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Remember two things: DO NOT WONK IT. Talk simply so people can understand. John McCain is bad for the economy. Deregulation was his bright idea and we cannot afford more bailouts. and DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE MCCAIN.
The theme is going to be taxes. Expect McCain to say that he is more anti-tax. Of course, you have the rabbit in the hat: the number of times that he has voted to tax the middle class. They will call it "class warfare" (watch out for that phrase) when you say that the rich must pay, but stick to your guns. Not all tax increases are alike and the middle class isn't going to feel these.</p>
Talk about the deficit. Remember that Bill Clinton left the country with a balanced budget. Note that Bush squandered trillions on the war in Iraq and that John McCain voted for this waste while not doing anything to help members of the armed services.
Talk about the bailout. We have not done enough, of course. What about homeowners? If John McCain says the phrase "Middle Class" tell him that it's about time, but note that he still hasn't expressed a program that will champion their interests.
Watch out for a few jabs about immigration reform. Tell him that pretty soon the immigrants won't have any jobs left to fill with the exports to India and China. The working class and the middle class are suffering. If McCain says anything about "class warfare" give it to him here: the Republican Party has been waging class warfare for years and they've been hitting on the middle and working classes. It's time to stop this garbage.
He will undoubtably have a few false accusations. If he doesn't repeat any of his and Palin's recent attacks, bring this up and say that when he is being watched by the nation, he says nothing because his attacks cannot bear scrutiny. Put him and his attacks under scrutiny.
Keep your cool. Be brave and keep to the message. John McCain and Sarah Palin are inexperienced and unknowledgeable when it comes to the economy. We don't need a president who will sell us out as Bush as sold us out. John McCain is John McSame.
John McCain is now pretending to be the Latino's friend and is out to quote Joe Biden out of context. The campaign needs to focus on the Latino community and keep it in the camp with commercials in Spanish hitting the McCain campaign for distorting the truth. The message to send is When a candidate is this nasty, he's out to cheat you. Also remember that the economy matters to Latinos, too, so press that point.
To Biden: good luck on the debate and remember that Sarah Palin is going to do her usual put down intelligence dance. Don't let it shake you.
Do not under any circumstances underestimate Sarah Palin. There is always the possibility that her seeming ignorance and naivite is nothing but a Rovian act that will crumble as soon as she gets in front of her teleprompter.
She may hit hard on Biden's age. If she starts up on "new energy", tell her that that is what Obama is and that he has a great deal more presidential quality than either of the two candidates offered by the Republicans.
If the Couric interviews are any indication, she will be all over the board. Don't dwell on this too much but push the concept that substance matters more than paper experience. You will need to come up with a simple description of what substance is: it is what a person knows and how they use what they know. A simple story will work well. I am sure that Biden has a good story.
If she starts up on being a woman, hit her on the charging rape victims for their rape kits while mayor of Wasilla. Then mention the Violence Against Women Act. (See if McCain voted for this or not.) I am sure Biden can pull plenty of other rabbits out of his hat on this one. The point to make is that both women and men can have meaningful things to say about one another's lives and that not every so-called contribution is as good as another.
If she starts out on experience, make a joke. "By your definition, no one on either ticket is as experienced as you, Governor Palin. And yet you bring so little and Obama brings so much more."
Watch out for swipes about Biden's education. Or Obama's.
Make an issue of her hitting on Obama's accomplishments to hide the fact that she has done so little. That little story Biden did a few weeks ago where he joked about the guy who made fun of anything good you had works here. "When you have nothing, you say that the other guy with something has nothing, too."
If she at any point brings up government handouts, point out that she gets $20,000 a year from the State of Alaska courtesy of the oil companies. A lot of drivers in the lower forty-eight wouldn't mind seeing some of that being used to take a few cents off their gas. Then there is the amount of earmarking her state gets. Alaska: least in taxes, most in pork.
If she mentions being on the Russian border, ask her how many times she has crossed it to go shopping. (Has she even been to Canada?) Point out that this border is nothing like the ones that fifteen other states share with Canada and Mexico.
Make an issue of her supporters' complaining about her being criticized if you can think of a way. Say that she made an issue of Hillary not hiding behind her sex but now she is. Point out that Hillary had a great deal more substance and could take it.
