Friday, October 10, 2008

10 Oct 2008 03:21 pm

One More Time

Chris Buckley:

John McCain has changed. He said, famously, apropos the Republican debacle post-1994, “We came to Washington to change it, and Washington changed us.” This campaign has changed John McCain. It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget “by the end of my first term.” Who, really, believes that? Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis. His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?

10 Oct 2008 03:07 pm

Barone On Obama's Ground Game

Sean Quinn is incredulous.

10 Oct 2008 03:02 pm

Don't Fear The Dow

Manzi says to worry about the TED Spread:

We’ve injected so much debt into the system over the past decade that not only can’t we borrow our way out of the consequences of the real estate bubble popping, but we’re going to have to start paying off a lot of the existing debt in the face of a poor economy. What Paulson and Bernanke are doing is to make this adjustment only painful instead of catastrophic.

10 Oct 2008 02:57 pm

An Appeal To McCain

From a former supporter:

John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who put principle ahead of mere political gain. You have changed. You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate.

Continue reading "An Appeal To McCain" »

10 Oct 2008 02:38 pm

Another Breakthrough For Civil Rights

The text of today's decision in Connecticut in full after the jump:

Continue reading "Another Breakthrough For Civil Rights" »

10 Oct 2008 02:25 pm

Rove's Legacy

Ezra, commenting on Brooks, neatly sums up the demographic challenges facing Republicans:

As for the educated class, that's an interesting question. Much like with the conservative wing's mistrust of Hispanics, it's a policy that might have seemed electorally wise a couple years ago but is growing more questionable with every passing election. At some point, the demographic trends predicted by The Emerging Democratic Majority's will reach sufficient maturity and the GOP's decades-long effort to drive away the educated and young and the different is going to leave them making ever more exclusionary appeals to an ever smaller slice of the electorate.

What Rove never realized is that many of us fought hard for intellectual and moral respect for conservatism in college and grad school, only to have our efforts turned into a joke by the crassness of the Party Of Rove. There were only a few self-described conservatives at Harvard when I was there, and I spent a great deal of time losing friends, breaking up dinners, offending professors because I was a) right of center and b) obviously academically serious. And now I'm supposed to defend Sarah Palin? As vice-president? I mean: seriously?

10 Oct 2008 02:19 pm

A Buckley For Obama

Et tu, Chris? The ranks of thinking conservatives in revolt against the Palin farce are swelling. But how telling that Christopher Buckley cannot write this endorsement in National Review. And how telling the reason he provides as to why:

As for Kathleen, she has to date received 12,000 (quite literally) foam-at-the-mouth hate-emails. One correspondent, if that’s quite the right word, suggested that Kathleen’s mother should have aborted her and tossed the fetus into a Dumpster.

The pro-life right unplugged.

10 Oct 2008 02:01 pm

Raping Indy

Drudge asks if South Park went too far this week. Nah. I was in denial about "The Crystal Skull" until that episode. Now I understand. I can't keep the flashbacks from coming into my head. And it's rough. It creeps up on you. You can suppress the memory of witnessing rape for only so long ... and then ... sorry ... I have to sto

10 Oct 2008 01:52 pm

Who Is Sarah Palin?

And what does she actually believe? And who were her first supporters? There is one candidate in this election that we still know very little about: the one who, for the first time in modern political history, refuses to hold a press conference in a national campaign. Max Blumenthal explores Palin's strong connections to the armed far right:

Palin backed [former Alaska Independence party chairman, Mark] Chryson as he successfully advanced a host of anti-tax, pro-gun initiatives, including one that altered the state Constitution’s language to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. She joined in their vendetta against several local officials they disliked, and listened to their advice about hiring. She attempted to name Stoll, a John Birch Society activist known in the Mat-Su Valley as “Black Helicopter Steve,” to an empty Wasilla City Council seat. “Every time I showed up her door was open,” said Chryson. “And that policy continued when she became governor.” ...

Continue reading "Who Is Sarah Palin?" »

10 Oct 2008 01:46 pm

Quote For The Day

"He is not the McCain I endorsed," - Former Michigan Gov. William Milliken.

(Hat tip: Goddard)

10 Oct 2008 01:29 pm

Off Topic

Fallows connects the financial crisis to the election:

...the United States is near a moment of fundamental political choice. To have the discussion distracted by -- well, it would be nice to be even-handed about this, but the truth is that the distraction has been 99% from the McCain side, with the ongoing crap about the Weathermen in the 1960s -- is suicidal. A few weeks ago Senator McCain "suspended" his campaign because of what now seems a mild early phase of the financial crisis. Maybe he and Barack Obama could agree over the weekend to suspend discussion of any topic other than avoiding real economic devastation for the time being, at a minimum until their debate next week on economics.

