Does America really want a change?

[coreyschucky]

The bridge failed, but the 'Road to Nowhere' was built

From Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein
CNN Special Investigations Unit
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KETCHIKAN, Alaska (CNN) -- The "Bridge to Nowhere" may have been shelved. But the "Road to Nowhere" is alive and well.
Gov. Sarah Palin let the "Road to Nowhere" go ahead because the contract had been signed.

Gov. Sarah Palin let the "Road to Nowhere" go ahead because the contract had been signed.

The proposed $400 million span that would have connected the coastal city of Ketchikan to its airport on Gravina Island died after it became a symbol of congressional excess.

But the three-mile access road that was built on the island is ready for residents to take a drive to nowhere. It was paid for by some of the $223 million in federal funding that sparked ridicule among opponents of congressional "pork-barrel" spending.

In stump speeches, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has touted her eventual decision to abandon the Gravina Island bridge, which she initially supported. But Palin, now the Republican vice presidential candidate, let the access road go ahead because the contract to build it had been signed, a campaign aide said. iReport.com: Are you in a battleground state? Share your stories

Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein calls the road, which was paid for by federal tax dollars, a waste of money that could have been used to fix his city's roads and sidewalks.

"Gov. Palin could have stopped construction of this road," said Weinstein, who wore his "Nowhere, Alaska" T-shirt to an interview with CNN. Video Watch where road ends »
Don't Miss

* Palin meets with world leaders ahead of VP debate
* Obama: McCain wants to 'gamble' with Social Security
* Obama makes gains in national polls
* Did Palin support 'Bridge to Nowhere'?

The island is connected to the city by a ferry that runs to the airport, well past the point where the bridge was to have been built. But some locals said they'll find some way to use the road, such as running or bicycle riding.

"It'd be nice to see them put something over here now they have a road: park, picnic benches, something to get people out here," said P.J. Murphy, who works on the island. "I mean, it's pretty here." Read Abbie Boudreau's "backstory" blog on "Road to nowhere"

Campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said Palin would not have allowed the road project to go forward under normal circumstances. But the deal had been signed just before she took office in December 2006, Stapleton said.

"The governor was left no viable alternative," Stapleton said.

For the first two weeks of her campaign, Palin routinely told audiences in her stump speech that she told Congress "thanks, but no thanks" for the bridge, which was backed by the leaders of Alaska's congressional delegation. But Weinstein, a Democrat, said Palin instead spent $26 million to build a road "that will not go to a bridge."
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Palin has been heavily criticized for repeating the stock line about killing the "Bridge to Nowhere" without noting that she supported the project as a candidate for governor.

She has dropped the line from her stump speech in the past week, but a McCain-Palin aide said that her prepared remarks are being tweaked as needed to reflect current events, and it could come back again.

[homedawg]

Barack Obama's Skeleton Closet!

#1-Obama was not born in the U.S.A./ not a U.S. citizen

Obama's Birth Certificate:

The ORIGINAL birth certificate of Obama has never been released, and the campaign refuses to release it.

The campaign has a false, fake birth certificate posted on their website:

- The birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal.
- It isn't signed.
- No creases from folding are evident in the scanned version.
- In the zoomed-in view, there's a strange halo around the letters.
- The certificate number is blacked out.
- The date bleeding through from the back seems to say "2007," but the document wasn't released until 2008.
- The document is a "certification of birth," not a "certificate of birth."
- The document doesn't show father's full name!
- The document shows the father's race as: African?

Obama Crimes

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#2 Obama Was Born, Raised, Is a Muslim

-Obama was born to Generations of Muslims

-Obama was raised for years in Muslim Nations

-Obama attended Muslim schools, where he was registered as a Muslim

-Obama wants you to believe that his opportunistic conversion to Christianity after being born to generations of Muslims who raised him for years in Muslim nations where he attended Muslim schools has completely eliminated his Islamic Roots and changed his Muslim sympathies.

-Obama’s church of 20 years gave many awards to the radical, anti-white, pro-Islamic, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

-Obama has been praised and endorsed by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas

-Obama has been praised and endorsed by Palestinian Rashid Khalidi, who also has held a fundraiser for Obama. Khalidi is a harsh critic of Israel, has made statements supportive of Palestinian terror and reportedly has worked on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization while it was involved in anti-Western terrorism and was labeled by the State Department as a terror group.

-Obama has praised and endorsed, in his autobiography, the founder first President of Nation of Islam President Malcom X

-Brother: Muslim ”Obama’s brother Roy opted for Islam over Christianity, as the Senator recounted in his book when describing his 1992 wedding. “The person who made me proudest of all,” Obama wrote, “was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam, and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol.”Abongo “argues that the black man must “liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture.” He urged his younger brother to embrace his African heritage.

-Sister: Muslim In an interview with the New York Times, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama’s younger half sister, told the Times, “I don’t want to deny Islam. I think it’s obviously very important that we have an understanding of Islam ... my brother has been a Christian for (only) 20 years.

-Father: Muslim Obama Sr. (Senior) was born in Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya.

-Step Father: Muslim Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo ws a devout Muslim and Obama went to Mosque on Fridays with him.

-Mother: Muslim The evidence seems to quite clearly show that both Ann Dunham and her husband Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo were in fact devout Muslims themselves and they raised their son as such.”

-Grandfather: lived for a time in Zanzibar, where he converted from Christianity to Islam. He was one of the first Muslim converts in his village.
Grandfather, for whom Obama was given the middle name, Hussein, was "fiercely devoted to Islam." He had at least 3 wives: Helima, who had no children, Akuma who gave birth to Sarah Obama, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. and Auma Obama.

-Obama’s teachers and the principal from the 1970's: Obama actively took part in the Islamic religious lessons during his years at his school in Muslim Indonesia. “I remembered that he had studied “mengaji” (recitation of the Quran)” “The actual usage of the word ‘mengaji’ in Indonesian and Malaysian societies means the study of learning to recite the Quran in the Arabic language rather than the native tongue. “Mengagi” is a word and a term that is accorded the highest value and status in the mindset of fundamentalist societies here in Southeast Asia. To put it quite simply, ‘mengaji classes’ are not something that a non practicing or so-called moderate Muslim family would ever send their child to. To put this in a Christian context, this is something above and beyond simply enrolling your child in Sunday school classes.”

-The Obama Campaign: told the LA Times he wasn’t a “practicing Muslim.” (3/14/2007).

- Obama states his "Muslim Faith". Obama acknowledged his Islamic Heritage Sunday, September 7, 2008 during an exchange with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week", speaking of "My Muslim Faith".


The Obama File
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#3 Obama's association with the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, founder of the Weather Underground.

-Despite having authored two autobiographies, Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.

-The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama's first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers's home.

-Documents in the CAC archives make clear that Mr. Ayers and Obama were partners in the CAC. Those archives are housed in the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago

- In early 1995, Obama was appointed the first chairman of the board, which handled fiscal matters. Mr. Ayers co-chaired the foundation's other key body, the "Collaborative," which shaped education policy.

