The Gov Reads the Patriot Act Differently

Two senators claimed on Thursday that the Justice Department had secretly interpreted the so-called Patriot Act in a twisted way, enabling domestic surveillance activities that many members of Congress do not understand.
[...]
During the debate, Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and a member of the Intelligence Committee, said that the executive branch had come up with a secret legal theory about what it could collect under a provision of the Patriot Act that did not seem to dovetail with a plain reading of the text. “I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry,” Mr. Wyden said. He invoked the public’s reaction to the illegal domestic spying that came to light in the mid-1970s, the Iran-contra affair, and the Bush administration’s program of surveillance without warrants.

Another member of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Udall, Democrat of Colorado, backed Mr. Wyden’s account, saying, “Americans would be alarmed if they knew how this law is being carried out.”
[...]
The Obama administration declined to explain what the senators were talking about.

Hold on, didn’t Obama have something to say about Patriot Act abuses when running for office? Maybe there was an expiration date on those promises?

President McCain Extends Bush Legacy for Third Term

[not-so-ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, WASHINGTON DC] President McCain has held his ground on everything that the previous office holder, George W. Bush, set the table with.

He's kept Guantanamo open.

Despite a nice parade, the US has committed to staying in Iraq.

He is expanding our mission in Afghanistan.

He, and the Fed gave unknown billions to their friends at the banks and also Wall Street, on top of what Mr. Bush handed out before Mr. McCain took the oath of office.

And after 'reaching across the isle' to work with a Democrat controlled Congress, he was able to have lopsided kickbacks for insurance companies and waivers for Unions. Reid and Pelosi passed the American Healthcare Compromise Act of 2009, or so called McCainCare - and then took a shellacking at the polls when the Democrat faithful lost faith in their party in November.

Now, just last night, Mr. McCain and Bush have another major win in their hat - they strong-armed the lame duck Democrat Congress to extend the "Bush tax cuts." Again, they can claim bi-partisanship to the voters by extending unemployment benefits as part of the 800 Billion dollar 'Stimulus' package.

Democrats are furious over the "Bush Third Term," and are still haven't gotten over the fact that their candidate Barack Obama had to bow out of the race at the last minute for not producing his original birth certificate instead of a blurry photocopy. But Democrats do capitulate that, "at least with Sarah Palin as the Ve-eP we haven't heard a peep out of her or her family since the inaugural ball."

Okay - joke's over. Guess what. Replace McCain with Obama - what'a got? Same. Exact. Story. There is only one party - the business party.

Healthcare Setback

I gotten around to mentioning that the first major wound has been administered to the ObamaCare legislation - but it's kind of interesting that someone agreed with me about the Commerce Clause in the Constitution - but also because they used it on the Republican provision.

Federal judge Henry Hudson declared in his 42-page opinion that the law’s requirement for most Americans to obtain health insurance was unconstitutional:

“Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market.”

To simplify this argument - Imagine Congress passed a law that required EVERY American to buy a gun. Soak that in for a moment.

Hudson also wrote that allowing Congress to exercise such authority “would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers.”

Full repeal by the Republicans would be a long, difficult fight - and no doubt, they're not up for that kind of challenge. This ruling gives them a boost of wind to that sail, should they accept the challenge. The individual mandate was the lynchpin upon which the entire health care law stood. It's what Hillary and John McCain campaigned on - and what the Insurance Companies demanded, and Obama caved into agreeing upon.

A significant portion of the funding was to come through the fines that were to be collected from those who fail to purchase insurance - enforced by the IRS. The rational behind requiring insurance companies to accept those with pre-existing conditions was predicated upon a requirement that all people are required to be insured, otherwise people will simply sign up for insurance once they get sick -- which I happen to believe as well. The old, I'll just call Allstate right after I rear-end the school bus argument.

So if the foundation of this legislation was built on a swamp - how soon 'til this whole thing just rots away or falls in on itself? How much collateral damage will be done first before the dust settles?

Click here to read Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's analysis.

Don't Ask, Still

Defense Bill With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Falls Short in Senate

The Senate has turned down the attempt to move to final debate and votes on a defense bill that would repeal "don't ask, don't tell." The vote was 57-40, three short of the 60 needed.

Senator Harry Reid, called a key procedural vote on repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy despite having failed to reach agreement with Republicans to proceed.

Republicans have indicated that without an agreement about the number of amendments and the timing of the debate, they would vote against moving forward to vote on the legislation.

Mr. Reid conceded that that the failure to reach an agreement could doom the effort to repeal the policy, which has been a key priority for Mr. Obama and gay activists.

