http://pinocchiopolitics.org/

Incomplete Letter to a Maverick

Dear Senator John Sydney McCain III (R-AZ):

Were I in your extraordinarily unenviable position, I would keep my fake campaign fake suspended and simply admit to the American people once and for all that this campaign has been a sham of epic proportions and I would apologize profusely for so blatantly presuming that a large enough majority of Americans are so stupid as to not see through your every transparent move. Your campaign slogan would be entirely more credible if it read “My Pathetic Campaign First”. If you really wanted to put your Country First, you might have stayed the hell away from Washington [Thursday] when it was made infinitely clear there was no need nor desire for you to be anywhere near the beltway. You might have also considered ACTUALLY suspending your campaign like you said you would – this goes to the point of thinking the American people are stupid, see... It is not hard to find out if you are still running TV ads, still running operations at campaign offices across the country, still making political speeches on your own behalf. In the end, there was really no point in doing so, since you made absolutely no positive contributions to the proposed bailout legislation, in fact causing the GOP to fracture at the seams. The whole will he or won’t he show up for the debate charade was capital “P”athetic (not exactly very honorable in my estimation, mavericky perhaps, but not in a good way). Where’s the straight talk, Senator? My friend? Your performance in the debate was commendable, considering how low you set the bar for yourself. Yet you continued to mischaracterize and outright lie about your opponent’s positions and past actions (not exactly very honorable). You talked down to him and continually stated he did not understand or was too naïve, You presented absolutely no ideas for the future, only murmurings of the past.

P.S. I have stated throughout this general election campaign that if Barack Obama were to make just one of the numerous gaffes, ploys, misstatements, lies, cover-ups, campaign shakeups, etc. that have been the trademark of this McCain campaign, the junior Senator from Illinois would be dead in the water.

I obviously have not written anything in quite some time – namely because I haven’t had much, if anything, to add to the widespread political discourse. Frankly, I do not want to write about Sarah Palin, as that campaign is desperate to draw attention away from their lethargic, uninspiring, lackluster presidential candidate, John McCain. To be sure, Palin is a very cruel joke being perpetrated upon the American people by the same folks that brought us this gem of a current presidency, and while it may seem cute and funny at first, I hope people will wake up and realize this is no laughing matter. This woman is a minor league ballplayer being called up to pitch the seventh game of the World Series. She has demonstrably little-to-no knowledge of current events outside her great state of Alaska. She is a Christian fundamentalist who at best blurs the line between separation of church and state, has supported a party in Alaska that wishes to secede from the union, is currently under investigation in her great state for abuse of power, and she didn’t even support John McCain in the primaries to boot (she hearted Huckabee, I believe). I’m sorry – I said I didn’t want to talk about her, but look what happens at the mere mention of her name! The diatribe doth floweth like a mighty Alaskan river.

Up until the most recent, shocking developments in the financial world, John McCain had been riding a wave of scurrilous and deliberate lies, deceptions, misstatements, mischaracterizations and lies (I’m aware I said that twice) that was bound to carry him right into the Oval Office. This still remains a distinct possibility, but the press has been surprisingly calling the campaign, both McCain and Palin alike, on their numerous mistruths; perhaps most hilarious – their lying about the attendance at candidates’ speeches. Oh, another humdinger is the one Palin keeps spouting about how her teleprompter malfunctioned at the RNC. We won’t mention the bridge to nowhere (apparently there were actually TWO of ‘em!), or the fact that Alaska receives more government pork per capita than any other state in the union, which she wishes to secede from. That being the case, it would seem foolish for a candidate to run on a platform of reform and anti-pork barrel spending (“thanks but no thanks, etc., etc…”). I guess I can now understand why Palin has gotten so much attention – there’s just sooo much gold out there to be dug up! It is also my understanding that much like Bush (in both Texas and the Union), Palin has taken budget surpluses in Alaska and turned them into rather staggering deficits. I also loved how sure of herself she was when answering Charlie Gibson’s questions, even when she is so clueless and wrong it seemed like Gibson was about rap her hands with a ruler. It has also been reported that while she continually touts being the mother of a ‘special needs’ child (her son has Down’s syndrome) on the campaign trail, she eliminated $275,000.00 from her state’s budget that was supposed to support the… you guessed it: Special Olympics. I’m sure I have only scratched the surface, and this is only Palin! McCain is a walking, talking gasbag of contradictions, flip flops and I’ll say it yet again, lies. His position on the economy has been steadfast over the past twenty-six years: deregulate, deregulate, deregulate – Keating Five, Savings & Loan debacle anyone?! But now the maverick is all of a sudden all about supposedly regulating the very same financial companies so many of his own campaign worker/lobbyists are working for! So we can believe McCain just about as much that he’ll reform Wall St. that he’ll be fair and impartial when handling matters in the Caucasus (his chief foreign advisor is a lobbyist for Georgia). Wasn’t he supposed to have kicked out all those pesky lobbyists from his campaign staff many moons ago when it was determined to be more than slightly politically inopportune?

