Vox’s posts tagged mccain

Ah, McCain, what a pain...

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:17:53 +0000

http://www.crikey.com.au/

2 . Rundle08: God's hand in McCain's stormy weather

Guy Rundle writes from Corpus Christi, Texas:

Down on the waterfront, 80 km/h winds are whipping the palms. The storm, the outer edge of Hurricane Dolly, rages for an hour and then abates as one arm of the conflagration sweeps past, with another following an hour later. Further south, on the border, Port Isobel and Brownsville are getting hit by the full force level two centre of the thing. It's no Katrina -- at Port Isobel, the surfers have already returned to the waves -- but it's pulling metal off the roofs, and throwing trash down the street.

Your correspondent, hearing that the weather might get interesting, either north or south, flipped a coin, jumped on a bus north, as Dolly headed south. So to speak.

Bad luck, but it doesn't compare to the impact Dolly has had on John McCain. Looking for an opportunity to sharpen the difference between Grandpa and Young Jesus Obama on the issue of offshore drilling, team McCain had lined up a visit to an oil-rig. Great visuals, metal everywhere, grimy workers, everyone covered in the black stuff.

Trouble was, the visit had been arranged for this week, and the rig was off the coast of Louisiana. As the US Navy and Air Force moved destroyers and planes out of the Gulf -- an aircraft carrier is still bobbing in Corpus Christi harbour -- and the whole oil industry shut down, it became clear that the proposed visit had turned into another disaster. Why? Well, the principal objection to offshore drilling, and one currently pooh-poohed by the pro-drilling crowd, has been the risk of a coastal environmental disaster from a ... hurricane.

Poor old John. The bloke can't take a trick at the moment. But worse, the political bad weather seems to be affecting the judgment of both McCain himself and his staff. The most visible sign of desperation has been the usual one -- the campaign is starting to attack the press.

Hot on the heels of a statement assailing the media for being "in love with" Obama, team Mac issued joke press passes to its beleaguered corps, nominating them as the "JV squad" -- the reserves. On the obverse side, the same card was rendered in French, with a pic of a stock Frenchman, a reference to ...well God knows exactly what, but a lot of time and energy that could have been best placed elsewhere went into it.

The "blame the press" shtick looks even worse than usual, because it was McCain that goaded Obama into taking the Iraq trip in the first place, and his media courtiers who then talked up the possibility that Obama would fall apart, and get jammed up on his alleged errors in Iraq policy. The press would have gone along en masse in any case, but the thing was so hyped that it made it look like McCain had wanted them to.

The whole fuss generated a classic remark from former Bush speechwriter David ("Axis of Evil") Frum: "I don't know why everyone says Obama is so fascinating, John McCain's a historic figure, he's the oldest candidate for President ever" which is a lay down misere for the most ridiculous comment ever.

McCain has most of the evangelical vote, but if you were a believer in an interventionist God, you would have to be wondering whether Obama isn't receiving the gift of providence, a candidate ordained to deliver the US from the failure of its decadent ruling class. By this theory, the wildly improbable rise of a half-Kenyan raised in Indonesia to the highest office in the land could only come because God thinks that the only person who can save the country is someone who is essentially outside of it, and not bound by its suffocatingly neurotic self-regard, and endless self-reassurance.

But God realises that we are slow on the uptake, and that he can't afford to be subtle -- so while the providential candidate VISITS JERUSALEM, GOD DESTROYS HIS OPPONENT'S CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE WITH A HURRICANE. If you've got a better explanation for this week past, I'd be happy to hear it.

Meanwhile the storm is whipping through the beachfront towers of Corpus Christi, body of Christ. Something I never knew happened: the wind carried sound for miles and six floors up, I can hear conversations on the street, and music from a bar half a mile away. Fragmentary, coming and going and fighting the furious static of fast air, it is as if the whole city is talking to itself, and listening.

McCain falters on foreign policy and Obama and McCain's Iraq strategy...

Get a taste of the best commentary on the subject from the US Media Wrap here.