The Delusion

If were to actually ask a conservative, a real one, about the Bush years, you might be surprised and get an honest answer - that the Republicans f*cked everything up. They will blame Bush for spending recklessly, and expanding the wars - and TARP. Occasionally you'll even get an ear full about the Patriot Act. Some will bitch about Cheney opening up the treasury for all his buddies, others will complain about McCain. The real conservatives will explain it's all these things why they got their ass handed to them in 2006 and 2008. They did a lousy job when it was their job.

However, listening to the stories and the narrative being written right now, the Democrats have not owed up or even contemplated why they're about to get slaughtered. And this as their aids are laying out the plastic sheeting in anticipation of their bloodbath.

Which, seemingly, shouldn't make any sense at all. The Republicans were (practically) unable to stop the Pelosi/Reed/Obama agendas and projects. They passed: The stimulus, expanded bailouts, financial reform, Cash for Clunkers, the student loan takeover, and Health Insurance Reform.

Obama pulled the reckless reigns of foreign policy from the idiot cowboy and won the Nobel Prize for his amazing turn around in policy -- or something like that. Mr. Obama handled a major disaster in Louisiana completely differently than the Fortunate Son, and now the Democrats are so powerful they can get bills that haven’t even been read, they've appointed numerous czars that are above recall and oversight, oh, and they can spend like there’s no tomorrow - with zero consequences.

Guess who’s been running on this agenda? Yeah, the displaced and rebuked un-electable Republicans. And isn't it strange that the Democrats aren't even mentioning their records, or even running away from them at this point?

"My name may not be on the ballot, but our agenda for moving forward is on the ballot, and I need everybody to turn out." -- Barack Obama

Last night Jon Stewart should have told him to quit saying this, as it's a rally cry for his enemies.

My point is, rather than realizing that their Rahming of a slipshod agenda through America's oversized gut was their undoing, they're too busy blaming everything and everyone else - from foreign money, to Bush (still), and that Obama being too nice, or the laziest - that the American people are irrational and racist....

And now they're already bullsh*tting themselves that the Republican landslide is going to be a GOOD thing for Obama and his agenda.

“Delusion arises from anger. The mind is bewildered by delusion. Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered. One falls down when reasoning is destroyed.” ~Bhagavad Gita

The real fun will be when the n00b Republicans announce, casually, on week six that they, "...had no idea the enormity of the problem..." and snuggle into the lobbyists and the backslapping backroom deals that all that came before them ALL fell into. THAT's when things are going to get really funny.

McCain Expected to Win

Gawker.com is predicting a John McCain win.

They're quick to mention how 'real conservatives' hate John since he's for campaign finance reform law, voted against the Bush tax cuts, supported "amnesty" in comprehensive immigration reforms, among other things — and very hesitantly supported him in 2008. Everyone thought that the Tea Party-backed Hayworth might finally get the job done. That's not going to work. Polls in the past couple of months have shown McCain with a 20- or 30-percentage point lead. One showed him ahead by 45.

But here's the deal - John is another one of the olgarcy ruling class of Americans that keep getting re-elected and re-elected -- and John doesn't even bring home the bacon to AZ. Especially since he lost the big one.

How does he do it? Well the $21 million he's spent, compared to Hayworth's (approximately) $3 million on the campaign MIGHT have something to do with it? At this point, why doesn't he just give everyone a check at the polling box and save his fellow Arizona citizens the constant drum beat of 'friends' before every sentence?

The goal of serving the people of the United States shouldn't be to die in your Senate chair.

Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul 2012

Okay, Paulistas, Ron Paul has announced that he is official considering a 2012 run for president, CNN says so.

For those of you who only know him as a meme on message boards, the Texas Republican Representative has run in the past, and has gotten about as far as Al Sharpton in the primaries. He's the Dennis Kuinich of the Republicans - he's there to remind them of what their party is supposed to believe in and fight for. Paul has a group of extremely loyal supporters, most of which are Independent or Libertarian voters, and a couple tin foil hat wearers in the mix too. Despite all that support, he was unable to garner enough support for a GOP nomination in 2008. And to be honest, he was almost kept out of the debates, and when he was allowed to enter, he wiped the floors with Rudy, Mitt and Johnny - by was limited by his allowed speaking time.

As for running on a third party docket, everyone knows that has never worked for anyone (except maybe Lincoln) in the USA. In his favor of hijacking the GOP, is that they're flailing around like a dying fish - what with Michael Steel running around in a circle looking for water. The Republicans are already looking for a suitable contender for the nomination. Yes, Sarah Palin we see you with your hand up waving, doing cartwheels for the teacher for attention, but we should expect that she will probably be laughed off the stage by the Blue Blood types that run the party.

Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal, Scott Brown, and Mike Huckabee are other possibilities, and probably more likely faces you'll see in the primaries.