-Obama has misrepresented his relationship with Ayers to the press and someone blocked access to the records detailing the workings of the group founded by Ayers and chaired by Obama.

The Real Barack Obama
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#4 Obama's relationship with Tony "slum landlord" Rezko

-They met in 1990. Obama was a student at Harvard Law School and got an unsolicited job offer from Rezko, then a low-income housing developer in Chicago. Obama turned it down.

-Obama took a job in 1993 with a small Chicago law firm, Davis Miner Barnhill, that represents developers -- primarily not-for-profit groups -- building low-income housing with government funds.

-One of the firm's not-for-profit clients -- the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp., co-founded by Obama's then-boss Allison Davis -- was partners with Rezko's company in a 1995 deal to convert an abandoned nursing home at 61st and Drexel into low-income apartments. Altogether, Obama spent 32 hours on the project, according to the firm. Only five hours of that came after Rezko and WPIC became partners, the firm says. The rest of the future senator's time was helping WPIC strike the deal with Rezko. Rezko's company, Rezmar Corp., also partnered with the firm's clients in four later deals -- none of which involved Obama, according to the firm. In each deal, Rezmar "made the decisions for the joint venture," says William Miceli, an attorney with the firm.

-In 1995, Obama began campaigning for a seat in the Illinois Senate. Among his earliest supporters: Rezko. Two Rezko companies donated a total of $2,000. Obama was elected in 1996 -- representing a district that included 11 of Rezko's 30 low-income housing projects.

-Rezko's low-income housing empire began crumbling in 2001, when his company stopped making mortgage payments on the old nursing home that had been converted into apartments. The state foreclosed on the building -- which was in Obama's Illinois Senate district.

-In 2003, Obama announced he was running for the U.S. Senate, and Rezko -- a member of his campaign finance committee -- held a lavish fund-raiser June 27, 2003, at his Wilmette mansion.

-A few months after Obama became a U.S. senator, he and Rezko's wife, Rita, bought adjacent pieces of property from a doctor in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood -- a deal that has dogged Obama the last two years. The doctor sold the mansion to Obama for $1.65 million -- $300,000 below the asking price. Rezko's wife paid full price -- $625,000 -- for the adjacent vacant lot. The deals closed in June 2005. Six months later, Obama paid Rezko's wife $104,500 for a strip of her land, so he could have a bigger yard. At the time, it had been widely reported that Tony Rezko was under federal investigation. Questioned later about the timing of the Rezko deal, Obama called it "boneheaded" because people might think the Rezkos had done him a favor.

-Eight months later -- in October 2006 -- Rezko was indicted on charges he solicited kickbacks from companies seeking state pension business under his friend Gov. Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors maintain that $10,000 from the alleged kickback scheme was donated to Obama's run for the U.S. Senate. Obama has given the money to charity.

-Using his elected office and his clout, Obama helped Tony Rezko and other unscrupulous low-income housing developers obtain millions of dollars in state grants, tax credits, low-interest loans, and regulatory advantages.

The Real Barack Obama
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MORE TRUTH, TO COME!

[homedawg]

What They're Saying About John McCain's Performance


Fortune's Nina Easton: "I thought it was a really good night for John McCain In the first 35 for a couple of reasons. The first 35 minutes I counted seven or eight attacks. He just went after Obama. Everything from accusing him of supporting earmarks to accusing him of supporting a -- what did he say? An energy bill that was festooned with goodies. And it seemed to knock Obama off balance. It did two things it knocked Obama off balance he really had trouble getting his sea legs again and secondly, it moved this whole conversation about the financial crisis back to a conversation that John McCain is comfortable with, which is spending. They didn't really talk about the financial crisis that much. And so I thought and the other thing is, just in terms of style, John McCain comes off as very clear, direct, you know, I looked at Putin and I saw KGB in his eyes. He talks directly. There's still something bland and policy-speak about Barack Obama that I don't think does really well in these settings. He comes off as -- and I know people use the term 'cool,' but I find it policy-speak in rounded edges and not direct." (Fox News' "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren," 9/26/08)

CNN's Bill Schneider: "McCain scores a good point, that under Obama's original plan on Iraq, US troops would have been out last spring, before the implementation of the surge." (Bill Schneider, "Schneider: McCain Hits Stride On Iraq," CNN's "Political Ticker" Blog, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 9/26/08)

Schneider: "McCain, in talking about Afghanistan and Pakistan, is drawing on his vast experience for the first time in this debate, and it really sounds very convincing." (Bill Schneider, "McCain Scores Points On Experience," CNN's "Political Ticker" Blog, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 9/26/08)

Schneider: "McCain's scoring points on Obama's opposition to the so-called surge in Iraq, a buildup of forces that McCain vigorously supported." (Bill Schneider, "McCain Scoring Points," CNN's "Political Ticker" Blog, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 9/26/08)

Fox News' Mosheh Oinounou: "Obama has said 'John is right' five times in the debate so far." (Mosheh Oinounou, "'John Is Right'" Fox News' "Embeds" Blog, embeds.blogs.foxnews.com, 9/26/08)

The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "Barack Obama repeatedly saying: 'I agree with Sen. McCain' or 'I agree with John.'" (Jonathan Martin, "A YouTube You Will See Before The Clock Strikes Midnight," The Politico's "Jonathan Martin" Blog, Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com, 9/26/08)

The Politico's Ben Smith: "McCain's sharp and focused; he hasn't landed a really hard punch, but he's scoring on a lot of jabs." (Ben Smith, "McCain's Turf," The Politico's "Ben Smith" Blog, Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com, 9/26/08)

Smith: "McCain points out -- accurately -- that Henry Kissinger has suggested diplomacy at the Secretary of State level, not presidential summitry with Iran." (Ben Smith, "Kissinger Fact Check," The Politico's "Ben Smith" Blog, Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com, 9/26/08)

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "9:53 - 'You don't do that, you don't say that out loud,' McCain says about Obama's threat to sent US troops into Pakistan to strike at high-level al Qaeda operatives if given high level intelligence, with or without Pakistani government permission. McCain quotes George Schulz saying don't point a gun unless you're prepared to pull the trigger. Credible riff here, I think." (Jake Tapper, "Live-Bloggin' The Debate," blogs.abcnews.com, 9/26/08)

ABC News' Rick Klein: "9:08 pm CT: You knew this was coming -- a blistering attack on the preconditions line Obama has long wished he never delivered. This is a McCain layup." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate Blog," ABC News, blogs.abcnews.com, 9/26/08)

The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "McCain has a strong moment early, drawing an implicit contrast with President Bush. Noting the criticism he took from his own party for calling on SEC head Chris Cox, the GOP nominee promises in firm language: 'As president of the United States people are going to be held accountable in my administration.'" (Jonathan Martin, "McCain Forceful On Accountability," The Politico's "Jonathan Martin" Blog, Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com, 9/26/08)

