I really hope the campaign will stand up and get much tougher right now that the McCain camp has resorted to lies and distortions of the truth! We must not let this election get away from us like Carl Rove and Rush Limbaugh did to John Kerry in 2004! It is honorable to be nice and play above board and run a clean election but the cold hard facts is that dirt stains! It is time to expose John McCain as the corrupt politician that he really is! It is time to bring up his past with the Savings and Loan Scandal and how he was not indicted for participation in that because of the judge messing up the jury instructions! It is true that John McCain served his country honorably but he has served himself and taken advantage of his office with the shady real estate deals with Charles Keating. History will show that John McCain can not be trusted. He wasn't one of the famed "Keating Five" for being a nice person!
Sarah Paulin is nothing but a big liar like her running mate John McCain. She is such a phony and I hope that she will be exposed to the American people before we get to vote. She is a big hypocrite. John McCain did pick a good match for him as she is a lot like him. I dread that if she ever became president of this great nation what would happen with her in charge! I live in Wallingford CT which is about 9 times bigger than the tiny Alaskan town that she was "mayor" of. Hardly credentials to try to run this great country. She portrayed herself as a conservative protecting the taxpayers money by "rejecting the bridge" but actually kept the money. She has lied to everybody that her firing of the Alaskan official was not in any way connected to her bad feelings toward her sisters ex-husband! I hope that the investigation in Alaska is completed before the election so the American people can see how she lied!
I just hope that in the next 7 weeks that Americans wake up and take a really good look at these candidates and see that the only real choice for America is the Obama-Biden ticket! Let's get this country back to being a respected nation again! Gary Nilson Wallingford CT
Don't let the Republicans get away with what they did in 2000 and 2004. They lied, intimidated and stole their way into the White House and the Democrates did nothing to fight back. It is time for Obama and Biden to GET TOUGH AND DON'T TAKE NO BULL!!
Go after McCain and Palin - This woman is un-American. She wished to make Alaska independent. Why? She is under investigation for misusing Government funds. She is scary and very dangereous. McCain should have thought this one through, and it looks like he didn't.
I'm from Calif and now live in the UK with my English wife - I will be voting for Obama - many of our neighbors and associates would also vote for him if they could. People in Europe look at McCain and see just another Bush and they don't like him.
Democrated need to fight for this one and not let the Republicans get away with any of the lies and stories.. Get tough with them. Please do not let them get away with things like they did in the last two elections. Fight, please fight. America needs to heal, and it can not do that if they stay in power. People must see that if McCain Palin is elected it would be deseasterous not only for the US but for many other countries around the world.
My vote is for Obama and Biden.
GET TOUGH AND STAY TOUGH!!!!!
TD
If John McCain can win this election race with a 50-pound ball called “George W. Bush” wrapped around one ankle and a 50-pound ball called “The U.S. Economy” wrapped around the other, then he deserves to represent America in the next Olympics in any race he wants — swimming, cycling or track — I don’t care how old he is. He would be the Michael Phelps of politics.
Thomas L. Friedman
Share your thoughts on this op-ed column.
I confess, I watch politics from afar, but here’s what I’ve been feeling for a while: Whoever slipped that Valium into Barack Obama’s coffee needs to be found and arrested by the Democrats because Obama has gone from cool to cold.
Somebody needs to tell Obama that if he wants the chance to calmly answer the phone at 3 a.m. in the White House, he is going to need to start slamming down some phones at 3 p.m. along the campaign trail. I like much of what he has to say, especially about energy, but I don’t think people are feeling it in their guts, and I am a big believer that voters don’t listen through their ears. They listen through their stomachs.
If you as a politician connect with voters on a gut level, they will follow you anywhere and not fret about the details. If you don’t connect with them on a gut level, you can’t show them enough details. Obama early on, and particularly with young people, connected on a gut level like no other politician since Ronald Reagan.
But in recent weeks, I feel as though he has lost that gut connection. I thought his convention speech contained no memorable lines or uplifting visions. It never got me out of my seat. Forget trashing McCain’s ideas. If Obama wants to rally his base, he has to be more passionate about his own ideas. I have long felt that what propelled Obama early was the fact that many Americans understand in their guts that we need a change, but the change we need is to focus on nation-building at home. We’re in decline. We need to get back to work on our country. And that is going to require strong, smart government.
