Worst Candidate Ever

This whole McCain campaign has the air of performance art. I keep expecting to find out it's all one big practical joke. That's the only sane explanation I could ever find.

Blackened

...To begin whipping dance of the dead...Color our world Blackend!

...dump-a-lum dump-a-lum dump-a-lum dump-a-lum....

Blackened!

Thank you, Republican Party.  I was afraid I was going to become optimistic about the future again.  I can already hear the pipe bombs exploding.

Fraud

Oops.  This is just how the Republican Party operates.  And it is doubly true when they are headed for an historic defeat.  They have to call the legitimacy of the election into question, if for no other function than to fuel the hardcore base.  Fear and loathing is their fuel.  Always has been.

Careful observers will see, once again, that the GOP claims of voter fraud are a myth.  Hah.  Does America really have a problem with too many people voting?  Depends on who's voting, and which votes are counted.  But this has always been part of the rugby game in this country.  American Politics has always been dirty pool, and the Republicans play the game with mud on their faces.

Bear Head Found With Obama Signs

Great.  Now we're getting into "The Godfather."  At least the Klansmen are nice enough to take off their hoods this time.

Trad Media Picking Up on McCain's Shadow Campaign

It's nice to see some attention given by the traditional media on McCain's racist and despicable "shadow" campaign of robocalls, flyers, and innuendo. This is typically the domain of the internet media, but we still need to old guard to do their jobs. Heck, if they did their jobs in the first place, we wouldn't feel the need to spread the word ourselves. Ah, well, but this is the way of things.

Rachael Maddow spoke about this yesterday on her tv show (which is fab, of course). McCain-Palin are running on media charm, playing to Letterman and SNL and formal dinners. But underneath, they are spreading the most vicious paranoia and racism since George Wallace. I try not to paint things in simple overtones, but there really is no other way to describe what's happening. What McCain is doing is evil. And the flames they are stoking will not die out with the November elections. We will all suffer the consequences for many years.

I wonder if John McCain is willing to accept those consequences?

McCain: Obama Wants to Turn IRS Into a Welfare Agency

Take your hood of your head when you say that, you evil fuckin' bastard.

Thankfully, this article by the Times contasts McCain's descent into madness with a hopeful sight: a crowd of 100,000 people gathered to meet Obama in St. Louis, MO. It's interesting, is it not? The sight of the McCain crowds drive me to apocalyptic despair; the sight of Obama crowds fill me with faith in the future. For me, this really is a choice between life and death. Mankind is at the crossroads of history; the Mayans were more right than they ever had a right to know.

Republican Base

This video was taken from the McCain-Palin rally in Johnstown, PA, on October 11. This is the same rally that featured the man with the "Obama monkey" in his hands. Nice guy. Should I feel more or less worried that these people don't bother wearing the hoods?

This is the face of the Republican Party. This is your conservative movement. It's amazing to see the degree they can be whippied into a fury (and that they only parrot what they are told). I fear what would happen if some sinister element started handing out guns. Once the calls begin to "take up arms," then we will be in serious trouble.

I hope that won't happen before Obama is elected President; if he is elected, this becomes a very real and dangerous issue. This will be John McCain's final, lasting legacy to this country.

There Will Be Blood

You reap what you sow. It's a truism of life, and we are seeing that play out once again. Driven half-mad with conspiracy theories of hate, prejudice and fear, the elements of the far right are moving from violent rhetoric to violent action. Today, two reporters at a Palin rally were harassed by attendants; one of the reporters was assaulted during a typically ugly scene:

I sidled up to one of the Obama supporters and asked why they were there, what
they were trying to accomplish. As he was telling me a large, bearded man in
full McCain-Palin campaign regalia got in his face to yell at him.

"Hey, hey, " I said. "I'm trying to interview him. Just a minute, okay? "

The man began to say something about how of course I was interviewing the Obama people when suddenly, from behind us, the sound of a pro-Obama rap song came blaring out of the windows of a dorm building. We all turned our heads to see Obama signs in the windows.