Martin: "Instead, in what surely made weary McCain aides smile, their guy just was able to set off a protracted discussion of earmarks and spending, getting in repeated references to Obama's requests for Illinois. Never bad turf for Republicans, but especially for this Republican." (Jonathan Martin, "The 'Foreign Policy' Debate..." The Politico's "Jonathan Martin" Blog, Politics, Political News, Campaign 2008 - Politico.com, 9/26/08)

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "An extended debate on meeting with foreign rogue leaders without preconditions = good for McCain." (Chris Cillizza, "The Fix Twitters The Debate," The Washington Post's "The Fix" Blog, voices.washingtonpost.com, 9/26/08)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "McCain demonstrates a solid understanding of the region [Afghanistan and Pakistan] here..." (Marc Ambinder, "The Debate: Liveblogging III," The Atlantic's "Marc Ambinder" Blog, marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 9/26/08)

MSNBC's Carrie Dann: "McCain's is the message that tests more strongly with voters. The latest NBC/WSJ poll showed that respondents prefer 'a president who will go in and clean up Washington and take on the waste and fraud in the system' to 'a president who will end the Bush administration policies, and have active government oversight.' by a margin of 67 to 29%" (Carrie Dann, "The Two Money Messages: How They Test," MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, firstread.msnbc.com, 9/26/08)

National Review Online's Jim Geraghty: "Judging from CNN's scrolling chart, independents also seemed to like McCain citing Tom Coburn calling earmarks a 'gateway drug.'" (Jim Geraghty, "'Gateway Drug' And 'It Corrupts People!' Seem To Move The Dials," National Review Online's "The Campaign Spot" Blog, 9/26/08)

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos: "These guys came to play on each other's turf. It was really surprising to me is that John McCain came in here with a disadvantage on the economy. Barack Obama had a big advantage, yet I think he spent the 30 minutes very effectively pounding home the points that have to control spending and earmarks." (ABC News' "Vote 08: The Candidates Debate," 9/26/08)

Stephanopoulos: "I thought other interesting stylistic differences, John McCain, good on emotion, good on establishing emotional connections with his stories." (ABC News' "Vote 08: The Candidates Debate," 9/26/08)

MSNBC's Pat Buchanan: "John McCain clearly won this battle on points. He was aggressive all evening long. He was very tough. He constantly portrayed Barack directly and indirectly as sort of weak and indecisive and inconstant making these statements. He also had a most powerful, emotional moments. I think that Wolfsborough story and that 640 guys re-upping in Iraq, and that woman giving him that bracelet--I think those things reached the heart and the gut. I will say this about Barack Obama. He did what he had to do in the sense that he came off as a tough fellow, a counterpuncher who would stand up to John McCain, and I think he helped himself in that regard, but overall I really think John McCain came off as the winner of this debate, but I go directly to Chris' point." (MSNBC's "Presidential Debate," 9/26/08)

"Obama To McCain: You're 'Absolutely Right'" (Susan Davis, "Obama To McCain: You're 'Absolutely Right,'" The Wall Street Journal's "Washington Wire" Blog, blogs.wsj.com, 9/26/08)

CBS' Jeff Greenfield: "I also think that McCain in the section on foreign policy also gave a strong performance when he said we can't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." (CBS News' "Campaign '08 Presidential Debate," 9/26/08)

NBC's Tom Brokaw: "That was the most distinctive difference obviously once we got into the area of national security. John McCain bored in on Barack Obama. He's been reading the same polls we all have. There are grave reservations in most of the polls about whether Barack Obama has enough experience and whether he's qualified to be commander in chief. And tonight Senator McCain went right after that vulnerability in Barack Obama." (NBC's "Presidential Debate Coverage," 9/26/08)

The New York Times' David Brooks: "I think McCain was sharp and experienced." (PBS' "Post-Debate Analysis," 9/26/08)

The Politico's Jeanne Cummings: "When we moved into foreign affairs, clearly john McCain hit his stride. It is his strength, and he showed, demonstrated that he is quite knowledgeable." (PBS' "Post-Debate Analysis," 9/26/08)

ABC News' Rick Klein: "9:12 pm CT: ... This is another area where McCain is in his comfort zone. He's having a long discussion on the preconditions line." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate Blog," ABC News, blogs.abcnews.com, 9/26/08)

Klein: "9:20 pm CT: Meaty discussion on Russia -- with lots and lots of Russian names for McCain to pronounce. If people care about this, McCain looks strong." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate Blog," ABC News, blogs.abcnews.com, 9/26/08)

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell: "He [McCain] had a good night on the very issue of taxes and spending. He did seem to dominate the first 30 minutes." (MSNBC's "Presidential Debate," 9/26/08)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "10:19: McCain's strong on non-Iraq foreign policy issues." (Marc Ambinder, "The Debate: Liveblogging IV," The Atlantic's "Marc Ambinder" Blog, marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 9/26/08)

National Review Online's Jim Geraghty: "From where I sit, McCain had a surprisingly strong night." (Jim Geraghty, "A Surprisingly Strong Night For McCain, While Obama Energizes His Base," National Review Online's "The Campaign Spot" Blog, campaignspot.nationalreview.com, 9/26/08)

Geraghty: "But the overall message of the night was clear - McCain is smart, familiar with the issues on a striking level of detail, knows what he wants to do: 'I don't think I need any on the job training. I'm ready to go right now... I know how to deal with our adversaries, and I know how to deal with our friends.'" (Jim Geraghty, "A Surprisingly Strong Night For McCain, While Obama Energizes His Base," National Review Online's "The Campaign Spot" Blog, campaignspot.nationalreview.com, 9/26/08)

[homedawg]

"There was one man who was presidential tonight, that man was John McCain. There was another who was political, that was Barack Obama. John McCain won this debate and controlled the dialogue throughout, whether it was the economy, taxes, spending, Iraq or Iran. There was a leadership gap, a judgment gap, and a boldness gap on display tonight, a fact Barack Obama acknowledged when he said John McCain was right at least five times. Tonight's debate showed John McCain in command of the issues and presenting a clear agenda for America's future."

[homedawg]

What They're Saying About John McCain At Debate:

"The Mac Is Back," As "McCain Not Only Found A Central Theme But Hit On It Repeatedly"

Politico's Roger Simon: "John McCain was very lucky that he decided to show up for the first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., Friday night. Because he gave one of his strongest debate performances ever. While Barack Obama repeatedly tried to link McCain to the very unpopular George W. Bush, Bush's name will not be on the ballot in November and McCain's will. And McCain not only found a central theme but hit on it repeatedly. Obama is inexperienced, naive, and just doesn't understand things, McCain said. Sure, McCain is a pretty old guy for a presidential candidate, but he showed the old guy did not mind mixing it up. He stood behind a lectern for 90 minutes without a break -- you try that when you are 72 -- and he not only gave as good as he got, he seemed to relish it more. At least twice after sharp attacks by McCain, Obama seemed to look to moderator Jim Lehrer for help, sa ying to Lehrer, 'Let's move on.'" (Roger Simon, "The Mac Is Back," Poltico, 9/27/08)

Simon: "But McCain seemed to get it Friday night. He certainly knew enough to try to turn his age into a plus and not a minus. 'There are some advantages to experience, knowledge and judgment,' McCain said. ... McCain seemed to be enjoying himself. He smiled a lot, mostly when Obama was talking, though his smile was really more like a smirk. ... Both avoided their negative stereotypes: Obama did not seem aloof or condescending. McCain did not seem erratic or wild. You could imagine either one of them in the Oval Office, but only one is going to get there. 'I don't need any on-the-job training,' McCain said. 'I am ready to go at it right now.' He certainly seemed like it Friday night." (Roger Simon, "The Mac Is Back," Poltico, 9/27/08)
"It Was One Of The Most Substantive Debates In Recent Presidential Campaign History And John McCain Won It. The Arizona Senator Was Cool, Informed And Forceful ..."

