Palin the Barby Doll and it didn't work we can be glad of that. Mr 1 haart attack left then we would be stuck with HER as prez..

Uninformed voters and a base that wasn't thrilled about McCain is why Obama won. He had has base ready to go out and vote. McCain wasn't a good choice for the republican party at all. The only reason is was as close as it was is because Palin got the base fired up.

Whythink…the phonics classes worked, that is the reason I pointed out your POOR remark on “the governor of basically Milwaukee”. You know, the city of Milwaukee with LESS people and almost 7000 times less land mass of the largest state in the nation, otherwise known as Alaska. But yeah…they are “basically” the same. I have no problems with your opinion of Palin, everyone has one. But when you come out and TRY to say a governor of any state is “basically” the same as the mayor of any city; it is ludicrous. Like I said we will always be screwed when voters have this much understanding of their own government.

Retired, did you miss your hooked on phonics today... The key work is BASICALLY Milwaukee.

Mrs. Palin ran a town the size of Monroe and a state with the population of Milwaukee. Thus my statement, "the govenor or basically Milwaukee."

I don't like Mrs. Palin because of her radical political views, her inexperience, and her general lack of basic world knowledge (geography for example). Thankfully/hopefully she will go away because President Obama will take office in less than 2 months.

lol...somone that doesn't like Palin thinks Milwaukee has it's own govenor. We will always be screwed in this country when voters have this much understanding of their own Government.

Well, Ms. Palin certainly proved you don't have to be a genius to be the Mayor of basically Monroe, WI or the Govenor of basically Milwaukee, WI.

Hopefully, Ms. Palin will GO AWAY!

Yeah you become a Governor because your dumb. Well said Nurse4u u moron.

How do you think Sarah Palin would do on "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"
Do you think she would need help with geography?

Lakekenndy=Clueless

Less than 48 hours, and he will have the white house, though.

Better get movin on out.

Obama's "rich" are now making $120,000 it started at $250,000 can WE really TRUST this CLOWN? He doesn't have a CLUE!!!!

gstube or whatever that means

Are you that riddiculous that you would vote for a man that insists on getting oil from his brethren. Clinton and the dems are the ones who insisted on not making the carabou walk across a dirt road. You people brought this on yourself. Had you listened 10 years ago you would probably not be in this mess to begin with but you didn't you hugged the tree and allowed this to happen. Do not blame McCain for your own short commings. Look at the mine that makes the batteries for your stupid electric junk, what is it a 25 or 50 mile dead zone around it. Yeah thats working out pretty good huh. Oh yeah GM anounced its 40k volt yesterday goooooooddddddiiiieeeeee 40k for a econobox really what planet are they on. How many of you have 40k for a little car? Get serious and quit being the fool and take a part in your own future. Media moles are not helping us now.

gastrube exxon mobil also pays around 45% in taxes. Invest in the company and reap some of the benefits that's what I did.

Something that has bothered me for a long time...A few years ago,I was in need of assistance.I lived with my mom,made little money and had(well,still have) 2 kids to care for.I qualified for medical and food stamps...a lot of $ worth of food stamps! I knew a woman with 2 kids also who had even less than me and no help from anyone whatsoever! She didnt qualify for ANY assistance! WHYWHYWHY!!!!! Why was I special and she suffered!

You will get results that's for sure your wallet will be thinner and all kinds of feel good bills will go through. Promises will be broken and you will feel all fuzzy inside knowing that you voted for "change". The change won't be any good.

kiowamohican, Clinton did not cut the capital gains tax to 20%, it was congress, and it was veto proof as there were enough votes to over-ride the veto. McCain wants to drop it to 15%. I for one believe capital gains should be taxed equal to income at the marginal rate. Besides, if we don't tax capital gains, then we increases the burden on income taxes, and that just doesn't make sense given that those earning income are adding value to the economy, and those earning capital gains are typically speculating. If you're the smart money, then manage your finances like Warren Buffett who's worth $50 B, but pays less than 20% of his income to taxes. It's called buy, hold and reinvest.

I had my Obama/Biden yard sign stolen last night. No doubt it was one of those "real americans" that did it. Yes indeed, a Sara PHALIN low life Republican must have done it.
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Rather than get mad, I went to the Democratic Headquaters and got another yard sign. Yes, it is proudly displayed in my front yard. If some turd bucket takes it again tonight, it will be back up again on Thursday.
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I voted today and boy do I feel good about casting that ballot. I plan on watching Barak tonight and perhaps going on line to make another political donation. I don't get mad, I get even.

Zoom where has whybesad lied? I have looked through the posts and haven't seen any. You seem like your a kool-aid drinking liberal who has blinders on and u r unwilling to look at Obamas actual plan. Obama has been lying left and right about his plans. Your taxes will go up under an Obama administration no matter what he tells you. You may not see your payroll taxes go up but, he will raise the taxes somewhere. Barney Frank has already said he intends to have bills that will raise taxes. Just wait and see and remember you were warned.

kiowamohican your right on.

Newsflash for you guys.
Clinton cut capital gains..Cut it from 28% to 20%.
Won't matter to much how much Obama raises it anyway. Everyone who has not been short selling the market has lost, and won't be claiming capital gains. Instead they will have tax WRITE OFFS for losses.

Zoom:
Investors Business Daily has the race at 3%. They had the 2004 election dead on. Rassmussen also has it at 3% points, and he called every single state correct in 2004. Those are the only polls i will put any real stock into.
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http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_c...
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Those polls were released around mid day yesterday and the market took off, DESPITE having a consumer confidence report that was the lowest it has been in over two decades. Obama has been ahead in most polls by about 7-10%. The market obviously does not go directly by polling #'s, but it does plays into it. All the smart $$$ knows the economy is doomed if he takes office, with a Democratic congress, don't kid yourself. If you don't believe that, I really don't care. If Obama is elected just watch the sell off in days/weeks to come. Position all your capital short sold, and you can clean house.

Also whybesad, the tax plan is right there for all to see on the web site. It hasn't changed. I'll even provide the link, even though I know you will continue to spread lies anyway.
http://www.barackobama.com/taxes/

Well said Zoom. Concerning capital gains taxes, we tried lowering them and guess what happenned? People sold and collected their profits and sent those profits offshore or splurged on luxuries. There was no reinvestment. The best way to encourage a buy and hold mentality is to keep capital gains taxes at a reasonable level that encourages investement but discourages speculation. The capital gains tax rate we had before Bush was working just fine. True too for dividend and estate taxes.

OMG whybesad, how many times do people have to explain this? Do you really have no comprehension how our PROGRSSIVE tax law works, or are you just trolling at this point?

Each tax bracket is MARGINAL, meaning only the dollars ABOVE that bracket gets taxed at that higher rate, not everything up to that rate.

Also, Obama wants to repeal ONLY the rate ABOVE $250k, NOT the rates BELOW $250K. The calculator you linked to is comparing the Bush tax cuts to what they were under the previous Clinton administration. Plugging in numbers below $250K would not accurately reflect what Obama wants to do.

Here are some somple examples of what Obama proposes:
If you make exactly $250K YOUR TAX WILL STAY THE SAME.
If you make $300K, ONLY $50K would be taxed 3% more, or for an increase of $1,500.

Finally, you have to examine each candidates ENTIRE proposals, not just pick and choose what you don't like. Neither candidate suggests they will fix our countries problems by changing taxes alone.

3% on $250,000 is $7,500 which As a business owner could be used to expand the business and put that money back into the community. Over 4 years that's $30,0000. That's just income taxes. You add up the capital gains taxes Obama wants to tax on somewhere between $150,000-$250,000 range (depending on what day it is) Futurerichguy don't you think that your able to spend the money you earned better than the government?

Under The current tax code I save $1600 on taxes under the bush tax cuts. Obama wants to take those away. That means I will pay $1600 more under Obama. Isn't that a tax increase? You can look up yours with this worksheet.
http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finan...

whybesad, I'm going to be rich only if our economy improves and I'm able to make more money. Paying an additional 3% on income over $250K will not prevent me from becoming rich.

futurerich guy your screen name is completly opposite of what you believe. Unless you plan on getting money handed to you or winning the lottery. Usually wealth is built because of hard work and new ideas to achieve this goal. Why punish hard work?

There is absolutely no correlation between the polls and the financial markets. Obama's tax plan increases the tax rate from 36% to 39% at the $250K income threshold. That's where it was prior to Bush and the market was performing very well under this plan. Why is this so difficult to understand and why do people feel the need to exagerate it as a means to punish those who work hard? Besides, I don't know of too many people who believe that if they simply work harder, they'll be making more than $250K.

Zoom yes I did watch the who exchange between Joe and Obama. It was a good move on McCains part to bring Joe to the forefront. Obama said in plain English what he is going to do. That hits home with normal hardworking people. We all as people want and strive to become successful. Obama wants to punish us for being successful. He keeps changing his so called "rich" benchmark. Biden is now saying it's $150,000. How can you trust it won't go lower before it's to late and he is in office?

kiowamohican, Please illustrate where "Obama surges ahead in the major tracking polls". In fact, tracking polls have been relatively unchanged as a whole for the past two weeks, while the market has fluctuated wildely. Your incorrect correlation between polls and the market doesn't help your credibility relating to financial markets.

"Today's Polls 10/28: Stop me if you've heard this one before. Although the national trackers look slightly stronger for John McCain than they did a couple days ago, Barack Obama once again had an exceptionally good day in the state-level numbers.

To review the national polling situation briefly: Gallup and Research 2000 moved toward McCain, and IBD/TIPP moved toward Obama; the other five trackers were essentially flat. Among the one-off national polls, Pew and ARG moved toward Obama, and Ipsos moved toward McCain.

I increased the sensitivity of the trendline curve today, and will continue to do so over the course of the final week of the campaign. If there is any late movement, we want to be sure that we capture it. Even so, the trendline remains essentially flat, with perhaps just a slight bit (a few tenths of a point) of retreat off of Obama's peak numbers."
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

whybesad, did you even see the ENTIRE exchange between Obama and Joe the plumber? It is obvious, by some of the seamingly rehearsed way he says things, that he wasn't really interested in Obama's answer to his questions.

McCain put this guy into the spotlight, and made him a central part of his campaign, by mentioning his name 22 times during the debate (to Obama's 4). Considering all the media attention Joe has been seaking since the last debate, I don't hear him complaining about the scrutiny. Your concern is touching though.

It shows character in a party when an average hard working American asks a Presidential candidate a question and that party throws that person under the bus and investigates him and ridicules him.

Tomorrows headlines SHOULD read:
"McCain closes gap in polls, markets soar"
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It is rather telling that the markets have sold off the days which Obama surges ahead in the major tracking polls. Today when many of the tracking polls showed the race close with in 2-4 %age points, the market had its 2nd largest one day gain in history.
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Election is next Tuesday. WATCH the Asian markets that night! If Obama wins you will see a MASSIVE sell off. If McCain wins there will be a huge rally, mark my word on that!

mooshoo don't cut yourself short you are very shallow in your beliefs as by looking at your previous posts. Watch that paycheck shrink if Obama gets in. He's the most liberal Senator and Biden is the 2nd most liberal. Funny how they are talking about tax cuts which is a complete lie.

Au Contraire Mr. Whybesad, I have very deep beliefs and values. That is why I find it intriguing that RNC would spend $150,000 on clothes for Sarah. It is a desparate attempt to fix an image problem, or as I wrote earlier, to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Sarah Palin is not VP candidate material, she is not ready for the national stage, and other than firing up the base, she is failing miserably. It is clear that she is breaking from the McCain camp and will provide a lot of theatre in the next 7 days.
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I have a lot of respect for John McCain and it must be tough for him right now. He took a gamble on Sarah Palin and it failed. The fact that the nation, the media and the pundits are debating her wardrobe a week before a national election is amazing. It is a political nightmare for John MaCain.

Mooshoo your pretty shallow with your beliefs. Worrying about what Palin is wearing? She was a great pick for McCain someone who isn't a Washington insider and will fear nobody in Washington. We need more like her on both sides of the isle. Term limits would be nice.

I must admit that she sure looks like a Diva in those brand new clothes.

Wow, Sarah Palin has to be the worst VP pick in History. Back in September Sarah Palin was reving up Republicans for McCain. Less than two months later Sarah Palin quits reving and goes rogue on McCain.

oh give me a break!!! a race war??? whybesad I love your story!! It is exactly what is going to happen if Obama gets elected! Protect yourself and know who you're voting for! If they can't even answer a hard queston when asked and try to fault the news reporter instead, then I think they don't want us to know what they are really about. It's called gradualism. First they brainwash oherwise smart people then hide what they're really about. in this case it' socialism,and maybe even communism!

whybesad, you're forgetting that you need to be at least 18 years old to vote.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

-------------------------------------------

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant sh ould be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God fo r the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house h e is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn' t maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
-- Cicero , 55 BC

whythink- I simply brought up affirmative action to show that Obama benefited from this program it wasn't all just having good grades and being a good student.

Lakennedy…you are in the unique position in life of not only knowing the answers to unasked questions but also have a swami like ability to discern emotion from words on a web page. Do you also know the lotto numbers? To your question on polls, I am fine; I look at them now as much as I have in all previous elections.

You wanna see this economy boom? Repel all capital gains tax on businesses.

So, smarty, still convinced that there is more than one bush doctrine? Sarah replied with "in what respect, Charlie" because she had no idea what else to say. Keep rationalizing to yourself that she did know. I understand that you're stuck with a really bad decision, and you've come too far to back out now. You sure get angry when someone calls you out on your idiocy. wink wink. Hey, how are you doing after looking at the latest polls? lmao

whybesad,

I did not call you a racist.

But, why bring up affirmative action?

Uh oh, John McCain the original anit-GW tax cut socialist.

The Obama campaign e-mailed an excerpt from a McCain statement on the Bush tax cuts in 2001 in which McCain said, "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief." The Democratic e-mail also cited a McCain statement from the 2000 campaign that "I really believe, that when you are-reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more."

http://wcco.com/politics/barack.obama.jo...

futurerichguy...your anecdote aside, you did not discount the facts of my statement.

Lakennedy…You are wrong on the doctrine and her response to the question from Gibson. Did you read the transcript? Gibson asked a specific on the doctrine from Sept 2002 “smart pants”. The doctrine is multifaceted and has changed with additions many times between then and now. So her response “In what respect, Charlie”, was more than accurate. You don’t have to like the answer but try to get over your intellectual dishonesty by saying she did not answer. She provided comments on the subject; again read the transcript. As an aside, if you already know the answer to an unasked question you are indeed smarter than we all think you already are; wink wink.

RetiredAirForce, your argument is a common regurgitated argument that the rich use to rally the working middle class against those living in poverty. It's a delusional ego trip that makes a working class Joe actually believe they're in a class above those in poverty. In actuality its the rich man who's keeping you in your place. He's holding a tiny carrot in your face while he's eating the entire carrot cake.

Zoom...so you admit his plan can't drop a tax rate below zero; so how can he lower their taxes? A tax credit is not lowering taxes it is a hand out. His plan is a sham. If someone already pays zero and he gives them money he has not lowered their taxes!

my comment was directed to whybesad.

No, Obama said he will repeal Bush's 3% tax reduction ONLY for income over $250k, which is only 5% of working people and small business. However, for the 95% of working Americans who make less than $250k, their taxes will stay the same or decrease. This will result in a NET TAX DECREASE.

Obama also wants to eliminate capital gains taxes for investments in small businesses and start ups. McCain would continue to tax capital gains for small businesses at 15%.

Raising taxes is sound policy when your government spends 20% of its budget on debt interest. Remember, Obama is just rolling back the Bush tax cuts so we can move closer to a budget surplus like we had under Clinton and start paying off debt. Also, the Bush tax cuts were a great experiment in tax policy that proved "trickle down" doesn't work. The Obama tax plan favors the middle class, but the most important thing is that a healthy middle class leads to a prosperous economy so everyone wins.

Zoom- Obama has said he would get rid of the Bush tax cuts. Well, wouldn't this actually be a tax INCREASE? So, if he takes the Bush tax cuts away the percentage of taxes I would pay will go up. The capital gains taxes would go up and then Obama is going to tax the people and businesses earning $250K even more. Do you really think that raising ANY taxes in this economy is going to do any good?

Yes RAF, Obama will provide a Making Work Pay tax credit of $500 for workers and $1000 for working couples. For those that pay no net taxes, I consider this a stimulus package for people who actually need it and would spend it, instead of more money for the 5% of the population that don't need it and don't "trickle down" the tax breaks created by Bush.

McCain's only relief for middle class families is an increase in the dependant exemption, which leaves out 101 million households. A family with two children would get a whopping $125 credit the first year. There is a reason you never hear McCain use the words "middle class". It's time for a new approach.

Retiredairforce: I'd hardly expect Sarah Palin to memorize the entire Bush Doctrine. I do expect her to be able to discuss what she agrees with and what she disagrees with. She can't do that. Now, back to you. You write "which of the many bush doctrines should she have memorized before the interview?" There is only ONE Bush Doctrine, smarty pants. It is comprised of many foreign policy principles, but all of them fall under one name: The Bush Doctrine. Nice try though. I don't think she should have to memorize anything in order to speak intelligently about it. Apparently you do, though. And that speaks volumes to the level of confidence even the right has in their idiotic nominee. She damn well should be able to discuss the Bush Doctrine. I guess I might need to lower my expectations when it comes to Sarah, I mean she isn't even able to name one piece of journalistic material she reads to get her news. This is who you endorse? I already know your answer: "you betcha, golly gee whiz, that mavericky Sarah Palin is goin to be my gosh darn Vice President." wink wink. Enjoying the polls? I know I am.

Betty, I believe you have it mixed up. There are rumors going around that actually have obama pegged as the anti-Christ. Scary. Of course we were assured at our church that he is not...he doesn't quite match up to all the criteria. And, with his policies he would be the greater of two evils making him a little more "of working hand and hand with the devil". Lying, deceit, murder, and stealing are usually characteristics of evil. Obama seems to have a lot of that going on for him.

It is a sad time in our country when two adults that are on the top of their party's ticket feel that the only way they can win is by dividing our country and causing a race War. People, we are better then this. For all of the ones that have got on McCain and Palin bus of Mass Destruction, this is not God's way, it is working hand and hand with the Devil.

Two wrong people don't make a right and this is the time that our country need to Unite.

Wake up America, see what is beneath all those fancy{$150.000,00} clothes and know that no amount of money can buy class. Either you have it or you don't.

The color of a person skin can change, but Character is something from within, and that is why I am voting for Senator Obama.

By the way, we didn't win the war in Viet Nam, not by a long shot, so McCain need to stop tooting his own horn. I know men that actually faught there and got the wounds and battle scars to show for it, but they have never used it as a stepping stone, and they are more of a Hero then McCain will ever be!

" WHEN YOU STAND FOR NOTHING, YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING "!

Zoom...still waitng for an answer on how Obama is going to lower the tax rate below ZERO; 30% of American working families are now (not) paying.

...and under Obama's plan the "not so well off people" that "get all the breaks when it comes to programs" will be about 95% of working families and small businesses.

Spanky, the threshold hasn't changed. Obama has always said if your income is less then $250k, your taxes rate will be the same OR lower than what it is now.

For those folks who really care about the facts, here's basically how it breaks down:
Income over $250k will be taxed 3% more, which is the same rate when Clinton left office. Taxes are marginal, so only income MORE THAN $250K gets taxed 3% more. For example, if your income is $300k, only $50k will be taxed 3% higher, not the whole $300k.
Income from $200k to $250k will be taxed the same as now.
If your income is below $200k, you will see a tax credit.

What's wrong with less than wealthy people getting free healthcare and schooling? They deserve it. All these rich peple get what they want why can't poor people get things? Affirmative action is a great thing it helps blacks get into college and get a beeter education. You rich people just don't get it.

It seems that the not so well off people get all the breaks when it comes to programs. I wish Obama would just tell us the truth about what he plans on doing. He changes his numbers daily. First it was he will raise taxes on people making over 250K now it's 200K it's just going to keep going down. It's really hard to trust this guy.

I can't stand affirmative action! What a joke. That is one thing that needs to be done away with. Let the person earn his job or place in college based on merit. What a bragging point...yeah, I was accepted to the UW Madison's therapy program...(of course I'm not telling you that I had an easier test to take to qualify and I still didn't earn as a high of a score as the white girl who didn't make it because she was white...just because I'm black!) Maybe the black kids who are selling drugs around here will have a little more belief in themselves if they realized they are no different. Maybe if the government would quit saying..."yep, you are special and something is wrong with you so we are going to help you out." The black men and women that I admire the most...Bill Cosby being one of them, is totally against afirmative action. I can see why!

Humble beginnings living in Hawaii going to private schools. Going to Harvard that's pretty humble. Palin had to enter beauty contests to try and win scholarships to help pay for college. Which seems more "humble" whythink?

Oh so now I'm a racist? WOW!! Not sure how you get that from any of my posts but, so be it you are entitled to your opinion. I'm not a Rush listener I can just see the media biased with my own eyes. But, thanks for being concerned about my listening preferences.

Ah, whybesad listened to Rush cry about the media not asking the Michell $ for clothes question.

If Obama was assisted by affirmative action then it just shows how much he has had to overcome to get where he is. It proves how no silver spoon was in his mouth at birth.

Why would benfitting from a legal program be an issue? If it isn't an issue why bring it up?
Maybe you share the same racist views as Rush?

He was also was helped by affirmative action.

Well all be mooshoo we aren't talking about Michelle and we won't hear anything about her from the media because they are in the sack for Obama 110%. Well mooshoo I was just pointing out that the media is very biased in their so called reporting but, your just to ignorant to accept that I guess. Did you know that Hillary pays $6,000 for one of those pant suits we have all come to love. Did ya hear about that in the media mooshoo? didn't think so.

whoanellie, actually, Obama has lived middle class or lower much of his life. He paid for his bachelors degree with student loans, and didn't start doing well financially until after he earned his law degree. McCain became wealthy the minute he married into an upper class family, not that there is anything wrong with that.

This "spread the wealth" mantra, like the "socialist" mantra and comparing Obama's plan to Russia, is hilarious. Since you have enjoyed the benefits of a PROGRESSIVE tax system your entire life, and you call yourself a "middleclasser", you would receive a middle class tax cut under Obama's plan. In later life, if you aren't there already, you can also enjoy the other "spread the wealth" programs like social security and medicare. I haven't heard McCain proposing to eliminate social security or medicare, or propose a flat tax. Until that happens, using your logic, we are already socialist.

Aw Shucks, Whybesad, were not talkin about Michelle, were talkin about Sarah. So is the national news media. You know, the $150,000 clothes buyin' spree (wink, wink), jettin' the kids around on the taxpayer's nickle and this troublesome deposition thing. It's time you and me start sittin' around the table and talkin' like real americans, you know, just one of us average Joe's.

If the Republicans hadn't been calling Obama an elitist, and Palin wasn't trying to paint herself as a "hockey mom", I'm not sure $150k for clothing would be a two day story. What exactly was wrong with her clothing anyway? I heard that the genius that approved spending $150K on clothing in one shot also approved the "terrorist" robo calls. The McCain campaign is a train wreck. Why do they continually give the media these easy shots so close to the election?

Here is Obama's “reality” of spreading his wealth. From 2000-2004 he gave 1% of earnings to charity. In 2005 he gave 4.7% and in 2006 6.1%. If he really wanted to spread HIS wealth around he would have. The only wealth he wants to spread is other peoples money---typical politician “don’t look at what I have done, look at what I want America to do”.

if any of you think that Obama is going to spread his wealth anywhere near you, you are sadly mistaken. he will take from you and me and give to people who didn't EARN it!! If he so believes in this philosophy why hasn't he lived like we in Janesville who are mostly Middleclass? No, he will keep his wealth and get richer, while us "middleclassers will become as poor as the poverty level. look at Russia, they supposedly do this "Spread the wealth" thing. the only ones who have any money are the ones in power!! Boy! You Obama backers are sure brainwashed! I haven't seen any of his money in my wallet, and I'm not dumb enough to think I ever will. Keep your hands off my wallet Obama!

lakennedy...which of the many bush doctrines should she have memorized for the interview?

whybesad: It really doesn't matter how much Barack spends on his clothes. He didn't take federal money, he's raised it himself. And don't even start complaining about the amount of money he's raised. It's a testament to the amount of people who support Obama. Besides, Bush still has him beat in the 2004 election.