This was met with curses, screams and chants of "U.S.A" by McCain-Palin folks who crowded under the windows trying to drown it out and yell at the person playing the stereo.

It was a moment of levity in an otherwise very tense situation and so I let out a gentle chuckle and shook my head.

"Oh, you think that 's funny?! " the large bearded man said. His face was turning red. "Yeah, that 's real funny…" he said.

And then he kicked the back of leg, buckling my right knee and sending me sprawling onto the ground.

Meanwhile, staffers at ACORN are facing increasing harassment, vandalism, and death threats. Considering the near-endless media propaganda by the Republican Party machine - talk radio, Fox News, and the McCain campaign itself - there should be little surprise.

The incidents came the day after McCain charged in the final presidential debate
that ACORN's voter-registration drive "may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and may be "destroying the fabric of democracy."

McCain's comments provoked a response from ACORN. "I would not say that Senator McCain is inciting violence," Kettenring said, "but I would say that his statements about the role of this manufactured scandal were totally outlandish. We would call on Senator McCain to tamp down the fringe elements in his party."

McCain's campaign didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kettenring said that ACORN had received growing amounts of hate mail in recent weeks, but "the campaign debate sort of tipped it over to a scary point, where raising allegations of voter fraud went from a cynical campaign ploy to really inciting racial violence."

Since McCain's remarks, ACORN's 87 offices across the country have received hundreds of hostile e-mails, many of them containing racial slurs, Kettenring said. "We believe that these are specifically McCain supporters" sending the messages, he said.

The e-mail to the Cleveland employee was traced to a Facebook Web page in the name of a Baltimore man. It featured a photo of a McCain-Palin sign.

Kettenring said that the bulk of the e-mails had been either "flat-out racist" or had racial overtones. Most of the group's 400 members and about 80 percent of the 13,000 voter-registration canvassers are African-American or Latino.

The hardcore conservative base is constantly being told that a black muslim terrorist is stealing their election, with the help of their terrorist friends. Add in the economic turmoil and the collapse of their party and ideology, and there will be repercussions.

There will be blood.

Jon Stewart - 10,000 McCainiacs

Seriously, McCain, Leave Joe Alone

Okay, now seriously.  John McCain really can't see when it's time to stop.  It's a good thing he doesn't drink.  He certainly has the compulsiveness of a bad gambler, and that's bad enough.  It's a miracle he never became an alcoholic.

Now he's putting Joe in his crummy campaign ads.  Why do these McCain ads look so terrible?  I almost feel dizzy from watching.  Is that what it's supposed to be?  They're just beating us over the head with crazy, psychedelic colors, hoping we'll somehow be hypnotized?  Good grief, this is just painful.

McCain ought to leave Joe The Plummer alone.  It's a disaster for him.  The only ones speaking to Joe at this point ought to be the Hollywood agents, and maybe Subway's rivals.  Kick Jerod's ass, Joe!

Temper, Temper!

Earlier today, it just dawned on me.  John McCain's bizarre temper problem last night was just like this classic Bugs Bunny cartoon.  In it, Yosemite Sam inherits a million pounds, but the catch is that every time he gets angry and loses it, he's penalized.  So Bugs just hounds him and drives him completely crazy.

I'm really surprised McCain didn't have to excuse himself to go run into the nearest closet, so he could scream and swear and holler.  Ha ha ha ha!  Yes, at this point I can safely say we can laugh at this.  What a joke.

Is McCain TRYING to Lose the Women's Vote?

Definitely seems that way. This short exhange from last night's debate is fairly revealing when it comes to the GOP's attitude towards woman and abortion. Obama, by contrast, appears thoughtful and intelligent. The other side seems obsessed with punishing women. And, yet, after 30 years of promises, the Republicans have made no meaningful progress on ending legal abortion or overturning Roe v. Wade. Good lord, they've got seven justices on the Supreme Court, they've had the White House, and they've had both houses of Congress.