10 Oct 2008 01:14 pm

Yglesias Award Nominee

"Here's a newsbreak: Disagreeing with the Bush administration on a handful of issues (often the wrong ones, in McCain's case) doesn't make you a maverick, it makes you an average American. And, sadly, the second debate proved that McCain would be incapable of making his party's philosophical or political case even if he genuinely tried," - David Harsanyi, Denver Post.

10 Oct 2008 12:51 pm

Through Nietzsche To Eliot ...

... and beyond. One young woman's path to conservatism as a serious political philosophy. Yes, there's intellectual hope for the right. It will have to come out of the ashes of our current moment. And it will start with essays like this one.

10 Oct 2008 12:43 pm

All About The Walk

Harry Shearer explains how Obama's cat moves contrast with McCain as a possum. It's the only known analysis of the McCain-Obama race that concludes with an imitation of a possum being tasered.

10 Oct 2008 12:37 pm

The Kristol-Palin Connection

She was his creation, in many ways: a "project" to be controlled and exploited.

10 Oct 2008 12:20 pm

Reality Check

Indiana:

10 Oct 2008 12:12 pm

Happy Homeowners

Rob Horning has a good primer on homeownership and the current crisis.

10 Oct 2008 11:56 am

Marriage Equality In A Third State

Connecticut just joined Massachusetts and California in granting gay couples the same rights and responsibilities as straight couples under the law:

The court ruled 4-3 Friday that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Justices overturned a lower court ruling and ordered that court to find in favor of the plaintiffs.

10 Oct 2008 11:42 am

The Mob, II

Jonathan Martin reports on the McCain crowds:

John Weaver, McCain’s former top strategist, said top Republicans have a responsibility to temper this behavior.

“People need to understand, for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society, the differences with Sen. Obama are ideological, based on clear differences on policy and a lack of experience compared to Sen. McCain,” Weaver said. “And from a purely practical political vantage point, please find me a swing voter, an undecided independent, or a torn female voter that finds an angry mob mentality attractive.”

“Sen. Obama is a classic liberal with an outdated economic agenda. We should take that agenda on in a robust manner. As a party we should not and must not stand by as the small amount of haters in our society question whether he is as American as the rest of us. Shame on them and shame on us if we allow this to take hold.”

10 Oct 2008 11:29 am

The Forces McCain Is Toying With

Coates sees the danger.

10 Oct 2008 11:23 am

The Unserious Candidate

Ross points out the stupidity of McCain's Ayers attack:

At this point, the McCain camp seems to be taking its cues more from the liberal caricature of past conservative campaigns - that they've all been fundamentally unserious exercises in culture-war button-pushing - than from the campaigns themselves. It's as though they're being paid under the table by Thomas Frank to goose his book sales and vindicate his thesis.

Maybe that's why they haven't put any money behind the ads.

10 Oct 2008 11:19 am

Is McCain Serious About The Ayers Attack?

Nah. What is he serious about?

10 Oct 2008 11:15 am

The Class War

David Brooks's column column tackles Republican anti-intellectualism. His bottom-line:

...the G.O.P. is squeezed at both ends. The party is losing the working class by sins of omission — because it has not developed policies to address economic anxiety. It has lost the educated class by sins of commission — by telling members of that class to go away.

Jeffrey Goldberg defends Brooks from charges of dishonesty.

10 Oct 2008 11:14 am

The Mob

Joe Klein is uneasy:

...we are on the edge of some real serious craziness here and it would be nice if McCain did the right thing and told his more bloodthirsty supporters to go home and take a cold shower. But McCain hasn't done the right thing all year. His campaign is appalling, as the New York Times editorial board said today--and more, it is a national disgrace.

Amen.

10 Oct 2008 11:13 am

Global Lame Duck

Canadian politics isn't so different after-all:

And here's another Canadian ad featuring Bush, this one in French.

(Hat tip: Yglesias)

10 Oct 2008 09:52 am

Kaus On Palin

Hitting hard:

Does McCain like Palin? I don't think we know. ... If he doesn't like her, and just picked her for tactical reasons, she might play only a minimal role in a McCain presidency.

