The Wit And Wisdom Of Sarah Palin

Whose side was Sarah Palin on? According to her, not enough voters knew how unqualified she was to be running for vice-president. She wanted even more people to know the truth.

From Palin's biggest campaign regret: not enough media interviews by Rebecca Sinderbrand:

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s biggest mistake of the presidential campaign: not enough time with the media, the Alaska governor said in an interview published Monday.

Maybe she really did vote for Barack Obama.

Is The "God Gap" Where God Buys His Clothes?

From US election: Obama narrows 'God gap' and attracts religious US voters by Suzanne Goldenberg:

Barack Obama managed to narrow the "God gap" with Republicans in the election, performing better among every religious group than Democrats in 2004, it emerged today.

The gains for Obama among religious voters are a testament to an ambitious outreach effort - one that managed to overcome a disastrous slip by Obama on the critical issue of abortion.

Obama, in his election strategy, had made a concerted effort to reach out to religious voters. Unlike other Democratic candidates, Obama is comfortable with the language of the Bible.

On the campaign trail, he regularly shared his conversion story, and spoke about issues of sin and personal responsibility.

The Democrat became a Christian in his 20s after being raised outside organised religion.

Read the rest here.

A New Dawn, A New Day

Dignity. What a concept.

Why did John McCain wait until after he had lost to act dignified and presidential?

Apparently, the citizens of the United States of America took notice that Barack Obama has been dignified and presidential since he began his campaign… and things were no different last night.

Here is my favorite part of Barack Obama’s speech last night:

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves: If our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

What will we give to the future? What a concept. In this day and age of the here and now, we need to think about and do something about the bigger picture. Knowing this is the first step.

What will the next one hundred years bring us? Most of us will never know. Hopefully we will move forward in seen and unforeseen ways that will make us more civilized and humane.

We do know what the last eight years have brought us. We have taken too many giant steps backwards. Our leaders have succeeded in making us all less human, less humane. Hopefully we can now begin to crawl out of the sewer that they have cast us in, and restore some dignity to the United States of America. That is my dream of a new tomorrow.

Update:
If you’re like me and you like to sprinkle your hopes and dreams with a dash or more of skepticism and cynicism, then might I recommend PZ Myers and Dennis Perrin. One of the things that I like about Obama is that he reminds us that progress is up to us. It is not all up to Barack Obama. We need to be active in the political process as well, beyond simply voting. It is also up to us to hold him accountable. This is as it should be. Let’s try to remember these things. Electing Obama is only the first step, there are many more to be taken.

The Best Thing About Today

George W. Bush is not on the ballot.

Religious Whack Job?

Is Sarah Palin a religious whack job? Let’s not forget that George W. Bush is a religious whack job. Sarah Palin appears to be even more of one than Bush is. Max Blumenthal has given us the information we need to decide the extent of Sarah Palin’s whackjobbery.

From Best of the ’08 Campaign V: Northern exposure by Scott Horton:

We see in some clips Palin delivering an address in which she equates religious missionary work with her political career. A series of vital political projects—ranging from the war in Iraq to a pipeline project—are described as being divinely ordained, and thus beyond discussion. In another clip, Bishop Thomas Muthee lays hands on Palin and prays, “Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus… Use her to turn this nation the other way around and to keep her safe from every form of witchcraft.” In another segment that Blumenthal recorded in the church, Muthee sermonizes about “the enemy,” using violent language. What these clips reveal is material to understanding Palin’s political and religious views. They suggest that the Wasilla congregation and Palin follow “dominionism,” a conviction that society must be governed exclusively by the law of God as set forth in the Bible. Biblical texts are to be construed and applied with a right-wing twist that reveals plenty of conservative social prejudices and little sensitivity to the original texts themselves. Moreover, dominionists share a millennial vision of the Rapture, coming great upheavals and political change leading to the creation of the Kingdom of God on earth. Dominionists do not embrace the separation of church and state, and tend to approach political issues from a highly dogmatic stance, often focused on particular charismatic individuals they see as ordained to govern. Indeed, dominionists widely embraced George W. Bush as an “anointed” leader whose decisions were beyond debate. They form a large chunk of the 20 percent rump group that continue to give Bush a positive performance evaluation. Blumenthal interviews one of Palin’s followers who equates her with Queen Esther, the biblical figure who bravely protected the Jews during the Babylonian Captivity.

Jingoistic John

From Palin On Democrats: "Do They Think The Terrorists ... Are The Good Guys?" by Greg Sargent:

What American presidential campaign has been more crassly militaristic and jingoistic than this one? Bush in 2004 pales in comparison. TPM's resident trivia fanatic, Eric Kleefeld, suggests James Polk's 1844 campaign, based on an appeal to expand America's borders by force, or George Wallace's 1968 campaign, in which he chose as his running mate someone who helped pioneer carpet-bombing. Thoughts, anyone?