Always focus on two things: the economy and substance. Palin has to explain McCain's economic blunders. She has to show that she has substance. She is the one who has to show that she can do it.
Find out ways to show that her new vision and new energy is just the same old stuff Republicans have been vomiting up all these years. Obama/Biden represents something truly new or at least much needed in these perilous times.
The time has come to compare Obama to JFK. Certainly, more than Kerry and Clinton, Obama deserves the comparison.
The point to make is that what matters most in the presidency is substance. Obama clearly has this. McCain and Palin do not. The debate and Palin's talk show appearances show that it is so. Enumerate points that mark Obama's substance: his grasp of economic issues, his understanding of foreign policy, his concern for the middle class, etc. Where McCain is a politician, Obama is a president.
For all the years he spent in the House and the Senate, McCain failed to developed a grasp of the issues that matter to the nation's prosperity, standing in the world, and dignity. Obama gets what it takes to be a president. His opponent is such a thrall to his advisers that he hasn't done any thinking of his own. McCain and Palin will not bring dignity to the Oval Office. Obama will.
That's the magic to work now.
I missed the debate tonight because I was on a plane flying from Houston to Orange County. There was quite the crowd watching on the airport monitors. Unfortunately, the plane was loaded before things got really good, so we didn't see how Obama nuked McCain.
What we were subjected to was an example of the kind of judgement a supporter should not exhibit. A fellow decided to convert his very Republican seatmate by haranguing him about how bad Bush was, how McCain was going to be worse, etc. As the conversation continued, things became more and more heated and abusive between the two of them. I know I live in an extremely conservative area and shouldn't be surprised, but a few other passengers twitted the guy about how Obama stuttered, etc. It made the flying experience very uncomfortable and I very nearly stepped in (I am six foot four) with an appeal to cut it so people could sleep. Since the Obama supporter was the loudest, I am afraid he managed to make the most negative impression on the passengers.
The McCain campaign won't like this, but there's an old adage about trying to teach a pig to sing -- it wastes your time and annoys the pig. And in this case the other people on the plane.
Do talk to undecided voters. Do fill them in on the facts. Let them know about McCain's tax plans, about his votes to close loopholes for the middle class while giving more and more to his rich friends. Ask them if they think they should carry more by allowing their health benefits to be taxed. But don't waste your time with the jerks. They will be jerks tomorrow, on Election Day, etc. And don't ruin people's sleep. There's a time and a place. You'll win a few with manners and lose many more without them.
McCain isn't going to duck the debates. This was nothing but a maneuver out of the Rovian playbook. He may be trying to get Obama to drop his guard, think to that he has gone completely bonkers, that it will be a slam dunk. Be prepared for him to wave the red herring of supposed noncooperation in Obama's face right at the start, so be cool and be prepared to stand on the campaign's commitment to seeing that the American people have a chance to hear out the candidates.
Be sure to mention that, once again, McCain has only followed Obama's lead. Obama invites him to issue a joint statement and McCain can't share, he has to have it all. Point out that only last week McCain was saying that there was no problem with the economy that things would work themselves out.
There's a joke going around: McCain suspended his campaign for the sake of his campaign.
He's going to try to turn it on Obama, spring new things. Remember the "There you go again" line. Smile and remind people that there is no high ground in the McCain campaign, that he by all accounts has run the sleaziest campaign in the history of the presidency, that George Will called him a "drama queen", and that Republican columnist after Republican columnist is saying that he is a bad choice. The only one who seems to love him now is George W. Bush and his bevy of political hacks.
Then outline the candidate's vision. A return to government of the people, by the people, for the people as it was in the beginning. Obama is the most apt continuation, the necessary step after eight years of the Bush presidency which began with an all out power grab after Bush lost by a million in the popular vote.
If done right, McCain should be in panic mode by the end of the first debate. But keep your cool even if he isn't. Keep your eyes on the prize which all of us are going to share in with his defeat.
It is obvious that McCain is quaking in his boots. Should the debate be cancelled as he asks to face the national emergency?
First, Obama should remind the world that a week ago McCain was telling everyone that the economy was doing just fine. Obama himself was reminding everyone of the danger we face and working on it with members of Congress. For McCain to be suddenly worrying about the economy after telling everyone things were all right stinks of panic. We can't afford to have a president like that. It's clear that he just wants the presidency and will say anything to get it.