I really don't care how much someone pays for their clothes. If the RNC wants to spend that much, let them. I'm a lot more concerned about the fact that she doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is, can't name one USSC court decision besides Roe v. Wade, and is unable to name one piece of news that she reads. These are all issues that concern me.

MOOSHOO then you should dig up and see how much the Obama's have spent on their clothes the past 18 months. If it's such an issue for you. He's just an average guy to right? He's for the working people right? Do some research on it and get back and let us know what you find. O wait that's right it doesn't matter because he's a democrat.

The economy wasn't as bad in 1992 as it is now. And Clinton raised everyone's taxes. Biggest tax INCREASE in history.

We will all be affected by the tax increase on businesses and corporations that make over 250k. They are the ones creating the jobs that most people work for. If they have to pay more in taxes they are less likely to hire people or retain their current employees. They will end up raiding the price for their goods and services that we all need in our everyday lives. Right now with all these jobs being cut do to the economic turn down we can't afford to overtax anybody or any business.

In 1992 taxes for those making a higher income were raised. Anyone remember the outcome of that. All those jobs lost and the deficit...oh wait, that is the result of the 2000 tax plan. The 1992 result was job creation and a surplus by 2000.

I don't buy the projection that a similar tax plan to 1992 will hurt the economy but a similar tax plan to 2000 will help it. For some reason that doesn't work for me.

whatdidyousay,

Are you against equal education for all? Is that what makes me socialist?
What about Health care? Allowing all Americans access to health care without having to declare bankruptcy? Is that socialist?
I believe our founding fathers would want Americans access to these things. I believe they are essential elements to LIFE LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of happiness.

BTW, does the consitution guarantee roads, rail systems, the military? These are all things paid for by taxes and yes, Bill Gates can and should pay a higher percent than myself. John McCain agreed with that in 2000, unfortunately McCain has sold out to the elite Republicans during this run for the presidency.

The media already decided that depositions are no big thing...remember the Clinton days?

P.S. I wonder how the deposition is going for Ms. Phalin today. No doubt she is lookin' good, wink wink.

It is always wise to back up your stories with research before you report them. It saves embarrassment, as it would have saved the reporter who "broke" that "story".

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/roo...

You betcha its an issue. This is a woman who tries to convince the average Joe that she is one of us. B.S.! When was the last time you went on a $150,000 shopping spree for clothes? And you think she won't belly up to the trough of special interest lobbying funds? Give me a break.

Yeah grasping at what she spends on clothes. That's an issue that Americans need to be concerned about. Thought you lefties wanted to talk about issues is the cost of clothes that she wears a real issue? Nobody ever says a word about Obama's $3,000 a piece suits or that Michelle Obama ordered caviar on the campaign trail.

Sarah Phalin, fashion queen. Governor from Alaska who wants to be your next Empress.

Thanks for sharing the link JohnDoe. She is just like us, one of those common people ya know sittin around the kitchen table tryin' to git buy without big government in our lives... when were not jettin' the family around at taxpayer expense or goin' on one of those $150,000 shopping trips.

polert...for as much as you like to hear yourself talk...your silence on this issue is deafening...
.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/P...

It just keeps getting better for Sarah Phalin. The RNC spent $150,000 on a clothes buying shopping spree for Mrs. Phalin. Proof that you can indeed make a silk purse out of a sows ear. She sure will look good giving that deposition in Alaska. This, my friends is the woman who shrills that Sen. Obama is an elitist. She sure knows how to fire up the base.

Desertman…Why should America just “shut up” if the tax plan YOU THINK does not affect them? Have you read his tax plan? His plan states that 95% of American working families would receive a tax cut under his plan. If you had any grasp of the Presidents ability to affect your taxes you would know they only come in three forms; Medicare/Medicaid, SSN, and federal pay roll taxes. His plan is for pay roll taxes at the federal level. If you look at the level working American families pay these federal pay roll taxes you see they are broken down into groups of 5 (quintiles). Currently the lowest two quintiles (more than 30% of the families) pay a ZERO federal pay roll tax after deductions and tax credits. So how does Obama’s plan lower a working family’s tax below a zero rate? The truth is he can’t…that is the lie in his plan. This same lie is the one the majority of the voting public has bought as well as the media. If the basis for his tax plan is a lie, how do we really know what he will do? Remember when Clinton ran he said he was going to lower our taxes too. What did he do? Oh yeah, the largest tax hike in history. SO you can wallow around with your head in the sand over what you think his plan is. But please let the rest of us think for ourselves.

Zoom…If you had read my post, you would have seen the “comparison” between Obama and Palin was from your reading not from my words. I simply stated any Governor from the 50 states has as much foreign policy experience as a first term senator.

FYI, McCain's choice of Palin as VP is now effecting him in the polls. One criteria undecided voters use to decide, is their perception of a President's decision making ability. Most (not all) of the Republican base doesn't care, but independant voters sure do. There are slightly more Democratic voters this year than Republican, so while McCain has shored up his base, he is now losing independant and undecided voters. McCain won't win with Republican voters alone.

"So, he knows the issues we that's impressive so do a lot of other people in this Country."

But Palin doesn't know the issues, as far as anyone can tell. If she did, she would be doing more than softball interviews with Katie Couric. Considering a VP's ONLY real power is to break ties in the Senate, and replace the President if need be, she is only qualified for half of the job. A lot of other people could break ties in the Senate. McCain took a gamble on Palin, and it may cost him the election.

Ok Zoom what does Gov. Doyle do while he is over in Japan? He is trying to get FOREIGN countries to buy Wisconsin made products that is what Gov. do. It's very common among the 50 states. What foreign policy does Obama have? So, he knows the issues we that's impressive so do a lot of other people in this Country.

Last time I checked it was McCain running for President not Palin. FYI

We will all be affected by the tax increase on businesses and corporations that make over 250k. They are the ones creating the jobs that most people work for. If they have to pay more in taxes they are less likely to hire people or retain their current employees. They will end up raiding the price for their goods and services that we all need in our everyday lives. Right now with all these jobs being cut do to the economic turn down we can't afford to overtax anybody or any business.

If you believe the Gov. of Alaska has as much knowledge and access as a US Senator I can't help you.

If providing equal education for all is a socialist idea than sign me up for the socialist party.

I believe providing equally funded education and equal health care to everyone will greatly reduce the need for several other programs we currently pay for.

Last I check, according to J. Kozol "The Shame of America", in NY two equally qualified teachers can start at completely different pay rates. 50% difference. In a rich suburban district you can be paid up to 2x the rate of an equally qualified teacher in a poor urban district.
If this makes me a socialist, again, sign me up. I believe it makes me an American looking forward to a better standard of living for all American not just those born to the right parents, neighborhood or circumstance.

desertman
I want my money in my check book. I want your money in your check book. I don't want part of my money in your check book. Thats it. Fundamentally its wrong for you to take what is mine. I dopnt care if its $5 or .50 whats mine is mine and I pay my share. What yours is yours. I don't steal from you you don't steal from me. If I earn 250k its not up to you to change the rules and start taking what I EARN. You see EARN is the word of the day. I EARN it not you. I WORK for it not you. It is mine not YOURS. Why is this so hard for people to understand

Just a quick question to all of you out there who believe in the McCain ticket. How many of you are going to be impacted by any tax cut. If you do make more than a quarter of a million dollars a year then you have a reason to say something. Anyone else should shut up, cause your taxes arn't going up. And if your so wrapped up in this new idea of socialism, it's already here thanks to your president Bush.

The problem with Palin is that she knows nothing. She can't think on her feet. If she is rattled by softball questions from Katie Couric or a third grader, how much confidence will she instill to the rest of the world, especially our enemies, when she has to take over for McCain in what would be a crisis? The polls are proving my point. I can't believe you folks are still defending McCain's decision to pick Palin. It only brings light to his poor decision.

Mr. RAF, comparing Palin and Obama is silly, because they are running for different offices, but I'll bite. The difference between Palin and Obama is intelligence. Please tell us this foreign policy experience Palin has. She has been asked several times, and can't describe anything that would relate to foreign policy, except selling Alaskan oil to foreigners. Obama knows the world issues, has opinions, and can articulate them. There is no comparison.

futurerichguy...you left out the plagiary part of his great college career.

whythink...to your question on foreign policy; the Governor of Alaska has done as much foreign policy as any other Governor in our country, which by the way is the same as a first term senator.

Palin attended several colleges and universities. In 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College but left after her first semester. She transferred to North Idaho community college, where she spent two semesters as a general studies major. From there, she transferred to the University of Idaho for two semesters. During this time Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant, then finished third in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award. She then attended the Matanuska-Susitna community college in Alaska for one term. The next year she returned to the University of Idaho where she spent three semesters completing her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.
Biden attended the University of Delaware in Newark. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in history and political science in 1965. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968.

whatdidyousay

You do a fabulous job of repeating the Republican (Hannity and Rush) talking points.

I ask you, in terms of foreign policy what has Mrs. Palin done? Besides being able to see Alaska (don'tch ya know) what commities has she sat on?
Obama is not a socialist, nice try. Having the rich in this country pay more for government programs, roads, the military, education, etc... is not socialism, not even close.

Yes, he said spread the wealth. I would prefer he word it as "build the middle class" but he screwed up that phrase and gave the republicans a talking point.
What is the difference between growing a shrinking middle class and "spreading the wealth"?

Well as spanky says neither one of these guys have executive experience.But Sarah Palin does. So what makes her not qualified if these 2 other ones are not??? She has experience in running a state very well I might add. I am excited to get her in there. I think she is down to earth and not tied in with the money people who are pushing for Nobama to get elected. Anyone know why he is getting so much money from outside this country for his campaign??? Is he greasing a few foreign palms with favors for if he gets elected??? I think so!!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27310999/

Sarah Palin is no Maverick - some old crap politics wasting our money.

They didn't play the whole conversation, but Biden was just trying to puff himself up to a campaign supporter. Nobody said he doesn't have an ego. I do think he is capable of answering hard hitting questions like, 'what newspapers do you read', or, 'can you tell a third grader what the Vice president does'.

It's no wonder Obama wants people to vote early and often. Every time Biden opens his big mouth people are starting to question the ticket.

People tend to forget Joe Biden has said that Obama wasn't qualified to be President just a few short months ago. Then he said it just the other day that if Obama is President that mark his words he will be "tested" in his first six months in office. Foreign countries will see if Obama is up to the task. The two most liberal senators in the Senate. These guys aren't centrists at all.

At least she's raised SNL's ratings...

"Fifty-five percent of respondents say she’s not qualified to serve as president if the need arises, up five points from the previous poll.

In addition, for the first time, more voters have a negative opinion of her than a positive one. In the survey, 47 percent view her negatively, versus 38 percent who see her in a positive light.

That’s a striking shift since McCain chose Palin as his running mate in early September, when she held a 47 to 27 percent positive rating.

Now, Palin’s qualifications to be president rank as voters’ top concern about McCain’s candidacy - ahead of continuing President Bush’s policies, enacting economic policies that only benefit the rich and keeping too high of a troop presence in Iraq."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27297013/

Not only is Palin not smart enough to be VP, she can now cross elementary school teacher off her list of things she could do. Sorry if I have offended any teachers out there.

And Sarah is still clueless....

"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States."

It helps to read from the source.

Keep trying polert...it's not working.
.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

Moreover, the U.S. Senate website explains that the modern role of Vice Presidents has been to preside over the Senate “only on ceremonial occasions.” ThinkProgress contacted Senior Assistant Paliamentarian Peter Robinson, who also disputed Palin’s characterization of the Vice President’s role:

In modern practice the Vice President doesn’t really control the Senate. … If anyone has a responsibility to try to govern the Senate, it’s the responsibility of the two leaders.
.
Not as Sarah Clueless seems to think..."They’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.
.
"But remember that she said in her debate that she is in favor of Dick Cheney's view that the vice president should get additional powers than granted by the U.S. Constitution?"

That has been under review by the supreme court to determine what the founding fathers meant in language.

Sarah Palin is correct if you use the defined words, and what the encyclopedia said The Constitution designates the Vice President of the United States as President of the Senate. The Constitution also calls for a President pro tempore to serve as the leader of the body when the President of the Senate (the Vice President) is absent. In practice, neither the Vice President nor the President pro tempore—customarily the longest-serving (most senior) Senator in the majority party—actually presides over the Senate on a daily basis; that task is given to junior Senators of the majority party, in part so they may learn proper parliamentary procedure. For these reasons, it is the Majority Leader who in practice manages the Senate.

In recent years, it has become more common for the leader of the minority party to be referred to as the leader of his party ("Democratic Leader" or "Republican Leader") instead of as "Minority Leader

Actually the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and technically in charge of that organization. The Vice President also casts tie breaking votes if there is a 50 / 50 tie. Rarely, though has a Vice President excerted this power....so I would say her answer was technically correct.

Sarah Clueless.

Can't wait to see how polert and the rest of 'em put the spin on this.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/P...

I feel betrayed a bit. Both of these candidates are lame ducks (in my opinion). It's a sad day in America when these are the two choices for President we have. None of these men have executive experience. Nether of them has ever had to balance a budget. None of these men has ever run anything. I hate having Senators running for President because of the lack of executive experience. They seem to be able to talk the talk but, I have doubts that either one of these men can walk the walk.

It is known Powell is a
Republican
in
name
only

(Rino)

Colon Powell says that the Republican party has gone to far to the right in his opinion. Well the two candidates on the Democratic ticket are #1 (Obama) being most liberal senator and his running mate (Biden) is #2. Now for some reason it looks to me that the Democratic party has gone further to the left more than the Republicans have gone further to the right. I mean look at George W. Bush he has spent all kinds of $. He hasn't been conservative at all in office. And the Republican nominee is a liberal republican who often makes true conservatives upset over his stances. I'm really not sure what Colon Powell was talking about or what he was looking at when he said that. Maybe they have something in common and that's what he based his decision on.

At least she is HOT I mean smokin LOL

Sorry needed humor here

I wonder how much the Palin haters have looked at Joe B. You remember Joe, the one that said less than six months ago Barrack is not ready to be President and the office is not a place for on the job training. The same Joe that has given his family more than 2 million dollars from his own failed campaigns. The one with a son that runs a lobbying firm out of DC. Joe who in just the past month doesn’t know when the TV was introduced in politics, who was President when, how many letters are in a four letter word, and expects people in wheel chairs to stand in when he is around. Yes clearly we can see that Joe has his convictions and means what he says, he is not corrupt, and he is a student of history and math, and shows compassion for his following. But all this pales in comparison to a report from ONE media person that cannot be corroborated by anyone else and the secret service has determined did not happen about a mythical person saying “kill him”.

I almost forgot. Sarah Palin didn't say "thanks, but no thanks" to that bridge to nowhere. She supported it fully before it became a joke to the rest of the country, only then did she denounce it. And for someone who denounces earmarks, she sure didn't seem to mind them before she was nominated as V.P. This year alone, she sent Senator Stevens a proposal for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million — more, per person, than any other state. Nice. She's against those, though, right? I mean she is a nice breath of fresh air.

A breath of fresh air? Well, that's nice. What else is she? I mean besides unable to name a single news publication she uses to get her news, unable to name a single USSC decision she didn't agree with, unable to name a single piece of legislation her "maverick" running mate voted for that aimed toward more regulation, unable to use her powers as governor ethically (yes, she was found to have acted unethically, but not criminally) when using her position to fire a man who would not comply with her demands and fire her brother in law, what is she besides interested in seeing the scope of the VP power enhanced? She campaigns with no scrupels. She practically incites anti-Obama riots at her campaign stops, then just bobs her head up and down when people scream out "kill him", etc. At least McCain has denounced this behavior at his campaign stops. You may see her as a "breath of fresh air", but the bottom line is that you do not know one thing about Sarah Palin that the Republican Party doesn't want you to know. She isn't allowed to give any serious interviews alone. After she made HERSELF look like the ass she is during that interview, who can blame the party for not allowing her to talk to the press. Instead, the Republicans cry "liberal main stream media", why are they liberal? Because they asked Sarah Palin what she reads? I guess that's a tough one, huh? This is who you want next in line for the Presidency? I wouldn't trust her to do my laundry, let alone be my President.

I feel Sarah is a breath of fresh air. I do not agree with all your views but understand her personnel reasons. I believe she would be our first step to taking back America. You can not tell me that the sugar coating,and through the Rosie lenses you do not see Obama for what he is.

Petcoat name calling isn't going to get you anywhere. Once you get out of your mom's basement and get a job and actually be a productive citizen in this society than your opinions will be much more credible.

petcat

I knw you dont get it, thats okay, have your mommy explain it to you so you can understand the post. Seriously did you ever graduate or even go to school. Let me help you I will type slowly, NO he has not done anything for his state, look at the stats, now what is he going to do for the United States, do you get it now. Man some kids should really get to Sylvan so the can get this stuff before they post

We know more about Joe the Plumber than we do Tony Resko and Bill Ayers.

Joe the plumber is screwed. The Government knows what to do with your money better than you know what to do with it. Forget about growing "your" business and hiring new people.

The US should immediately pull out of Chicago !
Body count -- In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago , 221 killed in Iraq .

Sens. Barack Obama & Dick Durbin, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Gov. Rod Blogojevich, House leader Mike Madigan, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike), Mayor Richard M. Daley (son of Mayor Richard J. Daley).....our leadership in Illinois.....all Democrats.
Thank you for the combat zone in Chicago . Of course, they're all blaming each other.
Can't blame the Republicans, there aren't any!!!!

State pension fund $44 Billion in debt, worst in country. Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax 10.25%highest in country. (Look'em up if you want). Chicagoschool system one of the worst in country.

This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois .
He's gonna 'change' Washington politics?

lakennedy...finally you got the story straight, good for you.

I won't get to excited about those poll numbers remember back in 2004 Kerry was up by 15 points two weeks before the election.

Hey Lakekennedy you live in Wisconsin a BLUE state. We haven't voted for a republican President since Reagan.

Futurerichguy nice screen name to bad that will not happen under an Obama administration. You see he wants to give your money to the less fortunate. Somehow that will help the economy. It was just a point that Biden doesn't know his history very well. For being so smart you would think he would know his history.

Choo ... choo ... choo ... choo ... (I can hear the Obama victory train headed this way!) ... CHOO-CHOO!!!!!!! (And, look! ... Brett Favre's on it too! ... Go, Obama!) Choo-choo! ... Choo-choo!

DID I SAY DEMO RAT I MEANT DEMO CRAT SORRY SAMETHING ANYWAY

HEY WHO INVENTED THE INTERNET OH YEAH A DEMORAT I FORGOT

You tell 'em shutupandfish. We need a VP who really understands the history of television since most of us Janesvillians spend most of our time on our arses watching it.

Retiredairforce: The FACTS are that he was cleared of criminal charges, but the SENATE RULED that he acted inappropriately and used poor judgment. Not the kind of Maverick I'm interested in to run my country...then again, I guess I'm in the majority here with, what?, a 17 point lead here in WI?
Anything else?
How you feeling today? wink wink.

Yeah that Biden spoof wasn't covered by the main stream media at all.

It would be nice to have a V.P that knows when the television was invented and knows his past Presidents. It's also funny that in his debate with Palin that he talked about going to some diner. Well, that diner he was frequenting has been closed for 15 years.

lakesuperiorgal...looking at you past 12 posts, I see that issues are exactly what you don't want to discuss. Injecting an occasional opinion and several irrational characterizations of other posters because you disagree is hardly what one would consider discussion.

RAF: and you are saying you have not stooped to calling people names? I would love to discuss real issues, but do not have the patience to argue with someone who is bull headed and misinformed. I would prefer to say it's difficult to argue with an idiot, but I don't want to offend you.

gstrube...the pres cannot just make money policy, it takes the bills through congress signed by him to have any impact.

lakesuperiorgal...is there any issues you care to discuss or is your sole purpose here to play three-year old name calling games?

gstrube...the answer is simple, at the time the reps controlled everything.

lakennedy ...so your FACTS are he "He shouldn't have been anywhere near the situation." In other words this is then your OPINION and you have no facts to back your previous claim that McCain directly caused..."the loss of funds to thousands of Americans. Your continued strawman over the poll issue does not resolve your previous inaccurate claim.

A little ditty to VP Candidate Sarah Phalin from the theme of Rawhide. My apologies to Rowdy Yates, et.al.

Palin', Palin', Palin'
Palin', Palin', Palin'
Palin', Palin', Palin'
can't hide

She failin',failin', failin'
Though the polls were trailin'
Keep them lies a rollin'

Through print an' TV an' shock talk
Hellbent for November
Wishin' my first dude had not lied

All the things I'm fabricatin'
white lies, fibs an' abricatin'
Are leadin' to the end of my ride

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
big slide

Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
we tried

Keep winkin', winkin', winkin'
Though they're disapprovin'
Keep the big lips a movin', smilewide

Don't try to understand 'em
Just dope'em, fast an' scam 'em
Soon we'll be lyin' country wide

My pollster's calculatin'
My true fate will be waitin'
Be waitin' at the end of my slide

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
I lied

Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
I lied

Palin', Palin', Palin'
Palin', Palin', Palin'
Palin', Palin', Palin'
I'm fried, I'm fried

whybesad, you did NOT give democrats control of congress, they won it with votes (unlike Bush). it has only been the last 2 years of an 8 year down hill slide caused by republicans. why should the democrats have to always clean up the republicans messes ?

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

I can't remember if the guy that runs this site, Nate Silver, was on the Colbert Report or The Daily Show, but he's a baseball statistician and has taken data from nearly every poll conducted across the country.

According to his calculations, it will be a landslide:

Obama= 349 Electoral Votes
McCain = 189 Electoral Votes

As the stats currently stand Obama has a 90.9% of winning the election.

Granted I'm not taking it as gospel but a lot of work was put into this site and a lot of calculation was done.

RetiredAirForce: Polls gotcha down? Your blogs depict you being very upset. Why? If I'm the "idiot" as you claimed in an earlier post, why are you so angry? You know as well as I do that McCain did help cause the loss of funds to thousands of Americans when he was part of the Keating 5. I know, I know, you'll reply that he wasn't convicted of criminal charges, just said to have used poor judgement. Still not good enough. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the situation. Not really the straight-talking Maverick he says he is.
Also,
You need to learn that when you write that Sarah Palin is helping Tina Fey find work, you purposely misled everyone by your post. Her show, along with many others, was effected by the writers strike. Now that it's up and running, you try and give Mrs. Palin credit for that. Have some dignity, for Christs sake. If that's all you've got to redeem the moron Palin, she's a worst pick than I originally thought.
Billnewbie: I agree that I am gloating. I also know Obama hasn't won...yet. I just love to give RetiredAirForce a dose of his own medicine. He has resorted to name calling, lying, and constantly refuses to even consider anyone else's views. It's rude and obnoxious. At least when you and I bicker, we understand and consider the others viewpoint. Even respect them a bit. Not the case here. Is it shallow? Probably. Is it insulting? Certainly, but then again I intend for it to be.

And you, Mr. "I was in the air force and I am special"...you are still pathetic. Learn to spell too.

lakennedy still waiting for you to back with fact how McCain “caused” the loss of funds for anyone. Still waiting...

lakennedy...I guess you are in denial. Her show "was" canned by NBC over the writers strike FACT. Try and do your self a little dignity and look it up. Yes, it is being brought back, but I spoke the truth. To bad you spend way to much time "winking", and telling others how what we "said" was actually wrote and then one day later in other posts use the same words in your own post---but that is Ok we understand just as a previous poster "said" you love to flop on your own. It is funny how a women from Alaska has have made so many open minded liberal people one dimensional and partisan.

