Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

Remains of the Day, Election 2008 Edition, 10/13/08

Filed Under Barack Obama, John McCain, Politics, Remains of the Day, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 4 Comments

I’ve been bookmarking what I haven’t been getting to with the fantasy that I’ll get to certain items eventually, but who am I kidding? Here’s what I didn’t get to write about but you should read about today:

1. James Fallows on Steve Schmidt who was on NPR this morning.  I heard it. I scribbled it down, and then I saw it tweeted and blogged about all day.  There’s going to be a study done on the role of cognitive dissonance in politics and it’s going to use the McCain-Palin campaign as the case in point.

2. CNN reports on Sarah Palin’s assertion in an e-mail blast that:

“The truth is that far-left groups in this country will do anything to help the Obama-Biden Democrats win the White House and maintain their majorities in Congress,” Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin writes in a fund-raising e-mail sent out Monday afternoon. “And last week, we found out they’re going even further to win.”

Note the win win win meme I alluded to earlier today as the prime focus, as opposed to what’s in the best interest of anyone.  But more obvious is that Palin is so far to the right, what point on the political spectrum, exactly, would she identify as the start of the far left?

3. Well, to answer that, you can keep reading that CNN piece, but be careful. She and many others want to point their finger at ACORN, much like anti-Hillary folks wanted to point the finger at Women’s Voices Women Vote.  But the fact is, these are voter registration groups, not specific advocacy organizations.  Palin can call voter registration a far-left activity, but that sounds pretty unpatriotic to me, as such things go.

Worse, however, is the fact that John McCain, as recently as 2006, headlined an ACORN event, according to this piece by Ben Smith in Politico. Specifically:

The immigration event, which other photos show was packed with red-shirted Acorn member, was co-sponsored by the local Catholic Archdiocese, the SEIU, and other groups.

McCain, still spiting much of his party on immigration at the time, was the headliner.

Bertha Lewis, Acorn’s chief organizer, said in a statement that came with the photo, “It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans.”

”We are sure that the extremists he is trying to get into a froth will be even more excited to learn that John McCain stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN, at an ACORN co-sponsored event, to promote immigration reform,” she said.

Yah, uh huh.  Looks like the original moderate maverick himself is “far-left.”

4. I was surprised to see this analytical story about Sarah Palin’s envelope pushing when it comes to matters of church and state in the Washington Times, but hey, there are just so many stories and too few newspapers, maybe. Intro:

An Associated Press review of the Republican vice presidential candidate’s record as mayor and governor reveals her use of elected office to promote religious causes, sometimes at taxpayer expense and in ways that blur the line between church and state.

Since she took state office in late 2006, the governor and her family have spent more than $13,000 in taxpayer funds to attend at least 10 religious events and meetings with Christian pastors, including Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham, records show.

Sarah, we hardly know ye.

5. Last but by no means least, Jake Tapper with a thorough rundown of how Palin is, as he says, “flatly” lying about the findings in the Troopergate report released at the end of the day on Friday. Let me just repeat for the record and anyone who hasn’t been reading Writes Like She Talks for too long: Sarah Palin does not understand why her assertions and responses and attempts at justifying anything fail to satisfy because she does not understand that her statements are all conclusory.  Of course, she doesn’t understand what it means to say that a response is conclusory, but again, Tapper’s piece shows us exactly how conclusory Palin’s responses are: she takes the conclusion of the report and uses to say that that is in fact the sum and substance of the findings.

No, Governor Palin.  That is incorrect.  The conclusion is just that.  The sum and substance? That’s what’s between page 1 and page 236 or whatever the next to last page number is, you know – that part where they talk about how you did abuse your authority and you did break an Alaska ethics law.  Repeating the conclusion of the report, as though that’s all that matters is, just like all the other issues about which you provide only the conclusion and never the substance, is just as unsatisfactory as all the other conclusory answers you’ve given since August 29.

Harsh, harsh, harsh, I know.  But when you’ve nearly flunked even one law school class because the professor tells you that your responses were conclusory, you don’t forget exactly what that means – and how to avoid ever doing it again.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:07 pm October 13th, 2008 in Barack Obama, John McCain, Politics, Remains of the Day, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 4 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

Back to the Future: What the FHA did for our parents

Filed Under Business, Government, Housing | 1 Comment

Some gilded lines in this newsreel about the decline in home values, implementation and benefits of FHA plans and then, of course, reminding us that food tastes better when you earn it with a government-subsidized job rather than a direct government subsidy (I bet you didn’t know that – I didn’t either).