Second, Obama should insist on the debates. We need not only think about the present but also about the future. Who will lead us? Voters deserve to know. If McCain backs out, remind him that he was insisting on some kind of confrontation between the candidates all along. What is this about backing out at the last minute? Again, the word is panic.
Third, prepare a flip-flop commercial and get it out fast. McCain says this, McCain says that. Also point out McCain's ties to the people who engineered this little disaster. Is he really ready to listen to the other side or is this just a political photo opportunity?
Fourth, if you decide to go, say that you will go to Washington with Joe Biden provided that Sarah Palin comes, too. She has to sit in any boring sessions that the rest of you have to sit in. You may wish to send Biden in alone or not go at all.
Fifth, remind folks that McCain has not shown up for a single vote all year.
Sixth, keep up the attacks on McCain's economic program and on his foreign policy, too. Keep saying that it is time for change, not McSame. McCain will attempt to say that this is a fifty-fifty deal between Wall Street and the American People. Point out that Wall Street is a very tiny part of the nation's population which has been left to get its way all the time for a long time now. They want a fast decision which smacks of Bushism. Say this as you already have.
Sam Harris confronts Sarah Palin supporters' insistance that what America needs in the presidency is an ordinary person:
What is so unnerving about the candidacy of Sarah Palin is the degree to which she represents--and her supporters celebrate--the joyful marriage of confidence and ignorance. Watching her deny to Gibson that she had ever harbored the slightest doubt about her readiness to take command of the world's only superpower, one got the feeling that Palin would gladly assume any responsibility on earth: "Governor Palin, are you ready at this moment to perform surgery on this child's brain?" "Of course, Charlie. I have several boys of my own, and I'm an avid hunter." "But governor, this is neurosurgery, and you have no training as a surgeon of any kind." "That's just the point, Charlie. The American people want change in how we make medical decisions in this country. And when faced with a challenge, you cannot blink." The prospects of a Palin administration are far more frightening, in fact, than those of a Palin Institute for Pediatric Neurosurgery. Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth--in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated.
I'm a little bothered that Newsweek put this under the headline "An Atheist Attacks" when all this represents is good common sense for the most part. There is no necessity to identify a critic's religious persuasion or lack of it when the article does not dwell on religious issues but the greater ideals of reason. I sense a poison pill which will prevent many people from reading these words or, worse, an atheist who naively thinks that he will gain some converts by it.
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The Paul Wellstone mental health parity bill which is now before Congress has been endorsed by the National Association for the Mentally Ill and the Mental Health Association on the theory that something is better than nothing. Our candidate has endorsed it. Our opposition, Mean John McCain, has not endorsed nor authored any parity bill so we can assume he opposes the concept.
Parity means that the so-called "mental illnesses" will be treated like "physical" ones. Because illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, autism, and schizophrenia have been shown to have organic components and new information is coming in about borderline disorder and other so-called "personality disorders", the line between "mental" and "physical" is disappearing. Diseases that afflict thinking and emotions are no different from those that afflict other aspects of our metabolism. That insurance companies will freely dispense medications for the colon while refusing to pay for lithium and similar drugs says a great deal about their priorities.
Three purposes underline the struggle for parity:
Opponents of parity claim without any facts that parity will dramatically raise health costs. Studies conducted in states with full parity and the federal health system show that the rise in costs is no more than 1%. Parity also helps lower costs by seeing that workers receive appropriate care and, therefore, are more productive and spend less time taking off from work.
So the Wellstone bill is a great step. But it is misleading. Having been through many years of Republican rewrites, the bill as it now stands might undermine the objectives. The insurance industry, in particular, has been against parity and has dispatched their lobbyists to Washington to amend the bill so that it contains certain flaws that will make the situation of persons with "mental" disorders worse:
Paul Wellstone meant so much more when he sponsored the original bill. The current act makes discrimination more a part of our daily life. It would behoove Obama if he were to repudiate it and call for a real parity law that dispenses with these loopholes. If the current version of the Wellstone Act were enacted, my wife and I could find ourselves saddled with hundreds if not thousands of dollars in prescription drug expenses. I could be forced to drop certain effective medicines and be put in the dangerous position having to find cheaper, less effective substitutes. During this time, the changes could precipitate an episode which could destroy the peace of mind of my family and my own safety.
