Obama: "You Can Put Lipstick On A Pig - It's Still A Pig... You Can Wrap An Old Fish In A Piece Of Paper Called Change, It's Still Gonna Stink After Eight Years"
I saw a funny clip this morning. When McCain started to speak during a campaign stop, the crowd started chanting "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah."
Hey John, seems they aren't mush interested in you or anything you have to say. I think the GOP just created a monster for McCain.
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 02:00 AMYou gotta love Minn.:
Al Franken wins primary and will now face off against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 02:04 AMOf course the media is leaving out the second line in the "lipstick on pig" comment. Do I smell old fish? Oh, it's just the media.
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 03:42 AMWell, maybe someone should look at Palin being paid while sitting at home.
Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/money-for-nothing-in-the-palin-administration/
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 04:58 AM“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Who are THEY?” asks Palin.
The number one issue of concern on people’s minds these days is the economy. Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs Saturday, Palin claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.”
>>>>>HOCKEY BUZZER NOISE!
Sorry. These lending institutions “aren’t taxpayer funded but operate as private companies.
As the current administration skips merrily along with their convenient ideology of privatizing profits, and socializing failures, Palin is obviously oblivious to the inner workings of….uh oh….the ECONOMY.
Palin’s statement “is somewhat nonsensical because up until yesterday there was sort of no public funding there,” said Andrew Jakobovics of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “The ‘too expensive to tax payers,’ I don’t know where that comes from.”
“You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country’s mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn’t speak well for her, I’d say.”
Neither does she. But notice that Palin didn’t dodge the question. She didn’t panic and say she’d need to check with someone, or that she needed more information, or skirt around it. She actually felt confident enough to answer, and lay it all out there - and be completely wrong. She had no clue.
At least we now know that McCain, who admitted he didn’t really know much about the economy, decided to balance the ticket by choosing a running mate who doesn’t know ANYthing.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-who-are-they-asks-palin/
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 05:06 AMI have got to stop getting up so friggin early.
Posted by Judith at September 10, 2008 05:07 AMThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book - perhaps the most remarkable, certainly the most successful, book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor.... It has already supplanted the great Encyclopedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for two important reasons. First, it is slighty cheaper; and second, it has the words DON'T PANIC written in large, friendly letters on its cover.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 06:00 AMRick Davis is not Karl Rove. There is a subtle, but probably crucial difference between the 2008 Republican campaign and those of 2000 and 2004.
In 2000 the lies about Gore (i.e. "invented the internet") seeped into the mainstream from right wing media. Bush didn't mention them.
In 2004 the lies about Kerry were launched by a 527, ostensibly separate from Bush.
But in 2008, the lies are all short, easy to understand, and there is a ton of video showing McCain and Palin blithely and comfortably repeating them over and over. And, in the case of the sex ed ad, immediately after the most blazen lie of all come the words "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
Plus, due to the pressure from the left in 2008, all the news organizations, including Fox, have identified these as lies. (In 2000 the press did no fact checking and in 2004 they stuck to the he said-she said false balance.)
John McCain is going to be branded a serial liar over the next two months, and he provided the ammunition to make it happen.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 06:08 AMWe're doomed! Obama is down 20 points in North Carolina! We're doomed! We're ... oh, wait.
PPP pole today has McCain up only 48-44 in North Carolina. If this state goes Obama it's over.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 06:19 AMNeither does she. But notice that Palin didn’t dodge the question. She didn’t panic and say she’d need to check with someone, or that she needed more information, or skirt around it. She actually felt confident enough to answer, and lay it all out there - and be completely wrong. She had no clue.
Notice the similarity to Dumsfeld? Cheney?
Palin is one of what Vonnegut called a PP -- a Psychopathic Personality.
