My dad has explained this concept to me (he has recently read the book). At first I went "hmmmmMMMmmm, interesting - and then left it as just another problem yanks have" (im Aussie).

BUT, as I have watched with this little goblin listening in my ear - I have come to SEE it more and more. Its basically my personal political social revelation of 2008, and I can definitely see it uptaken by wider society - as it really does seem very straightforward.

Infact, I actually made a sort of similar observation with some of the old republicans who had been around for the 90's Iraq excursion - they hadn't been able to roll out all their plans. But after the shock of 911, I can imagine them gleefully dusting off their old strategy books and spending the night tinkering away. And in the morning, they strode into the oval office with a sense of purpose, waving a crudely weaved "Iraq/Terrorist state" flag.

>> ^imstellar28:
Ron Paul: wtf is wrong with you. 90% of Americans are against this bailout. Put yourself in as a third party candidate and ride the resentment of this bailout right into the oval office. And for god's sake hire some professional speech writers and public relations personnel.

And that's exactly what I feel about Ron Paul. He blew it big time. He's still blowing it. He blows. Shame.
He has the clearest, simplest position, and he just rattles on like a crazy old man. Everything he says washes over me even if I agree with it. yada yada yada derivitives market yada.

If you vote for Obama or McCain, you are supporting this $850 billion dollar travesty. I suggest voting against every single representative who supported this bill whether they are congressmen, senators, or presidential candidates.

Ron Paul: wtf is wrong with you. 90% of Americans are against this bailout. Put yourself in as a third party candidate and ride the resentment of this bailout right into the oval office. And for god's sake hire some professional speech writers and public relations personnel.

I tried to contact my representatives to b*tch them out but the phone lines have been busy for the last week, and the email is experiencing so much traffic its down. Sent an email to Ron Paul though and it went right through...guess his box isn't quite as flooded with hate mail.

I have been trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with Palin. Is it the "handlers" who tell her -- never be specific -- use these phrases -- and she is so overwhelmed by those voices in her head that she can't answer a simple question?

After listening to this three times, I have decided it is worse than that. I think she is so quick to take offense, she is so quick to defend herself, that she sees a trap everywhere. She took this question as an attack, tried to defend herself, then turned around and attacked Couric. "We have magazines in Alaska, we're not a backwater" -- no way was Couric trying to say that. She was trying to get a sense of who Palin is -- the POINT OF THE INTERVIEW.

It has been reported that Cheney requires that when he goes to a hotel that the TV is tuned to Fox News. Bush has said that he listens mostly to Fox News. Couric, I think, was trying to see if Palin is a Fox News Junkie (um, Fox News Blindered Information Rejecter) or what. Time Magazine? US News and World Report? The Nation? All these publications have a slight bias and her choice of reading matter would give the American people a glimpse into her personality and bias (as if we don't know it already.)

Palin's defensiveness and quick-to-attack-mode is what is compelling here.

She's not stupid. You don't get to where she is by being stupid.

She also SHOULD NEVER BE NEAR THE OVAL OFFICE.

Pray for us all. My 84-year-old engineer military father still loves her. He's not alone.

>> ^Farhad2000:
Oh and I forgot to mention that if McCain is elected, we can all rely on EVERY SINGLE NEWS CHANNEL OTHER THAN FOX to bring us constant updates about every little fuck up and non fuck up he commits.
Tonight on EVERY News CHANNEL: McCain Farts In The Oval Office. The Terrorists Win.


Fixed that for ya. hehe

I feel the erge to write in "none of the above" and check that box lately. That or Barr.

Oh and I forgot to mention that if Obama is elected, we can all rely on Fox News to bring us constant updates about every little fuck up and non fuck up he commits.

Tonight on Fox News : Barack Obama Farts In The Oval Office. The Terrorists Win.

This was a great post.

However, don't you think there is a possibility that she left that church because she had state and national aspirations and she knew that church would be too radical?

I really, really, REALLY want to know if she believes in dinosaurs and that the earth is millions of years old. If she doesn't, I DO NOT WANT HER in the Oval Office. Not in charge of the science budget.

I know that religious views aren't important. But when religious views can severely impact national policy, then the gloves are off. Not off limits.

You wear funny underwear like the Mormons do? I could care less. You think the earth is 6000 years old? I have got a serious, serious problem with your ability to make rational decisions on behalf of our nation.

Why we are so exhausted...Our Historic Two Weeks.

Its been going so fast and furious that many of us may not really know what it is that makes us feel so drained right now. Alot of us have fought in campaigns before, but this seems like more than the usual 4th quarter blues.

Well, I gave it some it thought. Let's review.

I think it is safe to say that the Democratic party was generally happy and energized after their convention. Glowing, crying, hopeful.

