McCain vetting Joe the Plumber for Cabinet position

The march to dumb down America has almost reached the nadir. I say 'almost', because I'm sure McCain still has a ways to go before he finally reaches the absolute depths of the shit he's in...up to his elbows and over his head. The only way to stop this man will be the election. Finally.

Now he's trotting out Joe the Fucking Plumber, who, by the way, isn't even a fucking plumber. McCain has elevated some doofus to the national stage and given him credibility as though he were some kind of oracle. In my post, A Confederacy of Dunces, I wrote how the Republicans are glorifying averageness and ordinariness, and stigmatizing exceptionalism. So, here is Joe the Twit spouting off about how you should read and be informed when he can't even put two words together that convey an actual thought.

What a joke. Seriously, the next thing you know there'll be a Cabinet position created just for average Joes, and Joe the Schmoe will be the head of it. A lovely complement to Brownie...remember Brownie of Katrina fame? Book ends, the two of them.

I wish I had more time to write more of what's on my mind but these last weeks have been so intense for we volunteers, and I'm off to Colorado, tomorrow, to pound the pavement canvassing until Monday night. I don't yet have a laptop so I won't be able to write from there. I hope everyone is doing something productive these last few days - phone banking, canvassing, data entry, whatever's needed - as we get our final wind to get us through to the finish line.

Here's to VICTORY, and to the beginning of the age of aquarius (lower case as we want to manage our expectations). ONWARD!

Palin Shopping Spree Sets Women Candidates Back 100 Years

For those of you following this blog, you know that I've already fumed about Palin being selected, unvetted, largely because of her looks (see post: Sarah Palin's Book Deal about the Beauty Myth), but now, with this absurd shopping spree, women candidates will be seen as high maintentance, requiring extra campaign funds to make them look presentable...to men.

If Palin only had mukluks and flouncy dresses in her own closet, and they wanted to streamline her wardrobe, why not go to Target or Ross or thrift stores, where her compatriot hockey moms really go to shop? And, oh, the family, too, has been all gussied up to appeal to the sophisticated Republican voters in the Lower Forty-Eight. What about that little Piper carrying a new Louis Vuitton bag? Are they serious?

Hey, you can you take the girl and her family out of Alaska, but can you take the Alaska out of the girl, or her family? Who knows. Palin's appearance on SNL gave her a taste of Hollywood, of life outside of, as we are reminded endlessly, the coldest state, and my guess is, she liked it, she really, really liked it. You know, hobnobbing with the cast, being told you're 'hot' by Alec Baldwin, all the new clothes, new exposure to life in the medium fast lane. Can she just Go Home Again and be the plain ole Sarah she once was? I doubt it.

But, this whole episode is great, really. It's just another brilliant, Republican revelation that shows just how out of touch they are...and have been...and will continue to be.

High Anxiety & a Potpourri of Other Observations

You know that expression "deer caught in the headlights" look on someone's face? Well, that's what people here in L.A. look like...a bunch of pod people almost paralyzed by the anxiety of reading the tea leaves of whatever poll Drudge dredges up to scare people. Really, the tension is palpable and you can see the wheels turning when thoughts stray to the possibility of what they should do if Obama loses: "Damn, which country should I move to? I only speak English. Ok, maybe a little Spanish. I knew I should have gone to Paris in my sophmore year...I'd so be speaking French.", "Should I reserve a mover now? God, I hope they don't rip me off.", "Should I sell or rent the house...shit the market's so down and who's gonna want to come and live here, anyway, if McPain is in charge? I should've sold last year. What a dumbass...", and so on.

Well, folks, just relax. I am. I am, because when I started to volunteer for Obama the day he announced, I KNEW he would be President. And that was when Hillary was a shoo-in, when blacks said a black man could never be elected, when Latinos were died-in-the-wool Hillary supporters who said they would never support a black man. Now, there is not one Latino that I have spoken to who is not voting for Obama.

We've come a long way, baby, and take my word for it, come November 5th, you will see headlines that trumpet, President-elect Barack Obama. If you must, drink your way through the next 12 days or take whatever drug gets you through, chant or don't listen to the news, but there is something constructive that you CAN do...HELP (YES YOU CAN!). Find a phone bank near you. Go to: http://www.barackobama.com, you'll see 5 options to VOLUNTEER. Do it. Find a phone bank near you and call call call those swing states, help those undecided voters decide to vote for Obama. You'll feel better rather than hiding under the sofa until November 4th.