Palin makes me sick ! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27134586/

I'm just trying to jog your memory, and tease you a little.
Remember how we agreed in the past that partisanship is a major problem? Do you think that gloating is going to bring this country together? After your party defeats the Republicans, do you really think a few good swift kicks while they are down will encourage them to join hands with you to rebuild this country in your preferred image? Is that the change we can believe in? I know, there would be many Republicans who would do the same should McCain win. But, what was it Gandhi said, an eye for an eye blinds the world?
Tough times call for clear vision, in my opinion. I suspect you may think so too.

OBAMA WILL SAVE THIS COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!! OBAMA '08!!!!!!!!

I mean last entry. lol.

You spend an awful lot of time trying to figure out who I'll vote for and why billnewbie. Move on. And make sure you swing back in and trade blows with me on the fifth. I'll be sure to copy and paste your above entry.

Lakennedy:
Now that the polls are in your favor, are you willing to admit that my assumption about how you will vote for Obama was right? It's O.K. I won't gloat in November if your candidate loses, I promise.

RetiredAirForce: What show was that? I know 30 Rock (which Fey helped create, and has won 7 emmy's) premieres on October 30th. Helluva nice try though. Grasp at straws, much? Polls gottcha down? (Wink Wink) You betcha they do.
+
I think it's telling that Sarah Palin (who apparently doesn't know that the word "ethics" actually exists) was found to have abused her authority, and during her debate announces that she'd like to see the V.P.'s scope of power extended. Are you kidding?
+
RetiredAirForce: if you truly are interested in being honest with yourself as to the level of stupid we have here with this hockeymom, you need look no further than the Couric interview. This is who you want to serve as your next VP? And don't you dare try to blame the media. In his 2000 campaign, (well actually up until he has had to spend most of his time defending Palin), McCain has been known as a "darling of the media". All of the sudden when Sarah Palin makes Sarah Palin look like the ass she is, does McCain, and his "cronies" come out and blast the media. It's crap, you know it and I know it. The only difference is I'm being honest with myself, and you aren't. I can't wait to read your responses come November 5th, be sure you stop by and help us celebrate President Barack Hussein Obama's victory, wink wink.

RAF: You, sir, are pathetic.

Why would we want democrats to ruin I mean run this Country? We gave them control of Congress and they haven't done anything that Pelosi promised. But, we are willing to give them the White house to? Well. let's just see how that works out for us.

Tina Fey should be thanking Palin for getting her more work; after her show was cut. Not even in office yet and she is having a positive effect on the job market.

Yep. The wheels are coming off the Palin bandwagon. Her style and substance are truly lacking. Her media interviews reveal she is superficial and ignorant. SNL has made her the laughing stock of the country. Aw shucks, (wink, wink) there we go again, looking backwards, and what do we find? She abused her power in office in Alaska. Does this woman sound like an agent for change in Washington to you?

I wasn't trying to argue who was right or wrong, I was just putting some facts out there so that we could maybe put this issue to rest and move on to something else.

yep sure is rich...wow

After digging a little bit, an O-10, or Admiral, in 1949 made $954.75 per month according to this chart.

http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/2006mili...

When adjusted for inflation that equals about $130,000.

lakennedy you are truly a dolt. Show us anywhere in the investigation of the Keating 5 where McCain “caused” the loss of funds for anyone. Still waiting... You continue to barrage he is the only one running for President of the 5, well Captain Obvious you are too smart for the rest of us…we didn’t know that. “If” there was any smoking gun from the Keating days of a ferocious McCain involvement he would not be in this campaign. This is just a hail mary played by the O campaign due to the current timing in the economy to scare voters; and the Kool-Aid drinking sheep are all echoing the same mantra.

If you republicans are going to declare McCain free from scrutiny in his actions in the Keating 5 scandal. It is only fair that you declare William Ayers free from scrutiny as neither man was convicted of a crime. No need for the double standard.

Oh and as far as McCain having a preacher friend, well actually off again on again and off permanently friend, Jerry Falwell, you know this guy:
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Falwell said on The 700 Club, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"
Granted he's dead so he can't really campaign for him but having once called him one of America's "agents of intolerance." they became friends again in early 2006.

Oh, and Rick Davis there's him, too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/us/pol...

hmmmm, GOP outsider, against cronyism, stand up to the lobbyists?
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

An O-8 with 10 years of service makes about $125000 per year, not bad my my standards. Here's the full chart:

http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_...

Within the hour it was announced by an Alaska Legislative Committee that Sarah Phalin unlawfully abused her power when she fired the state's public safety commissioner. Wow, it looks like the Pitt Bull in lipstick just bit the hand that picked her.

RetiredAirForce: So, your defense of McCain is that he wasn't found guilty of criminal charges, so he should be cleared of all scrutiny. Be honest for once. You really believe that he didn't exercise poor judgement, or a serious character flaw in that he was putting his campaign first, and his country second? I'd sure love to hear you explain this to the thousands who lost their savings in the fiasco. Also, I never said that the Democrats weren't involved. I am quite sure that four of them were. The point is, these four aren't running for President, are they? Nope, that would be "straight talk express" McCain. Country first? Not so much in this case.

Petcat you are a true idiot. Go back and look at the facts before you comment.

there goes petcat spreading lies again. Petcat, where is this pay table of the military that pays people to the level of rich and elite??

Oops sorry it's 4

Nobody is saying that in the Keating 5 three of them were democrats. And Obama supporters.

She may rev up a few Republicans, but for most of us it can be summed up in two words: Sarah Phalin.

Lakekennedy…I guess your memory is failing. After I criticized your echoing of lame Keith O comments on Palin, your response was (referring to McCain and Keating 5 ) “you have no defense of him, as he literally assisted in the financial ruin of…” I answered your retort with facts of the events; Senators from the Democratic Party were the only ones guilty in this fiasco and McCain was cleared by the prosecutor and the senate investigation panel. Now you come back and state I asserted something from your post when I was answering your direct response asking for my defense of McCain…make up your mind on what you want answered.

Retiredairforce: I didn't say that McCain was the only person involved in the Keating 5, nor did I say that the Republican party was the only party involved. You just asserted that information as though it was written in my post originally to try and further your argument. It didn't work very well. You want to look at the one fact that you can't seem to get through your unbelievably thick skull? Which one of the Keating Five is running for President? Can you answer that? Please Do. In case you're unable to, the answer is McCain. Did you want to discuss anything else?

Good point there Retired. Farmers are always walking around with their hands out so this whole government in your life and making everything better is just normal for them.

rockcofarmer...you mean adults like Pelosi; Six for 06 new agenda national security, jobs and wages, energy independence, affordable health care, retirement security, college access for all. What happened to these? Before you start blaming rep's, she controls the house, she could force votes on these issues and place them on the Pres desk for signing or veto...never happened. All this from the adults you want running the show?

Obviously unchecked capitalism (read: no regulation, no oversight, no accountability) is working so well. Your whining is getting shrill. It's time to go in a new direction. In four years, if Obama's and the democrats ideas don't work, then we should try something else. Just because some of the solutions proposed to fix these issues aren't from the far right doesn't make them socialist, communist or marxist. Electing another republican for four more years, with the same policy advisors, the same proven wrong programs, and the same scare tactics will not work. How many times do you want to try? (Look up the definition of insanity) You guys don't represent mainstream America. Sit back and let some adults run the show for a while.

Both of these guys are socialist.

Your anagram is not far off.......LOL

I disagree with localboysince1968 as its just not that simple anymore. I used to believe it and used to vote strictly Republican up until 2004. I think the Republicans deserve a lot of credit for the prosperity of the 90's, but once they controlled the presidency and congress starting in 2000, all principals and ideals were thrown to the wind in the name of partisan politics and special interests. They drove up the national debt, started two foreign wars, totally changed the tax code to help maintain wealth as opposed to build wealth, and contrary to localboysince1968's theory, business has suffered.

You like anagrams localboysince1968? Here's one for ya - Celibacy Loon :)

futurerichguy - I believe what you were trying to say when you were berating RetiredAirForce was a 'anagram'.

Don't worry RAF - I got your back......

Come on guys, lets stick to attacking the point, not the person (bloggers).

Just remember, if the Republicans are for big business, that is who will hire you when they expand. If the Democrats are for the working man, how is that going to give you a job?

Taking money from a productive person and giving it to somebody "who needs it" is income distribution. I would like the chance and choice to make my own decision on who I give charitably to, not the government.

Protect my border, keep the money system safe, protect the constitution, and let me do the rest on my own.

futurerichguy...I guess it's to tough for you to answer direct questions asked of you, I see now why. It has taken all your time and energy just to come up with that zinger.

rockcofarmer...personal attacks...where? You are the one that just tossed one at McCain; "A clueless old man". I might have used sarcasm, but there was nothing personal; I congratulated you on your math skills. You were the one that posted saying how the Rep's were using distractions (ploys) to change the direction of the campaign. Yet you have no rebuke for your candidate or yourself for doing the same thing you previously complained about. Or was this comment a personal attack also?

Ouch... Why do you resort to personal attacks when you don't have valid points to debate. Sticks and stones my friend, these thinks don't bother me. You can call me a liberal if like also. That isn't a derogatory word for me either, although I like to think of myself as a progressive.
-In this election the American people aren't buying these personal smear attacks that usually get republicans elected. There are way more bigger issues to address this election than the small ball politics that are being used right now by the republicans. The electorate is more concerned about the economy (how is your retirement nestegg doing with the republicans in charge?), our foreign policy, health care, affordable education, etc. John McCain and the republicans have no new ideas. All that they propose is more of the same policies that got us in all these troubles the last eight years.
-All you have is fear and character assasination. When do you expect the first announcement of possible terrorist attacks? I say any day now.

rockcofarmer...looks like you can subtract 4-5=1, good for you.

Air force: As far as I know only one of those involved in the Keating five is running for president. His name is John McCain. A clueless old man.

petcat...I looked up the story you quoted, and as I thought you have left out many facts. The plane is Todd's and it has been in his family for over 20 years. The value you listed for the aircraft was the upper limit quoted in the article; the lower limit you left out was $38,000. The person who quoted the value of the plan provided a range...you decided to provide the value $40,000 higher than it might actually be worth if sold. But the bigger issue...it was in Todd's family the whole time, not like the Gov went out and bought it...yeah I know, way to elite.

lakennedy...if you really want to dig up the “results” of the Keating 5, let’s do. Four of the five senators were democrats, of those three were formally reprimanded and never ran for office again. Democrat John Glenn and republican John McCain were both cleared of having acted improperly by the investigation; but were cited with exercising poor judgment. The ironic part of the revisionist history being played out today from the campaign of Obama (and others in the media including clowns on this board) digging this up and tossing this around like it was all McCain’s doing…today John Glenn is on the campaign trail for Obama while 2 of the 3 democratic senators reprimanded for their part in the political scandal have endorsed your candidate. Why haven’t you, Obama, or the media mentioned the other members of the Keating 5 in your tirades or advertisements or more directly lambasted the 3 democrats who were formally reprimanded and were a direct cause to the biggest S&L collapse in our nations history; resulting in the loss of 2 billion dollars to the US Government in the form of a bailout and the loss of life savings for many. The other ironic tale involved here; Obama has received more money during his short time in the senate from Fannie and Freddie than McCain did from Keating…again there is silence on this. Is there anything more you would like to discuss?

Hey BathTubBoy...you are wrong once again (I lost count now on how many)...not from Rock county. See your problem, like your twin Keith, is to assume items you think are true and treat them as facts. Then when the real truth comes out ignore it and continue on with the next false item in your unending zeal to look childish and immature.

http://www.keatingeconomics.com/

If you still like John McCain after this I feel really sorry for America.

Retiredairforce: I see you concentrated on what was meant to be a joke (almost as much of a joke as Palin actually referring to Barack as "palin' around with terrorists) rather than defending your candidate on the more serious charges. Probably because you have no defense of him, as he literally assisted in the financial ruin of millions of Americans. Nothing to say about that?

<----sighs heavily and leaves the room.

RETIREDAIRFORCE...that was really a dumb response, even from a dummy like you. THAT was tbe best you could come up with in response to LakeKennedy's comments??? What a "Dire Farter" you are. Actually, you are such a "Dire Farter", you are probably the "CEO" of the company "DIRE FARTER, INC."!!!! LOLOLOLOL!!!!!! You see what I did? I used letters from the username RETIREDAIRFORCE to create HILARIOUS words. LOLOLOLOL!!!!! I love matching wits with the true Republican "geniuses" of Rock County!!!!!

lakennedy...how stupid a comment by you and Keith. The same lame word smith game can also be played against your candidate; You can't spell the worlds worst terrorist name Osama without letters from the name of B. Hussein Obama.

poor poor petcat...they have more than me so they are elite. Her family still has less than both people on your ticket...still waiting on your post to call your own candidates elite...waiting, waiting, and still waiting.

whybesad: I'm glad he apologized, though I doubt it helps the 23,000 Lincoln bondholders and other elderly who lost their entire life savings. I guess an apology will have to be good enough, though.
+
Remember these words of wisdom from Keith Olbermann,..."You can't spell paling around with terrorists without P-A-L-I-N"
+

Did anyone read what Palin's consulting business was named? It was called "Rouge Cou" which is French for "redneck." That's classy. I've never been a fan of her, but the more I learn the more I really don't like her. Not that this had much of an effect I just thought it was funny.

So it looks like McCain has let his little puppy dog off the leash to start the typical political mud slinging. Seems like nothing new there. He can't even do it himself. Some "maverick" he is. How can we expect change from them if they just use the same old Republican tactics ?

McCain has said that was a bad decision with regards to the keating five and has apologized for involvement in it. Obama hasn't said anything about his relationship with Rezo or Ayres.

Um shutupandfish, 4 People, G. Gordon Libby, Rev. John Hagee, Phil Gramm, Jerry Falwell. Click the links one of my previous posts and then think about what you just wrote about how McCain wouldn't have associated with the people like that.

I won't deny he's a military hero. I guess I find the fact that he was a member of the "Keating 5" and actually was reprimanded by the senate after the U.S. government had to bail out Lincoln Savings and Loan to a tune of $2 billion dollars. Not very heroic or wise move of the senator. I doubt very much that he was acting on behalf of the taxpayers of this country when deciding to involve himself with that fraud, Charles Keating, who also was a major contributor to his campaign. Not that sure he's the "maverick" he says he is, nor that he has our best interest at heart. Now you, shutupandfish, want to call Obama unamerican for listening to someone 20 years ago, someone whose ideals Obama has already publicly denounced. Both McCain and Palin have been investigated (actually, Palin still is being investigated) for unethical behavior, yet there are many republicans on this page who want to talk about "character". Really? The fact that Obama is leading in the polls now should be an indicator that the American's aren't interested in McCain and Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere".

I won't deny he's a military hero. I guess I find the fact that he was a member of the "Keating 5" and actually was reprimanded by the senate after the U.S. government had to bail out Lincoln Savings and Loan to a tune of $2 billion dollars. Not very heroic or wise move of the senator. I doubt very much that he was acting on behalf of the taxpayers of this country when deciding to involve himself with that fraud, Charles Keating, who also was a major contributor to his campaign. Not that sure he's the "maverick" he says he is, nor that he has our best interest at heart. Now you, shutupandfish, want to call Obama unamerican for listening to someone 20 years ago, someone whose ideals Obama has already publicly denounced. Both McCain and Palin have been investigated (actually, Palin still is being investigated) for unethical behavior, yet there are many republicans on this page who want to talk about "character". Really? The fact that Obama is leading in the polls now should be an indicator that the American's aren't interested in McCain and Palin's "Bridge to Nowhere".

I'm sure you would have if McCain was sitting in a church pew for 20 years listening to American hate speech. Oh wait McCain would have probably left the church after 5 seconds listening to him. I don't think McCain would have had any ties to a domestic terrorist. Remember he fought for this Country and our freedoms. He was tortured for our freedoms. He would never listen to a anti-American preacher not for one minute.

McCain has questionable contacts as well. However Obama isn't running smear campaign so you may not have heard them.

Not sure that Obama was in the Pew 40 years ago Rockcofarmer. The right wasn't the first to bring up the connection between William Ayres and Obama. It just happened to be another liberal named Hillary Clinton. Name ring a bell? Well, she brought it up in the primaries and said that the relationship between Obama and Ayres is not out of bounds and should be brought up. Obama and William Ayres were on a board together for the Wood Foundation for a few years and no rockcofarmer it wasn't 40 years ago either. This is a person who wants to be the leader of the free world and he has had questionable relationships with several people. This is an issue of character and personal choices.

There are several uses for Sarah Palin that are becoming more obvious as time goes on.

1) Palin is used first and foremost to attract the vote of the evangelicals.
2) Palin is a pathetic attempt to attract former Hillary Clinton supporters. It is pathetic because while she is anatomically similar to Clinton she is the political opposite of her in almost every way.
3) Palin can dig up previous attempts of the McCain camp that failed, or that McCain said were "off the table" in a pathetic attempt to smear Obama. Later, McCain can say I don't condone that type of campaign, and Palin can say, "oops, sorry I've only been at this for a few weeks."

Oh, how little Palin know's about McCain before she started slinging the Ayers and Wright connection around.

G. Gordon Liddy
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/colum...
Rev. John Hagee
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinio...
Phil Gramm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Funny that we never heard much about these guys. Oh yeah, that's right, Obama can beat McCain on the issues, McCain has to use lies and half-truths to get people on his side. I think that says a lot about someone's character right there.

whybesad: as an obvious member of a party that has stressed family values for the last fifty years and has nominated a woman as VP who only supports abstinence, I think that you need to realize that on a certain level, Bristol Palin's pregnancy is a pretty big deal. You stress famly values, nominate a woman who supports abstinence only education, and now you ask for the opponents of her ideas to be quiet and respect the family, because in this circumstance it is okay for her daughter to be unwed/underage/and pregnant. You and your party can't have it both ways when it suits you. I ask you to be honest with yourself and consider what respect the media/republican party would have given Barack Obama or Joe Biden had this been their daughter? Or if their daughter's baby daddy had a Myspace page like Levi Johnston "I like f***ing chillin' and shooting shi*". Really be honest with yourself. What would have been the first words to come out of your mouth?

So you want to roll the clock back 40 years and have the political debate about race and the Vietnam war. Neither will address the problems that we face now. I for one want to look forward and have a construtive debate about these issues that confront us. You on the other hand do not. Maybe you should follow your username and just shut up and fish.

Okay, the "liberals" weren't taking pot shots at Palin's daughter, it was the media. Obama said that Palin's family was off limits. And you know, I'm quite sick of the right using the term, liberals, to mean a bad thing. A few definitions for you:
Political liberalism - is the belief that individuals are the basis of law and society, and that society and its institutions exist to further the ends of individuals, without showing favor to those of higher social rank. Magna Carta is an example of a political document that asserted the rights of individuals even above the prerogatives of monarchs. Political liberalism stresses the social contract, under which citizens make the laws and agree to abide by those laws. It is based on the belief that individuals know best what is best for them. Political liberalism enfranchises all adult citizens regardless of sex, race, or economic status. Political liberalism emphasizes the rule of law and supports liberal democracy.
Cultural liberalism - focuses on the rights of individuals pertaining to conscience and lifestyle, including such issues as sexual freedom, religious freedom, cognitive freedom, and protection from government intrusion into private life.
Oh my god, those things sound so horrible, I can't believe that there is actually a group of people in this country that hold those audacious beliefs.

Taxing health benefits under McCain's plan is better? My last insurance policy that I held was $1448 a month for family coverage, that's an additional $17,376 a year that would be taxed under McCain's plan. And then, he wants to deregulate health care insurance and we have seen how well that has worked for the financial industry. What countries have Universal Health Care?
Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Afghanistan and Iraq do as well funded by the the United States Government.
The McCain/Palin campaign have the man who crafted the Willie Horton ad now making ads for them. It's no surprise that they are using mud slinging of the highest level to distract us from the fact that McCain - more of the same failed policies of Bush, and Palin - full of religious fanaticism and complete inability to speak about anything beyond taking points, really have no plan as to what they are going to do to help this country. The only thing that I have heard was "drill baby, drill." That is not a solution, that is a band-aid. On health care, deregulation and tax it. Irag, "100 years," Iran - "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran." Afghanistan, A surge similar to the one in Irag, that the General of the operations in Afghanistan has said wouldn't work. Point blank, McCain is 72 years old, this is most likely his last shot at being President. I wouldn't be surprised if the mud from the McCain camp got a whole lot worse by Nov. 4th, he knows he can't win on the issues.

I know you want to sweep it under the rug because, you just don't want to believe it, even though you know it's true. William Ayers and others from the Weather Underground are responsible for being a part of a terrorist wave in this country that murdered police officers. To downplay this or dismiss it as "guilt by association" is to be shortsighted and make a big mistake. I don't believe most Democrats or independents find this kind of thing acceptable behavior. What kind of man sits in the pews of a church for twenty years where his preacher spews hate about his own country -- hate for Jews, hate for whites, hate for blacks who don't agree with him -- and then says he had no idea his preacher was saying any of these things? Ask yourselves if you see such a man representing your country as president of the United States.

Ok wait a minute isn't this the same liberal party that was taking pop shots at Palin's daughters pregnancy? Now all of a sudden they want to talk about the issues? Do you really think that socializing medicine is the answer? Your going to trust the same government that produced this economic mess with your health care under Obama. Seems pretty risky to me or just dumb.

Hey retiredairforce--owning a cheap piper cub doesn't make you elite. owning a piper cub, seven homes, thirteen cars, and having a wife worth $100 million, that makes you elite.

Rockcofarmer…since when did pointing out received faults in the opposing political candidates’ background get labeled as changing the subject of the election? That is precisely what has been going on in politics, the media as a whole, and people’s postings on this and other forums for years. Your insinuation that using character is a distraction to high light these issues is funny, when you consider the same stale talking points the Dem party has been parroting to the media about McCain can all be attributed as his character. More directly to your point on the subject of the campaign; we all know that less then 25% of what either side says will ever happen, yet we should let the parties decide the direction of the campaign? I would rather look at accomplishments instead of perceived utopia when I cast my vote in November.

petcat...are you really that dense? You really believe that if you own a airplane you are elite? I had no idea the people I worked with during my career that owned cheap piper's (cost less than many new cars) are elite.

Thank you, Rockcofarmer. You wrote a great summary there.

Missed a not in there. It should have been Gov Palin's conscience is NOT bothered by telling lies.

Well You say it's about character but anyone with half a brain sees it as a ploy to change the subject of the election. McCain can't win if the subject is about the economy, the two wars, health care or a whole host of domestic issues. He has no answers that differ from the current republican administration. As any true republican, you want to win on smears rather than issues. Well if you want to talk about character, here we go:
Sen. J. McCain - member of Keating five - was reprimanded for trying to impede an investigation of a constituent being investigated who ended up being convicted of bank fraud.
- Has admitted to numerous affairs while married to first wife. - Was having an affair with the woman who is now his current wife before filing for seperation from first wife.
-Has been accused recently of having an affair with a female lobbyist - he has denied this affair (doesn't everyone)
-Displays erratic behavior and a violent temper. Probably PTSD from years of captivity as a POW.
-Conscience isn't bothered by telling lies

Gov. Palin - As Gov failed to report income on tax return - Didn't report per diem pay as taxable income(this per diem payment is in question as she was paid while at home)
-Married to a man who was a member to a seperatist movement in Alaska. There has been an allegation that she is also a member, but that has not been substantiated.
-Had an affair with her husband's business partner,which, when they were discovered, the partnership was dissolved.
-Uses the power of office for personal vendetta's.
-Conscience is bothered by telling lies.
How's that for character?
You want to make a dubious connection with someone because they live in the same neighborhood and are on the same education board together. Get Real. All the coming accusations from the McCain camp were brought up during the primaries and/or have been investigated before and there was nothing there. Let's talk issues not smears.

