Vote '08

Obama spoke at the NAACP convention yesterday, McCain today.

McCain first. He said something interesting to start off with:

“Let me begin with a few words about my opponent. Don’t tell him I said this, but he is an impressive fellow in many ways. He has inspired a great many Americans, some of whom had wrongly believed that a political campaign could hold no purpose or meaning for them. His success should make Americans, all Americans, proud. Of course, I would prefer his success not continue quite as long as he hopes. But it makes me proud to know the country I’ve loved and served all my life is still a work in progress, and always improving. Senator Obama talks about making history, and he’s made quite a bit of it already. And the way was prepared by this venerable organization and others like it. A few years before the NAACP was founded, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage and an insult in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the nomination of an African-American to be the presidential nominee of his party. Whatever the outcome in November, Senator Obama has achieved a great thing – for himself and for his country – and I thank him for it.”

Yes, it’s shrewd, but it’s also classy. Nice move. (Full McCain speech transcript here)

Here’s Obama yesterday (McCain clip will be in this post as soon as it’s available):

UPDATE: Here’s the full speech, in 4 parts:

Aside: With polls showing a near-monolithic African-American voting block swinging Obama, McCain could easily have just blown a speech like this - one which talks about the problems facing the African-American community - off. Even though it would be political suicide to do otherwise, he does get credit for trying here.

…refreshes doubts about McCain’s commitment to women’s issues, that is.

Planned Parenthood has revived McCain’s 8-second stumble in an interview last week when asked whether he has any thoughts about insurance plans that cover Viagra & don’t cover birth control. (the issue was raised by his own economic adviser, former Hewlett-Packard exec Carly Fiorina, earlier in the day)

Frankly, we’re stumped as to why he took so long to say anything. I don’t get why saying “that’s not right, & should be changed,” & be done with it, should be so hard, unless he’s calculating what words could potentially damage his standing with the religious right. Not a good 8-seconds for McCain here. He does remember more women turn out to vote than men, right?

Above: McCain in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday, on winning in Afghanistan.

Below: Obama in Washington, D.C. yesterday, on winning in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Who’s right? Post a comment!

FURTHER READING:

–McCain could be the new Nixon in terms of foreign policy - the New Republic

–Obama’s Iraq speech “suffers from fundamental flaws of logic & fact that Obama refuses to confront.” - the New York Daily News

–How talk of a withdrawl - speedy or otherwise - is shifting the the dynamics of Iraqi politics - the Guardian

–Grading the candidates war speeches - Slate

It’s evident that the Chuck Todd quote we featured earlier this week — “that everything [the McCain campaign] do[es] from here on out will be an attempt to make this election a referendum on Obama.” — is the truth, either because of or in spite of McCain’s efforts.

Here’s a look at a series of gaffes & awkward moments that McCain & his supporters made this week - which were generally ignored in the mainstream media:

1.

“Americans have got to understand that. Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace and it’s got to be fixed.”

It seems odd that McCain is criticizing the system that’s been in place since the Great Depression - I think he was meaning that we haven’t addressed the looming problem of the baby boom generation retiring & bankrupting the system — but it’s hard to tell. More on that (& an attempt to get a clarification from the McCain campaign) here.

Had Barack Obama characterized the Social Security system this way, it would have been all we had heard about this week.

2.

Yesterday’s incident re: Phil Gramm’s boneheaded comments that we’re “a nation of whiners.” Probably much to the McCain campaign’s chagrin, Gramm said yesterday he sticks by his comments. Not good. & who’s supposed to be the elitist in this race?

Had Barack Obama called us “a nation of whiners” & the economic downturn we’re in a “mental recession,” he’d be tarred & feathered from nearly all sides.

3.

(above clip is audio only)

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki & other Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for U.S. withdrawl this week. First, McCain said

“Since we are succeeding, then I am convinced, as I have said before, we can withdraw and withdraw with honor, not according to a set timetable,” he said. “And I’m confident that is what Prime Minister Maliki is talking about, since he has told me that for many meetings we’ve had.”

Then he conceded that it was an accurate statement, but was probably just a political ploy to curry favor with his own people and would not influence his determination to keep US troops in Iraq indefinitely.

& that’s a flip flop from what he said about the matter in 2004:

Question: “What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so-called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there?”