Who is bailing out Fannie Mae? Who is going to build a new energy system? Health care? More tax cuts are not going to do it. But I am just not sure that Obama is making the sale that he has the plan and passion to unite and mobilize the country for this task.
In a way, I would love to hear Obama say, just for shock value: “I am so eager to do whatever it takes to fix these problems that I am ready to be a one-term president. Mine will not be a presidency that is confined to the first 100 days. But that is what we have fallen into, folks. The first 100 days have become the only 100 days. Once they are over, presidents are told that they have to trim their sails to get ready for the midterm elections, and once the midterms are over they are told that they have to trim their sails and get ready for the next presidential election. We can’t solve our problems with a government of 100 days. I am going to work the hard problems the hard way for 1,461 days.”
I don’t know how long or high the “Sarah Palin bounce” will go, but I would take her very seriously as a politician. She may not know nuclear deterrence theory, but she can deliver a line. “I think there are a lot of women out there that look at her, holding her baby, talking about being a hockey mom, and say, ‘She knows what I feel; she’s going through what I am going through,’ ” remarked leadership expert John Maxwell.
As Neil Oxman, political consultant at The Campaign Group, put it to me: For half the country, “Sarah Palin is Roseanne from the ‘Roseanne’ show. ‘Roseanne’ was the No. 1 comedy five years in a row and seven out of nine in the top 10.” She is connecting at a gut level. So does McCain — and, therefore, they don’t need to give their constituents many details.
This race has a long way to go. It is still Obama’s election to lose. But Obama got where he is today by defining himself as the agent of change and by defining change as the issue in this election. McCain, with Palin’s help, has once again not only made Obama’s experience an issue, but has now moved in on Obama’s strength and tried to define the G.O.P. ticket as the party of “change.”
How, you ask, can two people running with the exact same policies as the party that has been in power for eight years, claim to be the agents of “change?” That’s politics. There’s no shame. But what this has done is to make the word “change” as a campaign slogan meaningless. Obama will need to find another way to connect his ideas — clearly, crisply and passionately.
Because, while the pollsters tell us it is still really close, my own totally unscientific, seat of the pants poll tells me this: When you say Obama’s name today and ask people for their first impression — a quick, flash, gut, first impression — no single word or phrase or policy comes to mind. His opponents will fill that vacuum if he doesn’t. They already are.
This was an interesting article and even more interesting responses. I must say that I favor a few comments from the link. I will post them here. What do you think? And how do you feel? Why don't we see more mistakes McCain makes on television? Why are they not reporting his flaws?
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/obama_campaign_hits_mccain_ira.php
Some of my favorite comments from the above link...
A press release won't do. Voters aren't reporters. They need a response ad.
Here's my suggestion:
1. "John McCain thinks he can mislead you with dishonorable attacks while Barack Obama is away meeting with America's allies." 2. "What John McCain isn't telling you is that he has repeatedly voted against funding for our soldiers and veterans. He even voted against the new GI Bill that would help our brave men and women train for new jobs."3. "And while Obama was attending full committee hearings on the war in Afghanistan, John McCain skipped every single one of his hearings to campaign for president."4. "After eight years of dishonesty, it's time for some real straight talk. Barack Obama has a plan to work together with our commanders on the ground to get our troops home by 2010. He's leading the way forward on Afghanistan, believing we need to end the distractions and take the fight to Al Qaeda's own backyard."5. "John McCain only wants to continue with the policies of George W. Bush. Is it any wonder why he doesn't want to tell it straight?"[cue footage of McCain and Bush hugging]
2. "What John McCain isn't telling you is that he has repeatedly voted against funding for our soldiers and veterans. He even voted against the new GI Bill that would help our brave men and women train for new jobs."
3. "And while Obama was attending full committee hearings on the war in Afghanistan, John McCain skipped every single one of his hearings to campaign for president."
4. "After eight years of dishonesty, it's time for some real straight talk. Barack Obama has a plan to work together with our commanders on the ground to get our troops home by 2010. He's leading the way forward on Afghanistan, believing we need to end the distractions and take the fight to Al Qaeda's own backyard."