"the medical term for smart, personable people who have no consciences"
"What syndrome better describes so many executives at Enron and WorldCom and on and on, who have enriched themselves while ruining their employees and investors and country and who still feel as pure as the driven snow, no matter what anybody may say to or about them?" Vonnegut wrote. "They are waging a war that is making billionaires out of millionaires, and trillionaires out of billionaires."
Yes, this is our self-described pitbull. Supremely confident, even when she hasn't a clue. Defensive and vindictive when confronted. And fails to learn from mistakes because she believes she doesn't make any.
Their resume looks good when they present it, but if you dig into the details you find in their wake a long series of failures (usually blamed on others) and enemies. Yet, their outward confidence is often strong enough to provide them with large groups of followers who can only see positives about them. See also: SDO (Social Dominance Orientation) and RWA (Right Wing Authoritarian).
A while ago I said that McCain was more dangerous than Bush. He has the same policies, but is even more hot tempered and unpredictable. And, unlike Bush, if he wins he won't inherit a country in terrific condition from his predecessor.
However, Palin would be even worse than both of them. In addition to her abject ignorance of international and even national matters she has all the bad traits of Cheney, Rove and Rumsfeld.
lets see: obama's church gets the microscope treatment while palin is seen to pray for material things.
she's agreed to comply with the troopergate investigation, now she's gone all hard on us.
she was sequestered for 10 days after her announcement released the news her daughter was pregnant, then blasts the media for printing the story.
she wanted to fire people as loyalty checks.
she wanted to ban books from a public library.
she got more money per capita for her state, probably for her city, than any other state, yet gets away with the against earmark shit???
her only qualification is that she's so far to the right she makes everyone else in that camp seem center left...
Posted by anthony at September 10, 2008 06:58 AMthat should read vp announcement...
Posted by anthony at September 10, 2008 06:59 AMUSAToday has a story about that aledged book ban. Never happened. So wrong on many levels Anthony.
Posted by peter at September 10, 2008 07:13 AMto add one other thing...
this kook believed men walked with dinosaurs, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
As the ceremony concluded, I bumped into her in a hall away from other people. I congratulated her on her victory, and took her aside to ask about her faith. Among other things, she declared that she was a young earth creationist, accepting both that the world was about 6,000-plus years old, and that humans and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time. I asked how she felt about the second coming and the end times. She responded that she fully believed that the signs of Jesus returning soon "during MY lifetime," were obvious. "I can see that, maybe you can't - but it guides me every day."
--from fdl
i guess carbon dating 101 was another book she wanted banned from the library...
Posted by anthony at September 10, 2008 07:15 AMpeter:
"did not ban," is different than wanting to ban.
check with the almost fired librarian...
She responded that she fully believed that the signs of Jesus returning soon "during MY lifetime," were obvious. "I can see that, maybe you can't - but it guides me every day."
That alone disqualifies her for office. This type of wacko will try to help the process along to the detriment of the planet.
anthony, the important point of the incident is that Palin backed off on the book banning when the outraged constituents started a recall campaign against her. Why do 'pukes hate America?
Posted by iamcoyote at September 10, 2008 07:32 AMhallo iamc:
here's another one for you...
i guess we're the ones to vet this kook...
this is from motherjones: "Equally troubling," said Donald Mitchell, the Anchorage attorney who is representing Ms. McLeod, "is the fact that the records that have been provided to Ms. McLeod document that for the past two years Governor Palin has allowed her husband, Todd Palin, to compromise governmental decision-making by inserting himself whenever he chooses to do so into the day-to-day operations of the Office of the Governor.”
it seems she was cc'ing her husband emails from the governor's office. wtf? so, can we extrapolate her husband will be privy to national security issues and add his two cents or better still read the pdb's? is that standard practice? civic profs out there help me out on this one...
Give her a break.
She just wanted to make sure she had the procedure down in the event that some sort of book banning emergency occurred. You don't wanna be caught flat footed when the towns folk are itchin' for a good bonfire.
She deserves credit for being proactive on that one.