You ever wonder why Mickey never mentions the National Enquirer any more?

10 Oct 2008 09:19 am

The Dangerous Panic On The Far Right

To some, a president Obama is simply unimaginable. From a McCain supporter in Wisconsin yesterday:

"We're all wondering why Obama is where he's at. How he got here. Everybody in this room is stunned we're in this position."

There was always going to be a point of revolt and panic for a core group of Americans who believe that Obama simply cannot be president - because he's black or liberal or young or relatively new. This is that point. As the polls suggest a strong victory, the Hannity-Limbaugh-Steyn-O'Reilly base are going into shock and extreme rage. McCain and Palin have decided to stoke this rage, to foment it, to encourage paranoid notions that somehow Obama is a "secret" terrorist or Islamist or foreigner. These are base emotions in both sense of the word.

But they are also very very dangerous. This is a moment of maximal physical danger for the young Democratic nominee. And McCain is playing with fire. If he really wants to put country first, he will attack Obama on his policies - not on these inflammatory, personal, creepy grounds. This is getting close to the atmosphere stoked by the Israeli far right before the assassination of Rabin.

For God's sake, McCain, stop it. For once in this campaign, put your country first.

10 Oct 2008 08:24 am

Small-Time Criminal

Scott Horton is puzzled by the Palin e-mail hacker case:

Generally the Department has not acted in cases in which the result of the intrusion is merely to embarrass the target, for a fairly obvious reason. At best we’re only talking about a misdemeanor. The Palin email hacking case quite plainly falls into this category. So what is going on?

Continue reading "Small-Time Criminal" »

10 Oct 2008 08:03 am

The "Consumption Compromise" Collapses

Reihan notes the real reason for working class anger right now. Although wages have stagnated for a long time, lower prices of Wal-Mart type goods, soaring housing values, cheap food, senior Medicare expansion, and easy access to consumer credit eased the pain for the working poor. Now all that has gone into reverse with much more expensive gas, credit crunch, a collapse in house values, plummeting retirement savings, and costlier food. So the factors appeasing working class anger have collapsed. Add two unending wars and the anger is hard to tamp down. No wonder the generic Democratic identity is through the roof. Advantage: Obama. But he will have a hell of a job in front of him if he wins.

10 Oct 2008 08:00 am

The 2010 Wipeout

Pethokoukis:

...what might the economy look like on Election Day 2010, the midterms? Global Insight, for instance, thinks that although the economy will expand at a 2.4 percent pace in 2010 vs. 0.2 percent in 2009, unemployment will actually be higher in 2010 at 7.4 percent vs. 7. 2 percent next year. If 2008 is 1980 in terms of a big presidential win for the challenging party, 2010 might be like 1982, when Democrats won 27 house seats or even 1994 when Democrats lost control of Congress.

10 Oct 2008 07:58 am

Quote For The Day

"All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube … John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him ... In my neighborhood, when you’ve got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him." - Joe Biden.

10 Oct 2008 07:30 am

Tapping Your Phones

Can you believe that government might abuse a blank check to listen in on private citizens? Knock me over with a feather.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

09 Oct 2008 10:12 pm

Now: Cocaine

Money quote from an aide to McCain on McCain surrogate's bringing up past drug use:

"We didn’t ask him to do it. He didn’t clear it with us, but obviously he’s read Senator Obama’s books.”

This election really is a classic battle between fear and hope. All Palin and McCain are offering right now is more fear: fear of a black man, fear of terrorism, fear of the other, fear of Iran, fear of the future, fear of Islam, fear of the truth. And above all: fear of defeat. On that last one, they're rational. Which side are you on?

09 Oct 2008 09:33 pm

Taking On The Dems

Hilzoy cites this attack by McCain:

"Sen. Obama has never taken on his leaders of his party on a single issue."

And shows how false it is. But the news that McCain is a liar is not exactly a shock any more, is it?

09 Oct 2008 09:06 pm

Culture 11: Know Conservative Hope

A reader writes:

You and I don't agree on everything.  I'm an atheist (although not in the anti-religion vein that Bill Maher subscribes to and I was glad to see you take him to task).  I was against the invasion of Iraq. But, the one thing I do agree with you on is that "conservatives" have lost their way.  However, I felt that a proper debate about that was impossible in the age of Malkin and Coulter.

I found no solace in the libertarian fringe that dominated the Ron Paul grassroots or Libertarian politics in general.   I was often attacked as a Godless, terrorist, lunatic, and traitor on right wing forums for trying to start a conversation on where we as conservatives a heading.  I've never responded in kind and ultimately left those sites to their own devices.

