The People Have Spoken, As You Well Know

OBAMA WINS!!

YAHOOOO!

Ace McCain

The Onion's "War For The White House" Blog includes a (mean but funny) post by McCain's (fictitious) Viet Cong torturer on an actual LA Times story about McCain's poor flying record. Take it away, Dac Kien:

Still, you have to admire the man. After all, he was a brilliant fighter pilot, right? At least, that's what I always thought, back when I used to pass the time by seeing how long old Johnny could hold his breath for. But then, just yesterday, I saw this.

According to his Air Force flight record, apparently my pal Johnny was something of a "Betsy butterfingers" when it came to flying jets. His flight commanders even gave him the sarcastic nickname "Ace McCain" because he crashed so many times!

Maybe one too many times for your own good. Isn't that right, you big pussy? Ha ha.

I'm just kidding you, John McCain!

When Your Volunteers Won't Read Your Message, You Are In Trouble

Some three dozen workers at a telemarketing call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents.

Nina Williams, a stay-at-home mom in Lake County, Indiana, tells us that her daughter recently called her from her job at the center, upset that she had been asked to read a script attacking Obama for being "dangerously weak on crime," "coddling criminals," and for voting against "protecting children from danger."

Williams' daughter told her that up to 40 of her co-workers had refused to read the script, and had left the call center after supervisors told them that they would have to either read the call or leave, Williams says. The call center is called Americall, and it's located in Hobart, IN.

"They walked out," Williams says of her daughter and her co-workers, adding that they weren't fired but willingly sacrificed pay rather than read the lines. "They were told [by supervisors], `If you all leave, you're not gonna get paid for the rest of the day."

[via TPM]

Has John McCain's Campaign Been Honorable?

The recent Robocalls and attacks on Obama have turned nasty. Many voters have been turned off by these attacks. Voters want to hear McCain provide answers for our people and our economy. Jack Cafferty from CNN tells it like it is.

A commenter writes:

The Robocalls and false information being spread in vile brochures by the campaign have put him over the top in the area of dishonor and disservice to the nation as a whole. McCain may have been honorable with his service in the past and even the principles he once had. However, he has lost himself through this process and has been sucked into the RNC machine.

McCain Bets that Adding a 'Hussein' Will Win his Campaign

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.

While the McCain team has widely circulated (and exaggerated) the Obama/Ayers connection, it seems he prefers palling with tyrannical dictators to terrorists personally.

Sarah Palin Uses Quote in Speech from Racist, Anti-Semitic Writer, Westbrook Pegler

From the New York Times:

No less disconcerting was a still-unexplained passage of Palin’s convention speech: Her use of an unattributed quote praising small-town America (as opposed to, say, Chicago and its community organizers) from Westbrook Pegler, the mid-century Hearst columnist famous for his anti-Semitism, racism and violent rhetorical excess. After an assassin tried to kill F.D.R. at a Florida rally and murdered Chicago’s mayor instead in 1933, Pegler wrote that it was “regrettable that Giuseppe Zangara shot the wrong man.” In the ’60s, Pegler had a wish for Bobby Kennedy: “Some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow falls.”

This is the writer who found his way into a speech by a potential vice president at a national political convention. It’s astonishing there’s been no demand for a public accounting from the McCain campaign. Imagine if Obama had quoted a Black Panther or Louis Farrakhan — or William Ayers — in Denver.

More from Politico.

I'm not sure why pointing out the credibility of John Lewis is helpful to McCain's chances

We have the perfect "label" or "tag" for this bit of McCain news, via CNN:

Sen. John McCain said Monday that Rep. John Lewis' controversial remarks were "so disturbing" that they "stopped me in my tracks."

Lewis, a Georgia representative and veteran of the civil rights movement, on Saturday compared the feeling at recent Republican rallies to those of segregationist George Wallace.

"That's not from some, quote, party official, that's from one of the most respected people in America. It's unfair. It's unfair and it's outrageous," he said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Dana Bash.

Can you guess? All together now:

"Oh if you become VP, Oh it's Canada for me!"

There's alot of concern among voters as to whether Sarah Palin has what it takes to lead. This song sums up their feelings.