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Excerpt Taken From: "Political Slogans"

nobody@vox.com(Talent Zoo) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:05:26 +0000

In case you’ve been in a deep coma or someplace in the third world where newspapers and the internet are as hard to come by as lunar eclipses, the 2008 Presidential election will be remembered for a lot of obvious reason and one them for me is Barack Obama’s call-to-action “Change We Can Believe In”. Regardless of whether you are going to vote for him or not, his call-to-action has resonated with the American people. Having the right words is even more important than being on-message. Political campaigns are lost equally for having the wrong message as much as having no message. But having a well-defined agenda, program, plan is the core of effective political communication. Even if you don’t agree with the plan or message, finding a politician who will spell out his ideas and agenda if elected, is what voters look for. It’s interesting that human nature being what it is, change is often the one thing we dread the most and yet its the one thing this campaign is going to be won over.................

For More Information VISIT: www.12pointtype.com

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You Listening McCain?

nobody@vox.com(dox^2) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:17:58 +0000

With speculation that McCain is going to make his pick this week... my vote still goes to Sarah Palin -- "could be a home run."

All of the others seem like the same old song and dance.

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I Will Give Senator McCain Some Media Time (Be Careful What You Ask For)

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:29:48 +0000

The New York Times has refused to print an Op-Ed Editorial (a ridiculously long one) written Senator John McCain in rebuttal to Senator Barack Obama’s article titled “My Plan for Iraq.”

In Response the McCain camp has seized the opportunity to pull a play out of the Senator Hillary Clinton playbook and start crying foul in the media.

For those of us who follow my blog, this is one of those activities that completely put me off when Hillary Clinton did it. Then we had that stupid debate where something like forty-five minutes were spent in an obvious attack on Senator Obama that embarrassed out nation and political system worldwide.

I have to admit that with Phil Gramm’s comments recently about us being a nation of whiners, this sure sounds like a lot of whining to me.

I listened to and read a few debates on this subject over the past few hours and have my two cents to add. As a person who does not particularly believe in either of these candidates, I have to say that I believe that there is a good reason for there being more media attention on Senator Obama than Senator McCain. Senator McCain is dull to watch and even more dull to listen to. Members of the press, please do not suddenly inundate us with boring clips of Senator McCain smugly rambling the same thing over and over again trying to be able to say that you are being fair (particularly if he is in front of a green screen or hiding his face because he does not know how to answer questions about Viagra).

Let’s look at today’s footage. Clips of Senator Obama with troops and world leaders in fancy buildings, playing basketball, waving at crowds and so on. On the McCain side we have Senator McCain (already struggling with questions of his age) with former president George H. W. Bush looking like they are fighting to stay awake long enough for the photo-op and some sound bites of Senator McCain saying exactly the same things (word for word) that he has been saying for a week and a half.

There is an old saying that we all are probably familiar with that I think applies here. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. What if the media decides to give him equal time, will that really help him. I for one doubt that more media time can help him unless he has a complete personality makeover of some kind. His campaign personality is not made for public consumption. I can take about two to four minutes a day of his personality when he is trying to attack Senator Obama before I find myself irritated.

I am not the only one. Remember that debate from the primaries where there was an approval meter on the screen while each candidate was speaking. Every time Senator McCain would attack another candidate the approval meter would absolutely tank. The American people (according to that meter even the ones in his own party) do not like it when he is on the attack.

Senator Hillary Clinton managed to gain some ground on Senator Obama using the “the media likes him more” tactic, when she also remade herself as the shot drinking, barroom, party girl everyone could relate to.

I think if you are a candidate and the media is not covering you, it may be because you are not a candidate of interest to enough of their audience. It may also be that you are not doing anything that is newsworthy or even video-worthy.

I may or may not believe what Senator Obama is saying and his voting record may not match what he is saying, but I sure do like to see and listen to him more. I do not think that that should dictate who one votes for, but it should dictate who gets the airtime. If you are not good in the media, you have no business crying when the media does not want to cover you.

You also cannot have someone call the entire nation a group of whiners and then begin whining this much and think people wont start getting exasperated.

I also have heard a lot of complaints about this really large op-ed article that the New York Times refused to print from people who have never read it. Has it ever occurred to those complaining it may have just been poorly written or structured?

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The Whitehouse, Accidental Obama Supporters?

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:40:31 +0000

The White House today undermined the argument that the John McCain Camp has been making that what the Iraqi government was supporting and Senator Obama’s troop withdrawal plan are not the same thing by publically coming out against what the Iraqi government has stated.

This is clearly no longer a “General Time Horizon” in the eyes of the Iraqi government, but is the actual goal they are pushing for. The fact that an unpopular Whitehouse, is pushing against a timeline to withdraw from an unpopular war, while the government of that country is saying, “thanks, but it is time for you to go,” seems to completely undermine the Republican Parties attempts to help Senator John McCain.