But, Paul doesn’t actually think he will ever be in the seat of power...

“I don’t expect to be president. I don’t expect to be. That doesn’t mean I won’t run for president, but I am really energized when I think we make inroads … to broaden the outreach on the philosophy I have been talking about for 40 years,” Paul said to CNN.

Like Dennis Kucinich, Paul's message is spread by a presidential run. However, the news and attention this approach draws is a discussion on how these two fringe players have no chance at the nomination. There's almost never a detailed look at their policy ideas. Well, maybe at midnight on NPR... But, despite the lack of good coverage, some of their ideas can bleed into the party platform -- and lately the libertarian ideas and values of the Paul brand has been making inroads to policy ideas for the GOP.

And then there's the Tea Party, which some speculate are mostly made up of disenfranchised Paul voters who are looking for a leader. A real leader. He fits the bill perfectly. I'd much rather see Ron Paul than someone else who may suggest the Tea Party picks up matching snappy uniforms. Brown or Black shirts. Whatever is at sale at Wal-Mart.

Stranger things have happened in politics - Look at Barry Goldwater. But then, it was the most conservative candidate possible against LBJ.

And history does have a way of repeating itself.

Drill Baby Drill

The McCain Administration, in an attempt to fulfill a longstanding campaign promise, and coming after the success of the Senate narrowly passing his plan which will force all Americans to purchase insurance - is expected to announce by Wednesday its updated plan for oil and natural gas drilling in U.S. waters, including whether to allow exploration for the first time along the U.S. East Coast.

The plan could pave the way for a significant new domestic source of energy, helping to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports and boost supplies of natural gas used to displace coal in power plants as the country works to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.

The administration has been weighing the pros and cons of offshore drilling since it took office and put the brakes on a Bush-era proposal that called for drilling along the East Coast and off the coast of California.

For more than 20 years, drilling was banned in most offshore areas of the United States outside the Gulf of Mexico because of concerns spills could harm the environment.

Congress allowed the prohibition to expire in 2008 and former President George W. Bush lifted a drilling moratorium that year.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the U.S. Atlantic coast waters may hold 37 trillion cubic feet of gas and nearly 4 billion barrels of oil, while the Pacific Coast has 10.5 billion barrels of oil and 18 trillion cubic feet of gas. (Or about three weeks worth, give or take a few iPads and conversion vans.)

To put that in context, the United States imports about 2 billion barrels of oil a year from OPEC nations and is expected to import 2.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from all sources this year, according to the Energy Department.

The proposed Virginia lease area, located about 50 miles from shore, may hold 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Week In Review/Sunday Comics

Ah, the week in review already. First off, there was this big useless and showy Healthcare summit.

Despite yielding a few points of agreement, Thursday's health care summit primarily served to highlight major — unbridgeable — differences between the two parties' agendas for the CSPAN viewing audience. If the summit was collegial, underlying tension spilled over at times into silly slap fights involving President Obama and the Republicans. Accusations of budgetary "gimmicks" to claims of partisan timekeeping, here's a look back at the defining clashes of the big showy Blair House pow-wow.

1. Retro 2008
When John McCain charged the Democratic bill was the product of "unsavory deal making," Obama shot back: "We're not campaigning anymore. The election's over." A flustered McCain responded, "Well, I'm reminded of that every day." A bit later though, he got revenge. Cornered by a question from McCain about why some Florida seniors got special treatment on Medicare, Obama conceded, "I think you make a legitimate point." McCain, looking as surprised as anyone in the room, didn't reply.

2. Paul Ryan's smackdown
In a feisty speech, Rep. Paul Ryan (R, WI) described the Democratic bill as a "ponzi scheme" full of accounting "gimmicks and smoke and mirrors" and sought to discredit official projections showing it would reduce the deficit. Critics jumped on the moment as if it were some major GOP victory. "The expression on the president's face as Ryan made his case was absolutely priceless," says Matthew Continetti in the Weekly Standard. "Simply put, he looked like someone who realizes he's met his match." Or maybe someone just told him that he isn't wearing any clothes?

3. Reconciliation
Throughout the summit, Republicans pushed the Dems not to pass health care reform using reconciliation, which would allow a sidestep a GOP filibuster in the Senate. Lamar Alexander asked Obama to "renounce this idea" of "jamming" the bill through Congress "using reconciliation." After all, he said, the process has "never been used for anything like this." But Obama kept the option open: "I think most Americans think that a majority vote makes sense." Except that according to polling data, a majority of Americans are against THIS bill. They're for change in Healthcare, just not THIS change.