It is an issue rockcofarmer. It's called CHARACTER.

Spanky: Do you make that statement as an ignorant voter or a desperate McCain supporter? Considering the times, I think that this election should be about more important issues, obviously you don't.

Will Obama put Bill Ayres in charge of homeland security? Maybe the rev. wright could become the senate Chaplin.

futurerichguy...I haven't read any posts that stated their vote was based on who makes less money. There have been plenty of posts about all candidates that are untrue and misleading. If providing facts to dispute these claims is wrong, then prove so. Your providing subjective arguments on what middle class is based on your idea of income does nothing to dispel the truth. Your opinion on intellectual capacity is interesting; are you saying the average Joe six pack has a low intellect? If so in comparison to what? What is the intellectual capacity of Joe six pack?

OK, this is a pathetic argument. Are you basing your vote on who makes less money? The point is, Sarah Palin is trying to create an image of herself to reflect that of the average six pack middle class Joe. She obviously is not in terms of her financial situation. I don't have the exact demographic data on a six pack Joe, but I'm guessing annual income figures well below $100K. Maybe her intellectual capacity is six pack Joe, but financially she is no six pack Joe.

Planes aren't really that uncommon in Alaska. Planes aren't needed here like they are in Alaska and a plane is different from a jet. The has that you like to call it are people willing to work hard and live within their means. The has not's are usually people that don't really want to work. Have never had a steady job. They usually can't live within their means and have mad bad choices and aren't personally responsible for their lives. There are exceptions to all of this like there is with anything. I don't think you should tax a person who is responsible with their money and have done well for themselves to take care of people that have a hard time getting off of the couch and are looking for handouts. Wealthy people already pay a majority of the taxes in this great Country.

petcat...single engine plane is not a jet. For the record there are more planes per capita in Alaska than anywhere else. Sounds like the plane is not that big a deal in Alaska.

derbygirl...lets add some facts to your report. The Palins income was not $250,000 it was $170,000 in 2007 and $130,000 in 2006 (source = http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gp77q... ). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor the AVERAGE (source = http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbl0986.p... )income per hour for all workers in the Anchorage area is $20.94 per hour (two income family $87,000 gross per year). Because she has been in Executive positions her salary would be above the average...but far from elaborate. To compare Biden's family income was over $300,000; almost twice of the Palin family.

It's called working hard. What does it matter that she has worked hard with her husband to make a good living. How many GM employees have multiple homes and boats and all the other toys. They are middle class hardworking people that choose to have these things. Why is it bad to have things you work for? I don't get your understanding at all. Is it jealousy? Why punish success? I'm sure she didn't have all that before. Heck she had to enter pageants to earn a scholarship to pay for college. Seems to me like she knows what it's like to struggle.

Derbygirl - did you ever think she maybe worked for it? That is how most people accumulate what they have.

I know many people in this town who have the same items, but are not elitist. They are just hard workers.

Sarah Palin thinks she is middle class?? How is that? Per "The Washington Post" article dated 09/30/08, "Their combined income of nearly a quarter-million dollars last year was five times the median household income for Wasilla's 7,000 residents. They own a single-engine plane, two boats, two personal watercraft and a half-million-dollar, custom-built home on a lake that is worth three times the average of other homes in town"

Private plane, boats, houses, yes multiple houses, and the list continues... Explain to me how she knows anything about being middle class???

GO SARAH! - I never seen one woman cause the Democrats to be so nervous before. They are getting a little dose of Hillary-ism, but from the GOP. There is a reason the Democrats picked a donkey to be their symbol..........

And the Democrats have been preaching the same talking points for 40 years. Palin speaks for the people not the political career politician hacks we have been dealing with lately. She's a breath of fresh air from these Washington insiders.

Spark, which ticket is Clinton running on again this election? Oh, I forgot. He's not running. Moving on...

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008...

At least Derbygirl is giving us a non-partisan website to check on Obama's record. Geez try looking up on the us senate website to find what he has done in his 140 some days in the US senate.

Those of you democrats using the adultry card are forgetting something and that's what's upsetting people. Clinton did the same thing!! Give me a break. Find something else to use as an argument!!

Billnewbie:

If you would like a run down of things Obama has done in 11 years please go to the following website:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

PS would you like cited APA, MLA or Chicago Style???

Yeah I heard it. It was pretty revealing on how he truly thinks. Saying that stuff. No leadership show there. I hope McCain exploits that.

Did anyone hear Obama speak yesterday? He was asked if he could have changed the way the bailout bill was voted on. He said that he didn;t think he would be able to have made a difference. Because the democrats got 140 votes and they only needed 120 and he wouldn't have been able to call the republican leaders because HE ISN'T THAT GOOD WITH TALKING WITH THAT SIDE OF THE ISLE. WHAT?? This is the guy that has put every ounce of energy saying he can unite this Country. And then he says that crap. He is not ready to be President.

lakennedy...you are an idiot. Next time read someones full post before you TRY to ridicule.

As I stated previously "I am not saying this was the reason he was selected..."

ive got my reasons for voting for president obama. im aware everyone has dift reasons for voting for someone but i cant for the life of me figure out how anyone can watch 2 minutes of sarah palin and think this lady is ready to be a 'heartbeat away' from leading this country. wow. forget the USA, id have serious questions about her running the PTA

Retired Air Force: You wouldn't know if those requirements were already fulfilled or not, would you? God forbid anyone gives him any credit for getting to that level, I mean it must be because he's black, right? Typical idiotic response.

whybesad: "He sure acts like an elitist the way he talks down to people." Hmmm. Do you mean because he uses big words that you can't understand? Weren't you on the Rashkin blog whining about adultery earlier last week, yet it's okay for McCain to commit it with someone who happens to be his mealticket? I guess it was probably "country first" in that case, right? Obama is no elitist, he's a hard worker who understood the importance of an education. I think that you've got some serious issues if you're willing to label someone who has an education as an elitist, but not someone who cheated on his wife to marry another who was BORN into their position.

Lakekennedy you might want to read from the law reviews own site on their selection criteria..."The remaining editors are selected on a discretionary basis. Some of these discretionary slots may be used to implement the Review's affirmative action policy."

I am not saying this was the reason he was selected, simply pointing to your comment this could not be a reason is false.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement. So, the only way a black person can get into Harvard is through Affirmative Action?
How about being President of the Harvard Law Review? Only beause of Affirmative Action?
Get over it.

Sometimes marriages don't work Einstein. What is the divorce rate in the United States? You loony lefties sure like to whine about the dumbest stuff.

affirmative action got him into Harvard. He sure acts like an elitist the way he talks down to people.

So your an "elitist" if you have done well for yourself. That used to be called successful. I maybe wrong.

Maybe anyone who was raised by a single mother and worked his way into Harvard is an elitist.

I understand your point, billnewbie. I think it helps to remember that every member of the house is up for re-election this year and about a third of the senate. They may have been acting to save their own skins...this bill may be necessary but it is also a very hard sell. I'm not going to pretend to understand everything that is going on right now on Wall Street. I do think that Pelosi could have made a larger effort to try and create--or even maintain--the harmony needed to get the job done.

Lakennedy, you have to realize that the Democrats sandbagged the bill yesterday. If the electorate can be frightened enough about the economy they obviously cynically believe that it helps Democrats in the election. Obama is on board with this as 2 of his allies in Congress representing the south side of Chicago, Bobby Rush and Jessie Jackson jr., both voted against the bill as did a number of first term Democrats and committee chairmen who owe their positions to Pelosi and who could have easily been persuaded to vote yes by the Speaker. Obama never stated publicly that he would vote for this bill so that when he called on Democrats in the House to vote in favor of it, no one took him seriously.

The debate will be fun to watch, but not for the reasons you think, Spanky.
+
I have no idea why that bill couldn't get passed. I do think that idiotic speech given by Pelosi had a lot to do with it. Whatever ground that had been made in coming to a compromise was largely lost by that speech. She's a tremendous let down, in my opinion.
+
If you think Palin's going to do well in these debates--and she should considering she hasn't been doing much these days, (unless you call looking like an idiot in her interview with Couric doing much), I think you've got another thing coming, Spanky. Recheck the primary debates with Biden. I think (in my opinion) he did the best job out of all candidates.

Boy that Gov. from Alaska sure gets under the skin of these elite "smart" liberals. They just squirm when you say her name. How fun to watch the elitists get all worked up over her and she's the bottom half of the ticket. Thursday should be fun to watch Biden get cross checked by a hockey mom.

Why couldn't this bill pass? Heck 95 democrats couldn't even vote for it. 13 committee members who wrote the bill didn't even vote for it.

the soliloquy of bathtubboy2...utter babel.

Ah yes, the Vice-Presidential debate is this Thursday. I wouldn't be surprised if John McCain consults with JIM HENSON PRODUCTIONS to find a way to create a "Muppet-like" puppet of Sarah Palin to appear at the debate instead of the real thing. They could actually have a puppeteer under the podium operating the Sarah Palin Muppet who has been fully provided with weird Republican rhetoric that is illogically logical, and "Muppet-Palin" would then "possibly" stand a chance against Joe Biden. McCain could actually even hire Frank Oz to provide the voice of Miss Piggy for "Muppet-Palin", of course adding a weird Fargo-esque accent. And "Miss Piggy Palin" could even wear lipstick during the debate. Or...more likely...Miss Palin herself will simply show up and singlehandedly convince the American electorate that she has foreign policy experience because she can see Russia from her house. I can't wait for this debate, to be honest. President Obama can't wait either. And John McCain might have a stroke trying to prepare her for it. I imagine having only a few days to prepare Sarah Palin for a "final exam" is kind of like having only a few days to teach GW Bush how to tie his shoes. Yes, yes, you might teach him to get one shoe "somewhat" tied, but then baby steps are taken, and the other, untied shoe drops soon enough.

Wow. You seem to have gotten to know Mrs. Palin (or is it Sarah, shutupandfish) quite well considering you had no idea she existed a month ago before her nomination. Give me a small break. She's not your daughter, for Christ's sake. It's okay to be honest with yourself and admit that your man made one hell of a mistake by nominating someone who half of this country wouldn't trust to do their laundry to be next in line to act as commander in chief of our country.

Debates are 90 minute political sideshows and that's all. Sarah Palin believes in public service. She is not looking for her piece of the power and money pie. She will never descend into the subhumanity and corruption that infests our government. That's why she has my vote regardless of the debate outcome. I'm sick of the unbelievable greed and the incessant dishonesty in Washington. We need a true reformer. And certainly not another product of the Daley political machine like the always calculating Barack Obama.

At least McCain thinks this Country is great. Unlike Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama

Did he throw his medals over the fence of the White house?

Petcat, I just about pee'd myself laughing reading your comment. I can't wait until more details come out about the aircraft carrier disaster caused by McCain. Not to mention, there's speculation that he was way off course, and not following orders, when shot down.

When you copy and paste the works of others and you don’t cite the source, that is plagiarism, such as what NVgrf and Pubsrus have done Even if the authors of those works allow such deceptive misappropriations of their writings, it is still dishonest, a lie, and is an indicator of the character, and intellectual deficiency, of those who post such works as if it were their own.
Zoom wondered where NVgrf attributed the content of his post as his own. Zoom may not realize that everything written under your own name, or alias as on these comment boards, and not specifically attributed to another is represented as original, but as a teacher NVgrf most certainly knows the rules.
It’s amusing to read the ethically challenged NVgrf’s assessments of other posters. Even Testerrific has had a good time deriding the posts of those he perceives as Fox News automatons while supporting and praising the plagiarists and DNC automatons. If you claim an Obama supporting plagiarist is intelligent and thoughtful, it’s because you liked what you read so much that you didn’t bother to check out the source, you just accepted it at face value which is exactly the kind of mental laziness a plagiarist counts on.
Whatdidyousay also posted material that is not his own. Plagiarized comedic epithets really don’t accomplish much.

Looks like there is no saving petcat with the delusions of truth he is so far entrenched in the netroot claims he is lucky to see the sky.

pubsrus,
You should take Zoom's advice:
"You really shouldn't believe every anonymous viral e-mail that lands in your mailbox."

With all these lists about republicans that people copy from the internet and post here, you would think one person could post a list of Obama's accomplishments.

I can't believe it, but you two actually got my day started off with a good chuckle. My thanks to both of you!

Here are some for you whatdidyousay:

What You Must Believe To Be A Republican

To be a Republican you need to believe:

1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton

2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq .

5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing
veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet .

13. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

14. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your
recovery.

15. Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)

16. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80's is irrelevant.

17. Support hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

'nuf said.

Oh BathTubBoy2 you are too smart for me on this one...yeah the Fonz was right where I was headed.

People, please. SHUTUPANDFISH and RETIREDAIRFORCE are simple-minded "wannabe" FOX NEWS contributors. I actually get the feeling that they think that they are. They certainly just regurgitate nonsense from that channel, and post them here. They even implement the same ignorant FOX NEWS-style argumentative techniques that make high school debates look like the Lincoln/Douglass debates. And they continue to fail miserably, and reveal the fact that gimpy right-wingers are truly nothing more than "plagiarists of vacuousness". LOLOLOL. At least Joe Biden was smart enough to plagiarize well written stuff. Proof of all of this is RETIREDAIRFORCE's continued, hilariously lame attempts to label me, the great Testerrific, as "Bathtub Boy". You see, my friends, RETIREDAIRFORCE is too lazily ignorant to even come up with his "own" feeble attempts at insults. "Bathtub Boy" is a term coined by FOX NEWS host John Gibson in a lame attempt to insult Keith Olbermann of MSNBC. So basically, RETIREDAIRFORCE has stolen a dopey insult from a beef-witted FOX NEWS host in an oafish attempt to attack the great Testerrific. LOLOLOLOL. But I better hold my breath now, because RETIREDAIRFORCE might retaliate by telling me to "Sit on it, Fonzie" from TV's HAPPY DAYS, or "Stifle it you Dingie" from TV's ALICE, or even possibly "Mission Accomplished" from TV's WHITE HOUSE FOLLIES. But I shall wait. And wait. And wait.....

shutupandfish wins the award for worst Patriotic Policeman. You really shouldn't believe every anonymous viral e-mail that lands in your mailbox.

Shutupandfish: Here is the closing line of Obama's acceptance speech at this summer's Democratic Convention: "Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America." Not sure where you got your incorrect information, but this speech and all others by Obama can be easily googled.

Has anyone ever heard when Obama gives a speech at the end he never says god bless America? But, when the President or McCain or Palin have a speech they always end in saying God bless America. Why is that? I have also noticed that Obama won't put his hand on his heart while the National anthem is being played or sung.

Doesn't make NVgrf's posts any less true. Where did NVgrf attribute those comments as his/her own? Too funny.

It turn out that NVgrf is a plagiarist just like Biden is.

Google shows over 54,000 references to these same statements.

whybesad: I was also confused why the debates would be held on a Friday. I'm taking a political science course right now, and we had a guest speaker who actually helps negotiate the contract between the Democrats and Republicans detailing the debates. You would not believe how many details there are that are debated here. As far as what night the debates will be held on, it turns out that no one on either side of the aisle wants the debates within a week of the election (too little time for voters to forget if one messes up too badly), so they have only a few weeks to get the debates scheduled. Our guest speaker agreed that Friday is a bad night: Friday night football, etc. but that it was necessary. Saturday and Sunday is also difficult with College and Pro football. The process that they go through determining the locale is even more interesting.

NVgrf...your quote "3 years as a brilliant community organizer". Please list his brilliant accomplishments during that 3 years. His campaign has yet to list one, yet you say he had 3 years of brilliance so you must have his list of accomplishments from during this time.

Yes BathTubBoy2 lives by the opinions of others...because he has yet to make one of his own...always the echo box and never the originator of thought; sounds like MSNBC today.

Like MSNBC isn't biased. Come on there. FOX news has been proven to be more balanced than the other networks. You liberals are just blind by it. When Chris Matthews says he gets "tingly" all over when he listens to Obama speak that's pretty balanced.

When a ship is sinking rats climb to the highest points and then swim off of the ship. Whatdidyousay chooses to sink to the lowest depths and growl......while refusing to come to grips with the fact that his ship is going down. Maybe he will give us a shout after November 4 in order to vent his post-election venom. That should be another whatdidyousay treat!

WHATDIDYOUSAY...all I can say is this. I hope everyone here will compare "your" list with the list of NVGRF a few posts back. It truly evidences the difference between FOX NEWS mental deficients like WHATDIDYOUSAY and RETIREDAIRFORCE...and thoughtful, intelligent people like NVGRF who actually include import and truth in their lists. I mean, really people. WHATDIDYOUSAY's post was so dumb, I can only think WHATDIDYOUSAY found it in a dumpster behind FOX NEWS headquarters after it was discarded by Sean Hannity HIMSELF because even HE couldn't muster up the strength to regurgitate it. LOLOLOLOL. Why are Neo-cons so damn funny? I guess God just made them that way so the smart people would have something to point at and laugh at. Neo-cons are kind of like the William Hung's of politics, but not as well spoken. Although I hear Bill O'Reilly does a heckuva rendition of "She Bangs" at karaoke night every Wednesday in the Oval Office. But sadly, it is only a "Tribute Song" to Sarah Palin.

Joe Biden has made some really great gaffes so far. If Palin made half of these you lefties would be all over her. Biden gets a pass. In case you forgot. Didn't know Obama's name:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKTjlAd-G......
Telling a man in a wheelchair to stand up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRV5Y1JCG......
And here is is with a history lesson for Katie Couric and What Roosevelt did when the stock market crashed while on T.V. (Only it was 4 years later Joe).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTBZHf6Wy......

If you attended the same radical Church for 20 years but, forgot that the Pastor hated America. Used your political power to get a "good" deal on your mortgage rate from a convicted felon. If you had a relationship with a domestic terrorist than yes I would call you radical.

<shudder>...I am starting to get the queasy, vomitous feeling that WHATDIDYOUSAY is Sarah Palin's "CBS NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC Pre-Interview Inspirational Speaker". And I can make these allegations with complete confidence, because WHATDIDYOUSAY lives in Janesville, and I can see Janesville from my house.

NVgrf is a damn, dirty genius in my honest and disreputable opinion. Not only do I wish I had made that post myself, I will pretend that I did to my friends who do not read the Gazette message boards. GOOD SHOW, NVgrf. That post should be made National. I would now like to ask for RETIREDAIRFORCE's response to NVgrf's post...but alas, RETIREDAIRFORCE will have to wait until Monday to find out how Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will direct their "talking points" to their dimwit legions. But I shall wait for "big mouth" RETIREDAIRFORCE'S responses here to NVgrf's post, my friends. Monday, Tuesday...yes, even Wednesday. I will wait as long as it takes for RETIREDAIRFORCE to swallow all of the "tequila shots" of FOX NEWS directives and allow his stomach to reject them and begin the regurgitation process known as "FOX NEWS PRIMETIME" Oh yes...yes...I shall wait....

+1 NVgrf

NVgrf: You are my newest hero! I love your post.

Keep the sharp objects away from whatdidyousay on the evening of November 4. The end is near for Bush and McSame.

I don't think anyone who voted for an idiot should accuse another of being confused.

NVgrf: what do you bet the debate is cancelled next week? Loved your post.

I have been listening to a few of my Republican friends lately, and I am a bit confused.
Let me see if I have this straight.....

*If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic' or 'different.'
*If you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, yours is a quintessential American story.
*If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
*Name your kids Willow,Trig and Track, you're a maverick.
*Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
*Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
*If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a
Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
*If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second-highest-ranking executive and next in line behind a man in his eighth decade.
*If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
*If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and then left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a true Christian.
*If you teach responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
*If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.
*If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner-city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
* If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude,' with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

I know this is probably old news by now. I was wondering where Sarah Palin was last night (I am sure the Republicans did not want her anywhere near the debate). She was at a pub! Sarah, I think you should have been somewhere else cramming for the debate next week! That is if they don't figure out a way to postpone or cancel it!

kiowamohican said: "I would argue that it was OVER regulation that caused the problem, and regulation that was in place simply looking the other way. MANY (including Bush) hammered on and on about the problems that existed in Freddie and Fannie, and wanted government over sight. It was all opposed by the Democrats in congress."

You just contradicted yourself. If Bush wanted Government oversight (which is regulation) but didn't get it, how is that overegulation?

You won't convince anybody that LESS regulation is the answer. Just examine the Enron scandle for a perfect example. Greed needs to be regulated. Great Depression sized "market corrections" are not acceptable. Somewhere between 100% free market and socialism is the common ground.

Where are the Regulations? No one is talking about Regulating the loop holes out of the financial system before they throw our money into this rescue. Seems kind of stupid to me. Without regulations this will just continue to happen. Senator Dorgan this am presented this issue and said that very same thing this am. Senator Spector said the American people should be able to read the Plan before it is past. It should be on the internet. I think we should let the Markets fail. We are in a recession, we will suffer from the high inflation, we will suffer from the increased interest rates, we will suffer with the increased prices of food and gas. We will suffer either way. It is just a matter of degree.

Well, have you called your Congress or Senator. Today their phone lines are full, or not answering, but you can still email them.. Have a voice in your grand children's future. Saturday the Japan Market opens at mid night. Will they throw away our grand children's future by them. Did you voice your opinion.? Or have you sat idly by.? Don't cry or point fingers if you have not taken part by giving your opinion.

Obama clearly won this debate. I couldn't help but chuckle at Palin's absence and cringe at Rudy's appearance. I could not help but notice that McCain never once looked Obama in the eye. Bring on the VP debate next week! I can't wait.

Good morning to you also BathTubBoy2 (aka Testerrific).

Excellent article on who made money prior to the bailout:

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/art...

Note that these people are all long gone, already hoarding their money in off-shore bank accounts. The bailout will only serve to keep the institutions they left behind from going under. These are the people who have benefited from Bush's trickle down policy. Don't let the conservative pundits fool you any longer about higher taxes and big government from Democrats. Certainly don't give Paul Ryan any credence when it comes to providing private funds for the bailout. How could anybody trust private money anymore after what happened? Someone below gave Paul Ryan an actual endorsement. Does Paul Ryan have an ounce of credibility after what's happened here in Janesville during his tenure? Besides he's a Miami University (that's Miami Ohio??) poly sci grad. Don't throw your lot in with this guy on economic policy.

Where's Obama? Looks like he's out campaigning again and we still don't have this financial mess worked out. McCain is back in Washington trying to get this worked out. Country First. That was all window dressing that Obama did before the debate.

Throwing money at this whole mess isn't going to insure us that this isn't going to happen again. Your basically giving 700 billion dollars to the same people that created this mess.

Shopierehuh...I completely agree with you. In RETIREDAIRFORCE'S defense, how do ignoramuses like himself have time to keep up with the "true reality" of our world when they spend every waking moment on a small town message board? I guess that explains the ignorance of people like RETIREDAIRFORCE though. It is small town message boards like these that make it conceivable that members of the electorate will still attempt to "hilariously" use the words "Vote" and "For" and "McCain" in the same sentence. Perhaps that is how Sarah Palin got elected Governor of Alaska in the first place...dumb message board addictions. But we all know that Sarah Palin actually won the Governorship of Alaska because she is a pig that wears lipstick. I have actually heard that Eskimoes love pigs in lipstick, and will often vote accordingly. Mock me if you wish, but I am great friends with a wonderful Eskimo fella right here in Janesville, and he assured me of that fact. And then he actually ate a raw fish right before my eyes. I wasn't shocked by the fact that he ate a raw fish right before my eyes, but I was concerned because it came out of the Rock River. Atouk called it "Southern Wisconsin Salmon", but it was actually a carp, and I just thought it was gross. I think he was just trying to impress me or something, but I just made up an excuse to leave and quickly departed his makeshift igloo in the Fourth Ward. Maybe, if we keep this message board going long enough, people like RETIREDAIRFORCE and his ill-advised ilk will continue to post FOX NEWS inspired nonsense, as if they were "Southern Wisconsin Salmon" swimming in circles to spawn, and they will completely forget to vote in November. Here's hopin'!!!!!!!

