Did John McCain really make that face? Yes, he did. But it wasn't just another Captain Queeg moment. . .you've probably seen it out of context. He was attempting to shake Bob Schieffer's hand, when Schieffer walked in the opposite direction. McCain made the funny face to show he was all mixed up. It was pretty funny...until the photo started circulating.
If you doubt my veracity (how could you?), you can see this moment on this YouTube video, if you jump in around 4:25, near the end. ---o0o---
By Pablo Fanque All This Is That National Affairs Editor
Some of my friends say I am too pessimistic about the Democrat chances of regaining the White House. I think I've been realistic. Senator Obama agreed and warned supporters that the election is not over yet!:
“Don’t underestimate our ability to screw it up,” said Barack Obama just last week.
1) The polls now show Barack Obama solidly in the lead, ranging from 14 points to 2 or 3, with a sweet spot somewhere in the middle, about 7 points in Obama's favor.
But: we have to remember that Hubert Horatio Humphrey was also well ahead weeks before the election. Harry Truman was at least 7 points behind Dewey until that election night surprise. 2) Obama is already speculating about his cabinet. including names like John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, a republican who may become the next defense secretary. Surely his foreign policy advisor Susan Rice will have a slot somewhere in the administration. Former NATO general Jim Jones may be on the list, and Republican Richard Lugar as well.
But: Obama has to tread a fine line here. How many Senators does he, or do we, really want in the cabinet? John Kerry, while loyal and capable, surely doesn't play well to the theme of change. And change will be important coming out of the gate January 21st. Obama will undoubtedly name at least a couple of Republicans to top posts.
George W. Bush brought in a handful of old veterans to his administration, and it did not work out well. Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell were the "experienced" ones who would help the green President Bush.
3) Colin Powell finally came out today and said in public what many people already knew. He is endorsing Obama. He will no doubt remain a top advisor to Obama, but will probably not take a post in the administration. Iraq is still too much in the forefront, and his role in that is still in everyone's memory. This morning's endorsement by Powell, who was often mentioned as a possible VP candidate for McCain, feels like one of the last nails on the coffin, whether he is part of the Obama administration or not (and in any case he will be an important advisor, as he has been in the campaign).
But: There is Joe the Plumber Wurzelbacher out there making a lot of noise and being trumpeted by Sarah Palin. Actually, I think we all know Joe the Plumber is just a blip on the screen of the rapidly eroding, sometimes deranged "base."
4) Obama is on the offensive now, storming into, and doing well in, longstanding Republican strongholds like Virginia and scaring the beejesus out of the G.O.P.
But: he may not pick up many traditional stronghold states like Florida and Ohio. Fortunately, he may not need them because he's strong in the blue states and making inroads into several red states. The possibility still remains that this election will be an electoral college pile-on.
5) The economy looms over nearly every decision and every action in these last few weeks. Obama has a strong flank of economic advisors, including people like Warren Buffet and Paul Volcker. He has proffered a coherent economic plan and seriously knocked Senator McCain off whatever game he still had left.
But: Paul Volcker is 81, and Buffet is not a young man either. Buffet also owns chunks of several financial institutions now. It doesn't seem likely wither of them will be in an Obama cabinet. . .but there are plenty of highly qualified people waiting in the wings.
Obama will clearly come out of the gate strong on the economy. I think we know where he will get his advice. It's not so clear who the front men and women will be. McCain is making no headway on the economy, and has, in fact, lost support following the recent economic meltdown.
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It's too early to celebrate or be cocky. Democrats need to stay focused the next 15 days. Obama has a strong game going into the last two weeks. The Promised Land lies just around the next corner.
It's now up to the voters to actually get to the polls, mail in their ballots, harangue their neighbors, send money to the campaign, and then get ready to celebrate for the first time since 1996.
The celebration may become even sweeter before it's all over. Just last week, an editorial in The Wall Street Journal last week warned of the distinct possibility of a “liberal super-majority” in the Senate (e.g., 60%). The Dems could end up with a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, basically ensuring they can pass whatever they want, and get at least two left of center candidates onto the Supreme Court.
There is one (former) Democrat who may end up out in the cold after the election: the dwarf from Connecticut, Senator "Crazy" Joe Lieberman. If the 60 person supermajority does not need to include his votes, Joe Lieberman may well find himself handing out towels in the Senate Cloakroom. ---o0o---
I saw this video first on Tom Dougherty's blog, Automatic Daddy. I like the idea of monkey waiters. I think we also need monkey butlers, maids, valets, and probably, monkey bosses, monkey policemen, and monkey congressmen.
In the film Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin plays the character Blake, who gives one of the most brutal motivational speeches ever. I heard some speeches very close to this in one of my worst jobs ever. To read about that job, click here...
Unlike elevators, they don't skip the number 13 for Presidents. Not that President Fillmore experienced bad luck. . .or much good luck either. . .