Should Obama win this thing, the depths McCain-Palin have sunk to will only make Obama's victory that much more rewarding and momentous.

The Road To The White House Is Expensive

From Most Expensive Campaign Ever: What Else Could $1.6B Have Bought? by Aaron Task:

With Election Day finally upon us, Henry and I took a step back from the horserace and political handicapping to talk about something that really matters: Money.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a record $1.6 billion was raised by all Presidential candidates during this interminably long campaign. (The New York Times says the figure could go as high as $2 billion by Election Day.)

Just for kicks, we did a little research to determine what else could $1.6 billion buy:

• Health insurance for over 130,000 families of four for one year (based on average cost of $12,000 per family per year, National Coalition on Health Care)
• Food for 145,000 families of four for one year (based on moderate cost of $9,500 per family per year, USDA)
• 8 million laptops for the One Laptop Per Child initiative (at $200 each, OLPC)
• Fill the gas tank of an average car 40 million times (based on car with a 15-gallon tank with gas at $2.60/gallon)
• Provide a great cable package for 1.3 million households for one year (Time Warner NYC cable/Internet with one premium channel)

One Nation Under God, One Nation Under No God, One Nation Under The Flying Spaghetti Monster

In No God We Trust

From Why eventually electing an atheist would be the best idea:

OK - I know we're not ready as a Country to even consider this right now - but wouldn't it be nice if.....

Our President believed that a person gets one life - here - on Earth - and that there is no magical fairy land where you go when you die.

*That President might be a little less likely to allow the poor, the sick and the needy to suffer through the one life they were born into. They might do a little more to care for those in other areas of our World who, through no fault of their own don't have the resources to provide even basic services for their citizens. So they suffer and die in horrible conditions and death is sometimes a welcome predator. That President might be more willing to mobilize our vast potential for good and provide a better life for those people.

*That President might be a little less likely to allow our men and women bravely serving us in the military to die for needless wars, and might actually feel guilty for killing human beings (even if they are brown) because he knows that when they die, they don't get a harem full of beautiful virgins to ravage as they please. They know that a bullet or a bomb is ending forever the hopes and dreams of a human being.

*That President might be a little less likely to rape and pillage the environment, because they know this planet is the only one we have and that there is no supernatural being coming back to take us all to a better place. THIS IS OUR BETTER PLACE - and he would know that we need to protect it.

Out Of Sight

What is this election about?

Let's Make The Wealthy More Wealthy

With each passing year the wealthiest among us become even more wealthy. The rest of us are having our jobs shipped overseas, and our sons and daughters shipped to Iraq. Those of us that still have a job are not being paid a fair wage, while crooked and incompetent CEO's are being paid too much. And what little wealth we have is slowly being eroded away.

John McCain frequently says that he wants to create more wealth. That’s good. However, he doesn’t want to spread the wealth around. He wants those that are the wealthiest among us to become even more wealthy. That’s not good.

The playing field is rigged, and it benefits those who have the most money and power. McCain wants to rig the playing field to be even more in their favor. He tells us that somehow this will benefit all of us. I don’t believe him. I’m still waiting for my “trickle” from Reagan, Bush, and Bush.

Barack Obama wants to level the playing field a little bit, so that it will benefit the little guy a little more. We already have plenty of wealth in the United States. What is wrong with spreading it around a little? What Barrack Obama proposes is not socialism. It is Americanism. It is fairness and equality.

You work hard, don’t you deserve a bigger slice of the pie?

John McCain’s campaign slogan could easily be: “Let’s make the wealthy more wealthy.” Does Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or the Walton family actually need more money? Or do you?

Update:
According to my interpretation of Edward Wolff, Barack Obama’s “socialist” plans will benefit capitalism more than John McCain’s proposals (what are they?) to grow the wealth:

If that is not convincing to a person, the second reason is that inequality is actually harmful to the well-being of a society. There is now a lot of evidence, based on cross-national comparisons of inequality and economic growth, that more unequal societies actually have lower rates of economic growth. The divisiveness that comes out of large disparities in income and wealth, is actually reflected in poorer economic performance of a country.

Election Information

The League of Women Voters has set up a website called VOTE411.org. It is packed with information on voting. You can learn about registering, where to vote in your area, who the candidates are, ballot measures, and much more. If you have a question about voting, this would be a good place to look for the answer.

God Cares About How You Vote

God wants you to vote McCain/Palin. It says so in the Bible. The Bible also tells us that anyone who votes Obama/Biden is screwed. You know the routine, eternal damnation and hell fire and all of that.