What is interesting is that some people spend over 12 hours a day posting on this particular thread. This is day after day. You can tell what time they get up and and what time they retire. Ever heard of 'get a life'?

I mean...SERIOUSLY VillaJanesville. What could possibly be more annoying, or more ignorant, than clogging up small town message boards with consecutive posts, within minutes of each other, that simply convey the same exact message that was already discarded by intelligent readers the first time. God, I hate that.

VillaJanesville..a VERY easy way to avoid being annoyed by the amount of posts on this particular message board would be to...follow me now...STOP POSTING ON THE MESSAGE BOARD AND STOP READING IT, YOU MANIAC. You seem very passionate in your opinions, as you posted two strangely similar posts on the subject within a matter of minutes. That is REALLY annoying on a message board. And who has time to post two similar posts in a row???? That is the most annoying thing of all.

Zoom:
I also disagree that regulation is what caused this problem. I would argue that it was OVER regulation that caused the problem, and regulation that was in place simply looking the other way. MANY (including Bush) hammered on and on about the problems that existed in Freddie and Fannie, and wanted government over sight. It was all opposed by the Democrats in congress.
.
I do agree with you on JP Morgan. This just shows that this problem is WAY over blown. If you do nothing, these massive giants will never go under. A bailout just insures they become even bigger and make even MORE $$$$. This whole thing is about the biggest sham ever passed off to the public. McCain and Obama both say they are in full support of it. Screw both these guys. Either one can take the blame as the worse President of modern times when it all blows up in their face; as far as I'm concerned.

Zoom:
Thats all totally irrelevant. The talk is that this bail out plan is to "SAVE THE ECONOMY FROM DEPRESSION". If it's really that important, you pass it in a heartbeat. You have the votes. You don't worry about who's fault is who's, you fix the problem, and take credit when it works.
.
Lets just be realistic here, and forget the politics. You know this bill is a disaster. The morons in congress know it exposes them as sell outs to wall street, and the special interests who are pulling their strings. They won't ram rod this through because it will BOMB. The economy will be in total shambles soon after, and when it is, they will take ALL the blame for it. Face it they just want bi-partisan because when it fails miserably they can say "everyone agreed this is what had to be done".
.
The answer to the problem is you either A.) DO NOTHING, which is a hell of a lot better then this bailout, as things will be bad, but they will all eventually correct. Free markets always correct... Or you B.) Do what Ryan and the house Republicans are proposing and make this bail out all privatized, or have the government back it with insurance premiums. There are a few different ideas out there, ALL better then gambling with a TRILLION $$$'s of tax payer $$$$.

kiowamohican said: "The Democrats are now saying they need bi-partisan support....WHY?"

Because Democrats, and most of the public, view this is the Republicans mess, and the only way the supporters of the bailout can protect themselves is if everyone votes for the fix. Remember, the Senate Republicans were also ready to support a bailout.

What type of plan do you envision that WON'T cost tax payers money? The House Republicans don't have some magic free-lunch plan, but want even less regulation and reduced capital gains taxes. Low regulation is what got us in this mess.

I think the huge outrage by the public is in part because the administration has done a horrible job explaining what is happening, and what could happen if some sort of plan isn't passed. I'm not even convinced, after seeing JP Morgan take over WaMu.

On a positive note, I got a call back from a representative of Paul Ryan. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that someone in Washington still cares about the tax payer! It really did not surprise me though; as Ryan is a real fiscal conservative. He is actually part of a team drawing up a counter plan that will NOT risk any tax payer $$$, and be all done by private companies.
.
The plan is all ready being hammered at by the hacks up there on the hill, and will probably never see the light of day, but at least some in Washington are standing up for the tax payer. The Democrats are now saying they need bi-partisan support....WHY? They control the house and senate. They have the votes..Pass Bush's/Paulson's bail out plan, if they think it's so great. Help the bankers (aka their big campaign supporters) get rich at the expense of the tax payer.

futurerichguy:
All you provide is what Obama SAYS. I'll take ACTION ANY DAY over what these clowns say. ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE who votes for this bail out is a HACK, plain and simple. That goes for both McCain and Obama. If Obama came out and opposed this bailout, as a sell out to wall street fat cats and special interests, and McCain voted for it, I would vote Obama, and most on here no I am no Obama supporter.
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This is the most critical vote in DECADES. Everyone who votes for this ill conceived sham will expose their TRUE colors as a COMPLETE SELL OUT to the American tax payer. It's really that simple. You have spin teams coming out and saying this may be a windfall for tax payers. Totally LAUGHABLE. If ANY business did a plan this risky, the CEO would be fired ON THE SPOT. When it's tax payer money though, no one cares because it will help all their political hack frinds get rich at the expense of the tax payer. This is like going to Vegas and risking a near TRILLION of the TAX PAYERS $$ on the roulette wheel. This is as ill conceived as anything I have ever heard of in my entire life. It's no wonder that the ulta corrupt political hacks, like Barney Frank and Cris Dodd are ALL for this bail out. Paulson is just as corrupt as all of them. He's ex CEO of Goldman Sachs..WAKE UP people. This is just one big country club hear. Friends taking care of each other while Joe public 9the tax payer) gets screwed.....AGAIN
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If McCain and Obama sign onto this bailout then this election is meaningless. It will just show that neither one of them cares about the tax payer, and is a sell out to the political hacks who are giving them the $$$$.

I never understood why they have these "debates" on Friday nights. The nights when most people go out to dinner and aren't home.

Whoanellie: No problem. Thanks for noting it.

OOPS!!! Sorry Sarah B I meant gstrube!! So Sorry!

Well Sarah B we disagree maybe about the intelligence of McCain's choice of running mates and you have no problem pointing out one gaff that she makes. I'd say she has to be smart to have been elected a Governor. Your vp pick has certainly had his share of embarrasing comments now hasn't he?? Asking someone to stand when he is in a wheelchair, and what about Obama's comment about lipstick?? I still say McCain was a genius to have picked her!! Too bad Obama wasn't as attuned to what the American Public wanted or he would have picked Hillary!!!!!

McCain's people just announced that he will take part in tonight's debate. That's one GOP move that I agree with ... I've been awaiting this debate for months!

Someone below asked how Obama is different from any other politician. Let's start with the differences he has on tax policy from McCain. Obama's plan will increase the national debt by $2.9 trillion in his first 4 years, everything else held constant. McCain's plan will increase the national debt by $4.2 trillion. Debt is a bad thing as we're coming to realize. So if you don't like debt, who is the lesser of the two evils?
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publicati...

OK I've been reading these blogs for the past few days and I have to put my 2cents in. ( we all know what our 2 cents is worth) anyway, I love Sarah Palin and I think it is the smartest choice McCain could have made. Shows he's no dummy either.she seems down to earth and I think good for our country. She's out of the box as far as usual picks go and smart and saavy to boot! She will put a different slant on things when they are elected. I don't believe all the polls that show whose in the lead, they are just slanted by the left or right,whoever is putting the poll out there. Go Sarah!!! Now you liberal, judgemental pundits can comment!!!

I'm still waiting for the democrats to get anything done that they promised in 2006 when they took control. Promises, promises never any action the do nothing congress is a disgrace. And you want another democrat in Washington? Well, be careful what you wish for. All the social programs he wants to implement is going to cost us big time. That $700 billion will look like peanuts once Obama is done.

Question for all you Obama supporters. He's saying he's going to vote for this bailout, which I totally agree with you in that its just a MASSIVE tax payer give away to save FAILED business, and keep people in power. So how is this guy any different from any other politician? This is just another political hack, and everyone in congress who votes for this bailout will be shown to be a political hack who's strings are pulled by special interests. I don't care what party they are from. All you will need to do is look at the roll call vote for this bailout, and whoever votes for it is corrupt; plain and simple.
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If McCain wants to win this election, he will come out and OPPOSE this bailout. He'd win hands down, as the public is STRONGLY against this. I called Ryan's office today, and the person who took my call said the calls are about 80/1 AGAINST this bailout. People are big time pissed off about this, and rightfully so. I personally would not vote for ANYONE who supports this sham, regardless of party.

RetiredAirForce: You are correct; Obama is not the only one in Washington who saw the problem coming. I can't even remember now what I meant to write at that point in my comment, but I know it sure didn't come out like I'd originally planned. My apologies. My only excuse ... and it is not meant to be one actually ... is that I awakened Thursday morning fed up with the whole buyout mess. I was in a terrible mood, something I usually am able to avoid. This whole situation has me frightened that everything my parents' generation gave their all to create in this country is crashing down upon us. Whatdidyousay: If you drive vehicles, wear clothing (including shoes) and jewelery, sit and recline on furniture, use kitchen gadgets, add numbers on a calculator, take photos with a camera AND film, watch TV, listen to your radio, drink alcohol and type on a computer ALL completely produced here in the USA, then I apologize for buying a Scion. If you don't do all of the above, then go look in the mirror before attacking me. I already described my unsuccessful search to find the American car that fit my needs. I regret that there was not one available.

shutupandfish said: "Where was McCain when he was asked? He was in Washington D.C in his Senate office doing his job."

Actually, he was in New York yesterday morning, lying to David Letterman. He personally told David Letterman he had to cancel the morning taping of Late Night to get back to Washington, then proceeded to be interviewed by Katie Couric in a Studio next door! Letterman even showed the taping live, and called McCain out during the show. Wow.

The Palin Bump has become a sink hole. She sounded truely uncomfortable talking to Couric. Wow.

President Truman: "The buck stops here"

President George W. Bush: "Its not my fault someone took your buck on my watch"

Another way to look at this: $700 BILLION bailout - priceless, George W. Bush - worthless!

McCain didn't suspend squat. His ads were still running on tv, his campaign had their boots on the ground stumping for him and he gave another speech this morning. It seems funny Barack Obama can go to Washington and still make it back to Mississippi on Friday night but McCain can't? When the meeting with the president was held today to discuss the bailout the first speaker was the president followed by speaker Pelosi who deferred to Obama her time. Obama spoke and the Boehner deferred his time to McCain who deferred back to the other republicans! So McCain rushed back to Washington to sit on his azz, say nothing, and have a photo op. Right that is real leadership. His only purpose in this whole ordeal is to vote against the bailout knowing it is going to pass and he can say he tried to save the taxpayers money. What a phoney!

Obama statement "I'll be where ever they tell me I should be". There's a leader. McCain suspends his campaign to do his job as a Senator fixing the crisis and Obama is working on his debate prep. Where was Obama before the President asked him to come to the White house? Clear water Florida prepping himself for the debate. Where was McCain when he was asked? He was in Washington D.C in his Senate office doing his job.

He's got a funny way of showing it, considering that he's at the exact same place as McCain.

Country First. Obama puts his campaign first.

Funny thing is he isn't the one who's suspended his campaign. McCain is. Yet, his supporters would like us to believe that McCain is the one acting like he wants to be President. By what? Doing the same thing Obama is doing, but suspending his campaign to boot? Love it. We'll see what happens after the debates. I think that they'll go on as scheduled, if not, there are stil more scheduled.
I guess the McCain group is getting a little flustered by the fact that their boy is down in the polls, and the Sarah-fever has worn off. Even FOX has him down by six. The Washington Post has McCain down by nine.

Yes he will vote on the resolution. Where did you hear otherwise? I'm dying to know the source...let me guess...FOX? Or maybe McCain's webpage. We'll see when the vote is in, how Obama voted.

Sorry people McCain

The only reason Obama went to the White house is because the President asked him. It looks like President Bush is the uniter in this whole mess. Bringing both parties together. Obama isn't in the Senate like Macain is actually voting on the resolution to fix the problem. It seems he doesn't want to vote on it. But, he is the so called leader of the Democratic party he should start acting like a leader. He wants to be President start acting like it.

I have been watching the clips from the Palin/ Couric interview and have yet to hear a clear answer from Palin. She is so clueless! Scary.
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In reference to comparing the challenges of Iraq with Afghanistan:
Katie Couric: Why is it much more challenging there? Can you explain that?

Sarah Palin: The logistics that we are already suggesting here, not having enough troops in the area right now. The… things like the terrain even in Afghanistan and that border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where, you know, we believe that-- Bin Laden is-- is hiding out right now and… and is still such a leader of this terrorist movement. There… there are many more challenges there. So, again, I believe that… a surge in Afghanistan also will lead us to victory there as it has proven to have done in Iraq. And as I say, Katie, that we cannot afford to retreat, to withdraw in Iraq. That's not gonna get us any better off in Afghanistan either. And as our leaders are telling us in our military, we do need to ramp it up in Afghanistan, counting on our friends and allies to assist with us there because these terrorists who hate America, they hate what we stand for with the… the freedoms, the democracy, the… the women's rights, the tolerance, they hate what it is that we represent and our allies, too, and our friends, what they represent. If we were… were to allow a stronghold to be captured by these terrorists then the world is in even greater peril than it is today. We cannot afford to lose in Afghanistan.
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Could you repeat that Sarah? Sheesh!

http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/09...

Speaks for herself.

Really, whybesad? He's actually in a meeting with both Bush and McCain right now as I'm writing this. I guess that actions do speak louder than words. He's doing as much as McCain is, but he didn't have to suspend his campaign to do it. I hope that if McCain gets elected, he won't have to "suspend" thinking about foreign policy to focus on domestic policy.

He can't even go to Washington and do his JOB that he was elected to do and the job that the taxpayers pay him to do. To worried about a pointless debate. The hell with the economy is basically what he is saying. Actions speak louder than words Barry.

How did you feel after you bought that foreign car? Were you proud to see that you may have cost an American worker a job? The Obama sticker will look good on that Toyota because he's not much of an American either.

"He is the only guy in Washington who predicted this trouble was headed our way"...that is just a lie. I have no problem with you saying he saw it coming, but to say he is the only one, that is over the top.

Whatdidyousay: Just spend 10 minutes looking through your closets, kitchen drawers, appliances, furniture labels, etc. Then come back here and attack those that own foreign cars. It seems like the only thing produced in this country any longer is food! I own a Toyota Scion. I bought a 2005 model this past January after my previous auto was totaled in the 98-car accident on Interstate-90. (Big, heavy American-made truck traveling at 50 mph rear-ended me when I was at a standstill at the end of a long line of cars.) I searched all over southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois for an American-made vehicle that fit my needs. I was also laid off from my job at the time and already struggling before the crash injuries brought my job hunt to a halt. Anyway, I bought the Scion because I found no American-made option. I don't shop big box stores (do you?) and buy from local small businesses as much as possible. In fact, I don't even shop any longer except for food. I can't afford anything else. If you've got an American-made vehicle you want to give me to drive, I would love to have it. Until then, I will put my Obama sticker on my Scion and wear it proudly. He is the only guy in Washington who predicted this trouble was headed our way. He has always had a plan to help regular Americans facing foreclosure. But now we have to save the wealthy bankers instead. Sorry for the ranting here, but I truly am fed up right now.

Bush should not have picked a Democrat when he appointed Paulson to sec of Treasury. Oh well, most who follow this knew it was all coming. Just a cascade of blunders in policy from both parties. Kind of funny to hear each side blame the other now. Whoever wins in November will be a one term President.

Someone should tell Paulson that states like Ohio and Michigan who have lost their industrial base have been in recession for years. In fact the majority of Americans realize that we are now in a recession and have been for the past two years. After recession comes Depression. Paulson should get his dynamics straight. Tonite the President who Lied us into to war will speak to us to instill confidence in this new FEAR mongering maneuver of Bail Out. Perhaps it is his bases last great hope of taking another bite of the unregulated money Apple (The American Tax Payer) before Bushs Term ends. What happens to a Nation in Poverty? They are easy to be controlled. Tonight C-Span will re-air the 2nd committee meeting with Paulson, watch it if you can. Call or email your congressmen and express your views You can find their numbers on C-Span Capitol Spot Lite, at the bottom of the page on the side.

Didn't you hear? Palin said that CLEARLY McCain meant "the workers" when he said "the fundamentals" because the US workers are strong. (Getting dizzy yet?)

where the hell is all the talk from the right that the economy is fundamentally sound now?

Credit Default Swaps will this be the next part of the Markets to fail. This is up in the trillions since 2001. This has no regulation at all. There is mininal oversite, by the SEC. When you call your congressman ask him about CDS or Credit Default Swaps, what are they doing about this problem.?

Interesting thoughts, A republican today said. look at Bernacki educational resume may.. It is impossible to believe he didn't know this was happening before last week. Last year and this he gave nothing but assurance that everything was working. All of a sudden the Markets are failing? Did the Markets do a deliberate Bust cause they knew they would get a Bail Out? Are we going to cover a deliberate set up? Dollar devalued. People go to commodities oil and gold. Will our Treasuries loose there triple A rating? Will the Depression begin in Feb? Surely we will see Inflation that is out of site, job loss will increase, either way these thing will happen. Bail out or no Bail out. Export deficit 60 percent will increase. Slow growth or no growth for the next four or five years?

I love reading the posts in this thread. Someone below actually criticized academics, and used Karl Marx as an example of an academic gone bad. In defense of academics let's not forget that 99% of Nobel Laureates are academics...Einstein, Fermi, Curie, etc. Not to mention if Karl Marx is the best you can come up with, how about a list of non-academics that include the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Ghengis Khan, Sadaam Hussein, Osama bin Laden (college drop-out), etc... My question is, are there actually people out there who discourage academics and education when speaking with their children? We're doomed if that's the case.

Let all the executives sweat. It's time they learned what it's like to be grateful when all one has to eat is peanut butter on cheap, plain white bread.

petcat, they have already spent about 300 billion on the bailouts that have already happened. So add the 700 billion and it will be 1 TRILLION DOLLARS! (Dr. Evil voice)

Also should be noted that Biden's Syracuse law education was aided by plagiarism. ...Neil Kinnock ring a bell?

As far as this whole education argument goes, I think its utter NONSENSE. As I pointed out earlier in this thread: one of the smartest, most highly educated presidents ever, was also one of the biggest failures of all time (Woodrow Wilson). Karl Marx was also a great scholar. So is Greenspan, and look what that clown has done for us. Most of these elitists have no clue how the real world works. I'm sure many have seen this in their own life. Some of your "highly educated" people are some of the biggest idiots you will come across when making real world decisions.

Janesvilemom:
I totally agree. I think this should be left to the free markets. This bailout is complete socialism, which rewards failure. Socialism is all about rewarding failure and punishing success. That's why Obama and others wish to punish oil companies (via a windfall profit tax) who make lots of $$$ and are very successful. You punish those companies, but when one FAILS (Freddie, Fannie, ext) you are there to rescue them with literally BILLIONS of $$'s.
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I will be VERY curious to see how Ryan and Sensinbrener vote on this, and even Kohl and Feingold. If Ryan is a true fiscal conservative he will be OPPOSING this. Has anyone heard any statement from him (or Kohl, Feingold) regarding this bailout?
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You are also correct that a bailout of this magnitude will just DEMOLISH the dollar. The markets have all ready been going CRAZY on word of this bailout. I talked to a friend of mine who works on the NYME (which is essentially legalized gambling of the price of oil) and the speculators were going insane on Monday. They drove the price of crude up $30 dollar at one point during the day!! The biggest one day rise in history. It ended up falling down a tad by the closing bell as it became unclear if this bill would pass. If the bill does pass, watch the price of crude. It will SKY ROCKET. You'll see the price of gasoline at the pump over $5.00 within a week of it passing. Yet NO ONE wants to bring that up. You watch if it passes, they will NEVER tie the increase in gas to the bail out!
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It should also be noted that GOLD made its biggest one day increase in HISTORY to on Monday. Again all speculation on the bailout, which if passed will DESTROY the dollar. Both gold and oil retreated today, as no one really knows if this bailout will be passed.

retired Airforce:
Yes; MANY (including the Bush administration) were pressing for oversight of Freddie and Fannie YEARS AGO. It was NEVER going to happen though, because they are simply an arm of the Democratic party (they gave the most $$$ to Cris Dodd and Barrack Obama.). Anyone who follows the financials knew they were both going down. All you had to do is look at their balance sheets, and financial statements, and do a little number crunching. Yet you had Paulson, Bernacki, and many Democrats on the banking committee saying "Both Freddie and Fannie are FINE...They have PLENTY of capital". Of course when I heard that I just increased my position short sold! haha. These guys have become so transparent these days that it's like playing poker against a bunch of donkeys!

I was being facetious! I know Biden screwed up. I guess jokes are hard to get across in type.

Janesvillemom:
I hope you were sitting down in a good arm chair when you wrote about what Senator Biden must have been referencing. Sometimes amateur spinmeisters can get a little dizzy and I wouldn’t want to think that you may have fallen out of your chair. But, you know, the more I think about what you wrote, the more sense it makes. Yes, that’s it, Fightin’ Joe must have been thinking about the inauguration speech of 1933 being broadcast over the radio. Sure I can see how he may have mixed up the events, after all, the inauguration of a new President on March 3rd of ’33 and Black Monday October 28th of ’29 are nearly identical, practically interchangeable. Yet I can’t help but believe that had Caribou Barbie made the same statement, not only would you refuse to believe that she really meant something else, but you likely would have said that it is proof positive of her disqualification to be Vice President, judging from your previous statements. That must be the difference between a Dummycrat and a Rebooblican, one’s deficiency is excusable, and the other’s condemnable.

Thanks Enough for summarizing the testimony today. I watched some of it.
It seems like it is a gamble either way so why spend 700Billion to delay a recession by a couple months...oh yeah, the election!
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This is a situation where I think the Republican idea of free markets needs to be put to use. Let the mismanaged companies fail. It will cause a credit crunch, but maybe the smaller lenders who didn't screw up will be able to pick up the business. Sure it will be bad for awhile, but at least we won't be rewarding bad management by bailing them out!
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Plus the bail out will further reduce the value of the dollar which will increase the price of oil again and inflation will set in...this is going to be bad no matter what, so just say no to the bail out and let the chips fall where they may.

janesvillemom:thanks for sharing the dialog with Palin. How very sweet, shallow and incompetent she is.

If You were The Boss... which team would you hire? I know a couple of you here think education and intelligence is not important, maybe even a detriment! But I disagree fervently.

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually critical election year.

Let's look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

& Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class)

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most influential nation in the world?

Chrysler is coming out with an electric car in 2010 made in Detroit. GM coming out with VOLT perhaps 2009 made in Africa. Cheverolet new engine made in China.

Pualson on C-Span today with BAnking Committe. Well this is it. Plan is not a plan but an undeveloped concept. He is first going to hire experts, no one knows who, they may have a conflict of interest. Then they are going to throw 700 billion at the Financials and see it it sticks. When asked specific question , his reply was its all very complex. Said CEOs should not take a hit for poor judgement cause that would be punitive. I make the wrong decision and you have to pay. Ridiculous...Says he can not gaurantee security of tax payers money, the security the tax payer will get will be the knowledge that the Markets are stable. We are taking a big risk. Will spend the money not only on Mortagages but on credit card debt and student loan, and Foerign Banks, repossed cars.. Benefit to tax payer would be the TRickle down effect. Did not even mention Oversite luntil Sen Hagel asked him aboout it. Then Paulson yes we will have oversite, but didn't mention who would be doing that. Wants immunity against any responsiblity for spending the money. No Legislative or Judicial oversite. No regulation. That may happen next year. Bush has threaten to veto the Bill if it is not clean. Republicians and Dems where steaming or pissed. Paulsons just kept reapeating the same thing. Really stuck to his lines and was not flexable to suggestions. Bill he brought in consists of two pages. Two Pages now that a well thought out Plan. I have emailed almost all Senators on the Banking Committe. I say if Bush wants to veto the Bill let him. We are taking a risk if the Market fails or if we Bail them out. Our Grandchildren will be paying this bill. I think the SEnate is going to take a breath. Bill may not be passed until Friday or next week. Republicans really don't seem to want this Socialist Bail Out. At least not all of them. Dems are pissed at this they are all talking. How strange.