The Des Moines Register's David Yepsen: "It was one of the most substantive debates in recent presidential campaign history and John McCain won it. The Arizona senator was cool, informed and forceful in Friday's first presidential debate of the general election campaign. He repeatedly put Barack Obama on the defensive throughout the 90 minutes session. Obama did little to ease voter concerns that he's experienced enough to handle foreign and defense policy. That was his number one task Friday night and he failed." (David Yepsen, "McCain Wins Round 1," The Des Moines Register's "On Politics" Blog, DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register | Des Moines news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Des Moines, Iowa, 9/26/08)

The New Republic's Michael Crowley: "McCain also had a clarity of message that Obama lacked. His core message is easy to sum up: Let's cut waste and spending. I'm a tough leader. Obama is naive and unprepared. Obama, by contrast, had no single message that he repeatedly drove home." (Michael Crowley, "McCain Was Good. But Good Enough?" The New Republic's "Stump" Blog, blogs.tnr.com, 9/26/08)

Crowley: "And stylistically, McCain was more in control. He was the one setting the tone and introducing nettlesome topics, forcing Obama to respond and defend himself." (Michael Crowley, "McCain Was Good. But Good Enough?" The New Republic's "Stump" Blog, blogs.tnr.com, 9/26/08)
ABC's David Wright: "McCain, too, not only had a strong performance tonight, but seemed to have a strategy throughout. As George said, you heard him mention over and over again, Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand. He also kept mentioning his travel schedule. I've been to Waziristan, I've been to South Ossetia, and at the very end he paid it off with his humdinger of a line at the end, saying that basically, he doesn't need on the job experience. I think the McCain campaign is very pleased with it." (ABC's "Vote '08: Presidential Debate Analysis," 9/26/08)

The New York Times' Bill Kristol: "I think McCain won the debate. I think there will be a deal this weekend and he will be vindicated in his efforts to some degree to have actually dealt with reality as opposed to going around giving stump speeches and the McCain campaign will have momentum going into next week and that will set up the Palin-Biden debate." (Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," 9/26/08)

Real Clear Politics' Blake Dvorak: "[M]cCain performed well, putting Obama on the defensive on several occasions and getting in some good one-liners." (Blake Dvorak, "Who Won...?" Real Clear Politics' "The Real Clear Politics" Blog, time-blog.com, 9/26/08)

The Atlantic's Ross Douthat: "A Win For McCain." (Ross Douthat, "A Win For McCain," The Atlantic's "Ross Douthat" Blog, rossdouthat.theatlantic.com, 9/26/08)

Commentary's Jennifer Rubin: "Only the most devoted partisan could deny it was a very, very strong outing for John McCain. On foreign policy he was devastating -- making clear how much more resolute and experienced he is." (Jennifer Rubin, "The Winner," Commentary's "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, 9/26/08)

"McCain Was Repeatedly On The Offensive And To Some Extent, Obama Was On The Defensive"

Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss: "[J]ohn McCain was repeatedly on the offensive and to some extent, Obama was on the defensive. I was surprised by that. in terms of strategy, we'll see what works. But often times in debates, if a candidate does go on the offensive, it does tend to work. That's what Kennedy did in 1960. It's what Ronald Reagan did in 1980 and it is what Bill Clinton did in 1992." (PBS's "Presidential Debate," 9/26/08)

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "McCain's strongest moment of the debate also happened to be Obama's weakest. McCain absolutely hammered Obama over his pledge to meet with rogue foreign leaders without preconditions and Obama had no ready answer -- odd since he had to know this attack was coming. McCain was able to turn a single question about meeting with rogue leaders into an extended colloquy that ended with him hitting Obama for misunderstanding Henry Kissinger. A very good moment for McCain." (Chris Cillizza, "The Mississippi Debate: First Thoughts And Who Won?" The Washington Post's "The Fix" Blog, voices.washingtonpost.com, 9/26/08)

Cillizza: "He poked fun at his age several times, jabbed Obama playfully yet effectively (I don't even have a presidential seal') and seemed in command of the subject matter and the stage. When moderator Jim Lehrer said at one point that the two candidates had spoken for almost the same amount of time, we were surprised; McCain seemed from our perspective to command more time." (Chris Cillizza, "The Mississippi Debate: First Thoughts and Who Won?" The Washington Post's "The Fix" Blog, voices.washingtonpost.com, 9/26/08)
Los Angeles Times: "But McCain closed strongly, becoming more assertive in the debate's final 30 minutes and zinging Obama time and again as out of his league on foreign policy." (Don Frederick and Kate Linthicum, "Live-Blogging The Presidential Debate: McCain, Obama Start Out Sparring Over The Economy," Los Angeles Times' "Top Of The Ticker" Blog, latimesblogs.latimes.com, 9/26/08)

CNN's Alex Castellanos: "The old fighter pilot I thought hit the target. He demonstrated great command, names, places, name dropping is not a bad thing in a foreign policy debate like this sometime and he even got under Barack Obama's skin." (CNN's "Debate Coverage," 9/26/08)

Castellanos: "I thought McCain was successful, even though Barack Obama scored a lot. I think on a few more points, McCain kind of dragged him down into the foreign policy debate and worked him over, I thought pretty good. ... It looked almost a little bit like at times Obama was looking for the flash cards and he'd crammed for the exam and McCain obviously didn't have to do that..." (CNN's "Debate Coverage," 9/26/08)

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[homedawg]

What They're Saying About John McCain At Oxford Debate


McCain Was "An Emphatic, Impassioned, Even Indignant Leader With A More Seasoned And More Visceral Understanding Of A Cynical Capital And A Violent Planet"

Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown and John F. Harris: "But the 90-minute session put on vivid display the side of McCain that his strategists believe is his best hope: an emphatic, impassioned, even indignant leader with a more seasoned and more visceral understanding of a cynical capital and a violent planet." (Carrie Budoff Brown and John F. Harris, "McCain Goes On Offense; Obama Plays It Cool," Politico, 9/27/08)

The Boston Globe's Todd Domke: "And The Winner Is... McCain." (Todd Domke, Op-Ed, "And The Winner Is... McCain," The Boston Globe, 9/27/08)