If this had just been left alone by the Whitehouse it might have blown over in a few days, but now with all of the press getting ready to begin discussing how these statements angered the Whitehouse this story is about to begin to monopolize the airwaves.

This stand by the Whitehouse is also likely to start a war of words with the government of Iraq and do even more to convince them that the Americans need to go soon.

Senator McCain had just mounted an offensive on Senator Obama with repeated talk and adds describing how he does not understand how to work with foreign nations and has been repeatedly wrong about Iraq. Just as people were beginning to bite on that line, the Whitehouse begins to assault the government of Iraq and bring attention to the fact that the government and Senator Obama seem to agree.

The feeling one gets when hearing the Whitehouse response today is that they knew all along that the government of Iraq felt this way and were in negotiations about it, but simply wouldn’t tell the American public in support of Senator McCain.

If that is the case, it looks like the Iraqi government has grown weary of playing American politics the Bush Whitehouse way and has decided to hope on Senator Obama and to even support him publically.

I am not one to agree with all of the negative nonsense that is out there about President Bush and his Whitehouse, but this may leave him looking like the person who ticked off the Iraqi’s (again) and who undermined Senator McCain’s run just as he was gaining momentum. I suppose it all depends on how far the Whitehouse will go with this media campaign against the Iraqi government.

I have to wonder, if the government of Iraq wants us out in that timeline, much of Capitol Hill wants us out in some kind of timeline, and a decent percent of the American population wants us out in a timeline, if it may not be a good idea to firm up the “General Time Horizon” and leave room to reexamine the state of the country near that time.

I guess if you are too busy trying to play partisan politics and get the person from your party elected, one may not see this as a reasonable option. But, with all the talk of how well the Surge worked, it seems like the requests of the Iraqi government for us to set a date to leave would not be that far fetched.

All this talk about how well the Surge has worked has backed the Whitehouse into a corner and may be the boomerang that went up to make Senator John McCain look like the better person on Iraq only to come back in his face when he says setting a timeline is unreasonable.

I mean either it worked or it didn’t. If it worked, we should not need to be there much longer. If it didn’t, work all that well, then a timeline is in fact unreasonable and Senator McCain’s assertions will be seen as lies (when they are in fact simply exaggerations).

I am still left with one huge question: Did the Whitehouse think this through before they made these public statements?

With this (unpopular) Whitehouse on your side, it must be hard to run for president!

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A Line in the Sand Called Iran

nobody@vox.com(Kirk) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:17:34 +0000

So I guess the newest idiot remark by John McCain that has the blogosphere pointing and laughing comes from his appearance today on Good Morning America:

DIANE SAWYER: Do you agree the situation in Afghanistan is precarious and urgent?
JOHN MCCAIN: Well, I think it's very serious. I think it's a serious situation.
SAWYER: Not precarious and urgent?
MCCAIN: Oh, I don't know exactly-- run through the vocabulary. But it's a very serious situation. But there's [sic] a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid that it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border. And I would not announce that I'm going to attack Pakistan as Senator Obama did...

For Those Who Never Took Geography

Now, I’ll agree the bolded section of the block quote appears at first glance to be a profoundly stupid statement. But all the harping about how Iraq and Pakistan don’t share a border is misguided and easily countered by right-wing apologists with the very valid assertion that live television allows very little room for error and McCain simply misspoke, saying “Iraq” when he meant “Iran”. Everywhere I look, that’s the repeated verbal volley.

But maybe everyone is so focused on the specifics of what McCain said that they’re missing the implication of his words. Maybe McCain didn’t misspeak at all, but rather uttered that sentence exactly as he had rehearsed it. His doddering persona may have fooled the masses into thinking he isn’t capable of clever innuendo – and he probably isn’t – but I can’t help but feel a twang of suspicion when I hear a presidential candidate known for joking about bombing Iran basically refer to that same area as just a border between the two countries on either side of it.

One last thing. Obama never said he would attack Pakistan – that's yet another lie made up by Dubya – but isn't it funny that McCain took that shot anyway, especially considering his afore-mentioned "Bomb Iran" guffaw?

I'm just sayin'.