Regardless of what goes down on the campaign trail over the next fifty or so days, it has continually been overlooked that in many states (and Districts of Columbia) there are still electronic voting machines that continually fudge the results, not to mention a new push by Michigan Republicans (among other state parties, no doubt) to cage voters, only this time by exploiting the mounting foreclosures in that particular state – challenging votes due to the registration address no longer being the actual residence (á la Karl Rove protégé Tim Griffin and co.). Stay classy, GOP, stay classy.

Georgia On My Mind

Do not be surprised if the conflict in Georgia is dragged out on into November, for while this “October Surprise” may have occurred in August, it is entirely plausible that feet will be dragged and more sabers will be rattled for the next two months. Remarkably, despite being generally incoherent, intentionally belligerent and all the while running one of the most poorly organized and ill coordinated campaigns in recent memory, John McCain remains within striking distance of Barack Obama. The McCain campaign seems to have gambled on and won their wager that the American people for the most part would not pay much attention to his fledgling campaign until the fall, when perhaps it might actually buckle down and stay on message. This can already be seen in McCain honing his relentless attacks on Obama’s patriotism (that is, lack thereof), and how Obama wants the US to “lose” in Iraq, essentially entailing treason.

It was unfortunate that Obama was essentially forced into participation at Rick Warren’s mega-church, mega-presidential forum or whatever over the weekend – religion has not exactly been his friend this campaign cycle, what with it being insinuated that he’s a Muslim and his ties to Rev. Wright and Father Pfleger, etc. etc. I didn’t watch the event but I did happen to catch Warren tossing McCain softball, Larry King-style questions: “What is your definition of marriage?” (Union between only man and woman… applause) “What is your position on abortion?” (It should be outlawed… applause) The best was when McCain managed to tie together his devout belief in Christ to his POW experience in ‘Nam; anything to summon the good old POW days.

Dr. Strangelove-McCain

Everybody knows by now that whenever some international conflict occurs, either at home or abroad, a Republican gets his wings. Unfortunately, the war between Georgia and Russia is no different, and John McCain can already be heard from the mountaintops excoriating the former Red Menace and rattling sabers a la Dick Cheney. This plays so well to McCain’s advantage for many other reasons, for one this is at least a familiar adversary to him; it’s not as hard as trying to remember Sunni from Shiite from Kurd from whomever brown people the US happens to be decimating at any given moment. His tough talking about the Ruskies hearkens back to the glorious time when the US was actually a respected superpower, not just some mere hollowed out shell of one. No one seems to be able to put together that McCain has the exact same policies, if not even more bellicose and fascist rhetoric than Bush-Cheney, many only see this seemingly affable old maverick, war hero, POW of a senator who couldn’t possibly be any worse than Bush-Cheney… Right?... Right?! It is assumed that because he was in the military, he must have an extraordinary grasp on National Security, Foreign Affairs and the sort. This has time and time again proven to be demonstrably false. I fear Mark Penn was right in those leaked memos and e-mails from his time with the Clinton campaign; it may not be until 2050 that a candidate like Obama is truly viable and given the same “fair shake” as a candidate like McCain.

Coming Soon, To A Town Hall Near You!!