National Review's Byron York: "Obama was smooth, unflappable, and just a little off balance for much of the evening. Worse for him, he seemed inexplicably eager to concede that McCain was right on issue after issue. A candidate determined to appear congenial might do that once, or even twice, but Obama did it eight times ... Add it all up, and Obama was undeniably, and surprisingly, deferential to a man who in the past Obama has said 'doesn't get it.'" (Byron York, "'Senator McCain Is Absolutely Right ...'" National Review Online, 9/27/08)

York: "The bottom line was that Obama did well enough, but McCain did better. A number of post-debate observers suggested that Obama might emerge the winner on these topics because he was able to stand alongside McCain and argue as an equal despite McCain's greater experience. Maybe viewers will handicap the contest that way, but if they judge it straight, McCain will come out on top." (Byron York, "'Senator McCain Is Absolutely Right ...'" National Review Online, 9/27/08)

"McCain Shows Strength In Experience," Speaking "With More Fluency And Experience"

Detroit Free Press Editorial: "In their requisite, presidential-looking dark suits, John McCain and Barack Obama went at it pretty good in their first debate Friday night. Obama landed the first shot, but a relaxed and confident McCain kept him on the defensive for much of the rest of the encounter. Particularly on matters of war and international tensions, Obama did not appear as assured and authoritative as McCain, who kept reminding the national TV audience of all the places he has been and people he has met during his 26 years in Congress. Obama has been in the Senate for four." (Editorial, "No Knockout, But McCain Shows Strength In Experience," Detroit Free Press, 9/27/08)

Chicago Tribune Editorial: "As the debate shifted to national security issues, McCain demonstrated why many voters see this as a strong area for him. He's been involved for decades in deciding whether the U.S. engages militarily in hot spots such as Somalia, Lebanon and Bosnia--and it shows. His cautious words about the careful use of power indirectly addressed the fear of some Americans that he'd be a trigger-happy president. ... The bulk of Friday night's debate took place on the turf McCain knows best: foreign affairs and military endeavors. That showed. Obama spoke capably on one topic after another; McCain, who has traveled to numerous crisis locales and joined in more foreign policy debates, spoke with more fluency and experience." (Editorial, "Advantage: Experience," Chicago Tribune, 9/26/08)

Rocky Mountain News Editorial: "Republican McCain stressed his toughness, experience and decades-long knowledge of international affairs. He dispelled any notion that he was a hothead or lacked the temperament to be an effective president." (Editorial, "A Debate Of Substance," Rocky Mountain News, 9/26/08)

Rocky Mountain News: "Going forward with Friday's presidential debate might have helped Sen. John McCain pick up support from undecided voters, based on real-time reactions of some Colorado fence-sitters." (M.E. Sprengelmeyer, "For These Two, McCain Picks Up Points," Rocky Mountain News, 9/27/08)

Los Angeles Times Editorial: "John McCain proved he was resolute and tough." (Editorial, "A Too-Close-To-Call Debate," Los Angeles Times, 9/27/08)

Los Angeles Times: "It [debate] showed that John McCain is clear-eyed about the threats to America." (Editorial, "A Too-Close-To-Call Debate," Los Angeles Times, 9/27/08)

The Wall Street Journal: "[M]ost of the night was devoted to foreign policy and there we give the clear edge to Mr. McCain. This is the ground where the 72-year-old is most comfortable, and you could see it in his self-confidence, as well as his command of history and facts." (Editorial, "Round One," The Wall Street Journal, 9/27/08)

The Wall Street Journal: "He [McCain] showed it too in the specificity of his answers, notably on Russia: Watch Ukraine, he said, and 'the Crimea,' because Vladimir Putin's Georgian expedition is a prelude to Russian adventurism there." (Editorial, "Round One," The Wall Street Journal, 9/27/08)

CBN's David Brody: "As for John McCain he had a solid night. I have seen John McCain debate quite a bit and I must say he was probably as sharp tonight as I've ever seen him. He was constantly on the attack against Obama but it didn't seem angry or over the top. He also was spitting out foreign policy knowledge like never before and was able to passionately talk about his signature issue: wasteful spending. It was a performance he can be proud of. That said, he didn't have a game changing moment tonight. Some may think he needs one and he may before these debates are over." (David Brody, "Obama And McCain: Fit To Be Tied," CBN News, 9/27/08)

"Score One For McCain," As "In This Game At Least, He Made The Case For Captain Of The Football Team"

New York Daily News' S.E. Cupp: "Throughout the debate, which focused on both the economy and foreign policy, McCain had facts, figures and names at his fingertips, speaking from decades of experience in the trenches -- literally and figuratively -- and repeated the phrase, 'Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand ...' He called Obama naive, dangerous and inexperienced, and his attacks, which seemed to frustrate Obama, put him on the defensive for the majority of the night. ... McCain may not be, as he put it, Miss Congeniality in the Senate or with the current administration. But in this game at least, he made the case for captain of the football team." (S.E. Cupp, Op-Ed, "Score One For McCain," [New York] Daily News, 9/26/08)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Headline: "The First Debate: Advantage McCain." (Editorial, "The First Debate: Advantage McCain," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 9/27/08)

Tribune-Review: "And John McCain never looked more presidential." (Editorial, "The First Debate: Advantage McCain," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 9/27/08)

New York Observer's Jason Horowitz: "Obama seemed unwilling to sacrifice his presidential poise by pressing or attacking McCain too much, and often conceded that he agreed with his opponent's observations and analysis." (Jason Horowitz, "The 'What Senator Obama Does Not Understand' Debate," New York Observer, 9/26/08)

[dananderson32]

thanks for keeping it fair and balanced corey

as for johnny mac looking out for his vets the afghan and iraq vets assoc. gave mccain a D

[coreyschucky]

John McCain takes no credit on bailout plan, leading to rare accord with Barack Obama

John McCain took a pass this morning on claiming any credit for the tentative deal congressional negotiators reached just a few hours earlier on a plan that aims to ride to the county's financial rescue.

Barack Obama was only too happy to agree with McCain's stance.

McCain, appearing on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," was asked by the host if he deserved some kudos, given his much-publicized "suspension" of his presidential campaign late last week to return to Washington to join in the jockeying over the bailout proposal.

"I'll let you and others be the judge of that," he replied.

He quickly added: "I wasn't going to phone it in. I'm a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I've got to get in the arena." (McCain had the 26th president — his role model — on his mind today; this was the first of three times he dropped his name in the interview.)

Summing up the role he played in the bailout talks, McCain said: "I won't claim a bit of credit, if that makes 'em happy."

Presumably, it pleased Obama.

Asked by Bob Schieffer on CBS' "Face the Nation" if his rival should be seen as a major player in the agreement on a plan, Obama had a one-word answer: "No."

— Don Frederick

[coreyschucky]

Obama: McCain's Role in Bailout 'Katrina-Like'
WASHINGTON: Both campaigns take partial credit for deal aimed at saving Wall Street from investments in bad mortgage debt.