I cannot stand by while an ersatz parity bill becomes the law of the land. I believe that Obama wants better and I call on him to take a hard look at the current bill. Note that while NAMI and MHA support the bill, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance which includes former Kings County Commissioner Randy Revelle does not for the reasons I have cited. Parity must be the law of the land for everyone: we can afford no loopholes. Worse than nothing is not better than nothing.
The time is coming to take the high road. John McCain continues to require outing as a mean man who will deepen the rifts between Americans just to win. But in my recent travels around the country, I found something in the minds of his supporters that needs attention: the idea that people who support Obama are unAmerican and nasty.
To tell you the truth, as a blogger, I have every idea where this came from. A few of us can't keep the eye on the prize. But the majority of us -- the swell of people who made this miracle happen -- are different. Honor them in an ad.
Who are Obama's supporters? it might ask. They are Americans -- fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, veterans,m volunteers, church-goers, scientists, people who are special, just like you. Then a clip where Obama talks about bringing people together.
One might also focus ads on the McCain campaigns unoriginality. The Republicans now say that they are for change, but they've had eight years to make those changes and where are we? War, a massive debt, etc. Then after once more driving home the "90% with George Bush", you can finish with a fading of the word "McSame" to McCain and "Change" to Obama.
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Hi Friends,
Get ready for our Starlight Photography for Change event. We have several sign ups but can certainly accomodate more. I want to raise as much money as possible for our cause, as this thing is heating up. I can't understand why some folks are so unsure about this decision. This election is not about personality at all, it is about our future. It's way bigger than McCain, Palin, Biden or even Obama. It's about changing our course in America. We need so much work to be done on behalf of our infrastructure, early education, healthcare, environmental crisis and preparing our youth to deal with the future by offering them affordable college education and green jobs.
The privatization of banking systems, loan institutions, mental health facilities, school systems and natural resource allowcation, has left most of us reeling. We can all feel the shift of security, away from the majority of Americans to the wealthy few. The people who cry the loudest about not wanting change are the ones who have the most to lose. The rest of us should be praying and screaming for our leaders to step up and reclaim our country in the interest of all, not just a few powerful citizens. That's my rant for today. t
John McCain has given up honor for the sake of winning this election no matter what. Since hiring wienie king and Bush confidant Karl Rove, the conduct of his campaign has grown progressively more mean and false. His reasons are simple: Obama has him nailed on the Republican screw-the-middle-and-working-classes and on the background of his vice presidential pick. He has to reach out and put into the public's mind a truly horrifying image of Obama, one that is both racially and sexually tainted. So he has come out and accused Obama of something akin to pedophilia.
We know the truth. Obama sponsored a measure designed to help kids identify sexual predators. To oppose this measure is to leave children defenseless, ignorant of those who might harm them. It is to help the pedophile.
I would not go about this by accusing John McCain of endorsing pedophilia. But a president does not lead by saying what is not true about his opponents. What we have here is a character issue. Where Obama and Biden are sticking to the facts, McCain and Palin have to make stuff up out of whole cloth.
The way to hit him is to point out the lie. Mean John McCain is cornered on the truth, one can argue, so he has to resort to falsehoods. A clever ad playing on this theme is needed soon. (Think of Jessie Ventura's "Ventura vs. the Special Interests ad that won him the governorship of Minnesota. Humor helps.) Continue to promote Obama's campaign of hope and change. Continue to point out the past that McCain and Palin are trying to hide. But make Karl Rove a campaign issue so that every time McCain launches one of these ads, we can nod and say "uh-huh. See what I mean? There you go again." The last few words served Ronald Reagan well in the debates against Carter.
Obama stands for protecting the middle and working classes against the attacks of the wolves of the minute wealthy class in our country. Unlike us, they don't risk their whole lives when they invest -- they have made sure that when everyone else takes a loss in one of their schemes, they don't. When we complain about them and their lifestyles, they call it "class warfare". Let it be so. There has been class warfare being waged on the middle and working classes for the many years of Republican rule. There has also been division, a country that is falling apart for the sake of the hubris of the few. There's a commercial, too: show the country falling to pieces as John McCain continues the Bush legacy.
The ads show that his character is lacking.