When will the "pro-life" crowd face up to the unpleasant reality that they're being used?

This, of course, refers to those who oppose abortion for moral grounds. Those who just seem in it to punish women - by restricting or banning contraception, or Palin's forcing rape victims to pay for thier own forensic tests - are in a whole different realm. I suspect this will be one front of the coming GOP civil war.

Anyway, here's the exchange from the debate:

OBAMA: We can find some common ground, because nobody's pro-abortion. I think it's always a tragic situation. We should try to reduce these circumstances.

SCHIEFFER: Let's give Sen. McCain a short response...

McCAIN: Just again...

SCHIEFFER: ... and then...

McCAIN: Just again, the example of the eloquence of Sen. Obama. He's "health for the mother." You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, "health."

Comedy Gold

You know your campaign is finished when just shouting out the words, "Joe The Plumber" earns laughs. It's become a national punchline. Just give it a try and watch everyone around you laughing and chuckling. That's when you know McCain tanked last night.

Joe The Plumber! Ha ha ha ha ha!!

Blecch!!

Yeah, I pretty much felt the same way. I had to down a bottle of antacid to calm my stomach down after McCain's bizarre performance. And is it just me, or does he look like Bill the Cat in this photo?

I wonder what Joe The Plumber thinks.

Thoughts on the Final 2008 Presidential Debate

Yaay!! It's over!! The final debate is over!!

Whew. This campaign feels like it's been going on for decades. I think I was in Kindergarten when this thing started. Thank goodness we're finished with the debates. Now all we have to weather are the unbearable tv campaign ads. Is it just me or does every political commercial, regardless of party, look like it's made by the same person? I'll be so glad when this is over.

Now, a few thoughts on tonight's debate. Let's see, who won? Which one.....hmm.....?

Okay, no surprise for me. Obama came out on top once again. He has been super cool and super smart all through this campaign. Since he has a clear and comfortable lead in the race, all he really needs to do is play consistent, and he certainly did that.

What I'm taking away from this debate, and I'll bet many others will agree with me, is John McCain and his temper. Temper, temper, temper. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was holding himself back the whole time? McCain looked like a man on the verge of an explosion. Bitter, cranky, a tantrum-throwing crybaby to the core. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of his schtick. McCain's legendary temper tantrums have become glaringly obvious to me these past couple months. We've already had eight years of a spoiled brat. Enough.

Obama also showed how deft a fighter he is, too. It's classic Rope-a-Dope, straight from the Ali playbook. Obama has been needling and poking McCain since the last debate, almost daring him to bring up the sludgy attacks from the campaign rallies and ads. And McCain took the bait. No doubt his crumbling Republican support made the red meat almost necessary. It's the dilemma of being behind in the race. You need to do something spectacular in the final debate to change things. Politically, it's a hail-mary pass; the McCain campaign has been running on nothing but hail-marys since picking Sarah Palin.

But watch the way Obama fights. It's almost a zen thing, like judo. He manages to stay cool, that soon-to-be-legendary Obama Cool. And it just makes McCain madder and madder. ACORN? McCain gets heated, Obama stays cool and parries. Ayers? McCain gets heated, Obama stays cool and parries. Pretty soon, it seemed like all McCain could do is throw barbs at his opponent.

Then the knockout punch.

Three words: Joe. The. Plumber.

You had to see the match on CNN, because of their split-screen view. McCain keeps hitting again and again with Joe The Plumber, Joe The Plumber. They come to health care, McCain throws his jabs, Obama parries and plays cool. Then McCain responds with his third or fourth reference to his new friend, Joe The Plumber. Joe! You're wealthy!

Obama hits back with a punch worthy of Mohammed Ali.

"I just described what my plan is. And, I'm happy to talk to you, Joe, if you're out there. Here's your fine: zero."

McCain's blurted out in shock, "Zero?!" His jaw dropped to the floor, and his face just froze there. Completely frozen. It felt like an eternity for McCain, his eyes flaring, his jaw dropped, his mouth quivering. He appeared in shock, trembling, as though he was fighting every fiber in his being not to explode and suffer a fatal heart attack right then and there.