When President Zachary Taylor konked out early in his second year in office, Millard Fillmore finished his term. As President, he signed the Compromise Measure of 1850, which included the Fugitive Slave Act. The Compromise Measure may have helped stave off the Civil War for ten years. However, it was very unpopular with both factions, and The President was not nominated by his party for another term. ----o0o----
Zachary Taylor was another war hero President, who came to the oval office after serving forty years in the military in various capacities, including fighting numerous battles with Native Americans. He lasted about 16 months in office before he died, making him one of the shortest tenured Presidents[1]. He was suceeded by his V-POTUS, Millard Fillmore, about which, more soon. . .
[1] Presidents who served less than one full term in office include: William Henry Harrison (30 days); John Tyler (3 years, 11 months); Zachary Taylor (1 yea, 4 months); Millard Fillmore (2 years, 8 months); Andrew Johnson (3 years 10 months, filling out Abe Lincoln's second term); James Garfield (6 months...assassinated); Chester A. Arthur (filled out Garfield's term); William Harding (2 years, 5 months); John F. Kennedy (2 years, 10 months); and Gerald Ford (2 years, 5 months). ---o0o---
John Tyler's detractors called him "His Accidency" because he was the first President to take office due to the death of his predecessor. When President Wm. Henry Harrison konked out, after one month in office, Tyler was sworn in. He finished the nearly four year term and did not run for re-election.
"Tyler Too" had troubles with the Whig party. When Tyler vetoed a banking bill, the Whigs retaliated by kicking him out of the party. All the Cabinet resigned except for Secretary of State Webster. A year later when Tyler vetoed a tariff bill, the first impeachment resolution against a President was introduced in the House of Representatives.
Years after leaving office, Tyler led a compromise movement when the first southern states seceded from The Union in 1861. The compromise failed. Former President Tyler then worked to create the Southern Confederacy. He died in 1862, a member of the Confederate House of Representatives.
President Polk was possibly the first and last President to sport a mullet. He was the first "Dark Horse" candidate to become President. Nominated as an alternative candidate on the eighth ballot, he got the nod on the ninth.
There was no dancing, singing, or alcohol in the Polk White House. He had no children. Polk's wife Sarah sat in on cabinet meetings and was extremely influential in her husband's decisions. President Polk was another one-term President, which was probably just as well, since he died a few months after his term ended. ---o0o---
"I love you, man." "I love you too." Click to enlarge.
By Pablo Fanque All This Is That National Affairs Editor
Our verdict on the third Presidential debate?: Obama edged out McCain, but just barely. . .exactly what he needed to do.
"You didn't tell the American people the truth," Senator John McCain charged. McCain delivered his best debate performance to date. However, his face told the tale. He was blinking at an alarming rate, mugging, and flashing a smile that bordered on a grimace, or even a rictus [1]. At times he seemed to be involuntarily mugging like The Joker.
As always, cool, cerebral, charming, unflappable, and surging ahead in the polls, Obama expertly parried each thrust, and, at times, lobbed a few Molotov cocktails of his own, all the while appearing absolutely Presidential. At the end of the debate, there was little question of who the voters would want to lead America until 2013.
Obama held fire, wisely. Ahead now in every single poll, and in some by 14 points, there was no reason to jump on the ledge in any issue. Obama performed admirably. . .probably his coolest performance in all three debates. But he is on top: he had nothing to win and everything to lose. And he expertly worked that angle. McCain offered him a chance to decimate his running mate Sarah Palin and Obama held back. What could he possibly gain from attacking the wildly popular Palin? Obama effectively diffused the Obama-Palin campaign's unending attempts to link him as some sort of acolyte of college professor and former Weather Underground mastermind William Ayers. A.C.O.R.N. was also mentioned repeatedly by McCain and Obama--rightfully--basically brushed off the association, leaving McCain pounding sand.
Arguably, the key exchange of the debate was when the frustrated McCain finally said in a clearly scripted remark, "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."
Obama fired back and dismissed McCain's claim of political independence from The Administration:
"If I've occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush's policies, it's because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people - on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities - you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush," he said.
Senator McCain passed up the chance to say his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, was qualified to become President (and Obama, also wisely, didn't touch it). McCain did praise her performance as governor and expressed admiration for her work on behalf of special needs children (which according to Alaskans is not a given at all).
McCain referred repeatedly to a voter, Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Toledo, Ohio Obama had an exchange with. They both directly spoke to "Joe" several times, and in the end, it went nowhere.
McCain's most critical debate mistake was seeming to dismiss the mother's health exception on the abortion issue. "I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there's an exception for the mother's health and life, and this did not contain that exception," Obama clearly stated.
McCain sarcastically paid tribute to "the eloquence of Senator Obama. He's (for) health for the mother. You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything." "mother's health," he seemed to be saying, "...who cares?" And with that statement, Senator McCain lost virtually every potential swing vote from pro-choice voters. McCain tried to raise the issue of public financing, but was effortlessly slapped down by Obama. Yes, Obama did go back on his pledge to consult with McCain and hopefully use only public financing in the campaign. While McCain opted for public financing, any possible ethical or moral advantage has been utterly neutralized by the RNC with its massive war chest relentlessly--and indirectly--pumping gushers of money into the McCain campaign.
