Gets Worse

The GOP loses another senate seat as Gordon Smith falls in Oregon. What happened?

In the end, the Democrats succeeded primarily because of two factors. First was the willingness of a little-known rookie speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkley, to ignore the advice of friends who thought he should stay in his job and eventually run for governor. Instead, Merkley decided to challenge Smith when more established political figures weren't willing to take the gamble.

Second was the decision of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and it's hyper-aggressive chairman, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, to back Merkley to the hilt. The committee helped Merkley fend off a tough primary challenge and spent $11.6 million on ads attacking Smith -- more than anyone else in the race, candidates included.

Polls from both sides showed the race essentially tied in the last week. Isaacs said he figured two things put Merkley over the top: the superior voter turnout effort mounted by Democrats and an ad featuring Obama urging Oregonians to help him by electing Merkley.

Hope and Change strike again.

Hope One

Barack's biggest supporter - and perhaps the one most instrumental in getting him elected - celebrates his victory on the show yesterday.

Hope, Change, and Mortgage Payments

The hope for an end to financial struggle - mortgage payments, college tuitions, transportation - is a universal one. The belief that relieving some of that burden from those with the least is the job of government - not by improving one's potentials but by gifting - is a driving force of liberalism.

This is the cruel hoax of Barack's hope message.

No We Can't

I don't see why it matters much even if VP debate moderator Gwen Ifill's book is a celebration of the wonder of Barack. She's from PBS, so we weren't expecting her to be other than highly supportive of the Democratic ticket.

The McCain camp is claiming it didn't know about Gwen Ifill's book prior to agreeing to her as moderator for the VP debate.

Democrats, who don't see skin color, are orgasmic over Barack because he is black.

If that's true, it just shows the McCain campaign's incompetence. The debate moderators were agreed to on August 6. Ifill's book was reported in the Associated Press two weeks earlier.

The same thing happened in Massachusetts two years ago, where we elected a disaster of a governor, in part, because he is black. Deval Patrick, who I believe has given up on any ideas of running for a second term, seems to be counting on being brought to Washington in an Obama administration. The idea that that he is also to be featured in Ifill's book lends a comical air to the tomb long before its release.

We've been around the block on this hope and change nonsense in Massachusetts. And we know that the purveyors of hope being inexperienced, or black, doesn't help them do job they're unqualified for.

Hitting Back

Boy, this new McCain campaign sure is a pleasure. Such tenacity in not letting Barack get away with the standard lines. In his continued celebration of the old kinda politics, it was reported yesterday that Barack was going after Sarah Palin for misrepresenting herself on earmarks. Sarah's not going to stand for it.

Gov. Palin hit back at Sen. Obama during an evening rally in the Land of Enchantment Saturday, arguing that the Democrat is in no place to lecture her on federal earmark requests.

“Today our opponent brought up earmarks and frankly I was surprised that he raised the subject. I didn’t think he’d want to go there,” she said. “Our opponent has requested nearly one billion dollars in earmarks in just three years…about a million dollars for every working day. Just wait until President John McCain puts a stop to that.”

Since Obama is a traditional politician, he lies virtually everytime he opens his mouth. Might as well wack him when he does it.

The state of Alaska has also requested hundreds of millions of dollars during Palin’s first year as Governor but she noted today that she “cut back earmarks in our state” this past year.

Why didn't Barack stick to his primary campaign theme of changing the way Washington does business. That's an idea that Americans are receptive to.

“I’m ready to help John McCain end earmarks once and for all…eleventh hour, behind closed doors, no public scrutiny, the earmark system that is broken–we will end that,” she said.

Since converting to being a traditional politician, he's opened the door for McCain/Palin to challenge him for rightful ownership of the "change" brand.

The Guy From Hope

People have been wondering for some time, if elected President, how Barack Obama would go about uniting the country. Now we know. By criminalizing Republicans.

"We will not be stopped from pursuing any criminal offense that's occurred," Biden said Monday at a Florida campaign stop. "If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued — not out of vengeance, not out of retribution, (but) out of the need to preserve the notion that no one, no attorney general, no president — no one is above the law.

Now that's a plan to end the divisiveness in Washington!

This will play well with those segments of the Democratic Party where the hardware that keeps them hinged to reality has come loose. To treat their Bush Derangement Syndrome, nothing less than retaliation will do. And no matter how much Biden denies it, vengeance and retribution are driving the threats.

Apparently, the Obama camp fears losing the wacko wing of the party as it abandons the principles that won it the nomination.

With all the challenges facing the next administration... surely the last thing America needs is to be torn apart by the spectacle of small-minded, self-centered politicians seeking revenge on their opponents.

The Change Candidates

Political Science.

Heavy Objects

What will Barack be doing tonight in his speech? Let's figure that he'll aggressively assert that he can handle being Commander in Chief, and he'll probably offer some specifics about what Hope and Change are all about.

According to a focus group conducted by pollster Frank Luntz, Obama’s problem is partially that the remaining undecided voters are getting a little tired of talk of the constant invoking of the watchwords “hope” and “change.”

I know that I'm getting sick of Barack being the blank slate who avoids specifics at all costs.

If Obama reverts to the lofty and ethereal language about his election being the moment that the sea levels receded and the sick were healed — the kind of talk Hillary mocked as celestial choirs singing — then these undecided voters may throw heavy objects at their television.

I have too much affection for my TV for that.

One of Luntz’s focus group members lamented the lack of substance behind the “charismatic talk,” and found much agreement from the rest of the group. Another said he was tired of “oratory” and another said “it’s not about change.”

There you go.

Luntz was blunter in assessing Obama’s flaws, urging both candidates to “cut through the crap” and describing a scenario where Obama comes across as “the beautiful politician who has the words but not the solutions,” and voters turn away.