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Presidential Race?

nobody@vox.com(Kev) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:10:30 +0000

It seems to me that the media has selected our next president for us all ready. Every time a race for office occurs in this great country, the media spins the data to favor the candidate of their liking. This race for the presidency is no exception. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that we have come so far as a nation to have had a African American candidate and a female candidate both in the same race, however I am disappointed with the media in their actions attempting to influence the outcome. John McCain has earned his place as the republican candidate and the treatment he receives is frankly ridiculous. Barack Obama is painted as the greatest thing since sliced bread, while McCain is shown as a decrepit old man who knows nothing about the inter-workings of the nation. Surprising (not really) all considered.

My point is this...this mornings paper showed Obama as a leader in foreign affairs, on the ground, in Iraq, while the article about McCain showed him as computer illiterate with emphasis on his being a senior. How ridiculous is that.

Where the media has errored is their lack of unbiased reporting. The media should be presenting the facts...pertinent to the election...about both candidates to allow the people to choose the best person for the job.

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The Republicans Have to Look at the Future

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:32:09 +0000

The most frequently cited occupation by donors to the McCain campaign was "retired." This is an interesting statistic when one considers the future of American politics.

I am personally not a fan of either the Democratic or the Republican party as I think that the current party system as it stands is clearly broken and does not truly represent the American public (most Americans are far closer to the middle than either of the parties).

If are however stuck with these two parties as the primary makeup of our government, then it is imperative that both be almost equal in strength as a system of checks and balances.

Twenty of the last twenty eight years (when I started really paying attention to politics) have been under a Republican president. Now the statistics are showing that the financial base of the Republicans is out of the work force and aging.

What immediately comes to mind when I hear this is that the people who are supporting the Republican Party predominantly are nothing like me, (I am not retired any time soon and looking at my retirement plan I may never be) and are also going to find their numbers diminishing over time unless new, younger supporters can be found.

There seems to be an evolution happening as the younger generations seem to suddenly be taking an interest in politics. One of the biggest changes is a completely different worldview that more and more seems to differ from the Republican Party.

Compound that with the fact that African American voters and many Latino voters seem to vote Democratic consistently the Republican Party looks like a ship that is slowly sinking.

I am not sure where I first heard this saying, but it is a key to the future of both parties: “He (or she), who controls the youth, controls the future.” If the Republican Party cannot find a way to start attracting more of the youth, minorities, and those still in the workforce, there will be a huge price to pay for their party and for the American public.

I for one am not convinced that a government that is on the extreme left (or the extreme right) for that matter is good for anyone.

To compound the problem, there is what many perceive as the weakening of the Christian Right Wing over the last two years. In my opinion and observations that group is not weakened, that group just simply doesn’t have a horse in this race. Senator John McCain, who eight years ago was publically attacking that group is not their first vote to represent them, but their votes in the primaries were divided between other candidates and somehow this guy came out on top. Now there is this unsure attitude about Senator McCain and that group will probably still vote for him simply because they do not want a Left Wing president. However, they are not truly excited about him.

I said all of that to say that there is the beginning of an alienation of a large chunk of the base of the Republican Party which also threatens to shrink the support base.

As the Democrats work diligently on the internet and with the youth of our country, if the Republicans don’t start retooling their message and their base, it may not happen this election, but over the long term we are looking at a one party future that does not include the Republicans (although I am sure that something else would turn up to take it’s place and may even be better).

A Side Note

I for one consider myself a normal middleclass American with two children and a dog. My wife and I work and commute long distances to our jobs. We save struggle etc. I served my time in the Marine Corps and love my country. I am a Christian man and believe in God. I am also of mixed racial origin. (African American, Caucasian, and Latino)

All that being said, I have to be clear that the more I explore what the parties are doing and compare it to my views, needs, concerns, desires, and beliefs, neither is cutting it at all. Each party has a few good points and several things that just defy anything that could even call itself common sense.

The way I see it, it is like there is a bunch of people playing a giant board game and my family and I are the (expendable) pieces. This is why the idea of doing what is popular with your party or the supporters of your party as opposed to what is right is such a sticking point for me.

I have felt powerless for years and have felt like the two or three people who vote for the other weirdoes that run as independents every four years. This is why I am blogging and discussing this.

The problem is that we the public are swayed more by who has a better sales pitch this time or the party we consider ourselves affiliated with instead of realizing that we are dealing with the lives and futures of billions of people around the world.

This vote and our say are of grave importance and should be treated as such.

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Democratic Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki???

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:55:00 +0000

Oh my! G.O.P. presidential hopeful, Senator John McCain just took a quick punch in the stomach from an unexpected source. That source is Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who stated “Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic.” He also called Senator Barack Obama’s sixteen month suggestion the right timeframe for withdrawal.