Knockout.

It was such an amazing thrill to watch, precisely because those of us watching (half a dozen of us in the gym room) were laughing at McCain's constant refrains of Joe The Plumber. Just who is this Joe guy? Is he making this up? He's totally making this guy up. That's why Obama's knockout punch was so amazing. I'm happy to talk to you, Joe, if you're out there. It's almost like a happy toss-off. Barack Obama has been waiting for weeks for this moment, setting up McCain like a bowling pin. That's how he wins fights. He's done it against the Clintons, and he did it as a State Legislator.

Never misunderestimate Barack Obama. Write him off as a lightweight and you'll find yourself kissing canvas. This is a fighter. And he gave us a spectacular bout.

Back to McCain. I'd like to say something good about the man, I really would. But the only thing that stays in my mind is the anger. The tantrums. You damn kids, get off my lawn! It was just about all he had to go on. It's all the Republican Party has left. After a generation in power - Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, Bush II - the conservative ideology is finally bankrupt and broken. And the whole nation finally sees that.

McCain is playing pure defense at this point. Somehow, his campaign is still spending time and money in states that are long lost, states like Minnesota and Pennsylvania. They've quit Michigan and they're quitting Wisconsin. Now the GOP is left struggling to hold onto the 2004 Bush states, and they're losing that, too. Obama is on track to win as much as 400 electoral votes on election night.

I think we'll see the numbers stay where they are for the most part. Most Americans have made up their minds about Barack Obama, George Bush and the Republicans. They're ready to kick the crooks out. The only change left is McCain's own base. And that base is already cracking and bending. Conservatives, Christian fundamentalists especially, don't like McCain. Never have. Sometime between now and November, we're going to see them breaking away in larger numbers. This is the great fear for the GOP, and this is why they're throwing so much red meat, stoking so much fear and loathing to the lizard brains. That's the only thing seperating a clear victory from a total blowout.

The Republican Party, I suspect, will begin to shift their own focus on the Congressional races. McCain has lost. That ship is sinking and beyond repair. Their only remaining goal is to defend those Senate seats. Don't lose the 60th seat. If the Democrats come away with the triple play - President Obama, 100-seat House majority, and 60-seat Senate majority - that will be the final, crushing blow to Republican Conservatism. There's no way they can weasel their way out of that crushing defeat. Even the racist lizard brains won't buy it.

So the Presidential race is over, and the final fight takes place among the Congressional districts. That's where all of us will be focusing our greatest attention. Naturally, we cannot let up our guard for Obama. I want those 400 electoral votes. I want to rack up the score. We need to shut the door and slam the locks on the Bush-Cheney years. We need America to be America again, not the cruel, broken, dying gulag it has become.

Funniest Debate Moment Evah!

Olberman: McCain, Suspend Your Campaign

Who is the Real John McCain?

I don't care how much I hate George Bush and the Republican Party. I want the old John McCain back. I don't know who this vile imposter is, but he's not the McCain we all remember so fondly.

With everybody I speak to, I hear the same story, the same story as mine: we may not agree politically with John McCain, but we liked and respected him. He spoke his mind. He stood up to the monsters who now run the Republican Party. He was an honorable man. And we can't figure out to save our lives what has happened to him.

Look, I've been punching as hard as I can, but I punch back at the right because I am so horrified at what has happened to America. I'm shocked and horrified. And I feel a deep sense of loss, maybe even betrayal, at the sight of John McCain playing straight from the Karl Rove playbook. It's like he's transformed himself into George Wallace. His campaign as of late has been nothing but fear, hatred, and thinly veiled racism. He doesn't even try to discuss issues, especially in the tv and internet ads. It's nothing but Black Muslim Terrorist, Black Muslim Terrorist.