Diagramming Sarah Palin's Sentences

I recognize this Slate article is both mean and unfair. (Anyone who has ever transcribed a verbal interview with anyone recognizes how totally syntactically fuzzy conversational speech is.) However, I love diagramming sentences—and, honestly, these are some choice (tortured) specimens.

Branded!

Can you technically even be a "maverick" and espouse something other than a classically liberal, progressive ideology?

That's the question posed by John Swartz in this NYT's column that delves not just into the etymology of the term—which began with a 17th Century member of the Maverick family, who "got into trouble with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants"—but also the current low opinion the Maverick family has of McCain and Palin using their family name today.

McCain's POW Secrets [October Surprise!]

Sydney H. Schanberg, the longtime New York Times reporter and editor and Newsday columnist -- and author of "The Killing Fields" -- has written a 9000-word investigative piece on John McCain and his longstanding efforts to, as Schanberg asserts in his lede, "hide from the public stunning information about the live Vietnam prisoners who, unlike him, didn't return home."

[Via Editor & Publisher]

Sarah Palin VP Debate Corrections

Obvious: The top general in Afghanistan is not Civil War General George Brinton McClellan [via TPM]

Not-So-Obvious: She does not seem to have supported Alaska's divestment from Sudan. [via ABC]

I Can't Take This Campaign Anymore

Transparency (defined as an amount of public disclosure sufficient to limit officials from abusing state mechanisms for their own interest) is a hot topic in government ethics. Opening meetings to the media and private citizens, publicly releasing budgets and financial statements, and providing referendums on laws, rules and decisions—these are all seen as government gestures toward being transparent.

This is a different kind of transparent:

David Blane on John McCain

It's funny because David Blane is irrelevant.

McCain Suspends Campaign

UM?

Indecision 2008: McCain Has No Comment on Economic Bailout

McCain declines to say if he will back bailout plan

Just consider: if the nation were a final exam, McCain would check yes for every war and leave the economic questions blank.

Alaska Used to Be Beautiful...

but, now is a little less so, thanks to Sarah Palin's leadership. Salon, an awesomely persistent watchdog for digging up Palin's buried bones so far, has investigated the pollution of Lake Lucille, Wasilla under her mayoral watch.

Among the environmental casualties of Wasilla's frenzied development was Palin's own front yard, Lake Lucille. The lake was listed as "impaired" in 1994 by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and it still carries that grim label. State environmental officials say that leaching sewer lines and fertilizer runoff caused an explosion of plant growth in the lake, which sucked the oxygen out of the water and led to periodic fish kills.

"Sarah," a recent biography of Palin by Kaylene Johnson, features a photo of a beaming Palin, sitting in a rowboat on Lake Lucille clutching a fishing rod. But, according to local fishermen, the Republican vice-presidential candidate would have to be very lucky to reel in something edible.

The Palin Aerial Wolf Hunting Ad

This is going to change exactly zero minds.

Unless, "making me laugh at what is, honestly, a serious issue" counts.

Awesome Person Releases Damning Emails From Gov. Palin's Secret Yahoo Account

Thanks, Anonymous. [Via Gawker]

Let's stop caring about that Palin nonsense and start focusing on the economy...

Well, after we read this: Palin linked electoral success to prayer of Kenyan witchhunter

76 McCain Flip-Flops

It's like an end of summer liquidation sale! So many flip-flops! We're just giving them away!

Under Palin's reign, women foot the bill for rape

Circulating around the Web today, is the news that during the time Palin was mayor of Wasilla, women were charged for their own rape kits, which cost between $300 and $1200 a piece.

The Wasilla police commissioner, whom Palin personally appointed, opposed litigation to overturn the policy. It's unclear yet how involved Palin was with this issue--if she was performing her job adequately, she certainly was aware of it--but, hopefully Charles Gibson is paying attention as he composes his hard-hitting (yet not hitting so hard as to appear sexist (or worse, Alaskanist) questions.

Of course, maybe this is all part of McCain's master plan to distinguish his team from those wimpy sexual-assault-victim-protecting liberals. As NY Magazine notes,

Joe Biden was a sponsor of the 2005 Senate bill requiring states to foot the bill for rape exams. Barack Obama was one of 58 co-sponsors; John McCain wasn't.