Almost immediately after, Gustav was brewing out in the Caribbean and had already killed some people. The storm was bearing in on the coast of the U.S. and millions were evacuated. You couldn't be human, or part of the movement to elect Obama, if you didn't identify with all the unfortunate people that had to pack up, leave, and spend money just to find a space to sleep, find gas, etc.

Then, with that low lying anxiety, and with Ike on the way, Bush jumped out of the circle and ran to Texas as the Republican convention started to "oversee things from there." We were robbed of our ability to see the incumbent standing next to one of his biggest supporters, proving to everyone watching that McCain would be more of the same.

Instead, we got a surprise distraction and a rollercoaster ride. An unprecedented number of people started very actively arguing about politics. It wasn't a fair fight. They're shorter, so there were alot of low blows.

Then the nation watched as Ike began to bear down. Barack canceled what was to be his Saturday Night Live appearance. (Now that just wasn't fair! I was really looking forward to that). But it was o.k., we were doing the right thing. Ike was on its way and, in a rare natural metaphor, was the size of Texas. No matter where it hit the U.S., work was going to have to be done to help alot of people.

No details needed. Wipeout. Same time, Palin was doing her press junket, shaking hands, and making friends. Miraculously, the other team seemed to start to take the lead.

The weekend was sleepless for alot of us. I don't know about you guys, but at this point I was glued to my computer, reassuring friends the polls were going to prove wrong, feeling it in my gut, which was also full of coffee and fast food.

Monday morning we woke to the news that Wall Street had lost two of its major brokerage firms. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after the government refused to bail it out, and Merrill Lynch employees bit their nails.

Barack had to swat some flies away (literally and figuratively), but the tables were turning.

Then, Bank of America bought Merril Lynch in a quickee deal and the stock market responded with a huge sell off, down 504 points for the day. There were fears about Washington Mutual, Morgan Stanley and other firms, so financial stocks tanked. Markets around the world took a beating. If you didn't know, trust me, we really wiped out everybody. Some of the markets weren't even able to reopen. AIG was on the precipice, looking out over the lemming Lehman's below, and they are huge in almost every world market, so this was going to be bad. If you watched the BBC, or any other major world news agency, THEY used the words 'earthquake, The Great Depression, Black Tuesday, and devastating emergency' to describe what was happening everywhere. I actually made the mistake of tivoing some shows from Fox News to get the other perspective and boy, there is no way for me to get those hours back.

But we rallied. We picked up. We really did folks. The more she spoke, the stupider she sounded. The more McCain spoke, the more he got things wrong in a pretty visible way. What went up, was starting to go down. Who had time for lipstick, when the house was on fire?

First, those who cared (wearing both red and blue) sat around a big table in Washington and someone said something, and someone else agreed, and someone took out a checkbook.

*The federal government jumped in Tuesday night and bailed out AIG to the tune of an $85 billion loan.
*The FCC put a ban on shortselling.
*The world's central banks took action, injecting $180 billion into the financial system to stem the losses.
*The market rallied, bounced, went back up.
*Even the government's #1 Deregulator was screaming for regulation!

So if you feel exhausted, it's not the election, it's not this fight we are in. Its all the unbelievable distractions, regrettable as they were, that hit the world the last two weeks.

Good news?

1. Their numbers are down, ours are up.

2. The judge in the Cheney lawsuit ordered Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president. Oh, you didn't know he had a lawsuit against him? Well, the lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration's actions over the past 7 1/2 years raise questions over whether the White House will turn over records created by Cheney and his staff to the National Archives in January. And Cheney lost.

3. Alaska's state Senator Hollis French said the retired prosecutor hired by the Alaska Legislature to investigate Palin (aka Troopergate), Stephen Branchflower, will conclude his investigation by Oct. 10. So they aren't giving up. And it will be in time for the election.

4. The other team's lies are getting so transparent that incredible people like that female reporter on FOX, Carl Rove, and even Hardball has to call them out on it, daily.

Bottom line, this is where we stand,

COSTS OVER THIS LAST YEAR
Status: Inflation up 5.4%
Average Salaries: Down 3.3%
Gasoline: Up 35.6%
Household Energy costs: Up 17.3%
Food: Up 7.5%

Its bad, but not unfixable. I think we generally rode it out well, and it looks like everything is going to be o.k. At least through the election. We will have alot of work to do, but we'll have to do it from the Oval Office.

So, take a deep breath.... Right now. Breathe in, and then out.

Make a bubble bath, catch a rerun of The Daily Show from their website, catch a sunset, or see the funny short: 'Its time for some campaignin'

Funny no matter what side you are on.
http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm

Then remember why we're doing this. If you haven't already, see:
You Made Me Love You Obama!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW19otZgxY8

Get some yogurt to settle your stomach, splurg and let yourself have some chocolate, and take just a second to rejuvenate.

and then....LET'S GET OUT THERE AND GET 'EM.