Wow, I guess that the Democrats may not have had a person in the Whitehouse for eight years, but they seem to have a Democrat in office as Prime Minister in Iraq.

Senator McCain has been trying to convince us that Senator Obama does not know what he is talking about as far as what to do with Iraq pretty consistently for a couple of months now. Well Prime Minister al-Maliki seems to think that Senator McCain is the one who does not know what he is talking about.

This is a big change of fortune for Senator McCain who has in polls been repeatedly stated as the candidate that the people think will better handle the war. That idea looses credibility once one realizes that the people in Iran, particularly the government don’t buy it.

The reason that Prime Minister al-Maliki gave for the need for the United States to get out of Iraq quickly was that the U.S. staying to long would “cause problems.” That is no mystery I suppose, as not only do some within that country not particularly like the United States, but the surrounding nations are not the biggest United States fans in the world either.

This is a big blow to one of the huge strong areas in Senator McCain’s campaign. Over the next few days, his campaign is going to have to campaign against the Prime Minister of Iraq as well as Senator Obama to hold that ground. This is compounded by the fact that Senator Obama is on a trip (I think of it more as a publicity stunt because of the timing) to Europe and the Middle East to prove that he is capable in terms of foreign relations. He has been over there one day and already there has been a coincidental statement by a leader that says Obama is right and McCain is wrong.

The trip by Senator Obama may only be a publicity stunt aimed at convincing us of something that cannot happen on a last minute trip, but already it is showing signs of being a success.

I do not see this as Senator Obama doing anything right, I see it as blind luck. Although, I am not convinced that the government of Iran is not secretly more in favor of Senator Obama as president verses Senator McCain and is just hedging their bets in case Senator McCain wins by not letting the world know it (yet).

The thing I wonder is if the Obama camp had any idea that this news would break today when they scheduled this trip???

I suppose that is not probable, but everybody likes a good conspiracy theory!!

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Psychlogy: Will It Pay Your Bills?

nobody@vox.com(Vote for President Obama 2008) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:19:37 +0000

McCain & Gramm: It's all in your head

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Oh Stop Whining and Complaining, Shut-Up and Quit

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:17:49 +0000

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's campaign co-chairman, (and former Texas Senator) Phil Gramm has resigned from his post with McCain, but not before a bit of irony. The man who had the nerve to insult the American public did not go down with a little whining of his own.

This drama began when Mr. Grimm stated publically that we (the American public) were a “nation of whiners” because of the public’s grumbling and outright complaining about the economy.

This man, as part of stepping down this man stated “It is clear to me that Democrats want to attack me rather than debate Senator McCain on important economic issues facing the country.“

Boy that sure sounds like whining and complaining to me. Maybe that means that the McCain camp is a “campaign of whiners, in a mental candidacy.”

All of that running his mouth (whining) about us whining (i.e. insulting all of us who are part of the American public), and he leaves the post with whiny comments like this.

This again proves that these candidates are not able to choose people for key positions. This means when one of these men is elected president he will be appointing and picking people for various positions. If one of these candidates fills the government with people who make scary, amateurish, and stupid mistakes in public, we are in for a tough four years.

This man, as part of a campaign for president insulted me and most of America by calling us whiners and now finally I get to return the favor.

Mr. Gramm; Oh Stop Whining and Complaining, Shut-Up and Quit

I suppose now I have to finish this because I have to some whining and some meditating on my mental recession to do.

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Important Trip or Just a Stunt.

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:38:08 +0000

Senator Barack Obama has decided that the best way to give voters confidence in his foreign policy abilities by traveling to Europe and the Middle East to meet with some of the leadership of these nations. My question is what difference does this make at this point?

We have about four months before we have to cast our votes and somehow this man is going to be the poster child for international diplomatic relation because he took a trip near the end of the campaign. How does this trip prove or disprove claims that he is the better man to handle foreign relations.

All eyes are watching this trip that in reality is just a symbolic trip to get us thinking he is an international diplomat of some sort.

Senator Obama has been trialing in polls related to foreign policy and needs to chip away at that one area if he expects to get elected president. I am not convinced that this is the way to build that sort of confidence unless the voting public as whole sees this vacation and is suddenly convinced that getting on a plane and meeting a few important people briefly suddenly makes you an expert on foreign relations.