Maybe Biden was referencing this:
Roosevelt's inauguration on March 4, 1933 occurred in the middle of a bank panic, hence the backdrop for his famous words: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Roosevelt's series of radio talks, known as fireside chats, presented his proposals directly to the American public.

And Palin is a master of foreign policy as proven by her intense dialog with Karzai today:
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As the pool entered, the Afghan president appeared to be telling Palin about his young son, who was born in January 2007.

“What is his name?,” Palin asked.

“Mirwais,” Karzai responded. “Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”

“Oh nice,” Palin responded.

“He is the only one we have,” remarked Karzai.

After 29 seconds observing the meeting, CNN and other photographers covering the meeting were escorted out of the room.

Here's a non-partisan look at who's to blame:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Inv...

Not that I want to go off the off topic topic, but for all those who think that Palin is so dumb that she can't tie her own shoes, have you seen what Joe Biden has been saying lately? Not only has he attacked his own campaign for the "Terrible" ad it ran about McCain's inability to type e-mail due to his torture injuries (you know, the civilized torture devices used by the North Vietnamese such as whips, rubber hoses and the gently persuasive steel bar across the knuckles, as opposed to the barbaric use of water by the Bush administration), but he also claimed that during the stock market crash of 1929, I quote, "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed, He said, 'Look, here's what happened." And that is from the more experienced half of the Democratic ticket, who is much more experienced than Palin.
That Joe, what a pitbull!
(For the history challenged. Television didn't start broadcasting until the '50's, but even if you say so what, he meant radio, President Hoover was president in 1929, a detail that's hard to spin away.)

That article was written FIVE years before the fannie mae debacle.

I stand corrected. Barney Frank is eatin mud.

futurerichguy...the article was written in 2003! Before the fall of Fannie and Freddie.

Retired Airforce: I could link all kinds of evidence that Bush was pushing the banks to make risky loans to reach his goal of increased home ownership during his presidency. BUT I won't because at this point, this issue goes way beyond partisan politics and the blame game. We are talking about saving our country from economic ruin...Great Depression II. I don't know the answer, but I do know that trying to place blame will not solve anything in the current crisis!

RetiredAirforce - Your comment is misleading as those comments by Barney Frank were made after the fall of Fannie and Freddie already happened. You state, "when they never saw the problem to begin with and would not allow oversight to stop it?" The article you referenced though is referencing a present debate, not one that happened in the past. This bill would NOT allow oversight to stop it, as it's already happened. My primary issue with the bill is that the president wants to personally assign board members. I've had enough with the "Stupidest" president assigning his cronies.

kiowamohican here is a nifty little article the bush bashers hate to see http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht.... This was proposed oversight by the “STUPIDEST” President, to protect our economy from the looming problems of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The only problem with this proposal…it was rejected by the Dems (who control the congress) because ''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies”. So now I have a question for those who are calling the current president “Stupid”. What exactly are they expecting out of the Dem controlled congress now and their future Dem leaders, when they never saw the problem to begin with and would not allow oversight to stop it?

This was an OUTSTANDING article I came across last week from the financial times by David Blake. He articulates the Greenspan debacle to a TEE!
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/32b85c72-859b-...

What most on the left don't realize is that Paulson is a Democrat. He was one of the Bush cabinet appointees that was "reaching out" to the other side. He is actually a very close friend of Chuck Schummer, a big time lefty, who is on the banking committee.
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I actually agree with you guys on the left in that one should OPPOSE this bail out. It will never happen though. This whole thing is on the verge of total collapse, and they are now in full panic mode now. You are going to see the biggest $$ give away of all time, and possibly a total collapse of the entire economy down the road when the debt gets so insane that the interest being paid on it eats up the budget, and the currency keeps being devalued.
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One can point the finger at Bush, or where ever some of you are getting this nonsense talking point about Grahm's deregulation bill, but it reality it all goes back to Alan Greenspan. An arrogant, self absorbed man, who kept tinkering with the economy with reckless rate cuts and fiscal policy. All the while touring the world, patting himself on the back at his great work (when the economy was good). Once it was on the verge of melt down from all his reckless policy as FOMC chairman he conveniently stepped down, and once AGAIN this buffoon travels around touting how great work he did and talks "what needs to be done now", and people actually believe this guy. It's really pathetic.

Ditto what enough said. This bailout is HUGE and we should not go into it blindly trusting one man (the former CEO of Goldman Sachs!) with 700 Billion and no oversight! There is no guarantee that this will even work, so it is a gamble...with tax payer money!

Call and email your Senator and Congressmen. You can get their number on C-span. This Bail Out must not go through without Regulation and Oversite judicial and legislative. This 700 billion will not fix this fiasco. With out oversite it will be thrown into a black hole and our Debt will be increased. Protect our future and the futrue of your children by calling and insisting on Oversite and regulation. Paulson should not do this alone. Trust but verify is my motto. We didn't verify with Iraq. We can not just blindly trust this Administration. Short seller, they may extent you restriction for thirty days. They have extended a ban on short selling in Europe indefinitly right now. So you may not be just on a ten day ban.

How about the McCain forgetting that Czechoslavakia spit into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 as well as Iran does not border Pakistan.

mymaro, That was an obviously a misspoken number. He knows how many states there are, he just made a slip. It seems so silly to keep repeating that one obvious gaffe. But misspeaking about the number of states is quite irrelevant compared to misspeaking about Shia and Sunni's in relation to their training in Iran! So did McCain "slip" TWICE about that issue or does he actually not know the difference because that is a "slip" that MATTERS!

Tee hee. There are still people defending Republicans? A poll came out today. ZERO PERCENT of Americans think the economy is improving. Voting the entire lot out of office wouldn't begin to do justice (personally, I favor waterboarding).

MOC0428 said, "At least we removed a ruthless dictator that was killing thousands of his people."

So now the US is killing thousands of his people? Was that an improvement?

MOCO-
I guess you don't get sarcasm either!
I have a whole calendar of Bush-isms which illustrates the stupidity of our president.
Sorry you didn't catch on. I am very aware that "stupidest" is not a proper word. Sure fits Bush, though!

Stupidest????? I'm sure glad you ruled yourself out! What kind of word is that?

Don't kid yourself about people with 4 year degrees, from whatever school, being smart. I have met some really "book smart" people that are absolute idiots with everyday life. I agree that McCain is not the best choice but he is the ONLY choice when comparing him to Obama!

Bush was dealt some really crappy hands that no other president has ever dealt with. Having 3000 people die on your watch is not easy to deal with. What would you expect him to do?

The war in Iraq is arguable but probably was necessary. At least we removed a ruthless dictator that was killing thousands of his people. It really is too bad that our media doesn't ever tell of the good that is going on over there.

As far as the economy is concerned. Neither one of the two is qualified to fix this situation. This is why they have advisors. We are pretty much screwed no matter who gets into office, but how much do you want to be screwed is the question.

Either way it still bad for the economy.

I'm saying I'd rather chip in for health care and renewable energy than for buying bad mortgages!

janesvillemom,
Of course you'll take health care when everyone else has to chip in an help you pay for it.

At least if our money was going to healthcare and energy, we would get something out of it. At this point, we are spending our money to buy bad mortgages...I'll take health care and renewable energy!

Point well taken about Wilson. But G.W will certainly go down in history as not only the WORST president ever but also the STUPIDEST!

Woodrow Wilson was probably the "smartest" President elected. Ivy league (Princeton education; also served as President of the university), and all the academic accoledes. He was also one of the WORSE presidents in history!!!
*
Screwing up WWI with his neutrality stance, and then forming the joke of the league of nations, which would just lead to another World War. Then creating the disaster that we are burdened with today in the Federal Reserve banking system (all of which is a BIG reason we are in the current financial crisis we are in). He was responsible for this joke of a progressive income tax. Which has no become a way of social engineering , and just massive expansion of government. I could go on and on. This is just off the top of my head. A great "smart" guy who did the most possible things to screw up the country. Things we still have burdening us to this day.

The bailout is just to allow all the corrupt stay in power. Don't think every member of congress won't be grabbing their piece of this MASSIVE $$$ give away. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE will want a bailout. The auto industry, the airline industry. Everyone on the rocks will want a bailout. Just more socialism which rewards FAILURE, and punishes success. Remember on Friday this bailout was $500 billion (1/2 TRILLION). Now it's $700 billion! What will it be by the time all the Democrats in congress get a hold of it, and bring home their pork?
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This is just on massive Socialization of the entire system. This country will soon be little different then China, in that the government will back every major business, and not allow failure. The good thing is, this will officially KILL Obama's health care, and energy plan, if he does get elected (which I still seriously doubt). As this bail out will officially TAP the treasury. You will have no $$ at all for these ridiculous social programs.

The market won't be in danger till Oct 2nd. That's when the short selling can once again take place. I'm a big short seller of the market. Now WE (the short sellers) are being blamed for this whole mess. TOTALY LAUGHABLE. The fact that these companies have the worst possible fundamentals, ALL HEAVILY in the RED...yeah, that has NOTHING to do with it...haha.
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So now these goofs need someone to blame so they blame the market shorters, just like the oil boom over the summer was blamed on the speculators on the merc. What a great SMOKE SCREEN! Once this shorting ban is lifted you will see what the market does. Right now it's only going up because shorters covered their positions (you have to BUY a stock to cover). This could very well be the big Oct surprise.

PS: The one man we are entrusting all this money too is the former CEO of Goldman-Sachs!

The bailout:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/20/news/eco...

No wonder they want it to go through fast! It basically gives Paulson 700 billion of OUR money with NO OVERSIGHT! So after all the greed, lying and cheating on Wall Street, we are supposed to entrust ONE MAN with 700 BILLION dollars?

This section is scary!
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Yeah Jimmy Carter was REAL smart. That's not even right to say about the man. The interest rates were at what 18% for a mortgage loan. His Foreign policy consisted of having hostages taken by Iran. Boycotting the Olympics. He maybe smart but he was a terrible President.

I want the smartest person I can find to be President...now, I am a smart woman, however, I would be fooling myself if I thought I was smart enough to be President... ...and I am good with that...I know I do not have the temperament or the intelligence to be President...I also do not want to have coffee with the President...nope...the President has far more important things to do...I will have coffee with my friends who are also smart, but not qualified to be President...so now that I have ruled myself out...lets take a look at who the Republicans have put up for the Presidency...

First, lets look at the choice between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter...both were governors...one was an actor...the other graduated 59th in his class at the Naval Acadamy...and was on his way to command Nuclear submarines when he left the Navy...so we have actor vs. Naval Officer...and the actor won, there is no underestimating the stupidity of the American Public...oh, and that Navy guy...he also received the Nobel Peace Prize...

Now, lets fast forward to 2000...Al Gore, vs. G.W. Bush...A really, really smart guy...vs. the village idiot...the village idiot steals the election...oh yes I almost forgot...the smart guy, won the Nobel Prize...

Jump forward to 2004, John Kerry vs. G.W. Bush...so now we have distingushed Senator, War Hero and Peace Activist vs. the Village Idiot...and the idiot wins...and the idiot won by trashing the war record of the distingushed Senator...which seems really odd...while the Senator was in battle...the Village Idiot was skipping out his National Guard duties...again, we had a chance to elect a smart guy...not once but twice...and both times...the village idiot won...

Now onto 2008...we have Obama vs. McCain...Obama is a really smart guy...McCain...no so smart...he married well, I will give him that...but he is not a smart man. I mean we are given the choice between a guy with a law degree from Harvard, who taught Constitutional Law...vs. a guy who finished 7th from the bottom of his Naval Acadamy class...who married well...and the best part...McCain, the old guy...when he kicks the bucket due to the sress of the job...who takes over? Is it someone smart...nope...it is Caribou Barbie...her qualifications...she can see Russia from an island in Alaska...

Can someone please explain why Republicans want to elect the not so smart people to be President? I don't get this. I want someone smart to be our next president.

After reading all or your guy's insightful comments, I'm voting for that Sarah Palin and her running mate....ummmm, what's his name again? You know the old guy, calls himself maverick, but spent 26 years in the Senate voting down the party line on almost everything? What's his name again...nope, slips my mind every time, but gosh! Isn't that Sarah Palin exciting?

Phil Gramms Experiment in Deregulation did not work. We now have Privatized Profit Market Crisis. Look up Privatized Markets view the future of our Country. Look up Hedge funds. Look up short selling.

You are now seeing what Privatized Deregulated Profit results in. Market Crisis. And who is asked to Bail out the Privatised Market, The Tax payer. The Government has to take over the losses. Did Privatized Financials make a profit? You bet your sweet arse they did. Will we have a Socialized recovery? Will the Tax payer be able to meet this burden? Is Paulson just extending the inevitable? Watch your pennies your going to need them. Convert to Cash if you can. Is your Money Market seeing Jeopardy? Best start checking. This is not the end but the beginning.

Whoever wins in November will be a one term President. Because as soon as they get into office they will change their tune and we will see the true colors of the individual.

The point is that Carvill was just as devise and just as "win at all cost" as Rove.
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Listening to the comments of both Obama and McCain on the mortgage melt down, I am totally convinced that NEITHER has a clue what is going on. They should both just shut up about it, because they just keep making them self look more and more idiotic. Neither one of these guys has made an intelligent comment about economics and the economy past what the talking points that their own politic spin team cranks out. Of course the spin team for both candidates is loaded with fat cat ex-lobbyists, CEO's, and executives of companies that created the whole mess to begin with! CLASSIC

Why trust a guy with the mortgage crisis when he has two advisors who were fired by fannie and freddy and who made millions of dollars off of them.

Testy, testy.

Do you always answer questions with a question?

So is the Karl Rove play book more dirty then the James Carvill play book?

Sarah Palin, attractive and articulate though she may be, has only lived in Alaska and Idaho. The largest metropolitan area in either of these states is about 600K and 90% caucasian. She thus has no experience in the Urban Jungle and little with the bread and butter Americana that includes 95% of us in the 'lower 48.' With John McCain already 72, are we prepared for the very real possibility that this relative novice is ready to lead the free world? Is not a serious reevaluation of Senator McCain's judgement in order?

Nice try

That was a resignation in 2002, nobody was "fired."

Obama said Thursday: "In the next 47 days you can fire the whole trickle-down, on-your-own, look-the-other way crowd in Washington who has led us down this disastrous path. Don't just get rid of one guy. Get rid of this administration. Get rid of this bureaucracy."

He doesn't comment on the accuracy of McCain wanting to fire the Chairman. Obama simply says he would like to see them all go.

McCain screwed up and your comeback is very VERY weak.

Talk about spin, Obama choosing not to humiliate McCain? That's about all his campaign has been trying to do of late. You don't really expect me to believe that Obama would pass up an opportunity to humiliate McCain, do you?
This is why the partisanship in these elections has gotten out of hand. Rather than discuss the principles of McCain’s contention to fire the Commissioner, you want to ridicule your perceived inaccuracies of the details of his statement. Besides, a commissioner was fired in 2002 according to the very link you provided.

I suppose you could spin it that way.

However, I tend to believe Obama chose not to humiliate McCain like that and instead took the high road and said fire them all. Obama doesn't need to nitpick like that.

Oh, and commenting on what McCain said by saying fire them all, doesn't make Obama as ignorant...McCain is the one who wants to fire someone he can't, not now, not GOD FORBID, if he is President, not ever.

Nice try though.

whythink
"The criticism is justified." I can respect that. Anybody who wants a little more info on this should really check out the article that whythink linked to http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/... Then decide for yourself how literally a statement that this should be taken.
I believe we should give both the candidates a break and try to understand that statements like this can give us glimpses into what they would want to see happen. Personally, I can't imagine what it would be like to have every comment recorded, researched, and commented on and people who willingly subject themselves to the process should be given a resonable amount of . . . understanding.

What you quote is an opinion, other sources that have ridiculed McCain, even Barack Obama, accepted the premise that the President can fire the head of the S.C.C. If what you say is true, would not Obama have made that the object of his ridicule instead of claiming that we need to fire them all? If the opinion you accept is correct, then Obama is just as ignorant of it as McCain.

Billnewbie

The President, McCain, Obama, Bush cannot fire the chair of the SEC.

McCain, even if President can't do what he said he would do...Fire the SEC Chairman.

The criticism is justified.

whythink,
Thanks for the links. I didn't bother with Huffington, but found the article throught abc link helpful. But I think we can give McCain a little bit of room here, as the article explains that the President can certainly ask for the chariman's resignation (which is usually tendered.)

How silly this season has become.
Senator McCain says that he would fire the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission if he was President and he's ridiculed because he can't. Of course he can't. He’s not the President. President Bush can fire the head of the S.E.C., unlike the head of the Federal Reserve Board which the President cannot fire, but he will not as he has expressed confidence in him. Did the Democrats take note of “McSame’s” rebellion?
Gov. Palin has been accused of denying rape kits to rape victims by insisting that rape victims pay for the kits. What nonsense. Insurance companies were billed for the kits, just as insurance companies are billed for the ambulance ride to the Hospital. Now I suppose the strident Palin detractors will contend that she denies ambulance services to rape victims as well. Do the doctors work with rape victims for free? The next headline on the Huffington post may be “Palin Denies Medical Treatment for Rape Victims”.
Don’t expect much change in Washington after the elections no matter who wins. The political wounds being traded will not heal quickly as the old wounds from elections gone by have not been healed and retribution will still be the order of the day.

Onevoice

They are counting on your logic.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/18...

I know huffingtonpost is a liberal publication but I heard the samething on the radio. Supreme Court has ruled on this because other presidents have tried the same thing.

The President can't fire the SEC Chairman.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politi...

"But while the president nominates and the Senate confirms the SEC chair, a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/...

The chairman of the SEC is a position that is appointed by the President, correct? So it is also the President's perogative to fire him. McCain's comment was that if he were the President, that's what he would do. So how is this an attempt to misinform?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-cho...

Great article!

http://www.truthout.org/article/mississi...

Another Republican trick. The Republican's are really hoping the misinformed, or as my co-worker said the "information challenged" vote early and often. They know that is there best chance.

SEC chairman Cox

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/mccain-...

Sorry about that. FCC didn't make much sense.

FYI:

The commissioner of the FCC(?)_ economic guy, that Mccain said he will fire to help the economy...

HE CAN'T FIRE HIM. It is just another political game...McCain is hoping uneducated voters buy this type of manipulation.

SarahB- I was just stating the facts. I didn't say I agree with the decision or am against the decision. I don't know more than I read on the story and no where did it say in the article that anybody was charged for a kit. I'm really not sure how many rapes happen in that small of town either.

petcat...again you are lying or reading websites that are lying to you. No one was denied a rape kit.

Whybesad: Are you crazy?! The rape kit cost about $1,200! Plus, the kit is used for evidence collecting as in "rape is a crime"! If a bullet gets buried inside your porch door in a drive-by shooting, do you have to pay the detectives $$$$ to retrieve the bullit as evidence? I would hope not. And what does any of this have to do with abortion? A rape kit does not include any form of medication; that would have to be ordered separately by a physician and would be dispensed by a pharmacy in the hospital or elsewhere. According to an article in News & World Report (definitely NOT a liberal publication), the rape kits were removed from the budget after Gov. Palin fired the town's police chief and another chief was installed.

Petcat your truly don't have a grip on this do you? She had a policy that the rape victims had to pay for the rape kits. It's not like they had to pay right there either. Woman have to pay for abortions to. That is a little different than saying that she denied rape kits. Please next time get the facts straight.

whythink...I never said their views were not relevant, the exact opposite is true. I was just pointing out the false statement made by petcat declaring that these would be "Denied" by Palin. Party platforms and politicians thoughts/beliefs are what this election is about. It is the job of voters to dig through the lies and look at facts and not allow others to cast false truths. I have cast no deceleration on who I will be voting for...I have only expressed who I will not vote for; yes this leaves very little options.

Retired

People freaked out and don't want Obama to be president because of his association with a hateful pastor and terrorist.

Now you say Mrs. Palins personal beliefs aren't relevant because she can't make them the law.

COME ON!

Anyone who would want to charge a rape victim for the rape kit is (IMO) just as hateful as Rev. Wright.

Lets be consistant - if Rev. Wright is a concern then so is wanting to charge rape victims.

petcat...more insipid lies. Personal opinions by politicians are not laws. She has no authority currently and as VP or Pres she still will not have authority to make your assumptions a reality. You keep thinking the sky is falling, but my advice is to start reading current laws before you make silly accusations.

OMG...I never in my "blogging" life have waited so long for the end of a page. There are a lot of comments on this page. I was going to read them all, but I don't have that much time......anyway, I just wanted to say, McCain/Palin make me ill. McCain to me seems as if he is just a snake in the grass. I can't stand his snide remarks, his little twisted smile and the fact that he is using the fact that Palin is a woman AND is from Alaska to entice voters. Granted, I have NO IDEA what this man stands for, but do any of us REALLY know? It is all about who is more popular......who's wife is prettier, how many magazine covers they can land or how many celebrities they can "catch". I am writing Hilary on my ballot!!!!! LOL

NOW is for the advancement of LIBERAL woman. Just as the NAACP is for the advancement of LIBERAL African Americans. Of course NOW is not going to support a conservative like Palin. Just as the NAACP attacked and smeared Clerance Thomas. It's all about advancement IF and ONLY IF you agree with their dogma.

DOGMAA, the Demagogic, Opinionated, Groupthinkers and Marxist Association of America has announced today that after months of deliberation and soul searching, they have finally come to a consensus to endorse the candidacy of Barack Obama for President. This may come as a surprise to many seasoned political observers as this group has been known for months to be waffling in its historic support for Democrats as many in its membership have been leaning perplexingly toward Republican ideology.

Theres a news flash NOW is backing Obama. Who would have thought?

obama4pres...it was not NOW it was the NOW political action committee. They stear money donated to them to canidates they support. Did you really think this would not happen?

Well, I don't know about you, but I was rather glad to hear this good news on the Tuesday after the Monday after Black Sunday:

The National Organization for Women (NOW) said Tuesday it had been pushed by the Republicans pick of Sarah Palin as vice presidential nominee to back Democrat Barack Obama for the White House.

"NOW is going to be endorsing the Obama-Biden ticket," NOW head Kim Gandy told National Public Radio (NPR), referring to Obama and his running mate Joseph Biden.

The 500,000-strong women's movement, which "very, very rarely endorses in a general election", broke with its tradition of neutrality after "the addition of Sarah Palin gave us a new sense of urgency," said Gandy.

"She is being portrayed as a supporter of women's rights ... as a feminist when in fact her positions on so many of the issues are really anathema to ours," Gandy said.

Everyone knows anathema is a Bad Thing. You can't even put lipstick on it.