As you know, you are not alone in your anxiety. Larry David knows just how you feel, cause he's feeling the same way: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-david/waiting-for-nov-4th_b_137029.html

And, speaking of undecideds, I ran into a friend of mine yesterday who was exasperated by the fact that there were any undecideds at this stage...for either candidate. As he said, what more do they need to know?! Then, coincidentally, the New Yorker had an article by David Sedaris about the very same thing...funny: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/10/27/081027sh_shouts_sedaris

However, the other question that is most on people's minds is voter fraud, caging, suppression, and other nefarious methods the Republicans plan to use to steal this election. The best way to overcome any of that is to have the biggest voter turnout ever Ever EVER. The numbers need to be so big that they overcome any question about votes being counted. That's the first and most important factor. But, IF the race should be close, and there are suspicions or outright evidence of stealing votes, I guarantee there will be blood in the streets. Passivity is over, righteous action will prevail, and Republicans better be wearing their body armour. (This is not a threat...just a prediction.) That's why police in cities, far and wide, will be out there to tamp down any unrest. The police are often the provocateurs, so let's hope they don't ignite a firestorm if things don't go the 'right way' voting-wise.

And here's a creative twist...I was talking to another friend of mine about the disgusting McPain campaign, and he predicted that McCain is so desperate, and will do anything, that even McCain is going to endorse Obama hoping for a numbers bounce. Loved it.

Psycho Jesse Jackson Needs a Permanent Time-Out

What is with these has-been males that can't bear to be away from the glare of the spotlight? First, it's Bill Clinton hogging the front pages with his absurd, subtextual racist rantings and now, for the second time, super narcissist, Jesse Jackson covers every incendiary flash point that might hurt, or at the very least, slow down Barack Obama's ascent to winning this Presidential election. Read the whole disgusting hit speech by Jackson:http://www.nypost.com/seven/10142008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_o_jesse_knows_133450.htm?page=0

Read how Jackson targets the worst suspicions of conservative Jews with this statement:

The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end.

Jackson believes that, although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.

I just know my mailbox will be full of condemnation by my right wing Jewish friends and family (yes, believe it or not, I know some right wing nuts) after they read Jackson's outrageous speculative statements. And get THIS, Jackson has the temerity to speak as though he's directly channeling Barack and hits at the worst suspicions of people who believe that he's a Muslim.

"Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith."

What's wrong with being a Muslim? Nothing. It's just that Jackson knows that it plays right into the lies about Barack's background, and feeds the frenzy against him. And, also by saying this, Jackson promulgates bigoted notions about Muslims. With every 'hit' Jackson makes on the fears of the ignorant, he attempts to take Obama down. Call it envy, call it jealousy, call it sheer hubris, it's disgusting and Jackson knows exactly what he's doing. He needs to have a permanent time-out as of right now.

UPDATE:

The Obama campaign has quickly responded to Jackson's tirade; and, of course repudiated everything Jackson made up to satisfy his bloodsucking jealousy. Remember, this is the Jesse Jackson that, not so long ago, was heard on an open mic that he wanted to castrate Obama. Here's the update: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/obama-camp-resp.html

The McCarthy Hearings & Sarah Palin: 54 Years Later

What do Joe McCarthy and Sarah Palin have in common? Believe it or not, a lot. I'll let this letter from Norman Mailer to friends Charley and Jill Devlin, April 30, 1954, as published in a recent New Yorker, speak for itself, and I quote:

The McCarthy hearings are being televised these days, and I catch them from time to time. If you’ve never seen McCarthy you’ll have a surprise when you do. What all his critics fail to admit is that he has enormous charm and sex appeal, and a characteristic man’s man way of talking which dominates everyone around him, so that to a person ignorant of politics, he would seem just wonderful. The result is that it’s truly terrifying to watch him work, because you wonder how can this man be stopped? Yet, on the other hand it’s possibly not as bad as it seems, for I think a lot of his support is not active enthusiasm for his ideas, methods, etc., but simply the response of ignorant people to his vast and clever charm. The hope there is that when all the showdowns come, his minions may be startled to discover the ideas behind this guy they think is so great. The hope, I believe, is that he remain a reactionary. Just let him pick up a social program, and he’ll be dictator, because as a demagogue he is really extraordinary. Even hating him, you have to admire him because he’s so good at what he does. . . .

Love to you,

Norm

Just substitute Sarah Palin for McCarthy, and where Mailer refers to 'him', sub 'her' and reread it. Frightening. She seems as prone as McCarthy was to wild, unsubstantiated attacks, and fear mongering. Assuming one agrees with Mailer about McCarthy's sex appeal, it is undeniable that Palin's attractiveness and 'charm' give her a platform that probably would be denied someone less so. But, as McCarthy eventually fell from grace, inevitably, so too, will Sarah Palin; and, soon, she will be sent packing home to Alaska...to get ready for her reality TV show, you know is coming. (see earlier post)

P.S. By the way, her about-to-be son-in-law is now a high school dropout. Continuing the saga of Palin family values.