I have been known to be grossly mistaken, but the prospect of a series of McCain-Obama town hall-style debates on its face seems like it would stand to benefit Obama immensely. One would think that the McCain campaign would want nothing to do with literal face-to-face confrontations, I mean look at their faces! Perhaps this is mere fantasy, but I could very easily see Obama running rhetorical and oratorical circles around McCain, at which point Senator Bomb Bomb might just try and deck his opponent. McCain is a ticking time-bomb and if his campaign knows anything about anything, I would hope for their sake that the good Senator is undergoing some serious psychoanalysis. To reference Seinfeld, I’m not talking about seeing a therapist once a week; I’m talking about going to Vienna and being constantly monitored around the clock. Even then, I still believe there is a strong possibility of him short-circuiting and reverting back to being a P.O.W. in Hanoi. I’m not trying to make light of McCain’s rather serious psychological problems (and then of course, there’s also the age problem), I’m merely trying to illustrate just what a dangerous individual he is and subsequently how even more dangerous he would be in an office of the oval variety. McCain obviously has the gift of gab and what I imagine is a very commanding martial presence, yet if a Pepsi challenge is going to be made of this contest – I simply can’t foresee people thinking McCain tastes better.

More on McCain… He is now attempting, a) to distance himself from Bush and b) to make it seem as though he is Mr. Environmentally friendly by asserting his ‘belief’ that greenhouse gas emissions must be limited, yet out of all the 450+ legislators in the House and Senate, he ranked dead last in 2007 according to the League of Conservation Voters' National Environmental Scorecard (see page 14).
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200802/NAT20080229a.html
I don’t like the concept of “cap and trade” either, although I’m aware that all three candidates are in favor of it. I realize that a certain degree of pandering to the corporations is necessary to stay financially competitive in these campaigns, although Obama has generated an astonishing amount of small contributions, yet there is no longer any time to be permitting unabashed polluters to continue chipping away at our fragile environment.

I’m happy to say that The New York Times at least alluded to McCain’s “mixed record,” but for virtually every single issue McCain raises, he has at one point said one thing and done the exact opposite and this must continue to be driven home. The man is NOT the maverick, straight-talkin’ sonuva gun he says he is and there is ample evidence to back that up. If Clinton is going to stay in this race, she must join forces with Obama and they must expose these blatant canards. Howard Dean and the DNC can’t do it all by themselves; there are two Democrats in the spotlight and they have every opportunity to try and keep knocking McCain off his high horse.

"Maverick" McCain

Maybe John McCain just really likes Top Gun!
What's truly laughable is how even when McCain DOES do something all maverick-y (like say not vote for his party's nominee for president), he turns around and denies it altogether! Real maverick-y indeed...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/09/ny-times-washington-post_n_100955.html

http://Bush-McCainChallenge.com/?rc=challenge-friends&r_id=12556-7947518-P4YlPw

http://www.moveon.org/

Clinton, McCain, Obama & John Adams

While watching the Pennsylvania Primary Pregame (how’s THAT for alliteration!) on MSNBC, I found it commendable that since the two Democratic candidates have shown little to no desire to attack McCain, the DNC (Democratic National Committee) chose to run a hard-hitting ad that nailed many of John McCain’s talking points (very effectively using his very own words & voice) as counter-intuitive and essentially ludicrous. On a side note, I also like that The Nation is now advertising on MSNBC, as well! After viewing the aforementioned ad, I very nearly made a beeline to the computer to donate money to the DNC; unfortunately I have not the funds to do so at this point in time. Anti-McCain ads are good, very good in fact. It would obviously be even better if the attacks came from either Dem candidate, but we take what we can get at this stage in the game.



According to Howard Dean, head of the DNC, the ever-elusive Florida and Michigan delegates will be seated somehow by the end of June. This being the case, a halt must be called to the continuing Obama-Clinton bloodbath, for there is nothing that can be said or done before then that will be ultimately determinative. As I, and many other more prominent pundits, have stated before – these candidates would be doing themselves a great service if the two tag-teamed McCain until this is all settled (after all, the three of them had spots before a WWF wrestling match). The DNC ad touched on so many valid points and there are certainly more where those came from, thus it is almost a little scary to think of how much damage the two of them could inflict on McCain if they just got their priorities straightened.

This really does all come back to Hillary though, because she knows the only way she has a shot at pulling this out is if she continues tearing down Obama. After watching the conclusion of the HBO miniseries John Adams, it occurred to me that his example should be followed in that his ultimate concern was doing what is best for the country, not his party nor his own personal popularity. Clinton abiding by these guidelines would benefit both the party and in the long run, the country; yet I fear Hillary Rodham Clinton is no John Adams. The shining achievement of Mr. Adams’ presidency was his ability to prevent getting drawn in militarily to the ongoing struggle between France and England, despite the fact that military action would likely have bolstered his reelection campaign. We now live in an age where party politics most always trumps allegiance to country and we are at present on a fast track to yet another war that would seemingly benefit the Republican Party, particularly their candidate. The American people do not want another war. John McCain has explicitly said: “There’s gonna be more wars, sorry to tell ya this…” If the American people elect John McCain, or allow Republicans to get away with more electoral tomfoolery that would usher in the ‘President Bomb Bomb’ era, there will indeed be more wars – that is, if more wars have not already been started by President Dumb Dumb. The Democrats must convey this message and stop their petty bickering; in the long run it will most assuredly make up for not wearing a flag pin.

