Well, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, look no further:
Maybe McCain will come up with his own good ideas at some point...but for now it sure seems like he's stealing anything resembling a good idea.
To find out more about being a Barack Buddy, go here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/fredwhite/gGxffY
To join the movement, go here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4g4qr
So, for my first update on being a Barack Buddy, I've decided to give an example using one of the two people I've decided to buddy with -- my mom...
And that's putting it nicely! McLaughlin's comment on Sunday was way, way out of line. Luckily there were a couple panelists on the show to set him straight.
And, while I almost get tired of asking this: where is the "mainstream media" on reporting this?
Nevermind...I know the answer. :(
I've started an ongoing "event" called Be a Barack Buddy at http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4g4qr. Already close to 50 people are participating, so I wanted to spread the word and explain a little bit more about what it means to be a Barack Buddy.
...he'd be called an "extremist" or "unpatriotic" --
The Founding Fathers would be disappointed with the way America has turned out overall.
Need more proof that John McCain has become exactly the kind of politician he despised (or at least claimed to despise) back in 2000? Below is a screenshot of his current campaign website as of right now.
Not only is Clark not a part of the Obama campaign...not only has Barack rejected Clark's statement...but here the McCain campaign put two images together purposely trying to make it look like Barack and Clark may have even been sitting right next to each other or talking about it when Clark said it and/or that Barack somehow agrees with or supports what Clark said...AND completely mischaracterize what Clark actually said.
This is as slimey and as "negative politics" as you get. It just shows that a desperate John McCain is no different than the campaign that totally destroyed him personally back in 2000.
Also, this points out just a fundamental difference between McCain and Obama's approaches. The fact that McCain takes up the prime real estate on his website with an unfair and untrue attack against Obama shows he's as focused (or more focused) on being negative against the other candidate as he is about being positive about himself. Obama's entire homepage is dedicated to news about himself, campaign events, his stance on issues, and positive news stories...responses to attacks from the other campaign or anyone else are a completely separate and dedicated sub-section of the site
Ok, so whether or not you agree with Wesley Clark's position that McCain's specific military service (because of the nature of the roles he was in) doesn't necessarily qualify him to be a good Commander in Chief -- I honestly don't know if I agree with Clark or not -- you have to acknowledge that Clark has repeatedly said that he is not questioning the quality of McCain's service, and has repeatedly said that McCain is a hero (even referring to him as "a hero of mine") and that his service was honorable.
Even with all of those caveats the reaction from "the right" has been that Clark is "questioning" or "criticizing" McCain's "service." Which, btw, is the one thing Clark has decidedly not done, IMO.
Ok, ok, so let's even say that despite all of Clark's caveats, disclaimers, and explanations, that somehow someone really did still see what he was saying as some sort of insult to McCain's service...and they criticized him for that. Let's just go with that...
In this article on MSNBC.com, it's clear -- and scary -- just how effective the back-channel, hate-mongering smear campaign has been. These are "Everytown, USA" people...heck, their town was officially dubbed "Flag City" because they put so many American flags up.
The whisper campaign has been so effective that someone whose natural inclination is to vote Democrat and who isn't online every day and who isn't getting tainted directly by the hate mongers is still being affected. Scary, scary stuff.
The only way Barack wins this battle is for all of us continually to have the courage and the consistency to stand up and say, "That's simply not true," and be ready to give the facts. And, if you're not the kind of person who wants to memorize things or have to argue with someone, there are great tools available for you. Just check out this link to find great one-page issues sheets. I'm actually carrying around copies of several of these everywhere I go.
This problem isn't going to go away unless and until enough people stand up and say, "Those rumors are BS!" And, we have to be willing to do that with the very people we often find it the most difficult to do so -- friends, family members, neighbors. But, until we do, people are still going to believe the most outrageous -- and the worst -- things about our candidate.
I just received this automated notice from the myBO.com website: "Your event, Smyrna-Vinings House Meeting for Change, has reached the capacity limit of 20 attendees."
How cool is that? There are people all over the country coming together in just a few days to "officially" be a part of something that we all feel is going to be groundbreaking, historical, and momentous. I've actually received well over 20 responses for my "Unite for Change" event because not only are the 20+ folks who will be there committed, but others wanted to let me know that while they'd be traveling or otherwise indisposed, that they wanted to stay in touch in the future and be a part of other Obama events.
It's really happening, folks. For the first time in decades in this country, people are actually excited about being a part of the political process for positive reasons. No more "best of the worst options" voters. No more "holding your nose" while you vote. At least not on the Obama side of the equation. It's about being "on fire" and about supporting someone and something you can truly believe in.
Thanks to everyone already hosting or attending a "Unite for Change" event! And for anyone who isn't yet, go to http://my.barackobama.com/democratsunited and find an event near you.
In this article over at Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington really brings the hammer down on the MYTH that Barack gets special or friendly treatment from the media. No other politician in the modern era has gotten more of a pass than has John McCain.