Do we not all know that any trip that a candidate makes at this point in the election is not about diplomacy it is about campaigning to be elected? Candidates say and do a lot of things while campaigning that they will not do if elected.

Taking a trip, directly after Senator McCain just took some trips is probably a necessary move to counter any wild claims that the trips he took as part of his campaign were somehow relevant. The same applies for him; he is a candidate looking for votes and this may have nothing to do with what he would do as president.

If this was really what Senator Obama or Senator McCain were all about these trips would have been transpiring a couple of years ago.

Everywhere I turn I see articles or hear news that says the all eyes will be watching Senator Obama. As if this trip would make or break his campaign by exposing his weaknesses.

This trip is an okay gesture, but proves nothing, here or there about who the best president is. I do not believe this trip to be anything but a stunt. A stunt that may have been made necessary by Senator McCain’s recent trips (stunts), but a stunt none the less.

Are we going to get to some real issues again anytime soon?

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The Shame of the Main Stream Media

nobody@vox.com(Humbled Infidel) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:44:31 +0000

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Glenn McCoy by Glenn McCoy

See more of Glenn McCoy Cartoons at Townhall

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nobody@vox.com(Atlanta iPhone Blog) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:51:05 +0000

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A different take on The New Yorker brouhaha

nobody@vox.com(rogue) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:35:50 +0000

I think he makes a very good point.

Here's the post in its entirety if you don't want to click through:

I’ve been thinking some more about the New Yorker dust up and what it says about this campaign. What’s just struck me is how it’s a prime example of the benefits of white privilege – a concept that’s been as heatedly discussed here as the cartoon.
Here’s what I mean by that: this is another episode where Obama’s identity has been dissected in relation to the symbols of American identity, especially god and country. He’s had to continually locate and define himself in relation to the kinds of patterned behavior and images that America defines as “black,” along the way distinguishing or distancing himself from those aspects of black identity that whites might find threatening or objectionable.
By contrast, let’s look at John McCain. Do we even know anything about his ethnicity, other than the fact that he’s a white guy? Where “his people” come from, other than that his father and grandfather were Navy? Or how ‘bout Cindy? We know she comes from money – but, again, who are her people?
Speaking for myself, the answer is: I don’t have a clue. Nor can I recall a single instance where I’ve heard anyone raise the issue of McCain’s racial or ethnic background and what it does or doesn’t say about his faith, his patriotism, his loyalty, morals, politics, etc. And that’s the essence of white privilege. No one bothers to ask such questions of McCain because, well, he’s a white guy. Now, if he were a Jew or a Mormon he'd get jammed on that front – but simply by virtue of his being white he “belongs” in a way that no non-white candidate can “belong” without having first gone through an inquisition. That’s white privilege.

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Maybe It Is Time to Try Something Different

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:14:14 +0000

Weeks ago there was this huge debate between Senators Barack Obama, and John McCain about talking with and negotiating with leaders that are considered a threat to our nation. Along with many other people, I was not totally on board with what Senator Obama was proposing, but I did agree that what we had been doing obviously was not working with the countries in question.

The breaking news obtained by the Associated Press is that America's third highest-ranking diplomat, William Burns, will attend talks Saturday in Switzerland with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. There goes all of that rhetoric from the Republicans out of the window.

To justify this clear change of administration policy it has been stated that he will be there to listen and not to negotiate. Either the administration is lying to cover the change of policy or this trip is one of the biggest wastes of our tax dollars in a long time. So we are sending this man all the way across the world to Switzerland to basically do nothing.

Did the president promise this guy a ski trip or something?

I honestly think that this is a good change of policy and would applaud it if the administration would admit it. The fact that the administration will not admit it means there is nothing to applaud.

After all, the crisis at the embassy in Tehran was in 1979 and we have not had any kind of diplomatic relations with Iran ever since. That is twenty-nine years for those of us who are counting. So basically the policy is to punish them by not talking to them and they will get so worn down and feel such a loss from not talking to us that they will straighten up and kiss our butts to get our conversation back.

Okay, it has been twenty-nine years and that has not worked. In fact, if you really think about this idea, it is like the description of a bad marriage on the Dr. Phil show. This is a ridiculous idea straight from the playground of a preschool.

Here is some political advice for both parties, if you are doing something for twenty-nine years and have no results; it’s time to change your strategy.