If you are an Obama supporter:
We will do it by registering MORE voters!
http://my.barackobama.com/vfc

We will do it by making the right points with our messages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJThPjvscFs

We will do it by making people aware of Barack's actual financial plan: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/economyplan

We will do it because WE CAN!

www.TheSarahPalinPortal.com
http://concernedmilf.blogspot.com/

We got square tunnels, we got oval tunnels, we got round tunnels, we got Lambda lab tunnels.. Hey! No heart shaped tunnels?

>> ^thinker247:
I love the comparison of Hillary's years of experience versus Palin's hop-step and a jump into the Oval Office.
Think about this for a second:
I am 28 years old. If I become mayor of a tiny town in my state of Idaho, then become governor, in 2016 I could be on the ticket for President of the United States. And why not? I live a few hundred miles from the Canadian border, so I have the same amount of foreign policy experience. I went to college in Idaho. I've never hunted wolves from a helicopter, but I could learn! If Palin can do all of this and be on the ticket, what's stopping me? Or anybody else?
WTF?!


Wow, we're like twins...If you need a running mate gimme a call

Depends on how attractive you are really. I mean would I want to see your face photoshopped onto a bikini model. I mean yeah sure I would, I'm easily amused, but would others?

>> ^thinker247:
I love the comparison of Hillary's years of experience versus Palin's hop-step and a jump into the Oval Office.
Think about this for a second:
I am 28 years old. If I become mayor of a tiny town in my state of Idaho, then become governor, in 2016 I could be on the ticket for President of the United States. And why not? I live a few hundred miles from the Canadian border, so I have the same amount of foreign policy experience. I went to college in Idaho. I've never hunted wolves from a helicopter, but I could learn! If Palin can do all of this and be on the ticket, what's stopping me? Or anybody else?
WTF?!

>> ^thinker247:
I love the comparison of Hillary's years of experience versus Palin's hop-step and a jump into the Oval Office.
Think about this for a second:
I am 28 years old. If I become mayor of a tiny town in my state of Idaho, then become governor, in 2016 I could be on the ticket for President of the United States. And why not? I live a few hundred miles from the Canadian border, so I have the same amount of foreign policy experience. I went to college in Idaho. I've never hunted wolves from a helicopter, but I could learn! If Palin can do all of this and be on the ticket, what's stopping me? Or anybody else?
WTF?!


Oh, who the hell are you kidding.

your foreign policy fails.

The only threat that Canada poses on the states is making fun of your beer too hard.

If you look at the actuary charts, it's clear that a 72 year old man who has undergone the medical conditions that he has, under the stress of the American Presidency, will likely DIE before the end of his first term. Just look at how younger Presidents turn gray under the stress of the job! McCain is already stressed, as a jetset flyboy with 9 houses!

In this way, McCain's campaign looks more and more like a plot to land Palin in the Oval Office.

I love the comparison of Hillary's years of experience versus Palin's hop-step and a jump into the Oval Office.

Think about this for a second:

I am 28 years old. If I become mayor of a tiny town in my state of Idaho, then become governor, in 2016 I could be on the ticket for President of the United States. And why not? I live a few hundred miles from the Canadian border, so I have the same amount of foreign policy experience. I went to college in Idaho. I've never hunted wolves from a helicopter, but I could learn! If Palin can do all of this and be on the ticket, what's stopping me? Or anybody else?

WTF?!

Ok, found the stupid bitch: Cristi Adkins. Wonder is she is related to "Dr. Atkins" and his miracle destroy your liver diet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365687,00.html

COLMES: I don't understand how you go from Hillary Clinton to John McCain. Does that mean you all of the sudden; you would like to overturn Roe versus Wade? All of a sudden, you don't want equal rights for gays? All of a sudden, you don't want energy independence? All of a sudden, you don't want to end the war in Iraq? He has the diametrically opposed views on those issues to Hillary Clinton. How do you make that leap?

ADKINS: That's not — the bridge to McCain is a lot closer than the radical gap to Senator Obama.

Clintons4Mccain Founder Cristi Adkins says, "Move over David Duke, there's a new racist going for the oval office. Hillary supporters have seen Obama unfairly play the race card time and time again. In fact, Obama's crypto-ethnic, inflammatory remarks have become the senator's number one method of distracting voters from his lack of qualifications, numerous flip-flops and dangerous associations."

Cristi Babin Adkins, RN, CHT is certified in hypno-therapy by the National Guild of Hypnotists and a Registered Nurse who specializes in the body-mind-spirit approach. She served as the state representative for the American Holistic Nurses Association for the state of Utah in 1998-1999