Jason Bourne Calls Palin VP Pick "Disasterous"

Near as I can tell, it seems assured that Matt Damon read these articles before he made this rant, "McCain and the politics of mortality" at Politico (re: "actuary tables") and any one of Maureen Dowd's recent NYT's columns on Sarah Palin "Vice in Go-Go Boots?" or "My Fair Veep" ("bad Disney movie" joke). Other possible sources cited include: on the book-banning or "library censoring" issue, the Boston Herald; and on the question of whether or not she's a creationist, Wired Science.

This Joke Is An Oldy, But A Misogynistic-y

It's been over a decade since McCain made this nasty (and jokebook-level dumb) gag at a Republican Senate fund-raiser, but we might as well relive it, a comment the Washington Post thought "was too vicious to print" — and they printed Cheney saying "Fuck yourself!" Wipe away any expectations, it's not clever or interesting:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."

All together now: That's not change we can believe in.
[via a Salon.com article, so old it's in the previous HTML layout]

McCain Gets Tough On Veterans' Biddies

From McClatchy's Washington Bureau:

Back in Washington, families of POW_MIAs said they have seen McCain's wrath repeatedly. Some families charged that McCain hadn't been aggressive enough about pursuing their lost relatives and has been reluctant to release relevant documents. McCain himself was a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years during the Vietnam War.

In 1992, McCain sparred with Dolores Alfond, the chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen and Women, at a Senate hearing. McCain's prosecutor-like questioning of Alfond — available on YouTube — left her in tears.

Four years later, at her group's Washington conference, about 25 members went to a Senate office building, hoping to meet with McCain. As they stood in the hall, McCain and an aide walked by.

Six people present have written statements describing what they saw. According to the accounts, McCain waved his hand to shoo away Jeannette Jenkins, whose cousin was last seen in South Vietnam in 1970, causing her to hit a wall.

As McCain continued walking, Jane Duke Gaylor, the mother of another missing serviceman, approached the senator. Gaylor, in a wheelchair equipped with portable oxygen, stretched her arms toward McCain.

"McCain stopped, glared at her, raised his left arm ready to strike her, composed himself and pushed the wheelchair away from him," according to Eleanor Apodaca, the sister of an Air Force captain missing since 1967.

Fannie and Freddie should just get married and get off welfare, right?

Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said, "The fact is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers. The McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need help."

"Too expensive to the taxpayers?"

They're private entities.

Palin's not pro-(wild)life

Still love your wolf-eared copy of "Julie of the Wolves"? One wonders if Sarah Palin would consider banning it on the basis of fraternizing with the enemy.

Salon magazine posted an article today about Palin's gung-ho support of gunning wolves from planes:

Wildlife activists thought they had seen the worst in 2003 when Frank Murkowski, then the Republican governor of Alaska, signed a bill ramping up state programs to gun down wild wolves from airplanes, inviting average citizens to participate. Wolves, Murkowski believed, were clearly better than humans at killing elk and moose, and humans needed to even the playing field.

But that was before Sarah Palin took Murkowski's job at the end of 2006. She went one step, or paw, further. Palin didn't think Alaskans should be allowed to chase wolves from aircraft and shoot them -- they should be encouraged to do so. Palin's administration put a bounty on wolves' heads, or to be more precise, on their mitts.

In early 2007, Palin's administration approved an initiative to pay a $150 bounty to hunters who killed a wolf from an airplane in certain areas, hacked off the left foreleg, and brought in the appendage. Ruling that the Palin administration didn't have the authority to offer payments, a state judge quickly put a halt to them but not to the shooting of wolves from aircraft.

A video of the (be warned: horrifying) wolf killing here.

McCain Plans to Overturn Roe vs. Wade

This is taken directly from John McCain's website.

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, "At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level."

McCain Speech Interrupted by Iraq Vet Protester

John McCain was caught off guard this evening when an Iraqi War Veteran interrupted his speech.

"Service" is the theme of the Republican National Convention. Isn't John McCain all about military service? Watch the video.

Cindy McCain $300,000 Convention Outfit

Oh, Vanity Fair. It takes one to know one, doesn't it? Here's their breakdown of Cindy McCain's super elitist and out of touch RNC convention outfit — which at my old salary would take me over 6 years to afford! (If I never paid taxes, ate food or did anything else ever!)