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Bitter

The most recent attacks on Senator Obama certainly seem to highlight how much hot water one can find oneself in if he dares to speak truth to power. First, it was the harsh criticism of Obama’s longtime minister, Rev. Wright, for preaching a message regarding American History that while inconvenient, is quite true. Now Obama himself is being attacked for saying something that is essentially true, but likewise politically inconvenient: “it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” There is nothing in this statement that is not in some regards true, but because the passage came from an intelligent, well-spoken black man, it is considered to be demonstrative of his elitism. If John McCain said that exact same quote, he would be LAUDED for being such a straight-talkin’ maverick, who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.

Senator Bomb Bomb

Bracing For The (Bomb Bomb) Worst

I am starting to wearily contemplate just what it might mean for this country if we are indeed forced to endure at least four years of a Senator John ‘Bomb Bomb’ McCain presidency, which regrettably seems more and more likely by the day. The first and most consoling matter would be that Democrats in November will likely make considerable gains in both the House and Senate, thus at least somewhat putting a check on his otherwise terrifying power potential (imagine ‘Bomb Bomb’ with a GOP majority in both houses like his predecessor!). McCain finally changed his tune yesterday (Brooklyn will do that to a person) by attempting to seem more empathic regarding the housing crisis this country faces. Nevertheless, he is of course more steadfast than ever when it comes to occupying Iraq essentially for however long it takes. It saddens me a great deal that this borderline lunatic has such a golden opportunity to become the next president and particularly that the ‘Democrat’ party is successfully managing to snatch defeat from the hands of victory. Bill Clinton’s caveat that it is far better to be strong and wrong than weak and right is once again playing itself out, just like it did four and eight years ago. McCain may be a jingo psychopath, but at least he stays firm on his positions, whereas Hillary Clinton and Obama seem to have a different answer for when to leave Iraq every single time they are asked.

The same way it is perceived, contrary to any substantive facts, that Obama is a Muslim and Hillary is a pinko-commie liberal, John McCain is falsely perceived to be a moderate, maverick, straight-shooting sonuva gun. Just like George W. once said, you gotta keep repeating yourself to let the propaganda sink in. McCain doesn’t even need to do this because the press corps already does it for him! There is the question: if Obama finally pulls out the nomination (whenever that might be), which media darling will prevail? I fear McCain and his generally disagreeable disposition is more in tune with the way a majority of Americans feel and that Obama will indeed be painted successfully as a phony harbinger of some unrealistic 21st century utopia. Simply put, I do not have a great deal of faith in the people this country is constituted of. Everybody and their typical white mother is so sure that the electorate will not make the same ‘sit down and have a beer with the president’ mistake three elections in a row – but I am not nearly as certain. When one takes into consideration that the average education level of Americans is currently something like 7th or 8th grade, I do not hold out a great deal of hope. Bush may have allowed September 11th to occur, but outside the affected areas most Americans did not feel the full impact of the events. I suspect however that when Senator McCain does indeed choose to bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran (or Syria, or North Korea for that matter), a military draft will most certainly be enacted and people across the country will finally feel a more direct effect of the disastrous neoconservative policies. I pray to the Beach Boys I am wrong.

Racist Much?

The hypocrisies in this presidential campaign grow exponentially by the day, yet as usual – St. John McCain is nary expected to explain his end of it. Senator John D. Rockefeller III of West Virginia, an Obama supporter, made an ill-phrased remark regarding McCain generally not being in touch with what occurs on the ground, alluding to his being a fighter pilot in Vietnam as opposed to a ground troop. Subsequently, Rockefeller profusely apologized, yet McCain’s campaign is demanding an apology from OBAMA! Among the many other blatant contradictions along the trail, upon being introduced to a pro-war veterans group, the MC alluded to Obama being the Tiger Woods candidate and McCain having the REAL ‘audacity of hope,’ or some bile like that. I am not even going to pose the question because I already know the answer, yet I wonder at what point will the ever-loving McCain mainstream media demand the same, more appropriate accountability for blatantly racist remarks made by HIS supporters?!

http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/middle_top_news_detail.php?mid=573

Who Can't Win?

