Catching up

Been caught up around the Manor and haven't done much posting lately.

Partly this is due to the surreal nature of most of the campaign coverage lately. When things are slow, the media beast still must be fed, which results in them seizing on the most ridiculous things and inventing conflict out of thin air at times.

So without ado, here's a quick skim of a few things that struck me as actually important within the past week or two. You have permission to leave your comments about any or all of them.

- McCain doesn't work weekends. It was revealed that McCain had done a sum total of exactly ONE campaign event on the weekends the entire campaign. Ready on Day One... as long as it's not a Friday afternoon, Saturday, or Sunday.

- McCain tries to paint Obama as a "flip-flopper" who can't be trusted, when McCain actually pulled the ultimate flip flop, voting against HIS OWN immigration bill. This was rarely mentioned.

- McCain campaign shake up. McCain, the "maverick" brings in more Rove protegees and vets from the Bush White House to try to steady his completely rudderless campaign.

Rumors go forth for one news cycle that McCain might even bring in his former campaign manager Mike Murphy. This scared me for a while, as Murphy really knows his stuff and is not a Bush Republican, but a practical guy who would no doubt make McCain a much tougher candidate to beat.

So it was with great relief that I heard it reported that the Rove boys on the campaign nixed that idea.

- Obama caves on FISA bill. This is inexplicable, other than a gross pander to try to show he's no "liberal" and give him some immunity from being painted as "weak on defense" somehow. This is the same motivation that has caused the Dems to essentially agree to every last thing Bush has asked for, and has done immeasurable damage to our country, our security, our economy, our long term economic health, our reputation, and most importantly, done real harm to our constitutional rights.
Really inexcusable and indefensible.

- McCain reveals inner ugliness with "jokes". First it was "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran", now some utterly vicious remark about cigarette imports to Iran...."Maybe that'll kill 'em" (creepy chuckle) This isn't a joke, as to be a joke, something has to be funny. And the fact that McCain both thinks it's funny, and thinks other people will find it funny too is a good glimpse into his very ugly mindset.

This sort of thing is very stupid on another level as well, as we don't need another idiot leader who's prone to saying stuff which only inflames hatred against us and reveals them to be crude and bloodthirsty.

I'm sure the Iranian citizens, utterly innocent, are glad to hear this creep make a crack inferring that anything that kills them would be a good thing. This guy doesn't deserve to be within 5 miles of the White House.

- McCain campaign ad comes out and tells Americans, "Don't hope for a better life." What an uplifting message! Don't even think you have a prayer buster. As Joe Scarborough put it months ago, the McCain message is, "Less jobs, more war". How can he lose? Don't hope for a better life. Vote for McCain, and he'll provide one for you by continuing the exact policy positions and endless war that's done such wonders for the country so far. Great stuff.

Talk about hopeless.

- McCain ad tries to tie Obama "hope" and "change" to "the summer of love". Can you spell desperation boys and girls?

- Bush comes out and gives himself and McCain credit for G.I. Bill that both fought against.

- Republicans and McCain blasts Obama for vote for FISA bill... when McCain was too cowardly to even cast his vote. McCain has been absent for every controversial vote since the campaign began, yet he criticizes Obama for his vote every time.

- Iraqis: "GET OUT!" McCain was asked directly during on of the debates what we'd do if the Iraqis asked us to leave their country. He's on the record saying that if the Iraqis wanted us to leave, we'd have no choice but to leave, unless it some sort of radical government was the ones making the demand. Both the Iraqi president and foreign minister gave clear and unmistakable statements recently saying that any agreement for continuing relationships between the U.S. and Iraq must include a timetable for U.S. withdrawal at the very least.

The Iraqis don't want us there. A vast majority of Americans don't want us there.

John McCain desperately wants us there for a century or more.

The tag line from McCain's latest ad just might be the only "straight talk" you'll get: Don't hope for a better life, vote for one.

I think to most people, that clearly means voting for Obama.