Cindy McCain

Oscar de la Renta dress:
$3,000
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch:
$4,500
Three-carat diamond earrings:
$280,000
Four-strand pearl necklace:
$11,000–$25,000
Shoes, designer unknown:
$600
Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100

I don't want to raise anyone's ire, but it does at least look good. Let's also mention that it's only 6k shy of the starting MSRP for the most expensive Volvo on the market: the XC90. It's also worth 30,000 cups of the most expensive latte in the world, or 23,077 pounds of Organic Baby Arugula — based on a $3.99/ 5 oz price tag (feel free to check my work). There are some things money can't buy. For everything else there's being chairwoman of Hensley, the nation's third-largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products.

Sarah Palin Provides McCain Campaign with New Opportunities -- for Truth Stretching

The Associated Press has a great breakdown of some of the factual errors in Palin's RNC speech and the various speakers' comments about her.

Some particularly juicy whoppers:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

A Walking Tour Of The Homes Of Washington DC's Plutocratic Overlords

I know this isn't exactly McCain related, but it is a great example of why anything resembling four more years of the same is genuinely terrifying.

McCain Can't Handle Media - Reaches For Crying Towel

On Monday night, CNN's Campbell Brown asked Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman a tough question for which he had no answer:

Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard, just one?” Ms. Brown asked.

Mr. Bounds responded, “Any decision she has made as the commander of the National Guard that’s deployed overseas is more of a decision Barack Obama’s been making as he’s been running for president for the last two years.”

Ms. Brown pressed again, saying: “So tell me. Tell me. Give me an example of one of those decisions.”

To which Mr. Bounds said, “Campbell, certainly you don’t mean to belittle every experience, every judgment she makes as commander.” The argument devolved from there, with no real resolution.

In response to this questioning, McCain has cancelled his interview tonight with Larry King. It seems that McCain would rather 'punish' CNN for asking his spokesman tough questions than reprimand or fire Bounds. It's unfortunate because this action leaves no opportunity for McCain to answer the above mentioned question.

Will we ever find out if Palin had experience leading the National Guard? We have the answer.
Regarding Sarah Palin’s National Security experience, here is Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard’s comments:

“Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.
But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.”

Tire Swing Journalism

Well this and the tags below it should speak for themselves:



If they don't, here's tpm's Josh Marshall to do it.

Harry Reid and John McCain are not BFF

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid feels strongly that John McCain is not the right guy to fill the president's shoes. Reid said McCain is wrong on a host of issues and "does not have the right temperment" to be Commander-in-Chief.

This comment comes at a time when McCain needs all the positive press he can get. Now I ask you Senator Reid - Have you had your ass kicked in a Vietnamese prison for 6 years and still been able to hold a smile? No? Then shut the hell up.

Big Suprise - McCain prefers Big Oil to US Jobs and Clean Energy

Instead of voting for oil alternatives, like solar and wind, John McCain voted against these things and for Big Oil on H.R. 6 (Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 )

See the Senate votes here.

As a result, instead of powering millions of homes with clean energy and building next-generation solar technology, we're giving ExxonMobil and other companies billions in tax breaks at a time when they're already making record profits.

McCain Wants the Wife to Earn her Bud, Enter Somewhat Topless Beauty Contest

Below: a publicity shot from the official Buffalo Chip beauty contest that McCain encouraged Cindy to take part in. Though, in a characteristically humorous way...

More On The "McCain Trailblazer / Haiti Telcom" Scandal

Lucy Komisar just published the documents on her blog.
This is, of course, re: this.

McCain Camp Admits Ad Was False

After the NYT's and WaPo get on their case. [via Daily Kos]

More On Whom The Associated Press Associates With [Hint: John McCain]

Ron Fournier — the AP's acting Washington Bureau Chief, and the man most responsible for its recent shift toward less objective and more 'analytical' coverage — was vigorously pursued by the McCain campaign, in March of 2007, for "a senior advisory role” in communications.

How much damage will RF bring to the most omnipresent and neutral-seeming name in journalism once the story has played out? God (R–HV) only knows.

