Oops

AP:

Republican John McCain has maneuvered himself into a political dead end and has five weeks to find his way out.

Last Wednesday, McCain suspended his presidential campaign to insert himself into a $700 billion effort to rescue America's crumbling financial structure. In so doing, he tied himself far more tightly to the bill than did his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.

...

Within hours, however, the measure died in the House mainly at the hands of McCain's own Republicans.

Initially, McCain went silent, choosing instead to send his chief economic adviser out with a statement that blamed Obama, claiming that the first-term Illinois senator had put his political ambitions ahead of the good of the country.

Read the whole article, it's pithy and damning.

Whiner

Sidney:

After making it through their first debate with their civility intact, the major presidential candidates today stepped up their rhetoric in attacks over how to deal with economic issues.

At a rally here, Republican John McCain accused rival Sen. Barack Obama of failing to show any leadership during the congressional negotiations over a $700-billion bailout package, which was defeated in the Houses today. Campaigning in Colorado, Obama argued that the country can't afford to gamble on McCain, according to excerpts supplied by the campaign.

Never mind that the package was set to pass last week until Senator Sissypants showed up and gave House Republicans a reason to defeat this on solely political grounds (i.e., make Democrats look bad). They made this mess, they stopped us from fixing it and somehow it's our fault? Shove it.

Rule O' Law

About time:

Seven of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's top aides are defying subpoenas for their testimony into possible abuse of power by the governor. Palin's Chief of Staff Mike Nizich and six other aides have failed to appear at a legislative hearing Friday into whether Palin abused her power when she fired her public safety commissioner this summer

Nobody could have predicted...

From the Paper That Brought You John Edwards' Love Child

Palinpalooza!

No less than three members of the man’s family including one by sworn affidavit have claimed that Sarah Palin engaged in an extramarital affair with hus­band Todd’s former business partner, Brad Hanson.

Let's see how this one plays out.

Bailouts R Us

Because they're our friends!

More Dodd!

No Way, No How

Can Sarah Palin be VP:

In an interview with Fox News Channel, Palin said: "It was an unfair attack on the verbiage that Sen. McCain chose to use because the fundamentals, as he was having to explain afterwards, he means our work force, he means the ingenuity of the American people. And of course, that is strong and that is the foundation of our economy."

Our ideals our strong, therefore we must be a nation of whiners. Thanks, Sarah!

Business as Usual

McCain campaign:

Senator John McCain’s campaign manager was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up by the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to defend them against stricter regulations, current and former officials say.

We can trust him to fight for us against the special interests because he said so.

Behind the Times

Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

“We’re going to do a few new things also,” she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”

There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

Snap!

Why I Can't Be Vice President

I blink.

Biden Thinks Paying Taxes Is Patriotic

Amen

Standing Up to Dermatologists

Palin:

While partisan bloggers and the sun scare industry will use this as an opportunity to undermine Gov. Palin and demonize the indoor tanning industry, the fact is that Governor Palin’s decision to get UV light from a tanning bed positively impacts her health.

“Moderate amounts of indoor tanning allow Governor Palin to experience the many health benefits that come with exposure to UV light,” said Dan Humiston, President of the Indoor Tanning Association. “Especially in dreary northern locations like Alaska, indoor tanning can help guard against wintertime depression and ward off diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency.”

“Kudos to Governor Palin for standing up to dermatologists and other members of the sun scare industry who are trying to frighten Americans away from UV light.”

She's a strong hockey mom.

Financial Crisis, Simplified

Atrios, PhD:

Through this crisis, there's this underlying narrative that something can be done, that there's just a wee liquidity problem. But underlying all of this is the fact that banks made a bunch of stupid loans which aren't being repaid. A bunch of people made highly leveraged investments in securities backed by those loans. A bunch of other people sold insurance on those securities and related debt.

Lots of money is being lost and there isn't any way to fix that.

Someone give this man a podium.

LOL

Rove:

Take it from an expert. Karl Rove, known as the architect of President George W. Bush’s electoral victories, believes White House candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have gone too far in their attacks on each other.

Rove, speaking on the television program Fox News Sunday, said an ad by the Democratic presidential nominee and Illinois senator criticizing McCain for not being e-mail savvy was unfair.

“His war injuries keep him from being able to use a keyboard. He can’t type. You know, it’s like saying he can’t do jumping jacks,” Rove said of the Arizona senator and former U.S. prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Sing it, Karl!

Adding, there's a difference of orders of magnitude between the two campaigns and Rove is trying to fudge that difference. Nice try.

Paul Krugman Writes a Column

Read it.

More Important Things to Do

Earmarks:

The total national debt, as I write this, is $9,679,000,000,000.00 (nine and a half trillion).

The Budget for 2008 is close to $3,000,000,000,000.00 (three trillion).

Our budget deficit for this year is going to range in between $400-500,000,000,000.00 (four hundred to five hundred billion, give or take a few billion).

The total value of wasteful earmarks in 2008 (according to CAGW) will be approximately $18,000,000,000.00 (eighteen billion).

In other words, when McCain talks about earmarks, he is talking about 3% of our annual budget deficit, .6% of our annual budget, and a number too small to even report when discussing our national debt. Or, put another way, he is talking about two months in Iraq, something he wants to keep going indefinitely.

John McCain is a liar and cannot solve our problems.

Liars

Republicans.

From a Jim Demint (Sen, R-SC) op-ed in today's WSJ:

Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

That is a lie, one so completely wrong it's pathetic. But so is John McCain.

Talking Points Everyone Should Be Aware of

On pork:

At a rally today, Sen. McCain again asserted that Sen. Obama has requested nearly a billion in earmarks. In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year. In comparison, Gov. Palin has requested $750 million in her two years as governor -- which the AP says is the largest per-capita request in the nation.

This "reformer" talk is pure bullshit. If the press bothered to do its homework instead of just repeating his bullshit McCain would be stopped dead in his tracks, but such is our press. Same Republican party, same bullshit, different candidate.

I was only going to post that, but this is just as awful:

The priorities of Sarah Palin:

• An expensive sports complex made much more expensive because you're too incompetent to ensure the city had the land rights -- not burdensome.
  
• Paying for rape kits for rape victims -- burdensome.

(via LGM)

Once again the media is missing the ball. The issue isn't experience - it's sound judgment and understanding. If Palin can't properly administer a town of 4,000 and she doesn't understand how our government and economy work, then she does not deserve the office for which she campaigns.

John McCain represents neither reform nor change. He represents the same Bush policies that have dragged this country into the mud.

Tax Cuts Pay for Themselves

Except when they don't:

The budget deficit will jump by $246 billion to $407 billion, according to an updated estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.

Last year, the budget deficit was $161 billion. The government's budget year ends Sept. 30.

The agency attributes the jump to "a substantial increase in spending and a halt in the growth of tax revenues."

McCain must not be allowed to win this election. He doesn't give a damn about the economy. Looking forward to Thursday's debate.

Nothing to the Left of Bill O'Reilly Allowed on TV

Explain FOX News to me?

MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign.

Let's see what this does to their ratings...

McMaverick

Not quite:

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.

Apparently they have nothing to hide.

Pork's Baby Daddf

Palin:

John McCain touts his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as a force in his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers.

But under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin: Separatist, former mayor of a village, and a wannabe book-burner

Please, oh please, let her stay on the ticket.