With only a couple of exceptions, the Presidential campaign is now being waged in battleground states that were solidly Republican in 2004 - states like Virginia, Colorado, and Iowa - and in most of them, Obama holds significant leads in the polls. In the end, this debate changes nothing. It's on to November 4th!
[1] A gaping grimace: "his mouth gaping in a kind of rictus of startled alarm" (Richard Adams). We often think of the rictus as a death-grin. ---o0o---
This morning, the Obama campaign's Press Secretary, Sean Smith, e-mailed a list of debate talking points to the media.
It sounds more like news than the partisan diatribe you might expect!:
-------- Original Message -------- Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:37:27 -0500 From: Sean Smith [s***mith@barackobama.com] To: Sean Smith [s***mith@barackobama.com]
* This is John McCain's last chance to turn this race around and somehow convince the American people that his erratic response to this economic crisis doesn't disqualify him from being President.
* Just this weekend the weekend, John McCain vowed to "whip Obama's you-know-what" at the debate, and he's indicated that he'll be bringing up Bill Ayers to try to distract voters.
* So we know that Senator McCain will come ready to attack Barack Obama and bring his dishonorable campaign tactics to the debate stage.
Obama continues to lead on the economic crisis with a rescue plan for Main Street.
* Over the course of the campaign, Barack Obama has laid out a set of policies that will grow our middle class and strengthen our economy.
* But he knows we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action - on top of the plans he's already laid out - to help workers and families and communities struggling right now.
* That's why Barack Obama is introducing a comprehensive four-part Rescue Plan for the Middle Class - to immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners.
* This is a plan that can and should be implemented immediately.
* Obama has shown steady leadership during this crisis and offered concrete solutions to move the country forward - and his Rescue Plan for the Middle Class builds on the plans to strengthen the economy and rebuild the middle class that he's laid out over the course of this campaign.
* Already in this campaign, he's unveiled plans to give 95 percent of workers and their families a tax cut, eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000, bring down the cost of health care for families and businesses; and create millions of new jobs by investing in the renewable energy sources.
* John McCain has been erratic and unsteady since this crisis began - staggering from position to position and trying to change the subject away from the economy by launching false character attacks. ---o0o---
By Pablo Fanque All This Is That National Affairs Editor
As of October 14, 2008, All This Is That is officially calling the election for Senator Obama. We project Obama to take the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, for a total of 526 electoral votes.
John McCain will likely win both Alabama and Alaska for a total of 12 votes, although support in Alabama appears to be eroding at an alarming rate.
If John McCain's statement "We, my friends, have got them [Obama-Biden] just where we want them" is the delusional raving of a broken-down wardheeler correct, the next question is "Exactly where would that be Senator McCain?"
President Harrison was probably the first empty suit elected to the Presidency. In the end, the damage was slight.
He rode to victory on the coattails of leading a much embroidered battle with Indians called Tippecanoe. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," was his slogan, and it is probably the best known campaign slogan in American history. The Whigs selected Harrison as a candidate because they believed in a strong congress and a weak president; Harrison filled the bill perfectly. The Whigs turned out 82% of the eligible voters with such blandishments as live music, balloon rides, and free whiskey.
President Harrison's campaign slogan proved to be somewhat prophetic, his Presidency becoming something of an asterisk n the history books. He apparently caught, and soon, died of pneumonia 31 days after assuming office. He was succeeded by President John Tyler. Despite his highly-truncated tenure he is better known than many other Presidents. He is probably the most prominent amongst the most obscure Presidents. . . ---o0o---
I don't know if this is a guilty pleasure or great music. I've always liked it and especially always liked Freddy Mercury's voice. I was thinking about them because they've reformed with a new singer and are on tour at this very moment.
Bohemian Rhapsody Words and music by Freddie Mercury
Is this the real life- Is this just fantasy- Caught in a landslide- No escape from reality- Open your eyes Look up to the skies and see- Im just a poor boy,i need no sympathy- Because Im easy come,easy go, A little high,little low, Anyway the wind blows,doesnt really matter to me, To me
Mama,just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, Pulled my trigger,now hes dead, Mama,life had just begun, But now Ive gone and thrown it all away- Mama ooo, Didnt mean to make you cry- If Im not back again this time tomorrow- Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-
Too late,my time has come, Sends shivers down my spine- Bodys aching all the time, Goodbye everybody-Ive got to go- Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth- Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows) I dont want to die, I sometimes wish Id never been born at all-
I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango- Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me- Galileo,galileo, Galileo galileo Galileo figaro-magnifico- But Im just a poor boy and nobody loves me- Hes just a poor boy from a poor family- Spare him his life from this monstrosity- Easy come easy go-,will you let me go- Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go- Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go Will not let you go-let me go Will not let you go let me go No,no,no,no,no,no,no- Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go- Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye- So you think you can love me and leave me to die- Oh baby-cant do this to me baby- Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-
Nothing really matters, Anyone can see, Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,