McCain Not Entirely Neglected by the NYT...

Much has been made of the fact McCain's editorial (or at least an editorial emerging from the McCain team's word processing system) for the New York Times was returned for further revisions.

However, the mostly-characterized-as-liberal paper did feature an op-ed from the McCain man's former communication director, Dan Schnur.

Meanwhile, McCain leaves no doubt that he plans to overstay, excuse me, stay his welcome right here in the US of A... Shown below advocating for further oil drilling of California shores.

"$4.00 A Gallon"

[On Google: McCain + Milk = Gaffe]

McCain "Trailblazer" And Lots Of Other GOP People in Haiti Telcom Scandal

So, in the wake of his firm receiving a $1.3 million fine from the Federal Communication Commission, Jim Courter (one of John McCain's top fundraisers*) has stepped down from the position of national finance co-chairman for the candidate's presidential campaign.

New Jersey-based IDT — of which Courter is CEO — was fined by the FCC for failing to file a contract for telephone service to Haiti in 2004. More interesting, however, as Lucy Komisar points out:

Its work with Haiti has been put under scrutiny since a former employee, Michael Jewett, then IDT’s manager for the Caribbean, sued the company. His suit claims he was fired when he balked at negotiating a scheme that routed a portion of the company’s long distance revenue from Haiti calls to a shell company owned by then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. [...] In a quarterly S.E.C. report filed June 6, IDT's balance sheet shows $365 million "income taxes payable," meaning the sum is put aside for back taxes. The figure was zero last year.

All the executives below Courter involved with the Haiti deal are gone. The June report announced the "involuntary" departure of the chief legal officer.

Top-tier Republicans have also bailed out.

William Weld, former G.O.P. governor of Massachusetts, was head of corporate governance at IDT but resigned after the Jewett complaint was unsealed in July 2005.

IDT announced in October 2006 that its entire board would not seek reelection, including former congressman and vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, former Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz, and former Washington Senator Slade Gorton. [Note: I posted all their faces at the above left. From top to bottom: McCain with Gorton; Courter; Boschwitz; McCain with Kemp; Kirkpatrick; and, lastly, Gilmore with an eye patch photoshopped on by another blogger.]

"Why do you put very powerful politicians on your board. Because you like them, you think they’re capable and they buy you protection," said Herbert Denton, president of the New York investment firm Providence Capital, which owned IDT stock. "Why do they leave at the same time? I speculate there’s something rotten in Denmark."

I hope this story gets some traction.

[*He seems to get a lot of his coworkers to donate.]

AP: McCain visits German restaurant — in Ohio

(WARNING: This post contains at least one pun.)

A funny/endearing headline for McCain, courtesy of the AP — who may or may not be in the tank for him at this point.

WaPo picked it up as well — because, basically, this is a joke too tasty* to turn down that I'm sure the McCain campaign lunged for in an effort to redirect some media attention toward their candidate on Obama's big day in Berlin.

From "the Trail":

Asked whether he was trying to make a point by coming to a German restaurant while Obama was in the real country, McCain took a mild swipe at his rival.

"Well I'd love to give a speech in Germany to [sic!**]-- a political speech -- or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in. But I would much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate for the office of the presidency."

"Oh, Burn!" These petty, yellow snowballs are probably why nobody follows the news (well, that and all the depressing stuff).

*[Chortle.]
**[For shame, WaPo copy editors!]

Jindal Says Back The F*#$ Up

This Wednesday, John McCain praised two VP picks whilst on a shopping spree at the local Bethlehem, PA market.

Earlier at a stop at a grocery store, where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee got a look at the high price of milk and other staples, he spoke highly of two people said to be on his short list: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Unfortunately, Governor Jindal doesn't agree.

But Jindal told Fox News on Wednesday he wasn’t interested in being vice president.

“Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I’ve got the job that I want,” Jindal told Fox News. “And I’ll say again on air: I’m not going to be the vice presidential nominee.”

We guess John's not getting the pick of the litter.

McCain Thinks "Rape" Funny Ha-Ha

A joke John McCain made to a reporter in 1986 is coming back to haunt him. Recently, when his spokesperson was asked about this incident, they said:

"He's long said that he's said and done things in the past that he regrets," Rogers said. "You've just got to move on and be yourself -- that's what people want. They want somebody who's authentic, and this kind of stuff is a good example of McCain being McCain."