Posted by snark at September 10, 2008 07:44 AMObama up one in daily Rasmussen.
I cite this not as proof of anything, but just to point out the sky is not falling.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 08:15 AMJosh Marshall today:
And let's be frank. He might win it. This is clearly a testing time for Obama supporters. But I want to return to a point I made a few years ago during the Social Security battle with President Bush. Winning and losing is never fully in one's control -- not in politics or in life. What is always within our control is how we fight and bear up under pressure. It's easy to get twisted up in your head about strategy and message and optics. But what is already apparent is that John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest and race-baiting campaign of our lifetimes. So let's stopped being shocked and awed by every new example of it. It is undignified. What can we do? We've got a dangerously reckless contender for the presidency and a vice presidential candidate who distinguished her self by abuse of office even on the comparatively small political stage of Alaska. They've both embraced a level of dishonesty that disqualifies them for high office. Democrats owe it to the country to make clear who these people are. No apologies or excuses. If Democrats can say at the end of this campaign that they made clear exactly how and why these two are unfit for high office they can be satisfied they served their country.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 08:17 AMGallup: Shows "Palin Bounce" largely contained to South
This shows that the national bounce that Gallup shows is based primarily in the deep red states. Even at the peak of McCain's bounce Gallup is showing Obama ahead by 11 points in the east, 6 in the midwest, 7 in the west, but down 15 in the south (you know, of all their many mistakes the biggest mistake the Republicans made was letting those damn confederates back into the union).
Furthermore, compared to the polls before both conventions, Obama is UP SEVEN in the midwest, UP TWO in the west, and down only 4 in the east (but still maintains an 11 point edge).
There is some interesting stuff here, including a comparison with Bush's convention bounce of 4 years ago (McCain's has been much smaller).
Keep in mind that the McCain bounce was widely predicted, that bounces have always faded after wards, and that Gallup has overweighted Republicans in their model.
DON'T PANIC.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 08:30 AMRove's handmaiden is Palin.
Posted by T2 at September 10, 2008 08:46 AMJudith, Freddie and Fannie are conservatorships. While not "owned" by the government, many believe that the government is a backstop for these two. From Wikipedia:
There is a wide belief that FNMA securities are backed by some sort of implied federal guarantee, and a majority of investors believe that the government would prevent a disastrous default. Vernon L. Smith, 2002 Nobel Laureate in economics, has called FHLMC and FNMA "implicitly taxpayer-backed agencies." The Economist has referred to "[t]he implicit government guarantee" of FHLMC and FNMA. In testimony before the House and Senate Banking Committee in 2004, Alan Greenspan expressed the belief that Fannie Mae's (weak) financial position was the result of markets believing that the U.S. Government would never allow Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac) to fail.
And indeed, this has turned out to be the case as the US Government has taken over these companies.
While Palin wasn't technically correct when she made the comment, history turned out to prove her correct. The Government has taken ownership, and this is a huge burden to the taxpayers.
Posted by Muck at September 10, 2008 08:50 AMYesterday's McCain ad is widely being called the slimiest in presidential TV history. Even McCain fans in the centrist press are pissed off. And another was launched today.
Folks, consider that this likely validates my analysis of the past couple days. The polls show the race is a virtual tie, yet McCain is at the peak of his bounce, Palin has yet to be vetted, and their main theme, "change", can't stand up to scrutiny. They need more votes if they are going to win, yet they are at their peak.
The ONLY way they can win is to run the dirtiest campaign in history and hope they can scare enough independents about the-scary-black-muslim-terrorist-anti-christ. They know it. We know it. And they are doing it.
Prediction: it won't work.
McCain has no "base" in the population. Republicans grudingly support him. His base has been the press, who have covered for him. And now his base is pissed off. Palin, of course, has the built-in base of the Flat Earth coalition, but their numbers are concentrated in the red states.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 08:56 AMJudith,
"On the Web, a packet of 50 stickers that say "Obama '08" goes for $5; a yard sign is $8. "Got Hope?" bumper stickers are $3 each, or two for $5."
