Tuesday, October 14, 2008

"A McCain-Palin Tradition"

Hank Jr. comes out swingin'.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

You Should Listen To This Guy

Now this is what I call Straight Talk.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Bill & Barney Go At It

Two of my least favorite people discuss Fannie/Freddie:

Friday, October 03, 2008

Barack Obama and Bill Ayers

Below I note how a debate question to Obama or Biden about Bill Ayers is long overdue. Do we even have to wonder for a millisecond what would happen if a Republican had even a distant relationship with Timothy McVeigh? Trick question: that Republican wouldn't even be on the stage. He would long ago have been hounded out of his first race for dog catcher -- and justifiably so.

It is truly sad and pathetic that one of America's major parties -- America's oldest political party, home of Jefferson, Jackson, FDR, Truman, and Kennedy -- has nominated for president a man with a long-standing, professional relationship with a homegrown unrepentant terrorist. The only differences between Ayers and McVeigh are McVeigh's higher body count and his death sentence (Ayers got off on a technicality).

I have found this entire campaign a bit surreal, as we all debate Obama's tax plan, his experience, his plan for Iraq, his soaring rhetoric, etc. The truth is the man has no business being in this race.

Let me state it as clearly as I can: I don't question Obama's patriotism. I'm convinced he is no patriot.

No patriot would have anything to do with someone who confessed to bombing the Capitol, the Pentagon, and police stations, and as recently as 2001 said "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Obama's deeply deceptive response to the one Ayers question he faced during a primary debate -- from George Stephanopoulos, of all people -- was "He's a guy in my neighborhood."

Obama has no business running for any public office, much less president. The fact that he was was not forced to drop out of this race, for this fact alone, and is actually favored to win, bodes ill for America.

And for the record: John McCain -- a man who loves his country, who has suffered for his country, a man who has tremendous credibility on patriotism and pride in America -- has a moral obligation to alert America as to the true nature of the man we are about to elect as our president. And not just in some YouTube ad, which will likely be dismissed as a desperate, "negative" dirty trick, the equivalent of the stupid "Obama is a Muslim" emails. Nor should McCain rely on surrogates or partisans in the conservative media to continue to make this charge.

The gravity of this matter requires McCain himself to talk about Obama-Ayers, preferably at a presidential debate, in front of 50 million Americans.

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For quick background on Ayers, including his "not enough" quote, originally given to the New York Times, see "Who Is Bill Ayers?" in the Chicago Sun-Times.

For Obama's relationship with Ayers, see Stanley Kurtz in National Review Online.

Palin-Biden Debate Reaction

1) I thought both candidates were at their best. Like the first McCain-Obama debate, there were no real gaffes (defined as an oops! immediately obvious to those watching, not the "fact checking" stuff the next day). Palin obviously exceeded expectations, but Biden also avoided his tendency to talk his way down the long and winding road, or say anything outright silly. Most likely, Biden will be considered the winner.

2) Regardless of which way the election goes, Palin more than salvaged her future as a national Republican star tonight. She has her confidence back, and is obviously gaining facts and figures regarding national issues at an exponential rate. Combine those developments with her considerable personal and political skills, and the sky is the limit for Sarah. (Minor Palin point: I've noticed she has a habit of referring to people by their last name -- "McCain, McLellan" -- that she should use a title with. Just a bad habit, one she's no doubt working on.)

3) It's measure of how well Palin did that the conventional wisdom almost immediately turned away from her competency to the question of how much Palin might have helped McCain. We probably won't know for a few days, but I doubt she landed the kind of blows on Obama that might take his numbers down substantially (VP debates don't usually produce that result). Advantage Obama.

4) And I'm afraid that given the economic situation, I'm still pessimistic about McCain's chances. The liberal Democrat will always be able to demagogue hard times better than the Republican -- even one that never misses an opportunity to blamed "greed" for so many problems created by Washington.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic if McCain-Palin could be bothered to loudly and consistently pin appropriate blame on Democratic abuse at Fannie/Freddie, highlight how McCain and other GOPers tried to sound the alarm while Dems resisted, and stop blaming everything on "Wall St. greed." But it is crystal clear after these first two debates that McCain has decided against that approach. I'm guessing he thinks that the election will be decided by those who hate the dreaded "partisan bickering and finger pointing." Hence his emphasis in the first debate on cutting spending and fighting earmarks, two things the "post-partisan" Perot type voters have always responded to. I think this is a losing strategy. I hope and pray McCain is right and I am wrong. Mac has been counted out about a dozen times throughout this campaign; perhaps he will rise yet again.

5) I thought Gwen Ifill did a good job, relatively speaking. Yes, I thought she had no business sitting in that chair tonight. It is pathetic that she didn't even bother to tell the Debate Commission that she was writing a book with Obama's name in the title, a book that will likely rise and fall with Obama's fortunes. (It's also frustrating that apparently the McCain campaign didn't know about the book, either.) But I thought her questions were mostly fair, serious, and worthy.

Here's what I mean by "relatively speaking:" I think it was somebody over at National Review's Corner that pointed out that any bias likely would be found not in the questions she asked, but in the kinds of questions not asked. Exhibit A: "Senator Biden, can you explain your running mate's relationship with Bill Ayers?"