AP

Monday, September 29, 2008


John McCain appeared on ABC Sunday to discuss the financial bailout

(Lauren Victoria Burke, ABC News)

Barack Obama on Sunday compared John McCain's response to Wall Street financial crisis as "Katrina-like" because he said his GOP rival was paralyzed by the political implications of the meltdown.

It was the first time Obama said such a remark, and he raised the specter of the Bush reaction to Katrina in a predominantly African-American city crucial to Obama's overall Michigan strategy.

Straying from the prepared remarks on TelePrompTer, Obama said when the financial pillars on Wall Street began to fall "McCain's' response was Katrina-like. He just stood there, trying to figure out what to do."

Like McCain, after a week of posturing Obama sought to take at least partial credit for the outcome. He said McCain did not deserve any pats on the back.

"Here are the facts: For two weeks I was on the phone every day with (Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson and the congressional leaders making sure that the principles that have been ultimately adopted were incorporated in the bill," Obama said in an interview on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

On a competing news show, McCain said the latest version of the plan meets his insistence of an oversight body to monitor the treasury secretary and limits the compensation of executives of financial institutions applying for loans.

"Let's get this deal done, signed by the president, and get moving, because the real effect of this is going to restore some confidence, and get some credit out there, and get the economic system moving again, which is basically in gridlock today," McCain told "This Week" on ABC.

McCain said the $700 billion bailout for the hobbled financial markets "is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with. The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option." Obama said he was inclined to back it "because I think Main Street is now at stake."

The measure would allow the government to buy defaulted mortgages and other distressed housing-related assets, many of them held by Wall Street banks, in an effort to keep the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression from spreading throughout the entire economy.

McCain made a show on Wednesday of "suspending" his campaign to return to Washington to help negotiate terms of a bailout agreement. He initially suggested that Friday's presidential debate be postponed if no deal was struck. But his campaign ads continued to air and McCain attended the debate even though there was no deal.

While McCain is not on a Senate committee involved with the financial crisis, he said Sunday he rushed back to Washington because he was not going to "phone in" his advice.

"I'm a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. I've got to get in the arena when America needs it," McCain said.

Republicans generally have said his participation helped prod the agreement. Democrats countered that his presence had little effect on the outcome and may have even delayed a deal.

"Whether I helped or hurt, I'll be glad to accept the judgment of history," McCain said.
McCain said he planned to return to full-time campaigning Monday.

He also said he probably would have voted for legislation to keep the government running even though it contained thousands of the type of pork barrel projects he strongly opposes.
The $634 billion measure passed the Senate on Saturday. It also includes $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans for auto makers.

Like McCain, Obama spent parts of several days in Washington because of the bailout talks. But he has returned to the trail and on Sunday he and running mate Joe Biden planned to attend a rally in Detroit, the home of the nation's auto industry. Michigan is a key battleground in the November.

Obama said in his television interview that he was inclined to support the bailout because it includes increased oversight, relief for homeowners facing foreclosure and limits on executive compensation for chief executives of firms that receive government help.

"None of those were in the president's provisions. They are identical to the things I called for the day that Secretary Paulson released his package," Obama said. "That I think is an indication of the degree to which when it comes to protecting taxpayers, I was pushing very hard and involved in shaping those provisions."

The safeguards were supported by many in Congress, including Democrats and Republicans.

Congressional leaders continued to work through the weekend on the bailout package and hoped to have a vote on the measure Monday in the House, with a vote in the Senate coming later.

The Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, credited McCain with helping to ensure that the bailout plan protected taxpayers. Reporters were kept at a distance when she made a campaign stop in Philadelphia, although Palin took one question about the $700 bailout agreement.

"I'm thankful that John McCain is able to have some of those provisions implemented in that Paulson proposal," she said. "I'm glad that John McCain's voice was heard."

[coreyschucky]

John McCain's gambling habit could alienate Christian Republicans
Senator John McCain faced alienating the influential Christian wing of the Republican Party after it was revealed that he is a keen gambler with extensive ties to the gaming industry.


By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 2:00PM BST 29 Sep 2008

The 72-year-old senator from Arizona is a lifelong gambler, who favours the craps tables, and continues to play today, the New York Times reported.

Former campaign officials said they were alarmed that his behaviour would be deeply unpopular with the Christian base of his party.

Mr McCain's habit, which appears to take the form of a monthly binge rather than a daily addiction, has never before percolated into standard descriptions of his life and career. However, it could now prove damaging in a very close contest with his Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama.

The evangelical wing of the Republican Party has never been comfortable with Mr McCain, seeing him as too secular and too moderate. It has only been enthused about the election by the recent choice of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor who wears her faith and her opposition to abortion on her sleeve, as vice-presidential nominee.

Mr McCain's claims to be a Washington outsider were also thrown into doubt after his extensive ties to the gambling industry and its lobbyists were revealed by the newspaper. The Obama campaign seized on this to call into question his claims to be a "maverick" intent on changing the system.

"Gambling in casinos that you regulate with the lobbyists that represent those casinos is more of the same broken, special interest driven politics that has dominated Washington," said Dan Pfeiffer, Mr Obama's spokesman.

The Republican candidate once gambled in a casino on an Indian reservation that he oversaw as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs committee, with lobbyists who had represented that casino, according to the paper.

Former members of Mr McCain's staff said he indulged in a marathon session at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut in 2000 after he had lost the Republican presidential primary to George W Bush.

The casino is run by the Pequot tribe, which has contributed heavily to Mr McCain's campaigns and has transformed Foxwood into one of the world's largest casinos. He was accompanied by Rick Davis, his campaign manager, at the invitation of Scott Reed, Mr Davis' old boss and a McCain fundraiser who had done extensive lobbying work for the tribe.

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, said: "There has been no more effective voice on regulating the Indian gaming industry than John McCain."

Statistics from the non-aligned Centre for Responsive Politics show that Mr McCain is the largest recipient of money from the casino industry in Congress, outside the gambling meccas of Nevada and New Jersey, and that 40 of his top fundraisers and advisers have ties to the gambling industry. In this presidential race he has received twice as much from the industry as Mr Obama.

As senator of a state with the third highest native American population in the country, Mr McCain was an early champion of legislation that allowed tribes to set up casinos on their reservations. The industry exceeded all expectations, booming to reach a turnover of £10 billion a year with more than 400 casinos across the country.

The two presidential candidates were meanwhile awaiting the findings of the first full opinion polls conducted since their spar at a presidential debate on Friday night.

The two men debate again on Oct 7, while their running mates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden will meet on Thursday in a clash expected to draw a large television audience.

[coreyschucky]

Palin again in spotlight as VP debate nears

Palin coming undder fire from conservatives

by NBC News
Sunday, September 28, 2008

With just 37 days to go until the election, this is a critical week for the running mates. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is preparing to debate Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday.

She's also confronting some new questions about readiness, this time, from conservatives.

Palin enjoyed a coffee break from debate prep in Philadelphia Sunday, a stop intended to keep her visible in a key battleground state, visible enough to comment on the financial bailout plan.