4. Any one bother to fact-check that?
While making the GOP's opening remarks, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee claimed that insurance premiums "will rise as a result of the Senate bill." Obama countered that this was "not factually accurate. The cost for families for the same type of coverage as they're currently receiving would go down 14 to 20 percent." Bloggers immediately scrambled to pick a winner, with most seeming to settle on Obama. "The record is tricky," says Brian Beutler in Talking Points Memo. But overall "Obama is correct."

5. Judges?
In addition to serving as moderator and head debater for the Democrats, Obama was also the official timekeeper, which is to say, Wink Martindale. Which pissed off the GOP. Ninety minutes into the summit, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) noted that Democrats had spent 52 minutes talking compared to only 24 for Republicans. Obama shot back: "I don't count my time, because I'm the president." Lovely.

It snowed again. There was also another earthquake. I'm sure the earthquake will be all we talk about this coming week.
And Mr. Toyota went to Congress this week...
There's been a lot of talk about how to 'fix' the country lately. That the government is broken. The government isn't broken, it's the government that reflects the country. Just as we had an oil man running things the last 8 years. Now we have a squabbling mess where no one takes responsibility for the problems or issues they created. That is a perfect mirror reflecting the population in my eye.
But to be fair, the Federal Government wants to expand their reach and influence into the average American's life [more taxes, services for others] while the States and local governments are raising fees and taxes while screaming poor and cutting services. I can't understand how you can raise taxes more than 50%, cut the program you're raising the taxes for - and then still cry poor. If anyone can explain that to me, I'm all ears. You may also want to explain that to the electorate, before they start hoarding guns and ammunition - what, they already are?
That's this week, see you next.

McCain Stickin Around

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. listens during remarks of the Fiscal Responsibility Summit hosted by President Barack Obama on Feb. 23 in the East Room of the White House.

He was heard rumbling something under his breath.
I'll bet we can come up with a few good ideas...

Maybe I'll give the winner a T-shirt.

Team of Rivals: Clinton Takes SOS Job

Clinton to Accept Secretary of State Job

-or-

How to Keep Your Friends Close, but Keep Shiv Threats Closer

Barack Obama, during the Democratic primaries, cited as influential to his thinking the book "Team Of Rivals," about Abraham Lincoln's opponent-stocked cabinet. It would appear this was more than mere campaign puffery: Obama's former presidential rival Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer to join the president-elect's cabinet as Secretary of State, according to a report in Britain's Guardian, and now here on Blasphemes.

Faced with the prospect of Hillary constantly campaigning against him in the Senate - Obama brings her into the fold. Whether this was part of the deal to keep the knife fight out of Denver (where she could have legitimately made a case for a roll call vote and had the Super Delegates get involved to take the nomination) or just a case of keeping the bitch under wraps with an Administration gag order, we'll have to read about 30-40 years from now. Hell, she may even quit three years into it.

Just look at Powell in the Bush Administration. Speak up once - and get frozen out of the Administration and possibly politics forever.

The flaw in the argument is that Obama is Lincoln.

The Team of Rivals note comes from the Doris Kearns Goodwin book on Abraham Lincoln. The premise of the Goodwin book is of Lincoln’s political genius by examining his relationships with three men he selected for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860. All fine and well - but unlike Obama, Lincoln argued on a national level for years about issues such as the Mexican War, tariffs, abolition, Texas annexation, the Wilmot Proviso, economic development in the relatively new nation, and of course Lincoln pretty much founded the Republican Party after the collapse of the Whigs. So, some consolidation was necessary.

When Lincoln ran for President in 1860 he addressed the question of a house divided at the Cooper Union in New York and ran a campaign of important ideas in an increasingly divided nation. In contrast, Obama’s entire campaign was empty, undefined, “change.”

As Lincoln was sworn in as president in March 1861 seven states had already left the Union. The issues of states rights versus a strong central government, agrarian society versus industrial society, new states as slave or free states, and abolition of slavery were all the same argument. The attack by the rebel states on the Union’s Fort Sumter in Charleston on April 12, 1861 began the bloodshed that had been bubbling to the surface since Independence.

The very able Lincoln realized the then much smaller nation needed a unity government and so Lincoln created a unity government - his Team of Rivals. Which, in my opinion, should be viewed as a gathering of a majority, not unlike a multi-party country like Italy or Germany.

To top it off, John McCain has also been sucked into this Obama silliness too. John McCain is promising Obama assistance and cooperation too.

Now maybe, just maybe, this is "change" in the sense of people putting aside differences to get something done. IF this is the case, it will take my cynical heart a while to thaw out for the refreshing new car smell. But I smell something different...

I smell a future scapegoat for Obama to pin any failure on. It's insane that Hillary or Bill would fall for this obvious trap. Trap or good will, it doesn't matter which because her fate is now tied to Obama's.

