Independents, like me, are quite that stupid. I know that I, and many others that I know, are not.

Others: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Washington Independent, Political Machine, Wake up America, Macsmind, QandO, Outside The Beltway and Roger L. Simon — More via memeorandum

Memo to the G.O.P.: Step Lightly Folks….

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 The question is…. Will it work?

The Story: GOP sees Rev. Wright as pathway to victory (Via Politico.com)

Quote:

For months, Republican party officials have watched with increasing trepidation as Barack Obama has shattered fundraising records, packed arena after arena with shrieking fans and pulled in significant Republican and independent votes.

Now, with the emergence of the notorious video showing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright damning the country, criticizing Israel, faulting U.S. policy for the Sept. 11 attacks and generally lashing out against white America, GOP strategists believe they’ve finally found an antidote to Obamamania.

 
In their view, the inflammatory sermons by Obama’s pastor offer the party a pathway to victory if Obama emerges as the Democratic nominee. Not only will the video clips enable some elements of the party to define him as unpatriotic, they will also serve as a powerful motivating force for the conservative base.

 

The G.O.P. has indeed been looking for some ammo to use against Obama.

The real question is, will it work? At first blush, one would say "yes, absolutely!” However, thinking about it more, it could come back to haunt the G.O.P, some Liberal 527 group could come along and attempt to paint an attack of that sort as a racial attack against Obama and try to paint the G.O.P. as utterly racist.

If I were the G.O.P., I would be very, very, very, careful in how I approached this, because handled the wrong way, could and possibly would, come back to haunt the G.O.P, in November and would only serve to strengthen the Democrats and Obama’s Campaign.

So, as the title of this entry says… Step Lightly folks, or it could backfire on you.

Just a thought.

Others: Commentary, Sweetness & Light, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Punch, Newsday, Riehl World View, culturekitchen, Reason Magazine, NO QUARTER, The Mahablog, Patterico’s Pontifications, Real Clear Politics, Shakesville, Comments from Left Field, Booman Tribune, American Power and Weekly Standard Blog — More via Memeorandum

To Gaffe or not to Gaffe…..

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The other large headline in the world of Politics is McCain’s supposed Gaffe about the war on terror. This was posted on the Washington Post’s Blog, or one of them at least. Although, right at the moment, I cannot seem to bring up the Blog, looks like the Washington Post needs to get better hosting for their Blog or better servers.

Of course, the Neo-Conservative apologists are coming out in full force defending John McCain and saying he was right in the first place, armed with talking points galore, they look more like Amway salesman, than they do political pundits.

Whether or not the statement was a gaffe or not, is quite frankly irrelevant in my mind. It overlooks the broader issue, that this so called “war” in Iraq was, in fact, a tragic mistake, that was based upon bad intelligence, some say cooked, I won’t go that far, as I do not know personally, as I was not there. But the fact remains is, President George W. Bush foolishly bought the false intelligence and the Neo-Conservative lie, that we could and would dominate the world through Military might, and now we are living in the great chasm that is the Iraq disaster.

Anyone that sees the war and how we go pulled into this landmine filled field of foolishness, any other way, is, in fact, defending the Neo-Conservative flawed worldview. Heck, even the late William Buckley denounced what Bush was doing as wrong. What more do we need, to believe what has happened in Iraq was wrong?

What amazes me is the ignorance of the people that defend McCain and his continuation of the flawed polices of George W. Bush. They know no bounds, and that worries me, greatly.

Others on this: Crooks and Liars, Chicago Tribune, Gallup, Washington Wire, Think Progress, Townhall.com, AMERICAblog, Associated Press, Matthew Yglesias, DownWithTyranny!, Eschaton, The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune, American Footprints, Comments from Left Field, Alas, a blog, Hullabaloo, MyDD, Daily Kos and Obsidian Wings and More via Memeorandum

Obama’s Speech

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Here is the Video, a link to the transcript and my personal reaction.