McCain’s Answer: “Well, if that scenario evolves than I think it’s obvious that we would have to leave because — if it was an elected government of Iraq, and we’ve been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were an extremist government then I think we would have other challenges, but I don’t see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people.”

Had Barack Obama gone back & forth on the meaning of Maliki’s remarks, he’d be branded as a “typical political flip flopper” who “says anything to get elected.”

4. This statement the McCain campaign released this week touted the support of his economic plan from 300 blue-ribbon economists. But the Politico reported that most of those economists did not realize what they were signing off to - most of them thought they were checking “yes” on a list of basic economic principles with which they agree, not necessarily “I endorse McCain’s plan.”

If Barack Obama tried this, the ads criticizing him for this would already be out.

5. This “joke:”

McCain said, noting that cigarettes are the biggest U.S. export to Iran, “maybe we can kill them all with cigarettes.”

Iran’s a big place with 80 million individuals. It doesn’t seem very funny to joke about killing them all off, especially when right now there’s a good chance that a majority of the country’s people would be willing to be friends with us. Not a good move.

If Barack Obama made a joke about killing off an entire nation, many people would be saying it was a gaffe that could doom his campaign.

6. McCain denied this week that he ever said he wasn’t an expert in economics, apparently forgetting the durability of videotape:

As with #4, we’d already be seeing GOP ads pointing out this contrast right now if Obama had tried to get away with this.

& finally, this exchange about health care coverage (birth control vs Viagra):

7.

Once again, just imagine the ads playing this clip in full if it were Obama fudging on an issue like this.

8. Finally, the right wing media machine made a huge tactical mistake jumping all over themselves to report the so-called “Jackson Hot-Mike Gaffe” on Thursday. Had they thought about it for two seconds, they would have realized that a day in which Iran conducts missile tests is a day that should be spent calling Obama’s rather thin foreign policy credentials into question, rather than what they did, which was to let their hatred of Jesse Jackson dictate their coverage of a story which ultimately, strategically puts Obama in a better position.

An opposing view: Time Magazine’s Mark Halperin says McCain & the GOP actually “won the week.” 

Now. If you take this post as pure slam on McCain or his policies, you would be wrong - that’s certainly not my intent. The point I’m trying to make is that you should definitely expect a double-standard in this race when it comes to how much attention the media pays to whom. Obama’s gaffes or misstatements, however minimal or consequential they are, will be maximized in the media, while McCain’s gaffes or misstatements will be minimized in the media. It’s not so much that the GOP candidate is “John McCain,” it’s that he’s “Not-Barack-Obama.”

What do you think? Post a comment!

Our assignment manager Melydia is convinced that something’s afoot with the stars (”Jupiter is now opposite the Earth”) & causing some general crazies to come out; current evidence that makes this case:

1. We’ve had a gentleman call the newsroom repeatedly telling us about a premonition he’s had that aliens are about to arrive & achieve world peace & reduce our dependency on foreign oil,

2. Our newsroom has received approximately 136,372 e-mail messages from an apparent organized campaign to “bring the makers of Red Bull to justice” (please - don’t ask),

3. Jesse Jackson making some crazy remark that I won’t reprint here about Barack Obama that’s (unfortunately) dominating the current news cycle, &

4. The topic of this post, Phil Gramm, former advisor to John McCain, who has said that America is not in an actual recession but rather a “mental recession.” Quote:

“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline” despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

“We’ve never been more dominant; we’ve never had more natural advantages than we have today,” he said. “We have benefited greatly” from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.

Mr. Gramm said the constant drubbing of the media on the economy’s problems is one reason people have lost confidence. Various surveys show that consumer confidence has fallen precipitously this year to the lowest levels in two to three decades, with most analysts attributing that to record high gasoline prices over $4 a gallon and big drops in the value of homes, which are consumers’ biggest assets.

“Misery sells newspapers,” Mr. Gramm said. “Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.”

Let’s forget completely for the moment whether or not Gramm has a point (for the record, I think he’s wrong) so we can make this one: Americans of all political stripes are not happy with how gas prices are eating into their pocketbooks these days, & none of them likes to be told by anyone that they’re “just a bunch of whiners.”