5. "John McCain only wants to continue with the policies of George W. Bush. Is it any wonder why he doesn't want to tell it straight?"[cue footage of McCain and Bush hugging]
The corresponding points:1) McCain is dishonorable, a mis-leader, maybe even cowardly.2) McCain is a hypocrite, doesn't care about veterans and he doesn't think about the economy they're returning to.3) McCain is a hypocrite and blindly ambitious, while Obama is responsible and engaged.4) Obama is the real straight-talker, he's got plans and wants to kick bin Laden's ass.5) McCain isn't honest, he wants to be just like Bush, he doesn't talk straight, he might even be a little fruity for him.
If I had his job, I'd do a point-by-point takedown of the ad.1. Barack Obama has attended multiple Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Afganistan, while John McCain was absent for every single one.2. He was in Iraq 2 years ago.3. John McCain also voted against funding when it was attached to a timetable for withdrawal.4. Obama's consistent, unflinching position: "1-2 brigades per month, 16 months."5. John McCain voted against funding our veterans medical care. He also opposed the new GI bill and failed to even show up to vote on it.
Can't wait for the Obama attack ads which will use "social security is a disgrace" and America is a "nation of whiners" and we are in a "mental recession".
I actually don't think that that McCain attack ad is that good. It definitely could have been far worse. I actually think that it is a little wimpy.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1386357098/bctid1522775495
Clinton trash talks like a boxer at weigh in. If that's the kind of toughness you admire, then vote for Hillary.I believe in a different kind of toughness. We need a candidate tough enough to say no to war when all around him are baying for blood. We need a candidate tough enough to tell us the truth rather than peddle the easy lie. We need a candidate tough enough to follow in the footsteps of America's great soldier and president Dwight D. Eisenhower who said "There is no nation, great or small, with which we would refuse to negotiate, in mutual good faith, with patience and in the determination to secure a better understanding between us. Out of such understandings must, and eventually will, grow confidence and trust......"That's why I support Barack Obama.
Who will tell the people?
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
..Much nonsense has been written about how Hillary Clinton is “toughening up” Barack Obama so he’ll be tough enough to withstand Republican attacks. Sorry, we don’t need a president who is tough enough to withstand the lies of his opponents. We need a president who is tough enough to tell the truth to the American people. Any one of the candidates can answer the Red Phone at 3 a.m. in the White House bedroom. I’m voting for the one who can talk straight to the American people on national TV — at 8 p.m. — from the White House East Room...
So much has been said about Hillary Clinton’s toughness and resilience. As I have watched her, I have been impressed by those characteristics of her nature. She doesn’t give up in a fight and I do admire that about her. Yet I do also see that that is one of her great weaknesses as well. Knowing how to continue the fight and when to continue are some of the marks of great wisdom. I did not see her exhibit great wisdom during her and Bill’s fight to refuse admitting his infidelity while President. There was a lot of toughness and legalese but not a lot of consideration for what the country was going through. And now, the methods she employs for attacking Obama also show the same toughness but not a lot of consideration for what it is doing to the Democratic Party. I would never advise her give up the fight if she wants to continue, but how you fight the big fight is of supreme importance. Should she become President, I fear that we will be put through the same treatment. She will be tough, but not considerate of the larger picture.
What I see in Obama is TRUE STRENGTH. Even when the campaign gets tough, he won't immediately do what would be politically expedient. His speech on race has been characterized as being brave and courageous. That characterization is incomplete. It was the depth of his inner strength, wisdom and trust in the American people (that they would understand a complicated talk and not just simple sound bites) at gave him the ability to be brave and courageous. He stayed true to who he was and what he believed in.
Even his recent denunciation of Rev. Wright showed this. After the National Press Conference spectacle, I expected Obama to say either nothing or to come out and thump the podium using a loud voice that would in no uncertain terms have distanced himself from the offensive comments of Rev. Wright. But he didn’t do that. He came out and expressed himself in calm, measured tones that showed, not only how deeply he was offended by Wright’s comments but also his sadness that an old friend would do such a thing. It was not a showy display of offended righteousness. Obama’s character apparently does not need to do that. Obama’s calm, measured response was real.
Authenticity means not just knowing who you are (as Clinton has stated in the past as being the source of her ability to withstand attacks) but being who you are. This means not doing the fakey photo ops that I see Clinton choreographing for herself, like the gasoline pumping thing. Obama keeps his photo ops as real as he is.
Finally, this whole fight is come down to who is more “electable.” The truth is that both candidates will have a tough fight in their hands. But I know and believe that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be a far better and more competent president than McCain, who knows nothing about the economy and whose Cold War Era mentality thinks that 100 years in Iraq is the same as 100 years in Japan.