Here's McCain's infamous joke:

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, "Where is that marvelous ape?"

More here from the Huffington Post.

Meghan McCain "Blogette Music Playlist"

Says my friend Jeremy: "Meghan Mccain, about whom people could say bad things, likes her music on the indie/cutting-edgish side. Pertinent information!" It's true, sometimes.

Top McCain aide Phil Gramm thinks you should stop whining because you're not getting a cookie

(Does this mean the IRS will start handing out mental health breaks?)

In an interview with the Washington Times, Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator who is now vice chairman of UBS, the giant Swiss bank, said he expects Mr. McCain to inherit a sluggish economy if he wins the presidency, weighed down above all by the conviction of many Americans that economic conditions are the worst in two or three decades and that America is in decline.

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

[Washington Post]

Now that's some awkward Schmidt!

Mr. Schmidt's elevation is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Mr. Rove's campaign efforts in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, who was communications director for Mr. Bush in the 2004 campaign and in his White House, has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with Mr. McCain every other week. Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Mr. Rove's operation, has joined the McCain communications operation.
[Adam Nagourney for the NYT]

Just sayin'.

Take a Stroll Down Neocon Lane

GRRRRR

Unfortunately, we must face the facts. John McCain is a Neocon. For those of you not in 'the know', that's neoconservative.

Reuters: "John McCain is almost a wholly owned subsidiary of the neoconservative movement when it comes to foreign policy," Carpenter said.

A "neocon" is more inclined than other conservatives to support vigorous government advocacy of morality and interventionist foreign policy. Neoconservatives such as former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were key architects of the Iraq war and Bush's doctrine of military pre-emption.

Air Bud: Divorce Attorney [Feel Like McCain Love]

The L.A. Times has all the gory details on the dissolution of John McCain's first marriage: how it soured his friendship with the Reagan family (Nancy especially); how his public statements on it have not always matched the court record; and how his POW cellmate and former-"Swift Boat Veteran for Truth" Bud Day represented him as the attorney suing for divorce.

More Offensively Hawkish Humor From The Candidate

So, a fun experiment—while this blog is still on the topic of McCain's "Free Ride" with the press—might be to find out how much coverage there is of this gaffe, wherein our beloved presumptive nom suggests that exporting cigarettes would be "a good way to kill Iranians."



So far the coverage = not much.

Like the "Bomb, Iran" Beach Boys parody McCain sung a while back at a town hall meeting, this is pretty much (IMHO) the most tasteless and inexcusable thing I can imagine a candidate saying.

Look! He's McCain A Joke!

[Headline Note: At a team meeting today, we seem to have decided that this blog will suffer from a deluge of McCain/Making puns.]

So, when I think about John McCain's reputation as being cozy with the media (whom he has jokingly referred to as his base), I often also think about him doing funny things like these appearances on Conan's "Secrets" segment. I went through the effort of pulling these off Hulu instead of the other grainier options (because this is a classy outfit around here):

Raining McCain [News Briefs]

• Kind of obnoxiously sexist Times UK headline delves into how Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO, is fast becoming an effective "cheerleader" for McCain—and wooing away (former/diehard/ladytown) Hillary Clinton supporters.
  
• Did McCain rough up a Sandinista? And if he did, won't that just make him more popular with red state hawks?
• More great stuff from tpm: 1.) Two lazy AP journalists, Steven Hurst and Jennifer Loven, have written nearly identical "analysis" articles on Obama's run to the center, both likely based on McCain/RNC camp research; 2.) a breakdown of McCain's retinue of lobbyist-campaigners, -employees, -friends, -handlers, etc.; and 3.) a new-ish McCain Ad attacks Obama on the Hispanic vote front.

McCain now charging extra (much extra) for patriotic flair

Last week in California, Kelly and Duane Roberts hosted a fundraiser luncheon honoring McCain at the Riverside Convention Center. According to the invitation, the cost was $1,000 per person or $2,300 to include a McCain lapel pin. [picked up by The Swamp, which also links to the original invite]

McCain Takes Money From Swift-Boat Backers

"USA Today points out this morning that John McCain has had no problem accepting $70,000 in donations this cycle from backers of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth in 2004, despite his condemnation of the group at the time." [verbatim from tpm election central]

Running Mate?