It’s only natural that the Obama campaign took advantage of this low-hanging fruit:

“One of Senator McCain’s top economic advisors may think that when people are struggling with lost jobs, stagnant wages, and the rising costs of everything from gas to groceries, it’s merely a ‘mental recession’. And Senator McCain may think it’s sufficient to offer energy proposals that he admits will have mainly ‘psychological’ benefits. But the American people know that our economic problems aren’t just in their heads. They don’t need psychological relief – they need real relief – and that’s what Barack Obama will provide as President,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

& so, as you can imagine, just as Barack is doing so with Jesse, John McCain took pains to distance himself from Gramm’s remarks:

“Phil Gramm’s comments are not representative of John McCain’s views. John McCain travels the country every day talking to Americans who are hurting, feeling pain at the pump and worrying about how they’ll pay their mortgage. That’s why he has a realistic plan to deliver immediate relief at the gas pump, grow our economy and put Americans back to work.”

One last point on Gramm - it’s pretty amazing to me that the McCain camp kept Gramm on board with the campaign as long as he did. When he was a Senator in the late 90s, he was instrumental in deregulating the housing industry, which helped contribute to the housing crisis we’re in today.

What do you think? Are these tough economic times all in your head? Let us know by posting a comment!

     TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran’s president says there’s no chance of a war with the United States or Israel. But Iran appears to be turning up the heat a bit.
      State television reports the Revolutionary Guards have tested nine new long- and medium-range missiles during war games. One of them has a range of 1,250 miles, which is within striking distance of Israel.
      The report describing missile tests comes a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE’-neh-zhahd) played down the risk of war as he visited a summit of developing Muslim nations in Malaysia.
      It also comes about a month after Israel’s military sent warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean. U.S. officials said at the time the military exercise could possibly be a rehearsal for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

McCain’s response:

“Iran’s most recent missile tests demonstrate again the dangers it poses to its neighbors and to the wider region, especially Israel. Ballistic missile testing coupled with Iran’s continued refusal to cease its nuclear activities should unite the international community in efforts to counter Iran’s dangerous ambitions. Iran’s missile tests also demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland. Working with our European and regional allies is the best way to meet the threat posed by Iran, not unilateral concessions that undermine multilateral diplomacy.”

Obama’s response: 

On NBC’s “Today:”

Said the U.S. must respond with “aggressive diplomacy” to Iranian missile tests, called for possible U.S. divestment of Iranian holdings. Said he doesn’t understand complaints he has shifted to the center, saying he has consistently supported faith-based initiatives and the death penalty for acts such as child rape, and that he would “obviously” listen to military commanders in Iraq.

On ABC’s “Good Morning America”:

Called Iran “a grave threat,” expressed disapproval of higher U.S. exports to the country. Asked about potential Israeli strike against Iran, said “Israel always has the right to protect itself from serious threats, and Iran is a serious threat.” On Iraq, said his position has been “crystal clear” and has not changed. Mentioned economic agenda for women, criticized McCain for not supporting reversal of Supreme Court decision on gender pay discrimination.

On CBS’ “Early Show”:

Again endorsed direct diplomacy with Iran. On Iraq, said “I have been entirely consistent that we are going to end this war when I’m president.” Repeated assertion he has not changed position on gun control, the death penalty and other issues. On the recent trouble aboard his campaign plane, said “When you fly as much as I do, some of this stuff’s going to happen.”

We appear to have a discrepancy between what McCain has on paper in his economic plan & what he says on the stump.

His plan (see link above) says this:

Bring The Budget To Balance By 2013
John McCain will balance the budget by the end of his first term. The near-term path to balance is built on three principles:
• Reasonable economic growth. Growth is an imperative – historically the greatest success in reducing deficits (late 1980s; late 1990s) took place in the context of economic growth.
• Comprehensive spending controls. Bringing the budget to balance will require across-the-board scrutiny of spending and making tough choices on new spending proposals.
• Bi-partisanship in budget efforts. Much as the late 1990s witnessed bipartisan efforts to put the fiscal house in order, bi-partisan efforts will be the key to undoing the recent spending binge.
In the long-term, the only way to keep the budget balanced is successful reform of the large spending ressures in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

But verbal calls for a balanced budget has been noticeably absent, as Mike Allen of Politico pointed out on C-SPAN recently:

Read through his most recent speech on the topic here, in which he only says

“We must also get government’s fiscal house in order. American workers and families pay their bills and balance their budgets, and I will demand the same of the government. A government that spends wisely and balances its budget is a catalyst for economic growth and the creation of good and secure jobs.”