Here it is:

Transcript is available at TPM Election Central

Okay here is my official reaction. I watched the entire speech. At first, I thought, "Oh Boy, here he goes into his regular talking points." However, as I continued to watch, he began to discuss the current situation, and I feel he addressed them as best he could, given the situation that he is in.

I am however, quite dismayed of the reaction among the conservatives within the Blogging community. They are just downright dismissive, and that,  frankly bothers me, how is it, that the party that was, during it's formative years, the party of Anti-Slavery, is dismissive of a man, who is in one of the most unique of circumstances? How can they be so vile and hateful towards a man, that is doing his utter damnedest to calm down a situation, that was not of his own doing, you know who you are, You are Bastards! All of you! You should hang your God-forsaken heads in shame! You are doing absolutely nothing to further the discourse of the discussion of this election, instead, you are retreating to the cowardly corners of your Political Ideologies. May the Almighty God be your Judge! Again, I say, you ALL know who you are!

Anyhow, that's my reaction, I like it, I did feel, however, that he could have went a bit further, however, one must realize, that he is walking a tightrope, between not alienating himself from the black community, all elements of it, and not alienating the rest of America as well. It is not an easy thing to do. 

Hopefully, this speech will quell the nonsense within the media. At least it is a start on Obama's part.

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Too Little….Too Late….

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 Sorry say it. But………………..

The Story: Obama plans major race speech tomorrow  (Via Politico.com)

Barack Obama will give a major speech on "the larger issue of race in this campaign," he told reporters in Monaca, PA just now.

He was pressed there, as he has been at recent appearances, on statements by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

"I am going to be talking about not just Reverend Wright, but the larger issue of race in this campaign," he said.

He added that he would "talk about how some of these issues are perceived from within the black church issue for example," he said.

He also briefly defended Wright from the image that has come through in a handful of repeatedly televised clips from recent Wright sermons.

"The caricature that’s being painted of him is not accurate," he said.

The speech could offer Obama an opportunity to move past the controversy over his pastor, and to turn the conversation to a topic he’d rather focus on: his Christian faith. But the speech also guarantees that the Wright story will continue to dominate political headlines.

Mitt Romney’s attempt directly to address his Mormonism last year never decisively put the issue to rest for some voters.


Obama’s schedule puts him in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Sorry to say it, But I think that it is basically too little, too late. The damage is done. He may try and distance himself from his Pastor, But the fact remains, But Jeremiah Wright is his Pastor. 

Judging from the polls, his popularity is gone.

Should have thought about that preacher thing before running, Barry.

Others: Marc Ambinder, The Swamp, The New Republic, Ankle Biting Pundits, Wonkette, Donklephant, Classical Values, Gateway Pundit, QandO, Hot Air, PunditGuy and Macsmind (H/T Memeorandum)

Then why in the heck did he even bother to run?????

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Good grief, the more I hear about this stupid story, the more I wonder about Obama’s Judgement Ability.

The story: The Rev. Jeremiah Wright was an early concern, Obama aide admits (via LATIMES)

Quote:

After he moved to Chicago in the mid-1980s to work as a community organizer, Barack Obama forged close ties with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright — joining the pastor’s Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988 and using the topic of a Wright sermon, "the audacity of hope," as the title of his most recent best-selling book.

But more than a year ago — long before some of Wright’s more incendiary sermons became hot-button videos on YouTube, forcing Obama to publicly renounce his pastor last week — the Obama campaign had a sense that Wright’s sharp tongue might spell trouble for the Illinois senator.  (For a sermon sample, click on the Read more line below.)

That was the word anyway Sunday from Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, who acknowledged during a conference call with reporters that Wright was disinvited …

from Obama’s official candidacy announcement on Feb. 10, 2007, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.

Wright had been expected to lead an invocation of some kind, but never appeared.

“There was no doubt that there was controversy surrounding him,” Axelrod said Sunday.  “And we didn’t want to expose him … [or] make him the target and a distraction on a day when Sen. Obama was going to announce his candidacy.”