Hattip to Mental-hygiene.org.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:26 pm October 13th, 2008 in Business, Government, Housing | 1 Comment 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

[updated] Can we just agree that calling Dems “socialist” is off the table

Filed Under Business, Economy, Government | 19 Comments

When, after seven years of George Bush, we have the U.S. government taking over nine banks?

From McClatchy:

Under the U.S. plan to buy shares in financial institutions, government will take preferred stakes that don’t harm existing investors. The government won’t have a controlling or even voting interests in the institutions, and once they return to stable profitability, the government is expected to sell the stakes to earn taxpayers a profit.

Even so, it’s likely that the federal government will be business partners with major banks for years, something that’s never happened before — although government has held a close regulatory relationship with commercial banks since the Great Depression.

And what really repels the heckles of conservatives and ardent free market capitalists calling these steps a move toward socialism?

Heartened by expectations that the Treasury and the Fed would soon embrace more aggressive moves, Wall Street traders sent stocks stampeding back to life on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average scored its biggest one-day point gain ever and all three major U.S. stock indexes scored gains of more than 11 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 936.42 points to 9387.61. That’s all the more remarkable after Friday’s 1,000-point swing that sent the blue-chip index briefly to below 8,000.

The broader S&P 500 rallied Monday to close up 104.13 points to 1003.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq enjoyed a leap of 194.74 points to 1844.25.

Boosting stocks too was the sheer size of the British and European financial rescue efforts. The leaders of Germany, France, Britain and other nations on Monday put price tags on the plans they’d loosely unveiled on Sunday. Together, the British and European plans involved pledges exceeding $2.5 trillion to restore confidence in fragile financial markets.

Those free marketers are loving the government, from what it reads like to me.  So much for whatever the bad juju is supposed to be with socialism.  At least when the wealthiest are hurting, and in control.

Update: This update is specifically directed at a comment left by Mark McNally below.  From The Moderate Voice (where I’m a contributor):

Today George W. Bush and Henry Paulson announced the partial nationalization of the banking industry. Bush insists that this is not an assault on the free market system. And the New York Times notes that this is not unprecedented. The government has nationalized various sectors of the economy before, most notably the collapsing railroad industry in the 1970s. The last time the financial services industry faced nationalization was the 1930s with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

Still, it’s hard to avoid noticing the leftward turn in American economic life. Those more committed to socialist principles, including Britain’s Labour PM Gordon Brown, who called for a new Bretton Woods-style financial structure for a changing world, have celebrated this moment and even compared themselves to Churchill and FDR in World War II. Unlike ideological free marketeers, Brown sees this as an inevitable and even positive step for the economy. The times they are a-changing.

…

It’s curious to witness the muted reaction from the Republicans and the McCain camp over the Dow’s sudden rise yesterday. Surely they understand that the movement toward socialization of the financial services industry – even if the Dow responds favorably – is not something to excite them. Yes, even a recovery of the financial crisis – on left-liberal terms – benefits Obama in this election.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:39 pm October 13th, 2008 in Business, Economy, Government | 19 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

30 companies do well while GM cuts 1,340 jobs in Michigan

Filed Under Business, Economy | Comments Off

First, the 30 corporate entities that made money for some people today.

Then, the 1,340 human beings in Michigan who will lose their jobs by the end of 2009. Nice of them to wait to make the announcement until the end of the market day.

Anybody uncertain as to who will feel the pain, and who will feel the gain, short-term and long-term?

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:33 pm October 13th, 2008 in Business, Economy | Comments Off 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

Marist Poll for Ohio: Obama gains RVs & LVs, McCain loses RVs

Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Joe Biden, John McCain, Ohio, Politics, Poll, Sarah Palin, Vice President, Voting, WH2008 | 5 Comments

Highlights from the just-released Marist Poll:

The presidential race in Ohio is no longer a statistical dead heat. Among registered voters, Senator Barack Obama now outpaces Senator John McCain 48% to 40%. A Marist Poll conducted just last month had McCain and Obama each with the support of 44% of registered voters. Among likely voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, Obama has 49% compared with 45% for McCain.…Independent voters are divided. 44% say they back Obama while 47% report being for McCain. 6% of these key voters have not made up their minds.

The biggest stand-out? Joe Biden’s favorability increases by 13% while Sarah Palin’s unfavorable rating rises by 10% (with a 3% drop off in favorability):

A majority of Ohio voters view both vice presidential candidates positively. However, Biden’s image has improved. Last month, just 45% of registered voters in Ohio said they think well of the candidate. That’s compared with 58% who report having a positive image of him today. Republican Sarah Palin barely holds onto a majority of voters who view her favorably. In that same September survey, 54% of the Ohio electorate gave Palin a “thumbs up” while 51% do so today. However, her negative rating has increased from 32% in the previous poll to 42% currently.