Lot of the stuff sited has played into the mortgage/housing mess, but it really goes back to Greenspan and his nonstop cutting of interest rates. For those who are not really versed on macro economics, what cutting rates like that does is add a TON of liquidity to the banks. You are essentially injecting liquidity into the economy.
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The banks literally got infused with so much $$ (liquidity) from the Federal reserve that they could not get it all out the door fast enough in loans. So they started loaning $$ to just about anyone who walked in the door, and could write down their name. Then you had all these exotic loans conceived as a way to pump out all this extra liquidity that the Feds gave to them (Greenspan cut the prime rate all the way to 0.75% in Nov 2002...That is practically giving away $$$$). This massive influx of liquidity is what led to the housing boom; as everyone was taking out the cheap loans, and or refinancing.
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Like ANYTHING that surges way up in price, it's CERTAIN to BUST (or more accurately; correct). Look at the dot com boom in the 90's, the Chinese stock boom 2 years ago, and recently the oil boom (notice after that the insane run up in oil last month it is now seeing the bubble busting..Crude oil is down to about $90 a barrel now. Was up to $147 just two months ago). Anything that surges to fast in price is almost certain to bust/correct at some point. While the bigger the bubble becomes, the bigger the bust will usually be.
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This is exactly what happened in housing. The huge influx of liquidity from the feds drove up prices in housing/real estate WAY to fast, creating a huge bubble in the market. Like all bubbles it was just a matter of time till it busted, and that is what you are seeing now.

lake kennedy:
Not sure how that works legally, but I think the land still belongs to your land lord, if you rent, and therefor they COULD ask you to remove any sign. I'm not 100% certain on that; however. I'm sure most landlords could care less though if you did it. As long as they get paid every month, and you respect your property and neighbors, you could put up a Fidel Castro sign for President if you want.

All you libs can vote November 11th...DON'T FORGET!! (winks)

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), enacted by Congress in 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901) and implemented by Regulations 12 CFR parts 25, 228, 345, and 563e, is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate. I guess that was Jimmy Carter my bad.

Actually the financial crises goes back to 1998 during the Clinton administration and continued through the Bush administration.
http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes...

This is the way it should read.....
The mortgage crisis was created by George Bush and the Republician non controlled congress in the 2000.s The community reinvestment act was created to let minorities and low income people buy homes. Normally banks would be turn people like this down since their credit wasn't real good. They were giving home loans to people that shouldn't have gotten them in the first place now we are facing the piper

The mortgage crisis was created by Bill Clinton and the democratic controlled congress in the 1990's. The community reinvestment act was created to let minorities and low income people buy homes. Normally banks would be turn people like this down since their credit wasn't real good. They were giving home loans to people that shouldn't have gotten them in the first place now we are facing the piper.

Lakennedy:
I did not consult, the Oracle of Delphi, a card reader, a crystal ball gazer, or even a Ouija board, I simply speculated of what the results could have been from a President Gore administration based on what I know of his philosophies in response to my premise that the last 8 years should be assessed compared to what 8 years of Gore as President may have been like. Accuracy about what could have been is impossible to gauge, but plausibility is assessable and what I speculated is in my opinion plausible. Of course, that plausibility is debatable.

I've started reading both candidates' web sites and hope to get through one issue a day. Last night I read through the health care plans of both. I am scoring Obama as the winner on this one. He supports parity in health care which I have always felt was the right thing to do. In addition, I was impressed with Obama's presenting his plan in detail; McCain's was more generalized thinking in my opinion. One more thing I check daily is FactCheck.org ... it is a wonderful site for digesting speeches, ads, voting records, etc.

GO WORLD!!! (like on the olympics)

GO DEMOCRATS!!!

No one can accurately describe what the state of affairs would be right now had Gore or Kerry won. To assume that because McCain is a republican, that his administration will mirror Bush's is ridiculous also. His voting record has been cited, well I urge you to look at Biden's, he voted along with Bush %70 of the time. I think the important thing this election is to really examine the individual platforms. I took the time to do just that this last weekend, and have finally made up my mind on who I'll be voting for. I urge my fellow bloggers to do the same (although I don't think that many of you are undecided).

Oops! Wrong date! SORRY...Vote Nov. 4!

Calling planet earth, calling planet earth, this is Commander Prognosticator from the planet Zorg with a fantasy update.
Try pushing the incredibly moronic notion that had the Democrats controlled everything over the past 8 years, the minimum wage would probably exceed $10 an hour by now, and that union representation would nearly be mandatory (just as they seem to be promising if they are returned to full power again) sending nearly every manufacturing job overseas except for those held by illegal immigrants who would be ignored provided they get driver’s licenses so they can vote for Democrats. On the flip side the mortgage crisis would have been averted since most of those that took sub-prime mortgages would have been instead unemployed and bankruptcy lawyers would be the nouveau riche of the Democrat elite.
You might also push the absolutely ridiculous notion that it’s easy to speculate accurately about what should have been done ex post facto but that Democrats have no better record for prescience than Republicans in spite of their sanctimony.
This has been a fantasy update by the Zorgian ministry of propaganda. Set you decoder rings to d5 to decode the secret message. Commander Prognosticator signing off.

Democracy is more than just voting. It's an ongoing and personal involvement in your own future. In this season of unending political rhetoric, don’t forget. NEVER FORGET. Whether you call yourself Democrat or Republican, Liberal, Conservative, or Libertarian, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Atheist, our enemy isn’t the other political party. Our enemy isn’t another religion. Our enemy isn’t the media, the special activist groups, or the ACLU. Our enemy is ignorance, intolerance, and misinformation. Our enemy is apathy and negligence. Live a life worthy of the sacrifices of the Founding Fathers, of the Suffragettes, of the fallen soldiers of every generation, and worthy of the respect of the generations yet to come. They were/are so passionate about our country that they were involved. Make sure you're fully informed on the issues - not just personalities! Get involved, vote on November 11 ... and then hold your representatives accountable for how they proceed to lead.

Hey, this is definitley off topic, but I think some of you would know the answer: If you rent, do you need to obtain your landlords permission before putting a political sign up on the property?

The housing mess was actually the result of Greenspan, don't kid yourself. He cut interest rates like a drunk sailor when they never needed to be. Recklessly cut them all the way down to 0.75%, which created a massive influx of false credit into the market place, and in turn a huge housing bubble. Now that bubble is collapsing, and you are seeing the ill effects of it. CONVENIENTLY Greenspan stepped down as FOMC chairman; as he knew things would go to hell, and he'd take the heat. Now he can just put blame on someone else, and go on all the financial shows to talk smart, and never even mention that he was the primary reason for the whole mess.

Get out of the stock market?
Are you out of your mind? I just made the biggest single day score of my life today. I simply moved a ton of capital into SKF shares, which is a double leveraged ETF that is short sold in all the major financial stocks. Those idiots over in Asia and Europe actually believed the Freddie Fannie bailout would stabilize the financials, and you had a huge run up last Monday from that news. What a perfect time it was to go SHORT on this false run up! Playing the market is, of course, all about timing. SKF was up 17% today alone.
Up 35% since last Monday...CHA CHING! The one advantage of Obama being elected is that is will be free $$$ in the markets, shorting away as the market crashes and burns.

sound familiar?

We all know that certain people who make it a practice to depreciate the accomplishments of labor - who even attack labor as unpatriotic - they keep this up usually for three years and six months in a row. But then, for some strange reason they change their tune- every four years- just before election day. When votes are at stake, they suddenly discover that they really love labor and that they are anxious to protect labor from its old friends. "

- FDR ( "Fala" speech )

Enough…There is no way he Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999; which legalized the mergers of some companies from the mid-1990’s [that were granted waivers for there illegal action] and allowed banks to also offer securities and insurance is the single reason to the current housing crisis as you said. You provide the bills name as the reason but point to no facts to support your assertion that this is the sole reason, as you previously said it was. How did “this experiment in deregulation” cause the housing crisis??? This bill had nothing to do with sub prime loans. This bill had nothing to do with people borrowing more than they could afford. This bill had nothing to do with institutions decisions to back the paper these same people were signing. So again, please state your reason besides stating the name of a bill for the reason.

sar·casm (sär'kăz'əm) pronunciation
n.

1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.
3. The use of sarcasm. See synonyms at wit1.

[Late Latin sarcasmus, from Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein, to bite the lips in rage, from sarx, sark-, flesh.]

Since this Country began the rich got rich off the backs of the hard working poor. In the last eight years they did not reinvest in this Country. They put their profits in tax havens off shore, and then took jobs off shore for cheap labor to break Unions. You Bush lovers will wake up when America is composed of two classes Rich and poor. They don't have complete control yet, but they will. And the Poor will be used as disposables for war. Uneducated sheep that follow family values and bow to their rich masters. Is privitization corporate control? Is that a free economy? Small business has now become the backbone of our Nation. Will they survive Corporate control? Did the Mom and Pop Stores survive Walmart? It is not a Party but a Country where talking about.

I was referring to Phil Gramm , but your sarcasm is easy to understand. Your tied to a Party that has failed our Country. I have no respect for Bush or his Administration. For me he has lost all credibility. The straw for my camels back was torture.

1999 Gramm-Leach -Bliley Act.... Gramm's Act know as the experiment in deregulation. Slipped into a Bill at the end of the Clinton Administration. http://www.injuryboard.com

enough, you must have an awful high opinion of President Bush as you sure give him credit for a lot! So he single handedly is responsible for the credit crunch and the failing of the housing market? Wow! I realize he is responsible for the gas prices as I have been told that before. And there have been so many other things our President has managed to do all by his lonesome. You democrats sure place him up there near God with all the power you credit him with.

billnewbie...what the democrats don't get is the fact that if they tax the rich more than they are already being taxed, then even more of them will send their jobs over seas. Of course then they complain about outsourcing and how our jobs are all being sent over seas. I just don't get what part of this they don't understand. It's simple cause and effect.

Proartist asks “Are we better off TODAY than we were 8 years ago???” I think the better question is are we better off than we would have been if Al Gore had been President for the last 8 years. I sincerely doubt that he would have been any more prescient than the Democrats that have controlled Congress for the last term have been about the mortgage fiasco or the credit crunch. If he were, then why hasn’t he spoken up? If he had, he may have been able to win the Nobel Prize for Economics too. Many blame NAFTA for significant recent job losses yet that agreement went into effect in 1994 when both houses of Congress and the presidency were held by Democrats. I still remember Vice President Gore promising to fix NAFTA after they were re-elected during their campaign of 1996. Just what would he have done differently during his administration that the Clinton’s did during theirs?
Certainly the Democrats would have avoided the war in Iraq, just as they would probably have stayed out of Afghanistan as well. Yet they cannot deny the fact that this country has had no more terrorist attacks since 9/11. President Bush took the fight to their front door rather than trying to react to their next attack here. Only those who would never give President Bush credit for anything would say that the lack of terror attacks is coincidental. The tyrannical rule of Saddam has ended. If nothing else of any value comes out of our presence in Iraq, at least we accomplished that.
Yes, the rich do get richer, but as Proartist inadvertently points out, they are the ones who provide the jobs for most of us and the capital to invest with entrepreneurs that provide the rest. If we do as Proartist suggests and punish the rich people with the tax code, what will be the result? Will they meekly take their punishment while still providing ever more jobs and capital, or will they instruct their lawyers and accountants to seek alternatives?

Whythink asks “What has happened in the past 8 years to make you confidently support the Republican party and their nominee?” I do not confidently support the Republican Party. Why? Because that old adage is true that power corrupts. Many on that side of the isle have used their positions to buy votes with gimmicks such as earmarks. They think that the way to re-election is paved with pork. This malady is not confined to Republicans, but it is disheartening to see them afflicted with it in spite of the underlying philosophy of that party. It’s rather like finding out that a trusted pastor has committed adultery. Some would react by throwing out the whole theology rather than recognizing that the pastor is the one who should be rejected.
Furthermore, some Republicans have turned away from principle in response to the charge that they are overly partisan. President Bush, for instance, worked with Senator Kennedy on the No Child Left Behind Act, forsaking the tenet that local schools should be under local control. Many on both sides of the political spectrum find that law objectionable. The ironic thing is that within days of the signing of that law, Senator Kennedy was criticizing the President yet again for his lack of partisanship.
I don’t have a lot of confidence that the Republicans will control spending, avoid nationalizing health care or crippling the economy for the sake of global warming, but I am certain of what the Democrats will do, especially since they seem to view the tax code as a tool for social justice.

enough...please post facts of the single bill in 1999 that has caused the housing crisis of today.

This is not about Republican or Dem. It is about America, will it stand?

Some advice for our value voters. Convert to cash, get out of high risk stock market, money market may be safe for a while. watch your bank on the market. More banks will fail. We can thank Bush for this Financial melt down. The financial bail out should have been for the people holding the mortgages not big business.

Its simple but most are hung up on their Party. Elect McCain and you get Phil Graham as Financial adviser. Phil Graham is responsible for the Housing Crisis. Bill he slipped in to law in 1999 which did the deed of deregulation and provided for the corruption of Corporate greed. McCain was on the Commerence Commiette for years he could have done something about this years ago. Republicans will enjoy the recession into Depression they are voting for. Hold on to you pennies your goinng to need them.

Or better yet, how about donating the houses to house people who are losing their homes because of job losses, etc.

Maybe McCain can start saving money by selling some of his houses!

Are we better off TODAY than we were 8 years ago??? McCain has been heard to say he will save $100 billion a year when (if) he's elected. Yet not a a single independent budget study or financial expert can vouch for how he arrives at this figure. Even McCain's own economics adviser says it is an extrapolation from various government studies, including a 2006 study by the Congressional Research Service, which identifies a total of $52 billion in earmarks. Remember...that government who separated the war budget from the general budget so the people are more confused than ever? A lot of the money in those earmarks is linked with promised funding for such things as foreign aid to countries like Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, which McCain has already claimed is also off limits to cuts. Just WHERE does he come up with saving $100,000 and how does he run a war without raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations given they're the only groups left who have any money? Will we be better off TOMORROW as McCain continues/extends Bush's tax cuts and continues to oppose a minimum wage for those hard working Americans whose labors only make CEOs wealthy?

HAHAH..This is so hilarious. These idiots on the left are STILL talking about the McCain being born in Panama. Talk about desperation at its peek. Now that Obama is falling like a stone in all the key battle ground states they will grab at ANY straw out there...CLASSIC.
.
Uh you might want to actually READ the law 1st though; which states
.

"Children born in the United States (including not only the 50 states and the District of Columbia, but also, in most cases, U.S. Territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone before it was returned to Panama, in addition to many current states which were territories at the time of the birth of some individuals now living, e.g. Alaska and Hawaii), are U.S. citizens at birth (unless born to foreign diplomatic staff), regardless of the citizenship or nationality of the parents. "
.
That's OK, keep the nonsense coming as your chosen one MELTS DOWN!

Whythink MacCain and Palin are reformers they aren't your typical Washington insiders. They are going to shake up Washington and get things done. MacCain has show he can cross party lines and work with democrats. Obama hasn't show that (voting 96% along party lines). He calls himself a uniter but his voting record says different.

MOC0428
&
billnewbie

What has happened in the past 8 years to make you confidently support the Republican party and their nominee?

I voted for GW twice and I don't understand how anyone - other than those who are maybe 1 or 2 issue voters, can confidently support the Republican party and their nominee.

Now that said, I do understand why some may support the Reps. because of issues they have with Obama. I admit, I am not thrilled with some of his positions but I will vote for him in Nov.

Just curious.

BTW, retired, thanks for the fact check. Liars on either side need to be ousted.

billnewbie: Awesome post. You summed up what quite a few people have written in here! These are the same people who call themselves educated voters that will be fighting for their illustrious Obama come election day.

Now let me get this straight.
McCain's not really American, he's a Panamanian terrorist who was brainwashed by the Vietnamese communists (makes you wonder why he doesn’t back Obama) and supports reporter killing car bombers (at least he doesn’t support those who bomb the pentagon).
We should seek political commentary from trustworthy sources such as SNL.
The rich want to bankrupt America (their biggest customer and creditor).
Republicans only read those parts of the bible they agree with (how does one know which parts you don’t agree with if you don’t read them).
Presidential candidates don’t need a lot of prequalification as they all learn on the job, but vice presidential candidates must have many prequalification or they are unfit.
The season gets sillier the closer we get to Election Day and the Anointed One is behind in the polls.

McCain is American. Those of you who want to waste time discussing why he is not need to come back to reality. Who the heck cares if he was born outside the U.S. His birthplace has no relevance concerning his run for presidency. My gosh people dig up some real issues.

+

petcat: We're still waiting for a response showning where you get your information from. My guess is that we'll be waiting for a long time as it is all in your head.

Petcat…To your reference on the citizenship of McCain. You might what to read the United States naturalization act “The Act establishes the United States citizenship of children of citizens, born abroad, without the need for naturalization, "the children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond Sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born Citizens". This act was not superseded by the canal zone law you site. This same issue was already covered by factcheck.org.

Petat… I have a question for you; You claim that the Manchurian Candidate was based on McCain; if the novel the movie and screen play were based on was written in 1959 (following the Korean war), a year after McCain graduated from the Naval Academy and 8 years before being captured…how exactly was this based on him?

petcat

Can you give us a source for that information? It is quite interesting and you nearly convinced me but not knowing who you are makes me wonder.

How about this for sarcasm?
The United States of America is better off after 8 years of GW Bush including 2 where the Bush had republican control of the legislative branch as well.

All these things the Republicans promise to do/fix if McCain becomes president should/could have been done from 2004-2006 when the republicans had control of leg. and exec. branches of government.

They didn't get it done. Why should they get another chance?

Just for the record-(this is a nonpartisan post)-and please don't look at this as a "spelling police" action-but I've seen a couple of obvious McCain supporters spelling the name of their candidate wrong-the name is McCain-not MaCain. For your credibility's sake....

I don't think I could define sarcasm monosyllabically enough for those on the left to understand it.

That was a very weak attempt at sarcasm.

Now...define it and explain it to the not so bright right.

sarcasm -sar-kaz-um sarcasm

Apparently no one on the right can spell S-A-R-C-A-S-M

So now the left is digging up stuff on MaCain not being an American? WOW!!! Talk about being desperate.

Tina Faye did one of the best impressions in SNL. I haven't watched SNL for years. They really went down hill the past few years but, I did catch a glimpse of the skit with her and it was dead one. The guy that does Obama needs to lighten up a bit he seems to play Obama to seriously.

Hey petcat your boy Obama has ties to a terrorist right here in America. William Ayres ever hear of him? To say John Macain is not American is just shows are loony you lefties are. You got ANY proof of your allegations? I doubt it you lefties are all the same just grasping for every straw you can. Is really quite sad.

curleysue you may want to look at the voting record of Obama and Macain and see how they voted Obama voted a majority of the time with Bush policies as well as MaCain. But, it seems you have your mind made up in who you want to ruin this country. Who cares what other countries want for us as Americans to vote into the White house. If we as AMERICANS start worrying about what other countries think we are in trouble.

Ok I just have to ask! Am I the only one that watched SNL last night and thought that Tina Faye did an outstanding job portraying Palin??? No matter what your political views, it was worth staying up for.

Mudflats the Alaskan Blog site has developed a new group called WASP (women against Sarah Palin) had a anti Palin rally yesterday. Have written to Obama to visit Alaska. I really enjoy the energy of that site.

TomDispatch.com interesting site . Fourth article by Schwartz very interesting. He has a new book coming out War Without End.....I love reading. buy books and get them from the library. Keeps my mind open to a variety of opinions.

Petcat: Interesting post. I remember that journalist's death by car-bombing. I was a young teen-ager living across the street from Beloit College. If I remember correctly, the Phoenix journalist's brother was a professor or other type of staff member at Beloit College. I only wish we had more than 51 days until the election; we voters need more time to study the candidate's and thier platforms. I suggest everyone spend time reviewing both candidates' web sites. There you can get a taste of what they are proposing to do and most of the issues are covered in detail. Also, as many writers here have commented, check out FactCheck.org ... it is a great site.

America is in a very sad state if 51% think Bush did a good job and want 4 more years of the same crap!! McCain is a twin of Bush, who will use the title of head of stste to begin wars in other countries. I saw a news clip that polled countries as to which candidate they wish to see in office, Obama was the winner. They feel McCain will stir up wars that the US has no right being involved in. If McCain wins America will have many more enemies, more poverty, and more jobs lost. I hope the 51% of the country enjoys watching their own countrymen living on the streets going hungry!! But isn't that how the rich get rich? by taking away from the middle class their jobs, their houses, and making them poor. The price of oil will continue to rise to make Bush/McCain more wealthy. The counrty will be in shambles and bankrupt with another 4 years of power hungery attitudes controlling! God help us all!!!

I guess 51% of Americans are "idiots" that's pretty effective. Look in the mirror.

Enough…to your question on the reading of Woodwards book. No I haven’t nor will I purchase his book. For the same reason I didn’t purchase books on other candidates or politicians. I won't pay an author/editor/journalist impression or understanding of what they believe in book form when their same views can be purchased in a magazine or newspaper for pennies.

obama4pres...I have two questions for you. Of the three current Bush doctrines, which did Charlie Gibson ask Governor Palin about? Please explain the accomplishments of Sen Obama that make him qualified for the job of President.

petcat..."You have been trolled" The only troll here is your postings.

Bellagio_Bound pretty face ------the repukes are going to lose .

She will be the hottest VP EVER !!

obama4pres said "however troubling her views on evolution and global warming may be"
.
There are over 31,000 American scientists, of which over 9,000 have PhDs, that don't believe that global warming is caused by humans.
www.petitionproject.org/

While watching the Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson Thursday night, and the coverage of the Palin phenomenon in general, I’ve gotten the scary feeling, for the first time in my life, that dimwittedness is not just on the march in the U.S., but that it might actually prevail.

How is it that this woman could have been selected to be the vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket? How is it that so much of the mainstream media has dropped all pretense of seriousness to hop aboard the bandwagon and go along for the giddy ride?

For those who haven’t noticed, we’re electing a president and vice president, not selecting a winner on “American Idol.”

Ms. Palin may be a perfectly competent and reasonably intelligent woman (however troubling her views on evolution and global warming may be), but she is not ready to be vice president.

With most candidates for high public office, the question is whether one agrees with them on the major issues of the day. With Ms. Palin, it’s not about agreeing or disagreeing. She doesn’t appear to understand some of the most important issues.

“Do you believe in the Bush doctrine?” Mr. Gibson asked during the interview. Ms. Palin looked like an unprepared student who wanted nothing so much as to escape this encounter with the school principal.

Clueless, she asked, “In what respect, Charlie?”

“Well, what do you interpret it to be?” said Mr. Gibson.

“His worldview?” asked Ms. Palin.

Later, in the spin zones of cable TV, commentators repeatedly made the point that there are probably very few voters — some specifically mentioned “hockey moms” — who could explain the Bush doctrine. But that’s exactly the reason we have such long and intense campaigns. You want to find the individuals who best understand these issues, who will address them in sophisticated and creative ways that enhance the well-being of the nation.

The Bush doctrine, which flung open the doors to the catastrophe in Iraq, was such a fundamental aspect of the administration’s foreign policy that it staggers the imagination that we could have someone no further than a whisper away from the White House who doesn’t even know what it is.

You can’t imagine that John McCain or Barack Obama or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton or Joe Lieberman would not know what the Bush doctrine is. But Sarah Palin? Absolutely clueless.

kiowamhi...sorry if i spelt your name wrong....I was refering to the evangelical support of Israel. The group CUFI there are a large percent of influential people in this lobby. They have a very direct effect on the Political parties.

I know Hillary is brillant and walks around with a outstanding knowledge base something Palin is lacking. But have you ever seen Biden on C-Span? He is a warrior for the little guy and his knowledge base is outstanding as well. Like Rumsfeld used to say , "you fight with the army you have, and not with the army you want."

cufi.org This is what Palin said in her first interview. The words have me wondering. "committed to the Mission, the Mission that we're on. Reform this COUNTRY and VICTORY in the war." I thought the theme was reform the government. What reform does she have in mind for the Country? so I researched her beliefs. Mission is an important word. Her beliefs are closely associated with Christians for Israel. I didn't realize until I looked back at John McCain 2000 campaign that at the onset he promised war with Iraq, Korea, and Russia. These are not Christian Nations. He calls Georgia a Christian Nation and so we must protect Georgia from Russia. I was wrong when I assumed McCain would drop her, he will fight to have trooper-gate disappear. They are very much aligned in their ideas. But I still think McCain is more Neocon than Christianity based because of his Military family. Reading a book about all the Presidents isn't interesting that a good majority of the founders where deists

If Obama put Hillary on the ticket there is no way in hell that MaCain could win this election.