"Walsh said she called both campaigns and asked for free trinkets she could give the 7-year-olds to help them learn. If they did well, she explained, each Scout would earn her “Ms. President” patch. The tchotchkes would provide added incentive.
A representative for John McCain responded immediately, sending Walsh a box filled with stickers and signs. The Barack Obama camp wasn’t quite so generous, Walsh said.
…
Walsh said the woman at Obama’s headquarters put her on hold. After a few minutes, she returned with the same answer. The woman told her that she sympathized, but the Obama campaign needs every penny it can get, Walsh said.
“She said, ‘We’re up against the machine and we just can’t hand anything out for free,’ ” Walsh said. “She was very nice . . . but I wasn’t getting anything.”"
After a while the Girl Scouts did get some free stuff, it just took a little embarassment to get it.
GOVERNOR:
I'm Republican, and I'm okay.
I hate to think 'cos I'd rather pray.
McSAME STAFFERS:
She's Republican, and she's okay.
She hates to think 'cos she'd rather pray.
GOVERNOR:
I cut down tax. I fund pipelines.
I go on safari.
I shoot at wolves from choppers
And scoff at TLC.
McSAME STAFFERS:
She cuts down tax. She funds pipelines.
She goes on "safari".
She shoots at wolves from choppers
And scoffs at TLC.
CHORUS:
She's Republican, and she's okay.
She hates to think 'cos she'd rather pray.
GOVERNOR:
I cut bridge cash, and climate change
I think is just hot air.
I put out for big oil,
And kill the polar bear.
McSAME STAFFERS:
She cuts bridge cash, and climate change
She thinks is just hot air.
She puts out for big oil,
And kills the ... polar ...bear?!?!??
(McSame staffers leave stage)
Winning and losing is never fully in one's control -- not in politics or in life. What is always within our control is how we fight and bear up under pressure"
when did Josh become such a pathetic weenie? Oh yeah, I remember - when he bacame a liar and a greedy ad-cash chaser.
Army suicide rate could top nation's this year.
Yes, this is what bu$h/McFailin has brought upon our youth... instead of quality service, these young men and women are used up until they want to kill themselves.
I'm going to be sick now.
Posted by Seven of Six at September 10, 2008 09:20 AMWhile Palin wasn't technically correct when she made the comment, history turned out to prove her correct. The Government has taken ownership, and this is a huge burden to the taxpayers.
Posted by Muck at September 10, 2008 08:50 AM
Absolute moosebutter, mushdog...there are friggin' videos that we have all seen.... Miss Moosepiss thought that these were gubmint agencies....don't try and gloss this shit over.
when did Josh become such a pathetic weenie? Oh yeah, I remember - when he bacame a liar and a greedy ad-cash chaser.
Give him credit. He has built up to 10 staffers now and unlike Markos is highly respected by the Villagers. He's now almost as consulted by journalists as Drudge (well, now maybe even more so). He has been a huge factor in the successful pressure that has been put on journalists from the left -- I would argue more so than Salon, Media Matters, Kos, Huffington Post or Atrios, simply because he's built their trust.
Posted by Anonny at September 10, 2008 09:37 AMCalling the possibility of Sarah Palin being elevated to the presidency in the next four years a "really terrifying possibility," actor Matt Damon condemned the GOP's newest rock star as too green for the job in a new, no-holds-barred interview.
In it, the "Bourne Supremacy" star called the media swirl around John McCain's VP pick "like a really bad Disney movie" and openly questions whether the "folksy stuff [Palin] learned at the hockey rink" will go over well when she's "facing down Vladimir Putin" and other world leaders.
He also makes it very clear he wants to know Palin's views on Earth's history, and whether "she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago," apparently referring to the Alaska Governor's creationist views, adding "because she's going to have the nuclear codes."