This most recent claim by Senator Hillary Clinton is most assuredly demonstrative of the increasing desperation she and her campaign face. The front page of the New York Post says it all: “Obama Can’t Win” [against John McCain] – however a slew of polls published yesterday all beg to differ. Not only do registered Democrats believe (by a two-to-one margin) Senator Obama has a better chance at beating McCain, Republicans (by a three-to-one margin) would rather McCain face off against Clinton than Obama. While it is not stated explicitly, these results suggest that Republicans are not just more, but most fearful of a potential Obama candidacy, which torpedoes the notion that “Obama Can’t Win”.

Dr. Rachel Maddow has a segment on her radio program titled “The Underbelly,” which exposes right-wing political tactics, or as she puts it: “Poking a sharp stick at the soft, white underbelly of the rrright wing scheme machine; giving you a look at their political playbook.” This is not the first time Senator Clinton has employed such tactics and most likely will not be the last. The tactic I speak of is throwing something out there and hoping it sticks. When an individual or party makes a claim based entirely NOT in reality, they are simply hoping that by throwing said claim out to the media, some publication (often the qualitative likes of the New York Post) will go to print with it.

The reported blowup by Bill Clinton last week regarding his anger towards Governor Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Obama likewise illustrates just how dire the straits are for that campaign. Ironically, after his blowup, Clinton went out and told a crowd at the Democratic convention in California that the dueling campaigns’ rhetoric must cool down.

Oh yeah - I wonder what Senator McCain thinks about the divulged Yoo Two Torture Memos..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040303345.html

Straight Talk, but no Walk

If neither candidate is going to do it, why not the wife of a former candidate!

Elizabeth Edwards Returns McCain's Fire, Demands 'Straight Talk'

Related:

John McCain Gets Iraq Facts Wrong Again

This is the type of unity the Democrat [sic] party needs to combat McCain and all the Republican dirty tricks and tricksters he stands for. A marriage of truth-seeking journalists and truth-seeking politicians (and sometimes their wives, too!); Almost Utopian, innit?

The Wheels on the Bus Go...

Well the political wheels are definitely in motion… Obama and Clinton begin to throw the fiscal kitchen sink at McCain and Clinton pleads with supporters, presumably of both candidates, not to jump Democratic ship if the other is not the nominee. I think the commotion made over these recent polls is much ado about something that is not as important as it is made out to be. The polls are supposed to represent how potential voters feel NOW, in late March – so in the long run, how voters felt in March will be of little consequence when November rolls around. When so much is being made of the here and now, the long view seems too long to pay attention to and Democrats musn’t fall into this trap. Said polls should serve as a weathervane, if not a wake-up call to the Dems that if they don’t get this mess straightened out, voters will continue to jump ship instead of getting accustomed to and accepting the chosen one. John McCain got all that out of the way a long time ago, although that race was about whom the GOP hated least as opposed to whom the Dems like best. The generally positive attitude towards the candidate should return once the nominee is thoroughly measured up against Senator “Bomb-Bomb [Iran]” McSame [as Bush] (thanks be to Air America Radio loon, Rachel Maddow).

Next on the McCain hit list must be the Iraq occupation and how really and truly wonderful it REALLY is there. Amid the raging resurgence of violence all across that country, the true story must be exposed along with McCain, Bush and the other apologists’ consistent insistence that progress is being made, the surge worked/is working, etc., etc.

Goddamnit Dems!