The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting article on Mrs. Clinton's fight-for-the-sake-of-fighting attitude that I mentioned yesterday. It's that attitude, her seeming inability to distinguish between measured political battles and destructive all-out warfare, that makes me certain I do not want Mrs. Clinton as my president. To read the full article, please follow this link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120241915915951669.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
My favorite lines came at the end of the article, one from the reporter:
One part of the Clinton mystique maintains: Deep down journalists think she's a political Rasputin who will not be dispatched. Prince Yusupov served him cupcakes laced with cyanide, emptied a revolver, clubbed him, tied him up and threw him in a frozen river. When he floated to the surface they found he'd tried to claw his way from under the ice. That is how reporters see Hillary.
Another quote came from a commentary:
Mrs. Clinton would be easier for Republicans. With her cavalcade of scandals, they'd be delighted to go at her. They'd get medals for it. Consultants would get rich on it.
The Democrats have it exactly wrong. Hillary is the easier candidate, Mr. Obama the tougher. Hillary brings negative; it's fair to hit her back with negative. Mr. Obama brings hope, and speaks of a better way. He's not Bambi, he's bulletproof.
The biggest problem for the Republicans will be that no matter what they say that is not issue oriented--"He's too young, he's never run anything, he's not fully baked"--the mainstream media will tag them as dealing in racial overtones, or undertones. You can bet on this. Go to the bank on it.
The Democrats continue not to recognize what they have in this guy. Believe me, Republican professionals know. They can tell.
Let's all hope the Democratic Party and the Super Delegates wake up and smell the coffee.
BARACK I BEG OF YOU BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE......GO AFTER THAN WOMAN IN THE DEBATES! YOU SHOW ALL THE PASSION IN THE WORLD GIVING OUR SPEECHES BUT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE YOU GET TOUGH ON HER! SHE HAS SO MUCH BAGGAGE AND FLIP FLOPS GO AFTER HER! IF YOU DONT YOU WILL GET MOWED DOWN BY THE CLINTON MACHINE! IF YOU ATTACK HER SHE WILL CRY AND THEN YOU ATTACK HER CRYING THAT SHE NEEDS TO BE A STRONG PERSON IN ORDER TO RUN THE COUNTRY ..... APPEAL TO THE HEARTS OF THIS COUNTRY THAT HATED THE CLINTONS WHEN THEY LEFT BECAUSE OF THE MORALS .... NAFTA.... I MEAN THE 8 YEARS SINCE THEY WERE IN OFFICE THE POLICIES THEY LEFT IN EFFECT AND STARTED ARE WHAT IS TEARING THIS COUNTRY APART IN THE ECONOMICS........ DON'T LET HER MOW YOU OVER! SHE IS HITTING YOU ON ISSUES AND YOU DONT STRIKE BACK......STRIKE FIRST.......STRIKE FIRST........
TALK ABOUT THE CHILDREN IN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND THE LEGACY THAT WAS LEFT AFTER THEIR REIGN IN THE FACT THAT OUR YOUNG GIRLS ARE HAVING ORAL SEX AND BELIEVING IT IS OK AND THAT IT IS OK TO BE CALLED HO'S AND SUCH BY THE BOYS AND LAUGH AT IT! THE MORALS ARE GONE AND THAT WENT WITH THE CLINTONS........ PLEASE GET TOUGH!
STAND UP FIRST AND ATTACK.......... THE WOMEN WILL NOT ABANDONED YOU IF YOU SHOW THEM WHY OUR KIDS ARE ACTING OUT YOUNGER AND YOUNGER IN THE WAY THEY ARE!
GET TOUGH ON NAFTA AND WHO SET THAT INTO EFFECT
GET TOUGH ON HOW YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE ECONOMY
GET TOUGH ON THEIR MORALS
GET TOUGH ON HER PERIOD IN THE DEBATES! SHE WILL GET FRUSTRATED AND START SHRILLING
GET TOUGHER BARACK IT WONT CHANGE WHO YOU ARE!
AND GET A HOLD OF EDWARDS TO GET HIS VOTE BASE!
GOD BLESS AND PLEASE, GET TOUGHER!
THE CLINTONS ARE MEAN MACHINES ..........
DONT GO TO THEIR LEVEL BUT MAKE PEOPLE REMEMBER THEIR LEVELS!
GO OBAMA