"I'm glad that John McCain's voice is heard through all this," she said. "And his leadership, too. Really shining through with the bailout."

Having done just a few interviews as the vice presidential candidate, Palin's own voice will be heard and her performance judged on a scale like never before.

Sunday McCain was asked about the vice presidential debate.

"I am sure she'll do just fine," he said. "We go over many of the questions that we know are on people's minds."

After nearly one month on the trail, Palin gets plenty of credit for her rally charisma and a meteoric fame satirized on late night TV.

Laughs aside, the reaction to those high profile interviews, even by some conservatives, has been tough.

Columnist Kathleen parker wrote: "It's increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn't know enough about economics and foreign policy ..."

And from the National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "...she has some good instincts... But I also watch these interviews and I cringe a little."

Palin appeared to contradict McCain when she said publicly "absolutely" the U.S. could go after terrorists inside Pakistan. Sunday McCain was asked to respond.

"She shares my view that we will do whatever is necessary. The problem is, you don't announce it," he said.

And he defended Palin against conservative critics.

"They can complain all they want to," he said. "I'll rely on the American people. The American people have responded to her in a way that's been wonderful."

[coreyschucky]

McCain has many ties to casinos

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, September 28, 2008

Jo Becker and Don Van Natta Jr., The New York Times

John McCain, a two-time chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America's casinos, helping transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth.

"One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming" is what Steven Light, a leading Indian gambling expert, called Mr. McCain.

Factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents.

Mr. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests. But in his current campaign, more than 40 fundraisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests.

Mr. McCain declined to be interviewed. In written answers to questions, his campaign staff said he was "justifiably proud" of his record on Indian gambling.

"Sen. McCain has taken positions on policy issues because he believed they are in the public interest," the campaign said. "That's it. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely false."

Over his career, Mr. McCain has taken on special interests, and on occasion, he has crossed the gambling industry on issues like regulating slot machines.

Perhaps no episode burnished Mr. McCain's image as a reformer more than his stewardship three years ago of the congressional investigation into Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Indian gambling lobbyist who became a national symbol of Washington's pay-to-play culture.

"I've fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes," the senator said in his speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination this month.

But interviews and records show that lobbyists and political operatives in Mr. McCain's inner circle had played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing Mr. Abramoff's misdeeds to Mr. McCain's attention – and then cashed in on the resulting investigation. The senator's longtime chief political strategist, for example, was paid $100,000 over four months as a consultant to one tribe caught up in the inquiry, records show.

Mr. McCain's staff said the senator's investigation of Mr. Abramoff had posed "grave risk to his political interests."

Their statement said the senator "saw his role as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee as protecting the interests of Native Americans by seeking to provide greater fairness, transparency and consistency in the regulatory process."

As public opposition to tribal casinos has grown in recent years, Mr. McCain has distanced himself from Indian gambling, congressional and American Indian officials said.

Jo Becker

and Don Van Natta Jr.,

The New York Times

[coreyschucky]

When all truth is relative
Conservatives play a dangerous game in attacking the media for bias
Gregory Rodriguez
September 29, 2008
Birds fly, tortoises crawl and politicians lie, particularly when they feel cornered. That's the natural order of things. Big deal. I don't waste too much indignation on it.

But what irks me, and should concern us all, is not the everyday disregard for this or that particular truth but the very assault on the idea that there is such a thing as truth at all.

Last week, John McCain's campaign resorted to yet another Republican attack on the media, this time the New York Times, for being "150% in the tank" for Barack Obama. McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, was smarting from a story that revealed he had made a sizable amount of money as head of an advocacy group that represented the interests of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And instead of attacking the veracity of the story, the campaign initially attacked the messenger and called into question everything the Times -- and, I'd suggest, by implication the rest of the so-called liberal media -- reported on McCain's campaign.

The revelations and the barbs continued to fly, with the Times uncovering additional payments from Freddie Mac to Davis' firm through last month, and the McCain side fulminating mostly about the "partisan paper of record" and claiming that Davis received no remuneration or profit of any kind from his firm since 2006.

I'm no defender of the New York Times. I often find its high-and-mighty tone pretentious and self-serving. But it worries me that Republicans have made it a primary tactic to respond to negative news with immediate media smears and charges of bias.

Conservatives may have a point that the traditional media are slanted to the left, but it is also clear that they aren't content with simple ideological balance. What they want, as we have seen, is their own biased media, in the form of Fox News and the Washington Times.

The upshot, ironically, is that conservatives -- those who generally embrace the idea of absolutes -- have put the final nail in the coffin of truth.

To be sure, the initial assault on truth began on the intellectual left in the 1960s. In academia, the old-fashioned idea that there were some things that we could all be certain of gave way to the postmodern worldview that held that truth does not really exist in any objective sense, but is instead created by each individual through the prism of his own background and biases. According to this new dictum, reality itself is fragmented and the search for commonly held truths is the province of fools, innocents and fundamentalists.

In this new regime, serious thinkers are, by definition, dogmatic skeptics. College students, as one writer put it, now feel "safer as doubters than as believers, and as perpetual seekers rather than eventual finders." On today's college campuses, truth is so 20th century.

As believers in the old-fashioned idea of truth, conservatives generally have found postmodernism distasteful and have vociferously protested its emergence. In her 1995 book, "Telling the Truth," Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife and former head of the National Endowment of the Humanities, railed against intellectual relativism. She blamed academic postmodernism for undermining the very purpose of learning. In this new way of thinking, she wrote, "There's only your version of events and my version of events and Charles' version and Harry's version, and the one that prevails will be that of whoever is most powerful. This seems to fly in the face of the way scholarship has proceeded for hundreds, if not thousands, of years."

In that same year, Ohio pastor Dennis McCallum published his book, "The Death of Truth." "Postmodernists," he wrote, "point out that we already have a cultural and social beginning point that makes objectivity impossible." But "in the absence of objective truth, there is no final bar of appeal to determine truth and reality." And, ultimately, without a belief in truth, there can be no belief in God.

And the list doesn't stop there. In one way or another, the likes of Robert Bork and William J. Bennett have argued that liberal-inspired relativism has served to erode America's moral clarity.

But if conservatives care so much about the truth, why then do they condone the GOP's constant haranguing about media bias, with its emphasis on knee-jerk, blanket charges of partisanship rather than on arguing a case?

No doubt because it's a simpler-to-communicate message; no doubt creating boogeymen is easier and perhaps more effective with voters than arguing evidence and fact. But conservatives in particular should understand that constant discrediting of the media is one of the best ways to further the postmodernist agenda. It erodes the belief that there is something real and solid, and it lends credence to the idea that all truth is relative because it is always filtered through the biases of its messengers.

Although this gambit may pay short-term political dividends, in the long run it only serves to further divide Americans into their ideological enclaves -- with conservatives getting their news from X and liberals from Y. More important, by undermining the very idea of truth, it also undermines the idea that, as a nation, we can collectively and honestly describe and find solutions to the problems we all face.