Okay. Back to trying to ignore the polls.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:13 pm October 13th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Elections, Joe Biden, John McCain, Ohio, Politics, Poll, Sarah Palin, Vice President, Voting, WH2008 | 5 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

Kristol’s admission by omission: McCain is no leader for our times

Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, John McCain, leadership, Media, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments

The New York Times published this op-ed, Fire the Campaign, by William Kristol today.  It contains numerous suggestions for how John McCain should alter his campaign if he still wants to become the next president of the United States.  Problem is, Kristol makes a better case for just how lacking McCain is in leadership qualities than he does for why anyone who hasn’t already decided on a candidate should vote for him.

The bold: Qualities that Kristol says McCain possesses or actions Kristol says McCain has taken that would – and should – disqualify any individual from being elected, period, if they employed them.

Exhibit A:

[The McCain] campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic.

Exhibit B:

Shut down the rapid responses, end the frantic e-mails, bench the spinning surrogates, stop putting up new TV and Internet ads every minute. In fact, pull all the ads — they’re doing no good anyway.

Exhibit C:

The two of them [Palin and McCain] are attractive and competent politicians. They’re happy warriors and good campaigners.

Exhibit D:

Kick most of the aides off [the campaign buses and planes]

Exhibit E:

And for whatever reason — the public mood, campaign ineptness, McCain’s alternation between hesitancy and harshness, which reflects the fact that he’s uncomfortable in the attack role — the other attacks on Obama just aren’t working.

Exhibit F:

McCain should stop unveiling gimmicky proposals every couple of days that pretend to deal with the financial crisis. He should tell the truth…

Collectively, these six assertions portray a person with extremely poor judgment and a lack of commitment, consistency and clarity for an identifiable vision for the next four years.  How someone who manifests the characteristics and behaviors that Kristol enumerates in these six assertions could deserve our vote to govern this country is unfathomable.  And makes you question Kristol’s critical thinking ability almost as much as McCain’s.

Finally, Exhibit G:

McCain might want to volunteer a mild mea culpa about the extent to which the presidential race has degenerated into a shouting match. And then he can pledge to the voters that the last three weeks will feature a contest worthy of this moment in our history.

The campaigns for president have been going on for nearly 22 months, and Kristol supports the idea that it can be won in 21 days if McCain can swap out all his previous behavior for 21 days of “a contest worthy of this moment in our history?”  Can you imagine what Kristol would be saying if Obama were trailing and tried to win over several percentage points of voters by eschewing 21 months of behavior for 21 days?

In sum, Kristol’s column, like McCain’s campaign, is all about McCain winning. And that’s the main problem.

Barack Obama’s campaign has been all about winning, too – but it’s been all about a lot of other things as well.  Those of us who have not been Obama supporters from the start especially know that this is true, because many of us completely rejected the “Join” “O-Train” “Change” enticements.  I didn’t and still don’t need any of that in my leader – I just need competence, intelligence and humility.

John McCain’s campaign acts as, and therefore is perceived as, a campaign that lacks those three mandatory qualities for a president.  And Kristol’s emphasis on McCain now replacing one set of tactics with another set is, just like John McCain and George Bush, only more of the same.

This paragraph in Kristol’s column says it all:

There are still enough doubts about Obama to allow McCain to win. But McCain needs to make his case, and do so as a serious but cheerful candidate for times that need a serious but upbeat leader.

Here, Kristol backtracks on the idea of telling the truth.  Rather, he wants McCain’s rhetoric to amplify “doubts” because there are so few evidence-based reasons to dismiss Obama. McCain has only slights of hand available to him as tactics that might be able to displace the reality that Obama is deserving and qualified to lead.  But that goes back to the tactic of deception.

The real the sinker stinker phrase, however, is Kristol’s statement that these are, “…times that need a serious but upbeat leader.”

And saying so implies what is in fact true: Obama looks, acts and speaks serious – McCain does not.  Obama looks, acts and speaks upbeat – McCain does not.  Obama looks, acts and speaks like a leader – McCain does not.

Maybe McCain once looked, acted and spoke like serious, upbeat and like a leader.  But he hasn’t for a very long time. And there’s nothing he can do to change that.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:48 am October 13th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, John McCain, leadership, Media, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Oct

13

NPR shout-out for Undecided voters

Filed Under Media, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 6 Comments

Just heard the announcement.  If you are an undecided voter, National Public Radio wants to hear from you.  Write them at undecided@npr.org.

Now, be honest, okay???

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:33 am October 13th, 2008 in Media, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 6 Comments 

"));