Note the absence of a pledge or timetable. Could it be he’s trying to avoid the fate of a former GOP president?

Let’s keep an eye on this, shall we?

What do you think?

As you might expect, energy is the hottest subject of the latest round of ads from both sides.

1st up, an ad called “Balance” from the Republican National Committee comparing McCain’s & Obama’s ads. (Note: the RNC, unlike McCain, can receive unlimited contributions)

Here’s ad from McCain that addresses economic insecurities, called “Jobs for America:”

Obama has a new ad that doesn’t shirk from his stance on energy policy. This one’s called “New Energy:”

Here’s an ad from the Senate Republicans Conference (not to be confused with the National Republican Senatorial Commitee) that also hammers home the “drill! drill! drill!” message. Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander appears briefly.

Now another one from McCain, that addresses baby boomers & leans toward the biographical, called “Love.” Note how he “tweaks” the Obama campaign, with the announcer saying ‘hope’ in a way that you can hear quotes around them:

Upon watching this, I noted the the line “when offered early release, he said no,” & wondered if the role McCain’s father played in his prisonerhood will ever be mentioned by the campaign. Did you realize that his father was commander of U.S. operations in the Pacific during the Vietnam War? That’s why his captors considered him such a high-value bargaining chip, & was the reason he was offered an early release. I asked several people in the newsroom if they were aware of this fact & they said no.

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd has some interesting analysis on this ad:

*** Talkin’ ’bout my generation: The TV ad the McCain campaign unveiled yesterday, which invokes the divisive decade of the 1960s, is just another reminder how big a role the generational divide could be in this election. One thing worth pointing out: Perhaps not surprisingly, McCain is over-performing with older voters, while Obama is over-performing among younger ones. According to exit polls, Bush won the 65-and-older crowd by five points (52%-47%) in 2004 and three points (50%-47%) in 2000. But in last month’s NBC/WSJ poll, McCain was leading Obama among this group by seven (48%-41%). Meanwhile, Kerry won the 18-to-29 set by nine points in 2004 (54%-45%), and Gore won them by two in 2000 (48%-46%). Obama? The NBC/WSJ poll had him up 13 points (53%-40%) among those 18 to 34. Also of note: Kerry lost the 30-to-44 crowd in 2004 (53%-46%), as did Gore in 2000 (49%-48%). Yet in our poll, Obama was leading among those 35 to 49 by four points (44%-40%).

…

*** One more thought on the ad: Yesterday’s release of the new McCain bio spot signals a turning point in the McCain message — that everything they do from here on out will be an attempt to make this election a referendum on Obama. The new ad, while appearing biographical in nature, is contrast heavy with Obama. Many Republicans were pushing for McCain to accept the fact that this wasn’t going to be about him, that he had to do something to shift the focus from Bush to Obama. Let’s see if they stick to this.

Finally, from the Republican National Committee, criticizing Obama’s Iraq plan:

It’s Republican heavy, I realize, but that’s just what’s out there now.

So what do you think of these ads? Which one is the most effective? Let us know by posting a comment!

What’s the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the word “Obama” or “McCain?”

The AP is out with a new poll that has the answer:

My answer for both candidates is, of course, “blog-material.”

How would you answer the question? Let us know by posting a comment!

We have shown you earlier on this blog how McCain does such a deft job of handling protesters at his campaign events .. so it’s a shame that the rest of his campaign doesn’t get it.

Watch the clip above to see a 61 year old woman waiting to get into a McCain rally in Denver yesterday get kicked out of line by the secret service & escorted off the (public) property by police for “trespassing.” Her crime? An admittedly crude sign that says “McCain = Bush.”

Goodness gracious, folks. John McCain’s campaign staff should not be afraid of dissent. Democracy’s a messy thing. You’d score far more points by letting this kind of thing go on - it shows that you’re able to take it. The alternative (see: the last 7 years of carefully hand-picked crowds at all events) looks, well, like something else.

& rest assured if we see this kind of behavior at an Obama event we’ll call his campaign out on it too.

Again: Democracy’s a messy thing. Embrace disorder & become stronger by doing so.

What do you think?

BREAKING: John McCain hates me. I’m a blogger. He says in that clip above “I hate the bloggers.”

…

..well, maybe I shouldn’t take it so personally. Give me a second chance, Senator!