Beginning to dialogue with Iran at this point is clearly the only action to take at this point. We have imposed sanctions, rattled our saber (which means very little to the rest of the planet including Iran at this point since we are spread so thin and if being honest doing so poorly in Iraq and Afghanistan), tried to build outrage throughout the world an so on only to be laughed at and mocked by the leadership of Iran.

It is well past time to change the policy but the Bush Administration has painted themselves into a corner by backing Senator McCain’s stand against Senator Obama’s proposal to start meeting with some of these leaders that we have decided not to play with for the past twenty to thirty years or so.

The truth is that it is the only sensible option and we have to send this man to the other side of the planet to begin a dialogue with this government. But, our government feels the need to send this man to “sit and listen” to stand behind ridiculous statements made to support a candidate that has clearly stated that the failed, twenty-nine year old policy that has been a testimony to the inability of both parties to use common sense.

We seem to be on the verge of using common sense but I will hold my applause for when it actually happens.

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Thanks for Your Support (spoken sarcastically)

nobody@vox.com(Alethinos Paradoxos) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:12:00 +0000

Holy smokes! What is going on? I have repeatedly tried to make the case that both of the major candidates for president this year are not qualified simply because of their very poor choices of staff and the absolute stupidity of their supporters. Then the last two weeks made everything we have seen before in their campaigns look like warm-up stupidity.

There was that Charles R. Black Jr. person, a key advisor to Senator John McCain who stated that a terrorist attack during the campaign would strengthen Senator McCain’s presidential bid.

Then there was that General Wesley Clark person, a supporter of Senator Barack Obama that said “I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.”

Then the camp of Senator McCain responded by arranging a phone interview with several military officers and Republican Senators to blast these comments and the terrible practice of Swiftboating. Then the Democrats informed us all that one of those people who was so opposed to the “Swiftboating” and these comments, a certain Air Force Colonel, Bud Day, was one of the people in the original Swiftboat adds that coined the phrase “Swiftboating.”

After that there was a surprise curveball. Independent Party candidate Ralph Nader informed the world that Senator Obama was “talking white,” and when questioned about it Mr. Nader informed us that he was afraid of sounding like Jessie Jackson.

Next, a Senator Obama supporter named Jessie Jackson, thinking somehow that whispering made him completely silent to the naked ear (even though he was in front of a microphone and cameras), told the entire planed that he wanted to castrate Senator Obama for “talking down to black people.” I guess maybe Mr. Nader and Mr. Jackson are on the same page.

Senator McCain, who for months admitted that the economy was not his strength took it on the chin for comments his top economics adviser, former Sen. Phil Gramm made. You ready to hear from the guru of McCainonomics. He said: America is “"a nation of whiners" that there are no real economic woes or recession we are in a "mental recession."

The icing on the cake for Senator McCain, who finally appears to be overcoming the question of his age, came when female surrogate and possible Vice-presidential pick for Senator McCain, Carly Fiorina went into a public rant about Viagra and birth control funding. This not only brought up the age question (and jokes) again, but also sent a shock through the conservative right of his party.

When Senator McCain was asked about the Viagra question he covered his face and with his hands but could not cover the incredibly obvious stress this line of questioning caused him. The Senator was reduced to a mumbling mess.

Then comes the infamous magazine cover from the liberal magazine the New Yorker. The picture shows Senator Obama dressed in the attire worn by Osama Bin Laden and his wife with a large afro, AK47 assault rifle slung over her shoulder. The couple is “fist-bumping” in the Oval Office in front of a picture of Osama Bin Laden with a flag burning in the fireplace. The paper says this picture was satire and was intended to show how ridiculous these accusations are. The way that it actually looks is more like a clear attempt to attack Senator Obama and an attempt to be rude.

It is as if the candidates are running through a minefield of idiots hoping to survive the explosions of stupidity. What it is not like is a serious campaign. I have been forced to ask myself if every person who comes into contact with either of these candidates or who even mentions one of their names suddenly has a fit of stupidity.

It is a shame that with all of these people around the candidates blurting out so much stupidity we hardly ever get a moment to hear the stupidity of the candidates.

I am going to call this “four ‘S’” sickness short for Supporter Sudden Stupidity Syndrome. It is a disorder where supporters of the candidates running for president this year, when presented with a microphone or an audience suddenly have this uncontrollable desire to say something so stupid and damaging to the candidate that he or she supports that it will take weeks for the candidate to stop clearing it up and move on to other issues.

Again I say…With supporters like this, who needs enemies?

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