Could have been funnier though. He could have picked John Kerry.

Hackers & Behind the Scenes

Newsweek has released highlights of its Special Election Project, which allowed reporters to gather behind-the-scenes information on the presidential campaigns with an agreement that none of their reporting would be published until after Election Day.

You can read a summary of their report here, and the first chapter of their book here.

Highlights from NEWSWEEK's special election project

--The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain campaigns were both victims of sophisticated cyberattacks by an unknown "foreign entity," prompting a federal investigation.

-- McCain rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

-- The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and very disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that the crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle Obama said to a top campaign aide.

-- On the Sunday night before the last debate, McCain's core group of advisers--Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, adman Fred Davis, strategist Greg Strimple, pollster Bill McInturff and strategy director Sarah Simmons -- met to decide whether or not to tell McCain that the race was effectively over, that he no longer had a chance to win. The consensus in the room was no, not yet, not while he still had "a pulse."

-- The Obama campaign's "New Media" experts created a computer program that would allow a "flusher"--the term for a volunteer who rounds up nonvoters on Election Day--to know exactly who had, and had not, voted in real time. They dubbed it Project Houdini, because of the way names disappear off the list instantly once people are identified as they wait in line at their local polling station.

-- Palin launched her attack on Obama's association with William Ayers, the former Weather Underground bomber, before the campaign had finalized a plan to raise the issue. McCain's advisers were working on a strategy that they hoped to unveil the following week, but McCain had not signed off on it, and top adviser Mark Salter was resisting.

-- McCain also was reluctant to use Obama's incendiary pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright as a campaign issue. He had set firm boundaries: no Jeremiah Wright; no attacking Michelle Obama; no attacking Obama for not serving in the military. McCain balked at an ad using images of children that suggested that Obama might not protect them from terrorism; Schmidt vetoed ads suggesting that Obama was soft on crime (no Willie Hortons); and before word even got to McCain, Schmidt and Salter scuttled a "celebrity" ad of Obama dancing with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres (the sight of a black man dancing with a lesbian was deemed too provocative).

-- Obama was never inclined to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate, not so much because she had been his sometime bitter rival on the campaign trail, but because of her husband. Still, as Hillary's name came up in veep discussions, and Obama's advisers gave all the reasons why she should be kept off the ticket, Obama would stop and ask, "Are we sure?" He needed to be convinced one more time that the Clintons would do more harm than good. McCain, on the other hand, was relieved to face Biden as the veep choice, and not Hillary Clinton, whom the McCain camp had truly feared.

-- McCain was dumbfounded when Congressman John Lewis, a civil-rights hero, issued a press release comparing McCain with former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a segregationist infamous for stirring racial fears. McCain had devoted a chapter to Lewis in one of his books, "Why Courage Matters" and had so admired Lewis that he had once taken his children to meet him.

-- The debates unnerved both candidates. When he was preparing for the Democratic primary debates, Obama was recorded saying, "I don't consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, 'You know, this is a stupid question, but let me ... answer it.' So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f---ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

Holy Election Day News, Batman!

*most links cutn'pasted from NewsMax at 11:00 PM (officially before 'election day')

• McCain Tied in Key States
• Backtrack on Obama Remarks
• McCain Sues to Ensure Military Vote Count
• McCain Defies Age in 22-hour Sprint
• Obama, McCain on What to Change in Sports
• Palin Cleared in Troopergate Probe
• Coal Officials Blast Obama Over Remarks
• Early Voting Pays Off for Obama Team
• Reid Says Stevens Cannot Stay in Senate
• AP Warns: McCain Could Win Electoral College
• Beleaguered Murtha Loses Ground in Pennsylvania
• Don King Backs Obama, Praises Bush (wut?)
  
• Bob Barr Eyes Swing States for 'Real Impact'
• Suits Loom if Key Ohio Presidential Vote Is Close
• IBD/TIPP Tracking Poll: Obama Up 4.5 Points
• Bush Out of Sight Until After Election
• 'O'Biden' Plays Up Working-class, Catholic Roots
• Zogby Poll: Obama Close to Win
• Obama, McCain Eye Administration Teams
• California Prepares for Showdown on Gay Marriage
• Al Franken: Reagan Administration 'Racist, Sexist'
• Schumer: 60 Senate Seats Possible but Unlikely
• Danforth: Democrats 'Cry Wolf' on Vote Schemes
• IBD Poll: McCain Only 2 Points Behind
• Poll: Obama Fails to Gain Among Churchgoers
• Karl Rove predicts Obama landslide.
  
• Bonus: Despite the fact that Rove calls deadheat states for McCain

Just a side note: Obama was winning NH for an entire 3 days before the election.