In all my years of reading the Bible I wonder why I keep missing the part that says “Vote for McCain”? I’ve found lots of parts that tell me I’m screwed.

It appears that God does not believe in democracy. I’m glad that I don’t believe in God. God is unpatriotic and Un-American. God is Unconstitutional. God is an autocratic dictator.

From You cannot be a Christian and vote for Obama by Janet Porter:

To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to willfully disobey Him by voting for Obama, take warning. Not only is our nation in grave danger, according to the Word of God, so are you.

Aren’t there laws against voter intimidation in the United States? Do they pertain to God? Do they pertain to Janet Porter?

In one week, America will make a choice. And to those who call themselves "Christian" who are planning on voting for Barack Obama, put down the Obama talking points and read God's voter guide before you go to the polls:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Somehow “choose life” becomes anti-abortion, as a political tool. Why can’t “choose life” mean a woman’s right to choose, not the government choosing for her?

It's not just about "hope" and "change." Proverbs 6:16-22 states there are some things God hates.

These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Obama-Biden are pro-death. McCain-Palin are pro-life.

Now choose life that you and your children may live.

I wonder how many Iraqi fetuses have died because of George W. Bush? Where is the Christian outrage over their deaths? Where is Janet Porter’s outrage over this? No outrage, just the outrageous claim that God wants us to vote for someone who will carry on George’s very Un-Christian work in Iraq. What about the unborn in Iran that McCain has plans to kill? What was that talk about "hands that shed innocent blood"?

Read again those six things that God hates, I mean hates. Watch out, now they are seven abominations. (If a Christian types “Lord” instead of “LORD”, do they go to hell?) How six things that God hates become seven abominations, God only knows. The reason God does not play dice is because he doesn’t know how to count. God must not be very happy with George W. Bush right now. Isn’t Bush guilty on all seven counts?

Vote for McCain/Palin, so that if you do choose to have an abortion you will have to do it yourself with a coat-hanger. Vote for McCain/Palin, so that your children will have to go fight the 100 year war in Iraq. Vote for McCain/Palin, so that your children will grow up in a world without universal health care. (They may be sick, but god damn it, they’re alive. Unless, of course, they die because they got sick.) Vote for McCain/Palin, so that you can’t afford to buy food for your kids because the wealth should stay with the wealthy and not be spread around. (Your kids can choose life without any food.)

No, this election is not about race. It's not about the economy. It's about obeying God.

Then obey Him in the voting booth and out of it. If not, do us all a favor and quit calling yourself a Christian.

I don’t call myself a Christian. I haven’t for years. I’m voting for Obama.

Did I just hear thunder?

Troubling Signs

The saga continues. Eight years later…

From Long lines, glitches reported during early voting:

In many states across the country, voting has begun, and in some cases, so have the headaches.

With the issues that marred the 2000 election singed into the electorate's collective memory, the reports of problems are troubling signs for many who are skeptical of whether their votes will count.

Forty-two percent of those surveyed in a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll said they were not confident that their votes could be "accurately cast and counted." That number is up 15 percentage points from a similar poll conducted four years ago.

The poll was conducted October 17 through October 19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

As of Tuesday, 29 states were accepting early ballots, and election officials are reporting record turnouts. Voting problems, ranging from computer glitches to long lines, have been reported in a few states.

Read the rest here.

How does that old saying go again? If it's broke, don't fix it. Right?

Guilty By Association And Poor Logic

If Barack Obama is a terrorist because of William Ayers, and Barack Obama is partially responsible for both the current financial crisis and voter fraud because of ACORN, then I pronounce John McCain to be a lying no-good piece of scum because of Ashley Todd. Oh, this is so easy, and so much fun, too.

From Woman admits making up McCain sticker attack, police say:

Bail was set at $50,000 Friday night for a GOP campaign worker who made up a story about being attacked by a man angered by a John McCain bumper sticker on her car.

Ashley Todd, 20, of College Station, Texas, has been charged with filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, a police report said.

Todd, who is being held at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, did not enter a plea when she appeared in court Friday night. She did not post bail.

She is scheduled to appear in court again October 30, when she is expected to enter a plea.

If she posts bail, Todd must be evaluated at a behavioral clinic.

"This has wasted so much time. ... It's just a lot of wasted man hours," Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said at a briefing.

Todd was a volunteer for a John McCain phone bank in Pittsburgh, the campaign said.

The woman told investigators a man approached her Wednesday night at an ATM in Pittsburgh's East End, put a blade to her neck and demanded money, said Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard.

Police said they found "several inconsistencies" in Todd's statement and she was not seen in surveillance videos taken at the ATM. She was asked to take a polygraph test Friday morning, Richard said. The results were not made public.