Sorry enough. The Jewish community is HEAVILY for the Democrats. It's been that way for years, and nothing has changed in the demographics. The boost in the polls is all because of the woman vote. McCain made up 15 points on the woman vote after he choose Palin. Many of them were Hillary supporters. It's all in the internals. The numbers debunk how the left kept saying that choose would get zero support from Hillary backers.
If Obama is smart he'd dump Biden now. Put Hillary on the ticket and MAYBE he could actually make it a race.

Sweet_79 do some research. There are certain aspects from both candidates that I disagree with. But, you have to look at the issues that matter to you. You shouldn't base your vote on one issue. I heard people talk about that when Hillary was running. Saying they would vote for just because she is a woman. WOW! how about issues people. I for one don't like the idea of socialized medicine. I don't want the government in control of my health care concerns. For one it's going to cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars to put that into place. I don't like paying more taxes than I have to. I think government is to involved in our lives already. I am still having a hard time swallowing that these two people are the cream of the crop of either party. It doesn't say much for this country right now.

Horray I got you there. just a dummy but I kept trying. http://christianzionism.org

Palin did fine in the interview. At least she had the guts to do a tough questioned interview. Obama finally decided to do a hardball interview with O'Reilly AFTER he fell like a rock in the polls. All makes sense because FOX news has viewer ratings then all the other cable news networks COMBINED.
.
I don't see old Joe Biden doing much...Well, other then making a FOOL of himself at rallies...."STAND UP FOR US CHUCK".......ooooooooops (Chuck is in a wheelchair).
Great pick by Obama. History will note it as the start of his meltdown.

sorry http://christianzionism.org

Anyway it is a site that is Christians for Isreal. Palin has close connections with this organization, as does Liberman and actually its base are the Jewish community, Neocons. So I was wrong the other day when I said Palin was just a Hawk in training. Biden also has close connections to this organization and Obama spoke there this past year. They told him they liked him but would not vote for him. They believe in the end of days and the protection of Isreal at all costs. So when you look at the gain in the polls perhaps you should take into consideration the Jewish community.

sorry http//:christianzionism.org Well I can't get you there., for my stupidity I apoligize

sorry http//:christianzionism.org

sorry http//:christianzionism.com

Interesting site I just read http//:wwwchristianzionist.com

I'm just so tired of hearing about McCain being a POW. Granted I haven't been keeping up with the election as well as I should so I'm saying right up front I don't know many details. But I do know that everytime I see a speach on TV for him ALL they talk about is him being a POW. The woman who sits across from me at my work says thats why she's voting for him. That reason alone! Lots of people served our country and lots were POW so we should just go and make them all president? I could change my opinion because right now I'm for Obama but give me some other reason to vote for McCaine besides that?!?!?!

Sure wish they would move that quick with the investigations with Doyle. Oh! wait he's a demorat so he has all kinds of time. Double standards folks.

14 subpoenas have been decided on including the first dude. Sarah won't be subpoenaed because she is in the running for VP. But she is expected to be deposed. Senator Green of Alaska local Government will have the last say to go forward. If she OKs this then Oct 10Th will be the date for results of Abuse of Power investigation of Palin.

petcat: No one cares what you say anymore. You've already proven you can't read.

Sarah didn't get any softballs in that interview (nobody should). But, it seems Obama hasn't had those tough questions asked of him. Not in the mainstream media anyway. His interview with O'reilly was probably his toughest interview yet and he looked vulnerable in that interview.

How is putting a suit on a monkey racist? If that is I guess putting lipstick on a pig is sexist.

That is good news..
She is very talented, and did an awesome invitation of Hillary!
I'm sure it will rile a few on the right up, but that sort of stuff is just all part of being in the heat of politics. As Truman said: "If you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen"
The conservative Paul Shanklin does a great invitation of Obama. Here is one example:
http://mfile.akamai.com/5020/wma/rushlim...

Good news! Tina Fey 'likely' to play Sarah Palin on 'SNL'!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080913/ap_o...

Only one "poll" matters...the one on November 4th.

Despite the endless attacks from the left on Palin she is more popular then ANY of the three candidates...Recent polling data shows:
.
Palin with a 54-27 favorable/unfavorable ratio,
Barack Obama's 57-36,
John McCain's 60-33
Joe Biden's 51-29.
(Of the four, she's the most popular).
.
As a result McCain has now surged ahead in every major poll, and has now become a strong favorite on the exchanges, just as I predicted weeks ago, when Obama was a HEAVY favorite.

And your racism shines through ... whybesad.

"You can put a suit on a monkey but it's still a monkey."
.
Ah...but is there lipstick on that monkey?

While I am against the banning of any book, I have to say, Petcat, you would do well to research your post before you write it. That was a little ridiculous. Either you intended to misinform us to further your argument, or you really aren't as informed as you should be.

You can put a suit on a monkey but it's still a monkey.

proartist....McCain is neocon Hawk. Sarah is just a Hawk, Krystole hasn't educated her yet. The third to last chapter of War Within by Woodward is very disturbing. Plans already set up to maintain forces in Iraq for years. Thinking is if McCain wins no problem, If Obama wins they have it set up so he can't do anything about it, with Petrraus as head of CentCom and Odilerno as leader. They have it all figured out. Bush wants it to look like he is after Binladin. Good for his legacy

retireair force.....The Aslaska Council is voting on the supeana issue today should be on the news tonight or on Drudge tomorrow. Have any of you guys read Woodwards book War Within yet? I just finished it. Perplexed at the Plans that have already been put in place to keep the Iraqi War going. McCains Lawyers, Sarah has hired a Lawyer as well are fighting the Troopergate issue as we speak.

I received absentee ballots in 2004 for John Kerry's campaign. Haven't gotten anything this year from either party :(

petcat, the snopes site says that it's FALSE that Palin wants to burn or ban those books.!!!

Just listening to the substitute host, Lee Rayburn, on the Thom Hartmann show:

"Misleading" absentee ballot applications are being mailed out by the McCain campaign to registered Democratic voters in purple states. The return addresses are inaccurate, as well as other information. "Misleading, lying" mailers are going out in Florida and other purple states. It's a caging tactic.

Calls are coming in verifying that this is happening in small towns, as well as larger ones.

The host is trying to determine the scale of this subversion of our democracy.

Here we go again.

UPDATE: It's happening in Pennsylvania, too. The ballots have included multiple ballots, sender address is a new address while return address is from old city clerk's office... The I'm trying to type this as he says it, and it may not be clear, since I miss some. I apologize for that.

Fraud. Election fraud. Hopefully the local authorities can help, or the local Obama offices. Calling the media could help, too.

A caller: Robocalls asking if you're interested in an absentee ballot. Or, notifying the voter that the ballot will be mailed back postage paid to the National Republican Committee.

Another caller from Detroit. Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida: That's where the absentee ballots are being sent to Obama voters. Add Missouri to that, per one of our commenters.

You can be sure McCain isn't doing this because he wants every vote counted.

UPDATE: A North Carolina caller got THREE of them. In the phone book there's a street address, but on the form, it's a P.O. Box, per the caller.

California caller from registrar's office: McCain should take the application for absentee and submit within 3 days. But the applications will most likely be held for the 3 days and "die". They'll most likely submit the Republican ones, and throw away the Democratic ones.

The return address for the request card goes to the wrong city clerk office address, per Rayburn.

Michigan caller: Wrong home address, and then, wrong city clerk address on the one he got. He donated to Obama, but not a Democrat, so he wonders if that's how they found him.

Hey media? There's a real story here.

http://current.com/items/89293206_mislea...

MOC0428

I guess the issue had something to do with the return address or the DO NOT FORWARD label. I only heard part of the radio show so i didn't get all the details but I thought I would post it because it seemed odd to me.

Just something I thought people should be aware of. I will try to find a link to a more detailed version of the story.

Dr. Talk -

Probably the same election officials.

Interesting how you have to bring up 4 year old accusations to defend the Republicans. I am not so partisan that I would defend either action.

Besides, my post was just an FYI, you bring up slashing tires makes me belief you know it is happening that must be why you immediately make a comparison versus any kind of defense.

petcat: i is a genius!!!!

whythink: I received one and I'm pretty certain it is just to get signed up for an absentee ballot. I think he knows many Americans are plain lazy and won't vote but if they can get a bollot mailed to them, why not vote! I might be wrong but that is what I got out of it. I threw it out and will vote in November.

petcat, that snopes site says that it's FALSE that Palin wants to burn or ban those books.!!!

ABC got it wrong. Palin did not say troops were being sent out on a task from God. ABC left out the first part of her statement that makes it CLEAR that she said we should PRAY that we are doing God's will.
http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/charliesyke...

petcat, that snopes site says that it's FALSE that Palin banned or wants those books banned!!!

I guess petcat can't read his own link...look at the red letters they spell F-A-L-S-E. Gosh...some people will believe anything on the internet with out looking for the truth.

I am a researcher at heart and I have had a lot of fun playing "vetter" this past week, but my excessive free time is ending and I have to get back to my real life. Thanks for humoring me everyone. Be an educated voter!!! :)
*
By the way, lipstick and lapel pins aside, the foreclosure rate hit the highest EVER level last month. There are REAL ISSUES that should not be ignored.

petcat,
So the issue here is semantics. I'm using the word major to mean BIG battles and minor to mean small skirmishes. I wasn't downplaying the importance of the combat operations.

tater, are you a stalker?

whythink,
Who do we call when we see Democrats slashing the tires of Republican "get out the vote" vans?

Spanky,
I looked up ALL of the people you listed and did not find one FACT that shows any reason for concern regarding these people and Obama. Unless you add spin, assumptions and opinion, there is NOTHING THERE. Thanks for helping me be an even more informed voter for Obama.

Here is something VERY interesting and VERY scary.

Have you received a absentee ballot from the McCain campaign? They may be trying to have you dropped from the voter registration list (i.e. "caging"), but they are definitely trying to cause confusion with Democratic voters. There is no evidence that the McCain campaign is sending absentee ballots to Republican voters.

If you received an absentee ballot (or 2) from the McCain campaign, please contact the Government Accountability Board immediately! http://elections.state.wi.us, 608.266-8005, or gab@wi.gov.

92.1 The Mic
921themic.com

the excerpts ALONE from her interview with charles gibson show shes unqualified to be VP. i cant imagine whats gonna happen to this lady in debates. president obama?? YES WE CAN

I’ve been gone for a few days, so I thought I’d try and catch up on the latest chats. Did the Gazette change their feedback area to the Janesvillemom blog while I was gone? Holy smokes! She has posted an amazing 94 posts in the last 5 days!!! (Yes, I had to count them all, sigh.) Almost all the posts were on just the 2 threads about Sarah Palin! I’m not even going to comment on the substance of these posts, but don’t you think that maybe you should just start your own blog so those who really give a crap about what you think can go there and read instead of having to wade through your left-wing spouting on these pages day after day after day….? Maybe moveon.org could hire you as a witer?

Spanky -

Sources?

Who is making this claim? Because if Hannity and Fox News aren't covering it I can't imagine it being even a good rumor. God knows they will cover anything anti Obama.

Come on Dr. GW gets in a flight suit and has this big celebration to declare "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" and then we watch as this war continues on year after year and the body bags keep coming home.

He could have said that with out all the celebration and yeah, your point about what mission would matter but you KNOW he was trying to sell us on a big victory - I am guessing at that time his approval ratings were quite high. Gee, I wonder why.

I voted for the man twice and partly because I bought into the hype he created with statements/celebrations like "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"

whythink
"...I find it interesting that he mentions the number of people killed in Iraq and number of days since GW mentioned "mission accomplished."
.
In case you are not aware, wars have many missions. When George Bush said major combat operations had ended, that was true. You can't have MAJOR combat operations when the terrorists hide among the civilian population.

She will do just fine if Macain gets elected and god forbid something happens to him while in office. She's a bright woman. You don't get to where she is in that short of time without being smart and know what your doing. We vote for the top of the ticket not the bottom. If we were Obama won't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning with Biden.

Obama has links to terrorists at home and abroad. Quite a feat to find home grown terrorists but he managed. His church supports and admires Louis Farrakhan. He campaigned for a Muslim extremist in Kenya in 2006. His education at Harvard was bank rolled by another extremist supporter. Nobody in media is talking about his worst ties to extremism. N-O-B-O-D-Y The man still has not been vetted. Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright should be enough on their own but there is much, much more. Currently a suit has been filed to stop the Democrat nomination for his falsified birth certificate, currently there is a case pending to allow investigators to look into his public records which have been unofficially sealed. Here are a few more names to look into: Philip Berg, Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, Rashid Khalidi, Fr. Phleger, Raila Amollo Odinga, and Rev. Otis Moss III. What remains undiscovered? Why do we need any more?

janesvillemom...keep playing to the choir of the likes of sarah dudette, they enjoy it.

Janesvillemom: Quit trying to satisfy the "retired dude" ... he's playing you just like McCain/Palin are playing Obama. Stick to your own agenda and forget about him.

Retired Airforce, the purpose of my links is to show that I'm not just making stuff up. Then you go and ask for proof about McCain trying to delay "troopergate". Do you want a link?

enough..."troopergate investigation, said it will put off the results until after the Election. McCain has been trying to get this accomplished".

Do you have any proof McCain was trying to get this done or is this your belief?

Janesvillemom…”the fact remains that she is hiding something.”. “I am done trying to prove…she is not ready for VP”.

At least these are honest. I can appreciate you not agreeing with a Republican ticket. It is more believable to come out and say you don’t trust, don’t like, or don’t want. But to continually toss up links from other sources that make you feel better about your position goes to the argument you are looking for approval of your decision. The great thing about being an American we are allowed choices and don’t require others to have the same.

Current news:
"President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washin...

"GIBSON: And let me finish with this. I got lost in a blizzard of words there. Is that a yes? That you think we have the right to go across the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani government, to go after terrorists who are in the Waziristan area?
PALIN: I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists who are hell bent on destroying America and our allies. We have got to have all options out there on the table." http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/...

Tell me again....McCain/Palin means change?!?!?

I am done trying to prove Sarah Palin is not ready to be VP, she has done it for me.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/...
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Example:
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

McCain is a smart old dog. And you don't teach old dogs new tricks. McCain picked Palin because that was the only way he could get the Evangelical vote . The base of the Republican Party. Today the troopergate investigation, said it will put off the results until after the Election. McCain has been trying to get this accomplished. So if McCain gets elected on Palins coat-tails then the investigation will proceed. I believe that Palin will be found guilty of Abuse of Power and McCain will kick her disgraced arse to the Curb. McCain has always held the Evangelicals with distain, if elected he will not bow down to them like Bush did. Like Johnson did with Agnew. You can't keep a disgraced person as VP. McCain will get his Liberman. Mc Cain is 72 and this is his last shot he will do anything to get elected. Even I believe say God speaks to him. He is a wise old stubborn man a servant of his Country, who now stands behind Palin with his hand crossed and a smile on his face. Will he hold Palin in high esteem after elected? NO

McCain is a smart old dog. And you don't teach old dogs new tricks. McCain picked Palin because that was the only way he could the Evangelical vote . The base of the Republican Party. Today the troopergate investigation said it will put off the results until after the Election. McCain has been trying to get this accomplished. So if McCain gets elected on Palins coat-tails then the investigation will proceed. I believe that Palin will be found guilty to Abuse of Power and McCain will kick her disgraced arse to the Curb. McCain has always held the Evangelicals with distain, if elected he will not bow down to them like Bush did. Like Johnson did with Agnew. You can't keep a disgraced person as VP. McCain will get his Liberman. Mc Cain is 72 and this is his last shot he will do anything to get elected. Even I believe say God speaks to him. He is a wise old stubborn man a servant of his Country, who now stands behind Palin with his hand crossed and a smile on his face. Will he hold Palin in high esteem after elected? NO

I actually believe the "main stream" media must being doing something right because I don't care if you listen to Rush and hannity or Air American on 820am they all complain about the biases in the media.

I try to watch Keith Oberman at least a couple times a week and I find it interesting that he mentions the number of people killed in Iraq and number of days since GW mentioned "mission accomplished." Some may call that bias, but if it is true, shouldn't we be reminded of it.

I just want fairness. If Obama is going to have every relationship reported on than so should McCain. All the lobbyists in McCain's campaign have been ignored. If they are going to go personal on Obama with his pastor then why isn't McCain's affair/divorce open.

As long as all candidates are being reported on I am fine with it. I wish the media wouldn't fall for the "pig" comment and focus on the politics that matter. I wish both candidates would talk more on the issues and less about experience, pigs, media treatment, etc...

proartist: Those are my favorite sources, but I've heard them called "liberal". Some of their people do seem a bit biased, but I think they try to provide both sides.

MOC0428: For completely unbiased news, try the most respected: BBC, NPR, and PBS.

MOCO428: Not sure where I have to come back from? I stated that I TRIED to find the least biased sources because I agree with you that every source has their biases. Obama was 'vetted' for many many months and every story out there about him was brought out. Now it is Palin's turn. (McCain and Biden have been around long enough that no one expects any surprises) Since no one knows her, all info needs to come out before the election so everyone can know who they are voting for/against. I don't see the problem with digging for stories (except from sources like the Daily Kos and MoveOn, which I don't read). If a paper has a bias FOR her they wouldn't include the stories that reflect badly on her, so the left biased papers are the only sources for this information.

janesvillemom: Come back down to earth. There is no news outlet that I am aware of that isn't biased one way or another. You are just finding articles that fit your cause and using them to defend Obama or attack McCain/Palin. For every article you find about Palin/McCain there will be one written about Obama/Biden. You keep trying to sort through the lies but remember that both sides are lying about something, it is not just the rep's.

enough said: "There where never any WMDs Sadam was not connected to 9-11."

Let me first say that I never said they were connected. What I did is that we should have put more resources in Afghanistan and taken care of things there. I also said if Hussein was killing thousands of his people and was't following UN regulations/rules that we definately had a right. There were many other countries that went in with us, so there must have been a good reason. Don't be so naive to think that Hussein couldn't have hidden them, afterall we did give him nearly a year!

enough: Maybe you should try reading my posts better. I may have talked about both things at the same time but any idiot knows that the two wars didn't have much to do with eachother.
Thanks for pointing out absolutely nothing!

http://www.factcheck.org/
Here is a working link to factcheck. I think FactCheck is great, but they are overwhelmed with Palin stories and don't have anything on most of the stories out there yet. I'll be anxious to see what they come up with!

gina51, one of the "facts" on you link about Sarah Palin was:
"Fired controversial state trooper for threatening family. (Aug 2008) "
This is a false statement. She fired the man who refused to fire the state trooper, because she didn't have the authority to fire the trooper herself. No source is perfect.

For information on a representative's voting records and views got to:
http://www.ontheissues.org
to check the truth on statements, views and lies go to:
http:/www.factcheck.org
I would hope that everyone would check these sites and then make an informed decision. don't believe everything you hear.

Retiredairforce: I try to find the least biased sources I can, but the fact remains that she is hiding something. There are really no truly unbiased sources out there. (If you know of some, let me know!) Here are more versions of the story:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/arch...
(includes statement by the woman trying to get the e-mail)

http://www.startribune.com/politics/nati...

He used the taser on demo mode because the kid begged him to see what it felt like. They had pillows on the floor in case he fell down and the entire family thought it was funny, UNTIL the divorce got nasty. Sure, it was stupid, but it wasn't like he used it as punishment or a joke for his own sick pleasure, like the stories make it sound. Did you read Sarah Palin's letter of recommendation for him? If he was so evil, then how did she misjudge him so thoroughly. The bottom line is she ABUSED HER POWER to try to get him fired. If you had a beef with a trooper, you would have to go through proper channels and she should have done the same.

Obama's "lipstick" speech was plagiarized. It was taken from a political cartoon.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?f...

janesvillemom...do you ever check up on the authors of the stories you post? Your current link to the LA times by a write named Vick. Here are the latest articles posted by this person for that paper.

Articles by Karl Vick

Governor Is Asked To Release E-Mails (September 10, 2008),

Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home (September 9, 2008)

Palin's Family Has Always Held a Place in Her Politics (September 7, 2008)

Palin E-Mails Show Intense Interest in Trooper's Penalty (September 4, 2008)

No Surprises From Palin, McCain Team Says (September 2, 2008)

Democrats Say Palin Initially Backed Bridge (September 1, 2008)

Palin's Home Town Expresses Surprise, Shock at Selection (August 31, 2008)

Tarred by Scandal, Republicans May Be Losing Alaska (August 16, 2008)

Alaskans for Obama: A Rare Democratic Push in the Last Frontier (August 5, 2008)

Alaskans Fret About a Future Without Help From 'Uncle Ted' (July 31, 2008)

See any bias here??????

See; McCain was brilliant!
He just landed 95% of male voters with a spanking fetish! That's probably worth a few hundred thousand or so. I wonder if that was all calculated in by his strategy team?

I am sitting here shaking my head and wondering if I should be laughing or crying. I have been listening to some late-night talk radio (unknown announcer; I am first-time listener). Anyway, the show just now ended but was caller after caller (all males of course) talking about how they have "mommy fantasies" involving Palin. One guy even said he would spend "big dollars" to own an autographed photo of Palin holding a hairbrush AKA spanking paddle! These guys were serious! This cannot be good for our country ...

lakekennedy:
ALL administrations have some corruption indeed. Some much more then others. That's always why I am very libertarian in my beliefs. As the more you add to government, the MORE corruption you create. Which in turn just creates more wasteful spending, and ridiculous programs that are usually just sell outs to the special interests that funded those who got in power. What has the government really ever NOT screwed up that it got a hold of?
.
The VP question, you are pretty much correct on. MOST just pick someone as total strategy. It use to be you pick someone in a key battle ground state to try and lock up that state. That obviously was NOT the case this year. I think the candidate often never does "like" who they pick. Often the person who they pick is one who they duked it out with in the primaries, exchanging blows at one another. I don't think Gore and Clinton ever really got along to great. When Gore campaigned in 2000, Clinton was literally NO WHERE to be found, and that may have cost him the election (Gore lost Arkansas, a win there would have won it for him). An old story back in the 1900's was that Teddy Roosevelt would actually often wrestle with his VP William Howard Taft when things got heated. Taft was like a 300lb man!! The stories go that Taft often got beat up pretty good, LITERALLY by the "rough rider" Roosevelt!!
.
With Palin, I honestly think McCain DOES like her. No question the move was strategic, but I think McCain likes how she took on her own party on many issues. Of Course McCain did the same thing many times in the Bush years. I may be way off, but if you just look at them together, I really think McCain gets along with her well, just judging by his body language, ext. Plus she isn't all to bad looking! That never hurts!

Of course those voting for Obama are going to continue to dig up and spit out dirt about Palin, and only bring forth the positives of Obama...it's getting old, but amusing that people have enough time to constantly post negativities about Palin.

Whether or not Palin tried to get Wooten fired, I don't care. He probably should have been fired after using his taser on his 10 year old step-son. Good for Sarah for trying to get that scum bag out of the system.

Now Palin is pulling a Cheney by refusing to release her e-mail, even things that were cc: to her husband are being withheld due to "executive privilege". How can it fall under "executive privilege" if it was copied to a citizen who is not an elected official?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/...
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It also brings up her judgment of character "Palin last month described McLeod as a disgruntled former employee, although in 2004 Palin endorsed her as a state House candidate "not afraid to stand up for what's right." SO which is it?

She also wrote a letter of recommendation for her BIL Wooten in 2000 saying:"I wish America had more people with a grace and sincerity that mirrors the character of Mike Wooten,". Seems to have changed her tune on him too.

whybesad:
"L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes Skid Row, said state law requires hospitals to make appropriate arrangements before releasing indigents."