My question is, if Obama was keenly aware of this man’s hateful rhetoric, then why the heck did he even bother running for President? I mean, to be quite honest with you, from what I’m reading across the Blogs, people are becoming quite concerned with his campaign. 

I, Indeed, have some worries about his ability to lead the country, if he cannot make judgement calls, as simple as that one.

More from the Story:

The topic is clearly uncomfortable for Obama and his aides, personally and politically. Axelrod’s comments came only after prodding from a reporter and after he had initially suggested that Wright’s absence that day was due merely to the fact that the temperature was in the single digits.

And even as Obama has condemned some of Wright’s rhetoric and distanced himself from his longtime spiritual advisor, doing so has not been easy.  Wright remained on an African American religious advisory committee for the campaign until Friday.

“Rev. Wright married him, introduced him, as he said, to the church, brought him into the church, into Christianity, baptized his children,” Axelrod said.  “So this is a painful thing for him because he condemns the things Rev. Wright said, but he also knows him as a person.”

I’m sorry, but that is not a good enough excuse for me. I am not buying it, nor am I not buying the story, that he did not know about the sermons that the Networks have been playing, I think he knew full well, but never thought that they would get picked up by the news people. Which tells me, that he did not really think this through.

I look for Obama’s campaign to tank here in the next few months and Hillary get the Nomination. Because I have been reading the Blogs and there is quite a bit of "buyers Remorse" amongst the Liberals.

It should be very interesting, indeed.

Others: TalkLeft, FREEDOM EDEN, Taylor Marsh, Telegraph, Bang the Drum and The Huffington Post and More via Memeorandum

Oy…. New Jersey Style!

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 So much for the Naive wife thing!

McGreevey aide says he had sexual trysts with ex-governor, wife – (via NJ.com)

Quote:

A former aide to James E. McGreevey said today that he had three-way sexual trysts with the former governor and his wife before he took office, challenging Dina Matos McGreevey’s assertion that she was naive about her husband’s sexual exploits.

The aide, Theodore Pedersen, said he and the couple even had a nickname for the weekly romps, from 1999 to 2001, that typically began with dinner at T.G.I. Friday’s and ended with a threesome at McGreevey’s condo in Woodbridge.

They called them "Friday Night Specials," according to Pedersen.

Pedersen described the encounters during an interview with The Star-Ledger. He said he wanted to refute the innocent image that Matos McGreevey has projected – both during the couple’s ongoing divorce battle and in interviews she gave after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned last week in a sex scandal. He said he was also incensed by her portrayal of herself as an unsuspecting wife in her book: "Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage."

Friday Night Specials eh? Wow……Just Wow. So much for the Naive Wife. I suspect many people will be wanting their money back for the book that she wrote.

Wow, We aren’t even out the Primaries yet and the craziness is really getting….well, Crazy.

Others: The Corner, The Daily Dish, Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain and Pam’s House Blend (H/T Memeorandum)

A Very Funny Song and Video

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At least, I think so anyway…

Via Huffpo:

Kiss The Ring

There’s a space at the table for everyone
From the crackpot fringe to the favorite sons, bring them in
Bow down and kiss the ring
Cozy up to the zealots and disown their quotes
From the hellfire preachers to the talk show hosts bickering
Kiss kiss, kiss the ring

Sign all the checks to the bottom of the deck
if it deals you a hand you can win
And I know it’s just as well that a special place in hell
it can wait if they can help you get in
The purple hearts and silver stars that got you where you are
No they won’t add up to a thing
‘Cause all the guards on patrol in the circles that you roll
Will never ever let you make it anywhere unless you kiss the ring
Kiss the ring

Peeling off the cover of the old façade
If you can’t beat them then give them a job, yes it’s odd
The very same thugs that did you in
There’s a reputation that you might’ve once deserved
Before the Straight Talk Express hit Dead Man’s Curve
Even though I never agreed with you on much of anything