Voted 90% of the time with Bush. We know he hates this line because it is true. The trick is to hold him accountable and to point out that he doesn't care what harm he does by these commercials. John McCain is bad for America. Saying that just as plainly is a good idea.
Softhearted Democrats are going to panic: John McCain has all but accused Obama of child abuse.
There's a lot to chew on here. But we want to focus on one particularly pernicious aspect of it. The ad shows a dreamy-looking Obama as it says:
Obama's one accomplishment? Legislation to teach "comprehensive sex education" to kindergartners. Learning about sex before learning to read?In a final moment of subtlety, the ad says Obama is "wrong for your family."
The Obama/Biden campaign now needs to take off the gloves and hit hard with Truth as they have been doing. John McCain has disgraced the heroism of which he is so proud. In his desperation to win at all costs, he has hired Bush's principle smearmaster, Karl Rove, and published lie upon lie. When a man wants to win this much, be careful, very careful.
The rest of us must not panic. This is to be expected and there will be more. Make McCain's attacks an issue. Do we want another president who lies and antagonizes those who do not agree with him? Hit again and again.
And watch those daytime slots. He's buying them up now. Use the Contact Us button to express your concern about this to the Obama campaign. See: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/new_mccain_ad_badly_distorts_o_1.php
Here Palin is caught in the act of supporting the Bridge to Nowhere.
Yes, she changed her mind, but what did she do with the money that had been earmarked for it? Kept it and used it for other pork.
The Obama campaign is falling back on losing formulae. I didn't spend several months supporting him only to see him choke when the McCain/Palin ticket brought out its harshest weapons. You've got to fight back. And you have to keep the rhetoric simple.
Here's a comment from a Huffington Post columnist:
Obama's basic message is that John McCain is a good person who has same policy positions as George Bush. Biden's basic message is that Sarah Palin is a good and "smart, smart, smart, smart, smart" and "tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough" [I may have miscounted] woman who has the same policy positions is George Bush.The message itself is flawed on multiple levels. In particular, because it simply isn't true, it gives the GOP a free pass to keep lying over and over again. Second, it is weak and wonkish (yes, I know that is redundant, but Obama apparently doesn't), and the public naturally prefers tough, tough, tough and attacking.Neither McCain nor Palin are "good people" as most Americans use the term. They are serial liars who have invented phony positive stories about themselves and phony negative ones about Obama.
We, your supporters, like your message of change. But John McCain and Sarah Palin are no goody-goods. They are mean and nasty. And as Senator Schurmer undoubtably told you, you can't let that go unchallenged.
So stop running like you're John Kerry. That doesn't work. Hit them hard for not talking issues. Never again bring up John McCain's time in the Hanoi Hilton. When Palin cries sexism, tell her that women as well as men who run in politics have to be in the oven before they get the frosting. Show that you are versatile.
And stop waiting for a week or more to answer their attacks. Hit them right away. And hit them so hard that all they can do is answer your attacks. Don't assume that everyone knows McCain's defects. Tell them.
And keep the message simple. That bit that you released about the Fannie Mae's is turgid. Stop being a wonk and be a citizen.
I'll vote for you any way, but I am thinking about everyone else. Repeat after me: John McCain is not a nice man. He is divisive. He makes Americans hate other Americans. Let's put a stop to that.
Ref: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-romm/obama-and-biden-go-back-t_b_124788.html
The thought of (McCain) being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.Senator Thad Cochran, Republican, Mississippi
Today it has come out that John McCain pushed a woman in a wheelchair back in 1996. This is yet another tale in the many about his temper. Many who have worked with him have said "It's his way or no way". His classmates used to call him McNasty.
It's fair play to bring up these issues because McCain himself insists that he is in control of his temper. But pushing a woman in a wheelchair does not sound like a man who is in control. And shouldn't we care when the button that launches the bomb is involved?
McCain may have a partial defense. He spent 5 1/2 years in the Hanoi Hilton, two of them being tortured. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is certainly a relic of such treatment. But shouldn't a man of character with this condition recuse himself rather than subject the nation to the uncertainties of the disorder? It is one thing to be a senator with PTSD, but quite another to be a president.
Barbara Boxer has pointed out the difference one sees in Barack Obama: when under the most horrendous attack by the most vitriolic right winger, he stays "cool as a cucumber". We need a man like this as our commander in chief. McCain just carries too much baggage, loaded with dynamite.