Continue reading "Culture 11: Know Conservative Hope" »

09 Oct 2008 08:40 pm

O'Reilly Goes There

A pretty staggering exchange on O'Reilly just now. O'Reilly had African-American Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill on the show. O'Reilly went into Colbert mode at one point, saying that when he thinks about a metaphorical "Joe Six-Pack", he has no race in mind: "The immediate image that comes to my mind is a guy of no color," O'Reilly said. Try that for a second: imagine a man of no color. Then this staggering quote from O'Reilly to a black professor:

"Man, I'm glad I didn't have you in school, boy. I would have gotten a D."

Boy? Did O'Reilly just call a black professor a "boy" on cable television?

09 Oct 2008 08:07 pm

Faces Of The Day

A scene titled 'Chicken Nuggets' from artist Banksy's new installation 'The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill' is seen October 8, 2008 in New York City. The 'pet store' features an animatronic leopard, monkey, chicken nuggets and hot dogs along with other creations. The store opened discretely to the public October 5 and will remain open through October 31st. By Mario Tama/Getty.

09 Oct 2008 07:55 pm

Barack Petraeus

The general suggests talking to our enemies:

Greg Sargent has more context.

09 Oct 2008 07:34 pm

Malkin Award Nominee

"Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH and their chins with FELLATIO KILLS," - Rev Dr Peter Mullen, Anglican rector of St Michael’s Cornhill and St   Sepulchre without Newgate in the City of London.

09 Oct 2008 07:18 pm

Troopergate Is On

The legislative report into Palin's alleged abuse of power has survived the McCain camp's attempt to shut it down via the state Supreme Court. Looks like Alaskans are more able to fight back against Palin than the national press corps. The report comes out tomorrow. Watch for more accusations that Obama is a treasonous terrorist. It's an attempt to hide the fact that Palin is corrupt and unqualified.

09 Oct 2008 07:02 pm

Angry Old White Guys

Bonding with John McCain.

09 Oct 2008 06:57 pm

Had About Enough?

David von Drehle in Missouri:

"Who do you think will win around here?" I asked. "Obama," Robbie Haggard answered flatly, and several others agreed. "But Missouri's always been Republican," Pyle protested.

"I think Missouri's had about enough," Holly Haggard said."

09 Oct 2008 06:41 pm

Keep At It, Kathleen

One of the saner conservative voices keeps it coming:

The truth is, Obama should have avoided Ayers, and his denouncement of Wright was tardy. But this is a dangerous game. The McCain campaign knows that Obama isn't a Muslim or a terrorist, but they're willing to help a certain kind of voter think he is. Just the way certain South Carolinians in 2000 were allowed to think that McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh was his illegitimate black child. But words can have more serious consequences than lost votes and we've already had a glimpse of the Palin effect.

09 Oct 2008 05:48 pm

Reality Check

West Virginia. Where ARG has just given Obama an incredible 8 point lead:

09 Oct 2008 05:32 pm

Nationalizing The Banks

We may be headed in that direction.

09 Oct 2008 05:15 pm

Guns = Good, Overseas = Bad

Obama goes into pandering overdrive. Oy:

09 Oct 2008 05:08 pm

A Fiscally Liberal Republican

Daniel Larison digs through Palin's record. Christianism is often leftist in economics, when it comes to spending. Ask Huckabee or Bush.

09 Oct 2008 04:48 pm

Malkin Has Company

National Review takes aim at McCain's mortgage proposal.

09 Oct 2008 04:39 pm

The Fruits Of Negative Campaigning

David Weigel comments on the video of Palin-McCain supporters I posted earlier:

Continue reading "The Fruits Of Negative Campaigning" »

09 Oct 2008 04:20 pm

Obama And Ayers: Why The Excuses?

A reader writes:

I'm a liberal and a decided Obama voter.  But Democrats' excuses for Obama with respect to Ayers are extremely annoying to me.  I haven't seen in the press a clear explanation of why Obama attended an event at Ayers' home, or whether or not he knew about Ayers activities.  But, if Obama didn't know that Ayers' was a terrorist, who is today largely unremorseful, then let him clearly tell us.  If Obama knew Ayers was an unremorseful terrorist, then let him explain to us why he felt it was okay for him to call on Ayers at his home.

Continue reading "Obama And Ayers: Why The Excuses?" »