Put the bus in reverse as your principles disperse
And let the big games begin
Say goodbye to your code as you move on down the road
It won’t do shit for you from here on in
The purple hearts and silver stars that got you where you are
No they won’t add up to a thing
So Senator, it’s time, let them kick you down the line
I hope that you don’t mind the taste of metal ’cause it’s time to kiss the ring
Kiss the wrong

I’m crossing your name off the list of people I respect but still disagree
If you expand your ranks to the likes of them it’ll never include the likes of m
Of course I want you to lose, but maybe just maybe with some dignity
But it don’t matter much how you do it, as long as you do
It’ll be just fine with me

Sign all the checks to the bottom of the deck
if it deals you a hand you can win
And I know it’s just as well that a special place in hell
it can wait if they can help you get in
The purple hearts and silver stars that got you where you are
No they won’t add up to a thing
‘Cause all the guards on patrol in the circles that you roll
Will never ever let you make it anywhere unless you kiss the ring
Kiss the ring

I’m right of center, and I think that’s downright funny. Rolling on the floor

Obama’s Church sobs, "They’re picking on us!"

Posted on2 Comments

 Oh, this is rich…….

Obama’s church accuses media of character assassination (via Politico.com)

The stupid statement quote of the day….:

Chicago, Ill. (March 15, 2008) — Nearly three weeks before the 40th commemorative anniversary of the murder of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe.

“Dr. Wright has preached 207,792 minutes on Sunday for the past 36 years at Trinity United Church of Christ. This does not include weekday worship services, revivals and preaching engagements across America and around the globe, to ecumenical and interfaith communities. It is an indictment on Dr. Wright’s ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite,” said the Reverend Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.

During the 36-year pastorate of Dr. Wright, Trinity United Church of Christ has grown from 87 to 8,000 members. It is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ (UCC) denomination.

“It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission,” said the Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, in a released statement. “ … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”

Trinity United Church of Christ’s ministry is inclusive and global. The following ministries have been developed under Dr. Wright’s ministerial tutelage for social justice: assisted living facilities for senior citizens, day care for children, pastoral care and counseling, health care, ministries for persons living with HIV/AIDS, hospice training, prison ministry, scholarships for thousands of students to attend historically black colleges, youth ministries, tutorial and computer programs, a church library, domestic violence programs and scholarships and fellowships for women and men attending seminary.

Moss added, “The African American Church was born out of the crucible of slavery and the legacy of prophetic African American preachers since slavery has been and continues to heal broken marginalized victims of social and economic injustices. This is an attack on the legacy of the African American Church which led and continues to lead the fight for human rights in America and around the world.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached the Christian tenet, “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Before Dr. King was murdered on April 4, 1968, he preached, “The 11 o’clock hour is the most segregated hour in America.” Forty years later, the African American Church community continues to face bomb threats, death threats, and their ministers’ characters are assassinated because they teach and preach prophetic social concerns for social justice. Sunday is still the most segregated hour in America.

Oh Please…….Rolling Eyes

Make stupid statements, allow them to be recorded, have your most famous member run for President,  and then when the Media picks up some of the sermons, that sounds, quite frankly, Anti-American and when this shown to America. You pull the race card. How convenient.

….And we want to elect this man President????

Give me a break!

Update: Juan Williams over at Fox News, of all places, is saying the SAME thing as me: (H/T Hotair.com)

Link: sevenload.com

Others: Hot Air, The Sundries Shack, Donklephant and Stop The ACLU and

more via Memeorandum

It has been Five Years…..

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That’s right folks, Five years since this War began…. Unreal.

Looking Back at Five Years in Iraq (via New York Times)

FIVE years on, it seems positively surreal.

On the evening of March 19, 2003, a small group of Western journalists had grandstand seats for the big event in Baghdad, the start of the full-scale American bombing of strategic targets in the Iraqi capital. We had forced a way through a bolted door at the top of an emergency staircase leading to the 21st-story roof of the Palestine Hotel, with a panoramic view of Saddam Hussein’s command complex across the Tigris River.