Personally, I think the 8-10% "undecided" are actually people who voted for Bush the second time and don't want to admit it to a pollster or an Obama canvaser knocking at their door. Especially in a swing state. Every single ad is for a politician in those places. They're REALLY sick of the election and being asked what or who they're voting for. In fact, some of them will make stuff up on purpose. No, really.

Bottom line: In an election year that's defied conventional wisdom time and again, remember that anything can happen.

Cabinet Posts?

The Politico has speculated some potential cabinet posts for the Obama Administration, and just to seem fair - the McCain Administration. The Obama list reads like a liberal wet dream. Packed with hacks, loosers, has-beens - in other words, most of the Senate. Or as the Politico said, ""the list is heavy on campaign heavyweights and Washington insiders, many of them from the administration of President Bill Clinton."

White House chief of staff: Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.); Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.); or dark horse candidate Bill Daley, commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton and now an executive with JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Deputy chief of staff: Pete Rouse, chief of staff in Obama's Senate office; Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore; longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett; Jim Messina, campaign chief of staff

Senior adviser: David Plouffe, David Axelrod, Steve Hildebrand

Ambassador at large on climate change: former Vice President Al Gore (love that one!)

National security adviser: Jim Steinberg, the deputy under Clinton; Gregory Craig, special counsel to Clinton; Susan Rice; retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni; Samantha Power of Harvard’s Kennedy School

White House counsel: Bob Bauer, campaign counsel; Chris Lu, Obama legislative director and member of transition staff; Heather Higginbottom, campaign senior policy strategist and longtime aide to Sen. John F. Kerry; Mike Strautmanis, congressional affairs for campaign and former chief counsel in Senate office

Chief of staff to the vice president: Tony Blinken, chief of staff, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Biden is chairman) and senior campaign adviser for Biden; Stephanie Cutter; former Biden aides Mark Gittenstein, Alan Hoffman and Ted Kaufman

Counselor: Robert Gibbs, Anita Dunn, Valerie Jarrett, Jon Favreau (Isn't Jon shooting Iron Man II?)

Speechwriting director: Jon Favreau, Jeff Nussbaum (again, shouldn't Jon be shooting Iron Man II?!)

White House economic adviser: Austan Goolsbee, senior policy adviser to campaign and University of Chicago economics professor; Jason Furman, director of economic policy for the campaign; Michael Froman, former Treasury chief of staff, Citigroup executive and Harvard Law classmate of Obama

Cabinet secretary: Christine Varney, who held that post under Clinton

White House staff secretary: Cassandra Butts

Defense secretary : Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.); Richard Danzig, Navy secretary under Clinton; John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS and former deputy secretary of defense; President Bush’s incumbent, Robert Gates — would be for at least a year so he wasn’t a lame duck

Attorney general: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine; Eric Holder, who was deputy AG under Clinton and is now with Covington & Burling and led Obama’s vice presidential search; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano

Supreme Court nominee: Washington superlawyer Robert Barnett; legal scholar Cass Sunstein; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York; Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School. Consensus is it would most likely be a woman.

Secretary of State: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.); Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)

Deputy secretary of State: Gregory Craig

Director of State Department policy planning (internal think tank): Samantha Power

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice, senior campaign national security adviser and State Department and National Security Council official under Clinton; Caroline Kennedy

Treasury secretary: Former Clinton treasury secretaries Larry Summers and Robert Rubin; FDIC Chairwoman Sheila C. Blair; New York Fed President Timothy Geithner, former Treasury under secretary and assistant secretary; former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle; Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a physician; John Kitzhaber, doctor and former Oregon governor

Health care czar in White House: Tom Daschle

Education secretary: David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma and former U.S. senator and former Sooner State governor; Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean (R), who was chairman of the 9/11 Commission; Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.)

Environmental Protection Agency administrator: Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.); Kathleen McGinty, former head of the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Agency

Commerce secretary: Penny Pritzker, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

Homeland Security secretary: Former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.); William Bratton, Los Angeles police chief and former New York police commissioner; former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), a member of the 9/11 Commission; Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.); Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

CIA director: Former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)

Director of national intelligence: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.)

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.); Tammy Duckworth, the director of Illinois Veterans’ Affairs, Iraq veteran and former Democratic House candidate; Bush’s incumbent, James Peake

Secretary of the Interior: Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Secretary of Energy: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)
(good move to take Arnold out of California and put it back into play!)

Secretary of Transportation: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.)

Secretary of Labor: Former Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.); Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union; Kay Hagan of North Carolina (if she loses her challenge to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole); Jeanne Shaheen, former New Hampshire governor (if she loses her challenge to U.S. Sen. John Sununu)

Secretary of Agriculture: Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)

Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy: William Bratton

Director, Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (Obama's renamed faith-based office): Josh DuBois, campaign's director of religious affairs.