Air Bud: Dog And Pony Show [Wherein The McCain Campaign Has A Former Kerry Swiftboater Defend McCain's War Experience]

This is George Everett "Bud" Day—a former U.S. Air Force pilot who served during the Vietnam War, was a POW cellmate of Sen. John McCain, and spoke out against John Kerry in the above Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ad.

You would think they'd pick a less controversial member of the "McCain Truth Squad" to deal with the recent Wesley Clark non-troversy, but they didn't(!), and so, life is hilarious again.

Despite McCain being one of the first to condemn the ads attacking Kerry's war record in 2004, his campaign had Bud refute Clark's statements during one of their regular conference calls with the press—audio of which can be heard here at tpm election central. In addition to McCain's record, Bud also defended his own participation with SBV's4T saying, "The Swift Boat 'attacks' were simply revelation of the truth."

I hope this makes it on the Daily Show tonight! This is like a "gotcha back quote" for this unfair "gotcha quote."

Being shot down in a plane: Scary? Yes! Crucial presidential experience? Perhaps Not...

Wesley Clark's comments on McCain's war record...with some much needed context:

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," [Wseley Clark] said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war.

"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn't held executive responsibility," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded _ that wasn't a wartime squadron."

Moderator Bob Schieffer, who raised the issue by citing similar remarks Clark has made previously, noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

[CBS's Face the Nation]

McCain, with trademark whipsmart humor, lashes out at wife

(On why he didn't choose Gov. Jim Gibbons to chair his Nevada campaign?)

I appreciate his support. As you know, the lieutenant governor is our chairman.

(Why snub the governor?)

I didn’t mean to snub him,. I've known the lieutenant governor for 15 years and we've been good friends….I didn't intend to snub him. There are other states where the governor is not the chairman.

(Maybe it's the governor's approval rating and you are running from him like you are from the president?)

(Chuckling) And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago….
[transcript from the Las Vegas Sun]

McCain Launches Facebook App!

Will it's straight talk outplay Scrabulous to become the highest ranked app ever?? So far 22 active users and counting...

(CNN) – John McCain’s campaign has launched its first official Facebook application. Dubbed “Campaign Cribs: The Straight Talk Express,” the new tool allows users to watch Davis White, the director of the McCain camp’s advance team, as he gives a video tour of the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign bus.

Oil Schmoil, the Perpetual Loop

First McCain proposed a $300 million prize for whoever can develop a better automobile battery, and $5,000 tax credits for consumers who buy new zero-emission vehicles.

But then...
Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices.

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," McCain told reporters yesterday. In a speech today, he plans to add that "we have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

We're going to drill it because we hope we'll eventually not need it. OK, sure.

President Bush is also calling for an end to the offshore drilling ban.

"Since then offshore drilling and exploration have only been allowed in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico regions plus parts of Alaska.

The federal bans were enacted in part to protect tourism and lessen the chance of oil spills washing on to beaches"

"We are in this situation because of our dependence on traditional petroleum-based oil," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.
He advocated "new technologies and new fuel choices for consumers" instead. "

Read more here on how long it would take to get to a production phase and the environmental costs.

First Aide?

McCain aide Charlie Black's quote from Fortune:
"The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an "unfortunate event," says Black. "But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us." As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. "Certainly it would be a big advantage to him," says Black."

As the AP points out, McCain himself used the Bhutto assassination to boost his own candidacy:
"My theme has been throughout this campaign that I'm the one with the experience, the knowledge and the judgment. So perhaps it may serve to enhance those credentials to make people understand that I've been to Pakistan, I know (President Pervez) Musharraf, I can pick up the phone and call him. I knew Benazir Bhutto."

Our first peekaboo at the HTML-encoded treasures to be uncovered on johnmccain.com. The pork barrel itself proved beyond the reach of my spacebar, but then, I always elected to be the Banker in Oregon Trail....

Some Basic Information on the Candidate

Here is the Wikipedia listing for John McCain and his current wife, Cindy.