Maybe it's because he was so severely trashed by the Bush campaign in 2000, and they feel sorry for him. Maybe it's because he's made a concerted effort to buddy up to the media, so they feel like he's their "pal" or that they owe him. But, for whatever reason, John McCain simply has not come under anything like the microscope that any other major candidate has.
While this is frustrating and disappointing, I do think it has one silver lining: the idea that the electorate already knows McCain and therefore there's no "skeletons in the closet," is bunk. And, I believe that as the Obama movement swells, and as the media sees that they simply cannot hide McCain under their collective skirts, more and more baggage will come out, and people will learn that the McCain they think they know is not the McCain of reality. That time is coming.
As we move toward November 4th, let's not forget that not only will electing Barack Obama be one of the most historically significant things we can do -- and absolutely needed at this particular time in history -- but, that fundamental change in the makeup of our Senate, House, state legislatures, and local governments is certainly within our reach this time around as well.
Barack certainly intends to change things at the top, but his entire campaign has been built upon the bottom-up approach to politics. That WE, the people, can affect change -- and there's no better way to do that then to do it at every level of government this time around.
Too much about the way our country is run starts at the local and state levels for us not to remember that Barack is bringing some massive coat tails with him. We are expecting higher turnout than ever in history. We are expecting more new voters than ever in history. We are expecting people who have too often felt like their vote wouldn't count -- so they stayed home -- to come out and actually vote this time around. And, most importantly, we are expecting all of these things to be true in cities, counties, and states that far too often in the past were "written off" as unwinnable, but not this time. So, we need to make sure that all those people who are coming because of Barack are also going to vote for people who stand for the same things Barack does.
Just pulling the lever, or touching the screen, or punching the card for Obama at the top isn't enough. We need to make sure that we're thinking all the way down the ballot about whether or not the candidate in question stands for what Barack stands for, and whether or not they'll get into office and stand for change or stand for the status quo.
So, this is our chance -- WE can fundamentally change government at every single level this fall. Let's make the most of it!
McClatchy Newspapers reports that former investigator accuses Bush administration of war crimes.
Get ready folks. These kinds of investigations and resulting statements are what give me hope that the day the Bush Administration vacates DC, that it doesn't automatically equate to "they're off the hook."
While I personally don't think it's ever too late to pursue impeachment proceedings (even if it's the week before they leave office), I will say that the likelihood of that goes down by the day. So, to hear former military officials -- and especially those who were tasked with investigating abuse -- use phrases like "there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes" and "held to account" is very heartening. If he's serious about that -- and he certainly sounds like he is -- and if the next Congress has the intestinal fortitude to do something about it, it could mean that even after the Bush Gang leaves office, that they will be investigated and prosecuted where warranted.
For the sake of our Democracy -- and so that history doesn't record this as evidence that all you have to do is make it through your term(s) in office and then everyone will leave you alone -- I certainly hope this continues down the path that Major General Taguba is indicating.
As if we needed more proof that the suggestion to open more offshore drilling areas (let's not forget there are plenty of offshore drilling areas not being used by oil companies because they're "too expensive" to work...poor oil companies wouldn't make quite the same profits on those areas) is simply pandering to both the oil companies and right-wingers who don't know anything other than to clap when they hear we're going to go after more oil, we got more proof anyway.
In California, even Governor Schwarzenegger couldn't be swayed to come along for the ride. In Florida, where Governor Crist is nothing more than a Bush/McCain puppet, he not-at-all-surprisingly jumped right on board. But, guess who didn't? The state's CFO, Alex Cink -- you know, the woman most directly responsible for the state's FINANCIAL well-being, and the person arguably most informed of the impacts of all this.
In this article at Forbes.com, Cink and others point out that Crist has repeatedly -- and as recently as a couple weeks ago -- adamantly opposed offshore drilling. But, lo and behold, when the puppetmasters say, "Time to pander, Charlie," he hops to it.
So, as McCain and Bush and the Republican "strategists" out there push this oh-so-novel idea, be glad that there are some people refusing to go along with it.
So, on my morning commute I was listening to POTUS 08 on XM (my usual routine) and heard an interesting poll result from Zogby. It said that despite McCain's own statements about not being solid on economic issues, that in general he's seen by likely voters as "more likely to handle economic issues better" than Barack -- by about 5%.
The staggering sub-fact here was that McCain's lead on that measure was at its largest with a specific demographic: people under 30. Amongst young voters, his lead jumped to almost 30 points. In other words, his entire 5% margin in this measure was attributable to young people saying they think he's "more likely to handle economic issues better" than Barack. And, this is a group, that on the whole, Barack totally owns.
So, here's a little mini-campaign we can all engage in: make it clear to young voters that "old" doesn't equal "smart with money," which is probably something that's been pounded into all our heads in our youth. John McCain will be terrible for the economy, and we need to make sure that young voters get that message loud and clear.