_______

McCain's turn - now his list is a little shorter. Maybe because he'll just pick names out of a hat or with darts the way he picked Sarah Palin?

White House chief of staff: Lehman or longtime McCain aide and speechwriter Mark Salter

Senior counselor to the president: Top campaign official and personal friend Rick Davis

Secretary of state: World Bank President and former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick; Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.); former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage

Treasury secretary: FedEx founder Fred Smith; former eBay CEO Meg Whitman; Bain Capital co-founder and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; John Thain, former Merrill Lynch CEO and now president of Global Banking, Securities and Wealth Management at Bank of America

Secretary of defense: Lehman; Lieberman; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); current Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Attorney general: Graham; former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.); former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Secretary of education: Former Arizona superintendent of education Lisa Graham Keegan

National security adviser: Policy adviser Randy Scheunemann

Office of Management and Budget: Former Congressional Budget Office director and campaign adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin

The Case of President McCain

McCain could win it by a slim margin.

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Obama 47.8%, McCain 45.1%

I've read a scenario where the House will have to select the President - and the House will elect Obama - but in the Senate, Joe Lieberman (reminder he's the "Independent" from Connecticut) would cast the tie breaking vote for Vice President, and then you'd have Sarah Palin as the VeeP.

What I like about that story is that it's got a Nightmare outcome for both sides of this election. When everybody is miserable is when I'm the happiest.

But there's still that game board from 2004. Not a lot has changed since then. Maybe Colorado? But your 'bitter gun clingers' and fundies out there coming out to McCain and Palin rallies. Oh, you haven't heard of that? I can't believe you haven't heard how close the race still is? Sarah Palin's awkward, white-girl-at-nightclub dancing stint on SNL gave that lame ass show it's highest rating in 14 years. (link to data)

The margin of error in the polls, plus the Bradley effect (6 points off for African candidates in polls if there's a live person asking) give McCain a pubic hair of a chance in this thing. Young folks don't vote - but Nursing homes do. And they'd be electing one of their own.

And all this in spite of McCain running one of the worst political campaigns since... uh, maybe Al Gore? Bob Dole? One of the four guys who ran against FDR, right? I'll just pick one... Wendell Willkie. (Perhaps McCain voted for him?)

So why, how, could McCain possibly on win? Because when those churches, grade school cafeterias and libraries open their doors, the bitter clingers will show up, the old folks will show up, the folks who tuned in to see Gov. Palin's SNL what-have-you will show up. One of ten women who supported Hillary because she isn't a penis-American will show up. They're also going to know how to punch a chad through all the way through a ballot, unlike the folks in Miami Dade County. These folks are registered and have voted before. They know where their polling place is. They don't ask questions holding up the line.

Why are they voting McCain?

Not exactly "for" McCain - He's just the anti-Obama vote. Just like John Kerry was the anti-Bush vote. But Kerry only had one issue. It came down to the war in '04. Now it's a whole can of garbage with a race card on the bottom of the pile.

But why McCain? The McCain voter is taking a measured look at the policy differences between the two candidates. Obama's voting records show he is for abortion, John McCain is not . This issue still means a lot to a large number of people. There are a lot of people who are voting on one issue only. And this still seems to be a pretty big one. Gun control is another. Drilling for oil in Alaska seems to have energized a few people here and there.

A large number of McCain voters believe that the United States needs to finish the wars that were started in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also think that the US needs to show Russia, China and Iran that we've got a new crazy old man in charge who's even more unstable than the cowboy before him. It's foreign policy like that what won the Cold War. If you focus on the 10-point lead McCain has on national security and terrorism -- it is the only remaining issue all voters believe the Republican candidate would be more adept at handling.

Some people are voting for McCain's promise to make the Bush Tax Cuts permanent. Joe the Plumber, for instance?

They won't be picking McCain to save the economy - which is what took the wind out of his sails in the first place. However, they might be picking McCain to keep a free market system? Maybe they're the folks who read all of Atlas Shrugged? All five of them?

Maybe it'll be the large number of people who fear Change. These are the kind of people who lose their car keys... or can't remember that their favorite TV show moved to Tuesday nights, five years ago.

Some people will be voting for a Democrat to serve them in the Congress - but they'll pick the Republican (no matter what) to offer a 'balance' in their votes. This actually happens! It's a sort of balanced scorecard philosophy. More like Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't, if you ask me.

The McCain Administration.