McCain Beyond PTSD

Stunningly revelatory, today John McCain referred to fellow citizens as 'fellow prisoners'. I won't even say 'mistakenly said' because it's beyond that. John McCain lives in an alternate reality that obviously includes flashbacks to his celebrated days as a POW. And, adding insult to injury (his mental state), he followed that with, "....and now the same standard of clarity and candor must be applied to my opponent." Sounds like he's entreating Obama to join him in the nut house. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7AET4i6L74&NR=1

You'll notice that there isn't even a moment's hesitation or recognition that he misspoke. Palin and McCain's daughter (I think it's his daughter) are standing behind him, and an ever so slightly nonplussed look washes over their faces. Did he mean to say that? That we are all prisoners of this economic crisis? If that's what he meant, then he was positively poetic, but somehow, he just doesn't seem the poetic type. More like an ever more bewildered old man lost in the wilderness of his jumbled mind, completely out of touch with any sense of personal integrity or moral compass. Something broke inside McCain, and it's ugly to watch someone who was once considered a man of honor, morph into a caricature of a man he probably never thought he'd become.

John McCain's suicide attempt and his resulting PTSD

The issue of John McCain's PTSD has been kicking around for quite a while, and always seems to skim along just beneath the surface of an outright media story. There is so much evidence of his erratic (to be polite) behavior, given the hours of video on him, not to mention articles such as the one that follows, we must make sure this is an issue that is just too important to ignore. There must be a hew and cry to release all his medical and psychological records immediately. Do we want Dr. Strangelove to come to life?

This is from an article by Ted Sampley for the U.S. Veteran Dispatch/December 23, 2007:

"McCain says because he survived 5½ years of brutal torture, while a prisoner of the communist Vietnamese, he is better qualified to be president of the United States than any other candidate. McCain claims his POW sufferings included three years in solitary confinement where he was tortured so badly that he "broke," causing him to attempt suicide.

What McCain's promoters have carefully edited out of their McCain-for-president equation is his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Department of Defense psychiatrists have evaluated McCain for PTSD several times, the results of which remain locked by privacy laws.

PTSD can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened. U.S. government studies have concluded that former POWs "may remain embroiled in a harsh psychological battle with themselves for decades after returning home."

An outcome of PTSD is a subtle web of personal problems including difficulty in controlling intense emotions such as anger and an inability to function well under stress.

Psychologist Patricia B. Sutker of the New Orleans Veterans Administration Medical Center and her colleagues reported in a 1991 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry that as many as nine of 10 surviving U.S. servicemen taken captive during the Korean War may suffer from PTSD and other mental disorders more than 35 years after their release."

For the full article: http://www.usvetdsp.com/dec07/mccain_suicide_ptsd.htm

Sarah Palin's Book Deal

You just have to know that, after last night's debate, publishers are sharp elbowing their way to get to Palin's future publicist...or agent, as in Hollywood agent. And, I can hear the keyboards clicking in Starbucks around the country where screenwriters are getting out those 'Sarah' screenplays as fast as you can say, "Bridge to nowhere." I wouldn't be surprised, either, if reality tv goes knocking on the Palin bunch's front door for the next season of "Sarah: LIVE!"

Sarah Palin will get millions of dollars in book, tv, and movie offers which will move her far far away from that middle class kitchen table, or else buy her a new one. This chick has a bright celebrity future...and, I dare say, will be a bright star in the Republican constellation for years to come.

The interesting thing about this is that if Sarah Palin looked like Josephine Six-Pack, a beer bellied, plain Jane with nose hairs and unplucked eyebrows, Sarah would still be dressing moose(es) and watching out for Putin's plane from her front porch. The fact that female looks prevail over intellectual substance is not a new notion. It's been covered in Naomi Wolf's book, The Beauty Myth, and is so blatantly personified by Sarah Palin. Look, the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, made an international ass of himself because he couldn't resist telling Palin she was ''gorgeous". Now, if she had used that encounter to make Zardari help us get Bin Laden, then that would have been a positive way of using her looks. But, did she do that? No. She smiled coyly and thanked him.

Tons of accusations of sexism were made during the Primary, and most of them were a real stretch; but, the kind of sexist criticism targeted at Hillary's hair, Hillary's clothes, Hillary's makeup, Hillary's voice, and more, are never leveled against men. I mean, there was a story recently about McCain's $5000 a day makeup artist, who had to cover up his hideous 6 inch scar from his recurring cancer, but the item was hardly noticed and died a tractionless death. There certainly is a higher 'looks' bar for women. If Palin were the female equivalent of Fred Thompson, do you think we'd even know her name, even as the most popular governor of a cold state? Where would Golda Meir be if she had been a candidate in the good ole U.S. of A.?

Look, it's pretty discouragin', that beauty trumps intellect, lucky if you have both, but gosh darn, I'm not gonna let this get me down. I'm gonna keep readin' my books, and I sure do look forward to readin' the one about Sarah sometime soon, cause ya know it's in the works, you betcha.