It has been five years it hardly seems conceivable. However, unfortunately, for the American people, it is a harsh reality of life. It has been five whole years, since the Bush Administration launched a preemptive strike against the sovereign nation of Iraq. This Strike, based upon bad, if not, outright false CIA intelligence. It was termed a “Slam Dunk,” by the then CIA Director George J. Tenet. Tenet resigned when this “Slam Dunk” turned out to be nothing more than a foul ball.

The thing that amazes me is the fact that the Bush Administration continues, to this day, to attempt to move the goalposts in regards to this so-called “War on Terror.” This is really, in all honesty, a case study exercise in fear mongering and Neo-Conservative Propaganda. Just ask Senator Barack Obama; he has been the victim of the fear mongering, and Republican Propaganda, all because of his racial and religious backgrounds. This information was mostly gleaned from white nationalist websites. This information was recycled, and revised to make it sound believable. It was and continues to be distributed by well meaning and very loyal people within the Republican Party and Conservatives who, quite frankly, just do not know any better.

The war however, is dragged on, all but forgotten by the mainstream media, because, I believe, they realized that people were just tired of hearing about the blood and carnage. The right wing camp, says that we are winning the war and that George W. Bush’s “Surge” is working. The reality is, that violence levels are back to down to what they were, before the civil war broke out between the two factions in Iraq. The Republicans call it progress, the rest of us that are still in touch with reality call it returning to pre-civil war levels. Some call it semantics; I prefer to call it a realist observation.

The toll of this war has been more than just physical, more than just dead bodies, although, that is a great part of it, lives ruined, lives lost, families devastated, it is quite the sad affair. However, there is a greater loss, our nation’s economy. A good friend of mine, Matt Gacht, is an auto mechanic; he specializes in working on Hummers. Since this war started, business has been bad, horribly bad. He also has a side business; he does electrical wiring in racecars. Since this war started, the cost of electrical wire has skyrocketed. It does cut into his profit margin. He would raise his rates, but if he does that, he cannot remain competitive. He is not the only person in this business. There are others in the business, people that have much more capital that he does, so, he has to be able to keep up with the big people. Sometimes, Matt Says, he feels like banging his head against the wall, because he feels like he is trapped in a difficult situation. It is tough, but his customers like him, because he takes pride in his work and he is almost disturbingly thorough.

Because I am a balanced person, I can also make this observation. The plain fact of reality is this, if this country pulls out of Iraq too fast. The country will, in fact, fall into chaos. The far left adamantly refuses to believe or accept this and it is quite sad. However, I do not believe that continuing the President’s policy and course will be a wise decision. There needs to be a change, as to what kind of a change? That will have to be decided and hashed out. There will have to be some very tough decisions made. I just hope and yes, I do pray, that there will be some wisdom used, that decisions made based upon facts on the ground and not based upon political ideologies.

Others on this: The Belmont Club and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and more via memeorandum

McCain sneaks off to Iraq……again

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As if this guy couldn’t get any lamer…

This Happens: News Via AP: McCain makes unannounced trip to Iraq (via Yahoo News)

Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said.

Details of McCain’s visit were not being released for security reasons, the U.S. Embassy said.

McCain’s visit was not announced and he was believed to have been in the country for several hours before reporters were able to confirm his arrival. It was unclear who he met with; no media opportunities or news conferences were planned.

McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, is believed to be staying in the country for about 24 hours.

"Senator McCain is in Iraq and will be meeting with Iraqi and U.S. officials," said Mirembe Nantongo, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Gee, I wonder if he had half of the United States Armed Forces with him this time? I wonder what he said to those people in Iraq, "Well Boys, It looks like we will be here for 100 years. Get used to it."?

Oh, to be a fly on the wall during those meetings!

Others: DownWithTyranny!, Political Punch, Right Wing News and Fausta’s blog and more via Memeorandum

You see, this is what happens when you don’t play the Neo-Con Game with Bush.

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You get tied up and blindfolded like an animal.