How does he do it? I don't know, let's say McCain shows up with Bin Laden's head on a stake at a press conference or something? There will be an awkward hand-off of the White House keys from W. Bush to McCain that'll make the Bush I hand-off to Bill Clinton look down right civil.

Immediately the lack of McCain's ability to lead will slam into the almost veto proof Congress. He'll still have some old friends there, but since he hasn't been helpful for Republican candidates - and neither has lame duck George Bush - his party won't be able to negotiate or have any pull at all. Plus his old "friends" will come in with a huge chip on their shoulders about Obama losing. And they'll be out to stop McCain's Administration and exact revenge through him.

If Obama were to lose by the Electoral College - look for the Congress start exploring the idea of Amending the Constitution. Nothing will actually get done, but it'll play great with the home crowds, especially if there's a lopsided popular vote victory for Obama.

Gridlock. Complete, total Friday Afternoon, Accident with Gaper's Delay...
Gridlock in D.C.

Meanwhile anything and everything McCain said he'd do with the legislature is either in jeopardy or D.O.A. Anything he says will be shut down - any Supreme Court nominees are instantly rejected before or during the hearings. Since he can't move his arms, he won't be able to take up golf. I have a feeling he'll be flying on Air Force One a lot, brooding while traveling to foreign countries.

The economy will sputter and start, and it'll be a lot like what's going on now - tons of uncertainty and a lot of roller coaster starts and slowdowns. Both teams wave fingers. No accountability for any of it.

The word 'Palin' will become a verb for what people with Blackberries do when they're constantly waiting and checking to see if an important message has shown up.

Debate Highlights

Uh, that's a little too close for comfort.

3 Weeks Out

Obama‘s lead in national polls of the popular vote has expanded to an average of 7.2 points.

(can't read it? Click on it! It'll get more bigger for yous)

Not only are the traditional swing states like Florida and Ohio long since gone to the Democrats, but also the latest poll results put such stalwart Republican states as Alabama, Texas, South Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Montana within reach of Democrats. Although these red states all still lean toward McCain, it is getting too close for comfort for him.

In the meantime, Republican bastions like South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana are now no better than tossups.

If the election took place this week, it would be a wipeout of major proportions. Even McCain‘s home state of Arizona has to be classified as leaning toward Obama. McCain, as of now, can be certain of carrying just eight states with a combined total of only 36 electoral votes.

But the campaign has three weeks to run. If the financial crisis begins to settle down, and voters can take a good look at the man they are about to elect president, there is still time and a real chance for a major swing back to McCain. It looks like the campaign 2008 roller coaster still has several more turns to make, before the historic ride is over.

Cowardice

Does anyone find it ironic that at recent McCain/Palin hate fests rallies the audience in one breath calls Obama a "terrorist" and in the next exclaims "off with his head?" I bet Ron Perlman would see the irony. What about the "Obama is a bomb" guy? (disclaimer: the first time I heard this I thought he said, "Obama is the bomb."

The McCain campaign seems to not mind wrestling in hate. In fact, they seem to bask in it. They encourage it by claiming that Obama is "palling around with terrorists." They make no moves to stop or discourage open verbalizations of assasination attempts against a United States Senator. This is disgraceful. To imagine that we all have to pretend that this man is somehow honorable because he was in the military. Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marine but is no hero of mine either.

If McCain has even one ounce of manhood in him he would have asked Obama directly about his association with Ayers and his bomb making abilities but he knows full well the charges are bullshit and would not go over well when actual facts are introduced. Instead, he acts like the honorable McCain of years past in the debates (kinda) and sends his campaign to go 100% negative in all advertisements. That's right, he has NOT ONE ad telling us to vote for him but many, many millions of dollars worth of telling us not to vote Obama.

Cowardly. Our man of National Disgrace. He deserves, and looks like he will get, a good solid trouncing in the coming election. Hopefully, the Republican brand will go down with him. then they can elect new Repubs that have decency, honor, and will do what they believe is best for the country. Democrats had to do this themselves not too long ago and it worked out well.

Post Debate Captions

"Your powers are weak, old man."

Call me 'That One" again and I start calling you 'Gramps'

"I'm reaching across the aisle with my pimp hand."

"Feel that sting? That's pride f*cking with you. F*ck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps"

McCain's Bar & Grill

You know how people sometimes say that they'd like to sit down for a beer with a candidate before deciding how to vote? At least Sen. John McCain would pay for the beer. That's because he's got a Bud Light tap in his Arizona house. We got these from somebody who attended a BBQ there and hit the tap pretty often. Having the Bud Light tap makes sense, of course, since wife Cindy has a piece of the local Bud distributorship, Hensley & Co. (cutn'pasted)

Sometimes you wanna' go...

Making your way in the campaign today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're kinda glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our financial troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
McCain...