[coreyschucky]

VIEWPOINTS: Electing McCain, Palin not in our best interest

Neither McCain nor Palin will best serve the interests of the country.

September 29, 2008 08:30:00 AM

The writer lives in Parker.

By DEBORAH NORTON

PARKER

Let me say, first of all, that I don't care if Gov. Sarah Palin has five children or 50. I don't care if she shoots moose, fishes for salmon or is a "hockey mom." Those things, so apparently and inexplicably endearing to a segment of the population, are inconsequential to the vice presidency and especially the presidency. What I do care about is the dismal state of affairs in this country at this time - a failing economy, energy policies that make no sense, wars in two distinct locations, infrastructure in major need of overhaul, medical care or sometimes even simple prescriptions that we cannot afford, public education that is largely ignored, and the list goes on.

Sen. John McCain's campaign has not offered even one real idea for solving any of these problems. Quite the contrary, he believes we should stay in Iraq for an undetermined period. He thinks solving the energy crisis involves "drill, baby, drill" more than any other solution. He has acknowledged that he is not well versed or education in the economy. And still, all his campaign can offer to this country is Gov. Palin and "personalities."

Gov. Palin proved to us via ABC News on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 that she is amazingly unprepared for a job that puts her at the doorstep of the presidency. She did not know the "Bush Doctrine," the foreign policy view that has mired us in this quicksand of a war in Iraq. She actually said that living "next door" to Russia in Alaska has given her insight into Russia and used that geographical stat to prop up her foreign policy credentials - "You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Give me a break. Had Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Joe Biden given such a clueless answer to that question, either of them would have been ridiculed and run out of the race, and rightly so.

The topic that gave me the greatest concern was her pride in the fact that she doesn't "blink." When asked whether she had asked herself if she was ready when McCain asked her to be his vice presidential choice, she said, "You have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission [...] you can't blink."

Really? Just for even a moment you didn't wonder: Am I ready?

When asked about fighting terrorism, she said, "We must do whatever it takes, and we must not blink in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we target." If that doesn't frighten you, you must be happy to be in the same cowboy movie George Bush has lived for nearly eight years, dragging all of us with him.

George doesn't blink, either, and is not given to introspection. He has not blinked while getting us into this lie of a war in Iraq. He did not notice or more frightening, did not care, when he took his eye off the ball in Afghanistan and Pakistan, allowing al-Qaida to regroup. He did not blink when he allowed for the deregulation of industry and the financial sector, creating this mess of an economy we are all not having to survive.

No, George Bush and Dick Cheney don't blink. Apparently, neither do Sarah Palin or John McCain.

If the past eight years were something you think should be extended for another four, then by all means vote for McCain and Palin. We have a choice this time, however. I urge everyone seriously to consider whether the best interests of this great country and the best interests of each of us as citizens, will be served by them. I do not think so.

[coreyschucky]

Oh, the Drama! McCain in the Theater of the Absurd
By Michael Grunwald Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008

If you missed the news this week, you didn't miss all that much. The stock market threatened to crash, but didn't. John McCain threatened to skip the presidential debate unless members of Congress approved a huge financial bailout, but they didn't, so he didn't. The debate went on; the candidates stayed on message; the pundits all agreed that it wasn't a "game-changer." You did miss the largest bank failure in American history, not to mention a $25 billion bailout of the auto industry, but that's chump change these days, right? You might not have heard that investment banks are now officially extinct, but basically the economy is on the same precipice it was on last week.
Related
Stories


What you did miss was an amazing week of political theater, starring the frenetic, operatic, borderline erratic McCain, the former fighter pilot who seems to have found his calling as a kamikaze politician. He might not win the election — another thing you missed this week was Barack Obama pulling ahead in the polls — but when it's over he's a shoo-in for a show on TNT. RuPaul doesn't know drama like McCain knows drama.

After spending most of last week walking back his observation that the fundamentals of the economy were sound, McCain suddenly cut short his debate prep on Wednesday to announce he was "suspending" his campaign to fly back to Washington to rescue the Wall Street bailout negotiations, although he didn't seem to suspend much except for an interview with an irate David Letterman, and he didn't fly back to Washington until he had finished a political meeting with the bepearled former Hillary Clinton supporter Lynn Forester de Rothschild and a bunch of network interviews and a speech to the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City on Thursday, which, as astute political observers noted, was the day after Wednesday. What's more, the Wall Street bailout negotiations seemed to be progressing pretty well without him; Democratic leaders who had trashed the Bush administration's initial $700 billion proposal had won concessions on transparency and taxpayer protections, and key senators from both parties were saying a deal was close. McCain and Obama had outlined similar goals for the package, and Obama had called McCain to discuss a joint statement Wednesday morning. Also, President Bush had made a prime-time speech calling for consensus, but we missed it, and we were here this week. Well, you probably would have missed it, too.

But then McCain made his surprise announcement that the financial crisis was more important than politics, which was why he had to drag the entire circus of presidential politics into the middle of the delicate negotiations. Which seemed to blow up the moment he arrived in town. Conservative Republicans in the House had their own ideas for a bailout, including a suspension of capital-gains taxes, which made no sense as a response to a Wall Street free-fall — a capital-gains tax holiday would only encourage a bigger sell-off — but hey, conservative Republicans in the House really hate capital-gains taxes. In any case, at the White House meeting McCain had ginned up, he mostly kept quiet, but apparently left the impression he agreed with the recalcitraint Republicans. Sarah Palin had told Katie Couric that failing to take action could create another Great Depression — alas, you missed a great interview, which you can catch up on here — but McCain had never committed to support the Administration's plan. When asked, he had claimed he hadn't read it, even though it was only a few pages long.

And so: no deal.

On Friday, though, McCain realized it probably wasn't in his interest to let Obama have the stage to himself, so he announced that he was going to debate after all, since the stalled negotiations were now on track, although in fact the on-track negotiations were now stalled, but whatever. By the time he left Washington — some Democrats suggested this was no coincidence — the negotiations seemed to un-stall. The bailout now appears to be back on track for next week, and at the debate, McCain suggested that he supports it. The wacky events of the week went unmentioned, and McCain made a strong case for himself as the candidate of adult leadership. Which, if you've been paying attention to his campaign, is probably true if your idea of an adult is Terrell Owens, although Terrell Owens is at least capable of running in a straight line.

There is, of course, a serious point to all this mishigas. The last eight years may have been a geopolitical and economic disaster, but one thing they have not lacked is drama. They've been eight exhausting years, and when Obama talks about change, he's implicitly talking about giving Americans a break, a timeout from grand history. It's like those T-shirts during the primary: End the Drama — Vote Obama. McCain has tried to make a similar case in a different way, arguing that he's steady and experienced while Obama is risky and dangerous. That case can get lost in his roller-coaster campaign.

So now you're up to speed. Oh, one more thing: North Korea is restarting its nuclear program. These days, history doesn't seem to take many breaks.