As I stated previously, my desire to see Hillary as either nominee OR president decreases every waking moment I hear more about her detestable tactics. It’s one thing for me to state that I’ve gone from not minding her being the nominee, to not at all wanting her to be the nominee; but for her to go on this John McCain love fest, singing his praises at any chance she gets is simply remarkable. One of her aides has compared Obama to KEN STARR (?!?) for his desire to have Clinton reveal her tax returns and the list of donors for her husband’s presidential library. While I do not necessarily approve of Obama’s hang-ups regarding such matters, valid as they may be, for anyone to make such a ridiculous claim – much less from Clinton’s camp, all the more head scratching. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but does this not hearken back to one of the more tumultuous episodes in recent presidential history? Perhaps the strategy is to do just that, thereby reminding people of just how humiliating it was to be Hillary Clinton in the last few years of the twentieth century and how she has persevered? I don’t like these dirty political campaign tricks one little bit, but when the opposing candidate refuses to go on the attack and has maintained a lead in the race, few alternatives remain. This obviously proves Obama’s point that he desires a future where such political chicanery will be viewed with the disdain it should be, yet many voters have gotten so caught up in the here and now nature of this über marathon of a primary that it is nearly impossible to look past this immediate process. Other issues that should be mentioned are that while Obama was grilled by Tim Russert in the most recent debate regarding his Louis Farakkan endorsement (which he rejected, denounced, etc. If you remember), flying WAY under the radar is John McCain strongly embracing the endorsement of hate-mongering, rapture-evangelical pastor from Texas, John Hagee. John McCain MUST have more pressure placed upon him by the Democrats, for the corporate media obviously will do no such thing. For God’s sake, the man has fully embraced the last seven plus years of disastrous Bush-Cheney republicanism! Only the Democrats could manage to screw this one up.

Speaking of everyone’s favorite Bush administration, it has been overlooked that there is likely a direct connection between the Colombian incursion into Ecuadorian territory and the neocons‘ desire to stir up more trouble way south of the border. The Colombians by no means had the military ways and means to detect the FARC rebels and coincidentally, Presidents Correa and Bush are just about BFF. Oh yeah, and we bombed Somalia again.

Election '08 Update

http://themoderatevoice.com/category/politics/political-cartoons/

Despite their own rather evident corporate ties (we’ll get to Senator McCain in a moment), it was not long ago that I felt the Democrat [sic] party would be very well represented in the November elections regardless of which candidate inevitably came out of the primary process. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, however, has thrown a big bubba-wrench into that ideal. She has continually shown her true colors as the prototypical politician who does not go down without slinging a considerable amount of mud on the way. Her methodical mocking and trashing Obama’s seemingly sincere messages of hope and optimism is truly deplorable and arguably downright republican, which I suppose is not a stretch when you have someone like Mark Penn driving your campaign [into a ditch]. I presume in this day and age of gutter politics, Clinton and her camp were simply not prepared to face candidates like Edwards and Obama, who are not entirely pessimistic regarding America’s future and who generally refuse to employ fear tactics.

I am slightly haunted by the repeated caveat that one can never count out a Clinton, as we are seeing exactly why that is – she utilizes the very Rovean tactics she has so adamantly accused Mr. Osama, er, I mean Obama of employing. Frank Rich wrote a wonderful op-ed in the Sunday New York Times (queue collective conservative hiss) that called out Mrs. Clinton’s numerous “pot calling the kettle black” moments (no racial pun intended) as well as brutally accurately likening her campaign to the Bush admin’s tragic fiasco in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/opinion/24rich.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

(The first and original) Super Tuesday was to be the ‘Shock and Awe’ of the primary season – but what to do if the electorate is not sufficiently shocked and/or awed? Why, find pictures of Barack Hussein Obama dressed like Ali Baba in traditional African garb, of course! The connect-Obama-to-the-Black-Panther-Party game didn’t work out quite as well as planned, so I suppose they figured: might as well go a step further and connect him directly to Africa!

I forget if it was Jonathan Alterman or Dana Milbank who commented on Friday that the Poppy Bush campaign against Bill Clinton way back when in ’92 showed its signs of last gasp desperation when H.W. started likening Clinton to a pot smoking, draft dodging hippie… Déjà vu, all over again, man?

Downshifting gears to the Grand Old Party and their Grand Old likely nominee, John McCain; reliable GOP patsy, David Brooks, tries desperately to dispel the outrageous notion his native publication (among others) has substantiated that Senator McCain is literally and figuratively in K Street’s pants. Reeling off all the “Maverick” votes and pieces of legislation the good Senator has accumulated over the years is all well and good – actually makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, but in the end this information just makes the new ‘revelations’ surrounding McCain all the more puzzling as to why he acts so seemingly honorably in the public forum yet so very corrupt in the back rooms, corporate jets, yachts and the sort.

Originality Counts!

Listen Senator McCain: I know your presidential campaign is going down the tubes, but criticizing The New York Times is MY shtick!

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003611110