A Confederacy of Dunces

On the eve of the Vice Presidential debate, I am sickened by the attitude of the Republican spin machine that is now glorifying ordinariness, and stigmatizing exceptionalism. It's as if it's not cool to be educated, to aspire to high-mindedness, to be well read, to get a PhD., be an intellectual. You're to be ridiculed if you are smart and know the answers to simple questions about U.S. history and books or newspapers.

Sam Stein in the Huffington Post writes: "McCain aide Meg Stapleton was also playing up Palin's "Joe Six-Pack" attributes, even arguing that Palin's "experience as an ordinary American" qualified her to be "one heartbeat away" from the Oval Office..."

You have got to be kidding? I'm afraid not. There's more: "if she becomes president of the United States, she is ready, and that is because she has the experience of an ordinary American who can get in there and knows what is on people's minds and what people need."

Simply put, the Republicans are advocating that your friendly couch potato, next door neighbor is qualified to be President of the United States. Is this the message we want to tell the world? Or ourselves? "Kick it DOWN a notch...or two." This is terrifying. More than the bail out.

The United States already has grim illiteracy rates: http://tinyurl.com/3x23wp

Illiteracy Statistics

• 42 million American adults can't read at all; 50 million are unable to read at a higher level that is expected of a fourth or fifth grader.
• The number of adults that are classified as functionally illiterate increases by some 2.25 million each year.
• 20 percent of all graduating high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate.

Source: National Right to Read Foundation

Where Illiteracy Leads

• 70 percent of state and federal prisoners can be classified as illiterate.
• 85 percent of all juvenile offenders may be classified as functionally or marginally illiterate.
• 43 percent of those whose literacy skills are lowest live in poverty.

Source: National Institute for Literacy

This is what happens when you can't read. You end up in prison or in a lifetime of poverty. But the Republicans want you to believe that, if you do read a bit or know just enough to 'get by', and have a cute personality, guess what? You can, at the very least, be Vice President of the United States.

If, as Jonathan Swift said, "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." Does that mean that we simply haven't recognized the true genius that is Sarah Palin? If not, I will happily be called a dunce.

The Thrilla in Missoura!!!

Holy cow! This VP debate is bigger than the Thrilla in Manila! Bigger than "One small step for Mankind"! Bigger than the Oscars!!

There's a sense that people are scurrying around trying to leave work early (out west) so they can get to their debate watching parties on time. And, while there's no red carpet, the excitement everywhere is palpable, people are hyped (without the assistance of caffeine or other substances), and as one blogger (or someone) mentioned, this debate is like watching a NASCAR race and just waiting for the car wreck.

Biden has to answer questions skillfully - he already knows some of them and the plan of the Palin attack - be relaxed, funny and charming, and let Palin talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. The way Palin spouts her answers, she reminds me of Silly String...all that brightly colored plastic mousse getting entangled everywhere and making a hideous mess. (By the way, Silly String is banned in Canada, and hopefully, this Palin can of hot air will also be dispatched.)

Well, let the countdown begin, tighten your seatbelts, and hang on for crazy ride!

Interesting Poll Analysis by FiveThirtyEight

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Real Credibility Problems

Last week, I (Nate Silver) discussed Real Clear Politics' decision to exclude the Research 2000 daily tracking poll from their national averages. After a lengthy discussion with RCP founder John McIntyre, I decided to defend them, pointing out that while RCP may have a debatable framework for deciding which polls they do or do not include, they at least appeared to have applied this framework consistently.

My gut-level takeaway from my conversation with McIntyre was somewhat different from what I represented, however. My gut-level feeling was that RCP was in fact cherry-picking those results that were to its liking, and then coming up with post-facto rationalizations to justify its decisions.

For the rest of the article: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Sarah Palin ...You're Not in Alaska Anymore

Gawd, can I just say how sick I am of this whole debate 'low bar', 'raising the bar', winning without a 'bar', talking heads blabbering on about who's gonna win the Biden/Palin debate...enough already. Let the debate begin!

Listen, pretend for a moment you're Sarah Palin. Really small town gal in the big city. How 'bout in a big country? And what about being on the World Stage? As clueless as she's appeared, Sarah's got to be thinking about how the eyes of the world will be on her. But, then again, maybe she's not, as her misconstrued self-confidence glows like the halo of an impenetrable bubble of ignorance around her pretty little head. A bubble that filters the ways, and news, and facts of the outside world for her. She seems to live in a Wonderland of denial.

So, Sarah, you can snow people in Alaska, but the lower 48 actually read papers (is that elitist?) and have a pretty good idea of what's going on in the world; they may even know some facts. Hey, you're about to wake up and realize, "Sarah, you're not in Alaska anymore!" This is gonna be fun.