Read the story over at the New York Times:

The Baiji refinery, with its distillation towers rising against the Hamrin Mountains, may be the most important industrial site in the Sunni Arab-dominated regions of Iraq. On a good day, 500 tanker trucks will leave the refinery filled with fuel with a street value of $10 million.

The sea of oil under Iraq is supposed to rebuild the nation, then make it prosper. But at least one-third, and possibly much more, of the fuel from Iraq’s largest refinery here is diverted to the black market, according to American military officials. Tankers are hijacked, drivers are bribed, papers are forged and meters are manipulated — and some of the earnings go to insurgents who are still killing more than 100 Iraqis a week.

“It’s the money pit of the insurgency,” said Capt. Joe Da Silva, who commands several platoons stationed at the refinery.

Five years after the war in Iraq began, the insurgency remains a lethal force. The steady flow of cash is one reason, even as the American troop buildup and the recruitment of former insurgents to American-backed militias have helped push the number of attacks down to 2005 levels.

In fact, money, far more than jihadist ideology, is a crucial motivation for a majority of Sunni insurgents, according to American officers in some Sunni provinces and other military officials in Iraq who have reviewed detainee surveys and other intelligence on the insurgency.

Yeah, them Neo-Conservative, Rockefeller-type, Republicans wouldn’t want those pesky jihadists tapping into their oil profits.

You see, we went into that country, based on totally false intelligence, and now the people that don’t think we belong there. The jihadists, who want to defend their land, is now getting their money supply cut off. Do I defend the one’s who blow up our troops? Hell No. But I am realist, that says, if we’d attacked the RIGHT DAMN COUNTRY IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

In case anyone forgot, there was a report this week, that said, despite what the feckless, idiot, bastards on the far right want to believe, that there were NO OPERATIONAL ties between Saddam and Al-Qaeda.

Like I’ve said before, we need change, badly. November 2008 cannot came fast enough for me.

Hillary tries to stall Texas Democrat Convention…

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She’s loosing her ass in the Primaries in Texas, So, she wants to stall…

The Story:

Clinton campaign wants Texas to postpone party conventions (via Dallas Morning News)

Quote:

As final results from the Texas Democratic caucus remain unknown, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign wants signatures from the March 4 contest verified before party conventions are held around the state later this month.

In a letter sent to the state Democratic Party late Friday, the Clinton campaign requests the March 29 count and state Senate district conventions be postponed until the eligibility of an estimated 1 million caucus-goers are double checked.

The Clinton campaign wrote they received more than 2,000 complaints of violations following the historic Texas turnout, which was perhaps the nation’s largest caucus ever.

With about 41 percent of precinct caucuses reported, rival Barack Obama was ahead with 56 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent.

"It is the Party’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of the precinct convention process by making sure that the Rules were followed," the letter states.

The letter came after the Clinton campaign said party officials told them this week it would not verify the eligibility of all caucus-goers before March 29. The county and district caucuses will whittle down the delegates before the state convention in June, when the final delegate count for the Texas caucus will be known.

Texas Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto said Saturday the party has not yet had the opportunity to make any decisions on the Clinton campaign’s request.

"We’re not surprised Senator Clinton’s campaign has engaged with their attorney, but right now the TDP remains extremely pleased by the record-breaking turnout," Nieto said – Read More

Unbelievable and quite disgusting. I happened to be listening to Stephanie Miller’s radio show, and they had a lady caller the week those primaries went down, and the lady proceeded to tell about how the Hillary supporters were trying to bulldoze the precincts down there. The lady also said, that if Hillary won the Nomination that she would not vote for her.

I mean, it’s pretty damn sad, when someone who knows damn well she’s losing, would try and stall the process.  It shows just how ruthless this woman is, and it is very much going back on her word, that she believes in the election system, and now is trying to fix the process, in her favor. Why not just accept the fact that you lost and move on?

The woman knows no limits. Just ask Peter F. Paul.

A couple good videos that everyone should watch:

 

Others on this: GregsOpinion.com, Burnt Orange Report and Centerpoint Review and more via Memeorandum