I am a strong supporter of Barack Obama, and I've been so ever since his famous keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. But I feel only sorrow at what McCain has done with this campaign, sorrow for the man he has become. I don't know who he is anymore. I thought I knew. I thought this was the man who bravely resisted his Viet Cong captors. I thought this was the brave man who chose torture over freedom, because he didn't want to take advantage of his daddy's famous connections and turn his back on his comrades. I thought this was the man who stood up to Falwell and Robertson, the agents of intolerance.

I want that John McCain back. Does he even exist anymore? Did he ever exist? Is this new McCain the true one? Was he always a vicious racist, spitting fire and venom? I don't know. I honestly don't know. I only know that I feel a deep sadness for him.

So today, at a campaign stop in Lakeville, just north of Minnepolis-St. Paul, McCain appeared to pull back from the abyss. I don't know what to think about this. The crowds here are the same as the crowds everywhere, masses of fools who are fed a daily diet of extremism, hatred and paranoia by Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the televangelists of the Christian Right. They aren't bad and terrible people, at least I hope so in my more mindful moments. But they are scared. They are terrified out of their minds. They are terrified because they have been fed nothing but fear and loathing every day of their lives, by a right wing political machine, the very machine that has exploited them for power, robbed them of their wealth. And today they came to McCain with the same paranoid rhetoric.

But McCain recoiled. He appeared....how? I can't tell. Who is the real John McCain? Is he recoiling because he quietly abhorrs what he has done? Does he realize what has happened to him? Did he just give in to Karl Rove, follow their orders, follow their rules, because he was told this was the only way to win the election? Has he known the Faustian bargain he has cast these past eight years? What does he feel inside when he sees these vile attacks, and what they have done to the people who come to his rallies?

When he looks that woman in the eye, is he reminded of South Carolina, 2000, when Rove and Bush started a whisper campaign, telling people that McCain's adopted daughter was an illegitimate black baby? Does he know, when he looks into the eyes of these conservative voters, the same attacks are now being visited upon Barack Obama? Is this why he averts his eyes, and he stares at the ground while speaking in Obama's defense? What has happened to his man? What evil has he wrought? What violence will be loosed on this nation because of it?

If I was in a lighter mood, I'd probably say this reminds me of Return of the Jedi, where Darth Vader hurls the Emporer into the darkness. But I'm much too upset for that. That's a surprise. I'm really surprised. This video really got to me. I find myself nearly weeping at the fall of John McCain.

So who is the real man? I don't want to believe this Wallace clone is really him. This has the mark of Karl Rove all over it. You can practically set your watch to the smear ads and the Limbaugh talking points. But I don't know. All I know is that I want the old McCain back. I want him to stand up to this. I want him to take down Rove and all the rest of the snakes. The election is lost, but that doesn't mean he shall be lost. No one in this life is ever truly lost. John McCain must find himself again. He must free himself from the prison, and the vile torturers, one more time.

That's it. I can't go on. I have nothing more to say.

McCain Thinks You're Stupid

Pathetic losers.

McCain Blames Wall Street Crisis on Obama, ACORN, and Minorites

This video is a fine addendum to my previous post just below, since it details the GOP's efforts to paint Obama and ACORN as criminals who stole the 2008 election. This McCain ad is online-only, clearly red meat for the rabid base. Will it be shown on tv? I'd have to say no, since its premises are so outrageous and, well, stupid. There would be a backlash in the national media, which would erode McCain's crumbling support even further. But who knows how far he will go before November 4?

What surprised me about this ad? Obama is blamed for the financial crisis - no surprises there. But now McCain is blaming ACORN, and, by extention, racial minorites. ACORN registers minority and poor voters, remember. There's a very clear wink-wink nod to the base; look out, America..."that person" wrecked the economy. Wink, wink.

This isn't even the first time the Republican Party has tried to blame racial minorities for the financial crisis. They have also tried to blame minority homeowners for the subprime collapse and Wall Street's troubles.

And so John McCain completes his transfiguration into George Wallace, and the Republican Party's Faustian bargain with Jim Crow has swallowed the party whole. They are all Klansmen now.