Later, Todd came to the police station to help work on a composite sketch of the alleged attacker. When she arrived, Todd "told them she just wanted to tell the truth" -- that she was not robbed, and there was no attacker, Bryant said.

Read the rest here.

If Todd is evaluated and it turns out that she is deemed to be mentally incompetent, what will that say about John McCain?

Salty Salter

Mark Salter is pissed off about McCain’s fucking story. I mean, Jesus Christ, this is just crazy shit.

From Mark Salter on the Press and John McCain by Jeffrey Goldberg:

There was an astonishing quotation in a recent New York Times story about John McCain from Robert Timberg, a biographer and admirer of McCain's. Timberg told the Times reporter David Kirkpatrick that, "Political campaigns have a way of distorting reality and turning political candidates into caricatures of themselves. In some ways that has happened to (McCain), and in some way he may have contributed to that." Mark Salter, the McCain aide who has co-written most of McCain's books, is quoted as calling Timberg's assertion "deeply offensive."

I called Salter to talk about the Timberg quotation, and the Times story - in which Kirkpatrick explores the literary influences on McCain's life (and on Salter's) and discusses the shaping of McCain's heroic image. We also talked about Salter's current view of the press: "I think the media is driven by a need to see this history happen," he said. "And I think they've rationalized it, they think they're on the level with McCain, that he's not the old McCain. But he is the old McCain. He just doesn't know what happened to the old press corps."

Read the rest here. (Jesus Christ, it's where you will find the fucking crazy shit.)

Oh, and Andrew Sullivan has lost his fucking mind.

Now, talk among yourselves.

First, I want you to discuss how the liberal media doesn’t inform you about things that you have heard about. I don’t know where you learned about them, but it couldn’t have been from the liberal media. Say “fuck this” and “fuck that” and “Jesus Christ” a lot. It will add substance to the discussion.

Then, I want you to discuss the party of family values. Be sure to use lots of curse words and to take the Lord’s name in vain as often as you like.

Fairy Tales

From McCain’s “Socialism” Charge by Madison Powers:

For many months the McCain campaign has been asking who Barack Obama is. The campaign has been tantalizingly vague, dropping hints along the way, but leaving it to us to connect the dots. Now, thanks to the McCain-Palin campaign, the answer has finally come into focus. He’s a celebrity Muslim socialist who pals around with terrorists at elite Hyde Park gatherings attended by Republican college presidents.

We always knew that Obama would make real history should he win the election for president, but we always thought it would be because he is an African-American. Who knew that the most extraordinary part of his biography is his uncanny ability to combine so many qualities into one persona? No wonder it took months of public education by the McCain camp to bring this to light. Most of us just wouldn’t have figured it out. Thanks for your hard work.

Too bad, however, that the public is not in the mood for fairy tales when the economy is so much at risk and we are fighting two costly wars, neither of which is going all that well. It is hard to understand why so many people are so preoccupied with these issues when the Republican campaign has been doing their best to tell us why we really should be sniffing out socialists amongst us. And while we are at it, maybe we should have Congress investigate which members of Congress are anti-American.

Read the rest here.

Calm Cool Collected

From On President Obama by Tom Watson:

…my Obama moment came earlier in the week - a week that witnessed Barack Obama's finest performance in a presidential debate over these last two long years. Oh, I know the pundits don't agree. Many scored the Hofstra tilt for John McCain, and others called it a draw. Obama, they seemed to complain, was cool and careful and distant.
To which I shout: "exactly!"

While the silly season of desperation GOP flea-flickers unfolds around us, from crazy talk at Palin rallies to the insane belief that William Ayers or the ACORN scandal will somehow arise to sink the Obama candidacy, the Democratic standard-bearer sticks to the game plan: a much better play from scrimmage that consists of a winning trench war and moving the ball down the field. Obama has taken to wearing a bemused look at some of the craziness. And when I saw his reaction to some of McCain's scattered buckshot at Hofstra, a bell went off. The guy is enjoying himself. He sees the humor in it. And the pressure doesn't sway the actor on the stage. My kind of president.

What The Hell Does This Even Mean?

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation." Sarah Palin

Doesn’t she want people who live in big cities to vote for her? I live in a small town and I will never vote for Sarah Palin, even if she holds one of her guns to my head.

Joe The Plumber

From Is It Over? Debate Reveals That Dynamic Of Race Is Fixed In Obama's Favor by Greg Sargent:

And consider McCain's frequent evocation of Joe The Plumber. This attack from McCain was clearly labored over heavily by his aides. But it fell flat for a very simple reason: It didn't change the basic underlying policy disagreements between the two men. It didn't change the fact that people agree with Obama's solutions to our economic crisis, and reject McCain's ideas. In the face of that overwhelming reality, the constant evocation of Joe The Plumber just came across like a stunt.